I had nowhere to go.

Had this happened to me before– had I been trapped in a situation with a creature advancing towards me and literally nowhere to retreat to I wouldn't have made it home.

There was a rockface at my back and I had climbed as much of it as physically was possible, the evidence of: the cuts all over my hands and fingers and the faint smudged of red left against the stone.

The creature had followed me and was now snapping at my feet as it stood on its tail and braced itself against the rock beneath me. And I was just out of reach.

When I heard my name– Connor's harrowing voice– carried on the wind I didn't feel any sort of relief.

And it wasn't that I doubted that Connor could reach me, or want to save my life, but instantly I was riddled with fear for his safety much more than my own.

A couple of pebbles scattered down from above and I turned my head up, squinting into the sun just in time to see his arm drop down.

'Anna,' he said sorrowfully, 'Anna, come here, grab my hand.'

My lips parted, I sucked in a breath, trying quickly to decide whether I should or shouldn't do what he said;

The only way I could reach it would be to jump. And sure, he'd grab a hold of me, but what if he slipped, what if my weight tugged him forward and he fell.

He shook his hand frustratedly, 'Anna! Come on!'

'Connor,' I said.

'Climb up!' he interrupted, 'you can do this.'

I cocked my head. I physically couldn't. There was no way to climb the rockface above me, those 3 or so feet between me and him.

'Connor...'

'What are you doing!' he continued, shaking his hand again like he thought I couldn't see it there. 'Grab on to me, I'll pull you up. I can do it!'

I knew he could. I didn't doubt that.

'I'm sorry,' his voice came down to me, 'I know what I said... and I didn't mean it, any of it... I just... my whole life has felt like being in your shadow... because... you are astonishing and I can't live up to that. And having someone made me feel better about myself. Like someone wanted to be with me but...' His voice cracked. 'I didn't see it before. I need you Anna. You're a part of me,' he said.

'Connor...' I said for a final time. I felt my eyes dampen with tears, and I blinked them away to clear my vision. 'Can't reach.'

He peered above and down at the gap between us and his face fell. It took him a second, but he ultimately perked up. 'Jump,' he demanded. 'I'll catch you.'

I shook my head. 'Not gonna do that Connor. Could pull you over, and I don't want to.' I looked back down at the creature. 'No point in us both dying so go! Now.'

His lips trembled. 'I can't leave you here,' he replied.

'Let me go.'

'No.'

'Let me go,' I said, desperately, 'please.'

'I can't,' he cried. 'I love you! I didn't leave you to die on the floor in that house and I am not gonna leave you now,' he growled, 'so jump.'

And I finally did as he said, leaping up, one foot against the rockface to boost me higher, before his hand slammed down around my wrist.

Our eyes met, both teary, both pale and grey faced from the exhaustion, but he managed a smile. 'I've got you!' he promised.

'Come on, Miss Havisham,' Nick's voice cut through, as he appeared beside Connor and reached for my other hand. 'Time to go.'

The momentum pulled us over and instead of ending up on our feet Connor fell back and landed on his ass. I went with him landing on my side between his legs. And I was glad of it when a moment later the gunfire sounded.

I shut my eyes, Connor's arms tightened around me, and I leant against his arm.

He didn't let go of me until we were safely back through the anomaly.

There were guards standing on the other side, all armed with rifles which I tried to ignore as I Connor helped me back across the platforms and out to the exit of the building.

I'd tried to tell him I was fine. He wasn't taking any chances. He only let go for a moment to wrap me in a towel before he had his arms back around my shoulder.

'Con,' I complained, 'okay, really.'

'Anna!'

My head whipped around at the sound of Lucien's voice and I quickly located him sitting in a gurney, Jensen at his side, as the medic wheeled him towards an awaiting ambulance.

'God Lucien,' I called back, taking the opportunity to break away from Connor and walk over to him, 'alright?' I asked.

Immediately, without even realising it, I started surveying him for injuries, but my attention was pulled back up to his face when he laughed.

'Oh,' he joked, 'can't keep your eyes off me now, can you?'

I tutted and slapped the back of my hand against him leg reprimandingly. 'Thanks,' I said, 'what you did. Wouldn't have made it through that without you, you know.'

He shrugged. 'Your mates came,' he replied, 'no bother. Reckon your boyfriend did a pretty good job.'

I followed his line of vision and quickly bit my lip. 'No,' I drawled, 'my cousin...' I explained.

Lucien pulled a face. 'Really?'

