2/2
He had released Connor and Abby and turned to Danny, who looked a lot thinner than he remembered, guant and haunted and covered in dust, and he’d pulled the man into his arms and held him tightly, finally letting the feeling sink in. That they’d made it back, the three of them, and they were, maybe not well, but alive, and that was all that mattered.
His arms had lingered around Danny perhaps a bit longer than necessary, but Becker had been reluctant to let go, afraid, suddenly that Danny would disappear if he did. He’d looked into Danny’s eyes and tried to work out where they stood and what his return meant for what they had - or didn’t have - before he’d gone through that anomaly after Helen.
The Spinosaurus had interrupted him before he could ask and between the time they had dealt with it and loaded up into the cars to head back to the ARC, Becker found no time to ask.
Now they were all standing in Lester’s office and Becker wondered why this couldn’t wait until his friends had been given a chance to clean up, eat and rest, but he understood Lester’s impatience and knew quiute simply that the bureaucrat had been worried for them in his own way, and that this was probably his way of welcoming them home, odd as it was.
Connor’s comment made him smile, thinking again how impossible, but how incredible it was that they were all here again.
He felt Danny’s eyes on him when he thought Becker wasn’t looking, but Becker wasn’t quite ready to face those questions yet. What they had a year ago had never been serious, it was simply a way of unwinding and sharing mutual pleasure. It had never had any emotional significance. But something changed when they went missing. He and Danny had been...Whatever it was they had been, for months prior to the anomaly, and he had never once assumed it was anything more than a bit of fun. No strings, they’d agreed.
But what he hadn’t expected was how he’d come to rely on their meetings. A drink after work and then back to one of their flats, and the other would be gone in the morning. Neither of them had ever even stayed for breakfast. But it had become almost like routine, almost like clockwork, and he hadn’t realised how attached he’d grown until he wondered why his flat seemed so cold and empty.
He missed Danny and they needed to sort things out, but now wasn’t the time or the place to do so.
Becker turned to look at him as Danny spoke up, mentally grimacing at how thin he looked under the harsh lights of Lester’s office. He’d need to get the full story later, but he knew that Danny had gone after Helen and been trapped in the Rift Valley by himself. Becker frowned, his dark eyes roaming over to Connor and Abby before him. They’d at least had each other.
He gave Lester a look that clearly said why can’t they do this later? before turning back to his friends. He looked at Danny when he spoke.
“When Lester’s finished here, we’ll find you something to eat. My treat,” he added. It was the least he could do. He turned his brown eyes on Connor and Abby, too, not missing the changes he saw in the two of them. “You too.” He told them with a smile.
“A year’s a long time,” Becker continued, feeling weariness settle on him. “There’s things you should know..."