BEYOND THE RIFT: Things That Scare Me
May. 19th, 2008 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
find_rightbrainTitle: Things That Scare Me
Characters/Pairing: Grace, Des, John Hart, Robin, mention of the Doctor, Martha and Torchwood
Word Count: 1452
Rating: PG
Summary: Everyone else is concerned that both they and Des get out of this alive. Grace is only concerned with the second half of that equation.
Notes: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kawaiispinel for the alphabet meme, for the prompt "eternal". I don't know how this came out of that, but there you go. Also for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
meritinabox prompt #17, "fatal imprudence". This will NEVER HAPPEN, because Des isn't allowed to be this stupid, ever. That's the point. This is an object lesson for Desmond Descant. PAY ATTENTION, DES.
Disclaimer: Grace is mine. Des belongs tokawaiispinel, Robin to _chibidragon_, Hart to the BBC. The Rift owns all our souls and you know it.
Grace reached Des before Torchwood, the Doctor, or Martha. Not much before, but with her nerves all screaming with pain and fear and adrenaline and worry and fear, she didn't exactly have time to wait around. Two things gave her that extra little advantage. The first was that she knew exactly where Des was at any given point in time, especially when he was in pain. The second was that, with the possible exception of the Doctor and Martha, everyone else was concerned that both they and Des get out alive. Grace was only concerned with the second half of that equation.
It was a dingy apartment building in the part of town where streets were still cracked from the earthquake, some of the buildings on the street nothing more than empty lots now the rubble had been cleared away. Grace raced down the hallway, homing in on Des more by instinct than conscious thought, and skidded to a halt outside the appropriate door, wings flared to slow her.
Door. Des inside, hurt - being hurt, she thought, as a fresh burst of pain hit her hard enough to make her double over. Gun in hand, plus angel speed and strength. Simple enough combination. Except where she'd never fired a gun in her life, and she knew next to nothing about the guy who had Des, and...
Okay, not so simple.
She stopped breathing when she realized she could hear voices inside. No, a voice, too low and indistinct to make out words, and the accent was all wrong, but it sounded like the Doctor. Shapechanger. Son of a bitch.
Grace tightened sweaty hands on the gun, took a step back, and kicked the door open - not something she'd ever done before, but between angel strength and desperation, it was amazing what you could do when you tried. Again, instinct processed the situation before her brain got around to it. Des on the ground, bleeding. She couldn't tell from where, but there was blood on his clothes, blood on the floor. Someone who looked like the Doctor standing over him, but with the wrong clothes, and a gun in hand...
John turned as Grace fired, a lucky shot that just clipped his shoulder. She grimaced, stepped forward and raised the gun again, but even with angel reflexes on her side, John was faster. The first gunshot was loud enough - this one seemed louder, somehow, and for a minute there was nothing but the ringing and rush of blood in her ears. That, and the pain in her chest, sharper and more immediate than Des' pain, more localized than the pain of losing Megan.
Fuck.
John's features had already started shifting from the Doctor's to someone not as thin, with sharp cheekbones and intense blue eyes, as his gaze flickered down to her torso. He put his gun away, smirked, and his hand moved to his wristband quickly, hitting several buttons at once. Forgetting the gun and the pain, Grace lunged, but John was already gone, in a flash of blue-white light.
Grace stumbled to a halt just short of a shabby couch. Spun around to be sure he was really gone. Glanced to Des to be sure he was still breathing. "Des?"
Already pushing himself to his feet with a groan, Des nodded in answer. His pain still throbbed insistently all through her body, but less intense now that he was out of immediate danger. "Grace?" His eyes fell on her, and the near-panicked look on his face was not at all encouraging. "...Grace."
She shook her head, more in an attempt to clear it than a dismissal, though it only made her head spin more. She knew she'd been shot. She knew that, could feel the blood, warm and sticky, soaking through her shirt, but she wasn't going to look down, she wasn't going to look at it. She might faint then, and she had more important things to do just now.
"I'm fine, just... We need to get you..."
The gun slipped out of her fingers. Her knees buckled. Des, already moving toward her, lunged forward to catch her before she hit the ground, and dropped to the floor while pulling her into his lap. "You're bleeding."
"So are you." He was too warm against her. No, that was just being human, it was the tacky feeling of blood on his hands and chest that was the problem, and... "Knew I should've brought a medical kit."
"A..." He shook his head and drew a shaky breath as his voice choked off, pressing his hand to her chest where it hurt the most, and she gasped involuntarily in pain. "Please tell me there are people on the way."
Grace had to think for a moment before answering, everything too clouded and fogged to remember easily. "The... Doctor and Martha... and Torchwood..."
"Okay." Des swallowed hard and nodded, pulling her closer. "You're gonna be okay, you just gotta... Grace, you have to look at me. ...Grace!"
