To Love Through Space and Time

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Chapter 1

“

ORRY

I kept you waiting, General.” I hurried into the room

set  up  for  me.  I’d  met  with  Dr.  Perkins  at  Roswell  a  few
weeks  before  regarding  some  of  the  artifacts  discovered
there, and when he’d called today to discuss his latest find—
2060  was  proving  to  be  an  excellent  year  not  only  for  him,
but  for  the  future  of  Terra—I’d  been  so  fascinated  that  I’d
lost track of time.

“Not at all, Dr. Van Allyn. We just got here ourselves.

Thanks so much for meeting with us.”

“I’d say it was my pleasure, but there’s nothing pleasant

about this.” I glanced at the major who stood at his elbow.

“Major Reiner is the liaison between the Air Force and

the press. Major, this is Elwyn Van Allyn, the premier
authority on—”

I cleared my throat.
“—nanoparticles.” He gave a tight smile.
“Dr. Van Allyn.”
“Major.”  I  nodded  at  him.  In  the  normal  course  of

events,  there  would  be  some  civilians  involved  in  a  meeting
of  this  nature,  but  this  wasn’t  normal  in  any  sense  of  the
word, not with Air Force Air Police cordoning off the building
to discourage anyone who was curious about what was going
on inside. Mankind had been going into space since the first
Sputnik  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  and  there  were  still
conspiracy  theorists  who  believed  we’d  never  been  to  the
moon.  They’d  have  liked  nothing  better  than  to  throw  a
monkey wrench in the works, even if that meant the ultimate
destruction of the human race.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“I’ve read a good deal about your work.” The major

laughed deprecatingly. “Of course, I could only follow two
words out of five.”

“That many?” General Banks patted his shoulder.
Major Reiner smiled, then became serious and tapped

the com-link in his ear. After listening for a moment, he
murmured something, tapped it again, and turned to the
general.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, sir? There seems to

be a minor glitch….”

“Yes, of course, Major.” Banks waited until we were

alone before saying, “All right, now, let’s get on with this.
Just let me make some room on this table.” He pushed aside
the platter of sandwiches the commissary had provided.

“Thanks.” I opened my briefcase, took out the specs

regarding this meeting, and spread them out.

“We’re finally, really doing this. I can hardly believe….”

The general looked over them, his expression becoming more
and more dazzled. “This drive you’ve developed is absolutely
amazing, Doctor! Sheer genius!”

“Mmm.” It was amazing, but I could hardly agree that I

was a genius. What I was supposed to have discovered had
been with an assist from Roswell.

Roswell had been—was still—so highly classified that

most people had forgotten about it completely. Everyone
thought we scientists had discovered all this new technology
on our own.

Except for the same conspiracy theorists who

expounded that nothing indicated our science was advanced
enough to come up with any this.

It was fortunate no one took them seriously.
I tapped one of the images. “This is what enabled us to

launch the MRV two days ago. Venus was closer to Terra at
that point, only about twenty-six million miles, and we
needed to get the MRV aloft.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Hmm. But you’re taking off for Mars this afternoon?”

Banks asked.

“Yes. After a few last minute tweaks, we got the final

approval to launch earlier today, which is great: Mars will be
about forty-two million miles away. The next time it’s closer
than  this  will  be  in  2287.  That’s  more  than  two  hundred
years  from  now,  General,  and  we  just  can’t  wait  that  long.”
Unbeknownst to many, the population of Terra would reach
critical mass a good deal before then. “Unless mankind gets
its head out of its collective asses and pays attention to what
the ecologists have been telling us for decades, we’ll need to
find a planet suitable for colonization. And if neither of these
happens  before  2100,  then  Malthus’s  theory  will
unfortunately come to pass.”

The general shuddered. He was a smart man and knew

what  that  meant.  But  it  wasn’t  just  cannibalization  that
Homo  sapiens  had  to  worry  about.  We’d  poisoned  the  seas
and the air, and the population had grown to a point where
soon we wouldn’t be able to sustain the billions on Terra.

“But, of course, once the population balances out…?”

He sounded hopeful. Did he think that if the population
decreased to a more manageable number, Terra would be
able to once again feed her children? His expression became
grim. “Unless there’s a possibility we’ll develop a taste for our
fellow man?”

“That’s a valid point.” I couldn’t help the gruff tone of

my voice. I was sixty years old, and I had another good sixty
years to look forward to. I was going to do my damnedest to
make sure it didn’t happen on my watch. “However, it’s not
one we need to be concerned about just now.”

“The press is making a big thing about these missions,

you know,” the general said.

“That’s exactly what we want.” I studied the specs.

“They think we’re testing a new method of propulsion, and if

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

the major does his job right, that’s what they’ll keep
thinking.”

Multiple MRs—mission reconnaissance ships—were

being  built  around  the  world,  but  only  two  were  ready  to
take  off.  My  friend,  Colonel  Sam  Johnston,  was  taking  the
MRV to Venus, while I was helming the MRM to Mars.

“What are the odds that the MRV will be successful,

Doctor?”

“I wouldn’t bet on this one, even if I were a betting

man,” I told him. “For one thing, Venus is much too close to
the sun. For another, there’s that blanket of clouds.”

“Is there any hope that under the cloud layer there

might be something we can work with?”

“There’s always hope, General.” I didn’t say whoever had

come up with this bright idea must have read one too many
of  those  pulp  science-fiction  magazines  of  the  last  century.
Certainly  we  had  terraformers  who  were  working  on  the
moon,  but  at  least  there  they  were  able  to  set  up  their
equipment. But dealing with clouds that rained sulfuric acid
or  winds  that  were  so  fierce  they  would  scour  the  flesh  off
bones?

I just hoped Sam and his crew made it back in one

piece.

“In that case our biggest hope is the Argos.” Banks

pulled a sheet of paper from his own briefcase.

The launch of the MRM and, to a lesser extent, the

MRV,  was  to  give  the  world  hope  that  the  scientific
community, aligned with the military, was doing something.
But  there  was  a  third  ship,  whose  mission  was  so  highly
classified  her  name  wasn’t  listed  on  the  rosters.  Even  the
men I’d be journeying with were unaware of the Argos.

“Considering what she carries,” I mused, “she really

should have been called Noah’s Ark.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

The planet’s leaders had recruited as many scientists,

skilled craftsmen, agrarians, and people who knew the front
end of an animal from its tail as there was room to hold.
Embryos of all domesticated breeds were stored
cryogenically, along with human embryos, as a safeguard.

“I’m not thrilled with the selection of her crew.” Banks

pushed aside the papers.

“You never struck me as chauvinistic, General.” Every

nation on Terra was represented in the Argos’s crew.

“No, no, not that. I have no objection to all those

civilians. I just feel a larger contingent of soldiers should
have been required. A company isn’t enough.”

“This is a peaceful mission.”
“We don’t know what’s out there.”
“This is true.” The Argos’s destination was simply “out

there,” and it would be foolish of us to think that we were the
only intelligent life in the wide universe, especially
considering what we had hidden away in Roswell. “We don’t
have much choice.”

“That’s why you and your crew will be armed.”
“What?”
“Weren’t you informed?”
“Obviously not.”
“Do you object?”
“Of course not,” I growled. “These are good men, and I’ll

do whatever needs to be done to make sure they return
home safe and sound.”

“I wish I understood how the eggheads plan to

accomplish this thing with the Argos.”

“I’ll have you know I’m an egghead, Banks!”
“Sorry. You were one of us for so long….”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

I’d retired from the Air Force five years earlier, but I still

worked  in  the  space  program.  “I  have  to  bring  my  crew  in
now  and  brief  them  on  what  we’ll  really  be  doing  on  Mars,
General.”  I  left  copies  for  him  to  give  to  Major  Reiner  when
he felt the time was right and placed everything else into my
briefcase.  I’d  be  taking  these  with  me  to  study  during  any
downtime on the MRM.

“Of course. Good luck, Doctor. I’ll see you in about three

weeks, and I hope to God you’ll have good news for us.”

“So do I. Good-bye.”
We shook hands and he walked out, his briefcase

clutched tightly in his fist. I stared after him thoughtfully. I
couldn’t  tell  him  what  the  government  planned  to
accomplish,  not  because  I  didn’t  know,  but  because  his
security  clearance,  as  high  as  it  was,  simply  wasn’t  high
enough.  He  thought  the  Argos  would  maintain  contact  with

Terra,  that  the  new  drives  we  were  testing  would  enable  us
to send more colonists after them. But the fact of the matter
was that once safely beyond Terra’s atmosphere, the Argos’s
crew would go into suspended animation, except for a select
few  whose  task  it  was  to  see  the  capsules  stayed  viable.  If
nothing compatible with human existence was found within
the  ship’s  first  year,  they  would  awaken  the  next  rotation
and  go  into  suspended  animation  themselves.  And  so  on,
and so on, until, God willing, they found a new Terra.

If the MRV found nothing but noxious gases, if the MRM

was unsuccessful, then that shipload of colonists would be
the last, best hope for the survival of our species.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Chapter 2

“

ALLING

another of your ladies, Dominick?”

I’d been in the Air Force long enough to know I’d be

confined to quarters—at the least—if I took a swing at my
bunkmate, so I simply gave him a bland smile. “If you’ve got
it, Eddie….”

The situation with Ed Carlyle was supposed to have

been  temporary,  but  here  it  was,  six  months  later,  and  we
were  still  sharing  quarters.  We  were  both  captains,  but
because he was also a pilot, he felt that made him more of a
captain than I was.

I didn’t let it bother me, though, and for the most part

we got along okay, except for this tendency he had to be a bit
too interested in my private life.

“You don’t have to listen, you know.” Fortunately he’d

been in the can when I’d called the two guys I’d invited for a
nooner and a two o’clocker. “I wouldn’t want to torment you.”

He laughed and put his feet up on the desk that was the

only furniture other than our bunks in our quarters on the
base at White Sands.

I flipped him off, but he didn’t see. He was too busy

reading the Gideon Bible that had somehow found its way to
this room. Poor book was probably distraught at being in the
presence of such a sinner as me.

I scratched Bobbi’s name off the list—we would have

had an early dinner—and dialed Jennifer, the second of the
three women I’d made a date with for tonight.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

This whole situation was really my bad. I’d known we’d

be taking off in the MRM soon, but hadn’t realized how soon;
couldn’t they have given us a little more notice?

“Jennifer? It’s—”
“Nick?”
“That’s right, angel.”
“Darling, you didn’t have to call,” she cooed. “We’ll be

seeing each other in a matter of hours. I have plans for your
luscious body.” I could hear her murmur, “One, two, cha-
cha-cha!”

One of the things I loved about Jennifer was her

uninhibited  attitude,  but  in  this  case  what  I’d  had  in  mind
wasn’t  what  she  was  thinking.  “That’s  what  I’m  calling
about.  Look,  I  know  we  had  a  date  for  this  evening,  but
something’s come up at work.”

“Really? Do you realize I spent a week’s salary on the

outfit  I  plan  to  wear  tonight?  You  promised  to  take  me
dancing  at  the  Twilight  Room,  and  you  have  the  nerve  to
cancel at the last minute?” The sweet voice on the other end
of the line suddenly wasn’t so sweet. Cold was more like it,
as a matter of fact.

“It’s not exactly the last minute.” I was supposed to pick

her up at eight, and Jennifer had time to scrounge up
another guy who’d fall all over himself to be seen with her on
his arm. I listened as her tone became more and more
strident. “Ah, come on, angel. Don’t be like that!”

“Who’s the bimbo you’re seeing?”
“I’m not seeing another bimbo… I mean another woman!

You know I love you, honey.”

“Then be here at eight.”
By eight I’d have been in space seven hours. “I’m sorry,

angel, but this is my job we’re talking about. You knew I was
a flyboy.” That was one of the things that attracted her to
me. Well, it attracted all of them.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“You… you….”
As she slammed the phone down, I winced and gingerly

hung up the receiver.

“Well, that didn’t go too badly!”
I looked to where Ed sat grinning at my misfortune and

gave him an injured look.

“You think this is easy?” I drew a line through Jennifer’s

name  and  then  dialed  the  last  number.  “You  try  using  the
same  hokey  excuse  to  cancel  five…  uh…  three  dates  you
made for the same night!”

“It’s not an excuse if it’s the truth, Dominick.”
“You think they care? Or believe me? Not in this lifetime,

pal! Now shut up and let me deal.” Eight rings and nothing.
Where the hell was Barb? If she didn’t answer, I’d have to
leave a message, and I didn’t want to do that. It was cold.

“Hello?” Barb finally picked up just before the answering

machine could field the call. She spoke in a breathy voice,
and I could never tell if she’d just gotten off the treadmill or
if I’d called while she’d been in the bathroom.

“Hi, sugar. It’s Nick.”
“Nicky!” she squealed, and I winced and switched the

phone to my other ear. “I can’t wait to see you, dream!”

“Neither can I. Look, sugar—”
“I found a new drink I want to try! It’s called an X-rated

kiss!”

“I know you—it’s called what?”
“Oh, yes. It’s got raspberry liqueur, X-Rated Fusion

Liqueur, and gin, and it’s garnished with edible flower
petals!”

Where did she find these drinks? “Never mind. I know

you were looking forward to our date tonight. So was I,
sweet, but something’s come up and—”

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“Don’t tell me you can’t make it!”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“You’re seeing someone else, aren’t you?” She sniffled.

Oh, God, I hated when women cried.

“No, sugar. You know I wouldn’t break a date with you

to see another woman. I’ve been called back to base—”

Ed threw the Bible at me, and I caught it and flung it

back. It hit him square in the chest, and he flinched and
rubbed the spot. Take that, I thought smugly.

“What are you doing?” he growled.
I covered the receiver. “Everybody knows. It’s in all the

papers.”

“And I’ll bet it gets you a lot of tail.”
“Don’t be crass, Edward.”
Meanwhile Barb had gone past crying and was outright

sobbing. “My friends warned me about you, but you had the
sweetest blue eyes, and I thought I could trust you!”

“Of course you can trust me! Ah, baby, you know you’re

the only woman I love!”

“Dominick Marsham, you’ve broken my heart for the

last time!”

“No, wait, please, don’t slam the phone—shit.”
Ed rolled his eyes and burst into laughter. “Too late,

huh?”

I scowled at him and cupped my ear protectively, trying

to dull the ringing. “I don’t know why she didn’t believe me
when I told her I love her. I do, you know.”

“Yes, but the thing is, you also love sugar and angel and

honey….”

“Yeah, yeah.” I shrugged, balled up the paper with the

phone numbers of the women in my life—I kept the men’s
numbers in my memory—and threw it into the trashcan. “I

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hope Doc appreciates me. I’ll have a lot of groveling to do
when I get back to town.”

“I sincerely doubt that. You’ll return the conquering

hero, covered with glory—”

“So will you, Ed.”
He waved that away. Oh, God, a self-effacing hero. “And

they’ll trip all over themselves to see you again. I don’t know
how you do it, Dominick.”

“It’s a gift, m’boy.” I didn’t want to rub in my success

with the ladies.

Granted, Ed had only joined our crew six months

before,  but  he’d  been  on  the  base  for  months  before  that,
and the scuttlebutt was that he didn’t date. I wondered if he
was  even  acquainted  with  Mother  Palm  and  Her  Five
Daughters.

Now me—if I did without sex for that long, I’d start

looking at anything that was human.

I had my standards.
I’d offered to take care of that little matter for him a few

weeks after he’d started bunking with me—I’d wanted to give
him some time to appreciate the offer. If he’d asked, I’d have
told him that it was in the interests of brotherhood, only Ed
had a completely different perception of what I meant. He’d
thanked me and told me he could get his own woman just
fine.

Either the man was completely without a clue, or he

was so straight he had a corncob up his butt.

If he gave me the least indication, I would have relished

replacing that corncob with my cock. Captain Edward
Carlyle had one fine ass.

And just because I mostly liked women didn’t mean I

couldn’t appreciate it.

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“Come on, Dominick,” he said, swinging his feet off the

desk and rising to stretch any kinks that might have taken
up residence in his back. He turned and stooped to retrieve
his gear. “Time to get ready for our mission.”

It was probably just as well he missed the look I gave

the part of his anatomy that flowed from his lower back to
the long muscles of his thighs. He started for the door.

Technology for space travel had improved a lot over the

last sixty years, and we could walk around the cabin without
weighted boots to keep us from floating into each other.
Clothes would be supplied, and they wouldn’t take up much
room. It had been suggested that we take along something to
pass the time. Ed had a deck of cards.

“We going to play poker?” I’d asked.
“No. This is my Bible.”
Okay, I’d gotten it. The ace was God, the deuce the Old

and New Testaments, the trey…. Yeah.

I didn’t know what Doc and whoever he’d found to be

our  navigator  were  bringing  along,  but  I  slid  a  palm-sized
reader  into  my  jacket  pocket,  along  with  a  set  of  miniature
headphones.  This  reader  not  only  held  thirty-five  hundred
books—and  only  a  small  portion,  a  really

small portion, of

those were porn—but my entire music library.

I reached the door, then paused, turned around, and

went back to the desk. “Thought I’d forgotten you, didn’t
you?” I opened a drawer, took out a package of bubble gum,
and tossed it into the air. After I’d caught it, I put it in my
back pocket and followed Ed out the door.

mission wasn’t exactly routine. That was why we were

taking off from White Sands rather than Cape Canaveral in
Florida.

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I was anxious to get my hands on the communications

equipment. That was my specialty.

The room we’d been told to report to was a decent size,

but it looked smaller thanks to all the APs who were
standing around.

Dr. Elwyn Van Allyn, the leader of our small intrepid

band, had his arm over the shoulders of a man dressed in a
drab brown suit. Doc hadn’t noticed our arrival and was
pointing out strategic areas of interest on a map. I drifted
over to listen.

