THE TIMES THEY ARE A'CHANGING
Summary: a year and three months after Danny left to chase Patrick he finally steps back through an anomaly back home. Except he finds everything has changed while he was away, including the most important thing. Warning: Slash (Danny/Becker, Matt/Becker)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it and I'm not making any money out of this, although if anybody wants to pay me to do this it would be greatly appreciated, and yes I know people don't read the disclaimer, but still it's worth a shot right?
Author's note: This is a song drabble that got away from me and started to write itself seemingly without taking any notice of the fact that it was already really late and I really wanted to go to bed. It's slash, if you don't like it don't read it. This story is based on the idea that Danny and Becker were in an established relationship at the end of season 3 and takes place a year and three months after the last episode of season 4. And for those unlucky few who don't know it The Times They are A' Changing is of course a Bob Dylan classic.
Warning: Slash (Danny/Becker, Matt/Becker) nothing explicit, but still slash, spoilers for 4x07!
It had been a year and three months almost to the day since Danny had stepped through another anomaly to chase his long lost brother, a lot could change in a year and three months.
Danny noticed the first change the moment he arrived on the other side of the anomaly: nobody shot him. "Hey, what's this, no welcome home electric charge to the chest?" He greeted them and was immediately enveloped in a hug from Abby.
The next change was more disconcerting, Becker wasn't there.
Connor clapped him on the shoulder with the words: "Good to see you mate." And left without another word. He wanted to ask Abby about it, but she shook her head so he kept quiet, surveying the room.
A new woman, brunette holding a large gun, glared at him from a distance standing beside Matt Anderson who matched her glare perfectly. She obviously disliked him, if only he knew why, because he'd never seen her before in his life, and Anderson didn't have much love for him either, even though the man seemed civil enough to him when he'd stepped through the anomaly to follow Patrick.
"Come on, I'll take you back to the ARC, I'll explain everything there." Abby said and pulled him away before he could say anything else.
Although Abby had promised to explain things back at the ARC things didn't exactly get much clearer for him once there. Lester was still in charge, that was a relief at least. Instead of answering his questions though Lester grilled him with questions of his own. After Lester seemed reassured that no, Patrick was no longer a threat, he finally managed to take a shower and put on some clean clothes (an uncomfortably tight ARC uniform). Now there was only one person he wanted to talk to. He found Becker alone in the locker room. "Hey soldier boy!" Danny quipped, finding it remarkably easy to slip back into the old banter.
But Becker didn't rise to the bait like he used to. "Hello Quinn."
"Hello Quinn, that's all I get?"
Becker turned to face him unconcealed anger burning in his eyes. "Well what do you want from me Danny?" He spat out the name.
Danny's first reaction was to fight anger with anger, and even though a little voice in the back of his mind told him that was probably a bad idea, he did it anyway. "Well I've been away for over a year, the least I expected was a proper hello!"
Becker shook his head. "Exactly Danny, you've been away for over a year, things change in a year Danny." He said and marched out of the locker room.
Danny rushed after him into the ARC corridors trying to catch up with him, but Abby stopped him. He stared at Becker's retreating back, then at Abby. "I thought he'd be happy to see me."
Abby shook her head. "Come on, we need to talk." She dragged him into the deserted lounge and sat him down on the sofa, she was busying herself with making them tea when she said: "He's with Matt now."
Danny felt his heart drop. "Who, Becker?"
Abby set a cup of tea in front of him and nodded. "They've been together for six months now."
"But why...how...why?" Danny stuttered.
Abby gave him a pitying look. "He was here, you weren't."
"Well that's just brilliant, the moment I turn my back he shacks up with the next best thing." Danny grumbled bitterly.
"That's not fair Danny." Abby told him, but he wouldn't hear it.
"Not fair? You know what's not fair? Him running off with Matt Anderson of all people!" Danny yelled.
Abby shook her head in frustration. "He had a hard time Danny..."
"He had a hard time?" Danny cut her off. "Oh yes, I was chasing my psychopath of a brother through hostile prehistoric country, but no he had it hard!"
Suddenly Abby's eyes turned hard as steel. "Don't talk about things you know nothing about, you have no idea what we all went through while you were away and you can't just waltz back in here and think nothing has changed."
Her warning tone calmed Danny as well as scared him slightly. "I don't expect things to not change, It's just..." He faltered for a moment. "It's just that the thought of him, here, waiting for me, sometimes it was the only thing to keep me from feeding myself to the first available raptor you know?"
Abby nodded in understanding. "He did wait Danny, he waited for over a year for you and then you returned and left again without so much as a goodbye to him, how long was he supposed to wait?"
"Longer than he did." Danny answered bitterly.
"He couldn't wait Danny, he needed you and you weren't there, Matt was." Abby told him.
"What did he need so bad that he couldn't wait for me to come back?" Danny still couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice.
Abby decided this was as good a time as any to drop the next bombshell. "Your brother shot him."
"Patrick shot Becker?" Danny repeated in surprise.
Abby nodded. "In one of the corridors right here in the ARC, right before you stepped through another anomaly to leave him behind to chase your brother."
"I didn't know that."
Abby ignored him. "He hit him twice with an EMD turned up high, Becker was in a coma for almost two months."
Danny felt like the world was spinning too fast. "In a coma?"
"When he woke up he was paralyzed."
"Paralyzed?" Danny repeated in shock.
"From the neck down, oh and he also had arrhythmia so the doctors had to put in a pacemaker." Abby waited for this piece of information to sink in before continuing. "Becker fought hard, first he got feeling back in his left arm, then his right, he spent a long time in a wheelchair."
"Becker in a wheelchair?" Somehow Danny couldn't picture it.
"Becker fought to get to where he is now: walking and relatively alright, and he would have never gotten there without Matt, Matt stuck with him every step of the way." The unspoken unlike you hung heavily in the air.
"I had no idea." Danny sighed.
"I know you didn't, but that doesn't change the fact that you left at the very moment Becker needed you most and you have no claim to him anymore because you weren't here, Matt was."
"So what? I just give up?" Danny asked.
"You broke his heart Danny, when he woke up and I had to tell him you weren't here..." Abby trailed off, but didn't stop glaring at him.
"I didn't want to break his heart."
"But you did, he's happy now, Matt is good for him, leave well enough alone Danny." Abby told him firmly.
Danny shook his head. "I have to fight for him."
Suddenly Abby was almost nose to nose with him. "I love you Danny, but I swear to God, if you break his heart again I will break every bone in your body, leave him be."
Danny didn't doubt Abby's threat, he was very aware of the temper on her so he resigned himself, for now. "The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast, the times they are a' changing."
Abby nodded. "The times they are a' changing."
THE END
I feel sorry for Danny, I really do, I might write another chapter for this where he gets to try his hand at winning Becker back (and face the wrath of Abby), but don't hold your breath waiting for it (I wouldn't want to be responsible for any deaths by suffocation) because I've got no inspiration for it right now.