Alan Hart

~I am an orphan, an orphan boy... I've known no love, I've seen no mother's joy. A dirty doorstep, my cradle lay... my fortunes made, I'll shake you from your sleep~ -"The Chimbley Sweep", The Decemberists

 

Full Name: Alan Joseph Hart

D.O.B.- 11/21/79

Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Liverpool, U.K.

Brought up in: Cork, Ireland; Montana, US; & Surrey, UK

Sex: M

Race: W

Height: 6’ (1.83 m)

Hair: Red/ Strawberry blond

Eyes: Blue

Ancestry: Irish (mostly), German

Religion: Roman Catholic

Occupation: Farmhand/Mechanic/lots of things; eventual Pediatrician

 

Relationships

*Spouse- Kate Brennan

 

*Other Partners, sexual, etc.- Gina King

 

*Parents- Scott & Nicole Hart

 

*Children- Nicole (2004) ; Rose (2007); Peter (2011); Sadie & Piper (2014) ; Maggie (2015) ; Dominic & William (adopted 2018, at ages 8 and 5 respectively)

 

*Other Family, etc.- Steven & Lena Logan (uncle and aunt, “raised” by) ; Noah and Will Logan (cousins) ; Charles & Eliza Hart(paternal grandparents); William & Rose Boyd (maternal grandparents; deceased); Ethan & Emily Hart (uncle and aunt); Moira & Anne Hart (cousins); Dane Hart (second cousin)

 

*Closest Friends- Geoffrey Hewitt; Melanie Fairchild; Adrien Carter; Gaél Torres; Nikolaj Sorensen; Rufus Fairchild; Gina King; Ian & Josephine Perlman

 

Repertoire

• "Grantaire" - Les Miserables Spring, 1995
• "Action" - West Side Story Fall, 1995
• "Monsieur Andre" - Phantom of the Opera Spring and Summer, 1996
• "Riff Raff" - The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fall (starting on Halloween), 1996
• "Amos" - Chicago Fall, 1997
• "Mark" - Rent Fall, 1999
• "Rosencrantz" - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Spring, 2000
• "Leo Bloom" - The Producers Summer, 2000
• "Adam" - The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told Winter, 2000

The only child of American rancher Scott Hart and Irish-born Nicole Boyd, Alan was born in Liverpool, England, but first brought up in Cork, Ireland and then Montana amid his paternal family. At the age of three, he and his parents moved to the village in Surrey where his mother had been raised; the place where his godparents, Robert and Jennifer Faichild lived, and the place where he found Geoff, Mel, Adge, Gael, and the other friends who he'd grow to love as family.

 

In September of 1987, when Alan was only eight-years-old, he and his parents were in a horrific car wreck that killed both Scott and Nicole and left Alan deeply traumatized. After a short run in the hospital, Alan was turned over to the care of not his godparents but of his maternal aunt and her husband, Lena and Scott Logan.

 

During his eight year stint with the Logans, Alan was physically and emotionally abused, not only by his aunt and uncle, but also by his two older cousins, Noah and Will. Though he was often teased there for his hair and his natty clothes, school became something of sanctuary and weekends were dreaded. Any time he could get away from his uncle's house to be with his friends was a blessing. Soon, his friends, who became a surrogate family for him, and a deep belief in faith (not religion, but faith) became all that sustained him. There came a day when he was sixteen when his uncle finally crossed well over the line of former abuse, choking Alan to unconsciousness in the bathroom before school one morning. When Alan wasn't in class, his friends came looking for him. Mel, Geoff, Adge, and Gael found him where his uncle had left him, in the loo, in shock, his neck a mess of black and blue marks. After yet another trip to the hospital, custody of Alan was granted to his rightful godparents, Rob and Jenny, who treated the damaged young man with kindness.

