Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended

A/N: The title is taken from Coldplay's "The Scientist", which also inspired the general theme for this fic, along with The Script's "Before the Worse". Both are about going back to a time before everything went wrong... and that's what Connor is doing here.

As always, comments make the muse happy and breeds plot bunnies

10th February, 2007

Connor sat on the wall just by the entrance to the Science campus; partially hidden by the bushes. He'd been waiting for the best part of an hour now, regretting not wearing a jacket. It wasn't this cold before; he was certain of that. Perhaps over the years he'd become more sensitive to the temperature? Or more likely, back then he'd not cared.

The voices were unmistakeable; three friends laughing and joking, teasing each other and talking about the previous evening. To everyone else around, there was nothing remarkable about any of them, but to Connor it was important he found them and kept watch until the right moment.

He saw Duncan first. He was walking backwards, talking animatedly to his two friends and waving his arms around in the air. It made Connor smile; even though he couldn't hear him, he knew exactly what Duncan was saying. They'd spent several hours the night before watching the first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." and Duncan was trying to wind his friends up over the fact they both had a bit of a crush on Buffy.

Connor remained focussed on Duncan for a moment, then shifted his attention to his two companions. As his eyes took in the tall, skinny, ginger haired youth that was rolling his eyes at Duncan, Connor felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Seeing Tom after all this time hurt and he still blamed himself for his death. All that was about to change though.

Finally, Connor turned to the third member of the group and the most important one. His younger self was grinning from ear to ear, laughing at Tom and Duncan and shaking his head. Just a few more minutes and Connor could start to put his plan into action. It was strange seeing himself and he wondered if this was what an 'out of body' experience would be like. It was him; younger, happier, blissfully unaware, naïve and optimistic. He should still be that way, but life had made him bitter and aged him far beyond his 27 years. He sighed. If his plan worked, then the Connor Temple he saw in front of him would remain happy and go-lucky and the world would be a safer place; the way it would have been if he hadn't made that decision to go and see Professor Cutter with that newspaper article.

He leaned back further so that the bushes kept him completely hidden from the three friends. They were now stood only 10 or so metres away, saying their goodbyes and agreeing to meet up at lunch. Tom and Duncan were going to the library and were trying to talk Connor into joining them. "There's something I need to do first guys." He said. "I'll catch you before the seminar though." Connor watched Tom and Duncan go up the stone steps and out of sight as his younger self turned left and headed towards the Evolutionary Zoology building. He had to act now before Professor Cutter and Stephen Hart left the staff lounge and headed in the same direction.

"Connor!" he shouted, and his younger self turned around. This was going against everything he'd believed in for years – you don't change your own timeline; it was a fundamental rule of Science Fiction and everyone knew it. But this wasn't Science Fiction; it was very real and if Connor didn't change things then millions of lives would be destroyed.

The younger man eyed him questioningly. "Do I know you?" he said.

"Yes. I'm you, but 4 years older obviously." He knew the younger man would not believe him; it was him after all and he would have laughed if someone had approached him with that line.

"Oh obviously. Please, I don't have time for jokes, I have to catch the Professor before he goes off to his lecture. If this is one of Tom and Duncan's..."

"It's not, you have to believe me. What can I say to convince you that I'm telling the truth?" Connor tried to rack his brains, then it hit him. "Last night, you had a row with your mum on the phone about you not going home for Easter."

Young Connor blinked, trying to hide his curiosity. "I row with me mum a lot. Anyone could've guessed that."

"No you don't. You usually just sit there and take everything she gives you, but last night you snapped. She's trying to set you up with her friend's daughter Felicity, and you can't stand the sight of her." Connor shuddered at the thought. Felicity Edwards… or Flick to her friends, was a girly girl and reminded Connor of one of those porcelain dolls that people have on display.

"OK, so you have my attention." Young Connor said. "Why are you - my future self - here? Isn't that against the rules of time travel or something?" He laughed. "Pretty cool though, they have time travel just 4 years from now?"

"Just shut up and listen!" Connor hissed. "This is serious. You're about to go and show Professor Cutter a newspaper headline you found about a creature sighting near to where his wife disappeared."

