InsaneJournal

Current mood:	chipper
Entry tags:	primeval

Into the Jungle, Nick/Stephen, Primeval, PG
Fandom: Primeval
Title:Into the Jungle
Author:Joe
Theme(s): 30 Nature, 12, Wild
Pairing/Characters:Nick/Stephen
Rating:PG
Disclaimer/claimer: Primeval and its characters are owned by Impossible Pictures.
Critiques: yes
Summary: "I saw Stephen track a wounded animal for ten days." Part of my A (Somewhat) Normal Life series


Nick put the phone down and leaned back in his chair, planning his campaign. He'd just been speaking to an old colleague of his, she was part of an expedition down in Brazil studying jaguars. Not really his field but they were the least studied of the big cats as well as being endangered and he could see the attraction. She hadn't been phoning to share her excitement though. They had a problem. A big problem. They were meant to be tracking the cats, darting them, taking some basic measurements and then putting trackers on them so they could study them from a distance, it was tricky because if you didn't hit the cat right the dart could fall out before it administered the whole dose and then you had a pissed off jaguar and since they were an endangered species shooting them in self defence wasn't something they wanted to be doing. Unfortunately their marksman had just broken his pelvis while throwing himself out of a plane for fun and they needed someone good at really short notice. Nick smiled and he knew someone really good.

Unfortunately Stephen had big plans for this summer. As soon as he turned his dissertation in he was grabbing his backpack and his surfboard and disappearing for three months to travel around the world to the best surfing beaches and to just kick back and have some fun. Nick knew this because it had been the major topic of Stephen's conversation since he'd planned it six months ago. The question was could Nick persuade him to abandon his dream vacation for three months trekking through the rainforest, getting hot and wet, surrounded by bugs, snakes, and all manner of other less-than-friendly jungle denizens.

He checked his watch. Stephen would still be in the departmental library. It didn't close for another hour and he was working on checking references for his dissertation. That gave him time to pick up some Indian food first. He'd take Stephen over to his place on the pretext of dinner and some TV and then he'd wheedle Stephen into cancelling his holiday and coming to Brazil instead. He felt a little guilty about trying to talk him out of a well-deserved holiday but it wasn't as if Stephen wouldn't enjoy tracking the jaguars and tagging them; predators were his speciality.

With the take out safely in the back seat of the car he parked outside the library and jogged up the stairs, smiling at the elderly librarian. “I'm looking for one of my wayward students ...”

“He's over in the back surrounded by journals. You need to make him go and have some fun, Dr Cutter. Young man like that should be out with a girl not hiding in here every night,” she told him.

He smiled back. “Well, I can't provide a girl, but I have food and the promise of some football on the box, how's that sound?”

She nodded. “Not bad. He's a nice young man, I'll miss him when he graduates, but it's not good for him to work so hard. And you could do with a break too,” she said firmly.

“Yes, ma'am,” he said with a grin. “I'm going to miss you, Anna.”

“You're leaving?” she said, leaning forwards in interest. “Why?”

He winced. “It's still meant to be quiet although the students are going to figure it out soon when they realise I'm not on the roster for next year's classes.” He smiled. “I have a better offer from one of the London universities.” He put a finger up to his lips and smiled.

She nodded. “I won't tell a soul but I wish you the best, Dr Cutter. You're a good man and a pleasure to work with.”

He ducked his head and smiled, touched by her praise. “Well, I doubt my colleagues would say the same, Anna, but I've always thought you were more intelligent than most of them anyway.”

She laughed. “That's why I like you. Now go and fetch your student. I want to lock up. I thought he'd got over hiding in here all the time. He was in every night until long after closing about eighteen months ago, then he stopped coming in except to work. Now he's back.”

“Oh well that was depression. Woman trouble,” Nick confided with a wink. “This is just pre-dissertation neurosis. Happens to most of them right before they have to let the dissertation go and hope it's well received. Only Stephen being Stephen he's taking it to extremes.” He rolled his eyes and grinned. “Thank you for keeping an eye on him. I'll get him out of your hair so you can go home and relax.”

He stalked through the familiar shelves until he reached the back corner. There was a table tucked away there, not big enough for more than one student to work at but nice and private. It was Stephen's favourite place to work, other than Nick's office which he used when he needed a computer as well as a desk. Nick didn't mind his Masters' students using the desk there as long as he wasn't too busy and he knew the library computers were horrible so he always offered and Stephen seemed to enjoy having someone around who knew not to disturb him when he was working but would just be there if he looked up or needed a five minute break.

He watched Stephen for a minute and then started stacking the journals he was using. “Come on, Stephen, it's late. Anna would like to go home.”

