Fic: Sherbet

[explodedpen]

Title: Sherbet
Author:  Exploded Pen
Rating: blue cortina
Word count/length: 1030
Notes:  Written for the 2007 ficathon for almostmarriedmewho requested  cortina, sherbet fountain , deathfic Here's hoping this fits the bill :)
Summary: In the grand scheme of things the sherbet was nothing. In the grand scheme of things Sam Tyler was a stupid, crazy fuck-up who’d tried to ruin them all only to change his mind.

Gene was almost surprised when he reached his Cortina. When they’d dragged him away he’d just started walking, not caring he’d let his entire team see him lose it, not even caring his coat was trailing on the floor.

 

It was all so surreal, like a nightmare he couldn’t wake from, one that had dragged him under till he drowned, sucking all the life from him.

 

He opened the driver’s side door and tossed his coat inside. He should’ve binned it, it wasn’t like he could wear it again, it wasn’t like he could ever get the stain out – even if he could it’d just be a permanent reminder of failure. His failure.

 

But then there were reminders of his failure everywhere. Including a tiny white splatter of sherbet imprinted into the carpet on the passengers side.

 

"What are you doing? You get sherbet on my car, Tyler and I'll -"

 

"Christ! I'm not gonna get sherbet on the car!"

 

"Oy Gladys, eat it, don't bloody pleasure it! That liquorice is for dippin', it isn't a soddin' lollipop."

 

"Can I not just eat this in peace?"

 

"You're doing it wrong!"

 

"How am I doing it wrong? It's a sherbet fountain not rocket science!"

 

“Dammit Sam!”

 

“What?!”

 

“Sherbet! On the bastard carpet!”

 

Gene leant over and scrubbed viciously at the powder, but it stubbornly refused to shift, a bright white patch glaring up at him accusingly from the brown carpet.

 

Eventually he stopped and settled back in the driver’s seat.

 

In the grand scheme of things the sherbet was nothing. In the grand scheme of things Sam Tyler was a stupid, crazy fuck-up who’d tried to ruin them all only to change his mind.

 

And yet he’d still forgiven him. Even though it hurt, even though it’d made him doubt his gut reaction, he’d forgiven him. Almost instantly. Not that it made everything alright again.

 

Only he’d never let Sam know, understanding that he had to take side with the rest of the team, show them that betrayal wasn’t easily forgiven even if that wasn’t how he privately felt. No, Sam had to find his place in the team again

 

He rested his hands against the steering wheel and wondered if that had been his first mistake, keeping Sam on after he’d tried to betray them. Maybe if he hadn’t Sam would be back in Hyde.

 

Maybe he would still be alive.

 

"Guv? For what it's worth...I'm sorry."

 

"Sorry for what? Sorry for trying to shop us all in? Or sorry that you got caught?"

 

"Guv it wasn't like that - I didn't know! Morgan, he, he offered me a way to go home."

 

"You have a home."

 

"I know that now."

 

"Trust, Tyler. It's all about trust, and right now if you weren't such a good copper I'd have you out of this department so fast it'd make your head spin. You want people to start trusting you again? You want the whispers and the name-callin' to stop? Tough. You made your bed, now lie in it."

 

Gene scrubbed at his face with a tired hand, grimacing at the dry texture. He lowered his hand and stared at it. Stared at Sam’s blood flaking on his palm. He’d seen blood before. Hell he’d seen no end of shit in his career, but this disgusted and unnerved him more than anything else. It was Sam’s blood. Sam Tyler. His DI. That stupid bastard’s blood coated his hand.

 

And he’d just wiped it across his face.

 

He curled his hand into a fist and slammed it against the steering wheel. “Dammit Sam! It should’ve been me you stupid, stupid bastard…it should’ve been me…”

 

He pulled a hip flask from his pocket raised it to his lips and paused. He let it fall from his fingers watching with disinterest as it bounced off his knee and onto the floor spilling its contents all over his beloved Cortina.

 

He knew he should probably care, that it’d probably stain. But then what was one more stain?

Sam… Sam would probably make some crack about Gene’s lack of interest or pull that stupid face he always pulled when he was concerned or thinking about something.

 

Maybe it’d balance out the sherbet stain.

 

"Sorry..."

 

"Tyler? Sam? Come on Sammy-boy, don’t sleep. Come on; open your eyes for me. They're getting the ambulance for you. It's gonna be ok, Sam, everything's gonna be alright. We got the bastard; we got enough on him to have him jailed for thirty years. Come on, Sam, wake up and gloat about how you were right, you may as well enjoy it because it's only happenin' this once. Come on, Gladys, it's a flesh wound at best; I've had worse nicks from shavin'!

 

"Sam? No...no...don't you dare! Don't you dare, Sam Tyler that is a fucking order! WHERE'S THAT BLOODY AMBULANCE?! Sam! Sam please! Breathe you bastard! Breathe dammit!

 

"No. No, he's not. He's not! Come on, Sam, prove her wrong. Wake up Sammy, please wake up. Fuck off Cartwright! HE’S NOT DEAD!"

