The Huntingtons

[Nick Ryder]

Earth - Early 2200s -

It had been nearly a decade since Alice and Nick and their young son made the trip back in time and settled in the early 2200s, picking a time when the Federation was still rather young, but no major conflicts, relative stability in the Alpha Quadrant and a period of rapid technological advancement. A time when there were so many things being released that even their 'future tech' from the 25th Century was almost on par - at least on the surface.

Nick had enjoyed the lack of pressure and Alice enjoyed the lack of threats against their family. For the past decade it was almost like they were just a normal family. Just one that could shoot fire from their hands, were geniuses and lived with an apprentice space wizard. Although every year, around the time of year they arrived, they had a family meeting if they wanted to go back to their original era or remain. It was very democratic, Nick, Alice, Gale and Cassie each had a vote. If there were three votes to go, they would wrap up things and head back. If there were three votes to stay, they would stay another year. If it was a tie, then they would come back to the discussion in a week and see if either side changed their minds. Sometimes, it was Nick and Gale that wanted to go back. Other times it was Cassie and Alice. Or some combination - but lately it had been a non issue, Gale wanted to continue at the school he was going to. Cassie enjoyed the shop that she and Alice opened. Nick had been enjoying his work, the little custom car business was actually going well and he played guitar and sung in a couple of the local pubs. Alice had a small boutique in town and was a science and math tutor. She and Nick continued something they started doing even before their official marriage, secretly helping out at local schools. One day there would be a story that a school lacked enough terminals for their students or their systems were not very efficient. Suddenly there would be new systems and terminals and Nick or Alice or both would just happen to volunteer to help out. Or someone wanted to go to a university on another planet but couldn't afford the passage and 'magically' a shuttle would appear and offer a ride.

Even keeping a low profile, they were still known around their area as the local do-gooders.

Gale was just entering High School when suddenly the topic of his future came up.

"You know dad... eventually I'm going to have to decide what to do with my life. I may be 13 but... I can't join this Starfleet. The jig would be up. And I really don't want to just be a grease monkey. I do want to go to the Academy or at least a good college." Gale said as he walked into his father's office.

"So... you want to go back?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know... maybe... but at some point we really should. I do miss our friends and family. The yearly Christmas comm and quick pop over thanks to Jack is nice but... " Gale bit his lower lip, much as his mother did when she was trying to be tactful and find the right words.

"But it's not enough. I get it." Nick replied and chuckled. "I keep forgetting how old you're getting. Tell you what, finish up high school, have fun... and then... when you graduate we'll head back to the 25th Century. You and Alice and can pick what year, if you want to just be the little kid that's 'suddenly' older or go back whatever time we spent real time." he ran his hand over the wooden desk he and Gale had built 7 years ago to replace one he burned by accident. "Everyone in high school always seems to 'disappear' after grad, even best friends. Hell, my best friend became an entirely different person. I married my girlfriend and we all know how that worked. And I made all my true friends at the Academy anyway."

"I want to get into Operations, I don't necessarily want to be limited to just engineering." Gale said and winced. "I'm also short, so guess who would be in the bloody Jefferies tubes?"

"That's true. You're the perfect height for a tube crawler." Nick said with a laugh. "Alright so... 4 years and we boogie back home."

"Thanks dad." Gale said as he gave him a hug. "Of course, you don't HAVE to stay there. I mean... I'll be an adult."

"We'll think about it. Who knows, maybe I'll just return to fuck with people and then head back here." Nick winked his eye and took a sip of coffee. "Cassie'll miss you if you go by yourself."

"I know... and i'll miss her. She's kind of my best friend, which is funny since she's kinda your's and mum's right hand."

"Wait until you go through puberty bucko... you'll look at Cass in a whole other light." Nick chuckled lightly. "Just don't get all pervy thoughts with her. There may be a 17 year age gap but still..."

"And how many between you and mum?" Gale teased.

"Smartarse." Nick said and ruffled his hair.

