and i will try to fix you (Original, A/L, Oneshot)
Title: and i will try to fix you
Fandom: Original
Pairing: Adam/Lauren
Word Count: 750
Rating: T (some upsetting material)
Warnings: A character is suffering from depression and has stopped taking her medication; references are made to a prior miscarriage.
Disclaimer: None -- I actually do own these characters. Huzzah!
Summary: Adam tries to broach an uncomfortable and upsetting subject with his wife, and confessions and promises follow.
Notes: Adam and Lauren are one of my original couples. This is for the Written in the Stars challenge at
5_prompts (Prompt G4: You'll have a much clearer picture of what you want and need from a partner).
“Lauren?”
From where she was lying on the couch, she pushed herself up on her elbows, watching as Adam came out of the bathroom with something in his hands. When he put the empty bottle of antidepressants on the coffee table in front of her, she glanced away.
“It’s been empty for the past couple days,” he said, even if they both knew it anyway. “I’m not… spying or anything; I just see it when I go to get the floss… shouldn’t you be refilling it if you’re out?”
“Just because I should be doesn’t mean I want to.”
“Laur.”
Adam sat down beside her on the couch, resting his hand on her knee. His thumb stroked circles on the fabric of her pajama pants. “You want to get better, don’t you?”
“Of course. Why would you even ask that?”
“Because of that.” He pointed to the empty prescription bottle. “Laur, you know I’m behind you. Every step of the way. I promised you that support.” He reached up to cup his wife’s cheek in his hand, making her look at him. “What I can’t support is you not taking your medication. I know you hate it, but...”
Lauren shifted closer, leaning forward and touching her forehead to his, and it took him a minute to realize she was crying. She didn’t make a sound, but he knew. “At first it was because I didn’t have the cash on hand when I went to get a refill. I swear, Adam, that’s all it was. I didn’t have the money and I told myself I could go a day without it. And it wasn’t a bad day. I started feeling like… if I could just make it a week or… then maybe I wouldn’t need it anymore.
“I know it’s stupid. I know I should’ve… I know I shouldn’t have stopped; I just… I hate feeling like this.”
“I know, Laur. I know because I hate seeing you feeling this way. But what I hate more is you not telling me things-certain things, anyway. Lauren, you don’t need to tell me a damn thing about therapy if you don’t want to, and I won’t ask you to. But if you needed money, you could have called me. I promised you I’d be here for you no matter what happened, and I don’t like breaking promises. But you have to give me a chance to keep them.”
“I know,” Lauren whispered finally. “I haven’t been letting you try. I’m-”
“Don’t apologize, Laur. I’m not asking you to.” He wrapped his arms around her, shifting them so that she was leaning into his chest. “I know you want it to stop. You just have to give it time.”
Lauren splayed her fingers across his chest, nuzzling her nose against the fabric of his t-shirt. “There was an Alanis Morissette song I used to listen to when I was younger. ‘You see all my light, and you love my dark… and you’re still here.’ I thought it sounded so romantic. To have that person that knew all of you and didn’t run away. I had this idea that it was what I wanted in a boyfriend. Back then, I guess the darkest part of me was the part that wanted to be skinnier. Now, there’s… so much more.” She tilted her face up to his, meeting his gaze. “And you’re still here. Just like the song says. And it’s not so much that I want that-a person who gets me-anymore. It’s that I need it. And you’ve given me that.”
“You sound surprised that I’m still here, Laur.”
“Shouldn’t I be? This sort of thing… losing the baby, me getting depressed… this is the way things fall apart, Adam. This is how couples break up.”
“But it’s how they stay together, too. I didn’t just marry you because I wanted to make you happy all the time, Laur. That was part of it, yeah, but I married you because I wanted to be there for you during something like this. Because I couldn’t picture anyone else being there for you but me. I still can’t. I want to be the one to help you through this, if you let me.”
“I’ll try,” Lauren promised quietly. “I want you to be the one, too.”
He kissed the top of her head softly, stroking her arm in a gentle rhythm. It didn’t take Lauren very long to fall asleep in his arms.
