The Rashomon Effect: Unconscious
Title:Unconscious
Fandom: Pretty Little Liars/Teen Wolf Crossover
Word Count: 2230
It had been an ordinary day. He had woken up and gotten his daughter ready for school. He had noticed she was a little sluggish, but she had promised she just hadn’t slept well. And while a little, annoying voice in his head worried, he told it not to. It was normal. Sometimes people just didn’t sleep well. The voice had persisted: even eight year olds? And maybe it was odd, but she was fine otherwise.
He’d driven her to school and dropped her off, giving her a big giant wolf hug before he did. And he watched her as she ran up the steps, excited, and into the building.
He had driven to work. And he hadn’t thought again about her sleepless night until his phone rang three hours into the day.
“Is this Mr. Whittemore?” the voice asked after I answered.
“Yes,” was my response. And it was just in my nature to be defensive. “Who is this.”
“This is Parkers Elementary,” was the response. “Your daughter…”
Before they could finish, I demanded. “Is she okay?”
“We’re not sure yet. Her teacher, Ms. Hastings is with her. On her way to the hospital. She just sort of zoned out and then screamed and then passed out. She’s at Saint Luke’s.” The voice on the other end answered.
I hung up after barely muttering, I’m on my way and raced out of the office. I drove as fast as I could to get there and all I could think about is how this is exactly what I didn’t want for my daughter. I wanted her to have a better life, than her mother and I. When I was young and stupid, I wanted desperately to belong to something I had chosen and I had become a wolf without thinking what that would mean for me in the future. And my wife had never been given a choice. I had hoped that she wouldn’t have anything supernatural in her. That she’d live a full, even if “boring” life.
I rushed into the room barely looking at anyone else in it, hurrying to her side. “Sweetie, are you okay?” She was still unconscious, if I didn't know better, I would think she was sleeping peacefully. But I knew she wasn’t. I knew if she was sleeping at all she was probably tormented. “Come on Lucy, wake up.” She didn’t respond and I had to jerk myself away from her with a growl as my fist slammed into the wall. No, she could not have this fate, not this young. She was still too young to be so intimately acquainted with death.
“Jackson?” the voice sounded stunned and I slowly turned to face it. It sounded familiar, and shell shocked and angry. I spun around to come face to face with the girl that had broken my heart once.
I had seen her name on Lucy’s schedule. Ms. Hastings. And for a moment I had remembered fondly the girl that I had once loved. But I had never thought it would really be the same girl. The girl that I had thought I could spend my future with. She’d gone to sleep in my arms. And when I had woken up, she was gone. I had tried to reach her, but she had avoided me. And then she had finally asked me to meet her. She had said she was sorry but that she didn’t feel about me the same way that I felt about her. She said I shouldn’t be alone. I should move on. As she had spoken, her breath had hitched, she had cried. I could hear her heart race and the way she breathed more rapidly when she was lying. The truth was, she was sorry, and she thought that I should not be alone. The lie was that she didn’t feel the same way that I did. And I knew, given the force in our life, A, that she was lying to keep me safe, so I had let her go.
Her eyes were fixed on my finger. “You’re married…” she sounded like she was gutted.
I nodded. “To Lydia.” I say and I see the flash of anger and betrayal on her face. It wasn’t done to hurt her. She had asked for me to move on. And I had. I had found Lydia. Again. It would never have worked if Lydia hadn’t been softer, hadn’t been discovering her Banshee self. But it wasn’t the same. Spencer had loved me not for what I could be or my money, but for who I was. Flaws and all. My anger, my wolf, none of that deterred her. Lydia always had hope for more from me. “She was in the hospital during open house.” I try to explain why we missed meeting then. “She passed away.” She glares at me. “You told me to move on…” I yell at her before I realize that this doesn’t matter right now, because my daughter could be dying now too. She was so small to be trying to handle this.
She barks at me that it’s clear I did. And I did, but only at her request. I can’t change it now. And then she says the one thing I wish she hadn’t. That the doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her, that there is no logical, medical, normal reason for her to be in this state. “I hope,” I say quietly. Lydia was in and out of unconsciousness right before she died. I look back at my daughter, trying to will her to wake up. A part of me worried that she won’t, a part of me worried that she will and this will be just the beginning for her.
I’m not sure what she says, but I feel the swish of the air as Spencer walks past me, leaving. I can’t just let her go without thanking her, and I wish the circumstances were different, that more could be said. Maybe more could if she stayed. I could ask her to stay. I turn around and reach out for her. My hand wraps around her arm, and I feel the familiar rhythm that is her heartbeat. I look up at her, but she looks so hurt and I feel guilty for even wanting to talk to her. So all I say is “Thanks” and I mean it. I would not have wanted Lucy to be alone right now.
