Living Room of the safe house in Dimension One ...

The other Immortal ME studied the three crime scene photos that Jo had brought him. A young couple lying dead in their own excrement, apparent poisoning victims. But was it a murder-suicide? A murder pact? An accident? He recalled how in London in 1859, he'd unknowingly consumed a Greek pastry called Loukoumades, garnished with honey made from bees that had fed on oleanders, a common but deadly flowery shrub. It was his first and last time consuming that particular small treat. The result was that he'd suffered greatly, alone in his small boarding room before succumbing. Fortunately, all of the bodily excrement that had soiled his bed and the floors, vanished completely along with his body when he'd died. He'd diagnosed his symptoms as they'd painfully presented themselves until all coherent thought had left him. After reawakening in the Thames and 'borrowing' some freshly-washed clothes from a line strung outside a nearby nestle of five cottages, he'd made his soggy way back to his room.

Leaning back and sighing, he realized that the stomach contents and toxicology reports would have to be analyzed in order to confirm his suspicions about the type of poison. How it got into their systems would take a little more effort to uncover.

"This isn't enough, Martinez," he told her. "More is needed than these photos and one witness statement."

"Tell me what you see," she coaxed him, anyway.

He shared with her the type of poisoning that may have been used and that an autopsy would have to be done in order to confirm or dispel his suspicions. "Who's doing the autopsy?" he asked. When she replied that Washington was, he shook his head vigorously. "No. No. If he's anything like the man that we've all suffered with for years, you simply have to get someone else."

"I don't have the authority to do that," she adamantly replied. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out something. "Um, Abe told me to give you this," she said, holding out a gold pocket watch to him. "You must have dropped it the other night when ... when you were there."

Abandoning everything else, he opened it and smiled, then gently closed it. He stared almost reverently at the antique timepiece as he cradled it in one hand and stroked it with the fingers of his other. "I feared it was lost during my vanishing," he whispered. "Passed down from my father; his father before him; his father before him. Thank you," he told her with heartfelt sincerity.

"Abe said he knew it was yours because Henry's has Roman Numerals on the watch face but yours has ornate numbers," she told him as he situated it properly onto his person.

"Hmmm. Interesting," he mused. "Another subtle difference."

"Yes," she replied. "Since the toxicology reports would take weeks to come back, Lucas will check out their stomach contents for the odor of either honey or oleander. He's taking off early this afternoon to meet with you at his apartment."

"Great! I'll finally be allowed to leave this ... " he paused just in time not to say 'hovel'. "This quaint abode if only for a few hours," he responded, grinning.

"Umm ... yeah," she replied, biting her lower lip. Bringing Lucas in and not her official partner, Mike, troubled her. Her loyalties were split between being truthful with him, who was also a trusted and valued friend and guarding Henry's secret. And if he knew that Lucas was being taken into their confidence instead of him, she shuddered to think how he might react. What she didn't know was that Mike was the least of her worries.

vvvv

The 11th Precinct ...

"Detective, would you mind telling me why a payment voucher to cover expenses incurred by a John Doe at one of our safe houses just crossed my desk?" The usually unflappable Joanna Reece was anything but that as she grilled Mike Hanson. "It says that Det. Martinez took him there two days ago." She looked at Jo's empty desk and asked, "And where is she now?"

"Lieu, I, uh ... " Mike didn't know what to tell her without blowing Jo's cover concerning the mystery man in the no-tell hotel. Taking note of his distressful look, she ushered him into her office.

"Now. I can see that you're upset that I found out about this - "

"Lieu - "

" - and I understand how partners share secrets. For that reason, I'm not going to make you betray her confidence. As long as she's not breaking the law."

Mike appeared to relax when she told him that. However, he tensed again at her next words.

"But I need you to let her know that if this John Doe is not connected to a case in order to justify these expenditures, he must be taken out of there. Immediately."

Mike whipped out his cell phone and called Jo. After a brief conversation, he ended the call and told her, "Problem solved. They left not five minutes ago." He managed a grin, relieved at the news and left her office with instructions to make sure Jo knew not to take him back unless he was properly associated with a case.

vvvv

Lucas having confirmed via phone that the couple's stomach contents smelled like a "sugary flower", Jo drove the other Henry over to meet with him at his apartment.

"You might not be around long enough to see this case through to the end, but I believe your observations have helped put us on the right track," Jo told him as they waited in her parked car outside Lucas' address. "There he is," she said and they both got out of the car to join Lucas as he strode up to his building's entrance. Jo inwardly cringed at the sight of a jaw-dropped Lucas as they drew closer to each other, mentally willing him to keep his cool. They exchanged greetings but Lucas leveled a pop-eyed stare at her companion.

