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sinanjuTitle: Confessions
Author: Sinanju
Fandoms: Dead Like Me, Highlander
Rating: PG
Warnings: Character Death
Pairings: None
Characters: Daisy Adair (DLM), Amanda (Highlander)
Summary: Daisy and Amanda share confidences they only wish they'd shared earlier.
Amanda felt the sword thrust like a punch to the belly, blunt and less painful than she'd expected. Her opponent, Brock Hamilton, pulled the sword free, dragging Amanda off balance. She stumbled and fell to her knees, the strength pouring out of her with her blood. Brock raised his blade for the killing stroke. Amanda tried--she really tried--to parry, but she knew she was moving too slowly. Brock's sword flashed under the streetlight and all the fatigue and pain vanished.
For just a moment Amanda felt renewed hope. Then she saw a body--her body--collapse at Brock's feet. Her sword fell from nerveless fingers and clattered against the asphalt before coming to rest. Something Amanda chose not to acknowledge tumbled to rest at Brock's feet. In the ringing silence Brock sagged abruptly, his own exhaustion overtaking him now that the battle was won. A heartbeat, maybe two, and the first flickering tongue of Amanda's Quickening appeared.
The full force of Amanda's Quickening was all that she could have hoped for...under the circumstances. It was brilliant, noisy and destructive, a storm of energy that scoured the area and poured into Brock's body. By the time it guttered out, every window in sight gaped empty and shattered glass was everywhere. The alley was dark, two electrical transformers burned quietly overhead, and the power was out for several blocks. The power holding Brock aloft dissipated and he fell heavily to the ground. He crouched there for a moment panting, his trench coat smoldering slightly. Amanda watched him snatch up his sword and struggle to his feet.
Hamilton looked like a man who'd just been tortured or maybe had an orgasm. Having taken her own share of Quickenings, Amanda knew it was more like both at once. He lurched directly toward Amanda, then passed through her and continued on his way. Amanda watched him go, then looked down at her own body. Seeing herself that way was incredibly strange. In all her long life she'd never had an out of body experience.
Amanda laughed at herself for a moment, before pressing the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle it. (I still haven't,) she thought. This out of body experience represented the end of her life--and it was nothing like she'd expected.
The moment Hamilton left a figure had risen from the cover of a garbage dumpster to creep toward the scene. Amanda didn't recognize him. As if drawn out by his appearance, someone else stepped into view. It was Amanda's Watcher, Sara Parker; a familiar face over the last few years. The two of them stopped a few yards away from Amanda's body. Idly, Amanda waved her arm experimentally through both of them. They didn't notice. She really was a ghost.
Sara, Amanda noted with surprise, was crying. The other Watcher--for Watcher he had to be--glanced in the direction Brock had gone. "I should--" he said diffidently.
Sara nodded. "I know," she said. "Go. I'll call it in. Call--" she gave a hiccuping sob "--the clean-up crew."
The other Watcher nodded grimly. He turned to go, then looked back at Sara. "I'm sorry," he said. Sara nodded. His mouth worked like he wanted to say something but couldn't think what. Then he walked briskly away.
Sara stood over Amanda, weeping silently for a minute. One hand dipped into her coat pocket and reappeared holding a cell phone. Sara wiped her face with her free hand, lifting her head and squaring her shoulders. Flipping open the phone, Sara started dialing. She raised it to her ear and waited.
Amanda turned and walked away before she realized she'd made the decision. She didn't want to hear this conversation, didn't want to see her life and death reduced to a checklist on some post-mortem Watcher report. Behind her, Sara said, "Hello, may I speak to Joe, please? Sara Parker...."
Daisy was standing in the mouth of the alley. Amanda stopped for a moment, surprised to see her. She'd forgotten about Daisy in the immediacy of the battle and its aftermath. Daisy was looking around at the shattered windows and up at the burning transformers. Then, to Amanda's surprise, Daisy looked directly at her. "What on earth was that?"
Amanda felt her jaw drop. "You--you can see me?"
"Well, of course I can, sweetie," Daisy said.
She stepped forward and gathered Amanda into her arms. The feel of Daisy's hands on her, and of being embraced was the biggest shock Amanda had suffered yet.
"But--I'm dead," Amanda objected. "Aren't I? A ghost?"
Daisy released Amanda and stepped back. "Yes you are," she told Amanda.
