Primeval Fanfic - Our Place (part 1)
Title: Our Place
Author: Prehistoric Cat
Rating: PG
Characters: Connor, Abby, brief Lester
Genre: Gen ... might get a bit fluffy/romantic in later parts
Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended
A/N: As this is set post series 3, there may be the odd little series 4 spoiler. Thanks go to my lovely LJ friends for a little bit of help, particularly pottsfanatic , evenstar_estel and casy_dee
It had all started about a month ago. Connor had been following the progress of a dig about thirty miles from the outskirts of the city. It had been all over the news; the Archaeologists had uncovered the remains of a juvenile T-Rex and were pretty excited by it. It was the most complete skeleton ever found in the UK, and anyone who was anyone in the world of Archaeology and Palaeontology was gathering at the site. Despite the fact he saw the real things practically every day now, Connor still found it fascinating and he would have given his right arm to be allowed on site and witness them uncovering the remains.
Then, the news suddenly stopped. It was like the dig no longer existed. Connor spent days trying to find out what was going on; even going to the site itself. They were still there, but everything was being kept very much hidden under tents. “Something’s not right, Abby.” Connor said. “They were all over this story a few days ago.”
“Cover up?” Abby said.
“Why though?” Connor said. His mind was starting to work overtime; he had his suspicions already but he needed to get evidence before he approached Lester. He turned to his trusted methods of investigation - hacking into various files, trawling the likes of twitter and facebook, and just generally keeping tabs on various chat sites.
He eventually stumbled across a series of messages on twitter. Apparently, other things were being uncovered at the site that didn’t add up - objects buried within the same sedimentary layer as the T-Rex that were out of place by thousands of years. There was talk of it being sabotage; an attempt to discredit the original dig, but Connor grinned as he read on. He knew this was no hoax or sabotage. Everything pointed to anomaly activity.
“We need to get onto the site to investigate.” Connor said to Lester.
“It’s a private dig, Connor. We can’t just turn up as government officials without good reason.” Lester said.
“What about sending someone in undercover?” Matt suggested. Lester nodded in agreement. “It would need to be someone who would sound authentic; someone with a bit of knowledge.”
Connor coughed. Lester looked at him and sighed. “I guess you’re our only option.” he said dryly. Connor punched the air and grinned. “I’ll sort you out with some paperwork and a fake ID, and then we’ll get you onto the site to find out what’s going on.”
So, two days later, Connor was flashing his new ID at the security check point and being ushered onto the dig site. “Follow me, Dr Temple. I’ll introduce you to the team leader.” The security guy led the way to a large tent at the far side of the site. Connor was trying desperately not to show his excitement; he needed to try and keep a professional air if he wanted to pull this off. He couldn‘t help but smile at being called ‘Dr Temple‘ though. Had he stuck to his degree course, he would be a doctor by now anyway so he wasn‘t stretching the truth that far.
“Professor, your new expert has arrived.” The security guy said. A man turned and stood up. Connor could tell straight away that he was in charge; he had that ‘air’ about him that commanded respect.
“Dr Temple, pleasure to meet you. I’m Professor Watts.” He held out his hand for Connor to shake. Connor took a deep breath. People like the Professor made him nervous and he hoped his palms weren’t clammy as he shook his hand.
“Thank you for accepting me onto your team.” Connor said, trying not to sound like an idiot.
“You came highly recommended. I understand you recently spent an entire year studying the Cretaceous era?”
Connor felt his stomach churn. This was his cover story and he had to get it right. “Yes, you could say it became my life.” he laughed.
“That’s what I like to hear, a man dedicated to his work! I think you’re going to fit right in here, Dr Temple.”
The rest of the day was spent being introduced to the rest of the team. It was all a blur, and Connor was certain he’d forget everyone’s names. All he wanted to do was get to the dig itself and find out what was going on, but as darkness began to fall he was still no wiser. He slowly made his way into the tent he was going to be sharing with one of the Archaeologists, a young man by the name of Sam.
Sam was already there when Connor pulled back the doorway. “Hi, you must be Sam? I’m Connor.”
“Yeah. Hi.” Sam said, without really looking up.
Connor placed his bag on the empty bed and then sat down next to it. Connor got the impression Sam didn’t want to socialise, so he got his mobile phone out and called Abby. He was missing her already; this was the first time they’d been apart since before their time in the Cretaceous. He listened to her going on about an argument between Becker and Matt; just making the occasional grunt so she knew he was paying attention. He just wanted to hear the sound of her voice and she could have been reciting Nursery rhymes for all he cared.
“So how was your day?” she said eventually. “Have you been able to see what’s going on?”
“No, today was just about being introduced to everyone. Hopefully I can go to the dig itself tomorrow.” Connor replied.
