The Family Genes Part IV

[Mikado14]

The Family Genes Part IV

©1980 & 2015 Hickory Ridge



The red two toned 57 Chevy pulled up to the old mill and parked. Three men and a woman accompanied by a dog, got out and walked to a fence line. They joined up with two woman, a man and two small children. The aire was somber. The older woman was stooping on the ground and talking to the two small children. The sun was low in the sky and the area was beginning to cast a reddish hue. You could hear the toads talking to each other. The crickets were starting their song for the approaching twilight and eventual night.

A rumbling was heard in the distance and a bright spot appeared at the fence row. It slowly expanded out and as it did so, the sound reduced in frequency. It formed a ring with bright shards from the ring edge into the center. The shards pulled back to the ring edge and all that was left, was a dark spot with a bright white ring that resembled lightning in a circle.

The woman that was stooping held the two small children tighter. The blonde woman put her hand on the older woman's shoulder and she slowly rose up. She turned and put her arms around the blonde haired woman. The baldish light haired man picked up the smaller of the two girls and took the other's hand. The four of them walked toward the ring of nothingness, as they approached it, they stopped and turned one last time to look at everyone and then stepped through and were gone.

The red headed woman with the other man that got out of the car put her arms around the man. They held each other tightly and kissed for a long time. The man with the dog came over and said something and the two seperated. As they did, their hands slowly extended and touched for as far as they could reach as they parted. It appeared that the red headed woman had tears on her cheeks for they reflected light from the ring. As she walked toward the nothingness, the man with the dog spoke to her again. He stooped down, petted the dog and kissed her on the head. He stood up and watched as the woman and the dog stepped through into the nothingness and were gone.

The bright ring started to collapse and a low pitch sound could be heard that increased in frequency as the aperture closed till there was nothing and then there was the sound of distant thunder echoing up the valley.

The boy standing on the other bank of the creek watched this happen and it reminded him of what he saw in the meadow the day before. He reached down and petted his dog on the head, "Come on girl, let's get back. We can't tell anyone what we saw but I wonder why Granpa and Uncle Buck are there? I won't ask them if you don't." The dog looked up at her companion as if she could understand what he was saying. They walked up the road toward home.



Buck entered the shop after running up the two tractors. Betty was setting up the waveform generators and getting ready to bring back the family. Betty turned to Buck, "Have I told you that I loved you today?" He turned to look at his wife, "I think you did, it may have been in the hay mow." and then he smiled at her and she at him.

"I remember when I left you in that field by the mill so very long ago. I thought I would face an eternity till I saw you again."

Buck reached across and put his fingers in her hair and held the side of her head, "You can't get rid of me that easy."

The light on the panel indicating a stable standing wave lit up and broke their gaze.

"How you doing with the charge?"

"Almost there, building and ready to engage in 3, 2, 1.....engaging." The tractors hardly changed pitch. The banks discharged their initial charge into the rings of the portal. The generators compensated for the initial surge and maintained the charge and the portal opened.

Buck and Betty stared through the portal at everyone standing there saying their goodbyes. Jay and Dane with the kids, walked toward the portal and stopped, turned and gave one last look at everyone and then came through. They walked over to the side and turned around to watch Betty saying goodbye to Buck.

"Strange standing here with you two and watching you both from 20 years ago." said Dane.

"I remember very well......my heart was in my throat and my legs were weak but I knew I didn't belong there." as Betty turned to meet the gaze from Dane.

As she turned back to look at the portal, she saw herself coming toward it and then step through along with Girl. Buck disengaged the banks from the portal and it collapsed.

No one said anything. The two Betty's stared at each other. The younger one had tears streaming down her cheeks. Betty came around the console and walked up to the younger one and held her.

"It's going to be fine, trust me....trust us.....and trust in Rory and Jay, those two are unstoppable when they get together."

"Well, we got two tired little girls to get to bed." said Dane, "Uncle Buck, what next? Daddy is back there with Mom and Rory, what's going to happen?".

He walked around from behind the console and approached his niece.

"I promise you, when you wake up in the morning, your Mom will be home along with Rory and everything will be as close to normal as possible."

"I hope so." said Dane as she turned to take the girls over and put them to bed. "I'll be right over sweetheart, I want to talk to Buck for a moment."

"Come on Girl," as Dane took the two little ones out the door.

"What do you have up your sleeve Buck?" The younger Betty came over and stood next to Jay, "I would like to hear this too." as she dried her tears.

The older Betty came over and stood next to her husband and she spoke, "The two of you are going to do what you would normally do. You are both going to go home and go about your business. Jay, you are going over to the house and get some much needed rest. You have had a long 9 days and whatever you hear, just roll over and go back to sleep."

Jay looked at Buck. Buck spoke up, "You will have to trust us on this."

Jay and the younger Betty looked at each other. Jay spoke up first, "Come on over to the house Betty, you can spend the night and we will see what the new day has."

"That is a wonderful idea! I already called you off work for the week." said the older Betty, "Now go, both of you. Buck and I have work to do."

Jay turned and as he was ready to leave he turned back, "Will I see both of you tomorrow?"

