Meh, found this one shot I'd done a long time ago and forgotten to upload lol. 100 bonus points that count for absolutely nothing if you can find the LOTR reference :p
Connor fidgeted uncomfortably with the fedora in his palms. He wanted to walk on over to Abby and knock some sense into her, but he knew that now wasn't the time. Not with Stephen standing right there.
Why couldn't she see that he was bad news? He'd already hurt her once, asking her out when he had a girlfriend. Abby had been angry and Connor noticed the way she'd avoided him at first. He'd even stuck up for Stephen a bit then, telling Abby not to forget that Stephen's judgement had probably been affected by the poison running through his body. Not that he wanted anything to happen between the two of them, but he figured it was for them to be friends now that Stephen had a girl.
Only, Connor had noticed something lately. Abby had told Connor (and Stephen for that matter) that she was over him, but Connor could see it wasn't true. What bothered Connor was that Stephen seemed to be encouraging her. He was often hugging her and flirting with her, and that'd be one thing if he'd broken up with his girlfriend, but Connor knew that Alison was still in the picture. And that meant that Stephen was bad news.
The problem was that Abby didn't seem to see it that way. She soaked up every ounce of attention she got from the man and Connor wondered if she even remembered that he wasn't single at all. He sighed and stood up, not wanting to watch them flirt with one another any longer.
"Abby," he called, "I'll meet you back at home."
Abby nodded without giving him so much as a second look, her eyes totally on Stephen and Connor wondered what he'd have to do to get Abby to look at him like that.
/
"Guess what?! Abby said excitedly to Connor as the stood catching their breath at the zoo.
"What?"
"Stephen and I almost kissed!"
Connor spit out the mouthful of soda he was drinking, "What?"
"Well, at least, I was almost brave enough to kiss him," Abby rephrased. "I was looking at the sea lions and he came to save me from a creature and I was just reaching up to kiss him when the stupid future predator interrupted. He knew it too, I know he did, and he didn't move away. I think he likes me, Con."
"Don't be daft, Abby. You gotta get over him. Stephen has a girlfriend."
Abby looked hurt for a moment but then quickly masked the feeling with anger. "Shut up, Connor. You don't know anything. He barely knows her anymore. He said he's thinking of ending it with her."
"Then he'd best do it, Abby. He's been flirting with you while seeing her for months now, and in my book, that's pretty darn close to cheating. You know what they say, once a cheater, always a cheater. Even if he does dump her and go out with you, who's to say he won't be flirting with someone else behind your back?"
"Because," Abby retorted, "Me and him have something special. And he's not a cheat! I'm sure he has great morals, he just… it's Alison that's driving him away, that's all, I know it."
"How do you know it?" Connor asked.
"I just do. Stephen's not like that, okay?"
"Whatever," Connor mumbled, "But I still think you should step back, Abby. If you wanna flirt with the idiot, then do so after he dumps Alison."
"Excuse me?!" Abby asked in disbelief, "Are you seriously trying to tell me who I can and cannot flirt with? Why don't you just butt out of my business?!"
"You brought it up," Connor muttered as Abby stormed away furiously.
/
Less than twenty-four hours later, Helen made her startling announcement. It was meant to hurt Nick, Connor knew that, but it had also hurt Abby. Apparently Stephen had slept with Helen, while she was married to Nick. Connor glanced at Abby to see if she was alright, but she refused to look back at him. Then Nick had gone a little crazy, insisting that they all knew some lady named Claudia Brown, that none of them had ever heard of, and Stephen and Helen were forgotten for a moment.
/
Abby felt like an idiot. Connor had tried to warn her, but she'd refused to listen. She'd been hurt when he hadn't been happy for her, though now that she thought about it, nothing had happened anyway. All she'd done was make herself look stupid. She didn't know why she'd ever liked Stephen anyway. She could guarantee that she was officially over him now.
She'd confronted him when she got the chance to be with him alone. She needed to hear his side of it. She supposed she was looking for an excuse, anything, that would put Stephen in the right. Even if she was over him, she could feel better about herself and her own judgement if there was at least some sort of good reason for it.
"How long ago did it happen?" she'd asked him.
Stephen had shrugged, "I guess we continued until she disappeared, though she kissed me again just yesterday. Don't tell Nick."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Abby said, but it was for Nick's protection rather than Stephen's. "Do you still love her?"
