Disclaimer: I sadly do not own primeval. *sadface*
Summary: Lester throws a party, Connor wears a dreaded suit, Abby has a secret and the girls have a bet. Happy New Year?
A/N: A bit of a change from the angst me thinks. This is all just my imagination playing about with the characters and a bucket load of fluff thrown in for good measure. I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I hope you enjoy. And if you do, review?
New Year's Bet:
"You have to come Conn." Abby whined as she entered the lab where he was currently working.
"Why?"
"Because you do!"
"That's not a valid reason." He stated as he watched her shake her head in exasperation.
"Oh stop being a moody bugger. Have some fun for once."
"Abs I'm working to try and fix everything." He said, gesturing around the lab. Abby rolled her eyes and made her way over to him, grabbing his hands away from a confusing looking object on his desk and turning him to face her.
"Conn, you know everything's been fixed. If it hadn't, then Lester wouldn't be in a good enough mood to even be considering letting us attend this party would he?" She said gently, watching him as he sighed. "Don't keep putting yourself down about what happened. It's over now yeah?" He nodded and she smiled. "Now I want you home in an hour, you need plenty of time to get ready and try on the new suit I got you."
"You got me a suit Abby? Really?" He groaned his displeasure over the word and Abby smirked, reaching up to press a sweet kiss to his cheek.
"Yes really and yes you need to wear it. It's Lester, of course it's going to be a formal party. You'll look great!" She said with an excited grin on her face. It made Connor's heart melt to see Abby this happy, he hadn't seen her smile like this in quite a while. She had turned her back and was heading back out of the door when he came back to his full attention. He turned back to his desk, moving various objects around when he heard Abby call to him.
"Home in an hour Connor. Or else." He laughed and answered with a lazy 'okay' and got back to work.
It had been precisely 6 weeks since the convergence had had ended and the atmosphere around the ARC had changed, for the better. Everyone felt that they had a huge, unbearable weight lifted from their shoulders. Everyone except Connor that is. He had been excited about his engagement, sure he had, and he was joining them in the field missions regularly now, unlike he had been. But even with the changes that had occurred, he still spent hours upon hours locked in his lab alone. It was only when Abby and Matt confronted him together one day that he told them about his concerns, his worries about it all happening again. About how he needed to fix it all. They had done their best to reassure him, the ARC was basically back in full swing now and they hadn't had any other major catastrophes since Philip Burton had died. The government had agreed to back the funding that the ARC desperately needed now that their founder had passed and Lester had gained full leadership once again. Abby and Matt had eventually persuaded Connor to finally get out of his lab, even if he did continue to do work on his own in there a few times a week. Abby also did a bit of her own reassurance, about how much she did truly care about him, and he had arrived into work the next day looking very pleased with himself, a grin plastered on his face all day. The whole team had quickly learnt the news about their engagement, after the over-excited Jess had let it spill in the middle of the break room and she was currently planning it more than Connor and Abby were. They hadn't even decided on a month yet, never mind an actual day. Everything was finally starting to feel normal again, and Connor couldn't wait to see what the New Year would bring him.
_x_X_x_
True to his word, Connor arrived back to their shared apartment an hour later and found himself being greeted by Abby's lips fusing to his. He kicked the door shut behind him without breaking the kiss and he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. She pulled away from him slowly, sucking on his bottom lip as he held back a moan and placing both her hands against his chest, staring up at him with her blue eyes sparkling. She placed a kiss to his chin and smiled.
"Bathroom. Now. This needs to go." She stated, moving one hand to brush gently over his stubbly chin. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, ignoring his cries of refusal. They passed Jess on their way, who was sat on the sofa in her bright pink robe with half of her red hair clipped up on top of her head. She raised an eyebrow at the two of them and laughed when Connor pleaded with her to make Abby stop. They returned from the bathroom 10 minutes later, with a very pleased looking Abby and a very clean shaven Connor, who was pouting. Jess smirked at him and made her way back to her own room as Connor followed Abby into theirs.
"Connor. Stop pouting, and try the suit on." Abby ordered as she perched herself on the edge of their bed. Connor sent an evil look towards Abby, who pulled her tongue out at him, laughing. He obeyed her and started to pull his clothes off and replace them with the posh new suit, not missing how Abby looked over his body as he shed the layers of clothing. Once he was finished he looked at himself in the full length mirror and started to fidget. Abby came over and wrapped her arms around his waist gently. "See! You look fantastic. Stop fussing!" She turned him around and sorted out his tie for him before turning him back around to look in the mirror.
"Abs, you know I hate suits. Don't feel right ya know. Too formal." He complained and Abby rolled her eyes.
"Tough." She stated as she patted him on the arm. "It fits you perfectly too." She murmured.
