(A/N) I know I haven't updated in quite a while, and accept for being lazy, I really don't have an excuse. But here's part two. Sorry about the wait! ^-^
Once Courtney delivered the news, Duncan was at a loss for words. His mouth was a gape and his eyes were wide and full of fear. When he tried to say something, it just wouldn't come out. He was in too much of a shock to say anything.
Courtney wasn't surprised, though. She expected him to react this way.
"I know it's a big surprise." She said calmly, "But, I really thought you should know."
Duncan was still silent.
"This is what we wanted." Courtney explained, "To get married, be together, and settle down to raise a family when it's all over."
The expression on Duncan's face eased into a frown. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. He gave a heavy sigh and said, "Raise a family, huh?"
Courtney knew that something else was going on with him. "What's wrong?"
"Well, it's just that there's something bothering me about that." confessed Duncan, "You see… I just… I don't…" He let out a sigh" I'm worried, that's all. I mean what kind of father am I gonna be? With all the bad stuff I did, like― Well, I don't think I should―"
"Like stealing cars, mugging people on the street, dealing drugs, and lifting stuff from big time electronic stores?" interrupted Courtney.
"Wait! How did―"
"I'm Courtney, remember. You really think I would marry someone without knowing that kind of stuff?"
Duncan smiled slightly, then frowned again and said, "Well, the thing is, I don't want my kid to turn into me. I want that kid to become something better than what I became, you know?"
Courtney smiled. "You know, we had this conversation before."
Duncan shot her a confused look.
"Well, I have with you. You know, in my time zone." Explained Courtney, "It was on our second date. You just brought up the subject out of the blue." She smiled. "I wonder why!" She said playfully which caused Duncan to turn a slight shade of red in the darkness. Courtney continued, "When you said that you were afraid to be a father, do you want to know what I said to you?"
Duncan smiled a little more. He knew that she was playing with him. "What did you say?"
"I said, 'Duncan, you―" Courtney was suddenly interrupted by the sounds of footsteps coming towards the boat house. She stood up.
"What's up?" said Duncan, standing up as well.
"I need to get out of here unnoticed. It's too soon for me to be seen by my past self."
It took Duncan but a moment to put two and two together."Wait a sec! What would Courtney be doing out here?"
"I may of denied it a million times, but I really did like you." Said Courtney smiling, "I wanted to see you."Duncan's face eased back into his signature cocky smile, which made Courtney smile back at him. "Look, I'll hide, and you get her out of here." Instructed Courtney.
"Don't worry about that, babe. I got an idea!" said Duncan, rubbing his hands together.
I bet you do! Courtney couldn't help but think as she hid herself behind the crates that she had hidden behind before.
The door opened suddenly and a light shined into the boat house. Courtney's past self stepped inside with a flashlight in one hand and a bowl of barely edible gruel in the other. For some reason, Duncan thought that sweeping the floor would be a good way to act natural. Courtney's future self giggled silently as she watched what was happening.
[(A/N) from now one, I'm going to refer to the present day Courtney as "Courtney" and Courtney from the future as "Courtney's future self".]
"Hello?" said Courtney as she poked her head into the boat house. "Duncan?"
Duncan, who was whistling a little tune while sweeping the floor, looked up from his broom to look at her. "Princess!" He threw the broom aside.
"I wish you'd stop calling me that!" Courtney snapped. Courtney's future self sighed silently as she recalled the good old days.
"So, come to claim that kiss?" he said, breaking the ice with something predictable.
Courtney, looking rather unimpressed by the pick-up line, held up the bowl of gruel and said, "Even pigs deserve a meal!"
Duncan took one look at the unappetizing food that sat in the bowl and said, "Mmm, no thanks. I'll stick with the bait." As he pointed to the worms that were squirming around in a nearby bucket.
"Yeah, well, that's all Chef would serve us after our 'pathetic performance' on the obstacle course." Said Courtney as she dusted off the box that Duncan was previously sitting on and sat down. Duncan grabbed the overturned bucket that sat next to the box and sat down next to her. After Duncan tried in vain to remove the spoon from the gruel, he threw it over his shoulder as Courtney continued, "Why do you egg Chef on like that? You'll know you're going to get in trouble."
"Why are you so uptight all the time?" shot Duncan. He was in hopes of getting her out of the boat house by convincing her to do something bad. He figured that as long as he had to get rid of her, it might as well be in a way that he liked.
"I am NOT uptight!" defended Courtney as she stood to her feet.
Duncan scoffed as he rose to get eye level with Courtney, "You always follow the rules!"
