Second Chances
By Jen

PRESENT DAY
I was smiling when I shut off my computer that night. Sure, I was a little tipsy, but my friends had made me laugh and I had needed that. It was a tough night, filled with alcohol, loud music, and a bunch of people I either didn’t know or didn’t like. No wonder I was at home, online, and drunk off my ass. I slipped out of my clothes, almost falling in the process, so I didn’t bother getting dressed again, just fell into bed with nothing on and pulled my blankets around me, willing the room to stop spinning. The last thing I saw before I shut my eyes was my favorite pinup of Joe McIntyre and the image stayed with me far after my eyes were shut.
~*~
April 2004

"Baby?" A voice shook me from my dreams and I woke up confused, considering I live alone.
"Go away," I mumbled, turning over and putting my pillow over my head. Wait a second, since when did I have a feather pillow? My hands flew to the sheets and realized that they were satin. I didn’t own satin sheets. Something was weird.
"That’s a fine way to treat me after I’ve been gone for so long," the voice teased and my eyes flew open, then shut again against the bright light. So, I slowly lifted my lids the next time, peering at the room around me, which, even at first glance, was obviously not mine. A soft hand stroked my hair and I looked up to find myself staring into a shining pair of blue eyes, which were bright in laughter. It didn’t take me long to realize who’s eyes they were, I had stared into them so many times in my dreams.
"J…Joe?" I stammered and he laughed, throwing his head back.
"Who’d you expect, baby, the boogie man?" he teased, kissing me on the forehead. My eyes widened even more.
"Joe MCINTYRE?" Joe’s eyes crinkled in confusion.
"Are you feeling ok, sweetheart?" he asked, placing a soft hand across my head. I shook him off and threw off my sheets.
"Um, I’m fine," I mumbled, gasping when I saw what I was wearing. Well, I gasped at the mere fact that I was wearing anything, I had gone to bed completely naked. "Why am I dressed?"
"I wouldn’t call that dressed," he commented, his eyes traveling over my body, which actually didn’t have much covering it, but it still did nothing to help my confusion. "But that’s ok, you’re forgiven." With that, he leaned over to give me a soft kiss on the lips, then jumped up, looking at the clock. "Damnit, Jen, I’m late. Listen, I’ll be home for dinner then the whole night is ours, ok?"
"It is?" I stammered. He sighed and pulled me against him in a hug.
"I know we haven’t had much time lately," he murmured as if his touch wasn’t turning my whole body into a big quivering mass of jello. "But when I get back from the studio, I’ll make it up to you, I promise." Lifting my chin with his finger, he kissed me softly, wrapping his arms completely around me. I didn’t have a choice, I kissed him back. I might not have known where I was, who I was, or even what world I was in, but that kiss felt way too good not to accept and I almost didn’t let him go, Twilight Zone or not.
"Wow," I murmured when he finally pulled back, looking at me in amusement.
"You must have really missed me," he commented with a grin, kissing my nose one last time before jumping up again. "See you tonight, honey, I love you!" Then he was gone, leaving me in a daze on the bed…the very LARGE bed, so I suddenly noticed. I saw a robe lying in the chair by the solid oak desk, so I grabbed it and wrapped it around me, heading for the window of the strange room. I gasped when I saw that I was actually a couple of floors up from the ground and that the ground was GREEN. Not just green, but a beautiful Spring green, with blooming flowers and trees and a lake in the distance. It was like I had dreamed up the landscaping, painted it, and placed it outside of this window. No wonder Joe McIntyre was there, I would have included him in the perfection of it all. That thought made me chuckle.
"Toto, we’re not in Arizona anymore," I murmured to myself, thinking that I really should go see a doctor. Seeing an entrance to what was obviously a bathroom, I stumbled over there to see if there was any Tylenol before even attempting to find out what I was doing in that place and why Joe McIntyre had been there, kissing me and telling me that he loved me. The first thing I did was turn on the faucet, the huge palace of a bathroom not escaping my attention one bit as I splashed my face with water, then peered into the mirror. My hands dropped the next splash of water into the sink as I stared at my reflection in shock. It was me, alright, but not the me I knew. My face was tighter than I remembered and completely clear of any imperfections, my hair longer and thicker and I looked a few years older. Still, it was definitely me. I couldn’t seem to stop running my hand along my face when I looked down at my body and gasped, throwing off the robe. Where was the rest of me? Tears of complete joy sprang to my eyes when I saw the body I had always hoped to have and I couldn’t stop running my hands over my flat stomach and curvy hips.
