Eye of the Storm
Disclaimer: I wish, but no, I don't own the characters/show.
Spoilers: Season 2's finale "Kali."
Author's Note: A companion piece to my other fic Heart Over Matter, but it can stand alone too. Enjoy!
She'd promised him the adventure of many lifetimes.
Now he lay prostrate and sedated, poisoned by the very world she'd opened his eyes to, and she hates herself.
Not because of what she'd let him become a part of, but because given the chance to go back and never stop him in the street on that cold, wet night, she'd do it all over again.
If that didn't reserve her a special place in hell she didn't know what did, but at the same time she doubted hell would be much worse than the situation she found herself in at present.
It was no secret to her that since Ashley's death and the events preceding her judgment and leadership capabilities regarding the Sanctuary Network had started to be viewed in a different light. Whispers speculating on her mental and emotional state were abound, but gossip was just that, and she had done her best to move forward with the same single-mindedness that had served to quash such rumors in the past. She'd even used the rumor mill to her advantage in sniffing out Emma's true nature and intentions.
But now with one of her, quite literally, largest and most closely guarded secrets out in the open, the storm brewing overhead was just as massive, and she felt caught in its eye, just waiting to be torn and thrown about until there was nothing left, be it her life's work or her life. But if her pound of flesh would bring him back, if she could save him, it would be worth it.
Looking up from the computer she had brought with her as she sat by his bedside in an effort to appease the merciless weight of helplessness that crushed her whenever she looked at him, she remembered the wild, unknowing look in his eyes upon his return from the dead, how she'd tried to get through to him only to fail as he continued to cry out insensibly in English and Hindu and fight any helping hand.
That look more than anything had skewered her heart and steeled her resolve to do whatever it took for him to look at her and know her again. In that moment she would have destroyed Big Bertha single-handedly if she had even the tiniest inkling that it would help him. But over a hundred years of working experience with Abnormals and her own instincts screamed otherwise, which was why she was working as desperately as she was to find the hijacked leviathan. Whatever fate awaited Bertha; Will's was now inextricably entwined, and she would gladly take the brunt of any abuse, bureaucratic or otherwise, so long as she could bring them both, bring them all, back from the brink.
Finally giving up the hope that staring at the laptop's screen would miraculously give her the answers she needed, however, she set the computer aside and gave in to her wish to touch him. To confirm in her mind that he was still with her, that there was still hope.
He's warm to the touch, a great contrast to the pallor of his skin, but he is alive, and with each brush of her fingers across his brow and through his hair her determination is sharpened, focused on keeping him that way for a long time yet.
"I'm so sorry Will, this is all my fault. But you've got to hold on, I'm going to make things right, you'll see."
There is a moment too, that she could have sworn she felt an oh so welcomingly familiar presence in the room that once belonged to the man beside her, but then he starts to thrash about again in his sleep, shouting in his delirium, and she tells herself she must have been mistaken.
Author's Note: A quick announcement: feedback is amazing. Please do let me know what you think! Also, if you've read Heart Over Matter (thank you!) you probably noticed that this fic is mostly in Magnus' head, and that she speaks very little compared to Will's perspective. To clarify, my thoughts were that because Will's so deep in his own head he's using her persona, her "voice" as his tether to the real world. Hopefully that clears things up if you were wondering, if not, just disregard everything I said. :) Thanks again for reading!