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… reminder the ARC is under the direction of the Ministry of Defense… story picks up right after Trimming The Tree (AU)
5.2-2 AU Mind the Gap
…"the last night coordinator?" Continuum chapter 15…
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Abby awoke to the sound of rain beating against the bedroom window. The sound of Connor's soft breathing was nearly drowned out by the splatter of drops on glass panes. Abby curled up and rolled over on her side. She wrapped her arm around Connor's warm body. For a moment, waking up in bed with Connor was almost like it used to be, but then Connor hissed as her hand came into contact with his bruised side.
"Oh Connor!" exclaimed Abby. She pulled her arm back and sat up in the bed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."
"S'all right Abby," said Connor. "I'm fine."
Looking at Connor's pale face, clenched jaw, and tightly closed eyes, Abby didn't believe him. She climbed out of the bed, and grabbed her robe.
"I've got to get ready for work."
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Abby took a quick shower and then returned to the bedroom. Connor was stretched out on the bed with his arm over his eyes. Abby glanced out the window as she pulled on her brown cargo pants. The weather was unseasonably warm for January. The Christmas snow had long since melted, and it had rained every day since Connor came home from the hospital.
"Tomorrow I won't have to leave so early," reminded Abby.
She grabbed first her red tank top, then her yellow t-shirt. Finally, Abby pulled a long sleeved gray fleece over her head.
"Lester said I could have the morning off," added Abby "to take you to your doctor's appointment."
"Uh huh," grunted Connor.
The ARCs director had stopped by their home Saturday morning.
"You brought the health and safety forms by?" asked Abby in surprise. "Surely this could have waited."
"Making sure Connor gets the care he needs can't wait," sighed Lester. He closed his eyes and rubbed his hand across his forehead. "The authorization forms for physical therapy, follow up visits with the doctor… they're all in there."
"Thank you Lester."
"May I see him?"
"He's sleeping," replied Abby. "I don't want to wake him…"
"Does he remember anything about the people that took him?" asked Lester. "We still haven't managed to trace them… it's as if they disappeared into thin air."
Abby walked over to stand beside Connor. His eyes were still half shut, and she wondered if he'd even heard a word she said. But then Connor removed his arm from his face and looked up at her.
"Bye now," said Abby as she bent down.
Connor raised his head to meet her. Their lips met. The kiss was light, sweet, and over far too soon in Abby's opinion. Connor leaned back on his pillows with a sigh.
"Have a good day at work."
Abby walked out of the bedroom, then stopped and turned to look at Connor once more.
"Don't forget," she added "Patrick's here if you need anything."
"Trust me Abby, I'll be fine," said Connor with a sigh. "I don't need babysitting you know."
"I never said you did," replied Abby.
She turned on her heels and strode quickly towards the door. At the entrance to the bedroom, she paused and turned back to look at Connor.
"Try not to miss me too much."
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Abby was pouring a cup of coffee when Jess entered the break room. While Abby's more casual attire was better suited for menagerie work and field calls, the field coordinator's position in the ARC required a different attire. Jess wore a smart red dress, matching red heels with blue edging, and a necklace of oversized red and blue metallic beads.
"Welcome back!" greeted Jess with a happy smile. "We've missed you."
The ARCs work was never done. And while the rest of the ARCs team had worked rotation shifts over the holiday period, Abby had been off to stay with Connor.
"Thanks," replied Abby as she began filling Jess's cup. "It just feels strange to be back at work… without Connor."
Abby nodded at her friend and held up the coffee pot in a wordless invitation. Jess grabbed her cup and set it down on the counter in front of Abby.
"How's he doing?" asked Jess.
"It's still hard for him to move," said Abby "Ever since he's been home, Patrick and I have taken turns bringing his meals upstairs."
Jess placed her hand on her friend's arm.
"The only time Connor has been out of bed in the past few days," continued Abby, "has been to walk to the bathroom."
"He's only been home since New Years Eve," reminded Jess. "It will take time for him to get his strength back."
Abby took a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah, I know," said Abby, "but I'm worried about him. On New Year's Day, I recorded the conclusion to the Dr. Who episode… he was asleep when I brought the laptop upstairs, but… he hasn't wanted to watch it yet."
"Just give him some time Abby," advised Jess. "I'm sure he'll come round."
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Lester's Monday morning meeting started with the usual updates on facility changes at the ARC.
"I expect everyone to comply with the new parking rules," said Lester. He nodded at Becker.
"New security procedures are in place," explained the soldier. "No one should use the car park across the street. Buddy up when you leave the premises."
"There are not enough parking spaces," protested Sarah.
"Car pool," suggested Becker. "Then we'll have enough parking spaces and you'll have your buddy with you."
Sarah looked as if she would argue some more, but Claudia spoke. It was her first day back at the ARC since being on maternity leave.
"Safety is important… we can work out car pooling arrangements later," said Claudia. "What's next on the agenda Lester?"
"More facility issues," replied Lester. With a nod in Abby's direction, he continued, "The new plumber's apprentice did a very thorough job last week. He located the source of our current drainage problem."
Abby remember Jack telling her… "I know the menagerie area is important to you… I wanted to do a really good job cleaning it out… I wanted to show you… I can do something right… you can be proud of me too."
"A rat's nest that big," said Abby "takes time to get built. Don't we have pest control at the ARC?"
"Rats!" exclaimed Emily. She wrinkled up her nose in distaste.
Lester picked up a sheaf of papers from the table in front of him.
"According to these bills, yes," replied Lester. "The accounting department will be starting the new year off with an investigation into why we are paying for a service we obviously didn't get."
"How did rats get inside the ARC?" asked Cutter.
"If you recall," answered Lester "this building had some reconstruction work after an explosion…"
"Not likely to forget that," replied the Professor, "but that was well over a year ago."
"Repair and reconstruction was done as quickly as possible," said Lester "but the underground drainage system was not properly assessed. There is a gap… between the foundation and the pipes…"
"Perhaps we should move to a different building," suggested Matt, "one with more parking, better security…"
"More space for the creatures," added Abby.
"The Ministry of Defense is sending a Colonel over this afternoon," answered Lester "to assess a number of issues… possible relocation to a new facility is one of them."
"What are the other issues?" asked Cutter. The professor narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Lester.
"Another rat's nest was found beneath the smilodon's containment area," said Lester. "It contained bits and pieces of human clothing."
"What?" exclaimed several voices.
"The smilodon's containment area has a sheltered area," continued Lester.
"Yes," interrupted Abby "the creature is supposed to be able to bring its food back to a den. Most carnivores like to gnaw on bones. It's good for their teeth."
"Is the den ever inspected?" asked Lester.
Abby rolled her eyes.
"Two weeks ago, Blakely left with no notice," reminded Abby. "He had been signing off that he'd cleaned and inspected the carnivore containment areas, but he hadn't. I spent the better part of the week before Christmas cleaning out the hyenadon den… it was awful."
Abby remembered the frustration she had felt when she saw the state of the hyenadon den… filled with debris from their feedings. By comparison, the smilodon den was pristine, there was no scent of rot, only a pile of bare bones beneath the creature.
"Bones were found in the smilodon's den," prodded Lester.
"Yes, when I checked the smilodon den," said Abby "I shot Lucy with a tranquilizer. She didn't go straight down. She staggered to her den, and collapsed on the bone pile… an anomaly alert sounded, so I didn't have time to move her and inspect beneath her…"
"Well," said Lester "it appears we may have found our missing night shift coordinator."
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