The Pliocene and then the Cretaceous

[itsananomaly]

Cutter wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for but when he woke up sunlight was beaming into the cave, he didn't feel as shocked or cold as he had yesterday and he knew he still wasn't done grieving but he knew this was something that he had to push through, he had to keep busy and productive as they worked on their next move. He wasn't ready to move just yet so he took a few moments to sit there, Connor was still asleep next to him and he didn't want to get up and leave in case Connor woke up. [preplayed with the amazing anomaly_research_nerd. NFB for distance but OOC welcome!]

Becker(thearcfamily)	Connor had been sleeping the last few hours curled up against Cutter though he was still starting to stir a little. He muttered softly a 'good morning' though he didn't open his eyes as he lay there. At the front of the cave Becker was standing, leaning against one of the walls gazing out across the open valley before them. He glanced back into the cave to see how Cutter and Connor were doing and then over to where Danny was resting as well.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter stayed still, yawning softly as he returned a 'good morning' as he looked around the cave, Danny was still asleep even though he was starting to stir. Cutter's stomach then grumbled and he winced, he realised he was hungrier than he had thought, even though the last thing he had managed to have last night was the tea.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Connor slowly sat up and gave a small smile. "Hey Nick. You... you sleep good enough? Feeling ok?" he asked trying not to sound too concerned though he was of course worried about Cutter. "Morning you two" Becker said as he gave them a small smile from the entrance of the cave as he walked over to them. "How are you two doing?"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, "I managed to sleep," he reassured Connor, "I'm ... I'm better than what I was, it's still a lot to process but I ... I'm going to be okay," he said softly. "Morning Becker," Cutter smiled as Danny woke up just then and started to head over as well, yawning as he did. "I'm ...I'm managing, I'll get there, thank you for being patient with me yesterday," he added, knowing that he wasn't much help to anyone yesterday.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker gave Cutter a small reassuring smile and put a hand on his shoulder. "You'd do the same for any of us" he said and then picked up his pack and pulled out a couple small packages, handing one to each of them. "MREs aren't the greatest but it's the best we got. Should get our energy up a little before we head out for the day's treck."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter gave a small smile at that as he gratefully took the pack, "thank you Becker," he said softly as he opened it, "has ... did anything happen last night? I think I was pretty out of it once I slept,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	"Nothing to worry about, few little noises but was probably the local birds and such" Beckers said with a nod. "Whatever it was they seemed to be more afraid of us than anything so it was all in all uneventful. How are you feeling Danny? Get enough sleep Danny?"
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny gave another yawn and stretch just then, "I'm feeling pretty alright considering the circumstances," he admitted, "I'm not sure if I got that much sleep but it will be enough to keep me going for the day, how about you Becker?"
Becker(thearcfamily)	"About the same... some better than nothing. Should be good for the day though, not worried. I think once we eat we can get this place put back to how it was then we can go head out." Becker looked at Danny and gave a nod. "Think we head to river and then follow it and see what we can find?"
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded, "I think that's a good plan, we can refill our canteens along the way as well to make sure our water supply is good and then we keep going until we either find an anomaly or another spot to set up camp if we don't find one," he considered, "but we are going to have to do a fair bit of trekking," he said apologetically as he looked over at Cutter and Connor.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"We'll be fine" Connor said with a nod as he started eating. "Nick and I will be fine." Becker stood and put a hand on Cutter and Connor's shoulder and then looked over at Danny. "I'm going to go scout the entrance bit, make sure there are no surprises for us right out the gate. You be ok for a few minutes Danny?" he asked as he slipped his unopened MRE back into the packback hopefully unnoticed.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Cutter nodded his agreement as he worked on eating his MRE, "we'll be fine," he agreed. Danny nodded and then looked over at Becker, raising an eyebrow as he saw him slip the unopened MRE back into the backpack, he didn't want to call Becker out in front of the others but he reminded himself to make sure that Becker ate later, "I'll be fine," he said as he opened up his own back, "we'll finish eating here and then we can finish cleaning up here,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker saw the look Danny gave and was grateful he didn't say anything out loud. While the others finished up their breakfast Becker took a short walk around the entrance of the cave to look for any signs of any critters hanging around. He came back a little while later and saw Danny had gotten the fire put out and dismantled and their few supplies all packed back up. "Alright, everything looks good far as I can tell. We should be good to get to the river and then we can deal with things from there on out."
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded, "alright we do that," he agreed, "we're good to go here as well, I've already double checked we haven't left anything behind that could alter the timeline in anyway and no one will ever know that we were here," he said, "I think we should be good to get started for the day's trek,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	"Then let's head out, see how far we get and what we find... hopefully we'll be back at the ARC and in real beds tonight" he said trying to stay positive and sound hopeful. "You lead the way Danny. I'll watch our rear as we go."
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny grinned at that as he started to head out, "that would be nice wouldn't it? A nice proper cooked meal," he said wistfully as he imaged being able to get back to everything, "okay let's go," he began to leave them out of the cave, Cutter was staying close to Connor as they all began to follow Danny.
