:¨·.·¨:
`·.. Chapter Ten


Abby's heart leapt into her throat as she watched Connor's hand disappear beneath the raging water.

Everything Connor had done for her flashed through her mind like a vivid movie reel jammed on fast forward. Jack was telling her how he'd gambled Rex away and Connor hadn't breathed a word about rescuing him. He was burdening a sword against his throat to block the dracorex from Sir William. She was accidentally punching him in the face as he tried to break up the fight between her and Caroline. He was shouting at a future predator to lure it away from her. He was above her again, his determined hand the only thing holding her from death. He was willing to die for her.

They were on the couch watching TV, curled lazily in each other's arms. They were quarrelling over what movie to rent for the week, Connor insisting it was once again his turn to choose. They were dancing at the safe house, dressed in centuries-old attire and laughing as they spun to the music from the gramophone. They were laying on the floor, smothered by two diictodons and a coelurosauravus, their mirth filling the flat.

Helen's words screamed at her, piercing her eardrums. She'd always known deep down, just a tiny seed of knowledge and passion that she fought tooth and claw to extinguish. It was only when the viciously indifferent sneers of Helen spoke it aloud that it had really surfaced, burning through her with a sudden fire she didn't know existed.

She plunged into the freezing surge of water, ignoring the pain that coursed through her body as she hit the serrated riverbed. She wrapped her arm around Connor's lifeless form and reached out desperately for something that would stop the angry force pushing them under, sweeping them downstream. The quadriceps built strong from years of kickboxing fought frenetically against the current; she pushed her muscles beyond what she could stand, her free arm hunting for salvation.

She would save Connor or die trying.

Eventually her hand connected with rock. She grabbed it and, with a fortitude only ascertained from merciless peril, pulled herself and Connor up onto the bank. She rolled him over, spilling the water from his mouth.

In that instant, she knew the blazing agony Connor had felt for her. She knew now that she couldn't ignore it anymore - she couldn't stomp it into the ground like she had been for so long. He was her life, her everything.

She began CPR, compressing her hands against his chest and respiring to his lips. Heart wrenching dread clouded her senses; Connor was all she could see, all she could feel, all she could breathe.

Minutes passed and still nothing, but she persevered.

"Don't you dare die, Connor!" she screamed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't see it! I'm sorry I wouldn't admit it to myself!" She was trembling, her heart breaking at the overwhelming fear of losing him. "I can now! I love you, Connor. I love you! And I want to tell you that, but you need to wake up! Wake up CONNOR! Please! Oh my God, wake up!"

Abby didn't know how long she crouched there fighting to bring him back to life. A tiny distant voice in her mind told her he was gone, but she stubbornly refused to believe it. Connor had never given up on her and damned if she was going to give up on him.

Suddenly his body convulsed violently and he gave a lurching heave.

Abby almost collapsed, her own body shuddering with relief. "Connor, Connor," she cried. She held him as he vomited the water from his lungs, his throat on fire. He gasped for air, his eyes twisting wildly in their sockets as he gradually regained consciousness.

"Abby?" he croaked, his voice hoarse. He groaned, wincing as feeling returned, his muscles aching with inexorable pain. His lungs were scorching and bitterly raw, as though someone had ravaged them with sandpaper.

"Oh my God, Connor," Abby howled. "You're alive. You're alive."

"'Course I'm alive," Connor moaned. "Can't leave you here alone, can I?" He cringed, the words rasping at his throat painfully.

Abby wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, wracking with sobs. He lifted his hand weakly and returned the embrace.

"Connor, I need to tell you something," Abby said. "Seeing you in the river … I … I realised something."

Her eyes were swathed with unyielding affection. Connor's heart swelled with sudden hope, but rationality quickly doused the flare. He watched her apprehensively, waiting for the disappointment to come.

"I love you."

Connor's breath caught in his throat, the emotion too overwhelming. He'd imagined this moment thousands of times, lived for it. She was his world. Dare he believe it was true? But there was no mistaking the indescribable love in her eyes. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest, the revelation sending an inferno of untamed ecstasy through his veins.

She leant forward and he tilted his head to close his lips around hers.

Why had she avoided this moment for so long? Abby couldn't explain her own evasion, the pathological denial she'd draped herself in. Connor was her best friend, her every memory, the missing piece in her life. She accepted it now, and welcomed it.

Abby fell onto the bank beside him, tangling her fingers through his hair as the kiss deepened, three years of suppressed emotion finally set free.


:D The moment we've all been waiting for (although it will be much better when it finally happens in the actual series!)

The chapter's pretty short, but I thought that was the perfect ending so I stopped it there. I've finished writing the story, it has eighteen chapters (totally obliterated my original goal of 12) and there's much more excitement (and angst) to come. I will post one every day. :)

Remember to review! :D