Buck answered, "No, I'm afraid not tomorrow but we will get together again....hey....did you forget we're family? We have a lot of reunions and times together and some more adventures," he paused for a moment and looked at Betty, "does everyone seem to forget that we have a time machine?"

"It would seem that way." she said with a smile.

As the two walked out the door, younger Betty turned and blew Buck a kiss. Buck turned to his Betty and said, "See, I can still turn the young girls head."

"Would you concentrate on what we have to do?" she replied sternly.

"Okay....but I was just saying...in case you didn't notice."

As Jay and Betty walked toward the farmhouse in the dark of night, Jay turned to Betty, " There is no way I can sleep. I am going to sit on the porch in the dark and wait to see what happens."
Walking toward the front porch and without looking toward Jay, Betty replied, "Me too."



Buck took Rory, Kathy and John back to the Motel and dropped them off.

"Do you have any idea what is next?" asked Rory. "Afraid not but I am sure I will send myself a note." answered Buck. "You two get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

Rory said good night as well as Kathy and John and the trio closed the door to the room.



Granpa was walking up the road from the old mill. As he passed by the springhouse he heard a noise and looked. He saw Rory and girl standing there watching him.

"What are you doing there? It's getting dark out, shouldn't you be in the house?" asked Granpa.

"I was down by the bridge." Granpa tried not to show any emotion. "What were you doing down by the bridge.....were you following me?"

Rory stood there and stared at his Granpa not knowing what to say. "Well boy, I asked you a question?"

"No sir." Granpa wanted so badly to talk to his grandson. He couldn't be prouder of what he would accomplish but he knew he had to be firm. He walked over to him and sat down on the steps that led up to the loft over the spring.

"Come here and sit with me". Rory came over and sat next to his Granpa. "What's on your mind?"

"I saw something in the fence row between the two fields."

"What did it look like?" Rory paused and tried to describe it. He stumbled for the right words but Granpa knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You saw your Uncle and I talking with some people we met and what you saw was nothing more than some fireworks they had. Tell me you didn't hear the last one, it echoed up the valley."

"Yeah, I heard it. It sounded far away but it really carried over the water on the creek."

"That's all it was Rory. Hey, did I ever tell you the story of how I almost got killed on the old G?" This had Rory's attention, "No, tell me."

"Well, I was out in the back field across the stream and I was plowing the ground. There was this groundhog hole down hill and my back wheel went into it and the hole collapsed. That old tractor when right over on it's side and it pinned me under it. If it wasn't for this young man walking through the field, it would have fallen all the way over and crushed me."

"Who was the man?"

"Just some guy that was walking through the field but the funny part was, he just disappeared and left."

"Aww Granpa, your just fibbing now."

"No, it really happened." Rory stood up to leave, "I'm going up to see if Mom has any more dessert I can have, come on girl."

"If she does, leave me some."

Rory and girl ran up to the house in pursuit of a sweet treat.



Buck went out and thottled back the two tractors. He checked the oil cups and felt the bearings on the generators and came back in to the shop. Betty was busy going over the equipment and checking connections. She looked over the portal and the coils around it looking for any evidence of arcing from the High Voltage.

He came into the shop and said, "Well, the bearings are getting warm as usual. I filled the cups and all we have to do is wait for them to get here."

The door swung open and in came Rory and girl accompanied by a woman.

"Well it is about time. You going to get to work on the new calculations?"

"Geez Uncle Buck, give a guy a break. Here, Keira and I brought you and Betty something to eat." Buck went for the bag and opened it. "Look Betty, they brought tsuka."

"Really?" she looked at Keira and she replied, "I know you don't like it, there is something else in there for you." as she put a large thermos on the table, "here is some tea ."

Buck went over, "Wow, Kath sent tea." as he opened it and poured a cup, "I'm thirsty."

Rory shook his head and said to Betty, "You would think Jay was his nephew the way both of them love food."

About ten minutes went by and Rory had written down the new calculations. "It is so much easier to have them done at home and bring them here."

He went to work setting up the new coordinates while Buck and Betty ate. Keira came over to help Rory in any way that she could. She commented, "What an antique." To which Rory replied, "Everything starts somewhere and this is where it all started."

"Well Rory, we couldn't do this from home, we had to bring you back here where you started from, simplest solution, that and the fact we couldn't risk bringing Kathy to our time.", said Betty.

Buck and Betty were finished eating, Rory entered the frequencies into the waveform generators and then went out to bring the tractors to speed.

He came back in and situated himself at the console. "Okay Buck, you and Keira get ready to go. Betty, up to you if you want to stay or go with Buck, I think I can manage on my own."

"Hell Betty, the kid built the damn thing with Jay, I'm sure he can operate it. Come with me." added Buck.

Rory called out, "Standing wave is stable, you all better get ready. You too girl." Buck looked at girl and commented to Rory, "Like your going to stop her?" as she took her position in front of the portal.
Buck, Betty and Keira joined girl in front of the portal.

"How much time Keira?" She looked at her watch, "give me about 30 minutes, if we are fast, we will be waiting if not, give us ten minute increments from that point."