“Well don’t take too long over it.” Abby said. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” Connor said quietly. He glanced over at Sam, who was sat on his bed reading a book. “I wish you could have come here too.”
“There’s no way I could pull it off, Connor. Yes, I can do the ‘Cretaceous era expert’ thing, but if they started using technical jargon, my cover would be blown instantly.” Abby sighed. “Anyway, I guess I should let you go.”
“Yeah.” Connor said. He could’ve talked to her all night and didn’t really want to end the call. “Love you, Abby.”
“Love you too, Connor.” she said back, and then she was gone.
After a moment of silence, Sam spoke. “If you wanted to whisper sweet nothings to your girlfriend, you only had to say. I don’t mind making myself scarce for a few minutes to give you a bit of privacy.”
“Its OK. But maybe tomorrow if that’s alright?” Connor said.
“Not a problem.” Sam said, turning back to his book.
“And the same goes for me. If you need some privacy to make a phonecall…”
“Thanks, but its not an issue for me. I do too much travelling with this job; holding down a relationship of any kind is impossible.” Sam shifted nervously, then cleared his throat. “So, you’re the expert on the Cretaceous era then?” Connor nodded. “Have they told you anything about the discoveries?”
“Nothing really, other than it’s the most intact skeleton found in this country.” Connor said.
“Cast your eyes on this. I’d be really interested in your thoughts.” Sam said, opening up his laptop. Moments later, he was opening up some photos that he had taken of the remains. He clicked a few buttons then bit his bottom lip. “Yes, we have the remains of a juvenile T-Rex, but it appears it didn’t die of natural causes.”
“Oh?” Connor said.
“What does this look like to you?” Sam turned the laptop around so that Connor could see the screen. Connor gasped. Wedged between what looked like two rib bones was a stone spear head - and not just any spear head either.
“That’s impossible.” Connor said quietly, his voice straining because of the lump forming in his throat.
“I know! That’s what all the secrecy is about. It seems our friend was killed by a spear, that stone head was carved by a pretty skilled human. I have no idea what it means, but it could change everything we believe about the evolution of early man.” Sam said, looking at Connor’s ashen face.
Connor could feel his heart pounding. His early suspicions had been correct; this was definitely anomaly activity, and not just any anomaly either. He stared at the photo in front of him, There was no mistaking it; he recognised his own handy work instantly. If he was correct, the T-Rex they were uncovering was the one he had killed the morning he and Abby had come back to the present day. That also meant that this site was the place they had called home for a year.
Author: Prehistoric Cat
Rating: PG
Characters: Connor, Abby, brief Lester
Genre: Gen ... might get a bit fluffy/romantic in later parts
Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended
A/N: As this is set post series 3, there may be the odd little series 4 spoiler. Thanks go to my lovely LJ friends for a little bit of help, particularly pottsfanatic , evenstar_estel and casy_dee
It had all started about a month ago. Connor had been following the progress of a dig about thirty miles from the outskirts of the city. It had been all over the news; the Archaeologists had uncovered the remains of a juvenile T-Rex and were pretty excited by it. It was the most complete skeleton ever found in the UK, and anyone who was anyone in the world of Archaeology and Palaeontology was gathering at the site. Despite the fact he saw the real things practically every day now, Connor still found it fascinating and he would have given his right arm to be allowed on site and witness them uncovering the remains.
Then, the news suddenly stopped. It was like the dig no longer existed. Connor spent days trying to find out what was going on; even going to the site itself. They were still there, but everything was being kept very much hidden under tents. “Something’s not right, Abby.” Connor said. “They were all over this story a few days ago.”
“Cover up?” Abby said.
“Why though?” Connor said. His mind was starting to work overtime; he had his suspicions already but he needed to get evidence before he approached Lester. He turned to his trusted methods of investigation - hacking into various files, trawling the likes of twitter and facebook, and just generally keeping tabs on various chat sites.
He eventually stumbled across a series of messages on twitter. Apparently, other things were being uncovered at the site that didn’t add up - objects buried within the same sedimentary layer as the T-Rex that were out of place by thousands of years. There was talk of it being sabotage; an attempt to discredit the original dig, but Connor grinned as he read on. He knew this was no hoax or sabotage. Everything pointed to anomaly activity.
“We need to get onto the site to investigate.” Connor said to Lester.
“It’s a private dig, Connor. We can’t just turn up as government officials without good reason.” Lester said.
“What about sending someone in undercover?” Matt suggested. Lester nodded in agreement. “It would need to be someone who would sound authentic; someone with a bit of knowledge.”
Connor coughed. Lester looked at him and sighed. “I guess you’re our only option.” he said dryly. Connor punched the air and grinned. “I’ll sort you out with some paperwork and a fake ID, and then we’ll get you onto the site to find out what’s going on.”