Her eyes snapped open, taking a minute to focus on his face. "I know. I went to medical school'n everything. It's just..."
Easier to close her eyes. Easier when she started to drift off and everything went fuzzy around the edges and didn't hurt as much. She heard Des' voice still, pleading - "Grace, hey, you can't do this, okay, sweetheart? You have to... Grace, please..." She heard other voices - Martha's, and Jack's, and a couple more she didn't quite recognize.
Distant, faint voices.
Voices that slowly drifted further away, became less important.
Less immediate, miles away though the presence of Des was still right there, wrapped around her.
Further away.
Gone.
She's standing in a hospital room halfway across the world from home, staring at a girl she's never met before and feeling like she's just been punched in the stomach. Her shoulders ache, wings straining to come out, and she's never even met this girl, she shouldn't be feeling like this when she doesn't even know her name...
She's in a hospital bed herself, and there's nothing that doesn't hurt, and it doesn't matter because Megan's gone and she wasn't there and she couldn't save her. She's screaming and crying, she's in and out of consciousness, she's going to die and doesn't care.
She's alone, and empty, and it's so much worse now than it ever was before she knew there was a hole in her to be filled in the first place.
She's standing in a lobby in the basement of a hotel, staring at a man she's never met before and feeling something she's definitely felt before. Right now, she hates the universe. Right now, she wants to die, because even that would be better and easier than losing someone again.
She's
Grace opened her eyes. Everything hurt - less in an "immediately dying" or "ward is in danger" sort of way than a "going to live and kind of I wish it were otherwise" sort of way. She thought about rolling onto her side, but the pain of just breathing convinced her that was a bad idea, so she settled for just turning her head.
Her room. Des in a chair across the room, asleep. Robin pacing from the door to the opposite wall and back, past the foot of her bed. Well, he was pacing, until he noticed the movement and turned sharply toward her, a look of sheer relief on his face as he moved quickly to the bedside.
"Took you long enough," he says with a gentle little smile that completely gives the lie to his words. "I've got important things to do, you know. I can't just hang around waiting for you to wake up."
"Sorry," she murmurs, squeezing his hand as he slips it into hers. "Won't happen again."
"Better not. Told you these wanderers were bad news."
"Yeah, I know..."
As if on cue - or, more likely, woken by the sound of voices, Des starts and wakes, blinking blearily at Grace and Robin. A slow, cautious smile spreads over his face as he pushes himself out of his chair, starting toward the bed. "Grace. You're..." He grimaces a little, stopping awkwardly about a foot from the bed. "I'm... sorry. About everything. I promise it won't happen again."
Grace watches him for a moment - just watches him, while Robin glares, quite obviously blaming Des for everything and surprising no one. "Liar," she says at last, smiles, and holds out a hand to him. "Come here and hug me, idiot. But... carefully."
Characters/Pairing: Grace, Des, John Hart, Robin, mention of the Doctor, Martha and Torchwood
Word Count: 1452
Rating: PG
Summary: Everyone else is concerned that both they and Des get out of this alive. Grace is only concerned with the second half of that equation.
Notes: Written for
kawaiispinel for the alphabet meme, for the prompt "eternal". I don't know how this came out of that, but there you go. Also for meritinabox prompt #17, "fatal imprudence". This will NEVER HAPPEN, because Des isn't allowed to be this stupid, ever. That's the point. This is an object lesson for Desmond Descant. PAY ATTENTION, DES.Disclaimer: Grace is mine. Des belongs to
kawaiispinel, Robin to _chibidragon_, Hart to the BBC. The Rift owns all our souls and you know it.Grace reached Des before Torchwood, the Doctor, or Martha. Not much before, but with her nerves all screaming with pain and fear and adrenaline and worry and fear, she didn't exactly have time to wait around. Two things gave her that extra little advantage. The first was that she knew exactly where Des was at any given point in time, especially when he was in pain. The second was that, with the possible exception of the Doctor and Martha, everyone else was concerned that both they and Des get out alive. Grace was only concerned with the second half of that equation.
It was a dingy apartment building in the part of town where streets were still cracked from the earthquake, some of the buildings on the street nothing more than empty lots now the rubble had been cleared away. Grace raced down the hallway, homing in on Des more by instinct than conscious thought, and skidded to a halt outside the appropriate door, wings flared to slow her.
Door. Des inside, hurt - being hurt, she thought, as a fresh burst of pain hit her hard enough to make her double over. Gun in hand, plus angel speed and strength. Simple enough combination. Except where she'd never fired a gun in her life, and she knew next to nothing about the guy who had Des, and...
Okay, not so simple.
