It was time to head back. Dinner would be called soon, and at least one of us needed to be there. The two of us were currently the heads of this little group of humanity. We needed to be present, to further embed that influence.

Michelle broke the silence as we rode back, “Do you realize that you're falling in love with that girl?”

Well, color me baffled. “What girl? What the hell are you talking about?”

She laughed out loud, “You are such a hopeless fool, sometimes!”

“What the fuck Michelle!?” was all that I could reply.

“You idiot. You can’t even see what’s happening. You, sir, are falling for that girl. Your seven-year rule failed you,” she said with a smirk.

“The hell, you say,” was all that I could come up with, in response. We rode on for a minute or two, in suddenly tense silence.

“You and I - it’s never been about being in love,” she said gently, “it was about fun, comfort and friendship.”

All I could do was look at her.

“You’ve never been 'in love' with me, Zach, and I’ve not been ‘in love’ with you. We’ve been great friends, companions, and partners in this fucked up time-travel adventure. But that doesn’t mean that we’re a couple. We’re really still just business partners and you've just set me up in business again, in this time. It's pretty much like you saved my business in the before time.” With that, she went silent.

It was finally my turn, “Michelle, you are the best friend I’ve ever had.” Plain and to the point with a little pain in it.

She gave me a long soulful look and replied, “Zach, I’ll remain your friend and business partner forever, but a wedding isn’t in our future. Ever.”

We rode along in silence. I lit another cigarette.

Suddenly, she laughed merrily, “That doesn’t we won’t have children, though…” and she galloped away.

It took me a moment to react, and only a minute or two for Lunch to gobble up the distance between us; the boy can run. Brin was happily chasing after us.

We went past Michelle and Cecile at an all-out sprint and I reined Lunch in, to confront her.

“What the hell do you mean?” I demanded.

Michelle reined up and simply looked at me.

So I stared back. I could do this. I was pretty good at staring contests.

Of course, she laughed at me and said, “The world has changed on you, big guy. Don’t you realize what your new reality is like?”

Well, obviously, I didn’t. So I just kept my mouth shut and waited.

Michelle had a point to make and was determined to make it, “You, sir, are the most desirable breeding stock in at least two hundred miles. Maybe a thousand. People like you just don’t happen very often.”

“The fuck, you say!” was the absolute best response I could come up with. I wish I could say I wasn’t flabbergasted, but I was.

“Yup. You are rich, powerful, handsome, and young. Not to mention that your exploits on the field of battle precede you wherever you go. We even heard about your fight with the Lakota down here, long before you returned.”

Well, hell, none of this made any sense to me. “Wha… How?” was the best I could manage.

“You seem to have a reputation spreading around the region. The Pawnee sent a runner to let us know you were with them and healing. A family from just west of here showed up to ask about you. They have the cutest daughter who said you promised her some baby chicks.”

The thought of Daisy brought a smile to my face.

“Thomas also told us about your battle. You killed five Lakota warriors?” she asked.

“Nah, I only got four of them. Brin handled the other…” I replied somewhat sheepishly.

“I’ve seen your coup stick,” she replied, “Banshee is quite proud of that. She’s proud of her famous warrior husband. What’s her real name anyway?”

“Chuh-wee-tuh-kah-ruh” I enunciated slowly, “but she’s still Doc Banshee to me.”

“Doc?”

“She cared for me when I was feverish after being wounded. Got shot with some dirty balls.”

“Bad joke. Keep your day job,” was all I got back from that one.

“She likes to be spanked,” I said flatly, “not my thing at all.”

“Oh damn! I wanted to give it a try.” She quipped at me.

“Keep your day job.” That got a laugh out of her.

We rode along and I contemplated this whole baby thing. That was nowhere in any of my fantasies. Knocking a chick up didn’t take any skill or talent and definitely did NOT define you as a Man’s Man. Big fucking deal, your balls work. They usually do. That’s why there were eight billion souls walking around the modern world when I left.

Michelle had to break back in, “She knows how you feel, but she won’t leave until you give her a baby.”

“What the FUCK, MICHELLE!!” I exploded. “Who all do I have to impregnate before I can get out of this mess?”

Fuck me, she had a list.

“Why Sonya?” I demanded.

“Remember her blowup? She was scared just like the rest of us and just wanted you to hold her. Keep in mind all of the bad shit that happened in her life before the time jump.”

Oh crap, that made sense in a very sad sort of way.

“Sonya cried alone in that camper every night for weeks. She just wanted to be held. And every day you became more important and desirable to her. She still thinks you can do no wrong and will make everything all right,” she finished.

“Well, fuck me.” I was getting repetitive. I needed to figure my way out of this. There was no way I was going to impregnate a bunch of women like a character you’d find in a pervy porn novel on the internet. I decided to take a stand.

“Michelle, when I decide to have children, they will be with me. I’m not some sort of stud horse out to hire. That shit ain’t going to happen.” I stated with authority.

“And Matilda?”

“Matilda ain’t going nowhere and we both know that.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” She said.

I urged Lunch up to a canter and went on home.