Fandom: Primeval
Characters: Abby/Becker/Connor
Story: Intermission
Rating: PG/12
Warnings/Spoilers: Set at the end of 4x07, and references events therein. Dark and angsty.
Author's Note: I have no idea if 5x01 is going to address this event at all. But I’m writing my version anyway. ;)
Summary: A terrifying event and its aftermath trigger a moment of despair for Abby
Intermission
The voice in her earpiece was wracked with sudden panic. “Becker! No!”
“Jess?” Abby’s heart did a backflip. “Jess! What’s going on?” She looked over at Connor. He’d gone suddenly pale.
“Medic to corridor five! Hurry!“
“Jess! Please! What the hell is happening? Tell us!” Connor barked.
“Connor! Oh my god…” Jess trailed off into hysterical gasps. “Becker’s down. I just watched Ethan shoot him. Medic’s on his way, but…”
“No. No, no, no…” Connor mumbled, his eyes wide and wet.
“How far away are you?” Jess asked, her voice still shaking.
“Five minutes, tops.” Abby floored the accelerator. “Hang on, Jess. We’re coming.” She tried to ignore the chaotic crosstalk that followed. Ethan had taken Emily. Matt and Danny were going after him. She could hear Lester and Philip in the background, shouting at Jess. But her only thought was getting there. Now.
She didn’t care that she’d parked awkwardly. She didn’t care that she’d landed a little oddly when she hopped out of the 4x4 and her ankle now hurt a little. She didn’t care that Connor had to scurry to keep up with her as she rushed into the ARC.
When she saw Becker, he was still laying on the floor, unconscious, a medic hovering over him.
“Allen, how is he?” She asked desperately.
The medic looked up, his face ashen. “He took two short-range EMD hits. We had another team member who took that, too, and he’s finally awake, but Becker hasn't come round, yet. He seems to have hit his head when he went down, and that’s probably contributing.”
She dropped to the floor, petting his face and arms, hoping that somehow her touch might revive him. Connor paced numbly behind her, mumbling something to himself.
Another medic came rushing down the corridor, bearing a stretcher. “Infirmary?” He called to Allen. “Or does he need a better facility than that?”
Allen set his jaw. “I’m going to say infirmary for now, Roberts. I don’t know for sure. Keep transport ready.”
“Will do. Let’s get him loaded up.” Together, the medics gently moved him onto the stretcher, and quickly bore him to the infirmary.
Abby pulled two chairs up next to the bed, sitting on one and patting the other beside her for Connor. He cuddled up next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders and taking a trembling hand.
Allen worked steadily, injecting Becker with various medications, hooking him up to various monitors. “The EEG looks good,” he said quietly. “He’s just showing delta waves. He’s asleep, basically.”
“So no brain damage?” Abby asked anxiously, kneading Connor’s sweaty hand.
“There’s no way of knowing, yet. But there’s at least some activity, which is a good thing. Basically, it seems like he got a bit of electroconvulsive therapy.”
“Electrowhat?” Connor frowned.
“Induced seizures. Shock treatment. Like they used to use on mental patients. It can affect everyone differently, but the usual result from a single dose is a bit of temporary memory loss. Seems to interrupt the neural pathways from short-term memory storage. I can’t say for sure that’s how this affected him, but it’s possible, at least.” He stood up, making sure the monitors were all working correctly. “However, I’m afraid there’s nothing more we can do at the moment. We just have to wait for him to wake up before we know the extent of any damage.”
Abby shuddered. It was one thing to watch him sleep when he was lying next to her in their big bed. Seeing him quiet and still like this was something else entirely. Though she knew very well, from recent experience, exactly how tough he was, there was no telling whether this injury was more than even he could bear.
“Do you think you can monitor his EEG and contact me if anything changes? I have some other patients to attend to.” Allen looked at her hopefully.
Abby nodded. “Yes. I’ll get you immediately. Thank you.”
Allen dipped his head at her, and hurried out of the room.
She looked over at Connor, who was still stunned and uncharacteristically silent. “Connor. You OK?”
He shook his head. “I am very, very far from OK right now. There’s just… It’s too much. I can’t… Not now.”
