Fic: Frequently Asked Questions (2/6)
Nov. 16th, 2022 05:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thelibraniniquity posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
tli_productionsHeader information and notes contained in Part 1.
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
2
Emily finds Claudia in the bathroom. While Jessica Parker’s home lacks in any comforts she would have once considered normal, its layout is simple enough to navigate.
She peers around the door, then enters the room. Claudia is sitting on the floor, legs pulled up against her chest but there are no signs of any more physical distress.
Emily keeps her distance. “Are you unwell?” she asks quietly. She would not normally be this forthright but given the circumstances, not only of today but her extended time in the twenty-first century, Emily thinks she might be forgiven abandoning her manners.
Claudia glances up. She tenses briefly, then relaxes a fraction. She shakes her head when it seems a spoken answer might not be possible.
“May I?” Emily motions to the floor. There is a small but affirmative response, and she seats herself opposite Claudia, leaving a clear boundary between them. Questions swirl around her mind, some she can’t even put into words. She’s not sure which of Matt’s colleagues would be the best person to seek an answer from, assuming any of them could explain it to her in a way she could understand.
Emily’s father had given her a great many tools denied to other girls of her time but a scientific education had been a step too far, even for him. It used to be enough to know that things worked; now more than ever she wants to understand how. And why.
Claudia interrupts her musings. “You don’t need to check on me.”
“Yes, I do,” Emily retorts. “You’ve been through a lot and for all that I was fortunate not to spend all my time on the other side of the gateways alone, it wasn’t always the case. I know what it’s like,” she adds gently.
Fear, extreme vigilance. Crushing loneliness.
Emily recognises the signs.
Claudia is briefly stricken. “Not like this,” she whispers.
Emily’s heart breaks, just a little, at that. She glances at the closed bathroom door and hopes the others have enough sense to stay away for a little while longer.
o o o o o
Becker’s aim doesn’t waver.
“If you’re going to kill me,” Claudia finds herself saying, “you might as well get it over with.”
Whatever she might have expected, it wasn’t Becker’s face twisting with puzzlement before the automaton takes over again. “That’s not what I’m here for.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Where are Connor and Sarah?”
Claudia tries not to shake. “Still hiding, hopefully.”
Becker looks unimpressed. “And the artefact?”
There’s no point lying about that. The pain from it digging into her leg is getting ridiculous and Sarah’s satchel around her shoulder is hardly inconspicuous. “Why?”
Becker sighs. He pulls Claudia to her feet, angling himself to keep his gun just out of reach. “Come on,” he tells her. “We don’t have much time.”
He takes her back to the outbuilding where the anomaly is located. There are two soldiers guarding it. Claudia doesn’t recognise either of them, so they probably report to Christine sodding Johnson.
Becker keeps one hand tight around her arm as he calls ahead: “Temple and Page are still missing. Do a sweep and be mindful of the creatures. Shoot to kill.”
The soldiers glance at each other.
“What are you waiting for, a written invitation? Go!” Becker demands.
They go. Becker glances through the open door to the anomaly, still as large and bright as when Claudia and Connor had found it earlier. “This would be a lot easier if Connor had finished his locking tech,” he comments.
Claudia stares at him. “Find a way to bring Abby back from the dead and maybe he will.”
Becker at least has the decency to look ashamed for a few seconds. “My orders are to take the three of you and the artefact into custody. Christine Johnson’s in charge of the ARC now.”
“And you just rolled over and took it, did you?”
“If I had, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Becker tells her quietly. “Johnson wasn’t exactly specific about how you were to be brought in.”
“What about Lester?” Claudia asks.
“Backed into a corner,” Becker says. “But who do you think sent you here?”
He glances at the anomaly again. “The creatures are Phorusrhacos, probably from the Pliocene, around three million years ago.”
Claudia has the sudden, sinking feeling that she knows where this is going.
o o o o o
“So,” Jenny says. “Claudia Brown.”
She seems remarkably calm, all things considered, but there’s no telling how long it’s going to last.
