A/N: Weird, it came up in class for me too like last month. I will state (even though I'm sure that's not what you're suggesting ;c) Laura and Julian are of no relation.
There's something else relative wise coming up though!And yup, Julian's pretty hung up on Sofia in this one...more of that is coming up. It gets pretty good XcD

Read footnote for another A/N about this chapter (has spoiler).

( Volume: 1 Chapter: 10 )

Chapter 10 : how convenient

Julian woke up in the middle of the night, aware that something was different. He finally realized it was that Laura had somehow worked her way into his
bedding, and was fast asleep. His arms were curled around her, and his face was pressed into her neck. He pondered it for a moment, then closed his
eyes again, too comfortable to protest.

When he awoke again, she was sitting in the chair across from him, lacing up her boots. She'd pulled up her skirt to mid thigh to do this, and Julian
suddenly found himself thinking that her nun-like Quaker outfit was enticing. He cleared his head of the thought, then sat up and reached for his own shirt.

…

After another day of errands—including leading the horses, Darley and Trevor (Laura's pony) to the blacksmith and having them shod—they headed back to the
inn. Julian followed Laura to the small tavern, which was quite busy; it was full of people laughing and talking.

Sitting at the bar, Laura pointed at various things; the bartender brought them dishes of what looked like Shepherd's pie. It was quite delicious.

A few times during their meal, girls in various dresses approached Julian with smiles. He was surprised by the boldness; weren't colonial women supposed to be shy
around men? Apparently this law did not apply when they were drunk. They seemed to find him quite interesting; he did have different features than most of the
men in this area. His eyes were bright blue instead of pale (and set differently, without the slight 'bulge' most of the settlers exhibited)—his hair was black, as
opposed to the more usual brown or sandy blond, and he had different cheekbones. The only people who seemed to share his differences were Sarah and Laura.

Laura watched him warily, afraid that he would accept one of the girl's offers. She'd heard his pulse beat faster when one—a pretty, doe-eyed girl named Amity—
had leaned closer to him and whispered an introduction and a suggestion in his ear. Thankfully he'd declined.

At one point in the evening, Laura turned her head, and caught a glimpse of a tall, dark-skinned woman in between two men laughing drunkenly at a lewd joke.

"Laura?" Julian put his hand on her shoulder. The woman was gone, and she wondered if she'd just been imagining things.

She turned back to Julian and smiled to show that she was okay. The bartender set down two mugs in front of them. "Yer not stayun' unless yer drinkun'," he growled.

Laura glanced at her companion, then picked up the mug and sipped at it tentatively. Not bad. Julian seemed to like it too.

…

"Hehehe," Laura giggled, loosing her balance and falling to her knees. The tavern had just closed for the evening, and they had stumbled outside. Julian was far drunker
than Laura, for some reason, and kept babbling something. She thought he might be talking about his home, but she wasn't sure. She sat on the ground, her skirts strewn
around her, and stared up at Julian as he spoke.

"Fuckin' Sofia...never really cared about me anyways…y'know? Always had her own…problems. Don't know why…I…should feel guilty for anything…I do. Right? It wasn't like I…
married her…or anything. She…" Julian folded his arms and looked away. Laura recognized the name; he'd mumbled it a few times in his sleep…and hadn't he said he loved someone?
That must be her name. Laura rolled it over her tongue without making a noise. Sofia. It sounded very exotic, much more so than her plain Quaker name. For the first time Laura
felt a twinge of irritation to be in such a conservative life style.

"No matter how hard I tried…she just…pushed me away," Julian continued. Laura was excited; here was information she was almost dying of curiosity over—but could not ask about.
"She…she used me once…slept with me…and…pushed me away in the morning…like I was repulsive…or something…and another time…heard noises from her room…someone else…ohh,
a quarter!" He had spotted a coin on the ground. Laura twitched in irritation—she wanted to hear more. He bent down carefully, picked it up, and examined it in the light. "It's…lucky.
God…I need luck…so bad. Nothing's gone right…y'know what I mean?" He looked at her again, and his eyes softened. "Laura…don't sit in the mud…" he crouched down and brushed
her hair out of her eyes. "You're pretty," he said. She opened her mouth. She wanted to hear more about his life—but she liked this, too. She felt conflicted.