"You got it. Standing wave is stable and building the charge in 3, 2, 1, ....engaging!" The portal formed and the group went through.

Rory powered down and began to bleed off the charge. The door opened and in came Jay, girl, and Betty.

"Betty and I figured you would be here."

"Cripes, doesn't anyone ever follow directions?" and girl jumped up on Rory. "Hi girl." and she nuzzled his neck and licked his cheek.

"We came over just in case you need us." said Betty.

Rory replied, "I am going to check the tractors and the generators and then set up to bring them back."

"Mom and you are coming this time?" asked Jay.

"Yes Jay, everyone is coming home."



The portal opened in the field behind the Motel.

Rory and John were talking as Kathy was in the bathroom. There was a knock at the door. John looked at Rory and he got up to open the door.

"Buck!"

"Hi John" and the group walked in. Girl jumped up on the bed and greeted Rory.

Buck addressed the group, "Okay, this here is Keira. She is going to make it possible for you to come home." Upon hearing this Kathy came out of the bathroom with a towel around her head.

"Did you say we are going home? Tonight?"

"Yes, you are all going home tonight. But there is a catch." said Betty.

"What's that?" asked John.

Buck explained to Kathy, "We are going to go to where the portal will open. When we get there, Keira...oh, forgive me, Kathy, this is Keira, she is going to administer a drug that will help to make the paradox transition."

Rory looked at this woman. He noticed that she had a blue tint to her hair. Her skin was pale as if she never was allowed out in the sun. He looked at her eyes and saw they had a reddish copper color. There was something familiar about her but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Okay, get all your stuff together," as Buck looked around, "well, not too much of that I see. Let's get moving, we have a few things to do before the portal opens."

They hurriedly got themselves together and left the room, with Kathy in the lead followed by Betty.

The sun was almost down and all that was visible was a red ball on the horizon. The shadows were long and the air was cooling off. The field had been freshly mowed and the smell of the hay curing was comforting and familiar as they crossed it to go into the woods. As they approached the location where the portal would be, the crickets stopped chirping.

Buck addressed Rory and Kathy.

"Keira here will administer a psychoacitve drug to you both. It will alter your perception of reality. It will also put you to sleep, mostly. We will have to help you walk through the portal. Once we get there, we will put you to bed and when you wake up in the morning, you should be fine. Hopefully, the new timeline will be the strongest memory you have with the old timeline as if it were a dream when you wake up. Everything from the past day will be fresh in your mind and it will be processed as you sleep. You will have some confusion, perhaps, but that should go away rather quickly. You may also have a headache which will go away but is desirable considering the alternative."

As Buck was talking, Keira was opening her case and getting ready to administer the drugs. She had two vials, she inserted one into a device that reminded Rory of an air injector. She put a device around his arm. It had a display on it that he never saw before. He realized that it must be something not yet developed in his timeline.

"Why do the two vials look different?" asked Rory.

Keira started to talk but was over ridden by Buck."Each one is formulated for the individual."

Rory looked at his Uncle and then at Keira. Somehow, he wasn't buying it totally but he felt that Buck would never do anything to harm his Mom or him so he just nodded his head.

"You first Rory," said Keira, "roll up your sleeve." He rolled up his sleeve and she administered the drug while watching the display on the device. Almost immediately he felt woosy and then oblivion set in. John helped to lay his son down on the ground.

"He went out like a light." John spoke to no one in particular.

"He will be able to get up and walk if we suggest it but just let him be until the portal opens." replied Keira.

Kathy saw her son lying there as Keira came over to her. Betty was sitting on the ground next to Kathy. "I'm here Kathy. I won't let you fall down." She looked at Betty and said, "I know, I trust you.", as she smiled at her sister-in-law.

Keira put the device on Kathy's arm and looked at the display. Kathy rolled up her other sleeve as she looked at her husband and mouthed the words, "I love you" and he mouthed them back at her.
The drug took effect quickly and Betty helped lay her down in the same position as Rory.

"All we have to do is wait on the portal." said Buck.

"Buck," asked John, " How do we get them home?"

"We will help them, we will suggest to them to walk and they will do so but we will need to support them. They will be receptive to what we say. Their actions are going to look as if they really tied on a load."

"Will it work?" as John looked at his older brother.

"Will what work? replied Buck.

"The drug", answered John.
"It should John, it has worked on others. It has never failed and Pop's idea was perfect. They will go to sleep and with the drug, their mind will process it as memory. Since it is new memory, it will be stronger than the old timeline. Don't worry, it will work but to what degree depends on them. Kathy's will to be with her daughter and grandkids is strong."

As Buck finished, the sound of the portal opening overrode any conversation and they watched it form and open.

Keira commented, "I always think it is beautiful to watch opening."

"I know what you mean, like watching a train coming into the station and you know you will be heading home." added Betty.

"Okay, Rory first." John and Buck picked up Rory by the shoulders. "Come on boy, walk with me." John said to his son. He mumbled as he stumbled. "Damn boy, your putting on some pounds." commented Buck. Jay came through the portal and helped grab him and they went through to the shop and put him down on the floor in a sitting position next to girls bed.

