The Anomaly Within

Chapter Two

Connor wanted desperately to quell the unease running rampant through his heart and mind, but he couldn't shake the feeling that had been steadily growing for the past five or six hours. There was something he was missing, something huge, something important, something that was causing his stomach to churn uneasily. The sensation took a sharp upswing every time he looked at Matt.

Why is Matt still here? If we stopped the destruction of the future by disrupting Phillip's anomaly, then Matt, who hasn't even been born yet, would never have come back in time to stop it.

The thought swirled around in Connor's mind. Matt Anderson, or whatever his name really was, should never have walked back out of the dust settling around the defeated anomaly. He should have winked out of existence, at least as far as the present is concerned and yet there he was, standing just on the other side of the room.

It was more than Matt's presence that was disturbing Connor, although his continued presence was clearly the most visible sign. Something about the entire situation wasn't adding up. Connor Temple had devoted the last six years to continuing Cutter's work, understanding the anomalies, and more recently with Phillip, manipulating them.

Now that Phillip was gone, Connor, arguably knew more about the anomalies than anyone else on the planet. He knew in his heart that something was wrong, something hadn't gone to plan, but he couldn't figure out what that was. He was exhausted, he was still feeling the effects of breathing the toxic winds of the future on the other side of the New Dawn anomaly. He was probably still dehydrated having only been able to drink a small amount of water; something Matt seemed to think was necessary after exposure to those winds. On top of all of that his head hurt from smacking the steering wheel of the SUV when it crashed into the brachiosaur bull's hind leg. He needed to go home with Abby, take a shower and get some sleep.

His mind was nearly numb with the highs and lows of the past 24 hours. The highest point for him wasn't closing the New Dawn anomaly. It was when Abby proposed to him. They were engaged. He could still scarcely believe that the love of his life not only wanted to be with him, but actually wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

How long would that be?

The stray thought was so shocking that it caught the young man completely off guard. He reached a hand back to steady himself against the counter as the impact of that thought nearly took his feet out from under him. Connor hoped that no one had noticed, but it was only a moment later that Matt stepped up to him, concern written plainly across his face.

"You okay, mate?" When Connor didn't respond immediately, Matt continued. "You need to get that head checked out."

Looking at Matt made Connor's stomach do a flip.

He shouldn't be here.

"I'm okay, Matt."

The team leader didn't look convinced. "I want you to get down to medical, that's an order."

Connor stared straight at Matt, the feeling in his gut ratcheting up. He didn't know what to say to him so he cast his eyes down.

"Connor, you keep looking at me with a peculiar expression. If there's something I should know..." Matt left the question open and hanging, inviting Connor to elaborate.

Connor would have done, but he didn't know where to start. He didn't know what he was missing. Connor respected and trusted Matt, he just didn't know how to tell him that he shouldn't be here without sounding like a complete ass. He shrugged slightly and shook his head.

Abby joined the two men and stood close to Connor whether drawing strength from her closeness, or giving it, Connor was unsure, but he welcomed the contact. Abby grounded him, she always had.

"Abby," Matt said, addressing her directly. "Take him down to medical and get him seen to, then take him home and make sure he drinks more water. He was exposed to those toxic winds for longer than I'm comfortable with. The rest of the teams can continue with the clean up without the two of you." He clapped his hand on Connor's shoulder. "Get some rest, mate. You've earned it."

Connor looked at Matt trying to will that uneasy feeling to go away, but what unsettled him more than anything else was the fact that he saw the same uncertainty reflected back in the older man's eyes.

The medic didn't need to stitch Connor's head. It was superficial enough that two butterfly bandages were sufficient. He didn't even end up with a concussion, just a good sized goose egg and a slight headache that a couple of aspirin would take care of. Abby kept glancing over at him as she drove them to their flat. He wanted to explain what was bothering him, but he didn't really understand it himself. Connor told himself that it was fatigue, that it was the after effects of breathing toxic winds from the future, that it was the bump on his head, that it was the culmination of the emotional roller coaster the day had been, but deep down he knew that there was more to it. A hot shower, and a long deep sleep was what he needed more than anything else. That was what he told himself and Abby, even though his limbs felt like lead trudging up the stairs to their flat.

