It had been three days since she'd said goodbye to Kevin. Standing in the doorway of the airport, the sun on his back, he'd never looked so handsome. But there was onything wrong. Something she could not explain. Ever since she'd heard that strange music she'd felt odd. Kevin hadn't seemed to notice or if he had he didn't say anything. She'd always been a restless woman, but this was a different feeling. A feeling of uncertainty. A felling that all she'd ever known wasn't right. Wasn't real. Like there was something else besides her simply life. Something different. Something bigger. But this was all the stupid childish thinking of an over stressed girl. At least it was in her Mother's eyes. She had talked to her the night before and confessed her feelings. Her Mother had said it was nerves. That she needed to relax and come and stay with them over the summer. Of course Sarah realized that this was a futile attempt to have her come and stay with her Mother earlier than she had planned. She loved her parents and knew it was hard on them for her to be so far away for so long, but she thought that her 18 year sentence had been served well and thee was no need for probation.

She awoke from this daze that had fallen over her and returned to her reading. She was outside lounging in an old lawn chair, reading Daniel Steel's newest novel. It was a beautiful day. A slight breeze with a hint of sunlight now and then. She was just turning the page when something caught her attention.

There it was again. That beautiful music. She had to know where it was coming from. She got up and began to walk around.

Suddenly she felt the back of her neck getting hot and the light around her more bright. She normally wouldn't have noticed this, but this was not the product of the sun. She turned around only to be blinded by a bright light. She sheilded her eyes and fell to the ground overcome by it's brightness. She thought she saw movement within the blaze. She squinted her eyes in hopes of gazing apon this being. Yes there was something in there. It was a human figure. It was a small male with lightning colored eyes. She was not frightened by this man, but instead she was calmed. But unfortunately instinct told her to be frightened. And when you that scared there only one thing to do. Scream.

She screamed with all her might. The creature cringed and put his finger on her lips to quiet her. She felt his hands on her lips. So soft and warm. She felt such peace when this man touched her. Yet she also felt pain and torment. Not her own but this man's. It saddened her deeply. There was something else there, something she didn't recognize. It was pure and beautiful. Something she'd never felt. It reminded her of something out of a romance novel, but she still couldn't place it.

She looked into his eyes. They held so much more than she could have ever imagined. he put out his hand to her. She looked at it timidly. She fought within herself to run away or to hold on to this little man. She decided on the later. It must have been to late though, because as she reached for his hand he disappeared. As quietly and quickly as he had come he was gone.

Sarah sat there puzzled. She didn't know what to think or what to feel. She felt so empty now that he was gone. Yet she felt do full at the same time. She sat there a minute longer confused and then there it was the faintest sound of music.

She was no longer alarmed by this music. After feeling him next to her there was no fear left within her. But she was still in a state of bewilderment so she did the only thing she could. She cried.

In a cave like place where all light was kept there wasn't even a whisper. Where all light was kept there wasn't even an ember. the slowly a shimmering light began to appear. After a few seconds or so the light lost some of it's grandeur and a figure could be seen. It was the same little man who had just been on Earth.

The man slowly walked over to a large wall. Now as he got closer you could see thousands of tiny screens all with different times and places on them. Some showed hate. Some showed love. One even showed a group of men and women fighting against a man in a crimson and purple helmet for a cause that wasn't quite clear. These people appeared in many other screens which lead one to believe that these were very important people. But the Watcher did not even glance at these as he seemed to be looking for something very important. His eyes stopped. He pressed one single finger on the panel. It increased three times in size. Now one could see why this was of such importance to him. It showed a picture of a brown haired woman sitting on the ground holding her keens and crying. The Watchers shoulders shank a little at this and his eyes darkened. Then he pressed the left side of the screen. It split in half. The other side showed war. A terrible war, but that wasn't the worst part. As they were fighting hundreds would just vanish without a sound. The Watcher must have been used to this because he didn't even flinch as it happened over and over again. He looked at the small clock on the screen. It was going through a countdown. To what it was counting down to wasn't apparent. It read 19hours 63minutes 22seconds. the Watcher forcefully hit the scene of war making it disappear focusing all his attention on the woman.

She was quite pretty, but I still hadn't a clue as to why he fell in love with her. He had surely seen more beautiful women. Had been face to face with the most beautiful of al, but alas he chose her.

he gently touched her face. Then an alarm went off. The screen shrank down to regular size and he turned to see a giant new screen appear on another large wall. The watcher watched intently for a few minutes. "I thought they had a few more hours." he said sadly.

On the screen was a scene of pure horror. Cities, people, animals, all being wiped out just as the people at war had.

"It just wasn't meant to be," he said as a young family of four vanished beneath the wave. His shoulders shrank a little more as he gave out a sigh and crept into the darkest part of the cave.

Sarah awoke the next morning feeling drained. She slowly arose from bed and went into the kitchen to make some coffee. Once she had completed taht task she went into the living room and sat down in her big comfy recliner. She searched for nearly five minutes before finally finding the remote. She turned on the 10 o`clock news.

"Another mysterious disappearance of thousands occurred last night at Fort Kentario, Iraq. The military has refused to report on the situation. Though our reports say that bath sides are blaming each other. Which leads many to believe that there is possibly a third party in this group." the newswoman continued her story with a man in a green uniform.

Sarah tried to draw up within herself. She had heard the news of the rioting. Of the mas hysteria. Of the dissapearing troops. How the war was becoming more violent everyday. And how the daft was starting to it home. She had already lost six friends to the draft and if Kevin hadn't had a broken arm would have surely been the seventh. It always made her sad to here about the war so she usually didn't watch the news anyhow. She flipped the station untill she settled on an old Mary Tyler Moore rerun.

