Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.
3.11 Temporally Displaced (ABCDU)
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The flat near the park was filled with friends for the New Year's Eve party.
Connor was at the kitchen sink, refilling ice cube trays. He was surrounded by Duncan, Tom and Beth. Beth thanked Connor again for picking her up on their return from Loch Ness. Duncan and Tom exchanged a glance, then Duncan blurted out his question.
"Did you find Nessie?"
Duncan and Tom's website… The Wall of Weird got a good many hits, and topics, pictures and links changed frequently. But the one staple of their website, and the most frequently visited link, depicted all known details about Nessie. She was a star waiting to be discovered.
"No, Duncan," said Connor shaking his head, "we didn't see Nessie."
"Bummer," sighed Duncan.
"The government is covering it up," said Tom. He eyed Connor. "You're still working for the Home Office, right?"
Connor nodded. Duncan and Tom exchanged another glance.
"We should get going," said Tom "back to the party…"
Tom nudged Duncan. Then the tall red head tilted his head towards the front room. Duncan followed Tom.
"He's not telling us everything," hissed Tom as he and Duncan left the kitchen, "he's keeping secrets."
Beth and Connor chuckled.
"Of course he's right about one thing," said Beth.
"What?"
"You're not telling us everything," answered Beth.
Connor remembered yesterday.
Connor and Abby stopped by the Temple home on their return from Scotland to pick up Beth. Mrs. Temple had insisted the Maitlands stay to dinner. When Connor and Abby had protested it would be too much bother for her, Mrs. Temple disagreed.
"My son and his family aren't coming tonight, the little one is not feeling well," she said "and I've got a lovely roast cooking… please… stay."
Mr. Temple wasn't home from work yet, so Mrs. Temple left Abby, Connor and Beth in the living room, while she went to check on the roast.
"Set the table please," called the older woman.
Out of habit, Connor rose from the sofa and walked to the old oak buffet cabinet. He opened the silverware drawer, jiggling the sticky drawer just so to get it open.
"Most people don't know how to get the drawer open," said Beth watching Connor quietly. "How did you know?"
"My mother had one just like it," replied Connor.
Connor slid the newly filled ice cube trays into the freezer before he turned to face Beth, but she was already heading back to the party. He shook his head and then turned to the sink again. Lester had brought several bottles of champagne for tonight and Connor patted ice cubes around them. Then he too went to join the party.
Somehow, Connor was surrounded by Tom, Duncan, and Beth again. They were discussing the merits of various monsters in movies and video games.
"And no, that double agent face on face off… it's just ridiculous," said Connor.
"What about clones?" asked Beth.
"Oh no, clones are different," responded Tom "they're a type of manmade monster..."
"Yeah… sort of like zombies... they don't think," added Duncan "but without the brain eating and shuffling."
Connor rolled his eyes at his friends.
"I believe people are unique," said Connor. "Not even twins... think or feel the exact same way about everything."
He left the group as he moved off in search of Abby. Midnight was approaching. Danny and Sarah were whispering together in the back of the room near the CD player Sarah had brought over for the evening. Connor and Abby met in the center of the crowded front room. As the soft sounds of a favorite melody filled the flat, Connor extended his hand towards Abby.
"May I have this dance?"
A bright smile flashed, blue eyes sparkled brighter than the blue sapphires on her ring as Abby extended her hand towards Connor in response.
"I thought you'd never ask," replied Abby.
Connor pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her as they began to sway in time to the music. Jess and Becker were in the hallway, talking in a quiet corner near the stairs. Lester was kneeling on the floor in front of Stella, rubbing her behind her ears.
"Stella you're a good dog," praised Lester. "You did a good job stopping Helen..."
The fastidious man didn't seem to care that his suit was wrinkling and dog hair was clinging to his sleeves. Lester pulled out a treat from his pocket and extended it palm up towards Stella. As Stella slurped the treat, the music ended. Connor and Abby continued to sway together, oblivious to the rest of the world.
"It's almost that time," Danny announced with a cheeky grin.
He threw an arm around Sarah's waist, pulling her closer. Claudia picked up Lindy and carried the nervous little creature into the kitchen away from the noisy revelers. Beth, Amy from next door, Duncan and Tom all readied their kazoos as the countdown to midnight began. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...
Midnight kisses, and in the case of Lester and Stella a very slobbery dog tongue slurping up the side of the man's jaw, and the sound of noise makers turned into song. The champagne bottles popped loudly when they were opened and the refrain of Auld Lang Syne echoed through the flat as December 2006 faded into history.
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In January, the trial of Helen Cutter was delayed again. Her solicitor's had argued for her release on more than one occasion, but their protestations of her being a negligible flight risk had not been approved by any of the judges at Old Bailey.
Due to overcrowding, Helen was kept in Holloway Women's Prison while awaiting trial. To keep her busy and out of trouble, she'd been assigned to a training workshop for British Industrial Cleaning Science. The class was taught by a rather bulky man who tended to wear black jumpers with lots of pockets.
