caranfindel: (Default)
caranfindel ([personal profile] caranfindel) wrote2017-05-07 09:14 am

Fic: Untitled 12.20 coda


Max won't tell her anything. Bad witch is all he'll say. Bought her power from a demon, used it against Mom, used it to make Mom turn on you. He won't explain why he burned Mom without her. Won't explain how she was healed, why there isn't a bloody gash in her abdomen. Natural magic. Don't worry. You're fine. Everything's gonna be fine.

Nothing is fine.

She knows some of it (she remembers Mom, eyes glowing white, thrusting the blade into her abdomen) but Max won't tell her what she doesn't know, won't answer questions, won't fill in the blanks.

Nothing is fine.

Stop thinking about it, Max says. It only upsets you. And she does what Max says, she does stop thinking about it, for a while. Then she tells him she wants to talk to Sam Winchester. He was in the room; Max wasn't even there but Sam was in the room with her and Mom. He might know more. He might be able to fill in gaps. (She remembers Sam Winchester hovering over her, telling her to take a deep breath, and thinking I would if I could.)

No, Max says. Don't call Sam Winchester. Don't call any of the Winchesters. They're bad news. Please, Lish, don't call them.

She does what Max says.

The next time she brings it up, he says No, don't call them. In fact, you should delete them all from your contacts right now. So you aren't tempted.

She does what Max says.

(She remembers waking up and realizing Max had changed her clothes, remembers the urgency in his voice, in his trembling hands, the way he kept telling her we have to go, now, the way he kept a hand pressed against her back, propelling her forward. Don't look back, just go.)

One evening he falls asleep on the couch next to her, watching a movie. She untwines her fingers from his, slips out from under his arm (she remembers her mother watching them curl up together on that same couch, tangled together, if I didn't know Max was into guys, I'd wonder about you two and she'd squealed ew, no, who knows where that dick's been, and they'd all laughed, because that was back when they still laughed), picks up his phone, pads quietly into the kitchen.

Sam Winchester answers on the second ring, slightly breathless. Max? Are you okay? We've been worried about you, man.

No, she whispers, it's me. It's Alicia.

There's a long pause at the other end, and then Sam's voice, broken. Alicia. Oh, god.

[identity profile] ex1led-nyer.livejournal.com 2017-05-07 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Beautiful, sad coda. Yep, Sam wouldn't have to say anything like, But you're dead! He'd understand right away (though I suspect if this scene was ever written into canon, they *would* have him say something stupid).

[identity profile] caranfindel.livejournal.com 2017-05-08 01:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Some things are best not left in the showrunners' hands...

[identity profile] dreamsofspike.livejournal.com 2017-05-07 09:48 pm (UTC)(link)
This was just lovely and haunting and sad. Very good characterizations, and I love Sam's reaction, so very Sam. :( Captures the creepiness and sorrow of the whole situation and what Max did. Beautifully done. :)

[identity profile] caranfindel.livejournal.com 2017-05-08 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks!

[identity profile] z-publicizes.livejournal.com 2017-05-08 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
*shudders* Yeah, that's how it would have to go down.

[identity profile] caranfindel.livejournal.com 2017-05-08 01:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Or, option B: it takes years, but Alicia realizes she doesn't age... D:

[identity profile] madebyme-x.livejournal.com 2017-05-08 10:50 am (UTC)(link)
This is perfect painful little fic! I loved the subtitles too, of Alicia following Max's orders, the memories that are still there, and the feeling of family and desperation to keep them safe and close. Sam's words were heartbreaking, and what a way to close the fic! Thank you for sharing :)

[identity profile] caranfindel.livejournal.com 2017-05-08 01:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!