Threshold; Sean Cavennaugh x Molly Caffrey -- Gamma set
Fandom: Threshold
Pairing: Sean Cavennaugh x Molly Caffrey
Theme set: Gamma
Rating: PG13
Notes: This was horribly difficult to write, probably because the first series hasn't finished showing yet. I'm sorry, some of these are probably repetitive, but I'm too stubborn to just give up. xD
#01 - Ring
Cavennaugh didn't try to distract her from watching the placement of the troops, a lop sided ring around the suspected infectee's house, but he did speak, softly, for her ears alone, "It's not your fault if this fails, you know the infectees are good" -- she smiled slightly, distractedly, but that was all.
#02 - Hero
When he went in there to get her, and saw her covered in blood and sweat, desperate, he wasn't thinking about Caffrey and Threshold, he was thinking about Caffrey and himself and he wished, for a moment, she would see him not as a helpful member of the same team, but for himself, and not from the eyes of his boss, but from the eyes of a frightened woman -- but that wasn't a Caffrey-like thing to do.
#03 - Memory
The memory of dancing with that infectee left him feeling a little sick in his stomach -- but the memory of Caffrey dancing with that guy, professional or not, left a different feeling in his stomach, one he didn't like but couldn't fight; jealousy.
#04 - Box
Molly Caffrey was afraid, sometimes, that she'd see everyone she ever cared about in a box, going into the ground; that one day Cavennaugh would be gone, replaced by someone she couldn't mesh with as she had with him -- she was also afraid that it would be her fault, a desperate act during a losing battle.
#05 - Run
"Caffrey, run!" he shouted, and he was afraid for a moment she wouldn't get out of the path of the infectee fast enough, that she would hesitate, but no, she didn't even look at him, but obeyed the order -- he knew that she ran because she trusted him to have made the right decision for her, and that made him smile, because he had, and because he was surprised (and honoured) by that trust.
#06 - Hurricane
A hurricane was a good cover story to cover up the messes Threshold left behind, but there wasn't always such a convenient thing going on -- Cavennaugh watched as all the lies took Caffrey over (oh, what tangled webs we weave when we practise to deceive) and made her into a liar -- he couldn't do a thing about it; Threshold depended on her expert lies.
#07 - Wings
It troubled her when she dreamed of glass trees, but more so when she dreamed of Cavennaugh, of flying with him, dreams about being dead, being an angel, and having failed and still being happy; wonderful as those dreams were, she couldn't fail, just couldn't, and if winning meant giving up on Cavennaugh, well, she'd just have to.
#08 - Cold
He found her sleeping at her desk with cold coffee and tangled hair; he pushed her hair out of her eyes, watched her for a moment, then shook her gently, making hot coffee for her as she woke up.
#09 - Red
When he saw her all covered in red, red blood, an anger like nothing else boiled up inside him; he tried not to show it, but he wanted her to be a typical woman (he winced at the thought -- Molly, a typical woman?), to throw herself at him, bury her face in his chest, then there'd be no shame in clutching her close.
#10 - Drink
Cavennaugh wished life could be a little simpler sometimes, that he could ask Caffrey to join him for a drink, that night and again the next, but even if he did, there'd be no regular spot for them, no romantic little place that seemed all their own -- the protocols demanded that they go somewhere different each night.
#11 - Midnight
She found him sitting there in her office at midnight, going through a file -- she didn't fear for a moment, knowing he was as devoted to Threshold as she was; he looked up at her almost sadly, handing her the file and going past her and out -- she looked at the file and sighed when she found it was the progress report of the project she was most interested in, Fenway's project about a vaccine or antidote.
#12 - Temptation
Sometimes, when they were alone together, the temptation was almost too much -- but both held back against all odds, because a program like Threshold was no place to be having a relationship.
#13 - View
"Good view?" Cavennaugh asked her, coming to stand near her, and she shook her head, because she saw a world that was so fragile -- that could all be gone if her plan failed.
#14 - Music
She was surprised when he stole one of her earphones, and surprised when he smiled and identified the song in a single guess -- she was happy that they clicked on that minute level, all of a sudden, it made all of the time they would work together seem easier, somehow, even while it stretched before them like a yellow brick road leading nowhere.
#15 - Silk
Caffrey wasn't silky-smooth and easy like some politicians -- she had to force the lies out at first and sometimes she would be too blunt and clear-cut for her own good; Cavennaugh liked that, he felt on the same level with her.
#16 - Cover
She was sleeping on a chair, her neck at an awkward angle; awkwardly, Cavennaugh wrapped her in his jacket and pulled her so that his shoulder was a pillow during the journey.
