~ Crescent Wrench ~
by Darkenedkarma
Disclaimers: This is a piece of fiction. I don't claim to be a doctor, scientist, genius, mechanic, butcher or petty much anything else I mentioned in this story. If I made a mistake I'm sorry. Music was mentioned in this story, I liked it so I included it. No infringement intended.
Sex: This story does depict a relationship between two women. And there is a mention of naughty stuff.
Language: Yes, some bad language. I swear I don't know where all this potty mouth stuff came from. These characters are a bad influence on me.
Violence: NONE! Ha, I knew I could do it. All that therapy is finally paying off.
Comments: Read! Enjoy! If you would like to tell me what you think, you can contact me at darkenedkarma@yahoo.com.
Crescent Wrench
by
Darkenedkarma
"Why am I helping you with this again?" Kendra Alden asked her best friend Billy. Billy was Billy Buchamp, a skinny runt of a guy. Calling him geeky would be kind. But for some reason Kendra really liked him. They had clicked immediately. Both huge science fiction fans and Billy happened to be just as much of a motor head as Kendra. Billy, however, didn't have the technical skills you would assume a motor head would have, which was why Kendra was helping him today. It was a shame, Kendra thought for the millionth time, that Billy wasn't a woman. She would have been head over heels in love with him if he was.
"Because," Billy drawled. "I'm providing beer and steak."
Billy glanced through the inch thick, hard plastic window at Kendra who was lying on the floor working on the main control board of his invention. He wondered just how Kendra had managed to wedge her long frame into that small space. She wasn't terribly tall at 5'8 but she was tall enough that she shouldn't be able to fit under the console without putting her legs straight up in the air. Yet there she was. Kind of curved. She looked like a black twizzler. Wasn't she hot in those clothes? He admitted that the black did complement her hair, which was also black. Her brilliant gray-blue eyes sparkled in contrast to all the black. And all that tan skin. Too bad about the black clothes. Oh man, did she look hot though. Yummy hot. He sighed feeling disappointed. He didn't have a shot. Why did the one girl who liked hanging out with him have to be gay? Well at least if he couldn't sleep with her, he could still be her best friend. 'How big is the L on my forehead?' he thought to himself. Loser!
"Well, in that case if you're not doing anything why don't you bring me a beer." Kendra suggested as she finished connecting yet another little wire to the main motherboard. Why in the hell does he call it a motherboard anyway?
"What makes you think that I'm not doing anything?" He asked guiltily. This was his project and he knew he should be doing most of the work. But if he got under there it would never work and this project was a long shot anyway. In fact, it was his last chance to even stay at MIT. Who was he kidding? He'd been kicked out weeks ago. Billy was just hoping that he could make this thing work and show his professors. Then maybe he'd get back in before his parents found out he'd been kicked out. Again.
"Because I can see you staring at me." The dumbass was implied.
"Oh. Ok then. I'll be right back."
She heard Billy's footsteps fading as he went into the house. She smiled to herself in satisfaction. Pretty soon she'd have a nice cold beer. And pretty soon she'd be through connecting this stupid motherboard. The last little wire got soldered on and she wiggled out of her position underneath the console. She looked around the bubble like room. It wasn't a room really. It was more like a conveyance or a transportation device. Not that she believed what Billy said it would be able to do. Kendra liked sci-fi as much as the next gal but time machines weren't something twenty two-year-olds built or anyone for that matter. Billy was brilliant. She admitted that freely, but he was crazy if he thought this would work. Oh well, free beer that's all that counts. Just then a brown bottle with a Bud label was thrust through the door at her.
"Thanks." Kendra grunted as she hoisted it to her lips, chugging down half the bottle before she lowered the bottle and gave off a loud unlady-like burp.
"Six." Billy shouted from outside the time machine where he was supposed to be working on the power relay.
Kendra stood up and poked her head out and glared at him. "What do you mean 'six' that was at least an eight. Did you hear the tail of that burp? It would've made Booger jealous." She argued citing Booger's legendary burping prowess from Revenge of the Nerds.
"Six." He repeated ignoring Kendra's outrage. He looked up from the power relay and smiled. Then as if something had just occurred to him, his face fell.
"What?" Kendra asked in alarm. Looking around to see if she'd broken something by accident.
"My older sister's coming here today to check up on the house. I totally forgot. Shit!" Billy said panicking. "What am I going to tell her? I'm supposed to be at school in Massachusetts!"
"We could shut the garage door and just pretend we're not here. She wouldn't need to come out here for anything would she?" Kendra asked as she glanced around. There weren't any cars in the garage. Nothing but Billy's junk was in here. She couldn't possibly need to come in here for anything.
"You don't know my sister. She'd so anal; she'll check everything. When she sees me and all this she'll call Mom and Dad and that will be it. They already think I'm a failure and she's a princess. This is all I need." Billy moaned.
Kendra just raised an eyebrow at Billy. She wasn't sure where he got all this from. Kendra had met Billy's parents on more than one occasion. They couldn't be more proud of Billy if they tried. They thought Billy was a genius. She'd never met Billy's sister but how bad could she be. She was about six years older than Billy and a doctor. She always sent him great birthday gifts and talked to him on the phone quite a bit according to her best friend. Why would he think she'd rat him out?
"We could leave." Kendra offered when Billy still had that pitiful look on his face after a few minutes.
He shook his head looking even more miserable if that was even possible. "No, she'd know I was home just because of all this stuff. Then I would be in more trouble for trying to duck her."
"You know it's not as if you're not an adult Billy. You can be out of school if you want." Kendra told him. She hated seeing him so freaked.
"Yeah right. My parents own me until I graduate. They're paying for everything."
"Well technically they're not paying right now. You were kicked out, right?" Kendra said helpfully.
"Thanks. As if I'd forgotten." Billy mumbled.
"You could get a job." Kendra tried again.
"And do what? Fling burgers? Fix cars? I don't think so."
"Hey!" Kendra shot him an angry look. Yeah, she was a mechanic. There wasn't anything wrong with that. It was a noble profession. Even though lately her customers had been looking at her as if she were no better than a lawyer. She really didn't make up the rates. They were in the book.
"Sorry." Billy apologized. He hadn't meant anything by it. He couldn't fix a car if he tried, that's all he'd meant.
"I don't know what you're worried about. Didn't you get kicked out before? Your dad fixed it that time. He'll fix it this time." She said dismissing his worry.
"I guess." he grumbled. "But I really wish we could just get this thing to work and I could get back in that way." He looked at her hopefully giving her his best pathetic look.
