(no subject)
Title: Just A Touch Away
Author: Evenstar Estel
Rating: T for this chapter M later on
Characters/Pairing: Connor/Abby, Cutter, the rest of the team.
Spoiler: Series 3 post-Ep 2
Genre: Angst, Romance, Hurt/Comfort.
Summary: A strange and terrible accident leaves the team with two mysteries to solve and the only one that can help is Connor, only his disappearance is one of the mysteries.
Just A Touch Away
2010 Evenstar Estel
Chapter 1
The last thing Connor remembered was the brightness of the explosion and the
sensation of heat spreading out from his solar plexus to the lengths of his
limbs and the top of his head. Once when he'd been a kid he'd accidentally touched
the metal prong of a plug as he put it in the wall and got the shock of his
life. This had been ten thousand times more intense and more painful. But now
as his eyes fluttered open that initial pain had receded and instead he just
felt a combination of nausea and an overabundance of adrenaline coursing through
his system. He lay there for several minutes on the ground breathing in and
out deeply and trying to orient himself. His limbs felt impossibly heavy and
it took a great deal of mental effort to connect his brain and the desire to
push himself up to his arms. He was as shaky as a newborn foal and when he finally
did sit himself up he had to spend several minutes recovering before he could
open his eyes again and have clear look at his surroundings. He was still at
the anomaly site, a construction zone on the outskirts of London. A condemned
building from the 1950s was slated for demolition and had been the epicenter
for a small herd of triceratops that had come through an anomaly. Between their
panic and stomping about the already unstable old office building was about
ready to collapse. Ushering the animals back through had not been the issue,
but rather the lack of safety at sending in personnel to secure the site. Connor
had volunteered to go in with Becker and a pair of soldiers to lock down the
anomaly for the time being until a proper team to be put in place to babysit
it until it closed on its own.
Connor couldn't recall there having been anything out of the ordinary, especially
considering how outrageous their ordinary was. He was setting up the first field
test for the locking mechanism when he'd thought he'd heard a strange humming
sound from the anomaly. He ignored it and in hindsight that was clearly not
the smartest thing to do. He knew better and was mentally kicking himself for
it now. The power that the locking mechanism generated was considerable, strong
enough to reverse the polarity of the anomaly itself. It was a complex device
and Connor was certain that it would revolutionize how they handled anomalies.
Professor Cutter was nearby, just outside the building conversing with some
of the soldiers. Connor could just make out the lilt of his voice. Becker stood
nearby, but still several meters away. The anomaly started to crackle along
with the strange humming sound. Connor thought it best to get it locked down
as soon as possible. He was ready and all he needed was to press the button.
It was now or never, the device had to work. He took in a breath, looked
upwards in silent prayer and hit the red button. That's when the light exploded
before his eyes. He felt himself knocked back and then it all went dark.
He struggled to his feet and looked around, wondering why he was alone. He
saw the locking device and was bothered by the fact that it seemed to be inert.
He turned to look at the anomaly and gasped, somehow it had doubled in size.
It was absolutely massive, taking up almost the entire level. The ceiling to
the floor above had been removed in anticipation of the demolition and the anomaly
expanded up high in to it.
"Woah!" exclaimed Connor. A portion of debris fell from above and
crashed the ground and the entire building shook. He thought it best to get
out and discern why the anomaly wasn't locked down and why they'd left him alone
and unconscious in such a dangerous place. He exited the building and was shocked
by what he saw. The perimeter of the site was lined with soldiers as well as
artillery vehicles. Connor scanned the area and finally located a face he recognized,
two in fact. He jogged down from the building to where Cutter and Becker were
standing with a few of the assistant technicians.
"I don't care that you can't find an explanation!" Cutter roared
at the technicians. "Keep looking. I want answers!"
"Sir," said Becker, interrupting. "Miss Maitland's arrived."
"Dammit!" Cutter let loose a few more curse words under his breath.
Cutter and Connor both turned to see Abby rushing head long towards the Professor.
"Hey, Abbs..." said Connor, but the words died away as she ran right
passed him and carried on towards where Cutter was standing. Connor turned and
followed after her.
"Tell me! Tell it's not true!" cried Abby, rushing headlong into
Nick and taking hold of him by his arms in a white knuckled grip. The older
man tried to speak but choked on the words and it was then that Abby realized
the worst had in fact happened. "No! No... oh god no!"
"What? What happened? Abby?!" shouted Connor as he came to within
feet of them.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," said Cutter, his voice cracking with emotion.
"I don't know how it happened."
"Where is he!? I need to see him."
"See who?" asked Connor, still not understanding.
