In which our protagonist travels with her beloved and discovers that decisions made in her past could affect her future, forcing her to defend what she loves most.

Amelia and the Bareback Rider

Chapter One

Even though she knew exactly what to expect, it shocked her. The sudden, forceful yanking from inside her belly button, as though she was water swirling down a drain. The flash of light so bright she closed her eyes, but still her retinas burned. The high pitched sound, just on the edge of something, in the middle of her brain, even beyond her ears, that made her dizzy. Her skin felt like it was shimmering and crawling away, and it made her nauseous. There was only one sure, solid thing in those seconds of terror: she squeezed Cooper's hand tighter.

Then, suddenly, it was over. Amelia slumped sideways in her seat, resting her shoulder against his. He rummaged in a pocket of his jacket and took out a Hersey bar, breaking off a piece and handing it to her. "Here, try this."

"Chocolate?" Amelia asked.

Cooper shrugged. "I thought that if it worked for Harry Potter after he apparates, it might work for us, too."

Taking a bite, Amelia protested, "Spoilers! You know I'm still reading 1950's literature. I just finished Lolita."

He chuckled.

"What?" Amelia asked. She had to admit she was feeling better.

"Spoilers," Cooper replied, swallowing his own bite of chocolate. "You'll see. We just haven't made it to that show yet." He took a deep breath. "Better? Shall we?"

Amelia nodded, and twisted the handle on the door next to her. She stepped out into the grove of trees, Cooper behind her. They stretched and walked to the edge of the ridge, looking down into the valley.

"It looks so tiny from here," Amelia said.

"It is. The population won't reach 50,000 for another three years. But it's already a booming city," Cooper said.

"I've never been to a big city before. Well, you know what I mean," she added quickly.

Cooper nodded. "Me, neither."

"It's so exciting!" Amelia cheered. "And, finally, we're both on equal footing."

"I guess we are." They stood a moment, looking down at the city, letting the idea of a new experience for both of them at the same time sink in. Finally, Cooper said, "Let's go over the plan one more time."

"Cooper, you've been drilling me for days!"

"You can never be too prepared."

"Okay. First, we go to a store to buy stationary. Hopefully a stationary store, so that we can buy the most expensive kind. This will both allow us to both break our paper money for coins and to establish the premise that we are newly-rich gold prospectors from the north. If that is successful, and our money is not questioned, we will locate a rooming house. I will write my letter and post it as soon as possible. And then we wait a whole week before we leave." The last sentence was said with a mild pout.

"Because?" Cooper prodded.

"Because we need my letter with the train details to arrive, otherwise no one will be there to meet us," Amelia grumbled.

"I know you're eager, Amelia, but it's not all bad. Didn't you just say how excited you were to be in the big city? We'll need the time to acclimate and purchase new clothing. Plus, I am hopeful I can tour and get some background information on the fledging science program at The State Normal School, soon to be known as UCLA. This will add credibility to the second part of our journey. Come on, let's get the suitcases."

Amelia followed him back to the time machine to retrieve the two almost-empty suitcases that she had spent weeks locating on eBay. "I still don't think it's fair that you get to go tour and interact with other intellectuals, and I only get to concern myself with clothes."

"I'm sorry, I really am. I'd rather have you along. But you can't blame me for the rampant sexism of the 19th-century," Cooper replied. He used a small fob in his hand to lock the time machine and set what he called, with more glee than Amelia could understand, the cloaking device. "Okay, let's hope that holds. It's all been theory up until now."

He passed the silver fob to Amelia, and she threaded it through the chain around her neck. Herman and Raajeev had helped them create something that could pass as a very unusual and very ugly family heirloom if necessary. She would make sure it was attractive next time, after it had been proven this new technology of Cooper's would work.

Cooper smiled at her, and she smiled back. He passed her the smaller suitcase.

"Are you ready to take Los Angles 1887 by storm?" Amelia asked.

"Of course. Just remember our escape plan. In case our ruse doesn't work, and we have to flee as counterfeiters." He voice held a warning tone, but he put his elbow out to her.

Amelia smiled and took it. "Either way, it will be an adventure."

No sooner had they shut the door behind them, that Amelia burst out in laughter, which was very difficult in the tight dress she was wearing.

"What's so funny?" Cooper asked, grinning himself.

"We did it! We did it! No one questioned the money!" She put her arms around Cooper's neck, and he obliged her with twirl.

"Did you ever doubt me? Or that expensive color printer I bought?" he asked.

"Not for a second. Although there was a moment there I thought I might pass out. Stupid corset!" Amelia put her hand on her stomach and tried to take in as much air as she could.

"Wow, this room is nicer than I expected," Cooper said, looking around.

"You did ask for directions to the newest rooming house in the city," Amelia reminded him.

"And it paid off, didn't it, little lady? Indoor plumbing down the hall!"

"Don't! Don't make me laugh again! Not in this corset!" Amelia said, clutching her stomach, her lungs fighting for more air. She looked around the room. It was nice. Better than nice. It was the most elegant room she had ever seen with beautiful velvet curtains around the bed and a lovely carved mantelpiece at the fireplace.

