Joe's Journal

The Fred and Ginger Kiss, Primeval, Lester/Blade, PG

2009-11-21T16:08:18Z

Title The Fred and Ginger Kiss
Characters Lester/Blade
Fandom Primeval
Rating PG
Prompt #20 Romantic ( 25 Moods )
Series More Delightful Than Wine
Summary Lester teaches Blade to dance.
Author's Note Thanks to fred for a super speedy beta and for letting me use Blade. For Fiona :D

"You really can't dance?"

"It's not like they teach it at Hereford," Blade grumbled. "Firing range in the morning, obstacle course in the afternoon, with a quick break in between for ballroom dancing."

Lester chuckled. "Now you're abusing sarcasm, Niall." He ran his finger carefully along the shelves of CDs and carefully selected something appropriate. He slipped it into the stereo, pressed play and then turned around, holding his hand out to Blade with a hopeful look on his face. "I can teach you, if you want."

"Are you going to teach me the girl's part?" Blade asked suspiciously.

Lester rolled his eyes. "You can't lead because you don't know how to dance. Besides unless you're planning on practising your new found skills on someone else, why does it matter?"

Blade narrowed his eyes. "There's a flaw in that argument somewhere, but I'm damned if I can find it." He took Lester's hand and let the other man pull him to his feet. Wrapping one arm around Lester's waist, Blade let himself be positioned properly and then looked at Lester a little nervously. "Okay, now what?"

Slowly, Lester showed him the steps, guiding him throughout and not complaining even when Blade trod on his feet. A couple of times they tripped and only a combination of Lester's ability and Blade's quick reflexes kept them from ending up in a tangle on the floor.

"Niall, you are a naturally graceful man whose athletic abilities have been honed at great cost to the taxpayer. You can manage a damn waltz," Lester snapped eventually. "Take a deep breath, look away from your feet, and stop concentrating so hard. All you have to do is relax and follow my cues."

Blade ducked his head bashfully. "Sorry. It's just this is harder than it looks."

"No, it isn't. You're just complicating things too much." Lester took a calming breath and then changed tack. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course," Blade answered immediately.

"Then close your eyes and loosen your hold on my hand before you cut off all blood supply to my fingers. Let me take control and just go where I lead you." Lester leaned forwards and rested his cheek against Blade's, smiling hopefully. "All right?"

Blade nodded and then closed his eyes.

Haltingly at first and then faster and more flowingly, they moved around the living room. Smoothly, Lester steered them around the open space, smiling as Blade didn't stumble or tread on his feet again.

"Now open your eyes, but don't look down," Lester told him softly. "Look into my eyes, not at your feet."

Blade's eyes fluttered open and he looked straight into Lester's, smiling widely as he did so. "I'm doing it! You know, you are a great teacher, but I'd rather you didn't try this technique on anyone else. I think I'd have to be jealous if you did."

Lester laughed and twirled Blade around the coffee table. "You're my only student, I promise." He pulled Blade's face down and brushed his lips gently across the other man's. Then he did it again. On the third pass Lester paused and used the tip of his tongue to trace Blade's lower lip, slowly teasing his mouth open and slipping his tongue inside. Sliding his hand along Blade's arm until he reached his body he wrapped his arm around Blade and bent him slightly backwards, but he made no attempt to deepen the kiss or turn it sexual.

Blade sighed and wrapped his own arms around Lester. He brushed his tongue against Lester's and then slowly broke the kiss, pulling Lester's head to rest on his shoulder. He pressed a final brief kiss to the other man's temple. "Teach me something else? I love dancing with you like this."

The Thank God You're Not Dead Kiss, Primeval, Lester/Blade, 12

2009-11-20T21:10:48Z

Title The Thank God You're Not Dead Kiss
Characters Lester/Blade
Fandom Primeval
Rating 12
Prompt Thankful ( 25 Moods )
Series More Delightful Than Wine
Summary Set during the S2 finale. Blade and Lester share a moment.
Author's Note Thanks to fred for the beta and for the use of Blade. Thanks to Luka and Jack for their help as well. As always, this is for Fiona :D

Lester put the phone down, irritated and relieved in equal measures. Stephen was going to try to find the creature Leek had left on a popular beach, but he wouldn't take any kind of back-up and he clearly didn't trust Lester at all. Considering he'd nearly been killed a few hours earlier by the real traitor, he was rather offended that Stephen would suspect him of betrayal. Still, at least he'd agreed to go and deal with it. Now he just needed to work out what the hell had happened to Cutter and his group of reprobates.

The door to his office slammed open and was then kicked closed just as rapidly. He barely had time to register the sound of the lock clicking into place before he was hit by thirteen stone of highly-trained special forces soldier. Blade practically threw himself across the room, planting himself firmly in Lester's lap and burying his face in the other man's neck.

Before Lester could say anything Blade raised his head and kissed him. Blade's hands came up to hold Lester's face in place as he kissed him desperately, plunging his tongue between Lester's lips and forcefully reclaiming every inch of his mouth. As Blade kept kissing Lester he also started grinding down against Lester, making his cock stand up and take notice.

Lester's hands came up to rest lightly on Blade's hips. He knew he should stop this, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away when Blade was kissing him with so much desperation he could almost taste it.

Eventually Blade broke away and took a couple of hasty, deep breaths. His eyes were wide and shining slightly and Lester could feel fine tremors running through his hands. Slowly, Lester slide his hands further up until he was stroking his lover's back soothingly.

"Niall? Just calm down and talk to me."

Blade rested his forehead on Lester's shoulder again. "You scared me," he admitted, his voice muffled because of his position. "We got back and found the blood and then the predator... You could have been killed."

Lester tightened his grip, holding the other man more closely. "Do you want me to apologise? Because I will, but I didn't intentionally get trapped in the building with that creature."

Blade chuckled, the tremors reducing and the tension slowly fading from his muscles. "No. It wasn't your fault. I just wasn't expecting you to ever be in danger and ..." he shrugged. "It was a shock. Realising how close I came to losing you."

Lester managed a teasing smile. "It was something of a shock to me as well. I can't believe that little rat managed to deceive me for so long. But at least Abby's lecture on how mammoths defend their herd came in useful. I'm going to buy that animal gourmet food for the rest of its life."

