The all too familiar wailing of the anomaly alarm accompanied by the clattering of heavy boots in the corridor made Abby look up from her computer and swallow nervously. She didn't go out on calls these days; not since she'd fallen pregnant with Louise, but those sounds filled her with the same mix of fear and excitement that they always had.

She waited until the soldiers had passed and then made her way to the doorway of her office. From there, she could see down into the main hub where Jess was sat at the console and the field team were gathered to wait instruction from Becker and Matt. There was a part of her that wished Matt wouldn't go out on these calls either; most of the physical work was done by Becker's men these days and he wasn't needed. Her greatest fear was losing him to a creature attack or being trapped on the wrong side of an anomaly like Connor, but she also knew that she couldn't ask him to stop doing the one thing he had spent his whole life training for. The decision to stop would have to come from him alone.

The lump in her throat refused to go down and she willed her racing heart to calm down as she watched the team begin to disperse, but she knew it wouldn't happen until all of them were back safe and sound. Her apprehension was even greater at the moment. Connor was standing on the periphery of the group, appearing to take it all in. He'd officially been back at the ARC for six weeks now, and in that time there had been eight anomaly calls. He hadn't been out on any of them, and Abby was worried. He had been so keen to try and get back to normal at first and he'd been welcomed with open arms. Becker had put him through a training regime and Connor had been ready for action... until the first alarm sounded.

Right now, she could see Matt talking to him, trying to persuade him to join them. She was torn between hoping he wouldn''t go and hoping he would. On the one hand, if he stayed behind, he'd be safe from any danger he could encounter, but on the other, like Matt, Connor and anomalies just went together and if he was going to begin to move forward with his life he needed to get back to normal.

Matt was walking away and it was clear that Connor was not going with him. Matt looked up and make eye contact with Abby and gave her a look that said, "I tried." She acknowledged him with a nod, and then she mouthed "I love you.". He returned a mouthed "Love you, too." before running to catch up with Becker and the others.

She waited for Jess to silence the alarm and then made her way down to the hub. When the team were out on a call, she always sat beside Jess to listen in on the communications between the team. Jess handed her an earpiece, and she took her usual place and settled in to listen. After a few moments, she became aware of being watched and turned to her right. It was Connor.

"You okay?" she asked. "Come and sit with us. An extra pair of ears is always welcomed, isn't it Jess?"

"Of course!" Jess smiled, taking a spare earpiece from the desk and holding it out for Connor. He took it and fastened it to his ear and Abby and Jess exchanged looks. It was progress at least. He sat down next to Abby and switched it on. "There's not much going on at the moment," Jess explained. "I'll just be giving the two drivers directions to the anomaly site. It shouldn't be too much of a problem today, the traffic is quiet."

Connor nodded and Abby could see him looking at the console, taking in the readings and processing in his own mind what the situation might be out there.

"Has your compensation money come through yet?" Abby asked, trying to make conversation. "Matt said he'd give Lester a nudge for you if it hasn't."

"Oh, it cleared into my bank account at the beginning of last week, but thanks."

"Really? That's great! If you need driving anywhere to look at houses and stuff..."

"I've been looking," Connor sniffed. "But there's nothing grabbing my attention at the moment. No point in rushing into anything is there? This is a huge investment and I want to get it right. The flat I'm in at the moment is comfortable enough for the time being."

Abby nodded. She and Matt had helped Connor find his small flat after his first week back. It had a short term lease on it, renewable every four weeks, which suited Connor at the time because he intended to buy his own place when his money came through. Like being back on the team, he'd seemed very keen to buy a small house and fill it with his own furniture at first, but now seemed reluctant to take it beyond talking about it. "Well, as soon as you're ready to go house hunting, you only have to say and we'll be your taxi service."

"The same goes from me and Becker," Jess added.

"I couldn't possibly impose on any of your lives more than I already have," Connor replied. "Everyone has been so kind since I came back and I'm really grateful, I really am... but sooner or later I will have to stand on my own two feet again."

"Nonsense. Becker and I love having you over for dinner! It's nice to cook for someone who isn't constantly watching what he eats."

