Seventeen-year-old Shavonne has been in juvenile detention since the seventh grade. Mr. Delpopolo is the first counselor to treat her as an equal, and he helps.
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Sad, raw, and frank. Book aside, I like that Shawn Goodman has been an active part of this type of environment. Jan 19, Choralie rated it really liked it. Now, Shavonne is in a juvenile detention center, among a bunch of other girls her age who are either pregnant or men 17 year old Shavonne is no ordinary teenager. Now, Shavonne is in a juvenile detention center, among a bunch of other girls her age who are either pregnant or mentally retarded, and have been through pretty much the same things as Shavonne.
She was almost sixteen when she delivered her baby girl Jasmine, right into the foster care. She got to nurse her for only a few days.
Department of Social Services took her away and put her under the guardianship of a lady name Connie, who practically raises Jasmine while Shavonne is in jail. Connie calls her ever week to tell her how Jasmine is doing and update her on her accomplishments. Eventually Shavonne starts to get better when she is assigned to a new psychologist, Mr. Delpopolo, who treats her as an equal. Delpopolo helps her get to the bottom of her self-destructive behavior, the shame about her past, and the fear of leaving the center when she turns Many of the girls in the center have been abused in foster care.
Shavonne was one of the unlucky ones. She was just 11 years old when it happened. No one was there to care for her, to protect her or save her from all of the horrible things she had to go through. She use to close her eyes and imagine her dad coming in to rescue her and beating the crap out of those foster uncles, brothers, and dads, but those were only wishful thinking.
Her father died in prison before he even got paroled. It happens two or three times and then you see the writing on the walls… you run away. It is when Mr. After going back and forth about her guilt list she works up the courage to bring it to her session with Mr. He tells her to cross out all the things on the list that other people did to her. Did anybody act sexually toward you while you were there?
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Delpopolo explains to her that none of what happened was her fault. The Adults in her life failed to protect her which was their job, they failed to keep her safe, and they let bad things happen to her. They have always told her that it was her fault that bad things happened to her because she ran away and wore makeup and tight jeans. The session makes her think of things that she never let herself think about before. Delpopolo that she spills out the most shameful thing she thinks she has done.
He fell and knocked over the pot so all that boiling water dumped on him. She signs her rights to Jasmine away to Connie who accepts to raise her as her own daughter. Her brother Marcus writes her a letter requesting to see her when she gets out. On her 18th birthday, the day she gets to leave the center, Shavonne gets the letter with a picture inside of her baby brother Marcus who is now 13 years old. A boy, thirteen years old…walking over to me…smiling but frightened…frightened that maybe I will not recognize him Frightened that I will not accept him..
Dec 04, Linda Lipko rated it really liked it. Written by an author who has vast experience in the child detention system, this is an incredible book of young 17 year old Shavonne who has somehow survived a very traumatic childhood, a life of failed foster home experiences and now resides in a juvenile detention facility.
Grieving the loss of her child, Shavonne lashes out at everyone, especially those she thinks are trying to help her. The clock is ticking as she will soon be released from the facility and will have to face the outside world Written by an author who has vast experience in the child detention system, this is an incredible book of young 17 year old Shavonne who has somehow survived a very traumatic childhood, a life of failed foster home experiences and now resides in a juvenile detention facility.
The clock is ticking as she will soon be released from the facility and will have to face the outside world. Luckily, she is fortunate to have a dedicated, burnt out counselor who is watching the time slip with her as he attempts to allow her to face her demons and realize that so much of what happened to her at an early age, was none of her fault. Superbly written, this is a truthful depiction of a young woman who must begin to make good decisions so that the rest of her life is not like the terrible years before.
Jan 07, Mary rated it really liked it Shelves: A very fine young adult novel that shows how a teen who has been abused and hurt can be so caught in a cycle of anger and fear that her reactions work against her best interests. In this sensitive portrayal of a girl in juvenile detention we see how Shavonne carries shame and guilt for actions that were not her fault. Her need to withhold trust and numb emotions are defenses against growing up in situations where the adults in her life failed to care for her.
An excellent read that I hope will g A very fine young adult novel that shows how a teen who has been abused and hurt can be so caught in a cycle of anger and fear that her reactions work against her best interests. An excellent read that I hope will get into the hands of teens that can find healing in entering Shavonne's struggles. Apr 19, Carolyn rated it it was amazing. I really appreciated the twists and turns!
