Title: - Community.
Author: - Katt.
E-mail: - kattanonhotmail.com
Rating: - PG.
Feedback: - Like it or loathe it let me know.
Archive: - Archived at the Shield Fanfiction Archive.
Disclaimers: - I don't own any of the characters of The Shield, they all belong to Shawn Ryan and FX.
Authors Notes: - A response to the challenge of why the characters became police officers.
Community.
Julian put a finger down inside the stiff collar of his shirt, and pulled it away from his neck. The shirt was a little bit too small for him, his mom always tutted over how fast he seemed to grow. This morning she'd told him to keep his suit jacket on so that no one would see that the shirt pulled too tightly across his shoulders. He felt stifled in the suit, the collar, the black tie, and now being crammed into his grandma's house with all these people.
Glancing around to make sure his mom didn't see he ducked out of the back door, and walked down the small garden to the fence. He looked out, and frowned when he saw the boys hanging about on the street corner, leaning against the wall laughing and talking. Every so often a car would pull up and one of the boys would swagger over, and a deal would be done. In a couple of seconds the drugs would be swapped for cash, and the car would be on its way.
The neighbourhood hadn't always been like this. Julian used to spend a lot of time here at his grandma's house when he was younger. His parents both worked so he'd come to his grandma's after school, until one of them could pick him up. He also spent whole summers here during the school holidays.
There'd been no drug dealers on the street corner then, no gang members, or prostitutes. These things had spilled in from other neighbourhoods in the last couple of years. Before that although the people here had always been poor, at least they'd never lived in fear.
Julian remembered his grandma telling him how Farmington used to be. How people could leave their doors unlocked without fear. Julian could remembered how children could play in the streets without the risk of them picking up dirty needles or getting caught up in a drive-by. People used to care for each other his grandma had told him. It was a proper community.
Of course Farmington wasn't all bad, there were plenty of decent people living here. People who worked hard, and were law abiding, who loved their families, and tried to help others. People like his own family and those who attended his church.
Julian glanced back at the house, and seeing that his mom was nowhere in sight, he reached up and loosened his black tie, and undid the button on his collar. He looked back across the road as a police cruiser passed by and slowed. As he watched the boys on the corner disappeared, as if they'd melted into the wall behind them. The cruiser picked up speed and drove away, and Julian knew that those boys would be back in ten minutes.
Julian's thoughts turned once more to his future. He'd been considering going into the church. He knew his mom was keen on him becoming a man of the cloth, but Julian wasn't so sure. He knew that as a minister he could give a lot back to the community, but Julian wanted to do more. He thought once more of the police cruiser, and he made up his mind. He'd tell his mom tonight that he wanted to become a cop. He knew she wouldn't be pleased, but he hoped she'd understand when he explained to her how he felt.
Today of all days it was even more important. Today they'd buried his grandma, and Julian remembered how sad she'd been as she'd watched her beloved community begin to disintegrate. He wanted to stop that disintegration, he wanted to be on the frontline helping to turn Farmington around, make it a decent place to live again.
With a sigh he reached up and re-buttoned his collar, and straightened up his tie. As he strolled back up to the house he reached out and brushed his fingers against the petals of one of his grandma's favourite rose bushes. He smiled as he thought of her out here tending her flowers, and he was sure he'd made the right choice. He was sure his grandma would be proud of him.