Dear Son.
Disclaimer: I do not own Primeval or its characters.
This is set between series 3 and 4.
Whilst Connor and Abby have been lost in the Cretaceous.
Dedicated to all Sons out there. You have a mother somewhere and I'm sure she'll be proud of you.
Connor folded the letter and popped it back into its envelope. He had been carrying it around with him for several days now not knowing what to do about it. He had even read it several times over, committing each and every word to memory. It broke his heart to read it, knowing that his poor mother had written it in his absence whilst he was in the Cretaceous.
Abby watched as he slipped the letter into his back pocket. She was intrigued as to what was actually in it. That night after he had gone to bed she picked up his jeans and pulling out the envelope she put the jeans into the washing machine. She gazed at it for a moment wanting to read the contents, to find out what had been making Connor so restless. But knowing that it was a personal letter Abby left it on top of the worktop in the kitchen knowing that he would see it.
Next morning Abby was woken by things being thrown around the room. Groggily she opened her eyes to find Connor frantically searching for something.
"What's up Connor? What have you lost?" Abby yawned as Connor stopped for a moment to answer her.
"Have you seen my jeans? The ones I was wearing yesterday?" Connor looked at her desperately.
"I put them in the wash after you'd gone to bed." Abby sat up and rubbed her eyes as Connor yelled.
"No! No! No!" He ran downstairs and started pulling clothes out of the machine frantically.
Abby knowing something was not right, followed him, grabbing her nightgown and pulling it around her as she went.
"Oh No!" Connor mumbled as he found his jeans, clean clothes strewn all over the dirty kitchen floor. Quickly he checked the pockets hoping to find the remnants of his mother's letter.
"You looking for this?" Abby reached over and picked up the envelope from where she had left it on the worktop.
Connor gasped, "I love you Abby!" He went to grab it from her.
Abby hid the letter behind her, stopping him from reaching it.
"Whatever's in it has made you really anxious; I'd like to know what's in it?" Abby waited for a moment, hoping that she hadn't upset him by asking to see such a private letter. Changing her mind, she gave it back to him.
"Doesn't matter. It's a letter addressed to you, and I've no right reading your mail." She turned and started to pick up the laundry.
"Abby wait..." Connor held the letter in his hand for a moment debating whether to tell her or not. "We promised... No secrets..."
Connor took her by the hand and led her to the sofa. He put the letter in her hand hoping she would read.
"Let's read it together."
Hugging her tightly, Connor opened the piece of paper and began to read. Both of them noted the date at the top of the letter, it had been sent six months after they had been trapped in the Cretaceous.
"Aww, that so sweet... I hope you've rung her?"
Connor shook his head dejectedly.
"Why not?"
Connor explained that he did not have the courage to speak to her after that particular letter. It had been the last one she had sent and he was worried that if he wrote back, or tried to get in touch, she would reject him. Or that something horrible had happened since the letter had been sent.
"It's best to leave it Abby... Maybe... maybe it's meant to be this way..."! Connor sat holding the letter in front of him. Not wanting to let that moment end.
"It's obvious that she means a lot... and your survival skills that you picked up whilst you were in the Cubs and Scouts were a real life-saver when we were trapped. Look... You would have been so upset if it had gone in the wash." Abby took his hands in hers. "Let's go and call her? Hmm? Let's call her together." She got up and brought over his mobile phone. Placing it in his hands she nodded and smiled.
Hesitantly Connor dialled the number and waited for an answer.
A few days later...
Connor was happy, and he was whistling away the Star Wars tune as he drove to his home town. He smiled at Abby who sat by his side snoozing. He was truly happy today, he was going home to see his mum, and he was taking the love of his life with him to meet her. He reached down to hold her hand as they reached Bolton.
Arriving outside his home, in Blackburn, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach as he saw an ambulance parked outside. Stopping the car at a distance, he got out and ran the rest of the way, desperate to see the woman who had raised him.
Running to the house he was horrified to see the paramedics wheeling his mum away on a stretcher.
"Mam!" he called as the policemen tried to stop his entrance. "That's me Mam!"
The paramedics stopped and he was allowed to see her.
"What's happened to her?" He looked searchingly at the medics, hoping that they would tell him.
The medic shook his head and Connor began to fear the worst.
"We have to do some tests first, find out why she collapsed."
"She's going to be OK? Yeah?" Connor beseeched the man.
"Yeah, she should be OK in a day or two."
Connor left the man to do his job, and was finally joined by Abby, as she had convinced people holding her back that she was Connor's girlfriend.
Dejectedly, Connor drove to the hospital. His heart heavy. What if he never got a chance to say what he wanted to say to her? To tell her how much he loved her? And to tell her that he had missed her sorely? What if he never got the chance to introduce Abby – the love of his life? How would he cope if the one person who had meant so much to him up until now disappeared?
Abby held his hands as he sat in the waiting room. Watching him as a tear began to roll down his cheek, gently wiping it away with her fingers, she found Connor staring at her.
"No matter what happens, remember she loved you." She smiled as she leaned forward and kissed his nose. "And remember that I love you too."
Abby held Connor's hands as he sat next to him. Rubbing them gently.
A nurse came to find him.
"Connor Temple? Please come this way!" the nurse led them to a medical room.
"Mam!" Connor rushed to be with his mother as she lay on the gurney. They hugged each other. After all they had not seen each other for well over a year.
Speaking with the doctor Connor learned that his mother had collapsed because she was diabetic. She had been so busy preparing things for him, that she had not even eaten and she had collapsed from lack of glucose in her blood stream.
Connor's mother could not stop looking at him. Something had changed, something she could not put her finger on. The last time she had seen him was well over a year ago. Why had he stopped calling? Why didn't he write? Why had it taken him so long to get in touch? She had given up hope. That last letter she had sent had been six months ago. She questioned Connor endlessly.
Connor had told her that he and Abby had been lost in the Amazonian rainforest and had missed the last flight home. It had taken them ages to raise enough funds for them to be brought home. When she had asked why he had not called the answer had been simple enough. The reception on his mobile phone was non-existent, and public phones were very hard to come by and very expensive. He went on to tell her how glad he had been that she had made him go to Cub Scouts, and swimming, it had saved their lives more than once in the rainforest.
There was much to say to each other and Abby, feeling like a spare part waited outside whilst the doctor spoke to mother and son.
She sat waiting for a good half hour until Connor came to find her.
Holding her hand he took her in to see his mum.
Putting his arm around her he introduced her to the woman who had given birth to him.
Abby smiled shyly, as she looked at the short stout woman who was the mother of the man she loved.
When he had introduced Abby she had looked at her very carefully.
Now she knew what had changed. He was no longer her baby; he no longer was the geeky young boy she sent off to University. He had grown up and become a man; and a strong man at that too. He had proved to her that not only could he look after himself, but he could look after those close to him too. But most of all she knew that she was proud of him. For being there, just when she needed him the most!
I hope you enjoyed that, as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Dedicated to Doctor98614!