"You've had Connor over for dinner?" Abby was surprised, then felt guilty that she and Matt had never thought to invite him to theirs. Matt seemed more relaxed about Abby's relationship with Connor now and maybe it would be good for them to have a chat in an informal setting. She made a mental note to suggest it to Matt that evening.

Their conversation was interrupted by the voice of Lieutenant Fisher who was driving the first of the ARC vehicles. "We're approaching the anomaly site now, it should be just a couple of minutes ahead. Any reports of sightings?"

"Negative, Fisher. The airwaves are practically silent."

"Good," Becker said in response. "Let's hope that means nothing has come through and all we have to do is lock it and keep an eye on it."

"Don't be complacent, Becker. We need you all to come back in one piece."

"Jess..."

"I know..."

Abby smiled. Sometimes she forgot that she wasn't the only one with concerns about the man she loved being out in the field and facing danger. Jess was flicking some switches and listening in to various radio frequencies, so Abby turned to Connor who seemed to be taking great interest in the screen in front of him.

"Don't you miss it, Abby?" he said. "Being out in the middle of all the action?"

"Sometimes. But I guess I got old and sensible when I became a mother."

"Makes sense. Louise needs her mum." Connor looked thoughtful for a moment. "Have you not been to an anomaly at all then since she was born?"

"I've been to anomaly sites, but only to assist with getting stranded creatures back to the ARC after the anomalies close. To be fair, Matt could probably handle that side of things on his own, but he insists that I oversee it all and make sure the creature is comfortable and properly sedated for the journey."

"Jess, we have a creature incursion!" Becker's voice stopped the chatting and all three of the listeners became alert. "Matt thinks it's a young Scutosaurus, he's going to send Abby a photo to get confirmation."

Abby's mobile phone beeped and she looked at the photo before passing it to Connor. "Tell Matt he's right," Connor said.

"Connor, is that you?" Matt said. "Good to have your input, mate. Have you had any dealings with one of these before?"

Abby was about to tell Matt that he should know they had encountered these creatures before since he had studied all of the ARCs logs from the early days when she glanced over and saw a spark in Connor's eyes that she'd not seen since he'd been back. She wondered if Matt was asking him deliberately, hoping the memory of the first anomaly he'd ever come across would reignite his desire to be out in the field.

"A couple of times, yeah," Connor answered. "They're pretty harmless really, more likely to run away from you than attack, but watch out for others. They're usually in herds, and I would imagine there's a mother not far away. Wouldn't like to predict what she might do if she thinks you're harming her baby."

"Understood, Connor. I'll make sure Becker's men stay back whilst I try to shoo it back through the anomaly."

Abby smiled to herself as she listened. Matt knew all of this; if anyone knew how to handle the creatures it was him. She suspected she was right about his motives, and it did seem to be working. Connor was accessing something on the computer in front of him and he had an expression on his face that Abby knew well. Could this be the old Connor finally returning?

There were a few exchanges between Matt and Becker on the comms and then it went quiet as they began to deal with the situation. After a few minutes, there was a static crackle and Becker's voice. "Looks like Connor was right about the herd. We've got at least four of them now."

Connor twitched and sighed. "I bet that's a sight to see," he said under his breath, just about loud enough for Abby to hear.

"It's not too late for you to go and join them," she said, touching his shoulder. "I'm sure they'd welcome an extra pair of hands and eyes with experience."

Connor shook his head. "It just wouldn't be the same."

"Is that what's been holding you back?"

"The whole point of our work was being a team and working it all out together. Matt and Becker are very competent, I'd just feel a bit..."

"Your experience would be so valuable out there, Connor! The three of you would be an amazing team."

"But you wouldn't be there. Look, I know that there won't ever be an 'us' again, I've accepted that...sort of. But not having you out on an anomaly call with me just doesn't seem right. I'd rather not go at all."

Abby felt a sense of desperation. The spark she'd seen in him was waning and if she didn't do something, it would fade completely. Who could say how long it would be before something else caught his attention in this way. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do.

"Jess, is there a spare ARC vehicle fitted with comms?"

"Yes, it's parked up in bay 4."

"Where are the keys?" Abby stood up and smiled at Connor. Then she activated her radio. "Matt. Connor and I are coming to help you."

