Chapter 2: April 3, 2004

The next time Rory Daniels met Megan Green, it was still 2004. He wasn’t sure what to make of his last experience with her, and wondered if it had just been a dream. There wasn’t any evidence that it had happened, and he didn’t even tell Tyrone.

He pushed it out of his mind, and continued living his life.

At least, until the first Saturday of April. He and Tyrone were hanging around, playing video games, when there was a knock at the door. They looked at each other, confused—who would be wanting to come see them?

“I’ll get it,” Tyrone said, pausing the game and getting up. He unlocked the door and opened it, and there was a young woman, diaper bag slung over one shoulder, and a newborn wrapped in a baby carrier strapped to her chest. “Uh ... hello?” he asked, peering at her.

“Hi Doctor Williams,” she said nonchalantly. “Is Rory in?”

Tyrone glanced over at Rory, thoroughly confused. “You know her?”

Rory was frozen. He recognized her, of course. It was the woman who had shown up at the door—pregnant—three months earlier, claiming to be a time traveler. He couldn’t tell how much older she looked, and he didn’t know enough about babies to guess to age of the one strapped to her. He finally nodded. “Yeah, uh ... let her in.”

Tyrone gestured grandiosely in Rory’s direction, and she smiled at him and waltzed in, sitting on the couch next to him like she owned the place. “Long time no see, baby daddy,” she said. He noticed her eyes went to the wall for just a moment, like she expected something to be hanging there.

“I missed your name last time we met,” Rory said, really wanting to at least have some better frame of reference for her.

“Megan,” she said, undoing the carrier and freeing the baby, who was sleeping with a pacifier in its mouth. “Right now, Megan Green, but eventually Megan Daniels.” She smirked. “It’ll make things easier when I take your name, as I understand it.”

Tyrone had closed the door, but was still standing there in the same place, looking at the two of them, incredulous. “Uh, Rory, you want to explain yourself?”

Megan looked at Rory, equally incredulous. “You haven’t told him about me yet?”

“No I uh...” he replied, looking back and forth between the two of them. “It was only the one time and—”

“What do you mean one time?” she asked, glancing at Tyrone, then back to him, cradling the baby in the crook of her arm. He seemed to be waking up, and with a sigh she reached up to pull down a panel of her purple shirt, her hand on the clasp. “What’s the date?”

“April third,” Tyrone said, folding his arms in front of his chest. “What the hell is going on?”

“The year is 2004,” Rory added. “Since that’s important.”

Her eyes rolled up into her head as she thought. “April third, 2004. Hm...” Her eyes went wide and she looked over at Tyrone. “Oh shit, we’re doing that today. Tyrone, you need to go take a walk—you know exactly where you need to go, it’s where you always go to think that no one else knows about. Someone will be there, and she’ll explain everything to you.”

Tyrone was not impressed. “Uh-huh. The fuck is she babbling about, Rory?”

Rory glanced at Megan, the baby in her arm starting to wake up and make fussy noises. “Look, man, I suggest you do as she says. The whole space-time continuum might be in jeopardy.”

“He’s right. Total chronitonic reversal or something like that,” Megan said. “And here, take your son for a few moments while I get myself arranged. He’s hungry again.” Without waiting for his response, she pushed her arms out to him, and he awkwardly took the baby. “Remember to support the head—goddess, how many times do I have to remind you?”

“Alright, if it’s going to be like that, I’m taking a walk.” Tyrone rolled his eyes and walked back to his room for a moment.

Rory looked down at the baby in his arms. He wasn’t sure he could really see the resemblance, though it was the first time in his living memory he had held one. The baby—he, it seemed—continued to fuss, kicking out and putting his hand to his mouth. Rory brought down a finger, and the baby grabbed it, holding tightly. Rory wasn’t sure what to feel; was this really his kid?

