A/N

Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. I own a pencil case, though.

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As she was passing through the anomaly, Abby was privy to a strange, unusual tingling sensation that left her momentarily breathless. She hadn't actually gone through an anomaly before, so the experience was something welcome. Then a small shift occurred, feeling to Abby like a car turning a corner or something similar.

And then she was breathing air that felt fresh and moist against her face. She kept walking, stopping near Stephen and glancing upward slowly.

It was beautiful. Trees that looked similar to palm trees were littered around a huge coastal inlet. The water shone a crystal-blue, so clear that she could see the unusual marine creatures swimming around just under the surface. The sand was a pure white, and to Abby the place reminded her of a seaside resort. She couldn't explain it; it was incredible. And the nicest place she had ever been- which was saying something.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find any words to describe it. She closed her mouth again, turning around when she heard more people come through the anomaly. She looked at Stephen.

"Exotic," Stephen whispered to her.

Her eyes gleamed. "To say the least," she whispered back. She glanced at the landscape again, drinking in the sight greedily, awestruck at the magnificence it presented. Behind her, she heard rather than saw Connor's reaction. "Wicked!"

She also heard a brief intake of breath coming from Nick. Abby glanced at him; he had his mouth open in a gape that she would've liked to capture on camera. But he had good reason to gape; the sight before them was extraordinary.

Abby glanced around at them all, watching their expressions with interest, before stopping when a rather abrupt and fearful jolt broke her out of her thoughts. She blinked. She was staring at Helen. Another fearful jolt came over her, bringing her back to the nightmares she had been having. She'd had a nightmare every night since Helen had taken Rex. The first one, while she was at the hospital, had been the least scary, and that was saying something.

She had been enshrouded in a shadowy world, not being able to see, or smell, or touch. She could hear though. She heard Rex's desperate calls, pleading for freedom. She had started running, trying to find him. Trying, but ultimately failing.

She'd woken up in a slow fashion. There are a couple of ways to wake up from a dream or a nightmare. In this case, she woke from the nightmare over a long period of time, unaware of anything, only able to watch. For her it was the most horrid; she couldn't tell whether she was awake or asleep. Her nightmare world had entered the real world. And it had scared her. Abby had barely spoken a word to anyone that day, hardly even Stephen, who had arrived at her house to see if she was alright.

The next morning she had woken with tears plastered to her face, and she had been lying on the floor next to her bed. She couldn't remember her dream from that night. And for that, she was grateful. She didn't want to remember a dream that had been able to make her wake up with tear tracks down her face. She brooded and sulked that whole day, not knowing what her nightmare had been, but also knowing it had something to do with Helen.

Helen had taken Rex. And Abby hadn't been able to protect him. And so she had sulked; imagining all the things she could have done to prevent Rex's kidnapping. Abby had known that everyone was worried about her, but she couldn't help it. She was worried about Rex.

On the third night, she had dreamt something that completely terrified her. She had been standing near the shadowy place. And she had been fully aware. It was one of those dreams that seemed real, and that you could be in control of. She could see the shadows waver and flicker, and faces glimmer out of it. There was her father, leering at her like he had done so many years ago. And there was her boss, the boss that had died when the futuristic predator had wreaked havoc around London. Her boss had a twisted snarl of rage and accusation on his face, as if blaming Abby for his death.

It was at that point where Abby had turned around, grief evident in her posture. Behind her, Abby saw Helen, drenched in blood, holding Rex by the tail. Helen glanced up at her, slowly, blood dripping from her eyes in a gruesome fashion. Abby closed her eyes, horrified. When she opened them again, Helen had faded into the shadows. How did Abby know that if she wasn't watching? She could hear Rex screeching for help.

She tried to run to Rex, through the shadows, not caring if the shadows terrified her. But as she neared, the shadow-face that resembled her father pushed her roughly back. She fell over, rolling to lessen the blow. She stood up again, trembling slightly with frustration and concern. She ran forward again, and again she was pushed back. She tried and tried, but failed. She couldn't get through.

