Topic: Half Moon Hopes

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:38 EST
Half Moon Bay, California, 1975. Exactly two days before Tommy King was picked up by the Nexus and thrown into Rhy'Din. Two days before his death - or four, if you counted it by Helena's timescale. Three days after she'd gone back to find he was already dead. The going back and forth was beginning to do her head in just a bit, but with any luck, there wouldn't be any more jumping about in time after this visit. Jon had convinced her to go back and meet Tommy again, to try and convince him that she wasn't crazy, that he could have a longer, better life on Rhy'Din with her. It had taken her a couple of days to get something workable from the mages at the GrangerGuild R&D department, and another day of Dru and Jon's encouragement to actually get her *ss moving. But here she was, standing on the street outside Hang Ten, hoping against hope that this was going to work.

Nothing much had changed from the time she'd last been here. The shop looked the same, at least from the outside. Even the weather was the same, pleasantly warm and sunny, a mild breeze off the ocean. You couldn't have asked for a better day really. Tommy's VW psychedelically-painted van was sitting out front of the shop - an encouraging sign that he was alive and well and most likely somewhere nearby. If the past played itself out the same way, he'd been loading up the van in another two days and heading for Laguna Beach, only to be detoured to Rhy'Din and meet the girl of his dreams. For him, none of that had happened yet, but for the heartbroken girl standing outside, it was already part of her past and her experience.

Hugging her arms around herself, Helena drew in another deep, albeit gusty breath, forcing her feet to start moving once again. The sight of the van was enough to reassure her, but she knew she wouldn't feel right until she actually saw Tommy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Pushing open the door to the shop, she paused in the doorway, looking around. "Hello?"

The inside of the shop, however, looked much different. There were surfboards lined up on one side of the room, just waiting for someone to admire them and take them home, after paying for them, of course. The room was painted blue - as bright as a sunny summer day. Everything else was mostly the same - the same posters hung on the walls, the same counter from which business was done. The little bell above the door jingled, announcing her presence, but from the looks of things, here was no one around.

At least, not yet. The clock on the wall said it was half past nine, and the sign on the door told prospective customers that the shop didn't open til ten, but the door was unlocked, so it was logical to assume someone was already there and who that someone most likely was. No one answered her query, most likely because both the sound of the bell and her voice were drowned out by the sound of Jimmy Page's guitar coming from the back room. The guitar gave way to the drums and before long Robert Plant was heard, along with another voice, screeching the lyrics to a song that bemoaned a lost love. "In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man. Now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can. No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam. Good Times, Bad Times, you know I had my share. When my woman left home for a brown eyed man. Well, I still don't seem to care." Despite the ache in her heart and the understandable nerves of coming back here to do something about that ache, Lena found herself smiling as she listened to the voice screeching from the back room. Her glance took in how different the shop looked, how different it felt. There was no sense of the place being run down or lost, no loss at all hanging in the air. And armed as she was with a certain knowledge of how the place was laid out, she moved confidently to the back room, leaning around the door to find out just who it was happily murdering Zeppelin.

And there was Tommy, a pair of goggles on his face to protect his eyes, wearing a navy blue t-shirt and ragged blue jeans, pale yellow hair tied back away from his face, happily singing along with the song, even as he sanded the board that was sitting on a table in front of him, pausing only momentarily to play air guitar along with Jimmy Page to the guitar solo. You could almost feel the energy generated by the song, and the buoyant mood of the man who seemed lost in the moment. A cup of coffee sat on a counter nearby, along with a half-eaten egg and cheese sandwich, sunlight slanting in through a window to light the small space.

"Oh, thank gods ..." Just seeing him standing there, vibrant with life, was enough to bleed all the tension from her body, the anxious stiffness she had been holding onto for days falling away. And little Helena, who was known for almost never acting on impulse, didn't give herself a moment to think. There was a thump as her bag hit the floor, her body advancing swiftly across the room to startle Tommy King with a kiss that he probably wasn't expecting at all.

Tommy's singing and air guitar playing was derailed by that kiss, completely taken off guard and by surprise. It wasn't every day a strange - not to mention beautiful - girl walked through your door and practically threw herself at you. Both brows arched in astonishment, but he didn't seem upset by this unusual occurrence. Surprised, yes. Upset, no. And what did one do when they were kissed" They kissed back, of course, without hesitation. There were still a few people who believed in Free Love and all that. He smiled down at the girl as he pulled away from her lips, amusement lighting his face. "Well, hello. Do I know you? Or am I about to get to know you?" he asked, that all-too-familiar twinkle sparkling in his brown eyes.

She laughed, a blush lighting up her face as he smiled down at her, the charm that had coaxed into revealing so much of herself on display in the warm eyes that looked into hers. "I know you," she told him, hands resting against his arms, unwilling to break contact with him even for a moment. "And I really hope you're going to want to know me, Tommy. But you're gonna think I'm crazy for the next few minutes."

One brow arched higher than the other, curious, intrigued even. She knew his name, but that wasn't too hard to believe in a town as small as this one. The first thing that popped into his mind was she was either a surf groupie or someone was playing a prank on him. Either way, he was willing to go along for the ride, just to see how it would all play out. Jack might have put her up to it, he figured, though Jack wasn't really the pranking kind. "Okay," he agreed, scrutinizing her a moment, as if to try and determine on his own if she was for real or if this was all some elaborate joke. He untangled himself from her to reach over and shut the music off so they could hear each other better. He tossed the sandpaper onto the counter and folded his arms across his chest. "Hit me. I'm all ears."

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:39 EST
Biting her lip, Lena watched as he settled himself to listen to her, knowing she probably only had one shot at this. "My name's Helena. In two days, you're going to get picked up from the road to Laguna Beach by an inter-dimensional portal, and put down on my driveway in 2012. We're going to spend two days together, and I'm going to fall in love with you. You'll ask me to come and get you in a week's time, once you've settled everything up with your business. This is me coming to get you, because when I went to the time and date you wanted me to collect you from, I found out that you died, minutes after I last saw you. I'm not giving up that easily."

He took that all in, absorbing it like a sponge with rapt attention, all ears, as he'd said. His expression changed, looking even more astonished than he had a few moments before, the light in his eyes fading, along with his amusement. Either this was someone's idea of a joke, or she was as mad as a hatter, and he liked neither prospect. "An inter-dimensional portal," he echoed, doubtfully. That was all well and good, but the part that really bothered him was the part where she told him she was going to fall in love with him. You just didn't joke about stuff like that, not where hearts were involved. "Did Jack put you up to this?" he asked, eying her doubtfully, arms still crossed against his chest, looking a lot more defensive now than he had a few minutes earlier.

She shook her head, unable to disguise the sadness in her eyes that still lingered, knowing that if this didn't work, she would have to go home and grieve for him all over again. "What reason do I have to lie?" she asked quietly. "Look, I know it sounds nuts. I really do. But I grieved for you. I know that living without you will tear me apart. And I know you're probably wondering what facility I've escaped from, or how you can get rid of me without hurting my feelings too much, but it's because of you that I'm here at all. You're the first person I've let touch my heart in years, and I lost you before I ever really had you. I didn't even tell you I love you." She paused, looking away to sniffle softly, wiping her cheek dry as she cleared her throat. "Look, I came to get you, and I met Jack while he was packing away your things. He told me I could take whatever I wanted. So I have a couple of things to show you."

It was her tears that got him, the way she said that she'd loved him. He hadn't heard that from anyone in a very long time. The last person who'd told him that was long gone and never coming back. She was either crazy or a very good actress. Or, Tommy had to admit, she was telling the truth. Her story sounded crazy, but what if, by some small strange chance, she was telling the truth' He couldn't dismiss it yet as a possibility. Stranger things had been known to happen, and he had an open mind to the strange and unexplainable. "Okay, for the sake of argument, let's say you're telling the truth. What else did Jack tell you about me?"

Taking a moment to calm herself down, not wanting to cry all over him the way she had over Jon, Lena swallowed, raising her eyes to his. He was taking this a lot better than she had been expecting. "He told me about Robby, and Red," she explained quietly. "About why you burned your draft papers, and how the three of you came here, feel in love with the beach and decided to set up a shop; about how, after Robby died and the sport changed, you got into difficulties. That you're pretty much bankrupt right now. He told me how your mom died, too. And he thanked me for letting him talk about you. He was hurting just as much I was."

It wasn't much proof of anything really. Jack could have told her half a dozen things about him before he set all this up. What was more important was what Tommy had told her about himself, things no one could have ever known. He was wearing the leather band on his wrist, but hadn't yet noticed that it matched the one worn on hers. Tommy's face darkened as soon as she mentioned Robby, the pain and loss of his best friend's death still as raw and fresh as if it had happened just the other day, and the mention of his financial difficulties was like a slap in the face. He was a failure, and he knew it. He hadn't been able to make the shop succeed without Robby, and it hurt. That wasn't really the complete truth, but it was how Tommy saw things. He had already decided what he was going to do when the bank foreclosed on the mortgage, but he hadn't told anyone about it, not even Jack. He uncrossed his arms, turning away from her to nurse his cup of coffee. "I don't know who put you up to this, but it's not funny."

"It's not a joke." She'd put so much energy into getting herself here, into telling him what she knew he needed to know, that there was nothing left to fight her corner with. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him, to end up arguing with him over something he would either take on faith or not at all, to force him into anything. He'd turned his back on her, shut her out, and her courage failed in the face of that sharp gesture. "But I get it. I'm sorry." She turned, bending to pick up her bag, and drew out the scrapbook and key-chain, laying them on the board he'd been sanding down. A moment later, she slid the leather band from her wrist, laying it on top of them, feeling her heart breaking once again. "I had to try, right?"