Meanwhile, Megan was undoing her purple shirt and nursing bra, revealing one engorged, lactating breast. “Here we go, little milk vampire,” she cooed, gesturing for Rory to return the child. He did so—more reluctantly than he thought he would—and very quickly, the baby was suckling at her breast.

Tyrone came back through. “I’ll be back,” he said, slipping his shoes on, and heading outside without waiting for a reply.

“Is there something important about today?” Rory asked.

“Yeah. He’s going to run into my future self, and she’ll explain some things to him. It’ll all be fine.”

“How ... how do you know that?”

She tilted her head at him, confused. “You told me. Or at least, I guess you will tell me, but not me-me, my other me, over there,” she waved in the direction of campus. “This seriously doesn’t get any easier.” She looked down at the baby, using a hand to adjust his position. “Now now, sweetie, actually suck instead of just gumming me. There we go.” She looked back at Rory. “Or it might have been a future-you. It’s hard to keep track sometimes. It’s all a mishmash of dates and faces and sex and trying to keep straight who knows what when is really hard.” With her spare hand she made little explosion gestures in the air as she enumerated things.

“Uh, speaking of sex...” he began, feeling a little nervous. He found it hard not to watch her as she breastfed the baby.

“Yes, of course we will. I’m still breastfeeding so you won’t get me pregnant—”

“—I thought it didn’t work that way—”

“—and also time travel so I know how far apart our kids are in me-time so you don’t need to worry. This little guy’s only about two months, so it’ll be a while—and I’ve gotten the all-clear from the doctor.”

“Yeah, but uh ... while breastfeeding?”

She laughed, shaking her head, making her brown hair rustle like leaves. “No, I’m not that horny right now. Not like I was when pregnant—jeeze, you are gonna love that!” She giggled. “I mean, I guess you already have, but you also will, and do you see why this is a little confusing?”

He decided to leave that be for the moment. “Also, he’s two months? I last saw you three months ago, and you weren’t in your third trimester yet!”

“Really?” she rolled her eyes back up into her head, thinking. “Okay, yeah, I guess that computes. Goddess, that’s really fuzzy for me now—it’s been longer than three months for me, obvs, and I’ve also spent some time farther in the future.” She looked at him, laughter in her eyes. “Do you know how hard it is to track how old your baby is when you haven’t been able to really track your own age well?”

“So wait, where—I mean, when—did you get uhm ... unstuck? from?”

“July 2006. Hey!” she looked down at the baby. “Be careful down there! That hurt!” She spent a few moments continuing to coo with the baby before he latched again. “Anyways, where were we?” she asked, looking back up at Rory.

“So if you’re not here to have sex...”

“Let’s just hang out. You know, like the boyfriend and girlfriend we are?”

He blinked. That’s right; she had mentioned marriage before. “Wait, we’re dating?”

“Yep, and eventually we get married, apparently, but you haven’t exactly put a ring on it yet.” She raised a hand and waggled an empty finger. “Though I’ve given you enough hints that sooner or later you’re absolutely gonna have to do it.”

“What if I do it before you have the kid, since I guess we’ll see each other again around then?”

“Space-time continuum,” she sang with a giggle. “Alright, this guy is done. You take him for a moment, dear.” She wiped the baby’s face, then handed him back over to Rory, where he immediately started being active, wiggling and stretching and kicking. Megan started cleaning herself up. “Which I guess is probably why you haven’t actually proposed in me-time yet, anyway, so let’s just drop it and I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

“Uh, sure,” he said, looking back down at the baby. “So this is my kid?”

“Yep. I haven’t had sex with anyone else.”

“Huh.”

“Don’t act so surprised. It’ll be fun, and you’ll enjoy it more when they’re all older.”

“All?” His head jerked up.

“What, you think this is the first?” She laughed.

“Have you ... met all of them?”

“Of course, though it’s a little weird, because sometimes they also get unstuck with me and, well, keeping that straight is apparently going to be a lot of fun.”