She laughed at him. "Fine, fine. Look when your sister gets here we'll both talk to her. If you can't get her to keep quiet by playing the baby brother card maybe I can charm her into it."
"You'd try to seduce my sister for me? I knew you loved me." Billy said breaking into a smile. It would be funny to see Kendra try to put the moves on his straight-laced sister. Any trouble he'd be in would be well worth the price of admission.
"No problem." Kendra replied with a wolfish smile. "Let's just get back to work, huh? I just have to finish one more thing in here then I'll be done and I'm getting hungry. I have to earn my dinner."
"All right." Billy glanced back down at the relay he was working on then followed it around the machine. "Hey Kendra?" He shouted after a few seconds thought.
"Yeah?"
"I have to shut the door for a minute to run the relay through the conduit." Billy told her.
"No problem, I'm not afraid of small spaces." She said needlessly since he'd already shut the door on her. She reached up on the console for the crescent wrench she'd left up there. She had to tighten the console's housing and she'd be done. She felt around and accidentally flipped some of the switches Billy had put into the console. She didn't bother to try to flip them off. This thing would never work anyway. She heard Billy yell that he was done with the power relay. She nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. Annoyed, she moved her head out to see where the wrench was when her hand grazed it knocking it off the console right on to her head. A bright flash started in the time machine as she looked around rubbing her head. A kaleidoscope of colors swirled around the time machine. Kendra sat up on her knees grasping the control console for support she looked down and stared stupidly at the flipping numbers. She new they stood for years. Billy had explained the thing to her. Why the hell were they flipping like that? And what in the hell was going on with all the lights. It looked like a freaky version of Star Trek. She could faintly hear Billy calling her name and she glanced around. She couldn't see him because of the strobbing lights. Suddenly a roaring noise filled her ears making her cover them with the palms of her hands. She fell to her knees trying to block out the noise. The noise coupled with the strobe lights made her nauseous. Then gratefully she passed out.
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It was the groaning that woke her. A loud painful groan that sounded like whomever was making that noise really was at deaths door. Kendra felt sorry for whoever it was, until she tried to move and realized that it was her making that noise. Right then she wished she were a horse and someone would just shoot her to put her out of her misery. Her entire body screamed with pain. Her voice was going to be joining her body soon in screaming if something wasn't done quickly.
Kendra tried to open her eyes. When she did she was greeted with a plethora of colored spots covering everything she looked at. And what was she looking at? The inside of the time machine that Billy was building? Yes! That was it. And a woman? Kendra realized that there was a woman leaning over her. Kendra blinked to clear her eyes. Things were a little clearer. She tilted her head, squinting at the woman, willing the dots covering the woman's face to go away. After a few minutes of staring she could finally make out a face. A face that incredibly reminded her of Billy. Billy had never looked like this though. She was quite beautiful. Bright green eyes surrounded by soft auburn hair. Kendra sat up slowly much to the protest of her body. She wondered why the female Billy hadn't said anything. She just kept staring at Kendra as if she were a ghost. And who the hell knew, the way she felt, she very well might be a ghost.
Kendra cleared her throat to speak and winced at the pain in her head. She wanted to just go to sleep but she also wanted to figure out what the hell happened to her. Did Billy manage to electrocute her? That was when Kendra realized who the woman must be. Billy's sister. She sure did look younger than Kendra imagined she would. According to Billy his sister was supposed to be twenty-eight. This woman looked to be eighteen or nineteen.
"Where's Billy?" Kendra managed after a few moments. The question came out as a ragged whisper.
"Ssshh." Came the soft response. "I'll take care of you Miss Alden. You'll be just fine."
Kendra had closed her eyes after she asked after Billy. But one eye snapped open at the Miss Alden. Miss Alden? Billy's sister sure was formal.
"Kendra." Kendra whispered back trying to keep her voice down as much as possible so that her head wouldn't bounce right out the door.
"I know, I'm sorry. I'd forgotten that you were so informal before." Came the hushed reply. "My name is Adrian Buchamp." She offered.
Kendra just smiled in response not bothering to even attempt to shake her hand or offer a polite greeting.
"I'm going to have you moved into a room in the house. I think you'll be more comfortable." Adrian whispered in her ear.
Kendra didn't say anything hoping that Adrian would just take it as agreement. She almost sighed when Adrian nodded and stood up gesturing to someone outside the oval machine. In a matter of seconds two large yet quite nimble men entered and picked Kendra up as carefully as they could but still caused her to cry out. How on earth could her muscles hurt so badly? It felt like she was on fire. When they finally set her on the gurney and started wheeling her out of the large warehouse? Warehouse? Where the hell was the garage with all Billy's junk? Where was Billy? She wanted to ask those questions and more. It just was too much trouble. It was probably a dream anyway. Another one of those X-Files dreams. Kendra couldn't wait for Scully to show up to search her. She closed her eyes hoping to will Scully into the dream. Instead the gurney stopped and she was lifted ever so gently onto a very soft bed. And that would have been wonderful except that the movement caused her to moan pitifully.
Kendra knew one thing for sure; she wasn't in Kansas anymore. Or rather she wasn't in Texas anymore. Was she? She looked around the room. To say it was opulent would be an understatement. Billy's house was nice but it wasn't this nice. Her eyes wandered to the side of the bed where Adrian was standing studying her. Kendra did her best to give her a questioning look. It must have worked since Adrian held up her hand for a moment of patience. She waited while Adrian directed the two men out of the room. Finally Adrian brought a chair over and sat beside her.
"Do you know where you are?" Adrian asked after a moments thought.
"No." Kendra whispered her response. She hoped this wouldn't be a long question and answer session. She wasn't sure she could make it.
"I was afraid of that." Adrian said as she smiled weakly.
Kendra didn't like that smile. That was the same smile her mom used when she told her dad she wrapped the car around a telephone pole.
"You're in Texas. At Billy Buchamp's country estate. Or what used to be his estate. My father owns it now. Um...Billy is..I mean Billy was my great-great-great-grandfather. The time machine worked, you see." Adrian explained as gently as she could. It didn't seem to be going particularly well from the looks of things. The prone woman's eyes seemed to be literally popping out of her head. Perhaps she needed to administer the sedative? "Well it sort of worked. There was a small problem. When the power relay was finished he tested it. And apparently it was activated. Everything shorted out after you were transported here. Billy couldn't even tell what year you had arrived at. Only a date. Today's date, September 26th." Adrian hadn't wanted to explain everything this way. To just dump it on the poor woman all at once. But his will was explicit in dealing with Kendra Alden. They were to tell her everything as soon as she was able to understand. They were to provide her with everything she needed and help her come back. It was a condition of inheriting the vast fortune he'd accumulated before his death almost eighty years ago.
