~ Chapter Three ~
----------
~February 2017, four months before the time jump ~
----------
Suzannah
"Time is an unbreakable loop?" Suzannah asked, arching her eyebrows quizzically. "You're kidding me right?"
"Not that I'm aware of, Ms. Jack." Slone's smooth voice was cool and soothing. "It's not unheard of. It's actually one of the more popular 'theories' out there right now. Little do they know how true it is."
"What is in the package she'll be delivering?" Henry asked, rubbing her eyes. Suzannah reached over to take her empty coffee mug, rising to go refill it. Henry had kind of been in full-on scientist mode lately and it was taking a toll on her moods. In fact, nearly every single one had disappeared save 'tired and mean'. And 'tired and mean' Henry got meaner when there was no coffee.
Phillip's mouth tugged up into a smile. "A replica vase. Identical in every way to a gift I received in my youth. I replaced the original with the fake on the day that Ms. Jack first met me...in her timeline, mind you. She bumped into a table and broke the vase. But, since it was a copy, my original keepsake is intact."
Suzannah stopped in midstride. "Wait. You're telling me that 'priceless antique' I destroyed was a replica all along? Do you realize how long I was upset about that?"
Ever since she'd met Dr. Slone, she'd been kicking herself for breaking that vase. It was kind of ugly, but from what he said, it was a priceless antique. Even if he had merely chuckled when she knocked it over. It was, to date, one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.
Phillip smiled kindly. "I couldn't tell you it wasn't, my dear. I can't--"
"Spoilers.Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," Suzannah grumbled.
Henry frowned. "So what you're saying is, the first time Suzannah met you wasn't the first time you met her?"
"Of course not, Dr. Laster. I met Suzannah Jack for the first time in 1987. Why do you think I gave you that specific date for your test run?"
Henry shook her head to clear it. "You're sending Suzannah back in time to replace a vase?"
"No, ma'am. The vase is just for the test run, and to make sure she can carry cargo through the portal unscathed. There is something far more valuable she'll eventually be saving."
Suzannah refilled Henry's coffee mug, deep in thought. It seemed as if every bit of information they got from Phillip Slone was shrouded in ten more secrets. But then again, everything the man said was a head scratcher.
"I think everyone's ignoring the true mind-fuck here... Where the hell did that knockoff vase come from?" Barry asked.
"A flea market, Mr. Connor. Surely you've heard of them?" Slone answered, not missing a beat.
"But the vase...you sent it back to 1987 to your former self. Then you put the vase out. Then Suzannah breaks it. But then... you buy it again at a flea market?"
"Not again. For the first and only time."
"But you said it was a loop."
"Indeed. Just because a loop begins in a place other than the linear beginning, doesn't make it any less of a loop. You can't hold a circle to the same rules as a line."
"That's true, Barry," Suzannah agreed, if only to irritate Henry's assistant a little more. "There are curves in a circle."
Barry blinked a few times. "I need more coffee."
----------
~ September 28, 1987 ~
----------
Suzannah hadn't really expected to have this much fun.
Okay, so she hadn't really expected to have ANY fun sans Wi-Fi and her various subscriptions to numerous video streaming sites, but she was. And she was pretty sure it had everything to do with Matthew.
They'd gone to the mall the day before. An actual facts 1980s mall. Bustling with people and stores and everything. Seriously, it was mind-boggling how much the mall was booming.
The last time she'd been in a shopping mall was holiday shopping with her sister circa 2004. The mall they'd visited was on its last legs, and it was nowhere near this much fun.
Again, because of Matthew.
The mall in town was bigger than Suzannah had remembered it being. She'd always seen the old dilapidated building set back from the road, knowing it had used to be a major shopping hub. When the powers that had been had built a bypass around the little college town, it just hadn't been able to keep up.
She'd only ever seen it as an old gray ghost in her time. Never had she even imagined the hopping, mauve and slate blue formica tiled, neon-lit hub of business that it was in 1987.
There was a big fountain in the center of the entire facility, full of pennies from kids making wishes. If Suzannah squinted, she could just make out a few silver coins as well.
Matthew tossed one in as they passed. "For good luck," he explained. "We found a good parking spot, needed to pay my respects to the traffic fairy."
The decor was indicative of the decade, as were the fashions hanging in the windows of the boutiques. The saleswomen of said boutiques snapped their gum at her and reached up to finger-tease their sky high bangs.