“I was wondering about that,” he said, rocking the baby back and forth, feeling very awkward and not at all like a father. “I thought it was just you who was unstuck—but also the kids?”

She finished with her cleanup and stood up, stretching. He noticed that she hadn’t quite lost the baby weight yet, and her breasts were plump, but he still thought she looked attractive. “Apparently when I get unstuck, it puts eddies in the time-space continuum that people close to me can also travel through. Since I spend so much time with the kids, that includes them.”

“And me?” he wondered, considering what that would be like.

She paused a moment, thinking, then shook her head. “I have not been told that that ever happens,” she said, as though picking her words carefully. Then a smile appeared on her lips again, and her face seemed brighter. “Though it will all work out in the end, so you probably shouldn’t worry too much about it.” She grabbed a cloth from the diaper bag. “Why don’t you burp him while I pee?”

“Uh...” he looked at it, uncertain of what to do.

She sighed, rolling her eyes, and stepped over, picking it up and putting it on his shoulder. “Now put Xavier here, and pat gently on his back.”

“Wait, Xavier?”

She looked contrite. “Shit, I don’t think you were supposed to know that. Uhm, why don’t you endeavor to forget that, and I will be back in just a few moments.” With an awkward grin, she walked out of the living room, and he heard the bathroom door close.

He was able to successfully burp the baby, and cleaned up the mess a little. To try to clear his head, he stood up and started pacing around the living room, little Xavier clinging to his shoulder.

After a few minutes, Megan emerged, and she paused, leaning against the door frame to the room, and smiled. “Aww,” she said. “You’re so adorable, both of you. I mean, you’re still awkward, but in that adorable dad way where you don’t know what you’re doing yet.” She laughed. “Look at it this way: you’ll have plenty of practice by the time you’re actually a father in real time.”

“This is all still very weird,” Rory admitted. “I really didn’t know if I’d even dreamed that first time or not.”

“Oh, I understand completely,” she replied, stepping forward and taking the baby. “You’ll get used to it, though, just like I did.” She hefted the baby a little. “Actually, it’s probably time for some tummy time. Why don’t you get out the blanket—in the big pocket—and lay it out?”

He obliged, and the two of them spent a little bit of time playing with Xavier. Megan talked Rory through some things they could do, giving the baby some tummy time and interaction in general.

Once Xavier seemed to get bored of that, Megan suggested they watch some TV, and the two of them plopped on the couch, baby nestled in Rory’s arms. Megan snuggled up next to him and put her head on his shoulder.

Rory turned it on, one of the various learning channels up, with a documentary. “Looks like something about uh...” he read the words at the bottom. “Palimpsests? What a weird word.” The researcher on screen had what looked like an old and faded parchment they were talking about.

“Those are documents on things like animal hide, where they’d write something, then erase it, and write something else over and over again to save paper,” Megan explained. “But we’re able to use x-rays and things to read the older writing, which can be really cool.”

He turned his head to try to look at her. “How do you ... know that?”

“The pastor talked about it once or twice at church,” she replied. “Because monks and stuff would write over other stuff with Bible verses and sermons.” She seemed almost uncomfortable. “Do you mind if we ... watch something else?”

“Sure,” he said, changing the channel. “Sports okay?”

“Very,” she replied, settling into the couch, leaning against his body as he flipped channels. They watched quietly together while Xavier drifted in and out of a nap.

“This is weird,” Rory commented during a commercial break. “Five months ago I was single. Hell, yesterday I thought I was single. But now I apparently have a girlfriend and a kid?”

“Just for a couple of hours. Once he goes to sleep again, let’s fuck, and I’ll get back to my time.”

“Uh, sure,” he said, feeling a hardness growing. He hadn’t had sex since she’d showed up a few months earlier, and the idea of doing that again sounded fun, mostly because he wanted to have sex.

About ten minutes later, there was a sound at the door; Megan grabbed the controller and turned the TV off, just in time for Tyrone to step inside. He looked shell-shocked, and became even more so when he looked over and saw the three of them cuddling on the couch. “You...” he said, his voice trailing off as he looked at Megan.