Jay went back through the portal with John and they picked up Kathy. Betty held her hand as the two carried her and brought her through the portal. Keira was quick to police the area, due to her training and experience, making sure nothing was left behind. Keira and girl took up the rear as the last to come through.

The shop was getting crowded. Two Betty's, two Rory's and two girls. Girl went over to her younger self and they sniffed at each other and both took up a position on her bed on the floor.

Rory powered down the portal and began to bleed off the energy. Jay quickly ran out to shut down the tractors and let them cool down and he quickly came back in.

Everyone looked at each other. Rory stood up from the console and walked around to the group. "Good job.....all of you."

John looked at the older version of his son and they locked eyes. Rory looked deeply at his Father and said, "I told you I would take care of Mom." John walked over to his son and hugged him and said, "I know......and you did. I never doubted that you wouldn't." Rory added, "it just took a little longer than I would have wanted."

They stepped away from each other and Rory looked at Keira. "We have to go. Our portal will open in about ten minutes and we have to get to the field alongside of the house. I am sure you will get Mom....and me....to bed with no problem."

He continued, "Uncle Buck....Betty....see you on the other side." They both nodded at him.

As Rory turned to walk out, "Come on girl" and the older girl got up and followed along with Keira.

Young Betty commented, "And the right girl knew to go while the other one stayed here. Strange, it's like she knows where she belongs in time."

Older Betty looked at her younger version, " And with that, we need to get home. Jay, you might as well start up all those tractors and get up to speed, Buck and I have a 30 year jump."

He smiled at her and went out the door. In quick time, they all heard the drone of four 80 horsepower tractors turning four 100 KW generators warming up to make a leap in time.

As Jay came through the door he was followed by Dane. She looked around and saw her Mom propped up next to Rory on the floor.

"Mom!" as she ran over to her. "Let's get her to bed" and John and Jay picked her up and took her over to the house.

Buck and Betty entered the frequencies for the jump that would take them home. About the time they were finished, Jay and John came back in to get Rory. They struggled with him and Buck helped and between the three of them, they got him into the farmhouse and to bed. Girl followed and got in bed with him and laid alongside of him.

Buck petted her on the head and said,"you'll watch him and guard over him.....you always do." as she thumped her tail on the bed. As Buck walked out of the room, he looked back at his nephew laying there and girl watched him as he slowly and quietly, closed the door.

Jay accompanied Buck back to the shop. They came through the door to see both Betty's having a conversation.

"No spoilers girls", Buck commented. Betty looked at Buck, "No, not at all. She was just telling me all about you and the hay mow. Sort of like having a conversation with myself but in real time." The two redheads looked at Buck and they both laughed between themselves.

"Some things never change, no matter what the time." commented Buck. "And two of them in the same room.... my worst nightmare..."

"Tell me Buck," asked Jay, "how were you two going to get back if your using this machine to do it without an operator? Why didn't you just go with Rory?"

He smiled, "We were always going to use this one even though it would have been easier to go back via a portal from the future but I knew you two wouldn't stay over at the house because you told me and that became the plan. You and Betty would send us home since you both will need the experience in going forward anyway"

Jay looked at Buck and shook his head, he turned to go out and bring the tractors up to full throttle for the jump. He came back in and he walked over to the main generator cutouts and engaged the generators. The roar of the tractors changed under the load as they started the charge on the banks. He walked over to the console where younger Betty was setting up the waveform generators with the frequencies her older self gave her. He sat down and began to monitor the state of charge on both banks for a jump into the future.

"You know Buck, we only ever did a jump like this once before."

"I was there, remember?"

With a chuckle, "Yeah, I remember."

As the charge neared completion, the drone on the tractors lightened up.

"Looking good." said Betty, "standing wave is forming and almost stable. Damn.....this is a little different than going back....look at those readings on the waveform analyzer....it is all across the spectrum."

"That is all the possibilities sorting out that could ever be. It will stabilize on the strongest one that could be. Watch the portal." Jay said to Betty.

Dane ran into the shop with John behind. She ran over to older Betty and put her arms around her and gave a hug and said, "Thank you...." and Betty replied, "Always..."

Dane turned to her Uncle and hugged him, "You too.....you crazy old man..." and he said, "I love you too sweetheart."

John walked over to Betty and gave a hug, "me too, .....thanks for all." He turned and shook his brothers hand with a half hug and Buck said, "see you soon."

The good byes were interrupted by Betty, "Standing wave is stable." It was Jay's turn to add to the conversation, "Building to charge on the portal in 3, 2, 1...engaging!"

An enormous moan came from the banks, the tractors sounded like they were struggling to pull a mountain, Jay remembered how it was the last time and hoped that the load wouldn’t stall them out. The florescent lights were doing their internal rolling effect and the ozone was heavy just like the last time. The static from the portal was like pins pricking his skin. The portal opening was brilliant with the shard effect and bloomed into an iris effect and then it slowly pulled back as it stabilized and Jay saw the image of a cabin in the woods on a beautiful sunny day. Sitting on the porch he saw a lot of people as if they were waiting for someones arrival. Jay looked and he saw Rory there along with Dane and his girls and what looked like the whole family along with people he didn't recognize.
Buck and Betty turned and said, "Bye" in unison, as they stepped though the portal. Jay letting his curiosity get the better of him, kept the portal open to try and see who was there. Jay watched the two walk toward the porch and were greeted by the group. He tried to make out all that were present and then the image started to waiver.