Blade leaned closer and brushed another kiss against his lips. "I'll help you. I should have been there to save you, but since I couldn't be I'm glad your mammoth was." He sighed. "I have to get back to the rest of the squad. The Captain is working out provisional plans for catching the rat. We just need to find him now."

There was a sharp knock at the door. "Sir James? Leek is on the viewscreen again and he's got Cutter."

Lester kissed Blade swiftly and then urged him back to his feet. "It's time for both of us to get back to work. Stay safe for me, Niall." He brushed the backs of his fingers gently over Blade's cheek. "I love you too."

is happy

2009-11-20T00:25:25Z

Your result for What color would your lightsaber be?...

Blue Beam

The Negotiator

You are a peacekeeper, plain and simple. Only the most dire of circumstances will make you draw, much less use, your saber. The serene color of your blade matches your cool, calm exterior.

Your high sense and style scores show that you are always willing to talk first, and to use persuasion where reason fails. Negotiations can go sour, however, and on those occasions you are well-equipped for escape or confrontation.

Others like you: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Take What color would your lightsaber be? at HelloQuizzy

Also - I have cola! I can't drink the sugary stuff because of my diet (plus diabetes runs in my family) and I used to drink litres of the diet stuff but then I found that the aspartame was causing an allergic reaction. Morrisons though make a max version with no added sugar and no aspartame. I have missed cola and I find I write better with cola.

Solstice/Yule icons

2009-11-19T18:09:32Z

The second batch of my solstcis and yule themed icons.

Loved and Desired, Primeval, Lyle/Lester/Ryan, 18

2009-11-18T12:00:01Z

Title Loved and Desired
Characters Ryan/Lester/Lyle
Fandom Primeval
Rating 18
Prompt 1 Comfort Sex ( Citrus Taste )
Series Taking Care
Summary The final part of the series. Finally they get to bed.
Author's Note Thanks to fred for the beta and the use of Lyle. Warning for mildly kinky sex.

Ryan pushed the room service trolley into the corridor, hung up the Do Not Disturb sign, and then locked the door with a decisive click. Turning back to the bed, where Lester and Lyle were lying, he smiled. Lester was wearing boxer shorts because he refused to lie there and eat naked; Lyle had no such reservations.

He walked towards them, slowly stripping as he went. When he was naked, he crawled up the bed until he could kiss first Lester and then Lyle. He stretched out, sandwiching Lester between Lyle and himself. "How are you feeling, James?"

Lester stretched sinuously. "I feel wonderful. This is definitely worth getting a few scratches for. A warm bath with both of you pampering me, a delicious meal, and now I'm hoping for sex." He grinned. "Do you think you can manage that?"

Ryan exchanged a quick look with Lyle and then schooled his features into a worried expression. "Well, I don't know. We wouldn't want to hurt your leg any more than it already is..."

Lyle jumped in. "Right. Ditzy would be royally pissed off if we undid all his good work. Maybe you should just try and get some sleep. I'm sure I can take care of Ryan and help him work off all that worrying without you needing to do anything."

Lester's eyes narrowed. "It's not Ditzy you need to worry about. If I don't get laid tonight I am going to be very, very irritated. And when I get irritated I have to find new and ingenious ways of dealing with the people who annoyed me."

Ryan laughed. "Okay, okay. I'm sure we could come up with something to avoid that. But we can't have you opening that gash again."

"It's probably best if you just lie very still and let us do the work," Lyle suggested with wicked grin. "In fact we might need to tie you down. For your own good, of course."

Ryan reached out and slapped the back of Lyle's head. "I think we should leave the kinky stuff until we get home."

Lester rolled his eyes. "What makes you think I'm going to allow any kind of 'kinky stuff' wherever we are?"

"Jon will talk you into it," Ryan told him. "You don't seem to be able to say no to those big eyes when he turns them on you. But you should be the one in charge tonight. What do you want to do?"

Lester snorted. "I do not always give in to Jon. But I thought you were planning to fuck both of us, so it seems to me you already have this evening planned out and you've done well so far so I think I'll let you keep going. Wow me."

"How did I end up with two such demanding lovers?" Ryan asked, theatrically. Grabbing a pillow he thrust it at Lester. "Put this under your hips and roll over onto your stomach. Use it to prop your thigh up as well so I don't accidentally open the wound. I do not want to have to face Ditzy and tell him you're bleeding again because we were having sex."

Lester did as he was told, stretching sensually before he got comfortable. "Don't get used to me following orders," he warned.

Lyle snorted. "Don't worry, sweetheart, we wouldn't dream of it."

Ryan picked up the bottle of oil he had left on the bedside table. "You shut up, be good, and watch," he ordered. "When I'm done with this you can get yourself ready for me. I'm going to fuck James slowly and carefully. You, I'm going to pound into the mattress."

"Bossyboots." Lyle sat back against the headboard anyway, taking his cock in his hand and stroking it slowly. He was content to watch for now.

"Voyeur," Lester muttered, smiling fondly at him despite the words.

Starting at Lester's shoulders, Ryan began a slow, sexy massage, working the stiffness out of his lover's over-used muscles.

Lester sighed contentedly. "You may have missed your calling, Tom. You should have been a massage therapist."

Ryan chuckled. "Well, maybe once I retire you can hire me full time as your own personal masseur..." He leaned down and trailed kisses along the other man's vertebrae. He followed his mouth with his hands, soothing and relaxing Lester as he went. When he reached his arse he spread the cheeks and ran his tongue along the shadowed cleft.

Lester groaned hoarsely and spread his legs further, pulling the injured leg up a little to rest it on the pillow. "You can keep that up all night," he gasped.

"Hmm, I'll take you up on that one day, but not tonight. You need to get a good night's sleep." He poured some of the oil into his palm and gently pushed a slick finger into Lester's body. Slowly stretching the other man, he watched his reactions to judge when he was ready for more. Tonight he wanted to make sure there was no discomfort at all.

One finger became two as he gently prepared Lester's body, ignoring the muttered commentary on his slowness, his manhood, and the fact that if he didn't get a bloody move on he'd be shovelling mammoth shit for the foreseeable future. He grinned at Lyle and handed the bottle of oil over.