"Abby, there's nothing to see. He burnt up. The explosion... it took everything.
I'm sorry, he's gone. Connor... Connor's dead," said Cutter, tears brimming
in his eyes. Abby let out a wounded sound of anguish and her knees gave out.
Cutter pulled her up into his arms and held her tight as she cried.
"Uh, no I'm not!" shouted Connor. "Guys, I'm right here! Abby?
Abby..." He touched her shoulder and when his hand went right through her
he knew. He finally realized Cutter's words were true. "Oh god... this
cannot be happening!"
"Connor!" Abby sobbed his name and the Professor held her tighter.
"Come on, let me drive you home. You don't have to deal with this here,"
said Nick in a soothing voice. Abby withdrew from his embrace and shook her
head.
"I want to know what happened!" Connor was on the verge or freaking
out completely, but he had to keep it together so he could assembled the pieces
of the puzzle of his apparent death.
"We're working on it. He was working on his new device, the locking mechanism
for the anomalies when something went wrong. We don't know what it was yet.
Becker was nearby, but he didn't see what Connor was doing, just this massive
explosion of light, an energy surge." Abby was too overcome to speak any
more and Cutter practically had to carry her back to the vehicles. Connor was
tempted to stick around with the techs to try and learn about the true nature
of his demise, but his heart pulled him towards Abby. Slipping into Abby's mini
before them was a strange experience Cutter opened the passenger door for Abby
and he moved past her as quick as he could. He couldn't exactly feel the solidity
of the car, but it wasn't like going through flesh like he had before when he
tried to touch Abby. It was like non organic material was a forcefield. He could
feel the resistant energy of things, but it couldn't actually feel the shape
or the texture. He tumbled into the back seat just as Abby sat herself down.
She fumbled for her keys and passed them to the Cutter when he got behind the
wheel. Connor was relieved that he moved with the vehicle and wasn't
left in the dust. There was silence for a long stretch of time before Abby whispered.
"I never..." she began quietly.
"Never what?" asked Nick, trying to reign in his own emotions.
"I never talked to him properly. I always kept these walls up. I never
let him in... he never... he never knew..." She breathed in a shaky breath
and began to cry again.
"He knew how much you cared about him. He's... he was a smart lad."
"No, he wasn't!"
"Gee, thanks Abbs," commented Connor, feeling his own emotions rise
up at witnessing their grief over him. It was nice to know he'd be missed, but
the whole situation was so completely surreal that he couldn't do much more
than passively listen. Surely there was something he was meant to do. Or, he
thought fearfully, this was it. Would he spend eternity as a wandering spirit,
observing life, but no longer a part of it. He shuddered and sat back, feeling
his own tears start to fall.
"I never... I wouldn't... I always kept him at arm's length... I was so
afraid... "
"I'm sorry, dear, I truly am. Connor... Connor was..." said the Professor,
but his words died away and he couldn't speak. The remainder of the journey
back to the flat was made in silence. When they arrived, Connor narrowly avoided
getting shut in the car and stumbled and fell out on to the pavement behind
Abby. Nick escorted her to the door of the flat after she'd stood staring at
it for a long stretch of time. He opened the lock and pushed at the door, but
Abby didn't cross the threshold. "Shall I come in?"
Abby snapped out of her trance and shook her head, taking her keys from him.
"No, no I can manage."
"Will you come to the ARC tomorrow? There's a lot..."
"I'll come. I'm not going to sit idle. I need to know that happened...
what killed Connor."
"Alright. Please call if you need me." She nodded and disappeared
inside. Connor had gone in before her and waited to follow as she ascended the
stairs. When she got to the top, Rex swooped down to greet her. She caught him
up in her arms and smiled as she cuddled him, but as usual Rex was clamouring
over her shoulder in anticipation of Connor being up next. Connor was there,
but he remained unseen in his paranormal state.
"Oh Rex... he... Connor... your... your daddy's not coming home,"
Abby sobbed, she grew weak again and lowered herself to the floor. Rex chirped
and scuttled around looking for Connor before returning to the weeping girl.
She remained at the top of the stairs just crying for well over an hour with
Rex by her side, not understanding but offering comfort. Connor sat away from
her on the stairs leading up to his loft and watched, feeling like his guts
were beings twisted into knots. Eventually Abby calmed down and picked herself
up. She fed Rex his afternoon apple and greens before closing herself in the
bathroom. Connor didn't follow. He might be a ghost, but he was still a gentleman.
He heard her shower and could detect the now very familiar sound of her sobbing.