Abby had then given a small cry of grief and rage, and collapsed to her knees, bowing her head with defeat. It was then that she heard something that made her start, shocked and surprised. "Abby…"

She glanced behind her. Somehow, Helen had returned. And Rex was there too. "Abby…"

She looked to her left. "Stephen?"

Stephen's head was down, making it impossible for Abby to see what was wrong. Then he looked up, and Abby gasped. Stephen had looked terrible. Dried blood was crusted where one of his eyes should have been, and his other eye was squinting at her through a huge bruise. Bright red blood was dripping down his nose from a deep-looking cut on his forehead. "Abby…" he spoke again, red froth bubbling from his mouth as he did so.

"What did she do to you?" Abby cried in concern and fear. She turned to look at Helen. "What did you do to him?"

Helen had glared at her, eyes blazing so fiercely that Abby shrank back, cowed. "Go to that place, and I won't kill him," Helen told her.

"What place?" Abby shouted. "What place? Tell me and I'll go!"

"The place of shadows," Helen had said, "The place you fear."

Abby gave a desperate nod and scrambled back to enter the shadowy world. Only problem- it was no longer there. In its place was a forest, one that she vaguely recognised as the Forest of Dean. She looked in every direction possible, turning her head from side to side in what could be considered as a frenzied manner.

She could feel Helen's eyes boring a hole into her back, and she stiffened instinctively. "What are you waiting for?" Helen growled.

"I-I can't find it! Where is it?" Abby had been frantic, stumbling over her words.

"Not my problem," was Helen's sharp retort.

Abby continued scrambling around, trying with all her might to find the place that was eluding her. "Where is it?" she repeated, "Where? Where is it?"

Helen's voice had stopped her in her tracks. "Time's up."

Abby had cried out in disbelief, watching Helen bring up her knife and stab Stephen through the heart. Blood began to pour towards her like a river, too much blood to be real. But it still smelt, still tasted like blood, and she had screamed.

And then she had woken up, sweat mingling with the tears running down her face. She had sat up, hands over her head, wildly sobbing. Stephen had come in then, and comforted her. She had tried to show that she was okay; that she didn't need help all the time; that she could look after herself.

She told him what happened in her dream, but toned it down enough so it didn't sound as bad as it really was. To her embarrassment though, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She had fallen asleep soon after that, mentally exhausted.

The next morning Abby had woken up groggy, which had surprised her because she had been getting used to waking up screaming. She had realised that she was lying on someone when she moved her hand underneath her head resulting in a muffled protest and a half-hearted swipe at the offending hand. She had jumped off the bed, shocked, and Stephen had opened one bleary eye, sleepily mumbling out words full of complete and utter nonsense. And then to her great surprise, he had reached out and pulled her towards him, making her fall with a small squeal on top of him. Every time Abby had tried to struggle out Stephen's grip had become iron, so she had given up and laid her head back on his chest. They had fallen back asleep together, not willing to listen to the beams of light trying to wake them.

It had dawned on Abby, when Stephen had left, that she hadn't had any more dreams the previous night. And it had continued; Abby hadn't dreamt of blood, or gore, or Rex, or Helen. She had, however, dreamt about Stephen. Not that she was going to tell anyone about it.

She blinked, suddenly forced out of her musing because, she noticed, Helen's brown eyes were staring daggers at her. It was said that eyes were the window to the soul; to Abby, this seemed true. Helen's eyes were brown pools of frustration, loneliness, happiness and some other things that she couldn't identify. She shivered, abruptly realising that she wanted nothing to do with Helen. Nothing. At all. Ever.

Abby closed her eyes, and reopened them as a sharp glare. Helen narrowed her eyes with something akin to acceptance, and turned around, facing the gang.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Follow me," Helen, without requiring a reply, turned and started making her way down on the white sandy beach. Nick and Connor started moving forward, Nick running forward and catching up with Helen immediately. Abby wondered, not for the first time, how far Nick would go to be with Helen, just one last time.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump and spin around, hands rising automatically to defend her. In return, Stephen raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"Sorry," Abby muttered, hands falling to her side limply.