Becker(thearcfamily)	With the back slung over his shoulder and his gun in hand Becker brought up the rear, hanging back a little as he kept checking to make sure nothing was stalking them or trying to sneak up on them. The morning wasn't too bad but as the sun got higher in the sky it got hot quickly. "You all doing ok up there?" he called up to Cutter and Connor. "Need a break for a bit?"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter hated to admit it but he was struggling with both the trek and the heat, the past year and everything they had endured meant he was not as athletic as he used to be, "actually I think a break might not be a bad idea," he admitted, taking a moment to catch his breath.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker nodded and gave a whistle to signal up to the front to Danny that they were stopping. "There a little shade over here, we can rest for a bit, rehydrate, and then push on a little longer."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter took several deep breaths, grateful for the chance to stop, "thank you," he said softly as he made his way over to the shade that Becker had pointed out. Danny looked back in concern as he headed back to the group, he started to get out of the canteens and passed them around, "here make sure you drink plenty of water, we've still got a bit of a trek to get through today, so far I haven't seen any sign of an anomaly," he said regretfully
Becker(thearcfamily)	"Looks like another night outdoors" Connor said with a soft sigh as he took the canteen gratefully and took a long drink before handing it over to Becker. "Thanks" Becker said as he took a drink himself before handing it back to Connor. " We'll have a chance to find a place for camp tonight if needed. There's still plenty of time and this place looks like its filled with caves."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter gratefully took his canteen from Danny and took a long much needed drink before he passed it back, "at least we're also close to the river, we shouldn't have any issues with not running out of water at least?" he said as he tried to not think about the fact that they didn't have much in the way of food, they were going to have to do some kind of hunting depending on how long it took for them to find an anomaly and even then it was no guarantee it would be the one they were after.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"If we are still here tomorrow, I can go do some hunting and you both can do some foraging with Danny" Becker suggested as he sat down beside Cutter to rest some, still keeping an eye out for any signs of problems, "That should be easy enough- there's all kind of things we can eat if we can find some good vegetation patches closer to the river" Connor said with a thoughtful nod.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, "alright, I think we can manage with that," he said softly as Danny sat down next to Becker, also keeping a close eye on their surroundings, "even though I wish we still had access to that anomaly map, that would really be useful right about now," he sighed.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Connor stared at Cutter for a moment and then blinked as a thought came to him. "Wait Nick... we do! I had one of the rough sketches of the anomaly points... we had been working on things when Helen showed up...." Connor looked at Danny then Becker then back to Cutter and slowly slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "You still have it!" Becker said, a look of relief on his face. He knew it wasn't a guarantee of anything but it was one more thing to help them try and get home. "We don't know where any of the points lead but if we could figure out where to even find one... that would be a big help!"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"Oh wow, I'd forgotten about that," Cutter admitted as he looked at the crumpled piece of paper in Connor's hand, "this will be a great help, we won't be completely lost if it gives us a rough idea of the direction to go in, we could find that anomaly a lot quicker," he gave a smile at that.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"And thankfully it looks like we've been heading in basically the right direction... assuming we are reading this thing correctly and all" Connor said with a sheepish grin as he smoothed out the paper and held it out for Cutter to see. "That's good to know. We should hopefully be able to find the closest anomaly before our supplies totally run out and we get in too bad of shape" Becker said, not mentioning the fact that even when they did find an anomaly it still might not lead them back home. "Let's get back up and on the way- let's find that anomaly" he said trying to keep Cutter and Connor's spirits up the best he could.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded as he looked at the piece of paper that Connor had given him, "from what I can tell we are reading this correctly," he smiled over at Connor, "even though I think we might need to take another night camping in a cave, the closest one is still rather far," he admitted as he stood up, getting ready to continue on with the rest of the trek.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"At least we have a path and a plan now" Becker said as he made sure all their stuff was packed back into his pack and they didn't leave anything behind. " We'll find a place to camp for the night then tomorrow, we find that anomaly! You good to start heading out again Danny?"
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded as he stood up, "I'm definitely ready," he assured them, "we'll head up a bit further, I think I see another cave system so that will be a good place for us to stop and camp, at least its nice to know we're not going round in circles," he added.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker nodded and followed after Cutter and Connor, glad to see the two of them looking a little more hopeful. He knew from his training and military experience that one of the biggest tricks to serving difficult situations was to not give up hope. The last thing he wanted was for Cutter and Connor to give up hope. So he'd keep them going, for as long as he could- there was no other option and he wasn't going to let them down this time!
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny continued to lead them further up towards the next lot of cave systems, even though they were closest it still took them the rest of the day and it was nightfall by the time they got to the cave and checked it to make sure it was safe for them. "Alright, this will do for tonight," he nodded as he looked around, "we'll get a fire going and use the last of our packs for food," he gave Becker a pointed look as if to say that he was going to make sure that Becker ate something this time.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker gave a silent nod at that and started setting up the branches they had gathered and got the fire going. It didn't take long for them all to eat, and Becker did eat, Danny's careful watching made sure of that. Once they were done, Becker took first watch while Danny, Cutter, and Connor slept.