Maybe things would be different for him, just knowing that he might die in two days. But she wouldn't see it. She'd jumped, and despite her brother's assurances, she was plummeting to a hard crash, with no one there to catch her. "I won't bother you again," she said softly, her voice trembling as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry." Hugging her bag to herself, she turned to leave, biting hard into her lip to try and hold the tears at bay once again.

Tommy kept his back turned to her, at least for the moment, too lost in his own grief and guilt over Robby's death and his own failure to keep their dream afloat. He'd tried so hard for two years to make it work, but he couldn't fight anymore. He couldn't compete with big business. He was just a small fish in a big pond, and he was being slowly eaten alive. No, he'd already made up his mind. California had been a dream, but it was over. He'd deliver his last board and then turn himself in, do his two years of public service, clear his name and become Tommy Kasinsky again. What choice did he have, after all"

He started into his coffee cup, not really seeing it, silently apologizing to Robby for the thousandth time. To his mom, to Red, to everyone who had ever believed in him. He was sorry, but he'd failed. He heard the girl's words as she made her departure, but who was she to him' Who was she really' A stranger. But wasn't he a stranger once" If it hadn't been for Robby, where would he be today' Working in a butcher shop back home in Detroit, maybe. Or killed in a war he didn't believe in.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:40 EST
He stood there for a few minutes, mulling this all over, angry at the cruelty of what he perceived to be a joke. She'd said she had a few things to show him, but he hadn't listened or cared. Once she'd reopened the wounds left by Robby's death, he had stopped listening. He didn't want to hear anymore, and yet, she had told him she loved him, and she'd been crying. He'd heard the tears in her voice, the raw pain, so much like his own. He found himself wavering, almost wishing what she had told him was true - not the part about his own death, but the part about loving him. Still, it was such a ridiculous story, it had to be a prank.

There was just no other answer. His mood turned dark, and he silently swore he was going to kill Jack when he saw him - figuratively, of course, because in all truth, Tommy wouldn't hurt a fly, though he'd gotten into a few brawls from time to time. He reached for the radio and flipped it back on, determined to finish the board and be done with California forever. Maybe his father was right. Maybe it really was time he just grew up. The song that just happened to come on the radio at that moment was another song of love lost, this one far more poignant than the other. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. Only darkness every day. Tommy picked up the sandpaper and turned back around to return to his business, his mood as dark as a stormy day, when he saw the things she'd left behind, supposed proof that she was telling him the truth.

There on the half-sanded surfboard were three items he recognized as belonging to him. He furrowed his brows as he examined each item in turn - the bracelet that was an identical match to his, the key-chain from which dangled a Peace symbol, and the scrapbook that was a photographic record of his life and adventures.

The leather band matched the one he wore exactly, even down to the abrasions it had picked up over the years. The key-chain, too, was identical in every respect, chipped in the right places, worn in others. The scrapbook was definitively his - no one could have faked it, and not even Jack would be stupid enough to take it away and give it to someone just for the sake of an unpleasant prank. But there was one crucial difference waiting to be discovered. He'd never filled it completely, leaving pages blank at the back, and on one of those pages were stuck photographs he had never seen before. Pictures of a beach that was beautiful in its wildness, untouched by the corporate greed that was marring the beaches he knew, of rolling surf beneath twin moons. Pictures of him, surfing those waves, his grin bright and exhilarated. Pictures no one could have faked, and yet were right there. And beneath them, in a hand that had to belong to Helena, were five words. I love you. Don't forget.

None of it made any sense. How could anyone have gone to such elaborate lengths just to play a prank" He looked at each item in turn, the scrapbook last. He had carefully gathered the photos together over the years and pasted them inside, along with various news articles and mementos, and as he flipped through the pages, his heart ached with sadness at both the memories and the losses. Live for today. It had always been his mantra, and yet, here was a scrapbook filled with memories of the life that had passed him by, of things that had already been and would never be again. He almost closed those pages without noticing the additions she'd made to the book, but something - some inexplicable feeling - urged him on. He took the photos in, recognizing himself, but not the place where they'd been taken. It was a place he'd never been, a place from somewhere in his dreams, it seemed.

Two moons lit the night sky, shining brightly on the surf, and there he was smiling happily at the camera, though he'd never been there. He touched the words written there, not recognizing the handwriting, but somehow knowing it belonged to the girl who'd just walked out the door. Helena, she'd said her name was. The face that launched a thousand ships. And she loved him. It was impossible, and yet, what other explanation was there" If she was, by some strange quirk of fate, telling the truth, could he really afford to let her walk away from him forever" He felt his heart lurch inside him, his pulse quickening when he thought of how her lips felt against his. It was impossible, and yet....what if it was true" He carefully tugged the photograph from its place on the page and turned to follow her out the front door, hoping he wasn't too late. "Helena!" he called as he hurried after her. "Wait!"

She hadn't managed to get very far, her heart aching so badly in her chest that she could barely breathe, much less put one foot in front of the other. Tears were streaming down her pretty face, heartbroken all over again. This time it had been worse - she hadn't lost him, he had rejected her. Oh, she knew what she'd told him had been completely insane. Why should he believe a word of it' But logic and reason didn't make the pain any less. When he hurried out of his shop, she was only a little way away, hugging herself tightly as she stared, unseeing, at the beach before her, wanting nothing more than to go home and be alone with her misery once again.

Like her unexpected greeting a few minutes earlier, he didn't wait for her to acknowledge him or realize he was there. He pulled her by the arm around to face him, shoving the photograph at her, the look on his face a mixture of bewilderment and confusion, mingled with some fear and maybe a little hope. "What is this?" And more importantly, perhaps: "Where is this?" he demanded. "Please, I need to know the truth," he pleaded, letting her see the turmoil on his face, the confusion. If this was some sick joke, he needed to know that, too, but if it wasn't....Then something very strange and wonderful just might be happening. A miracle, even.

She jumped, flinching as he grasped at her, as the photograph she'd taken of him surfing was waved in her face, hurriedly, scrubbing at the tears that streaked her face as she tried to process what he was asking her. "It ....it's a beach near where I live," she tried to explain, her voice thick and oddly staccato with the lingering tears that just refused to stop coming. "It's a place called Rhy'Din, and it's real. It's as real as I am."

"There's two moons," he pointed out, stating the obvious, knowing the photograph could have been faked, but he knew no one who would have gone to such elaborate lengths just for a laugh, and there was nothing fake about those tears. "I don't..." He shook his head, clearly distraught, but not willing to dismiss it all as a joke, just yet. "I don't understand," he told her, his voice mirroring the confusion on his face.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:41 EST
"Yeah, there are." Wiping her face dry yet again, Lena forced herself to pay attention to his distress, swallowing hard to clear her throat. She turned to face him fully. "I know it doesn't make any sense. But you were going to come and live on Rhy'Din, with me. None of it has happened to you yet, but I've lived all of it. I met you, I fell in love with you. Hell, I even tried to surf for you. And then I lost you, and I can't stand how much that hurts. We're not supposed to play around with time, but ....if you came to Rhy'Din with me, it wouldn't change very much here. But you'd live."

It wouldn't change very much here, but you'd live... The words seemed to hit him like a ton of bricks. If she was telling the truth, then what did he have to lose" "How....how'd I die?" he asked. That was something no one else knew, something no one could predict and that couldn't be proven. Without realizing it, he was still touching her, clinging to her arm, as if he needed that connection, as if without it, she might disappear in thin air, and he'd never see her again, never know the answers to his questions. "What happens to me?"

"An accident," she told him, part of her wishing she'd asked Jack for more detail, most of her glad she hadn't. "On the road to Laguna Beach. It must have happened just after you drove back through the portal to get back to Earth and this time." She didn't mention the guilt she felt, but it was there, in her voice and in her eyes, in the way she turned her face away from his, still struggling not to cry. She didn't know why he was asking her all these questions - he'd made himself clear in the shop, he didn't believe her. Why did he have to torment her with this"

On the road to Laguna Beach. He was planning a trip there in a few days. He had a board to deliver, and he'd been working feverishly to get it done in time. So, what did that mean' He only had a few days left to live, or was she trying to help him cheat death? "I need to know everything. You need to tell me everything you know. Please. It's important." She could hear the pleading in his voice, see it in his eyes. He was trying hard to believe, but he needed more than just a crazy story, and he needed time to let it sink it.

Looking into his eyes, she felt a tiny glimmer of hope stirring in the whirling maelstrom that was her heart. He wanted to listen. It was a start, and she couldn't deny him what he was asking for. It was such a little thing when compared to everything else she'd been through to get to this moment in time. "It'll take a while," she warned him quietly. "You'll have customers soon, I shouldn't get in the way of that." Even if you are bankrupt.

He shook his head. "Jack'll take care of that. I'm supposed to be getting that board ready, but it can wait a while longer." He looked around, still not realizing that he still had hold of her arm, though his grasp had loosened. It was still early. Jack hadn't even arrived for work yet, and he found himself wanting, needing, to be alone with her for just a little while longer. "Walk with me?" he asked, letting go of her arm finally and offering her a hand - that same hand that had held onto hers only a few days before - or later - and over thirty years in the future. The beach hadn't quite stirred to life yet. There were a few stragglers here and there, but it was a weekday, and it wouldn't get really busy til the weekend, but for a few tourists here and there.

Lena hesitated for just a moment, no doubt recalling how well her last moment of impulsiveness had gone. But he was there, brown eyes pleading with her, and she couldn't say no. Feeling weak and completely out of her depth, she nodded, sliding her hand into his. "Okay. Where do you want me to start?"

