31/8/07

Title: Hard Light

Author: squeezynz

Spoiler: Season One/Episode Six

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Abby's view of the final scene, and after. Her hero has feet of clay.

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They were all tense, strung out like beads on a wire, no-one touching, no-one looking at anything but the anomaly. After the phone call announcing that the dead future predator was a male, Stephen had been preoccupied with his thoughts, shutting everyone and everything out, only his eyes revealing his worry when he glanced repeatedly at the flickering portal into the past. Even Connor was uncharacteristically quiet, standing perfectly still and not fidgeting with his lap top or any of the other gadgets laying about. He'd been so ever since the incident in the carpark, not even the encounter with the predator and it's young enough to stir him into his usual round of wisecracks and endless flow of useful and useless trivia. Ryan's men, left behind to guard them, were equally on alert, all eyes trained on the sparkling doorway to the past, Sir James Lester adopting a bored expression to hide his own uneasiness.

Abby looked around at the people standing about and felt that someone was missing, but couldn't put her finger on who, her brows pulling together in a frown as she tried to recall a name and face of who wasn't there, who usually was. Evan as she opened her mouth to ask Connor about it, Nick stepped back through the anomaly, a stricken look on his craggy features. Lester instantly asked the question on everyone's lips.

"What happened? Did you find the anomaly?

Before an answer could be given Helen Cutter walked through the sparkling portal and stood just behind her husband. Abby could see Professor Cutter draw in a breath before he spoke, his eyes skimming over everyone but not lingering.

"Captain Ryan didn't make it and all his men are dead."

The forest floor, which had been quiet enough before suddenly became silent as everyone absorbed the shock of what he was saying. Abby dimly heard him continue.

"Whatever happens, nobody goes back through."

Beside him, Helen gave him a small smile.

"Well I'm sorry to break your new rule so soon Nick, but...um...I'm not staying."

With almost a snarl, Nick turned to face her.

"Well what'd you come back through for?"

"Oh...just a little unfinished business." Turning away from her husband, Helen Cutter stared pointedly at Stephen Hart who, for his part, remained silent, his eyes wary, his stance rigid. Nick turned his head and stared questioningly at his lab partner for the past eight year, his eyes wide as an unwarranted suspicion started to worm it's way into his head.

Abby stood like a statue and watched the drama between all three. She had seen the glance sent Stephen's way just before Helen stepped through the anomaly earlier, she'd also noted that Stephen hadn't done more than stare back, a prickle of awareness trickling down Abby's back as if forewarning the confrontation now being played out in front of a captive audience. Like Nick, Abby had a fair idea of what was about to be said, despite never once seeing anything between Stephen or Helen to suggest it was remotely plausible. She couldn't explain why, but she just knew there was a history that no one knew about and never discussed. Abby suddenly realised that despite the months they had all worked together, they knew very little about each other. Helen was speaking again and Abby was intently interested in what she had to say.

"You see Nick, it was just one of those things. I was lonely and you didn't seem to care about me...and Stephen was so sweet..." Helen let her voice trail off, mischief making her eyes dance. Despite the sudden lance of pain through her at having her worst fears confirmed, Abby wanted to march up to Helen and slap the smirk off her face. Helen's bombshell had been delivered with perfect pitch and timing, the effect instant and irreparable. Nick looked pole-axed, his eyes wide and disbelieving as he stared back at an equally distressed Stephen. Connor turned his head left and right, hardly knowing where to look, while Lester looked on tight lipped and uncomfortable. Abby focused on Helen.

"...and attentive." Now she was deliberately twisting the knife, Stephen clenching his hands into fists and biting out, "shut up Helen." But his best friends wife hadn't finished with them yet.

"Oh, you mean you never told him?" Pantomiming dismay, Helen smirked in triumph, "oh dear."

Now Abby looked over at Stephen, unable to bear the naked look on Nick's face. Stephen was looking at his friend with pleading eyes, his expression at once both vulnerable and culpable. Abby could almost believe she was seeing the face of the young man who had fallen into Helen's toils all those years ago. She tried to imagine what it had been like. Stephen would have only been in his early twenties, a young graduate being taken on as a laboratory assistant by a man he probably idolised, who had a wife as knowledgeable as her husband and happy to pass on that knowledge to the impressionable student. Abby had to acknowledge that Helen was not an unattractive woman and back then Stephen would have been fired up with all the enthusiasm and passion of youth, the same passion and drive that drew Abby to him now. It was not difficult to see how it could have all been taken advantage of. She heard Sir James speak and shook her head to focus on the next act of the drama.

"What an extremely awkward moment." Abby wholeheartedly agreed with him.