"Whoa, you, you really do look a lot like the Big Guy," Lucas said, extending his hand.

"Can we ... ?" Jo asked, tipping her head toward the building.

"Oh, oh, yeah, sorry. C'mon in."

Once inside, the other Henry filled Lucas in on his trip from another dimension. That is after he got over the initial shock of the young man's relatively poor existence compared to the rich Lucas he knew.

"So, you're not rich and I suppose you're not gay, either," the other ME stated more than asked.

"Uh, no," Lucas replied, almost dropping his armful of graphic novels. "Are, are you? Rich, uh, gay, uh ... ?"

"Neither. Just ... curious," he replied. Just making sure that he didn't have to duck a kiss from this one, as well. He determined it wasn't the look of love in Lucas' eyes but a hopeless case of hero worship. Just as bad, he concluded, possibly even worse. Their missing man, Henry, certainly seemed to have a full plate of his own to deal with in the way that he chose to hide his feelings for this female detective along with his secret from all of them. Behavior not entirely foreign to him. Jo's voice pierced his thoughts.

"Can we just get to figuring out how to make this switch?" she suggested, rolling her eyes and smiling.

They began gleaning information from the young ME's graphic novels that might be helpful to them when Jo's cell phone buzzed. It was a text message from Mike relaying Lieu's orders about the John Doe in the safe house. After texting her response, she closed her phone and shared the information with them that a return to the safe house was out. The other Henry graciously accepted Lucas' warm invitation to remain at his place for now.

The matter of temporary living arrangements settled, they resumed perusing through the slim publications. Two hours later, they'd pulled as much information as they could from them and hammered out a plan to aid the other ME in switching places with their Henry similar to the plan that Lucas in Dimension Two had.

{From Chapter 5 in Dimension Two: Based on scheduling information [Lucas] received from a friend who worked for the city's subway system, Henry had boarded car #1814 that day he and the other Henry had switched dimensions. So, Lucas suggested that Henry should board car #1814 again at the same time as before.}

"So, here's the plan," Lucas began. "You board car #1779 again on Wednesday evening on the same platform at the same time as before."

{Unbeknownst to any of them, their Henry had boarded a car with the number of the same year as their first deaths, 1814. This other Henry had boarded a car with the number of the same year of their births, 1779. The universe had hiccupped, for want of a better word, causing a portal to open and swallow them into each other's dimensions.}

The other ME re-read the title on the cover of the graphic novel he held in his hand, Remarkable Journey. "One can only hope that a similar plan is being concocted at the other end of this ... journey of mine," he said with both hope and worry in his voice. The need to return to the life and people he knew, especially Abe, Jo, and his unborn child, had increased to a level of desperation. There was so much that he now regretted and he so very much longed to make amends.

"Perhaps it's fate that has brought me here," he quietly confided in them, surprising himself. Maybe it was easier to open himself up to them because they weren't the actual people he knew and he would be leaving soon.

"The fact that your friend and I have been given the opportunity to walk in each other's shoes and examine each other's lives has impacted our own; something extraordinarily rare. It has forced me and, I'm sure, him to do some deep soul-searching about ourselves and especially about our ... gift of Immortality. I know what I intend to do after my return," he said, resolutely. He looked at Lucas, then at Jo before continuing. "Hopefully, he has learned, as I have, to treasure the people around him and the moments spent with them." Shame prevented him from sharing with them that as soon as he returned home, he planned to get down on both knees and beg Jo to forgive him. And his son. And ... God, everyone! Or ... as many as he could. But especially Jo and Abe.

The three sat in silence for a few moments, mulling over his thought-provoking admission before he perked up. Inhaling deeply and exhaling loudly while slapping his hands down on his knees, he said with a loud, confident voice, "Well, then. Hopefully, I haven't succeeded in reducing all of us to a bucket of tears." They all happily released their laughter.

"Right now I could consume a dozen raspberry scones," he sighed out.

"Henry loves blueberry scones," Jo told him.

"Lucky bloke. I'm allergic to blueberries," he lamented amid the laughter of his companions.

vvvv

Earlier at Abe's Antiques ...

Abe watched Jo leave, still unsettled over the recent events involving this other man from another dimension. He refused to refer to him with the same name as his father. Dad owned that name, not this, this changeling. As he climbed the stairs to the living quarters and went into his bedroom, the events of that night he'd accidentally shot and killed Dad's lookalike played over in his mind. It had rendered him unable to sleep in there since then. Feeling a bit braver, though, and since the bed in the guest room was not as comfortable as his own, he decided it was time to once again take over his bedroom. Luckily, any bloodstains resulting from the other man's wound had instantly vanished when his body had. After a few minutes, he walked back into the kitchen to prepare his evening meal and let it simmer in the oven until it was time to consume it.

