I don't own Primeval, although I have a suspiciously large number of Primeval images in my screensaver and on my desktop which may imply I am something of a fangirl.

Capitulo Siete (Or Chapter 7 for my monolingual friends out there)

Connor held Abby's hand firmly. He didn't really pay attention to anything the doctor was saying--he was just caught up in Abby's icy eyes which stared back into his brown eyes intensely.

He could feel her pulse between his fingertips--so strong, vital, and fierce. Sarah was the one who kept ordering her to breathe. He just held her hand and willed her through it, but it was all he had to do. He just pictured her, beaming, with their little baby in her arms.

Beads of sweat rolled down her face. He was certain he looked much the same--he had been here with her for…he wasn't sure how long. Time didn't matter in here, while out there it was all the world.

"Abby, you're doing great--just keep breathing," Sarah said. Connor was glad as hell she was there and he knew Abby was too. Sarah was the gentle one, the quietly strong one. She was probably the nicest person he could imagine. (Abby excepted, of course.)

"Conn--"

Sarah began to say his name as the door to the botany lab opened but broke off as the first thing she saw enter was a gun. The hand followed, and it trailed along until Helen was standing in the doorway, holding a gun to Abby's forehead.

"Oh, God," Doctor Pulaski cried out, stepping back away from Abby with his hands up. Abby shrieked in pain.

"Helen, leave her alone!" Connor said, pushing forward. He edged himself between Helen and Abby until Helen's gun pointed at his chest.

"Connor Temple." Helen pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Kindly hand me the keys to this room."

Connor breathed quickly, knowing if they were locked in she could pick them off one by one, but she could probably do that without the key. He fished into his pocket and pulled out the ring that held all his important keys. When she refused to accept it, he found the correct one and reluctantly handed them over.

He hoped she would turn to lock the door; she just set one hand behind her back and locked it like a professional. Connor grimaced. The doors had been fortified since the Gorgonopsid incident to withstand hurricanes and missiles--exaggeration notwithstanding--and nothing would get through them locked.

Helen seemed to suddenly realize what she had stumbled onto, and a smirk spread across her face.

"Help the girl, Polack," she snapped at the doctor, who didn't seem greatly offended by the cultural knock as Helen's gun was currently in his face. He quickly went to Abby, stuttering as he told her to keep breathing, keep pushing.

Sarah and Connor stared at Helen in fury.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Helen?" Sarah asked angrily.

"I did a little reading before I got here," she shrugged. "Your security down, I saw an opportunity knock and I invited it in for tea."

"So, you're going to kill us and then what?"

Helen just shook her head. "Connor Temple. Geek boy, extraordinaire. Married to Abigail Sarah Maitland Temple. Should never be allowed to handle a gun."

Sarah gave Connor a slow, shaky glance. He blinked twice in silent acknowledgement before taking a step forward. Helen's gun was only inches from his chest.

"You know what it doesn't say in my file, Helen?" he said, flicking his eyes once to the woman's hand. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head innocently. "What it doesn't say, is that I am currently handling a gun."

In one quick motion he brought his gun up, pistol-whipping Helen's gun from her fingertips. Sarah caught the gun in both hands and raised it up, although Connor didn't recall that she had any formal weapons training--whatsoever.

Helen barely seemed surprised, although she held her hand tenderly. "You might've broken a finger," she said in a mock-pout. Connor grimaced.

"Just once, pretend to be surprised," he asked. They heard the doorknob rattle as someone outside attempted futilely to gain access. It then thudded dully, but nothing happened.

He lifted his own gun to Helen's forehead and inched forward until the cool metal pressed into her skin. "I'll shoot."

Behind him, Abby moaned and Sarah took a step backwards to hold her hand.

Helen looked as though she thought Connor was making an idle threat. "Maybe you will," she said thoughtfully, "but look at it this way: it was no accident that the Forest of Dean anomaly will--appeared. The first one you found."

Connor narrowed his eyes. "How do you--wait. You cause that anomaly?" When Helen nodded, he shook his head. "So what?"

Abby shrieked. The doctor said hurriedly, "Mr. Temple, she's almost there."

Helen smirked at Connor. "Do you know how many anomalies I've made that you've discovered? Many--almost all of them. Only an occasional few are natural--what if you'd never discovered them?"

Connor didn't understand what she was saying at first, but gradually his eyes widened. "Oh, no," he murmured. "You're saying that--if you die--"

"You'd still be a second-rate geek squad computer whiz," Helen finished, raising an eyebrow. "Unmarried. Childless. Pathetic."

Connor's gun pressed into her skull. Her words rang true, but he was frozen to the spot. Was it worth it? Could he lose his reason for living to save the world?

His breath began to quicken, but he didn't dare lowed his gun. Not even when the doctor called out to him. Not even when Abby gave a final shriek. Not even when Sarah breathed, "You're a daddy, Connor."

Danny and Becker reentered the hub.

"Helen's in the botany lab," Danny growled.

"With Sarah," Becker added more loudly, gritting his teeth and fingering his gun. He wished they'd take down the curtain they'd put up for privacy, just so he could see that Sarah was okay.

It was mental, that he still wanted to know she was safe and happy, after she ripped his heart out, stomped on it, and fed it to several starving raptors.

Happy? He doubted that. And with Helen in there, how safe could she be?

Lester and Jenny exchanged unhappy looks, but Jenny was the first to speak.

"You two guard the door," she ordered. "Lester, come with me--there are more guns in the armory we can use."

Lester nodded, and they exited the hub. Lester and Jenny ran (Jenny mastered running in heels) to the armory like their lives depended upon it, because they very probably did. Helen Cutter--the woman could throw an entire government facility into shambles single-handedly. As they entered the armory, they heard a gunshot and grabbed the first weapons their hands found.