Open Skies fic: Taking a Chance
Mar. 11th, 2012 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
uberniftacularTitle: Taking a Chance
Fandom: Original (Open Skies)
Characters/Pairings: Lila Doherty, Meg Doherty/Becky Coughlan
Word Count: 1109
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: Meg’s got a secret.
Author’s Note: Why yes, I am in fact writing fanfiction for my own tv show. (…is it fanfic if the show comes from my own head? I’m a little unclear as to whether what I’m writing here would be considered fanon or canon.) Also, I didn’t expect this to get this long, I’m not sure what happened. The girls had a lot to say, apparently.
Meg sticks her head into the engine room, schooling her face to look innocent.
“Lila?”
“Back here. Need something?”
“Just wanted to tell you not to wait up for me; I’ve pulled another late shift with Jonas in the kitchens tonight.”
“Again? Seems like you’ve been in the kitchens an awful lot lately. Keep this up and I’ll start thinking Jonas has a soft spot for you or something.”
“Well, don’t tell anybody, but between you and me, I’ve actually been requesting the extra kitchen duty some of the time.” Lila gives Meg a piercing look; Meg struggles for a second to keep her face straight, to little avail, breaking out in a cheeky grin. “If I’m working the kitchens, I get to filch bits of the leftovers!” Lila snorts and shakes her head, hiding a smile.
“Keep this up and you’re going to get fat, my dear.” Meg glares at her sister for a second before turning with a whirl, fake-storming out of the room. As soon as her back is turned, she begins to grin.
***
“Stop right there and turn around.” Meg freezes briefly before spinning to face her sister.
“What did I do now?” Accusations against her are by no means uncommon, though this time she hasn’t actually done anything. She’s met with Lila’s appraising stare.
“Nothing, I just…are you losing weight?” Meg looks down, avoiding eye contact. She knows she is, but the reasons would take too much explaining.
“No, I don’t think so. Shouldn’t think I had any reason to, anyway.” Lila looks skeptical, but shrugs.
“All right. Just make sure you eat right, okay?”
“Lila!” Meg grumbles, exasperated. “I survived fine for three years without you, I’m sure I can manage my own diet without you breathing down my neck now.” Lila takes a startled step back, hurt, and opens her mouth to respond, but Meg’s already gone.
***
Two taps on the kitchen door are all the warning she gets.
“Hey Meg, I just wanted…” Lila’s sentence stumbles to a halt as she takes in the scene: Meg’s hastily resettling herself on a stool, flushed and brushing her hair out of her face; next to her is a flustered-looking blonde Lila’s never seen before, slightly shabbily dressed, with a plate of half-eaten food on the table in front of her. Lila’s eyes narrow at the food, before turning her attention back to her sister.
“I wanted to see if you needed anything before I turned in for the night, but I see you’ve made plans of your own. None of which appear to have anything to do with the cooking and cleaning around here that was, if I’m not mistaken, supposed to be your job.”
“I already finished all that, thank you very much,” Meg retorts, sounding annoyed and a little shaky all at once. “And I wasn’t under the impression it was any of your business, anyway.”
“It is my business, though. You know full well that one of the stipulations of me being able to bring you on board was that you make yourself useful and I keep you out of trouble.” Meg opens her mouth to respond, but Lila cuts her off. “I know the captain’s been pretty lax on us so far, with all the crap you’ve pulled, but I suspect that if she finds out you’ve been stealing from the kitchens to feed this…whoever she is…we’re both going to be out on our asses next time we’re in port.”
“It isn’t stealing!”
“Oh yeah? Then what, exactly, do you call giving this food to some random girl? She clearly isn’t a passenger, and I’ve certainly never seen her on the crew either, so where, exactly, did she come from?” The girl in question opens her mouth to respond, then closes it again at a slight shake of Meg’s head.
“It isn’t stealing because this is what’s left over. The stuff that’s left after all the passengers – and crew, I might add – are done with their meals. And I’ve been skimping on mine lately to make sure there’s enough.”
“Be that as it may, I still don’t think Jonas would appreciate you just giving it away. And that still doesn’t answer my question.” Lila’s glaring now, and Meg shrinks a little under her gaze.
