Fic... But not Torchwood!
*evil laugh*
Fandom: Primeval (!)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Strongly implied Stephen/Cutter. Spoilers for episode three.
Summary: Conversation after episode three. Near death experiences and estranged lovers.
Aftermath
Cutter stopped shouting midway through a word, taking the phone away from his ear and glaring at it, then putting it back on the cradle and running a hand through his hair. They’d hung up on him. Again. His fourth try and he hadn’t even made it past the secretaries yet. According to them, everyone else was busy.
He sighed, got up from his desk, and roamed the room for a minute or two, stopping to toy with fossils or books or piles of notes. He found his way back to the desk before long, drawn by the picture of Helen. He ran his fingers over the top of the frame for a moment, picked it up, put it down, then planted his hands on the desk and hung his head, sighing again.
“Nick?”
He turned his head slightly to show he’d heard, and listened to the comfortably familiar sound of Stephen making his way down the stairs and across to the desk.
“No luck then,” Stephen said, and Cutter told him, a little bitterly, “They won’t even admit they’ve got her. All I asked for was to see her - to talk to her. They think she’ll tell them everything they need to know, and somehow everything will be put right again. They don’t even need to bother speaking to me now.”
Stephen told him, “They’ll come back. When the next anomaly opens, they’ll have to.”
Cutter managed a weak smile, saying dryly, “Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better.”
They were both silent for a few seconds, then Cutter raised his head, breathing in deeply and turning to face Stephen, settling himself on the edge of the desk and folding his arms.
“Go on, then.”
Stephen gave him a quizzical look, and he elaborated, “Say what you’re here to say.”
Stephen hesitated for a second longer, then said, “I couldn’t do anything. If I’d known any way to stop them, I’d -”
“I know,” Cutter told him softly.
“Right,” said Stephen, and looked away. “I’ll understand if… now Helen’s back…”
Cutter let him trail off into silence, then said pointedly, “How’s Alison?”
Stephen looked at him for a long moment before saying, “Distant. Different. I think we’ve both moved on too much while she was away.”
“Two years is a long time to be gone,” Cutter nodded. “A lot can change.”
“But Helen -”
“Helen’s not the woman I loved any more,” Cutter told him flatly, forcing himself to say it, to believe it. “She didn’t want to come back, she wanted me to stay with her. To walk away from my life, just like she did, and not to care what that did to the people I left behind.”
He sat there in silence a few moments more, watching Stephen watching him, then Stephen said quietly, “I’ll keep trying to get through to Claudia. You should get some rest. You’ve been through Hell today.”
Cutter watched him for a second longer, then stood up, resting his hand on Stephen’s arm and saying, “No. I’ll call again tomorrow morning. Sleep sounds good for now.”
Stephen nodded, hesitated, then said, “Nick, when you… When we pulled you out of the water, I was sure you were…”
Cutter squeezed his arm reassuringly, and he said, quietly, “Don’t do that to me again.”
“Now you know how I felt,” Cutter told him. “By my count that makes us even.”
Stephen smiled a little, and said, “Just be careful from now on.”
“No promises,” Cutter smiled. “But I will if you will.”
Fandom: Primeval (!)
Rating: PG
Warnings: Strongly implied Stephen/Cutter. Spoilers for episode three.
Summary: Conversation after episode three. Near death experiences and estranged lovers.
Aftermath
Cutter stopped shouting midway through a word, taking the phone away from his ear and glaring at it, then putting it back on the cradle and running a hand through his hair. They’d hung up on him. Again. His fourth try and he hadn’t even made it past the secretaries yet. According to them, everyone else was busy.
He sighed, got up from his desk, and roamed the room for a minute or two, stopping to toy with fossils or books or piles of notes. He found his way back to the desk before long, drawn by the picture of Helen. He ran his fingers over the top of the frame for a moment, picked it up, put it down, then planted his hands on the desk and hung his head, sighing again.
“Nick?”
He turned his head slightly to show he’d heard, and listened to the comfortably familiar sound of Stephen making his way down the stairs and across to the desk.
“No luck then,” Stephen said, and Cutter told him, a little bitterly, “They won’t even admit they’ve got her. All I asked for was to see her - to talk to her. They think she’ll tell them everything they need to know, and somehow everything will be put right again. They don’t even need to bother speaking to me now.”
Stephen told him, “They’ll come back. When the next anomaly opens, they’ll have to.”
Cutter managed a weak smile, saying dryly, “Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better.”
They were both silent for a few seconds, then Cutter raised his head, breathing in deeply and turning to face Stephen, settling himself on the edge of the desk and folding his arms.
“Go on, then.”
Stephen gave him a quizzical look, and he elaborated, “Say what you’re here to say.”
Stephen hesitated for a second longer, then said, “I couldn’t do anything. If I’d known any way to stop them, I’d -”
“I know,” Cutter told him softly.
“Right,” said Stephen, and looked away. “I’ll understand if… now Helen’s back…”
Cutter let him trail off into silence, then said pointedly, “How’s Alison?”
Stephen looked at him for a long moment before saying, “Distant. Different. I think we’ve both moved on too much while she was away.”
“Two years is a long time to be gone,” Cutter nodded. “A lot can change.”
“But Helen -”
“Helen’s not the woman I loved any more,” Cutter told him flatly, forcing himself to say it, to believe it. “She didn’t want to come back, she wanted me to stay with her. To walk away from my life, just like she did, and not to care what that did to the people I left behind.”
He sat there in silence a few moments more, watching Stephen watching him, then Stephen said quietly, “I’ll keep trying to get through to Claudia. You should get some rest. You’ve been through Hell today.”
Cutter watched him for a second longer, then stood up, resting his hand on Stephen’s arm and saying, “No. I’ll call again tomorrow morning. Sleep sounds good for now.”
Stephen nodded, hesitated, then said, “Nick, when you… When we pulled you out of the water, I was sure you were…”
Cutter squeezed his arm reassuringly, and he said, quietly, “Don’t do that to me again.”
“Now you know how I felt,” Cutter told him. “By my count that makes us even.”
Stephen smiled a little, and said, “Just be careful from now on.”
“No promises,” Cutter smiled. “But I will if you will.”