Left in the Cold (Part 3)
Title: Left in the Cold
Author:
casy_dee
Rating: T (M later, maybe)
Genre: adventure,romance
Characters/Pairing: Abby/Connor
Warning: none
Spoilers: Season 5
Part: 3/3
Summary: This is a birthday fic for my dear friend evenstar_estel. Set after season 5. Abby and Connor journey to Iceland to set up a new ARC. A little work, some champagne, hot springs... but nothing ever goes that smoothly.
Read Chapter 1 HERE
Read Chapter 2 HERE
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Life kind of belted me one in the mouth, and I’ve had little time for myself, much less for writing. Please accept this larger chapter as my apology. :)
Chapter Three
Abby and Connor filled each other in on the aftermath of the crash, each wishing the other would have had an easier go of things than they had. Abby was relieved to hear that perhaps Viktor was out there somewhere, not dead like the pilot. She frowned when she realized that she hadn’t even got his name.
With Lara gravely injured, they couldn’t move her. It left them little choice but to press on with trying to find the downed aircraft. At the very least, it came stocked with a medical kit. Connor’s nausea hadn’t subsided much, and it still hurt Abby to breathe the frigid air, but they managed to make steady progress towards the smoke on the horizon by leaning on each other.
“Just like the Cretaceous, yeah?” Connor grimaced, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
Abby tried to force a smile, “A bit colder.”
“And this is the warmer part of the year.”
She gave a short laugh, “Yeah.” She took in his pale clammy skin and the way his hands were trembling. He’d had to stop to vomit, but he’d had nothing left in his stomach to empty. Not a good sign. “You okay?”
He gave a quick nod, “Fine. Just need to stop for a moment, yeah?”
“Yeah, okay, but we need to keep moving, Connor. We still have to get back to Lara and Einar before--” she looked away, “We just need to get back.”
He set his jaw against his roiling stomach and nodded, “I know. ’M fine, if you are. Let’s go.”
###
“There, Abby. It’s the plane. We found it!”
The remains of the tiny aircraft were scattered around the clearing, the nose and part of the cab the only surviving portions, and they were a smoldering mess. So much for finding help at the crash site. They looked to the other, each of them trying to hide the disappointment from each other. It was still smoldering, but just barely, and certainly not enough to signal someone from too far off. Pinning their hope on anyone finding them by finding the wreckage was stupid. If anything useful had survived the accident, they’d have to search it out. Connor interlaced his fingers with hers and squeezed gently. Abby’s lips turned up slightly in response and she nodded to herself. Right. We’ll get it sorted together.
“I’ll look east, you look west. See if we can find something we can use,” Abby said.
Connor nodded, “Yeah. And we can collect firewood as we go and throw it on the plane where it’s still smoking. A little help and it’ll catch fire, perhaps draw more attention.”
“Can’t be gone long. One hour, then we head back.”
Connor leaned down and brushed a soft kiss over her lips, “You shout if you need me.”
Abby gave a short laugh, “Same to you.”
Connor smirked, but nodded. She’d saved his skin more times than he could count, and she knew it.
Connor searched as wide a berth as he dared venture, but he hadn’t managed to find much in the way of helpful items. He surveyed his meager haul; some cloth, a piece of plastic that could be used as a bowl… and what was that shining at the edge of the clearing? He strode toward it, his heart pounding harder. If it was what he thought it was, well… it would be worth the painful journey it took them to get there. The closer he got, the more he was able to make out the familiar contours of the hard metal case that housed an anomaly locking device. He grinned as he knelt before it, popped the case open and surveyed the contents. He repressed the urge to call out for Abby. They still needed to gather as much as they could, and he shouldn’t interrupt the precious little time they had to do it in.
The volcano rumbled, then shot up a curtain of fire along a fissure. A series of anomalies opened up in the air above the eruption, each one sparkling to life for no more than thirty seconds before it closed and another opened. Connor’s eyes narrowed as he considered what it might mean. Did the eruptions trigger potential anomalies? If so, than the Icelandic ARC was more valuable than they’d ever imagined. Volcanic activity was more plentiful there than anywhere else in the world.
Connor adjusted his scarf to cover his nose and mouth again, braced himself against the cold and continued searching the area. He’d think more on the phenomenon he witnessed when he and Abby were safely back to camp, but now was not the time to stand gaping at the horizon. He had work to do.
