p align="left"Lester looked completely out of place in the park, amongst ice–cream vans and happy families. Connor decided not to stop to talk to him with us. Instead he queued up to get himself a Mr Whippy. He'd probably had the right idea. Part of me wanted to go with him– an ice cream sounded so good after the torture of the Silurian dessert– but I also knew if I wondered away now there would be little chance of witnessing Lester's reaction to us./p
p align="left"'These are the highest stakes we've ever played for. If we say a word now we could lose everything.'/p
p align="left"I turned my head towards Nick, glancing briefly down to where he was hiding the acquired tactical equipment behind his back, and just so he didn't look so suspicious I reached out, slipped my hand into one of his and held on./p
p align="left"'So we do nothing?' Stephen clarified./p
p align="left"'Not at the moment,' I returned, under my breath. 'We emhave/em to be sure.'/p
p align="left"'Welcome to the lost world adventure park,' Lester called out, as he stopped in front of us. 'Cavemen, concrete dinosaurs and water slides.'/p
p align="left"Stephen walked away./p
p align="left"'You know I'd never thought I'd say this,' Lester continued, 'but between you and Connor, I'm very glad to have you two back.'/p
p align="left"I resisted the urge to follow Stephen and just squeezed Nick's hand, trying to subtly secrete my frustration./p
p align="left"Nick looked down at me, but when he saw my gaze was still locked somewhat unhappily on Lester, he turned back./p
p align="left"'Of course, when we picked up the anomaly, we had no idea what might come through it. You are lucky we don't shoot on sight.'/p
p align="left"I bit the inside of my cheek./p
p align="left"'Well, I better go and soothe your caveman. Let's hope the Palaeolithic was short on ambulance–chasing lawyers.'/p
p align="left"As he turned on his heel and walked back the way he came, I squeezed Nick's hand again. 'Really think it could be him?'/p
p align="left"Lester didn't seem like the type. He didn't seem like he would bother to run a second operation on top of this one, because I had no idea what it was exactly that he spent all his time doing up in his office but he always seemed completely exasperated with anything remotely normal that happened./p
p align="left"On top of that he didn't need the money. Or at least not anywhere near enough to make the stress worthwhile./p
p align="left"Lastly, he didn't seem like he had it in him./p
p align="left"At the end of the day, James Lester was a good man, or so I'd thought. Government official and scientists were never a good combination, we were never really going to get on but that didn't mean he didn't trust us./p
p align="left"emOr maybe it did–/em I supposed./p
p align="left"'I think we'd be stupid not to seriously consider it.'/p
p align="left"We didn't get any further. Connor jogged back over towards us, ice–cream in hand. 'So,' he said, 'how was it… the perfect hider?'/p
p align="left"I grimaced. 'Ah, well, we might have been a bit off with that one,' I returned. 'Turns out it wasn't so hidden.'/p
p align="left"Connor shrugged. 'Oh well, there's always next time, ey?'/p
p align="left"I hoped not. 'The more I think about it, the crazier it seems. emNeither predator nor prey/em… Everything's prey to something though, isn't it? Even us…'/p
p align="left"'And everything's gotta eat.'/p
p align="left"'Hmm,' I agreed, reaching out to pluck the flake out the top of his ice–cream, and took a bite./p
p align="left"'Hey!' he complained./p
p align="left"I stuck the bitten end back in his ice–cream and shrugged. 'Good as new.'/p
p align="left"He pouted. 'I want a for that.'/p
p align="left"'You what?'/p
p align="left"'An I O U, I owe you one flake.' I tutted. 'I'm serious,' he said. Of course he was. 'So what you doing now then?'/p
p align="left"'Gonna take Taylor home and then shower I think. You wanna do the film at yours or mine tonight?'/p
p align="left"'We can do it at mine,' he replied before he licked his ice–cream, 'I broke up with Caroline,' he said, mouth full./p
p align="left"'What?'/p
p align="left"He swallowed his mouthful and started again. 'I said I broke up–'/p
p align="left"'No, Connor I heard you, did you really?' I started walking with him back to the cars./p
p align="left"He shrugged. 'Yeah. Wasn't feeling it, you know. Plus I don't want to be worrying about her all the time because I don't have a lot of time for her when I've got other things to worry about.'/p
