Really, I hate myself right now. I should be writing my Merlin fic, but more Primeval stuff keeps jumping in the way. (Maybe if my beta would beta the last chapter I've written of said Merlin story then I would be more compelled to write more to it, but she hasn't so neh.) Anyway, here's my latest. Enjoy!

New World

Connor wakes up one day to find that the world he knew has changed. The ARC doesn't exist, the team was never formed, and no one remembers a thing. Searching for answers, Connor finds himself at the Home Office faced with Captain Becker, James Lester, and surprisingly, Nick Cutter: the members of the new ARC in this world. Connor/Becker. Set near the end of Season 3.

Due to 's summary character limit, this is the summary I had to make to fit in the box:

Connor wakes up to find the world has changed. The ARC is gone, the team was never formed, and no one remembers. Searching for answers Connor finds himself at the Home Office faced with the anomaly team of this world. Connor/Becker. Set Near End Season 3

…

…

Chapter One

"He's home now," Connor said as he and Abby came back through an anomaly. They'd just finished ushering the mammoth from the ARC, and the other one that had come through today, back through the anomaly to its own time. It had taken forever, but finally one had opened to the right time period.

"Whoo!" Abby whooped beside him and they gave each other a high five with huge grins. Abby's smile turned sorrowful and she faced the anomaly. "I'll miss him, but he's back where he belongs."

Connor nodded. "Yea. But not as much as Lester," he joked. Connor moved over to his anomaly locker and pressed it. "Ow!" he gasped as it shocked him. Abby gave him a concerned look but Connor shook his head when the anomaly locked anyway. "It zapped me. Nasty," he explained.

"You alright?" Becker asked, stepping closer to the duo. Connor beamed at him.

"Brilliant, actually," Connor informed him.

Abby shook her head when they just continued to stare at each other. "I swear, you two need to get a room. Or better yet, Becker," she addressed their chief of security. "Have him move in with you so I don't have to listen to him swoon all the time." She was grinning like a madwoman.

Connor frowned, if it was possible, playfully. "Aw, come on, Abby. You know you'd miss me," he teased her.

Becker laughed and knocked Connor's shoulder with his own. "Either way, it's not a bad idea. But my flat was only built for one and I can't move right now, so it'll have to wait."

Abby nearly doubled over with laughter at how Connor's eyes lit up like diamonds at the same time that he looked a bit freaked out. Becker was drawn by her laughter and thus didn't see the reaction and Connor was pouting at her by the time he looked away again.

"Alright," Becker said at length, when Abby wasn't chortling anymore. "Let's get back to the ARC. I'm sure there's some paperwork you haven't done," he said in general, but it was aimed at Connor.

Connor continued to pout as they made their way to the cars. He winced when his zapped fingers stung some more and decided that he'd have to put some sort of cream or something on them when they got back. He felt like a human lightening rod right now.

…

…

The first thing Connor realized when he woke up the next morning was that he wasn't in his own bed at Abby's flat. That wasn't weird because he'd stayed the night at Becker's place. The second thing Connor realized when he woke up was that he wasn't in Becker's bed either.

"Huh?" he gasped, shooting up and looking around. "What?" he breathed out.

It looked like…the flat he'd lived in before he moved in with Abby. His DVD and comic collections were against one wall of the room, with his dinky T.V. set across from the bed with his game systems below it for easy access and optimum laziness. There were dirty clothes all across the floor and Connor saw outfits that he remembered being destroyed by dinosaurs lying intact near the typically unused hamper.

Connor leapt from his bed and hurried into the other rooms. There were half empty bottles of shampoos he no longer used on the side of the shower. His kitchen had dirty dishes in the sink that Connor distinctly remembered taking to Abby's with him when he moved…and they hadn't been dirty yesterday. Several energy drinks were in the fridge – a habit Connor had ditched once he joined the ARC. There was a desk in the corner with buckets of papers littered all around. He remembered that pile. It was the research he'd done on his dissertation about alien life on Earth. But….he'd thrown it out when he quit school and became a full time worker at the ARC.

How on Earth was all this stuff here?

Connor found a newspaper on the kitchen table and snatched it up. 2009. The date was right. Connor booted up his computer (an older model than the one he remembered having yesterday) and went to his documents.

Nothing. All his old conspiracy theory documents were accounted for, but nothing related to the ARC or anomalies at all was there. His phone rang and Connor ripped it from where it rested on the desk.

