Thursday
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Day 1
They stepped through the anomaly on maximum alert, the soldiers with their guns raised, eyes darting about in case anything should approach. When they deemed the area clear a few moments later, Connor made a beeline for the artefacts in front of them. The anomaly had opened in the centre of a huge stone circle, and it wasn't only Sarah who had been delighted at the opportunity to explore it. After all, this was a perfect example, not a ruin as they all were in their time. Even stranger was the fact that the anomaly had opened in the basement of the ARC, meaning that this was what had been on the ARC site before the buildings.
"Connor, come and look at this!"
Connor headed over to where Abby was examining a low stone pillar just outside the edge of the circle. Seeing him move, Becker followed. His fellow soldiers had already slip up to shadow the other members of the team.
"What's that in the centre? It looks like crystal."
Abby reached over to touch at the same time as Connor. They both let out a shriek as their fingers came into touch with the stone, a spark shooting through both of them like an electric shock. Becker hauled them away by the backs of their jackets, breaking the contact, but not before the same spark shot through his hands.
"He's awake."
Becker opened his eyes slowly, the light seeming too bright and making him squint. His head pounded as though he had a hangover, which he knew he didn't. Oh, yes, now it was coming back- the anomaly, the stone circle, the lightening bolt or whatever it had been. One of the ARC's medical staff leaned over, checking something on a monitor near his head.
"What happened?"
Lester was hovering nearby, actually looking concerned. "We were hoping that you could tell us."
Becker tried to sit up but that movement only made him dizzy. "Where's Connor? And Abby; are they alright?"
He was worried about them both but his first thought had been Connor. He could see that Lester knew that too. When he and Connor had admitted to Lester that they were seeing each other, the one thing he had been concerned about was that it would affect their working together. So far, it hadn't but that didn't alter the fact that it was Connor's wellbeing that was the only thing he could think about right now.
The medic nodded, indicating to two more beds in the large room. Connor was still unconscious, as was Abby, but he was assured that they were alright. Becker tried again to sit up, to go and check for himself, but a nurse stopped him. It was probably for the best; had he actually managed to get to his feet, he wasn't sure how long he would have stayed standing.
Four hours after they had been brought back through the anomaly, Becker, Connor and Abby were finally released by the medics. They were all under strict orders that they had to rest, a thing which none of them was particularly good at. Danny drove them home, or rather to Abby's flat. Abby had insisted, seeing as the rules of their release also said that they had to have someone to keep an eye on them for the next twenty-four hours.
"Don't be silly," she had told Becker. "You're not going home on your own."
It made sense; even if Connor went home with Becker, as he often did, that would leave Abby on her own.
They settled in for the night, a stack of DVD's and enough snacks to last them a week, as well as telephone numbers of at least six different people at the ARC who would come running should any of them suffer any more blackouts or other symptoms.
"Next time we go near a weird stone alter thingy," Connor said, his head still aching, "remind me not to touch it."
Becker, curled up on the sofa with his head in Connor's lap, couldn't agree more. Abby had already gone to bed, leaving just the two of them.
"You scared the life out of me when that thing shocked you," he admitted. "Don't do that again, please."
Connor trailed his fingers through Becker's dark hair. "Promise."
They watched the DVD for a while longer before it was clear that neither of them would be able to stay awake to see the end. Maybe tomorrow morning, after a good nights' sleep, everything would hurt a little less, Connor thought as he and Becker headed to bed.
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Day 2
The phone rang at just after seven the following morning, waking Connor. His first thought was that he felt great- no pounding head, no aching body. The next thought that ran through his mind was that he was alone. Hmm, no Becker; he must have got up early.
Finally finding his mobile, still stuffed into the pocket of his jeans, Connor frowned at the caller ID on the display.
"Where are you?"
When Becker replied, he sounded confused. "How did I get home? I don't remember coming home."
"You were here when we went to sleep. Do you think it was another blackout?"
Becker wasn't sure, promising to get checked over by the medics when they got to the ARC.
"I'll see you there."
As soon as he'd hung up, Connor went to Abby's room to check on her. She was exactly where she had been last night and, like Connor, feeling great.