"Yeh. I s'pose you did good. Now when do I get to see what you're wearing eh?" He asked, his eyebrow rising playfully. She shook her head and slapped him on the shoulder lightly.
"Not yet. We have 3 hours to go!" She exclaimed. He laughed, placing a kiss on her head before making his way out of the room.
"Oi!" Abby yelled as he reached the door. He turned around with a puzzled expression. "Take it off!"
"What? Why?"
"Because I know you Connor. You're going to go out there, get something to eat, and lie on the sofa until it's time to go. That will end up with a crumpled and most probably stained suit. So nu-uh. Take it off." She said sternly, and Connor sighed before complying, hanging the suit up nice and neatly. He placed his old clothes back on before returning to Abby's side, pulling her into his embrace and placing kisses on her neck and face. She giggled and pushed him off her. "Connor I said 3 hours! I have to shower, do my make-up and hair and get dressed. Leave!"
"It's gunna take you 3 hours to do that?" He asked in bewilderment. "I'll never understand women will I?"
"Probably not." She replied with a smirk and he laughed before walking out of the room.
_x_X_x_
2 and a half hours later Connor heard Abby shouting for him to go back to their bedroom. He entered cautiously and saw Abby sat at the dressing table. She turned her head and smiled at him before pointing to the suit that was hanging from their wardrobe.
"Put it on now Conn. Otherwise we'll probably start running late." She turned her head back to the mirror and finished applying a faint sweep of blue to her eyelids. He put on his suit quite quickly, fixing the blue tie correctly this time around and turned to Abby.
"You'll need to sort your hair out Connor." She said as she ran her fingers through his hair and laughed. Connor smiled down at her. She seemed extremely excited for this party, and he didn't understand why. He loved the fact that she was happy again, after all the months of sadness she had been through, yet he couldn't help but question why. He bent down and placed a quick kiss to her glistening pink lips before making his way to the bathroom to sort his hair out. His ran his own fingers through his hair before attempting the chore of keeping it under control. He returned to the bedroom 15 minutes later to see Abby sitting on the edge of the bed, bending down to place her shoes on. As she stood up Connor felt his heart beat through his chest and his mouth went dry. She looked amazing. Her blonde hair was up in a messy bun, a colour of blue was swept over her eyes and a berry pink on her lips. She wore a black dress which had one shoulder and stopped mid-thigh. A sequined dark blue stripe crossed the dress diagonally, lying on top of a sequined black stipe that both glittered under the lights of the room when she moved. She wore simple black heels on her feet that seemed to have a sort of shimmer over them, which made her legs look beautifully long and seemed to Connor, to make the dress seem shorter. The blue of her dress matched the blue of his tie and he couldn't help the broad smile that covered his face instantly.
"Wow." He breathed out finally and Abby laughed, a pink blush covering her cheeks. He stalked towards her and cupped her face with both of his hands, meeting her newly coloured lips with his own. They stood there; content to be in each other's embrace, until they had to break apart for oxygen. "You look absolutely amazing Abs." Connor said as he leant his forehead against hers.
"You don't look too bad yourself." She whispered. They could both hear Jess opening her bedroom door and Connor moved to put his own shoes on. Jess was at their door in moments telling them they needed to leave if they were going to make it on time. She had her red hair flowing freely down her back, slightly curled with a black bow clipped in. Her red dress was figure hugging with a sweetheart neckline and flowed out to mid-thigh from her waist. A black ribbon was tied around the middle and she had black sequined wedges on to complete the look. She was beaming and Abby returned it. Jess ran out of the room quickly, and Abby moved over to Connor, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leant in close as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she kissed his temple.
"I've got something to tell you." She whispered in his ear. He pulled back, a confused look on his face. He was about to ask when Jess beeped the horn and Abby smiled as she ran out the room, heels clicking on the hardwood floor of the apartment. Connor followed her quickly, slamming the door shut behind him and locking up before sliding into the back of the car next to Abby.
"What is it?" He asked immediately and Abby laughed.
"Patience Connor." She said simply and he frowned as she laughed again.
_x_X_x_
As Jess pulled up outside the building Connor gaped as he looked out of the window. The building looked very grand and slightly intimidating to him, with the huge windows covering the front and the long drive up to the entrance. Regardless to his discomfort, he jumped out of the car first, holding out both hands for Jess and Abby to hold onto. Both girls smirked at his uncommon act of being a 'proper gentleman' but graciously accepted the offered hand. He led them both up the flight of stairs to the entrance until Jess spotted a certain Captain Becker and ran ahead of them both. Abby smiled as she watched the younger girl, and leaned into her fiancée's side.
"You gunna tell me now?" Connor asked again as soon as they were alone
"No. Don't worry. You'll know later, I promise." She spoke gently as they entered the building. They both stopped walking as they saw Lester heading their way. He looked quite relaxed, that was a first.
