Chapter Two - Next Steps

All things considered, Jenny Lewis was rather pleased to see him. It had been five long hours since the ARC team had been reunited with Danny Quinn, and since his return, it had been non-stop for all concerned. After a quick chat inside the church, Danny was ushered into a car under Lester's orders and taken to the Anomaly Research Centre where the ARC director was waiting for him. Since then, the two of them had been locked in Lester's office which overlooked the ARC's Hub area. Jenny cast her mind back to the moment she had seen Danny as he bounded down the stairs in the church, the memory bringing a smile to her face.

Jenny felt the butterflies in her stomach as she watched Danny disappear from view and heard the faint sound of boots running down the steps, she then saw Danny emerge from the staircase, and her mouth dropped open as he came into view.

It had been over four years since Jenny had seen Danny, and she wasn't prepared for the shock of seeing him again. The first thing Jenny noticed was how much weight he had lost- the shirt he was wearing seemed to be hanging off him, and his hair was much longer, nearly as long as Connors to be exact, but it was matted and unkempt, and as Jenny looked closer, she could see each strand was a different length. She then looked at his face, apart from the uneven stubble covering his cheeks and chin- he looked the same as he had four years previous. The only change was that he looked slightly older, and there was something about his eyes that looked different.

"Danny, it is so good to see you" Jenny heard Abby say, before watching as she rushed forward and threw her arms around Danny's neck, and Jenny saw as Danny buried his face into Abby's shoulder. She then watched as Becker moved forward and wrapped his arms round Abby and Danny. Just then, the wooden doors were thrown open to reveal the bright sunlight, and Connor was standing in the doorway.

"Right, let's get this anomaly locked and get ho-" Connor said brightly, before his mouth dropped open as Danny turned around.

"Danny…" Connor said, almost breathlessly, looking his former team leader in the eye "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were…were…" Connor mumbled, and Jenny saw a tear slowly fall down his cheek. She then saw Becker and Abby release Danny, before Connor stepped forward and hug Danny tightly. After a few moments Connor and Danny broke apart, and Danny turned around, looking at Matt with a grin on his face.

"I don't think we've ever met" Danny said, looking Matt in the eye and holding out his hand.

"Matt Anderson- team leader for the ARC operation, I've heard a lot about you Mr Quinn" Matt said, holding out his hand grasping Danny's- before shaking it.

"Call me Danny mate, everyone else does" Danny said, letting go of Matts hand and then turning to finally face Jenny, who he had deliberately left till last.

The two of them stood in silence for a moment, just looking into the others eyes. The rest of the team stood watching them. Then silently, Danny opened his arms and winked at Jenny, who let out a laugh and moved forward towards the only man who gave her butterflies…apart from Cutter. Jenny buried into her face in Danny's shoulder and felt as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"You really do smell Danny"

As Jenny sat in the ARC's Hub, watching as Danny and Lester spoke, she heard footsteps walking towards her and looked across to see Matt Anderson grinning at her.

"You really did miss him didn't you?" Matt asked, pulling a stall from under the table and sitting down next to Jenny.

"I actually did Matt…when I retired. I nearly died that day, we encountered this…. thing…" but Jenny couldn't continue, she had given herself goose bumps just thinking about that day.

"I know what happened that day Jenny" Matt said quietly "When I became team leader, I made it a personal responsibility to read through the mission reports of the old ARC and to read up on the former team members. All of them" he finished, given Jenny a small smile.

"When I woke up, the first person I thought about was Cutter, no one else. Just Nick" Jenny said, turning from Matt to look at Lester's office again "And yet, when I realised Nick was gone I felt like I had the closure I needed. That day, I got a new life, so I handed the team over to Danny and left and I didn't look back. But there was person I couldn't get off my mind. Danny." Jenny finished simply, turning back to Matt, who just smiled at her.

"Then tell him how you feel, before you don't get the chance. Life is way too short Jenny- this job proves it" Matt said, before standing up, leaving Jenny staring at the office once more.

Xxxxx

"We'll continue this discussion in the morning, for now, go get a shower. Captain Becker will escort you there" Lester said, holding his office door open "He'll then bring you back here, we need to sort out accommodation for you" Lester said.

"Wait, what about my flat, I'll just go there?" Danny said as if this was the simplest solution, and Becker gave the ARC director a look.

"We sold your flat Danny" Lester began "About a year after you disappeared. The money made from the sale was put into a savings account in my name, where your wages were also paid into. I kept you on the books, even if you were missing, you were still an ARC operative" Lester said matter-of-factly, Danny just raised an eyebrow.

"And my stuff, is that all gone?" Danny asked.

"Captain Becker and I cleared your flat. Most of your stuff went to charity, however we did keep some personal effects, there were stored downstairs" Lester said, just as Danny registered what Lester had said a moment ago.

"Wait, you kept paying me guv, but it's been nearly five years…" Danny trailed off, trying to work out how much would be sitting in this account Lester held.

"Well you technically were still working for the ARC, and we had no confirmation on your…situation" Lester replied delicately "Don't get too excited, it was only half pay, but it should still be enough to sort something out" Lester paused as sniffed the air slightly "Now go and shower. The smell coming of you is beginning to make me heave" Lester finished and his mouth curved into a small grin. He then stepped aside and let Danny walk past to where Becker was leaning against one of the work stations.

"Come on then Quinn, let's see how much prehistoric dirt your covered in" Becker said, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder and leading him through the Hub. Danny glanced around to see Jenny watching him leave, she raised a small hand and smiled. Once Danny was out of sight, Jenny marched across the Hub towards Lester, who said nothing as he just held his office door open, letting Jenny enter.

"Take a seat Miss Lewis" Lester said, walking round the back of his desk and sitting in his desk. He then opened the desk drawer and produced a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. Silently, Jenny watched as Lester poured the amber liquid into the two glasses. He then passed one to Jenny, who raised it in the air, Lester did the same and lightly tapped his glass against Jenny's, before downing the contents of the glass. Jenny raised her own glass to her lips and swallowed the liquid, which burned the back of her throat, and yet felt surprisingly good.

"How is he James?" Jenny asked bluntly, resting her glass on the desk.

"I honestly don't know Jenny" Lester said, leaning back "For someone who had to survive for two years alone, in the distant past, fighting dinosaurs and god knows what else; he seems rather…" Lester paused, as if trying to find the right word "well rather sane…" he said, looking Jenny in the eye.

"Wait, two years? He left disappeared in 2009, its now 2014…it's been over four years since the others went after Helen" Jenny said to Lester, realising this could be really complicated.

"For us it's been that long, but for Danny, he's been trapped in various time periods for only two years" Lester said as he lifted up a battered piece of paper and passed it to Jenny, who took it from him and opened it up. She could see hundreds of tiny tally marks covering the paper.

"How many days was he trapped for?" Jenny asked the ARC director.

"711 he told me, trapped god knows where. Who knows what his mental state is like" Lester said, careful not to look Jenny in the eye.

"What will happen next, I mean, where will he go from here?" Jenny questioned, trying sound like she really wasn't interested. Lester gave her a look before speaking.

"I want him to undergo a mental-health assessment and also medical examinations. Then we'll see Jenny. I need to make sure he is completely stable before I can even think about making decisions about his future. Jenny nodded, and the two of them sat in an uncomfortable silence. Then Lester looked Jenny in the eye.

"There's something else Jenny…"