“Can’t what? Conn--?”
“How is he?” Jess interrupted, tiptoeing in behind them. Her face was pale and dappled with nervous sweat.
Abby gave her a tight smile and reached for her hand. “We don’t know for sure yet. He has to wake up, first before we know.”
“I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t know… I tried to get backup there as soon as I could…” Her eyes welled up.
“Jess, it’s not your fault. If Danny couldn’t handle Ethan, no one could have.” Abby petted her hand gently. “But I assume your being in here means everything else is settling?”
“Yes. It is, mostly. Emily’s fine and Ethan’s gone back through one of the anomalies. Matt and Danny are trying to figure out what to do next, so I’m on standby.”
“So we’re all just sat here waiting,” Connor said grimly.
“Yeah.” Jess looked defeated. Then she perked up. “Oh! I almost forgot—things got so crazy—I got those files you wanted, Connor. On the anomalies? I copied them out to your share on the server.”
Connor’s face brightened a little. “Oh, thank god. I can do something.” He stood up.
“Wait, Connor. Where are you going?” Abby frowned at him.
“Abby, I’m sorry. I can’t just sit here and stare at Becker and hope he wakes up. I have to do something useful. I need to try to find out what’s going on with the anomalies. Whether Becker wakes up or not isn’t dependent on me being in this room. He doesn’t need me right now.”
“But, Connor,” Abby said desperately, “I need you. Please don’t leave me here alone. And if he wakes up, he’s going to want you here.”
“Then call me if he does. I’ll just be in my lab. Just a few steps away. It’ll be OK, really. I have to do this.” He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Please understand. This is bigger than just us. It’s bigger than everyone here.” Turning to Jess, he patted her shoulder and smiled warmly. “Take care of her, OK? And keep me posted on anything else that happens.”
Jess looked confused, but she nodded. “OK, Connor.”
“Thank you.” Without another word, he rushed out.
Abby couldn’t help feeling betrayed. She trusted Connor’s judgment about the danger of the strangely behaving anomalies, but wondered if figuring them out couldn’t wait another hour, at least.
“Matt?” Jess pressed her earpiece. “OK, I’m on it.” She looked at Abby sympathetically as she turned to leave. “Got to go for now. I’ll be back as soon as I can, hey?”
Abby shrugged. “Yeah.” In a moment, she was alone, with only Becker’s warm-but-silent body for company. It was a return to baseline for her, she thought bitterly. Somehow, she always ended up on her own: Orphaned. Abandoned by her gadfly brother. Never fitting in with other girls. A short succession of boyfriends who never lasted more than a few weeks. The animals were all she’d ever really had. They were her constant companions, and far more loyal than any human she’d known.
She thought things had finally changed, first with Connor, and then with Becker. Not only loved by one honest and beautiful man, but two, who also loved each other. Their relationship was still young, and certainly odd by conventional standards, but it was everything she never knew she needed: An endless flow of strange-but-wonderful pleasures, and deep, soul-healing comfort and love. Their moments of bliss, whether entangled in each other's arms or just sitting around the flat, being near each other, were what made the rest of this horrible job bearable.
But maybe it was inevitable that it would end someday, she thought. Both seemed to be slipping away, like everyone before them had: Connor fading into the depths of his brain and now Becker just fading, suffering the effects of his work in an all-too-predictable way. It seemed to fulfill a predestiny of abandonment with which she was entirely too familiar.
She stared at the EEG monitor, looking for signs of change, but none came. An hour ticked away, and she was still alone.
Eventually, the readout became blurred beyond recognition. She barely noticed the hot cascade of tears that raced down her cheeks and dripped onto Becker’s arm.
But he did.
“Abby?” He murmured thickly, his eyes fluttering open. “Love? Is… is it raining?” He stirred, looking up at her with recognition, but some confusion.
Her heart caught in her chest, and a fresh flow sprang to her eyes. In that moment, all her fears evaporated again. Being alone this time wasn’t permanent after all--just an intermission. Just a brief stop on the journey, not its end.
“Yes, baby,” she said, leaning over and covering his face with kisses. “It’s raining.”