When she emerged almost another hour later, surely having used the last drop
of hot water, she was wrapped in only a towel. If the circumstances were different
he'd surely be turned on, but all he wanted to do was hug her. He watched as
she hesitated, as if thinking something over. To his surprise she turned in
the opposite direction of her bedroom and went up the stairs to his. She stood
there for a long time, just staring and trying not to burst into tears again.
She approached his bed and picked up the tshirt he'd slept in the night before
and pulled it over her head before discarding her towel. She crawled under his
covers and hugged his pillow. Connor watched in morbid fascination as she snuggled
down into his sheets and pillow and breathed in the scent that lingered on the
pillow. "Connor..." She sniveled and said his name over and over in
a whisper. He wanted desperately to tell her he was with her, but he words fell
on deaf ears. He lay down beside her, looking into her eyes as the tears poured
from them. She stared right through him. "Connor... if you're out there,
if you can hear me... I love you. I loved you for so long, ever since you saved
me, and I was so afraid to tell you... now it's too late and I'm sorry."
She buried her face in his pillow and her body shook with the force of her crying.
"You love me?! Abby! This is a terrible time to tell me you love
me," Connor exclaimed in shock. "I can't believe my bloody luck! What
on Earth were you afraid of?! Abby, I've worshipped you since the first day
we met! I love you! Argh!!" He stared up at the ceiling and growled in
frustration. "Is this seriously what my afterlife's going to be like?!
I can't even talk to her! What the hell's going on? Isn't there supposed to
be a white light or something!? Stop fuckin' about with me and tell me what
I'm supposed to do!!" He ranted and raved up at the ceiling for quite some
time. When he finally ran out of words he just lay there for long stretch of
time. He went back to watching Abby. She'd fallen into a fitful slumber and
kept saying his name. Now that he knew how she felt about him, the urge to hold
and comfort her was even greater. He reached out and stroked her hair. In truth
he only mimicked the motion as every time he tried to touch her properly his
hand passed through her. After a time she seemed to calm and fell into a deeper
sleep. Connor on the other hand felt no pull towards sleep himself. Nor did
he feel hungry, or any of his body's other usual sensations. He guessed it all
came from being a ghost. He watched Abby for the next few hours and ignored
all his fears and his anger. He concentrated on the beautiful woman sleeping
in his bed, wearing his shirt and speaking his name. If nothing changed, if
he stayed this way forever, he'd stay with her.
tbc...
Author: Evenstar Estel
Rating: T for this chapter M later on
Characters/Pairing: Connor/Abby, Cutter, the rest of the team.
Spoiler: Series 3 post-Ep 2
Genre: Angst, Romance, Hurt/Comfort.
Summary: A strange and terrible accident leaves the team with two mysteries to solve and the only one that can help is Connor, only his disappearance is one of the mysteries.
Just A Touch Away
2010 Evenstar Estel
Chapter 1
The last thing Connor remembered was the brightness of the explosion and the
sensation of heat spreading out from his solar plexus to the lengths of his
limbs and the top of his head. Once when he'd been a kid he'd accidentally touched
the metal prong of a plug as he put it in the wall and got the shock of his
life. This had been ten thousand times more intense and more painful. But now
as his eyes fluttered open that initial pain had receded and instead he just
felt a combination of nausea and an overabundance of adrenaline coursing through
his system. He lay there for several minutes on the ground breathing in and
out deeply and trying to orient himself. His limbs felt impossibly heavy and
it took a great deal of mental effort to connect his brain and the desire to
push himself up to his arms. He was as shaky as a newborn foal and when he finally
did sit himself up he had to spend several minutes recovering before he could
open his eyes again and have clear look at his surroundings. He was still at
the anomaly site, a construction zone on the outskirts of London. A condemned
building from the 1950s was slated for demolition and had been the epicenter
for a small herd of triceratops that had come through an anomaly. Between their
panic and stomping about the already unstable old office building was about
ready to collapse. Ushering the animals back through had not been the issue,
but rather the lack of safety at sending in personnel to secure the site. Connor
had volunteered to go in with Becker and a pair of soldiers to lock down the
anomaly for the time being until a proper team to be put in place to babysit
it until it closed on its own.
Connor couldn't recall there having been anything out of the ordinary, especially
considering how outrageous their ordinary was. He was setting up the first field
test for the locking mechanism when he'd thought he'd heard a strange humming
sound from the anomaly. He ignored it and in hindsight that was clearly not
the smartest thing to do. He knew better and was mentally kicking himself for
it now. The power that the locking mechanism generated was considerable, strong
enough to reverse the polarity of the anomaly itself. It was a complex device
and Connor was certain that it would revolutionize how they handled anomalies.
