A/N: This has already been published over on my LJ page, but this version has been revised. It will be a little darker and more violent. So, if you read it over there, this one's a bit different. There are two chapters that will have an M rating because of the changes and additions, but most of it will be T. Thanks for reading, and as always, please, please, please review.

Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 10 – The Quiet Before the Storm

When Connor was taken from Abby's room he was led back down the stairs to the lower floor. He hadn't been back down here since those first few days in captivity. He didn't like the memories it brought back. He could have sworn that he felt the now healed electrical burns start tingling again. It was colder down here, and wetter. The smell of musty basement permeated everything. He shivered.

He was pretty sure he was taken right back to the room he'd been in when Tom had first patched him up. It was still little more than a basement storage room with an attached bathroom. The cot though, had been switched out for a heavy metal frame bed. Connor noticed a couple of other new additions to the room also: chains. He swallowed hard and looked back at Tom.

"Sorry mate, Canalla's orders. He doesn't want you getting any ideas."

"Aw, come on Tom, what am I gonna do, huh? Run away? Without Abby? Who is he kidding? I haven't ever tried to run, not once."

"Still, like I told you before, I'm a soldier and I follow orders. I'm sorry."

Connor was allowed to use the bathroom first and get ready for bed. Tom waited until he was ready and sitting on the bed. Connor had his knees pulled up to his chest and he had paled visibly with anxiety and unease at the prospect of being chained up all night. Tom grabbed the chain attached to the wall and pulled up the hem of Connor's pyjama bottoms.

"Please, Tom, I'm not going to go anywhere."

"Connor, I'm sorry, I really am, but you remember what I told you earlier today. It's not just your head on the chopping block. He already thinks I'm too soft with you. It's why he ordered me to do it. Now, please, don't make this anymore difficult."

He locked the shackle around Connor's leg. It wasn't tight, but it was heavy. It would rub. Tom pulled the hem of his pant leg back down.

"I really am sorry, Connor. Please believe me."

"Yeah, OK, but you still did it didn't you. Just, let me go to sleep, OK, Tom? We've got a lot of work to do yet and I'm tired."

Tom looked at Connor sadly, he was right of course, but Tom didn't like this at all. It wasn't right. Tom looked at the other set of chains. Maybe tomorrow. He couldn't bring himself to completely restrain the defeated young man in front of him. He'd deal with the consequences if anyone said anything. He turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.

Connor lay on the bed angry and frustrated. As soon as Tom left he sat back up. He needed to think. He kicked his chained leg out angrily, growling to himself. He was so aggravated with his whole new predicament. It wasn't that it interrupted any plans, it was that it was just so unnecessary. Why was Canalla being like this? He took a deep breath. He needed to focus.

He pulled the small scraps of paper and pen he had smuggled from his work space out of his pyjama pocket and wrote down the new timetable for his plan. He'd put it through another anomaly first chance he had tomorrow. Hopefully the earlier notes had got to the right place. Otherwise he was libel to get his hand bit off sticking it somewhere he shouldn't. This thought made him chuckle. He lay back down and tried to sleep.

The nightmares came again and again, and each time he was startled awake cold and alone. The first thing he noticed each time was the cold metal pressing uncomfortably around his ankle. Morning couldn't come soon enough. The hours dragged on. The thin blanket was nowhere near enough, and he missed Abby's warmth lying next to him. Connor finally slipped into another exhausted fitful sleep.

He woke up stiff and shivering to the sound of the metal door opening and Tom coming in. Tom unlocked the cuff around his leg and Connor swung himself off the bed. As he was heading for the shower his eyes alighted on a second set of chains dangling off the head of the bed. He did a double take but didn't stop walking.

When he got into the shower he shuddered and then mentally made himself focus on what he had to do today.

When he was ready, Tom opened the door.

"Before we go, I want to prepare you for something you're not going to like."

"What are Canalla's orders this time?"

"He wants to make sure he knows where you are at all times."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Tom took a deep breath. "It means that I have to chain you to your desk until the test in a few days."

"Aw, come on. Are you serious? This is ridiculous."

"I know, but I wanted to prepare you. Please don't make a scene upstairs. Don't give him the satisfaction."

"Fine." Connor knew he couldn't win and that Tom was right, he couldn't give Canalla the satisfaction. This time he didn't hang his head. He took a note from Abby and held his head high as he walked up the stairs and into the main room.

He sat down at his desk and made no indication he even noticed except for a small flinch as the shackle locked around his leg. He immediately got to work.

"Good man," Tom whispered. "It'll all be over soon," he said with his hand on Connor's shoulder.