"Probably," Stephen admitted.
"What about Alison?"
Stephen shrugged, "She's alright. At least she's here and that's better than a girlfriend who's living in the Permian, isn't it?"
Abby shrugged and walked away. She headed back to the flat, slowly. She didn't want to face Connor right now. He thought she was daft, and his opinion hurt so much more when she knew it was true. Idiot! She berated herself the entire walk home.
When she did get home, she found that Connor had ordered some pizza. He offered her a piece but she glared at him and stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her. Connor was her best friend; he should know when to leave her alone by now. She was already down enough by Stephen's betrayal; she didn't need Connor's "I told you so!" smugness on top of it.
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Connor sighed, frustrated. He knew that Abby didn't want him to be her boyfriend, but they were still supposed to be friends at least. He wished she'd talk to him. Instead she just glared at him like it was all his fault that Stephen was the jerk that Connor had predicted him to be. He stood outside her door and listened as she sobbed quietly for hours and he longed to comfort her, but he knew from the defiant glare of death she'd given him when he'd offered her some pizza that his company wouldn't be appreciated at the moment.
/
It was Lester who called everyone together a couple of days later and ordered them to watch a movie together. Everyone glanced at each other, puzzled, but he insisted that there was too much arguing, fighting and tension and he was concerned someone was going to do something stupid out in the field and get themselves killed. He'd decided that a relaxing and fun evening together would help lighten their moods.
Lester didn't know about Abby's feelings, of course. But the whole thing with Nick and Stephen had had the pair bickering back and forth like an old married couple. On top of it, Claudia was still gone and Nick was insisting that the new hire Jenny Lewis was actually Claudia and now Jenny and Nick were at each other's throats too. Not to mention, the tension between Connor and Abby was obvious, even if the others didn't know what was going on. Abby hadn't spoken a word to Connor yet, she just wasn't ready.
Abby groaned and wondered if she could get out of it when she heard Stephen volunteer his flat for the gathering. She had a feeling he was trying to make up to Nick by being overly friendly, but it was probably the last place Abby wanted to be just then.
Still, she was there now and there was no backing out of it. She's plopped herself down on the sofa between Connor and Nick. The sofa could fit three and there were two chairs in the room as well. Jenny was seated in one.
To Abby's surprise, Stephen chose to squish in beside her and Nick instead of taking the other empty chair.
"Uh, Stephen? Whatcha doing?" Nick asked.
"Can't see as good from over there," Stephen replied.
Nick got up and moved over to the chair, "Fine, then I'll take it."
Instead of sliding over and giving her some more room. Stephen stayed put, seated only a couple inches away from Abby, and Abby felt extraordinarily uncomfortable with the situation. She slid over the other direction as close as she could to Connor, until their legs were pressed together.
She wondered what Connor's reaction would be to her closeness, but she couldn't care right then. Even if they were fighting, he was still her best friend and she felt far more comfortable with him than with Stephen at the moment. Stephen pressed play on the movie and Abby wondered who's idea of a joke it was that they were supposed to watch The Land Before Time.
Then Stephen stretched and let his arm rest on the couch behind her and Abby stiffened a bit. She finally glanced at him and he smiled and winked at her. He wasn't seriously still flirting with her, was he? Of course he was. Stephen was that sort of guy. He probably had no idea that he'd hurt her at all.
And then suddenly she felt a touch on her shoulder and she was about to push his hand off of her when she realised it was Connor. He was pulling her closer to him and Abby smiled, leaning in to rest her head on his chest where she was further from the man that had hurt her. She should've known that Connor would comfort her without judgement. There was no mention of "I told you so" as he whispered to her softly, "It's alright, Abs."
And it was alright. Suddenly it really was.
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Connor glared at Stephen when he saw him plonk down close to Abby like that. Didn't he at least know to back off? And then Abby was looking a bit pale and pressing close to him and Connor felt relieved that she was back to trusting him. At least, she seemed to trust him more than Stephen, but maybe that wasn't saying too much. At any rate, she needed him. The next thing he knew, Stephen had his arm resting just millimetres from Abby's shoulders and Connor knew that if Abby sat back at all she'd be against it. Connor glared at Stephen and drew her closer to him, moving her so that she could lean against him if she wanted. He half expected Abby to shove him away, but she didn't. She'd smiled at him appreciatively and let him hold her.
