Chapter 4:
Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Added: I do not own nor make a profit from mentioning XBox 360. It was used in the show as Connor owned one. But still not making any profit from mentioning it here.
Kannemeryeria is a real creature that I looked up, so I do not claim this creature and not making a profit by mentioning it in here.
Warnings: See Chapter One.
A/N: Firstly, thank you to all of you who have reviewed over the years. I truly appreciate it! I know it's rough to find a story and it just end without having an actual ending. And I know, this story has been non-existent for 9 years...but I'll try to finish it...anyway, enjoy!
The ride felt longer than usual and was too quiet. It just wasn't the same without Connor there to fill up the car with his babbling. The silence was more than what Stephen could bare so when he finally arrived at the ARC, he was more than relieved to get there.
"What are you doing here?" came a voice as he entered the main room.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching over Connor?" demanded the blonde hair girl, her hands on her hips.
"He told me he would be fine. Trust me, I didn't want to leave him alone, however he is a big boy now and can take care of himself." he said with his usual cold blue eyes.
"He gave you the puppy dog eyes, didn't he." Abby said with a knowing smirk.
Stephen couldn't help but snicker. Abby snorted before patting the man's arm. Stephen nodded with a side ways smirk.
"Abby!"
Abby turned to find the brunette waving at her.
"Coming Sarah!" Abby said before giving Stephen one last smile before running off.
The two girls began chatting as they walked to Sarah's office. Stephen watched the two girls head off.
"Good to see you."
Stephen felt a hand patting his back. He turned to see the military man, named Becker right behind him.
"Good to see you too, Becker." Stephen said with a smirk.
"How's Connor?" Becker asked.
The way the body guard asked made Stephen a bit uneasy.
"In some pain, but able to move around." Stephen said with a nod.
Becker nodded. He felt relieved. He truly cared for Connor. He would protect him from both physical and emotional pain. He had failed, this time, protecting him from physical harm. However, he wouldn't fail in the emotional department.
"Weren't you supposed to look out for Connor?"
Speaking of said emotional harm...
Danny walked in, a frown on his face. It wasn't like he wanted the man to look after Connor. However, with the poor kid's injuries, he needed someone to keep an eye on him.
"He's fine. I wouldn't have left him if he wasn't." Stephen said, his jaw stiff.
The two glared at each other.
Becker let out a sigh before deciding to interrupt.
"Ready to test the security system?" Becker said turning to Danny.
Danny gave Stephen one last glare before turning his attention to the bodyguard. He could see the stern look coming from the bodyguard.
"Why do you need to test the security system?" Stephen asked with a raised eyebrow.
He didn't remember the ARC doing that when he was still 'alive'. It also seemed that the building had more security than he remembered.
"To keep out unwelcome visitors." Becker said, thinking about the raptor looking Christine.
It seemed Stephen understood before getting an idea.
"I can help."
"I got it covered." Danny said with a frown.
He felt like Stephen was coming in and trying to replace him. Sure, the guy had been working at the ARC before Danny. And sure, he heard of how much of a 'badass' he was from both Abby and Connor; especially Connor. However, he wasn't going to back off. He was the teamer leader. He wasn't going to give it up, not without a fight.
"Danny is right." Becker said, making both men look at him.
"We have a system set up. Danny tries to break in and my team and I try to find and stop him."
It was a perfect way to find out the weak points to the building. The fact Danny was an ex-cop sort of made Becker wonder where in the academy you learn that skill.
Stephen raised an eyebrow. That was pretty clever. Not to mention like a grown up version of 'Manhunt'. That was his favorite game when he was a child. That probably explained why he became an excellent tracker. He smirked as another idea came to mind.
"I could be the one to find him. I have experience in tracking so it would make it more of a challenge." Stephen said giving Danny a smirk.
Danny could see the fire of a challenge in those icy blue eyes. He couldn't help but smirk back. He loved a good challenge. No offense to Becker, but he didn't give the ex-cop a challenge anymore. It would also be a way to show Stephen that he was just as much, if not more, of a badass.
Becker looked between the two men. Sparks could almost be seen. However, it wasn't as intense as it had been before. He inwardly smirked. Maybe it could build the two men's relationship and hopefully settle their rivalry with Connor. He nodded in agreement of the idea.
"I'll give you a couple of my men."
"No." Stephen said, giving the bodyguard a smirk, "I work better alone."
"I'm surprised you were part of a team if you are such a lone wolf." Danny snorted.
Stephen gave Danny an icy glare. The sandy blonde didn't seem to be affected by the glare. He gave a smug smile right back. This made Becker sigh.