Leaning forwards, he whispered, "Watch what Jon is doing. I want to know you're watching him riding his own fingers while I'm fucking you."

Lester groaned. "You are a kinky bastard sometimes, Tom." He turned his head though, his eyes seeming to have turned black from arousal as he watched Lyle teasingly preparing himself so Ryan could fuck him once he was done with Lester.

Ryan pressed another gentle kiss to Lester's shoulder and then rolled a condom on. "Are you ready?"

"You know damn well I am. Just get a move on," Lester ordered, making Ryan chuckle.

"Such romance. You really do have a way with words, darling." Before Lester could reply, Ryan lined himself up with the dark entrance and pushed, the head of his cock pressing past the tight muscle with a soft pop. Steadily, Ryan pushed forward until he was buried to the root in Lester's passage. He held still for a moment and then started pulling out just as slowly.

Lester groaned and tried pressing backwards.

"None of that," Ryan told him sharply. "Just lie there and let me do all the work this time."

"Then get a move on," Lester growled.

Ryan thrust back in with slightly more force. "I am. Stop trying to control this and just enjoy it." He nipped at the back of Lester's neck before soothing the bite with his tongue.

Thrusting a little faster, but still keeping a much slower, gentler pace than he normally did, he reached around and started stroking Lester's cock in time with his thrusts. "Keep watching, Jon. Imagine what I'm going to do to him once you've come. Think how hot it's going to be to lie there and watch me taking him."

The continuous stream of dirty whispers was making Lester even harder. He groaned and thrust his cock into Ryan's tight grip, moaning when Ryan took hold of his hips and forced him to stop moving.

"Does it feel good? Feeling my cock inside you and knowing that soon I'm going to pull out and shove it inside Lyle's tight little arse and fuck him until he screams? I'm not going to take him slowly like this; it's going to be hard and fast and rough and you're going to be able to watch every moment of it."

Lester let out a low moan that was almost a whimper, not that he would ever admit to that. "Tom, please!"

Ryan shifted, wrapping one arm around Lester's chest and blanketing the other man's body with his own. His other hand returned to Lester's cock and started stroking again. He rested his cheek against Lester's, feeling the scrape and burn as his stubble pressed against his lover's. He started thrusting harder and faster, wanting to feel Lester beneath him, alive and helpless to resist Ryan's advances.

Looking up, he saw Lyle watching them both hungrily, still stroking his cock slowly, and he grinned. "Look at Jon. At how hot he looks as he watches me fucking you. Think what he's going to look like when it's his turn."

Lester froze and his hips jerked forwards as much as they could with Ryan holding him in place. With a low moan that could have been Ryan's name, he came, his cock pulsing in Ryan's hand and sending his come over itand onto the pillow beneath him.

Ryan bit his lip, forcing himself to freeze and not keep thrusting. He couldn't come right now, not if he wanted to carry his promise out and fuck Lyle as well.

Lester squeezed his muscles tightly around Ryan's cock, pulling a tortured moan from him. "Christ, James, don't!"

Lester chuckled softly, relaxing again and looking over his shoulder at Ryan. "What's the matter? Isn't your control up to dealing with a slightly aging civil servant?" He sighed and put on a sad expression. "What are the armed forces coming to? Back in my day they taught us self control and restraint ..."

Ryan growled. "You'd better recover soon because I am going to kill you." He glared at Lester and then at Lyle who wasn't making any effort to hide his amusement.

He pulled out slowly and tossed the condom in the bin, ripping open a new one and putting it on. Pushing Lyle flat, he kissed him hungrily and then pulled his legs over his shoulders. In one swift move he buried himself to the hilt in Lyle's arse, relishing the groan it pulled from him.

"You know laughing at me right before I fuck you is just asking for trouble, sweetheart." He pulled almost all the way out and then slammed back in again.

"So you say," Lyle gasped, squeezing down around him and pushing back eagerly, trying to impale himself even further on Ryan's cock.

Ryan growled. Reaching up he pinned Lyle's wrists to the bed and started fucking him hard and fast, short vicious strokes that pushed him ever closer to the orgasm he'd been fighting off since Lester had come.

Bent almost double, there was nothing Lyle could do to urge him on other than squeezing his arse muscles around Ryan's hard cock whenever he could.

A groan from beside him made him glance over at Lester and he grinned at the heat he saw in the other man's eyes. Reaching out, Lester batted one of Ryan’s hands away from Lyle's wrist and tugged Lyle's leg down to wrap around Ryan's waist and then he leaned in and swallowed Lyle's cock down to the base.

Lyle cried out, trying to thrust upwards but not able to with Ryan still partially holding him down. He was trapped between Ryan's hard cock and Lester's hot mouth.

Ryan kept hold of Lyle's wrist with one hand and moved the other to rest on Lester's shoulder as he kept on fucking Lyle. He knew he couldn't last much longer but with Lester's wickedly talented mouth wrapped around Lyle's cock he knew Lyle wouldn't be able to last long either.

With a loud cry, Lyle came down Lester's throat, the shout melting into a moan as Lester swallowed everything and continued sucking and swallowing around him, milking him of every drop. His orgasm triggered Ryan's and the other man gave one final thrust before collapsing onto the bed next to him.

Lester rolled back onto his side and cleaned himself off with a corner of the pillow he'd come all over before throwing it onto the floor. Wriggling further up the bed he nudged Lyle over and laid down, sharing the other man's pillow.

Ryan groaned and carefully pulled out of Lyle's body, stripping himself of the condom and tying it off. He grabbed a handful of tissues and cleaned them both up before tossing the whole lot into the rubbish bin. Looking at the two men who were snuggling sleepily in the middle of the bed, he sighed and got up. He went into the other room and grabbed a couple of pillows from the spare bed, coming back and dropping them onto the bed next to Lyle. Then he turned the lights off and shook the duvet out before draping it over the two of them.

He nudged Lyle gently. "Come on, sleepy, move over a bit and let me get in," he said with a smile.

Lyle wriggled even closer to Lester, pulling the other man's head to rest on his shoulder and then held the duvet up for Ryan. "Well, come on, get in and stop letting all the heat out."

