No sooner had her mood brightened it plummeted again as Matt strode through the door and stood quite comfortably with everyone's attention focussed on him. "I'm Matt Anderson and this is Emily Merchant," he said as he gestured to Emily who walked in through the door normally behind him followed by Becker, "and I'm sorry to dump this on you but if we don't do something soon, we're all going to be in terrible danger." His eyes flickered to Jess and she suddenly remembered what he had told her in the car parking lot. Yes, she thought miserably, terrible danger in deed.

It was Connor who broke the silence first. "What d'you mean? Helen's dead-"

Matt spoke over him evenly. It appeared that even when Connor hadn't worked for Matt yet he knew not to ignore that tone in his voice, "Jess, I think you better explain this one." He rubbed a tired hand over his face. Emily stepped forward and leaned into him slightly.

Jess watched slightly fascinated as Matt wound an arm around her and let her take a little of his weight. Before she had left she had known they were together but they rarely showed any affection to each other in public. Between Emily being a Victorian and Mat being...Matt, Jess was surprised to see such an open display of emotion. It made her throat swell slightly when she thought of all the things she'd missed in her own time. It also made her throw a furtive look at Becker. He was watching the two of them just as subtly as she was with a slightly pained expression on his face. Briefly she wondered what it would feel like to have his arms wrap around her like that... She cut off that train of though before it could begin. There was nothing quite as painful as impossible what-ifs.

"Helen's dead but she had friends. Friends who wanted to carry on her work." Said Jess trying to make her voice gentle. She didn't have the energy to shout down any arguments and quite frankly she didn't want to have to. "One of them, Phillip Burton-"

"Phillip Burton?" Asked Connor, his mouth agape. "I've heard of him! The man's a genius!"

"He said he wanted to harness the power of the anomalies," Recalled Jess grimly, "He and his company started project New Dawn hoping that they could do it."

"Did it work?" Asked Sarah quietly, staring intently at Jess.

Jess shifted uncomfortably, "Well...sort of. The idea was to create a completely man made anomaly. Then it could be caught and controlled. After that they could use the energy the anomaly gave out for as much and as long as they wanted."

"What did he do?" Asked Abby. She glanced at Connor quickly who still looked a little too excited for either of their likings.

"Phillip thought it would work." Said Jess, trying to give a fair account. She knew that Phillip had thought he was doing what was best but she was finding it increasingly hard to forgive the man for being in league with Helen when he had known what she had done, "The only thing was it was originally Helen's idea. She didn't tell him what would really happen." The entire room was rapt apart rom Matt and Emily, both of whom merely looked grave, "He got Connor to build the machine to build the anomaly." She spared a glance for him and felt her mouth twist at the almost reverent expression on Connor's face. It was that kind of hero worship that had been used to blind him in the first place. "And it worked."

"I built it?" Asked Connor incredulously his eyes alight with glee, "What did it do? Did it work?"

Jess steeled herself. She knew what came next wasn't going to pleasant for her to say or anyone else to hear, "It did create an anomaly." She said her eyes locked onto his. His smile faded at her tone of voice, "But it couldn't be controlled. It kept expanding until it took out the entire facility and you and Burton with it."

"Did he make it out?" Blurted Abby. No one in the room was surprised that she was the one to ask; Connor seemed to have gone into some kind of shock.

"He was fine." Reassured Jess quickly, "Burton wasn't so lucky but you went though to the future. It was Matt and Abby who went to get you back." Connor looked around at Matt who tipped his head back at him. He was worryingly pale, Jess noted. Evidently, Abby noticed too and slipped her hand into his. It was a testament to how out of sync he was that he barely noticed.

"The future." Muttered Connor under his breath, "Was it really as bad as you said?"

This time it was Matt who stepped forward, "Worse." He said grimly, "The planet surface is unable to sustain life apart from advanced predators. Any humans that were left were driven underground. They didnt't last too much longer."

Jess looked at him sympathetically. His voice betrayed nothing but his eyes were a different story, she had already known it but it was somehow worse to hear a personal account.

"How do you know all of this?" Asked Lester who had been quiet up until then.

Matt turned his stare on him, "It's where I'm from." He said shortly. Becker looked between Matt and Emily,

"So, she's from the past and you're from the...future?" Matt smirked at the pained look on Becker's face. Jess had to duck her head so he wouldn't see her smile. Jess realised with another smile that Becker was still relatively new to this job. He'd only been there nearing four months; shocks like this were still fairly strange to him.

