"Joseph? Joseph, wake up!"

The familiar stern but slightly panicked voice sounded distant, and echoed in Joe's ears. As he slowly surfaced to consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes to a blurred surrounding, but hovering over him was the unclear, yet too clear blotched image of his father's face.

What's Sam doing here? He thought to himself. Aw hell, why would Rory call him of all people? Why wouldn't he call Sugar? What was he thi

"Son? Can you hear me?"

Joe's gradual blinking halted and his entire form went rigid. His eyes were wide as his blotchy image of his dad sharpened. Yes, this was Sam, but it wasn't the Sam he'd been seeing for the past few weeks. This Sam was far more familiar, with his slightly fuller but still youthful form, dark reddish brown facial hair and huskier voice.

Shit.

"Dad?" he stupidly croaked.

"Yeah, it's me—can you feel that?"

Joe definitely did feel the sudden squeeze given to his left hand. He raised his right hand—which felt like it had ten-pound weights strapped to it—and cupped it over his forehead. His vision came in and out of focus a couple more times before normalcy settled in.

"Thank God you're okay," said his dad.

Joe groaned in response—not from the pain of collapsing, which he quickly remembered. Correction, he remembered feeling as sick as a dog and talking to Rory, and he remembered walking. He did not remember ending up on the floor, or his dad being anywhere in the room.

"H—how'd you find me?" Joe wondered, still feeling a little bit disoriented.

His dad's large, strong hands pulled him slowly to sit up; a moment later he heard his dad say, "Rory, get him some water."

Rory, he realized, getting the answer to his question. Of course.

"Son what in the hell were you thinking, coming here without telling us?" demanded his dad in a low, near-growl.

In the weeks Joe had spent blending into the past, he'd felt a little bit superior—advanced, if nothing else. But having his dad scold him quickly knocked him down several pegs.

"If I tell you…..You're gonna be mad if I tell you," whispered Joe.

"I'm already mad. And disappointed. And concerned, and relieved. Do you know how worried sick your mom and I have been?"

"I feel so sick."

"That's because you shouldn't be here," his dad sternly stated.

"I know but…Dad, you and Mom wouldn't tell me what I wanted to know, so—"

"So you came back here to find out for yourself?" Sam hissed with a vicious gaze. "Coming back to this time is dangerous for you—all three of you!"

Joe's brows twitched together, "What? Why?"

"Because you three don't exist yet, here. If you were going back in time to see your own pasts, you wouldn't have gotten sick like this. But you came back to a past that didn't belong to you, and this is where it's gotten you."

Right away, Joe swallowed hard; he was desperate to keep up and understand the full extent of his dad's words but all he could focus on at this moment was the throbbing headache that threatened to pull him back to unconsciousness again.

"Yeah, I um…I forgot about the times Sugar and I have gotten sick since we got here. But…I mean we both just thought it was the flu or somethin'," admitted Rory. "Neither of us collapsed or nothin'."

Joe saw his dad look above his head, "That's probably because you and Sugar have time leaped before, am I right?" When Rory didn't voice an answer, Joe could only assume that he'd nodded his response.

The haze from passing out cleared up a bit more. He looked up, shamefully at his dad, "Why wouldn't you and Mom tell me you almost didn't make it 'cause of this Shane guy?"

Sam's thick brows furrowed, "What?"

Joe fumbled around with his words, "I saw Mom with her ex-boyfriend, Shane…and you and her aren't together here…"

He watched his dad pinch the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh, "Joseph, that isn't what happened between your mom and I."

His brows twitched together, "But…I saw her and you on Valentine's D—"

"That's not what I mean," his dad curtly stated, shitting his eyes. "I know we weren't together then. I mean, you're not at the right moment in time to know what happened to us."

As soon as the words left Sam's mouth, Joe's heart momentarily stopped and his mouth fell open. All this time spent and he hadn't even gone back to the right time?

"I'll take you to the right time," said his dad. Joe could hear the reluctance in his voice but for him, it was like receiving a glass of ice water in the middle of Death Valley. The trip was fun at moments, but the drama he witnessed since Valentine's Day and the headaches experienced from not knowing what was wrong outweighed many of those happier moments.

"Get your stuff together. We're leaving," ordered his dad. "And Rory?"

Joe looked around and spotted Rory standing a short distance away, keeping to himself with a concerned look fixed on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Evans?"

"You and Sugar need to return to the present. Check in with your parents and at least tell them where you two have been disappearing off to. If they let you return, that's between you all, but I'm giving you and Sugar the opportunity to come clean now, or else I'll go to them and let them come back here and get you."

Rory blanched and even Joe felt a bit of the stunning; his Uncle Blaine had a temper when it was provoked enough, and his Aunt Santana…well…she would probably tear Sugar's hide to bits with her words alone.

"Yes sir," Rory mumbled.

So many feelings threatened to overwhelm Joe back into unconsciousness but he steeled himself and slowly rose from the floor. Above anything at the moment, he felt relieved that his dad was going to finally let him find out what he had been longing to know. But the relief was closely shadowed by fear. Even though he didn't know what it was, there was a reason for his parents keeping him in the dark on this and he wasn't absolutely certain he was prepared to know it.


Please leave reviews! Sorry this update was so short. I know people have been enjoying seeing how our future Samcedes child's adventure chronicled the events of canon Joe, but this is where the story's going to jump off the tracks a bit. Hope you'll stay interested because I've got some more in store for Mr. Joseph Evans. ;)