She looked at me and for a moment I thought she might bridge the gap, but then she was all business, if I wanted to know about assignments I could just e-mail her. I was left unable to do anything but nod as I knew my daughter was stirring in bed, probably not something a normal human would have sensed.
I turned away from her and back to my daughter, the most important thing in my life as her eyes opened and she whispered. “Daddy?”
~~~
Spencer Hastings hated her life, and the very fact that she hated it made her feel guilty. She'd never intended to end up here, but like most things in her life it didn't exactly go the way she wanted. Fresh out of college and eager to teach for a university, every single interview and application had been somehow thwarted by A. She still couldn't really wrap her mind around how it had all happened, how she'd come to be second grade teacher, but this prestigious private school was more than thrilled to have someone with her qualifications
So she stood in front of the small classroom day in and day out, droning on about arithmetic and the parts of speech when she longed to be discussing Faulkner. The day had started out normal enough, a little rainy, which meant the kids were antsy and full of energy from being cooped up inside.
She still tried to work her way through the thrilling topic of adjectives when she noticed a hubbub in the back corner of the room. She sighed and quickly chastised the loudest student a very excitable young boy named Caleb. She grinned to herself as the noise almost immediately stopped, proud of her ability to corral her students. The quiet lasted a few seconds before an ear-piercing scream filled the area. Spencer's head snapped up just in time to see Lucy, a quiet but sweet red head fell out of her chair.
Spencer raced towards the back of the room, quickly shouting for the other students to back up. She made her way to the little girls side and reached a timid hand out to shake the little girl. “Lucy, open your eyes for me.” she said softly. When there was no response she turned towards Caleb.
“Go to the principals off quick, tell him what's going on.” she said sternly. Whatever was going on it was far to much for the school nurse to handle. She reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone to call 911.
When the ambulance came, Spencer barely had time to object before she was basically forced on the ambulance, which is how she came to find herself awkwardly pacing the floor in Lucy's room. She felt out of control, which wasn't something Spencer dealt with well. When she couldn't handle the sound of her own heels echoing on the floor, she went down the hall to get herself a cup of coffee.
As she made it back to Lucy's room, she could hear a voice talking to her. A voice that she recognized, a voice that haunted her dreams. She convinced herself that there was no possible way it was him, but her class roster flashed in her mind and she realized it had to be. The second his fist connected with the wall, she knew, knew it was him.
She'd pushed him away. That text came in from A, the one that threatened to tell the Hunters exactly where Jackson was. And she couldn't just let that happen. She'd fought so hard to get him, but she'd rather live her whole life without him, than see him killed. But underneath it all, she thought he'd fight harder. That he wouldn't take no for an answer, that he'd figure out what was wrong and deal with it. How could he just let her walk away, after all the wall she'd finally let down. After she'd given herself to him completely, and more importantly stayed afterwards.
“Jackson..” she started unable to keep the question out of her voice even though she knew it was him. He spun to face her and she opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes landed on the thin band on his ring finger.
It stabbed at her like a knife. She'd told him to move on, but she'd tried and couldn't, but clearly he had and enough to get married, have a child. That hurt, more than she cared to admit, made her feel even more like a failure than she already did.
“You're married?” she said her voice coming out weak even to her own ears.
She barely heard his explanation, of course it was Lydia. Of course, the person that made Spencer feel like she was nothing, like she could never stand up to this ideal image of the perfect Lydia. Every word he get out only serves to rise her blood pressure even higher.
He shouts at her and she folds her arms across her chest lifting an eyebrow at him. “And clearly you did.” she says digging her nails into her skin to relieve some of her anger as she strode towards him.
This wasn't supposed to be about them, she wasn't even supposed to be here. She had never felt a stronger desire to run, her legs literally itching to move. Her phone chirped in her pocket and she pulled it out, frowning at the unknown number. Whatever it was, it could wait. She turned towards Jackson ready to spring back into action, but her gaze settled on Lucy and stopped herself. If it was true that people in comas could hear what was going on around them, she didn't want the little girl hear her and Jackson talking about her mother.
“She just passed out sitting in class.” she said softly, “the doctor's can't find anything wrong with her, and said its just a matter of time before she wakes up.”
She paused to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes, “Now that you're here I've got some kids to get back to.”
She grabbed her purse off a chair and made a move to leave the room, pausing as she felt his hand close gently around her arm. Like a traitor, her body responded her skin tingling as she leaned towards him. She wasn't sure what he was going to say, but she knew she couldn't trust herself to look in his eyes. When his words finally came, they were soft. “Thanks,” he said.
She nodded firmly and breezed past him inhaling deeply, willing her heart to slow down. She paused in the doorway to glance back at him. “It was no trouble, and if you have any questions about homework or missed lessons, just send me an e-mail.” she said before turning and disappearing down the hall.
