Jim insisted on driving Wash home while she held her baby. He walked her to the door carrying the diaper bag. Following her inside, he sat the bag on the table in the dining room that he had to walk by. He reached into his pocket and pulled Nathaniel's tags out. This was the first opportunity to give them to her.

"Wash," his tone got her to turn around.

Her eyes zoomed in on the tags and instinctively she knew whom they belonged. Quickly she put Jade into her infant seat and turned to Jim who moved to stand beside the baby furniture. She took the tags and verified his name.

"They were found on the hill we hunkered down on before dawn," Jim explained. "I had Private Elwell search the area before we left. Taylor must have been holding them and they slipped out of his fingers when he dropped off, is the only reason I can think for them not being on him."

Alicia nodded, "Before every battle he would hold them like a talisman. Most likely he fell asleep," she slipped the tags around her neck. "What's the plan now?"

"Now, today in fact, I'm sending Malcolm to the portal with an engineering team of his choice to repair it."

"You think Nathaniel is in a place he can contact us?" she felt a small measure of hope, the first since yesterday when the army pulled in without him.

"We are always hopeful," he looked her in the eye.

"Have they left yet?" she glanced down at her daughter, a thought forming.

"Hold on," Jim grabbed his radio. "Shannon to Wallace."

"Go ahead, Jim," Malcolm answered promptly.

"Have you left for the portal yet?"

"No, I'm still gathering materials."

Jim looked at Alicia.

She let him know her request, "I'd like you to send my messages if you establish contact so he knows about his daughter."

"I'm going to come with you," Jim decided to escort the team himself.

"We'll be leaving soon," Malcolm hinted, not wanting to be waiting on him.

"I'm on my way," Jim cut the link and pulled his mini. Alicia did a quick transfer and he pocketed the device. "I hope we get lucky and I can get something through to him."

"I'm not holding out that he's waiting for you," she wasn't allowing that much optimism.

Three and a half weeks earlier:

"Nathaniel, we have permission to go into Hope Plaza and see if our scientists and engineers can recalibrate our portal to synchronize with your signature." Elliot volunteered to be his liaison between the various organizations clamoring for Nathaniel's time. The public had to be informed as to the basic facts. Already within hours, the tabloids were dubbing the pair who materialized on the field as aliens from outer space to demons to ghosts manifesting. Elliot showed them to Nathaniel, who promptly stated he and Mira were a combination of all three.

"What's on the agenda today?" It was his first day away from the hospital and he was ready to search for a way to the past.

A knock on his door had Elliot frowning, "Nobody's supposed to contract you directly without going through me," he opened the door.

Ayani stood diffidently on the other side, "Is this a bad time, Elliot?"

"No, come in," he stood aside and let her enter.

She smiled at Nathaniel, "I see you made it back last night. I was worried when you insisted walking here through such a dangerous neighborhood."

He rose and escorted her to his small sitting area, "I had my pistol."

"So that's why you didn't take your jacket off during dinner," she shook her head in mock indignation.

"Dangerous times anymore. It's funny, I wear my pistol all the time at Terra Nova due to wildlife mostly, and the Sixers. I'm assuming we won the battle and either the Sixers are dead or in custody."

Elliot steered the conversation back to the event planned that day, "Nathaniel, I have the scientists that stabilized the Hope Plaza project lined up right now. We have a meeting in an hour and it may go all day and several senators have arrived to talk to you." He didn't want Ayani monopolizing Nathaniel and could see in her eyes she would steal him away in a heartbeat.

"I was hoping to spend another day with you, Nathaniel," she couldn't take her eyes off him and her mind was telling her she was still his wife. She put his declaration of another wife out of her mind with the thought he probably would never find his way back to the past.

Nathaniel addressed Elliot, "Is the meeting confidential?"

"I'm afraid so. Everything to do with you is, but I got clearance for Ayani, like she used to have, so she can accompany us if you're not busy today," he finished the statement to Ayani.

"I'm still in shock at seeing a Nathaniel and I'm afraid I might be clingy. You tell me to back off if I become coveting."