Stephen stared at her for several seconds, and Abby looked down, not wanting to be scrutinised. She looked up again as Stephen hadn't said anything, and she gave a start of surprise when she saw Stephen's expression. Why was he worried? Was he concerned for her? Or did he think Helen was going to betray them yet again?

Her mental question was answered when Stephen spoke, "Are you okay, Abby?"

She nodded without speaking, eyes blazing with determination and understanding. She knew the real question- should Abby return home? And her answer- no way. She was not going back to her time. She was going to stay here, with Helen if she had to, and get Rex back. She wasn't going to wimp out.

Stephen gazed at her, trying to see some hint of resolve fading. When he didn't see any, he gave a small inclination of his head. "Tell me if there's anything wrong, alright?"

"Alright," Abby replied, knowing this time Stephen needed a verbal answer.

"Oi!" Connor's voice echoed around her and Stephen. "Are you two having a moment or something? 'Cos I don't like walking for long periods of time, so hurry up!" As if to confirm his statement, he began a sneezing fit, and Abby remembered that he had allergies.

She looked at Stephen, amusement shining in her eyes. "Whoops," she whispered.

Stephen grinned at her, and Abby was startled- a good kind of startled- to see that the smile reached his eyes. She hadn't seen a smile quite like that on Stephen's face before, and it made her shiver with glee and happiness and another emotion she couldn't quite place.

She was about to grab Stephen's hand; but she held back. Not yet. It didn't seem right. Abby beckoned for him to follow her back to the group, and that was exactly what he did.

Nearing the group, Abby made out the words of one confused Conner Temple. It seemed Abby and Stephen arrived for the start of the conversation.

"Why did we end up here? Wasn't the anomaly at the football field for the anomaly-playgroup?"

Helen nodded towards Connor. "We went through to this place after that other place. Didn't you notice the tiny shift in direction?"

Abby piped up. "Yeah, it was like a car turning a corner."

Helen looked at Abby, and Abby glanced down, seeing once again the Helen of her terrifying dreams. Helen turned away again, and Abby relaxed.

"Tethys Sea, right? We're in the Jurassic, aren't we?" Nick asked.

Helen nodded again. "To be precise, the late Jurassic. The Tithonian stage"

"Cool. I've always wanted to see the Jurassic," Connor breathed. "'Cos of the movie, you know? Jurassic Park? Loved that movie." Connor seemed to think for a second before saying, "I really want to see Jurassic Park IV. Do you reckon we could go to the future and watch it?" This question was directed at Helen.

Instead of answering, Helen glanced at Nick. "Is he stupid?"

Three voices rose. "No!" Stephen, Abby and Nick replied simultaneously. Abby knew it was because they didn't want to appear weak in front of Helen. The four of them, and Claudia, were a group, and Helen wasn't about to take that away.

Connor looked up. "Huh?"

Stephen whacked Connor over the head. "Idiot!"

But being a group didn't mean no bantering. The bantering was just what Abby needed. It was like nothing had ever happened, nothing had gone wrong. It was all just normal- well, normal for them. Forgetting about Helen for the moment, she joined in the light hearted argument with the men.

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They walked for most of the day.

It was late in the afternoon when Helen finally said they could set up camp. Stephen began to pitch his tent, before realising that he wouldn't sleep in it unless it was raining. He loved the outdoors. The environment- nature- was excellent. And this place was untainted, pure. It made him, for the first time he could remember, fully relax. And he loved it.

He stamped in the tent pegs with his feet, and fastened the ropes securely around the pegs. He grinned with amusement when he heard Connor demanding Nick's help amongst a flurry of sneezes.

