Of Plans and Failure [Stephen/Ryan, Cutter/Claudia, Abby/Connor] R
Title: Of Plans and Failure
Author: torncorpse/insomniacs_home
Pairings/Characters: Ryan/Stephen, Cutter/Claudia, Connor/Abby
Rating: R
AN: prompts to prompt. Written to the 100moods table prompts. It's been a while since I wrote Primeval. Prompt Table
Disclaimer: I do not own. And Ditzy belongs to fredbassett.
Summary: Connor's on a mission and somehow Stephen gets tangled in the web.
No real plot. Just filling prompts.
amused
“You can’t honestly think that this is going to work.”
“Of course it will.” He was adamant, “it worked on TV.”
“Connor, TV and real life are very different. You can’t just ‘beam me up’ in real life.”
“No, that’s in the future, we’ll probably be able to do that eventually, but not now.” Connor rationalised. “But this, this is the here and now, and it’s going to work. I’ll tell you right now.”
Stephen just sighed, leaning back on the chair and watch Connor continue his work. They’d have the argument almost four times. Connor had suffered through one of Abby’s chick flicks the previous night for their movie of the week. Stephen had thankfully had a pass on it, now he’s thinking Abby got off easier. Connor’s convinced that he’s got this down and that movie and reality can intertwine.
“Okay, now, this should work and then everyone can rest easy.” Connor said, pulling Stephen off the bench and behind a bush. “We can watch from here. We need to avoid detection.”
Stephen almost cringed as he spotted their unlikely targets. Where Connor got the idea that he had to help push Cutter and Claudia together Stephen wasn’t sure, but the young student was intent on succeeding in this so called mission he’d set himself.
Strangely enough Stephen couldn’t tear his gaze away as he watched Cutter trip over the first cord and then as Claudia tumbled with him. Arms seemed to be everywhere, as if they’d both grown an extra pair. Cutter twisted, tangling himself further while Claudia fell into him before they both toppled completely and fell into the pond to the side of them. Connor snorted beside him and Stephen had to bite his fist not to laugh.
“I don’t think they’re in love yet Connor.” Stephen said, noticing the light blush on Connor’s cheeks as Claudia’s shrill voice shrieked at Cutter. Stephen wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard a woman swear that much in his life.
“It worked for Disney.”
---
kinky
Ryan stabbed the button for the top floor with a heavy sigh and more force than necessary, earning a chuckled from Hart and a glare from the other occupant of the hotel lift. It’d been a hell of a day. Between scientists trying to get themselves killed, Temple with a dart gun and some notion on setting up the Professor and Claudia Brown and dinosaurs running amok through Cardiff Ryan was fit to drop.
When he was given this assignment he figured the worst part would be babysitting the scientists. He had no idea that he’d be driving down to Wales to pick up a stray leaf eater and having to deal with Miss Maitland’s driving. The girl was a speed demon, and all she had was a freaking mini.
The only respite had to be Hart. Hart and his god damned lips. It seemed like the boy had a kinky side after all. After a talk about ‘cock-sucking’ lips Ryan had found himself dealing with all sorts of unspoken innuendos from his lover. Lollipops never looked so good, Hart suddenly seemed to bite his thumb a lot more and he’d been able to make a big show out of licking his lips obscenely anytime Ryan dared to glance at him.
As the other hotel patron escaped the lift on their floor Ryan glanced at the numbers above the door, noticing Stephen’s sly smile out of the corner of his eye. What he wanted right now was to get to his room, throw Stephen to the bed and fuck him through the mattress. But his lovers mischievous smile and current mood seemed to have other ideas.
With one hand in the middle of Ryan’s chest Stephen pushed Ryan back, his back meeting the wall of the lift. Stephen his the emergency stop button, smile spreading on his face as he stood in front of Ryan, slowly and teasingly opening the zip and buckle on the Captain’s trousers. “I think you’ve been waiting all day for this.” Stephen practically whispered into Ryan’s mouth before brushing a quick kiss to parted lips and then dropping to his knees.