"Black hides dirt," he repeatedly told his students.
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February was colder and wetter than the previous month. Claudia and Lester both had birthdays that month just a day apart. So on the last Tuesday of the month they all got together for takeaway and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The talk turned to the anomaly that hadn't been.
"Where was the anomaly supposed to lead to?" asked Claudia.
"Permian... there was supposed to be a gorgonopsid," answered Connor after he swallowed. "The anomaly at the Forest of Dean has been recurring for years."
"Everything is different here," reminded Danny as he reached for another eggroll. "There was never any record of an anomaly from the cretaceous in the theater district in 2006."
"Would we have known?" asked Becker. "The theater was closed..."
Jess reached over to Becker's plate and picked up a steamed dumpling with her chopsticks. Becker glanced at her and reached for the last prawn cracker on her plate.
"Maybe there aren't any such things as anomalies," interrupted Lester. "Maybe you lot really are delusional."
Lester was still grumpy from staying out in the Forest of Dean for the past week. Camping in February... camping any time really... wasn't his thing.
"No," objected Connor. "Anomalies occur naturally… the ancient Egyptians knew about them… the Sun Cage… and Ammut…"
"What did you say about the Sun Cage?" asked Sarah as she pushed back her chair from the table. She moved towards the kitchen. "We've got an exhibit coming to the British Museum… on loan from Egypt…"
"Maybe just your being here," suggested Claudia as she twirled the last of her lo mein noodles, "changes things enough to make a difference... maybe even enough to make anomalies not occur."
"You think we're stuck here?" asked Connor. He looked around the room in surprise. The idea hadn't occurred to him before. "Just because one anomaly... didn't open..."
Connor reached beneath the table to clasp Abby's hand tightly. He glanced at Becker, and wondered how his friend felt about the possibility of never making it back home. Sarah brought the carrot cake into the room and set it on the table in between Claudia and Lester.
"If we're stuck here...," said Abby as she squeezed his hand back, "we're a lot better off than being stuck in the cretaceous."
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On a very rainy day in March 2007, Sky News broadcast footage of an American singer's arrival in London.
"Possibly the best publicity stunt in recent memory," said the newscaster as the image of the limo disappearing into a bright glittering star-like apparition and then backing out chased by three blurry creatures appeared on the screen behind him, "if only they'd spent more money on the CGI."
"Claudia," asked Jess "have you seen the news?"
The woman's eyebrows disappeared beneath her tawny hair.
"Get those images to Connor," Claudia ordered. She dialed Danny's cell phone number herself. "I'm on my way to Heathrow... I think... I may need help."
Jess streamed CCTV images to Connor's computer workstation at the Home Office Witness Protection department.
"Cretaceous period... raptors," whispered Connor into the phone. "It's got to be an anomaly."
"Claudia's on her way," reassured Jess "with back up."
Lester leaned over Jess's shoulder and stared at the images on her computer monitor.
"Are we on speaker?" asked Lester. Jess nodded, then Lester continued. "Connor, why didn't your device pick up anything?"
"It's not ready yet," replied Connor "I told you… the tech is different here... I need parts... and some of the parts... I'm going to have to make... you don't have them here."
Claudia got the raptors returned back through the anomaly... with a little help from a red haired former copper on a motorbike, a tall soldier and a German shepherd. Jess made sure the CCTV images of the raptors remained unidentifiable... except for the picture she gave Lester. To this day, the American singer and his entourage have refused to comment.
With the picture in hand, Lester was able to browbeat the minister into hiring more staff for the unnamed department.
"Anomalies... rips in time... are real! And if you don't do something," growled Lester, shoving the photograph beneath the man's nose, "the next thing you know, you may be seeing one of these things in the member's bar."
Danny, Becker and Stella officially joined Claudia and Jess on the payroll of Lester's team the very same day… part time, but it's a start.
Lester's demand for a bigger budget for research was still pending.
Connor got reprimanded by his boss at the home office. The man had seen him surfing the internet.
"I don't pay you to watch Jurassic Park," chided Connor's boss.
"It was cretaceous," protested Connor.
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In April, Connor's machine worked... sort of.
"The detector could be better... it hardly has any range at all," grumbled Connor into the cell phone, "and we need more equipment to build a locking mechanism."
The anomaly opened in the small park where Becker and Jess walked Stella and Lindy. Late at night, no one was about to notice the flickering golden lights as time ripped open to reach to the Permian... or to notice Becker and Danny walking through the park... searching. The flickering lights blinked and disappeared.
"It's closed Conn," replied Becker "but there's been an incursion. We're going need back up... is Abby available?"
Abby didn't take the creature to the Wellington Zoo, she brought it home. The small incursion was green and cheerful, a very rare breed of lizard that is often confused with draco volans.