"That sums up the situation." Said Emily, "I would have thought you would have been interested to hear about such relationships between people of different times?" Becker looked away with an uncomfortable cough, a suspicious red creeping up his neck. Jess stared wide eyed at Emliy before shooting her the dirtiest look she could muster. Emily only smiled sweetly back. The rest of the room ignored the exchange and Matt talked over the awkward silence, much to Jess's everlasting gratitude.

"Once we'd got Connor back the anomaly was already verging in being out of control. We had to make a smaller anomaly with a prototype that Connor had made for New Dawn and use them to cancel out each other."

"And it worked?" Asked Jenny in a hushed voice.

"It worked." Confirmed Jess. Connor spoke up from where he was standing, still looking a little fazed by what he had just heard,

"You used a prototype?" He looked at Jess, "Was it the same one that brought you here?" He asked. Jess simply nodded. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that Connor had made the leap but somehow it was easier to forget he was a genius in this time as well. "That's why you asked me to help you rebuild it." He gave a humourless laugh that didn't suit him at all, "It was my invention in the first place."

"You were my best hope at getting it working again." She said quietly. Connor let go of Abby's hand and pulled away from her. He turned on the spot, looking at the ceiling with his hands pulling at his hair. He looked unhinged, Jess thought sadly. "Didn't anyone try and stop me?" He asked desperately, "I nearly ruined the world and you just let me?"

"Why d'you think I was sent back from my time, mate?" Asked Matt looking intently at the young scientist. "We all tried and you were the one who built the anomaly that stopped it, I think you're about even, don't you?" Connor's hands fluttered uselessly before he looked around at the rest of the team. None of the said anything but Jenny wordlessly patted the bed where Cutter still lay. He slumped down beside her and she put an arm around him before nodding for them to continue.

"Hang on, I don't understand," said Sarah looking at each of them, "if this has all been dealt with...then why are we in danger?" Matt looked at Jess and she knew she was going to have to be the one to tell them what Matt had told her in the car park.

She cleared her throat, "It's my fault." She said. Everyone turned to look at her, their expressions ranging from shock to disbelief. She persevered, "When I came back I changed the timelines. At first they were only small changes, stuff that wasn't that important. But then I saved Cutter." She swallowed down her apprehension, "It changed the future. In my time the anomalies were becoming more active and it was only made worse by New Dawn. We called it the convergence. It was completely natural and it only went wrong because we started messing with it. In the end nature took its course and it all ended up okay. By changing the events...the convergence has been brought forward. It's happening now."

"What?" Jess turned to the source of the voice and say Becker staring at her. He didn't look scared or shocked like most of the others, and in hindsight she thought that might of made it worse. As it were it just made her eyes tear and her voice to come even faster,

"I didn't know it was going to happen!" She cried trying to make them believe her, "I didn't know about any of it! I'm sorry, it's all my fault, the convergence is happening and-"

"Jess, calm down." Said Matt. He walked infront of her, blocking her view of the rest of the team and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "I need you to think. How far away is that from being done?" He said nodding at the bag of technology she had brought from the derelict old house. She looked at him confusedly,

"Wh-"

"Think!" He ordered. "If that's a copy of the prototype we used the first time we can use it to shut down the main anomaly that's going to appear. We don't know how much time we have but we know its going to happen! How much time is it going to take you to fix the machine, Jess?"

"A few days." She whispered, "Maybe more." Matt al out growled in frustration,

"We don't have a few days. We have a few hours at the most before it begins." Emily laid a hand on his arm in warning and he took a step back, "Look," he said with a sigh, "Do what you can and we'll just have to try and keep it under control for as long as we can."

"No."

Both Matt and Jess looked around in surprise. It was Connor who had spoken. He was standing looking at both of them with more conviction than Jess had seen from him in this time, "I'll help her." He said looking at both of them unflinchingly. " I built this once and I can figure it out again. Besides, it's my fault it went wrong the first time, maybe I can fix it again."

Matt looked at him before turning back to Jess. He looked at her in a resigned fashion that Jess hadn't seen from him since the first convergence, "Like I said. Do what you can."