“We’ll do this sequence around the equator from about

twenty-five thousand feet, and then we’ll do this series of
equations from pole to pole.”

Wait, what? What pole? That map wasn’t of Terra. I

squinted at it. It was Mars, our actual destination, although
only a handful of people knew that.

“The same distance, Doctor?”
“Hmm? Oh, no. We’ll run those at a lower altitude and

see what we come up with.”

“Doc?”
“Oh, hello, Nick. Dr. Galway, this is Captain Dominick

Marsham, the best command and control systems operator
in the Force.”

I gave a cocky grin and shrugged that off. I was the best,

but that wasn’t important. Galway was a doctor? I’d always
had a weakness for doctors. I took his hand. He had a nice
grip. Too bad I was going to be out of town for a while.

“And this is Captain Edward Carlyle, who will pilot the

MRM.”

“Doctor.” Ed stared at Dr. Galway. Oh, no, Eddie boy! I

set eyes on him first! But then he just nodded briefly and

didn’t even offer to shake the doctor’s hand.

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Doc turned back to Dr. Galway. “Dr. Perkins will fill you

in on the rest of it.”

“Thank you. Good luck, gentlemen.” Dr. Hot Stuff’s eyes

seemed to linger in my direction, and I gave him my most
rakish grin. He flushed and hurried off.

Shit. I’d obviously misread the signals. Oh, well; win

some, lose some.

There were some sandwiches laid out on the table, and I

snatched one before one of the APs could get it. They could
have left us more.

“Rest of what, Doc?” I checked out the map. “And what’s

with the lower altitude thing?”

He smiled at me. I liked Dr. Van Allyn. He was a

widower,  and  when  his  son  Tony  had  brought  home  a
skinny, beat-up fifteen-year-old—“He followed me, Dad. Can
I keep him?”—he and his wife had treated me with kindness,
something my own parents had never done. Tony and I had
been  friends  for  twenty  years  now,  and Doc  and I….  Well, I
liked him.

And I could see he wasn’t going to answer my question.

I  took  a  bite  of  the sandwich  and  had  to  fight  to  keep  from
spitting  it  out.  Whoever  had  made  these  could  have  done  a
better job.

I put what was left of the sandwich on the table. “Who’d

you round up for navigator, Doc?” I knew he’d been
scrambling to find someone to replace our original navigator,
a lieutenant colonel who was one of the best. Colonel Vinton
had been driving back to base when he’d been run off the
road by a drunk driver. He’d been in a coma for a week, and
while he was doing better, he wouldn’t be going anywhere on
two broken legs.

“Henry Janes.” Dr. Van Allyn looked distracted.
“Dr. Janes? You can’t be serious!” Ed was shocked.

“He’s a civilian! Plus he’s married and has two children!”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Oh, for the love of…. Nothing like Carlyle stating the

obvious.

“I’m aware of that, Ed,” Doc said. He’d always been a

patient man. “We were in the process of recruiting him to the
astronaut program when he met his wife.”

“I had dinner with Hank and Carolyn once, and he

mentioned it. I had the impression that he had no regrets.”

“Yes, he walked away from it all. He agreed to work with

us, but he wasn’t going into space.” He ran a hand through
his  hair.  “With  Gene  laid  up  in  the  hospital,  though….
Hank’s  not  only  the  best  navigator  available,  but  he’s  a
brilliant  mathematician—he  earned  his  first  doctorate  in
multivariable  calculus  and  linear  algebra  when  he  was
twenty—and  we  need  both.  Believe  me, Ed,  if  he  wasn’t  the
one man we had to have, if I had any other choice….”

“Sorry I’m late, gentlemen.” Hank entered the room.

With him was a petite brunette and two kids, the boy about
ten and the girl a few years younger. “You’ve all met Carolyn,
my wife, haven’t you? And these are my children, Ginny and
Hal.”

The little girl was silently crying, and her brother was

fighting to keep a stiff upper lip. Carolyn was smiling, but I
could see the strain around her mouth.

“We’ll take good care of Hank, Mrs. Janes. Don’t you

worry your pretty little head about him!” Ed said heartily.

They were the perfect family, and okay, that came

across as if I was jealous, but you know what? I was. The
love they had for each other was so obvious it left a hole in
my gut from wanting the same for me. I looked at Doc. Only
I’d never have it.

The last thing I wanted was for my love ’em and leave

’em  attitude  to  be  questioned,  so  I  pushed  the  lingering
regret  out  of  my  mind  and  said  cockily,  “He’s  right,  Mrs.  J.
We  won’t  let  anything  happen  to  him,  and  we’ll  be  back
before  you  know  it.”  I  extended  my  hand  to  take  hers,

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

automatically rubbing my thumb over her knuckles in a
caressing manner.

I didn’t even realize I was doing it until Ed clouted my

shoulder and frowned at me. Hank just laughed, and his
wife patted my cheek. “Keep him safe for me, Dominick.”

“You bet! He’ll be as safe as if he was home snug in your

bed.”

“Jesus, Marsham, could you be a little less salacious?”

Ed curled his lip at me.

Oh, great. Just what we needed: a Puritan on board

with us. And one without a sense of humor.

“We need to leave, Carolyn. I’m sorry.” Doc really did

look sorry.

Her eyes were awash with tears, but she smiled and

didn’t let them fall. “Let’s go, children. Say good-bye to
Daddy.”

Hank went down on one knee and his kids ran to him,

hugging him tight and whispering a final good-bye. He
buried his hands in their hair and kissed their cheeks. Hal
brushed the tears off his face and led the sniffling Ginny out
into the corridor while their parents bid each other farewell.

Carolyn’s shoulders trembled, and the kiss she shared

with her husband was so intimate I felt myself aching for
something I had once known briefly. And wishing that I
might experience a love like that in my life just once more.

She stepped back and gave us each a glance as she held

onto Hank’s hand. “God bless and keep all of you, and bring
you home safe to the ones who love you.” One last look at
her husband, and then she was gone.

Hank’s eyes weren’t the only ones that were wet. I

turned away and made a production of studying the map on
the wall. Ed pretended to examine the empty platters on the
table, and Doc merely grabbed up some napkins and blew
his nose, a great, honking blow.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“If you’re ready, gentlemen?” An AP ran a thumb under

his lower lashes.

Doc cleared his throat and dropped the napkins into a

trash bin. “All set.”

“I just need a minute.” I started to walk out of the room.
“To compose yourself, Nick?” Ed was approving for once,

and I really hated to burst his bubble.

“No, actually, I have to use the john.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Chapter 3

D GRIPED

the whole way out to the launch pad that Nick

was delaying us by that last-minute pit stop, but Nick just
grinned at him. “Eddie, didn’t your momma ever tell you to
make sure you ‘went’ before you left home?”

Hank and I laughed with him, and Ed finally grinned,

albeit reluctantly.

His own family had been wiped out a couple of years

earlier when the jet they’d been traveling in went down in the
Pacific;  he’d  been  stationed  in  Hawaii,  and  of  course  they’d
been with him. But then his wife’s mother had requested her
daughter  and  grandchildren  come  for  a  visit.  He’d  driven
then  to  the  jetport,  waving  as  she  and  their  children  had
boarded that ill-fated flight back to San Francisco.

So whenever he came across as short-tempered or

humorless, I tried to cut him some slack.

Once we were in the main cabin, Nick let out a low

whistle. “Hello, Emmy, you beautiful thing!”

“Trust you to name a rocket ship after a woman.” But

Ed seemed to be in a better mood. “Who’s Emmy?”

“She is.” Nick patted the bulkhead. “MRM?”
“Huh. Ah!” Ed gazed around the cabin. “I have to say, I

love these seats!”

There were four of them, cushioned to absorb the g-

force at liftoff. They were upright now, but they’d recline
once Mission Control gave us the green light.

Nick was already making himself comfortable in his

seat. “Sweet as a lover’s embrace!”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“I’m looking forward to getting to know this ship better,

Doc!” Hank had hesitated when I’d asked him to come with
us. Even after having the opportunity to look around the
MRM, around the main cabin, the small galley, and the head
off it, and even though he’d been fascinated by the telescope
that was on a curved track and could be viewed by any of us
with a simple push, he’d had second thoughts. He told me
Carolyn had said, “Of course you have to go, darling!”

I owed that woman a genuine lobster dinner when we

returned. It would cost me two months’ pay, but having
Hank Janes on my crew made it worth every penny.

While he and Ed got themselves settled, I tucked away

my  briefcase  and  revealed  the  true  nature  of  our  mission.
“And since we aren’t sure what we’ll find on Mars, some all-
weather  gear  has  been  packed  for  us.  It’s  stowed  away  in
storage,  behind  that  hatch  there.  We’ve  got  oxygen  masks
and regulators, protective clothing, and, of course, pressure
suits.”

“Doc, does this mean….” Nick’s eyes were wide. He had

the bluest eyes.

“We’ll be landing on Mars and taking a little look

around.”

“I never thought….” Then he whispered softly,

“Awesome!”

“All right, gentlemen. If you’ll take your places?”
We strapped in and waited through the countdown. The

MRM lifted off, and for the first time, the pressure was
almost unbearable.

I’d forgotten all about that by the time we were out of

the exosphere and could walk around the cabin.

The view of the moon as we passed it was breathtaking.

It hung there like a huge silver Christmas ornament—I never
claimed to be a poet—the craters and valleys and seas
beckoning us.

But it was too barren for our purpose.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Before we knew it, Ed was ordering us to, “Buckle up,

everyone. I’m about to put her into hyperdrive. Red skies of
Mars, here we come!”

ICK

had his tools spread out on the space beside his

transceiver. He’d found something that bothered him and
was determined to rectify it.

With the artificial gravity activated, we were all firmly

anchored to the “floor,” and he didn’t have to worry about his
tools floating off and hitting someone in the head.

“You’d better not leave us without radio contact,” Ed

snapped.  We  were  all  the  best  at  what  we  did—for  this
mission,  nothing  less  was  called  for—but  I  was  starting  to
wonder  why  our  pilot  constantly  found  fault  with  our
communications specialist.

Nick ignored him. He stooped to retrieve something at

his feet, and I couldn’t help gazing at the way his pants
pulled snug across his ass.

What a difference from the scrawny, battered fifteen-

year-old my son Tony had brought home. Tony was a couple
of years older, but he’d always had a caring heart, and
Nick… Nick needed to be cared for in the worst way. He’d
been beaten so badly there was a knot on his jaw and both
eyes were swollen almost shut.

Jo and I hadn’t had to discuss it at all. We’d exchanged

glances, and the boy had become part of our household. And
when his father came and tried to reclaim him, I kicked the
shit out of him.

I might have been a little below average height, but I

was feisty. And when I threatened to give the photos I’d
taken of Nick to the authorities, he’d backed off. If he ever
tried to contact Nick again, Nick never told me.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

I turned to check on Hank. Before we’d gone into

hyperdrive, he’d watched as Terra grew smaller and smaller,
until she resembled nothing so much as a speck of blue and
green in the black backdrop of space.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” he’d asked as I came to stand by

his shoulder. “And all I want out of life is right there.”

“I’m so sorry I had to bring you along with us, Hank. If

I’d had any other choice….”

He’d given a lopsided smile. “I know, Doc. This is the

price you pay for being the best. I owe it to the future of
humanity.”

I’d patted his shoulder awkwardly, relieved when Ed had

announced we were about to enter hyperdrive.

Now Ed called me over to check some of his

calculations.

“How’s he doing, Doc?” he asked me softly, his eyes

cutting toward our navigator.

“He’ll be all right,” I said, more to reassure myself than

Ed. “His sense of duty to mankind wouldn’t have permitted
him to refuse this assignment, no matter how he might have
preferred not to come along for the ride. Our loved ones are
held hostage to the future.”

Ed nodded, but his expression was bleak. He had left no

one behind on Terra.

“Hey, Doc. You okay?” Nick was using another delicate

tool, but his eyes were on me.

“I’m fine, Nick.” Poor boy. He was another who had no

one. In spite of all the women he dated, and the men as
well—yes, I knew of them, how couldn’t I, when I—Nick was
one of the loneliest people I knew.

As for me, although I had my children and

grandchildren, they had their own lives, and with Jo gone,
I’d dedicated my life to science.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

I took my seat and looked through the viewer. Before

me, slowly drawing nearer, was the red planet.

Perhaps the last chance for mankind to survive in this

galaxy.

“That’s done.” Nick arched his back, put away the tools,

and reclined in his seat, the contours molding his well-
muscled body. “Y’know what would be too ironic for words?”

“What, Dominick?” Ed didn’t really care, but I had a

feeling he wanted to get his mind off the wife and children
who were forever lost to him.

“What if we brought back photos of Mars, showing it

already was inhabited?”

Ed looked startled. “You mean like those tentacled

creatures H.G. Wells described in War of the Worlds?”

“No, I was thinking more along the lines of the green,

six-legged beasties of Barsoom, who fought side by side with
Captain John Carter.”

Hank burst into laughter. “Edgar Rice Burroughs! My

Hal loves those Fighting Man of Mars stories!”

We began to speculate on the kind of inhabitants that

might be found wandering the terrain of the red planet. Nick
voted for big-breasted babes in skimpy clothing.

And Hank lost the pensive look that seemed to have

taken a permanent home in his eyes.

Ed might lose his patience with the youngest member of

our team, but Nick had been the one to give our navigator
something to think about other than the family he had left
behind.

As I listened to the heated debate on the pulchritude of

Martian women, I smiled and remembered the single night
Nick Marsham and I had spent together.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

VEN

after all these years, cancer still hadn’t been wiped

out. Every time scientists claimed to be on the verge of
eradicating it, another more virulent form would replace it.

My wife died after a long, painful illness. She was forty-

three.

But Jo had fought it as valiantly as a soldier in battle.

She lost her hair, she lost weight, and in the end she lost
even the ability to control her bodily functions, but she never
lost the gaiety of spirit that had seen us through so many
years of marriage.

We knew the end was just a matter of time. “Easy,” she

whispered, that last night, “no one gets out of this life alive.
Grieve for me, sweetheart, and then set it aside.” She tried to
squeeze my hand, but there was no strength left in her.

I nodded, turning my head so she wouldn’t see the tears

streaming down my face, but she knew I was lying.

“Elwyn Charles Van Allyn!” she wheezed. She only used

my full name when she wanted to make a point. “You will
find someone else to share your life with, or so help me I’ll
come back and haunt the hell out of you!”

Normally I’d have found that amusing, since she so

seldom swore, but not this time. “I wish you would, baby.
No, don’t be cross with me, Jo. I… I promise. When I’m done
grieving, I’ll find someone.”

She was too far gone to pick up on my choice of words. I

would never be done grieving for the woman who had filled
my life with love and laughter.

Nick was there that night, when she passed away. He

had been with us through those last, nightmarish months.

And he was with me in the months that followed her

burial,  when  I  tried  to  drown  my  sorrow  in  alcohol,  picking
fights  with  the  biggest,  toughest  guys  in  the  bar.  Some  of
them  were  pussies,  their  barks  worse  than  their  bites,  but
some  of  them  sent  me  home  with  a  pair  of  shiners  and  a

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

bloody nose. One fractured my ribs, and another dislocated
my shoulder.

Nothing stopped me, though, and nine months later I

was still going at it.

I was just facing off against another one of them when

someone got between me and King Kong.

“Get the fuck—” I started to snarl, but then I saw who it

was.

Nick.
“How…?” Of course. One of my big-mouth kids must

have ratted me out, and he’d tracked me down to this bar.
For a second I felt sheepish. It was in one of the worst parts
of town.

He looked the big guy up and down and growled, “Take

a hike!”

To my surprise, the guy did.
Nick turned back to me. “Doc, you can’t keep doing

this!”

“Yes, I can. I’m forty-fucking-five”—Too fucking young to

be a widower!—“and I can do whatever the fuck I want.”

“Josie would hate what you’re doing to yourself!” He

took my arm and pretty much dragged me out of the bar.
“And I’m not letting you go back in there.”

“She was the one who told me not to grieve!”
“I don’t think this is what she had in mind.”
I pulled my arm free of his hold and snarled, “Leave me

the fuck alone.” I’d lost my taste for alcohol, so I stalked to
the back of the parking lot, where I’d parked my Rambler.

I half expected Nick to follow after me, but he just stood

there. Which was fine by me.

And then he said my name. Not “Doc.” Not “Chuck.” Not

even “El.” “Easy.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Easy” was the nickname Jo had given me when we first

started keeping company, something silly between the two of
us. No one else had ever called me that.

“I can’t call you Elwyn!” Jo laughed at me. “You’re

twenty-three, not fifty-three!” Such a beautiful girl. and she’d

agreed to go dancing with me! “What’s your middle name?”

“It’s Charles.”
She pouted. “Charles is a common name. Everyone

around here is called Charles.”

“Well, you could call me Chuck.”As long as she didn’t call

me Chuckles.

“Like a woodchuck? I don’t think so, sweetie. I’m going to

call you E.C.”

I dipped her over my arm and smiled into her eyes,

pretending to misunderstand her. “If you call me easy, all the
girls will be after me, thinking they can have their wicked way

with me!”

She burst into laughter, and on our wedding night three

months later, she told me that was when she’d decided to
marry me.

I leaned my head against the roof of the little Rambler

and wept, the first time since I’d buried her that I cried.

Warm arms wrapped me in an embrace that offered

solace, and Nick held onto me. I could feel his breath on my
ear, the scent of his aftershave seemed to swamp my senses,
and I felt dizzy. Abruptly the embrace went from comforting
to erotic, and I found myself kissing a path up his neck.