Connor bided his time and as soon as he could he opened another diminutive anomaly under his desk and passed his notes through.

To his utter shock before he pulled his hand back through, another hand grabbed his and he felt a note pressed into his palm followed by a firm, reassuring grasp. As soon as the other hand let go Connor withdrew his own and quickly closed the anomaly just in the nick of time.

Connor kept working the rest of the day, not daring to read the note. At this point everything was set, he didn't want to jeopardize it. All he was doing now was keeping up appearances and hoping against all odds that the hand on the other side of the anomaly meant they could do what he asked. God he was ready to go home; just a few more days.

At the end of the day Tom walked him back down to what was effectively his cell. Connor's ankle was stinging already from the heavy metal cuff rubbing against it constantly. Connor walked into his bathroom and closed the door behind him. He pulled the note out of his pocket and read it. It was short and to the point, but it gave him more hope than anything in the past two months. He could have literally jumped for joy.

Whatever you decide and whenever you want to act,

we'll be ready. We're with you both.

-Danny

He felt a huge smile spread across his face and he knew he had to hide it. He had a part to play and he had to play it to ensure that everything went his way. He dropped the note into the toilet and then proceeded to get ready for bed. He made sure he flushed the toilet completely when he was all finished.

He walked out of the bathroom and it was like déjà vu. Mr. Canalla was standing by Tom waiting for him. Connor froze.

"What's going on?" he asked shakily.

"I'm here to make sure Tom actually follows orders tonight."

"What… What does that mean. He did what you ordered. He chained me up."

Connor's eyes involuntarily went to the second set of chains he had noticed that morning.

"You're not stupid, Mr. Temple. You know he didn't completely follow orders."

"I'm not going to run away," Connor said softly. "I wouldn't leave Abby, you know that. Why are you doing this?"

Mr. Canalla smiled down at Connor, "you are a very important key to my plans, consider this extra insurance."

Connor decided not to push it. "I'm not going to fight it, I'll cooperate, but I just want you to know it's not necessary at all. You already have me securely locked up and you have Abby as insurance." He knew there was something else going on here, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He went over and sat on the bed, swinging his legs up and pulling his knees up to his chest again. Tom's hands were shaking, but Connor couldn't tell if it was from fear or anger. He locked the ring around Connor's ankle and this time there was a second shackle that extended from the first and locked around his other leg.

"Lie back," Tom said calmly, "put your arms through the bars."

Connor took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. He laid on his back and put his arms through the bars as he had been instructed. He blinked away the tears that threatened. He refused to show any reaction while Canalla was in the room. He closed his eyes while Tom locked the handcuffs around each wrist.

When he opened his eyes, Mr. Canalla was standing over him smiling down. Connor stared straight up at the ceiling.

"Comfy?" Canalla asked in mock concern

"Peachy," Connor responded shortly.

"Excellent. I just have one more thing to add." Mr. Canalla sat on the edge of the bed and produced a long dirty strip of cloth with a large knot tied in the middle of it.

"No, please, I'm not going to do anything. Please." Connor saw the look of disgust on Tom's face and the small shake of his head at him out of the corner of his eye. He closed his mouth and stared back heatedly at Mr. Canalla.

"Open up..." he said playfully. He forced the knot between Connor's teeth and tied it exceptionally tight behind his head. Connor grunted as his head dropped back to the mattress. Canalla had moved his pillow to the floor.

"Sweet dreams, Mr. Temple." Canalla said as he half patted half slapped Connor's cheek jovially, but hard and then turned and walked from the room.

"I'll be back first thing in the morning. I promise. I'm really sorry about this. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted."

Connor stared back at him and nodded, a single tear slipped down his cheek.

"Tom, we have business to attend to," Canalla called from the hallway. Tom reached down and wiped the tear away.

"Your better than he is, he's not really a soldier, he's a coward and a bully. Don't let him win son." Connor nodded again.

Tom turned the light out and locked the door behind him.

Connor lay stretched out on the bed. He was determined not to cry, but the longer he lay there and the more stiff his shoulders became, the harder it was to fight off all the emotion. His mind settled on a compromise. Silent tears flowed down his cheeks, but not a sound came from his dry mouth. He sniffled a little, and wiped his face on his sleeve. He was so frustrated. He wished he could figure out why Canalla was doing this.

After a while he remembered the note he had received. He took a deep breath through his nose and wiped his eyes again. He wasn't alone, not even here, gagged and chained to the bed. Help was waiting in the wings; back up was on the way; just one more day and one more night.

