Primeval fic: Broken Wings (6/17)
Title: Broken Wings (6/17)
Author: knitekat
Word Count: ~1040 (of ~27300)
Characters: Tom Ryan, James Lester, team and OC soldiers.
Pairing: James Lester/Tom Ryan, various.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace. The OCs belong to Fred and Luka. 'Broken Wings' is a song by Mr Mister.
A/N: For Fred and her prompt of Lester/Ryan and Technical Hitch. Thanks go to Luka for looking at it and to the wonderful Fifi for the beta. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N2: Continues from Part 5 and continues in Part 7.
Warning (for all parts): Timey-wimey AU: death!fic, dark!fic, dub!con, hurt/comfort, angst, slash, het, OOC-ness.
Helen looked a hell of a lot better than the last time he had seen her, lying shattered at the base of that cliff. Ryan's finger tightened on the trigger of his pistol, after reading her journal he now knew James' death had all been Helen's fault. Without her help and encouragement, Leek would never have been able to control the Future Predators, he would never have smuggled them into the ARC, never released them to hunt and kill James. Without Helen, James would still be alive and in charge of the ARC; Ryan would still be there, not wandering through the past looking for his lover. No, they would have been married and have honeymooned in the Caribbean, they would have lived out their lives together. She had no right to be alive while his lover lay mouldering in the ground, his body so savaged that his mother had been denied the chance to kiss him goodbye.
Ryan raised his pistol and aimed for her black heart and... he couldn't. He just couldn't kill her, not in cold blood. He remembered Connor's words, that people could be totally different between realities. Connor had grinned when he'd added, 'In one world, we could even be working with Helen while her mad ex-husband taunts us.' Cutter had not been impressed, although Stephen had chuckled before pulling his lover into a kiss. Cutter had been impressed by that, Ryan recalled.
Ryan shook his head, he couldn't afford to muse on the past and what might have been now. He needed to plan his next move, did he creep away and leave this James or did he wait until he was alone and approach him? And what was Helen doing here? James didn't seem worried or alarmed about her presence...
His eyes widened when he watched Helen smile and wave at James as she hurried towards him. “James. You're early.” Ryan watched in amazement as James' smile grew. His eyes almost popped out of his head when they kissed. Not a kiss between friends or colleagues, but one of passion and need. Oh fuck! James and Helen? Together? Ryan's mind struggled to cope with that thought.
The sound of running footsteps had Ryan automatically sink even further into his cover. He watched as two laughing children, a dark-haired boy and girl, chased each other down the drive. Ryan smiled at their innocence as they shouted and dodged and played.
“Children!” James' voice was like balm to his wounded heart, Ryan had forgotten how much he loved listening to his lover talk, whether pronouncing orders, coldly dressing someone down or talking dirty in his ear when they fucked.
The two children turned as one and grinned as they flung themselves at James with a yell of 'Daddy'. Ryan found himself smiling as James spun them around and hugged them. He had always thought James would have made an excellent father, he had been a natural with his nieces and nephews. His smile died when the girl turned to Helen, “Mummy, you didn't say daddy would be home.” Ryan's mouth dropped open in shock at those words and he shook his head, he couldn't have heard that correctly, could he?
Helen smiled and kissed James again. “I didn't know, sweetie. He surprised me as well.”
“What, I'm not allowed to surprise my wife or children? I thought we could get an early start for the holiday.”
The children cheered and raced off back up the drive, followed by James and Helen walking arm-in-arm, their voices too low for Ryan to catch their conversation if he had been listening. Bloody hell, James had certainly surprised him in this world. Being married to Helen was bad enough, but to have children with her... it was just mind-boggling.
Ryan's lips twitched as he imagined James' expression when he told him of this world. James would consider it to be a bad joke on Ryan's part, he absolutely loathed the woman and her snide remarks about Ryan being a kept man. Ryan sighed bitterly as he remembered he'd never get to share that story, never see the subtle distaste in James' features, never get to tease him and kiss James hard, never get to... Ryan shook his head and scattered those thoughts. All they would do was torment him.
Ryan lay in the hedge for several minutes after he had watched James (and Helen) pass out of sight. He needed to make sure he was unobserved before he carefully crept back to the anomaly. He paused for a final look around, seeing James so happy was bittersweet for Ryan, but he knew one thing, this world was not for him.
****
Ryan travelled through several more anomalies before he found himself back at his original base camp. In the Permian. Bloody hell, was he doomed to wander in circles forever? He wondered if he'd ever find a James for himself, but he couldn't give up. He couldn't.
The next morning he set out in the opposite direction to his previous wanderings. He would find a way to James. He might even find the... what had Connor called it? Oh, yes, the spaghetti junction of anomalies. He'd have to find James with that many anomalies to choose from. At least, Ryan hoped he would.
****
Ryan sighed and kicked his fire out. It was time to move on. He'd perused Helen's journal and discovered the location of several anomalies that lead to parallel worlds and warnings of dangers to several other worlds. If he was right, if he'd read it correctly, this time period had an anomaly that led to a world parallel to their own... well, he wasn't sure if it was a parallel to her world or his, or whether they were the same or... Ryan shrugged, did it really matter so long as James might be on the other side?
All he needed to do was wait for the bloody thing to open, but he was growing impatient. He'd already been waiting for two weeks. As he glared at the spot the anomaly should be, it flickered and opened, the shards of spinning glass floating and calling to him.