##

The short drive to the site seemed to take forever. Abby could feel her heart pounding against the wall of her chest and she couldn't decide if she was excited or scared at the prospect of being at an anomaly again. Matt had done a good job at disguising his surprise when they spoke on the comms, but he'd sent her a text message whilst she was looking for the car keys, wanting to know what was going on. She'd simply replied, "Trust me."

Connor was very fidgety, and spent most of the journey fiddling with his phone. Abby assumed he was just trying to take his mind off where they were going and didn't say anything until they were almost at the site. "Time to focus, Connor," she said softly. "We don't want any accidents on your first mission back with us."

"Sorry, yes. You're right, Abby." He put his phone into the glove box of the car and he stared ahead, looking for signs of the anomaly. As Abby pulled up and parked beside the other ARC vehicles, they could see the familiar glow of the anomaly just behind some trees. Abby felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and she glanced over at Connor. His face had changed to one of determination now and she knew she had done the right thing in coming out here with him. Hopefully, after this, he would realise it was where he belonged and he'd come on calls willingly without her.

He was already out of the car and striding purposefully towards the anomaly. Abby had to run to catch up with him and it was only when the anomaly was in full view that she caught up. He was stood still, eyes wide with a grin as broad as his face and Abby reached for his hand to squeeze it. "Brings back some memories, eh Abby?"

"Yes." It did. Watching Becker's men trying to encourage the creatures towards the anomaly, Matt and Becker barking orders and looking anxious. It was just like old times and the years fell away. Connor stepped forward and caught Matt's attention.

"Connor, Abby, it's good to have you with us. There's a couple of spare EMD's in the back of Becker's vehicle. I must insist that you both have one no matter what level of involvement you have today."

Abby nodded and went to get the weapons whilst Connor glanced around and took in the scene. He spotted a locking device on the ground, pointing at the anomaly and poised ready to be activated as soon as all the creatures were through and smiled. "After all of this time, you're still using my invention?"

"It works. Why would we change it?" Matt said.

"When you said that there'd been no research after I went... I thought you were kidding."

Abby handed Connor an EMD. "The only way we were allowed to keep the ARC going was that we agreed to no more research projects. Even the Vancouver team stopped and became like us; our remit was, and still is, to monitor the anomalies and make sure no-one manipulates them for their own gain."

"Evan blamed himself for your disappearance," Matt added. "He said if you'd been relying on your own instincts and not his device, you would never have lingered on the other side for more than a couple of minutes. I doubt he'd have done much research anyway, not without a lot of persuasion. He just helped Jess with upgrades where necessary."

Becker strode over, annoyed. "Whilst I am happy to see both Connor and Abby with us, we still have these creatures to get back through the anomaly before it closes."

"Of course, Captain," Matt said. "Connor. In your experience, what would be the plan of action here?"

"I'd say that we try to get to the male and concentrate on getting him back. The females will follow."

"Already thought of that. They're all female, apart from the baby."

"Have you tried just scaring them through?" Abby added. "I remember that was how we dealt with them before."

Becker sniffed. "That's what my men are trying now, but the dumb animals run in every direction except the one we want them to!"

Connor frowned and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small handheld device that the team instantly recognised. "We have to think pretty quickly, guys," he said. "The anomaly's going to close in just under 5 minutes."

"If that's Evan's device that you had when you disappeared, then I wouldn't rely on it being accurate, but I do agree we need to act quickly. Come on, let's try surrounding the herd and closing in on them, driving them towards the anomaly." Matt said, and with a nod everyone followed him and began to form a wide circle around the creatures.

Abby looked sympathetically at Connor who looked a little down at having his device dismissed. "I'm surprised you still have that thing," she whispered. "Considering the problems it caused you."

"It was like a comfort blanket I suppose. Something to cling on to from my own time. But it is reliable, Abby. I've been tweaking it since I've been back and testing it whenever there was an anomaly detected. I worked out where the error was and..."

Connor stopped as Matt gave the command to start moving forward. As the circle descended upon the herd of Scutosaurus, they grew agitated and a couple of them began to head towards the anomaly. "It's working," Matt called. "Keep going."

"Watch out for the baby!" Abby added. "It hasn't got the same level of fear as the adults and it might make a bolt for one of the gaps between us instead of the anomaly, and then the mother may decide to go after it."

