Bogg woke the next morning to Frau Heller's hand shaking his shoulder. Once she was sure he was awake, she put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to follow her to the main room.

"Herr Bogg," she said quietly. "I am concerned about your niece. Can you tell me about the illness you and your son had?"

Phineas felt his heart sink. "We had high fevers. Jeffrey had a bad cough." He paused to think. "I remember being dizzy... then I don't remember anything else until waking up and finding Jeff was okay." He shook his head. "I'm sorry. Rebecca is probably the only one who could describe our symptoms." He tried to read Frau Heller's expression. "Is she all right?"

Frau Heller frowned slightly, wrinkles creasing her forehead. "I don't know," she admitted. "It sounds as if you and Jeffrey had a bad ague. Your niece has a fever, but she breathes easily." She walked nearer to the bed of blankets, knelt down, and put her hand on Rebecca's forehead. " I have been giving her yarrow tea to bring down the fever, but I am worried that she hasn't yet awoken." She looked up into Bogg's blue eyes. "I don't want to cause Jeffrey concern," she said. "He seems very attached to his cousin."

"He is, " Bogg agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Is there anything we can do?"

Frau Heller shook her head. "For now, we must wait. I know this is hard for growing boys." She pursed her lips. "Perhaps after he wakes you should go see what has become of your horse and what can be saved from your wagon. That will keep him occupied."

Phineas nodded rather than explain there was no wagon. "On our way back, we can gather more firewood." He indicated the shrinking pile of logs by the hearth. "It would be a way to repay your kindness, and with that storm last night, I'm guessing a lot of branches came down. We can check the roof for you, too."

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "My son, Josef, is a carpenter. I am sure the roof is fine, but it is better to be certain."

While Jeff was eating breakfast – "Challah!" he exclaimed. "I love challah!" – Bogg pulled branches from the cabin's roof. When he finished breaking and stacking them, he went back inside and complimented Frau Heller on the cabin's construction. She beamed and pointed out pieces of furniture around the cabin Josef had made. "His father, may his name be a blessing, taught him. Josef is very skilled."

As they left the cabin, Jeff asked about Rebecca. "Bogg, is she okay? She's barely moving. I tried to ask Frau Heller, but she wouldn't tell me anything." Phineas could hear the frustration and concern in Jeff's tone. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?" Jeff's voice got louder, and he kicked a rock into the path ahead of them.

"Jeff, calm down," Bogg said, putting his hand on the teenager's shoulder. "We don't what's going on. We're guessing." He tried to make his voice sound lighter than he felt. "Rebecca was exhausted, her lungs got filled with smoke, and then we dumped her into a cold and wet November afternoon. She needs time to recover." He studiously avoided mention what Frau Heller had said about a fever; he never lied to Jeff, but he felt not telling the entire truth might be better at this moment.

Jeffrey shook Bogg's hand off and fiercely kicked the rock into the forest. Inwardly, Bogg groaned. Generally, Jeffrey as an adolescent wasn't too different than Jeff as a boy. With the teenage years came occasional moodiness, periodic flashes of anger, and a constant, enormous appetite. It looked like the anger was making an appearance now. "Look, kid," he said, "as long as Frau Heller thinks we're out here salvaging our wagon and trying to find our horses, we should work on this red light."

Jeff stopped and looked at Bogg, his expression contrite. "I know," he said. "That's part of the problem. I'm worried, and I have absolutely no idea what we're doing here!" He snorted, turned away, and attacked another rock with his shoe." "Some guidebook I am." Bitterness dripped from his voice.

"Hey," Phineas grabbed Jeff's shoulders and turned him around so he could see Jeff's face. "Kid, you're a great guidebook. The trouble is not all history is big. Sometimes it's the small things that need a push. You can't know everything."

"I guess," Jeffrey responded, not sounding convinced. He kicked the rock again, but most of the ferocity had gone out of the movement. They walked deeper into the woods stopping periodically to examine trees that had fallen in the storm. Without warning, Jeffrey came to a halt, causing Phineas to crash into his back. "What's the big idea, kid?" Bogg grumbled.

Jeff held up a hand. "Wait." He paused, listening. "Did you hear something? It sounded like a horse." Bogg shook his head. "It's over that way."

"Okay, so we go that way," Bogg said. "I'll go first just in case." The horse neighed again. This time Phineas heard it as well.

They moved through the woods as quickly and quietly as they could. Jeff tripped over a tree root and would have fallen if Phineas hadn't turned and caught him. Jeff responded to his "All right, kid?" with a curt not. Bogg could tell the anger was resurfacing but pushed aside worrying about it. If the noises ahead had anything to do with the red light, one of them had to have his head in the game. They walked several hundred more yards, the horse sounding closer as they went, until they found the way blocked by a large, splintered tree. Bogg could hear the horse breathing and then, for the first time, another sound – a man groaning.

"Bat's breath!" He turned to Jeff. "There's someone under there!"

Jeffrey kicked into work mode. "Okay, how do we get him out?" Bogg watched his eyes go vague for a moment as he thought. Then Jeff snapped his fingers. "If there's a horse, there might be a wagon or some tools." He raised his voice. "Mister! We're going to get you out. Hang on!"

It took another few minutes to get around the tree. Once there they found the horse unharmed and harnessed to a simple wagon laden with boxes and sacks. The man's groans punctuated the air. Phineas located a rope under the plank seat, then tied one end to the tree and the other to the wagon. "Jeff, have you got him?"

