"You can put your things in the guest house for now. It's almost time for dinner, so I'll bring you some supplies. Ty, can you take them?" Paara asked, turning to face her husband. Ty nodded and smiled softly.
"Here we are," he said after a short walk. "There are three individual rooms in here, this is just the shared space. If you'd like to split up overnight, you're welcome to."
"Thank you, truly," Fatima said softly. She pushed a curtain aside and set her bag next to the bed. Once Ty had left, Rountree put his hand on her back and set his bag next to hers.
"I won't stay here overnight if you don't want to," he said softly. "How are you doing?"
"I think I'm okay. Paara and Ty are really nice. I just hope Leyla can help us," she whispered.
"There's something you're not telling me," Rountree whispered. Fatima sat on the bed and closed her eyes. Rountree joined her and put his hand on her knee.
"My mom was supposed to have a surgery on Friday. I promised I'd be there," she cried into his chest.
"Oh, baby girl," Rountree murmured. "We'll figure this out. I don't know how exact this whole time travel thing works, but we'll figure it out."
Just then, they heard a soft tapping on the wall. Rountree stood up and smoothed his shirt, even though he wasn't entirely sure why, and opened the curtain. He saw Paara with a young girl, maybe sixteen, with curly hair. He smiled softly and welcomed them inside.
"Okay, this is your water. We boil it before we put it in pitchers, so you don't need to worry about it. This is a soap; we get it from a plant. Here are some blankets, and some wood for a fire. I'm assuming you both know how to build one?" Paara said as she set the bucket of water on the floor, then the bowl of soap on the table next to the bed.
"Yes, we do," Fatima said softly. "Thank you. Again."
"Pour some water around the stones before you start the fire. I don't think that it will be very cold tonight, but we get random snowstorms sometimes. If you need anything else, just ask. This is Leyla. She agreed to see if she could help you guys get home, but it definitely won't be tonight."
"Hi," Leyla said quietly. Fatima smiled softly.
"Hey," she said back.
"We're going to eat dinner soon. Have you guys ever had buffalo?"
"It's not something we eat in 2024," Rountree explained. "But we're sure it's very good."
Paara nodded. "I figured that might be the case. We'll serve it with some veggies from our garden. The tables are in the middle of the village, you should be able to find it easily when you're ready," she said. She turned to leave, leaving Leyla with Fatima and Rountree.
"What do you guys know about the Rye Sanders group?" Leyla asked. Fatima and Rountree shared a look, then Rountree spoke.
"We don't. If anyone knew about it, it would be our boss, or his boss," Rountree said softly. Leyla nodded. "But I have a feeling you know."
"You could say that. Like I said, I'll do whatever I can to get you guys back home," Leyla responded. "What about Gavin Harris? I heard Ty say that you work with the military. He was an Air Force pilot."
"No, sorry. We work more with the Navy and Marines," Fatima said softly.
"Okay," Leyla said quietly. "I'll leave you two alone. We'll see what we can do after dinner."
"Thanks," Fatima said softly. Once Leyla had left, she turned to Rountree. "Do you really think Kilbride would know? Or Callen?"
"Shit, maybe? Hetty would know," Rountree said softly.
"Yeah. We should probably wash up for dinner," Fatima said softly. She stood up and kneeled before the large bucket of water.
"Why do I feel like I should be putting on a tie?" Rountree asked. Fatima laughed, then leaned against the wall and buried her face in her hands. "Hey," he whispered. "I know. I know, baby girl."
"How are you just making jokes?" Fatima asked, her voice shaky.
"I'm sorry, I'll stop," he said quietly.
"No, I'm not mad," she whispered. "How are you not scared?"
"You think I'm not scared? Fatima, I'm terrified. I'm terrified that I'm never going to see my baby sister again. I'm scared that I left her alone in a world that she's not ready to be alone in. I'm scared that I'm not going to be able to get you home in time for your mom's surgery. I'm scared because we somehow went to 10,000 BC through a sinkhole, and we don't know anyone here, but you know what? I'm okay because I have you. I'm okay because we're together, and because we have a roof over our heads, and people that are willing to let us live in their home for almost nothing in return. We can do chores, baby, and we can help out until we have a new plan. Fatima, I'm okay because we're together," Rountree whispered. Fatima sniffled and nodded, then wiped her tears.
"I love you," she said quietly.
"I love you too," he said softly. "Let's get ready and go eat." Fatima nodded and went back to the bucket of water, where Rountree joined her.