Connor peeked across the flames of their fire at Abby, opening one eye a careful amount. Hopefully his face was shadowed more by the firelight than her's was. He felt a small smile pull at the corners of his mouth, watching her sleep, opening both eyes once he was sure she wouldn't see him watching her.
Then a sudden screeching call from outside of their little shelter made them both startle, and Abby was up and awake, on her feet before he could even pick himself up off of his pallet, as he'd fallen to the dirt floor. He finally got to his own feet, and made his way to Abby's side, hands clenched tightly, body as tense as hers. They had been stuck in the Cretaceous for several days now, approaching a week and a half, and the two of them worked together on extending their shelter every day, when they weren't out hunting or checkign the traps or any number of other small things they'd found they needed to do.
If not for the constant danger of becoming dinner for any number of dinosaurs here, they could almost pretend they were camping; when nothing was endangering their lives, each day was similar to the next.
But the shelter was still a work in progress, the camoflouge patchy at best and flimsy at worst. And there was something quite a bit larger than a raptor right outside.
A roaring call this time, and Connor's fingers gripped the edge of Abby's jacket in a quivering grasp. Her own shaking hand found its way to his other hand, and their fingers wove together.
There wasn't time to think on it beyond what it meant in the moment.
Here, it was the two of them, together, alone in a world that wasn't their own, and wouldn't be for many, many years to come. When it wasn't boring or tedious, it was heart racingly, terrifyingly dangerous, in a way that made them want to hide away from it all.
The stomping footsteps passed on, fading into the background, and Abby finally released his hand, her breath hissing softly in the quiet. His own heartbeat was as loud as a drum in his ears, and it amazed him how he hadn't noticed that whilst the whatever-it-was loomed over their flimsy little home.
There was a funny sound filling the air, and it took Connor much longer than it did Abby to realize that the sounds were comign from himself, and that there were hot tears burnign tracks down his cheeks.
"Oh, Conn." Her voice was as soft as her breathing, but he still heard it, over the crackling of the fire and the choking, sputtering sobs escaping him against his will. Before he could process it all enough to fight back the tears bourne of it all, Abby had rushed towards him, and her arms were around him, and the tears fell freely as he hid his face in the crook of her neck. "Shh." She soothed, putting away her own fears for his sake, as he'd done for her time and time again.
More times than she prefered to think about, to be honest, but for right now, she would be there for Connor.
"It'll be okay." It wouldn't, not until they, and Danny, were back home safe and sound, but they both knew that. But sometimes, it was what you needed to hear. For the moment, they were safe, they were together, and that was enough for her to say in that same soft, whispering tone, "It's going to be alright, Conn," as she hugged him.
Everything else could wait.