A/N: Part of my Ryan/Lester series, set after "Miles from Where You Are". (First fic entitled "The Distance Between Wanting and Having".) AU from 1x6.

Back in the Swing

"They wouldn't clear me for field duty," Ryan said to Lester over a meal of reheated curry. He wasn't even hungry and he was only pushing the food around with his fork.

Lester leaned back in his chair. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Ryan shoved his plate away. "I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I was hoping…"

"Are they…" Lester trailed off, but Ryan knew what he was asking.

"They aren't kicking me out. Not yet, anyway. Suppose they'll wait and see how good a pencil-pusher I turn out to be." Desk duty. Ryan wanted to hit something just thinking about it.

Lester exhaled. "I've made my opinion quite clear. I want to have you reinstated on the anomaly project."

"I imagine you'll get your wish. I'm sure they don't want to shove off anyone who's actually useful."

"Tom-"

Ryan waved a hand in the air. "Right, feeling sorry for myself again. A soldier who can't properly fire a gun is incredibly useful." He stared at the table and then moved his chair back, grabbing his plate and standing up. "Guess I'm not hungry, after all," he said and headed for the kitchen.

Once there, Ryan left his plate on the counter and leaned against the sink, bracing his hands on the edge. Part of him knew he was behaving like an idiot but the rest of him didn't care.

After a moment Lester came in, stopping to stand behind Ryan. "Don't do this, Tom. I know you're upset but this doesn't help."

With difficulty, Ryan bit back the rude reply he wanted to make. Lester really looked terrible and Ryan knew he'd been working too hard, trying to get the new building ready for business, and he hadn't been sleeping well. "I'm going to go home," was all he said.

As Ryan brushed past him, Lester seized his arm. "Please don't go like this," he said very quietly, his eyes focused somewhere on Ryan's chest.

Ryan's eyes slid shut for a second. He knew how hard it must have been for Lester to say that. "James, I…"

"Don't," Lester said, pressing a fingertip to Ryan's lips. "Just come to bed with me, will you?"

Ryan nodded.

Ryan stood in the atrium of the Anomaly Research Centre and thought that, hell, they'd certainly come a long way.

There was clearly still some work left to do, as the general clutter signified, but even in its current state the place was infinitely better than working out of the Home Office. There, no one but Lester and Claudia had had any real space of their own, with the professor and Stephen still working out of the university and Ryan and his lads generally at base until they got a call. The ARC, as Lester had taken to calling it, would give them a great deal of freedom.

Ryan's gaze settled on a small grouping of computer monitors that must be Connor's pet project, the detection device Lester had told him about. It must be nice to know there was at least a chance of arriving at an anomaly before the creatures came through.

"Captain Becker is on his way," said the young soldier who had brought Ryan in. He was new, likely one of the soldiers who had come in when they'd replaced Ryan with Becker.

Ryan nodded and waited. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be there. He had only reluctantly given Lester his approval when Lester had started jockeying to have Ryan returned to the ARC but ultimately it wasn't up to either of them. Ryan was still military and thus would go where they told him to go. They had agreed with Lester - Ryan was most useful working on this project, in the field or not.

It was possible Ryan wouldn't ever be field-ready again. He had regained a refreshing degree of functionality in his arm but he was a liability with a weapon. He supposed that was a good part of the reason he'd been allowed to stay on the project in a diminished role, as a soldier who couldn't be trusted with a gun lost a lot of his worth. That and the fact that no one wanted in on this project.

Ryan just hoped that he actually would be of use, here, in his desk job. He knew that Lester wanted him in the ARC but he didn't know how much of that was born of affection and familiarity, and perhaps a sense of loyalty.

A tall bloke in black combats with a pretty face and perfectly ordered hair came striding over. New guy, Ryan thought, eyes flickering over him. Looked like he could use a good, hard shag and he was almost absurdly young. He had a well-placed father, if Ryan remembered Lester's moanings correctly.

"You can go now. I've got it from here," he said to Ryan's escort.

The young man saluted and strode off while Becker stopped in place and gave Ryan a once-over. "Captain Ryan, I'm Becker. I've been expecting you."