I looked back over my shoulder just as Nick ducked beneath the police, and started jogging towards us all. I pointed, 'my boyfriend.'

His expression grew even more comical. 'Really?' he repeated with even more surprise.

I shrugged my eyebrows.

His laughter echoed back through my ears before he reached down, quite seriously, and patted my hand as it lay beside his leg on the gurney. 'Just because we're safe now, it doesn't mean you should put it off any longer. Tell him.'

'Will.'

'Right, yeah, one more thing,' he then said. 'Do you realise you miss words out the start of your sentences sometimes?'

I paused in thought. 'Do I?'

'Yeah,' he said, 'it's not like a big deal. It's not even really noticeable, but as I thought you probably didn't know I should tell you.'

I nodded. 'Right,' I replied, 'work on that.'

'I'll.'

'What?'

'I'll work on that.'

My mouth moved in realisation. 'Right, I'll work on that.'

He waved as the gurney was pulled back into the ambulance and I returned the gesture with a lopsided smile just as Nick stopped beside me. He put his arm around my shoulder and quickly dropped a quick kiss onto the top of my head.

The gesture made me smile, I looked up at him and reached up to grab his hand and intertwine his fingers with mine.

'Has the anomaly closed?'

We both spun around at the sound of Lester's voice. 'No,' Nick answered, 'it's still there and it's likely to reoccur.'

'You know what Leek; I think this whole area could benefit from a government redevelopment grant. We'll start by sealing the anomaly site with a few thousand tonnes of concrete. That should do the job.'

'Should I speak to the contractors?'

'No, don't worry, I'll get myself a shovel and a cement mixer and do it myself– yes of course you should speak to the Contractors you idiot...'

I looked down to the ground to hide my amusement. Beside me, I felt Nick laugh before he could cover his mouth.

Unamused, Lester turned back to him. 'Next time I sack you, you might at least l pretend to stay sacked for more than five minutes. Still I suppose it's just as well you decided to disobey my orders if it had been left up to Stephen we'd still all have been looking in the wrong place wouldn't we? Miss Havisham.'

'Hmm?' I snapped my eyes up from the ground and tried not to look too happy.

'I think I speak for all of us when I say I am so very glad that you aren't dead.'

I gave a tight–lipped smile of gratitude. 'Yes. Me too.'

'In your absence–' he continued.

'–oh you're still going–'

'–over these past two weeks we have realised how very detrimental you are. And without you everything has pretty much gone to shit. So, I look forward to having you back bright and early on Monday morning.'

'Thank you,' I finally returned, as I bowed my head respectfully 'I think.' He nodded and turned back his car. I leant in towards Nick. 'What day is it now?'

He exhaled in amusement. 'Sunday.'

'Fuck's sake.'

'Listen Stephen,' Nick said, 'what he said. That was unfair.'

'No. no I called it wrong.'

'I was lucky.'

Stephen looked down at me and smiled. For the first time, it didn't make me want to punch him in the face. 'Yeah... you were.'

A silence settled over us.

I spent a moment just watching Connor help the paramedics put away the last of their equipment into the ambulance before he shut the doors.

'You were sacked?' I suddenly repeated, turning in on Nick. 'Leave you alone for 1 afternoon and this happens...'

He rolled his eyes but his smile gave away more emotion that the gesture could. 'Listen,' he said, as one of his hands found mine beneath the towel, 'you were gone. And there was so much I wanted to say–'

I cut him off, leaning up on my tiptoes to press my lips to his.

His arm wrapped around me, securing me against him as he caught my lips more firmly against his. I knew what he was trying to say.

As I pulled back, arms reaching up around his neck, I nodded. 'Don't have to say anything.'

'So?' Connor called out, completely unaware of his impeccable timing, 'is that it? Is that what our future is going to look like?'

I shook my head. 'No.'

'Not ours,' Nick explained,

'Earths'.'

'Humanity's going to be long gone by then.'

'Or we do survive,' I countered, shrugging my shoulders.

'And we just evolve back into the water where we came from,' Nick finished.

Connor frowned. 'Ooo, you mean those things could be our descendants?'

I shrugged.

'Yeah,' Nick said, 'it's possible.'

Connor stuffed his hands into his pockets, nose crinkling as he nodded back towards the anomaly. 'Well,' he said, leaning in towards me, 'didn't fancy yours much.'

I put it off the whole car ride home.

I was so relieved to have that perfect moment where everything was alright again that I hadn't wanted to ruin it, and so I'd just leant against the window, eyes shut, basking in the warmth of the sunlight streaming through the windows. But I couldn't relax.

