fredbassett | Fic, Silk and Steel, Part 44, AU, 18

Title : Silk and Steel, Part 44
Authors : fredbassett & munchkinofdoom
Fandom : Primeval
Characters : Connor, Tanya Lacey, Matt Rees
Rating : 18
Disclaimer : Not ours, no money made, don’t sue
Spoilers : None
Summary : Connor ends up in the infirmary.
Warning : Slave!fic.

The arms holding him upright were tight and poured fire down his spine. Connor began to struggle even before he opened his eyes.

"Connor… no, Conn," a female voice tried to sound reassuring "You're safe. Don't fight."

"Tan… Tanya?"

"I'm right here, Connor."

Strong fingers caught his hand, hanging limply at his side, and squeezed gently. Connor blinked his eyes open, and found himself looking straight up into Matt Rees' concerned face. Rees. The medic who had stood uselessly to one side as that bastard had beaten him. Connor fought the lieutenant's grip, forcing the man to come to a halt.

"All right, lad, take your time," Rees watched Connor, a supportive hand on one elbow. "You can walk the rest of the way to the infirmary if you want."

"You bastard! You… you…" Connor choked on his words, a sob rising in his throat.

"Conn!" Lacey tried to step between the two men as Connor lurched unsteadily, his face red with anger and barely held back tears.

"He just stood there!"

"Connor," Rees started, obviously attempting to keep his tone even and non-threatening.

"Conn!" interjected Lacey. "Would you rather have been in that place alone; just you, me, Thomson and his gorilla? Lieutenant Rees did what he could. He helped you."

"How?" Connor demanded, his voice still accusatory.

"By loosening your bindings, for one. The strap would have done a hell of a lot more damage if the lieutenant hadn't eased the tension."

Connor stared at the medic, his mind whirling, his dizziness vying with the nausea rising in his gut. And, on the edge of his senses, an acrid smell intruded. Connor became aware of the wetness on his thighs and looked down, half expecting to see blood. Then the unpleasant reality intruded. He had wet himself.

Rees' hand shot out as Connor began to wobble on his feet. "Lacey, take his other side, please." One on each arm, the two soldiers began to carefully steer Connor toward the infirmary.

The trip passed in a haze, the long corridor seeming endless until the two soldiers brought Connor to a stop outside the infirmary, Rees carefully supporting him as Lacey let go of him to get the door.

Ditzy looked up as they entered, and Connor watched as the two medics held a silent conversation consisting of telling looks and head gestures. Finally, to his relief, Rees led him slowly to the small examination room off to the side.

"Lacey, would you mind getting Connor some clean clothes for me? Something loose." Lacey nodded and left, closing the door behind her. Then Rees turned his attention back to Connor. "What say we get those trousers off you? They can't be comfortable."

Connor nodded, but as he tried to tug down the zipper, the burn of the tortured skin on his back forced a hiss from him.

"Let me do it, mate." Rees efficiently popped the button on Connor's jeans, sliding the zip down in one smooth motion as he pulled the soiled trousers and underpants down his trembling legs. Connor toed his trainers off and took a wobby step out of the tangle of clothes, steadying himself on the examination couch, a hot blush of shame rising at being naked except for his collar. After wiping away the tacky, drying trail of urine with a wet wipe, the medic helped Connor up onto the bed and pulled a thin sheet up to his waist, in an attempt to restore some much-needed dignity.

Rees gave him a small handful of pills and a glass of water, watching as Connor took them without comment. "Those were painkillers and anti-inflammatories. They'll help keep the swelling down. Now, lie down, Connor, and you'll start to feel a bit better soon." Rees helped Connor down onto his stomach, doing his best to make him comfortable. He laid one hand gently on Connor's shoulder in support, careful to avoid the painfully throbbing welts, and then left him to rest, saying they needed to give the medication time to work.

Connor lay quietly, his eyes closed, as he waited for the painkillers to kick in. Finally, Rees came back into the room and returned to his side, touching his shoulder again to get his attention.

"I'm just going to have a look at the welts, so this is going to sting a bit, Connor. There isn't any blood, though, so it shouldn’t be too bad." Rees' hands were gentle as they touched Connor's sore back, their path over his skin seemingly random as far as he could tell. Then cold compresses were laid gently over the welts, making Connor hiss again.

"That will help the swelling."

The room fell silent then, as Connor lay there, slowly getting used to the frigid burn of the compresses as Rees tidied up after himself. Connor closed his eyes, drifting for a long moment as his mind flitted back over the events of the day.

Scenes of giant Terror Birds feeding on the still, bloody bodies of children merged with feelings of horror and despair, both from being too late to save them and from a deep, stomach-churning dread that he had failed. That his Anomaly Detection Device had failed. That all those people had died because Connor hadn't done his job properly.