###
Abby gathered her finds and headed back to the wreckage to meet up with Connor. She hoped his foraging had been more productive than hers. She’d managed to find a med kit, but not the one she’d hoped for. The large one that went along with all ARC missions was blown up to who knows where, but she’d found the tiny first aid kit that likely came from someplace in the plane’s standard gear. Gauze, paracetamol and a few bandages weren’t likely to be of much help with an injury of Lara’s size. The pain reliever would take the edge off, and it would be welcome for her and Connor, at least. She pulled off her glove, stuffed it back inside her jacket pocket, and reached down to scoop up a handful of snow. She let the heat of her hand melt it, then took a careful sip. Snow was one plentiful resource they did have.
Her head snapped up at the sound of footsteps crunching through the crusted snow. Connor had made it back, and he’d found something.
“Med kit?” she called out, squinting in the glare to make out the identity of large silver box he carried.
Connor shook his head in the negative, “No, but this little beauty might be our way to getting rescued.”
Connor explained that at his suggestion, the Icelandic ARC had fitted their anomaly locking devices with a tracking beacon, and once Connor triggered it, their rescuers had a way to find them.
Abby grinned and threw her arms around him, “Connor, you’re brilliant.”
He gave her a little self-satisfied smirk, “I am, aren’t I?”
Abby rolled her eyes, “Come on. We’ll have to go slow, having some trouble breathing.”
Concern clouded his expression, “How bad is it Abby? Tell me the truth.”
Should she tell him about the jagged shards of pain that ripped through her when she coughed? Did it really matter?
“I’m fine. Nothing that a trip to hospital won’t cure,” she insisted.
“How’s the head?”
Connor’s lips compressed, “Bout the same. It’s okay. Let’s get us out of here, yeah?”
###
The journey back to their remaining team members took longer than they’d have liked. Abby had been deadly serious when she’d said they needed to go slowly, and Connor wasn’t much better off, but eventually they made their way back. Einar and Lara were as she’d left them. Lara lay so still, for a moment Abby thought they’d arrived too late. Einar looked up as they approached and spoke a gentle word to Lara to let her know they’d come back. Abby exhaled and pulled out the bandages and paracetamol. Lara was still breathing.
Connor gave a bright smile he wasn’t feeling, “Oy, mate. Good to see ya.”
Einar nodded, “And you. Viktor?”
“No sign of him, sorry.”
Einar grunted, “Hope he’s bringing help.”
Abby moved over to Lara’s side, intent on doing what she could to help make her comfortable with the little med kit. Connor moved over to the most open spot in the clearing, set down the locking device and flipped open the lid. He rubbed his hands together and tried to shut out how cold he was. The device looked to have survived the crash mostly intact, aside from a dented corner and some scratches on the surface. He just needed enough power to activate the beacon, and thanks to a moment of foresight, he’d built the battery into the center of the device to help protect it. He’d figured if they needed a beacon, that he’d better make sure it would still work after being beat up a bit.
Connor flicked the switch, holding his breath as he waited for the indicator light. It flickered on after a long moment, then went out again.
“No! No, don’t do this to me,” he muttered as he tapped the lamp lens.
“Can you repair it?” Einar asked.
Connor’s brow furrowed, “I dunno. Should be working. If I had me tools, or a multimeter…” he shrugged, “might just be a loose wire. I’ll have to see if I can sort this out.”
Abby frowned, “Warm up by the fire first, Connor. You’re shivering.”
He shook his head without looking up at her, “It’ll just take a moment to check. ‘M fine.”
“Connor.”
He looked up at her tone, “Right. You’re right. Just a few minutes.”
“I’ll get more firewood,” Einar offered.
Abby looked at the dwindling supply of dry wood, “Could be hours yet. Best get as much as you can.”
Connor moved over to the edge of the fire, “Hey Lara. How ya feeling?”
Lara cracked her eyes open, “Cold.”
Connor glanced back over at the locking device, “I’ll fix the beacon, and they’ll come pick us up. Before ya know it, you’ll be warm and fixed up proper.”
Lara’s mouth twisted, “You don’t lie well.”
Connor’s face fell, “I’m going to do m’ best, aren’t I?”
“Don’t count Connor out. He’s done more with less. Have a little faith,” Abby replied.
Lara grunted, “Faith.”
Connor set his jaw, “Best get back to work.”