“This is…this is Becky. She’s living belowdecks.” Meg takes a deep breath, as if she’s steeling herself for something, and looks over at Becky, appearing to gain assurance just from her presence. Lila continues to glare, until Becky reaches over and takes Meg’s hand, earning a small smile from Meg. Lila discovers that it’s impossible to glare while your eyes are widening in shock, and that gives Meg the moment she needs to continue, squeezing Becky’s hand as she finishes her explanation.
“Yes, she’s a stowaway, I know she’s not supposed to be here, but just…don’t tell anyone, Lils, please?” Lila’s gaze softens at the pleading tone in her sister’s voice. “Becky fell on hard times, like we did, and she’s here now, and…and she’s special. I don’t want to lose her,” Meg finishes, sighing softly and resting her head on Becky’s shoulder. Becky leans her cheek against the top of Meg’s head, watching Lila with an expression that doesn’t quite dare to be hopeful. Lila looks back and forth between her sister and Becky, weighing the risks. It’s not a hard decision, in the end.
“I guess I’ll let it slide this time, Megs. Just…be careful, that’s all. You know the risks, and you’re technically an adult now, for all that I choose to ignore it most of the time-“ Meg sticks out her tongue at this, and Lila wrinkles her nose with a small smile, “so I can’t exactly stop you. I’ll keep things quiet, but be smart about things, okay?” Meg gives a small nod, not enough to make Becky have to move, but enough for Lila to acknowledge.
“I’ll be going, then, let you two have some time. Oh, and Meg?” Meg looks at her sister inquisitively. “Next time we have oatmeal for breakfast, give my portion to Becky. You know I hate that stuff anyway.” Meg and Becky both smile at that, and Lila returns the smile before heading for the exit. Outside, she gives one last glance through the door before closing it, smiling at the sight that greets her: Meg and Lila have turned to face each other, and are holding hands, sitting forehead-to-forehead, murmuring softly to each other. Lila softly closes the door and heads down the passage to her bunk, filled with a sense of hope that finally, something seems to be going right.
Fandom: Original (Open Skies)
Characters/Pairings: Lila Doherty, Meg Doherty/Becky Coughlan
Word Count: 1109
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: Meg’s got a secret.
Author’s Note: Why yes, I am in fact writing fanfiction for my own tv show. (…is it fanfic if the show comes from my own head? I’m a little unclear as to whether what I’m writing here would be considered fanon or canon.) Also, I didn’t expect this to get this long, I’m not sure what happened. The girls had a lot to say, apparently.
Meg sticks her head into the engine room, schooling her face to look innocent.
“Lila?”
“Back here. Need something?”
“Just wanted to tell you not to wait up for me; I’ve pulled another late shift with Jonas in the kitchens tonight.”
“Again? Seems like you’ve been in the kitchens an awful lot lately. Keep this up and I’ll start thinking Jonas has a soft spot for you or something.”
“Well, don’t tell anybody, but between you and me, I’ve actually been requesting the extra kitchen duty some of the time.” Lila gives Meg a piercing look; Meg struggles for a second to keep her face straight, to little avail, breaking out in a cheeky grin. “If I’m working the kitchens, I get to filch bits of the leftovers!” Lila snorts and shakes her head, hiding a smile.
“Keep this up and you’re going to get fat, my dear.” Meg glares at her sister for a second before turning with a whirl, fake-storming out of the room. As soon as her back is turned, she begins to grin.
***
“Stop right there and turn around.” Meg freezes briefly before spinning to face her sister.
“What did I do now?” Accusations against her are by no means uncommon, though this time she hasn’t actually done anything. She’s met with Lila’s appraising stare.
“Nothing, I just…are you losing weight?” Meg looks down, avoiding eye contact. She knows she is, but the reasons would take too much explaining.
“No, I don’t think so. Shouldn’t think I had any reason to, anyway.” Lila looks skeptical, but shrugs.
“All right. Just make sure you eat right, okay?”
