Mommy?

Rosalind's focus was entirely on the coordinates so she managed to tune out the wailing of her siblings. "Got it!" she cried triumphantly once she fixed the date to the one they had originally come from. September 12th, 2038.

She wrapped her arms around them and projected a mental apology at her mother's body for leaving her there but she couldn't get caught at the scene and needed to get back to Julian as quickly as possible to fix this. As soon as she had a secure hold, she pushed the button that made the blue light flash and the electricity crackle the way it had the first time.

When they arrived, she wasn't entirely sure where they were since the parking lot had been replaced by a building. Had this been built since she stopped going to the Book Nook?

"Guys, get up," Rosalind said urgently. "We need to go back to Dad."

Edison hadn't stopped crying but he managed to get to his feet and picked up Nora to give her a piggyback ride. He was sniffling as he walked but he was walking and that was what mattered.

They took a cab to their house only to discover it wasn't there. There was nothing but an empty lot and a sign that said "luxury homes coming soon."

Her heart sunk. This wasn't 2038 but it wasn't 2036 either. When exactly were they?

A woman was jogging down the street and Rosalind flagged her down. "Excuse me! Can you tell me what today is? The full date."

She looked over her as if she was crazy. "…it's September 12th, 2018. Did you hit your head or something?"

2018! They had traveled back so far? Had her parents even met each other this far back? She had no idea how or when they met because they never talked about that sort of thing in front of her. All she knew was that they had gotten married in 2023.

"Or something," Rosalind said dryly. "Thanks for the info."

They hurried on their way and Edison finally spoke up in a disbelieving mumble. "2018. We haven't been born yet. Mom and Dad aren't married yet. How old are they here?"

She did a quick bit of calculating in her head. "Mom is three years younger than him so she would have been twenty-two now and he would be twenty-five. September when she was twenty-two…she would have finished college earlier this year but I don't know where she worked. Dad will probably be at SheaTech so we might want to start with him."

"…is that really a good idea? You want to approach them directly and say we're their kids from the future?"

He had a point. But what else were they supposed to do? They had nowhere to stay, less than $20 to their names, and didn't know anybody else in this time period. Unless they wanted to end up in a homeless shelter or with social services where they might be separated, they didn't have any other choice.

"Again, do you have any better ideas? The stupid time machine is broken and I'm afraid to use it again unless it's fixed," Rosalind grumbled.

"No. I still think this is going to end badly though."

"We'll have to see, won't we? In the meantime, we need to find somewhere to stay for a while. We're all exhausted. I think I saw a library on the drive here. We can go there and rest. Maybe I can find a book on mechanics that would help us fix the time machine too."

She didn't hold out much hope for that considering the technology shouldn't be possible twenty years before Julian built it but what else could she tell him? She had to stay strong and find a way to distract them from the horror they witnessed earlier too. Edison could read Nora picture books for free.

The library was farther back than she thought and they were all exhausted by the time they arrived. They collapsed on a cluster of beanbag chairs and refused to move for more than thirty minutes.

Poor little Nora had worn herself out crying and was asleep on their brother. He wasn't complaining though because she had finally stopped.

"Can I just die here?" he asked wearily. "I never want to move again."

"I'm afraid that might be a problem considering the library closes in less than twenty minutes," a hauntingly familiar voice piped up cheerfully.

Rosalind and Edison's heads snapped up in shock and they saw the person attached to the voice. She had honey blonde hair, warm hazel eyes, and much fewer laugh lines but it was unmistakably their mother.

The nametag pinned to her blouse read 'Isabel', likely because 'Izzy' was considered unprofessional. She worked here. The library workers they had passed on their way in had the exact same kind of nametags. What were the odds?!

"Isabel…Hansen?" Rosalind asked cautiously.

Izzy seemed surprised. "Yes, do I know you?"

Did she know her? She had given birth to her! Rocked her to sleep…kissed a million little injuries…read her books…encouraged her love of learning as soon as she was old enough to ask questions. Of course she knew her but not yet.

"We're distant relatives," she lied. "I'm Roz."

Her mother frowned. "Relatives? I don't have any of those. Who are your parents?"

Ah, this was dicey! What was she supposed to say? She hadn't expected to run into Izzy without actively looking for her. Julian would likely be easier to convince as a man of science. Give him indisputable proof and he should be fine.

"Izzy and Julian Shea," Edison said tiredly.

She looked even more confused now. "Shea like the family behind SheaTech? If you need a ride to them or something, I can drop you off at their building. Everyone in Chicago knows where that is."

Rosalind shot him a death glare. And who exactly was the one saying telling the truth was a bad idea? What a hypocrite!

The commotion woke up Nora, who rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked up at them. "I had a bad dream, Ed. Mommy got hurt real bad. I want Mommy. Where is she?"

They exchanged a glance. They didn't want to tell her that her nightmare had been real but they couldn't tell the truth either. Their mother was right in front of them and didn't know them because they hadn't been born.

"She's not here, Nora," Rosalind said lamely.

Izzy frowned and scrutinized the three of them. "Say…none of you seem to be in very good shape. You're covered in bandages and these two seem like they've been crying. What happened to you today?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Are you in some sort of danger? Is your family hurting you? If you need me to call the police—"

Rosalind shook her head. The police couldn't get involved with this because then they would end up with social services for sure. "Don't do that. We're fine…we just don't have anywhere to go. But believe me when I say no one will even notice we're gone."

Izzy's frown grew deeper so a divot appeared in her forehead. "Are you runaways?"

"No. I literally mean no one will notice we're gone. Our parents are…they…they don't remember us right now."

Edison sighed. "That's really what you're going with?"

"What else am I supposed to go with?" she snapped. "I'm tired, Ed, and I'm not good at making things up like you are. If you want a better story, come up with it yourself."

"Sorry, I'm afraid I used up all of my imaginative powers earlier when you had me ramble for twenty minutes on the phone. And for what? Our plan didn't even work! We're doomed."

Nora seemed to realize the woman standing in front of her was familiar the longer she stared at her. She reached out hesitantly. "…Mommy?"

Rosalind and Edison immediately froze and stopped bickering. Izzy was completely baffled by what happened and hadn't put the pieces together yet. "Honey, I'm not your mom."

"Yes you are!" she said defiantly. "You're my Mommy so how come you don't remember me?"

It was all over. They were dead. Rosalind slapped a hand to her forehead as she felt her soul leave her. Everything had been blown less than five minutes into this conversation. How had she ever thought she could convince either of her parents of the crazy truth?

"You said your parents don't remember you and it doesn't seem like you're lying. Why is that?" Izzy asked slowly and deliberately.

Edison sighed. "Because we're not. Technically, we haven't even been born yet because we're here due to a busted time machine. I know it sounds insane but it's true."

"A time machine?! That isn't possible! Time travel could never exist."

"It does though. Our dad made it but it broke and we got sent too far back when we tried to fix…something."

She regarded him through narrowed eyes. "Your dad. Julian Shea? Isn't he that hotshot inventor guy? I've heard a few things about him so I suppose if anyone could make a time machine, he could. That doesn't mean I believe you though."

"We didn't expect you to," Rosalind said in resignation. "Come on, Ed. The library is closing soon like she said and we need to find somewhere else to go and something to eat."

Izzy's expression softened. "Hey…you guys shouldn't have to go hungry. If you really have nowhere else to go, you can stay with me tonight while you figure something else out. I can feed you too. I get off as soon as the library closes."

A bubble of hope rose in her chest. She said she didn't believe them but she was still willing to take them in? That was way, way too nice. And, honestly, not terribly surprising considering what the mother Rosalind knew was like. They might make it out of this after all.