§ § § -- January 16, 2005

Leslie had been dealing with her cranky daughters all morning, and had only just gotten Karina down to her morning nap alongside Tobias when Roarke appeared in the doorway of her bedroom. She was still rocking Susanna, with little hope of settling her down anytime soon. "Are they giving you difficulties?" he asked.

She shrugged and smiled a little wanly. "It's the teething thing," she said.

Roarke smiled, noting her helpless mien. "Perhaps, just this once, I can help," he said, beckoning to her. "Bring Susanna with you."

"Is something up?" Leslie asked. It was the first time Roarke had offered any kind of remedy for a teething episode, and she could only assume something big had come up.

Her father nodded on his way down the stairs. "You will need to be here and able to handle anything that comes up," he said, "so it's better that the children are safely sleeping in your room. I must check in with Dr. Reese and explain to him that history has been wrongly changed, and give him the evidence I have to show the truth of this."

Leslie stared at him. "You found something?"

"Amarette Blaine's name was familiar to me from the moment I received Dr. Reese's letter," Roarke said, "but it has taken me the entire weekend till this point to discover why." He proceeded to explain what he had learned.

Leslie had nearly forgotten about Susanna's distress in her slack-jawed amazement by the time he finished, and was brought back to the moment only when the baby released a tired cry of pain. Leslie shifted Susanna in her embrace and kissed the top of her daughter's head, smoothing her hair. "So that's what this is all about. Oh, poor baby…I know it hurts, but in just a little bit Grandfather's going to give you something to help, okay, sweetie?" She gently patted Susanna's back, nuzzling the whimpering child's head.

Roarke led them down into the cellar, flicking the light switch near the stairs and gesturing at Leslie to wait beside the steel table in the middle of the room. "This shouldn't take long," he said. "It appears she is having a more difficult time of it than Karina."

Leslie nodded, still rubbing Susanna's back. "Karina's not doing too well either, but it seems to go in cycles with her, so that she can get some sleep and some relief from the pain. Poor Susanna doesn't seem to get even that much, and sometimes even the teething ring doesn't help. It just breaks my heart. And Christian has a way of soothing her that I can't seem to duplicate."

Roarke looked up with amusement and suggested, "Perhaps he simply lets her chew on his finger."

Leslie laughed, rocking the fretting baby. "I don't know what he does. If all she needs is a finger, mine ought to be as good as his, but I've tried that too and it makes no difference. I think I'm going to e-mail him later on and see if he can tell me what his secret is."

"Since he is to be away for some time," Roarke observed, gathering a few bottles from shelves and grouping them on the steel tabletop, "perhaps I'll make enough of this to last for several weeks. Karina may find some solace in it as well, in her more painful moments." He began to mix up some sort of potion in a shallow bowl, while Leslie watched and Susanna alternately cried and whimpered. In a few minutes Roarke poured the resulting mixture into a vial about six inches tall, capped it and handed it to Leslie. "Just place your fingertip over the mouth of the vial," he instructed, "so that a little of it runs onto your finger. Don't do any more than that, you won't need much. Then dab it on her gums where her teeth are erupting. It will soothe the pain long enough to allow her to fall asleep."

"Oh, that's fabulous…thank you, Father," Leslie said with a grateful smile. "I think it'll benefit me as much as the girls. So is there any other information you need me to gather for you, or do I just need to hold down the fort?"

"Whatever needs to be done from this point, I will have to do," Roarke said. "The items I need cannot be obtained from conventional sources, because of the change in history. So you can remain in the office and handle whatever comes up, and if you like, you can check in with Christian and exchange messages with him. It will give me peace of mind to know that you and the triplets are safely in the present day while I go back and deal with the problem." He sighed. "And I don't look forward to it, I must admit."

"Well, just be careful, Father, that's all," Leslie said softly, and he smiled.

"That's one of the very first orders of business with me," he assured her, making her smile back with some relief. "I'll make the final preparations while you put Susanna down, and then come back down and make yourself comfortable."

