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 Percy Returns
"The woman in the green dress however looked frightening."
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Abby's blue eyes met the dark brown eyes of the woman tied to the next tree. The woman was speaking, quick low words, sounding as anxious as Abby felt. She was struggling against the ropes. Abby didn't know what the words meant. Abby acted on instinct. The petite blonde swung the sword in a high arc bringing it down on the side of the tree.
The ropes separated, freeing the woman in the green dress. The woman pushed the long, loose sleeves of her green dress back, revealing the inside of her forearms. Delicate black markings ran from just beyond the chafe marks at her wrist nearly to her elbow. In front of Abby, the gaunt man hissed.
The dark haired woman glared at the man briefly. She then began searching in the folds of her waistband. The woman withdrew a small folded cloth. She unwound the cloth and held up a sprig of some plant for Abby to see. The woman moved to the other side of Connor. She held the leaves close to his nose and began pinching the leaves, crumbling them beneath his nostrils.
Beside Abby, Connor stirred. He opened his eyes.
"Abby," asked Connor "what are you doing here?"
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Connor turned his head in confusion. He tried to move, but the ropes held him against the tree.
"A little help here," asked Connor "please?"
"Yeah Conn," replied Abby. She sliced through the ropes, releasing Connor.
He began rubbing his arms. Then Connor nodded in the direction of the watching men.
"Do you think they're just gonna let the three of us walk out of here?" asked Connor.
Before Abby could reply or even wonder how Connor thought he was going to walk anywhere, two more men rode into the encampment. The four kidnappers, who had looked so frightened just moments ago, now looked relieved. The dark haired woman turned to look at Abby. Abby wondered if her own eyes looked as hopeless as the brown eyes facing her. How would they ever escape now?
The gaunt man stood up. Moving quickly and talking even faster, he went toward the man mounted on the lead horse. This man was wearing chain mail, and a helmet that closely covered his skull, with a wedge of metal in front of his nose. Only the lower portion of his face was visible. The second man on horse back was a boy really. He looked nervous and carried a brightly painted wooden shield.
The helmeted man listened to the gaunt man. Then he nodded his head, and spoke some words in a calm soothing voice. Abby stared. She'd heard that voice before.
"Percy?" The helmet turned in her direction.
"Abby," replied the voice in disbelief "Connor?"
The helmeted man dismounted from the horse and strode towards them, taking his helmet off as he approached. Percy, looking at least ten years older than when she had last seen him, stopped in front of Abby.
Echoing Connor's earlier question, Percy asked "What are you doing here?"
"Missed the last tube home," replied Connor weakly.
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Percy took in the scene at a glance. Percy spoke sharply. The gaunt man replied. Speaking rapidly and making gestures with his hands, he answered Percy's questions. When they finally quit talking, Percy nodded again and turned to Abby.
"Jean would like to know if he can have his sword back," said Percy. Abby blinked in surprise.
"What happened to you Percy? Are you with them?" hissed Abby. She slowly moved to a standing position as she raised the sword she had been holding all this time a little higher. "Those men… thieves, kidnappers… they tried to kill Connor!"
"Abby," said Percy, holding both hands up, "you've got it all wrong. They were trying to help Connor."
"Help him?!" exclaimed Abby in disbelief. "They hurt him!"
"They were trying to help him!"
"I know what I saw." Pointing at the gaunt man, Abby glared. "He was torturing Connor!"
"Abby," said Percy in a soothing tone "you're not in London… we don't have hospitals here."
"I know we're not in London," hissed Abby "if we were I'd have the coppers here already."
"Abby," said Percy "look at Connor."
Abby looked. Connor's dark brown hair was disheveled; dark circles were beneath his brown eyes. Maybe it was the black clothes he was wearing, or maybe it was just a trick of the firelight, but all of his skin looked paler than usual she thought. Connor's exposed wrist looked fragile without the extra padding of his fingerless gloves. The black markings of his tattoo stood out starkly in contrast to his skin. The burn on his calf was a vivid red.
"Connor's leg was bleeding," Percy continued. "From what Jean says, the wound wasn't showing any signs of clotting on its own."
"I cleaned the bite," said Abby "wrapped it tight in cloth bandages."
"It was still bleeding… after how much time?" asked Percy. "Look how pale Connor is. Do you see?"
Abby swallowed.
"In this time, in this place," said Percy quietly "we don't have many options. Jean's about the closest thing we've got to a doctor around here. Cauterization is harsh, but it works."
Abby nodded.
"We're the good guys Abby."
"If you're the good guys," asked Connor "then why did that guy hit me?"
"What?"
Connor pointed at the big man. The man was still pinching his nose, trying to stop the bleeding.