Ryan sighed. "You'd think I'd get some consideration after doing all the work."

Lester chuckled sleepily. "Are you trying to tell us you didn't enjoy it?"

"Don't be stupid." Ryan got under the covers and wrapped one arm over Lyle's waist, his fingers brushing Lester's hip as he did. "Now close your eyes and go to sleep or Ditzy will be after me in the morning for wearing you out."

"It would take more than you to wear us out, but I guess stamina is just another thing that we were better at when I was in the army." Lester brushed his fingers against Ryan's softly, the tenderness taking the sting out of his earlier words. "I'm sorry we worried you."

Ryan shrugged but he smiled back, squeezing Lester's hand briefly before letting it go. "It was your turn. I'm sure we've done it to you often enough." He paused and then grinned. "But next time you feel like doing something dangerous I'm going with you and Jon can wait around for us to come back."

Lyle smacked the back of Ryan's head gently. "Have to teach you to cave dive first, mate. Now shut up and go to sleep."

Seasonal icons

2009-11-17T18:11:15Z

Since I've been making icons as a way of procrastinating, I asked Jack what she wanted and she said icons that are solstice or yule themed. So I searched on those keywords (and holly, ivy, mistletoe etc) and this is half of what I got (there's 68 in all and I figured that's a few too many to post in one go). There's a couple that seem to have no connection to the keywords but what the heck they were pretty anyway :D

Last batch of Wolves

2009-11-16T17:00:06Z

Fourth and final batch of wolf icons.

Yet more wolf icons

2009-11-15T18:48:59Z

This is the third batch of wolf icons.

Wolf icons

2009-11-14T01:27:35Z

Batch 2 of the wolf icons.

Uninvited Guest, Lester/Blade, Primeval, PG

2009-11-13T14:56:25Z

Title Uninvited Guest
Characters Lester/Blade
Fandom Primeval
Rating PG
Prompt Monsters ( 50 Drabbles )
Summary Lester gets a surprise over breakfast.
Author's Note Thanks to fred for the use of Blade and to Jack for looking it over.

Lester skidded on the polished floor as he rounded the breakfast bar. This was not how today was meant to go. He'd had it all planned. A lazy breakfast followed by a relaxing half hour polishing off the crossword in the Sunday Times. At no point had his plans included a future predator.

He looked around frantically, knowing he was cornered and it was him or the predator. He was damned if it was going to be him. Then he saw it. He pulled the knife from the cupboard door and threw it. Then he closed his eyes and prayed.

Knives, Primeval, Lester/Blade, PG

2009-11-13T14:46:50Z

Title Knives
Characters Lester/Blade
Fandom Primeval
Rating PG
Prompt Knife ( 50 Drabbles )
Summary There are things you have to get used to when you live with Blade.
Author's Note Thanks to Jack for looking it over and to fred for the use of Blade.

In the six months they'd been seeing one another, James had got used to finding knives lying around. Before he met Blade they existed only in the cutlery drawer or amongst his caving kit, but now they turned up in the strangest of places.

There were several of them secreted around his lover's person, but he also found dangerous-looking combat knives lying innocuously on top of his copy of The Times when he came to read it or smaller ones sticking into the wooden surround of the fireplace or a door frame where they'd been thrown. It was strangely comforting.

Wolf Icons

2009-11-12T00:15:44Z

There are 117 total so I'm posting them over the next few days. This is batch 1/4. Also although I was looking for wolf images there are a few other things here - african wild dogs, arctic foxes, foxes, coyotes, etc.

The First Kiss, Lester/Blade, Primeval, 15

2009-11-11T21:26:56Z

Title The First Kiss
Characters Lester/Blade
Fandom Primeval
Rating 15
Prompt Shocked ( 25 Moods )
Series More Delicious Than Wine
Summary Does exactly what it says on the tin :D Blade and Lester's first kiss.
Author's Note For Fiona who had a bad day. Thanks to Fred for the use of Blade and for a super speedy beta.

Sir James Lester ran a hand through his hair and resolutely walked away from the window overlooking the atrium. He was 42 years old, in the middle of a divorce, and now he was mooning over a man sixteen years his junior. All he needed was a bright red, penis substitute Ferrari and he'd be fully equipped for a midlife crisis.

He opened his email and started reading Cutter's last incident report. If that didn't kill his inappropriate feelings, or at least bore them to sleep, then nothing would.

By the time he'd finished, it was starting to get dark and his coffee had gone cold. With a sigh, he stood up and stretched, then picked the mug up. He'd walk downstairs to the recreation room and pour himself a new cup. With any luck the walk would wake him up enough so he could finish reading and approving the reports that were currently filling his inbox. No doubt he'd have another stack tomorrow, but at least he could leave for the evening with a clear conscience if he managed to empty it of the current crop.

The lights had mostly been dimmed and it looked like almost everyone had gone home for the evening. There were lights coming from Captain Ryan's office and from Cutter's. He knew Cutter and Stephen were using the ARC's satellite link to take part in an online conference that had nothing to do with the anomalies. Ryan was probably catching up on his own paperwork; the army seemed to generate nearly as much of that as the Civil Service did.

He poured the coffee and then bent down to rummage in the fridge for some milk. At least he could guarantee no one else would have used the skimmed milk, which was why he drank it. If you wanted full cream you were liable to find someone had drunk the last of it and put the empty bottle back in the fridge.

"So, are you going to keep watching me or are you actually going to do something about it?"

With his head in the fridge, he hadn't heard Blade approach and he jumped, narrowly missing banging his head on the counter. He put the milk on the side and shut the fridge, turning around and trying to look as calm as possible.

"I don't think you were given all that expensive training simply in order to try to give me a heart attack."

Blade grinned. "It's an added bonus, but you haven't answered my question. Are you going to do anything about your interest or just keep ogling me when you think I'm not looking?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lester denied, only years of experience letting him stay calm on the outside despite his feelings.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Blade stalked across the gap between them and grabbed Lester by the lapels of his suit and pulled him into a hungry kiss. He pushed closer until Lester was bent back slightly over the counter with Blade's thigh pressed between his legs. Forcing his tongue into Lester's mouth, he brushed it against the other man's, coaxing him into returning the kiss.