His prolonged intent on watching the scene, to see who was present, was broken by Betty exclaiming in a frantic high pitched voice, "We are losing one of the generators! Power drain on the others is over 110% and climbing! We're getting feedback... we are going to lose them all!"

"Damn! Dane, Dad, get out of here and shut down the tractors!" said Jay in a frantic voice as he jumped up and ran to pull the cutouts for the generators while Betty was busy shutting down the waveform generator. She disconnected the banks and was frantically trying to bleed off the charge. It wasn't enough. The sudden collapse of the portal with the quick disconnect caused a discharge from the center of the portal. This resulted in an enormous arc that hit the back wall putting a hole in it.

As the dust cleared, Jay looked at Betty, "That was close".

He went out to help Dane and Dad shut down the tractors. When he came back in, Betty was still sitting at the console. She looked up at him, her red hair was white from the dust of the block wall, "Is it always like this? I think I need a vacation."

"The whole past two months seem like years...yeah, a vacation sounds good. Let's go over and get a snack."

The two walked out the door and were joined by John and Dane. They went over to not just a house but a home....complete.




He slowly awoke and felt like he was being crushed. His eyes opened to see the face of a dog staring at him on his chest. He heard, as well as felt, her tail hitting the bed as he looked into her butter cream eyes. He recognized her but he felt confused. A dream....reality? She gave him a lick on his nose and he didn't respond but he stared at her as she continued to hit the bed with her tail. The confusion slowly went away as he realized he was in his bed. As the fog of sleep dissipated, he petted girl on her head and she wriggled closer and began to repeatedly lick his face.

"Okay....I'm getting up." Rory got out of bed and went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up, came back into the room and dressed. Girl was already gone and probably went down to look for her breakfast.

Rory entered the kitchen to find his Mom putting girls food down for her. "Hi Mom."

"Good morning....want some breakfast?"

"Yeah...sounds good."

"I have some oatmeal and how about some toast and jelly with it?" as she poured him a cup of coffee.

"Okay Mom." Rory sat at the table and picked up his coffee and started to drink. The door opened, in walked Dane. He all but choked on his coffee.

"Easy there brother," said Dane. Rory stared at her. "What's wrong? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Uh....no....for a moment there....I thought......I thought you shouldn't be here."

"Where should I be?" asked Dane

"I don't.....I don't know...just not here."

Rory's Mom interjected, "Your just not awake, had a bad dream?"

"Yeah, strange one."

Kathy added, "Me too, almost as if I was in another time but I just can't seem to remember exactly what the dream was and my arm is sore. Must have slept funny on it."

"Well Mom," added Dane, "I wouldn't worry about it, your here and I went out and picked some of those wineberries that you like to make tarts out of. Not too many left, the birds are getting them. I think Rose is expecting something special from you. I have no idea where she got that idea from."

Kathy looked at Dane and took the basket of berries, she sat them down on the counter and then hugged her daughter tightly.

"What's that for?" asked Dane. "I don't know.....I just....wanted to.....I felt I needed to....like I haven't hugged you in a long time." answered Kathy.

"Well I have to go wake up my husband, he had a busy week or so."

Dane looked down at Girl as she looked up at her. If dogs could talk, Girl would have told her all was going to be good. She left the kitchen and smiled to herself. Uncle Buck's promise last night was gold. She knew that everything was going to be okay as she went upstairs to wake up Rose and Clara. She was going to tell them that Mom Mom was making something special for them.

Everything was finally as it should be and spending time with the family would never be the same.




Epilogue

The sun was all but gone and darkness was setting in as the last remnants of a Monday. He switched the lights on, on the old tractor as he was working the ground with the disk harrow. The sound of the tractor pulling the 12 foot disk told him it was content and he thought about how his Granpa taught him to listen to the tractor. He would tell him that he didn't need a tachometer or pyrometer to see what the engine was doing. Granpa taught him to use his senses of touch, sound, and smell to operate equipment and that they were like living beings, you just had to learn how to communicate with them. He patted the side of the hood near a dent and told the tractor she was doing a good job.

His mind drifted to thinking about communicating with others. Alien lifeforms, what would they be like? How would we communicate with them? We would have to learn just as with everything, whether a tractor or a life form. And then he thought about what Betty had said, 30 years in the future, we will reach the stars. He planned to be there and be a part of it.

He got to the end of the field and was brought back to the moment of what he was doing. He lifted the harrow up and turned to make a return pass. He got in line and dropped the harrow and the tractor responded to the load. It sounded content to him. As he was watching the row and keeping a straight line, he saw a flash at the end of the field. A beautiful blue ring formed and grew larger. He realized it was a portal opening. He never saw one open at night. The colors were brilliant. He noticed how there was a bluish white outer ring and as the portal expanded, it went from red up through the spectrum which was a backdrop for the silver white shards as it expanded and then there was nothing but the outer ring, a bright bluish white light. A man and a dog came through and then the portal closed. He thought he heard it but the staccato of the tractor washed out any sound.

