Past Truths

by Em Pitts

  "They are pretending we are already dead?" I asked in astonishment.

  "It looks bad if they let us get away." Isaake smiled brilliantly. "This is great news. No one will be looking for us." I laughed at him and felt relief again.

  "All of these emotional changes are causing me to be tired," I admitted before yawning loudly to prove my point. Ollie held his hand out to me to help me to my feet.

  "Just a sec." I locked the panel back into place.

  Nick was still holding my shoulders and Raynor had moved his hand to my leg. At some point, Isaake must have done the same on my other side. I grabbed Ollie's hand then grabbed the clock to carry with us. Maybe I can keep it as a souvenir. A prick hit my finger before I jerked my hand away.

  "Shit. What is with me and drawing blood with clocks?" I stuck my finger in my mouth before I got woozy. I grabbed at the stupid clock again, this time intending to give it away rather than keep it.

  My body froze before lighting on fire, causing me to shiver all over. It felt like a seizure. No, I know this feeling. How do I know this feeling? My skin started cutting as if peeling in strips. My thoughts cut off abruptly as my world went black. The last thing I felt was four sets of hands holding me tightly.

  37

  The beep beep of a machine was calming. The masculine murmurs were rousing me awake enough to smell something familiar. Antiseptic? It's a distinctive smell. Like it's clean, but only because it has been wiped down recently.

  I tried to open my eyes, but they were so heavy. I tried lifting my arm next, but I barely moved my fingers. The voices stopped. A callused hand grabbed onto mine.

  "Hey." A deep voice soothed. Raynor. He was here. Where were we?

  "Give her some space." A feminine voice snarked quietly. That sounded like—no it couldn't be. Abby was back in the future, and Raynor was in the past. My mind must be playing tricks on me.

  More voices spoke up mingling together. Was I dying? I felt the darkness pulling me away. I tried to fight it, but I wasn't strong enough.

  I was cold. I was shivering from the cold air. It felt like it was aimed right at my face. Why was it so cold in here? We don't have an air conditioner yet. Hell, they don't have fans in the seventeenth century. Another cold chill hit me from the air that was blowing on me. Cold air, blowing on me. That had me snapping my eyes open. A hospital?

  I was in a hospital bed with a monitor hooked up to my right arm and an IV in my opposite elbow. The IV had a cold feeling running up my arm.

  "Sorry, I just had to give you some more saline. The cool feeling will go away in a minute. I'm glad you are awake. I'll get the doctor in here. Do you need anything?" The nurse was wearing scrubs with Goofy pictured all over her top. I started crying immediately.

  "I'm home?" Then I looked around the rest of the empty room. "Abby? My sister, where's my sister?" I clutched at the nurse who was telling me to calm down. I needed to know where she was. Where were the guys? Where was anyone? "How did I get here?"

  "Hey, easy psycho." A sweet brunette head appeared behind the nurse. "I was going to the bathroom. Let the pretty nurse go." I tried to jump at her.

  Abby was here. Right in front of me. Thankfully, she saw that my crazy knew no bounds and came to me before I jumped off the bed. I clutched at her and sobbed everything out. She was murmuring sweet nothings the entire time.

  "I had the strangest dream, Abby." I hiccuped and tried to calm myself down. "I left you to go into the past and was gone for two weeks. I couldn't get back. They were going to hang me!" I cried out.

  "Shh." She rubbed my head calming me. The irony wasn't lost on me that I was the big sister and I was falling apart in her arms. "You've been out for two days now. The doctors said you had a seizure. A long one."

  "Some fucking seizure." I laughed and hiccuped at the same time, making a god-awful noise that hurt my throat. "Should have known it was a dream with guys like that." I rolled my eyes at myself.

  It hurt knowing they weren't real. They were just imaginary characters in my head that I went and fell for, only to wake up and realize they were fake. Life's a bitch for that one.

  "You were almost hanged to death, but you are worried about the guys," Abby responded sarcastically. She sounded like she was moments away from laughing.

