Priorities, fic

[isamazed]

Title: Priorities
Author: isamazed
Word count: approx. 2,450
Characters: Stephen/Ryan; mentioned: Connor, Lester, Cutter, Finn, Ross, Ditzy, Blade, Dan Robinson
Rating: T
Warnings: near-death experience and stubbornness
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. I only write for fun…
Summary: Ryan needs Stephen to take care of himself.
A/N: Based on fredbassett's prompt “There is no bloody way you’re going into work today” and Ryan/Stephen. I was planning something fluffy at first, but decided the “bloody” in the prompt required something different!
Finn, Ditzy and Blade belong to fredbassett, Dan Robinson is deinonychus_1's and Ross belongs to bigtitch. A big thank you goes to fredbassett for the beta! All remaining mistakes are mine!

 
They were attending to an anomaly at a half-finished apartment complex in the outer skirts of the city. So far, everything had been rather uneventful. They had arrived, closed off the site, escorted all the construction workers to their vans and made sure they drove away. Four of Ryan’s team were outside watching the property while everyone else was inside. Finn and Ross were guarding the anomaly while Connor took some readings. The rest of them were scattered around the building searching for the creature that had left a few footprints in the dust on the floor. There was no telling where it had gone with so many footprints in the hallway, but at least Stephen was sure that the animal hadn’t left the building. Only six floors and the basement to search then. 

Ryan sent his team in pairs to look for the creature on the upper floors, while he and Stephen searched the ground floor and then made their way downstairs into the basement.

Ryan sighed inwardly and switched on the light on his rifle as they carefully walked down the stairs. Stephen silently motioned to him when he crouched down to check something on the floor. When he lifted his head and locked eyes with Ryan, he nodded and jerked his head towards a passage further down the corridor. Ryan signalled his acknowledgement and strengthened his grip on the rifle. Bingo, dino ahead.

Ryan made sure he was a step ahead of Stephen when they approached the door. He felt how Stephen tensed and lifted his tranquilizer. Then Ryan was through the doorway and had to bite his tongue to not let a curse slip. Of course, the bloody thing would hide in the room where the workers stored all kinds of material and where it could be hiding basically everywhere. Crap.

Ryan heard some scratchy noise further back in the room. All muscles tense and ready for action, he carefully stepped around a shoulder-high stack of sacks of plaster. He stopped dead when the light of his rifle fell on a head equipped with a few little horns and a big dome. His eyes locked with the creature’s. It was standing on its hind legs, eyes glittering in the artificial light. None of them moved.

“Pachycephalosaurus“, Stephen mumbled. “Beautiful.“

Ryan resisted the urge to snort. They stayed still, waiting for the creature to relax, so that they could get a good shot and send it to sleep. 

Then a loud thumb from above echoed through the building, and the dinosaur shot up from its crouched position and charged towards them. Ryan shot but missed, and a cloud of plaster puffed in the air. Then he felt Stephen push him and he tripped over a wire drum. While he fell, he turned and landed hard on his arse. Stephen must have taken a shot because there was another PANG. The Pachycephalosaurus whined but didn’t slow down. If anything, it increased its speed, and Ryan heard Stephen grunt when the hard dome and horns connected with his gut and a tangle of human and dinosaur limbs rammed into the distribution box on the wall behind them.

“Stephen!” Ryan screamed and was already halfway on his feet when the first sparks shot out of some ripped wires and the spasming bodies of Stephen and the Pachycephalosaurus fell to the ground.

+++

Ryan awoke when he felt the hand he was holding twitch. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes with his other hand and watched Stephen shift slightly, eyes still firmly closed, breathing even. Ryan checked the time on the clock on the wall. 7.30 am. He sat up straight and rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the tight muscles in his neck and back and aiming for a more comfortable position in the hospital chair.

He leaned forward and ran his hand through Stephen’s hair. He couldn’t believe how close he’d come to losing him the day before. They’d been damn lucky they’d had their team with them. Blade hadn’t hesitated to cut the power supply for the entire apartment complex – thank god for his degree in electrical engineering – and Ditzy had kept Stephen’s stumbling heartbeat going until the ambulance arrived. Ryan had felt so helpless.

They’d lost him for a moment there on the ride to the hospital. Ryan’s heart clenched at the thought and he gripped Stephen’s hand a little tighter. The paramedics had left Ryan in a waiting room and he didn’t remember much until the moment he felt Dan’s reassuring hand on his back. They’d sat together in silence until a doctor came to tell them that Stephen was stable and they had given him something to keep him asleep until the next morning to give his body a chance to rest and gather new strength.

