Primeval Fic: A Christmas Nightmare - Part 3 (Epilogue) - Secret Santa for Eriah211
Title: A Christmas Nightmare
Author: knitekat
Word Count: 1570 out of ~7270
Characters: James Lester, Godfrey Barrington-Smythe, The Minister (OC), Daphne Barrington-Smythe (OC), Henry Jones (OC) and plus one. (Past Lester/Ryan).
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N 1: Secret Santa for Eriah211. Prompts: 1) Mayhem in a library, 2) “Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?” (Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), 3) "Oh no, not again." (actually a quote by Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy too), 4) “The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short and the pen is very sharp.” (Terry Pratchett quote). Not sure how many I’ve hit or side-swiped. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you enjoy this fic.
A/N 2: Thanks go to fredbassett for the beta, cheers m’dear. Any remaining mistakes are mine.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 (Epilogue)
My head throbbed and my entire body ached when I woke and I wondered what I’d done to feel this rough. Memory returned and my gaze darted around the room for Ryan as I struggle to rise. The room spun and I believe I groaned before collapsing back on to the bed. I had seen enough in those scant few seconds to know I was alone. That what I thought I had seen had been nothing more than the concussion.
I liked my dry lips, my mouth feeling like a mouse had died in it, and I struggled to reach one of the glasses of water on the bedside cabinet. My hand was shaking so much I was surprised I hadn’t either dropped it or spilt any.
“James! Let me,” the well-known voice of my lover sounded behind me and I admit I was so surprised that I released the glass, barely hearing it smash on the floor. “James!” I felt the bed move but I refused to look, refused to turn around, fearing that it was just my imagination, my concussion, wishful thinking. It couldn’t be Ryan, I knew he was dead.
I felt a hand on my arm, easing me back into bed. I felt the bed dip as someone sat beside me and a hand caressed my cheek, the callouses familiar and I felt tears build behind my eyelids.
“Please, James, look at me.”
Ryan’s familiar voice had me shaking my head; I knew it was childish but I also knew Ryan would disappear if I opened my eyes. That whoever was with me was someone else.
“Please, love,” Ryan’s voice continued. “Just open those lovely green eyes and look at me.”
“I…” My voice cracked alarmingly on that one word and I swallowed to regain my composure, such that it was. “I… you died.”
“No I didn’t, I promise you, James. I’m as alive as you are.”
I admit I snorted at that, after all, I had been injured and unarmed before a man I’d just maimed and who wanted me dead, in the presence of an open anomaly. “Am I?”
“Yes!” Ryan’s voice continued to taunt me, haunt me and I so desperately wanted to open my eyes and see him before me. “I promise you, James. Now, just open your eyes for me, please.”
I shook my head, wanting to hold onto this dream for as long as possible, even though I knew it was the concussion and whoever it really was must have been going increasingly worried about me. I leaned into the hand stroking my cheek and, taking a deep breath, opened my eyes and just stared at the well-known, impossible face before me. “Ryan?”
“Yes, James, it’s really me,” Ryan told me.
“How?” I asked, struggling to rise and have a good look at him.
“Easy, James,” Ryan sounded worried. “Please, lie down and rest. The doctor says you’ve got a concussion to go along with several bruised ribs. You need to rest.”
Well, that explained why I felt so bloody rough, even if not how Ryan was standing, well, sitting before me. I felt him press me back into the bed and for once I didn’t resist, just looking up at him in wonder. I actually had to think whether my mouth was hanging open in shock, but thankfully it wasn’t. As much as I wanted to know how Ryan being here with me was possible, something else was far more important at this precise moment. I reached up and tugged Ryan down, licking his lips until he opened them for me. Our kiss was so sweet, so longed for, that I was disappointed when I had to break it, my lungs straining for oxygen and I just lay there looking at him for a long moment.
“James?”
I licked my lips, grateful when he helped me sip my water. My gaze flickered over him, only now realising his hair was still damp from a shower and I groaned at that thought. I felt his hand on my face and met his concerned eyes. “I’m fine,” I murmured before I heard Ryan’s knowing chuckle.
“Rest and when you’re better,” he waggled his eyebrows at me.
I glared at him before the question I most wanted, most needed to be answered reasserted itself in my mind. “How?” I demanded.
