The Test of Time

Author: Janet (SkyGirl5)

Genre: S/V, AU

Summary: After a ridiculous assignment sends him back to 1860, Michael must not only find a way back to 2005, but deal with a beautful young southern belle named Sydney Bristow, who he ran into (litterally). Once Sydney follows Michael back to the future, how will she react to the dramatic changes of the modern world? And how will they be able to send her back once she's seen and loved the world she is completly unfamilair with?

A/N: This story was partly inspired by the movie 'Kate & Leopold', but I have, of course, modified it to my own liking.

Disclaimer: Sydney, Vaughn, etc are properties of JJ Abrams and ABC.

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Chapters 1-10 // Chapters 11 - 20 // Chapters 21-25 + Epilogue

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Chapter 1

“Eric, this is by far the stupidest mission in the history of all missions. I mean, seriously I think Marshall was smoking some crack when he came up with this. And Devlin has totally gone off the deep end for approving this mission. They’ve all lost their minds.” Michael grunted as he and Eric trudged along the beach.

“Chill out man.” Eric rolled his eyes.

“Excuse me, I will not chill out. Please don’t tell me you buy into this BS. I mean come on: time vortexes, parallel universes... that’s a bit too sci-fi for me.” Michael groaned.

“Yeah, but everyone seems to buy into it so...,” Eric sighed.

“Whatever,” Michael sighed. He dug down into his pocket and pulled out a pair of swimming goggles.

“What’s that?” Eric asked.

“Well, I figure there is no such thing as a time vortex right? So, when I jump off the pier into the ‘vortex’,” he said using air quotes. “I’m going to land in the Pacific Ocean and I’ll have to swim back to shore. That’s why I have the goggles.” Michael grinned.

“Ok, so what happens when you actually end up back in 1860?” Eric asked with his arms folded over his chest.

“If I end up in 1860, I’ll eat the goggles,” Michael said defiantly.

“Ok whatever Captain Skeptizmo,” Eric sighed.

“Eric, don’t tell me you believe this? Because, honestly, I don’t have any interest in traveling back to 1860 to spy on some cave. So, if you want to, be my guest.”

“No, that’s ok man, you can go.” Eric grinned.

“Fine. I’ll see you in a few minutes then,” Michael said as he turned to climb up the steep, sandy embankment towards the pier.

“Don’t forget the vortex is only open until midnight!” Eric called after him.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Michael grumbled under his breath. “This is ridiculous.” He muttered. Two hours earlier he had been sitting in Devlin’s office receiving his ‘instructions’ for traveling to the past, all the while laughing and trying to argue his way out of it. The CIA wanted him to go back and search for some documents that were supposed to be hidden in a cave before it was collapsed by dynamite. His only warning was simple: don’t interact with anyone and don’t do anything that could affect future events - as is always the code when dealing with time travel. To this warning, Michael had retorted that finding the document would be ‘messing with future events’, but he was heavily chastised for his remark.

So, there he was, standing on the edge of the Santa Monica pier, taking a few deep breaths before his plunge into the icy cold water. He looked up at the sky when he heard thunder rumbling above. Great, he thought, I’m going to have to deal with a storm. “Alright, here goes nothing,” he sighed as he put his goggles over his eyes and leapt off the pier.

He was falling for much longer than he expected. He held his breath in anticipation of the icy cold water flooding over his body, but soon he had to let it out and gasp for another as he was traveling much longer that he could hold his breath. Finally, he crashed, but was shocked when his legs crumpled against hard earth. He collapsed onto the ground and groaned in agony.

He closed his eyes for a moment, recovering from the shock and trying to figure out what happened. Finally, he sat up and opened his eyes slowly. He couldn’t see through the goggles since there appeared to be a layer of tan dirt across them. He slipped them off his faced and gasped at what he saw. “Holy shit,” he muttered aloud.

He was sitting on the dirty ground. Everything around him seemed to be covered in a layer of the tan colored dust, giving everything a similar appearance. Slowly, he got up and nearly jumped twenty feet when a horse snorted as it trotted past him. The man riding the horse who was wearing a large brimmed hat, a plaid shirt, dark pants and boots with spurs looked at him suspiciously, but kept riding.

Michael looked down at himself and noticed that he was completely covered in the tan dirt which hid his black jeans, black t-shirt and black vest well enough that he could blend in reasonably well. He took two shaky steps forward and began to observe his surroundings better. “Dear god I’ve entered a western movie,” he sighed as he caught a glimpse of the main street that had saloons, a post office with Wanted posters, horses, and stage coaches. He began to walk down the street, not paying attention at all to where he was walking until he bumped smack into someone. “Oh god I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t... I...,” he stopped as he locked eyes with the person he ran into and came face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. “Woah...”

“Woah?!” she repeated, her voice sweet with a thick southern accent.

“I mean, um, sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you alright ma’am?” he asked. Chivalry, Vaughn, think chivalry.

“I’m fine. I do hope you’ll be more careful next time,” she said as she turned to walk away.

“Wait,” Michael said as he ran a few steps to catch up with her, throwing protocol completely out the window. “What’s your name?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not supposed to speak with strangers. Good day,” she said with a slight sparkle in her eye and amusement in her voice.

“Well, my name is Michael Vaughn. Now we’re not strangers.” He grinned.

She smiled slightly in return. “You are very peculiar Mr. Vaughn.”

“I am?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “For many reasons least of all your clothing. What is this?” She pointed to his chest. He looked down and saw one of the plastic zippers to his vest pocket showing through. Michael thought for a second before responding. Clearly, they did not have plastic in this time. This was bad.

“Umm, it’s nothing,” Michael said quickly.

“Very well, good day, sir,” she said as she walked away again.

“Wait no,” he said as he reached out and grabbed her arm. Big mistake. She spun around and shook his grasp off her.

“I don’t know who you think you are but you are certainly no gentlemen for touching a lady so,” she said with an icy glare.

“I’m terribly sorry.” He sighed. “I just wanted to ask you a question. It’s very important. Please.”

“Very well,” she sighed with her arms folded over her chest.

“Where am I?”



Chapter 2

“Where am I?” Michael asked cautiously.

She looked at him curiously. “Excuse me?”

Michael hesitated for a moment before he formulated a plausible lie. “Well, see I was riding on my horse and he saw a snake, spooked and bucked me off. Unfortunately, when I fell I hit my head rather hard on the ground and...”

“I see,” she nodded suspiciously. “Well, you sir are in a newly developed town along the west coast of the United States of America.”

“Uh huh, and what day is it?” he asked.

“Today is Thursday, October first,” she said.

“And the year?” He asked.

“My goodness how hard did you hit your head?” She gasped. He just shrugged. “It’s 1860 now if you don’t mind I really must be on my way.”

“Wait, it’s really 1860?!” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes, of course. Perhaps you should see a doctor. There is one down that way on the left hand side of the street,” she said as she pointed over his shoulder.

“I’m fine.” He shook his head.

“Well then perhaps you should go off in search of your horse. Good day Mr. Vaughn,” she said, now sounding almost impatient.

“Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of me?” He smiled.

“I’m not I-“ but she was interrupted by a tall man with a large mustache appearing in the street.

“Sydney Anne!” He bellowed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry Daddy. I was just giving this man directions. He’s new in town,” she said as she took a few steps towards her father.

“I see. Can I help you young man?” the elder man asked of Michael.

“No, sir,” he said. “Thank you, Sydney,” Michael said as he turned on his heel and walked back towards where he had landed moments earlier. He was trying to calm his rapid heart rate that had sped up the moment he laid eyes on her. She was simply breathtaking and the way she had argued with him was a complete turn on. “Chill out Vaughn,” he muttered to himself. “She’s like two hundred years old.”

Once he was safely secluded behind a building, he peered around the corner and looked in the direction in which Sydney and her father had disappeared. He saw her father helping her into a stage coach and then driving off down the dirt road. He decided that since his brief moment of weakness was out of his mind, he needed to get his head back in the game or risk being stuck in 1860 forever.

1860. He couldn’t believe it. “Ohhh man, Weiss is gonna make me eat my goggles.” He groaned as he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out the mission specs he had stored there. He leaned up against the wall and began to skim through them, begging his brain to recall what Devlin had been saying. He needed to find the caves on the outskirts of town. Ok, think, he coached himself. California... 1860...

He was begging his brain to remember his AP US history from senior year of high school, but it wasn’t working out very well. 1849 was the start of the California gold rush and... 1860 that would be around the start of the civil war, right? So most likely the caves he was looking for weren’t caves at all, but mines; gold mines. “That’s just great.” He muttered. “I’m dressed like an alien and I’ve got to walk... great.”