#17 - Promise
They all made her promise at some point, serious, eyes dark with the knowledge of what could happen; Cavennaugh was no different, telling her to kill him if he was ever fully infected, though he was perhaps kinder, he placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, and asked in a way that made it seem like a favour instead of a desperate measure.
#18 - Dream
The dreams were a constant, glass trees, a glass sea, but there was an element one night that made Cavennaugh wonder -- Caffrey was there, and all he wanted to do was hold her, protect her, comfort her, because the glass sea meant that she had failed.
#19 - Candle
There was a story in the Bible, something about not hiding a candle's light; Cavennaugh knew that no one knew all that Caffrey did, and that seemed a shame to him and a waste, in exactly that way.
#20 - Talent
Caffrey admired him for the poker face he kept so apparently easily, it was a talent she'd found hard to master -- the only time she saw pretenses completely fall away was when an infectee flew at her; there was a look of anger and perhaps fear on his face, then pain as he got the infectee's fist in his nose because he was shielding her.
#21 - Silence
There's an awkward silence between them sometimes; born of knowing that they never will voice a single word of their complicated feelings.
#22 - Journey
Cavennaugh thinks of the moments he steals just being with Caffrey, even if she never looks at him and realises it, as being fair game because they are moments spent in transit, between one job and the next, between one important event and the next near-death experience.
#23 - Fire
Caffrey was passionate about some things -- about the infectees, keeping them alive, for one thing, and sometimes Cavennaugh could be a little frightened by that fiery look, but mostly, he respected it and smiled at it (mostly when it was directed at someone else, though).
#24 - Strength
Sometimes, he almost wished for an infectee's strength, just to defend Caffrey, but he knew she was smart enough and strong enough to have covered every eventuality with no need for that kind of strength.
#25 - Mask
There was a mask of civility over the whole thing, politeness, politically correct -- beneath the surface it was brutal and together, they fought for their lives, for the human race, Caffrey and Cavennaugh, Baylock and Fenway, Ramsey and Lucas... somehow they survived, and bonds grew between them that nothing would ever break.
#26 - Ice
They'd never met each other in the dreams before, but one night, Caffrey dreamt she saw Cavennaugh there, and she reached for his hand as he walked through the sea of glass, and his hand was cold as ice and he did not hear her.
#27 - Fall
He hated it when Caffrey took the fall for someone else's mistake, but he admired the generosity of her for doing it.
#28 - Forgotten
"Caffrey!" he called after her, and smiled when she turned, pressing her folder into her hands, "You forgot this," he said, and tried not to stare when she met his eyes and smiled.
#29 - Dance
Sometimes, he felt as if they were really dancing around each other, because they never seemed to meet eye to eye and facing each other -- he had to wonder if that was because they both knew the dangers of what that could bring.
#30 - Body
Caffrey cringed back from the mutated body, and found herself colliding with Cavennaugh -- apologies sprung to mind, but were forgotten when he hugged, just a brief, intoxicating squeeze, but it helped.
#31 - Sacred
Nothing was sacred anymore, even their scriptures used against them -- but there was something sacred in the curve of Molly Caffrey's neck, in the curve of her reassuring smile, and that was all the religion Cavennaugh had time for anymore.
#32 - Farewells
He actually dreaded a time when the protocols wouldn't be needed, when he would see Caffrey walk out of his life -- hated it because he would have to say goodbye, and hated it because the words would never come, even when he tried to rehearse, silent, in his own mind.
#33 - World
She'd seen the world because of her work, but standing there with Cavennaugh beside her, doing something as simple as tracking an infectee, Caffrey understood why the world was so precious, why she would fight to her very last breath (or at least till the last sip of coffee) for it.
#34 - Formal
It was oddly formal, when it was just the two of them, mainly because they were afraid to let it be anything else.
#35 - Fever
She worked herself sick, but through the vague haze of the fever, she knew Cavennaugh was covering for her, and she loved him so much for how well he pulled it off.
#36 - Laugh
As their cause was dying, so was her laugh, fading, and Cavennaugh wished he had half of Ramsey's wit, just to make her smile even half as much as she used to.
#37 - Lies
She didn't want to lie to him, of all of them, not him, but when he asked if she was okay, if she'd had bad news, she had to lie -- "no, not at all, why would you think that?"
#38 - Forever
There were moments that they wanted to last forever, but mostly they just wanted it all to be over, to no longer be in charge of such a huge threat -- even if it meant they'd part, they were willing to do that, because that was what life was all about; meetings and partings, threats faced and defeated.