I have been working with at-risk youth for several years now, and this is an incredibly insightful book as to what they see, experience, and feel, especially behind the doors of various institutions. Jun 04, Jennifer rated it really liked it. To imagine someone trying to find hope in this situation is hard to believe.
Quick read, teen lit, will stick with you. Aug 02, Kathy Broadnax rated it really liked it. Interesting life lessons for young adults. Makes you aware that life is never easy. You need to keep on hoping, because it will work out. Sep 09, Rae rated it it was amazing. Shows the real struggles of foster care, and being on the wrong side of the law. Aug 06, Terri rated it really liked it. Before school let out in June, I amassed a pile of about 30 books to read during summer break. My goal was to expand my humorous, buzz, and multi-cultural repertoire for booktalks in the fall.
It ended up in my pile as a result. Though it has been around for awhile published in Before school let out in June, I amassed a pile of about 30 books to read during summer break. Though it has been around for awhile published in , I am glad that I finally picked it up. This is quality writing for teens. The first person protagonist, seventeen-year old Shavonne, has been in the juvenile detention system for many years.
She is about to turn eighteen, at which time she will either be released or move on to an adult detention facility. Both are frightening prospects for her.
Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman
As she anticipates this change, we learn of her day to day life in this detention facility and of what brought her here. She is filled with anger and fear, brought on by a father who was never a part of her life, an addicted and abusive mother, a foster care system and juvenile rehabilitation system that are no better than her life in the real world, rape, and more.
Her anger, fear, and lack of hope are the influences for her mean, violent behavior and poor choices. However, because of Mr. Delopolo, a therapist with issues of his own, and other caring adults, she eventually finds "something like hope. I have students who come from situations, unfortunately, very much like Shavonne's.
So the book is important in this regard. It reminded me of books like "After" by Amy Effaw, "Lockdown" by Walter Dean Myers, "Juvie Three" by Gordon Korman an idea for booktalks would be to show the cover of the book I read this summer, discuss it, and then show covers of read alikes. As a result, I did not feel that there was anything new here - another black teen in juvenile detention.
However, for someone who has never read a similar book, this book could be important. I do wonder whether some readers will object because the main character is a black female and the writer is a white male. This is always a quandary for me. Sometimes objections are made when a writer writes outside of his or her own race, sex, sexual orientation, etc. I know that some objected at the school in which I teach, for instance, to the fact that Katherine Applegate, a white woman, wrote about the immigration experience of a young Sudanese refugee in "Home of the Brave. For instance, my Hmong students are hungry for literature featuring Hmong teens - but there is little out there for them, in which case, sometimes anything is better than insisting on a Hmong author writing about Hmong characters.
This used to be true with gay literature as well. The book is a fast read - I read it in one day. Despite this, the protagonist is a well-developed, multi-layered, and nuanced character. Though she is not always likable, especially in the beginning, Shavonne does grow and begin to change by the book's ending. The more minor characters are less well-developed, though well-developed enough to do their jobs in the story. We grow to care about the more minor characters like Mary and Cinda and Cyrus.
There are many important messages in "Something Like Hope" about the consequences of children not having caring, present adults in their lives, the failings of the juvenile detention system, taking responsibility for one's self and one's future, the importance of family, the importance of feeling loved, and hope. The book does contain language, drug references, sexual references, and violence - though nothing gratuitous. Thus, it is appropriate for a mature high school reader. Mar 03, Margaret rated it liked it Recommends it for: Struggling young people and the adults who work with them.
Something Like Hope came to me from my son-in-law, who knows its author, Shawn Goodman. Goodman, always interested in writing, came to his subject from his own work as a school psychologist in a juvenile detention center for girls. While at times her voice seems more suited to a school psychologist than an abused inmate, her narrative is both powerful and authentic.
Delpopolo, a sad-eyed counselor who works with Shavonne. The daughter of an addicted prostitute mother and an absent imprisoned father, Shavonne at a very young age fell victim to the cruelties of the foster care system. She was generally abused and raped by the boyfriends of the women who were charged with her care.
She became pregnant and delivered a daughter before her sixteenth birthday. Imprisoned because of her now understandable destructive behavior, Shavonne has to place Jasmine, her own daughter, in foster care. But Jasmine is luckier than Shavonne; her foster mother provides loving care and keeps in touch regularly with Shavonne. As Shavonne approaches her eighteenth birthday, she needs to work out her many issues in order to have some sort of positive control over her future life.
