Ninety-Nine Yew Trees by Draycevixen.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

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Title: Ninety-Nine Yew Trees
Author: draycevixen
Artist: przed
Archive to Pros Lib: Yes
Genre: Slash
Characters/Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Word count: 33,249 words.
Warnings: None needed.
Summary: A secret from Bodie’s past has come close to killing him. With Cowley refusing to accept his resignation from CI5 and Doyle turning his back on him, Bodie has fled to his bolt-hole in the countryside to lick his wounds and try to work out what to do next.

Notes: I would like to thank halotolerant for her invaluable medical beta and help with my timeline. Also, may I just say that if you want to know how to stab someone correctly for maximum damage, ask a doctor. *g* I’d also like to thank ashley_pitt who was kind enough to answer some very general questions about hand therapy for me. Of course any remaining mistakes are my own.

I’d also like to thank Zed for the lovely trailer vid and of course przed and callistosh65 for not only hosting this party but for, well, just being bloody brilliant broads in general. *tips hat*

Lastly, I’d like to thank my flistees for their encouragement, their encouraging mockage of my story related angst and ND, Vic and Mikey in particular for bearing the brunt of it. ♥

Link to Fic: Fic Master Post
Link to Art: Art Master Post

An e-reader file is easily accessible at the Fic link.

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Comments

[raven-rs.livejournal.com]

I couldn't wait to read this, stayed up late and everything, and boy - I wasn't disappointed! I love the description of the torture, the medical detail, the fantastic meticulous way the village life is painted. I can see it all. Marvellous. And with all that detail, there's the Lads - mad, bad and dangerous to know, both of 'em.

Fantastic. Thank you so much for writing this.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the enthusiastic review.

I grew up there and have toyed with setting a Pros story there for a while. All of the places and odd events mentioned actually exist, including the trees and their legend. They fascinated me as a kid and got me in trouble with my gran for arguing about their symbolism. /ramble, sorry.

Thank you for reading. :D

[jackiethomas73.livejournal.com]

Lovely story. I liked the slow pace and the way they had to build a new relationship from scratch.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm very glad you liked it. :D

I was concerned that in amongst all the action packed BB adventures it might be a little too slow for people's taste so I'm glad to hear that it worked for you.

[inlovewithboth.livejournal.com]

"Wherever you’ve been, whatever you’ve done, whoever you are, whatever condition you’re in, I just want you." Very happy sigh. This is a great story, I love the humour, the sadness, the plot and of course the amount of time the boys spend in baths and showers. :) Thank you.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it. :D

It's a bit of a running joke with my mates that I cannot get Bodie out of the shower. He's currently stuck in there in several WIPs I have going.

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

The lads bathing! Together, in baths and showers, unnecesssary bathing too! I'm in love. LOL!

D, this was such a good story! It had everything I enjoy: hardheaded Bodie, determined (and angry!) Doyle. There was sadness and love and all sorts of wonderful bits. I felt so bad for Bodie as his story was slowly revealed. You did a great job weaving this tale. I liked all the local events and sights that you wrote about to enrich the story. Thank you for a fulfilling read.

[raven-rs.livejournal.com]

There's no such thing as unnecessary bathing ;) LOL!

[mysteriousaliwz.livejournal.com]

There was a real sense of place in the scenes in the villages - very vivid.

Stubborn Bodie! I did feel sorry for him - he'd been through a hell of a lot. Still, all's well that ends well, due to Doyle's persistence.

(Oops, edited due to misplaced comment!)

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm very glad that came across as I was writing about where I grew up and those are real places and events I'm describing. :D

[cloudless-9193.livejournal.com]

A heartbreaking story which had me wondering a long time until you revealed the background bit by bit. I liked the atmospheric village part and the time they spent in the cottage together. :-)

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I have a bit of a thing for plots that reveal things slowly, where the protagonists know things the reader doesn't know... yet, so I'm ridiculously glad that it had you wondering. *g*

I grew up in the Cotswolds, in and around these villages and so decided that was where I was going to set my story.

Thank you for reading. :D

[1moreirene.livejournal.com]

Draycevixen and P.R.Zed, thanks, both of you, for hard work, cheerfully done.

“Did you enjoy the Model Village?”
“Yeah got to feel how Cowley must feel most days.”

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading.

The model is still there, an exact scale model of Bourton itself. It even has a model village within it. *g*

(http://pics.livejournal.com/draycevixen/pic/0019t4ez/)

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

The beginning is just heartbreaking! Bloody brilliant!
- although you always want to bang their heads together.
I love the description of the countryside – and all that 'tea drinking' (you've promised it!)

