Shades of Grey Chapter 7
Title: Shades of Grey Chapter 7
Author: TalliW
Characters: Stephen Hart, Tom Ryan, Nick Cutter, James Lester, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, Jenny Lewis, Oliver Leek, Lyle, Finn, Helen Cutter, Ditzy
Rating: K+, T in later chapters
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle and Finn belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the wonderful Fredbassett for beta duty.
Summary: Ryan has survived but he isn't the man he was. Can Stephen and Cutter manage to work together to help him? Perhaps Ryan has changed in more ways than it appears on first sight.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Enjoying his lollipop, Ryan followed Stephen back to the main area. In front of the computer terminal he stopped abruptly.
Ryan sucked some more on the sweet before he took it out of his mouth, eying the dark-haired guy and the blonde girl from head to toe.
"You don't look all that weird. But the clothes are ugly. I would want to strip them off too," Ryan jabbered. "Is it true that..."
Ryan almost choked on the lollipop Stephen had stuffed back into his mouth in desperation.
Stephen certainly wasn't going to be a quiet bystander whilst Ryan got him into another precarious situation.
He had barely escaped Jenny's wrath and Leek was probably already plotting their demise. Who knew what Abby would do to him if Ryan, in his innocence, repeated what Stephen had told him about the girl strictly in confidence.
The random things Ryan had apparently overheard in the last few days and already blurted out were bad enough.
Abby merely raised her eyebrow then shifted her attention to Stephen who slowly coloured under her look.
"Want to see my dinosaur database?" Connor asked in an attempt to defuse the loaded atmosphere.
"Sure," Ryan mumbled with the lollipop still in his mouth.
"Wow. This one is cool."
Connor winced when Ryan pushed his lollipop directly at the picture of a Trex on the monitor, leaving a trail of sugar and saliva on the surface.
The next moment Ryan yelled, "Rat-a-tat-tat bang bang," his finger pointed at the monitor as if it were a gun. His lollypop was now glued to Connor's keyboard.
"I see some things never change," Cutter muttered behind them.
Lester, who had been watching Ryan's antics near the detector from the railing with a grim look, ordered forcefully, "Stephen, Tom! In my office! Now!"
Cutter trailed after Ryan and Stephen, taking for granted he was invited as well.
"Until we’ve ascertained what’s happened to Ryan I don't want him near..."
"Tom. My name is Tom Richards. You’ve called me that strange name again," Ryan interrupted Lester accusingly. "I told you in the hospital, and twice on the drive, that my name isn't Ryan."
Lester was briefly put off his stride by Ryan's outburst. "Yes, well," he stammered before remembering what he had wanted to say. "Keep him away from our equipment. He can't have survived in the Permian without help. And currently only one person comes to mind who uses the anomalies like an entry door. I would prefer he doesn't snoop around the detector in case Helen has sent him to gather information."
Ryan looked confused, not understanding anything Lester was talking about whilst Stephen and Nick exchanged worried glances. They hadn't thought much about how Ryan had managed to hold on for two weeks in the Permian, badly injured. That he was alive at all had seemed like such a miracle they had accepted it without question.
Although the idea of Ryan conspiring with Helen seemed unlikely for a man of his character, they couldn't completely discard it.
Ryan's behaviour in the last few hours was proof enough that the current Tom was very different to the tight-lipped, loyal soldier they had got to know before.
"What is it?" Lester asked, slightly irritated, as Ryan started to sniff the air and slowly walked closer to Lester, still taking a sniff.
"You smell good."
"Thank you, that's the aftershave my daughter gave me for Christmas."
"Smells like the perfume my Granny used for special occasions. Have you ever tried skating down the ramp? I bet you’d look great on a skateboard."
Not knowing if he should feel insulted or honored by Ryan's comments, Lester cleared his throat, then coughed, at a loss for a moment.
Stephen hid a smile. It was seldom Lester was thrown for a loop. However he had still a lot to clarify with Lester about Ryan. There was no way he would leave Ryan in a bunk room for another night. The soldiers on guard duty had already been outsmarted by Ryan once before. This time he would watch over Ryan himself.
"I would like to take him home to my flat for the time being. It’s a neutral environment he hasn't got unpleasant memories tied to. Perhaps that’s what's preventing him from remembering," Stephen declared. "I might need some time off for the next two days through. Just until he has settled in. Are you all right with that?"
"Yeah. Go home," Lester muttered then he straightened up and replied, almost back to his usual self, "Take as much time off as you need. We can certainly manage a few days without you. I will deduct it from your holiday entitlement, of course."
"Wouldn't have expected it any other way."
With a satisfied smile, Stephen ushered Ryan out of the office.
"Inform me instantly if any of his memories return. We have to know what happened in the Permian," Lester called after Stephen before he turned his attention to Cutter who had remained in the office.
"Am I right in drawing the conclusion that the animosity between you and Hart has been resolved or at least alleviated?"
Cutter looked everywhere but Lester as he grudgingly admitted, "We’ve talked it out."
That the whole team including Lester had witnessed Helen's nasty revelation was still a sore point for him.
"Good, then keep an eye on him. He seems a little too attached to our mysterious returnee. I'm afraid he will not be as objective as neccessary in such a situation."
Stephen wasn't surprised when Cutter showed up on his front doorstep two hours later.
"Come in, I could do with your help. Tom’s refusing to eat his vegetables."
"I swear the method was always successful with me when I was a child. With a spoonful for you and a spoonful for me, the plate was empty in a jiffy."
"I've no doubt about that, Cutter. But I rather intended Tom to eat the vegetables. Instead he managed to deflect most of his spoonfuls onto you. And you let it happen."
"Well, I was hungry. And the broccoli was really good."
"There is still enough in the kitchen. I made a large portion of everything."
Whilst Cutter helped himself happily to the abundant food Stephen had prepared, Stephen tried to convince Ryan that he needed to take an after-lunch nap.
Cutter found them a while later in the spare room. Ryan on the bed and Stephen laying next to the bed on the floor, snoring in time with each other.