Fic: A New Dawn - 2/11 - A Lot To Handle
Title: A New Dawn - Chapter 2: A Lot To Handle
Fandom: Primeval
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1900 (total so far: ~4700)
Spoilers: Everything up to the end of series four is fair game. Anything after that is purely coincidental.
Summary: My own take on where Primeval will/should go in series five. Abby is on the receiving end of some life-changing news, but she’s not the only one with a problem to deal with. Danny tries to get through to his brother, while Connor continues his research into the anomalies.
Notes: I've tried to stay as true to the tone of the show as possible, but there may be a little more angst than the series usually contains. Also, some of the language used is slightly more coarse than in canon, but that's a rare occurrence and not hugely offensive.
Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval, or any of the characters.
Abby stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, focusing only on the sound of the ticking clock, counting the seconds with it.
Ten. Twenty. Thirty.
Halfway there.
Forty. Fifty.
She was sure time was slowing down. A part of her wanted that to be the case. Then she would never have to look. She would never have to find out. But at the same time, the waiting was almost painful.
Sixty.
She didn’t look straight away. It took her a moment to muster up the courage, but eventually she forced her gaze down to the stick in her hand.
It was positive.
Closing her eyes, she sank to the floor and leant against the side of the bath. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, if it was ever supposed to happen at all. They were supposed to plan it, her and Connor, together. They were supposed to work out how to balance everything - work, children...life. Together.
So many questions were whirling around in Abby’s head. What would Connor think? Is this what he wanted, or would he be scared away? Would she have to quit her job at the ARC? Would it even be fair to bring a child into a world, given that she and Connor had seen dangers others could only imagine? What if they were killed in action - surely, it would just be cruel, even selfish, to have a child when there was a very real risk of it losing both parents?
Maybe she was over-thinking this. She felt a strange sense of guilt at not being overjoyed at the news. But kids had never really been part of the plan - not of her plan, anyway. But Connor was involved in this too, and Abby was pretty sure he had his heart set on the whole family life thing, white picket fence and all.
A sharp rapping on the bathroom door made Abby jump in fright.
“Abby?” came Jess’ voice from the other side of the door. “You’ve been in there for a while; is everything okay?”
“Yeah…one second…” Abby called back. She stuffed the test in the bin, burying it deep underneath all the rubbish. As she washed her hands, she took a final glance in the mirror. She steeled herself for the day ahead, pushing everything else to the back of her mind. She would have to deal with it later.
+++
“Doctor,” said Lester, striding into the medical wing. “How is he?”
The doctor looked up from the form she was studying and removed her glasses. “Captain Becker? Still weak, I’m afraid.”
“No sign of improvement, then?” Lester lowered his voice slightly as he looked over at Becker’s bed for the first time. He was sleeping, and Jess was sat next to him, fiddling with a small teddy bear.
“I wouldn’t say that,” said the doctor. “He did wake up for a short while during the night. He’ll be all right; he just needs a bit of time to recuperate fully.”
“How much time?” asked Lester. Seeing the doctor’s disapproving expression, he rolled his eyes. “I’m hardly going to drag him back to work the moment he wakes up.”
The doctor paused for a moment, before turning her attention back to the clipboard in her hand. “As well as a nasty electric shock, he’s suffered a head injury. It’s relatively minor, but I want to keep him in for a few more nights, just in case. Any subsequent medical leave will depend on how strong he feels.”
Lester nodded his thanks to the doctor and left the medical wing. A few days with Willis as Head of Security would be just about bearable, providing there were no major creature incursions. If there was an incursion…they would just have to manage. Matt, Abby and Connor, as experienced as they were, could only do so much on their own. Still, it would have to do.
As he made his way back to his office, Lester resolved to arrange a meeting with the Minister. The new ARC was seriously understaffed, and Lester didn’t know how it had managed to reach the point where a single soldier had to face a threat with no backup. If things carried on this way, another case like Stephen Hart’s was inevitable.
+++
It had taken Danny the better part of two days to locate his brother. He wanted to go up to him, to talk to him, but he knew Patrick was…unpredictable, to say the least. So for now, as Patrick knelt by a stream to drink, Danny kept his distance, hiding behind trees and rocks, never taking his eyes off of the figure in front of him.
That is, until he saw the terror bird.
“LOOK OUT!” Danny rushed towards Patrick, but he wasn’t quick enough. The bird reached Patrick and struck out at him, knocking him to the ground. As Danny reached the stream, he swung Molly. The stick crashed into the bird’s head, once, twice, three times, and with a squawk, the creature fell to the floor.
