Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended

A/N: I'm *supposed* to be working on my fic for the Primevalathon on LJ, and also finishing off "All in the Mind", but I have a block in the shape of a slightly smutty plot bunny and I doubt I'd get anything else written until I've dealt with it. *evil grin*

Set in an AU, where Connor is the one that goes after Helen Cutter, leaving Abby and Danny stranded together in the Cretaceous era. ;)

It had been 4 days since Connor had disappeared through the anomaly. Both Abby and Danny had firmly believed he would come back a couple of hours later, somehow finding a way to reopen it. He was the one with the device that could open and close anomalies; and even though they both knew that the battery had died, they thought Connor would find a way of getting it working again.

They had followed Helen Cutter through the future anomaly into the Cretaceous era, knowing she planned to kill the first humans and stop evolution in its tracks. Connor had closed it behind them using his device, and the battery died shortly after. Determined to complete the job they had come to do, they had continued to chase Helen and saw her disappear through yet another anomaly. They hesitated for a moment; the anomaly was already showing signs of deteriorating; an indication it was about to close. Connor had suddenly said "Someone has to stop her!" and he was running through it. Before Abby and Danny had chance to react, the anomaly closed.

"Noooooo!" Abby yelled, sobbing. Danny put a comforting arm around her shoulders, trying to reassure her that it would be OK; though even he had to admit it seemed pretty hopeless. Connor was trapped the other side with Helen Cutter, and he and Abby were stranded in the Cretaceous era with no means to either follow Connor or go back the route they had come.

They spent the next three days doing everything they could to simply survive. Neither wanted to stray too far from the anomaly sites, convinced one of them could reopen at any time. They both had their handheld anomaly detectors, so took it in turns to scan for any activity that could indicate an open anomaly. They had to try and make the batteries last as long as possible; once they'd gone there would be no warning an anomaly had opened and they could miss it.

On the fourth day, they discovered a fresh water lake, deep enough to swim and bathe in. "Do you think it's safe?" Abby said.

"I can just about see the bottom, it looks OK. We should probably take it in turns to bathe though, whilst the other keeps watch for any creatures. This is probably the local watering hole for every carnivorous creature in the area." Danny replied.

Abby agreed, and Danny offered to take first watch whilst she bathed. She waited for him to clamber up some nearby rocks and turn his back; allowing her a little privacy. She removed all of her clothing and slowly waded into the cool water. She began to swim once she got to the deeper water and it felt good to be clean again. Her aching muscles were soothed and she actually began to feel relaxed for the first time. She glanced up at Danny, who was still stood with his back to her and scanning the surrounding land. She wondered if he'd taken a sneaky look at her; Connor would have done without a doubt if he'd been here.

Thinking about Connor made her sad. Where was he now? Had he somehow made it back home and was trying to find a way to rescue them? Was he still trapped with Helen Cutter or chasing her through various anomalies and lost in time somewhere? Was he even still alive? She had to wipe that thought out of her head; as long as Connor was still alive, there was still hope.

She could have swum there for hours, but it was only fair she let Danny have his turn. She waded out to the shore and patted herself dry with her hooded jacket, before dressing and making her way up to where Danny was.

"Your turn." She said cheerily.

"Thanks." He smiled. "Was it good?"

"The water's a bit cold, but it's refreshing. Nice to be clean again." She watched him scramble down towards the shore, then turned her back to allow him the same privacy he had given her. From up here, she could see quite a distance. It was a good look out point, and she thought that perhaps they should consider settling around here. She would suggest it to Danny later.

Suddenly, she could hear Danny yelling and she turned. He was frantically trying to get out of the water, and he seemed to be yelling in agony rather than fear. She scrambled down as fast as she could and went to help him out of the water. There was a huge bite mark on this left thigh and he was bleeding.

"What happened?" she said, pulling him to the shore. He fell onto his back and grabbed at his leg.

"I didn't see what it was." He said.

