Ficathon: Picture 11: Darkness and Light
Summery: The Middleman is stuck in the darkness, and the light is waiting for him.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The show, "The Middleman", is not mine.
he doesn’t know where he is and what’s happening…is he alive is he dead…it’s all dark and he doesn’t like the dark it scares him…is she coming is she here with him...dubby dubby wendy…
*
She lets out a moan. She really shouldn’t go this long without coffee. It’s been 4 hours since he fell into a coma and her head is buried in her hands, her fingers clutching her hair, trying to avoid the headache that she knows was coming.
“How’re you holding up, princess?” But the mock is gone from Ida’s voice. She’s too tired, just like Wendy. Even a robot can only hold for so long before it needs some sleep.
“Fine.” She’s determined not to let Ida get to her. Not today. “How’s he doing?” She gets up from her chair and walks over to the bed, touches the Middleman’s hand, limp and cool. His face is so peaceful , with the eyes closed and the strong, slow breathing that Wendy wishes for a second that he would stay that way, just so he could get some peace. But sanity kicks in and she sees the world without him, by her side. She shivers and pulls up her chair so she can sit by his bed. She takes his hand.
“Not too bad. He had some minor rib and head damage, but I think it’s the blood loss that caused him to go all Sleeping Beauty.” Wendy took in Ida’s words while she brushed the Middleman’s hair back from his forehead.
“He’ll wake up.” She says it with confidence, because he couldn’t leave the Earth without making sure its safe and sound.
He couldn’t leave her, either.
*
he’s all alone in the darkness and he’s scared and he just wants to go home and find her and where is she…he pounds the darkness and roars to give her back but the darkness has swallowed her and won’t let her go and he can’t do anything and he’s all alone forever…forever forever forever forever
*
“Boss, Boss can you hear me?” It’s been 48 hours since he fell into a coma, and by now she’s ignoring the headache that she knew was coming and is quite frankly terrified out of her [bleep] mind. When he doesn’t respond, she draws up her knees and tucks them under her chin. She feels like a little girl that got lost in the mall. Small and alone, with no one knowing your name, and no one caring.
*
he doesn’t know where to go and why did the darkness swallow her and where is he and why can’t he just be let go…he curls up into himself but its no use the darkness is everywhere and he just wants it to stop because he’s scared he’s terrified but the one thing that he thought could stop the darkness has been claimed by it...and he’s all alone now and it’ll never stop…
*
It’s been 120 hours since the Middleman went into a coma and by now Wendy is so desperate that she’d sell her soul to Roxy Wasserman with Lacey watching if he would just wake up. She’s holding his hand and drinking coffee, which she has been living on for the past couple of days. Finally, it’s not enough and she falls asleep, the coffee cup spilling out of her hand and landing on the floor, creating a huge soggy brown mess.
*
all he wants is for the darkness to go away and give her back, he’ll be happy then…please don’t leave him all alone in this place that’s cold and unforgiving and cruel and he is dying dying dying dying dying… he knows it he can’t survive in this horrible place, he knew he couldn’t save her the darkness has won and he gives up and lets the darkness swallow him…
*
Ida comes into the room and rolls her eyes, but goes to the bed and begins to lift Wendy to another one, to get some sleep.
But when she tries picks Wendy up, Wendy’s hand stays stuck in Boss’. When Ida tries to tug her away, Wendy makes a loud whimper and her eyes flutter open, but then close almost immediately. Ida, rather than let Wendy wake up and find her holding her, simply gives up, and tucks her in right next to Boss.
She leaves the room muttering, but catching in the corner of her eye the way Wendy’s arms wrap around the Middleman’s chest, and how she nuzzles into him.
*
the darkness is closing in and he is cold and scared and he just hopes it will be over soon because it hurts and…
Something warm is touching him.
He opens his eyes, and there, right in front of me, is a speck of light. He blinks and it begins to grow. It grows in a web-like pattern, so that it’s over him - a golden spider-web pattern in the dark black globe that he is encased in, and he isn’t even afraid of it anymore. He’s warm and safe, he knows that much. The light is with him.
Suddenly the light begins to glow even bright and as he watches in amazement, the darkness cracks and falls, the light streaming in. He isn’t even scared as the darkness falls like glass around him. All he can stare is at the light, beautiful and streaming. And then he realizes that he’s in a globe of light. She wasn’t gone, she was simply fighting the darkness. Because she’s so much stronger than the darkness. And as the last bit of darkness falls away, the light glows and he is blinded.
*
“Mmmhh.” She wakes up to a murmur. Lips are on her skin, and she realizes that something soft is buried in her neck. She turns around and sees her boss’ eyes blinking, and beginning to open. They look so vulnerable and soft, that she can’t help but get a little closer to him, just to see them.
“Dub-bie?” The word is disjointed and parts of it are slurred, but she can still recognize her name. “Wend-y?”
“Right here, Boss.” She sits up and pats the sheets. Then she notices for the first time that she’s actually in his bed. How the [bleep] did she end up here?
But that’s cut out of her mind at the crushing pain that seeps through her as the Middleman raises up and practically crushes her waist hugging her. “Um…nice to see you too, Boss.” She can barely get it out because all of the air has flown out of her lungs. The Middleman hears her voice and lets go, looking guilty.
“Sor...ry.”
“It’s okay, you’re doped up on all this different alien medicine anyway.” He nods, and looks around for a few minutes, seeming slightly lost and frightened. She hates seeing him this way, so she takes his hand and wraps both of hers around it. He looks down at their hands and then up at her. His face is open and innocent.
“I was… all alone, Dubbie. I thought…” He stopped to catch his breath, obviously still feeling the pressures of being unconscious for days. “I thought that I had failed and you were…gone.”
Wendy smiled sadly, shaking her head. “How many times do I have to be the bearer of bad news and tell you you’re stuck with me again?”
He rested his head on her shoulder. “Not enough.” His eyes were already beginning to close again, much to Wendy’s relief. She cared for her boss, but it was slightly odd hearing that someone cared that much about her. Well, at least she could use the excuse of alien drugs this time.
“Go to sleep and hope you’ll wake up sober.” She smiled as he began to drift down in back into the pillows. He clung fast and hard to her hands, though, dragging her down with him.
“Never enough.” Was the last thing she heard before she dropped off into a dreamless, but light filled, dream.