Finishing his tent in record time, he leant back, working the muscles in his back, then looked at the area they had decided to camp in. If the first view of the Tethys Sea was beautiful and 'Wow' material, then this was nothing short of majestic.

The group had camped on a higher ground level, not a small cliff, but almost like a tiny hill overlooking the water. The hill was situated almost like a jetty would be, sticking out from the mainland like the stick of a lollypop. On all sides, except the back, there was blue, glittering water. They had even spotted ancient marine creatures darting through the waters. The water stretched out in all directions in front of them, completely taking over the horizon. And the sky in the horizon was made up of beautiful purple, pink and orange glows, making the whole scene seem completely unrealistic- it was too nice.

Stephen sat down on the tip of the hill, ignoring the noises from around him, and focusing on the natural wonder around him. This was why he had dedicated his life to the environment. To preserve this. The wonder that could not be replicated, the wonder that could not be properly explained. It was just nature, and that was all Stephen needed to know.

He had no idea how long he sat there, but when he turned, Abby was beside him, staring up at the sky above them. Blue eyes met blue eyes, and Stephen smiled at her. Abby smiled back, happily, calmly.

They both glanced back at the incredible sunset, and Stephen felt Abby move closer and rest her head on his shoulder. He gave a tiny grin, and returned the favor, resting his head on Abby's.

Both didn't want the moment to end.

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But it did, as good moments always did.

It wasn't spoiled badly, Stephen knew- it had just been Nick calling them to eat. Abby had fallen asleep, and Stephen gently shook her awake. "Abby…"

Abby's blue eyes opened slowly, and Stephen could see the grogginess in them. "C'mon, Abby. Time for tea."

Abby yawned, pushing her face deeper into his shoulder, and closed her eyes. "No."

Stephen's eyes gleamed. "Abby… don't make me carry you," he threatened.

One blue eye cracked open in disbelief. "You wouldn't."

Stephen scooped her up with grace, making her give a squeal in protest. He carried her about five steps before Abby managed to squirm out of his grip and land on solid ground. They walked back to the others slowly, not willing to return back to normal life.

When they reached Nick, Connor and Helen, Stephen grabbed both plastic plates that were left and handed one to Abby. She took it with a smile, and sat down; although Stephen noticed that she sat as far away from Helen as possible.

Stephen followed Abby, feeling a sudden chill as brown eyes bored into his back. He turned his head; Helen was gazing at him with something akin to jealousy, or maybe anger. Helen then glared at Abby, this time, with outright envy. Stephen moved his head to the side, gaining Helen's attention, before glaring at her with such ferocity that it would make a gorgonopsid seem tame. He then sat down next to Abby in a show of firm support. Helen looked away, engaging in a conversation with Nick.

Stephen gave a snort of annoyance. He had forgotten just how much he hated Helen. Funny how he once would have supported her. That had all changed when Helen used the one-off thing to hurt Nick, and, to some extent, Abby. After that, Stephen had realised just how cruel Helen could really be. And he was stupid enough not to realise it until it was too late.

"Hey, Stephen?" A voice broke into his thoughts like light through darkness.

Stephen looked up, seeing the concerned face of Abby Maitland mere inches away from his. Abby was staring at him with concern in her eyes; that was all. She didn't look at him like Helen did; Abby was caring. Helen wasn't.

"I'm fine," Stephen answered her unasked question.

Abby nodded, and returned to her food. Once again, Stephen was shocked at the amount of trust Abby placed in him. It wasn't that he hadn't been trusted before; but this was different. He couldn't explain it. It was almost like… like they could read each other's minds- or at least skim over the top.

He returned to his meal as well, eating the food with gusto, wanting to be rid of Helen, but not wanting to leave Abby, Nick and Connor.

It was obvious to everyone sitting in a circle that someone could cut the tension in the air with one well-thrust knife. Except for Connor.

"So…you said you'd tell us about the anomalies, right?" Connor started, directing the question at Helen. "Can you tell us now?"

Stephen sighed softly, relieved. At least Connor didn't say something completely stupid.