When Kendra didn't even blink she continued on trying to anticipate any questions Kendra might have. "We've checked the time machine on September 26th every year for the last one hundred and fifty years." She didn't want to say this next part but she had too. Kendra had a right to know what was going on and Billy had demanded that she be told. "There is another problem. Billy was never able to recreate the first incident. He was never able to make the time machine work again." Adrian talked faster in an attempt to forestall any panic that Kendra might feel. "We have been working on it though. I've been working on it actually. I think I might even be getting close to figuring out what happened to make it work the first time. And with you here I might be able to figure it out that much quicker."
Kendra just stared at Adrian. Crack, it had to be crack. Billy's sister was on crack. A hundred and fifty years. She was supposed to believe it was 2152. Kendra closed her eyes and thought for a minute. What did she remember? Tightening the console, no that wasn't right. She was trying to get that damn crescent wrench so she could tighten it. Then it hit her. That's when the lights started going all ga ga and the noise started. All her thoughts ground to a halt. Holy shit! It was true. How else could this be explained. That bump hadn't knocked her unconscious. The pain had done that. Now she remembered the painfully loud roaring and the feeling of her body being torn apart. It was too much. Just all too much.
Kendra pinned Adrian with her eyes. "Sleep." She whispered the plea.
Adrian knew it was a lot to take. She also knew the moment Kendra had accepted the truth. The ragged intake of breath was all the confirmation Adrian needed that Kendra understood. She left the woman alone. There was time later to help her understand that everything would be ok. Everything would be better when Kendra recovered from her ordeal.
_______________________________________________________________________
Kendra languished in bed for two days before she began to feel the ache in her muscles lessen. Her only movement being when she had demanded to be allowed to go to the bathroom rather than utilize a bedpan. There was only so much any one person could take and Kendra had reached that point.
She stood up gingerly waiting for her muscles to rebel and dump her on the floor but it didn't happen. She almost did a little jig. If it weren't for that little twinge in her thigh muscle reminding her that it was there she might have. She walked around the room taking a good look at things. All this was Billy's? Or had been at one time. It was hard to wrap her mind around the fact that she was in the future. One hundred and fifty years if Adrian could be believed. There was still the possibility that this was a really elaborate practical joke. But that was an extreme long shot at best. Kendra sighed as she ran her hand over the mantle piece over the fireplace in her bedroom. This was all real. She just knew it. The fact that some computer answered her when she asked it a question or asked it to do something made her believe that it was true. Actually all things considered it was convenient. She'd been able to order food just by asking the computer for it. She assumed that the request was put through to the kitchen.
She also discovered that she could leave messages for other's in the house. In fact, she'd received a message from Adrian asking if she was well enough to talk yesterday. She merely informed the computer that she would rather not talk and that was it. For some reason she felt angry with Adrian. It was irrational she knew. It wasn't Adrian's fault that she was here. Kendra narrowed her eyes as she thought. No it was Billy's fault! The brainless idiot testing the power relay. She understood that she was angry at Adrian because looking at her Kendra could see Billy. It pissed her off. She knew she had to get over it. Obviously from what Adrian had told her, Adrian was the one who could get her back. What she didn't understand was why they had to work on it at all. For god's sake why couldn't Billy get it to work? He'd built it. If it worked once it could work again, right?
Kendra crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the wall. She stared at the door, knowing that it was past time to go out and greet her hostess. Past time to start working on going home. She had to find out why the time machine wasn't working. Or at least why Adrian thought the time machine wasn't working. Another thought occurred to Kendra as she walked across the room and exited her bedroom door. Wonder what the world is like now?
She glanced down the hallway that seemed to go on forever on either side of her. She wondered which way lead to a living room or an office or lab. Hell she wondered where everyone was period.
She cleared her throat and asked, "Umm. Where is Adrian?" The same computer voice that responded in her room responded again telling her Adrian was in the library. Library? Oh, this place has it's own library. Hot damn! 'Wonder what kind of books ole' Billy collected.' Kendra thought happily knowing his fascination of sci-fi. Maybe she could read enough new books to make this trip worth while. Then she realized she didn't know how to get to the library. She sighed and asked for directions. The computer led her through the large house. She realized as she walked that 'house' really wasn't an appropriate term. Mansion, Castle, either one of those fit. By the time the computer told her she'd reached the library she was tired. That twinge in her thigh was rapidly becoming pain.
She pushed through the large ornate doors and stared in awe. It was huge. The ceiling reaching the very top of the home. There were books everywhere. Colorful books. Kendra walked in not believing that anyone would own a private library this large. She stopped for a moment and frowned. This is the future; why isn't everything on computers or in a database. Computers had never been her thing but she watched TV and read books. They should just have little chips or discs full of books. A small shuffling noise drew her attention. She turned and found Adrian staring at her with that astounded expression that she'd first encountered when she woke up in the time machine.
"I was looking for you." Kendra offered after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
Adrian nodded and gave a small smile. "I assume you're feeling better?" She asked politely.
"Yeah, no worse for the wear."
"Pardon me?" Adrian asked with a puzzled expression.
"I feel fine." Kendra said slowly. What? Had she spoken Greek?
"Oh, of course. A colloquialism." Adrian nodded with comprehension.
Kendra tilted her head studying Adrian oddly. Adrian had never heard the saying worse for wear? Did she live under a rock?
"I tried to talk to you yesterday, the computer said you were unavailable." Adrian offered. She felt like she was under the other woman's microscope and found lacking.
Kendra shook her head and smiled trying to take the sting out of the rebuff. "I didn't feel up to visitors."
"Well you appear to be hale now. We should probably talk."
Kendra sighed. She didn't really want to talk right now. She wanted to look around and see everything. She wanted to see what the future was like.
"You don't appear to be too enthusiastic about talking." Adrian noted after hearing the sigh. "Don't you want to work on the time machine?"
"Well..." Kendra drawled. "The time machine isn't going anywhere right? I mean it could wait a few more days couldn't it?"
Adrian opened her mouth to say something then snapped it shut again and nodded her head. She was confused. Billy's will and personal journal had made it clear that Kendra's first priority would be to get home. And, that they were to do everything they could to accomplish that. He made it sound as if Kendra would demand to return immediately. Her not being in a hurry confused Adrian. She had been prepared to deal with a driven demon.
