Title: Watching the unwatchable
Author: Elcee
Rating: Pg + I guess, don't know yet
Summary: Events after the season finale with Claire in hospital
Disclaimer: I own nothin'! Unfortunately or else I'd have Alex in chains
and handcuffs *hehehe* (Add dirty laughter). So don't bother suing me cause
I'm just a farmer.
He stared down at her, his deep eyes darkening with barely restrained emotion.
"Why the hell didn't you just tell me?" His voice was harsh from lack of use against the quiet room with the only exception of noise being the steady beep of the heart rate monitor.
"I though we were mates" He paused, looking away from the pale, still figure towards the white walls "I thought we told each other everything".
While his whole body was frozen in place by the bed, his fingers were the only movement in the room as they absentmindedly played with her slack fingers.
It had been a shock to say the least. Pregnant? He'd thought she'd been off purely because of the races and facing Peter again but for her to have been so edgy now made perfect sense.
And now he could see why she hadn't told him about the child. His reaction to her and Peter's engagement hadn't exactly been overwhelmed with happiness much less understanding.
He'd flipped his lid to put it bluntly.
He'd said things he regretted now but not then.
He'd spoken his mind on Peter for once without restraint, which started the whole current situation where she'd been forced to ride to replace him after the shoulder incident.
He'd been jealous.
Alex's relationship with Claire had always been non comprehendible to Peter. He was just unable to imagine that it was possible to be such good friends with someone but still not having a physical relationship. Alex wasn't even sure he himself understood just how himself and Claire could be so damn close yet still not be together.
He glanced down at her still face, her dark her framing her pale features and he carefully reached across and tucked a stray strand of soft hair behind her ear. He'd known Claire since.well, forever. He couldn't remember a time when they weren't riding their ponies together as kids, or making mud castles in the McLeod swamp or even curling up in the back of the Ryan family ute after the annual Gungellan show where the parents would tuck them in together for the night while they continued to party. But all those past times suddenly seemed so long ago. Here was Claire, injured and pregnant to that bastard's child while Alex was silently watching over her. If anyone had said that this was going to happen, he knew that he would have locked Claire in a horse float months ago and made sure she'd never met Peter.
But he'd been jealous.
He'd yelled at her at the show because for the first time, she was talking to someone else about her problems, was drinking on the verandah with anyone but him. Peter had started to muck up their friendship from the start and Alex realized only how much when he hadn't told Claire that he knew Peter was married. When she turned up that day at Nick's and found out that they'd known, he'd felt like beating himself up because he'd failed her. He hadn't told her. He hadn't protected her.
And she'd protected him. She'd called off the engagement that meant she could keep Drover's Run because he wasn't willing to be her friend, only a neighbor if Peter was around. She'd done what he should have done but hadn't.
His thoughts were interrupted by the soft yet present voice of the very women in question.
"Alex?"
He was quick to stand, leaning over her; his eyes searching her face as she squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. The deep windows stared back at him and although he'd deny it, his heart was rapidly beating at the thought that her first reaction was to call for him.
"Claire? Can you hear me?" He anxiously waited as she drew in a shaky breath and licked her dry lips while he clutched her hand tightly in both of his.
"Yeah, I can hear ya Alex" she responded, a smile beginning to from on her lips as she looked up at him. But he couldn't see the smile, all he could see was the pained and anguished look on her face as they loaded her into the ambulance and Tess had announced the pregnancy. And his eyes had met with hers for those moments after she'd told Peter it wasn't his and they'd begged with him, pleaded that he was still her friend and that he'd save her. He'd protect her once again as he'd so readily used to.
Alex shook his head slightly, shaking away the memories and focusing on the alive women now in front of him.
"Good, cause if you couldn't' hear me I'd be wasting my time when I start to yell at you" he replied gruffly and her smile faded as she waited for the impending lecture that she knew was coming. The one about trust, friendship and the idiotic things that she'd done.
But much to her surprise, it didn't come.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again you hear?" he demanded, his voice shaky as the images of her unconscious form assaulted his eyes again.
Claire stared up at him, her eyes becoming shiny with unshed tears as she stared up at her best friend, the only man to ever be truly there for her always without regards to the effects to himself. She let out the breath she'd been holding and nodded her head solemnly.
"I promise Alex"
And before she could react he'd swooped on her thin form, his large arms circling her and protecting her from the outside world and allowing both of their tears for each other to finally fall.
