The days passed slowly and while Sarah slept a lot, Danny didn't sleep at all. He was too worried about her. The only time Charlotte or Emily let him approach was when Sarah would wake up and ask for him. Even then they made him stand only close enough that Sarah could see he was there. Eventually though, Sarah began to stay awake longer and then she started ordering Danny to leave too.

"I don't need you sick when I'm better," she pointed out to him, "So don't catch this, okay?"

Danny sighed but obeyed, wondering how he'd gone from team leader to being ordered around by three stubborn women.

For a couple days he saw no sign of his brother and he wondered where he could possibly have gotten to, but Patrick came back suddenly one afternoon and demanded that Danny move from away from the tent entrance where he was standing watching Charlotte administer healing technique after healing technique upon Sarah's rashes.

Danny glanced at him. "Hey, I owe you an apology, Pat, for that first evening here I mean. Charlotte told me that you weren't ready to get to know me yet. I guess I was so happy to see you that I didn't think you might not want to see me. So, you know, if I overstepped some boundaries…"

Patrick looked at him, curiously for a moment and then stated simply, "Move. I need to talk with Charlotte."

Danny did. He didn't trust his brother anymore, but he knew that Charlotte would protect Sarah if needed and he didn't go far just in case. In fact, he remained within earshot of the entire conversation and it seemed that Patrick was trying to get Charlotte to leave the tent.

"Char, you'll get sick too!" he cried in a frustrated tone.

"Ethan, I've been exposed for days. If I'm going to catch it, I probably already have. Where've you been anyway?"

"Walking. Hunting. Thinking. None of your business really. I came back and heard what's going on with you and Sarah and I won't have it. You're risking your life."

"And it's mine to risk, isn't it? As I've said before, no one dies on my watch. I'm not leaving her. Anyway, Emily's in charge, not you, and she said I could stay. However, I'd suggest you leave before you get sick too."

Danny heard silence for a moment and then he was stunned to hear his brother reply sincerely, "Charlotte, fine, you know the risks so I'll let you decide, but if you do get sick you'd better come get me. I'll take care of you."

"I know you would, Ethan. Now skedaddle so I can concentrate on my patient would you?"

"Ethan?" Danny was surprised to hear Sarah's voice suddenly enter the conversation.

"What?" Ethan snapped at her.

"Danny loves you."

Ethan stormed out of the tent and Danny quickly turned his attention to the campfire so it wouldn't be known that he'd been eavesdropping.

"Where's Emily?" Ethan demanded to no one in particular. Someone Danny didn't really know pointed to the trail that went toward the river and Ethan headed that way while Danny returned to his post by Sarah's tent.

Emily looked around when she heard her name being called and she winced when she saw who it was. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"You need to order Charlotte to leave Sarah alone."

Emily knew immediately understood his concern. She was concerned herself; Charlotte was her best friend.

"Ethan, I would if I could."

"Of course you can; you're the team leader."

"Charlotte has a nurturing spirit in her. She wouldn't listen, not in this situation. We've seen it before, Ethan. Charlotte would nurse a sick fly back to health if she could. You know it as well as I do. She'd be miserable."

"What about me?" he whined, "I'll be miserable if she gets sick."

"I'm not going to do it, Ethan."

His expression changed and he sneered at her, "She likes you. If it wasn't for that I'd kill you now and take charge of the Time Tribe myself. Still, I can put up with you for her sake. But if anything happens to her, it'll be your fault and I will get my revenge then."

Emily shuddered as he stormed away.

Two weeks after Sarah's illness had begun, Charlotte suddenly came out of the tent with a grin on her face. "She's got fewer sores now! And she's hungry."

Danny whooped loudly as he leapt up from the log he'd been sitting on with Emily by the campfire, because that could only be a good thing. "Can I sit with her yet?" he asked.

Charlotte shook her head, "She'll be contagious until the last sore is gone, but I don't think she'll get worse again. She's a fighter."

"How much longer?" Danny asked impatiently.

"Few more days, maybe. We'll see." She went back into the tent.

Danny grinned too happy to really care that he couldn't go sit with her just that instant and he turned to Emily, "Did you hear that? She's getting better!"

Emily gave a brief nod and stood up, walking quickly away. Danny frowned, "Emily?" he asked going after her.

She didn't respond, but it was quite clear that she was upset about something, so Danny placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking. "Emily, what's wrong?"

