Jamie bounced on his toes, unable to keep still as the last bit of preparations for the journey were completed. After three months of analyzing probe data, they were actually doing this crazy thing.
His mind flitted to a loose end and he turned to his niece. “Are you wearing your thermals, Sarah?”
She didn't answer right away, instead rolling her eyes toward Sam, as if for assistance. But Sam was kneeling in front of the main CERBO unit, busy with inputs, and Jamie didn’t think he was listening.
“Yes, Uncle Jamie,” she said. “The latest temperature reading in the other Belfast was minus eight in the middle of the afternoon. Do you think I'm daft, to go without warm clothing?”
“I don't think you're daft,” he said. “But you might have forgotten. And I’d prefer you took extra air, too.”
“The atmosphere is perfectly breathable,” Sam said, rising from his knees and staring at the time machine. He'd been listening, after all.
“For a loose interpretations of either of those words,” Jamie said. “I do wish we had taken readings in other places on the planet.”
“We’re not going to spend enough time in 2080 to make it necessary,” Sam said.
Jamie continued to bounce with his last-minute jitters. He always had them before a big experiment.”I know you've built fail-safes into the machine. It's shielded ...”
“And there's that automatic return built in, too, and the chemical tracker we put in our bloodstreams ...” Sarah said.
“ ... so you'll be returned to our own universe after seven days, even if you're unconscious. Or dead.” Jamie finished. “That makes me feel so much better.” He squelched an upsurge of annoyance as Sam and Sarah exchanged a glance. “Do not attempt to humor the old man. My concerns are more than valid.”
Sam leaned against the wall of the cave. “Sure you don't want to come with us? You've worked on this your entire life.”
On the verge of spouting off his usual answer, Jamie paused and gave it some thought. This would be his last chance. Then he shook his head, turning a troubled look on Sam. “I don't. I remember, you see.”
Sam's head jerked sideways. “Remember what, sir?”
“Grandpa Sam.” Jamie found himself speaking softly as he thought of the old man. “He was happy enough, I think. But I always sensed that he was ... disturbed. That he never quite fit.”
He glanced at Sarah, smiling reassurance. “My mum was just my mum, always there, and somehow always a part of my father. An extension of him, I guess. Or he was of her, more likely. Either way, they were nearly one being in my mind. I never noticed that she was different from everyone around her. But Grandpa Sam was like a splinter in your hand. It was easy to see he didn't belong. That he pushed constantly at the boundaries of our world, not because he was curious, but because he was desperate.”
Sarah touched his hand. “I don't understand,” she said, her eyes concerned. Those eyes were so much like his mother's.
“He felt responsible, you see,” Jamie said. “He wanted to get back to his own world, sure enough. But even that would not have satisfied him, for he felt almost as if he had created us. Our world. He had to understand, because it was his fault this timeline existed.”
He looked from Sarah to Sam, and shook his head again. “Crossing to the first timeline won’t hurt anything. But going back again, to 2006, will create still another universe. Quite honestly, I do not want that responsibility. And I don't envy you taking it on.”
Interesting how the two kids avoided looking at each other. No doubt they had already discussed this very thing. Sam had always been unhappy about that part of the project.
A beep broke the silence and they all turned to look at CERBO, to find its green ready light staring at them. The next move was theirs.
His niece took a deep breath that she did not quite let out, scooped her jacket from its perch on a nearby rock, and pulled her gloves from a pocket. Jamie watched her in slight shock, knowing she was really going through with it. Sam reached for his own jacket, his movements not quite as confident as Sarah's.
Jamie waited until she lifted her eyes to his. He held out a hand, and with a small smile, she put herself in his arms, squeezing him gently. Her hair smelled like summer.
“We'll be careful, Uncle Jamie,” she said against his chest. She didn't promise to be all right.
He nodded. “That's all I can ask.” He found he couldn't say more around the tightness of his throat. She moved away and Jamie turned to Sam, grasping his arm in both his hands. “I know you'll take care of her.”
“Of course I will.” Sam's voice was confident, but his eyes betrayed his uncertainty. He huffed, “She'll probably be the one taking care of me, you know.”
“Aye, well, we all expect that, lad,” Jamie said. Placing an arm about each of their shoulders, he walked with them to the middle of the cave. With a final squeeze, he left them there, moving to his place behind CERBO.
Sam tapped his gloves against his leg. “No time change. Just a straight shot across the chasm to the other universe. Over there, the year is 2080.”
Jamie nodded. This wasn't new information. It was more like Sam's final pep talk. Sarah was pale, as if she was just now realizing what they were doing.
Sam glanced at Sarah, then back at Jamie. “We'll look around the cave area, and take our own samples, just to get our bearings and do a check of the portable CERBO.” He gestured toward the backpack at his feet. The portable time machine was packed into it, along with the chip that directed the neutrinos back in time. “We'll send you a message no later than,” he glanced at his watch, “sixteen-hundred hours.” Jamie glanced at his own watch. That was thirty-five minutes from now. “Once we get your acknowledgment, we'll light up our CERBO and go back in time to 2006.”
Sam looked as if he was going to say more, but no words came. He stared at Jamie, then nodded, as if to himself. Jamie nodded back, feeling his features sink into a frown. His eyes moved from Sam to Sarah and back again. He watched as they helped each other zip jackets, and put on hats and backpacks, touching each other in timorous, loving ways. Jamie flinched, as if his body wanted to jump up and pull them out of the isolation field. He forced himself to stillness.
Then they were all staring at each other. Sam turned to Jamie, lifting his wrist to tap his watch. “Ready,” he said.
Jamie reached forward and flipped a switch. “Ten seconds.” He couldn't look away from them.
Sarah suddenly smiled, a big, happy smile that lit up her face, and she lifted a hand. “We're doing it, Uncle Jamie. I love you.”
He lifted his own hand, watching as the two of them took each other's hands, and vanished.
“I love you, too,” he said.