Nathaniel laughed, "If you weren't coming after me, I'd be banging on your door. Seeing you alive is slow to sink in and we still have so much to talk about."

"I'd like you to meet the lead scientist, Malcolm Wallace," Elliot did the introductions at the control panel in the massive Hope Plaza terminal. While they walked the promenade, Nathaniel drank the sights in. It was exactly like the one in his planet, complete with the grated catwalk to the circular frame that was now dark instead of a swirling blue mist.

Nathaniel smiled and shook the exact replica of his Malcolm's hand, "Your counterpart in my time is lead scientist at Terra Nova."

Malcolm snorted, "I was supposed to go to Terra Nova until General Philbrick decided civilians were off limits."

"What about the lottery?" Nathaniel had many questions.

"Oh they started the lottery and picked several winners and bilked the public out of millions and said if Terra Nova were to ever accept civilians, they'd be first on the list. Of course, three have since been murdered for their tickets."

"Does your portal go both ways?"

Malcolm shook his head, "I've been working on it for years, but am at an impasse. I would need to be in the past to configure the portal on the other side. General Philbrick insisted on having one as the supplies were dispersing within several klicks of the original demarcation vector. We are still shipping supplies and they say the miniature terminus I designed channels everything to one place now."

"We had that problem, except the problem was people being dropped all over including in a lake once."

"Did your portal go both ways?" Malcolm was curious.

Nathaniel nodded, "My son, Lucas, did the math and made it go both ways."

"I'd like to meet him," Malcolm now knew it could be done. "I could use his notes. Was he on the Terra Nova side?"

"He was. He worked on this side for his doctorate and his calculations were instrumental on making it work and they awarded him his doctorate when he was only seventeen."

"That's wonderful, Nathaniel. You must have been so proud," Ayani was learning more about the son fate deprived her of. "My Lucas was also a genius and would probably have been right here also."

Nathaniel took her hand and gave it a warm caress, "I'm sure he would have made you proud."

"As yours did you," she replied. He gave her a non-committal smile and turned back to Malcolm.

"Have you heard the scuttlebutt about trying to send me back to my time?"

"I read your bio when it was explained to me just who the mysterious people, who disrupted the largest game of the year, came from. By the way, I was at the game and saw with my own eyes the impossible."

"What do you need to do first?" Nathaniel wanted to find a way home. The future was pressing in on him after so many years of open spaces and fewer people surrounding him. The crushing crowds were smothering and he actually felt a little claustrophobic in the streets.

"I need a molecular scan and that can be done at the hospital. I have a friend that works there and she'll have the results to me today. I'll call you when I have something, but it may take some time."

Nathaniel looked at Elliot, "What am I going to do with myself while waiting?"

"Don't worry, I have speaking engagements lined up for weeks to come. Everyone wants to see a dead man and hear of his incredible journey. I imagine you'll refute the reports of Philbrick."

"I would like to see his reports." Nathaniel didn't voice his fears about the General, but figured this Philbrick also had nefarious intentions about this Terra Nova and this time he wasn't in this past to stop him. He also thought, on the other hand, Philbrick didn't have Lucas to expedite his plans to destroy this world's past and it didn't sound as if this Malcolm was corrupted.

When Nathaniel was introduced to Elizabeth Shannon, he wasn't surprised, especially when Malcolm insisted on accompanying them to the hospital.

"So you're the enigmatic man I've read all about," Elizabeth smiled and shook his hand.

"Please tell me your husband is still alive," Nathaniel was afraid Jim died in this time as he did.

Elizabeth looked shocked, "You have me at a loss. From what I understand you come from a different Earth."

"In my time, your husband is one of my closest friends."

"He's in Golad," she finally answered.

Nathaniel nodded, "That's where he was when you got sent to Terra Nova."

"That sounds like a dream that will never happen," she got down to work. She noticed Ayani standing close to her patient. "There were two people who appeared, are you the other person?"

Ayani shook her head, "No, I was married to Nathaniel Taylor and he's kind enough to let me tag along after him for the memories."

"It's going to be hard when he leaves," Elizabeth noted.