Young Connor nodded. "I reckon he'd be interested in checking it out."

"Don't go. Whatever you do, don't get involved in this. Lives depend on it, the lives of people you care about." He watched the younger man's face, hoping he'd said enough to stop him.

"Wow! When did I get so serious? I think you need to chill..."

Connor grabbed his younger self's scarf and pulled him close to his face. "Listen to me, you idiot! If you'd seen the things I've seen then you'd understand why I got so serious! I'm trying to stop you from making the same mistakes I did."

"OK, Ok!" young Connor said. "I won't go to see Professor Cutter if its so important. Just let go of me."

Connor released the scarf and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, this is the only way I could think of to put things right. Stay well away from all creature sightings and you'll be fine. Most of them are fakes anyway. Concentrate on your studies, get your degree and then go back home to Blackburn and get a job at the museum like your mum wants you to. Maybe Flick isn't that bad either when you get to know her."

"That's not as easy as you make it sound!" the younger Connor's face wrinkled as he thought about it.

"You have to be strong, this is serious stuff. I wouldn't have taken the risk in coming here if it wasn't. You understand that right?"

"I do." The two Connors looked at each other, then the younger one turned to face the library building. "I suppose I should go and find Tom and Duncan."

"Good idea." Connor said, placing his hand on the younger man's shoulders. "Give me the newspaper whilst you're at it." The folded newspaper was pushed into his outstretched hand, then he watched himself walk towards thelibrary. Had he done enough? He could only hope now. Turning to leave he glanced down the path that led towards the Evolutionary Zoology department. He could just make out his old friends, Cutter and Stephen, heading towards Cutter's office – at least he'd managed to prevent that initial meeting that led the three of them to the Forest of Dean that fateful afternoon. A single tear fell silently down his cheek as he thought about both of them. The Connor he had just spoken to would never know what it was like to work with those two wonderful men, but in the long run it was for the best. Maybe this Cutter and Stephen wouldn't die now that Connor wasn't a part of their lives?

-o-

The bus seemed to be taking an eternity, stopping every two or three minutes for more passengers or to let people off. It might have been quicker to walk to the zoo with hindsight. The gates of Wellington Zoo were a welcome sight. He'd been here a number of times and had some very fond memories of it. He was slightly nervous about being here now though. Stopping himself from doing something had been relatively easy, but stopping someone who didn't yet know him would be much harder. Abby wasn't the easiest of people to talk out of something if her mind had been made up, but somehow he had to make sure she didn't see that letter from Ben. If she didn't go to the Forest of Dean, then she wouldn't get involved with the Anomalies, she would never meet him and she'd still be alive.

He knew the way to the reptile house as well as he knew the way to his own home. In the early days before things got complicated, he'd often come and sit here whilst Abby worked. They would talk about lizards and dinosaurs and how creatures had evolved. It was the only real thing they had in common back then and it was an excuse to spend time with her away from the others. She'd been seemingly oblivious to the fact he fancied the pants off her, although during their time in the Cretaceous she'd told him that she'd always known he liked her.

She was exactly where he expected her to be. He stood a little way back at first, trying to blend into the group of school children that had just arrived. Abby was studying a pile of letters and photos, leaning against the large glass cage housing the two iguanas she'd named Brad and Angelina. Her short, pixie hair style made him smile – he preferred her hair long but this was the Abby he had fallen head over heels in love with 4 years ago. The light in the reptile house made her white blonde hair look almost like a halo, and Connor felt his heart skip a beat. Abby; smiling, relaxed, happy … alive.

It had been 6 months since his Abby had been killed by the unstable anomaly – an anomaly he was responsible for. He'd ignored Matt's warnings about what the man-made anomalies would do and carried on researching them, creating more and more in order to try and understand them. Losing Abby had been the wake up call he needed, but by then it was too late. Burton had the technology Connor had built, and the anomalies were swallowing up and destroying the land piece by piece. That was when he decided that the only way to put things right was to make sure he never got involved with the anomalies in the first place – and he also had to make sure Abby didn't either.

Abby was keeping half an eye on the school children whilst she looked through the letters in her hands. Somewhere amongst them was the letter from Ben with the photo of Rex that sent Abby off to the Forest of Dean. That was a part of his plan he hadn't thought out properly. If he stopped Abby from following up Ben's letter, then what would happen to Rex?