"Don’t you think you’d better get to work?" a loud voice behind me startled me and I jumped, pulling the robe around me and turning to face the woman standing behind me.
"Work?" I stammered again, looking at her in confusion. She had very dark hair streaked with gray and bright blue eyes and she was as short as I was, only she must have been at least 50 years old.
"Yes," she said, holding out an outfit to me, her eyes twinkling. "You have to go to work, Jen, or else you’ll ruin the whole purpose of this little trip." God, she looked so familiar, but I couldn’t place her for the life of me.
"Trip?" I asked, shakily sitting on the edge of a large bathtub. "And who are you?"
"I’m the best friend you’ve got right now," she said, pulling me to my feet and pulling me into the bedroom again, throwing me the clothes. "Well, except for Joe," she added with a wink. "Now, go on, close your mouth and put those clothes on, I know you like blue."
"Yes, I do," I replied, still studying her. "May I ask what is it I do?" She laughed heartily and started rummaging through a makeup chest, pulling out all of my colors.
"What do you think you do, Jen?" she asked, turning around with a set look of determination. "What’s your dream?" Seeing that I wasn’t yet into this, she handed me a flyer. It had my face on it, advertising my daily show on KISS FM in Boston, MA.
"Oh my God," I whispered, shrinking down to the bed. "I’m a DJ."
"You have a billboard too," she said, brushing out her own hair. I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth.
"And Joe?" My wide eyes met her amused ones.
"Nice touch, huh?" she chuckled. "Your dream man, only now he’s your real man, but still a dream. You two have been together for almost a year now."
"A year?" It all seemed too weird, too much like an episode of the X-Files. "I..I don’t remember anything. Do I have amnesia?"
"No, Jen, you don’t have amnesia," she laughed. "I would hate for you to have to miss those first years when you got to Boston." Her eyes turned all dreamy when she talked. "They were some of the best of your life."
"Ok, call me stupid, but I don’t understand," I said, still trying to place her face. A scar below her right ear caught my eye and my hand flew to my own, identical to hers.
"Jen," she said, taking my hands in hers. "You’re getting an amazing opportunity here. You get a preview of your future." Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "So you don’t botch it up the next time around." When she looked away, my eyes fell to her chest, which was covered, but not enough to where I couldn’t see her birthmark, right above her left breast.
"Oh my God," I gasped, feeling very faint. "You’re…you’re…" She turned to look at me.
"Yes, Jen. I am you."
~*~

I woke up this time to someone pressing a wet washcloth to my face. Oh, thank God it was all a dream, I thought as I rolled over, sighing.
"You have never fainted in your life and you start now," a voice grumbled. My eyes flew open only to see the woman from earlier dabbing a wet cloth to my forehead.
"Oh my God," I blurted out, scrambling away from her, my eyes darting around the room nervously.
"Jen, you look like a caged rat," she commented, tossing the cloth on the desk. "What do you have to be afraid of, you’re on of the top DJs in Boston and you’re living in Joe McIntyre’s house. Things could be a lot worse." Her eyes clouded with pain when she said that and I finally felt my breathing return to a somewhat normal level as it all sank in.
"I’m living in Joe McIntyre’s house?" I whispered, more to myself than to her.
"Yes, you’re in love with him, dear," she said, her voice husky with emotion. Finally, my brain cleared up enough to ask all of the questions that were bubbling inside of me.
"Am I here for good?"
"No," she answered. "You won’t be here for much longer than a day, but there is something that you need to do or…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes fell on a picture on the dresser. It was of Joe and me, both dressed up, but it was obvious that we were both trying hard not to laugh. I only wished I could remember that. "You will," she said, reading my thoughts, as she reached over to take the picture in her hands, staring at it longingly.