Michael groaned as he began to trudge along behind the buildings, trying to stay as unnoticed as possible. He squinted up at the sky and noticed that the sun was very high, meaning that it was probably around noon. He was happy with the fact that he had twelve hours before the vortex closed, but the only problem was that he had no idea how to get back to the pier. The more he thought about it, the more he panicked. In 1860 there would be no such thing as the Santa Monica pier. Shit.

As Michael was walking he was looking down at his feet and muttering, he didn’t even notice when he was about three inches from something rather large that he ended up walking into. “Damn it, I need to start paying attention.” He moaned as he rubbed his forehead. A horse snorted in his face and Michael realized it was the horse he had walked into. “Sorry Trigger.” He muttered as he started to walk past the horse, but then he paused and looked back. The horse was standing all alone, not tied to a post or anything. Michael decided that it would be alright if he ‘borrowed’ the horse, for a short time anyway. So, he walked back over and circled the horse, contemplating his next course of action.

The last time he had ridden a horse was when he was seven and his father had taken him to the local stables. He grunted and groaned as he tried to throw one leg over the horse’s saddle with very little success. The horse backed up slightly and Michael tumbled to the ground, landing flat on his butt. The horse looked down at him. “You think this is funny, don’t you?” Michael said to the horse as he got off the ground and tried to brush himself off.

Finally, after two more tries he was seated on the horse with the reigns in his hands as they walked down the street. It was a fifteen minute ride before the walking people disappeared and the buildings began to dissipate. A stage coach flew past him at top speed, nearly knocking him off balance. Wild west, huh? He thought. Finally, after another ten minutes he saw that there was absolutely nothing that resembled a cave in sight. Great, he thought. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a compass. He was traveling due north, but he knew that the caves were to the south.

Michael sighed as he turned the horse around and began traveling in the opposite direction. Half an hour later, he was traveling through the center of town once again when the horse stopped to take a drink at a trough of water. Michael waited patiently for the animal to stop drinking and noticed that he had become quite parched himself. He was only a few feet from a saloon but suspected that trying to pay with a twenty dollar bill would be a very quick way to get himself arrested. Instead he swallowed a few times and imagined himself opening a nice cold beer when he got home.

“Thirsty?” A chipper feminine voice asked.

Michael looked down and smiled immediately when he saw Sydney. “I thought you left.”

“I did,” she said. “I see you found your horse.”

“Uh, yeah, well Trigger sorta found me,” Michael said nervously.

“Trigger?” She asked.

“Yeah, uh, it’s a family name. So, listen, Sydney...”

“You’re using my first name? Why that’s awfully bold Mr. Vaughn.” She interrupted.

“Well it’s the only name I know.” He retorted.

Sydney couldn’t help but smile at this. “You may call me Miss. Bristow.”

“Very well, Miss Bristow,” Michael smiled in return.

“As I was saying, are you thirsty Mr. Vaughn?” She asked.

“Well, yes but...”

“Let me guess.” She smiled. “You haven’t any money? You were the subject of pick pockets while you were lying unconscious on the ground earlier?”

“Something like that.” Michael mumbled. He hated the fact that she could make him feel inferior and unworthy just by the tone of her voice. Hated and loved it, that is.

“Well you poor, poor thing.” She sighed. “Injured and robbed all in the same day, oh, and of course I can’t forget lost.”

“Right,” he groaned.

“Come with me.” She smiled.

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“Are you thirsty or not?” She asked.

Michael had to think only for a moment because his dry, scratchy throat answered for him. He nodded and slid off the horse and began to follow her. He followed her into a saloon and was shocked to see that the western movies had actually depicted them quite accurately. She walked straight back to the bar and turned to him. “Whisky, Mr. Vaughn?” She asked.

Yes, please! “Uh, yeah, sure.” He mumbled. She ordered a whisky for him and a different drink for herself. She reached into the coin purse that was dangling from her wrist and paid the man behind the bar, and then she held out Michael’s drink. He took it willingly but sipped gingerly. Old fashioned whisky had quite a kick and the last thing he needed to be was drunk. “Thank you,” he said.

“You are quite welcome.” She smiled. Michael took a moment to look around the saloon and noticed that she was the only woman there aside from a questionable woman sitting on the other end of the bar who Michael avoided eye contact with.

“Do you, um, come in here often?” He asked.

“No.” She laughed. “That would hardly be appropriate would it?”

Uh, sure, he thought, having absolutely no idea at all. “But you’re in here now.”

“With you,” she said. “You looked so pathetic and desperate I had to take pity on you.”

“Thanks.” Michael laughed. There was a silent pause between them. “So, have you lived here long?”

“No,” She shook her head. “My Daddy owns this town, but I’ve only here for five years.”

Michael thought for a moment and wondered if that was just an expression or if her father actually owned the town. He thought back to earlier that day when he had seen the man and recalled his silver pocket watch prominently displayed as well as his fancy clothing. Then he looked to Sydney and noticed her fancy dress, cameo pin around her neck and high button boots. They were rich, he deduced. Therefore, it was highly possible her father did actually own this town. “Where did you live before this?”

“Georgia,” she said. Ah, the accent, Michael nodded slowly. “I was born in London, spent a year in New York but most of my childhood was in Georgia.”

“Cotton plantation?” Michael guessed. She nodded. “Do you miss it?”

She sighed and thought for a moment. “I miss that everything was green and red and white and blue... Everything is all one color here.”

“So I’ve noticed.” Michael laughed slightly.

“So, where are you from?” She smiled.

“All over,” Michael said quickly. “I move a lot.”

“I see. You’re not an outlaw are you?” she asked. He could hear the joking in her voice.

“No,” he laughed. “I assure you I’m not. Actually, I work for the US Government.”

“Do you now?” She smiled. “And what is your position there.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you. It’s top secret.” He grinned.

“How mysterious Mr. Vaughn.” She smiled. She was definitely interested in this stranger but she couldn’t explain why.

“Yes, well I must be on my way. Thanks for the drink.” He smiled as he walked out of the bar.

“Wait.” She called after him. “Tonight my father is having a small get together at our home. I’d be honored if you would attend.”

“I’m afraid I can’t.” Michael sighed even though he wanted to see her again more than anything.

“Please,” she added.

He sighed and thought for a moment. The vortex was open until midnight and he did need to ask someone where it was so.... “What time?”

“Six.” She smiled.

He glanced at his watch which, to his surprise, was still working. It was only 2. “Alright.” He agreed. “But where do you live?” She grinned and pointed. Michael glanced in the direction of her extended finger and saw the largest house on that street. “Right... six it is then.”

“See you then.” She grinned.



Chapter 3

The whole time Michael was riding out of town towards the caves he was cursing himself for his actions. He had made a date with a woman who was from a completely different century than himself. That was moronic, dangerous, reckless and just plain stupid. Don’t change history. That was his only guideline. Stupid. “I’d better find these damn caves soon.” He groaned as he shifted his weight on the horse. “My butt hurts...”

~*~

“Sydney where have you been?” Her mother asked when she came in the back door.

“What? Oh, I was walking in town,” she said.

“Sydney, look at you! Your new boots are filthy. Go upstairs and take a bath before dinner.” She instructed.

“Fine,” Sydney groaned. “Oh and I invited someone else tonight.”

“Who?” Her mother asked suspiciously.

“He’s new in town.” Sydney smiled. “His name is Michael Vaughn.”

“Sydney...,” her mother said warningly.

“You should have seen him Mama. His horse bucked him off and he hit his head and then someone robbed him.”

“Sydney, he could be a criminal.”

“No, he works for the government. I saw his badge.” She lied.

“Very well, just go bathe.”

“Yes Mama.” Sydney sighed.

~*~

“Just great, just freakin’ great.” Michael muttered as he slid off his horse in front of Sydney’s home. He hadn’t been able to find any caves at all but fortunately he found a path that he suspected lead to the ocean. So, as long as he left the Bristow’s by 8, he figured he would have plenty of time to make it back. But, he was going to ask Sydney just to make sure. Quickly, he brushed as much dirty off of him as he could before knocking on the front door and cursing himself once again for his stupidity.

“Hello.” A woman with dark hair pulled back in a bun at the nape of her neck said as she opened the door. “Are you Mr. Vaughn?”

“Yes ma’am,” Michael said, trying to remember to be as polite and proper as possible or risk getting shot. “Thank you for having me.”

“Of course, my daughter spoke highly of you. Come inside please,” she said. “I’m Mrs. Bristow. My husband should be in shortly.”

“Thank you.” Michael smiled.

“So, my daughter tells me you work for the government?”

