Author's note: O.K., so this story now fits in as the second story in the series on a timeline. I hope jumping back and forth isn't driving everyone too crazy. I just write them as they come to me. I'll try to keep this going through the summer and fall, but no promises.

Day Eight

Abby sat near the fire staring into the flames. She was tired, dirty and scared. She and Connor had been stuck in the Cretaceous for eight days. Eight long, horrible days since they had last seen Danny Quinn. She remembered the look on Danny's face as he raced off to follow Helen, leaving her to guard an unconscious Connor. "He's not coming back, is he?" she asked Connor.

Connor was digging through both their backpacks cataloging everything. He looked up when Abby spoke. "We don't know that for sure. He might be out there right now waiting for morning to look for us," he said calmly.

"Or he might have gone through the second anomaly and gotten trapped or killed," she answered sadly.

"Don't think like that. I'm sure Danny is still alive, but until he finds us or we find him, we have to handle things on our own."

"I wish Stephen was here," she said quietly. "He'd have his big hunting rifle and he'd know what to do."

Connor flinched at the sound of Stephen's name. A combination of sadness, jealousy and regret rolled through him as he thought of his dead friend. Stephen had been the type of man Abby wanted and he had been like an older brother to Connor. "Yeah, Stephen would have us fixed up in no time at all. He'd kill something for dinner, dig a latrine and maybe build a summer cottage in his spare time," he said. He'd meant it as a joking tribute to Stephen's unending skills, but his words came out with a sarcastic bite.

Abby didn't notice his tone. She was too caught up in her own worries. "Connor, I don't know if I can handle this. I can deal with all kinds of creatures and danger every day at the ARC, but I'm not at the ARC. This isn't my world. I don't know who I am here. What if I'm useless?"

Connor studied Abby closely. She looked scared and unsure. Not at all like her normal self. "Well, if you're planning on being useless, I'll just have to pick up the slack," he said with a small smile.

"Connor, I'm not joking," she said angrily.

"Abby, I wouldn't be alive without you. The raptors would have killed me," he reminded her.

"You saved yourself," she shot back.

"Oh, for crying out loud. You took care of me when I thought my ankle was broken and you found this cave," he pointed out.

She turned away from him with a frustrated snarl, "Fine. I'm not useless. But I miss Rex, Sid and Nancy, my brother Jack and even Lester. I miss having a hot shower and a nice cup of tea. I miss my bed." She was close to yelling as she continued, "I need a change of clothes and my punching bag. I feel like I'm going to explode," she admitted. "I want to hit something."

"I'm not volunteering for that," he replied dryly.

Abby gave a small, somewhat hysterical laugh, before she stood and walked toward the cave entrance to stare out into the darkness.

Connor watched her go and wished he could do something, anything to make her feel normal. He knew he was handling their situation better than Abby. He viewed it as a mental exercise, sort of like solving a puzzle, to find the ways to keep them alive. He was in his zone, cataloging materials, listing problems and finding solutions.

He realized Abby needed a solution to her anger. Quickly an idea came to him. He removed everything from their packs and placed it along the wall of the cave to inventory. He grabbed the empty packs, stuffed one inside the other, then he removed both his jackets and stuffed those inside. He topped it off with their blankets and zipped up the overly-full backpack.

Abby turned to watch as he limped toward her. He slipped the straps of the backpack over his arms but kept it in front of his chest and stomach.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making you a punching bag," he said as he gestured at himself with both hands.

Abby's face softened as she realized what he meant to do. She stepped in front of him and gently touched the pack over his chest. "I thought you weren't going to volunteer."

"Well, I don't want you to punch me, but with this on, it might work."

"Thanks, Connor, but there is no way I could punch you in the chest even with the padding on."

"Oh, come on! You punched me in the mouth during your fight with Caroline," he argued.

"That was an accident," she replied primly.

"Come on, Abby, just one hit. You'll feel better," he cajoled.

"You aren't completely healed yet. I could knock you off your feet without meaning to and hurt your ankle again," she argued.

Connor saw the sparkle in her eyes and knew she was starting to come around. "Abigail Sarah Maitland… hit me," he said earnestly.

Abby looked him in the eye and came to a decision. She let out a tremendous yell, drew back her arm and punched. She pulled back at the last instant and lightly tapped the backpack over Connor's chest.

When Abby yelled, Connor closed both eyes and the color drained from his face, but he stood still, braced for the hit. When he only felt a gentle nudge, he opened one eye and then the other.

Abby grinned at him happily, "Thanks, I feel much better now."

He looked a bit shaken as he dropped the backpack on the cavern floor, but he gave her a small smile, "Glad I could help," he said. "Remind me never to make you truly angry. You're scary," he said in mock fear.

When she looked at him in disbelief, he reached for her hand and placed her palm flat against his chest, so she could feel his racing heart.

When Abby didn't remove her hand right away, his heart began to pound for a totally different reason.

"Wow, your heart is beating fast," she said as she glanced up at his face.

"See. Terrified," he said with a grin. He quickly stepped away from her, looking everywhere but into her eyes. He meant what he said. He was terrified of Abby. Terrified she would find out how much he loved her and respond with annoyance or worse, amusement.

Abby watched him go back to work, her thoughts focused on the fact that he was a wonderful man. He had changed in the past week. Or maybe he had changed months ago and she hadn't noticed. He was more confident, a bit more dominant and if possible, even more protective of her than he had been before. Abby caught herself thinking she found it sexy. She found him sexy.

Suddenly, it was Abby's heart that started to race as she finally came to terms with her feelings. I'm in love with him, she thought in astonishment. Fantastic. Now I'm in love and he just wants to be friends. "Our timing really sucks," she grumbled to herself.

She dropped to her knees to pull their blankets out of the pack. She spread them out side by side and stretched out on hers. "It's late," she said softly. "Stop working and get some rest."

Connor put down the medical kit he was looking through and walked to his blanket. He tried to get comfortable, flat on his back with his hands behind his head.

Abby turned to look into his eyes, then glanced away, "Connor… can I rest my head on your chest?"

There was a long pause before Abby heard him say, "Um, sure. I'd rather be your pillow than your punching bag any day," he replied happily.

She moved to rest her head against his chest and was secretly thrilled when Connor gently placed an arm around her.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks. Good night, Connor."

"Night, Abby."

As the silence of the night settled in around them, they put their fears and worry aside to drift off to sleep; their unspoken love for each other getting stronger by the hour.