He made no move to free himself, and I nipped and

sucked along the line of his jaw.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

But then I felt tremors running through his body, and I

was appalled by what I was doing. “Oh, my God, Nicky! I’m
so sorry!” I tried to step away from him.

“No!” he moaned. “Please don’t stop, Easy!”
Something hard was prodding my hip, and I let my hand

drop down to shape Nick’s cock. I pulled my head away far
enough so that I could speak. “I want to touch you, Nicky. I
want to taste you!”

Then my mouth was on his, not giving him a chance to

say yes, no, or maybe, and I started to unzip his jeans. His
hand on my wrist stopped me. “This might not be the best
part of town to go exploring in, Easy. Take me to Lovers’
Lane?”

I could feel my trousers becoming uncomfortably snug

as I got into the car. I waited for him to open the passenger
door and get in before I turned on the ignition.

“Have you done this before, Nicky?”
He went very still. “Does it matter?”
“Yes, it does. If you’ve never done this—”
“You’re changing your mind? I’m not a virgin, Easy. I

haven’t been one for five years.”

“We didn’t do a very good job raising you, did we?” He’d

been fifteen when he came to us.

“You and Josie did the best you could by me. It

happened  before  Tony  knew  me  and  brought  me  to  you.
Once  you  let  me  stay,  I  didn’t  have  sex  with  anyone  until  I
left for college. I swear it!”

I ran my palm over his thigh. “What I was going to say

was that if this is your first time, I’ll need to take my time
with you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

His teeth flashed white in the darkness of the car. “You

won’t hurt me, Easy. Didn’t Tony ever tell you how much I
like sex?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Well, yes, he used to regale me with tales of your

exploits, but I assumed he meant with girls.”

“So did he. Guess you were both wrong, hmm?”
I steered the Rambler down the dark road that I had

traversed to get my kids when they were out too late. Oddly
enough, I’d never had to go after Nick.

Although sometimes Jo and I would slip away to drive

up here.

I found a secluded spot and parked the car.
“Have you done this, Easy?”
“Yes, a very long time ago, before I met Jo.”
“You’d better do me, then. What is your pleasure, mouth

or ass?”

“Your ass!” I hesitated. “Do you mind?”
“I like it anyway I can get it! It’s not safe to get naked

around here, but if you want to fuck me, I’ll get my pants
down, and you just need to open yours and let the little
scientist out to play.”

I laughed, as he had meant me to. “Do you have

something to ease my way in?” I remembered how
uncomfortable spit was. “And a rubber?” Odd how after more
than a century condoms were still called rubbers, even if
they were made of something else.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tube

and a foil packet, waggling them in front of me. “Never leave
home without ’em, Easy.” He coated his fingers and began to
prepare himself for me.

“I just have one question for you, Dominick.”
He stopped, his fingers still in his ass. “Am I going to be

sorry I gave you enough time to think about this?”

“No.” The front seat was as far back as it would go, but

there just wasn’t enough room for the two of us with the
steering wheel in the way. “I’m coming over to your seat.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Like the old lady who swallowed a fly, I had to wriggle and
jiggle, but then I was beside him. I unzipped my trousers
and eased my cock from my shorts. I was leaking precome by
this point. “Put the condom on me.” My voice was guttural.

Nicky shivered but did as I’d ordered. Finally, I squirted

lube into his palm and used his hand to coat the condom.
He gasped, and I had to bite back a groan.

“What’s your question?” His voice sounded strained.
“Wha…? Oh, why do you keep calling me ‘Easy’? You’ve

always called me ‘Doc’ before.” I pulled him back onto my
lap.

“Ask me again later.” He spread his buttocks and began

to sink down on me.

Oh, God, that luxurious heat! Condoms had come a

long  way,  and  the  one  Nick  had  given  me  felt  as  if  I  wore
nothing. I turned his head and sucked his lower lip into my
mouth  as  he  rode  me.  His  inner  muscles  gripped  my  cock
rhythmically. He rose and fell on my length, and I drove into
him again and again. I brushed his hand away from his own
cock and began to stroke him in time to my fucking.

“Your hand!” he moaned against my mouth.
“What’s wrong?” Was I too rough? Was my grip too

tight?

“It’s never…. No one’s ever—”
I laughed, relieved. “That can’t be true. One of your

many girls must have given you a hand job.”

“Don’t make me laugh, Easy. Of c-course they have. But

your hand….”

“Yes?” I shouldn’t be fishing for compliments, but

somehow I couldn’t resist. All this time his lips were on
mine, and the whisper of his breath against them was doing
insane things to my insides.

“I can die happy.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“We don’t want you doing that.” I went back to working

him over, giving a little twist each time I reached his
cockhead, and that did it.

Nick’s movements became erratic, and he released my

mouth and leaned forward, gripping the dash. That angle
sparked something inside him, and his breath came in
almost silent huffs and whines. “Please… Easy…. Now!”

My hand was flooded with hot semen, and I moaned and

felt my balls draw up and tighten. And then I was coming,
not in that hot channel as I suddenly wished I could, but
into the condom, and he milked me until I was dry.

Our breathing was harsh and ragged, and the windows

of the little Rambler were all fogged up. I touched my tongue
to my palm to taste him, then pulled a handkerchief from my
pocket, wiped my palm, and handed it to Nick. He cleaned
himself off, then gave it back to me and lifted up carefully. I
removed the condom, knotted it off and tossed it into the cup
holder, and then dabbed at his hole.

“What? Easy…?”
“I didn’t tear you.” I sighed in relief. I was thick, and I

hadn’t been gentle toward the end. I folded the handkerchief
and replaced it in my pocket. This was something I intended
to keep, with our mingled semen on it.

He laughed. “I’m a big boy.”
“Yes, you are.” I ran my fingertips over the length of his

cock.

“Mmm.” He angled his head to steal a kiss. “But I am

going to feel you tomorrow.”

Nick had the softest lips, almost as soft as Jo’s had

been.

“Sweet boy….” I leaned toward him and stole a kiss of

my own.

“I’m not a boy, Easy.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“So you can call yourself a boy, but I can’t?”
“Not when you mean it like that, like I’m a kid.”
“I know you’re not a kid, Nicky. We wouldn’t have done

this otherwise.” I sat there with my legs sprawled out,
leaving him little room to get comfortable. “Hold on a second,
and I’ll move.”

“You’re fine right where you are.” He rested his head on

my shoulder.

This was so… nice. But we couldn’t stay like this all

night.

“Okay, heaving myself back to my side of the car.”
He laughed. I liked that sound.
Once everything was back in order, cocks tidied and put

away, he turned toward me.

“One last favor, Easy?”
For a second I thought he was going to ask if I loved

him. How was I going to answer that? I didn’t care that he
was male or even that he was so young. Jo had been gone
less than a year, and I wasn’t ready to take another partner.

I cleared my throat. “What?” I asked cautiously.
“Mark me?” And he opened the collar of his shirt. “I

want to know that I was yours, if only for this one night.”

My mouth went dry, and a jolt of pure lust went through

me. I licked a patch of skin on his neck, below the collar line
where it wouldn’t be seen, and settled in to suckle it. When I
was finished, a livid bruise stood out against the pale flesh of
his throat. And he sighed.

“Thank you, Doc.”
I opened my mouth, but he placed his fingers over my

lips. I licked them; the taste of him lingered on them.

He shivered. “To answer your question earlier, I called

you Easy because you’re the man I wanted. A very sexy,

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

older man. But you’re my best friend’s father. If I call you
Easy in front of him or your other kids, they’ll know
something happened between us. I won’t do that to you. As
much as I might want it, this can’t happen again.”

“I understand, Nick, and I appreciate your kindness.”
“You don’t understand, Doc, not if you think this was

just an act of kindness. I’ve always lo—liked you. The first
time Tony brought me home, I wished you were my dad.
Then, after I got to know you, I wished you were my…. ” His
shoulders seemed to sag as if in defeat.

“Nick, talk to me. I’m not your dad, but I hope I’ll always

be your friend.”

“Sure, Doc. That’s what I always wanted.”
Nick had never lied to me in the five years I’d known

him.

I had the feeling he was lying to me now.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Chapter 4

Chinese had an ideogram that stood for trouble: two

women in one kitchen.

They had no clue about four men in a rocket ship.
By the time we were back in the skies above Mars two

and a half weeks later—not that anyone was counting—
tempers were getting decidedly short.

Take Ed and me. Well, of course, there was no Ed and

me, not in the sense I would have enjoyed, but I could live
with that. After all, I wasn’t an animal. I liked sex, but if I
couldn’t find a willing partner….

That would be unusual. I could always find a willing

partner. However, on those extremely rare occasions when I
couldn’t, there was my right hand.

Or my left. I could be ambidextrous if I so chose.
But all of a sudden, there was no living with the man.
“Goddammit, Marsham, if you pop that gum one more

time, I’m going to pop you!”

“Oh yeah, Carlyle? You and what army?” And okay, not

the snappiest of comebacks, but fuck it, it had been a long
day, even by Martian standards. We’d finished our last walk
on Mars, and we had one more circumnavigation of the
planet to accomplish. After that, finally, we’d be on our way
home.

Doc thought the whole situation was highly amusing,

until Carlyle started questioning his pet theories on time
displacement and time as a fourth dimension. Then I had to
step between them before fists flew.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

The only one who maintained an even temper was

Hank. And that was simply because, unless he was working,
he  was  mooning  over  a  picture  of  his  wife  and  kids,  or
bringing  his  journal  up  to  date.  He  thought  a  written
account  of  man’s  first  trip  to  Mars  would  be  valuable  for
posterity,  so  he  questioned  us  extensively  each  time  we
returned from exploring a portion of the red planet.

GOT

out of my pressure suit. I didn’t know about Doc or

Ed, but I was wiped out.

I’d never thought of myself as a wuss, but Emmy was

starting  to  smell  like  a  locker  filled  with  unwashed  gym
socks,  and  it  was  all  the  more  noticeable  after  we’d  been
breathing  the  oxygen  in  our  pressure  suits.  I  was  looking
forward to walking on a planet with normal gravity, where I
didn’t  have  to  wear  weighted  boots  and  carry  my  oxygen
around on my back.

Our last walk through some of the “canals” of Mars was

during a “heat wave.” It was negative thirty degrees
Fahrenheit. The gloves we wore were supposed to be good for
up to negative one hundred degrees, but my fingertips felt
like they were going to fall off.

“I think this is it, gentlemen. We have all the

information we could gather this time around, and we’ve
completed all our assignments. Why don’t we lift off? Once
we’re out of Mars’s atmosphere—”

“Such as it is,” I muttered.
“Can’t take it, Marsham?” Carlyle sneered.
“I’ll show you who can’t take anything!” I bounced to my

feet, but Doc held out a hand, and I subsided. “You owe Doc
your life, Carlyle,” I snarled.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

He curled his lip at me. “Strap in, everyone. Except you,

Marsham. It would be just fine with me if you beat your
brains out against the hull.”

“Enough!” Doc was getting pissed, and I went to my

station. “Now as I was saying, once we’re out of Mars’s
atmosphere, I’ll want that one final orbit, and then, Hank, if
you’ll plot the coordinates, Ed can set the course for Terra.”

“Aye-firmative, Doc.” Ed bent over his equipment, and

we strapped in for liftoff.

“

okay, Doc?” We were out of the exosphere, but I

thought he was looking a little pale.

“I’m fine, Nick.”
Before I could challenge him on that, Hank finished

what  he  was  doing  and  said,  “Contact  Terra  for  me,  would
you,  Nick?” It  was  easy  to  see  he  was  excited  about  leaving
this last orbit.

“Sure thing, Hank.”
“We’re coming up on a magnetic field,” Ed announced,

and I jerked up to stare at him. He was trying to disguise his
tension, but you didn’t room with a guy for six months
without getting to know him. “I don’t know if I can avoid it.”
His fingers flew over the keyboard that let him connect with
Emmy’s brain center.

“Ed?”
“I’ll do what I can, Doc.”
“Nick?” Hank nudged me.
“Sorry. White Sands, this is the MRM. Stand by for Dr.

Janes. Here you go, Hank.” I handed him the receiver.

“Thanks, Nick.” He began bringing them up to date.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Can I get you something, Doc?” I was going to the

galley to get myself a protein bar.

“Bring me a bottle of water, would you? That last stroll

around Mars has left me a little dry.”

“Okay.”
As I got water for him and a bar for me, I couldn’t help

recalling the single evening we’d spent together after his wife
had passed away. I could have told myself that I’d done that
to help Doc heal—even to myself I wouldn’t call him Easy—
but I didn’t believe in lying to myself.

I rubbed the spot at the base of my throat where he’d

marked  me  that  night.  I’d  given  some  thought  to  getting  it
tattooed  so  I  would  always  have  the  reminder,  but  it  would
have raised too many questions. And besides, I liked to think
of myself as a realist.

There were no regrets. We were good friends, and if that

was all I could have, if I couldn’t have his body next to mine
in the dark hours of the night, then that was fine.

I hadn’t been lined up for this mission but when I’d

heard he was going to be commanding it, I pulled in every
favor I could. My CO thought it was because of the “first men
on Mars” thing, and I didn’t disabuse him.

I went back into the cabin and handed Doc his water.

He was smiling, as if whatever he was thinking of made him
happy.

I wished it could have been me.
“Thanks, Nick.” He ran his palm against my sleeve, and

for a second I rested my palm against his hand.

Then I went to my seat, unwrapped the protein bar, and

took  a  bite.  I  reclined  the  seat,  put  on  the  headset  and
plugged it into my reader, and selected a classic album from
the  1950s.  It  might be  more  than  a  hundred  years  old,  but
they recorded good music back then.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Hank was in the middle of the transmission, repeating

our descriptions of the wind-swept canyons of Syrtis Major,
when, “White Sands? White Sands! Shit! The transceiver
died! Nick?”

I turned off the reader and removed the headset. “The

problem might be on their end.” It had happened a few times
before, and I could imagine the frantic scrambling at White
Sands as they tried to reestablish contact with us.

“Just check it out, Marsham,” Carlyle snarled.
“I’m working on it.” Jesus, what had crawled up his ass

and died? I pulled out the set of delicate tools that went with
me wherever I traveled. After removing a plate, I stared at the
tangle of wires that appeared to be melted together. “Doc,
we’ve got a problem here.”

Doc looked around, his blue eyes concerned. “What is it,

Nick?”  He  had  a  mellow  voice  that  tended  to  wind  its  way
into  my  shorts  and  curl  around  my  cock,  and  dammit,  I
shouldn’t  think  about  things  like  that,  not  when  I  had  the
feeling we were about to step into deep shit.

“Our wires are fried.”
“Can you fix it?” Hank looked concerned. “Everyone’s

going to be worried about us.” Yeah, but I knew the ones he
was most worried about worrying were his wife and children.

“Hang tight, Hank. I’ve got a set of replacement wires.

Give me five, and I’ll have the burned-out ones replaced.”

“And I’m sure once we’re away from Mars’s magnetic

field, Nick will be able to contact White Sands again,” Doc
said.

“You bet.”
Hank looked relieved. He came over to where I was

working and began to watch what I was doing. “Shouldn’t
that wire go over there?”

I hated when people kibitzed. Didn’t they think I knew

what I was doing?

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

While I worked on the wires and tried to pretend Hank

wasn’t hovering over me, I heard Doc spin the telescope over
to Ed.

“Say farewell to Mars, Ed.”
“Wait a second! What’s that green stuff?”
“What green stuff?” Hank rushed over to join them. I

blew out a breath, relieved he wasn’t hanging over me
anymore.

“There, Hank.” Doc pointed out the spot. And I got back

to work.

Hank sucked in an awed breath. “What do you make of

it?”

“Possibly Mars’s version of moss or lichen. Which means

that Mars just might be able to support human life!” Doc
sounded hopeful.

“It’ll take a hell of a lot of terraforming!” I muttered, and

then I swore as a wire bit me.

“Yeah, but the atmosphere….”
“Those boys are wizards, Hank. I’ll give them fifty years,

and we’ll see human habitation on Mars!”

I wanted to look up and stare at Doc, but I kept my

attention on what I was doing. “Well, not this human, thank
you very much. There we go.” I finished the last of the wires.

“If we asked nicely, Nick?”
“Ah, Doc, you know I’ll never say ‘no’ to you.” I put the

plate back and fastened the screws that held it in place. “You
know, if it turns out that Mars can be colonized, can you
imagine the reception we’ll get?”

“I have no doubt Bobbi and Jennifer and Barb will be

overjoyed.” Jesus, couldn’t Carlyle give it a rest?

“I was thinking more along the lines of my landlord,” I

tossed over my shoulder as I got to my feet and approached the
transceiver. “White Sands, this is Mission Reconnaissance

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Mars. Do you copy?” Usually, they would answer after a few
seconds’ lag, so I gave it a minute and then tried once more.
“White Sands, I say again, this is the MRM. Do you copy?”

“Nick?”
I shook my head. “Nothing, Hank. Let me try another

frequency.”

“It’ll have to wait, Nick. Ed’s almost ready to accelerate.”
“Okay, Doc.”
“Hank, are you ready with the initial heading?”
“I’m sorry, Ed; of course. Cutoff is set at fifteen miles per

second.”

“All right. Prepare for acceleration in one minute. Fifty-

nine seconds.”

We fastened our seatbelts and reclined at our stations.
“Acceleration in T minus five. Four. Three. Two. And

here we go, gentlemen. We’re about to enter hyperdrive. Next
stop, home.”

The Emmy began to accelerate. I let my mind wander

over the time I’d spent with these men. Once we returned to
Terra, Ed and I would still pretty much be together, unless a
mission came up that sent us in different directions, but who
knew when I would see Doc again? Or Hank, but mostly it
was Doc.