As he approached the man and dog, he realized it was Uncle Buck and girl. Stopping the tractor, he idled it down and shut it off. His ears rang from the noise of the tractor and his eyes adjusted to the dark. It was a full moon and it was lighting up the area. They both looked at each other without saying a word. Rory stood up and dismounted the tractor and walked to the side of it. He leaned against it and felt the warmth on his back. Buck walked over and put his hand on the hood.

"Still runs as good as ever, she sounds good working the ground. She sounds.....happy. How about you? How's your Mom?"

"She's fine. Dane picked a basket full of wineberries and she made those tarts you like, hell, everyone likes them."

"I know," replied Buck,"almost tempted to walk over to the farmhouse and see if there are any leftovers but I better not."

"So what brings you here?"

"You do."

"Why? Need something?" and Rory wished he hadn't said it in a sarcastic manner.

"No, but you do." he paused, "I think your going to need an explanation."

"About what?"

"About all the bad dreams your having. You need to understand them better and what they are."

Rory stared at his Uncle for a moment and then responded, "Okay, explain away."

"What happened when you first saw Dane this morning?"

Rory looked at his Uncle and decided to humour him. "I thought she was dead," he said with a half-laugh as he spread his arms and as he shook his head he continued, "but there she was. For a moment," and he paused, "it felt so real and then it wasn't. I suppose it really wasn't a big deal."

"Are you ready for this?"

"Sure"

"She was dead.....at one time."

Buck and Rory just stared at each other for a moment and then Buck continued, "You and your Mom changed it. Your sister was hit by a car and killed when she was 9." There was a pause as Rory stared at his Uncle for a moment and then he replied in a half-holler, "If I did, there would have been a paradox and Mom and I would be stuck in another time or dead. You know that."

Calmly, Buck answered,"You need to take a moment and seriously think about it." Buck stared at his nephew for a moment and then continued.

"There was a paradox. Do you remember any kind of a dream where you went back in time with your Mom and she threw a frisbee at your little sister?"

Rory looked at his Uncle with a look of surprise and in a raised voice in an incredulous tone, "Are you kidding?"

Rory continued to stare at his Uncle, and then said in a raised voice, "...That was my dream! .........How could you know?" After a pause, he responded while looking away from his Uncle, "I must have told you at some point in the future and you come back here for what purpose? What's your game Uncle Buck?"

Buck slowly shook his head, "Because it happened Rory."

Rory sat down on the tilled earth of the field and felt it's warmth of the sun still in it. Buck squatted down next to him and girl came over and sat next to Rory. He put his arm around her.

"There is something you need to know and as you get older and go through the portal more, your going to see the different timelines and how you may have changed them."

"Changed? How?"

"Remember how you went back to get girl off the dam? Remember why you did it?"

"Yeah, because I wanted to know who took her."

"Well, someone did take her...you did Rory but that is not why you were going back in the first place." Buck waited a moment for it to sink in.

"No Rory....think.....," he paused, "why did you really want to go back to begin with? Any recurring dream that may be different?"

Rory shook his head as if to shake away any thoughts in a negative manner.

"Listen to me kiddo, tell me if this fits with any dreams you may have had." Buck looked at his nephew and continued as Rory hung his head.

"Girl and you went to the dam to fish that day. You went to the other side and were kicking around the grass. A copperhead snake started to strike at you, Girl grabbed it before it struck you and she was bitten good. You grabbed the snake and threw it. You then picked girl up and carried her all the way home. You were screaming for your Mom all the way up the road. By the time you got there, your Mom came out to see you carrying the limp body of girl."

Buck paused as he let it sink in.

Rory screamed at his Uncle,"NO...it's just a nightmare!!!"

After a moment, Buck continued, "She died Rory. Girl died from a snake bite saving you."

Rory looked at his Uncle and shook his head as if it were a bad dream siting here with his Uncle and he held girl tighter.

"She passed away that night. The vet couldn't do anything for her because the venom was in her too long."

He paused again for a moment.

"You were going back to save her like she saved you from the snake."

"When the portal opened on the ridge, it discharged from the imbalance between the past and present. The discharge knocked her and you over when it collapsed."

Buck leaned in and put his hand on Rory's shoulder, "You learned from that accident and it gave you the clarity of mind to see what was wrong and you made the change and went back but instead of a snake bite, she was hurt from the discharge. You went back thinking you hurt her when you were trying to save her from the snake. After you picked her up and before the snake could ever bite her, you brought her back. You created a paradox by bringing her back to the future with you." Buck paused for a moment, "it didn't affect you. The paradox didn't affect you."

"The next morning when you woke up, you only remembered the new timeline where someone took girl and disappeared and your memory was that you lived your life in that you were going to go back to see who took her. That was what you believed. That was your obsession but it wasn't truly, it was Girl dying."

"Remember the day you went fishing? Where was Granpa?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know because he wasn't there. He was dead. You should also remember him being alive. He was killed when this very tractor rolled over in this field and crushed his skull. Your Dad and I worked the farm as we grew up and then your Dad took it over and I went to Drexel. I went to work with General Aviation. John and I scrapped this tractor out of pure hate."

