Chapter 6

Massaging her forehead, Reba forced herself to click on one more website. She had been using Cheyenne's computer all day to do research. There had to be some way to get back to the present. After what happened with Brock last night, she wasn't too eager to continue living in this time period. Hopefully her past self would have a better idea of how to fix this mess.

She looked up as Kyra poked her head in the room. "Hey, sweetie. You finished with your homework yet?"

"Almost," Kyra began, sitting on her sister's bed across from her mother. "For English, we have to write a short story."

"That sounds like fun," Reba remarked, her attention split between Kyra and the computer.

Kyra shrugged. "I guess so. I'm not sure what to write about, though. Oh, wait, I have an idea," she exclaimed, a mischievous grin on her face. "Maybe I'll make it sci-fi. It can be about a kid who finds out her mother is really her mother from six years in the future."

"Kyra…" Reba warned, not the least bit amused.

Pretending to mull it over, Kyra nodded. "You're right. Too far fetched."

Reba turned in her chair and raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Are you done?"

"Yeah, sorry. Been working on that one for the past hour," Kyra laughed. "So Mom, what are you doing, in Cheyenne's room, using Cheyenne's computer...when Cheyenne isn't home yet?"

"Because if I told Cheyenne why I wanted to use Cheyenne's computer, Cheyenne would think I'm insane," Reba retorted, defiantly clicking on another web page.

Intrigued, Kyra got off the bed and looked over Reba's shoulder. "What are you looking up?"

"Ways to get back to the future. I don't belong here, Kyra," Reba explained. "I'm supposed to be in my own time, living my life, going forward, not backward. However I got here, I have to find some way to reverse it. And, well, you can find anything on the Internet, right?"

Kyra scrutinized her mother's expression, then smirked. "This sudden epiphany wouldn't have anything to do with your date with Dad last night, would it?"

"How'd you guess?" Reba huffed, slouching against the hard-back chair.

"Instinct," Kyra replied. "Plus the fact that I saw Dad driving away in his car about an hour and a half after you left. Where'd you guys go, the backyard?"

"Yes. He…set up a picnic," Reba answered. She proceeded to relate every painful detail of the evening. "…and he just drove away. I suppose he got a room at some cheap motel."

Kyra sat back down on the bed and put her head in her hands. "What are you going to do now?"

"Get back to 2007," Reba answered, refocusing her attention on the computer screen.

Lifting her head up, Kyra gaped at her mother. "You? Running from problem? Man, the future really messed you up."

"No, it's not that, I just think my past self would be able to handle this better than…" Reba trailed off, the hand that had been on the mouse falling to her lap. "Okay, yeah, I'm a wimp. But what can I do? I don't love Brock. I can't say I do just because it would be easier! Besides, how would I explain my hesitation last night?"

Kyra pondered the question for a moment. "Well…you could always say you weren't feeling like yourself."

"Already used that one," Reba muttered. Then she got an idea. "But I could say I'm going through PMS! The mere mention of anything like that gets Brock all queasy. He'll drop the subject like it's a ball of fire."

Kyra chuckled. "Good idea. And if you think about it, you wouldn't really be lying to him. The you who's supposed to be here loves Dad. You'd be…pretending to be her."

"Well, it's a stretch, but I'll take it," Reba replied, glad to have a plan of action. She paused when she heard the front door slam downstairs. Panicking, she quickly shut off the computer and ran to the door.

Kyra smiled. "She's back!"

"You, be quiet," Reba ordered, taking Kyra's wrist and guiding her into the hallway. "Cheyenne, is that you?"

Cheyenne's voice came up the stairs. "Yeah. Sorry I'm late! I stayed for practice."

"I thought you were suspended from drill team…oh," Reba stopped mid-sentence. Her eldest daughter wasn't alone.

Cheyenne dragged her latest boyfriend towards the stairs. "Mom, this is Van. Van Montgomery. He's on the football team."

"Oh, that practice," Reba smirked, shaking the hand that Van held out.

Van gave a proud grin. "Yup. It's amazing how much Cheyenne loves football. Nice to meet you, Mrs. H."

"Nice to meet you too, Van," Reba replied. Talk about déjà vu, she thought.

