Post by suzotchka67 on Dec 19, 2003 8:58:41 GMT -5
Title: Fantasy Lianca Dialogue II (12/17/03)
Author: Susan P. suzotchka67@populli.net
Fandom: All My Children
Pairing: Lianca
Rating: PG [again--not that kind of fantasy!]
Summary: This is the how I would rather have seen
the little Leggie confrontation play itself out. The first
ten lines or so of dialogue were lifted directly from the
Wednesday, 12/17/2003 episode. The rest is mine,
and as such, a departure from show canon.
Author's Notes: Although this departs from canon in
the sense that Bianca didn't witness the Maggie/Lena
conversation and the Lianca conversation is entirely
my invention, I ended it at a place where the next
canon Lianca scenes (from 12/18/03) could be seen as
logically following after mine.
There's minimal Maggie-bashing in this piece, though
that's more due to Bianca's influence than my own.
But, I was pissed at her (and everyone else, really) for
not showing Lena one ounce of compassion in regards
to her suicide attempt, so that may show through.
Plus, I was pissed off at Lena for giving Maggie
potential ammunition against her for later, so having
Binks show up was my way of 'fixing' both of the
biggest problems I had with those scenes.
Disclaimers: Sadly, these characters don't belong to
me, else things would be playing out *much*
differently on screen.
Archiving: www.alightlefton.com . Anyone
else, please ask first.
Feedback: Always welcome. On the lists/forums or
via e-mail: suzotchka67@populli.net
"Bianca won't know. She doesn't know, okay?"
Bianca pulled up short at hearing Lena's words. Part
of her wanted to turn and run away, or just barge in
before Lena could say more. She was almost afraid to
think about what Lena might be keeping from her
now.
"Lena, you are not leaving until you tell me what
happened."
"When Bianca was p-- When I found out that Bianca
was having an abortion, I...I couldn't handle it. I did
something stupid. Something I regret."
"Oh great, more regrets. That's just perfect."
Bianca didn't understand where Maggie's antagonistic
attitude toward Lena was coming from. Lena had
done nothing lately but try to help her, why couldn't
Maggie see that?
"I was being selfish. Yes. I felt partly to blame for
the pain that she was in. I--I didn't handle it very
well."
"Well, what did you do?"
"I took some of the poison that I put in Michael's
allergy pills."
Bianca's knees went weak and she felt sick from the
shock of hearing Lena's words. She put a hand
against the wall to brace herself and tried to breathe
deeply to calm her roiling emotions.
"How could you possibly do that to her?"
She wanted to rush in and defend her... what? Her
mind and her heart screamed 'lover,' but she knew it
wasn't that simple any more. Or maybe things were
simpler than she wanted to admit. Lena's admission
had hit her hard, stolen her breath and what little sense
of equilibrium she'd regained since the explosion.
There was nothing unambiguous about the terror she
felt upon realizing she could have lost Lena,
permanently.
"I thought at the time I--I was doing it for her. I--I
don't expect you to understand..."
"No, I don't. God, and the last thing that she needs to
hear is that you tried to kill yourself because you
couldn't stand to see her in all that pain."
Maggie's reaction gave Bianca the impetus she needed
to get moving.
"That's enough, Maggie."
"Bianca!" both women exclaimed at once. Maggie
rushed to her side. Lena was much more hesitant.
She took a step forward, reaching out with both hands,
but then seemed to think better of it and dropped
them, looking guilty and a little fearful.
"Bianca, you're all right?" Lena questioned.
"Yeah, what happened? Are you okay?" Maggie
added.
"I--I'm okay. A little shaky still, but it's just a
concussion."
"What about the..." "And the baby?" the two asked
together.
"The baby's fine. I had to do some quick thinking at
the hospital, but I got lucky. There's a new doctor
there who didn't recognize me, so I gave a fake name.
They put the baby on a fetal monitor and everything is
fine. And David checked me over later when I got in
a little trouble after ducking out of the hospital."
"Bianca," Lena asked, "are you sure you should be
out? Shouldn't you be resting? A concussion..."
