In the time it took to reach Allison's house, well, Daniel's house, Jack had convinced himself that everything would be so much better if they stayed in this time line. Jack did feel extremely guilty for the fact that their counterparts from this time no longer existed, but so far, Nathan didn't seem too fussed. Jack decided he would keep an eye on him for the next few days though, just in case. The smile that had formed on Jack's face immediately fell as he spotted a hysterical Allison sitting on her porch. Running the rest of the way, Jack collapsed on the ground next to her, bringing her close and rocking her back and forth. After a few minutes, Allison managed to calm herself enough to speak.
"J-Jack, I can't get in and I don't recognize any of the furniture! I don't know where my children are and when I called Vincent to see in Kevin was still at the Parade, he told me to stop joking around. I don't know what's going on!" She couldn't seem to get anymore words out as the sobs racked through her body once more.
"Ally, I need you to listen to me. Kevin is safe, I promise. I saw him just a few minutes ago, before I came looking for you." Allison calmed slightly at that. "He's back at the bunker with his sister and-," Jack paused.
"And?" Allison was impatient to hear the rest, and Jack didn't blame her.
"And they're with Nathan and their father, Daniel." Jack gave her a moment, letting his words sink in. If he hadn't of known the amount of stress Allison was under, he might have laughed at the comical expression on her face. Calm and composed Allison Blake was no longer so calm and composed. Her eyes were blown wide, her mouth wide open, and the blood drained from her face.
"Daniel?" Jack nodded, knowing she was in shock. "He's alive?"
"He's very much alive and he's in kind of the same boat as you, Ally." Jack sighed and ran a hand down his face. He needed a beer, or four. "In this time, that lab accident that he died in never happened. He lived to see Kevin grow and eventually you two had another child; Eliza. She's beautiful, Ally. She has your eyes." Allison let a tear fall, but it wasn't one of grief. "The only problem is, when Weinbrenner made his time loop, you and Daniel were going to renew your vows. Instead of Nathan getting into the chamber and saving the world, you did. You died that day, Ally." The sound of her heavy breathing made Jack worry for her, but she plastered her professional mask over her face, hiding whatever she was feeling. "Ally?"
"Jack, I-," She sighed, looking many years older than she was in that moment. "I'm dead?" Jack nodded, grimacing at her words. "What about Jenna?" This time it was Jack's turn to sigh.
"I only have theories, but since you and Nathan were never together in this time, Jenna never happened. I can only assume that Eliza took her place, since she looks to be a little older than Jenna was." Allison looked like she wanted to cry for her lost daughter, but it seemed as if she had no more tears to cry. "I told Nathan what happened. I couldn't hide it from him, and he told Daniel. To Daniel and your kids, you've been dead for two years now, but he was elated at the chance to see you again. I'm not sure if either of them have told the kids yet, but I know they will greet you with open arms." Allison nodded, but Jack could tell that while she may be calm on the outside, her emotions and thoughts were a raging storm on the inside. Jack sighed and stood, holding his hand out to the shocked woman in front of him. "Henry called a meeting back at the bunker. He should have Jo and Fargo wrangled up by now. Want to go meet your family?" Allison gave a small smile with a little nod and accepted Jack's hand.
The drive back to the bunker was relatively silent, at least until Allison shook most of her shock away. Jack should have known she would have questions, but he didn't think she would have the mindset to ask them this soon. "How did you know Nathan was alive, and Daniel as well?" Jack could hear the slightly accusing tone in her voice as he shifted in his seat a little. Grimacing at the knowing look on Allison's face, Jack decided the road was a better place to look.
"Well, when we parted ways at the parade, I rushed home to see if everything was normal there and to make sure Zoe was still in school. To my surprise, Zoe chose to go to MIT and study Robotics instead of going to Harvard. That wasn't the biggest shock, though." Jack sighed, trying to figure out the best way to break it to Allison that he was married to her late ex-husband/fiancé.
"Spit it out, Jack." He could've sworn that Allison's lips twitched slightly in amusement.
"I'mmarriedtoStark." He said it so fast that he didn't think Allison heard him, but that changed when she doubled over in tears. Jack yelped in surprise and skidded to a halt at the side of the road. "Ally? Are you okay?" Jack carefully reached to rub his hand over Allison's back, but when she drew in a large breath and began to laugh, Jack sighed in relief. It only took a moment for him to start laughing as well, realizing how weird this situation was. Minutes went by with the two of them clinging to the other for support before Allison calmed enough to speak.
"Only in Eureka." Jack had to agree with that statement. As he turned to get the car back on the road, he was stunned into silence, only for a moment, as a figure came into view.
"Hello, Sport! What a surprise."
