-= 143 =-
April 1784
Georgia
"Mrs. Whiting? I am Malcolm Kelleher." A short man dressed in black, with the customary white wig covering his receding hairline, stepped into the reception room and bowed. He could have been anywhere between thirty and fifty. Probably closer to the latter, Whiting decided, as he finished slipping thin framed spectacles into a vest pocket, "I trust and pray the soldier I sent to request your company did not disturb your mind?"
A visibly armed Redcoat stepping into the hospital and asking her to come with him disturbed her mind very much, but it wasn't his fault. She looked around uncertainly, feeling strangely awkward and alone. "He was the soul of courtesy," she said. "Why did you ask for me?"
Kelleher sat across from her in a straight backed chair, his back to the April sun streaming in through the tall windows. "I will try not to delay you long, ma'am. I'm certain you're eager to get back to your husband. I assure you Doctor Hall has few equals, either here in the colonies or at home. May I offer some tea?" At her assent he raised a small silver bell that tinkled merrily.
She watched him speak to the servant. Why had she been summoned to Government House? Did they know? Oh God, were they returning them to South Carolina? "Mister Kelleher!" She checked her sharp, ringing tone. "You haven't explained why you asked for me."
"I have a few questions, ma'am." Kelleher leaned back and studied her. He didn't smile: He
never smiled. "As you may have determined, I am with the Colonial Office. Along with my masters in London, of course, I answer directly to Lord Burgoyne, Governor-General of Georgia."
The servant returned with their tea, leaving it on a silver tray between them. Kelleher picked up the pot and poured. "Do you take sugar, ma'am?"
"Yes." She watched him comply, spooning the sugar from a cup and stirring. "What does the Colonial Office want with me? I merely came here looking for medical assistance. My husband..."
"General Thomas Heyward of the American Army."
Whiting jerked and nearly dropped her cup. She paled and looked down at her tea.
For his part, Kelleher leaned back again. "Yes, ma'am. We know who your husband is. Or would it be more fair to say he's your friend?"
"Yes." Whiting closed her eyes and inhaled several times, trying to stop her heart from leaping out. If they knew about Thomas, they must know what he'd done...or soon would! And did it matter? They might simply avenge their own losses and hang his doings in Charleston!
Kelleher picked up his cup, sipped gently. "I thought he was fighting the Cherokee."
"He was."
"And now he's here. Why?"
"I told you, he needed a doctor!" She looked up, wide-eyed.
"There are doctors in Charleston." Kelleher studied her gaze. The sunlight shone full on her face, and he could clearly see the pupils of her eyes. To someone in his line of work, and trained in what to look for, they could tell him everything. "We could send for them." He could read her fear. Interesting.
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Kelleher. Once he can travel we will be out of your way."
"Is there some reason he could not go to Charleston?" He paused. "Mrs. Whiting, you must know that regardless of the outcome of our talk, word will get out that General Heyward has surfaced here. In a formerly hostile city. If there is a reason to suspect this will cause hardship, then it is to our mutual benefit that I know."
"I hardly know where to begin," she finally answered.
"At the beginning."
-----------------------
"Oh Tommy, you're not dreaming." Jessie sighed and closed her eyes, head on his chest.
"What are you talking about?" He pulled away slightly to look at her, but she lowered her gaze.
"You keep coming here."
"Jess, I don't understand." He looked around the green hill with its one grave. He certainly hadn't dreamt of this before.
"It's like you died in 1946 like everyone else." She didn't look up, and he realized she was crying. "For you it's been almost twelve years, Tommy! You have to stop coming here. You have to stop mourning! You have a life, Tommy! One worth fighting for!"
Heyward wasn't sure this was particularly fair, as he'd been trying to get on with his life thank you. Instead he repeated himself. "I miss you."
"We never happened."
The casual, if sad dismissal sliced through his heart like a sword. A physical pain, and it was a full three seconds before he could speak. "What do you mean we never happened!?"
"You broke the timeline, but you didn't fix it!" Now she did look up. "Tommy, if you stay here with me then
he wins! He wins, the world dies, and we never..." She sobbed, and he pulled her close again, stroking her hair.
"Jessie, it's not like I asked to be here. I mean I...I don't remember what happened." He had a hazy image of fighting Rutledge, then an inconceivable hot wave of hatred in his mind, then an explosion. "I don't even know where here is!"
"You know where you are," she whispered, sniffing.
Tom looked around again, and indeed if you ignored the gravestone it did look familiar. Very familiar. The sun, warming his back and shoulders stirred his memory. That tree over there. If it had yellow and orange leaves, then it could almost pass for...
