Title: The cycles of life and death.

Summary: Annie and Gene by Sam's side in the future, following a timeline already set for them, or changing time with every move.

Notes: Set just before 2.8 in the future. It's a darkish fic, character death.

Word count: 485

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, if any of the cast should go missing, I haven't got them stashed away in the cupboard.

They had come to know Ruth Tyler rather well, supported each other over the past year, stayed with her when she broke down. Of cause they remembered her from the Morton Brothers case, and little Sammy. Now they know why Sam had become so frantic over Victor. They all sat round him, the life support machine the only sound, mocking them with each breath it forced into their friends body, like he was a bag, not a living human, a thing, a pale fragile thing with tubes running in and out, a machine. They knew better than that, there were days when they had to bite their lips to stop themselves from telling his mother, days when she considered turning him off.

Right now he could be meeting his mother, and little Sammy. Maybe this is little Sammy grown up and their Sam should be an old man by now. Maybe this has happened a million times already to a million Sams, all just one big cycle. Had there been Annie's and Genes with those Sam's too, and they were just following what was supposed to happen? Or maybe there's only one Sam, one cycle, and when he wakes up little Sammy won't be there anymore, were they changing time just being here?

Annie physically trembled from the thought, getting confused over Dr Who was one thing, this was her friend's life! She stared into his pale face, forcing herself to acknowledge that this is real! The more she stared, the more he looked like he should belong in a coffin, and the room around them seemed to darken.

"Are you OK?" Ruth's reassuring voice brought her back from her trance like state as Gene brought her a cup of water. You'd think they were used to it now, but it still shocks them every time they walk in to see death disguised as their old colleague.

"Some people are the living dead, and don't even know it"

Gene remembered Cole's words, the irony of that situation only now understood. He';d had plenty of time to reminisce, putting 2 and 2 together to see that Sam's insanity was just his reactions to this!

They'd been there to reassure him when he catheter leaked into the life support system, they'd help Ruth come to the decision to keep him switched on, Gene had punched Crane's lights out after he'd tried to kill Sam and Annie gave the Dr's a run for their money when they screwed up his medication. When that Morgan bastard showed up Gene had been all to happy to tell him to shove his theories where the sun don't shine, no way were they going to allow him to operate on their Sam!

They were there at the funeral too, at last getting to say goodbye to a friend whose disappeared long ago. They finally had their answer, he had died, hadn't he?


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