Fic: Getting By With A Little Help From Your Friends
Title: Getting By With A Little Help From Your Friends
Fandom: Primeval
Author: burnedyesterday
Characters: Abby, Cutter, Stephen, Ryan, Claudia and Connor
Rating: PG, Gen
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1,645
A/N: Written for nietie in the Primeval_Denial Secret Santa Exchange 2014 with the prompts it's the small things that are important and captured
The Winter holidays had never been Abby’s thing.
It wasn’t that she had anything against the holiday, it was more like there had never been the time or a reason to get into it when she was younger. She had been alone for most of her life, so the only ones to celebrate anything with when she got older and had the time to do so were her snakes and lizards.
She tried that one year, but all it had done was annoy the critters and make her seem even more lonely and alone.
However, things had changed and this year she had real friends that she did things with - and often endangered her life with. It was enough to get her to attempt to look at Christmas and New Year’s with fresh eyes - if not a more hopeful spirit.
The main issue that she found herself in was trying to pick the right gift for the right person. The people she worked with all had varying personalities that sometimes clashed with each other, so how was a girl expected to know the perfect gift to get?
Take Professor Cutter, for instance. She had come to look up to him more and more and seen him as a mentor, if not a family figure. He led their team, had sort of been responsible for bringing them all together and turning them into a team that trusted each other. He wasn’t always easy to work with and he had his own opinions about the way things should be done, but he was a good man and Abby had a lot of respect for him.
What did you get for the man who had almost everything but at times seemed to need a handler to make sure he took care of himself?
As she walked down the hall, she had to step to the side to avoid being trampled by Stephen and Ryan. She wasn’t sure why they were almost running down the hall, but she knew that it wasn’t to go to an anomaly call. There had been no anomaly sightings all week and they would have been carrying weapons if there was something like that going on.
She turned her head to watch them go and then smiled slightly as Stephen broke off from Ryan to step into Cutter’s office. The two men were best friends even before all of this started and since they had formed the core team to investigate the strange openings into other times, it seemed to her that the men had become closer.
Not to mention, there was the whole way that the two of them looked at each other - like no one else in the world even existed outside of them. They worked in such perfect sync sometimes when they were out on a call and it hadn’t taken Abby long to realize why her flirting with Stephen would never go anywhere.
There was no travelling girlfriend that he had forgotten to mention to them. Instead, there was a rough and cantankerous ginger-haired man that no one else could compare to as far as Stephen was concerned.
Being passed over for someone like Professor Cutter was no bad thing that she needed to feel rejected about. As far as she was concerned, the two men were a perfect fit for each other.
Even if they, thus far, had been far too stubborn to admit to how they felt.
Something that Abby strongly believed they needed to get over and done with so that they would feel like they had to be so careful and so bloody unhappy when one of them happen to let their eyes fall casually on someone else that was near them at the time.
Abby stopped, cocking her head and pondering the situation as a smile stretched across her face. She suddenly knew what she was going to spend this holiday doing.
***
Getting the help of the others on the team was surprisingly easy. She had her own opinions about why the others had interest in the tracker and the professor getting together, but as long as the end result she wanted came to be, then she didn’t care about their personal stake in this.
Let them have their reasons. What mattered the most was for Cutter and Stephen to not only admit that they cared for each other as more than friends, but that they belonged together, as well.
Because anyone with one good eye could see that they were a perfect fit.
***
The flat was decorated for the holidays and there was plenty of food and drink for everyone that was coming. There was a table set up with drinks and Abby thought that everything looked very nice and festive; and if Connor went a little overboard in hanging the mistletoe, well, what could you do? It might even give her plan a higher chance of succeeding.
When Ryan arrived, he pulled her into her arms for a hug and whispered into her ear. “I thought mistletoe was a Christmas thing?”
“Apparently, Connor believes it’s good for any holiday through February.”
“Are you still sure that this is a good idea?”
She nodded, looking around at the people that had already arrived and were mingling in her flat. “If we can get them to be open with each other, then it’s a very good idea. Did you bring it?”
Ryan nodded and smiled at her. “Of course I did. You asked me to, didn’t you?”
She looked up at him and grinned. “Good. We have to make sure as many odds are stacked in their favor as possible.”
***
Cutter nearly choked on the whiskey he was drinking when Claudia announced the name of the next game they were going to play.
The party had been in full swing for a few hours and the alcohol had been flowing so everyone was in a pretty good mood. In fact, it was one of the most enjoyable New Year’s Eve parties that he could remember enjoying in a long time. He’d watched the team play games and even had participated in a few. It was all in good fun and he could see that Abby had gone through a lot of trouble to put this party together. It would have been rude not to get involved.
Or, that had been his feelings until a few seconds ago.
“We’re playing what?”
Oh good. Stephen had asked the question so that he didn’t have to.
