Characters are not mine, no copyright intended
This is a slightly AU ending to the Primeval New World finale, so contains a few minor spoilers if you haven't seen that.
Thanks to my awesome partner in crime iEvenstarEstel for letting me play with her plot bunny
As always, it takes a moment to let authors know you appreciate their work ;)
"Fuck this, Connor!" Kieron angrily stood up and grabbed his jacket, heading towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
"The airport, where else?"
"Kieron... you can't... we..." Connor buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.
"How can you just sit there when our friends, family... Abby... are just a ten hour flight away? They can't keep us here like this!"
Connor stood up and placed a hand on his new colleague's shoulder. "If only it was that simple, mate." He felt Kieron's body droop, giving up his fight. "Sit down. We need to talk." He waited until Kieron had perched himself on the edge of the sofa and then sat beside him, leaning forward to try and get eye contact.
"The thing is, we're not just a few thousand miles from home. This is June 2012. We're a whole year away from where we belong. Do you understand the implications of that? I know you've not been at the ARC for long and this travelling into the past thing is all a bit new to you, but..."
"I get that... but it's not like when you and Abby were stranded in the Cretaceous era. This is at least our own time. We could just get Evan to take us to the British Embassy and get them to contact Lester and he'll arrange for flights back to the UK."
Connor sighed. "If that was all we'd have to do, don't you think I'd be doing it? Back home, Abby will be going mental and I would give anything to be holding her and telling her it'll be OK. But right now in this time, James Lester doesn't even know who you are yet; you're still working for that security firm in East London, and I'm getting myself worked up worrying about what Matt and Becker are going to do to me on my Stag night."
Kieron shook his head and stood up again. "This is your fault. If you hadn't insisted on going back for the EMDs then we'd have made it back through in time." He pulled his jacket off, threw it onto the back of a chair and announced that he was going to bed. The bedroom door slammed shut and silence filled the apartment.
"Guess that's me sleeping on the sofa then," Connor sniffed. He leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. Kieron was right, it was his fault. They'd persuaded Angelica Finch to help them get home, but moments from stepping through their anomaly, Connor decided that he really couldn't leave the EMDs here. He'd interfered enough already, and even the slightest trace of him being here could have disastrous consequences. By the time they'd retrieved the weapons, the anomaly was weakening. It faded right before his eyes and he could almost hear Abby's cries as it closed; trapping him and Kieron in Vancouver, June 2012, with London, June 2013 sealed off on the other side forever.
He was trying to picture Jo and Martin, both relatively new to all of this as well, wondering what they should do as they stared at the empty void left by the closed anomaly. Maybe they'd stand and wait for a few minutes, hoping it would reopen, before Jo would pluck up the courage to call Matt and tell him that Connor and Kieron had broken the rules and had been trapped the wrong side of an anomaly. Then it would be down to Matt to break the news to Abby.
He knew Abby had feared something like this would happen when the new team structure had been set up. None of them had liked the idea of splitting up the well established partnerships that worked so well, but they also understood that they had struggled to cope during the convergence and needed more manpower. There were now three core field teams, led by Matt, Becker and Connor and co-ordinated at the ARC by Jess. Abby had been ready to lead a new fourth team, but when she fell pregnant she was taken off field duties and Lester decided to see how they managed with the three existing teams. This had been Connor's team's third solo mission and he suspected it would probably be his last if Abby had anything to do with – assuming he'd ever manage to get home that is.
He had to make a few decisions about the best way to deal with this. The anomaly could quite easily reopen in a couple of hours and he and Kieron could go home with their tails between their legs, face the wrath of Matt and Lester, and then he'd have to face the even bigger wrath of Abby. That wasn't such a bad thought compared to the other scenario he had in his head. The anomaly wouldn't reopen, and they'd have to remain in Vancouver for a year before travelling back to the original anomaly location in London just after they'd gone through and it would almost be as if nothing had happened to those they'd left behind. It wasn't so much the being in Vancouver part that bothered him; what he'd seen of the city so far had intrigued him, it was being away from Abby for a whole year. It would probably drive him crazy, knowing she was only a flight away but yet completely untouchable.
Asking Evan for assistance was out of the question for the moment. He had his own problems to deal with. Connor knew only too well how it felt to lose a significant member of the team and he suspected Evan would be extremely troubled by the days events – being back in the place where his wife had died and knowing that he had to just let events unfold as they had six years ago couldn't have been easy. Connor had often wondered what he would do if he somehow ended up back in the burning ARC beside a dying Professor Cutter. He'd talked it over with Abby a dozen times and each time they realised that, whilst heartbreaking, his death had shaped the events that followed and if they prevented his death it would change those events as well. Evan had thankfully come to the same conclusion and had somewhat reluctantly walked away.