Danny(thearcfamily)	The night passed without incident, Danny taking over for the second watch so Becker could get some sleep and then before he knew it the sunlight was starting to pour through the caves again. Danny looked over where Becker, Cutter and Connor were still sleeping as he tended to the fire so they could keep it going while they had breakfast. He would let them sleep in a bit longer but then they would have to get moving if they wanted to get to that anomaly by nightfall.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Maybe it was all the stress and adrenaline if the last few days, or the fact he had really eaten anything before that evening. Whatever it was, Becker was still asleep that morning as the sun started to come up. He was asleep but it wasn't restful, his dreams filled with visions of Wilder.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny noticed Cutter started to stir so he knew it wouldn't be long before Cutter was awake and that was when he noticed Becker's restlessness and he had a fair idea of what he was dreaming about, "Becker?" he said gently, trying to not startle him, "Becker, its okay, your're just having a bad dream," he placed a gentle hand on Becker's shoulder to try and wake him.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker's eyes opened and he stared at Danny for a moment blinking as he tired to get his mind cleared and his heart to stop racing as much. "Danny..." he said and rubbed his face and sighed. "S-Sorry..." he muttered as he started to sit up, his breathing still a little shaky as he looked down at his hands.
Danny(thearcfamily)	“You have nothing to apologise for,” Danny said gently as he sat down next to him, “did you want to talk about it?” he asked softly, wanting Becker to know that he was there if he did.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker sighed and rubbed his face for a moment, hands still shaking a little as he looked at Danny. "It's just.... after everything that happened... after everything he did... to me, to you, to Cutter and Connor, to... to Sarah. It almost seems like he got off too easy. " Becker took a shuddering breath and laughed coldly as he shook his head. "Guess that says a lot about me as a person huh?"
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny was quiet as he listened to Becker, "it means your human," he said gently, "I felt the same way, Helen, Christine and Wilder ... they got off too easy for what they did, I wanted to be able to have them arrested, spend the rest of their lives in jail and now that won't happen," he sighed, "did you know Christine even threatened to go after James' kids? Threatening kids? It didn't matter what she could do to me but as long as she was alive she was a threat to everyone ... I'm, I'm glad she's dead, I'm glad they're all dead," he said quietly.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker nodded slowly as he listened to Danny, agreeing with everything he was saying. "Someone like that... like Christine... Helen.. Wilder... they are too far gone by the time they get to that point, right? I mean see the good one everyone has a limit right... and in my book they passed that line a long long time ago." Becker's gaze drifted back to where Cutter and Connor were starting to stir. "I'll get them home. If it takes every breath in my body... I'm going to make sure Nick and Connor don't have to deal with anything like that again."
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded in agreement, "I agree," he said quietly, "some people are just too far gone to be saved and while I would have liked a harder punishment for them, they can't hurt anyone anymore, at least physically," he said knowing that the emotional scars would be around for a lot longer. He followed Becker's gaze over to Cutter and Connor, "and I'm going to help you get them home, so they can continue to live their lives without fear from Helen, Christine or Wilder,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker gave a small nod and appreciative smile at Danny. "We'll get them home" he said softly.Then he gave a sigh and started to stand, running his hands over his face as he did. "Well, time to get going I think. Sun will be up and should be light enough to head out soon. I'll go get some breakfast ready for them and then we can head out" Becker said as he grabbed his pack and pulled out the MREs, glancing at Danny as he pulled two out. He knew they needed to war but he also knew between the four of them, he and Danny were the best suited to skip a meal in their given situation.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded in understanding, it wasn't an ideal situation but he would rather Cutter and Connor eat something and he was happy to go without so they could eat, "I'll go wake Cutter and Connor and then do a security check," he told Becker as he stood up, "I'll see if I can do some foraging later on during our trek, at least that'll give us something until we can go hunt," he considered.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker nodded and closed up the pack with the last of their supplies in it. "Read my mind. Might give us enough to at least get a head start on something for tonight and tomorrow morning" he considered. Becker watched as he headed off but before he walked away, Becker reached out and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Thank you Danny. For everything" he said simply before letting his hand fall and letting Danny go wake up Cutter and Connor.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded back, "you're welcome," he said softly, "I'm always here if you need me," he reassured Becker and then he went to wake up Cutter and Connor. Cutter had been stirring for the last little bit so he wasn't hard to wake, "Danny?" he yawned as he opened his eyes, blinking as the sunlight poured into the cave, "is it morning already?" "It is, you and Connor are going to have some breakfast while I do a security check and then we'll get moving," Danny told him as he began to start gently waking Connor.