Ryan managed to keep from moaning out loud, instead tangling his fingers in Hart’s hair as he quickly went to work. After a day of teasing and Ryan being on edge, not to mention the rather public setting, Ryan had a clue that this wasn’t going to be a long, drawn out encounter. In fact, with Stephen using every trick he knew, Ryan was loath to admit it would be over fairly quick. Stephen was humming in the back of his throat, hollowing him cheeks and sucking for all his worth. Ryan started to thrust shallowly, the first indicator that he was close to orgasm. Brunt nails dug into Hart’s head before Ryan came with a muffled shout as he bit down on his lip. Stephen continued to suckle, swallowing around Ryan’s cock and lapping at the slowly softening flesh.
He took his time cleaning up, looking up from beneath his lashes at Ryan when he finally pulled away, zipping Ryan back up. “Kinky fucker.” Ryan muttered against Stephen’s kiss.
“But it took the edge off, yes?” The lift was started back up, Ryan moving his hand to the back of Hart’s neck to keep him where he was. “Means you’ll have no excuse if I don’t get a good, long, hard fuck tonight.”
Ryan had the inkling that the end of the day would be much better than the start.
---
impressed
“I’ve come up with another plan.”
“For what?”
“For Professor Cutter and Miss Brown.” Stephen heaved a sigh and set himself for another one of Connor’s disaster plans.
“Go on then…” It was best just to humour the boy.
“Okay, you call the Professor and arrange to meet him at this bar, make up something or just ask him out for a drink. I’m going to get Abby to convince Claudia to go to the same bar and wait for Abby to show up so they can have a girl’s night or something. When no one else shows up they’ll have no option but to have a date.” Stephen had to admit it was much better than Connor’s other plans.
“What if they just leave once they realise we’re not showing up?” Sometimes Stephen hated playing devils advocate, but the flaws had to be noticed.
“Oh. Yeah, well that’s likely, isn’t it.” Connor scratched at his chin in absent thought before turning back to Stephen. “Okay, forget the bar. You want to talk to the Professor in his office, you show up, chat a little, I’ll get Claudia to the office we both dash out and lock the door!”
“How is that a date? They’ll kill one another.” Stephen wasn’t sure if they’d kill each other in the office or wait till the got out to kill Connor and himself.
“What about if you flirt with Claudia? See if he’ll make a move?”
“Right, I want Ryan to kill Claudia and then tie me to the bed for a month.” Stephen snorted.
“He does seem the possessive type.” Connor agreed, “What about if I do it?”
“No offence, but your idea of flirting is somewhat resembling a train wreck.” Stephen didn’t want to be harsh, but the boy needed to cut his loses. “You know, I’m impressed that you stuck with it this long.” Stephen remarked. Connor had been trying - and failing - to get Cutter and Claudia on a date for almost three weeks.
“Abby’s gonna go on a date with me if I can get them on a date.” And it all made sense.
---
bored
“Are you a man?”
“No.”
“Are you between 21 and 30?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a celebrity?”
“Yes.”
“Do you write books?”
“Yes.”
“You’re J.K Rowling.”
“Okay, fine. Yes.” Cutter was ready to strangle the both of them. “Your turn.”
“Why don’t you brush up on your mime skills?” Cutter suggested, sure that if he was stuck there much longer he’d lose his mind and grind his teeth to the gums. How on Earth did he end up stuck in the broom closet at Home Office with Connor and Abby?
“Oh, lets do Charades! I’ll go first.” Connor seemed to perk up at Abby’s suggestion.
“Okay, three words, movie. Second word, sounds like…”
“Stephen, get me out of here!” Cutter all but yelled into the hand held radio.
---
optimistic
“Okay, so I’ve booked a table at this nice little Italian place, it’s supposed to be really romantic. Professor Cutter is going to get there at 7 and Claudia should arrive just after then. I’ve managed to bribe one of the Home Office drivers to get her there just after the Professor.”
“How did you manage all this?”
“There’s supposed to be some sort of Home Office board meeting hurrah thing just now.”
“You mean the higher powers weird social gathering at the Hilton tonight? The one Claudia and Cutter are supposed to attend?” Connor seemed to be stepping things up since the botched attempt to lock Cutter and Claudia in the closet together.
“Yeah, I managed to convince the Professor that it had been rearranged to this place and like I said, I’ve bribed a driver.”
“With what?”
“My Star Trek lunch box.”
“You have a Star Trek lunch box?”
“Not anymore.” Connor sighed, looking somewhat wistful. “But if this works and I get a date with Abby then it’s worth the casualties.”
“Does the date have to be successful?”
“No! Abby just said get them on a date. You think it’ll work?”
