Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures, no copyright intended.
A/N: The story is rated M because the second part will feature abuse/implied rape and general angsty stuff. You're OK with this part though....
Connor was not happy. The rest of the team were getting ready to go through the latest anomaly. A week ago, he'd fallen down the stairs at home, and his ankle was badly swollen. The doctor had told him he must rest it, so he was restricted to computer duties only. He was setting up the laptop and the locking device whilst the others checked their equipment.
"Take care guys, OK?" he said, trying not to look jealous.
Abby came over and kissed him on the cheek. "We will. Don't worry. Your ankle will be better before you know it, and you'll be back chasing dinosaurs with us." She followed Danny, Becker and Sarah, glancing back at the forlorn figure of Connor, leaning over his laptop.
--
They never knew what they would find on the other side of the anomalies, and they were prepared for practically anything. Abby was always alert as she stepped through, her hand on her tranquiliser gun just in case. However, she was greeted by a fairly ordinary scene. The anomaly seemed to have opened in the present day, give or take 50 or so years.
"Think we can put these away." Becker said, indicating the guns. Everyone tucked them away out of sight and began to look around.
"Where do you think we are?" Abby said. She turned herself around a full 360 degrees. Somehow, the place seemed vaguely familiar but she wasn't sure why.
"No idea, but there's a pub over there." Danny said, a slight smile spreading across his face.
"Danny! We can't drink on duty!" Sarah said.
"It's research, Sarah!" Danny laughed. "The prices of the drinks will give us an idea of what year we're in!" he was already striding across the street towards the entrance to the bar.
"I'm with Danny!" Abby said, following him. Becker and Sarah hesitated for a moment, and then they too were going across the street.
As the four of them walked into the bar, they were very aware that they were being stared at. There were only six other people in there, not counting the barman, and all of them were elderly gents. It was difficult to place the date from their clothing, all old men seem to dress the same.
"What can I get you folks?" the barman asked, his accent suggesting they were somewhere in Norfolk.
"Four beers please." Danny asked.
"That'll be eight shillings." The barman said.
Danny rummaged in his pocket, pretending to look for some money. "Ah, I'm sorry. I haven't got my wallet." He looked at the barman apologetically then at the other three. They began to leave, the barman shaking his head at them. Abby felt a hand on her shoulder as she walked past one of the tables. She turned and one of the old men was smiling at her. His face changed as he looked at her.
"Sorry, I thought you were someone else. My mistake."
"It's OK." she said, a little confused, then she ran to catch up with the others who were already outside.
"When did we stop using shillings?" Danny asked.
"Early 70s I think." Sarah said. "At least that gives us some idea."
Abby spotted a shop further down the street. "Let's see if they have a newspaper." She said, and they followed her. She went in, and found the newspaper stand. The main headlines on all of the newspaper were "Man lands on the moon" and a very familiar photograph dominated. Neil Armstrong holding the American flag. Abby didn't need to check the date. "Guys, we're in 1969 … 25th July to be precise, and yesterday, man landed on the moon!" she grinned as she came out of the shop.
--
Connor was really bored now. He wished he'd installed some more games on the laptop, there are only so many games of "patience" you can play. He heard footsteps behind him and he turned. A small boy was standing there, dressed in a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt. His scruffy blonde hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb for at least a week.
"Are you a spaceman?" the boy asked.
"Me? Why do you ask that?" Connor asked
" 'Cause you dress funny, and you have a typewriter like them scientists at NASA." The boy looked very interested at the laptop screen.
"Well, I suppose I am a Scientist, in a way." Connor smiled. He held out his hand. "I'm Connor, who are you?"
The boy sniffed. "David. I'm six and a half."
"Where did you come from? Why are you out here on your own?"
"I was looking for my football and I saw that shiny thing over there. When I walked through all the houses had gone and I found you." David didn't seem fazed by that at all, like it happened to him every day. Connor nodded. That explained why the boy thought the laptop was a typewriter, he had come through the anomaly.
"Maybe you should go back, your parents will be wondering where you are." Connor said.
"Nah, they're still in bed. They stayed up to watch Neil Armstrong land on the moon. They wouldn't let me watch though."
"Neil Armstrong? Oh … 1969!" Connor laughed. David came and sat next to Connor and was looking at the pictures on the laptop screen.
"What sort of scientist are you?" David asked.
"I study dinosaurs." Connor replied, and opened up the database he had of all the dinosaurs. He flicked through the images and David sat wide-eyed.