“Seven Minutes In Heaven,” Claudia replied, her slight slur showing that she had also been drinking during the evening.
“Isn’t that a little… juvenile?” Cutter asked, not really believing that a group of respected adults were actually going to play such a silly game.
“Not everyone has lost their sense of fun and whimsy like you have, Professor Cutter,” Captain Ryan teased him.
“Nick has lost nothing,” Stephen said quickly.
“Good, then you and Cutter can be first,” Claudia said with a grin that almost reminded Cutter of a crocodile. “Abby, you do have a closet that we can use, right?”
Abby lowered the glass that she had been drinking from and nodded. “Oh. Yeah, I have an extra closet that we can use.”
Everyone followed the small blonde down the hall as she led them to a closet and opened the door. “It’s a little bit small, but I’m sure that it will work for what we’re going to be using it for.”
Cutter and Stephen were unceremoniously shoved into the closet and Claudia smiled at the two of them. “Now, remember boys. You have to stay in here for at least seven minutes, no less and you have to give us a rundown of what happens. If we’re not satisfied that you have done anything in the real and playful spirit of the game, then we can vote to send you back in for another seven minutes.”
Before Stephen could protest that those were not the rules of the game he remembered from his days in school, but Claudia had already closed the door on the two of them.
***
Outside in the hallway, the four conspirators watched the door until the sound of whispered conversation from inside the closet tapered off into silence.
“How long do you think we should leave them in there?” Claudia asked as they went back to the living room and poured another round of drinks.
Abby shrugged. “An hour, maybe?” She took her glass of champagne and grinned. “But, we could leave them in there longer if they don’t start pounding on the door and demanding to be let out. They might be in there all night.”
Connor looked concerned for the first time since he heard the plan. “Do you think they’ll be all right in a closet for that long? They could get cold or panic from claustrophobia or so many other things that we didn’t even think of.”
“Connor, relax,” Ryan ordered. “Nothing bad is going to happen to them.”
“Especially since there are blankets and a basket that has a bottle or two of champagne and a few other surprises in there. All they have to do is find them and if they end up on the floor, they will.” Abby grinned. “It’s just up to us to stay here and ready to let them out of the closet when they’re ready to come out.”
Abby got comfortable on the sofa as her friends did the same. They were all pretty well satisfied with themselves and how their plans had come together.
Sometimes, it was really the small things that were important.
Like four friends willing to arrange things so two of their best friends could have a reason to reach out for what they wanted.
And a closet sporting a brand new door knob that only opened from the outside.
Fandom: Primeval
Author: burnedyesterday
Characters: Abby, Cutter, Stephen, Ryan, Claudia and Connor
Rating: PG, Gen
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1,645
A/N: Written for nietie in the Primeval_Denial Secret Santa Exchange 2014 with the prompts it's the small things that are important and captured
The Winter holidays had never been Abby’s thing.
It wasn’t that she had anything against the holiday, it was more like there had never been the time or a reason to get into it when she was younger. She had been alone for most of her life, so the only ones to celebrate anything with when she got older and had the time to do so were her snakes and lizards.
She tried that one year, but all it had done was annoy the critters and make her seem even more lonely and alone.
However, things had changed and this year she had real friends that she did things with - and often endangered her life with. It was enough to get her to attempt to look at Christmas and New Year’s with fresh eyes - if not a more hopeful spirit.
The main issue that she found herself in was trying to pick the right gift for the right person. The people she worked with all had varying personalities that sometimes clashed with each other, so how was a girl expected to know the perfect gift to get?
Take Professor Cutter, for instance. She had come to look up to him more and more and seen him as a mentor, if not a family figure. He led their team, had sort of been responsible for bringing them all together and turning them into a team that trusted each other. He wasn’t always easy to work with and he had his own opinions about the way things should be done, but he was a good man and Abby had a lot of respect for him.
What did you get for the man who had almost everything but at times seemed to need a handler to make sure he took care of himself?
As she walked down the hall, she had to step to the side to avoid being trampled by Stephen and Ryan. She wasn’t sure why they were almost running down the hall, but she knew that it wasn’t to go to an anomaly call. There had been no anomaly sightings all week and they would have been carrying weapons if there was something like that going on.
She turned her head to watch them go and then smiled slightly as Stephen broke off from Ryan to step into Cutter’s office. The two men were best friends even before all of this started and since they had formed the core team to investigate the strange openings into other times, it seemed to her that the men had become closer.
Not to mention, there was the whole way that the two of them looked at each other - like no one else in the world even existed outside of them. They worked in such perfect sync sometimes when they were out on a call and it hadn’t taken Abby long to realize why her flirting with Stephen would never go anywhere.
There was no travelling girlfriend that he had forgotten to mention to them. Instead, there was a rough and cantankerous ginger-haired man that no one else could compare to as far as Stephen was concerned.