The idea that I would have to do something that I was putting off, however much I was desperately trying to ignore it, made that perfect moment so bittersweet that as soon as we got home, and he put the keys down on the sideboard, I couldn't help it.

'I'm gonna put the kettle on, let's have a cup–'

'Something I have to tell you,' I blurted out, barely aware that I'd interrupted.

He cocked his head, and I could see him trying to deduce from my expression just how serious this was.

'Let me go first,' he returned quickly, 'because I know you said I don't need to say anything but I thought you were dead and I couldn't believe that I had let something so menial get to me. When you flirt with other guys– and the thing is I know that you don't–' he quickly added before I could react like he thought I might try and interpose, '–you don't have to, because you are just...' he sighed, then slowly his lips curled up into a smile, 'so beautiful that a guy already has ideas before you've opened your mouth. It isn't your fault. All you have to do is show them some basic human decency and they'll assume you're flirting because that's what men do. It's just... seeing those guys behave like that... the only reason it doesn't happen day to day is because the person you work most closely with is your cousin so...' He sighed again like he was trying to calm himself and find the right words. 'You are so far from a shallow person Anna, so I don't know why it should have mattered so much to me, I see that now. I shouldn't have asked you don't have to answer that question because you're kind. And, I know you love me no matter what I look like, so I am sorry that I made you feel bad about that. Seeing how men react just makes me realise I have no idea why you're with me.'

Suddenly it all made sense. He genuinely believed I'd avoided answering his question because I genuinely didn't find him attractive.

My heart dropped.

He'd still tried to apologise to me. About his own insecurities and all I'd done is demand how he could have asked that of me, like I thought he was saying I didn't show him enough affection.

'Nick,' I replied, face still paled and cleared with shock, 'that's exactly how I feel too. About you.'

He had to take a second to process his confusion. 'So...' he said, as he tried to get his head around it, 'you think... you really think I'm...'

'Yes.' I didn't know how to convey the magnitude of my sentiments towards that. 'so, so much.' I took a deep breath. 'Wasn't avoiding your question,' I told him, 'and, wasn't avoiding you. Connor really was sick.'

He nodded. 'I know,' he said, 'and you should have come home, when you caught it.' I started shaking my head. 'I don't care,' he continued, 'if you get me sick too, it doesn't matter–'

'Didn't catch it,' I responded. And my heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my mouth. If I said it out loud it would become real and I had been in denial for days and I knew it. Before he could respond, I continued. '...I'm pregnant.'

'Hey Con?' I called up the stairs, as I unlocked his front door with my key, and left it on the latch for Nick. 'Are you there?'

'Yeah, hey!' His voice echoed back down to me. I heard his footstep crossing the floor as I came up the stairs and he met me at the top of the staircase, throwing his arms around me in bone crushing hug.

'Connor, Connor, come on,' I mumbled in response, but squeezed him back just as tightly. 'Promise you, I'm fine.'

As he pulled back, rolling his eyes, I barely had enough time to explain what I was doing here, before he'd skipped back over to the couch. 'So how sorry is he, secretly?' he asked. 'The whole needing to apologise thing, I mean. Having to admit he was wrong. How did he take it?'

I bit my lip. 'Yeah, pretty well,' I responded. He'd come with me. We'd parked down the street but we'd seen a much closer space and Nick had gone back to move the car. 'Mean... had something to tell him that sort of softened the blow, so...'

'Oh yeah?' Connor replied, 'what's that then?'

'I'm pregnant,' I said with a shrug.

He said nothing in response. He just stared, forgetting to blink for a moment from the shock of it. I didn't blame him. I'd done the exact same thing when I realised. I couldn't have kids–we both knew that– so how this had happened was unexplainable.

'Connor,' I prompted, because the silence swelled a discomfort in me and I sighed. 'Say something.'

'Oh my god.'

'Say something else,' I continued. 'Are you mad?' I asked because I couldn't read him. 'Are you... disappointed?'

'What? No!' The shock on his face was quickly replaced by the flicker of his lips curling up into a smile. 'This is the best day of my life.' A tear fell from his eyes and I wanted to reach out, to wipe it away, but for some reason I was distracted by my own, because my eyes started to water just at the sight of his. Now we were both crying.

'Connor...'

He laughed and quickly wiped his cheek. 'Are you serious? You're serious right, this isn't a joke because I swear to god–'

'No joke,' I promised. 'Somehow...'

'Okay good. Oh– do you need to lie down?'

