Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended

A/N: I thought the story of Danny and his brother's disappearance was not explored enough in fics ... so here's what I came up with. Hope you enjoy! Comments feed the muse and keep him happy...

Danny never thought he'd see the day when he would find something like the lunar cycle interesting. As night fell on yet another day stranded millions of years from home, he noted that the moon was almost full again. The first night he'd spent here had been a full moon, so he supposed this meant that he had now been here for one month – a lunar one if not an actual one.

Getting back home seemed impossible now since he'd realised that the anomaly that had brought him here was unlikely to recur as it had been created by Helen Cutter. His one glimmer of hope had been dashed when he searched her dead body and found she wasn't carrying the opening device. He had no way of getting back and his only comfort was the thought that perhaps Abby and Connor would have found Helen's lost device and used it to get themselves home. Some days, he clung on to the thought that they wouldn't abandon him and pictured Connor trying to work out how to open the right anomaly. It was a long shot though and the thought never lasted for long. On his worst nights, he even thought that Abby and Connor were dead. He had nightmares; seeing Abby trying to protect Connor's unconscious form as she was ripped to shreds by the group of Raptors that had sent them scurrying up the tree. Mostly though, he guessed that they were like him; surviving and fighting somewhere in time.

Not for the first time since he'd been here, he contemplated just ending it all. He had devised a whole string of ideas of how to end his life before a predator ended it for him, but when push came to shove he couldn't bring himself to do it. "You're a coward, Quinn!" he spat. Then he laughed at himself. He was anything but a coward; he'd been shot at and stabbed more times than he cared to think about during his time on the Police force, and he'd received a number of commendations from his superiors for acts of bravery that to him were simply part of the job. He always felt like a fraud though. He had only joined the force for one reason; an event that happened 14 years ago that destroyed his family.

Patrick and Danny got on fairly well; mostly because there was a number of years between them. Patrick had been an annoyance at times; especially when Danny brought his girlfriends home. He'd tried bribery to make Patrick disappear, which worked for a while, then he had to resort to just beating him to a pulp. The day Patrick permanently disappeared, Danny blamed himself for wishing too hard that his annoying brother would just leave him alone.

At the time, Danny had been working in the local sports store, but grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of action from the local police. He decided that the only way there would ever be justice for Patrick would be for him to become the law. He enrolled the following week and worked hard to earn his position as a detective constable rather than being a uniformed officer. As he tried to do something positive, his parents fell apart. They hated the media attention, and the inevitable finger pointing – there were those who believed that one of them had killed the boys and hid the bodies away. A year later, they couldn't cope any more and divorced. His mother died a few months later; it had all been too much for her, and his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after. Within the space of two years, Danny had lost everyone he had ever cared about.

The Police force became Danny's life and his family, but there was always something missing. He'd tried to fill the gap in his life by throwing himself 110% into everything – whether it was a new case, a poker game, training for a marathon or an attempt to woo a pretty blonde – but he was never able to rest, and knew he couldn't until there was some kind of justice for Patrick.

As time moved on, Danny began to question things. The case of his brother's murder had been closed and left unsolved, and that angered him. He started to look for any clue that would get the case reopened, and spent hours watching the house where the boys had last been seen. It was on one of his stake outs that he came across Jenny, Connor and Abby and everything changed. Maybe Patrick hadn't been murdered by a someone, but a something … or maybe he was still alive and just trapped on the wrong side of an anomaly – like Danny himself was now. It gave him new hope, a new purpose. His decision to leave the police force had been surprisingly easy; he just knew that this strange group of people could help him find answers.

As he began to settle in for the night, Danny took one final look around to make sure there were no predators on the horizon. All looked peaceful; pretty much as it did most nights, so he slid inside the small crevasse in the rock that had been his night shelter for the last 20 nights and closed his eyes.

He was woken some time later by a noise. He could have sworn he heard someone calling his name; but that was impossible right? He sat as still as he could; listening. There was absolute silence, not even a breeze that could be echoing around the gaps in the rock and sound like a voice. Deciding it was all in his mind, he closed his eyes again.

"Danny! Danny Quinn!" The voice was clearer this time; closer. He sat up and leaned outside, looking around.

"Who's there?" he called. It seemed crazy. He was the only human being in existence; at least in the modern sense.

"Up here!" The voice said.

Danny crawled out of his hole and stood up. Instinctively, he reached for his handgun, even though he had used up the last of his bullets scaring away a creature that was stalking him some time ago. It made him feel braver though, and he gripped tightly to it.

"Show yourself!" Danny called out. There was movement above him, and Danny strained to see in the strange light being cast by the moon. He could just about make out the figure of a man, dressed entirely in black. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. I'm here to help you. There's an anomaly about 20 minutes walk from here. If you want to get home, I suggest you follow me. We can only keep it open another hour at the most before the cloaking on it runs out and the detector picks it up." The man moved out of the shadow and Danny could see him more clearly. He was fairly young, late teens or early twenties at the most, but his face seemed to have the scars of someone many years older.

"Why should I trust you?" Danny said. The only time he'd heard of an anomaly having a cloaking mechanism on it was the one that had been in Christine Johnson's place.

"Because you have no other choice; unless you want to stay here for the rest of your life of course." The man turned and began to walk away.

Danny quickly weighed up his options. The man had to have come from somewhere. He didn't look like someone who had been trapped here – from what Danny could see he was clean shaven and had a very short hairstyle; almost like standard Army requirements. Maybe he was a soldier? He began to follow; several paces behind to be on the safe side. This man could be luring him into some kind of trap for all he knew.