Ryan frowned for a moment before understanding blossomed on his face. “I woke up buried under dirt,” he began. “I must have been in a air pocket and I managed to drag myself out.” His eyes glazed as he seemed to look inward and I grabbed his hand, squeezing it until he re-focused on me. “I found the mounds my men were buried under and checked but they were all dead. I was all alone and injured in the Permian and it took me months to get back. I wondered if I’d ever find the right anomaly to come home.”
I nodded, that sounded plausible but I had to know, I had to know if he was… “How do I know you’re my Ryan?”
Ryan looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Cutter came back alone, saying you,” and my voice broke, I needed a moment to regain my composure as Ryan squeezed my hand, “and your men died.”
“I don’t understand, James?”
I nodded. “He claims he’s from another… timeline. That he didn’t know Ms Brown, instead my deputy was someone else, an Oliver Leek.”
“Ah,” Ryan looked thoughtful for a moment. “We got together just before Christmas, although we’d been edging towards it for months. Our first kiss was beneath a sprig of mistletoe Temple had put up outside your office.”
“Hmm,” I said, remembering that instance and Temple was lucky I’d been too distracted to deal with him. “Anything else?”
“You told me to be careful on shouts, that breaking in a new soldier took too much time.”
I frowned. “You said that to me in the library.”
Ryan nodded and produced my pen, waving it at me as he said, “I’ve thoroughly cleaned this.” He looked at me for a moment before saying, “Really, James, taking on a gunman with a bloody pen!”
“It was all I had on me at the time,” I informed him haughty. “And it worked.”
“The pen is mightier than the sword?” Ryan queried.
“Well,” I said, “It is if the sword is very short and the pen is very sharp. Even if the sword turned out to be a gun.”
“It was still a pen!” Ryan cried out, obviously trying to make a point but whatever that point was was lost on me when he added, “Even if I made sure it was a top of the line model when I got it for you.”
“When you?” I queried.
Ryan looked scared for a moment as he asked, “Didn’t I give it to you?”
I couldn’t stand that look on his face and tugged him in for another kiss, snogging him hard and putting all my love in it. “Yes, you did.”
“On our sixth month anniversary?” Ryan persisted, obviously wanting to make sure we had been together.
“Yes, Ryan,” I confirmed, my hand caressing his face. “I would appear you are my Ryan.”
“Thank fuck!” Ryan exclaimed.
I laughed, gasping as my ribs ached. “I’m glad you made it back to me, Ryan.”
“So am I,” Ryan agreed firmly.
The thought that if events had been different, if Ryan hadn’t woken up in an air pocket, I could have lost him for good had me frowning.
“James? Are you in pain?” Ryan asked, concerned. “Should I get the doctor back?”
“No.” I smiled at him and shook my head. “When we get back to work, remind me to instigate first aid courses for everyone.”
“James?” Ryan asked, confusion in both his voice and face.
“Definitely,” I continued. “Then the bloody mad professor would have known you were alive.”
“Good idea, love.” Ryan smiled at me. “Home, James?”
I nodded before frowning up at him as I recalled my earlier plans.
“James?”
“I...” I ran a hand through my hair, a nervous gesture I knew Ryan recognised when he grasped my hand. “I had planned… that is, I was wondering...” Bloody hell, I was rambling almost as much as Temple. I stopped and took a deep, calming breath, wincing slightly as my ribs complained.
“James?” Ryan repeated, looking so worried I just to tug him down for another kiss.
“I had hoped to spend Christmas at my place in the country… If you would accompany me?”
“Of course I will, James.” Ryan smiled and kissed me once more. “Happy Christmas, love.”
“Christmas?” I queried and at his nod, I grinned at him. “You’re the best present I could ever have.”
Ryan looked worried and pressed a hand against my forehead.
“I’m fine,” I groused.
“You’re getting soppy,” Ryan pointed out and I supposed I couldn’t deny that. “Now rest and let me take care of you.”
I frowned and looked up at Ryan. “Ryan? Did I make a dreadful mess in the library?”
“Daphne’s already forgiven you for that mayhem, although not the minister or their son for causing it in the first place. I think they’re both grounded for putting you and her in danger,” Ryan informed me. “Now, please rest.”
“Join me?”
