A Tender Reunion

Danny sat on the floor, his back against the wall, staring at the anomaly. In his mind the scene replayed over and over again, paralyzing him. He had let the medics take Connor from him reluctantly, knowing that if he didn't, the boy would not survive. Even Lester tried unsuccessfully to get Danny to tell him what happened, refusing to leave until he was told what had happened. Thankfully, Lieutenant Johnson offered to tell Lester what had occurred, walking away with the man.

He vaguely heard Becker's voice in the hall, telling Lester what happened to Abby. Danny heard the frustration in Lester's voice, and noted the fact that Abby was being taken to the hospital as well. None of it mattered much though, for Danny, none of this should have happened.

"Danny, you alright?" Becker inquired, poking his head in to the lab.

Danny didn't respond.

"Look, it's not your fault," Becker consoled. "It could have been anyone, maybe even you. He'll pull through."

Danny looked over at him and smiled weakly. "I hope he does."

"I'm going to go ahead and followed the medics to the hospital," Becker added. "If you want to come with, I'll have Johnson watch this anomaly."

"No thanks," Danny replied. "I'll stay here for now."

With that he was alone once more, just him and the anomaly. He closed his eyes for a moment, and did not notice the young cub that had come through the anomaly. Softly it padded over to him, sniffing his bloodstained hands before nuzzling against his arm, purring softly. Opening his eyes, Danny looked at the source of the warm furry animal as it nestled against him, apparently trying to get comfortable.

"No you don't," he said softly, moving his arm away from the cat. "You can't stay here. If anyone sees you they will shoot you."

The cat looked up at him and let out a mewling sound, as if protesting the man's argument. This time it jumped into his lap and looked at him for a moment before lying down. Danny sighed and let it be, reaching out to gently stroke the cat that now lay in his lap. "You can stay only for a few minutes," he whispered, scratching the cats head. "Then you have to go back."

***

Abby awoke a day later, her head throbbing as she blinked against the light, and saw Nick sitting beside her bed. She started to sit up, but stopped when the whole room began to swim. Nick placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly at her.

"Where am I?" she asked meekly, trying to ignore the pain.

"You're in the hospital," Nick answered.

"Last thing I remember was something attacking me."

"It was a giant worm," Cutter stated. "You're wounds are healing nicely, though you're going to have to stay in bed for another day. You hit your head on the concrete floor, and suffered a mild concussion."

"That explains the headache I have," Abby replied. Then it hit her, "Where's Connor?"

"He's back at the flat making sure Rex and the others are doing alright," Nick lied.

Abby sensed something wasn't right. Cutter's response didn't fit with Connor's habits. He would usually be at her side. Abby glared at her boss, knowing that he was hiding something from her. "Somehow I can't see Connor doing that," she stated. "He would rather be here, than there. So where is he really?"

Nick sighed and looked away. "He's in the ICU."

"What?!" Abby shot bolt upright, fighting against the dizziness that washed over her. "What happened?"

"I don't know the details, he was seriously hurt though," Nick stated softly.

Abby struggled to get out of bed, but a firm hand on her shoulder kept her in place. As Abby lay down again, she felt the coldness of the pillow on her head. She reached up and felt the bandage on the bare spot on her head.

"You hit your head hard, you were bleeding. Rest for now." Nick instructed. "I'll come get you later."

Abby listened reluctantly, her eyes drifting closed. Her thoughts were of Connor, wondering what had happened. She saw the concern in Nick's eyes. With her thoughts on Connor she fell asleep once more.

In the ICU ward, Becker looked up from the bandaged body sensing another presence. Leaning against the door, Danny looked at the captain then over to Connor. A look of determination shadowed his face, and he walked in.

"Go get something to eat," Danny said. "I'll stay with him for a while."

"You sure?" Becker inquired.

"Go on, you need a break."

The soldier stood and left the room, leaving Danny to replace him. He sat down in the vacant chair and stared at the young man. "Come on Connor, you've got to make it," he said in the stillness. "You're a strong person. You can do it."