Becker glances to the hallway. Claudia and Emily have only been gone a few minutes. While that would be more than enough time for an escape attempt, let alone any other less savoury course of action, the voice at the back of his head that sounds a lot like his sister has already started reminding him that he goes and finds out what they’re doing at his peril.
“You called me Claudia, when we first...when you first appeared,” Jenny continues, fixing Stephen with a piercing look. “Is this – is she...?”
Stephen nods slowly. “I think so.”
“She seems to think you’re the Stephen Hart she knew,” Becker points out. Jenny’s already gone back to the empty chair nearest Connor and Abby. He turns the chair next to Stephen so he has a better view of the rest of the group.
“That’s pretty cool, actually,” Connor says, excitedly. He grimaces when everyone turns to look at him. “I mean, think about it. There’s this whole other version of events – of us – going on, and two people crossed over from that into this version – ours.”
“Four,” Abby says quietly.
Nick and Helen Cutter. Of course.
Instantly Connor sobers. “Yeah...my point still kind of stands, though. That could be a whole other side effect of travelling through the anomalies.”
“What are you getting at?” Matt asks. “Are we in danger somehow?”
“Hey, I don’t even know how they managed to all get from A to B,” Connor tells him, “unless you know something about the anomalies we don’t?”
Matt shakes his head and leans back in his chair. “No.”
Connor frowns briefly, then turns back to Jenny. “So that might have been a bit of a non-starter. Sorry.”
Jenny looks pained but she manages a weak smile.
“You’re here,” Abby tells her quietly. “You’ve been here. You’re real. Like any of us could ever forget you.”
“Please don’t make me cry,” Jenny murmurs. “I don’t think I could deal with that right now.”
“That’s quite understandable,” Lester says gently. “And not to undermine you but it’s been a hell of a day for everyone. As good an idea as this -” he gestures around at everyone, “- has been, I think we’ll all do much better having at least tried to get some sleep. We can reconvene in the morning, start putting together a proper plan to find and rescue Danny.”
“The fewer people we involve, the better,” Becker points out. “Assuming that this is going to be off the books?”
Lester pulls a face. “Indeed. This stays between us – for now.” He looks around the table as if to make his point, but it doesn’t matter. Everyone’s nodding. Matt pauses, but he nods too.
“What about Claudia?” Matt asks. “What do we do with her?”
“How about we ask her, see what she thinks,” Jess retorts, a surprising edge in her voice. Or maybe not so surprising. “I’ll find them, see how they’re doing.”
She looks more nervous now, but she leaves the room.
“We should do this more often,” Connor says suddenly. “Team bonding.”
“Building,” Abby says.
“It’s kind of nice,” Connor continues. He shoots Jenny a small smile. “Next time we’ll have everyone here, hey?”
“God, I’ve missed you,” Jenny says thickly.
Connor smiles awkwardly. He opens his mouth, but before he can say anything Matt’s phone rings. He glances at the caller ID and ducks down the stairs to Jess’ front door before anyone can stop him.
“That’s a proper old phone he’s got,” Connor frowns. “Anyone else find that a bit weird?”
“Mine’s not much newer,” Stephen points out. He holds up his tiny flip phone, which stops any protest Connor might have been considering.
“Hey,” Abby says gently, “don’t worry about that.”
Connor sighs.
Lester smirks. “Come on, all of you,” he says, getting to his feet. “Jenny, what about you? What do you want to do tonight?”
Jenny shakes her head. “I can’t go home. I – I’ll book somewhere.”
“Nonsense,” Lester says. “I have a perfectly adequate guest room. You’re more than welcome to it.”
“Thank you,” Jenny says slowly.
“And if you need someone to deflect your relatives, I’m sure I could think of something.”
“I told them he’d been taken to hospital.”
Lester nods. “Then that’s the story we stick to.”
Matt jogs back up the stairs. “I have to go. Something came up.” He holds up his phone by way of explanation. He glances at the hallway where Claudia, Emily and Jess had gone.
“I’ll find Emily,” Abby says. It doesn’t take long before she comes back. “Claudia and Emily are going to stay here tonight. We’ll make space for them.”
Connor nods. “Cool. Yeah, okay.”