"Let me look." Abby knelt beside him, pushing away his hands. She was trying to ignore the fact he was naked, and concentrate on his injury. It looked like he'd been bitten by some kind of snake type creature, and her fear was that it could have been venomous. She had no idea if that could be the case and wished Connor was here. He would have known. She pressed the palm of her hand on the wound to try and stop the bleeding.

"I feel so stupid!" Danny said angrily. "I should have been paying more attention."

"It could have happened to anyone, Danny. The main thing is, it doesn't seem too deep a wound. I'm just worried it could have been poisonous." Abby said.

"I feel OK, apart from the pain. Perhaps you could tie my belt around the top of my thigh to stop any venom spreading. I think that's what they do for snake bites."

Abby unthreaded Danny's belt from his jeans and strapped it around his thigh. She had to stay focused on her task and not let her embarrassment get the better of her. She found some cotton padding in the first aid kit in her rucksack and managed to patch up the wound. She moved away and looked away, feeling her cheeks flushing. "I should ... erm ... I should let you get dressed." She said awkwardly and moved away, heading back towards the look out point. A few moments later, a now fully clothed Danny joined her.

"Thanks for that." He said.

"We have to look after each other out here if we're going to survive long enough to get home." Abby replied. "I'm sure you would have done the same for me."

He leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. "Come on, we should try and find some food before it starts to get dark."

-o-

As night fell, they found a small cave that they could sleep in for the night. Danny had managed to get a fire going, and Abby had cooked some grubs and roots. They tasted awful, but both knew they had to have something if they were to stay healthy. After eating, they both leaned back against the cave wall and stared into the fire, reflecting on what could have been a far worse event than it was.

"How's the leg?" Abby said eventually.

"Sore." Danny replied. "What I wouldn't give for a nice soft bed right now!" he smiled.

"Me too. And a nice, hot shower." Abby laughed.

"Pizza and a beer." Danny added.

"Followed by a mug of Connor's hot chocolate." Abby sighed, and her light mood changed to one of sadness. She felt tears stinging her eyes.

"You missing him?" Danny said. Abby simply nodded, and Danny put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, allowing her head to rest on his chest. "What's the deal between you two? I could never quite work out whether you're an item or not."

"It's complicated, Danny. I think we're more than just friends, but neither of us will take the chance and move things forward." Abby said quietly.

"You kissed him the other day, I saw you. Didn't that move things on?"

"No. Poor Connor, I can't really blame him. I've been pushing him away for so long he'd probably given up hope. Then I go and confuse him by kissing him." Abby closed her eyes briefly. She had really messed things up between them. She didn't want to think about it, not here. She needed to try and keep calm and focussed. "What about you Danny? Do you have someone special that you're missing?"

"My son, Damian."

Abby sat up and looked at Danny. "I didn't know you had a son?"

"He'd be seven now, but I haven't seen him in four years. He wouldn't even know who I was." Danny swallowed nervously. "His mother and I split up, and she moved back to Ireland."

"I'm so sorry." Abby said, squeezing his hand. "It must be hard."

"Kate, my ex, couldn't handle being a copper's wife. She hated the long hours I had to work, and eventually ended up having an affair with a guy in her office. Maybe I should have made more of an effort to see Damian, I don't know." He squeezed Abby's hand back.

"When we get back home, you should try." Abby said. "Get to know him again. Jack and I grew up without a proper father figure, just a string of mum's boyfriends who never stuck around long enough to form any bonds with. A boy especially needs a father."

"You're right. I should call Kate, see if I can go over for a weekend and spend some time with him." There was a silence for a few minutes, then Danny shifted awkwardly. His leg was causing him some discomfort. Abby yawned. "You should go and try and get some sleep. I'll keep watch for a while. I doubt I'll get much sleep with this leg."

Abby smiled gratefully. "Are you sure?" Danny nodded. "Thanks. It's been nice chatting."

"Yeah. It's a shame it took this happening to make us get to know each other a little better." Danny replied. "Sleep well."

"Goodnight." Abby whispered, disappearing into the cave.

