Beth's Family
Jan. 24th, 2015 05:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptWorking Title: Beth's Family
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Stalker
Character/Pairing: Beth, Jack, Ensemble
Rating: PG-13/T
Challenge: This is for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
tv_universe Big Bang Inspirations challenge. If you join, be sure to tell them Kat Lee of Team Bunny Ears sent you!
Warning(s): SPOILERS, INCLUDING THE MOST RECENTLY AIRED EPISODE!
Word Count: 1,416
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
It's much later in the night when the droning of the television is the only sound in her house and the others have been quiet for nearly an hour when Beth finally lets herself watch them again. She still can scarcely believe that they came to her. She should never have doubted that they would be here for her, but then coming through for a fellow officer and coming through as these three have for her are two very different things.
Officers were always supposed to look out for each other. They had one another's backs when no one else did. They had seen and endured so many things that the public, and even most cops, would never witness. It was a silent expectation that they be there for one another, but not like this.
She had never expected them to come home with her. Beth's tired mouth lifts in the smallest of grins. This is the first night her house has actually felt like a home. Up until tonight, it's only really been a place where she stays until it's time to go back to work. She would have stayed in her office if she could have, but people would have figured out something was different with her a lot sooner than they were now.
She only needed a place to sleep, eat, and bathe. She hadn't needed a home. She hadn't been able to have a home. A home, after all, was where a family spent time together and were safe. Her family's been dead for years, and no matter how tough she may act or what might tell those who asked, she hasn't really felt safe since that night. She hasn't felt safe since him, since she realized the man she was seeing was a monster. She'd fooled every one, including herself, into believing otherwise, but Perry had soon brought that face to her realization.
She had never been safe since that night, but she almost feels safe now. She does feel cared for. She's no longer lonely, no longer quiet as frightened. She gazes across the room, intently watching the trio who had insisted on keeping her company tonight even when she couldn't provide them with so much as halfway decent beds. Jack had told her it wasn't all about her, and in a way, she supposed, it wasn't. Yet, for the biggest part, despite what he said, despite what she'd chosen to belief at the time in order to feel a little more comfortable with their presence, it was about her.
It was about her and her friends. These three people, each strong in their own ways and each having suffered in their own lives, have come to love her more than she deserves to have any one care for her. They've put their own lives on hold to be with her, to keep her safe, and Beth knows they'll do everything they can to bring her two stalkers to justice. They'll do whatever they have to to keep her safe, even though it's not their battle.
She should feel guilty for bringing them away from their friends and family. She should feel guilty for placing their lives in jeopardy. She is guilty, she thinks, watching them sleep, but not for the reasons she should be. She's guilty for not having told them sooner. Every one of them has trusted her and let her into their lives; she should've trusted them before now.
Perhaps then Perry wouldn't have grown to become the problem he has. Perhaps her family's killer wouldn't be on the loose, coming after her again. Perhaps they'd all be safer. But she can't change the past. That's one of the hardest lessons she's had to learn, but she has come to accept it. She can no more go back and tell them sooner than she can go back and save her family.
Tears well in Beth's almond-shaped eyes as she reflects on that fact. It's something she still reminds herself of daily. She remembers every time she does manage to save a life. She remembers those she couldn't save, those she loved more than any one else she's ever known, and the pain seems fresh again. She couldn't save them. She can't save them.
What if she can't save her friends? She'd like to think that how they've come together tonight is akin to what a family might do, and they are a family, of sorts. Every unit is. But they're still not her family. They're not the ones she caused to get killed. They're not the ones she couldn't save, but they might well be the ones she can't save now.
She gets to her feet, her grief almost overcoming her. Her hand balls into a fist against her mouth to keep her quiet. She should tell them to leave, or perhaps she should leave herself. Take herself out of the picture. Take herself as far away from them as possible but be blatantly clear where she is going so that her wouldbe killers can still find her and not hurt them instead. She's no fool; she knows her family would never have been killed the way they were if not for her. He killed them to get to her; she can't let that happen again.
She slips into the kitchen, thinking she hasn't been seen, knowing if she leaves now, they won't be able to find her, moving with the darkness and as quiet as a cat so she won't accidentally wake them. But one already is awake. When Beth reaches for her keys, his hand covers hers. "You're not running," Jack whispers, "and you're not taking them with you." She looks up at him through her tears. "You're not alone in this, Beth," he speaks sternly.
