Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise. I'm just playing with the characters I love.
A/N - I've watched Dead Like Me for years. I don't know why I love it so much, but I was devastated when it was cancelled. I promptly bought both seasons on DVD, and watch it every now and then when I need cheering up. This pairing makes sense to me. Rube and Georgia just have... something. Potential.
This is my first attempt at DLM fanfiction, so please be gentle. You know, if anyone even reads this any more...
Soul Mate
"She got her quota," Mason said sadly as he sat down in front of Rube in their usual booth in Der Waffle Haus.
"What?" Rube asked aghast.
"Georgie-girl, gone," Mason confirmed, banging his head on the table in front of him.
"Well, where's the newbie?" Rube asked, even as his heart sank into his stomach. George, his Georgia, gone. Was this the upper-managements way of punishing him for falling in love with his subordinate.
"There wasn't one. The ghost of her reap went off into the lights, same as normal. Which actually, that isn't normal is it?" Mason said, frowning as he sat up.
"Something's definitely going on," Rube confirmed rubbing his temple.
Roxy slid into the booth beside Rube and a minute later, Daisy appeared and sat beside Mason.
"What's up with you two?" Roxy asked, accepting a coffee from Kiffany with a nod and a smile.
"Georgie girl, she's gone," Mason said when Rube didn't answer.
"So where's the newbie?" Roxy asked, raising her eyebrow.
"There isn't one," Rube said quietly. He started packing his stuff away. "I need to go and see Penny."
"She's seen this before?" Roxy asked, standing up to let Rube out.
"I don't know, but it's worth asking her, isn't it?" Rube replied, leaving without another word.
"He didn't react this bad when Betty left," Mason said after a minute, raising an eyebrow at Roxy.
"We all know George is special to Rube, though. Besides, Betty jumped."
"You're sure George didn't?" Daisy asked Mason.
"Jump? No, she didn't. I saw the ghost to the lights, because she disappeared, then I came here."
Roxy sighed. "If he doesn't find out what happened to her, he's going to go in-fucking-sane."
xxxx
Rube waited impatiently for Penny to arrange her break, before he dragged her to the coffee shop just outside the hospital.
"George's gone," he said as soon as they were seated with drinks.
"She got her quota? That was fast," Penny replied, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know. According to Mason, she disappeared when she made her reap today, but the ghost went off into the lights as normal. I don't know what's going on, Pen."
He watched as realisation seeped into Penny's face, and was shocked to see her smile.
"You know what's going on?" he asked.
"I want you to tell me the truth, how do you feel about George?"
Rube frowned again. "I love her," he admitted. "More than I should."
"I don't think you have anything to worry about, Rube. Give it a few days, alright."
"You're not going to tell me what's going on?" he asked incredulously.
"It's not for me to say," she said with a small smile. "Just trust me, it'll be fine."
xxxx
Rube sat in Der Waffle Haus, his head resting in his hands. It had been four days since George had disappeared and he'd barely slept. He had been dreading this day since she became a reaper, but he'd thought he would have longer with her. Ten years was a small quota by anyone's standards.
He heard someone sit down in front of him, but it took him a minute to recognise the familiar scent. When he did, his head shot up from his hands, to find himself looking at the beautiful eyes of his Georgia.
She was smiling at him, and he couldn't stop a replying smile appearing on his face, so wide it threatened to break his face apart.
"What happened," he asked, his hands reaching out to take hers.
"I met my quota, apparently," she told him, a small shrug accompanying the words.
"Then why are you still here?" he prompted.
"There's something still holding me here," she told him and her eyes sparkled with happiness as she squeezed his hand. "Apparently, there is something that can beat the system."
"Oh?"
"Hmm. Love. Or rather, the love of a soul mate."
Rube felt his chest constrict. He loved George, but she'd found her soul mate. How the hell could he compete with that?
"Explain?" he asked to buy himself some time to get a grip on his emotions.
"There are some things in the universe that work the way they should. Everyone has a soul mate, but its not very often that they find one another. Born in different countries, at different times, you know, stuff that would keep a couple apart."
Rube nodded.
"Alright. Occasionally, soul mates will meet, and fall in love. When that happens, the entire universe will conspire to keep them together. Even death. Or, you know, undeath. Whatever."
"So you'll be here until your soulmate dies?"
"He's already dead, but the same applies. I'll stay until he pops his last soul, and I'll reap while I'm here. There's no point me being here if I don't work. They figure I might as well be a resource while I'm here."
Rube felt a surge of hope when George said her soul mate was already dead. Could it really be true?
"Looks like you're stuck with me, huh, boss man?" she laughed, before she dropped his hands and slid out of the booth.
"I'll be back," she said, before she walked to the counter.
She was back a minute later with a large slice of cake and two forks. Handing one to him, she slid in beside him. They shared the cake in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
When she was finished, she leant against his side. He slipped his arm around her without even thinking. It just felt so natural.
"I thought I was never going to see you again," she whispered and he squeezed her tight.
"So, did they give you a length of time you'll be around," he asked, and she sat up, looking at him with a frown.
"I'll be around as long as you are," she said, in her 'duh, are you really that stupid' voice.
As the words sunk into his brain, Rube clutched her to him, kissing her tenderly. She reciprocated happily, her hand resting on his cheek.
"I wondered how long it would take you to do that," she muttered as he pulled away slightly. "I love you."
"I love you, Peanut, more than the anything."
"We'll be around for a while yet, boss man. They're impressed with your skills," she teased.
"Did they give you a specific amount of time?" he asked. Suddenly, it didn't seem so urgent to depart the life he had been growing weary of.
She shook her head. "No, just told me that we'd be around for quite a while, and we'd go together."
"Nothing sounds better," he whispered in her ear, kissing her head softly.
That was how the others found them, George resting against Rube with her eyes closed, Rube reading the paper, his arm clutching his girl gently to his chest, pausing every now and then to kiss her head.