So it seem's my writing never improves, nor does my skill for titles! Ha! Anyway. *SPOILERS* Who else is heartbroken over this series of Humans?! Admittedly, the finale wasn't as full of death as I'd expected, but I need S3 now to know what happens to Leo, and to see the world and synths dealing with the consciousness! And I need Fred like a million years ago! But yes, a sudden, small, not very good spark of inspiration so I thought let's go with it- at least it's something to upload. I'm sorry it's no good, or nothing very substantial, but it's here. Of course I've sort of made some things up, what I imagine may have happened and some just general 'headcannon' type plots. I don't own Humans or the characters, no copyright, no beta, all mistakes my own etc etc.
In her memory, she's walking down the corridor, pretending to chase him. He's 8 years old and he turns and smiles. His beautiful young face, beginning to lose it's puppy fat and showing the man he will one day become. The gap in his baby teeth, adding that extra spark of pure innocence. He's laughing, giggling, screaming she won't catch him. And then she does. She tickles his belly, his chest, under his neck. They squirm and wriggle in each other's hold, laughing. The walls around them fade away, the table falls into the wall and the bookcase is a door to some happy land. In that moment it's just them.
Leo and Mia.
Leo stands at the other end of the corridor, the sun, for once, making it seem a much nicer stretch of the house. The walls don't appear as dark, and the furniture doesn't look as uninviting as usual. He's smiling at her. She secretly knows that he passed his latest test Fred set him, but she wants him to tell her, to see the joy on his face and hear the pride in his voice. He runs toward her, she opens her arms and he falls into them. Shoving the paper in her face he tells her everything, boasts at how proud Fred was of him, and that even Niska showed delight. Max gave him a sweet but he was sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone, not before teatime. Mia pretends she didn't see it, putting her hand in front of her eyes as she listens to him run off to his room to enjoy his reward. She still has the paper in her hand, and as she turns, she knows exactly where she's hanging it.
Mia and Leo.
David is in front of her, they're heading toward Leo's room. It's time. David says he's figured it all out and this is it. Her stomach fills with butterflies, her circuits replicating the nerves of a human, just as they were made to do. The corridor seems endless, and it feels an age before they reach his room. The door's already open and Fred and Max are transferring Leo from his bed to a stretcher. The next few days are going to be terrifying, more terrifying than realising her son had been trapped in that car. More terrifying than holding his lifeless body and being told he may not make it. Niska takes her hand, they hold onto one another and she sees a rare glint of emotion on her sister's face, the same worry that must be evident on her own. David insists on taking the stretcher on his own. And so, the Elster siblings watch as Leo's suddenly small body is carted off to his fate.
The Elsters.
She's stomping down the corridor. Picking up the clothes abandoned on the floor. The books and toys. She's berating him, this isn't the young teenage boy she's taught. Not to leave his things all over. Pick it up or it goes in the bin. He walks towards her, a small downturn on his face. She jokes, makes light heart of the situation and he smiles again, a sad smile but one coming to terms with his life now. She gives up, they pick things up together, tidy the house and Mia breaks into 'A Spoonful of Sugar'. They laugh and the corridor doesn't seem so harsh again, the mood has lifted and everything's being tidied up.
Mia and Leo.
Shouting. So much shouting. The wallpaper seems to grow ten times darker. The furniture shrinks into the walls, as if to shy away from the yelling. The back of his head, ever walking away from her. Why won't he get it into his head, he needs to be more careful. More careful with his charges, more careful with his life. And when he does turn and face her- the face now the man he had so quickly grown into- it's full of rage, red marring the white that lingered from his close touch with death. He throws the book behind her, screams more in her face and walks to his room.
Leo and Mia.
She's running. The corridor blurs as she runs the full length in seconds. Her 'heart' hammering, the sound of a gunshot and screaming echoing in her mind. It's Leo. He's yelling and crying and she can hear Fred now too, his soothing voice a contrast to the shouts. He's holding Leo up, keeping him from falling completely to the ground. A once over tells her it isn't Leo that's hurt, there's blood, but only splatters, and no clear injury. He's crying, tears streaming down his face, a look of horror painted beneath them. Fred looks at her, Niska stands in the doorway and Max stands away. A foot catches her eye, just inside the room Niska protects- or hides. It's David. The shot was his. The blood is his. She slowly takes Leo off Fred, turns and walks back down the corridor. His body leans heavy on her side, his tears drop onto her shoulder. The walk seems much longer now, like in a horror movie, a never ending journey of pain and heartbreak.
Mia and Leo.
His hand is in hers. Ahead of her she watches Max, Niska and Fred drag what belonging they've taken from the house. The walls are dark now, there's no lights on. The table, desk and shelves are empty, some belongings in their bags, others stored in boxes to hopefully be unpacked again...one day. Leo's shaking ever so slightly, but his face is strong and steady. She's so proud of him. Of what he's faced and of what he's become, regardless of everything. They're leaving their home behind, their life, their safety. But as long as she has Leo, and her brothers and her sister, she has everything.
The Elsters.
Mia walks down the corridor. It seems so much different now. There's no life, it's empty and just reminds her of all the pain and why they're back. They have no lights on, they need to keep hidden, and the walls feel like they're closing in on her. She walks into his room and if it had been different, she could have imagined him sleeping, back to being 10 years old and ready for his bedtime story. He isn't though. He's stable now, but still in danger. They almost lost him- again. The house had what machinery and tools they had hoped for, what they had needed. And they saved what they could of...him. It was just a waiting game now, a wait for Leo to wake up and to see if they had fixed him in time. She sat by his side, her hand stroking at his hair, mindful of the tubes and needles. They hadn't wanted him to wake up downstairs in the lab, they wanted him to be comfortable. And so it was, that Mia, Niska, Max and one day Fred, would walk this hall once again, to and from their sibling's room, just as they had years ago. However long it took, they would wait for him.
Maybe they should redecorate, make the rooms feel more homely once again. Make it a nicer place for Leo to wake up to.
Mia.
I have a lot of emotions from this show, and of course from the s2 ending. So if you want to share, come see me on tumblr. There may have been a chance you liked this, so thank you, and as usual, I promise I'm trying to get more stuff out (mainly Merlin & Humans fic), but I'm really struggling at the moment. Hope you're all ok and take care! :) x