~~~~~ Time Skip ~~~~~
By the time the trio reached the bunker, Allison and Jack had sobered completely. The, insanely happy, Trevor Grant in the back seat had ruined the light mood. After Jack had, literally, thrown the man into the jeep, Grant had tried to make light of their situation, but neither of the people sitting in the front of the car thought it was remotely amusing. Unfortunately, this only seemed to make Grant even happier. Jack almost wanted to yell in frustration, choosing to rub his free hand over his face almost violently. Allison glanced at Jack, worried, before turning back to the front. While she wasn't very happy with the fact that Dr. Trevor Grant was in his future, she didn't quite understand why Jack was so angry, having not been near them when they were transported back to the present, or in Grant's case, the future.
Making their way quietly into the bunker, Allison decided to hang back a little, not sure if she was completely welcome or not. Jack, sensing her nervousness, placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into the smart house with him. All talking ceased the moment the trio stepped inside, most of them focused on Trevor Grant, surprised at first, before turning to look at the interaction between Allison and Daniel. Jack didn't know how to explain it, but if forced to, he would say it looked like a blind man seeing the world around him for the first time. Allison looked overjoyed to see her long lost husband, tears of joy marking her cheeks, but Daniel looked like he was in heaven with misty eyes. As Jack saw Allison rush forward and straight into Daniel's arms, he decided to give the couple some privacy. Turning back to the group with a small smile on his face, he met Nathan's eyes briefly, his neck turning red at the intense look the green eyed man was giving him, before clearing his throat.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw the two Blake's leave the room to go sit with their children and catch up. "Hmm, I thought you said she wasn't taken?" Jack heard. Immediately his whole mood turned sour, and the resulting glare Jack threw at Grant was probably one of the harshest glares he had ever given. It didn't seem to have the desired effect, though, as Grant merely shrugged off his glare and turned to the rest of the room.
"The only reason I haven't shot you yet is because I don't want to have to clean up the mess." Jack could have sworn he heard a chuckle come from Jo before he felt arms wrap around his middle and lead him to the couch. When he was sitting, thanks to Nathan, he relaxed only slightly into the arms of his husband. That didn't sound as weird as I thought it would, Jack thought. The man in question was currently rubbing a hand across Jack's shoulders, occasionally making a path up to the back of his neck and stroking gently. If Jack hadn't believed Nathan before about being married to each other for a few years, he would have been completely certain in that moment. Only those closest to him, namely those he was in a long term relationship with, knew about his 'sweet spot'. Anyone who touched the back of Jack's neck was going to be in for a surprise when the man all but became jello in their arms.
"Doctor Trevor Grant. I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you again, but considering the circumstances, forgive me for not saying it." Henry, having helped Jack fight Grant off back in 1947, knew exactly how Jack was feeling. The rest of their group, however, was more than a little confused. Those that had been in the past with them knew only half of what was going on, but Nathan, and Daniel, Jack noted, were completely confused.
"Wait a minute. Are you telling me you brought Doctor Trevor Grant, one of the founders of Eureka, to the present time?" Daniel's voice was a little higher than it had been, probably with anger Jack guessed. Nathan made a low noise in the back of his throat that almost sounded disappointed. Jack rolled his eyes at the slimy looking bastard sitting in front of them before speaking.
"No, we didn't. When we figured out how to get back to our time using our cellphones, Grant here decided to help us. We all thought he was just being nice until he tried to knock me out to take my cellphone. Henry was the only one with us when it happened, so he helped me fight off Grant long enough for us to leave that time, but it appears he managed to hitch a ride here anyways." Jack was furious. Not only was he risking every one's life by being in the future, but he had tried to leave Jack stranded in 1947, knowing Jack wasn't smart enough to figure out his own way home.
"What can I say, the future sounded like an exciting prospect, and I was right. This is such a marvelous place!" Grant was all smiles as he looked around him at the modern living space. Nathan's grip tightened on Jack, and at first he thought it was to hold the blonde man back, but Jack realized that Nathan was just as furious as Jack was and was holding himself back instead.
"How did you manage to get to this time if you didn't have a cellphone?" Allison asked. It seemed as if the reunited couple had come back from the kitchen and were now catching up with the rest of the group. Allison and Daniel looked happy to be together again, sitting close to each other.
"I had hoped that by hanging onto sleeve of my Jack I would still be able to tag along to your time, and it seems I was correct." Grant smiled at Jack, but Jack was too caught up in the growl that sounded from Nathan's throat. It was low enough that only Jack heard it, but deep enough that Jack felt it too. It was quite possibly the hottest sound Jack had ever heard, and he had a feeling Nathan knew it, but he was too preoccupied with glaring at Grant.