"It'll be like him dying all over again."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Nathaniel reached out and took her hand. "I'm going to find out why civilians aren't in your past while I'm waiting on Malcolm here to find a way home for me. Maybe we can rectify that problem and you can go to the past."

"I'd rather go to your past," she voiced her secret wish.

Nathaniel sighed, "I don't know how that would work with my current situation, Ayani."

"I suppose you're right. It wouldn't do to confuse the issue of two wives."

He saw Elizabeth looking quizzically at him and explained, "I'm married to another woman. I was married to Ayani, not this one, but her double in my timeline. She died and I remarried."

Elizabeth nodded without speaking and Malcolm looked very amused to Nathaniel's consternation. Then he noticed he was still holding Ayani's hand and let go. He saw Malcolm smile wider. He was going to make his Malcolm pay when he got home he decided. The only person who was stoic was Elliot, patiently waiting for the results. He still didn't know if he could fully trust Elliot or how close he was to Philbrick. He needed to scan the current news for clues. For all he knew if they found a way to his world and with the knowledge they now possessed of Lucas making the portal go both ways, they might raid his home searching for information or Lucas or worse. He decided to be careful with his information forthwith, although the thought of sending Lucas here did warrant further consideration.

They finally parted from Malcolm with a promise to make this project top priority. He wanted to tell Malcolm to do nothing else, but restrained himself with the mental reminder that this wasn't his Malcolm.

Before he parted from Elizabeth, he drew her aside and whispered how her counterpart broke Jim from Golad and they escaped to Terra Nova.

After several hours at the hospital, the three of them were finally alone in Elliot's vehicle and returning to the base, Ayani asked, "What did you say in confidence to the doctor?"

He shrugged, "Just some words of comfort for her husband."

"We have a couple hours before your first interview with the government, do you need to prepare?" the three were back in Nathaniel's assigned apartment.

"I would like to study your Terra Nova project so I am familiar with the deviations that may be present so I can better understand…" he trailed off.

"Of course, I'll give you access on your plexpad. Anything else?"

"I'd like to know more about myself and the news to see if your world mirrors mine in development."

Elliot went to Nathaniel's plexpad and made a few entries. "I unlocked up to level three clearances for everything. How's the ticker?" he pointed to Nathaniel's chest.

"Pains all gone and I need to exercise."

"We'll do some workouts after the base doctor clears you."

"I don't mean to run you off, but I have a lot of reading to do." Nathaniel smiled at Ayani, "Maybe I can see you later this evening for supper."

"You're not going to let me stay and distract you?" she felt comfortable enough around him to tease after spending the evening before learning he was an exact replica of her husband.

He chuckled, "You used to do that when I was studying for my officer's exams." They both overlooked his slip.

"Tell you what," she looked at Elliot also, "I'll go home and fix a nice supper and when you two are done, stop by."

"You know I never turn down your cooking, Ayani," Elliot smiled and looked at Nathaniel, "sound good?"

"I'm looking forward to it," he held the door open for them to leave. He was anxious to start his research and had no doubt every request for information would be monitored.

It didn't take him long to see the material was redacted. He was level four access, the second highest in his time and knew instinctively what was censored. He paid careful attention to anything about Philbrick and his reports back through the portal. Like in his universe, digitized waves moved both ways and he saw footage of this Terra Nova. He recognized the lava fields as part of the badlands they skirted in their search for the Phoenix, and saw what Philbrick was doing. He did an exploration when the General first arrived and there was no mention of Philbrick being alone for 118 days as he was, but that may be classified like his was.

Nathaniel got up and found bottled water in his small crisper. He read fast, but still the time flew by and Elliot would be knocking any minute. He wished he knew who was in cahoots with Philbrick and everyone was under suspicion. He sat back down and ran Ayani. Her story was exactly like his Ayani's until Somalia. He saw nothing to tie her to the enemy. That was a relief, as he needed a confidant for what looked like a long stay.

"Ayani, the meal was superb, as usual," Elliot complemented her.

"I can do better, but food is a treasure hunt. I went to three stores just to scrape this meager fare together."

