Chapter 3: Time, part 2.

"What are you talking about?" Junior asked. "What do you mean that time is getting away from you?'' Q looked at him. "Time is getting away from me," he repeated. He got to his feet, holding his granddaughter close to him. "I have squandered it. And now it's getting away from me," he walked past his son, taking Ellie along with him. Junior followed them as they walked deeper and deeper in the Continuum. Ellie looked around, taking in the sights. Q had changed the Continuum into a Castle for her to explore. Ellie smiled in delight, "Is this for me?" She asked, smiling a big toothy grin.

The elder entity smiled with a twinkle in his eye. "Of course," he replied. "An adventure fit for a princess," he laughed as he set her down. "Now, you need a gown fit for a Princess as well," he spun her around, making her clothes turn into a blue floor gown fit for the small child. She smiled , spinning around happily. "It's beautiful! I love it!" she hugged her grandfather. Q hugged him back.

Q got to his feet, looking at his son. "She will not be harmed," he promised. Junior glanced at his daughter and his father. "Her mother is going to have a fit," he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I can fix that."

With a snap of his fingers, another bright light appeared. After it faded, a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes stood before them in a gown fit for a Queen. She turned and looked around. "What the hell?" she turned on her heel, glaring at the older entity. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked, stepping forward. "I'm making a game for my Granddaughter," Q replied. He glanced at her. "Our past.."

"Our past?" Lisa scoffed. "You put humanity on trail. You tried to make my father Q…"

Q shook his head. "We've been over this," he groaned.

Lisa took another step forward. "Why am I here?" she asked matter of factly.

"I made a game for Ellie," he told her. "She wanted for you to play with her," he said with just a twinge of jealousness in his voice. He glanced over at his son. "You have a better relationship with your child than I have with mine," he commented with a bit of sad sarcasm in his voice.

Ellie looked at her family in curiosity.

She felt the sadness in her Grandfather's voice. Her little hand reached for his, holding it tightly once he let her hand slip into his.

The elder entity looked down at the small child, a smile crossed his face. A genuine smile. He loved this small child more than anything in any universe. Lisa bent down, placing her hands on the sides of her child's face. "Are you hurt?" She asked. Ellie shook her head. "No. He made this for me," she pointed at the surrounding area. "He said it was my own little adventure," she enthused. Lisa slowly glanced up at the elder entity. "You really made this for her?" she asked.

Q nodded. In his eyes there were tears brimming in his eyes. Real tears. Lisa got to her feet, watching him. She had known him for almost three decades. And in all of that time, she had never known him to cry. Or even seen him have tears in his eyes. "You really love her, don't you?" She inquired. The elder entity nodded. He wiped his eyes, letting out a soft chuckle as he saw the water on his hands.

"Would you look at that?" he chuckled. "Tears. I've never done that before," he muttered to himself.

"It's a human quality," Lisa replied quietly. Junior stepped closer to his father. "Dad?" his face became one of concern. Lisa glanced over at her husband. Taking note of his concern, her facial expression became one of concern as well. "What is going on?" she asked.

"As I told my son,"Q answered in a low voice, "Time is getting away from me. So I want to spend time with her," he glanced down at Ellie, who was playing with the trim of the gown. It was soft, and it glimmered in the sunlight. Q smiled softly. Watching the young girl be a small child with a wild imagination. No doubt a product of her mixed heritage. The best of humanity and the best of the Continuum all mixed together in one little hybrid. Ellie let go of Q's hand and she ran around the surrounding area. The joy in her giggles filled Q's heart with love. And happiness.

And the happiness brought more tears to his eyes. Wiping them again, he took a deep breath.

Lisa watched him carefully. Keeping Ellie in her line of vision, she watched as the young girl explored her surroundings. Pressing lightly on a stone, Ellie watched in amazement as it pushed back, revealing a stair case that led down into the basement. "Hello?" she called out. Her little voice echoed down. Turning to her family, she raced over to her Grandfather. "What's down there?" she asked curiously.

Q's eyebrow quirked upward. "Why don't we find out?" he smirked.