 

He’d apologised, that was what galled him more than anything else.  Sam was bleeding heavily, the stain rapidly spreading across Gene’s coat as he tried to stem the bleeding. He was bleeding to death and he’d apologised.

 

But Gene couldn’t force himself to tell the dying man he’d already been forgiven.

 

He wondered if Sam knew, before the end.

 

He wondered if Sam would ever know that Chris had been the one to shoot the gunman dead right after he fired, that Cartwright had sobbed over his corpse, that Ray had had to literally drag Gene away from Sam’s body because he just refused to believe that Sam was dead.

 

He wondered if he knew.

 

Even now Gene half expected Sam to slide into the passenger seat. There would be a long silence finally ended by some meaningful look, and then one or the other would suggest the pub. They’d get blind drunk and then they’d never speak of it again.

 

Gene glanced hopefully at the passenger seat only to find his eyes tracking down to the white powder stain glaring accusingly up at him from the brown carpet.

 

 

 

Comments

[talkingtothesky]

Oh, that was painful! In a good way, of course. This is so sad, and yet still so very believable! The whole thing with the stains is really good; shows how much Sam really has imprinted himself on 1973.

The little flashback exchange was sweet too. (In both senses of the word...) :)

"You're doing it wrong!" Woops. Apparently so have I been...I always used to just eat the liquorice by itself and then drop the sherbet everywhere...it's part of the fun! :D

Really enjoyed that!

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Glad you liked it :D Yeah I don't even bother with the liquorice when I eat sherbet fountains lol, and yeah being covered in sherbet after is half the fun :D

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Thank you :D Glad you enjoyed it

[dakfinv.livejournal.com]

Absolutely gut-wrenching. You definitely capture the Gene/Sam relationship perfectly, and Gene focusing on the stain, expecting Sam to get back in the car, and the description of how the team reacted immediately following Sam's death, just brilliant.

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Aww thank you! Love your icon btw :D

[missscarlett.livejournal.com]

Absolutely heartbreaking. The way you tied your prompts together into the fic was beautiful and the whole thing was just gut-wrenching.

Wonderful writing. This was an amazing fic.

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[hambelandjemima.livejournal.com]

Wonderfully heart-breaking and beautifully written. It's just how Gene would react to Sam's death.

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Aww thank you!

[sytaxia.livejournal.com]

This was very, very well written, and just painful - Gene staring at the stain, and then thinking about taking Sam back, and the end, oh, that was just so brilliantly done, just gut-wrenching. The whole fic is just beautiful, incredibly sad and very emotional. Great fic!

Also - I had to look up "sherbet fountain" on wiki. *facepalm*

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it :D Hee hee there's nothing wrong with not knowing what a sherbet fountain was *nods* Still - wiki has articles on bloody everything!! lol

[space-oddity-75.livejournal.com]

OMG, this was totally gut-wrenching (in a good way, though)! Beautifully written, with a great characterization of Gene. I really felt sorry fo him.

This fic goes straight into my faves list. And now, pardon me while I go cower in a corner and cry... *sniffles*

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

*offers a tissue* Don't cry! Although on the yay side hee hee made you cry! :P Thanks for the comment :D

[sciosophia.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was just brilliant. I have this inane love for death!fic (I think tis the angstyness!) and this was a perfect example, with the blood and the sadness and everything else. And I like how you included the others reactions without them even being there. Great! :D

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Aww thank you very much!

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

Just wonderfully moving from start to end. Sam belonging in 73 and Gene hoping he knew he was forgiven were two of the moments that stood out.

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Thank you :D

[liquorishflame.livejournal.com]

I agree with talkingtothesky. Painful. Makes me tear up a bit :( The flashback with the sherbert added a bit of a lightness to the dark, especially where Gene yells at Sam for pleasuring his food rather then eating it :D
And I love that Chris avenged Sam, lovely.

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Thank you :) I have to admit I did enjoy writing the sherbet flashback.

[seal-girl.livejournal.com]

Have had to read it twice in succession to get a good idea of how to comment - just saying "wow that was fantastic" doesn't really seem to be enough for this fic.
It was short, and it had a lot of punch in exactly the right way. But experiencing Genes reaction like this, it makes the whole even so much more poinent.
And the smallest of things take on huge meanings, like the coat (his beloved coat!) and, of course, the sherbet! I liked the way Gene could argue with Sam about anything :)
And lastly, I especially liked the way this fic was permeated by the aftermath of the Finale and the reactions of the various people reflect those events in a very believable way.

This was great and I really enjoyed it :)

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thank you :D

[bistokids.livejournal.com]

It's very very rare for me to have tears in my eyes while reading, this is one of the most powerfully poignant things I've read in a long time, and I'm moved beyond description. It made me ache. Beautiful.

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Wow thank you! That means a lot :)

[m31andy.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's sad. Poor Gene. It's a very realistic portrayal of immediate grief - the fixation on one minute, unimportant thing in order to avoid the big one (and failing miserably, of course).

Wonderful!

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[cozthefangirl.livejournal.com]

This is painfully gorgeous. The use of the stains was beautiful, Sam imprinting himself in Genes life - just perfect. *mems*

[explodedpen.livejournal.com]

Aww thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it :D