p align="left"'Like what?'/p
p align="left"'Well,' he responded, 'you. And on top of this whole project who knows what you're gonna have to do when the baby gets here, and as an uncle I have certain responsibilities you know. I'm gonna be 50% of its relatives, I want to be there for them.'/p
p align="left"I couldn't help but smile at his words. 'Connor that's… you know you've got another 7 to 8 months before that happens, right?'/p
p align="left"'Yeah. But I shouldn't keep stringing her along should I?'/p
p align="left"'Okay. Fuck– you know I actually missed you when we were gone. Good work on the detector by the way,' I said, 'it saved our lives out there today.'/p
p align="left"'Thank you very much,' he replied, 'I'm gonna remind you you said that next time you doubt me.'/p
p align="left"'I didn't–' I cut myself off with a sigh. 'You know I have emnever/em doubted you, right?'/p
p align="left"'Of course you haven't,' he returned, 'because I'm brilliant.'/p
p align="left"I linked my arm through his. 'Come on then, Galileo.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"When Nick and I got out of the truck at Lincoln square, Taylor pointed up towards her flat and explained that she was pretty much up on the top floor./p
p align="left"She limped the whole way up./p
p align="left"A very hungover and unhappy looking Jensen was standing outside her flat. As soon as he saw us, he heaved a huge sigh of relief and immediately gave us a look that told us he had found this whole situation quite exasperating./p
p align="left"'You're okay?' Taylor's stepdad said in relief as he grabbed her, holding her in a tight hug. 'Thank god. I was so worried. If anything has happened to you.'/p
p align="left"I leant back against the railing beside Jensen, touching his arm, just briefly, in reassurance, and he swept his hand across his brow to wipe off some of his sweat./p
p align="left"'You're upset?' Taylor returned./p
p align="left"'Course I'm upset. I love you. Listen, Taylor, I miss your mum too, yeah?'/p
p align="left"And yeah it was nice. The pessimist inside me told me empeople don't really change/em, sure, he was behaving this way now but if it ever got tough again he'd be right back to how he was before and it was surely toxic./p
p align="left"I tried not to expect that. I tried to force myself to believe that this was the pivoting moment. I wanted to, for Taylor's sake./p
p align="left"'I know. Sorry Steve.'/p
p align="left"'No,' he said, 'no, no.'/p
p align="left"'Guess what Steve I've been back millions of years in the past and was almost eaten by giant scorpions.'/p
p align="left"'Course you have, darling–'/p
p align="left"'Taylor,' I said, leaning forward to catch her eye, 'um, listen, that's all very importantly classified, you can't tell anyone else, either of you. And when you're a bit older, I think it'd be nice to have someone like you on our team. Read up on your dinosaurs,' I advised./p
p align="left"'Okay.'/p
p align="left"Then I had another thought. I patted myself down for a pen before I caught sight of one sticking out the top of Jensen's pocket. I took it, pulled an old receipt out my jeans and scribbled down my phone number./p
p align="left"Before I handed it over, I nodded my head down the path a little, and took a few steps away from the others so that they couldn't hear what I was saying./p
p align="left"She followed./p
p align="left"'Taylor, I want you to know you can always call me, alright? No matter what, any time, who, what, or why. This number is not gonna change, and we'll keep in touch, you can let me know if you need anything. And you'll be a file right on the top of my desk until you're there in my lab if that's what you want. I'm here if you need me.'/p
p align="left"I handed over the paper, and she looked up with a huge smile from it. 'Thank you!'/p
p align="left"'Okay.'/p
p align="left"At the sound of the dog barking, she reeled around, and Spratt came yapping out the door towards her. She bent down and picked her up./p
p align="left"'We'll see you around, Taylor,' Nick told her./p
p align="left"He came towards me, took my hand as we made our way back towards the stairs./p
p align="left"'Anna?' I paused, looking back over my shoulder at her. 'You're pretty fucking cool yourself, you know?'/p
p align="left"I grinned. 'Thanks.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"No sooner had they both gone back inside and shut the door, Jensen exhaled in a long, wearisome groan./p
