2/02/08

Title: Terminal Light2

Author: squeezynz

Author's Note: all set in AR2.

Update on pairings:

AR1Stephen is with AR2abby

AR2stephen is with AR1Abby

AR3Cutter misses AR3Claudia Brown but is very fond of AR2Claudia as well

AR2 Cutter is getting to know AR1Claudia Marsden

AR3Helen is dead, AR2Helen is off in South America somewhere and AR1Helen is somewhere or possibly morphed into AR3Helen among the anomalies...

AR1Captain Ryan is dead by Future Predator, AR2Captain Ryan is hale and hearty

Lester is in all alternative realities and a pain in the butt as usual.

Connor is in all alternative realities and not currently paired up with anyone, although he did a nice job tracking down Alex Massey in AR1 as well as using the recently discovered Rhino corp ARC. Also he helped develop the ADA (anomaly detection array) in AR2 which, combined with his counterpart enabled the rescue of the Abby's and Stephen's from AR5.

Okay...well, if you're still confused...I can't help you. I'll be posting an updated timeline guide after this chapter, so read that if you want to sort it all out.

Last thing to remember...all AR1 characters have Capitals at the start of their names. All AR2 are lower case. Nick Cutter, being technically AR3 is also in Capitals.

Connor stared out at all the people in the room and wondered for a moment if he wasn't having an 'Alice in Wonderland' moment. It was bad enough trying to get his head around the whole anomaly problem without having a graphic example of the potential side effects parading in front of his eyes.

“Messes with ya head, doesn't it?” a strangely familiar voice remarked before plonking himself down in one of the hard plastic chairs.

“I keep expecting a white rabbit to pop up at any moment and announce he's late.”

Connor glanced to his right and met his own eyes dancing with laughter. It was bad enough to see doubles of everyone he'd only just got to know, but to see yourself sitting next to you was just downright psycho.

“How do you think they're going to sort all this out?” Connor asked his twin, the other connor shrugging his shoulders and taking a gulp of whatever he was drinking from a styrofoam cup.

The last few days had been hectic and confusing and only now was the picture coming close to any clarity. The culmination of surprises was when a second Stephen and abby had appeared through the anomaly, bold as brass, followed closely by the same couple, but in reverse from his own time.

He shook his head in defeat, he was never going to sort it all out in his own head, let alone explain it to anyone else. Across the room, he saw one of the Stephen's loop an arm around an abby and pull her in close, a stab of regret making Connor wince and turn away. He'd built up pipe dreams and air castles ever since he'd first clapped eyes on the petite blonde, but he had to acknowledge that he'd never really stood a chance against the force of nature that was Stephen Hart once abby lost her heart to him.

“Hurts, doesn't it?” his twin broke into his thoughts, nudging him with a sharp elbow. “I haven't known her as long as you, of course, but I'd have ranked her up there with the best.” He gave a theatrical sigh. “You don't suppose there might be a girl out there that isn't in love with him as soon as she claps eyes on him?”

The two connor's exchanged a look, both rueful and amused.

“Ngah!” they both chorused at the same time, then burst out laughing, making several heads turn in their direction, which only made them chortle louder.

Connor rose to his feet and held a hand out to his counterpart. “Come on, I can't stand this much more...how about we find something less PG and start a discussion about Superheroes?”

Using his twin to hoist himself upright, connor grinned and clapped his new friend on the back. “I couldn't have put it better myself...leave this lot to sort out the details. Predator versus Terminator – who really comes from the future?”

“You've got to be kidding...directors cut or original?”

Together, the two young men wandered off to find a less crowded corner to continue the discussion.

“Do I need to send a security guard after him?” Lester drawled, sipping from his glass as he followed the two Connor's progress through the room.

Cutter followed his gaze and smiled indulgently. “Given what both those young men have accomplished in difficult circumstances and record time, I think we can cut them some slack.”

“Yes. He appears to be a minor genius in whatever time he's in. Bonus for us.”