Connor had to smile when he stepped into the living area after showering to find that Abby had put on a kettle and warmed up some left over pizza. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her slender waist burying his head in her shoulder. She smelled of sweat and grime, but it was the most wonderful sent he could imagine. She was his Abby and she made all the uneasy feelings spiraling around in his mind calm and move to the background.

"I love you." he whispered in her ear.

"I know."

She pulled away from him and guided him to a seat at the breakfast counter. A hot cup of tea, a large glass of water and a plate of pepperoni pizza awaited him. "Drink all the water, yeah? I'll be out in a few minutes."

She moved away to go take her turn in the shower but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him kissing her passionately. Abby wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled into the embrace by her own powerful emotions. After an eternity and the need for air demanded their attention she pulled back making a face. "I need a shower, Love."

"You are perfect just as you are." Abby drove his uncertainty away, a sensation he was loath to be deprived of even for a few minutes.

She kissed him again, cupping his face with one hand. When she pulled back she had the water glass in her other hand and handed it to him. "Drink it all."

Connor took the glass and smiled. "Yes, mum."

He had to admit that the water made him feel a bit better. He wondered about the nature of those future storms and why they dehydrated the body so effectively. He could clearly remember the feeling of his lungs burning as though he had breathed in fire. Maybe in a way he had. He looked at the pizza but had no real appetite. He didn't want to disappoint Abby so he took the plate and dumped the pizza in the bin before washing up. The tea had cooled enough to drink and he took it and moved off to the bedroom, making himself comfortable on the bed sipping his tea, his thoughts once again turning inward.

Abby stepped out of the shower and dried off, feeling a bone deep weariness creep through her entire body. It really had been a bloody long day. When she stepped into the bedroom she smiled at Connor who had fallen asleep sitting up in bed with his cup of tea resting on his lap. She walked over and gently took the cup, setting it on the bedside table and crawled in next to him resting her head on his chest. Connor's arm automatically moved to wrap around her body although it was obvious that he didn't wake with the movement.

She felt reassured that the tension she had felt earlier was now gone, the muscles along his lean arms and chest relaxed in sleep. Abby dropped off into a light dose as she snuggled with Connor listening to his heart rate slow and even out. It was a perfectly peaceful moment and something that both of them desperately needed after the repercussions of the day. She wanted to stay right there in this moment in time forever. The ringing of her mobile, however, roused them both and she rolled over to pick it up, silently cursing whomever it was on the other end of the line.

Jack's name showed on the screen, and Abby found herself shaking her head at his timing. She couldn't really blame him, being that it was just past eight in the evening and most people were still well and about, not having ended their day so early. In the back of her mind Abby couldn't help but smile at the fact that most people hadn't seen the world end and then turn around and saved, all in the space of a day either. It didn't surprise her that she was hearing from Jack, given the anomalies opening all over the world. Jack was one of the few people who actually knew what they were and how dangerous they could be.

As she talked to her brother, Connor slipped out of bed. He reached over her, taking his tea cup, and moved out to the kitchen giving her a depressing feeling when his warmth left her side. Sliding out of bed herself, she wandered over to the door looking out at Connor as he moved through the flat. She could almost feel the tension return to him as the muscles along his back and arms reflexively contracted with tension. She ended her call as quickly as she could, but the quiet moment with him in bed was gone. Connor had been so relaxed, wrapped up in her arms, and now the pensive moodiness was back. She decided that she was going to get some answers, and after throwing on some sweats went out to the living area to talk with him.

This time Connor wasn't looking at ripples in water, but he was staring off into space a million miles or possibly a million years away from her. She watched him as she fixed herself a cup of tea before walking over and sitting down next to him, taking his hand into hers and intertwining their fingers together.

"Connor, talk to me. What's bothering you? You've been acting oddly since..." She had been about to say since the anomaly at Kings Cross, but then she remembered how he had been looking at Matt. "It has something to do with Matt, doesn't it?"

