Through the Looing Glass

Mitch wasn't exactly sure how to respond to the woman who had draped herself onto his body but, in a second, he remembered what he and Lisa had discussed earlier before jumping into the dimension they were now in.

So to Denise, the woman in his arms, who asked, "Hi, sweetheart; did you miss me?", he did what they said they would do: he stayed on his toes and thought fast.

"Uh... well, you know I did," Mitch answered with a smile.

Denise lovingly smiled back and rubbed her nose against his, snuggling close.

"Hey, you two," interrupted Darrin, he also smiling, "save it for the honeymoon; we've got work to do."

"Party pooper," Denise snickered back, releasing Mitch.

"Well," said Darrin, rubbing his hands together, "I think a tour is in order." He motioned to Lisa and added, "Would you like to do the honors, Mitch?"

"Sure; glad to," he replied.

"And you, Miss Foreman," Darrin pointed to Denise, "are needed to help with this mess," he then gestured at the pile of components that would be the cold fusion reactor prototype.

Denise rolled her eyes and moaned, "Now what's wrong?"

"The conduits for the fuel processors aren't lining up the way they're supposed to..."

As Darrin and Denise walked towards the jumble of parts and mechanisms and talked shop, Mitch and Lisa backed away and headed out of the lab. She turned to Mitch and started a question, but he waved her off and gave her a 'later' look.

Once outside the lab, Mitch pointed out various things to Lisa on the pretense of a 'tour' of the facilities. But when they reached a lounge that was unoccupied, the pair darted in and out of sight and earshot of their colleagues.

"Okay," Mitch began, "this is going to be a problem."

Lisa's eyebrows climbed up almost passed her hairline, and she hissed in a huff, "Gee, you think?"

"Okay, calm down."

"'Calm down'? She's your fiance in this dimension. How the Hell are we going to get around that?" She glanced at her left hand and, sure enough, her wedding bands were gone. "Damn it; I knew it," she pouted.

"Listen to me," Mitch said, grabbing her arms, "You knew something like this was going to come up... well maybe not this, but you know what I mean; differences in the dimensions. We just have to take it as it comes."

"That may be easier for you than it will be for me," Lisa countered, "When it's time to go home, you and... Denise will go to the apartment, if you both live together that is. But what am I suppose to do?"

Mitch started to speak but his lips clamped shut, realizing that she was right. He and Denise might be a couple living together, but that left Lisa, for all practical purposes, homeless.

"We'll think of something," he sighed, "Remember: keeping on our toes and thinking fast."

Lisa sighed back, frustrated, "Oh, alright. It's just... not being with you, and... you with... her."

Mitch smiled at her, reassuring, "It'll be all right; I promise. It's just for one day. Besides, whatever happens... it won't change anything between us; you know that."

Lisa smiled back and kissed him, then the two continued their tour ending at the lab. Denise and the technicians had the reactor test module half constructed and were in the process of packing up their tools.

"Hey, guys," she called out, waving a hand, "Finished with the fifty cent tour?" They both nodded as they approached the test area, and Denise continued, her hands resting aggravatingly on her hips, "Well, those engineers at the fab plant gave us the wrong size couplings on the fuel conduits. It'll take at least a day to make the right sized ones, so I guess we're finished for today... unless we've got other work to do."

"I don't think so," Mitch shrugged, "but we could go over the specs with Lisa and bring her up to speed."

Denise walked up to him and hugged him again, "We can do that at home, if you want; we've got all the specs on our computer," then turned to Lisa, "Where are you staying? We can pick you up for dinner."

Lisa balked for a second, but quickly fell into character, "Well... I don't have a place, yet. I guess I'll be staying at a hotel until I can find an apartment."

Denise's face dropped in skepticism, "'Hotel'? No way; I won't hear of it," she then turned back to Mitch, "She can stay with us in the guestroom until she finds a place, can't she?"

"You're sure you don't mind?"

Denise then gave him the look, "Of course not; we did the same thing for Maggie when she joined the team."

"Alright," Mitch agreed, relieved on the inside that that problem was solved.

Denise kissed him and set about putting away the rest of the tools and hardware. Mitch winked at Lisa and she smirked at him, her insides also untwisting at the thought of not being stranded.

