Time Entangled (2/9)
Title: Time Entangled
Author: not_from_stars
Artist(s): skylar0grace
Media Link: Art Here
Word Count: 24,395
Fandom: Primeval
Genre: Angst; Het
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Abby Maitland/Connor Temple, Stephen Hart/Abby Maitland
Summary: Having worked for the Anomaly Research Center for a few years, Nick, Stephen, Tom, Abby, Connor and Claudia thought they had seen everything. But when an incursion turns out to be people instead of rampaging animals, that's not the only shock they get. Abby and Stephen are the first on the scene when Abby and Connor come through the anomaly. Abby and Connor are from a time line where some things have gone horrible wrong. Now, not only do they have to convince this time line's version of their friends what has happened, they need to find their way back to their own home and time line. Back in their world, Becker, Danny, Sarah and Jenny are working frantically to find a way to locate their friends and bring them home. Armed with two years of notes and several journals, they're doing their best to open an anomaly and get their loved ones back because they know something that the other time line doesn't. They're running out of time.
Warnings/Spoilers: This is a complete AU and there should be no spoilers for anything.
Author’s Notes: I want to thank my beta and cheerleader, enochiansigils, for holding my hand through this and not letting me give up. skylar0grace made me lots of awesome art to accompany this fic and I can't thank her enough for everything she did for me!
The group that gathered at Cutter's flat later that night were solemn, as well as confused.
Stephen was sitting on the sofa and he was holding Abby on his lap. He had found that after meeting that other version of her, he couldn't stand to let her out of his sight right now. It was probably a good thing that she was feeling the same way.
On the floor next to them, Connor had his back against the sofa. He was still having a hard time processing that there were now a different version of him and Abby unconscious at the ARC. Those two, they had barely looked like them and it scared him to think about what must have happened to change them so much.
Claudia was sitting in one of the chair and every few moments, she would shake her head. Even with everything they had seen with the anomalies, this was something that was beyond the experience they all had. She had barely believed Cutter when he called her to tell her what had happened. It was only seeing those two people in the infirmary that she had been able to accept what he was telling her.
Ryan was leaning against the wall watching the room. He knew that there was no reason to be tense at Cutter's place -- god knew he'd spent enough time here with the others over the years -- but the events of today hadn't left him feeling at ease with anything. The looks he had seen in those older versions of his two youngest friends reminded him of things he had thought long buried. Those two kids were either going through or had just gone through a war. It worried him. He kept having to glance at Abby and Connor to make sure that they were still here with them and still the people he knew. He caught Stephen’s eyes once and then other man gave him a small smile in understanding.
Nick had been pacing, but the annoyed comment from Stephen about it earlier had stopped him. Now he was standing by the window looking at everyone gathered in the room. He had gone through his notes in his office and then those at home and he couldn't find any answers as to why a different version of Abby and Connor had come through an anomaly into their world. They had known him, though the look in their eyes when they saw him didn't sit well with him. They had known Stephen, but not Ryan. Abby had tried to kill Lester's wife.
He finally sighed, shaking his head. "I just can't make any sense of any of it. We've never had people -- people we know -- come through an anomaly before."
"That's because none of this makes sense," Stephen said. "I mean, Connor hit me, for god's sake."
"No, that part kind of makes sense," Connor said sheepishly. Abby glared at him. "Well, it kind of does. He is all action hero guy and ..."
"Getting back to real point," Claudia said with a great deal of patience. "Where did they say they came from?"
"They didn't," Abby said. "Things started happening really quickly after I radioed to Cutter and Ryan." She shook her head. "You didn't see their eyes, or they way they were acting, Claudia. Something really bad has happened where they're from."
"And they were shot full of tranquilizers because Abby -- the other one -- attacked Helen?"
"No," Ryan sighed. "They were shot because one of the men put a gun to Abby's head to tell her to get off of Helen and Connor went berserk. Before we could make sense of it, some of the men were firing and the two of them were down."
"You shot me?!"
"No, Ryan didn't do any of the shooting," Cutter told him. "He tried to stop them, but a few of those men were new."
"And it will be a long time before they're allowed back in the field again." Ryan took a little personally that they had shot at his friends. However, almost as important was that they hadn't followed orders.