"Then how--"
"I'm hungry," Daisy said, interrupting Amanda. "I think there's a coffee shop not far from here. Walk with me and I'll explain."
* * *
"You knew I was going to die," Amanda said.
She and Daisy were sitting in a booth in a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, the only customers in the place. A waitress placed a cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie in front of Daisy. "Thank you," Daisy said to the waitress.
"Yes," Daisy said. She glanced down. Amanda followed her gaze to the Post-it stuck to the tabletop between them. "I mean," Daisy said, "I didn't know it would be you. I was as surprised as you were when we met--but I was there to collect the soul of A. Darrieux, whoever that was. I'm sorry it turned out to be you."
Amanda felt a momentary spurt of anger. Daisy knew and she'd done nothing? "Why didn't you say say something?"
Daisy cradled her coffee cup in both hands. She sighed, sad but unperturbed by Amanda's anger. "It doesn't work that way," she said.
Amanda's anger faded as quickly as it had arisen. Amanda thought about the many times she'd had to stand idly by and watch one or another of her Immortal friends fight for their lives. Sometimes they'd won. Sometimes they hadn't. "No," Amanda said quietly. "I suppose it doesn't."
Daisy ate a bite of her cherry pie. The coffee shop was silent.
"So...all those years ago in New York," Amanda said. Daisy smiled, a gleam in her eyes. "You were collecting souls then?"
"Yes."
"Every day?"
"Basically. Sometimes more than one. Sometimes with a day off."
"And you've been doing that...?"
"Since 1938," Daisy said. She met Amanda's eyes with a challenging look, clearly expecting Amanda to marvel at her age. (No such luck,) Amanda thought. (Less than a century. Hah!)
"And you're--dead?" Amanda asked.
"Undead, technically," Daisy said. She went on to explain the difference, which primarily consisted of having a physical body and being able to interact with the world around her.
Amanda shook her head slowly. She'd known at the time that Daisy was being secretive about something. But she'd never pried; it wasn't like she didn't have her own secrets. She smiled. "No wonder you could drink everyone under the table."
Daisy smiled back. "Not everyone," she replied.
"No," Amanda admitted. "Not everyone." The two of them had gone through truly heroic quantities of booze, cocaine and other drugs at times.
Daisy reached over and squeezed Amanda's hand briefly. "I wish I could have done something. I thought you were dead all these years. And then to find you tonight only to lose you again...well." Daisy busied herself with a bite of her pie.
"Yes, well--we both had our secrets then," Amanda said.
"Speaking of which," Daisy said after wiping her lips with her napkin, "your turn. What happened?"
"When? In '78 or tonight?" Amanda asked.
"Either. Both."
Amanda sighed and reached out to toy with the dessert plate in front of Daisy. Her fingers passed through it. "Damn it," Amanda said. "How is it I can sit here and lean my elbows on the table but I can't touch the food?"
Daisy shrugged cheerfully. "You know, I've never figured that out myself. Mostly I don't worry about it. That's just how it is. So--what happened?"
"Back in 1978 I got hit by a car," Amanda said, "and killed."
"What do you mean 'killed'?" Daisy asked. "You were still alive tonight."
"I mean I was killed," Amanda repeated. "When I recovered I--"
"Wait, wait, wait," Daisy said, putting down her fork and focusing on Amanda. "When you recovered?"
Amanda smiled, pleased with Daisy's reaction. Now the shoe was on the other foot. "You see, I am--I was--Immortal," Amanda said. That led into an explanation of immortality, Immortals and the Game.
"So when you died--publicly," Daisy asked, "you had to disappear?" Amanda nodded. "Just let everyone think you were dead and start over somewhere else?"
"'Fraid so," Amanda said, looking apologetic. She regretted that she had had to leave Daisy behind. If they'd shared their secrets with one another--but regrets were pointless. Now more than ever before.
"And the only thing that really kills you," Daisy continued, "is...losing your head."
Amanda nodded.
"Which leads to this...Quickening?"
Amanda nodded again.
"Well," Daisy said after a moment's thought. "It was quite...spectacular."
"Yes," Amanda said. It was something she'd never expected to see as well. Daisy finished her slice of pie in silence. Amanda sat quietly. When Daisy was done, Amanda asked, "What now?"
Daisy laid her hand on Amanda's. "When you're ready, you move on."
"When I'm ready?" Amanda perked up.