"But I should be." She barely keeps from sobbing.
"This isn't your fault, Beth. What happened to your family isn't your fault, . . . Michelle."
"He killed them because of me."
"I know." He nods, his hand still not relinquishing his grip on hers. "But what do you tell the people we help, Beth? What do you tell them when a psychopath kills somebody they care for?"
"That it's not their fault. They didn't ask for their attentions. They didn't ask for any of what they did to him." Her voice breaks; her body trembles against his.
He steps closer and slowly lifts his hand from hers. He crooks a finger underneath her chin and forces her to keep his gaze. "Neither did you. What happened isn't your fault. We can't change what happened, but we can change the future. I can't give you a family, Beth, but you've got three stubborn friends who have your back and aren't going anywhere."
She blinks through her tears, still shaking. "I know, but I -- I can't -- "
"You're not going to get us killed. We're stronger, and we're strongest together. Let him come. We're going to send that son of a bitch where he belongs."
She looks at him in surprise, and through the tears she's still trying to blink back, Beth and Michelle both realize something. Jack wants her family's killer almost as badly as she does, but not necessarily to bring him to justice. She's tried the justice system. It hasn't worked. He's back after her again, and there's nothing saying that if he's locked up, he won't come at her again and again until finally he kills more people around her. Until finally he kills her.
A whimper escapes her; Jack catches her and brings her into the confides of his arms. "Let us be here for you, Beth. I promise you you won't regret it." She no longer argues with him, even when he presses a kiss to her forehead. "I've got your back."
From the doorway, Ben watches. He looks back to where Janice is still asleep on the couch and beginning to snore. He looks back to Jack holding Beth, and he smiles. Jack is right about everything but one thing. They are going to bring down the son of a bitch who killed Beth's first family, but he, more than any of them, knows what a family really is. She has one right here. It's only going to take her a little while longer to realize that fact and that they're not going anywhere, not by Perry's designs, not by Ray's either, or any other force. They all have her back, and they always will.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Stalker
Character/Pairing: Beth, Jack, Ensemble
Rating: PG-13/T
Challenge: This is for the
tv_universe Big Bang Inspirations challenge. If you join, be sure to tell them Kat Lee of Team Bunny Ears sent you!Warning(s): SPOILERS, INCLUDING THE MOST RECENTLY AIRED EPISODE!
Word Count: 1,416
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
It's much later in the night when the droning of the television is the only sound in her house and the others have been quiet for nearly an hour when Beth finally lets herself watch them again. She still can scarcely believe that they came to her. She should never have doubted that they would be here for her, but then coming through for a fellow officer and coming through as these three have for her are two very different things.
Officers were always supposed to look out for each other. They had one another's backs when no one else did. They had seen and endured so many things that the public, and even most cops, would never witness. It was a silent expectation that they be there for one another, but not like this.
She had never expected them to come home with her. Beth's tired mouth lifts in the smallest of grins. This is the first night her house has actually felt like a home. Up until tonight, it's only really been a place where she stays until it's time to go back to work. She would have stayed in her office if she could have, but people would have figured out something was different with her a lot sooner than they were now.
She only needed a place to sleep, eat, and bathe. She hadn't needed a home. She hadn't been able to have a home. A home, after all, was where a family spent time together and were safe. Her family's been dead for years, and no matter how tough she may act or what might tell those who asked, she hasn't really felt safe since that night. She hasn't felt safe since him, since she realized the man she was seeing was a monster. She'd fooled every one, including herself, into believing otherwise, but Perry had soon brought that face to her realization.
She had never been safe since that night, but she almost feels safe now. She does feel cared for. She's no longer lonely, no longer quiet as frightened. She gazes across the room, intently watching the trio who had insisted on keeping her company tonight even when she couldn't provide them with so much as halfway decent beds. Jack had told her it wasn't all about her, and in a way, she supposed, it wasn't. Yet, for the biggest part, despite what he said, despite what she'd chosen to belief at the time in order to feel a little more comfortable with their presence, it was about her.