Cutter looked at Stephen. "You saw something. I heard you try to stop Connor."
"His eyes," Stephen said. "As soon as that gun went near his Abby --" And wow, that really didn't sound right to him. "-- there was something that changed his eyes. It was like he was seeing something else, something where she had been in trouble like that before." He shook his head. "I've seen people get lost in memories, but I've never seen them react like he did to a trigger."
"You would do the same thing if it was our Abby," Connor pointed out, jostling his legs.
"Probably," he admitted. "It was just really frightening to see you snap like that."
"I could, maybe," Connor replied. When everyone in the room looked at him, he shrugged a little. "I'm just saying it's possible. Just because some version of me is a bad ass action guy doesn't mean that he's lost his mind."
"They're not insane," Abby said defensively. "They've been hurt, and Cutter, you and Ryan heard what Connor said about being held hostage. Who knows what could have happened to them?!"
"Hostage?" Connor squeaked.
Abby nodded. "They were upset that Ryan's team were called in as extra security. The other me -- and guys, we have got to come up with nicknames or something for them because this is hurting my head -- seemed pretty bitter. She thought that we were inferring that they weren't human due to coming through the anomaly. The other you said that at least it was better than being on a velociraptor's menu or being held hostage by a crazy bitch."
"And then Helen arrived and Abby attacked her," Claudia said, not liking what all of this was leading to in her mind.
"Connor didn't even try to stop her," Ryan added. "He saw Professor Lester and moved so Abby had a clear shot at her."
"Guys? If the other me spoke about being a hostage, and then the other Abby attacked Helen... does that mean that in their world, Helen is responsible for whatever has them scared and all action soldiers?"
Connor's question made the room go silent for a few moments. It was something that none of them wanted to think about.
"She's your ex-wife, Cutter, and Stephen's ex-whatever," Claudia finally said. "What do you guys think?"
The anomaly was open and the sounds that were coming from it made most of the group of people uncomfortable. However, the standoff in front of the anomaly was what was garnering the most attention.
"Helen, let her go. You don't want to do this."
"No, Quinn, I'm pretty sure I do. You and your army boy there won't take a chance at shooting me while I have the lizard girl. We're going to leave and you're going to back off and let me go, and Connor is going to come with me."
"The hell we are," Becker snapped, placing himself in front of Connor. "You're not taking Abby or Connor."
Against Becker's wishes, Connor stepped up beside him. The gun that was place against Abby's head had fear tearing at his insides. He could see the fear in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide. He knew without a doubt that Abby had come to the same conclusion that he had. If Helen didn't get what she wanted right now, then someone was going to die. From the way Helen kept glancing at Becker, Connor knew that he was going to lose either Abby or Becker if he didn't do anything.
"I'll come with you, Helen," he said, and his voice was surprisingly calm. He didn't think he would be able to sound so calm when he was terrified of losing one or both of the people he loved. "I'll come with you, but you have got to let Abby go and not hurt her. If you hurt her, you'll die and you won't get what you want. You'll never get what you want."
Helen smirked at him. "I don't think so, Connor. You'll come with me and do what I say, or you'll never see her again."
"Connor," Becker bit out. "Don't you dare."
"I have to," Connor said as he shook his head. "You heard her, she'll kill Abby. I can't let that happen."
"She won't hurt her," Danny said. "She's just trying to scare you into doing what she wants."
"Quinn, I killed my husband, and I loved him at one time. What makes you think I'll hesitate when it comes to anyone else?"
Becker reached out to grab Connor and yank him out of harm's way, but Connor was faster than he expected.
"Connor!"
Connor didn't look back at him. He stood in front of Helen. "All right, you've got me. Now let Abby go."
Helen smirked, and then stepped suddenly backward into the anomaly, taking Abby with her.
"No!" Connor shouted, diving into the anomaly after them.
"Abby!" Connor shouted, his eyes coming open as he sat up. The dimness of the room surprised him and he waited for his eyes to adjust.
It looked like he was on a cot in one of the cells at the ARC. Panicked, he scrambled to his feet and then clenched his fists to calm himself. Abby was in the cell with him and lying on the cot across the room. He moved quickly to her side, feeling for a pulse. When he felt the beat of her heart, he almost gasped out loud.
