***My editor drodgers89 pointed out some errors in this chapter, so I re-posted it with those fixed. Sorry for the problems!

"Love of mine, someday you will die, but I'll be close behind. I'll follow you into the dark." ~Death Cab For Cutie

Abby's P.O.V.

Connor. Oh my god. Connor.

I would know that scream anywhere. That scream would haunt me for as long as I live, permanently engrained in my worst nightmares. His scream was a cruel, pain filled mockery of his upbeat, accented voice. A voice that, judging from the terror in his scream, I may never hear again.

I took off running in the direction of the scream and found him lying between two bookcases, blood soaking the entire left side of his upper body. The creature that had attacked him was nowhere to be found, but I was too distracted at the sight of him laying before me, bloody and unconscious.

"Somebody help! I need a medic team now!" I yelled, gasping at the size of the wound in his side, shaped almost like a huge bite mark. A wave of nausea overtook me when I realized that was probably exactly what it was.

James The Second was the first to run over, and he immediately set to work on Connor. He pulled his black tank top off and tore it into strips, wrapping the wound. He was silent and concentrating completely, and I watched with a growing sick feeling as blood pooled on the floor. Connor's blood.

With one hand still holding his shirt to the wound, he pulled out a cell phone and dialed 911, explaining that a man had been attacked, was bleeding severely, and needed medical attention as soon as possible. Like his father, James The Second was totally calm in life threatening situations.

I wanted to ask if he thought Connor would be okay, but I feared that I wouldn't like the answer. So I stood silently, biting my nails. I asked him if there was anything I could do to help, but he shook his head.

It could have only been minutes later when the paramedics finally arrived, but it felt like hours. Nick and I rode with Connor in the ambulance while the rest of the team handled the anomaly and the creatures. I took his hand in mine, shuddering at how cold and limp it felt in mine. Nick looked like a father seeing his son mortally wounded, and he trembled as he ran his fingers through his unruly blond hair.

You can't leave me, Connor, I thought, squeezing his hand.

Lester's P.O.V.

Jenny and I were exhausted and sore from shooting down the creatures circling us, and she leaned heavily against the wall, trying to catch her breath. I pulled my comb from my inner pocket and pushed my hair back into place, and Jenny glared.

"Now is not the time for primping," she said, eyes narrowed.

I simply shrugged and slid the comb back into my pocket, picking my rifle back up from where I'd sat it down after the attack. She also picked her gun up, and we looked around for any more creatures. There weren't any that we could see, but we hadn't checked anything other than the main room yet.

We spun around at the sound of running footsteps, and saw Claudia running towards us.

"It's Connor. He's been attacked, he's on his way to the hospital," she explained breathlessly.

"Oh my god," Jenny whispered.

I felt the blood drain from my face, but I kept my cool, unconcerned exterior intact. I closed my eyes as I remembered Connor just a few nights ago, looking so elated when I told him I was proud of him. He had looked so alive. I couldn't possibly imagine him permanently still and unanimated in death, the mere thought made me shudder in revulsion.

"Will he be alright?" I asked crisply, careful to show no emotion.

"They don't know, he's in really bad shape."

"Was he attacked by one of the creatures?" Jenny asked, looking around to check for any more of them.

"Yes. The entire left side of his torso was bitten into, but I think something startled it and caused it to leave. Thank god, because otherwise he would've been eaten for sure," she said, tucking a lock of long ginger hair behind her ear.

"Let us know if you receive any information on him," I said, striding off to check the upper level for more creatures. Jenny followed suit, and I repressed a pang of concern when I saw how pale and drawn she was.

"I feel sure he'll be fine," I sighed, trying to sound bored and uninterested.

"Don't do that," she said sharply, her eyes yet again narrowing.

"Do what?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Don't act like you don't care. I know that you care about him. He's the son you never had, James," she said, and I felt my jaw clench at the honesty of her words. I hated it, but she was right. It frustrated me when she knew more about me than I did.

"He is a valuable asset to the team. We cannot afford to lose him," I said simply, picking up my phone to dial Sarah.

After she picked up, I said, "We need you here at the British Library, Sarah. Connor's been injured and we need someone here that can properly seal the anomaly."

"Oh my god, is he okay? How bad was he hurt? What happened?" The words tumbled over his each other, falling into a babbled mess.

"Just get over here. Now," I said, hanging up. She really was a tiresome little woman.

Stephen's P.O.V.