"Alright, but I'll set up my men all around the building." Becker said before heading off to give the orders.
Stephen and Danny were left just glaring at each other. Each man had a fire in their eyes. They were ready to prove himself to the other.
Neither noticed Lester looking at them from his office on the second floor. He could see what was going on. He had a feeling it had to do with Connor. Stephen had always loved Connor. Lester knew, Cutter knew, hell Ryan knew. The only person that didn't seem to see it was Abby and obviously Connor.
Lester also knew that Danny had a thing for the puppy dog like young man. How overprotective he was of him. How he smiled at him. How he teased Connor to the point of almost making him blush. It was one of the perks of having his office on the second floor. He knew everything that happened and could see everything.
Lester wasn't the type to get involved in his employees private lives. He really didn't care if they snogged each other, just as long as it didn't interfere with their job.
But now, it seemed he might have to step in. He had to get involved. The two were obviously having a rivalry over Connor. That would seriously not only interfere with their work, but Connor had already gone through too much. He wasn't sure how much more the young man could take. It was a miracle the poor boy hadn't killed himself. Between seeing both his best friend and father figure die in front of him, to being kicked out of the flatt with Abby, and now this.
Lester pinched the bridge of his nose. He put himself into this mess just by having the young man move in with him. In his defense, he couldn't have Connor living at the ARC. That would be a PR nightmare. But now he had emotional ties. He sighed before going back into his office. He had paperwork he needed to fill out.
~~~~~Scene Change~~~~
Connor felt like he had looked at the clock for the billionth time, within the last five minutes. There was nothing on the telly. He had already read through all of his comic books for the zillionth time. He had seen most of Lester's DVD collection. He couldn't even play with Sid and Nancy because they were banned from leaving their cages during the day, even if someone was home during the day. What was worse, his XBox 360 was still in Abby's flat. She begged him to leave it so her brother could play games. Connor made the blonde promise that nothing happened to his precious console. And if it got a red ring to call him IMMEDIATELY! It didn't matter what time of day or night.
He sighed and laid on the couch. He had his headphones on and was listening to some songs on shuffle. He wasn't even paying attention to what was playing. It was just background music. He closed his eyes and began to let his mind wander. At first, it was simple thoughts. Connor playing with Sid and Nancy. Connor at work trying to figure out how to open up that artifact. Connor hanging out with Stephen, Becker, and Danny without drama.
But soon the thoughts turned into thinking.
He had noticed how much tension there was between Stephen and Danny. He wasn't sure what caused the two to seem to hate each other. Connor truly thought if the two ever met that they would become best mates! But at the rate the two were going, they would never become teammates, let alone mates.
He let out a long exhausted sigh before grunting as he sat up from the cough. His chest still felt swore but he had seriously taken just as bad hits. This wasn't the worse but it was up there in the top ten worst injuries. He let out another grunt as he stood up. He needed a nice hot shower to relax his body and clear his mind.
~~~~~Scene Change~~~~
Danny had to admit, but Stephen was more of a challenge than he originally thought. There were a couple of times the former teammate almost found the ex-cop. He had to feel some respect at the skills. But he wasn't going to let the man win. Danny was going to show that man with the icy blue eyes that there was another badass in town and it was Danny.
Stephen found the elusive Danny more of a challenge than tracking a microraptor, which was only 40 cm long! He wouldn't admit it aloud or to the ex-cop's face, but he had great respect for the man's ingenuity. There were a couple times Stephen knew he had caught Danny, yet he had slipped through Stephen's fingers.
The two 'tested' the security for a couple of hours before the anomaly alarm went off.
Luckily one of the other soldiers sort of knew how to read the computers. Sure, it was just to see what area an anomaly had opened up in, but that was really all they needed. Any other meddling with Connor's 'baby' and there might be hell to pay.
It appeared the anomaly was deep in a wooded area that was just 5 meters from a residential area.
The group loaded up two of the remaining and working vans and headed to the location.
~~~~~Scene Change~~~~
It didn't take them too long to reach the area of the anomaly. With in a couple of minutes, the anomaly was contained and the team split off to find what had come through into their time.
After the anomaly was contained, Stephen went around the area it had opened, looking for tracks. Becker and his guys were also looking for anything to indicate what came out and where it could have gone. Becker had found the tracks before calling over the group.
Abby looked at the prints of what looked to be a medium sized creature. Stephen crouched down next to the blonde, also studying the prints. It appeared to be a creature that walked on all fours. As the two continued to stare at the prints, a noise came from within the bushes to the right of the group.