“I can’t stand anymore of this so I’ll help, if just so I can get my peace and quiet back.” Connor smiled as wide as Stephen had ever seen and he just shook his head. “Okay, what’s the plan?”
---
vulnerable
Connor was sure that the fates were against him. The night that he and Abby were supposed to go on their agreed date following Professor Cutter and Miss Brown's more than successful dinner date the previous week and they get called out to a stampede in the Forest of Dean again. At first it hadn't been that bad, there wasn't so much running scared as being in awe over the huge herbivores in front of them. Until someone thought that flashing lights would be a good idea. In the end three frightened Triceratops had proved almost as bad as a hungry carnivore.
They’d been driven back by the Triceratops', Connor and Stephen forced into a small cave while the herbivore attempted to batter at the stone, ramming its horn against the granite. After being startled the group had split in an attempt to avoid the angry dinosaurs, the three that had come through the anomaly had swiftly turned nasty and started stomping through the forest, cutting Connor and Stephen off from the others and pushing them further into the forest in a bid to escape.
In the chaos that had ensued Stephen wound up battered against a tree from an attempt to dodge a tail swipe and a misplaced foot. Now Connor was trying to cradle Stephen in the back of the cave, keeping a hand on the walkie-talkie and keep a light on the entrance to the cave at the same time. The bleeding wasn’t a big deal, Connor could tell that the cut had already stopped bleeding. The goose egg that was coming up was an issue. Keeping Stephen awake and coherent was another thing. Stephen wasn’t talkative to being with, but Connor had paid attention during the enforced first aid course when they started with the anomaly project.
“You know, you never said how you and Ryan ended up together.” Connor tried, jerking his shoulder in an attempt to startle Stephen. He heard the chatter over the radio, indicating that the teams were moving into position to tranquillise the triceratops, choosing to incapacitate the beast instead of kill it.
“He pinned me to a tree after a shooting…a shooting…thing.” Stephen murmured, burrowing just a little into Connor’s chest. “Warm.” Connor nodded and pulled his jacket open and around Stephen’s shoulders, holding the elder male against him, Stephen’s back to his chest.
“Competition?” Stephen nodded slightly, eyes closing slowly. “Nope, come on mate, gotta stay awake. Ryan’ll kill us both if you fall asleep.” Stephen sighed and opened his eyes again, unfocused and glazed over slightly. “Why’d you have to hit your head?” Connor wondered out loud, he really wasn’t very good at taking care of people.
“Stephen, Connor, we’re coming around, we should intercept the subject shortly.” Cutter’s voice crackled over the radio, but Connor was more interested with Ryan’s shouts and the echoes of replies that he could hear from the front of the cave.
“There, see, Ryan and his men are out there.” Connor said, nudging Stephen again. “We’ll be out soon.” Which means Ditzy can take care of Stephen and Ryan can be his usual unapproachable self. Connor picked up the radio, hooking an arm around Stephen’s shoulders to keep him from falling to the side. “Professor, you need to hurry, Stephen needs a medic. He’s hit his head and probably sprained his ankle. He’s falling asleep quickly.”
“’m not sleepin’,” Stephen mumbled, “jus’ resting m’ eyes.”
“Yeah, right, and Abby’s gonna confess her undying love for me tomorrow.” Connor muttered. The noise from the front of the cave increased and soon there were numerous lights invading the enclosed space. “See Stephen, cavalry’s here.” Connor nudged Stephen’s head with his shoulder, peering around to see Stephen’s face. “Stephen,” there was still no answer when Ditzy and Ryan crowded around them.
---
worried
Nick sat with his head in his hands, Claudia sitting to his side with her arm tangled through his arm, her hand resting on his knee loosely. Abby was pacing the waiting room while Connor sat in one of the seats, nervously tapping his foot.
Ditzy had done his best on location, but with no supplies and limited ability with a concussion the best they’d been able to do was transfer Stephen straight to hospital. Lester had ordered Ryan to supervise the clean up, and although the Captain had been supremely pissed off he had followed orders as Connor left with Stephen and the promise to call when they had news.
“Professor Cutter?” The doctor stood in front of Cutter and Claudia with a chart in hand and a grim expression. Abby swiftly turned from her pacing and stood beside Cutter while Connor moved more sedately to join the team. “Mr Hart is stable but still unconscious. We’re monitoring him closely and expect a full recovery.” Abby seemed to let the tension roll from her body at that, so much so that she leaned into Connor for some kind of support.