~o~o~o~

Obviously, now there was no ARC left to go to, Jess had at first wondered where they were going to go. The problem was easily solved. One phone call to the minister later and Lester had managed to secure them one of the disused lab rooms right there at the hospital.

It wasn't ideal and there were many problems with the lack of specialised equipment they had. The only good thing was that when Jess had packed her bag to leave she had packed everything she thought she would need. The rest they just improvised.

She and Connor worked in silence. They talked only about what was at hand and what they were going to need to do. Almost against her will Jess began to feel hope flicker in her chest. They had been working on the prototype of coming up four hours and, though she was running on empty, she could finally see the machine start to resemble the finished product.

She didn't delude herself; she knew it was mostly thanks to Connor. He worked like a man with a mission; and ink a way Jess supposed he was. His hands were slightly bloody thanks to all the times he'd nicked his skin in his haste to get everything done but as Jess looked down at her own she supposed they were the same. Callouses marked her hands from working on the blasted machine all week non stop and the intricate machinery needed to be so exact that her hands normally started shaking just from the pressure.

Her concentration was broken by the creak of the lab door opening. She looked around to see Emily poking her head in, "I hope I am not interrupting." She said pushing the door back further with her elbow. In her hands were two styrofoam cups of what Jess could only assume was coffee from the smell.

"No, come in." Said Jess, trying to smile at her friend. Connor didn't even look at from what he was working on.

"Matt sent me down to give you this." Emily said holding out the coffee. Jess accepted both of them gratefully and put Connor's down next to him. She gave him a gentle nudge. He looked up and gave a brief strained smile to Emily before returning back to his work.

"How's everything up there?" Asked Jess as she returned to her own work of trying to rewire one of the many minute circuit boards. Emily followed her around to where she was working and leaned against the desk,

"I believe the nurses say that the next twenty four hours will decide the fate of Nick Cutter." Connor looked up at the change in conversation,

"Is he doing okay?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"He is much the same." Said Emily, "There was also another reason Matt wanted me to see you. He wishes for me to tell you that from the rate of anomalies that are appearing the convergence is almost upon us. You remember what happened just before last time?"

Jess's hands stilled as she thought back. The one thing she always hated in her line of job was having to sit back when she was of no further use and pray that the rest of them would make it out in one piece. Before the convergence hundreds of anomalies had sprung up similatinously leaving the ARC teams stretched to breaking point. A lot of soldiers had died that day. Jess remembered hearing all of them.

"I remember." She said softly.

"It is happening again." Emily said looking down at Jess hunched over her work, "Matt says that he does not know when the final anomaly will appear, but it will be soon."

Connor looked up suddenly, "How does he know there's going to be a final anomaly? Surely if there's no New Dawn machine to make an anomaly it can't grow out of control in the first place?"

Emily gave him a sad look, "Abby asked the same question. He said that the convergence would simply defect to the last man made anomaly."

"The one I came through." Jess said bitterly.

Emily nodded, "When will this be ready?" She asked, looking curiously at the machine.

"Soon." Promised Jess with conviction, "We'll have it done soon."

~o~o~o~

A further three hours later and Jess had no idea what time it was. All she knew was that it was late, or possibly even early, but they had finally finally finished it. Her and Connor stood side by side and looked with weary eyes at what they had created. It was by no means neat but they were hoping it was functional.

Emily had been down three more times with coffee and the last time she had told them the news which they had been anticipating and dreading with equal measure. The convergence had started. An anomaly had opened where Jess had first stumbled into the past. She told them that Matt was there now with a few of the soldiers they had left to spare and that, for the moment, it was locked. She warned them that it wouldn't be for long. They had four locking devices trained on it and it was only getting stronger. That was half an hour ago. Jess only hoped that they had managed to keep it contained until then.

"What do we do with it?" Asked Connor as they continued to stare at the machine. His hands were still covered in tiny cuts and abrasions but now he had a nasty but small burn on his face from where the machine had sparked and he had been too close. Jess had asked him if he was alright but they had both continued working; there had been no time to stop.

She wasn't feeling too good either. Normally, she didn't drink coffee for the sole reason that it messed with her sleeping pattern, but for today it had been a necessity. Her hands now shook with a prominence for all to see and her skin was worryingly pale. She had managed to avid any electrical burns but her hands, like Connor's, hadn't been so lucky. "We need to get it to the anomaly site." She said trying to think though her mind was hazy. "Last time we had a case to take just the anomaly, but we don't have anything like that we're just going to have to bring the whole machine."