"How did you do that?" I asked, incredulously. The idea of someone else reading my mind scared that daylights out of me, even if that person was actually…me.
"Jen, I know how you think, I know every fault you have, ever imperfection, there isn’t anything you can hide from me. Let’s review here, I am you. I am you from the future and I’m here to guide you in this time, to prevent you from making the biggest mistake of your life."
"Why couldn’t you guide the Jen that was already in this time?" I wondered out loud, thinking that it would be a lot less confusing that way, considering I was still 21 at heart, but she shook her head.
"That’s the same girl who botched it the first time, and she would do it again. You have the right mindset, at this age, to stop what’s going to happen tonight."
"What is going to happen?" I wondered, studying her features. My God, I looked just like my mother, I thought, only much sadder. This woman had a darkness in her eyes that had obviously been there for years. "And how are you here?" She shook herself from her daze and chuckled.
"You’re a Quantum Leap fan, remember?" she replied. Putting the picture back on the desk and standing up. "It works kind of like that, I’m in a chamber right now and you’re the only one from this time who can see me."
"Cool!" I exclaimed, my eyes lighting up. She laughed for what seemed to be the first time in years.
"Yes, I think so," she said, her eyes scanning the room. "God, this is so familiar," she murmured. "Was it really 25 years ago…"
"Hey what do I call you?" I asked, trying to interrupt her memories so I could find out what I was doing there.
"Call me Gayle," she said with a grin. My middle name. I nodded slightly and drew the robe around me once more.
"Ok, Gayle," I said, feeling a little strange. "Now what am I doing here?" Sighing, she sat down on the bed and raked her hand through her thick hair.
"You need to listen to me without interrupting, ok?" she requested, looking me right in the eye. She does know me, I thought as I nodded blankly, anxiously awaiting the story of my future. "A year ago tonight was when you two met," she began, her eyes falling on the picture and staying there. "You were leaving work at KISS FM and he was going in, but he was running and knocked you over." She chuckled at the memory and then continued. "He couldn’t stop apologizing when he helped you up and…his eyes…they lit up when they met yours and you felt shivers that you’ve never felt before. He knew who you were from your show and you obviously knew who he was, so it was almost as if you had never actually met, but you already knew each other. He took you to lunch to make up for knocking all of your papers all over the streets of Boston. You fell in love with him that very day. From then on, you spent every waking moment possible together and you could never stop laughing, the two of you. It was meant to be." A tear dripped down her cheek as she spoke and I couldn’t resist placing a hand over hers, surprised that I couldn’t feel her, but she seemed comforted nonetheless.
"Go on," I urged softly, leaning forward a bit. She nodded and looked down, clearing her throat.
"A few months ago, Joe knew he’d be going on tour, that he’d be gone a lot, so he asked you to move in with him, so you could be together as much as possible when he was home. Tonight, on the year anniversary of your first date, he came home to be with you, but he’s planning on leaving again in a few days and you hate it. You miss him so much when he’s gone and the big empty house just adds to your lonliness."
"So, if I’m so unhappy, why am I here?" I asked, still bewildered that it was THE Joe McIntyre she was talking about.
"You’re in love with him," she said, finally looking into my eyes. "More than you will ever love anyone and the few moments that you do spend together are worth every week that he is away."
"Does he really love me?" I whispered, unbelievingly. She smiled softly and nodded, looking at the bed.
"I’d like to think he does, yes," she murmured, nodding, then closing her eyes tightly. "Yes, he does." I nodded, letting the breath that I had been holding out in a sigh. "So tonight, here’s what happened when I lived it, anyway. He came home very tired from the studio, but he was so happy to see me that I couldn’t tell him how hurt and alone I was. We didn’t even make it through dinner without making love right there on the carpet of the dining room." I shivered when she said that, feeling a brand new feeling wash over me, only this one was simply anticipation. She smiled at my reaction and then went on. "Afterwards, we composed ourselves and just talked for what seemed like hours in the living room, in front of the fireplace, sharing everything…our thoughts, our feelings, our fears. That was when I told him how I felt about him being gone all of the time. Joe was hurt. He told me that I knew about the demands of his career when I agreed to live with him and it became a dreadful fight, the worst we had ever had."
