Connor woke up to find Abby sitting by his side. She'd removed his jacket which was just as well – the flat was boiling. She ran her hand down his arm.

"Connor?"

"Yes?"

"Where did these bruises come from?"

He looked down at his arm and sure enough it was covered in ugly purple blotches.

Connor glanced at the clock. He'd slept for a few hours at least. Time always passed so quickly in dreams.

"Erm...I think they came from Phillip's guards." Connor admitted awkwardly, he preferred it when he didn't remember. He looked away, not wanting to see Abby's expression, wincing slightly - great now he had a headache. Then Connor spotted the tray filled with lunch by the bedside and his face instantly lit up. "Brilliant! I could eat the entire wookie fleet right now."

Abby raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that cannibalism?"

"Fine! I could eat an entire dinosaur-sized portion of cow vindaloo." he replied.

Abby laughed at the Red Dwarf reference then mentally scolded herself for knowing what he was on about. She'd been forced to sit through far too much of what Connor called 'education' but what she called a waste of time. That had been one of the few things Abby hadn't missed when he'd got more involved in work. She giggled again, Connor truly was eating his food like a T-rex. He smiled to himself at her reaction, mission accomplished.

"If you're going to eat like that then come over to the table. Jess will be mad if you cover her bed sheets in sauce and crumbs as well as yourself." Abby smiled.

Connor followed her over to the table chomping at a record rate. He felt much better eating, especially after a decent amount of sleep. He'd missed this; his work had been slowly taking over bit by bit but now he felt free to be with Abby. He looked into her eyes inbetween mouthfuls of spaghetti, she was so beautiful. How could he have neglected her?

He felt for the metal tube in his pocket as it usually seemed to reassure him but Connor was shocked to discover it was missing. He started to choke on a piece of chicken at this revelation and Abby had to whack him on the back. His eyes were watering which made it no easier to search for the remaining half of his invention.

"Abby can you see a brown metal tube with a jagged edge anywhere?" Connor gasped.

"Yes. It's on the sofa, I took it out of your pocket whilst you were asleep, it looked like it was digging into you." Abby explained. He let out a sigh of relief and she changed the subject. "Do you remember what happened with Phillip yesterday?"

"Yeah, I think so." he nodded, and then continued to eat in silence. Abby waited watching him expectantly. It took Connor a few seconds to cotton on."Do we have to talk about this now?"

"Yes! I've waited long enough."

"Okay, okay! I suppose it's best you hear it from me." he sighed. "Where do you want me to start?"

"From after you told Phillip what was happening with the anomalies and got to Prospero."

"Right. Well – " Connor started, he could feel his memories re-living the moment, continuing on from his dream.

The fist slammed into his arm. The force of it nearly hurled Connor out of the chair. He stood and staggered towards the door, if this was what their meeting consisted of he didn't want to be part of it. The two guards followed him and another was already at the door to block his exit. Connor glanced down at his mobile phone but it appeared he was no longer in possession of it. He looked at the guards. The one in the doorway was holding his phone. Connor reached out for it but Phillip's words made him turn.

"Connor, New Dawn has always been about new technology and the wonders of it. Specifically yours."

"What?" he grunted in pain.

"You are a brilliant scientist; you don't know what you are capable of."

Connor went slightly red.

"If I'm so awesome why are your guards beating up the talent?"

"Blake, George; leave us." Phillip commanded the guards.

His voice was harsh and there was a fire in his eyes that Connor had never seen before. He beckoned to Connor who cautiously sat down once more.

"What do you need me here for?" Connor questioned.

"I'm sorry about those two. They're new and still don't fully understand what it is that we do here. New Dawn has been all about your arrival. It's about what you will do, what you will be and what you will become. I have seen the future and I know what I must do." Connor frowned, Phillip was speaking about destiny. How did he know anything about it? "You discovered the anomaly problem now you are going to solve it. Just tell me what equipment you need."

Connor opened his mouth, ready to argue that he didn't have a clue of what to do but he found that he did know what he needed. A solution was already forming in his head. Phillip smiled and if Connor hadn't been busy thinking of his invention he might've called Abby when his phone was handed back to him instead of simply tucking it in his trouser pocket.

"Of course when I saw Phillip and Helen together today I knew New Dawn was about a lot more than me. But by the time I considered questioning Phillip's reasoning I was far too gone." Connor finished.

"What do you mean 'too gone'?"

"I was focussing all my energy on the invention, a bit obsessively." he admitted. Abby snorted, she knew only too well what Connor could be like when working on a new creation. "I couldn't afford to get distracted."

But he knew in his heart it had felt like something more than that.

As he worked he felt weighed down with an impossible load. The more he lifted the fuzzier his vision became and the headache worsened. It was as if the sky had come crashing down and Connor was the only one left to hold it up...

"You said that Phillip gave you wine?" Abby double-checked.

"Yeah, what's that got to do with anything?" Connor asked.

He was surprised by Abby's sudden change of attitude.

"When did you start to feel weird?"

"Not at first. Initially I felt like I was ready for anything. It was only after our conversation that I began to feel exhausted."

"Connor – I think he drugged you."

"Even Phillip wouldn't – " Connor scoffed.

"Stop defending him! I thought you were on my side for once!" Abby pleaded desperately.

"It's just a bit unlikely..."

"Oh forget it. This is just like when you wouldn't help me save the creatures in the menagerie." Abby reminded bitterly.

She turned away from him to face the sofa. Connor regretted his words almost instantly. Even if the whole scenario she'd just thought up was a bit far-fetched in his opinion, it obviously mattered to her. And he had deserted her when it came down to the menagerie incident when she needed help most. Plus Connor knew Abby was very good at grudge holding. Better to appeal to her gentle side before the stubbornness took over.

He cautiously stepped towards her. Satisfied with the fact that she hadn't tried to hit him yet Connor started to apologise.

"I'm sorry. I should've stayed, I should've tried to talk some sense into Phillip – Lester shouldn't have had to step in." Connor amended.

As he spoke he cautiously lifted his hand, it hovered above Abby's shoulder as he fought with himself over whether it putting it down was a good idea or not. There was a long silence as she took this in. Connor decided that he didn't want to ruin his chances and soon his hand was back by his side.

"Tell me more about your invention."

Connor knew he wasn't fully forgiven yet. All the same he was thankful for the subject change. He knew what he was talking about when it came down to gadgets.

"It's meant to solve the anomaly crisis."

"I guessed that much." Abby deadpanned. Connor began to explain but Abby couldn't understand a word of what he was saying from that point onwards, the technical babble had her terribly confused. "Simplify please."

Connor frowned. As far as he was concerned that was simple. He tried again.