“Indeed. For us all.”

“So what now Professor? The Massey situation is well under control...”

“In our time at least,” Cutter interrupted.

“True. But I think we can say that at this time, that's the most we can hope for...until new evidence comes to light, so to speak.”

“Who knows what damage that man did to our history, to the past.”

“Obviously not as much as you fear, Professor. We're all still here, history hasn't been changed in either reality, as far as we can tell, despite the meddling.”

“As far as we can tell,” Cutter repeated, his expression grim. “We're hardly started to understand what it's all about to allow for complacency. Even you must realise there could be implications we just don't know about...changes that we don't even realise are there...”

“We've made a start, so be content with that.” Lester turned slightly away, ending that line of conversation. “We really should concentrate on the problem at hand...”

“Which is?” Nick asked, curbing the desire to snarl.

Lester waved at the room full of people, several of them duplicates of themselves. “You don't consider this a problem?”

“Depends on your point of view. You said yourself, you promised you wouldn't split them up.”

“Under duress.” Lester ground out, glaring at the back of one couple before flicking his gaze back down at his drink. “We can't have umpteen identical pairs of people running around our time line. They have their own lives, in their own times.”

“Not to mention the problem of me being out of both times and no clue how to return to my own.”

“Yes. Well. There is that too.” Lester had the grace to look abashed. “Is there nothing in what Helen told you to help?”

“Nothing so far, and nothing unearthed at any of the camps. It seems I'm an aberration.” Cutter met Lester's sympathetic gaze and quickly looked away. “I seem doomed to spend the rest of my life in another man's shoes.”

Lester glanced over at one of the Claudia's and his mouth quirked up in a half smile. “You weren't exactly slow in taking advantage of one aspect of your new life.”

Cutter's glare quickly wiped the smirk off the Home Office man's face. “I lost her once, I'm not going to lose her again.”

“Even if the one from your time walks through an anomaly sometime in the future?”

“For all I know, she's ceased to exist in my time...or maybe she's still waiting for me...I don't know.” Cutter closed his eyes briefly before opening them again, a bleak light in their blue depths.

“Yes. Well. Not really something I should worry about, if I was you. Soon, there'll be only one anomaly open, the one between ours and there's. Once the transfers are complete, both will be shut down and the problem solved.”

“You hope.”

“You said so yourself, and confirmed it with Connor. Once the two linked anomalies are shut down, the whole anomaly situation is no longer a problem. Isn't that the truth?”

Cutter laughed. “Would you know the truth?”

Lester smiled smugly. “If you say so Professor...it must be the truth.” Peering into his cup, Lester waggled it in Cutters direction then sauntered off to get a refill.

Nick stared around the room and wondered how indeed they were going to sort out what everyone was going to do.

Stephen pulled abby into his side and kissed the top of her head.

“Hard to believe it's all over.”

Leaning her head into his shoulder, abby nodded her agreement. She was looking across at the other couple at one of the tables, the stephen from her own time laughing down into the flushed face of the Abby, that girl from the same time as man currently holding her.

“Is it really over? I mean, I know they're shutting down Massey's operation and everything, but are you sure you don't want to go back...with her?”

“Listen...we've talked, you know that. Me and Abby...she's content with her stephen, as I'm content...more than content to stay here with you. That's if you want me to?”

She bit her lip, feeling his arm tighten about her and taking comfort from that. “It's just...you're giving up your life, everything you know to make a place in this world...it just seems so much to ask.”

Stephen said nothing for a moment, then, his arm still around her shoulders, steered them both towards the door leading into the corridor. Concerned, but not unduly alarmed, abby deposited her cup on a table as they passed it and let him lead her outside. Almost before the door had swung shut she was pinned up against the wall, his arms bracketing her head and his mouth finding hers in a kiss designed to burn away any doubts she had of his sincerity. Minutes later they pulled apart and stared at each other.

“Does that convince you? Because if it doesn't...we'll need some privacy for what I have in mind to do next.”