She pulled away from Rory and nodded. “Yep.”

“That was...”

“Yeeeeeep,” she said, then giggled. “Sorry, I usually think of you as being unflappable, and it’s funny seeing you like this for once.”

“But she was ... and you are...” he gestured wildly at the door, then at her.

“That’s what I’ve been told, at least,” she confirmed. “Though since she’s an older me, I don’t have those memories, but she undoubtedly remembers being me here seeing you like this.”

“She told me that—”

“Whoa!” she said loudly, raising a hand. “No spoilers, not even for me.”

“Space-time continuum something something,” Rory confirmed. He wasn’t sure he believed it, but Megan did, and despite the paucity of times they’d been together, he was developing a bit of a liking for the girl.

“I’m gonna need a drink,” Tyrone said, shaking his head, slipping his shoes off and walking into the kitchen.

“Me too,” Rory added, wanting to get a moment to talk with Tyrone alone. He knew they’d be able to later, of course, but it seemed appropriate in the moment. He handed Xavier back to Megan, who nodded at him.

“Have fun, and you probably ought to figure out dinner soon. I’m thinking Chinese?”

“I’ll think about it,” he said before walking into the kitchen, where Tyrone had already gotten out the vodka and cola and was pouring himself a very large amount of vodka. “Hey there.”

“Hey,” Tyrone said, practically choking it out.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I mean, just. Time travel?” He got down another glass. “Let me guess, you want one, too?”

“Please, and yeah, I’m just as weirded out by it as you are,” Rory said.

Tyrone quickly finished the drinks and handed one over. “So this isn’t your first time with her?”

“Just the second. She showed up a couple of months ago while you were out, pregnant with that baby and talking a mile a minute.” He sipped from the drink, appreciating its strength. “Claiming she needed to have sex with me to go back to her right time.”

“And you did it?” He looked incredulous.

“What other choice did I have?” Rory protested. “She practically threw herself at me. I knew pregnancy could get girls horny, but...” He shook his head. “That was something!”

“Huh.”

“But yes, apparently you get all fancy in the future or something—though I don’t know if I should tell you that?”

“The woman I talked with mentioned a few things, but vaguely,” he confirmed. “Said that spoilers were a problem, and that I was the one who explained it to her eventually. Convenient how you can’t nail down a real answer.”

“I’m not willing to gamble with the space-time continuum.” Rory shrugged.

“Me either.” His voice got softer, and he gestured for Rory to get closer. “So I can’t tell her this,” he nodded in the direction of the living room. “And you can’t either, but she wasn’t alone.”

“Oh?” he kept his voice quiet, too.

“She had one of her kids with her. Uh, one of your kids. A boy. The resemblance is ... uncanny. I don’t know that I would have believed her if not for that. He didn’t say much, though. It was mostly her talking, explaining her whole unstuck-in-time thing. Told me not to panic if I saw her again.”

“I get the impression that’s going to happen whether we like it or not,” Rory drawled, staying quiet.

“Oh, and she also said there was something I needed to tell you. Sometime tonight, I am going to tell her in there that when she gets back to her time, she needs to tell you the phrase ‘absent all evidence’. You will apparently know what that means when she does.”

“Probably means it’s time to propose to her,” Rory replied thoughtfully. “She just hinted at it right now, but I would need a way to know when to do it so that I didn’t break the timeline and—”

Tyrone was staring at him. “You’re sounding like her now.”

Rory shrugged. “I guess she’s rubbing off on me? The way I see it, we can either be along for the ride, or we can fight it. Might as well be along for the ride.”

“Easy for you to say; you’re the one who’s apparently going to reap all the benefits.”

“I wouldn’t call knowing that I’m going to marry a time traveler exactly a benefit,” he said with a grimace. “But the way I hear it, you’re going to end up pretty okay, too. Just think of the research possibilities!”

