Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, no copyright intended
A/N: I've wanted to do an April storyline for a while, but haven't had a decent plot that I've wanted to run with. Until now - thanks to iEvenstarEstel
The alarm was too loud and intrusive. Abby had barely slept and she was exhausted; the last thing she wanted was to be getting out of bed now, but she had no choice. The world didn't stop just because she was feeling out of sorts. She rolled over and switched it off, then forced herself to sit up. The bed felt big and empty – Connor's side had not been slept in yet again.
She felt nothing more than sadness now. It had happened too frequently for her to allow herself to get angry or upset about it. She just had to accept the fact that Connor was drifting away from her, despite everything they'd promised each other in the Cretaceous. Everyone had assumed she would be the one that would get bored of the relationship in the real world; they'd said it would only be a matter of time before Abby realised Connor was not the man she needed. But they were all wrong; Connor was the one being tempted away by the excitement of the modern world.
She pulled the duvet off and dragged herself out of bed. As she padded sleepily across the room and out into the living area, she half hoped to see Connor curled up asleep on the sofa. He'd done that a couple of times; afraid to get into bed because he'd got in so late. But the sofa was empty, and there wasn't even a sign that he'd been home and gone out again. The letter from his mum that had arrived two days ago was still propped up, unopened, against the photo on the shelf above the breakfast bar.
There were no messages on her phone either when she switched it on whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. She sighed and thought about sending him a text message, but then decided against it. She'd done all of the communicating recently, and when he did bother to respond it would only be a one or two word answer. Why should she constantly chase him when he clearly thought more about his work for Philip Burton than he did about her? She didn't want to accept it, but perhaps Matt was right; Burton had Connor under some kind of spell and they both feared he was beyond help.
When she finally arrived at the ARC, she noted that his car was parked in his usual spot – had it even moved since yesterday? Abby shook her head; what could possibly be so important about this work he was doing that meant he couldn't even leave to get something to eat? She wondered when he'd last eaten properly; in fact, when had he had a proper drink? That was when she decided she'd make him some breakfast and take it in to him. She'd force her way into the lab if she had to.
The staff kitchen was kept pretty well stocked, thanks to Jess. Abby found some bread and put a couple of slices into the toaster. There was strawberry jam with no seeds in; just the sort Connor loved, and Jess had already got a pot of coffee going. Abby carefully arranged the toast on a small plate, put it on tray with two cups of coffee and a large dollop of jam in a little pot. If she'd actually thought ahead, she could've found a small vase and put a flower in it. Still, what she had would do. It might even make Connor smile; it had been far too long since she'd seen him smile.
Balancing the tray on her knee and propping it against the door, Abby tried to attract Connor's attention by knocking on the small window. She expected to see him either sprawled out asleep over his desk and jumping up when she knocked, or sitting over his work and desperately trying to keep his eyes open – but he was nowhere to be seen.
Abby switched on her comms device. "Jess, is Connor wearing a black box?"
"Negative, Abby. He generally doesn't when he's working in the Prospero lab."
"Figures. Can you tell when his bio-tag was used last?"
She heard the familiar tapping as Jess typed and then said. "He last used it to get into the ARC yesterday morning. According to the records, he hasn't left."
Abby sighed. He had to be here, so why couldn't she see him? The window in the door was small and it was difficult to see more than just a tiny part of the lab. She stood on tip-toe and tried to see further inside and that was when she saw his arm on the floor; limp and lifeless.
"Jess! I need emergency access into Connor's lab now! He's collapsed on the floor." Her heart was racing and her throat tight. She immediately felt guilty – she'd not even thought to check on him when she left for home last night because she'd just assumed he would be working late again. He could have laid there all night; hurt, scared, ill... what if he was dead?
"I'm trying to raise Philip," Jess said, sounding almost too calm. "He's the only person with access to that lab, other than April."
Moments later, a slightly annoyed Philip Burton was striding down the corridor, followed by Sam the medic. "This had better not be some kind of trick to get you inside Connor's lab. You know it's strictly off limits to non-Prospero personnel."
"Don't you even care that Connor has probably worked himself so hard for you he's made himself seriously ill?" Abby spat.