'Connor, it's a baby not a migraine, okay? Don't worry, I'm fine.'

'Sorry,' he said quickly, 'it's just...' He took a deep breath, like he was trying to replace the air in his lungs, because the shock had made him forget how to breathe. 'I don't really know how to process information like this, no one I know has ever told me they were pregnant before and I– wow, this is all a new feeling for me. I feel all sort of proud and excited and like joyful at the same time, do you think this is what normal people feel like all the time?'

I laughed, pawing away a stray tear and wipe my hand on my jeans. 'Don't know, Con. Listen... back there, on the other side of that anomaly–'

'I have loved you from the moment my mum put you on my lap in the hospital, when you were just hours old. And you were all fresh and scrunched up but you reached up,' he said, 'with your tiny little hand, and grabbed a hold of my finger so tight I couldn't pull it away.' He exhaled a breath that tickled my neck. 'I thought I'd lost you and nothing has ever scared me more that than, so those words, what I said to you will never truly be enough to show you how much you mean to me. You're my family, and my best friend so I'm sorry if it felt weird to say I loved you, but I didn't mean it like–'

'No,' I said, 'I know. You and me, Con. It's you and me. We'll survive it all.'

The sound of the front door slamming shut again made me pull back and a moment later Nick came up the stairs.

Connor let go of me and quickly moved towards the top of the staircase to ambush Nick in the very same hug he'd given me as soon as he appeared.

Nick blinked in surprise as Connor grabbed him. 'Um...'

'I love you, too,' Connor said.

Nick looked up over Connors shoulder and met my eye as I tried to disguise my amusement. 'I'm guessing you told him then?' Nick asked.

'Yeah,' I nodded.

Connor pulled back. 'Congratulations,' he said. 'Really, from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea how happy you've made me. I...'

'Connor.' I pulled a face to try and suggest he ease off a little bit.

'Sorry,' he responded. 'I just...'

'Breathe...'

'Sorry.'

I gestured quickly back to the spare room by way of explanation. 'Gonna grab my stuff,' I explained, 'and got some stuff for Rex.' I held up my hands, as though in surrender, just to show I wasn't gonna mention anything else about it.

He nodded. 'Okay,' he resolved.

'You wanna come for tea?' I followed up, 'We're gonna go see Nana and get a pizza...'

'Yes,' he said, 'absolutely. I would love to. Anna I–'

'Connor!' A voice yelled up from the bottom of the stairs and we all looked over towards it. Caroline's head popped up, her eyes immediately locating Connor before she sighed. 'Oh, you're not even dressed!'

'Dressed?' Connor looked down like he thought he could have forgotten to put clothes on.

'For the theatre...' Caroline furthered. Her eyes moved across to where Nick was standing beside me before she smiled. 'Oh,' she said somewhat tentatively giving her previous assumption about Stephen before.

'Nick,' I clarified, 'Caroline, this is my boyfriend.'

As her smile widened, Nick glanced quickly across to me. 'So this must be...'

Cruella de vil I'd called her. A murderer. No matter how polite I was being he knew how I really felt.

I hid my wince by angling my face towards the ground.

Caroline came forward to shake his hand. 'Caroline,' she said, 'I'm Connor's girlfriend. I've heard so much about you.'

'Ah,' Nick replied with Oscar award winning control, 'likewise.'

'Connor, the theatre, remember?'

Connor sighed, 'yes,' he said in realisation. 'Of course, sorry... all the excitement– Anna just told me she's having a baby and–'

'Connor,' I said.

'Oh, god, sorry,' he replied quickly.

'Oh, wow!' Caroline said, 'congratulations... and I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about.'

'Thanks,' I replied. 'Go on, Connor, you should go...'

Connor narrowed his eyes at me. 'you sure?' As I sighed again, he sensed what I was about to say, and quickly nodded, 'okay, okay. I'll see you later, for tea.'

He kissed my cheek before he moved to follow after Caroline but she stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back to me. 'Anna, you look absolutely exhausted you know.' I shut my eyes. People really need to stop telling me that. 'You should let me talk to you about make–up sometime.'

As I smiled back at her, tightly, she waved and ducked down the stairs.

Beside me, Nick was laughing. 'Cruella–'

I shushed him very quickly and glanced back towards the stairs, barely containing my own strained laughter in response.

'Cruella de vil,' Nick hissed beneath his breath.

I hid my face in my hands to hide my face, before I pulled back, turning my attention quickly up to the ceiling.

'Right, come on then Anna Havisham. Get your coat.'