Entry tags:

connor temple, day 25, one-shot

Who: Connor Temple, appearances by Nick Cutter, Abby Maitland, and Caroline Steele (*most of the dialogue from the three NPCs is kidnapped from the actual episode, credit goes to the writers*)
What: Fighting with time to try and set everything right...a bit early
When: Day 25, Winter, 2008
Where: London, near the Thames
Rating: PG
Status: Complete



At first, Connor only had the sensation of being cold and wet. It was a good thing he snapped to it quickly, however, because he was submerged in water. What? Experiment time, oh joy. Had too many of them complained about not getting good showers? Who else was around?

But when he surfaced, shaking his hair out of his eyes, he knew something was different. He knew this place. But from where? It was like a dream, or a memory. Something he could put his finger on, but only if he tried. He took several slow breaths, treading water for a moment before pulling himself to the surface.

And then he knew. The anomaly glowing only feet away. The water beneath him. He'd tried so many times to forget this day had ever happened and here it was, glaring him in the face all over again. Through that anomaly, Abby Maitland waited, her life in danger from a flock or a herd or whatever you called a large group of killer seal...things. He had to go to her. That much he knew.

Unless it was a trick. Were they playing a trick on him? He'd read Orson Scott Card novels, he knew it was possible. Or, well, in theory it was possible. Making him think he was back in that awful drain, only to have something far worse on the other side? It was the sort of trick they'd pull. The mind twisting, stomach churning sort of trick they'd use to harm him not just physically, but mentally, too. And he shouldn't give in to it. Should he?

But what if it wasn't? What if he really was back in time, facing the moment all over again? What if this was his moment to do it right? And really, nothing on the other side of that anomaly could be any worse than the thought of living a life without Abby in it. So what if she thought he was the ultimate geek and wouldn't be caught dead out on a date with him? He could deal with that. Losing her, though? That he couldn't live with. He'd never forget the broken, empty feeling he'd felt when she'd been taken. It was why he pushed away this day in his memory so desperately. He'd wandered the flat aimlessly, he'd yelled at Cutter and ignored him thoroughly, and all for her.

Caroline. Caroline was still around in this past. And was still working for Leek. He could stop it! Couldn't he? But there were rules about this sort of thing. He didn't need the technology the Management was hoarding to know that. The name Claudia Brown was etched in his memory thanks to Cutter. If he was right, evolution had been effected by one simple death. An entire being had been erased from their lives because of it. She'd never been born. Could the same sort of thing happen if he turned Leek in before they had found out before?

Maybe. But then, maybe he could save Stephen. But the first thing he needed to do was save Abby. And not say what he'd said the first time around.

Connor ran through the anomaly as if his life depended on it, and maybe it did. The landscape was familiar, and it really did feel like waking up from a long standing dream. He'd get to her in time, just as he had before. "Abby!" He'd yelled the last time, too, but this time he had a better idea of where to find her. He ran in the general direction he'd found her before, hoping he was saving precious seconds. He heard her scream. No. That wasn't right. He was supposed to be closer when she'd given that scream, not further. What the hell?

"Abby!" He'd waited too long. It was the damned Management, messing with his head, making him stop and think. He shouldn't have thought, he should've just ran for it. It was too late, he wasn't going to get there in time.

---

He was in the flat. What...how? How'd he get there? He should've been reaching for Abby right at that moment. But he'd been too late. This didn't make any sense. Why did nothing in his short life ever make any sense?

It looked so empty without her there. And there was Rex, looking sweet as ever, wondering when Abby was coming home, he was sure. Connor reached out to scratch his favourite spot beneath his chin when his phone began buzzing. He flipped it open and pressed speaker. Cutter's voice came through.

"Connor," the gruff, Scottish accent broke through, "I know how you feel. But I need your help, I think I know where to look. Connor? Look listen to me, it was my fault." For a moment, just the briefest of moments, Connor wanted to cry. He'd been afraid he'd never hear that voice again. It had only been a few days for him, but it still made all the difference in the world. "I should've asked for back-up and I didn't--"

"Cutter," Connor interrupted, which was a far cry from what he'd done before. "Abby and the basketball kid, they're still alive. You're right, they're not in the canal! They're in a basement--"

This time, he was the one interrupted. "In an old warehouse," Cutter said quietly. "Jenny said--how do you know?"

"Because I've lived it!" If anyone would understand, Cutter would. He was into these sorts of things, these theories, these ideas. Surely he'd get it. Or at least try it. "I've been to the future, see..." Maybe he could save Cutter, too.

---

In the flat again, but this time he wasn't holding his phone and he was being followed by a damp, shivering Abby. Mascara still streaked her pretty face and he winced when he first turned and saw her. But she was safe. He knew this part. He'd tell her to go have a lie-down, and she'd listen. And they'd be interrupted. By Caroline, his evil, conniving, money hungry, never-really-loved-him-anyway ex. Brilliant.

What the hell was going on? Was he just being shown flashes of his life? Was he being denied the chance to save his friends over and over again intentionally? It didn't seem fair. It was right there, the opportunity. Why was it getting snatched from him time and again?

"Connor? Back there, on the other side of the anomaly. You said something..." Abby began, and Connor knew where that was going. What came next, what came next...

"I said a lot of things," he countered, looking anxious.

Her face fell a little and at that moment, he'd have sworn he'd do anything to not make her look so sad. "Maybe I didn't hear you right... I thought you said something...about how...you felt about me."

The last time, Connor had chickened out. This time, he wouldn't. He couldn't. He'd make it right this time. "I said...I love you. Because I do. Caroline...she means nothing..."

"Connor!" Speak of the devil. Or wicked witch. Caroline's dark curls appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Traitor," he blurted as her face came into view. "Damn traitor, is what you are."

Both women in the room stared at him, Caroline open-mouthed and Abby looked stunned...and perhaps a bit pleased? Or was that wishful thinking on his part?

---

He was in the boat. Bobbing along the ocean, Cutter screaming at him to get help.

It was going to be a very, very long day.