Fic, An Unexpected Encounter, Becker/Ryan, Puppies, 12

[fredbassett]

Title : An Unexpected Encounter
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 12
Characters : Becker/Ryan, Alex, Kay, Marcus
Disclaimer : Not mine (the puppies belong to fifi), no money made, don’t sue.
Spoilers : None
Summary : Christmas Eve in a log cabin takes an unusual turn…
A/N : a) Written for fififolle’s fandom stocking. b) pup!verse!

“Well, the little buggers have got what they wanted for Christmas,” Ryan announced, pulling back the bedroom curtains.

Becker stuck his nose out from underneath the duvet mounded over him and peered around like a surprised owl. “You’ve bought them a pony?”

“Nope. It’s snowed.”

“Good job we chucked the chains in as well as enough food to feed an army. Does this mean I don’t get breakfast in bed?”

A volley of excited yips were all the answer he got as three excited bundles of fur flung themselves onto the bed and proceeded to lick Becker’s face. Ryan left him trying – and failing – to fight the kids off and went to put the kettle on.

After much nagging, they’d finally succumbed to the pups’ desire for Christmas in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. It was owned by a friend of Lester’s who had fled the British winter for warmer climes and had been quite happy to rent it out for a week. They’d left Lyle in charge of the response teams and, to their children’s delight, had taken some much needed downtime.

They’d arrived late the previous night and had promptly put the Alex, Marcus and Kay to bed in the spare room, tucked up warmly in their baskets with fleece blankets and their favourite fluffy toys. A large wood-burning stove was quickly lit and the cabin was soon toasty warm throughout. That was the sort of central heating Ryan approved of. Enough food to keep a small army happy had been loaded into the fridge and he and Becker had enjoyed soup, rolls and a bottle of decent Rioja before they’d made their way to bed.

Now, on Christmas Eve, the pups were overjoyed to discover that the world had turned white overnight and were certainly not about to pander to one of their parent’s desire for breakfast in bed.

Becker’s attempt to quell his offspring’s enthusiasm with a parade ground glare hadn’t even got off the ground, and Alex was now on the floor, duvet firmly clasped between his teeth as he started to haul it backwards across the bedroom floor. Becker’s attempt to retain hold of it was foiled by Kay promptly sitting on his head while Marcus attempted to insinuate a cold, wet nose into his dad’s ear.

“Save me!” Becker whimpered pathetically. “Don’t just stand there!”

“Kids!” Ryan’s parade ground voice had more effect that Becker’s attempt at a hard stare. “Bathroom, now! No going out to play unless you’ve got clean teeth.”

That did the trick. They positively fell over themselves in the race for the bathroom, and while Ryan cleaned their teeth, Becker was able to scramble into some clothes.

Soon they were all standing by the front door, ready to launch three excited puppies onto an unsuspecting world. On a count of three, Ryan threw the door open and the pups skidded across an icy veranda and hurled themselves into the snow, barking at the top of their lungs. It was a good job there wasn’t another dwelling for at least a mile in any direction.

Ryan and Becker left the puppies playing happily together while they put the kettle on a rustled up a few slices of toast to keep them going until they had the time to cook a proper breakfast.

With a mug of coffee in one hand and a slice of toast in the other, Ryan went back outside to watch his snow-covered offspring rolling around in a state of great excitement, barking ten to the dozen.

“What are you like at building snow pups?” Becker asked.

“I suspect we’re about to find out.” Ryan finished his toast and put his coffee down in preparation for entering the field of battle.

In the same moment, Alex’s blond head lifted up and the eldest of the pups started to sniff the air. Marcus followed suit and then Kay, the three of them scenting the air the way they did when turkey was roasting in the oven.

“What have they got wind of?” Ryan queried, staring in the same direction as the puppies but not seeing anything other than snow-clad pine trees.

With an excited bark, Alex set off into the trees, the other two in hot pursuit.

“Stop!” yelled Becker in the sort of voice that even the most excited pup couldn’t ignore.

The trio skidded to a halt in the snow, torn between an obviously exciting scent and an innate sense of obedience that had been instilled in them all their lives.

Alex whined loudly and lifted one paw, staring straight ahead into the trees.

“If it’s a fucking anomaly, I am not going to be a happy bunny,” Becker muttered.

“More likely to be a deer,” Ryan said, even though he didn’t wholly believe his own words. “Stay back, kids,” he ordered. “Let us take a look first, eh?”

Ryan cast around at the edge of the trees, but apart from a few bird tracks, the snow was unmarked. The pups had definitely caught the scent of something, though. All three were quivering with excitement, their little black noses twitching as they sniffed the air.

“I’ll go a bit further,” Ryan said. “Stay back, just in case anything is out there.”

He’d taken no more than three paces into the trees, when something flew out of the trees, hit him in the chest with a resounding thump and then ended up in an ungainly sprawl at his feet. “What the fu…?”

A bundle of blue scales stared up at him out of two very large, round eyes. The creature’s two short forearms reminded him of a T. rex but that was where the resemblance ended. This little beast had a rounded belly, paler than the skin on its back, strong haunches on which it was currently sitting, and a pair of stubby wings that reminded him of the dodos he’d once encountered. Two wide nostrils flared in a long, thick muzzle set with sharp-looking white teeth.

