Free Just in Time: Portals of Time by Kathryn Shay

here.”
    “Pregnancy makes women of this time period emotional.” Alisha made the statement matter-of-factly.
    Helen’s head snapped up. “What did you say?”
    Silence in the room.
    Dorian cleared her throat. “We think maybe you’re pregnant, Helen.”
    Horror suffused Helen’s face. “Pregnant? I don’t get pregnant. I can’t. We tried for years.” Now she started to sob. “How could you say this so carelessly? Do you have any idea what it’s like to not be able to have a child?”
    “Yes,” Dorian said gravely, “we do.”
    “You
could
be pregnant now, honey.” Jess leaned in close. “Or you will be soon. I saw it on their computer thing. We have a daughter in the future.”
    Helen wept even more.
    The minister just watched them all, taking in the scene. But he didn’t say anything, and Dorian admired his restraint.
    “This is too much for her to digest,” Jess said angrily.
    “I know.” Dorian gave a little shrug. “I seek your forgiveness.”
    Finally, the minister spoke. “What’s going on? Please, tell me. As a minister, I’m good in crisis situations. And if it’s a matter of confidentiality, I’m bound by my position not to reveal anything.”
    Alisha said, “No,” just as Dorian spoke, “All right.” She faced her colleague. “What can it hurt?”
    “Only about a million things.”
    Jess straightened. “I’m deciding this. David, these women came from the future to save their world. As crazy as it may seem, because I don’t finish my research on fracking safety measures and methane emissions, there are huge ramifications for the coming generations. And I don’t finish it because I’m going to be killed by the end of the summer.”
    Dorian watched the minister’s brow furrow. He waited a long time before he spoke. “Hmm,” he said, calmly. “What are we going to do about that?”
    From the doorway, Dorian heard, “They’ve got it all figured out.”
    She turned to see Luke Cromwell had come in from the sunny day, but with thunderclouds on his face.
    o0o
    “YOU CAME BACK.”
    Luke was surprised at Dorian’s pleased tone.
He
still wanted to strangle her and her buddy there. He wondered where the other one was. Hell, she could have beamed back to wherever the fuck she came from. “Of course I did. I just needed to cool off.”
    Her expression was confounded, and now he knew why. Yet it was so hard to believe…
    Jess said, “I’m glad you’re here. We need to work together on saving my life.”
    “I still can’t internalize what you’ve told us.” Luke ran a hand through his hair. “They could be feeding you a bunch of bullshit, Jessie.”
    “Your crude reference is not appropriate here.” Alisha faced down Luke. “We’re telling you the truth and your brother’s life is at stake.”
    “Why would we lie about this, Luke?” Dorian asked.
    “Who the hell knows? To sabotage Jess’s research maybe.” He sighed. “But on the unlikely chance that this is true, I’m ready to be convinced.”
    David sighed. “I believe it’s possible.”
    “Without proof?”
    “Yes. But what I meant was I believe it’s possible to travel in time. Maybe even change the past. They could be who—from when—they say they are.”
    Dropping down on a chair, Luke watched Alisha pull out a computer that resembled a BlackBerry.
    “Brace yourself for this, Helen,” Jess said gently.
    The computer screen grew. That was the only word to describe what happened. Luke knew he was agape, but, what the hell?
    Alisha talked to the machine. “Call up chips on the theories of time travel.”
    “Greetings,” the woman who appeared on screen said. “My name is Rhea Hart and I’m one of the ten Guardians of the world in 2514. If you’re viewing this, Celeste, Dorian and Alisha have arrived in 2014 and are trying to convince you of their mission.”
    “She looks like the other one, Celeste,” Luke said. “Same hair and eye color. Same build.”
    “She was Celeste’s donor.”