Kyra reached around Reba and shook Van's hand. "Hey, I'm Kyra. Nice to meet ya, bro…ouch!"

"Watch it, Kyra," Reba muttered under her breath, elbowing Kyra in the stomach. "So, Van, what brings you here?"

Putting her arm through her boyfriend's, Cheyenne explained, "Well, we're having a little trouble in history class, so I thought it would be fun…I mean, better for the both of us if we studied together. See you later Mom, we'll be in the kitchen, studying."

"See you, Mrs. H!" Van called as Cheyenne pulled him into the kitchen.

Kyra shared a glance with her mother and scoffed. "Right, studying. And Jake's upstairs reading the encyclopedia."

The following Saturday, Reba was cleaning up in the kitchen after she'd made lunch for the kids. She had to admit she was adjusting to this new yet familiar lifestyle, especially after Brock forgave her and came home. There were several times during the week that she honest to God forgot she was from the future

In the middle of wiping down the counter, Reba paused. Wait a sec. What did I just think? How could she forget she wasn't supposed to be there? Yet, on several occasions the lines between past and present blurred. She'd even given Brock a passionate kiss when he left for work one morning. Dear God, what is happening to me?

The kitchen was suddenly seemed darker, then was filled with a soft golden light. Whirling around, she had to shield her face as a figure appeared.

This is getting ridiculous, Reba thought. It's bad enough I'm in the past. Now I gotta deal with whoever this is too?

"Reba."

"Oh my Lord…" Reba gasped. It was Terry Holloway, standing right before her eyes. It was her old college flame, the one she left to get together with Brock. She fondly remembered the weekend she and Brock drove up to his funeral four years ago. Hold on. Funeral? "Oh my God. Am I dead?"

Terry shook his head. "No, Reba."

"B-but…you're here. Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Reba sputtered. It was definitely Terry, she was sure of it. She never could mistake that shaggy dark brown hair, the soft brown eyes, the moustache…and the clothes. Nobody but Terry would be wearing white cowboy boots, jeans, a blue flannel shirt and a white leather vest.

Laughing, Terry replied, "I am dead, don't worry about that. Heaven's nice. Truth be told, I was worried I'd end up in the, you know, other place."

"Truth be told, so did I," Reba remarked.

"God I've missed you," Terry admitted. He then wrapped her in a big hug, so much that they were both enveloped in the bright light.

"Well, I've missed you too," Reba chuckled. Breaking apart from him, she put a hand on her hip. "Okay, enough of that. What the heck are you doing here?"

Rubbing his hands together, Terry paced the kitchen floor. "I'll bet you're wondering how you got to be in the past."

"The thought has crossed my mind, yes," Reba snapped.

Terry stopped pacing and faced her. "What's the last thing you remember before you woke up in the past?"

"I dunno, it's kinda fuzzy…" Reba answered, searching her memory. "I remember…talking to Brock! And then, I saw the star on top of the tree. I climbed up on a dining room chair, and then…oh Lord, I am dead!"

Shaking his head, Terry argued, "No, wait, Reba, no…"

"I don't want to die!" Reba sobbed, putting her head on Terry's shoulder. "I can't die! People need me, Terry! I mean, when I just fainted and Cheyenne and Van almost divorced! Take Barbara Jean! She's religious! She'd love to know what Heaven, or Hell, as the case may be, is like!"

Terry was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "Reba, y-you're…"

"What are you laughing at?" Reba demanded, smacking him upside the head out of pure frustration. Realizing what she did, she put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Lord, I just smacked an angel. You don't go to Hell for that, do you?"

Recovering from his laughter, Terry managed to reply, "Oh, Hell no. Shoot, I cuss all the time and I still got my halo."

"Well, if I'm not dead, what the heck are you doing here?" Reba repeated, exasperation in her tone.

Terry became serious, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm your guardian angel, Reba. You're in a coma, and I'm here to help through it."

"I'm…in a coma…" Reba whispered. Feeling her knees weaken, she went over to the table and collapsed into a chair. "You're my…oh my God…tell me, Terry. I might not be dead, but…am I going to be? I mean, will I wake up?"

Sitting down next to Reba, Terry assured her, "Yes. You're meant to live. The question is, in what reality?"

