Fic: Freedom in Helplessness(Bart/Rose)
Title: Freedom in Helplessness
By: milleniumrex
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Rose Wilson/Bart Allen
Words: 1717
Summary: After an accident, a paralyzed Rose reflects on her future and her life with Bart.
Author's Notes/Warnings: Takes place sometime after Bart comes back like we all know and hope he's going to. I love Rose and apologize for doing this to her, but the bunny bit and wouldn't let go.
"Come on, Bart! Get in here!"
Bart lay on the side of the river as Rose swam in the cool water. "Meh."
"I even wore my hottest bikini, and you're not going to swim with me? Some boyfriend you are."
"It's a river, Rose. There's things in there. Fish. Algae. Even leeches, maybe. And the leeches and I still technically have a state of war going on. No treaty was ever officially signed! I'll stick to the swimming pool back at the tower."
Rose playfully sent a wave of river water flying towards Bart, who jumped up from his blanket. "Wuss. Watch and learn."
Rose performed a perfect arcing dive off a standing log in the middle of the river, splashing into the cool water. Distracted by her thoughts, she didn't see the large rock at the bottom of the lake until she slammed head-first into it. There was a sharp crack as her head snapped backwards, and what felt like an electric shock surged through her body, leaving her with an odd tingle in her limbs - and nothing else. Floating face-down in the water, Rose tried to swim to the surface. But nothing happened. Her arms and legs wouldn't cooperate with her. She tried to shout for help, but her mouth filled up with water.
Rose had been down for an awfully long time, Bart thought to himself. She was probably messing around with him, as she often liked to, but Bart's nervous side got the best of him, and he tiptoed towards the water, seeing Rose floating a few feet under the surface.
"Come on, Rose! You're not really going to make me wade in there to get you, are you?"
There was no response. Rose wasn't moving, and Bart's nervousness turned to full-blown fear. He raced into the pool, reaching for Rose's limp form.
Rose found herself being pulled out of the water by Bart. Her body lying over his shoulder, her limp arms draped across his back, it truly dawned on Rose for the first time that she couldn't feel her limbs. A deep fear overcame her as Bart carefully lay her down on the riverbank, taking her hand in his.
"Rose? You okay? What happened down there?"
Rose opened her mouth and let out a scream of pure panic.
______________
Four months later:
Rose looked herself over in the full-length mirror. The bionic eye Cyborg had outfitted her with during rehab was a good match for her real one. It was designed to help her with depth perception as she learned to guide a wheelchair. But she also liked the look. The eye-patch was Ravager, and everything that came with her. And Ravager was dead now. She had died at the bottom of that lake. Rose Wilson was all that was left. Broken, changed, but still alive. A lot of the last few months were sort of hazy. As soon as she had been given the diagnosis of a broken neck and permanent quadriplegia, Rose had begged Bart to do one of two things - inject her with as much of her father's serum as she could survive to try to stimulate super-healing, or kill her. Bart obliged on the first, flat out refused on the second. After the injections, she had spent most of the next month in an insane, drug-induced haze. But when she came out of it... nothing had changed. From about an inch below her shoulders, everything was numb and motionless. There was still the chance that at some point, the serum in her blood would trigger some healing, but no one could say just how long it would take or if it would even happen. Until then, she was left with arms that doubled as paperweights and a wheelchair that she drove by blowing into a straw. And for someone who prided herself on never seeking help from anyone, this was intolerable. It was like prison, except that there was no chance of escape or parole, because the bars were your own body.
Snapping out of her self-pity for a second, Rose found a smile creeping across her face at the fact that she had finally found a way to end her father's twisted quest to reclaim her permanently. He had no use for her now, and that was exactly how she liked it.
Rose was startled out of her thoughts by a gust of wind in the room, followed by a super-speed kiss on her cheek. "Heybabe! Sorry it took me so long! You need anything?"
Rose rolled her eyes, although she couldn't help but smile a little inside at Bart's over-attentiveness. "I'm fine, Bart. You were just gone five minutes. Besides, I've got everything I need here. Water bottle attached to the chair in case I get thirsty; voice-activated emergency call system on the wall...I can even surf the net with a mouthstick if I get bored. You take care of me. You don't have to be here all the freaking time."