When Lester finally started to respond, Blade pulled back a fraction, nipping at Lester's lower lip and then kissing him again. When he finally broke the kiss in order to breathe, he only pulled away the smallest distance necessary, his breath mingling with Lester's as they refilled their lungs with much-needed oxygen.

Lester groaned as Blade started trailing kisses along his jawline, his five o'clock shadow biting against Lester's. When Blade reached his ear and traced it with the tip of his tongue before nipping at the lobe, he gasped and thrust his hips forward automatically, rubbing his cloth-covered erection against Blade's.

Blade chuckled throatily, blowing puffs of air into Lester's ear and making him shiver. "I bet I could make you come just from a kiss if I tried. Want to take me home and let me prove it?"

Lester moaned and tugged Blade's head away from him so he could look the other man in the eye. The lust he saw there made his hips jerk again. "Are you sure?"

Blade just smiled slowly. "I wouldn't have kissed you if I wasn't sure. You're a very attractive man, James Lester, and I want to find out what's under those sexy suits you wear." He grinned mischievously. "And after I've made you come with a kiss I'm going to let you recover and then I'm going to blow your ... mind." He pushed himself away from the counter, and from Lester, and headed for the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he winked. "Well, are you coming or not?"

25 moods

2009-11-11T16:37:54Z

Challenge 25 Moods
Claim James Lester/Niall 'Blade' Richards

For Fiona.

Amused	Angry	Aroused	Bored	Calm
Cheerful	Confused	Disappointed	Ecstatic	Embarrassed
Excited	Guilty	Hopeful	Intimidated	Loved
Mischievous	Nostalgic	Playful	Relaxed	Romantic
Satisfied	Shocked	Sympathetic	Thankful	Worried

Missing link in the Evolution of Sauropods

2009-11-11T16:10:15Z

BBC have an article on a missing link dinosaur.

Researchers have discovered a fossil skeleton that appears to link the earliest dinosaurs with the large plant-eating sauropods.

This could help to bridge an evolutionary gap between the two-legged common ancestors of dinosaurs and the four-legged giants, such as diplodocus.

The remarkably complete skeleton shows that the creature was bipedal but occasionally walked on all four legs.

The team reports its discovery in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.

"What we have is a big, short-footed, barrel-chested, long-necked, small-headed dinosaur," explained Adam Yates, the scientist from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg who led the research.

"The earliest ancestral dinosaur - the great grand-daddy of all dinosaurs - walked on two legs. This [one] is intermediate between those bipedal forms and the true gigantic sauropods."
Aardonyx celestae skull
The dinosaur had a wide gape "to stuff more food in"

The skeleton was discovered at a site in the Senekal district of South Africa.

Dr Yates explained that features of its feet and jaw, as well as its size, gave away its significance.

The dinosaur, Aardonyx celestae was a heavy, slow-moving animal.

"It had a lot of features we see on sauropods," explained Dr Yates. "Short, broad feet and a big, broad gut, so it was clearly a plant-eater that was bulk-feeding.

"And the anatomy of the jaw shows it had a wide gape - to stuff more food in."

It also had, he said, "sauropod-like front feet".

"Its toe bones were very robust and solid, so its weight was being born on the inside of the foot. It was still bipedal, but it may have been going down on to all fours to browse."

The dinosaur dates from the early Jurassic period - about 200 million years ago.

"Although structurally it's intermediate, it lived too late to be an actual ancestor, because true sauropods already existed [then].

"So, at the time, it was a living fossil - the transition must have happened much earlier."

Dr Yates stressed that the site where the fossil was discovered provided an abundance of valuable knowledge about dinosaur evolution.

"If you want to study how the dinosaurs became giants," he said. "You have to come to South Africa."

Dr Paul Barrett - a palaeontologist from the Natural History Museum in London said that the discovery of Aardonyx helped "fill a marked gap in our knowledge of sauropod evolution".

"[It shows] how a primarily two-legged animal could start to acquire the specific features necessary for a life spent on all fours.

"Evolution of this quadrapedal gait was key in allowing the late sauropods to adopt their enormous body sizes."

Warm and Safe, Primeval, PG, Ryan/Lyle/Lester

2009-11-11T00:57:20Z

Title Warm and Safe
Characters Ryan/Lyle/Lester
Fandom Primeval
Rating PG
Series Taking Care
Summary Now they're home, Ryan needs to take care of his men.
Author's Note Thanks to Gil for the beta and thanks to fred for the use of Ditzy and Lyle.

When they got back to the hotel, Ditzy took Lester up to his room so that he could patch him up and find the antibiotics he wanted him to take. Ryan sent Lyle off with them just to get him out of reception. He didn't think a large, mud-covered soldier was the sort of thing the management would appreciate seeing in the elegant foyer.

While they were under Ditzy's not so tender care he used his charm, and the official credit card Lester had issued him, to upgrade his room to a suite and have his things moved, along with Lester's and Lyle's. Then he organised a meal to be delivered once they were all settled in and got directions to a local chemist to pick up some essential supplies.

By the time he was done with his errands, Lester and Lyle were already being escorted to their new accommodations by a watchful Ditzy. He caught up with them just outside the door and brandished the key card, opening the door with a flourish.

"Right, you two, out of those filthy clothes and into a nice, hot bath I think. Ditz', do you have something we can wrap around James' dressing to keep it from getting wet, because I don't think either of them are up to a shower right now and they can't go to bed looking like that."

Ditzy nodded. "It won't be foolproof, but the gash isn't as deep as I thought so getting the bandages a little damp won't kill him and you're capable of re-dressing it afterwards if you have to. If you let him get into the shower I'll be back here in an hour treating him for concussion."

Lester sighed. "Do either of us get any say in this at all?"

"Are you saying you don't want to get clean?" Ryan asked, his hands on his hips as he watched the other man with more than a hint of exasperation.

"No, but ..."

"Well then. Get inside, get undressed, and I'll run you both a bath." He rolled his eyes. "Give me the stuff, Ditz,' and then go and find yourself some dinner. I can handle these two."