"At the beginning, I guess. You said I came through an inter-dimensional portal. You know how crazy that sounds, right?" he asked, as he linked his fingers with hers and led her down the beach. Her hand felt strangely good in his, as if it belonged there, but he wasn't willing to open his heart to her quite yet. He'd gotten burned once too often.

"Yeah, I know," she agreed, quiet and subdued, not expecting anything from this conversation but another rejection when she was done. "But it's true. There's this force, that we call the Nexus ..." Her explanation this time around was infinitely more detailed, offering him every last piece of her experiences with him over the two days that hadn't yet come to pass for him at all. Parts of it were a little embarrassing to share - the number of times they'd made love, for example, kept her blushing right the way through the entire rendition - but she didn't bother to spare her blushes. If he wanted to know it all, she would tell him, and hope that next time he turned away, he would let her heart break in peace.

For his part, he listened quietly, soaking it all up once again, like one did the sunshine. He couldn't say he loved her, not like she so obviously loved him, but he was at least starting to believe her. No one could have faked that kind of feeling, those heart-wrenching tears. For the life of him, he couldn't explain it, but he believed her, or at least, believed she was telling the truth as she believed it. He came to a halt a little way down the beach and looked out to watch the waves as they rolled up onto the shore, a little lost in his own memories as he tried to absorb what she had told him and reconcile it with his own experiences.

"I used to love this place, you know?" he told her, unsure why he was opening himself to her, but he felt as though he owed her something, some explanation of himself after everything she'd told him. "But it hasn't been the same since Robby died." For a man who prided himself on living in the moment, it took a lot for him to open that door a crack and let her see the things inside him he never let anyone else see.

She watched him quietly, feeling her energy ebbing away once again. Days of grief had worn her down, and sharing just a few memories with him had taken any drive or motivation from her. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she offered softly, turning her own eyes to the rolling waves as they drummed against the sand. "But there are other places. Places completely untouched, just waiting for someone to love them."

"You're asking me to take a lot on faith....and if you're right, I don't have much time to decide," he said as he turned to face her. "Truth is, there's nothing here for me anymore. I haven't told Jack yet....I haven't told anyone, but..." He paused, almost ashamed of the decision he'd come to, one that he'd struggled with long and hard. The foreclosure had been the nail in the coffin, killing his dreams, though she seemed to be offering him another path, another choice, another chance, if only he could make a leap of faith and believe her.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:42 EST
He sighed, turning back toward the ocean again, that seemed to go on and on as far as the eye could see. Infinite, like time, like the universe, but life was wasn't like that. When your time was over, it was over. It was why he'd tried so hard to make the most of each day, never knowing when it might be his last. "I was gonna turn myself in, plead my case. Maybe I'll get lucky and just have to do a few years' community service somewhere." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what to do anymore. World's changed. I've changed. Everything's changing."

"I won't lie to you," Lena heard herself say, just as quiet as before, her gaze falling to the sand as she spoke. "Rhy'Din's very different from what you're used to. I mean, it's thirty-eight years into the future for you, even without the fantastical side of things. But no one forces you to do anything there. There'd be no pressure on you to be anything or anyone but yourself. And you wouldn't have to ever even see me again. I'd help you get settled and set up, and then I'll disappear. No pressure."

He slanted his gaze toward her again, the wind stirring the wisps of blond hair that had escaped the leather cord at the back of his neck. "Why wouldn't I wanna see you? Seems to me you're the key to this whole thing."

"Because you shouldn't make a decision to please anyone but yourself," she said, not daring to lift her gaze from the sand. "Live for the moment, right' Don't do what you're told, do what you do. You shouldn't come to Rhy'Din just because I say so. You should do it because you want to. And me being around, that's just pressure, and believe me, I know what being under pressure feels like, I've lived with it all my life. I would never do that to you."

"Did I love you?" he asked, point-blank, sensing the pain in her, the heartache. She loved him, and that alone was something new to him, something he hadn't experienced before, but she was willing to give all that up for what? Just to save his life and give him a second chance in a place where he was a stranger" Death wasn't the worst thing in life, he knew. Loneliness was. "Helena," he started, not yet knowing her well enough to shorten that name or find a suitable nickname. He didn't love her yet, but given time, he might, like he had before. "No one's ever....I mean..." He trailed off, fumbling with his own words. Where the Tommy she'd known had seemed so sure of himself, this Tommy faltered, taken completely off guard by the arrival of this beautiful stranger.

"I don't know," she admitted, letting out a sharp sigh of frustration with herself as just saying that aloud brought fresh tears to the fore. She loved a man who didn't know her, and even when he had known her, she had no way of knowing if he'd loved her in return. "If you did, you never said it. You didn't even hint toward it, you just said you'd be waiting for me to come get you. I feel like such an idiot telling you this." She closed her eyes, turning her face away entirely, ashamed of herself for being so emotional. He was right - loneliness was the worst thing in life. But she was offering to live with her loneliness, just so he lived. Jon would have slapped her six ways from Sunday if he'd been present. That wasn't the plan.

"I asked you to come for me," he echoed, as if this tidbit of information and everything it implicated was just sinking into his head. So, maybe it wasn't her he needed to believe, after all, but himself. He looked at the photograph he was still holding in his hand. He looked happy, truly happy, happier than he'd felt in a long time. "I need time. I mean....I can't just up and leave like that. I have to get that board ready and..." He looked back at her again, noting how she wouldn't look at him, wouldn't meet his gaze, afraid of something, maybe afraid of losing him all over again. "Would you....Would you wait for me" I only need a day or two at most. I just....I need a little time."

"I can wait." She nodded, still keeping her eyes from meeting his. "You can't get to Rhy'Din - well, my time on Rhy'Din - without me, so ....I'll wait. Just don't go to Laguna Beach. Please?" Finally those sad blue eyes met his, and it was her turn to plead without words. Losing him at a distance had broken her; losing him up close would destroy her. She didn't want to take that risk.

He smiled, reminding her of the Tommy she'd known in Rhy'Din. It had taken him a little while to wrap his head around things then, too, but he had eventually accepted what had happened to him and stopped fighting it. This Tommy was that Tommy, just a few days earlier. "No, I won't go to Laguna Beach. Promise," he said, lifting his hand as if making a pledge. "I don't know what to believe just yet, but I'm not willing to tempt fate." He offered an outstretched hand to her for the second time since she'd arrived. "Come on. Jack'll be wondering where I am, and you look like you could use a little rest. Or maybe a cup of coffee or something."

"Thank you." She wanted so much to hold him in that moment, to kiss him, to feel him holding her, but she'd promised not to lay any pressure on him. This was his decision to make, and she would never forgive herself if he made it just for her benefit. It would change things forever - she'd never know if he was with her because he wanted to be, or if it were only because he didn't want her to hurt anymore. Her hand slid into his as she raised a tiny smile for him, the other wiping at her face once more. "I swear, I'm not this weepy usually."

He mirrored that smile, her smile hinting at another side of her he didn't know yet. She was pretty, but even prettier when she was smiling, and he couldn't help but wonder if he could make her happy again. "It's okay. I won't hold it against you." He reached over to brush her hair back from her face as the sea breeze took it, more out of instinct than anything. He had nothing to lose really, and she already loved him, but he had to be careful. He didn't want to take advantage of her tender heart or risk breaking it again. "Do me a favor" Don't tell Jack what you just told me. He'll never believe you anyway."

Her smile deepened just a little at his reassurance, forcing herself not to lean into the brush of his fingers against her cheek as he swept her hair out of her way. "I won't," she promised him. "He thought I was strange enough when I showed up saying I was here to collect you anyway." Quite what she was going to do with herself for however long it took Tommy to decide what he was going to do was beyond her right now, but it didn't really matter. He wasn't going to Laguna Beach. He wouldn't get into the accident that would claim his life. That was all that really mattered.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:42 EST
"He's bound to ask questions. He's nosy like that. We'll just say you're an old friend. How's that?" he asked, wanting her to feel at ease here, despite the obvious awkwardness between them. Just a few days earlier, he'd found himself a stranger in her world and time, and now the roles were reversed with her being the stranger. "You hungry' Or would you like to get some rest?"

"That works," she agreed. She could pull off old friend, even if it was glaringly obvious to anyone who looked at her that she was in love with him. "I should find somewhere to stay, really. I don't want to put you out, or make you feel like you have to put me up. I mean, I could get a few blankets and camp out on the beach. I don't want to be in your way."

"Don't be silly. You can have the bed, I'll take the couch. I'll probably be doing an all-nighter anyway. I really gotta get this board done," he explained as he walked her back toward the shop. While they'd been busy talking on the beach, the place had come to life around them, a few locals wandering about. A few couples walking hand in hand, a few joggers, a woman walking a dog, some beachcombers, swimmers, and surfers, tourists. "So, you seem to know a lot about me, but I don't know anything about you. Tell me about yourself."

"About me?" Helena hesitated, laughing a little at her own wariness. After all, she'd already told this man everything about herself. What was there to worry about, really' "That's either a lot, or nothing at all," she warned him. "I'm not very good at talking about myself. It's taken me nearly three years to be completely honest with my own brother, and I only did that because I really needed someone who loved me to listen."

"Try me," he urged, offering her that bright, encouraging smile she had come to know and love that he wasn't even aware of. "I'm told I'm a pretty good listener." He led her back toward the shop and back inside, the little bell jingling merrily over the door too announce their arrival. A man she'd recognize as Jack was sitting behind the counter, sipping a cup of coffee and going over what looked like some kind of paperwork. Tommy offered his friend a wave before trying to escape with Lena to his workshop.

"You are," she assured him, her smile warming under his, a little shy but happy to bask in his attention as long as he had it to give her. "And you're easy to talk to." It was an effort not to wave and smile at Jack as they passed through the shop, reminding herself sharply that this version of the man didn't know her from Adam.