  "Shut up, knucklehead." I dug my finger into her side. "I can prioritize my dreams anyway I feel like it." She pulled away from me and smiled gently before her expression went serious.

  "I'm glad you are alright. You scared me, sis."

  "I scared myself. What happened?" She bit her lip looking unsure which surprised me.

  "Hang on a sec. I've got something to show you." She stood from the bed and made her way to the door.

  When she walked by a chair, I saw a journal opened lying face down in the chair as if she had just been reading it. I went to reach out because it looked so familiar, only to pull back when I saw my hand. My right hand was black and red. Like in my dream.

  It was not just a dream, was it?

  "...awake." I heard Abby say through the door. A moment later the door was pushed open and four bodies were piling through. Four male bodies that were dressed in mismatched clothes and wearing the same shoes that I had gotten used to these past two weeks.

  "You're real?" I questioned not realizing I sounded half crazy. The men didn't seem to think so. Nick pounced on the bed gripping me in a hold where I didn't know whose limbs were whose.

  "And this is why you had to wait outside." Abby drawled out. I tried to see over Nick, but I was trapped in a body hug.

  "Nick, you've got to let me up." I laughed at him when he wouldn't let go.

  "Stop hogging her already," Raynor spoke up. Nick was lifted off me and Isaake took a place at my side.

  "Are you alright?" He asked cupping my cheek. I smiled at him.

  "I'm fine. How are you here?" I was so confused right now.

  "Whatever happened to bring you back, brought us back too. It's a good thing we knew what was happening because we stood out from everyone immediately." Ollie commented. Isaake nodded along agreeing.

  "We had to try and pretend to be more like you to blend in. Only the big difference between you and us is how much you say ‘fuck’."

  "Turns out the rest of the world doesn't appreciate your cursing either," Raynor added in amusement. Abby laughed.

  "So, this is real right now? We are in the twenty-first century and all of you are here?" I couldn't believe it. I reached out and touched Isaake's hand on my face. He felt real.

  "It's real, Tess." Ollie's voice held a deeper meaning.

  "They’re all real boys, now can we get back to how you fucking time traveled?" Abby had lost all patience now. I didn't blame her.

  A knock sounded at the door halting our conversation as the doctor walked in. Why knock if you're just going to come in without waiting for a response?

  "Tessa, I'm glad you are awake. I'm Doctor Sholk. You had a nasty seizure a couple of days ago. Do you remember anything?" An older gentleman with some hair left in a ring around his head questioned me.

  I remember everything. But saying so makes me sound crazy. I don't want to get locked up again when I just got my freedom back.

  "I was at work..." I hedged. That was the last moment I could remember before I left. Did I come back at work, or did I end up somewhere else? It has been two weeks already, so there was no telling what happened next.

  The doctor nodded along. "You were found in status epilepticus. The ambulance brought you here. We got you stable but couldn't find the cause for your seizure. We then had to put you in an induced coma to make sure there weren't any lasting damages. Can you tell me how you’re feeling?"

  "Fine. My head hurts, and my throat is sore. But, I'm fine." The door opened again after a single knock and a woman in light blue scrubs and a cap on walked in.

  "Sorry for intruding." The doctor nodded at her to go ahead. "Hi, I'm Karma the neurologist. I just need to give you some tests really quick to make s
ure you're doing okay after waking up." She smiled at me. I nodded for her to continue.

  The guys and Abby all had to move over to the side of the room while Karma checked my pupils and reflexes. I couldn't stop staring at them all together. They were all here. The people who meant the most to me. Except...

  "Where's Bridget?" I asked the guys.

  "She had to stay behind," Isaake answered carefully. "She didn't journey with us." She was left in the past. I had so many questions. Was she okay? How did we get here? But all of that had to wait right now.

  "Do you have a history of seizures?" Karma was asking as she filled out a clipboard.

  "No. I've never had one before."

  "Are you diabetic? Any problems with blood sugar in the past?"

