Chapter 11

It was nearly lunchtime by the time they got back to the motel. They entered the motel room and Buck turned on MTV for Wilma. He smiled at her.

"I'm gonna go take a little walk."

"You want some company?"

He shook his head. "No. I just want to walk around Titusville one last time. I want to see the old sights, smell the old smells… let my memory wander for a while."

She nodded knowingly. "Okay. I'll be here when you get back. Don't get lost!"

He simply nodded and left. She waited for a couple minutes then quickly grabbed the motel key and left the room in pursuit.

Buck walked slowly down the street for several blocks. When he came to an outside café, he stopped and hesitated for the longest moment. He looked up and down the street cautiously. Finally he crossed the street and sat down at one of the sidewalk tables. Several minutes passed before a woman stepped up to the table.

"Well, Captain Rogers. What are you doing here, as if I didn't already know?"

He jerked his head up to see a pretty face smiling down at him. She definitely looked familiar, but he simply for the life of him couldn't place the name to go with the face. He smiled warmly as he looked up.

"Hi, uh…"

"Anne," the girl said smiling. "I don't blame you for forgetting who I am."

"No, no," he stammered. "It's not that. I…I'm just not good with names, and I haven't seen you in a while, and-"

Anne began to giggle. "I'm just picking on you, Buck! Don't worry about it! If I were dating a girl like Jennifer, I wouldn't remember me either!"

Buck smiled at the girl. "Thanks."

"Speaking of Jennifer, I suppose that's why you're here?"

He nodded quickly.

"Don't go away. I'll tell her you're here. Be right back!"

She disappeared back inside the restaurant for a few moments. The door opened several times. Every time it did, Buck's heart leaped only to be disappointed when someone else exited or entered. Finally the door opened and Jennifer stepped onto the sidewalk. Buck's eyes widened, his heart skipped a beat, and his breathing became short. Another moment and he would have started to hyperventilate. He quickly rose to his feet.

"God, it's really you!" he whispered inaudibly.

She quickly stepped up to the table. "Buck? What are you doing here? In your dress uniform, too?"
"I thought you liked me in my dress uniform."

Jennifer grinned seductively. "I like you out of your uniform too, but that's not what I meant!" She placed both hands on his chest and kissed him passionately. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be on final checkdown! You leave for orbit tomorrow morning! Why are you here?"
"It's lunchtime."
"You didn't say anything this morning about coming here for lunch."

"I wanted to surprise you. And… I just wanted to see you again."

"You just saw me a couple hours ago when you left for work."

Buck smiled, nodded. "I know. But to me it seemed… a lot longer."

She placed the back of her hand on Buck's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I promise."

"You aren't acting fine. What's wrong?"

Buck shook his head. "Nothing. I just wanted to see you again."

She cocked her head to one side. "Has General Roberts done something again?"

"What do you mean?"

"The last time you acted this funny, General Roberts ordered you to show his daughter a good time on the town. What was her name?"

Buck rolled his eyes back and looked into the sky. "Tawnya. What a pain in the butt she was."

"So has Tawnya come back to town?" she asked. "Are you canceling our date for dinner tonight?

Buck laughed and quickly kissed Jennifer. "No, no! Definitely not. I wouldn't miss dinner with you for the world. I just wanted to see the most beautiful woman in the world. Can you blame me for that?"

She glared at him for a moment before shaking her head and smiling. "Buck Rogers, sometimes I just don't know what to do with you!"

"And the other times?" he asked slyly.

She grinned bashfully. "Get out of here, flyboy! I need to get back to work before Guido catches me out here with you. Remember the last time?"

"Yeah, I remember! He wouldn't let me walk on this side of the street for a month!"

She quickly kissed Buck and started to turn, but he grasped her arm gently. "When was the last time I told you I love you?"

"This morning. But you can tell me again, if you really want to!"

" I love you," he whispered. "More than anything."

"I know. I love you too. Do you want me to get you something for lunch real quick?"

Buck shook his head. "No, I need to get going."

She kissed him again, then waved. "See you tonight then?"

"You bet. Wild horses couldn't keep me away."

She turned and rushed back inside the café. Buck took a deep breath and then started back down the sidewalk.

Buck entered the motel room and immediately went to his bed and lay down. He let his head rest deeply into the down pillows.

"Have a nice walk?" Wilma asked.

He simply nodded.

"See anyone you knew?"

"Yeah. I saw a couple people I remember."

"Did you talk to Jennifer?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?"
He glanced at Wilma who was simply staring at him. He turned to stare at the ceiling. "You followed me." It was not a question.
"No!" she adamantly denied. "It's not like that! I…" She sighed. "I followed you. I didn't want to be alone in here."

"I thought I had the feeling that someone was watching me. I thought it was just my imagination."

"I thought you said you shouldn't talk to anyone here in case they talk to… the other Buck later."

"I did. And I didn't go for a walk just to go talk to Jennifer. I was just going to watch her for a while from a safe distance… but something in my head told me to go see her. Maybe I had to get some semblance of closure. Now I know for certain that I'm never going to see her again."

"Not if we stop the holocaust!" Wilma said. "If we stop the holocaust then you and Jennifer can—" She couldn't bring herself to finish her statement.

Buck whirled his feet off the bed to sit on the edge. "If we stop the holocaust, it'll be the other Buck who gets Jennifer."

Wilma stared blankly at Buck. "What happens if we do stop the holocaust? What happens to you and to me?"

"Hmmmph," Buck shook his head. "I have no idea. I told you that I don't understand any of this time travel stuff. If only Doctor Theopolis were here. He'd probably have a few theories on our predicament."

"Yes, but we still wouldn't understand our predicament."

Buck chuckled slightly. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, Wilma. I probably shouldn't have gone to see Jennifer."

She shook her head. "No, no. I understand. You love her. I can't imagine how hard this whole ordeal has been for you. When I saw you two together, I could see how much you loved her. Your whole face was glowing. I don't blame you for wanting to see her again."

Buck sighed and lay back down. "She's a reminder of what I had… and one of the many things I took for granted and lost." He sat back up and reached for Wilma's hand. "But you are a reminder of what I have now. I have some good friends no matter where, or when, I am."

Wilma smiled. "Thanks, Buck."

He slapped his knees. "What do you say we go get a late lunch and then maybe a quick nap? We've got a space shuttle to hijack later tonight."