“When is he likely to wake up?” Claudia asked, twining her fingers with Cutter’s as the Professor slowly gathered his wits about him again.
“It’s hard to say. But CAT scans show good brain activity and we’ve not found any clotting or growths in the brain. I’d say it’s just a case of waiting till he’s rested.” The doctor gave them one small smile before nodding and heading away again.
“Who wants to call Ryan?” Connor asked, noticing the distinct lack of volunteering. “Guess that means me then…”
---
relieved
It took a grand total of two days for Stephen to wake up. Two mornings after he’d first been admitted to the hospital saw him open his eyes to find Ditzy and Connor playing Go Fish at the bottom of his bed.
“Wha’s goin’ on?” Stephen attempted to ask, his mouth feeling like sandpaper and his head like he’d been out drinking for a week solid.
“Hold up there,” Ditzy stopped him from sitting up too fast, slowly lifting the bed to a more upright position while Connor got the doctor and went to get Ryan from the cafeteria. “You need a drink?” Stephen just nodded slowly, letting the medic grab him a paper cup and some water.
After a quick sip of water the doctor and two nurses entered the room and he was left with a series of questions and bright lights shone into his eyes. By the end up he felt like he’d just sat another high school exam and his vision was blurred worse than when he’d first woke up.
“Well Mr Hart, like I thought there really isn’t much wrong. You’ll probably be a little groggy and have a lasting headache, not to mention the swollen ankle, but I’m sure we’ll be able to release you tomorrow first thing.” Dr Chase as he’d introduced himself continued to give him details about his condition but Stephen didn’t really bother listening, instead leaving Ditzy to ask the questions.
Three hours later and his visitors piled out; in between a small kiss from Abby, a blinding smile from Claudia - who was standing very close to Cutter - a remark from Nick about using any excuse to skip the University budget meeting and Connor going on about his master plan being successful, Stephen finally managed to get a few minutes with Ryan before he felt sleep creep up on him again.
Just as he was falling under again he felt Ryan’s lips against his head, “Sleep Hart, you’ll need your strength for tomorrow night.” Stephen really couldn’t wait.
---
Comments are yummy.
Author: torncorpse/insomniacs_home
Pairings/Characters: Ryan/Stephen, Cutter/Claudia, Connor/Abby
Rating: R
AN: prompts to prompt. Written to the 100moods table prompts. It's been a while since I wrote Primeval. Prompt Table
Disclaimer: I do not own. And Ditzy belongs to fredbassett.
Summary: Connor's on a mission and somehow Stephen gets tangled in the web.
No real plot. Just filling prompts.
amused
“You can’t honestly think that this is going to work.”
“Of course it will.” He was adamant, “it worked on TV.”
“Connor, TV and real life are very different. You can’t just ‘beam me up’ in real life.”
“No, that’s in the future, we’ll probably be able to do that eventually, but not now.” Connor rationalised. “But this, this is the here and now, and it’s going to work. I’ll tell you right now.”
Stephen just sighed, leaning back on the chair and watch Connor continue his work. They’d have the argument almost four times. Connor had suffered through one of Abby’s chick flicks the previous night for their movie of the week. Stephen had thankfully had a pass on it, now he’s thinking Abby got off easier. Connor’s convinced that he’s got this down and that movie and reality can intertwine.
“Okay, now, this should work and then everyone can rest easy.” Connor said, pulling Stephen off the bench and behind a bush. “We can watch from here. We need to avoid detection.”
Stephen almost cringed as he spotted their unlikely targets. Where Connor got the idea that he had to help push Cutter and Claudia together Stephen wasn’t sure, but the young student was intent on succeeding in this so called mission he’d set himself.
Strangely enough Stephen couldn’t tear his gaze away as he watched Cutter trip over the first cord and then as Claudia tumbled with him. Arms seemed to be everywhere, as if they’d both grown an extra pair. Cutter twisted, tangling himself further while Claudia fell into him before they both toppled completely and fell into the pond to the side of them. Connor snorted beside him and Stephen had to bite his fist not to laugh.
“I don’t think they’re in love yet Connor.” Stephen said, noticing the light blush on Connor’s cheeks as Claudia’s shrill voice shrieked at Cutter. Stephen wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard a woman swear that much in his life.
