Simon nodded but eyed the barn warily.
“Now you know my secret,” Teddy said almost shyly.
“I’m glad,” Elizabeth said. “It’s better when we can share them, isn’t it?”
“The ones we can share, yes,” Teddy said but then gestured back to the barn. “I should do a few things.”
“Of course,” Simon said. “Sorry to have bothered you.”
Teddy smiled at Elizabeth. “You’re never a bother,” he said, then blushed and went back into the barn.
Simon gave Elizabeth one last glare, and they started back toward the house.
“He doesn’t think I’m a bother,” she said.
“He isn’t married to you.”
Chapter Three
THE FLOORBOARDS CREAKED UNDER her feet. Elizabeth mentally shushed them and turned back to see if she’d awakened Simon. Amazingly, he was still asleep. He was what she called “caveman ready” these days. The slightest sound or disturbance and he was up like a shot. That was, of course, when he managed to go to sleep at all. Tonight, his body had won out over his mind, and he’d fallen asleep at a decent hour. It was just her luck that the night she had ants in her pants, he was snoring soundly.
Careful not to wake him, she grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed and tiptoed toward the door. The floor creaked again and she wondered if she was already getting fat. Her hand went to her abdomen. It still felt the same, on the outside, at least, but on the inside, it was anything but.
She managed to escape the room without too much noise and gently closed the door behind her. The hallway was dark, but there was enough moonlight to see by. It was nearly full but the eclipse was still a week away. She’d be glad to get home. Not that she wasn’t enjoying her time with Teddy, she was, when she saw him at least. But he was working awfully hard.
Maybe that was why he didn’t seem quite himself. Oh, he was still the sweet, adorable man she remembered, but there was a shadow there, too. Something new and dark around the edges. He shed it whenever she looked too closely at him, but she’d seen it and felt it. It was probably just fatigue. There was a lot of that going around.
Carefully, she made her way downstairs and toward the kitchen and Mrs. Dunlop’s fried chicken. She’d had her share at dinner that night, but another half share wouldn’t hurt.
She made it to the bottom of the stairs and turned toward the back of the house when she saw a light at the far end of the hall. It flickered on the dark hardwood, and she heard the telltale pop of a log in a fireplace. It was nearly three in the morning. Maybe Teddy was having trouble sleeping, too.
She started toward the room when she heard his voice. She couldn’t make out what he said, but he was probably problem-solving. She talked to herself all the time when Simon wasn’t around and sometimes even when he was.
She got a little closer and the words became clear.
“It worked out all right?” he said. “I liked him.”
“Yes.”
The other voice said only one word, but she’d know it anywhere. After all, she’d just heard it. She stopped walking and listened harder.
“I’m glad,” Teddy said. “Not just for, well, you know.”
“Yes.”
Again. It was crazy. Either she or Teddy was crazy. The second voice she heard was Teddy’s as well. Elizabeth talked to herself, but she seldom answered.
Had the pressure finally gotten to him and he’d slipped a gear and gone all Jekyll and Hyde? He was a mad scientist, after all.
As she stood in the hallway unsure of what to do, the conversation went on.
“You’ve done well, but you need to work faster.”
“I could if you helped me.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
There was a pause then, and Elizabeth forced herself to move closer. She wasn’t far away, just on the edge of the doorway. The room was silent now except for the sound of a log on the fire breaking and falling into the ashes.
Slowly, she peered around the corner. It was the study, and the light from the fire cast flickering shadows across the dark room.
Teddy stood to the side of the fireplace staring into the embers. “I hope I can do it.”
“You can,” came the second voice. But it wasn’t coming from Teddy. It came from the large armchair facing away from the door and angled toward the fire. Either Teddy was a skilled ventriloquist or someone else was there. She wasn’t sure which was freakier.
Then the voice from the chair spoke again.
“Come in, Elizabeth.”
Okay, definitely that one.
Teddy looked over at her in surprise.
She took a tentative step into the room. “Hello?”
A man rose out of the chair and turned to face her. It was Teddy. Another Teddy. And he smiled at her. “Hello.”
Elizabeth gripped the door for support. Even though she’d seen her duplicate self once when Teddy had shown her his secret time travel machine in San Francisco, there was no preparing for the shock of seeing this.
Both Teddys hurried forward. “Are you all right?” they asked in stereo.
“Oh, don’t do that,” she said and regained herself.
They helped her to a chair.
Elizabeth couldn’t take her eyes off them—him. The other Teddy was older, a little gray, but the same. They both looked at her with worry.
“I’m all right. I think.”
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” the older Teddy said.
“Then why did you?” Young Teddy asked. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“You’re right,” he said to his younger self and turned to Elizabeth. “I’m sorry.”
Elizabeth glanced between the two of them, realizing that the older one had been the younger one in this exact scene at some point. The thought made her head spin and she closed her eyes.
Young Teddy knelt down next to her as the older one got her a glass of water. They both watched her drink it with identical concerned expressions on their faces.
