Disclaimer: Must I say it? I don't own the show or its characters. (Sigh.) The rest in here are obviously my creations, i.e.: James Broderick, David Lynskey, Plynica, and any other person/thing you don't recognize. Any use of characters, plotlines, etc. seeming to belong to others is purely coincidental (or a result of my terrible short-term memory) — please inform me of such problems and I will do my best to correct them.

A/N: This may move slowly at the beginning, because the first couple of chapters are mostly fillers and descriptions of what has been going on since graduation. I did not want to just jump in and have to backtrack later (as I will anyway, because I am writing this out of order.) Conclusions left many things to deal with as well, so I would rather not rush into the main plot. I know the story may seem to involve a lot of Josie and Lucas at first, but the other characters will appear soon. This is not a J/L. It might look like it will be, but I plan to keep this story neutral toward relationships. That way anyone can enjoy it. Even so, there should be plenty of drama, trust issues, unexpected alliances, and heart-to-hearts for everybody. I would say it is a PG-13; subject to change, but only because it might get kind of dark at some points.

In addition, I apologize if anyone is out of character, but I believe that their experiences after "Inquiry" have affected them tremendously (as shown briefly in "Conclusions.") I wanted to expound on that personality development, and see what would happen if they were pushed further. There is no way that everything was "happy ever after."

Constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and even an "it's decent" lets me know I am on the right track. Thanks for reading!

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I can't do this here," groaned Josie Trent, slamming an open History textbook on her forehead. She had been attempting to focus on Chapter Five for the last hour and a half, without making much progress. "I hate summer school!" she shouted to no one in particular, only to find her frustrations muffled by a very loud game of foosball.

Blake Holsey's recreation room was not exactly an ideal place for studying, but after a perceived eternity of being trapped alone in an alternate timeline, Josie began to despise sitting in her lonely dormitory. She discovered that silence had become unbearable, and the other students' chatter was now a welcome assurance that life was at least somewhat "normal."

After another minute of staring distractedly at the foosball table, Josie closed her book with a sigh and pulled herself to her feet. Alone or not, if she wanted to get anything done, it would have to be somewhere else.

Even so, she was quite relieved to be able to continue her classes at Blake Holsey High. Avenir, as head of the board, had intended to close the school; but following his strange disappearance and Josie's equally mysterious return, Victor Pearson had reassumed the post and convinced his fellow members to allow a second chance for the institution to prove itself. Josie was among those enrolled in the summer program. Unfortunately, most of her classmates had little concern for education, preferring activities that were more entertaining and very distracting for their one hard-working peer. After all, it was summer.

Not yet ready to study again, Josie had just stepped into the cafeteria for a snack when she spied her fellow science club member, Lucas Randall, at a far table. Since graduation, Lucas was often seen lingering around the old building, routinely immersed in a comic book or scientific magazine. Josie strode over and dropped her backpack carelessly, startling him with the resulting thud.

He yelped in surprise. "Wha…? Oh, Josie! Hi. What're you doing here?"

"Looking for a place to study… other than my dorm."

"Well, do you want me to get out of here so you can—?" he began, sliding his chair backwards.

"No, no," she stopped him. "You're fine. Stay. Besides, I don't want it too quiet; just not the chaos I came from."

"Okay." Lucas tried to appear nonchalant, but secretly, he was thankful. "So, how are you?"

"Uhh. Could be better. I spent the night at home last night. My mom's gotten so overprotective; it's suffocating," she complained.

"She's just worried about you. It makes sense."

"Yeah." Josie rolled her eyes. "And I swear, she should come equipped with a 'snooze' button. I'm beyond tired." A yawn followed to affirm her statement.

"I can see that," Lucas laughed, remembering his friend's tendency to sleep late. "Why don't you take a seat?"

As Josie was about to comply, she noticed a small pad of paper under Lucas's hand, and walked around the table to peer curiously over his shoulder at the scribbled notes. "Geez. Did someone pay you to do their chemistry homework again?"

"What? No! Actually, I'm attempting to analyze everything we know so far; make some sense of it," he responded. "The letters are just abbreviations for people and events. See? 'J' is you."

"Ah-huh. And how exactly does this shorthand-gibberish accomplish that?"

"I figure, time is so precise, so systematic; it has to have a mathematical organization. So, I got the idea to try setting it up like a math problem," Lucas explained. "If nothing else, it at least simplifies this stuff for me."

"That's… interesting. How are you doing it?"

"Different timelines, causes and effects, overlap— like I said, pretty simplified. It still gives me a headache, though.

"I'll bet. What've you got so far?"

He shook his head. "Not much; I haven't been at it very long."

Josie shrugged and plopped down in a chair across from him. Lucas watched as she pulled her textbook out of her backpack and began making notes. A moment later, he rubbed his eyes and reluctantly returned to his own work.

For the year Josie was missing, Lucas had spent nearly all available free time on such ventures, frequently researching wormhole theories late into the night. After many exhausting hours awake, he would often have no choice but to surrender to the overpowering desire for sleep. This ultimately resulted in a need for sturdier glasses to replace the horribly warped half-rims he never bothered to take off.

During the last two months before graduation, Lucas grew more resolved in his endeavor, and rarely even left his room. His hair had grown shaggy and his clothes were usually unlaundered. Recreation, socialization, and homework seemed to lose their importance. He was unable to concentrate in his classes. Finding Josie had become almost an obsession.

Now that she was home, Lucas should have been relieved, and to an extent, he was; but being near her always made him tense. Everything felt different, and it probably was. He had no idea what Josie might have been through; likewise, she knew little of his plight. Although Lucas seemed to have reverted to his former self, inside he knew he could not. He somehow felt responsible for her mistakes, and constantly needed to shift his attention elsewhere. Quantum mechanics and black holes had kept him occupied before, and he once again turned to them for comfort.

Josie glanced up from her book to consider her friend. He was always so quiet. What had happened to him? She knew that she must be involved in some way, just not quite how.

A year ago, Josie would have found his constant despondency to be irritating, as Lucas was likely the only person whose moodiness could rival hers. Now, it was worrying. He needed to leave the school for a while, as did she.

History class was evil, Josie had finally decided. There were too many dates to be memorized in the short time. Preparing for the test would be useless: more information absorbed meant more would leak out, and her brain simply refused to try. She leaned back, stretching her arms and facing Lucas. "I'm kind of hungry. Let's get lunch. You want to?"

Lucas mulled over the suggestion for a few seconds before looking up. "Procrastinating again?"

"Yes."

He smiled and pocketed his pencil. "Okay. Sure." No matter how awkward or strange things might be, it was good to have her back.