Jack looked up from whatever he was doing, a quizzical look at the pair as they disappeared into the back room. Was that a girl Tommy was holding hands with' Odd, Tommy didn't have a girlfriend, as far as Jack knew. He mulled on that a moment before turning his attention back to the bills in front of him, making a mental note to ask Tommy about it later.

Tommy glanced at the half-finished surfboard, the cold cup of coffee and sandwich with a frown, coming to a sudden and spontaneous decision that was very much the Tommy she knew and loved. "You know what? I'm hungry. You hungry' The board can wait. There's this little cafe down the street. They make a decent breakfast."

The sudden spontaneity of his decision made her laugh, pulling her up short before she walked into his back. That was the Tommy she knew, living for the moment, whatever it told him he should be doing. "I could eat," she agreed with a smile. "What about the shop, though' Don't you have to finish the board?"

"Yeah, well....It just needs a good sanding and sealing. It won't take long. I can do that while you rest." And he had to take it for a test spin, but he wouldn't do that til later or the next morning, if the weather held. Then he'd have to talk to Jack and sort out how they were getting the thing to Laguna in time for the meet. It was the last order of business before he closed up shop for good. Some people might not care, given the fact that the bank was about to foreclose, but Tommy was a man of his word, and he was determined to have that board delivered on time, come hell or high water. It was his responsibility and his word, and it was just who he was. "Come on. It'll be fun to see the look on Jack's face when we walk back out together." There was another hint at the Tommy she knew, his face beaming a mischievous grin.

She couldn't help laughing again at the mischief in his expression as they turned about, rolling her eyes at the silliness that was going a long way toward lightening her mood. "You're a tease, Moonbeam," she accused him, automatically using the nickname she'd pegged him with during his time on Rhy'Din - time that hadn't even, technically, happened yet. "You're really serious about putting me to bed for a while, aren't you? Do I look that awful?"

"Moonbeam?" he echoed, laughing. "Is that what you called me?" he asked, eyes shining with amusement, despite the circumstances of her arrival. He reached over and tweaked her nose, unsure why he was doing it, except it just seemed like the thing to do. "You don't look awful, just tired." Pretty was more the word that came to mind, but he didn't say it just yet. Maybe in time. He took her hand again, turning back toward the door, smirking as he led her back through the shop past nosy, curious Jack, who looked up again from his paperwork. "Grabbing some breakfast," he explained bluntly and briefly. "Be back in a bit."

"Yeah, it just seemed to fit you," she told him, refraining from mentioning his name for her. He'd come to it eventually, she was beginning to hope. "Tired makes sense - I haven't slept too well the last few days." Hand in hand with Tommy, she skipped back into the shop, this time completely failing to swallow her smile as Jack looked up at them.

Jack looked more than a little flummoxed, but he only nodded and let them go on their merry way. He'd make a point to ask Tommy about it later, when they were alone. Tommy laughed again as they stepped back out into the morning sunshine. Despite everything, it was good to be alive, and he wasn't ready to give in to the Grim Reaper just yet. "Did you see the look on his face? He's gonna be bugging me about you later."

"Well, just make sure you tell me what you tell him, or your story's going to unravel like a sweater in no time," she giggled as she was pulled out into the sunshine. She had to admit, she was curious to know just what Tommy was going to tell Jack about her, given how little he actually knew. But on the other hand, he obviously intended on getting her life story out of her over breakfast, which would probably go some way to solving that little problem.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:43 EST
"You think the truth might be too much for him to handle?" he asked as he led her down the beach at a slow stroll. Hell with the board. It could wait. This was so much more important. Tommy came to a sudden halt on the beach as they wandered past a bit of trash, and he couldn't help but stop to toss it in the trash can where it belonged. "Damned tourists," he muttered. "This place used to be a well-kept secret before they started surfing the Mavericks." Though that was well before his arrival here, the place was growing in popularity as surfing became more mainstream.

"I don't know," she shrugged, pausing as he picked up the litter to toss it away. "You know him better than I do. If it helps, I didn't tell him much the first time around." She walked with him a little way on, before gently tugging him to a halt. "Tommy ....you don't have to believe anything I say, you know. You don't have to act on any of it. I don't want to be responsible for a decision that doesn't sit right with you."

He wiped his hands on his jeans, which were looking like they'd seen better days, before falling into step beside her again, passing locals and tourists alike, some who recognized him and waved, others who were complete strangers. He came to a halt as she tugged him to a stop, brows furrowing in renewed confusion. "I thought you wanted me to believe you."

"I do, gods, of course I do," she said hurriedly. "I just ....I don't want you to do anything for me, if that makes any sense. I don't want to be pitied, and yes, I know I'm very pitiful right now." She let out a huff of breath, trying to make herself halfway coherent for him. "I've lived my whole life doing what other people want me to do, what everyone else expects me to do. It's never made me very happy. I just ....I don't want to put the same pressure on you. You don't deserve it."

He was frowning again as he listened to her, understanding what she was telling him, but it seemed unnecessary. He wasn't acting on this because he felt sorry for her, though he had found himself moved by her tears and by the obvious affection she'd felt for him or someone very like him. "Helena, look....Just slow down, okay' One step at a time. Let me get to know you. Stop pushing me away every time you think I might get a little too close." She wasn't consciously doing it, but he felt a fear in her, a reluctance. She seemed almost afraid to let him love her, as if she was undeserving of it. If she'd asked him to come with her, flat out, there was a good chance he would have done it. What other options did he have, after all"

Self-sabotage seemed to be a family trait in the Granger, and Lena had raised it to an art-form. She bit her lip as Tommy spoke, stopping herself from interrupting him again. "I'm sorry," she apologized, realizing that she was trying too hard not to put pressure on him. She wanted more, but didn't dare ask for it, knowing she had to see this through to its natural conclusion. But how did you go back to impersonal stranger, when you'd already had as intimate as it got"

"You have a pretty smile," he told her, taking a moment to sweep her hair back from her face. "You should do it more often." He didn't know why, but he was tempted to kiss her right then and there, like she'd done to him just a short while ago, and being Tommy, he couldn't help but go with his feelings. It had only taken two days for them to fall in love on Rhy'Din. There was no reason to think it wouldn't or couldn't happen again. He leaned in, hesitating a moment as if waiting for her permission, before following his instincts and brushing a brief kiss to her lips, sweet and innocent, but warm and wonderful.

He couldn't have shocked her more if he'd put thought into it. Short and sweet and wonderful as that kiss was, it threw her completely off-balance, leaving her raw and vulnerable to his eyes as she stared up at him, as the hateful voice in the back of her mind that still sounded like her father started to ask questions. Why had he done that' Was she really so pathetic that a kiss was the only way to shut her up" Did he pity her that much already? For a long moment, her mouth worked silently, before finally coming up with a response that was both appropriate and entirely inappropriate at once. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, eyes shining once again, the dark mood passing over like a storm cloud in a sunny sky. "I should probably be thanking you," he linked his fingers with hers and fell back into step, slowly making their way down the beach toward their destination. At least, it was late enough in the morning that the place shouldn't be too crowded. They'd have a little privacy for a while. "It must have taken a lot of courage to come here."

Veering wildly off-balance now, Lena gave up trying to understand what was going on, suppressing the nasty voice in her head that wanted her to feel even worse about herself than she did already. "I don't think it was courage so much as desperation," she admitted with a fresh half-smile as she fell into step a little behind him. "I was driving my brother and sister completely up the wall with all the crying."

He came to a halt on the beach again, unsure why she was walking behind him and why she was so afraid of him, if she really loved him the way she said she did. "Helena....I'm not gonna hurt you, okay' I just need a little time. It's a lot to take in. Stop looking like I'm gonna kick you out of my life before I've even gotten to know you. Relax a little."

She flushed as he spoke to her, lowering her eyes remarkably like a child being scolded. She was afraid - afraid that in a few days he would decide he was staying on Earth, or that he would move to Rhy'Din on the proviso that she stayed well away from him. She was afraid of loving him, expecting to get her heart broken all over again, when it had not even begun to heal yet. "I'm sorry," she whispered, apologizing for herself once again. "I'll try."

There she was apologizing again, and she'd done nothing wrong. He just wanted her to relax a little and try to live in the moment, no matter what the future might bring. He frowned down at her, wondering just who this girl was and what she'd seen in him to make her fall for him so hard and so quickly. "Come on," he said, offering another smile, taking it upon himself to try and ease her pain, just like he had back in Rhy'Din. "We're never gonna get to breakfast if we keep stopping to talk."

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:44 EST
"So-" The apology died before it could escape this time, however. Lena could feel him getting, if not annoyed, then frustrated with her, and that was definitely not something she wanted to foster. Live for the moment, he'd told her, shortly before stripping off and jumping in her pool. As he drew her along once again, she found herself smiling at that memory, trying to catch hold of the way she'd felt when she'd jumped in after him. That was the girl that had caught his interest, not the pale shadow she was right now. "Given how much energy you expend in a single hour, I'm surprised you're not constantly eating. I never could get you to give me a straight answer on how you do that."

He flashed a grin at her teasing remark, hoping the light-hearted mood had returned to them both. If they wallowed too much in self pity and sadness, they were doomed before they'd even begun. "Simple answer" Caffeine and nicotine. My drugs of choice." He smirked, a hint of mischief in his eyes once again. "Though I've been known to imbibe a little." He took a toke off an invisible joint to indicate what he meant. It was the 70's, after all.

"Coffee and cigarettes?" Lena heard herself laugh, the response bubbling up before she could stop it. "I thought you were supposed to be a hippie, not a private dick from the 1950's." She chose not to comment on his invisible joint - she'd grown up on Rhy'Din. There were far worse things in her experimental history than the occasional toke.

