Author's Note: Here is chapter two, fresh from my sister. Blame typos on her if there are any. Also, please review!

-Cassie

Two: Perfect Stranger

Slowly consciousness seeps into his mind and body. He's warm, comfortable, and in a strange new surrounding that somehow feels oddly familiar. With a groan he stretches out and then twists toward either side before pushing himself up with his arms and sliding his feet to the floor. He runs a hand through his hair as he gives a splendid yawn to the room at large, and slowly he opens his eyes, wary of what he might wake to see. The room is real. Much too neat for him to have lived in recently, but his none the less, his film collection, the Star Trek pez dispensers, and all of his other various knick knacks and his computers.

He lets out a sigh, gives his head a little shake, and then sees his clothes from the night before scattered on the floor where he shed them before tumbling into the very comfy bed. He shrugs, then pulls them on over his boxers and undershirt, and grins as he gives his fingerless gloves a secure tug on his hands. He feels almost like himself, even in this strange, alternate reality where apparently Abby kicked him out and Stephen didn't get eaten. The first part of that is kind of sad, but the last part is something to be glad about. Losing Stephen was one of the worst things to happen to him. He wonders if can find an anomaly that can take him back to his own world, the one he left behind, because he's sure that Abby and the professor there are missing him, unless his falling through has altered everything and he's now back where he belongs. Time and anomalies and wormholes and the space-time continuum theory is enough to boggle the mind, especially if Connor Temple has anything to say on the subject.

Deciding that he'll catalogue his film collection properly later, he braces himself and then slips out of his room and down the hall. He takes a guess and is pleased to find that the first door he chooses is the main bathroom. The main bathroom is nice, not like Stephen's personal bathroom which is built more like a spa. This bathroom is modest, with the necessities, something that Connor is familiar with, even if it is a little bigger and nicer than the one in Abby's flat. He's surprised to find a package with a toothbrush in it waiting on the counter for him. He grimaces over the fact that the toothbrush is pink, and he has to admit that he's a little surprised at the odd twist of Stephen's sense of humor and teasing, it's certainly something unexpected about the man, but then again, what did and does Connor really know about the bloke, other than he's a crack shot and can kick Connor's ass seven ways to Sunday and back without even breaking a sweat? There is one thing he is certain of, Stephen can certainly back up his testosterone, and Conner is also certain that he could have gone his whole life without having seen proof of Stephen's bragging rights. Then again Stephen never was one to brag, but now Connor knows why the prat was always so smug, lucky bloody bastard.

Once his teeth are properly brushed, he makes quick work of relieving himself, gives his hands a good wash, and slips out of the bathroom. Still not used to Stephen's flat, he creeps down the hall as quietly as possible, headed toward the kitchen, which should serve as neutral territory. He stops just short of stepping into the room, and presses himself against the wall, out of sight of the man standing in the kitchen on the phone.

"Of course I'm sure it's him. I found him in the Forest of Dean… Why would I go and deliver him like a prize to Special Forces and Lester? I might be an arse but I'm not that bloody cruel… Leave off on that bit. Yeah, and when should I expect ya? I'd like a little warning before the pair of you drop by! I'm not sure, he's a bit off, more so than normal for him. Well for one thing he was pretty convinced that I'd been eaten, and he didn't even recognize his own room in the flat! Bloody hell, Cutter! It's not like that! Fine, you great arse, I'll see you then, and you're paying for the take out this time! Yeah, tell her to bring that bloody lizard as well, I'm sure Con wouldn't mind seeing the thing," Stephen snaps and then the sound of the phone being placed in its cradle reaches Connor's ears and he decides it's safe to make his presence known.

He lets out a cough as he steps into the kitchen and Stephen looks up at him like nothing is out of the way, a brow raised in acknowledgement and then he reaches for the paper and a piece of freshly buttered toast. Connor sees the plate of toast and the jar of strawberry jam next to the plate and gives the older man a smile, and if he had to guess Stephen was watching him over the top of his paper.

"You do remember I don't bite unless provoked, don't ya Temple?" Stephen says dryly.

Connor swallows thickly and then scurries over to the table, pulls out a chair and grabs a piece of toast along with the knife and jam. It's not much, but what there is to eat, he eats in earnest. He's on his fourth piece when he feels a steady gaze on him and he looks up, his brown eyes widen as they lock with predatory blue, and he almost chokes as he swallows down half-chewed toast and jam. Once he's managed to remember how to breathe properly, he clears his throat and manages to croak, "Oi, have I got somethin' on my face?"

Stephen snorts. "For once no," Stephen replies, and then he lets out a sigh, like what he's about to say next will possibly cost him some part of his overall hard ass persona and dignity. "And how about you go and get those films you've been after me to watch with you. Jurassic Park. Might as well get some practical idea of how things are evolving, considering how the bloody ARC is starting to turn into a dino-petting zoo."

