Kevin and Julie walked hand in hand back to the room they shared. Kevin's grip on Julie's hand was vice-like. It was almost as if he was afraid that if he let go of her hand she would immediately jump away from him.

They reached their room and Kevin locked the door. Julie noticed that her clothes had all been picked up and placed in the laundry basket; all of the papers on her desk had been straightened. Kevin had been asserting himself in her room, she wasn't sure she liked him cleaning up. How was she going to know where he put everything?

She was startled out of her thoughts when she felt Kevin's arms holding her tight. The sound of his heart beating in his chest comforted her and she melted further into his arms, wrapping her own around him. She could have stayed like that forever, warm and secure in his arms. All too soon Kevin was pulling back, keeping his hands on her shoulders as he held her gaze.

“Never do that again!” He said in a slow, clear voice. “If you are going to jump, take another volunteer.”

Julie couldn't help but narrow her eyes. She knew he was saying things out of concern for her safety but she was an adult. “Would you be saying the same thing to AJ or Erika if it had happened to them?” She asked him, brushing his hands off of her shoulders.

“Julie, that's different,” he started to explain.

“How is it different? Because you aren't involved with them?” She sat down on the bed, leaning backwards, her legs crossed.

Kevin sat down next to her and dropped his head into his hands. “You are a volunteer like the rest of us, you should be able to go on missions alone, it's just that...” He picked his head up and looked at her. “You know I love you, I really don't know what I would do if you never came back again. But I also know I can't stop you. I saw your notebook full of information you compiled on Steph. I know you are making it your mission to find her and bring her in.”

Julie nodded in reply. “You know I love you too.” She turned towards him and put her hand on his face. “I can't promise I won't jump without saying anything to anyone first again, especially if I am randomly jumping again. If I get a lead on Steph, I will go after her.”

Kevin nodded and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers. “Please take me with you next time,” was all he whispered before kissing her again.

A knock at the door interrupted their discussion, Kevin quickly stood and moved away from Julie despite the door being locked and nobody could barge in on them. “Hello?” He called out as he approached the door.

“Hey, AJ and I are going to grab a bite to eat across the way, would you care to join us?” Erika's voice came from behind the door. She smiled at Kevin and Julie warmly as the door was opened to reveal her standing there.

Kevin looked back at Julie; she nodded and stood grabbing her wallet as she headed out the door. Erika linked her arm through Julie's and started chattering about all that happened the last couple of weeks. Tess and Justin had been promoted to full-fledged volunteers and had been sent on their first mission to bring back a rogue. The woman escaped them but they made a good team and Jessica was pleased with their progress.

They met up with AJ who was already sitting at a table sipping a steaming beverage. Julie smelled the coffee before she sat down. “That smells delicious,” She said as she took her seat next to Kevin. The cafe was older and needed some updating but it had a comfortable feeling for her and the other volunteers. It was one of the few unchanging things in their lives.

“We kind of heard through the grapevine that you are randomly jumping again,” AJ spoke up as he pushed his slightly chipped mug towards her, letting her take a sip.

She thanked AJ for the sip and ordered her own when the waitress came around. She then recounted what transpired between her and Steph in Germany. And the confusion that followed as she jumped through time. “Howie took some blood and is supposed to let me know as soon as he finds anything out,” She finished as the waitress came back to take their food order.

Julie noticed Tessa and Justin walking into the cafe and waved them over. She then cringed remembering she was not alone. “Do you mind?” She asked everyone else. Kevin shook his head, Erika glanced quickly at AJ but both of them responded saying they did not mind.

The two newest volunteers pulled up a couple of extra chairs as the others moved closer to each other to make room. “So I heard you two are now actual time traveling volunteers,” Julie smiled at Tessa, she knew Justin but not well.

Tessa nodded. “I am still getting used to the feeling. They tell me, though, that when when you randomly jump the feeling is more intense?” She looked at Julie who stopped drinking her coffee so she could answer her friend.

“The feeling comes from the pit of your stomach, there is an intense pain and I would feel sick to my stomach every time a jump was coming on. Then, when I arrived I would be hungry,” She took a large bite of her sandwich that finally arrived. She'd been fighting off hunger pains since she arrived back after her consecutive jumps.

Tessa took a sip of water before she spoke again. “How many rogue volunteers do you think are out there?”

Kevin shrugged his shoulders. “We know there are at least six or seven from when Julie rescued AJ from their camp in China, but that was not their only camp. It's likely the numbers are higher since we have three in custody ever since Kyle escaped.” Kevin's voice sounded irritated as he spoke, Julie kept her eyes on her food and could not bring her eyes to look at Kevin or the others.

They finished lunch discussing the recent cases and the searches for the rogue volunteers. Kevin kept his hand on Julie's leg the entire meal, apparently still afraid she would jump any instant. AJ and Erika had a mission they were scheduled to leave on so they said their good-byes to the group and left first so they could prepare what they needed leaving Kevin, Julie, Tessa and Justin still sitting around sipping coffee and water.

“Has there been any news about Charles yet?” Justin asked; his face full of concern.

Kevin shook his head but did not speak on the matter. Julie assumed it was something he and Howie were in charge of, working with Jessica to determine what happened to their founder, the one who came up with all of their new ideas to make the project a success. There was silence as it seemed both Justin and Tessa were waiting on a response from Kevin about the search.

Julie looked at her watch and back at the others, Tessa's bright blue eyes staring at her startled her. The woman was looking at her intently, like she was searching for something. It unsettled Julie; Tessa had never looked at her like that before. When she noticed Justin, he was looking at her much in the same way. Then suddenly, it was like Tessa and Justin realized what they were doing and looked away embarrassed.

“I'm sorry, Julie,” Tessa apologized brushing back a strand of her dyed blond hair. “I am just fascinated by people who randomly jump. Justin and I were talking about it and we were wondering if it looked different to people. I guess we were waiting to see if it was going to happened while we sat here.”

Julie cocked her head to the side and wondered why they would think she was going to jump at that moment, and then she shrugged it off. They were new, they were curious. Justin looked at Tessa and tapped his watch. The usually quiet, dirty blond man stood and held his hand out for Tessa. “We have training.” He spoke as Tessa stood.

“Well, thanks for letting us join you, it's been great! Julie I hope that Dr. Dorough figures out what is wrong with you.” She smiled warmly at Julie then waved to Kevin before she and Justin headed out the door and back across the street to The Library.

“That was a bit strange,” Julie commented looking at Kevin.

Kevin nodded and finished his coffee. “I see we got stuck with the bill.” He sighed and pulled out his wallet. He had no issues covering the tab. It made Julie wonder, none of them had jobs outside the project, yet no one was short of cash.

“How come no one has need of money?” She asked as they walked out of the building and started crossing the street.

Kevin laughed and put his arm around Julie. “I know we have a few corporations that sponsor much of the research Charles does. He doesn't just work on the project. He has other research and some inventions that aid businesses.”

“But we don't get paid, we are volunteers.” Julie stated.

“True, but they see to our needs. We live here, there are a few vehicles provided in case travel is needed. We have no bills, the only outside expenses we might have are personal items for our rooms or eating out and the project gives everyone a stipend for those sorts of things.”

“So where's my stipend?” She asked poking his side as they entered The Library.

“It's in an account for you,” Kevin said.

“How come I didn't know about this account?” She asked. She could have bought some new clothes, she was needing new undergarments in a bad way.

Kevin didn't answer her question; instead he stated they should visit Howie to find out what he discovered. They walked down the long white hallway and knocked on the metal door to Howie's office to find out why Julie was randomly jumping again.