Connor gave a short nod and together they carefully lifted it. Once they had it Jess carefully maneuvered her arms so that it was just Connor carrying it. It wasn't that it was particularly heavy but with the amount of work they had both out into it and their awareness if just how delicate it was likely to be, neither felt like taking any chances. Jess hurried ahead and opened the doors as they walked up to Cutter's room to get the others.

"What do we do with it once we get to the anomaly?" Asked Connor as they waked as fast as they dared down a sterile corridor.

"We have to get it to work first." Said Jess, looking straight ahead, "If-"

"When." Said Connor firmly.

Jess cracked a small smile, "When we do that we have to introduce the two of them. Hopefully, they'll cancel each other out."

Connor picked up on the word she used, "Hopefully? What else could happen?" He asked uneasily.

Jess looked at him, "Matt said last time that it would either do nothing or just speed up the convergence."

Connor looked away from Jess and straight down the corridor and swallowed nervously, "Right." He said trying to sound more upbeat than Jess knew either if them were, "Well, here's hoping!"

At long last they reached the corridor of Cutter's room but they never made it inside. Becker was waiting outside the door and started walking towards them when they came into sight.

"We need to go." He said tersely. He looked just as tired as Jess felt. She wished they didn't have to do this but her sleep deprived mind offered her no alternative. "Matt just called. The anomaly's too strong to lock anymore. It's expanding."

Jess felt the fear course through her. She just hoped with every fibre of her being that the prototype would work. It was quite literally their last chance.

The three of them made their way a quickly as they could down the car park. Jess was pleased to see that one of the ARC cars had survived the blast and was there waiting for them. Inside was Abby in the driver's seat. The three of them climbed in and Abby drove without asking a single question.

"What about the others?" Asked Jess eventually.

"Matt's already there," answered Becker, "Lester and Jenny aren't coming. They'd both be liabilities and they know it so they're going to stay with Cutter."

"What about Emily?" Questioned Jess. A ghost of a smile flickered across Becker's face so quickly she though she might have imagined it.

"She insisted on coming and ignored me when I told her she couldn't. I waited until she fell asleep and just stood outside the room. I get the feeling if she'd seen me leaving she would of followed."

Jess remembered Emily being ordered out of the ARC during the Beatle debarcle and simply hiding in a closet until they found her, "Yeah," agreed Jess, "She probably would have."

Silence fell over the car as they navigated the twists and turns of the city. Jess remembered only too well where she had come through to this time and she knew that it was in a public place. They got within a half a mile of it when they saw Matt and the soldiers on a street corner. When he saw them he waved them over frantically.

"Please tell you've got it." He said eyes flickering to each of them in turn. Connor nodded, a premature but hopeful smile appearing on his face. Matt's shoulders sagged with relief as he looked across Jess and at the haphazard machine, "I didn't think you'd be able to finish it in time." He admitted.

Jess climbed out of the car, "Is this going to work?" She asked looking doubtfully at the machine, "Last time we had a case for the anomaly, how do we know if the anomaly won't just stay in the same place where we open it?"

Connor broke in to their conversation, "We should be fine. As long as we keep it in the machine they should travel together."

"Right." Said Matt decisively, "You two," he guestured at Connor and Jess, "get that thing started up. And you," he looked at Abby and Becker, "need to get out of the car." Abby got out of the car without complaint and although Becker followed her example he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Matt,

"What's going on with the anomaly at the moment?" He asked.

Matt shook his head, "It's not as bad as the one was last time but it will be if we don't stop it soon. We had to retreat from where we were and if this carries on for much longer then we're going to have to again."

"No we won't!" They both looked around to see Jess beaming at them and a euphoric smile spread across Connor's face. Behind them in the car seat was a fully formed and impossibly beautiful anomaly.

"Brilliant." Said Matt. He still looked weary but Jess could see the genuine smile in his eyes. "Abby, give me the keys." Abby, who still had the keys in her hand, held them out to Matt her eyes still transfixed on the first man made anomaly she had ever seen. Matt reached out to take them but Becker got there first. He snatched the keys out of hand and curled his fingers around them.

"What's going to happen?" He demanded, "What's going to happen to you if you drive that car into the anomaly?"