“I promise, James, I’m not leaving you. Never again.”
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 (Epilogue)
Author: knitekat
Word Count: 1570 out of ~7270
Characters: James Lester, Godfrey Barrington-Smythe, The Minister (OC), Daphne Barrington-Smythe (OC), Henry Jones (OC) and plus one. (Past Lester/Ryan).
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace.
A/N 1: Secret Santa for Eriah211. Prompts: 1) Mayhem in a library, 2) “Would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?” (Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), 3) "Oh no, not again." (actually a quote by Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy too), 4) “The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short and the pen is very sharp.” (Terry Pratchett quote). Not sure how many I’ve hit or side-swiped. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you enjoy this fic.
A/N 2: Thanks go to fredbassett for the beta, cheers m’dear. Any remaining mistakes are mine.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 (Epilogue)
My head throbbed and my entire body ached when I woke and I wondered what I’d done to feel this rough. Memory returned and my gaze darted around the room for Ryan as I struggle to rise. The room spun and I believe I groaned before collapsing back on to the bed. I had seen enough in those scant few seconds to know I was alone. That what I thought I had seen had been nothing more than the concussion.
I liked my dry lips, my mouth feeling like a mouse had died in it, and I struggled to reach one of the glasses of water on the bedside cabinet. My hand was shaking so much I was surprised I hadn’t either dropped it or spilt any.
“James! Let me,” the well-known voice of my lover sounded behind me and I admit I was so surprised that I released the glass, barely hearing it smash on the floor. “James!” I felt the bed move but I refused to look, refused to turn around, fearing that it was just my imagination, my concussion, wishful thinking. It couldn’t be Ryan, I knew he was dead.
I felt a hand on my arm, easing me back into bed. I felt the bed dip as someone sat beside me and a hand caressed my cheek, the callouses familiar and I felt tears build behind my eyelids.
“Please, James, look at me.”
Ryan’s familiar voice had me shaking my head; I knew it was childish but I also knew Ryan would disappear if I opened my eyes. That whoever was with me was someone else.
“Please, love,” Ryan’s voice continued. “Just open those lovely green eyes and look at me.”
“I…” My voice cracked alarmingly on that one word and I swallowed to regain my composure, such that it was. “I… you died.”
“No I didn’t, I promise you, James. I’m as alive as you are.”
I admit I snorted at that, after all, I had been injured and unarmed before a man I’d just maimed and who wanted me dead, in the presence of an open anomaly. “Am I?”
“Yes!” Ryan’s voice continued to taunt me, haunt me and I so desperately wanted to open my eyes and see him before me. “I promise you, James. Now, just open your eyes for me, please.”
I shook my head, wanting to hold onto this dream for as long as possible, even though I knew it was the concussion and whoever it really was must have been going increasingly worried about me. I leaned into the hand stroking my cheek and, taking a deep breath, opened my eyes and just stared at the well-known, impossible face before me. “Ryan?”
“Yes, James, it’s really me,” Ryan told me.
“How?” I asked, struggling to rise and have a good look at him.
“Easy, James,” Ryan sounded worried. “Please, lie down and rest. The doctor says you’ve got a concussion to go along with several bruised ribs. You need to rest.”
Well, that explained why I felt so bloody rough, even if not how Ryan was standing, well, sitting before me. I felt him press me back into the bed and for once I didn’t resist, just looking up at him in wonder. I actually had to think whether my mouth was hanging open in shock, but thankfully it wasn’t. As much as I wanted to know how Ryan being here with me was possible, something else was far more important at this precise moment. I reached up and tugged Ryan down, licking his lips until he opened them for me. Our kiss was so sweet, so longed for, that I was disappointed when I had to break it, my lungs straining for oxygen and I just lay there looking at him for a long moment.
“James?”
I licked my lips, grateful when he helped me sip my water. My gaze flickered over him, only now realising his hair was still damp from a shower and I groaned at that thought. I felt his hand on my face and met his concerned eyes. “I’m fine,” I murmured before I heard Ryan’s knowing chuckle.
“Rest and when you’re better,” he waggled his eyebrows at me.
I glared at him before the question I most wanted, most needed to be answered reasserted itself in my mind. “How?” I demanded.