"It's alright," he promised her, letting her know that he was gonna take care of her. Then he kissed her ear gently, letting his lips stay pressed to it longer than necessary, as a gesture of comfort. He felt Abby relax completely and he couldn't help but grin smugly at Stephen over Abby's head. Not that either of them noticed.
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Abby slowly found herself waking up to loud angry voices. It sounded like someone was fighting and for a moment she felt like she was back at her parents' home. She'd woken up this way far too many times as a child.
But then she realised that it was Stephen and Connor fighting and that she was still on Stephen's couch wrapped firmly in Connor's arms. She kept her eyes closed as she listened.
"I don't care!" Connor was shouting, "I know her better than you do, and I'm taking her home."
"Connor, she's quite comfortable here. I don't see what they big deal is. Why go to the trouble of waking her up when she could just crash here on my couch. I told you, I'll drive her home in the morning. I'm sure she'd appreciate not being woken."
"Well that's just one more thing you're wrong about then, innit? I know her much better than you and I can promise you that Abby would not want to be left here."
"Yeah and since when are you in charge of taking Abby's decisions? She's the one that walked into my flat and fell asleep on my couch, so I guess she's made up her own mind! Why don't you quit trying to run her life, Connor? She's obviously tired, so let her sleep!"
"Won't be asleep much longer with all your yelling anyway," Connor said. "I'm taking her home."
He gently began to stroke her cheek and Abby let her eyes open, "It's alright, Connor. I'm awake, sorta, barely." She closed them again, thinking that she was comfortable like this: wrapped up in Connor's arms and listening to him protect her. She was oh so tired and her eyelids felt heavy, but the last thing she wanted was for Connor to leave her. "Take me home, Connor," she whispered, making sure that they both knew what she wanted.
With that, she felt Connor help her up and she forced her eyes open again. Stephen was standing silently and resolutely as he watched them walk toward the front door.
/
"Abby," Connor called to her as she headed to her bedroom.
Abby turned to him, "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about Stephen."
"Why? It's not your fault."
"I know," Connor shrugged, looking a bit unsure of himself, "but I know he hurt you and I'm sorry it happened."
"You were right, Con. I should've listened to you."
"I didn't want to be right though. I didn't want you to get hurt."
Abby shrugged, "It's fine, Con. Thank-you. And thank-you for sticking up for me tonight. And for letting me sit with you so that I could be further from him even if I've been taking my bad mood out on you all day. And thanks for not saying 'I told you so,' Just, thanks."
Connor smiled at her and nodded as Abby turned and went back to her bedroom to retire for the night. He could have laughed at the irony of Abby thanking him for letting her sit cuddled up with him. Did she not know that cuddling with Abby was like a dream come true? Still, even he knew that laughing when someone was thanking you was a big mistake, so he was careful not to.
Connor moved to the couch to chill with some video games until he was tired too. He barely loaded the file when suddenly Abby's door opened again and she appeared, wearing her pyjamas.
"Con?" she called him from her doorway.
"Yeah, Abs?" Connor asked, pressing pause on the game to look at her.
"You wouldn't ever hurt me, would you?"
Connor stared, speechless in his surprise at the question for a moment, but then he managed to shake his head and respond, "No, no of course not, Abby. I'd never hurt you, not ever in a million years. Longer actually because we could actually end up more than a million years away with this job and I still wouldn't hurt you."
Abby nodded, and Connor could see that she was thinking deeply about something, but she didn't say what. "Hmmm," was all she responded before retreating back into her room and shutting the door again.
Connor stared after her for a bit, wondering what exactly that had been about.
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Abby lay in bed with a smile on her face, because sometimes it was fun to have a secret and now Abby had a new one. She wondered what Connor would do if he knew that, as of tonight, she was crushing on him bad.
She'd been exhausted at Stephen's, but her sudden revelation was now keeping her awake, and somewhat giddy. It had felt right having Connor's arm around her all night and she loved how he was just always there for her. But it was the way he'd stuck up to Stephen for her that really did it. Connor didn't like to argue with people, he was usually quite agreeable, but he'd done it for her.