“Yes ma’am.” Michael nodded.

“Mr. Vaughn,” Sydney said from behind him. Michael turned, saw her, and gasped. She was wearing a deep green high collared dress with white ruffles around the edges. Her hair was pulled back but two soft curls hung at her temples.

“Hi...,” he breathed.

“Sydney would you please get your guest a drink,” her mother said. “Excuse me I must go check on my husband,” she said as she disappeared from the hallway. Sydney led Michael into the parlor area and smiled at him.

“What can I get you?”

“Nothing thanks,” he said. “But, I do have a question.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, how far is the ocean from here?”

“About a twenty minute ride, why?” She asked.

“Just curious,” he smiled. “I love the ocean.”

“Me too,” she giggled.

With her giggle Michael felt a sharp pang in his chest like he hadn’t felt in a long time. Her smile, her eyes, her laugh, everything about her made Michael feel sick, but wonderful at the same time. It was then he realized that being there was a mistake and he needed to leave. “I...I’m sorry but I can’t say for dinner.”

“You can’t?” She asked in a hurt tone.

“No, I’m sorry. I came here to thank you for the invitation though,” he said as he began to back his way towards the door.

“I... I don’t understand. Is something wrong?”

“No... well, yes. I just need to be going.” He sighed. “It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Bristow,” Michael said before ducking out of the house.

He hated himself for leaving because he didn’t want to hurt her but then he realized that he had already done far more than he should have and hurting her was just something he had to accept especially since he would never see her again. So, he sighed as he got back on the horse he had ‘borrowed’ and began to ride off towards the ocean.

Sydney had been right; it only took him about twenty minutes until he found himself staring out across the Pacific Ocean. After dismounting from the horse, he walked over to the edge of a cliff. Looking up and down the beach he found that would be the only place that remotely resembled where the pier could possibly be. Looking down at the water lapping up on the rocks he made a silent prayer he was right because hitting the bottom would mean certain death.

He had only been standing there for a moment before he thought he heard footsteps behind him. Without looking back he jumped off the cliff and began plummeting towards the sea. Again, he fell for a long time before his knees buckled as he slammed into something hard. Looking around, he found himself back on the Santa Monica pier with the lights glowing and cars whizzing by in the distance. “Twenty first century thank god,” he sighed as he got to his feet. He had only walked two steps before he heard a thud behind him.

Spinning around, he saw a mass of green fabric crumple and collapse back onto the pier. “Oh shit,” he muttered as he neared this collapsed figure and found no one other than Sydney. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

Just then thunder clapped overhead and the sky let forth torrents of rain. “Greaaaat,” Michael muttered. He walked over to Sydney and shook her, trying to wake her, but she was out cold. After grumbling for a moment he scooped her up in his arms and began walking in the direction of his car. Much to his relief, he saw Eric’s car next to his, but it was empty.

“Dude!” Eric shouted from behind him. “Didn’t you go!?”

“Um, yes, I’ve been gone all day what the hell are you talking about?”

“Uh, no, you were gone like five seconds... who, who’s that?” Eric asked as he glanced down at the passed out woman.

“Umm, I have a slight problem.” Michael sighed.

“What the hell is she wearing?” Eric asked as he examined the boots on her feet. “I mean it’s like a costume from – OH SHIT!”

“Yeah, oh shit,” Michael sighed. “She followed me back... I don’t know how though... help me get in her in the car.”

“What are you gonna do with her?” Eric asked.

“Well, nothing at the moment. It’s midnight and I’m exhausted... we can figure it out in the morning.” Michael sighed as he slid Sydney in the back seat of his car.

“You’re gonna take her home?”

“What am I supposed to do? Leave her in the middle of LA?”

“Good point,” Eric said. “Night man and good luck.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Michael sighed.



Chapter 4

When Michael got home, he was so exhausted he could barely carry Sydney in the house. He set her down on his bed and looked down at her shoes. It took him almost ten minutes to figure out how to get them off, but once he did, he set them on the ground. Then, he examined her dress. Normally (not that it was normal to have a woman from a different century in his bedroom), but other different circumstances, he would have just left her but she was soaking wet and he didn’t want her to get sick.

Ten minutes later, he figured out how to untie the corset in it and slid it off so that she was just laying in what he could only assume was some type of undergarment but it really appeared to be another long dress and corset. He laid her dress over a chair to dry and then tucked a blanket around her. It was only then he noticed the small cut on her head. He was afraid that since her head was bleeding and he was unable to wake her that she had a concussion. He decided to sit on the corner of the bed incase she needed anything. Unfortunately, he fell asleep quickly and had a very rude awakening the next morning.

~*~

Sydney awoke and moaned in agony. Her head was pounding. She blinked her eyes a few times but was utterly confused as to where she was. She tried to remember the previous night. She had taken her father’s horse and followed Michael Vaughn to the ocean... then he had.... “Oh god,” she moaned as she sat up but she fell back down quickly because she felt so weak. Turning her head to the right she saw a strange black box with bright green numbers in it. This is not my room, she thought. Turning her head to the left she saw a man’s face smashed into the pillow and let out a blood curdling scream as she bolted out of the bed.

“What?! What?!” Michael jolted awake and tumbled off the edge of the bed.

“You sick perverted man!” She screeched. “Look at me? You took me home with you! Sick, sick, sick!” She shouted.

“Whoa, calm down,” Michael said as he walked over to her slowly with his hands outstretched.

“If you raped me my father will hang you, you sick, sick man!” She screamed as she began to beat him with her fists.

“Ouch! Jeez lady! Stop it!” He shouted.

“LADY!” She gasped as she let out a grunt of frustration.

“Just calm down for one second please.” He sighed. She looked down at him and her eyes widened.

“You are not wearing proper dress in front of a lady! Who are you!?” She gasped as she covered her eyes with her hands. Michael looked down at himself and saw that he was only wearing boxers.

“Oh sorry one second.” He said as he quickly put his pants on. “You can open your eyes no-“ he was interrupted by his alarm gong off and loud music filing the room. Sydney began to scream.

“What’s that?!” She screeched.

“It’s just my alarm.” Michael sighed as he reached over and switched it off.

“What is this place?! Where am I?!” She demanded.

“You’re at my house in LA.” He told her calmly.

“LA?! What is that?!”

“It’s a city,” he said.

She looked at him and furrowed her brow. “Are you a witch?!”

“What? NO!” He laughed. “But that box just had voices,” she said as she pointed with a shaking hand.

“Ok, listen, you have to calm down, ok? You’re safe I promise just take a deep breath,” he said using his perfected CIA training. Sydney took a few deep breaths and looked at him. He could see the terror in her eyes and that broke his heart. “Listen to me, ok? You’re not in 1860 anymore; this is 2005.”

She let out a laugh that sounded greatly like a bark. “You’re mad Mr. Vaughn, if that is your name,” she said as she grabbed her dress from the back of the chair and stormed out the opened bedroom door. A second later, she screamed again.

Michael cautiously poked his head out the door and looked at her. He saw nothing wrong. “What is it?”

“What... what is that?” She demanded as she pointed to the floor. Michael followed her gesture and sighed with relief.

“That’s just Donovan, my dog. He won’t hurt you I promise.”

“He looks peculiar,” she said.

“He’s just fat.” Michael sighed. “Look, I swear we’re going to get this figured out but, you have to trust me.”

“Trust you!?” She laughed. “You carried me off to some god forsaken place and told me I was in the future! How could I trust you! I’m going to report you to my father,” she said as she began to take a step forward but then she paused and looked back at him. “Where is the door?”

“I’m sorry I can’t let you leave.” He sighed. “Just sit down and I’ll get you some water.” He walked to the kitchen and opened the door to the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of water and was just about to fill a glass when he sensed her presence behind him.

“What was that?” She asked.

“What?” He asked her.

“It had a glow...,” she pointed.

“Oh, the refrigerator,” Michael said.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“It keeps things cold see,” he said as he handed her the glass. She took it slowly and gasped when she felt that it was ice cold. Just then there was a shrill ringing and Michael dove for his phone that was lying on the counter. “Vaughn,” he answered. “Yeah Eric.... umm not so good... yeah ok see you then.” He turned around to see Sydney staring at him in horror. “It’s a cell phone... telephone...,” he tried to explain. She only looked more afraid. “Ummmm oh! Telegraph you know what that is right?”

Sydney nodded slowly. “It’s like that.” Michael told her.

“What is this place?” She asked once again.

“I told you. This is the year two thousand and five.” He sighed.

“How did I get here?”

“Look that’s a really long story and I’ve been instructed to take you into work so-“

“Work?” She interrupted.