Helen watched Connor, making him shift, nervous, at the scrutiny. But still, in a very Connor-like fashion, he stared right on back at Helen, almost daring her to reply.

"Fine," Helen said, eyes suddenly relaxed, and she leant back. Stephen knew she was thinking 'the ball's in my court now'.

"Well…" Nick began, "How did you learn where each anomaly would show up? And where they'd go?"

Helen grinned. "The magnetic field. Each anomaly has a magnetic field. You knew that, right?"

Stephen nodded angrily. Now she was doubting their intelligence.

"Well, each magnetic field differs. Not much, but just enough that you can tell which stage in the Earth's history you are. It took me a while to work out how to fully benefit from it, though."

Connor bobbed his head. "That makes sense. The further back or forward in time, the greater the energy requirements. But you'd have to figure out just where you are before you could calculate the next jump."

Helen continued, "I was trying to find the future anomalies; so I could add stages onto the earth's history that haven't happened yet."

Nick frowned. "What's the point of that, Helen? You can record all this fantastic stuff, but no-one's going to know!"

Helen paused, appearing to think deeply, then told him, "Someday people will find out. I'll be there when they do."

Stephen's eyes narrowed. Helen was leaving something out, hiding something. Of course, she always did that, but something was different this time. Helen was hiding something, yes, but why?

"You haven't told us where the anomalies pop up," Abby stated softly, while looking down.

Stephen shifted closer to Abby in support. He could tell that, even though Abby had only said one thing, it was sapping all her energy.

"And I'm not going to tell you that," Helen replied.

"Why not?" Nick asked, confused, and irritated.

"Because then you'd have no need to seek my help." And then Helen smiled.

Stephen's mouth opened in shock. Was Helen really that selfish that she wouldn't tell them because she didn't want to be ignored? Helen really didn't care.

"You could save lives," Nick told her, voice raised slightly.

"I know who is going to die, and who is going to live, Nick. I'm an explorer, not a life-saver."

"You're a scientist! You help figure things out so the world can benefit from it!" Nick replied, lashing out as she was.

"What's the point? The human race will die out one day, and the world won't notice! The world will just keep rotating, keep moving. It won't show remorse!"

Nick's eyes softened, seeing something in Helen's eyes that Stephen must have missed. "You would support a planet over your own kind?" Nick whispered.

"I'd support the life of every species, not just my own kind!" Helen hissed, voice lowered to match Nick's tone.

Stephen watched as Nick turned away from Helen, and saw the look of unconcealed hurt upon Nick's face. Stephen turned to glare at Helen, and she glared back just as fiercely. Helen had no idea, did she? She didn't care how much she hurt the people she was once close to. As much as Stephen understood her argument, he'd never betray his own kind. And that, he realised, was all that mattered. You could be loyal, or you could not. It was your choice. But then, why would Helen offer her help at all?

Stephen guessed it was because she needed help with something, something big. And that something was all that was stopping him from walking up to her and yelling at her. Helen was doing this for a reason. Stephen intended to find out what that reason was.

Nick had moved away from the group, opting to go to his tent and start preparing for sleep, even though it was still early. After hurriedly finishing his food, Connor followed Nick's example, and began to set himself up for bed.

Stephen waited for Abby to finish before getting up and leading her back to their tents. She was tired, he could tell. The way her brows furrowed and eyes lightened in colour were dead giveaways.

Stephen could feel Abby's eyes on him as he pulled his mattress and sleeping back from his tent and rested them about a meter away from the tents. He wanted to sleep outside, in the fresh air, the ancient air. He pondered for a moment on the differences between modern life and this prehistoric life. The air was different, sweeter even, because of the raised amounts of oxygen in the air. Humans had gotten used to contaminated air, polluted air. So this air was better than any fresh air he had previously experienced.