Goodman also provides the reader with a clear-eyed view of a juvenile detention center and the damage it can rain down on its already damaged and vulnerable inmates. The very politics of the system seem to work to the advantage of the adults and the disadvantage of the incarcerated teens. But the adults in this novel are hardly all of a type. Yes, there are the cruel guards who are all too willing to respond with psychological and physical violence to the outrageous things damaged teens visit on others while attempting to defend themselves. Goodman knows these kids are soft on the inside, but hard, to the point of lashing out, on the outside.
He also knows that these cruel guards often have difficult issues of their own. But there are also other adults. Delpopolo is one version of the caring psychologist. More surprising is the guard Cyrus, a local former farm worker who brings a knowledge of nature to the incarcerated girls. They are astounded to learn that Canada geese mate for life. Cyrus, maybe you should be teaching this nature shit, I mean stuff, to some boys. So they know how to treat us right! And Cyrus himself remains a fair-minded man.
Even the director, Mr. Plot matters, as it usually does in young adult novels, and this plot draws its readers in. We want to know about Shavonne and to see what she does as she turns eighteen. Most readers will keep turning the pages; at less than largish-printed pages, the book can be finished in a single sitting. Something Like Hope, while rewarding as a young adult novel, would also be useful if read by teachers and other youth workers who too easily get caught up in the damaged games their charges play.
I worry that we may not have the institutional will to do insist our youth workers learn to do that. Shawn Goodman, by writing this book, is trying to improve the odds of good things happening. Jun 23, Cornelius Edmond rated it really liked it. First off, I would just like to say that this book was extremely disturbing to me, at times, simply because I did not know that residing in a mental institution could be this harsh and appalling.
And yes, the author of Something Like Hope - Shawn Goodman spent most of his adult life working at several juvenile and mental institutions in New York as a psychologist, which is what inspired him to write Something Like Hope. So I am pretty sure, most of the events that occurred in this book had at le First off, I would just like to say that this book was extremely disturbing to me, at times, simply because I did not know that residing in a mental institution could be this harsh and appalling.
So I am pretty sure, most of the events that occurred in this book had at least, some truth as to what "really" goes on in these facilities. This book was very intruding and sometimes unpredictable, simply because you would never know what's going to happen next. I can say that it was VERY fast paced. And yes I live for a fast paced book. The overall setting was very bleak and unadorned. Shavonne, the main character in the book, angered me a little at times, simply because she was extremely hopeless, negative, and lacked self-control. But I had to keep reassuring myself that she was NOT born like this, but more to the fact that the things that she endured as a child is the root of why she was the way she was.
I, sometimes found myself feeling overly sympathetic for the girls at the Center, because of all the maltreatment, they were faced with, throughout the book. There was one character, in particular that I really found a connection with, which was Mr Delpopolo Shavonne's counselor. He was very generous, down-to-earth, and encouraging. No matter how harsh, Shavonne's past was, he still encouraged her to stay positive, but it was extremely difficult for her to do so.
There was one character in the book that I did not like, at all, which was Ms. And it made me so mad, but if you read this book, you will eventually began to feel grateful that everything is going to get better. Shavonne was indeed, a very strong individual. The ending of the book was very inspiring, and just gave me the sense that trouble does not last always. If you're one of those people who gets intimidated by curse words and profanity which I don't , I do not recommend that you read this book, even though I feel that this is one book that every teenager should read.
Aug 19, Sheryl Sorrentino rated it it was amazing. To call Something Like Hope an incredibly beautiful and moving story would be an understatement. Even more disturbing than the childhood atrocities suffered by Shavonne is To call Something Like Hope an incredibly beautiful and moving story would be an understatement. Even more disturbing than the childhood atrocities suffered by Shavonne is the treatment she receives in detention at the hands of certain sadistic authority figures. I could not put this book down, and the ending brought me to tears.
It was so powerful, I had to go back and re-read the last few chapters. And I cried a second time. Both revealing and inspired, it should serve as a reminder to every spoiled, apathetic teenager lucky enough to have a stable home and loving parents and every adult entrusted with the task of caring for and raising their own smart-mouthed offspring just how blessed they truly are.
Jun 16, Kim rated it really liked it Shelves: The story that Shawn Goodman tells isn't a happy one, but it is ultimately hopeful.