"Did Denise give you the news?" asked Darrin as he walked into the lab.

"She did." Mitch replied.

Darrin huffed and continued, "If it isn't one damn thing, it's another. Please tell me this is all going to be worth it."

Mitch patted his shoulder, "It will be, don't worry. It's going to work."

"If you say so," Darrin sighed, "Anyway, it looks like we're done for the day. I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to dive into the project, Lisa."

"It's okay," she replied with a smile, "It's my first day; there will be others."

Then Darrin turned to the rest of the group, "Okay, everyone; that's all for today. Either head for the next project or head home; we'll see you here tomorrow."

The science techs filed out of the lab with Mitch and Denise heading for the exit, Darrin bringing up to rear and talking over procedures and paperwork with Lisa. Once done, he went off to his office and the trio walked out to the car lot with Mitch tossing the keys to Denise.

On the road, he and Lisa talked about the cold fusion process and the reactor module, the two already knowing about it but keeping up the pretense of her being 'new' to the team. Along the way, the pair spotted differences as they did before, the coffee shop in the last dimension was once again an ice cream parlor and the clothes shop that flipped from woman's to man's wares was no longer there at all.

Denise parked the car in the apartment building's garage, and the three of them went up to the couple's home. Lisa's stomach pinged slightly at the thought of the apartment not belonging to her and Mitch, but tried to dismiss it knowing that it was only for the duration of their stay in this universe.

"Don't mind the mess," Denise threw over her shoulder as they entered the dwelling, "I'm hopeless as a housekeeper."

"It's okay; I'm the same way sometimes," Lisa answered, noting a few pieces of clothing draped over a piece of furniture here and there.

"See?" she laughed, throwing a look at Mitch, "I'm not the only messy person in the world."

Mitch chuckled and said, "I'll show Lisa the room."

"And I'll called Wang Fau's and order some dinner."

He nodded and escorted Lisa to the guestroom. Once inside, Mitch lowered his voice and picked up their earlier conversation.

"Are you going to be okay with this?"

Knowing what he was getting at, Lisa shook her head, "No... but we don't have a choice. You two are a couple, so that means..."

"I know," he said, worried.

"But it's only for tonight," she added, "and for one night... I suppose I could... deal with it."

"I'll... try not to enjoy it too much, okay?"

Lisa smirked at him, "Yeah, I'll bet you won't. I've seen the way she's built and how she looks at you."

"Think of it this way: you might get a chance to even the odds when we jump into the next dimension."

Her smirk turned into a frown, "Who says I want to?"

Mitch looked at her sternly and answered, "Look, we can't disrupt the events in any of the dimensions we go to; we both agreed on that. If that means the two of us have to be... close to someone else for the time we're here, so be it. You, me, both of us; it doesn't matter. The main thing is that we'll still be together no matter what."

"Speaking of 'being together', you've forgotten something." Lisa held out her hand, waiting.

Mitch gave her a puzzled look, then his eyes went wide knowing exactly what she was referring to. He reached inside his shirt and withdrew the gold chain around his neck, his wedding band dangling from the end. Removing it, he handed it over to Lisa, saying, "Maybe you should hang onto this for now."

"Good idea," she replied, the smirk returning, "Otherwise you'd be doing some fast talking and explaining to Denise. Better give me the pack, too."

"Right," Mitch unhooked the pack from his waist and handed it over, "You make the next log entry; you can hand it back when we jump, or you can hang onto it."

"Okay, I'll do it later tonight." Lisa laid the pack on top of the small dresser along with his necklace, "I won't mention the fact that you'll be spending the evening with another woman."

Mitch just shrugged with a smirk of his own, and the pair left the guestroom to join Denise.

"The food will be here in an hour," she said, hanging up the phone, "In the meantime, we can get acquainted and go over the fusion specs."

The three sat down on the big couch, with a laptop set on the coffee table, and talked about theories and mechanics for an hour or so. Denise loved the ideas Lisa had for the reactor and her views on fusion and their applications. They were all excited about creating a new energy source that would benefit everyone, and looked forward to seeing the reactions of their peers in the field of energy resources.

