"Promises to Keep" by Ellex (G)

[azarsuerte.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Elizabeth Weir
Pairing: none
Category: episode related
Warning: angst, spoilers for "Before I Sleep"
Author on LJ: no clue
Author's Website: author page on Wraithbait
Link: Promises to Keep

Why This Must Be Read: I wonder sometimes if I really grasped how *lonely* the alternate Weir's "long journey home" was in the episode before I read this story. I had an inkling from the episode itself--mostly from Torri's performance--but this just left a beautiful bittersweet ache in the pit of my stomach. I really felt the weight of the years bearing down on Elizabeth's shoulders: what it must have been like to wake feeling the effects of the passing years but without having had those years to enjoy, knowing that everything you loved was both dead and gone and simultaneously not yet even thought of. Each chapter is a concise little vignette, but packs an incredible punch because she communicates so well the oppressive isolation and grief, so that you understand why Elizabeth's "promise to keep" was so vital to her survival, and the strength of character that enabled her to make that sacrifice. Definitely a must-read, IMO, for anyone who saw and loved the episode.