#39 - Overwhelmed
Whenever he thought they might be overwhelmed, he reminded himself in whose hands the world rested, and he knew it'd come out okay.
#40 - Whisper
They spoke in whispers when he held her, because it was something entirely out of place within Threshold but such a necessary part of it -- having just one secret to keep from the others, when nothing they did should've been a secret anymore.
#41 - Wait
"Wait!" he called, and she turned, smiling slightly and raising an eyebrow -- "hurry up, Cavennaugh, I don't have all day!" -- and for a moment it was nothing but a game, tag, catch, kissy-chase, so when he caught her he kissed her like a schoolboy kissing his sweetheart, even amongst all the serious adult things, the world they were trying to save.
#42 - Talk
Sometimes he just wanted her to talk, about anything, about the problems, the fears, anything that she needed to say, because he liked the sound of her voice, expressive but controlled.
#43 - Search
Cavennaugh wanted to blow Manning full of holes mainly for Caffrey's sake; if he gave her the slip one more time, making her search useless, she was sure to catch it and he hated that thought.
#44 - Hope
He wanted, more than anything, to give her hope, but since all his hope came from her, it'd just be recycled words anyway.
#45 - Eclipse
When she spoke to the infectees, tried to make sense of them, it was as if her entire world darkened and clouded over, eclipsed by the heavy weight of wanting to make them respond, wanting them to be human again; Cavennaugh tried himself, sometimes, but found it too distressing to think about.
#46 - Gravity
There were two kinds of gravity; there was their serious faces, and then there was the pull to move close and kiss away the worry lines on her face.
#47 - Highway
He drove, and she sat next to him, and he put his foot down so they sped down the highway -- his jaw was clenched, his expression angry -- tentatively, Caffrey put a hand on his knee, and when the displeasure faded a little, Caffrey decided to leave it there.
#48 - Unknown
Cavennaugh was confident; they'd faced god knows what together and he was damned if he was going to let what they still didn't know phase him.
#49 - Lock
"Don't let anyone disturb me, just... come in if you need me badly," she said, softly, and he winced a little inwardly at the dark smudges under her eyes, taking the key to the room where she'd sleep for safe keeping and feeling a little... flattered that she trusted him.
#50 - Breathe
She wanted to ask him what to do, crushed by the weight of everything, but he looked up and smiled at her, teasing, before she could voice a thing, "You can start by breathing."
Pairing: Sean Cavennaugh x Molly Caffrey
Theme set: Gamma
Rating: PG13
Notes: This was horribly difficult to write, probably because the first series hasn't finished showing yet. I'm sorry, some of these are probably repetitive, but I'm too stubborn to just give up. xD
#01 - Ring
Cavennaugh didn't try to distract her from watching the placement of the troops, a lop sided ring around the suspected infectee's house, but he did speak, softly, for her ears alone, "It's not your fault if this fails, you know the infectees are good" -- she smiled slightly, distractedly, but that was all.
#02 - Hero
When he went in there to get her, and saw her covered in blood and sweat, desperate, he wasn't thinking about Caffrey and Threshold, he was thinking about Caffrey and himself and he wished, for a moment, she would see him not as a helpful member of the same team, but for himself, and not from the eyes of his boss, but from the eyes of a frightened woman -- but that wasn't a Caffrey-like thing to do.
#03 - Memory
The memory of dancing with that infectee left him feeling a little sick in his stomach -- but the memory of Caffrey dancing with that guy, professional or not, left a different feeling in his stomach, one he didn't like but couldn't fight; jealousy.
#04 - Box
Molly Caffrey was afraid, sometimes, that she'd see everyone she ever cared about in a box, going into the ground; that one day Cavennaugh would be gone, replaced by someone she couldn't mesh with as she had with him -- she was also afraid that it would be her fault, a desperate act during a losing battle.
#05 - Run
"Caffrey, run!" he shouted, and he was afraid for a moment she wouldn't get out of the path of the infectee fast enough, that she would hesitate, but no, she didn't even look at him, but obeyed the order -- he knew that she ran because she trusted him to have made the right decision for her, and that made him smile, because he had, and because he was surprised (and honoured) by that trust.
#06 - Hurricane
A hurricane was a good cover story to cover up the messes Threshold left behind, but there wasn't always such a convenient thing going on -- Cavennaugh watched as all the lies took Caffrey over (oh, what tangled webs we weave when we practise to deceive) and made her into a liar -- he couldn't do a thing about it; Threshold depended on her expert lies.
