Longmire: Hallucination
"Cady."
His frozen lips speak his daughter's name, breath labored and skin frostbitten.
"Dad," she whispers softly, a smile playing on her lips, as she leads him inside her cabin.
"Dad, you're so cold," she tells him, urgency lacing her tone.
She sits him down across from her and a stream of questions tumble from his lips.
"I called your office. Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in weeks."
"Doesn't matter," she reassures, eyes wide, caring and genuine. "I'm here now."
No. No, you're not.
His mind races with blatant contradiction. Despite the signs of hypothermia already starting to set in, he knows the truth. She's not really there.
She's not really there. Let it go.
But the comforting presence of the hallucination gives him something to cling to, gives him hope.
"I'm so sorry," he breathes.
"You were only trying to protect me, Dad," she replies, understanding. "I get that."
"I can't… I can't lose you," he whispers, slowly sinking deeper, as his frozen fingers gently caress the edge of her chin.
No. Not yet. Wait.
Shit.
He needs to know she's there, needs something tangible to grasp.
Then his world starts to tumble away from him, vision fading as the image of Cady disappears before his eyes.
He spirals downward, the cold seeping into his already stiff muscles, and lands with a hard thud on the unpolished, weathered wood.
Cady…
She is just a hallucination. Nothing more. He knows this. Yet, his heart desires to cling to what he knows, to what he has.
The final whisper of her name dies on his lips as he crashes and makes his final descent into a hypothermia-induced oblivion.
Cady…
Fin.
Author's Note: Just a tiny Longmire drabble inspired by the amazing Season 2 premiere! Feedback always welcome.