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After an unspecified incident involving her brother, for which she blames herself, Shavonne spent time in foster homes, psychiatric wards, and ultimately, a juvenile detention center. The bulk of the story takes place in this center, where Shavonne has learned to su The story that Shawn Goodman tells isn't a happy one, but it is ultimately hopeful. The bulk of the story takes place in this center, where Shavonne has learned to survive by trusting nobody. After yet another fight, she is sent to a new counselor, the fat, messy Mr. Although she tries to put up the same walls with him that have worked with everyone else, he sees past them and slowly, slowly convinces Shavonne to start opening up about the things that she is ashamed of in her past.
Even more slowly, he helps her understand that she is not to blame for these things-- the rapes, the cigarette burns, the other indecencies that have caused her to build her protective wall. He shows her that the adults in her life have not protected her, and her anger and fear and lack of trust are normal reactions to a very abnormal childhood. Not all of the adults in the juvenile detention center are as caring as Mr.
Choi, are downright cruel, taking pleasure in taunting the girls so that they can punish them. But Shavonne eventually comes to believe that her life can change, and to recognize the people in her life who are willing to help her bring about this change. The first person narrative is spare and powerful. Sep 22, Jadesarah rated it liked it. Jade Samaroo 3 of 5 stars Recommended to Jade Sarah by: Anyone who likes self-help and psychology books. September 9th to September 22 I chose to read, Something Like Hope by Sean Goodman, because it is in the category of self-help and psychology.
When I get older I would like to be a psychologist, so this is a good read for me, because it helps me better understand what it's like to be one of these people who need help, mentally and emotionally. What I was hoping to get out of this book Something Like Hope by Sean Goodman, was a better understanding of what it was like to understand a person who needs mental and emotional help. Also a better understanding of what it's like to be a counselor and talk with people who need this kind of help. The book opens up with the main character, Shavonne; she has to talk to a mental health counselor because she got in a fight at the mental institute she has to live in.
She stays here because she has many problems and was previously in jail because she got into many fights. She also has a mother who is always on crack and cannot properly take care of her, a bad history of abuse in foster homes, and has a daughter who is in foster care as well. May 28, Naomi rated it really liked it. Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman is a fictional book about an eighteen year old girl named Shavonne who is in a juvenile detention facility, for her bad behavior. Shavonne has done it all stolen, fought, ran away you name it. Everything a reckless teenager could get into.
While struggling to get out of juvey she also faces losing her baby girl Jasmine to her foster mom. Delpopolo who proves to her tha Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman is a fictional book about an eighteen year old girl named Shavonne who is in a juvenile detention facility, for her bad behavior. Delpopolo who proves to her that there are people out there who care and want to help her leave juvey. How the title fits in with the story is by mentioning hope near the end of the book. When Shavonne was released from juvey a woman she sat next to the bus told her that there is at least one person out in the world who loves her.
This idea of someone loving her gave her hope. This book did a great job on catching my emotional side because the author did a good job on making the main characters emotions stand out. Being helpless is something that I can definitely relate to. A theme that stood out to me in this book was, do not give up on hope. This theme is very effective because the juvey is filled with girls who think there is no way out of the mess they got themselves into. Shavonne was set free because she started to grasp the idea of hope. View all 5 comments.
Nov 27, Randy Russell rated it it was amazing. Smart, angry, and desperate, Shavonne, 17, is in juvenile detention again, and in her present-tense, first-person narrative, she describes the heartbreaking brutality that she suffered before she was locked up, as well as the harsh treatment, and sometimes the kindness, she encounters in juvie.
With a mother who is a crack-addicted prostitute and a father she never knew who died in prison, she was sent into the foster-care system as a young child. One foster mother needed money for drugs, so she forced Shavonne, 11 at the time, to go with a man who raped her. While she was locked up, Shavonne gave birth, and she is glad that her daughter is now in a kind foster home. Not only does the African American teen survive, but she also nurtures needy fellow inmates, and she bonds with her counselor even as she tries to escape a vicious, racist supervisor.
More than a situation, the story builds to a tense climax: What is the secret Shavonne cannot even think about? Aug 27, Courtney rated it liked it Shelves: Shavonne has been living in foster care and detention centers almost her entire life. She's currently getting ready to turn 18, which means a change in placement is likely. While she'd really like to strike out on her own and raise her daughter who has been in foster care for the past three years , she can't seem to get her act together.
She picks fights with the guards and is resistant to therapy. She's seen so many other girls up against similar odds and knows that these stories rarely end we Shavonne has been living in foster care and detention centers almost her entire life. She's seen so many other girls up against similar odds and knows that these stories rarely end well.