p align="left"He turned, blinking as he looked directly into the sunlight the shut his eyes before he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and shoved them onto his face./p
p align="left"'You are gonna be the death of me,' he grumbled./p
p align="left"'I am so sorry…' I told him, 'aemnd /emgrateful,' I added, considering it his whole stress and situation had been entirely my fault. emWell/em, Nick's fault. emWell/em… my fault. 'How do you feel?'/p
p align="left"'Like reheated leftovers.' As we started down the stairs, I heard him groan again. 'You being trapped back there was awful and all, but at least there was some calamitous emergency. I just… Oh god, I just really emdon't/em want to have to go back to that party.'/p
p align="left"'You want to come for dinner?' Nick offered. I tried not to let my surprise bleed into my expression. Nick Cutter was being social. He was choosing to be social not just having socialness thrust upon him. It was unheard of./p
p align="left"'What?' Jensen responded./p
p align="left"'Well, I figure it's the least we can do, considering we got you into such a mess.'/p
p align="left"'How is this your fault?' he asked./p
p align="left"Nick shrugged, 'I'm not gonna lie to you, I forgot about the party.'/p
p align="left"'And,' I added, 'considering what you did for me it's probably fair I tell you the actual reason.'/p
p align="left"'You're pregnant,' Jensen responded with a casual shrug. My breath hitched; I hadn't been expecting him to have worked it out but perhaps it was obvious. I'd hoped not. 'I probably shouldn't know, right?' he continued casually, 'but it wasn't that hard to guess why you can't be drinking. And my lips are sealed, don't worry.'/p
p align="left"'Thanks,' I responded. 'So, dinner?'/p
p align="left"'Please,' he answered./p
p align="left"'Alright, I'm just gonna swing by the A.R.C first,' Nick nodded. 'There's something I need to do.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"'So… how far along are you?' Jensen asked in a whisper as he squatted beside the chair I was in, in front of the A.D.D./p
p align="left"My keyboard rattled, my eyes not moving from the screen as I responded. 'Like… 6 weeks maybe, could be 7, I'm not really sure.'/p
p align="left"'I feel like I missed out on a lot,' Jensen replied, 'not being here from the start I mean.'/p
p align="left"I glanced across at him. emHe sort of had been./em The blur between Jensen and emRyan/em had sort of disappeared now after months of coming to terms with the fact he wasn't that same guy despite the fact they were identical. The two were disparate./p
p align="left"And I'd forgotten that it hadn't been Jensen with us from the beginning./p
p align="left"'You and Cutter,' he continued, 'did that all happen here or have you been together longer?'/p
p align="left"'Nope,' I said, 'here.'/p
p align="left"'And how did it emhappen/em? I mean… he seems pretty withdrawn and private you know, and like the opposite of romantic.'/p
p align="left"But I was too. I hadn't ever thought about that before– how it had taken us that long to start anything– because it had taken us that long to decide we wanted to. Neither of us had ever expected the other to come along. Somehow, we just sort of found each other./p
p align="left"'I don't know…' I replied, then I shrugged, 'it just emdid/em.'/p
p align="left"'Go on,' he responded, nudging me. I hadn't realised I was smiling until he cooed. 'Tell me, I want to know how you met and all that.'/p
p align="left"It shouldn't have surprised me that Jensen was some sort of hopeless romantic; he had the dreamy sort of look in his eye./p
p align="left"'First day, Connor was onto the anomalies, he wanted to tell his professor about it, and I just so happened to be with him when he saw Nick walking past the cafeteria through the window.'/p
p align="left"'So you already knew Connor?'/p
p align="left"I opened my mouth, turning my head towards him, but nothing came out right away. I realised no one had told him. 'You know Connor's my cousin, right?' I asked./p
p align="left"Jensen's eyes widened. 'No,' he responded, 'how did I not know that?'/p
p align="left"It beat me. I barely had time to consider how weird he must have assumed our friendship had been without knowing that. 'Honestly, no idea. Without him I never would have met Nick. Owe Connor a lot because of that, because the second I heard his voice I knew he'd be important to me.'/p
