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1. Becker & Ryan
Becker had been stationed at the ARC for less than two weeks. He had been a captain for less than two months. He kept waiting for things to get easier, for things to make more sense, but it hadn’t happened yet. Instead he was sitting alone in the locker room, again, after a fucking crazy creature incursion, again, feeling like the worst sort of failure.
“Becker.”
Fuck. Bloody Ryan, the sainted man himself. To hear the men you’d think he was the second coming. “What?” Becker said, raising his head to meet Ryan’s eyes. “Going to tell me what a fuck-up I am? Send me back to base? Suppose I’d deserve it. God, what a cock-up.”
“I was just going to ask if you wanted to have a beer,” Ryan said mildly.
Becker closed his eyes, mortified. “Oh.”
Ryan took a seat on the bench beside Becker. “I’d say it gets easier, but that’s a load of bollocks. It… Well, you learn, that’s all.”
“You learn? That’s your great advice?”
Ryan shrugged. “Never claimed to be Yoda. You’re doing fine, Becker.”
Becker snorted.
“I’m not trying to take the piss, honestly. If you weren’t pulling your weight, believe me, you’d know it. Lester would’ve had you out on your arse by now, and the lads wouldn’t listen to a word you say.”
“So this is what them listening is like?”
Ryan cracked a smile. “They might make jokes but they trust you enough to keep them alive.”
“They’d trust you more.”
“All right, true enough. But that’ll come with time. I’ve served with some of them for years. You’re new. You’re young. They don’t know you yet.”
Becker looked down at where his hands were clasped between his knees, breathing out. Logically he knew that Ryan was right, but he couldn’t help the knot of fear inside of him, the little voice that told him the men would never accept him the way they had accepted Ryan. Becker was the replacement. Everyone knew the replacement was never as good as the original.
Unexpectedly, Ryan reached over and squeezed Becker’s knee.
Startled, Becker stared at him. Ryan’s eyes were a rather nice shade of blue. Becker hadn’t noticed that before.
“So,” Ryan said. “How about that beer?”
2. Sarah & Stephen
“You must be Sarah Page,” an unfamiliar voice said.
Sarah turned her head and caught sight of a young man, perhaps early thirties, tall, dark hair, and the most vivid blue eyes she had ever seen. One hand was resting on the handle of a cane and there was the edge of a scar poking out from beneath his collar.
Neither fact diminished how handsome he was in any way whatsoever.
“And you’re Stephen Hart,” Sarah said, standing up and going over to him to offer her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Stephen’s grip was firm and he held her gaze squarely. “Good things, I hope,” he said, though there was a trace of nervousness on his face.
Sarah had heard the stories. She knew that mistakes had been made. She also knew that everyone spoke of Stephen with genuine affection. “Obviously. You’re a real hero, to hear Connor tell it,” she said, hoping her tone was light enough to make up for any small amount of tactlessness in mentioning what had happened.
“Connor exaggerates,” Stephen said, and though there was a faint tremble in his hand where he gripped the cane, his smile seemed real enough.
“No,” Sarah said, faking surprise, and now Stephen laughed.
“Good, a sense of humour. You’ll need that around here.”
“So I’ve gathered.” Sarah moved aside and said, “Do you want to sit? I’m sorry, I should have offered already, that was rude.”
Stephen waved her off. “No, that’s all right. Believe me, I’ve had enough sitting to last the rest of my life.”
“Well, then I’d offer you a drink, but I’m afraid to do that we’d have to go to the kitchen. That defeats the purpose a bit, I think.”
“It’s the thought that counts.” Stephen was watching her, his gaze assessing. “I’m glad they found you. Cutter can always use someone sensible to keep him grounded.”
“I thought that was your job?”
“He needs all the help he can get.”
Now Sarah laughed, and Stephen smiled again, wider than before.
“Nick told me I’d like you,” he said.
“And?”
“I like you,” Stephen said, and Sarah felt a warm curl of pleasure take form in her belly.
She decided she rather liked Stephen as well.
3. Becker & Claudia
“Sometimes I swear I’d like to throw a book at his head!”
Claudia didn’t realise she’d said that out loud until she heard a voice say, “Let me guess. The charming professor?”
“The one and only,” Claudia said, smiling sheepishly at Becker. She might have been embarrassed, but it was only Becker.
“I could shove him through an anomaly, if that would help,” Becker offered, settling in beside her, matching her pace. “I’m incredibly stealthy. No one would ever be the wiser.”