  "No, nothing I can think of."

  "I've already answered these questions for you," Abby spoke up annoyed.

  "I've just got to fill out these questions for records. Sometimes there are things we may not know about others. My mother kept her diabetes from me at first. I'm not saying Tessa kept anything. I'm saying that some of our patient’s close family may have forgotten or otherwise." Karma then turned back to me. "You look okay and I've gotten what I need. Call me at any time if you feel funny, get a strange taste in your mouth, or can't feel your fingers or toes." She smiled at me.

  "Thanks, Karma. I'm okay right now though."

  Doctor Sholk was speaking as she pushed her way back through the door. "Do you know what status epilepticus is, Tessa?"

  "No, I've never heard of it." A hand grabbed mine and I looked to see Raynor beside me. He was starting to become my comfort shadow. I smiled gratefully towards him.

  "It's when your seizing for a long period of time, usually longer than five minutes. It's dangerous because not enough oxygen can get to your brain during that time. It can be a fateful condition." My heart dropped. I could have died? "It can also be due to an underlying cause such as a stroke, anorexia, or even diabetes. We are concerned because you have no history of problems. We also gave you antibiotics because we couldn't rule out an infection as the cause. Truthfully, we are baffled by what happened. You looked and sounded healthy, but were showing signs that you weren't." He shook his head in confusion.

  "Doctor." I interrupted. "I just want to go home. It's been a long...it's been too long, and I just want to relax."

  "We would like to keep you for twenty-four hours under observation in case of any swelling or other problems." He nodded.

  "Can't I just go home?" I sounded whiny and I understood that. But damn it, two weeks in hell and I just wanted to relax after a long bath.

  The doctor looked flustered. "You can sign yourself out at any time, but you would need to sign an AMA. That's saying that you are going against medical advice."

  "Just stay the twenty-four hours Tessa." Abby scolded me. "You almost died. I need to know you're going to be okay." Her voice sounded strained.

  "Okay." I looked towards her and held my other arm out. Bless Raynor, he moved aside immediately so she could come to me. The doctor left us seeing that we needed a private moment.

  "You're an asshole." Abby collapsed into my waiting arms. This time I held her and rubbed her hair as she needed me. "You're not allowed to die yet."

  "Shh. I'm not going anywhere." I looked at my men.

  They were gazing at me fondly but staying against the wall trying to give me what time I needed. None of them tried to leave the room though. I'm sure they didn't want to be far away either.

  "What happened?" I asked hoping to actually get some answers this time.

  "You did something with the clock. Maybe the rune worked or maybe it was something else, but we all traveled here with you." Isaake tried to explain.

  "You were jerking around as soon as we came out of it, like Susanna. I guess that was the seizure thing." Nick continued. He sounded so subdued right now. "I didn't understand what was happening and Ollie couldn't Heal you." Ollie looked at me pleading for forgiveness. Silly man, there's nothing to forgive. I smiled at him.

  "Thank you for trying to Heal me."

  "People burst into the room as we were trying to figure out how to help you. Then, this giant metal box was making a loud noise and you were being loaded into it." Isaake tried explaining. Abby snorted at his explanation of an ambulance.

  "They tried to keep us out of it, but we jumped into the back with you." Raynor sounded angry still at the thought.

  "They almost got the police to arrest them." Abby snorted again.

  "And how did you get here?" I looked down at her.

  "They called me while I was at school. A police officer gave me a ride here and that's how I found all of them screaming at the staff trying to get in the room to you. That one was already in cuffs." She pointed to Raynor. He looked affronted.

  "I was going to get to you regardless of the cuffs. I won't let them lock me up away from you again." Be still my heart. Abby laughed at him.

  "They were acting as if they knew you, fighting to get to you, and as soon as I told them to leave my sister the hell alone they called me by name. I heard them out and tried to calm them down while we waited on you." I was surprised by her.

  "You heard them and believed them above traveling from the past."