----------------
October 1944
England
It had been a long war, and Bristol had paid the price.
One of the largest cities in England, and arguably its greatest port short of Portsmouth itself, had been bombed repeatedly by the Luftwaffe. The entire central area had been devastated, and the crushed remains of churches could still be seen in the distance. Defiantly Bristol had simply moved its port downriver to Avon, and began turning the devastated center into a park. As German bombers moved eastward to duel the RAF over London, Dover, Calais and Antwerp life slowly, steadily reasserted itself.
"Hey, wait!" Thomas Heyward huffed up the steep hill as Jessie paused, grinning. Despite his work in the factories he was not a strong man: More correctly his lungs weren't strong, and even a moderate hill could make him stop, doubled over and wheezing until he recovered. It was his lung sickness that kept him out of the military despite being of age. Tom
was a member of the Home Guard. Everyone who had reasonable odds of pointing a weapon was a member of the Home Guard.
"Come on, silly!" Her bright yellow dress contrasted sharply with his brown pants and suspenders over white shirt. Her eyes shone. "Don't you want to see the swans?"
Tom could care less about swans, or pretty much any other bird that wasn't roasted and on his plate, but he could put up with them if it meant being with her. She thought herself an actress and singer, and had some minor credits to her name. 'Someone has to remind you men there's more to life than fighting!' she'd once said. Jess hoped to play in London someday, and maybe after the war was over see Europe. Or at least what was left of it.
"I'm coming!" He finally reached the top of her hill, huffing.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, by way of giving him a chance to catch his breath. She opened her arms to the greenery. "Who thought they could have done this in just a year!"
Who indeed, but most of Bristol quietly decided they'd rather look at a park then a bombed out hollow shell of a city, so volunteers from across the county filtered in when work permitted. Despite himself Tom had to agree. "It's very nice."
"This is just the beginning of course! I know they're going to add a rose garden in spring and some more trees! Then they're going to try and bring some animals in..you know the kind - squirrels and the like and hope they like it and stay! I even heard they might try to add fish to the pond for the birds!" Jess caught his expression and hmphed. "Don't go melancholy on me, Thomas Heyward!" She balled her fists on her hips and stared at him.
"I was just thinking that if
they come back..."
"Don't be silly! They're not coming back! Plus, you can't stop living 'cause there's a war on!" She grinned again. "Catch me if you can!" She hurtled down the hill.
"Wait!" Tom raced after her. Surprisingly fast, and beautiful with her hair streaming in the wind. He finally caught up to her by an oak tree near the pond. Orange and yellow leaves covered the tree and the ground at their feet.
She stood against the tree, hands behind her back as he huffed up. "You're getting old," she teased.
"I am not!"
She stuck her tongue out and began to run again, but this time he was too fast. Tom caught her, pinned her to the tree and tickled her sides. "Old am I?" he demanded.
She squealed and tried to twist away, but he held her firm. Laughing hysterically she collapsed to the foot of the tree. He knelt in front of her. When she could breathe again without laughing, she tossed her head. "You're no gentleman!"
"No, just a man." He smiled wolfishly and moved closer.
"Don't you dare, Tommy!"
It was Heyward's turn to relax, sitting on his heels. He looked around. Except for the swans and their particular friends, the geese practicing their honks, no one was nearby. When he turned back, he realized Jess was no longer smiling. She stared over his shoulder. Tom turned and saw one of the bombed out buildings on the edge of the park.
"Do you think this war will ever end?" she asked softly.
"Of course it will. Some day." Tom didn't sound confident, but it seemed logical enough. All wars ended, right? Then, putting on a fake smile, he continued: "Then we will marry and have children with your eyes and my..." He'd been teasing, but something in her expression stopped him.
"Tommy, are you asking me to...?"
He looked down. He didn't want to say no, but how could he say yes with a war on? When every day might be their last. When his job might be gone tomorrow thanks to a bomb? What could he offer a woman then? "Someday, maybe," he murmured.
"Someday," she whispered.
Tom looked up at that, caught her gaze. Regret, fear, joy all intermingled. Slowly he leaned towards her.
She gripped his arm, stopping his advance. "Tommy..."
"I love you," he whispered, and realized with a shock that he meant it. He kissed her, her lips soft and warm under his. It took him a moment to realize she was answering him, her restraining arm wrapping around his nech, and another to realize the salt he tasted in their kiss was tears of joy.
---------------
She was still crying on his chest. He held her awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
"If you don't stop him, then none of that...
....ever happened."