"Ok, so I won’t fight with him," I said, but she held up her hand.
"We had been drinking wine with dinner and Joe had probably finished half of the bottle himself, so in the heat of the fight, he didn’t think, he just grabbed his keys and stormed out, telling me that he needed to reevaluate our relationship."
"Wow," I murmured. She nodded.
"The last thing he said before he left was `Well, Jen, I guess love isn’t enough for you any more, is it?’. And then he was gone, leaving me all alone with just my sobs filling the huge house. The police called not to long afterwards." I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth, the tears stinging my eyes before she could even say the words I knew she was going to say. "He wasn’t even alive when they got there, that’s how bad the accident was." She was openly crying now, her pain obviously still fresh, even after 25 years. "In his hand, he had been clutching a picture of me and they told me his eyes were swollen from crying." After telling her tale, she had to lie down from crying so hard, her breath coming in short gasps.
"I…I don’t know what to say," I told her, my own tears falling onto my robe, not even able to grasp the pain that this woman had gone through.
"Say that you’ll stop it," she demanded, sitting up. "I’m not going to tell you about my quality of life after that, but there isn’t a single day that’s gone by that I haven’t wanted to join him." That was when I noticed the scars on her wrists and I gasped. That was me sitting there, that miserable, lonely woman, who was drowning in her pain. My hand clutched hers as I whispered,
"I will stop it, count on that."

PART 2

We were clinging to each other when I heard the door open. Her eyes flew open.
"He’s here," she said nervously, jumping from the bed. "Remember, he can’t see me!" I nodded and leaned back on the bed, trying not to look nervous myself when Joe entered the room. I had to blink back tears at the sight of him, knowing his fate if I didn’t stop it.
"Hey, babe," he said, smiling brightly when he saw me and tossing his jacket onto the chair. God, he was beautiful.
"Hey," I murmured, my voice husky, which caused him to look up in surprise.
"Are you ok?" he asked, sitting on the bed and touching my cheek. I sighed and pressed my face into his palm.
"I’m great now," I said, meaningfully and he smiled, leaning over to kiss me softly.
"Wow," he murmured against my lips, not noticing how much I was trembling. "And I just wanted to take you to work."
"Work!" I cried, jumping up. Gayle shot me a look that clearly said that getting fired would NOT be the best thing for me right now.
"Yeah, baby, you better get dressed, I’ll go grab some lunch, ok?" he said, disappearing down the long hallway. As I got dressed, I turned to Gayle, whose eyes were wide and apparently in shock.
"Are you ok?" I whispered. She shook her head slightlyher whole body visibly trembling.
"I’m fine…it’s just that I’m…he’s….my God," she stammered, sinking to her knees on the floor. "I never realized how much I would feel when I saw him again, that’s all." I grabbed her in a quick hug, then darted down the hallway, almost getting lost on my way to the kitchen.
"This way," she chuckled, guiding me downstairs. "Now, I know you think you’re good at this radio thing, Jen, but keep in mind, this is the real thing. Please just don’t fuck it up."
"I won’t," I grumbled, buttoning up the jacket to my suit and taking the cup of coffee Joe was holding out to me and kissing him on the cheek.
"Did you say something?" he asked, but I shook my head, still in a daze from being so close to him.
"Shouldn’t we go?" I asked, moving to put my empty cup in the sink. He knew exactly how I took my coffee and that made me feel surprisingly good.

"We should," he murmured into my ear, moving up behind me to wrap his arms around my waist. I sighed and leaned my head back against his shoulder as he started to softly kiss my neck. "God I missed you," he said against my skin and I could see why it was so easy to fall in love with him. We fit perfectly together, like a puzzle. I turned around to look into his eyes and took in a sharp breath at the love I saw reflected there. He leaned in to kiss me deeply, wrapping his arms around my waist and I felt my knees buckling. I would have let him take me right there if it weren’t for Gayle and her little, subtle coughing noises in the background. I pulled away from him and traced his lips with my finger.