[Atticus Hall]

Atticus poked his head into Nick's study a few days later with a grin on his face. Entering the study fully he presented Nick with a bottle of a very expensive Tennessee whiskey. "A taste of home from one Yank to another. Don't get me wrong, they make some fine Scotch here, but it just isn't the same."

[Nick Ryder]

Nick pulled off his glasses and set them on his desk and smiled. "Ah haven't had that brand in a while. Glengoulie is pretty good though." he said with a chuckle and walked over to his friend. "Wow, nice year too... so how'd you manage to find a bottle of this stuff? Way I heard it there was a fire at the distribution center and only like a few dozen bottles remained from this lot and went for stupid money." he opened up the small cabinet bar in his study and pulled out a bottle of Kentucky Whiskey that was down to the last couple inches on the bottom and opened it up and poured two glasses that finished off the bottle. "Now I have room. So Atticus my friend... what are we drinking to?"

[Atticus Hall]

"Ten years, my friend," he said with a grin. "I can't be certain of the exact date, but I know it was this month. Time flies the older you get," Atticus said with a chuckle.

[Nick Ryder]

"Yeah, feels like yesterday I was teaching Gale that 'no nails are not toys' to him and I having a discussion about what he wants to do when he grows up." Nick shook his head and smiled. "Felt like yesterday that I was teaching him to ride a bike. And like yesterday we got all the decades old junk out of the yard. I'm still finding things wrapped in hundred year old newspapers. These glasses were under a step in the basement." he held up the glass. "So ten years... think we should get the wives and kids together and go out for dinner or something? Cassie's in Scotland picking up some fabric and trying to figure out if she can get some Laird to loan us a castle for a shoot Alice and I want to do, she wants to do a new spread and I want to show off some of my cars and the guitars I made. Kill a few birds with one stone and get a date weekend out of it"

[Atticus Hall]

Atticus sipped the whiskey and nodded, "We can do that." After moment of companionable silence he set his glass down on the desk in front of him and sat back. "So are you here for good? In this time I mean. It has been ten years after all."

Atticus smirked at Nick's expression, "Don't give me that expression. I know you and your family's insides better than you do. I realized your temporal signature was off almost immediately, though I didn't know what to make of it at first. Then Gale let it slip when he was five or six, which confirmed my suspicions more or less. He'd just started school so around that time."

[Nick Ryder]

Nick chuckled. "I told him to let it slip. Would be easier to deny it if I had to if it came from than from me. Honestly my temporal signature is all over the bloody place, this isn't my first skip back in time or ahead." he sipped his whiskey and nodded his head. "He was having a phase of 'I wanna go back, I miss my friends'. He was super close to my old assistant and my son's kids were close to him too." looking down at his glass he sighed. "We've been friends a while now, never thought it really mattered when or where we came from. That's kind of why we left and back here. To answer your next question. 25th Century. Next couple centuries are... going to be interesting. Hope you're not El Aurian."

[Atticus Hall]

"No, I don't think so," Atticus chuckled. "I doesn't matter to me. Never had. Not sure why I brought it up. I guess with the anniversary making me think of time..." He shrugged, "well you know I guess."

[Nick Ryder]

"Yeah... we had a little chat earlier about it. We're considering possibly making a trip back once he's done with high school and then possibly the wife and I'll come back. I like it here. And the hustle of our old lives isn't super appealing. Every night, even with as busy as we get sometimes, I can lay in bed with my wife and know that in the morning there's no major crisis to worry about." Nick chuckled. "Even during fashion week or a car show weekend. What I've lived through before I came here... it's nice to even be able to just let some of it all go and forget. I wasn't there for my other children when they were growing up. Gale's the first kid that I've had that I actually have been there for pretty much since he was a baby, minus... a few months when Alice and I were... " he sighed heavily "We were... captured by one of our enemies for months. She was treated well, I wasn't. Kind of why you haven't seen more little Huntingtons running about, despite how... ah... intensely intimate Alice and I get."

[Atticus Hall]

"You are getting up there my friend. We both are. Are you ready to start over raising kids? Trust me, grandkids are way more fun. You get to spoil them, have fun with them, and send them home to their parents."