*A Time of Death

Intro: I was talking with Moose about time traveling stories and we wondered what it would be like if you could only travel into the future.

Barney's life was running behind, as usual. He didn't think of it with that term. He often called his life one of just misses. The problem was he couldn't get it back on track, no matter how hard he tried. Even now, with snow covering his windshield he was in a quandary. Predicting time was easy. Predicting human nature and weather was another. He stared at the empty court house and wondered if he should was precious minutes to call or just move on to the next event.

A notebook lay open on the seat of his car. Taking a postponed wedding into account, he ran the numbers through his careful calculations. As a boy, and even young man, people had chuckled at his attempts to graph the human life. He had laughed along with them but continued his research. It was his interested in time that lead him to his job. The next event listed in his book was his son, Harold's, wedding. Three months, seventeen days, six hours, and forty five minutes.

Barney glanced at the stop watch resting next to the book. The numbers decreased with every moment a glaring reminder that he had just over seven hours left. He used his coat sleeve to clear the frost built from his breath. No lights in any direction. He would have to ask his family about this when he caught up with them. He drove out of the parking lot to his storage unit.

He closed the door, hiding the car. With the new date programmed into the time machine he started the engine. When the world stabilized around him he threw open the door to the garage and looked around. Not much had changed this time, as expected.

It was a five minute drive to the courthouse. Too much time wasted.

He adjusted his tie while staring at the building. His suit was the same one he'd worn at his wedding twenty-seven years earlier and even then it could have been considered on the old side. He reminded himself that that it wasn't worth the time or expense. It took four minutes to find the right room. Four minutes wasted. The stop watched weigh him down and he kept a hand on it as he stepped into the room.

His family turned to face him. The man who sat next to his daughter, Sally, look respectable. When Sally gasped the man pulled her close. Barney's wife, Juliet, raised a hand to her mouth and stood on shaky knees. Barney took a step towards her.

"I don't want you here."

Barney froze as Harold moved to stand between him and the rest of the family.

"No one invited you."

"Harold. Not today," Juliet said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset anyone," Barney said.

"you didn't mean to? How else did you expect us to respond? The last time we saw you was five years ago at my graduation. We don't even know where you've been."

Barney started to back away.

"You're even wearing the same clothes. You haven't changed at all. It's like you only exist for some of the important events in our lives. Well, I'm tired ot it. I don't want you in my life, ever. Now leave."

Barney ran from the room. He stumbled into several people as he hurried out of the courthouse. The tears made it difficult to see the keyhole. He dropped the car keys. He scrambled around on the ground looking for them not caring about the knees of his trousers. When he found the keys he sat with his back against the tire.

"Barney? Are you alright?"

Juliet stood by the hood of the car. As he twisted her hands in her dress the sunlight caught her wedding ring. He pushed the tears from his cheeks.

"I've missed you. I hoped you'd be here today." She moved so she could lean against the car with her hands behind her. "I've never told anyone about this but I have two memories for Harold's birth. You were only there in one."

His breath caught and he clutched the stop watch.

"I never asked you about your work."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She continued. "You're the smartest man I know. Did you know that all of your co-workers are dead? Are you dying?"

He pulled the watch out. Just over six hours. They hadn't known going back in time would kill them. A heart attack within twenty-four hours. When he went back to witness the birth he'd missed he wasn't suppose to touch anyone, but he couldn't resist. The risk was Juliet going crazy.

She reached down and picked up the watch. "Stay with me." The numbers vanished. "There's a park a couple of blocks away."

"The wedding. You'll miss it."

"Harold and his bride aren't going anywhere. This time I'm not letting you walk away. Through sickness and health. In good times in bad."

"Till death do us part." Barney lowered his head into his hands.

"Through life and death. Our life together was too short. I'm not sharing you in death. I'll always love you."

Barney climbed to his feet and wrapped his arms around her. "Sorry it took me so long to come home."

"Just don't leave again."

"In life and in death, I will remain by your side."