Time and Again

but-"
    "Upset?" Libby countered. "Damn right I'm upset. The man traveled over two hundred years, and he's not going to want to go back without Cal."
    At a loss, Sunny flopped back on the bed. "Libby, you've got to get ahold of yourself. You're the sensible one, remember? You have to know this is all nonsense."
    "Okay." Deciding on a different tack, she took a deep breath. "Can you tell me, honestly tell me, that you haven't noticed something odd about J.T.?" She held up a hand before Sunny could answer. "Not just eccentric, not just endearingly different, but downright odd?"
    "Well, I-"
    "Ah." Taking her sister's hesitation for agreement, she pressed on. "How did he get here?"
    "I don't know what you mean."
    "I mean- did he drive up in a car? I didn't notice one."
    "No, he didn't come in a car. At least-" She rubbed her suddenly damp hands on her thighs. "He walked out of the woods."
    "Walked out of the woods." Libby nodded grimly. "In the middle of winter."
    "Lib, I'll concede that J.T.'s a little unusual."
    "The way he seems fascinated or puzzled by ordinary objects?"
    She remembered the kitchen faucet. "Well, yes."
    "The way he doesn't always understand colloquialisms or phrases?"
    "That, too, but-Libby, just because the man acts a little odd occasionally and has a hard time with slang doesn't mean he's an alien from outer space."
    "Not an alien," Libby said patiently. "He's as human as you or I. He's just from the twenty-third century."
    "Oh, is that all?"
    "Maybe there's a simpler way to convince you." She rose and took Sunny's hand. "Whatever happens between Cal and me, we'll work it out together. But you have to understand it, all of it. I'm only doing this because you have a right to know what you're walking into."
    She nodded. She didn't dare speak, because too much of what Libby had told her made a horrible kind of sense. And she was afraid, very afraid.
    With competent movements, Libby took what seemed to be a watch from the deep drawer of her desk.
    While Sunny looked on, she attached a line of clear wire from the stem of the watch to the computer.
    After booting up the machine, she gestured.
    "Come on over."
    Cautious, Sunny joined her. "What is that thing?"
    "It's Cal's wrist unit. Computer."
    Working.
    Sunny jumped back a foot at the sound of the mechanical voice and sent a chair tumbling. "How did you do that?"
    "With a mix of twentieth-century and twenty-third-century technology."
    "But- but- but-"
    "You haven't seen anything yet," Libby warned, and faced the screen again. "Computer, relate file information on Jacob Hornblower."
    Hornblower, Jacob, born Philadelphia, June 12, 2224. Astrophysicist, currently head of AP department at Durnam Science Laboratory, Philadelphia. Graduated Princeton University magna cum laude 2242, earned degree in law 2244. Status AAA. Doctorate in astrophysics from O'Bannion 2248. Named MVP
    Intergalactic Softball League 2247-49. Position: pitcher. ERA 1.28.
    Sunny bit back a hysterical giggle. "Stop."
    The computer went silent. On rubbery legs, Sunny stepped back until she collided with the bed.
    "It's true, isn't it?"
    "Yes. Take a few deep breaths," Libby advised her. "It takes a while to absorb it."
    "He told me he was experimenting with time travel." She felt the laughter bubble up again, hot and uncontrollable. "That's a good one." She squeezed her eyes shut. It was a dream, she told herself, just a ridiculous dream. But when she opened her eyes again everything was the same. "Looks like the joke's on me." She heard the door slam on the floor below. Instantly she was on her feet. "I'm going to have this out with him, right now."
    "Why don't you-" Libby cut herself off when Sunny rounded on her. "Never mind." She sunk back on the bed as Sunny charged down the stairs.
    But it was Cal she ran into, not Jacob. "Where is he?" she demanded.
    "He's, ah- out. Is Libby upstairs?"
    "Yes." Feet spread, eyes challenging, she blocked the stairs. "She's upset."
    "She needn't be."
    Because what she saw in his eyes answered some of her questions, she relaxed. "I'm glad you realize what a lucky jerk you are, Caleb."
    "I love you, too."
    She relented enough to kiss him. Later, she decided. Later she would think all this through. And probably go insane. But for now she had a job to do.
    "I want to know where your creep of a brother is. And don't try to put me off. Libby told me."
    But he was still cautious. "Told you what?"
    She tilted her head. "Is it too late to welcome you to the