Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.

A/N Part of the Claudia story verse, story picks up right after Trimming The Tree (AU)

5.1 AU Missing

"…the end of time…"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Duncan's call made Abby realize that Connor hadn't arrived at the ARC, she, Jack, Matt and Emily headed over, leaving Connor's mother with Patrick and Charlotte.

"I want to go too!" protested Patrick.

"We won't all fit in the car," explained Emily gently.

"Besides," soothed Matt "if he's just had a flat or something… and is walking home… we'll need you here to let us know he's back."

Connor's mother looked at Abby with worried eyes. Both women knew that if it had been something simple like a flat tire, Connor would have called on his cell phone. Abby quickly followed Matt, Emily and Jack out the door before Patrick could protest anymore.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

During the short ride to the ARC, Abby's eyes kept searching the streets for some sign of the mini. If there had been an accident, surely the police would have called already… but if Connor had merely broken down… and tried to fix the car himself… and cell phone reception was really awful… her mind raced as she tried to think where Connor might be.

"The mini is in the car park," announced Matt as he turned the vehicle around the corner to see the ARC and the car park across the street.

Although the ARCs budget woe's continued, and administrative functions had been cut repeatedly, the increasing frequency of anomalies had resulted in more field teams being hired. The members of four fully staffed anomaly teams didn't all use public transportation. Limited parking space at the ARC, frequently resulted in staff using the public parking lot across the street from the building.

"Becker's there," added Emily. "Duncan must have called him too."

Becker was standing beneath the street light, staring at the mini with a frown. Some of his armed security men were standing throughout the car park. As Matt slowed the vehicle to a near stop before turning into the car park, Abby unbuckled her seat belt, opened the door to the small sedan and jumped out.

"Abby," shouted Matt.

Abby ran towards Becker and the mini… dreading what she might see. Had Connor slipped on ice and hit his head? Becker grabbed her by the shoulders, not allowing her to pass him.

"No," ordered the tall captain. "You can't go any closer."

"But Connor," Abby protested trying to squirm past Becker "What's wrong? I've got to help him."

"Abby, he's not there," replied Becker as he held her firmly. "The police are on their way… I can't let you disturb the scene… can't let you interfere with evidence."

"What?" cried Abby.

Twisting sideways to look beyond Becker, Abby saw the mini… and the pavement between the mini and the next car over. The travel mug was toppled over sideways lying in a puddle of coffee. Connor's messenger bag and the key chain were lying haphazardly between the two vehicles. The messenger bag was open, and Abby could tell the laptop was missing. The dark haired scientist was nowhere to be seen.

"Abby," said Jack. He'd come up behind her and heard what Becker had said. Jack now tugged on her arm. "We should go inside and wait… let the police do their jobs."

"Good idea," agreed Becker. "Wait in the break room… I'll be there shortly."

Becker watched as the young man led his sister into the ARC. Matt and Emily approached.

"What happened Becker?" asked Matt.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In the ARC, Jess was working with Duncan on the anomaly detection device. Jess had arrived with Becker, but she'd gone directly inside to help Duncan with the ADD. The machine had tripped offline, and Duncan couldn't get it powered back up. That problem was why he'd called Connor to begin with.

"I don't understand," muttered Jess as she typed search commands on the keyboard. "It should be working."

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" asked Duncan.

Jess's eyes opened wide. She turned to look at the pudgy facilities coordinator.

"We had a dodgy night coordinator before you came to work here," replied Jess "he tampered with the ADD… suppressed the alarm once, but that's not exactly the same problem…"

"Do you know what he did?" asked Duncan.

Jess was already down beneath the desktop, scrambling, trying to pull the casing off the central processing unit. Duncan quickly moved to join her.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jack shepherded Abby into the ARC.

"Which way is the break room?" he asked.

"The break room," repeated Abby. She pointed.

"Good," said Jack as he pushed open the door. He spied the coffee pot on the counter. "Abby, why don't you sit down… I'll make you some coffee."

The petite blonde settled into a nearby chair. Abby narrowed her eyes as she watched her brother putter about the counter. He found the filter and coffee grounds, then added water and pressed the on button.

"Why are you being so nice?" asked Abby. "Why are you doing… all this… for me?"

Jack looked up at her words. Behind him, the coffee pot started making little bubbling sounds.

"Can't a bloke look after his sister?" Jack asked in a teasing tone.

Abby stared at her brother. After they had returned from the race track anomaly, Abby had gone with the team back to the ARC. When she finally returned to the flat that night, Jack was gone. Since she and Connor had returned from their journeys through the cretaceous and the dark ages, Abby had tried to call him, with no luck. Now, Jack hadn't been back an entire twenty-four hours yet and already her life was turned upside down again.

"Maybe some blokes," she agreed, "but not you."

"Abby," exclaimed Jack "that's harsh!"

Abby stared at Jack without blinking. For a moment, he held her gaze. Then the coffee pot hissed as the brewing completed. Jack turned to reach for a mug and began to pour coffee. He didn't say anything until he set the mug on the table in front of Abby. Then he sat down opposite her and began to talk.

"Back at the race track, when I asked what happened…," Jack began "I was really hoping you were going to tell me I imagined it all… or something."

Abby took a sip of the coffee.

"I went back to the flat, grabbed my stuff and ran," he admitted. "I was scared."

Abby nodded.

"I got as far as Manchester," Jack continued "before I started thinking… about what I'd seen… and where I'd been… and I began to wonder how may other people might have fallen through a hole like that."

Abby took another sip of her coffee.

"That's when I decided to go looking for Dad."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In a darkened, subterranean room, Connor blinked his eyes as consciousness returned. He tried to move.

"Owww," groaned Connor.

"Oh good," said a disembodied voice. "You're awake."

The voice sounded as if it came from a far distance. Connor turned his head towards the voice. His vision blurred, muscles spasmed with pain at the movement, and Connor passed out again.

-x-x-x-x-x-x