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Waking up the next morning, Rowan was shocked (to say the least) that Tommy was still asleep. He had been awake by the time she was. She sat up and stroked his face gently, a light sweat across his forehead. She frowned and attempted to wake him up in the worry he may have been ill. "Tommy? Tommy?! Wake up!" She yelled and tried to shake him awake but to no use. Malachi ran in half dressed and his toothbrush sticking out from his mouth. "He-... he's shaking a- and sweating and won't wake up." She said and Malachi came over and grabbed a glass before running into the en-suite and filling it with water.
"Tommy?" He stirred as Rowan called for him. He woke and stared at her, seeing the panic stricken look on her face. "Rowan whats wr-..." he couldn't continue as a glass of water was thrown over him. Tommy turned to see Malachi holding the glass along with a horrified look on his face.
"Oh god... I'm so sorry." Tommy smiled and started to laugh and as Rowan had been attempting to keep it in and then began to do the same. For a moment they laughed and Malachi stood with a nervous laugh at what Tommy was playing at and hopefully he was going to keep his eyesight. "It's alright, it made me laugh... and her." He said, looking at Rowan with a smile on his face and she mirrored this. Though it held a shyness.
"Your laugh is beautiful."
Rowan regained seriousness and looked at the two men before staring into the eyes of the man lost in time. "We need to get you back, the museum was closing which means they would be moving all of the artefacts somewhere else. We need to find out where that broach is and send you back soon or their could be a disruption in the arrow of time." She spoke knowingly as she had spent all her spare time researching the troubles that could be caused from this.
Wikipedia was a wonderful thing and Tommy had spent a while skimming over his own Wikipedia page. Chuckling slightly at facts that were either half truths or were completely fabricated.
"We do, I agree." Malachi said but Tommy became almost unsettled. "Will you return with me?" Tommy said, and noticeably Rowan's sorrow overtook her determination. She lowered her hair in uncertainty of thought and returned her head to its natural position with a slight tear emerging from her sea green eyes. "I-... I can't Tommy. I'm-... I have a life here albeit small I'm-..." "Rowan... come on, we both know that's not true. What do you have here? A house you potter around in with no one to talk to accept your hydrangeas? That's not a life. You-..." "I have you Malachi. You're my best friend and I love and need you." He looked down and Malachi shook his head.
"Rowan, tell me you don't love this guy? Look me in the eye and I'll know... I'll know if you're lying to me." He said, pointing at the ground with a ferocity of meaning. "I would never lie to you Malachi... so yeah, I do love him." She looked at Tommy and he just stared at her. "But there are so many things that could go wrong with me going back, what if it goes wrong? What if-..." "What if it all goes right?" He inquired and Tommy seemed to smile a little.
"I-I-... screw it!" She said with a laugh and jumped onto tommy with a calamitous hug that resulted in the two falling of the bed and Tommy landing with Rowan on top of him and his back hitting the ground hard. "You're coming back with me ey?" "I am Mr Shelby, if you would so like?" She chuckled and he smiled widely with genuine timorousness. Rowan lifted her head and looked over at Malachi who held a sad smile of relief but also a heavy heart. She felt the same as the revelation of her returning to the past, a bitter sweet divulgence. She was not too sure whether to be proud of it. Malachi spoke suddenly, clapping his hands together with a new found confidence.
Tommy, had secretly made his own plan, one that would keep Rowan safe. Truly he had asked her if she would return to see if she really loved him. But he had no intention of bringing her back, as it was too dangerous. Here he knew she'd be safe.
