“You should
have seen what happened to me when Ryan first appeared in front of me. I was so
shocked I passed out. Actually, it happened twice. Believe me, it’s no dream.”
“But this
causality thing. How can he come back and give you meds that make it possible
to create the meds in the first place?”
“Trust me,
it’s easier just to accept it and not think about it. It’ll fry your brain.”
“Too late.”
“So what do
you plan to do now?
“I’m really
not sure. I want to have a relationship with him, but I don’t have a clue as to
how to make it happen..
“What do
you mean, you don’t know how? You’ve been in relationships before, albeit bad
ones, but still they were relationships.” Jordan said, raising an eyebrow.
Ethan
thought for a moment, trying to figure out the right words to use to describe
what he wanted. “You’re talking about everyday normal relationships. How can
you have a normal relationship with someone from the future who keeps popping
in and out unexpectedly?”
“I see your
point. One day at a time, I guess.”
Ethan took
in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I just never
know…”
“Know what,
Ethan? Hi, Jordan.”
“When
you’re going to pop in and out. What happened just now, Ryan? You disappeared
in mid-sentence.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. My jumping back here is
breaking a huge law, no interaction with people in the past. I have the
travellator control room security system set so that if anyone gets within a
hundred feet of either door I get yanked back and have time to run out the other
door.”
“Don’t you have some kind of surveillance system or
whatever you call it in the future?” Jordan wanted to know.
“We do, but unless there’s a reason to, nobody
checks it. If they ever do, I’m in – what’s the expression – deep shit.”
Both Ethan and Jordan snickered over Ryan’s use of
the archaic expression, then Ethan turned serious. “What will happen to you if
you get caught?”
“Well…” Ryan paused, trying to figure out what he
knew would be devastating news. He slid his arm
across the other man’s shoulders very gently. “It depends on the mood of the
Tribunal. It’s our legal system. Best case scenario is they’ll throw me in jail
for the rest of my life, then make it so that we never meet.”
Jordan shuddered. “That
sounds harsh.”
Ethan shook his head slowly.
“If that’s the best case scenario then I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know
what the worst case scenario, like it was death or something.”
Ryan decided to check
out the patterns in the rug a few moments before looking Ethan in the eyes. His
shoulders slumped and he wished he was not having this conversation. Taking a
deep breath and letting it out, he responded in a quiet voice. “That’s exactly
what it is. Execution.”
Before anyone could say
anything else, Ethan was up and out the door like a shot, Jordan chasing after
him, having a pretty good idea what was happening. Ryan stood there a moment,
confused before following them.
It wasn’t hard for
Jordan to find Ethan. He just had to follow the sound of Ethan’s vomiting. He
slid down the wall onto the floor next to him and started petting his hair,
Ryan appearing at the bathroom door moments later.
Ethan turned and sat on
the floor next to Jordan after rinsing his mouth, which is where Ryan found
them.
“Ethan, I’m so sorry. I
wasn’t going to lie to you. You deserve the truth.”
Ethan looked up at him,
eyes full of tears. “Go. Don’t come back. I’m not worth risking your life over.
The future needs you to keep the past intact.” He collapsed against Jordan in
huge heart-wrenching sobs.
Ryan put a gentle hand
on Ethan’s shoulder. “You are so worth the risk, baby. I promise you I’ll find
a way to make it work. I love you. I’ll be back soon. Please take care of him,
Jordan.” Before Jordan could respond Ryan hit the button on his beacon and
disappeared.
