To The Moon And Back

Epilogue

Selene's eyes snapped open, the world around her rushing back in. The ever-present, muffled sound of waves hitting rock, MAX beeping somewhere in the distance, the rumbling of soft conversation. "Woah, that was weird."

John lowered his book and looked over at his wife, sitting in her customary cross-legged pose on her favourite floor pillow. "What's up? Are you okay?"

"What in the glitch in the matrix bullshit was that?"

John set his book down on the floor, knowing that he wouldn't be going back to it any time soon. His wife saw some weird and whacky things while meditating and it was his duty to listen, be they good or bad. "What happened? What did you see?"

Selene uncurled her legs and stretched them out in front of her, flexing her knees a few times to get the stiffness out of them. "It was us, but we were different. Like really different."

"Different how?"

She twisted her back this way and that as she thought about how best to describe it. "You know when you're dreaming and the world around you feels familiar, but it's still really off? It was like that."

John sat up a little straighter in his chair, giving her his full attention. "How different? Was the sky pink and the grass blue?"

"No, nothing like that, it just felt really outdated, probably by about a hundred years, but still modern. Like there were TV's and video phones and things, but no cell phones and everything was really retro, the style and the clothes were all off, and not all that stylish." She paused in her expressive hand waving, her eyes growing wider as she grabbed a chunk of her plum-coloured hair and dragged it to where she could see it. "Oh, thank the gods. I had this hippy thing going on, which was actually kinda cool, but my hair," she paused again to shudder dramatically, "my hair was natural."

"Wow, are you sure it wasn't a nightmare?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Joke all you want, you didn't see yours."

His eyes widened. "Mine? How bad was it?"

"It wasn't bad, but you were blond. Like really blond! I'm talking platinum."

John rolled his eyes in mock irritation, "Were you thinking about Spike again?" Selene and Scott had been on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer binge the past month and if it wasn't Selene drooling over the bad boy vampire, it was Scott making Xander-like jokes every two seconds. Honestly, he was seriously considering cancelling their Netflix subscription just to get some peace.

"No!" Selene scoffed, trying to brazen it out, although his pointed eyebrow raise said he didn't believe her. "I wasn't! Well... not intentionally, but it's boring when you first start meditating and all these thoughts come in that you can't control...That's not the point!"

"So you don't want me with slicked-back blond hair and fangs?" he teased, she was so much fun to annoy.

"No," she promised, shaking her head for emphasis. "You're perfect as you are."

"Yet you saw me blond," he pointed out.

"But it wasn't all slicked back," she protested as she rolled up onto her knees. "It was all poofy and soft and strokable.

John held out his hand to help her off the floor, holding her steady as she got her feet back under her. "You got to touch my hair?" He tugged on her hand, drawing her down onto his lap.

"Just a little," she said, running her fingers through his familiar, and perfect, fiery red strands. "You looked different too, but I knew it was you, you know?" She stroked her thumb across one auburn eyebrow. "Your eyes were so blue." Her fingers danced their way down his jaw to cup his chin, "I could have cut myself on your cheekbones."