Ditzy emptied his bag out all over the bed and rummaged through the resultant mess. “Right, here's some plastic to put over it,” he said, handing over something that looked suspiciously like cling film. At Ryan's raised eyebrow he shrugged. “It does the job and it's cheaper than buying anything meant for the purpose. You know what Lester's like about keeping within budget. If he complains tell him I can get something more expensive if he'd like...” He handed over a roll of waterproof tape and some scissors as well.

“Thanks, mate. We'll see you in the morning.”

He let Ditzy out and locked the door behind him. Dinner would be there in about forty-five minutes, but until then he didn't want to be disturbed. Heading into the bathroom, he found Lester already naked, since he'd had to be stripped of the wetsuit before Ditzy could patch him up. Lyle was still getting undressed but he'd finally lost the wetsuit and the boots.

Turning the water on, Ryan filled the large, sunken bath and poured some bubble bath from his bag of supplies into the water. “Right, now let's get your leg seen to. Do you want to give me a hand, Jon?”

Lyle nodded. “Sure. What do you want me to do?”

Ryan handed him the cling film. “Wrap that around his leg while I cut some tape. Then I can slap that on and it should all be sealed up and safe from the water.”

The two of them worked quickly and efficiently and Lester for once just sat still and let them do all the work.

Ryan leant over and brushed a kiss over Lyle's lips and then pulled Lester to his feet, kissing him slowly before stepping back. "Let me help you into the bath and then I'm going to look after both of you. You deserve a little pampering after today."

Lester chuckled. "If I have to get attacked by some prehistoric creature while underground and underwater in the depths of a mostly unexplored cave system in order to get waited on, I think I'll pass in future, thank you."

"Idiot," Ryan grumbled. "Personally, I'd prefer it if in future you didn't deal with anything scarier than politicians."

Lester smiled and kissed him again, knowing that was Ryan's way of saying he was scared, even if he would never say the actual words. "Well, help me into the bath then and you can pamper me all you like." He wrinkled his nose. "You're going to have to empty the water and re-run the bath after we've both washed because I've been swimming in mud all day and I don't need to be bathing in it as well."

Ryan took his hand and let Lester lean on it as he slowly walked down the steps into the bath. Sinking onto one of the padded ledges, Lester moaned softly.

"Oh this is heaven. I can feel my aches drifting away." Lester grinned wickedly. "It could do with a Jon shaped bath toy though."

Ryan laughed out loud. "Fortunately, I've got you one of those as well." He gestured to the bath. "Get in, Jon. I'll get you both a beer while you clean up and then you can soak until dinner arrives."

At that Lyle moaned. "Beer and food. You truly are a prince among men, Tom."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "The way to your heart really is through your stomach. Get in and clean up and don't forget to wash behind your ears. I intend to fuck both of you later and I'm not interested in getting anywhere near you until you lose at least three layers of mud."

Taking Care Series Index

2009-11-11T00:45:29Z

A series of short ficlets.

Waiting and Worrying - Primeval, Ryan/Lester/Lyle, U
Warm and Safe - Primeval, Ryan/Lester/Lyle, PG
Loved and Desired - Primeval, Ryan/Lester/Lyle, PG

Icon Post

2009-11-10T00:38:57Z

Second batch of icons. Because I'm bored and waiting for Mythbusters to come on, I thought I'd post them now :D

Icon Post

2009-11-09T18:09:15Z

I made a lot more icons. This is batch one. Batch 2 will come tomorrow.

Waiting and Worrying, Primeval, G

2009-11-08T19:14:54Z

Title Waiting and Worrying
Characters Lester/Lyle/Ryan
Fandom Primeval
Rating G
Series Taking Care
Summary Lester and Lyle are tracking a prehistoric creature underground and underwater. Ryan has to wait.
Author's Note For Lucas who wanted 'diving in the dark' and Lester/Lyle and Carrie who is bored and wants something to read. With thanks to Fred and Gil for betaing. Lyle, Blade, Ditzy,a nd Finn belong to the wonderful fredbassett.

Ryan paced outside the entrance to the cave system. It was starting to get dark, not that that would matter to the people inside, but it meant that they were overdue. He checked his watch again; if they didn't surface soon they'd be running out of air. Five more minutes and he was going to have to send the rescue team in, although God knows if they'd be able to do anything. If whatever they'd been chasing had proved too much for Lyle and Lester he didn't have much hope that the civilian back up crew would be any cop.

A noise from inside had him heading into the cave, Ditzy and Blade at his shoulder. The lights coming towards them were wavering in a rather worrying fashion and when his eyes adjusted to the gloom and he could finally make out more than just shadowy shapes he saw that Lester was leaning heavily on Lyle and they both looked the worse for wear.

Blade took the kit Lyle was carrying and Ryan grabbed Lester's arm, taking his weight from Lyle and helping him into the wide entrance and then lowering him to the ground so that Ditzy could check him out.

“We're fine, Tom,” Lester said wearily. “At least we're both mostly in one piece which is more than can be said for the thing we were chasing. Cutter's going to have one of his annoying fits, but we had to kill it. It took almost all the ammunition we had and Jon still had to bury his knife in its eye to stop it. Determined little bugger.”

“Jon or the creature?” Ditzy asked, probing the wound on Lester's thigh and ignoring the other man's wince as he dug his fingers into the edge of it.

Jon chuckled, but it sounded forced. “Both of us, I think, but I came out on top. Look, can we get back to the hotel before we do a debrief and then you can clean James' leg up once he's out of that wetsuit and under some decent lighting. I think it'll need stitches but I'm more worried about infection. God knows what kind of prehistoric germs the beastie was carrying on its claws?”

“Oh I feel so much better now you've put that thought into my head,” Lester grumbled, taking Ryan's hand and pulling himself to his feet. “He's right though, it's not bleeding much any more so there has to be a better place for you to practice your witch-doctory than in a muddy cave. Besides I want a drink.”

“Do we need to post a guard on the entrance?” Ryan asked, looking like he had no intention of letting go of Lester any time soon.

“The anomaly closed and I didn't see any sign of the bugger having company. It's probably fine, unless Finn's done anything to piss you off recently in which case sure, post a guard,” Lyle grinned, some of the colour coming back to his face – the parts that weren't covered in mud.

