Hit Rewind

Michael

I don't think any of us quite understood that Hit Rewind was gone the moment that Will had burned those papers. After the older versions disappeared back to the future where they came from, Leslie had collapsed next to Will's prone body and sobbed.

I was more worried about Caitlin, whose water had broken and who was in more pain with each passing second.

"Michael," Leslie said from the floor, and I looked into her teary eyes, "can you carry Will out if I help Caitlin to the van? I would do it myself, but I fear that I don't have the strength."

It was in that moment that I remembered she had lost her mother less than a year ago, and if she lost Will, she may very well not exist in the future as well. We could lose three people tonight.

Carefully, I pressed my shirt against the bullet wound and lifted him into my arms while the two girls stumbled outside, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.

"Don't you dare die on us, Will," I whispered and went out the door, keys dangling out of my pocket.

"Michael, wait!" A voice called from behind me, and I turned to find the older Leslie standing there with a bag in her hands.  "Take this.  It will help with the medical expenses."

She hooked it about the arm that I extended before kissing Will's forehead.  "Don't you dare die, young man.  I feel like you're going to make a better husband after this experience."

With those words, she ran back into the shadows of the warehouse.

Right now, we are all sitting in the van, my hands gripping the steering wheel tight enough to make my knuckles white while Leslie is counting the money.

"There has to be at least half a million in here," she says, giving up when a whimper escapes Will.  It's the first time he's made a noise the whole time I've been driving.

Caitlin is sitting next to me, face taut with pain, and every time she cries out, I push the accelerator a little closer to the floor.  We're fairly flying, but it's night on a nearly abandoned highway.

And we have two people in need of medical care.

"Michael," my girlfriend whispers, one of her hands finding mine, "I'm not afraid."

I swallow hard, not having to wonder about what's she going to tell me.  "Beautiful, you're going to be fine."

"Michael, we both know that it's early.  We both know that there are risks to giving birth to triplets under normal circumstances."

"Cait," I ground out, "you're going to be fine.  We're going to make it."

I push my foot down a little harder and feel her hand tighten around the knuckles of mine.

"We can't lie to ourselves.  Will and I could both die tonight.  Leslie and you could both lose someone.  I know you don't want to hear that, but you need to be ready for that reality," Caitlin says, refusing to let go of the subject.  "I want you to be happy.  Michael, promise me this won't destroy you.  Promise me that you'll keep living even if I'm no longer here."

"You're not going to die!"

Easing up on the accelerator a bit as we near town, I struggle to take deep breaths, struggle to keep the tears at bay.  I look back towards where the other two are and see Leslie bent over a still Will, seeming as broken as I feel.

"You can't control whether I live or die, handsome.  I don't want to die anymore than you want to lose me."

I blink as the streetlights start to blur.  "Caitlin, can we just pretend for a moment that it isn't a worry?  Can we pretend that the future is going to include all of us?"

She is silent, and after a moment, I feel her hand take mine off the wheel and press it against her stomach.

"We'll all be here with you, Michael.  Even if it's only in here," she whispers, moving our joined hands over my heart.

The moment we reach the hospital, I park the van so fast that it shift with a groan and leap out.  It's time to pray for the five lives struggling for life and hope that Hit Rewind didn't take more than it already has from us.