p align="left"'What do you mean?'/p
p align="left"I flapped a hand. 'Oh, you know: you're engaged. You feel it, don't you, there's a point where you just know.'/p
p align="left"I watched Jensen slowly cock his head. 'No…' he responded./p
p align="left"I just shrugged. 'Well, everyone's different, aren't they? And I'm pretty sure I'm like 75% psychic. Both are– me and Con– it's a genetic thing I think…' When he didn't respond straight away, I thought I must have weirded him out again. But glancing back at him I saw he just looked confused. 'What?'/p
p align="left"'You're a serious scientist how can you believe in that stuff?' he asked./p
p align="left"'It's an evidence thing,' I told him. 'Show me somethings that irrevocably disproves psychic abilities and I'll consider it but until then I have a lot of experiences that tell me otherwise.'/p
p align="left"'Anna!'/p
p align="left"We both suddenly snapped our heads around at the sound of Nick's voice booming down the corridor./p
p align="left"'Yes?' I responded./p
p align="left"'Has any one come out of here?' He stood, one foot in the doorway to his own office, his face charged with panic, and his eyes wide./p
p align="left"'What?'/p
p align="left"'Did anyone go in or come out of my office just now, did you see anyone?'/p
p align="left"At that moment my phone started to vibrate, and glancing down I saw Connor's name flashing across the screen. He was calling me./p
p align="left"'Um, no,' I told Nick./p
p align="left"'So no one came in?' he continued. And if he wanted to talk to me he probably should have come closer down the corridor rather than just yelling, because it was honestly a little stressful./p
p align="left"I had to pick up the phone. 'Hello?'/p
p align="left"'emAnna, he's gone/em!'/p
p align="left"I had to put my finger over my other ear, as beside me Jensen shouted back to Nick. 'We had our backs to the door,' he explained./p
p align="left"'Connor, what?' I said./p
p align="left"'We didn't see anything,' Jensen continued./p
p align="left"'emHe's gone, Anna, he's not here/em…'/p
p align="left"'Why?' Jensen yelled, 'what's happened?'/p
p align="left"'Who, Connor?'/p
p align="left"'It's gone,' Nick responded, finally running down the corridor towards us./p
p align="left"'emRex!/em emI think/em–'/p
p align="left"'The camera, that we brought back, all that footage. The emproof/em. It's gone.'/p
p align="left"'emI think someone's taken him/em.'/p
p align="left" /p
p align="left"'Oh my god.'/p
p align="left"'These are the highest stakes we've ever played for. If we say a word now we could lose everything.'/p
p align="left"I turned my head towards Nick, glancing briefly down to where he was hiding the acquired tactical equipment behind his back, and just so he didn't look so suspicious I reached out, slipped my hand into one of his and held on./p
p align="left"'So we do nothing?' Stephen clarified./p
p align="left"'Not at the moment,' I returned, under my breath. 'We emhave/em to be sure.'/p
p align="left"'Welcome to the lost world adventure park,' Lester called out, as he stopped in front of us. 'Cavemen, concrete dinosaurs and water slides.'/p
p align="left"Stephen walked away./p
p align="left"'You know I'd never thought I'd say this,' Lester continued, 'but between you and Connor, I'm very glad to have you two back.'/p
p align="left"I resisted the urge to follow Stephen and just squeezed Nick's hand, trying to subtly secrete my frustration./p
p align="left"Nick looked down at me, but when he saw my gaze was still locked somewhat unhappily on Lester, he turned back./p
p align="left"'Of course, when we picked up the anomaly, we had no idea what might come through it. You are lucky we don't shoot on sight.'/p
p align="left"I bit the inside of my cheek./p
p align="left"'Well, I better go and soothe your caveman. Let's hope the Palaeolithic was short on ambulance–chasing lawyers.'/p
p align="left"As he turned on his heel and walked back the way he came, I squeezed Nick's hand again. 'Really think it could be him?'/p
p align="left"Lester didn't seem like the type. He didn't seem like he would bother to run a second operation on top of this one, because I had no idea what it was exactly that he spent all his time doing up in his office but he always seemed completely exasperated with anything remotely normal that happened./p
p align="left"On top of that he didn't need the money. Or at least not anywhere near enough to make the stress worthwhile./p
p align="left"Lastly, he didn't seem like he had it in him./p