Professor Cutter was nearby, just outside the building conversing with some
of the soldiers. Connor could just make out the lilt of his voice. Becker stood
nearby, but still several meters away. The anomaly started to crackle along
with the strange humming sound. Connor thought it best to get it locked down
as soon as possible. He was ready and all he needed was to press the button.
It was now or never, the device had to work. He took in a breath, looked
upwards in silent prayer and hit the red button. That's when the light exploded
before his eyes. He felt himself knocked back and then it all went dark.
He struggled to his feet and looked around, wondering why he was alone. He
saw the locking device and was bothered by the fact that it seemed to be inert.
He turned to look at the anomaly and gasped, somehow it had doubled in size.
It was absolutely massive, taking up almost the entire level. The ceiling to
the floor above had been removed in anticipation of the demolition and the anomaly
expanded up high in to it.
"Woah!" exclaimed Connor. A portion of debris fell from above and
crashed the ground and the entire building shook. He thought it best to get
out and discern why the anomaly wasn't locked down and why they'd left him alone
and unconscious in such a dangerous place. He exited the building and was shocked
by what he saw. The perimeter of the site was lined with soldiers as well as
artillery vehicles. Connor scanned the area and finally located a face he recognized,
two in fact. He jogged down from the building to where Cutter and Becker were
standing with a few of the assistant technicians.
"I don't care that you can't find an explanation!" Cutter roared
at the technicians. "Keep looking. I want answers!"
"Sir," said Becker, interrupting. "Miss Maitland's arrived."
"Dammit!" Cutter let loose a few more curse words under his breath.
Cutter and Connor both turned to see Abby rushing head long towards the Professor.
"Hey, Abbs..." said Connor, but the words died away as she ran right
passed him and carried on towards where Cutter was standing. Connor turned and
followed after her.
"Tell me! Tell it's not true!" cried Abby, rushing headlong into
Nick and taking hold of him by his arms in a white knuckled grip. The older
man tried to speak but choked on the words and it was then that Abby realized
the worst had in fact happened. "No! No... oh god no!"
"What? What happened? Abby?!" shouted Connor as he came to within
feet of them.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," said Cutter, his voice cracking with emotion.
"I don't know how it happened."
"Where is he!? I need to see him."
"See who?" asked Connor, still not understanding.
"Abby, there's nothing to see. He burnt up. The explosion... it took everything.
I'm sorry, he's gone. Connor... Connor's dead," said Cutter, tears brimming
in his eyes. Abby let out a wounded sound of anguish and her knees gave out.
Cutter pulled her up into his arms and held her tight as she cried.
"Uh, no I'm not!" shouted Connor. "Guys, I'm right here! Abby?
Abby..." He touched her shoulder and when his hand went right through her
he knew. He finally realized Cutter's words were true. "Oh god... this
cannot be happening!"
"Connor!" Abby sobbed his name and the Professor held her tighter.
"Come on, let me drive you home. You don't have to deal with this here,"
said Nick in a soothing voice. Abby withdrew from his embrace and shook her
head.
"I want to know what happened!" Connor was on the verge or freaking
out completely, but he had to keep it together so he could assembled the pieces
of the puzzle of his apparent death.
"We're working on it. He was working on his new device, the locking mechanism
for the anomalies when something went wrong. We don't know what it was yet.
Becker was nearby, but he didn't see what Connor was doing, just this massive
explosion of light, an energy surge." Abby was too overcome to speak any
more and Cutter practically had to carry her back to the vehicles. Connor was
tempted to stick around with the techs to try and learn about the true nature
of his demise, but his heart pulled him towards Abby. Slipping into Abby's mini
before them was a strange experience Cutter opened the passenger door for Abby
and he moved past her as quick as he could. He couldn't exactly feel the solidity
of the car, but it wasn't like going through flesh like he had before when he
tried to touch Abby. It was like non organic material was a forcefield. He could
feel the resistant energy of things, but it couldn't actually feel the shape
or the texture. He tumbled into the back seat just as Abby sat herself down.
She fumbled for her keys and passed them to the Cutter when he got behind the
wheel. Connor was relieved that he moved with the vehicle and wasn't
left in the dust. There was silence for a long stretch of time before Abby whispered.
"I never..." she began quietly.
"Never what?" asked Nick, trying to reign in his own emotions.
"I never talked to him properly. I always kept these walls up. I never
let him in... he never... he never knew..." She breathed in a shaky breath
and began to cry again.
"He knew how much you cared about him. He's... he was a smart lad."
"No, he wasn't!"