###
The four of them huddled together as the night wore on. Connor had checked the wiring, and found one that was loose, but the indicator bulb was burnt out so he wasn’t entirely sure he’d managed to repair it. Lara had a couple energy bars in her jacket that they’d portioned out, but it did little to alleviate the empty pit in their stomachs. Connor used the discomfort to help him stay awake. He’d offered to take first watch.
He leaned his back against the rough bark of a fallen tree, stretched his hands toward the warmth of the fire and settled in to wait for help. The nearby volcano belched a tongue of lava into the air, seconds later several small anomalies flickered above the fissure. Connor’s jaw dropped open as another jet of lava erupted from the fissure, and all of the anomalies locked before winking out of existence. And the plane had been flying over one of the many active fissures when it went down. He’d wager that the same thing had happened in front of their little plane. Running into a locked anomaly was tantamount to running into a concrete wall. It would have taken them out, easily. He frowned as an idea began to form. There was something on the tip of his brain, something about the flare. Massive solar flares caused blackouts, GPS interruptions, and satellite outages because they caused an electromagnetic pulse... so could there be a similar effect on a much smaller scale from the energy released from a volcanic eruption?
He passed a hand over his eyes and shook his head, groaned and tried to remember that head shaking didn’t have the same effect as it usually did when you had a concussion. He’d work it out later. Right now he just needed to try to think of something practical, some way for them to survive this. Abby sat up, her face turning towards him. He started to call out to her but she put a finger to her lips. Of course. Einar had managed to drop off to sleep, and though Lara was hovering between consciousness and waking, she looked to be resting a bit more comfortably now.
Abby settled in next to him and rested her head on his shoulder, “You’ve thought of something?”
Connor arched a brow, “How’d ya figure that?”
Abby gave him the small smile she reserved only for him, “You had that look. The one that means you’ve sussed something out.”
Connor made a noise of consideration, “Didn’t know I had a look.”
Abby snorted, “What have you got?”
“Just a theory. Not that it’ll help the current situation, but after they find us…”
Abby hummed her encouragement. Connor was brilliant, but he always disclaimed before he spoke, as if he had to apologize for his ideas not being better than they were. She believed he’d been well on his way to gaining more confidence in himself, but the incident with Burton had set him back almost to square one.
“You’ve done all you can, and it’s more than the lot of us would have been able to manage. I didn’t know about the beacon you’d outfitted the locking device with, and Einar didn’t know either. If it weren’t for you, we’d be sat around the fire, hoping for the best. At least now we have a way to let the ARC know we’re here.”
Connor looked down, heat rising into his cheeks, “Yeah, I suppose. If I’ve got it working. Remind me to include spare bulbs for next time,” he added with a grin.
Abby rolled her eyes, “You did good, Connor. Okay?”
His grin faded to a ghost of a smile, but it was a real one, “Okay.” After a few moments sat in silence, he added softly, “You really should get some rest.”
“I should,” she agreed, “but I can’t. Tell me about your theory whilst we wait to be rescued.”
Connor chuckled, “Won’t take all that long.”
###
Abby came awake with a start as Connor gripped her arm and gave it an urgent shake. She hadn’t realized she’d drifted off. His hand covered her mouth, urging her to stay quiet. She froze, gave a quick nod to show she understood. Connor took his hand away, then slowly moved into a crouch. Abby did the same, prepared to fight or flee at a moment’s notice. The crunch of snow under heavy footfalls and the crackling of brush bespoke something large approaching. Connor gripped the thick branch he’d kept within arms reach and held it ready. They waited, breath held, bodies coiled tightly.
Viktor broke through the tree line, and he wasn’t alone. Bright orange jackets were bobbing through the forest behind him, accompanied by the sound of dogs. A rescue team. They were found! Abby and Connor called out to Viktor, then directed the medical personnel to get Lara out of harms way first. A helicopter waited not far from their location, and they had enough men to lift her out and carry her to it by litter. Einar insisted he could limp to the helicopter. He’d not let himself be carried when he could get himself there more quickly of his own volition.
“You got my signal?” Connor asked Viktor once they were safely ensconced in the helicopter.
Viktor nodded, “Yes, after a time. Sorry for the delay. They picked me up and insisted I be medically cleared before they would let me aid the search.”
He said the words “medically cleared” as if they were obscene. Then again, looking at Viktor, stood 193 centimeters tall and as wide as an ox, hardly worse for the wear besides a purpling bruise on his jaw and a splint on his right hand, Connor couldn’t imagine anyone trying to get in his way.