“Hey, Doc, once we get back, suppose we meet for—”
And then all hell seemed to break loose and a baby

elephant dropped down on me, keeping me pinned to my
seat.

“Wh-what’s happening?”
“Speed’s increasing instead of decreasing!” Ed shouted.

“Almost thirty miles per second! Sixty miles per second! A
hundred and twenty—”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“C-core temperature’s reaching the d-danger point!” It

sounded as if Hank was struggling to get the words past his
lips.

“Reverse rockets!” Doc ordered hoarsely. “Reverse—”
“Doc! Are you all right!” I was pretty sure I yelled that,

but I couldn’t make out anything through the roaring in my
ears.

And then that baby elephant turned into a herd of the

big beasts, and I blacked out.

SWIPED

a sleeve across my mouth. Jesus, I must have slept

wrong; I had a crick in my neck. I’d catch a shower and hit
the mess hall, and….

And then I remembered what had happened.
“Doc?”
How long ago had I blacked out? Minutes? Hours?
“Doc!”
I  struggled  to  unfasten  the  straps  that  had  kept  me

safely in place in order to get to him. Emmy had come to rest

at an angle, the port side lower than the starboard, and I
staggered to where his seat was still reclined.

“Oh, my head!” he moaned. “I’ve got the world’s worst

headache!”

“Is that all? Stand in line!” I was so relieved he was still

alive I could have kissed him. He had about twenty-five years
on me, and the kind of pressure that had weighed down my
chest could have damaged his heart.

“What the hell happened?” Ed moaned.
“You’re the pilot,” I said sourly. “You can explain it to

me.”

“We’re… uh… we’re not moving.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Nice deduction, Sherlock! Doc.” I crouched beside his

seat. “How are you doing?” I pressed fingers against the
pulse in his neck. It was steady, and I almost collapsed in
relief. “Come on. Let me help you up.”

“Oh, Jesus! Would you look at this?” Hank was white as

a sheet and shaking.

“What is it?” Ed got to him. “Oh, my sweet Christ!” He

started shaking too.

I managed to get Doc to his feet, and we lurched across

the canted flooring. Hank and Ed were staring in dismay at
the  acceleration  indicator.  It  was  marked  in  increments  of
miles  per  second  and  went  as  high  as  a  hundred  and  sixty
mps.

The indicator had been knocked completely off the scale.
“We could have been going ten times that speed!” Hank

whispered in horror.

“Or a hundred times!”
“Where do you think we are, Doc?” Ed asked.
“We could be anywhere in the galaxy.” Doc shrugged as

we  crowded  around  the  telescope,  hoping  it  would  give  us
some indication as to what was out there, but it must have
been snapped off by the force of our entry into this planet’s
atmosphere, or maybe by the landing. He touched the switch
that would draw back the shielding that covered the viewport
and  allow  us  to  see  what  was  out  there.  Meager  sunlight
glinted  off  the  snow,  only  to  be  obscured  by  the  drifting
cloud  cover.  “We  were  closest  to  Mars;  this  could  be  one  of
the polar ice caps.”

I turned away. “I’ll break out the pressure suits and

oxygen.”

“Wait, Nick. It feels like we have plus gravity. If this was

Mars, the density would be one tenth Terra normal. Hank,
shut off the ship’s artificial gravity, would you?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Hank swallowed audibly. “It is off, Ed. I don’t know how

long it’s been off.”

Stunned silence met his announcement.
“Uh….” I noticed something that was just within my

field of vision. “Is that a tree?”

But no one seemed to hear me.
“That rules out Mars. I guess there’s just one thing to

do.”

“No! Carlyle, wait!”
But he went right ahead and cracked the hatch open

and stuck his idiotic head out. I sucked in a breath and held
it, which wasn’t too smart on my part, either, because if that
air was tainted, I’d just inhaled it.

“Oh! This is wonderful! Smell that air!”
I let out the breath I was holding and gave him a shove.

“You could have poisoned us all!”

“But I didn’t.” He grinned at me over his shoulder, then

turned his head and took another deep breath.

After the stale, recycled oxygen of the Emmy, we became

almost drunk on the breeze that blew into the cabin. The
scents it carried were vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite
think what they reminded me of.

“All right, then. Let’s get some warm clothes on,” Doc

said. “It’s cold out there! Nick, the Geiger counter? We’ll need
to know what the radiation count is on this planet.”

“I’m on top of it, Doc!” I opened the storage hatch and

pulled out four cases, then found something that shocked
me so much I toppled back on my ass. “Uh… Doc, you want
to explain this?”

There was a cache of weapons, including not only a

couple of XK-50s—the latest in military firepower—but small
arms, as well. I took one out to examine it. Similar to a
revolver, although larger, it was unloaded, and the

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

ammunition for it was in a case beside it, hollow-point
explosives.

I’d heard of them. A single one would pretty much

vaporize a man.

What the fuck were they expecting us to face? And

thank God we hadn’t run across it!

“You may have a hard time believing this, Nick, but our

government would like us to return in one piece.”

“How likely is that now?” Hank didn’t look good. Shit,

we needed to get him home.

I pulled everything out; last of all was a first-aid kit that

obviously contained more than the little kit that was mostly
for scrapes and bruises on the Emmy.

I set it aside, opened the case that was labeled with my

name, and pulled out a jacket, vest, boots, goggles, and an
oxygen mask. Oh, and a Swiss army knife. Yeah, after
almost two centuries, that was still the thing to take on any
adventure.

There were three vacuum-sealed bags of clothes; each

contained a lightweight shirt and heavyweight trousers, as
well as socks and underwear. Once the seal was broken, the
bags expanded.

Thanks to Carlyle, we knew the atmosphere was

breathable, so I’d leave the oxygen mask. I stripped out of
the clothes I was wearing and got into the all-weather gear.
Then I fit the goggles over my eyes, picked up the Geiger
counter, and stepped out onto the snow.

The air was biting cold and invigorating, and almost

immediately my ears began to tingle. I should have looked
for a hat.

The Emmy didn’t look good. A forest of spruce-like trees,

broken and splintered now, had eased her landing into the
snow. It was a good thing there was a lot of the white stuff
around this site. The last thing we needed to deal with was a

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

fire, and I could see from the scorch marks it had been a
close call.

The snow was about to midthigh, and I mushed my way

through it until I was about a hundred yards from the ship. I
didn’t have to go that far, but eventually we’d have to get off
this mountain, and it was a start on the path heading down.

A sporadic click sounded as the counter marked the

radiation, and I knew I’d gotten as much information as I
could at the moment.

The wind was rising, and as I was about to return to the

Emmy, an especially strong gust knocked me off my feet.

What the fuck?
I scrambled up, making sure I had a good grip on the

Geiger counter, then brushed the snow out of my hair. It
melted on my neck and soaked the collar of my shirt, and I
shivered. Christ, I hated having a cold neck, but even more I
hated it being cold and wet.

Fortunately, the pants and jacket were water-resistant,

and—

I looked down and my breath snagged in my throat. I

was presented with a more valid reason for shivering: a sheet
of snow had slid away; another couple of feet and I’d have
gone over the edge.

It took about five minutes for my nerves to settle.
But my God, the vista was gorgeous.
Blankets of snow, and down below I could see more

trees, which made me hopeful that we could survive on this
planet.

And maybe I should have been thinking that this could

be a home for mankind, but I wasn’t that fucking altruistic
when it came to the possibility that something could happen
to Doc.

I tramped back to our poor, battered Emmy.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Ed came sliding down from the starboard side of the

ship.  After  his  boneheaded  action  in  opening  the  hatch,  I
was pleased to see that he’d at least had the sense to change
his  clothing.  None  of  us  could  afford  to  come  down  with
pneumonia.

“How bad is it?” I asked.
“You look like a yeti.”
“Thanks so much.”
“Well, you do. You’d better change as soon as we get in.”
“My very intention. And you’d better not be laughing!”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Let’s go in.”
We knocked the snow off our boots and entered the

cabin. Doc and Hank were just putting on their jackets.

“Nick?”
“The background radiation count is three times higher

than Terra, but it’s still well below the danger level.” I shed
my jacket, got out of my wet shirt, and looked around for a
spare.

“In your case, Nick.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I took out a bag, opened it, and pulled

out a dry shirt. “We’ll be okay, I think,” I said as I changed
into it.

“Okay. Ed, what did you find?”
He shook his head. “It’s bad, Doc. There’s some damage

to the control surfaces. It can be repaired, but we’d need
help.”

Hank laughed bitterly. “Where will we get help on this

godforsaken planet?”

“We’ll go down and see if we can find any inhabitants—”
“That isn’t the worst of it.” Ed scrubbed a hand over his

face. “Her skin’s been sliced through in places, and her
forward thrusters…. But even worse than that is that

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Emmy—” He glared at me. What, it was my fault he was
using her nickname? “The MRM is balanced on a ledge, and
precarious is the least of the words I’d use for her position.
We can’t stay here.”

As if his words were all that were necessary to prove his

point, the Emmy groaned and started to slide to port. I

landed on my ass, Ed grabbed for a seat, and Doc and Hank
both found something to hold onto. Fortunately, after a
hellacious few seconds, she stopped.

“Nick, are you all right?”
“Yeah. Just bruised my butt.” I pulled myself to my feet

and rubbed the injured spot.

“You’re right, Ed. It isn’t safe for us to stay here.” Doc

sighed. “Hank and I packed whatever we could into these
cases, and we’ve rigged them so we can carry them like
backpacks.”

“Caro taught me how to pack.” Hank’s lower lip

trembled, and he ducked his head.

Doc gripped his shoulder. “These jackets have enough

pockets to carry a few bottles of water and protein bars.”

As he spoke, I put the damp shirt into an empty bag

and repacked my case, then slid my arms into my jacket and
stuffed what I could into the pockets.

“Isn’t it going to be too heavy?” Ed stood there holding

three bottles.

“Not for long. We’ll need to stay hydrated.” It was a good

thing that Doc was a patient man. I’d have popped Carlyle
one in the jaw a long time ago. “And until we can find some
inhabitants, we’ll need to survive off the land.”

“And if we do find people, they should be able to help us

fix the Emmy!”

None of us wanted to rain on Hank’s parade, especially

when it seemed like he was starting to come out of his funk.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“I’m sure they will,” Carlyle said, and then he muttered

so softly only I heard him, “unless they’re on the bottom of
the evolutionary ladder.”

“Dammit, I wish we had some water-purifying pills.”

Doc’s color was coming back, and I was able to breathe
easier.

“Next time we go on an expedition like this, I’ll make

sure they give us everything we could possibly need.” I
patted his shoulder. It was at times like this that I could
touch him and no one would pay much attention.

“Well, if we can breathe the air, we should be able to

drink the water.” Ed looked around. “I’ve got room in my
case. What else should I pack?”

A blanket was stored beneath each of our seats, and I

pulled mine out. “Don’t forget these.” I unfolded it and tossed
in whatever I could find, then tucked in the ends and rolled
it up. When we were ready to leave, I’d drape it over my
pack.

“Good idea, Nick. I hope we’ll be able to come back to

the Emmy to salvage whatever else we might need, but we’d
better not count on it. I made sure we had your tools.”

“Thanks, Doc.”
“My journal!” Hank scrambled for it and then sighed in

relief when he found it. He tucked the pictures of his wife
and kids into it and put it in an inside pocket of his jacket.

Doc stepped outside and I followed him. “I hope this

isn’t like Venus, with a permanent cloud cover.” The clouds
were fairly dense. “What color do you think this sky is?”

“I never appreciated the blue of Terra’s skies until we

spent all that time under Mars’s butterscotch ones. It’s
difficult to place the sun with all those clouds, but I’m willing
to bet we’ve got a few hours of daylight left. Hopefully that
will be enough to get us down off this mountain.”

“I thought you weren’t a betting man, Doc.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

He smiled and ran his fingers over my ear. “Your ear is

red. These jackets have a hood in the collar.”

“Thanks.” I shivered at his touch, but I didn’t allow

myself to lean into it. “I should have realized that.”

He took his hand away just as Hank and Ed came out.

Hank  had  a  blanket  rolled  up  for  Doc,  and  from  its  lack  of
smooth  lines,  I  could  tell  it  had  been  stuffed  with  whatever
he’d  thought  we’d  need.  Both  Hank  and  Ed  had  their  own
blankets fastened to the cases on their backs. Ed had an XK-
50 slung over his shoulders, but Hank carried his.

“Here, Doc. I think you’ll be more comfortable with this

than I will.”

“Check the transceiver one more time, Nick.” Doc

slipped his arms into the straps they must have fashioned
from parts of our pressure suits and took the XK-50 from
Hank.

“Aye aye.” I went back into the Emmy, sliding a bit as

she canted even more to port.

“Nicky!”
“I’m okay, Doc.”
I put on the headset and set about scanning the

airwaves. For a second I thought…. But no, there was
nothing.

Emmy groaned, and I scooped up my blanket and

hurried out. “I don’t like this, Doc.”

“Neither do I.” He grabbed my arm and gave it a shake.

“I thought she was going to go over the edge and take you
with her!”

“Emmy wouldn’t do that to me.” Doc had always treated

me  like  a  son,  especially  after  that  one  night  we’d  had.  I
wouldn’t  read  anything  more  into  it.  “What  I  mean  is,  I’m
just not used to such silence on every single wavelength. It’s
fucking  unnatural!  Doc?”  I’d  never  seen  that  expression  on
his face before.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Okay.” He blew out a controlled breath. “This planet is

probably  uninhabited.  And  if  it  is  inhabited,  that  doesn’t
necessarily  mean  they’re  advanced  enough  to  have  radio
waves.”  He  became  all  business.  “Everyone  have  their
weapons and clips of ammo?”

“Was it necessary to bring these along?” Hank checked

to make sure his gun was loaded. He might be a civilian, but
he wasn’t stupid.

“If we’d needed to wear this clothing while we were on

Mars, then, yes, we’d have gone out armed.”

I guessed that made sense. The pressure suits we’d

worn had been as good as armor, while this all-weather gear
would have left us at the mercy of anything Mars chose to
throw at us. If it had had anything to throw at us.

What were we going to find here?
I stuck the weapon in the breast pocket of my jacket

and zipped it closed.

“Y’know, if we run into those six-legged beasties, there

I’ll be trying to get at my gun, and they’ll be blasting me to
smithereens with their atomic death rays.”

“That isn’t funny, Marsham!” Carlyle snapped. Jesus,

wasn’t he a little ray of sunshine?

But Doc grinned at me.
“Do you want to carry the XK?” Carlyle looked as if it

was killing him to ask me that.

“Nah. I never qualified for them.”
Doc gave a snort of laughter, but Ed didn’t notice. He

was too pleased with my lie. It didn’t matter; I could let him
have that little triumph.

“Let’s get going. And if you find anything that will do as

a walking stick, let me know. The last thing we want is to
take a tumble.”

“Shit! Who’s got the first-aid kit?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“I’ve got it, Nick,” Hank said, giving an awkward pat to

the case on his back.

“Okay.” Doc gave a last look at Emmy, then turned to

descend. “Onward!”

We started down in single file, and I made sure I was in

front of Doc. If he slipped, he was going into me and nowhere
else.

OUR

hours later, we were down off the mountain. We’d

tucked  the  legs  of  our  waterproof  pants  into  our  boots,  so
they weren’t wet and clammy, but a couple of miles back the
snow  had  turned  to  slush  and  then  to  mud,  and  it  had
become difficult pulling our boots from the muck.

What bothered me, though, was that Doc was pale and

sweating.

“Can we take a break?” I bent and braced my palms on

my knees, exaggerating my breathlessness. “I need to rest.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ed said, catching my nod toward

Doc. Maybe he wasn’t such an asshole.

“And me.” Doc groaned and slid his pack off his

shoulders and sank down onto it. “How far have we come?”

Hank looked up at the sun, which had finally peeked

through an hour or so ago, and glanced back the way we’d
come. His eyes became vague as he did some mental
calculations.

“I’d say about eight miles.”
“Eight miles in four hours. That’s a whopping two miles

an hour. We’re burning up the track.” I took out a bottle of
water, unscrewed the cap, and offered it to Doc. “How fast
were we going yesterday?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Where were we yesterday?” Hank grunted. “At least we

haven’t seen any smoke or heard any explosions. The Emmy

is still there in one piece.”

He really thought she’d take to the skies again? He was

a mathematician. He knew the odds on that, but he wanted
to go home so badly.

Yeah, being home would be nice, but….
“Thanks, Nick.” Doc returned the bottle to me. I took it

and put it in my mouth. No one could see me run my tongue
along the rim. I tipped my head back and drank before
capping it again.

“I’ll go ahead and check out the terrain.”
“Be careful, Hank,” Doc said softly, but either Hank

didn’t hear him or else he was pretending not to hear him.
Doc sighed. “If only he wasn’t the one man we had to have.”

I’d learned a long time ago that there was no sense in

thinking “what if.” What if Doc had loved me? What if we
could have built a life together?

I couldn’t burden him with that. All he wanted from me

was friendship.

I patted his shoulder. “Have a protein bar, Doc.”
“Thanks, Nick.” He finished it in three bites, then balled

up the wrapper and tucked it in a pocket. “Let’s continue on,
shall we? I don’t want Hank to get too far ahead of us. It will
be dark before we know it, and we’ll need to find someplace
safe to bed down for the night.”

The rest had done him good, and he hoisted up his pack

and followed the path Hank had taken.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Chapter 5

ANK

was the one who found a little clearing that would be

perfect to make camp. Off to the north of it was a small
stream. The water was crystal clear, and I couldn’t resist
dipping my fingers in it and licking the moisture off them.

“Doc!” Nick didn’t sound happy.
God, I—
I was pleased he was my friend. I smiled at him. “We’ll

have to drink it sooner or later, Nicky.”

