Disclaimer: Primeval and all its characters belong to someone else.

Summary: - Connor needs help- and so does Vancouver!

New Dawn is over, but Connor still feels the after effects badly. Matt and Lester have a plan to help him get his confidence back by sending him to Vancouver to help the newly formed Vancouver ARC- and to retrieve something that belongs to him!

A few more tiny specks of information have come my way, so I will use them in the next few chapters- it's not much, but hopefully adds to the story!

Vancouver Calling

Chapter Five- Connor's Story

Connor woke up feeling energised and refreshed, although it took him a few minutes to remember where he was. He reached over to the side of him where Abby would usually have been sleeping and when he patted an empty space, he sat up and looked for her. He then remembered where he was, and sighed deeply. "Day One!" he thought.

He had a quick shower and a shave, and grabbed a bowl of cereal before beginning to gather all the papers together that he needed. He put them in a large silver case with the technology he'd brought over with him to show Evan and his team. Some larger scientific equipment had already been flown over, and he would check them over later. He was ready to leave when his driver arrived and they set off to the VARC together. Once again Connor tried to think of something to say, but failed miserably in fear of saying something stupid and as the driver sat stony faced, they remained in silence until they reached the building.

Connor hadn't taken much notice of the outside of the building yesterday- he'd been much too tired, but he looked around him with interest as the car approached the front of the building. They went up some stairs and as they entered the foyer and once again began the journey to find Evan, Connor was pleased that he wasn't left to find his own way on that first day, and tried to memorise his route as he went. He felt so much better today that he felt his confidence rising, and even managed a cheeky wink at the office girls without blushing a fiery red. He smiled a bright dimpled grin as they continued down the corridor. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all!

The VARC wasn't as big as the UK version, but it was immaculate and very modern. In fact, it looked more like a laboratory with plenty of familiar equipment, and Connor felt more at home than he had yesterday. The driver left him at the door of the main lab where Evan and some of the scientists were working. Connor turned to thank the driver, but he had already gone, obviously having better things to do than 'babysit' him.

As Connor walked into the room, he was met by a sudden silence and strange looks. Evan walked up to meet him, and as they shook hands, he announced to the room in general...

"Everyone! May I have your attention, please! This is Connor Temple, the UK scientist and palaeontologist we've been expecting."

Some of the people in the room looked interested, one or two even said "Hi!" but mostly he was being stared at with a look that he took to mean 'This young boy? How does he know anything?'

"Er…" he managed to say.

"Briefing by Connor at 11:00- in here. Michelle, tell the others- I want all staff present."

"All staff!" Connor thought. He was beginning to feel panic rise in him, but it was tinged with a little excitement too. He had to convince these people that he knew what he was talking about. This trip had to be successful for everyone's sakes. He didn't try to speak just now, in fear he would trip up over his words, and smiled at them all instead.

People began to turn away, losing interest in the newcomer, and Evan smiled, partly with sympathy and partly with a 'I hope this isn't going to go horribly wrong' look. Connor didn't think he'd given a very good first impression, and sighed. "Damn Lester and damn Matt" he thought. They'd picked the wrong person for the job! They knew he got flustered when giving presentations. He remembered when he'd tried to show just a few people the first ADD. He'd been so proud of his achievement but he was a bit hyper and over excited. Cutter had been there for him, though- he'd always had faith in him. He'd told him to 'breath' and Connor had managed to get through- even though Leek and Jenny had ridiculed him- saying he'd just made a satnav! But Cutter had told him he'd done a good job, and that meant a great deal to Connor! He suddenly knew how to get through this meeting! He'd visualise Cutter standing by his side, his hand on Connor's shoulder telling him to 'breathe', and smiling at him with encouragement. Suddenly, Connor felt fine. He knew he could do this now. Even though Cutter couldn't be there in person, he would always be part of the team to Connor, and he would always- always remember him.

Evan showed Connor around the lab, and he could see that their equipment wasn't as up to date as the ARC's was. Connor told Evan that he would make a list for him of useful items they may want to obtain, which would really help them. Evan seemed really pleased about this, and Connor felt that at last, he was contributing something to their team. As he and Evan discussed the equipment, a woman entered the lab. She had brown long hair, and wore a smart outfit.

