I own NOTHING but the idea for this story.
A State of Emergency, Lester's liquor collection, and nothing but time.
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Jess laughed as she and Connor drank the whiskey.
She was unsure whether it was the alcohol to blame or her finally realizing the irony.
"What?" Connor asked before taking another swig.
"It's just—it's just that I've finally realized the irony of our situation."
Connor raised an eyebrow and waited for Jess to continue.
"I read a book and finished it this morning. It said the world would end on a Thursday and it has."
"Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Connor nodded as they both took another swig from the glasses Connor had found in the cabinet.
Jess nodded to confirm. "And in the book, at the beginning, when the world was about to end, Ford—"
"Convinced Arthur to go to a bar and have a few drinks." Connor offered a smile.
"Waiting to get picked up by some spaceship or something."
"'D be nice." Connor mused. "Could see the stars."
"We'd be leaving behind everything we knew." Jess pointed out.
Then, the light mood was darkened as the smiles faded.
"I only just got engaged." Jess whispered solemnly.
"I was finally engaged to the man I wanted to marry and—and everything's just gone." Jess whimpered, trying to find the desk to set her drink down.
"And you, you and Abby were supposed to get married next month." She added, staring somewhere off in the darkness.
"It was postponed anyway." Connor said as he downed the last of his drink.
"Why?"
Connor shrugged. "Something happened with Abby's family. She wouldn't tell me. Said she was gonna travel to Brighton this weekend to try and sort it out. So we decided to postpone everything and let everyone know before she left this weekend."
"Connor, I—I'm so sorry." Jess apologized as she gave up searching for the desk and downed the remainder of her drink as well.
"It doesn't really matter now. The world's over. We've lost." He brushed her off, pouring another drink for himself and another for her as well.
"You know, I never thought the phrase 'if you were the last person on Earth' would ever actually be applied in my life." Jess mused.
"Could be worse."
"That's not what I meant." Jess shook her head slowly.
Connor leaned against Lester's desk and sighed. "Even if we do manage to find a way out of here, there's still the possibility of creature incursion to deal with. What would we do then?"
Jess didn't immediately answer, opting instead to down some more of her drink.
"The ARC is probably the safest place on Earth at this point." Connor stated after a break to take a swig of his own drink.
"So, what? We'd just spend the rest of our lives here? Until we—"
Connor nodded.
Jess located Lester's desk in that moment as she began to fall forward sobbing uncontrollably.
Connor caught her and held her to him.
"Nothing will be the same from today on; but we'll make the most of it, yeah?" Connor spoke as he hugged her.
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Some time later, Connor and Jess were sat on the floor again, sitting shoulder to shoulder; their backs to the glass panes and facing Lester's desk.
They'd gone through a bottle and a half of Lester's liquor.
"Connor, promise me, if and when it comes to it: if and when we run out of food, no cannibalism, yeah?" Jess muttered in slurred tones.
Connor burst into laughter, coaxing a laugh or two from Jess.
"I promise." He laughed before taking another swig from his glass; then opting to just finish the glass off.
"It's like a never-ending shift." Jess pointed out, staring at the shadows playing on the wall from the lantern.
"But neither of us is alone. That's good, innit?"
"It'll have to do." Jess teased, trying to down the rest of her drink.
"I think you've had too much to drink, Ms. Parker." Connor retorted in mock hurt as he confiscated her glass from her hand and set it off to the side with his.
Jess shook her head unsurely. "I don't think there's enough alcohol in Lester's office for me."
Connor turned and slowly placed his hands on either side of her face. The hazy numbness of the alcohol getting to him as well as his head moved forward and gently bumped foreheads with Jess.
"I won't let anything happen to you." He forced his promise through the haze and slurred speech. "On my life."
"I think—I think—" Jess squinted her eyes as if it would assist her thought process. "Perhaps, our proximity is too close even if we are in space."
Connor chuckled lightly. "We in space?"
"Ford got us—hitched—from the—p—p—plan—planet before it—are you gonna kiss me or not?" Jess rambled against the alcohol swimming about in her system.
"Shh—just a kiss?" Connor asked before leaning the last few centimeters forward to brush Jess's lips.
"Just a kiss—shh." Jess giggled against his lips.
"Why are we whispering?" Connor laughed in a whisper as he fell to his side.
"Why not?" She fell to her side as well laughing lightly.
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I may have found a plausible storyline, so rule nothing out just yet!