Primeval WIP: Plotting (22/...)
Title: Plotting (22/...)
Author: TalliW
Pairings: Lester/Cutter
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Primeval are the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle and Finn belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to fredbassett for beta-reading. I couldn't have done it without you.
The next morning, Nick chewed listlessly on a piece of toast and sipped cold coffee.
The breakfast that had been prepared and left out for him in the kitchen was obviously a final gesture from James before he had left the house, taking all the personal items which he'd stored in the guestroom and bathroom with him. Only the handful of his clothes which had been kept in the master bedroom remained.
Nick decided he would give them back to Lester in the next days.
He'd waited until he was sure his ex-lover was truly out of the house before he'd stood up. He'd been afraid that watching James packing his belongings would destroy his resolve.
Nick had already missed him terribly when he'd woken up alone in the big bed and he'd had trouble remembering why James wasn't next to him.
For a moment he'd even considered forgetting what had happened yesterday and just taking James in his arms.
But he hadn't done that and now James was gone.
James Lester sat at his desk, working on the stack of files in his in-tray. He didn't look up when Cutter strutted into the building with Stephen in tow.
Lester didn't show anything of his inner turmoil. He seemed to be as efficient as ever, giving orders, filing papers and reading reports but in reality he was just going through the motions.
Nick Cutter wrapped himself in his work. The report was delivered punctually onto Lester's desk. Cutter even stayed late in the ARC to write another extensive report. He had no intention of letting Lester find any fault with his work.
But the anxiety was tangible. Connor tried to stay out of the way of both men, Abby spent more time in the zoo because she felt uncomfortable in the current atmosphere in the ARC and Jenny went into purely professional mode.
Stephen didn't know how to behave. He felt partly responsible for the mess and was torn between his wish to stay out of the trouble and the obligation he felt to help his old friend.
With his stony-faced mask firmly in place, two days later Lester informed the teams about fresh insights into the occurrence of Anomalies.
Connor was happy to have new facts he could work with. Most of the others were surprised and also curious as to where the data had come from.
Only three people in the room knew how high a price had had to be paid to gain the new information.
Stephen was there for Nick to lend him a sympathetic ear. In the evenings they sat in the living room of Nick's house, drinking Scotch.
But Cutter avoided getting really drunk. He still heard Lester's words in his mind, telling him that alcohol wasn't helping. And the man had been right. Despite the bottle of whiskey Nick had emptied with Stephen, the pain hadn't lessened.
They talked at length. Although it was mostly Nick who talked, recounting happy memories of his domestic life with Lester. But Stephen was just glad he'd got his friend back. Although Nick was an emotional wreck, that was something Stephen was familiar with. When Helen had vanished, Nick Cutter had handled himself almost the same way - drinking and wallowing in memories.
Nick was so alone and needy Stephen was sure he could have seduced him easily if he'd wanted. But the couple of times he'd held the man in his arms, soothing him, he had felt nothing more than pity for his friend.
So he was able to answer truthfully when Nick falteringly asked him about his feelings on the third evening.
Uneasily, Nick looked at his friend: "Lester said something to me about you."
Stephen frowned.
"He said he believed there were a remote possibility that you might fancy me...."
Stephen gave a laugh. "Don't worry, Cutter. Yes, I did for awhile, but I'm over it now. I'm just your friend and will be forever."
Nick saw Stephen's earnest look and was reassured.
"Thank you. I needed to hear that. I just wanted to be sure there isn't something else which could bring problems between us. I don't want to lose you too."
Despite that talk, he had called a cab for Stephen and had sent him home.
Stephen had been puzzled about why he couldn't sleep in the spare room like he used to do.
He'd found out four days later that Nick had moved into the spare room Lester had occupied on his last night under the same roof.
That Saturday, Stephen had to pick the lock of the frontdoor after Cutter hadn't reacted to his calls or the sound of the doorbell. Worried, he had searched for Nick in every room of the house and had finally found him in the spare room, sleeping in the single bed with a rumpled dress shirt pressed against his check and his arm around a pillow as if he was spooning a lover.
Stephen had to swallow the lump in his throat after seeing this display.
He had left the house quietly and had kept ringing the doorbell until Nick finally opened the front door, obviously exhausted and lacking in motivation.
The one time Helen had showed up at the house, Nick had thrown her out. She had looked confused and even slightly hurt and Stephen had realised she didn't completely understand what she had done to Nick.
Perhaps she had really wanted to break them up only to get her husband back? The thought that Nick loved the man he had been together with had never occured to her and so she hadn't expected the destructive effect of her actions. Helen might show a callous disregard for strangers but she still cared about the people close to her, didn't she?