Helen was now homing in for the coup-de-gras. "You see, I don't want to be on my own anymore." She looked pointedly at Stephen before delivering her final blow. Everyone else was also staring at Stephen, wondering at his reaction and maybe also reassessing just how well they really knew him.

Helen had him fixed in her sight and decided to go for the jugular. "You once said you'd do anything for me, if I gave you the chance. Well...here it is. Come with me."

To Abby it was as if the world had narrowed down to just these two people, everyone else no more substantial than ghosts, all watching with breaths held, knowing the end was not going to be pretty, but unable to look away. Stephen looked like he was being eaten from the inside out with acid.

"Don't do this." He pleaded, glancing over to Nick as if begging him to stop her. Nick was still reeling from shock and could only listen along with the rest.

Helen was now standing up close to Stephen, her eyes devouring him. "Falling for one of your students is never a good idea, but um...sometimes these things happen..." She suddenly spun around to face Nick. "You know?"

Abby could almost feel the recoil as Nick absorbed the final thrust of Helen's revenge. His wife was making sure she inflicted the most damage possible. It was a wonder any of them were still standing. Suddenly the focus shifted and it was no longer between Helen and Stephen, now it was between Nick and Stephen, the air crackling with suppressed anger as the Professor rounded on his partner for the last eight years.

"How could you keep that from me, for so many years?" The accusation hung in the air like poison, Stephen approaching his friend and mentor like he was approaching a Tiger at bay.

"There was no point in saying anything. It was a long time ago...in the past."

Unable to allow any chance of reconciliation, Helen butted in. "The past has a habit of coming back these days, doesn't it Nick."

As if unable to bear the sight of them both, Nick swung around and walked a little distance away, his expression shuttered against the pain of Stephen's betrayal. Abby wondered briefly what was hurting the most, Stephen's duplicity or his wifes infidelity. Either blow would be enough to tear a rift in the two men's relationship that Abby thought would be difficult to repair. She looked over at Stephen and almost wanted to rush over and do something to ease the wrenching pain evident on his face. He looked gutted, his chest heaving as if he found it difficult to breath.

"Well? Are you coming?"

Abby stared in disbelief at the woman who had wrought all the emotional carnage. Helen appeared unmoved by the tension, her expressive eyebrow quirked cheekily as she waited for Stephen's answer. Abby saw the mask drop into place on his face, a few steps bringing him close to Helen, the silence of the forest allowing his quiet words to be heard by everyone.

"You know what I'd forgotten Helen? Sometimes you can be a real bitch."

Abby wanted to cheer, wanted him to plant a facer on her smug face. Instead he just reeled away and came back to stand beside Lester, his face stony and unreadable. Helen looked resigned, as if she hadn't really expected him to do otherwise. With a last lingering glance at her husband, who glared at her with wounded eyes, Helen marched back through the anomaly and out of sight.

For a long moment nobody moved, everyone frozen into a tableau of characters, each internally processing what had just happened. Abby briefly tried to sort out the rapid series of shocks they'd all just suffered. Putting the whole Helen episode to one side, Nick had said that Captain Ryan had been killed, along with his men, a shocking enough event without all the angst that followed. Abby hardly had time to think about the Black Op's and how much she'd miss Ryan's solid dependability when Nick suddenly came to life, blurting out a question that took everyone by surprise.

"Where's Claudia?"

For a moment no one said anything, then Sir James, his arms crossed over his chest, answered for them all.

"Claudia?"

"Where's Claudia Brown?" Nick repeated, his stance no longer downtrodden, but bristling with energy. Lester again answered for them all.

"I don't know anyone of that name."

Nick now stared at them as if they'd all gone mad. "No. Come on...where is she?

This time Stephen, looking as confused as they all were, answered.

"Really Nick. Don't know what you're talking about. Never heard of her."

Nick was now getting angry, glaring at everyone and searching behind them for this Claudia person.

"You've been working with her every day for months! Don't tell me you don't know who she is!"

"No idea...s-sorry." Lester stammered, on the back foot but standing his ground as Nick advanced and grabbed the smaller man by the lapels, shaking him like a Terrier. Stephen tried to placate his friend and held out his hands to stop Nick. "...Look..." But Nick ignored him and almost spat in Lester's face while Abby and Connor looked on helplessly.

"Look! Where is she?"

This time is was Connor who spoke up. "Cutter...we don't know her."

Abby felt it was time she added her voice to the fray. "No one knows her!"

Under the overwhelming evidence of denial, Nick let go of Lester and stepped back, glancing around at the glowing anomaly, a look of horror and comprehension dawning on his face.