As they all slowly moved forward, Abby glanced over at Connor and felt a sense of relief. He was clearly very happy to be involved again and it looked like he'd never been away. She even wondered if perhaps she should come out on calls again too, she had missed being so involved with the creatures on site more than she realised. This was where both she and Connor really belonged and this was just the start.

The first of the creatures disappeared through the anomaly and the others looked around before deciding that was their safest option too and started to follow it. "Almost there!" Matt said. "Don't stop, we have to get all of them through before we relax."

Connor was glancing anxiously at his device and at the anomaly. There was no sign of it fading yet, but he seemed worried that the creatures wouldn't get through in time. He started jumping up and down making a wailing noise, hoping to frighten the last two creatures through. A couple of the soldiers joined in and moments later, all of the creatures were through. There was a collective sigh of relief and two of Becker's men broke from the circle to activate the locking device whilst Becker moved everyone to one side.

"Wait! Please," Connor begged. "According to this, the anomaly will close in 90 seconds. I want to show you that it does work and that it's worth picking up some of the research again." He held up the device to show the display to Matt.

"Connor..."

"Matt, what's the harm? If one of the creatures shows signs of coming back, we'll be ready to scare it back through. One minute or so is nothing." Abby said softly.

"Okay, but if the anomaly doesn't close when Connor thinks it will, we lock it."

Becker grunted something about Matt being under Abby's thumb which earned him an angry look and he backed off, shaking his head. Connor looked at the device again and turned to Abby, taking a deep breath.

"This is it, I suppose."

Abby was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Last time, I didn't get to say goodbye." He hugged her and whispered. "There's always a place in my heart for you, Abby."

"Connor?"

"I've explained everything in my note. It's on my phone that I left in the glovebox." Abby could see that his eyes had taken on a glassy appearance. He was trying not to cry, but she didn't understand why. "Goodbye, Abby."

Then he released her, waved at Matt and Becker, and ran straight at the anomaly.

"Connor!" Abby went after him, but he was already through and the light was beginning to flicker. If his device was correct, the anomaly was about to close. She could risk it and go after him, but the fear of not being able to get back was too great. She couldn't let Matt and Louise go through the same pain that she had ten years ago, she loved them too much.

"Idiot!" Becker snapped. He too had moved towards the anomaly to try and stop Connor, but had hesitated when he saw it start to fade. Moments later, the anomaly was gone and they were stood staring at the empty space.

Becker placed a hand on Abby's shoulder and walked away to assist with clearing away the locking device. Abby just stood, frozen to the spot and unable to speak. Had Connor really just gone through the anomaly deliberately and left her again? She was vaguely aware of Matt at her side, tangling his fingers into hers but remaining silent, letting her process her own thoughts.

"I can't believe he did that!" she finally said, and Matt slipped his arm around her. He knew there were no words he could say right now that would comfort Abby, he could only let her know he was there at her side, just as he always had been. They stood together, Abby staring in disbelief whilst Matt kept half an eye on the activities of Becker's men. It would not be long before they were ready to leave the site and head back to the ARC. Matt decided he would not try to make Abby leave just yet, but he was determined that she was not going to sit and wait all night for the anomaly to reopen like she'd done before.

Some minutes later, Becker tentatively approached to let Matt know they were ready to go. "Abby and I will stay for a little longer," Matt said softly. "We'll use the car she and Connor..." He stopped, knowing he didn't need to say more. Becker nodded and left, and moments later it was just Matt and Abby.

"I thought he was happy," Abby said. "I don't understand..."

"Who knows what he was thinking, Abby. We were doing everything we could to help him ease back into a normal life."

"His phone!" Abby turned and ran to the car and opened the passenger door. Matt followed and by the time he got there, she had found Connor's phone and was fiddling around with it. Her hands were shaking as she found what she was looking for. "He said he'd explained everything in a note on his phone. I wondered what he was doing on the way here with it, I just thought he was finding something to distract himself."

She had found what she was looking for and sat down in the passenger seat, facing out of the opened door. Matt crouched beside her and stroked her knee as she read. She was blinking back tears and biting her lower lip and then she took a deep breath to read it out loud to Matt.