“It worked for Disney.”
---
kinky
Ryan stabbed the button for the top floor with a heavy sigh and more force than necessary, earning a chuckled from Hart and a glare from the other occupant of the hotel lift. It’d been a hell of a day. Between scientists trying to get themselves killed, Temple with a dart gun and some notion on setting up the Professor and Claudia Brown and dinosaurs running amok through Cardiff Ryan was fit to drop.
When he was given this assignment he figured the worst part would be babysitting the scientists. He had no idea that he’d be driving down to Wales to pick up a stray leaf eater and having to deal with Miss Maitland’s driving. The girl was a speed demon, and all she had was a freaking mini.
The only respite had to be Hart. Hart and his god damned lips. It seemed like the boy had a kinky side after all. After a talk about ‘cock-sucking’ lips Ryan had found himself dealing with all sorts of unspoken innuendos from his lover. Lollipops never looked so good, Hart suddenly seemed to bite his thumb a lot more and he’d been able to make a big show out of licking his lips obscenely anytime Ryan dared to glance at him.
As the other hotel patron escaped the lift on their floor Ryan glanced at the numbers above the door, noticing Stephen’s sly smile out of the corner of his eye. What he wanted right now was to get to his room, throw Stephen to the bed and fuck him through the mattress. But his lovers mischievous smile and current mood seemed to have other ideas.
With one hand in the middle of Ryan’s chest Stephen pushed Ryan back, his back meeting the wall of the lift. Stephen his the emergency stop button, smile spreading on his face as he stood in front of Ryan, slowly and teasingly opening the zip and buckle on the Captain’s trousers. “I think you’ve been waiting all day for this.” Stephen practically whispered into Ryan’s mouth before brushing a quick kiss to parted lips and then dropping to his knees.
Ryan managed to keep from moaning out loud, instead tangling his fingers in Hart’s hair as he quickly went to work. After a day of teasing and Ryan being on edge, not to mention the rather public setting, Ryan had a clue that this wasn’t going to be a long, drawn out encounter. In fact, with Stephen using every trick he knew, Ryan was loath to admit it would be over fairly quick. Stephen was humming in the back of his throat, hollowing him cheeks and sucking for all his worth. Ryan started to thrust shallowly, the first indicator that he was close to orgasm. Brunt nails dug into Hart’s head before Ryan came with a muffled shout as he bit down on his lip. Stephen continued to suckle, swallowing around Ryan’s cock and lapping at the slowly softening flesh.
He took his time cleaning up, looking up from beneath his lashes at Ryan when he finally pulled away, zipping Ryan back up. “Kinky fucker.” Ryan muttered against Stephen’s kiss.
“But it took the edge off, yes?” The lift was started back up, Ryan moving his hand to the back of Hart’s neck to keep him where he was. “Means you’ll have no excuse if I don’t get a good, long, hard fuck tonight.”
Ryan had the inkling that the end of the day would be much better than the start.
---
impressed
“I’ve come up with another plan.”
“For what?”
“For Professor Cutter and Miss Brown.” Stephen heaved a sigh and set himself for another one of Connor’s disaster plans.
“Go on then…” It was best just to humour the boy.
“Okay, you call the Professor and arrange to meet him at this bar, make up something or just ask him out for a drink. I’m going to get Abby to convince Claudia to go to the same bar and wait for Abby to show up so they can have a girl’s night or something. When no one else shows up they’ll have no option but to have a date.” Stephen had to admit it was much better than Connor’s other plans.
“What if they just leave once they realise we’re not showing up?” Sometimes Stephen hated playing devils advocate, but the flaws had to be noticed.
“Oh. Yeah, well that’s likely, isn’t it.” Connor scratched at his chin in absent thought before turning back to Stephen. “Okay, forget the bar. You want to talk to the Professor in his office, you show up, chat a little, I’ll get Claudia to the office we both dash out and lock the door!”
“How is that a date? They’ll kill one another.” Stephen wasn’t sure if they’d kill each other in the office or wait till the got out to kill Connor and himself.
“What about if you flirt with Claudia? See if he’ll make a move?”
“Right, I want Ryan to kill Claudia and then tie me to the bed for a month.” Stephen snorted.
“He does seem the possessive type.” Connor agreed, “What about if I do it?”
