for "justprompts: Falling Into Place
It was raining on the sun
The ground beneath my feet was crumbling
Day and Night had come undone
It was the season of my wandering
- Falling Into Place by The Afters
“Tell me Annie, what should I do.”
She doesn’t even have to think about the question. It’s simple and she’s always known the answer. She’s known it for as long as he’s been part of her world. He does too, but he needs to hear it again. He needs to be reminded. It seems to be her job, and she does it without hesitation. She does it because it’s right and it makes everything work and it keeps her entire world together in one nice neat package.
“Stay. Here. Forever.”
He smiles and agrees and she knew he would. It would take some time, but he would, because he had to, or else he wouldn’t have been here to begin with. It’s the right thing and he’s always known. He knew it that day on that roof. He knew it that day in that record shop even. He knew it when he arrived from Hyde. He just couldn’t admit it that quickly. He had to go through steps and processes and learn this was where he belonged.
Once he learns this, everything is better. Once he knows this they can actually touch and be real. This is real and now he knows he is real and so they can be real. It’s the perfect ending to one phase and the beginning of another.
Here will always be here, and he will always be here. It will stay this way forever because that’s what is meant to be.
The Cortina pulls up and interrupts, they all pile in and bicker as they all tend to do and drive off into the sunset. The way it should be.
“We should wait for the Guv.”
She looks to Ray and agrees. They should wait for the Guv.
“He’ll get away.”
“Sam, don’t. You can’t. Please. Stay. Wait. Don’t go!”
He looks at her and he moves forward, a hand towards her cheek and she pulls away before he can touch. If he can’t stay he can’t touch. Staying is reality, touch is felt. Leaving is something else all together. She wonders if he even realizes what driving away in that car means.
He looks wounded as she pulls away.
She wishes Ray would walk away for a moment, she needs to talk to Sam. She needs to talk to him in the way she can’t with an audience. She wished even more the Guv and Chris would get back here.
Sam moves to get into his car, and it’s the wrong car. He shouldn’t even have that car. They should be piled into the Cortina. They should be bickering and solving crimes. Not this.
Ray looks defiant, shouting something about Sam wanting to be the hero, showing off, she’s not sure. He’s playing his part in their world and she wishes it was enough to stop Sam, to bring him back, to have him jump right back into Ray’s face. It isn’t and he won’t. He gets into the car instead.
She follows after him and slides into the passenger seat. She leans over, turning the car off. Sam looks at her expectantly.
“What are you doing?”
“You can’t go, please. Stay.”
She wants to touch him again, and it feels like it’s against the rules. He’s not backing away from a roof ledge and he’s not finally admitting where he wants to be. He’s leaving in a way but she doesn’t even care. She leans over and she kisses him and it feels like goodbye where that first kiss felt like hello. She sees something in his eyes, and she thinks he might realize it, too. He was always clever.
“Wait for the Guv, please.”
“They’ll get away, Annie.”
“No they won’t, we’ll get them eventually. We always do.”
“I know.”
And he does know.
“Sam we need you. I need you.”
He looks out in front of him out the window. The Guv isn’t here yet because Sam doesn’t want him to be here quite yet. After so long Sam is starting to understand this world better than he should. They always figure it out, though. That’s what she was told, but she thought Sam was different.
“No, I needed you.”
“Sam, please. Stay here, forever. Don‘t go.”
It’s worked before, and she knows before she is done speaking it won’t work again.
“I’ve done all I can here. It’s someone else’s turn now.”
He understands it all too well.
“I don’t want someone else. We don’t want someone else. Please.”
“It’s time. They’ll get away. If I don’t get them now I never will.”
She shouldn’t. She knows it, but she leans over and kisses him one more time. Lingering. She wants it to stay this way. Her desire isn’t strong enough, though. Without Sam it all falls apart.
She slides out of the car, and it peels away, off into the sunset. Moments later the Guv and Chris show up.
They all pile into the Cortina. They all watch as the chase goes awry, as Sam’s car careens into the canal. She feels it all slipping away. All of it, everything. He couldn’t stay, he didn’t stay.
She stays where she is as she looks down over the canal. At first it is all four of them. One by one they all walk away. The Guv the last until she stands there by herself.
There is talk somewhere of London and some red boxy car with sharp angles and other things she never really liked. There might be a woman named Alex and another world built for some need or desire or want, and Annie couldn’t even care.
He told her he’d stay forever. He lied.
Manchester was meant to last forever. It all started with one car and an abandoned lot. It all disappeared with another car and a bottomless canal.
There will be no London for her, there will be no more Gene Hunt or Ray Carling or Chris Skelton. There will be no brash and boxy clothing or cars or any of it.
She will stay and she will wait, forever if she has to. She’ll be here when he needs this place again. She made a promise, too.
And if you haven’t got trust what have you got?
ooc: thanks to
knowswheregodis who gave me the idea behind this and for giving it a beta read.