Hey everybody! Next chapter here. I know the first few didn't have much action, but here comes some fun stuff!

Wilbur: Just make sure you don't hurt me too much…

Me: Can't make any promises, love.

Wilbur: What?!?!? Why not?

Me: Cuz I haven't written the chapter yet, silly!

Wilbur: Oh. Right. I'll try to remember that. R&R, everybody!

Random Fact: The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

Chapter 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back at Future City University……..

Wilbur sighed, exasperated, as he looked at the freshly drawn blueprints for the time scanner. Three months and he'd barely scratched the surface of how close he'd come to actually creating a functional piece of equipment. But that wasn't going to stop him. Even though the note had definitely been threatening, he, Emily, and his family had agreed: he was not going to stop. He would keep moving forward, and no one was going to keep him from his dream.

He looked up from his blueprints when he heard a knock on the door of his private lab. "Come in," he said hesitantly. It was Emily. Wilbur looked at her quizzically. "Why'd you knock? You have a key."

"I know, but maybe I shouldn't."

"What are you talking about?"

"Maybe that's how he got in. Maybe that how he got a hold of your scanner. With my key." She looked down at the floor, unable to meet Wilbur's eyes. He took her chin in his fingers and gently lifted it up to meet his eyes. "Em, don't you think like that. I know you haven't lost that key. It has a fingerprint identification coating on it."

"I know Wilbur, but maybe…maybe no one should have a key but you. And Professor Adams, of course." They both grinned at the mention of their teacher. Good old Professor Adams. He certainly knew his stuff, and unbelievably, he made physics fun and easy to learn. Eventually Wilbur persuaded Emily that it was in fact alright to keep her key, and kissed her briefly on the cheek before she said good-bye and resumed his work on the scanner, working late into the night, just like another inventor he knew.

Three weeks later……

It was April first. April Fool's Day. The president of Future City University had, as was tradition, cancelled classes for the entire day, and allowed the students free rein, as long as no one got seriously hurt.

The halls of the university were abuzz with practical jokes, and no one was more mischievous that Wilbur. Or so he thought. Throughout the day, he was pelted with water balloons, fake spiders, and old fashioned whoopee cushions. The fake spiders were the worst, as everyone knew that Wilbur had a very strong case of arachnophobia.

But, like a true prankster with a genuine love for the craft, he took everything in stride. Even the spiders. He jumped and smiled as a spider flew down from the ceiling as he walked down the dormitory hall to his room. "Good one, Fortuna!" he laughed. "Oh, Wilbur, what on earth makes you think I had anything to do with this?" She giggled, trying to stifle a full bodied laugh. "Oh, I don't know, maybe the way you can't stop laughing?" He was trying to sound angry, but it just wasn't working.

He gave up and turned the handle to his dorm room. As he opened the door and stepped in, a bucket of ice cold water came pouring down on his head. As he stood on the threshold, dripping wet, he heard muffled giggles coming from his room. "Emily Aline! That had better be you, so I can not feel bad about tackling you!" More giggles. "Emily, come on. You know that this really isn't funny, don't you?"

"Oh yes it is! It's the funniest thing I've seen all day!" He grinned. She was right. It was pretty funny. Of all people, his girlfriend had gotten him. Bad.

He shook his head, and water went everywhere. "Eww, Wilbur! That's gross!"

"Fortuna, stop being such a baby!" He paused. "Hey, you were laughing because you knew this was coming. You rat!" He laughed and went to tackle her. She put her arms above her head, so all Wilbur could do was shake his wet hair at her. Emily, standing in the doorway, laughed. Wilbur turned and tackled her to the double bed he had in his room. They were both laughing when Fortuna poked her head in. "You two behave yourselves," she said with a smirk and closed the door.

After Emily's water stunt had been pulled, the dorm hallway emptied out. Everyone who'd been standing there had wanted to see Wilbur get had. He had been soaked, so they all left, warily looking behind them for any signs of more pranks. There weren't any, but there was a figure lurking in the shadows, completely unnoticed, who crept silently to Wilbur's door and placed a typed note on his bulletin board and then left just as quietly.