“They were looking too far north, where they found me. Big rocks, sharp ones. Plane goes down there, no one walks away. Me, I’m lucky. The land, she loves me, and I land in the only clear patch of snow for akrlengd.”
“Yeah. That’s some luck,” Connor turned to catch Abby’s reaction, his skepticism comically etched on his expressive face.
Abby pressed her lips together, not wanting to laugh.
“Our pilot, Jon… not as lucky.”
Suddenly Abby didn’t have to try to suppress her laughter.
Connor’s face went still and pale, “Were you… close?”
Einar shook his head briefly,“No,” he grunted. “Liked him well enough. Bad omen to lose a man on the fist mission.”
Connor cleared his throat, “I’m sure it’ll get better. No one’s died today, right?” he offered. “I mean, er- just that I think things will go more smoothly now, because--”
Abby shot him one of her shut the hell up looks. He shrugged a shoulder and winced. So maybe he should just shut up before he said something worse. He was just knackered, and hungry, and relieved he and Abby had made it out alive, and his mouth sometimes did its own thing without consulting his
brain first. “Sorry,” he murmured.
###
“No more of those naff little airplanes,” Connor said.
“Agreed,” Abby laughed as she stretched out under the fluffy duvet, “And perhaps we’re due a holiday before our proper holiday. They can get by without us for a few days whilst we recover.”
Connor grinned, “I gave them enough to do for the next few days in my out brief, at any rate. Gonna take a bit longer how to work out the trigger for opening potential anomalies, and I don’t know how I’ll manage the anomaly mapping, but-” he swallowed hard as he realized she didn’t appear to be wearing clothes under the duvet, “How’s your ribs?” he asked, his voice tightening.
“A bit sore, but well enough,” Abby answered, “Your head?”
“Good as new. Can’t hardly do any more damage, can I?”
Abby snorted. Her face softened as she beheld Connor, fresh from the shower, towel wrapped around his waist and damp dark hair curling crazily as if he’d dried it with the towel and left it be. Her lips curled in a slow smile. It may hurt, but it would be worth it.
END
A/N: May try and do a Missing Reel for this one. I sure hope you liked this, and reviews are love.
:)
Author:
casy_dee
Rating: T (M later, maybe)
Genre: adventure,romance
Characters/Pairing: Abby/Connor
Warning: none
Spoilers: Season 5
Part: 3/3
Summary: This is a birthday fic for my dear friend evenstar_estel. Set after season 5. Abby and Connor journey to Iceland to set up a new ARC. A little work, some champagne, hot springs... but nothing ever goes that smoothly.
Read Chapter 1 HERE
Read Chapter 2 HERE
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Life kind of belted me one in the mouth, and I’ve had little time for myself, much less for writing. Please accept this larger chapter as my apology. :)
Chapter Three
Abby and Connor filled each other in on the aftermath of the crash, each wishing the other would have had an easier go of things than they had. Abby was relieved to hear that perhaps Viktor was out there somewhere, not dead like the pilot. She frowned when she realized that she hadn’t even got his name.
With Lara gravely injured, they couldn’t move her. It left them little choice but to press on with trying to find the downed aircraft. At the very least, it came stocked with a medical kit. Connor’s nausea hadn’t subsided much, and it still hurt Abby to breathe the frigid air, but they managed to make steady progress towards the smoke on the horizon by leaning on each other.
“Just like the Cretaceous, yeah?” Connor grimaced, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
Abby tried to force a smile, “A bit colder.”
“And this is the warmer part of the year.”
She gave a short laugh, “Yeah.” She took in his pale clammy skin and the way his hands were trembling. He’d had to stop to vomit, but he’d had nothing left in his stomach to empty. Not a good sign. “You okay?”
He gave a quick nod, “Fine. Just need to stop for a moment, yeah?”
“Yeah, okay, but we need to keep moving, Connor. We still have to get back to Lara and Einar before--” she looked away, “We just need to get back.”
He set his jaw against his roiling stomach and nodded, “I know. ’M fine, if you are. Let’s go.”
###
“There, Abby. It’s the plane. We found it!”