"I want to be an astronaut, like Neil Armstrong" he said. "Or a zookeeper."
"You should meet my friend Abby." Connor said. "She's a zookeeper. She looks after reptiles."
"Cool!" David said. "Do you think she'd let me feed some lizards?"
"Maybe. Look, David. You really should be going back." He stood up and walked towards the anomaly, hoping David would follow. He didn't. He was transfixed by the images of the dinosaurs.
At that moment, Danny, Becker, Sarah and Abby re-appeared through the anomaly. "Hey Connor, guess what you missed?" Abby said, hoping to wind Connor up with some tale of a magnificent beast.
"The moon landing, I believe." Connor smiled.
"How did you guess?" Danny said.
"Creature incursion." Connor nodded his head in the direction of David, who was still looking at the laptop. "I've tried to get him to go back, but he's having none of it. Maybe you could try, Abby. He wants to be a zookeeper and he likes lizards."
Abby went over to David, and sat next to him. "Hi, I'm Abby, what's your name?"
"I'm David. Are you really a zookeeper?" he looked at Abby in awe. "Can I feed some lizards?"
"Tell you what. Let's go back to your house and I'll talk to your mum." Abby smiled. David took her hand and they walked towards the anomaly. It began to flicker.
"Abby! Get back!" Connor shouted. The anomaly disappeared. They all looked at each other. David was stuck.
Danny indicated for them to gather at the 4x4, leaving Connor with David. "What do we do now?"
"Hand him over to Social Services, they can look after him." Becker said.
"No way!" Abby said. "He'll be shoved in a foster home and pushed from pillar to post." She shuddered at the thought, and some very painful memories suddenly flashed in front of her. No-one on the ARC team had any idea what her childhood had been like, and when she realised they were looking at her, she had to backtrack what she'd said. "They'll ask awkward questions."
"So what do you propose we do? Stick him in the creature enclosure until the right anomaly appears?" Danny said.
"He can come home with us." Abby said. "He seems to like Connor and trusts him. We'll give it a few days, and then if the anomaly hasn't reopened we can find a better arrangement."
"Makes sense, Danny." Sarah said.
"If you're sure." Danny said. "We can post a couple of Becker's men here to watch for the anomaly, and get him here as soon as it reopens."
Abby walked over to Connor and David. "Hey David. How would you like to come home with me and Connor for a little while? You can help me with all our lizards."
"Really? You mean it?" David's grin revealed several gaps in his teeth, making Abby chuckle.
"Of course. Come on, if we go now, we'll be just in time to give Sid and Nancy their dinner." She took his hand and he walked with her towards the car.
"Who are Sid and Nancy?" David asked.
"You will love them!" Connor said. He glanced at Abby. She looked slightly uncomfortable, children were not her 'thing' usually, but he had a feeling David would change that.
--
"What do small boys from 1969 like to eat?" Abby whispered to Connor. She was searching through the freezer for something to cook for dinner.
"I dunno, chips probably." Connor said. "Don't think you can go wrong with chips."
"Good idea. You keep him occupied, and I'll cook dinner. Then we can work out some sleeping arrangements." Abby could read Connor's thoughts straight away. "You can sleep on the sofa." She said. Connor's smile dropped. "Try to find out more about him, his full name, where he lives and so on. We can look him up on the internet later."
She began fussing around the kitchen, worried about cooking for a small child. She knew small boys could be very fussy, Jack certainly had been at that age. She could hear Connor and David talking and laughing in the other room. She'd been surprised how at ease Connor seemed and she couldn't help herself watching them through the door. She could hear their conversation, and Connor was building up to the more personal questions.
"Look, David. We need to let your mum and dad know you're OK. What's your full name and your address? I'll get Abby to get a message to them." She heard Connor say.
"My name is David James Maitland, and I live at 94 Acacia Street in Norwich…"
Abby didn't hear the rest. She dropped the plate she had been drying and it smashed on the ground. Connor was at the door immediately, David just behind him.
"You OK, Abby?" he could tell from her face that she wasn't.
"Connor. We need to talk." She said shakily. She was motioning for him to send David away.
Connor crouched down to David's level. "Look, Abby's not feeling very well. Why don't you go and play with Sid and Nancy in there for a few minutes whilst I look after Abby." David nodded, and went into the lounge.
"Abby?" Connor asked, putting his arm around her shoulder. "He's a Maitland, is he a relative?"
"Connor, he's my father, and there's no way I can have him under my roof."