Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating, had various distractions ;) Hope you enjoy this and please leave comments!


Connor was afraid to fall asleep. Even three months after the ordeal in the Cretaceous, he still had the occasional nightmare. He'd wake up in a cold sweat, with Abby wrapping her arms around him and telling him it was all OK. She said he often shouted out in his sleep too; reliving moments of terror in his head. He couldn't risk giving anything away here; especially as he was sharing a tent with Sam. He had a pretty restless night, the alarm on his phone set to go off every couple of hours so that he wouldn't drift off into a deep sleep. He'd worried about disturbing Sam too and that he'd have to explain why he kept waking up; but Sam was a deep sleeper and didn't stir until the morning.

The warmth of the sun soon made the tent stuffy, and Connor couldn't wait to get outside for fresh air. He'd been there for a few minutes when Sam emerged. They exchanged sleepy 'good morning's and blinked.

"Breakfast here is pretty good." Sam said. "Full English if you want it."

"Sounds good to me!" Connor said. "Although I would like to get straight on and see the dig site."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance." Sam said, then he lowered his voice. "I probably shouldn't have shown you that photo last night. I'd appreciate it if you didn't let on…."

"Hey, no problem. Don't want to get you into trouble. What do you think though? How did that spear head end up stuck with that T-Rex?" Connor said, as the two of them strolled over to the mess tent for breakfast.

"Logic says it was planted there, maybe years ago. Some of the guys here say it was deliberate sabotage by the locals who don't want us digging up their park and turning it into a no go area." Sam said.

"Makes sense." Connor said.

"It does, and that's why they're keeping so quiet about it. But it was buried within the bones themselves; encased in the same soil. If it was planted there, we'd see disturbances in the sedimentary layers." Sam lowered his voice again. "I reckon we're either looking at evidence that humans existed millions of years before we previously thought… or we've got time travelling Neanderthals." he laughed.

Connor laughed along nervously. "Someone's been watching too many Sci-Fi movies!" he said. The conversation then shifted to various movies they'd both seen as they sat down to bacon, eggs and tomatoes and a large mug of tea. Connor was beginning to like Sam and decided that despite the initial barriers he'd put up, Sam could prove a good source of information.

After breakfast, Sam went to join the rest of his team and Connor watched them wander down to where he presumed the excavation site was. He was itching to get there and decided he'd approach Professor Watts. When he did, he was pleasantly surprised that he didn't have to argue or beg - "Of course you can view the site, Dr Temple." he said. "There's not much for you to do there at the moment, the bones are all in situ still."

"That's fine. I'd like to see it in it's natural glory." Connor said, desperately trying to remain poker faced whilst inside his stomach felt like a washing machine and his heart was racing. "This is a pretty unique find for this country, I feel privileged to be given this opportunity."

Some minutes later, Connor was following the Professor down to the site. He immediately felt the excitement in the air amongst the archaeological team as they went about their tasks. He'd been to digs before, and marvelled at how meticulous they were; taking care not to damage anything with a careless jab of a trowel. He'd decided pretty early on in his studies that he didn't want to be out in the field like this day in day out - he didn't have the patience to sit there with a tiny brush for hours on end. He noticed a girl at the far end; her long dark hair tied back into a pony tail, and it made him think about Sarah. He'd watched her spend several hours cleaning up the artefact -she would have loved this. He wiped a stray tear from his face, remembering that she had died whilst trying to rescue him and Abby.

"Connor! Come and take a look!" a voice interrupted Connor's thoughts; it was Sam. Pulling himself back together, he strolled over to where Sam was working and knelt beside him. Sam started to explain what they were doing whilst Connor tried to focus. He could make out the rough shape of the T-Rex; Sam was at the tail end, and the creature appeared to be laid out in a North-South direction with the head pointing North.

For a moment, Connor found himself back in the Cretaceous on the morning that he and Abby had found the anomaly that took them home. They'd been woken by the sound of the young T-Rex stumbling into their camp. It didn't seem afraid of the fire that they kept constantly burning to keep predators away; quite the opposite in fact. When Abby had tried to frighten it away by pounding it with rocks, it simply grew more aggressive and was about to attack her - that was when he had grabbed his spear and he stabbed the creature in the ribs. It slumped to the ground; screeching out in agony, and that was when they decided to run before it's cries attracted other predators. It was too late, and a Spinosaurus stalked them and went after them. That was when they found the anomaly and they ran through it, followed by the Spinosaurus and straight into the firing line of Becker's men.

He shook his head, needing to bring himself back into the here and now. He glanced over to where there was a group gathered, all looking at one particular area. "What are they doing?" Connor whispered to Sam, nodding in the direction of the group.

"That's where the spear head is. They're going to take some soil samples and begin to remove some of the bones and the spear head so they can take them away for carbon dating." Sam said.