But then she had made a pass at him and Stephen had recoiled in disgust. Now it seemed like it was really only a game for her and he didn't want to have anything to do with that or her.
He'd told her she should go to hell and Helen Cutter had left in a huff. But the malicious look she had sent him before she walked away had given Stephen the creeps.
Seven days later, the tension between Cutter and Lester was so bloody obvious, that even Jetrow and Finn, not usually the most sensitive of people had picked up on it.
The soldiers of Stephen's Special Forces Team got together in the common room to talk about the two men.
"It's worse than the time Cutter was furious with Hart," Finn declared.
Jetrow agreed. "That's because it's sexual tension this time. Cutter and Lester should just shag each other and be done with it."
Jon Lyle shook his head."I don't think that's the problem here. They were already shagging before..."
"You really think they had sex?" Private Fergusson cut in, wide-eyed.
Lyle shrugged his shoulders."I've got this vibe about them..." he trailed off.
Finn raised his eyebrows, disbelievingly. "You get a feeling if two men are having it off? Are you sure you're..." A hard kick against his shin from Jetrow reminded him he was still talking to a superior despite the friendly contact Lieutenant Lyle had with his men and Finn stopped awkwardly in the middle of his sentence.
"You know, the whole thing doesn't concern us. We're here to save their arses and not to worry who's lusting after them," Sergeant Damian Willis remarked and went back to being engrossed in his book, "Ivanhoe", again.
Babyface hadn't said anything yet but now he suggested, "I could talk to Connor Temple. He seems to be a sensible guy. Perhaps the scientists know more about the whole thing than we do."
Jetrow nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. We're just the infantry to them, not supposed to know a damn. He could probably tell you more."
"Or we could leave it." Damian was annoyed now. "Why should we care? Lester isn't out with us in the field. If they want to clash afterwards it's their problem."
"But if Cutter isn't one hundred percent fully operational it could pose a problem. I've been there when the geek got hurt and I don't want to be in the middle of a situation like that again," Lyle explained. "So, talk to Temple," he told Babyface. "And I'll see what I can get out of our new team leader."
Jon Lyle was frustrated. The operation: "Talking with Hart", hadn't worked out as planned.
Stephen Hart hadn't given anything away. If Lyle hadn't known better he would have thought the guy had been trained by the Secret Intelligence Service.
Lyle's direct approach had failed. The question "Do you know what's going on, Sir?" in the staff canteen had been met by a shrug from the dark-haired man.
"I'm just asking because it might cause a problem in the chain of command," was answered with: "There will not be a problem. They're professionals."
The other attempts to get him talking had been met by a complete lack of reaction.
Finally, the soldier got fed up. "OK, I get it. It's not my business. Sorry for worrying about the danger I could put my men in with two fighting superiors. It'll just be another soldier who bites the dust after all."
That got Stephen Hart's attention. "I didn't mean it like that," he said apologetically.
"It's all right, Sir." Lyle rubbed his forehead. "I know we're the expendable ones. Just here to follow orders. But we're also humans with feelings and sometimes even thoughts. And we worry."
"I know that, Lieutenant." Stephen put his hand placatingly on Lyle's arm. "But it's a very private matter and I can't talk about it."
Stephen took a sip of his drink.
"So it really is a lover's tiff," Lyle remarked.
On hearing that, Stephen swallowed his lemonade the wrong way.
Lyle patted him on the back until his team leader could breathe properly again.
"What? Did you think we don't pay attention to what's going on?" Jon Lyle grinned.
The man's grin was catching and Stephen felt his mouth curling up into a smile as well.
When Lance Corporal Finn looked into the staff canteen he saw his team leader and his Lieutenant sitting together, grinning like fools at each other.
The moment the Anomaly Detector alarm sounded, the people in the ARC breathed a sigh of relief.
When Cutter had delivered his latest report to Lester, he'd had such a longing look in his eyes it had nearly broken Abby's, Connor's and Jenny's hearts.
Only Lester had not seen the look, he'd been too busy pretending to read a file until Cutter had left his office again.
Afterwards, everyone had agreed that crazy dinosaurs were easier to deal with than the weird situation between Cutter and Lester in the ARC.
The small creatures at the Anomaly which opened up in a retirement home in Kingston cheered everyone up, everyone but Cutter.
Abby was delighted to see the seven Longisquama, 15 centimeter long lizards with large red scales, which looked like cockscombs, on their backs.
