Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures, I'm just borrowing it

A/N: I hope this doesn't get too confusing .... there will be two Connors in this story (Oh the thought!!!!) so, the Connor of the present day will be written in normal type, and the Connor of the future will be in italics. Hope it makes sense! As always, reviews, comments and feedback gratefully received.

Connor leaned back in his chair and looked at his computer screen with satisfaction. Everything was finally in place, and now all he had to do was wait. He knew exactly what was about to happen and when. He picked up the framed photo he kept on his desk, a simple family group and perfectly ordinary looking, taken 3 months ago. He smiled at the young girl in the photo, she was just over two years old now and developing a character all of her own. Her blonde hair and blue eyes almost mirrored her mother's, who was crouched just to the girl's left holding her by the waist. The girl's smile and dimples were unmistakeable and exactly like her father's, who was crouched behind the girl and the mother, his arms around both of them, protective and proud. "My two girls" he thought to himself, a stab of sadness ripping through him as he remembered the massive hug he had given them both this morning. Hard to believe it was actually five years ago that he first saw this. He glanced at the calendar over on Abby's desk – 28th January 2015. It was a date that was almost branded onto his brain … today was the day he would destroy the ARC.

--

(five years earlier)

"What have we got Connor?" Danny said, rushing over to the anomaly detector.

"Just checking the co-ordinates now" he scanned the screen, waiting for the detector to pinpoint the location of the new anomaly. "Not far from here, building site down by the river"

"I know it, come on. I'll go with Sarah and take the locking device, you go with Becker and Abby, make sure Becker calls for backup" Danny was already halfway out of the room. Connor nodded and called Abby on his phone, she was in the part of the ARC she called her own where she grew tropical and prehistoric plants. It was the place she felt most at peace.

"We've got an anomaly, Abby … Danny and Sarah are already on their way … I'll meet you at the front with Becker"

Abby sighed. Some days she just wished she could be left alone to get on with something normal. She grabbed her bag, checked to make sure she had her handheld detector with her, and made her way to the front of the ARC. Becker was already in the driving seat, Connor beside him in the passenger seat. She jumped in the back. "Where are we heading?"

"Two minutes down the road, that building site we pass on the way in" Connor said.

"Let's hope this is nice and quick. I don't like it when they're on our own doorstep" Becker said. He started the car and drove off.

--

The familiar sound of the anomaly alarm rang through the ARC. Connor glanced at his watch. It was time. This was the moment he had waited so long for. These things had become so routine now that he usually wasn't needed. He let the soldiers deal with it most of the time. Things were so different now, the work of the ARC had become something he despised and he was ashamed of his part in it. He had tried to get out, and so had Abby, but they were never allowed to leave. There was only one way out, and that was to end things before they began. He knew what his actions could do, but it was a risk he had to take if he was to stop the hell that this was becoming.

Abby came in and slumped herself at her desk. She'd been sharing Connor's office for the last year after returning from maternity leave. She didn't want to go back to her old office at the other end of the ARC, she didn't know anyone there now, and she felt safer being close to Connor. "It's close this time" she said "Will you be joining them?"

Connor shook his head "No need" He turned back to his computer and tried to act normal. It wouldn't be long now.

--

"You're sure it's all clear?" Danny said.

"Nothing's come through. We got here pretty quickly" Becker said.

"Good. Connor, lock it. Becker, get a couple of your men to guard it. Then let's go back to the ARC" Danny looked almost bored. The anomaly was locked and everyone got back into the cars. Just as they were about to drive off, Connor got out

"Listen, I'm going to do a bit of research on this one, take some readings and do a bit of messing about with the locking device" He said. "It's a quiet one, should be OK"

"OK Connor, you've got a couple of the soldiers here if things change, and call us if you need help" Danny said, and they all drove off, leaving Connor and the two soldiers.

It was as routine as he'd suspected, perfect for doing some "tweaking" to the device, something he didn't get much chance to do as it was usually needed in a rush. After half an hour or so, he was getting bored and needed to try a new direction. "What if I took readings on the other side of the anomaly?" he thought. He showed one of the soldiers how to operate the device "Lock it when I'm through, and then unlock it in an hour so I can come back" he instructed. Then, he stepped into the anomaly …

…. He was greeted by the sound of several rifles being clicked and pointed straight at him. He raised his arms "I come in peace" he muttered. Glancing around him, the soldiers didn't look much different to the ones he had just left behind. Wherever he was, he hadn't travelled very far in time.