"Hey, don't knock my addictions and I won't knock yours!" he teased back, tossing an arm around her shoulders, just because he could and because he never really thought too hard about what he did - he just did it. Besides it felt good, it felt right. "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with," he sang, for no reason at all, just because he felt like it. He waved back at someone who called a greeting to him from the water, before veering off the beach toward the street.

"So you're a public dick?" she asked innocently. At least, it seemed innocent, until he took a look at her expression. There was a twinkle in those blue eyes that was anything but innocent. Even better, her expression grew warm as his arm looped about her shoulders, something sweetly tender in the smile that casually friendly gesture brought forth. Her own arm crept about his waist as he waved toward someone she didn't quite manage to get a look at before she was being steered elsewhere. "You know, I can't throw you out of your own bed when you've got work on," she commented thoughtfully. "I could sleep in the van?"

"Only if I can..." He trailed off as the words almost tumbled out of his mouth. She seemed to have knocked him off kilter again as he thought about what he'd been almost about to say. "Let's worry about breakfast first," he said, not wanting them to get too far ahead of themselves, even though there seemed to be some strange, easy familiarity between them every now and then. "Here it is!" he declared, saved by their timely arrival at a little quaint cafe not far from the beach, steering her toward the door.

Just seeing his reaction to something he had almost said was enough to give Lena the boost she'd been needing since he'd first turned his back on her in his workshop. Screw being worried and scared. I just need to be me. Even if it felt a little awkward at first, she had a feeling he would be more comfortable with her teasing him than he was with her trying not to be difficult. "Oh, so you're retracting the offer to tumble me in your van' Damn, I knew I should have taken you up on that." Smirking, she ducked out from under his arm as they passed through the door of the little cafe, finding a certain amount of fiendish delight in being able to tease him like that.

"Are you kidding" I'm not retracting anything!" he shot back, as she ducked beneath his arm to scoot past him into the cafe. "I haven't gotten laid in..." He trailed off, not wanting to make that announcement to the entire cafe. He cleared his throat and waved over to the waitresses who were scattered about pouring coffee and taking orders. A collective, "Hi, Tommy!" went up from the group as he led her to a little table in a quiet corner, trying to hide the flush that had risen to his cheeks.

The smile he'd said was pretty on her face was outdone by the grin that lit up her expression as he blushed, bright, warm, and somehow intimately his, despite being so openly expressed. He was obviously a regular in this cafe, as evidenced by the greeting offered by all the waitresses around them as he led her to a little table. Lowering her voice, she murmured to him as they sat down. "How much do I need to tease you to be able to cook my eggs on your cheeks?"

"Let's say not a lot and leave it at that," he murmured back as he took a seat across from her, hoping no one noticed the heat that had rushed to his cheeks but her. He wasn't usually the blushing type, but something about her had him flustered.

"Hi, Tommy!" called a waitress. "The usual?" she asked, to which he nodded his head, and she came over with a couple of mugs and filled each with hot black coffee. She offered a warm smile to Helena before leaving them both with a couple of menus.

Lena thanked the waitress who gave them coffee, more grateful for a caffeine injection than she was willing to admit. She hadn't slept much at all the night before, and portal travel between times was draining. "So you wanna know about me, huh?" she asked Tommy, throwing him a bone to let the blush go down. "Why don't you ask me something?"

He glanced at the menu, which he didn't really need as he had it pretty well memorized, mostly to avoid her gaze until the heat in his face faded. He lifted his eyes to her at her question, arching a singular eyebrow curiously. "Okay, why me?" he asked, coming straight to the point, though that didn't really tell him much about her, just yet.

He might have been surprised by the answer he received. Lena's expression softened as she leaned forward onto her elbows, wrapping her cup in her hands. "Because you saw me," she told him quietly. "You didn't accept the candy coating, you looked and you saw me. No one's ever done that before. That, and you have an *ss any woman would be proud to bite and call hers." And she called Jon a dork for his distraction tactics.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:46 EST
He was both intrigued and touched by her answer, up until the moment she mentioned his *ss. Then his mouth just kind of hung open in undisguised shock at her remark, unsure if she was being honest or teasing him again. There was definitely an air of flirtation between them, and he was a little out of practice. Once his shock wore off, he laughed. "Right. Should I get it tattooed 'Property of Helena'?" he asked, teasing her back.

"Only if you're prepared to walk around without wearing pants for the rest of your life," she countered, refusing to be outdone in this department. "If my name's going on it, it's gotta be displayed. But if you're very good, I'll let you wear a posing pouch so not everything is flopping out there for the world to see." This was a side of her only Tommy had seen in recent years, a side that came out so easily with just a little encouragement. A flirtatious young woman who was more than capable of giving as good as she got, with the right person.

He snorted at the very thought of that, instinctively knowing she was teasing him now, just as he'd teased her. He wrapped a hand around the coffee cup in readiness for a sip. "I'm sure no one will notice," he remarked, teasing back. "But if I'm going to be walking around half naked, it's only fair you join me."

"Uh-huh." She paused to take a sip of her coffee, blue eyes watching him over the rim of her cup with obvious amusement. "So where would you like "Property of Tommy" tattooed on me?" she asked, lowering the cup back to the table with a small smile. "Unless you had something else in mind. "Tommy's Sex Goddess", maybe, or "King's Courtesan"."

"King's..." He trailed off, breaking into a fresh burst of laughter. "Let's just keep it simple, shall we?" He leaned forward, that mischievous smile back on his face. "How about....Hmm..." He looked her over a minute, remembering the nickname she'd pegged him with, though he wasn't quite sure why. "Midget. That's it. That's perfect. Midget and Moonbeam. Sounds like we're straight out of Beach Blanket Bingo."

He couldn't possibly have known that using one word to describe her would result in the incandescent beam of her smile rising happily in response. Without any prompting, he'd pegged her with exactly the same nickname, stoking the hope in her heart that they might just be following the same pattern as before. "My brother used to call me that when we were kids," she told him through her merry grin. "And you started calling me that, too, without being told."

"He did?" Tommy asked, looking more than a little surprised. He'd had no way of knowing that and why he'd picked the nickname from out of the blue, he had no idea. It just seemed to fit. He didn't have a lot of time to think about it though, as the waitress had returned to take their order.

"So, Tommy, you gonna introduce us to your girlfriend?" the waitress asked, with a conspiratorial wink at Helena.

"Yeah, he did." Lena's grin eased off just a little as the waitress came back to them, a quiet snicker escaping her lips as he was put on the spot by a friend. And she couldn't resist joining in with a wink of her own to the waitress. "Yeah, Tommy, aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" Tommy echoed, looking between the two of them before darting a gaze around the room. "I don't have a girlfriend," he pointed out, realizing too late that they were teasing him. "Uh," he turned back to the two women at the table, one sitting and one standing but both looking more than a little bit smug. "Sandy, this is....this is Lena," he said, shortening her name again, without her prompting. "She's an old friend."

"Uh huh," the waitress replied, knowing better. She could tell there was something going on between them. "What can I get you, hon?" she asked, as she turned her smile back to Lena, already knowing what Tommy wanted, as he'd told them he wanted his usual.

"Nice to meet you, Sandy." Lena's smile was just that little bit brighter once again as the familiar shortening of her name, something that hadn't happened for several hours last time she'd been with Tommy. "Surprise me, I trust you." How was that for living in the moment' Never mind that she hadn't even glanced at the menu; she was embracing not having any plans for the time being.

"Okey dokey," the waitress replied. "I'll be back in a bit!" she declared before hurrying away.

Tommy rolled his eyes once she was gone, leaning in to correct Lena on the matter of girlfriends. "They aren't my girlfriends. I haven't had a girlfriend since..." He broke off, with a perplexed look on his face. How long had it been" A few years at least, he thought to himself before taking a sip of his coffee. "Besides, we're supposed to be talking about you."

Her brow rose, the smile gentling just enough not to be teasing him any longer. "I know," she assured him. "You're a friendly guy, everyone likes you. I'm not going to assume you've slept with every woman in the immediate vicinity." Her hand rose to tuck a hank of hair back behind her ear as she watched him for a moment. "You haven't asked me anything yet," she reminded him affectionately.

"I'm not sure what to ask," he admitted, a little perplexed again. He leaned back in his chair, considering quietly a moment. "Okay, what do you do for a living?" he asked, unsure where to begin. What was too personal? What was too personal enough' Her favorite color was probably pretty unimportant, considering the grand scheme of things and wouldn't really tell her much about who she really was. He knew she came from another world, had a brother, and was in love with him. He didn't know much more, other than that.

"You can ask me anything," she told him softly, before letting him open up with his first query. Nice and safe, but would tell him pretty much nothing about her. Unless she offered him something else. "Well, at the moment, I'm a junior textile designer for a large conglomerate company, which my family owns and runs. But it's not really what I want to do. I paint, when I have time, but until I met you, I didn't show anyone what I was doing. Maybe one day I'll get brave enough to try doing that for a living."

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:47 EST
"You paint," he repeated. "You're an artist then." It wasn't like she needed a title to label herself with, but from the way she'd put it, it sounded like she painted works of art, not walls. "Wait..." He seemed to get stuck on a small detail. "You're rich?" It wasn't really that important what her family did, but he wasn't overly found of big corporations and what he perceived as their greed. He obviously hadn't been expecting that.

"Yeah. Not a point in my favor, I know." She sighed quietly, the smile fading from her face as he fixated on something that really didn't matter in the larger scheme of things. "If it helps, everyone who works for the Guild is well-paid with good benefits, and the company supports several charities."