Writing off Becker's disappearance the previous night to a side effect of the electric shock from yesterday, Abby and Connor made their way to the ARC. He was waiting for them in the car park, leaned against the entrance to the ARC.
"There's something strange going on," he said as Connor reached him, smiling as Connor sneaked a good morning kiss. They'd agreed to keep their relationship out of work but, as Connor had pointed out, until they actually set foot inside the building they weren't technically in work.
"What do you mean by strange?"
Becker shook his head. "Just come inside and see."
OK, Connor had to agree with Becker's assessment this morning although 'strange' was not the word he would have chosen. It was starting to freak him out.
First, had been the meeting with Lester. Abby had caught his eye and frowned and he could see her thinking the same as he was: haven't we already done this? Then there was Sarah. She had come rushing into Connor's office to tell them about the breakthrough she'd made with the analysis of the artefact, looking a little peeved when Connor had finished the sentence for her.
"How did you know about that?"
Connor frowned. "You told me yesterday."
Sarah just looked as bewildered as he had felt all day. The final straw came when the anomaly detector went off, the sirens sounding through out the building, and they had gone through…
…Only to find themselves standing in the centre of an incredibly familiar looking stone circle with a crystal-set stone altar just outside.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Becker just shook his head, following Abby and Connor as they walked cautiously to the altar.
"Remember, don't touch it," Abby said, then added, "or even get too close."
It was the same, identical in every way- some tiny part of Connor's brain was still trying to convince him that this was all some huge coincidence but he had to be realistic. No way was this just a coincidence.
"It was creepy," he told Lester once they were back upstairs in the ARC. Abby nodded emphatically. "It was exactly the same anomaly, to the same place and everything."
Lester had listened to them patiently but it was clear that he thought that it was either some kind of elaborate joke or that Connor and Abby had both lost a few marbles along the way. He glanced at Becker, standing quietly to the side.
"They're right," he said. "There is something not right about this."
For the second time in as many days, the three of them found themselves being sent home early. Although, Abby pointed out, being sent home because Lester thought they were crazy was definitely preferable to the aches and pains of yesterday's early finish.
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Day 6
The three of them spent all morning searching books and internet files, as they had for the past few days, looking for anything they could think of that might possibly help them. Of all of the information they had to hand, there was not one single reference to the stone circle through the anomaly, nor of the crystal-set altar nearby.
Danny came looking for them around noon, wondering where they had disappeared to as he hadn't seen them all day. Glancing at each other, Connor and Becker's gazes fell to Abby, silently nominating her to explain.
Danny just laughed.
"Fine, we can prove it."
Abby got up and walked with Danny to the doorway, the other two following. She looked at her watch.
"OK, it's 12:34. Over there," she pointed, "Lester is going to come out of his office, speak to Diane at the computer station at the bottom of the stairs. Then, over there-"
She continued to point out people's moves about thirty seconds before they actually did them, leaving Danny staring at her in confusion.
"How did you do that?"
Abby sighed. "I told you, we've done this before. It's the same every day."
They explained this to one or all of the team each morning and everyone was shocked then horrified and tried to help them come up with a solution. It was useless though; by the next day, they had forgotten and the whole thing started again. By tomorrow, Danny wouldn't remember, despite the fact that he believed them now.
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Day 9
"This is getting ridiculous!" Abby raged. She glared at Sarah who had, for the umpteenth day running now, come in all excited to tell them about the artefact. "We already know!"
Sarah looked offended, hurt that no one was interested in her news, and just a tad confused at Abby's choice of words.
It had taken a while for the situation to sink in, and then the same again for the panic to subside into looking for a solution. Each day, they had gone back to the altar, looking for any clue as to what the hell was happening, each day coming away with nothing new. There were markings on the altar but since they couldn't translate the pictograms, they didn't help. On the plus side, Abby had pointed out, they knew what would happen should they touch the thing and thus had spared themselves the indignity of being carried back to the ARC unconscious.
"I've had enough," Connor told them. They had gathered in Connor's office, as had become the norm for them, since no matter where they went to sleep, they all still ended up where they had been that first Thursday morning. Meeting up here at least allowed them to compare ideas before facing Lester or the others with the explanations.