Nathaniel remembered the food shortages from his time, "Last year the Italian wheat crop failed. Did that happen here?"

Elliot replied, "It did and the Italians went from trying to entice people not to have children with large sums of money to finally 36+/8mandating a no child policy. That hasn't stopped the births, but the heavy fines slowed procreation down to a crawl.

"Do you have a Judgment Is Inescapable group who attempted to destroy Hope Plaza?" Nathaniel wanted to find any inconsistencies in their respective worlds.

"September 25th, 2149. I remember like it was yesterday. They planted bombs and one went off and did minor damage. We almost cancelled the supply run, but it had more volunteer soldiers for Philbrick. He'd been complaining about the local wildlife decimating his numbers and he was low on supplies. Security was extra tight. I was in charge of tracking the terrorists down. We found a couple and prosecuted them, but the leader is still on the loose."

Nathaniel nodded, "That was the date, one day before the tenth pilgrimage. I was given the latest updates on the incident when the portal was open and messages were exchanged. That's when I found out the eleventh was scheduled in six months instead of the usual year. The pilgrimages were continually consisting of larger numbers and we pushed hard to get homes built. As it was, the tenth had to finish their own homes. The eleventh was slated to do the same, but only a few arrived before a man with a bomb strapped to his chest stepped through the portal. It exploded after about three seconds."

"We never had anything like that happen. When were the pilgrimages?"

Nathaniel thought hard, "I went through in 2142. There were pilgrimages every few months while we were trying to get supplies to build the colony. I remember the fifth came through on November 7th, 2144. Then there was a pause and we didn't get another group until 2146 and the Sixers were with them. We had two pilgrimages that year, the sixth and seventh."

"And this Mira we have in holding?" Elliot asked.

"Is their leader. I got a chance to talk to her one night when we got caught out in slasher territory. She had an ill child and traded medical care for getting…." he stopped talking. No way could he rat Lucas out to Ayani. "Well she was instructed to pave the way for the invading army."

"Sixers, because they were on the sixth pilgrimage?" Ayani put the pieces together.

Nathaniel nodded, "The colony changed after that. No longer did I trust everyone who was in the colony. Several people were under suspicion. Then we had a spy in the colony sending information to Mira. Turns out it was a girl I became a foster father to. Skye heard Mira had some sincyllic fever in her camp and found something to keep her people alive. When her mother came down with it, she worked out a deal where several Sixer men snuck into the colony one winter night and took her mother. They kept her alive in exchange for Skye filtering information to them. They were a pain in our backside for three years."

"We have a vaccination for sincyllic fever," Ayani knew it still rampaged through the homeless who didn't have access to vaccinations.

"We do also. A carrier brought it to Terra Nova and after that everyone was required to be vaccinated and they sent vaccines through on the next pilgrimage so we got everyone vaccinated. It was an oversight." They talked late into the night until Nathaniel let out a yawn, "Ayani, thank you for the best meal I've had since being here. Beat the heck out of what Elliot is trying to poison me with on the base," he and Elliot stood to leave.

"I expect you here every evening for a meal," Ayani placed a hand on his arm at the door. "You have my number on your phone, call me during the day."

"I'll try to find time."

"If we were married, I'd make you pay for that statement," she patted his arm.

He smiled. She was exactly like the woman he fell in love with, strong, beautiful and opinionated. "I do want to hear what you've been up to for the last twelve years."

"And I want to hear all about your Terra Nova and the people you now consider friends."

Elliot moved into the hallway of her apartment and waited for them to end their bantering. He always hoped Ayani would get over Nathaniel and give him a chance, but now he felt that would never happen. Even if or when Nathaniel went home, she would carry these new memories to her grave. He wished Nathaniel never picked his world to land on. Ayani was getting ready to move on until now.

A week later, Malcolm asked them to come to the control room at Hope Plaza for an update. He and Nathaniel went alone without Ayani. Nathaniel was kept busy during the days and he would go to her place for supper. Elliot never asked if he spent the night, but he was in his apartment on base no matter how early Elliot banged on the door.