The food arrived and they ate and talked, still rambling about ushering in a new era of energy use and the technology it would create, not to mention the jobs that would be created in the process.

All through dinner, Lisa kept noticing the longing looks that Denise was giving Mitch. They were subtle, to be sure; the slight lift of an eyebrow, the curl of a knowing grin, the way her eyes widened a bit when Mitch looked at her. But Lisa noticed them just the same as if Denise had 'sex' written on her forehead. She recognized the small expressions; she had used them often when she and Mitch were working together in the lab. Lisa did her best to ignore the silent communication going on between the two, knowing that she and Mitch would be leaving in the morning when the gateway reappeared. But she couldn't help feeling a little jilted by this circumstance, maybe even a little jealous, and her heart ached a tiny bit.

Why should I feel this way, she asked herself. Why should I be that concerned? If they sleep together and have sex, so what? They're a couple; they're supposed to be doing things like that here. It's just sex, and besides we'll be gone by tomorrow and the whole dimension will probably revert back to its original state. Mitch will be out of the picture and she won't even have any recollection of their relationship... I think.

Lisa jumped a little when she heard her name and asked, "What?"

"I said would you like some dessert?" said Denise with a concerned look, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine; just a little tired," Lisa lied and rose from the table, "If you don't mind, I think I'll turn in and get some sleep."

"Sure, hun; no problem. In fact," Denise stretched, faking a yawn, "It's been quite a day for all of us; we'd better get to bed, too." The last part was directed at Mitch.

"Uh, right," he replied wearily, "We can pick up the tech talk in the morning."

Denise took Mitch by the hand and pulled him out of his chair, heading for the bedroom and said, "If you're still hungry, just pick at the fridge and help yourself; we'll see you in the morning."

"Right, and thank you guys for letting me stay; sleep well." The last of Lisa response was definitely directed at Mitch, giving him a not to subtle hint. She headed for her room, hearing Denise say, "I need a shower; find me a towel, baby?"

Lisa closed the door to the guest room and leaned against it in defeat. There was no way she could do anything to stop what was about to happen, and even if she could... she knew Mitch was right. Any deviation would alter events in this universe, and could have catastrophic results.

"But what kind of events could happen as the result of one relationship going sour?" she muttered to herself.

Almost instantly, images popped into her mind and answered her question. Scenes of famous couples and relationships in stories and history that, in another reality, could have caused time lines to come out differently than they already have.

Romeo and Juliet. Granted, they were just characters in one of Shakespeare's plays, but what if events had been different. What if Shakespeare was convinced to change the story, having the two feuding families quarreling for decades as the result of Juliet not being 'dead' and Romeo discovering this and marrying her? What if someone convinced the playwright not to write it at all?

Napoleon Bonaparte's life might have been altered drastically if he had married Désirée Clary instead of breaking off his engagement to her and marrying Joséphine de Beauharnais instead. The Napoleonic Wars may have taken an unknown turn, for better or worse, because of the wrong choice of brides.

John and Abigail Adams, his career as a Massachusetts congressman may never have been if it wasn't for his loyal wife's love and devotion.

Marie Curie, who could have easily given up her scientific work after the death of her beloved husband Pierre instead of carrying on the fight against disease and ushering in a new era of discovery in his honor.

These couples, and many more, floated into Lisa's mind, each one of them could have altered their dimensional time line if events had turned out different than what the history books said... or not.

But scientific reason brought her back to the here and now.

"Wait a minute," she whispered, "How do we know the time line could be affected? This universe morphed itself around us, including us in its existence. When we leave, none of what's happening now will have happened at all... or will it?"

Lisa fished the recorder out of the pack and began the next log, speaking quietly into the device.

'April 4- Lisa Parr, recording.'

'We've crossed into the next dimension about eight hours ago; it is now nighttime here, and we are in our apartment. But things are different here as well, and not just superficial differences. Apparently, Mitch is engaged to another woman. They've let me use the guest room here, and I'm playing along with the charade of being 'new' to the science team.'