The remains of the tiny aircraft were scattered around the clearing, the nose and part of the cab the only surviving portions, and they were a smoldering mess. So much for finding help at the crash site. They looked to the other, each of them trying to hide the disappointment from each other. It was still smoldering, but just barely, and certainly not enough to signal someone from too far off. Pinning their hope on anyone finding them by finding the wreckage was stupid. If anything useful had survived the accident, they’d have to search it out. Connor interlaced his fingers with hers and squeezed gently. Abby’s lips turned up slightly in response and she nodded to herself. Right. We’ll get it sorted together.
“I’ll look east, you look west. See if we can find something we can use,” Abby said.
Connor nodded, “Yeah. And we can collect firewood as we go and throw it on the plane where it’s still smoking. A little help and it’ll catch fire, perhaps draw more attention.”
“Can’t be gone long. One hour, then we head back.”
Connor leaned down and brushed a soft kiss over her lips, “You shout if you need me.”
Abby gave a short laugh, “Same to you.”
Connor smirked, but nodded. She’d saved his skin more times than he could count, and she knew it.
Connor searched as wide a berth as he dared venture, but he hadn’t managed to find much in the way of helpful items. He surveyed his meager haul; some cloth, a piece of plastic that could be used as a bowl… and what was that shining at the edge of the clearing? He strode toward it, his heart pounding harder. If it was what he thought it was, well… it would be worth the painful journey it took them to get there. The closer he got, the more he was able to make out the familiar contours of the hard metal case that housed an anomaly locking device. He grinned as he knelt before it, popped the case open and surveyed the contents. He repressed the urge to call out for Abby. They still needed to gather as much as they could, and he shouldn’t interrupt the precious little time they had to do it in.
The volcano rumbled, then shot up a curtain of fire along a fissure. A series of anomalies opened up in the air above the eruption, each one sparkling to life for no more than thirty seconds before it closed and another opened. Connor’s eyes narrowed as he considered what it might mean. Did the eruptions trigger potential anomalies? If so, than the Icelandic ARC was more valuable than they’d ever imagined. Volcanic activity was more plentiful there than anywhere else in the world.
Connor adjusted his scarf to cover his nose and mouth again, braced himself against the cold and continued searching the area. He’d think more on the phenomenon he witnessed when he and Abby were safely back to camp, but now was not the time to stand gaping at the horizon. He had work to do.
###
Abby gathered her finds and headed back to the wreckage to meet up with Connor. She hoped his foraging had been more productive than hers. She’d managed to find a med kit, but not the one she’d hoped for. The large one that went along with all ARC missions was blown up to who knows where, but she’d found the tiny first aid kit that likely came from someplace in the plane’s standard gear. Gauze, paracetamol and a few bandages weren’t likely to be of much help with an injury of Lara’s size. The pain reliever would take the edge off, and it would be welcome for her and Connor, at least. She pulled off her glove, stuffed it back inside her jacket pocket, and reached down to scoop up a handful of snow. She let the heat of her hand melt it, then took a careful sip. Snow was one plentiful resource they did have.
Her head snapped up at the sound of footsteps crunching through the crusted snow. Connor had made it back, and he’d found something.
“Med kit?” she called out, squinting in the glare to make out the identity of large silver box he carried.
Connor shook his head in the negative, “No, but this little beauty might be our way to getting rescued.”
Connor explained that at his suggestion, the Icelandic ARC had fitted their anomaly locking devices with a tracking beacon, and once Connor triggered it, their rescuers had a way to find them.
Abby grinned and threw her arms around him, “Connor, you’re brilliant.”
He gave her a little self-satisfied smirk, “I am, aren’t I?”
Abby rolled her eyes, “Come on. We’ll have to go slow, having some trouble breathing.”
Concern clouded his expression, “How bad is it Abby? Tell me the truth.”
Should she tell him about the jagged shards of pain that ripped through her when she coughed? Did it really matter?
“I’m fine. Nothing that a trip to hospital won’t cure,” she insisted.
“How’s the head?”
Connor’s lips compressed, “Bout the same. It’s okay. Let’s get us out of here, yeah?”
###
The journey back to their remaining team members took longer than they’d have liked. Abby had been deadly serious when she’d said they needed to go slowly, and Connor wasn’t much better off, but eventually they made their way back. Einar and Lara were as she’d left them. Lara lay so still, for a moment Abby thought they’d arrived too late. Einar looked up as they approached and spoke a gentle word to Lara to let her know they’d come back. Abby exhaled and pulled out the bandages and paracetamol. Lara was still breathing.
Connor gave a bright smile he wasn’t feeling, “Oy, mate. Good to see ya.”
