I….” Sean’s voice cracked. “I love you.”
Jason could hear music, Sean’s song, their song. He was slow dreaming. This was only one moment in time. He reached for it, losing himself in the words, the need, the promise behind them, and this time, instead of fading away, they reached for him, leading him into the light.
H E WOKE slowly, aware that he wasn’t alone. His thoughts were foggy, an echo of pain through his body, hovering at barely arm’s length. He tried to move, couldn’t, and forced himself to calm.
“You always did have a flair for the dramatic,” a familiar soft voice commented.
Alisha?
Jason opened his eyes, focused, and took a proper look at his surroundings. The first person he noticed, though, wasn’t Alisha, it was Sean. He was slumped in a chair, his head resting on the side of Jason’s bed, and he was asleep.
Hang on a moment. Bed?
Trying to move rewarded him with a bite of pain in his side and a disapproving “tsk tsk” from Alisha. She quickly steadied him, easing him into a sitting position, careful not to dislodge the needle that was feeding whatever into his system through the IV drip. “You’re recovering and full of drugs. Give yourself a minute.” Jason blinked, staring at her when he realized what she was wearing. She wouldn’t need to disguise herself as a nurse if they were in their own time.
Damn it!
Confusion washed over him, and he sank back against his pillow. If she was here, where was here ? He glanced at Sean, making sure that part of whatever this dream was, was real. He looked down at himself, flinching as his fingers brushed against his bandaged side.
Alisha sighed. “You’re still in thetwenty-first century, Jason. And damn lucky that bullet missed any vital organs.” She shifted her attention to Sean, her expression softening. “He hasn’t left you since you were brought in. He told them he was your partner so they’d let him stay.” Sean shifted in his sleep, mumbling something under his breath before settling again.
“He is,” Jason said quietly. “That is, I’d like him to be.”
“You want to stay here, with him, don’t you?” Alisha turned an object over in her hands. It was Jason’s watch, his way home. Every field agent carried one, the outside mechanism camouflaged to blend in with the time period in which they were observing. It housed their recall device, which could be activated by either them or, if the situation was severe enough, the Tempus Institute.
“Is that possible?” For the moment, he had more questions than answers. Although asleep, Sean’s brow furrowed then smoothed over again. His glasses had slipped down his nose; his hair was ruffled, as were his clothes.
“Yes.” Alisha studied the watch some more, avoiding Jason’s gaze. “Time works in strange ways, Jason, you and I both know that. It’s not a straight line, like a lot of people think, but rather points on a circle.” Hence the tattoo they both wore. Sean had been right in a way when he’d thought of it as infinity. All of time was interconnected, and traveling through it was simple with the right knowledge and the equipment needed to bring two different points on the joined circles together.
“You knew,” Jason realized. “The photo, Sean’s music, you knew.” He hadn’t changed history, this had already happened. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know, not until after you’d left.” Alisha still avoided looking at Jason directly. “We were both kept in the dark. History had to play out. You’re a part of it, you always were.”
“I was given sound files of his music, but I didn’t listen to them. What if I had and recognized the song?”
“They wouldn’t have played for you. The files were faulty. James knew you well enough to know that you wouldn’t have followed up on it even if he had given you the time to do so.”
Jason closed his eyes, trying to get his head around it. Learning about this stuff,
Jason could hear music, Sean’s song, their song. He was slow dreaming. This was only one moment in time. He reached for it, losing himself in the words, the need, the promise behind them, and this time, instead of fading away, they reached for him, leading him into the light.
H E WOKE slowly, aware that he wasn’t alone. His thoughts were foggy, an echo of pain through his body, hovering at barely arm’s length. He tried to move, couldn’t, and forced himself to calm.
“You always did have a flair for the dramatic,” a familiar soft voice commented.
Alisha?
Jason opened his eyes, focused, and took a proper look at his surroundings. The first person he noticed, though, wasn’t Alisha, it was Sean. He was slumped in a chair, his head resting on the side of Jason’s bed, and he was asleep.
Hang on a moment. Bed?
Trying to move rewarded him with a bite of pain in his side and a disapproving “tsk tsk” from Alisha. She quickly steadied him, easing him into a sitting position, careful not to dislodge the needle that was feeding whatever into his system through the IV drip. “You’re recovering and full of drugs. Give yourself a minute.” Jason blinked, staring at her when he realized what she was wearing. She wouldn’t need to disguise herself as a nurse if they were in their own time.
Damn it!
Confusion washed over him, and he sank back against his pillow. If she was here, where was here ? He glanced at Sean, making sure that part of whatever this dream was, was real. He looked down at himself, flinching as his fingers brushed against his bandaged side.
Alisha sighed. “You’re still in thetwenty-first century, Jason. And damn lucky that bullet missed any vital organs.” She shifted her attention to Sean, her expression softening. “He hasn’t left you since you were brought in. He told them he was your partner so they’d let him stay.” Sean shifted in his sleep, mumbling something under his breath before settling again.
“He is,” Jason said quietly. “That is, I’d like him to be.”
“You want to stay here, with him, don’t you?” Alisha turned an object over in her hands. It was Jason’s watch, his way home. Every field agent carried one, the outside mechanism camouflaged to blend in with the time period in which they were observing. It housed their recall device, which could be activated by either them or, if the situation was severe enough, the Tempus Institute.
“Is that possible?” For the moment, he had more questions than answers. Although asleep, Sean’s brow furrowed then smoothed over again. His glasses had slipped down his nose; his hair was ruffled, as were his clothes.
“Yes.” Alisha studied the watch some more, avoiding Jason’s gaze. “Time works in strange ways, Jason, you and I both know that. It’s not a straight line, like a lot of people think, but rather points on a circle.” Hence the tattoo they both wore. Sean had been right in a way when he’d thought of it as infinity. All of time was interconnected, and traveling through it was simple with the right knowledge and the equipment needed to bring two different points on the joined circles together.
“You knew,” Jason realized. “The photo, Sean’s music, you knew.” He hadn’t changed history, this had already happened. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know, not until after you’d left.” Alisha still avoided looking at Jason directly. “We were both kept in the dark. History had to play out. You’re a part of it, you always were.”
“I was given sound files of his music, but I didn’t listen to them. What if I had and recognized the song?”
“They wouldn’t have played for you. The files were faulty. James knew you well enough to know that you wouldn’t have followed up on it even if he had given you the time to do so.”
Jason closed his eyes, trying to get his head around it. Learning about this stuff,
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