- and I'm deeply pleased that Bodie's erection problems could be solved so nicely in the end!!! :-)

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you I'm really glad you enjoyed the beginning and I'd have been disappointed if you hadn't wanted to bang their heads together. *g*

I'm also glad you enjoyed the countryside as I'm very fond of my home and wanted to share that with Bodie other people. I really didn't realize quite how much tea was being consumed until I started editing the bloody thing. When in doubt, make tea.

I ran all of my medical stuff past Dr. Halo but she didn't know too much about electrodes... understandably. So then I also had a very, erm, interesting conversation with one of my uni's profs who studies nerve trauma and he answered my questions about whether recovery would be possible. Yes, that was an awkward conversation but luckily he knows I write and I've asked him strange questions before. *g*

Poor Bodie does seem to be taking the brunt of the damage in the BB stories. I really didn't set out to write a story with that in mind but the mysterious background thing had to be his so the Bodie whumping was then on. *pets Bodie* *gets distracted*

Thanks for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it even shepherdess free. :D

[andreathelion.livejournal.com]

WOW, that was absolutely brilliant, Drayce the one, who said she can't write novella length stories ;) :D
I absolutely loved the picture you've painted with all those little details.
And just the right amount of h/c and not to forget the lads in and out the shower/bath.
I think, you mentioned it quite some times you couldn't get Bodie out of the shower - now I know why and easy to understand *veg*

Thanks a lot for writing the story!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thanks, petal. ♥

I've written novel-length original fiction I've just shied away from writing longer length fan fiction due to time constraints.

I'm really glad that you liked the details in the story as if memory serves me correctly I believe you've visited Gloucestershire. By this stage I'm surprised that Bodie's not having to deal with a bad case of rising damp. *g*

Thanks for reading. :D

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

A great read . . .thanks.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading.

[robeau.livejournal.com]

Just loved the story - the angst, the pain and the silly meanderings through the countryside. It is terrific!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

Even having read several early drafts and knowing the general shape of it all going in, you still managed to surprise me in a few places. McAllister being Andy's brother. Where Bodie got his name. And poor Bodie's hand nailed to the wall. Yikes!

The angst was perfectly pitched, but you still managed to throw some humour in there. Because if there wasn't some humour, it just wouldn't be the lads.

This bit is still a favourite passage:

The state he was in now he couldn't have won a fight with a pissed off kitten. If the kitten brought friends it would be a blood bath.

That's just so...Bodie.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if I'm glad that I still managed to surprise you or if I should be apologizing for surprising you... Erm... *g*

I don't think I could write the lads without some humour. Not just because it's part and parcel of the lads but because it's part and parcel of the English anyway, very much how we filter the world.

Thank you for reading and for your vid trailer of course. ♥

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

What a really lovely story! I was left guessing as to who had done what to who and it was like opening a puzzle as we were let in on what had happened in the past. And what a really unique idea—Bodie isn't really Bodie...though, really, he is. :-)

I so thoroughly enjoyed reading this!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for such a lovely comment. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :D

When I'm writing something that's actually long enough to have plot twists I like to reveal things slowly and actually have the characters know more than we do... or at least think they know more than we do.

I had the idea about Bodie's past a long time ago and actually tried to give it away to other writers but there were no takers. Once I signed up for the Big Bang I finally decided to take a stab at it myself. I grew up in this part of the Cotswolds and really wanted to see if I could write about it.

Again, thank you.

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

Nicely plotted, nicely paced. I really enjoyed this one!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Sorry to take so long but I'm a terribly slow reader particularly when reading online, anyway...
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this story (but I’ll have a good go.....!) and I hope it’s OK if I go on a bit.......There's a small group of stories which, as I've read them, have made me feel a part of them to the extent that I'm really *there*, occcupying the same world as the characters and I feel this story has joined that small group. I felt I was there in the village, rolling cheeses, walking in the churchyard, drinking in the local and I felt so cosy with this story, cosy and happy in the knowledge that I could put it down at the end of a day and the world of the village (or ci5) and the characters would be there waiting for me to rejoin them the next day. And I loved its gentleness - the gentle telling of the tale - gradual and relaxed and never boring or tedious. I really liked the almost incremental way you allowed the story to unfold, via the crisscrossing in time, the flashbacks, the little hints and snippets you handed out to the reader which intrigued me, pulled me in and kept me there.

More specific things (if you're still with me....):

Loved writing like this:

Bodie didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to remember it, Doyle’s arm lightly around his waist, Doyle’s damp curls brushing the side of his face, Doyle’s lips brushing the back of his neck. He lay there and listened to the rain on the roof while they both pretended to be asleep until they finally were..........

but the squad were better and fighting for one of their own......

