As Fatima and Rountree arrived in the caves, they were stunned at what they found. They'd both expected to see an empty cave, but instead, they found a small campfire ready to be lit, along with several trunks deeper inside.

"Any chance whoever lives here speaks a language we do?" Fatima asked, leaning against the wall.

"Probably not. You got paper? They probably understand drawings," Rountree said, sitting down on a rock. Fatima opened her backpack and pulled out a notebook, then tossed it to Rountree.

"What should we do? Should we leave? I feel like these caves might be the only shelter we have," Fatima said quietly.

"We stay. We don't use our weapons unless we have to, and we don't mess with their stuff. We show them this, and we smile and show our hands," Rountree said softly. He held up her notebook, which now showed a picture of a hole in the ground, two stick figures, the flipped car, and the cave. Fatima nodded and closed her eyes.

"Can God help us here?" Fatima asked after a while. Rountree moved next to her and sat down.

"Truthfully, I don't know. But, I don't want you to lose your faith," he whispered, squeezing her hand. "It's one of the things I love about you." Fatima nodded and sniffled a little. Soon, they heard footsteps approaching, and Fatima immediately looked up. Rountree jumped up and picked up the notebook, then stepped outside. He saw a bald man with a beard approaching the cave and his eyes widened when he saw that the man was armed with both a sword and a bow and arrow.

"Who are you?!" The man demanded.

"You speak English?" Rountree asked, stunned.

"Who are you? Are you sky people?"

"Um, I'm not sure what that means, but we fell through a sinkhole. We just needed someplace to stay until we figure out what's going on. I promise we didn't mess with your stuff," Fatima said softly. "I'm Fatima, this is Devin. We're NCIS Special Agents."

"I don't know what that means. You say you fell through sinkhole?"

"Yes," Fatima said softly.

"You come. Paara will want to speak with you."

"Who's Paara?" Devin asked.

"Yeah, and how do we know we can trust you?" Fatima added.

"You're not the first to come through sinkholes. Paara is married to a sky person. His name is Ty Coleman."

"Wait, didn't Nate mention a Ty falling through a sinkhole?" Fatima whispered to Devin.

"This Ty, does he have cancer?" Rountree asked, picking up his backpack.

"No longer. He is cured."

"How is that possible?"

"That's enough questions. I'm only bringing you to our home because Paara wants answers."

"Sir, respectfully, we're just trying to figure out where we are and how to get home," Fatima said softly. Rountree touched her hand gently.

"Hey," he whispered. "We'll talk to this Paara. If she really is married to a guy that worked with Nate, maybe they'll have some answers for us." After about fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at the fort. Fatima and Rountree stared in amazement as they were allowed inside.

"You two can wait in here for Paara. I won't chain you, but don't make me regret it," he said, leading them to the cell. Fatima nodded and sat down, setting her bag next to her. Rountree stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders. Before long, the door opened and two people walked in.

"I'm Paara. I heard Joseph found you two camped out in our caves," the woman said softly.

"Ma'am, we didn't mean any offense. Honestly, we just needed someplace to stay. We fell through a sinkhole, and we ended up here. We just needed a safe place to stop and regroup," Fatima said, standing up.

"Why do you have guns?" Paara asked.

"We're federal agents. I can show you our badges," Fatima said softly.

"What agency?" the man asked. "I'm Ty, by the way. What year was it when you came through?"

"2024. We work for the NCIS Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles. Our badges are in my bag. We were chasing after a dangerous suspect, but we don't believe he's here. Um, look, this is weird, but do you know Nate Getz? Your name sounds familiar. Nate is our operational psychologist," Rountree said, kneeling to get their badges. He passed them over to Paara and smiled awkwardly.

"Nate, yes, but it was a long time ago. My practice partnered with him from time to time, but that ended when I had cancer," Ty said. "Who's your operations manager?"

"Admiral Hollace Kilbride, but he's relatively new. You probably would have known Henrietta Lange," Fatima said softly. Ty chuckled.

"Yes, I remember Hetty. Paara, remind me to tell you the stories," Ty said, chuckling. "I'm sorry to hear she isn't in charge anymore. Is she alright?"

"She's doing good. She's more international now; she rarely makes contact with us," Rountree said softly.

"Look, we don't mean any disrespect, but we'd like to know where we are and if there's any chance of us going back home," Fatima said softly.

"Look, I know it's difficult to believe, but we're in 10,000 BC. I came here through the La Brea sinkhole in 2021, I married this wonderful girl, and I stayed," Ty said, wrapping his arm around Paara's shoulders. "The bad news is, and I'll be completely honest with you, we're not sure how you guys are going to get home. Most of the people who know about this project are dead, and the others returned to 2021."

"We're stuck here?" Fatima asked, her voice shaky as she processed the news. Ty offered a sympathetic smile.

"I know you miss your families. Look, we'll do what we can to help you get home, but it's not much. We can offer you shelter here, if you're willing to help out with chores a bit, and I suppose I can see if Leyla and Ruth can help out," Paara said softly.

"You want Leyla to help? After last time?" Ty asked softly.

"We don't really have any other options."

"What do you mean by last time?" Fatima asked.

"Leyla made some mistakes in her past, but I think she'll help us," Paara said softly. Fatima nodded and put her head on Rountree's chest. He hugged her softly and smiled.

"We appreciate your help, truly. Just tell us what we need to do," Rountree said softly.