"Temple, Abby." He said in greeting and Abby smiled at him. "Before either of you go anywhere I have to say, this beautiful building is not in my possession, it is purely for tonight only. Do not ask how much it cost as it was more than you could ever get from your piggybank." He said sarcastically, aiming his words to Connor. "So in other words, Do Not Break Anything! Do you understand?" He sounded harsh but Abby and Connor both knew him too well to feel intimidated by his apparent anger. Connor saluted.
"Yes sir!" He said and he laughed as he watched Lester sigh, nod to Abby and walk off to greet more guests. Connor and Abby made their way down the stairs and into the crowd of the party. They could see familiar faces from around the ARC and plenty of new faces.
"Never knew Lester was this popular." Connor murmured as they walked, gaining a small chuckle from Abby. They made their way over to Becker and Jess who looked like they were locked in a deep conversation, and Jess was blushing furiously. As they met up with them, Jess pulled Abby to one side for what she said was 'girly chat' as Becker and Connor made their way over to the crowded bar. When they returned after nearly 20 minutes, Abby was hugging another woman and was gushing about how wonderful they looked and Jess was practically bouncing on the spot. Becker and Connor shared a look before joining them. Abby let her hold on the other woman fall and Connor and Becker both spoke at the same time.
"Jenny!" They both exclaimed in shock and joy at seeing an old friend again. She was smiling brightly, and she made her way past Abby and Jess to hug both of the men in front of her. When they broke apart Becker and Connor handed Jess and Abby their drinks and Connor pulled Abby to his side, wrapping his free arm around her waist. Jenny smiled at them both sweetly and started to talk to Jess and Becker.
"Can you tell me yet? You forced me into the suit. The least you could do it tell me." Connor pleaded as he looked down to Abby.
"No. Stop asking me. And stop saying the suit is so bad. You look great." She laughed and kissed his lips quickly before taking a tiny sip of her drink and placing it down on a small table next to them. Jenny gasped and moved from Jess and Becker to grab Abby's hand. Abby gave her a very confused look before she realised what she had seen. Her engagement ring. They had gone out to buy her a new ring the weekend after their engagement as she had been wearing Connor's mother's old wedding band. Not that she had minded wearing that, but Connor had insisted. Jenny looked up to the both of them with a huge grin.
"It's about bloody time!" She stated before pulling on Abby's hand and leading them both away, probably for more 'girl talk'. As they left the group they called for Jess and she went after them, her heels clicking on the shiny wooden floor as she went. Connor watched Becker's face as she left and he couldn't help but smirk. As he turned back around he saw Connor's grin and frowned.
"Don't you even dare." He ground out. Connor held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Wouldn't dream of it mate." He said patting him on the shoulder, gaining a death look. "Wouldn't dream of it."
_x_X_x_
Jenny led both girls to a quieter area with 3 plush sofa's set around a small table. They all sat down and Jess dived into the small bowl that contained small chocolates. Abby raised her eyebrow at her.
"What? I'm only having one!" She stated, popping it in her mouth as Abby laughed.
"Sooo…" Jenny said slowly, smirking at Abby as she blushed. "When and how? I want all the details. Was he romantic?"
"Actually, I asked him." She stated quickly, dipping her head to look through the chocolates as a distraction.
"Can't really say I'm surprised. I'm happy for you, the both of you." She said with a smile. "I didn't know I'd miss so much. Anything else?" she asked and Abby swallowed. Suddenly Jess got up from her seat and shouted across the room. Emily came walking over to them quickly, her emerald green floor length dress shining under the bright lights. Abby and Jenny got up to greet her after Jess had and they all sat back down.
"Connor said you'd be over here. He asked me to ask you if you would tell him a piece of information?" She looked slightly confused as to what she had been asked and Abby burst out laughing. Jess and Jenny eyed her suspiciously as she calmed.
"So there is something else, yes?" Jenny asked quickly, leaning forward slightly at the same time Jess and Emily did. Abby swallowed nervously again and bit down on her bottom lip.
"Yes there is!" Jess gushed and Emily smiled.
"Are you going to tell us or do we have to guess?" Emily asked with a glint in her eyes that Abby had never seen before.
"I have to tell you Abs, I'm a good guesser." Jess stated seriously. Abby let out another laugh and all three women in front of her shouted at her at the exact same time.
"Tell us!" There was a cough from behind them and they all turned to see Connor standing their awkwardly. Abby laughed again as she stood up and made her way over to Connor. He extended his arm out to greet her.
"May I have this dance m'lady?" He said with a grin and Abby rolled her eyes.