Einar nodded, “And you. Viktor?”
“No sign of him, sorry.”
Einar grunted, “Hope he’s bringing help.”
Abby moved over to Lara’s side, intent on doing what she could to help make her comfortable with the little med kit. Connor moved over to the most open spot in the clearing, set down the locking device and flipped open the lid. He rubbed his hands together and tried to shut out how cold he was. The device looked to have survived the crash mostly intact, aside from a dented corner and some scratches on the surface. He just needed enough power to activate the beacon, and thanks to a moment of foresight, he’d built the battery into the center of the device to help protect it. He’d figured if they needed a beacon, that he’d better make sure it would still work after being beat up a bit.
Connor flicked the switch, holding his breath as he waited for the indicator light. It flickered on after a long moment, then went out again.
“No! No, don’t do this to me,” he muttered as he tapped the lamp lens.
“Can you repair it?” Einar asked.
Connor’s brow furrowed, “I dunno. Should be working. If I had me tools, or a multimeter…” he shrugged, “might just be a loose wire. I’ll have to see if I can sort this out.”
Abby frowned, “Warm up by the fire first, Connor. You’re shivering.”
He shook his head without looking up at her, “It’ll just take a moment to check. ‘M fine.”
“Connor.”
He looked up at her tone, “Right. You’re right. Just a few minutes.”
“I’ll get more firewood,” Einar offered.
Abby looked at the dwindling supply of dry wood, “Could be hours yet. Best get as much as you can.”
Connor moved over to the edge of the fire, “Hey Lara. How ya feeling?”
Lara cracked her eyes open, “Cold.”
Connor glanced back over at the locking device, “I’ll fix the beacon, and they’ll come pick us up. Before ya know it, you’ll be warm and fixed up proper.”
Lara’s mouth twisted, “You don’t lie well.”
Connor’s face fell, “I’m going to do m’ best, aren’t I?”
“Don’t count Connor out. He’s done more with less. Have a little faith,” Abby replied.
Lara grunted, “Faith.”
Connor set his jaw, “Best get back to work.”
###
The four of them huddled together as the night wore on. Connor had checked the wiring, and found one that was loose, but the indicator bulb was burnt out so he wasn’t entirely sure he’d managed to repair it. Lara had a couple energy bars in her jacket that they’d portioned out, but it did little to alleviate the empty pit in their stomachs. Connor used the discomfort to help him stay awake. He’d offered to take first watch.
He leaned his back against the rough bark of a fallen tree, stretched his hands toward the warmth of the fire and settled in to wait for help. The nearby volcano belched a tongue of lava into the air, seconds later several small anomalies flickered above the fissure. Connor’s jaw dropped open as another jet of lava erupted from the fissure, and all of the anomalies locked before winking out of existence. And the plane had been flying over one of the many active fissures when it went down. He’d wager that the same thing had happened in front of their little plane. Running into a locked anomaly was tantamount to running into a concrete wall. It would have taken them out, easily. He frowned as an idea began to form. There was something on the tip of his brain, something about the flare. Massive solar flares caused blackouts, GPS interruptions, and satellite outages because they caused an electromagnetic pulse... so could there be a similar effect on a much smaller scale from the energy released from a volcanic eruption?
He passed a hand over his eyes and shook his head, groaned and tried to remember that head shaking didn’t have the same effect as it usually did when you had a concussion. He’d work it out later. Right now he just needed to try to think of something practical, some way for them to survive this. Abby sat up, her face turning towards him. He started to call out to her but she put a finger to her lips. Of course. Einar had managed to drop off to sleep, and though Lara was hovering between consciousness and waking, she looked to be resting a bit more comfortably now.
Abby settled in next to him and rested her head on his shoulder, “You’ve thought of something?”
Connor arched a brow, “How’d ya figure that?”
Abby gave him the small smile she reserved only for him, “You had that look. The one that means you’ve sussed something out.”
Connor made a noise of consideration, “Didn’t know I had a look.”
Abby snorted, “What have you got?”
“Just a theory. Not that it’ll help the current situation, but after they find us…”
Abby hummed her encouragement. Connor was brilliant, but he always disclaimed before he spoke, as if he had to apologize for his ideas not being better than they were. She believed he’d been well on his way to gaining more confidence in himself, but the incident with Burton had set him back almost to square one.