Shavonne begins to keep a journal and slowly opens up to her new therapist, even though she ultimately doesn't believe it will do any good. When her fellow patients face trauma, Shavonne surprises herself by stepping up to the challenge. Her future may not so bleak, after all. Goodman does a decent job of portraying troubled teen girls, but Shavonne does not always come across as believable. Owen himself stood blank-faced in the middle of the office, as though he was five seconds from a retort. Gwen and Tosh remained together, still sandwiched in the doorway, absolutely still. For one of the few times in his tenure at Torchwood, Ianto wanted to slip into the woodwork and completely disappear, not even coming out to hand over tea or pick up soiled napkins.
He wanted to completely disappear. He looked back at Tosh. Gwen stepped forward and tilted her head slightly. It forced him to look at her, as much as he hated it. That left only Owen. Jack leaned back on his chair. For a moment, Owen glanced over his shoulder at Ianto. Organs can shift around, make room, but eventually, space will start getting tight. Urination will be easy, than suddenly hard. Depending on position, you could see sexual dysfunction. Hip dysplasia, a very sore back, middle, and rear, increased blood pressure and difficulty with everything you like to do, from work to sleep to eating half a pastry.
Owen looked back at him. It was impossible to tell whether Owen was pleased, irked, confused, or some combination of all three by the proceedings. The room fell quiet again, but the tension had snapped somewhere. Ianto shrugged and tried not to quirk too much of a smile. I was down there with her three hours. If she looked at me, all she did was smile.
Gwen leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, even as she still used one hand for emphatic gesturing. Jack snorted, a smug little grin touching the corners of his lips. Ianto, slouched as he was in a chair, glanced up at Gwen. He glanced at Gwen. Ianto, you know the rules. In the medical recess, Owen glanced up at the three of them with a raised eyebrow. I would have baked a cake. I burned myself making this. Well, I would have. Were I not a shadow of my former, fleshy self. Ianto could feel the eyes on him as he stopped at the bottom of the steps and started on his buttons.
Still, Owen was tapping his toe and one of the machines was beeping expectantly, so there was little else he could do.
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Jack took his shirt, then trousers, and finally his shorts, though not without raising an eyebrow. Secretly, he considered pointing out the resemblance to Gwen, but she was watching with a bit too much awe for Ianto to justify breaking the moment. Static hissed and sputtered from the speakers. There was a sudden screech that lasted just a split second before the static was replaced with a constant, if swift, thrumming sound. With it came a sudden burst of light as the projection started up. The blue block was replaced with white light, and when it settled, the picture on the screen was a sort of reddish-pink color.
A tiny, scrunched up baby, to be exact, with jumbled arms and legs that attempted and failed to hide its tiny, close-eyed face. Everything was clearly visible, from a slim little bottom to tiny toes on the ends of tiny feet. One of which, live before their eyes, moved. She crossed in front of Jack to stand under the projection. Due, were she to go to term, late August. The loo, eating, sleeping? Not that my warnings are invalidated.
Ianto looked at Jack, who was standing with his arms still crossed, watching the proceedings. You should see what I can do with two fingers and a teaspoon. I think I can handle this. Ianto watched as Owen gathered up his medical kit and headed out of the recess, the plastic sheets whispering as he pressed through them. Jack, on the other hand, was speeding through the city in search of all the creatures they usually hunted down together — Weevils, other aliens, humans possessed by aliens, dogs who were chewing on alien weaponry — and spending less time in the hub to make up for being one active team member short.
Two-thirds of his doctors said he was bound to die. Though I heard his son became an ultra-conservative freak. That would be witty, charming, and delightful. Jack reached around him for a bowl, his front pressing against him all the way from hips to shoulder. The kitchen smelled like thick stew and fresh bread, no thanks to Jack sticking his nose into every pot and pan Ianto had filled with ingredients. He knew it was completely shallow, but for the first time in his life, he also knew it was precisely what he wanted: He watched the stew slide into the bowl and wiped the lip of it with his finger when a drop of sauce threatened to go rogue and escape.
Ianto sliced the bread slowly, stacking the pieces on a plate. They were thick and left weighty crumbles on the countertop. Elsewhere, Ianto had to watch the way he smiled at the stretch of his shirts, the way he dragged him and once, Tosh, which had ended awkwardly into stores to admire ridiculous powder-pink bric-a-brac, the way he called the baby she in every reference. Ianto stared at them, even as Jack dropped into his chair and picked up a piece of bread. There was an empty beer bottle on the coffee table.