After Fortune left, Wilbur and Emily had kissed for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's company on their free day. "I'll go check to see if everyone left," She said jokingly, getting up from the bed. Wilbur let her go, knowing she'd be back momentarily.

Emily opened the door, found no one, but she did find the note. She walked back in and handed it to Wilbur. "Message for you, sir. From the esteemed Professor Adams," she said, mocking a fake British accent. "Thank you, Jeeves." Wilbur mocked back. They read the note together.

Wilbur,

I know you haven't been working on your scanner lately.

I'm not sure why, but I think you should get back to

work. It's a fantastic idea, right in line with your career path.

I found an article in one of my scientific journals I think

you should read. It might help you with the fourth

dimensional problems you mentioned last month. Meet me

as soon as possible in my classroom to discuss it. Today

would be wonderful, as neither of us have any obligations.

Please come alone, as this project is yours and yours alone.

I don't want anyone else getting their hands on your

wonderful ideas.

See you soon,

Professor Adams

Wilbur, ecstatic, leapt off the bed, quickly kissed Emily on the cheek, and left to go meet his teacher. Emily said she'd come get him in half an hour so he would miss the bonfire party their friend Mi Mi was holding. The word around campus was that their friend Robin was going to have a date.

Wilbur walked into the physics classroom. It was empty. The door shut itself behind him. He whipped around, but there was no one there. "Professor?" As soon as he opened his mouth, the lights went out. He sighed. It was just an April Fool's joke. He put his hands out in front of his face. He couldn't see a thing. Just like Professor Adams to scare him with a giant tarantula or something similar.

Before he knew it, someone grabbed his arms and pinned them to his sides. "Prof-" but he was cut off by someone pressing their hand hard over his mouth, keeping him quiet. Whoever had grabbed his arms pushed him backwards until he was right up against the wall. They leaned forward and whispered something in his ear.

Up until this point, Wilbur had still held onto the small hope that this might be a prank. Now he knew he was wrong. "Wilbur Robinson…" the voice hissed, keeping the hand tightly over Wilbur's mouth, "Give up on the scanner. I said it before, and I meant it. You didn't stop. I know you didn't, because you came here. Give up. Stop now, and give up everything, or next time it'll be your pretty little girlfriend I come after. Got it?"

With the hand over his mouth, all Wilbur could do was nod, which he did shakily. He had almost lost Emily once before, and sitting next to her bed in the Intensive Care Unit was not an experience he ever wanted to repeat. He cared about her too much to ever come that close to losing her again.

The hands shoved him hard up against the wall, and in the dark Wilbur let his knees buckle and slid against the wall to the floor. He didn't know how long he sat there shaking, his head in his hands, but suddenly he heard a familiar voice from the hallway. "Wilbur? Wilbur, are you still in here?" Emily opened the door, and a little light spilled into the room from the hallway.

"Huh. Guess he's gone." She moved to leave, but Wilbur found his voice in time. "Emily, wait!"

"Wilbur? What are you doing, sitting here in the dark?" Her hand groped along the wall until she found the switch and flipped it, flooding the room with light. She saw Wilbur scrunched down on the floor, trembling. She ran to his side, and put her arms around him. In shaky bursts, he told her what had happened. "I…I've got to stop. I can't lose you again, Em. I just can't."

She put her arms around him and pulled him into a fierce hug. "You won't lose me. I'm here for good. We're gonna get married someday, remember? Lucille's ring? She'd be devastated if I never got to wear it." He reluctantly smiled. "Wilbur, in all seriousness, you need to report this, then keep working on the scanner. You're almost there, I know it! Keep moving forward, remember?" At the sound of his father's motto, Wilbur remembered who he was. He was a Robinson, and Robinsons did not give up.

Emily had made the choice to stand by him, and he knew she could watch out for herself. He was not, under any circumstances, going to quit. He was going to finish that scanner, gosh darn it all, so he could finally someday show his dad a real TCTF badge, and show Emily that he was a man worthy of her love. He was brave, honest, true, and was going to make the world a better place. He would show her that he could be the man she deserved.

Ok, so the end was a little itty bit mushy, what can I say? R&R, peeps! It means a lot to me! Got to go, got a voice lesson!!!!!!!!!