Title: Lines in the Sand
Fandom: Sanctuary
Pairing: Helen/James/John (referenced James/Declan and whispered Helen/Nikola)
Categories: angst, historical, poly
Length: Medium (6k)
Warnings: drug use, canon character death (James)

Author on LJ: grav_ity
Author Website: on ao3

Review:
This may be my first Sanctuary rec here, but it will not be my last for this pairing. Helen/John/James is my OT3 of All Time and this fic is just gorgeous. It's heartbreaking, it's not a happy story, but it's not a sad story either.

Told from James' point of view, 'Lines in the Sand' is a collection of vignettes-pseudo-episode-tags that give us glimpses into the lives of The Five throughout their long history. If you're a fan of this 'pairing', you love the confusion and the angst that plague their lives and how truly dysfunctional they are; and that is full on display here. It beautifully showcases the way James and Helen find each other as a result of the betrayal of John to them both; both of them are so broken and damaged, it will take a century to heal and they find a way to heal together. It's not about love really, but about the consequences of choices and being immortal. Plus it's all poly-queer awesome.

The best part of this fic might be how it's really just a taste of the larger picture. You know how in canon it was frustrating because we only got tidbits of their story and their poly romance...well this story is very much the same, but instead of being frustrating it teases you and leaves you wanting more, but also feeling incredibly satisfied because its *so* on point.

Lines in the Sand