Tyrone scratched his chin a few times, then downed the rest of his drink. “Yeah, okay,” he said. “Sounds fine for now. It’ll just take me a bit to get my mind wrapped around it.”

“Same,” Rory replied, also downing the rest of his drink. “But, she asked for dinner, so I’m going to run and get some Chinese. You in?”

“You going to Bamboo Wok? Then hell yeah, especially if you’re paying.” He laughed.

“Sounds good. Let me get my stuff. Megan’ll be around for a while, then, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all; I’d like to get a chance to talk with her, myself,” he replied. “Well, this one of her.” He screwed up his face. “How the hell are we going to keep it all straight?”

“Doesn’t sound like she’s figured out how, yet,” Rory said with a laugh. “Just go with the flow.”

“Yeah, okay,” Tyrone said, putting his glass by the sink and heading back into the living room.

Rory paused a moment, looking at his own empty glass, contemplating things. It was kind of nice knowing that he didn’t actually have to worry about the romance department—on the other hand, sooner or later she probably would want flowers and to actually go on dates and do the whole set of romance things like that instead of just having lots of sex. But at least he’d have some time to take notes.

It didn’t seem quite so bad.

He wandered back into the living room, where Tyrone was playing with Xavier on the blanket. He indicated he was going to get some Chinese from Bamboo Wok, which excited Megan an inordinate degree, and she indicated that it was her favorite restaurant, and would also close in the future.

He walked out into the spring air, thinking as he got in the car to drive there. A part of him worried about leaving her alone with Tyrone—what if actually she was going to cheat on him to bounce back to her time?

No, that didn’t seem right. Megan seemed to be head-over-heels for him, though he hadn’t yet met an even older version of her, so she might just not have known...

Still unlikely.

He also wondered what the two of them were talking about, back at the house. It seemed like you could learn spoilers about other people, just not tell them—were they swapping details about his future that he couldn’t know, out of worry for breaking the time-space continuum?

It was making his head dizzy.

It was still making his head dizzy as he walked into Bamboo Wok, where the person behind the counter was just appearing with a big bag of food for two other people standing there, who appeared to be mother and daughter.

“Sorry about your wait,” the person behind the counter said, handing over another bag. “Here’s an extra order of hot braised pork for your trouble.”

The woman at the counter seemed to pause a moment. “No, I don’t need it,” she said, and Rory’s thought process suddenly ground to a screeching halt. It was different—older, of course—but he knew that voice. That was Megan.

She turned, and he recognized the features. Much older—maybe by a decade or more. He tried to put on a smile, thoroughly uncertain of how to react to his future wife and one of his ... kids?

She smiled at him, then turned back to the person behind the counter. “Why don’t you let this gentleman have it? I have a feeling he knows someone whose favorite dish is hot braised pork.”

The person looked at Rory, skeptical. “Uh, sure, I don’t mind,” he said.

Megan smiled at the person behind the counter and took her bag. “Thank you very much. Have a good day!”

The child turned around as Megan did, and he could absolutely see the resemblance. She looked like a girl, maybe about five or six. And she smiled at Rory and mouthed, “Hi daddy!” before the two of them started walking out.

Rory considered the possibilities. Tyrone had mentioned that Xavier—as an older child—was there, so was that a lie, and this was the same Megan, or were there actually three Megans running around on this day? Would he have to have sex with each of them to get them to go back?

The older Megan didn’t look too bad, either; she’d filled into her maternal body quite well.

But there were two other things Rory noticed as she swept out of the restaurant, daughter in tow. The first was that she definitely had a wedding ring on. The second was that she had a very black watch on her wrist.

Then they were gone, the charade maintained. Rory wondered if they would wait for him or what. Either way, he stepped forward and gave his order to the person behind the counter. Once he got the food and paid for it—giving an extra-big tip for the free hot braised pork—he grabbed the bags and made his way back outside.