Frowning, he touched her shoulder. He didn't know what they had been shot with, or how much, but he had to wake her up and they had to figure out a way out of here. Helen was here, which meant that he and Abby had to get out of here -- and now.
"Abby," he whispered against her ear. "Abby, come on, you have to wake up. We've got trouble." He watched her struggling to wake up in response to his alert and he reached for her hand. "Come on, love."
Abby's eyes opened and then closed again. He was afraid she had succumbed to the tranquilizer again, but then she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Helen," she said in a harsh whisper.
"I know. She's alive, love, and we're in a cell at the ARC."
Alarm crossed Abby's features, but she quickly masked it as she sat up. "They locked us up." Her voice was bitter. "Stephen and Cutter let them lock us up."
He reached out to run his hand along her hair. "I know. But we'll get out of here and we'll figure out what's going on. We always do, yeah?"
Abby nodded her head, and then winced as pain lanced through it. "What did they shoot us with?"
"I don't know, but it sure packs a wallop." He frowned. "You don't look so good, love."
"I'll be all right, Connor. It's probably just a side effect of the tranquilizer."
He shook his head, knowing full well that she was lying to him. "No, I don't think so. You like you do when your head is bothering you. You have that look like you get sometimes ever since she --" He knew that his voice was laced with panic, but when it came to Abby's well being, he couldn't help it.
"Connor, don't." She placed her fingers against his lips. "Don't go there. I'm all right and you worrying about something you don't need to isn't going to get us out of here."
Connor recognized that tone of voice. It was her I'm tough and there's nothing wrong with me tone that she got when she was determined to do something that they both knew she shouldn't be trying to do. However, in this case, he had to concede that they didn't have much choice.
After they got out of here and figured out what was going on and where they were, maybe then they could find a way home. Maybe then he could get her to a doctor.
He turned his head as the door opened and immediately put himself in front of Abby. He heard her get to her feet behind him, but his attention was on the woman that came through the door.
"Abby. Connor. Good, you're awake. I'm Claudia Brown."
He heard Abby's gasp at the same time he said "Jenny?"
One || Three
Author: not_from_stars
Artist(s): skylar0grace
Media Link: Art Here
Word Count: 24,395
Fandom: Primeval
Genre: Angst; Het
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Abby Maitland/Connor Temple, Stephen Hart/Abby Maitland
Summary: Having worked for the Anomaly Research Center for a few years, Nick, Stephen, Tom, Abby, Connor and Claudia thought they had seen everything. But when an incursion turns out to be people instead of rampaging animals, that's not the only shock they get. Abby and Stephen are the first on the scene when Abby and Connor come through the anomaly. Abby and Connor are from a time line where some things have gone horrible wrong. Now, not only do they have to convince this time line's version of their friends what has happened, they need to find their way back to their own home and time line. Back in their world, Becker, Danny, Sarah and Jenny are working frantically to find a way to locate their friends and bring them home. Armed with two years of notes and several journals, they're doing their best to open an anomaly and get their loved ones back because they know something that the other time line doesn't. They're running out of time.
Warnings/Spoilers: This is a complete AU and there should be no spoilers for anything.
Author’s Notes: I want to thank my beta and cheerleader, enochiansigils, for holding my hand through this and not letting me give up. skylar0grace made me lots of awesome art to accompany this fic and I can't thank her enough for everything she did for me!
The group that gathered at Cutter's flat later that night were solemn, as well as confused.
Stephen was sitting on the sofa and he was holding Abby on his lap. He had found that after meeting that other version of her, he couldn't stand to let her out of his sight right now. It was probably a good thing that she was feeling the same way.
On the floor next to them, Connor had his back against the sofa. He was still having a hard time processing that there were now a different version of him and Abby unconscious at the ARC. Those two, they had barely looked like them and it scared him to think about what must have happened to change them so much.
Claudia was sitting in one of the chair and every few moments, she would shake her head. Even with everything they had seen with the anomalies, this was something that was beyond the experience they all had. She had barely believed Cutter when he called her to tell her what had happened. It was only seeing those two people in the infirmary that she had been able to accept what he was telling her.