“I risk me, Ray, I never risk you.”

And this:

(A Yew) has always been held sacred and understood as a link with death and rebirth.

I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t even know what a Yew tree actually looked like, (had no idea it was a conifer), googled it and came up with this description which appealed to me and helped me understand its significance re Bodie and doyle.

And this line amused me because it explained something I saw in Morocco nearly 40 years ago which I've often wondered about:

You couldn’t have possibly thought we’d get locked together like dogs or something.”

An image I'll never forget!

Sorry to go on but I wanted you to know what I was thinking as I read your story! Thank you *so* much for all the time and effort you put into the Big Bang (especially when you're working), I don't know how people do it but it's much appreciated!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I want you to know how much I appreciate your time and energy in leaving this lovely comment. ♥

I know this world really well, I grew up there and I wanted to see if I could get it down on paper. I foolishly thought it would be easy as I know it so well but it was challenging in unexpected ways... how to describe Bourton-on-the-water for instance when I could see it so clearly in my head that I was worried about putting in too much detail or not enough, both at the same time. So I'm very happy that it worked for you.

When I originally had the "Bodie's not really Bodie" idea I imagined something more action packed so I'm also happy that you liked the gentle pacing. I'll admit that I often questioned my decision to write a story about two tough agents that featured a lot of tea drinking and playing tourist particularly as I knew many of the other Big Bang writers would go for action stories, but this is the story that wanted to be told so I kept going.

Even as a small child I was fascinated by those yew trees. My gran told me the legend and what they saw them as standing for and I got in to trouble for arguing with her. They're beautiful, as is the church they surround. I've been thinking about posting some pictures of home on my LJ.

Again, thank you for reading and for picking out the bit that made me happiest when I thought of it, the image of the two of them cuddled up in that bed, listening to the rain.

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

This was a wonderful tale, pastoral and psychological and bloody heartbreaking. I feel extra specially bad for Bodie since I went and put him through it all again not five minutes later :D He really hasn't done too well in this BB between you, me and callisto *straightens his bedcovers* ... and I haven't finished breaking him reading yet. Like others, I really loved the village detail - very vivid and perfect for the tone of the story. Love the title too. And the showers, dear God the showers ... :D

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the lovely comment. ♥

My BB reading is very sloooooooowly progressing due to RL demands -- *shakes little fist at RL* -- but from some of the comments I've received I had begun to suspect that Bodie whumping has been somewhat of a theme in this Big Bang festival. *g*

Those trees and their legend have fascinated me since I was a little kid.

I'm glad you like the bathing scenes. For some reason Bodie in a shower/bath scenes just seems to have become part of my personal fanon. The problem has become coaxing him out. *g*

[smirra.livejournal.com]

Thank you for a holiday in the Codswolds!
Although I want slap the lads not only one but half a dozen time! Nobody let's them run out of each other so unceremoniously like you do. (And I think it's that feat that makes it realistic. Also a likely way from men to handle problems like that.
There are many intense moments and the reunion so much sweeter in the end.
Thank you!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading. ♥

I don't think men are much given to talking extensively about their feelings unless backed in to a corner, particularly men who are used to acting more than chatting. So yep, I'll have them discuss something but only when "forced" to like Bodie finally coming clean about his current condition only because Doyle's going to keep pushing him otherwise.

I am wading through my picture folders to make a posting of some of these places. *g*

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

THIS is the story that gave you so much grief! Ye gods, woman, this is bloody brilliant! I was totally hooked from the start. Very clever, the use of flashbacks; I was intrigued, trying to work out exactly what had happened between the lads to cause such a distance between them, both emotionally and physically.
You handled the torture well; no gratutious descriptions of it actually taking place, just a matter-of-fact statement of what did occur.
Seeing your photos the other night just put the icing on the cake; in places it was just as I had imagined. You painted such a vivid picture in my mind of the scenery and village.
The dialogue all rang true, and in some spots I was exclaiming "yes, that's them!" Loved the part where Bodie says he'd risk himself but never risk Ray *shivers*.
Well done, you. Glad you played (even if there were, ultimately, no dinosaurs! *g*)

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the lovely comment. ♥

I almost abandoned it completely a couple of times. It seemed odd to plan on writing such a quiet story with most of the action told in flashbacks and dreams when I knew that most of the Big Bang writers would go for a more action/work based theme. It makes sense. If you're going to write a long story, keep it moving. Then again, I'm rarely sensible and tea drinking, tourist lads it had to be.