--End--
Characters: Abby/Becker/Connor
Story: Intermission
Rating: PG/12
Warnings/Spoilers: Set at the end of 4x07, and references events therein. Dark and angsty.
Author's Note: I have no idea if 5x01 is going to address this event at all. But I’m writing my version anyway. ;)
Summary: A terrifying event and its aftermath trigger a moment of despair for Abby
Intermission
The voice in her earpiece was wracked with sudden panic. “Becker! No!”
“Jess?” Abby’s heart did a backflip. “Jess! What’s going on?” She looked over at Connor. He’d gone suddenly pale.
“Medic to corridor five! Hurry!“
“Jess! Please! What the hell is happening? Tell us!” Connor barked.
“Connor! Oh my god…” Jess trailed off into hysterical gasps. “Becker’s down. I just watched Ethan shoot him. Medic’s on his way, but…”
“No. No, no, no…” Connor mumbled, his eyes wide and wet.
“How far away are you?” Jess asked, her voice still shaking.
“Five minutes, tops.” Abby floored the accelerator. “Hang on, Jess. We’re coming.” She tried to ignore the chaotic crosstalk that followed. Ethan had taken Emily. Matt and Danny were going after him. She could hear Lester and Philip in the background, shouting at Jess. But her only thought was getting there. Now.
She didn’t care that she’d parked awkwardly. She didn’t care that she’d landed a little oddly when she hopped out of the 4x4 and her ankle now hurt a little. She didn’t care that Connor had to scurry to keep up with her as she rushed into the ARC.
When she saw Becker, he was still laying on the floor, unconscious, a medic hovering over him.
“Allen, how is he?” She asked desperately.
The medic looked up, his face ashen. “He took two short-range EMD hits. We had another team member who took that, too, and he’s finally awake, but Becker hasn't come round, yet. He seems to have hit his head when he went down, and that’s probably contributing.”
She dropped to the floor, petting his face and arms, hoping that somehow her touch might revive him. Connor paced numbly behind her, mumbling something to himself.
Another medic came rushing down the corridor, bearing a stretcher. “Infirmary?” He called to Allen. “Or does he need a better facility than that?”
Allen set his jaw. “I’m going to say infirmary for now, Roberts. I don’t know for sure. Keep transport ready.”
“Will do. Let’s get him loaded up.” Together, the medics gently moved him onto the stretcher, and quickly bore him to the infirmary.
Abby pulled two chairs up next to the bed, sitting on one and patting the other beside her for Connor. He cuddled up next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders and taking a trembling hand.
Allen worked steadily, injecting Becker with various medications, hooking him up to various monitors. “The EEG looks good,” he said quietly. “He’s just showing delta waves. He’s asleep, basically.”
“So no brain damage?” Abby asked anxiously, kneading Connor’s sweaty hand.
“There’s no way of knowing, yet. But there’s at least some activity, which is a good thing. Basically, it seems like he got a bit of electroconvulsive therapy.”
“Electrowhat?” Connor frowned.
“Induced seizures. Shock treatment. Like they used to use on mental patients. It can affect everyone differently, but the usual result from a single dose is a bit of temporary memory loss. Seems to interrupt the neural pathways from short-term memory storage. I can’t say for sure that’s how this affected him, but it’s possible, at least.” He stood up, making sure the monitors were all working correctly. “However, I’m afraid there’s nothing more we can do at the moment. We just have to wait for him to wake up before we know the extent of any damage.”
Abby shuddered. It was one thing to watch him sleep when he was lying next to her in their big bed. Seeing him quiet and still like this was something else entirely. Though she knew very well, from recent experience, exactly how tough he was, there was no telling whether this injury was more than even he could bear.
“Do you think you can monitor his EEG and contact me if anything changes? I have some other patients to attend to.” Allen looked at her hopefully.
Abby nodded. “Yes. I’ll get you immediately. Thank you.”
Allen dipped his head at her, and hurried out of the room.
She looked over at Connor, who was still stunned and uncharacteristically silent. “Connor. You OK?”
He shook his head. “I am very, very far from OK right now. There’s just… It’s too much. I can’t… Not now.”