Being passed over for someone like Professor Cutter was no bad thing that she needed to feel rejected about. As far as she was concerned, the two men were a perfect fit for each other.
Even if they, thus far, had been far too stubborn to admit to how they felt.
Something that Abby strongly believed they needed to get over and done with so that they would feel like they had to be so careful and so bloody unhappy when one of them happen to let their eyes fall casually on someone else that was near them at the time.
Abby stopped, cocking her head and pondering the situation as a smile stretched across her face. She suddenly knew what she was going to spend this holiday doing.
***
Getting the help of the others on the team was surprisingly easy. She had her own opinions about why the others had interest in the tracker and the professor getting together, but as long as the end result she wanted came to be, then she didn’t care about their personal stake in this.
Let them have their reasons. What mattered the most was for Cutter and Stephen to not only admit that they cared for each other as more than friends, but that they belonged together, as well.
Because anyone with one good eye could see that they were a perfect fit.
***
The flat was decorated for the holidays and there was plenty of food and drink for everyone that was coming. There was a table set up with drinks and Abby thought that everything looked very nice and festive; and if Connor went a little overboard in hanging the mistletoe, well, what could you do? It might even give her plan a higher chance of succeeding.
When Ryan arrived, he pulled her into her arms for a hug and whispered into her ear. “I thought mistletoe was a Christmas thing?”
“Apparently, Connor believes it’s good for any holiday through February.”
“Are you still sure that this is a good idea?”
She nodded, looking around at the people that had already arrived and were mingling in her flat. “If we can get them to be open with each other, then it’s a very good idea. Did you bring it?”
Ryan nodded and smiled at her. “Of course I did. You asked me to, didn’t you?”
She looked up at him and grinned. “Good. We have to make sure as many odds are stacked in their favor as possible.”
***
Cutter nearly choked on the whiskey he was drinking when Claudia announced the name of the next game they were going to play.
The party had been in full swing for a few hours and the alcohol had been flowing so everyone was in a pretty good mood. In fact, it was one of the most enjoyable New Year’s Eve parties that he could remember enjoying in a long time. He’d watched the team play games and even had participated in a few. It was all in good fun and he could see that Abby had gone through a lot of trouble to put this party together. It would have been rude not to get involved.
Or, that had been his feelings until a few seconds ago.
“We’re playing what?”
Oh good. Stephen had asked the question so that he didn’t have to.
“Seven Minutes In Heaven,” Claudia replied, her slight slur showing that she had also been drinking during the evening.
“Isn’t that a little… juvenile?” Cutter asked, not really believing that a group of respected adults were actually going to play such a silly game.
“Not everyone has lost their sense of fun and whimsy like you have, Professor Cutter,” Captain Ryan teased him.
“Nick has lost nothing,” Stephen said quickly.
“Good, then you and Cutter can be first,” Claudia said with a grin that almost reminded Cutter of a crocodile. “Abby, you do have a closet that we can use, right?”
Abby lowered the glass that she had been drinking from and nodded. “Oh. Yeah, I have an extra closet that we can use.”
Everyone followed the small blonde down the hall as she led them to a closet and opened the door. “It’s a little bit small, but I’m sure that it will work for what we’re going to be using it for.”
Cutter and Stephen were unceremoniously shoved into the closet and Claudia smiled at the two of them. “Now, remember boys. You have to stay in here for at least seven minutes, no less and you have to give us a rundown of what happens. If we’re not satisfied that you have done anything in the real and playful spirit of the game, then we can vote to send you back in for another seven minutes.”
Before Stephen could protest that those were not the rules of the game he remembered from his days in school, but Claudia had already closed the door on the two of them.
***
Outside in the hallway, the four conspirators watched the door until the sound of whispered conversation from inside the closet tapered off into silence.
“How long do you think we should leave them in there?” Claudia asked as they went back to the living room and poured another round of drinks.
Abby shrugged. “An hour, maybe?” She took her glass of champagne and grinned. “But, we could leave them in there longer if they don’t start pounding on the door and demanding to be let out. They might be in there all night.”
Connor looked concerned for the first time since he heard the plan. “Do you think they’ll be all right in a closet for that long? They could get cold or panic from claustrophobia or so many other things that we didn’t even think of.”
“Connor, relax,” Ryan ordered. “Nothing bad is going to happen to them.”
“Especially since there are blankets and a basket that has a bottle or two of champagne and a few other surprises in there. All they have to do is find them and if they end up on the floor, they will.” Abby grinned. “It’s just up to us to stay here and ready to let them out of the closet when they’re ready to come out.”
Abby got comfortable on the sofa as her friends did the same. They were all pretty well satisfied with themselves and how their plans had come together.
Sometimes, it was really the small things that were important.
Like four friends willing to arrange things so two of their best friends could have a reason to reach out for what they wanted.
And a closet sporting a brand new door knob that only opened from the outside.