"Mine." Nathan whispered in Jack's ear. The shiver that went through Jack's body was one of pleasure. He knew he would be teased mercilessly later for it, but at the moment, he didn't care. Especially when Jack could feel Nathan smirking into his shoulder knowingly. Shifting slightly, Jack was taken by surprise at the obvious erection pressing into his hip, and he had to stop himself from gasping at the feeling. Sure, he had fooled around with his college roommate a little, but all that had come of it was a really good hand job and his first kiss with someone of the same gender. Knowing that Jack, albeit a different version of him, had been sleeping with Nathan intimately for many years was a huge turn on, especially when he could still cause this kind of reaction out of the man next to him.
Henry, ever the voice of reason, sighed and addressed the room. "There's not much we can do to fix this, and I don't think anyone in this room really wants to go back. Even if we could, however, I don't think it would be possible for hundreds of years. The conditions won't be the same for at least another century, and we still have no idea exactly what happened in the first place. We'll have to figure out exactly what our counterparts were like and what they were doing so that we can blend in as seamlessly as possible. We also need to make sure that no one else but those of us in the room know exactly what happened. The consequences would be dire if the truth was heard by the wrong person. With that being said, maybe we should all figure out what the biggest differences between the two times are. I'll start, I guess. I uh-, I seem to be married to a woman named Grace. I had only met her in passing back in our time. We've been married for almost a year, from what I can gather. Everything else is the same, though." Jack nodded at Henry's words. He didn't want the truth to get out to anymore people, knowing that they would be safer that way.
"Well, almost everything is pretty much the same for me, I think. Zane did ask me to marry him this morning. The only thing that I can think of as different is my nameplate wasn't on my desk at the station." Jo said. Jack was glad that the different times hadn't given Jo any trouble, but he too was confused at the nameplate not being there. Jo was very fond of her nameplate.
"I think I can be of some assistance there. Were you the deputy in you time?" Nathan asked. Jack could feel the taller man's chest vibrate with each word. At Jo's nod, Nathan continued. "Here, you're the Head of Security at GD. Andy, the A.I., is your deputy, Jack." Jack couldn't suppress the groan that escaped his throat. Feeling Nathan laughing at his reaction, Jack gave the green eyed man a halfhearted glare.
"Why would you do such a thing to me, Jo?" Jo, managing to barely hold in her chuckle at Jack's expense, rolled her eyes at his dramatics. Fargo, after he quit laughing, let out a sigh.
"Well, it seems as if I'm the only one the universe decided to rain on. My kind of girlfriend is a gazillionaire and she's married to an astronaut." He paused, then kept going. "How can I compete with an astronaut? Beyond that though, I seem to be living the same life, just alone." Fargo dropped his chin to the palm of his hand and let out a huff. "This reality blows." Jack couldn't help it, he laughed. Soon after, Henry joined in, understanding what Jack thought was so funny. The others were looking at them strangely, Fargo just gave them a look of annoyance.
"Fargo, trust me, your life here is so much better." Jack said, still letting out a few chuckles. "You're the head of GD, Director Fargo." For a moment, all was silent, then all that could be heard was Fargo's yips of happiness. The entire group laughed at his display before settling back down. After a moment, Allison could be heard clearing her throat slightly.
"I'd like to introduce to those of you that don't know him, my husband, Daniel Blake." The entire group, that didn't already know Daniel, gaped at Allison, before cheering and congratulating her. "And this," Allison said, holding Eliza up slightly, "is my daughter, Eliza." Everyone cooed at the tiny girl trying to hide in her mother's arms. "I know all of you know Kevin, but he's a little different too. He doesn't have autism in this reality. The only bad thing is not having Jenna here, but since the events leading up to her never happened…" Allison trailed off as everyone glanced at Nathan before turning away just as quickly.
"I'm so sorry, Allison. I can't imagine-," Henry began.
"No, I uh-, it will take some getting used to, but it'll be okay, eventually." Henry nodded, before he turned to Jack.
"Well Jack, it seems like you're the only one left to share." Henry told him with a thinly concealed smirk. Jack gave the older man a mock glare before smiling.
"It looks like there's only two major differences for me. Zoe is at MIT instead of Harvard, studying Robotics and I am," Jack paused, letting the group fidget a little, "well, I'm married to Nathan." The silence was deafening, but Jack knew they were just getting over their shock. Henry had obviously seen this coming, and Allison already knew, but Jo looked like she was going to blow and Fargo was grinning at the pair.
"I didn't know you were gay! Why didn't you tell me?" Jo demanded. Jack laughed at her, before glancing at Nathan, who happened to be looking straight at Jack.
"To be honest, I didn't know myself." After the group settled down a little, and those who hadn't been formally introduced to Daniel made introductions, Henry once again took the role of the leader, calling everyone to attention.
"It seems like there is only one problem left; Doctor Trevor Grant." Jack sighed. He had no idea what was going to become of the man, but he knew that they had to make it believable so they wouldn't be sanctioned. "We can't just send him away without teaching him about our time and giving him a believable cover story. There's no telling what would happen if we did that." Before anyone could voice their opinion, however, Grant stood to address the group.
