Home Again

He landed the Time Machine with as much grace as ever, settling it next to its current-time counterpart. He rummage around for some cardboard and a marker, writing That one and the arrow, pointing to the other machine from the one he landed. With that done, he headed for the travel tube, remembering that he had to program it again for the level he wanted. They worked one-way at a time, having to be reset with destination every time they were used, and if someone didn't know how to use them, or just wasn't careful enough, they might end up somewhere they didn't want to go

Landing in the other end of the dark corridor, he pulled his hat off, rolling it up and sticking it in his coat pocket, heading down the hall. He wanted to get some sleep, curl up with Franny and let the world pass him by for a day or two. It wasn't depression, but just the weight of things that he learned about himself and his real parents. He was glad for Bud and Lucille, happy that he called them Mom and Dad during his teenage years, happy that they supported and loved him no matter what came at them. They would never abandon him, least not until they were ready to depart this mortal coil.

Just as he rounded the corner, he came face to face with himself. Holding a finger to his lips, he shook his head, and then moved around him, towards the far door. He pushed it open, light glowing over his face, Franny was still sitting in bed with her own notepad, typing away on the screen keyboard. She looked up, seeing him.

"Didn't you just…" She didn't finish, confusion written all over her face.

He shrugged, sliding from the leather jacket, the heavy-soled shoes, the several layers of shirts, the jean pants. "Yeah, but you forget, I have a time machine, I can be back when ever I want, and you would never be the wiser." He crawled on the bed towards her, and curled up beside her. "Ask me tomorrow how it went… I need to get some sleep."

Franny ran her fingers through his hair, her notepad aside. "Dreamless, I'm sure?"

Cornelius smiled, feeling her peel off his glasses and set them aside. He could think of no one that he would ever spend his life with and enjoy it the same way that he did with Franny. He knew the relationship Alex and Jane had; it was just the same as his and Franny's, though fear was there in Alex's and it was just as strong as love. "Of course." He certainly had nothing to fear now that he was home again.

The End

Note: Now, because I got lazy and decided to be nice, and threw the rest of this up all at once, be a good little kid and go back and review. I would very much like honest opinions of each chapter.. Tell me what you hate about it, preferably. I NEED reviews to get better... unless you are awesome like Lady (Mrs. Wilbur Robinson) and think I'm already awesome. thanks for reading!!