One More Chance With Time

10.

"Get away from her!"

Ryder turned away from Tori for a moment as he heard the sound of running feet coming at him. His face was a mix of rage and confusion as he got a glimpse of Jade's fist about to collide with his face. He let out a shout of pain as he nearly fell over from the impact but he managed to catch himself on the counter.

"You shouldn't have come here, West." Ryder snarled as he straightened himself. "This is between me and the Dyke." He said as he heard the sound of footsteps running away from him. He turned and saw that Tori was trying to put some distance between Ryder and herself. Her face and her arms were bruised and she had a few cuts on her face. Ryder turned away and didn't notice the fact that she was reaching for something in one of the drawers.

"You made a big mistake messing with her in the first place." Jade said quietly as she saw that she had a cut on her hand from where she had hit Ryder. He was apparently tougher then he looked. Ryder and Jade began to circle each other as Ryder held the glass shard in his hand as he looked for an opening. Jade smiled. It looked like he thought he had an actual chance of getting her with the glass shard.

Jade's eyes locked onto Ryder as he swiped at her with the glass shard and Jade jumped back as she narrowly avoided the sharp object. "What's the matter?" She asked mockingly as Ryder narrowed his eyes at her. "Getting a bit slow?"

Ryder was about to respond when a loud thudding sound rang through the room and Ryder's eyes rolled up into the back of his skull. Jade grinned widely as she saw Tori standing behind him with a frying pan in her hand as Ryder collapsed on the floor in a heap.

"Nice hit." Jade said simply as she checked to make sure that he was really down for the count before turning to look at Tori. Tori was shaking violently from the encounter and her eyes were filled with fear. "It's okay...You got him, He won't be able to hurt you." She said quietly as she hesitantly approached Tori who was staring down at Ryder's prone form.

"H-He said he was going to kill me." Tori whispered hoarsely. "He told me I screwed up his life and he was going to k-kill me." She whispered again as the frying pan dropped from her hands and hit the floor.

Jade gently grabbed Tori by the shoulders and examined the extent of the bruises and cuts she had. It looked like they weren't too bad. "Tori, how badly did he hurt you?" Jade asked quietly as she continued looking her over. "Did he..."

"N-No...I think he was going to though." Tori hesitantly whispered as tears started to roll down her face as she started sobbing heavily. "I can't believe that...that he was going to-," She started but broke down as she continued sobbing

"He won't hurt you. Not now. Not ever." A very familiar voice said from behind Jade and Tori and Jade smiled as she turned around and saw her older-self standing behind her.

"It's about time you showed up." Jade said simply as her older-self looked at the out cold Ryder and the wide-eyed Tori who was staring at the older Jade with a shocked expression. The elder Jade smiled slightly as she looked down at the out-cold Ryder.

"She saved you..." She said as her gaze turned towards Tori and smiled a gentle smile that was almost never seen on Jade West's face as she slowly walked over and cupped Tori's face and tears started to fall from her eyes. "I honestly thought we might not make it in time." She said softly. "But we made it."

Tori turned to look at the younger Jade and tried to form words but they wouldn't form, but Jade could tell that she was confused by the look in her eyes.

The older Jade smiled sadly. "I'm her. From about a year from now." She said quietly as the tears continued to fall. "Where I'm from, I didn't get here until it was too late. I...I watched you die. I heard the last words you spoke."

Tori looked down at the ground for a moment as the realization of what was happening set in: Jade West had saved her life. If it weren't for her, she would have most likely been laying dead on the ground right now. "W-What did I say...at the end?" Tori asked quietly.

Jade pressed her head against Tori's even as the tears continued falling.

"You said you thought I really pretty." The older Jade whispered sadly. "I thought that it was impossible that you could feel that way about me after all that I put you through. My life nearly fell apart that day. Nobody could cope with what happened."

Tori looked up into the future Jade's face. "How...How did you get back here?" She asked quietly. "I mean, I appreciate what you did, but did you come back?"

The older Jade looked up at the ceiling and seemed to be looking past the ceiling and into the sky. "Someone sent me back. I don't know who it was, but I thought it was going to be the end for me. I was sitting next to your grave and I had a knife pressed to my wrist when...well...this figure in white appeared and showed me what would happen if I took my own life. I...I couldn't deal with it so I was ready to end it when I was sent back."

"My death...hurt you that badly?" Tori whispered.

The older Jade nodded. "Yeah...it hit us all really hard. Beck tried to keep everyone together but I kept pushing him away over and over again. I just couldn't deal with it and I kept getting worse and worse."

"But you know what I always regretted?" The older Jade asked slowly as Tori looked up at her and smiled sadly. "This." She said quietly as she gently pressed her lips against Tori's for a brief moment. Tori's eyes widened in shock but they slowly closed and the older Jade pulled away after a moment. The younger Jade couldn't help but feel jealously rise up in her chest as Tori looked over at the younger Jade and smiled weakly.

"Please...Tori, give her a chance." The older Jade said quietly as a white light seemed to fill the room. "You saw a new side of me today and I hope that you'll continue to see it." The older Jade looked at her younger-self and smiled.

"And you, give Tori a chance. Don't try and scare her off just because yo-...I mean, we get a little insecure sometimes."

"It's time to go Jade." A gentle voice seemed to echo around the room, seemingly coming from everywhere. "It's time to see what the future holds for you."

The older Jade smiled for a moment as the white light seemed to envelope her and she vanished. Tori and Jade looked at each other and Jade gently reached for Tori's hand.

"You ready for this?" She asked carefully.

Tori smiled slightly. "I...Yeah. I think I am." She said softly as they looked at the spot she had vanished from.