BEGINNINGS
a Primeval fanfic by Ro-RoWeasley.
Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or any of the canon/series characters featured. I mean if any of us fans owned it we would have had our Series 6 by now, right? ;) I only own this particular story and my tiny collection of OCs.
CHAPTER 1
Bad News
"Matt, take a right at the next junction, then left at the roundabout."
"Jess, how far away are we?"
"Sorry it's been a long one, but you're nearly there; three more streets. Left in 150 yards, then sharp right followed by straight on at the junction. The anomaly is just in front of the fountain."
"Copy Jess, thanks."
Jess smiled as she watched the vehicle on the CCTV feed following her instructions, and then began searching for a sign of any incursion, her fingers flying across the keyboard off the ADD. Despite being well away from the front lines, she was still nervous about finding out whatever terrifying creature had wandered through this time. Especially as sometimes the front lines were no further than exactly where she was sitting…
She shivered as memories began to invade her mind.
The anomaly was located slightly further afield in Bishop's Stortford near Stansted Airport. It had taken the team nearly an hour and a half to reach their destination in the Saturday afternoon traffic but now they were almost there.
She suddenly caught sight of movement on the opposite side of the road behind a young birch tree.
"It's another raptor. Behind the birch tree diagonally to your right." Jess informed the team, as they jumped out the 4x4 armed with EMDs, Connor heading for the locking device in the boot.
"I've just about had enough of these things." Abby mumbled.
"Becker, Abby, with me. Connor, take care of the anomaly but stand by to reopen on my signal. Emily, stay with Connor." Matt barked.
"Be careful!" Jess chipped in.
The team separated. Becker in front flanked by Matt and Abby. Raptors were one of the least problematic incursions they had faced but nevertheless vicious. Even though she'd seen them triumph many times, Jess still felt sick to her stomach watching as the raptor turned its attention to the three and began advancing.
"Becker, only shoot as a last resort. We need to herd it back towards the anomaly." came Abby's advice.
"Yes thank you, Abigail. I'm well aware of how to handle this!" Becker shot back. Jess rolled her eyes with a smirk. Becker always called the girls by their full names whenever he was impatient.
"Shush both of you!" Matt ordered. "On three, we split up. One. Two. Three!"
Jess watched as the three of them spread out in different directions, hurrying back towards the anomaly. The raptor took the bait and followed Becker in the middle, the closest.
But Becker was too fast.
The raptor changed direction, heading for Abby.
"Abby, the raptor is on your tail. Lead it round the other side of the fountain." Jess suggested.
"Jess, can you see anymore?" Becker asked.
Jess did a quick scan of the CCTV. "No, it's just the one."
"Connor, get ready." Matt shouted.
But instead of following Abby, the raptor decided on a short cut. Instead it took a clumsy leap over the fountain in an attempt to trap her off guard, knocking off the top half of the marble feature.
"Connor, NOW!" Matt bellowed.
Everything happened in slow motion as Jess watched in horror.
The fountain appeared to explode with the force of the raptor, sending chunks of debris and water flying.
She heard Connor cry "Abby!"
She heard Matt cry "Down!" as they all threw themselves to the ground to shield from the debris.
She saw Becker aim his EMD at the raptor ready to shoot.
However the raptor had lost sight of its prey in the confusion, and ran straight through the reopened anomaly, which disappeared in an instant.
After a few seconds of shocked silence, Jess composed herself though she was still a little flustered.
"Are you all okay? I am so sorry! I didn't think it would do that. It was cleverer than I thought."
She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. She should have known better. It should have been obvious that the raptor would try anything it could to get hold of its prey.
"Jess don't worry, we're all fine." Becker groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. "Just a bit wet and bruised."
"More like soaked to the skin!" Connor countered.
"Connor!" came Abby's reprimand.
"Jess, you did great. It was a good call." Matt reassured.
"How are we going to explain the state of the fountain?" Emily inquired.
"Leave it to me." Jess replied. "Burst water pipe or something?"
"Jessica, have you seen the damage?" Becker asked, knowing full well that she had. Nevertheless, the comment stung.
"I know, I know. Just leave it to me, okay?"
Even though it had obviously been her fault Jess was grateful that they didn't put the blame on her.