“Yeah I told you, I work for the government,” he said. Then he glanced down at her pathetic looking dress. “You can’t wear that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well women don’t dress like that here,” he said.

“How do they dress?” She asked. Michael looked around and searched for a magazine. He found one, opened it to a page of a girl modeling jeans and handed it to her. Sydney’s eyes widened in horror. “Women dress like this?”

“Yep,” he said.

“But she’s wearing pants... and her skin is showing,” Sydney said.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“This is a very strange place.” She concluded.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “That I agree with. Come on I’ve got to find you something.”

“Am I to wear your clothes?” she asked as she followed him back to his bedroom.

“Well you don’t have much choice.”

“That wouldn’t be proper,” she said.

“Like I said, you don’t have a choice.” He sighed. Michael found the smallest t-shirt he had as well as the tightest pair of sweat pants. “Here, tie the drawstring on the pants tight so they won’t fall off. Bathroom’s right there,” he said as he gestured towards a door on his right.

Sydney took them slowly and walked cautiously into the room he had gestured too. “What is this?” She asked.

Michael thought curiously for a moment before realizing: 1860; no showers or indoor plumbing most likely. “Umm, you know it’s a bathroom... bathe... wash your hands... pee.” He explained. She glanced back at him disapprovingly, and then shut the door. “Great,” Michael sighed. “Just great.”



Chapter 5

While Sydney was in the bathroom, Michael changed quickly and waited for her to come out. She came out about ten minutes after she went in looking very distressed and uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?” Michael asked her.

“I cannot go out looking like this. What will people think?” She asked nervously.

“Well first, no one will see you and second, you look pretty much normal, well except for your hair,” he said.

“What about it?” She asked as her hand shot up to feel it.

“Women don’t wear their hair like that... they wear it down or in a pony tail or something.” He said.

Her face hardened. “Wearing your hair down is inappropriate.”

“Whatever.” Michael rolled his eyes. Thankfully the doorbell rang at that moment. “Great that’s my partner Eric here to pick us up.”

“I cannot be seen by another man like this,” she said.

“I know, I’m sorry just please, we have to go.” He sighed.

“How do we get there? Walk?” she asked.

“No. Drive,” he said absentmindedly.

“Drive? Like a coach?” She asked.

“No, a car,” he sighed. “Here these shoes will work.” He said as he handed her a pair of Nikes.

“These are strange.” She examined them.

“What else is new?” Michael grunted as he walked to the door and let his friend in.

“How is she?” Eric asked.

“Scared, confused, and annoying,” Michael responded.

“Gotcha.” Eric sighed. “Whoa, what’d you do to her?” He laughed as he saw Sydney stumble from the bedroom as she put on Michael’s oversized shoes.

“What? It’s not like I keep women’s clothes on hand.” He sighed.

“Ok good point. Hi, I’m Eric Weiss.” Eric said as he extended his hand. Sydney didn’t shake it; she just looked at him and folded her arms protectively over her chest. “Okay then...,” Weiss sighed. “What’s her name?” He asked Michael.

“Sydney.” Michael told him. “Come on,” he said to Sydney. She walked slowly towards him and through the door he had just opened for her but then stopped dead.

“What is this?” She gasped.

“This is where I live.” He explained. Then he looked over at her and saw her smiling for the first time that morning. “What?”

“There are trees and grass,” she said.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Come on.” He said as he gently took her hand and pulled her towards the waiting car. She didn’t budge. “What?” he asked again, more impatiently this time.

“What’s that?” she asked as she pointed towards the black sedan in the driveway.

“That’s the car.” He told her. She looked even more confused. “It’s like... a coach that doesn’t need horses.” He explained. He saw Eric rolling his eyes and gave him a ‘well, this isn’t easy’ look. “It’s safe I promise,” Michael said as he walked over and opened the door for her.

“What do I do?” she asked curiously as she looked inside.

“Just sit down.” Michael explained. Sydney slid cautiously into the seat and ran her hands over the leather interior. Michael ducked his head inside the car and reached for her seatbelt. She jumped, but didn’t say anything. He snapped her seat belt tight and then pulled his head out of the car. “There you go.” He smiled as he shut the door and walked around to the passenger side as Eric climbed into the driver’s seat.

Once they were in and buckled up, Eric turned the key and the engine roared to life; Sydney screamed. Michael turned around and looked at her. “It’s ok, that’s what it’s supposed to do.” Sydney nodded cautiously but he could see her wringing her hands as Eric backed out of the driveway. Michael turned back to Eric. “Did you tell Devlin about her?”

“Yep, he’s royally pissed at you,” Eric said.

“Great.” Michael groaned. He heard Sydney screech slightly as a speeding 18 wheeler passed them in the opposite direction. He glanced back at her and she looked pale. “Perhaps you should close your eyes.” She nodded wearily as she covered her face with her hands. In a moment they heard her sobbing softly. Eric and Michael exchanged sympathetic glances.

“Poor girl,” Eric sighed.

“Yeah I know,” Michael said quietly.

Half an hour later, they parked in the CIA parking garage. “You can open your eyes now,” Michael said as he opened her door and unbuckled her seat belt. “Here.” He said as he handed her a tissue.

“Thank you.” She sniffed as she slid out of the car. Then she looked around and looked even more shocked. “Where are we?”

“Parking garage,” Eric told her. Realizing that meant nothing he just mumbled “Never mind,” and they walked towards the elevator. The doors slid open and Michael and Eric stepped inside but Sydney was left frozen. They exchanged glances as they stepped back out and pulled her into the elevator with them. She looked horrified as the doors closed. When the elevator jolted upwards she screamed and grabbed a hold of Michael’s arm.

“It’s ok,” he said quietly as he rubbed her hand softly. Once the elevator stopped they stepped out and Sydney looked back cautiously.

“What was that?”

“Elevator,” Eric said.

“Elegator?” She asked.

“No, elevator,” Michael said.

“I don’t like those,” She said timidly.

Eric and Michael took Sydney into the CIA headquarters and stopped at their lockers so they could drop off their weapons since they were not allowed inside the rotunda. “What’s that?” Sydney asked in a horrified manor.

“Gun... like shotgun only smaller.” Michael explained.

“Oh.... why do you hide them in your shirt?” Sydney asked.

“Because people don’t walk around displaying weapons anymore,” Michael said. “Besides, it’s illegal.”

“It’s illegal to have a gun?” she asked.

“With the exception of law enforcement people, it’s illegal to carry weapons in the open without a permit, yes,” Michael said.

“Oh...,” she sighed.

“This isn’t the wild west.” Eric laughed. “We’re not savages.”

“I’m not a savage.” She defended.

“No, I didn’t mean... whatever.” He sighed as they began walking down the hall. As they did Sydney looked around.

“What are those?” She asked as she pointed upwards.

“Lights,” Michael said.

“Are they candles?”

“No, we have electricity...,” he said. “Never mind....,” he sighed, not being in the mood to explain it to her. Once they entered the rotunda and Sydney caught a glimpse of all the computer monitors her eyes widened even further.

“Agent Vaughn.” Devlin barked.

“Yes sir,” Michael said quickly.

“You’ve got a hell of a lot of explaining to do,” Devlin said.

“Yes sir,” Michael sighed.

“Is this her?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” Michael said once again.

“What on earth is she wearing?” Devlin asked.

“My clothes... her dress got... messed up,” Michael said.

“Fine. Come with me, all three of you,” Devlin said. Michael, Eric and Sydney followed him to a conference room where they all sat down. “Explain Agent Vaughn.”

“Ok well I wasn’t able to find any caves sir, I mean I searched for them all day but I couldn’t find any. So then I found out where the ocean was by asking Miss Bristow and then, I borrowed a horse, rode there and jumped off the cliff. Next think I know I’m landing on the pier and she’s right behind me.” Michael explained. Devlin looked at him suspiciously and then turned his glance to Sydney.

“And you?”

Sydney froze up and glanced over to Michael who nodded encouragingly. “After Mr. Vaughn left my house I followed him....”

“Wait, left your house?!” Devlin shouted at Vaughn.

“Shh don’t interrupt her,” Michael said quickly.

“I.... I followed him. I snuck out, took my father’s horse and followed him. When he stopped at the ocean, I fell back and watched him. But then he jumped off the cliff and I was quite upset. I ran over to the edge but that’s all I remember. I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Well, Miss Bristow we are going to try to get you home.” Devlin told her. “Marshall told me that the vortex will open again next Wednesday.”

“You mean almost a week?!” Michael gasped.

“Yes. And she is not your responsibility.”

“ME?!” Michael gasped.