‡ ‡ ‡

Brennan wished the administration of a cure didn't take so long to show results; he was afraid he was here too late to save Amarette Blaine from whatever "arrangements" she had made for Gareth Moran's life, and he had prepared himself to spend at least several days in the past while giving Moran doses of the cure. But when he peeked in at Moran in the morning, he was stunned to see the latter man sitting up in bed, reading the day's paper, enjoying a cup of tea. He had more color in his face and seemed to have more energy.

Moran looked up when Brennan stuck his head in. "Good morning, doctor! It's good to see you, how did you sleep in our humble accommodations?"

Blinking in disbelief, Brennan slipped into the room and closed the door. "As a matter of fact, it's good to see you looking so hale, Mr. Moran. How exactly do you feel?"

"I haven't coughed once since awakening," Moran said, beaming, "and my breath comes much easier. You must have some sort of miracle cure, my good doctor. Amarette and I could certainly find good work for you in our future project out west."

Brennan stared at him, still trying to figure out this new twist. This fantasy was taking him in directions he'd never even dreamed of going and didn't trust. "Ah, well…I'm just very glad to see that you're looking so much better. If you'll oblige me, sir, I'll just check your pulse and breathing…"

He walked out of the room several minutes later shaking his head. "Unbelievable," he muttered aloud.

"What is unbelievable, doctor?" he heard Amarette Blaine ask, and jerked his head around to see her topping the steps.

"You might like to check on Mr. Moran," he said weakly.

She smiled broadly. "I already have," she said, her eyes wide with wonder. "I am the one who brought him the tea and newspaper. The transformation in him is simply amazing, doctor! You seem to be some manner of miracle worker. We can always use miracles such as yours in our new clinic out west—"

Brennan shrugged. "Mr. Moran said as much," he said, wondering what he should say. Where in hell was Roarke? "I might consider it, although…I, uh, I'd like a little extra time to be sure the cure is truly working as it should be. Mr. Moran should receive another dose in approximately an hour."

Amarette nodded. "Of course, doctor, anything. But to my eye it's plain enough that your wonder cure is beating back Gareth's consumption in simply no time whatsoever. Why, within a week he'll be well enough for us to begin our trip to the New Mexico Territory. With your healing powers, you'd be a valuable addition to our excursion; you could singlehandedly wipe out consumption among the poorer peoples and the Indians."

Brennan managed a smile. "Let me consider that, Miss Blaine, please," he said. "I just need a moment or two to myself, if you please."

"Of course, doctor. If you're hungry, there is plenty of porridge in the kitchen, and I've just brewed a fresh pot of tea. Help yourself, please." She beamed at him, then pushed into Moran's room. Brennan headed for his own, his stomach churning too much to consider breakfast, or even a cup of tea.

He closed the door and then dropped his medical bag, for standing beside the bed was Roarke, at last. "Well, it's about time," Brennan said with an exasperated sigh. "I have a ton of questions for you, Mr. Roarke. For one, how could Gareth Moran have been cured of his TB so fast? And for another, why did you let me go through with the cure at all—and so easily? Also, I—"

"One moment, Dr. Reese, please," Roarke said, raising one hand. "Before you go on, I must ask you to sit down, if you would. What I have to say is likely to meet with further skepticism from you, but I would remind you that this is all very real and very serious. I allowed you to come back in time, and administer a fast-acting cure to Mr. Moran, because I have discovered that history was wrongly changed."

Brennan gaped at him for a moment; then his knees let go and he half fell onto the bed, feeling slightly dizzy. "History can't be changed," he said inanely.

"So it is said," Roarke agreed, nodding. "Unfortunately, there are a certain few entities who do in fact have the power to effect such changes, and one has done so in the case of your ancestress. Dr. Reese, Amarette Blaine and Gareth Moran should not have perished, as Miss Blaine's diary seems to reveal. Instead, they should have married here in Pittsburgh, then relocated west and built a groundbreaking clinic."

Brennan opened his mouth, tried to think of something to say, but managed nothing except an inane "Huh?"

