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Rekindling an old friendship was supposed to be a good thing. And for the most part it was a good thing, but for Beth all that she could think about was the fact that she most likely would never get to tell Ian something that had happened had excited her, ever again. Rekindling the friendship with Shawn made her feel more comfortable being back home, but all she wanted to do was tell Ian how she was trying her best to be happy.

It had already been close to half a year since her return. Each day was a challenge, but she was getting back to a certain degree of normalcy. She met up with Shawn every week for coffee, and she enjoyed the company along with the fact that he never asked her about the years she was missing. He was respectful and loyal, and probably knew that if he would pry - he'd lose her.

Currently, Beth was situated in the library. In order to get her mother off her back, she promised to study for the NCLEX, which was an exam that determined whether or not she would become a registered nurse. Although she had been gone from this world, atleast from this specific time, she did not forget what she had learned throughout her schooling. It also helped that she met Claire and the two had been able to swap medical information that would have seemed far fetched and more like witchcraft to those actually of the time they found themselves in - the 1700s.

Slow movements brought each page from right to left as Beth read over the information she had already looked over hours earlier. If she were to be honest with herself, she didn't want to go home. Lately her mother had been aggravating her more than usual, and if she could have her way, she'd get back to Ocracoke Island and back to Ian.

After another hour of studying, Beth closed her textbooks and began her departure from the library and onto the city street. Almost six months of being back and, yes, she still hated the obnoxious sounds of cars driving by - honking their horns at the slightest inconveniences. Tucking loose strands of her brown hair behind her ears, Beth sucked in a deep breath and began her journey down the pavement.

With each step she took, the soles of her shoes pounded against the cement and she quickly found that she also hated that noise, too. Tucked gently between her crossed arms and her chest was a book she had chosen to actually bring home this time. It was historical, and all about the the 1700s. If someone told her that she was becoming obsessed, she wouldn't deny it. After all, it would be hard to do that. Because...well, she was obsessed.

She had only made it a few blocks before she felt the presence of someone following her. Turning to the left, Beth looked over her shoulder. There was a man, tanned skin and long black hair. He smiled and nodded as she met his gaze but she had quickly turned back and continued on her way. It must have been a coincidence that the man was traveling the same way she was. She certainly did not need to add to her worries about seeing things.

The last vision of Rollo, the one where she ran through the rain, was certainly a figment of her imagination. But as she glanced over her shoulder once more, she noticed that the man was closer. She quickened her pace, basically breaking out into a sprint before she heard him calling for her to stop. Her heart was pounding in her chest and before she realized where she was going, she rushed into the police station with wide eyes, wild from the fear she felt of being followed.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" The man behind the front desk stood up as Beth had thrown the door open to get inside. She looked through the glass door, hands clutching the handle firmly, eyes searching to make sure that the man was not following her. She turned around and let out a deep sigh, finally turning her attention to the officer behind the desk.

"Officer Shawn Carter. Is he around?" She asked, her voice cracking as she spoke up. She cleared her throat as she stepped forward to the desk, one hand resting on the smooth oak as her other arm remained cradling the book she had checked out of the library.

"Beth?" Shawn walked out from the back of the precinct, hand resting out of habit on the gun in his side holster. "Is everything okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Beth closed her eyes for a moment as she gathered her wits. Atleast she tried to, anyway, because when she opened her eyes, the proverbial flood gates had opened. "I was being chased by this man." She told Shawn as he brought her back to a private room, thanking him with small nod of her head as she set her books down on the table before sitting in the chair. "I spotted him outside of the library. Like he had been waiting there for me. And he took every turn, followed every stride, I am not crazy Shawn. I know I'm not."

"Just breathe. Beth, I believe you. I don't think you're crazy." Shawn sat down across from her and offered her a reassuring smile. "What did he look like? Did he look familiar?"

She could only shake her head. Staying silent for a moment only to control herself and her erratic breathing, "I've never seen him before. Ever. He looked like he was indigenous." She sighed and rubbed at her face before looking back at her old friend. "His hair was long, and black. He didn't look angry, or crazy. But he was following me and I know this because when I started running he started to chase me and shouted for me to stop. Why else would he do that?"

Shawn shook his head, "I can't answer that. But I'll keep an eye out for someone that fits his description. Now take a few minutes to gather yourself and I'll drive you home. Is that okay?"