"Great! I'd really like to see some of the future. Just to see if I have anything to look forward to." Kendra smiled as she ran a finger over the spines a row of books.
"You do realize of course that you'll never see this time? If you wanted to know what you would see in your life time you'd be better served reading history books or going to a museum." Adrian said puzzled. Did she expect to live to see the ripe old age of one hundred and seventy something?
"Thanks for the reminder." Kendra shot back sarcastically.
Adrian blushed from embarrassment. She'd already managed to make her angry. That was the last thing she wanted. "I'm sorry, I'd be happy to show you around. Texas has changed considerably. The world has changed considerably."
"So we're still in Texas?" Kendra paused looking at Adrian who nodded agreement. "Are we still in El Paso?" She asked an idea forming.
"We're on the outskirts of El Paso. The estate takes up five hundred acres. " Adrian explained.
Kendra nodded her head absently. Billy always did want to own a big spread outside the city. She was happy he'd gotten his wish. Now it was time to get her wish. She wanted to go out on the town and tear up the twenty-second century. She'd only get this one chance to see what kind of rockin' nightlife the future held. She turned to Adrian with a sly smile that, had Billy been there to tell her, did not bode well. "How about we go out this evening?"
"Out?" Adrian drew out the word as she thought. Nothing could possibly go wrong. If Kendra wanted to go to dinner and see some of the city she could accommodate her. She really had no choice but to accommodate her. It was a stipulation of her inheritance that she give every consideration to the woman. Adrian almost felt bitter about the situation. She tried to remind herself that Kendra was here through no fault of her own, it wasn't Kendra who had made these demands of her and her family. "Yes, we can go out." She finally replied.
Kendra smiled brightly. "Great!" She glanced down at her clothes. She'd been wearing pajamas since she got here. Rather ugly white things. She was still in them. "Any idea where I might find some clothes?" She asked while looking down at herself with some distaste.
"Oh yes, I'm terribly sorry. I was to tell you yesterday, all of your things are upstairs in the visitor apartments." Adrian told her. "I only had you put in a guest room until you were feeling better. It was the closest room available." Adrian smiled and gestured with her arm. "Would you like to see your rooms?"
Rooms? As in more than one? An apartment inside a house. Would wonders never cease? Billy must have been rolling in it! Kendra nodded her head happily and preceded Adrian out of the library. She stopped, waiting for Adrian to shut the door before they started off. They took the stairs. Kendra sighed. She really wished Billy would've sprung for an elevator or an escalator. In a few days she was sure the stairs wouldn't be a big deal but right now they were a bit much.
Luckily it didn't take very long to get to their destination. Adrian pushed the door open and gestured her inside. Kendra walked in and grunted in surprise. Everything was here. It was an exact recreation of her apartment. Even the color of the walls was the same. Bright blue. She walked in further and looked at her home theatre, her pride and joy. She'd only purchased it a few days before she went to help Billy. Her couch. Her recliner! Thank you god! Even her television. She glanced behind it looking for the cable hook-up and didn't see anything remotely similar to one. She shrugged, maybe they had something more advanced than cable. She did note that everything had power and looked ready to be used. Kendra left the living room and peeked into the bedroom. The queen-sized bed was just the same. She walked in and looked into the closet. A sea of black clothing sat quietly waiting. Finally after inspecting the bathroom she came back out to the living room where Adrian was looking at the entertainment center with a confused frown.
"Something wrong?" Kendra asked as she walked up next to her.
"What are all these?" Adrian asked as she ran a finger down plastic cases lining the entertainment center.
"Music CD's." Kendra told her. "Don't you have these anymore?"
Adrian just shook her head and read some titles. Live, Staind, Korn? Strange names. "No all our music is stored on the system." Adrian answered referring to the house computer.
"Really? So I can ask for one of these songs and the computer will play it?" Cool!
"I doubt that we have any of these on hand. I've never heard of them." Adrian told her regretfully.
Kendra stared at her in horror. Never heard of them? This girl really did live under a rock. There was no way this music wasn't still around. Well, her education starts now, Kendra decided. "Would you like to hear one?"
"Certainly." Adrian said politely.
Kendra pulled out the first CD in the rack and pushed the open button on the CD player. She placed the disc inside and grabbed up the remote, not surprised when it worked. Someone must have put fresh batteries in it. She walked over to the couch and sat down motioning for Adrian to join her. "You get the full effect of the sound system when you're sitting." Kendra informed her.
She pushed the play button then advanced it to the second track. The first whispers of the song started and Adrian leaned forward trying to make them out. Then the scream started and she sat back alarmed. She turned to Kendra and stared wide-eyed. It was so loud. The thumping actually felt like it was vibrating through her. Did she hear those lyrics right? Bodies hit the floor? What in the world was she listening too? Was Kendra some kind of deviant? And the screaming, how could anyone listen to screaming? Finally after what seemed like an hour but was only a few minutes, the song ended. Kendra turned down the volume until it was just a small sound barely heard over their breathing.
"What was that?" Adrian asked still in shock.
"Drowning Pool. Bodies." Kendra said while she pushed some more buttons on the remote. "Pretty good huh?" She finally looked up at Adrian and saw her expression "Are you alright?"
"That..that was.." She didn't know what that was. But she knew it was illegal. "You can't listen to that." Adrian finally said her apprehension about this woman growing with every second.
Kendra frowned. "Why not?" she asked.
"That is not on the government approved list." Adrian said confidently. There wasn't the slightest possibility it was on the approved list.
"Approved list?" Came the confused question. "What do you mean?"
"We can only listen to music on the approved list provided by the government. Only music on the list is available to buy." Adrian explained. "Our government decided the violence in music was infecting society. We've been much better off since they started the censure."
Kendra just stared at her like she was a Martian. Government control? Censure? Those words left a sour taste in her mouth. Bunch of bureaucratic music nazi's. At least she had her collection. "Right." Kendra acknowledged. Then after a few seconds. "They can bite me." She said with a sneer. No way was anyone telling her what she could and couldn't listen too.
Adrian just frowned. Another colloquialism no doubt. She didn't know exactly what it meant but she got the gist. She'd have to talk to the staff to make sure it wasn't mentioned outside the estate. She didn't mention it to Kendra again, she really didn't think it would do any good to talk about it anymore anyway. Instead she changed the subject, hoping to stop Kendra's disgruntled mumbling. She was pretty sure she heard nazi Republican's and Tipper Gore. Tipper Gore?