“Yes. She is your assignment Agent Vaughn; try not to screw this up,” Devlin said before storming from the conference room.

“Great.” Michael sighed.



Chapter 6

“I’m sorry; I don’t mean to burden you,” Sydney said quietly.

“No, no it’s not that. I’m just.... upset that he thinks I screwed up.” Michael groaned.

“Dude, you did screw up.” Eric interjected.

“Thanks.” Michael groaned. Then he glanced over at Sydney and almost laughed at how pathetic she looked in his clothes. “I think we need to get you some clothes.”

“What? Like those ones in the magazine? I couldn’t wear those,” she said.

“Well how about if we find you a skirt?” Michael offered. She looked hesitant. “Come on it could be fun.”

“Alright,” she sighed.

“Excellent we’ll go now,” Michael said.

“I’m coming,” Eric said.

“Why?”

“Because I have to see this.” Eric grinned.

~*~

Forty five minutes later, Eric and Michael were dragging Sydney through a department store, trying to get her not to touch everything in sight.

“What’s this?” she asked as she held up one of the tiniest thongs Michael had ever seen.

“Um,” he croaked. “That’s a thong....”

“What is it though?” she asked as she turned it over.

“Um, you wear it under your clothes...,” he said nervously. He heard Eric snort with laughter and shot him a death glare.

“What purpose does it serve? There is hardly anything to it?” she asked.

“Just put it down,” he said as it took it from her and put it back on the table. As he walked past Eric he smacked him hard on the back of the head.

“Hey...,” Eric whined.

Finally, they arrived at the women’s department where Michael flagged down one of the sales clerks and explained to her that Sydney had been in a fire and lost all her clothing. He also said that she happened to have temporary amnesia and was very afraid of strangers. The woman understood and calmly led Sydney back to the changing rooms.

“So....,” Eric began once Sydney was gone.

“What?” Michael asked.

“Oh come on dude. I saw the way you were looking at her. You have a crush on the prairie chick.”

“Ok first, she’s not a prairie chick and second, I don’t have a crush on her.”

“Like hell you don’t.” Eric laughed.

“I’m just protecting her. She’s scared.”

“Yeah whatever- whoa DUDE!” Eric gasped. Michael turned in the direction of his friends gaping and was convinced his reaction must have been cartoon-like. His eyes turned into pink hearts, his tongue dropped to the floor and his heart beat out of his chest when he saw Sydney Bristow in a tight denim mini skirt and form fitting tank top that she was clearly very uncomfortable in.

“Wow...,” Michael squeaked.

“Is this the correct way to wear this?” Sydney asked him cautiously. Michael’s only response was to nod and will himself not to drool. “I’m barely wearing anything.”

“You look good and, um, it’s supposed to be really hot this week. You’ll need it.” He smiled reassuringly. She looked weary but turned back to the dressing room and walked away.

“Yeah, you don’t like her.” Eric snorted.

“Shut up.” Michael hissed.

“Wow, they really don’t make ‘em like that anymore do they? I mean prairie chick is seriously a hottie.”

“Stop calling her prairie chick!” Michael shouted. “She’s not even from the prairie – her father had a cotton plantation in Georgia and he owned that town I landed in.”

“How do you know that?!” Eric asked. Michael just looked away. “Dude, what happened?”

“Well when I got there I sorta ran into her. Literally I walked right into her and I was just like... wow...”

“’Cause she’s hot,” Eric said.

“Well... yeah but then we kept running into each other that day and she bought me a drink because, well, I had no money from that time and then we talked and she sorta... invited me home for dinner,” Michael said.

“Isn’t that like a big deal for back then? Like was she waiting for you to put up a dowry or something?” Eric asked.

“I don’t know ... it was just... nice.” He sighed.

“Michael, I hate to be the voice of reason but, she’s going back to her time in five days and well, currently she’s probably about a hundred and sixty years old.” Eric informed his friend.

“Thanks Eric, thanks.”

~*~

An hour later, Sydney had enough clothes to last her for the time she would be spending there. Michael noticed her fidgeting as they walked out to the car and he asked her what was wrong.

“I cannot tell you.” She mumbled.

“Why not? Listen, I am your guide while you are here. You don’t have to be afraid to ask me anything.”

“Well it’s just... these clothes are strange...,” She said as she shifted the belt on her jeans and tugged at her tank top.

Michael smirked. “They don’t have bras where you come from?”

“Excuse me! It is not proper for a lady to discuss such things.” Sydney snapped.

“Sorry.” Michael mumbled as he pulled open the car door for her. This time she was able to put her own seatbelt on and kept her eyes open for most of the ride. Eric dropped them off at Michael’s house and then left them to return to work.

“Okay, well, I think there are still a few more things you need,” Michael said as he carried Sydney’s bags in the house.

“Like what Mr. Vaughn?”

“Please, call me Michael,” Michael said.

“Alright, Michael,” she smiled at the way that sounded when she said it.

“Well, like, soap and deodorant and all those other girly things.” He told her.

“Girly things?” She asked.

Michael sighed, forgetting that she knew nothing. “Just come to the drug store with me and I’ll show you.”

“Alright,” she said as she followed him out the door.

~*~

“Okay.” He sighed. “You have to pick one... so I guess pick the one that smells the best,” he said as he gestured to a shelf full of soaps.

“They smell different?” she asked.

“Yep. See this one says strawberry, kiwi, plumb....,” he listed. Sydney slowly picked up a bottle and smelled them, grimacing at a few, before finally choosing the kiwi. They continued this patter with other items necessary as they made their way down the isles of the store.

“What’s this?” Sydney asked as she picked up a bottle and showed it to Michael.

“Umm, that’s do it yourself bikini wax...,” he said nervously.

“What?” She asked. Michael mentally kicked himself as he turned over the box and pointed to the bikini clad woman on it.

“That’s a bikini,” he said.

“She’s practically naked.” Sydney whispered.

“Yeah,” Michael said.

“So what do you use this for?” she asked.

“You’re a smart girl; you’ll figure it out.” Michael winked. Sydney looked confused until she read the back of the box.

“Oh my....,” She muttered as she set the box down cautiously. Michael couldn’t help but laugh at the expression she had on her face.

“Do they have makeup in your time?” Michael asked as they went down the makeup isle.

“Prostitutes paint their lips red and their eyes black.” Sydney told him as she looked up and down the shelves.

“That works.” He laughed slightly. “Nowadays most women wear makeup even if it’s just a little bit. I’m sorry I won’t be able to explain any of this stuff to you.” He laughed slightly. “I pretty much only recognize the lipstick.”

“It’s alright... unless you think I need it,” Sydney said cautiously.

“No.” He smiled at her. “But you might want this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s one of those hair clippie things that no one knows how to use but, honestly, I don’t think women know either, they just make it up as they go along.” He smiled.

“Alright.” She smiled back.

Once they had purchased Sydney’s new things and were walking to the car Michael asked, “So are you tired or up for one more stop?”

“Well honestly I think I’m a little tired,” she said wearily.

“Alright, I’ll take you home and you can take a nap.” Michael smiled. Just as they were getting in the car a helicopter flew over head and Sydney practically fell to the ground. “It’s ok.” Michael shouted over the chopper’s noise. Once it passed Sydney looked at it in a terrified way.

“What was that?!” She said shakily.

“It was a helicopter,” he said.

“It... it was in the sky,” she said.

Michael nodded. “There are many ways of travel these days. The first trans-Atlantic flight was in 1929.” He told her. He wasn’t sure why he said that but it was the only flying fact he knew off the top of his head.

“You can fly over the ocean?” She asked in surprised.

“Sure. I’ve done it millions of times,” he said. He smiled at the fact that she looked impressed.



Chapter 7

Once they were home Michael put Sydney to bed and began searching his kitchen for something to make them for dinner. What he found was things he was convinced that Sydney had probably never eaten before in her life. But he wasn’t sure if that was good, or bad. He decided to make her spaghetti with sauce from a jar mostly because he was too exhausted from shopping to come up with anything else to eat.

After he set out all the necessary ingredients he flopped down on the couch and grabbed the TV remote, making sure to turn the volume down low so it wouldn’t wake Sydney. He tried to watch a baseball game but he fell asleep quickly.

~*~

Sydney awoke and saw through the windows that the sun was low in the sky. She slid from the bed and made her way out to the other room. She found Michael asleep on the couch with a strange black thing in his hand. She went over to examine it and noticed a moving picture on the wall. She jumped at first but then walked over to examine it. There were tiny people all crowded together and a man on the lawn with a rather large bat. She watched for a few moments as the man hit a small object with the bat and the people watching cheered. Strange.

“Sydney?” Michael said sleepily.