He shrugged, unsure if it mattered. It had obviously not mattered to him before....or yet. He was a little confused as to the correct tense there. What had happened in her past had yet to happen - or more accurately, wouldn't happen - in his future. He sighed, as he set his cup down. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe we should just get to know each other without playing Twenty Questions."

"I don't know how we do that," she admitted quietly. "Last time, you goaded me into jumping into a pool in my underwear and let me seduce you." She shrugged back at him. "Kinda get the feeling that wouldn't work here and now."

He smiled, amused at the thought of that and trying not to imagine her in her underwear, even though his eyes couldn't help wandering over her admiringly. "You never know," he replied, that teasing twinkle returning to his eyes. "Look, all I'm saying is maybe we should just let things take their natural course, you know" Not force things. Give it some time. That's all I'm saying."

She rolled her eyes at him with fond resignation as his gaze wandered over her, amused by how easily distracted he was. "No, I understand," she assured him. "I do. It's just hard, you know" It was difficult for me to open up, and ....well, I'll have to do it again. And I can't help being scared that maybe this time you won't want anything to do with me when you find out what makes me tick." She shrugged. "I spend a lot of time being scared and not doing things I should. And now I'm rambling. I'll shut up."

"Why?" he asked, the Tommy she knew digging deeper, maybe a little deeper than she wanted to go. "I want to understand what makes you tick, Lena, but I can't unless you open up a little. Why do you spend so much time being scared" You said you've spent your whole life making other people happy. Why, when it obviously hasn't made you happy. You're never gonna be happy, until you listen to your heart. I assume it was your heart that brought you here, right?"

"Of course it was," she protested, feeling a little defensive that he would even think to question that. "I love you. Why wouldn't I try to save your life if I could?" But it wasn't just that question that had sparked against her defenses. She knew why she was scared; Jon knew why she was scared without her needing to say it aloud. But Tommy ....he needed her to say it, and worse, he would need her to explain it. She looked down into her coffee cup, chewing on her lower lip as her hair fell into her face once again. "My dad is the reason I'm scared," she said very quietly. "He's been dead for five years, and I'm still scared." Please infer from context.

He arched a brow, a little surprised once again by her response, though he understood it, at least in part, since he'd been afraid of his own father. His own father had been one of the reasons he'd left home. He reached over to link his fingers with hers, offering this gentle flower what little reassurance he could. "But why, Midge?" he asked, pegging that nickname on her again, which for some reason felt like it fit her so much better than her given name. "Whatever it was that he did to you, he can't hurt you anymore. He can never hurt you again. You have to let it go, or you're never going to be free. He'll always cast a shadow on your heart."

She sighed very carefully, letting him tangle his fingers with hers as she considered her answer. This was something Jon had never asked her, something she hadn't really spent much time considering herself. But the question had been asked, and she owed it to herself and to Tommy to try and find the honest answer. "Because the worst thing that's ever happened to me was my own fault," she offered finally. "It was something wrong with me. What if the only reason it happened at all was because I went away to college" What if it was my dad's methods that stopped me from going down that road a lot sooner?"

The deeper he dug, the more answers he unearthed, the more questions it seemed to ask, and he wasn't really sure if this was the right time or place to pry into things she might not be ready or willing to share, and yet, she seemed on the verge of some truth. She just needed a small push to get there, and he could give her that. "I can't help you if I don't know what happened," he told her quietly, but before she could answer, the waitress returned with their breakfasts - two identical plates filled with bacon, eggs, toast, and jam.

"Enjoy!" the waitress said before moving off again to take another order.

Lena managed to give Sandy a smile in thanks before the woman was rushing off, but for once, she didn't use the distraction as an excuse not to talk. Holding Tommy's gaze, she haltingly explained about her relationship with her father, how it had changed when her brother left home, her dance with depression and bulimia during college and the way he had dealt with it. "I think, in his own way, he thought he was trying to protect me," she mused after a mouthful of coffee. "And somehow, since he died, I'm still trying to stay within the lines he drew for me. Like that's the only way I'll stay safe."

He held her gaze, not flinching once or turning away in disgust as she laid it all out for him. He didn't understand some of it. Bulimia wasn't an illness that was very well known, but from her explanation, he got the jist of it. "He wasn't trying to protect you, Helena. He was trying to control you," Tommy pointed out, hoping he wasn't overstepping or making an unjust assumption, but it seemed clear as day to him. His own father had, after all, not been much different. Though he'd used different tactics, the results had been the same, at least, until Tommy had finally rebelled and broken free. "I'm sorry," he said as he leaned back, afraid he'd gone too far. "I shouldn't have said that. What do I know about it?"

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:49 EST
"No, you're right," she assured him. "Trust me, I've been in enough therapy to know that you're right. My dad was horrible man. He treated my mom like dirt, he drove my brother out of the house. And I still stayed and looked after him when he started to drink himself to death. I wanted him to love me, so I did what he told me to do. It became a habit, and now he's the voice in my head telling me what an idiot I am every time I try to go my own way." She shrugged, shaking her head at her own weakness. "So anyway, that's my sad sob story. Being scared is a way of life, but I'm doing the things that scare me more and more. I've been backpacking on my own, I fell in love with a man I barely knew. I took a risk with my heart and I got burned badly, but here I am. I think I'm allowed to be a little bit scared of taking that risk again, don't you think?"

"Only an idiot wouldn't be scared sometimes, but you can't let it stop you from living. Besides, I haven't run away screaming yet, have I?" He offered that warm smile again, but this time there was more feeling behind it, not so much mirth but warmth, compassion, understanding. "My dad was an *ss, too. Jack probably told you that much already." He let got of her hand and picked up his fork to cut into his eggs. If they didn't eat soon, it would all go to waste, and there was no point in that. "He had my whole life planned for me, but..." Tommy shrugged. "I had my own plans."

Reminded by his sudden interest in food that she had a plateful of breakfast in front of her, Lena picked up her own cutlery, surprised to find that she was ravenous. Evidently she hadn't been eating, either. "He didn't tell me much," she assured him as they ate. "I suppose I could have asked, but all I really wanted to do was run home to my brother." Her smile as she said this was rueful, but honest. "I envy you that you stood up for yourself. You chose where you wanted to go and you stuck to your ideals. You're a rare man, Tommy."

There was that shrug of his again, shrugging off her compliment, not quite believing it of himself. "There are a lot of people who would call me a coward," he pointed out, but like always, he didn't really want to talk about himself. This was supposed to be about her. "What you did was braver. It's not that hard to run away. It's a lot harder to stay."

"We're going to have to agree to disagree on that one," she told him with a gentle smile. "And you're not a coward, no matter what anyone thinks or says. Not to me." Although, on reflection, that probably didn't mean as much as she would have liked it to have meant to him. "But yeah, I've learned over the years that it's easier to keep people out than to let them hurt you. You don't get hurt, but you don't get loved, either."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly. "I've learned that, too." The similarities in their pasts and personalities wasn't lost on Tommy. He was too smart for that, and he wondered why fate had chosen to drop her into his life for what, for her at least, was a second time. She said she loved him, and that was the first time he'd heard that in a very long time. He turned quiet as he pushed his eggs around on his plate, thoughtful, contemplative, and just a little too serious.

She watched him for a long moment, wondering just what it was in his past that made him so quiet every now and then. Perhaps one day he'd tell her, but she wasn't going to push him into anything. Instead, she made an effort to lighten the conversation. "Did I shock you so much you've forgotten how to use a fork?" she asked him with a sweet smile, the gentle twinkle back in her eyes. "Or are you building a monument to hen?"

He smiled as she drew him back out of his thoughts, amused at her question, his mood brightening. "Funny girl," he remarked as picked up a slice of bacon and took a bite. "It's not every day a pretty girl walks into the shop and tells me she's from my future." Or that she's in love with me, he added silently. He wasn't sure if he'd call it shocked exactly, but her arrival was unexpected at the very least.

"Well, I'd hope not," she agreed with an almost shy smile. "Otherwise how else would I stand out?" She dropped her gaze then to the food on her plate, surprised to find how much of it she had already eaten. Apparently the not eating and not sleeping portion of grieving had hit her harder than she had thought. No wonder Dru had been so annoying the last few days. "What are your surfboards made out of?"

"Changing the subject?" he asked, taking another crunching bite out of the bacon slice, studying her carefully. For some reason, she continually seemed reluctant to meet his gaze. "I won't bite, you know," he pointed out, wondering what she was afraid of. Was she afraid of losing him again, afraid he might not believe her"

"Sort of." Blue eyes lifted to his once more, startled to find him already studying her across the table. Too startled to hide the tender warmth in her gaze before he saw it, or stop the blush from darkening her cheeks as she laughed quietly and looked away yet again. "I know you won't," she assured him. "Like I said, I'm scared. My problem, not yours."

"I'm the one who should be scared, don't you think?" he asked, turning the tables on her, like he had a habit of doing. "I'm the one whose living on borrowed time, right' So, what happens if I cheat death? Does it just catch up with me later" I mean, no one lives forever, right?" He frowned apologetically as he realized he was being morose. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." It was his turn to look away, turning attention to his breakfast, breaking open his eggs and soaking up the yolk with his toast.

The question wiped the smile from her face, hit in the chest with the possibility that no matter what she did, he might still die in two days. Setting her knife and fork down, she pushed her plate away, appetite gone. "I don't know," she admitted, rolling her eyes in frustration as she heard her voice tremble on just those three words. She'd thought she was in control of the crying, but obviously not. "I guess I didn't really think it through."

He sighed, wishing he hadn't said that, hadn't mentioned the elephant in the room or whatever they called it. He had made her smile and now it looked like he was about to make her cry. It seemed no matter what he did, he just couldn't win. Why did things have to be so complicated" Or did they' He set his toast down and reached for her hand. "Helena, I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I'm not worth crying over, believe me."