 

Character Analysis

 

In the story, Alan serves as something of a touchstone to many of the other characters, in that he is seen as someone of inherent purity and kindness; someone who always puts himself last, someone who gives without ever asking for something in return, and someone whose innocence and trust in people and in God hasn't been shaken by the miserable life he has led. He is a sufferer of post-traumatic nightmares, some of which prove to be precognitive. He is deeply loved by his friends for his kindness, effecting each of them in turn. To Mel, Alan is like her brother and, in many ways, like her son who she nurtured during the hardest times in his life. To Gael, he's a complete counterpart and the subject of a rather serious crush. And to Geoff... to Geoff, Alan is source of light in the darkness that so often surrounds their lives. He's his second half, his compatible opposite, and all the faith that Geoff has ever needed. In this way, Alan fulfills his role as one of the main focuses of the story.

~Watch Me Rise Up and Leave All the Ashes You Made Out of Me~ -"Ashes", Embrace

 

 

Quotes:

They all watched him, all of them seeing pretty much the same thing before them: a kid with ill-fitting boots and threadbare clothes that hung off his too slim frame. His body suggested that he could be healthy, would be healthy, and strong too… if he just had what he needed to grow. Right now he was damaged…all messy red hair, and huge, wary eyes. Someone who’d seen too much and been loved much too little at home.

 

“I…” Alan’s face finally cracked into a watery smile. “I’m going to live here?”

 

Jennifer smiled warmly and Robert nodded. “Long as you like.”

 

Alan looked at Robert and Jen with so much gratitude in his eyes that Geoff almost felt embarrassed for him. Geoff would’ve, if he weren’t so happy. For the first time in years, Geoff felt complete relief coursing through his body.

******************************

 

Alan decided he rather liked being sarcastic now and then, if for no other reason than that he couldn't imagine ever getting tired of the looks of amused pride on Geoff's face that the snark earned him.

******************************

 

(Geoff tries on the sweater Alan's grandma Eliza knit for Alan)

Gael: I think you look...er... very dapper.

Geoff: Alan?

Alan: I think you look like a sock.

Geoff: You're a biting bastard sometimes, do you know that?

******************************

 

Alan tried to sit up. “Wstfgl?”

Geoff grinned. “He’s fine.”

******************************

 

Geoff: He’s pretty much irreplaceable, huh?

 

Alan thrust out the contents of his hand to Geoff. “Here. Here’s your bleeding toaster strudel… you limey git.”

 

Geoff grinned, eagerly grabbing at it. With his mouth full of the first bite, Geoff mumbled with mock seriousness, “Such a good bloke. Don’t deserve you.”

 

Alan shook his head, sitting back down on the dais, but he had the tiniest hint of a smile. “No, you really don’t. I’m just such a humanitarian.”

******************************

 

(In which Alan tries to explain biscuits and gravy to Geoff)

“Fine,” Geoff said, “but I don’t see why somebody would want to put gravy on a biscuit.”

 

“Not a cookie-biscuit, Geoff.” Alan rolled his eyes. “An American one. You know, the fluffy ones?”

 

Geoff gave Alan a blank stare, a smile beginning to creep over his face.

 

“The fluffy kind! You saw them at my gram’s house. We had them with bangers, and eggs, and streaky rashers, remember? Am I getting through to you at all?”

 

“Oh, the fluffy kind?” Geoff mimed dawning comprehension, loving to goad Alan like this.

 

“Yes…” Alan said, trying to be patient. “You make the gravy out of the sausage fat and--”

 

“What? Like Hog’s Pudding?”

 

“No! Not like fucking Hog’s Pudding! I am nearly certain that this is the polar opposite of bloody Hog’s Pudding!”

 

Geoff shook his head, trying to keep a straight face. “Alan there is something very wrong with you.”

******************************

 

That was something Geoff loved about Alan. Whenever Geoff managed to make an arse out of himself and be proven wrong, Alan never rubbed it in.

******************************

 

Alan was strong. Geoff knew that. Stronger than he, himself, had ever been capable of being.

******************************

 

You don’t leave the people you love… not really.”