"Yes, I should be resting, but I'm okay, Lena. I have a
taxi waiting downstairs and I just came by for a
change of clothes for tomorrow. But don't think this
lets either of you off the hook. Maggie, I really don't
know what's going on with you lately, but I don't want
to hear you talk to Lena like that. If you can't try to
see things from her point of view, or at least be civil
to her, then keep it to yourself, okay?"
Maggie looked like she really wanted to protest, but
instead she just nodded and mumbled, "okay."
"Good. And, as for you..." Bianca turned to Lena who
stood stock still, eyes flickering between her face and
the floor, looking as if she were bracing for a blow.
Bianca stepped closer to Lena and intertwined their
fingers, pulling Lena's hands toward her.
"I would never, *could* never, be better off without
you in my life. I'm so, so sorry I ever gave you reason
to believe that."
Lena's eyes were wide open and riveted to hers.
"Bianca, it's not... You don't have any reason to
apologize to me."
She rubbed her thumbs across the backs of Lena's
hands. "I think maybe I do. I shut you out of my life
for months, when all you wanted was to help me. I
was so wrapped up in what I was going through that I
didn't really think about what that would do to you.
Or, I did think about it, but it was all too much and I
just couldn't..."
"Bianca, don't." Lena looked pained.
"I have to, Lena. I can't bear the thought that...that
you were in so much pain that you would even
consider..." She couldn't even say the words; it was
too horrible to contemplate. She noted vaguely that
Maggie had left the room. Bianca supposed that she'd
wanted to give them some privacy. "Lena, I'm so
tired of all the guilt and the blame, but I have to take
responsibility for my behavior and for what it did to
you."
"Bianca, I'm not proud of what I did, but I'm getting
help--I'm seeing a therapist. It will *never* happen
again. I promise. You don't have to worry about me.
I just want you to heal. I want you to find happiness
again, with or without me."
"I don't want to be happy if it's without you, Lena. I
don't know what I'm ready for right now. I know I'm
not ready to be...with you...like we were, but I do
want you in my life. I just need you to be patient, if
you can."
"Bianca, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here for you,
no matter what."
They gravitated toward each other and slipped into a
tentative embrace. Lena turned her head to place a
tender kiss on Bianca's temple, and Bianca reveled in
the brief contact. She snuggled into the crook of
Lena's neck, whispering a nearly silent, "I love you."
Lena's arms tightened around her--the only sign she
gave of having heard.
That was how Maggie found them.
"Okay, you two. Break it up." She held up a small
backpack. "Here you go, Bianca. Jammies, clothes
for tomorrow, toothbrush and the like." She moved
around to the front of the couch, grabbed the rubber
duck and tucked it into the front pouch of the
backpack. "Where are you going to be staying?"
"Stuart and Marian's cottage on the Chandler estate.
It's kind of a long story, but I'll tell you later."
"I'll look forward to it. Now, you need to get some
rest." Maggie handed the backpack to Lena. "You
take care of her."
There was an undercurrent of defeat in Maggie's
seemingly upbeat and no-nonsense tone that puzzled
Bianca, but she was so distracted by Lena's presence,
by how much they had yet to say to one another, that
she decided to pursue things with Maggie later.
"I will," Lena replied immediately.
"Fine. So? Get out of here, already!"
Bianca was halfway to the door before she thought to
ask her friend. "Hey, what about you? Where will
you stay tonight?"
"Oh, I don't know... It seems safe enough here, for
now. I'll stay here for a while, at least, and try to
clean up a little. Then, if it gets weird, I'll just
go...hang out with David, or something."
"Yeah. Why don't you do that? Or, if he's tied up at
the clinic or something, you could go by Myrtle's, or
even my mom's Penthouse. I'm sure either one of
them would take you in for the night."
"I'll keep that in mind." Maggie smiled, but even in
the dark, Bianca could see it didn't reach her eyes.
"Now, go on, you two. I'll be fine."
"Okay," Bianca relented. "I'll see you tomorrow."
They walked out, and Maggie closed the door behind
them before slumping against it.
Bianca looked back at the door a moment before
asking Lena, "you've got your car?"
"Yes." Lena fumbled in her purse a moment, then
pulled out a couple bills. "Here. Why don't you pay
your taxi fare and I'll give you a ride back. Unless
you'd rather..."
"No. That's a good idea. We should talk."