"Wait. Somethings wrong. This isn't right, somethings gone wrong. Something...somethings happened, somethings changed. We've done something we..." he paused, his expression panicky.

"Something we've done has changed in the past and she's not here anymore!"

Abby felt his panic and wanted to scream, the anomaly starting to expand behind Cutter, the whirling blades of light speeding up. Nick stared back at them all, his eyes wide as something close to rage flashed across his face before being replaced with growing dread. "Oh God."

"Oh my God." Were his last words before the anomaly started to envelop him, the light expanding and excelerating, Stephen lunging forward to grab at Nick's jacket just as the time portal flared into brilliance, both men disappearing from view as the light exploded outwards then shrank away to nothing. The blast had knocked everyone over, Abby seeing spots before her eyes for minutes afterwards. Of Nick Cutter and Stephen Hart, there was no sign they had ever existed.

"Stephen!" Her cry seemed to wrench everyone out of their stupor, the air suddenly filled with the shouts of the remaining Black Op's and James Lester ordering them to search for the missing men. Connor scrambled over to help her up, his face registering shock at what had happened, no ready quip passing his lips as they stood side by side and stared as the empty space that was now dark and silent.

Connor didn't seem to know what to do with himself, standing beside her and shifting from one foot to the other. Abby just stared numbly at the trees, too stunned to react. Lester came up to stand beside them.

"You'd better take her home," he addressed Connor who only nodded, still speechless from the events of the past few minutes. "I'll be in touch if we need you."

That stung Abby out of her frozen state. "You'll be in touch? You'll be in TOUCH!" She knew she was shouting, she knew Connor was hovering at her back making soothing noises, but it was all ignored in the white hot heat of her anger directed at the civil servant standing in front of her. Drawing herself up to her full five foot four, Abby glared at Lester, daring him to patronise her again. "I'm not leaving here. Stephen and Cutter are lost on the other side of the anomaly...an anomaly that could appear at any time..."

"anywhere..." Lester finished for her, taking the wind out of her sails. "Yes I know. I will be posting men here in the forest to keep watch for the next event, and we can only hope that Professor Cutter is able to survive until that happens. In the meantime, there is nothing you can do here but get in the way. If an anomaly appears, we will call you both. Satisfied?"

"No..."Abby snarled, unable to stop herself. Connor slipped between her and Lester, his hands held up in a placating gesture.

"We'd really appreciate that, Sir Lester...wouldn't we Abby? I'll take good care of her...we'll be off now, sir...um..." Connor started to steer Abby away from the Home Office man, eager to get her away from the site of so many traumatic events. "We'll see you in the office...er...Monday?"

Sir James merely nodded, turning his back as soon as Connor and Abby were far enough away to no longer be of importance.

Abby was furious, hurt and furious to be dismissed. Lashing out she caught Connor a fist to his ear, making the young man yelp and leap back.

"Watch it Abby...I'm only following orders!"

"Grrrrrrrr!" Barring her teeth, she swung around on her heel and marched towards where the cars were parked, making a beeline for the silver Hilux and yanking the driver's door open. Connor had trotted along after her but now stood hesitant behind her.

"Er...I think Cutter had the car keys," he pointed out, receiving a glare in reply.

"I know where Stephen hides the spare. Get in."

"Don't you think...um..maybe I should..."

"No I don't. Get in or be left behind."

Quite sure that in her present mood she'd do just that, Connor darted around the front of the vehicle and climbed aboard. The windshield had been repaired in record time but glass still littered the dashboard and carpet, a reminder of the Future Predator's attack.

Abby sat in the drivers seat and twisted the key in the ignition, the engine roaring into life with a satisfying growl. She felt wired and jumpy, her heart still thumpingl, anger buzzing and fizzing in her veins. She didn't know who to be more angry with, Stephen for revealing he was only human after all, not the flawless focus of her fervent desires, but a man with a past that she knew nothing about or Helen Cutter, for being a heartless bitch out to enact revenge on her unsuspecting husband by seducing his protege. She thumped the steering wheel, making Connor flinch in the passenger seat.

"Abby?"

"What?"

"I think the speed limit here abouts is only thirty."

Abby glanced down at the speedo, seeing the needle inching up to the fifty mark. Instantly she took her foot of the accelerator and consciously relaxed her fingers around the steering wheel. Driving the big four by four was a far cry from her tiny mini, the diesel so powerful that even top speed felt like a crawl. Watching the speedo roll back to the road limit she flung Connor a small smile.

"Sorry...wasn't paying attention. I don't think I need a speeding ticket right now, especially as I'd probably assault the traffic cop in the mood I'm in."

