Pain. Every part of his body hurt. Parts that he didn't know could hurt, hurt.

He knew he was lucky to be alive. The fall from the tree alone could easily have been enough to kill him. If the stun grenade hadn't knocked him out so completely, knocked all the tension from his body, it probably would have. But hitting the ground like a limp rag doll had saved him.

Saved him from death, but not from injury. You don't fall twenty feet and land unscathed.

Then there was the raptors. The one that recovered from the stun grenade far faster then he had. He had finally woken up to see his Abby trying to get it to chase her, trying to distract it from a far easier meal that had been unconscious on the ground. If she hadn't been there...

For the moment they were safe, high in the trees again.

And he knew. He was lucky to be alive. Even if being alive meant being in pain.

"Ow!" His body protested the slightest movement.

Abby looked over at him, concerned. "What hurts?"

He forced a half-laugh that was more of a gasp. "Pretty much everything." He breathed hard, and tried not to sound pathetic.

He was surprised when Abby looked at him and said, "Close your eyes."

"Eh?"

Abby looked at him, a little more pointedly. "Close your eyes." He looked at her, a bit uncertain, but did as he was told.

"Imagine a happy place," Abby's voice soothed. "You're on a beautiful beach..."

Connor finally realized what she was doing. It was one of her relaxation techniques. He smiled slightly, but kept his eyes closed.

"... and the sun is shining," her voice continued.

Connor tried to visualize it, but he was still too aware of the uncomfortable branches, and the pain that plagued his body. Play along, he thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Are you there too?"

"Yeah," Abby responded, then after a moment, whispered, "If you like."

Connor found himself smirking at the next thought that crossed his mind. "Are you wearing a bikini?"

He could almost feel Abby giving him a look. "Yes." Her voice had lost its soothing edge, but she sounded amused, not annoyed, then she once again whispered, "If you like."

He was almost there. He could almost see Abby in a bikini, but his mind wouldn't conjure up the whole image, as much as he tried.

He could feel Abby watching him, so he smiled slightly, eyes still closed. "The water's really warm," he told her. "It's lovely."

Imagine a happy place, he told himself, as another shot of pain went through his body. And this time, his mind cooperated. Only it wasn't a beach in the sunshine. He and Abby were back at the flat, curled up on the couch watching a movie and eating takeout. The diictodons were scampering around, chasing Rex as he fluttered from perch to perch.

And he suddenly realized, sharply, just where his happy place truly was. The place he had been missing so badly since Abby's brother had come and he had to move out.

A lump rose in Connor's throat rather suddenly, and he opened his eyes and looked over at Abby. She was still curled against her backpack, her eyes almost closed.

"Abby," he said, a little tentatively.

"Hmm?" Abby's relaxed reply floated back to him.

He swallowed. "Can I move back into the flat, please?"

Abby's eyes flew wide open, and got unexpectedly bright, even as a smile crossed her face, followed by a tiny exhale of breath that was almost a laugh. "Imagine a happy place," she had said, and Connor had imagined being home... with her.

He was still watching her, waiting anxiously for her answer.

"Yeah," she told him, a smile flitting across her face once again, a warm feeling stirring in her stomach as she saw Connor's face light up with a brilliant smile.

And for that one moment, Connor forgot all about the pain.

AN: I loved that last scene between Abby and Connor, because, here is Abby trying to paint the picture of a happy place for Connor (but you can sort of see that he isn't really into it), but all she would have had to do was tell him to picture himself at home. :)

Hope you enjoyed. Please review!