A Wolf with Feathers

Title Those Leaving and Those Left Behind
Characters Lester/Lyle, Karen Griffiths (OC)
Fandom Primeval
Rating PG
Prompt Goodbye (Mission Insane)
Series The Wives and Girlfriends Club
Summary Lyle is being deployed.
Author's Note Thanks to Gil for a super speedy beta so I could post this for NaBloPoMo. Thanks to fred for the use of Jon Lyle.


They'd said their goodbyes the night before - frantic, desperate, hurried sex, as if there wasn't enough time left for them to savour it, even though Lyle wasn't leaving until eight the next morning. Lester knew some of the wives went to the base to watch the plane leave, but he didn't see the point. It would leave whether he was there or not and he wasn't going to peer through the fence and wave a handkerchief like some kind of heroine from a romance novel.

He kissed Lyle goodbye over the breakfast bar. He tasted of tea and bacon sandwiches. Then they left together. Lester walked to his Mercedes and drove into central London to start another day herding cats at the ARC; Lyle got into his beat up Land Rover and headed for the base, to catch a plane to fly to Afghanistan for an indeterminate period. Lyle was guessing nine months; Lester had his money on twelve, because Lyle coming back on time without a scratch on him just wasn't the kind of luck the two of them had.

Lester wasn't going to make a big deal out of Lyle's deployment. He'd known what Lyle's job entailed when they'd got together and he'd been living on his own perfectly well before Lyle had moved in. He could certainly handle a year without him. He still found himself checking his watch periodically through the day and calculating exactly where Lyle's plane was likely to be. It was foolish and a total waste of time, but he couldn't stop himself doing it anyway.

The controlled chaos of the ARC seemed less chaotic and more controlled than normal. He wasn't sure if it was just good luck or if people were trying to give him a break. He felt he should probably be offended if it was the latter, but he was just glad for the chance to bury himself in his paperwork and not have to try and keep the lunatics from burning down the asylum or anything. He rather thought Lorraine was thankful for it as well.

He told Lorraine to leave early. He knew there was some kind of do for the 'wives and girlfriends' of the unit that she wanted to go to. He'd rather have a root canal personally. He wasn't a wife and he certainly didn't need a support group.

Life it seemed had different plans or rather Karen Griffiths had other plans and she was even more difficult to avoid than life. At 6pm, just as he was packing up for the night, and just as Lyle's plane would be refuelling by Lester's calculations, security called to inform him that a Mrs. Karen Griffiths was waiting for him downstairs and she was insisting on seeing him in person.

He'd met her once before at a dinner and he'd been impressed by her determination and her way with words. In fact, if she hadn't already been occupied with the informally named 'wives and girlfriends' club and her children and her many, many other activities, he'd have tried to get her a job at the ARC.

Sighing, he packed his laptop up, grabbed it and his briefcase and jogged down the stairs to reception. He had no doubt she'd sit there all night if she had to.

"Karen!" He smiled and held out a hand. "What a pleasure to see you again. Shouldn't you be heading to the restaurant? I know I shooed Lorraine out of here a couple of hours ago so she could get ready."

She shook his hand firmly and smiled back. "I'm on my way there but I saw your car as I drove past and I thought you might need reminding what time it was. You're obviously running late."

He shot a glance at the receptionist and guided Karen away from her, not particularly wanting a witness to this conversation. "Actually I was just heading home, but thank you for the thought."

Karen's eyes narrowed. "Nonsense. You're coming to the restaurant with the rest of us. It's a tradition."

"Look, it was thoughtful of you to stop by but I'm neither a wife nor a girlfriend and I'm not really interested." He was beginning to get a little irritated. He didn't need supporting or mollycoddling; he just needed a glass of whisky and a good book.

"It wasn't a request, James. You have a responsibility now. You may not be a wife but neither are Cable's husband or Blade's grandmother and they'll both be there." She smiled to soften the impact of her words. "I don't think you understand. You're dating an officer and we have to be there to set an example for the others. You, Annabelle Stringer, Elizabeth Harper, and I need to be there."

Lester groaned. "Ryan's ex-wife is going to be there?"

"She still comes to our social events because of the children and she has always been a great help." She reached out and touched his sleeve. "I know it wasn't something you signed up for, but the same way Lyle and Ryan and Stringer organise the others in their squad, we organise the families and help keep everything together while they're away."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I was right. You should be working for me. I might as well agree now and save us both some time."

Karen smiled triumphantly. "Thank you." She leaned closer and kissed his cheek. "Welcome to the family. Now lock that stuff in your car and you can follow me to the restaurant."

"I think I can find it on my own," he grumbled.

"I know, but this way you won't change your mind halfway and go home instead. I'm parked on a double yellow line outside so get a move on, please. I don't want to get a ticket."

He rolled his eyes. "You, madam, are incorrigible. Are you sure you don't have time to work here? I could do with someone with your talents to help Lorraine keep this group of reprobates in order. I shall be five minutes." He turned to walk away and then stopped, looking over his shoulder. "Oh and I should compliment you on your eyesight, since my car is in the underground car park and the only way you could have seen it is if you can see through walls." He grinned. "Lorraine has a lot to answer for."