Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

The First Valentine

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It wasn't until the team was disbanded, scattered through time and space, that the first of the ARCs many Valentines was actually delivered, sort of.

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In Aylesbury, Lester's cell phone rang. Lester's green eyes narrowed. Only two people had that number, and his wife was sitting across the breakfast table from the former bureaucrat. The slender woman looked at him inquiringly.

"James," coaxed Lester's wife, "you've been best friends since you were five. You've got to talk to him some time."

"Fine," Lester huffed as he reached for the phone.

After the initial loss of four of the core team members, the ARC had been shut down, its' remaining team members dispersed. However, Lester soon learned the powers that be, had cause to regret that decision. The anomalies didn't close just because the ARC was closed.

"Jimmy," pleaded the minister, "just go to the interview. It's only a formality, bureaucratic red tape."

"I'm busy looking for a new job," replied James Lester into his cell phone.

"You and the ARC will be reinstated," assured Lester's old friend. "There might be some sort of public private partnership, you know, to get extra funding…"

"I still make all personnel choices," insisted Lester.

"Of course Jimmy," replied the senior government official. "But you have to go through the interview first."

Lester rolled his eyes. The bureaucrat knew that jumping through governmental hoops was part of the process, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it.

"And I want Becker back," added Lester. "He's reinstated too, in charge of security, or it's no deal."

"Done," replied the minister.

"If you hurry with the funding and appropriations, to buy new equipment and set up new offices," replied Lester in a dry tone, "we might get the new ARC up and running by February."

"February?" spluttered the minister.

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In Worthington, after resigning his commission, Becker spent the next several months building a treehouse for his nieces. Or at least that's what the former Captain claimed. There was an awful lot of pounding nails involved. On a sunny day in late November, the soldier stopped hammering to take the cell phone his sister brought outside to him.

"Captain Becker," said the unfamiliar voice on the cell phone.

"Just Becker," corrected the tall man. "I'm not in her majesties service anymore."

"The ministry is going to reinstate the ARC," said the voice. "There are interviews planned in December. If you withdraw your resignation, the job is yours. James Lester wants you."

Becker reported to the ARCs new London facility in early February. The soldier met a pretty, vivacious brunette near the elevator.

"I'm looking for Parker," explained Becker.

"That's me," replied the new field coordinator cheerfully, "Jess Parker at your service."

The petite young woman extended her hand and gave the soldier a bright smile. The warmth of her touch as Becker shook her hand in return brought an answering smile to the soldier's face.

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In West Chelmsford, Jenny was determined to build a new life for herself. The brave woman had left the ARC shortly after Cutter's death the previous year. Connecting with old friends, and making new friends at her new job, the public relations specialist was putting the past behind her.

"Jenny," called a pretty blonde. The woman standing at Jenny's new office door pushed her glasses up on her nose. "Tracie, Sylvia and I are going out for drinks Saturday. Do you want to come?"

Jenny looked up at her new friend. Cassandra Evans was the lead research assistant for the news broadcasting company that now employed Jenny. The dark haired woman smiled warmly.

"That sounds like fun Cassie," agreed Jenny. "Where?"

"The Green Man Lounge," answered Cassie. "The food is great and they've got a new band playing. You have to see the lead singer. He's gorgeous!"

"If he's a singer, shouldn't I be more interested in hearing him?" laughed Jenny.

The tall slender blonde rolled her eyes. Jenny's new friend, Cassie, fancied herself a bit of a matchmaker and had been introducing Jenny around West Chelmsford.

"His voice is even better, and he plays three different instruments," replied Cassie. "I've known Michael since uni. He's a great guy. You'll love him."

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The ARC's newest team member, Danny Quinn, was initially stuck in the Pliocene. The early hominids took an interest in the detective and followed the tall red head around the valley. The London copper and the pre-humans both learned from each other. The tiny people showed Danny where to find edible tubers and grubs. In turn, Danny inadvertently taught the hominids how to make a fire.

"No telling how the time line is going to change because of this," grumbled Danny when he caught a hairy male watching him break up dry wood and strike a spark with the flint in his survival backpack.

A few evenings later, the hominid demonstrated his new skill to the rest of his family. The big human grinned proudly to see his student bringing warmth and light to the hominid camp.

"Now where did you find flint?" wondered Danny in surprise. "I feel like Prometheus."

An anomaly opened nearly three months after Danny had been separated from Connor and Abby. For the first time since the red head had made friends with the hominid family, the tiny people hung back, refusing to follow.

"If there's a way to get home," explained Danny to the curious pre-humans, "I've got to try."

The tall red head grabbed his favorite walking stick and saluted the hominids before stepping through the glittering shimmering fracture in time.

"If Helen can travel through time," muttered Danny, "I can make it back home."

The tall red head looked around the new landscape. Lush green growth appeared before Danny. A flock of large birds flew across the cloudless sky above him.

"Doesn't look too bad," said Danny.

The stick Danny carried thumped in agreement as the copper started down the gentle slope moving away from the anomaly. A familiar loud chirping noise stopped him in his tracks. Danny stepped to one side, hiding in the cover of the leafy trees.

"I've heard that before," said Danny.

The red head scanned the surrounding area carefully, looking for the creature that made the warning noise. He soon found it.

"Phorusrhacid," said Danny with a frown. "Looks like I made a wrong turn on the time road."

The dangerous bird like creature seemed to be attracted to the shiny anomaly. The terror bird walked toward the shimmering doorway to another time.