Abby and I sat in the waiting room of the hospital while Connor got stitches and they stopped the bleeding, and I felt an instinctive feeling of worry when I saw how pale and drawn she looked. I could tell that she was worried sick about him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," I said, taking her hand. She laced her fingers through mine and leaned against my shoulder.

"Even the doctors don't know if he's going to be alright, Stephen. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but they said that he's lost a lot of blood," she said shakily.

"I'm sure he'll pull through. He's got a lot to fight for," I said, stroking her back.

"He better pull through," she said with a weak attempt at a laugh.

"I know that this isn't the best time, but are we okay? I know I may have pushed a little too hard after our date, but I swear I didn't mean anything by it-"

"It's fine. We're fine," she cut me off, giving my hand a tight squeeze.

Connor's P.O.V.

My entire body throbbed. I had no idea where I was. I heard voices, but it took effort to separate them into individual personalities. I concentrated hard and began matching the voices to people.

"He's awake? Oh thank you god, he's going to be alright," said an extremely relieved female voice that sounded close to tears. Abby. Her voice was like music to my ears.

"When can we see him?" asked a concerned male voice with a soft Scottish accent. Nick. Hearing him had an immediate calming effect on me.

"Let us see him. I can have complete authorization over his room in one phone call, and don't think I can't do it." Lester. No one can bark orders better than Lester.

"I am sorry about my colleagues, they are very worried about Connor. But we would very much appreciate it if you could let us through," said a controlled but assertive female voice that had just a hint of a threat under her sensible words. Claudia.

"Don't make me shoot you," said a male voice, followed by the sound of a gun cocking. Becker. I might've have laughed at the thought of him pulling his rifle on a doctor in the middle of a hospital, but I felt oddly detached from my body.

"If you could please just let us-" began a polite, female voice. Sarah.

"For god's sake just let us the hell through," interrupted a voice not unlike Claudia's, and I thought I heard the doctor stumble as someone, undoubtedly the person speaking, push past him. Jenny.

I heard a door open, but I couldn't open my eyes. I still felt oddly detached, unable to control my muscles. I felt like I was floating, free of the binds of gravity. I felt pressure, but I couldn't identify where it came from. The harder I thought, I realized I had felt someone lay their hand on mine. A smooth, delicate hand, obviously a girl's. Abby.

"Connor, you had us worried sick," she whispered softly, wrapping both of her hands around mine.

I felt a hand gently brush the hair from my face, male, judging from the slight roughness of the palm. Nick. His hands would be a little rough as long as he'd been working with the anomalies and the creatures.

"Don't let it go to your head, but we were all a bit worried, I suppose." Lester.

"I, for one, would like to thank you. I've never gotten to pull my gun on someone in public before," said a calm and contented voice. Becker.

All the girls went on about how worried they'd been, but the men in the room remained mostly silent.

"Well, we'll give you and Connor a minute alone," I finally heard Jenny say to someone.

"Thanks." Abby.

I heard several sets of footsteps, a brief pat on the top of my free hand, and then I heard the door close. I assume the brief little gesture, which I had been able to tell was male, must have been Lester. The palms were smooth, unmarked by battle and injuries like Nick's and the rest of the field team's, but definitely male.

"I hope you wake up soon. Knowing that you're going to live is nowhere near as good as being able to hear your voice. God you had me worried," Abby whispered, her voice cracking at the end. She continued speaking, not knowing I could hear her.

"I'm so stupid. I can't believe it took me this long to realize it, but Connor…oh lord I am such a coward. The least I can do is tell you this when you're awake," she said, and from her voice she was becoming frustrated with herself.

"Fine. I'll say it. Simply because I'm not sure I'm brave enough to say it when you wake up. I love you, Connor. You've been there for me when no one else has, you are my best friend and my rock. I'm sorry for all the times I've hurt you or not trusted you. Because no matter how badly I've treated you, you're still there for me. I trust you more than anyone, even more than I trust myself. I could sit here and list all of the reasons I love you - even though you're not awake - but I would be here awhile. So I'm just going to say it one last time. I love you, Connor," she finally finished, her voice more audibly cracking at the end. I could tell she was crying.

I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. She loved me! Finally, after all this time, I had won her over! She loved me! I probably would've gotten up and did a little happy dance, but I was just now slowly regaining a grounded feeling. I started feeling more attached to my body, and I slowly managed to open my eyes.