His eyes widened, and I could have kicked myself. I

hadn’t called him that since that night we’d shared.

“Let’s get camp set up. Hank, would you mind clearing

off  enough  space  for  a  fire  that  will  last  through  the  night?
Ed,  will  you  see  about  finding  some  brush  to  lay  our
blankets out on?  Thanks very much.” I  was going to gather
up  some  rocks  and  dried  branches  to  make  a  campfire.
“Nick?”

“Yeah, I’ve got dinner, Doc.” He grinned at me and held

up the furry animal he’d knocked over with a rock.

I didn’t say anything, but I was disturbed. The creature

had no fear of man—well, of us. Did that mean there were no
two-legged predators on this planet?

While I prepared the fire, Nick skinned and gutted the

animal. “I need to make a slingshot.”

“And what will you use for a sling?” For a change, Ed

just  seemed  curious.  Since  the  incident  with  Nick  and  the
bubble  gum,  I’d  been  aware  of  his  tension,  although  I’d
refrained  from  saying  anything  about  it.  It  could  have  been
cabin fever, or it could have been something else.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Ed’s wife had been gone for more than two years, and

the scuttlebutt was he hadn’t had a woman since then.

Could that be why he periodically challenged Nick? In

order to push him to the point where he took control of the
situation, threw Ed down onto the nearest flat surface and
fucked him, and Ed could say it hadn’t been his choice?

I had no right to pry into Nick’s sex life, but he deserved

better than that, and frankly, I expected him to take a swing
at Carlyle. I knew I wanted to.

But Nick grinned at him. “I’ll cut out the waistband of

my shorts. I don’t mind going raw.”

That got a laugh from all of us, even Ed.
By now the fire was hot enough, and he spitted the

carcass and set it over the fire. Fat spattered into the flames,
causing them to shoot up and lick over the meat; the scent
was mouth-watering.

“Sorry it’s a little charred,” Nick said. “Doc was always a

better cook.”

“Don’t let him fool you!”
“Well, this is the best-tasting meal I’ve had since we left

Terra.” Ed was hearty in his praise, but he’d put his foot
right in it.

Even in the firelight I could see Hank turn pale.
“I… uh… I’ve had my fill. I’m going to visit the little boy’s

room and then head off for bed. Unless you want me to take
the first watch?”

“No, Hank. You get some rest. I’m taking the first watch.

Ed has the second, you can take the third, and Doc, you’ll
have the last watch, if that’s okay with you?”

I should have protested, but I never could sleep after

four  in  the  morning,  especially  with  Jo  gone.  I  got  some  of
my  best  work  done  at  that  time.  “The  last  watch  will  work
fine for me. Hank, be careful, all right?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Yeah, Doc.” But he didn’t sound as if he cared enough.

Should I go after him?

I had taken some broad leaves off nearby trees and

began to wrap the leftovers in them so we’d each have
something for breakfast. I kept looking off into the darkness,
and I was startled when someone touched my arm. It was
Nick.

“Do you want me to go after him, Doc?” He was so close

to me that his lips could have grazed my cheek.

“Ye—”
“Hey, Doc, look what I found.” Hank came wandering

back into camp, and I was tempted to yell at him as if he’d
been one of my kids, but he was an adult.

“What is it?”
He handed me a long bone. “There were a lot of them

scattered on the other side of the stream.”

“This looks like a femur.”
“Human?”
“I don’t know, Ed.” I held it closer to the fire and ran my

fingertips over it. “There seem to be bite marks in it. Nick,
make sure you have your gun at the ready.”

“Will do, Doc.”
“It’s an old bone, isn’t it?” Hank asked.
“It’s hard to say in this light. I’ll study it more in the

morning.” I yawned. “You know, Hank, I think you have the
right idea. I’m going to bed too. Good night, everyone.”

“’Night, Doc.”
Ed and Hank probably wished me good night, but all I

heard was Nick.

It had been fifteen years since I’d kissed him. I suddenly

wondered if his lips were still as soft.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

SAT

up abruptly. I could have sworn I’d heard something,

but  it  was  quiet  now.  A  glance  at  the  sky  showed  it  was
starting  to  lighten,  but  a  mist  covered  the  ground.  I  had  a
feeling it was later than it should be.

The dying fire was a reddish haze through the mist, and

I rolled out of my blanket and walked to it.

Someone sat there, sort of disembodied, the mist

concealing him almost from his chest down. The hood of his
jacket was up around his head.

It should be Hank, but Hank wasn’t this bulky. Could

the mist be playing tricks with my eyes?

“Hank?”
He loosened the ties of his hood and pushed it back off

his head.

Nicky?
But he’d taken the first watch; he shouldn’t be taking

this one also.

“Why didn’t Hank wake me?”
“I told him not to. It’s going to be a long day, Doc. You

needed your rest.”

“Well, I’m awake now. You can go to sleep.”
“Not likely. I’m up for the rest of the day. You know I

never needed much sleep.”

“No, you never did.” Even when he’d first come to us, I’d

find him at four or five in the morning, doing homework or
completing projects. “Keep me company, then.”

“Thanks. I’d like that.”
“It’s been a long time since we had some time together.”
“How did we let it get to that point, Doc?”
“You joined the Air Force after college. How did you wind

up in communications?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“I never thought I would. I’d pictured myself flying those

stealth jets.”

“So what happened?”
“I tossed my cookies the first time I went up in one.” He

glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and I had the
feeling he was pulling my leg. “God, I’d sell my soul for a cup
of coffee.”

“Y’know something, Nicky? I’d sell your soul for a cup of

coffee too.” I bumped his shoulder with mine, and he
chuckled.

We sat in silence for some moments, and then he said,

“We’re going to be here for the rest of our lives, aren’t we,
Doc?”

I never saw the point in lying to my children, and Nick

knew I’d never lie to him. “Unless there’s an advanced
civilization living underground, then I’d say yes. The Emmy

must have torn up the sky before she landed, but no one’s
come to investigate.”

“No, they haven’t.” He scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Tell me something silly, Doc.”

I felt a shock to my heart. I knew Hank had a very valid

reason for wanting to be back on Terra, but was Nick in a
relationship with someone he was missing right now? Did he
want me to distract him from the circumstances we found
ourselves in?

“Well, you know I was born in 2000.” I made sure there

was a smile in my voice, even though there wasn’t one on my
lips. “My parents partied like it was 1999 in 1999, and I was
the result.”

He gave a spurt of laughter.
He was such a good-looking young man, with a wry

sense of humor. And I certainly knew how sexy he was.

I opened my mouth to ask if he had left someone

behind, perhaps someone he wanted to marry, but before I

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

could, the quiet was split by a ground-shaking roar, and
something came charging out of the mist.

I barely had time to yell a warning before I was knocked

over and into the dying fire.

A fetid breath was in my face, and I could see long,

curved fangs. This was it. I was going to die. And I’d let Nicky
think all this time that I only thought of him in a platonic
way.

What sounded like thunder exploded by my left ear, and

suddenly there was a weight on my chest that I thought
would suffocate me.

There was more sporadic gunfire, but I knew

unconsciousness was just a breath away.

“Okay, you miserable son of a bitch. Time to get your

sorry dead ass off the man I love.”

What? Who was Nick talking about?
Abruptly the weight was shoved off me, and I could

breathe.

“Is anyone injured?” Hank asked anxiously.
“I’m okay,” Ed said.
“Me too, Hank.” Nick’s voice was calm as he wiped the

creature’s blood and brains from my face. I hadn’t even
realized—

“Ugh.”
“Doc?”
“I’m a little singed, and a little squashed, but otherwise,

I’ll live.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Doc? It looked like you took

quite a knock.”

“Well, I did get the wind knocked out of me. Thank you,

Nick.” I managed to get to my feet with his assistance. And
fuck what was right and proper. I hugged him. I could feel

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

his surprise, but then his arms came around me and held
me so tight I couldn’t help grunting in protest.

“Sorry.”
“No, it wasn’t you. That thing must have bruised my

ribs when it collapsed on me. Nick, did you mean what you
said after you’d shot it?”

“I said something? What did I say?”
I must have misheard him. “Nothing.”
“What attacked us?” Ed demanded. “And why didn’t you

stop it, Marsham?”

“I did. Want to come take a look?” He stepped away and

methodically reloaded his weapon. He flashed me a grin. “I’ll
keep it ready in case this sucker has brothers.”

I swayed, and Nick was back beside me.
“Dammit! I knew you were hurt!”
“No, I’m just a little woozy.” I almost felt bad for taking

advantage of his concern. Almost, but not enough to deny
myself his touch.

It was getting lighter now, and with the mist dissipating,

it was easier to see. Nick held onto my arm as we stood over
the creature he’d shot. There wasn’t much left of the head.

It was on its side, a tawny beast about eighteen feet

from where the nose should have been to tail, with a huge….
“Mane? Jesus, this looks like a lion!”

“How can that be?” Hank bent down to study it more

closely.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” I said. I was starting to

shiver, and Nick handed me a bottle of water. “Thank you.”
His arm came around to support my back, and I relaxed into
him.

“Take a look at the scar on its flank!” Hank touched the

coat. “It looks like he had a run in with something as tough
as him.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“We’d better get out of here.” My back and ribs ached,

and suddenly I felt every one of my sixty years.

“I’m going to skin it.”
“Why, Nick?”
“Maybe we can use it to spook other lions if we come

across them.”

“All right.” I straightened. “Ed, Hank, get ready to break

camp.”

“Lions are nocturnal hunters, aren’t they?” Ed met my

eyes. “It’s almost daylight.”

“Yes, but do you want to hang around here?”
“

No!” Ed hurried to gather his belongings.

Hank murmured sheepishly, “I need to change my

shorts, Doc.”

“Go ahead. And don’t worry about it. It was touch and

go whether I’d need to do that also.”

I filled the empty water bottle with water from the

stream and was about to pour it over the remains of our fire
when Nick stopped me.

“I’ll need the ashes, Doc. This hide is going to stink as it

is.”

“All right, Nick. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“

HICH

way do we go, Doc?” Nick was scraping the last of

muscle and fat from the hide. He’d stripped to the waist, and
his arms and torso were covered in blood.

“South, I’d say.” I stared at his throat. Once I’d placed a

mark on that spot.

“Works for me.” He used some of the additional leaves

I’d found to transfer the ashes of our fire onto the hide,

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

before going to the stream. “Anybody need a drink before I
get cleaned up?”

Hank gathered up the empty water bottles and hurried

to fill them.

“Thanks, Hank.”
“Gotta keep busy, Doc.”
That was the truth. I just wished I hadn’t had to drag

him into this.

I replaced everything that Nick had taken out of his

blanket and folded it carefully, and then I did the same for
mine.

Ed was hovering over me. “Why would people be south?”
“The weather should be milder. Which way do you want

to go?”

“Uh… I guess south is as good a direction to go as any.”
“All right, then. Hank, where did you find that femur?”
“Hmm? Oh, on the other side of the stream.”
Upstream there were some stones I could cross on, as

Hank  must  have  done  the  night  before,  and  once  I  was  on
the  other  side,  it  wasn’t  hard  to  find  the  spot.  Bones  were
scattered  about,  and  even  a  couple  of  what  looked  like
human skulls.

If this was the lion’s lair, I had no desire to hang

around. I hurried back to our side of the stream.

“Nick, hurry, please?”
“Two minutes, Doc.” It took him a little longer than that,

but not by much. He dressed, fastened his blanket to his
pack and shouldered them, and then rolled up the hide. “All
set.”

“Let’s get going. This carcass is going to draw

scavengers.” I’d noticed some kind of winged creatures
soaring above us, and I’d heard rustling in the undergrowth.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“We don’t want to be around when they decide they’ve waited
long enough for the dinner bell.”

E ATE

what was left of last night’s dinner as we walked

along, conversation desultory at best.

There were no roads or sidewalks, just a smooth, grassy

expanse maybe twenty feet wide that we followed.

Now that we were on more or less flat ground, we made

better progress, accompanied by the hum of insects and the
calls and songs of what looked like birds. They never came
close enough for us to see.

I grew so used to it that I didn’t notice when it stopped,

but Nick did.

“There’s no sound.” He unzipped his jacket pocket and

took out his gun.

“Um… I have a suggestion,” Ed said. “And don’t laugh at

me!”

“We won’t,” I assured him.
“All right, then. I’ve been thinking about that… that lion.

Suppose at one point in Terra’s history, aliens landed and
took specimens?”

“You mean like those people coming over the rise?”

Hank offered.

“What? No! I knew you were—oh, fuck!”
“Doc?”
“Let’s wait and see what they do, Nick.” It was still cool,

but we’d worked up a sweat walking all this way, and the
hoods of our jackets were down. At least they would see we
were like them to a degree.

The people approaching us were dressed in animal

skins, tawny like the lion’s, or possibly deer, although we

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

hadn’t seen anything like them. Both men and women had
bows and quivers of arrows slung across their backs, and
they all carried spears and knives.

“How are we supposed to communicate with them?”

Hank seemed nervous, but then he said, “Oh! Children!” And
suddenly he was surrounded by about a dozen of them. They
chattered and stared at him, fascinated by the clothes he
wore.

“Nick, do you have any bubble gum left?”
“My last piece, Hank.” But he handed it over and

laughed as Hank put it in his mouth and blew a bubble.

The children giggled and clapped their hands. “I’m not

saying ‘me from sky, ride here on big metal bird!’” Ed stated.

I bit back a laugh. He had never struck me as having a

sense of humor before.

I stepped forward, and Nick said, “Wait, Doc. This

wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but….” He shook the
ashes out of the lion skin and flung it out with a snap to lie
on the grass.

There was a concerted “ahhh,” and then one of the

women cupped her hands to her mouth and let out an eerie
cry, an ululation that sent chills up my spine.

It was answered by a sound… if we’d been back on

Terra, I’d have sworn it was an elephant’s trumpet.

“I’m too fucking old for this shit!” A goddamned elephant

appeared, and the person who rode its back wore a lion skin
similar to Nick’s, only this one had the head still attached.

The elephant stopped before us. It was larger than any

I’d seen in zoos at home—maybe thirteen feet at the
shoulder—and in spite of myself, I backed up a step.

The rider tapped the elephant’s ear, and it curled its

trunk up to circle the rider’s waist and bring… her carefully
to the ground.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

I gave a slight bow. “How do you do, ma’am. I’m Van

Allyn,” I touched my chest. “This is Marsham,” I touched
Nick, “Janes,” Hank stepped forward and bowed, “And
Carlyle.” Ed saluted smartly.

“You speak… language… those who… left.”
“You speak English!”
“I… elder. I speak.”
“You don’t look like an elder, if I may say so?” Ed

flashed her a flirty smile.

She looked puzzled for a moment, and then smiled.

“What… I am. Not… who.”

“Can you tell us the name of your planet?” I found

myself falling into the pattern of her speech, but I could see
she didn’t understand the word. “Your… world.” I gestured
broadly, then crouched down and patted the ground.

“No name. Just… our world.”
That made sense. Their level of civilization didn’t appear

to be very advanced.

“You killed… creature… attacked… many my… people.”
“How can you tell? Nick… Marsham did quite a job

destroying its head.”

“See?” She touched the scar. “One… birthed me… do.

Not… many fight… live. She… one.” She looked sad. “Not
long. Live… one… moon.”

“I’m sorry.” So her mother had taken on the lion and

had survived, but only for about a month. She must have
been injured, and her wounds became infected. “That must
have been a painful death.”

“Yes.” She studied me intently and then pointed in

various directions. “Where… you…?”

“Where do we come from? A very long way from here.” I

gestured toward the sky, and there was a collective murmur
of awe.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Four nights… flash… in sky. We go… find… why.”
“That was probably us.” I didn’t think she’d understand

if I said we’d regained consciousness a couple of days ago.

“One day… those who left… return. You?”
“No, I’m afraid we aren’t.”
“Certain?”
“Yes.” I imagined they’d never seen our like before.

“We’re Terran.”

She shook her head, clearly not understanding the

word.  “Stay?”  She  indicated  the  men  and  women  who
surrounded  us.  “Speak…  Van  Allyn…  know.  Marsham…
kill…  welcome.  Little  ones…  Janes…  good.”  She  didn’t  say
anything about Ed, but it was obvious from the way her eyes
wandered over him that he had something to offer also.

“Can you understand her, Doc?”
“I think so, Ed. She’s inviting us to join her people, me

because I can communicate, more or less,” I muttered under
my breath. The roots of our language were still there, but it
would take some time getting used to the way they spoke it.
“She wants Nick because he killed the lion and Hank
because the kids seem to like him”

“What about me?” Ed demanded.
“I think it’s safe to say you’re invited as well.” I turned

back to the elder. “Thank you for your kind invitation, but
we must find a way to return to our own world.”

“I hear. All you go. Rest… first. You stay…” She pointed

toward the sun, closed her fist, and then opened it four
times.

“Thank you,” I repeated. “That’s very kind of you.

Gentlemen?”

“Fine by me, Doc.” Nick was watching one of the women.

She had long blonde hair and big blue eyes, and I sighed. Of

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

course he would want someone younger and of the right
gender.

“Hank?”
“Yes, I’d like that. I could do with some time to wash my

clothes.”

“All right. What do you say, Ed?”
He was smiling at the elder. “I say an emphatic yes!”

T WAS

nice being among people, especially these who

treated us so well. Nick went hunting with them, Hank spent
his time with the children, and Ed would be wherever the
elder was. I learned to communicate with these people, who
called themselves the Crins.

But there was something that plagued me: Ed’s

supposition about aliens taking specimens. What we’d found
on this planet couldn’t be an anomaly, especially considering
what was at Roswell.

