Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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She was terrified when she woke up, staring up at the stars. She looked quickly to the right and yelped. She was about a foot away from the ragged cliff that overhung the edge of the river by the high school.

And then she saw him. He was crouched above her, holding a tree branch that was covered in blood. His eyes were large and frightened and he was shaking her shoulders, screaming at her to tell him if she was all right.

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" she said breathlessly, even though she didn't feel okay. She could feel her body healing, deep welts and wounds mushing back together.

And then he was holding her to him, hugging her and cradling her head with one arm. He was mumbling all kinds of stuff into her hair, which was sopping wet. He dropped the branch and grasped her closer.

After awhile, she licked her lips and tried to speak. "What happened? Last I remember, I was with Brody…" she said.

"The bastard. I'm going to kill him."

"No," said Claire hazily. "He sucks, but I don't want you to kill anyone."

That's when she realised that she was naked. Laying across the lap of this guy, this weird Old Man guy who said that he was from the future and that he needed her to trust him.

She wanted to die of embarrassment for a split second but, well, if he didn't seem to care, then neither would she.

"How'd you find me?" asked Claire.

"You weren't home," he said. "And I remembered…"

"Oh crap, my parents," said Claire, and she struggled to her feet.

That's when she heard the dogs barking in the distance.

"Did you pull that out of me?" She gestured to the branch.

"Yeah, but…"

"Put it back in," said Claire. "Was I in the river? Kill me with the branch, then push me in."

It was the first time he'd ever looked even slightly panicked. "No. No! I'm not going to do that!"

She saw lights in the bracken facing her.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"I don't know. I yelled for help awhile ago," he said, his voice muffled.

"You have to do it," she said. "You pull me out, and Brody never gets caught. You pull me out, and you mess with the butterfly in places you shouldn't be messing. Remember?"

He just stood there. "I won't"

She grabbed his shirt and shook him. "Remember?!" she shrieked.

The dogs were barking, and Claire could hear voices. Voices of people who were going to find her. And him, unless she got him to leave.

She picked up the branch and pushed it into his hands. He shook his head slowly.

She spoke quickly. "They're right there. You need to leave before they come, and I need to be in the river," she said forcefully, and began scratching deep gashes back into her legs.

He hesitated. She grabbed the tip of the branch and held it to her head.

"Oh, for God's sake, just do it already," she said exasperatedly. "You can't kill me. It's gonna be fine."

He must have, because the next thing she sees is the bright light in an autopsy room.

-----

They were sitting on the floor of her room, kinda sorta (halfway) playing Jenga and talking.

Claire was discussing her parents – her real ones, and he never, ever said anything when she talked about that. It's obvious he knows more than he's saying.

But he wouldn't ever tell, she knows it. So she didn't even bother asking.

"Am I a teacher when I grow up??

He laughed. "A school teacher?"

"Why's that so funny? I've wanted to be a school teacher since I was a kid."

And then he sobered. "I didn't know that."

"Didn't I tell you? Future Claire, I mean."

He wiggled one of the pieces out of the tower. "Nope."

"That surprises me," said Claire, as she watched him.

"Not me," he said. "You don't tell me everything."

Claire snorted, and then nearly blushed at the loud and ugly sound. "Well. I'm glad Future Claire gives you a taste of your own medicine."

She idly slipped one of the pieces out of the tower and asked another question she'd thought of a couple days ago. "How can I tell Future You and Right Now You apart?

He looked like he was concentrating for a minute, and then shook his head. "Huh?"

"I mean, so I know I'm going to meet you, right? How will I know it's the Right Now You and not the Future You?"

He cleared his throat. "Hmm." And then he didn't say anything for the longest time. But he was still thinking. He did that a lot.

"Right Now Me has much longer hair," he said. "That's how you'll know. Hmm…"

His hair was cropped close to his head, very business-conservative-y and she felt a smile spread over her face.

"Long hair? Hahah!" She laughed happily. "Whew!"

"What?" He was smiling at her. "Can't believe I'd have long hair?"

"Yeah, sorry, that just sounds weird," said Claire as she pulled another piece off of the Jenga tower.

"Well it's not insanely long. Just longer," he said. "It was a phase, okay? I got sick of it not too long ago."

"Fine. Right Now You is a hippie. That's cool. I dig," she said, and snapped her fingers in a beatnik fashion. "I'm gonna call you…Hep Cat…from now on."

It was his turn to snort as he started to take another piece off of the tower.

And then she tried out her new tactic: kamikaze question asking.

"Are you my husband? In the future, I mean."

He knocked over the Jenga tower, and cursed. Then he apologized for cursing.

