Disclaimer: Primeval's not mine, it belongs to Impossible pictures. Darn it.

A/N: A huge thank you for all the feedback, makes it worth it when you know your work is being enjoyed. The rating has been changed to a T ;)


"Connor, you're a genius!" Dave slapped Connor on the back. "I never thought that thing of yours would work!"

If he was honest, Connor was beginning to think he'd never get it working either. He'd been growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of resources available to him. He'd complained a number of times but just met with shrugged shoulders. Dave, Johanna and Scott (who was one of the archaeologists working on the dig site by the park) tried to help, bringing old electrical items to him that he might be able to salvage something from. In the end, Connor sent an angry email to Lester, who passed it on to his friend Sir David, and suddenly it was "Anything Temple needs to finish the project, you get it for him, whatever the cost".

He stepped back, admiring his work. Ok, so it wasn't as impressive looking as the one back in London, but as long as it served its purpose, that was all that mattered. Almost three months of hard work had finally paid off, they were stood staring at a map on the screen, an alarm going off, and a flashing symbol indicating that an anomaly had been detected.

"Come on then guys. Let's do this!" Connor grinned at the team. This was why he was here, and it felt great to finally feel like he had achieved something.

--

Abby stared at her computer screen blankly. She was supposed to be writing a report for Lester, but she really couldn't be bothered. Her arms ached and she was regretting giving the punch bag such a hard pounding earlier. She'd been spending a lot of time in the gym recently, and had finally gotten round to starting the kick boxing classes again. She glanced over at Sarah, who looked equally fed up.

"Sarah, fancy a coffee?"

"Ok, sounds good. Thanks"

Abby disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two mugs. She handed Sarah hers and perched on the edge of her desk.

"So, how did the date go last night?" Sarah asked

"Hmm" Abby said. "One drink and his hands were all over me"

"Oh god, I hope you gave him what he deserved?"

Abby grinned "Of course! He'll be speaking a few octaves higher for the next week" Sarah almost choked on her coffee.

"I wish I had your guts"

"I just know how to look after myself, that's all. I've needed to. Especially where men are concerned. I never learn do I? Meatheads are always bad news"

Sarah took a deep breath. There was a question she'd be dying to ask for a while "Have you heard anything from Connor?"

"How did we get from meatheads to Connor?" Abby laughed.

"Stop avoiding the question! Have you heard from him?"

Abby's face changed. Her tough front seemed to drop whenever she thought about Connor. "Not really, just the same emails he sent you guys as well" That wasn't true, he had called her, about two weeks ago. It had been a very awkward chat, Connor did most of the talking, and she didn't really know why he had phoned. He was using a landline phone at the game park where he was staying, but had been told to keep personal calls to a minimum. He sounded like the Connor she used to know right at the start, babbling on about so many things but not really saying anything. One thing she did notice, he kept mentioning a girl, Johanna. He was doing what he'd said in his letter, moving on. That was when Abby decided to accept the offer of going out for a drink with a guy she knew at the zoo.

Their chat was interrupted by a familiar sound, the anomaly alarm. They both went into automatic mode and headed down the stairs to the main room where the detector was.

"What have we got, Sam?" Danny said.

Sam looked at the screens despairingly. He was really struggling with this. The young man was one of Becker's team who had been injured whilst chasing a dinosaur a few weeks ago. He had been assigned to monitor the anomaly detector whilst he was recovering. It had been acting up, going off for no reason, showing multiple anomalies and giving strange readings. "I think it's another false alarm, sorry"

"When are they going to get this thing fixed?" Becker said, annoyed.

"I'm working on that problem as we speak" came a voice from up on the observation walkway. It was Lester. "I never thought I'd say this, but obviously Temple is the only one with the brains enough to sort this out. Sam, can you set up a computer and webcam by the detector by 1pm? Connor's going to contact you and try and talk you through what needs to be done" Sam looked relieved

"Sure, if a couple of the guys will help me shift a desk over, I can hook up my laptop" Danny and Becker immediately began clearing a desk in the corner.

Sarah nudged Abby "Might be worth hanging around here at 1 o'clock". She saw the corners of Abby's mouth turn up into a faint smile, the first one to pass her lips since Connor left.

--

"Here we go" Sam said. He wasn't used to having an audience whilst he worked, but he could hardly refuse them – they just wanted to say hi to their old friend. Danny, Sarah, Abby and Becker were all stood behind him, waiting anxiously as Sam tried to set up. Suddenly, the blank screen on the laptop began to flicker, and then, there he was. That smile, the big brown eyes. Abby's heart began to race.

