Disclaimer: Not mine, yadda yadda yadda... ;)
A/N: This is for tay_21 to read in her sick bed, and for ievenstar_estel who, like me, would rather forget series 4 Conby happened after episode 1. This is a short AU fic. Comments feed the muse that is quite frankly on the verge of deserting me for good.
On reflection, Abby decided that losing their jobs at the ARC had been the best thing that had ever happened to them...
...That hadn't always been the case of course. She'd spent the best part of the first four months running after Connor and dragging him home. He'd built his own ADD and set it up in the spare room of their new flat, so every time there was an anomaly he was there – and often several minutes before the ARC team. Matt would call Abby and ask her to come and get him; she was the only one he actually listened to. She'd apologise profusely and promise it wouldn't happen again – but it always did. Short of chaining him to the chair, there was little she could do to stop him when the alert sounded. Connor had a single mind – he wanted to carry on with Cutter's work, it was what had kept him going in the Cretaceous. He was angry that he couldn't do it; he felt like he was letting Cutter down, and in turn that he was letting Abby and all their friends down.
Abby understood exactly how he felt; she had been angry too. After a whole year trapped in the past, the fact that they had absolutely nothing to come back to was like having a knife in the heart being twisted over and over again. "Amateurs?" Abby had raged. Even a soldier with twenty years military experience would not be as experienced as her and Connor when it came to dealing with the very unique situations the anomalies put them in. But unlike Connor, Abby had accepted her fate. The adventure was over, and it was time to walk away and enjoy a normal life. Unlike Cutter, Stephen, Sarah and possibly Danny, they'd been given a second chance and Abby intended to make the most of it.
When their back pay arrived, the first thing they did was put down a deposit on a new flat. Abby found she actually enjoyed starting completely from scratch and she lost herself in colour charts, fabric swatches and furniture catalogues; planning every room in minute detail. Connor generally just nodded and agreed with any decision she made, "As long as I don't have to sleep on a forest floor again, I don't care what colour the bedroom is!" He would then turn back to his computer; if he wasn't watching the ADD scan, he'd be browsing through the various creature sightings forums on the internet.
It took a night in a police cell to persuade Connor to stop anomaly chasing. Lester had been threatening to have him arrested for weeks but no-one thought he'd actually do it. When Abby collected him the following morning, it was a very different Connor that greeted her. The fire that been driving him had gone out, his shoulders were down and he couldn't look her in the eyes. Abby could see he'd finally accepted that he was no longer part of the anomaly project, but that acceptance had also broken him.
He slipped into depression; shutting himself away for long hours at a time, or not even bothering to get out of bed and Abby grew increasingly concerned about him. She longed to have her Connor back; the Connor whose optimism had got her through some very dark times. She'd never seen him this down, not even when things had got really hard. Somehow, she had to drag him out of this hole before he got so deep he wouldn't be able to climb out.
"I've been thinking." Abby began. Connor acknowledged her, trying to seem interested. "I'd like to go back to University."
"Really?" Connor said. "What brought that on?"
"We can't sit around this flat doing nothing for the rest of our lives." she said. "The money won't last forever; one of us has to start being practical."
Connor sighed and stared at his feet. "S'pose you're right." he muttered. "If you want to go back to your studies, that's great. I guess I should get a job or something."
Abby felt her heart leap; it was a start. Once he had a new focus, he'd find himself again. She squeezed his hand. "Come on, I need you to help me look up the courses that the local University are offering, and then we can see what's out there for a super geek like you!" The smile he gave her warmed her and gave her new hope.
A month later, Connor was preparing for his first day as the new research assistant at the local museum. He was going to be based in the natural history section; setting up new exhibits, developing the education programme and liaising with the University to keep up with the latest discoveries. Abby gazed at him proudly as she handed him his packed lunch and leaned in to kiss him. "Look at us, Abby!" he grinned. "We're all grown up now. Before we know it, there'll be kids running around our legs and …" he blushed, stopping himself from saying too much.
"Let's not run before we can walk eh?" Abby laughed. As she watched him leave, there was a pleasant tingle running through her body. If Connor had said something like that a few months ago, she'd have been frozen to the spot in terror, but now... It was the first time either of them had mentioned a long term future for them, and it was neither scary or beyond comprehension. She had a broad smile on her face as she switched on the computer to check the progress of her delivery of the books she had ordered for her Veterinary course. ...