"Well, you always have to break them!" Courtney shot back.
"Only the one's I want to." Duncan said as he gave a satisfied wink.
Courtney turned the other way.
Bingo! Thought Duncan, as he knew that he had struck a nerve that might have been the key to the success of his plan.
"Okay, so maybe I do follow the rules. I guess that makes me a big, uptight loser in your books, right?"
"Maybe." Said Duncan, which caused Courtney to cry out in frustration. Duncan continued, "So then, why do you follow them?"
Courtney turned back around and glared at him as she pointed a big bass in his face, causing Duncan to hold up his hands defensively. "Because not following then gets you thrown into A FISH CABIN!!!" She yelled.
Duncan smiled as he leaned in to Courtney."But I'm in the fish cabin with you, aren't I?" Courtney looked away and smiled, knowing Duncan had a pretty good point.
Yes! It's working! Time to bring it home!
"Feel like ditching this crap for some peanut butter and jam?" he offered.
Courtney dropped her fish and exclaimed, "ARE YOU KIDDING?!?! All I've had for two days is this gruel!" She frowned, "But Chef will never give it to us!"
"See? Now that's the problem with your thinking! The trick is to not ask for it."
"Do you have some on you?" Courtney giggled.
"No. But I happen to know where to find it. It will involve breaking a quite a few rules, though. Are you in?"
C'mon Court! You know you want to! He silently urged.
Courtney thought about for a moment, then smiled and exclaimed, "Let's do it!"
Duncan smiled, happy that his plan had worked, "Well, alright then!" Courtney gave him a high five, and the two made their way out the door. Before Duncan followed Courtney all the way out the door, he gave her a thumbs up to Courtney's future self to let her know that the coast was clear.
The door closed behind them and Courtney's future self sat down on the box. She rubbed her stomach gently. She was a little worried too. It was not that she was afraid of her baby having a delinquent father, because, after all, Duncan had changed. But she was scared about whether or not the baby was going to have a father at all. Her hand slid from her stomach to her pants pocket. She pulled out the wooden skull that Duncan made for her.
"Duncan." She said as she nuzzled the little skull, "Please be there when I get back." A single tear shed from her eye and raced down her cheek.
Courtney then remembered that, contrast to popular belief about time travel, she did not have all the time in the world.
She remembered the back pack that Duncan had given her. She left it in her hiding place. She went over, picked up the backpack and brought it over to where she was sitting. It did not feel very heavy. She opened it. Inside was a four inch long, half an inch wide silver rod with a yellow light at the tip. Also, there was a set of his regular outfit, skull T-shirt, green cargo shorts, dog collar, and red converse, neatly folded and packed inside that backpack. On top of everything was a note, folded into a perfect square and labeled "To: My CIT!"
She carefully opened the note and read its contents:
To my dearest CIT,
I don't have to long to write this letter to you. Heck, I'm lucky I had enough time to find a pen and paper! Listen, or rather read carefully, I just want you to know that I love you, more than you can imagine. I know that, in the midst of this battle, there's a chance that I'm going to die. You sorta gave me that impression when I talked to you when you entered the past in the boat house. Heh heh. Don't worry, I won't tell Guenevere about our conversation!
I also know that you're pregnant with our first child. That's why I wanted to get you into the past safely. I needed to make sure our child would be alright! Personally, I hope it's a girl. That way, she'll be as beautiful and kind as you are. But no matter what gender our child will be, I couldn't be more thrilled! This is truly one of the best things that has ever happened to me!
I packed you a few things that I thought you'd like. The little rod is so you can erase the footage of you in the boat house. I already programmed it to erase only the tape that shows you and not your past self , so all you have to do it point it at the camera and push the top. No need to worry about the rest.
I also thought that you would like some of my clothes. I know how much you like to wear them ;).
Come back safe. I promise that I'll hang in there until I see you again.
I love you,
Ju-V.
Courtney's future self read and re-read the letter until her eyes started to ache from reading in the dark too much. When she was done, she folded it back up and took the backpack back behind the crates.
Five minutes later, she was fully changed into the clothes her husband thoughtfully packed for her. Duncan knew her well: dressing up in his clothes was one of her new favorite pastimes. They were slightly baggy, but fit pretty well otherwise. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and inhaled the smell of her husband that still hung on the sleeves if the shirt.
Then she took out the silver rod, pointed it at each of the cameras located in the boat house, and, one by one, erased the footage of her presence.
She packed the clothes she changed out of and the rod in the backpack, placed the note in her back pocket, and left the boat house.