“No offence, but your idea of flirting is somewhat resembling a train wreck.” Stephen didn’t want to be harsh, but the boy needed to cut his loses. “You know, I’m impressed that you stuck with it this long.” Stephen remarked. Connor had been trying - and failing - to get Cutter and Claudia on a date for almost three weeks.
“Abby’s gonna go on a date with me if I can get them on a date.” And it all made sense.
---
bored
“Are you a man?”
“No.”
“Are you between 21 and 30?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a celebrity?”
“Yes.”
“Do you write books?”
“Yes.”
“You’re J.K Rowling.”
“Okay, fine. Yes.” Cutter was ready to strangle the both of them. “Your turn.”
“Why don’t you brush up on your mime skills?” Cutter suggested, sure that if he was stuck there much longer he’d lose his mind and grind his teeth to the gums. How on Earth did he end up stuck in the broom closet at Home Office with Connor and Abby?
“Oh, lets do Charades! I’ll go first.” Connor seemed to perk up at Abby’s suggestion.
“Okay, three words, movie. Second word, sounds like…”
“Stephen, get me out of here!” Cutter all but yelled into the hand held radio.
---
optimistic
“Okay, so I’ve booked a table at this nice little Italian place, it’s supposed to be really romantic. Professor Cutter is going to get there at 7 and Claudia should arrive just after then. I’ve managed to bribe one of the Home Office drivers to get her there just after the Professor.”
“How did you manage all this?”
“There’s supposed to be some sort of Home Office board meeting hurrah thing just now.”
“You mean the higher powers weird social gathering at the Hilton tonight? The one Claudia and Cutter are supposed to attend?” Connor seemed to be stepping things up since the botched attempt to lock Cutter and Claudia in the closet together.
“Yeah, I managed to convince the Professor that it had been rearranged to this place and like I said, I’ve bribed a driver.”
“With what?”
“My Star Trek lunch box.”
“You have a Star Trek lunch box?”
“Not anymore.” Connor sighed, looking somewhat wistful. “But if this works and I get a date with Abby then it’s worth the casualties.”
“Does the date have to be successful?”
“No! Abby just said get them on a date. You think it’ll work?”
“I can’t stand anymore of this so I’ll help, if just so I can get my peace and quiet back.” Connor smiled as wide as Stephen had ever seen and he just shook his head. “Okay, what’s the plan?”
---
vulnerable
Connor was sure that the fates were against him. The night that he and Abby were supposed to go on their agreed date following Professor Cutter and Miss Brown's more than successful dinner date the previous week and they get called out to a stampede in the Forest of Dean again. At first it hadn't been that bad, there wasn't so much running scared as being in awe over the huge herbivores in front of them. Until someone thought that flashing lights would be a good idea. In the end three frightened Triceratops had proved almost as bad as a hungry carnivore.
They’d been driven back by the Triceratops', Connor and Stephen forced into a small cave while the herbivore attempted to batter at the stone, ramming its horn against the granite. After being startled the group had split in an attempt to avoid the angry dinosaurs, the three that had come through the anomaly had swiftly turned nasty and started stomping through the forest, cutting Connor and Stephen off from the others and pushing them further into the forest in a bid to escape.
In the chaos that had ensued Stephen wound up battered against a tree from an attempt to dodge a tail swipe and a misplaced foot. Now Connor was trying to cradle Stephen in the back of the cave, keeping a hand on the walkie-talkie and keep a light on the entrance to the cave at the same time. The bleeding wasn’t a big deal, Connor could tell that the cut had already stopped bleeding. The goose egg that was coming up was an issue. Keeping Stephen awake and coherent was another thing. Stephen wasn’t talkative to being with, but Connor had paid attention during the enforced first aid course when they started with the anomaly project.
“You know, you never said how you and Ryan ended up together.” Connor tried, jerking his shoulder in an attempt to startle Stephen. He heard the chatter over the radio, indicating that the teams were moving into position to tranquillise the triceratops, choosing to incapacitate the beast instead of kill it.
“He pinned me to a tree after a shooting…a shooting…thing.” Stephen murmured, burrowing just a little into Connor’s chest. “Warm.” Connor nodded and pulled his jacket open and around Stephen’s shoulders, holding the elder male against him, Stephen’s back to his chest.
