my 'n' key might randomly skip; don't mind the typos. 1/2 ”I hear that. I could do with a Pot Noodle!”
The ginger ex-copper realised around that moment that he hadn’t eaten anything today. The anomaly had opened too early for him to eat any sort of breakfast, ad they hadn’t stopped moving since that moment. Of course, it was the moments before the spinosaurus had stepped through that lingered in his mind. It was the way that Becker had seemed to hold on for that extra second that Danny had been analyzing in his mind ever since.
It meant nothing.
It meant everything.
It didn’t matter, because too much had changed in a year and what they’d had was nothing, anyway.
But a year could change everything.
Exactly what it had changed was something Danny hadn’t just worked out yet.
”When Lester’s finished here, we’ll find you something to eat. My treat.”
Blue eyes met brown with a silent thank you. As fantastic as it was to be back in the ARC, things were loud here. It was too much. And whether or not Becker had noticed that (he hoped not), Danny needed to get out before the cracks started to show in his façade of normalcy.
”You too.” ”Mine’s a twenty ounce steak, then. It’s rare to see the soldier being so generous.”
He couldn’t help the one sided smirk. “We should disappear more often, eh, Connor?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them, because he could feel the chill that they brought. Of course he hadn’t meant it like that – he never planned to leave this timeline again, not if he could help it.
Not if there wasn’t a damn good reason.
”A year’s a long time. There’s things you should know.”
Danny’s stomach flipped, and he felt vaguely nauseous. Blue eyes turned to examine the younger man’s expression, finding that behind the façade the soldier was always putting up, he seemed to be just as exhausted as Danny felt. Only, Danny was nearly positive that most, if not all, of that exhaustion had little to do with physical strain and more to do with whatever it was that he felt the three of them should know.
They hadn’t been told much. There were things that had been left out. It hadn’t been said in so many words, but one could tell when something was deliberately not being said. Danny had let it slide. As Lester had put it, ”Some things weren’t meant for meetings.” and when it was Lester saying that, Danny had to believe it.
He wondered where Sarah was. He wondered if she was at home, if she had quit after the four rescue missions Becker had mentioned they’d taken to try and rescue them. That had to be the reason, that had to be what was wrong – she’d probably given them notice and told none of them to contact her, just like it had happened with Jenny what felt like a lifetime ago.
Or maybe it was something else, something Danny wasn’t realising. Whatever it was that Becker had to tell them, it wasn’t pleasant. He could tell that much from the man’s voice.
”Do you mind? I apologise if this official debriefing is a nuisance to you. Actually, this can wait until morning. You can all leave now.”
“He needs to just admit it,” He said, somewhat under his breath but loud enough so that those around him could hear as they began to disperse. “The old sod missed us.”
There were several new members of the ARC, unfamiliar faces that Danny was in no hurry to push past. Exhausted, he let himself lean against the doorframe as they passed him. He’d have closed his eyes if he didn’t fear they wouldn’t open again. Though his posture might have been relaxed, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t aware of everything that was going on around him. Every single sense was on alert, ready to spring to his feet should he note anything out of place.
That was one of the problems - everything was out of place. Danny had to stop himself from flinching at every other odd beep or shout from across the ARC, because he was no longer used to these sorts of things. Danny had been through a year of silence, where any sound at all could mean there was something stalking him. Sound meant danger. It was more difficult to shake that off than he’d anticipated.