The Best Friends You'll Ever Have | 18: The Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
Chapter Title: 18 | The Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
Prompt: #024 – Watson Brewer
Universe: Pre-canon
Genre: General
Rating: K+
Word Count: 2,455
Summary: When Elizabeth Thomas meets Watson Brewer, he isn’t exactly what she’d been expecting – but once she gets to know him, she realizes that looks can be deceiving.
Links: FF.net | DW | LJ | AO3
Written for
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ozqueen, for the 2014 ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandom_stocking holiday exchange.Trying to make the most of a so-far-not-very-snowy snow day! Here is my very last
fandom_stocking gift of the year. Yes, I realize it's almost March, and that this fic was originally posted almost two months ago, but this is my life now - I have next to no free time :(But enough about me - let's talk BSC parent!fic! =)
I don't know what it is about
ozqueen, but whenever I sit down to think about potential giftfics for her, my mind strays to parent!fic. I don't know why; she's pretty much filled in my headcanon for the parents of Stoneybrook, especially Elizabeth Thomas and Richard Spier. Her Elizabeth/Richard series is still one of my very favorite fics, period, and every time I re-read it I am in awe of how seamlessly it blends into canon. Just, wow.But I was on a roll with BSC giftfic for
fandom_stocking, and I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I went back and re-read Kristy's Great Idea. For the first time I realized that Kristy's mother had only been dating Watson for a couple of months, and that struck me as odd, considering how quickly they married. Sure, second marriages and all that, but it's still a fast timeline. Especially since both of them have already been burned by divorce. So I started thinking about how they could have met...and I came up with the idea of a blind date.Nobody enjoys blind dates, but after Patrick, I think it's just about the only way Elizabeth would hop out into the dating pool. And if she is as crazy busy as I am, then she wouldn't have time to date in any other way, unless she started dating a coworker. Considering Watson's wealth, that would pretty much make him her superior and yeah, no, not gonna go there. Their relationship in the canon is too pleasant and equal for them to have a power play going on at work. Plus, it's never mentioned in canon that they work at the same place :)
Anyway. In this story, we see both Elizabeth's and Watson's reluctance to be on this blind date. I wrote it from Elizabeth's POV partly because we know more about her, but also because I'm a woman approaching her mid-thirties that understands how hard the dating game can be. If I had the sort of baggage she had, well...I'd been even less enthusiastic about relationships than I already am, LOL. The fact that Patrick left her, with four kids and no income, really pushes Elizabeth's life into perspective. She knows what she has to do to support her family, and that's what she's doing. She puts her kids first, and they band together after Patrick leaves them.
We know from canon that Watson's divorce is much friendlier. Karen and Andrew's mother lives in his neighborhood, and in the very first book he's rushing off to the hospital when she breaks her ankle to take care of the paperwork. These two did not have an acrimonious divorce, and he still supports and respects her because she is the mother of his children.
Given Watson's wealth and the implication that he works for it, I think he would be incredibly intimidating for Elizabeth to meet. He would look impeccable, in finely-tailored clothing. His age takes her aback, and momentarily blocks his charm and attractiveness. I don't know how much older Watson is than Elizabeth, but he's described as such in the books, and he has a heart attack in the middle of the series, so I'm giving him at least 10 years on her. Elizabeth notices all of his physical flaws because she's so aware of them in herself, and she wonders just how little her so-called friend thinks of her to set her up with someone who looks like him.
She also judges him harshly upon first meeting him, much as Kristy does in Book #1. He's a shark - or a wolf - working in the ruthless world of finance where he's made his millions. Elizabeth is prepared to be bored and overwhelmed by him, and is pleasantly surprised when he is nothing like she's expecting. He's frank with her about his reluctance to be on a blind date; he readily tells her about his children, and surprises her with his attitude towards the stuffy world of investment banking. He is quite soft and kind, the opposite of what she was expecting based on his appearance.
I love the idea of Watson being a kind and sensitive man who is also successful in business. It hasn't made him cynical about people. He has a good relationship with his ex-wife, and of course adores his kids, and is basically the opposite of everything Patrick ever was. When Elizabeth mentally compares the two of them, she realizes just how much this guy has going for him, and why her friend was so eager to set them up.
I tried to show Watson's thoughtfulness and consideration with the gift of the banana nut bread at the end of their date. He barely knows her and yet shows enough consideration for her to not want her to suffer on a long commute. They don't yet know that they both live in Stoneybrook, but have that commonality that allows them to connect on that sort of practical level. I think that's what intrigues her the most about him.
She still has her insecurities, but is heartened by their more friendly meeting, rather that being pressured into something more obviously romantic. I think they'd start slow, but develop a close friendship that would lead into something more passionate. They are exactly what each other needs at that point in their lives, and I think they'd have to have a strong relationship to consider marriage.
ozqueen seemed to enjoy her gift, for which I'm eternally grateful because she's probably tired of forever receiving parent!fic, LOL. It's been fun to play in the BSC sandbox again, and hopefully it won't be another two years before I'm able to do it again :P I still have several projects I'm in the midst of, but there's always the Summer Mini Challenge, LOL :P
no subject
It was definitely a nice change to get Watson/Elizabeth though - there's not enough of this pairing around. As much as I loooove John/Dee and Richard & Elizabeth it was lovely to get some Watson. ♥
no subject
Haha, well that's good to know! I know you like more characters than just the parents, but you've become associated with them in my brain and you know fandom_stocking can be crazy sometimes. It was nice to jump off my OTP ships and try something new, so I'm glad you liked it.
It was definitely a nice change to get Watson/Elizabeth though - there's not enough of this pairing around. As much as I loooove John/Dee and Richard & Elizabeth it was lovely to get some Watson. ♥
I haven't ever really given Watson much thought, but it was definitely interesting to dabble with him. It made me realize just how much we don't know about him - he certainly has a lot of potential!