The traffic was light as he sped away from the college. He made record time and was soon screeching to a halt outside the zoo. Parking quite illegally, he leapt out of the Toyota and sprinted through the entrance, garnering a shout from the ticket office when he leapt the barrier, already looking for the signs to lead him to the administration block. Ignoring the scattering visitors Stephen saw one of the zoo workers in their red t-shirts and skidded to a halt.

“Abby Maitland, where is she?”

The worker looked blank for a second, faced as she was with a obviously distressed man with very intense blue eyes. Gulping she pointed to a sign directing visitors to the aquarium. Stephen turned his head, noting the sign then darted around the worker.

“Thanks.”

He kept up his pace until he saw the aquarium up ahead, several posters advertising the underground viewing tunnel for the seal pool. He shouted to another red shirted worker, who pointed to the dark entrance, confirming that Abby was indeed there. Slowing his headlong run to a walk, he gulped in much needed air, his chest heaving as he walked more sedately into the gaping maw. He paused on the threshold as the familiar feeling of being watched washed over him. After you've tracked as many animals as he had, you knew the sensation of a predator watching you, before you spot him.

Shrugging off the prickling in his shoulders, Stephen walked forward, his breathing no longer hectic. His luck was holding, spotting Abby with her hands pressed to the glass, her face tilted to watch the sublime dance of the seals behind the thick glass. It was dark in the tunnel, water puddled on the floor from its recent wash-down. Keeping his step light, he approached her, coming to stand directly behind her.

Abby remained oblivious, her hands splayed wide, her short, pale blond hair backlit by the light from the pool, the flashing bodies of the seals keeping her entranced and unaware. With his heart still thumping from his run, Stephen enjoyed the feeling of peace in the tunnel, just him and Abby, the only two people in the exhibition. He hoped like hell that Connor had got through to Nick and Ryan. He'd tried on the drive over, but he'd only got Nick's voice mail, and Abby's phone appeared to be switched off or she'd left it at home.

His musing was broken when Abby pushed away from the glass and started to step back towards him, still oblivious to his presence. He stayed still, waiting for the inevitable collision, his lips pulling up in a smile.

...............................................................................................

Abby had been lost in thought. On the way over to the seal exhibit, she'd felt an uneasy sensation of somebody, or something watching her from beyond the tree line. She couldn't explain it and needed the cool calm of the observation tunnel to help bring her thoughts in line. In the glowing light from the seal's pool, she could watch the antics of the animals as they twisted and turned past the windows of thick glass. Here was a world far away from inter-dimensional portals and rampaging dinosaurs, no unlooked for flatmate's who in turn frustrated the hell out of her, and made her laugh at the same time. Here, bathed in the surreal green glow of the water, she could simply watch the seals cavort in their underwater ballet, the world left to carry on for a few moments without Abby Maitland at its beck and call. Resting her head against the cool glass, she let her mind wander.

Inevitably the one person she couldn't keep out of her thoughts appeared in her minds eye. Stephen Hart, impossibly handsome, incredibly heroic and completely unreadable. True, she was still attracted to him, despite her constant lectures to herself that he had a girlfriend, that he was too obsessed with his work, that she really should forget all the glances passed between them, the feeling that they were always on the same page, with the same goals. She truly did try to not think about him, but always something would remind her and she'd be right back where she started.

Sighing, she pushed away from the glass and stepped backwards, her eyes still watching the swift bodies slicing through the water, her feet carrying her back until she came hard up against somebody else, her breath leaving her on a gasp, her hands coming up defensively even as she recognized the hard body under the soft shirt.

“Oh....don't creep up on me like that!” Swiping her fringe out of her eyes, she glared up at her thoughts brought to life.

“I wasn't creeping...I was walking.” Stephen replied, following her as she [paced back towards the glass wall. He leant forward slightly, Abby giving him a disbelieving huff as she stood in front of him.

“Normally.” His expression altered from teasing to concerned, the breath leaving her body as he asked. “you alright?”

“Why shouldn't I be?” she asked, opting for nonchalance while she got her bearings.

Again she drowned in the concern layered with something else that shone from his darkly lashed eyes. Her eyes drawn to his mouth as he replied.

“There might be a creature here. We think it killed the lion and maybe your boss. The others are on the way.”

Moving a step closer, Abby tilted her head, exhilaration pouring through her as she discerned his feeble attempt at hiding the real reason he was there.

“You came on your own just because you were worried about me.”

Stephen didn't bother to refute her, his gaze skittering past her to look at the seals dancing in the water beside them. “Um....you and the sea lions. Hate it if anything happened to them.”

Feeling emboldened by his teasing banter, Abby lifted herself on tiptoes, very aware of their height difference but wanting to bring herself close enough for what she hoped would be a close encounter of the pleasurable kind. Instead she found herself grabbed non too gently by Stephen and shoved backwards until her spine hit the wall of tunnel, her faint squeak of protest muffled by his hand coming up and covering her mouth. She tried to mumble behind his fingers but his own came up to silence her, his eyes no longer teasing but intent as he stared back along the tunnel to the entrance.

“There's something down here.”

.........................................................................................

He'd been enjoying the playful banter with her, her bright face turned up to his, her fringe unable to hide the sparkle in her eyes. This was the Abby he wanted to get to know, the Abby he saw most often when she was around Connor, the younger man having the knack of bringing laughter to her face on a regular basis. Stephen wanted to be the one to do that, and this brief interlude was proof that he could, but a flicker of movement broke the spell. Fear spiked in his chest as the shadow moved again, his first instinct to protect the girl standing to trustingly before him.