Evan had also returned knowing that his business was in ruins and his fledging anomaly team left without a base to operate from. It was another situation Connor could sympathise with to a degree. When he and Abby had returned from the Cretaceous, their old life was in tatters. Perhaps that wasn't entirely a bad thing either, and given time Evan would see his own situation in the same way. Sometimes a fresh start was needed.
Then it hit Connor. If he and Kieron were going to have to remain here in Vancouver and lie low, then they could assist Evan with rebuilding his anomaly project. He could bring Evan up to speed with everything he knew, and no doubt Evan had his own theories and discoveries. They could learn a lot from each other, and once they put their minds together... Connor smiled to himself. He hadn't been this excited about anomaly research since the day he had managed to create his own anomaly in the lab. The only sadness was, just like when he succeeded with the New Dawn prototype, he would not be able to share his discoveries with Abby.
"Connor?" Kieron stood in the open doorway of the bedroom. "What I said earlier. I was out of order. I'm sorry."
"It's OK. Been a weird, long day."
"I'm as much to blame for us being here as you are."
"There's no point dwelling on who's to blame for this. We're stuck here and we've got to deal with it together. It's the only way we'll handle it and keep our sanity intact."
"Yours went ages ago according to Abby!" Both men laughed and the tension in the air that had existed between them eased. It was a relief since both were realising that they were probably going to be spending a lot of time in each other's pockets over the coming months.
"You should probably be pulling rank on me and demanding the bed," Kieron said, his smile becoming serious again.
Connor shook his head. "The sofa's fine for me, honestly. I've slept in far worse places than this. We'll give Evan a few days to process what's happened to him and his team and then we'll look at more permanent living arrangements."
Kieron nodded silently and went back inside the bedroom, closing the door firmly behind him. After a few moments, when Connor was certain that Kieron would not be coming back out, he pulled out his wallet from his pocket and fished out the two photos that he had tucked away behind his ID card.
The first was his favourite photo of Abby, taken during their short honeymoon at the small coastal resort near to where Connor had grown up. She was leaning on the metal rail at the cliff top, squinting slightly in the sunlight that made her hair look almost white. It hung loose, framing her face as the breeze caught it. He ran his finger over the image, his heart aching the more he stared at it. They'd married on 16th June 2012, a week from where he was now. It was weird to think that right now, back home in England, the Connor and Abby of here would be in the thick of final preparations. In fact, at this exact moment, it would be early Sunday morning and his other self would be nursing the mother of all hangovers after his stag night with Becker and Matt. He wasn't sure whether he should be laughing or crying.
The second photo was more recent. It was his copy of Abby's scan photo at 12 weeks. He didn't remember much about what the doctor had said that day; once he'd seen the grainy image of their baby on the screen he'd become a blubbering wreck. Thank god Abby was able to hold it together enough to take in everything that had been said.
Placing the photos side by side on his lap, Connor finally let his tears fall. A whole year without Abby. It felt like a life sentence stretching before him. Right now, he thought he'd rather have spent the rest of his life with her in the Cretaceous than live here for a year without being able to even talk to her or hold her. The only positive he had to cling on to was the knowledge that eventually it would all right itself and that Abby would barely know he'd gone.
Matt stood in the doorway of Abby's office watching her for a few moments. She hadn't heard him, clearly focussed on petting Rex and feeding him grapes. Matt smiled as her left hand rested unconsciously on the soft curve of her stomach. The stability of marriage and impending motherhood clearly agreed with Abby. She was a stark contrast to the young woman he'd read about in the files when he first took on the job at the ARC.
He cleared his throat so that she'd know he was there. Abby looked up and smiled, blushing slightly. "Rex and I don't get to spend much time together these days so I thought I'd treat him."
"You don't need to explain yourself to me," Matt said, trying to sound upbeat but failing. He knew what he was about to say would shatter her entire world. "Abby, it's Connor..."
Her face changed, a worried expression replacing the soft, relaxed smile. "What's he done this time? I swear, if he bangs his head one more time he..." She stopped, realising from the look on Matt's face that this was far more serious than him getting hit on the head.
"Kieron got attacked by an Albertosaurus and he got dragged through the anomaly."
