Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.
A/N Part of the Claudia story verse, story picks up right after Trimming The Tree (AU)
5.1-4 AU
"…something I must do…"
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"Abby," hissed Jack standing there barefoot and shirtless, "ssh! Or you'll wake up Connor's Mum. You really don't want to her to hear you say something like that now… do you?"
The petite blonde narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she gazed at her brother. She hugged her pink robe tight over her flannel pajamas.
"Jack," Abby said, drawing out his name slowly, "it's not like you to be so considerate. What is it that you want?"
Jack's face changed expression for just a moment, before settling into his normal smirk. Abby had seen a glimpse of that same expression the other morning… was it… regret?
"Considerate?" Jack scoffed. "Me? You've got me mixed up with some other bloke!"
Abby sniffed. That was the baby brother she knew… and loved, in spite of his selfishness.
"You're the only brother I've got," replied Abby. "Not likely I'd mix you up with anyone else."
Jack leaned back against the refrigerator. He swallowed.
"And you're the only sister I've got," said Jack, "and you deserved better than me for a brother."
"What?"
Abby stared at Jack in amazement. He'd never… not ever… said anything like that to her before.
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked turning back to face the kitchen cabinets. "I know I've got a thermometer around here somewhere…"
She pulled open the utility drawer and started searching. Jack crossed the room and held his hand out to stop her.
"Abby," said Jack "I'm not feeling right… but a thermometer is not what I need."
"What do you need?"
"I need to tell you I'm sorry," said Jack. "I've been a selfish prat… and I shouldn't have gambled Rex… and made a mess… and… and…so many things… and mainly… I shouldn't have taken you for granted."
"Who are you?" Abby replied, trying to make a joke out of this totally unexpected conversation. "And what have you done with my brother."
Jack gazed back at her. For once in his life, he actually looked serious.
"Abby, I can understand if you don't believe me," he responded "but… I am sorry."
Abby's blue eyes welled up with sudden tears. She'd been keeping all her worry about Connor very tightly contained… controlled even. Jack's sudden apology… she'd wished a thousand times for him to grow up… but this… this wasn't her brother.
"I don't believe you," Abby snapped. "After everything you've done… what on earth would make you apologize now?"
Jack watched his sister as she walked out of the kitchen.
"Connor," he called out.
Abby stopped in midstride. She turned in the doorway to face her brother.
"What about Connor?"
"Connor said…," continued Jack, "he wished he'd had a sister… and I ought to have a care… Abby, I could have gotten you killed that day."
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In the ARCs control room, Jess tracked the progress of the emergency vehicle on one of the big monitors in front of her.
"Hil," she said "the emergency response team is pulling up outside the building now."
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Becker watched the emergency medical technicians insert an IV into Connor's arm, put an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, take his pulse... and... The soldier snapped.
"Why don't we get Connor in the ambulance," suggested Becker biting his words through clenched teeth. "You can try getting the blood pressure reading on the drive to the hospital."
The med techs were already bundling Connor onto the collapsible gurney. The younger technician grunted and seemed to nod.
"Jess," said Becker into his comm. device as he followed the emergency crew out of the dark cellar and into the early morning light, "I'm going with Connor to the hospital… someone should be with him."
"Yes," agreed Jess.
"But I promised Abby…"
"Hil," said Jess "we've got you covered. Duncan's on his way to get Abby... and I'll meet you there as soon as the techie from Delta team arrives."
The hospital really wasn't that far away… it just seemed that way. Becker watched the machines with their blinking lights… and strange sounds… and his friend's chest rise and fall.
"Breathe Connor," thought Becker "breathe."
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Abby, Connor's Mum, and Duncan arrived at the hospital. Becker was pacing in the emergency waiting room.
"Connor!" called Abby. "Where is he?"
Becker caught her by the shoulders and held her. The morning light, coming in through the windows behind them, cast their shadows on the floor towards the closed doors in front of her.
"You can't see him just yet," said Becker "he's in surgery."
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Aurora stopped and turned to look at April. The small blonde was running after her, black boots crunching on the leaves and new fallen snow.
"Don't you ever listen to a word I say?" the tall, angular blonde sneered. "There isn't a future… not unless we save it today."
"I can help," insisted April "I know this world… and you don't."
"Hmmph," snorted Aurora.
Maybe April could still be useful. She pointed at the tracks from the red Volkswagen to where they now stood.
"Can you get rid of those tracks? We don't want anyone following us."
"I can do better than that," said April, a cold calculating smile spreading across her face. "I can get rid of the tracks… and the car."
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Jess transferred the control of the ADD to the young Delta team technician.
"And remember," she said "no eating at the workstation."
The senior field coordinator grabbed her bag and started to leave, when she remembered Lester. Jess looked inside his office. He was leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
"I'm going to the hospital now," said Jess. "Would you like a ride?"
Lester straightened up in his chair. Worry lines showed around his eyes.
"No," he said "I have to wait for Matt… he said he had something to tell me. But I'll be over as quick as I can."
Jess nodded and turned to leave.
"Oh…," added Lester, almost as if it was an afterthought, "you'll call me… let me know… if…"
"Yeah, I'll call if…," nodded Jess, "but I won't really… because… there's not going to be an if… Connor's going to be just fine."
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Matt told Lester. The ARCs director rubbed his eyes and looked at the team leader.
"Seriously?" asked Lester "After everything that's happened this night… morning now actually… you want me to believe you're from the future…sent back in time to save the world."
Matt nodded.
"It would be easier to believe you were clinically mad," replied Lester.
"There were many of us sent back... to different eras," continued Matt. "I thought, since the ARC in this time had a policy of non-interference with the anomalies… there couldn't be a threat."
"There's always a threat," Lester snapped. "Sometimes we just don't see it."
"The anomalies are occurring more frequently," reminded Matt. "And if someone thought that since we're not locking anomalies… and there's no Philip Burton here… maybe... I don't know... maybe they would focus on Connor… he was the only other person we thought might… have something to do with…"
"Armageddon?" asked Lester tiredly. He rubbed his eyes again. "Matt, would you drive me over to the hospital? My car was towed."
The two men walked out of Lester's office. The ADD started blaring. Lester hurried over to the console and leaned over the Delta technician trying to see where the newest disaster was occurring.
"Coordinates," Lester asked "where is it?"
The technician rattled off some numbers quickly.
"What is that… something new," asked Lester "the middle of the North Sea perhaps?"
"Oh no sir," replied the Delta coordinator. "It's an old site… we've been here before… according to the notes… it's called the racetrack."
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