She'd thought maybe it was too risky, after all, he was her best friend. But he'd promised not to hurt her, hadn't he? Abby wondered vaguely if that promise was still in effect if she tried to change their relationship status. After all, maybe he meant he wouldn't hurt her if they continued as they were now. She couldn't force him to like her back, she knew that.
But she was pretty sure he did. She giggled as she tried to picture Connor's stunned reaction if she was to start blatantly flirting with him. Then she finally fell asleep with a smile on her face as she thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd be brave enough to try.
/
Connor was cooking breakfast when he heard Abby approaching. He glanced up at her and smiled, "Mornin' Abby. Want an egg?"
Abby nodded, "Thanks, Con. Connor, would you do something for me?"
"Anything."
"Remember last night, do you remember your promise?"
Connor nodded, wondering where this was leading.
"Prove it."
"What?"
"Prove to me that you aren't going to hurt me."
Connor stared at her, puzzled, "How?"
"I dunno. Just, make me believe it, okay?"
"Now?"
"Whenever you're ready."
"Okay," Connor replied, having absolutely not the slightest clue as to how he was going to go about doing that. He handed her the egg he had just cooked and put another one on for himself. "I'm gonna have to think about it, Abs," he said finally as he sat down. "I'll do it, somehow, because I meant it, but I need to think how to convince you it's true. You gotta give me time."
Abby nodded, seemingly not too concerned about having to wait, "Okay, that's fine."
"But Abby, what's this about?" Connor asked, a bit concerned, "Do you not believe me? You don't think I'll hurt you, do you?"
Abby shook her head, "No, not really, but I've been hurt before, Connor, a lot. Listen, I don't really know what I want from you right now, but if you care enough about me to make me such a promise, then you'll prove it."
"Right," Connor muttered, as he scooped up the second egg and put it on a plate for himself and left the room.
"Connor, where are you going?" Abby called after him.
Connor yelled back across the flat, "Upstairs, to think. Don't worry, Abby. I'm on it!"
Abby smiled to herself, biting her lip. He could be so cute sometimes. She wondered vaguely what he'd come up with. She didn't tell him that the fact that he cared enough to try her probably impossible task was proof in itself that he'd meant what he said. She was too curious to see what Connor's idea of proof would be.
/
Connor racked his brain for hours, but so far the only thing he could come up with was somehow inventing a way to open an anomaly to the future where he could take his Abby to meet a future Abby and ask the future Abby if he'd ever hurt her. Somehow he had the idea that the plan wasn't what Abby was looking for and as he had no way of actually doing the deed anyway, it mattered not.
Connor pulled out a picture of Abby that he kept in his wallet and stared at it, hoping for inspiration. "If you care enough about me to make such a promise, then you'll prove it." Abby's words to him suddenly came back to his mind and he grinned. He didn't have to prove he'd never hurt her per se! He just had to prove that he cared about her enough to never hurt her. That was what she was really asking, was it not? It was sorta the same thing.
And it was so much easier to prove that he did do something than that he never would do something. There were plenty of ways to show her he cared, right? He could buy her flowers, or cook her breakfast, or… Connor broke off his trail of thought with a frown. That wasn't proof at all. Anybody could do that kind of stuff. He bet that some of the people that had hurt her in the past had done that kind of stuff. Besides, Connor'd be willing to buy flowers for Lester if he thought it'd prove an all important point, and that fact in itself meant it wasn't enough.
Connor flopped back against his pillow and tried to think of something he could do for Abby that he wouldn't do for anyone else.
/
Abby frowned as she punched her punching bag over and over. Where the hell was Connor? She'd thought he'd have come up with some silly idea by now like promising to invent an anomaly to the future for her or something, and then come down for lunch so she could humour herself by sending little flirtatious signals his way.
But he'd been holed up in his room for hours upon hours now and he'd skipped lunch all together when she'd called him, claiming that he was still thinking. Suddenly she heard a loud racquet and a bunch of thumping as Connor came flying down the stairs.
"Abby! Abby! I got it!"
Abby smiled at his enthusiasm.