Sadly, this was one of the worst, most uncomfortable nights Connor had experienced yet. The only nights that had been worse were that first night tied to a chair, and the night he and Abby had been beaten.

He could not get comfortable, it was still cold, and he couldn't curl up to keep himself warm. He spent most of the night jerking awake from his nightmares and shivering severely from both the cold and the muscle spasms that settled in on his body. His jaw ached from being kept open. He sometimes forgot to not bite down and got a fresh taste of the disgusting knot in his mouth. What little sleep he did get was not remotely refreshing.

True to his word, Tom arrived first thing in the morning. He took in the sight of Connor shivering violently and quickly moved to unlock the restraints. He then reached around and untied the gag. Tom helped Connor sit up slowly, his shoulders aching terribly from the enforced position he'd been in all night, and agave him a bottle of water. Connor sipped on it gratefully desperate to get the foul taste out of his mouth. Tom wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and sat down next to him. He handed him a jar of mineral ice.

"I'm a little early," he said, "why don't you go take a shower, and then put that on your shoulders. It'll help ease the discomfort. Oh, and I brought you these." He handed Connor a new pair of black fingerless gloves.

"Thanks. That's um… that's very kind of you." Connor's voice was still raspy from being gagged all night as he took the jar and the gloves and headed for the shower. Tom was right, between the hot water and the mineral ice, his discomfort was greatly reduced. The only thing that the hot water didn't feel good on was the raw skin around his ankle. Thankfully one night of restraints on his other ankle and wrists hadn't done much damage, just a little bruising around his wrists.

Tom walked him back up to the main room and chained Connor to the desk again.

Tom couldn't help but notice Connor's sharp hiss of pain as the shackle was fixed around his leg.

"That doesn't look so good," Tom said. "I'll be back in a minute."

When he returned he had his medical kit with him. He took the chain off and cleaned the raw area. Connor hissed a few times, but otherwise kept quiet. Tom put a salve on the wound, wrapped a thick bandage around his ankle, and then fixed the chain back in place.

"Thank you," Connor told him with as much sincerity as he could muster.

All Connor had to do was get through today and tonight and, if everything went according to plan, then he would be home with Abby by tomorrow night. Hopefully.

The day dragged on. He could have sworn that the clocks were actually running backwards. Mr. Canalla was in and out all day long. Connor tried his best to not let this unnerve him. And, at the end of the day, Connor decided he had to challenge him.

"Mr. Canalla, sir," he called to him, "can I ask you something?"

Canalla nodded and walked over to him.

Connor took a deep breath and plowed on, "I'm not stupid. I know you're probably going to kill Abby and me. I'm not asking you to lie to me, but if these are my last few hours, let me spend them with Abby, please. I don't want to be cold and alone if… if this is it. I promise you, the device will work for your test tomorrow. Please, I've worked and done everything you've asked. Just let me see her."

He finally looked up at the cruel man in front of him as he finished his request. Connor wasn't sure, but it seemed that something about his request pleased Mr. Canalla in some way.

"I suppose I could allow that, since this is your last night… here."

Connor looked at him quizzically, but all he managed to say was, "Thank you, sir," He supposed that any conversation with Mr. Canalla he could walk away from without nursing new injuries was a good one.

Tom walked him down the hall to Abby's room.

"I know you want to spend as much time with Miss Maitland as possible, so don't worry about your things, I'll have them brought to you."

"Thanks Tom."

Connor knocked on the door before Tom opened it. As soon as Connor stepped through the door and saw Abby curled up on the bed, he knew something was wrong. Even closed, her eyes were red and puffy. She had obviously been crying, and crying a lot by the sight of it. She was clutching his pillow tightly. So much of this scene reminded him of the first night she had been brought here when he'd had to unstrap her from the bed.

The lights were off except for a small sliver of light coming from the bathroom where the door wasn't shut all the way. Connor turned around and flipped the lights on. When he turned back around Abby caught him completely off guard by slamming into him and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her in response and kissed the top of her head. She was sobbing hysterically into his chest.

"Hey… hey… it's gonna be OK. What's the matter? What's wrong Love, talk to me. Calm down, Abby, please. Talk to me." Nothing he said would calm her. He pulled her over to the bed, held her in his arms, and let her cry it all out. He petted her hair and soothed her as best he could but it took her a good half hour to get a hold of herself.

As he sensed her calming down, he ventured a try at getting her to talk again.

"Abby, please Sweetheart, tell me why you're so up set, did... did some one... hurt you?" he asked tentatively. He'd never forgive himself if the answer was yes.