"Reminder:" flashed on the screen, and below that was the date and the event. Class. It was a class Connor had never heard of, never signed up for, didn't care about. He tossed the phone back onto the wood and pulled up the internet.

What was going on?

…

…

"This can't be happening," Connor breathed out in horror, hours later, still sitting in front of his computer. "No."

What kind of sick and twisted world had he woke up in?

Stephen Hart was listed as a lab technician until three years ago, and then he just suddenly vanished. Professor Nick Cutter was the same way: he was just gone. Connor couldn't find obituaries, grave sites, notices of a move, medical records, anything! It was like they'd ceased to exist or something!

The anomalies had definitely still happened, however. They were more noticeable, though still a secret, it seemed. Connor looked back on the days he remembered finding the anomalies and noticed more deaths than there had been originally. It was like they were still waiting for someone to die to learn where the anomalies were. Who 'they' were was another question, because Connor couldn't find an Anomaly Research Center anywhere. The place just didn't exist; simple as that.

What hurt the most right now was that Connor couldn't find Becker. He found Becker's name on a list of graduates from Sandhurst, but he vanished like Stephen and the professor after that. Connor even looked up Becker's address, but it was rented out to someone named Clyde Webber and that definitely wasn't Becker.

Was it a good thing that he couldn't find the captain? If nothing Connor remembered had actually happened, then he and Becker probably weren't a couple. So was it better this way? But what if Becker remembered too and was worried about him?

Connor looked down at the slip of paper he'd been writing on. On it was the only address he'd been able to find on anyone from their old team. He hadn't found a record of a Danny Quinn or a Sarah Page, but he had found Abby Maitland. Her life hadn't changed a bit. She still lived in the flat where Connor had become her roommate, and she still worked at the zoo.

"I've got to talk to her. She's got to remember," he murmured to himself before lifting from the chair and hurrying to his bedroom to change his clothes and get presentable.

It felt weird to wear his vests and jackets again after having switched to normal shirts for so long, but it also brought him comfort in the familiarity. His hair was a bit long, but in this timeline he'd obviously still cut it because it was shorter than Connor remembered it being when he was still in school before.

Hoping in his car, it was only a few pulse pounding minutes before Connor was parked outside the zoo. The information he'd found said Abby worked in the bug department, but if Connor knew Abby at all, she would be in with the lizards.

And she was. Dressed in a maroon shirt with the zoo's name on it, Abby looked just like Connor remembered her from yesterday.

He couldn't hold it in. "Abby!" he shouted, beaming.

She jumped and flipped around with wide eyes, then narrowed them at him in confusion. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Connor's smile dimmed. "Abby….Abby, it's me. Connor," he prompted, putting his hands on his chest in a gesture toward himself.

Abby looked him over, slowly, before shaking her head. "Sorry, mate. I don't know you. Where did we meet?" she asked, trying to be polite anyway.

"The Forest of Dean," Connor said quietly, his confidence in the bin.

"What?" Abby shook her head. "I've never been," she informed him.

Connor balked. "What? N-never? What about…What about Rex?" Abby raised an eyebrow and Connor floundered. "Rex! He's your Coelurosauravus." Abby shook her head, her expression becoming more and more concerned. Connor shut his eyes for a moment and sighed. "A lizard," he amended softly. "He's one of your lizards."

Abby shook her head a bit more forcefully, shrugging. "I don't own a Coel-whatever it is. I'm sorry, but I think you've mistaken me for someone else."

Connor shook his head. "No, I-" he stopped. Shutting his eyes again, Connor took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he began, his voice more calm even as his heart was trying to break out of his chest. "I'm really sorry about all this."

Then he turned and fled. Abby called after him but he didn't turn around. He didn't stop until he was safely tucked away in his car, and then he leaned his forehead against his steering wheel and forced himself not to cry.

Why was it only him? He was a stranger to his best friend and he couldn't even find the others. If the timeline wanted to change, the least it could do was not let him remember, or make him cease to exist like Claudia Brown!

Connor gasped, sitting up straight in his chair. Claudia Brown! He knew who Claudia Brown was! Not just how Cutter had explained her, but he distinctly remembered working with her! He also remembered not remembering her when she'd vanished and Jenny had taken her place.

Oh this was so confusing.

