Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures, no copyright intended
A/N: A One-shot especially for the romantics out there :)
Everything was finally in place. Connor had been planning this for ages and now the day had finally arrived. 14th February – St. Valentine's day. Last year, he'd been with Caroline, they'd swapped cards, he got her some chocolates and they went out to some posh restaurant in town. At the time, he'd felt excited to finally have a girlfriend on Valentine's day, but looking back, it didn't feel anywhere near as good as it did now – and he wasn't even dating Abby – yet. If all went as expected, by the end of the evening, he would have told Abby how he really felt about her, at long last.
Sarah had been great. Connor had approached her a few weeks ago, looking for advice on how to "woo" Abby. He'd decided he wanted to have a quiet night at home where he felt the most comfortable, and Sarah had suggested he cooked a dinner. He went round to her flat to practise cooking it, and she had showed him how to set the table properly, candles, dim lighting, the right music. "She won't be able to resist you" Sarah said.
He'd left work early, telling the others he didn't feel well, and had spent the afternoon getting everything ready. He glanced at the clock, Abby would be home soon. He wanted everything to be perfect when she came in, the chilli was cooking nicely, the table was set, the wine opened and he was just lighting the second candle when his phone rang.
"Connor, you took the car and I'm stranded at work!" Abby said.
"Ah, yes, sorry …. I didn't think of that. I'll come and pick you up" That was the only flaw in his plan. Still, it would be OK. He turned off the hob, knowing all it needed now would be a few minutes just to reheat the chilli, and headed off to go and pick up Abby from work.
--
"Thank you for the card by the way" Abby said, as she and Connor sat in a jam on the motorway. "It was really sweet, and the one from Rex, and from Sid and Nancy"
"You're welcome. I liked yours too, made me smile" he grinned. She'd sent him a funny one, but the thing that made him smile the most was the fact she'd signed it "Luv ya xx"
As they approached their street, the queue of traffic was unusually long. "Looks like there's been an accident, Conn, There's a policeman directing traffic away" Abby said, sitting up to try and get a better view. As they got closer, they discovered it was their street that was closed. "We live down here, can we go through?" she said to the policeman
"Sorry miss, not for a while, the fire brigade are dealing with a house fire. You can park up over there and go down on foot" the policeman had said. They parked up and began to make their way down the street. Ahead they could see two fire engines, and several of their neighbours crowded around watching.
"Abby" Connor said, suddenly stopping "Isn't that….."
"That …that's our flat!" Abby said, running towards the fire engines. Connor ran after her. Smoke was billowing out of a couple of windows. They both made their way through to the front to speak to one of the firemen. "We live here, this is our flat" Abby said.
Connor's head was spinning. He was certain he'd turned the hob off before he left, he couldn't understand it. He just stood and watched, speechless, as they watched the firemen go in and out. The fireman that Abby was talking to was saying a neighbour had heard their smoke alarm going off, and then saw smoke coming out of the window and called 999. Abby was telling him that they had pets, and were they OK, the fireman went to try and find out.
Connor put his arm around Abby, feeling helpless. Their neighbours came over and offered sympathy. It struck Abby that, in all the time they had been living there, she'd never really spoken to any of them. Eventually, the fireman came over to them
"It's almost out, they're just making sure. Doesn't look like its done much damage, mostly smoke and water damage, and its confined pretty much to the kitchen and dining area. Your lizards are fine, one of our guys keeps them himself and he checked them over. A few seem to have got out, we shut those in the downstairs bedroom"
They both breathed a sigh of relief. It could have been a lot worse, and at least Rex, Sid and Nancy were OK. "Thank you" Connor said
"It'll probably be a few days before you can live there, it'll need a huge clean up and the smell will linger for a while" The fireman said.
"Any idea what caused it?" Abby said
"Yes. We call it the curse of Valentines day. You're not the first ones tonight, and no doubt there will be other couples that will need rescuing. Candles are romantic, but dangerous when left unattended. You wouldn't believe the number of young lovers that get lost in the mood and forget they have a lit candle on the table"
Oh my God! Connor thought. He had totally forgotten he had lit a couple of candles before he left to pick Abby up. It was all his fault. How was he going to explain this to her? He stared at Abby, who was glaring at him
"Since when did we have candles, Connor?" she was saying.
"I am so sorry Abby!" he said. She was going to kill him, he knew that look she was giving him.
"How can you be so bloody stupid?" she shouted.
"I was just ….. I was …. I'd lit them and forgot all about them when you called me to come and pick you up"
"You're such an idiot Connor!"
"I know. I'm sorry" he couldn't look at her, he hated to see her this angry.
"Just get out of my sight and go find somewhere to stay tonight away from me. You had better hope Rex, Sid and Nancy are OK, otherwise your life won't be worth living!" Abby was raging. She walked away from Connor before she said something that she would regret.
