Primeval Art Fic: To Save The World - Part 3
Title: To Save The World - Part 3
Author: knitekat
Word Count: 1527 words out of 5034
Characters: Danny Quinn, Hilary Becker, Nick Cutter, Stephen Hart, James Lester, Connor Temple.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N 1: For goldarrow's Art prompt. Also for my Primeval Bingo Card (round 8) Wild Card prompt: Wibby-wobby-timey-wimey: Time travel (13/25).
A/N 2: Thanks go to The Libran Iniquity for the beta.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Danny sat in the interrogation room and wondered if things could get any worse. He looked up when the door opened and, for a moment, thought it was Becker standing before him. The man looked exactly like Becker - his Becker - except now he looked closely, Danny could see it wasn't the same man. This Becker looked younger, more carefree, less scared by experience and less haunted by all the deaths he'd witnessed.
His heart skipped a beat when James stepped into the room behind Becker and he only just stopped himself from leaping up and grabbing James. He doubted this shotgun-totting version of Becker standing behind James would allow him to and, well, he could just imagine James' expression if he did kiss him. Besides, he refused to interfere with any chance this time's Danny might still have with this James.
“Who are you?” James didn't waste any time on pleasantries, but then, Danny had always liked that about the man.
“Danny Quinn.”
“No, you're not,” James interrupted him. “We know where the real DC Quinn is, so who are you? One of Helen's clones?”
“Do I look like a bloody clone to you?” Danny snapped back.
The door banged open and a rather wild-looking Cutter stood there.
“Professor,” James said. “What did we say about interrupting an interrogation?”
Danny almost spoke over him. “Why aren't you with Stephen?” He had hoped the two men would talk and realise they were meant for each other.
Cutter just prowled towards the table and, for a short-arse, did a reasonable attempt at looming over Danny before almost erupting in fury. “Do you have any idea what you might have done!”
Danny had never really worked with Cutter, but it was clear that the team - Connor specifically - had processed a somewhat rose-tinted view of the man in the aftermath of his death.
“We wanted to change the future, Cutter.” Danny leaned forward, ignoring the shotgun Becker had pointed at him.
“Why?” James stepped in. He turned towards Cutter when the man opened his mouth and barked, “Cutter, shut up and sit down or I'll have the good captain here lock you up until you do calm down.”
Cutter gave James a sullen look before slumping in a free chair. “Fine!” he grouched.
“So... 'Quinn'?” James turned his attention back to Danny. “Why did you want to change the future?”
“I assume you didn't wait for the rest of Stephen's explanation before you stormed out?” Danny asked Cutter, knowing Stephen must have told him they were from the future, otherwise Cutter wouldn't have storm in.
James glanced between Danny and Cutter before quirking an eyebrow. “Professor?”
“No, I bloody well didn't,” Cutter snapped.
Danny took a deep breath and knew he'd have to tell Cutter, James and the Becker-from-this-time the truth, not that it would probably matter now they'd saved Cutter. He nodded, knowing he'd have to tell them the truth, although, glancing at James, maybe not the whole truth. Somethings would be best left unsaid, for the discovery would be all the sweeter. “Look, this can go no further.” He noticed James' eyes narrow and hastily added, “Please, just listen and you'll understand why we did it and why no one else can know.”
“We'll listen.” James raised a hand when Cutter opened his mouth. “And then I'll decide.”
Cutter didn't look happy but equally didn't argue.
“As Cutter said, Becker and I are from the future,” Danny began and hoped he would be able to convince them and he could always get Becker to show them his photos. “The future which occurred because of Stephen's death in the cage room and then your own death, Cutter.” He met Cutter's eyes for a moment before directing his words to James. “Helen.” The hatred was clear in his voice and he paused to gain control of himself. “She thought that killing Cutter would save the world but it didn't.” He shook his head as he remembered the news reports, the growing panic and deaths. “Someone, and I don't know who, had access to a future anomaly. They captured the future predators and tried to use them.”
“As Leek wanted to?” Cutter broke in.
