No regrets
Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Impossible Pictures™.
Shortly after sunset, the sky has cleared out somewhat, and the rain has stopped. The smallish - but fashionable - car of Jenny Lewis' was almost in Nick's driveway, and from her vantage point high on a roof Helen could clearly see Nick as well, as he set things up at his end as well.
"You know," Helen turned conversationally to a barn owl that had emerged from the attic beneath the roof, "things could've gone very different. I could've not gone through the time anomaly, or decided to major in art, rather than anthropology... though it wouldn't have mattered: somehow or other I would still end up involved with the ARC, whether Lester or Johnson ran the show, whether I was romantically involved with Nick or someone else. The only thing different would be me, I would've been at least a 50% different person, probably more."
The owl hooted softly, its head swivelling and turning, as it tuned-in to a sudden ticking that came from Helen's pocket.
"Ah," said Helen softly, as she pulled out a futuristic watch from the future. "Eleven and counting. Good. I wonder if the thecodonts will make it in the early Eocene epoch or not. Anyways, as I was saying-"
Helen's clock struck twelve, and as Nick opened the door, he had the pleasure of personally seeing how Jenny transformed from a human to a reptilian humanoid: the early Triassic theocodonts proved to be quite adaptable after all.
Nick himself had remained human: the primate mammals had a lot of adaptability as well, not to mention somewhat bigger brains; plus unlike now not-Jenny he had certain resistance to such tricks. Nevertheless, that metamorphoses had transfixed him, caught him unaware, and essentially made him unconscious, his cheeks bright red from the unexpressed fury.
"As I was saying," Helen finished cheerfully, as she pulled out a dead house mouse and fed it to the grateful owl, "I still will rather be a bitch. Cheers, Nicky!"
End