Disclaimer: They're not mine *pouts* no copyright intended

A/N: the end ...... thanks again to everyone for the support!

Connor had always felt uncomfortable in the presence of "suits". They made him feel insignificant somehow. Today was no different. He had asked if he could have a meeting with Sir David Mills, Lester's friend who had been the one pulling all the strings for this Tanzanian ARC project. He sat waiting at the agreed meeting point, feeling like a naughty school boy waiting to see the Head Master. It had been a week since that webcam chat, and the evening he would rather forget. Things were a little strained between him and Johanna, he'd apologised of course, in his own bumbling way. She had just replied "I hope this Abby realises how lucky she is"

"Connor, at last we meet properly!" Sir David came into the room. He was just as Connor had imagined, and Connor actually wondered if the Home Office just bred clones – it could almost have been Lester stood there. He shook Connor's hand. "I've been hearing great things about your project, the detector's working?"

"Yes, sir. It seems to be." Connor felt his mouth go dry. This man had invested a lot in Connor, and now he was going to ask for more help.

"What can I do for you, Connor? What is it you need?, name it and we'll get it"

"I just want to thank you for the opportunity you gave me, coming out here has been……. an adventure" Connor couldn't make eye contact. "I know I'm supposed to be here for another three months, but … I'm not sure I can do this any more"

"You're having doubts in your abilities? Please don't think that, everyone speaks very highly of your work"

"I know, and that's why this is so hard. I want to go home, sir" Connor waited for a response, swallowing hard and staring at his feet.

"I see. Is there anything I can do to change your mind? More money?"

Connor shook his head. "It's not about money, it's not about the work. It's about the people I'm missing at home" person actually he thought.

Sir David sighed. "I suppose I can't argue with that. We'll be sorry to lose you, I was actually hoping we could get you to stay beyond the six months. Leave this with me, I'll see when I can arrange a flight home for you" He shook Connor's hand again, and left. Connor smiled. He was going home.

--

Abby stormed out of Lester's office for the third time in a week. Sarah and Danny exchanged looks. "That man! ….. "Abby sat at her desk with a thud.

"He's still saying no then?" Danny asked.

Abby tried to mimic Lester's voice "we need your skills Abigail. I cannot afford to lose you for that length of time"

Sarah looked sympathetically at her "I'm sorry Abby"

"Everything about this whole thing has been against me since the start. The note being chewed up, his phone not working, why would I think this would be any different? Of course Lester's not going to let me go off to Tanzania for three months. Besides, do you know how much a flight out there costs?!" Abby buried her head in her hands.

"Connor really means that much to you?" Danny said. She nodded. "Email him, set up another webcam chat, and tell him. It may be three months before you can do anything about it, but at least he will know"

"Danny's right" Sarah said. "It's not ideal, but you'll be able to see each other's reactions. You'll know if he still feels the same way about you, and then you'll know if it's worth waiting for three months for him, or whether you should just move on"

It was her last option. She started up her email and clicked "new message". She'd keep it short and friendly, not implying anything at all. She just said she would "really like to chat" and suggested a webcam would be easier than fighting over the expensive landline. She clicked "send" and waited.

--

Connor had finished the last of his packing. He was leaving today, although his flight wasn't until tomorrow. There was a tentative knock on his door "Connor?" It was Johanna

"Come in" he smiled at her.

"Can't believe you're leaving so soon" she said. "But home is important, I understand that"

"I'm sorry it's ended on a slightly awkward note" he said "Most of it has been great"

"Most of it" she smiled. "Do me a favour, Connor" He looked at her questioningly "Make sure you're happy. Take a few chances and do whatever it takes to get what you want. You're a good man, Connor Temple, and you deserve to be happy" she hugged him, holding onto him tightly. He returned the hug, and gently kissed her on the forehead

"Thank you"

There was another knock on the door, it was Dave and Scott. "Temple! We came to say goodbye and good luck" More hugs. Connor was beginning to feel overwhelmed, he was going to miss the team here. They'd made him so welcome and he'd learnt so much.

"Thank you, guys, for everything."

"Thank you, that detector of yours is amazing, it means we can get there that little bit quicker and prevent unnecessary deaths" Dave said. He reached into his pocket "We got you a little something, it's not much, bit short notice" He handed Connor a small package. All three pairs of eyes were on him.

Connor carefully peeled off the wrapping. Inside was a piece of amber. Connor grinned at them, it was perfect.

"We tried to find a piece with an insect in for you" Johanna said "But you don't get many of those now"

"I love it!" Connor said, fighting back tears. Yet another knock at his door came, a voice telling him that his car was here to take him to the airport. He hugged everyone goodbye and dragged his cases outside. They helped him load them into the boot and then he got into the front seat. The driver was the same guy that had brought him here.

"Mr Temple, you ready?" Enzi said

"Yes, you bet! I can't wait to get home" Connor grinned, waving to his friends as they became distant spots.

--

Connor knew he should try to sleep, but his head was so full of concerns it was hard. He'd been down to the hotel lobby to use the internet in the hope he'd find something to take his mind off things. He logged into his emails, and found two messages waiting for him. The first was from Lester, saying he would arrange for someone to meet Connor at Heathrow and take him home. Home, it was such a beautiful word, but did he still have a home to go to? What if Abby had let his room to someone else? The second email was from Abby. Given his fears already, he almost didn't open it. She said she wanted to chat, properly, and that maybe they could use webcams. Was that a good thing? Maybe the chat was going to be "hey Connor, hope you don't mind, Brad the stud is moving in tomorrow".

