song selection: is this love by whitesnake

Michael wiped off the alcohol that was slipped into the prop bottle as a prank on him, still laughing to himself over this as they'd finished filming for the night. "God alcohol is terrible."

Crispin and Lea laughed beside him. "Well it's definitely making the blooper reel," She joked to have him roll his eyes, leaning against one of the tables the three were standing beside.

"So, you taking Nancy to the event on Saturday? Because I know you have Jude, but she can also be my date if she wanted to go?" Lea only eyed him over him stumbling on his words. "Actually, no, can you ask her to go with me?"

Michael smiled over to shake his head. "I'm actually taking Jude with me. Sorry Crisps, she'll be my date."

Lea widener her eyes to him as he said this, waiting for some sort of explanation to come along with it. "Knew there was something up when I hadn't seen Nancy around for a bit. You two are dating aren't you?"

"No- No, we're not dating?" Michael responded back too quickly to have her only look to him amused.

Crispin knew better to believe this as well and rolled his eyes. "Uh huh, sure, I knew there'd be no point to ask her out because of the way you two were looking at each other when you first brought her here."

"Or the other time," Lea mentioned, "Or when you dressed like a thug after getting out of make-up smoking a cigarette because she thought it'd be funny."

"Guys back on the set!" Rob called over to the group suddenly.

"Finally!" Michael called out in relief, making Crispin and Lea laugh happily over their successful teasing.

Meanwhile at the Coffee Shop that same afternoon, Jude was now placing down an americano to the girl in the booth continuing to study away still. She smiled down to her to have her do the same before she turned back to the back counter where Jenny was. "Old man Summer hasn't come in yet?" She asked, noticing one of their regulars no where in sight.

Jenny giggled, shaking her head. "No not yet. See! No one else can understand our regulars besides me and you," She mentioned to have Jude bow playfully,"I mean it is Sunday so he comes later too so."

Jude suddenly looked to her shocked over the date. "You said Sunday?"

"Yea, Sunday? Why do you ask?" Rushing over to the calendar in the break room instead of gaining a response from her, she had forgotten that by her staying her longer than she would've wanted meant she'd recount the rest of the ill-fated.

An ill-fated year caused specifically from the events of today.

"I'm an idiot, I didn't realize- that today-" Jude continued to fragment her sentence as she hurriedly tried her bag and keys to the car. "I've got to go. It's- it's an emergency."

Her friend looked to her behavior in worry, wondering what was making her act like this. "Jude, what's the emergency? What's wrong?"

"My Dad- He's at the hospital. I've got go."

"Go! I'll have Chrissy cover, you do what you need to do." Jenny nodded understandingly as Jude hugged her quickly as a thanks before rushing out the door.

Her heart continued to race in her chest, beating faster as she pulled up to the parking garage for the hospital. She knew she wasn't meant to be her as she risked anyone in her family seeing her here. Finding the nurses station as she went inside, she tried to calm herself for a moment. "Smithers, Henry. I'm his daughter," Jude told the nurse suddenly in order to gain entrance into the waiting room near his room.

He nodded, handing her a visitor badge to continue to look to Jude confused. "Do you have a twin sister or somethin'?"

Realizing this meant her younger self was still here or just having obviously already been here, Jude brushed this off. "Specific gene pool," She joked to have him not find it all that amusing. Sneaking up towards the room, she caught a glimpse of her brother still hovering over their father's bed while she was fast asleep and tucked into her mother's arm.

Sighing for a moment at the sight, she continued to tuck herself away from their sight and waited outside the waiting room.

***

Michael arrived to the coffee shop having expected to find Jude there with closing being in about a few hours. He stepped in to find the place relatively empty to find Jenny coming out from the back easily. She began to shake her head, as if knowing who Michael had come to see, though it wouldn't take a genius to figure it out. "As much as I'd like to think you're here to visit little old me, Jude isn't here. She had a family emergency at the hospital she needed to get to."

He immediately worried for her sake when she said this, wishing he hadn't been clueless and checking up on her soon. "Sorry Jen, but do you know which hospital exactly?" He asked and she shook her head sadly, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning then. I promise!"

"Whatever you say Mikey! Make sure she's alright for me," Jenny told him before he went back into his car to try and find out where she was.

