Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, this is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses etc is entirely fictitious.
3.11 Time and Again
"That might not be who you think it is."
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James Lester sighed. The door shut as Becker slammed out of the ARC, following Claudia, Cutter, Sarah and Jamal. He turned to look at his wife. Vivian was still standing next to the anomaly detection device. Her head was down, she was staring at Connor's empty chair.
"Vivian," Lester said quietly "it would appear that we've got a serious breakdown in communications."
"I know," the slender woman replied. She looked up at him, her brown eyes dark and sorrowful. "They didn't believe me."
"That's not what I meant," responded Lester. "We need to talk… you and I… we need to figure out why your history is not the same as our present."
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Cutter waited until Claudia buckled the seatbelt around her swollen stomach before he floored the accelerator and pulled out of the car park onto the main road.
"Nick," Claudia exclaimed as she reached for the dashboard. "Slow down. You don't want me going into labor now!"
"The nerve of Lester's wife!" replied the Professor, his teeth clenched as he huffed angrily. "To say that Helen had killed me and that you never existed."
"She's got a name Nick," reminded Claudia calmly "And Vivian had a point."
"What point?" asked Cutter tersely.
"Helen did try to kill you. In Vivian's timeline, Helen might have succeeded. And that part about me not existing… it would explain Helen's questions about that person… who was it? Jenny somebody… you remember back at Leek's compound."
Cutter stopped the car at the traffic light and turned to look at his wife. "Yeah," he replied quietly "I do remember Helen talking about someone named Jenny."
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Sarah watched Cutter and Claudia peel out of the parking lot. She was still fumbling in her purse for her keys and they were already gone. Sarah felt a presence near. She looked up to find Jamal standing in front of her. He was looking at her intently, staring actually. The streetlamp made his shadow stretch out long behind him.
"Oh… Jamal," Sarah said. She felt somewhat flustered. "Hello, didn't expect to see you today."
Jamal was still staring at her. "I mean," Sarah continued "it's good to see you… but…"
"You didn't answer any of my calls."
"What?" asked Sarah in surprise. "What calls?"
"For months, I've been calling. I left messages every time," answered Jamal, still staring at her. "Hundreds of messages…"
"Since you broke up with me," replied Sarah "I haven't received any messages."
"I shouldn't have said the things I said," responded Jamal "I was wrong. I should have believed you..."
Sarah remembered their last argument. Jamal had thought she was seeing someone who smoked… the news reports hadn't carried any news about an explosion in London, and he hadn't believed anything she said.
"I was scared."
Sarah realized Jamal was still talking.
"Of what?"
"I was scared of losing you," said Jamal simply. Tears glistened in his eyes. "And then I did lose you."
Sarah reached her hand out towards Jamal. He clasped her hand between his hands. A smile started across his face.
"Jamal," asked Sarah "what number did you try calling?"
"What?" he replied "Your number, of course."
"It's just," she shrugged a little as she tried to explain, tried to retrieve her hand, "I had a new plan, then lost the phone… I've had a new number for quite some time now."
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Becker heard the door slam behind him. He stopped on the sidewalk and took a deep breath, and then another. Lester's wife wasn't responsible for Abby, Connor and Danny being missing. And she wasn't responsible for Hendriks and Stephenson being dead. He glanced up as the Cutter's car pulled quickly out of the parking lot.
In the distance, Becker saw Sarah standing beneath the streetlamp, beside her parked car. The man from the British Museum was talking to her intently. Becker watched for a moment, then walked towards the pair.
Sarah was pulling her hand back from the man's grasp as Becker approached.
"Sarah," asked Becker "is this man bothering you?"
Jamal glared at Becker.
"No," replied Sarah with a bright smile. "I was just explaining to Jamal how the telephone company usually tells people the current phone number when they try calling an old number."
Becker stepped closer to Sarah. Becker doubted that he could defend anyone with his left arm in a sling, but if this man from the museum was bothering Sarah, Becker would do something.
"Sarah," protested Jamal "the phone company never told me you had a new number."
"Shame," said Sarah as she inserted her key into the car door. "Becker, do you need a ride back to your flat?"
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Danny looked at the young Professor and his even younger assistant. They in turn were staring at him. Finally, Cutter spoke.
"I don't know who you are, or what you're doing here," said the Scotsman "but I do know my own wife when I see her, even if she has aged twenty years."
"Well, that's just it," replied Danny "in my time, your wife is a warm and friendly woman named Claudia. That person you just buried was a madwoman out to destroy all humanity."
"What?"
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Abby acted instinctively as the creatures started to stampede. She grabbed Connor by the arm and pulled him forward, towards her.
"Ow!" His face was twisted in a grimace of pain and he was wobbling off balance.
"Crouch down," hissed Abby. Patting the large boulder beside her, she added "They don't want to step on us."
"And I don't want to be stepped on," exclaimed Connor as he knelt beside her. He grunted in pain as his knee landed on something hard.
They heard a familiar barking call. Abby turned to Connor, her blue eyes widened in recognition.
"Raptors!"
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Connor looked at Abby. The herd was moving quickly, already most of the creatures were past Abby and Connor. There was a clear path from the rock they were crouching against to the trees. The raptors were coming.
"Abby," said Connor "We need to move."
"No, we'll never make it to the trees," replied Abby.
Connor held up the hard glass and metal something he had knelt on. Abby gasped.
"Don't need to get to the trees now," replied Connor with a grin. He began pressing buttons on Helen's anomaly opening device. "We just need to get away."
The air shimmered, fractured and an anomaly opened directly in front of Abby and Connor.
"Right," agreed Abby as she dove through the open anomaly. "Let's go!"
Connor rose up, leaning on his staff, to follow her. He stepped through to the other side of the anomaly, and stopped for a moment, staring. Behind him the barking call of a raptor could be heard nearing the anomaly.
"Connor," cried Abby "lock it."
"Oh, yeah," said Connor.
Turning to face the anomaly, he raised the device up in front of him. At that moment, a creature thrust its head through the opening. The young dracorex appeared almost as startled as Connor.
Connor tried to step back, but lost his balance and fell down, dropping the device. The dracorex stepped all the way through the anomaly. It was quickly followed by two more. The three dracorex ran past Abby in their hurry to escape the oncoming raptors.
"Connor!" screamed Abby.
A raptor was now coming through the anomaly. It snarled and snapped at him. Connor fumbled frantically for the device. His hand reached the metal and beveled glass. He lifted it up and pointed it at the anomaly just as the creature clamped its jaw down on his leg.
"Arrgh!" screamed Connor, dropping the device again.
"No!" screamed Abby. The beast began to pull Connor back towards the anomaly. She rushed forward. Picking up the fallen device, she pointed it the anomaly and pressed some buttons. The shimmering fractured lights swirled and closed. The head, neck and upper torso of the raptor fell to the ground.
Abby rushed to Connor. "Are you all right?"
He groaned and tried to sit up. Poking at the raptor's jaw, he tried to get his leg out of its mouth.
"Let me help," said Abby.
Connor tried to make a joke. "Reminds me of that time at the bowling alley," he said "but I think we got more of the raptor than Stephen did."
"Yeah Conn," agreed Abby. Looking at his bleeding leg, she thought and it got more of you. "Can you stand up?" she asked.
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