"Abby, it's like this, you know, you just need a symbol of my promise, okay? I just gotta prove to you that I care about you so much that I couldn't possibly hurt you, yeah? But when people make proper promises there's always a symbol. Like wedding rings, or like when my dad died and he promised me he'd look out for me from heaven and gave me… well, technically that was a wedding ring too because it was his wedding ring, but it wasn't for a wedding, obviously, because I didn't marry my dad, that'd just be weird, but…"
"Connor!" Abby interrupted him to bring him back on track, "I didn't ask you to explain to me why you didn't marry your father. Are you suggesting that you buy me a wedding ring?" She giggled teasingly, thinking that he'd start stammering at the idea and then try to explain what he really meant, even if she'd understood him in the first place. It was mean, maybe, but he was just so cute when he rambled.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Connor smiled sheepishly, "I guess I got off track there, but no, not buy one, I thought I could give you mine!" He grinned at his own brilliantness and pulled the chained ring from his neck, shoving it toward Abby. "It could be your promise ring!"
Abby stared at Connor in disbelief, "Connor, you can't just give me your dad's wedding ring!"
Connor grabbed her hand and pressed it into it. Then instead of letting go, he held onto her a moment longer and dragged her over to the couch to sit beside him, "I can, Abby! It's mine to give to whom I will."
Abby had no idea what to say as she stared at the ring and chain in her palm; this ring was Connor's most treasured possession. He'd been 12 when his dad had died in a car crash. He'd told her the story once when she'd pressed him about his past. His dad had survived long enough to be taken to hospital, but both Connor and his father had known that it was time to say their goodbyes, because time was up. She'd envied Connor a bit, she hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to her uncle, the only relative besides Jack that had really cared about her.
"Connor," she whispered, "Why are you giving me this?"
Connor shrugged a bit, turning red, "Because Abby, you asked me to prove that I…"
"Connor!" Abby interrupted him sharply, "I know what I asked, but that doesn't mean you need to give me your ring. I…, look, thank-you. It means a lot, okay, but you need to keep it. The fact that you're willing is proof in itself. To be honest, I think the amount of time you spent thinking is proof itself. I can't accept this."
She dropped it back into his lap and Connor picked up the chain and placed it around her neck, kissing his cheek. "Okay, Abby, okay. It's not for the proof then, but I want you to have it anyway, yeah? Just… you know, so you don't forget. Only, the chain is too long for you, I think, eh? I'll get you a new one, a pretty one. Just keep the ring okay, so you remember. You always need to remember that I won't never hurt you and that I care about you, right?"
Abby smiled and nodded, she almost felt bad about it, but she saw the look on his face that said how much he wanted her to accept his gift and suddenly she understood. It was Connor's way of showing her how much he cared about her, and if she rejected the gift, she was rejecting him.
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug, clinging to him as she buried her face into the crook of his neck. She felt Connor stiffen in surprise and then awkwardly put his arms around her and pull her closer to himself.
"Abby," she heard him whisper a few moments later, "Me neck is wet, are you crying?"
Abby chuckled and lifted her face a bit, reaching to wipe her eyes, but not moving from Connor's arms, nor loosening her grip on him. "Yeah, I guess I was. Sorry, Con. Happy tears. I love the gift, Connor. It means a lot."
"So you'll wear it? When I get you a smaller chain that is; you'll get caught with that one."
"Yes, I'll wear it. Always, Connor. But if you're gonna get me a better chain, why don't you keep the old chain at least, yeah?"
"Right, okay," Connor relented.
"Connor I should give you something too. What do you want from me?"
Connor looked at Abby in surprise, "Nothing, Abs. It's not a gift exchange, it's just so you remember my promise is all."
"But I could make you the same promise too."
"You can't, Abby. You couldn't keep it." Connor blushed a bit as he spoke and Abby thought she knew what he meant. She'd already hurt Connor many times over with her fiery temper and crazy crushes.
"Then I'll make you a different promise. I promise…" she thought for a moment and then grinned, "I promise that no matter what, I won't so much as bat an eye at any other guy from now on. I'm just gonna love you forever. I don't have anything special to give you, but I can give you me heart."
Connor's eyes widened in surprise, "Abby… I…Hell, Abs, don't you know that is special? Abby, I love you too."
"I know," Abby grinned. "And did you know that I stayed awake for hours thinking about how cute you were?"
Connor's jaw dropped with utter astonishment, and Abby used the opportunity and lean in and kiss him deeply. Connor didn't kiss her back, but Abby knew it was just because he was a bit dazed at the moment and she giggled against his mouth before pulling away and swatting gently at his hair.
"Connor, you dope, you can kiss me back, you know."
And then Connor grinned and did just that.