"About going out this evening; did you have somewhere particular in mind?" Adrian asked.
The question definitely did the trick. Kendra looked up with a big smile. "Yeah." She said not elaborating. Adrian just waited expectantly watching as Kendra's smile grew bigger.
"Have you ever been to a place called Old Plantation?" Kendra asked finally. Old Plantation had been a swingin' gay club in her time. She just knew any place with that much business had to still be around.
"I don't think I have. What is it?" Adrian asked.
"It's a gay night club." Kendra provided helpfully. She watched Adrian carefully, looking for any sign of disapproval.
"We don't have gay night clubs." Adrian said haltingly.
"What! Why not?" Kendra sat up straight her eyes bright with outrage.
"Why would we? Gays and lesbians are no longer segregated from heterosexuals. It's been this way for at least eighty years." Adrian replied defensively. "Same sex couplings are perfectly acceptable and quite common."
"Really?"
"Yes, of course. Gays and lesbians have the same rights and privileges of any citizen." Adrian said gently.
"You know," Kendra said. "It was worth the trip just to hear this."
She nodded not really understanding what Kendra was experiencing.
"So if it's a night club at all." She hoped it was. "And with the ban on good music, what kind of nightclub would it be, exactly?" Kendra asked after absorbing the news.
"We play music in night clubs." Adrian said with mild exasperation. "But most of them are theme clubs now."
Right. Theme. She could do theme. How bad could it be? "What kind of music do they play? Christian music?" Kendra asked. If Adrian said yes she was going to chuck the entire idea and stay in. Her home theatre system could rival any nightclub sound system. Or at least she'd attempt to rival it!
"Oh my, no!" Adrian laughed. "People don't believe in Christianity anymore." Adrian caught the surprised disbelief on Kendra's face. "Everyone has come to accept the scientific explanation for life rather than the religious. Of course, there are a few who still maintain their beliefs but society at large accepts that religion was a way for our ancestors to explain the unexplainable."
"Un huh." Kendra grunted softly. It was just so different. Such a mixture of contradictions. Gays are accepted but music isn't? Religion isn't? Not that she was a bible thumper; it was just so hard to wrap her mind around it.
"What time would you like to go out?" Adrian asked having accepted the grunt as understanding.
"About ten?" Kendra asked hesitantly. Did clubs stay open late anymore?
"Alright. I'll have the driver out front at ten. In the mean time, make yourself at home and please let me know if you need anything." Adrian told her politely. She shut the door behind her and stood for a moment thinking. There were a lot of changes for Kendra to absorb. She hoped she was all right. She jumped when she heard the screaming. A frown graced her features as she shook her head. How could anyone listen to that noise?
Kendra blared the music. Just for a moment she wanted to shut out the world and just relax. It was easy with the music up, sitting on her own couch in her own apartment. Or at least it looked like her apartment. She probably should have told Billy she wanted a bigger place. She leaned her head back and let her mind drift. She tried not to think about everything. And god knows there was a lot to think about. At some point she must have fallen asleep because the music was off and the house computer system was telling her it was nine in the evening. She got up, deciding to take a shower. Somehow she didn't think anyone would appreciate the drool from her nap.
Kendra opened her closet after her shower and pawed through her clothes. She studied them critically for a moment. These weren't her clothes. Oh they looked like her clothes all right, but they were brand new. She glared at the clothes as if they had done this on purpose. Finally she admitted that the chances of her clothes being intact after one hundred and fifty years was pretty slim. Polyester and nylon were pretty tough but not that tough. She flipped through her choices. Black, black, black...hmm black. Maybe I'll wear black she decided happily. She pulled out a pair of relaxed fit black denim jeans. And then grabbed the first shirt her hand landed on and got some underclothes. She got dressed quickly mindful of the time. She didn't want to miss anything. Even with all the changes this would be an interesting night. Kendra left her rooms and bounded down the stairs feeling tremendously better than she had that morning.
She found Adrian waiting for her down stairs and did an extreme double take. She had no idea that anyone wore skirts that small. Even though it was small it didn't look trashy, just sexy. Maybe it was the way Adrian carried herself. The tiny silk blouse was the perfect match to the skirt. Kendra wiped her mouth afraid that the drool was coming back. She shook her head hard, reminding herself that this was Billy's great, great, great granddaughter. But then again who cares! Billy wasn't even here! She shot Adrian a wolfish smile.
"You look fantastic." Kendra told her as her eyes sparkling.
"Thanks." If the way Kendra was looking at her was any indication she looked more than fantastic. "So do you." Adrian said as she gave Kendra complete once over. She'd seen women and men in jeans and none seemed to fill them quite like that, she noted appreciatively.
Kendra smiled and winked in reply and gestured towards the door. "Shall we."
They stopped to get something to eat on the way, giving Kendra another rather unpleasant surprise. No more fast food chains. None. Zip. Zilch. How could these people live like this? It was barbaric! They'd ended up at a small restaurant. A small vegetarian restaurant. Kendra was ready to hop back in the time machine. Instead she just smiled and swallowed the salad, mourning over the loss of bacon bits.
The club was just like she remembered it though. The building was old. However, it did look as if some work had been done to it. The stucco was new. And it still bore the Old Plantation sign. Across the street still stood U got It. What used to be another gay club, but was now, a theme club. Or so she was told. Adrian paid a cover charge and Kendra gaped at the amount. Two hundred bucks to come in this hole? You've got to be kidding! She peered into the darkness trying to see what could be worth two hundred dollars. Her jaw practically dropped to the floor.
It was a theme club all right. And the theme was sex. It was everywhere. Women and men in cages. She stared dazedly. She hadn't realized women could move like that. Didn't that leather thing hurt being wedged that far up her butt? There was a live shows on the stage. Live people doing, oh so live things with each other. Kendra couldn't move on her own, only managing to get out of the way of the other patrons because Adrian pulled her into the bar by the entrance door.
"Is something wrong?" Adrian asked with concern.
Kendra just looked at Adrian as if she were insane. Was something wrong? 'No, I'm used to seeing people have sex in public.' She glanced out onto the dance floor and saw two men partially undressed ....she closed her eyes sure that her retina's were going to burn. More than she needed to know about male sex! She looked at Adrian again feeling that she was the safest thing to watch. Then she noticed that Adrian didn't seem surprised. She didn't seem shocked or offended. She was actually looking around avidly and smiling.
"Uh, Adrian....um what kind of club is this?"
"It's a sex club. S and M theme." Adrian offered happily.