Abby looked up at him and made her decision right then and there. She didn't need to wait for Canalla to ask.

She leaned up kissed him on the cheek and then began to whisper as she pulled him down until he was laying next to her on the bed, "They're gonna kill you Connor."

Through her resurgent tears Abby recounted her entire conversation with Mr. Canalla in quiet whispers.

"So it is my fault," Connor said, "I do destroy the future."

"Connor, you can't know that and neither can Canalla. You would never do anything like that. At this point, how do we know he's not the one who destroys the future? Anyways that is so not the point right now. The point right now is what are we going to do?"

Connor smiled a huge smile at her, "Don't worry, like I said before, we're gonna be just fine. You just stay close to me. You stay with me, you understand?"

"Yeah, I stay with you."

Connor leaned down and kissed her and she put her arms around his neck and drew him closer her fingers curling into his hair.

Connor finally pulled away long before Abby wanted to let go. He leaned his forehead against hers.

"I want us to be together but… I don't want us to be together just because we're afraid. I love you Abby, but let's wait until we're clear and safely home, OK?"

"I love you Connor, I should have told you that ages ago. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"You're not going to lose me. Neither one of us is going to die. I promise, you and I are going to walk out of here tomorrow together. The cavalry's on its way, you just stay close and as long as you're with me, everything will be fine."

The door opened and Tom came in with Connor's things. Mr. Canalla hovered in the doorway. Leaning casually against the frame. There was nothing about his look that gave away the fact that he was plotting to murder at least one of the people imprisoned in the room before him. He fixed his glare on Abby and gave her a knowing nod.

Abby suppressed a shudder and nodded back at him. She hoped he read her expression as an affirmative answer to his question. She didn't want him to take Connor away again. She didn't want him to realize she was not going to help him lull Connor into doing nothing.

She had finally realized that if she agreed to Canalla's request to talk Connor out of any heroics, then they would certainly kill him. Even if it was quick and painless, she couldn't live with that. She'd rather go down fighting by his side, than to have him slip away in her arms. If she stood by him and his, probably, crazy plan, at least they both stood a chance. They might just survive… maybe… if they stuck together like Connor said…maybe. She looked away from Canalla's stare.

Tom told them he'd see them in the morning and to get some sleep. He left with Canalla and the door locked behind them.

Abby curled up against Connor and knotted his t-shirt in her hands pulling him closer. This made her wrist throb again, but she didn't care. She couldn't let go of him now.

"Can I ask you something?" she said tentatively.

"If you like."

"How come you could tell me how you felt here, but not back home?"

"Well, fear of dying, or of you dying, just seemed to put things in perspective I suppose. I mean, I just decided that if anything happened to you and I hadn't told you how I felt, for real… well, I just didn't think I could live with myself. I had to say something. And then there was that… that… night… with the beating, and I just couldn't let you go on with out you knowing. I figured it was worth it, even if you didn't feel the same about me."

Abby lay there listening to Connor explain his reasons for finally coming clean with her and she thought for a moment before she responded.

"Connor," she looked up straight into his eyes. She didn't want there to be anymore misunderstandings, "I'm sorry I waited so long to clear the air between us. I've known how I've felt for a long time, but I was just scared you didn't still feel the same. Especially after all the pushing away I've done to you. But you're right; this whole mess that we're stuck in, it… it makes me realize that I've wasted so much time. I didn't want you to die and me not have told you either. I don't want to have anymore regrets."

Connor smiled down at her.

"I guess that out of all this bad, we might find some good, yeah?"

"Yeah," Abby replied, smiling herself.

"Get some sleep, I think we have an early start tomorrow." He kissed her head again and then lay back.

After the emotional last few days that Abby had, she quickly fell asleep, the weight of the last few days and all she had left unsaid finally gone. She rested her head just above his heart so she could hear it beating, even as she slept.

Connor lay awake, his arm around Abby. He absent-mindedly ran his fingers up and down her arm. She slept fitfully mumbling and tossing a bit. He guessed that her sleep was tinged with worry about tomorrow.

At one point Connor leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Shhh, Love, I'm here, it's OK. Shhh, shhh."

"Connor," she murmured, but she didn't wake, her hand still knotted up in his shirt.

Between the occasional dozes, Connor thought about what Abby had said. About how much she loved him and also what Canalla had told her. He truly was an evil man, to have told Abby all that, and then left her alone for two days. No wonder she had been so hysterical when he came through the door. But, real genuine sleep eluded him. He finally drifted into another light doze at around 4:00 in the morning. It was blessedly free of nightmares.