"I certainly hope Lucas can figure out something to help get you back here, Pops," he whispered out loud to himself. Never seeing his father again made him too sad so he pushed it out of his thoughts. For if nothing could be done, would this other guy take his place? Even though Jo had explained that his mean guy act was just that, an act, it made no difference to him. He just wanted his Pops back.

"He's not really the scum bag you think he is, Abe," Jo had tried to convince him. "Maybe if you just sit down and talk with him - "

" - No! No. Just ... give him his darn watch and ... find a way to get him gone," he'd told her. "Get my Pops back."

vvvv vvvv

A hospital waiting room in Dimension Two ...

The other Det. Mike Hanson, the other Lucas, and Henry had paced dueling pathways alternately bumping into or side-stepping each other until it had become clear that the three of them could not successfully navigate the same small area of floor space together. The detective directed the other two men to share the adjoining hallway and he resumed his worried pacing in the small sitting area. All three of them startled when Jo was wheeled out into the waiting area by an attendant.

"False alarm," she told them as they swarmed around her. "Easy guys, I'm ... we're fine. I was just overreacting to what happened at the shop." Her eyes cut to Henry and lingered there for a couple of heartbeats. Abe had promised to explain everything to her later about the ME's dying and vanishing in front of their very eyes leaving her astounded and speechless. He obviously knew something about this man who looked and sounded so much like the Henry she knew. Who was he really? And where was Henry? However, she decided to table her questions rather than absorb any answers that might upset her again. Satisfying her curiosity was not important enough to endanger the wellbeing of her unborn child.

"Dr. McFarland has me on complete bed rest for the rest of the week." She smiled in spite of things as the three men argued over how she would get home and who would escort her, making her feel much like the belle of the ball. A hugely pregnant belle of the ball.

"Guys, guys, my mother is picking me up. I'll be at her house until my delivery time." Taking in their expressions of sincere concern, ironically caused an ache in her heart because her Henry had not exhibited the same level of concern for either her or their child. She managed to put up a brave face, though, and bid them goodbye as her mother drove her away.

As they watched the car drive away, the other Mike turned to Henry. "You know, Jo is like a little sister to me. I do my best to look out for her. We've known each other for eight years, partnered for the past four. She's a good woman who doesn't deserve a sorry bag o' skin like your cousin. Wherever he is, you tell him for me that the next time I see him, I'm gonna beat him to a pulp. Capiche?"

Henry pressed his lips together uncertain of how to respond. It both worried and dismayed him to see the level of anger his counterpart had evoked in the man. "You would risk losing your job over a 'sorry bag o' skin' such as my cousin?" he asked, attempting to reason with him.

"Oh, don't worry," the other Mike replied, smirking. "There are different levels of police brutality both on and off the job, and I didn't earn this gold shield for being a dummy. It'll get done. And I'll keep my job. Trust me," he said and left in his assigned vehicle.

"He means it," Lucas said.

"I know," Henry replied.

vvvv

Still in Dimension Two ...

A smile crossed Henry's face as he entered the shop and saw the other Abe at the end of the sales floor behind the counter. So much like his own son. He stopped midway and looked around for the first time noticing familiar items, items that had been sold away in their own shop and other items that he felt were different antiques from the other Henry's past.

"Hey, how's Jo?" Abe asked.

"According to her and her doctor, both she and the baby are fine," Henry replied as he drew closer.

"Oh. Here," Abe said, holding out something to him. "You dropped it when you, uh ... you know."

Henry took the gold pocket watch from him, nostalgia building in him, and rubbed his thumb over it. He opened it briefly and closed it, blinking back tears. "This was gifted to me on my father's deathbed. I was the fourth generation of Morgan men to own it."

"Hmmm. Same with my Dad," the antiquarian replied. "Only his has regular numbers and yours has Roman numerals."

"Interesting," Henry replied, smiling. He attached the chain back to his vest and pocketed the watch.

As the day wore on, Henry learned from his companion what had happened after his body had vanished. Despite Lucas having advised him not to return to the shop because of the police presence, he had. Fortunately, Abe had reported that he'd run off in pursuit of Tony and Jo had agreed to put it in her report, adding credibility to why he wasn't at the shop when the police had arrived. As a testament to her amazing durability and stamina, she had remained surprisingly calm in spite of her nerves having been rattled when he'd died and vanished, causing her to experience false labor pains.

Later on that evening after dinner, they enjoyed a glass of wine near the fireside and reflected on their time together and that tomorrow would be the last time they would ever see each other. If everything went according to plan, that is.