Title: Old Soldiers Die Hard.
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis.
Pairing: Gen.
Categories: Angst, Friendship.
Length: Medium (~8500 words).
Warnings: OC Deaths, mentions alcoholism and unhappy family situation.

Author on LJ: friendshipper
Author Website: City on the Ocean's Edge

Author's Summary:
The old guy in Room 30B was about the most disagreeable human being that the nurses had ever met. But he did get visitors -- including a retired Air Force Colonel.

Review:
While volunteering at an elderly care center, the life of Ann Kent is changed by the rapport she develops with the cranky old man in Room 30B.

Not every author can write a fic that is narrated by an OC - in the form of a letter to her deceased mother no less - and come up with not only a good story but also an interesting character in their own right. Sholio most definitely manages to pull it of, creating an interesting narrator whose unique point of view makes the well-crafted story slowly unfold as you read it. This is in fact one of the greatest pleasures of the fic: the fact that the reader is able to read between the lines in a way Annie cannot and start to piece together the true story of the resident in 30B and his visitors.

In her final notes the author says she gave up a more powerful and dramatic ending for a sweet and wistful one. While I will not deny that the fic would pack a greater emotional wallop had the end been different or more ambiguous, I for one was quite happy to finish the story with a satisfied sight and a smile rather than in tears.

Old Soldiers Die Hard
also @ LJ