Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual stuff about me not making any money off this.
Author's note: For all those reading this story, thanks for your patience.

Time to Consider
Chapter 22
By Callisto

Jarod stood somewhat nervously off stage, waiting. Scattered around him were some of the people involved in the competition. He knew none of them personally but had exchanged a few friendly words with the various relatives and friends of the contestants as they became more familiar with each other over the course of the past couple weeks. He was completely oblivious to the admiring sideways glances that took in his slim but obviously fit physique. At his girlfriend's insistence, he kept his hair very short and in direct contrast to the current styles for men. His features were chiseled but it was obvious that time would further enhance and bring character to them. As in his time, his eyes were arresting, though given his physical youth, held within them a sadness of terrible experiences along with a wily intelligence that seemed unquenchable.

The field had been thinned out considerably, leaving today as the final day where the top 5 contenders displayed their talents before an enthusiastic audience and a panel of tough judges. From what he had seen and heard, the competition was stiff but so far Parker continued to surprise and amaze him by staying in the thick of it. He shook his head in wonder over the power of the merge. The teenaged Mari was amazing in her abilities, though Jarod was certain that the older Parker's own aptitude and drive managed to push the teenager over the top in her talents. One thing he had learned in his association with Parker was her tenacity and persistence, which usually yielded her desired results—except, of course, when matched against his wits.

Taking a deep breath, Jarod walked around a bit and wondered at his own discomfiture. She was the one competing, the last one on stage before the judging began, but he felt as though he had a stake in her success. Oddly, here they were seven months after they fled from Vermont and the Centre's clutches and he found that they hadn't spent as much time together as he had hoped. The first week in Portugal had gone fairly well. There had been a few times when he had the opportunity of sneaking a few stolen, intimate moments with her. After that, things spiraled down a road he never knew existed. Parker met with her piano teacher and played a complicated piece for her for over an hour. The skeptical look on Parker's face betrayed her belief that she hadn't done well, though to Jarod's ears, it was excellent. Her technical skills might have needed a bit more refinement but the expression was the best he had ever heard. Apparently the piano teacher agreed and was so dumbfounded that she sat on a nearby settee for several minutes without saying a word. She then got up with energy and finding Catherine, spoke with her in private for over an hour. This was repeated with Parker included in the discussions. The result was that Parker would take a leave of absence from school and practice for the upcoming competition exclusively. The only catch was the music teacher lived in Lisbon itself while the Ferrer's actually lived some distance from the metropolis in a seaside hamlet. Parker agreed to this arrangement advising him that they could take an apartment in the major city to see if they could actually live together without killing each other.

At first, when they were blissfully alone in their own apartment, Jarod never knew he could've enjoyed Parker's company as thoroughly as he did or on so consistent a basis. The first on-going distraction was only minor, when he started helping a local drag racer boost the performance on, what to Jarod anyway, was a classic car. He enjoyed sports where speed was of the essence and since he was at least a couple decades away from test flying any F14, this humble machine would have to do. Then slowly, her studies began to envelop her time and require her absence just at the moment when his curiosity over the red-eyed tree frog that hitched his way to this time frame began to consume him. Parker had done an expert job in comfortably caging the frog in a terrarium with fresh water, convenient wooden perch, a daily misting, plenty of doomed crickets for food and a soft bed of Spanish moss. Going through all of Parker's books, Jarod soon expanded his search for knowledge to the library and began reading further about the amphibian. He became all the more curious about the compound used to arrest its aging through the time portal. As with most things that captured his imagination, Jarod became slightly obsessed. With the skill of a zoologist, he took the frog from its cushy habitat and extracted fluids from it to discover the nature of the compound the scientist used.

Here Jarod was in his most comfortable element, an intellectual puzzle that challenged him was balanced delicately between his own financial endeavors with the stock market, keeping his obligations to his drag racing friend by acting as a back-up driver and his deepening, mutually affectionate relationship with Parker. He worked at his leisure; free from the worry of anyone trying to get away with murder or that someone was in any danger. After a few months he thought he had duplicated what took the scientist over a year to formulate. It took another month to modify its basic chemical structure to make the compound compatible for humans.

One night after dinner, Jarod spent an hour explaining to Parker what he had accomplished in detail. Occasionally looking over at her to see if she were listening, he told her of the compound. At her continued silence, Jarod stared into her glassy eyes, reassured that he had lost her after the first few sentences.

"And then the frog jumped up on its hind legs and said 'Hey that hurts, what do you think I am, a pin cushion?'" Jarod said casually.

A long moment passed, while Parker continued to stare at the wall directly in front of her, as she lay stretched out on the couch. Jarod had her feet in his lap while he absently caressed her muscular legs. It was obvious from their muscle definition that keeping up with her dancing lessons was having positive effects. He had lost her completely but the view more than made up for her inattention. She was very lovely with each day revealing another part of her eventual metamorphosis into the beautiful woman he knew she would become.