Fandom: Pretty Little Liars/Teen Wolf Crossover
Word Count: 2230
It had been an ordinary day. He had woken up and gotten his daughter ready for school. He had noticed she was a little sluggish, but she had promised she just hadn’t slept well. And while a little, annoying voice in his head worried, he told it not to. It was normal. Sometimes people just didn’t sleep well. The voice had persisted: even eight year olds? And maybe it was odd, but she was fine otherwise.
He’d driven her to school and dropped her off, giving her a big giant wolf hug before he did. And he watched her as she ran up the steps, excited, and into the building.
He had driven to work. And he hadn’t thought again about her sleepless night until his phone rang three hours into the day.
“Is this Mr. Whittemore?” the voice asked after I answered.
“Yes,” was my response. And it was just in my nature to be defensive. “Who is this.”
“This is Parkers Elementary,” was the response. “Your daughter…”
Before they could finish, I demanded. “Is she okay?”
“We’re not sure yet. Her teacher, Ms. Hastings is with her. On her way to the hospital. She just sort of zoned out and then screamed and then passed out. She’s at Saint Luke’s.” The voice on the other end answered.
I hung up after barely muttering, I’m on my way and raced out of the office. I drove as fast as I could to get there and all I could think about is how this is exactly what I didn’t want for my daughter. I wanted her to have a better life, than her mother and I. When I was young and stupid, I wanted desperately to belong to something I had chosen and I had become a wolf without thinking what that would mean for me in the future. And my wife had never been given a choice. I had hoped that she wouldn’t have anything supernatural in her. That she’d live a full, even if “boring” life.
I rushed into the room barely looking at anyone else in it, hurrying to her side. “Sweetie, are you okay?” She was still unconscious, if I didn't know better, I would think she was sleeping peacefully. But I knew she wasn’t. I knew if she was sleeping at all she was probably tormented. “Come on Lucy, wake up.” She didn’t respond and I had to jerk myself away from her with a growl as my fist slammed into the wall. No, she could not have this fate, not this young. She was still too young to be so intimately acquainted with death.
“Jackson?” the voice sounded stunned and I slowly turned to face it. It sounded familiar, and shell shocked and angry. I spun around to come face to face with the girl that had broken my heart once.
I had seen her name on Lucy’s schedule. Ms. Hastings. And for a moment I had remembered fondly the girl that I had once loved. But I had never thought it would really be the same girl. The girl that I had thought I could spend my future with. She’d gone to sleep in my arms. And when I had woken up, she was gone. I had tried to reach her, but she had avoided me. And then she had finally asked me to meet her. She had said she was sorry but that she didn’t feel about me the same way that I felt about her. She said I shouldn’t be alone. I should move on. As she had spoken, her breath had hitched, she had cried. I could hear her heart race and the way she breathed more rapidly when she was lying. The truth was, she was sorry, and she thought that I should not be alone. The lie was that she didn’t feel the same way that I did. And I knew, given the force in our life, A, that she was lying to keep me safe, so I had let her go.
Her eyes were fixed on my finger. “You’re married…” she sounded like she was gutted.
I nodded. “To Lydia.” I say and I see the flash of anger and betrayal on her face. It wasn’t done to hurt her. She had asked for me to move on. And I had. I had found Lydia. Again. It would never have worked if Lydia hadn’t been softer, hadn’t been discovering her Banshee self. But it wasn’t the same. Spencer had loved me not for what I could be or my money, but for who I was. Flaws and all. My anger, my wolf, none of that deterred her. Lydia always had hope for more from me. “She was in the hospital during open house.” I try to explain why we missed meeting then. “She passed away.” She glares at me. “You told me to move on…” I yell at her before I realize that this doesn’t matter right now, because my daughter could be dying now too. She was so small to be trying to handle this.
She barks at me that it’s clear I did. And I did, but only at her request. I can’t change it now. And then she says the one thing I wish she hadn’t. That the doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her, that there is no logical, medical, normal reason for her to be in this state. “I hope,” I say quietly. Lydia was in and out of unconsciousness right before she died. I look back at my daughter, trying to will her to wake up. A part of me worried that she won’t, a part of me worried that she will and this will be just the beginning for her.
I’m not sure what she says, but I feel the swish of the air as Spencer walks past me, leaving. I can’t just let her go without thanking her, and I wish the circumstances were different, that more could be said. Maybe more could if she stayed. I could ask her to stay. I turn around and reach out for her. My hand wraps around her arm, and I feel the familiar rhythm that is her heartbeat. I look up at her, but she looks so hurt and I feel guilty for even wanting to talk to her. So all I say is “Thanks” and I mean it. I would not have wanted Lucy to be alone right now.