The wings flapped and the creature rose a foot in the air before flopping back down in the snow with another heavy thump. The burst of energetic flapping that had led to the collision with Ryan’s chest had seemingly exhausted it. The little beast didn’t look dangerous, but Ryan knew better than to trust appearances. It looked up at Ryan and made a noise like a slightly surprised belch.

Becker joined him and looked down at the new arrival. It stared back at him rather mournfully.

“What’s the matter, little chap?” Ryan said quietly. “Have you hurt yourself?” The eyes reminded him rather forcefully of the pups, and he felt a sudden urge to make sure that the creature was all right.

A sudden flurry of excited yips told him that the puppies hadn’t stayed at a safe distance and before he could stop them, Alex, Marcus and Kay crowded around, keen to see the new arrival.

“Is that what I think it is?” Becker asked.

Before Ryan had a chance to answer, the little blue creature tilted its head quizzically and let out another belch, only this one was accompanied by a strong smell of sulphur, a small puff of smoke and a very slight flame. Alex, whose head was the closest, promptly sneezed loudly, shaking the snow off his whiskers.

“Oh crap,” Ryan muttered. “Yes, I think it is what you think it is.”

The baby dragon lowered its head and butted gently at Alex with a bony crest than ran the length of its plump body to a stumpy tail that was wagging almost as excitedly as the pup’s. Alex promptly butted back then stepped aside to let Marcus and Kay do the same. The dragon let out a high-pitched bark and then, introductions seemingly over, the four youngsters promptly started to roll around in the snow together.

“I think we’d better find out where it came from and get it back there, fast,” Becker said.

Ryan agreed. Where there was a youngster, in his experience, a parent wasn’t very far behind, and while the baby might be friendly, they couldn’t guarantee its relatives would be equally sunny-natured.

Before either of them could do anything, a deep voice some distance away called out, “Jasper! Jasper, where have you got to?”

The little blue dragon – Jasper? – turned his head towards the sound of the voice and belched guiltily. A small smoke ring rose into the air and was promptly pounced on by Marcus.

Ryan heard the sound of something large moving through the trees, snapping twigs and compacting the crisp snow. He quickly bent down and scooped up Marcus and Kay as Becker grabbed Alex. “At the first hint of trouble, we run,” he said quietly.

Sensing his alarm, the pups fell silent, staring out of wide eyes at the creature that was now bearing down on them through the trees.

Ryan had seen a lot during his years with the anomaly project, but nothing quite compared with the sight of a three metre tall dragon, glowing a positively iridescent blue. The creature was approaching at a bounding run, wings partly furled due to the press of trees. Ordinarily, Ryan would have been looking around for a weapon by now, but despite the dragon’s bulk, there was something distinctly unthreatening about the sight of a pink frilly apron tied around its ample belly and the pair of bright purple spectacles balanced on its extremely large nose.

He and Becker both stepped back to allow the dragon access to what they presumed was its offspring.

The dragon scooped up the baby protectively, much the way Ryan had done with Alex and Marcus, and peered down at them. “Goodness gracious me, Jasper, have you been making new friends?”

Jasper let out another self-satisfied burp and a pair of smoke-rings rose into the air.

“Do excuse him,” the dragon said apologetically. “I’m afraid he hasn’t learned that it’s not polite to belch in company.”

Alex promptly did the same, closely followed by Marcus and Kay, no doubt also hoping to produce smoke rings.

“Kids!” Becker said, disapprovingly. “Just because Uncle Jon does it, doesn’t mean you three can get away with it!”

The dragon peered at them through its spectacles. “What adorable children. Are they yours?”

Becker smiled, as he always did when someone complimented the pups, and nodded.

“Did you come through a big shiny ball of light?” Ryan asked, trying – and failing – to convince himself that talking to a dragon wasn’t the strangest thing that had happened to him in the past year.

“Yes, and we’d better get back before his mother comes home. Very nice to have met you. Say goodbye to the nice humans, Jasper.”

Obligingly, Jasper let out another burp, this time big enough to produce three smoke rings.

The dragon, presumably Jasper’s father, smiled at them, displaying a very impressive mouthful of teeth.

Ryan smiled back. “Nice to have met you, too. Say goodbye to Jasper, kids.”

A volley of excited yips followed, along with quite a creditably loud belch from Alex, but still no smoke ring.

The adult dragon turned around, and with Jasper tucked under one foreleg, bounded away through the trees.

Ryan looked at Becker, then at the tracks in the snow. “Did we just see a …?”

“Dragon?” Becker supplied helpfully. “Wearing an apron and spectacles? Yes, I rather think we did.”

Three pups burped loudly and scrabbled to get down in the snow.

“If they keep doing that at nursery, we’re going to get the blame, aren’t we?” Ryan said.

“Yep. I’m certainly not brave enough to tell Mrs Newall they learnt it off a blue dragon called Jasper.”

“Neither am I,” Ryan said, depositing his wriggling pups on the ground. “Maybe we can just blame Lyle.”