"I think it's time we talked."
"What? How is this? Are you? This is? You are… what is happening right now?" Donna asked in a panic, clutching Hannah as close to her body as possible. The woman opposite of her was eerily similar to herself. Freckles gracing her bare face, her auburn hair was a little shorter than hers falling just to the tops of her shoulders. Donna looked her up and down. She appeared to be about the same height and build as herself. She didn't even want to get into what Connor Mason was doing at her doorstep.
"Ever heard of a closed time-like curve?" Connor Mason looked practically giddy.
"A closed time-like what?" her head was spinning, all she wanted to do was come home and go to sleep but this evening has been one curveball after another. For the life of her she couldn't figure out why Connor Mason was standing on her doorstep about to give her a science lesson. It was times like this she really wished she could pour herself a glass of scotch. She didn't know where this evening was heading except that scotch would probably make it more bearable.
"Let's just take this inside so Harvey can hear it too." The woman said grabbing Connor by the arm and ushering them inside.
"Donna who was at the-" Harvey's footfall stopped abruptly taking in their visitors. His eyes darting between herself and the woman to her left, his mouth falling open slightly. It would have been cute if Donna didn't feel like she was on a train going 100 mph. "Okay I know I didn't drink that much tonight. What's going on?"
"Ever heard of a closed time-like curve?" Connor asked again, stepping out from behind the two women. Donna rolled her eyes, seriously is this the only thing he can say? Harvey looked about as puzzled as she did.
"Mr. Mason, what are you doing here?" Harvey looked shocked that Connor was in their apartment, he hadn't heard from him since their meeting all those months back. They just assumed he found another lawyer. Or just disappear off the face of the earth like he did a few years ago.
Connor held up a finger. "Do you have a piece of paper?" Harvey furrowed his brows but went to get the requested paper anyway. When he came back Connor led them all to the couch, prompting them to take a seat. Himself and the woman stood on the other side of the coffee table, great we are getting a science lesson… Donna eyed the glass of scotch in Harvey's hand enviously. She gave a bitter huff, smoothing down Hannah's hair as she slowly drifted off to sleep on her lap. Connor cleared his throat to get their attention, he then proceeded to bend the piece of paper so that one of the edges touched the middle. "Say this is the fabric of space-time, if you could get a powerful enough gravitational field you can actually bend it back on itself, creating a kind of loop that would allow you to cross over to an earlier point." He was talking so fast Donna almost missed what he was saying, plus the thick British accent didn't help.
"An-an earlier point… in time?" Donna questioned rubbing her temples. She was too exhausted for this. "What- what are you saying?"
"He's saying he invented a time machine," The woman clarified, "and chose not to tell the government about it."
"Oh because the federal government never screws up anything and can always keep a secret-" he scoffed with a wave of his finger.
"A time machine?" Harvey interrupted getting impatient at their banter, "this is a joke, right? Did Louis put you up to this? Time travel, that's… not possible."
"Well that's what they said about the moon shot, until someone with enough imagination made it very possible." Connor mumbled to himself.
"So does that mean you are me?" Donna asked the woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to herself, albeit a few years older but no less identical. When she first opened the door she thought this was some kind of look alike prank, or that she was just way overtired and was imagining things.
"That's correct." The woman answered. Your future self, her brain corrected. Donna leaned back against the cushions of the couch trying to take it all in. Time travel is real and myself from the future came to visit me. Donna shook her head; so sure she was hallucinating this entire evening but the figures in front of her stayed put. This was real.
"Where- when are you from?" Harvey corrected his eyes still bouncing back and forth between the two Donnas. Donna couldn't imagine who this was weirder for her or him. Obviously me, his future self didn't come to see him. I wonder why not…
"2022." She answered shortly. Donna nodded, that was only two years from now. What's the point of only coming back two years?
"Why are you here?" Donna asked. Her future self looked to Connor before taking a deep breath and looking back at her.
"I felt like I should explain some things and I need your help." Future Donna said simply, eyes bouncing between her and Harvey before falling to their joined hands on the couch. A look of sadness flashed in her eyes and Donna felt her stomach tangle in knots. Does something happen to Harvey in the future and she's here to warn us? She gripped his hand a little harder and she felt him give a reassuring squeeze in response.
"Explain what?" Harvey raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Explain why I brought Hannah back."
AN: Sorry this chapter is way shorter than all my other ones. But I really wanted to end it here, I tried to stretch it as long as I could and ended up almost doubling it. But I'm hoping the quick update time makes up for it lol. Don't worry the next chapter is going to be a beast.