For Jenny it was easy to spin a tale about lizards escaping from a private animal breeder.
And the Special Forces team were just glad they didn't have to deal with a dangerous creature for a change.
Nick stood there, disinterested, staring at the Anomaly, while the others watched the dominance behaviour of the lizards in amusement, spreading out their striking scales and uttering strange sounds.
Lester had stayed behind at the ARC. When they came back after the Anomaly had closed he took Connor aside and handed him a file.
"I want you to take a look at that, Temple. There's new information in there about the Anomalies. I want you to check it thoroughly. If you find something special call me. And keep quiet about it. No one gets their hands on that file other than you and me. It that clear?"
Connor was instantly curious. The latest info Lester had given them hadn't been very useful.
This time, however, in Connor's mind an idea was forming while he looked at the data sheet.
But some of the data couldn't be accurate if his theory was to prove correct. He now had to find out what was in the wrong here, his theory or some facts in the file.
Babyface's attempt at interrogation the next day had just elicited a tired smile from Connor. After his last grilling from Lester, a soldier with baby-blue eyes and dimples was not going to scare him.
Connor found out really quickly that Marcus Fox was a decent guy with an interest in science fiction and computer games. He reminded Connor a bit of Tom. The easy-going soldier with his confidence and firm goals in live was actually nothing like Tom. But when he laughed it was the same hearty laugh his decreased friend had had. Astonishingly enough it didn't make him sad. Instead, it brought back good memories for Connor.
Connor had been shocked when Babyface had successfully used his sparkling blue eyes and his pouting on Abby. Within five minutes, the guy had got to know as much information about Lester and Cutter's relationship as Abby knew herself. She'd never reacted that way to Connor's pouting and at first he was worried that the man might present some serious competition in his courtship of Abby.
But Marcus had laughed and told him he hadn't any romantic interest in Abby or Connor, for that matter.
It seemed the guy had precise visions of the woman he wanted to marry one day and apparently Abby didn't fit that picture.
Babyface, Connor and Abby sat together now and then, plotting, but they hadn't come up with an idea yet. Also Jenny, Jetrow and Finn, who joined them sometimes, weren't a great help either.
After all, they didn't know much about the falling out. No one had been very forthcoming with information.
They only thing they had learnt was that Helen had played a part in it. Having either met the woman in person or heard of her, was enough to convince all of them it was all a perfectly planned plot to enable the bitch to take revenge on Cutter for leaving her.
Jenny had hit it off with Jetrow from the start and could be seen in his company more often now. Finn was usually not far away from the friend that he'd served with in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They had used their combined forces to try to lock Nick and Lester in together. Lester had sneered when Connor sent him into the lab under false pretenses but he'd stepped in regardless.
Cutter however had shaken his head. "Nice try!" he had said and then he'd walked away.
"I told you he's too smart to fall for the same stunt a second time," Finn had whispered.
"Lester had wised up to what we had in mind but he was willing to get along with it. It's Cutter who's the dickhead here, " Abby had said in frustration.
Connor had remarked, "Then we have to concentrate more on him."
But Cutter had withdrawn from them after that stunt. He reduced the private contact with the team to a minimum. The only person he still had amicable contact with was Stephen and he used him as messenger boy to the team. This wasn't something Stephen was very happy about but he didn't dare to say anything for fear of ending up estranged from Nick again.
Stephen and Lyle met in the staff canteen daily now, talking and drinking lemonade or in Lyle's case a mug of tea.
Stephen had quickly realised that his second in command was a nice intelligent guy.
He'd acted as intermediary between Stephen and the other soldiers from the start and he'd smoothed his first days as team leader. Stephen knew that without Lyle's help the tough men wouldn't have accepted him so easily.
And slowly he started to confide in him, talking about his frustration with the Cutter situation.
Abby had asked Jenny about Jetrow and if they were developing a relationship. Jenny had grinned and declared that Jetrow reminded her of her father and was only a friend. Abby had been surprised. She hadn't ever pictured Jenny's dad as someone so reckless and weird as Jetrow.
Of course the man had to choose that moment to walk into their heart-to-heart conversation. Laughing, he had declared he loved his freedom too much to ever fall for a bossy woman.
Afterwards he'd ushered the two woman into the staff canteen to buy them a non-alcoholic drink.
There they had seen Lyle and Stephen Hart sitting close together in a corner, talking animatedly. Jetrow had just raised his eyebrows while Abby rolled her eyes in irritation.
The next day, Stephen Hart was indignant. He was still waiting for Lyle to finish the analysis of the latest weapons practice Lester wanted to see. He'd come back empty-handed from Lyle's office three times already.