"Evan, about these budgets…" she said as she walked up to where they were grouped around a laptop.

Evan turned and smiled a greeting "Ange, this is Connor Temple. Connor, this is Ange Finch."

"Mr Temple." Ange nodded

"Connor, please."

"I'd rather we kept on a purely business footing- for now!" she replied.

"Wow!" Connor considered "If I thought Dylan was like Jenny, this woman must be your… well, Christine Johnson… or Lester even, not that Lester is a wo…" He closed his gaping mouth and slightly shook his head- "I really must stop these random rambling thoughts!" He looked at Ange who was very formal and businesslike as she spoke to Evan about the budgets she had wanted to go through with him. She seemed pleased with the outcome of her conversation with Evan, and snapped her portfolio shut with a snap, and nodded to Connor as she turned to go. Evan made no comment as they moved back to the laptop, and looked over the data on the monitor.

Eleven o'clock came round all too quickly for Connor. He became very agitated as more VARC personnel entered the room, ready for the briefing. Evan greeted a few of them by name, but didn't say anything else until everyone was assembled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you all for being so prompt. Let me start by introducing Mr Connor Temple to those of you who haven't yet met him. Connor's been sent over from the UK to show us 'hicks' how it's done!" At this remark, Connor visibly paled and inwardly groaned- they weren't going to make this easy! "Connor's been sent over to share his expertise with us. The UK ARC has been running for a few years now, so they are ahead of us in some respects. Connor here wants to share some of his…vast…experiences with us"

Someone in the group laughed but quickly turned it into a cough. Connor heard another voice murmur "He looks about fifteen- what experience can he have!"

A reply came in the form of a loud whisper that Connor could clearly hear "Yeah- what an insult to saddle us with a kid! How stupid do they think we are!"

Connor looked towards Evan, and cleared his throat. He started to say "Hello- I'm Connor Temple" but his voice wouldn't work properly. He took a deep breath, imagining Cutter was standing alongside him, urging him on, and he continued in a clear, loud voice- cutting over the noise from the Canadian workforce.

"My name's Connor Temple. I've been working at the UK ARC now for six years."

Some of the watching scientists began to look interested. Six years! That was a long time, maybe he did have something of interest to say, after all.

"I was present at the very first anomaly sighting. In the UK, we call the rifts in time anomalies- hence the name ADD- anomaly detection device, which I invented."

The room was in total silence now. This boy was the inventor of the ADD! Impressive!

"I'd like to begin by telling you a little bit of my personal journey, and experience, after which I'll get on to the reason I am here. We started off as a handful of people- palaeontologists; a zoo keeper and a student" he pointed to himself as he said student. "The Home Office was in charge of us- they were the ones running the show, getting us to sign the Official Secrets Act, and they tried hard to keep us in order. They provided us with soldiers and a Public Relations official, who tried to keep the public from knowing what was happening until we had more knowledge about these anomalies. Along the way, we've met many creatures from different eras- the Cretacious; the Jurassic; the Pliocene; the Victorian and Medieval eras and even the future. I have stored details of all the creatures we've come across and, I'm happy to share my knowledge with you here."

There was no sound in the room at all, except for Connor's voice. Everyone had their attention completely on him and what he was saying. As he became aware of the shift in attitude, he became more confident, and as this came out through his words and body language, they all forget about his youthful appearance and paid him rapt attention.

"What I'm about to share with you now is the complete truth. It goes without saying that anything discussed here, stays here- within these four walls, and the VARC." Connor glanced at Evan who regarded him with raised eyebrows, wondering what this boy with the strange accent was about to tell them.

"My colleague- and fiancée" Connor slipped in with a toothy grin "Miss Abby Maitland, started off with us as a zoo keeper- but now has more expertise with the creatures than anyone I know. She and I went through an anomaly with our then team leader - Mr Danny Quinn. The reasons are very complex, but the long and the short of it is that a woman called Helen Cutter was trying to wipe out the human race. She had been 'anomaly hopping' for many years, and this had driven her completely insane! She had to be stopped, and we went through to find her and do just that. We followed her to the Cretacious and it was there that we got separated. Abby and I remained in the Cretacious and Danny went on ahead through another anomaly after Helen."

