I wasn't looking for Connor when I came through the door to the cafeteria late at lunch time, but it was all too easy to spot him standing with Tom and Duncan by the tills in his black denim jackets with the neon patches, so I weaved through the maze of tables towards them.

'Alright,' I heard Connor say as I got closer. 'I swear on my empire strikes back first edition poster signed by Luke Skywalker and Dave Prowse.' He had his back to me and I had no doubt he didn't know I was there.

'Whoa careful; that's invoking a sacred relic,' Tom replied. He saw me coming and smiled, winking a hello but saying nothing to Connor.

'Yeah, like the bible,' Duncan added.

'Yeah, I know what a sacred relic is Duncan, I have seen raiders of the lost ark.' Connor returned.

'Well this all sounds suspicious.' Connor jumped, the sound of my voice had apparently shocked him and he reeled around to face me. 'What are you lot up to?' I asked.

'Thank god you're here,' Tom said as he reached out and plonked a hand down on my shoulder. 'Settle this for us?'

'Oh. No.' I held my hands up in surrender. 'I'm not getting involved, not after what happened last time. You still owe me a vase and three geese.'

'I've already told you they'll find their way home eventually.'

'And I told you that's just pigeons.'

'Alright. Maybe. But it's still more probable than what he's saying,' Tom said as he nodded his head towards Connor. 'Have you heard this, A? Space–Time anomalies and dinosaurs?'

As if sensing he was in trouble Connor whipped his head to around to face me, grimacing in apology, as my eyebrows shot up and I demanded 'what?' before I even knew I was thinking it.

My reaction must have surprised him because Tom was quiet for a second as he looked between the two of us. 'You mean you've seen them too? They're real?' Tom questioned and crossed his arms over his chest. Duncan stopped chewing and a half-eaten nacho fell out of his drooping mouth.

I opened my mouth to respond only to snap it back shut again when I realised I didn't know what to say. 'I...' I attempted, then changed my mind, 'well...' But I didn't like that either. 'Of course not, excuse me,' I settled with and squeezed between the two of them and walked back towards the food to get some lunch.

'I can prove it.' I heard Connor attempt to explain behind me. 'Only I'm not allowed to... you know one day you're going to be gutted you didn't believe me.'

Stephen and Nick were already there by the time I reached Cutter's office that evening. I found them sitting among piles of papers and notebooks that were stacked in their laps and on the floor at either side of them. The sound of the door must have caught Stephen's attention, because he looked over as I entered and smiled, 'hey.'

'Hiya,' I returned as I pushed the door closed behind me, then promptly tripped over a pile of books at the top of the stairs and had to catch myself against the railing before I fell. 'Oh for f...'

'Sorry about the mess,' Nick apologised.

The mess I was used to. It actually made me feel more at home. 'No, honestly, it's fine, I just didn't see it. Must be walking around with my eyes closed.'

'Please tell me you've come to help,' Stephen's bored voice returned, as he threw his head back and sighed.

'Not exactly.' I put my notebook down on the first desk I passed then tiptoed through the carefully balanced clutter towards Nick's desk. I picked up a cup of coffee, checked to see if it was still warm, then drank some. 'I need to go home and shower; I've been in the lab since 8 this morning- they only kicked me out now because they've got to fully decontaminate before tomorrow.' I looked down at my watch and checked the time. It was late. No wonder the technicians were so annoyed. 'But I'll be back after that and then I'm all yours. How's it going?'

'There's 10 years of Helens work here,' Stephen explained as he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

'We're going to keep looking,' Nick directed back without looking up from his page.

'You've read every word she ever wrote,' Stephen returned.

'Yes but we didn't know about the anomaly then. There might be references to it in Helens work that we overlooked.'

'If she knew about it, she'd have told you...'

'No,' Nick corrected shortly, 'she wouldn't.'

Stephen and I shared a look. It didn't take a genius to work out something was going on; from what I'd seen of Nick Cutter so far he didn't seem like the type to snap at his friends.

'Are you alright?' Stephen asked.

'Haven't been sleeping very well,' Nick said.

I wasn't sure if Stephen could tell he was lying too, but we shared another look, Stephen shrugged and my brow furrowed in reciprocation.

'Right,' I returned, and I stood up, 'I'll be back in an hour or so.' I picked up my notebook on my way to the door and the guys mumbled a sort of goodbye after me.

The music coming out of my speaker was loud– I'd turned it up to hear it in the shower in my ensuite and hadn't bothered to turn it down once I'd come out so Connor's fists were almost entirely drowned out by Alice Cooper as he started knocking against my bedroom door.

'Anna! Open up its me,' he called from the other side, 'I think I've found another anomaly.'

I hadn't realised he was still awake when I'd come home; his bedroom light wasn't on when I'd passed his room but it was entirely possible he'd been sitting somewhere else in the house upon my return.

'It's open, Con,' I called back.

He threw the door open, and without looking up from the crumpled sheet of paper in his hands he stomped across my room to my bed and jumped onto it.

'Well, make yourself at home,' I noted sarcastically.

'Hey.' He tore his gaze off the paper and looked up to me. His eyes widened. 'Oh, god. Come on... Clothes? Maybe?'

It took me a moment to realise and I glanced down at my body to find I hadn't got any further than putting my underwear on after my shower. 'Don't- don't look at me. Avert your eyes and I'll get dressed.'

'You should read this.'

I took the sheet of paper out of his hands and smoothed the creases as I crossed my room to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of black jeans.

'Where did you get this?'

'Internet, on the weird creature sightings forum, it looks to me like another anomaly. We should check it out.'

'What did Cutter say?' I asked as I pulled the jeans on.

'I err haven't actually told him yet...' he replied. 'I could be wrong and I don't want him to think I'm an idiot.'

I smiled back at him. 'He already thinks you're an idiot, Con.'

'Thank you very much,' he replied, as I reached for a t-shirt and pulled it over my head, 'come on, think how impressed he'll be if I'm right.'

'Think how impressed he'll be when you're dead.'

'So you're in?'

'No, Connor, nothing you can say to me is going to convince me to drive all the way to–' I glanced down at the paper, 'New Forest, shit, seriously? It's almost midnight. Why don't we go in the morning?'

I put on a jumper, pulled on some socks and stepped back into my converse.

'Oh come on! This is our chance to show him we're useful,' he huffed.

'He already knows we're useful,' I said as I folded my arms over my chest.

'You said it yourself, he thinks I'm an Idiot. I just want to show him I'm not.'

'Connor,' I started with a sigh, 'I was joking. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone, especially me. You're my hero.'

He was silent for a second then he nodded. 'Okay.'

'I'm going back to Uni, do you want to come?'

'Nah,' he replied with a shrug, 'I think I'll just stay here for a bit then.'

'Okay.' I leant over to kiss his cheek before I grabbed my coat and car keys on the way to the door. 'I'll be back later. I think there's loads of stuff in the fridge– do not eat my leftover Dominos unless you want to get throttled, alright? And definitely no dinosaur searches. Promise?'

He nodded. ' I promise.'