"Good to meet you," Ryan said, shaking Becker's hand firmly. The man had a good grip.

Ryan was wary of him, as he would be of any officer that young and that likely to have been pushed through because of the family name, but by all accounts Becker was a captain through his own merit and the lads had had no genuine complaints. Their grumblings were mostly limited to Becker being somewhat stand-offish and a bit cocky, too eager to prove himself and with an alarming inclination towards solo heroics.

Still, he was settling in well enough and hopefully would mellow with time. While Lester complained about him endlessly, Ryan knew his lover well enough to know that he didn't actually dislike or disapprove of Becker. Sometimes Ryan even thought that Lester exaggerated his aggravation with Becker for Ryan's benefit, just so Ryan would be sure to know whom Lester preferred.

Of course, that would be shockingly sentimental so Ryan pretended not to notice.

"Ryan!"

Ryan turned around to see Connor and Abby hurrying over, matching grins on their faces. He opened his mouth to greet them but was stunned into momentary silence as Connor seized him in a hug and Abby followed suit. He patted them as best he could and said, "Steady, there, I only saw you last week."

"Yeah, but we've missed having you here," Connor said, stepping back, beaming like Ryan was the best thing he'd seen all day.

"We're so glad you're back," Abby added. "It just wasn't the same around here." Her gaze flickered over to Becker for an instant.

If Ryan had been a different sort of man, he probably would have felt smug at what that indicated. Instead he only said, feeling touched at their welcome, "I missed seeing you, too." He had been surprised, in the months of his recuperation, by the sense of loss he'd felt. He had grown fond of their little group.

"Does Lester know you're here?"

"He knew I was coming but I haven't seen him." Ryan's eyes drifted up to the balcony overlooking the atrium, where he guessed Lester's office must be. He would have a perfect view of the whole place from up there.

Becker was frowning slightly at the display he had just witnessed. It was the first actual expression Ryan had seen from him. "I'll take you to see him after I've finished," he said, clearly indicating that he wanted Connor and Abby to get out of the way and stop interfering in his plans. He had probably scheduled his day with Ryan down to the last second.

Abby took the hint, rolling her eyes at Ryan. "We'll see you later, yeah? Come and see us before you leave."

"Of course," Ryan said and watched her walk away with Connor. It wasn't hard to admit that he'd missed working with them, missed their cheerfulness and good humour. It would do him good to be around that again.

"I thought we could take a tour of the facilities before we get into specifics," Becker told him.

"Sounds good."

"We can start with the armoury," Becker said and Ryan matched his steps as he took off down a corridor. "We're still in a state of transition while we finish moving in. I've got a backlist of requests I'm waiting on while higher-up faff around."

"Don't hold your breath," Ryan muttered.

"Oh, I'm not. It didn't take me long to figure out we aren't the priority we should be."

"So you do believe the anomaly project is important?"

"Of course I bloody do! We had a mammoth on the M25, for Christ's sake. It trampled people." Becker paused. "And now your Sir James feeds it apples."

"He isn't my Sir James." Ryan wanted to laugh at the very idea. He'd love to see the look on Lester's face if he heard anyone claim he belonged to Ryan.

Although, Ryan made a mental note to ask about the apple thing.

"That's not what I've heard."

Bloody soldiers, they gossiped like a bunch of old ladies in a knitting circle. "Are we going to have a problem, Captain?"

"I don't care who you fuck, sir, so long as you can help me keep a few more bodies breathing."

Ryan must have looked more surprised than he had intended because Becker stopped in his tracks, fixing Ryan with an intent gaze. "I think we should get a few things straight. I never wanted this posting. I spend my days and, let's be honest, a good chunk of my nights, chasing dinosaurs while I tell people I'm a security guard. I was brought in to replace a bloke who was nearly ripped to pieces by some monster from the future and, as far as your men are concerned, you could walk on water while I'm lucky if I can manage not to trip over my own feet."

Becker stopped and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Ryan was bemused to note that it immediately fell back into place. "I know you're a good soldier, sir. I've read enough and I've certainly heard enough to know that. But I'm a good soldier, too. I know everyone thinks I sucked someone's cock to get my rank but I've earned everything I've got. I'm a good soldier and I want to do my job properly. You will have my respect and my cooperation if you give me yours."