Reba stared him for a long moment, absorbing the question. No…that can't mean what I think it means… "But that doesn't make sense. These are the same realities, just six years apart."

"For now," Terry pointed out. "With what you know now, you can make it so that you stay a normal family."

Where have I heard that expression before? Reba wondered. Her mind took her back to that conversation with Brock. She gasped. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're honestly going to sit there and tell me that this happened because I made a wish on a star? Terry, I hate to tell you this, but you've been watching way too many Lifetime movies."

"Believe it, Reba. It's standard guardian angel rules," Terry explained, a serious expression on his face. "A charge makes a wish on a star, and it's got to be granted."

"First of all, that's ridiculous," Reba retorted. "And secondly, I said sometimes I wish we were a normal family. Sometimes. Maybe God has to get His ears checked or something."

Terry chuckled. "This wasn't exactly His idea. I've been wanting to give you this opportunity for a long time. I've just needed an excuse."

"Are you nuts?" Reba exclaimed, glaring at him. "I swear, if you weren't dead already I'd kill you! I can't be messing around in the past! I've got stuff to do! I mean, Cheyenne needs help with the baby, Kyra's stressing over college applications, Brock and Barbara Jean are having problems…I can't afford to be in a coma!"

Raising an eyebrow at her, Terry asked, "Did it ever occur to you that that's why you're in a coma in the first place? This is His way of telling you to slow down. Your heart can't take the pressure you've been putting on it."

"What does my high blood pressure have to do with me slipping and falling?" Reba demanded.

Terry sighed. "You didn't slip. Don't you remember getting dizzy? You would've fainted from high blood pressure anyway. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I don't give a crap about that!" Reba yelled, near tears. He was getting her so frustrated her head was starting to hurt. "All I care about is getting back to my family. My real family. That includes Van, Elizabeth, Barb….Van and Elizabeth…."

"You were about to include Barbara Jean and Henry, weren't you?" Terry accused.

Reba folded her arms. "No…"

"It's okay, Reba. That's why you're here," Terry explained. "You've been given a second chance. Think about your future, as it is now. You have to decide what's more important to you. Having a normal family, or having Barbara Jean, Henry, Van and Elizabeth in your life."

"But that's not fair!" Reba protested. "I know how that future's going to work out! What if staying married to Brock and Cheyenne not getting pregnant makes my life worse?"

Terry shrugged. "That's the chance you have to be willing to take."

Wiping her eyes, after a moment Reba asked, "Okay, there are a few things I need to know before I go along with this."

"Shoot," Terry said.

"What's happening to my family now?" Reba questioned. "Are they the same, in the future? Have I changed anything already?"

Shaking his head, Terry answered, "No. Everything in the future stays exactly the same until you make your final decision. If you choose to go back to the original future, you'll wake up in your hospital bed and everything will be as it was."

"And if I don't?" Reba asked, hardly believing she'd actually posed the question.

Terry shrugged. "Then that timeline disappears. You'll forget about it, and continue living life without any special knowledge of the future."

"You mean I'll forget about Elizabeth…I don't know if I can do that," Reba admitted, growing more tense and afraid by the second. "Okay, third question. How can you fix it so that Brock and I don't get divorced and Cheyenne doesn't get pregnant?"

"That will be your doing," Terry informed her. "For instance, a few days ago you reconciled with Brock. If you hadn't done that, you might have put your relationship on the road to divorce again. It's little decisions like that that will determine if Brock has the affair with Barbara Jean.

"As for Cheyenne, I will transport you to about two months before she reveals she's pregnant. I'll give you the signal, and all you gotta do is walk in on Cheyenne and Van."

Reba put her head in her hand. "You make it sound so simple. This is going to be the hardest decision I'll ever have to make."

"Well, you've got two months to make it," Terry replied.

Glancing up at him, Reba exclaimed, "Wait, you're transporting me now? But what about Brock and…"

"That can all be fixed in that two month period," Terry answered.

Reba's eyes widened as he held out his hand. "No, wait, you can't just…"

Her protest died on her lips as the kitchen vanished and she was once again traveling through time.

A/N: I know, got a little weird at the end. But I felt there had to be more to the plot than Reba just ending up in the past.