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Author's Chapter Notes:

Julie's home and trying to resume life, with a surprise in store, what will she do?

Julie sat staring at the spot Kevin had just been standing for a few more minutes before she took a deep breath and relaxed. She wasn't sure she heard his final words correctly. She thought she heard “Help Him”, but had no idea what he could be referencing. She shook it off and looked around her living room. Five years away, it felt so good to be back in her place. She threw the pillow back on the couch and began to get reacquainted with her residence. She wandered through the kitchen, her breakfast dish from the morning of the explosion still sitting in the sink. She remembered thinking that she had plenty of time that day to get her dish washed and put away.

The message light on her phone was blinking red at her as she opened the refrigerator checking to see what food there was in the apartment. 'How would anyone know I was back,' her brain thought automatically. She forced herself to correct her thinking; to them they will never know she was gone. She picked up the receiver, entering the voice mail number that was plastered on the fridge. It was a good thing she could never remember it and had posted it in plain view. She turned the phone on speaker as she ran her fingers along her cheap dishes that she'd hated so much before. Now they gave her a sense of familiarity.

“Julie.” She recognized her mother's voice instantly. “Hun, I want to remind you about your cousin's wedding this weekend. You and Jeff need to arrive at ten o'clock to help with the final arrangements. Call me when you get this.” The phone clicked as her message ended. Her cousin's wedding, she'd forgotten that she'd missed it. Now she would actually get to attend.

The next message started to play; it was her mom's voice again. “I forgot to remind you that Staci needs someone to watch her cats while she is on her honeymoon. I thought of you, since you are alone in that place, having a pet, even for a little while, might be nice. I will talk to you later.'

Julie laughed at remembering her mother's insistence that she get a cat or a dog, pushing for a dog, since she announced she and Jeff were not going to be living together when she first moved into this place. It was good to hear her mother's voice again. How she mourned not being able to speak to her mom after she jumped. She made a mental note to call her after getting situated.

“Julie?” the next voice came through with urgency. “Julie, if you are there please pick up.” The male voice added. Julie paused for a moment to remember who it was calling. Her heart dropped as she realized the male voice she was hearing was Jeff's. “Julie, when you get this please call me. I heard about the explosion at the physics lab and knew you planned to be there. Please, please be alright.” She could hear him breathing on the other end not wanting to put the phone down in case something had happened to her. If he only knew.

Eventually she heard the phone click. She received three more calls from friends, another from her cousin, three more from her mother and another from Jeff. She glanced at the clock and tried to remember what time she's planned to be at the lab, what time the explosion happened. She decided to turn on the news to find out the information before calling people back. Better to have a story down straight first.

“Again, we are standing on the UCLA campus; the building behind me is Knudsen Hall, you can just see the wreckage that was the Physics and Astronomy building. The only information we have is that one of the experiments in the building was using a highly combustible chemical. The spokesperson for the school was not available for comment. We have received word, however, that forty-five students were in or around the building and are currently missing. Firefighters and rescue workers have been at work since it happened trying to find survivors.”

Julie turned off the television and sat staring at the blank screen. Forty-five missing persons, forty-five people displaced in time. She heard the phone start to ring again and even though she knew it would be torture for the person on the other end, she let the voice mail get it. She needed to eat and change her clothes and prepare herself for the onslaught from concerned family and friends.

She took her time walking to her bedroom, running her fingertips along the wall as she walked. When she reached her room, she smiled as she saw her own bed, sheets still strewn across the bed. She moved to the closet and thew open the doors. She randomly picked a shirt and pair of pants to wear and changed quickly, she was amazed that the clothes still fit. It was tempting to lay down on her bed but her stomach growled and she could hear the phone ringing again.

She grabbed a banana from the basket as she found her way back into the kitchen. The banana was gone in three bites, Julie picked up the phone and scrolled through caller ID to get the numbers she would need. After jotting down the numbers she needed, Julie decided it would be best if she called her mother back first.

“Julie,” Her mother practically screamed into the phone after only one ring.