"You may. Anything to get me away from them!" She said, gesturing to the women behind her. She took Connor's hand and laughed as she heard the shouts of displeasure coming from Jenny, Jess and Emily.
Jess leaned back on the sofa with a huff of breath. Emily sighed and Jenny smiled.
"Let's make this interesting shall we girls?" Jenny said as Jess sat up and Emily gained her look of confusion again.
"A little bet. Shall we say…" She stated with a smirk. Jess and Emily leaned in closer a smile growing on both of their faces…
_x_X_x_
Connor whirled Abby around on the dance floor for hours, laughing and trading sweet smiles and kisses. They occasionally stopped their dancing to dance with others, Abby laughing with Matt, Becker and Jenny's husband and Connor twirling all the girls around the dance floor. Abby even managed to steal a dance from Lester at one point, which he stated his displeasure about, but Abby knew he secretly enjoyed. The clock was nearing midnight and Connor seemed to have forgotten about the secret Abby had yet to share, though when she had danced with the girls she knew they had not forgotten even a little bit. They were hinting at things that even Abby didn't understand and she just laughed at the silly things they were throwing out at her. She was dancing with Jenny when she felt herself being span around by a different person. She looked up to find Connor staring down at her with his dark eyes and she felt her heat beat faster, it always did when she was around him. She smiled at Jenny who was making her way to find her husband, and she noticed that everyone was starting to pair up, Emily went with Matt, and Jess went with Becker, blushing furiously again. Connor moved them to the middle of the dance floor again, twirling her around in his arms and pulling her flush against his body.
"I love you Abby." He murmured as kissed her forehead. She smiled up at him, and he captured her lips with his for a passionate kiss which left Abby swooning. He grinned down at her when they broke apart and the countdown started. They joined in with the excited cheers coming from everyone else in the room as the countdown reached one. Connor cupped her face with both of his hands and pulled her in for another kiss, their tongues twisting and lolling together. When they broke apart they both smirked as they saw Becker holding Jess around her waist, almost lifting her off the floor as his mouth fused to hers. They turned back to gaze at each other and Abby smiled.
"Happy New Year Conn"
"Happy New Year to you too." Connor said happily.
"Connor… I've got something to tell you." She whispered, just as she had hours previously. His smile widened and then fell, his nerves obvious.
"Wha…what is it?" He swallowed hard and Abby smiled at his nerves.
"It's not a bad thing… I don't think so anyway."
"Well what is it?" He asked, nearly bouncing on the spot.
"I'm pregnant Connor." She stated, and she saw the shock flood into his eyes. His mouth fell open and he just stared at her for a few minutes. She suddenly felt quite nervous. What if he didn't want a child, what if he was going to run? Just like her own arse of a father? Before she could ask him any questions she found herself being lifted up in the air and twirled around. She squeaked in surprise and then felt the tears fill her eyes. When she was placed back down she found Connor's lips fused to hers roughly and she could feel the dampness of his cheeks against her own. They broke apart and he couldn't contain his excitement.
"Really?" He asked, holding onto her arms tightly. She could only nod her head, her tears blurring her vision. He wiped the tears that flowed down her cheeks and placed another chaste kiss to her lips. "This is.. the best thing… ever!" He shouted happily and Abby let out a laugh as she was pulled into his embrace again. "I love you so much. And I'll love the baby, I promise" He whispered as he kissed her hair.
"I love you too. And I know you will. You'll be a great Daddy." She said leaning into his chest, feeling safe and loved in his arms.
"And you'll be a fantastic Mummy. I can't believe it!" He said with a laugh and Abby joined him, feeling complete happiness at this moment. Suddenly she felt extra hands grab her and pull her away from Connor, and she came face to face with 3 bright gins of Jenny, Jess and Emily, their partners a few feet away from them only turning when Connor joined them. The smiles from the girls instantly vanished as they saw Abby's tear stained cheeks and slightly reddened eyes. They looked at her in slight shock but then Jenny smiled again.
"These are happy tears aren't they?" She asked hopefully. Abby nodded and let out a laugh as she was pulled into the women's arms.
"So… this is when you tell us isn't it?" Emily asked as they pulled apart.
"I'm pregnant." She stated and Jess squealed as she hugged her friend, Jenny and Emily exclaimed their congratulations and joined in on the hug and there were more laughs and tears shed. When they pulled apart the girls sent her to Connor who looked like he had been sent over the moon and wasn't about to come down anytime soon. The girls watched as they embraced each other and Connor led her to the balcony to watch the fireworks. They turned to face each other when they had gone and Jess held her hand out. Jenny and Emily sighed and each rummaged through their purse to grab a fiver each and place it on her hand.
"I told you I was a good guesser guys." She stated with a smirk.
The End.
Epilogue to follow…
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. If you did, how about leaving a review? Thanks for reading