His plan was simple. He couldn't get into a conversation with her, no matter how much he wanted to. She wouldn't have a clue who he was and there was no way she'd listen to him, so he just intended to stumble into her and send the letters flying. He'd be a gentleman and help her pick them up and grab Ben's letter. Maybe Rex would be OK with Ben? He tried to remember if Abby had said anything about how well he was being looked after, but his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden banging.

"Hey, stop that!" he said, without thinking. One of the school kids was banging on the glass of one of the tanks. "You'll scare it!"

"It's just a lizard, mister." the boy said, sniffing and scowling at Connor.

"Lizards have feelings too you know!" Connor snapped. It seemed living with Abby for all that time had rubbed off on him a little. He saw Abby stand up and look over towards him. This was not happening! He couldn't speak to her... it would be too painful.

"He's right." He heard her say. That voice; it sent a warm tingle straight through his body, making his stomach flip and his heart race. His throat went dry and he could feel his feet frozen to the spot. She was now walking towards him, shooing away the children. "You should treat ALL creatures with respect." she said to the boy. He pouted sulkily at her and walked away with his friends, leaving Connor alone with Abby. "Thanks for that." she said, smiling. "I hate school groups!"

Connor almost said "I know.", he'd heard countless times how much she hated having to do talks to groups of kids who weren't the slightest bit interested. "It's OK." He finally managed to say, smiling awkwardly at her. It was taking every ounce of his energy and willpower not to pull her into his arms; he missed her so much.

"I'm Abby." she said, holding out her hand to shake his. "Abby Maitland."

He nervously shook her hand. "Connor Temple." he said. "And I should be going and let you get on with your work." He had to get out of there, he had already said more than he had intended.

"It's OK, these letters can wait." she said, smiling at him. He couldn't help looking at her, she was exactly how he remembered her. She still had the sparkle in her eyes and her face looked young; his Abby had lost that spark, and her face had been etched with lines from the stress and worry he had caused her. "Do you know anything about lizards?"

Oh god, she was making conversation! "Um, kind of. I'm a Paleontologist." He felt himself blush and stared at his feet.

"Ah, so you prefer your lizards dead then?" she laughed.

"They're easier to keep hold of." He said, looking back up at her. This was like old times and he almost didn't want this to end; but it had to. "I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Abby."

"And it was nice meeting you too, Connor." As Connor turned to leave the reptile house, he caught a look in her eyes he knew well. When he'd first met her, that look was reserved for Stephen Hart and he longed to have her look at him in the same way. It had taken him saving her life before she'd even looked twice at him... so he didn't quite understand why she seemed attracted to him now. Still, it didn't matter; he would walk away and everything would be changed.

It was a couple of minutes before he realised that he hadn't actually done what he had planned to do. Right now, she was probably looking at the photo of Rex and wondering what the hell he was. He had to go back into the reptile house.

She was still alone, reading the letters. He coughed nervously and she looked up. "Ah, hi. Again. I... I think I lost my phone in here."

"Really?" She looked concerned. "I haven't seen it, are you sure you had it in here?" He nodded. "OK, maybe it got kicked under the display, let me look." She got down on her hands and knees and crawled under the stand. Connor could see the photo of Rex on the top of the pile; all he had to do was grab it. He leaned forward and took it into his fingertips. He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to slip it into his pocket when Abby crawled back out. "I wonder if that boy took it because you told him off? Maybe I should get the manager to have a word with the teacher for you?"

He panicked. He had the photo in his hand still and she was looking at him. "I don't think that's necessary, thanks." He muttered. "It's insured anyway."

Abby stood up and stretched, glancing at the photo. "You know about prehistoric creatures right? What do you make of that?" She nodded towards it. "At first I thought it was a kind of Draco Volans, but he seems to have proper wings. A Draco Volans just has folds of skin between its legs and body that they glide with."

Connor nodded. "South-East Asian Flying Dragon. That's all it is."

"But I've never seen one such a vivid green before!" Abby said. "This reminds me of something I studied at University, I forget its name, but it was prehistoric."