Matt hesitates, but Abby fixes a calm stare on him. “Emily will be fine here,” she says, a slight edge to her voice. “Go sort out your thing. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah.” Matt grabs his jacket from the sofa, then leaves.
Becker looks at Stephen. “We should go too.”
Stephen nods.
“Oh,” Abby says to Lester, “Jess said to remind you about giving Jenny all our numbers.”
“She did mention that earlier, yes,” Lester admits. He nods at Abby. “We’ll get that sorted.”
Abby hugs Jenny. “Look after yourself, okay? We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jenny nods. Lester gathers a couple of things from next to his chair, then they leave.
Abby turns to Becker and Stephen. “Gentlemen,” she says lightly, and motions to the door.
“See you tomorrow,” Becker makes himself say. “Let us know if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Abby says, but it’s pretty obvious she doesn’t think they will.
In the cool evening fresh air, tiredness hits Becker like a sledgehammer. He bites back a yawn but dutifully hands over the car keys when Stephen holds his hand out.
It isn’t until they’re back at his flat and the front door is safely closed behind them that Stephen makes contact. He puts his hands on Becker’s shoulders and asks quietly: “How are you feeling?”
Becker exhales loudly. “I don’t know,” he says. “What about you?”
Stephen shrugs. “I don’t know,” he echoes.
“It’s been a while since you’ve seen Claudia,” Becker tries.
Stephen doesn’t miss a beat. He rubs a thumb against Becker’s neck. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen Danny and Jenny.”
Yeah, okay, they’re both fuck ups. And Becker probably knows more about Claudia Brown than Stephen does about the last time Becker had seen Danny and Jenny. “Bed,” Becker eventually says, because even though it’s not particularly late, it has been one hell of a day.
“Okay,” Stephen says. He takes a step back to let Becker go past him to the bathroom. The contact points on his neck tingle and Becker rubs them a couple of times. Stephen’s already in bed when Becker gets there, and curls into his side as soon as he lies down.
Becker takes a deep breath and wraps his arm around Stephen’s shoulders. “That okay?” he asks quietly.
He feels a nod against his chest then an equally quiet: “This?”
“Yeah,” Becker tells him.
It’s not long before they’re both asleep.
o o o o o
Jenny can’t sleep. The drive to Lester’s flat had been quiet without being too uncomfortable. She’d turned down his offer of something stronger to drink, instead retreating to an immaculate if impersonal guest room. Her phone lay untouched at the bottom of her bag. She can’t see any point in turning it back on – if she can’t even handle the idea of her parents being upset or trying to get involved then there’s no way she wants to face the reality of it.
Of any of it.
Danny’s out there somewhere. Somewhen. Jenny hadn’t been able to find him – not on her own, she keeps telling herself – and as she lies back on a horribly firm mattress and stares up at a dark ceiling, all she can think about is how badly she needs him. For him to be here, and to be okay.
There’s nothing Jenny won’t do to see that happen.
o o o o o
Danny can’t sleep. The second anomaly Patrick had pushed him through had led to a cluster of dozens more. He hadn’t seen anything like it outside of old ARC mission photos. He can still feel the imprint of the gun on his neck and his brother’s cold voice telling him which one to go through.
Wherever they are – whenever they are – seems to be perpetual twilight. The sun is low on the horizon and has moved upwards so slowly over the last few hours Danny would bet his life they’re close to one of the poles, even though it’s not nearly cold enough for that. A small campfire separates him from Patrick, and the air tastes slightly strange but he tries not to think too hard about that.
Patrick hasn’t said much up to this point, and Danny’s not sure what to make of that. Not that he has any idea what to say to him. It’ll be a long time before he forgets Jen with a gun to her head.
She’s not the only thing holding Danny back from acting too rashly, either. As well as the revolver, Patrick’s carrying some kind of anomaly detecting equipment. Danny’s not sure which came first, finding the anomaly at the stately home or finding Danny himself, and again that’s something he’s trying not to think about right now.
The only thing he can’t get out of his mind is that if he’s not careful, Danny might never get back home.
o o o o o
Onto: Part 3
o o o o o
2
Emily finds Claudia in the bathroom. While Jessica Parker’s home lacks in any comforts she would have once considered normal, its layout is simple enough to navigate.