Becker(thearcfamily)	It didnt take long to get the simple breakfast ready and then the rest of their stuff packed away. Before long Becker had everything together and ready to go. As Danny work Cutter up Connor proved to be a little more difficult as he was still sound asleep curled up beside Cutter. As Danny tried to rouse him, Connor batted at his hand sleepily, not opening his eyes. "Just five more minutes..." he muttered.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny gently shook Connor as Cutter got started on his breakfast, "come on Connor, breakfast is ready for you, we have a big day of hiking ahead of us, you'll need to eat," he said, hoping the mention of food, even though the MRE's weren't exactly that appetising, would wake Connor.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"Humm? Food?" Connor woke up more at that and opened his eyes. "Food sounds good" he said finally waking up a little and stretching as he gave a small smile to Cutter. "Morning Nick, you doing ok?" From the front of the cave Becker was watching with a small smile. Even in the middle of a crisis like this Connor still would get up and going for food. It was nice to know some things never changed.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter smiled fondly at hearing Connor stir for the promise of food, "I'm getting there," he told Connor as he ate, "I think it will take a while to process everything but ... compared to how I was, I'm doing better," he admitted softly.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor gave a small smile and nod as he started to eat. He was still trying to process everything too but he knew it had to be so much harder for Cutter. He put his arm around him and gave a squeeze then went back to eating. "I think we should reach the anomaly today easily" he said as he took a drink from one of the canteens. "It shouldn't be too far away now."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter gave a small smile at that, "that would be good, getting to reach the new anomaly, hopefully it leads to home and we don't have to trek much further, it will be nice just getting to be back home and not having to deal with ... well everything," he said softly as he took another mouthful and than drank some of the water, "maybe now that the immediate threat is gone, we can start to think about returning to Fandom once we're home?" he suggested, he had been thinking about their life in Fandom a lot these last few days and he realised just how much he was missing it.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor gave a small sad smile and nodded. He had been thinking about his and Nick's futures a lot after everything and especially now he was eager to get back and to start working toward that life they both had dreamt of having. "I'm so ready to get back to civilization! And I miss Fandom too... more than I thought I would honestly."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"Same here," Cutter said softly as he stared at the remainder of his breakfast, "I miss teaching and I want us to start working towards the future that we've been planning, with our wedding, our careers, I want us to have everything,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor set down the empty MRE container and pulled Cutter close into a hug. "And we will. We will get that future together. I promise. We will get to Fandom, start teaching again, and build that life for the both of us!"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter smiled as he put down his pack that still had a couple of mouthfuls left in there as he wrapped his arms around Connor, "I'm looking forward to it, after everything that's happened, I know we'll get that life that we've been dreaming of," he said softly.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor hugged Cutter tightly for a moment before finally letting go so he could finish eating. He knew they still had to focus on the here and now, but those hopes for the future, his future with Cutter, that was what was going to get him through this. "Danny, you and Becker do ok last night?" he asked looking over at Danny.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Cutter gave a small smile as he let go of Connor's hug and finished off the last few mouthfuls of food that he had left, he knew it was important that he ate while he had the opportunity too, he knew they didn't have many supplies left until they started looking for new sources of food. "It was fairly uneventful," Danny reported once he had completed his security check, "nothing out of the ordinary," he nodded, knowing that Becker wouldn't want any attention drawn to his restless night sleep.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor nodded, glad to hear there were no issues and that hopefully Becker and Danny got at least a little sleep. It wasn't long before they were on their way, leaving their cave and heading back out to find the anomaly. "If we keep parallel to the river we should've fine for a while. Won’t have to turn away from it for another hour or two at least" Connor said as he checked the map sketch again before carefully folding it and putting it into Becker's pack to keep it safe.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded as he lead them out of the cave and back on the path, "we'll keep following the river then since that seems to have helped us so far and hopefully we'll reach the anomaly with a few hours of daylight to spare, I'm going to keep an eye out for any berries that we can forage, at least that will give us a bit extra food in the meantime," he told them as they walked.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	I"That's a good idea actually" Connor said as they made their way. "There's also likely some plants we can find around that have some good tubers we can eat too. Could roast them over the fire easily enough I would think."
Danny(thearcfamily)	"Then we'll keep an eye out for plants as well as berries," Danny nodded, "and we'll stop a bit further up to fill up out canteens before we finish the journey to the anomaly, I don't want to make camp for a third night here, I'd like us to begin finding the anomalies that will lead us home," he added.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Agreed! We'll get there today. There shouldn't be anything between us and the anomaly to slow us down..." Connor said as he looked ahead trying to see if he could get a sight of the glimmering lights anywhere. "As long as we don't run into any critters... and we haven't seen anything so far so we should hopefully be good to go with that!"