A crumpled paper ball halfway under the couch. An empty milk carton in the fridge. He pulled out a bin liner and started filling it with all the debris from the last few days, one thing after another. An expired coupon off the front of the fridge. A courtesy postcard from the dentist. A hand landed on his arm. He dropped the postcard in the bag and looked at it, bent corners against the dark plastic.
My dad when I was eighteen. Most everyone else at Torchwood One. You can see them into old age. Watch them decay, but know they had eighty years. He threw up his hands. And then my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren? I have this life. In forty years or days, when my something ruptures, I lie down knowing that this was it.
He smelled warm and sweet, like bread cooked in honeycomb and butter, and he trembled in his grip if only because it was the surest, firmest thing he had. Distract you from this. Stew tastes best after sex. Ianto tried to chuckle. It came out shakily. For a moment, all that remained were their even gazes in the quiet room. While Gwen laughed, he knew she had no idea how near to the truth his joke really was. In the mirror, during a physical, or in bed, all it was from the middle of his torso to his groin was one consistent, even arch of flesh that rippled occasionally in front of his very eyes.
Alone, it felt only out of place, but in public he found himself waiting for someone to ask the obvious question:. Gwen caught his eye for a moment, glancing at him, up the steps, and then back again. He watched her take off up the stairs and waited until she was out of sight to stretch his sore back and adjust the weight of the parcel for the Gratar. To ask Jack, she ate less, spoke less, and slept less than she had when Gwen interviewed her two months earlier. She never asked for anything or complained, even when the heating went out or a leaky pipe soaked her blanket.
He glanced in her direction and watched her slink to the back of her cell, sitting down against the wall. Her head swayed from side to side, as though she was drunk or woozy. Next door, the Gratar sat quietly on her cot, legs crossed and hands folded. She was perfectly silent, not even breathing more heavily than usual as Ianto tugged open the drawer and put in the items. Ianto had turned away from the cell but now, he moved back. Her eyes were fixed on his, light with the smallest touch of amusement. Another month and she could survive. Your own tiny little version of yourself.
Is that what you wanted, keeping this? The Weevil paced her cell slowly, back and forth, her normal restless wanderings. Ianto had monitored her behavior a thousand times before, but now when she raised her head it was almost as though she was moaning for him. His attention snapped to her. He met her steely gaze. Her lips curved into a slow, confident smile, but whatever had brought her to speak had suddenly dissipated. She crossed her cell and settled comfortably onto her cot, crossing her legs and folding her hands again.
Have a cup of tea. Someone needs to remind her what happened the last time there were balloons with our friend the pterodactyl. I thought the ringing in my ears would never stop. Her voice only just carried to where Ianto was standing, but his stomach turned the moment he heard it. I know you offered once before.
Because he wants to be a father to your child? Because he loves you? Making the choice to protect yourself? A lot less happy. The door to the basement banged open and Jack strode through. Tosh glanced at him, then at Ianto again, and finally walked off. Jack stopped at a monitor for a moment and then came around to Ianto, standing next to him at the railing. You can still bend. He rolled his eyes. Ianto frowned and stretched, his back protesting uncomfortably, and when he finally found an angle where the pressure was bearable, if not pleasant, he realized Tosh was looking at him.
He smiled at her and she smiled back, brushing hair out of her face. Ianto gestured broadly to his middle. You and Jack fit together. The earnestness in her voice was just enough to make Ianto smile broadly. Jack laughed, his head tipped back on the pillow and voice carrying through the room. Ianto grinned at him and sat back against the headboard, stretching his legs. The duvet had found its way to the floor, sticky with come and too warm for the start of June, and the sheet could happily stay bunched around his feet given that he needed to stretch and then bend his legs to get comfortable.
The pressure was building, as Owen had threatened it would, but most days he could stave it off with a healthy routine of long walks, awkward sitting positions, and sex. Tonight, after the first, second, and now third options were exhausted, he had no choice but to shift until he had his legs up and spread, forcing his belly high. Jack watched all this. She was growing quickly and without any additional complications, a good sign even if it meant that Ianto had to visit the bathroom six or seven times before lunch.
There was a half-second delay before Jack grinned and pressed his thumb to where the dimple had been. It was like their own form of communication, and twice now, Ianto had woken up in the middle of the night to a poke-and-kick strategy session between Captain Jack and, as Owen called her, Female Fetus Jones. What was her name? Tosh has been doing my research. Eheubryd and Addfwyn topped the list.