#07 - Wings
It troubled her when she dreamed of glass trees, but more so when she dreamed of Cavennaugh, of flying with him, dreams about being dead, being an angel, and having failed and still being happy; wonderful as those dreams were, she couldn't fail, just couldn't, and if winning meant giving up on Cavennaugh, well, she'd just have to.
#08 - Cold
He found her sleeping at her desk with cold coffee and tangled hair; he pushed her hair out of her eyes, watched her for a moment, then shook her gently, making hot coffee for her as she woke up.
#09 - Red
When he saw her all covered in red, red blood, an anger like nothing else boiled up inside him; he tried not to show it, but he wanted her to be a typical woman (he winced at the thought -- Molly, a typical woman?), to throw herself at him, bury her face in his chest, then there'd be no shame in clutching her close.
#10 - Drink
Cavennaugh wished life could be a little simpler sometimes, that he could ask Caffrey to join him for a drink, that night and again the next, but even if he did, there'd be no regular spot for them, no romantic little place that seemed all their own -- the protocols demanded that they go somewhere different each night.
#11 - Midnight
She found him sitting there in her office at midnight, going through a file -- she didn't fear for a moment, knowing he was as devoted to Threshold as she was; he looked up at her almost sadly, handing her the file and going past her and out -- she looked at the file and sighed when she found it was the progress report of the project she was most interested in, Fenway's project about a vaccine or antidote.
#12 - Temptation
Sometimes, when they were alone together, the temptation was almost too much -- but both held back against all odds, because a program like Threshold was no place to be having a relationship.
#13 - View
"Good view?" Cavennaugh asked her, coming to stand near her, and she shook her head, because she saw a world that was so fragile -- that could all be gone if her plan failed.
#14 - Music
She was surprised when he stole one of her earphones, and surprised when he smiled and identified the song in a single guess -- she was happy that they clicked on that minute level, all of a sudden, it made all of the time they would work together seem easier, somehow, even while it stretched before them like a yellow brick road leading nowhere.
#15 - Silk
Caffrey wasn't silky-smooth and easy like some politicians -- she had to force the lies out at first and sometimes she would be too blunt and clear-cut for her own good; Cavennaugh liked that, he felt on the same level with her.
#16 - Cover
She was sleeping on a chair, her neck at an awkward angle; awkwardly, Cavennaugh wrapped her in his jacket and pulled her so that his shoulder was a pillow during the journey.
#17 - Promise
They all made her promise at some point, serious, eyes dark with the knowledge of what could happen; Cavennaugh was no different, telling her to kill him if he was ever fully infected, though he was perhaps kinder, he placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, and asked in a way that made it seem like a favour instead of a desperate measure.
#18 - Dream
The dreams were a constant, glass trees, a glass sea, but there was an element one night that made Cavennaugh wonder -- Caffrey was there, and all he wanted to do was hold her, protect her, comfort her, because the glass sea meant that she had failed.
#19 - Candle
There was a story in the Bible, something about not hiding a candle's light; Cavennaugh knew that no one knew all that Caffrey did, and that seemed a shame to him and a waste, in exactly that way.
#20 - Talent
Caffrey admired him for the poker face he kept so apparently easily, it was a talent she'd found hard to master -- the only time she saw pretenses completely fall away was when an infectee flew at her; there was a look of anger and perhaps fear on his face, then pain as he got the infectee's fist in his nose because he was shielding her.
#21 - Silence
There's an awkward silence between them sometimes; born of knowing that they never will voice a single word of their complicated feelings.
#22 - Journey
Cavennaugh thinks of the moments he steals just being with Caffrey, even if she never looks at him and realises it, as being fair game because they are moments spent in transit, between one job and the next, between one important event and the next near-death experience.
#23 - Fire
Caffrey was passionate about some things -- about the infectees, keeping them alive, for one thing, and sometimes Cavennaugh could be a little frightened by that fiery look, but mostly, he respected it and smiled at it (mostly when it was directed at someone else, though).
#24 - Strength
Sometimes, he almost wished for an infectee's strength, just to defend Caffrey, but he knew she was smart enough and strong enough to have covered every eventuality with no need for that kind of strength.
#25 - Mask
There was a mask of civility over the whole thing, politeness, politically correct -- beneath the surface it was brutal and together, they fought for their lives, for the human race, Caffrey and Cavennaugh, Baylock and Fenway, Ramsey and Lucas... somehow they survived, and bonds grew between them that nothing would ever break.
#26 - Ice
They'd never met each other in the dreams before, but one night, Caffrey dreamt she saw Cavennaugh there, and she reached for his hand as he walked through the sea of glass, and his hand was cold as ice and he did not hear her.