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded in agreement, "hopefully we'll continue to be lucky and avoid any contact with the creatures and the early humans, don't want to cause too much disruption to the timeline," he added as he looked around, trying to see if he recognised any of the berries or plants, "but that shouldn't be a problem if the anomaly is just up ahead, we can find somewhere to camp for the night there while we work out the next anomaly we need to go through,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor slowed down a little so he was walking beside Cutter and reached out and took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "You doing ok Nick? We should be getting eyes on the anomaly soon. Shouldn't be too long now and we will be one step closer to being home ad putting all of this behind us!"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter gratefully returned the hand squeeze as he took a moment to catch his breath, "I'm just not used to so much hiking after everything," he admitted softly, "but it will be nice to find that anomaly, especially if it leads us home," he was looking forward to getting back to their home in London and then they could start working on getting back to Fandom.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"We'll get there Nick. The four of us will be sleeping in real beds tonight! I can feel it" Connor said as he handed Cutter his canteen so he could take a drink. "It'll all be done soon."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter stared at that familiar light, a surge of hope filling him that after everything they were finally going to get home, "it's the anomaly," he breathed as he stood next to Connor. Danny came up next to them, "now that is a very welcome sight," he grinned as he looked back to Becker to make sure everything was alright, "I think we should pass through the anomaly, see what's on the other side, hopefully it will be London in the 21st Century,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Let's do this" Connor said as he looked at Becker. "We'll go through together and hopefully we'll be back home. Where we belong." He reached out to Cutter and took his hand and then put his other hand on Becker's shoulder. "Danny, ready?"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter took Connor's hand as Danny moved to the front of the group to lead them through the anomaly, "ready," Danny nodded, "and with any luck we'll be back home with our own beds and nice hot meals," he said as he started to move towards the anomaly.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	With a deep breath Connor followed after Danny, hang clinging to Cutter's tightly. He closed his eyes as they got close to the anomaly and then everything went white as they stumbled through the anomaly. When he felt his feet on solid ground on the other side he slowly opened his eyes. "N-Nick...." Connor said, his grip tightening on Cutter's hand. "It... it's..." his voice trailed off as he looked all around them.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter clung tightly to Connor's hand as he opened his eyes, hoping that it was the familiar sights of London and then his heart sank, "we're not home," he said disappointedly as he looked around, "we're still somewhere in the past,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor tried to swallow down the lump in his throat as he looked around. "Definitely not home..." he sighed as he looked at the different scenery. There were trees everywhere, it was like they were in the middle of some forest somewhere. "Any idea what time we might be in?" Becker said as he stood close by, drawing his gun just in case. "It looks a lot different than where we just came from."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter looked around, clinging still to Connor's hand as he tried to stop the disappointment that they weren't home from settling in, "Its hard to tell," he admitted as he looked around at all the trees, "until we see some of the local creatures, we won't really be able to estimate where we are,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Definitely closer to our time than before... the plants are bigger, there's more species that weren't around back then" Connor noted. "But could be Jurassic or something with... ya know... bigger creatures?" Becker asked hesitantly, hearing a lot more chatter and noise in the woods than before. "Could be... could be the Cretaceous as well based on the pine forest... but Nick is right, only way to get a more definitive idea is to see what kind of creatures are around."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter looked around as he heard the distinct chattering of creature noises, "its possible that it could be cretaceous," he agreed, "even though we need to be extremely careful here if that's the case, there's a lot more predators in this time period," he warned, "we need to find shelter quickly and work out our next moves from there,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor looked around, eyes going a little blank as he stared, seemingly frozen in place. He had gone a little pale and seemed to be shaking slightly. "Connor? What's wrong... are you ok?" Becker asked as he saw the look on Connor's face. "It... it's the cretaceous. It has to be... because... I've been here before..."
Danny(thearcfamily)	Cutter held Connor's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as Danny looked around, "I don't suppose you have to know how far into the cretaceous?" he said a little nervously, "I definitely don't fancy being here when a certain asteroid makes landfall," he looked up into the as if expecting to see an asteroid falling towards them.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Can’t…. be certain but likely early. Millions of years before the extinction event. I think" he said still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he might very well be stuck back there again- after already having survived it once before.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny looked at Connor, having an idea of what he was feeling, "you survived being here once, you're going to survive it again, if an anomaly appeared for you, there's every chance that we'll get another anomaly and we have the added bonus of having a rough draft of a map this time," he said, hoping he sounded convincing.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Y-yeah.. right. You're right" Connor said shaking his head, trying to clear it some. "The anomaly showed up for me and Abby... it'll show up again for us!" "It will" Becker added with a nod. "But right now we need to get somewhere safe. I know up is usually the best but I'm not sure I like the idea of sleeping up in the trees tonight... Cutter? Any ideas? Could we find shelter don't he ground that would be safe enough for tonight?"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"I think we should stay closer to the ground before we try for the trees," Cutter considered, "at least for tonight, maybe once we can get a good ideal layout of the area, we can look at sleeping higher up in the trees, we should still find somewhere with a water source, maybe there's a cave system that has a river nearby?" he suggested.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"River or at least a lake or something- there's gotta be some good water sources around. And if this is early Cretaceous then there should be some decent rainfall too" he considered. "We could always collect some rainwater somehow too." "We should have enough water for today so hopefully by the end of the day or early tomorrow we can find a water source" Becker said still warily watching their surroundings. "But I agree- shelter first!"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, "and there's always some of the small wildlife that we can hunt if necessary," he added, "that will give us additional food as well as the berries and plants if it takes us a while to find the next anomaly," Danny nodded, "alright, we'll start looking for finding a place for us to take shelter in, we've got a few hours of sunlight so we should hopefully be able to find a place for us to camp for the night,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Connor, you and I will take the lead on this one" Becker said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "You've been here... or clear to hear... than any of us. We'll scout a head and look for a place, Danny, you can Cutter follow, don't get too far behind." "Alright... We should probably head off that way" Connor said pointing off in one direction. Those trees over there in the distance? They usually have root systems that get washed out and corm little caves and such around them. We might be able to find a place there for the night."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"We'll keep up," Danny reassured him as he moved behind Cutter so they could start to head out. He was already starting to keep a close eye on the surroundings, in case there were any predators nearby. "I'm ready," Cutter said softly, knowing that the sooner they started trekking again, the sooner they would be able to get to their next shelter.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	The trek was largely uneventful and after a few hours they found themselves deeper into the woods where the trees were much larger like Connor had said. As they walked Connor kept looking around for anywhere that looked like it might be a good place to stop for the night. Suddenly he did stop, causing Becker to almost run into him. "What is it Connor?" Connor just pointed a little ways ahead to one of the largest trees that seemed to be growing over a large outcropping of stones, making almost a cave like area under the roots.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny and Cutter caught up to them just then and noticed the direction of the cave, "oh that's great," he said enthusiastically, "that looks like a great spot to set up camp," That was when he looked over and saw something that was just barely visible, "hey guys, I think we might not be as alone as we thought? Does that look like someone else has set up camp?" Cutter went very still and pale when he heard those words, this couldn't be happening again, it couldn't.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Do... do you think someone came through the anomalies before us? Someone from Christine's team?" Connor asked, his voice going quiet as he looked at the cave. "I... I can't tell how long it might have been set up... but it almost looks like it's been abandoned?" he said, not knowing if that was a comforting thought or not really.