Lena nodded. "I'll bring the car around."
[to be continued in next post...]
Author: Susan P. suzotchka67@populli.net
Fandom: All My Children
Pairing: Lianca
Rating: PG [again--not that kind of fantasy!]
Summary: This is the how I would rather have seen
the little Leggie confrontation play itself out. The first
ten lines or so of dialogue were lifted directly from the
Wednesday, 12/17/2003 episode. The rest is mine,
and as such, a departure from show canon.
Author's Notes: Although this departs from canon in
the sense that Bianca didn't witness the Maggie/Lena
conversation and the Lianca conversation is entirely
my invention, I ended it at a place where the next
canon Lianca scenes (from 12/18/03) could be seen as
logically following after mine.
There's minimal Maggie-bashing in this piece, though
that's more due to Bianca's influence than my own.
But, I was pissed at her (and everyone else, really) for
not showing Lena one ounce of compassion in regards
to her suicide attempt, so that may show through.
Plus, I was pissed off at Lena for giving Maggie
potential ammunition against her for later, so having
Binks show up was my way of 'fixing' both of the
biggest problems I had with those scenes.
Disclaimers: Sadly, these characters don't belong to
me, else things would be playing out *much*
differently on screen.
Archiving: www.alightlefton.com . Anyone
else, please ask first.
Feedback: Always welcome. On the lists/forums or
via e-mail: suzotchka67@populli.net
"Bianca won't know. She doesn't know, okay?"
Bianca pulled up short at hearing Lena's words. Part
of her wanted to turn and run away, or just barge in
before Lena could say more. She was almost afraid to
think about what Lena might be keeping from her
now.
"Lena, you are not leaving until you tell me what
happened."
"When Bianca was p-- When I found out that Bianca
was having an abortion, I...I couldn't handle it. I did
something stupid. Something I regret."
"Oh great, more regrets. That's just perfect."
Bianca didn't understand where Maggie's antagonistic
attitude toward Lena was coming from. Lena had
done nothing lately but try to help her, why couldn't
Maggie see that?
"I was being selfish. Yes. I felt partly to blame for
the pain that she was in. I--I didn't handle it very
well."
"Well, what did you do?"
"I took some of the poison that I put in Michael's
allergy pills."
Bianca's knees went weak and she felt sick from the
shock of hearing Lena's words. She put a hand
against the wall to brace herself and tried to breathe
deeply to calm her roiling emotions.
"How could you possibly do that to her?"
She wanted to rush in and defend her... what? Her
mind and her heart screamed 'lover,' but she knew it
wasn't that simple any more. Or maybe things were
simpler than she wanted to admit. Lena's admission
had hit her hard, stolen her breath and what little sense
of equilibrium she'd regained since the explosion.
There was nothing unambiguous about the terror she
felt upon realizing she could have lost Lena,
permanently.
"I thought at the time I--I was doing it for her. I--I
don't expect you to understand..."
"No, I don't. God, and the last thing that she needs to
hear is that you tried to kill yourself because you
couldn't stand to see her in all that pain."
Maggie's reaction gave Bianca the impetus she needed
to get moving.
"That's enough, Maggie."
"Bianca!" both women exclaimed at once. Maggie
rushed to her side. Lena was much more hesitant.
She took a step forward, reaching out with both hands,
but then seemed to think better of it and dropped
them, looking guilty and a little fearful.
"Bianca, you're all right?" Lena questioned.
"Yeah, what happened? Are you okay?" Maggie
added.
"I--I'm okay. A little shaky still, but it's just a
concussion."
"What about the..." "And the baby?" the two asked
together.
"The baby's fine. I had to do some quick thinking at
the hospital, but I got lucky. There's a new doctor
there who didn't recognize me, so I gave a fake name.
They put the baby on a fetal monitor and everything is
fine. And David checked me over later when I got in
a little trouble after ducking out of the hospital."
"Bianca," Lena asked, "are you sure you should be
out? Shouldn't you be resting? A concussion..."
"Yes, I should be resting, but I'm okay, Lena. I have a
taxi waiting downstairs and I just came by for a
change of clothes for tomorrow. But don't think this
lets either of you off the hook. Maggie, I really don't
know what's going on with you lately, but I don't want
to hear you talk to Lena like that. If you can't try to
see things from her point of view, or at least be civil
to her, then keep it to yourself, okay?"
