What are men to rocks and mountains

The hour that wasn't

William was still on the ground, shivering. He had a sick feeling in his stomach- the image of the Captain fading away burned into his mind. He could hear the other ghosts crowding around him, still flabbergasted at the events that had transpired. But William didn't have it in him to pay them any mind. All he could think about was the fact that his Captain was no longer here. He was truly gone now...

After what felt like hours of sitting defeatedly on the floor, empty eyes staring at the spot where the Captain had been, he could hear the ghosts fussing as Robin alerted them of a car in the driveway. They ran off, leaving William alone for a few blessed minutes. A few minutes later however, they all came charging back into the room, Alison and Mike in tow. Alison, who had been at Obi's trying to get a hold of sprinkler heads (-turns out, he did know a guy, or girl as it happens. Rebecca had given them a splendid deal on a nearly new batch of the sprinklers.), had been swarmed by a panicked group of ghosts at her car, all talking over each other as soon as she opened the car door.

She'd tried to calm them down long enough for one of them to tell her what happened, but the best she could make out from Pat was something about the Captain. They ushered her inside, Mike following along with a confused look on his face. Once inside the house, she entered the drawing room and found William there, a traumatised look on his face and tearstains down his cheeks. And she knew. Her heart dropped as she took in the broken man, who hadn't even noticed her presence. She slowly approached, a lump forming in her throat. She kneeled down next to the former lieutenant and softly put a hand on his shoulder.

"William." She whispered, barely managing to get the words out. He finally turned his head to look at her, eyes red and puffy.
"He's gone." He said, not bothering to say any more. But Alison didn't need any more. Her own eyes filled with tears as she realised she didn't even get to say goodbye. The Captain had always been a bit of a stern and distant person, but over time he'd become almost like a father-figure to her. Despite his walls, she'd always had the feeling he'd done his best to let her in, and he'd always looked out for her in a way a father would. And she didn't even get to say goodbye...

She flopped down completely next to William, pulling him into a hug. To comfort him, but secretly she just needed the comfort herself. It may have been selfish, but William didn't seem to mind at all- burying his face in Alison's shoulder with shaking shoulders.

William was grateful for Alison, someone tangible to share his sorrow with, as he thought back on the Captain. They'd finally been happy... and now he'd messed it all up. He never should have gotten angry. He should have listened. Theo had been sad, and William had mistaken it for indifference. His anger blinded him so much he couldn't even stop to place himself in the Captain's shoes, to see how his anger had only made him more defensive. And he'd hurt Theo and their relationship in the process, possibly more than he could even try to fix. This entire situation had gotten so out of control both their frustrations had gotten the better of them and it had caused them to say things they didn't mean. He wished he could go back and redo it...

... But he could.

He could go back and redo it. His eyes flew open with a gasp as he broke away from Alison. She gave him a teary-eyed surprised look, sitting back as she watched him scramble upwards.

"I need to fix this." He mumbled, promptly turning around and leaving the room. Alison clumsily stood up behind him, shouting after him; "William? Where are you going?" But he paid her no mind, his mind was set on one thing; Fix this mess.

This entire fight had been nonsense, and he never should have lost his temper at a man that was clearly hurting. He reached the top of the stairs, and check his watch. 67 minutes since he'd stood exactly in this spot, about to talk to Teddy. He closed his eyes and took a slow and deep breath- thinking of this exact place about an hour ago. Please let this work... He prayed to any god who was willing to listen.