Chapter 7: Finally Home!

Summary:

I have always thought that sometimes, when we are very fond of a place where we have always lived, we often forget that we are fond of a place and a specific "time". That same place years later is no longer the same. Camille and Richard will find out soon enough.

Chapter Text

Very early, Richard is awakened by a noise that startles him. It´s not his alarm and ... wait! Why doesn't he listen to the waves of the sea? Where are the happy frogs found? Then that high-pitched sound stops playing and manages to open his eyes to meet… rain? He knows the building across the street! He´s in London! Good heavens! How did he get here? Will he see Camille again? A light tap on his shoulder tells him that he´s not alone.

Finally remember everything!

"Richard! You're fine? Listen to Camille.

He sits on the bed for a moment. They were talking until the late hours because they couldn´t calm down, much less go to sleep.

"I… for a moment I was disoriented. I thought I was in my shack… .Camille… have you slept here?" he asks worried. Although he´s more concerned about not remembering anything about it.

Camille looks at him gauging what to answer. In the end, he decides to tell him the truth.

"Yes" she answers. Richard looks at her wide-eyed "But nothing happened! We were just very nervous. Too many emotions, remember? At first I stayed on the sofa, but it was so uncomfortable… When I saw that you had already fallen asleep, then I got into your bed… to sleep! " Camille ends. "Overall, it wouldn't be the first time we've slept together. That noise that woke you up so bad is Connor's. It seems he has discovered something that can help us." Richard is still sleepy and amazed. Camille continues: "Will you please wake up and get dressed? We will have something for breakfast on the way. I'm going to my room so you can get dressed as soon as possible. But I give you only five minutes! " And she leaves his room.

Then Richard quickly gets up, finally it clears up a bit! He dresses quickly, he doesn't have time to shower, he hopes to do it later, and when Camille comes back in, she finally sees him ready and alert for whatever Connor Temple may have in store for them.

They collect all their personal effects (they don't have much) and go quickly to the hotel reception, where one of the ARC guards is already waiting to take them quickly home, or so they hope.

Connor is still checking the anomaly detector. With the fuss they had the day before, he wants to review it well and make sure that everything is going as it should. James Lester meets him ("this man has no private life!" thinks Camille).

"Oh perfect! So we don't have time to waste" Lester greets them. "I hope you've rested well, "he adds, looking at them with what seems like a sense of humor?

"Yes, thank you, James. The hotel was perfect. " Richard replies.

"I´m glad to hear that. Here Connor has already prepared your departure to Saint Marie. We had some problems yesterday, but he has assured me that everything is under control." Connor looks at him a bit apprehensively, Lester is not one to admit mistakes and he would swear he did not tell him that. Lester continues: "If you already have everything with you, there is nothing more to talk about. I hope that we will meet again with more conventional methods of transport. DS Bordey, nice to meet you," Camille nods. "Richard, you are expensive to see. I hope to see you more often." And Lester offers him his hand, Richard offers his in turn.

Connor looks at them and comments, "I've checked everything several times. I don't think there is any problem" And he clicks a button.

A large, beautiful anomaly appears and Richard and Camille look at each other, look at Connor and Lester, and, gasping for air, step forward and into it.

Wave noise, scandalous heat and, for God's sake, sand! Richard and Camille look at each other with gleeful looks. They are home! They go to the shack to look for Lester's note as soon as possible, but they can't find it anywhere. Fortunately the lock is the same as when Richard took over the shack, so there is no problem in that regard. Then Camille stares at him and comments:

"Richard, don't you notice something strange in the shack?"

Richard stops looking for the little note and what he sees leaves him horrified. This is not the spotless, clean shack he had when he left! Those clothes! Not even dead would he wear it. What happens here?

Camille suddenly understands everything when she sees a newspaper thrown in any way in a corner. "Richard, we have returned to Saint Marie, but to two and a half years ago!"

Richard looks at her blankly and snatches the newspaper from her hands. What a nightmare! Then he does something that Camille doesn't understand, he runs out of the shack calling out to Camille to follow him.

"Where are you going?" she asks him.

"To the anomaly, Camille! They have the wrong time!"

They run as much as they can, but they only arrive in time to see how the anomaly closes.

They are stunned, the world sinks under their feet. They are next to Richard's shack, but the problem is that it still belongs to Charlie Hulme. They have nothing. They look at each other without knowing what to say to each other. Camille breaks the silence:

"Richard, tell me that that horrible anomaly is going to reopen."

Richard looks at her and answers:

"Of course. If I'm not mistaken, Connor must be facing the quiet but very angry Richard Lester. He will be working on it twenty-four hours a day. Don´t hesitate"

Camille also detects some anger in Richard's voice, but she doesn't detect despair and that reassures her.

Richard thinks for a long time and comments:

"Camille, as much as I hate DI Hulme's clothes, I can't walk around the island in my current outfit. If you associate me with the Richard Poole who will be arriving shortly, it can cause a tremendous mess!"

Camille nods and they head to the shack. They enter with care not to be seen. It helps that it's getting dark. The shack is a real mess, the DI is about to start removing the sand, of course Camille stops him and they rummage through Hulme's closet. They take off shorts and a T-shirt overly decorated with parrots and palm trees. Richard sweats, but this time not from the heat.

Suddenly, while Camille waits for him a bit away while he changes, something disturbing occurs to her.

"Camille?"

"Yes?" she answers without turning around, she is leafing through the newspapers with curiosity.

"We have the opportunity to save DI Hulme's life. What do you think?"

Camille looks at him in amazement, such a possibility had never occurred to her. Then take a look at the newspaper and answer.

"I'm afraid it's too late. According to the date of this newspaper, Charlie Hulme is already dead. IM so sorry. But I'm afraid that means that in a very few days, if not just one, you will land in Saint Marie to make life impossible for us." He looks at her smiling and says: "I was joking!"

"Yeah, then no one will stop by the shack tonight and we will have a place to rest." He responds, fearing that his practical sense in the face of what Camille has told him will make her think he´s insensitive. To his surprise, she smiles at him and replies:

"I think it's a good idea. I'm going to see if I see anything in the fridge. I'm hungry!. And we must be rested when we can return." She goes to the kitchen then. "You know?" She speaks to him from the little kitchen. "It´s a golden opportunity to be here when nobody knows us, not even among us. Technically we still don't know each other."

Richard is left thinking, although, for once, guess what she is talking about.

"An opportunity for what?"

"To get to know each other, to fix ours, because there is something of ours. And nobody is going to bother us " Richard stares at her.

Notes: Thanks to Sweepeaspatch for her corrections! When this happens it means that someone takes an interest in us and our work and reads us. Thank you! And of course, thanks to everyone who has read my little experiment. It´s an honor considering the ones I have the opportunity to read around here. Thank you!