"What do you mean?"
Connor turned to Abby. "I mean it. I'm sick of going through that stupid anomaly day after day. It doesn't help." He folded his arms across his chest determinedly. "I'm not going."
Becker smiled. "Lester won't like that."
"So? Even if he fires me I'll have my job back by tomorrow morning anyway," Connor pointed out. "I was thinking about something that Danny said yesterday when I told him what was happening. He said if it was him, he wouldn't be wasting time just doing what he normally did. He'd enjoy himself." He glanced around at the other two, seeing the thoughtful grins on their faces.
When the anomaly detection sirens went off, everyone hurried to the basement, checking the hand held detectors. They were ready to go through before Sarah looked around and frowned.
"Where's Connor? And Becker and Abby?"
Danny shook his head. "I don't know, but we have to go. Let them catch us up." He summoned, Mickey, one of the soldiers who were accompanying them, telling him to go and find them before heading through the glittering portal with the others.
Mickey didn't even make it through the detector room before Lester caught him.
"Why are you with Quinn?"
Mickey sighed, not wanting to be the one who had to tell Lester that three of the team were AWOL. Lester glared, waiting for his answer.
"Connor, Abby and Becker didn't show up," he said reluctantly. "Quinn sent me to get them."
Lester's eyes narrowed; he looked annoyed. He silently followed Mickey who, having was following a tip from one of the techs that the missing trio had last been seen in Becker's security office. They could hear voices from within, then a female laugh rang out- it was definitely Abby. Scowling at the door just before he barged through, Lester stopped dead at the sight before him.
"What the bloody hell do you think you are doing?" he yelled.
Mickey wasn't sure whether to laugh or make a run for it when Becker looked up at Lester and said calmly,
"Playing poker. Do you want to join in?"
Lester's mouth opened and closed a few times as he searched for the right words. Trouble was, Mickey thought, there really weren't any.
Connor, Becker and Abby sat around the desk, cards in hands, a bottle of Jack Daniels on the table. All three were in various states of undress.
"Strip poker," Connor clarified, seeing them staring. He glanced at his cards and smiled. "I call."
As the others revealed their cards, Becker groaned. "You're cheating, I'm sure you are."
Connor grinned. "You're just not very good at poker." Ignoring their audience, he added, "Come on, you agreed. First one to lose all their clothes does a lap of the detector room."
Lester decided to put a stop to this before his Captain stripped off completely, ordering the three of them to his office immediately. Connor shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the others, all of them standing and walking out of the security office. Lester glared as they walked past him, mentally kicking himself for not specifying that they get dressed first.
They garnered more than a few strange looks (and even more admiring ones) as they walked to Lester's office, following their boss as he stormed ahead, looking for all the world like he was about to strangle the next person who came near him. Abby trotted along happily, occasionally glancing back at the two of them, Connor in his jeans, no socks or shoes or t-shirt, and then there was Becker. Holding Connor's hand, he appeared completely uncaring of the fact he was walking through the building wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer shorts with little red lips all over them.
"Do you have any idea how sexy you look in those?" Connor teased softly.
Becker paused, at the same time as dragging Connor against him and kissing him. If the state of their clothing, or lack thereof, hadn't shocked their colleagues, or the fact they'd been holding hands, then the kiss certainly did.
"In here!" Lester yelled from the balcony outside his office. "NOW!"
"We're busy!" Connor yelled back.
The entire room went silent, everyone suddenly finding something they had to do urgently, far away from here. Unconcerned, Connor wrapped his arms around Becker's waist and continued kissing him.
Abby thought Lester was going to have a coronary.
"That's it! You are FIRED!" he bellowed. "You two, escort them from the premises, now."
The two soldiers looked a little hesitant at evicting their Captain and two of the lead research team from the ARC but the look on Lester's face had them more worried.
"I've never seen him that mad," Connor mused as they got into the car. Their guards had let them get dressed and collect their belongings before escorting them out.
"Well I can't believe that you two just outed yourselves to the entire ARC," Abby said.
