Julie pushed the book in front of her away and rubbed her eyes. She'd been staring at the pages in front of her for several hours and nothing she was reading was standing out to her as anything that would help her to find AJ.

'I put him somewhere he would do the most good.' It was the only clue Julie had to the location of AJ and after two weeks of research she was not any closer to discovering where he was located. She was tired of searching but she could not give up, she promised AJ she would save him, she'd asked Charles to let her help rescue him, she could not give up on him.

Julie rubbed her eyes and let her mind wander back to the day she arrived.

“What are you doing here?” Brian asked them when they arrived the first day.

“Brian, I am bringing you Julie to help research locations Nick could be. She needs time to heal but I know she doesn't want to just sit around and heal. The best thing would be for her to be here, under your watchful eye, helping research.” Howie smiled at the two of them but neither of them returned the smile.

“You are giving me another babysitting job.” Brian turned away from Howie obviously ticked off.

“No, she is here to help and to heal. I am not leaving her with a device so she cannot run off or back.” Howie turned back to Julie and smiled again.

“Use whatever knowledge you acquired from Nick in the time you knew him, I hope that he slipped and told you something that will come to you as you research.” Howie put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

“How can I contact you and Kevin if I find something?” Julie asked, hoping that there was some way she could get a hold of Kevin. She wasn't sure how long she'd be in twenty-twelve and certainly didn't want to waste more time away now that she knew he had feelings for her.

Howie leaned closer to Julie so only she could hear. “Julie I like you, and I don't mind you are a volunteer, I want you to know that you don't belong,” Julie tuned him out after those words, she didn't want to hear him say she didn't belong with Kevin or with the project. Howie turned from her said his good-byes to Brian and then was gone.

From that point on Julie and Brian had been researching the books, comparing histories to see where Nick might have placed AJ. Brian still had to check on Charles, and they slept and ate regularly but the only real breaks Julie took were to visit her mother whose heart had been giving her complications again and she spent a few days in the hospital with her.

The thought of possibly losing her mother devastated Julie, and she threw herself into the work to try and avoid the situation unless she was with her mother. She knew Brian was curious as to what was bothering her but she appreciated the fact that he did not press her for information when she wasn't sharing. She didn't know Brian well enough to seek comfort from him. She wanted to feel Kevin's arms around her, to hold her close and tell her that everything was going to be alright, but she'd not seen Kevin since she arrived in twenty-twelve.

She wondered if Howie had spoken with Kevin, convinced him that she didn't belong and he agreed. Kevin played by the rules and being with someone who was once your case, your displaced to return, had to be against some kind of rule.

Of course she'd been away from him for weeks at a time before, but this time was different. Knowing he felt the same way and could visit her but chose not to hurt her even more. She watched Brian leave several times to check in and report back. Julie asked him every time he came back for anything about Kevin, was he coming to visit did he ask about her. Brian would only shake his head in response. She hated that she sounded desperate but she longed for any information, even just to know he was safe.

“Frustrated?” Brian asked waking her from her thoughts as he slammed down the books on the table.

“Yah,” She answered him. “Have you heard anything?” She wanted to know if anyone had found AJ but she also wanted to know about Kevin.

Brian shook his head. “Nobody has been able to find AJ or Nick. They have only deployed a few recon missions. Nobody really knows where to look at all.”

Julie looked back at her book, “Waiting for us to find something?” She asked half in jest.

“Probably,” Brian replied sitting across from her and opening another book.

“Brian,” Julie placed her hand on the page he was looking at. “I need you to tell me something. Why is Kevin avoiding me?” She knew she sounded ridiculous asking why the boy she liked never visited but she needed to know. She believed Howie had talked to Kevin and convinced him that being with her was wrong.

“You aren't exactly topic of conversation when I check in.” Brian replied dryly.

“He hasn't asked about me?” Julie asked and when she saw Brian squirm in his seat she knew she was on to something.

“He has asked about me.” She said definitively. “If he asked he must have given you something to tell me.”

“Julie, he asked me not to say anything.”

“Why?” She asked, she couldn't understand why Kevin would request that.

Brian sighed and moved her hand off the page, continuing his research.

“Brian,” She felt selfish. She was complaining about not being able to see Kevin to a man that had to get permission to visit his family. “Tell me and I will cover for you tonight if Howie drops in. Cover for you so you can visit your family.” She wasn't sure he'd go for it, wasn't sure he trusted her yet.

After awhile, Brian nodded. “He's afraid.”

“Afraid of what? Give me more if you want me to cover for you.”
He sighed and continued. “You have to understand the strangeness of the situation you are in.”

Julie jumped in. “Situation as in going through time chasing a man who wants to kill me to get even with Kevin, who thinks he killed me? Nick doesn't know I lived..”

Now it was Brian's turn to interrupt. “He's afraid of what will happen when this is over and there is no more bad guy to chase of what will happen with you.”

Julie though about that for a moment. “He wants to complete his mission still.” She stood and started to move towards the basement floor.

She was almost through the door when she felt Brian grab her arm and pull her to a stop.

“Yes, he is afraid you will get hurt, but he is afraid this is all too much for you and you will return to this time for good. Your life, after all, is here.” Brian relaxed his grip on her arm some, but still held her firmly.

Julie hadn't thought past finding AJ and stopping Nick. She still had school to finish, that is if she still wanted to finish. She still had her mother and with her sick and likely dying she didn't feel right leaving her. She just assumed once Kevin showed her how he felt that he would go where ever, whenever she went.

As if he could read her thoughts through her reaction, Brian continued. “You know he can't live here right? He already exists in this time, he's fifteen and is worried about making the football team. He knows who wins the next eighteen Superbowls, the Presidential elections. He would never be able to participate in life here, he already has.”

Julie met Brian's eyes and held his gaze. She hadn't though about a conflict with him living through a period of time he already lived through.

“Now you understand,” Was all Brian said as he finally released her arm. “Do we still have a deal?”

Julie, lost in thought, nodded when it sunk in what he was asking. “Yeah, yeah, you held up your end.”

He pulled her into a hug. “You know what they say.” He pulled back and looked at her, “If it's meant to bee..” He smiled at her. “But don't be upset with him wanting to guard his heart.”

Brian squeezed her shoulder and moved away from her so that he could make the jump home. Julie was alone with the books and even though what she found out about Kevin wasn't what she wanted to hear she suddenly had a renewed passion to find where Nick put AJ.

Her fingers started to spin through her hair as her mind tugged at the phrase. 'I put him somewhere he could do the most good.' Something in her mind told her that she should know where AJ was just from this information.

Her hand flew to side as her injury flared briefly with pain. 'It's not fair.' The last words Nick spoke to her seeped into her mind. Nick tried to kill her to get revenge against Kevin who had killed the woman he loved, the woman who was trying to help all she met including children nobody else would care for.

Julie sat up straight, she knew where AJ was. Without Zoe to take care of those children, all the good she did was gone. Nick wanted to help those she tried to help. Nick had taken AJ to the Ming Dynasty to care for children!