"And you're alright with this?" Kendra asked skeptically.
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
"Because it's a sex club!" Was she the only one paying attention here?
Adrian just laughed and put a light hand on her arm. "I'm sorry I should have explained this better. All clubs are like this, just different sexual themes."
No WAY! Kendra waited for Adrian to laugh and yell 'psyche'. It didn't happen. All clubs were sex clubs? No wonder there were no Christians. This was probably Bill Clinton's idea of heaven.
Adrian leaned closer to be heard over the music that had just started. A light tinkling kind of music. It sounded somewhat oriental. "Would you like to leave? We don't have to stay if you're uncomfortable." Adrian offered. Though she did seem disappointed with the thought of leaving. Adrian realized that the previous century was rather prudish in nature. Kendra might not be ready for this.
"No, no that's alright. I wanted to see the night life." Kendra assured her. She took a cautious look around at all the people. It wasn't so bad once you were prepared for it. She glanced at the women walking around. This club suddenly had all kinds of possibilities.
______________________________________________________________________
Kendra groaned and rolled over. She barely cracked an eyelid. The sunlight streaming into the room was too bright. She mumbled an order for the shutters to come down. In a few seconds the room was plunged into black except for the soft light glowing from the bathroom.
She felt like hell. How could they take away hamburgers and leave alcohol? A Big Mac never made anyone feel this shitty. It was all Adrian's fault she felt like this. She'd suggested they have a drink to loosen up. One drink became two. Two became how many? The next thing she knew she was feeling pretty good and all the sex was perfectly acceptable. The fact that she was flirting with Adrian and Adrian was flirting back was just as acceptable. God what did they put in those drinks? She remembered leaning in to kiss Adrian. Nibbling on her neck. This can't be good she groaned at the flash of memory and rolled over the other way. That was when she felt the other person in her bed.
Kendra squeaked as she tumbled off the bed in her haste to get away. She stared horrified at Adrian, who was sprawled out underneath the blankets on her queen-sized bed. Oh god! Oh god! She glanced down at herself. Naked! She was naked. Oh God! I did not do this! She closed her eyes and strained for the memory. Any memory of what might have happened last night. A sudden flash of naked bodies in her minds eye made her gasp.
"Are you all right?" Adrian asked curiously as she stared at Kendra from the bed with a sleepy look. She rested her head on her hand and propped herself up with her elbow.
Kendra's eyes popped open in alarm. She glanced around the room for something, anything to cover herself with. She finally spotted her shirt from last night and snatched it up. She pulled the shirt tight against her. 'Please god take me now.' Kendra snorted out loud at that thought. 'What god? They've done away with him.'
Adrian waited patiently wondering at Kendra's odd behavior. Everything seemed to go all right last night, she thought worriedly. Then a slow seductive smile graced her lips. In fact, things had gone wonderfully last night.
Kendra saw the smile and cringed. She'd seduced a child. Well a child compared to her, and Billy's great, great, great granddaughter. 'Why don't I just turn myself into the police now?' Kendra berated herself silently.
She didn't notice Adrian rising to a kneeling position on the bed until the woman started to crawl towards her with that same carnal smile playing about her lips. Kendra jumped back in a panic when Adrian reached out for her.
"What are you doing?" Her voice came out two octaves higher than normal.
Adrian raised one brow as if to say; like you don't know. "Come here." she finally husked since Kendra was still standing well out of arms reach.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Kendra said desperately. That husky voice, it was the same one she vaguely remembered from last night. The voice sent a shiver down her spine and heat right to her center.
"Come here." Adrian repeated.
'The damage is done, right?' Kendra rationalized to herself. What would it matter to anyone if she just took a couple of steps closer and let Adrian pull her onto the bed. No one would know. She'd go back and it would be like it never happened. Besides, who knew how long she'd have to be here in the future? Was she supposed to live like a nun? Oh, she really wanted too do it, now that her initial shock had worn off. Seeing all that naked flesh made her heart beat faster and her breathing come in short pants. She owed it to herself to explore every aspect of the future. To boldly go where only one or two people have obviously been before. Adrian seemed to want to explore this. Kendra took those two steps forward as Adrian snaked one hand out and pulled her onto the bed.
Kendra rolled over and stretched languidly. A marked difference from how she had rolled over much earlier in the day. The sun, she knew, must have already gone down. She felt boneless and completely satiated. How long had it been since she'd spent the entire day in bed making love? When was the last time a woman had been able to keep her there? She turned her head and gazed at Adrian who had fallen asleep. Adrian made her feel like snuggling. Something she'd never done in her life. Not after sex, not before sex. Not even on the couch. Snuggling implied that you had a meaningful relationship and that you wanted to be close to that person just for the sake of being close. Kendra didn't like that. No, she would much rather women just leave after they were done. But, not this time. In fact, truth be told, all she really wanted to do was wake Adrian up and make love again. She couldn't seem to get enough of her. Perhaps it was because she seemed so much like Billy, so familiar yet different. Oh, there were differences, some very important differences in Kendra's mind. The resemblance was startling, not just physically but personality wise they were very similar. Kendra knew very little about Adrian, but what she did know, or remember from last night rather, was that Adrian was essentially a 22nd century version of a motor head. She read sci-fi. In fact she'd read every book in that very extensive library. And like Billy before her, she was brilliant.
Kendra sighed. Maybe she should just get the time machine working and leave. Leave before she or Adrian got attached to one another. Hell, she was already getting the urge to snuggle, next thing you know she'd be buying Adrian flowers and taking her for walks in the park to see the moonlight. Kendra frowned at that thought. Nope, not even for love. She peeked another look at Adrian to see if she was still asleep. She looked so young. It was hard to believe that she was actually older than Kendra. If Adrian could be believed she was twenty-six. A smile stole across Kendra's face as she watched Adrian followed by a bittersweet sigh. It would be best if they just worked on the time machine and kept in mind that she would be leaving very soon.
"What are you doing awake? Didn't I wear you out yet?" Came the sleepy humor filled voice.
Startled, Kendra focused on Adrian and propped herself up on an elbow. She hadn't realized that Adrian was awake. "I was just thinking that we should start working on the time machine. This is the fourth day I've been here and I haven't even seen the thing."
Adrian nodded looking slightly disappointed. "I was wondering when you would mention that." Adrian said as she glanced at the clock next to the bedside. "It's still early evening, would you like to go take a look at it now?"
