Jo waited at home, eager to hear the details. Beth actually went on a date! If you could call it that - well, of course you could. She went somewhere alone with a guy she wasn't related to who wasn't an old family friend, like Teddy. What else could you call it?

That thought made Jo very worried. Beth was so innocent - she'd be so easy to take advantage of. She knew nothing of dating, nothing of young men and what they could be like. She knew the facts of life, of course - Mrs. March had seen to that - but she knew nothing of flirting, teasing, or seduction.

Jo was watching when Jonas's car pulled up. She watched as Jonas and Beth got out and Jonas walked Beth to the front door. She heard the door open and, a few seconds later, saw Beth's smiling face. Relief washed over her. Beth had had a nice time.

"How did it go?" Jo asked, trying to sound as casual as she could.

"It went great," said Beth. "He took me to Walden Pond, and we went for a walk."

"And?"

Beth's face flushed a deep red. "Well...we talked some. He told me he's never had a girlfriend before."

"You have to be careful, Beth," said Jo. "Not every young man is like Teddy."

"I like him, Jo." Beth's voice held an unfamiliar assertive tone. "Isn't that all right?"

Jo embraced her sister. "Of course it's all right, Bethy, but I worry about you. You've never even been on a date!"

Beth stiffened. "I'm a grown woman now, Jo. I'm not your baby sister anymore, and I'm going on my first date next Friday night. Jonas is taking me out to dinner."

Jo gasped. "When did he ask you?"

"On the way home. He said he enjoyed my company and wanted to get to know me better."

"And you accepted?"

"Of course I did. Please try to understand, Jo. It's time I started trying to be like other people."

"But I like you the way you are, Beth. Where's he taking you?"

"The Glass Room."

The Glass Room. It was where Fritz had taken Jo on their first real date.

Sleep evaded her that night. She couldn't help wondering whether she was really that concerned about Jonas's intentions toward her sister, or if her emotions were tinged with envy. She clearly remembered dining with Fritz at The Glass Room - the sound of his voice, the softness of his touch, the warmth of his kiss.

Certainly she hadn't imagined all that - how could she have? It would make just as much sense to say she'd imagined the long interlude of her life in 1940's Berlin.

Could the two have somehow been connected? By going back in time, had she somehow changed the future?

She decided to do some investigating.

As soon as she had a chance the next day, she logged onto her computer and googled 'Friedrich Bhaer.' About twenty different names came up, but all of them were much older than Fritz, so none of them could have been him. Next, she tried 'Friedrich Bhaer New York.' The results were just as fruitless. She even tried varying the spelling of his last name, prompting the appearance of detailed information about Bayer Aspirin.

Next, she googled 'Charlotte Kirke.' Right away, she was taken to Charlotte's Facebook page. So Charlotte still existed, as did, presumably, her daughters.

Something occurred to Jo. Could it be? She started to enter the name 'Dieter Baumgartner' into the search bar when she heard her mother calling to her from the kitchen.

"Jo, come quick! I need help!"

Jo dashed to the kitchen to find her mother sprawled on the floor beside an overturned stepladder. Her face was twisted in pain.

Jo helped her mother to stand and limp to a chair.

"How did it happen?" she asked.

"I was reaching - for my blender," Mrs. March gasped. "I leaned over too far - and the stepladder slipped right out from under me. I landed on my ankle - hard!"

"Oh my God, I hope it isn't broken!" said Jo.

Beth appeared in the doorway, her face pale.

"Mom fell off the stepladder," Jo told her. "I'm gonna have to take her to the hospital. Can you help me? I just need you to open the doors for me."

Beth nodded. Leaning heavily on her daughter, Mrs. March made her way out of the house, down the stairs, and into the car. Beth started to get into the back seat, but Jo stopped her.

"There's no need for you to come along, Beth. You'd only be needlessly exposed to germs. I promise you, I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything."

Beth sighed. "All right." She turned and trudged back into the house.

Jo drove to the hospital, parked, and helped her mother out of the front seat. An orderly saw them and immediately brought a wheelchair.

"Thank you," said Mrs. March as she sat down.

The orderly pushed the wheelchair into the emergency room. The walls of the waiting area were lined with green chairs, in which sat people of every imaginable description. Several were holding puke buckets. Jo was very glad she'd insisted on Beth staying home.

She walked with the orderly to the front desk, where a frazzled middle-aged woman tucked a strand of dark hair behind one ear as she looked up at them.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Margaret March, and I think I may have broken my ankle," said Mrs. March.

A nurse took her vitals, and then she and Jo settled in for the long wait.

The two women read the magazines sitting on the table across from them and chatted off and on. Jo was careful not to mention Fritz or anything she remembered from her life as Martina.

After several hours Mrs. March was finally taken back to X-ray, and Jo was left alone to wait. She called Beth and told her what was going on, then walked down the hallway to the restrooms and vending machines.

On her way back to the waiting area, she almost ran right into a pretty dark-haired woman. She wore a 1940's era dress. Jo realized the young woman was Martina. She gasped, thinking her eyes must be deceiving her.

"Do I - do I know you?" she stammered.

"It's up to you to save him." Martina pressed something hard into her hand, and then her form dematerialized right in front of Jo's very eyes.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Jo looked down at the object in her hand. It was the silver ring she'd found lying on the ground outside Fritz's apartment in New York City.