Ianto rolled his eyes. He laughed and with it, Ianto laughed too, not because he thought his own joke was particularly funny but because when Jack laughed, it took over his whole face, from the crease of his forehead to the crunch of his chin, and no one — not a straight man or the butchest lesbian — could fail to find him attractive. But I will never let you down. But while I was there, while I was trapped, the one thing that kept me going was knowing what was waiting for me. You were — you are all important to me.
But I need you to trust me when I say this. And I will come back. But then there were lips on his again, and Jack pushing him down onto the sheets and pillows, leaving no more time for wondering. His landlord, a man named Tim in horn-rimmed glasses, had come round a week earlier to express his concern. Ianto had been in the door for five minutes, and the interruption had not been mitigated by the fact that Jack was crashing around in the kitchen. I need somebody in this flat. Some days, Ianto thought the only thing that kept him from pulling his hair out by the fistful was Jack.
But tonight, Jack, Owen, and Tosh were on a Weevil hunt in a shady part of the city and it was Gwen who was taking his keys away and opening the door while he caught his breath on the landing. It was sticky out, the air heavy and humid, and every step felt like it would be his last. Owen was starting to talk about surgery dates and methods, which just made him more uncomfortable. Every day was an adventure in what could next feel wrong. Gwen pushed his door open and turned on the lights, which gave him some encouragement to make his way up the rest of the stairs.
In the midst of the living room, where there should have been a couch with cushions that were beaten down, thank you Jack , a coffee table, and a rug that went well with both was a singularly massive crib. Crib, of course, referring to a bed. Made for an infant.
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- Survive to Thrive.
Moreover, that very crib was stacked with gifts, glittery paper and long ribbons clearly visible through the slats. Gwen grinned broadly and practically pushed him through the door. Tosh looked immediately uncomfortable. Ianto shifted from one foot to another, looking at the collection.
It was clumsy luck that Ianto caught it, and as soon as he did he knew what it was:. It was almost painful. Eventually, Rhys called and Gwen begged off, dragging Tosh along for a ride home. They kissed him goodbye and handled his middle without prejudice, leaving Jack and Owen standing in the kitchen with the last of the sandwiches. Without the girls to jabber on, conversation quickly devolved into football matches and who was going to clean up the mess of ribbon on the floor.
Read the instructions and make sure you sanitize the bottles. It was the normal end of their conversations and, while Owen let himself out, Jack crouched to open the box and pull out a pair of bottles — miraculously not pink — that had been shoved in amongst the canisters of formula. He held one up and waggled it. Maybe get him a puppy. His knees shook when he stood and in seconds, it went from feeling like the pressure before belching to a sharp pain that radiated from the bottom of his belly to his middle back. He swayed and caught himself on the arm of the couch just as Jack dropped the bottles to hold him upright.
It felt like his lungs were suddenly shriveled and weak. He closed his eyes and tried to stand up straight, but the pain was too much and he staggered on his feet. Only Jack was keeping him upright. He kept him from swaying with one hand on the bottom of his belly while the other popped his buttons and forced his shirt open. It lifted the weight from his body, put the pressure on something else, and for the first time in what felt like weeks, he could take a deep breath and let it out without feeling like everything else was constricting. He looked over his shoulder at Jack, who smiled serenely.
I learned it from a friend. She was carrying quadruplets. Had horrible luck with them but almost looked as good as you with the weight. When they paused for breath, it was also for Jack to tip his head and graze lips and teeth against his neck. Most the aliens he came face-to-face with were dead and had been for quite some time, which made the sight of the Gratar, gaunt and ghostly across the cot, only more disconcerting. I can treat her and put her right back in her cell, but it would be inhumane to sit her there and let her rot. I want her in the vault. She held up her hands.
Too many variables, and the odds are stacked against her.
Something Like Hope
For a moment, Jack stood stark still, his jaw set and his hands tight on his hips. The two hours seemed to be two eons, at least from the standpoint of everyone else in the hub. Condensation from the muggy July morning crept down the walls, creating little puddles in the corners. No one had dared follow. The timer was still ticking down when he handed out the mugs — Jack first, who thanked him with a bit of a smile, then Gwen and Tosh — and he found it was incredibly hard to hold a full cup of coffee even when maneuvering down the steps into the medical recess.