Stephen looked up and blinked. “Ow,” he said, rubbing his neck. “I guess I've been at this longer than I thought.”

“Well, at least I never have any trouble finding you,” Nick said with a smile. “I've got some food in the back of the car and there's highlights of the football on in half an hour. Come back to my place and get your mind of references and notations for the night.”

“Thanks,” Stephen said, stretching. “I just get lost in what I'm doing sometimes.”

“You're focussed,” Nick said. “It's what makes you so good in the field.”

They walked out of the library together, waving at Anna as they left. “She never kicks me out, even when it's late,” Stephen said. “I'll miss her when I leave.”

“She's a mother hen,” Nick said with a smile. “She wouldn't throw anyone out as long as she thought they had a reason to be there. She said you were there a lot after Helen disappeared.” The topic of Helen was still an uneasy one between them but they were gradually getting to the point where they could mention her without it getting awkward.

“Yeah.” Stephen ducked his head. “I needed to be somewhere where no one would ask what was wrong. She let me hide in there whenever I needed to.”

Nick nodded and gestured to the car. “Get in. I have something I need to talk to you about, but it can wait till we've eaten.”

Stephen looked nervous, he couldn't think what Nick could have to say that he wouldn't just come right out with. It couldn't be his dissertation, Nick had been really pleased with everything he'd seen of it so far. He hoped this wasn't going to be a conversation about what he was planning on doing with himself after he'd finished the Masters. He didn't fancy doing a PhD, not right yet anyway, and he had no idea what he was going to do, but he'd already had several of those conversations with his father, he didn't need Nick getting all disapproving on him too.

“Relax,” Nick said quietly as he pulled out of the parking space. “Don't borrow trouble. It's nothing bad.”

Stephen grinned, a little shamefaced. “Sorry. Been having some problems with my dad about what I plan to do with the rest of my life.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “I wouldn't worry about it. My mother's still waiting for me to get a 'proper job'.”

Stephen laughed. “You mean she doesn't brag about, 'my son, Doctor Cutter' ?”

“Oh, she does that too,” Nick said with a grin. “But she doesn't consider messing about with fossils or even live animals to be a real job. Not like my dad, who worked on the farm every day of his life. That's a proper job in her opinion.”

“Can't see you as a farmer somehow,” Stephen teased.

“Me neither,” Nick confessed. “What does your dad want you to do?”

“Well if he had a completely free choice I'd have gone to Sandhurst right out of school or maybe after I got a degree in something useful that didn't involve chasing animals around in the middle of nowhere. But he'd be happy if I'd just pick something, anything, with a real salary and a pension scheme,” he said, his lip curling at the last words.

Nick laughed. “Oh dear. Not really you, although I could see you in the army.”

“I couldn't,” Stephen said. “Too many bloody orders and the uniform's uncomfortable.”

Nick laughed again and shook his head. “You don't have anything lined up after your holiday?”

Stephen sighed. “No, and don't say I should do a PhD, I've had enough of books for a while. I need to get out in the field, but there's not much going for someone like me. They either want fresh-faced graduates and think someone with a MSc is too much or they want someone who has a doctorate.”

Nick nodded. “Do me a favour. Don't line anything up just yet. I might have something you'd enjoy, but I can't tell you about it till it's certain.”

Stephen nodded slowly. “If you say so. I can always get a job at Burger King to pay the bills,” he added with a grin. “That should give my father a heart attack.”

Nick rolled his eyes and parked, jumping out and grabbing the take out. “You're incorrigible, Stephen.”

Grinning, Stephen followed him into the house, helping himself to a beer from the fridge. “You want one, Nick?”

“Please,” Nick said, grabbing the cutlery and dropping the take out onto the table in front of the television. He stretched out, resting his feet on the table and grabbed a container, digging in hungrily as Stephen settled himself next to him.

“You skipped lunch again, didn't you?” Stephen asked.

“Busy,” Nick said around a mouthful of food. Swallowing before adding. “Had a meeting with the boss. Something about my exam being submitted late.” He rolled his eyes. “They got it before anyone had to sit it.”

Stephen laughed. “And I'm the one who's incorrigible?” He grabbed the remote and turned the television on. “Have I mentioned how much I love your telly?”

Nick grinned. “You just like the fact I have Sky Sports and I let you watch it whenever you want.”

“Oh yeah,” Stephen sighed happily. “I'll even put up with watching Motherwell as long as I can see it live instead of highlights and goals.”

“You know if you keep making comments like that you won't be watching anything,” Nick complained. “I'll have you know Motherwell are a very talented team.”