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On Wednesday, May 16, 2007 Connor's machine went off again. There was a glowing, splintering light in the Holloway prison training center. Magnetic interference tripped the security cameras offline. The entire complex went into lockdown. When the cameras and security was restored, Helen was gone. And so was the British Industrial Cleaning Science instructor.
Scotland Yard posted Helen's name and photograph on their most wanted website. She's the only woman pictured there… in at least twelve different time lines.
Lester and his team aren't worried. They know whenever she shows up again, they'll be ready, in one form… or another.
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June... Abby, Connor, Becker and Danny had been gone from their time... for a whole year, and life went on.
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In August, an anomaly opened in a dusty old storage room in the Home Office. Lester sent Claudia, Danny and Becker to take care of it, and check for an incursion. Claudia Brown finally got to meet Professor Nick Cutter.
"What do you mean it's 2007?" Cutter's asked indignantly. "I've only been gone for half an hour."
"You've been missing for over eight years," explained Claudia once more. "You were my first missing person's case when I started working at the Home Office... I can show you the files."
Claudia and Danny brought Cutter back to the unnamed department, while Becker locked the anomaly with Connor's newest device. He and Stella stayed to monitor the anomaly.
Danny headed to Lester's office while Claudia introduced Cutter to Sarah and Connor. Connor's jaw dropped.
"How old are you?" asked Connor.
"Thirty-two... why?" asked the Scot.
"It's just... I knew you... when you were older," answered Connor.
Nick Cutter looked at the man standing before him. The slender scientist was about Cutter's own age.
"I don't know you," protested Cutter.
But eventually Cutter did get to know the team. He and Connor became good friends. Connor showed Cutter the ropes, and gave Nick some good advice.
"Listen to Becker, his job is to keep everyone safe," said Connor "so do what he tells you... unless I say otherwise."
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On a fine day in October 2007, Lester's unnamed department finally got an official name.
The department of Actuarial Reality Calculations and Configurations (ARCC) sounds terribly dull and tedious... more than slightly boring even. Most people think the department has something to do with life insurance.
But Lester doesn't care… he finally has a budget and authorization to hire more staff.
Danny works full time at the ARCC. He still helps out in the restaurant if the owner needs a hand. Sarah splits her time between the British Museum and research consulting for Lester's department.
Becker gave up theater as soon as he was hired full time. He likes security stuff better. The only thing he misses about acting is the sword. Jess told him she missed seeing her favorite Shakespearean actor onstage in tights. Becker may have given Jess a private performance but only they know for sure. Stella and Lindy aren't talking.
Connor's phone number is on Lester's speed dial, although Lester flat out refused to hire Connor for a field position. Like Sarah, Connor is a part time research consultant for Lester's department.
"For God's sake man, you're going to be a father soon," reminded Lester "you have to put your family first!"
Connor also continues to work at CMU on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings... but he's teaching two classes now. And the patent he submitted for his new microprocessor is working its way through the government approval processes. He and Abby are saving up for something special... nursery furniture.
Abby's showing and glowing... just a little bit. She continues to work at the Wellington Zoo until her maternity leave starts. She and Connor went to their doctor for an ultrasound Tuesday. They were rather surprised when the doctor told them they were expecting twins.
"Usually twins run in families," said the doctor. "Are there any twins in your families?"
Connor and Abby looked at each other.
"I'll have to get back to you on that," stammered Connor.
Beth figured out where Connor and Abby came from... so Lester hired the bright young woman in an intern position.
"You're technical support," reminded Lester "back up really... so try to stay out of trouble."
Cutter works part time at the ARCC and part time at CMU. He's trying to convince the board to combine the evolution and biology programs into one curriculum.
Lester tries very hard to maintain his image as a government hatchet man, but nobody's fooled. Not even the newly arrived mammoth. Elton snuffles his trunk at Lester every time he sees the civil servant. Elton knows that Lester keeps Brazil nuts in his suit coat pocket... and they're just for him.
Claudia keeps track of all the different anomalies. Cretaceous, Permian, Triassic... more time periods than she ever knew about. Jess is building her a database... the young computer specialist has a particular interest in where and when these anomalies go. Sarah and Jess have both agreed. If an anomaly opens to return Danny, Becker, Abby and Connor to their London... they're going with them.
"I don't know if that's possible," cautioned Connor "I mean... we might only be here... because we aren't here in this world..."
"Do you even understand what you just said?" asked Sarah, "Because I sure don't."
"I think he means that because there already is a Sarah in our world," answered Danny, he seemed a bit flustered with the idea, "maybe you wouldn't be able to come over."
"No one better try and stop me," warned Sarah.
"Or me," added Jess.
Becker thought Sarah and Jess's idea was a good plan.
"Stay together," said Becker "no one goes through an anomaly... by themselves."
Connor liked the idea too. Using the buddy system would save lives in almost any horror movie.
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To date, Tom has never seen a dodo, but he and Duncan are still hoping to see Nessie someday.
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Nick and Claudia became more than good friends eventually. And she loved him, just as much as he loved her.
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