Title: The Only Good Thing
Author: Phaedra's Love
Fandom: Six Feet Under
Pairing: Claire/Gabe
Disclaimer: I do not own Six Feet Under, I'm just playing with them a bit. Please don't sue me, Alan Ball.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Claire?"
"What?" I turned startled pale eyes on Keith suddenly realizing that the minute we walked through the heavy steel door I stopped listening to him. "I'm sorry. I"m just a little freaked about this whole thing I guess."
"That's understandable. I asked if you were sure you wanted to do this." He reiterated, putting his hand on my elbow and stopping me before I walked through the metal detector.
"Yeah. I mean...I am." I hated the way my voice shook just slightly but the minute I decided to visit Gabe I knew I was going to have to go through with it. I had been way too invested since the beginning and now I had to see it through to the end.
"Okay. I'll wait right here for you."
"Thanks for coming with me." I managed a slight smile before turning away from Keith and walking through the metal detector.
On the other side I held my arms away from my body so that the officer could wave the metal detection wand over the front of my chest and down the length of my body. Suddenly an alarm went off inside the wand and my eyes widened as I met the officer's eyes. In a matter of seconds alarms began flashing and buzzing through the entire prison as I looked wildly around. Guards and officers were racing down the hallway towards me.
"She was the one with him when he shot that guy!" One of them shouted as I tried to back away.
"Miss? Miss!"
I blinked. Suddenly realized that the alarms and shouts were only a part of my hyperactive and nervous imagination. It wasn't everyday that I walked into the state prison to visit my ex-boyfriend. Actually, I was hoping this would be the first and the last time.
The guard led me towards a large room seperated by a pane of glass before returning to his post. My eyes swept across the room. Cold metal chairs lining my side of the wall, fingerprints staining the glass seperating the prisoners from the visitos. If I focused hard enough I was almost sure I would be able to feel the pain in the room. I didn't want to focus because at this point I was sure that I'd already felt way too much pain for Gabe.
Sitting down, I only had to wait a few more minutes before the door on the other side of the wall opened. A guard leading Gabe, clad in a bright orange jumpsuit appeared. I couldn't help but let my eyes trail across him. He was so pale, so gaunt. he didn't even look like the same person I knew and in a way I guess he wasn't.
"Claire..." Was all he said once he had sat down and both of us had picked up our respective phones. "I never expected to see you here."
"Me neither." I thought to shoot him a reassuring smile before I remembered that I didn't owe him anything.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I searched his eyes desperately, searching for some sign behind his dark eyes. Was he angry? Did he blame me for turning him in? "So, are you okay?"
He shrugged, glancing away from me before finally letting his gaze rest on mine again.
"I'm okay." He finally said, and something behind his voice told me that he was far from okay but this was the signal I had been waiting for. He didn't blame me. "Listen. Claire, I'm really sorry you got dragged into all of my shit. That wasn't fair to you. I mean, you were the only one good thing I had and I just screwed it all up."
It wasn't what I had been expecting to hear at all, but I wasn't about to disagree with him so I just said nothing. Seconds, minutes, felt like fucking decades ticked away and the two of us just sat there in silence and stared at eachother.
I gave him one last long look before setting the phone down and turning around to go find Keith. I'd gotten the closure I needed and there was nothing else to say.