As they reached the top of the hill, Danny glanced down into the valley below and saw a familiar glow – an anomaly. He almost cheered and called out to the mysterious man. "Will that take me home?"

"Not exactly. It'll take you to my time which is about 20 years in your future. Once we're there though, there's a couple of people who can help you get back to the right year. They can't wait to see you again!" The young man began to speed up, and Danny had to almost run to keep up. His head was spinning – he was finally leaving this hell and would be back amongst humans within minutes – and familiar ones too by the sounds of it!

Standing in the glow of the anomaly, Danny could finally see the young man properly. There was something familiar about him; like Danny knew him – but he said he was from 20 years in the future, and given he barely looked older than that he probably wasn't even born in Danny's own time. "You go first. They're waiting for you." The young man smiled, and Danny realised why he seemed familiar. That smile was unmistakeable, and he knew exactly who he would see on the other side. He stepped through; all worries about this being a trap gone.

-o-

"Danny!" A voice was saying before he'd even gone through completely. He found himself in a laboratory filled with computer equipment, electronics and people who were obviously Scientists. He was pounced on immediately; arms wrapping around him and almost crushing him. "I can't believe its you after all this time!"

"Abby, it's good to see you too... but can I breathe?" Danny said, untangling himself from his old friend's embrace. The two stared at each other, studying their faces. Danny grinned. It was Abby in front of him, older, hair fastened back in a pony tail and her face etched with lines, but there was still an obvious determination about her. "Time has been kind to you." he laughed.

"I wish that were true, Danny. You have no idea... but I'll explain as much as I can as we go along. It's weird – for you it's only been a month since you went after Helen, but for us its getting on for 21 years now." Abby said. She turned to the young man. "Well done, Lucas."

"Didn't I tell you I would find him, mum!" Lucas said. "You need to start realising I'm a part of this team and I'm more than capable of doing my bit."

"Chip off the old block, ain't he?" Danny said. "He's got your spirit, Abby." He's also the spitting image of his father, Danny mused, wondering where Connor was. He was pleased that Abby and Connor had finally sorted themselves out and got together.

There was a moment of sadness in Abby's eyes before she swallowed and took a deep breath. "We can catch up properly later, Danny. There's a lot to tell you but I need to think about how much you should know before going back to 2010. For now, there's someone else who wants to see you too."

Danny looked questioningly at Abby. He was guessing it would be Connor or Becker... maybe Sarah? Abby's eyes shifted to the side of the room and Danny followed them. The door opened, and a man walked in. Danny did a double take; it was like seeing his father again – but he knew it couldn't be his father; there was only one person this could be. "Patrick?"

"Hi Danny. Long time no see!"

There was a brief silence; a moment of disbelief. Patrick was the younger of the brothers, but because this was 20 years in the future and Danny was out of time and hadn't aged, he was now the younger one. They hugged for several minutes and they both allowed tears to fall – the years of searching and not knowing finally over.

"How did you... where? …" Danny stammered. He couldn't quite believe that the brother he believed to be dead was standing in front of him.

"Its a long story, Danny. Wouldn't know where to start! Let's get you some food first though yeah? And I expect you need a good shower and some clean clothes? We're about the same size, I'll find you something." Patrick said. "Come on." He beckoned for Danny to follow him. Danny glanced behind him and saw Abby whispering something to Lucas. When she realised Danny was looking, she forced a smile.

"I'll see you later, Danny." Abby said. "You should spend some time with your brother."

Danny nodded. He felt uneasy about this whole situation, but there was nothing else he could do at the moment – and a decent meal and clean clothes did sound good.

-o-

A couple of hours later, Danny was sat in Patrick's flat. It was large – too large for a single person, Danny thought - and there was a slightly feminine touch to the furnishings. Danny supposed Patrick lived with someone, perhaps he was married with a family of his own? Danny could be an Uncle! There was so much to take in and his head felt dizzy. He felt a little more relaxed now that he was clean and had had a shave; more like himself. He hadn't been able to manage more than a bowl of soup, but his stomach felt full for the first time in weeks. Danny had so many questions, beginning with where Patrick had been and how he got home.

"We thought you were dead." Danny said eventually. "We went through hell – they even accused mum and dad of murdering you!"

"I know, they filled me in on the aftermath of my disappearance." Patrick sighed. "Believe me Danny, I tried everything to get back. I spent years going through anomalies and hoping one would eventually get me home."

"Did the ARC team find you?"

"I found them – There's a whole bunch of people lost in the anomalies, some trying to find home, some trying to find loved ones, others just wanting answers. I kept hearing about the ARC, and how they were trying to understand how the anomalies could be controlled. When I eventually found myself home with no sign of you or mum and dad, I found the ARC. I've been a part of the team for the last 17 years; hoping we'd find a way of getting to you and sending you back to where you belong." Patrick leaned back on the sofa.

Danny yawned. He suddenly felt very tired. Patrick showed him to the spare bedroom and left him to settle in. Alone, Danny lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. It was a relief to be in the safety of four brick walls, but he felt strange. His brother was back from the dead, but considerably older and Danny barely knew him. And then there was what Abby said – she was trying to work out how much to tell him before he went back? Something was wrong. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, it hit him. Connor. No-one had actually mentioned him as such. The last time he'd seen Connor, he was unconscious and injured after falling from the tree in the Cretaceous – what if he hadn't made it? He shook his head, that wasn't it. It was obvious he was Lucas's father so unless Abby was already pregnant back in his own time; Connor must have survived. Tiredness finally overwhelmed him,and he fell into a deep sleep.