“Julie… Julie, what’s wrong?” Nick was holding her now as she cried into his arms.  “Why are you wet?”

Julie tried to stop crying to inform Nick, he had no idea what was going on, had no idea that Kevin was now sinking to the bottom of the ocean, dead, after she assured him that he would live.

Julie sucked in her breath and breathed out slowly.  She looked up at Nick whose face was full of concern.  “AJ and Erika, they got the drop on us and we were in a boat, a sinking boat.   You pulled me out by jumping, Kevin….” She couldn’t finish that statement because the tears were freely falling. 

“Kevin was stuck on the boat? I’m sure they’d take his device and he was likely tied up like you.” Nick was talking, Julie could tell it was mostly to himself but his voice was comforting to her.  

Nick leaned closer to her and wiped her tears.  “Julie,” He whispered.  “I don’t know what was going on with us.  There is a pull to you I can’t explain.” He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.   She let him kiss her but had no desire to kiss him back.   “I think I’m falling for you,” He continued.  Julie stared at him like he was crazy, Kevin just died and he was putting the moves on her?

“Nick…” she started to speak but he held up his hands to stop her.

“Let me finish.  I think I love you but I know you love Kevin and he makes you happy.  What I’m trying to say is I know a way we can save him.” Julie grinned up at him.

“How?”

“It will be breaking volunteer rules to do so.”

“I don’t care.” She stood and brushed herself off.  “Let’s do it.”

Nick looked at her again, sadness very apparent in his eyes.  She really couldn’t blame him, he confessed feelings for her and she was jumping at the chance to save Kevin, it had to be heart wrenching for him.  “You are sure?”

“Yes.” She said determined.  She wiped her eyes and wiped her nose on her sleeve.  She let Nick grab her around the waist and waited for the nausea to hit her as they jumped.   Nick let go of her waist and practically pulled her arm out of her socket as he pulled her behind some crates nearby.

“What the hell?” She asked but Nick held a finger in front of his mouth and pointed in front of him.

Julie could see her talking to Erika. It was surreal to see herself standing there talking, kind of creepy too.  She watched as AJ snuck up behind her and hit her with a piece of wood.  She rubbed the back of her head and felt the bump he had created.

“Should have left him in China.” She muttered under her breath. Nick let out a small chuckle.  They moved quietly around as AJ hoisted her limp body over his shoulder and carried her towards the boat.  They watched as AJ disappeared beneath and then struggled to drag Kevin down the stairs.  Julie’s heart skipped at a beat seeing Kevin, knowing that he was living right then.

She could hear Nick laughing under his breath as AJ cursed taking Kevin down.  “Most workout he’s probably had,” He said indicating moving Kevin.

Julie couldn’t help but smile at that thought.  Finally AJ got Kevin down the steps and Julie stood to start towards the boat but Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.

“Not yet,” He hissed and continued to watch.

AJ and Erika appeared back on the deck and exited the boat.  Julie watched what direction they went, perhaps they will still be able to apprehend them after saving Kevin. Once they were out of sight Julie stood again.  Nick stood this time and they walked carefully towards the boat.  Julie went to board the boat and jumped as a bomb dropped nearby.  Her eyes flew to the sky and she saw the Japanese bombers focusing on the military ships.  She wasn’t positive, only slightly sure that they did not attack the pier.  

Nick had his hands on her back as they boarded the boat. 

“Wait,” He said.  Voices could be heard beneath them. She was talking to Kevin.  “You cannot go down there while you are down there; you cannot cross your own timeline. Even that rule I won’t break.”

Julie found it unsettling standing on the deck of a sinking boat listening to herself talk.  Finally, she heard herself scream out in pain.  They waited a few more seconds after and made their way below deck. 

Nick swam quickly over to where Kevin was tied; Julie followed and grabbed Kevin’s face pulling it up out of the water.

“Hang on Kevin,” She told him.  Nick came up and took a deep breath before going under again.  Julie saw him finally manage the knot at Kevin’s feet.  He moved up to the bindings at his hands and started over.  Kevin’s eyes darted around, she could tell he had questions but he could no longer speak as the water was over his head.  Julie floated above and took a deep breath going under so she could watch Kevin. 

Once his arms were free, Julie and Nick flanked Kevin and helped him up.  Going up through the water was getting difficult; it would not be long now until the boat was completely under.  “Hold on,” She heard Nick scream and felt nausea sweep through her.

Julie looked around amazed, she could hear the bombings continuing but they were no longer at the pier.  “How can you jump places and not even seem like we passed through time?” She asked him as she helped Kevin sit up.

“Modification from Charles.  He thought it might be useful.” He shrugged and stepped away from the duo.

Julie turned her attention to Kevin and pulled him close, kissing him repeatedly.  “I thought I lost you.” She whispered.

“Me too,” Kevin held her tight.  They would have sat like that forever if Nick had not rejoined them. 

“We should get moving if we have any hopes of catching AJ and Erika.”

“Let’s go,” Kevin stood and took hold of Julie’s hand.  They started to walk in the direction they saw Erika and AJ head in.  The two must have been confident in what they had done since they were not far watching the attack on Pearl Harbor.

They saw Julie and Kevin heading towards them and gasped in shock before taking off.   They were even more surprised to see Nick running towards them.

It was difficult to maneuver through some of the streets but they managed to keep up with the duo fairly easy. Eventually, Julie broke away from the other two and with a burst of speed she overcame Erika, taking her to the ground to stop her.

“Get off of me,” Erika screeched as she tried to claw at Julie.

“I always liked you Erika but you are a selfish bitch.  How long have you been on the take?” Julie demanded to know.

“Before you were with the project.” Erika screamed at her.  “I was glad you brought AJ back not only because I loved him but because he was my partner in this.”

“What about Jessica?” Kevin asked.  Nick must have been running after AJ still.

“She’s the one who recruited us for this special purpose.” She smirked at Kevin.

Nick came back to where they were all standing bending over to catch his breath.  “We have to go now if we want to catch AJ.” He managed to get out.

Kevin grabbed hold of Erika and pulled her up.  He ripped the device off of her wrist and attached it to his own.  “I’ll take her back to Charles, you two go after AJ.” 

Julie nodded and let go of Erika’s arm.

“Charles?” Erika questioned before she disappeared with Kevin.

“Let’s go,” Nick grabbed Julie’s hand and pulled her in the direction that AJ was still running in.  Julie collided with people rushing away from the docks, away from the attack as they ran with the commotion.  AJ would be easy to lose in the crowd of people.

“Did you know?” She asked Nick as they ran.

“Know what?”

“Did you know about AJ?” Erika did say that it was before she joined, Nick had AJ from before.

“Yes,” He shouted as he narrowly missed a small child looking for their mother.

“There he is,” Julie noticed him across the way.  AJ turned back, waved his hand and disappeared from the crowd.

“Damn it,” Nick screamed.  “He jumped.”  The two stopped running and stood amongst the throng of people who were in shock over the attack happening at the Navy base.  Nick and Julie stood trying to catch their breath.  They would have to try to get information out of Erika now, something Julie did not look forward to.