Beth nodded. "Thank you, Shawn. I'm so sorry that I burst into your place of work like this. I've already been branded a weirdo after...well, after everything that happened to me. I appreciate you being so kind." She offered him a smile again before she ran her fingers through her hair. Her hands were still trembling slightly - the rush of being chased was almost too much for her to bear. She couldn't help but laugh to herself at the thought. How could being chased by a man, a potentially harmless man, have her this panicked? She had a stand off with a goddamn bison! And survived with minimal panic. But...then again - she had Ian.

Of course that memory brought her back to Ian. Everything always did, really. She kept quiet on the drive home, staring out the window to make sure that the long haired man wasn't following them. As Shawn parked in the driveway and turned the car off, he turned to focus on Beth. She could feel him looking at her and decided to clear her throat and look back at him. "Go ahead. Ask."

Shawn couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm sorry. It's just, you've never talked about what happened to you before Beth. And I can see that it's wearing you down." He admitted with a frown. "But I am the last person who wants to pry into your personal life. It's private and I have no right to be privy to it."

"Thank you, Shawn." Beth looked down, picking at the edge of her thumb nail for a moment before letting out another sigh. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you, honestly."

A part of her wanted to tell him. She wanted to be honest with the only person who wasn't treating her like a psych patient but she wasn't sure if telling him was the right idea. There was always the possibly that once she told him that he'd start treating her like a psych patient.

"I just want people to know I was away. Very, very far away. But...that I was happy." Beth continued, glancing up at the house through the windshield. She frowned when she noticed her mother standing in the doorway, and mentally prepared herself to listen to the shouting for the rest of the night, atleast until her mother fell asleep.

Shawn offered her a nod. "The only thing that matters to me is exactly that. That you were happy and healthy and not held against your will in any sort of way." He told her, reaching over to gently rest a hand on top of hers. "Because if you were, I would go to the ends of the earth to find whoever had harmed you. You know that, right?"

Beth smiled. It was very sweet of Shawn to feel protective over her. She pulled her attention away from her mother and the house and directed it to him again. She gave his hand a squeeze and leaned over to kiss his cheek gently. "Thank you, Officer Carter." She giggled, pulling back to look at him. She ignored the blush that spread across his cheeks after she kissed him and chose to change the subject, "I should get going before my mom flips her lid. Are you free next weekend? I have my boards test but could really go for some nice adult beverages to celebrate my possible passing."

"I'm there." Shawn agreed. "I'll see you then."

Beth left the patrol car in a rush, moving to the front porch with her books cradled in her arms as she bypassed her mother who gave a wave to Shawn as he pulled out of the driveway and drove away.

"Spending an awful lot of time with that cop." Gretchen Montgomery hummed, narrowing her eyes at her daughter who walked straight to her bedroom to drop off her books. Gretchen followed her through the hallways, no doubt waiting for a response from Beth.

"He's an old friend from school. He gave me a ride home from the library." She told her with a sigh. "Did you eat dinner yet?"

Gretchen shook her head. "No, not yet." She replied, following her daughter back down the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchen. "I'll cook, then." Beth replied flatly, already moving about to grab the ingredients she would need. She ended up making eggplant Parmesan, which had been one of her fathers favorite recipes.

It had been quiet some time since she had it, and she could tell that the flavors had brought her mother back down for the unnecessary witch-hunt she was starting. Luckily, Gretchen remained mellow and helped her daughter with doing the dishes before retiring to her room for the night.

The next week passed in exactly the same fashion. Gretchen remained mellowed out, her temper being kept at bay. Beth had finished her exam, having nervously chewed away at the soft flesh of the inside of her cheek the entire time. She had only smiled when she spotted Shawn standing outside of the building, leaning against his personal car. The old Chevy truck was pretty beat up, but that wasn't something Beth would ever judge him on.

"So?" He asked, opening the passenger side door for her with a smile.

"I was so fucking nervous the entire time. I hope I passed. I won't know for a while." She told him with a shrug, "but, I'm feeling better now that you're here. Where are we going?" She asked him once he got into the truck beside her.

"JD's Saloon?" He posed the suggestion to her with a raise of his brow. "They have great specials. I'm starving, too, and the food is great."

Beth nodded. She had no real opinion on the matter. She wanted to enjoy herself. The nightmares that had plagued her mind since her return home had eased up as of late, and she hadn't come in contact with the long haired man again since the incident last week.

