Chapter 32- Moving on

A/N: So, so sorry for the long wait. I didn't realise it has been more than a month since I last updated. This chapter will be another filler, and maybe the next one will be as well. Because if you notice at the start of episode five in season one Abby say's Connor has been at her flat for a month. Since he only moved in the episode Tom got killed that means there was a months gap between the episodes which I hope to fill in.

It had been a week since the last anomaly, which was a welcome change considering the final exams were coming up in over a month's time. She didn't understand how Connor could be so chilled out about them. Perhaps he thinks he has a permanent job now that the anomalies have started to appear. But Avery was not so certain.

The anomalies seemed to have appeared out of thin air and could disappear just as quick. She considered the fact that perhaps the anomalies have been around for a while, and if there had been stories of them people would likely believe them to be a hoax. Just like her father first thought when Connor brought the story of the Gorgonopsid to them.

Even if the anomalies had appeared she couldn't be certain Lester would still pay them to do the job requires. Eventually he may find other people he considers more reliable and replace her dad and the rest of them.

She hoped he would continue to employ them, she liked the new friends she had made. Abby was a strong female, one who Avery loved spending time with, whether it was at the zoo or in the gym where Abby was teaching her some self-defense lessons.

Then there was Connor. A lovable goofball, who could become fully obsessed with whatever he was in love with. Especially an aforementioned, white-haired female that he shared a flat with. When Avery was not hanging out with Michael she could be seen studying or joking with Connor in the library. Connor was lonely after Tom's death, especially when Duncan dropped out of Uni and disappeared.

Avery was brought out of her thoughts when the object of her thought sat in front of her in the University's cafeteria. She sat in a booth against the window, enjoying a warm hazelnut hot chocolate and looking at the people in the courtyard rushing inside to escape the rain. The morning had started out quite chilly and she hoped it would clear up before the end of the day. She was planning to go with Stephen for a run at John's lake to check out locations near the anomaly for any thing they may have missed when the Ankylosaur's had come through.

"So, I was thinking perhaps after classes today we could go to the home office and see if they have had any mentions of another anomaly." Connor said leaning against the window, legs stretched before him on the blue cushion.

"Like I said you could join me and Stephen at the lake later. Get some exercise in."

"Na that's boring. Nothing has come through that anomaly in a week. I want to look for something new."

Avery sighed and sent him an annoyed look. "Connor, we have spent all week looking for another incursion, but nothing has turned up. If something pops up they'll let us know." Avery reached into her bag under the table and pulled out a stack of cue cards. "Anyway, we should be focusing on the exams, they don't stop because of the anomalies."

Connor groaned and banged his head on the table. "They would if they knew about them." He mumbled against the table.

"Yeah, well they don't. Come on, head up, and tell me what the five big mass extinctions in the earth's history are?"

"How's it going Connor?" Michael asked sitting next to Avery an hour later.

"Good. How about you? Computer still giving you trouble?" Connor replied shifting in his seat.

"No. You're a miracle worker." Soon a silence stretched between them. They got along, but Avery could not see them becoming friends. Michael had little to nothing in common with Connor. Michael was more confident and preferred to spend his time at the museum learning about history. Unlike her and Connor he was more interested in human history, rather than those of animals. She had met him at the museum, he was doing research on the evolution of historical weapons. She loved the passion he had towards his area of study.

What she found funny at the time was that he was largely against violence. Often, he would take her to protests outside the Uni during the weekends.

Not realizing Michael wanted to spend some time with Avery before he needed to go to class, Connor continued to sit there drumming absent mindlessly on the table. "That's good. I had to fix the processing speed on your laptop. You were overclocking it, so the computer had trouble working with a faster processing speed. It was an easy fix to be honest. I- Ow." Connor jerked back when Avery kicked him in the knee. "What was that for?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Avery said.

"No. And that bloody hurt. I know you do kickboxing lessons with Abby but I'm not a punching bag."

"Connor." Avery gestured with her head for him to leave. Connor blinked at her owlishly for a moment before looking between her and Michael.

He mouthed "Oh" and quickly got up almost falling of the bench as he picked up his bag. "I've got to head to class. I'll see you later Avery." He rushed off leaving the pair alone.

"He certainly is an interesting character." Michael said staring after him. He grabbed her hands, looking at her affectionately. He wondered where Avery had met before. He wondered if it had something to do with her mysterious work. This confused him more, what would the home office need from students studying prehistory. It didn't make sense.

"That's Connor for you. Smart, but dense. Especially with relationships. I see him pining after Abby, but he has no idea how to flatter her and not talk to her like one of his mates." She got this fond look on her face as if she was talking about a brother. That was another thing. To him they seemed to have known each other for years, yet he knew they had only met a couple of weeks ago.

"I heard his friend died, Tom, I think it was. They are saying he got hit by a car. Must have been devastating for him." Michael said.

Avery looked down at their hands solemnly. "Yeah I was there…" She paused and shook her head as if shaking off a memory, before looking back at him. He could see moisture building up in her eyes. She swallowed and continued. "… I was there when he found out about Tom. They were best friends and now he's gone, so has Duncan. He couldn't stay after Tom. Connor is alone now." Avery looked out into the rain. Michael followed her gaze and saw Connor walking across the courtyard, he was standing at the memorial set up for Tom under the decking of the opposite building. He was dripping wet and his fedora hung low on his head.

Soon he saw professor Cutter approach the man and lean down towards his ear. Connor looked at the professor and nodded, he allowed the older man to lead him away.

"It is ok to move on, just don't forget the ones you lost. They are still alive within a memory, just remember them as they were in life, not in death." He heard Avery whisper. She told him it was something her mother used to tell her at funerals.

Michael turned Avery towards him and allowed her to cry silently into his shoulder. Her tears turned his grey shirt darker then the sky outside.

A/N: Sorry for the downtrodden ending, not the best ending. But its necessary. Connor would have taken a while to move on. It would have affected everyone to see Tom die in front of them and Connor's breakdown. The next one will be a little more uplifting… hopefully.

Guess who just learned she made Avery's boyfriend have almost the same name as Jenny's fiancé. Apparently, Jenny's fiancé's name is Michael Miller, while Avery's boyfriend is Michael Tiller. I have absolutely no idea how this happened, I swear I did not know the name of Jenny's fiancé. I might have learned the name a while ago and I guess it stuck. This is a weird coincidence, and I hope it doesn't happen again.

Thanks to all those who have reviewed, I love writing this story and I can't believe how long it is despite not even being done with the first season.