“I’m fine. But I’ll be better when you stop doing that.”
“What?” they asked.
“That. Talking, doing things in unison.”
“We are the same person,” the younger one said.
Older Teddy raised an objecting finger. “Not technically. Well, technically, but if you believe that experiences make the person, then we’re quite different. For instance, I have a scar here.” He untucked his shirt and pulled up the hem and dragged down the waist of his pants to abruptly reveal a scar on his stomach.
“Oh,” the other Teddy said. “Appendix?”
“Stabbed.”
“Really?”
The older one re-tucked his shirt. “Quite painful.”
“I can imagine.”
“You won’t have to.”
“True!”
And they both giggled.
It was like some very strange vaudeville routine. One Teddy was a wonderful thing. Two Teddys might be trouble.
“Do you do this often?” she asked. “Come back in time and meet with yourself?”
“Oh, yes. Sometimes, I go forward. But it’s better to come back,” Teddy said and looked at his older self. “Don’t you think?”
“Definitely.”
It felt like something straight out of Lewis Carroll. “Just how often do you two meet?”
They looked at each other in silent conversation. “Not that often. It’s quite dangerous.”
She got that sinking feeling. “It is?”
“Well, it can be. Don’t want to change time when it shouldn’t be changed.”
There was something implicit about that statement that Elizabeth found troubling. “And when it should?”
“Well, that’s what we do, isn’t it?”
Had the Teddys been out there mucking with time? It wouldn’t surprise her. Teddy was ready to change time to help her save Simon from the earthquake.
She looked between the two. “Changing time is wr
ong.”
“Except when it’s right,” Teddy said and looked to his other self for confirmation. He nodded enthusiastically.
“Right. Which you only do when it’s wrong.”
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes in confusion.
“That’s what the Council does, doesn’t it?” Teddy said. “Fixes things that aren’t right?”
“You can only set something right when something’s gone wrong, after all,” Teddy said.
“Right,” Elizabeth said and laughed; somehow they’d sucked her in.
They both smiled at her. “Precisely.”
“And you two are setting something right?”
They shared another look. “Niels Bohr,” the older one said.
“Yes.”
“It’s an … ongoing project.”
Considering what she’d seen in the barn and the complexity of it all, she didn’t doubt it.
Her Teddy looked worried again.
“I’m sure you’ll do whatever needs to be done,” she said.
He smiled but still looked worried.
The older Teddy took out his pocket watch. “I’m out of time.”
His younger self giggled. “That’s a pun.”
But his older self didn’t laugh. He seemed suddenly very serious. He stepped over to Elizabeth and she stood up. He took her hand and held it gently.
“It was good to see you,” he said, his voice soft and emotional.
He gave her hand a final squeeze and turned to his younger self. Something meaningful passed between them and the younger one nodded.
The older Teddy took a step back and the blue light snaked down his arm. It seemed faster than Elizabeth was used to seeing, brighter, more violent and, in an instant, he was gone.
“Okay. That was interesting,” she said.
Teddy nodded. “I’m very interesting.”
Despite it all, Elizabeth laughed. “I’ll say.”
He grinned back at her and a light pink blush rose from his neck. “I like that you think so.”
“Did you know,” he said as he moved to the desk and scribbled something down, “that I’ve been to Madagascar? I mean to say, I will in the future. They have monkeys there, right out in the open.”
“I’ve heard that,” she said, then hoping to steer the conversation back on track added, “About what just happened or is going to happen. Is there anything Simon and I can do to help?”
He tore off the piece of paper, stuffed it into his breast pocket and turned back to face her. He smiled at her in just the same way his older self had moments ago. It made her happy and sad at the same time.
“Just have your baby.”
She looked down at her stomach. “I think I can do that.”
Teddy nodded and turned away. He tugged on his ear and picked up the pen on the small desk again. “I should … I have some ideas.”
He started scribbling fiercely and Elizabeth stood there for a moment before realizing the conversation was over.
“I’m just gonna … go eat a chicken.”
Teddy waved a hand over his shoulder.
“It was nice talking to you … both,” she said and turned to leave.
She got to the doorway and turned back. Teddy was watching her. He looked back down quickly.
“Goodnight,” he said as he went back to work.
“Goodnight.” And an interesting one.
~~~
The final week at Teddy’s passed much as the first two, pleasantly enough, but with a sense of unease. Long drives in the countryside and warm spring days helped the time tick by, but as much as she loved Teddy, and as kind as he’d been, this wasn’t home. They’d been in a holding pattern for too long and both she and Simon were ready to go home.
Simon checked his watch one more time. “You’re sure this won’t affect the baby.”
“I’m sure,” Teddy said. “I think.”
Simon’s jaw muscle clenched, but Elizabeth put her hand on his arm. “It’ll be fine. This isn’t her first trip, remember?”
That was true. Even though they hadn’t known it at the time, Elizabeth was already pregnant when they traveled back in time to save Bohr.