…

…

It had taken Connor a stupidly long time to think of this plan. Why had he not looked up Lester in the first place? But now he had and he was standing outside of the Home Office, where he knew Sir James Lester was still an employee. Most of the files Connor had managed to find while hacking were confidential and he couldn't get past the firewall. If he tried a bit harder, Connor was certain he could've broken through, but he really didn't want to read all those files. He wanted to talk to the man in person.

After his failure with Abby, he really didn't think Lester of all people would remember. However, Lester still worked for the government and someone was still taking care of the creatures that came through the anomalies, so this was his best shot.

When he walked in, he was immediately stopped by a man that he knew for a fact was part of the ARC security before.

"Identification?" the man asked stonily.

Connor gave him an award-winning grin. "Left it in my other pants," he said casually, with a hint of embarrassment. "Don't suppose you could just let me through, could you?" The man frowned at him and Connor pouted. "Come on, please? I'm supposed to meet with Lester soon." He tried to sound convincing, but apparently his lying skills hadn't improved much because the man's frown simply deepened and he nodded to the doors.

"You'll have to leave, sir."

"Please?" Connor tried again, and he didn't have to fake his pathetic look. "I really need to see him."

The guard shook his head. "Without the proper identification, no one is allowed beyond this point."

"Well, I had the proper identification until yesterday," Connor muttered bitterly.

"What was that?"

Connor shook his head. "I lost mine, really," he said instead. "Just let me through and I swear I'll sort things out with Lester." Or he desperately hoped he could sort things out with Lester.

"No."

Connor couldn't help the glare on his face. "Come on, mate! I'm no danger. Let me through!"

The man's hand went to his waist and Connor had no doubt he was reaching for his gun. "I'm asking you to leave, sir."

Connor gulped. He'd never been particularly fond of having guns pointed at his person. He shrugged. "Alright, alright," he agreed, holding his hands up in surrender. The man's hand left his gun. Connor waited until it joined its brother in crossing over the man's chest before he acted.

And boy did he act stupid.

He pulled his right arm back, made a fist, and punched the guard square in the jaw. The man let out a short howl and grabbed at his cheek while Connor darted past him. The guard reached for him but Connor slid to the floor and out of his reach and then rolled back up onto his feet and kept going. He ran until he was three hallways over and then stopped by a list of people and offices on the wall.

"Lester, Lester, Lester," he repeated as he scanned the list. "Aha. Oh! Fifth floor?" he whined. "Why's he always gotta be so high up?"

Connor bolted to the lifts and jabbed the button for the fifth floor. Just as the doors were shutting he saw the guard move into the hallway, then he was safe inside the little glass box. He let himself breathe a bit, calming his heart rate.

He was almost there. Oh, he hoped this wasn't all for nothing! If he got all the way to Lester and Lester didn't remember him and didn't believe him, then there was no way in Hell he was going to make it back out of this building without being caught and forced into some kind of punishment.

The lift dinged and the doors opened. Connor made to get out but on the other side of the door were four men in military uniforms, all with their guns pointed straight at his chest. Connor threw his hands up and gave a shaky smile.

"Parlay?" he said nervously, trying to smile.

…

…

Connor was anxiously pacing the little room they'd put him in. He didn't see any cameras in here, but there was also no way he was getting out. Heck, the room was barely big enough for him to pace in. The heavy metal door had a small window in it and Connor was reminded of when Danny arrested him before. He'd been in here for ten minutes now, and though there was a chair provided, Connor couldn't sit still.

What was going to happen to him now?

He'd have to make them believe that he had a dreadfully important message for Lester or they'd never let him out. It would have to be something threatening Queen and country. Or maybe he could say he'd received a letter to give to Lester about the safety of his kids? No, Lester would kill him once he found out he was lying.

The door clicked and swung open just far enough to let someone else enter the room. A man in all black – a Special Forces unit – walked in and the door shut behind him. In his hands was a small gun, but across his back was strapped a larger one. The small gun pointed at him was the only reason Connor didn't leap on the man.

Captain Becker!

"Becker!" he squeaked. He slapped himself. "Ow." Checking again revealed that he wasn't dreaming. Captain Becker was really standing before him, though he looked pissed. "Becker," he barely whispered.

"Who are you?" Becker demanded. There wasn't an ounce of recognition on his face and Connor felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

Could time rewind to before he walked in the building? No? Why did the world hate him so much?

"Becker-" he tried, but Becker shifted his gun menacingly and Connor stopped.

"I'll ask again. Who are you?"

Connor gulped down the tears that wanted to spring to his eyes. "C….Connor. Connor Temple."