'I'm not too concerned about any romantic attachments the two may have, but I am concerned about what will happen after we leave. As far as we can tell this universe, and all the others we will travel to, adjusted its existence to include us. Will it adjust itself back the way it was before we arrived when we leave? There's no way of knowing, and I'm worried about disrupting events here that could have a serious impact on this existence. Should the woman in question find out about our travels... and our relationship... will it alter her life as she knows it?'

'Mitch and I will have to examine this circumstance further once we have the chance, but for now we will have to bide our time.'

Lisa clicked off the recorder and placed it back into the pack, wondering if she should have added her personal concerns about their situation. She shook off the thought, remembering that this was a scientific expedition; 'personal discomfort' didn't factor into it.

Getting ready for bed, Lisa realized that she had nothing to wear, not that she ever considered it before; until now, she slept in the nude with Mitch. But this wasn't her home, she wasn't his wife in this dimension, and again she didn't want to disrupt events by walking around naked through the apartment as if she'd been there for years. She idly wondered about Mitch and if he was naked too... then an awful thought occurred to her. What if they did have sex, and he...

But she was already bare, her clothes lying on the bed, and she needed to see Mitch before turning in. Not just because of her observations, but because her curiosity got the better of her as well; she was a scientist after all, she justified.

Peeking out of her room to make sure the coast was clear, Lisa quietly tip-toed out into the hallway. A flush of excitement ran through her as she edged closer to the door of their... no, not 'their'... his bedroom, knowing that someone could come out at any time and catch her completely nude. She had no idea that she had an exhibitionist's streak in her, and it excited her to the point of making her nipples stiffen and her vagina wet.

Once at the door, Lisa could hear the sound of water running; Denise was still in the shower and wouldn't be able to hear anything. Feeling braver, she knocked lightly at the door.

Mitch quickly opened it and stared agape at Lisa being naked in the hall.

"What the Hell are you doing?" he hissed, "What did I tell you?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered back, in case Denise could hear conversation going on in the room, and noticed that Mitch was naked too, "I had to see you... and warn you."

"About what?"

"Remember about taking and leaving things in the other dimensions? Well, if you two wind up having sex, and you come inside of her..." She let the rest of her observation dangle in front of him, raising her eyebrows.

"I'd be leaving my sperm inside of her, and... oh, shit." Mitch was honestly going to try and dissuade Denise from any sexual activity between them. But if he couldn't, and wound up impregnating her... he didn't think of that scenario.

"If you're going to do it, I suggest you use protection... or, at the very least, pull out."

Mitch twisted his gaze at Lisa, glancing at her hardening nipples and knowing she was enjoying this, "You're being awfully practical about this."

"Look, if you have to... then do it. Besides, there's a chance none of this will have happened after we leave. This universe will change back to the way it was, and nobody will be the wiser."

"We don't know that for sure."

Lisa cocked her hip, "There's no way to know for sure, so there's nothing we can do about it. But do you want to be responsible for getting her pregnant, then having to deal with the fact that she'll have no way of knowing who the father is? Or how the Hell she got pregnant in the first place?"

"Okay, okay," he said, conceding her point, "I get it. Now get back to your room before..." The pair heard the water in the shower turn off, and Mitch shoved her out of the room, his hand planted squarely on her naked butt, "...before she sees you like this."

Giggling quietly, Lisa skipped back to the guest room while Mitch quickly jumped back into bed. Just as the sheet smoothed itself over his body, the bathroom door opened and out walked Denise wrapped in a towel, again the light pink color of the fabric contrasting sharply against her chocolate brown skin.

"Mmm, that feels much better," she purred, running her fingers through her wet hair. She saw Mitch looking at her and smiled at him, tugging at the towel and letting it fall off her body with Mitch's eyes glazing over at the beautiful sight.

Denise's body was almost exactly like Lisa's, with every curve in its proper place. Her breasts were a little larger and topped with dark brown nipples that started to stiffen, her slim waist and rounded hips suggested a deliciously curved ass, and her pussy was completely exposed with her labia and mound shaven smooth. Her lips protruded slightly as well as the clitoral hood, giving off just a suggestion of pink, and were damp with moisture.

Her ample bosom swayed a little as she slid into bed and cuddled up against Mitch, her leg slowly being dragged along his. Mitch stiffened up, trying not to be overcome by her naked body pressing against his, and Denise sensed it.