It was about her and her friends. These three people, each strong in their own ways and each having suffered in their own lives, have come to love her more than she deserves to have any one care for her. They've put their own lives on hold to be with her, to keep her safe, and Beth knows they'll do everything they can to bring her two stalkers to justice. They'll do whatever they have to to keep her safe, even though it's not their battle.
She should feel guilty for bringing them away from their friends and family. She should feel guilty for placing their lives in jeopardy. She is guilty, she thinks, watching them sleep, but not for the reasons she should be. She's guilty for not having told them sooner. Every one of them has trusted her and let her into their lives; she should've trusted them before now.
Perhaps then Perry wouldn't have grown to become the problem he has. Perhaps her family's killer wouldn't be on the loose, coming after her again. Perhaps they'd all be safer. But she can't change the past. That's one of the hardest lessons she's had to learn, but she has come to accept it. She can no more go back and tell them sooner than she can go back and save her family.
Tears well in Beth's almond-shaped eyes as she reflects on that fact. It's something she still reminds herself of daily. She remembers every time she does manage to save a life. She remembers those she couldn't save, those she loved more than any one else she's ever known, and the pain seems fresh again. She couldn't save them. She can't save them.
What if she can't save her friends? She'd like to think that how they've come together tonight is akin to what a family might do, and they are a family, of sorts. Every unit is. But they're still not her family. They're not the ones she caused to get killed. They're not the ones she couldn't save, but they might well be the ones she can't save now.
She gets to her feet, her grief almost overcoming her. Her hand balls into a fist against her mouth to keep her quiet. She should tell them to leave, or perhaps she should leave herself. Take herself out of the picture. Take herself as far away from them as possible but be blatantly clear where she is going so that her wouldbe killers can still find her and not hurt them instead. She's no fool; she knows her family would never have been killed the way they were if not for her. He killed them to get to her; she can't let that happen again.
She slips into the kitchen, thinking she hasn't been seen, knowing if she leaves now, they won't be able to find her, moving with the darkness and as quiet as a cat so she won't accidentally wake them. But one already is awake. When Beth reaches for her keys, his hand covers hers. "You're not running," Jack whispers, "and you're not taking them with you." She looks up at him through her tears. "You're not alone in this, Beth," he speaks sternly.
"But I should be." She barely keeps from sobbing.
"This isn't your fault, Beth. What happened to your family isn't your fault, . . . Michelle."
"He killed them because of me."
"I know." He nods, his hand still not relinquishing his grip on hers. "But what do you tell the people we help, Beth? What do you tell them when a psychopath kills somebody they care for?"
"That it's not their fault. They didn't ask for their attentions. They didn't ask for any of what they did to him." Her voice breaks; her body trembles against his.
He steps closer and slowly lifts his hand from hers. He crooks a finger underneath her chin and forces her to keep his gaze. "Neither did you. What happened isn't your fault. We can't change what happened, but we can change the future. I can't give you a family, Beth, but you've got three stubborn friends who have your back and aren't going anywhere."
She blinks through her tears, still shaking. "I know, but I -- I can't -- "
"You're not going to get us killed. We're stronger, and we're strongest together. Let him come. We're going to send that son of a bitch where he belongs."
She looks at him in surprise, and through the tears she's still trying to blink back, Beth and Michelle both realize something. Jack wants her family's killer almost as badly as she does, but not necessarily to bring him to justice. She's tried the justice system. It hasn't worked. He's back after her again, and there's nothing saying that if he's locked up, he won't come at her again and again until finally he kills more people around her. Until finally he kills her.
A whimper escapes her; Jack catches her and brings her into the confides of his arms. "Let us be here for you, Beth. I promise you you won't regret it." She no longer argues with him, even when he presses a kiss to her forehead. "I've got your back."
From the doorway, Ben watches. He looks back to where Janice is still asleep on the couch and beginning to snore. He looks back to Jack holding Beth, and he smiles. Jack is right about everything but one thing. They are going to bring down the son of a bitch who killed Beth's first family, but he, more than any of them, knows what a family really is. She has one right here. It's only going to take her a little while longer to realize that fact and that they're not going anywhere, not by Perry's designs, not by Ray's either, or any other force. They all have her back, and they always will.
The End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-01-24 05:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-03-15 01:52 am (UTC)