Malcolm looked up from his panel when they entered, "Gentlemen, I believe the computations for Commander Taylor's unique signature are programed into our system. I had to take our system offline. I was trying to have them exist synchronously and it wouldn't work."

"What if General Philbrick has an emergency and needs contact?" Elliot hadn't planned on this change and he should have been informed.

"We alternate the times, one hour on and one off. If he's in trouble, he'll keep calling. It's been quiet on his end," Malcolm wasn't one to back down, even to a General.

"You should have informed me," Elliot was still peeved. "Any further changes to our portal; run them by me first."

"Alright," Malcolm agreed and held his natural distrust of the military in check.

"Are you able to send a message?" Nathaniel didn't much care about this Hope Plaza's protocol.

"We haven't tried, Commander. I wanted you here with any contact we establish. What does your past have for communication equipment?"

"When the portal was open, we used radios for talking back and forth and streaming band for exchange of information."

"Exactly like the system I devised for us. How did you plan on the portal openings?"

Nathaniel thought, "First, before we had the portal on our end, Hope Plaza would tell us the date they'd send the next pilgrimage through. The first three were several klicks apart, but by the fifth, we had them coming through one spot. Can you open a portal for Mira and me to leave?"

Malcolm shook his head, "I don't have that part stabilized yet to move physical objects, just the radio waves, but they need to open their end and we need to be contacting them at that moment to establish contact."

"I see." Nathaniel felt he was looking for a needle in a haystack. "If they never repair our portal, you're going to have to risk us going through."

"At this point I don't know if you'd make it or where you'd come out in relation to your colony. I could dump you on the other side of the continent. I need to do more configuring and it's hard with our time limits. I just get absorbed in my work and have to switch back to our time." Malcolm looked questioningly at Nathaniel, "You said your portal is damaged?"

Nathaniel grinned at him, "And your counterpart did a fine job of making it look like an accident when he blew the control panel. I was hiding on the hill, scoping him."

"That's a story I'd like to hear," Malcolm smiled back.

Nathaniel looked at Elliot, "How much can I tell Malcolm?"

"I don't think it matters if he learns about your time."

Nathaniel turned back to Malcolm, "Make you a deal. You buy me beer and a steak tonight and I'll tell you my story and about the other Malcolm."

Without speaking, Malcolm reached out and shook his hand. "I'll pick you up at the base."

"It's a date," Nathaniel laughed when Malcolm cringed.

On the way back to the base, Nathaniel called Ayani, "Hey, I called to tell you I won't be by tonight, boy's night out."

Elliot heard her respond, "I'm disappointed, Nathaniel. My husband didn't ditch time with me until early into the second year of marriage."

Nathaniel smiled at the memories, "I didn't either with my Ayani."

Week two and Nathaniel was tired of the endless parade of officials, but played the consummate politician right back. He told Elliot and Malcolm where his army was when he ended up here and how many weeks it would take them to return to Terra Nova. In the meantime, he read all the news he could find around the time of September 25th, 2149. That was the last news that came through the portal so he could measure the decline of his world. He was looking for discrepancies, but so far found none.

He felt way too comfortable with Ayani. The night before, they were eating supper alone at her place. He made himself available far too often he told himself as once again his feet were under her table.

"You know, Nathaniel, you've talked about everyone and everything at Terra Nova, but rarely mention your wife."

"I feel funny telling someone who is a dead ringer for my deceased wife about the woman I'm married to now."

"Tell me about the woman who replaced me." She held up her hand, "I know my Nathaniel would have married the same woman and for the same reasons."

"Well, you remember her," he started.

She nodded, "One of your brightest officers as I recall now that I've had time to think about her. We talked a few times at the functions where spouses mingled with your unit. She was beautiful and was always surrounded by admirers."

"She knew how to handle herself and got engaged to a guy not in the service."

"I remember now, what was his name? You came home and we were going to go to dinner with them so you could get acquainted with him."