Stephen would need to go through a multitude of tests during the next few days but they were cautiously optimistic that there was little to no long-term damage. He was young and fit, after all. Ryan had cried like a baby in Dan’s arms.

He was softly running his fingers over Stephen’s cheek when his lover’s eyes started to flutter. A moment later, Stephen lazily blinked his eyes open and looked confused for a moment before his gaze met Ryan’s.

“Hey baby. You’re with me?”, Ryan said softly.

Stephen croaked something that Ryan didn’t quite catch. He helped Stephen to a few slow and careful sips of water. Then Stephen cleared his throat before he tried to speak again. This time his voice complied. 

“What happened?”

“Got yourself electrocuted, stupid”, Ryan replied, affectionately cupping Stephen’s cheek with his hand. “Don’t you dare do that ever again.”

“’Kay”, Stephen mumbled and let his eyes fall closed, leaning his face into Ryan’s touch. The next moment, he was asleep again.

+++

Four days later Ryan drove a restless Stephen home. At first, Stephen had tried to be a good patient, but already on the second day he’d started to snap at everyone who’d done so much as ask how he was doing. Which meant that by today, everybody was checking with Ryan if it was safe to speak to him. Stephen insisted that he was perfectly fine – out of breath easily, yes, but otherwise feeling great – but the doctor still told him to take it slow for another couple of weeks and rest up for another week of sick leave before returning to work on desk duty. To say that Stephen was not amused didn’t quite capture his mood.

“Chin up, Stephen. I know there’s a ton of sports magazines sitting on the coffee table you’ve been meaning to catch up on for weeks. At least, now you have the time.” 

Stephen shot him a death glare. Apparently, that had been to wrong thing to say.

“I’m sure Connor would be happy to drop you some research, so you could help him keep his records up-to-date,” he tried again. Stephen’s eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. 

Oh well, let him brood, Ryan thought and concentrated on the road. When Stephen was in this mood, there was no getting by.

He thought better than to offer to help Stephen out of the car and simply lifted his bag from the backseat. Halfway up the stairs to their second floor flat, Stephen was panting so hard that Ryan just grabbed him by the waist and made him stop until his breathing evened out a bit. By the time they arrived at their door, Stephen was leaning heavily on him. Still, he had a face like thunder. Ryan sighed inwardly and unlocked the door. He was getting gradually more and more pissed himself.

Ryan attempted to help Stephen to the settee where he could sit down and rest. But Stephen pulled his arm away.

“I can walk by myself.” His eyes held a challenging and that made Ryan snap. Stephen was behaving worse than a bloody teenager.

“Fine, fall flat on your stubborn arse. I don’t care.” He turned on his heel, picked up the bag and stomped towards the bedroom. The next hour or so he busied himself with the laundry and other housework, carefully avoiding the living room and its current occupant.

+++

They’d come to a truce over dinner preparations, and by the time they were eating they’d progressed to an actual, despite wary, conversation. Afterwards, Ryan sent Stephen to the living room under the pretence to choose a movie they could watch while he cleaned up the kitchen.

When he joined Stephen, he recognized the still of the opening scene of one of his favourite movies on the TV. He smiled and took it for the peace offering it was and sat down close to Stephen, pressing a soft kiss into his lover’s hair in the process. Stephen gently squeezed his thigh in return, and left his hand there.

+++

The next morning, Ryan was surprised that Stephen got up for breakfast with him. But Stephen was back to his usual calm and easy-going self, so Ryan didn’t bring it up. He grabbed his shoes and sat down to put them on when it was time to leave. He expected Stephen to go into the living room and set camp for the day, but instead his lover entered their study and dragged out his laptop bag.

“What are you doing?” Ryan was confused.

“Getting my stuff ready for work.”

“What? Why?” Ryan asked incredulously. 

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with helping Cutter with his research and finalising all the reports Lester’s been nagging me for forever.”

And just like that, Ryan’s peaceful mood was gone. “There’s no bloody way you’re going into work today,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“I’m fine, Tom,” Stephen said firmly. “Don’t mother-hen me.”

“Don’t – ? Stephen, you fucking died five days ago!”

“That was just for a few seconds. I’m good now. No need to fuss.”

Ryan felt his jaw drop to the ground. “No need to fuss? Stephen, do you actually understand what happened? Your heart stopped beating. I thought I’d lost you for real this time!” His voice got louder with each word.

“But you didn’t! I’m fine, okay?” Stephen was raising his voice now as well.

“No, it’s fucking well not okay!” Ryan shouted. 

“You’re not going to decide this for me! Fuck!”

“Stephen, if you go out that door today, I will move out.”

They both froze and the silence between them was all encompassing.

After a few seconds, Stephen spoke up with a quiet and shaky voice. “What?”