Matt looked at him surprise, "The same thing that happened last time." He said without any preamble, "I'll come back." All of a sudden Jess could see the uncertainty in his eyes. She recalled what she had said earlier; there were three ways this could go. Only one involved Matt coming back alive. "Nice to know you care, mate." He said with a poor attempt at humour.

He held his hand out for the keys but Becker didn't move. "You're lying." He said with certainty, "You don't know." Matt didn't reply and that was all the answer Becker needed. "I'm going." He moved as if to walk around yo the other side of the car and climb in the drivers seat but Matt stepped in front of him.

"This what I got sent back to do." Said Matt, "Becker, let me do this. It's what I'm here for." Becker just looked at him,

"You've done it once. I'm the head of security; it's my job to keep the team safe. I can't imagine I let you go the first time without a fight."

Jess remembered hearing the story for the first time. Matt had stolen the car keys just as he was attempting to do now. She couldn't imagine that was going to work all that well this time. She closed her eyes and felt a weight press down on her chest as she realised what she had to do. Matt moved as if to take the keys again but Becker raised an eyebrow and held them out of his reach,

"We don't have time for this." He growled, his accent becoming thicker the more desperate he got. Becker looked as if he were about to push past the other man when Jess stepped between them.

She turned to face Matt, "Let me talk to him." She said softly. Matt looked as though he were about to protest but at her beseeching look back off a few steps. Abby and Connor followed suit and soon it was just Jess and Becker standing by the car as the others faded into the background.

Becker looked down at her, his expression unflinching, "I'm not giving to you the-" He never finished his sentence.

Quelling her fears, Jess grabbed onto the lapels of his uniform jacket and pulled his lips down to meet hers. He froze in shock, but after a moment he kissed her back. Jess squeezed her eyes shut to stop herself from crying. If only she'd have been braver they could have been together for longer. They could have been together before she went through the anomaly. She pressed herself against him, only too aware that however much she wanted to she couldn't live in this moment forever.

Almost hesitantly she felt him bring his hands up to cup her face. It was the opputunity she had been waiting for. She broke the kiss and brought her own hand up to cover his. His eyes were completely open for a second and when she looked at him she could almost see the cogs turning in his head.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, trying to blink back her tears. He didn't even have time to ask what for before she had acted. With a swiftness that even took her by surprise she had wrenched the keys from his slack hands and sprinted around to the drivers side of the car. She was in and had locked the door before any of them had time to react. She spared a glance for the back seat and was relieved to see the anomaly still turning and shifting, casting iridescent light in the back of the car. She put the keys into the car and turned them. In the back of her mind she was grateful it was Abby who had driven them to the site; she doubted that she would have been able to reach the pedals if it was anyone else.

She didn't waste a moment. She knew where the anomaly would be from here and that she had no time to lose. Jess looked in the rear view mirror. She saw her own tear stained face and both Becker and Matt standing in the road behind her. She couldn't hear him but she could tell Becker was shouting for her to get back. Matt was standing there staring after her with absolute shock on his face. Connor and Abby were looking at her from the pavement both frozen place.

She turned a corner and they were all gone.

She didn't allow herself to think about what she was doing as she drove closer. She didn't want to lose her nerve. She drove only a minute more before she saw the reason Matt had needed to retreat.

It wasn't as big as the one that New Dawn had created but it was still the biggest anomaly that Jess had ever witnessed with her own eyes. It churned more violently that any she had ever seen and it didn't surprise her what with the destruction it was causing. Stone slabs of the pavement were being ripped from the ground and hurled through the anomaly. Even nearby buildings were looking unstable as the anomaly moved closer and closer to engulfing them.

She only paused for a second.

With one last look at the anomaly behind her she pushed the accelerator down. The car shot forward. Straight into the centre of the anomaly. Her last thought in the world she was leaving was that at least she was dealing with the problem she had created. Better me than them, she thought as her mind ebbed away.

...

A/N- First off, I'm sorry! For three things mainly: leaving you on a cliff hanger on the last chapter, not updating for ages, and then finally, possibly the most cruel cliffhanger I've ever written. But hey! Long chapter! I genuinely am sorry about that and I'll try to make the next chapter a bit quicker than this one was.

Anyway, I hope you like it and reviews are always welcome, no matter what your opinion may be.

Thanks for reading,

VE