Connor was in despair. This was not how he'd imagined his evening going at all. Now he needed to try and find somewhere to stay. The only other person he felt he could turn to was Sarah, but he knew she was out tonight. He slowly walked down the street and turned the corner towards town. There was a small B&B just across the road, and the sign in the window said "vacancies". Oh well, it was better than nothing, and maybe Abby would have calmed down by the morning and they could sort out something. He wondered where she would sleep tonight.
--
The firemen would not let Abby inside for another hour. She was seething, how could Connor be so stupid as to leave a candle burning when he went out? And what was he doing with a candle anyway? She'd never felt so angry at him before, even when his girlfriend had shut Rex in the fridge. The firemen were clearing up, and Abby was allowed inside.
The place stank of smoke, it immediately hit the back of her throat and made her cough. Her first thoughts were for Rex and for Sid and Nancy. She opened her bedroom door and was greeted by the three of them. A quick check told her they were all OK, just a bit fed up of being cooped up in the small room. "Sorry guys, you're going to have to stay in here tonight. I'll sort something better for you in the morning" She started to put a few things into a bag and tried to think of somewhere she could go for the night. Then she started to feel a bit guilty about Connor. She'd not even given him chance to come and get a change of clothes and toiletries, and his room would probably smell really badly from the smoke. She went out into the kitchen and dining area to inspect the damage, and that was when she realised what had happened.
The fireman had called it the curse of Valentines day, and said he expected other couples would be in the same situation tonight. She hadn't registered what that meant, until now. Through the charred mess that was once her dining table, she could see it had been set for dinner, a dinner for two, candlelit. There was a huge pan of something on the oven hob, and a bottle of wine on the work top. "Well, this explains why he left work early" she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and got angry with herself – she had been really horrible to Connor, and hadn't let him explain himself. He'd gone to a lot of trouble to make a nice romantic evening, he'd made a mistake, and it had all gone wrong. "He must be devastated, poor Connor!"
She decided to try and salvage something from the evening, if only she could find where he'd gone. She called his mobile, it was answered but he didn't speak.
"Conn? Its me… where are you?" he wasn't speaking to her, she didn't blame him really "I've just been into the flat, Rex, Sid and Nancy are fine" there was still no response from him "I saw the table, I know what you had planned…. It was a really sweet idea, and for the record, I couldn't think of anything I'd rather be doing tonight. I'm sorry I said those things to you, I was just angry with the situation" She waited, hoping for a response. "Did you find somewhere to stay?" When he still didn't reply, she'd resigned herself to not getting through to him "Look, I'm going to head down the road to the pizza place and borrow their phonebook, I need to find somewhere to stay. I'll talk to you tomorrow, OK" she ended the call. As she walked dejectedly down the road, she passed the B&B, noting that it said "no vacancies" and carried on towards the pizza place she and Connor often went to.
--
Connor had sat and listened to Abby, trying to work out if she was still angry with him. She didn't sound like it, but maybe she was lulling him into a false sense of security, ready to lay into him again as soon as he appeared. He was feeling totally miserable. Tonight was meant to be special. He had finally plucked up the courage to tell Abby he loved her, he'd got it all rehearsed in his head … and now, here he was, alone, in a B&B, with a single bed, just to rub more salt into his wounds. His stomach growled, and he realised he hadn't eaten since breakfast. Pizza sounded like a very good idea, and if Abby was in the restaurant part, he could get a take-away …
He could see Abby sat alone at a table near the back of the restaurant. She was eating a slice of pizza and flicking through a phone directory. As he waited for his order, he watched her. She made several phone calls, and looked almost as miserable as he felt. She obviously wasn't having much luck finding somewhere to stay.
"Hey Connor, how come you and Abby aren't together?" Gino, the pizza restaurant owner said.
"Long story, Gino. I messed up" Connor sighed
"Don't tell me you forgot Valentines day?"
"No, the opposite actually. Had it all planned, romantic dinner, soft music, candles. Except I left the candles burning when I went to get her from work, and we came back to a burning flat"
"The fire engines earlier? That was your place? At least the two of you weren't inside, eh .. be grateful for small mercies" Gino smiled. Connor just leaned sadly on his elbows, his head resting on his hands. "But the young lady, she gave you a hard time?"
"I deserve it, Gino"
Gino handed Connor a box containing his pizza. He indicated over to where Abby was sitting, she was still on the phone, her face creased in a frown. "She's been sat here for half an hour, looking sad and alone. She always has a smile on her face when she comes in here with you. She needs her Connor to make her smile again – and you need your Abby to make you smile"
"She's angry with me"
"Do you love her?"