"I've been told that you were trying to speak with Sir James Lester," Becker recited dutifully. "Why?"

Connor stared pathetically at Becker for several long moments, praying that any moment now the military man would remember who Connor was. He got nothing but an increasingly agitated expression from the man who was his boyfriend yesterday. It hurt.

"Something," Connor tried, but he had to stop. After a deep breath, he tried again. "Something is terribly wrong with the world. What was true yesterday is no longer true today. The whole timeline of life got screwed up." He knew this probably made no sense to Becker, since the ARC didn't exist anymore, but he said it anyway. "I need to speak with Lester because I'm certain that, no matter what, he's the man behind the research into the anomalies and….and I need answers, Becker."

Becker shook his head. "How do you know me?" he demanded, glaring.

"I…" Connor shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you…and you won't remember, no matter what." He stared forlornly at the floor, trying not to cry. "Just…I know you."

For a long while, neither of them said anything. Finally, Becker shook his head. "Well I don't know you. Sorry, but you'll be escorted off the premises. If you try this sort of thing again, we'll have no choice but to arrest you." He turned his back to Connor and put his hand on the handle of the door, slipping his gun in his pocket.

Connor panicked. "Wait. Hilary James Becker! Wait!" he practically shouted, like a command.

Becker froze where he stood. He flipped back to face Connor. "What?" he asked, half a demand of anger and half a confused whisper.

Connor shook his head. He swallowed thickly. He really didn't have any reason to keep Becker there; he was just scared to lose sight of him. He shook his head again and felt his cheeks heat up. Becker stared at him intently for several long moments, that strange confusion/anger mix playing across his face. His face turned impassive, but Connor knew that it meant he'd won. He didn't know what he'd won though.

"Come with me, Connor Temple."

…

…

Brrp!

"Yes yes, what is it?" Sir James Lester asked, permitting whomever had buzzed his door to enter. He glanced up when they did. "Ah. Captain Becker. What brings you here?"

Becker's hands were behind his back and as he stepped further into the room, he pulled his right hand around to his front, pulling a stumbling Connor with it. Lester raised an eyebrow. Connor gave a sheepish grin.

"And who is this?"

"Connor Temple, sir," Becker informed him. "He broke in about half an hour ago claiming he needed to talk to you. I've had him searched and he's unarmed, and after speaking with him I thought you might want to meet him."

"And why would I want to meet him?" Lester asked.

Connor stood as straight as he could with Becker holding his wrist oddly. "I need to talk to you about the anomalies," he blurted before Becker could answer for him.

Lester again lifted an eyebrow. "What anomalies?" he asked. Luckily for Connor, he'd worked for Lester for almost three years and he knew a cover when he heard it.

"The anomalies," Connor repeated. "Three years ago, an anomaly in space and time opened in the Forest of Dean to the Permian Era. A Scutosaurus, a Gorgonopsid, and a Coelurosauravus came through." Lester looked about to speak, so Connor rushed through. "I was there." Lester shut his mouth. "I attended, well…apparently I still attend, the Central Metropolitan University. I studied paleontology under Professor Nick Cutter and I brought him evidence that some sort of monster was loose in the forest. That's why we were there: me, the professor, and Stephen Hart, the professor's lab assistant. That's where it all started: the Anomaly Research Center, headed by you under the minister. I work for you," he insisted.

Lester seemed to consider him for a moment. Becker's grip on his wrist was loose but firm and Connor could feel his stare. It made him feel self-conscious.

"You…knew Stephen Hart?" Lester asked, almost like he was commenting on the weather. Connor nodded furiously. "Then you'll be sad to know he died. Centipede bite."

Connor gasped. "He died of the arthropleura bite?" he asked incredulously. Connor rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "God this timeline is so screwed up. How did you manage without him?"

"I don't know what you mean," Lester evaded. He was giving Connor a look like he thought the younger man to be insane and he was considering having Becker toss him out on his butt.