p align="left"At the end of the day, James Lester was a good man, or so I'd thought. Government official and scientists were never a good combination, we were never really going to get on but that didn't mean he didn't trust us./p
p align="left"emOr maybe it did–/em I supposed./p
p align="left"'I think we'd be stupid not to seriously consider it.'/p
p align="left"We didn't get any further. Connor jogged back over towards us, ice–cream in hand. 'So,' he said, 'how was it… the perfect hider?'/p
p align="left"I grimaced. 'Ah, well, we might have been a bit off with that one,' I returned. 'Turns out it wasn't so hidden.'/p
p align="left"Connor shrugged. 'Oh well, there's always next time, ey?'/p
p align="left"I hoped not. 'The more I think about it, the crazier it seems. emNeither predator nor prey/em… Everything's prey to something though, isn't it? Even us…'/p
p align="left"'And everything's gotta eat.'/p
p align="left"'Hmm,' I agreed, reaching out to pluck the flake out the top of his ice–cream, and took a bite./p
p align="left"'Hey!' he complained./p
p align="left"I stuck the bitten end back in his ice–cream and shrugged. 'Good as new.'/p
p align="left"He pouted. 'I want a for that.'/p
p align="left"'You what?'/p
p align="left"'An I O U, I owe you one flake.' I tutted. 'I'm serious,' he said. Of course he was. 'So what you doing now then?'/p
p align="left"'Gonna take Taylor home and then shower I think. You wanna do the film at yours or mine tonight?'/p
p align="left"'We can do it at mine,' he replied before he licked his ice–cream, 'I broke up with Caroline,' he said, mouth full./p
p align="left"'What?'/p
p align="left"He swallowed his mouthful and started again. 'I said I broke up–'/p
p align="left"'No, Connor I heard you, did you really?' I started walking with him back to the cars./p
p align="left"He shrugged. 'Yeah. Wasn't feeling it, you know. Plus I don't want to be worrying about her all the time because I don't have a lot of time for her when I've got other things to worry about.'/p
p align="left"'Like what?'/p
p align="left"'Well,' he responded, 'you. And on top of this whole project who knows what you're gonna have to do when the baby gets here, and as an uncle I have certain responsibilities you know. I'm gonna be 50% of its relatives, I want to be there for them.'/p
p align="left"I couldn't help but smile at his words. 'Connor that's… you know you've got another 7 to 8 months before that happens, right?'/p
p align="left"'Yeah. But I shouldn't keep stringing her along should I?'/p
p align="left"'Okay. Fuck– you know I actually missed you when we were gone. Good work on the detector by the way,' I said, 'it saved our lives out there today.'/p
p align="left"'Thank you very much,' he replied, 'I'm gonna remind you you said that next time you doubt me.'/p
p align="left"'I didn't–' I cut myself off with a sigh. 'You know I have emnever/em doubted you, right?'/p
p align="left"'Of course you haven't,' he returned, 'because I'm brilliant.'/p
p align="left"I linked my arm through his. 'Come on then, Galileo.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"When Nick and I got out of the truck at Lincoln square, Taylor pointed up towards her flat and explained that she was pretty much up on the top floor./p
p align="left"She limped the whole way up./p
p align="left"A very hungover and unhappy looking Jensen was standing outside her flat. As soon as he saw us, he heaved a huge sigh of relief and immediately gave us a look that told us he had found this whole situation quite exasperating./p
p align="left"'You're okay?' Taylor's stepdad said in relief as he grabbed her, holding her in a tight hug. 'Thank god. I was so worried. If anything has happened to you.'/p
p align="left"I leant back against the railing beside Jensen, touching his arm, just briefly, in reassurance, and he swept his hand across his brow to wipe off some of his sweat./p
p align="left"'You're upset?' Taylor returned./p
p align="left"'Course I'm upset. I love you. Listen, Taylor, I miss your mum too, yeah?'/p
p align="left"And yeah it was nice. The pessimist inside me told me empeople don't really change/em, sure, he was behaving this way now but if it ever got tough again he'd be right back to how he was before and it was surely toxic./p
p align="left"I tried not to expect that. I tried to force myself to believe that this was the pivoting moment. I wanted to, for Taylor's sake./p
p align="left"'I know. Sorry Steve.'/p