“Not that anyone seems to want my opinion,” Ditzy grumbled. “But I don't think there's anything else I can do here. It needs cleaning and stitching and then you're going to need a broad spectrum antibiotic to reduce the chance of an infection and that's better left until we're not using torches for lighting so get him in the car and we'll head back. And then you can keep an eye on both these lunatics and make sure they don't have any other injuries they're not telling us about.” He pointed at Ryan as he said the last.

Ryan just smiled and nodded. It's not like he'd been planning on letting them out of his sight any time soon anyway.

Fiction Meme

2009-11-07T17:28:32Z

Name a character and I'll tell you three (or more) facts about them from my own personal pseudo-canon. (You can pick specific AUs for a character)

Meme

2009-11-06T17:21:13Z

Stolen from Gil.

Post a paragraph from every WIP you can find. No explanations allowed, just the excerpt.

Finally he reached the ticket barrier. He dropped his ticket, a round plastic casino-style chip with his travel details encoded into a computer chip inside it, into the machine and passed through the gate and out of the station into the open air. Breathing deeply he wrinkled his nose, all cities smelled of something; Paris smelled of conspicuous wealth and hidden poverty. The scents of exhaust fumes form hovercars blending with the slight miasma of decay, ignored by most travellers in the same way that they turned a blind eye to the street children and beggars who swarmed the back streets of the Imperial Capital. He’d only been here ten minutes and already Mischa hated Paris.

“Hey,” Nick said softly. He walked slowly around the desk and crouched down, not getting too close to the other man in case he scared him again. “I thought you might like some clothing.” he held the things he'd found out to Stephen, letting him decide whether he was going to take them or not.

Just as he’d finished locking the building down, the door of the control room burst open, bouncing off the wall with a loud crash. Ryan spun around, reaching automatically for his gun, even though he wasn't wearing one. "Christ, Ditzy, are you so desperate for business you need to try and give me a bloody heart attack?"

The television was playing in the room right at the end of the corridor. The door was open but the shape of the room meant he couldn't see anything except for a floor to ceiling bookcase right in front of him. Glancing at it quickly he saw that as well as books it had stacks of journals on it – zoology and palaeontology journals. His hand was halfway towards the latest issue of the Journal of Evolutionary Biology before he stopped himself. There was a fascinating article on pareiasaurs from Permian Era South Africa in it that he'd been meaning to read, but finding out where he was and what was happening was infinitely more important. Still, he cast a longing look at the journals before turning his back on the bookcase and walking further into the room.

Stephen just smiled and kissed his cheek. “I'm used to you by now. I know when you're trying to be an arrogant idiot and when you're just being you.” He grinned and jogged down the rest of the stairs. “Well, are you coming? If we don't get there soon Jamie will eat it all and we'll have to go out for fish and chips.”

Nick stood up again. “What did you say Connor?” he asked. Connor was still facing away from him and he couldn't see his face. Rounding his desk, he grabbed Connor's arm and spun him around in frustration. “Look at me when you're talking to me.”

Connor blinked, shocked by the way Nick had grabbed him and then he finally put the odd behaviour together with the signing he'd done earlier. “You're deaf!”

Stephen chuckles. Nick's enthusiasm is very gratifying. It's not just that Nick obviously wants him as much as he wants Nick, but he's so eager. His cock gets even harder at the thought. Kicking his shoes off he wriggles out of his trousers and underwear and slides under the duvet, shivering in the cool air. “Come on. I'm freezing.”

Blade had to admit his first reaction to learning that Lyle had been turned was a kind of selfish delight. Lyle wouldn't be able to stay in his current unit and the best place to transfer him to would be theirs. He already knew most of the members and would be comfortable around them and for a new vampire that was important. It would be nice not to be the only vampire in the unit any more and Lyle was a good bloke. Blade would happily have him at his back when they were in combat.

Ryan glared at him. “It's not like this is my idea of fun either.” Although the way Nick's t-shirt had become see through and was clinging to his body wasn't exactly a bad thing. Still, he'd rather not be seeing it while tramping through a carboniferous era forest, which was no doubt full of huge millipedes, spiders, and other giant insects, even if they hadn't seen any yet. And the weather, which had changed after they got through leaving them no chance to go back for waterproof clothing, was atrocious. It was like trying to walk through a dark forest while someone turned a hot shower on you.

“Oh great, now it's not just genetic throwbacks and fly-boys with stupid hair that can use the ancient technology, even though they can't hope to grasp its complexities, but overgrown lizards. I'm beginning to think the ancients weren't as advanced as we thought. They're like galactic frat boys with a really strange sense of humour.”

When you think about it my life is pretty much a living example of chaos theory in practice. I mean who could possibly have guessed that one tiny, insignificant decision (not telling Don that the conference I was going to be presenting a paper at was for law enforcement personnel not math professors) could end up with me tangled around four gorgeous naked guys in one very big bed? I know, I know, sounds incredible doesn't it? But you see if I'd told Don, he'd have managed to tag along somehow and I wouldn't have spent the evening indulging in some mild flirtation with a couple of CSIs and without the flirtation (and the alcohol) I'd never have shown them a picture of my boyfriend. If they hadn't seen a photo of Don, then when we all ended up working the same crime scene, they wouldn't have realised that the lover I had spoken of was my older brother Don and, well, then none of this would have happened.

Chris pushed the batwing doors of the saloon wide and stood there for a moment, framed in the doorway, holding them open as his eyes became accustomed to the darkness of the saloon. There, in the far corner, were Eros and Anteros, heads bent over the table as they talked to someone he couldn't see. Then they sat up and leaned back, giving him a clear line of sight to ...Vin. He silently groaned and tried to look like he wasn't panicking as all three turned to look at him and grinned madly before bursting into gales of laughter.

It was the sound that woke Gil. He was a light sleeper anyway and had been expecting to be woken by either Jim having a nightmare or the phone ringing, but it wasn't either of those that had him sitting up. At first he couldn't place it, a roaring rushing sound, which seemed to be getting closer. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Getting up he padded over to the window and pulled the curtain back to look out onto a scene which he would later describe as hell on earth. He grabbed Jim's wrist and dragged him towards the edge of the bed, not giving the stunned man time to wake up.