Becker shrugged his shoulders. "Never really thought about that at the time," he said. "Besides, they won't remember tomorrow."
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Day 10
Danny was standing by the detector, talking to Sarah, when Becker walked determinedly up to him, a rather worrying smile on his face.
"Something wrong?" he asked suspiciously.
Becker shook his head, clenched his fingers in the lapels of Danny's shirt, and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Danny's tiny gasp of surprise was all he needed as his lips parted allowing Becker entrance. The other man actually began to kiss him back after a few seconds before coming to his senses and stepping back.
"What the…?"
Becker just smiled and walked away.
-----------------
Day 11
Connor rejected the surprise approach, realising that Danny could easily kick his arse should he choose to, instead cornering him when he came into the office. He stood and moved closer, palm curved to Danny's cheek.
"Please don't hit me," he whispered, closing the remaining gap between them.
Damn, he thought; he'd always wondered what kissing Danny would be like. Danny had been a little hesitant to begin with, eventually getting into it. From his reaction, Connor could see that despite his eye for the women, this wasn't the first time he'd kissed a man. Not by a long shot if the feel of Danny's hands on him was anything to go by.
"Oh my God," he said when he returned to Becker in the security office. "Danny can really kiss."
Becker laughed. "I think he prefers you," he said. "He certainly didn't have his hand on my arse when I tried it."
Connor felt his cheeks heat up. He felt a little guilty about taking advantage of Danny like that, when he wouldn't even remember it the next day, but it was one thing that both he and Becker had wanted to do. Neither could be even the slightest bit jealous since they both admitted an attraction to the ex-policeman. From his reaction, however, Connor had the feeling Danny wouldn't have minded even if he would remember it.
It had been a silly list that had started it, the things they had wanted to do but hadn't had the nerve until they day that wouldn't end had given them the opportunity.
So far, they'd been fired twice.
"What time is it?"
Connor glanced at his watch. "9:56."
Becker stood and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the door. Taking the back corridors so they wouldn't be noticed or stopped, Becker kicked the door to Lester's office shut behind them.
"What are you doing?"
"Number five."
"Oh." Connor grinned as Becker's hands slid under his shirt before unbuttoning it and pushing it off his shoulders. "You realise he'll be back up here in twenty three minutes," he pointed out.
Becker nodded, his fingers making short work of Connor's jeans. Taking over from where Connor had begun to remove his uniform, Becker dumped his clothing on the floor and pulled Connor back into his arms.
"Ready to get fired again?"
Connor laughed. "Definitely."
Becker eased Connor back onto Lester's desk, scraping the paperwork out of the way. He reached kissed a trail down Connor's neck, nipping at the tender flesh on his boyfriend's throat. His fingers tickled and touched as he ran them over Connor's body but never reaching where Connor wanted them to. Eventually, letting out a growl of frustration, the young man's hand snaked between them, wrapping itself around Becker's erection.
"Quit teasing," he said. "I want this." With that, he gave Becker a little squeeze, making the soldier push forward into his hand. "We don't have much time before he gets back."
"Bossy," Becker chided with a soft laugh as he quickly got himself and Connor ready, tossing the bottle of lube aside.
Connor's breath caught as he was filled so completely by Becker, holding onto his shoulders as Becker eased back before filling him again and again. Sliding his hands under Connor's arse, holding him still for a moment, Becker shifted, dropping backwards into Lester's chair and taking Connor with him. Connor straddled his lap, their bodies still joined, as he leaned down for a kiss.
"Ride me, Conn," Becker told him, encouraging him to move.
Which was about the time that Lester walked in.
When he got over the stunned-into-speechlessness at the sight of his Captain and his primary science tech screwing in his chair, he fired them on the spot.
Connor and Becker didn't really care, not moving until they were finished.
Outside on the balcony, spying through the half-closed blinds on the window, Abby had to clap a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud at the expression on Lester's face when he walked through the door.
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Day 17
It was getting monotonous now. They'd had fun with the lists but it was starting to lose its appeal. Even having sex on Lester's desk was no longer amusing. Connor just wanted this damned day to end. He wanted it to be Friday.