Actions had always proved more beneficial than words in his line of work, his hands grabbing Abby by the shoulders and forcing her backwards until the walls stopped them both, his hand coming up to cover her natural protest, instinct telling him that silence could be their only protection. Her lips moving against his fingers warned him and he held up one finger to quiet her, her body remaining still against his, despite her wide blue eyes bombarding him with a wealth of questions. He could feel her hands clutching the fabric of his jacket at his waist, her lack of a struggle proving her faith in him, despite his rough manhandling.

His worst fears were realized when he saw what had caused the shadow, his eyes opening wide in alarm at the size and ferocity of the creature now facing them in the observation tunnel. It was big, bald and completely badass, its head weaving back and forth as it sought its prey, strange clicking noises coming from its mouth as it tried to locate what it was looking for. Every muscle in Stephen's body was begging him to run, as far and as fast as he could to get away from the future predator, but his long experience with wild animals told him his current strategy was the best bet if he and Abby were to make it out of the situation alive.

Abby seemed to sense this and didn't stir, her fingers clutching convulsively against his side, her breath warm against his hand. Seconds stretched into eons as he waited for the creature to move, its head turning towards the glowing glass as if distracted by the seals swimming just out of its reach. Sensing it was about to pounce, he pulled Abby in towards his body, bending himself around her to give her maximum protection, his hand gone from her mouth and holding her head close against his chest as the creature prepared to pounce.

..................................................................................................

Abby was squashed between the cold, hard rock wall of the tunnel and Stephens equally hard and unyielding frame. Of the two, she preferred the unexpected sensation of being crushed against a warm male body, her hands coming up to steady herself by gripping his jacket for all she was worth. They were so closely plastered together she would have taken a bet that a card could not have been slipped between them, the entire situation disturbingly arousing despite his hand over her mouth, and his obvious state of intent awareness. With his head turned to stare back down the tunnel, she had the luxury of inspecting his profile up close, the strong jaw and arching brows beneath tussled hair proving once more just how much she really fancied him. Up close she could see just how long his lashes were, a spike of purely feminine jealousy that guys got all the luck sometimes, washing over her.

He was looking away and she saw the moment he spotted the creature, his eyes widening further, an expression of being taken aback making a frisson of fear snake down her back. She tried to see for herself, but his hand held her prisoner, only a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye and strange clicking noises to give her an impression of the creature. Then, suddenly, she was free, Stephen releasing her mouth only to cradle the back of her head in his hand and pull her in closer still, her nose now buried in the vee of his soft shirt, his body bending around her like a protective shell.

With her cheek pressed against the hard wall of his chest, she could hear his heart pounding, his arms pulling her round and to the side just as a scrabbling sound and the sensation of something above her made her cringe, Stephen holding her plastered against him while the creature fled. For several seconds they remained bent over, melded together, Abby able to feel a faint tremor run through his body even as he started to loosen his hold on her. Voices echoed off the tunnel walls as the others approached, all of them concerned that the creature had harmed them. Reluctantly, Abby let go of Stephen's coat, his hands running lightly down her arms as if to double check that nothing had harmed her before he stepped back, his head turned to face Nick and Claudia while Ryan and his men hurried after the creature.

Feeling suddenly bereft of the warmth and support of his arms, Abby wrapped her own about her middle, drawing in a breath to steady herself before answering the barrage of questions fired at her. As if drawn by an invisible force, she turned to look at Stephen and found him looking back at her, a small smile playing about his lips, his eyes glowing in the dim light from the aquarium.

It had all been over in seconds but she felt as if she'd been branded by him, their forms fused together and inseparable. All too soon they were being chivvied out of the observation tunnel and back into the light, Abby squinting and wondering if what had taken place had been just a wishful dream on her part, monsters aside. Ryan was co-ordinating a search while Nick and Claudia discussed what to do next, Stephen adding his observations of the creature and its movements. Connor hovered on the fringe, coming over to check her out as she stood to one side.

“Cavalry arrived in the nick of time then!” He announced, ducking his head to see her face better. “Just as well Stephen found you.”

“Yes, wasn't it,” Abby replied, her eyes drawn to the group now a little way off, the object of her interest also turning his head to look back at her, their eyes meeting briefly before Nick asked another question and Stephen turned back to answer it. Abby forced a smile to her lips, and faced Connor. “I've still got things to do...I'll meet up with you later.”

“Oh, okay,” Connor looked nonplussed, as if he expected her to have a fit of hysterics, not just state that she was going back to work. “Okay, then I'll go and join the hunt for the creature, whatever it is.”

“Sure. Bye.” Not trusting herself to look back at Stephen again, Abby stuffed her hands into her trouser pockets and marched off. Connor watched her leave before turning around to run after the others.

As she followed the path that would take her back to the reptile enclosure she felt the pull to look back just once more. She was rewarded with a smile and a wave from Stephen, her own hand lifting to wave back, her heart suddenly doing flip-flops and a grin lifting her lips impossibly wide. All too soon he let his arm drop and turned away, disappearing into the tree-line and out of her sight.

“Good luck,” she murmured, before turning her back and continuing on, completely unable to wipe the smile off her face. She really did fancy the pants off him something rotten.