"I know it wasn't any of the others," said Connor "because I could see them. I was trying to get away, next thing I know I wake up in a cart with me head pounding."
Percy asked a question in the language of the time. The monk answered this time. The poor man was stepping from one foot to the other, twisting his robe nervously as he spoke. Percy chuckled, and then turned to look back at Connor.
"Where were you standing?" asked Percy. He was grinning at Connor.
"At the side of the road," answered Connor.
"And what were you doing?" asked Percy "Do you remember?"
"Told you," replied Connor "I was trying to get away."
"Yeah, Conn you clumsy git," said Percy "you stepped off the side of the road, fell and hit your head. They picked you up and put you in the cart… couldn't leave you on your own… it's dangerous here."
Abby had heard enough. Maybe these men weren't kidnappers and torturers, and Percy might think they were the good guys, but she didn't trust them. She started to say as much, but Connor spoke first.
"So why did you have her tied up?" asked Connor, gesturing to the woman in the green dress.
"I told you," replied Percy "it's dangerous out here. We couldn't leave anyone alone in these times. I ordered them to bring her into the village for her own safety… whether she wanted to come or not. I told Jean, Henri, Louis and Herman to tie her up and bring her here kicking and screaming all they way if they had to. "
"What's so dangerous out here Percy?" asked Abby.
"Where are we Percy?" asked Connor "When are we?"
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Danny stared in amazement. Anomalies sparkled and glittered all around him.
"We've brought you this far," said the young Cutter. He pointed at an anomaly with a pile of small white rocks in front of it. The rocks appeared to make the letter D. "That anomaly will take you back to the Forest of Dean."
"We're going back to the Pliocene," said Helen with a bit of a smirk. She clasped Nick by one hand and held out the other towards Stephen. "Come on Stephen."
"No," replied the young grad student. "The two of you go on exploring. I'm going to help Danny get home. I wouldn't want to leave him on his own now."
Stephen turned to face Danny. Stephen didn't see Helen's expression change.
"But Stephen..."
"Helen," said Cutter, patting his wife's hand, "he's a grown man, and you know he's been talking about going back to civilization for months now. Its better for the two of them to travel together."
The two started walking towards the Pliocene anomaly.
"We've left markers in front of all the anomalies we've explored," explained Stephen.
"Yeah," nodded Danny distractedly. He was watching the Cutters.
Nick and Helen were holding hands as they reentered the anomaly to the Pliocene. Nick seemed oblivious to anything upsetting his wife. But, the last glimpse Danny saw was Helen craning her head back to look after Stephen. She looked furious.
Danny shook his head. For a while there, he had thought there might actually be a universe where Helen Cutter was a nice woman who loved her husband and thought of Stephen as a son not a possession.
"Are you listening?" asked Stephen.
"What?" asked Danny "Sorry… missed that."
"I said we left white rocks as markers" explained Stephen patiently "for the anomalies we've been to."
"Yeah, got that," replied Danny. Pointing at an anomaly a few feet beyond Stephen where white rocks also were piled, he added "you've been there."
Stephen nodded.
Then Danny asked "So did you and Helen ever..." Danny's voice trailed off and he made an whistling sound.
Stephen looked startled. "God no!" he said emphatically. "Although she did make a pass at me a few times... I finally told her I was gay. Don't know if she believed me or not."
Danny chuckled. "So which anomaly goes to London?"
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Cutter was stretched out on a bright red checked blanket beneath a shade tree near the Serpentine Road in Hyde Park. He had a wide brimmed straw hat shading his face from the early morning sun. Beside him sat Claudia on a rented deck chair. A vacant deck chair sat next to her.
Claudia was munching celery sticks with cream cheese wondering if she should wake her husband when a tall slender woman approached her.
"May I join you?" asked Vivian.
"Sure," said Claudia cheerfully. She pointed at the empty chair. "Nick's not using that, make yourself at home."
Vivian smiled and sat down.
No one spoke for an awkward moment.
"So…"
"Where's Lester?" blurted out Claudia.
Vivian glanced at her watch. "Hopefully he's getting out of the shower now," replied Vivian "he's got a meeting with the minister at 8:00."
Claudia nodded.
"We've been at the park since it opened this morning," said Claudia.
"I know," said Vivian. "I saw you arrive."
There was silence between the two women for another few awkward moments.
"So why are you waiting here?" asked Vivian.
"Nick's prediction," said Claudia, pointing to the water just past the road, "the anomaly is supposed to open right in the center of the Serpentine."
"No," objected Vivian, "it opened on dry land, just past the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain."
"Vivian," asked Cutter, rolling over and sitting up "when are you going to realize that you aren't in your past?"
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A/N Percy appeared in Transitions chapter 8-22