Ryan was leaning against the wall watching the room. He knew that there was no reason to be tense at Cutter's place -- god knew he'd spent enough time here with the others over the years -- but the events of today hadn't left him feeling at ease with anything. The looks he had seen in those older versions of his two youngest friends reminded him of things he had thought long buried. Those two kids were either going through or had just gone through a war. It worried him. He kept having to glance at Abby and Connor to make sure that they were still here with them and still the people he knew. He caught Stephen’s eyes once and then other man gave him a small smile in understanding.
Nick had been pacing, but the annoyed comment from Stephen about it earlier had stopped him. Now he was standing by the window looking at everyone gathered in the room. He had gone through his notes in his office and then those at home and he couldn't find any answers as to why a different version of Abby and Connor had come through an anomaly into their world. They had known him, though the look in their eyes when they saw him didn't sit well with him. They had known Stephen, but not Ryan. Abby had tried to kill Lester's wife.
He finally sighed, shaking his head. "I just can't make any sense of any of it. We've never had people -- people we know -- come through an anomaly before."
"That's because none of this makes sense," Stephen said. "I mean, Connor hit me, for god's sake."
"No, that part kind of makes sense," Connor said sheepishly. Abby glared at him. "Well, it kind of does. He is all action hero guy and ..."
"Getting back to real point," Claudia said with a great deal of patience. "Where did they say they came from?"
"They didn't," Abby said. "Things started happening really quickly after I radioed to Cutter and Ryan." She shook her head. "You didn't see their eyes, or they way they were acting, Claudia. Something really bad has happened where they're from."
"And they were shot full of tranquilizers because Abby -- the other one -- attacked Helen?"
"No," Ryan sighed. "They were shot because one of the men put a gun to Abby's head to tell her to get off of Helen and Connor went berserk. Before we could make sense of it, some of the men were firing and the two of them were down."
"You shot me?!"
"No, Ryan didn't do any of the shooting," Cutter told him. "He tried to stop them, but a few of those men were new."
"And it will be a long time before they're allowed back in the field again." Ryan took a little personally that they had shot at his friends. However, almost as important was that they hadn't followed orders.
Cutter looked at Stephen. "You saw something. I heard you try to stop Connor."
"His eyes," Stephen said. "As soon as that gun went near his Abby --" And wow, that really didn't sound right to him. "-- there was something that changed his eyes. It was like he was seeing something else, something where she had been in trouble like that before." He shook his head. "I've seen people get lost in memories, but I've never seen them react like he did to a trigger."
"You would do the same thing if it was our Abby," Connor pointed out, jostling his legs.
"Probably," he admitted. "It was just really frightening to see you snap like that."
"I could, maybe," Connor replied. When everyone in the room looked at him, he shrugged a little. "I'm just saying it's possible. Just because some version of me is a bad ass action guy doesn't mean that he's lost his mind."
"They're not insane," Abby said defensively. "They've been hurt, and Cutter, you and Ryan heard what Connor said about being held hostage. Who knows what could have happened to them?!"
"Hostage?" Connor squeaked.
Abby nodded. "They were upset that Ryan's team were called in as extra security. The other me -- and guys, we have got to come up with nicknames or something for them because this is hurting my head -- seemed pretty bitter. She thought that we were inferring that they weren't human due to coming through the anomaly. The other you said that at least it was better than being on a velociraptor's menu or being held hostage by a crazy bitch."
"And then Helen arrived and Abby attacked her," Claudia said, not liking what all of this was leading to in her mind.
"Connor didn't even try to stop her," Ryan added. "He saw Professor Lester and moved so Abby had a clear shot at her."
"Guys? If the other me spoke about being a hostage, and then the other Abby attacked Helen... does that mean that in their world, Helen is responsible for whatever has them scared and all action soldiers?"
Connor's question made the room go silent for a few moments. It was something that none of them wanted to think about.
"She's your ex-wife, Cutter, and Stephen's ex-whatever," Claudia finally said. "What do you guys think?"
The anomaly was open and the sounds that were coming from it made most of the group of people uncomfortable. However, the standoff in front of the anomaly was what was garnering the most attention.
"Helen, let her go. You don't want to do this."
"No, Quinn, I'm pretty sure I do. You and your army boy there won't take a chance at shooting me while I have the lizard girl. We're going to leave and you're going to back off and let me go, and Connor is going to come with me."