Stephen chuckled. “If you say so. And you keep threatening that but you haven't tossed me out yet.”

“You're like an annoying puppy,” Nick grumbled. “It tracks mud all over the house, eats your favourite shoes, but you still keep feeding it.”

Stephen had to put his food down he was laughing so hard. “The puppy eyes seem to work well on women, I didn't realise they worked on grumpy old zoology lecturers too.”

Nick smacked him with a cushion. “Less of the old, if you please. I'm not ready to be put out to pasture just yet.”

They finished their meal quietly, only stopping for Nick to shout at the referee a bit, while Stephen laughed and made disparaging comments about the quality of the game, shutting up whenever Nick glared at him only to start again a few minutes later. Finally they were done and he stood up and stretched, gathering the rubbish up to put it in the bin. “You want another beer while I'm up?”

“Depends,” Nick said. “Are you intending to crash on the couch again? Because if you want a ride home I'd better not.”

Stephen shrugged. “Your sofa's comfortable. I don't mind if you don't.”

Nick smiled. “Get us both another then and come and sit down. I have something to discuss with you.”

Stephen grabbed the beers and came back, turning so he could tuck one foot underneath him and look at Nick as he was speaking. “What's up?”

“I need a favour, but it would mean giving up your holiday,” he said seriously. “I know how much you've been looking forward to it and you'd get precious little surfing in if you do what I need instead. I can promise a week or so at the end where you can surf in the bluest water you've ever seen, but mostly I'm offering a chance to do a lot of hard work, in a less than ideal work environment, with a very basic camp-site and absolutely no amenities whatsoever.”

“Well when you make it sound so appealing, how could I refuse?” Stephen said sarcastically. “What do you need and why me?”

“Friend of mine is running an expedition down in Brazil,” Nick explained, satisfied that he'd got Stephen's interest for now. “Tagging jaguars. They track them down, dart them, stick a tag on them and let them go again. They're learning an awful lot that we didn't know about the cats and hopefully they'll be able to turn that into a conservation project, protecting them from the loggers and farmers taking their territory. She needs a marksman, a good one, preferably with tracking experience.” He looked hopefully at Stephen. “You're the best shot I know and I'd trust your tracking abilities above anyone else's. But it would mean three months, over the summer, for both of us. I know how much your holiday means to you, but I'm asking anyway.”

Stephen leaned his head on the back of the couch and thought about it. He'd been looking forward to this holiday for months, but he'd never seen a jaguar in the wild before. And there was the added bonus of three more months with Nick instead of heading out on his own. “I don't like snakes,” he said, opening his eyes and looking at Nick.

Nick chuckled, realising it was a kind of acceptance. “If I promise to protect you from the snakes, will you come?”

“My hero,” Stephen teased, his eyes twinkling. “It sounds like fun. So where does this perfect beach come into it?”

Nick shrugged. “You're giving up your summer. The least I can do is tack a week or two of surfing onto the end. I know a few places, haven't tried any of them myself, but I've heard things from others on expeditions. I thought after we've done with the jaguars I could treat you to a week or two in a decent hotel, with actual showers and room service and everything we're not going to have in the middle of the jungle, and we could surf or windsurf in my case and just relax for a bit.”

“You don't have to,” Stephen admitted. “I'd come just for the jaguars, but I'm not going to say no to it either.” I'd come just because you asked, he thought, but I'm still your student and I'm not stupid enough to make another pass at you until you're not my advisor any more.

-----

Nick sighed and ran after Jennifer. “Jen, wait up a minute.”

“Nick, I want to help it as much as your Stephen does, but I have to think about the rest of the expedition. I can't spare a group of people to spend God only knows how long tracking an injured jaguar,” she said before he could start.

“I know, I know,” Nick said. “But your new marksman is flying in tomorrow. You can let Stephen and me to go after it.”

“You're meant to be flying home the day after tomorrow,” she pointed out.

“I know, but you know I'm never going to get Stephen on a plane till we know what happened to her. I thought he was going to grab a real gun and go hunting for the person who set that trap for a moment there, then he saw the blood...”

“You've got it bad,” she said.

Nick blushed. “Maybe, but he wants to go after it and you don't need us. We'll take radios in case of trouble, but we can manage on our own. I just want to find out if she's badly hurt or not.”

“And what if she is?” Jennifer asked. “You can't drag a wild jaguar to a vet even if we had one handy.”

“If she's suffering we'll do what needs to be done,” Nick said. “But I hope it won't come to that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, the two of you go and play Indiana Jones for a while, but I can't send anyone with you so you're going to be using dried rations and you're going to have to carry water. I can see him not minding, but this is as close to roughing it as you like to get, Nick.”