She told him it was okay, and changed the subject, for real this time. It was Homecoming on Friday, and she told him all about her dress and stuff.

She remembered later that night, after he'd gone, that he hadn't denied being her husband.

She smiled.

-----

He made her repeat the rules back to him the next night. She was in a silly mood, and this was the last thing she wanted to do, but she did it because he was looking at her very seriously.

"I mean this, Claire. We've got to do all this a certain way. Maintain the integrity of the event."

"Hey, I've got a question for you," she said, ignoring his stern words. "What do I do if you ever figure out that you came from the future to visit me?"

He scratched his head. "I dunno. Be honest, I guess. Answer the questions without specifics if you can. Same stuff I do with you."

"That means I won't tell you anything," said Claire.

"Whiner. Now seriously, the rules. Tell me what you're going to do when you meet Right Now Me."

"M'kay. I can't tell you that I know you," she said, counting off on her left hand.

"Right…?" He prompted.

"And I have to pretend like it's the first time we met."

"Uh huh…?"

Claire hesitated. "Uh…and I can't look at you like I know a secret," said Claire.

"Yes."

She smiled lightly. "And…I have to let you guide the conversation. Not ask a million questions I shouldn't."

"Yup. That's it."

"Well I think I can handle that," said Claire.

"I know you can."

-----

It was the night before Homecoming. They were laying on her bed again. Not saying anything for long periods of time, and it felt so nice to snuggle her body up to him, to lay her head on his shoulder.

After awhile he spoke. "How am I doing?"

"Um, I don't know. How are you doing?" she answered. She ran her finger along the row of buttons on his shirt.

He shooed her hand away. "With the trust thing, I mean."

Claire sighed.

"Seriously Claire, do you trust me?"

"Sure," she said.

"Sure?"

"Hey, I think a 'sure' is pretty high praise considering you don't trust me enough to tell me your own name," she said nastily.

"Hey. Hey." He tried to turn her face to his, and when she jerked out of his grasp, he finally grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

"It's never been that I don't trust you, Claire, okay? I trust you more than you think I do."

"Well, that's still not much," she said.

She expected him to sigh or change the subject, but he didn't. He held on fast to her chin and spoke forcefully.

"That's true for now. But I know you, Claire, the Claire who's a woman. And you have never, ever let me down. Okay? And we've been through some tough stuff together."

Claire smiled in the corner of her mouth, just a little proud of Future Claire.

And all of the sudden, no warning at all, the mood shifted. His hand was still holding her chin, holding her face to look at his.

Just as she wondered if he was going to kiss her, the moment was gone.

He stood up abruptly. "I hope you do trust me, Claire. I think you do."

She didn't tell him that yes, she trusted him. Completely. He didn't need to hear it. Surely he already knew.

He smiled at her sadly. "This is it."

She sat up quickly. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't think you're going to see me again," he said.

"What?" she yelped, completely shocked.

"You're going to meet me. The real me, pretty soon."

"But I like this you! I want to see this you again!" She felt her eyes getting moist, and ordered herself not to cry.

He chuckled. "There's no point. You won't need this me anymore."

"So? I still want to see you," she said. "You can't just say you're never coming again. That's not fair."

"That's the way things have to be, Claire." He spoke lightly but wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Well, it's not fair!" she said, and felt a tear slip down her cheek. "I already feel totally alone in this stupid town. I need you!"

He finally turned to her, and smiled at her ruefully. He didn't say anything for a long time. "No you don't. Not really," he said. And then he wiped the tear from her cheek.

"Can't you just come for like, special occasions?" she begged desperately. "My birthday, graduations…something?

Peter looked at the ground for a long time, and she thought that maybe his silence was going to be his answer. But then he spoke. "What day do you graduate. Do you know?" When he looked up, his face had something like determination on it.

"Yeah. June eighth, next summer," said Claire.

He nodded slowly. "Okay. How about this. I promise to come see you when you graduate from high school. If I can. Just for a minute or two."

"That's forever away!" Claire's hand dropped onto the bed.

"Not really," he said as he stood up. "Things happen really quickly from now till then. But it's all gonna work out, I swear. You understand?"

She didn't understand, not at all, but she nodded her head anyway.

"Just trust your instinct," he said. "And me. The Right Now Me."

Her head was down, and she couldn't raise her eyes to his.

He spoke softly. "I'm going to take care of you. Just let me take care of you, Claire. Okay?"

"Fine," she said, and she folded her arms.

And then he approached her, carefully put his arms around her. A hug. She was too mad to hug him back.

"Mm, it's like hugging a statue," he said teasingly as he withdrew.

And then he was gone.