"The hell we are," Becker snapped, placing himself in front of Connor. "You're not taking Abby or Connor."
Against Becker's wishes, Connor stepped up beside him. The gun that was place against Abby's head had fear tearing at his insides. He could see the fear in her eyes that she was desperately trying to hide. He knew without a doubt that Abby had come to the same conclusion that he had. If Helen didn't get what she wanted right now, then someone was going to die. From the way Helen kept glancing at Becker, Connor knew that he was going to lose either Abby or Becker if he didn't do anything.
"I'll come with you, Helen," he said, and his voice was surprisingly calm. He didn't think he would be able to sound so calm when he was terrified of losing one or both of the people he loved. "I'll come with you, but you have got to let Abby go and not hurt her. If you hurt her, you'll die and you won't get what you want. You'll never get what you want."
Helen smirked at him. "I don't think so, Connor. You'll come with me and do what I say, or you'll never see her again."
"Connor," Becker bit out. "Don't you dare."
"I have to," Connor said as he shook his head. "You heard her, she'll kill Abby. I can't let that happen."
"She won't hurt her," Danny said. "She's just trying to scare you into doing what she wants."
"Quinn, I killed my husband, and I loved him at one time. What makes you think I'll hesitate when it comes to anyone else?"
Becker reached out to grab Connor and yank him out of harm's way, but Connor was faster than he expected.
"Connor!"
Connor didn't look back at him. He stood in front of Helen. "All right, you've got me. Now let Abby go."
Helen smirked, and then stepped suddenly backward into the anomaly, taking Abby with her.
"No!" Connor shouted, diving into the anomaly after them.
"Abby!" Connor shouted, his eyes coming open as he sat up. The dimness of the room surprised him and he waited for his eyes to adjust.
It looked like he was on a cot in one of the cells at the ARC. Panicked, he scrambled to his feet and then clenched his fists to calm himself. Abby was in the cell with him and lying on the cot across the room. He moved quickly to her side, feeling for a pulse. When he felt the beat of her heart, he almost gasped out loud.
Frowning, he touched her shoulder. He didn't know what they had been shot with, or how much, but he had to wake her up and they had to figure out a way out of here. Helen was here, which meant that he and Abby had to get out of here -- and now.
"Abby," he whispered against her ear. "Abby, come on, you have to wake up. We've got trouble." He watched her struggling to wake up in response to his alert and he reached for her hand. "Come on, love."
Abby's eyes opened and then closed again. He was afraid she had succumbed to the tranquilizer again, but then she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Helen," she said in a harsh whisper.
"I know. She's alive, love, and we're in a cell at the ARC."
Alarm crossed Abby's features, but she quickly masked it as she sat up. "They locked us up." Her voice was bitter. "Stephen and Cutter let them lock us up."
He reached out to run his hand along her hair. "I know. But we'll get out of here and we'll figure out what's going on. We always do, yeah?"
Abby nodded her head, and then winced as pain lanced through it. "What did they shoot us with?"
"I don't know, but it sure packs a wallop." He frowned. "You don't look so good, love."
"I'll be all right, Connor. It's probably just a side effect of the tranquilizer."
He shook his head, knowing full well that she was lying to him. "No, I don't think so. You like you do when your head is bothering you. You have that look like you get sometimes ever since she --" He knew that his voice was laced with panic, but when it came to Abby's well being, he couldn't help it.
"Connor, don't." She placed her fingers against his lips. "Don't go there. I'm all right and you worrying about something you don't need to isn't going to get us out of here."
Connor recognized that tone of voice. It was her I'm tough and there's nothing wrong with me tone that she got when she was determined to do something that they both knew she shouldn't be trying to do. However, in this case, he had to concede that they didn't have much choice.
After they got out of here and figured out what was going on and where they were, maybe then they could find a way home. Maybe then he could get her to a doctor.
He turned his head as the door opened and immediately put himself in front of Abby. He heard her get to her feet behind him, but his attention was on the woman that came through the door.
"Abby. Connor. Good, you're awake. I'm Claudia Brown."
He heard Abby's gasp at the same time he said "Jenny?"
One || Three