“Miss Bristow.” She corrected.

“Yeah sorry,” he yawned.

“What is this?”

“It’s a television. It shows things like that,” he said, too exhausted to form a better explanation.

“What is that?” She asked.

“Baseball. It’s a sport.” He told her. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“It’s spaghetti. I hope you like it,” he said.

“I think I’ve had that before.” She smiled.

“Good.” He laughed as he walked over to the stove and put on a pot of water to boil. “So let me guess, you’re not a very experienced cook?”

“No, of course not. Servants make the meals,” she said.

“Uh huh,” he nodded.

“What? Do people not have servants?” She asked.

“Extremely rare,” he told her. “Some people have maids to clean their house but that’s about it and the maids only come a few times a week.”

“Ohh...,” she sighed.

“So, I was wondering... I don’t mean to be rude but, how old are you?” Michael asked cautiously. Sydney laughed and turned away from him. “What?” He asked.

“You. You have done nothing, not one thing, that a proper gentlemen would do. It makes me very concerned for this world I’m living in,” she said.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

“I’m beginning to think it was not your fault. I’m beginning to think that perhaps you were never taught; that no one was ever taught,” she said.

“I guess not,” he said. “Well you don’t have to tell me an exact age just a five year age range or something. I honestly have no idea.”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me.” She smiled.

“Deal. I’m twenty nine,” he said.

“I’m twenty five and far too old to be single.” She sighed.

“Why’s that?” He asked, almost laughing.

“Well, it’s horribly disgraceful for one thing. People will begin to suspect something is wrong with me soon. All the other girls my age have one or two children by now,” she said.

Michael laughed. “Well that might just be one thing you like about this world. It isn’t until at least 25 that women begin to think about marriage, mostly anyway.”

“Well how can that be? They would barely have enough time to get married and have children,” she said.

Michael opened his mouth to respond, but then he understood why. Life expectancy out in the west was MUCH different. “How long to people live? I mean, to what age?” he asked cautiously, having no idea.

“Oh I don’t know... my parents are forty... the oldest person I know is fifty two and that’s terribly old,” she said. Michael practically choked and Sydney looked at him strangely.

“Today the average life expectancy is almost 85 years old and many people live to be over 100.” He told her.

“One hundred?” She gasped.

“Sure. See, that’s the great thing about this world medical advancements and technology help everyone.” He smiled.

“I suppose a lot has changed.” She sighed.

“Well it’s been almost a hundred and fifty years,” he said.

“Right.” She sighed.

They were quiet a few moments before Michael offered her a drink. “After today I’m seriously debating whisky.” She sighed.

Michael laughed. “Well I don’t have any of that. I just have soda, water, beer and vodka which I’m not letting you have.”

“What’s soda?” she asked. Michael took a Coke from the fridge and handed it to her.

“Careful it’s bubbly.” He warned. She picked up the can, turned it upside down and then looked at him. “Right sorry,” he mumbled. He pulled a glass from the cabinet, opened the can and poured some Coke in the glass then handed it back to her. She took a sip, swallowed and then stared down at the glass. “And?” He smiled.

“It’s certainly different,” she said. Then she burped and looked horrified while Michael snorted with laughter. “Excuse me.” She mumbled. Michael could see her face turn red and he found it adorable.

“It’s ok.” He told her. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes so why don’t you have a seat.”

“Alright,” she said as she sat at the table. A few minutes later Michael brought over two steaming plates of spaghetti as well as some bread. “Thank you.” Sydney smiled at him.

“You’re welcome,” he said as he sat down with his own plate.

“Oh, this is really good.” Sydney exclaimed as she chewed.

“Now is it lady like to talk with your mouth full?” Michael teased. Sydney smiled softly and looked down at her plate.

“So tell me about yourself Michael. I mean I hardly know anything about you and I’m living in your house.” She said. “I assume that you have no wife.”

“No, I’ve never been married,” he said. She just looked at him, wishing him to go on. “I’m an only child, my father died when I was 10 and after that it was just me and my Mom.”

“I’m sorry, that must have been hard,” she said. “Did you have to live with family?”

“No, my Mom was a chemist,” Michael said.

“Really?” Sydney asked in surprise.

“Oh right, yeah women work now, all kinds of jobs. Every job you can imagine.” Michael told her.

“I see.” Sydney nodded. “Have you always lived here in... what is this place?”

“Los Angles, California. Actually, it’s the exact same place you live, just in the future.” Michael told her. “But no, I haven’t always lived here. For a while my mom and I lived in France.”

“Oh France, I’ve always wanted to go there.” Sydney smiled. “Did you live in Paris?”

“No, Normandy. It’s on the coast.” He told her.

“I see.” She nodded. “You said you traveled a lot for you job right?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Sometimes it seems I’m in a different country every week.”

“That sounds wonderful but... how is that possible?” She asked.

He smiled slightly. “How long did it take you to go from Georgia to California? A few months?” Sydney nodded. “We could be there in like four hours.” He smiled.

Sydney’s jaw practically crashed onto the table. “Four hours?! How?!”

“Well you saw the helicopter. Planes can get there in four hours.” Michael told her.

“That’s amazing.” She sighed.

Michael paused a second before asking his next question. “Hey, do you want to go there this week? To Georgia?”

“Oh, you don’t have to...”

“But I want to.” He smiled. “Plus, you’ll never get another chance to go back right?”

“No, I guess not.” She sighed with a small smile.

“Great we’ll go Monday,” he said. Then his face fell.

“What?”

“Well, I just realized something.”

“What?” She asked anxiously.

“Well... I have to send you back... you knowing all this stuff might damage the future in some way.” He sighed.

“What if I promise to forget it all?” She smiled.

“Promise?”

“Promise.” She grinned.

“Alright.” He sighed. “Well I don’t know about you but I’m kinda beat so I think we should call it an early night.” She just looked at him and shook her head. “What?”

“You use phrases I don’t understand.” She sighed.

“I’m tired. Must sleep. Now.” He grunted. Sydney giggled. “Better?”

“Much.” She laughed.

“Alright just gimmie a sec in the bathroom and then it’s all yours,” he said.

He took his turn in the bathroom but found Sydney standing outside the door when he came out. “Yes?” he laughed.

“Um how do I use that thing?” she asked as she pointed behind him.

“The shower?” He asked. She nodded. “Oh you turn it to the temperature you want and then you pull up this little knob and when you’re done you just shut the water off ok?”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

“Alright well, goodnight then,” he said.

“Goodnight Michael,” she said as she went into the bathroom and shut the door.



Chapter 8

Michael awoke early the next morning with a stiff neck from sleeping on his couch. He shuffled slowly to his bedroom and found Sydney still fast asleep. He watched her for a moment and smiled at her angelic beauty before catching himself and shaking his head. He could NOT get attached. She was his assignment; his job. Nothing more.

He quietly pulled clothes out of his drawers and then slipped into the bathroom for a brief shower. While he was shaving he opened the door slightly to let the steam out. Unfortunately, he was only half way done when the door open and Sydney took a step in, noticed that he was only wearing a towel, screamed and ran from the room.

“Whoa calm down,” Michael said as he stepped out of the bathroom. He found her sitting on the edge of the bed, covering her face and rocking back and forth. “Jeez you act like you’ve never-” then he stopped himself when he realized that she hadn’t. “Ohhh,” he sighed.

“I’m sorry. I should have realized when the light was on...,” she sighed.

“It’s ok,” he said. “Hey you can open your eyes. I’m wearing a towel.”

“It’s wrong.” She mumbled.

“Whatever, I’m almost done shaving,” He said as he turned back to go into the bathroom. Sydney briefly opened one of her eyes and peered through her fingers at him as he walked away. Wow, she thought.

After both Sydney and Michael were dressed for the day they met in the kitchen. “So what do you usually have for breakfast?” Michael asked.

“Well in Georgia we had eggs and sausage and grits and...”

“Good lord how did you not die of a heart attack?!” He laughed. She looked curious. “Never mind I’m not even going to attempt that one. I can make you scrambled eggs.”

“Alright.” Sydney smiled.

“So, do you have anything planned for today?” Sydney asked over breakfast.

“Uh no, I don’t think so.” Michael said. “Well Eric mentioned something about taking you around the city for the quote ‘entertainment value’ but, I told him he wasn’t allowed to exploit you like that.”

She smiled. “I see. What is there to see in this city?”

“Well I’m afraid not much that would mean anything to you. Celebrities that you know nothing about. Tourist attractions that again, you know nothing about...,” he sighed. Just then his phone rang. He excused himself to answer it and returned a few moments later. “Well that was Eric. He said that he had an all day date so he wouldn’t be able to accompany us anyway.”

