Save You - Choni

Part 7

No One's POV

Cheryl instead of going home, went straight to Jughead's lab. When she arrived she was drenched and covered in mud, but that hardly mattered to her. She was on a mission.

It was a Saturday and she wasn't due to work, so understandably Jughead was rather surprised as Cheryl burst into the lab.

"Tell me." Cheryl then pointed to the machine. "Does this thing actually work? I need to know. Can I go back in time?"

Jughead stood there, rather surprised by Cheryl's sudden interest in the machine. The fact that she was dripping wet only added to his confusion. "Yes. I've run tests. It works. Why the sudden interest?"

Cheryl wiped some rain drops from her forehead and sat down, a look of fierce determination on her face. "Because he's an asshole. Because while he drank and slept with his mistress, Toni died alone in misery and pain. No one there to hold her hand. No one was there to tell her how special and beautiful she was."

Now Jughead was confused. "I don't follow."

"It's simple. I'll be your guinea pig. I'll be your test subject for this machine. All I ask for is one thing in return. You have to let me go back and stop a wedding."

Jughead scratched his head. "When did this wedding take place?"

"1869"

Seeing the still confused look on his face, Cheryl went back to the beginning and told the whole story. From the finding of the picture to the revelation that Toni in fact had died in childbirth, Cheryl told the tale. All the while Jughead listened carefully, one hand under his chin.

Upon finishing her story, Cheryl stood up. She was still very upset and agitated. "I know you're going to lecture me about not changing the past and all that timeline bullshit. I don't care. Toni was or is, a wonderful beautiful woman and I can't live another day knowing that she ended up like she did. I have to save her."

Cheryl fully expected him to say no. Instead he smiled. "I made this machine to benefit mankind and if God had not wanted me to develop this, he would simply stopped me. Had me hit by a bus or choked to death on a cashew nut. Let's do it."

Cheryl looked to the machine and headed towards it. "Come on. I'm ready. Let's go."

Jughead gently stopped her. "Hold the phone. We can't just dump you in 1869. We need to see if it even properly works. A couple of test jumps. I know you're impatient but it's the wiser course."

Cheryl lowered her head and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's face it, I'm probably a terrible candidate to be a time traveler."

Jughead vigorously shook his head. "No. In fact you're perfect. That's why I hired you. You are majoring in theatre. You're taking a class in costume design. You can't just go there, even if you have the right clothes. You'd stick out like a sore thumb. You need to approach this like you would a part in a play. Make a character, come up with a background. Why are you in England for example? You need to prepare and learn how to do things in that day and age. Ride a horse for example. While we work on getting the machine perfected, you can develop your 1869 character. You're acting and theatre experience will greatly benefit you. So when you go, you will fit in and no one will suspect a thing."

Cheryl laughed as she realized that Jughead was right. "Ok. I can take some time, prepare." That look of determination again reappeared on her face. "But I will save her."

"Good. One thing however. In time travel movies, the machine can go back and return at any time. This is a bit different. It opens a doorway between the times essentially and time will flow at the same rate in both times. You spend one day in 1869, you lose one day in 2014 and so on. For safety reasons, I won't shut the door completely while a subject is back in time. Instead I shrink the doorway to microscopic size. I'll give you a recall device. When you're ready to use the door again, you activate the recall device and I'll expand the door back up for you. Then I'll send the basket back down to retrieve you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah I got it."

"Now it may take you some time in 1869 to get to know this Toni and be in a position to break up her and Fangs. So you need some time to be able to put aside for this. I would recommend the first day of your summer break. That way you can go back and have almost 3 months to succeed in your mission. I know that summer is several months off, but that will also give you time to completely prepare for your role as a person from 1869. In that time, I can work on perfecting the machine so I can get you to the proper date in one piece."

It made sense to Cheryl. For every second she spent in the past, one second would tick away in the present. So she would need time and summer would be perfect, as she wouldn't have to worry about missing school.

Jughead then gave Cheryl a towel to dry off with and sent her home. He told her he hoped to try the first real test the following week.

That night Cheryl had a nightmare. She was standing outside a bedroom window looking inside. In the room itself, Toni was giving birth, but it was going badly. She was screaming in pain and in great distress. Cheryl kept pounding on the window to try and get inside but could not. Nor could Toni or the midwife even hear her banging on the window. Cheryl watched helplessly as Toni died in front of her. Cheryl woke up crying at that point.

As she splashed some water on her face she said. "I'm coming...I'm coming."

For the next week, Cheryl came and helped Jughead the various test animals. The wormhole opened at the bottom of the arch and lowered down into the hole. They all came back in one piece. Eventually he sent down a video camera to a point of 30 years ago. On the monitor they could see that very room but instead it was dark and filled with boxes. They knew that this very storefront from 1968 to 2003 was a record store.

With each passing day Cheryl got a bit more excited for her first trip. After a number of tests, Jughead told her that it was time for the first trial run. Which would be quick trip into the past.

The night before, Jughead told Cheryl to come dressed in plain blue jeans, ordinary looking white sneakers, a plain red t shirt and a rather mundane looking purse. On her way home Cheryl made a quick trip to the store and procured the items needed.