Maggie looked like she really wanted to protest, but
instead she just nodded and mumbled, "okay."
"Good. And, as for you..." Bianca turned to Lena who
stood stock still, eyes flickering between her face and
the floor, looking as if she were bracing for a blow.
Bianca stepped closer to Lena and intertwined their
fingers, pulling Lena's hands toward her.
"I would never, *could* never, be better off without
you in my life. I'm so, so sorry I ever gave you reason
to believe that."
Lena's eyes were wide open and riveted to hers.
"Bianca, it's not... You don't have any reason to
apologize to me."
She rubbed her thumbs across the backs of Lena's
hands. "I think maybe I do. I shut you out of my life
for months, when all you wanted was to help me. I
was so wrapped up in what I was going through that I
didn't really think about what that would do to you.
Or, I did think about it, but it was all too much and I
just couldn't..."
"Bianca, don't." Lena looked pained.
"I have to, Lena. I can't bear the thought that...that
you were in so much pain that you would even
consider..." She couldn't even say the words; it was
too horrible to contemplate. She noted vaguely that
Maggie had left the room. Bianca supposed that she'd
wanted to give them some privacy. "Lena, I'm so
tired of all the guilt and the blame, but I have to take
responsibility for my behavior and for what it did to
you."
"Bianca, I'm not proud of what I did, but I'm getting
help--I'm seeing a therapist. It will *never* happen
again. I promise. You don't have to worry about me.
I just want you to heal. I want you to find happiness
again, with or without me."
"I don't want to be happy if it's without you, Lena. I
don't know what I'm ready for right now. I know I'm
not ready to be...with you...like we were, but I do
want you in my life. I just need you to be patient, if
you can."
"Bianca, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here for you,
no matter what."
They gravitated toward each other and slipped into a
tentative embrace. Lena turned her head to place a
tender kiss on Bianca's temple, and Bianca reveled in
the brief contact. She snuggled into the crook of
Lena's neck, whispering a nearly silent, "I love you."
Lena's arms tightened around her--the only sign she
gave of having heard.
That was how Maggie found them.
"Okay, you two. Break it up." She held up a small
backpack. "Here you go, Bianca. Jammies, clothes
for tomorrow, toothbrush and the like." She moved
around to the front of the couch, grabbed the rubber
duck and tucked it into the front pouch of the
backpack. "Where are you going to be staying?"
"Stuart and Marian's cottage on the Chandler estate.
It's kind of a long story, but I'll tell you later."
"I'll look forward to it. Now, you need to get some
rest." Maggie handed the backpack to Lena. "You
take care of her."
There was an undercurrent of defeat in Maggie's
seemingly upbeat and no-nonsense tone that puzzled
Bianca, but she was so distracted by Lena's presence,
by how much they had yet to say to one another, that
she decided to pursue things with Maggie later.
"I will," Lena replied immediately.
"Fine. So? Get out of here, already!"
Bianca was halfway to the door before she thought to
ask her friend. "Hey, what about you? Where will
you stay tonight?"
"Oh, I don't know... It seems safe enough here, for
now. I'll stay here for a while, at least, and try to
clean up a little. Then, if it gets weird, I'll just
go...hang out with David, or something."
"Yeah. Why don't you do that? Or, if he's tied up at
the clinic or something, you could go by Myrtle's, or
even my mom's Penthouse. I'm sure either one of
them would take you in for the night."
"I'll keep that in mind." Maggie smiled, but even in
the dark, Bianca could see it didn't reach her eyes.
"Now, go on, you two. I'll be fine."
"Okay," Bianca relented. "I'll see you tomorrow."
They walked out, and Maggie closed the door behind
them before slumping against it.
Bianca looked back at the door a moment before
asking Lena, "you've got your car?"
"Yes." Lena fumbled in her purse a moment, then
pulled out a couple bills. "Here. Why don't you pay
your taxi fare and I'll give you a ride back. Unless
you'd rather..."
"No. That's a good idea. We should talk."
Lena nodded. "I'll bring the car around."
[to be continued in next post...]