Primeval WIP: Decisions (34/...)

[talliw]

Title: Decisions (34/...)
Author: TalliW
Pairings: Lester/Cutter, Stephen/Lyle, Abby/Connor, Jenny Lewis
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Primeval are the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Ditzy and Lyle belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to Fredbassett for beta-reading. I couldn't have done it without you.


Stephen was in high spirits the next morning.

His enthusiasm stood in marked contrast to the mood in the ARC.

Connor was typing halfheartedly on his laptop. Nick and Abby weren't even there yet and Jenny Lewis seemed to be disgruntled.

When Cutter finally arrived, clad again in his long coat, he disappeared into the medical unit without even a greeting.

Stephen walked into the common room in search for Lyle.

The soldiers weren't in a good temper either. They sat around Private Marcus Fox and didn't deign to look at him.

The mistaken dressing-down must have got around.

He needed to sort that matter out as soon as possible. But first he had to find the Lieutenant.

Jon Lyle had vanished in the middle of the night after a nice snogging session and Stephen wanted to make it clear he could have stayed.

Taking off like that reminded him too much of Helen and he didn't want to start their relationship off on the wrong foot.

Lyle was in the gun room, polishing his rifle and the welcome he gave Stephen was quite withdrawn.

Stephen Hart didn't know what to make of this. A few hours earlier they had been kissing and snuggling and now the man was acting unapproachable.

Lyle put his rifle down and looked at Stephen.
"Hart, I know I gave you the wrong impression yesterday. I'd had too much to drink and lost track. Can we just forget the whole episode and go back to being acquaintances? You're my superior and we have to work together on a daily basis. We shouldn't mix our professional and personal lives. "

Jon Lyle sighed deeply when Stephen left the gun room angrily. It had been difficult to be so heartless but it was for the best in the end, Lyle tried to console himself.

Yesterday he'd been so sure it would work out between him and Stephen but then he'd woken up in the dark and been scared shitless.

He couldn't do this. He was not ready for something serious.

Lyle was mad at himself that he had given any hints he wanted something permanent. A quick shag now and than was the only thing he needed.

Jon liked his job at the ARC, he couldn't just fool around with his team leader, a man who was an important part in the Anomaly project. It had been better to stop it before it got any further.

But deep down inside he knew he was just a coward. A soldier who had been in more tight situations than he could count had simply got the jitters.

Jetrow would kick him in the arse if he ever found out.

Abby watched the two lizards behind the glass window.

Finally, they had lost their shyness and had mated. It had taken weeks to come to this point.

Despite the fact that the lizards already had names she had started to call them Abbs and Conn.

Their behaviour just reminded her too much of the way she and Connor behaved. Just watching each other and being afraid to get closer.

That had to change. She had realised that if she didn't want to end up as a frustrated old biddy she had to make the first move.

Exercising restraint and moving in small steps was all well and good, but with Connor it was apparently misguided.

Going by their current pace they would probably die of old age before the first kiss happened.

It was time to work out a plan of action for the conquest of the shy young man named Connor Temple.

Jenny Lewis was angry, more at herself than anyone else.

She should have known better and made up an excuse. But like always, she had fallen right into the trap her mother had laid.

The last time had been bad enough. Seeing her former fiance again, chatting animatedly with her mother, had led to an awkward situation in the fine French restaurant.

Only her good manners had stopped her from making a scene in public when her mother had told them to kiss each other and make up again.

This time it seem to be just a normal family meeting with her parents but then Edward Conway and his mother had suddenly walked into the same restaurant they had chosen and her mother had invited the two to join them.

She had always hated the arrogant snob in school and he was still as obnoxious as ever.

Her mother had ignored her angry look and her father wasn't much help either. Robert Lewis had learned that the best way to preserve domestic harmony was not to interfere in the his wife's plans.

So for the whole dinner, Jenny had to suffer the presence of that scumbag.