Kendra regarded Adrian intently reading her with the same ease she had Billy. "No, we can do that tomorrow. I had something else in mind for right now." Kendra returned Adrian's smile; happy that she was able to bring the smile to her lips so easily.
"I like something else." Adrian said huskily as she reached out for Kendra.
_______________________________________________________________________
"So what do you think is wrong with it?" Kendra asked as she circled the time machine. It looked exactly the same.
Adrian shrugged as she watched her circle it. "I don't know." It was still pretty early for her taste. Why did they have to get started before the sun? No one should get up that early.
Kendra shot her an appraising look. Adrian had that eyelids at half-mast, half-asleep look. "You don't know or it's too early for you?" Kendra asked for clarification. Billy had been the same way. Anything having to do with early was evil in his book.
"It's too early." Adrian mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.
Kendra smiled tolerantly, she looked adorable. Like a little kid, only cuter. Kendra walked over to Adrian and gave her a little kiss. Adrian gave her a pleased smile and looked a little more awake.
"Now, what do you think is wrong with it?" Kendra asked again.
Adrian sighed and tried to get her brain moving. "I can power up the system. I can even set the computer for a destination. However, when I try to engage the time distortion field and generate a gateway it fails."
"Huh?" Kendra asked blankly. She didn't remember Billy talking about distortion fields or gateways. Her confusion must have been obvious because Adrian simplified it.
"I can't even get it to start up. It's like with a car. I can get the electrical system to work but there's no spark in the engine." Adrian explained.
"Maybe it's just a bad spark plug." Kendra offered since they were using a car analogy.
"It doesn't have spark plugs." Adrian said distractedly as she circled the machine. She was getting drawn into the technical problems of the time machine just as she always did.
"Maybe whatever makes this thing start up is bad." Kendra clarified.
"I've checked that about a dozen times. I just can't understand it." Adrian complained.
"So, we should start by checking all of its systems again. Maybe I'll notice something you've missed. Fresh eyes and all." Kendra didn't relish the idea of going over everything but it was the only place to start.
"That will probably take almost a week." Adrian told her. She was surprised that Kendra wasn't just jumping in it and trying a cold run. It seemed to be the impetuous thing to do. Billy had described this woman as impetuous and impatient. He'd described her as a few other things too. Adrian was beginning to doubt the description. Kendra didn't seem the love 'em and leave 'em type to her. If anything she was sweet and attentive. And very easily shocked if last night was any indication.
"I've got no where to go." Kendra said dryly. "But I could use some breakfast first."
Adrian nodded her head. That seemed like a good idea to her. Maybe breakfast would wake her up a little more. She took Kendra's hand, walking back to the main house towards the kitchens. "What would you like?" Adrian asked.
Kendra shot her an unfathomable glance. "Those cows out there?" Kendra began. "What are they there for?"
Adrian was put off by the subject change but answered anyway. "They're wildlife. Free range cows."
"Are you very fond of them?"
"No, why?"
Kendra just smiled in answer. ____________________________________________________________
Kendra leaned over the schematics Billy had drawn up for the time machine. One week had turned into two months. It seemed like every time she checked a system she found something that needed to be replaced. Or they found something that should be replaced with some new technology that Adrian said would work better. Why Adrian hadn't changed some of those things before now was a mystery. An even bigger mystery was that she wasn't the least bit annoyed at all the delays. Living here with Adrian was like a dream. The more she knew about Adrian the more she liked Adrian. It occurred to Kendra that Adrian was the type of girl she always pictured herself settling down with. Getting married and having a mortgage were always things for the future. But it was the future here and she found herself evaluating her life and lifestyle more and more.
She could go back and change her life. But, the reason she wanted to changer her life, the reason she was thinking about changing her life was here. In the future. Would it really be so bad to stay? Things didn't seem so terrible since she'd come here. Nothing disastrous happened when she left. No one had missed her save Billy, and his life had flourished despite it, or because of it. Would her going back mean that Billy wouldn't achieve all he had so far? Would her going back mean that Adrian wouldn't have the life she was happy with? Maybe this was destiny and they were trying to change it. She closed her eyes and leaned on the table.
Kendra wasn't surprised when arms wrapped around her from behind. "Hey." She said with a smile.
"Hi. Still working?" Adrian asked softly.
"I feel like I'm missing something simple." Kendra said annoyed as she straightened up leaning back into Adrian slightly.
"You know maybe we need to just step back and examine this from another angle." Adrian said pulling away after giving Kendra a loving squeeze.
"There aren't any other angles. We've looked at everything. According to the schematics it should work perfectly." Kendra mumbled as she traced the blue prints with her finger.
"I've been thinking about something." Adrian said slowly. "What if it wasn't the machine at all? What if everything has been working properly all along?" She walked over to the door and stepped inside. "What if it couldn't work until a trip had been completed?"
Kendra shook her head slowly. "I don't think that would make a difference. Once I had made a trip, Billy could have made one right after me."
"Not necessarily. We don't know what the rules of time travel are, but I'd be willing to bet they're fairly strict. What if the machine will only works from its time of origin? If we worked on that premise, in effect you're still in the middle of your trip." Adrian said excitedly. That had to be why the time machine had not worked before. It was so obvious!
"Then I should just be able to step back in and go back anytime under that theory." Kendra's voice held a note of unhappiness that went unnoticed by Adrian.
"Exactly! The time machine holds it's initial data and counts in its original time." Adrian explained. She tapped a few keys and the time and date it would have been if Kendra were at home was displayed. She'd never quite understood why they counted that way before. "So unless you go back to the original time of departure the time machine will think you are still on your trip." She stepped out of the time machine and looked at Kendra with the excitement of discovery shining in her eyes. "We couldn't, for example, send you back three or four months before the date you left because the time machine wouldn't consider that your starting point."
Kendra stared at Adrian in amazement. She really is a genius. That was it. It made sense at any rate. The entire time it was staring them in the face. Now that Adrian pointed it out to her she couldn't believe that they hadn't realized this sooner. Was it willful blindness on their part?
Kendra ran a hand over her face, scrubbing at it fretfully. She could go back. It was possible now. Before it was an abstract idea, home. It was something that would happen when and if they managed to fix the time machine. She'd only just begun to ask herself if going back was really what she wanted. She didn't even know if staying would be what Adrian wanted. Maybe the reason Adrian was working so diligently was so that she would leave.
"What are you thinking?" Adrian asked, shaking Kendra out of her thoughts.
Kendra took a deep breath and released it slowly bringing her emotions under control. "This is it. I can go home if I want too, if you're right."
