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 11 – Stay with Me

Connor woke up suddenly at about 6:30 in the morning. He was tired but this time it was his turn to be surprised. Abby was staring up at him and smiling, though her expression was tainted with a little worry.

"I didn't mean to wake you, sorry," she said sheepishly.

"S'OK, I like the view," and he leaned down and kissed her temple.

Abby reached her hand up and stroked the dark circles under his eyes. He closed his eyes as he thrilled to her touch like always.

"You ready to go home?" he asked. "Remember," he whispered, "just stay with me, no matter what, you do as I tell you to. You don't leave my side for anything."

"I stay with you," she whispered back. She pecked him on the lips and rolled out of his arms and out of bed.

"If we're going home, then I want to look presentable," she explained when she noted his crestfallen expression at her sudden withdrawal from his embrace.

With that, she smiled, grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Connor felt strangely empty and a little paranoid with her not next to him. He got up and paced the room in front of the bathroom. At least she was quick this morning. She came out 20 minutes later looking amazing as always and he could have sworn that she smelled like fresh flowers. How did she do that?

He took his turn in the shower next and hurried to get ready as fast as he could. They ended up with five minutes to spare before the 7:30 knock at the door.

When the guards showed up, Connor put his arm around Abby and pulled her through the door with him. He came into the big room with his arm still around Abby's shoulder.

Tom met him at his desk and handed him the anomaly device. Connor took it from him and when another guard stepped up to pull Abby away from him, he stepped in front of her. He kept his arm around her, but positioned his body between her and the soldier.

"No, she stays with me. How do I know you're not going to shoot her or shove her through the anomaly? She stays with me." The last words were directed straight at Mr. Canalla with Connor staring him in the eye the whole time. The soldier looked from Connor to his supervisor.

"You wish for her to stay with you, you will consent to my soldiers handcuffing her. A compromise if you will?" Connor swallowed hard and looked down at Abby. She nodded once and he looked back at Canalla and in turn nodded his agreement. He watched with a pained expression as the soldiers pulled Abby's arms behind her and handcuffed her. He noted with some alarm the small cry of pain and the fleeting agonized expression that came over her face when the guards moved her wrists around. Connor moved him and Abby around to the left so that they stood next to a steel desk that looked more like a mini bunker than a desk.

Connor weakly smiled down at Abby, "Ready to go home?" he asked again.

"Yeah," she replied with a slight grimace at the discomfort from the cuffs.

Connor used his arm that wasn't curled protectively around Abby to punch the instructions into the machine. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and pressed the last button. A huge bright spinning ball of diamond shards opened up in the center of the room. A smoky fog began to immediately filter through the anomaly.

"Amazing." Tom stated.

As soon as the anomaly had opened, Connor immediately started counting silently in his head. He had a total of thirty seconds at most.

10… 11… 12… 13…

"OK," Mr. Canalla called after marveling at the sight in front of him for a few seconds. "Team One prepare to enter."

16… 17… 18… 19… 20…

Team One readied their weapons and geared up to walk through the anomaly.

23… 24… 25…

They never got the chance.

26… 27… 28…

At twenty-eight seconds Connor saw the black metal object he had been watching for come bouncing through the fog into the room. That was his signal. He yanked Abby down towards the steel desk and shoved her under it, following right behind.

Canalla yelled and made to shoot at Connor. Tom stepped in between Canalla's firing gun and Connor's turning back. The bullet spun him around and knocked him off his feet as it impacted with his bulletproof vest.

Connor cleared the desk just as the stun grenade went off. Tom lay dazed, just to the right of the desk. Connor reached out and took his side arm.

"What's going on?" Abby cried.

"Reinforcements and rescue party." Connor said, winking at her. He was smiling, but she could tell he was incredibly tense as well. They weren't out of the woods yet. Connor knelt on one knee under the desk positioned protectively in front of Abby. They hid in a tiny haven while all hell broke loose.

There were loud nerve-wracking cracks of gunfire erupting all around them. The most unsettling sounds were the sharp pings of bullets ricocheting off the desk itself.

When a guard running in front of the desk spotted him and turned towards them with his gun raised, there was no hesitation in Connor's reaction. He took aim and fired his stolen weapon, just like Becker had been training him to do. There was a shocked expression that crossed the man's face before he dropped backwards to the ground and lay motionless, blood pooling out from his position.

Connor saw Tom's legs start to stir and as Tom started to sit up there was another loud ping off the right side of the desk. The part of Tom that he could see jerked violently, then dropped back to the floor and was quite still. Connor didn't dare peek his head out to check on him, but his stomach turned over inside. He hoped he was OK, but he had a sinking feeling that that was not going to be the case.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus. His one goal at this point was to protect Abby. He shot at two more soldiers who appeared in front of their hiding place, winging at least one of them in the arm, bright red spray shooting out of the man's left shoulder.

He shunted Abby to the very back right corner of the small space and tried to keep as much of her behind him as possible. She cried out in pain as the quick movement jostled her wrist.