Everyone hushed as the noise stopped.
Abby slowly stood up as Stephen stood up, taking out his gun. He took a step towards the noise. Danny already had his own gun out and pointed as he stood next to the icy eyed man.
Becker silently directed his team to spread out, making sure to protect the rest of the team. He wasn't going to have another incident. Not on his watch!
After a very intense two minutes, a creature jumped out of the bushes. The clicking of guns getting ready to fire were mixed with the high piercing screech that came from the creature. It was 3 meters long and looked to be the size of an ox. It had an arched back that lead to a little tiny tail. It was on four legs that were stouch. The limb had girdles which formed massive plates of bone. They looked steady to support the heavily built body. It had big eyes that added to it's cuteness. It's beak was big but looked to be for munching on vegetation.
The creature looked at the group with it's big black eyes, giving them a look that almost looked annoyed. After a mini staring contest, the creature snorted at the group through it's huge nostrils before turning back around to the bush. It began to eat the very bush it had been hiding in not even moments ago.
Everyone seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh it's a Kannemeryeria." Stephen sighed as he put his gun away.
"Ah what?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.
He lowered his gun but was ready just in case. He had run into a lot of 'innocent' looking creatures over his time working in ARC and sometimes it was a trap.
Abby and Sarah both 'awed' at the creature as it stopped eating for a moment to squeak out a sneeze.
"Blesh you sweetie." Abby said.
"It's harmless." Stephen said, walking over to the creature.
"And how do you know?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow, his gun still lowered but in his hand.
"Cause..." Stephen said as he approached the creature, who seemed to just ignore the guy coming closer.
"I've run into some while trying to find my way home." Stephen said before gently resting his hand on the Kanne's curved back.
The group all took in a breath when the Kannemeryeria stopped eating and shifted to look at what touched him.
"That's a good boy." Stephen said, as he moved his hand up along it's curved back before petting it's beak.
It seemed to enjoy the touch and closed it's big eyes and leaned into the touch.
Danny couldn't deny how cute the scene looked and wished Connor was here to see it. As if reading his mind, Sarah took out her phone and took a pic of the scene. There was a flash and Stephen turned around with wide eyes. Luckily, the creature's eyes were closed and didn't see the flash.
"Put that away!" Becker hissed, giving the girl an annoyed look.
"What?" she pouted before putting her phone away.
"It could have attacked Stephen if it saw the flash." Danny hissed before realizing what he said.
It sounded like he was worried about Stephen getting hurt or something. This caught everyone's attention who gave the man a look.
Stephen just gave the man an icy blue stare. Danny couldn't help but shiver at the intensity. The ex-cop couldn't tell if it was a pissed look or a neutral stare. Either way, it was very intense.
Stephen couldn't believe what Danny had said. He had assumed the man hated his guts. Especially with how much the blond kept treating the man like an enemy.
A snort came from the creature, as Stephen had stopped his petting and it seemed to annoy the creature. The group couldn't help but laugh at how cute it looked, giving the man with the icy blue eyes a cute annoyed stare that said: 'why'd you stop'?"
After some more cooing from the girls and with Stephen's help, they were able to send the creature back through the anomaly before closing it and waiting for it to close for good.
By the time the group had gotten back to the ARC, it was time for everyone to go home. Stephen had to wait for Lester to finish, which seemed would be at least another hour or so. He leaned against the railing on the second floor and watched as everyone else began to get ready to leave. Abby had asked Sarah to send everyone a text of the picture she had taken and had told Stephen to get Lester to show Connor the cute picture.
Stephen snorted as he had been close to the man when he got the text. The annoyed voice had a bit of a softness to it for a moment before snorting and texting it out, probably to the cute injured young man.
Icy blue eyes continued to scan the room, watching as Becker talked to the night crew who were heading in for their shift. It looked like they had extra security during the night. He wondered if there were more security breaches since he had been missing. After giving the orders, Becker seemed to notice Stephen and looked up at him for a moment. The two gave each other a nod before the man left for the night.
"Why aren't you heading off?"
Stephen glanced back and saw Sarah standing there, pulling her bag on her shoulder. The man shrugged before looking back over the room. Abby had waved at him before heading off back to her flat. She had said something about her brother possibly burning down her flat if she isn't home for dinner.
"No reason. Why are you still here?" Stephen said before turning back to her, giving the girl a cold look.
She snorted before giving the man a pout.
"I'm just trying to be nice. What's your problem? Did traveling through anomalies make you forget how to act like a person?" she said before huffing and walking away.