...All that was a lifetime ago now, or so it seemed. Abby gazed adoringly at Connor, who was sat at a table surrounded by a dozen or so women of various ages. He'd come such a long way in the last three years from the angry, depressed man that had come through the anomaly with her. They'd been married for almost two years, and she was expecting their first baby any day now. They hadn't planned on starting a family so soon, and especially whilst Abby was still studying, but fate stepped in. Fortunately, she was able to take a break for a few months, then continue the final two years of her course. They'd decided that Connor would do a lot more work from home so he could take care of the baby – the success of his latest project meant he could choose when he went in to work, and the time at home could be spent on writing a sequel to his book.
Connor's book was the reason they were here today. Unknown to Abby, he'd begun writing it not long after he started his job at the museum. He 'd often joked during their time in the Cretaceous that he would write a cook book, except he hadn't actually been joking. His 'back story' was that he'd been stranded in the Amazon rainforest for a year and "Tasty roots, yummy bulbs" was about how he'd managed to survive; making a shelter, improvised tools and how to work out what was edible and what wasn't. He'd told Abby it was therapy and it helped him begin to make sense of some of the things that they'd been through.
He'd become a minor celebrity because of it, and today was his first book signing at the book store in the shopping precinct opposite the museum. His cheeks were stained with several different shades of lipstick where his new army of female admirers had kissed him, and Abby watched him lean back and flex his aching hand. He'd signed at least 50 books this afternoon and by rights he should be tired and grumpy by now; but that trademark dimple and grin was there for every single person that came – from the young boy who thought Connor was "cool!" to the 87 year old grandmother who gushed like a teenager and said she wished she was 60 years younger.
"The store will be closing in a few minutes, ladies. I'm going to have to ask you to get your autographs and leave." The store manager was saying. Gradually, and somewhat reluctantly, the last remaining ladies left and the manager went to lock the doors.
"Wow!" Connor said, hugging Abby when she came over to him. "I can't believe that just happened!"
Abby curled her arm around his neck. "It was great to watch! I'm so proud of you!"
"I would never have had the confidence to go to that publisher if it wasn't for your encouragement." he said, pulling her to sit on his lap and kissing the top of her head. He rested the palm of his hand on her stomach, and sighed happily. Suddenly, they could hear raised voices by the door.
"Go and find security, Connor!" Abby said, concerned that the store manager was having a problem with someone. Connor stood up and glanced around, his eyes searching for the security guy that had been watching the autograph queue.
"Just give them my name, I know they'll want to see me!" a loud voice said. Connor turned to look at Abby, a broad grin spreading across his face. They had both recognised it, and it was a voice they never thought they'd hear again.
"Danny Quinn!" Connor shouted, and practically ran towards where Danny was arguing with the manager. "Its OK, he's an old friend, let him in!"
Connor flung his arms around Danny and then the two men exchanged looks of mutual respect. "I never thought I'd see you pair again! When I saw the poster advertising your book, I had to come." Danny said. By now, Abby had waddled her way to them and more hugs were exchanged. "Look at you! You're positively blooming!"
They took Danny to a pub just down the street and they had a meal, catching up on everything that had happened since they'd parted company in the Cretaceous four years ago. Abby simply listened, happy to see their friend again and looking so well. She was saddened to hear that, although Danny did make it back home not long after they did, he disappeared again through another anomaly in pursuit of his brother. "It wasn't the happy reunion I'd dreamt of." Danny said, swallowing a lump in his throat. It seemed Danny had been forced to shoot Patrick during a tense stand-off, and it would haunt Danny forever.
Somehow, Danny had wormed his way back into the ARC – his firearms experience in the police force was considered on a par with military training. He claimed to be happy, but as he talked about anomalies and the ARC his eyes betrayed him. Abby could see the old Danny was long gone, he was broken and would probably never be the same again.
Abby curled a lock of Connor's hair around her finger as he carried on chatting to Danny, and she lost herself in a thought. What would have happened to them if they had been more forceful about keeping their jobs at the ARC? Connor had a renewed love of life these days, he was animated, enthusiastic and he was going to drive her crazy in the best possible way once the baby was here. If he'd stayed at the ARC and had devoted his attentions to the anomalies, would that spark she saw now be there? Would they still be together? Worse still, would they even still be alive? Abby shuddered. She couldn't stand the thought of not having Connor, or the near perfect life they now had. They'd had a lucky escape in her opinion. Yes, losing their jobs at the ARC had been the best thing that had ever happened to them...