“Lila!” Meg grumbles, exasperated. “I survived fine for three years without you, I’m sure I can manage my own diet without you breathing down my neck now.” Lila takes a startled step back, hurt, and opens her mouth to respond, but Meg’s already gone.
***
Two taps on the kitchen door are all the warning she gets.
“Hey Meg, I just wanted…” Lila’s sentence stumbles to a halt as she takes in the scene: Meg’s hastily resettling herself on a stool, flushed and brushing her hair out of her face; next to her is a flustered-looking blonde Lila’s never seen before, slightly shabbily dressed, with a plate of half-eaten food on the table in front of her. Lila’s eyes narrow at the food, before turning her attention back to her sister.
“I wanted to see if you needed anything before I turned in for the night, but I see you’ve made plans of your own. None of which appear to have anything to do with the cooking and cleaning around here that was, if I’m not mistaken, supposed to be your job.”
“I already finished all that, thank you very much,” Meg retorts, sounding annoyed and a little shaky all at once. “And I wasn’t under the impression it was any of your business, anyway.”
“It is my business, though. You know full well that one of the stipulations of me being able to bring you on board was that you make yourself useful and I keep you out of trouble.” Meg opens her mouth to respond, but Lila cuts her off. “I know the captain’s been pretty lax on us so far, with all the crap you’ve pulled, but I suspect that if she finds out you’ve been stealing from the kitchens to feed this…whoever she is…we’re both going to be out on our asses next time we’re in port.”
“It isn’t stealing!”
“Oh yeah? Then what, exactly, do you call giving this food to some random girl? She clearly isn’t a passenger, and I’ve certainly never seen her on the crew either, so where, exactly, did she come from?” The girl in question opens her mouth to respond, then closes it again at a slight shake of Meg’s head.
“It isn’t stealing because this is what’s left over. The stuff that’s left after all the passengers – and crew, I might add – are done with their meals. And I’ve been skimping on mine lately to make sure there’s enough.”
“Be that as it may, I still don’t think Jonas would appreciate you just giving it away. And that still doesn’t answer my question.” Lila’s glaring now, and Meg shrinks a little under her gaze.
“This is…this is Becky. She’s living belowdecks.” Meg takes a deep breath, as if she’s steeling herself for something, and looks over at Becky, appearing to gain assurance just from her presence. Lila continues to glare, until Becky reaches over and takes Meg’s hand, earning a small smile from Meg. Lila discovers that it’s impossible to glare while your eyes are widening in shock, and that gives Meg the moment she needs to continue, squeezing Becky’s hand as she finishes her explanation.
“Yes, she’s a stowaway, I know she’s not supposed to be here, but just…don’t tell anyone, Lils, please?” Lila’s gaze softens at the pleading tone in her sister’s voice. “Becky fell on hard times, like we did, and she’s here now, and…and she’s special. I don’t want to lose her,” Meg finishes, sighing softly and resting her head on Becky’s shoulder. Becky leans her cheek against the top of Meg’s head, watching Lila with an expression that doesn’t quite dare to be hopeful. Lila looks back and forth between her sister and Becky, weighing the risks. It’s not a hard decision, in the end.
“I guess I’ll let it slide this time, Megs. Just…be careful, that’s all. You know the risks, and you’re technically an adult now, for all that I choose to ignore it most of the time-“ Meg sticks out her tongue at this, and Lila wrinkles her nose with a small smile, “so I can’t exactly stop you. I’ll keep things quiet, but be smart about things, okay?” Meg gives a small nod, not enough to make Becky have to move, but enough for Lila to acknowledge.
“I’ll be going, then, let you two have some time. Oh, and Meg?” Meg looks at her sister inquisitively. “Next time we have oatmeal for breakfast, give my portion to Becky. You know I hate that stuff anyway.” Meg and Becky both smile at that, and Lila returns the smile before heading for the exit. Outside, she gives one last glance through the door before closing it, smiling at the sight that greets her: Meg and Lila have turned to face each other, and are holding hands, sitting forehead-to-forehead, murmuring softly to each other. Lila softly closes the door and heads down the passage to her bunk, filled with a sense of hope that finally, something seems to be going right.