She stopped breathing when she realized she could hear voices inside. No, a voice, too low and indistinct to make out words, and the accent was all wrong, but it sounded like the Doctor. Shapechanger. Son of a bitch.
Grace tightened sweaty hands on the gun, took a step back, and kicked the door open - not something she'd ever done before, but between angel strength and desperation, it was amazing what you could do when you tried. Again, instinct processed the situation before her brain got around to it. Des on the ground, bleeding. She couldn't tell from where, but there was blood on his clothes, blood on the floor. Someone who looked like the Doctor standing over him, but with the wrong clothes, and a gun in hand...
John turned as Grace fired, a lucky shot that just clipped his shoulder. She grimaced, stepped forward and raised the gun again, but even with angel reflexes on her side, John was faster. The first gunshot was loud enough - this one seemed louder, somehow, and for a minute there was nothing but the ringing and rush of blood in her ears. That, and the pain in her chest, sharper and more immediate than Des' pain, more localized than the pain of losing Megan.
Fuck.
John's features had already started shifting from the Doctor's to someone not as thin, with sharp cheekbones and intense blue eyes, as his gaze flickered down to her torso. He put his gun away, smirked, and his hand moved to his wristband quickly, hitting several buttons at once. Forgetting the gun and the pain, Grace lunged, but John was already gone, in a flash of blue-white light.
Grace stumbled to a halt just short of a shabby couch. Spun around to be sure he was really gone. Glanced to Des to be sure he was still breathing. "Des?"
Already pushing himself to his feet with a groan, Des nodded in answer. His pain still throbbed insistently all through her body, but less intense now that he was out of immediate danger. "Grace?" His eyes fell on her, and the near-panicked look on his face was not at all encouraging. "...Grace."
She shook her head, more in an attempt to clear it than a dismissal, though it only made her head spin more. She knew she'd been shot. She knew that, could feel the blood, warm and sticky, soaking through her shirt, but she wasn't going to look down, she wasn't going to look at it. She might faint then, and she had more important things to do just now.
"I'm fine, just... We need to get you..."
The gun slipped out of her fingers. Her knees buckled. Des, already moving toward her, lunged forward to catch her before she hit the ground, and dropped to the floor while pulling her into his lap. "You're bleeding."
"So are you." He was too warm against her. No, that was just being human, it was the tacky feeling of blood on his hands and chest that was the problem, and... "Knew I should've brought a medical kit."
"A..." He shook his head and drew a shaky breath as his voice choked off, pressing his hand to her chest where it hurt the most, and she gasped involuntarily in pain. "Please tell me there are people on the way."
Grace had to think for a moment before answering, everything too clouded and fogged to remember easily. "The... Doctor and Martha... and Torchwood..."
"Okay." Des swallowed hard and nodded, pulling her closer. "You're gonna be okay, you just gotta... Grace, you have to look at me. ...Grace!"
Her eyes snapped open, taking a minute to focus on his face. "I know. I went to medical school'n everything. It's just..."
Easier to close her eyes. Easier when she started to drift off and everything went fuzzy around the edges and didn't hurt as much. She heard Des' voice still, pleading - "Grace, hey, you can't do this, okay, sweetheart? You have to... Grace, please..." She heard other voices - Martha's, and Jack's, and a couple more she didn't quite recognize.
Distant, faint voices.
Voices that slowly drifted further away, became less important.
Less immediate, miles away though the presence of Des was still right there, wrapped around her.
Further away.
Gone.
She's standing in a hospital room halfway across the world from home, staring at a girl she's never met before and feeling like she's just been punched in the stomach. Her shoulders ache, wings straining to come out, and she's never even met this girl, she shouldn't be feeling like this when she doesn't even know her name...
She's in a hospital bed herself, and there's nothing that doesn't hurt, and it doesn't matter because Megan's gone and she wasn't there and she couldn't save her. She's screaming and crying, she's in and out of consciousness, she's going to die and doesn't care.
She's alone, and empty, and it's so much worse now than it ever was before she knew there was a hole in her to be filled in the first place.
She's standing in a lobby in the basement of a hotel, staring at a man she's never met before and feeling something she's definitely felt before. Right now, she hates the universe. Right now, she wants to die, because even that would be better and easier than losing someone again.
She's
Grace opened her eyes. Everything hurt - less in an "immediately dying" or "ward is in danger" sort of way than a "going to live and kind of I wish it were otherwise" sort of way. She thought about rolling onto her side, but the pain of just breathing convinced her that was a bad idea, so she settled for just turning her head.
Her room. Des in a chair across the room, asleep. Robin pacing from the door to the opposite wall and back, past the foot of her bed. Well, he was pacing, until he noticed the movement and turned sharply toward her, a look of sheer relief on his face as he moved quickly to the bedside.