"Amazing. I knew the frog was unusual but to actually talk? Now that's over the top. Do you think its trip through the time portal had something to do with its developing vocal cords?" she asked in deadpan.

Jarod chuckled in response as her gray gaze shifted over to his own. "I thought I had lost you after I started into the explanation of the molecular resequencing and chemically dynamic catalyst needed to achieve my little feat."

She smiled softly at him and replied, "You did. But not because you were boring me silly with your 250 IQ level explanations. The voices started speaking as well and it was easier for me to follow what they were saying than what you were going on about." She focused her attention completely on Jarod's youthful features and asked with mild curiosity, "Would you be able to, say, inoculate us with this compound you made up?"

"Why? It wouldn't help us stay the same age here. It only works when the body is subjected to the electromagnetic properties that exist in a time portal event horizon."

"The voices seem to believe that it would be wise to inoculate ourselves. Something about stabilizing our current phase make-up, since we went through the portal unprepared. Look, it doesn't make much sense to me either, but I've learned to listen like E.F. Hutton to anything they say."

"Like who?"


Kowaris Cannery – Present
Anchorage, AK

Norwood was amazed by the speed and efficiency it took to reassemble his machine. He was also taken aback by the kid who helped them. Never had he encountered someone smarter than him, not only smarter but younger as well. It took the kid less than a week to understand the technical concepts and only after a few hours spent examining the schematic diagrams drawn up by Ethan, was the teenager able to competently help them reassemble the machine. The modifications to the power input/output manifold were such that it allowed for a heftier and more robust containment field—one that could take the load of at least two if not more people.

Instead of feeling challenged, Norwood smiled enthusiastically. So much that Ethan began to wonder what else the barely ethical scientist had in mind for his machine. Ethan knew what he wanted and needed. The voices spoke to him, but he wasn't in the mood for their messages. He was determined to stick to his original deal with Norwood and felt confident that once his siblings were back where they belonged and given some time to readjust, they would be happy at the result.

The major looked in occasionally at the contraption his sons were helping the college kid build. After Norwood gave his explanation of what his machine had done to Jarod and his companion, all the major could do was stare in disbelief. He wanted Jarod back safe and sound but to believe that he was sent back through time to a different reality was something straight out of science fiction. He could easily see that his skepticism irritated Norwood who in turn nodded towards Daniel for confirmation. His younger 'son' calmly turned his gaze from Norwood to his father and gave a short nod. It wasn't only conceivable but possible as well.

Major Charles entered the empty, shuttered loading bay and slowly circled the machine. A variety of thoughts pinged around in his mind as he thought of the predicament that had his eldest son currently entrapped. His pointed questions were readily answered but he wasn't blind to Ethan's sudden muteness. Those voices he often spoke to were saying something else that he wasn't sharing. This also bothered the major. Made him worry about his son and opened his considerable imagination up to other possibilities no one bothered to mention. However, like Ethan, he kept his concerns to himself, except to express in an encrypted e-mail to Emily his reservations about their latest endeavors. Her advice, as usual, was pointed and logical. Following up on her instructions, the major approached Ethan and stood next to his son.

"Before we go any further with this, I want to ask you one question and I want you to answer me fully and honestly."

Ethan quietly awaited the question without answering, though he was sure what that question would be. The major looked at his son's calm face and plunged on.

"Is it safe to bring him back? Can this thing actually do what Norwood claims without harming Jarod?"

"Yes, it can and it will. I've spoken to both of them using the machine, so it was easier for me to believe Norwood's claims. We're close to being ready to contact them. Hopefully by the end of the week, they'll both be back with us."

"You sound certain."

"That's because I am. They both are very precious to me, not just Jarod. I wouldn't wish any harm to come to either. Emily knows how I feel about our brother and you know that my feelings are the same for my sister," Ethan replied, forcing calm into his voice. He knew his father would turn to Emily for advice on how to approach him. In a very short time, Ethan had made it his business to get to know and understand all his relatives. The voices were only a part of his talents.

"I can't help but worry and I can't shake the feeling that you're hiding something from us. Something the voices have already told you."

His marginally moral deal with Norwood was busily pushed away from the forefront of his mind. Turning to his father, Ethan looked him in the eye and replied, "We're going to get them both back, safe and sound. No harm will come to them—not if Daniel has anything to say about it. He's added a number of safety features that Norwood never considered being that his initial experiment was to only send through a frog. We've checked, double-checked and rechecked all the systems. Before we make a move, we're going to go over the whole thing again, just to make certain."

This speech seemed to mollify the major but there was still something niggling in the back of his mind. Something that Ethan had left out during his assurances. Nodding slowly, the major fixed his son with a piercing stare, then left the loading bay.

Norwood had listened to this exchange with interest. He needed to know that Ethan was still on board with their plans. What they were about to do didn't cause Norwood a moment's pause. He was determined to get the two back and all in one piece. They were his proof, a validation of his own personal genius that eclipsed even Daniel's brilliance. The fact that they might be reluctant to return didn't cause him to bat even one eye in hesitation.