She needed a place to hide until Courtney got voted off the island. Some place private, where she and her past self would be able to talk later. She thought for a moment, then, an idea popped into her head. Courtney's future self secretly snuck her way across the beach until she found the boat of losers. She found an old tarp near the side of the boat that was away from where the cameras would shoot. It was the perfect hiding place!
She curled up into a tight ball and laid as close to the side of the boat as possible. Then she covered herself with the tarp, making sure not to cover herself too tightly as to give herself some cushion space so she would be able to slightly move without the tarp moving.
Once she settled down, she tried desperately to go to sleep. It was difficult for her to do so, though. The floor of the boat covered her body in splinters and the tarp, although it did an excellent job in hiding her, did nothing to conserve her body heat from the chill of the night air. Her mind went back to the note Duncan's future self wrote her.
He's the best thing that ever happened to me! A tear welled up in her eye.
Why didn't I appreciate the time we had together more? Another tear rolled down her face.
He can't die! Not now! Now five tears emerged from her bloodshot eyes.
She spent three hours, just crying. She closed her eyes and pictured her with her husband in a garden, and Duncan rocking her back and forth. After a few minutes of day dreaming, she drifted asleep.
When she woke up the next day, it was the late afternoon. She could tell by the cheering of the Screaming Gophers that echoed from the camp.
Courtney's future self blinked her sleepy eyes as she woke up. She heard the cheering in the distance. Gwen must've won the challenge just now. Thought Courtney's future self. That means that it will only be a few hours until the bonfire ceremony.
While Courtney's future self still had some time left to kill, her mind went back to her husband back in the future. But, unlike the previous night, she didn't focus on the negative. She was smart enough to realize that it was too unhealthy to stress over what might not be so bad. Maybe Duncan was alright! Maybe after the battle was over, he made up their room for a special "Welcome Home" night! Maybe he decorating their room that moment, with red rose petals and chocolates on the bed and perfume in the air! Or maybe he was making a list of baby names he liked so it would be easier for them to choose one! Maybe he setting up one of the spare rooms as a nursery or choosing out paint colors for the baby's room!
Courtney's future self entertained herself with what she thought Duncan's future self was doing back home. Keeping her mind away from… the unthinkable.
She was so preoccupied within her thoughts that she only was able to snap out of her trance when she suddenly heard a ruckus.
Meanwhile, the bonfire ceremony had just ended, and Courtney was putting up a fight. "I DO NOT CONCEDE! I DO NOT CONCEDE!" yelled Courtney in her rage as Chef and Chris dragged her to the dock of shame.
"Aw man! This sucks!" exclaimed Duncan. His exclamation was more than true. It was an understatement. After the talk he had with Courtney's future self, the only thing he wanted was to be with Courtney for as long as possible. And now she was leaving, right after Courtney had gotten to like him.
"I was your only hope! I was a COUNCILER IN TRAINING!!!" Courtney continued with her verbal rampage.
Courtney's future self, who was listening from under the tarp, gave a silent laugh, knowing herself that the teams were going to be dissolved after the next challenge anyway, so the "you need my CIT experience" card she always dealt wouldn't be any good anymore. Actually, now that she thought about it, Courtney's future self doubted that it did any good in the first place.
"Let go of me!" Courtney demanded. And with that, Chef and Chris threw her into the boat of losers and she landed with a thud. "You are going to hear from my attorney!" she threatened.
"Courtney! Wait!" shouted Duncan.
Courtney quickly got to her feet when she heard him call.
"I made this for you!" shouted Duncan. He threw the object to Courtney as the boat moved away.
"Duncan!" She cried when she caught it. She saw that it was a little wooden skull that Duncan hand carved.
"Okay, this is really weird and creepy, but… I love it! I'll never forget you!" She cried. And with that last sentiment said, the boat moved out of earshot.
Courtney sat down on the boat seat as the clearly tired Chef drove the boat away. After about a minute of silence, Chef pulled down the blinds of the windows that surrounded the steering wheel. Courtney huffed and folded her arms.
Suddenly, the tarp that lay a little ways away started to move. This immediately caught Courtney's attention.
Before Courtney could let out a yelp of surprise, Courtney's future self emerged from under the covering. Courtney was in shock.
As Courtney's future self got to her feet and dusted herself off, she looked at the obviously frightened Courtney, who was paralyzed with the look of a deer in the headlights.
Courtney's future self neared her. Courtney was still speechless and motionless. As Courtney's future self neared, Courtney's eyes grew larger. She recognized her immediately, but yet, she didn't recognize her.
"Who… who are you?" asked Courtney.