"When you've said your goodbyes to this life--" Daisy began.
Amanda cut her off. "Oh, that," Amanda said dismissively, waving a hand at Daisy. "I've been expecting this day for centuries. I knew the end would be sudden." No doubt Duncan had never quite realized why she flitted in and out of his life so cavalierly. It was easier than saying goodbye, more honest than saying au revoir when neither of them knew they'd meet again.
Amanda met Daisy's eyes. "There are people I'd like to see again, things I'd like to say. But I assume...."
Daisy smiled kindly. "No, you can't communicate with them. I'm sorry."
Amanda nodded faintly. She'd figured as much. "Then I guess I'm done," she said--as light began to shine through the diner window. Amanda turned her head to see light falling like stardust from a clear sky over the street, building up into a luminous structure. Amanda felt her throat tighten as she recognized it: Rebecca's abbey, her first home as an Immortal. Not the crumbling ruins she'd last visited but the abbey she remembered from almost a millennium ago.
Amanda turned to Daisy, eyes wide. Daisy nodded, answering her unspoken question.
Amanda slid out of the booth and stood up. Daisy did likewise. Amanda hugged her tightly for a moment. "I'll miss you, Daisy," Amanda said, her throat tight.
"Me too," Daisy said. Her voice sounded a little choked up as well.
Amanda clung to Daisy for another moment, then released her. Staring out at the abeey again, Amanda said, "Listen closely, Daisy...." She rattled off an international phone number, account name and pass phrase. She looked at Daisy. "Did you get all that?"
"Yes," Daisy said. She looked surprised but Amanda knew that she'd remember. When it came to money Daisy was all business.
"Better you should have it than those vultures in the Watcher's Council," Amanda explained. "But you'd better move fast. They've been picking the bones of fallen Immortals for centuries."
"I will," Daisy said. She looked like she was about to thank Amanda, then she just smiled and glanced out the window. "They're waiting. You should go."
Amanda nodded, feeling nervous again for the first time since she'd died. She grabbed Daisy in another fierce hug for just a moment. "Goodbye, Daisy," she said, then slid past her and out the door to the street. She didn't look back.
Author: Sinanju
Fandoms: Dead Like Me, Highlander
Rating: PG
Warnings: Character Death
Pairings: None
Characters: Daisy Adair (DLM), Amanda (Highlander)
Summary: Daisy and Amanda share confidences they only wish they'd shared earlier.
Amanda felt the sword thrust like a punch to the belly, blunt and less painful than she'd expected. Her opponent, Brock Hamilton, pulled the sword free, dragging Amanda off balance. She stumbled and fell to her knees, the strength pouring out of her with her blood. Brock raised his blade for the killing stroke. Amanda tried--she really tried--to parry, but she knew she was moving too slowly. Brock's sword flashed under the streetlight and all the fatigue and pain vanished.
For just a moment Amanda felt renewed hope. Then she saw a body--her body--collapse at Brock's feet. Her sword fell from nerveless fingers and clattered against the asphalt before coming to rest. Something Amanda chose not to acknowledge tumbled to rest at Brock's feet. In the ringing silence Brock sagged abruptly, his own exhaustion overtaking him now that the battle was won. A heartbeat, maybe two, and the first flickering tongue of Amanda's Quickening appeared.
The full force of Amanda's Quickening was all that she could have hoped for...under the circumstances. It was brilliant, noisy and destructive, a storm of energy that scoured the area and poured into Brock's body. By the time it guttered out, every window in sight gaped empty and shattered glass was everywhere. The alley was dark, two electrical transformers burned quietly overhead, and the power was out for several blocks. The power holding Brock aloft dissipated and he fell heavily to the ground. He crouched there for a moment panting, his trench coat smoldering slightly. Amanda watched him snatch up his sword and struggle to his feet.
Hamilton looked like a man who'd just been tortured or maybe had an orgasm. Having taken her own share of Quickenings, Amanda knew it was more like both at once. He lurched directly toward Amanda, then passed through her and continued on his way. Amanda watched him go, then looked down at her own body. Seeing herself that way was incredibly strange. In all her long life she'd never had an out of body experience.
Amanda laughed at herself for a moment, before pressing the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle it. (I still haven't,) she thought. This out of body experience represented the end of her life--and it was nothing like she'd expected.