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:50 EST
Her hand turned beneath his, gripping tightly, holding on to the reality of him sitting there with her. "Yes, you are," she argued softly, holding his gaze with earnest certainty in her gentle eyes. "I'm sorry I keep crying, I really am. It's just ....I lost you, and now you're here, and I might lose you again. You could die in two days, no matter what I do, or you could walk away from me. And I know it's selfish, but I don't want to lose you again. That's what I'm scared of, and there's nothing you can do or say that'll stop me from being scared of that. Because I love you."

He met her gaze, looked into her eyes - really looked - seeing the tears that were gathering there again and knowing for a fact that she was sincere. Whatever she'd seen or experienced, she truly loved him and believed she was about to lose him forever. If that wasn't enough to melt even the hardest heart, he didn't know what was. "No one's ever..." He broke off, turning his head so she wouldn't see the emotions that were bubbling up inside him. Did he really have to finish that statement for her to understand what he'd been about to say"

No, he didn't. Because she could say exactly the same back to him, in all honesty. But she wasn't going to let him say it about himself, not any more. "I do," she told him, her tone firm, fervent, certain in her own feelings, however sudden and unexpected they had been. "And no matter what happens, I will love you, for as long as my heart can take it. I don't know how else I can tell you, how to convince you that I'm telling you the truth. I guess some things you just have to take on faith."

"I believe you," he said, turning back to her, letting her see the uncertainty in him, the fear even, not so much of death, but of hurting her, of hoping for something that might never happen. However they'd fallen in love in her world, it was happening differently here, and there were no guarantees. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, huh?" he asked, quoting his own advice back to her back at himself.

"Exactly. There are no guarantees, Tommy, but I came back anyway. You deserve so much more. If I can help you find it, that'd be enough." The flicker in her expression declared her for the kind liar she was in that moment. Knowing he was alive and not being with him would never be enough for her, but she'd lived with loneliness once. She could do it again, for him.

He remembered the photo she'd shown him, the one with him at the beach. He'd looked so happy there, and not just because he was surfing, but because of her. If she was right - and he had no reason not to believe her - then he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. "So, I guess the real question is when do we leave?" he asked, doing exactly as she'd asked and making a leap of faith.

Lena's head lifted, her eyes seeking his out with wary hope. Was he really asking, or was he throwing her a bone" Part of her didn't want to risk believing that he was going to take that leap of faith, and yet ....she couldn't ask him to make that leap without jumping with him. Wonder touched her expression, awe radiating from her for the courage it took just to say those words, much less mean them. "You're sure?"

"It beats the hell out of the alternative," he replied, which was either death or being homeless. The prospect of living out of his van didn't really bother him, but he'd eventually have to figure out a means of supporting himself. He was sure he could find work, one way or another, but he knew he'd never be happy without the sun and the surf. It was in his blood now, as necessary to life as food and water. "You said we spent a few days camping out on the beach?" he asked, curiously.

"Yeah, we did." Very slowly, the light was returning to her face, her smile growing as they spoke. His coming to Rhy'Din was all she had come to achieve, but it was one step closer to his loving her. A step further away from losing him again. "Set up a tent, built a fire, you threw me in the sea a few times." She giggled softly, a sweetly girlish sound that betrayed the lighter heart hidden underneath the emotional upheaval she had been living with. "It was fun. You were kinda of weirded out by there being four tides the first day, but you said that it was a good thing by the second. More opportunities to surf."

He was struck once again by the realization of how pretty she was, especially when she was smiling, and he found himself smiling along with her, laughing a little as he visualized the two of them romping on the beach. It sounded enchanting, almost too good to be true, but he had no reason not to believe her, and the photos were proof, as unbelievable as it seemed. "Sounds nice," he said with a wistful smile, envious of her memories as she revisited the two days she'd spent with him, but it was the mention of something else that caught him off guard. "Four tides!" he exclaimed, in the middle of a bite of toast. "You're kidding."

She laughed again at his disbelief, picking up her coffee cup to take a sip and clear the last of that lump from her throat. "Two moons, remember?" she pointed out. "Here you have two tides a day, with one moon. We have four tides a day. And a much prettier night sky. I could be biased, though."

"That's impossible!" he said, looking doubtful. "You're just teasing me now." He was willing to believe there were two moons, though he had yet to see them with his own eyes, but four tides" The place sounded like a surfer's dream. He wondered if the moons made it bright enough to surf at night, a feat he'd accomplished, but not without a certain amount of difficulty and danger.

"How is it impossible?" She smiled, pleased to see him suddenly engaged with the possibility of actually going to Rhy'Din and seeing all this for himself. "If you have trouble with the idea of two moons influencing four tides in twenty-four hours, then you're going to have a stroke when you see some of the people who live there."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, curiosity growing, munching on his eggs and toast while he awaited her explanation. He didn't quite know what she meant by that, but his curiosity was piqued, along with his sense of adventure. He was a free spirit at heart, and it was his longing for adventure that had originally started him on his journey, seven or so years ago. Somehow it seemed longer.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:51 EST
"Uh ..." She bit her lip, lowering her coffee back to the table as she leaned forward on her elbows. Her appetite had gone its own winsome way, leaving her plate half-empty and destined to remain so. "Well, I know you're familiar with the concept of the multiverse. Rhy'Din is the place where all universes overlap. Anything is possible on Rhy'Din. And I do mean anything. There are dragons, and minotaurs, and vampires. Elves and dwarves, and cyborgs. Anything you can imagine, you can find it on Rhy'Din."

"Now you are teasing me," he said, eying her doubtfully again. He knew what most of those things were, sort of, from books and movies, though he wasn't too sure what a cyborg was exactly. It sounded like some sort of robot, he thought, but he wasn't too sure.

"I'm really not, this time," she said, her expression a little apologetic, even through her smile. "I went to elementary school with a hobbit and a half-orc. One of my cousins is mated with a mermaid. My oldest brother is marrying a woman whose daughter is a Fae. It's all very real, Moonbeam. I haven't lied to you yet, why would I start now?"

"Wait..." He scrutinized her over his coffee cup, which he had raised half-way to his mouth. "First of all, I don't even know what a half-orc is, and do you mean fae as in faery?" He'd heard of hobbits, but only in passing. "You're saying vampires are real" Do they all walk around wearing black capes and saying, 'I vant to suck your blood'?" he quipped, doing his best Dracula impression.

"I guess I mean fae as in faery. I haven't really taken the time to study a two-year-old little girl in any great depth." She shrugged, shaking her head as she watched him, her smile deepening ruefully at his quip. "I just lost you, didn't I" Some things need to be seen to be believed, I guess." Glancing down at her plate, she reached down to pick up her bag. "How much do I owe you for breakfast?" she asked, opening the flap and inserting her arm to above the elbow in a bag that shouldn't even have been able to take her hand to the wrist.

He took a swallow of coffee, about to tell her he thought she'd been watching too much late night television when she stuck nearly her entire arm into a space where it shouldn't have logically fit. "That's a neat trick. Do you know magic, too?" he asked, assuming it had to be some kind of magic trick or illusion, ignoring her question as his eyes were drawn to her bag.

"Uh, no." Helena laughed as she peered into the bag, rummaging around for her purse, which seemed to have disappeared underneath all the other crap she carried around with her. "Oh, you mean the bag" It's called a bag of holding. It's enchanted to be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. I've got enough clothes and shoes for a week in here, besides everything else."

"Sure you do," he said, as doubtful about her bag as he was about the existence of vampires and dragons. He'd give her the benefit of the doubt about the moons and the tides, but he wasn't so sure about the rest. He took another swig of his coffee before setting his cup down and reaching into his blue jeans for a few dollar bills. It was 1975 and breakfast was pretty cheap by her standards.

Excavating her purse finally, she dropped a few bills of her own onto the table, and dropped the purse back into her bag. "Oh, I do," she promised him, offering the small bag over to him. "Go ahead, take a look. I promise, all the underwear is clean."

He was about to tell her that $4 was way too much for breakfast, even including a tip, when she offered him the bag. "Is this some kind of trick?" he asked, meaning magic again. He didn't know much about magic, but he knew you couldn't really pull a rabbit out of a hat. It was just a trick. He hesitated a moment before reaching for the bag.

"No, it really isn't," she assured him encouragingly. "Go on, take it. Nothing in there's going to bite you." Of course, she didn't think she'd put too much money down - a cursory check of the economy of this era had given her a very rough idea of prices, and frankly, overpaying for anything wasn't really on her list of things not to do.

He furrowed his brows at her as he set the small bag on his lap and pulled it open, almost expecting something to jump out at him. He peered into the bag at its contents, unsure what he was going to find there. "If you really want to show me your underwear, there are easier ways."

"Suck it up and look inside," she laughed at his hesitance. There was nothing in there that would startle him too much. Admittedly, it was like looking into a large sack through a small opening, but there really was far too much in there - clothing, a washbag, a stack of books, a roll of copper coins, a smartphone - though it was highly doubtful he had any idea what that was - her laptop, a much loved sketchbook, fresh pencils ....she appeared to be carrying her whole life in that small, light bag.

He didn't start pulling things out, though he might later, but the expression on his face as he started taking a tally of items - some that he recognized and a few that he didn't - shifted from doubtful to curious to amazed. "I don't understand," he said as he poked around inside the bag. "How's it work?"

She shrugged again. She'd never been interested in the study of charms and spells, content to take them on faith. They were as much a part of Rhy'Din as the advanced sciences that were cooked up at Stars End. "It's magic," she said simply. "Real magic, not an illusion. I don't know exactly how it works, but it does. If it didn't, I'd have shown up here with a suitcase."