Christopher couldn't help smiling at the young artist. He was barely legal, younger than all four of his own children, but things like that seemed unimportant in light of what had happened over the last couple of weeks. If he'd met AJ in the months between his wife's death and the alien attack, he would have smiled, enjoyed the momentary feeling of attraction, and then walked away, dismissing AJ as too young, the complications as too difficult, and the possibilities not important enough to even flirt with him, but now those thing didn't seem to matter. He was attracted to him and, after talking with him as they walked to the shipyard, they seemed to have a lot in common.

"You will see," the lord insisted. "Now strike." He closed his eyes again and Joe pressed the blade against his chest, driving it downwards suddenly to pierce the man's heart. At first nothing happened, and Joe was about to stand and walk away when a red light surrounded the lord's body. He backed away a little, scared but fascinated at the same time. The glow intensified and then the body burst into flames. He gasped and watched in fear as the body burned away to ash. The ashes glowed with such intensity that he had to look away. When he looked back, the body was gone and in its place was a large, orange coloured egg.

“Nancy Drew is for girls,” he pointed out. “And besides she never broke into a cemetery in the middle of the night.” Both girls looked at him and he added, “Not that I'd know, never having read the books.” He pointedly turned away when they both just smirked at him. “Besides this is more Scooby Doo territory here. Jane's going to be lurking behind a bush ready to jump out and start cursing 'those pesky kids' any minute.”

“Thank you,” Lucas said with a truly open smile that made something inside of Joseph melt. “I have so many plans. This will make you a household name and be the making of me if everything goes well. We could be a superb team, Mr. Reaves. I am certain of it. Trust me, I'm going to make you famous.”

She spun the bottle and laughed when it landed on Deb. "I bet the boys are glad they didn't adopt that opposite sex only rule now!" Deb chuckled and they both knelt up, kissing one another softly. All the guys leant forward and watched, moving back guiltily when the girls broke apart.

The crowd suddenly gasped and Joe moved to a spot where he could see the stage. Two huge guards were flanking a young, skinny slave, the kid looked like he couldn’t fight off a five year old let alone those two gorillas so Joe was immediately curious as to what made this slave deserve such precautions. The slave lifted a tear-stained face to stare out into the audience, before being cuffed around the head and forced to look back at the ground. Joe’s breath caught in his throat. The slave had beautiful brown eyes, which seemed to be begging for help. He felt himself harden until his cock was pressed painfully against the laces on his pants. He stepped forward and called out a bid.

"Hi. Can I help you?" Joe froze and then turned around slowly, horrified to see his trick from the other night standing there. He saw the moment the other man recognised him and knew he'd just lost the job before he even had an interview.

He could almost smell the cigarette smoke and hear the laughter of the patrons. His fingers itched to feel the piano keys under them again as he entertained them. As well as his salary he used to make a lot in tips for his playing. With his day job as well it had meant that he could live a comfortable life with an apartment in a smart block only a few streets away. Now he rented a place in a converted house, with just one tiny bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and a living/dining room. The wallpaper was peeling, it smelled of damp, and if more than two people tried to take a shower or wash their clothes at one time the hot water ran out. His old home had been destroyed by a bomb and there was nothing but craters and rubble for a couple of blocks in any direction from it. He remembered when he wouldn't have thought twice about buying a suit with the amount he now spent on his rent.

But the upshot of it was that Brian was dead and decaying in his grave or he would have been if they hadn't cremated him and scattered his ashes in the end zone of the Giants Stadium. Not that the management of the Giants knew that ... they'd had to break into the ground at night to scatter the ashes and then run like hell before the cops got there, but it was what Brian had wanted. Come to think of it the chaos of the resultant escape from the law had probably also been what he wanted.

Joe got out of the car and stretched. He was never going to get used to someone else driving his car, but while he'd made rapid progress over the last nine months or so he didn't think the highway patrol would approve of a blind man driving. Walking around the car he popped the trunk open and started unloading their bags.

Lucas opened the box carefully. “I like anything you give me, Joe, because of the thought you always put into it. Oh look, Jia, he got me packing peanuts for our anniversary.” He started rummaging through the box, trying to find out what they were protecting. “I think he's over done it a little bit on the packaging,” he commented. “Must have been imagining how much you'd shout if it got damaged.”

Warren just looked at him. Even his mother wasn't willing to help him, but Joe was? It didn't make any sense. He looked down at the badge hanging around his neck and smiled. He was definitely going to have to go back and thank him and maybe see if he really meant it about the job too.

Hmmm does anyone think I need to finish some of these soon lol.

The Wives and Girlfriends Club Master Post

2009-11-06T16:02:05Z

This is the series I am writing for Mission Insane. It's mostly from Lester's POV and covers a year in his life during which Lyle is deployed to Afghanistan.

Those Leaving and Those Left Behind - Lester/Lyle, Karen Griffiths, PG.

Those Leaving and Those Left Behind, Primeval, Lester/Lyle, PG

2009-11-06T15:57:49Z

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."

Joe's Journal

The Fred and Ginger Kiss, Primeval, Lester/Blade, PG

The Thank God You're Not Dead Kiss, Primeval, Lester/Blade, 12

*is happy*

Blue Beam

Solstice/Yule icons

Loved and Desired, Primeval, Lyle/Lester/Ryan, 18

Seasonal icons

Last batch of Wolves

Yet more wolf icons

Wolf icons

Uninvited Guest, Lester/Blade, Primeval, PG

Knives, Primeval, Lester/Blade, PG

Wolf Icons

The First Kiss, Lester/Blade, Primeval, 15

More Delightful than Wine Reading Order

25 moods

Missing link in the Evolution of Sauropods

Warm and Safe, Primeval, PG, Ryan/Lyle/Lester

Taking Care Series Index

Icon Post

Icon Post

Waiting and Worrying, Primeval, G

Fiction Meme

Meme

The Wives and Girlfriends Club Master Post

Those Leaving and Those Left Behind, Primeval, Lester/Lyle, PG

is happy