****
Author's note- Don't really know where this is going but I'd love to have people give me comments and suggestions. Every thing is welcome as I don't hurt to bad.
See ya, Elcee
He stared down at her, his deep eyes darkening with barely restrained emotion.
"Why the hell didn't you just tell me?" His voice was harsh from lack of use against the quiet room with the only exception of noise being the steady beep of the heart rate monitor.
"I though we were mates" He paused, looking away from the pale, still figure towards the white walls "I thought we told each other everything".
While his whole body was frozen in place by the bed, his fingers were the only movement in the room as they absentmindedly played with her slack fingers.
It had been a shock to say the least. Pregnant? He'd thought she'd been off purely because of the races and facing Peter again but for her to have been so edgy now made perfect sense.
And now he could see why she hadn't told him about the child. His reaction to her and Peter's engagement hadn't exactly been overwhelmed with happiness much less understanding.
He'd flipped his lid to put it bluntly.
He'd said things he regretted now but not then.
He'd spoken his mind on Peter for once without restraint, which started the whole current situation where she'd been forced to ride to replace him after the shoulder incident.
He'd been jealous.
Alex's relationship with Claire had always been non comprehendible to Peter. He was just unable to imagine that it was possible to be such good friends with someone but still not having a physical relationship. Alex wasn't even sure he himself understood just how himself and Claire could be so damn close yet still not be together.
He glanced down at her still face, her dark her framing her pale features and he carefully reached across and tucked a stray strand of soft hair behind her ear. He'd known Claire since.well, forever. He couldn't remember a time when they weren't riding their ponies together as kids, or making mud castles in the McLeod swamp or even curling up in the back of the Ryan family ute after the annual Gungellan show where the parents would tuck them in together for the night while they continued to party. But all those past times suddenly seemed so long ago. Here was Claire, injured and pregnant to that bastard's child while Alex was silently watching over her. If anyone had said that this was going to happen, he knew that he would have locked Claire in a horse float months ago and made sure she'd never met Peter.
But he'd been jealous.
He'd yelled at her at the show because for the first time, she was talking to someone else about her problems, was drinking on the verandah with anyone but him. Peter had started to muck up their friendship from the start and Alex realized only how much when he hadn't told Claire that he knew Peter was married. When she turned up that day at Nick's and found out that they'd known, he'd felt like beating himself up because he'd failed her. He hadn't told her. He hadn't protected her.
And she'd protected him. She'd called off the engagement that meant she could keep Drover's Run because he wasn't willing to be her friend, only a neighbor if Peter was around. She'd done what he should have done but hadn't.
His thoughts were interrupted by the soft yet present voice of the very women in question.
"Alex?"
He was quick to stand, leaning over her; his eyes searching her face as she squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. The deep windows stared back at him and although he'd deny it, his heart was rapidly beating at the thought that her first reaction was to call for him.
"Claire? Can you hear me?" He anxiously waited as she drew in a shaky breath and licked her dry lips while he clutched her hand tightly in both of his.
"Yeah, I can hear ya Alex" she responded, a smile beginning to from on her lips as she looked up at him. But he couldn't see the smile, all he could see was the pained and anguished look on her face as they loaded her into the ambulance and Tess had announced the pregnancy. And his eyes had met with hers for those moments after she'd told Peter it wasn't his and they'd begged with him, pleaded that he was still her friend and that he'd save her. He'd protect her once again as he'd so readily used to.
Alex shook his head slightly, shaking away the memories and focusing on the alive women now in front of him.
"Good, cause if you couldn't' hear me I'd be wasting my time when I start to yell at you" he replied gruffly and her smile faded as she waited for the impending lecture that she knew was coming. The one about trust, friendship and the idiotic things that she'd done.
But much to her surprise, it didn't come.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again you hear?" he demanded, his voice shaky as the images of her unconscious form assaulted his eyes again.
Claire stared up at him, her eyes becoming shiny with unshed tears as she stared up at her best friend, the only man to ever be truly there for her always without regards to the effects to himself. She let out the breath she'd been holding and nodded her head solemnly.
"I promise Alex"
And before she could react he'd swooped on her thin form, his large arms circling her and protecting her from the outside world and allowing both of their tears for each other to finally fall.
****
Author's note- Don't really know where this is going but I'd love to have people give me comments and suggestions. Every thing is welcome as I don't hurt to bad.
See ya, Elcee