Work Text:
I was very moved by the ending of Manifest. So many things about it were utterly perfect. Not everything was explained properly, we didn't get all the answers but all in all, it was a satisfying and fulfilling conclusion.
However, I thought the way they handled Ben and Saanvi's relationship was a total cop out. I found it to be weak and that it cheapened the deep connection they had formed over several years, especially given the fact that they'd just been physically intimate for the first time.
I think the way things ended was the right call but I don't agree with how they got there. Therefore, I've decided to write a little fix-it fic where the conversation by the campfire never happened and the final scene at the airport was when they made the decision not to pursue a romantic relationship because they realized what they'd come back to was what was meant to be.
I hope you enjoy my take.
Peace and love,
Renee
…
Terror gripped Ben's heart as he watched Saanvi's skin cracking into flame.
"I'm ready", she told him.
"Well, I'm not", he argued.
They had only just got their shit together after all. He wasn't prepared to lose her - especially not now. He never had been, of course. He'd saved her life more than once but she had also rescued him. She'd pulled him from his grief and had given him a place to put that part of his heart again. She'd done so many non-repayable things for him and so many others.
She didn't deserve this.
He cradled her face, desperately praying that she would be saved. He needed her. The world needed her.
Then, the anguished features on his face faded to relief as the cracks on hers disappeared, leaving her breathlessly beautiful as ever before.
She let out a sob of astonishment as she realized she'd been redeemed once more. It was an overwhelming thing for her to realize that she was worth being saved.
Ben gently reached for her and cradled her in his arms as they both wept joyfully in relief. She cried in his arms and he held her a little tighter before pulling back to tenderly brush her hair away from her face and press his forehead intimately to hers. She let out a shaky sigh and he told her calmly, "Breathe". And she did, never more grateful to have breath in her lungs and him by her side.
Their troubles were not over just yet, though. The dark angel of death appeared in the plane, terrifying every single passenger. As a collective, they began moving up the aisle, shouting at it, refuting their fatality, believing they were worth salvation and ultimately being saved because of their own conviction in themselves.
They all hugged one another as they realized the world would not end that day. Ben and Saanvi held each other tightly. They were both quite ready to experience something together that didn't revolve around something horrific.
Michaela joined Amuta in the cockpit and he called for everyone to take their seats as they accelerated the plane and flew into the glow…
As the cargo door opened, Michaela and Ben took each other's hands and, followed closely by Saanvi, stepped out into the unknown.
As the passengers walked down the mystical gangway, they each changed physically, yet what they knew remained.
They weren't sure what to expect but no one anticipated walking into JFK to find the world going on as if the past five and a half years did not exist.
When they stepped out into the terminal and Ben saw his wife and his Mother, his first instinct was that he was dead and for a moment he could only feel relief about that.
Soon though, he began to realize that they weren't dead at all. They were back.
Disbelief and elation overcame him as he ran towards his loved ones.
Saanvi held back, watching the Stone siblings reunite with their family, feeling mixed emotions. She knew she had lost Ben, not really believing she ever completely had him anyway.
Their night of passion had been built up from years of longing, shared trauma, and an unparallelled connection. They had both wanted and needed to feel something other than grief and anguish even for just one night, but it was also only each other they wanted and needed it to be with.
She valued him more than anyone else in her life and she could not now imagine her world without him in it somehow.
Even if they weren't meant to be partners - There was no doubt they were soulmates.
When a young, sweet-faced Cal came running up to her, she understood what she had to do. Grace was one thing, but there was no way she could ever get in the way of a family. More than that, Cal giving her laptop to her cemented the realization that she was meant to cure him and to keep his whole family together.
Her heart skipped a beat as Ben waved Grace off and he walked back over to her side.
He slowed his walk as he came near her, his face becoming ashen. "Saanvi…"
"I know, Ben." She'd known what needed to happen the moment she'd seen Grace. It didn't mean her heart wasn't breaking though.
He sighed. "This feels like an impossible situation but I just don't know how I could ever explain to them…"
"It's OK", she said resolutely, though her voice shook. "You have to be with her, Ben. You have to be with your family. You're supposed to go and make Eden and just make the most of the time you have with all of them. It's what's meant to be. And I'll…find my own purpose."
Ben sighed softly, gazing at her tenderly. "You're gonna go finish that dissertation and be a superhero for so many people."
Saanvi nodded with a tight smile. "And I'm gonna help Cal. He's how he was when we left. I'm guessing that means his cancer's still there", she bowed her head forlornly.
Ben tucked his index finger under her chin, making her look at him. "I don't know where we'd be without you."
Saanvi released a short breath, tears filling her eyes. "I know exactly where I'd be without you."
He gripped hold of her tightly and she threw her arms around him, holding onto him with all her might.
"I am never going to not love you", she sobbed into his chest, breaking his heart yet making him feel so whole.
He squeezed his eyes tight, allowing his own tears to fall as he kissed the side of her head. "I'll always love you and I'll always be grateful for the time we've had together, as hard as it's been.. I thank God every day that I got the chance to know you, Saanvi."
They pulled apart and Saanvi squeezed his arm. "Go get your life back. You know where to find me."
She followed him down to the baggage claim and watched as he walked back up to Grace and embraced her once again. The sting was only slight, she really was happy for him that he had his family back again. The pain was lessened even more as she turned around and saw a familiar face, someone who'd let her down terribly but who stood before her now looking apologetic and determined to earn her love again.
"Alex…"
"I'm so sorry, Saanvi. I should have never let you get on that plane alone. I should have realized sooner that you're the one I need, the one I wanna be with. I know I've hurt you but if you're willing to let me earn back your trust, I promise I will be there one hundred percent. I am all in", the woman's face was full of sincerity, her eyes full of tears.
Saanvi had made enough of her own mistakes and recent experience had taught her how important it was to forgive, just as much as to forgive oneself. Her heart had never stopped hoping for a chance to be with Alex. She loved her and she wasn't going to let her slip away again.
She took her in her arms, kissing her fervently, ensuring her that she was forgiven and that she was just as ready to be committed to them as Alex was.
As Ben turned to walk towards the baggage claim, he caught sight of the two women and released a breath of relief, smiling serenely to know that Saanvi was going to be OK.
"Who is that?" He heard Grace ask. "I saw you two talking upstairs." He put his arm around his wife and said, "That is Dr. Saanvi Bahl. We got to know each other…on the plane, and Grace…she's going to cure Cal."
"What? How do you know that?" Grace asked him, her voice wracked with desperate hope.
"She just…gives me faith." Ben shrugged and Grace's confused smile grew.
Ben took one last look back at Saanvi as he and Grace turned to the carousel.
The two of them had their time to be together, which had been well and truly justified in their universe. He would never have feelings of guilt or regret about it in this one. She had been there for him in many ways and they had become undeniably connected. Because of the deep connection they had formed, there was no one he trusted more to save his son.
She was always meant to come into his life for that reason.
Although they may not have gotten their happy ending, they found happiness together before they arrived at the end.