Jetrow watched his team leader pace around impatiently and impulsively decided to take the opportunity to test the water.
"I'm sure the Lieutenant could finish the report faster, if he wasn't distracted all the time by the need to ogle your arse whenever you're in his office," Jetrow said to Stephen Hart.
The Staff Sergeant knew that such a comment was a dangerous thing to say to a superior and could result in a heavy reprimand or a demotion. So he stood with bated breath, ad waiting for his team leader's reaction.
Stephen Hart seemed to be pleased with the information. "Then I think I'll leave him alone for awhile," he said and walked down the ramp to Connor with a grin on his face.
Jetrow grinned too. Maybe Hart wasn't a hard-bitten soldier but he was a good sort. He knew his old schoolfriend Lyle didn't like his men as tough as nails anyway.
It had been a bad day, rainy and windy. Running around in the rain after a fast Lesothosaurus and dealing with an annoying pair of reporters hadn't lifted the mood one little bit.
Cutter walked into Jenny's office, feeling miserable. He just wanted to ask her if she was all right after he'd got a dressing down from Abby about his callous attitude toward Jenny after she'd been knocked down by the dinosaur at the Anomaly. Stephen had refused to handle that for him, excusing himself with the reports he had to write.
Jenny stood there with her hair down, a bit disheveled and weary. The talk with the reporters had been hard and had escalated into insults. All she wanted tonight was a hot bath and some peace and quiet.
In her current condition she reminded Nick of Claudia, the day they had saved the Pteranodon.
Without thinking he moved forward and pulled her into his arms, his lips desperately pressing against her mouth. And for a short moment Jenny responded.
When James Lester's voice rang in the room they sprung apart awkwardly.
"If you're quite finished sharing body fluids with Professor Cutter I shall be delighted to see your report about the Stamford Bridge Stadium event," he said and stalked out of the office.
"Shit!" Jenny cursed.
"Yeah..." Cutter agreed.
"Look, Jenny, I'm sorry I..."
"It's OK. I know I'm not the one..."
"That's not what I wanted to say... .But the kiss just now..."
"Didn't mean anything. I realise that, Nick. I know where your preferences lie."
"Damn it, Jenny, would you please let me finish," Cutter called annoyed. "I'm not ..."
Jenny waited for him to end the sentence but now Nick was lost for words.
She shook her head amused and said: "But you love him."
Nick stared at her dumbfounded , so Jenny continued: "It's oblivious."
"Great, now I'm an open book for everyone," Cutter huffed.
"Just the people who care for you. It's sometimes only a look that gives you away. But we've all seen there is something."
Nick closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "What a mess. I shouldn't have kissed you."
Jenny shrugged her shoulders. "But it's good it happened. It was very educational."
Cutter raised his eyebrow.
"Now I realise that nothing can come of it. Kissing you felt like I was kissing a brother. Knowing that makes it easier to move on."
Now Nick Cutter felt his pride had been wounded. "But you responded," he pointed out and then added: "and I felt something."
"...on a pure physical level. But your heart wasn't in it. Not really."
Nick bowed his head. "I miss him, Jenny," he finally admitted.
"Then tell him that and forget whatever happened!"
"That's not as easy as it sounds..."
"Men!" Jenny rolled her eyes. "It's that or two miserable men carry on mourning lost opportunities for the rest of their lives. It's your decison."
"Hey, why am I the one the one at fault all of a sudden?" Cutter said, defensively.
"Because Lester can't make the first step. He's your supervisor, Nick" Jenny answered pointedly.
"The first move has always to come from the subordinate or someone could call it sexual harassment. You can lose your job in the Civil Service very quickly because of an accusation like that. Sorry, but it looks like it's all in your hands."
Jenny took a deep breath, straitened her clothes and tried to fix her hair.
"Now I have to see how much of my reputation had been damaged by my boss seeing me kissing a rugged maverick in my office and how much he'll be pissed off because he's interested in that same maverick," she said flippantly and left the office.
Nick Cutter snorted then cracked a smile, the first since the fall out with Lester, and he waited until he saw Jenny triumphantly walking out of Lester's office eight minutes later.
It seemed the damage to her reputation had been limited and she had stood her ground against a moody Lester.
Lester walked out after her and when he turned around in Nick's direction their eyes met for a moment.
Nick saw the same longing in Lester's look that Jenny and the others seemed to have seen in his own eyes.
Afterwards, Nick Cutter sat in his office for the rest of the day with enough food for thought to occupy him until deep into the night.