Connor couldn't help himself. "Coelurosauravus" He almost kicked himself. Why was he getting into this conversation? He was supposed to be stopping her getting interested, not encouraging her!

"Yes! That's it!" She was grabbing her jacket. "We have to go and take a look right?"

"We?" Connor said. "Hang on..."

"Come on Mr Palaeontologist! If you're right, we've got a prehistoric creature on our hands, or at the very least we have an extremely rare breed of lizard that no-one's seen before!" She was practically dragging Connor out of the door. Connor just followed out of habit, he was so used to doing what Abby said he couldn't argue.

-o-

Twenty minutes later, he found himself in a very familiar place – the passenger seat of Abby's car. This was all going horribly wrong, and he had to rack his brains to try and work out how he could stop this. If she went into the forest, she'd find the anomaly and she'd be dragged into something that would ultimately kill her.

"It's probably a cross breed." Connor said. "A collector experimenting perhaps, or an irresponsible breeder."

"Maybe. Whatever it is though, this family want it off their hands. I'll take it back to mine and keep it in quarantine from my other lizards, then I'll get an expert to take a proper look at it and determine what he is."

Connor's heart sank. Even if he could keep her away from the forest, if she got an expert to look at Rex they would soon know exactly what he was. He did have an idea though; he knew Abby so well he knew exactly what would persuade her to keep quiet. First of all though, they had to get Rex and leave without going to the forest.

They arrived at the Trent's house and Abby introduced herself and Connor. "We didn't expect a personal call." Mrs Trent said.

"All part of the service!" Abby said. They were led upstairs to Ben's room. Connor smiled to himself; Ben's room reminded him of his own back home as a child. He'd had model dinosaurs hanging from the ceiling alongside his Star Wars figures.

"His name's Rex. I found him in the forest. I looked him up in a book and it said he's a flying lizard from South-east Asia." Ben said, looking at both Abby and Connor in turn. Rex was jumping and flying around the room, chirruping happily.

"Draco Volans." Connor said. "He's probably escaped from a private zoo, or he's been dumped by his owner because they couldn't look after him properly."

"I want to keep him, but mum says lizards need special care and we can't afford it. That's why I wrote to you." he looked sad.

Abby smiled. "You did the right thing, Ben. Your mum's right, they do need a lot of special care and you can do them harm if you don't know how to look after them properly. I'll take him to the zoo, make sure he's OK and then we'll find a good home for him."

Connor got the carrier from Abby's car, and Abby coaxed Rex inside. Connor really felt for Ben, he could see the disappointment in the boy's eyes. Ben obviously cared about Rex and would have done a good job of looking after him given the chance. He could hear Rex protesting at being caged and he ached to put his hand in and reassure the creature by rubbing under his chin and maybe feeding him his favourite treat, but he knew he couldn't. This was meant to be first time he'd come across such a creature, so how would he know what to do?

Minutes later, Mrs Trent had signed the paperwork agreeing that Abby could take Rex into her care and they were on their way back home. Connor could see the excitement dancing in Abby's eyes. She already knew Rex was special, all he had to do now was convince her that he was so special she should keep him secret. He leaned back in the seat, listening to the music on the radio and remembering how things used to be. Suddenly he realised Abby was going in the wrong direction.

"Abby, shouldn't we be heading towards the motorway?"

"Aren't you curious about where he came from?" She said. "What if there's more of them in the forest?"

"We're going to the forest?" Connor said, sitting up. No, no, no! What was she doing? "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Where's your sense of adventure? Thought you were a scientist!" she laughed. He couldn't argue with her; when Abby was determined to do something you just had to go along with it. He just had to hope that he would remember where the anomaly was and try to keep her away from it.

It looked vaguely familiar when Abby parked up, and Connor felt sick to the stomach. This was where it had all started; his first glimpse of an anomaly and his first encounter with a real life dinosaur. If only he'd known then where it would take him, and that ultimately he would be responsible for the destruction of the Earth. Abby was already some way ahead, her stubborn determination taking her off on her own mission. He'd always admired that about her, but right now he wished she was a little less independent. "Abby! Wait for me!" He called.

"Hurry up then!" She called back, standing with her hand on her hip.