She peers around the door, then enters the room. Claudia is sitting on the floor, legs pulled up against her chest but there are no signs of any more physical distress.
Emily keeps her distance. “Are you unwell?” she asks quietly. She would not normally be this forthright but given the circumstances, not only of today but her extended time in the twenty-first century, Emily thinks she might be forgiven abandoning her manners.
Claudia glances up. She tenses briefly, then relaxes a fraction. She shakes her head when it seems a spoken answer might not be possible.
“May I?” Emily motions to the floor. There is a small but affirmative response, and she seats herself opposite Claudia, leaving a clear boundary between them. Questions swirl around her mind, some she can’t even put into words. She’s not sure which of Matt’s colleagues would be the best person to seek an answer from, assuming any of them could explain it to her in a way she could understand.
Emily’s father had given her a great many tools denied to other girls of her time but a scientific education had been a step too far, even for him. It used to be enough to know that things worked; now more than ever she wants to understand how. And why.
Claudia interrupts her musings. “You don’t need to check on me.”
“Yes, I do,” Emily retorts. “You’ve been through a lot and for all that I was fortunate not to spend all my time on the other side of the gateways alone, it wasn’t always the case. I know what it’s like,” she adds gently.
Fear, extreme vigilance. Crushing loneliness.
Emily recognises the signs.
Claudia is briefly stricken. “Not like this,” she whispers.
Emily’s heart breaks, just a little, at that. She glances at the closed bathroom door and hopes the others have enough sense to stay away for a little while longer.
Becker’s aim doesn’t waver.
“If you’re going to kill me,” Claudia finds herself saying, “you might as well get it over with.”
Whatever she might have expected, it wasn’t Becker’s face twisting with puzzlement before the automaton takes over again. “That’s not what I’m here for.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Where are Connor and Sarah?”
Claudia tries not to shake. “Still hiding, hopefully.”
Becker looks unimpressed. “And the artefact?”
There’s no point lying about that. The pain from it digging into her leg is getting ridiculous and Sarah’s satchel around her shoulder is hardly inconspicuous. “Why?”
Becker sighs. He pulls Claudia to her feet, angling himself to keep his gun just out of reach. “Come on,” he tells her. “We don’t have much time.”
He takes her back to the outbuilding where the anomaly is located. There are two soldiers guarding it. Claudia doesn’t recognise either of them, so they probably report to Christine sodding Johnson.
Becker keeps one hand tight around her arm as he calls ahead: “Temple and Page are still missing. Do a sweep and be mindful of the creatures. Shoot to kill.”
The soldiers glance at each other.
“What are you waiting for, a written invitation? Go!” Becker demands.
They go. Becker glances through the open door to the anomaly, still as large and bright as when Claudia and Connor had found it earlier. “This would be a lot easier if Connor had finished his locking tech,” he comments.
Claudia stares at him. “Find a way to bring Abby back from the dead and maybe he will.”
Becker at least has the decency to look ashamed for a few seconds. “My orders are to take the three of you and the artefact into custody. Christine Johnson’s in charge of the ARC now.”
“And you just rolled over and took it, did you?”
“If I had, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Becker tells her quietly. “Johnson wasn’t exactly specific about how you were to be brought in.”
“What about Lester?” Claudia asks.
“Backed into a corner,” Becker says. “But who do you think sent you here?”
He glances at the anomaly again. “The creatures are Phorusrhacos, probably from the Pliocene, around three million years ago.”
Claudia has the sudden, sinking feeling that she knows where this is going.
“So,” Jenny says. “Claudia Brown.”
She seems remarkably calm, all things considered, but there’s no telling how long it’s going to last.
Becker glances to the hallway. Claudia and Emily have only been gone a few minutes. While that would be more than enough time for an escape attempt, let alone any other less savoury course of action, the voice at the back of his head that sounds a lot like his sister has already started reminding him that he goes and finds out what they’re doing at his peril.