He sobbed as the deep, aching throb of his wounds kept counter-point to the chant in his head, failure… failure… failure…

"Hey, hey," Rees' voice whispered, and a tissue was placed in his hand. "Let it out, Connor."

A sob caught in Connor's throat, and he snatched the tissue and turned his head away, burying his face in the flat, hard pillow to muffle the sound of his tears. Rees' hand softly petted his hair and Connor shrugged him off fiercely, whining as the movement pulled at protesting muscles.

"Okay, Connor, I'll leave you be. But you can call me if you need anything. Okay?"

Connor just nodded his head and sobbed harder into the pillow. The click of the door opening impinged on his hearing and he tensed with fear and shame, turning his tear-streaked face toward the wall.

"Conn?" Lacey whispered, her voice close to his ear. Her fingers carded through his unruly hair and he turned back to her. "Oh, Conn. It's going to be all right. I know it hurts now, but you'll feel better in a day or two, I promise."

"My fault," Connor muttered into his hand, pressing the crumpled tissue against his lips to hold in another sob.

"What? No, Connor. No! You heard Professor Morris. The ADD was sabotaged."

"Sabotaged?" A thin tendril of hope started to uncurl in his stomach.

"The wires to the alarm had been cut. Blade's fixed it, but you're going to want to check it out yourself, I expect."

"I didn't do anything wrong?" Connor blinked away the tears in his eyes, grasping at her words as tightly as he could.

"Oh, sweetie," Lacey carded her fingers through his hair again, offering what little comfort she could. "Of course you didn't do anything wrong."

Connor tried to sit up, finally accepting Lacey's help as Rees removed the compresses. He wrapped the sheet securely around his waist, blushing as Lacey smiled at him. "Then why did Thomson beat me?"

"Because he's a bastard," spat Lacey, fiercely.

Rees coughed, then glared warningly at the private as she looked at him.

"Sorry, sir."

"Good. Now, what say you go find a cuppa for Connor while I help him get dressed? Plenty of sugar, please." Rees held out his hand and Lacey handed over the clothes. She gave Connor one last, reassuring smile, and then left the examination room.

"Okay," Rees said. "That should give us enough time to get you decent again. Can't have you flapping in the breeze when Captain Ryan comes looking for you, can we?"

Connor started, eying the door with trepidation.

"Hey," said Rees, "you heard Lacey. You haven't done anything wrong, despite what Captain Thomson seems to think. So, we'll get you dressed, get something warm inside you, and then you can go have a look at that machine of yours. The sooner you get that done, the sooner you can get some sleep. Okay?"

Connor nodded uncertainly, and Rees patted his covered knee reassuringly. "Stand up, then, and let's get these clothes on you."

Slipping carefully from the examination couch, Connor wobbled for a moment, and Rees' hands shot out to steady him. "Just hold onto the table, mate, and let me do the work."

Connor let the medic dress him, closing his eyes and letting his head droop as he obeyed Rees's instructions by rote. Finally, he was dressed in khakis that barely hung on his hips and a loose shirt that lay softly over the welts on his back. Connor had a horrible feeling that it was an old collaring ceremony shirt, and shivered.

"You okay, Conn?"

"Hm," Connor took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders carefully, and nodded. He hadn't done anything wrong. Some bastard had fucked with his ADD, and he had nothing to be ashamed of. "Yeah, I'll be okay."

"Yes, you will," said Rees, looking up from tying the laces of an old pair of trainers that looked long past their prime. Connor could have sworn he'd thrown those out after their encounter with dodo droppings.

Finally, Connor was dressed, and he watched as Rees stood up and looked at him for a long moment. Connor attempted a smile, and the medic nodded with approval. Then Rees turned away and opened the door to the main infirmary. Connor let go of the bed and walked shakily toward him.

Stopping at the open door, Connor took a deep, calming breath and then walked out of the sanctuary of the small, private room and into the busy infirmary. He could do this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

verito295.livejournal.com

*squeeshes Connor tightly*

From:

munchkinofdoom.livejournal.com

*happy sigh* The Hound beats the crap out of him and then I get to pick up the pieces. Again. *veg*

From:

nietie.livejournal.com

Awww, poor Connor. I so want to huggle that boy.
I'm so happy he realised that the ADD was sabotaged and that he didn't do anything wrong.

From:

munchkinofdoom.livejournal.com

The poor dear was so badly knocked off his perch that what Annie Morris had said about the ADD hadn't sunk in. Anyway, that's my story, so that I could include Connor being all needlessly guilty. *shifty look*