"I really wish you hadn't felt it necessary to wear such a thing. I wish I could convince you to have your new dresses made so you could wear them without it," Cooper said.

"A lady always wears a corset in the big city, Cooper. We're not in Kansas in any more."

They locked eyes, and this time they burst out laughing together.

"Amelia, are you crying?"

She had shaken her head, all those months ago, but when she reached up to touch her cheek, it was damp and the tears upon her fingers reflected green and red from the Christmas tree lights.

"What's wrong?" Cooper asked even more softly, reaching for the remote to stop the movie. "It's a happy ending. It's all a dream. And even before that, in the dream, the Cowardly Lion gets his courage and the Tin Man his heart."

Turning in her spot on the sofa, next to her husband of a month, Amelia took a deep breath. "Can I say something? And you'll listen to it all, until I'm done?"

Cooper's eyebrows dipped. "Of course. I don't like that you feel you have to ask permission."

"No, it's just that - " she took a deep breath "- seeing this movie, that farm in Kansas, all the family together at the end . . . I want to go home, Cooper." She rushed to put her hand on his arm, even as his face fell. "Just to visit. I miss my parents and my brother and my horses and I want you to meet them all."

It was his turn to take a deep breath. "You want me to meet your parents?"

Amelia felt her heart sinking. "Yes, of course, why wouldn't I? You're my husband."

He looked away from her for a minute. "They've never met me. They know nothing about me. It would be reasonable, I think, for them to assume that your sudden absence was all my fault . . ."

"No, they'd love you, I'm just sure they would. I told you I left a note, explaining I was leaving to get married." She used her fingertips to tilt his face back toward her. "Besides, I want to show you off. You're so brilliant and handsome."

That look that wasn't quite a smile yet. "Well, when you put it like that . . . I am quite the stud."

"So that's a yes?" Amelia turned quickly, pivoting even closer to Cooper.

Another deep breath but then he nodded. "We can go this weekend."

"Oh." She shook her head. "No."

Again, his eyebrows dipped. "Why not?"

"Because you just cannot go showing up unannounced on people's farms in a time machine, wearing strange tee shirts and expect them to like you!"

"But it worked out so well last time!" Now it was a full grin.

"Cooper, I'm serious!"

"Okay, what's your plan?"

"My plan?" she croaked. Cooper took her hand and nodded. "Honestly, I haven't formed a plan. But I think we should find a way to give them a bit of warning, a letter maybe. And we need to arrive in a way that wouldn't frightened them. In normal clothes - you know what I mean. And - oh, never mind."

"No, go on, these are all good ideas," Cooper squeezed her fingers.

"And, well . . . " she looked down at her lap before looking up again, jutting her chin out a bit. "I don't think you should just go around telling people about the future, about computers and living past thirty. It's too much. They might think you're crazy."

"Did you think I was crazy?" he raised a single devastating eyebrow.

"No, of course not, I thought you were . . . " Amelia blushed and looked down. 'Handsome. Intriguing. A dream come true,' she thought. "Lots of things. Including that the situation was a little strange."

Cooper wove his fingers through hers. "I thought you were lots of things, too." Before she could reply, he cleared his throat. "So you think we need a cover story? A historically plausible explanation and means of arrival? And some sort of non-disclosure and non-interference clause?"

"Yes," Amelia said firmly. But then she bit her lip. "But it should be your plan. It's your time machine. And you're, well, the head of this household."

Cooper snorted. Actually snorted. "Your head? What is this, Leviticus? Please don't ever say that again. You know more about the situation, I want your input and ideas. You're brilliant; look how fast you're tearing through your lessons! And it's our time machine, so it should be our plan. Just like it's our marriage. We're equals." Then he softened his tone. "Where's my headstrong wife? Where's that girl who yelled at me and accused me of trespassing? Complete with hands on her hips and stomping her feet? The one who reached out to touch my hand first?"

"I never stomped! I am not a bull!" Amelia protested.

"Ah, there she is!" He leaned into her neck. "Mmmmm . . . my Amelia is rapidly becoming quite the suffragette . . . I like it."

"Good news!" Cooper said, as he opened and shut the door to their room. She wasn't surprised, she had been looking out the window watching the streetcar, waiting for him to come back, thinking about that conversation on the sofa at Christmas. "Our timing was perfect. I was able to catch the last load of mail headed east today. And I was able to bribe that very helpful young man downstairs to bring our dinner up on plates to our room."

Amelia turned away from the window to see Cooper loosening his cravat. "We're not going to eat downstairs with the other guests?"

"We have all week for that. Aren't you exhausted from all the excitement?" he asked, approaching her.

"Actually, yes. And it would be nice to get these clothes off." She reached up for the top button on her shirtwaist. Then Cooper's hand was there, stalling her. "Cooper?"

He kissed her, and then he leaned closer to her ear, whispering, "I'm wearing a costume . . ." he rubbed his cheek against hers as he switched to the other ear, stopping to kiss her again in the middle, ". . . you're wearing a costume . . ."

"I thought you said you were exhausted."

