Tom had been the first to die for Connor, because of Connor. He had lied to his friends and Tom had died taking his secret and his failure with him.

/

Stephen had died to protect them, not just Connor but also Abby and mostly of course Cutter. Always Cutter no matter what Helen or Jenny had said. Stephen had lived for Cutter, seeking his approval his friendship, his love. Connor had never known what really had happened since Cutter had never talked about it but he knew Stephen had died protecting them like a hero should.

/

Sarah had died trying to save them, trying to bring them back or so Becker had later told them, absently touching a scar on his arm. Sarah with her fear of insects and her preference for lab work and her warmth that had given him hope all the time. Sarah he hadn't even been able to say goodbye to.

/

Danny had died for all of them. He had literally died somewhere alone in the Pliocene to save humanity. He had been their saviour and no one would ever know. No one would ever realise the impact this man's death had made on humanity.

Without Danny all of them wouldn't have existed in the first place.

And Connor had never said goodbye to him either.

/

Abby had died saving him from Phillip when everyone else had thought it was too late to pull him back from the dark side. Abby who had reached out to him time and again when he had been lost to easily in his work and his desire to upkeep Cutter's legacy to see the sacrifices that the anomalies demanded from everyone involved from the members of the ARC to random people who happened to be near an anomaly or a creature.

Abby dying was as if Luke Skywalker had died at the end of episode six and Darth Vader had walked away, free of the dark side but still irrevocably a monster.

/

Connor Temple died on a Monday evening on the stairs of a social housing block while closing an anomaly. It had been a suicide run from the beginning but he was so sick of seeing Becker hurt, of throwing himself into the line of fire as if his life was less worthy than any of theirs that he had shouted at Becker ("Shut up! Shut up damn it!") and kissed him (their first kiss and their last one) before grabbing the anomaly closer and running for it.

The predator had gotten out before Connor had closed the anomaly but Connor had gotten the predator too, breaking its neck before his slashed open stomach had caught up with him.

For once Connor wouldn't be the one left behind. For once everyone lived.

Connor Temple died smiling.