As the hours slipped by, Danny remained seated near the young man, waiting for some sign of life. As visiting hours came to an end, Nick stopped in and checked on Connor before placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

"It's time to go," he announced. "Visiting hours are over."

Reluctantly Danny got and eyed Connor one last time before he followed Nick out of the room. "How's Abby doing?" he inquired.

"She's sleeping at the moment, but I suspect she'll be on her feet by tomorrow," Nick replied.

"Does she know?"

"About Connor? Only that he is up here, that's all," Nick answered. "If she could have done so, she would have been there. And I suspect tomorrow she will want to see him."

"Can't blame her for wanting to see him," Danny said. "She's a part of the team too, and the two live together. They watch out for each other."

"We all do," Cutter added. "As for you, go home and get some sleep. I'll call if anything changes."

Nick watched as Danny drove off, heading for home, before deciding to head back to the ARC. He'd heard that the anomalies were gone, but Lester was fuming over the whole situation. As Nick drove back, he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he would never fully understand Lester's way of thinking. First he doesn't expect anomalies to show up in specified areas, and now that that idea was shattered he wants a plan in place to prevent another incident like this from happening again.

He sighed as he pulled into the loading bay and climbed out of the truck. His mind was a jumbled mess of possible ideas tainted with exhaustion. He stopped to get a cup of coffee then returned to his office where he placed the cup on his desk, sat down and promptly fell asleep.

In the quiet night, Abby awoke and sat up once more. She looked at the tube that was attached to her arm and gently pulled it out, grimacing as she did so. She slid off the bed and walked into the hallway, fighting against the wave of nausea that tried to take hold of her stomach as she walked. She forced herself to focus and passed the unattended nurses station quickly, heading for the elevators.

She pushed the button and waited, looking about nervously, hoping she wouldn't be seen by any of the nurses. As the doors slid open, she stepped inside and pressed the button to take her to the floor with the ICU. The doors slid closed and began moving ever so smoothly. Leaning against the wall for support, exhaustion struggled to take control once more, but her determination to see Connor kept it at bay long enough for the elevator to stop and she stepped out.

Looking around, the ward was eerily quiet, with the nurses appearing to be on their rounds, and once again the station was empty. She slipped around the desk and flipped through the files looking for Connor's name, noting the room number as soon as she found it. A shock of fear shot through her when she caught sight of the condition he was listed in and her worries increased. Her teammate and friend was in bad shape, and she still didn't know the extent of his injuries. Again the blackness of exhaustion creped in around the edges of her vision, but her silent mantra kept her going some. The burst of adrenaline had helped but would soon wear off, and by then she wanted to be by his side.

She left the station and followed the signs to Connor's room. She paused in the doorway, peering in through the dim light and saw him lying in bed, equipment surrounding him, monitoring his condition. Stepping through the door, the light from the hall splashed across the bed, dim lighting his prone figure, wrapped in bandages that hid the severity of his injuries. Dark spots, hinting of dried blood, stained the bandages but that didn't stop the young woman from walking over to him.

"Oh Connor," Abby muttered softly, "what happened to you?" She carefully reached out, gently brushing her hand across his pale cheek. His hair was a disheveled mess, and she suspected that the only reason he looked so peaceful was because he was asleep. She could only imagine the agony he had suffered and was unable to hold back her tears.

She leaned over him, blinking away the tears as best as possible and watched as a few fell from her delicate face onto his cheeks, only to roll down and be absorbed by the pillow he lay on. "I'm here Connor," she whispered, hoping he could hear her.

Ever so slowly she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead tenderly. How she wished she had been there to help him, to hold his hand as they brought him to the hospital, and assure him that she would watch over him. She found the chair left behind by Danny, and pulled it close to the bed and sat down. Sleep was taking hold once more, and this time she knew it would win. She took Connor's hand in her own, squeezed it lovingly and rested her head on the bed.

"I won't leave you," she muttered as she drifted to sleep, her thoughts on the geeky young man whom she never quite understood, yet knew deep down that she loved.

As Abby drifted into sleep once more, she did not see Connor open his eyes. He looked down at her peaceful face, brought his free hand over to caress her face weakly and smiled. "I knew you would come," he mumbled falling back asleep.