“Are you alright?” Danny asked Patrick, kneeling beside him.
“What are you doing here?” said Patrick gruffly, standing up.
“Yeah. You’re welcome. It’s fine, honestly, don’t mention it,” said Danny.
Patrick glared at him. “What are you doing here?” he repeated.
“You think after all these years, I’d let you just run away?” Danny looked into Patrick’s eyes. They were filled with pure contempt, the likes of which Danny had never seen before - not even in the most hardened criminals. “Patrick…”
“Don’t tell me you tried to find me,” hissed Patrick, taking a step towards Danny. “For years, I was stuck with those…those things. I was just a kid. I didn’t know where I was. I was counting on you to come and find me, to come and help me, and you never did.”
“I tried, Patrick. The police, the ARC - I’ve told you. Everything I did was to try and find you.”
Shaking his head, Patrick turned his back on Danny. “I don’t need you,” he said as he started to walk away. “Not anymore. Just leave me alone.”
“You haven’t changed, have you?” Danny called after him. “You’re still the same selfish kid you always were.”
Patrick stopped walking and turned back to face Danny, fists clenched.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he spat.
“Nothing,” said Danny. He had regretted the words as soon as he had thought them, but somehow they had still forced their way out of his mouth. “Come on, Patrick. Just come back home with me. I can help you.”
Patrick looked away. For a brief moment, Danny thought he was seriously considering the offer. But Patrick just turned his back again, and walked away.
Danny could tell he wasn’t going to get through to his brother any time soon. He hadn’t expected to, but that didn’t make the disappointment any less biting. Realising he had little other choice, he watched Patrick walk away. After a few minutes, Danny followed him, back to lurking behind trees and skulking in shadows.
+++
“Connor?”
He looked up from his work to see Abby enter his lab.
“Abby…you probably…I mean, you shouldn’t really be in here. It’s…” He looked at the expression on her face. The concern in her eyes was almost unnerving. “Are you okay?”
“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” she said, smiling weakly. “You’ve been sort of distracted lately.”
“Just busy,” replied Connor, indicating the sheets of paper that were strewn all over the surface of the table. “Work.”
“What kind of work?”
“Just…research.”
“Into the anomalies?”
Connor nodded. “Yeah. I’m trying to find a way to stop them happening. Completely. I mean…that does mean that we’ll both be out of a job, but - ”
“I think it’s great, Connor,” said Abby. “It’ll make the world a hell of a lot safer.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” He looked at the piles of research notes. Despite Philip’s advice and reassurance, Connor hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of dread that was lurking in the pit of his stomach. He had stayed awake all night, asking himself what Professor Cutter would do in a crisis like this. His first idea was to attempt to rebuild the model of the anomalies, but that would take far too long. The only logical option - if (and, of course, only if) Philip’s idea failed - was to attempt to stop the anomalies completely. He had thought up countless theories and done so many calculations that he could barely remember the square root of four, but he was still nowhere near anything resembling a solution.
“You’ll figure it out,” said Abby, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled. She had always been able to sense his doubt. He pulled her into an embrace, burying his face in her hair. He wished he could tell her everything, but Philip had been incredibly insistent about keeping quiet. And, while Connor had more than his fair share of reservations about the so-called ‘new dawn’ that Philip was gunning for, his apprehension could never overpower the trust and admiration he held for the man.
+++
For the first time in a long while, Matt was almost glad to hear the blaring alarm of the ADD. It was his call to arms; a reminder that even with everything else that was happening, it was still business as usual.
Jess rattled off the coordinates as Matt grabbed a tracker from her desk, slipping comfortably back into the role of team leader. This was a situation he could handle. He was in control again. As he drove to the location of the anomaly - an abandoned warehouse not half an hour away - he found that he was able to push Philip and Helen Cutter to the back of his mind. They weren’t completely forgotten - he couldn’t afford to let his guard down that much - but they were on the back burner, and he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn’t really care that it was only a temporary relief from a huge problem; it was still relief of some sort.
Dealing with the anomaly was a refreshingly simple task. Matt and Abby searched the warehouse for signs of a creature incursion, while Connor locked the anomaly before determining that it led to the Permian period. And that was it. Within an hour, they were heading back to the ARC, having left two soldiers at the warehouse to keep an eye on the anomaly until it closed.
Matt wasn’t really one for reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”, but it was strange to think that those days had only been a few months ago. The days when he could afford to just take each anomaly as it happened; when creatures were the most dangerous threat. There was a formula, a pattern - find the creatures, find the anomaly, and close it. It had been so easy, so simple. Sometimes Matt thought he missed those days more than he missed home.