Roarke smiled. "Miss Amarette Blaine was a boon to history, Dr. Reese. She was the first doctor in American history to discover and isolate the healing elements in amakarna, and to apply them—in minute amounts that would help rather than harm—to curative and palliative medicines. Before history was changed, she and Gareth Moran moved to what was then the New Mexico Territory and ran a clinic that helped the native tribes already living there, the Hopi and Navajo. As history stands now, there are far fewer living descendants of these tribes than there should have been."

"Okay," Brennan said slowly. "I've heard of amakarna, after recent events involving your daughter and Prince Christian. In fact, I knew about it before, to some extent at least, since I remember treating a couple overdose cases for black lightning. But I didn't know the stuff had healing properties…I thought it could only destroy."

"Used properly, and by one who is fully versed in the spice's abilities, amakarna can indeed be of great benefit," Roarke said. "Which makes Miss Blaine all the more remarkable, for she did pioneering work in researching the spice and its properties. Had it not been for her, today's American doctors would have far less knowledge of amakarna's good properties, only its bad ones. In history as it should have occurred, Miss Blaine traveled to Italy shortly after learning of amakarna's healing abilities, and for approximately one year she and Gareth Moran worked with a Count Lorenzo LiSciola, at the time the only amakarna grower in the world. When they returned here, they moved west, built their clinic, and applied the knowledge he gave them in helping many people who would otherwise have had no access to quality medical care."

Brennan whistled low and shook his head. "That's…just…" His voice trailed off and he sat there absorbing all this, while Roarke waited patiently. At last he swallowed and looked up. "If it can heal…is that the reason the cure you gave me worked so quickly?"

"Yes," Roarke said. "I worked with the knowledge I myself have of amakarna, and added the correct amount to the medication you were to give Mr. Moran."

"Well, then…if it can do that kind of thing, then who on earth would want to change things so that Amarette and Gareth never found out about the benefits of the stuff? What kind of person would want to make things worse instead of better?"

Before Roarke could answer there was a shout from across the hall, then a cry of protest. "Gareth, you mustn't get up!"

"Why would you do a thing like that, Amarette, why, when you have so much to give the world? Why didn't you wait?" Moran's voice shouted.

Brennan jumped up and threw his door open, staring at them. "What's wrong?" he wanted to know.

"Tell the good doctor what you did, Amarette," Moran raged at his weeping fiancée, "for lack of belief in him and his healing abilities. Tell him!"

Amarette looked up, trembling hands hovering inches away from her cheeks, and said helplessly, "Gareth, my love, I did it for you! Without you I could have done nothing!"

"Tell him, Amarette!" Moran roared, going quite red in the face.

Amarette finally broke down altogether. "I sold my soul to the devil to save Gareth's life," she wailed. "I knew it was my last hope to keep him from dying, to keep alive the dream of bringing hope to the people who most need it…"

Moran growled deep in his throat. "You told me you sent for Dr. Reese weeks ago. You simply couldn't wait, could you! You had to go to the most evil entity in all Christendom and bargain away your immortal soul! I can't believe what a fool you are!"

Roarke stepped around Brennan then and urged, "Please, Mr. Moran, calm yourself. I can help you, if you will let me."

Moran drew himself up straight. "And pray tell, sir, who might you be?"

"My name is Roarke," Roarke said quietly. "I am…acquainted with the entity you speak of." He caught Moran's narrow glare and Amarette's shocked look and quantified in a dry tone, "Not pleasantly so, believe me. But Mephistopheles and I do know one another, and in the past we have battled against each other. A great deal has happened here, things that should never have taken place. But I believe I can put everything to rights—as long as you trust me." He turned enough to include Brennan in his gaze. "All of you."