"And Connor being Connor went after him himself instead of calling for back up." Abby sighed. It was always the same when he was around anomalies, he seemed to lose all common sense. He'd promised her that he'd be more careful now that they had a baby on the way. "How long ago did he go through?"
"Three hours," Matt said, swallowing nervously. There was worse to come and he wasn't sure how Abby was going to handle it.
"Becker's mounted a rescue attempt though?" Abby was on her feet, looking for her jacket and trying to usher Rex back into his carrier so that she take him back to the menagerie. Matt took a step closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her straight in the eyes. She sat back down and bit down on her bottom lip. "The anomaly closed didn't it?"
Matt nodded. "I'm sorry." He waited for an explosion of emotion; anger, fear, anguish... but none came. She stared blankly as if trying to let it sink in, her mind processing what she had just been told.
"Were they armed? Kieron and Connor, were they carrying EMDs?" she asked eventually.
"I believe so, yes."
"Well that's something I suppose."
Matt couldn't work out if she was in shock, or in some kind of denial about the situation. He'd prepared himself for tears and rage, but he didn't know how to handle her reaction. With Rex now back inside his carrier, Abby was opening the air lock so that she could take him through to the menagerie. Matt waited until she returned and then he placed a hand on her shoulder again. "Let me take you home, eh? Becker's monitoring the site and he'll call us if there's any sign of the anomaly reopening."
"Home?" Abby shrugged Matt away and put her jacket on. "I should be there with Becker; he'd probably welcome some back up." She was already on her way out of the door before Matt could protest.
Abby sat in the front passenger seat of Matt's car which was parked at the side of the road next to Becker's SUV. The road had now been reopened, and one by one Becker's men had been dismissed until only Becker, Matt, Martin and Jo remained. It was starting to get dark now and she wondered if they'd all leave soon. She wouldn't. She had to be here when that anomaly reopened so that she was the first person Connor saw when he came home.
She knew all the facts. If an anomaly was going to reopen, it was most likely to do it within 24 hours of it closing. There was still hope for several more hours yet. The others kept glancing over at her, checking on her. They were expecting her to lose it and were ready to come and put a comforting arm around her and take her home. But they would have a long wait, she told herself. Getting worked up and upset was pointless at the moment and bad for the baby. It was only when she caught the look in Becker's eyes that it slowly began to dawn on her exactly what she was facing.
Becker had been in this situation before and it seemed he had resigned himself to going down the same route he'd taken when Abby, Connor and Danny had been trapped. On the outside, Abby could see he was trying to appear professional and in charge; he was pacing around where the anomaly had been, talking on his phone and on the comms to Jess whilst monitoring the equipment set up to detect even the slightest change in the air that could indicate that the anomaly was reopening. On the inside though, he was hurting. He'd lost a good friend in Sarah during a rescue mission and the ARC as he had known it had fallen apart. Abby recalled him once letting slip that he had struggled to cope and had almost walked away completely. It was Matt coming on board and putting together a new team that had given him a new hope, despite his reservations about some of Matt's methods.
She got out of the car and walked slowly over to where Matt was talking to Martin. The locking device was still pointing towards where the anomaly had been, and she stared into the blank space. She felt sick and light headed as the reality finally hit her. Connor had gone and as time passed it was becoming increasingly unlikely that this anomaly would reopen and bring him back to where he belonged. Tears were beginning to sting her eyes and she was only vaguely aware of movement at the side of her as someone grabbed her to prevent her from falling to the floor.
When she came back round, she found herself sat in the car again with Jo at her side, offering her a polystyrene cup with soup in it. "Here," Jo said softly. "It's tomato. From the sandwich place down the road. You looked like you could use some food."
"Thanks," Abby took the cup gratefully and sipped the hot soup. She liked Jo; had done from the moment she'd turned up for training at the ARC. When Connor had asked Abby if she'd mind him having a woman on his team, Abby has simply laughed and said it wasn't down to the gender of the person, it was whether he felt they were the right person for the job.
"I know you'll probably hate this," Jo said. "But Becker's asked me to try and persuade you to go home." Abby shook her head and wrapped her hands around the cup to try and warm them. Jo smiled and stood up. "Well, at least I can say I tried, right?"
Just as Abby was about to respond, there was a commotion across the street and they could see Becker and Matt both raising their weapons and pointing at something just out of sight. Abby was out of the car instantly; could it be that the anomaly had reopened and something was coming through? The sight that greeted her made her heart leap for joy. Not an anomaly, but Connor and Kieron were stood in the alleyway, arms raised and edging slowly towards Becker and Matt.