"Come on," I whispered, kissing him once more before grabbing what the purse that Gayle was pointing at. As Joe opened my car door for me, I vowed that nothing would happen to him that night other than great sex. I even chuckled at my thought and so did Gayle, who was riding with us, little to Joe’s knowledge.
"Do you really want to lose this?" she pointed out from the back and I stared at Joe’s profile, my jaw set in a determined line. Hell, no, I didn’t want to lose it. I just hoped that fate, or whatever it was that had killed Joe that night, was controlable.
~*~

"Jen, what in God’s name is wrong with you today?" Jerry, the man who had been on my back since I had gotten to the station that day was complaining again when I took off my headphones to get a cup of coffee. Gayle snickered from behind me.
"Don’t worry about him, he’s full of hot air," she assured me. "You’re doing great."
"Nothing is wrong," I shot back at him, taking the stack of mail he handed me in confusion. "What’s all this?"
"Your undeserved fan mail," he muttered, leaving my booth so he could move into his own, where he, along with a few others, controlled the major equipment.
"Fan mail?" I whispered, looking back at Gayle in awe. She simply nodded.
"Thousands of letters a week," she replied, proudly, looking up as the room filled with Jerry’s voice once again. I adjusted the headphones back onto my head as he counted down, then flicked me on the air. It was amazing to be in a studio of this caliber, compared to the college station I normally worked at. There, I did everything. Here, I was just a part of it, along with a whole team who helped to make my show one of the biggest in Boston, finding me guests and topics and great music. I was in awe of the whole thing, to be honest and was amazed when the show ended.
"Here comes the daily lecture," Gayle murmured just before Jerry barged into the room.
"I don’t know what got into you today," he thundered. "But you were obnoxious, totally not yourself, and…." His voice trailed off.
"Yes, dear Jerry?" I asked, sweetly.
"And we had more calls than ever," he grunted, obviously trying not to show his approval. My eyes met Gayle’s and she flashed me a thumbs up sign. I was really going to make it. It was the most incredible feeling, it was all I could do not to hug myself.
"Well, I’ll make sure not to do it again then," I joked, gathering my things and giving Jerry a slight hug. "See you tomorrow, Jer." With that, I left the studio, Gayle in tow, to go wait outside for Joe, who was already there, right on time.
"Hey," I breathed as I got into the car, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
"You call that a kiss?" Joe complained, pulling me into his arms to really kiss me, leaving me quivering when he finally started up the car and pulled out of the station. "I listened to you today," he smiled, sneaking a glance at me.
"He never listened to me!" Gayle complained from the back and I chuckled.
"You did? And?"
"And you were wonderful of course," he said, almost proudly. "That’s my girl, learned from the best."
"Rick Dees?" I snickered, settling back into my seat to watch the beautiful scenery as it sped by. The nature and lush greenery was such a change from the desert of Arizona that it took my breath away. How was I ever supposed to leave, even after I managed to save Joe’s life?

"I thought you were in meetings all day!" I exclaimed the second Joe opened the door to reveal the magic he had performed on the house while I was at work.
"I lied," he said, matter of factly, slipping the coat from my shoulders. I was in awe, Joe knew my every weakness. The room was glowing in candlelight and smelled of vanilla and rose. Petals were spread around everywhere for effect while soft Billy Joel music, She’s Got a Way, played in the background. On the table, Joe had set out an array of Chinese dishes.
"Amazing, isn’t he?" Gayle murmured from behind me and I had to agree. Joe knew me, and he knew me well. This was like a dream come true and I felt tears springing to my eyes at the thought of what had happened to Gayle this evening those many years ago. A pair of strong hands wrapped around my waist and I leaned back, feeling Joe’s warm breath in my ear.
"So, what do you think?" he asked, tightening his grip. What did I think?? I thought that I never wanted to leave the circle of his arms. I thought that I wanted to make love to him right there and most of all, I thought that I didn’t want to leave my future to go back to a past that I didn’t really enjoy to begin with. "Jen?" Joe’s voice cut me out of my thoughts.
"What do I think?" I murmured, turning around and placing a soft kiss on his lips. "How did I get so lucky?" Joe chuckled softly.