Danny(thearcfamily)	"If it's abandoned then that's good, maybe whoever found it got through another anomaly?" Danny considered, "that could suggest there's one nearby?" Cutter was trembling, "or ... it could be ... it could be a time paradox," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "we ... we could have walked back on our own timelines,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"Are... are you saying we might have... ended up back to exactly when I was here?" Connor asked the realization slowly dawning on him about what Cutter was meaning. He looked at Cutter then over to the cave area. "We.. we still have to check. Either way, right?"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, "its ... its very possible," he said softly, "the cretaceous is vast, we could have even ended up in our own past timelines where we visited this same spot ... its what happened on our very first mission," he trembled, as he remembered seeing Captain Ryan's decomposing body, "its ... where Captain Ryan died,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"So this could have been the came WE made? When we were here... and now we've looped back to it?" Becker said, trying to wrap his head around the would time loop thing. "We could.... but the only way to know for sure is to go and check it out. see for ourselves what it actually is" Connor said as he glanced at the others.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter trembled but nodded, he was afraid of the same thing happening that happened last time, that he would return to a London that would be different. Danny nodded as well, "lets go and check out the camp, it might be nothing, it could just be that someone else was here and they were able to leave, like we'll be able to," he said hopefully, trying to not think about the possibility that the camp was a camp that' they'd already made.
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor nodded. "Be careful Danny. It could be nothing or it could be one of Helen's men..." Connor trailed off as he glanced over at Cutter. "You good to go Danny. Or do you want to stay here with Cutter and Connor and let me go take a look and see whats up?" Becker asked as he looked at Danny then back to the little cave area.
Danny(thearcfamily)	"I can go and check and give the all clear," Danny reassured them, "you stay here, I'll be back as soon as I can," he told them and then he was off to check the camp up ahead, he looked around, there did seem signs that someone had been there very recently but he couldn't see anyone. He came back to the group, "someone was definitely there very recently," he told them, "but I haven't been able to see anyone, they might have gone to forage or hunt,"
Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	"D... do you think we should stay here? Wait for them to come back?" Connor asked as he looked at Danny and Becker. "I mean they could be able to help us maybe but..." "But they could also be a threat" Becker said knowing where Connor was heading with that thinking. "What do you think Danny? I say we stay. It's likely just one person from the look of things. We should be fine right?"
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded, "I think we should chance it," he agreed, "if there's only one person, there's four of us, I think we should be fine," he said, "I don't think we're going to find a better spot before nightfall," he admitted.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"Alright then we stay here. See what happens and see if someone shows up eventually" Becker said with a nod. "In the meantime, we can check the site out a little closer, see if there are any clues as to who might be here... or have been here."
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded, "I think that's our best bet and then once we secure the site we can start setting up camp for the night, work out our next steps moving forward," he agreed.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker nodded and thought for a moment. "The three of you stay out here, I'll go do a check inside, see if I can figure out who our mystery person might be. Danny can keep a lookout too" he added with a nod to Danny before he turned to head back into the cave. Form inside he could still hear Danny talking with Cutter and Connor but it was really muffled. There were a few things in the cave area that looked like someone was definitely living in there. Becker found a backpack and started to look through t when a noise caught his attention. He looked over to the far side of the cave and froze for a moment. "Danny!" he called in a low but harsh whisper. "Danny! Get in here!"
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny heard that whisper, wincing a little at how harsh it seemed and ran into the cave to follow Becker, "Becker what's wrong?" he said, his eyes scanning the cave to see what had caught Becker's attention.
Becker(thearcfamily)	He hadn’t moved since he had called out and when Danny came in, Becker just met his gaze and then looked over to the far side of the cave and gave a nod. There was what looked like a pile of blankets and other random stuff in an almost discarded-looking heap. Becker saw the confused look on Danny's face and he nodded toward it again and just then a faint, painful moan could be heard coming from that area of the cave.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny heard that moaning and froze, "someone's here?" he stared at Becker, eyes wide as he realised what that mistake could mean, "I swear, I checked in here Becker," he wasn't trying to deflect responsibility, he knew this was on him but at the same time he couldn't believe that he had made such a mistake.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"It's... fine" Becker said. He knew how bad Danny would blame himself if anything happened to Cutter and Connor. But the more important thin was to now figure out what to do with this new information. He gave a small nod to Danny as he stood where he was. Danny was team lead, he'd have to decide what to do right now.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny felt terrible, if something happened to Cutter and Connor because of this mistake he was never going to forgive himself, "I'll go over and see who it is, it sounds like they need help," he said and then he walked over in the direction of the pile of blankets and lifted them off the person and gasped. "Becker, you're never going to believe who it is!" he cried as he saw the shivering form of Stephen Hart on the ground.