Next time her mother could do without her company.

If she wanted a marriage prospect she would pick him herself.

Right now she had her hands full with the job. And all men could go to hell for all she cared at the moment.

With a firm stride, she walked to her office, scowling at the young civil servant who passed her in the corridor before she shut the door with a bang.

Stephen couldn't believe it. He'd never thought Jon Lyle was someone who would play games with him.

They had talked a lot and he had got to know him as a downright nice man. He couldn't have deluded himself that much.

Did he fall for the wrong people every time or was it his personality which chased them away?

With his looks he usually had no problems picking a woman up and he guessed the same would be the case with men.

Yet none of the women had been interested in a relationship. He was just a pretty boy for a nice shag that they could leave afterwards without remorse.

At first it had been nice. No commitment and plenty of variety in bed. Later he'd been so fed up with one night stands he'd made up a nonexistent girlfriend to keep the women at bay.

His fascination with the Cutter's hadn't been healthy either. At last he'd learnt to accept the fact that he was actually bisexual.

And now, when he was finally done with the past and had met someone he could imagine going steady with, he'd been dumped after the first night. And it hadn't even been a proper one night stand with real sex.

He needed a friend to talk to, someone, who would understand his interest in a man. Lyle was out of the question now and Cutter was still in the medical unit and probably not in the best state of mind.

There was only one person he could go to instead and the man wasn't exactly someone he could consider a friend.

In the treatment room, Ditzy regarded the blond man on the examination table.

"I'll give you a sedative injection just in case. And for the future you can take sedative tablets. I think that should be enough to control your rage."

Lieutenant Owen quickly disinfected a piece of skin on Cutter's arm and injected the depressant.

"For the other problem I could only find a veterinary treatment. It's used to calm down farm animals in heat."

At Cutter's grimace, he added: "I'm sorry but there isn't anything comparable in human medicine. People are more interested in performance enhancers and not in remedies with opposite effects.
Two tablets daily, taken in the mornings and evening. Just mix it into the fodder, er, I mean take it with your meals."

Nick swallowed one of the pills instantly and waited for the medicine to kick in whilst Ditzy applied himself to some brochures.

When the medicament finally became effective, Nick folded his coat together with a sighs of relief and thanked the medic for his help.

Ditzy just smiled. Helping people felt wonderful. In moments like this he knew he'd the chosen the best profession of all.

Stephen went up to Lester's office and continued past. He cursed himself for his cowardice and turned around, lingering at the door and then walked on.

When Stephen repeated his action, Lester stepped in front of him.

"Can I be of any assistance, Mr. Hart? I can't help noticing you pacing in front of my office. Is there something you want or is it just part of your attempts to annoy me?"

Stephen stopped and stared at him like a deer in the headlights.

Lester registered that the younger man was slightly off balance and ushered him into his office.

"Has something happened between you and Cutter again?" he asked in concern.

Stephen shook his head. "Everything is fine with Cutter, mostly. It's Lyle. I need someone to talk and I... Sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you with my problems."

He got ready to leave but Lester blocked the exit with his body.

"Everything in the ARC matters to me. I have to account for the project after all. If there is trouble within the teams I want to know it. So you're having difficulties with one of your men?"

"No. Yes." Stephen ran his hand through his hair. "It's private."

"I see. It's entirely your choice but if you need someone to talk I'm here to listen. And I'll even do it without any sarcastic comments," James Lester declared wryly and took up his place in his chair behind the desk.

"We spent the night together. He's under my command."

Stephen seated himself in another chair and watched out for Lester's reaction but the civil servant kept a straight face.

"I can hardly say anything against that in my situation, can I?" Lester answered, drily.

"Lyle dumped me this morning because I'm his boss. Yesterday he spoke of a real relationship, something permanent..."

"Was that for or after your interlude?"

"He didn't say this to just get me.... We didn't have sex. We were just snogging all evening," Stephen professed with a red face. "Everything was OK. Then he ran off in the middle of the night..."