“You called me Claudia, when we first...when you first appeared,” Jenny continues, fixing Stephen with a piercing look. “Is this – is she...?”
Stephen nods slowly. “I think so.”
“She seems to think you’re the Stephen Hart she knew,” Becker points out. Jenny’s already gone back to the empty chair nearest Connor and Abby. He turns the chair next to Stephen so he has a better view of the rest of the group.
“That’s pretty cool, actually,” Connor says, excitedly. He grimaces when everyone turns to look at him. “I mean, think about it. There’s this whole other version of events – of us – going on, and two people crossed over from that into this version – ours.”
“Four,” Abby says quietly.
Nick and Helen Cutter. Of course.
Instantly Connor sobers. “Yeah...my point still kind of stands, though. That could be a whole other side effect of travelling through the anomalies.”
“What are you getting at?” Matt asks. “Are we in danger somehow?”
“Hey, I don’t even know how they managed to all get from A to B,” Connor tells him, “unless you know something about the anomalies we don’t?”
Matt shakes his head and leans back in his chair. “No.”
Connor frowns briefly, then turns back to Jenny. “So that might have been a bit of a non-starter. Sorry.”
Jenny looks pained but she manages a weak smile.
“You’re here,” Abby tells her quietly. “You’ve been here. You’re real. Like any of us could ever forget you.”
“Please don’t make me cry,” Jenny murmurs. “I don’t think I could deal with that right now.”
“That’s quite understandable,” Lester says gently. “And not to undermine you but it’s been a hell of a day for everyone. As good an idea as this -” he gestures around at everyone, “- has been, I think we’ll all do much better having at least tried to get some sleep. We can reconvene in the morning, start putting together a proper plan to find and rescue Danny.”
“The fewer people we involve, the better,” Becker points out. “Assuming that this is going to be off the books?”
Lester pulls a face. “Indeed. This stays between us – for now.” He looks around the table as if to make his point, but it doesn’t matter. Everyone’s nodding. Matt pauses, but he nods too.
“What about Claudia?” Matt asks. “What do we do with her?”
“How about we ask her, see what she thinks,” Jess retorts, a surprising edge in her voice. Or maybe not so surprising. “I’ll find them, see how they’re doing.”
She looks more nervous now, but she leaves the room.
“We should do this more often,” Connor says suddenly. “Team bonding.”
“Building,” Abby says.
“It’s kind of nice,” Connor continues. He shoots Jenny a small smile. “Next time we’ll have everyone here, hey?”
“God, I’ve missed you,” Jenny says thickly.
Connor smiles awkwardly. He opens his mouth, but before he can say anything Matt’s phone rings. He glances at the caller ID and ducks down the stairs to Jess’ front door before anyone can stop him.
“That’s a proper old phone he’s got,” Connor frowns. “Anyone else find that a bit weird?”
“Mine’s not much newer,” Stephen points out. He holds up his tiny flip phone, which stops any protest Connor might have been considering.
“Hey,” Abby says gently, “don’t worry about that.”
Connor sighs.
Lester smirks. “Come on, all of you,” he says, getting to his feet. “Jenny, what about you? What do you want to do tonight?”
Jenny shakes her head. “I can’t go home. I – I’ll book somewhere.”
“Nonsense,” Lester says. “I have a perfectly adequate guest room. You’re more than welcome to it.”
“Thank you,” Jenny says slowly.
“And if you need someone to deflect your relatives, I’m sure I could think of something.”
“I told them he’d been taken to hospital.”
Lester nods. “Then that’s the story we stick to.”
Matt jogs back up the stairs. “I have to go. Something came up.” He holds up his phone by way of explanation. He glances at the hallway where Claudia, Emily and Jess had gone.
“I’ll find Emily,” Abby says. It doesn’t take long before she comes back. “Claudia and Emily are going to stay here tonight. We’ll make space for them.”
Connor nods. “Cool. Yeah, okay.”
Matt hesitates, but Abby fixes a calm stare on him. “Emily will be fine here,” she says, a slight edge to her voice. “Go sort out your thing. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah.” Matt grabs his jacket from the sofa, then leaves.
Becker looks at Stephen. “We should go too.”