Fandom: Primeval
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1900 (total so far: ~4700)
Spoilers: Everything up to the end of series four is fair game. Anything after that is purely coincidental.
Summary: My own take on where Primeval will/should go in series five. Abby is on the receiving end of some life-changing news, but she’s not the only one with a problem to deal with. Danny tries to get through to his brother, while Connor continues his research into the anomalies.
Notes: I've tried to stay as true to the tone of the show as possible, but there may be a little more angst than the series usually contains. Also, some of the language used is slightly more coarse than in canon, but that's a rare occurrence and not hugely offensive.
Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval, or any of the characters.
Abby stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, focusing only on the sound of the ticking clock, counting the seconds with it.
Ten. Twenty. Thirty.
Halfway there.
Forty. Fifty.
She was sure time was slowing down. A part of her wanted that to be the case. Then she would never have to look. She would never have to find out. But at the same time, the waiting was almost painful.
Sixty.
She didn’t look straight away. It took her a moment to muster up the courage, but eventually she forced her gaze down to the stick in her hand.
It was positive.
Closing her eyes, she sank to the floor and leant against the side of the bath. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, if it was ever supposed to happen at all. They were supposed to plan it, her and Connor, together. They were supposed to work out how to balance everything - work, children...life. Together.
So many questions were whirling around in Abby’s head. What would Connor think? Is this what he wanted, or would he be scared away? Would she have to quit her job at the ARC? Would it even be fair to bring a child into a world, given that she and Connor had seen dangers others could only imagine? What if they were killed in action - surely, it would just be cruel, even selfish, to have a child when there was a very real risk of it losing both parents?
Maybe she was over-thinking this. She felt a strange sense of guilt at not being overjoyed at the news. But kids had never really been part of the plan - not of her plan, anyway. But Connor was involved in this too, and Abby was pretty sure he had his heart set on the whole family life thing, white picket fence and all.
A sharp rapping on the bathroom door made Abby jump in fright.
“Abby?” came Jess’ voice from the other side of the door. “You’ve been in there for a while; is everything okay?”
“Yeah…one second…” Abby called back. She stuffed the test in the bin, burying it deep underneath all the rubbish. As she washed her hands, she took a final glance in the mirror. She steeled herself for the day ahead, pushing everything else to the back of her mind. She would have to deal with it later.
+++
“Doctor,” said Lester, striding into the medical wing. “How is he?”
The doctor looked up from the form she was studying and removed her glasses. “Captain Becker? Still weak, I’m afraid.”
“No sign of improvement, then?” Lester lowered his voice slightly as he looked over at Becker’s bed for the first time. He was sleeping, and Jess was sat next to him, fiddling with a small teddy bear.
“I wouldn’t say that,” said the doctor. “He did wake up for a short while during the night. He’ll be all right; he just needs a bit of time to recuperate fully.”
“How much time?” asked Lester. Seeing the doctor’s disapproving expression, he rolled his eyes. “I’m hardly going to drag him back to work the moment he wakes up.”
The doctor paused for a moment, before turning her attention back to the clipboard in her hand. “As well as a nasty electric shock, he’s suffered a head injury. It’s relatively minor, but I want to keep him in for a few more nights, just in case. Any subsequent medical leave will depend on how strong he feels.”
Lester nodded his thanks to the doctor and left the medical wing. A few days with Willis as Head of Security would be just about bearable, providing there were no major creature incursions. If there was an incursion…they would just have to manage. Matt, Abby and Connor, as experienced as they were, could only do so much on their own. Still, it would have to do.
As he made his way back to his office, Lester resolved to arrange a meeting with the Minister. The new ARC was seriously understaffed, and Lester didn’t know how it had managed to reach the point where a single soldier had to face a threat with no backup. If things carried on this way, another case like Stephen Hart’s was inevitable.
+++
It had taken Danny the better part of two days to locate his brother. He wanted to go up to him, to talk to him, but he knew Patrick was…unpredictable, to say the least. So for now, as Patrick knelt by a stream to drink, Danny kept his distance, hiding behind trees and rocks, never taking his eyes off of the figure in front of him.
That is, until he saw the terror bird.
“LOOK OUT!” Danny rushed towards Patrick, but he wasn’t quick enough. The bird reached Patrick and struck out at him, knocking him to the ground. As Danny reached the stream, he swung Molly. The stick crashed into the bird’s head, once, twice, three times, and with a squawk, the creature fell to the floor.
“Are you alright?” Danny asked Patrick, kneeling beside him.