"Stephen-" Connor cut himself off with a put upon sigh. He held his right hand, the one Becker wasn't holding, up to steady himself and took a deep breath. "I don't expect you to believe me, because you didn't believe Professor Cutter when he tried to tell you this before…but the timeline has changed. Someone did something. Something's changed," he explained as calmly as he could. "In my timeline, my original timeline, Stephen didn't die from that bite. We saved him. I," he let out a proud airy laugh, "I actually took out that beasty." He shook his head. "The point is, things are different. I fell asleep in my-" he stopped, his eyes flicking to Becker briefly, and cleared his throat. "I fell asleep last night in one bed, and woke up this morning in a flat I haven't lived in in three years. My best friend, who was also my flatmate yesterday," he pointed to the side like Abby was standing there, "doesn't even know who I am. I'm not in a relationship anymore, and I know I was when I went to sleep last night! I worked at the Anomaly Research Center, fighting dinosaurs and future predators, saving people," he emphasized, "and making a difference in the world. Then I wake up and I'm some nobody geek again with no friends and no life, wishing I was James Bond, working on a dissertation for a theory that I myself," he pointed to himself with emphasis, "debunked and threw out two and a half years ago when I was done fighting off a mosasaur, the bloody Loch Ness monster, with a canoe paddle!"

His rant over, Connor took in some ragged breaths. He hadn't meant to say all that, but he supposed with the situation the way it was, he was allowed to go a little crazy.

Lester took a deep breath and turned his attention from the heavily breathing Connor to Becker. "Becker. Do fetch our good professor. He might want to have a look at….Mr. Temple," he said with a nod in Connor's direction.

"What about him?" Becker asked, also nodding to Connor.

Lester waved a hand dismissively. "I think he's about to pass out anyway. Send in another of your men if you're worried."

Becker released Connor's wrist slowly, hesitantly, and then turned and left the room with all the grace a military training could give you. Connor watched him leave until the door shut and cut off his view, and then he turned to Lester. Lester was watching him and Connor couldn't read his expression.

"So," Lester began conversationally. "What exactly was your job at this…Anomaly Research Center?"

"Oh." Connor blinked. "Well, I programmed the ADD, the uh, The Anomaly Detection Device and its portable version. I built the Anomaly Rover. I invented the Anomaly Locker. I created the firewall to keep out snoopers from the system. I compiled the database on prehistoric creatures….I was the main researcher into the causes behind the anomalies after…." He shook his head. "I was logistics and brains," he ended quickly.

"Hm."

It was all Lester said before the office fell into silence. Lester went back to his paperwork like Connor wasn't even there. Did he actually believe what Connor said or was he just humoring him until they could get rid of him? Who was the professor? Was it- Connor barely let himself hope.

The door clicked open again and Connor flipped around in time to see Becker walk back in, Professor Nick Cutter in tow. Cutter stopped just inside the door and stared at him with wide eyes. Becker ushered him further into the room and closed the door behind him. The office was looking a bit crowded now.

"Good. You're quick," Lester commented. He motioned to Connor vaguely. "This schoolboy broke through our security today. He claims to know all about us and what we do here. What do you think, professor?"

Cutter glanced at Lester and then his eyes shot back to Connor. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. Connor bet he himself looked much the same. Nick Cutter was standing only a few feet away from him; alive. "I," the professor managed, but Connor started speaking at the same time.

"You're here," he breathed out, relief coating his voice. "Oh god. I don't-I can't explain it." He shook his head when Cutter gave him a confused look. "I'm not like you, Professor," he began quietly, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "I can't live in a world where I'm the only one who remembers. Please say you know who I am," he half begged.

Cutter just stared for a moment, his eyes going impossibly wider, and then he moved forward and wrapped his arms around Connor in a fierce hug "Of course I know who you are…and I may very well kiss you this time, Connor. Really."

He sounded so relieved and it brought tears to Connor's eyes. Cutter remembered! He didn't know why only Cutter knew who he was and he didn't care. Connor's arms snapped around the professor and held on tight. He managed a tiny laugh through his tears and said, "Again, sweet, but you're really not my type, Professor."

…

…

Cutter vouched for Connor to Lester and, it seemed he'd been planning this the entire time, Lester hired Connor on the spot. Connor hadn't even had time to celebrate that turn of events when Lester was ordering him to start building the Anomaly Detection Device and all the other instruments he claimed he had rattling around in his brain. Cutter pat him on the back in congrats and offered to lend Connor half of his office until he had one of his own.

Connor looked to Becker as they left, but the captain was standing straight backed and staring forward, not even glancing in his direction. It hurt Connor in his heart.

He'd gained back his mentor, but lost his lover. It was a bittersweet exchange.

...

...

tbc...

I'll be waiting until I have at least 1 review (I'd say 2, but none of my other Primeval stories have been very successful in the review department, so my sights are set on the lowest setting) before I post the next chapter.