“You’ve done all you can, and it’s more than the lot of us would have been able to manage. I didn’t know about the beacon you’d outfitted the locking device with, and Einar didn’t know either. If it weren’t for you, we’d be sat around the fire, hoping for the best. At least now we have a way to let the ARC know we’re here.”
Connor looked down, heat rising into his cheeks, “Yeah, I suppose. If I’ve got it working. Remind me to include spare bulbs for next time,” he added with a grin.
Abby rolled her eyes, “You did good, Connor. Okay?”
His grin faded to a ghost of a smile, but it was a real one, “Okay.” After a few moments sat in silence, he added softly, “You really should get some rest.”
“I should,” she agreed, “but I can’t. Tell me about your theory whilst we wait to be rescued.”
Connor chuckled, “Won’t take all that long.”
###
Abby came awake with a start as Connor gripped her arm and gave it an urgent shake. She hadn’t realized she’d drifted off. His hand covered her mouth, urging her to stay quiet. She froze, gave a quick nod to show she understood. Connor took his hand away, then slowly moved into a crouch. Abby did the same, prepared to fight or flee at a moment’s notice. The crunch of snow under heavy footfalls and the crackling of brush bespoke something large approaching. Connor gripped the thick branch he’d kept within arms reach and held it ready. They waited, breath held, bodies coiled tightly.
Viktor broke through the tree line, and he wasn’t alone. Bright orange jackets were bobbing through the forest behind him, accompanied by the sound of dogs. A rescue team. They were found! Abby and Connor called out to Viktor, then directed the medical personnel to get Lara out of harms way first. A helicopter waited not far from their location, and they had enough men to lift her out and carry her to it by litter. Einar insisted he could limp to the helicopter. He’d not let himself be carried when he could get himself there more quickly of his own volition.
“You got my signal?” Connor asked Viktor once they were safely ensconced in the helicopter.
Viktor nodded, “Yes, after a time. Sorry for the delay. They picked me up and insisted I be medically cleared before they would let me aid the search.”
He said the words “medically cleared” as if they were obscene. Then again, looking at Viktor, stood 193 centimeters tall and as wide as an ox, hardly worse for the wear besides a purpling bruise on his jaw and a splint on his right hand, Connor couldn’t imagine anyone trying to get in his way.
“They were looking too far north, where they found me. Big rocks, sharp ones. Plane goes down there, no one walks away. Me, I’m lucky. The land, she loves me, and I land in the only clear patch of snow for akrlengd.”
“Yeah. That’s some luck,” Connor turned to catch Abby’s reaction, his skepticism comically etched on his expressive face.
Abby pressed her lips together, not wanting to laugh.
“Our pilot, Jon… not as lucky.”
Suddenly Abby didn’t have to try to suppress her laughter.
Connor’s face went still and pale, “Were you… close?”
Einar shook his head briefly,“No,” he grunted. “Liked him well enough. Bad omen to lose a man on the fist mission.”
Connor cleared his throat, “I’m sure it’ll get better. No one’s died today, right?” he offered. “I mean, er- just that I think things will go more smoothly now, because--”
Abby shot him one of her shut the hell up looks. He shrugged a shoulder and winced. So maybe he should just shut up before he said something worse. He was just knackered, and hungry, and relieved he and Abby had made it out alive, and his mouth sometimes did its own thing without consulting his
brain first. “Sorry,” he murmured.
###
“No more of those naff little airplanes,” Connor said.
“Agreed,” Abby laughed as she stretched out under the fluffy duvet, “And perhaps we’re due a holiday before our proper holiday. They can get by without us for a few days whilst we recover.”
Connor grinned, “I gave them enough to do for the next few days in my out brief, at any rate. Gonna take a bit longer how to work out the trigger for opening potential anomalies, and I don’t know how I’ll manage the anomaly mapping, but-” he swallowed hard as he realized she didn’t appear to be wearing clothes under the duvet, “How’s your ribs?” he asked, his voice tightening.
“A bit sore, but well enough,” Abby answered, “Your head?”
“Good as new. Can’t hardly do any more damage, can I?”
Abby snorted. Her face softened as she beheld Connor, fresh from the shower, towel wrapped around his waist and damp dark hair curling crazily as if he’d dried it with the towel and left it be. Her lips curled in a slow smile. It may hurt, but it would be worth it.
END
A/N: May try and do a Missing Reel for this one. I sure hope you liked this, and reviews are love.
:)