"He's probably just fallen asleep and all of this is completely un-necessary." Burton punched his security code into the keypad at the side of the door and it clicked open. Abby ran inside and then froze. The sight she saw was worse than any nightmare she'd ever had about losing Connor. She'd almost prepared herself for so many death bed scenarios that none would actually shock her – but this...
He was naked, sprawled out on his back and breathing steadily. However, that wasn't the most shocking sight. Curled against Connor's chest and just beginning to wake up was an equally naked April.
"Well, it seems a medic is not needed," Burton turned to Sam to dismiss him, barely able to hide his amusement. "And neither am I. Play nicely." He strode out, leaving Abby standing there with the tray still in her hands. She was shaking so hard the cups began to rattle and she had to place it down on the desk.
"Abby. This isn't what it looks like." April was scrambling to her feet and nudging Connor to wake him.
"Shut up!" Abby snapped.
Connor's eyes opened and he glanced up. When he saw April naked beside him, he sat up and put his hands over his eyes. "What? How? I... I don't understand."
"Connor." Abby folded her arms across her chest.
"Abby!..." He glanced down at his own naked body, then at April and then at Abby's thunderous face. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this. I just can't think of one at the moment."
"Save it for someone who actually cares!" Abby turned on her heels to make her escape. She couldn't stand it any longer; she felt sick and tears were stinging her eyes but she was determined that they wouldn't see how upset she was. She was vaguely aware of the door slamming behind her as she ran into the corridor, needing to get away from that room as soon as possible. Her head hurt and she almost stumbled on her own feet – Connor ignoring her warnings about Burton was one thing; she could even understand that there were aspects of his work he needed to keep secret, but sleeping with another woman was unforgivable and the final twist of the knife she already felt in her heart. This was the end for her and Connor and it felt like her entire world was shattering into a thousand pieces.
-o-
Connor blinked. What had just happened? He knew what it looked like, and he completely understood why Abby had fled, but it was all so confusing. April was on her feet and looking for her clothes; he knew he should probably be doing the same but that would mean making eye contact with April. He cupped himself to try and cover his modesty and felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment.
"Did we?" he finally squeaked out. He honestly couldn't remember what had happened between them, and when he thought about it he realised how awful that sounded.
"I think I should make myself scarce for a few hours," April said. She was pulling her sweater on now, and Connor looked at her. "You need to go and talk to Abby."
"Yes, you're right. She's probably thinking all sorts of things now and ..." He stopped. He wanted to say that he'd explain it to her, but he couldn't even explain it to himself.
"I'll go over to the New Dawn site and work from there today," April said. "You have my mobile number if you need me, or we can schedule a video conference." Connor nodded and watched her gather her bag and phone together. "I hope you can sort things out with Abby."
"So do I," he muttered as April left him alone. He stared at the door after her, trying to get his head around this situation. After some minutes, he shivered and remembered that he was still totally naked and really should be getting dressed. He stood up and immediately began to feel sick and light headed. His muscles ached from being on the cold floor all night, and his arm was numb from where April had been laid on him. It was just starting to tingle as the feeling began to return.
His clothes were strewn all over the place and it took him a while to find everything, especially as his head hurt so much. The last time he'd had a headache like this was the first time he and Abby drank beer after their time in the Cretaceous. They'd ignored the doctor's advice about easing themselves back into normal food and drink slowly and had pizza and beer on their second night back. Half a bottle of beer made him violently sick and gave him the hangover from hell. That's what this felt like; the mother of all hangovers, yet he hadn't had any alcohol in weeks.
Fully dressed, Connor prepared himself to go and find Abby and try to sort out this mess. He spotted the toast and coffee that she'd left and picked up one of the cups. He couldn't really stomach either, but coffee might make his head feel a bit better. As he sipped the hot liquid, he remembered something about last night. April had decided that they needed to work through the night to complete the section of the project that they were working on. He'd tried to argue, realising he hadn't seen Abby for more than a few minutes in days, but April was insistent. "When we finish this, we can give ourselves a whole day off – Abby would prefer that to a few hours at home before you have to come into work again." He went to make coffee, and when he came back April was running a diagnostic test on the prototype. That was the last thing he could remember.
