Sam emerged from the toilet stall, catching sight of the dishevelled woman in the mirror, looking back at him with dark circles under her eyes and unruly black hair. It was god-knows-o’clock in the morning, and everyone was in desperate need of sleep. Sam gave a silent apology to his reflection — once again, as he rubbed a hand against his pained temple.
And then another face was there in the mirror, across the bathroom, studying him.
“Katie…” Sam turned to his sister, whose eyes were red and face was blotchy. But, she wasn’t crying now. That was something.
“Why did you call him ‘Dad?’”
Sam opened his mouth to answer, but found that no such answer existed. So, he closed it again, and busied himself with washing his hands.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “Just slipped out.”
He shook the water from his hands as Katie continued looking at him.
“I used to have this recurring dream,” she said suddenly. “Where Sam said he was a time traveller from the future, and sang me this song that I’d never heard.”
A dream? A remnant of the broken timeline?
Sam kept a silent eye on her as she crossed to the mirror, and inspected her reflection, before running a tap and splashing her face.
“Then I heard it on the radio for the first time last year,” she continued. “The same song! I swear to god!”
“Imagine…” Sam mumbled. Katie caught this, and locked eyes with him in the mirror.
“That’s the song…” she squinted. “How did you know?”
Tell her. Just tell her. What’s the point in following the rules now? The Project doesn’t even exist any more and you’ve already caused a paradox. How much worse can it get?
Sam swallowed. “You tell me.”
Katie turned, and moved close to him, studying his face. “Well, let’s look at the evidence.”
She paced the room, seeming to be channelling Sam’s gestures.
“You say you’re Sam’s girlfriend but he never mentioned you before, but you obviously know a lot about him. You called my Dad ‘Dad’ twice, even though you just met him. You saved Dad’s life like some kind of doctor, and I heard you say you studied medicine. And you knew the song in my dream.”
She pointed an accusing finger. “Are you Sam’s ghost, possessing some lady so you can say goodbye?”
Despite everything, Sam found himself laughing.
Katie’s finger dropped, and she began to blush. “You coulda just said no…”
“I’m sorry, Katie,” Sam said, forcing his laughter away. “I didn’t mean to react like that. It’s just… that’s so, so close to the right answer. You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes.”
Katie’s eyes widened. “Are you saying…”
“Yeah… it’s me, little sis.”
Katie’s eyes welled up. “Sam?”
“I wanted to tell you, but…”
Sam’s explanation was cut off by his sister’s arms wrapping around him.
“I thought I’d never get to talk to you again,” she said, sobbing against his chest. She pulled away, looking up at him.
“For a while, I used to think maybe my dream was real, and that you grew up to be a time traveller. But now… now you’re just a ghost…?”
A ghost of a future that’s been erased, sure.
“It’s a long story… why don’t we go somewhere we can sit down?”
* * *
At 3:30am, most public parts of the hospital were all but deserted. Sam and Katie sat in a small enclave with a table, chairs, and a vending machine. Katie sipped a Coke as Sam gave a simplified summary of his situation that he thought a fifteen-year-old could grasp.
Finally, Katie put her can down, and gazed thoughtfully at it. “So the dream really was real.”
“Before I screwed everything up, it was.” He rubbed his head. “Now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how long I’m going to be stuck like this. I don’t know if I’ll even exist from one second to the next.”
Katie took his hand and squeezed. “Well, I’m no quantum physical whatever, but I think we should hold off on letting the you in the bed go. What if you die with him?”
“What makes you think that’ll happen?”
Katie shrugged. “I dunno. If it was a science fiction novel, that’s how it would work.”
Sam snorted. “Yeah, maybe. Well, it might be best not to pull the plug while Dad’s heart is looking for any chance to give out on him again.”
Brother and sister were silent for a moment, as it really sunk in how both lives were dangling over a precipice, ready to fall into the abyss.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few days,” Sam admitted. “I don’t want to burden you, but… promise me you’ll take care of Mom, and you won’t run off with Chuck.”
Katie rubbed her hands together.
“You said that in the dream…” She looked up into his eyes, her lower lip quivering. “I promise.”
She began to sob again, and he wrapped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her head to his chest. He reached into Yolanda’s purse for a handkerchief, and his finger brushed the edge of a stiff piece of card. He took a hold of it, and looked down at Professor LoNigro’s business card.
I guess if there’s anyone I can really talk to about all this; anyone with a micron of a chance of helping me… maybe it’s him.