We knew that aliens had visited Terra at some point in

our  planet’s  history.  If  they  had  taken  humans,  why  had
they  also  taken  lions  and  elephants?  It  would  have  made
more sense to take sheep and cattle, animals of that nature.
If  the  aliens  wanted  to  populate  a  new  planet,  it  only  made
sense not to have another predator for your specimens to go
up against.

Unless they had a less than altruistic motive for doing

this, such as when the Romans set man against beast in the
Coliseum?

I was so lost in thought that I almost literally stumbled

upon a group of very young children. Of course Hank was
with them, and I had to smile. He was trying to teach them
how to play The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

“Are you all right, Doc? You looked a little distracted.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Yes, I’m fine,” I lied. God, I wished I could talk to

someone about this, but even though Ed had come up with
the alien abduction idea in the first place, he would probably
say I was letting my imagination run away with me. I didn’t
want to burden Hank with suppositions—he was just getting
his head wrapped around the fact that when we’d landed, it
hadn’t been on Terra. And as for Nick… dammit, every time I
turned around, he was in the company of that blonde.

“Doc?”
I smiled and shrugged. “As you say, I’m a little

distracted.”

“Things will be fine, Doc.” He patted my shoulder. “We’ll

find a way to get home, and we can send help for these
people.”

“What kind of help?”
“Oh, equipment for them to build decent houses. Books

for their children to learn from.”

Very large guns to deal with those lions would be more

suitable, but, “You know something, Hank? I think they’re
very happy the way they are.”

He gazed off at the children, who were chasing each

other and tumbling all over the grass. “You know something,
Doc? You might be right.”

EFORE

I knew it, we’d been there a month.

“Do you have any enemies?” I asked the elder that

evening after dinner. She’d invited me to sample their
whiskey. Nick was off somewhere, probably with that blonde,
so I might as well find some way to pass the evening. And
why did it bother me more now than it had before? I’d been
the one to turn him away all those years ago.

Yes, but he seemed pleased to have an excuse. Maybe

even relieved?

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

The elder touched my hand, bringing my attention back

to her. “We’re the Crins. This is our territory. We stay within
it. The Jajes to the south stay there.”

“Do you ever mingle?”
“We must, or else eventually our children will pay the

price  for  our  isolation.  This  was  learned  centuries  ago.  The
wise ones decreed that every ten years we have a gathering,
and  the  tribes  from  all  over  meet  in  Wesgin,  which  is  land
that  belongs  to  no  one.  Our  young  people  are  given  the
license  to  couple  with  whomever  they  choose.  The  births
resulting from that bring fresh blood to our tribes.”

And was Nick adding to that fresh blood?
I sighed.
“We must leave in the morning, Elder.”
“I understand. However, if you wish to speak with the

wise ones, you must go north to Deece.”

“Thank you. If you’ll just point us in the right

direction….”

“I’ll send some hunters with you.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Not at all. I have hopes you’ll return with them.”
“We want to go home.” I’d enjoyed it here, in spite of

how seldom I got to see Nick, but I knew how desperately
Hank yearned for his family.

“We won’t detain you, then. Just know that you’re

welcome.”

“Thank you. It’s getting late, and I need to speak with

my men. I’ll bid you good night.”

“Good night, Van Allyn.”
I went to the hut given to us and was surprised to see

Nick there. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand. “It’s good
stuff.” He raised the glass and knocked back the contents.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

I couldn’t take him to task for that. He wasn’t my son.

Or my lover. “Where are Hank and Ed?” I asked him.

“Hank is talking to the kids. He’s getting a real kick out

of teaching them English.”

“I hope the elder won’t object?”
“No, he cleared it with her first.”
“I… uh… had an interesting conversation with her

tonight.”

“Yeah? You know Carlyle isn’t going to be pleased if you

make a move on his woman.”

“Excuse me? Has Ed—”
“No, but not for lack of trying. That’s probably where he

is right now. Now that you’re not there.”

“Nick, you sound jealous.”
“Well, I am!”
“I’m sorry.” I’d let it go too long. I’d hoped he might want

to—but he was interested in the elder? How was the blonde
going to react to that? And I was nothing but an old fool.
“But to be truthful with you, I don’t think you have a
chance.”

He turned white. “Rip my heart out, why don’t you?”
“I just thought it was best that you know the elder

seems inclined toward Ed.”

“Yeah? And what about you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Who are you—never mind. What did the elder have to

say?”

“Their wise ones are to the north, so I chose the wrong

direction  and  Ed  will  never  let  me  live  that  down.  She…
uh….  she  also  said  that  the  tribe  welcomes  an  infusion  of
new  blood  into  it  every  so  often.  So  if  you  and  that  blonde
want to get together, the elder would have no objection.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“What? What blonde?”
“The one who hasn’t been able to take her eyes off you

since we got here.”

“Oh. Her. You sound a little jealous there yourself, Doc.

Isn’t the elder enough for you?”

Me? He thought I…. My jaw dropped, but before I could

say a word, Nick slammed his glass on the little table beside
him, got to his feet, and stalked out.

Was what we had here a failure to communicate? I

thought back to his words as he stood over the lion’s
carcass. I hadn’t misheard him! I dropped down into a chair
and started laughing. I was still chucking when Hank walked
in.

“Want to share the joke, Doc?”
“No, I don’t think so. How was your evening?”
“Good. I really like those kids. Y’know, there’s one little

guy, Deen, who’s got webbed toes.”

“And?”
He grinned and sat down in the chair Nick had just

vacated, then pulled off a boot and sock and propped his foot
in my lap. “See?” He wiggled his toes.

They were webbed.
He got serious. “I know it’s not really the same, but for a

little while it’s been like Hal is with me.”

“Hank….” I’d spend the rest of my life regretting the

necessity of Hank Janes’s presence on this flight. “We’re
leaving tomorrow. The elder says the wise ones are north of
here.”

“Oh, Doc. Ed will never let you live this down.”
“I know. I said the same to Nick.”
“Speaking of Nick, he’s been in a foul mood these past

few weeks.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“I’ll talk to him about it when he gets back.”
“He probably wants to go home too. Do you think these

wise ones will know of some way we can repair the Emmy?”

“Hank—”
He didn’t let me finish. “Oh, I know it will probably take

some time, but if they’re called ‘wise ones’ they have to be
able to help us, don’t you think?”

He wasn’t thinking clearly. Given the level of civilization

here,  was  it  likely  however  “wise”  the  wise  ones  were  that
they  had  an  advanced  enough  knowledge  of  aerodynamics,
not  to  mention  a  machine  shop  that  could  deal  with  the
damage done to the Emmy?

“Well, I’m going to hit the sack. Tell Nick and Ed to keep

it down when they get back.” The hut wasn’t large enough
for separate bedrooms. It behooved my status as leader of
our expedition to have a room to myself, but Nick, Hank, and
Ed had to share. “’Night, Doc.”

“Good night, Hank.”
I poured myself a cup of what tasted very much like

coffee and settled down to wait for Nick to return.

Ed came in. His mouth was puffy. “The elder said we’ll

be leaving tomorrow, Doc?”

“Yes.”
“I really like that woman. She’s beautiful and smart.

And did I say beautiful?”

“Yes, you did.”
“Could we stay a little longer?”
“I don’t think that would be fair to Hank.”
“No, you’re right. I’m sorry. The first woman I’m

interested in since I lost Betty and the kids, and she has to
live on another planet. Oh, well. Good night, Doc.”

“’Night, Ed.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Finally Nick returned. “You didn’t have to wait up for

me, you know. I’m a big boy and—” He gasped, obviously
remembering his words from all those years ago, and the
pain in his eyes broke my heart.

“Nicky, sit down. We need to talk.”
“Again? Look, Doc, I know you don’t want me. Don’t

make me have to pretend I don’t care.”

I caught his hand. “Dominick, listen to me. What

happened fifteen years ago was then. What’s happening now
is now.”

“Yes, and you’re still out of reach. You’ll have to fight

Carlyle for the elder, but I’m—”

I squeezed his hand. “Nick. There’s nothing between the

elder and me.”

“What? Really?”
“Really. If she wants Ed, that’s fine. I feel sorry for her,

since we’re leaving tomorrow, but none of us can predict who
we’ll fall in love with.”

“I know, Doc.” He sank down on the chair next to mine.

He hadn’t let go of my hand, though. Was he aware of that?
It didn’t matter. I had no intention of letting him go. “I’m
sorry. I’ve been behaving like a total ass. But every time I
turned around, you were with the elder.”

“And every time I turned around, you were with the

blonde. Tell me about her.”

“You were right, she was interested, but I couldn’t give

her what she wanted.”

“Nick, unless something has happened in the last fifteen

years, you should have had no trouble giving her what she
wanted.” I realized how disgruntled I sounded, and I could
feel a blush climb up my cheeks to my hairline.

“I’m not talking about sex, Doc. You know she wanted a

baby?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Yes. Well, I mean, I assumed from what the elder

said….”

“Didn’t I tell you once you should never assume?” He

ran his thumb over my knuckles. A shiver slithered up my
spine, and I could feel my shorts growing constrictive.

I’d seen him do that to countless people, male and

female, but in spite of that, this felt directed at me.

“It’s a long, sad story.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He sighed. “Do you remember that case of the mumps I

had when I was sixteen?”

“Yes.” Jo had sat by his bedside, and we’d actually been

afraid we’d lose him.

“Do you remember Elaine Blake?”
I blinked at the seeming non sequitur. “She was your

girlfriend your senior year in high school.”

“And my freshman year in college. That was when she

got pregnant.”

“You never told us.”
“No. I was too embarrassed. You’d given all of us the

lecture on safe sex and responsible sex, and then I went and
literally screwed up.”

“You should have come to us, Nicky. We would have

helped you. Did she… did she have an abortion?”

“No. She had the baby, Daisy, and I was tickled pink. I

was ready to quit college and get a job so I could take care of
them. There was a problem, though. The baby was Rh-
positive.”

“How would that be a problem? Unless….”
“Yeah. Elaine was Rh-negative. She was so scared, not

for this baby, she said, but for the next one. She asked what
my blood type was. I didn’t know. Well, you knew my

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

parents, Doc; if my blood had been typed when I was born,
the record of it was long gone. I went to the clinic and had it
done, and that was how I found out I’m O negative. Elaine
was A negative. Daisy was B positive. There was no way I
could be her father.”

“I’m so sorry.”
“She was beautiful. All pink cheeks and soft brown

curls. Finding out the guy who was the bane of my existence
had gotten my girlfriend pregnant hurt, but it didn’t matter
what  the  blood  test  said:  I’d  have  loved  Daisy  like  she  was
mine,  and  I’d  still  have  married  Elaine.  But  her  parents
didn’t like the idea of their daughter marrying a guy from the
wrong  side  of  town.  They  broke  us  up.”  He  shrugged.  “That
didn’t stop me from wanting to be a dad. Well, I had the best
example.”  He  squeezed  my  hand.  “You  know  government
policy; only two babies to a couple.”

“I know. The only way Jo and I got away with having

three was because Chris and April were twins.” And hadn’t
we been surprised.

“I know. Tony liked to talk about how when you told him

Josie was in the hospital with the babies, he’d said he
couldn’t wait to see her so he could tell her she’d had a boy
and a girl.” He laughed, but there was sorrow in it. His own
family had treated him so poorly.

“What did you do?”
“I registered to father a baby. As a single dad, I had to

sign over the rest of the little wigglers in that batch, but I
didn’t care.” There was a sheen of tears in his eyes. “I sat in
that goddamned waiting room, and then that nurse came out
and…. Y’know something, Doc? Finding out who had gotten
my girlfriend pregnant wasn’t half as bad as learning why I

hadn’t gotten Elaine pregnant. The mumps did it; I can never
father a child.”

“Oh, Nicky. So that was why….” That had been a bad

year for him. We’d thought it had to do with Elaine Blake

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

marrying someone else, and I remembered Jo and I worrying
about how he went from one girl to another. We were going
to  sit  him  down  and  talk  to  him  about  it,  but  then  Jo  had
become ill. And the next time I paid any attention to Nick, he
seemed  to  have  put  all  that  behind  him.  He  spent  the  next
year  and  a  half  with  me,  even  offering  to  donate  as  many
pints  of  blood  as  she  needed.  We  watched  helplessly  as  Jo
faded away and died.

“So you see, I can’t give Zelle what she wants.”
I squeezed his hand. “You can give me what I want,

though.”

“And what’s that, Doc?”
“You, Nicky.”
“I’ve always been yours.”
“Then suppose we go to bed.”
“Seriously?” A slow grin curled his lips. “I thought you’d

never ask.”

He walked ahead of me into the room that was mine. It

had been lonely, bunking alone, but now I was glad. We’d
have some privacy.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Chapter 6

LWYN

HARLES

LLYN

was the only man I’d ever

loved—the only person I’d ever loved. I’d wanted him from

the time I was fifteen. I had him for one glorious hour when I
was twenty. I’d known that would be the only time, but I
promised myself it would be enough.

It was the only time I ever lied to myself, because here I

was at thirty-five, and I still wanted him more than my last
hope of heaven.

Doc was also the only man I’d ever bottomed for. It had

been  uncomfortable,  but  I’d  made  myself  relax,  and  once
he’d  found  my  prostate,  he  could  have  been  stallion-sized
and I’d only have urged him on.

He hadn’t said anything about how tight I was at the

time. I would be just as tight now.

“One of these days I want to make love with you when

we have enough light so I can see you.”

“We’ll have other days, Doc?”
“We’re going to have many other days, Nicky. And we’ll

have nights as well.”

I hadn’t felt this good in fifteen years. “What is your

pleasure? Ass or mouth?”

“You, any way I can have you.”
I stripped off my clothes and flung myself on his bed.

My cock was so stiff it pointed straight at the ceiling.

He took his time removing his clothes, and I stroked my

cock while I waited for him.

“My beautiful boy.”
“You’re the only one I’d ever let call me that, Doc.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Make sure it stays that way.”
“Oooh! Possessive.”
“Damn right I am.” He leaned a knee on the bed and

bent toward me.

I raised my arms to pull him against me, thinking he

was  going  to  kiss  me.  He  did,  only  it  wasn’t  my  mouth.  He
changed  direction  in  midbend,  tracing  the  line  of  hair  that
grew  down  past  my  navel  and  flared  across  my  groin.  He
settled  himself  between  my  legs,  pressed  teasing  kisses  up
my  thigh,  ran  his  lips  along  the  length  of  my  cock  and
nibbled  the  crown,  and  then  abruptly  swallowed  me  to  the
root.

And to my embarrassment, the feel of his throat

massaging my cock as he swallowed around it was all it
took. I came with a shout.

He sat back on his heels and grinned, licking a few stray

drops of come from his lips. “I thought fucking your ass was
the best thing since sliced bread.”

“Wasn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah, but sucking your cock is a close second. If I’d

ever known how good going down on you would be, I don’t
think I’d have been able to let you go.”

Before I could regret that he hadn’t called me on my

bullshit line that it couldn’t happen again, Hank and Ed
came bursting into the room.

Doc braced his hands on his hips, either uncaring or

unmindful that he was naked, and glared at them. “Did you
think I was killing Nick?”

“We heard… he wasn’t… and then we thought… uh….”
“Sorry, Nick, Doc.” Hank backed out, leaving Ed there.
“Uh…,” he said again. “But Nick, you like girls.”
“I like Doc better. Do you have a problem with that?”
“But Doc! You have grandchildren!”
“And?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Uh….”
“Edward. Go. To. Bed.”
Instead of saying “uh” one more time, he actually

mumbled, “G’night,” and did what Doc told him.

“I’m sorry, Doc. This is going to make things

uncomfortable for you.”

“The only thing that’s uncomfortable is this.” He

wrapped my hand around his cock.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” As much as I wanted

to hold onto him, I had other things in mind. I let go of his
cock,  yanked  him  up,  and  pushed  him  over  onto  his  back.
His  cock  was  gorgeous,  thick  and  long,  the  crown  flushed
red. I took him between my lips.

“Oh!”
I pulled off him. “If you don’t want any more midnight

visitors, you’d better stuff something between your teeth,
Easy.”

He groaned and covered his mouth with his pillow, and I

went back to sucking on him. Better than any lollipop in the
world.

I tickled his balls, pressed my forefinger against his

perineum, and grinned with satisfaction as he came. God, he
tasted good.

And in spite of the pillow over his face, he’d yelled loud

enough for one of the men in the other room to bang on the
wall.

“

know I meant working with Hank and Ed,” I

murmured against his throat afterward.

“I know, but I choose to ignore them.” He held me tight

against his side. “I let all this time pass us. We could have

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

died, Nicky. We could still die. You’re staying beside me from
now on.”

“Okay, Doc.” My old man had always said I was a

useless, worthless piece of shit, but I must have done
something right to have wound up with this man in my life.

“And that’s another thing! You will call me Easy.”
“Okay, Easy.” I sighed happily and pulled the blanket

up to cover us.

HERE

wasn’t time to be uncomfortable at breakfast the next

morning, although Ed stole cautious glances at us from time
to time. I don’t know what he expected. Maybe to see Loves

men emblazoned on our foreheads? There was too much that
needed to be done to worry about his attitude. And if he
busted Easy’s balls, I’d kick his ass.

Surprisingly, he didn’t rag Easy about choosing the

wrong direction. I guessed meeting the elder had something
to do with that.

The Crins had given us backpacks that were more

suitable than the cases we’d brought down from the Emmy.
We’d leave those cases behind for the elder to use as she saw
fit.

She joined us on the outskirts of their village. I could

admit now that she was a beautiful woman, since I knew
Easy had no interest in her.

“I have a means of transportation to offer you.” Six

elephants were led forward, one of them carrying all our
gear.

