A Lifetime in One Night, by Alyson L.
It’s dream sequence week here at SC(WHD)! Not really, but this story is similar to the previous tale, in that it involves a bizarrely true-to-life dream sequence wherein our intrepid Hero and Heroine only discover their deep and abiding love whilst they sleep.
Oh, wait! It’s a modern story. That’s what’s different about this one.
Why you should read this: dream sequence fics are your sweet spot; you’re a really deep sleeper; you love the Eurythmics; you’d like to erase all of P&P’s middle plot ground and move straight to resolution.
Why you might not like it: you appreciate the torment and agony of a long road to happiness; you hate modern stories; you frequently scream “commas!†at examples of poor writing.
AU, G, Modern at DWG.
Unlike other dream stories, ALiON takes a while to set the background for the Lifechanging Night of Sleep. We spend quite a bit of time watching Elizabeth and Darcy interact, all before Darcy wishes to be able to show Elizabeth just how amazing he really is.
Reader, his wish is fulfilled. (I mean, of course it’s fulfilled. That’s the whole plot.)
Thus, we are all subjected to what would be an incredibly boring tale–if  anyone else in the world were the subjects of the story. Darcy and Elizabeth clear up a misunderstanding. Darcy and Elizabeth have lunch dates. Darcy and Elizabeth get married. Darcy and Elizabeth choose weird names for their kids. Darcy and Elizabeth are the very model of boring, married, heteronormative happiness.
In other words, it’s exactly what happened to your college roommate, but this time, you don’t feel like rolling your eyes when their annual Christmas card comes in the mail.
Except, wait! It didn’t happen! Someone Inceptioned Darcy! And, presumably, Elizabeth! Their lifetime (read: 10 years) of happiness never existed! They are not married at all! Gasp!
This is really the main flaw of any dream sequence plot, as far as I’m concerned. Dreams just aren’t that linear, and they don’t make that much sense.  It’s hard for me to believe that anyone would be able to live out a fairly dull courtship and individually name four children while asleep–not to mention have a shared dream wherein these things happened.  (Based upon the screeching and wailing noises it made during reading, our patented SC(WHD) Plausibility Monitor (TM) agrees with my assessment.)
It’s actually at the end of the story that I felt the author showed us her best. That both the main characters are seeking something they feel they can’t capture outside of the dream is completely relatable.  When Darcy and Elizabeth meet again, their subsequent interactions have all the awkwardness you’d expect from two people who just had a very detailed dream about (at the very least) making out with each other.  I would have loved more of this–even if the writing could use more emotion in these scenes.
As for mechanics, there are a few noticeable mistakes throughout the piece, and the writing drags at the beginning. With a pretty thorough edit, though, this could be a really fun story. One you wouldn’t be afraid to read before bedtime.