[ WP ] The perfect couple is hiding a secret . They 're both can rewind time , and make changes . Neither knows about the others ' gifts .

Dan stepped through the door of his cozy suburban home, flowers in hand, at precisely 5 o ’ clock. Despite working late, he had found just the right route to make it home on time through traffic. Of course, it had taken him no less than seven jumps back through time, an exhausting feat of trial and error. 
 
 Dan shut the entry door behind him, and took off his jacket, shuffling the flowers between his hands while doing so. His final route home had been so efficient, he ’ d found time to pick up a bouquet of yellow daffodils, Jessica ’ s favorite. Dan sometimes wondered if being able to make short jumps back in time was truly a blessing. While he had made it home in record time, he also likely spent more hours locked in a car than anyone in the city! But it was Jessica who made it all worth it. Dan ’ s work at Chromicon Labs had two unexpected side effects – time travel, which was nice, and Jessica, who was wonderful. In less than four days of meeting, Jessica had gone from lab partner to paramour, in four months, from white lab coat to white wedding dress. 
 
 If Dan ’ s life was a question, Jessica was the answer. Even using his gift of time travel, she somehow managed to stay one step ahead of him. Jessica had confessed that, unlike for Dan, lab research was never her passion, and after they were married Dan offered to support her dream of painting. Within six months, Jessica ’ s art sales outpaced his own salary. 
 
 Dan turned the corner of the hallway and entered the kitchen with fanfare. “ Ta-daaaaa! ” he exclaimed, “ Flowers, for my -- - are those snickerdoodle cookies!? ” Jessica was standing behind the kitchen counter, her long blonde hair tied up in a bun, arms covered in what looked like a layer of flour on top of layers of colorful paint. In her hands she held a plate of fresh snickerdoodle cookies, Dan ’ s favorite. Jessica grinned, “ Would you like some? ” Dan replied with an enthusiastic “ Yes! ” His stomach growled sharply in confirmation. He raced to the counter and plunged a cookie into his mouth. After a few moments of savoring the first bite, Dan saw Jessica staring at the counter with a perplexed look on her face. He followed her eyes to see his other hand holding the daffodils, nearly smashing them into the counter. 
 
 “ Oh! Damn it, I ’ m so sorry! ” He sheepishly raised the flowers in front of him and offered them to her. “ How did you know how hungry I was? Thank you so much! ” She took the flowers and her smile returned. “ You ’ re a strange one, Danny-boy, thank you. I ’ ve got to go get cleaned up, I ’ ll only be a minute. ” She took off her apron and set it on the counter. “ Were you able to mail the card for my mother? ” 
 
 Dan ’ s heart sank. He awkwardly removed the cookie from his mouth, the part he ’ d been chewing fell off onto the counter as he did so. He had completely forgotten to mail the birthday card for Jessica ’ s mother. “ Jessica, look… ” Dan feigned nonchalance, “ it ’ s not like she won ’ t have another one… ” 
 Jessica sighed and her shoulders slumped. “ These things are important, Daniel. ” She turned from him and walked up the stairs to her room without another word. 
 
 Dan started counting back the minutes. Maybe he could find a post office on a different route home, deliver the letter, avoid smashing the flowers, and especially take back his stupid remark. No, that was breaking his one rule. It was tempting, but Dan refused to ever relive a moment with Jessica, for any reason. Some part of him understood that once as he started, he would lose her. It was one thing to make it home faster, or fix her computer in record time; it was another thing entirely to manipulate her interactions with him. Once he started replaying arguments, she would no longer be in love with him, only a time-warped version of Dan which didn ’ t truly exist. 
 
 “ Jess…? ” He called out, loud enough to be heard upstairs. “ I ’ m sorry! ” Dan sighed, realizing he had made yet another mistake. Apology by shout had never gotten him anywhere. He needed to follow her upstairs to demonstrate how much he cared. 
 
 Dan turned to walk upstairs when he felt a hand firmly grasp the back of his collar. He felt himself pulled violently backwards with such force that he flew back a few feet before crashing onto the tile floor. His sight became blurred; a man dressed in a black overcoat walked towards him. Desperate, Dan clenched his eyes shut and willed himself to travel back in time. He was capable of going back twenty, sometimes twenty-five minutes, but at the moment Dan would settle for a few seconds. 
 