She was the Field-Coordinator. It was her job to plan ahead and anticipate scenarios; it was what she was good at. It was her job to observe and help the team out in the field but she had almost failed. But she conceded that it couldn't go perfect every single time, no matter how much she tried.
Then the ADD's klaxons blared once more announcing the opening of another anomaly. Jess mentally shook herself and slipped back into field-coordinator mode, pressing keys on the keyboard hurriedly to access the information as quick as possible.
"I'm sorry everyone but we have a second anomaly, approximately six miles west of your current position. Oh my gosh it's in the car park at Stansted Airport!" she cried as the map zoomed in to reveal the exact location.
"Copy Jess, any incursion?" Matt asked.
Jess checked the CCTV and gasped. "Yes. It's an Allosaurus you've got to get there now, there's so many people in that area of the car park!"
"Jess calm down, we'll get there. Though directions would be helpful please?" Becker reassured her.
"Yes, sorry. Take the third exit on the roundabout onto the A120. The entrance to the airport should be well signposted. Should take you about ten minutes. I'll have emergency crews on standby; it's too far away to send a back-up team and medics."
"Good work Jess. Keep us informed."
Jess resumed watching the CCTV footage of the car park. The anomaly was still open and the Jurassic predator was sneaking around, having caught sight of potential prey.
Then Jess watched in horror as it made a gigantic leap over the hedge and into the road, straight into the path of three moving cars. Jess didn't give herself time to cry out; she hacked into the air traffic control centre and alerted them to the accident.
"Emergency crews needed immediately in the south car park. There's been a three vehicle collision. Possible fatalities."
"Jess, we're in the car park now."
"Head for the south end, the Allosaurus has attacked. Three vehicles down and a lot of damage, there's bound to be causulties. Emergency crews are heading there now; you need to lock that anomaly!"
Luckily the team made it to the incident site before the emergency crews, giving them precious time to deal with the incursion, which had barely been harmed in the accident, and lock the anomaly.
"Matt, how many civilians?" Jess asked tentatively.
"Five, Jess. I'm sorry."
Jess leant her head back against her chair with an audible thump. They needed to be quicker in case anything like that happened again. Two consecutive anomalies barely five miles apart from each other, that was rare. But ever since Convergence, similar incidents had begun to occur.
She needed to make sure back-up teams, with medics, were sent every single time from now on.
. . .
As Jess restlessly awaited the team's arrival back at the ARC, she took notice of the time on the monitor and let out a sigh of relief.
It was almost the end of her shift.
It couldn't come any sooner. She'd been so focused on her job that she'd completely forgotten about the evening. Tonight it was date night. A night of Chinese, movies and chocolate. Just her and Becker. They'd been a couple now for nearly three months. Ten weeks and five days, not that Jess was counting…
She was snapped out of her daydream by a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she jumped out of her chair, but then grinned when she saw the handsome soldier walking towards her.
"Hey, sorry I scared you. You okay? Already to go?" Becker asked softly, wrapping his arms around her and planting a kiss on the top of her head. Jess felt herself melt into his embrace, feeling instantly calmed.
"Yeah. Just annoyed at my mistake earlier with the raptor. And as for the Allosaurus, we need to be more prepared." She replied honestly.
"Jess, you did nothing wrong, okay?" he soothed. "Come on, let's get your stuff and I'll drive back to your flat, yeah?"
She reached up to give him a quick peck, nodding. "Thanks. I'd like that."
He took her hand and they began to walk to the exit. But not before Abby came bounding out from the door leading to the Menagerie.
"Hey Jess, you'll have the flat to yourself tonight. Connor's taking me out for dinner then we're bunking up at a hotel. His treat." She said with a wink. "See ya tomorrow. You too Becker." She added.
Jess was thrilled. A night alone with Becker was just what she needed. Not that it hadn't happened before, just not in a long while. Abby and Connor were just about making the final arrangements to move into an apartment close by. They'd only be sharing with her for another few days, a week tops, but Jess was still happy they wouldn't be there tonight.
"Enjoy your night!" Jess replied with a grin.
"You too." Abby winked once more as she watched them leave.
. . .
"Chow Mein and boiled rice for you; sweet-and-sour and prawn crackers for me." Becker clarified as he scribbled down their usual order. "My turn to go, see you in a bit."