The bag was just more evidence that her story was true, that she really was from another world somewhere - he wasn't sure where. He'd never heard of any star system called Rhy'Din, but then he'd never been too keen on astronomy, other than to admire the stars and recognize a few constellations here and there. "So....How does this work exactly' You said you open a portal to this Rhy'Din place and we walk through?" He handed her back the bag intact, but not before taking a sneak peek at her underwear.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:52 EST
She nodded as she took the bag back, hooking the strap over her shoulder with a faint, slightly weary smile. "Or drive through. You can take whatever you want with you, so long as it's on one trip. I don't know if I'm going to be able to open a portal back here again." There was definite apology in her expressive eyes as she said this, but she refrained from actually apologizing aloud for once.

"So that means once I leave, I can't come back," he said, needing to know all the implications and consequences before he made his final decision. The fact that he could take his van with him and whatever else he wanted was all well and good, but they were just material possessions, nothing more. What he really needed to know was what to expect once he got there.

"Well, you probably could come back, but you wouldn't be able to get to Rhy'Din in my time without me, and I don't think I'm going to be able to come back again," she explained reluctantly. "I'm already pushing my luck with two trips. There are things in this bag that are way ahead of their time in 1975 - if the wrong person saw them, I could change the course of technological development for this planet. So ....yeah, you need to be sure."

He had noticed a few things in that bag that he couldn't identify, but could probably make a guess about, but he had read enough science fiction to understand what she was talking about. Leaving would change history as it was to a small extent - his history, anyway. If she was to be believed, he was supposed to die in a car crash in a few days. His leaving wouldn't change much except to extend his own life span. He had no idea what would happen if he decided to stay. Would Fate catch up with him and he'd just die some other way' Would his staying change the past in some other way' There was no way to know for sure. He quieted, staring into his cup of coffee as he contemplated all this.

She studied him for a long moment, realizing that answering his questions had given him a lot more to think about than perhaps she should have offered. But she'd promised herself she wouldn't lie to him, refusing to withhold information just because he might not be able to handle it all at once. She had faith that he could handle it; she'd seen him do it once before. But maybe that was enough for now. Lena stretched out her back, summoning up a small yawn for effect. "You know what? Maybe I will take that rest you suggested. I'm kinda bushed."

He lifted his gaze to her as the sound of her voice drew him away from his thoughts once again. "How long?" he asked. "Do we have to leave before my two days is up?" He wasn't sure if staying past that was tempting Fate or not, but if he was going to leave and never come back, there were a few things he needed to do first.

"I really don't know exactly how it works," she said softly, shrugging once again as she brushed her hair back out of her face. "I just, I don't want to risk losing you if I don't have to. But I know there are things you need to do, and if they take a little longer, then that's a risk we'll have to take. But if it does go past that time, then I'm gonna be stuck to you like glue. If you're leaving, then so am I."

Her answer still left a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainties. He had told her he needed some time to think, but he had a feeling he couldn't afford to take too much time or it might be too late. Two days at most. It was going to have to be enough. He took a last swallow of coffee before setting the cup down and pushing away from the table. "Okay, nap time for you, and I have a surfboard that needs finishing." Though for some reason, it didn't feel so very important anymore.

Lena could feel the suggestion that she go and find a hotel somewhere rising up, squashing it as ruthlessly as she could. He'd already made it clear that she had to stop tiptoeing, and the offer to sleep in his bed had been made. So she wasn't going to argue. Rising to her own feet, she waved to Sandy and the other waitresses with a smile, glancing at Tommy just a little uncertainly. "I'm okay to sleep on the couch, you know," she offered, rolling her eyes at herself. "Or in the van. I don't want to impose."

"You're not imposing. Besides, I won't be needing it until later tonight," he reminded her with a smile. He had a busy afternoon ahead of him, and it did not include time for a nap. "I was thinking maybe I'd make us dinner later, if you want." He shrugged uncertainly. A girl like her deserved to be wined and dined, but he didn't have the money for that and doubted he ever would.

"That'd be nice." Her smile rose, shy and pleased by the offer. "You roast a mean hotdog, I know that." If she'd known what he was thinking, she would have set him straight. She'd never been wined and dined, except by her father when he wanted something, living remarkably frugally for someone with access to such a wide fortune. Her hand slid tentatively into his as they started back toward the shop, daring to put the first foot forward herself this time.

He laughed, remembering that she'd already gotten to know him, enough to fall in love with him, or so she claimed. "You have me at a disadvantage, you know. It's almost like cheating. You already know me, but I hardly know you." And yet, he had told her so little about himself during his trip to Rhy'Din, she had probably learned more from Jack than she had from Tommy. He couldn't help but wonder what else she knew about him. From what she'd told him, he assumed they'd slept together. His future self had even beaten him to that. Would she be disappointed if he didn't live up to the memories of the Tommy she knew" He was lost in these thoughts as she slipped her hand into his and led him back outside, hardly noticing the ease with with his fingers slid through hers.

"You're not that much at a disadvantage," she reassured him with a slightly embarrassed smile, deeply touched by how absentmindedly his fingers weaved between her own. Like her hand belonged there. "You have a habit of turning the conversation around to me. Most of what I know about you, Jack told me, and that isn't a lot. It isn't your past that I fell in love with. It's you, the man you are."

"I do?" he asked, surprised to hear that about himself. It was a habit he was mostly unaware of. He just didn't like talking about himself much. He'd much rather find out what made her tick than talk about himself. He didn't think he was all that interesting really. "There's not much to tell anyway, and the past is past." He chuckled a little as he realized something. "I was going to say it can't be changed, but..." He trailed off, as another thought came to mind.

Helena King

Date: 2013-09-25 08:58 EST
She caught where his mind might possibly be going. "The further back you go, the more is different when you get back to your own time," she told him quickly. "Changing one thing can change everything. With you, with me, it's a matter of days, and it doesn't change that much, really. But if I was to take you back to save Robby, or your mother ....someone else would die in their place, and your whole life would be different. To the point where you might never have been picked up by the Nexus, I might never have met you, and nothing that spurred you on to save those lives in the first place would happen, which would throw time itself for a loop. Time is linear; some things have to happen."

Her explanation made sense, and somehow he knew she was right, but it brought another thought to mind, one he wasn't sure he wanted to discuss. "I know. I don't know how I know, but I know. What happened happened and changing the past might make things worse, but..." He cut himself off before he could continue. She needed to get some rest and he needed to get that board done. It would do them both good to stop thinking about things so hard for a while.

"If this is how it's supposed to happen, then it'll happen," Lena murmured softly. "Like I said, it's a risk I had to take." She knew that she might well have to relive his death if Time objected to this little intervention. Just the thought of that spurred her to walk closer beside him, laying her cheek against his shoulder for a moment or two.

He felt her nuzzle close to him and he wound an arm around her without even thinking about it. If it was meant to be, it would be, and if not....He frowned a little at the thought. He wasn't afraid of death really. It was the fear of the unknown more than death itself that scared him. But he was finally starting to understand a little of what she was feeling. Even though he hardly knew her, now that he'd found her, he didn't really want to let go. It didn't seem fair that Fate might take him away from her a second time. Was it worth the risk" Would she be able to live with the consequences if it happened again? A million questions were going through his mind, all the whys and what ifs. Questions that might never be answered. "There's not much left for me here," he mused aloud, more to himself than to her. He'd hinted at as much already, but it was worth repeating.

Lena felt herself relax as his arm draped about her, the tension discernibly bleeding from her body under that gentle closeness, her own arm rising to loop about his waist in answer. "I dropped a lot on you this morning," she murmured to him. "You really don't have to make this decision right now. Think about it first. Be sure."

He came to a halt, turning with her to look out over the water that was lapping up onto the shore, her arm around his waist, his about her shoulder, looking very much like a young couple in love, though he'd only met her a few hours earlier. "I'd never see this place again," he said. Though he'd already decided to leave Half Moon Bay, it was no secret how much he loved this place, or had before Robby had died.

"Well ....not in 1975," she told him, realizing she'd forgotten to reassure him about one thing. "You'd be able to come here in 2012, if you wanted to. You could visit all kinds of places on Earth, so long as you don't step back in time." She glanced up at him, sparing a thought to wonder what Jack was making of this, since they were now in sight of the shop itself. "I know it won't be the same, but it's something."

"It's not the same anymore. It won't be the same then. Everything changed when....when Robby died." He grew quiet again, his heart aching for the innocence of a past that was lost forever. She was doing more than just helping him cheat Death; she was offering him a chance at a new life. "There are other beaches, other surfs," he said aloud, his eyes watching the surf as it rolled slowly over the beach. "A place with two moons and four tides," he remarked quietly.

"Where no one tells you what you should be doing with your life but you." Without thinking, she twisted, curling her other arm about him until he was wrapped in her embrace, her cheek on his shoulder, her eyes on the sea. She breathed him in slow and steady, memorizing that scent all over again, scoring it into her memory, just in case. A place where you'll be loved, even if you never set foot there. Because I love you, and I always will.

It was a tempting offer, but it wasn't just the offer of a new life that was tempting him as it was the girl who had come back for him. He wrapped his arms around her as she turned herself into him, closing his eyes to savor and memorize the moment. It was one moment in time, and it would never come again. It felt good to hold her there, this gentle flower of a girl he was only just getting to know, and somehow he knew he had already decided. He wanted this moment to go on forever, and the only way to do that was to make a leap of faith. A leap that would take him thirty-eight years in the future to another time, another place, another world, another life. Two days was all he had to decide. Two days that could mean the difference between life and death. Two days that would decide the rest of not just his life, but hers as well. But as she had said, it was a risk worth taking. Together.

((Many thanks to Tommy's player!))