“Competition?” Stephen nodded slightly, eyes closing slowly. “Nope, come on mate, gotta stay awake. Ryan’ll kill us both if you fall asleep.” Stephen sighed and opened his eyes again, unfocused and glazed over slightly. “Why’d you have to hit your head?” Connor wondered out loud, he really wasn’t very good at taking care of people.
“Stephen, Connor, we’re coming around, we should intercept the subject shortly.” Cutter’s voice crackled over the radio, but Connor was more interested with Ryan’s shouts and the echoes of replies that he could hear from the front of the cave.
“There, see, Ryan and his men are out there.” Connor said, nudging Stephen again. “We’ll be out soon.” Which means Ditzy can take care of Stephen and Ryan can be his usual unapproachable self. Connor picked up the radio, hooking an arm around Stephen’s shoulders to keep him from falling to the side. “Professor, you need to hurry, Stephen needs a medic. He’s hit his head and probably sprained his ankle. He’s falling asleep quickly.”
“’m not sleepin’,” Stephen mumbled, “jus’ resting m’ eyes.”
“Yeah, right, and Abby’s gonna confess her undying love for me tomorrow.” Connor muttered. The noise from the front of the cave increased and soon there were numerous lights invading the enclosed space. “See Stephen, cavalry’s here.” Connor nudged Stephen’s head with his shoulder, peering around to see Stephen’s face. “Stephen,” there was still no answer when Ditzy and Ryan crowded around them.
---
worried
Nick sat with his head in his hands, Claudia sitting to his side with her arm tangled through his arm, her hand resting on his knee loosely. Abby was pacing the waiting room while Connor sat in one of the seats, nervously tapping his foot.
Ditzy had done his best on location, but with no supplies and limited ability with a concussion the best they’d been able to do was transfer Stephen straight to hospital. Lester had ordered Ryan to supervise the clean up, and although the Captain had been supremely pissed off he had followed orders as Connor left with Stephen and the promise to call when they had news.
“Professor Cutter?” The doctor stood in front of Cutter and Claudia with a chart in hand and a grim expression. Abby swiftly turned from her pacing and stood beside Cutter while Connor moved more sedately to join the team. “Mr Hart is stable but still unconscious. We’re monitoring him closely and expect a full recovery.” Abby seemed to let the tension roll from her body at that, so much so that she leaned into Connor for some kind of support.
“When is he likely to wake up?” Claudia asked, twining her fingers with Cutter’s as the Professor slowly gathered his wits about him again.
“It’s hard to say. But CAT scans show good brain activity and we’ve not found any clotting or growths in the brain. I’d say it’s just a case of waiting till he’s rested.” The doctor gave them one small smile before nodding and heading away again.
“Who wants to call Ryan?” Connor asked, noticing the distinct lack of volunteering. “Guess that means me then…”
---
relieved
It took a grand total of two days for Stephen to wake up. Two mornings after he’d first been admitted to the hospital saw him open his eyes to find Ditzy and Connor playing Go Fish at the bottom of his bed.
“Wha’s goin’ on?” Stephen attempted to ask, his mouth feeling like sandpaper and his head like he’d been out drinking for a week solid.
“Hold up there,” Ditzy stopped him from sitting up too fast, slowly lifting the bed to a more upright position while Connor got the doctor and went to get Ryan from the cafeteria. “You need a drink?” Stephen just nodded slowly, letting the medic grab him a paper cup and some water.
After a quick sip of water the doctor and two nurses entered the room and he was left with a series of questions and bright lights shone into his eyes. By the end up he felt like he’d just sat another high school exam and his vision was blurred worse than when he’d first woke up.
“Well Mr Hart, like I thought there really isn’t much wrong. You’ll probably be a little groggy and have a lasting headache, not to mention the swollen ankle, but I’m sure we’ll be able to release you tomorrow first thing.” Dr Chase as he’d introduced himself continued to give him details about his condition but Stephen didn’t really bother listening, instead leaving Ditzy to ask the questions.
Three hours later and his visitors piled out; in between a small kiss from Abby, a blinding smile from Claudia - who was standing very close to Cutter - a remark from Nick about using any excuse to skip the University budget meeting and Connor going on about his master plan being successful, Stephen finally managed to get a few minutes with Ryan before he felt sleep creep up on him again.
Just as he was falling under again he felt Ryan’s lips against his head, “Sleep Hart, you’ll need your strength for tomorrow night.” Stephen really couldn’t wait.
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