 “ That ’ s not going to work! ” mocked the approaching shadow. “ I won ’ t let you go, and I won ’ t let you have her! ” Dan sat up and began shuffling backwards, away from the figure. He again shut his eyes and focused harder and harder on travelling in time but felt no response. As the man stepped nearer, Dan gave up on the idea of escaping through time and lashed out with his leg. His awkward kick missed the man ’ s knee, connecting with nothing but air. The man didn ’ t so much as break his stride. He stepped past Dan ’ s leg, leaned over him, and launched a right hook which sent Dan ’ s head bouncing off the tile. 
 
 “ Frankly, ” said the man, still bent over Dan ’ s body, “ I find this absolutely embarrassing. ” Dan painfully turned his head, and saw the attacker was an older man, with an unkempt grey beard. His eyes were bright and wild. “ It makes no sense why she -- - “ 
 Dan swung his right fist towards the man ’ s head, straining for every ounce of speed and power. The man ’ s head rose slightly and Dan ’ s fist sailed harmlessly by, just grazing the man ’ s beard as it did so. “ —would choose you. ” Dan ’ s attack hadn ’ t even caused the man to break his sentence. Bewildered, Dan willed his leg to kick up and strike the man, but it wouldn ’ t move. He could feel one of the man ’ s feet firmly anchoring his leg to the floor. 
 
 “ How are you – “ 
 
 “ I can travel, Dan ” the man interrupted. “ Yes, better than you, much better than you. And I can stop you from doing the same. We learned a lot over the years, her and I… now… ” He reached down and yanked Dan to within an inch of his face, “ WHERE IS SHE? ” 
 
 “ Dan! Oh my God! ” Jessica was standing at the bottom of the stairs, her face filled with panic. The man immediately dropped Dan roughly to the floor and began approaching her. 
 
 “ Jess… ” Dan gasped, the wind knocked out of him “ Jess get out of here! ” Instead, Jess stood frozen in place, her eyes shut for a moment, then opened in even greater surprise. 
 
 “ No no, Jess darling… no, no. ” The man sauntered over to her. Jess backed away from the stairs and into the adjoining living room. “ So you ’ ve given up on me reforming... you always said this was the me you wanted. ” He gestured dismissively towards 
 Dan, who still lay heaving on the floor, “ You think I wouldn ’ t know? I could feel you jump here. I knew it was only a matter of time! ” 
 
 Jessica only had time to say “ Please, I don ’ t under -- - ” before the back of the man ’ s hand connected with her face and she fell to the ground. 
 
 The old man continued, “ Jessica, what did you do with the original? You know, ” He looked up thoughtfully, “ I liked her more too. Maybe we can trade. ” 
 
 Dan found himself off the ground and running at the man at full speed. There was nothing in Dan ’ s world but the quickly approaching silhouette of Jessica ’ s attacker. He would tear this man in half. Once nearly upon him, Dan stretched out his arms to ensure he connected. But the man simply took a casual step backwards, out of Dan ’ s trajectory. Dan ’ s right arm did connect slightly, but only enough to cause Dan to spin wildly. His momentum carried him through a nearby lamp, the end table it rested on, and finally into the living room wall. 
 
 Dan knew that some part of him had been broken in the collision, but shock prevented him from knowing exactly what. Whatever the damage, it was enough for something akin to pity to appear in the old man ’ s eyes. 
 
 “ You must be feeling pretty foolish about now… ” the man started, “ but it ’ s nowhere near as foolish as you would have felt in a few years, once you discover you ’ re not the only one that Chromicon labs accidently bestowed the gift of time travel. ” He looked over to the middle of the living room, where Jessica sat clutching her swollen jaw. “ Jessica, ” he turned to look directly at Dan, “ and Daniel, the ‘ perfect couple. ’ Too perfect. Hell it was perfect for a while, but time caught up to us. ” 
 
 Dan ’ s eyes opened wide. Us. This man was claiming to be… him! Jessica could also manipulate time? Dan began to ask, “ but why— “ 
 
 “ Why am I standing here separate from you? Because when you jump back this far you don ’ t replace yourself, you parallel. Just one of the many things you would have learned with Jessica, before she starts despising you. Even with time travel you won ’ t be good enough for her. You ’ ll watch her get sadder and sadder. ” The man took a step towards Dan. “ And yes Daniel, even breaking our one rule, even if you replay everything until you get it right, the relationship will still fall apart. ” 
 
 For the first time, Dan saw his likeness in the approaching man, hidden behind rage and wrinkles. Dan lay sprawled against the wall, watching helplessly as his older-self grabbed a broken end table leg. “ I won ’ t let you be with her! You ’ re NOT better than me! ” He raised it over his head. 
 
 