"Stephen?" Connor asks, confusion written plain and clear on his face.

Stephen's brow rises and his impossibly blue eyes narrow on the younger man. "Well get to it Temple, before I change my mind."

"Yeah, yeah," Connor says with a sharp nod, and he gets to his feet and heads toward the hall, but before he's entirely left the kitchen he hears, "And expect some company a little later. There are a couple of people real eager to see ya for themselves before they believe a word edgewise outta my mouth. You'd think they'd have gotten over that whole bloody Helen episode by now, what considerin' an all…"

"Considering what?" Connor asks in curiosity as he turns to look at Stephen.

Stephen tilts his head a little, something obviously going on in his sharp mind. Connor shivers under the man's scrutiny, and then a predatory glint lights those eyes and a smirk tugs at Stephen's mouth. "Never ya mind about that Con. Just go off and get the bloody films. It's been a while since I've vegged out with a mini film festival, and for the record I outright refuse to live through another bloody Star Wars marathon, so don't even think on it."

Connor just gives a nod and goes to retrieve the movies as Stephen clears up the empty plates from the table, grabs a couple of beers, and then heads to the living room to wait for Connor.

-PRIMEVAL-

The film is an excellent idea, and once he's settled on the sofa with a couple of drinks on the table, one for himself and the other for Connor, he waits on the real show to begin. Connor comes out with the films, all three, apparently today is a marathon film day. Connor turns the tellie on, puts the disc into the player, and then he gets to his feet and notices his limited seating options.

Stephen, for his part, manages to keep a straight face, and bites down on his amusement as Connor finally resigns himself to the couch, careful to put some distance between them. The younger man then fiddles with the remote and soon the film has started. Maybe if he's lucky, Connor won't want to go through all the special bloody features on the damn disc.

Stephen sits up, grabs one of the beers and shifts it further down the table and closer to Connor, and then he pops the top on his own and takes a nice drink of it, before he leans back, his legs falling open as he stretches out to cover most of the sofa, using his peripheral vision to watch in amusement as Connor tries to take up as little space on the sofa as possible to keep touching to a minimum. Honestly Stephen hasn't seen Connor this nervous since the time almost a year ago when he came home pretending to be drunk, just to gauge the younger man's reactions to his advances.

This proves to be just as amusing as that little episode, possibly even more so, especially when Connor gives a jolt as Stephen's knee brushes his, all too accidentally of course. Stephen is about to lean forward and shift a little further down the sofa to test more of his growing theory when the door buzzer sounds, damn Cutter and his impeccable timing, more than likely this earlier than expected visit is more Abby's doing, but Stephen fully intends to hold Cutter wholly responsible.

"Look it there, guess comp'ny came early, yeah?" Connor says, and Stephen doesn't miss the relieved look on Temple's face.

While this Connor Temple isn't the same one that fell through that anomaly all those months ago, there is something of that Connor to be found in this one, and Stephen is curious to learn just what makes this Connor tick, to see why this Connor would be so concerned over something like his death. Stephen hasn't been so intrigued by someone in quite some time, actually that's not entirely true, Connor while annoying has proven himself more than intriguing. Still this new and rougher around the edges Connor is something that Stephen finds himself wanting to explore.

-PRIMEVAL-

Something is definitely off, aside from the obvious, that he's left behind everything that is familiar and found himself in a world completely tilted on its axis. The only really good thing that he's encountered so far is that Stephen Hart is very much alive and well, but everything else is just so alien. Stephen's behavior toward him for one. If he didn't know any better, he'd think the bloke was almost flirting with him. That's not possible. Stephen is very much a ladies man, he even slept with Cutter's wife, granted that's a sore point, but it goes to prove Stephen's all for the women.

Of course sitting on the couch, so close to Stephen is kind of awkward, especially when Stephen's knee brushes against his, and there was that whole thing during breakfast about Stephen mentioning that thing about not biting. He feels a slight shift in the sofa, and when he glances from the corner of his eye he could swear that Stephen is about to move closer to him. His breath catches in his throat and then at the sound of the door buzzer he lets the air in his lungs out in a rush and jumps to his feet.

"Look it there, guess comp'ny came early, yeah?" he says, and he's never felt so relieved as he rushes toward the door, turns the lock and then opens the door.

Thoughts of Stephen fly out of his head the moment a very bright and bubbly blonde jumps him, her arms and legs wrapped around him as she hugs him like the devil. After a few moments he rights the blonde back to her feet, and in an overwhelming rush of emotion and impulse he gathers her face between his hands and leans down, capturing her mouth with his in a sweet, slow kiss. At the clearing of a couple of throats he pulls back a little dazed. Abby is staring up at him with wide blue eyes and Connor lifts his hands to his mouth, wondering what's come over him, and more importantly what has not. He finally works up the nerve to kiss the girl he's adored for forever only to have it all feel off somehow.