"Took you long enough," he says with a gentle little smile that completely gives the lie to his words. "I've got important things to do, you know. I can't just hang around waiting for you to wake up."
"Sorry," she murmurs, squeezing his hand as he slips it into hers. "Won't happen again."
"Better not. Told you these wanderers were bad news."
"Yeah, I know..."
As if on cue - or, more likely, woken by the sound of voices, Des starts and wakes, blinking blearily at Grace and Robin. A slow, cautious smile spreads over his face as he pushes himself out of his chair, starting toward the bed. "Grace. You're..." He grimaces a little, stopping awkwardly about a foot from the bed. "I'm... sorry. About everything. I promise it won't happen again."
Grace watches him for a moment - just watches him, while Robin glares, quite obviously blaming Des for everything and surprising no one. "Liar," she says at last, smiles, and holds out a hand to him. "Come here and hug me, idiot. But... carefully."
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 03:50 am (UTC)Oh fuck, that was amazingly breaky. Just... Ngh. No, it can't happen in Rift!canon, because it would kill me (DES, YOU BETTER BE PAYING ATTENTION) and other obvious reasons, but... Yes. I loved it though in a completely heartbreaking way and the FLASHBACKS. We have established that flashbacks in scenarios like that cause me intense pain and that was no exception.
Oh God, I love you. I love this. And I would love it if Des never, ever let this happen. Guh. *hugs* ♥!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:18 am (UTC)Yeah, Des? Don't ever put yourself in danger. Because it means Grace is in danger and she's too CUTE to die. Yeah, aren't these alphabet meme things supposed to be SHORT fics? And notice how they're... not so much? Ever?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:23 am (UTC)YES, DES, EXACTLY. Thank God, he has that thing about hurting cute girls.
I'm sure they are, but... Words are evil. And tend to breed like rabbits when it comes to fics, and thus stories get ridiculously long when they shouldn't. Or something like that.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:33 am (UTC)Exactly! See, this is why he needs cute little girls as guardian angels. If they weren't cute little girls, he'd just fight with them a lot and there would probably be punching in the face. With the cute little girls, all they have to do is give him the look. ...Speaking of cute little guardian angels... I need to reread Descant soon. For... reasons.
This is true. Stupid words. I mean, I like the words. I would just like them to announce it before they explode all over my notebook.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:42 am (UTC)Hahahaha. *innocent*
Although I spazz every time I think of that poor story, because it needs to be edited and I have a mostly edited version of this draft finished, but I didn't want to rework scenes and all that until I actually wrote the first book, and... WHY DIDN'T I REALIZE THAT WAS THE SECOND BOOK UNTIL AFTER I'D WRITTEN IT?! *headdesk*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:41 am (UTC)And this can never happen in canon, also, because Robin would hate Des for forever and ever. Yes, he would completely blame him for it and not be quiet about expressing that blame at ALL. You are so right. ^^ And they're all so cute together! Well... Robin and Grace and Des and Grace are made of cute and adorable. Robin and Des... not so much. :p
This is a lesson for Martha, too. See Bad ass!Martha? John is bad. Stay away from him. No more snogging. LOOK WHAT HE DO!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:54 am (UTC)And yeah, we don't need to give Robin a reason to hate Des. Des gets smacked around by enough people. And God, they really are adorable! Grace inspires protectiveness and being adorable from a lot of people, apparently.
Oh, yes, Martha. You should learn from this too. HE TORTURES DES! WHILE LOOKING LIKE THE DOCTOR! And then shoots girls who look like your sister! (Though Martha and John totally need to sex. ...Just because the angst afterwards... pleases me. GOD, I'm a horrible person.)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 05:01 am (UTC)Hehe, that reminds me of a writer's note of Stephen King's that I just wrote. It went something like, when he writes he doesn't want to teach people stuff, he said something like, "I want your heart." I dunno. gonna have to dig it up sometime.
^^" No, we don't. And Robin has enough hate in him to last. Seriously. Bad for the world! Or something. Oh, yes, Grace does. She's so adorable.
Yes, they do need to sex, because (a) it'd be so friggin hot and (b) the ANGST! What other reasons are needed? :D
She's looking for him, anyway, because... not a lot of guys running around with Napleonic coats on.
Also, I SEE THAT ICON of SKETCH. :o and I approve.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 05:32 am (UTC)Ahah. Yes. That is... yes. TRUTH. Screw valuable life lessons. I want to make people HURT. And glee. And then hurt some more. And then both at the same time.
Mmmmhmm. John will be around. This is a thread that shall happen some time. *Firm nod* We are bad people.
Hmm? What icon of sketch? *Innocent look*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 04:11 pm (UTC)Oh that was... That was... Wonderful, completely wonderful.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-20 07:36 pm (UTC)