Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.
1.4-2 Fight the Darkness
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Connor's eyes kept tearing up. He surreptitiously used the corner of his sleeve to wipe them again. The team, all except for Captain Ryan, had returned to the Home Office to be debriefed. Lester was in a state. When Connor had asked Lester to repeat his question for the third time, the man had sighed and told Connor, Stephen and Abby to go. Lester would finish with Cutter, while Claudia had some more questions for Duncan.
In the hallway, Stephen offered to drive Connor and Abby back to the flat. He had been their ride after all. Connor just nodded. It wasn't until Abby took his hand and gave him a little pull that Connor realized he had to move. He followed Abby to the car park and got in the back seat of Stephen's clunky blue sedan. When the car stopped in front of Abby's flat, Connor didn't move until Abby called his name. He trudged up the stairs after Abby and sat on the couch when she pointed at it.
"Connor," Abby called his name again.
He blinked and looked up at her. She was holding a cup of hot tea out towards him, her head tilted sideways and her eyes narrowed as if she were examining him.
Connor accepted the steaming cup. When she turned to go, he remembered what he wanted to tell her.
"Abby," said Connor "I'm sorry."
The petite blonde turned back to face him with a puzzled expression on her face.
"What for?"
"Uh… for Tom… my friend I mean… not Captain Ryan," stammered Connor "Stephen said it was our fault… Duncan and I… but my fault really… that Tom took you… said we turned you into bait."
"Hmmph!" exclaimed Abby in annoyance. "Stephen's a prat to say that. None of what happened today was your fault Connor! None of it!" She turned abruptly and stalked back to the kitchen.
Abby came back a minute later carrying her own tea. She sat down on the couch right next to Connor.
"Connor," she said "take a sip."
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Claudia had Duncan sign all the appropriate forms, reminding the young man he couldn't tell anyone about the dodo's. He was too frightened, and Claudia doubted anyone would ever believe him if he did say anything.
She called the university hospital. The operation on the young MRI technician appeared to have been a success. The man was alive, nothing unusual showed on the latest scan of his arm. With proper therapy he might even regain the use of the arm. One of the Home Office security team was on his way to retrieve the parasitic sample tissue the surgical team had removed. The Ministry of Science and Technology needed it for some unknown study purposes… strictly need to know…
Cutter had said Helen wouldn't have deliberately exposed them to the dodo's parasite, but Claudia wasn't quite so sure. The professor had described his wife as "selfish but not evil." Claudia wondered how well Cutter knew his wife now… the woman had been gone a long time. It had been eight years for Nick Cutter but, who knows how long it had been for Helen.
Claudia looked at the phone number that Connor had given her earlier. She wouldn't need to tell the young man's parents in person. Lester had said he would take that responsibility.
She sighed, thinking, and then Claudia checked her voice mail. She smiled. The reports would just have to wait. She was going to Saint Andrew's hospital.
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Tom Ryan made it to Saint Andrew's hospital in time. Hendriks made sure of it.
The call had come while they were packing up their gear from the incident at the stadium. Hendriks could tell that something was up by the expression on Captain Ryan's face.
"I'll drive you sir," said Hendriks with a chuckle.
Twenty minutes after Hendriks got Tom Ryan to the hospital, the Captain was holding his brand new daughter, seven pounds, two ounces and a head full of hair. The Captain was grinning from ear to ear.
An hour later, the Captain's pretty wife was settled in her room. The two were totally engrossed in counting the infant's fingers and toes when the hospital door opened. Claudia Brown poked her head through.
"Just wanted to say congratulations," Claudia said with a smile. Holding up a gift bag adorned with multi-colored ribbons, she asked "Boy or girl?"
"Girl," replied Mrs. Ryan "we're going to name her after me mum… Cecelia Anne."
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James Lester drove past the exit that would take him home, continuing north.
He reached the outskirts of Blackburn by eight. Even with satnav, it took him another half hour to find Tom's parents address. He strode up the short walkway and knocked on the door. He introduced himself to the smiling red haired woman that answered the door.
"James Lester," he said "from the ministry… it's about your son."
When the younger son ushered Lester out the door a short while later, Lester repeated the only words of any possible consolation he had.
"Tom was a hero," Lester told the boy.
The boy looked up at him through eyes half filled with tears.
"He always was," Tom's little brother replied before shutting the door firmly behind Lester.
It was after two when Lester made it home. He tried to be quiet, taking off his shoes and tiptoeing up the stairs. He set his briefcase down, and hung his suit before slipping into bed.
Vivian was awake. She wrapped her arms around him, trying to console him as he told her about the events of the day.
"They never ask," said Lester at the end of his story "they never ask which ministry."
"That's not important," replied Vivian. She sat up straight in the bed and reached over to turn on the bedside lamp.
Looking at Lester, she asked "James, who let Helen have her backpack and the knife?"
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Nick Cutter looked at the computer image again. What had Connor called it… a spaghetti junction of anomalies… and Helen… she was out there, somewhere.
Amazing.
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Stephen had a hard time sleeping that night. Dreams, nightmares really kept waking him up. Alison, Grace, Elspeth, Robert, Helen... they all kept pointing at him... shouting at him... demanding really...
The third time he woke, Stephen got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his sweaty face. Looking in the mirror, he told himself he had made mistakes. Forgive yourself, and don't make the same mistakes again he told his reflection sternly. Then he went back to the bedroom, stripped the sweat soaked linens and put fresh percale sheets on the bed. Stretching out on the cool, crisp sheets, Stephen was soon fast asleep.
The next dreams Stephen had were of that morning at Abby's flat. Abby running around half dressed. Then Connor… he was half dressed too. In his dreams, Stephen couldn't decide which of the pair had the better legs.
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Abby repeatedly had to remind Connor to take sips of his tea. When he had finally finished the drink, she had taken the cup from him, setting it on the low table in front of them. He just seemed totally out of it, Abby thought, not at all like his normal self. She shivered.
Connor noticed, and turned to look at her. "Are you all right?" he asked.
Abby looked at him. His eyes were red and miserable.
"Been a long day," she answered lightly "first time I've ever been kidnapped."
Abby could have kicked herself at his stricken look. She could just tell he was going to start thinking it was his entire fault again.
"That wasn't Tom," said Connor in a quiet voice "not really… he wasn't like that…" Connor swallowed.
"Why don't you tell me about your friend," Abby suggested gently.
Sometime later Rex landed on Abby's lap waking her up. She and Connor had both drifted off to sleep on the couch. Abby had been leaning against his side. Rex chirped as Abby lifted the coelurosauravus and stood up. Connor rolled slightly at her movement, drawing his legs closer to his body, but he didn't wake.
Abby looked at the sleeping form of Connor on her couch. She hadn't really wanted a flatmate, but here he was. Abby set Rex down on the arm of the couch and walked over to the reptile cage. Taking the soft red blanket off the cage, she covered Connor with it.
Rex jumped lightly onto the couch next to Connor. The creature turned quickly to chirp at Abby as he settled himself on the sleeping man.
"All right you," chuckled Abby as she went to her room. It seemed Connor had Rex's approval.
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