“Yes, besides that.” Elle laughed and returned her attention to her plate for a moment. “Ted’s son will get the surgery. BIOME’s board came through for him. They were probably in need of some good PR. I spoke to Ted’s wife, Anna, yesterday.” Anna had no idea what had truly happened during the mission. And as far as Elle was involved, she never would.
“That’s great news.”
“Yes, it is.”
* * *
Elle couldn’t finish the large serving of pasta, and after a few more bites she surrendered. She rested her elbows on the table, sipped wine, and watched Jackson finish eating. Jackson poured more wine for each of them. She smiled at Elle over the lip of her glass as she drank.
In a million years, she’d never have thought they would be sitting having dinner at her apartment. After their first encounter at the Green Club, Elle had been so sure she’d never see Jackson again. So much had happened since that first night. Elle didn’t even feel as if she were the same person she’d been that night. And Jackson had certainly changed.
Jackson picked up their plates and set them in the sink. She sloshed a little water on them but stopped when Elle encircled her waist.
“Let’s leave everything until tomorrow.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed the back of Jackson’s neck.
“Oh wait, I almost forgot…I have something for you.” Elle went to retrieve it from her bag in the bedroom and then returned holding the small gift in her hand.
She held out the small, shallow package to Jackson. It was a simple brown gift box with a blue ribbon. Jackson tugged the ribbon free and lifted the lid. Nestled in a bed of tissue paper was a wooden, hand-hewn slingshot with a heart carved into the handle.
Jackson laughed and then kissed her.
“It’s perfect, just like you.”
“It’s a small token of the thing that brought us together.”
“Elle, I never thought I could feel this way.” Jackson grew serious. “I thought there was a part of me that would be forever stuck in the past, unable to truly feel…like this, again.” Jackson’s voice broke. “And then I thought I’d lost you.”
Elle took the package from her and wrapped her arms around Jackson’s neck. Feathering kisses along her cheek.
“I thought I’d lost you too. It was the single worst moment of my life.” Elle rested her cheek against Jackson’s shoulder as Jackson encircled her with her arms. “I don’t ever want to let you go.”
“Then don’t,” Jackson whispered into her hair.
Elle led Jackson to the bedroom where they helped each other undress. Jackson still had bruises on her cheek. Elle touched her face. Such a handsome face.
Jackson felt almost as if she was now living in one long, beautiful daydream. She took in every detail of Elle’s gorgeous body before she let herself be tugged onto the bed. She spooned next to Elle under the lightweight blanket and kissed her slowly, deeply. If Jackson allowed her mind to think of what had almost happened, that she’d almost lost Elle, she’d get the worst sinking sensation deep in her gut. She’d been in that dark place before; she knew it well. She clung to Elle for a moment, waiting for the desperate feeling to pass. She closed her eyes and pressed her face into Elle’s neck.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Elle tenderly caressed her face.
“Sometimes, sometimes I can’t help thinking…what if I hadn’t been able to find you.”
“But you did.” Elle kissed her cheek. “Don’t go to that dark place. Stay here with me.”
Jackson sighed. How did Elle know?
“I’m here.” Jackson softly declared. “I am with you and I’m not going anywhere.”
Jackson shifted on top of Elle, braced above her so that she could see Elle’s face.
She was about to take another jump. And this next jump was a complete leap of faith.
“Elle.”
“Yes?” Elle let her hands drift from Jackson’s face to her shoulders.
Elle’s delicate fingers sent shivers down Jackson’s back. She adjusted so that her hips were between Elle’s legs. She wanted to be as close as possible for what she needed to say.
“Elle, will you marry me?”
It was true that they hadn’t known each other for very long, and at the same time, they’d known each other for a thousand years. All Jackson was sure of was that she didn’t want one more day to pass without Elle in it. She wanted all the hours of all the days filled with Elle.
Elle didn’t answer right away. She closed her eyes and a slow, playful smile gradually spread across her face. Jackson’s heart pounded in her chest and in her ears.