“Maybe,” Danny agreed. “Anyway, they lost control of them. The creatures bred and hunted humanity nearly to extinction. There weren't many of us left when we found Helen's journals and realised what she'd done and that it had caused the end of the world. It took time to figure out how to open an anomaly to the right time and stop her. To save everyone. We figured out the chain of events started with Stephen's death.”
“Why did you keep his survival secret?” Cutter asked, his voice breaking slightly.
“Con...” Danny began before cursing himself for revealing that.
“Connor Temple?” James asked.
Danny nodded. “He said if people knew Stephen was still alive that it would change events and we wouldn't know when and where Helen would strike. This way, we would be ready and waiting for her to act.” He looked down. “The plan was to capture her but...”
“Hart played the martyr again?” James finished.
“Look,” Danny said, meeting James' eyes. “We've saved the world and all we want to do now is to go home.”
“We'll see, Quinn.” James turned away and Danny was left in the room alone with his thoughts. He could only hope James let them go, that they could even get home... how could they remain here when another Becker and Danny lived their lives.
***
Danny stood with James, Cutter, Stephen and the two Beckers as they listened to an over-enthusiastic Connor. Most of what the young genius was saying went over his head.
“Temple!” It appeared James felt similarly. “The question was simple, can you reverse engineer Helen's device and open an anomaly to the correct time or not?”
“I think so.” Connor sounded defensive.
“You think so?” James' voice dripped with disdain.
“Connor?” Danny interrupted. “You managed to do it before, you can do this.”
“I did?” Connor brightened. “That's so cool. Hey, do you know if there making another Star Wars film?”
“Mr Temple!” James voice cracked out like a whip.
Connor let out a squeak before nodding. “I'll get on it.”
“And Mr Temple,” James called out. “This is a secret. Do try not to tell anyone. We wouldn't want the world ending, would we?”
Danny couldn't suppress his flinch at James' choice of words, and from the quick almost apologetic look the man shot him, it appeared James understood they hadn't been a good choice either. Not now James had seen Becker's pictures and heard Becker's side of their tale.
***
Danny hesitated when he saw the group gathered waiting for them next to the anomaly Connor promised would take him and Becker back to their own time. He couldn't help wonder if they'd done enough to change the time-line and save the world, to save everyone.
“Danny?” Becker's voice sounded beside him.
“What if it wasn't enough?” Danny stared at the anomaly, as much as he wanted to go through, fear held him on this side.
“We've saved Cutter and Stephen, Danny,” Becker said. “That was all Connor said we had to do.”
“I know.” And Danny did know that, it wasn't what he was worried about. “What if we go back and I no longer work at the ARC?”
“What? Oh...” Becker said. “Look, even if you don't - and I'd be surprised considering Cutter, Stephen, Connor, Lester and me-of-this-time already know you will work here - I seem to remember you had no trouble getting Lester to employ you last time.”
“In the future we've just changed, Becks.” Danny pointed out. “And you know James only gave me the job because he didn't want Wilder replacing Cutter.” Danny looked at Becker, seeing the understanding in the man's eyes and admitted his real fear. “What if we go back and James and I aren't together any more?”
“Danny-boy, in that case, you'll win him over again.”
“And if he's with someone else? His ex-wife or... or...”
“Danny!” Becker's voice snapped out before he spoke quieter when everyone present turned to look at him. “Stop worrying. If, and it is a big if, you don't work at the ARC and if you're not with Lester, we - and I mean Cutter, Stephen and I will help you.” When Danny still didn't move, Becker gave him a gentle shove towards the anomaly. “Come on, Danny, for all you know, Lester might be waiting for you.”
“Yeah.” Danny agreed before he decided to throw caution to the wind and help this time's version of himself in the process. He strolled up to James, grabbed the man and kissed him firmly. He grinned at the flustered expression on James' face before caressing his cheek. “Be seeing you, James.”