#27 - Fall
He hated it when Caffrey took the fall for someone else's mistake, but he admired the generosity of her for doing it.
#28 - Forgotten
"Caffrey!" he called after her, and smiled when she turned, pressing her folder into her hands, "You forgot this," he said, and tried not to stare when she met his eyes and smiled.
#29 - Dance
Sometimes, he felt as if they were really dancing around each other, because they never seemed to meet eye to eye and facing each other -- he had to wonder if that was because they both knew the dangers of what that could bring.
#30 - Body
Caffrey cringed back from the mutated body, and found herself colliding with Cavennaugh -- apologies sprung to mind, but were forgotten when he hugged, just a brief, intoxicating squeeze, but it helped.
#31 - Sacred
Nothing was sacred anymore, even their scriptures used against them -- but there was something sacred in the curve of Molly Caffrey's neck, in the curve of her reassuring smile, and that was all the religion Cavennaugh had time for anymore.
#32 - Farewells
He actually dreaded a time when the protocols wouldn't be needed, when he would see Caffrey walk out of his life -- hated it because he would have to say goodbye, and hated it because the words would never come, even when he tried to rehearse, silent, in his own mind.
#33 - World
She'd seen the world because of her work, but standing there with Cavennaugh beside her, doing something as simple as tracking an infectee, Caffrey understood why the world was so precious, why she would fight to her very last breath (or at least till the last sip of coffee) for it.
#34 - Formal
It was oddly formal, when it was just the two of them, mainly because they were afraid to let it be anything else.
#35 - Fever
She worked herself sick, but through the vague haze of the fever, she knew Cavennaugh was covering for her, and she loved him so much for how well he pulled it off.
#36 - Laugh
As their cause was dying, so was her laugh, fading, and Cavennaugh wished he had half of Ramsey's wit, just to make her smile even half as much as she used to.
#37 - Lies
She didn't want to lie to him, of all of them, not him, but when he asked if she was okay, if she'd had bad news, she had to lie -- "no, not at all, why would you think that?"
#38 - Forever
There were moments that they wanted to last forever, but mostly they just wanted it all to be over, to no longer be in charge of such a huge threat -- even if it meant they'd part, they were willing to do that, because that was what life was all about; meetings and partings, threats faced and defeated.
#39 - Overwhelmed
Whenever he thought they might be overwhelmed, he reminded himself in whose hands the world rested, and he knew it'd come out okay.
#40 - Whisper
They spoke in whispers when he held her, because it was something entirely out of place within Threshold but such a necessary part of it -- having just one secret to keep from the others, when nothing they did should've been a secret anymore.
#41 - Wait
"Wait!" he called, and she turned, smiling slightly and raising an eyebrow -- "hurry up, Cavennaugh, I don't have all day!" -- and for a moment it was nothing but a game, tag, catch, kissy-chase, so when he caught her he kissed her like a schoolboy kissing his sweetheart, even amongst all the serious adult things, the world they were trying to save.
#42 - Talk
Sometimes he just wanted her to talk, about anything, about the problems, the fears, anything that she needed to say, because he liked the sound of her voice, expressive but controlled.
#43 - Search
Cavennaugh wanted to blow Manning full of holes mainly for Caffrey's sake; if he gave her the slip one more time, making her search useless, she was sure to catch it and he hated that thought.
#44 - Hope
He wanted, more than anything, to give her hope, but since all his hope came from her, it'd just be recycled words anyway.
#45 - Eclipse
When she spoke to the infectees, tried to make sense of them, it was as if her entire world darkened and clouded over, eclipsed by the heavy weight of wanting to make them respond, wanting them to be human again; Cavennaugh tried himself, sometimes, but found it too distressing to think about.
#46 - Gravity
There were two kinds of gravity; there was their serious faces, and then there was the pull to move close and kiss away the worry lines on her face.
#47 - Highway
He drove, and she sat next to him, and he put his foot down so they sped down the highway -- his jaw was clenched, his expression angry -- tentatively, Caffrey put a hand on his knee, and when the displeasure faded a little, Caffrey decided to leave it there.
#48 - Unknown
Cavennaugh was confident; they'd faced god knows what together and he was damned if he was going to let what they still didn't know phase him.
#49 - Lock
"Don't let anyone disturb me, just... come in if you need me badly," she said, softly, and he winced a little inwardly at the dark smudges under her eyes, taking the key to the room where she'd sleep for safe keeping and feeling a little... flattered that she trusted him.
#50 - Breathe
She wanted to ask him what to do, crushed by the weight of everything, but he looked up and smiled at her, teasing, before she could voice a thing, "You can start by breathing."