"God-damn time difference," he said in frustration—and suddenly it clicked for Laura. His clothes—his facial features—his manner of speech—his fear of animals—he wasn't from her
time. It was a difficult concept for her to grasp; she'd never even really thought of time. But his strange appearance—popping into existence over her cow field—supported this theory.

"Fuck it! You know, fuck it!" He kissed her, a little harder than he normally did. "Mmph. Laura…I think I love you…" he brushed his thumb over her lips. She stared at him with wide eyes.
She'd heard her mother express love for her father, love for puddings and specific cheeses, love for herself, love for God. What exactly did Julian mean by this? And what about—Sofia?

He kissed her again, and Laura closed her eyes, deciding it didn't really matter.

"I think…I think you're the one, Laura…"

At this moment, she didn't need to know why he'd had a change of heart, either.

"I've…been looking for you…for a really long time."

Being sheltered, Laura did not understand the effects of alcohol on the male mind.

"Haha, we should totally…get married…I could wave it in her face when I go back…like look, bitch!..." he grinned. Laura tensed—her was her chance to complete her mother's
mission. She nodded eagerly.

Oblivious to Laura's sobriety—and his own intoxication—Julian continued on with his brilliant idea. "That's fucking…awesome! Do you guys have…like…a Vegas here? With a
fake Elvis? I want…pictures!"

Laura wrinkled her nose, not understanding his words. What was an Elvis, and how did you 'fake' one?

"Come on…gonna find someone," he grinned, getting to his feet and dragging her up with him.

…

"You! You look religious," Julian said to the tall, bearded man standing outside the blacksmith's, his horse being shod. Laura thought it odd that the man would need it done at night;
on second glance, he looked to be a travelling minister.

The man raised his eyebrows over his stern grey eyes. He had a heavy beard and a hat obscuring Laura's view of his hair. "Son, you'd best watch who you say that to in this town,"
he said. Laura thought he was oddly familiar, but decided it wasn't important. Julian had come around to her mother's wish—on his own, despite her not being able to speak.

"Sorry," Julian said, his arm around Laura's shoulders. He squeezed her. "We need a minster, STAT! Coz…guess what! We're getting married."

"My congratulations," the man said, grinning. "For your luck…I just happen to be the man of the Lord to help you with that." He moved to his horse and put his hand on his saddlebag.

"Of course, I expect a small donation to the church I am hoping to found here." His eyes shown in the dark.

"You got…the money?" Julian asked Laura. She withdrew it from her wrap and handed him a coin. "Here y'go..."

"You will need a witness as well," the Minister said, his tone graver.

"I be 'appy to 'elp," a tall figure in the dark said. Laura blinked. It sounded feminine…but why was she so hard to see? She could only see the gleam of eyes and white teeth. The woman
held out her hand. "I be wantin' recompense."

Laura dug another coin out and put it into the woman's palm. The fingers snapped shut over it, and she shuddered. She didn't like these people.

"Good! We can get started then," the Minister said.

…

Julian patted himself (literally) on the back after the vows were said—he'd had a tongue stumble on his parts and almost fell over once—and the Minister pulled out a piece of paper for
them to sign. Julian took the pen, stuck his thumb out—he was left-handed, Laura noticed—and proceeded to attempt to sign it. He finally pressed it against the horse's flank
(quite a dangerous move) and scrawled his name on the certificate.

"Here," he grinned and handed the paper to Laura. "Put your…John Hancock…here. AHAHA! Wait…does he exist yet?"

Laura took the pen, her fingers shaking. She hadn't signed her name in ages…she knew how, but they'd made her sign her own death writ before they hanged her. She'd never used it since.

Carefully she curled the pen, drawing the shapes that spelled out her name. Her father had taught her how to sign it, those many years ago, and she had been proud. It was very
flowery and official looking.

"Congratulations," the Minister said again, beaming. He took the certificate from Laura—and his eyes widened for a moment. He glanced at her, then handed it to Julian, as was proper.

"You may now kiss the—"

Julian hadn't waited, almost dropping the certificate. "Have a good evening," the Minister grinned to them as the younger man took the girl's hand and pulled her down the street.

A few minutes later, while examining the horse's shoe, the Minister spoke up to his companion.