The camp felt tense, but Stephen was still relaxed. It was hard for him to explain, but it was something to do with the atmosphere. The plants and creatures, they all lived in synchronized harmony, something that humans probably never would be able to achieve. Suddenly Stephen could understand with perfect clarity why Helen would want to live out here.

It was magnificent, but it still wasn't home. Home was where you had to wake up, extremely groggy, and get ready to go to work. Home was where you had invested your life, and Stephen had invested his life to protecting the environment; not living in it. He was perfectly satisfied with his apartment- because the apartment represented who he was. Maybe for Helen it wasn't enough sitting at home and watching television, but Helen still didn't understand the reason everyone around her lived. They lived so future generations would. Simple as that.

"Stephen," Abby said softly.

Stephen looked up, broken out of his thoughts. "Yeah?"

"Could I…umm…sleep here too?" Abby was pointing to the ground beside Stephen's bed.

Stephen's eyes softened. "Sure you can."

Abby immediately relaxed. "Thanks," she breathed.

"No problem."

Abby left, then returned lugging her mattress and sleeping bag. She placed them gently next to his, and sat down on it. Stephen followed, and sat down on his. They didn't speak; both were too busy contemplating the day's events.

Stephen was broken rather abruptly out of his thoughts when Connor sneezed. He opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them, and jumped. Connor was sitting right in front of him, legs crossed, and face tilted towards Stephen.

"Connor…" Stephen had no idea what Connor wanted.

"Just wanted to ask you something," Connor paused before saying, "I can ask you something, right?"

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can ask me something."

Connor paused again, obviously looking for the right words. Stephen turned when Abby made her presence known by shifting into a sitting position next to both men.

"You can ask him," Abby encouraged.

"I don't quite know how to say this, but, well…"

"Just ask!" Stephen was getting very curious now.

"Do you like Jurassic Park?"

Stephen sagged in disbelief. "That's your question?!" he said incredulously.

"No," Connor snorted, then sobered. "Why do you think Helen wants us all here? Why not just Nick?"

Stephen shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know."

Connor nodded in reply, as if he had been expecting that answer. Connor hauled himself up, thanked Stephen, albeit gruffly, and walked back towards his tent.

Stephen reached underneath his pillow, and brought out his eye mask. He always slept better when he couldn't see anything. If he was sleeping out with nature, he couldn't get to sleep without it. Maybe it was because he loved nature too much, and all he could think of was protecting it. Maybe he just thought too much.

He placed the mask over his eyes, and laid his head on his arms. "Night, Abby." Maybe it was early, but he didn't care.

"Night, Stephen," was the soft reply.

Maybe it was early, but Stephen had the feeling that they'd need all the energy they could get for tomorrow.

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TBC…

A/N

I'm sorry, once again. I suppose I'd better aim to get chapters out faster, but reality keeps getting in the way. Oh well. I won't let reality stop me.

Anyway, I was stuck on one sentence in this chapter, and because of that I couldn't write anything else. It drove me mad. But when I finished and posted the first chapter of yet another story I realised that I should probably finish this chapter.

And so, after many, many hours, I have. I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with it, but I don't know what to change. Hmm.

My author notes are increasing in size, so I reckon I'd better shorten them. Thanks to all those who put this story on their story alert lists, thanks to all those that put this story onto their favourite story lists.

Thanks to all that reviewed the previous chapter (this story is getting more attention than I thought possible, and for that I'm quite happy).

Thankyou to lov3is4lif3 for putting me on your favourite author list and author alert list. Hehe. I'm happy.

But seriously, if anyone finds any really stupid mistakes this chapter, tell me. I don't know why I'm not satisfied, but it's enough to keep me on edge.

Oh, and the magnetic field idea for the anomalies is purely my idea. It's not my best idea, granted, but it was all I could come up with late at night. Things are going to get more interesting…

And in this chapter is a hint of what's really going on, so hope you all paid close attention.

Please review. I'll try my best to get the next chapter out sooner (probably empty words now, I know), but most likely I won't be able to. Feel free to get annoyed.

SnowFox3