Chea and Karen looked at each other in the mirror. They had just arrived in the restaurant bathroom so Chea could throw some water on her face. They both felt a little woozy after their latest trip with the time gadget. Something seemed wrong the minute they arrived. Brianna, mysteriously, was not with them.
If that was the only thing that was wrong.
Karen shook her head at the reflection. She couldn’t believe what she saw.
"This isn’t us." She said. "Pinch me, I must be dreaming. We look so old!"
"Gladly!" Chea said and pinched her.
"OW!" Karen said and pinched Chea back.
"Cut that out." Chea said.
"You started it!"
"You ASKED for it!" Chea replied.
"I did, didn't I?" Karen said. "God, what’s wrong with me?"
"We don't have time for that." Chea said. "Look at us."
"Something obviously went wrong with the trip." Karen consulted the time gadget. "Oh my god."
"What?" Chea said.
"Something definitely went wrong here." Karen said. "Look. According to this we went not into our world, but the future."
"What?" Chea asked.
"Whatever went wrong sent us 30 something years in the future rather than sending us to our reality." Karen explained.
"Yeah." Chea said. She looked in the mirror and ran her hands over her face. "We'd be the same age the guys are." She placed her hands on her stomach. "When did I get so fat?"
Karen looked up from the gadget. She did a double take that almost gave her whiplash. "Whaoh!"'
"I know!" Chea said. "And worse yet, something’s kicking me."
"Something’s kicking you?" Karen said. She put her hand on her stomach. "I felt it too."
"Does this mean what I think this means?" Chea asked.
"Yep." Karen said. "You're pregnant."
"Oh man." Chea said. "I'm gonna be a mom."
"Well, the you in the future is gonna be a mom." Karen said.
"I have the sudden urge for a peanut butter and broccoli sandwich." Chea said. She licked her lips. "Good thing we're in an eatery."
"We can't do that right now." Karen said. "We still have to find Brianna!"
"Can't we have lunch?" Chea gave her best pouty face.
"Okay, but something small." Karen said. They walked out of the bathroom and into the restaurant. "Let's get a table."
"Ms Chea?" They heard a voice behind them. A man dressed in chauffeurs garb addressed them.
"Yeah?" Chea asked.
"Shouldn’t I be getting you to your doctors appointment?" The man asked.
"Ah yeah, right?" Chea said. She looked at Karen. "I had a feeling this is why we were dropped in such a specific place."
"This way please." The chauffer lead the way out to limo.
"Wow." Chea said as they got into the back. Chea sat on the right, and Karen sat on the other side.
"I guess we're going to the hospital then?" Karen said.
"Yes ma'am. Mercy General." The chauffer said.
"Thanks." Karen said. She closed the window between the driver and the passengers. "Well the doctors visit makes sense cause you look close to your delivery date."
"Rats." Chea said. "This means I wont be getting my broccoli sandwich."
"We'll get you one later ok?" Karen promised.
"Ok." Chea said.
"As soon as we can ditch this doctor visit, the sooner we can try and find Brianna. I hope." Karen sighed.
Mercy General
Brianna sat at a desk. She looked around bewildered. She didn't know how she got there, but at the same time she felt like she belonged. She stood up and looked around. She was in a doctors office she ascertained. But where?
Brianna looked down at the name plate on her desk. It read Dr Brianna Lewis, Head of Cardiothoracic surgery. She felt her heart swell with pride. Tears came to her face.
"I'm a doctor. A heart doctor to boot." She said wiping her tears.
"Of course you're a heart doctor." She heard a voice behind her. An intern stood behind her. "Are you all right Dr. Lewis?"
"I'm fine, its just that sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have this job." She lied. "Don't you ever feel that way?"
"Sure, I guess." The intern rolled her eyes at her.
"Did you want something?" Brianna asked. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, a short limey guy is here to see you." Brianna looked at her. "Ohh I'm sorrrry. A height challenged male of British origin is here to see you."
"That wasn’t what I reacting to." Brianna said. "You can send him in."
"Sure." The intern popped her gum and left. Brianna quickly got out a mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was graying at the temples, her skin was wrinkled around the eyes and mouth. She stepped back almost dropping the mirror. That wasn't her in the mirror.
"Oh my god." She said. "What’s happened to me?"
Someone knocked on the door. Brianna stowed the mirror in the trash can.
"Hello luv." Davy said coming in.
"Hi!" Brianna said. She looked closely at him. He looked to be about the same as she did. The same age. Something is really weird here.
"How are you?" He asked.
"Good. I'm good." She said.
"I'm here for my yearly checkup." He said. "I want to see if my heart is still beating."
"You came to the right place." Brianna laughed. "I can get you an appointment, out here." She said pointing.
"Not that kind of heart checkup." Davy said looking into her eyes. Brianna looked back, unsure of what she was seeing.
Mercy Generals Main Entrance
"Here we are." Chea said. "Quick, which floor are we supposed to go on?"
"I dunno. I never been here." Karen said. "Here's a directory."
"Great." Chea said running her finger down the list. She suddenly stopped at a name. "I'll be goll-darned!"
"What?" Karen said stopping her own search.
"Look." Chea said. "Guess who's here?"
Briannas "office"
Brianna stood in shock as Davy got down on one knee. He got something out of his jacket. He pulled it out and held a black box with his right hand. He looked at up her adoringly.
"Luv, I been waiting a while to ask you this, and it seems like the perfect time. Theres no way to say it but just to say it. Will you marry me Brianna luv?" Davy asked.
Brianna looked like she had been knocked back by an electric shock. Davy had just asked her to marry him.
"Oh well, uh gee man." Brianna stumbled over her words.
"Can I think about it?" She asked jokingly.
"Okay." Davy said. He stayed on his knees. There was some footsteps behind them. Brianna looked up from Davy, and at the door.
"I'm sorry." Chea said. She could barely fit through the door. "Are we interupting something?"