I needed Bodie to be hurt badly enough to make Doyle stay despite himself but I didn't want him permanently damaged and I didn't want to dwell on the torture. It wasn't the important part of the story I was trying to tell, just an essential part of the mechanism. I'm glad that worked for you.

I'm also very glad the descriptions worked for you. I discovered that it's difficult to describe a place you know really well, what to tell, what to leave out particularly when you're a person who tends to notice the odd details anyway.

I'm always thrilled to hear that a reader thinks I got the dialogue and characters right so thank you for that you.

Again, thank you.

p.s.: I did slip a bit of dinosaur in. The little boy is pretending to be one and there's a man in a dinosaur costume at the Cheese Rolling. Yes, I had to do it. :D

p.p.s: Thank you for the bears. ♥

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the whole read but what I really liked was all the detail about the Cotswolds. You gave us the benefit of a lot of knoweldge/research, but always furthering the plot and the movements of the characters. The cheese rolling was wonderful!
The way you explored the lads' angst was excellent, and of course Cowley always knew what he was doing! Thanks for the story!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading. :D

I grew up in the Cotswolds, Bodie's cottage actually belonged to one of my Great Aunts and I've been fascinated by those yew trees since I was a little kid. When I decided to write about Bodie's "past" I just had to set it there.

I actually ran the hill myself with a group of friends when I was a teenager. We went there one night to do it, not during the event itself, as we knew our parents would have forbid us to do it/killed us for doing it. *g*

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

Hey Petal. A hundred years late, but I'm getting to the BB stories, and I just wanted to tell you that I really liked this. I knew I would, but it doesn't hurt to make sure. *g*

You know me and my h/c, first-time kinks, so it was pretty much my perfect plotline, and then you mixed in the bit of angst, bit of giggles, gorgeous Cotswold scenery, and a couple of dinosaurs, and I'm done. The cheese didn't hurt either - big fan of double Gloucester. Yum *g*

Excellent way to spend my Sunday morning - thanks hon ♥

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D

I still want to beat it with a stick and did tweak a couple of things at the archive -- bad Drayce, no biscuit! -- but if you enjoyed it then I am content.

But are you a big enough fan of Double Gloucester to chase it down Cooper's Hill, that's the question.

Thanks for reading, petal. ♥

[angel-ci5.livejournal.com]

I'm very slowly (not to mention belatedly!) making my way through last year's BB stories, and just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this... a hurt and convalescing Bodie, and a Doyle trying to kid himself he didn't care anymore was just my cup of tea, as was Doyle's determination once he discovered the real reason for Bodie's rejections. And all amidst the lovely backdrop of Gloucestershire!
A gorgeous read, thank you!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for reading and for your lovely comment.

I was concerned about writing such a quiet little story (rather like an old Greek play where they point off stage to the fight involving 500 elephants and 10,000 archers) amidst all the action packed ones I knew would be written for the BB but I couldn't stop myself. I've long had this story idea of what if Bodie weren't really Bodie (I tried to give it away several times) and a desire to set a story close to home and this is what happened.

Again, thank you for reading.

[liriel1810.livejournal.com]

Told you I was going to read this one first when I started catching up with last year's stories! ;P

Wow. Just. Wow. Boy oh boy, you sure whumped poor Bodie hard! LOVED Doyle's stroppy temper and his dogged determination. He's like a dog with a bone when something's eating away at him. *g*

I could just imagine Doyle flying down that hill after the cheese... totally not surprised he won!

But, oh Bodie. He just needed so many cuddles and he just wasn't getting them for the longest time. I was very relieved (but probably not nearly as relieved as Bodie) when 'little Bodie' decided to wake up. ;)

Fabulous story and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it!

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

...and here you are. *g*

Originally I was trying to think of why Doyle would hang about when he'd managed to convince himself that he loathed Bodie and the only answer I could come up with to slow him down was to have Bodie injured to the point where Doyle's own characters would keep him there. No, he really wouldn't see a dog treated this way and he does owe Bodie. On the other hand, I wasn't prepared to write the torture scenes because... well, no, not for me. The lovely Dr. Halo was kind enough to check my medical facts for me but I asked one of my uni profs who is an expert on nerve trauma about "little Bodie's" problems. Fortunately he's used to me asking weird questions. *g*

Of course there's all the fact that Doyle's one of those people who has to *know* the truth. Yep, very much like a dog with a bone.

The Cheese Rolling takes place every year. It looks like this:



Poor Bodie indeed. *pets him* Gets distracted.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it. ♥