One such woman, donning hot-pink lipstick and a pair of pastel legwarmers, talked her into a black mini skirt and no less than a half dozen pairs of neon colored tights.
"Do those glow in the dark?" Matthew asked, grinning at the array of purchases Suzannah placed up on the checkout counter. She'd tried to keep her spending in check, since she wouldn't be able to pay Dr. Slone back for thirty years, but it was difficult given the selection of items. "Thought you were supposed to be blending in. Guess I'll always be able to find you, huh?"
"I am blending in," Suzannah insisted. "Plus? I could probably bring these back to 2017 with me and wear them again. Fashion cycles, you know. "
She grabbed a pack of grape bubblegum from the rack beside the register, grinning at the clerk as she rang up Suzannah's purchases, her fake plastic nails clicking on the buttons of the register as the total showed in the little black screen.
"Twenty-six seventy-four..." the clerk said, snapping her gum once more.
Suzannah's mouth dropped. Okay, so the eighties were definitely a more fun time to shop.
"What?" the woman asked, frowning slightly as she reached for the receipt to inspect the total. "I didn't charge you twice for something, did I?"
"No, no, no... not at all. Just... thought it was going to be more expensive than that," Suzannah said quickly, reaching for her wallet and pulling out two crisp twenty-dollar bills from what Dr. Slone had pressed on her. It wasn't like she could use her own currency, given the dates would get her hauled in for counterfeiting or something.
"Good problem to have," the clerk mused, taking the twenties and counting out her change into her palm. "Receipt's in the bag, have a good one."
Matthew snorted and reached for the bag. "You need to cool out or people are gonna think you're some kind of a basket case or something." He reached for her hand and tugged her out of the store. "C'mon, Suze. I know just the thing."
The familiarity of the nickname struck her a bit more than expected.
Maybe she really did need to 'cool out', as he put it. He hoisted her bags a bit higher on his arm and led her to the food court.
'The thing' Matthew spoke of was a milkshake.
Not just any milk shake. One of those orange creamsicle things. It was thick and creamy and orangey and honestly, he was right. It was just the thing.
She slurped it through the thick straw and let all her nerves settle.
Despite the constant niggling feeling of panic because things hadn't gone to plan in terms of when she'd been dropped into the past, it had kind of been a really fun day.
She got the feeling that Matthew hadn't gone out in a while. Mostly because he was loathe to leave her alone. Which, in and of itself, wasn't a terrible thing. It was just... it had practically taken an Act of Congress to get him to leave her alone so she could buy bras.
Like, she felt sorry kicking him out or whatever, but bra buying was an experience. A religious one. In that she had to bow down to the Goddess of Mammary and pray and make offerings and light candles in the hopes that the store would have something that fit.
And none of that was suitable for other human eyes.
Luckily, the Goddess was smiling on her that day, and she was able to find something in her size. Nothing particularly nice looking, but it was functional. And besides, no one but her was going to be seeing it anyway.
After braving the lingerie section, they'd grabbed lunch at a burger place. And could that man pack down a burger! It was almost gross, but in that fascinating way where she couldn't look away.
Still, even while she was having fun and getting a legitimate 1980s mall shopping experience, she couldn't keep herself from thinking about the reason she came here. That nagging thought aforementioned. In a few short days, this man, this asshole, smart-alecky, dork of a man was going to go missing and take with him the one thing that could save all of mankind from certain extinction.
And every time her mind was left to wander, that's exactly where it went. And she had no idea how to breach the topic with Matthew.
So she'd avoided it, spent the rest of the day letting Matthew play time tour guide, pushed it to the back of her mind every time it tried to rear its ugly head, even as she pulled back the covers and crawled into one of Phillip's guest beds. But that had been yesterday.
And now it was today. Possibly. Suzannah wasn't sure what to call her current present, so she just didn't think about it too much. Whatever day it was, she just couldn't make those worries stuff back down.
They were lounging in one of the many sitting rooms in Dr. Slone's home. She was on the sofa, Matthew spinning in a desk chair across the room.
She'd told herself that she was going to ask. Blunt was the best approach for this kind of situation, right?
She should just come right out and say it. Directly. Tell him what she needed from him and maybe he'd give it to her. Except Dr. Slone had said no spoilers. So that made this tricky. How to ask for a vial of blood and not give away the reason she needed it?