She looked at me and for a moment I thought she might bridge the gap, but then she was all business, if I wanted to know about assignments I could just e-mail her. I was left unable to do anything but nod as I knew my daughter was stirring in bed, probably not something a normal human would have sensed.
I turned away from her and back to my daughter, the most important thing in my life as her eyes opened and she whispered. “Daddy?”
~~~
Spencer Hastings hated her life, and the very fact that she hated it made her feel guilty. She'd never intended to end up here, but like most things in her life it didn't exactly go the way she wanted. Fresh out of college and eager to teach for a university, every single interview and application had been somehow thwarted by A. She still couldn't really wrap her mind around how it had all happened, how she'd come to be second grade teacher, but this prestigious private school was more than thrilled to have someone with her qualifications
So she stood in front of the small classroom day in and day out, droning on about arithmetic and the parts of speech when she longed to be discussing Faulkner. The day had started out normal enough, a little rainy, which meant the kids were antsy and full of energy from being cooped up inside.
She still tried to work her way through the thrilling topic of adjectives when she noticed a hubbub in the back corner of the room. She sighed and quickly chastised the loudest student a very excitable young boy named Caleb. She grinned to herself as the noise almost immediately stopped, proud of her ability to corral her students. The quiet lasted a few seconds before an ear-piercing scream filled the area. Spencer's head snapped up just in time to see Lucy, a quiet but sweet red head fell out of her chair.
Spencer raced towards the back of the room, quickly shouting for the other students to back up. She made her way to the little girls side and reached a timid hand out to shake the little girl. “Lucy, open your eyes for me.” she said softly. When there was no response she turned towards Caleb.
“Go to the principals off quick, tell him what's going on.” she said sternly. Whatever was going on it was far to much for the school nurse to handle. She reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone to call 911.
When the ambulance came, Spencer barely had time to object before she was basically forced on the ambulance, which is how she came to find herself awkwardly pacing the floor in Lucy's room. She felt out of control, which wasn't something Spencer dealt with well. When she couldn't handle the sound of her own heels echoing on the floor, she went down the hall to get herself a cup of coffee.
As she made it back to Lucy's room, she could hear a voice talking to her. A voice that she recognized, a voice that haunted her dreams. She convinced herself that there was no possible way it was him, but her class roster flashed in her mind and she realized it had to be. The second his fist connected with the wall, she knew, knew it was him.
She'd pushed him away. That text came in from A, the one that threatened to tell the Hunters exactly where Jackson was. And she couldn't just let that happen. She'd fought so hard to get him, but she'd rather live her whole life without him, than see him killed. But underneath it all, she thought he'd fight harder. That he wouldn't take no for an answer, that he'd figure out what was wrong and deal with it. How could he just let her walk away, after all the wall she'd finally let down. After she'd given herself to him completely, and more importantly stayed afterwards.
“Jackson..” she started unable to keep the question out of her voice even though she knew it was him. He spun to face her and she opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes landed on the thin band on his ring finger.
It stabbed at her like a knife. She'd told him to move on, but she'd tried and couldn't, but clearly he had and enough to get married, have a child. That hurt, more than she cared to admit, made her feel even more like a failure than she already did.
“You're married?” she said her voice coming out weak even to her own ears.
She barely heard his explanation, of course it was Lydia. Of course, the person that made Spencer feel like she was nothing, like she could never stand up to this ideal image of the perfect Lydia. Every word he get out only serves to rise her blood pressure even higher.
He shouts at her and she folds her arms across her chest lifting an eyebrow at him. “And clearly you did.” she says digging her nails into her skin to relieve some of her anger as she strode towards him.
This wasn't supposed to be about them, she wasn't even supposed to be here. She had never felt a stronger desire to run, her legs literally itching to move. Her phone chirped in her pocket and she pulled it out, frowning at the unknown number. Whatever it was, it could wait. She turned towards Jackson ready to spring back into action, but her gaze settled on Lucy and stopped herself. If it was true that people in comas could hear what was going on around them, she didn't want the little girl hear her and Jackson talking about her mother.
“She just passed out sitting in class.” she said softly, “the doctor's can't find anything wrong with her, and said its just a matter of time before she wakes up.”
She paused to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes, “Now that you're here I've got some kids to get back to.”
She grabbed her purse off a chair and made a move to leave the room, pausing as she felt his hand close gently around her arm. Like a traitor, her body responded her skin tingling as she leaned towards him. She wasn't sure what he was going to say, but she knew she couldn't trust herself to look in his eyes. When his words finally came, they were soft. “Thanks,” he said.
She nodded firmly and breezed past him inhaling deeply, willing her heart to slow down. She paused in the doorway to glance back at him. “It was no trouble, and if you have any questions about homework or missed lessons, just send me an e-mail.” she said before turning and disappearing down the hall.