“Ask me again.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, I just want to hear it one more time.” Elle opened her eyes and smiled up at her.
“Eliza Graham, will you marry me?”
“Yes.” Elle drew her down until their lips met. “Yes, yes, yes.”
Elle’s whispered response calmed the churning sea of emotion within Jackson. She sank into the softness of Elle’s body, savoring the closeness and acceptance. Warmth cascaded over her.
“I love you.” They’d said it in unison and then laughed.
Jackson felt a surge of happiness, no—contentment. She was no longer stranded with no hope of rescue. Elle had saved her.
The world had changed. Her world had changed, forever.
Epilogue
For decades, the oceans had served as a crucial buffer against global warming, soaking up roughly a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans emitted from power plants, factories, and cars, and absorbing most of the excess heat trapped on Earth by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Without that protection, the land was heating much more rapidly. But the transplanted colony of ancient phytoplankton proved reversal was possible.
Three months after the initial tank purge, oxygen readings had improved in the seawater surrounding San Francisco. Acidification levels had also improved. Transplanting the green microscopic marine scrubbers had worked. It was working. Things would continue to improve in the coming months.
Plans were underway to harvest plankton from the nearby Pacific for transplant into other key aquatic locations around the globe. This greening of the oceans had become one of the largest multinational collaborations in Earth’s history. Finally, world leaders acknowledged that Earth was an ocean world, run and regulated by a single sea. A sea that had been pushed to the brink, an ocean system on life support.
Memory sometimes created its own story. Elle hoped that this would not be one of those instances. People needed to remember how close they’d come to utter collapse. She hoped people would never forget that humanity was just a single part of one big habitat—Earth.
Elle looked up from the tablet and smiled. She’d been taking a few minutes to run through the last bit of data before liftoff.
“Everything looks good.” She handed the tablet back to Saro.
Saro nodded and stepped aside, making room for the core members of the team to assemble. Jackson was about to give her speech, the one she always gave before missions. The speech about facing your fears, about pushing through fear for the sake of the team. Elle loved this talk and she loved the woman giving it.
They were jumping back ten thousand years to harvest Pacific salmon from the past and transport them to the future. With the oceans actively healing, it was time to address the rivers.
There was a documented link between salmon nutrients and overall ecosystem health. By going out into the ocean, feeding and storing nutrients, then returning to their stream of origin to spawn and die, salmon enriched the river habitats. Salmon were a keystone species for repairing rivers and watershed ecosystems.
“Okay, people. Set your watches back ten thousand years.” Jackson clapped her hands together. “Wheels up in fifteen minutes. Everyone to your assigned grav tubes.”
Nikki shook hands with Jackson as she strode to the ship.
“See you on the other side, Commander.” Nikki gav
e a little wave as she stepped through the portal.
Jackson stood on deck and watched the rest of the crew file in as Saro’s band of technicians scurried about with last-minute preparations.
“Well, if it isn’t Dr. Graham, the new head of our science division.” Jackson grinned.
“Hello, Commander.” Elle stood close to Jackson, intentionally invading her personal space. “I’m mission ready and reporting for duty.”
“Past, present, future…I don’t care where I am, as long as I’m with you.” Jackson zipped the front of her flight suit.
“Just remember, Commander, in the future, you promised me a real honeymoon.” Elle walked toward the Slingshot, with a sway in her hips.
Jackson caught up to her, capturing her hand, entwining her fingers with Elle’s just as they boarded the Slingshot. She was almost giddy, like a kid about to set out on some grand new adventure.
“Dr. Graham, any future with you in it is looking very bright indeed.”
The End
About the Author
Missouri Vaun spent a large part of her childhood in southern Mississippi, before attending high school in North Carolina and college in Tennessee. Strong connections to her roots in the rural south have been a grounding force throughout her life. Vaun spent twelve years finding her voice working as a journalist in places as disparate as Chicago, Atlanta, and Jackson, Mississippi, all along filing away characters and their stories. Her novels are heartfelt, earthy, and speak of loyalty and our responsibility to others. She and her wife currently live in northern California.
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