-o-

Abby crawled out and blinked in the bright light of the early morning sun. Danny was curled up asleep by the dying embers of the fire. She stretched and took a few mouthfuls of water from her bottle and strolled over towards Danny. A thought hit her, what if he was actually unconscious and not sleeping at all? He'd seemed OK when she left him last night, but if the creature that had bit him was venomous, the poison could have slowly worked its way into his system during the night.

She knelt beside him; he didn't look like he was sweating or clammy, so that had to be a good sign at least. "Danny?" she whispered. "Danny?"

He stirred and opened his eyes. "Morning, Abby." He said huskily. Abby breathed a sigh of relief. "You OK?"

"I was worried about you, that's all." She said, feeling herself blush.

"I feel fine. I don't think that creature was poisonous." He sat up, unfastened his jeans and rolled them down. Abby turned away. "Abby, don't go all shy on me now!" he laughed. "You've seen more of me than this!"

She turned to face him again. He was peeling off the cotton padding and examining his wound. "How is it?" she said.

"Looks pretty clean." He said. "Scabbed over nicely." He pulled his jeans back up and stood up, taking a drink from his water bottle. "What's for breakfast?"

"Here." Abby said, throwing him a fruit they had found the second day.

"Yummy." Danny said unenthusiastically. He took a bite from it and grimaced. It tasted pretty much like everything else here.

They settled into their daily routines, scanning for anomalies, gathering materials for a fire and filling their various containers with water. After the scare yesterday, both were extra vigilant, but at the same time felt more relaxed in each other's company. They even shared the occasional joke, and it made the day pass very quickly. Before they knew it, it was beginning to get dark again and Danny was lighting the fire. As they waited for their food to cook, Abby wished every day out here could be like this one. It would certainly make life a lot easier to handle until they found a way home. She knew it wouldn't be the case though, tomorrow they could find themselves having to run from a terrifying creature.

"So, has there been anyone since Kate?" Abby asked, leaning against the cave wall.

"No one that really counts." Danny replied. "I've had a few one night stands, scratched a couple of itches so to speak." He grinned. "What about you? Surely you and Connor have..."

"No. He'd run a mile if I tried to seduce him." She laughed. "Connor's not the 'scratching an itch' type. He needs something more long term, the stability and reassurance of a proper relationship."

"What about you though? You must have needs." He shifted nervously, tucking his legs up and resting his head on his knees.

Abby turned to look at him, the light from the fire dancing in his eyes. "Yeah, I have needs, but that's what batteries are for." She giggled. Had she really just admitted that out loud to Danny?

"No batteries out here." Danny said.

"True." Abby replied. She was beginning to feel a little weird, but in a nice way. This topic was not one she'd ever imagined having with Danny, or anyone else for that matter.

Danny added another piece of wood to the fire and then sat back. The tension could be cut with a knife and neither spoke for several minutes. Danny eventually broke the silence. "If someone were to ask you to help them... scratch an itch, would you?"

Abby felt her stomach flip. Was Danny suggesting what she thought he was? "I think so." She managed to squeak out.

Neither could say for certain who made the first move, but their lips were mashing hard against each other's moments later. They pulled apart briefly, both breathing hard before kissing again, wrapping their arms around each other. As their tongues tangled together, hands began to explore. Danny unfastened her jeans and slid them down her hips, followed by her underwear. She wriggled out of them and then helped Danny take his own jeans off.

It wasn't great by anyone's standards, but their union satisfied a physical need in both and was a comfort. Human contact of the most basic kind in a world where they were the only humans in existence.

Afterwards, they both lay there, staring into the sky. Neither really knew what to do next – what do you do when you've just had sex with someone you only really considered a friend before? Abby sat up and scrambled around for her jeans. She pulled them on, and stood up. "I suppose I should... erm... get some sleep." She said.

"Yeah, you're right. We both should. We have to be alert." Danny said. He watched Abby disappear into the cave before pulling his own jeans on and curling into a ball beside the fire.