***

Some time had passed to only leave Jude's younger self in the hospital room. Remembering vaguely over her brother taking their mom home, she had stayed regardless due to her fear of walking up and having none of them be around. He would come back later that night to take her, but even now, after already living through this, she couldn't simply leave. Holding tightly to the thin sweater she'd grabbed in her rush out of the coffee shop, she turned her gaze up towards the television now playing an episode of the Johnny Carson show.

Seeing Nancy on there to her surprise, she continued to watch on to give herself a small distraction over the events of today. There wasn't much sound from the television to have Jude rely on the now delayed subtitles coming on to try and follow what was going on. Considering it was an interview, she wasn't surprised in the slightest to hear Nancy be asked about her relationship with Michael.

And how are things going with Michael J. Fox now?, Johnny finally asked her towards the end of the show.

Nancy shifted in her seat awkwardly and took a small breath before answering him. Actually Mike and I are broken up now. You're the first to know of the news, Nancy answered him.

Jude looked towards the television surprised, thinking Michael would've told her this. Especially since she had asked about Nancy before he'd invited her to the filming party.

It wouldn't have anything to do with the girl from the Goonies premiere would it? The two seemed pretty close, Johnny mentioned. Jude's heart was now racing nervously over this. She hadn't expected it to be all that great of a deal for her to go and here she was, now being mentioned on the television indirectly with her younger self in the room over. It was times like these she realized even she herself could never understand the complexities of time travel, let alone the effects they have with future events.

The twisted look of annoyance in Nancy's face was noticeable, but she still managed a calm smile and shook her head. Sorry Johnny, it wouldn't be right of me to say anything about that, She said and Jude was put at ease. Hiding herself again upon seeing her brother now coming back to the room to shake her awake, she frowned for a moment to see herself hesitating to follow along.

Her father was perfectly fine after the events eventually. Or, to everyone else he was seemingly alright. He didn't suffer too badly from head trauma from the accident, but the stroke that would inevitably be his demise in the next four months. She didn't know if it was the accident or his eating habits or anything that could've caused it. Her father was relatively younger, but even with her time travel it was still a random occurrence.

She continued to beat herself up over this, remembering again that she'd stayed long enough to have to relieve this again. Albeit relieving this already knowing the outcome and having no way in being able to help.

Seeing him again now, knowing the little time he had from this point, she tried to think to herself if he'd let her stop this from happening now, to see if there were doctors that could see this from happening. Still, even knowing that ten years from now, the medicine was still not as advanced to probably be able to forecast this. Jude teared up over the thought for a moment, realizing she never shouldn't have gone back to this place, now.

"Jujube?" Michael looked down to her this way worried as she turned a head towards him to have him notice her face already stained with tears. She looked between both directions to see no one had noticed him yet, only taking his hand away from the area they were in and somewhere more private. Shutting the door behind them in the vacant room, he sighed under his breath over the sight. "Jenny told me-"

He was stopped upon her reaching out to hug him tightly, feeling her ball his shirt as she continued to sob for a moment in their solitude. Of course he'd show up here, She thought. Michael only stopped from explaining himself over this, wrapping her in his arms tightly for the moment she seemed to need for herself.

She lifted her head from his shoulder enough for him to be able to hear her. "It was a car crash. He's alright now, it's just-" She paused, not wanting to say her thoughts aloud.

Michael understood this, kissing the top of her head in assurance. "You have the time you have now. Extra time you didn't think you'd get the chance to have in the first place," He mentioned to her.

She nodded, finally letting go of him. Watching him for a moment standing here, part of her knew the reason why, considering the interview she'd just seen. Continuing to kick herself for her own mistakes in being naïve with her effect on time travel, Jude felt somewhat sick to have him look to her the way he did now. "You didn't have to come, you know? It's not exactly nice to be in hospitals."

He shook his head to give her a soft smile. "Which is why I didn't want you to be here alone?" Michael nodded to himself, thinking the comment to be innocent. "I care about you so much, Jude. You know that, right?"

From what he thought to be innocent, Jude was able to realize exactly the impact she'd had, which only continued to terrify her. "I know-" She smiled up to him for this. "Thanks Mikey, for showing up."

She wanted to tell him she cared about him too. It seemed he was waiting for her to say it back before he'd admit to anything more serious. Jude continued to stop herself from doing so, not knowing the effects it would have on her future and simply hugged him again silently.

It wasn't worth another mistake. She didn't think it was at least, not now. Not here.