Chapter 9. The Way
Helen, Abby had heard the name in passing, they all had. She was Nick's wife who had died eight years ago on some expedition.
"Helen Cutter?" she asked, eyes locking on Nick, "As in your dead wife?"
Nick
"It would appear she isn't as dead as I thought," he said staring at the anomaly, "I'm going in there after her."
Stephen stared wide eyed, but it was Becker who stepped forward.
"I can't let you do that Professor, it's too dangerous," he said calmly.
"Captain Becker, I appreciate your concern, but we're talking about my wife here, and if you want to stop me from going through that anomaly, you're going to have to shoot me," he replied, his Scottish accent flaring at the end.
"Nick, do be reasonable!" Claudia exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm, "We have no idea what's on the other side of that anomaly, you could be killed!"
"I'll be fine, Claudia, I promise," he said placing both hands on her shoulders, "I can't not go."
Claudia slumped back in defeat, "Do be careful, won't you?" she sighed, squeezing his hand tightly.
Nick stood about a foot from the anomaly as Stephen and Becker secured him to a long feed of rope.
"Two hours Cutter, two hours and we're bringing you back up." Stephen reminded him for the third time.
When he stepped through the anomaly he found himself on a low cliff overlooking the ocean. As he turned in circles he found himself entranced by the creatures surrounding him. His gaze finally landed on Helen, who was swimming in a lake below. He could tell through the crystal clear water she was completely nude.
He stood watching her for several minutes, trying to grasp the fact that she'd been alive all these years and hadn't come back. Yes, they'd had their problems, but he'd loved her, spent the past eight years grieving her death. At that moment, he wished he could take those back.
"Hello Nick," her voice carried from below.
Abby
Abby carried two mugs of warm tea over to where Stephen sat against a wall staring at the anomaly.
"Thanks," he said, smiling weakly and taking the mug in his hands.
"He's going to be fine," she said sliding down the wall to sit next to him, "Nick will be coming back through that anomaly with Helen anytime now."
"How long has it been anyways?" he asked taking a sip of the tea.
Abby glanced at her watch, "Roughly forty-five minutes."
"Is that all, really?" he asked with a laugh.
Nick
"So that's it then, you're going to spend the rest of your life hopping from era to era?" Nick asked incredulously.
"I spent my entire life studying fossils, trying to find out as much about these creatures as I can. Now, I have the opportunity to study them in their natural habitat, you can't expect me o walk away from that." she explained, making the whole thing sound as reasonable as taking a vacation.
"Oh, of course not, why would you do that? It's not like you has a husband at home mourning your death!" he exclaimed angrily.
He'd already explained to her what the ARC was doing, and about the team he'd formed.
"The least you can do is come back, tell us what you know, it may help," he continued exasperated.
"I don't think so Nick, I've seen what your team is going to do to the future and I want no part of it."
"You always were a selfish bitch," he said, shaking his head before heading back to the anomaly.
Claudia
Claudia stared apprehensively at the anomaly, afraid of what was going to happen next. If Nick came out with Helen, everything would be fine, if not she was under strict orders to send Captain Becker in after her.
If she didn't she could lose her job, but if she did, she felt like she was betraying Nick, something she couldn't fathom.
The anomaly pulsed slightly and Nick walked through, with all rationality lost she launched herself into his arms, just as Captain Becker slipped through the anomaly after Helen.
Claudia didn't get a chance to explain to Nick what was happening before Captain Becker was leading Helen through the anomaly. Nick stared incredulously, his eyes traveling from his wife to Claudia and back.
Stephen
When Stephen caught sight of Becker leading Helen out of the anomaly his entire body tensed up. Facing him was the one woman who could ruin everything, his friendship with Nick, his relationship with Abby, absolutely everything.
Almost ten years ago, he'd screwed up, had an affair with Helen, his best friends wife. He regretted it everyday, her and Nick's marriage had been falling apart and he'd tried to comfort her. One thing had led to another, which had led to a semester long affair.
He'd never told anyone about it but with Helen back in the picture he knew it was liable to come back and haunt him, and he didn't want Abby finding out that way. He had to be straight with her even if it meant losing her, he couldn't let her find out from Helen.
When they got back to his flat he sat her down on the couch, and sank down beside her.
"Abby, there's something I need to tell you."
Abby
She'd seen his body tense when Helen came through the anomaly, the way her eyes had briefly lingered on him as she'd been led out.
"This has to do with Helen doesn't it?" she asked quietly.
The shock and remorse in his eyes confirmed any doubt she'd had.
"When did it happen?"
"Almost ten years ago, before she disappeared. She was my teacher, I was already Nick's assistant, but we weren't really friends yet, she told me her and Nick's marriage was falling apart and I tried to comfort her. We ended up having an affair for the rest of semester, it was over before she even disappeared. Abby, I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I betrayed Nick…"
Abby took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Stephen, what you did was incredibly stupid, but it happened a long time ago, I'm not going to condemn you for that, it doesn't change anything between us. I love you."
He leaned over and kissed her deeply, "I don't deserve you," he murmured against her lips.
"Pretty girl is suffering, while he confesses everything, pretty soon she'll figure out what his intentions were about. That's what you get for falling again, you can never get him out of your head. It's the way that he makes you feel. It's the way that he kisses you. It's the way that he makes you fall in love" Sugarcult