Disclaimer: Not. Mine.
Song: Leave Out All The Rest by Linkin Park
Character(s)/POV(s): Alanna
Pairing: A/G
Posted: 3/16/09
Reason: Not only do I like this song, but it was suggested a long time ago by Lady Knight Keladry.
A/N: Alrighty, we have an update! All in all, I'm pretty pleased with this one, and I really don't have alot to say. But, it's been a long time since I have said this: There are about a hundred people who get an alert when I update this, and I got four reviews for the last chapter. It will not prevent me from posting the next one, but please, please review - it really does mean alot to me. Other than that, enjoy...


I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared
After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here
So if you're asking me
I want you to know

Alanna the Lioness woke in a daze, a voice screaming in her ears. It took her a moment to realize that it was her own and that her husband was shaking her. George looked down at her, his green-flecked hazel eyes worried. She blinked blearily at him, suddenly acutely aware that her body was covered in cold sweat and she had managed to throw off the covers. Her whole body was shaking, both from the dream she had just woken from and the cold.

"Alanna, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" George asked softly, pulling her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. In the comfort of his embrace, she stopped shaking, burying her face in his chest. He made soothing noises and rocked her back and forth.

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed
And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

"It was horrible, George. We lost the war and everyone was in hiding in the desert. I was there, too, but no one could see me," she whispered. "No one knew where I was, but no one cared. I couldn't find you, and I couldn't do anything about it," she continued, tears streaming down her face.

"It's alright, lass. It was just a dream, it was nothing to worry about. This war with the Immortals will be over soon, and everything will quiet down. I'm not going anywhere," he told her softly, reaching up to stroke her hair. "It's alright…"

Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I made
I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither have you
So if you're asking me
I want you to know

Alanna wasn't convinced of that. For the first time in years, she was really scared. It wasn't the scared she was used to – it wasn't for her country, it wasn't for her children, or her friends. It was for herself, and for George. Scenes flashed through her head, remnants of a fight she vividly remembered having with George a few years before.

"This isn't about me, George!" She shouted at him. Both of them were on their feet at the table. George was in a rare temper; tired, worried for his wife's safety, and being provoked, he wasn't a force to mess with.

"Yes it is, Alanna! You put yourself in pointless danger! You shouldn't have done that!" He shouted back. This was one of the few times Alanna had seen George mad, and it really wasn't a pretty sight. But then again, neither was the stocky red-head whose flushed face clashed almost violently with both the violet silk she wore and her hair.

"Just drop it, George. And you can forget dinner tonight and whatever else you had planned," she retorted. George starred at her.

"Have it your way. Good night, Alanna," he said softly. He turned on his heel and walked away, disappearing out of the dining hall and into the hallways of Pirate's Swoop.

With the memories like that flashing through her head, there was nothing that Alanna could do to stop the tears. Combined with the dream, the stress, and worry, she needed a good cry to let it out.

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

"What's going to happen to you if I die in battle, George?" she asked quietly through the tears.

"That won't happen, lass. And even if it does, you need not worry about it," he replied, kissing the top of her head. "Whatever happens, I'll be fine."

"But what will happen to you, to Thom and Alan? To Aly? To everything else we've worked so hard for?" She asked, turning her teary violet eyes on him. George watched her for a moment.

"I don't know. The future is always in motion, Alanna…"

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well
Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are

Alanna nodded, burying her face in his chest again. She still remember what had happened after that fight – she hadn't spoken to George for a week, all because he was worried about her safety. It had been so stupid of her to do that. She'd done so many stupid things, but still, here he was, standing by her through everything.

She couldn't begin to say how thankful she was that he had put up with her, that he loved her like he did. If it wasn't for George, she didn't know where she'd be. He was the only one who accepted her for who she was, and loved her even more for it.

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed
Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

"Don't let me be forgotten," she whispered into the soft cotton folds of his shirt. "Promise. Don't let them forget me, or you," she said. George said nothing, just continued to hold her in his arms and rock back and forth, trying to comfort her. When he didn't respond, Alanna pulled away a little, making violet meet hazel. She could see everything that was on his mind, from his worry for her to the love they shared. He smiled at her, that wicked twinkle in his eyes.

Forgetting
All the hurt inside
You've learned to hide so well
Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
I can't be who you are

"And I'm sorry, George," she added, allowing herself to be pulled back into his embrace.

"There's nothin' to be sorry for, lass. Nothin' at all," George said as he pulled the blankets up around the two of them and they snuggled closer in the warmth.

He fell asleep again before she did – she could hear the rhythmic sound of his breathing as he dropped off. For a long time, she lay awake, thinking. She could only be thankful. And love him for being a better person than she thought she could ever be.


Up next – Dom: Bowling Ball