******************************

 

He hesitated at the doorway and Mel took a moment to study him with almost motherly admiration. The strong flex in his shoulders as he leaned against the doorway, the handsome kindness in his face, the very sturdiness of him and his presence; she regarded each with a swoop of pride… and it what hit her hard in that moment was just how much he had grown up in the last few years of their lives. He wasn’t a child anymore… none of them were.

******************************

 

(Geoff muses on his affection for Alan)

He admired Alan's purity ... and his intricacy. There was something honest about Alan's complexity that put Geoff at peace... that satisfied him when all his other friends only exhausted him. It was overwhelming without being overindulgent and seemed accessible even while it evaded Geoff. Alan wore his pain privately, bearing all his grief with quiet dignity that put premature age in his eyes. Alan, who'd had more hurt in his life than any of the eccentric grouchers that Geoff knew, never complained, never moped, but instead tried to be happy. Alan, who didn't just create beauty, but found it in things no one ever noticed, healed it, and made it shine.

 

Geoff could see him doing it now, watching those birds with so much fondness in his eyes... seeing something in those dopey things that made Geoff look at them again and find the calm they had to offer.

 

That was why he loved Alan. It was easier to see the potential in things with him around... and because Alan...innocent, simple Alan... was grounded. Survival had planted a gravity in Alan that Geoff didn't have and, after all their years together, needed so badly that he had forgotten had to function without it.

 

The others were entertainment. Alan was a necessity.

******************************

 

(...) when cornered, Alan had the wiry, vulnerable fierceness of something small and wild-- all frantic blue eyes and mussed copper hair... like a fox hounded from its den.

******************************

 

Geoff (sighs): For God's sake... (to Alan) Why couldn't you have been born a woman? I would've already married you and wouldn't have to deal with this shite.

Alan: Thanks for the sentiment.

******************************

 

Alan winced a little, looking apologetic. "Do you want a chicken sandwich?"

Geoff exploded. "NO, I DON'T WANT A FUCKING CHICKEN SANDWICH!"

"All right." Alan said, with the sound of someone not up to having a go with his roommate over a sandwich, nor, really, anything else at the moment.

******************************

 

(Geoff:) "You know...I really admire you sometimes, Alan."

Alan's coppery brows arced. "...Why?"

"You're the only one of the lot of us not totally full of shit."

******************************

 

To Mel, Alan had always been a perpetual source of smiles, of laughter, of hope. She could see everything good and gentle in his eyes but feel totally and utterly protected in his arms.

******************************

 

He forced a smile. "Besides, they were there when it all happened, so I don't see what difference it makes. They knew my mom and dad. They knew my uncle and aunt and what they were like. They loved Gael just as much as I did... they were there through everything, so..." The smile faded away. "The last few years hasn't been easy on them either..." He folded his hands together, twining and untwining his fingers together, before offering quietly, "They all have their own pain... they don't need mine too."

Kate wondered why Alan always started playing with his hands when he uncomfortable or embarrassed. She'd first noticed it when they had, for the first time, had a completely civil conversation. And again and again he did it on different occasions. Sometimes he'd just turn red and stick them quickly in his pockets to keep himself from doing it, in a way that Kate had found awkwardly endearing. Finding anything that endearing about someone she didn't much like perturbed Kate, and so the hand-thing had always sort of bothered her.

Now, though, it just... made a part of her insides hurt.

******************************

 

“You know what I think?” Geoff offered, rolling back his shoulders casually. “...I think maybe you’re simply repressing your slutty demons.”

 

Slowly, Alan turned around and stared at Geoff, looking as though he hadn’t quite heard that right. “My…what?”

 

“ Slutty demons.” Geoff grinned, “I’ll bet that’s it. Alan, it’s time to let those bitches out.”

 

Alan stared at him a little longer, blinking. "I..." His eyes squinched shut. "Oh... god..."

******************************

 

Kate decided she liked Alan much better when he wasn't talking. Though he was considerately more awkward, she found him sweet with his bumbling actions and eager smile.

