Not Everyday

He rolled his eyes as Connor started to complain about his various allergies. He pressed a finger to his lips as he stood up and turned to face Connor.

'Shh' he quietened the young man; he didn't want the young student to warn the creature they were coming with his incessant complaining. 'We can't rely on the army to find this creature, so just keep looking. It's so close I can sense it.'

'Shouldn't we just wait for the Professor?'

Stephen shook his head and they carried on for a few minutes in silence, Stephen straining his ears for any sign of the creature they were hunting, trying to ignore the student's constant sniffing as he tried to control his sinus issues.

'So... what do you think of Abby?' Connor asked; a picture of the small blonde flew to the front of Stephen's mind and he smiled to himself, he found her attractive, even though he knew he should really be thinking about his girlfriend Alison, but he knew that relationship had been over before she even went away to work. He hadn't felt the same way she had for a long time; he was just too scared to make himself open to being preyed on by single women. Sometimes it sucked to be physically fit, it meant women seemed to chase after you; Stephen hated the fact that he could never stay out of the radar, he preferred to keep himself to himself until he knew he could trust people.

'She's okay, Why?' Stephen asked, he knew deep down he was trying to keep himself locked behind the emotional wall he'd built around himself.

'I was picking up some heat between us,' Connor replied, 'You get an instinct for these kind of things.'

'I thought you already had a girlfriend,' Stephen commented, startled to find a feeling of jealousy that was starting to rise in his chest, and surprised to find himself clinging to a thread of hope that the younger man wouldn't try and win the blonde's affections.

'She's more of a pen pal really,' Connor replied, 'She, um... she lives in the Gambia.'

'That's practical for a night out,' Stephen commented, looking down at the map he was carrying and trying to bite back the irritation he was starting to feel.

'Yeah. So do you think Abby likes me?'

Stephen turned on his heel and stepped in front of Connor, forcing the younger man to stop; the constant talk of the young woman liking the student was really starting to grate on Stephen's nerves. Not because he liked the girl, obviously, just because the younger man wouldn't stop talking if he was on the subject.

'Why don't you ask her yourself,' he suggested.

'Alright, I might,' Connor answered, Stephen turned away and continued walking hoping that the conversation had now ended; Stephen noticed the student hadn't started walking again and heard him start talking again, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

'It's not every day you meet a potential girlfriend,' he muttered; Stephen rolled his eyes, it seemed there was no stopping Connor when he got onto a subject.

'And find a dinosaur,' Connor finished almost out of earshot. Stephen continued down the right hand fork, his thoughts straying momentarily from the search for the predator to the girl from the question.

'Stephen? Stephen!'

The sound of Connor calling his name made him look around as he came running to catch up with him.

'So... do you really think-'

'Connor? Shut up,' Stephen snapped, 'We're trying to track down a ruthless predator that drags its prey into trees and you're continuously talking. If you keep it up we'll be the next ones that are found up in the tree.'

Connor closed his mouth and they continued to walk in silence; Stephen looking around and listening as his mind wandered back to the meeting last night when they'd stumbled across a dinosaur and a pretty blonde zoo keeper named Abby Maitland. Stephen smiled to himself, shaking his head as he realised that the small blonde had managed to net his interests and even a small part of his affections without even knowing her for 24 hours. He was going to have to watch his step with this girl; she might end up netting more than just interest and slight affection. It was this that had Stephen Hart worried that he'd let down his defences, let Abby Maitland in, and end up getting hurt all over again. He shook his head, a slight sad smile on his face; sometimes he really hated Helen for instigating the affair and pushing him right down to the dirt again right after Sophie had left him broken and defeated. He shook his head to clear the dark thoughts from his head so he could focus on the task at hand.

A/N: Hey one and all! I've started up with my series of one shots again; they do have hints of character histories that I'm putting in my multi-chaptered fic 'Feel For You'. Tell me what you think please! I'm hoping to have a few lined up from series 2 as well as soon as it starts!

Ciao for now

Starsword