“Uh… Easy?”
“I guess we’ll be having a new experience.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Y’know, when I was in the fifth grade, my class went to

the zoo. Damned elephant snatched my water bottle. I
haven’t trusted one since.”

He grinned and squeezed my shoulder. “But you’ll ride

one for me?”

“Yeah.”
“My boy,” he said softly. He settled his XK-50 over his

shoulder and turned toward the elder.

“Zelle will take you to Deece,” she said. “All our people

must make this journey to meet with the black robes.
Usually the journey is made on foot in high summer. In the
winter, the ground is too bare, and predators are hungry. In
the spring, the females bear their cubs and look for easy
prey. Now, in the fall, the females are teaching their cubs to
hunt for food.”

“It sounds like it’s never a good time to go.”
“It must be done, so the young ones learn of our laws.

Van Allyn, only a select few go on to speak with the wise
ones.”

“We understand the honor, Elder.”
She nodded. “As I told you last evening, I will send some

of our best hunters with you. Ten will survive better than
four.”

“We appreciate your assistance.”
“Van Allyn, you and your men are welcome to return

here anytime.” Her eyes lingered on Ed.

“Thank you.”
Ed went to her and took her hands, speaking softly.

Then he slung his XK-50 over his shoulder and went to the
elephant he’d been assigned. She curled her trunk around
his waist and lifted him to her back.

“I hope you appreciate what I’m doing for you, Easy.”
“I do, Nicky.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

I felt as if he was saying more than that.
“Let’s go.”
As soon as we were all mounted, we waved to the people

we’d come to know and like and began the journey north.

IDING

an elephant was like nothing I’d ever done before,

and I wasn’t sure how often I’d want to do it. The ground was
a long way down, and I made a point of keeping my eyes on
the horizon. Experienced riders sat in front of us, and on
occasion, when the elephants broke into a faster gait, we’d
have to grab them around the waist to keep from sliding off.

Zelle dropped back to walk her elephant beside the one I

was on. A jerk of her head, and the hunter who rode with me
hopped onto her elephant, and she leaped onto mine.

“Show off,” I muttered.
“I enjoyed having you in my bed, Marsham.” She settled

herself behind me, and even though there was no danger of
me falling off, she wound her arms around my chest and into
my open jacket. “You were very… energetic,” she murmured,
toying with my nipples.

I took her hands off my torso, but then they began

wandering south of the border. “Don’t you need to be in front
of me to control Rill?”

“Rill will obey me no matter where I sit.” She laughed.

“And this is more fun. Are you worried we might make a
baby? Don’t be. There are other things we can do.”

“Thanks. But….” I caught her hands and held them still.

It  was  my  fault.  With  Doc  hanging  around  the  elder,  I’d
taken up Zelle’s offer to spend a night in her bed, but when I
realized  she  wanted  a  baby  with  my  blue  eyes,  I’d  told  her
why that was impossible, gathered up my clothes, and made
myself scarce.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Fortunately, Doc hadn’t been in the hut when I got

there. He’s probably trying to woo the elder, I’d thought, and

then I’d been ashamed of the snide tone of my thoughts. It’s
not his fault he doesn’t love you.

But now it seemed that he did. I grinned over my

shoulder at Zelle.

“My dance card is filled.”
“Dance card? I don’t understand.”
“He’s taken.” Hank joined us on his elephant. “Nick, I

think  Doc  needs  to  talk  to  you.  I’ll  keep  Zelle  company,  if
she’d care to join me?” There was something about his smile,
shy  and  almost  hopeful.  “I  understand that  Deen  is  yours.”
Ah,  that  made  sense.  When  it  came  to  kids,  Hank  was  a
pushover.

“Yes. His father was from one of the western people. We

met at Wesgin, ten years ago.”

“I’d like to hear more about your little boy.”
“He’s hardly little, but yes, we will talk of him.” She and

the hunter in front of Hank traded places.

“Hello, Lish.” We’d gone hunting a few times together.

He was a good guy. And he rode in front of me instead of
behind me and didn’t try to cop a feel.

“Steer this baby over to the one Van Allyn is riding,

okay?” I told him.

“Baby? Marsham, I assure you Rill is an adult!”
“Right. Can you get her to go over by Van Allyn?”
“Of course.”
“Then do it!”
He brought Rill over to my lover.
“What’s up, Easy?”
“Excuse me?”
“Hank said you needed to talk to me.”
“Ah. Hank said that, did he?”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Yes. Easy, are you all right?”
“I’m fit for my age, I’ll have you know.”
Yeah, he’d showed me that just before dawn, but I could

hardly say that in front of two hunters. They were casual
about who they slept with, but I wasn’t sure how they would
react to two men loving each other.

“I just find it very interesting that Hank would suggest I

needed to talk to you. Not that that’s any kind of hardship.”
Was he flirting with me?

“Thanks. I think. So you didn’t need me for anything

specific.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
He was definitely flirting! Usually I was the one who did

that with my partners, and I had to admit it was an
exhilarating change for the shoe to be on the other foot. The
problem was there wasn’t anything I could do about it, and
there wouldn’t be until we made camp later this evening. The
hunters wanted to cover as much ground as possible.

“Do we have any idea how long it will take before we

arrive at Deece?”

He burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re asking if we’re there yet.”
“Yeah, I guess that did sound kind of silly. What I

meant—”

“I know. I shouldn’t have teased you.” His eyes were

warm  as  they  smiled  into  mine.  “The  elder  said  it’s  about
four  hundred  miles,  so  depending  on  the  weather  and  trail
conditions, it could take us as many as twelve days or as few
as  eight.  Elephants  walk  a  little  faster  than  humans.”  He
gave me a sideways glance.

“What? Hey!” Easy’s elephant had suddenly increased

her pace and was starting to leave Rill behind. “Hey!”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Zelle needs to speak with Van Allyn,” Lish said over his

shoulder.

How did he know that? “Yeah, well, follow that

elephant!”

Rill’s gait shifted to a faster walk, and I tightened my

grip with my knees. “Don’t you let me fall off!” I warned Lish.

“Then hold onto me, Marsham.”
Easy was on Zelle’s right, and we came up on her left.

“What’s going on?”

She pointed to a broad swath of grass about a hundred

feet across that seemed to go on and on. It looked as if it had
been  recently  mowed,  but  apparently  that  was  its  normal
appearance.  “This  is  the  trail  that  will  take  us  directly  to
Deece. We’ll stop here for a short time to refresh ourselves. I
know  we  haven’t  come  very  far,  but  the  territory  we’ll  be
traveling through is infested with lions.”

“Well, that’s one way of putting it,” Easy said.
“Filthy beasts should all be wiped off the face of the

world. They won’t attack an adult elephant, but our presence
might tempt them.” She caught the eyes of her hunters, was
silent for a moment, and then nodded.

Could they communicate telepathically? I caught Easy’s

glance, but he just shrugged.

“Once we’re back on the elephants,” Zelle continued,

“we’ll be riding straight through until we come to the place
where we’ll camp for the night.”

The hunters slid to the ground gracefully, and the

elephants wrapped their trunks around our waists and set
us down.

“Thanks, girl.” I rubbed the space between Rill’s eyes

and went to help put lunch together.

And maybe I could slip away with Easy and steal a kiss

or two, if nothing more.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

HAT

set the pace for the rest of the journey. We’d rise early

and  have  breakfast,  break  once  during  the  day  and  then
travel until just before dark, when we’d make camp and turn
in for the night. Easy and I would lay out our blankets side
by  side,  and  we’d  talk  about  how  things  would  be  when…
if… we got home.

“The restrictions against homosexuality aren’t as

stringent as they were even sixty years ago,” he said. “The
Air Force shouldn’t be bullheaded about it.”

“If they are, I’ll resign and get a job in the private

sector.”  I  shrugged.  “You  know  what  will  cause  the  most
problems,  Easy?  Tony,  Chris,  and  April.”  I’d  loved  his  kids
like  family,  but  after  that  night  fifteen  years  ago,  I’d  put
some  distance  between  us.  The  twins  hadn’t  seemed  to
notice,  but  Tony  did.  On  those  rare  occasions  when  we  got
together,  I  told  him  the  Air  Force  had  me  traveling  all  over
the planet, and I entertained him with my exploits.

Fortunately, he believed me.
“I just hope Tony won’t want to kill me for making his

dad my lover.”

He opened his mouth, paused, and then said, “We could

change that.”

“I’m not giving you up! Don’t even think it!”
“All right.” He gave me a warm smile, and I wondered if

I’d missed something. “As I was about to say, my children all
know you, Nick. Why would they have any objections to me
loving you?”

“Maybe because they know me?” I’d regaled his oldest

son with too many lurid tales. “I don’t think Tony’s going to
take this well.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“What do you suggest? That we stop seeing each other

or that we sneak around?”

“No to either of those, Doc.” I tried to conceal how his

casual assumption of both those options hurt. Never to see
him again, or being his dirty little secret? Didn’t he know me
better than to think I’d consent to that?

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Nicky.” He reached across

the space that separated us and took my hand. “I don’t want
those either.”

“Then tell me something: How are you going to react if

Tony or the twins tell you they won’t want you in their lives
as long as you’re with me? That it would be your choice: me
or your grandchildren? I don’t want to put you in that
position.”

“I won’t give you up, Nick. They’ll have to accept that

you’re a part of my life now.”

“Jesus, I hope you won’t regret this!”
“I’ll never regret having you in my life, but what about

you? There’s that difference in our ages.”

“Sixty is the new thirty; hadn’t you heard? That actually

makes you five years younger than me.”

He laughed, as I’d hoped he would, and I ran my thumb

over his knuckles.

“And if we don’t get home?”
“Don’t you understand, Easy? It doesn’t matter. None of

it does. This could be hell, but as long as you’re with me, I’d
happily spend eternity here.” My voice cracked. Shit, I’d
become emotional. I brushed my other hand across my eyes.
“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Somehow we’ll get this to work. Meanwhile,

we have to get home first. Let’s worry about it then.”

“I… I don’t think I’ve said it, but I love you, Easy.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“You did say something to that effect when you killed

the lion.”

“I did? I don’t remember.” I’d been too petrified to think

of anything beyond the possibility of Doc dying before my
eyes and me not being able to do a goddamned thing to
prevent it.

“I love you too, Nicky.” His fingers tightened on mine

convulsively, and I brought our hands to my mouth and
pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “We’d better get to sleep.
Tomorrow will be here soon enough.”

it was, and we repeated the process all over again.

Lions would pace ten or twenty yards from us

occasionally, but for the most part, they gave us a wide
berth.

From time to time, we’d pass what looked like shells of

some sort of structures, either burned out or shrouded in
vegetation.

The hunters refused to approach any closer.
It was the same with what were obviously burial

grounds of some kind. We could see monuments and
monoliths tipped at odd angles, but we weren’t given the
opportunity to examine them any closer.

I wasn’t going to let that stop me, though. There was a

full moon one night, and after everyone had fallen asleep, I
slipped out of camp. I’d never believed that bullshit about
walking in a graveyard at midnight.

Maybe I should have. And maybe I should have taken

Easy’s XK-50 with me.

Any names or dates that might have been on the

markers had been erased by time and the weather. There
was something that looked similar to a mausoleum, but

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

again, it was covered in vines. The door was rusted in place,
and I couldn’t enter. And if there were any engravings, I
couldn’t feel them under my fingertips.

On the way back to camp, I crossed paths with a lioness

and her cub. I’d never climbed a tree so fast in my life. A
branch tore my jacket, and my gun spilled out of my pocket.

I turned the night blue with my swearing, then settled in

to wait. I’d have to come up with a logical story as to how I’d
torn my jacket.

And then I realized I had the truth: a branch had

snagged it. I’d never had any intention of keeping where I’d
been from Easy. I’d just omit this little incident.

The lioness got bored after a while, or maybe she figured

her cub needed easier game to take down than me.
Fortunately, she wasn’t interested in my gun, and I found it
a couple of yards away from the tree when I climbed down.

I managed to make it back to camp before sunrise, and I

slipped under my blanket.

“Where were you, Nicky?” Easy asked softly.
“Went to check out that burial site.”
“What did you find?”
“A whole lot of nothing.”
“I wished you’d wakened me,” he said wistfully. “I’d have

liked to go on an adventure.”

I leaned over and brushed a kiss across his lips. “Next

time, I promise.”

N THE

tenth day, Zelle paused at the edge of a marsh

where beaver dams formed numerous pools. She gestured for
us to join her.

Fifty yards ahead of us was an obelisk that rose up

about a hundred feet at a forty-five-degree angle. We could

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

see where flooding had left high-water marks. Its base was
concealed in the muck, and its highest point was a
discolored triangular capstone.

“Doc?” Hank sounded uneasy.
Further to the east was—
“Am I losing my mind, Doc?”
Even from this distance, we could see that the building

had lost part of its dome.

“This isn’t possible!” Ed was shaking “It can’t be

possible! This damage… it has to be centuries old!”

“Van Allyn, we’ll skirt the marsh.” Of course the hunters

couldn’t understand why we’d be upset. “The wise ones dwell
there.” And Zelle gestured toward the right of what was left
of the US Capitol building.

I was riding with Lish again. “Get Rill over to Van Allyn.”

I knew the shit was about to hit the fan. Easy was our
leader, and he’d have to take the fallout, but he wasn’t going
to take it alone.

With a nudge with his knee, Lish had the elephant

moving.

“I’m sorry,” Easy was saying to Ed and Hank. “I hadn’t

wanted to face it, but unless we buy into Ed’s alien-
abduction theory….”

Easy had talked about it, and if he believed it, then I

was  pretty  much  ready  to  believe  it  too.  Especially
considering  what  we’d  found  here:  people  who  were  like  us
down to ten fingers and toes and a belly button, who spoke a
language  similar  enough  to  our  own  that  we’d  been  able  to
understand them after only a week or so.

Meanwhile, Easy continued to voice his hypothesis. “…

or explain the presence of lions and elephants? This is Terra.
Hundreds of years beyond our time, but….”

I reached across to touch his shoulder. “It’s not your

fault!”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“How can this be Terra, Doc?” Ed urged his hunter to

bring the elephant they were riding closer to Easy’s. “How
could this have happened?” he demanded.

“Fuck how it happened!” Hank was almost frantic. “How

do we get home?”

Would we ever be able to? Forget the damage done to

the  Emmy’s  forward  thrusters;  even  if  we  could  get  her
repaired,  did  we  have  enough  fuel  left  to  get  her  back  into
the sky, much less out of the exosphere?

Easy knew that as well as I did, and Ed should as well,

being the pilot. Hank most likely knew it too, but he had a
family back in our time, and why would he want to face
that?

“Before we left, I spoke with Dr. Perkins about his

theories  of  time  as  a  fourth  dimension.  They  happen  to
coincide  with  mine,”  Easy  added  parenthetically.  He  looked
tired,  and  he  ran  a  hand  through  his  hair.  When  had  it
gotten so gray? “We have no idea how long the Emmy was in

hyperdrive, or how fast she was going when she entered it.”

“So you’re saying that somehow we broke the time

barrier? That that’s how we got here?”

“I don’t blame you for wanting answers, Ed. I just wish I

had some to give you.” He glanced across at me. I shrugged
and gave him a small smile; as long as we were together, I
didn’t give a fuck about where or when we were. He looked
relieved.

“I don’t care how we got here!” Hank snapped. “All I

want to know is how we get home!”

“I don’t know, Hank.” Easy rubbed a hand over his face.

“Maybe these wise ones can tell us something.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Zelle, can we hurry?”
“Of course.” She didn’t tell the hunters how to make the

approach; they must have done this before. And the
elephants were comfortable making their way across the

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

marsh. In some spots the water was up to their knees, in
others it barely got their feet wet.

We could see that the walls of other buildings had

collapsed. Roofs had caved in.

“Easy.”
He jumped. He’d been so engrossed in the sight before

us that he hadn’t realized anyone had approached him.

“Nick. I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“You didn’t get me into anything. I was just doing my

job. So were you. So were the others. It looks like these are
the breaks.”

“You don’t hate me, then?”
“I don’t even resent you. You’re here, aren’t you? As long

as we’re together….”

“We’ll hear what the wise ones say. Frankly, I don’t

expect much, but I have to make the effort for Hank.”

“Then we’ll go back to the Crins?”
“Yes. There’s no point in us trying to survive on our own

when they’re willing to take us in. I’m sorry.”

“Why?”
He gave me a wry look. “This is one hell of a

honeymoon.”

My heart flipped over, and I couldn’t catch my breath.

Was that how he saw us, as married? I’d never hoped for
that with anyone. “Is it? Is it really?”

“Yes. I think we’ll need to go on another one. I haven’t

even been able to kiss you properly!”

My cock was suddenly, painfully erect, and I dropped

my hands to my groin to cover my arousal.

Easy’s eyes dipped down, and when they rose to meet

my eyes, he had the sweetest smile on his face.

Yeah. I guess we were married.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Chapter 7

GROUP

of young people sat under the sun in a semicircle

around a couple of older men who were dressed pretty much
like  everyone  else,  in  tanned  hides.  The  youngsters  were
reciting  something,  and  as  we  got  closer,  I  was  able  to
distinguish the words:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a

more perfect Union….”

If we needed anything further to prove to us that this

was really Terra….

Meanwhile, Zelle was saying, “… come from the north.

It’s very odd that they should have made this journey now.
They’ll be heading into their winter when they return.”

One of the men looked up. He smiled when he saw Zelle,

murmured something to the man next to him, and rose to
his feet.

“Greetings, Zelle.”
“Greetings, Justice. I’ve brought these men to speak

with the wise ones.”

He looked us over carefully. “Your clothes are strange.”
“This is what we wear—” I couldn’t say “on our planet.”

This was our planet. “What we wear for work.”

“You’re not from this coast. Are you from the west?