"Sorry," he said quickly.

He fired the gun again at a fourth soldier who came at them with a raised knife. The shot hit the man square in his bulletproof vest knocking him backward.

Connor wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

The man with the big blade rolled over and started to crawl away. Another bullet from a different direction caught him under his arm as he reached forward and he slumped, unmoving, to floor. A large pool of blood was already spreading outward from his body as well.

Connor's stomach churned and he tasted bile rising up his throat.

A bullet pinged off the inside of the desk. Connor had actually felt it cross inches from his face from right to left at almost the same time he heard it impact the desk and ricochet down into the concrete. He backed up further under the desk and tried to regain his focus. The distractingly loud gunfire and rebounding bullets were making this difficult. That last bullet had been so close Connor was now very aware of his own mortality and terrified that they weren't going to make it.

After what seemed like an eternity the gunfire began to quiet. When a few more minutes passed it suddenly stopped all together. He prayed silently that Canalla's side had not won.

"CLEAR," a familiar voice shouted. There was something that sounded like boots marching to every corner of the room and out down the adjacent hallways.

Then there was another wonderfully familiar voice echoing through the room. "Abby? Connor? Are you OK? Connor, don't shoot mate." Danny Quinn poked his head around the edge of the desk.

Abby peaked out at him from behind Connor. Connor's hands, which had been steady a few minutes before were now shaking terribly as he still held the gun up in front of him.

"Connor," Becker's voice from the other side of the opening, "put the gun down mate. It's over, you're OK."

Connor looked from one man to another. He let out a slow tremulous breath and lowered the gun. Danny reached out and took it from him.

"Come on guys, let's get you two checked out." Danny said gently.

Connor and Abby crawled out of their hiding place and looked around, Abby with much help from Connor.

"Are you OK, Love?" he asked. Danny and Becker exchanged looks at this little exchange as if to say, well, it's about time.

"Yeah, I just need to get these off."

"Why didn't you tell me your wrist was still bothering you?"

"I didn't now if we'd survive and I didn't want to waist the time on my stupid wrist."

Becker came over and produced a handcuff key making short work of the cuffs. Connor kissed her sore wrist and told her it'd be better soon. He turned sadly to survey the damage.

Connor stepped over and then crouched down next to Tom. He reached out and closed Tom's eyelids. He tried to avoid seeing the ugly bullet wound that had torn open his neck, but failed completely.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the dead man. Tears flowed down his cheeks and he felt the weight of the last few months press down on him again. It didn't feel over, even if it was. He was deeply saddened that Tom hadn't survived. Of all the soldiers, why did it have to be Tom? Reardon, Connor finally noticed his ID badge. His last name had been Reardon. Connor made a mental note to see if he had any family that would need to be notified.

Abby put her hand on Connor's shoulder. "Come on, Conn. Let's go home."

Connor got up and wiped his eyes. He couldn't help but walk past the first man he'd shot. He was laying on his back with his legs crumpled under him at an odd angle. There was a bullet hole right in the middle of his chest just above the protective layer of his body armor.

"Good shot mate," said Becker from beside Connor.

"Doesn't feel like it," Connor responded.

"Hey, he was going to kill you, and Abby. You did what you had to do. Self defense, yeah."

Connor pulled in another shaky breath. "Yeah, I suppose."

He turned away from the dead man and surveyed the rest of the room. Dead and wounded soldiers from both sides littered the floor, including the other soldiers he had shot at. It appeared that, in total, he had killed the one guard, wounded the second AND third soldiers and then aided the death of the last soldier. It appeared the majority of the casualties seemed to be from the side that had taken Abby and him. Those that had survived were on their knees and being corralled by Becker's men. They were systematically zip-tying each of their wrists behind their backs.

In the front of the group already restrained, trying desperately to blend in with his soldiers, knelt Mr. Canalla. His carefully tailored suit made his blending efforts pointless. Connor walked over toward him.

"Is he the one in charge?" Danny asked. Connor nodded in return. All his anger towards this man for everything that had happened over the past two months began to boil to the surface.

When Mr. Canalla looked up at him defiantly and spat at him and Danny, Connor snapped for the second time in as many weeks. His fingerless gloved hands turned into fists. He struck Canalla in the head and torso over and over again, screaming incoherently. Once Becker and Danny recovered from the shock of seeing Connor act so violently, they pulled him away from Canalla before he could hit him again.

Abby stepped between him and Canalla and pushed him farther back when she could see he was still seething.

"Connor stop. It's over Love and he's not worth it." She wrapped her arms around him as his rage disolved into sobs. She looked over his shoulder at Danny and Becker. She gingerly pulled up the back of Connor's shirt to reveal the livid red scars that crisscrossed his back. There were audible gasps from both men and some of the other soldiers.

The sentiment was clear and universal, how could anyone do that to Connor of all people?

Danny and Becker stared in disbelief at what they saw, their faces darkening with rage and their eyes narrowing.

After another minute or two Connor regained control of himself and wiped his eyes on the back of his gloves then smiled down at Abby.