Stephen just stood there a bit in shock. Her words stung just a bit. He let out a sigh before looking back over the railing to watch the girl storm out of the building. He let out a sigh.
"She's right."
Stephen let out an annoyed sigh before turning completely around to see Danny standing there with his arms across his chest.
"What's your excuse, hm?" Stephen said, leaning against the railing, crossing his own arms.
"Excuse me?" Danny said with a raised eyebrow.
"You've seem to have a problem with me the moment we met. So what's your excuse? Or are you just a jerk by nature?" Stephen asked with a snicker.
"I just have a bullshit meter and goes off whenever you open your mouth." Danny said with a growl.
He didn't trust this man, he'd trust a raptor more then this guy.
Stephen gave the man a glare that would scare off a t-rex. Danny gave an equal glare back. The two just stood there, glaring at each other.
"I don't know why you really came back or if you coming back was just a lucky break. All I know is, I don't trust you and I certainly don't trust you with Connor. So if you try anything..." Danny said, taking a couple steps closer to the icy blued man, who straightened to his full height.
Danny didn't back down but continued towards the man until they were almost face to face.
"Your ass will be thrown back into an anomaly and locked in the anomaly prison...thingy." Danny said, deciding they needed to name that device that the young man had invented.
Stephen snorted, a bit amused.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm..." came a dry voice from behind the two men.
Lester had walked out of his office and was in the mist of locking it as he spoke. He turned to the two men with an annoyed glare.
"But unless you both want to stay on the night shift..." he said, letting the 'threat' linger.
Danny huffed before giving one last glare at Stephen before heading off.
Stephen just watched the man with his icy blues. A clearing of a throat caught his attention. He saw Lester giving a disapproving look.
"I didn't start it." Stephen said, holding up his hands.
"I don't care who started it. Just end it." Lester sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.
He let out another long sigh before heading out of the building, Stephen not too far behind.
~~~~~Scene Change~~~~
Lester let out a sigh as he entered his flat. It looked like it was still in one piece. He pulled at his tie and began to take it off as he headed to his room.
"Could you check on the 'patient'." Lester said before disappearing into his room.
Stephen had closed the door behind him and had barely entered the flatt when Lester locked himself in his room. Stephen shook his head. It seemed the man had enough of the day. He could blame their boss.
Apparently, while the group had been out, that rapture looking lady came back. She was going to be a problem, that was for sure.
Stephen sighed before heading towards Connor's room; assuming the young man was there. However, a loud snore came from the couch. The man walked over and couldn't help but smile at how adorable the younger man looked cuddling to the couch's pillow.
Stephen couldn't help the chuckle before picking up the young man, who made a small whimper. The man couldn't help but wince and mumble a sorry before heading towards the young man's bedroom. He walked over to the bed and gently placed Connor in the bed. As Stephen pulled away, he found himself unable to pull away. Connor had wrapped his arms so tightly around the man, that any real attempt to get the young man off would wake Connor up.
Stephen didn't know what to do. He hesitated for a moment before carefully climbing into the bed, still having the young man's arms around his waist.
The icy blue eyes seemed to melt slightly as they looked at the sleeping Connor. He looked so peaceful. Stephen smiled before pulling up the blanket to cover the two of them. At this, Connor seemed to snuggle into Stephen's chest. He couldn't help but chuckle, causing the younger man to hum in a dream like delight.
Stephen sighed before wrapping his arms around the younger's man's slim frame and pulling it closer. It felt so nice to have not only a comfy bed but someone to share it. It had been such a long time he had slept with someone, and not in the sexual way. It was just nice to have someone close by, it made the man feel, oddly, safe. After a few more minutes of just holding Connor, Stephen let out a yawn. It was still a bit early, closer to dinner then bedtime. But it was a long day and Stephen didn't feel like listening to a grumpy Lester.
He reached over to the lamp on the nightstand. It had been on when Stephen came into the room, meaning Connor had planned on coming back into the room, prior to falling asleep on the couch.
The man was able to turn off the light without causing a noise or movement from the young man in his arms. He let out a sigh as he heard the soft breathing from Connor fill the room. It was soothing.
"Night Connor..." Stephen yawned before pulling the young man even closer to his chest.
"Mmm nite Stephen..." mumbled Connor before the two men went off to dreamland.
A shadow shifted in the farthest corner of the room. It made a noise that sounded human. After some more movement, an anomaly opened. The shadowy figure disappeared quickly into the quickly closing anomaly. It was so quick that it's jagged lights could wake up either man in bed.
(End of Chapter 4)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to work on this more *looks around* luckily I have an outline and it should be easier now that this chapter is written...
Later!