Owen was bent over a chart, scribbling notes to himself, and only noticed Ianto at all when the coffee was set in front of him. She looked harmless, now, strange after all her mind games. Hormone-leeching and blood-drinking aside, she could play with his mind, set him off guard, make —. Owen sighed and shoved up. Jack gets his way again. For a moment, he was ready to give Owen a hard time, point out that no one would ever really be able to get one over on Jack Harkness, but the words died in his throat.
The next few seconds all moved as one. The Gratar snapped into motion and leapt off the cot with the agility of a gazelle and the strength of a Weevil, grabbing Ianto as she did. One arm wrapped around his middle, just above his belly, while the other pressed to his throat. He tried to push her away, force himself out of her grip, but it was only when he moved that he realized something cold and metallic was against his neck. Within seconds, Jack joined them, pistol trained on the Gratar. His eyes were focused on the scalpel. Ianto flinched when the hand at his neck moved a half-centimeter closer.
He could feel the sharp prick of the blade in his skin. She did it without looking, however, her attention on Jack. When she exhaled, it blew into his ear, and he shuddered. So many more hormones. I warned you that I could stop it if you let me go. Now I have to do it the hard way. We need to breed. To be a shell. But you were so human about it, Ianto. You chose to carry it. It meant I had to wait for my chance. And if you can, who do you save: To anyone else, the gaze was classic Captain Jack Harkness: Only he could see under that layer to the apprehension.
It was dark and deep, but very real. In his belly, the baby shifted. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on anything but the pain, which meant his mind drifted to the scalpel at his neck and the breathing in his ear. The world felt fuzzy around the edges, dark in places, and he could feel his legs turning to jelly even as the Gratar forced him to stand up. The scalpel clattered to the floor. Somewhere, in a haze of fear and those dark, fuzzy edges, he was aware of Owen reaching for him, of footsteps on the stairs, of how freezing cold the floor was.
It was quiet, almost eerily so, and when he opened his eyes it was to stare up at the high ceiling of the medical recess and blink warily at his old friend Black Mold In The Corner. His eyelids felt like lead, so he let him drift shut. Clearly, this dad of mine is a liar. If the ceiling was dark, the mortuary was darker, and the only light as far as he could see came from the monitor for his own vital signs, the peaks and valleys of his pulse readings casting odd shadows on the tile.
But there, just a few feet from the cot, was Jack himself, sleeves rolled up and first four buttons undone, his braces slack around his waist. The something he was holding shifted on its own, almost a shadow, and Jack chuckled. Can you imagine spending your life sorting through books that no one wants to read? When he smiled, it split his entire face, all teeth and crinkles. I was about to call Owen out of the vault to come check on you. We should keep your ears pure for at least the first couple of days. No words crawled to the surface no matter how much Ianto searched for them.
He tried to sit up but a sharp pain in his belly made him freeze and stay lying. With his head tipped, he could still study plump little lips puckering for nothing and a tiny nose wrinkle at random intervals. Never mind the tufts of dark hair under —. Her fist twitched, like trying to grip air or maybe the sheet between them, and he smiled slightly.
Not a care in the world, except maybe that her entire wardrobe from now until puberty is pink. Owen said her endocrine system was in failure. Too long in a cell without being able to leech hormones from anyone. She made a tiny sound and then settled again, eyes closed and, from the looks of it, mostly asleep. There was a beat of silence and then he chuckled softly.
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- The Shift of the Ages through 2012 and Beyond (The 2012 Shift of the Ages).
- Shawn Goodman.
- Collins Complete Photography Course;
- Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman by Leo Becerril on Prezi!
- ?
- Something Like Hope - Shawn Goodman;
Gwen laughed and shook her head. Emlyn smiled at her, eyes wide as she jerked her arms. It was her newest trick and no longer impressed anyone except Jack. Ianto kept trying to convince him that, no, she really had no intentions of becoming a boxer. Can you come down for a meeting? There was a beat and then Owen laughed, shaking his head. Even now, with her wriggling protest, he felt the cold bolus of nerves settling somewhere under his scar, waiting for her to scream.
He was only just learning all the clever ways to calm her down that Jack and, oddly enough, Gwen seemed to know naturally. Tosh had asked if it was disheartening to watch both Jack and Gwen handle her without a care while he still stumbled. Gwen cackled and, despite his better judgment, Ianto grinned. A bit of a cross between Life on Mars and The Office, really. In that moment, Gwen completely dissolved into laughter and, from the way she shifted, it was clear Toshiko was not far behind.
Jack rolled his eyes. Good thing we can form a coalition, right? He supposed he should find it complimentary, and sometimes, he did.