“An all day date? What is that?” She asked.

“Well you know... hang out go to a movie or something, walk along the beach, have dinner then go back to his place or something.” Michael explained.

“Back to his place?” She asked curiously.

“Yeah you know...,” he said, desperately not wanting to explain that to her.

It took her a moment but then she slowly nodded. “Is it customary for men and women to share beds before they are married in this time?”

“I suppose it is,” he said.

“You have shared your bed with a woman then?” She asked.

He was slightly shocked by her question considering her otherwise proper behavior. “Have you?” He retorted. She looked offended.

“Of course not,” She said. “It is proper to wait until marriage.”

“Uh huh,” He nodded. “That’s not very common anymore.”

“I suppose I have an answer to my question then,” she said quietly.

“I suppose that you do,” he said.

They fell into an awkward silence for a few moments before Michael got up and took his empty plate to the kitchen. “I have to go to the grocery store this morning if you’d like to come.” He told her casually.

“Grocery store? What is that?” She asked.

“Come and you’ll find out.” He smiled. She smiled back at him and nodded.

~*~

“What is all this?” She gasped.

“Food,” he laughed as he grabbed a cart and began to push it down the aisle.

“All of it?” She asked.

“Sure,” he said. She walked over to the fruits and vegetables section and began examining everything. Michael followed her and couldn’t help but smile at her awe. He found it very enjoyable to watch her discover new things. It was amusing and adorable to him.

“I’ve had one of these before. Father brought one to me when I was little and my sister and I fought over it.” She smiled as she held up an orange.

“Sister? I didn’t know you had a sister,” he said.

She nodded. “Nadia, she’s five years younger. She was sick yesterday which is why you didn’t see her.”

“Oh alright,” Michael nodded. “Do you want an orange?”

“Could I?” She smiled.

“Sure.” He laughed.

“Sixty nine cents? That’s how much they cost?” She asked in horror. Michael just nodded in confusion. “That’s too much.”

“That’s nothing,” he said. She looked confused. “Umm ok I’m trying to think of a way to explain inflation... do you know how much a loaf of bread costs?”

“A nickel, if that,” she said.

“Now it’s three dollars.” Michael told her. “That’s what happens as time passes.”

“Oh... so does that mean incomes rose as well?” she asked.

“Yep. I don’t know how much people made back then...”

“Twenty dollars a week is a lot,” she said.

He smiled. “I make over twenty dollars an hour.”

“Wow.” She sighed.

“Come on there is more fun food to see.” He smiled as he pushed his cart down the next aisle. “I feel bad giving you some of this stuff because I know you’ll get hooked on it, but then again I feel bad not letting you taste it.” He smiled. She just smiled back at him. “What’s your favorite thing to eat?” He asked.

“Well there was this one time we had ice cream. It was so good.” She sighed.

“We’ll get some ice cream on the way home then.” He smiled.

She laughed and shook her head. “This world amazes me. I’m sorry I won’t get to be around to see it change.”

“Ah, you never know. You’ll get to see some pretty cool stuff before the turn of the century.” He said.

“Like?”

“Oh, I don’t want to spoil it for you.” He winked.

“Very well.” She laughed. “Although with the war in the east I’m not so sure about anything.”

“War...,” he said quietly, thinking for a moment. “The Civil war... north vs. south.”

“Will it turn to that?” She sighed.

“Yes.” He told her.

“But I think I already know how it turns out.” She smiled.

“Do you?”

“Well you don’t have slaves today do you?” She smiled.

Michael laughed and shook his head. He suspected that she was much smarter than even she realized. “So, how about chocolate? You’ve had that right?”

“Yes.” She smiled.

“Well I don’t want to give you too much junk food and make you sick.” He laughed.

“Junk food?” She questioned.

“Yeah like stuff that’s full of sugar and fattening... unhealthy,” he said. She just stared at him. “Right, never mind.”

~*~

“Ok what flavor ice cream?” he asked, realizing it would probably be difficult for her to choose.

“How many flavors are there?” she asked.

“About twenty,” he smiled.

“Oh.” She laughed. “What are you getting?”

“Cookies and Cream. I love it so much it’s unhealthy.” He smiled. She laughed slightly.

“They have coffee flavored ice cream?” She asked.

“Yep it’s pretty good too. You wanna try it?” He asked. She just shrugged and nodded slightly. He bought their ice cream and then they sat out on a picnic table to eat. “Good?” He asked.

“Very.” She smiled. “Here... it’s so....,” she paused and then laughed. “I don’t think I know a word to describe it.”

“Different?” He suggested.

“Undoubtedly. But... I don’t know... I think it’s too soon for me to form an opinion.” She smiled.

“Probably.”

~*~

After their ice cream they went home and unpacked the groceries. Vaughn received an urgent phone call from Devlin and had to go into work but hated to drag Sydney along with him. So he handed her the TV remote, instructed her how to use it and promised to be back in an hour

Almost two hours later he came home to find her sobbing in horror. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I hate this world! I hate it! I just want to go back! I want to go home!” She screamed as she ran to his bedroom and slammed the door shut.



Chapter 9

Michael was stunned. He had no idea what had set her off until he walked over to the TV and saw what was on the screen. Unfortunately, Sydney had found HBO. He grimaced as he saw that The Sopranos was on the screen and he only hoped that she hadn’t seen any part of Sex and the City, for that was something he didn’t wish to explain to her.

Michael sighed and knocked softly on his bedroom door. “Sydney,” he said quietly. He could hear her muffled sobs from inside the bedroom and pushed the door open slowly. She was curled up on the edge of the bed with her back to him. He sighed sympathetically, walked over, sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her back cautiously. “Sydney, I’m sorry you saw that.”

“They killed someone on.... on that thing....,” she sobbed.

“It wasn’t real.” He told her. “It was fake; they were acting.”

“No one died?” She choked.

“No.” He sighed.

“But.... but they didn’t... they weren’t... dressed.” She sobbed even harder. Great, she’s been scarred for life, Michael sighed.

“Yeah...,” was all he could say.

“Do women really speak that way?” she asked timidly.

“What? You mean about sex?” He asked. She didn’t respond. “Some do I guess. I’m not a woman so I really wouldn’t know,” he said. He thought he heard a slight laugh from her but he wasn’t sure.

“I don’t like it here anymore.” She sobbed.

“Hey listen,” he said soothingly. “Not everything in this world is bad. Not like that. There are some really good things.”

“Like what?” She sniffed.

“Do you trust me?” He asked. She rolled over on her back, looked up at him and nodded slightly. “Then let me show you.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“Ok good. Change into your pjs and come out when you’re ready. I brought us some dinner.”

“Michael, I can’t wear my pjs in front of you,” she said.

“Yes you can. They’re clothes, hell they probably cover more than you’re wearing right now don’t they?” He asked as he gestured towards her tank top. She blushed slightly and nodded. Then he left so she could change.

A few minutes later she appeared in her pink pajamas. Michael smiled at her. “Great now sit on the couch.” He told her. She did as he asked. Then he brought over their food.

“What’s this?” She asked.

“Pizza, soda, chips and chocolate. Women live for this stuff, trust me, it’s ultimate comfort food.” He smiled. She laughed slightly and took a bite of the pizza. “Good right?”

“Very.” She smiled.

“Ok now that you’ve got all that, it’s time for this.” He smiled as he walked over to the TV and put a disc in the DVD player. He looked back at Sydney who was hesitant but Michael just smiled. “It’s a children’s movie but I think you’ll really like it. It’s called The Lion King and it’s animated.”

“Animated?” She asked.

“Yeah like drawn, a cartoon,” he said. “See,” he said as he pointed to the screen where the movie had begun to play. He could see the curiosity in her eyes and couldn’t help but smile. While watching the movie Michael kept glancing over at Sydney and noting her reactions. When Simba’s father died he saw tears streaming down her face and tried to hide the fact that he was smiling slightly, not at her pain, but just at her. She cracked a smile at Timon and Pumba’s silly songs and he heard her sigh slightly when Simba and Nala finally got together. By the end of the movie she was crying again.

“Did you like it?” he asked softly as he handed her a box of tissues.

“It was really good, thank you,” she said as she began to wipe her eyes dry.

“See, I told you.” He smiled. Then he saw her smile but yawn in the middle of it. “You’re tired, go to bed,” he said.

“Alright.” She sighed. “Thank you,” she said as she leaned over and kissed his cheek softly before getting off the couch and walking to his bedroom.

When she kissed him, even though it was just on his cheek, Michael’s breath caught in his chest. Once she had gone, he closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, wondering how he was ever going to let her go.



