How To Save a Life
The little AU: Vignettes: How to Save a Life
slashfairy
SongFic, G.
Prelude to Advent Calendar
~~
They're separated in time, place, and events, but not in Viggo's heart.
How to Save a Life/The Fray
Download
Step one: you say, "We need to talk."
He walks, you say "Sit down, it's just a talk."
He smiles politely back at you;
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right,
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came.
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence.
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you,
And pray to God he hears you!
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice:
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed.
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came.
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
How to save a life
How to save a life
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life...
Music hath charms...
He opens the laptop and some site Henry always checks pops up and catches him unawares. Tarot.com, hmm? Well let's see what it says. Horoscope for November 28, 2006.
Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22)
You may be feeling dangerously close to a meltdown and there isn't an apparent fix to this emotionally charged situation. You want to tell it like it is, but get sidetracked when you consider the possible negative reactions. Try not to let yourself get stuck by your tendency to make everyone feel at ease. Being honest is more important now than being nice.
He walks round the room, pacing off nothing, no place to go, nowhere to be, trying to outrun the thoughts in his head, the feelings in his heart. That damn song goes back and forth, him in the chorus, the verse about Orlando, and he shakes his head like Brigit would have, to clear it of conflicting sounds and scents.
He doesn't know what to do, how to work this one through. Orli's not his, that they established in Cannes... Nor, apparently, is he Kate's, although that ruse still holds some credence in the press. No, he's been some other fellow's for a bit, but that's ended in bitterness and strife, property divided or abandoned, hard feelings all around. Orli's come to the bluff house, seemed to be settling in, and as suddenly started moving from place to place, unable to settle at all. I didn't know, I didn't realize, pound the words in Viggo's brain as his feet so very very quietly trace a circle into the carpeted hotel-room floor.
There are other songs that invade his brain, keep his heart company while he wrestles with the twin demons of wanting to speak, and not wanting to cause trouble. Patty Griffin's "Rain" has been a constant companion for a month or more, ever since a message on the service (Why not use the cell phone, Orli? Why leave it someplace I won't get it until too late?) saying "I walked in the rain for 7 hours last night, you know, trying to sort this, and got no-where." That song had been on repeat in Vig's head for that entire night, 8 hours away, but he hadn't known why, only that it wouldn't stop and he hadn't wanted it to; it felt like a companion while it was there, and he was forlorn when it left.
He picks up the printout, stares at it a moment longer, then folds it up, ink side in, to use as scratch paper throughout the day. Maybe, he thinks, maybe there are words that will float by, that I can steal and find out how they fit together, to use to reach him, to bring him back to me. "Don't ever let me leave, Vig," he'd say, crying into my shoulder, or turned away, looking at the sea. "If you have to chase me to the ends of the earth, don't ever let me leave. I don't want to go, but if I do, don't let me leave. Don't lose me." I promised him then that I would never let him be lost. Ever. I wonder what the song is for that?
Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)
You'll need to make an extra effort today to share what's on your mind with friends or coworkers. You may be feeling more than you're letting on, which is often your style, but now you have a chance to show your softer side. Remember that vulnerability does not have to be a weakness. It takes a special kind of strength to be honest about your limitations.
Lean on Me/Rockapella
Rain
It’s hard to listen to a hard hard heart
Beating close to mine
Pounding up against the stone and steel
Walls that I won’t climb
Sometimes a hurt is so deep deep deep
You think that you’re gonna drown
Sometimes all I can do is weep weep weep
With all this rain falling down
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
Its hard to know when to give up the fight
Two things you want will just never be right
Its never rained like it has tonight before
Now I don’t wanna beg you baby
For something maybe you could never give
I’m not looking for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
(instrumental bridge)
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m still alive underneath this shroud
Rain Rain Rain
slashfairy
SongFic, G.
Prelude to Advent Calendar
~~
They're separated in time, place, and events, but not in Viggo's heart.
How to Save a Life/The Fray
Download
Step one: you say, "We need to talk."
He walks, you say "Sit down, it's just a talk."
He smiles politely back at you;
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right,
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came.
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence.
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you,
And pray to God he hears you!
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice:
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed.
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came.
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
How to save a life
How to save a life
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life...
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life...
Music hath charms...
He opens the laptop and some site Henry always checks pops up and catches him unawares. Tarot.com, hmm? Well let's see what it says. Horoscope for November 28, 2006.
Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22)
You may be feeling dangerously close to a meltdown and there isn't an apparent fix to this emotionally charged situation. You want to tell it like it is, but get sidetracked when you consider the possible negative reactions. Try not to let yourself get stuck by your tendency to make everyone feel at ease. Being honest is more important now than being nice.
He walks round the room, pacing off nothing, no place to go, nowhere to be, trying to outrun the thoughts in his head, the feelings in his heart. That damn song goes back and forth, him in the chorus, the verse about Orlando, and he shakes his head like Brigit would have, to clear it of conflicting sounds and scents.
He doesn't know what to do, how to work this one through. Orli's not his, that they established in Cannes... Nor, apparently, is he Kate's, although that ruse still holds some credence in the press. No, he's been some other fellow's for a bit, but that's ended in bitterness and strife, property divided or abandoned, hard feelings all around. Orli's come to the bluff house, seemed to be settling in, and as suddenly started moving from place to place, unable to settle at all. I didn't know, I didn't realize, pound the words in Viggo's brain as his feet so very very quietly trace a circle into the carpeted hotel-room floor.
There are other songs that invade his brain, keep his heart company while he wrestles with the twin demons of wanting to speak, and not wanting to cause trouble. Patty Griffin's "Rain" has been a constant companion for a month or more, ever since a message on the service (Why not use the cell phone, Orli? Why leave it someplace I won't get it until too late?) saying "I walked in the rain for 7 hours last night, you know, trying to sort this, and got no-where." That song had been on repeat in Vig's head for that entire night, 8 hours away, but he hadn't known why, only that it wouldn't stop and he hadn't wanted it to; it felt like a companion while it was there, and he was forlorn when it left.
He picks up the printout, stares at it a moment longer, then folds it up, ink side in, to use as scratch paper throughout the day. Maybe, he thinks, maybe there are words that will float by, that I can steal and find out how they fit together, to use to reach him, to bring him back to me. "Don't ever let me leave, Vig," he'd say, crying into my shoulder, or turned away, looking at the sea. "If you have to chase me to the ends of the earth, don't ever let me leave. I don't want to go, but if I do, don't let me leave. Don't lose me." I promised him then that I would never let him be lost. Ever. I wonder what the song is for that?
Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)
You'll need to make an extra effort today to share what's on your mind with friends or coworkers. You may be feeling more than you're letting on, which is often your style, but now you have a chance to show your softer side. Remember that vulnerability does not have to be a weakness. It takes a special kind of strength to be honest about your limitations.
Lean on Me/Rockapella
Rain
It’s hard to listen to a hard hard heart
Beating close to mine
Pounding up against the stone and steel
Walls that I won’t climb
Sometimes a hurt is so deep deep deep
You think that you’re gonna drown
Sometimes all I can do is weep weep weep
With all this rain falling down
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
Its hard to know when to give up the fight
Two things you want will just never be right
Its never rained like it has tonight before
Now I don’t wanna beg you baby
For something maybe you could never give
I’m not looking for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
(instrumental bridge)
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
Strange how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I’m still alive underneath this shroud
Rain Rain Rain