She waited at the doors to the departure bay, tapping her foot in a futile attempt to hurry his reappearance by her side. If they missed their slot, it would undo months of careful planning. The waiting list was ridiculously long, and they wouldn't get another chance at this for a long time. He had left her standing here with a hurried whisper of, "I think I see... Wait here. I'll be right back." That was an hour ago.
The doors opened and their TimeLabs guide stepped through to collect them.
"Hello, Mrs. ...Jones, is it? I'm Gareth. I'll be your guide. Will Mr. Jones be joining us, or...?"
She opened her mouth to reply when he came up behind her saying, "Here! And ready to go, so sorry. Last minute errand." His handsome holoskin smiled charmingly at their guide and actually winked. "And please, call us Ken and Barbie." As his hand slipped across her back, she worked to keep the smile on her own holoskin-clad face while inwardly cringing. This marriage was a farce, and the sooner this honeymoon was over, the better. She hated him. Of all of the stupid names to pick, he'd had to choose those.
"Right, then, Ken and Barbie it is. If you'll just follow me, we'll climb on board and begin your honeymoon adventure. Your luggage is already in your room. You'll have a few minutes to freshen up if you wish before strapping in for departure. A rather interesting assortment of places, I must say. I don't think I've ever seen its like. Mind my asking what made you choose the events that you did?" He walked toward the ship, clearly expecting them to follow.
She stammered, "We're...umm... real history buffs." Ken elbowed her. Everyone who went on these things had a thing for history.
After a quick tour of the ship, they buckled themselves in and watched as Gareth began muttering to himself and stumbling around the many dials. This was the highly-trained guide they'd been promised? She rolled her eyes. Fantastic, she thought. "First stop: the extinction of homo neanderthalensis." After a great deal of shaking and shuddering, they unstrapped. Gareth opened the doors, cautioning them to turn their holoskin settings to camaflouge, and opened the doors to reveal... an erupting volcano. He shut the doors quickly, looking at them sheepishly and offering the sum total explanation of, "Whoops. Let's try this again, shall we?" They did. This time, he got it right. Huddled around a fire at the base of a steep rockface, they found him. The last of his kind. Surprisingly, he was joined by a woman and small boy, both Cro-Magnon. They were a family. She hadn't expected that.
Their inner ear comm units made it possible for them to talk to each other without disturbing the scene before them. "He looks healthy enough," she said. "Are you certain this is the right place?"
"The event takes place tomorrow morning. We'll return then after a good night's....sleep." She was not amused by his attempt at humor. When "Ken" tried to take her hand, she allowed it, but only while their guide was watching. Then she shook him free. His hand felt a little differently than it had before they left. She shrugged it off, along with the accompanying uneasiness, blaming it on the 'skins.
Back on the ship, they got ready to turn in. He went to climb in the bed, but she stopped him. "Don't you dare even think about it. The couch is over there," she said pointedly.
He chuckled, "Can't blame a husband for trying, right? Especially on his honeymoon?" She snorted.
The next morning, they went back to the site to find the Cro-Magnon woman and boy on their knees by a pool of blood, crying. The neanderthal was no more.
Slightly somber, they boarded their ship to head to the next stop on their whirlwind tour of time.