The fog began to lift from his brain and he felt ready to go and face Abby. He'd realised there were two cups on the tray and two pieces of toast – she had obviously intended to have breakfast with him since he barely spent time with her. The toast was cold, but he could easily make more, and get fresh cups of coffee. They could still have their breakfast and talk this over.
-o-
He knew exactly where he'd find her. She'd once told him that she had found comfort in her many pets as a child when everything else around her was falling apart, and that she preferred animals to humans most of the time. The menagerie at the ARC was Abby's little sanctuary and a place others rarely went to.
She was sat in the corner of the open pen where the creatures that weren't likely to eat each other were allowed to roam freely. Her back was to the entrance, and Connor wasn't entirely sure whether she knew he was there or not. He'd only ever seen her like this a couple of times; she was not one for showing her emotions. When things had got really bad in the Cretaceous, she'd send him off to go and collect firewood or catch fish so she could have a moment to herself. He knew she cried, but she had always hidden it from him apart from a couple of occasions when he'd returned unexpectedly and found her, just as she was now, curled into a ball and sobbing silently.
"Abby?"
She turned angrily and glared at him. Connor ached for her; her eyes were red and swollen and her cheeks dirty, stained with tears. "Go away, Connor."
"I brought breakfast," he said. "The toast you made got a little cold, so I made some more." He sat himself down next to her and placed the tray in front of them both. Abby didn't move. "Look, I know what you think you saw back there, but it wasn't... at least I don't think it was... no, I'm pretty certain it wasn't what it looked like."
"So what the hell was it then, Connor? You haven't been home in days, you spent the night with her and then I find you both all cosy and naked asleep together. Your clothes even smell of her cheap perfume. Please, credit me with some intelligence. You slept with another woman, Connor, and I'm not sure that I could ever forgive you."
"Abby, please... It wasn't.."
"I'm not interested, Connor. Please leave me alone."
"OK, I can see you're upset... and I haven't got my head around it either. I'll come home this evening, I promise. We can talk then, when both of us have calmed down and..."
"Upset doesn't even begin to cover this, Connor!" Abby snapped. The expression on her face told Connor the conversation was over.
"I'll see you later," he said quietly, standing up. He waited for a reply, but she'd purposely turned her head away to watch Rex nearby. Tears welled in his eyes, but he wouldn't allow them to fall. This was their workplace, and personal issues had to be kept in check.
-o-
Connor finally made it home shortly after 6pm. The flat was in darkness, which made Connor worry. When he turned on the lights it was obvious that there wouldn't be any talking tonight – most of Abby's things had gone. He went to check the wardrobe and her clothes had all gone too. She'd left him.
Fighting his tears, he dialled her mobile number. He needed to know she was OK and wasn't wandering the streets looking for somewhere to stay. If she couldn't bare to live with him, he should be the one moving out, not her, since it was him that had done wrong. The phone was answered within a few rings, but it wasn't Abby's voice.
"Jess?"
"Abby doesn't want to speak to you, Connor."
"Is she with you?"
"Yes. She's staying with me for a while to get her head together." That was a relief. At least Abby was with a friend. "Look, I can't make any promises, but I'll talk to her and try to calm her down. Give it a couple of days and she might be ready to talk to you."
"Thank you. Just... just tell her that I love her."
"I will, Connor." Jess ended the call and Connor suddenly felt like he'd lost a limb. What the hell had he done? He walked around the flat in a daze, not quite knowing what he should do. Then he spotted the letter from his mum propped against the photo. He ran his fingers over it – it was taken the night they moved out of Jess's flat and into their own place. Jess had got it printed out and put it into a nice frame as a house-warming gift. They both looked so happy in it, and they'd actually started to think that they could plan some kind of future together. It was all falling apart now though, and it was his fault.
Sniffing, he opened the letter. It was the usual 'news' that his mum had taken to sending him about once a month since she "couldn't get the hang of those computer thingys" and hadn't quite worked out how to use the mobile phone he'd got her for Christmas. He skimmed most of it, but the last part hit him. She wanted to know when she could meet Abby, and perhaps the pair of them would like to come up at Easter to stay for a few days? Connor couldn't fight it any longer. His tears fell and he let out an anguished cry that did not subside for several minutes.
*please note, the next chapter will be M rated*