"Sam, can you hear me OK?" he said

"Loud and clear, Connor. You got me?"

"Yes, and I see you're not alone"

Everyone leaned into view of the camera, waved and called "hi Connor!"

"It's good to see you all! How's everything?" His grin grew even wider.

"Same old, you know how it is, mate" Danny said. "Just hope you can help Sam here get the detector fixed. We're floundering in the dark a bit at the moment"

"I'll try. I think I know what's wrong, it's just talking Sam through it"

Becker and Sarah began chatting to him. Abby stood aside a little, trying to read Connor. He looked good, happy, and it didn't seem like an act for the sake of the camera. His usually pale skin was tanned and he was letting his hair grow long again. She heard him tell Sarah that he had finally got the anomaly detector working over there, although the overall range they could get wasn't as good. He was asking Sarah if she had any ideas how to improve it, and she said she'd go away and think about it. Their conversation dried up and Abby found herself being shoved forward by Danny. She wasn't sure she could do this. She looked to Sarah for help, but she, Danny and Becker were already making their way back to their own work.

"Abby" Connor had seen her. His face changed, the smile more strained. He chewed nervously on his bottom lip.

"Hey Connor. You look well. Life must me treating you well over there" she tried to sound normal, but was conscious her voice was higher than usual.

"Can't complain I suppose. Constant sunshine, good food, exercise, they even let me use a gun here" he laughed.

"You haven't put anyone to sleep have you?" she said.

"Nah, I'm a better aim now. Johanna's been teaching me" There was an awkward silence. That name again. Connor broke it. "Abby…."

"Connor, I …."

"I miss you Abby"

"I miss you too" her heart felt like it was going to explode through her chest, it was beating so hard. There was an awkward cough. Sam. "Sorry, I should let you two boys get on with fixing this thing so we can all get back to work" She moved away, dipping down in front of the camera "See you soon eh?"

"Yes" he said back, his voice barely a whisper.

--

Connor was quiet. He was sat in the lounge area of the lodge he shared with Dave, Johanna and a few others who were helping out with the investigations. Until today, he'd barely had time to think about home, if he wasn't off testing out the hand held detectors he'd developed, or chasing a stray dinosaur, he was out in the bush with Dave or Johanna.

"Did you get the problem sorted?" Johanna said, walking into the lounge. She handed Connor a bottle of beer.

"Think so" he said. Johanna sat next to him. She'd just showered, her hair was hung loose and damp around her shoulders. She smelt of soap and shampoo, and it reminded him of evenings at home with Abby when she'd come and join him on the sofa after she'd had her bath.

"Then why do you look so sad?"

"I saw the guys on the webcam, we chatted for a while". She had shifted herself closer to him, and had begun to massage his neck and shoulders. He didn't try to stop her, he liked how it felt.

"I see. You're missing home eh?"

He nodded. "Something like that". He tried not to make eye contact with her, not wanting her to see the sadness behind his eyes. Her hands had stopped massaging his neck, she was now slowly trailing her fingers down his chest, her face so close to his he could feel her breath. He was certain she would be able to feel his heart pounding in his chest. He stopped fighting with himself and looked her in the eyes, holding her gaze. For the first time, he noticed how pretty her eyes were.

"Maybe I can take your mind off things for a while?" she whispered, leaning towards him.

Before he could say anything, her lips were on his. He returned the kiss, not wanting to make the same mistake he'd made when Abby had kissed him. Everything that happened after that was a blur – maybe it was because he just wanted to forget it had happened, maybe it was sheer embarrassment – the kiss was followed by a lot of awkward fumbling, and he remembered being led into Johanna's bedroom. There was more fumbling, as clothes were discarded, and then he could feel the soft curves of her body beneath his as she guided him to where she wanted him. As months of tension were released from inside him, he felt light headed, dizzy almost. Then, at the very peak of emotion, at that most intimate moment two people could share, a word fell from his mouth so naturally it was like it was a part of him "Abby!"

Hours later, he was sat on the edge of his own bed, his face still stinging from the slap he'd received. He'd deserved it, he'd committed the ultimate sin. Today he realised that he hadn't really been as happy as he was trying to convince himself he was. Throwing himself into work was simply avoidance of reality. He knew what he had to do now.