“Fuck, man. We thought you weren’t coming.” Bear was behind the drums at the back of the stage and he watched David as he hurried to the amplifiers and plugged in his guitar, with only seconds to spare.

He turned and grinned at the drummer. “I wouldn’t have missed tonight. I know how important this concert is. Tonight’s our big night.” Pulling the guitar strap over his shoulder, he nodded to the announcer, who’d been waiting at the microphone to announce the band.

Energy flowed through David’s body and his nerves were jumping. As hard as it had been to leave Megan and come back through the time slip, his fingers were itching to play tonight. The music was flowing through him and he knew this was going to be the performance of his life. He could thank Megan for that.

Maybe it was all part of a bigger plan. Meeting Megan, getting inspiration for his performance, meeting the agent after the concert. Even without being forearmed with the knowledge of the performance tonight, he would have known that they were going to pull off a top-class performance.

It was a shame Megan couldn’t be here to watch them, but the journey through the stones seemed to take so much out of her. He wasn’t going to risk her travelling again.

Ever.

As soon as he was finished here, he was going straight back to her.

David launched into the first riff, the mellow music introducing the first words of his signature song, and the crowd cheered as they  recognised the tune. A familiar face caught his attention and he frowned. Alice stood at the end of the front row in the middle of a group of young girls. She was dressed in a bright-red dress and her hair was braided beneath her red hat. Smiling up at him, she swayed with the music and David shook his head. He hadn’t expected to see her here tonight.

Three songs later, the perspiration was dripping from him and when he pulled his shirt off, the crowd went wild. The number of people watching them had grown as they’d played and the word must have spread across the festival site. Music lovers had left the other stages and had come to listen to the Davy Morgan Band. He caught Slim’s eye and the bass guitarist grinned at him and gave him a thumbs-up.

Looking down at the crowd as he sang, David detached himself from the words and just let it flow. He wondered which one of the onlookers was Mick Rothman, the agent who would come and see them after the concert and get them an amazing record deal. Knowing what was going to happen before it did was bizarre, but he’d read about the deal that happened tonight in his biography and now that he had come through the time slip, he was creating the present.

There was no way he was going to jeopardise what was about to happen. His future depended on it.

Past, present, and future all ran together as David put everything he had into the last song. The final chord crashed down and when he dropped his guitar and bowed to the crowd, they screamed and whistled. A flurry of movement at the front caught his attention. Two first aid workers leaned over someone lying on the ground and as the crowd stepped back to give them room, he saw Alice’s bright-red dress spread out on the ground around her as the men worked on her.

“Shit.”

As he turned and ran for the stairs at the back of the pyramid stage, a small man in a suit with a thin black mustache held his hand out to David.

“Davy Morgan? I’m Mick Rothman and I’d like to talk to you.”

“Bear? Slim?” He called to the two band members who were unplugging their equipment before the next band came onto the stage. “Come and talk to Mr. Rothman here. I’ll be back up as soon as I can.”

The agent frowned as David ignored his outstretched hand and he ran down the stairs as quickly as he could. Pushing through the crowd, he ignored the girls whose hands slipped off his sweaty, bare chest as they grabbed at him. When he reached the first aid men on the ground next to Alice, he dropped to his knees next to her.

“Alice? What’s wrong?” She lay on her back with her eyes closed. Her face was pale and covered with a sheen of perspiration, and her hands were grasped tightly in front of her chest.

“We’ve called for the ambulance. We think she’s taken something and had a reaction. Blood pressure is through the roof. Do you know who she is?” The younger of the two men looked at him and his eyes widened as he  recognised David.

Before he could answer, Alice’s eyes fluttered open. “Davy? Is that you? Don’t leave me. Come with me?” Her voice was weak and she struggled to catch her breath. “Please? I’m scared. Don’t let them take me away from here.”

 David reached out and took her hand between his. “Of course I won’t leave you. I’ll look after you, don’t worry, Alice.”

The flashing red lights of the ambulance reflected on the side of the stage. David looked up and groaned. Not only was he going to be late getting back to Megan, but he was missing out on the meeting with the agent, Mick Rothman.

But he wouldn’t leave Alice. There were too many things that could go wrong if he let her go to the hospital by herself.

Too many explanations that may be needed.

God, Alice, please don’t die on me.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” He looked across at the paramedics who were placing an oxygen mask over Alice’s mouth and nose. “Please wait for me.”

Pushing through the milling crowd who were waiting for the next band to come on stage, he tore around the front of the stage and up the stairs, holding onto the flimsy hand rail as he took them two at a time. Mick Rothman frowned as he spoke to Bear and Slim. When David pushed past him and picked his T-shirt up from the floor, the agent smiled.

“Ah, at last.” He stood back and waited for David to join the group.

“Sorry guys. They’re taking Alice to hospital and I have to go in the ambulance. Whatever you think, just take the deal and I’ll agree with whatever you decide.” He held Bear’s gaze with his. “As long as you take the deal tonight. Okay?”

The burly drummer slapped him on the back as he headed back towards the stairs. “That’s cool, Davy. Look after the old lady. Give her a kiss from me.”

“Keep an eye on my guitar, please guys?” David pointed to his black Fender on the floor where he’d put it before he’d run to see if Alice was alright. Already it was getting lost amongst the equipment as the next band set up for their performance.

“Sure thing.” Slim strolled over and picked it up as David headed back down the stairs.

Alice was already in the back of the ambulance covered with a white blanket. When David climbed in the back and sat beside her, she reached out and gripped his hand.

“Thank you, David. I’m a bit scared. They’re taking me into Taunton hospital.” Her eyes were wide and her hair had fallen from her braid over her face. “I’ve never been anywhere but Glastonbury. “Now I mean.”

“I know what you mean.” David squeezed her hand as he glanced across at the ambulance driver. “Neither have I. We’ll do it together.”

He spoke confidently to keep Alice calm, but inside his thoughts were churning. He had no idea what would happen if they ventured too far away from the time slip and coming up with an ID for Alice was going to problematic. If they looked up her records, they’d find that she should only be about thirty years old.