He grinned at the looks of astonishment on everyone's faces before nodding to James and turning towards the anomaly, towards home. He took a deep breath and stepped through to whatever his time-line had changed too. All he could hope was that James was waiting for him.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Author: knitekat
Word Count: 1527 words out of 5034
Characters: Danny Quinn, Hilary Becker, Nick Cutter, Stephen Hart, James Lester, Connor Temple.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N 1: For goldarrow's Art prompt. Also for my Primeval Bingo Card (round 8) Wild Card prompt: Wibby-wobby-timey-wimey: Time travel (13/25).
A/N 2: Thanks go to The Libran Iniquity for the beta.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Danny sat in the interrogation room and wondered if things could get any worse. He looked up when the door opened and, for a moment, thought it was Becker standing before him. The man looked exactly like Becker - his Becker - except now he looked closely, Danny could see it wasn't the same man. This Becker looked younger, more carefree, less scared by experience and less haunted by all the deaths he'd witnessed.
His heart skipped a beat when James stepped into the room behind Becker and he only just stopped himself from leaping up and grabbing James. He doubted this shotgun-totting version of Becker standing behind James would allow him to and, well, he could just imagine James' expression if he did kiss him. Besides, he refused to interfere with any chance this time's Danny might still have with this James.
“Who are you?” James didn't waste any time on pleasantries, but then, Danny had always liked that about the man.
“Danny Quinn.”
“No, you're not,” James interrupted him. “We know where the real DC Quinn is, so who are you? One of Helen's clones?”
“Do I look like a bloody clone to you?” Danny snapped back.
The door banged open and a rather wild-looking Cutter stood there.
“Professor,” James said. “What did we say about interrupting an interrogation?”
Danny almost spoke over him. “Why aren't you with Stephen?” He had hoped the two men would talk and realise they were meant for each other.
Cutter just prowled towards the table and, for a short-arse, did a reasonable attempt at looming over Danny before almost erupting in fury. “Do you have any idea what you might have done!”
Danny had never really worked with Cutter, but it was clear that the team - Connor specifically - had processed a somewhat rose-tinted view of the man in the aftermath of his death.
“We wanted to change the future, Cutter.” Danny leaned forward, ignoring the shotgun Becker had pointed at him.
“Why?” James stepped in. He turned towards Cutter when the man opened his mouth and barked, “Cutter, shut up and sit down or I'll have the good captain here lock you up until you do calm down.”
Cutter gave James a sullen look before slumping in a free chair. “Fine!” he grouched.
“So... 'Quinn'?” James turned his attention back to Danny. “Why did you want to change the future?”
“I assume you didn't wait for the rest of Stephen's explanation before you stormed out?” Danny asked Cutter, knowing Stephen must have told him they were from the future, otherwise Cutter wouldn't have storm in.
James glanced between Danny and Cutter before quirking an eyebrow. “Professor?”
“No, I bloody well didn't,” Cutter snapped.
Danny took a deep breath and knew he'd have to tell Cutter, James and the Becker-from-this-time the truth, not that it would probably matter now they'd saved Cutter. He nodded, knowing he'd have to tell them the truth, although, glancing at James, maybe not the whole truth. Somethings would be best left unsaid, for the discovery would be all the sweeter. “Look, this can go no further.” He noticed James' eyes narrow and hastily added, “Please, just listen and you'll understand why we did it and why no one else can know.”
“We'll listen.” James raised a hand when Cutter opened his mouth. “And then I'll decide.”
Cutter didn't look happy but equally didn't argue.
“As Cutter said, Becker and I are from the future,” Danny began and hoped he would be able to convince them and he could always get Becker to show them his photos. “The future which occurred because of Stephen's death in the cage room and then your own death, Cutter.” He met Cutter's eyes for a moment before directing his words to James. “Helen.” The hatred was clear in his voice and he paused to gain control of himself. “She thought that killing Cutter would save the world but it didn't.” He shook his head as he remembered the news reports, the growing panic and deaths. “Someone, and I don't know who, had access to a future anomaly. They captured the future predators and tried to use them.”
“As Leek wanted to?” Cutter broke in.