“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You know me, always happy to help.”
“Especially when it involves getting Cutter out of your hair?”
Becker didn’t quite smile, but one corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “You said it, not me.”
Claudia indulged herself and moved the tiniest bit closer to Becker, so that their arms brushed as they walked. She wasn’t unprofessional enough to hold hands at work (and she knew Becker well enough to know that he would be too embarrassed to ever allow it), so this was close enough. “Are we still on for dinner tonight?”
“Absolutely,” Becker said, the words unless there’s an anomaly remaining unspoken, as they both knew better than to push their luck. “I will wine and dine you until you’re putty in my hands.”
Claudia laughed. “Oh, so you’re a master chef now, is that it?”
“Always have been, you’ll see. You’ll want to propose on the spot, snatch me up forever.”
“My, you aren’t afraid to bolster expectations. Afraid you won’t live up to them?”
Becker’s fingers brushed the inside of Claudia’s wrist, briefly but doubtless intentionally. “I always live up to expectations.”
Claudia looked sideways at him, catching her lip between her teeth. One thing was certain - he hadn’t disappointed yet.
4. Ryan & Jess
Ryan was drowning in a mass of paperwork when a small voice caught his attention.
“Major Ryan?”
He looked up, not appreciating the interruption. He said, perhaps a tad harshly, “Jess, yes, what is it?” Bloody hell, she better not have anything else for him, he was liable to run down to Lester and just have it out, to hell with the consequences.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you, I just...” Jess held out the mug. “I brought you tea?”
Ryan felt his irritation drain away. “Thank you, Jess, that’s very kind of you. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
She took a few steps more into the room, until she could set the mug down onto Ryan’s desk. “That’s all right. I know you must be stressed. That’s why I brought the tea. I noticed you drink it when you’re upset.”
Looking down at the mug and bringing it closer to himself so he wouldn’t need to meet Jess’ earnest gaze, Ryan said, “That obvious, am I?”
“Not really. I suppose I’m just good at noticing things. Helps me do my job better.”
“Well, I’m in your debt, then. We all are.”
Jess blushed a little. “It’s not really... Well, I am a bit brilliant, no point denying it,” she said, her mouth curving into a smile. She was charming.
Ryan grinned back at her. “More than a bit, I’d say. You know, I...” Oh, sod it. “When I’ve finished this lot, maybe we could go out for drinks, if you want. If you don’t have plans. Food, too? I don’t think I’ve eaten since breakfast.” Stop talking, Ryan, Christ.
“That would be nice, Major,” Jess said, still smiling. Amazingly enough, she wasn’t even laughing at the fool Ryan was making of himself.
“Ryan. Or, Tom. If you like.”
“Tom,” Jess said, and Ryan gave himself up for lost.
5. Sarah & Emily
Sarah was paging through a book in her office when Emily came in, pulling the empty chair over and sinking down into it.
“What’s that one?” she asked, pointing at the illustration.
“The World Serpent,” Sarah said, brushing her fingers over the page. “Jörmungand. According to Norse mythology, he was the child of Loki, the trickster, and the giantess Angrboða. He grew to be so long that he surrounded the entire earth and could grasp his own tail, but if he were to...” She paused, considering Emily. “And you really couldn’t care less, could you? Oh, listen to me prattling on, you must be bored senseless. You don’t have to humour me.”
“I’m not,” Emily insisted. “I’ve always enjoyed learning, though my parents discouraged it. A lady should not be more learned than her husband, of course, and I needed only to learn enough to run my household and hold polite conversation.”
Not for the first time, Sarah felt sad, thinking about Emily trapped in a life which did not suit her. Stumbling through that anomaly was the most fortunate thing that ever could have happened to her.
“In any case, I like listening to you.”
Sarah looked at Emily more closely, taking in her serious expression but the glint of amusement lingering in the set of her mouth and the light in her eyes. “Oh, you do, do you?”
Emily nodded. “I do. You have a lovely voice, and you’re very animated when you’re discussing something you find interesting.”
Laughing, Sarah put the book down on her desk and then pushed her chair back, standing up. She held out her hands until Emily took them, and pulled the other woman to her feet. She leant in for a quick press of lips and then said, “Well, come on, then, I think we’re due for a tea break. I promise to prattle on about Jörmungand until you really are bored senseless.”
“Impossible,” Emily assured her, and they walked out side by side.
End