"Are you that unobservant? Did you not see?" she asked, fighting back tears.

Danny shook his head, wondering what was going on. The only thing he'd heard was that Sarah was getting better.

"Charlotte is sick!" Emily snapped at him.

"Oh," Danny replied, instantly feeling bad. He hadn't noticed at all. "How-how could you tell?"

"She's got the rash, she had sores all around her mouth, and did you notice how pale she was?"

Emily actually looked a little pale herself, with worry, and Danny pulled her into a hug.

"Charlotte?" Danny said softly, stepping into the tent.

"Not yet, Danny," Charlotte waved him off.

"Charlotte, let me look after you."

Charlotte shook her head, "Don't be silly, Danny. You'll catch this. Besides, you don't know what you're doing."

"You can tell me."

"That's not going to happen. I'll look after myself and Sarah can return the favour as soon as she's feeling better. You can't get it twice you know."

"And Sarah will be glad to, but she's currently asleep and you're not getting any better as we speak," Danny argued.

"I'm well enough."

"Then wake up Sarah to look after you now."

"No, Danny. If she's going to recover, she needs her sleep. She's not likely to get worse now, but she's very weak. All that time you guys were travelling she should have been resting and it caught up with her quickly."

"And what about you? When was the last time you slept?"

"I catch forty winks now and then. Really, Danny, I'm alright."

It was a blatant fib and they both knew it. Emily appeared at Danny's side a moment later and ordered him away from the sick tent.

"But…" Danny protested.

"She's made her choice, Danny. Do you think I need her and you being sick?"

Danny grumbled about it and stormed off in the opposite direction. He was team leader; he was supposed to be risking his life for others and not the other way around. He felt horrible and guilty. Hesitating, he suddenly had an idea: his brother. His brother would help convince them that Charlotte needed to be cared for.

Danny made his way over to the river, which was the last place he'd seen Patrick and walked until he found him.

"Pat?" Danny spoke cautiously. "I need your help."

Patrick glared at him, "Why would I help you? You left me stranded for eighteen years and now you show up and ask for my help? You're crazier than I am. Do you have any idea what it's like to not have a way home?"

Danny nodded, "Yeah, I do. Sarah and I were trapped a year ago, Patrick. We've hit a lot of rough spots and now we're here."

"At least you had each other. I had no one."

"I did my best to save you, Patrick. Everything I've done has been about getting you back. There are only a handful of people in the world who know about the anomalies and I'm one of them. Doesn't that tell you something? Doesn't that tell you that I spent every moment figuring out what happened to you?"

"I'm not helping you."

"Then help Charlotte. This is about her."

Patrick looked up then, "What about Charlotte?"

"She's sick. I tried to get her to rest and let me care for her, but she won't. Emily's ordered me away now too. She's still looking after Sarah and I think that all Sarah needs now is some sleep. She won't listen to me. I hoped she would you."

Patrick looked hurt and turned away from Danny, tossing a few rocks into the river that had been in his hand. "She won't listen to me either. Emily was right; she cared too much and it'll be her own downfall."

Then his looked changed to an angry one and he started to storm off before yelling to Danny, "Get me some boiling water. She might not listen to me, but I'll tend to her whether she likes it or not. I don't have to listen to her either you know."

Danny grinned to himself, feeling like he'd won.

Patrick, or Ethan, whoever he was, had made good on his word. He tended Charlotte carefully, but she still seemed to be getting weaker while Sarah was growing stronger. Sarah tried to help him but he pushed her away, telling her he didn't want her help and that he could care for Charlotte on his own.

"I owe her though," Sarah replied. "I need to pay off my debt."

"Then you can fetch water," Ethan snapped. "But wait until tomorrow. You're contagious still. There's a couple sores left on you."

"What about you?"

Ethan shrugged, "Well hopefully I won't catch them, but I daresay you'll all be happy to get rid of me and are wishing for the opposite."

"That's not true."

"Whatever," he shrugged. "You don't have to be nice to me because I'm your boyfriend's brother you know. I'd have been much happier to see you dead than Charlotte sick."

"Ethan," Charlotte protested his words as she woke slightly up.

Ethan turned his attention to her and ignored Sarah from then on.