"Connor!" she shrieked. "How long have you been awake?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Long enough," I grinned, wanting to squeeze her hand but still too weak.

"How much of that did you hear?" she asked shrilly.

"I've been awake since you guys started arguing with the doctor outside my door," I informed her, biting back a laugh when her eyes widened further.

"You mean that you heard all of that?"

"Every bit of it," I said happily.

"Oh. I, um, meant it. I just didn't mean for you to, ah, hear it," she stuttered, blushing.

"Hey Abby?" I said, still slightly doped up on pain medication.

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

She leaned over and gave my cheek the most feather light kiss before standing up. I was content to spend this little moment with her, while she had seemed to have briefly forgotten about Stephen and the whole rest of the world.

"I'm going to go tell Nick you're awake," she said, a small smile still on her lips.

"Okay," I said, feeling like it was all a dream and praying I never woke up.

Jenny's P.O.V.

Connor wasn't ready to be released, and Abby wanted to stay with him, so the rest of us drove back to the ARC. I drove this time, simply because I was wired from fighting off the creatures and then fighting off the media. I think I might've preferred the creatures.

James, who wasn't yet used to going out on the field with us, was bruised and scraped and looked exhausted. But other than that, he was unharmed. He stared out the window, looking as bored as ever, but I could tell he was relieved that Connor was going to be okay. He seemed to have recently developed a bond with the boy, and I was glad that he at least had someone like a son since his own one disliked him so much.

"James, I have a theory to run by you," I began slowly, trying to phrase the scary thought running through my head.

"How much does it cost?"

"This has nothing to do with money," I sighed, shaking my head.

"Oh. Well then what is it?" he asked, turning to me.

"Honestly, it's more of a worry than a theory," I admitted.

"A worry about what?"

"The new anomalies. Everyone from the past has returned. Everyone except for one person…"

"Helen Cutter," he said, finishing my sentence.

I nodded, glad that he'd also thought of it. It had been gnawing at me since Nick and Claudia returned, but I hadn't told anyone else about my fears yet. I didn't like being dependent on anyone.

"If she returns, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now everything seems mostly safe, but we'll increase the security around the ARC just in case," he said, already picking up his phone to notify the head of security of the change.

I nodded, already feeling safer. I didn't want to be one of those women that had to have a constant feeling of protection, but both mine and my team's safety could be at stake if that woman returned. She had killed her own husband, and I knew that she wouldn't hesitate to kill again to get her way.

When we reached the ARC, the whole team was tired and ready to go home. James went up to his office to find a change of clothes, and the rest of the team scattered to their prospective places. Nick was standing by the detector, arms wrapped tight around Claudia, who buried her face into his shoulder. I followed Danny into the armory, where he was hanging the gun he'd brought back on the rack.

"Hey, Jenny. Are you okay?" he asked, walking over and taking my hands in his. Thankful for the safe, comfortable feeling he provided, I contently leaned against his shoulder when he wrapped an arm around my waist. I closed my eyes and resting my face against the shoulder of his leather jacket.

"I'm fine, but I was worried about Connor," I said.

"He's going to be okay now. Abby's not going to leave his side," he assured me, kissing the top of my head.

Around him, I never felt the need to be guarded. In the beginning, he had infuriated me with his stubbornness, but he'd never made me uncomfortable. I easily let go of my usual sarcasm and hard edges, content to just be with him. It sounded horribly sappy and very unlike me, but I simply enjoyed his company, even when he didn't say a word. He didn't have to. The protective way he held me to him said more than words ever could.

"We don't talk but that's okay, cause' I hear everything that you say." ~Alexz Johnson

Author's Note:

Well, that's it for chapter 10. Wow, ten chapters already! Thanks so much to all of the encouragement from my amazing readers, and a special thank you to drodgers89, because without her insisting that I did, I would have never posted the first chapter of this fic. There was one little Nick/Claudia moment in here, wrote in especially for Kathryn Hart, who loves the coupling, and the Stephen/Abby moment was for drodgers89, who will always be a Stabby shipper at heart.

I am thinking that Connor and Abby will be the ones together in the end, but for now I'll keep Stephen and Abby together. Now that Connor knows Abby loves him, that triangle will become more pronounced, and also the Jenny/Lester/Danny triangle will come to a head soon. Also, for the sake of dramatics, shall we bring Helen back? I hate that woman, but she does dramatic well.

Haha enough of my babbling, thanks so much for reading and reviewing!