"I know. I just worry about you. The last time I wasn't there when you needed me..."
Rose glared at Bart. "Oh, come on. You can't keep blaming yourself. You were napping on the sand. I'm the stupid one who didn't check the water before diving in. And remember what I told you about this?"
Bart thought back. "You're not going to be paralyzed forever, and every time I annoy you by acting guilty, you're keeping it in the back of your mind to smack me in the head at the earliest possible opportunity?"
"Exactly. And don't doubt my memory, either. When it comes to revenge, I'm a steel trap."
Bart grinned, running his hand through Rose's perfect silver hair. "Hey, I'm not that absentminded. I know you're scary."
"As long as we're clear." Rose looked at the bag in Bart's hands. "That lunch?"
"Yeah, Hunan Wok, your favorite. You hungry?"
"Sure. Set it up."
Bart carefully placed the food on the lap-tray of Rose's wheelchair. Taking a fork, he placed it about six inches away from Rose's hand.
"Okay. Now back up, firefly. I'll tell you when."
Rose focused on her right hand, carefully resting in the molded armrests on her wheelchair. Flexing the slight movement she had in her shoulders, she tried to force her arm to move for the first time since her accident, to make it grip the fork by sheer force of will. But as happened every time, her arm stayed exactly where it was.
"Rose..."
"Not yet, Bart."
Bart winced as he saw the pained expression on Rose's face. This was a mealtime ritual. Rose wouldn't allow herself to be helped until she'd made absolutely sure she couldn't do it herself. He hated seeing her disappointment each time, but trying to stop her would only make it worse. Rose needed this.
Sweat running down her face, Rose stopped straining. Her shoulders slumped down slightly. "Okay. I can't. "
Without a word, Bart speared a piece of beef on the fork and offered it to Rose, who chewed in silence. And as he did every day, he said a silent prayer for a miracle to come along and heal the girl he loved. They lived in a world of miracles. Hell, he was back from the dead. But Rose was still suffering every day because of one moment of distraction. He just had to believe that karma would fix this soon enough. Until then, he'd keep trying. He was Bart Allen. His mind moved a thousand miles a minute. He just hadn't stumbled on the right idea yet.
___________________
Bart carefully lay Rose down on the mattress as the moon shone over Titans Tower. A brief grimace crossed her face.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Bart. I'm fine."
"No you're not! You looked like you're in pain. So come on, tell me. You know how I get when I obsess about something. I'm not going to be able to sleep all night. And then I'll be pacing around the tower all night, and I'll probably trip some security device and wind up in the basement. Again!"
Rose giggled a little as Bart rambled. "Look, it's nothing serious. Just...my shoulders are kind of hurting. I've been working them a lot, trying to move more, and it's been straining them a bit. And I can't really adjust them too well in the chair besides a tiny shrug, so it just gets worse. Do you think..."
Bart revved up his fingers, moving them at super-speed. "You should have asked earlier. You know this is my specialty!"
Bart gently began kneading his fingers into Rose's tensed shoulders, the vibrations loosening the muscles almost immediately. The relief washing over her, Rose closed her eyes and allows herself to relax, the pain of the last four months slipping away. Yeah, she had lost a lot. Her career as a hero, her athletic ability, and her independence, just to name a few. But she still had the most important thing - the sweetest guy in the world, who somehow managed to put a smile on her face at least once a day no matter how bad she felt. Her old life was gone for now, but in its place she had a new life where she didn't have to worry about her deranged father trying to kill her friends to get her back, where she didn't have to worry about his influence over her making her a killer again. It was a small consolation, but it was something. It had been so long since she had just been Rose Wilson, that she was kind of looking forward to discovering who she was again. There could be worse ways to pass the time until Bart figured out a way to fix her.
Her shoulders now sufficiently pain-free, Rose relaxed as Bart settled down next to her in bed. Feeling his soft breath on her shoulder, Rose thought to herself that she hadn't been lying. As soon as she could move again, she would pay Bart back, just not in the way she had threatened. For all he had done for her, then and now, she couldn't wait to give him the most amazing time of his life. And she had enough pent-up energy to go for days.