“Maybe,” Danny agreed. “Anyway, they lost control of them. The creatures bred and hunted humanity nearly to extinction. There weren't many of us left when we found Helen's journals and realised what she'd done and that it had caused the end of the world. It took time to figure out how to open an anomaly to the right time and stop her. To save everyone. We figured out the chain of events started with Stephen's death.”
“Why did you keep his survival secret?” Cutter asked, his voice breaking slightly.
“Con...” Danny began before cursing himself for revealing that.
“Connor Temple?” James asked.
Danny nodded. “He said if people knew Stephen was still alive that it would change events and we wouldn't know when and where Helen would strike. This way, we would be ready and waiting for her to act.” He looked down. “The plan was to capture her but...”
“Hart played the martyr again?” James finished.
“Look,” Danny said, meeting James' eyes. “We've saved the world and all we want to do now is to go home.”
“We'll see, Quinn.” James turned away and Danny was left in the room alone with his thoughts. He could only hope James let them go, that they could even get home... how could they remain here when another Becker and Danny lived their lives.
***
Danny stood with James, Cutter, Stephen and the two Beckers as they listened to an over-enthusiastic Connor. Most of what the young genius was saying went over his head.
“Temple!” It appeared James felt similarly. “The question was simple, can you reverse engineer Helen's device and open an anomaly to the correct time or not?”
“I think so.” Connor sounded defensive.
“You think so?” James' voice dripped with disdain.
“Connor?” Danny interrupted. “You managed to do it before, you can do this.”
“I did?” Connor brightened. “That's so cool. Hey, do you know if there making another Star Wars film?”
“Mr Temple!” James voice cracked out like a whip.
Connor let out a squeak before nodding. “I'll get on it.”
“And Mr Temple,” James called out. “This is a secret. Do try not to tell anyone. We wouldn't want the world ending, would we?”
Danny couldn't suppress his flinch at James' choice of words, and from the quick almost apologetic look the man shot him, it appeared James understood they hadn't been a good choice either. Not now James had seen Becker's pictures and heard Becker's side of their tale.
***
Danny hesitated when he saw the group gathered waiting for them next to the anomaly Connor promised would take him and Becker back to their own time. He couldn't help wonder if they'd done enough to change the time-line and save the world, to save everyone.
“Danny?” Becker's voice sounded beside him.
“What if it wasn't enough?” Danny stared at the anomaly, as much as he wanted to go through, fear held him on this side.
“We've saved Cutter and Stephen, Danny,” Becker said. “That was all Connor said we had to do.”
“I know.” And Danny did know that, it wasn't what he was worried about. “What if we go back and I no longer work at the ARC?”
“What? Oh...” Becker said. “Look, even if you don't - and I'd be surprised considering Cutter, Stephen, Connor, Lester and me-of-this-time already know you will work here - I seem to remember you had no trouble getting Lester to employ you last time.”
“In the future we've just changed, Becks.” Danny pointed out. “And you know James only gave me the job because he didn't want Wilder replacing Cutter.” Danny looked at Becker, seeing the understanding in the man's eyes and admitted his real fear. “What if we go back and James and I aren't together any more?”
“Danny-boy, in that case, you'll win him over again.”
“And if he's with someone else? His ex-wife or... or...”
“Danny!” Becker's voice snapped out before he spoke quieter when everyone present turned to look at him. “Stop worrying. If, and it is a big if, you don't work at the ARC and if you're not with Lester, we - and I mean Cutter, Stephen and I will help you.” When Danny still didn't move, Becker gave him a gentle shove towards the anomaly. “Come on, Danny, for all you know, Lester might be waiting for you.”
“Yeah.” Danny agreed before he decided to throw caution to the wind and help this time's version of himself in the process. He strolled up to James, grabbed the man and kissed him firmly. He grinned at the flustered expression on James' face before caressing his cheek. “Be seeing you, James.”
He grinned at the looks of astonishment on everyone's faces before nodding to James and turning towards the anomaly, towards home. He took a deep breath and stepped through to whatever his time-line had changed too. All he could hope was that James was waiting for him.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4