“You heard me, Stephen. I will not waste my life with someone who doesn’t care if he’s alive or dead. Our job is dangerous enough. I will not stand by and watch you getting yourself killed on purpose.”

“But that’s not what I’m doing! I’m just trying to help the team!” Stephen pressed out. He lowered his gaze and added with a quiet voice. “I’m just trying to save people.”

“Jesus, Stephen!” Ryan exclaimed. “You’ve been to the infirmary and A&E more often than Connor in the last months! You putting your arse in danger at every opportunity is not helping anybody! There’s a reason why special forces operates alongside the anomaly project!”

When Stephen didn’t reply, Ryan spoke up again. “Listen, I know you feel guilty over working with Helen, but you’re the only one who hasn’t forgiven you. Everyone knows – I know – that you would never turn your back on us ever again. Okay? There’s nothing for you to prove.” He was almost pleading towards the end.

Stephen clenched his fists and turned his head to stare out of the window. His adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

After a moment, Ryan sighed and stepped up to his partner and settled his arms on his shoulders. He waited until Stephen looked up to him.

“Stephen, I love you, I really do. But I can’t go on like this. I need you to want to live. I need you to know that you’re worth being alive and well. And not to constantly punish yourself.” He held Stephen’s gaze. “Please, think about what I’ve said and we’ll talk tonight. I’ll send Cutter over to check on you during lunch break, okay?”

Stephen just nodded.

+++

By the time Ryan arrived home, he was convinced that the whole world had turned against him that day. They’d had an unannounced internal audit that day and the minute he had provided all the information they requested and answered all their questions, the ADD went off. A woolly rhino in the garage of some TV starlet, and a lot of damaged bloody expensive cars. At least Lester had shown some sympathy and told him the report could wait until tomorrow. He’d need to mark the day in the calendar, Ryan thought.

He entered their flat and toed his shoes off. When he shrugged his jacket off, he heard some shuffling in the hallway. 

“You look tired,” he heard Stephen say quietly.

“It’s been a long day,” Ryan replied and hung up his jacket.

“You hungry? I ordered some food from the Thai place you like so much.” Ryan was surprised to see Stephen start fidgeting. That was new.

“That sounds great,” Ryan tried for a small smile and caught a hopeful glint in Stephen’s eyes. He followed his lover into the kitchen where they put the food onto plates and heated it up in the microwave, then sat down at the small kitchen table. They ate in silence. When they’d both put their cutlery down once they were finished, Stephen cleared his throat.

“Listen, Tom. I’m sorry. You’re right. I was putting myself at unnecessary risk every so often. I was so desperate to show that I’m worth being on the team again. I’m sorry, I truly am.” He bit his lower lip. “You and Cutter made me realise… It was dumb, I can see that now. I promise I’ll be more careful from now on. Just don’t move out, please.” His last sentence was barely audible.

“And you’re sure your done with the self-sacrificing?” Ryan needed to be sure.

“I am. I am going to do whatever the doc or Ditzy tell me to. And I’ll be the best patient if I ever get hurt again. Which I will try to avoid. I don’t want to hurt you no more. I love you.”

“I love you too, Stephen,” Ryan said. He stood up and stepped around the table. “Now come here.” He nudged Stephen’s leg.

When Stephen got up, Ryan firmly locked his arms around him. After a second, he felt Stephen raise his arms and tightly grip the shirt on his back, hiding his face in Ryan’s neck. He placed a chaste kiss on Stephen’s ear. 

Comments

[goldarrow]

That was beautiful.
Great take on the personalities.

[isamazed]

Thank you. I don’t think an ultimatum is a wise thing to do usually, but I guess Stephen needed a clear message in this one 😬

[knitekat.livejournal.com]

Poor boys (although yay for a fixit). Stephen obviously needed to be basically thumped to see sense.

[isamazed]

He did, didn’t he?
And yes, I needed a fixit here. Can’t kill and torture them all 😬😅

[knitekat.livejournal.com]

Fixits are good.

We can't? ;)

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

That was lovely. I was absolutely willing Stephen to see sense!

[isamazed]

Thank you 🤗 glad you liked the fic

[fredbassett]

I could just see Stephen sticking his head up his own arse like that. And it would have taken those sort of tactics to get him to see sense. Great fic.

[isamazed]

Thanks, fred 😊 Glad you enjoyed it

[fififolle]

Aw, that was lovely! Ryan was right to take a stand, there's no point Stephen making himself ill again! Silly boy.
It was an exciting read, loved the action, too!
And a lovely moment when they saw the incredible dinosaur... just a shame it had such a hard head!

[isamazed]

Yeah, he was a bit silly in this one, huh? But now he’s back on track 🤗