The Happy Iteration

139 6 0
                                    

????

With continued treatment, Carmilla's traveling becomes less frequent than Laura's, who remains traveling away once a month like clockwork. After Carmilla finally learns to handle when and where she travels to, LaFontaine develops a drug that can force Carmilla to travel.

She and Laura begin to set predetermined destinations to meet each other throughout time and space. Laura starts vlogging stories of their adventures, adding a "#HollsteinTravels" hashtag. Carmilla continues to insist they should be called "Karnlis."

After a couple years of this, they finally decide to tackle the biggest point on their planned life together-- a child.

Carmilla is the first to bring it up after seeing Laura interact with children for a story she's working on regarding introducing healthier snacks in vending machines, and Laura's curiosity about what she learned in the park jumps into her mind. She'd decided to wait until they at least actually had a child before looping Carmilla in on this and potentially disrupting a timeline she so desperately wanted to happen. Especially since, as Eileen had told her, Carmilla is already jittery about having a time traveling child in the future.

Laura does, however, tell LaFontaine.

LaFontaine's chrono-impairment/RHD study grows, and Perry and Danny's mother are in charge with helping them with finding new people to bring into it and administer treatments to. Carmilla's mother pours funding from her company into it.

One late summer night in the office, Lilita Morgan leaves her headquarters to find an abandoned baby carriage with an infant inside mysteriously left outside of her door, with a simple namecard that reads, "Eileen." Security camera footage shows a scared young woman, and LaFontaine's tests confirm that this baby has the marker for chrono-impairment.

Still working to right her many wrongs, Lilita tells Carmilla and Laura, who immediately agree to adopt her and keep her name. Before the adoption is finalized, they reach the decision that they will teach her about chrono-impairment by the time she starts school.

Maybe by then, Laura will have a better feel for telling Carmilla before Eileen travels away for good.

Seeing her mother as a child feels mind-boggling. Her mother had always given Laura the impression of being a wild and loving spirit, but apparently these traits were even stronger as a child.

The month before Eileen starts school, Laura and Carmilla have the talk with her to explain chorno-impairment. As expected, Eileen seems excited at the prospect.

Carmilla explains the dangers, but also how magical their condition can be. She even asks Laura to pull out the Hollstein Photo Album, and begins telling Eileen the story about how her mothers met.

That night, curled up beside each other in bed, Laura wrings her hand nervously.

Carmilla looks up from the book she's reading. "What's with the anxiety huff, creampuff?"

"She's my mom," Laura manages to mumble.

Carmilla quirks an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Eileen. The name, i-it isn't just a coincidence. She's... she will be my mom."

Carmilla drops her book. "What?"

"That's what my mom told me after you took Little Me away for a walk when we traveled to May 1997. That she's actually our kid from the future, but she never bothered getting the chrono-impairment treatments because she loved traveling so much. One day, she traveled and she just... got stuck. She thinks the reason the Universe put us into this time loop is to keep giving us chances to be reunited as a family."

The Time Traveler's Wife - The Other SideWhere stories live. Discover now