“What are you doing here?” said Patrick gruffly, standing up.
“Yeah. You’re welcome. It’s fine, honestly, don’t mention it,” said Danny.
Patrick glared at him. “What are you doing here?” he repeated.
“You think after all these years, I’d let you just run away?” Danny looked into Patrick’s eyes. They were filled with pure contempt, the likes of which Danny had never seen before - not even in the most hardened criminals. “Patrick…”
“Don’t tell me you tried to find me,” hissed Patrick, taking a step towards Danny. “For years, I was stuck with those…those things. I was just a kid. I didn’t know where I was. I was counting on you to come and find me, to come and help me, and you never did.”
“I tried, Patrick. The police, the ARC - I’ve told you. Everything I did was to try and find you.”
Shaking his head, Patrick turned his back on Danny. “I don’t need you,” he said as he started to walk away. “Not anymore. Just leave me alone.”
“You haven’t changed, have you?” Danny called after him. “You’re still the same selfish kid you always were.”
Patrick stopped walking and turned back to face Danny, fists clenched.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he spat.
“Nothing,” said Danny. He had regretted the words as soon as he had thought them, but somehow they had still forced their way out of his mouth. “Come on, Patrick. Just come back home with me. I can help you.”
Patrick looked away. For a brief moment, Danny thought he was seriously considering the offer. But Patrick just turned his back again, and walked away.
Danny could tell he wasn’t going to get through to his brother any time soon. He hadn’t expected to, but that didn’t make the disappointment any less biting. Realising he had little other choice, he watched Patrick walk away. After a few minutes, Danny followed him, back to lurking behind trees and skulking in shadows.
+++
“Connor?”
He looked up from his work to see Abby enter his lab.
“Abby…you probably…I mean, you shouldn’t really be in here. It’s…” He looked at the expression on her face. The concern in her eyes was almost unnerving. “Are you okay?”
“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” she said, smiling weakly. “You’ve been sort of distracted lately.”
“Just busy,” replied Connor, indicating the sheets of paper that were strewn all over the surface of the table. “Work.”
“What kind of work?”
“Just…research.”
“Into the anomalies?”
Connor nodded. “Yeah. I’m trying to find a way to stop them happening. Completely. I mean…that does mean that we’ll both be out of a job, but - ”
“I think it’s great, Connor,” said Abby. “It’ll make the world a hell of a lot safer.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” He looked at the piles of research notes. Despite Philip’s advice and reassurance, Connor hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of dread that was lurking in the pit of his stomach. He had stayed awake all night, asking himself what Professor Cutter would do in a crisis like this. His first idea was to attempt to rebuild the model of the anomalies, but that would take far too long. The only logical option - if (and, of course, only if) Philip’s idea failed - was to attempt to stop the anomalies completely. He had thought up countless theories and done so many calculations that he could barely remember the square root of four, but he was still nowhere near anything resembling a solution.
“You’ll figure it out,” said Abby, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled. She had always been able to sense his doubt. He pulled her into an embrace, burying his face in her hair. He wished he could tell her everything, but Philip had been incredibly insistent about keeping quiet. And, while Connor had more than his fair share of reservations about the so-called ‘new dawn’ that Philip was gunning for, his apprehension could never overpower the trust and admiration he held for the man.
+++
For the first time in a long while, Matt was almost glad to hear the blaring alarm of the ADD. It was his call to arms; a reminder that even with everything else that was happening, it was still business as usual.
Jess rattled off the coordinates as Matt grabbed a tracker from her desk, slipping comfortably back into the role of team leader. This was a situation he could handle. He was in control again. As he drove to the location of the anomaly - an abandoned warehouse not half an hour away - he found that he was able to push Philip and Helen Cutter to the back of his mind. They weren’t completely forgotten - he couldn’t afford to let his guard down that much - but they were on the back burner, and he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn’t really care that it was only a temporary relief from a huge problem; it was still relief of some sort.
Dealing with the anomaly was a refreshingly simple task. Matt and Abby searched the warehouse for signs of a creature incursion, while Connor locked the anomaly before determining that it led to the Permian period. And that was it. Within an hour, they were heading back to the ARC, having left two soldiers at the warehouse to keep an eye on the anomaly until it closed.
Matt wasn’t really one for reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”, but it was strange to think that those days had only been a few months ago. The days when he could afford to just take each anomaly as it happened; when creatures were the most dangerous threat. There was a formula, a pattern - find the creatures, find the anomaly, and close it. It had been so easy, so simple. Sometimes Matt thought he missed those days more than he missed home.