"Sounds to me like a bout of cold feet."

"He's a soldier..."

"And, what are you saying? Because he's a soldier he can't be afraid of commitment? It happens all the time. When Cutter approached me first I was terrified."

Stephen was surprised that Lester was willing to volunteer private information in order to help him.

"If that was the case how did you overcome your anxiety?"

"The Professor can be very persistent..." James remembered Nick's attempts to get to know him, with a fond smile.

"So you mean I should pursue him some more in spite of the fact I'm his team leader?"

"There isn't anything officially in the book against civilians having affairs with soldiers they work with. You're not in the military nor are you a government official.
As long you don't use your position to coerce him in any way it shouldn't pose a problem.
But have you thought about what his team mates might say? I don't think the military as a whole are very open-minded. It could be that one of his concern is being frowned on by his men and losing their respect."

Stephen Hart furrowed his brows thoughtfully.
"That could be true. Or maybe he really isn't interested and then it would be awkward working directly with him if I go after him."

"There's always the option to transfer you back to Cutter's team. Then he wouldn't be under your command any longer," Lester suggested.

"I'd rather like my new job. Being a team leader is nice for a change after all the years running around after Cutter."

"I can imagine that."

They shared a brief look of understanding and smirked both.

"Stephen, I doubt it's true that the Lieutenant doesn't care or he wouldn't have spent the night in such intimate proximity with you in the first place. He might be a bit cocky at times but he seems to be relatively intelligent. He wouldn't risk fouling up with his boss.
If you're really sure he is worth all the effort than you'll find a way to sort it out. Just take it slow and let him get used to the idea."

The younger man accepted the advice with a nod and stood slowly up.

"Thanks for the talk. I really needed that."

"You are welcome!" James Lester got up and escorted him to the door.

"Thank you, Lester." Stephen impulsively put his hand on Lester's arm and squeezed firmly.

With balled fists, Cutter stood in the office door and looked at Stephen Hart touching his mate. "Please, tell me quickly that's just a big misunderstanding and not what it seems before I decide to ram you into into the ground, Stephen."

"It's just a big misunderstanding and not what it seems." Stephen answered obediently. "I think I'm needed with my team," he declared nervously and hurried out of the room.

Cutter grinned and turned to Lester.

"I suppose Lieutenant Owen gave you another shot," Lester said with a faint smile.

"He might have done. How did you know?"

"I assume otherwise you would have reacted first and asked questions later, if at all."

Cutter pushed a strand of hair back which had fallen into his face and smiled at James. He needed a haircut badly. His hair had grown longer in the last few weeks.
But right now that wasn't important. He was standing close to James and for the first time since he had ingested the drug he wasn't aroused.

He could just enjoy Lester's presence and that was great. And that James was be able to fall back to the easy banter they had shared in the past was a good sign too. He'd not seen the man so relaxed in ages.

"Ditzy was very helpful. I'm feeling better."

"I'm glad to hear that. And now, what exactly brings you here, Professor?"

"I want to ask some questions about your suggestion at the end of our conversation yesterday." Cutter started carefully, not sure how to continue to get the answers from James he was looking for.

Lester raised his eyebrows. "I've heard there is a nice Chinese restaurant which provides enough privacy for a first informal meeting between colleagues.
And I venture to suggest I was so impressed with that macho behaviour performance a moment ago that I will probably go along with it if you ask me out right now."

Nick Cutter looked surprised. "Uh, that was easy. I haven't even had the time to think about a proper approach."

"I've mulled over the hilarious things a scientist could come up with to impress someone and decided to make it easy for you, Professor." James said, straight-faced. "Just reserve a table and I will be there."

Nick Cutter strutted out of the room with new-found confidence.

James  watched him until he disappeared into one of the workspaces before he turned his attention to his papers.

It was a new beginning and it would work out. It had to work.