Hiya, this is Bellalyse! After turning this over in my head several times, I am finally introducing to you: The Allison Becker Chronicles. As I've fallen in love with the Doctor recently and have an ongoing affair with Primeval, I've decided it's only natural to combine these two passions. See my deviations on DeviantArt (I use the same screen name) to see a few characters, and read my Primeval fanfictions 'A Lot can Happen on Vacation' and 'That Perfect Balance' to introduce the characters as well.

The Allison Becker Chronicles, Book One: Stranger

Chapter 1

"Now, as we enter the dinosaur exhibit, we move on into the Cretaceous Period first. This was a time of dinosaurs, which roamed the Earth far and wide. Did you know that many years ago, all the world's continents formed one continent? Pretty cool, huh?"

Allison Becker rolled her eyes. The trip to the museum was a bad idea; she'd rather learn from a book than from some condescending bimbo who knew no more about dinosaurs than a fifth grader. Her fascination with the obvious was just a little too juvenile, just like her bright pink lipstick and black pigtails. She wore a museum tee that was about four sizes too large with a belt about her waist to make up for its volume-that just showed how pencil-thin she was. Beneath that was a skirt that didn't fall four inches down her legs.

"Very cool." Allison Becker glanced to the side to see a thirty-something man in a suit and trench coat take a long, loud sip from a big plastic cup emblazoned with the phrase 'DINOSAUR WEEK at the British Museum.' She raised her eyebrows as her eyes darted to the floor and saw red Converses. She looked back up at his face and saw his bespectacled eyes-just a second ago he hadn't been wearing glasses, had he?-were watching her with interest. She turned away quickly and, fed up with the tour, walked back out to the lobby.

She paused before the gift shop-she'd promised Nick she'd get him something from Dinosaur Week. He hated that he couldn't make it; he was at the ARC's annual Christmas party, then off to a family event he couldn't squeeze out of. She gritted her teeth and stepped into the gift shop.

Stuffed dinosaurs lined the walls, with a small nook in the back full of books. Allison darted to the back purely out of selfish interest, knowing Nick would rather have a plastic toy 'with real roaring action' and flashing eyes than a concise summation of Darwin's theories. She snatched up a book titled 'Continental Drift' and scanned the first few pages.

"You split pretty quick back there."

Allison turned quickly, eyes wide as saucers, to see the man with the big plastic cup standing behind her. No glasses this time. He turned away from her quickly to pick up a stuffed Tyrannosaurus and wobbled it back and forth for a moment before setting it back down.

"Why should you care?" She struggled to keep her voice steady but even after a lifetime of fighting dinosaurs she was nervous when it came to strangers. The man paused before speaking.

"What's your name?"

Allison took a hasty step backwards. "None of your business," she said quickly. She felt a sudden and irrational longing for her days at the ARC, when she had a gun concealed on her person at all times.

The man shook his head quickly, raising his hands in defense. "I'm sorry-I just have this feeling I recognize you, you know? I could've sworn I've seen you around the city-can't forget eyes like those."

A deep blush ran through Allison's dark complexion and she turned away. "My name's Allie," she said in defeat as she stepped to another shelf; there were stuffed chasmosaurs wearing tees emblazoned with the phrase 'Fun's not extinct at the British Museum.' She lifted one, deciding Nick would love it; he had his dad's refined tastes. She felt the man's presence behind her.

"Allie what?"

She turned quickly, mustering up her courage and staring into his eyes. "I don't know creepy guys who go to museums alone and buy themselves kids' toys and harass women, okay?"

She darted to the cash register, fumbling with her money as the cashier, a black woman with a polite smile and patient, gentle eyes, waited. As she handed over her cash she admitted to herself that Nick fitted one of the accusations she made to the man; he had a massive collection of kids' toys at their flat.

She took the bagged chasmosaur and exited the gift shop, rushing out of the museum into the cold, winter air. She didn't think the man was behind her, so she continued on to her car and started it quickly. She pulled onto the road and breathed deeply, pushing a hand back through her hair-

-it happened so suddenly that she wasn't sure what she saw until the buildings began to collapse into the road-

-a massive, fiery red explosion filled the sky before her. Her eyes widened with terror as she swerved, along with twenty other cars nearby her, and she screamed as she sideswiped the side of a silver car and stopped her car quickly to climb out. Her door was jammed against the other car, where a woman was screaming along with her two children in the back seat, and she was paralyzed and helpless as she saw a metal rafter from a nearby building collapse forward as though in slow motion. It crashed to the ground and then fell towards her, closer and closer. She pulled her legs up to her chest tightly, terrified. Finally the metal smashed into the hood of her car and her airbag inflated. The world around her churned into terrible darkness.