"I would like to say that I'm willing to learn, and once you have deemed me able, I will leave town if you so wish. I only wanted to see the future, and so far it has been brilliant." Grant tried to meet Jack's eyes, but Jack wasn't having it. The man had assaulted him then used him as transport to get to the future. In Jack's eyes, they should just wipe his memory and put him in a hospital somewhere far from here, but Jack knew that that was morally wrong. Nathan's grip on Jack tightened, and when Jack looked at Nathan, he saw the taller man glaring openly at Grant.
"I agree with Henry. We can't let him fall into the wrong hands, or even let the truth get out on accident, so we have to keep an eye on him. A cover story shouldn't be too hard considering the way he acted. Selling him as a bastard child of a descendant of Doctor Grant should work fabulously." Allison's smile was sickly sweet and Jack almost laughed at the face Grant made.
"A bastard child, eh? Well, I suppose that wouldn't be too bad. Maybe the stigma isn't so harsh these days?" Jack grumbled at his easy acceptance, hoping that the man would have been a little more upset about it. "I shall go by Charles Grant. My Father's middle name was Charles." Everyone nodded at this.
Henry gave a tense smile to the newly named Doctor Grant. "We will have to make a backstory involving more details later, but for now, Charles Grant it is. Considering the fact that you come from the past, maybe we should hire you as a historian?"
"I'll have the paperwork made up in the morning and send it to Director Fargo," Nathan said. Fargo's gleeful grin lit up the room again when he heard his title. Henry smiled at Nathan, before asking his next question.
"Is there anything we should know about this time line?" Everyone turned their attention to Nathan who took a moment to answer.
"Earlier, Jack, when I mentioned a life bond, you looked confused. Has anyone heard of a life bond before?" At the blank looks on everyone's faces, Nathan sighed. "We're not sure when it happened, but at some point in time, the ability to form bonds with other human beings appeared. The generation that experienced it first named it the 'life bond' and said it was a gift from the universe. Basically, when one person meets a potential partner, a bond forms between the two. It isn't love at first sight, but it allows the two people to understand that it could eventually become love. Everyone in this room, besides Doctor Grant for obvious reasons, has formed a life bond with someone. Henry, you formed a bond with your wife, Grace, when you first met a two years ago. Jo, you and Zane formed the bond when you first met, but didn't act on it for about a year. Allison, you and Daniel have a life bond. Director Fargo formed a life bond with Larry Haberman, and Jack and I formed a bond when I came back to town all those years ago. In order for everyone to learn about this time, Daniel and I will make up information packets to give to all of you about this world and your pasts. Hopefully by doing that, we can keep the suspicion of the town at a minimum."
Everyone was quiet at Nathan's words, trying to let the new information sink in. Jack was struck by the pure oddity of this Eureka, but he wouldn't put it past the old one to be just as weird; it was Eureka… "Is that kind of like the imprinting thing that some animals do?" Jack asked. To be fair, it did sound like some kind of Disney movie with people finding their 'one true love'. Nathan met Jack's eyes and Jack couldn't help but compare the two Stark's he knew. Before the Stark from his time died, he was closed off and refused to let Jack see any emotion, besides annoyance and amusement. This Stark had an almost constant look of content, only changing when someone angered him, along with the fond expression he threw Jack's way a few times. The 'old Stark' would have made some offhand, offensive comment about Jack's lack of intelligence, but the 'new Stark' just smiled slightly, with that fond look in his eyes, and nodded.
"It is sort of like that, but a little more intimate. Most animals that imprint do so on their parental influences in order to learn how to survive. For us, the life bond connects us to another person in which we have the opportunity to live a good, happy life. It's like a push in the right direction that we can accept or deny. Most people accept their life bond, but there are a few cases in which one of the persons involved denies the bond and therefore cancels out the effects of the bond for both people." Nathan explained. Jack nodded, now knowing what he meant.
"How do we know when the bond forms?" Jo asked.
"Well, you have to be relatively close in distance to the person you will form a bond to. The bond itself feels like an out of body experience. You don't really feel any different, but there is kind of a pull of sorts toward the person with which you bonded. Most people don't know that they've bonded right away, they just assume that they are attracted to said person. Nothing else really happens with bonded pairs. You can't feel each other's emotions or sense when the other is in danger like in some movies. There are no guaranteed happy ever after's, you still have to work in your relationship in order for it to succeed." This time it was Daniel that answered. Though Jack had never met the man, he could tell that Daniel loved his small family very much. The pure adoration on his face when he looked at Kevin or Eliza was akin to the way Jack felt about Zoe. When Daniel would look at Allison, however, Jack couldn't help but look away, feeling like he was intruding on their private moment.