As much as I wish I owned the ridiculously awesome characters of Primeval, I don't. Impossible pictures does. If I owned Primeval, the whole team would be alive and Claudia would be there. And Connor and Abby wouldn't be so difficult. And Becker and Sarah would have bigger roles in the story.

Chapter 1

Becker was tired of seeing pain--no, that wasn't right. Right now, he wanted to cause Danny Quinn so much pain.

2 weeks earlier

They disembarked into New York City. Abby and Sarah looked around with excitement, their eyes as bright as the skyscrapers etched into the horizon. Connor, Becker, and Danny shared amused glances as the girls insisted they take a picture standing in front of a sign proclaiming the airport they arrived in.

Sarah wore a scarlet-orange sundress, and held a pair of large, clunky sunglasses in her right hand. In her left, she held her carry-on bag. Abby wore cargo pants and a t-shirt proclaiming Obama-Biden '08, which she had insisted on ordering online after hearing of their trip to the US of A. Becker, out of his military getup, wore a polo shirt and shorts. Danny was once again proving his mettle, wearing ripped jeans and the illegible t-shirt of some band (which Sarah and Abby had condemned as grunge). Connor was, as usual, in a waistcoat, hat, and fingerless gloves. He fingered the ring on the leather strap about his neck nervously as they stepped to the sign. He, Danny, and Becker held the bags for the girls.

"I don't photograph well," he fretted. Abby barked a laugh before holding a hand to her mouth in restraint. She pulled him to the sign, where Danny and Becker were already standing. Sarah was convincing a woman to take their picture.

After satisfied the woman knew how their camera worked, Sarah stepped to the sign. To her shock and relative pleasure, Becker threw an arm about her waist. Connor put a hand on Abby's shoulder gently. Danny rolled his eyes, grabbing the others and pulling them in so they actually fit in the photograph. The woman gave them a thumbs-up and called, "Say cheese!"

They repeated the sentiment, flashing happy smiles at the camera as light seared their eyes. A moment later it was gone, and Abby and Sarah rushed to the camera to see the image.

"Brilliant!" Sarah exclaimed. She pocketed the camera and turned to the others. "Come on, we can catch a ride."

Danny smiled as they followed her. It was his idea, going on this trip. When Lester found temps to do odd jobs for the ARC occasionally, he knew his regular employees would make trouble. He told Danny they could take a month off, but somehow Danny made it a summer.

After they found they had so much time off, the others agreed with Danny quickly on where to go. A tour of the US, taken by the seats of their pants, would be just what they needed to forget about the ARC a little while.

They caught a cab and directed him to the building they were staying in. It was a small motel, where they had saved three rooms, two with two beds and one with a single bed, which Danny claimed at once. Sarah and Abby took one double room, while Connor and Becker took the other, but while it was still light, they decided to get a bite to eat. Jet lag made them begin to feel awkward and sick.

They found a McDonalds a block away, where they collapsed at a table. It was built for four; Danny pulled another chair up.

"I'll buy tonight," he offered, pulling out his wallet. "What'll we have, then?"

"Triple cheeseburger combo," Becker asked.

"Chicken cheeseburger combo," Connor put in.

"Chicken salad," Sarah said, and Abby nodded.

"Same."

Danny nodded. "Okay," he said, standing and retreating to the front of the fast food restaurant. The others sat silently a moment, before Sarah sighed.

"How do you guys think the temps are doing?" she asked happily. Connor smirked.

"I reckon Codi's not figured out the ADD yet," he supposed. He referred to their replacements at the ARC. Codi, Jackson, Dean, Lily, and Ronny were covering for Connor, Becker, Danny, Sarah, and Abby, respectively. The team knew that they were fairly amateur, but it felt good--in a sadistic sort of way--to imagine someone else suffering under Lester.

***

Lester was on his last nerve. The temps had failed. He wasn't surprised, but they failed. By the time Codi locked the last anomaly, four Microraptors found their way through. Special forces rounded them up and sent them back through once Codi figured out how to open an anomaly again, but he feared what would come through the next anomaly that appeared. Raptors? Future pred--he gritted his teeth. If they came through, no one would stand a chance. As much as he hated to admit it, Danny Quinn and the others were the very best when it came to this. And they were off across the pond snapping photos of themselves with the bloody White House.

Codi had returned to the ARC with tears in her eyes, but he had no sympathy. The other temps were too tired of the shaky, frightened-of-a-shadow girl to say anything to her.

Okay, that's all for now! (it gets more exciting in Chapter 2!)
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