Sarah's sores weren't gone by the next day and she still felt exhausted. She tried to get up once, but fell back down, almost passing out with the exertion. She might be on the mend, she decided, but she was still too weak to move around a lot. She fell back to sleep.

The blipping started suddenly, startling everyone at the campfire and they looked at Danny expectantly as he pulled the anomaly detector from his pocket. "It's not far," he told the group, "A couple miles maybe, but no more."

Ethan suddenly emerged from the tent with his own detector and carrying Charlotte in his arms. "Anomaly," he stated simply. "I'm going through."

Emily jumped up, "Ethan you can't. Charlotte can't travel right now, she's too sick."

"She's beyond my capabilities," Ethan snapped back. "Who knows? Maybe we can get her help on the other side."

Danny shook his head, "That's crazy. You're more likely to find more trouble."

Emily turned to Danny, "What about you? You said you travel them all, didn't you?"

Danny nodded, "That was me and Sarah's rule, yes, but she's in no state to travel. It's too risky for her health right now. She can't run from dinosaurs. It's not a risk I can take. I don't want her getting worse, and I don't want her to be a dino's breakfast. We'll stay with the group until she's well."

"And not going through is a risk I can't take," Ethan said pointedly. "Sarah's on the mend, but Charlotte's gotten worse: a lot worse. I have to find her medicine because otherwise, she's going to die."

"And what are the chances of her getting help on the other side?" Danny pointed out.

"Slim," Ethan replied logically, "but I don't think she's got any chance here. I'm taking her through."

"And I'm staying." He stood up and moved towards his brother, the rest of the group watching them. "Patrick, I always vowed that if I found you, I wouldn't let you out of my sight ever again. But we're both adults and we've lived very different lives and I need to learn to let you go. I'm always going to love you and I hope I'll run into you again soon and I really hope that Charlotte gets well, but I have to choose and Sarah just isn't well enough to travel. I can't lose her."

Patrick stared at him, "I'll wish you luck mate, but I am not gonna hug you if that's what you want."

Danny grinned and slapped him on the back, "No worries, just… take care."

Patrick turned then and, still carrying Charlotte, went to move forward but suddenly he was stopped by Emily.

"Wait! Ethan! I'm coming too."

Ethan turned and looked at her, "I thought you hated going through them."

"Well I do and, unlike half of you, I've no real desire to return home anyway but…" she gestured at Charlotte, "We came through the first one together and we made a pact not to leave each other. She's my best friend too, you know."

"Well hurry up then," Ethan ordered and glanced around at the others, "Anyone else?"

No one else really expressed any interest though. They mostly said they'd been through too many and felt discouraged travelling them now as one place usually led to somewhere worse. They'd made this place their home and become a sort of family. Emily nodded in their direction then, "If we don't come back, Danny's in charge."

"Me?" Danny asked her, "I'm the newbie."

"You also have the detector, have researched the anomalies, and were some sort of leader where you came from. You're the best choice."

"I'll follow Danny," the man named Marc piped up.

Danny smiled, humbled by the votes of confidence and gave Emily a quick hug, "Thanks. If you don't find what you need, hurry back, eh?"

"We'll try," Emily promised. "See you in a bit." And they set off.

They didn't return within a half day and Danny began to get worried that something could have happened to them. Sarah was still asleep, but Danny set out to see if he could meet them coming back. He figured it'd be a couple of hours walking and he took a rope lasso and knife for protection, but he didn't make his intentions known just yet as he didn't want the Time Tribe to know he was worried.

He was approaching the area where he thought the anomaly must be when he suddenly heard something that sounded sickeningly like an angry Tree Creeper and a man yelling. He began to run, hoping that Patrick was holding his own and protecting the girls.

He was in sight of the anomaly just in time to see a tree creeper chase a man that he didn't recognize through the anomaly. The man looked unfamiliar, but he had been carrying Emily. Danny didn't have time to puzzle over the situation. He ran forward determined to protect the others, when to his amazement, the Tree Creeper fell back through to his side, unconscious.

And then the anomaly suddenly locked. Danny stared at if for a moment and then his jaw dropped in astonishment as he realised what he was looking at. The anomaly was still there, it hadn't closed it was just locked. This meant that someone on the other side had a locking mechanism. Which mean that… His heart sunk as he realised that home was right on the other side and he'd missed it. He'd promised Sarah they'd go through every anomaly and the one he'd chosen not to, led to home. And now it was too late.