Carbon dating. Connor hadn't thought of that. They'd realise very soon that the spear head and the bones were the same age as the surrounding soil and then all hell would break loose. He couldn't allow that to happen - somehow he had to sabotage the process; but how? He stood up and went over to the group, hoping to try and find out more.

"Dr Temple, come and take a look at this!" A voice said. He saw Professor Watts kneeling by the bones. The group parted to allow Connor through, and he knelt beside the Professor. "This is what all the fuss and secrecy has been about. Does this look like Cretaceous era to you, Dr Temple?" He was pointing directly at the spear head.

Connor felt his stomach flip. There was no doubt; it was one of his spear heads. "It could just be a stone that happens to look like a spear." he said.

"We've thought of that, but closer examination reveals markings on it where something sharp has been scraped along it, indicating that it was deliberately carved into that shape. And given the fact it seems buried in the rib cage of our creature, I would say it bares all the hallmarks of a weapon." Professor Watts said.

"It has to be a fake." Connor said. "The earliest recorded findings of human activity like this was only 3 million years ago; the T-Rex existed at least 100 million years before that." He knew he was stating the blindingly obvious, but he had to try and keep them thinking along the lines that there was no way the two could exist together.

"We know that, but what if everything we've believed so far has been incorrect? What if there were human like creatures in existence during the Cretaceous era, maybe earlier than that? That's why we're going to do the carbon dating, it should tell us once and for all what we're dealing with here." The professor said.

Connor shook his head. "I suppose you have the best working on it?"

"Of course! Professor Andrews over there works for the labs at the University of Southern England. We'll know within a few days if we have to rewrite all our history books or not."

Connor could only stand back and watch as the scientists removed samples and placed them into small plastic bags. He only had a couple of days to work out how to change the results of the carbon dating tests; he wasn't going to be able to do this alone. If he was the ARC, he'd be able to hack into the University's computer systems and mess about with the results. He didn't even have a reliable internet connection out here, and he was concerned that any phonecalls or text messages would be monitored. Somehow, he was going to have to get a message to Abby that he needed to meet her, and then explain everything so she could enlist the help of Jess - the ARC's new computer geek. He still wasn't entirely sure he could trust Jess, but she was very good at her job - anyone who could crack Connor's security codes on the ARCs systems like she did in his absence had to be the best. Besides, there really was no other option. He decided he would have to start teaching Abby a few tricks - after all, in the Cretaceous, she'd taught him how to fight the Abby Maitland way; maybe now was the time to teach her how to fight the Connor Temple way.

He couldn't waste any time. He made his excuses and found a quiet spot to compose a text message to Abby. It had been some time since they'd used their secret code and he hoped she would remember it. When they first came back from the Cretaceous, Connor had been incredibly paranoid about everything. He was convinced that he and Abby were being spied on; and that any communication between the two of them was being recorded. He'd spent hours devising a series of ordinary looking messages that were codes for various things. Abby had played along with him; secretly enjoying the air of 'cloak and dagger' Connor was creating. Their most commonly used message still made him smile. "Meet me for a sandwich …" That was their code for "Let's have sex right now!" They had a lot of sandwiches in those first few weeks.

"We need some milk. Where's the best place to go?" He texted. It was the code for "We need to talk, tell me where to meet you." He sat and waited anxiously, hoping she would remember. Much to his relief, five minutes later, Abby had replied with a location - the supermarket about three miles away, it had a coffee shop where they could meet and if anyone was following them it would look very innocent and ordinary.

"Is everything alright, Dr Temple?" Professor Watts said as Connor rejoined the group around the dig site.

"Yes, just checking in with the girlfriend." Connor said. "First time we've been apart since we came… since we moved in together." The other men exchanged a few looks then carried on with their discussion.

"And how is Abigail?" Professor Watts said.

"She prefers Abby … and how did you know her name?" Connor was instantly suspicious.

"Relax, no-one's spying on you! We have to have a next of kin contact, purely for insurance purposes. Sir James Lester gave us Abigail's number." The Professor smiled, and turned to one of the scientists to talk to him.

Connor was not happy at this latest development. He was surprised at Lester for compromising their personal security like that. This meant that they were probably monitoring any calls Abby made too; so he was going to have to warn her to be extra careful. Perhaps they should buy a couple of cheap 'pay as you go' phones on the High street to use for the time being?

He spent the rest of the morning with Sam, but keeping half an eye on what was happening with the removal of the samples for carbon dating. Thankfully, they seemed to be taking their time with it so there was no real urgency to what he needed to do, but he knew he had to speak to Abby as soon as possible.

"I need to take a trip off site this afternoon." Connor said over lunch. "Forgot a few essentials. Abby's going to meet me in town later, if that's OK?"

"You're not a prisoner, Dr Temple. You're welcome to come and go as you please. We just ask that you keep quiet about what you've seen." The professor said. Connor breathed a sigh of relief; at least he didn't have to try and sneak away.