p align="left"'No,' he said, 'no, no.'/p
p align="left"'Guess what Steve I've been back millions of years in the past and was almost eaten by giant scorpions.'/p
p align="left"'Course you have, darling–'/p
p align="left"'Taylor,' I said, leaning forward to catch her eye, 'um, listen, that's all very importantly classified, you can't tell anyone else, either of you. And when you're a bit older, I think it'd be nice to have someone like you on our team. Read up on your dinosaurs,' I advised./p
p align="left"'Okay.'/p
p align="left"Then I had another thought. I patted myself down for a pen before I caught sight of one sticking out the top of Jensen's pocket. I took it, pulled an old receipt out my jeans and scribbled down my phone number./p
p align="left"Before I handed it over, I nodded my head down the path a little, and took a few steps away from the others so that they couldn't hear what I was saying./p
p align="left"She followed./p
p align="left"'Taylor, I want you to know you can always call me, alright? No matter what, any time, who, what, or why. This number is not gonna change, and we'll keep in touch, you can let me know if you need anything. And you'll be a file right on the top of my desk until you're there in my lab if that's what you want. I'm here if you need me.'/p
p align="left"I handed over the paper, and she looked up with a huge smile from it. 'Thank you!'/p
p align="left"'Okay.'/p
p align="left"At the sound of the dog barking, she reeled around, and Spratt came yapping out the door towards her. She bent down and picked her up./p
p align="left"'We'll see you around, Taylor,' Nick told her./p
p align="left"He came towards me, took my hand as we made our way back towards the stairs./p
p align="left"'Anna?' I paused, looking back over my shoulder at her. 'You're pretty fucking cool yourself, you know?'/p
p align="left"I grinned. 'Thanks.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"No sooner had they both gone back inside and shut the door, Jensen exhaled in a long, wearisome groan./p
p align="left"He turned, blinking as he looked directly into the sunlight the shut his eyes before he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and shoved them onto his face./p
p align="left"'You are gonna be the death of me,' he grumbled./p
p align="left"'I am so sorry…' I told him, 'aemnd /emgrateful,' I added, considering it his whole stress and situation had been entirely my fault. emWell/em, Nick's fault. emWell/em… my fault. 'How do you feel?'/p
p align="left"'Like reheated leftovers.' As we started down the stairs, I heard him groan again. 'You being trapped back there was awful and all, but at least there was some calamitous emergency. I just… Oh god, I just really emdon't/em want to have to go back to that party.'/p
p align="left"'You want to come for dinner?' Nick offered. I tried not to let my surprise bleed into my expression. Nick Cutter was being social. He was choosing to be social not just having socialness thrust upon him. It was unheard of./p
p align="left"'What?' Jensen responded./p
p align="left"'Well, I figure it's the least we can do, considering we got you into such a mess.'/p
p align="left"'How is this your fault?' he asked./p
p align="left"Nick shrugged, 'I'm not gonna lie to you, I forgot about the party.'/p
p align="left"'And,' I added, 'considering what you did for me it's probably fair I tell you the actual reason.'/p
p align="left"'You're pregnant,' Jensen responded with a casual shrug. My breath hitched; I hadn't been expecting him to have worked it out but perhaps it was obvious. I'd hoped not. 'I probably shouldn't know, right?' he continued casually, 'but it wasn't that hard to guess why you can't be drinking. And my lips are sealed, don't worry.'/p
p align="left"'Thanks,' I responded. 'So, dinner?'/p
p align="left"'Please,' he answered./p
p align="left"'Alright, I'm just gonna swing by the A.R.C first,' Nick nodded. 'There's something I need to do.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"'So… how far along are you?' Jensen asked in a whisper as he squatted beside the chair I was in, in front of the A.D.D./p
p align="left"My keyboard rattled, my eyes not moving from the screen as I responded. 'Like… 6 weeks maybe, could be 7, I'm not really sure.'/p
p align="left"'I feel like I missed out on a lot,' Jensen replied, 'not being here from the start I mean.'/p