"Yes"
"Then take the advice of an older and wiser man that's been happily married for 40 years. Don't let the sun set on an argument. Tell her you love her. People in love should be together, tonight of all nights" Gino gave Connor a little shove into the restaurant area. Before he could protest, Abby looked up and saw him. "Go on, what have you got to lose now?" Gino whispered.
Connor took a deep breath and walked over to Abby's table. "Hey" he said, nervously.
"Hey yourself" she said back, smiling at him.
"Can I sit with you?" he said. She nodded, moving her things over so he could put his box down. They both spoke at the same time. "Abby…."
"Connor…"
"You first"
"Connor … I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that, I shouldn't have said what I did" she squeezed his hand
"You don't need to apologise, Abby. I deserved it. I messed up big time. I'm the one that should be saying sorry"
"What was all that about in there? That table wasn't set out for our usual 'beans on toast followed by a cheesy movie' night, was it?"
"I wanted it be perfect, you know. Valentine's day is meant to be romantic, and I just … I just wanted it to be special for a change. You and I" He was getting embarrassed, he could feel his face getting redder, and he was aware that he was starting to struggle with his words.
"Breathe Connor!" Abby smiled. "What are you trying to say? Just say it"
Taking a deep breath, he said "Abby… I had it all planned, it was going to be a nice dinner, relaxed conversation, then maybe move over to the sofa and …. Abby …. I love you!" There, he'd said it. He waited for her reaction.
"Connor" she said at last "I can't believe you went to so much trouble for me. It was a lovely idea, and I'm sure it would have been a lovely evening. But you know, you don't need to make grand gestures for it to be perfect. We're sat here, in a pizza place, our home almost destroyed in a fire and no place to sleep … it couldn't be much worse … and yet, you still just made me very happy" She leaned over the table and flung her arms round his neck. "I love you too, now kiss me you idiot!"
He pressed his lips against hers, his hand gently stroking her cheek. Her tongue pushed against his lips, urging them apart. He could taste her, his tongue dancing against hers, his head spinning. It was over far too soon for him, and as their lips parted, he gave a tiny disappointed moan. "Did you find somewhere to stay?" she whispered
"I … I managed to get a room at the B&B near the flat" he said. "Think I got the last one"
"That's good" she said "Everywhere I've tried is full tonight. Looks like I'm sleeping in the car"
"No, no … look, all this is my fault. You take my room and I'll sleep in the car"
"You are so slow sometimes Connor" Abby said, giving him a friendly punch. "After that kiss, you're still thinking about sleeping apart tonight" she looked at him, smiling softly, hoping he would take the hint. She saw his face flush red, he'd worked out what she meant. "Come on, you lead the way, we can finish our pizzas in the room"
Connor took Abby's hand and they made their way past the counter where Gino was standing "Night Gino" Connor said.
Gino winked "Night you two … it's good to see you smiling"
--
They had to sneak into the room, there was a "no guests in rooms" policy, they had to hold back their giggles, and they felt like naughty children. They collapsed onto the tiny bed, laughing.
"Well, this is cosy" Abby said.
"We've slept in worst places" Connor said.
"I was very fond of our tree nest!" Abby said. "despite it being very uncomfortable"
Connor closed his eyes and thought of the time he and Abby had spent in the Cretaceous. He wished he'd had the guts to tell Abby then how he felt, he had wanted to, but could never quite get the words out. He opened his eyes and looked straight into Abby's, her deep blue eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
"I have a bit of a confession actually" Abby said
Uh-oh, Connor thought. "Oh?" he said
"You weren't the only one with plans for tonight" she was reaching into her bag for her purse.
"You had a date?"
"Yes"
Connor's face fell "I see" he said.
"Yes. I had a couple of tickets for that new movie you were talking about, bit late to go now" she waved the tickets at him.
"Your … date … he'll be disappointed" Connor said
"Maybe, but he got pizza and a cosy night in instead, so I don't think it'll matter that much" she squeezed his hand and smiled at him, waiting for him to realise who her date should have been. When he did, his face broke out into a broad grin. She leaned in and kissed him. He responded, kissing her back and wrapping his arms around her, surrounding her completely.
--
Connor woke first, the sun creeping through a crack in the curtains and warming his face. He tried to stretch out, but found something was stopping him and he was pressed against the wall. His arms were still wrapped around Abby, and she was curled into his chest, breathing softly as she slept. He didn't want to wake her, it was almost as if the spell would break if he did. He snuggled in closer, gently kissing the top of her head, then glancing at his watch … 6:30 … another half an hour before they would have to think about getting up. Abby sighed in her sleep and he felt her tighten her grip on him. He drank in her scent, the memory of last night filled his head and he felt happier than he had ever done before. Finally, something was going right in his life for a change. With that thought, he drifted back into a contented sleep, wondering how much of last night he was going to actually tell Sarah about.