By: milleniumrex
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Rose Wilson/Bart Allen
Words: 1717
Summary: After an accident, a paralyzed Rose reflects on her future and her life with Bart.
Author's Notes/Warnings: Takes place sometime after Bart comes back like we all know and hope he's going to. I love Rose and apologize for doing this to her, but the bunny bit and wouldn't let go.
"Come on, Bart! Get in here!"
Bart lay on the side of the river as Rose swam in the cool water. "Meh."
"I even wore my hottest bikini, and you're not going to swim with me? Some boyfriend you are."
"It's a river, Rose. There's things in there. Fish. Algae. Even leeches, maybe. And the leeches and I still technically have a state of war going on. No treaty was ever officially signed! I'll stick to the swimming pool back at the tower."
Rose playfully sent a wave of river water flying towards Bart, who jumped up from his blanket. "Wuss. Watch and learn."
Rose performed a perfect arcing dive off a standing log in the middle of the river, splashing into the cool water. Distracted by her thoughts, she didn't see the large rock at the bottom of the lake until she slammed head-first into it. There was a sharp crack as her head snapped backwards, and what felt like an electric shock surged through her body, leaving her with an odd tingle in her limbs - and nothing else. Floating face-down in the water, Rose tried to swim to the surface. But nothing happened. Her arms and legs wouldn't cooperate with her. She tried to shout for help, but her mouth filled up with water.
Rose had been down for an awfully long time, Bart thought to himself. She was probably messing around with him, as she often liked to, but Bart's nervous side got the best of him, and he tiptoed towards the water, seeing Rose floating a few feet under the surface.
"Come on, Rose! You're not really going to make me wade in there to get you, are you?"
There was no response. Rose wasn't moving, and Bart's nervousness turned to full-blown fear. He raced into the pool, reaching for Rose's limp form.
Rose found herself being pulled out of the water by Bart. Her body lying over his shoulder, her limp arms draped across his back, it truly dawned on Rose for the first time that she couldn't feel her limbs. A deep fear overcame her as Bart carefully lay her down on the riverbank, taking her hand in his.
"Rose? You okay? What happened down there?"
Rose opened her mouth and let out a scream of pure panic.
______________
Four months later:
Rose looked herself over in the full-length mirror. The bionic eye Cyborg had outfitted her with during rehab was a good match for her real one. It was designed to help her with depth perception as she learned to guide a wheelchair. But she also liked the look. The eye-patch was Ravager, and everything that came with her. And Ravager was dead now. She had died at the bottom of that lake. Rose Wilson was all that was left. Broken, changed, but still alive. A lot of the last few months were sort of hazy. As soon as she had been given the diagnosis of a broken neck and permanent quadriplegia, Rose had begged Bart to do one of two things - inject her with as much of her father's serum as she could survive to try to stimulate super-healing, or kill her. Bart obliged on the first, flat out refused on the second. After the injections, she had spent most of the next month in an insane, drug-induced haze. But when she came out of it... nothing had changed. From about an inch below her shoulders, everything was numb and motionless. There was still the chance that at some point, the serum in her blood would trigger some healing, but no one could say just how long it would take or if it would even happen. Until then, she was left with arms that doubled as paperweights and a wheelchair that she drove by blowing into a straw. And for someone who prided herself on never seeking help from anyone, this was intolerable. It was like prison, except that there was no chance of escape or parole, because the bars were your own body.
Snapping out of her self-pity for a second, Rose found a smile creeping across her face at the fact that she had finally found a way to end her father's twisted quest to reclaim her permanently. He had no use for her now, and that was exactly how she liked it.
Rose was startled out of her thoughts by a gust of wind in the room, followed by a super-speed kiss on her cheek. "Heybabe! Sorry it took me so long! You need anything?"
Rose rolled her eyes, although she couldn't help but smile a little inside at Bart's over-attentiveness. "I'm fine, Bart. You were just gone five minutes. Besides, I've got everything I need here. Water bottle attached to the chair in case I get thirsty; voice-activated emergency call system on the wall...I can even surf the net with a mouthstick if I get bored. You take care of me. You don't have to be here all the freaking time."