"Yeah...not a good idea."

After that conversation was sparse until Abby pulled the silver Toyota up beside the curb outside her flat. Turning the ignition off she slumped over the steering wheel, forehead resting on her hands, and just tried to relax some of the tension out of her. Connor seemed to sense her need for silence and kept mum, staring out of the side window but seeing nothing. At length Abby sat up and clambered out of the cab, Connor behind her.

The flat was humid and stuffy, Rex chirruping from his perch on top of the bookcase as soon as he saw them. Flinging the car keys on a side table, Abby held out her arms and Rex launched himself towards her, circling once before landing inelegantly in her arms. Connor had ambled in behind her and laughed at the bright green lizard, the creature emitting a series of chirps as if asking him where'd he'd been. Abby cooed and stroked Rex, settling herself down on the well stuffed sofa, one leg tucked underneath her. Connor did the same, keeping a few inches between them, his hat following his scarf as he flung them onto the coffee table.

Abby remained absorbed in her pet, Rex lapping up the extra attention.

Connor started to fidget, drumming his fingers against the back of the couch, then crossing and uncrossing his legs.

"Abby?"

"What?"

"About Stephen..."

Abby had started to wonder how long Connor would be able to last without asking that question.

"What about Stephen?"

"Well...it's just...I mean, I'm sorry you had to learn it that way..."

"Learn what, Connor?"

"Well...I mean...that's to say...well..."

"He's turned out to be the lying rat bastard you always thought he was?"

"Um...correct me if I'm wrong, didn't we just find out he's been having an affair with his best friends' wife?"

"He had an affair eight years ago...she's been listed as dead for the rest of the time."

"I suppose so...sure. But...I mean we hardly know anything about him. You saw how completely gob-smacked Cutter was over the whole thing. And talking about Cutter, what was all that rubbish about Claudia Brown?"

"I don't know," she cuddled Rex closer, the reptile struggling to free itself as it tired of the game. Letting the Coelurosauravus go, she watched it scamper across the table and slip to the floor.

"And then there's the whole age thing...I mean, Helen must be at least ten years older than him!"

"More like six...about as many between Stephen and me."

"You know how old he is?"

"Yeah...thirty two."

"Oh. Abby..." Connor gentle whine made her want to turn around and sock him one with a hard cushion.

"Leave it alone would you?" Sitting back, Abby covered her eyes with her fingers and groaned. "Haven't you ever done something when you were young and regretted it?"

"Maybe," Connor hedged, tucking one leg under the other to turn his body towards her. "But you gotta admit, not telling his best mate after all this time is kinda rough."

"No worse than Cutter making sheeps eyes at Claudia all this time, when his wife was still alive!"

The silence after her statement stretched.

"What?"

"I said Claudia, didn't I?"

"You did, I heard you. Who is this Claudia person, and how come I don't know her?"

"I don't know, honestly, I don't. I just...I just know her, but I can't bring a face to mind."

"Weird." Connor shook himself and grimaced. "Creepy. Anyway, I reckon that's why he hasn't married or got a steady girlfriend."

"Who?"

"Stephen."

"God, can't you let that go. Anyway, he does...did have a girlfriend, the germ buster in the Congo...Alicia, or whatever her name was."

"Alison," Connor corrected. "He kept that a deep dark secret too."

"Hardly. Do you go about telling all your private stuff to people you've only known a few months?"

"No...but you'd think..."

"Look. There's lots of things you don't know about me, and I don't know about you...and I'm not about to ask. Of course Stephen has a past, we all do, and he's probably been out there doing stuff we'll never know about."

"There you go..." Connor interrupted, only to have Abby glare at him.

"I'm not about to condem him for something that happened long before I met him, and from the sounds of it, left him carrying a whole ton of baggage that should have stayed safely buried. It's that damn woman's fault, if anybodies!"

"You're determined to give him the benefit of the doubt...even when he tramples all over you!"

"Oh shut up Connor...I'm going to bed!"

Feeling hurt, resentful and still angry, Abby flung herself off the couch and stomped into the kitchen, intent on making herself a decent mug of tea before going to hide in her loft. In truth she didn't know what to feel about Stephen, or Nick or Helen for that matter. It was all so far out of her league she didn't want to know. All she did know was that Stephen and Nick were now lost in the past, or maybe they were sucked into the future, and the rest of them were left behind to sort out the mess. For now, she wanted to nurse her battered heart with a strong cuppa and a good cry.

Tomorrow she'd go back to the University looking for any way of finding them, with or without the help of the Home Office.

Maybe she'd find out who this Claudia Brown was along the way.

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tbc...maybe.