“Can’t what? Conn--?”
“How is he?” Jess interrupted, tiptoeing in behind them. Her face was pale and dappled with nervous sweat.
Abby gave her a tight smile and reached for her hand. “We don’t know for sure yet. He has to wake up, first before we know.”
“I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t know… I tried to get backup there as soon as I could…” Her eyes welled up.
“Jess, it’s not your fault. If Danny couldn’t handle Ethan, no one could have.” Abby petted her hand gently. “But I assume your being in here means everything else is settling?”
“Yes. It is, mostly. Emily’s fine and Ethan’s gone back through one of the anomalies. Matt and Danny are trying to figure out what to do next, so I’m on standby.”
“So we’re all just sat here waiting,” Connor said grimly.
“Yeah.” Jess looked defeated. Then she perked up. “Oh! I almost forgot—things got so crazy—I got those files you wanted, Connor. On the anomalies? I copied them out to your share on the server.”
Connor’s face brightened a little. “Oh, thank god. I can do something.” He stood up.
“Wait, Connor. Where are you going?” Abby frowned at him.
“Abby, I’m sorry. I can’t just sit here and stare at Becker and hope he wakes up. I have to do something useful. I need to try to find out what’s going on with the anomalies. Whether Becker wakes up or not isn’t dependent on me being in this room. He doesn’t need me right now.”
“But, Connor,” Abby said desperately, “I need you. Please don’t leave me here alone. And if he wakes up, he’s going to want you here.”
“Then call me if he does. I’ll just be in my lab. Just a few steps away. It’ll be OK, really. I have to do this.” He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Please understand. This is bigger than just us. It’s bigger than everyone here.” Turning to Jess, he patted her shoulder and smiled warmly. “Take care of her, OK? And keep me posted on anything else that happens.”
Jess looked confused, but she nodded. “OK, Connor.”
“Thank you.” Without another word, he rushed out.
Abby couldn’t help feeling betrayed. She trusted Connor’s judgment about the danger of the strangely behaving anomalies, but wondered if figuring them out couldn’t wait another hour, at least.
“Matt?” Jess pressed her earpiece. “OK, I’m on it.” She looked at Abby sympathetically as she turned to leave. “Got to go for now. I’ll be back as soon as I can, hey?”
Abby shrugged. “Yeah.” In a moment, she was alone, with only Becker’s warm-but-silent body for company. It was a return to baseline for her, she thought bitterly. Somehow, she always ended up on her own: Orphaned. Abandoned by her gadfly brother. Never fitting in with other girls. A short succession of boyfriends who never lasted more than a few weeks. The animals were all she’d ever really had. They were her constant companions, and far more loyal than any human she’d known.
She thought things had finally changed, first with Connor, and then with Becker. Not only loved by one honest and beautiful man, but two, who also loved each other. Their relationship was still young, and certainly odd by conventional standards, but it was everything she never knew she needed: An endless flow of strange-but-wonderful pleasures, and deep, soul-healing comfort and love. Their moments of bliss, whether entangled in each other's arms or just sitting around the flat, being near each other, were what made the rest of this horrible job bearable.
But maybe it was inevitable that it would end someday, she thought. Both seemed to be slipping away, like everyone before them had: Connor fading into the depths of his brain and now Becker just fading, suffering the effects of his work in an all-too-predictable way. It seemed to fulfill a predestiny of abandonment with which she was entirely too familiar.
She stared at the EEG monitor, looking for signs of change, but none came. An hour ticked away, and she was still alone.
Eventually, the readout became blurred beyond recognition. She barely noticed the hot cascade of tears that raced down her cheeks and dripped onto Becker’s arm.
But he did.
“Abby?” He murmured thickly, his eyes fluttering open. “Love? Is… is it raining?” He stirred, looking up at her with recognition, but some confusion.
Her heart caught in her chest, and a fresh flow sprang to her eyes. In that moment, all her fears evaporated again. Being alone this time wasn’t permanent after all--just an intermission. Just a brief stop on the journey, not its end.
“Yes, baby,” she said, leaning over and covering his face with kisses. “It’s raining.”
--End--