Confused people on the streets of Chicago aren't exactly an unusual occurrence, and Peter's been here long enough to assume that somebody needs the so you've fallen through a rift into another world speech. It's when he takes a second look and realizes who he's approaching that he starts to look confused himself.
"Sara?" He'll have more to say than that in a second, once he's sure he's not mistaken, but at the moment he's focused on making sure this isn't a case of mistaken identity. Sorry, Sara.
She turns at the familiar voice and the sound of her own name, and that only proves to paint more confusion on her face. She had just seen Peter. In New York, in the real world, and now they were both suddenly in Chicago and he is looking surprised to see her.
That is never a good sign.
There's too much swimming in her head, with Neal's treasure and everything that has just happened five minutes earlier, that she doesn't know where to start. All she could do is just gape at him and ask the obvious question.
"That's... a long story," Peter starts with a sigh, leaning against the building next to her. "It's.... They call it a rift. It's not just a new city. You're in another world."
He's really not good at this part, hence being blunter than is probably good. But he's hoping hearing it from someone she knows is at least better than getting it from a stranger.
"A rift," she says, just staring at him, unsure of what is going on. "I'm in another ... "
She slumps a little more against the wall, taking a breath as she tries to clear her head. "Great. And I thought my day couldn't get any worse." There's another pause, and she runs a hand over her face, trying to subtlety brush the tears away. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. I know it's hard to believe right now," he adds, and stops, awkwardly, trying to figure out what the best thing to go on with is. "You get used to it after a while," he offers. "You... sort of have to. There's no way back."
And that hits her harder than the first gut punch she had this morning. She sinks against the wall a little more, burying her face in her hands. "All I wanted to do was go home."
Her voice is quiet and far away, and she doesn't know how to handle this. Then again, she doesn't think that anyone does.
Nobody is expected to know how to handle this. Especially not after what's already a pretty terrible day.
Peter reaches out and rests a hand on her shoulder. He's... not actually sure what to do to help her, but there is a lot of sympathy there. It's a very familiar feeling.
"Why don't we go somewhere you can sit down?" he offers, after a minute. Then maybe they can get her calmed down and let her know the rest.
She looks back up after a minute, and for the moment, she's grateful for what she does have -- a familiar face, someone she trusts, who knows more than she does. She trusts Peter. Unless this is some kind of crazy doppelganger who is going to murder her in an alley, she's going to go with him.
"Okay," he echoes, offering a reassuring smile and straightening up off the wall, glancing around to double-check where they are and how far from the Tower it is. Close enough that it's probably a better idea to head that way than try to find somewhere else, it looks like.
Turning back to Sara, he notices her bags -- not for the first time, but it kind of came second to the familiar face part. "Is that all yours?" he asks, reaching out to help her with them.
"Did you get caught in the middle of moving?" he asks, a little confused by the bags as he helps her grab them. Most people don't seem to turn up with their luggage, unless he's really missed something.
"All right, this way." He nods in the direction of the Kashtta, and starts off.
"Sort of," she says. "I was staying with Neal, remember? While my apartment was being worked on? They let me know I could move back in -- that was what I was doing when I landed here."
It doesn't occur to her that this Peter might not know about her relationship with Neal. Or the fact that she was briefly living with him. Timeline shenanigans, not something she's considering. She also doesn't want to tell him that she just dumped Neal, either. He'll ask why, and ... well, she didn't want to get into the why with Peter when she hadn't even gotten into the why with Neal himself.
At first, Peter's just confused, because unless he's forgetting something, Sara's apartment was just fine the last time he heard from her. After realization sinks in... well, then he looks like he wants to hit his head against a wall until it magically opens back up into New York, but that's what Chicago does to you.
There's a pause as he tries to find a good way to start this, but there really isn't one. "Sara, what year was it for you, in New York?"
"2011," she says quietly, looking over at him with a narrow look. That's not the kind of question you want to answer, but she isn't sure she has a choice at this point. "Do I want to know why?"
"So, what?" she raises an eyebrow slowly, trying to process all this. "You're from my future?" She isn't sure if she wants to believe it -- or if it would even make sense to try.
"Sara?" He'll have more to say than that in a second, once he's sure he's not mistaken, but at the moment he's focused on making sure this isn't a case of mistaken identity. Sorry, Sara.
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That is never a good sign.
There's too much swimming in her head, with Neal's treasure and everything that has just happened five minutes earlier, that she doesn't know where to start. All she could do is just gape at him and ask the obvious question.
"Peter?" she gasps. "How did we get to Chicago?"
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He's really not good at this part, hence being blunter than is probably good. But he's hoping hearing it from someone she knows is at least better than getting it from a stranger.
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She slumps a little more against the wall, taking a breath as she tries to clear her head. "Great. And I thought my day couldn't get any worse." There's another pause, and she runs a hand over her face, trying to subtlety brush the tears away. "Are you sure about this?"
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Her voice is quiet and far away, and she doesn't know how to handle this. Then again, she doesn't think that anyone does.
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Peter reaches out and rests a hand on her shoulder. He's... not actually sure what to do to help her, but there is a lot of sympathy there. It's a very familiar feeling.
"Why don't we go somewhere you can sit down?" he offers, after a minute. Then maybe they can get her calmed down and let her know the rest.
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"Okay. Okay."
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Turning back to Sara, he notices her bags -- not for the first time, but it kind of came second to the familiar face part. "Is that all yours?" he asks, reaching out to help her with them.
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She's not sure how much of a comfort it is now. Right now, that's all she has of home, and she's not letting it go anywhere.
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"All right, this way." He nods in the direction of the Kashtta, and starts off.
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It doesn't occur to her that this Peter might not know about her relationship with Neal. Or the fact that she was briefly living with him. Timeline shenanigans, not something she's considering. She also doesn't want to tell him that she just dumped Neal, either. He'll ask why, and ... well, she didn't want to get into the why with Peter when she hadn't even gotten into the why with Neal himself.
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There's a pause as he tries to find a good way to start this, but there really isn't one. "Sara, what year was it for you, in New York?"
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