Stephen(anomaly_research_nerd)	It was Stephen. Or at least it looked like Stephen. Though he was a lot thinner and worse for wear. But he was alive which was more than anyone would have expected considering everything.... But he was in bad shape. Stephen lay on the floor, the worn and obviously well-used blanket wrapped around himself tightly. He was trembling as if he was near freezing yet he was drenched with sweat. His eyes were closed in pain as another soft moan escape him though he did stir ever so slightly and slowly stretched his arm out a little, desperately trying the to reach the canteen that was a few feet away from where he was lying.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny realised where Stephen was trying to reach and he grabbed the canteen for him, his mind was swimming, he knew about Stephen, had known that he died ... how had he ended up here in the middle of the cretaceous? Then there was the matter of what he'd done to Cutter and Connor, he knew there was a history, that he'd hurt them ... was it right for him to help him now? "Stephen? My name is Danny Quinn, I'm the ARC's team leader, can you tell me what's happened?" he asked as he brought the canteen to Stephen's lips.
Stephen(anomaly_research_nerd)	Stephen didn't open his eyes and it even took a moment with the water tricking over his lips and out of his mouth before he even started to drink. Once he did he weakly grabbed for the canteen and drank greedily. A moment later his eyes opened and he looked up at Danny at last as he slowly let his hand fall from the canteen. "The... the.. ARC?" he gasped weakly a look of hope and also fear in his eyes behind the obvious pain that was there.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded, looking over to where Becker was, "I'm here with Captain Becker and Nick and Connor," he said, seeing what reaction hearing those names would have, "can you tell me what happened?"
Stephen(anomaly_research_nerd)	Stephen blinked a little at the name Becker. He didn't recognize that name. But his eyes went wide, almost like he saw a ghost when he heard Nick and Connor's names. "They.... they made it... they're ok?" he said his voice hoarse even as he took another drink from the canteen. He gave a small sigh and closed his eyes. "Anomaly... got away right as the future predator attacked... been here... since" he said as he winced slightly and gave a weak cough. "Run in with a creature... nasty one... couple days ago..." he said hoping Danny understood.
Danny(thearcfamily)	"It was rough for them, they've been through a lot," Danny said softly, ""but they got rescued," he looked at Stephen closely as he processed that last part, "so you haven't seen any anomalies in these parts?" he said, trying to not let the hopelessness of their predicament set in. If Stephen had been here for a year, then what chance did the rest of them have of getting back home?
Stephen(anomaly_research_nerd)	Stephen shook his head weakly. "Not since the one that brought me here. But one... could open any time..." he said weakly. "You guys will... make it back."
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny's heart sank at that confirmation and then he hesitated, he didn't like the idea of leaving Stephen when they had supplies that could help him but at the same time, he knew that this was something he had to talk with Becker, Cutter and Connor. "I'll be right back," he promised, "I need to talk to the others alright?"
Stephen(anomaly_research_nerd)	Stephen nodded, eyes still closed as he trembled again, pulling the blanket around himself a little more. He listened as Danny headed towards the mouth of the cave. "Tell Nick.. and Cutter that... I'm sorry.. and I... I understand" Stephen said weakly.
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded, "I will," he said softly, it was the least he could promise Stephen since he wasn't sure how the others were going to react, he walked back towards Becker. "We have a problem," he told him, glancing in the direction where Cutter and Connor were waiting, "the person in the cave is Stephen Hart,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker stared at Danny like he had just punched him in the gut. He felt like it too as his head started to spin a little and he actually started shaking a little. "S-Stephen... You.. you're sure its him, Danny? " he looked over at Cutter and Connor then back to Danny keeping his voice low. "Stephen Hart is supposed to be dead!"
Danny(thearcfamily)	"I know," Danny said softly, "but its definitely him, an anomaly opened up and he's been here since," he hesitated, "and he's seriously ill, he got bit by a creature, I didn't promise him any medical care, I didn't feel that was my place to do so," he looked back towards Cutter and Connor, "how do you think they're going to react to this?"
Becker(thearcfamily)	"They will be fine.... because" Becker looked at the cave then back to Cutter and Connor "They are not going to know. We still have a little light left. We can push on and find a decent enough spot for camp tonight." Becker couldn't look Danny in the eyes as he spoke but he wasn't going to let Stephen hurt Nick or Connor again.
Danny(thearcfamily)	"They have a right to know," Danny said softly, not blaming Becker for what he wanted to do, "if they found out they could have helped Stephen, how do you think they're going to feel? At least this way we can tell them, if they want to leave Stephen, then we find another cave and think nothing more of it,"
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker looked at Danny and sighed. He didn't like it but he knew Danny was right. "Fine, we will tell them, let them decide. But if they want to stay. If they want to try and help Stephen... he has one shot. He does one thing that makes me suspicious, one thing that hurts or threatens them, and we leave him! I'm not letting him hurt them... not again..."
