“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.