So, two days later, Connor was flashing his new ID at the security check point and being ushered onto the dig site. “Follow me, Dr Temple. I’ll introduce you to the team leader.” The security guy led the way to a large tent at the far side of the site. Connor was trying desperately not to show his excitement; he needed to try and keep a professional air if he wanted to pull this off. He couldn‘t help but smile at being called ‘Dr Temple‘ though. Had he stuck to his degree course, he would be a doctor by now anyway so he wasn‘t stretching the truth that far.
“Professor, your new expert has arrived.” The security guy said. A man turned and stood up. Connor could tell straight away that he was in charge; he had that ‘air’ about him that commanded respect.
“Dr Temple, pleasure to meet you. I’m Professor Watts.” He held out his hand for Connor to shake. Connor took a deep breath. People like the Professor made him nervous and he hoped his palms weren’t clammy as he shook his hand.
“Thank you for accepting me onto your team.” Connor said, trying not to sound like an idiot.
“You came highly recommended. I understand you recently spent an entire year studying the Cretaceous era?”
Connor felt his stomach churn. This was his cover story and he had to get it right. “Yes, you could say it became my life.” he laughed.
“That’s what I like to hear, a man dedicated to his work! I think you’re going to fit right in here, Dr Temple.”
The rest of the day was spent being introduced to the rest of the team. It was all a blur, and Connor was certain he’d forget everyone’s names. All he wanted to do was get to the dig itself and find out what was going on, but as darkness began to fall he was still no wiser. He slowly made his way into the tent he was going to be sharing with one of the Archaeologists, a young man by the name of Sam.
Sam was already there when Connor pulled back the doorway. “Hi, you must be Sam? I’m Connor.”
“Yeah. Hi.” Sam said, without really looking up.
Connor placed his bag on the empty bed and then sat down next to it. Connor got the impression Sam didn’t want to socialise, so he got his mobile phone out and called Abby. He was missing her already; this was the first time they’d been apart since before their time in the Cretaceous. He listened to her going on about an argument between Becker and Matt; just making the occasional grunt so she knew he was paying attention. He just wanted to hear the sound of her voice and she could have been reciting Nursery rhymes for all he cared.
“So how was your day?” she said eventually. “Have you been able to see what’s going on?”
“No, today was just about being introduced to everyone. Hopefully I can go to the dig itself tomorrow.” Connor replied.
“Well don’t take too long over it.” Abby said. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” Connor said quietly. He glanced over at Sam, who was sat on his bed reading a book. “I wish you could have come here too.”
“There’s no way I could pull it off, Connor. Yes, I can do the ‘Cretaceous era expert’ thing, but if they started using technical jargon, my cover would be blown instantly.” Abby sighed. “Anyway, I guess I should let you go.”
“Yeah.” Connor said. He could’ve talked to her all night and didn’t really want to end the call. “Love you, Abby.”
“Love you too, Connor.” she said back, and then she was gone.
After a moment of silence, Sam spoke. “If you wanted to whisper sweet nothings to your girlfriend, you only had to say. I don’t mind making myself scarce for a few minutes to give you a bit of privacy.”
“Its OK. But maybe tomorrow if that’s alright?” Connor said.
“Not a problem.” Sam said, turning back to his book.
“And the same goes for me. If you need some privacy to make a phonecall…”
“Thanks, but its not an issue for me. I do too much travelling with this job; holding down a relationship of any kind is impossible.” Sam shifted nervously, then cleared his throat. “So, you’re the expert on the Cretaceous era then?” Connor nodded. “Have they told you anything about the discoveries?”
“Nothing really, other than it’s the most intact skeleton found in this country.” Connor said.
“Cast your eyes on this. I’d be really interested in your thoughts.” Sam said, opening up his laptop. Moments later, he was opening up some photos that he had taken of the remains. He clicked a few buttons then bit his bottom lip. “Yes, we have the remains of a juvenile T-Rex, but it appears it didn’t die of natural causes.”
“Oh?” Connor said.
“What does this look like to you?” Sam turned the laptop around so that Connor could see the screen. Connor gasped. Wedged between what looked like two rib bones was a stone spear head - and not just any spear head either.
“That’s impossible.” Connor said quietly, his voice straining because of the lump forming in his throat.
“I know! That’s what all the secrecy is about. It seems our friend was killed by a spear, that stone head was carved by a pretty skilled human. I have no idea what it means, but it could change everything we believe about the evolution of early man.” Sam said, looking at Connor’s ashen face.
Connor could feel his heart pounding. His early suspicions had been correct; this was definitely anomaly activity, and not just any anomaly either. He stared at the photo in front of him, There was no mistaking it; he recognised his own handy work instantly. If he was correct, the T-Rex they were uncovering was the one he had killed the morning he and Abby had come back to the present day. That also meant that this site was the place they had called home for a year.