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 Wonders
"…if anyone asks, you two are married."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Abby stared at Percy. The fireplace in the corner of the room gave off a dim light. There were no windows in the small room. Behind her, she heard Connor shifting on the bed. She started unlacing her boots.
"Connor and I don't even know how to speak the language," said Abby. "We can't tell anyone anything. And if we did, why would we want to say we were married? Why do we have this cover story anyway?"
"Abby, do you really want to tell people you're from the future?" asked Percy.
"Of course not," answered Abby. She set her boot at the foot of the bed, next to Connor's boots.
"You were found on the road," reminded Percy. "This is a dangerous time. And a dangerous beast was killed."
"Yeah," said Abby nodding her head "I know. I was there when the raptor tried to eat us!"
"You don't understand!"
"Try explaining it to me then!"
Percy sighed.
"Since Rome was sacked," he explained "there have been invaders, barbarians, even the remnants of soldiers from long forgotten wars. You saw that wall around the village. Right?"
"Yeah."
"It's meant to keep dangerous people out," Percy said. "A wizard, capable of slaying a dragon… dangerous. Do you understand?"
Abby nodded slowly. She removed her second boot and set it on the floor beside the first.
"Herman, is a monk, he travels about… preaching love and peace," continued Percy. "If Herman kills a dragon, it's because his God was on his side… and if his reputation as a dragon slayer keeps him safe on his travels, even better."
Abby nodded again.
"So you're trying to keep Herman safe," Abby said "that's why the cover story about the raptor…"
"Abby," interrupted Percy "I'm also trying to keep you and Connor safe. In this time and place, strangers… they're not always accepted… and wizards… they're really strange."
Abby opened her mouth, to say something more, but Percy continued speaking.
"You're not in London Abby," said Percy as he moved out of the room. "And in this village, if a man and a woman share a room, they're married."
"I'm getting really tired of hearing that we're not in London," Abby grumbled as the door shut behind Percy.
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Connor moved again behind Abby. She turned to look at him. In the flickering light of the fire, he appeared to be trying to get out of the bed. He put his left foot on the floor.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked "We only just now got you into that bed."
"I am getting out of bed," Connor answered. He hissed in pain as he put his right foot next to the first. "I'm gonna sleep on the floor, so you can have the bed."
"Don't be ridiculous," said Abby.
"Abby," said Connor, "you're not my girlfriend. And if we were in London, we both know you wouldn't be in bed with me."
Abby blinked at his words. As many times as she had said Connor wasn't her boyfriend, she'd never realized how harsh it sounded. Hearing Connor throw the phrase back at her like that brought a lump to her throat.
"We've slept together before," she reminded him, "falling asleep on the sofa with the telly on, in that tree, and last night your head was in my lap while we rode in the cart."
"It's not the same thing at all," replied Connor. "And it might be weird to sleep in a bed together."
The stress Connor placed on the word weird reminded Abby of the conversation they'd had in Lester's flat. Was it only three days ago, she wondered?
"It might not be weird," Abby whispered softly.
Connor froze in place. Abby watched him closely. Maybe it was just that she couldn't see very well in the flickering firelight, but she couldn't tell if he was even breathing.
"It might be wonderful," she whispered again, "but I don't want to lose my best friend."
"Abby," said Connor in a strangled tone "I don't want to lose my best friend either."
"Then stay," said Abby putting a small hand on his chest and pushing him back down on the bed. Connor winced as he moved his bandaged leg over to the far side of the tiny bed.
"I'm not sure if I'm up to wonderful," chattered Connor as he watched Abby pull his red hooded sweatshirt over her head. She hung the sweatshirt on the hook on the wall, next to his black jacket. "Not feeling a hundred percent you know…"
He stopped talking as Abby removed her torn t-shirt. Connor watched her every movement as she dropped the shirt on the floor. The bra soon followed the t-shirt, then Abby began to wriggle out of her pants. Pants and panties both soon joined the pile of clothing on the floor. Abby climbed into the bed, bringing her lips to meet Connor's in a slow, deep kiss before she began to remove the remainder of his clothing.
They both soon found out what he was up for, and it was wonderful.
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Percy grinned as he pulled the bedroom door shut behind him and went to lay down on his pallet by the fire.
When he had been at the ARC, there had been an ongoing betting pool as to whether Abby and Connor would ever actually get together. Percy remembered Becker joking once that someone ought to lock Abby and Connor in a room until they sorted themselves out.
In a way, Percy had just done that.
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Lester's wife was sitting in the waiting room when Cutter, Lester, Danny, Stephen, Sarah and Becker arrived.
Cutter headed in the direction of the labor and delivery room. A nurse stopped him from barging into the room and led him over to an antechamber where he was able to get scrubbed and put on a sterile gown. He disappeared behind the swinging doors, leaving the rest of the team to wait.
Lester sat down next to his wife. He reached a hand over to clasp hers.
"It's not so long ago," Lester whispered quietly "that we were the ones in there."
Vivian smiled at him. She entwined her fingers with his and squeezed tightly. Across the tile floor, Becker was leaning against the wall. Danny plopped down into one of the uncomfortable stiff green plastic coated chairs in the waiting room. Young Stephen sat down beside him, while Sarah sat on Danny's other side. She pulled out her cell phone and looked at it, then snapped it shut and tossed it back into the big brown hobo bag she carried.
"It's Wednesday already," Sarah sighed. "Almost 2 am."
"You lot can go home," said Lester "I'll stay, let you know tomorrow at work…"
"No!" exclaimed Sarah. "I'm waiting… I want to know that Claudia and the baby are alright. Besides," she added "I don't really fancy going into the ARC if Christine Johnson is running the show."
"Same goes for me," said the usually reserved Captain.
Danny looked from Becker to Sarah. He had only been gone for three days from their lives, but it had been four years for him. Danny chuckled. There might have been a couple changes in those three days, but he was sure that he was home. Danny looked across the waiting room to where Lester and his wife were sitting.
"I was wondering," said Danny "since we are just sitting around… waiting, if you'd explain what you said back at the park."
"What?" asked Vivian. "I don't remember, what did I say?"
"You said something about having met me before," reminded Danny "or maybe it was… you will me meet."
"Oh… yes," began Vivian.
"Vivian," cautioned Lester, squeezing her hand tightly, "you don't have to explain anything."
"I know," she agreed quietly "but James… in light of what we've learned, perhaps I should."
"What have we learned?" asked Danny. "I might have missed that…"
"Cutter's prediction…" said Vivian, shaking her head in amazement "It worked… it really worked. An anomaly map is possible. That's the first thing we learned."
"Go on," urged Danny.
"We waited from day light at the Park, all day yesterday…" explained Vivian. "There were forty-seven anomalies that morning. They flickered and then disappeared without opening. Then there was another one, big enough for a spinosaurus… it did the same thing… and so did the next one hundred and fifteen anomalies… until your anomaly… it actually opened."
"I know," said Danny "I was there."
"But don't you see… the second thing we've learned..." Vivian exclaimed "all those different possibilities…"
"The universe is an amazing thing," said Cutter as he walked into the room holding a tiny pink bundle. "Full of wonders…"
Sarah jumped up from her seat, followed by Danny, Stephen, and the Lesters. Becker straightened up from his post on the wall and joined the crowd gathering around the Professor.
"And this one is named Stephanie Elaine Cutter."
-x-x-x-x-x-x