"So like...what do you usually do for fun? You know. Back home?" he asked, breaking the silence in the room. Matthew leaned back in the chair, ceasing his eternal spinning. She was flipping through one of the magazines she'd bought the day before.
"Social media. Video streaming. Word game app championships with my roommate."
Matthew blinked once and shook his head. "Didn't catch any of that."
She giggled. "You asked. I answered."
"Care to explain, or are you going to just just vaguely drop the names of things that I won't know the meaning of for thirty years?"
"Social media. It's a website platform where you talk to your friends, talk about your day, start drama and share links or whatever. Video streaming, you pay a low monthly fee, and you can watch any TV show or movie you want, any time you want for as long as you want. Digitally. On your computer."
"Website... that's on the internet. I know about the internet."
"Very good," she replied, flipping another page to read about lipstick.
"Like, what shows? Shows I'd have heard of, or?" He got up and crossed the floor to the couch, plopping down on the other end of it.
"Probably," she answered. "But literal spoilers. So I can't really talk about it."
"Just name one series. One series you watched recently."
"Okay. Cheers. Have you heard of Cheers?" She closed her magazine and set it aside, leaning closer for effect.
"I'm a living, breathing, American male with a TV. Of course I've heard of Cheers. I watch it every Thursday night."
"Okay. Well. I can watch Cheers whenever I want. The whole series. Any episode. From its entire run. Even the ones you haven't seen yet."
"No fucking way."
"Yes fucking way. And when I'm done? I can watch it all over again."
"That sounds... bitchin'. No lie." He huffed out a sigh and slid down onto the floor, his back to her. He reached over his shoulder and took the magazine from her, flipping through the pages. "What's this? A lady magazine?"
She snorted, moving closer to the edge so she could look over his shoulder. "I should tell you than inanimate objects don't have gender, but I don't have the mental fortitude right now, so for our intents and purposes, yes. This is a magazine targeted at women. Henry and I used to buy these to make fun of the sex tips.Turns out, not much has changed in thirty years. They have always given shitty sex tips."
He smirked and flipped the page again. "I don't know about that. Look, these promise to drive your man wild." He paused, clearing his throat. "You... uh ... you got one of those?"
"A what?" She squinted at the page, leaning over so far that she just rolled onto her stomach for comfort's sake. She bent her knees to fit the entire length of her body on the portion of the couch she'd unknowingly alloted herself.
"Uh... a man?"
"Oh, a man. No. Nope. I'm kind of... between men right now. Not... literally. But no. No man. How about you?"
"Me too. Between men right now." He winked.
Suzannah paused, unsure if Matthew was outing himself or if he was teasing her.
"Between women too," he added. "I don't... have... a... somebody. Right now."
"Oh. That's... good to know," she answered, immediately regretting it. She peered hard at the magazine page. Which of course, was still five ways to drive your man wild with ice and shoe laces.
Shoe laces? You've gotten completely off topic here. Damn Matthew Ivey and his pretty brown eyes. You need to ask him about the blood sample. You're running out of time, Suze. Come ON.
"Is it?" he asked, practically simpering. "Or are you talking about the thing with the shoelaces? Because I'm going to have to stop you before you inflict that on some poor dude's dingaling."
She laughed and buried her face in what she thought was the throw pillow, but was really his shoulder. He didn't flinch away, so she went with it. He smelled nice, sue her. "No, I was talking about the ice thing. All guys like ice on their nipples, right?"
Oh, this conversation was derailing quickly. Suzannah's cheeks flushed, burning hot as she suddenly realized just how close her face was to Matthew's face. It was a good thing he had his back to her. She wasn't sure how she'd handle being nose to nose.
"Can't speak for all of them, but I'm going to have to say no. Personally. No."
"Now, it has been my experience that guys like ice in other places. But nipples... what is it with these magazines and guys' nipples? They aren't as sensitive as women's and they never will be. I think it's probably just a bunch of virgins who have never seen a dick in their lives, trying to come up with sex tips, so they figure what's good for the goose is good for the gander. But, like,honestly? The gander's never really noticed his nipples before and that's for good reason."
Just checking in, Suze. Are you aware you're rambling on like a nitwit?
He was staring up at her by the time she was done with her rant. Which was very obviously a cover for the fact that she'd just admitted that she was glad to hear that he was unattached, and that she'd inadvertently laid her head on his shoulder. So many elephants in the room, she might as well start naming them.