"Not quite enough, it seems." He kissed her harder as he reached up to start unhooking her buttons himself.

"But you said they'd be bringing our plates soon."

"I may have let it slip we were on our honeymoon, and to please leave the plates outside the door with a knock."

Losing her willpower as Cooper's tongue found its way into her mouth, Amelia almost gave in. But then she pushed him away. "But it's too early to go to bed."

"So?" Her shirtwaist was almost completely unbuttoned now.

"People didn't do that in the early evening in 1887."

Cooper lightly brushed his hand along the top of her bosom, which was pushed up higher by her undergarments. "How do you know? Or maybe we're the ones that gave everyone the idea. Amelia and Cooper, time traveling sexual trend setters. Now, is their enough room for me under this delightful bustle?"

This time when he kissed her, she gave in, sliding her arm under his jacket and up along his muscular back. "Well, when you put it that way . . ."

Amelia opened the window to the stifling carriage, and managed to squeeze her head through, hanging it out in the wind.

"What are you doing?" She heard Cooper ask from his seat across from her in their private sleeping compartment, his voice almost lost in the air rushing past.

"Look! The prairie! I'm trying to smell it!"

Cooper laughed and stood to lower his own window, and his head popped out next to her. He watched the train curling in front of them, black smoke billowing out of the engine. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he yelled over the clickety-clack of the wheels.

Laughing herself, Amelia pulled her head in before her hair became wind-swept. Adult up-does were too much work to risk losing it all. "I was talking about the prairie, not the train."

Cooper brought his head in with a smile. "Yes, the prairie is a nice background for the train."

If Amelia had thought she was excited to take her first ever train ride, she had no idea how excited Cooper would be. With all the modern wonders and conveniences, it was this old-fashioned form of transport that left him rambling facts to her, long after she would rather just read or sleep or watch the scenery out the window. No wonder he'd agreed so readily to her proposal that they find a historically accurate way to return to Kansas, a way that would explain her absence.

Flushed with joy, flushed with success, Amelia smiled back. She was finally going home, and everything was even better than she'd anticipated. Cooper looked so dashing in his new clothes; they had spared no expense to have finest clothes made from the finest cloth in such short notice. There was no limit to what fine things she could buy with their counterfeit money. However, at this moment, she also felt flushed with heat.

"It's already so hot, though. I'm beginning to regret the timing," Amelia said.

"You picked the time. After everything was planted, but before anything needs harvesting. You said the work-load would be the lightest it would be all summer," Cooper reminded her.

"I know. It will be." She walked over to the little mirror on the wall. "I need to fix my hair before we go to the dining car."

Coming up behind her, Cooper kissed what little of her neck was visible over the high collar of her blouse.

"Stop it. I have to fix my hair," Amelia grumbled, pulling out a pin.

"I have to get all my kisses in now. There is no way I'm kissing you in that loft."

Amelia chuckled. "I think you wanted to, once."

He kissed her neck again. "You have no idea."

"Seriously, Cooper, you're in the way," Amelia said, softer this time.

"Please, one more? Otherwise I'll be forced to kiss you in the dining car," he mumbled, pulling the lace collar away.

Gasping, Amelia said, "Don't you dare kiss me in the middle of the dining car! Everyone will see!"

"Maybe I'll kiss you in the middle of the dining car like everyone's been waiting years to see it." He gave her neck one more quick peck.

They only had to stand and wait on the platform for a few minutes, before Amelia saw him approaching.

"There he is! Pa! Pa!" she waved her arms excitedly.

He looked just like she remembered. Her face almost aching from the broad smile upon it, she couldn't wait to see him smile back. But he didn't. By the time he was in front of them, Amelia was fighting off a terrible urge to throw her arms around him and hug him. But that just wasn't done in public in 1887, and she knew it. She had to satisfy herself with "Oh, Pa, it's so good to see you again!"

Pa bent down to pick up one of the suitcases and nodded at Amelia. "Likewise."

"Pa, this is my husband, Professor Cooper Shelton." Amelia could hear the pride in her voice. Here, finally all together in one state and one time, everyone she loved. She had wanted Cooper to meet her father for so long.

Cooper put his hand out. "Pleased to meet you, sir. Amelia has told me so much about you."

Her father slid his eyes over to Cooper, but then looked back at Amelia. "Come. Your mother will be waiting on us."

Then he turned and walked toward the wagon without another glance at Cooper and his still outstretched hand.

To be continued . . .

As with my other Amelia works, this short story would not be possible without the tireless skills of my dear friend and beta, Melissa, who puts all of her historical knowledge to work for me. Despite that, any errors that remain are 100% mine alone.

Our little Amelia is growing up, and, at this point, I feel I can say what I'm writing is fanfiction of Amy's world. Just like other fanfictions, I have taken the characters, the locations, and the plot points of her world and expanded them by filling in the missing scenes, explaining what I believed happened afterwards, attempting to round out their personalities, and helping them mature. This story is - I hope! - what all of the best fanfiction is: an ode, an homage, a sonnet of appreciation.

With that long-winded author's note out of the way, let me say, as always, thank you in advance for your reviews!