The moment Hamilton left a figure had risen from the cover of a garbage dumpster to creep toward the scene. Amanda didn't recognize him. As if drawn out by his appearance, someone else stepped into view. It was Amanda's Watcher, Sara Parker; a familiar face over the last few years. The two of them stopped a few yards away from Amanda's body. Idly, Amanda waved her arm experimentally through both of them. They didn't notice. She really was a ghost.
Sara, Amanda noted with surprise, was crying. The other Watcher--for Watcher he had to be--glanced in the direction Brock had gone. "I should--" he said diffidently.
Sara nodded. "I know," she said. "Go. I'll call it in. Call--" she gave a hiccuping sob "--the clean-up crew."
The other Watcher nodded grimly. He turned to go, then looked back at Sara. "I'm sorry," he said. Sara nodded. His mouth worked like he wanted to say something but couldn't think what. Then he walked briskly away.
Sara stood over Amanda, weeping silently for a minute. One hand dipped into her coat pocket and reappeared holding a cell phone. Sara wiped her face with her free hand, lifting her head and squaring her shoulders. Flipping open the phone, Sara started dialing. She raised it to her ear and waited.
Amanda turned and walked away before she realized she'd made the decision. She didn't want to hear this conversation, didn't want to see her life and death reduced to a checklist on some post-mortem Watcher report. Behind her, Sara said, "Hello, may I speak to Joe, please? Sara Parker...."
Daisy was standing in the mouth of the alley. Amanda stopped for a moment, surprised to see her. She'd forgotten about Daisy in the immediacy of the battle and its aftermath. Daisy was looking around at the shattered windows and up at the burning transformers. Then, to Amanda's surprise, Daisy looked directly at her. "What on earth was that?"
Amanda felt her jaw drop. "You--you can see me?"
"Well, of course I can, sweetie," Daisy said.
She stepped forward and gathered Amanda into her arms. The feel of Daisy's hands on her, and of being embraced was the biggest shock Amanda had suffered yet.
"But--I'm dead," Amanda objected. "Aren't I? A ghost?"
Daisy released Amanda and stepped back. "Yes you are," she told Amanda.
"Then how--"
"I'm hungry," Daisy said, interrupting Amanda. "I think there's a coffee shop not far from here. Walk with me and I'll explain."
* * *
"You knew I was going to die," Amanda said.
She and Daisy were sitting in a booth in a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, the only customers in the place. A waitress placed a cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie in front of Daisy. "Thank you," Daisy said to the waitress.
"Yes," Daisy said. She glanced down. Amanda followed her gaze to the Post-it stuck to the tabletop between them. "I mean," Daisy said, "I didn't know it would be you. I was as surprised as you were when we met--but I was there to collect the soul of A. Darrieux, whoever that was. I'm sorry it turned out to be you."
Amanda felt a momentary spurt of anger. Daisy knew and she'd done nothing? "Why didn't you say say something?"
Daisy cradled her coffee cup in both hands. She sighed, sad but unperturbed by Amanda's anger. "It doesn't work that way," she said.
Amanda's anger faded as quickly as it had arisen. Amanda thought about the many times she'd had to stand idly by and watch one or another of her Immortal friends fight for their lives. Sometimes they'd won. Sometimes they hadn't. "No," Amanda said quietly. "I suppose it doesn't."
Daisy ate a bite of her cherry pie. The coffee shop was silent.
"So...all those years ago in New York," Amanda said. Daisy smiled, a gleam in her eyes. "You were collecting souls then?"
"Yes."
"Every day?"
"Basically. Sometimes more than one. Sometimes with a day off."
"And you've been doing that...?"
"Since 1938," Daisy said. She met Amanda's eyes with a challenging look, clearly expecting Amanda to marvel at her age. (No such luck,) Amanda thought. (Less than a century. Hah!)
"And you're--dead?" Amanda asked.
"Undead, technically," Daisy said. She went on to explain the difference, which primarily consisted of having a physical body and being able to interact with the world around her.
Amanda shook her head slowly. She'd known at the time that Daisy was being secretive about something. But she'd never pried; it wasn't like she didn't have her own secrets. She smiled. "No wonder you could drink everyone under the table."
Daisy smiled back. "Not everyone," she replied.
"No," Amanda admitted. "Not everyone." The two of them had gone through truly heroic quantities of booze, cocaine and other drugs at times.