Rory sat there taking it all in and stroking Girl on her back.

"Do you remember having dreams in which you grew up with it not in the shed? Do you also remember growing up with it in the shed? You should remember him being dead if you really try. You will remember it as if recalling a dream."

"After you brought girl back, you decided to go back and save Granpa. It was at Sunday dinner after you brought Girl back and you thought that since you did it once, why not go back and save him. We all talked about you doing it. Your Mom was not happy about it. We thought why not? You saved Girl why not your Granpa? You never knew him and you wanted him there when you were growing up.

Your Dad and I agreed. You went back and saved him and when you came back, the paradox was made but you remembered growing up with him and I bet you had dreams of him being dead and living without him.....right? We all remember him being saved by you but you remember the original."

"I remember you saving him. I remember the stories he told and how we both never told a soul that you were the one who saved him. But kiddo, your the only one who knows the real timeline in which he was dead."

Rory sat there emotionless while continuing to pet Girl.

"You are immune from the paradox. Not everyone but most of the family is immune." he paused, "A lot of people have the gene as well but it is rare. Your kids do. You already met one and you barely even remember.

Rory sat there for a moment. "The bluish haired girl with the copper eyes?"

"Yep"

"But she was just in the dream." Buck couldn't help but chuckle and replied, "Well, I believe her boyfriend thinks she's a dream but she is real."

"Why? Why have you come back here to tell me?"

"Because you need to know. I am just preparing you so it isn't a shock like I had to go through. Betty and I as well as your daughter came back to save Kathy. Your Mom doesn't have the gene. We created our own paradox by going back to save her for originally, she lived her life out in the past along with you. If she would have came back she probably would have died. No one was going to let either of that happen so we figured out a way."

"Your Dad went back and lived with you and your Mom. You moved away where no one would know you. Dane and Jay worked the farm, he continued to keep the portal preserved but no one truly knew how to compute the co-ordinates to use it effectively."

"Eventually, technology created computers that could do the calculations. Jay and Betty broke up the equations and gave them to several mathematician's so no one would know exactly what the equations were. They used them to program the computers and thus they could calculate the co-ordinates. But that is a timeline that doesn't exist anymore. It's in my head and Betty's head. I still have the dreams, anxiety ladened dreams of my brother, your Mom and you stuck in another time."

"Betty and I jumped back to see your Mom, Dad and you. We talked about the solution and what we would do. You and I talked about your dreams and we came to the conclusion that you were immune and quite possibly others as well. There had to be a starting point. Betty turned out to be immune from the paradox wave as well. That is what we started to call it."

"We even went back and brought you forward to help. You met yourself and your kids. We knew it was safe because in the end of it all, you would be home and only Betty and I would be in the paradox. Your post paradox self went back to run the machine when the final trip was made.

"Sometimes, I wonder about the universe and what entity there is that allows this", and he paused, "or is just a law of physics and how the universe functions. Almost as if the penalty in creating a paradox is limited to what or whomever created it."

"If you think about it, you'll get a headache."

"In the long run, it was to save all of you but in the end, it was never to save you, never about you. You didn't need it. Everything we went through was about your Mom."

Rory blurted out,"Wait a minute. I got a shot from that girl. You said it was some kind of psychoactive drug."

"Yeah, you did. But it was to put you to sleep so that your Mom would see you take the first shot and it would be easier on her emotionally and also.....you weren't ready to know about the paradox gene. In fact, you questioned the differences in the vials but I gave you an excuse. You were too emotionally connected with your Mom. Every other time, you were by yourself but you promised your Dad to watch after your Mom. You did kiddo...you really did... and you always will but we needed to let you think you couldn't come back just like your Mom."

Buck grew quiet and just pushed dirt around with his fingers and waited for Rory to say something.

"If there was a paradox that you created, who ran the machine if I was originally stuck in the past?"

Buck looked at Rory and then spoke. "Jay did and Dane helped. She's pretty smart and picked up quite a bit and don't forget, they had a computer to do the calculations. Not much more I can say other than the drug didn't come around until a few months after I arrived."

Buck stared at Rory sitting on the ground. He knew it was a lot to take in. "You will get used to it and learn how to deal with it and you will find that you will be able to remember the timelines, both before and after a paradox, just takes time. But until then, you have a time machine to repair. You should have seen the portal from our side, beautiful, but you got the discharge just like when it hit the dam except there was a good deal more power than the dam discharge. It always goes to the past when it discharges. Remember that. Hell kid, you don't remember anything about coming back, you were asleep."

"Remember being in the park when you first took me forward?"

"Yeah", answered Rory and Buck continued, "Betty went up to girl. She made the comment that girl was what started it all. It was her dying and your obsession to save her. That was the chicken...or was it the egg?...I get confused which comes first anymore. Anyway, remember you went for a walk? It took a while but Betty told me about needing to go back and figure out how to save everyone which we still had to do and that we started our relationship at that time. Instead of star crossed lovers we were time-crossed lovers. She helped to explain the timelines a bit while we sat on the bench. The paradox was already done. When we came forward, we crossed over the paradox point. The universe sorts it out. Hell, the next day when I woke up I was confused between what seemed like a dream and what was real. Everyone was there to help me through it. God I love that woman...and I love my family."