"I’m the lucky one," he said, kissing me again before leading me into the dining room, where dinner was waiting. Gayle followed with a solemn expression on her face, as if she was trying to separate herself from what was going on around her. When Joe pulled out a chair for me, Gayle also sat, on a chair by the window of the dining room, watching us carefully.
"Is it possible to be jealous of yourself?" she asked, her eyes following Joe as he also took his seat, smiling at me softly. I just shook my head and lifted my wine glass as a toast.
"To us?" I offered.
"To you," Joe said, lifting his glass. "For completing my life." I sniffed and clinked his glass with mine, holding his gaze.
"It’s been my pleasure," I murmured with a smile, taking a small sip from my glass. Joe’s eyes followed my every move, watching my tongue as I licked a drop of wine off of my lips.
"Let me help you with that," Joe said, huskily, leaning over the table to place a soft kiss on my lips. As soon as we touched, I felt a shiver rush through me and my fingers entwined in his hair, willing him closer.
"Jen," he moaned, pulling away, panting from the power of the kiss. "Do you think dinnfer can wait for a bit?"
"Absolutely." I was out of my chair before he could finish his question. Joe pushed his own chair back and reached his hand out, pulling me tightly against his chest. It looked as if he was about to say something, but seemed to decide against it and instead claimed my lips with his own. I met his kiss with a mad urgency I have felt that had us both on the floor of the dining room before we knew what was happening. Clothes were everywhere, thrown in our mad haste to feel each other’s bare skin. Sweat was glistening on both of us as Joe eased himself into me, grunting in need. He tried to go slow, but I wouldn’t let him, tearing at his sweaty back with my nails and urging him on, amazed at the intense pleasure that this man could cause in me.
"Never ceases to amaze me," Joe grunted just before he let out a triumphant cry of satisfaction, pulling me over the edge with him. Afterwards, we must have laid on that scratchy carpet for a half hour, just clinging to each other, basking in the aftermath of our loving. Finally, Joe let out a sigh and stretched, kissing my forehead with a chuckle.
"Have I ever mentioned how wonderful you are?" he teased, his blue eyes sparkling in mischief.
"Everytime he makes love to you, he says that," a voice from the other side of the room said. I shot Gayle a nasty look over Joe’s shoulder. What a little voyeur!
"Only everytime we make love," I teased him back, planting a kiss on his nose.
"Oh yeah," he said, gathering me against his chest. "I always forget." I giggled and pushed myself up, blushing when I saw where our clothes had been tossed. Quite simply, they were everywhere. Joe followed my gaze around the room and laughed.
"Eager much?" he inquired, wiggling his eyebrows. I giggled again and sat up, pulling on my skirt that was within arm’s reach.
"Yeah, well, you couldn’t help yourself," I kidded. He scoffed and pulled me back against him.
"Oh, and you could?" he argued, kissing me roughly.
"You know I couldn’t," I answered softly, playing with the hair at the base of his neck. His eyes were boring into mine so intently, I thought I’d melt under his gaze.
"I love you," he whispered. My heart skipped a beat, still not believing that this whole thing was real and not some wacko story I had made up.
"I love you too," I answered softly, my eyes filling with tears as I said it. He kissed my eyes and smiled, helping me up so we could get ourselves back together and have dinner.
~*~
Later that night, Joe and I were all cuddled up by the fire, wine glasses in our hands and a blanket wrapped around our waists. I had no idea how long we had been sit there, just talking softly and kissing, but Gayle had left a while ago. I think it hurt her too much to watch it. At any rate, the wine was hitting me pretty hard and I felt all warm inside, partly from the alcohol, but mostly from Joe. He had already mentioned going on tour again and I didn’t put up a fight at all, so Gayle and I both figured that it was over, he was safe. That’s why when Joe mentioned something about needing to get more wine and some candles, I didn’t think to stop him.
"I’ll be right back," he said, pushing the blanket aside.
"Promise?" I looked up at him with a drunken grin, leaning my face in for a deep kiss.
"Mmhm," he murmured, kissing my nose before getting up. He grabbed his keys and turned to me, blowing a kiss. "Right back." With that, he was gone, leaving me to bask in my happy daze, sighing in content.