Back at the cave a lonely man sits in front of a clock that reads: 2hours 47minutes 13seconds.The Watcher takes a deep breathe then sighs. He knows the rules. He knows he is not to interfere. Yet he knows he has the power to save her. He is fighting his own inner battle. Whether to save her or not. He decides to follow his heart. Which up untill now he didn't know he had.

Sarah was sitting in her kitchen when he came to her. She was so startled she dropped her coffee. This time he did not wai tfor her to give her hand. He grabbed it and they both vanished.

A bright light was the last thing Sarah saw as she found herself staring face to face with the hundreds of tiny screens. Before she could go any closer someone grabbed her arm. She turned around abruptly. There was the same little man.

"Wh..who..who are you?" she asked him.

"I am the Watcher," he replies as if it is the most logical answer in the world.

"Who?"

"The Watcher. I am a being unlike you. I watch over all the timelines that take place on Earth." he said to her. She looked more confused know so he began to explain more slowly. "You see to everything that happens, whether it be as simple as choosing which sandwich to eat or as complex as aware, there is always a 'what-if.' The what might have been if something were to be different. I have the job of watching over all this and seeing that the real line stays the way it should be and that the false eventually fade away. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she says amazed that it's actually the truth. "But why tell me this?"

"I wanted to save you."

"save me? From what?"

"The end of your time."

My time? you mean mine isn't the real one?"

"No."

Oh then.... which one is?" She asks sadly as she gazes at every screen.

"I cannot be for certain until it happens."

"What?"

"See everytime changes constantly. It breaks down into 'might have beens' all the time, but the real time line stays untouched. So far this one has been the correct time for the past few months." He says as he points to a screen filled with many different pictures the ones that stand out the most is the man standing in the freezing cold of Antarctica with tears frozen to his face, a happy couple in a log cabin, a handful of teenage kids training for something, men and women listening to a blue elf, a white haired young man staring at an unseen picture, and a woman with a profound white streak in her hair crying her heart out.

These people must be very important to be on here huh?"

"Yes they are, but usually when a person is on screen for so long it means that a split will soon occur around them. But I can controll who is on the screen."

"Yeah I see. Umm. could you maybe show me mine?" She asks tentatively.

"yes, I was just about to do that. Come here." he points to another small screen. "Just place your hand on it."

The screen increase it's size once more. She sees the war and millions disappearing without a trace. She sees Kevin reading his philosophy book by the pool. She sees her parents siting on the sofa watching t.v. A small tear rolls down her face for she knows what will happen to them. "Can you save them?"

"NO I'm sorry I can't. I'm not supposed to save you , but I will. If you want to be saved."

I don't know . I don't know if I could watch them all die. I just can't leave them."

I understand." He sighs, "but you wouldn't have to watch them. You could stay here forever be young as long as you'd like. You could stay here...with me."

Why did you save me?"

"I don't know"

"WHY! Tell me!" she demands a little harsher than she'd meant to.

"Because I am lonely. I need you. I love you." he said as he stared into those deep green eyes.

she was taken aback by this. Love. That's what she had felt from him. Oh how she wanted to be with him. To spend all eternity with him. She would have to be strong ...for him.

"I will stay with you forever," she said and gently kissed him on the check.

Th alarm sounded. He knew what it meant. He knew that her time was collasping. And he also knew he didn't want her to see it.

"what's that?'' she asked with fear in her voice.

"Nothing," he said as he tried to push her back into another room. Just then the large screen popped up again an dbefore he could stop her she looked at it.

"Oh no!", she screams, "that's mine isn't it?

He can't bare to answer her.

ISN'T IT?!?"

Yyes" he whispers.

"Oh Lord how awful," she cries as she puts her head down on his shoulder.

Before he can speak the screens begin to blur. The room begins to shake. Timelines are destroyed before thier time. Time as we know it is falling apart.

"what's wrong?" she asks.

He doesn't say anything, but the knows what's wrong. He knows that because she is here that it ha sraptured the portal of time. That in order to save everyone, everywhere she will have to die. He looks at her and tells her he will let her see her family one last time. She looks happy at this news. He takes her hand and they both begin to vanish.

They land in front of her parents door. Memories start to swell in her mind. She runs to the door. She dosen't feel his presence behind her. She turns to see him start to leave.

"wh..we..Why?" is all she manages to say.

I am sorry. but there is no other way. Forgive meeeee............" then he is gone.

Tears begin to fall from her eyes. I understand. I forgive you my love.

She smiles to herself as the door flies open and her parents run out to embrace her. "Mom, Dad I love you..." Those were the last words spoken by Sarah Donalds.

"And that was the story of The Watcher and his lady love who almost caused the need of time. I was amazed at how fast he got over her. But I still think he thinks of her from time to time. Well I must get back to work. Maybe I'll have another story for ya sometime soon." The Keeper says as he waddles back into his dark hole, unaware that on the screen before the Watcher is everything he has just said.

"oh no Keeper, I did not get over her that easily...." he says as a screen with a brown haired woman and a blonde man playing with their newborn son appear in front of him. Just then the woman looks towards the heavens and smiles as music drifts apon her ears.....

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I thought I'd let ya know I finished this at 3:48 a.m. So don't blame me for stupid mistakes. Blame the M&M's I've been scarfing down on to stay awake. Oh yeah and PLEASE e-mail me!