Connor Temple is accidentally in trouble (not_r2d2) wrote in wariscoming, @ 2012-05-29 17:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | connor temple |
Who: Connor Temple and NPC!Kidlet
What: Searching for Abby, being a little relationship introspective, mostly angst&fluff. ...it happens.
When: Tuesday morning once his search party gets going
Where: The nature preserve in Lawrence
Warnings: Very light language, adorable child
Though he'd kept the people helping him near, Connor wasn't afraid to spread out. He was used to working in a team. He wasn't always the best at it, though, and he was usually paired off with Abby. And Abby wasn't there. And if he didn't find her...
No, he couldn't think like that. He'd already lost too much to this damn city. If it hadn't been for the Seal, he'd have still been with Kim all along. Now he was all conflicted and torn and there was just too much going on in his head to be worried about Abby never making it back home.
Knowing Allana was nearby and being armed with a blowtorch in case of meeting up with plastic people, Connor felt fairly confident walking into the nature preserve where Abby worked. It seemed a good place to start. Get a track on her, find a trail of some sort. Maybe get some clues on what had happened between the time she left work and the time she was taken.
He knew immediately, though, that Abby might not have left work at all. It was obvious the place had been attacked by the plastic things. There were police officers milling around, looking puzzled. From what he could overhear, the place had been raided and people had died. There was crime scene tape nearly everywhere. And Connor got that familiar sinking feeling in his stomach. Just then, he'd kill for Jenny to be there, making up cover stories that got him as close to the action as he could be. The places they'd marked, the places where bodies had lain... He needed to know. Was one of them her?
What happened to the displaced if they died here? Did they get sent back? Was this another timeline all together, so they'd go on to their lives together at the ARC even if they were dead in Lawrence? Could he even stand losing yet another person in his life?
"'Scuse me, are you a cop?" a little voice behind him asked. "You don't look like a cop." Connor turned around, noticing a tiny little girl who looked more worried than scared. He had to give her credit for that.
"No, I don't suppose I do," he replied, forcing himself to remain composed for the child's benefit. He was getting pretty good at that, dealing with kids at anomaly sites. He bent down, closer to the girl's eye level. "What are you doing here? Pretty dangerous out right now."
Her big eyes widened further, and she nodded enthusiastically. She pointed in the direction of a pair of officers talking to a young man. "That's my dad. We were here yesterday when all the people started shooting and the screaming and running happened."
Connor felt his throat swelling, like he was going to cry. She'd seen all that had happened and yet she'd still come back here? Human bravery never failed to amaze him. But he'd also seen a lot of death and he didn't want this little girl on his conscious either. "You should have stayed home, silly. It's still pretty dangerous out."
"I didn't want Daddy to leave me alone! And I wanted to see if Cleo was okay. Abby couldn't find her. She's our tour guide. Abby, not Cleo. Cleo is a lizard."
Connor's skin went cold, his breathing a bit more ragged. "You saw Abby yesterday? Do you know where she went? Was she helping people?"
The girl nodded, looking thoughtful. Then she blurted, "Are you Connor? He was gonna come save us. Are you him? Is she gonna marry you?"
Despite the range of emotions flying through him, Connor had to give a tiny smile. "Yeah, I'm Connor. And yeah, we're getting married." Someday. Back in their world. He couldn't even think about it right now. Had Abby really thought he could save them? Or were those just words? Did she really have that much faith in him?
The girl beamed. Despite everything she'd been through, she was smiling. "I knew it. She was wearing a ring on her finger like Daddy gave Mom when they got married and she said it was from you."
Abby didn't wear the ring on her finger. The ring he'd apparently given her after her impromptu proposal. The one his Mum had given him when she'd gotten so sick. The one his dad had given her before things had gone south. She hadn't since he'd picked her up from the police station. It was a bit weird seeing it both around his neck and hers, but he supposed it was a bit more strange with her wearing it when she was technically engaged to another man. Just another him. This him, this one was still wearing said ring. It was complicated and messy. And if she was wearing the ring on her finger, then...
He couldn't think about that just then. He had to find her first. There'd be plenty of time to stress over where they stood with each other when she was safe at the complex with him and Rex and Stevie. "What's your name, darling?" he asked, kneeling down to look the child in the eye. She was adorable and sweet and exactly what he wanted for his own child someday. If he lived that long. That was starting to look less and less likely.
"Eloise," the girl answered, smiling adoringly.
"All right, Eloise, I have a very important question for you. Do you know where Abby went?"
She looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded. "That way!" she declared, pointing towards the door with the sign declaring the area for associates only. Not that that had ever slowed down a member of the ARC. Or Connor himself. Since when did he follow rules?
He got to his feet and started towards the area, keeping an eye out for any sign of his best friend. Stopping, he turned and looked at the girl, trying to look comforting. "Thanks, Eloise. You could have saved some people today, you know that? You're a hero."
The child grinned a missing-tooth-smile at him, and he used that face to give him hope. Abby had been there only hours before, giving this little girl and her family or friends a tour of some reptiles. She couldn't possibly be dead. He went through the employee entrance, ignoring all warning tape and taking mental notes to tell the rest of his little search team what he'd found. The plastic people had definitely been here.