"Some of what you say makes no sense." Rory sat there on the ground and started petting Girl. "Hold on....if there is an original timeline, who went back to give Mom the shot cause my daughter would not have been there in the original timeline....there....got you on that one!" as he smuggly looked at his Uncle.

"This is going to seem complicated but I'll try. In the original timeline, I still was in the future when your Mom went back cause I came forward prior to the paradox," and he paused for effect, "You must remember, the program off world was still in existence and had nothing to do with your Mom and you being stuck. With me?"

Rory nodded his head. "The drug still came from off world and someone else went back to administer the drug. Jay and Betty were still there in both the original and the altered timeline.

"The drug your Mom was given? It came from another world like I said. That is when we went back to give your Mom her life back and you too. Jay kept the machine going along with Betty. Another paradox?"

"Look, when you saw your Mom and Dad at the park, Jay and Betty brought them forward to meet me when I came forward from their stranded timeline. He and Betty, once they got the ability to compute the co-ordinates, were jumping back and forth. Your Mom had Dane in her life but as an adult. You crossed a paradox line when you brought me forward. Dane was alive and then you went back to a point before the paradox. That's the problem with going forward in time, so many possibilities. So much power needed to do it. Why do you think Betty couldn't let you talk to the family in the park? You couldn't know what would happen, the paradox had to occur from their point of view. You couldn't learn that Dane was alive. Confused yet? Well, don't feel too bad, I get confused myself but like girl, I just accept where I am and you will learn how to distinguish the timelines. You could learn a good deal from Girl."

"Okay but still, how did I have a wife with kids?"

Buck stared at his nephew and contemplated on what to say.

"kiddo, in the timeline where you were stuck, your sister and Jay, along with Betty, was bringing you forward. You met your wife in saving her in 1995 on a trip you took, about 15 years from now in the normal timeline. I have no idea how you will meet her now but I will bet you will."

Buck looked at his nephew and had a change of heart. "I can't tell you. It has to work out the way I know but you will still marry the same girl."

"Well," Buck stood up and looked around, "I suppose it is getting close for my taxi to show up. You ready girl?"

"Why did you bring girl?"

"She always wants to go for a ride. Like she would have stayed on the porch. She loves going to new places, new sights and smells. Like Betty says, the stone is skipping."

"How does she always stay so young?"

Buck looked at his nephew with a large grin and said, "Spoilers kiddo.....spoilers" and he paused, "I find that when I go back in time, you become a good liar, don't want to change where I came from but what I have told you, has already happened from both our points of view."

With that, the conversation was broken by the sound of the portal forming. Buck turned to watch it.

"Beautiful, isn't it? This field sure gets a lot of traffic when this tractor is in it." He turned to look at Rory and they both lightly chuckled.

Rory said, "I never saw the portal form at night, it is beautiful. So much of it's beauty is lost in the daylight."

"To some when they see it, it is a sign of hope and rescue. To others, it can be a nightmare. Come on girl.", Buck said as he walked to the portal.

"Hope.....rescue.....nightmare? What are you talking about?" asked Rory.

As Buck walked away he hollered over his shoulder, "Spoilers kiddo, you'll find out but I think you will find out from Jay that you have a machine to repair in your shop and you will need to get another generator cause the bearings started to seize....or you can just replace them. No harm in telling you that."

Rory asked, "Whose on the other side watching?"

"You are. And a few others." he hollered at Rory.

"Yeah, let me guess.....spoilers!"

Buck stopped and turned toward Rory, "Family Rory. We have a family and we take care of each other and we take care of ........" Buck trailed off, " spoilers,...you'll find out sooner than you think. I'll say hi to Granpa and Granma."

"Granma!?!?!....but she." and he trailed off.

Buck looked at his nephew and smiled. Well kiddo, your not the only one who can make a paradox. I couldn't let Granpa live out his life alone, he lived alone long enough. You'll figure it out", and he paused, "remember Alaska?"

Rory stood staring at his Uncle and smiled.

With that, Buck gave him a big grin as he waved his hand. He turned to girl, "let's go girl" and they both stepped through the portal.

Rory, for the first time in a long while, felt happy and close to his family. He smiled and waved back at Buck realizing that it really was all about family and watching out for each other and he felt strong in knowing that they would be together.

He watched the colors form as the bluish ring collapsed and the colors inside the ring went from blue down through the spectrum to red and he thought......

"Damn! I should have asked him why my daughter has copper colored eyes!"

His sentence was punctuated by the echoing from the trees, of the sound of distant thunder.



The universe is strange and mysterious. Who are we, mere arrogant mortals to understand it fully. But maybe, just every once in awhile, the universe pulls the curtain back and us mere mortals are allowed a chance to change what we think should be changed but there is always a price. Some are ready and willing to pay the price. But is there a limit to how much a price when there is love involved? The universe smiles and fulfills a need and we are left to ponder.