"Dear Abby, I hope that you will eventually be able to forgive me for what I've just done. At least this time I was able to say goodbye. I've been planning this for a few weeks, waiting for an appropriate time to do it. It seemed to make sense that our last anomaly together would be dealing with the same kind of creatures that we encountered on our very first anomaly.

I suppose it was naïve of me to expect things to have remained the same during the ten years I was away, and maybe if I'd prepared myself for change I would have handled things better. I made the decision not to stay after the first week. I can't work alongside you and not be with you. It hurts too much."

Abby stopped and wiped a tear from her cheek. Her face crumpled and Matt pulled her into his embrace for a moment. "Do you want me to finish reading it?" he said softly. Abby nodded and pulled away, passing the phone to him.

"I can see how much Matt loves you, and how much you love him. I know he's a decent man and will take care of you and I wish you both, and your gorgeous little girl, all the love in the world.

I suppose if things at the ARC were different, I'd find a way of making the situation work, but it's not a place I feel at home in any more. I respect that your remit now is to deal with any incursions and make sure no-one interferes with the anomalies, but that isn't for me. I need to be actively involved with them. I want to carry on what Professor Cutter started and work out what they are. It's ironic that the research stopped because of what I did with New Dawn and then getting myself trapped on the wrong side of an anomaly, yet it seems that I'm the only one that is desperate to continue with it.

Perhaps I could just take the compensation money and set up on my own, but I can see that that would cause conflict and issues for you and the team. I'd be at the anomaly doing experiments and you'd have to remove me. I don't think any of us want to be in that position, so I made a big decision. I'm going it alone, just like I have been for the last ten years. For every bad experience I had, there were at least three wonderful things I saw or did to contrast. I would've liked to have shared some of that with you and take you with me to see them for yourself, but I suspect you would prefer to be with your daughter and husband. I get that and envy you in some ways that you're settled with your life.

I'm sorry I had to deceive you. If I'd told you what I planned to do, you'd have all tried to stop me. Please don't worry about me, this is what I want. Travelling from one time to another, gathering information, making new discoveries... I can't wait! Who knows, maybe one day I'll find that Jurassic beach, and then I can be truly happy.

Since I don't need the compensation money, I've arranged for it to be transferred into yours and Matt's bank account. I want you to have it, and if you feel uncomfortable accepting it for yourselves, then take it for Louise and save it for her future. I expect one day she'll be off to University, or setting up her own home, and the money should come in very handy.

You will always be in my thoughts, Abby. I will remember our time together with love and fondness – I hope you will still think of me. Please tell Jess and Becker thank you for their support too and that I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye to them properly.

With all my love, Connor. Xx"

Matt cleared his throat and gave the phone back to Abby, grasping her hand as she reached to take it. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I will be. I just wish Connor had told us that he wanted to do research, we might've been able to convince the Minister that it's time to pick it up again and that Connor would be the perfect one to lead it because he is so aware of all the possible dangers."

"It sounds like he thought this out very carefully," Matt said. "He's spent ten years alone. Adjusting back into a team must be very difficult and daunting and without the one person he thought would help him through it, it would be even harder. Perhaps he'll be happier dealing with the anomalies hands on and by himself."

"Maybe. I don't know. If only he'd told me what he planned to do... yes, I would've tried to stop him from leaving, but I know Connor and I wouldn't have been able to convince him to stay unless... Well, there's no way I would leave you so... At least I could've let him know that he'd be welcomed back with open arms if he realised he'd made the wrong decision."

"I'm certain we haven't seen the last of him," Matt said, standing up and stretching out a stiff muscle in his leg. "I'd be disappointed if we didn't encounter him at least one anomaly at some point in the near future."

Abby smiled. Matt was right. Connor wouldn't be able to stay away and they would see him again at some point in the future. She watched him walk round the front end of the car and get into the driver's seat, and as he leaned around to fasten his seat belt, she grasped his hand. She needed just to touch him, to know he was there. She sensed that today would change things for them. They were emerging from this difficult time as a stronger couple, and she felt that she finally had closure where Connor was concerned.

Matt started the car and pulled away. Abby glanced back over her shoulder to look at where the anomaly had been and whispered "Goodbye Connor." before turning back to face out of the front window and look towards a future with Matt.