Fandom: Original
Pairing: Adam/Lauren
Word Count: 750
Rating: T (some upsetting material)
Warnings: A character is suffering from depression and has stopped taking her medication; references are made to a prior miscarriage.
Disclaimer: None -- I actually do own these characters. Huzzah!
Summary: Adam tries to broach an uncomfortable and upsetting subject with his wife, and confessions and promises follow.
Notes: Adam and Lauren are one of my original couples. This is for the Written in the Stars challenge at
5_prompts (Prompt G4: You'll have a much clearer picture of what you want and need from a partner).
“Lauren?”
From where she was lying on the couch, she pushed herself up on her elbows, watching as Adam came out of the bathroom with something in his hands. When he put the empty bottle of antidepressants on the coffee table in front of her, she glanced away.
“It’s been empty for the past couple days,” he said, even if they both knew it anyway. “I’m not… spying or anything; I just see it when I go to get the floss… shouldn’t you be refilling it if you’re out?”
“Just because I should be doesn’t mean I want to.”
“Laur.”
Adam sat down beside her on the couch, resting his hand on her knee. His thumb stroked circles on the fabric of her pajama pants. “You want to get better, don’t you?”
“Of course. Why would you even ask that?”
“Because of that.” He pointed to the empty prescription bottle. “Laur, you know I’m behind you. Every step of the way. I promised you that support.” He reached up to cup his wife’s cheek in his hand, making her look at him. “What I can’t support is you not taking your medication. I know you hate it, but...”
Lauren shifted closer, leaning forward and touching her forehead to his, and it took him a minute to realize she was crying. She didn’t make a sound, but he knew. “At first it was because I didn’t have the cash on hand when I went to get a refill. I swear, Adam, that’s all it was. I didn’t have the money and I told myself I could go a day without it. And it wasn’t a bad day. I started feeling like… if I could just make it a week or… then maybe I wouldn’t need it anymore.
“I know it’s stupid. I know I should’ve… I know I shouldn’t have stopped; I just… I hate feeling like this.”
“I know, Laur. I know because I hate seeing you feeling this way. But what I hate more is you not telling me things-certain things, anyway. Lauren, you don’t need to tell me a damn thing about therapy if you don’t want to, and I won’t ask you to. But if you needed money, you could have called me. I promised you I’d be here for you no matter what happened, and I don’t like breaking promises. But you have to give me a chance to keep them.”
“I know,” Lauren whispered finally. “I haven’t been letting you try. I’m-”
“Don’t apologize, Laur. I’m not asking you to.” He wrapped his arms around her, shifting them so that she was leaning into his chest. “I know you want it to stop. You just have to give it time.”
Lauren splayed her fingers across his chest, nuzzling her nose against the fabric of his t-shirt. “There was an Alanis Morissette song I used to listen to when I was younger. ‘You see all my light, and you love my dark… and you’re still here.’ I thought it sounded so romantic. To have that person that knew all of you and didn’t run away. I had this idea that it was what I wanted in a boyfriend. Back then, I guess the darkest part of me was the part that wanted to be skinnier. Now, there’s… so much more.” She tilted her face up to his, meeting his gaze. “And you’re still here. Just like the song says. And it’s not so much that I want that-a person who gets me-anymore. It’s that I need it. And you’ve given me that.”
“You sound surprised that I’m still here, Laur.”
“Shouldn’t I be? This sort of thing… losing the baby, me getting depressed… this is the way things fall apart, Adam. This is how couples break up.”
“But it’s how they stay together, too. I didn’t just marry you because I wanted to make you happy all the time, Laur. That was part of it, yeah, but I married you because I wanted to be there for you during something like this. Because I couldn’t picture anyone else being there for you but me. I still can’t. I want to be the one to help you through this, if you let me.”
“I’ll try,” Lauren promised quietly. “I want you to be the one, too.”
He kissed the top of her head softly, stroking her arm in a gentle rhythm. It didn’t take Lauren very long to fall asleep in his arms.