Stephen nods.
“Oh,” Abby says to Lester, “Jess said to remind you about giving Jenny all our numbers.”
“She did mention that earlier, yes,” Lester admits. He nods at Abby. “We’ll get that sorted.”
Abby hugs Jenny. “Look after yourself, okay? We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jenny nods. Lester gathers a couple of things from next to his chair, then they leave.
Abby turns to Becker and Stephen. “Gentlemen,” she says lightly, and motions to the door.
“See you tomorrow,” Becker makes himself say. “Let us know if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Abby says, but it’s pretty obvious she doesn’t think they will.
In the cool evening fresh air, tiredness hits Becker like a sledgehammer. He bites back a yawn but dutifully hands over the car keys when Stephen holds his hand out.
It isn’t until they’re back at his flat and the front door is safely closed behind them that Stephen makes contact. He puts his hands on Becker’s shoulders and asks quietly: “How are you feeling?”
Becker exhales loudly. “I don’t know,” he says. “What about you?”
Stephen shrugs. “I don’t know,” he echoes.
“It’s been a while since you’ve seen Claudia,” Becker tries.
Stephen doesn’t miss a beat. He rubs a thumb against Becker’s neck. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen Danny and Jenny.”
Yeah, okay, they’re both fuck ups. And Becker probably knows more about Claudia Brown than Stephen does about the last time Becker had seen Danny and Jenny. “Bed,” Becker eventually says, because even though it’s not particularly late, it has been one hell of a day.
“Okay,” Stephen says. He takes a step back to let Becker go past him to the bathroom. The contact points on his neck tingle and Becker rubs them a couple of times. Stephen’s already in bed when Becker gets there, and curls into his side as soon as he lies down.
Becker takes a deep breath and wraps his arm around Stephen’s shoulders. “That okay?” he asks quietly.
He feels a nod against his chest then an equally quiet: “This?”
“Yeah,” Becker tells him.
It’s not long before they’re both asleep.
Jenny can’t sleep. The drive to Lester’s flat had been quiet without being too uncomfortable. She’d turned down his offer of something stronger to drink, instead retreating to an immaculate if impersonal guest room. Her phone lay untouched at the bottom of her bag. She can’t see any point in turning it back on – if she can’t even handle the idea of her parents being upset or trying to get involved then there’s no way she wants to face the reality of it.
Of any of it.
Danny’s out there somewhere. Somewhen. Jenny hadn’t been able to find him – not on her own, she keeps telling herself – and as she lies back on a horribly firm mattress and stares up at a dark ceiling, all she can think about is how badly she needs him. For him to be here, and to be okay.
There’s nothing Jenny won’t do to see that happen.
Danny can’t sleep. The second anomaly Patrick had pushed him through had led to a cluster of dozens more. He hadn’t seen anything like it outside of old ARC mission photos. He can still feel the imprint of the gun on his neck and his brother’s cold voice telling him which one to go through.
Wherever they are – whenever they are – seems to be perpetual twilight. The sun is low on the horizon and has moved upwards so slowly over the last few hours Danny would bet his life they’re close to one of the poles, even though it’s not nearly cold enough for that. A small campfire separates him from Patrick, and the air tastes slightly strange but he tries not to think too hard about that.
Patrick hasn’t said much up to this point, and Danny’s not sure what to make of that. Not that he has any idea what to say to him. It’ll be a long time before he forgets Jen with a gun to her head.
She’s not the only thing holding Danny back from acting too rashly, either. As well as the revolver, Patrick’s carrying some kind of anomaly detecting equipment. Danny’s not sure which came first, finding the anomaly at the stately home or finding Danny himself, and again that’s something he’s trying not to think about right now.
The only thing he can’t get out of his mind is that if he’s not careful, Danny might never get back home.
Onto: Part 3
o o o o o
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2022-11-18 11:52 am (UTC)The team dynamics are fab too :)
no subject
Date: 2022-11-18 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-12-01 05:01 pm (UTC)And the plot thickens!
What was Matt's phone call? Enquiring minds want to know LOL.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-01 10:43 pm (UTC)