Earth, 2077

Chris was on his way to one of his tutoring sessions with the professor when she was suddenly beside him, seemingly out of nowhere. He had been going over his last lesson - Hasslein could get really nasty if you didn't know the answers - and there was Gina Lombardi, a large green felt bag slung over her shoulder, and with a big, friendly smile on her face, as if they had parted after school only yesterday. "Hi."

She hadn't really changed since he had seen her two years ago. Round face, straight black hair - she still wore it loose, only with a bright scarf to keep it out of her face - still a penchant for those gigantic wooden loops dangling from her earlobes. She was wearing loose, flowing robes from that African superstar designer. Apparently, she had discovered the fashion magazines of her girlfriends, which dictated that all the girls had to wear them. On her, it looked at least halfway okay.

The sight of her made Chris' stomach flip, that queasy, burning sensation before you throw up. It wasn't that he didn't like her; at one time, he had liked her so much that he hadn't been thinking of much else but her, especially during biology classes. Like on the day they had told him about Dad's ship.

Somehow, that day and Gina Lombardi had become fused in his mind, and the sight of her brought it back, all the dread and all the agony.

"Uhm... I haven't seen you for a while," Gina said hesitantly, and he realized that he hadn't said anything after she had greeted him.

Maybe she'd leave if he didn't say anything now, either. So he just shrugged.

But Gina was nothing if not persistent. "You go to that other school now, right? I heard you moved."

"Yeah." He still wasn't really talking with her. Chris made a show of glancing at his watch - maybe she'd get the hint.

If Gina was getting his hints, and there was no way she didn't get them, she ignored them, which meant he'd have to put up with her until she ran out of small talk. "But you already changed schools before that! Was it because of... you know, because of what happened?"

Chris fought the urge to laugh. The loss of the Icarus had been on all channels 24/7 for months, and here was Gina, avoiding the name to spare his feelings! He let out an exasperated sigh. "There were always reporters hanging around school, so..."

It hadn't been the only reason. It had taken his mother a few weeks to realize what was going on, but finally Mr. Forrester had asked her about the sick notes piling up in the school's email account, and then he and his mom and Mr. Forrester had had a long meeting in his office.

He just hadn't been able to go back there. Every time he'd set a foot into the building, his heart had begun to race and he'd felt sick to his stomach.

Like now. Gina was like one of those too brightly-lit hallways, bringing back That Day in full 3D, sounds, sights, and sensations.

Chris stopped.

"Y'know, it was nice seeing you and all, but I gotta go. I have an appointment-"

"With Professor Hasslein," Gina nodded.

The prickling sensation was back, from his chest down to his fingertips. Something like hot water rushed up his neck and over his scalp, humming in his ears and clouding his vision.

Gina stood pressed against the wall of the building they had been passing, eyes dark and huge. His fist was bungled in the collar of her shirt.

He couldn't remember slamming her into the wall. His heart was hammering against his breastbone, each beat aching as if someone was squeezing it in a giant fist. "How do you know about the professor? Have you been stalking me?"

Gina frantically shook her head. "No! No, I just... I saw you a while back at the astrophysics institute when, uh, when our class was there for orientation... we could sit in at lectures and there was a guided tour through the laboratories..." She was babbling. Chris swallowed and let her go.

He hadn't meant to scare her. He was scared himself. If Mom ever got wind from this tutoring deal he had with the professor, all hell would break loose. Maybe she'd even pack and move them to the other side of the country, like she had tried last fall. Then any chance to find Dad would be lost.

He couldn't allow that to happen. He had to make sure Gina would keep silent about his meetings with the professor to everyone, even if that meant he had to scare her.

So he got into her face again. Gina jerked back and winced when she collided with the wall; she was pale under her tan. "Have you told anyone about me and professor Hasslein?" Chris demanded to know.

Gina wordlessly shook her head, and he took a step back to give her some breathing space. "Swear that you won't tell anyone! Not even my mom!"

She stared at him, shock replacing her fear for a moment. "You mom doesn't know? But why..."

"Not your business!" Chris snapped. Mom just hated the professor because he had designed Dad's ship, and she made him responsible for the accident that had hurled it through time - but that was something he wasn't supposed to tell anyone, the professor had said, because most people were too stupid to understand temporal dynamics anyway - and she just put up with him because he had promised her to build another ship to find Dad.

But Gina didn't have to know all that. She just had to fall into line. "Swear that you won't rat me out!"

Gina took a deep breath. "I swear that I won't tell anyone about your meetings with Professor Hasslein... by the starlight in our souls."

That was the oath of the Oh-Tau, the spiritual peacekeeper aliens from Bridge of Stars. All the girls loved the blue-skinned space elves and their poetic nonsense. Chris was having none of that. "No. I want the other one."

"Why?" Gina asked shyly. The look in her eyes had changed; Chris hoped she felt the same sudden stab he felt whenever one of the Drûk-Tal uttered their oath.

"Because." Because he thought of Dad every time he heard it, every time he said it. He said it every night before he went to bed.

Maybe it would make her understand.

"I'll swear..." Gina said with a trembling voice, "but only if you tell me what you're doing there, when you meet with Professor Hasslein. I want to know all about it," she added in a firmer voice before he could say anything.

Chris chewed on his lip, watching her face. He hadn't told anyone - there wasn't anyone who'd understand. But Gina was a fellow Bridger. And she'd be oath-bound.

And he desperately needed someone he could tell about the mission.

So he nodded. "Agreed." That's what Cpt. Harris always said.

Gina took a deep breath. "I swear, by my father's blood, that I won't tell anyone."

His breath came easier all of a sudden. "Okay. Okay then."

He suddenly realized that he'd be late; that was another thing the professor got nasty about. Chris turned to go. After a dozen steps, Gina caught up with him, their fight forgotten. "So, what are you two doing in the lab?"

"He's giving me physics lessons."

Gina made a face. "That doesn't sound very exciting."

"It's pretty advanced stuff," though it would probably be hopeless to try to explain it to her. So he just said, "I need to know about it, because I'm going to be in command of the ship they're building to find my dad."

That did impress her. "Wow. You'll be like Cpt. Harris!" She was silent for a moment. "But they won't let anyone our age fly a ship."

"They have to build it first," Chris said. "When she's ready, I'll be, too." That's what Hasslein had told him. He liked it - it was as if he and the ship were comrades growing up together, sharing the same purpose.

"How long until lift-off?" Gina wanted to know.

Chris shrugged. "Maybe another ten years."

"That's a long time to wait for your dad," Gina said softly. Chris didn't answer; he had tried to imagine that day when he'd see Dad again, but he couldn't picture himself as an adult. It was just... like a blank space.

Suddenly he felt Gina's hand in his. "I'm gonna wait with you."

And somehow, those ten years didn't feel so endless anymore.