“Hi Mom,” She responded smiling. “I got your messages. I am fine. I forgot my purse at home and had to turn around. By the time I got to the building the explosion had already happened. It was a zoo and the police wanted anyone who was in the area to give statements in case someone saw something that another person did not.” She rushed out her story unless she forgot.

“Why didn't you call me on your cell?” Her mom asked, less concerned and more irritated.

Her cell phone was surely destroyed in the blast but it's not like she could tell her mom that. “I dropped it in the toilet last night.”

“Julie, really?” Her mom laughed slightly.

“I know mom, I should get off the phone when I use the restroom, but Jeff and I were in an intense conversation and I didn't want to disrupt.” She could not believe she was saying this. It was a pet peeve of hers when people went to the bathroom when she was on the phone with them and here she was saying it was exactly what she did to her boyfriend. Better to be a hypocrite about the phone in the bathroom than to tell the truth that the phone blew up in the lab after she was shot through time.

It was amazing how quickly her mom went to concerned to irritated to jumping to conclusions. “You and Jeff were having an intense conversation? What was it about?”

“Mom...” Julie groaned.

“I'm sorry, I know I promised I would stop pestering you about Jeff. Will you and Jeff be able to meet with me for dinner?” Julie racked her brain trying to remember if she had already made plans for the evening or not.

“I'll talk to Jeff, this whole thing at the school has scrambled my brain. I can't remember if we have plans already.” She and her mom about small things for another few minutes before she told her mom she should probably call Jeff to let him know that she was okay.

She dialed Jeff's number and prepared herself. She remembered loving Jeff, but she wasn't sure, after all that had happened, that she was going to be able to pretend as if nothing happened with him.

“Hi Jeff,” She started.

“Julie, oh thank God!” Jeff sighed into the phone. She launched into her explanation she'd given her mother, using the excuse that she she'd set the phone on the counter in the bathroom and accidentally knocked it in the toilet. Why hadn't she thought of that when she was on the phone with her mother? “Are we still getting together for dinner tonight?”

“My mom was wondering if we wanted to have dinner with her.” Julie remarked.

“I can understand after today, but we made these plans a week ago and I was hoping we could be alone.”

“Of course,” Julie added. She wanted to try to resume life as it had been. Jeff was going to be a much needed source of normalcy. She got off the phone after he reminded her what time they were getting together. She called her mother back to let her know that she had plans already.

Julie took the rest of the afternoon to get reacquainted with her twenty-two year old self. She found pictures and realized she needed to do quite a bit to make herself look like she did. She visited the hair salon with a picture of herself and had her hair shortened and re-colored and her nails done. She visited a few clothing stores to get similar outfits, there were several items that she tried on earlier that didn't quite fit correctly anymore. When she got home she changed into an outfit fitting for dinner, she decided on a simple black dress, and waited for Jeff to pick her up.

“You look fantastic!” Jeff exclaimed as he kissed her in greeting. “You look a bit different, did you do something different to your hair?”

Julie shrugged and shut the door behind them. “I did get my hair done today, thanks for noticing.” She replied as they moved to his car. She glanced across the street while she waited for him to unlock the door. A man standing with what looked like a leash in his hand caught her eye. He looked familiar yet she was unable to see his face clearly.

“Coming Babe?” Jeff asked as he stood with his door open.

“Yes of course.” She entered the car. They drove in silence the restaurant. She wasn't sure what she should be talking with him about.

“You're being quiet.” Jeff mused when they reached the restaurant and took their seats.

“I think I'm still phased by what happened this morning.” She smiled at the dirty-blond, blue-eyed man sitting across from her. He returned the smile, his eyes twinkling. The look caught her by surprise and her thoughts flew to Kevin and the teasing look in his eyes.

“We've been together for a while now and today scared me, it made me realize that I can't live without you Julie.” Jeff moved his chair closer and started to dig around in his pocket. Julie's eyes widened as he pulled out a small box. “I'd been planning to do this after your cousin's wedding, but I just can't wait anymore. Julie, I love you, will you marry me?”