 

Alan was a good guy. He was a hard working, goodhearted bloke who tried very hard to accept his rotten lot in life without complaining. He was good-looking but seemed not to realize it, so very little conceit was visible in the way he carried himself. An occasional burst of male strutting, but nothing truly vain. He never seemed to think too highly of himself at all come to think of it. Despite her dislike of him, that troubled her. So rare was it that Alan seemed proud of himself, that when she finally saw it, it caught her off guard.

 

Alan had fixed some…well, some something or other that was screwing up Mel’s car. Mel’s huge smile had been enough to reduce Alan, still tousle-haired and smeared with grease, into a blushing mess. Mel hugged “her darling mechanic” snugly around the waist, thanking him. Melanie seemed so tiny compared to him and his newfound glow, and for an instant you could almost see Alan’s heart swelling up big with pride. Kate could see it in his eyes; the pride that he could fix things sometimes, as small as they may be, and that he could at least do something helpful for Mel after all she had done for him. The gladness that Mel cared about him as much as he did for her.

 

And it was that instant, as Kate watched Alan hug Melanie back, clearly loving her so and taking care not to smudge her, that Kate had a genuine smile; the instant she saw Alan’s helplessly beaming face her intense dislike of him softened.

 

She knew Alan meant well and, more discomforting in her mind, she realized that Alan was a damn good man.

******************************

 

(Alan:) "You're a ...a...beautiful...arboreal creature."

Kate blinked. "I live in a tree?"

******************************

 

She took a moment to eye his hands, which were resting on the balustrade. They looked strong and hard-working, elegantly squared, with neatly trimmed nails. He had a couple calluses on his palms and the knuckle of his right pinky was a little scabbed from some weeks-old scratch and, if she didn't know any better, there was a tiny blue smear that looked a lot like paint. His fingers were long, but not unusually so like Geoff and Adge's were. His hands looked warm, truth be told, and giving... and like they would never be clammy. They were good hands, she decided. Hands that did something other than count money. She liked them.

******************************

 

She grinned. “Alan, are you really one of those innocent people who put their towels on before they get out of the shower?”

“…I live with Geoff, Kate. Believe me, I’m used to being walked in on."

 

"Alan, what would I do without you?" Geoff slumped into a kitchen chair dramatically.

 

"Starve to death, probably."

 

 

Mel glowed fondly. “He’s a good bloke.”

 

“Yeah he is,” Kate smiled.

 

“He always has been…even when his life was such shit, he was always a good man. He’s always been a breath of fresh air. So many men around here are so driven by sexuality. Brash, open…I love them all to pieces,” she grinned, “but I’m fully aware of just how good they are at charming their way into people’s pants. Alan’s never been like that. He’s…innate…in that goofy, darling way of his. He’s sexy all on his own, in his own little way. He’s untouchable…and he doesn’t know it.” She glanced towards the floor, voice softening. “A damn good man."

******************************

 

The house practically pulsed with all the life that had gone on inside it.

 

Alan had always noticed that. Somehow it comforted him far more than it should. The house was what kept them together...kept them all coming back. He felt safe here. It was their compound, their cocoon. He felt at peace in the whispering labyrinth of Mel's home. It was his home... and he loved it, ghosts and all. He loved the memories more than he mourned them.

******************************

 

Geoff grinned as Alan approached with his hands quite full of food. “I’m sure it’s not the first time I’ve asked this, Alan, but can I marry you?”

 

“I’ll marry Toby before I do that shite.” Alan smiled, setting down the bowl of gravy. “Toby’ll have me, won’t you, Toby?”

 

Toby’s ears perked up.

 

Geoff hungrily tossed a couple biscuits on his plate and proceeded to smother them with a ladleful of gravy. “You’re still a fuckin’ angel either way.” After he had swallowed a few mouthfuls, he sighed and reiterated, “Fucking angel.”

******************************

 

Life’s just too short for nevers and maybes.