"JEN!" a loud voice shook me out of it.
"Hm?" I mumbled, looking up to see Gayle’s worried face.
"Where is Joe?" she demanded.
"He just ran out to get some wine and candles, Gayle, calm yourself." I yawned and stretched. "We didn’t fight, he’s not upset, not drunk, it’s over."
"Jen, when Joe died, it wasn’t his fault, it was another drunk driver that hit him," she said, her eyes becoming frantic. A vision of Joe’s totaled car on the side of the road filled my mind and I gasped, not believing how stupid I was.
"Oh my God!" I yelped, jumping up. "Keys, where are keys?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Gayle, the FUCKING car keys, where are they?" I was beginning to panic and I knew that wouldn’t help anything, but it wasn’t controlable. Gayle nodded in understanding.
"Let’s go," she said, leading the way. I must have done 80 down those winding roads, just praying I would get there in time to get Joe to stop the car. Finally, I saw him up ahead and honked the horn loudly, hoping he’d see me. His head was bobbing up and down, obviously too involved in his music to hear anything. The road became even more curvy and a light rain started to fall.
"Jen, the spot where he died is just up ahead, you HAVE to stop him!" Gayle had tears dripping down her cheeks, her eyes wide and scared. I nodded and moved up behind him, trying to bump him, but Joe picked up speed and moved further ahead.
"DAMNIT!" I yelled, shifting into gear and checking the next lane for oncoming traffic. "Hold on, Gayle." With that, I flipped into the next lane and moved up next to Joe, swerving into his lane.
"What are you doing?" she yelled at me. "You’re going to kill him!"
"No," I said, a little too calm. "I’m going to save his life." With that, I turned the wheel and plowed into Joe’s car, sending him into a ditch on the side of the road. A car whizzed by, telling me just how close I had come to my own death and I slammed on the breaks, bringing the car to a screeching halt on the side of the ditch, just ahead of Joe’s car.
"Joe!" I screamed, jumping out of the car and breaking into a run. The door to his car opened and Joe, with only a scratch on his forehead, wobbled out, obviously shaken up.
"Jen?" he asked, incredulously. "What the…" Just as he said it, another car came screeching up the road. The driver obviously wasn’t in control and he swerved into the lane Joe had been in, smashing head on into another car coming up the road. The car that was supposed to have been Joe’s. I dropped to my knees and let the whole situation take me over, the tears following without me even seeing them.
"Joe," I whispered. "Are you ok?" He knelt down next to me, touching my arms, then my face.
"You…you pushed me off the road.." I nodded at his accusation and watched his eyes move to the fatal accident in the center of the road, registering that it would have been him. "How did you know?" I shook my head, still breathing hard.
"I just knew," I said, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him against me. "God, I almost lost you." By then, both of us were crying and clinging to each other, not wanting to let go. I caught Gayle’s eye over Joe’s shoulder and gave her a slight nod. She lifted a hand and mouthed the words,
"Thank you," then disappeared into thin air.
"Hey," Joe’s soft voice interrupted my thoughts. "We’d better go see if they need help." I nodded and let Joe help me up. He stood, holding my hands and staring at me for a minute before speaking. "You saved my life. I know there aren’t words to thank you, but thank you, Jen."
"Just shut up and kiss me," I whispered, knowing I wouldn’t be there much longer to enjoy him, not for another 5 years.
"No problem," he murmured, his mouth inching towards mine. "I love you." That was the last thing I remember.
~*~
PRESENT DAY

I woke up with the worst headache that morning. The dream had seemed so real, I could still taste Joe’s lips on mine. My eyes drifted to the poster I had of him on my wall and I smiled.
"What a dream," I whispered, rolling onto my side and wincing. Looking down, I saw that I had a huge scrape on my knee, one that could be made by falling to your knees in the wet grass, just like I had done before reaching Joe just moments ago. Closing my eyes, I did vaguely remember the sting of a rock on my knee. The revelation hit me all at once. It had been real. Smiling to myself, I kissed my finger and placed it on Joe’s lips in the poster.
"I’ll see you in 5 years," I murmured, just before falling into a deep sleep.

The End

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