Nick shrugged. “Remind me why I like you?”

“Because I put up with you marrying Helen and never said a word until I thought you were finally getting over her?” she said.

“I had no idea how much you hated her,” Nick said. “But thank you for putting up with me.”

“I still don't think she's dead,” Jen told him. “I think one day she'll turn up like a bad penny. She probably ran off with her lover.”

Nick coughed and blushed. “No, no I can categorically say she left him behind as well.” He glanced over at where Stephen was still examining the blood trail from the injured jaguar.

“You have to be kidding me!” Jen shouted, waving off the looks from everyone else and lowering her voice again. “Good God, Nick. That's practically incest.”

He laughed and ran a hand over his face. “Don't ask me how it happened, it just did.”

“Be careful you don't get your heart broken again, Nick,” she warned.

“I won't,” he promised. “Forget I said anything? I don't want you treating him any differently now you know. He feels bad enough about what happened without knowing I told you.”

She shook her head and kissed his cheek. “Go on, grab your kit and go after the jaguar and take your boy with you. I always knew Helen had good taste in men. I didn't know you shared it, mind.” She grinned. “Don't worry, I still like him, and I still expect all the gory details when you two finally get horizontal.”

“Jen!” Nick complained.

“Hey, I'm terminally celibate, remember? I have to live vicariously through you.” She grinned. “I expect regular emails once you're home, not these once in a blue moon notes I get right now. And if you don't I'll email Stephen and interrogate him so it's in your best interests to cooperate.”

He laughed and wagged his finger at her. “You're still a brat, Jen, but I'll see what I can do. I better go before he takes off on his own. Take care of yourself and we'll be back in a few days I hope.”

He jogged back to their tent and grabbed their mostly packed rucksacks. He added enough rations for two weeks and a couple of days of water, after that they'd have to find their own, but there was a limit to what they could carry. He pulled one of the two man tents from the expedition's stores and a large sleeping bag to go with it. He thought about grabbing one each but it was warm so they wouldn't need to be wrapped up in it and he knew he was going to have enough trouble keeping up with Stephen anyway without adding to what they needed to carry. He leaned them against a tree and then whistled at Stephen, waving him over when he looked up.

“Make sure you have enough darts because we can't just come back and pick up more,” he said when Stephen came over.

Stephen blinked at him and then grinned delightedly. “We're going after her?”

“Just you and me, she can't spare anyone else,” Nick told him. “You know we're going to miss our flight if you do this, right?”

Stephen looked guilty. “I'm sorry.” He looked into the jungle and then back at Nick. “We don't have to...”

Nick shook his head. “Did you say 'it followed me home, can I keep it?' a lot as a child?” he teased.

“I was at boarding school most of my childhood,” Stephen said. “No pets allowed. Besides I don't think customs will let me take a jaguar home with me.”

Laughing Nick stayed silent for a moment. “Look, Stephen ... you better bring a normal gun and some ammunition as well. Just in case.”

“I'm not stupid, Cutter,” Stephen snapped. “I know what might happen if it's too badly hurt.”

Nick nodded. “I just wanted to be sure you were prepared for it. Get your things. I'm going to check out two radios and then we can go.”

Stephen stalked off and Nick sighed. He had a horrible feeling about how this was going to end and he didn't think Stephen was going to handle it well. He remembered the first time he'd watched someone put a wild animal out of its misery; he hadn't handled it well either.

-----

By the time they stopped for the night Stephen was back to his normal self. He was in his element in the jungle and as fit as Nick was he had a feeling he was holding him back. They pitched the tent and Stephen made a small fire so they could make tea.

“Thank you for doing this, Cutter,” he said, smiling at Nick. “I'm sure you'd rather be heading for that hotel you were talking about.”

“You've been calling me that since we got here,” Nick mused. “What happened to 'Nick'?”

Stephen shrugged. “Everyone else calls you Cutter, it just seemed the thing to do. I can go back to Nick if you prefer.”

Nick shrugged. “Whatever you're comfortable with, but once we're back at work I think Nick would sound better,” he said with a smile.

Stephen raised his eyebrows. “In case you've forgotten, I graduated, I hope, before we left. I wish I'd thought to ask someone to email me my results.”

“I'm sure you did well,” Nick promised. “And I hadn't forgotten. I was looking for a good time to ask you this and since we're now entirely alone I might as well,” he added with a grin. “I'm not going back. Central Metropolitan want me as Professor of Zoology. I finished negotiating with them just before we left. As part of my contract I get to choose my own staff.”