"I know. I just worry about you. The last time I wasn't there when you needed me..."
Rose glared at Bart. "Oh, come on. You can't keep blaming yourself. You were napping on the sand. I'm the stupid one who didn't check the water before diving in. And remember what I told you about this?"
Bart thought back. "You're not going to be paralyzed forever, and every time I annoy you by acting guilty, you're keeping it in the back of your mind to smack me in the head at the earliest possible opportunity?"
"Exactly. And don't doubt my memory, either. When it comes to revenge, I'm a steel trap."
Bart grinned, running his hand through Rose's perfect silver hair. "Hey, I'm not that absentminded. I know you're scary."
"As long as we're clear." Rose looked at the bag in Bart's hands. "That lunch?"
"Yeah, Hunan Wok, your favorite. You hungry?"
"Sure. Set it up."
Bart carefully placed the food on the lap-tray of Rose's wheelchair. Taking a fork, he placed it about six inches away from Rose's hand.
"Okay. Now back up, firefly. I'll tell you when."
Rose focused on her right hand, carefully resting in the molded armrests on her wheelchair. Flexing the slight movement she had in her shoulders, she tried to force her arm to move for the first time since her accident, to make it grip the fork by sheer force of will. But as happened every time, her arm stayed exactly where it was.
"Rose..."
"Not yet, Bart."
Bart winced as he saw the pained expression on Rose's face. This was a mealtime ritual. Rose wouldn't allow herself to be helped until she'd made absolutely sure she couldn't do it herself. He hated seeing her disappointment each time, but trying to stop her would only make it worse. Rose needed this.
Sweat running down her face, Rose stopped straining. Her shoulders slumped down slightly. "Okay. I can't. "
Without a word, Bart speared a piece of beef on the fork and offered it to Rose, who chewed in silence. And as he did every day, he said a silent prayer for a miracle to come along and heal the girl he loved. They lived in a world of miracles. Hell, he was back from the dead. But Rose was still suffering every day because of one moment of distraction. He just had to believe that karma would fix this soon enough. Until then, he'd keep trying. He was Bart Allen. His mind moved a thousand miles a minute. He just hadn't stumbled on the right idea yet.
___________________
Bart carefully lay Rose down on the mattress as the moon shone over Titans Tower. A brief grimace crossed her face.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Bart. I'm fine."
"No you're not! You looked like you're in pain. So come on, tell me. You know how I get when I obsess about something. I'm not going to be able to sleep all night. And then I'll be pacing around the tower all night, and I'll probably trip some security device and wind up in the basement. Again!"
Rose giggled a little as Bart rambled. "Look, it's nothing serious. Just...my shoulders are kind of hurting. I've been working them a lot, trying to move more, and it's been straining them a bit. And I can't really adjust them too well in the chair besides a tiny shrug, so it just gets worse. Do you think..."
Bart revved up his fingers, moving them at super-speed. "You should have asked earlier. You know this is my specialty!"
Bart gently began kneading his fingers into Rose's tensed shoulders, the vibrations loosening the muscles almost immediately. The relief washing over her, Rose closed her eyes and allows herself to relax, the pain of the last four months slipping away. Yeah, she had lost a lot. Her career as a hero, her athletic ability, and her independence, just to name a few. But she still had the most important thing - the sweetest guy in the world, who somehow managed to put a smile on her face at least once a day no matter how bad she felt. Her old life was gone for now, but in its place she had a new life where she didn't have to worry about her deranged father trying to kill her friends to get her back, where she didn't have to worry about his influence over her making her a killer again. It was a small consolation, but it was something. It had been so long since she had just been Rose Wilson, that she was kind of looking forward to discovering who she was again. There could be worse ways to pass the time until Bart figured out a way to fix her.
Her shoulders now sufficiently pain-free, Rose relaxed as Bart settled down next to her in bed. Feeling his soft breath on her shoulder, Rose thought to herself that she hadn't been lying. As soon as she could move again, she would pay Bart back, just not in the way she had threatened. For all he had done for her, then and now, she couldn't wait to give him the most amazing time of his life. And she had enough pent-up energy to go for days.