Did he tell her he was on his way home? By the time she would see his reply, he'd be on the plane. He decided not to say, he just replied "Yes, would like a proper chat too. Let me know when"

He glanced at his watch, in 7 hours he would be checking in for his flight home, and in 10 hours he'd be on it. Suddenly, he felt very tired, and very nervous.

--

Abby had been smiling most of the day. She'd half expected Connor not to reply to her email, but when she'd logged in first thing there was a message waiting for her. He wanted to chat too. He'd said he missed her on the last one, and she had wondered ever since what else they might have said were they not in company. This time, she'd make sure they were in private so they could say what they really wanted to – at least, that was her plan. Things had a habit of not working out the way she wanted when it came to her relationship with Connor.

She was vaguely aware of Lester talking to Danny, but she was lost in her thoughts. She heard her name being called and swung round. "Sorry?"

"I said there was something I needed to tell you" Lester was in a bad mood. "Honestly you youngsters, attention spans of goldfish" he rolled his eyes

"I'm sorry, Lester. My mind's elsewhere today"

"Indeed" he sniffed. "There's a flight arriving from Tanzania at just after 5pm, Heathrow terminal 5. There's a young man who might appreciate a hand with his luggage and a lift home"

Abby's eyes widened, she could see Danny's grin broaden behind Lester. "Lester, I could kiss you!" she said.

"I'd rather you didn't." he replied. He tried to remain stone faced, but even he could see what this news meant to Abby and couldn't help but smile. "Just make sure you're there, a taxi would cost a fortune"

--

Abby checked the arrivals board as soon as she got there. Connor's flight was on time, the board said it was in the stack, queuing to land. Her heart was beating fast and hard, she couldn't quite believe she was going to be seeing Connor again in a matter of minutes. Why was he coming home so early? What had happened? She placed herself just by the exit from immigration control, he should see her as soon as he came out.

--

It seemed to be taking an age for the luggage to start coming out onto the carousel, as usual. Connor was growing impatient. All he wanted to do was get home and begin sorting out his life again. He went to sit on a spare trolley, but being Connor, he stumbled. His rucksack slipped off his shoulder onto the floor, its contents spilling out. Sighing, he scrambled around, picking everything up. Amongst the things that had fallen out, was his mobile phone. Out of sheer habit, he flipped it open and switched it on. He noticed the carousel begin to move, so he slipped the phone into his jeans pocket and went to join the crowd waiting for their cases.

After a few minutes, he felt a mad flurry of vibrations from the phone. He took it out and stared, he was getting a backlog of texts that had been sent whilst his phone was out of range. He scrolled through them, most seemed to be junk, and then there was one, received the day after he'd left "you have a voicemail". He dialled his voicemail and listened. "Connor, it's me Abby" His heart leapt – she had called him! He listened, her faltering voice made his heart ache for her. He wanted to hold her there and then. She'd said Sid and Nancy had chewed his note and she hadn't got it in time, she would have come. He cursed his own stupidity, for being a coward and leaving a note in the first place, for not securing it to the fridge like he'd tried to. Then, was she crying? He bit his bottom lip, listening, as he heard the words he had wanted to hear so much "Connor, I love you". Where the hell were his cases? He had to get home, now!

As soon as he was able, he grabbed his cases and went through the final customs checks. Now all he had to do was find the man Lester had sent to pick him up. He scanned the waiting people who were holding up signs with various names. He could have sworn he heard his name called, but couldn't see anyone. He eyes continued down the line until … no! … it couldn't be? …

"Connor!! Over here!!" Abby shouted. She was waving frantically at him. When he finally saw her, his face lit up. She wanted to run to him, but the security guy wouldn't let anyone past the barrier. She could see his face crumpling as he fought back tears, and he speeded up his pace, not able to run with two cases to drag along. It felt like an eternity but he eventually got beyond the barrier. Abby ran to him and flung her arms around him.

Dropping his suitcases to the ground, he wrapped his arms around her, sobbing. "Abby, I …"

"Shh, Connor. You don't need to say anything" Abby whispered, placing a finger lightly on his lips. She was trying not to cry, but failing. She looked straight up into his eyes, he was smiling through his own tears. She gently ran her fingers to his cheek, wiping the tear that was trickling down it.

"I'm so sorry, Abby. I made a mess of everything" he stroked her hair, then ran his fingers to her cheek.

"So did I Connor, there's things we both should have said"

"I just got your voicemail, this is the first time my phone's worked"

"Voicemail?" she hadn't left him … oh god, yes she had! She swallowed, scared of what he might say. She could see him struggling for words, typical, sweet, Connor. She willed him to find the words he wanted, whatever they might have been.

Johanna's words were echoing around his head – do whatever it takes to get what you want – he took a deep breath and spoke. "Abby. I love you". He finally got it out. Please don't let me have just made a huge fool of myself.

"I love you too, Conn" she pulled him towards her and kissed him softly on the lips, a gentle but lingering kiss. He responded, kissing her back and tightening his hold. He was never going to let her go now that he finally had her.

When their lips finally parted, Abby gazed up at Connor. He looked so sweet, his cheeks flushed and his eyes glinting. "We should get home" she whispered. She took the handle of one of his cases in one hand, and held his hand with her other. He did the same, and allowed Abby to lead him out towards where she was parked.