She nodded her head slightly. "Yeah, you can go home. If you want too?" Adrian responded.
Kendra shot her a hopeful glance. Did she just mean what she thought she meant? "If I want too?" Kendra asked hesitantly. They hadn't really talked about their relationship or even if they had feelings for each other. She knew how she felt though, the question was how did Adrian feel.
She nodded her head unable to meet Kendra's eyes and see the refusal there. Adrian couldn't believe that Kendra would want to stay. There were so many things the other woman missed about her time and she talked about them incessantly.
"So you think you could stand hearing my music blaring throughout the estate indefinitely?" Kendra joked, letting her know in her way exactly what she wanted.
Understanding lite Adrian's face. She looked up and returned the huge smile on Kendra's face. Adrian didn't hesitate throwing herself at the other woman.
Kendra caught her and barely prevented them both from tumbling down onto the hard concrete floors. She kissed Adrian hard while silently bidding Billy a final farewell. He would have been happy for her, she knew he would.
"So what are we going to do with the time machine?" Kendra asked while still holding onto Adrian.
She shrugged not really caring anymore. Adrian had what she wanted. As far as she was concerned it could stay out here and collect dust. "I don't know. I don't care." She mumbled as she kissed Kendra.
Kendra pulled away reluctantly. "Well, I think we should either dismantle it or send it back. What if someone found it and decided to play with it."
"I guess you're right." Adrian agreed after a moment of thought.
"I'd like to send it back, maybe with a note for Billy." Kendra told her. She had a lot to thank Billy for.
"Now?" Adrian asked.
"Sure, why not? No time like the present." Kendra replied. "I'll go write a quick note and tape it to the console. Why don't you hook up the power and make sure the relay warms up."
Adrian smiled and kissed Kendra before checking on the time machine.
Kendra scribbled a brief but heartfelt note to Billy. She opened the door to the time machine and glanced around, feeling suddenly homesick. Not homesick enough to go back though. She taped the note to the console and caressed the board. She quickly set the controls to the proper date and time. A glint of silver on the floor underneath the console caught her attention. She leaned back, looking underneath the console and saw her crescent wrench. The same wrench that was the reason she was here. If not for it she wouldn't have accidentally hit the controls setting a time, when Billy checked the power relay nothing would have happened.
She heard Adrian call out that the power relay was ready and charged. She leaned down to get the crescent wrench. She would keep it as a souvenir. Adrian's shout of her name made her raise up quickly. Her head hit the underside of the console making everything fade suddenly to black. The kaleidoscope of color was the last thing she saw before her body hit the floor and she was lost to the darkness.
____________________________________________________________________
"Kendra, Kendra wake up!" Billy's voice sounded in her head as if from far away. She opened her eyes, squinting at the light that hurt her eyes. Billy! Her eyes went wide in panic causing a shard of white hot pain to shoot through her head. She put her hand against the pounding feeling the pain in her heart eclipse the pain in her head.
She sat up slowly looking around uncomprehendingly. How had this happened? This wasn't supposed to happen! She had to go back!
"Are you ok?" Billy asked with concern.
"No!" Kendra choked out swallowing back tears. "I have to go back."
"Back? Back where?" He asked in confusion.
"Back to Adrian! To the future!" She practically yelled.
"What are you talking about? Who's Adrian?" Billy asked again. He was really beginning to get worried. Maybe she had a concussion.
Kendra glared at him. "You hooked up the power relay and tried it out. You sent me into the future. I met your great, great, great granddaughter. I fell in love with her dammit. I'm not supposed to be here. I was supposed to stay!" She said desperately. "I have to go back."
"What? I didn't try it out. I didn't even plug the thing in." Billy told her nonplused.
"What?" Kendra asked confused suddenly. He didn't plug it in? It couldn't be! It was real. It had to be real, it couldn't all have been a dream. It just couldn't have been.
"No. You're wrong!" She said her voice breaking.
"I swear Kendra, I didn't have it plugged in. I don't know what your talking about." He could see it was tearing her heart out but he didn't understand why.
"I didn't even tell her I loved her." Kendra whispered softly. She looked up at Billy with tears in her eyes refusing to let them fall. "It was a dream? All of it was a dream?"
"You were only out for a five or ten minutes. I called an ambulance. They'll be here in a few minutes." Billy responded still uncertain about what she was talking about.
Kendra closed her eyes and lay back down waiting for the ambulance. 'Just a dream.' she thought as the pounding in her head got worse.
The ambulance arrived only a few minutes later just as Billy promised. They decided to transport her to the hospital to check her out. They didn't like that she'd been unconscious for so long. They were worried about a concussion and the headache. None of it mattered though. The pain that filled her soul far out distanced the pain in her head. She wished that she had stayed in that dream world, not woken up to all this pain. She rested on the bed in the emergency room listening as doctors and nurses rushed around dealing with emergencies and each other.
She heard Billy outside the curtain talking to someone. A woman. A doctor from what Kendra could hear her saying. She listened with half an ear as the woman reassured Billy about her condition. They were coming through the curtain and she turned her head. She didn't want to see anyone. She just wanted to be alone. She wanted to go to sleep and try to recapture the dream. She wondered idly if she had been close to dying, if, maybe, the dream was really a brief glimpse of heaven. She wished it were true, if it were she could go back then.
"Hey Kendra, you gave me one hell of a scare there." Billy joked.
She just continued to stare at the white curtain. He noticed that she still had the tortured look on her face. He wished he knew what was wrong, he just wanted to help her. Make her feel better.
"Kendra," He tried again. "I brought my sister to have a look at you. She can get you released if you're feeling up to going home."
Home. Yes she wanted to go home. Go home to the bed where she had slept with Adrian. Go to the only place that she had any memories of her. She turned to give Billy's sister her attention and gasped. It couldn't be. She almost blacked out again. It was Adrian. Kendra opened her mouth to say something but nothing would come out.
"Is something wrong?" Billy's sister asked.
The voice was the same. The same husky voice. It made the tears that she had been holding back fall finally. "No. I think I'm fine now. Dr. Buchamp?" Kenda responded. Whatever was going on she didn't question it. She was afraid to even take her eyes off the doctor. It was fate or destiny. She wasn't going to let anything get in the way this time.
"Call me Adrian please." She said with a smile.
Kendra nodded and cocked her head slightly. "Adrian?" She said inquiringly, the tremor in her voice being studiously ignored by both women.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to go out with me tomorrow night?"
That's all folks.....
The Athenaeum's Scroll Archive
