Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.

31.5 Silver Anniversary

"It's hard to believe," began Abby as she turned the steering wheel of the sleek hovercraft down the desolate country roadway "twenty-five years already..."

"It's been twenty-five wonderful years," interrupted Connor reassuringly as he reached his arm across the steering console to pat her hand, "and more to come."

Abby gave a gentle smile, trying not to let Connor see the worry in her eyes. Then she turned the hovercraft once again to go down the long drive way to their home adjacent to the Forest of Dean. As the vehicle swooped around the last bend, their home appeared in view. Abby shifted the vehicle from forward to hover. They both stared.

Every light in the home appeared to be turned on. There were silver streamers and balloons adorning the fence railing and the path to the front door. Family and friends were milling around the yard and in the house. Sitting sentry duty on the porch steps were their children.

Abby pulled the hovercraft slowly forward and parked in front of their home.

Their eldest daughter, twenty-two year old Sarah Leia Temple, reached the vehicle first. Opening the door closest to her, she held out a hand to help her father from the seat. Looking at the plaster wrapped around his ankle, she asked "Da, what did you do to yourself this time?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

With Sarah on one side of Connor and her boyfriend Jamie Miller on the other side, Connor was soon settled on a comfy sofa in the main living area of their home. Abby followed behind, smiling and greeting their guests as she made her way across the walkway and up the stairs to the spacious old rambling porch.

Abby's most dependable animal care assistant, Taylor Craig, was on the front lawn juggling a smilodon cub and a bottle. The cub had been left all alone after an anomaly earlier this week. The woman grinned cheekily at Abby, and declined to enter the house. Don't want anything dropped on the rugs you know… besides waiting on my bloke.

Connor's lab assistant, Jatin had brought his new girlfriend Seema to meet them. From the whispers, Abby gathered Jatin was trying to convince the woman that a normal life, with a job at the ARC, was possible. She smiled, remembering Connor telling her how Jatin was head over heels over this woman.

Abby paused a moment, hand on the stair rail to reflect on the many wonderful times they had here since moving in twenty-one years ago. Jenny reached out and touched her friend on the arm, turning her gaze toward the living room where their two oldest children were settling Connor. Sarah was getting a pillow to prop her father's ankle up and Jamie moved to fetch him a glass of punch.

"And you never said a word at Jamie's birthday party today," Abby chuckled. "It's not every day a young man turns twenty-five…"

"And not every day that friends celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary," replied Jenny. Arm in arm, the two friends entered the home. Jenny echoing Sarah's earlier question, "What did Connor do to himself this time?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The twins, twenty year old Amelia and Tommy, carried great platters of food into the living room. They set up a serving area near where Connor was sitting so he wouldn't have to move. They were back from uni. Just for tonight and the weekend, they assured their parents. They would be back to school on Monday… exams you know. Their younger son, seventeen year old Nick, brought the communications handset in and handed it to his father.

"Uncle Jack," the boy whispered, rolling his blue eyes in a gesture reminiscent of his mother, "he's lost, needs directions."

Connor snorted, and began to tell Jack where to go.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

As Abby moved from the entryway into the living room, she was surprised to see so many people here for their anniversary party.

It was a long trek from London, but Matt and Emily had made it. Through the large window, she could see them. They were still on the porch, checking out the flower beds. The pair had adopted two boys who appeared from an anomaly in the Tower nearly fifteen years ago. Both boys had proved to be quick learners, accommodating themselves to the twenty-first century very well. Once Edward realized he couldn't be king in this time period, he had settled into his studies determined to make something of himself. He had graduated from uni and was already making Edward Anderson a name to be reckoned with in legal and political arenas. Richard's ambitions were of a different sort. Currently, Abby noted he was hovering around Amelia, trying to be helpful, but mainly trying to be close to Amelia. Only time would tell if Richard and Amelia were going to be serious about each other. Abby wasn't quite sure what to make of his attentions to her daughter. He seemed to be quite a bit older and more mature than twenty year old Amelia. But, spying Jess and Becker, Abby remembered, an age difference hadn't seemed to bother them at all.

Jess and Becker had arrived from London too. They were sitting on the settee opposite Connor. She couldn't hear what they were saying from where she was standing, but she could tell from the smiles and chuckles it must have been something funny. One of the things that Abby had missed most of all after she had accepted the promotion to work at the ARCs creature preserve had been losing the closeness of friends. Friday nights in with Jess and Becker had dwindled in the face of a lengthy drive from London. Over the years, they had still made plenty of opportunities to visit each other, but between juggling children and commutes, the two couples were lucky if they got to see each other every other month. Abby had to hide her smirk behind her hand as she realized the two Becker girls, fourteen year old Jeanne and thirteen year old Claudette, were following her Nick around. The girls were trailing him through the house like groupies.

Hendriks and Stephenson could be seen in the kitchen. Hendriks was stirring something on the stove and most likely making an improvement on whatever was cooking. Hendriks had finally retired from the ARCs security team last year, and now devoted himself to his new career as a chef. Stephenson might have gained ten pounds since Hendriks had retired, but he looked quite happy about it.

Duncan and Edie were coming up the stairs. They had arrived from Manchester. Duncan was a professor there, and Edie owned a yoga studio… Natural Bliss had franchised over twenty years ago, and made them quite well to do, a fact which continually surprised the pair. Their daughter, twenty year old Rosie, broke away from her parents as they entered the house. She ran straight toward Tommy, greeting him with an excited hug and a kiss, for all the world as if he were the only person in the building.

Grabbing her friend Jenny by the wrist, Abby steered the two of them to the couch. They settled by Connor. Abby made sure to keep her lonely friend close by in this room full of couples. Jenny had been widowed suddenly ten years ago. Michael Miller, the sweet, kind, gentle musician Jenny had married so long ago, had been killed in an attack on London. To this day, the authorities were blaming the attack on unnamed terrorists, but Abby had been in London that day too. She remembered the ARCs calls that day. A younger Helen than Abby had ever seen before had been back, bringing death and destruction, as she always seemed to do.

As they settled on the sofa next to Connor, Abby looked up at her friends "Oh I have missed you so much. It's wonderful to see you all here."

Turning to Connor, Jess and Becker, she asked "What were you all laughing at? And where's Lizzie?"