Jeffrey's voice came somewhere from the middle of the tree. "He's banged up a bit, but he seems okay. He's pinned down by the trunk." Bogg heard some branches snap. "If you can swing it to the left, I can pull him out."

"On the count of three." Bogg grabbed the reins. "One... Two... Three!" He urged the horse forward. "Tell me when," he called.

"Just a little more," Jeff panted. "I've got him!" There was triumph and relief in his voice.

As Phineas checked the man for broken bones, Jeff cleaned some of the dirt and mud from his face and clothes. As the man's eyes opened, Bogg realized he was seeing Frau Heller's eyes. "Josef," he said gently, "are you all right?"

Josef Heller started and winced with pain. "How do you know my name?" he asked, the German accent less pronounced in his voice than in his mother's.

Jeff looked down at him. "Long story," he answered. "We can fill you in on the way back to the cabin."

Phineas and Jeffrey rearranged the contents of the wagon to better accommodate Josef, got him in and comfortable, then Bogg took the reins. Jeff sat in the back with Josef, introducing them and explaining their presence. Bogg concentrated on driving over as few bumps or ruts as possible. He was pleased Jeff was acting more like himself but was concerned how often the boy's temper was flaring up. He tried to remember if his own temper had been as unpredictable at Jeffrey's age but couldn't. Too long ago, he thought. I just don't know what to do.

Once they got Josef settled in the cabin and unloaded the wagon, Jeff went over to the hearth to sit by Rebecca. Bogg watched him touch her hand and jump when he felt how hot it was. Bogg knew an argument would be coming. To distract himself, he pulled out the omni to check its status. As he suspected, the light was now solid green. He snapped it shut and tucked it away wondering how to tell Jeff it was time to leave.

Josef's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Herr Bogg?"

Phineas flashed a brief smile. "Phineas," he said. "Herr Bogg makes me feel like you're talking to my father."

Josef returned the smile. "Phineas," he agreed. "My mother tells me you and your son are traveling for work?" Bogg tipped his head to the side, noncommittally. "Waiting for your niece to recover may cost you work, yes?" This time Bogg nodded. "I have a proposal for you." Bogg looked up as Jeff, perhaps a little too casually, made his way over to them. "You rescued me, possibly saved my life, today. Mother and I would like to repay you by caring for your niece."

Phineas hadn't expected this, and he saw Jeffrey's eyes widen in alarm. "Please hear me out," Josef continued. "You can go on to your work, and if your Rebecca rec..." Bogg felt Jeffrey stiffen. Josef also noticed and started again. "When she is recovered, if you have not yet returned, I will escort her to Cleveland to find you."

"That's very kind," Phineas said slowly. He looked at Jeffrey, who was avoiding his eyes. "We do have work that needs to be done. I think we'll take you up on this. I know you'll take good care of her."

"As if she were our own, Herr Bogg." Frau Heller came up behind Josef and put a hand on her son's shoulder.

Bogg declined offers of staying one more night or supplies. He found Jeffrey sitting at the hearth holding Rebecca's hand, whispering something to her. He put his own hand on Jeff's shoulder, and said, "Come on, kid. We've got work to do."

Once out of view of the cabin, Jeff turned to Bogg with his hand out and an expectant look on his face. "Okay," he said, "so, back to 1970 for some medicine, then we can omni back here and say we've changed our minds."

"We can't do that, Jeff," Bogg said slowly, knowing the pain he would be causing. "We can't bring medicine here from the future. It could alter the time line."

"And bringing Rebecca here didn't alter it?" Jeff asked incredulously, a definite edge in his voice.

Phineas sighed, hating having to do this. "Apparently not enough to cause problems," he said as gently as he could. He brought out the omni and opened it. "Green light, kid. We have to go."

Jeffrey's entire body stiffened. "I'm not leaving her here. I promised her." His voice was tight. "Bogg without medicine, she could die." He held out his right hand, the left one clenching into a fist. "Give me the omni, Bogg. If you won't go, I will.

Phineas shook his head. "No. We don't separate. Too many things can go wrong." He tightened his grip on the omni. "Jeff, it's against the Code to bring medicine back to her. You know this."

"And the Code's all right with leaving her here?" Jeffrey was yelling now, fury in his voice.

"Sometimes kids get picked up. We get them as close to their own time as we can and make sure they're taken care of. The Hellers will take care of her." Bogg leaned in to comfort Jeff and was shocked when the teenager pushed him away.

"I don't care about the code!" Jeff shouted. "She saved our lives. I'm not abandoning her!" He reached for the omni in Bogg's hand.

Surprised, Phineas stepped back. "Jeff, what's wrong with you?" Surprise turned to shock as Jeffrey grabbed his arm and tried to wrestle the omni away. "Jeffrey, stop it!" Bogg attempted to keep the omni away from Jeff while trying not to hurt him. He could feel Jeff fighting him, trying to wrestle the device from his grip. Then one of Jeff's elbows landed in Bogg's stomach. The air rushed from Bogg's lungs, and he doubled over, bringing the omni in reach of Jeffrey's outstretched hand. As Jeffrey's hand closed on it, Phineas leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist. Jeff's fingers activated the omni, and they disappeared, leaving silence behind them.