That got Connor's attention and he looked at her waiting for her to say something else. He had an almost expectant look on his face. "What about Matt?"

"You tell me, Connor. You have been staring at him strangely all afternoon, like... I don't know like he's wrong somehow."

"I feel like I'm missing something, something big and important, it's right in front of me, but eluding me at the same time." Connor tried to explain.

Abby wasn't following him and frowned. "Missing something? What do ya mean?"

He removed his hands from hers and she watched him rub them both down his face in a classic gesture of frustration. "When the New Dawn anomaly opened up it grew so quickly that I was drawn right into it. The sheer force was beyond anything we have ever seen, and that was just the beginning. By the time we got back to the power plant with the sun-cage containing the small anomaly from my lab, New Dawn had become so large that the truck never stood a chance. It would have been sucked into the anomaly with tremendous force even before Matt got close. The magnetic force was off the scale, seriously - beyond measurable, and yet..."

"He survived, and walked away from it when it closed." Abby finished his thought. "Why is that a bad thing, Connor? Shouldn't we be glad that Matt wasn't killed, or atomized or whatever it is that could have or should have happened to him?"

Connor hung his head shaking it. "It's not that, Abby. I'm glad Matt's okay. This isn't really about Matt, it's about the anomaly, it's about New Dawn."

Abby wasn't following Connor. She shook her head throughly confused as to why Connor was so fixated on New Dawn. "But we closed it, Connor. You did. You found the way to disrupt the anomaly causing it to collapse. It's over now."

"But how? How did New Dawn cause what we saw in Matt's time, the future he came from?"

Connor was so frustrated and upset that Abby slid over right next to him and placed her small hands on either side of his face making him look at her. "It doesn't matter, not anymore."

He didn't look convinced, if anything he seemed even more agitated. "Why is this so important, Connor?"

Connor pulled away from Abby and stood up quickly. He began pacing back and forth as if the physical movement would help to dissipate the nervous energy coursing through him. His bare chest and arms were taught as the muscles flexed, and he looked ready to explode from the tension.

"Abby, I thought I was doing the right thing, carrying on Cutter's work, but I didn't understand what I was doing and because of that, all of this happened. What I did with Phillip; working to create New Dawn nearly destroyed the world. Don't you see? I have to understand what happened, or what would have happened in order to prevent anything like that happening again. Helen knew, Abby! Somehow she knew what was going to happen, and I helped her!"

Abby had heard enough. Connor was beginning to sound like he had back on the other side of the New Dawn anomaly. She stood up and grabbed him by the arms stopping his pacing.

"Connor, you didn't help her. Phillip mislead you. He got you involved with this thing before you knew what you were doing. Phillip fed you the information he wanted you to have without telling you everything or else you never would have continued to work on it. You said so yourself. Connor, Helen may have manipulated Phillip, but it was Phillip who manipulated you. He traded on your respect for him, your belief in him. The moment you met him you made it clear that he was one of your idols and he used that to his advantage."

Abby could see the fight drain out of Connor as he listened to her. The nearly jittery energy left him, and he stood before her exhausted and emotionally spent.

"I know you need to understand the anomalies, but you can't do that when you are too tired to think straight. You need sleep, Connor; so I'm putting you to bed."

Connor raised his eyebrows at that last statement, but before he could say anything she placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him toward the bedroom adding, "To sleep."

TBC

Preview chapter three:

Once again he tried to let go, to no avail. The vibrating became stronger and more violent. The rippling energy emanating from the anomaly began to distort and bend toward the sun-cage. For the briefest moment Connor envisioned Becker's boot crashing down into a puddle at Kings Cross cutting off the ripples formed by pebbles tossed into the water. A sense of blinding panic enveloped him as realization dawned. The combined attraction and repulsion of magnetic force would be cataclysmic.

The sun-cage burst apart and the two man-made anomalies merged while repelling all of the energy drained from every naturally occurring anomaly causing a wall to slam down between the worlds connected by the portal. The last thought that ran through Connor's mind as a massive explosion emanating from the center of the anomaly ripped through the world that surrounded him was, I did this! It's all on me!