Ryan didn't say anything for a little while. He had the distinct impression that that had been more words strung together than Becker said to most people in an entire day. He gave Becker a nod and clapped him on the back. "I think we're going to work together very well, Becker."

Becker's mouth tilted into a very tiny smile, a very tiny and obviously relieved smile. "And if you could put in a good word about me to your friend Lyle, I'd be eternally grateful. The man hates my fucking guts."

Ryan couldn't help but laugh. He decided he rather liked Becker, after all. They were going to get along just fine.

It was late morning by the time Becker brought Ryan to Lester's office. Lester waved them in and stood up, walking around to the front of his desk. "Good morning, Captain Ryan, Captain Becker."

"Morning, sir," Becker said. "I've shown Captain Ryan around the ARC and got him set up in his office."

"Thank you, Becker. Anything I need to be made aware of?"

"No, sir, no problems at all. We managed quite well." Becker stood there for a moment before clearing his throat. "I'll just leave then, shall I? I'll let you two be alone," he said and while his expression was as bland as ever, there was an undeniable suggestiveness in his tone.

Lester watched him leave with a small frown and then turned to Ryan. "I gather you and Captain Becker have arrived at an understanding."

"He isn't so bad," Ryan told him. "Nice scenery, too."

"Should I be jealous?"

"Oh, I don't know. I suppose that depends on how good you are to me. Becker's got a pair of nice, strong arms to fall into if I need comforting, don't you think?"

Lester arched an eyebrow. "He's got a nice, big gun to shoot you with, too."

Ryan laughed. Lyle had already told him about Becker's affinity for Mossbergs. "I think I'm safe. He seemed to like me."

"I noticed."

The air of disgruntlement on Lester's features made Ryan want to kiss him. There was a distinct drawback to all these windows. "Don't worry, James. I still like your arse the best."

"How reassuring."

"I'm quite flattered that you're jealous."

Lester's mouth thinned and he looked rather disgusted at the accusation. "I am not jealous."

"Oh? Then I don't suppose you'll mind if I tell you that Becker and I are having drinks later."

"What?"

"With Lyle," Ryan added, taking pity on him. "I've heard they don't get on."

Lester relaxed. "Not in the slightest."

"I'm thinking that the combination of my presence and getting Becker to loosen up over a few rounds of drinks will do a lot to fix that. You don't really mind, do you?"

"No, of course not."

"And after I'm all yours," Ryan assured him, walking to one of the big windows and looking out at the balcony. If he was being honest, he was glad they had been able to fall into their banter so easily. It was strange, being back at work together, trying to see how they fitted. Before Ryan's accident, he had never known exactly where they stood.

To put it lightly, things had been tense lately. Lester was stressed and over-worked and Ryan was anxious and moody, which didn't translate to happy times at home. For the past couple of weeks they hadn't been talking much and when they did, their conversations had had a tendency to turn into snippy arguments.

Ryan wanted to think that it would be better now. It was settled - he was at the ARC and that was that.

Too bad nothing ever was as easy as it seemed it should be, but at least for now, they seemed okay. "You've got a nice place here," he said.

"Indeed. It was only slightly over-budget."

Ryan chuckled. He had been listening to Lester complain about the costs for months. "I imagine it will be worth it."

Lester was quiet for a moment. "I suppose you're right. Ryan, is this… Are you sure you're all right with this? This is what you want?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

"Tom."

Ryan sighed and turned back around, watching Lester watch him. They had been dancing around this for weeks, neither of them saying quite what they meant. They had never been good at communicating. "I don't know, James. I don't know about any of it. But… I want to help and that's the truth."

Lester narrowed the distance between them and stroked his hand down Ryan's side, settling over the jut of his hip. "You're already helping. You've no idea how much everyone wants you here, how happy they are just to have you back."

"How happy they are?" Ryan repeated, stressing the pronoun.

Lester raised his eyes to Ryan's face. "All of us, Tom. We all want you here. We… I'm glad you're back. I'm happy you're here."

Ryan covered Lester's hand with his own. "I'm happy to be here."

And he thought he might actually mean that.

End