Courtney's future self sat down next to her and looked Courtney dead in the eyes, as if she was looking into her very soul, "I'm your future self, and we need to talk."
Courtney's face changed from fear to disbelief, "Wait. You can't be me! Why is some of your hair blue? And why are you in Duncan's clothes? I'm going to run for office, and you're saying I'm gonna look like―"
"I'm NOT running for office!" interrupted Courtney's future self, who was very annoyed. She knew her own personality well, and knew that if she wanted Courtney to listen, she had to get to the truth before the details.
"Wha… what do you mean I'm not running for office?!?!?!" Courtney asked, getting a little angry. "How could I just throw my life away? Running for office was my dream!" It was then that Courtney again noticed Duncan's clothes. "Oh-ho! So Duncan's behind this! I should have never trusted that little criminal!" Courtney's future's self felt a twinge of anger spike, but restrained herself. Courtney continued, "He's obviously contaminated your brain. That's probably why you're here, to tell me to end it with him now before things get worse, right? Phew! Let me tell you, I'm glad I found out about this now instead of―"
Courtney's future self couldn't restrain herself any longer, "JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME FOR FIVE FRICKIN' MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!" she yelled. She gasped and looked over to where Chef was driving. Luckily, Chef was so tired and so preoccupied with driving the boat that he didn't really didn't notice the noise, nor did he want to bother to check it out.
Courtney was in a state of shock. She had never been spoken to like that before. And coming from her own future self? Wow!
"Duncan didn't 'contaminate my brain'! I never ran because of this power-hungry psychopath that's terrorizing the future." Courtney was suddenly ridden with guilt, feeling bad for judging Duncan so harshly. Courtney's future self continued, "But even if there wasn't a psycho, I still wouldn't run."
Courtney was silent, but, the confused look on her face inquired for an explanation.
"I wouldn't run because…" Her voice trailed off as she raised her right hand, revealing the diamond ring on her finger, "… I would rather spend more time with the one I love."
"I… I married… Duncan" said Courtney in disbelief, "Oh, this can't be real! I just met Duncan, and now we're going to be married? I have to be dreaming!"
"This isn't a dream." Said Courtney's future self calmly, "And as much as you try to deny it, you love Duncan, despite his faults. And as much as you deny it, he loves you, too."
Courtney's face eased up to a disappointed frown, "Yeah right!" she remarked, "How could a guy like him love a girl like me. I mean, He's a criminal, but now that I think about it, I think I'm a bigger mess than he is. He's right; I am uptight all the time."
Courtney's future self stood, took the note from her husband from her back pocket, and handed it to Courtney.
"What's this?" Courtney asked as she unfolded it. However, after a moment of reading, she didn't need an answer.
Courtney's future self waited until Courtney was done reading it. Courtney read over the letter about seven or eight times before handing it back.
"Is… i-i-is… i-is all th-that st-st-stuff… t-t-t-t-true?" she managed to stutter out in her stupor.
Courtney then suddenly burst into tears, "I just can't take this in. It's just too much!"
Courtney's future self touched her shoulder, and then was suddenly taken aback when Courtney clung onto her and continued crying. Courtney's future self embraced her.
"Why did this happen to me?" said Courtney between sobs, "I mean, I meet one guy. When I hate him, I can't get him away from me! When I like him, we're separated! Then I find out that we're going to be married! And that we're going to have a child, and that he might die before our child is born. And all this stuff about a power-hungry mad man running around in the future, and…and…and…and" Courtney just continued crying, too upset to speak anymore.
"I know how you feel." Said Courtney future self, "I lived through this conversation, and all this stuff that's going on. After I got to… well, the place this boat goes to, I refused to believe it. I convinced myself it was just a dream." Courtney's future self took Courtney's shoulders and made contact with her bloodshot eyes, "But Courtney, listen carefully. If you can only believe one thing, I want you to believe in what I'm going to tell you to do." Courtney nodded, so her future self continued, "Don't take Duncan for granted. Cherish every moment you have with him. And don't throw your life away because you're scared of throwing your life away. There were times where I seriously considered breaking it off with Duncan because of my dreams for office. But you have to stay strong!"
Courtney managed to paint a small smile on her face and nodded, "I will!"
Right at the moment, Courtney's watch started to beep repeatedly as flash blue.
"I have to go!" said Courtney's future self, "Remember what I said." Courtney shot the portal from her watch. Just as she was about to pass through, she looked over her shoulder and said, "Oh and try to go easy on Harold next week."
"Harold?!?! Why would―" suddenly it clicked, "You mean… he?!?!"