Connor took a breath, remembering, and looked down for a moment. When he looked up, his face was full of anguish and nobody disbelieved his incredible story. "Abby and I were trapped. The anomaly closed and we were left in the Cretacious period- the only human beings in the world- for a whole year."

A barrage of noise greeted his statement. Unbelievable! "What animals were there?" a voice reached him. "How did you survive?" exclaimed another. Connor held up his hands.

"I don't really want to go into all the details now- we've got a lot to get through, but I don't mind answering any questions, if I can, later on. We finally made it back, one year ago. When we returned, we discovered that our ARC was in partnership with a private company under the auspicious leadership of Mr Philip Burton." There was another outcry from the scientists, who all knew instantly who Philip was. "Philip decided to use the anomalies. He wanted to convert their unbridled energy into free fuel for the whole world! However, we just don't know enough about these anomalies. What actually happened was that it nearly destroyed the world- I nearly destroyed the world!" Connor stopped talking, and put his head down- these events were still fresh and raw in his mind.

"How?"

"Eh?" Connor replied, looking up at the person who voiced he question.

"How did you nearly destroy the world? Seems like a brilliant plan to me. What did you do?"

"I did nothing technically wrong- Philip and I just tried to use the energy. In fact, I created the first man-made anomaly."

The VARC team and especially Evan were incredulous! He'd made a rift- an anomaly! That was amazing! But Connor was continuing, and the noise died down again.

"Things went wrong because we don't know enough about the anomalies. It became too powerful- too unstable- the world was about to be destroyed. I've seen that future- I was there, through that anomaly!"

"Wait, Connor…" a woman intervened "We're all here, nothing happened, did it?" Everyone started talking again and looking at each other. "That's right" they said "Only thing that happened was the rifts opening everywhere!"

"No! It did happen. We managed to stop it before it got out of hand. I know this sounds…unbelievable…but someone came back to help us… to warn us. Someone from the future. That's how we stopped it, you see. We found out before it was too late."

Connor sensed he was about to lose control. It was so incredible! He had to pull them back. "That man is still here, in the UK ARC. It's Matt Anderson, my team leader."

"What happened to Philip Burton?" someone asked.

Connor looked sad, and so distraught that the group could once again see that he was being completely truthful with them.

"He died." he whispered sadly, unable to prevent a tear from coursing down his cheek- it was all still so painful to remember. He lifted up his head, and took a breath as he continued strongly, "He died to help save us. Once he realised what was happening, he wanted to put things right. That's partly why I'm here. I had to warn you to take the anomalies seriously. Don't play with them- you can do irreparable damage! In the six years I've been on the team, I've seen many people die- Professor Nick Cutter, Steven Hart and Philip Burton to name just a few- and as Dr Who as it sounds, I've also had first hand knowledge of the time lines being altered by entering these anomalies.

Please- please believe me, and listen carefully. I know I'm not your…your action hero type of guy. But I'm being straight with you all- these anomalies are serious business. Please treat them with respect and don't try to abuse them!" Connor felt exhausted as he pleaded with them to believe him, and take him seriously.

Evan stood up and announced-"OK, we'll take a ten minute break, and then we'll meet back here to continue, if that's OK?" he said, looking at Connor, who nodded his response.

With that, Connor just turned and left the room. He went to the men's cloakroom and stood by the sinks, looking at his reflection in the mirror- had he done enough? As he heard the door open, he quickly turned on the taps, and doused his face with the cold water. He was still facing the sink when he felt someone nudge him and a paper towel was handed to him. As he turned, he saw that it was Evan

"You did well in there, Connor. I'm sorry if we've seemed flippant since you arrived here. We thought you were sent here to interfere and tell us what to do. I promise we will respect, and take care with the anomalies. I can swear that as the team leader here. Your journey won't be wasted, Connor."

Connor smiled at last, a real smile of relief and joy at his achievement. He'd accomplished his main reason for coming. Now all he could do was trust Evan and his team. Now he could relax and complete the rest of his mission and help the Canadian ARC with the tasks he knew best. He left the room with Evan, ready for the second stage of the meeting….

To Be Continued…

I really, really hope you liked this chapter. I've worked really hard on it. Please, please review and make my day!