Unable to stop herself, abby giggled, the mirth quickly escalating until they were both leaning against the other to stop themselves falling to the floor in hysterics. Getting her breath back first, abby cupped Stephen's face and kissed him, pulling back quickly and holding his gaze.

“You'll bust open your stitches if you're not careful.” She leant forward and kissed him hungrily before drawing away again. “We need to find Lester and convince him. The sooner we settle this, the sooner I can get you where I want you.”

“I like a woman who knows what she wants. I think I saw Lester at the drinks table. Come on.”

Enclosing her hand in his, Stephen pulled her back through the conference room door and headed across the room to where Lester stood talking to Claudia Brown.

Abby watched her twin being hauled across the room with the biggest grin curving her mouth, and surmised correctly that something was up. Her stephen was just approaching from refiling their cups, his eyes only for her across the room. A warm glow spiraled inside her and she returned his smile. He still looked somewhat battered, but it didn't alter one whit how she felt about him.

“Here you go. What's the smile for?”

“I think the other pair are making sure that Lester is left in no doubt of their intentions.” Abby pointed across the room and stephen followed the direction she indicated.

“You're probably right. When I get something fixed in my mind, I usually act on it.” He sipped his drink, resolutely turning his back on the room and blocking Abby's view. “Look, I want to ask you something...”

Abby took a fortifying sip before giving him her undivided attention. “What is it?”

“I know we haven't known each other very long – hardly at all, when you think about it...”

“But stephen...” Abby tried to interrupt but found his hand over her mouth.

“Please, let me finish.” He arched a brow and waited for her to nod before removing his hand.

“I wanted to ask you if you think we have a chance?”

Abby looked at him, her eyes wide but her lips pressed firmly together, waiting for him to continue.

Glancing down at his feet, he put his own glass down, removed her drink to safety then took both her hands in his. “I want us to have a chance Abby, I want to find out what loving a wonderful woman like you is like. I want to wake up and have you beside me, to eat meals with you, watch movies...the whole deal.”

Abby continued to stare up at him, her eyes now luminous, her lips curved into a smile. He waited expectantly, but when she didn't say anything, he rolled his eyes at her. “You can speak now!”

“Oh good...yes.”

“Yes?”

“To everything.”

“Everything?” His grin lit up his face, his eyes a brighter blue than she'd ever seen before.

“Everything.”

Lester had only just sent the first couple on their way, when the second bore down on him, a clear purpose in their eyes.

“Here we go again,” he groaned to himself before pinning a suitably diplomatic expression.

“We have something we need to discuss,” stephen started to say, only to have Lester hold up his hand and give them both a world weary smile.

“The answer is yes to whatever it is. The other pair have already made it clear they want to stay here – together. I suppose you both want to go back to your time,” he looked at Abby, “and take up your lives there.”

“Well...” stephen and Abby exchanged a glance. “Yes.”

“Then I suggest you collect your colleague from wherever he's hiding out with the other one, and get yourselves back to the anomaly site. The quicker we get this sorted, the quicker we can shut it all down and get back to our own lives.”

The flickering light, combined with the floodlights made long, multiple shadows around the people standing off to the side. Black ops soldiers stood at the ready beside nearly every tree, their guns held loosely in front of them.

Abby and stephen were saying their last goodbyes to their rescuers and former cell mates. The two Abby's were embracing before stepping back to stand beside their respective partners. The two Connor's were still debating the relative merits of their comic book passions, needing to be almost forcibly separated before Connor would wave goodbye. He held the contraption that would guide them back to their original timeline, back to where another, different nick cutter and Claudia Marsden waited to receive them.

Lester stood beside Nick, who was staying behind. Both men watched the farewells with mixed emotions. Quietly stepping up beside Nick, claudia slid her hand into his, his fingers grasping hers with a mixture of relief and desperation.

“Are you sure you don't want to go with them?” she whispered in Nick's ear.

“Nah. They already have a Nick Cutter to go home too. Get too cluttered having both of us there.”