"Uh. Maybe I've said too much!" Said Courtney's future self as she turned back around to enter the portal.
"WHY THAT SCRAWNY, RED-HEADED, FRECKLE RIDDEN, FOUR-EYED, LITTLE FREAK! I'M GONNA KILL HIM! I'M GONNA―" Courtney's future self re-entered the past before she could hear the rest of her past self's angry tirade.
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Courtney practically ran through the portal, excided and anxious at the same time.
When she re-entered the past, obvious evidence of the battle was displayed. The entire HQ was a mess, many members of the team were injured, blood was splattered everywhere, and burn marks from misfired laser shots riddled that walls.
"Courtney! You're back!" exclaimed Bridgette as she ran over to hug her, "You okay? You looks like a mess!"
"I'm fine!" she said quickly, "Where's Duncan?"
The whole room fell silent. A few people looked awkwardly at each other while others looked silently at the floor.
Courtney's heart turned to ice, "Where's Duncan?!?!?!?"
"Duncan's…" Bridgette tried, but her voice was lost in the dread of delivering the news.
"Duncan, he really… uh…" tried Sadie in vain.
"Well, Duncan… he… oh…umm." Heather tried.
"He's in the infirmary." Said Harold, who had just stepped into the room from one of the side doors, "He got some really bad injuries during the fight. He's alive, but to be completely honest, we're not sure whether or not he'll make it."
Courtney looked at Harold. His eyes were grave and his mouth was curved into a serious frown.
"Thanks, Harold." Courtney was about to cry, but she restrained herself.
"No problem, Court. When you go to see him, tell him I'm sorry about getting you kicked off."
Courtney nodded, and then she turned around and walked to the infirmary, praying that Duncan had kept his promise to hang in there until she could see him again.
She made it to the door of the infirmary. She opened the door and saw Duncan lying there. He was asleep. She slowly walked over to his bed. She sat down on a chair next to him, where she could clearly see the damage of the poor soul.
Duncan's body was covered with wounds, cuts, and bruises of every size. His left leg was in a stark white cast and was being suspended above the bed. His breathing was small and shallow. A large cut on his face that went from the top of his mid forehead, over his right eye, and down his face, was still bleeding in a few places.
Courtney would have died from shock there and then if she wasn't so heartbroken. She gingerly reached out her hand and touched his.
Suddenly, a small noise came from his lips. His breathing became slightly deeper, and he moved slightly. He slowly opened his eyes and looked over at his wife. Courtney's heart breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, CIT. You ai'ite?" said Duncan weakly.
As another tear rolled down Courtney's cheek, she smiled and said, "Me? What about you? You poor thing!"
Duncan gave a small chuckle, "That's my Courtney. Always thinking of me! I'm fine, but you look dead tired."
"I was thinking of you. Couldn't get you out of my head, you know." Courtney pulled out the note from her pocket. "You knew I was pregnant all along?"
Duncan nodded as he gave a weak smile. "Which reminds me: What do you think we should call our little girl?"
Courtney looked down at her stomach and said, "If it was going to be a girl, I'd name her Lela. However, we are going to name our baby boy Hunter."
"You wanna boy, huh? Why's that?"
"Because that way, he'll be as beautiful and kind as you." She stroked the side of his face. "But no matter what gender our baby will be, I couldn't be more thrilled."
"This is truly," they said together, "one of the best things that has ever happened to me."
Courtney and Duncan smiled for a while, then Duncan said, "By the way, you owe me for scaring me like that!"
"Like what?" said Courtney confused.
"You seriously made me think that I was going to die!" said Duncan, "Sure, it may look bad, but you don't need to worry about me. I've been hurt worse."
Courtney laughed a little, mostly because she was relieved that Duncan was okay.
"By the way," said Courtney as she got up, "Harold says he's sorry for stuffing the ballot box."
Duncan thought for a minute, and then said, "Tell him that I hear his apology and I have decided to just break his arm instead of his neck!"
Courtney giggled a little bit and made her way to the door.
"Courtney?"
"Yes, Duncan?" she said over her shoulder.
"Tell me again what you said to me on our second date?"
Courtney smiled. "I said, 'Duncan, you don't need to be worried about what you did in order to raise a child, but be focused on what you're going to do.'" She turned around, "Now, get some rest, 'k honey?"
Duncan nodded and closed his eyes as Courtney walked out of the room.
(A/N) I hope you enjoyed it! This took me, in all, five or so hours. It's about nine pages long! I really got into this!!! It's a way of making up for weeks of silence, I guess! ^-^ See ya next time!