A/N: Part two! Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Returned

Jenny's POV

Michael assumed that I had friends who'd joined the army and that that was who I'd been talking about when I mentioned that three of my friends were missing in action and the other one was dead. I didn't want to lie to him but I knew I couldn't tell him the truth either, so I let him believe that what he thought was true.

I never mentioned Connor, Abby and Danny's names; I wanted to make sure that if I ever saw them again when Michael was around that he wouldn't know they were my 'lost' friends because neither Connor nor Abby looked like they could be in the army and I knew Danny wouldn't go along with a lie like that.

It was silly, acting like I was going to see them again, but I couldn't stop myself. The worst thing about them being missing was that I didn't know if they were dead or not. It sounds awful to say, but at least if they were dead I could mourn them and move on.

I hated the feeling of not knowing. Every time I thought of them I just wanted to charge through the first anomaly and try to rescue them.

Michael asked me to marry him. I didn't even need a second to think before saying yes; I loved him. We couldn't set a date though; Michael kept bringing up several options and I'd find a fault with all of them.

In the end he confronted me about it and I admitted that I was still hoping my friends would be found. I told him that I knew it had been nearly a year and that I probably wouldn't even invite them to the wedding, but it didn't feel right getting married when they could be out there somewhere in trouble.

Michael said he understood and he didn't bring it up again. Whenever someone asked about when the date was we'd just tell them that we hadn't decided yet. I felt incredibly guilty about putting the wedding off, but at the same time I felt relieved that Michael hadn't pressured me into choosing a date.

I could tell his friends were getting annoyed; they thought that I was just stringing him along because I couldn't pick a date. Michael finally told them the real reason after they'd asked why he was letting me use him. They were a lot more understanding after that.

I'd almost stopped expecting to hear anything when my phone finally rang while I was watching a film with Michael in our living room. The number was blocked and I had a feeling that it was going to be the ARC. I excused myself from the room and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

"Hello?" My voice shook slightly as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Miss Lewis?" A bubbly female voice answered and I felt my hope begin to dwindle. "This is Jess Parker; I'm the field coordinator for the ARC."

"Is Lester there?" I asked immediately. The woman sounded nice but I wanted to hear the news, good or bad, from somebody I knew and trusted.

"I'll just put him on for you," the phone clicked and I realized that the woman had put the phone onto another line.

"Jenny?" Lester's voice was a relief to hear.

"Lester," I took a deep breath. "Has there been any news?"

"Connor and Abby are back," I could hear the relief and happiness in his voice that he was probably trying so hard to hide. "There's been no news of Danny though."

He explained about how they'd gone to stop Helen from killing the first humans but had gotten split up when Connor got injured. Danny must have succeeded in his mission, otherwise we wouldn't be here, but no one knows what happened to him after that.

"But Connor and Abby are okay?" I had to ask and make sure. My heart was pounding quickly and I held my breath.

"They're fine," Lester reassured me. "Though it does seem like a year alone with each other has done some good."

I blinked in confusion for a second before realizing what he meant. "They're together now?"

"Indeed. I'm personally betting it was Miss Maitland that's responsible for that," Lester sounded almost amused.

"Probably," I agreed. "You'll tell me if you hear anything about Danny?"

"I will," he promised. "Goodbye Jenny."

We hung up and I sat still for a second as I waited for it to hit me. As soon as it did, I unlocked the bedroom door and went back into the living room. Michael took one look at me and jumped off of the couch to meet me halfway.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, reaching up and wiping tears off of my cheeks. I hadn't even realized I was crying until then.

"They're back," I gasped about. "Two of my friends have been found."

"You mean the friends that were missing in action?" He grinned when I nodded. "That's good news then, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's great news," I buried my head into his shoulder. "They're back. They're safe. There's only Danny who's missing now."

Knowing that he wanted details, I told him that they'd been on a mission but that two of them had gotten split up from Danny; the team leader. Even in my giddy relief, I knew not to mention Connor or Abby's names. It was too late to not mention Danny, but it was less likely that Michael was going to meet him than the chance that he'd meet Abby and Connor.

It was easier to choose a date once I knew that Connor and Abby were safe. We still put it off for a few weeks just in case Danny turned up, but in the end we settled on a date and sent out the invitations at last.

Just like I'd told Michael, I didn't invite Abby or Connor to the wedding. It confused Michael and his friends that I'd put my wedding off until my friends were safe and then didn't even invite them. I'd wanted to keep my past and present lives separate, so no matter how much I wanted my ARC family there, I knew it was better to not get in touch with them.

As it turned out though, I didn't need to invite them. They turned up anyway and my two lives hit each other head on. Michael was happy enough to meet my family once I'd explained things and we still managed to get married once the chaos was over.