  "No. Even if they were dressed in those awful clothes, I didn't believe a word they said. The only thing keeping me from screaming for help, was how they told me you kept trying to get back to me. The blonde one gave me a book that had your writing in it, and I read it over and over these last two days. I guess I started believing them. But the Fire trick certainly helped." Ollie gave me a sheepish grin. I laughed knowing that I had seen the Fire trick myself.

  "It's so good to be back with you. I thought..." I stopped myself before I finished that statement.

  She didn't need to know that I almost lost all hope. That I thought I was stuck without her and scared I would break the promise I made to her. I promised to be there for her always.

  "Hey, when's the last time you got a good night’s rest? Have you been home?"

  "And leave you with strange men willing to take on the police force and the hospital staff? I may believe, but I'm not stupid." She responded seriously. Was she...?

  "Guys," I looked over at all four of them leaning against the wall. "Will you give us a second, please? Wait in the hall until I get you." Isaake nodded and walked to the door immediately. Nick smiled before grabbing onto Raynor and leaving. Raynor looked like he was going to argue but Ollie helped bring him out. He really didn't want to leave me again.

  "We will be right outside the door. Call out if you need us." Ollie said before closing the door behind him.

  "Abby, are you alright with everything that's happened? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around them. I trust those men with my life, and I know they wouldn't hurt you in any way. But I'm not going to make you feel uncomfortable if you don't want to be around them." I told her seriously.

  I meant every word too. I had feelings for the four outside the door. I trusted them explicitly. But Abby was my sister and more important to me than anyone else in this world. I would never make her suffer for me.

  "I'm not uncomfortable. I don't know them and it's weird that they seem to know you so well. I'm gathering from reading the journal that you've been with them for a while now. To me, though, you went to work two days ago and then you were in the hospital. I didn't know anything about them." She started picking at the blanket as she talked. "I get that they mean something to you, you mention them a lot in your journal. But I'm just not used to them is all. Give me some time." She looked up and smiled at me. "If they mean something to you, then I'm sure they will become important to me too."

  "You know you come first right?" I held her face needing her to look in my eyes and see the truth of that statement. I didn't need her to freak out thinking I would put her second because someone else was there now. "You are always first."

  "Yeah, and what happens when you have a kid?" She
rolled her eyes. "I know I won't always be—" I cut her off before she continued.

  "Then you become a sister, an aunt, or a godmother, or whoever you want to my child. If I have more people added to my family, then you have more people added to your family. We are family and family comes first, always. I'll never add anyone into our lives that you aren't okay with. And I WILL NEVER kick you out of my life. You come first, always." I wiped her tears and let mine fall.

  I cared about the men, but I loved her. I wouldn't dare love someone who could drive us apart. I've been keeping the men at arm's length already because I never thought anything could come of it. If I needed to continue doing so, I would. She smiled brilliantly at me.

  "I could be an aunt. I'd be an awesome aunt."

  "You would be. But why are we talking about babies anyway? Jeez, knucklehead. I bring four guys back accidentally and you’re already trying to knock me up." She laughed at me. "Do you want me to figure out where to put them?" I asked.

  "No, it's okay. The really muscular one is a bit crazy, but they all care about you. They’re good for you." She replied trying to keep her smile.

  "They can care for you too. If you want to give them a chance." I told her hesitantly. I wouldn't push her into this decision, but I know they would love her just like I do.

  "I'll try." She replied. That was good enough for me.

  "What's with the weird clothes?" I asked trying to lighten the mood. "I'm pretty sure I've never seen Ollie wear a Hawaiian shirt before." I laughed.

  "The hospital has a lost and found bin. It seemed less weird having them in clothes that didn't match, then having them in the seventeenth century garb. I drew the line at explaining the shower to them though. You can explain it." She laughed with me.

  Everything felt right again. I had my family with me. A pang went through me when I realized who we were missing. Well, almost everyone. Granny was with Eliza though and Aska is sure to be giving her a fun time when she walks around half nude.