“That's fantastic,” Stephen said, grinning wildly. “Congratulations, Nick. You deserve it.” He paused. “Staff?”

Nick shrugged. “Well, I'm going to need a research assistant/lab tech/whatever you want to call it. Someone who can put up with sharing an office with me, knows all my bad habits...”

“Is willing to teach most of your classes for you so you don't have to actually deal with the students,” Stephen teased.

“That too.” Nick tilted his head. “Know anyone who fits that description? It's not the greatest paid job in the world, but I thought it might suit someone who'd rather keep messing around with animals than get a proper job.”

“Are you serious?” Stephen asked.

“Why not?” Nick asked seriously. “We work well together and I know you're capable, which is more than I could say for anyone I picked just from a CV and a ten minute interview.”

Stephen smiled again, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. He'd been worrying about what he'd do next more than he wanted to admit. “I have a few questions first, well one in particular,” he said.

“What?” Nick asked, confused. He'd thought Stephen would leap at the chance to keep working with him.

“Do you have the same rules about dating assistants that you do about dating students?” Stephen said in a low voice, moving closer to Nick so he could watch his face in the firelight.

Nick turned to look at him, finding him closer than he'd thought and he felt his body react to the look on his face. “Well,” he said, clearing his throat. “I've never had an assistant before so I'll just have to figure the rules out on a case by case basis.”

Stephen smiled. “In that case, I'm all yours,” he said. He leaned forward and covered Nick's mouth with his own, moaning as his hands came up to hold him in place and he kissed him back. When they finally parted Nick's eyes were glowing in the firelight. He didn't let Stephen move too far away, pulling him so they were touching as they say next to the fire.

Nick looked at him and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “You know I had a plan that involved a nice hotel and a large comfortable bed...”

Stephen grinned. “Sorry.”

“No you're not,” Nick grumbled. “You're enjoying yourself. If she wasn't injured this would be your idea of a perfect holiday.”

“Do you mind?” Stephen asked.

“Not really,” Nick said with a shrug. “It's how you are. I don't want to change you. Just make sure we both get back in one piece so we can enjoy whatever time we have left. I have to pack up my entire house, move everything, put the house up for sale and find somewhere else to live once we get home. I have a month.”

“Want some help?” Stephen asked. “I don't have much to pack and I can look for somewhere to live once you've moved as long as you're keeping that nice, comfortable couch so I have somewhere to sleep.”

Nick laughed. “Yes you can help. And you can camp out on my couch as long as you want.”

“Great,” Stephen drained his cup and put the fire out. “Let's get some sleep. She's still moving pretty fast. We're going to have a long day tomorrow.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. I'm exhausted. I'm going to have to start running again once we get home if I want to keep up with you.”

Stephen grinned. “I run 30 miles a week. I fence and I play rugby.” He winked. “And I'm ten years younger than you. You really think you can keep up, old man?”

“Hey!” Nick pounced and pushed him flat, trying to grab his hands to pin him down as they struggled. Just as Stephen was getting the upper hand Nick froze. “Is that a snake?” he asked.

Stephen bucked him off and spun around, scanning the jungle floor. “Where?”

Nick sat up laughing at his behaviour. “You may be younger, Stephen, but I'm definitely sneakier.”

“That wasn't funny,” Stephen complained, glaring at Nick who just kept laughing.

“Depends where you're sitting,” Nick said. “From here it was bloody hilarious. I'm sorry, Stephen, I promise I'll protect you from the big bad snakes.”

Stephen just grumbled to himself and finished packing their things up before crawling into the tent, giving Nick an unrestricted view of his ass. He followed hurriedly and grabbed him for another kiss.

“What was that for?” Stephen asked when it finished, not moving away.

“Because I can?” Nick said. “And because you have a gorgeous ass.”

Stephen laughed and preened. “Well thank you, Professor Cutter. Coming from you that's quite a compliment.”

“Coming from me?” he asked.

“Do you have any idea how many students drool over you every day?” Stephen asked, getting comfortable on the sleeping bag next to him. “I was considered the luckiest bastard at the university.”

Nick grinned and stretched out next to him. “That's nice to hear. They can fight over which of us is luckier at our next job.”

Stephen chuckled and wriggled a little closer so he could rest his head on Nick's shoulder. “Get some sleep, tomorrow's going to be even harder. I hope we catch her soon. I want that bed you were talking about.”

Nick stroked his hair idly. “Even if we don't make it to the hotel, I have a bed at home.”

“I should hope so,” Stephen muttered sleepily. “Can't do it on the couch every night.”

Nick laughed and wrapped his arm around him loosely, drifting off to the sound of his breathing with Stephen following a few minutes later.