Starman Ficlet: Road Trip
Title: Road Trip
Fandom: Starman (Movie, 1984)
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jenny Hayden, Starman.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 518
Spoilers: Only for anyone not familiar with the movie.
Summary: Jenny Hayden’s road trip isn’t by choice, but maybe it’s not so bad.
Written For: Challenge 304: Travel at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Starman (1984), or the characters.
This wasn’t the way it should have been. Back before the tragic accident that took him from her far too soon, Jenny and Scott had talked about doing something like this when time and money allowed, taking a road trip, seeing the country, doing the whole tourist thing.
Well, now here she was, taking a road trip for real, but it wasn’t by her own choice, and while her companion looked like Scott, so much so that it hurt to see a stranger staring out of those familiar eyes, she could never mistake this… being for the man she still loved. She wasn’t sure what he was, or what he wanted from her, but she knew he wasn’t human. He’d stolen her dead husband’s form, and then he’d stolen her, along with her car.
Several times she’d tried to tell people she was being kidnapped, for all the good that had done her, but as time passed, more and more she was beginning to wonder if it was even true. This person, this alien… so far he hadn’t harmed her. Scared her, yes, how could she not be scared? He had her gun, even somehow knew how to use it, but he’d removed the clip when she’d finally made him understand how terrified she was.
“I mean you no harm, Jenny Hayden.”
God help her, she believed him. He was like a child in an adult’s body, innocent in so many ways. He didn’t understand the world around him, didn’t know how to be human, didn’t even know the body he’d created for himself needed food! Without her he’d be all but helpless. She shouldn’t care; he’d invaded her home in the middle of the night and now he was dragging her across the country because he claimed he had to be at some crater in Arizona by noon the day after tomorrow or he’d die.
She shouldn’t care, but she did.
Who would it really hurt if she helped him? He wasn’t Scott, but by now that was beside the point. He was a stranded visitor from somewhere out there among the stars; all he wanted was to return home, wherever that was, and he’d never get there by himself. He was too naïve, too gentle. Someone had to look after him, and it might as well be her.
‘I’m all he’s got. If I don’t help him he won’t make it. He’ll die, or get himself killed, and it’ll be my fault.’ Losing Scott had all but destroyed her; she didn’t need guilt weighing her down on top of her grief. ‘Besides, I’ve never been to Arizona; why stop now? I’ve come this far; may as well see this thing through to the end.’
In a way it felt good to be doing something for someone else, instead of sitting at home with her memories, drinking too much and wallowing in misery. For the first time in too long she had a purpose, no matter how strange it was. Maybe, after this, she’d finally be able to let go of the past and start living again.
The End
Fandom: Starman (Movie, 1984)
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jenny Hayden, Starman.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 518
Spoilers: Only for anyone not familiar with the movie.
Summary: Jenny Hayden’s road trip isn’t by choice, but maybe it’s not so bad.
Written For: Challenge 304: Travel at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Starman (1984), or the characters.
This wasn’t the way it should have been. Back before the tragic accident that took him from her far too soon, Jenny and Scott had talked about doing something like this when time and money allowed, taking a road trip, seeing the country, doing the whole tourist thing.
Well, now here she was, taking a road trip for real, but it wasn’t by her own choice, and while her companion looked like Scott, so much so that it hurt to see a stranger staring out of those familiar eyes, she could never mistake this… being for the man she still loved. She wasn’t sure what he was, or what he wanted from her, but she knew he wasn’t human. He’d stolen her dead husband’s form, and then he’d stolen her, along with her car.
Several times she’d tried to tell people she was being kidnapped, for all the good that had done her, but as time passed, more and more she was beginning to wonder if it was even true. This person, this alien… so far he hadn’t harmed her. Scared her, yes, how could she not be scared? He had her gun, even somehow knew how to use it, but he’d removed the clip when she’d finally made him understand how terrified she was.
“I mean you no harm, Jenny Hayden.”
God help her, she believed him. He was like a child in an adult’s body, innocent in so many ways. He didn’t understand the world around him, didn’t know how to be human, didn’t even know the body he’d created for himself needed food! Without her he’d be all but helpless. She shouldn’t care; he’d invaded her home in the middle of the night and now he was dragging her across the country because he claimed he had to be at some crater in Arizona by noon the day after tomorrow or he’d die.
She shouldn’t care, but she did.
Who would it really hurt if she helped him? He wasn’t Scott, but by now that was beside the point. He was a stranded visitor from somewhere out there among the stars; all he wanted was to return home, wherever that was, and he’d never get there by himself. He was too naïve, too gentle. Someone had to look after him, and it might as well be her.
‘I’m all he’s got. If I don’t help him he won’t make it. He’ll die, or get himself killed, and it’ll be my fault.’ Losing Scott had all but destroyed her; she didn’t need guilt weighing her down on top of her grief. ‘Besides, I’ve never been to Arizona; why stop now? I’ve come this far; may as well see this thing through to the end.’
In a way it felt good to be doing something for someone else, instead of sitting at home with her memories, drinking too much and wallowing in misery. For the first time in too long she had a purpose, no matter how strange it was. Maybe, after this, she’d finally be able to let go of the past and start living again.
The End