Author: knitekat
Word Count: ~1040 (of ~27300)
Characters: Tom Ryan, James Lester, team and OC soldiers.
Pairing: James Lester/Tom Ryan, various.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace. The OCs belong to Fred and Luka. 'Broken Wings' is a song by Mr Mister.
A/N: For Fred and her prompt of Lester/Ryan and Technical Hitch. Thanks go to Luka for looking at it and to the wonderful Fifi for the beta. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N2: Continues from Part 5 and continues in Part 7.
Warning (for all parts): Timey-wimey AU: death!fic, dark!fic, dub!con, hurt/comfort, angst, slash, het, OOC-ness.
Helen looked a hell of a lot better than the last time he had seen her, lying shattered at the base of that cliff. Ryan's finger tightened on the trigger of his pistol, after reading her journal he now knew James' death had all been Helen's fault. Without her help and encouragement, Leek would never have been able to control the Future Predators, he would never have smuggled them into the ARC, never released them to hunt and kill James. Without Helen, James would still be alive and in charge of the ARC; Ryan would still be there, not wandering through the past looking for his lover. No, they would have been married and have honeymooned in the Caribbean, they would have lived out their lives together. She had no right to be alive while his lover lay mouldering in the ground, his body so savaged that his mother had been denied the chance to kiss him goodbye.
Ryan raised his pistol and aimed for her black heart and... he couldn't. He just couldn't kill her, not in cold blood. He remembered Connor's words, that people could be totally different between realities. Connor had grinned when he'd added, 'In one world, we could even be working with Helen while her mad ex-husband taunts us.' Cutter had not been impressed, although Stephen had chuckled before pulling his lover into a kiss. Cutter had been impressed by that, Ryan recalled.
Ryan shook his head, he couldn't afford to muse on the past and what might have been now. He needed to plan his next move, did he creep away and leave this James or did he wait until he was alone and approach him? And what was Helen doing here? James didn't seem worried or alarmed about her presence...
His eyes widened when he watched Helen smile and wave at James as she hurried towards him. “James. You're early.” Ryan watched in amazement as James' smile grew. His eyes almost popped out of his head when they kissed. Not a kiss between friends or colleagues, but one of passion and need. Oh fuck! James and Helen? Together? Ryan's mind struggled to cope with that thought.
The sound of running footsteps had Ryan automatically sink even further into his cover. He watched as two laughing children, a dark-haired boy and girl, chased each other down the drive. Ryan smiled at their innocence as they shouted and dodged and played.
“Children!” James' voice was like balm to his wounded heart, Ryan had forgotten how much he loved listening to his lover talk, whether pronouncing orders, coldly dressing someone down or talking dirty in his ear when they fucked.
The two children turned as one and grinned as they flung themselves at James with a yell of 'Daddy'. Ryan found himself smiling as James spun them around and hugged them. He had always thought James would have made an excellent father, he had been a natural with his nieces and nephews. His smile died when the girl turned to Helen, “Mummy, you didn't say daddy would be home.” Ryan's mouth dropped open in shock at those words and he shook his head, he couldn't have heard that correctly, could he?
Helen smiled and kissed James again. “I didn't know, sweetie. He surprised me as well.”
“What, I'm not allowed to surprise my wife or children? I thought we could get an early start for the holiday.”
The children cheered and raced off back up the drive, followed by James and Helen walking arm-in-arm, their voices too low for Ryan to catch their conversation if he had been listening. Bloody hell, James had certainly surprised him in this world. Being married to Helen was bad enough, but to have children with her... it was just mind-boggling.
Ryan's lips twitched as he imagined James' expression when he told him of this world. James would consider it to be a bad joke on Ryan's part, he absolutely loathed the woman and her snide remarks about Ryan being a kept man. Ryan sighed bitterly as he remembered he'd never get to share that story, never see the subtle distaste in James' features, never get to tease him and kiss James hard, never get to... Ryan shook his head and scattered those thoughts. All they would do was torment him.
Ryan lay in the hedge for several minutes after he had watched James (and Helen) pass out of sight. He needed to make sure he was unobserved before he carefully crept back to the anomaly. He paused for a final look around, seeing James so happy was bittersweet for Ryan, but he knew one thing, this world was not for him.
****
Ryan travelled through several more anomalies before he found himself back at his original base camp. In the Permian. Bloody hell, was he doomed to wander in circles forever? He wondered if he'd ever find a James for himself, but he couldn't give up. He couldn't.
The next morning he set out in the opposite direction to his previous wanderings. He would find a way to James. He might even find the... what had Connor called it? Oh, yes, the spaghetti junction of anomalies. He'd have to find James with that many anomalies to choose from. At least, Ryan hoped he would.
****
Ryan sighed and kicked his fire out. It was time to move on. He'd perused Helen's journal and discovered the location of several anomalies that lead to parallel worlds and warnings of dangers to several other worlds. If he was right, if he'd read it correctly, this time period had an anomaly that led to a world parallel to their own... well, he wasn't sure if it was a parallel to her world or his, or whether they were the same or... Ryan shrugged, did it really matter so long as James might be on the other side?
All he needed to do was wait for the bloody thing to open, but he was growing impatient. He'd already been waiting for two weeks. As he glared at the spot the anomaly should be, it flickered and opened, the shards of spinning glass floating and calling to him.