"Guy's nipples, huh? Weird thing to climb up on a soapbox for, but alright. I was more bothered by number five, where they're telling you to floss his dick with shoe laces. That just..." He shook his head with a grimace. "I will skip dick flossing if given the choice. Always."
He shifted uncomfortably, tossing the magazine and spinning around just in time to keep her from nose diving onto the carpet. His hands tightened on her shoulders and he grinned. "Sorry about that... Forgot you were leaning on me."
Of course, that brought them dangerously close to being nose to nose, and Suzannah wasn't sure she was ready for face smooshing with a dude from the past. A dude that she knew for a fact wasn't in her future. Or her immediate linear past. Someone she knew for a fact would straight up go missing in a few days.
The only way this would work out was in heartache. It wasn't very often that someone could know a relationship wouldn't work out. The only thing this could ever be was a fling.
Suzannah was absolutely not up for being flung, thank you very much. No matter how cute and perfect for her the guy was. No matter how un-flingable this felt.
Because she knew how this story ended. He was going to disappear forever in a few days. And she'd never see him again. And that would suck, no matter what kind of spin she tried to put on it.
She planted her hands on the couch cushion and pushed up, turning to the side and swinging her legs around to stand on the floor. Solid ground was her friend.
"So like... how far is it to the nearest med lab? I could go for a blood test," she asked, walking towards the door, blurting it out before she could stop herself. Anything to keep the topic safely off her growing attraction for the blond-haired hottie who had nothing but trouble written all over him.
Now that she thought about it, he probably went through women left and right. Hand over fist. She'd be a minor blip on his radar, but like she said before, she was done being flung.
So she was nipping this. Back to business.
She could practically hear the frown in his voice as Matthew stood up beside her. "We have one here. Why do you want a blood test?"
"Just to take back to my team. You know... blood samples to see if something weird happened to me here, or whatever." She shrugged in what she hoped would pass for nonchalance.
He frowned. "Yeah, but you could really just do that back home. Unless you want us to try to keep it in stasis for thirty years. We could maybe do that..." He started mumbling to himself. "I needed a project this week."
"Maybe just until I have to go back and then I can take the blood back with me through the portal?"
"Yeah... yeah, we could definitely do that," he said with a nod.
"But, you guys have something that could do that?" she asked. "Keep a blood sample in stasis for thirty years?"
He shook his head. "Nah, but I bet I could whip something up this week. Cryo-freezing tech is all the rage."
"And maybe you could leave a sample of YOUR blood in there too? As a control group?" she asked, nonchalantly. Well, about as nonchalantly as she had been before, which was to say, not very.
He paused, turning to look at her. "Why would you want mine as a control? You've probably got yours on file back in your time, right?"
Shit. "Yes. Yes, I do..." Suzannah sighed heavily, deciding just to go for it. "Maybe you could just leave a sample of yours anyway."
"No," he said bluntly. "Not for no reason."
"Dude, what do you think I'm going to do with it? I'm not in the business of selling old blood."
"And I'm not in the business of just handing out my DNA to random chicks who travel back in time," he countered.
Okay, that stung a little. After they'd gone shopping and everything! She thought they were building a level of friendship or ... something... and yet he still was treating her with a level of suspicion she didn't think she deserved.
"You don't trust me!" she accused, clearly offended.
"Why should I? Suzannah... You're hiding something from me, and I don't like it." He reached out to place his hands on her shoulders, keep her from moving forward. "It's nothing personal. I just... I don't know you."
She pressed her lips together. "I can't spoil your future for you. It's one of the only things Dr. Slone said I couldn't do."
She was frustrated to the point of giving in. Just telling him why she needed it. If she didn't go into too much detail, gave him enough incentive, maybe the world might stand a chance.
"If I said it was to save mankind. What about then? Would you do it?"
She held her breath, hoping it might be enough. He scrutinized her for a long moment, as though assessing the truth of her words. Whatever he took from them, he still looked conflicted.
"I don't know, Suzannah. I'll have to think about it"
"Okay." As much as she wanted to push, to let her desperation for the future show through, what if that just did more harm. She tried to smile. "Just ...; let me know.. But please don't take too long. I have to leave in a couple of days. Okay?"
Sighing, he nodded. "Okay."