Chapter 10

“Michael.” He heard quietly. “Michael.” This time a bit louder. He grunted in response. “When do we leave for church?”

“Church?” He mumbled.

“Today is Sunday.” She told him.

“No church.” He grumbled as he tried to turn over. “Go sleep.”

Sydney sighed, defeated, and walked back into the bedroom. She didn’t understand why they wouldn’t be attending church. In all her life she had only missed two Sunday’s of church and both of them were because she had an extremely high fever and the doctor forbid her to go. But there was nothing she could do about it so she decided to just get ready for the day.

She began rummaging through the bags of clothes that had been purchased for her. She still had difficulty understanding why women wore such things but she was grateful for not having to lace up a corset for once in her life. She decided on a long white lacy skirt and pulled it from the bag and set it on the bed. When the sales clerk had given her the skirt she had also given her what Michael had described as a ‘thong’ and told her that she was to wear it so quote ‘underwear lines didn’t show’. This concept was confusing to Sydney but she decided to just go with it. She chose a green top and took her clothes into the bathroom where she could change and shower.

Sydney had to admit that she enjoyed showers. It was easier to wash her hair and the water stayed warm unlike the baths she was used to taking. Not to mention, she enjoyed the different smells of the soaps. Once she was dried off and dressed, she examined her reflection in the mirror cautiously. The skirt hung very low on her hips. She tried to pull it up but it just fell back down again. The green top she was wearing was a tube top with white laces up the back that were fake and served no purpose to actually hold the shirt on tighter. About four inches of skin between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her skirt was showing through.

Sydney smiled slightly at the fact that she knew that if her mother saw this outfit she would faint right away. Four days ago there was no way she would have ever worn such an outfit but being in that world and seeing all the women dressed the same way changed her opinion slightly. It wasn’t as bad as she had originally thought so why not just go with it?

After brushing out her hair she decided to try and use the clip that Michael had bought her even though she had no idea how to use it. After a few tries she put her hair up in a fashion that looked somewhat decent so she decided to leave it. She came out of the bathroom and crept quietly back to the kitchen and found Michael standing in front of what he had called a coffee maker.

“Hi,” Sydney said quietly.

When Michael looked over at her he did a double take. No longer did she look like a woman from the past, uncomfortable in modern clothing; she looked fantastic. His eyes traveled to the exposed skin on her stomach and he just stared. It was pale, like the rest of her, but it was surprisingly toned and... He stopped himself, realizing that he was staring at her. He mumbled a good morning as he turned his back to her and tried to banish all the inappropriate thoughts from his mind.

“So what do you think of the clothes?” She asked.

“Good.” He squeaked without even looking at her. She stifled a small laugh.

“Is there a reason we didn’t go to church this morning?”

“Um well, I haven’t been to church since I was like five,” he said.

“Really?!” She gasped in shock.

“Yeah.” He shrugged.

“Is that common?” she asked.

“I guess.”

“Strange....,” She sighed. “So, what will we do today?”

“I dunno.” Michael laughed. “I think I’m running out of ideas... unless you want to go to the beach.”

“I’d like that.” She smiled.

“Ok, just let me get ready and then we can go.” He smiled.

~*~

Forty five minutes later they were driving down the highway on the way to the beach. “It’s kinda nice only living ten minutes away from the ocean.” Michael told her.

“I imagine it would be,” she said.

“Oh before I forget, here,” he said as he reached into the back seat and handed her a bottle of suntan lotion.

“What is this?” she asked.

“It’s so you don’t get sunburn,” he said.

“Sunburn? Like when your skin turns red?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“What does this do?” she asked as she examined the bottle.

“It’s suntan lotion. It protects your skin so you don’t get burnt you just get a little darker.” He smiled. “Just rub in into your skin all over your arms and shoulders and stuff. You don’t need a lot just enough to cover.” He explained.

“Alright,” she said as she unscrewed the lid to the bottle and squeezed a small amount into the palm of her hand. “What’s that smell?”

“It’s supposed to be coconut.” He said.

“Ah.” She nodded as she began to spread the lotion over her arms. A few minutes later they parked in a small gravel lot near the pier. “Wow. It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah it’s really nice.” Michael smiled as he got out of the car. “Did you get the suntan lotion on alright?”

“Yeah but I can’t reach my back,” she said.

“Well you’ll need it. Would you let me do it?” He asked, mentally cursing himself the moment the words left his lips. She nodded slowly as she turned her back to him and handed him the bottle. He nervously spread the lotion across her back and then quickly tossed the bottle back in the car and locking it. “Come on.” He smiled at her as he held out his hand. She placed her hand in his and smiled back.

They walked down the steep wooden stairs and down onto the sand below. Sydney walked cautiously over to the edge of the water and put her sandaled foot into an incoming wave. She screamed and jumped back. “It’s cold.”

“Yeah.” He laughed.

“I thought it would be warmer.” She sighed.

“No, the only really warm oceans are down in the Bahamas and stuff,” he said. She looked at him questioningly. “Um, the tropical islands.... south of Florida...,” he tried to explain. She nodded slightly, understanding. “So, where in Georgia did you live? Savannah?”

“Yeah,” She smiled.

“Good, that’s where we’re going tomorrow morning,” he said to her.

“Really?” She asked.

“Yep.” He grinned.

“Thank you so much,” she said.

“Sure,” he said.

They continued to walk hand in hand for a few more minutes without saying a word until they came across three boys playing Frisbee on the beach. One of them threw the Frisbee too hard and it almost hit Sydney in the face but Michael caught it before it hurt her. “Sorry!” The boy called out as Michael tossed the Frisbee back to him.

“You ok?” Michael asked but he noticed that she was laughing instead of looking scared.

“What was that!?”

“A Frisbee. You’re lucky I can actually explain this one because I did a paper on it in high school. It actually started in the 1870’s I think with some guy who’s last name was Frisbie... ok, I don’t remember the rest but somehow he made pie plates with his name stamped on the bottom and people started throwing them and now its like a sport.” He laughed.

“Really?” She asked.

“Yep.” He nodded. Then he heard her sigh heavily. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing... I just wish I had more time to learn all these things. It’s fascinating.” She sighed.

“Well, you’ve got a lot of interesting things to look forward to, I promise.” He smiled. “Just don’t get on a ship named Titanic.” He laughed.

“What?”

“Never mind.” He mumbled. “So you were born in... 1835 right?”

“Yes, April 17th.” She said.

“Well I guess that means I was born 140 years after you.” He said, and then he paused. “That’s rather disturbing isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She laughed.

“Do you want to go up on the pier?” He asked. She nodded and they made their way up the stairs once again. “This is how you’ll get home.” He told her as they walked along the pier.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Well, how I got to the past and how you’ll get back there. You have to jump off the end of the pier.” He explained.

“Are you joking?” She gasped.

“No.” He shook his head. He walked over to the edge of the pier and leaned over the edge, looking down at the crashing waves below him. Sydney walked over beside him and rested her head on his shoulder as they both looked down towards the sea. Neither of them spoke though their actions said the same thing; they didn’t want her to return.

“So how about we grab some lunch and then go to a movie maybe.” Michael said a few minutes later.

“Movie?” Sydney asked.

“Yeah like last night. It won’t be really bad I promise... well there will probably be some kissing, if you’re ok with that?” He asked. She nodded. “Okay.”

For lunch they had Chinese at the pier which Sydney enjoyed greatly and then they headed off to the movie theater. “So, what is this like?” She asked as he was buying their tickets.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, will it be on the screen like the one that was in your house?” She asked.

“You’ll see.” He winked. The second they walked into the theater and Sydney saw the previews playing on the immense screen her jaw dropped and Michael couldn’t help but laugh. “Told ya.”

“It’s... huge.” She whispered. “And it’s freezing in here. How is that possible?”

“Ohh I forgot about the air conditioning.” He cringed as he looked at her bare shoulders.

“Air... conditioning?” She asked.

“That’s what the cold is. We have air conditioning to cool buildings in the summertime so it isn’t hot.” He smiled. She nodded slowly as she shivered. He put an arm around her shoulders and rubbed them gently to keep her warm. She smiled slightly when he did this and followed him to a pair of seats near the top of the theater. Once they sat he tried to pull his arm back but she held onto it tightly, part to keep herself warm but part because she liked his arm around her.

As they watched the movie Sydney slowly inched closer to Michael in her seat so that half an hour in she was resting completely up against him with her head on his shoulder. Michael noticed this but said nothing, not wanting her to move at all. Instead he just smiled to himself and stroked her arm unconsciously.

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Chapters 11 - 20