That morning, he woke up and stared at the alarm clock and decided he wasn't going to bother. What was the point?
When the phone rang, Connor told Becker to come over and threw the covers back over his head.
"Connor?" Abby looked around the door and frowned when he didn't make any effort to get out of bed.
"Not moving," he said.
Abby sighed. "Want some company?" she asked, waiting for his nod before climbing under the duvet with him.
About thirty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Connor and Abby had moved to the lounge, curled up on the sofa, watching early morning cartoons. Since neither of them could be bothered to get up and answer it, Connor reached for his phone again and rang Becker.
"Let yourself in, love," he said, telling him where the spare key was hidden.
It didn't take long for the click of a lock opening and then Becker stood in the doorway.
"You know, it's lucky I'm not a jealous kind of a bloke," he quipped, seeing the two of them curled up together.
"Come and sit down," Connor told him, shuffling up and patting the space next to him in invitation. "We're staying here today."
There was a moment of silence and then one perfect dark eyebrow raised in question.
"Look, for all we know, us just being at the ARC and trying to fix this mess could be what's keeping it going," Connor pointed out. He sighed, seeing that Becker didn't believe that, and said, "I'm tired of it and I just don't want to try today."
Becker nodded, kicked his boots off, and settled on the sofa, smiling as Connor snuggled up against him.
"So what are we going to do all day?" Becker asked, laughing as Connor smirked suggestively.
Abby indicated to the box of DVD's next to the TV. "We have Chuck, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena-" Abby paused, adding quickly, "Connor's, not mine. And a stack of movies."
"And right now, we're watching Dangermouse," Connor told him. "Then there's X-Men cartoons."
"I can't believe I'm dating a guy who still watches cartoons," Becker sighed. None the less, ten minutes later, he was as absorbed in the adventures of the X-Men as Connor and Abby.
By lunchtime, they'd gone through the Buffy and Chuck DVDs and were part way through Die Hard. At some point, Connor had manoeuvred himself into Becker's lap, leaned back against him, Becker's arms around his waist. Abby looked at her phone again, having long ago switched it to silent to avoid the constant calls from the ARC wondering where the hell they were.
"Sarah again," she said. There was a knock on the door and she swore, actually reading the whole text message. "Danny and Sarah are coming to make sure we're OK since none of us have bothered to answer our phones," she told the others.
Reluctantly, she got up from her comfortable seat on the sofa and paused the DVD, going to answer the door. Letting their colleagues in, she came back to the sofa and sat back down.
"Hi guys, you want to join us?"
Danny stared at Connor in disbelief. "This is why you never showed up? You've been sitting here in front of the TV all morning?"
Connor nodded. "Yep. Might have to get up soon though, unless you brought any food with you," he added hopefully.
"Do you have any idea how angry Lester is?" Danny demanded. "Not to mention that we were worried when we couldn't reach any of you."
From the expression on Sarah's face, she had also been concerned and now Connor felt guilty.
"Sit down and we'll explain," he said.
As Danny calmed down a little, enough to sit down, Sarah doing the same, they saw his gaze roam over Connor and Becker. There was a tiny flicker of confusion.
"Yes, Connor and I are dating," Becker told him.
Danny smiled. "Whatever floats your boat, mate."
"Just be glad you found out this way," Connor murmured, making Becker and Abby laugh, each of them remembering the various other ways that the ARC staff had learned that particular little bit of information. Danny and Sarah just looked confused again.
"We have lived through this same day- how many times is it now?" Connor asked.
"Seventeen," Abby supplied helpfully.
"Seventeen times," he continued. "By tomorrow morning, this day will have begun again, repeating itself, and you won't remember a thing about it."
The three of them told Danny and Sarah the whole story, including Sarah's breakthrough on the artefact, a thing they couldn't have known as, this time, they hadn't been there when she discovered it. By the end of it, their colleagues looked stunned.
"You're actually serious, aren't you?" Sarah asked. "You couldn't have known…"
The three of them nodded.
"Look, maybe if none of us go through that anomaly then it won't happen again," Abby said. "Don't go through. Stay here."