"His name was Christopher, but we got sent to Somalia and never made that dinner," Nathaniel filled in the blank. I was upset when you got killed and had my hands full with Lucas and planning to lead the expedition to the past. I forgot all about her fiancé until I made our relationship public and was asked about him. Our relationship wasn't effortless. She was so talented; I ashamedly used her when we first went to the past. She spent two years OTG building the ten outposts. I brought her home and promoted her to second Lieutenant under Alex Tate. When he died, she got promoted to my second and first Lieutenant. We remained friends and confidants until the invasion. I saw her shot again and that's when I knew I had crossed the line in my heart to love. And she ripped it out when Luu…., I thought she died."

"But she wasn't dead." Ayani prompted as Nathaniel went silent.

"No," he got hoarse and felt a pang rip at his heart at the memory, "and I wasted no time in pursuing her."

"If you were my student, I'd give you a C for effort. You lack passion. You do love her, don't you?"

"Ayani, talking to you about my feelings for another woman isn't easy. The facts I can handle. The rest I'll keep to myself."

"Is that why you keep me at a distance?"

"Ayani, I'm a married man. When I was married to you, I never cheated."

"I don't think having sex with me is exactly cheating. Do you feel like you have two wives?" she pressed.

"No," Nathaniel was getting uncomfortable at her line of conversation.

"I want to sleep with you, Nathaniel. I wouldn't ask any married man to break his vows, but I was married to you for almost twenty years and having you this close is tempting me beyond what I can endure." She was honest at what she wanted.

"Ayani, you don't think I don't feel the same way. If I go home, I would have to live with myself and you know me, I'd come clean with her and probably end my marriage. She's a good woman who's been through a lot. I've caused her plenty of pain and don't want to be the instrument of her heartbreaks anymore."

"What pain did you cause her, Nathaniel?"

"I punished her severely for drinking on call and changed her perception of me and being at Terra Nova. After that, I worked hard to show her she was my equal, then the Sixers came. I wanted to begin a relationship with her then, but didn't want to compromise her safety so held off. One day she got captured by them and they worked her over. It was all I could do not to kill them on the spot. I refused to deal with Mira until she released her and one of my soldiers. She was so pissed and embarrassed at being paraded like that in front of her troops. I wanted to comfort her, but didn't and gave her the rest of the day off. She didn't heed my request, stubborn woman."

"That sounds like a long time ago."

"It didn't end there. After we took the colony back and I found she was alive, I overreacted and busted her a rank and suspended her for drinking at Boylan's instead of mounting a resistance. She quit."

"Good for her."

Nathaniel laughed, "Even you? Not one person took my side. She forgave me and we started dating."

"Wait a minute. You were months chasing the Phoenix, or so you told me. How did you have time for a wedding?" She thought he'd been married for a few years, but he didn't mention it she realized.

"We expedited our courtship and I left before the honeymoon was over," he confessed. "We had an incident I'll never talk about, not involving Wash, but other women in the colony. It was then I decided we needed to exterminate the Phoenix as a threat to our home and women. We had the advantage by then and pushed them for months until we caught them. It was during the battle that I ended up here."

"So your marriage is new. It's not like you have many years of history like we have," Ayani dismissed his second marriage as not important. "You may never return to your time, Nathaniel. It's a hard fact you very well will have to face. I think we should resume our life together."

Nathaniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did she change so much in the twelve years they were parted. Part of him wanted to take her to bed. It had been so long, like when he and Wash finally got together. Wash, he let her face float before him and the temptation he was facing.

"Malcolm will find a way to get me back where I belong," he stood. "Thank you for supper, Ayani, but I better leave." Usually he stayed and visited until bedtime, but not tonight, too much temptation in the air.

At the door, before he could protest, not that he would, her arms circled his neck and drew his head down for a kiss. He knew he should have objected, but found his head lowering willingly until their lips touched.

He was absently reading while letting his mind replay the night before when his eyes stopped on an article and he forgot about the kiss. A three dimensional copier was in production. They'd been outlawed for generations after firearms were manufactured a hundred years before. He wondered if his time reconstituted the use of them. He could sorely use one or six at Terra Nova. It would solve most of their manufacturing problems. He saved the article to his phone to show to Elliot.