We’ve heard of the Lifs, although none has come this far.”

“No. We’re from Terra.”
He raised a polite, inquiring eyebrow, and I felt myself

turn cold. How could Terra’s name not be known among her
children?

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

I cleared my throat. “I’m Van Allyn. These are my

colleagues, Marsham, Janes, and Carlyle.”

“I bid you welcome to Deece.”
“Excuse me, Justice, but I have to ask. Where are we?”

Hank looked like he was holding it together by a thread.

“Why, you’re on our world.”
“But what is it called?”
“I don’t understand. It’s called our world.”
“Doc, there were billions of people here when we left!

What happened to everyone?”

Justice seemed to think Hank was talking to him. He

smiled and waved a hand to include the other man and the
young people. “As you see.”

This wasn’t getting us anywhere, but Hank pushed on.

“What year is this?”

Justice looked bemused. “I cannot tell you this. It is not

within the area of my expertise. Come. I will take you to the
wise ones.”

“You’re not the wise ones?”
“No. We’re the black robes.”
“But wasn’t that used to refer to priests?”
“I don’t know these priests you speak of. It is our task to

teach the people the laws, so they can take them home and
live them. At one time, we wore black robes, but eventually
they became too threadbare. However, the name remains.
Come. It’s not far.”

Zelle locked eyes with each of her hunters, then turned

to me. “We are not permitted within that revered ground. We
will wait here for you. You must leave your weapons with
us.”

I gave my XK-50 and my handgun to Hode, the hunter

I’d been riding with, and Rin, his elephant, circled my waist

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

with her trunk and gently set me on the ground. In a matter
of seconds, Nicky, Hank, and Ed joined me.

We followed Justice, and as he said, it wasn’t far, maybe

a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Hank  and  Ed  were  right  behind  him,
peppering  him  with  questions  he  couldn’t  or  wouldn’t
answer.  Nick  walked  with  me,  his  shoulder  brushing  mine
from time to time. I was grateful for his silence.

When Justice finally stopped, it was in front of what was

left of a building that appeared to be a series of boxes.

“Oh, Christ. Is this where the wise ones live?” I asked

him.

“Yes.”
It was the Air and Space Museum.
“I am not permitted within its walls. I must return to my

teaching. When you are done, follow the way we came, and
you should have no trouble.”

“What kind of trouble could we have?” Ed asked.
“I don’t want to know. Can we get on with this?” Hank

was becoming distraught.

“Yes, Hank,” I said.
We began walking toward the museum. The ground was

soggy and sucked at our boots.

The closer we got, the more we could see what poor

condition it was in.

And then finally we stood before it.
“Do we just walk in?” As keen as Hank had been only

minutes ago, now he seemed reluctant to go further.

Nick’s gaze ran over the ground. He spotted a rock and

picked it up. “I’ll go first. Ed, bring up the rear, and keep
your eyes peeled.”

“I’m the captain,” Ed muttered, but he found a stick and

followed Nick’s orders.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“It’s military policy to send out a scout. If I’m not back

in a few minutes….” The corner of Nick’s mouth kicked up in
a rueful grin. “You’d better come and get me.”

“I don’t think so.”
“Easy, you’ll leave me to my fate?” He pressed a hand to

his heart.

“Of course not. I’m coming with you.”
“But policy—”
“I hardly think I’ll be court-martialed, especially since

I’m the skipper.”

“What’s with the nickname, Doc?” Ed asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Nick’s been calling you Easy since we left the Crins.”
“It’s just a family nickname.”
“But Nick isn’t a member of your family.”
“He is, actually.”
And Ed’s face went brick red as he remembered the

scene he’d burst in on the night before we’d left.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“Uh… Doc? Nick’s gone into the building.”
“Dammit!” Trust him to do something like that when I

was distracted. I stepped into the space where doors had
once been. Beams of sunlight shone down to the floor from
the wrecked roof, but the area beyond it was dim. “Nick?”

“To your left, Easy.”
We followed the sound of his voice.
“Dammit, I should have found a rock myself.” Hank was

looking around uneasily. “Why can’t we hear his footsteps?”

“All this debris underfoot, I guess.” We passed an

exhibit that contained the remains of what looked like a

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

prototype of the Emmy. Another exhibit held a literal flying
saucer.

“God, that’s beautiful!”
“I can see Ed’s in love,” Nick said.
“Where did you come from?” Ed sounded miffed.
“What used to be the food court.” Nick shook his head,

and then turned to me. “Our hosts are waiting for us, Doc.”

We followed him into another huge splash of sunlight.
My eyes adjusted, and I was able to see a half dozen

men and women who were seated at a long table. They were
dressed in what looked very like the clothes early astronauts
wore when working in the international space station. Had
they pilfered the exhibits?

“Welcome, visitors to our world.”
I stepped forward. “Thank you. But this is our world as

well.”

“You’re from our world? How can that be? You’re very

different—”  The  woman  who  was  speaking  sucked  in  a
breath.  She  turned  her  head  and  seemed  to  communicate
with  the  people  on  either  side.  Nick  had  mentioned  the
possibility of the hunters who rode with us being telepathic.
Was this something that had developed in the time we’d been
gone?

The man to her left gazed back at us. “We’ve been

waiting for this moment for a very long time.” There was an
air of excitement about him. “We’ve been waiting for those
who left.”

“Well, that’s us, in a manner of speaking,” Ed

murmured. “But—”

“I don’t think you were waiting for us.” There was a wry

grin on Nicky’s lips.

“How long have you been waiting, if you don’t mind my

asking?” I didn’t think it mattered, but I owed it to Hank.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“You’re asking what year this is.” The woman who sat in

the center smiled.

“Well… yes.” It was hard to judge her age, but somehow

I had the impression she was very old.

“This is the year 827 ACM.”
Ed muttered, “I know what BCE stands for, but what

the hell is ACM?”

“It stands for After Critical Mass.”
“I don’t like the sound of this.”
“Neither do I, Ed,” I said under my breath, then raised

my voice. “Ma’am, we took off from White Sands, New
Mexico, on April 1, 2060.”

“Ah, you wish to know what year this is CE.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes became vague for a long moment, and then

they sharpened. “According to the old measuring of time, it’s
3072.”

“More than a thousand years?” Hank covered his face

with his hands. “Oh, God. Oh, God!”

I did some rapid calculations. “So something happened

in 2245.”

“Yes.” She smiled at me as if I were an exceptionally

bright student. “Even with the overpopulation of our world,
that was the year there was an occurrence that tipped the
scales. Wars broke out—”

“That would explain the slightly higher level of radiation,

Nick.”

“Yeah. But it would only take about two hundred years

for the radiation to get down to what it’s reading now.
What?” He glared at Ed. “I’m more than a pretty face, you
know!”

“You know, it actually could be worse,” I mused.

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Are you insane, old man? My wife, my children… they

grew old and died centuries ago! That’s as bad as it can get!”

Nick got in his face. “You want to know how it could be

worse, Janes? Think of this: Armageddon could have
happened two hours after we lifted off from Mars.”

Hank turned white. “When we lost contact with White

Sands?”

Nick nodded. “When we lost contact with White Sands.”
“I’m sorry, Hank,” I said. “I had family too, and I know

how hard it is for you, but I’d rather my loved ones lived on,
even though it was without me, than that they were
incinerated in a goddamned stupid war that no one wanted
but no one had the intelligence to prevent!”

“Would mankind really have been that stupid?” Ed

demanded, and then he covered his face with his palm.
“What am I saying? They were!”

All I could do was repeat how sorry I was, but I wasn’t

sure if Hank heard me. His shoulders shook, and his sobs
were becoming audible.

“Nicky?”
“Right, Easy.” He went to Hank and put an arm around

his shoulder, murmuring softly to him, “Take it easy, Hank.
You’re not alone.”

Ed’s jaw dropped. “He can be decent at times!”
“Don’t sound so goddamned surprised, Carlyle!” I was

tempted to take a poke at him.

Ed’s eyes widened. Except for the time when he’d

mocked my findings regarding the space-time continuum—
which we now had proof of—he’d never seen me lose my
temper.

I turned back to the wise ones. “Ma’am, can you tell me

if any of the exploratory ships were successful?” I thought of
my friend Sam Johnston. “Did the MRV—the Mission

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

Reconnaissance Venus—ever return? Was anything heard of
the Argos?”

“I’m sorry; this we don’t know.”
“What do you know? Wise ones?” Hank gave a harsh

bark of laughter and raised his head, his eyes glittering with
pain and fury. “That’s a laugh. You can’t tell us anything!
What good are you?”

“Easy, I’m going to take Hank outside for some air,”

Nicky said, and I patted his shoulder.

Considering the condition of the building, he didn’t need

to take Hank out for air, but it would be better if Hank was
out of here.

I waited until they left and then said, “I apologize for my

colleague. He’s just coming to realize he’ll never see his
family again.”

“No apology is necessary. This must be very difficult for

him.”

But I had the feeling they didn’t understand just how

difficult. I sighed, guilt weighing heavily on me.

“So a cataclysm occurred in 2245; I’m assuming a global

war?” Ed looked at me, and I nodded.

“No. Few countries that had access to nuclear weapons

exploded them, simply because there wasn’t enough time.
What devastated the world was a combination of biological
weapons and ecological disasters. Within a handful of years,
the population fell from almost fifteen billion to less than one
hundred and twenty-five million.”

“Jesus. That was the world population after the Great

Plague!”

“But if nuclear weapons weren’t involved, how do you

explain the increased radiation count?”

“I’m sorry.” She smiled ruefully. “There’s so much we

don’t know—”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

“Don’t you want to know?” Ed demanded. “Hank was

right. What kind of ‘wise ones’ are you?”

The man to her left touched her arm and whispered

something into her ear.

“Do you think?”
The man shrugged.
“We have a suggestion for you. There’s a place where

they might know of these things, if they’ve managed to
survive. Rosell. It’s to the west, and the journey will be long
and difficult. With the winter months approaching, it might
be wiser to wait until the spring.”

Rosell? In the west? Could she be referring to Roswell?
“Doc?” Ed shifted from foot to foot. “What do you think?”
“If it’s what I think it is, I’ve been there. Of course that

was a thousand years ago, and who knows how much the
terrain has changed since then. Look what’s happened here
in DC. But yes, I think it might be worth it. Ma’am, can you
give us more information about this Rosell?”

“There is so much that was lost to us. You see what has

become of Deece.” She sighed and shook her head. “If you
wish to remain here until the spring…?”

“Thank you, but we won’t put you out.”
“Knowledge is important to us. For centuries, we have

been passing down what we ourselves had learned, but with
the passage of time…. We would be interested in hearing
what you discover, Van Allyn.”

“We’ll be more than happy to share what we learn with

you,” I assured her.

“And… what you know?” the man asked.
Of course. They’d want to compare the knowledge they’d

had eighth- or tenth-hand to what was current to us.

“Yes,” I agreed.
“Please come back to see us when you return, and we’ll

talk more.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

100

“We’ll do that. We’d better go. Thank you for taking the

time to speak with us, ma’am.”

She nodded graciously.
“Ma’am.” I bowed, and after Ed followed suit, we both

turned to walk out.

“Will we ever get home, Doc?”
“I doubt it,” I said softly. “This is home now.”
“Hank’s not going to take this well. Do you think—” He

fell silent as we exited the main entryway. “What the fuck?”

Nick was on the ground, holding an unconscious Hank.

“I’m sorry, Easy. He was becoming hysterical.”

“Why didn’t you just slap him?” Ed demanded.
“He got the jump on me.” Nick looked up, and I gasped.

His eye was starting to swell, and blood was trickling from
the corner of his mouth. He gave a painful smile. “At least he
didn’t knock a tooth out.”

“Son of a bitch!” Ed growled. He hoisted Hank over his

shoulder and began walking back toward where the hunters
were waiting for us. “Zelle’s not going to be pleased with you,
Marsham. She’s taken a shine to Hank.”

“Yeah, well….”
“Give me your hand, Nicky.”
He reached up, and I took it and pulled him to his feet

and into my arms.

“Are you all right?”
“I’ll live.” He leaned forward to brush his lips over my

cheek, then stopped. “You know what we forgot?” He mopped
at the blood on his mouth with his sleeve.

“What.” I fumbled in my pockets for a handkerchief,

then started to laugh. “A handkerchief?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

101

We walked in silence for a few minutes, and then he

asked, “Any idea how elephants and lions came to roam free
in the States?”

“They must have escaped from zoos and private

preserves.” I wondered what we’d find to the west. Would
vast herds of bison once again thunder across the Great
Plains?

“What now?”
I realized Nicky had no idea what Ed and I had learned.

“The wise ones spoke of a place to the west where they might
be able to tell us what the wise ones couldn’t,” I told him.

“When are we going?”
“In the spring.”
“Ah, shit, on elephants?”
I couldn’t help laughing. “You’ve become accomplished

on elephantback.”

He smiled, but then he grew serious. “So this is it,

Easy? We’re here for the rest of our lives?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, Nick.”
“I’m not,” he said softly.
“This was my fault. I wanted the best men for this

expedition, and so I dragged you and Hank along with me.”

“No. Oh, maybe if you didn’t absolutely, positively have

to have Hank, he would have said no to you. But me? I made
sure I was the only choice you had.”

“What are you talking about?” I’d gone to his

commanding officer, hoping for him, but knowing I might not
get him if he wasn’t available.

“When I learned that you’d be skippering the MRM, I

went to my CO and told him I wanted that berth and I’d do
whatever was necessary to get it.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

102

“Including blowing him?” As I recalled, his commanding

officer was a handsome man.

“Easy, I’m being serious here!” But he was blushing.
“Sorry.” I smiled. I was flattered he’d have been willing

to go to that extreme if that was his last recourse.
“Although—”

“No. Don’t say you’d have left me behind if you’d known

how  this  would  end.  Do  you  have  any  idea  what  it  would
have  been  like  for  me  if  you’d  never  come  back?  I’d  have
spent  the  rest  of  my  life  thinking  you  were  dead,  and
whatever time I had left—it wouldn’t have meant anything to
me, because you weren’t there.”

“Nick—”
“Marsham, you knocked out my man.” Zelle looked

down from her elephant. Hank was draped across her lap,
and she was petting his hair.

There was a groan, and I realized he was returning to

consciousness. I met Zelle’s eyes. “He’s going to need time to
grieve.”

“He’ll have it.” She was smiling. “Carlyle says you are

returning with us to our lands.”

“Yes, we are. The elder said we would be welcome.”
“And you will be.”
“Come the spring, though, we’ll be journeying to the

west. The place the wise ones mentioned… I think it might
be Roswell.”

“There really was such a place?” Nicky’s face lit up, as if

I’d told him there really was a Santa Claus.

“Yes. I’m hoping, if anyone is still there, that they’ll be

able to give us more details about what happened to Terra.”

“And if no one is there?”
“That place was out in the desert, and the lack of

moisture should have kept the bunkers in decent condition.”

To Love Through Space and Time * Tinnean

103

“Bunkers? It’s underground? All right!”
“I will come with you,” Zelle said. “I’ve always wanted to

see beyond our mountains. And perhaps when we return,
Janes will be ready to accept me as his partner. Mount up.”

“Y’know, Easy, I was going to say I felt sorry for Hank,

but I know he likes Zelle, and he’s crazy about her son.”

“Yes. And Ed will manage, because he and the elder

seem to have a connection.”

“Hey!” Nick stumbled forward into my arms. One of the

elephants had given him a push. “Hey, Lish! Can I handle
Rill on my own?”

“If you wish to try.”
“Yeah, I do. Don’t go anywhere, Easy. Up, Rill.”
I watched as she lowered her leg and Nick scrambled

up. He patted her head.

“Now get Van Allyn.”
“Oh!” I should have been used to being hoisted by the

elephants, but I was still startled when her trunk went
around my waist and she sat me behind Nick.

“All set, Easy?”
“All set, Nicky.” We’d traveled through space and time to

find this love of ours, but I wondered: If we hadn’t made this
trip, if we’d stayed behind on Terra, would Nick have come to
me and told me how he felt? Would I have gone to him and
demanded he give up everyone else for me?

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the back of his

neck, and he grinned at me over his shoulder.

I didn’t doubt it for an instant.

About the Author

INNEAN

has been writing since the third grade, where she

was inspired to try her hand at epic poetry. Fortunately, that
epic  poem  didn't  survive  the  passage  of  time;  however,  her
love  of  writing  not  only  survived  but  thrived,  and  in  high
school  she  became  a  member  of  the  magazine  staff,  where
she contributed a number of stories.

It was with the advent of the family’s second computer—the
first  intimidated  everyone—that  her  writing  took  off,
enhanced  in  part  by  fan  fiction,  but  mostly  by  the  wonder
that  is  copy  and  paste.  While  involved  in  fandom,  she  was
nominated  for  both  Rerun  and  Light  My  Fire  Awards.  Now
she concentrates on her original characters.

A New Yorker at heart, she resides in southwest Florida with
her husband and two computers.

Ernest Hemingway’s words reflect Tinnean’s devotion to her
craft: “Once writing has become your major vice and greatest
pleasure, only death can stop it.”

She can be contacted at

tinneantoo@gmail.com

and can be found on LiveJournal:

http://tinnean.livejournal.com/

and on Facebook. If you’d like to sample her earlier works,
they can be found at

http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/tinnssinns/Welcome1.html

Published by
Dreamspinner Press
4760 Preston Road
Suite 244-149
Frisco, TX 75034

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the
authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Art by Catt Ford

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is
illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon
conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No
part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the Publisher. To
request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 4760 Preston Road, Suite
244-149, Frisco, TX 75034

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

Released in the United States of America
June 2012

eBook Edition
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61372-651-8

Document Outline