"Connor?" she says in bewilderment, a question in her tone.

He's saved from answering when a very familiar creature flutters out of Nick Cutter's arms and lands squarely on top of his head, and Connor is glad he opted against wearing a hat so early in the day. Abby manages to coax the coelurosaravus down from his perch. Nick then steps forward, and Connor notices the strange look the professor is giving him, and then Nick holds his hand out and gives Connor a firm shake before pulling him into a hug and then with a chuckle says, "I'll remind ya that I'm Scottish and not French. So keep your lips to yourself then."

Nick gives him a firm pat on the back and then releases him. "Good to see ya back and well. Can't wait to inform Lester so he can get started on grumbling over the paperwork. In the meantime, what have ya been up to?"

Connor looks down to the floor, unsure of how to answer, and then nearly jumps at the feel of a very firm hand on his shoulder. His gaze lifts to see Stephen standing to his left giving him a stern look before conceding a nod of encouragement.

"Well, go on Con, tell them what you've been up to in all these months you've gone missing," Stephen says, a sharp challenge in his voice.

Connor tilts his head toward the living room of Stephen's flat and once everyone is settled, Connor on the couch, Stephen oddly at his side, and even more oddly comforting, and Abby sitting on an end chair while Nick flops back into a comfy beat up old chair usually reserved for Stephen, and then all attention is focused on Connor.

"Right, well about falling through an anomaly a few months back…" Connor begins, and then shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair before giving a little nervous laugh. "It goes a little like this. That Connor wasn't me. Now I'm not sure how timelines and alternate universes work, but yesterday morning I was heading into the ARC after leaving our place Abbs, and my anomaly detector went off. Found an anomaly in a kiddie park and then something rather big with lots of teeth snuck up on me and ran me through the anomaly. Found myself here, and well… Things are a little different, for one I'm a dead man's flat mate…"

-PRIMEVAL-

"Well, that could have gone better," Stephen says as he locks the door, relieved to see Nick, Abby, and the mini-dino out the door. He turns to look back at Connor who looks exhausted from the dozens of questions fired at him from Nick and Abby, and then Stephen tilts his head, his eyes narrowed, assessing the younger man in front of him. "Never thought you'd ever make a move on Abby, mate."

Connor flushes at that, and then his eyes widen as he touches his mouth and then swallows thickly. "Felt kinda weird, like kissin' my sister, if I had a sister. I… Look if you're with Abby… I… I'm sorry. It's just, something I wanted to do for a while, and yeah. Now it's all outta m' system."

"That's all well and good then, and you needn't worry. I'm not with Abby. Look, how about we call it a night. I'm knackered, and tomorrow morning I need to make a call to Lester that I'm finally takin' that sabbatical he's all but threatened me with."

"Takin' time off? Why would Lester be after you about time off? Never thought he gave anyone time off, unless they died… Okay that was awkward…" Connor trails off.

Stephen snorts. "He thinks I'm stressed and he's been waiting on me to crack. He's had me take more psych evals in the last few months than he's made Nick endure since the founding of the ARC. Apparently he doesn't believe I accept losing a team member well. Granted I probably haven't been the easiest to work with lately, so I'm finally taking his advice and taking some time off. Got a problem with that Temple? As for Nick and Abby, I'm sure they'll keep your being back quiet until I've returned to the ARC from leave. Personally I think a little time off would do us both some good. You don't mind my company do you, Temple? You'll get to know me and see just how different I am from your Stephen," he says, a biting challenge in his voice, and Connor swallows thickly as he realizes that he's never really gotten to know Stephen all that well, so comparing this one to the one he knew is entirely out of the question. Once he's managed to get past the hero-worship he held for the older man he realizes that he hardly knew Stephen James Hart at all. Really Stephen Hart has always been a bit of a mystery, a perfect stranger.

Connor jumps as Stephen's hand lands on his shoulder and gives it a squeeze. He looks up into bright blue eyes and swallows thickly as he notices the smirk tugging at Stephen's mouth, and then Stephen gives him a wink and says, "By the way, my grandmother was half-French. I don't mind a personal greeting between mates. Now how about we get to bed?"

Connor's brown eyes widen considerably and then Stephen's rumbling laugh fills the air in response, and Connor grins in relief as he realizes that Stephen was making another joke at his expense, then he notices a predatory look in Stephen's eyes and his mind wanders as his fingers absently reach toward his mouth and lightly trace his lips.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the update. Updates will continue as my beta gets the chapters back to me. More of Stephen and Connor's adventures to come... And perhaps and impromptu introduction to Connor's mum. Remember to review!

-Cassie