‡ ‡ ‡

On the tea table sat a tall crystal vase filled with a dozen red roses; a small box of chocolates; and a pink envelope containing a card, which had been mailed from Lilla Jordsö. Leslie had an ear out for a cry from any of the triplets while she was e-mailing Christian, for whom it was approaching midnight of Saturday; she was reading the latest message from him now. "I'm glad you received the roses and the card in time—and thank you for the beautiful note and engraved pen set that arrived for me here this morning, my darling! No, Magga still hasn't told the family. I doubt she'll find the courage for it anytime soon, in fact. I'd like to help, but since she's sworn me to secrecy, she's left herself no choice but to deal with it alone. I think the family would probably be able to handle it well enough, once they were over the initial surprise of learning her secret; but I can't convince her of that, she has to decide it for herself. Anyhow, enough of that. I'm happy to know that Mr. Roarke was able to concoct something to help Susanna and Karina with their teething problems. Perhaps by the time his elixir runs out, the worst of it will be past. What do you mean, what magic do I have that soothes Susanna when you can't? I wasn't aware I could do that. Who knows, perhaps it's because I sing to her in jordiska. Maybe you should try that! Happy anniversary, at any rate. With all my love, Christian."

"Oh, Christian Enstad," Leslie murmured with wry affection. Shaking her head, she pulled up a reply message: "Christian, you rat, you know I can't sing in jordiska—you forgot to teach me that lullaby I caught you singing to Tobias once! (grin) Maybe I" She stopped there when she heard a baby upstairs, and hurried up to see who it was. She found Karina awake and fussing, chewing on one hand, and made quick work of applying Roarke's potion to the baby's gums. Karina immediately brightened and stretched out her arms to be picked up, and Leslie laughed softly and lifted her out of the bassinet. She glanced at Tobias and Susanna, both of whom still slept, and reflected that pretty soon the triplets would outgrow these bassinets. Wondering what they were going to do after that, she carried Karina downstairs and sat back in front of the computer, only to have the baby promptly reach out and bat the keyboard, leaving a clump of nonsense letters in the middle of Leslie's message. She laughed.

"Silly girl!" she cooed to the giggling infant. "Are you writing to Daddy too?" With a grin she scanned what she had written so far and gently set Karina on the floor beside her to resume typing, keeping a sharp eye on the baby. "…Maybe I dbfsbd … Sorry, my love, that's Karina's greeting to you! I just went up to get her and have her here with me now. Father must have put some sort of mood-lifter into that potion; she's sitting on the floor by my chair, cackling as if Bob Hope were telling her jokes. Well, it sure beats having cranky babies with teething pains. As I was going to say, maybe I should get you to sing that lullaby into a tape recorder and send me the tape, so I can play it back for the babies when they need soothing. I think it would be a great way for them to hear your voice while you're gone, too. You're right about Margareta, though I must say I feel for her. In a way it's too bad she won't let you tell anyone else, but then again, it's probably as well. If she's ever going to come out, she should do it herself. Uh-oh, someone's diaper needs changing. I'll send this and wait for your reply while I'm handling that little chore. I love you, and happy anniversary! Kisses, Leslie." She sent the message and hoisted up Karina, toting her back upstairs for the diaper change.

She had just returned and was playing a peekaboo game with Karina when Roarke came out of the time-travel room. Roarke laughed when he noticed that Leslie had pulled one of the leather chairs over beside the computer and had ensconced Karina in it so she could amuse the baby while she was e-mailing Christian. "One of the best seats in the house for my granddaughter, I see!"

Leslie grinned back and said, "Well, it's the only way I could play peekaboo with her, after all, unless I got on the floor with her. And I'm a little old for that." He chuckled, going back behind the desk, and she sobered. "How did the trip back go?"

"I have managed to convince all parties involved of my veracity," Roarke said, "though I note that Dr. Reese was considerably more skeptical than Miss Blaine or Mr. Moran. I have a good bit of preparation that needs to be done before I can face Mephistopheles on their behalf later today. If you'd like to make some rounds for me, my child, I can complete that; then you may remain here through the afternoon, and you might prefer to have lunch here in the study. It should be a quiet day."

"That's be fine," Leslie agreed. "I guess I'll take Karina along with me. Susanna and Tobias are still asleep, but I have a feeling they'll be awake before I get back, so if Mariki and the staff want to feed them, they can mash up some fruit and veggies for them."

"I'll pass the message on," Roarke promised with an indulgent smile. "Don't take too long, you yourself shouldn't skip lunch either."