He caught up with her, and they walked deeper into the forest. Connor was certain he could feel static in the air, usually a sign that an anomaly was close. Any minute now... If he didn't do something, they'd see it and there would be no turning back. He looked sideways at her and he knew what he had to do. It would probably earn him a slap around the face or a kick to the groin, but it would distract her.

"Abby!" he breathed, pushing her against the trunk of a nearby tree. His lips crushed hers in a rough kiss and his head began to spin. He had missed her so much and kissing her again was like coming home. His hand slid instinctively to her breast and then he stopped himself. She wasn't returning his kiss and it suddenly hit him – it was Abby, but it wasn't his Abby. She was dead because of what he did and he hated himself. "I'm sorry." he broke away and turned away; angry with himself and tears stinging his eyes. He was almost running towards where the car was parked, needing to get away as quickly as possible.

"Connor?" Abby called. She was just behind him. "Connor, stop! It's OK."

"You don't understand! I can't do this... we can't …." His tears were now streaming down his face.

"I may not understand, but let me decide what I can or can't do!" Abby said. She wiped his cheek with her fingertips and then she was leaning into him. Before he could even begin to protest, her lips were on his; warm, soft... Her arms curled around his neck, drawing him in closer and she deepened the kiss.

Connor couldn't stop himself. His arms enveloped her and he returned the kiss, sighing softly. It had been six long, dark and lonely months since he'd held her like this and it felt right. She tasted like Abby, smelt like Abby, felt like Abby, and for a few wonderful moments he allowed himself to believe that she was his Abby.

"Are you OK?" She whispered when they finally parted. She looked concerned.

"Sorry, it's just..." he sighed. "There was someone I loved, I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her... but she died. You kind of remind me of her a little."

"I'm sorry." Abby said. "It must be hard."

"I'm just not ready for anything else yet." he said. Her hand squeezed his and the butterflies in his stomach felt more like a flock of racing pigeons.

"We should be heading back. It's getting dark, and Rex really needs to be in the warmth." She said softly, and began walking to the car. Connor watched her for a moment – he had succeeded; she hadn't seen the anomaly so he had just saved her from everything that happened to his Abby.

-o-

The journey back passed in relative silence. "Where do you live? I'll take you home." Abby said.

"I, er, I live at the University campus at the moment."

"OK, I'll drop you off at the main security gate if that's alright?"

"That would be great, thank you." He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, then his thoughts turned to Rex. "Maybe its not such a good idea to tell others about him. If he's some kind of prehistoric throwback, or a genetic experiment, then what will the experts do to him? He'll be prodded and poked and kept in a clinical environment so they can study him. Is that what you want?"

"No, and I was already thinking along those lines. He'll be fine at my place with my other lizards." Abby smiled. "We're here, is it OK to leave you here? I can't take my car onto the campus."

"Here's fine." He said, and reluctantly turned to get out. Abby's hand reached for his. "Don't.." he said.

She scribbled something on a piece of paper and pressed it into his palm. "When you're ready, or if you just need a friend... call me. I'd like to see you again."

He opened the paper – it was her phone number. He didn't need the paper, her number was already etched into his brain but he slipped it into his pocket. "Thank you." he said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Connor." Abby said. Then, she was gone. He stood and watched the car disappear down the road, tears streaking down his cheeks.

-o-

Connor sat at the top of the hill, twirling the anomaly opening device in his hands. He had prevented both himself and Abby from getting involved with the anomalies; his mission had been a success. He pressed the button that opened the anomaly to take him home, back to 2011. It glowed and pulsed in front of him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. What was he going back to? Would the anomaly take him back to the same point he'd left? A world where all life was slowly being wiped out, a world without Abby... or would it take him back to the new world where, hopefully, everything was as it should be? Did he belong there? Abby would still exist, but so would the other Connor he'd spoken to earlier in the day.

He didn't want to leave here. He could make a new life for himself, get a research post at the University perhaps, or maybe something at the local museum. It would all be so much simpler here, and he could keep an eye on the younger version of himself, and on Abby. Standing up, he closed the anomaly and then stamped hard on the device, destroying it. He couldn't go back now, even if he wanted to. That thought should have scared him, but it didn't. He felt free; happier than he had done in a long time.

