Show, Don't Tell by Apathy (PG-13)

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Fandom: FARSCAPE
Pairing: Stark & Chiana, maybe sort of Stark/Chiana-ish if you want to think of it that way
Author on LJ: apathocles
Author Website: None I know of.
Why this must be read:

This story was written before the miniseries came out, and it postulates a different sequence of events post-"Bad Timing" than we eventually got, but it still works very nicely as an AU. Chiana, blind, has been taken to a Diagnosan to await treatment and, surprisingly, it's Stark who gives her companionship and comfort. Chiana and Stark is an character combination that's almost never explored in fic or canon, which in itself is enough to make this interesting, and Apathy really does it justice. The writing is wonderfully descriptive, Chiana's characterization is well-drawn and complex, and the story gives us a sense of great beauty and great pain, both in a very short space. I won't give away the ending, but I'll just say that it had a hell of an impact on me.

An excerpt:

D'Argo tries, she knows, and she's grateful. He holds her awkwardly, and she can almost feel his mouth moving, the words never seeming to find their way out. She treasures their moments together, but hates them at the same time, feeling a sense of irritation building in a place she cannot reach. She is sure that his eyes would tell her everything she needs to know -- they were always so expressive -- but she cannot subsist on imagined expressions alone.

It is from the most unexpected of places that she finds relief. Stark is the only one who talks to her, treats her as something stronger than Jallenn pottery. He encouraged her to fight back, in those early days, and she feels a faint echo of her old spark when he's around.

They go outside often. None of the others ever ask her if she wants to leave her room, during the interminable wait to see if the treatment works; it never seems to occur to them that a blind person could want a change of scenery.

Show, Don't Tell