Lunch over, he took the short drive to where he'd arranged to meet Abby - taking a longer route and doubling back on himself just in case he was being followed. He had spotted Abby's car in the car park when he arrived and practically ran inside to find her.

"Connor!" Abby called as he walked into the coffee shop. She waved him over; his usual order of a caramel latte waiting for him. After exchanging hugs and a much needed passionate kiss, Connor sat down. They began chatting about normal things like the weather and what the food was like at the site, then Abby opened the proper discussion.

"So why all the secrecy, Connor? What's going on there and why did you need to use the code?"

"You'll never believe what they've found, Abby! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either." He lowered his voice and told Abby about the spear head and the T-Rex; her mouth open the whole time.

"So, what you're saying is; they've found the place where we lived for the best part of a year?" she said eventually.

"In a nutshell, yes." Connor looked at her and realised that she was fighting back tears. He reached across the table and held her hand. "Abby?"

"All that time, and we were only a few miles from home." she blinked rapidly, determined not to cry in front of a crowded coffee shop.

"I know! Its weird isn't it? We both said we felt drawn to that cave when we first stumbled on it and that it felt right. If I believed in fate, I'd say we were led there for a reason."

They both sat in silence for a moment, sipping their coffees. Suddenly it felt like only yesterday that they'd been in the Cretaceous; and that brought a mixture of happiness and fear. "Do you remember much about that last day?" Connor said eventually. "A lot of it is just a blur. I'm trying to picture how the creature fell in relation to where the entrance to our cave was… I'd like to try and work out exactly where it was."

Abby closed her eyes for a moment. "The head was pointing towards the cave." she said. "And the fire to the left of it."

"How far was it? 5 metres?"

"I guess so, something like that." Abby said.

Connor banged his fist on the table, making the people on the next table turn and look at him. "I can't believe I was so stupid, Abby! We were so careful the whole time we there to make sure we didn't leave any trace of ourselves behind for this very reason!"

Abby stroked his face. "We did leave in a bit of a hurry, Connor. We were being chased if you remember. If we hadn't taken a chance and gone through that anomaly, we'd have been eaten by the Spinosaurus. There wasn't the time to go back and tidy up after ourselves."

"I know, I know." Connor calmed himself. "There's no point getting upset over it. It's just that now we have a slightly awkward situation to deal with. There's enough people on the site convinced the spear head is a hoax planted by the locals to stop the dig to keep an element of doubt there. But they're doing carbon dating, and within a few days they're going to find out that the spear head is the same age as the T-Rex and the whole history of the planet is going to be re-written. That's where I need your help."

Abby shook her head. She didn't know how she could help. "What do you need me to do, Connor?"

Connor explained how he needed Jess to hack into the University computers and alter the results of the carbon dating tests. He scribbled down a few websites that Jess could use to help her understand what she was looking for. "She has to do it from the ARC, even if I could get a half decent internet connection on the site I couldn't guarantee it being secure."

Abby nodded. All this was completely beyond her, but she supposed it would mean something to Jess. Abby had liked the young girl instantly and liked having another female around the ARC. With Sarah dead and Jenny no longer around, Abby and Jess stuck together and gave the boys a hard time - especially Connor and Becker. It was strange seeing the relationship between Becker and Jess; it was almost like looking at her and Connor before they were thrown together in the past. Abby hoped that Becker wouldn't need something as dramatic as she had needed to make him see what was right in front of his eyes. She folded the paper Connor had been writing on, and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

"I should be getting back." Connor said with a sigh. He kissed Abby and pulled her into an embrace; one he didn't want to break off from. "Remember to use the code from now on, we can't be too careful."

Abby couldn't help but smile at him. Trust Connor to be so paranoid. It was one of the things she had grown to like about him; it meant he cared about what was happening even if it did occasionally cause friction. "I'll be careful." she said, pulling away from him. "Am I still allowed to say I love you though?"

Connor blushed. "I think that would be OK."

Back in his car, he had to wait several minutes for his tears to disappear before he could drive back to the dig site. Being apart from Abby was almost killing him. He was going to make sure this never happened again.

The site was a hive of activity when he returned. At first, he wasn't sure what was going on, but then he spotted a familiar piece of equipment and it struck fear into his heart. This was taking things a step further and could make things incredibly difficult. He'd seen Tom use one during their first year at University. There were two men scanning the ground with an electro magnetic meter - a device used to take electronic readings of the ground. They could produce images to make a map and see if there was anything hidden in the ground. Connor knew they would be able to see evidence of the camp - such as the circle of rocks they had used to keep their campfire contained. At the moment; if Abby's memory had been correct, they were looking in the wrong direction, but if they decided to do their survey on the other side then all would be revealed.

Connor had to think of something and fast. A single spear head he could easily dismiss as fake, but if they made more discoveries…