Danny(thearcfamily)	Danny nodded, "I agree," he said, "there has to be conditions in place but at least this way Cutter and Connor know the truth and they can decide what they want to happen, whatever they decide is how we'll proceed," he added.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"Now the question is... how the hell do we tell them something like this?" Becker said as he rubbed the back of his head and sighed. He looked back to the cave, still trying to convince himself this was real. But he trusted Danny. He trusted Danny with his life and if he said Stpehen Hart was in that cave then Becker believed him. He just hoped Connor and Cutter took the news alright as he started walking over towards them.
Danny(thearcfamily)	"We have to be patient and honest," Danny was not looking forward to this but he knew it had to be done. Cutter looked over as Becker and Danny walked over, he saw the grave expressions on their faces, "what's wrong?" he asked, "is there something wrong with the cave?" Danny looked at Becker, still not sure how to proceed.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker sighed and nodded to the log that was sitting nearby. "Come on, let's sit for a bit. We... we need to talk about the cave. And what... who... we found there" Becker said as he sat down and nodded for Cutter and Connor to join him.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter looked nervously at Connor as he walked over to Becker and sat down, "who was in the cave? Was it one of Helen's men?" Danny looked at Becker and back at Connor and Cutter, "no it wasn't one of Helen's men or Christine's," he bit his lip as he hesitated, "its ... well ... the person we found ..." he knew he had to be honest but now that they were there he was finding it difficult.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker leaned over arms resting on his knees. When he looked at Cutter and Connor all he could see at that moment was how they had been backed what seemed so long ago, back when he had first seen them. He didn't want them to have to relive all that,got through it all again in a way, but he also knew he couldn't keep it from them, as much as he wanted to. "We found... someone we thought was long dead." Becker sighed as he looked up at them. "Cutter... Connor... Stephen is still alive. He's in the cave...right now" he said softly, watching their reactions closely.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	For a moment Cutter thought he hadn't heard Becker properly, he stared between Connor, Becker and Danny trying to process this, he shook his head, "No ... it ... he's dead, he died ..." he trembled, as a million different emotions threatened to overwhelm him, "he died ..." he managed to gasp out as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker silently put a hand on Cutter's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze as he looked over at Danny and then to Connor. Connor just stared at Becker and then let his gaze fall too the ground as he stared numbly, his mind reeling a bit. "Stephen... Stephen died... he... it can't be him... Danny, are you sure?"
Danny(thearcfamily)	"I'm sorry Connor, its Stephen, I talked to him, he came through an anomaly and has been here since," Danny said sadly as he watched Cutter and Connor's expressions, "I ... it was only fair to tell you that he was here, its ... Stephen's not doing well, he's extremely sick and I didn't want to offer our aid until I knew what you and Nick wanted, what we do from here is entirely up to you, we'll follow you decisions," Cutter trembled, his mind trying to process that first Stephen was alive and now he was sick and they had to decide if they were going to help him. He didn't say anything, he just stared ahead as he tried to comprehend what was happening.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker was silent as he watched them his eyes darting over to Danny;'s every now and then. "You don't have to see him or talk to him if you both don't want to" he said gently. "No one is going to force either of you to do anything one way or the other." Connor barely nodded, he barely heard what Becker was saying. He was still trying to process that Stephen was alive and that he was right there so close. He quietly leaned over and slipped his arm around Cutter and pulled him close and held onto him tightly.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	"you can take as long as you need," Danny said gently as he looked back over at Becker, "we still have a few hours of daylight left, we can find another cave and leave Stephen," Cutter barely heard Danny as he leaned against Connor, tears rolling down his cheeks, how could this be happening? How could Stephen still be alive and now they had to decide if they were going to help him.
Becker(thearcfamily)	It wasn't fair... they shouldn't have to be the ones to make this decision. It should be something they even had to be faced with. Connor took a shuddering breath as he clung to Cutter. After what felt like forever he pulled back enough to look at Danny and Becker then leaned his head against Cutters. "We have to help him Nick" he said softly. "Stephen died... we thought he died... trying to save us. We cant just... walk away from him now..." "If you want to help him, that doesn't mean he has to come with us" Becker said gently. "We can stay here tonight, help Stephen however we can, and then we can still leave in the morning and look for another anomaly."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter took a deep breath as he leaned against Connor, "we ... we owe this much for Stephen, he helped us ... we need to help him," he agreed, "after that ... I ... I don't know," he admitted quietly, "I don't ... " he fell silent again, unsure what to say.
Becker(thearcfamily)	"I'll see to Stephen" Becker said softly. "I will stay with him tonight, take care of him, give him what medical aid we can.." he looked over at Danny. "You and Connor can stay out here with Danny if you want. Looks like the night should be clear enough and I'll be right here if you need me. Stephen has survived the last few days in bad shape, so I doubt there's much create activity around here as far as major predators."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter took a deep breath at that, relieved that he wouldn't have to be in the same area as Stephen, "thank you Becker," he said, grateful for Becker's help, "we'll stay out here, it doesn't look too bad, I think we can manage the night," Danny nodded, "I'll take watch for the night so Becker can look after Stephen and I'll stay here with you two," he said, still feeling guilty that he messed up on his recon of the cave earlier.
Becker(thearcfamily)	Becker nodded and got to his pack and pulled a few things out, including the med kit they had, one of the last MREs they had, and a few other things. "We'll see how he is in the morning. Then make a final decision from there" Becker said simply as he gave a small nod to Cutter and Connor before he started back towards the cave.