Daisy reached over and squeezed Amanda's hand briefly. "I wish I could have done something. I thought you were dead all these years. And then to find you tonight only to lose you again...well." Daisy busied herself with a bite of her pie.
"Yes, well--we both had our secrets then," Amanda said.
"Speaking of which," Daisy said after wiping her lips with her napkin, "your turn. What happened?"
"When? In '78 or tonight?" Amanda asked.
"Either. Both."
Amanda sighed and reached out to toy with the dessert plate in front of Daisy. Her fingers passed through it. "Damn it," Amanda said. "How is it I can sit here and lean my elbows on the table but I can't touch the food?"
Daisy shrugged cheerfully. "You know, I've never figured that out myself. Mostly I don't worry about it. That's just how it is. So--what happened?"
"Back in 1978 I got hit by a car," Amanda said, "and killed."
"What do you mean 'killed'?" Daisy asked. "You were still alive tonight."
"I mean I was killed," Amanda repeated. "When I recovered I--"
"Wait, wait, wait," Daisy said, putting down her fork and focusing on Amanda. "When you recovered?"
Amanda smiled, pleased with Daisy's reaction. Now the shoe was on the other foot. "You see, I am--I was--Immortal," Amanda said. That led into an explanation of immortality, Immortals and the Game.
"So when you died--publicly," Daisy asked, "you had to disappear?" Amanda nodded. "Just let everyone think you were dead and start over somewhere else?"
"'Fraid so," Amanda said, looking apologetic. She regretted that she had had to leave Daisy behind. If they'd shared their secrets with one another--but regrets were pointless. Now more than ever before.
"And the only thing that really kills you," Daisy continued, "is...losing your head."
Amanda nodded.
"Which leads to this...Quickening?"
Amanda nodded again.
"Well," Daisy said after a moment's thought. "It was quite...spectacular."
"Yes," Amanda said. It was something she'd never expected to see as well. Daisy finished her slice of pie in silence. Amanda sat quietly. When Daisy was done, Amanda asked, "What now?"
Daisy laid her hand on Amanda's. "When you're ready, you move on."
"When I'm ready?" Amanda perked up.
"When you've said your goodbyes to this life--" Daisy began.
Amanda cut her off. "Oh, that," Amanda said dismissively, waving a hand at Daisy. "I've been expecting this day for centuries. I knew the end would be sudden." No doubt Duncan had never quite realized why she flitted in and out of his life so cavalierly. It was easier than saying goodbye, more honest than saying au revoir when neither of them knew they'd meet again.
Amanda met Daisy's eyes. "There are people I'd like to see again, things I'd like to say. But I assume...."
Daisy smiled kindly. "No, you can't communicate with them. I'm sorry."
Amanda nodded faintly. She'd figured as much. "Then I guess I'm done," she said--as light began to shine through the diner window. Amanda turned her head to see light falling like stardust from a clear sky over the street, building up into a luminous structure. Amanda felt her throat tighten as she recognized it: Rebecca's abbey, her first home as an Immortal. Not the crumbling ruins she'd last visited but the abbey she remembered from almost a millennium ago.
Amanda turned to Daisy, eyes wide. Daisy nodded, answering her unspoken question.
Amanda slid out of the booth and stood up. Daisy did likewise. Amanda hugged her tightly for a moment. "I'll miss you, Daisy," Amanda said, her throat tight.
"Me too," Daisy said. Her voice sounded a little choked up as well.
Amanda clung to Daisy for another moment, then released her. Staring out at the abeey again, Amanda said, "Listen closely, Daisy...." She rattled off an international phone number, account name and pass phrase. She looked at Daisy. "Did you get all that?"
"Yes," Daisy said. She looked surprised but Amanda knew that she'd remember. When it came to money Daisy was all business.
"Better you should have it than those vultures in the Watcher's Council," Amanda explained. "But you'd better move fast. They've been picking the bones of fallen Immortals for centuries."
"I will," Daisy said. She looked like she was about to thank Amanda, then she just smiled and glanced out the window. "They're waiting. You should go."
Amanda nodded, feeling nervous again for the first time since she'd died. She grabbed Daisy in another fierce hug for just a moment. "Goodbye, Daisy," she said, then slid past her and out the door to the street. She didn't look back.
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Date: 2007-05-14 03:55 am (UTC)*Applause*
Date: 2007-05-15 11:11 pm (UTC)