The leader of the soldiers indicated for them to lower their guns "sorry sir, didn't realise it was you" he said.

Connor looked puzzled, but was relieved. "That's OK" he said.

"Your alarm didn't sound, have you broken it?" the soldier asked

Connor didn't have a clue what he was on about, but he said "yeah, it must be broken, I'll have to get it looked at" and began to walk away.

"Make sure you do. You know going through anomalies unaccompanied is forbidden"

"Sorry, yes" Connor said, still walking away. When he was far enough away, he decided to try and get his bearings. The buildings around him were all brand new, but didn't seem futuristic, they were just normal office type blocks. Then he spotted something familiar – the ARC! It had been expanded a great deal, stretching out into what would have been the building site he'd been in moments before. So, he was definitely in the future, but how far? Those soldiers had recognised him, and didn't seem alarmed at his age, so he deducted that he was probably only a few years into the future, and could safely assume that he still worked in the ARC.

He had had long discussions with Cutter about what they'd do if they came across the possibility of running into their future selves, would it be acceptable to find out your own future? Connor was more curious about the developments that had been made than about himself. If he did still work there, then surely he would be able to get inside? It was worth a try….

The main door was entry by fingerprint and iris recognition … so he got in easily, he was even greeted by a computer voice "welcome Mr Temple" as he came through. He grinned, that was cool! He could get used to that. He wandered along the corridor, it hadn't changed that much really. Were Danny, Sarah, Lester, Becker and Abby still working here too? He came past the lab where Abby was usually based, it was empty, not even a solitary plant. He was saddened, Abby loved looking after the different plants, nurturing them, trying different things on them. Danny's office was empty too.

As he approached the main part of the ARC, he kept himself hidden as best as he could. He could see the anomaly detector in the centre, looking pretty much the same apart from a few extra screens and a shiny new computer attached to it. There was a young man sat in front of it, printing information and typing away furiously. Then he heard a voice he instantly recognised, it was Abby! Curiosity got the better of him and he tried to get a better look. She was still his Abby, but her hair was longer, hung loosely around her shoulders. He decided he liked it like that and smiled to himself. She was calling back to someone in the office she'd just come out of, smiling, flicking her hair .. in fact, he would say she was flirting! That was Lester's office … surely she wasn't…? He watched her disappear down the far corridor, then he moved to try and find out who was in the office. He got a shock that made him almost give himself away, he had to muffle his gasp by shoving his hand in his mouth. Sitting in the office at Lester's desk, was his future self.

--

Connor resisted the urge to turn around. He knew that the younger version of himself was just by the door and currently debating if meeting his future self was a good idea or not. Five years ago, he'd been there, watching the future Connor at work, and then leave. He'd gone into the office, saw the photo on the desk and started to panic … he and Cutter had never decided if knowing your future was a good thing or not. There he was, suddenly armed with the knowledge that he and Abby did get their act together, and that they had a daughter. That had been enough, he looked at the date on the calendar over on the opposite desk and left, hurrying back to the anomaly. But not this time. The 2010 version of himself would be going back armed with knowledge that would change everything.

After waiting a few minutes, he turned around and faced the door. "Stop hiding, I know you're there" he called. The two stood and stared at each other, taking in detail and lost in their thoughts for a moment:.

"I have wrinkles!"

"Did I really look that scruffy?"

"Do I dye my hair?"

"No wonder Abby took so long to admit she loved me"

"This isn't right. We shouldn't be meeting" Connor finally said.

"Probably not. But it won't matter soon"

"I don't want to know my future, I just wanted…"

"You just wanted to see what technology there is here, I know, remember … I'm you. I was in your place 5 years ago. Except when I came, I just looked at the photo and left" he handed his younger self the framed photo. He watched his reaction as he realised what it meant. He remembered how he felt, he couldn't believe he would be that lucky.

"So what's different now?"