"You did recognize her, right?"

"No mon," the woman said.

"Kimura, you idiot. That was Laura Kinney."

The woman's eyes widened in the dark, white.

"But she was 'ung. I buried heah moiself."

The Minister stood up and pulled off his hat to wipe his forehead. He had sandy blond hair. "I told you, she's a witch. We've God's work to do here."

…

Julian awoke the next day to a very unpleasant headache. He hadn't had one like it since his TK had broke through, many years ago. He must've had a good night—no, a great night, by the
feel of it. He tried to keep his eyes closed; there was a lot of light in the room.

By steps, he became aware that he was holding something, and it was breathing, and sprawled all over him. Eventually he figured out that it was Laura. She was quite naked, except for a
necklace. Oh no. He opened his eyes at that thought, and peaked under the covers to confirm this, then put a hand over his eyes. Something had rustled when he moved his hand; he looked
to the side. There was a piece of paper there. Curious, Julian picked it up and brought it in front of his face.

"WHOA WHOA!" He sat up, pushing Laura off him. "What the FUCK is this?!"

Laura was quite startled, having been sleeping peacefully with his heartbeat under her ear. She sat back, confused. He was holding the piece of paper they'd signed last night, in his hands,
and he was yelling, obviously upset.

She was quite confused.

"Oh, my god. Do they even have annulment now? I need my lawyer! FUCK! He's a couple hundred years away! Holy shit!" Julian rubbed his face. "Laura…this is bogus, you know that, right? It won't hold—"

Laura hung her head. He leapt up. "Get dressed. We're going to find a Minister right now, this instant."

…

"You wish to divorce her?" the Minister asked soberly. Julian had dragged his 'spouse' into the church and had confronted the older man, almost aggressive in his anxiety to straighten the problem out.

"Annul it! I was drunk!"

"Was the marriage consummated?" The Minister asked gravely.

Julian blinked. "…yes," he admitted. He couldn't help remembering certain scenes from last night, and he was a very bad liar.

"I see," the Minister said. "Well, I do not understand your request then. If she has fulfilled her duties, there is no fault to be found in your union." He paused. "However, you may divorce her,
providing that she was unwilling to consummate…or that she was sinful."

"Sinful?" Julian didn't like the sound of the former choice—it was basically saying he'd raped her, or something.

"Did she commit adultery? For adultery is punishable by death according to Deuteronomy 22:20-1, and as marriage is dissolved by death according to Romans 7:2; if she has sinned, she will be
considered dead to Christianity, and you will no longer be united with her."

Julian shifted. That sounded pretty awful too. Laura was staring at the ground, her expression stony.

"Um…can I think about it?" he asked, rubbing his neck.

The Minister waved him away, not finding this in the least bit amusing. "Waste not my time! The Church is for the love of God and Jesus Christ…not for the frolicking of children."

…

"Oh, God, what are we going to do? My training said never to do anything that might change time, in a situation like mine. Hypothetically, if you were in the Prehistoric age, you could
step on a bug and make humankind extinct." Julian was tapping his fingers on the table, sitting in the chair in their room. Laura was seated on the bed, her hands folded in her lap.

"I probably just prevented you from marrying someone rich and powerful who became president. And then he had no one to encourage him, so he didn't become president…and there
were wars…and…" he felt like crying. The uncertainty killed him.

Laura crept forwards and took his face in her hands. He looked at her miserably.

"I'm sorry. You probably don't understand any of this."

She smiled to show him it didn't matter.

"Oh," he said, realizing something. If death ended marriage—wouldn't his disappearance basically be like death? He relaxed.

The problem would resolve itself.

…

They'd packed their goods carefully into Trevor's saddlebags, and were now leaving the town behind, making their way home. Laura glanced over Julian's shoulder a few times with a frown.

She was agitated, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was almost as if she was expecting to see someone.

A/N: I should mention...this chapter is dedicated to my boyfriend...every time we get drunk together we start talking about getting married (we're not engaged yet,
we're working on finishing school and getting money and all that fun shit). It's hilarious, his mind naturally turns to the matter...I've never seen anything like it.
We get totally hammered and start talking wedding plans and everything...and he's quite enthusiastic about it. So yes, this really happens with some guys.

Thus the basis of this chapter.