Simon nodded, displeased at the uncertainty of it all, but accepting at the same time. They really didn’t have much of a choice.
He glanced down at his watch again. “It’s close now.” He stepped forward and held out his hand toward Teddy.
Teddy looked at him unsurely and then took it. “I’m sorry.”
Simon shook off his apology. “No need. You’ve been a very gracious host.”
Teddy smiled slightly and then looked at Elizabeth.
Simon crossed to the other side of the study to give them a little privacy.
Elizabeth walked up to Teddy. He smiled at her the same way he had when they’d arrived.
“I’m going to miss you,” she said.
He looked sad at that.
“I’m sure we’ll see each other soon,” she added.
He looked ready to cry and Elizabeth pulled him into a hug. His arms hesitated to go around her and then he finally squeezed her back.
Simon cleared his throat. “Elizabeth. It’s time.”
She eased back and gave him one last smile.
“Soon,” he said.
She kissed his cheek and joined Simon.
Teddy gave them a small wave as the blue, time travel lightning struck, and the world shook apart.
Chapter Four
MODERN DAY - SANTA BARBARA, California
Simon tossed his car keys onto the kitchen counter and put their overnight bag down on the floor next to the breakfast nook.
Elizabeth opened the refrigerator door and then closed it, making a face. “I should probably go to the store.”
Simon shook his head and walked over to her. He pulled her close. “No one is going anywhere.”
He’d finally, finally, gotten her home and he was going to enjoy it.
She smiled and slipped her arms around his neck. “What if we need something?”
“I have everything I need.”
“We’re out of cream.”
“Are we?” he said as he dipped his head down to kiss her neck.
She arched her neck. “I think so.”
“We’ll just have to go without for a day or a week,” he said as he moved along her neck to kiss her properly.
“A week?” she said and he felt her smile.
He leaned in to kiss her. “At least.”
The doorbell rang loudly, interrupting them, or trying to. Simon was not going to be put off now. “Ignore it,” he said and he began to kiss her.
She kissed him back briefly then pulled her head away as the door chimed again. “Simon.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t move. I plan on picking this up exactly where we left off.”
He let her go and strode toward the front door. He yanked it open.
Jack Wells grinned back at him. He held up his hand in greeting.
Simon frowned. “Is the world about to end?”
Jack looked confused, but kept smiling like a fool and shook his head.
“Good,” Simon said. “Then go away.”
He started to close the door in Wells’ face when Elizabeth ducked under his arm.
“Hi, you,” she said. “What’re you doing here?”
“Hey, kid.”
“He was just leaving,” Simon said as he tried to close the door again.
Elizabeth blocked the door open and narrowed her eyes at him. “Simon.”
There was no use fighting it. Although Jack was as close to a best friend as Simon had, the bond between Jack and Elizabeth was something else. The two were like brother and sister and just as annoying.
Simon sighed and stepped aside.
Jack came inside. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“You are,” Simon said, flatly.
“Sorry. What?” Jack asked.
Simon scowled and Elizabeth lau
ghed.
“Oh,” Jack said then grinned. “Maybe I should be going.”
Simon reached back for the door. “Good idea—”
“Don’t be silly,” Elizabeth said. “Come in. You want something to drink?”
“Sure, I’ll have a Coke.” He clapped Simon on the shoulder as he followed Elizabeth into the kitchen.
Elizabeth opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of soda. She insisted it tasted better from a bottle. Bottle or not, it didn’t matter. To Simon, it was an abomination.
“I think we have some stuff for sandwiches,” she said, turning back.
“Don’t feed him,” Simon said. “He’ll never leave.”
Jack grinned and popped the top off his Coke. Elizabeth reached for hers, but Simon was ahead of her. He picked it up and put it back in the fridge.
“Really?” Elizabeth said with clear indignation.
Jack arched an eyebrow in question.
“Really,” Simon said before turning back to Jack. “Are you here for a reason or just to annoy me?”
Jack took another swig. “Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Amusing.”
Jack put his drink down. “Actually, I came by to see how you are.”
Simon arched an eyebrow. “As you can see, we are both fine. If that’s all—”
“I’m glad. When I heard you two were on the Titanic ….”
The genuine concern on Jack’s face brought Simon up short, and memories of their misadventure came back full force.
“That was no joke,” Jack said.
With an effort, Simon put those thoughts away. “No, it wasn’t. But we survived and brought Bohr to his meeting.”
Jack nodded and looked at them both in what appeared, to the untrained eye, as a casual glance, but Simon knew Jack too well. And Jack knew them too well. He saw the small fissures that no one else would notice. As an ex-spy turned Council operative, Wells was too observant by half.
“It was awful,” Elizabeth said, bluntly, then slipped her hand into Simon’s. “But we made it, and now, we have a new sort of mission.”
She smiled up at Simon and his heart filled.
Silently, she asked permission to share their news.
Her smile grew wider and she looked back at Wells. “I’m pregnant.”
Revolution in Time (Out of Time #10) Page 3