"Abby!" Connor saw her and made a move towards her. Becker leapt forward too, standing between Connor and Abby and keeping his gun pointed at Connor, whilst Matt kept his aimed at Kieron. Abby was about to protest at their actions but then she understood their reaction. Something wasn't right. When she'd seen Connor at lunchtime, she'd commented that he needed a haircut before they went away the following weekend and had been playing with the curls at the back of his neck as they shared a cheese and pickle sandwich. Unless Connor had stopped off at the barber on his way to the anomaly, the man in front of her was not her Connor.
"How did you get here?" Matt was asking. "There's been no anomaly since this one closed, which I'm sure Jess will verify for us shortly."
"We landed at Heathrow about two hours ago," Kieron began.
"Oh, they have time travelling aeroplanes in the late Cretaceous now do they?" Abby snapped.
"I can explain," Connor said. "'Cept I don't like talking with a gun in my face!"
Matt nodded for Becker to ease off and the guns were lowered, but Becker kept his finger very firmly on the trigger of his just in case. "This had better be good," he snarled under his breath.
"That Albertosaurus we went after was trapped in some kind of junction of anomalies," Connor started, looking first at Becker and then Matt before glancing over at Abby. The confusion in her eyes hurt him, and he really didn't blame her. "There were at least a dozen different anomalies on the other side... and to cut a long story short, we ended up in Vancouver in June 2012."
"Vancouver, Canada?" Matt asked.
"Yes... and would you believe we ran into Evan Cross? You know, that genius guy that flagged up on our radar as being a potential issue we'd have to watch? Well, he ignored all my warnings about staying away from the anomalies, but it's OK. Kieron and I have spent the last year working with him and he's not a threat. Far from it in fact."
"Wait," Abby said. "If you've been in Vancouver, why didn't you just come home?"
"I wanted to!" Kieron said. "But Connor insisted that if we just got on a plane there and then, we'd run into the other versions of ourselves here."
"We had to time our return properly," Connor continued. "We had to make sure that the other us went through the anomaly before we could show our faces."
Abby, Matt and Becker all exchanged questioning looks. It seemed a plausible enough story but Abby was still holding back from welcoming Connor with open arms and the hug she desperately wanted to give him.
"I know this all seems a bit... What do I have to do to prove it really is us?" Connor reached inside his jacket for his wallet and Becker's hand twitched on his gun. Connor opened the jacket to show Becker he was unarmed and pulled out the wallet. The two photos he pulled out were battered and dog-eared after a year of being handled several times a day. He held up the scan photo for Abby to see and she gasped, choking back her tears.
"This is what kept me going the entire time I was in Vancouver," Connor said, fighting back his own tears. "It was hell, being away from you for a whole year, but knowing that when I did come back, you'd be here and Prawn would be growing nicely; content and oblivious to what was going on."
That was enough to convince Abby that it really was her Connor. She ran forward, almost pushing Becker over as she rushed towards Connor and flung her arms around him. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry or beat the living daylights out of him for scaring her so much. Right now, it just felt right to have him holding her. They could battle out everything else later.
"Prawn?" Becker questioned.
"Our nickname for the baby," Abby replied. "Connor said it looked like a prawn on the scan photo, so the name stuck. I suspect the poor thing will always be called Prawn, even when he or she has a proper name." She felt Connor's grip on her tighten and when she glanced up at his face she recognised the look. He was barely holding it together and she needed to get him away and home as soon as possible. She couldn't imagine what a whole year away without him would be like, and she hoped she'd never find out. "If it's OK," she turned to Matt, "I'd like to go home with my husband now."
"Of course," Matt smiled. "We can discuss this tomorrow. Kieron, do you need a lift home?"
Kieron nodded and slapped Connor on the back before holding his hand out to shake Connor's. "As much as I've enjoyed being your flatmate for the last year, I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again."
"Likewise, mate." Connor shook Kieron's hand and the two exchanged a look of mutual respect before Kieron followied Matt towards the waiting vehicles. Then Connor slipped his hand into Abby's and whispered, "Take me home, Abby."
The flat had never looked so inviting. It was slightly chaotic since they were in the process of clearing out the contents of the spare room in preparation for it becoming the baby's room, but to Connor it was like walking into the Garden of Eden. It was home.