Sarah looked unsure, unwilling to bring about Lester's wrath when they refused his orders.
"Look at it this way," Connor told them. "If it doesn't work then, by tomorrow, it won't even have happened."
It took a bit more persuading but eventually Danny and Sarah agreed.
"I hope you're right," Sarah told them.
Danny was idly flipping through the DVD pile. "Hey, cool, you've got Xena: Warrior Princess." He glanced around at the others, looking just a tiny bit embarrassed. "What? I like Xena."
Connor laughed. "Put it on then," he said, tossing Danny the remote control.
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Day 18
"What else can we do?" Connor demanded. "We go through the bloody anomaly and the day repeats, we avoid it and even the ARC completely and it still repeats. I can't take much more of this!"
The anomaly detectors went off and Connor stormed out of his office, Becker and Abby following quickly in case he was planning to do something stupid.
Danny looked alarmed as Connor ran past him, through the anomaly, with a sledgehammer in hand and a dangerous look in his eyes. He watched as Connor marched straight across the stone circle and proceeded to smash the crystal inlay into pieces, tiny shards flying up and striking him but he didn't notice. He took all of his rage and frustration of the past few weeks on the altar, the thing that had started it all. When he was done, he turned around and strode back through the anomaly.
"What the hell are you doing?" He tried to grab Connor's arm as he ran to catch up with him the young man shook him off and kept on walking until he reached Becker and Abby.
"Feeling better now?" Abby asked.
Connor shrugged his shoulders. "A little," he admitted. "And now, I'm going home."
"Hold on a moment; you're hurt." Becker reached up to wipe a smear of blood from Connor's right cheek, where one of the pieces of crystal had cut him.
"I'm fine."
"Well, you had us worried for a minute there."
He saw the look on Abby's face and realised that she had been expecting the worst.
"I'm not going to go and jump off a bridge or anything like that. Honest."
Abby looked relieved, Becker just slipping an arm around his waist and drawing him in close.
"Sorry I worried you," Connor said, leaning in for a kiss, uncaring of the fact they were standing in the middle of the ARC with half of the staff still watching him warily. Since he'd come back through with the sledgehammer and two soldiers and Danny following, they had been eyeing him with the same suspicion they would a maniac with a shotgun. Now they were just staring at the fact that he was kissing the Captain of the guard.
Ignoring Lester's summons to the office for what he expected to be yet another firing, he took the hand that Becker offered and they walked out with Abby, going home.
-----------------
Connor awoke in bed to the sound of his alarm clock and cursed. Reaching out with one hand, he swept the offending clock off the cabinet and into the nearest wall. God, he was sick to death of hearing that stupid bloody beeping sound every morning, just a reminder that he had to get up and live through yet another damn Thursday.
"Hey, that's cruelty to alarm clocks, you know," an amused voice beside him said.
Connor froze, hardly daring to look, instead reaching behind him under the covers. His hand came into contact with warm flesh, not his own. He wasn't alone. It was the first time in eighteen days that he hadn't woken up to an empty bed.
"I'm still here."
Turning over to face Becker, he felt like crying with relief. It was over.
"It's Friday?" he asked. "You're here, not at home, so that means we didn't start again."
Becker nodded and hugged him tightly. Suddenly, the door burst open and Abby raced into the room.
"I heard voices," she said. "Tell me he was here when you woke up."
Connor nodded.
"It looks as though destroying the altar worked," Becker mused. "Although that does mean that everyone else remembers yesterday, too."
"I don't care. It's Friday."
In the ARC, standing in Lester's office, the three of them did their best to explain away Connor's actions the previous day.
"You expect me to believe that you were experiencing the day over and over?" Lester asked incredulously.
Connor wasn't sure whether or not Lester actually believed them by the time he let them leave, but at least he hadn't fired any of them. When the three of them reached Connor's office they found Danny and Sarah waiting, following them inside.
"So," Danny began. "You want to tell us what the hell that was all about yesterday? I mean, the whole hammer thing, not to mention that little make-out session in the middle of the ARC."
"Maybe you'd better sit down," Connor told them. "It's a long story."
End.