Ryan frowned for a moment before understanding blossomed on his face. “I woke up buried under dirt,” he began. “I must have been in a air pocket and I managed to drag myself out.” His eyes glazed as he seemed to look inward and I grabbed his hand, squeezing it until he re-focused on me. “I found the mounds my men were buried under and checked but they were all dead. I was all alone and injured in the Permian and it took me months to get back. I wondered if I’d ever find the right anomaly to come home.”
I nodded, that sounded plausible but I had to know, I had to know if he was… “How do I know you’re my Ryan?”
Ryan looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Cutter came back alone, saying you,” and my voice broke, I needed a moment to regain my composure as Ryan squeezed my hand, “and your men died.”
“I don’t understand, James?”
I nodded. “He claims he’s from another… timeline. That he didn’t know Ms Brown, instead my deputy was someone else, an Oliver Leek.”
“Ah,” Ryan looked thoughtful for a moment. “We got together just before Christmas, although we’d been edging towards it for months. Our first kiss was beneath a sprig of mistletoe Temple had put up outside your office.”
“Hmm,” I said, remembering that instance and Temple was lucky I’d been too distracted to deal with him. “Anything else?”
“You told me to be careful on shouts, that breaking in a new soldier took too much time.”
I frowned. “You said that to me in the library.”
Ryan nodded and produced my pen, waving it at me as he said, “I’ve thoroughly cleaned this.” He looked at me for a moment before saying, “Really, James, taking on a gunman with a bloody pen!”
“It was all I had on me at the time,” I informed him haughty. “And it worked.”
“The pen is mightier than the sword?” Ryan queried.
“Well,” I said, “It is if the sword is very short and the pen is very sharp. Even if the sword turned out to be a gun.”
“It was still a pen!” Ryan cried out, obviously trying to make a point but whatever that point was was lost on me when he added, “Even if I made sure it was a top of the line model when I got it for you.”
“When you?” I queried.
Ryan looked scared for a moment as he asked, “Didn’t I give it to you?”
I couldn’t stand that look on his face and tugged him in for another kiss, snogging him hard and putting all my love in it. “Yes, you did.”
“On our sixth month anniversary?” Ryan persisted, obviously wanting to make sure we had been together.
“Yes, Ryan,” I confirmed, my hand caressing his face. “I would appear you are my Ryan.”
“Thank fuck!” Ryan exclaimed.
I laughed, gasping as my ribs ached. “I’m glad you made it back to me, Ryan.”
“So am I,” Ryan agreed firmly.
The thought that if events had been different, if Ryan hadn’t woken up in an air pocket, I could have lost him for good had me frowning.
“James? Are you in pain?” Ryan asked, concerned. “Should I get the doctor back?”
“No.” I smiled at him and shook my head. “When we get back to work, remind me to instigate first aid courses for everyone.”
“James?” Ryan asked, confusion in both his voice and face.
“Definitely,” I continued. “Then the bloody mad professor would have known you were alive.”
“Good idea, love.” Ryan smiled at me. “Home, James?”
I nodded before frowning up at him as I recalled my earlier plans.
“James?”
“I...” I ran a hand through my hair, a nervous gesture I knew Ryan recognised when he grasped my hand. “I had planned… that is, I was wondering...” Bloody hell, I was rambling almost as much as Temple. I stopped and took a deep, calming breath, wincing slightly as my ribs complained.
“James?” Ryan repeated, looking so worried I just to tug him down for another kiss.
“I had hoped to spend Christmas at my place in the country… If you would accompany me?”
“Of course I will, James.” Ryan smiled and kissed me once more. “Happy Christmas, love.”
“Christmas?” I queried and at his nod, I grinned at him. “You’re the best present I could ever have.”
Ryan looked worried and pressed a hand against my forehead.
“I’m fine,” I groused.
“You’re getting soppy,” Ryan pointed out and I supposed I couldn’t deny that. “Now rest and let me take care of you.”
I frowned and looked up at Ryan. “Ryan? Did I make a dreadful mess in the library?”
“Daphne’s already forgiven you for that mayhem, although not the minister or their son for causing it in the first place. I think they’re both grounded for putting you and her in danger,” Ryan informed me. “Now, please rest.”
“Join me?”
“I promise, James, I’m not leaving you. Never again.”
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 (Epilogue)