Finding a renewed energy, he ran down the hill and found a phonebox. The number he dialled was automatic, he just hoped she would still be awake. Her voice made his heart leap for joy. "Abby, hey, it's Connor... I've got a bit of a problem with my flat and I need a place to crash for a few days. I don't suppose you..."

-o-

12th March 2011

Connor had deliberately waited until today before he dared to start looking up his old friends. He needed to be certain that everything really had changed before he went looking. 4 years ago, his life had been very different. His actions were destroying the Earth and he couldn't stop it, his beloved Abby had died and his friends had all abandoned him. Today was the day in his original time that he'd gone back to the day that started it all and changed it. He'd remained here and he couldn't be happier.

He had slept on Abby's sofa for three nights, and then they had a few beers, watched a DVD and somehow ended up in Abby's bed. After that, he didn't sleep on the sofa again. He wished he'd had this confidence the first time around; he'd wasted so much time by not telling her how he really felt. Abby kept her job at the zoo, whilst Connor managed to get himself a part time lecturers post at the University. He occasionally saw Professor Cutter and Stephan Hart, but kept a distance. It was for the best, despite how much he longed to speak to them again.

After a year, he managed to pluck up the courage to ask Abby to marry him and they began a year of stressful organisation. The wedding was a simple affair, just how they both wanted it. All that mattered was being together. Baby Nicola followed not long afterwards, and the love Connor felt for her and Abby was almost overwhelming. This was how things should have been in the first place.

He'd kept an eye on his other self, just to make sure he didn't stumble across an anomaly and get dragged into everything all over again. Luckily, the younger man had listened to him – he moved back home to Blackburn after finishing his degree and was being pursued by Felicity Edwards. Tom and Duncan managed to keep themselves out of trouble too, much to Connor's relief.

He'd also kept a close eye on the work of Prospero Industries; his concern was that Burton would still somehow get involved with the anomalies. The company declared bankruptcy in the hard recession of 2009 and Burton lost everything. It was almost poetic justice.

Sighing, Connor switched on the computer and he began searching for the names he needed. He had to know they were all OK. Danny Quinn was still in the police force and had just received a commendation for bravery during an armed siege. Captain Becker's file was mostly classified but Connor could just about work out that he was in Afghanistan. He had to pray Becker would be OK out there, but he also knew Becker was a soldier and that was what he was trained to do. He'd actually spoken to Sarah Page about a year ago, a pure coincidence. She needed some help from the University for an exhibition she was putting together at the museum, and it was Connor that took her initial enquiry. Sadly, it wasn't in his field of expertise and he had to pass it on. Jenny Lewis had followed the same life path that she'd followed after quitting the ARC, happily married and running a PR Company. Finally, he found Jess Parker, personal assistant to Sir James Lester at the Home Office.

The only one of the ARC team he couldn't find a trace of was Matt Anderson, but that wasn't a huge surprise. Matt was from the future and he wouldn't exist yet – if he was going to exist at all now. Matt had been born post- apocalypse, the one that Connor had now prevented. It was the only twinge of sadness in all of this. Matt was a decent guy, and it would be a huge loss to the world if he wasn't in it.

"What are you doing?" Abby said, perching herself onto Connor's lap and kissing him softly on the lips.

"Just looking up some old friends." Connor said, resting his hand on her heavily pregnant stomach.

"Anyone I'd know?"

"I don't think so." Connor said sadly. One day, he'd tell her the truth about where he had come from and about the other Abby that he had lost, but right now the only thing that was important for them was the impending birth of their second child.

Abby stood up. "Dinner's almost ready. Can you put Nicola to bed? She's had her bath."

"No problem." he said, switching off the computer and scooping up the giggling toddler into his arms. Abby turned to leave. "Abby. I love you."

"I love you too." she said, slightly bemused as to what had brought that on.

Connor watched her go down the stairs, his heart almost bursting with the love he felt. He considered himself incredibly lucky – how many other men got a second stab at happiness after screwing up as spectacularly as he had? He had a cute daughter, a gorgeous wife and another baby due any day … it couldn't be any more perfect.