Chapter 3

"Lester," Abby inquired after a long but surprisingly not awkward silence. "Can we stop for a bit and a cuppa? I'm hungry."

"Ms. Maitland, I presume that I do not have to remind you of the rather time-sensitive nature of your line of duty? You are not a toddler and you can wait until we've dealt with the creatures before we stop for lunch."

"There hasn't even been an incursion yet."

"We both know that something could come through at any time, and I'd personally like to be there to close it before that happens."

"I also know that nourishment is very important in our field of work. If something does come through before we arrive, I would prefer not to be weak and faint from hunger when trying to run from it. I haven't eaten since last night."

"Unwise to skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day."

"I know, Connor always said the same. He used to cook for me in the mornings and insist I eat because otherwise I don't tend to care. Lately he's been too busy. If he doesn't care, why should I?"

Lester hesitated, unsure how to explain that her own value didn't lie solely upon what Connor thought of her, without coming across as being soft. He knew she'd had a hard past, he'd read her file when hiring her and, unbeknownst to Abby, the things written in it had almost cost her the job. He'd felt that anyone who had been through some of the things that Abby had would be too, well, damaged, to work in a stressful environment. But she'd been good with the creatures and he'd seen that Connor was able to stabilize her mood swings quite early on just by being there, so he'd decided to keep her onboard. It'd started out as a trial, but thanks to Connor simple presence and loyalty to the girl, she'd quickly become one of the strongest members on the team, in his eyes.

He turned off the motorway and into the nearest town, looking for a place to grab a quick meal. "I'm sure he cares, Abby," he finally said softly. "Philip is just keeping him really busy right now."

"I hate Philip."

"So do I, but if you repeat that sensitive information, I'll fire you."

Abby grinned, "The car's bugged to the ARC you know, he could be listening in."

Lester looked ready to panic, until Abby shook her head with a laugh and continued, "Relax, they can only hear us if we use the comms. Wanna play a game of would you rather? I'll go first. Would you prefer to work with Philip or Christine Johnson."

Lester was relieved enough to actually join in. "I'd rather work with a velociraptor than either of them."

"You have to pick one."

"Christine, I suppose. Well your turn, April or Oliver?"

"Ugh… April I guess. I could take her down any day."

"You could take Leek down too."

"True."

"I hope you were taking notes," Connor stated casually as he approached Becker.

Becker shrugged, "There wasn't anything to take notes on, the drafts were just rotated on the computer and I was looking at them sideways. Jessica fixed it."

"I wasn't talking about your computer issues."

"Then what?"

"You're more obvious than you think you are. I saw your ears perk up when Jess started her advice to me by saying what she'd want from anyone that she dated."

"I may not be armed at the moment, Temple," Becker growled, "But I can still do a lot of damage with this here shovel I'm digging with. And my ears do not move."

"They're almost catlike when Jess is involved," Connor retorted. "Anyways, you do realise that your job is to protect her, right?"

"What's that have to do with anything. My job is to protect all of you. If you were to ask Abby, that includes the creatures."

"And that's why she doesn't let you hurt them. And that's also why you've never shot Matt back. Hurting someone goes against everything you stand for in your job position."

"Connor, what are you on about?"

"I'm just saying that if you hurt Jess, you've gone and done the very opposite of what you're supposed to be doing. Don't you want a girlfriend? A wife one day, maybe? I know I do."

"Sure, but what's that have to do with Jess? We work together and she's pretty much everything I despise in one person… hyper, naïve, way too cheerful, blindingly colourful…"

"I'm gonna stop you right there and just say that your excuses are thin at best. Abby and I work together, and so do Emily and Matt. And everyone knows that opposites attract. I'm just telling you that Jess fancies you, a lot. And if you decide to start seeing someone besides Jess, ever, she's going to be hurt. The best way to avoid that, is to just date Jess. If you look at it that way, it falls totally in your job description. You're protecting her from being hurt by asking her out."

"When you put it like that, I feel like Lester should be paying for our dates."

Connor shrugged with a grin, "So send him a bill."

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," Abby said, looking puzzled at the co-ordinates on her phone.

"You'd think," Lester responded. "There really doesn't seem to be anywhere for an anomaly to hide here, does there?"

Abby shook her head, "I better phone the ARC and get them to check on it for us."

"Speaking of the ARC, I feel as though there has been a serious lack of communication between Jess and us. If it was anyone else I'd be writing them up for not doing their job properly."

Abby chose not to comment on his notable favouritism, mainly because she knew herself to also be one of Lester's 'favourites'. Instead she nodded as she dialled, "You'd think my boyfriend would have at least called once to check up on me, even if he is busy."

Lester was saved from having to come up with a response when someone answered Abby's phone at the other end. Abby docked the phone and put it on speaker so they could both hear. "Alright Jess, where's the anomaly?" she demanded.

"Oh," Came Jess' response through the speaker. "Are you there already? Look, Abby, I am soooo sorry, I meant to call, but I got distracted, but the anomaly closed hours ago! So you know, maybe just search around for signs of an incursion and head back?"

Abby frowned, annoyed, and glanced at Lester whose face had turned red, but whom had bed left speechless for the moment. "Really, Jess?" She didn't normally lose it on Jess, but she was tired and already annoyed, and she let temper flare. "You couldn't have stopped what you were doing for one moment to tell us it was closed? You should have known if there was an incursion if you were watching the anomaly! What the hell were you doing that was so distracting?"

Jess looked ready to burst into tears, she wasn't used to being yelled at, especially not by Abby. She knew that when Abby found out the truth she'd be grateful for what they were doing, but it didn't make her feel any better at the moment. Connor and Becker stood beside her, listening in, and Connor noted that Becker looked ready to grab the phone and smash it. He was pretty sure that Becker and Abby would be having a few words when Abby got back.

"I-I…" Jess stammered, as she gave Connor a pleading look, and gesturing for him to try and help her come up with a believable excuse on the spot for why she hadn't been watching the anomaly. Connor jotted something down for her own a piece of paper and Jess grabbed it and blurted out the excuse he had made her. "I was using the CCTV to watch Becker train the soldiers!"

Then she blushed and if looks could kill, Connor would have died a very agonizing death.

Stay Tuned for Chapter 4