The car journey from the anomaly site had been in near silence. He'd tried to take in the scenery as they passed through the city and drove out into the suburbs, not quite believing that he was back in London, but his eyes kept filling with tears. He also had to keep reminding himself that, for Abby, he'd only really been missing for a few hours. Whilst he'd made himself ill with worry, she would not have had time to have got overly stressed about the situation and for that he was relieved. If his disappearance had distressed her and harmed their unborn baby he would never forgive himself.
"Are you hungry?" Abby said softly. "I had planned to make lasagne tonight, but I think we should just heat some pizza from the freezer and curl up on the sofa. What do you think?"
"I don't mind, love." Connor sighed. He stood, feeling almost lost. Jet lag was beginning to catch up with him, as was the emotion of a day he'd been waiting a whole year for. Abby placed her right hand on his cheek and turned his face to make him look straight at her. He couldn't see her properly; the tears welling in his eyes were almost blinding him. He felt the warmth of her lips on his as she kissed him, softly at first and then becoming more intense as he drew her into his embrace, returning the kiss with an equal passion.
He allowed his hands to trail across her body, his fingertips reacquainting themselves with every soft curve before settling his palm on the firm, perfect baby bump that was only really just becoming noticeable. It felt like a bolt of electricity surging through him as he connected with Abby, the troubles of the last year melting away.
"I should be so angry with you right now," Abby whispered, breaking off the kiss but keeping her face pressed against Connor's. "You promised that you would take more care now that we have a baby to think about."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I should've..." Abby put her finger on his lips and he knew he didn't need to say any more.
"No offence, Connor, but you smell," Abby laughed, tugging at his t-shirt.
"Four hours at Vancouver International, ten hour flight, an hour at immigration at Heathrow because we had Canadian passports... Yes, I smell, and I could really use a shower." He tangled his fingers into Abby's hand and then began to walk towards the bathroom, tugging her arm.
"Hey, I should get the pizza on!"
"Food can wait," Connor said. "I haven't seen you for a year. I'm not letting you out of my sight!"
Abby let Connor lead her into the bathroom and then sat herself on the edge of the bath to watch him undress. "A whole year? What did you do to fill the time?"
"Work mostly," Connor replied as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and threw it on the floor by Abby's feet. "Kieron and I slotted into Evan's team. You'd like them. Evan thinks like me, except he's way cooler... and Dylan, she was like this park ranger dealing with bears and wolves and things until she met Evan. Toby's pretty cool too, she came up with this amazing gadget that could predict how long an anomaly will be open for."
"It's a shame you and Kieron didn't have one," Abby said drily.
Connor sniffed and turned to switch the shower on. He watched for a moment as the jet of water hit the bath below and a nice, satisfactory cloud of steam began to fill the room. "Evan and I took Toby's gadget and combined it with my handheld detector and the dating calculator. It's a bit rough around the edges, but with a bit more work..."
Abby took Connor's hand and smiled. "You really have been working. What about playing? I hear Vancouver's a great place."
"Kieron did some sight-seeing, but I didn't feel like it. A trip to the supermarket for groceries was about as exciting as it got for me. Didn't seem right without you."
"Well perhaps once Prawn is OK to travel long haul, we can go and visit and do some sight-seeing as a family. It would be nice to meet Evan, Dylan and Toby and thank them for looking after you so well." Abby smiled and shifted herself to sit in Connor's lap, trailing her fingertips across his bare chest and then moving closer for a warm kiss. Connor deepened the kiss and slid his hand underneath Abby's t-shirt and up towards her breast, allowing his thumb to graze over the hardening nipple beneath the silky fabric of her bra.
The emotion finally got too much to contain any longer and Connor's tears flowed like rivers down his cheeks. He had waited an entire year for this moment and he had almost believed that it would never happen at times.
"Connor?" Abby whispered, pulling away slightly and gently wiping his tears with her fingertips. "Are you OK?"
"I will be. Just hold me, eh?"
"I can do more than that," she smiled. "I know exactly what you need." She pulled her t-shirt over her head and unhooked her bra, allowing them both to fall to the bathroom floor. Connor's eyes widened and he sniffed, his tears beginning to subside.
Abby stood up and slowly began to slide her trousers and underwear down, wiggling provocatively and trying not to laugh at how ridiculous she thought she must look with her baby bump. Connor grinned. He loved how her body was changing as the pregnancy progressed and it would be a great source of fascination. As soon as she was completely naked, she stepped into the bath and under the jet of warm water from the shower.
"I need help soaping my back, Connor." She held out her hand. He didn't need a second invite. His jeans and boxers were off in a flash and he joined Abby standing under the shower.