"Gee, thanks Abbs," commented Connor, feeling his own emotions rise
up at witnessing their grief over him. It was nice to know he'd be missed, but
the whole situation was so completely surreal that he couldn't do much more
than passively listen. Surely there was something he was meant to do. Or, he
thought fearfully, this was it. Would he spend eternity as a wandering spirit,
observing life, but no longer a part of it. He shuddered and sat back, feeling
his own tears start to fall.
"I never... I wouldn't... I always kept him at arm's length... I was so
afraid... "
"I'm sorry, dear, I truly am. Connor... Connor was..." said the Professor,
but his words died away and he couldn't speak. The remainder of the journey
back to the flat was made in silence. When they arrived, Connor narrowly avoided
getting shut in the car and stumbled and fell out on to the pavement behind
Abby. Nick escorted her to the door of the flat after she'd stood staring at
it for a long stretch of time. He opened the lock and pushed at the door, but
Abby didn't cross the threshold. "Shall I come in?"
Abby snapped out of her trance and shook her head, taking her keys from him.
"No, no I can manage."
"Will you come to the ARC tomorrow? There's a lot..."
"I'll come. I'm not going to sit idle. I need to know that happened...
what killed Connor."
"Alright. Please call if you need me." She nodded and disappeared
inside. Connor had gone in before her and waited to follow as she ascended the
stairs. When she got to the top, Rex swooped down to greet her. She caught him
up in her arms and smiled as she cuddled him, but as usual Rex was clamouring
over her shoulder in anticipation of Connor being up next. Connor was there,
but he remained unseen in his paranormal state.
"Oh Rex... he... Connor... your... your daddy's not coming home,"
Abby sobbed, she grew weak again and lowered herself to the floor. Rex chirped
and scuttled around looking for Connor before returning to the weeping girl.
She remained at the top of the stairs just crying for well over an hour with
Rex by her side, not understanding but offering comfort. Connor sat away from
her on the stairs leading up to his loft and watched, feeling like his guts
were beings twisted into knots. Eventually Abby calmed down and picked herself
up. She fed Rex his afternoon apple and greens before closing herself in the
bathroom. Connor didn't follow. He might be a ghost, but he was still a gentleman.
He heard her shower and could detect the now very familiar sound of her sobbing.
When she emerged almost another hour later, surely having used the last drop
of hot water, she was wrapped in only a towel. If the circumstances were different
he'd surely be turned on, but all he wanted to do was hug her. He watched as
she hesitated, as if thinking something over. To his surprise she turned in
the opposite direction of her bedroom and went up the stairs to his. She stood
there for a long time, just staring and trying not to burst into tears again.
She approached his bed and picked up the tshirt he'd slept in the night before
and pulled it over her head before discarding her towel. She crawled under his
covers and hugged his pillow. Connor watched in morbid fascination as she snuggled
down into his sheets and pillow and breathed in the scent that lingered on the
pillow. "Connor..." She sniveled and said his name over and over in
a whisper. He wanted desperately to tell her he was with her, but he words fell
on deaf ears. He lay down beside her, looking into her eyes as the tears poured
from them. She stared right through him. "Connor... if you're out there,
if you can hear me... I love you. I loved you for so long, ever since you saved
me, and I was so afraid to tell you... now it's too late and I'm sorry."
She buried her face in his pillow and her body shook with the force of her crying.
"You love me?! Abby! This is a terrible time to tell me you love
me," Connor exclaimed in shock. "I can't believe my bloody luck! What
on Earth were you afraid of?! Abby, I've worshipped you since the first day
we met! I love you! Argh!!" He stared up at the ceiling and growled in
frustration. "Is this seriously what my afterlife's going to be like?!
I can't even talk to her! What the hell's going on? Isn't there supposed to
be a white light or something!? Stop fuckin' about with me and tell me what
I'm supposed to do!!" He ranted and raved up at the ceiling for quite some
time. When he finally ran out of words he just lay there for long stretch of
time. He went back to watching Abby. She'd fallen into a fitful slumber and
kept saying his name. Now that he knew how she felt about him, the urge to hold
and comfort her was even greater. He reached out and stroked her hair. In truth
he only mimicked the motion as every time he tried to touch her properly his
hand passed through her. After a time she seemed to calm and fell into a deeper
sleep. Connor on the other hand felt no pull towards sleep himself. Nor did
he feel hungry, or any of his body's other usual sensations. He guessed it all
came from being a ghost. He watched Abby for the next few hours and ignored
all his fears and his anger. He concentrated on the beautiful woman sleeping
in his bed, wearing his shirt and speaking his name. If nothing changed, if
he stayed this way forever, he'd stay with her.
tbc...