Jess nodded, failing to suppress a smile. He kissed her quickly but softly before grabbing the keys and heading for the door.
"See you." She called after him.
She turned on the TV and was just about to change channels when the phone rang. Delighted but curious, she scurried over to the receiver.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hi Jess, how's everything?"
"Mum hi! Everything's great thanks, finished work for the week now. Becker's just gone to get Chinese, but he sends his love."
"So things are still good with you and him?" her Mum asked.
Jess giggled, finding the whole concerned parent attitude quite cute. "Yes they are. Pretty much perfect actually! It's date night tonight so we're gonna be watching films and eating chocolate together."
Jess didn't like the change in her Mum's tone when she replied, "Oh that's great honey."
"Mum, what's the matter?"
"I'm afraid I have some bad news Jess. You remember Debby Bails, my cousin yeah? Well we heard today that her daughter Hannah passed away this afternoon in a car crash. I'm sorry Jess but you needed to know, you were quite close to her once."
Jess felt tears well up in her eyes. "Thanks Mum. Please send my condolences to Debby." She paused for a moment. "You'll let me know about the funeral arrangements won't you?"
She heard the door open behind her but she didn't need to turn around to know it was Becker returning with their food.
"Of course Jess," her Mum replied, "as soon as I hear, I'll let you know."
"Thanks, send my love to Dad."
"I will hun, enjoy your night with Becker. Bye."
"Thanks, bye."
Jess held the phone to her ear a little longer even though her Mum had already hung up, trying to process what she'd heard. Hannah. It wasn't fair. She was only twenty-four. She had moved to America straight after University to join a well-respected Law firm, she and Jess had lost contact after Jess began working at the ARC.
Only when she felt a tear slip down her check did she snap her attention back to the present. Then she started as she realized Becker was stood in front of her, a look of concern on his face.
"Jess, what's wrong?" He cupped her face in his hands and wiped the tear away with his thumb.
It took Jess a minute to find her voice before she could speak.
"My mum called to say my second cousin died today in a car crash over in America. She was like a big sister to me at University."
"I'm sorry."
Becker wrapped his arms around her and she returned his embrace, allowing the tears to escape freely. She loved feeling secure when he held her; it calmed her fears and cleared her head.
"Come on." She said, pulling away and wiping her eyes quickly with her fingers. "Let's eat before it gets cold."
. . .
Dinner was delicious as always and Jess was looking forward to snuggling on the sofa with Becker.
Twenty minutes later they were watching Becker's favourite show The Simpsons, when he reached for the remote and turned the volume down slightly so he could talk.
"Did you wanna talk about what your mum told you?" He asked gently, his left hand stroking her hair.
Her cheeks suddenly felt sticky and Jess realized she must have been silently crying. Becker had obviously noticed and wanted to know if she was alright.
After a moment she nodded.
"Yeah."
"Sometimes after experiencing a loss, it helps to talk to someone about it. Strangely it can help make your suffering better."
It dawned on Jess that he must have done the same thing when he lost Abby, Connor and Danny to the anomalies just over two years previously. Abby and Connor had returned but for a year he'd been convinced that they were dead. He'd also blamed himself to the point where he considered leaving the ARC altogether. But talking about it obviously made the pain more bearable.
"Did it help you then?" she asked, showing him she'd picked up the hint.
It took Becker a few seconds before he replied.
"Yes. For a while I really struggled to do my job properly, convinced I wasn't good enough after what I had let happen. My grief was close to taking over despite all the military training and experience. I was on the verge of quitting, even handed in my resignation. Things were sorted when they disbanded the ARC project but when they got private funds Lester wanted me to stay and I needed to be in top form."
Jess nodded in understanding,
"Good," was all she could say as she felt Becker kiss the top of the head.
"So start from the beginning." He prompted her. "How did you get into University?"
Jess took some time processing her thoughts, grateful to Becker for not rushing her.
Then she took a deep breath and began.
"I was 14. Hannah was 18."
. . .
to be continued.
[Author's Note: Okay, this is not gonna be your traditional Primeval fic, which is why i tried to add some action at the beginning, but I just had the idea in my head as Jess's past is a complete mystery. Please drop me a line and let me know what you think, thanks!]