Title: Reflections
Author: DrawnToDarkness
Rating: K+
Pairing: Connor/Abby
Summary: Connor Temple through the eyes of the one who loves him most.
Disclaimer: They're still not mine. Really, we should fix that ;)

For SandyLee Potts, who requested a nice Connor story. Hope this is nice enough for you! :)

Whoever said nice boys finished last hadn't met Connor Temple.

Having dated her fair share of bad boys, Abby Maitland – Temple – could honestly say that good boys, in her estimation, finished first, second and third. She smiled to herself as she watched her husband sleep, feeling a little thrill course through her at the thought that he was, finally, her husband, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was no one else she'd rather be married to.

Not that he was all good. Well, not in the goody-goody, sweet but dull sense of the word. Doing the jobs they did, living in the Cretaceous for a year, he'd had no choice but to change a little bit. Grow up. Get tougher.

It was either that, or they'd break.

She'd worried at one point, after watching him face off against a raptor and win with a vicious triumph that had startled her, that the sweet and gentle Connor she'd known was lost to her. He'd assured her that that wasn't the case a few days later, when he'd come back from a fishing trip with a bouquet of wildflowers he'd collected en route as a surprise to 'brighten up the place'.

It was the little gestures like that that made Connor the man she'd fallen in love with. He was kind and considerate, unlike the other men she'd dated – not that she'd dated a lot. Not seriously, anyway. Men, in Abby's experience, tended to let her down. It had started with her father and snow balled from there.

Until Connor.

Even at the beginning, when he was cute and adorable but undeniably geeky, he'd always been sweet to her. Too sweet, the cynical side of Abby's brain had screamed. There was no way a man could be so genuinely clueless when it came to members of the opposite sex. She was half-convinced at first that it was all an act but had realised after a few months that no, it wasn't. Connor just really was that adorable – and that inexperienced at matters of the heart.

She'd known she was falling for him when Caroline had come onto the scene. The depth of jealousy she'd felt had startled her – and the aching pain in her chest when she'd had to watch them together had been almost unbearable. It was a new and exciting – not to mention utterly terrifying – experience for her, so she'd pulled away, resisted the urge to act on her feelings until she was certain he felt the same way.

That certainty came after two months in the Cretaceous, when she'd come down with a flu-like bug.

He hadn't left her side for more than a few minutes, leaving only long enough to see to the call of nature and collect berries to eat. She'd insisted he leave and go fishing or hunting but Connor had merely held her hand, soothed the hair back from her sweaty brow and told her firmly that he wasn't leaving her.

Even when she'd been back on her feet, it had taken some persuading on her part to get him to venture far from their camp. She'd had to prove to him that she was strong enough to defend herself should the need arise and had done so by demonstrating what she'd do – by using him in place of a hungry dinosaur.

That was when they'd shared their second kiss.

A little on the desperate side, a little hesitant at first. He'd been pinned beneath her, muscle firm and toned from their time in the past, his hands gripping her waist gently. The expression on his face, full of tenderness and affection and love, had taken her breath away.

So she'd decided to return the favour and take his away by kissing him.

Connor had had no complaints.

From that moment on, they'd been a couple. She'd catch him watching her from across the fire some nights, a grin that could only be described as goofy on his face, naked emotion in his eyes as though he couldn't quite believe she was really his.

It was a feeling she shared, being honest with herself, just one she was a little better at hiding.

Following their return to the present time, Abby had wondered whether their relationship would last. She'd wondered it a lot when he got caught up in Burton's plans and the whole New Dawn fiasco but was pleased – and relieved – that after the dust had settled, the Connor of old returned to her once more.

Yes, he was a little worn around the edges – they both were. They'd lost so many people over the years, good friends as well as colleagues, and the events of the convergence had hammered home to both of them just how fleeting their time together might be.

It was for that reason that they'd decided to go full steam ahead with their wedding plans. They'd had the support of their teammates behind them and had enlisted their help – most notably that of their detail-loving Field Co-ordinator – in arranging the best wedding they could on the shortest timescale possible.

And now it was done. They were married.

Abby smiled as Connor began to stir, his eyelashes fluttering against his cheek. His brow furrowed as he reached out for her, finding empty space instead of the warmth he'd been expecting. Shuffling closer, she covered the gap between them and pressed her lips softly against his.

"Good morning, Mr Temple."

"Mornin', Mrs Temple." The grin that spread across his face was slow and boyish and made butterflies dance in her stomach. "So that wasn't a dream, then?"

"Nope." Pressing the length of her body against his, Abby sighed contentedly when his arm came to rest heavily over her waist, his hand a reassuring pressure at the small of her back. She dipped her head, pressing her lips against his chest above his heart. "I love you, Connor."

Even without seeing him, she could easily picture the grin that broke out across his face at her words. "I love you, too, Mrs Temple. Can't believe I get to call you that now."

"Well, start believing it," she murmured, her eyes sliding shut as he began to trace the curve of her spine with his fingertips. "It's not going to change any time soon."

"Good." Rolling them over, Abby looked up as Connor gazed down at her, his brown eyes dancing with warmth and a joy he didn't try to hide. "How about we do that again, yeah? Good morning, Mrs Temple."

Wrapping her arms around his neck as his lips brushed hers, Abby felt the corners of her mouth turn upwards in a smile she knew was just as sappy as the grin on his face was goofy. "Good morning, Mr Temple."

And a good morning it was.

End.
... And as much as I love and adore Connor/Abby, this is as far out of my comfort zone as Matt/Emily. I hope it doesn't show, and I'm sorry if it does! x