******************************

 

Geoff was silent for a moment. “It’s impossible not to love him, Kate.” He fiddled with his hands thoughtfully. “Everything that’s good about this world comes out of him, everything I can’t be… just mocking me…and I like that. He gives me…some sort of balance. It’s impossible, Kate. Impossible not to love someone so…damned selfless. Someone so endearingly unaware of how appealing he is.”

******************************

 

Alan (grinning and laughing like a maniac, pushing Kate’s hands away, turning scarlet)- QUIT IT! IT’S NOT NICE TO MAKE REDHEADED MEN BLUSH!

******************************

 

“…But you never seem to…” Michelle all out grinned. “…let your instincts order you around, that is. You’re very noble…I don’t know how you stand it.”

 

He laughed, feeling the awkward little bubble in his chest deflate. “You’re not the first one to tell me that.”

 

“Well, it’s true. You’re the only one who never seems to mess things up for himself.”

 

“I haven’t had the opportunity, is all.” He shrugged gently.

 

She met his eyes. “No. You’ve had the opportunity. After all the shit you’ve been through, you had every opportunity. You had plenty of excuses to mess yourself up and become hateful of the world and mistrusting like every other sad fucker on earth who thinks the world owes him somethin’. But you didn’t. And now your life is turning out much better than it’s rotten start and you’re going to be ok. You chose to be ok. You didn’t let anything break you apart or take what’s yours. And that’s what makes you so genuine.” She smoothed down his lapel, giving him another smile. “…You’re one hell of a man, Alan. And if Kate doesn’t want you, then she’s a damn idiot.” The smile curved into something mischievous. “Though from what I’ve seen of her when she’s around you…I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.”

 

Alan smiled again. “Thanks, Mickey.”

******************************

 

"Alan, you should never apologize to the woman you've given the best sex of her life to...sort of ruins the epiphany." She teased.

 

That shut him up and he brought himself up from her chest to stare at her in curious wonder. She met his eyes empathetically and smiled as a hint of blushing pride spread across his face.

 

"I...oh." he managed, lying back on one elbow and grinning. "Oh."

 

"Such eloquence." Kate smiled, feeling comfy.

 

His grin only widened.

******************************

 

(Alan and Kate talk post-coitus)

She smiled a little. “I don’t know why you bothered me so much. How was I supposed to know I’d end up here?”

 

He laughed, his voice low with warmth and sleep.“You liked me. You wanted to jump me the moment I pulled you out of that shrub.”

******************************

 

 

Geoff stood there during their little argument, staring at Alan fixedly, his mouth slightly agape. “What the hell is that?” he said, cutting James off mid-sentence.

 

“What?” Both Alan and James asked.

 

Geoff walked over and pushed Alan’s head to the side, staring at the purplish mark forming on his neck. “That. What the hell is that?”

 

Alan pulled away looking a bit sheepish. “Nuffin’.” He muttered, turning red.

 

“Aw, no, no, no, no. What the hell is it?” Geoff asked with a taunting smirk and stared at it for a moment. He broke out into a huge grin. “Oh my dear Lord.”

 

“What?” Alan asked defensively and rubbed his neck.

 

“That’s a hickey.” Geoff said, still grinning. “Our ickle Allie has a love bite.”

 

James grinned too as Alan’s blush darkened with anger at being referred to as “ickle Allie.”

 

“So am I right in assuming that Alan finally got laid last night?” James asked grinning.

 

Alan smiled happily. “Maybe.”

 

“Cor blimey, what were you shagging? A Hoover?” Geoff commented grinning maniacally, tilting Alan’s head and staring at the evidence.

 

James smiled as Alan turned red and angrily swatted Geoff’s hand away from his neck.

******************************

 

Alan- ...Don't think unnatural thoughts about my cousin, Geoffrey

 

Links:

Alan & Kate

Alan & Geoff

Alan & Mel

Alan & Gina

Alan & Gael

Alan & Ben