"Sorry," he said softly.

"No need," Abby said taking his hand in hers. "Come on. Danny, we'd like to go home now."

"Uh, yeah, right, I'm sure you do. Becker you and your men can deal with this right?"

"Yes, sir"

"Good, we'll figure out what to do with that one later." He indicated Mr. Canalla. Abby, Connor, and Quinn turned towards the anomaly and home.

"Oh, wait a minute," Connor called as he dashed back over to the desk he'd hid under and retrieved the anomaly device from under it.

"Oi, Becker," he called over his shoulder as he walked back over to Abby. "Make sure your men get all these computers with my research and work.

"Of course," Becker replied.

Connor took Abby's hand again and they stepped through the anomaly.

As soon as Connor, Abby, and Danny were through the anomaly Becker walked over to Canalla.

"How could you do that to Connor? He wouldn't hurt a fly, and you broke him. You'll pay for that," Becker said coldly. Becker leaned down and, in a deadly whisper, stated, "I'm not like Connor." And, after giving him a look of absolute disgust, he struck him in the back of the head with the butt of his very large gun.

The bright familiar lights of the ARC were a welcome sight after being cooped up in the warehouse. But even then, all Abby and Connor wanted was to get outside.

But that would have to wait. They both had to be cleared by medical and debriefed. Abby sat with Connor while the doctor looked him over. The bullet that had passed so near him had actually hit him. It had grazed his left shoulder. With all the adrenaline, he hadn't even noticed until he tried to take off his shirt and found his arm hurt terribly. Abby held his hand while the doctor stitched the gash closed. Even though it had required stitches, it was a relatively minor wound. Connor didn't say anything the entire time. He just winced and gasped occasionally. The doctor also cleaned and re-bandaged the raw ring around his ankle. Lastly, the doctor's attention then turned to the scars on Connor's back.

"You cleaned these up?" he asked of Abby.

"Yeah, as best I could."

"You did a fine job with what you had. Honestly, I'm not sure I could have done better with the same minimal supplies."

"Will they always be so dark?" Connor asked quietly. It was the first thing he'd said since coming into the infirmary.

"No, they'll always be there, but they will lighten and level out."

"Good," was his only response.

"What are all these smaller marks across your ribs?" the doctor asked him. "They look like electrical burns."

"They are, but they're about two months old. They've healed."

The doctor looked up sharply at him. "My God, what all did they do to you?"

"I'm fine," Connor said, reaching for his t-shirt, "Isn't that all that matters?" He really wasn't ready to deal with all this. Abby leaned in and kissed him on the temple, her fingers were still threaded through his.

"He'll be fine doc. I'll keep an eye on him."

Abby, as it turned out, was fine except for a small fracture in her wrist from it being twisted. The doctor put a bright neon pink cast on her arm and informed her that it should heal fairly quickly. Abby told Connor he could be the first to sign it.

After this they had to debrief with Lester and Danny. Both men were very interested in the new technology Connor had invented and the fact that Connor would have been it's ultimate inventor anyway. They all agreed they would have to be very careful with it and make every effort to not let the future they had seen actually happen.

Danny and Becker were tasked with dealing with Canalla. The both exchanged dark grins at the thought of this. They needed information from him as to how he knew what he knew and why he had done what he had done. If they succeeded in satisfying their need for revenge, then that would just be an added bonus to the job set before them. They really wanted to give him a taste, and feel, of his own medicine.

Danny drove Abby and Connor home later that day. They were informed that Sarah had their pets and would be bringing them over later. They were both so tired after all they had been through, but neither of them wanted to be indoors, but it had started raining. They stood at the door of the flat with it open looking out at the rain.

"Come on," Connor said. He grabbed an oversized umbrella from the stand, opened it up, and put his arm around Abby. They walked in silence for a while toward a nearby park. They breathed the fresh air in deeply and marveled at the fact that they had survived and were free.

"Are you alright?" Abby asked Connor, sensing his lingering unease.

"I think… I think I will be. I still keep feeling like I need to be looking over my shoulder all the time."

"I know what you mean." Abby leaned her head against Connor.

"Abby, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, you can always talk to me."

"I just wanted to know… I mean… Did you… Did you mean what you said last night, or were you just saying that because… 'cause you thought we were going to die? It's OK if you did, you know. Things were a little close there. I mean, I was a little out of sorts myself-"

"Connor," Abby interrupted. He was rambling. "I meant everything I said. I love you and I should have realized it and told you ages ago. I can't bear it if we're not together. I—"

She never finished her sentence. His lips captured hers and smothered her declarations with his unspoken ones. The umbrella slipped from over their heads as his arms locked around her. He pulled away only long enough to breath the words, "I love you."

The rain eventually became a bit problematic and they had to find shelter. They turned for home but walked at a very slow pace, arm in arm, back under the umbrella.

A/N: Epilogue to follow shortly. Please let me know if you've enjoyed my story by reviewing. I am currently working on another story, but my vacation time is getting in the way. Reviews help me focus. :-)