“Good.”

Nick looked sideways at her, noting her resolute profile, her eyes staring straight ahead. “Good?”

Slowly, claudia turned to face him. “I'm not prepared to let you go now Professor. You've started something, and I intend to make sure you see it through.”

Nick laughed, his eyes dancing. “You sure about that?”

“Positive.”

“I'll hold you to that my girl. See if I don't.”

“Looking forward to it.” claudia gave him a slow smile that set his pulse hammering.

Abby swallowed hard. It had been surprisingly difficult saying goodbye to herself and watch her sister, as she thought of her twin, walking off with Stephen's arm about the girls waist. Her own stephen was standing at her side, a tall reassuring presence that she was already relying on for comfort and support. Seeking his hand she laced her fingers with his and squeezed.

“Ready?” He asked, smiling down at her.

“Are you?”

“To follow you anywhere? Yeah.”

“Last chance to change your mind?” Abby quipped, her eyes suspiciously bright and apprehensive. His smile didn't falter.

“Never. Let's go. I want to pick up where we left off and make that coffee you came back for.”

“How about,” she tilted her head back and gave him a loaded look. “We skip the coffee and just pick up where we left off before we went to the restaurant”

“Yeah...sounds like a plan.”

Connor was positively hopping about on one foot, the gadget in his hand giving off loud beeping noises like a metal detector hitting a gold mine.

“We need to go now, every thing's set.” He gesture to the anomaly, starting to walk towards it with Abby and stephen a step behind him. A final glance back and a wave and they were gone, the black ops not relaxing their stance until the anomaly blinked out of existence.

For a second no-one moved, then the soldiers started to move away, Lester turning his back as well, soon followed by connor.

Nick and claudia stayed a moment longer, staring at the space where the fractured rift had drifted only moments before.

“So that's the end of it,” claudia sighed, leaning her head against Nick's shoulder. “No more anomalies.”

“No. Lester seems to think they were entirely a construct of Massey, and with his technology now in the hands of the good guys, no longer a threat.”

Lifting her head off his shoulder, claudia regarded Nick with a frowning look. “But you don't believe that?”

“I believe,” Nick turned to look at her. “I believe that there is more in heaven and earth, Horatio, than we are ever likely to know or understand.” He turned back to look at the surrounding area, then turned away, claudia following him, hands still entwined, back to the car waiting to take them back to London and their new life together.

Epilogue: still AR2, several months later.

The sun beat down on the bare rock and sent shimmers of heat waves up into the warm summer air. Tussock clumped among the rocks gave way to grass further down. In a crevice, in a dark shadow, a small, glittering rift appeared. A pinpoint to start with, then growing big enough to allow an agile, green winged lizard to slip through, the creature chirruping to itself as it trotted out of the shadow between the rocks and lifted it's head to taste the air. As if satisfied that the air was breathable, it spread its broad wings and wiggled it's tail. With a final chirrup, the lizard ran a few feet before a gust of wind caught its outspread wings and lifted it off the ground to sail like a bird down the slope, gaining altitude and riding the thermals, its bright eyes already on the alert for any possible insect meal borne on the wind. The sweet scent of fruit drew it towards a small housing estate bordered by the forest of Dean. Banking and gliding the green skinned lizard flew among the trees, skimming over the ground until it spotted the berry rich bushes. So intent was the creature on the berries it never noticed the young boy kicking up leaves, the two almost colliding when the lizard finally realised the danger and swooped over the boys head, alighting on the ground and chirruping it's anger at the rash behaviour of the animal it had so narrowly missed.

Ben stared round eyed at the lizard and crouched down, reaching out his hand. “Hello...you're a lovely looking lizard...where have you come from?”

Cocking its head to the side, the lizard only chirruped in reply, raising the crest on its head to warn the animal that he was not to be messed with.

Ben smiled appreciatively and sat on his haunches. “You're beautiful. I think I'll call you Rex...”

end of Hard Light.