p align="left"I glanced across at him. emHe sort of had been./em The blur between Jensen and emRyan/em had sort of disappeared now after months of coming to terms with the fact he wasn't that same guy despite the fact they were identical. The two were disparate./p
p align="left"And I'd forgotten that it hadn't been Jensen with us from the beginning./p
p align="left"'You and Cutter,' he continued, 'did that all happen here or have you been together longer?'/p
p align="left"'Nope,' I said, 'here.'/p
p align="left"'And how did it emhappen/em? I mean… he seems pretty withdrawn and private you know, and like the opposite of romantic.'/p
p align="left"But I was too. I hadn't ever thought about that before– how it had taken us that long to start anything– because it had taken us that long to decide we wanted to. Neither of us had ever expected the other to come along. Somehow, we just sort of found each other./p
p align="left"'I don't know…' I replied, then I shrugged, 'it just emdid/em.'/p
p align="left"'Go on,' he responded, nudging me. I hadn't realised I was smiling until he cooed. 'Tell me, I want to know how you met and all that.'/p
p align="left"It shouldn't have surprised me that Jensen was some sort of hopeless romantic; he had the dreamy sort of look in his eye./p
p align="left"'First day, Connor was onto the anomalies, he wanted to tell his professor about it, and I just so happened to be with him when he saw Nick walking past the cafeteria through the window.'/p
p align="left"'So you already knew Connor?'/p
p align="left"I opened my mouth, turning my head towards him, but nothing came out right away. I realised no one had told him. 'You know Connor's my cousin, right?' I asked./p
p align="left"Jensen's eyes widened. 'No,' he responded, 'how did I not know that?'/p
p align="left"It beat me. I barely had time to consider how weird he must have assumed our friendship had been without knowing that. 'Honestly, no idea. Without him I never would have met Nick. Owe Connor a lot because of that, because the second I heard his voice I knew he'd be important to me.'/p
p align="left"'What do you mean?'/p
p align="left"I flapped a hand. 'Oh, you know: you're engaged. You feel it, don't you, there's a point where you just know.'/p
p align="left"I watched Jensen slowly cock his head. 'No…' he responded./p
p align="left"I just shrugged. 'Well, everyone's different, aren't they? And I'm pretty sure I'm like 75% psychic. Both are– me and Con– it's a genetic thing I think…' When he didn't respond straight away, I thought I must have weirded him out again. But glancing back at him I saw he just looked confused. 'What?'/p
p align="left"'You're a serious scientist how can you believe in that stuff?' he asked./p
p align="left"'It's an evidence thing,' I told him. 'Show me somethings that irrevocably disproves psychic abilities and I'll consider it but until then I have a lot of experiences that tell me otherwise.'/p
p align="left"'Anna!'/p
p align="left"We both suddenly snapped our heads around at the sound of Nick's voice booming down the corridor./p
p align="left"'Yes?' I responded./p
p align="left"'Has any one come out of here?' He stood, one foot in the doorway to his own office, his face charged with panic, and his eyes wide./p
p align="left"'What?'/p
p align="left"'Did anyone go in or come out of my office just now, did you see anyone?'/p
p align="left"At that moment my phone started to vibrate, and glancing down I saw Connor's name flashing across the screen. He was calling me./p
p align="left"'Um, no,' I told Nick./p
p align="left"'So no one came in?' he continued. And if he wanted to talk to me he probably should have come closer down the corridor rather than just yelling, because it was honestly a little stressful./p
p align="left"I had to pick up the phone. 'Hello?'/p
p align="left"'emAnna, he's gone/em!'/p
p align="left"I had to put my finger over my other ear, as beside me Jensen shouted back to Nick. 'We had our backs to the door,' he explained./p
p align="left"'Connor, what?' I said./p
p align="left"'We didn't see anything,' Jensen continued./p
p align="left"'emHe's gone, Anna, he's not here/em…'/p
p align="left"'Why?' Jensen yelled, 'what's happened?'/p
p align="left"'Who, Connor?'/p
p align="left"'It's gone,' Nick responded, finally running down the corridor towards us./p
p align="left"'emRex!/em emI think/em–'/p
p align="left"'The camera, that we brought back, all that footage. The emproof/em. It's gone.'/p
p align="left"'emI think someone's taken him/em.'/p
p align="left" /p
p align="left"'Oh my god.'/p