Luckily, the bar was not completely packed by the time they got there. They ordered themselves drinks and some finger foods to munch on as Shawn talked about what she had missed in the neighborhood since she had been away.

She had to act natural when he discussed politics and other news that she would have known about if she weren't living back in the 1700s. The conversation flowed naturally and Beth felt like she was finally at peace. Atleast for the time being. After a few drinks, Shawn had switched to water since he was to be the one driving them home. She applauded him for his heroics, giggling softly as she downed the rest of her drink.

"I'll be right back." Beth excused herself from the table to head to the restroom. She felt giddy for the first time in over six months, but as she stared at herself in the mirror she suddenly felt a wave of grief and guilt. Why could she feel this way after so little time apart from Ian?

Letting out a deep sigh, Beth continued washing her hands before glancing back through the mirror as the sound of the door opening and closing brought her out of her thoughts. She jumped and spun around, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as she stared back at the tanned skinned man who had followed her last week.

"You." She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, almost wishing that when she opened them again he would be gone. She had hoped that he was just a vision in her mind and not a real man standing before her in the ladies bathroom. "What are you doing here? What do you want from me?"

"You need to go back." The man stepped closer and reached for her hand. He was rough, and Beth shrunk down and did what she could to yank her arm from his grasp. "You need to go back." He urged her again, his larger hand prying open her hand and depositing what felt like a rock into her palm before closing her fingers again. "This time is not your time. Don't you hear them calling for you?"

Beth stared in fear, her eyes wide as she tried to form a coherent sentence in response. "W-who are you?" She finally got out as she continued to tremble in fear. He was not extremely overbearing, but his grip on her wrist was strong. The edges of whatever he had placed in her hand were not digging into her flesh and the edges were smooth. Maybe it was a gemstone of some kind, she thought to herself. Her fist was clenched tightly, her eyes staring up into his.

"My name is of no importance." He told her firmly, tightening his grip on her wrist. "They are calling for you. Go to them." And with that, he released his grip on her and dashed out of the bathroom. Beth remained frozen in place, the hand that he had been holding was cradled against her chest before she slowly uncurled her fist. Inside of her palm was a small gemstone, it looked like turquoise to her.

Immediately, she felt sick to her stomach. Was he like her? A time-traveler? How did he know that she felt the calling from the stones all these miles away? While inspecting the gem for another moment, she quickly turned back to face the mirror when the door opened again and a flock of young girls, no older than she was, entered in. Beth tucked the turquoise into her pocket and wiped at her eyes, not having realized that she had began to cry during the incident a mere moments ago.

As she made it back to the table, she greeted Shawn with a forced smile.

"I was beginning to think either you ran off without me or that I needed to send a search party into the bathroom for you." He teased her with his own smile.

"I think I drank a bit too much. I just had to get my wits about me. Honestly it's been a while since I've been able to have strong drinks like these." She admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked around. When she didn't see the man from the bathroom she immediately settled into the booth with ease.

"Well, here, have some water and then I'll take you home." Shawn handed her a new glass of water and already walked to the bar to pay their tab.

Beth drank the water quickly, licking her lips and following Shawn out of the bar and into his truck. The car ride was quiet, and when he pulled into the driveway she turned and smiled to him. "Thank you for tonight, Shawn. I really enjoyed myself. Honestly, I haven't been getting out much. It's been rough these past couple of months." She leaned over and pecked his cheek quickly before she pulled away, already opening the door and stepping out. "Coffee on Monday?" She asked him about their usual meet and greet, smiling when he agreed.

It wasn't until she was in the safety of her room, washed up and dressed for bed did she take out the turquoise stone from the pocket of her pants. She stared at it, curled up in bed, and began wondering who that man was and how he knew her. Why was getting back in time so important? She had no idea where to find the man. He left no other information. No name. Nothing.

As Beth began turning the gemstone between her fingers, she let out a heavy sigh. She slipped the stone into the drawer of her nightstand for safe keeping. She needed time to think about the events of the night. She wasn't given much detail but couldn't help but shake the feeling that there must have been a reason that this man found her. There had to be a connection and once she set her mind to it - there would be no stopping Beth getting down to the bottom of it.

She needed to go back.

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This took longer than expected. Sorry to those still reading 🤣

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