"Missed you so much!" Connor said, pulling Abby into his embrace and practically devouring her with a passionate kiss. He wasn't sure if it was the heat from the shower and steam or the fact he was soaring very rapidly towards a release that made him feel light headed. Abby's hand grasped his erection and the fire in his groin became so intense he couldn't hold back. He let out a loud groan as he spilt himself over Abby's hand then cursed for not being able to control himself.
"It really has been a year," Abby whispered.
"Sorry, all the anticipation and I..." Abby put her finger on his lips and he smiled. She kissed his lips softly then began to plant a trail of kisses down his throat and across his chest. Connor squirmed and felt the knotting in his groin begin again. He knew exactly where she was heading and his body was already becoming aroused at the thought. As her lips trailed lower across his stomach, he let his fingers tangle into her hair lazily, sighing softly and following her as she grasped his shaft in her hand and let her tongue run over the full length.
"Abby!"
Her mouth sank over the tip and then she began to suck and caress with her lips and tongue, expertly taking his growing erection into the warmth of her mouth. Connor was determined to hold back this time, biting down on his lower lip and leaning back slightly against the tiled wall, steadying himself with one hand whilst the other held the back of Abby's head.
Without warning, Abby stood up and turned her back to him. "You're supposed to be helping me soap my back!" she teased, reaching for the bottle of shower gel on the corner shelf unit.
"Of course," Connor said, taking the bottle and squirting some of the gel into the palm of his hand. Abby's breath hitched as he ran his hands over her shoulders and then let them wander across her body, pausing to caress her swollen breasts. He pulled her closer, his erection pressing into the small of her back as she leaned back against him, their bodies flush with each other.
Normally Abby would insist on considerably more foreplay but she sensed that Connor just needed to reconnect with her. There would be plenty of time for her pleasure; that could wait. Reaching down and behind her, she grasped Connor's erection and then leaned forward, resting her other hand on the wall for support. Connor shifted, placing his hands on her hips and guiding her to him.
Connor finally knew he was home when he felt the familiarity of Abby's warmth around him as he moved inside her and with her. Her pants and sighs of pleasure urged him on and he clutched at her body for leverage. He felt amazing, yet something was lacking. He needed to see her face as he made to love to her. He withdrew and almost laughed as Abby whimpered at the loss. He turned her around to face him then gently pushed her against the wall. She understood what he wanted and circled her arms around his neck and lifted her right leg to rest on his hip.
This was just how he'd imagined their reunion as he'd laid alone in his bed in the apartment he shared with Kieron in Vancouver. As they connected again and again, Connor held Abby's gaze. She looked up into his eyes through her own heavy eyelids and whispered the words of love he had longed to hear. An instant before he came, he felt her body begin to quiver and clamp around him, and he somehow hung on for another few teeth-clenching seconds until she was right there with him.
They soared together, mouth on mouth, heart to heart, and flew.
They clung to each other in silence, allowing the steaming jet of water to wash over them as they recovered. Words were not needed. All that mattered was being here together. It was Abby that came round first, reluctantly untangling herself from Connor to switch off the shower and grab one of the huge fluffy towels that hung by the side. She wrapped it around both of them and patted Connor dry before she dried herself. Connor's eyes were welling with tears again.
"I love you, Abby."
"I love you too, but you have to promise me that you will never pull another stunt like you did today. You were lucky this time, but next time..." Abby blinked. She did not want to think about what could happen if Connor got trapped on the wrong side of an anomaly again.
"I know, and I've thought about it for several months now. Kieron's more than capable of taking over my team now. I'll speak to Lester tomorrow. As of now, I'm off field work and strictly sticking to research. I will not allow our child to grow up without a father like we had to."
Abby could barely contain her joy at Connor's declaration. It was what she had wanted deep down but couldn't possibly ask him to stop doing what he loved. His year away had made him realise his priorities. She took his hand and squeezed it, nodding in agreement as he blinked away his tears and smiled.
"Well, I don't know about you," Abby finally said. "But Prawn and I are in need of pizza." She tugged on the towel and wrapped completely around herself, stepping out of the bath. "Whilst I get it heated, why don't you find something for us to drink and get the bed ready."
"We can eat pizza in bed?"
"Just this once, since it's a special occasion," Abby laughed. She watched Connor practically bounce out of the bathroom like an excited child and shook her head. It was going to be a long night, but interesting. She had a whole year of Connor's life to catch up on and he had a year of missed love to claim back.