"Oh no you don't," said Danny. "Those little guys won't stand a chance with you."

The copper stepped out from his hiding place and swung his favorite walking stick. By the time Danny subdued the Phorusrhacid, the anomaly was closed and his stick had a name. Molly was a red head too. Danny's first night in the new time zone, he roasted the dangerous bird for dinner.

"Taste's like chicken."

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In the Cretaceous, Abby and Connor were dealing with struggles of their own. Eight months on their own, fighting to stay alive, had changed the relationship between the pair in some ways. In other ways, not so much.

"Really Conn?"

Abby's incredulous tone caused the dark haired scientist to look up from the ground he was kneeling on.

"We're supposed to be looking for food," reminded Abby. "Roots, bulbs…"

"Yummy," replied Connor without much enthusiasm.

"Not rocks!"

The impatience in the blonde's voice registered on Connor. The dark haired scientist added the small white rock to his pocket and stood up.

"Right," agreed Connor.

Abby's blue eyes rolled in exasperation. Connor had been collecting things off and on ever since they had climbed down from that tree the first morning in the cretaceous. Some things, like the sharp rock and the stick that Connor had crafted to make into the spear he now carried, had proved useful. Other things, like the assortment of dinosaur teeth, not so much. The blonde had explained to Connor that he couldn't keep samples of everything he saw, but his natural curiosity sometimes got the better of him. Like now.

"What's with the rocks Connor?" asked Abby.

Dark brown eyes opened wide. Abby's suspicions were aroused by Connor trying to look innocent.

"What are you up to Connor?" asked Abby. "You've been collecting pebbles for weeks now."

"Nothing," replied Connor. In a rush, he added, "We should split up, cover more ground, find more food, yeah."

"Yeah," agreed Abby.

The blonde nodded reluctantly. She and Connor usually did their gathering together, but the forest was quiet today. Searching for roots and bulbs didn't usually take them into the same areas that the carnivores travelled. Hunting separately was a good idea.

"Just…," hesitated Abby, "be careful."

"Later yeah," said Connor. The scientist pointed in the direction of the river. "I'll go this way."

"And I still want to know about the rocks," called Abby as the scientist strode away.

Connor turned to look back at her and grinned.

"Meet me by the waterfall later," replied Connor, "and I'll tell you then."

It was late afternoon when Abby started towards the waterfall. She found Connor sitting on a rocky ledge on the river bank near the base of the falls. The slender scientist rose to stand as she approached. Abby narrowed her eyes. Connor was shifting his weight from one foot to another, fidgeting like he did when he was nervous.

"Abby," greeted Connor.

"What have you been up to Connor?" asked Abby. While she carried a half dozen of the potato like roots that formed the staple of their diet, she didn't see any roots or tubers near Connor.

"Abby," repeated Connor, he swallowed and licked his lips before continuing. "I've been keeping track of the days, and I personally would like to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day."

"What?" exclaimed Abby in surprise.

Connor had been keeping a calendar of sorts and had wished her Merry Christmas and Happy New Year not so long ago. The pair's relationship had deepened in the cretaceous in so many ways, but there had been no time for holiday celebrations. Yet Connor had decided to wish her a Happy Valentines Day. Misunderstanding her question, Connor answered hurriedly.

"Today is Valentine's Day," babbled the scientist. "I'm sure of it… or at least ninety-nine percent sure of it."

The scientist gestured towards the waterfall. Abby stepped closer and looked past Connor to the normally smooth sandy brown river bank. Hearts were drawn on the sandy shore of the river bank, outlined in tiny white pebbles.

"It's not a proper card," explained Connor. The technical genius got flustered as Abby continued to stare wordlessly. "I mean… I know… it's not…"

Abby walked down the slope to see the hearts closer. Connor had written names inside of each heart. She smiled as she read the names of their friends, all the people they were missing. Jenny's name was first. The heart with Sarah Page's name was closely followed by the one bearing Danny Quinn's name. A double heart was labelled Lester and Mrs. Lester. Abby looked at the next heart, stopped and turned to Connor in surprise.

"Hilary?" asked Abby. "Really? Becker?"

Connor nodded.

Abby stepped further down the shoreline. Another double heart was there. She read the names of Claudia Brown and Nick Cutter.

"Aww," sighed Abby. She looked up at Connor, her blue eyes tearing suddenly. "Do you think…"

"I know they're together," replied Connor firmly. "Somehow. Somewhere."

Hearts with the names of Stephen, Rex, Sid and Nancy followed. Abby stopped at the last pair of hearts drawn on the sand. Abby. Connor. Side by side, touching, but not entwined like the other double hearts. She looked over at Connor again. He was doing that nervous shifting motion again, almost swaying side to side.

"Abby, I just wanted to…," began Connor, "I mean…"

"Connor," said Abby.

The genius stopped babbling and watched as she knelt down beside the two hearts drawn in the sand. Abby gently brushed away the sandy line and rearranged the tiny white pebbles, linking their hearts together.

"Now, it's perfect," said Abby. The blonde rose and turned to face Connor. "It's the best Valentine's Day Card ever."

"Well it's not really a card you know," replied Connor. "I mean not a proper card…"

Abby stepped closer towards him. She stood so close she could breathe in the air Connor exhaled.

"Connor," said Abby tenderly as she reached a hand up to pull Connor's head closer to her, "shut up."

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