"I need you to know what the ARC becomes, so we can stop it before it starts"

--

"It was already happening in 2010, wars breaking out, terrorist attacks, protests, anarchy … and it got worse. By 2011, the country degenerated into a near lawless society. The ARC was de-commissioned as a research facility and fell under Ministry of Defence control, a base to start controlling society again"

"A military base?"

"That was it's official role. Becker was given a fast track promotion and transferred out to a top secret base, Sarah went with him and that was the last we saw of them. Lester was ousted, no-one knew what happened to him, and Danny was killed whilst trying to help defuse a bomb in Oxford street"

Connor was certain he shouldn't be hearing this, and were it not for the fact it was himself telling him these things, he'd be running away. He supposed he could trust himself. "What about Abby? I know she's still here, and you .. I mean me …"

"They kept us on, saying they needed our knowledge and expertise. I was promoted officially to project leader, and given unlimited money to develop the anomaly detector and locking device. For a while, it was great. It was late in 2011 that we started to realise what was happening. They were capturing creatures that came through the anomalies, and containing them. Abby realised that her job was not to look after the creatures any more, she was simply being made to sedate them so they could be transferred. The creatures were then being released into 'problem areas' to get rid of troublemakers, and they were being sent into war zones to be used as weapons. Thousands were being killed."

"But that's… why didn't you stop it? Why didn't Abby refuse to help?"

"Believe me, we tried, but they had a weapon against us. They knew we were an item. At first, they said they'd kill me if I tried anything, but they realised that I didn't care about my own life. That was when they threatened to kill Abby if I tried anything. At the same time, they were telling Abby they would kill me if she didn't do her work. We both feared for the other's life. I'd tried to open an anomaly into the past to try and warn everyone, maybe stop it, but I was discovered. They fitted Abby and I with alarms that would sound if we went through an anomaly" he lifted his trouser leg to reveal the alarm strapped to his ankle, like the electronic tag given to prisoners. "We're basically prisoners, even at home, helpless… and all the time, people are being killed by creatures from every era possible"

This was sounding like all his nightmares come true. He tried to get his head around it all. The ARC, the place he loved working in, the place that made him feel like a somebody, had become something that went against everything Cutter had begun. This was what Helen had been warning about all this time, she was right. The ARC was responsible for the end of humanity, it was happening right now outside these walls. "What do we do?" he said

"It has to be stopped before it begins. In 2010 they're already hacking into the ARCs files, taking an interest in the research and how they might use it."

"So, I destroy all the files?"

"It's too late for that. They already have them. The only answer is to destroy the ARC itself and all the technology. I can't go back, my alarm will go off and they'll be alerted. That's why I've had to wait for this day. You have to do it – go back to your own time and destroy the ARC"

The two looked at each other. Destroying the ARC in 2010 would have huge repercussions. Connor wasn't sure he was strong enough to do this. "You do realise what this could mean for you? Your life will change" he handed the photograph back to his future self "Do you want to risk losing them?"

"I've thought of nothing else, it's the one thing that has held me back. But the whole human race is at stake here, Abby and Claudia are just two people. If we don't try, they'll die anyway. And maybe, even with no ARC, Abby and I will still be together …"

"Messing about with technology and hacking into the computers I can do … but I'm not a soldier, or a terrorist … where do I get a bomb from? I wouldn't know where to start!"

"It's all on here" Connor handed the younger man a CD. "Software to upload into the ARCs central computer, no-one will know its there until its too late. It'll slowly wipe everything from its memory, and then access the self-destruct program. The ARC will blow itself up"

"The ARC has a suicide device?" he couldn't believe it

"Lester had it installed on the advice of some of his government friends back in 2007 – it was intended to destroy evidence should the anomaly project be exposed. I discovered it a couple of years ago whilst I was trying to work out how to do this. All you need to do is upload the program into the mainframe computer, and within a couple of hours …"

Voices could be heard in the corridor, one sounded like Abby. "You should go. Good luck"

"I don't think I can do this" he was frozen to the spot.

"Yes you can. You've seen the future, the predators destroying everything. Its happening here, now, within your own lifetime – and you can change it. Just make sure the people you care about are safely away when it blows" The two Connors shook hands and exchanged a look of mutual respect, before the younger Connor made his escape.

Standing at the anomaly, with the CD in his hand, Connor took a deep breath and went through, back to 2010, the enormity of his task weighing heavy on his mind