Dan looked like he felt better in the morning; however, PPMC kept her hand on him. Unlike the first three days, she let him sleep in and brought sandwiches for brunch.

        He scarfed them down, and PPMC explained the plan for the next day.

        "Okay, Dan, tomorrow's the big day. Here's the plan—I'll wake you up early and strap you into the cockpit. We'll then make our final jump to light speed. It will take us straight to the black hole, which will eat us as soon as we arrive. If we work as a team and you do as I say, this will be a walk in the park. We'll be in and out of the wormhole in a flash." She hit her palm with the side of her hand. "Do you have any questions?"

        Dan didn't answer because he stuffed his entire sandwich in his mouth. His cheeks swelled—he looked like a chipmunk—and he banged his chest.

        PPMC groaned. "Oi, I couldn't agree with you more."

        Eventually, Dan swallowed the rest of his sandwich. The first thing he said was, "Whoopee. I'm going to die in less than twenty-four hours."

        "That is so true," PPMC stated.

        "Say what?" Whoa, what a voice crack!

        "Oh, lighten up, kid," PPMC joked. "I'm pulling your leg."

        "I hate you, PPMC." His tone suggested the opposite.

        To spare his ego, PPMC played along. "I know. I hate you, too."

        Dan's lip trembled, but a feeble smile replaced his frown. "Okay, that was pretty good."

        "I know. So"—PPMC leaned into him—"can you count on me to get you to the Precambrian Time?"

        He hesitated before answering, "I-I think so." Nevertheless, something that looked like fear glossed his eyes. PPMC never realized how large they were.

        She woke that night to Dan screaming and asked, "What the—?" PPMC nearly broke down his room's door and almost smashed his mechanical swivel chair. Luckily, she saved it at the last second.

        Dan tossed and turned in bed. He almost fell off at one point.

        "Dan!" PPMC turned on the light and shook his shoulders. "Wake up! You're having a nightmare."

        "Mom!" Dan's eyes snapped open. Drenched in sweat, he quickly sat up and took deep breaths.

        PPMC steadied her voice. "It's okay. I'm right here." She gripped his soaked sleep shirt. "I think you need to change this shirt." Was it common for a human to sweat that much with a nightmare?

        PPMC pulled Dan's suitcase from under his bed. She carefully listened to his breathing. It sounded a little husky. "Dan, I'm only going to ask this one more time." PPMC grasped his arms. "Are you feeling all right?"

        The silence seemed to last forever—it looked like Dan contemplated something—until he growled and closed his eyes.

        Okay, PPMC had enough of his attitude. "It's a straightforward question, kid."

        "Stay out of this, PPMC," he fought. "I'm fine. End of story."

        "There's more to life than one-night stands," PPMC argued back.

        "Humph." Dan tossed his covers over his head and dropped onto his pillow.

        Well, that went well.

***

        As per the plan, PPMC got Dan up early the following morning. She relied on her clock because it was hard to distinguish the times of day in space.

        In her hallway, PPMC crossed her fingers and hoped Dan's tude was better. There was no doubt that he felt sick, but his ego was too big to admit it, and that called for tough love. PPMC learned the phrase from Chenoa.

        She readied herself before floating into Dan's room. "Wake up, Danny Boy. The school bus is here."

        Except, he wasn't in bed.

        "Dan?" And PPMC thought she didn't feel fear. "Oh, snap! What if he opened a door and got sucked into the vacuum of space?" She wouldn't be surprised if he tried something stupid like that.

        PPMC started to leave to look for him. She stopped when she heard a sneeze. "Dan?" Or maybe that's where he was. PPMC bent her elbows and checked under his bed. Sure enough, she came hand-to-face with the terrified teen.

        Dan hid behind his hoverscooter and tightly clutched his fossil. His face was ghostly white, and he didn't look at PPMC directly.

        She offered him her hand. "All right, come out."

        "No!" Dan slid away from her. "Not until you put me in hypersleep so I don't have to see that black hole."

        "Put you in—?" PPMC calmed herself. "Dan, I can't do that."

        "Why?"

        "Because we need to work together to get through it."

        "I don't wanna die!"

        "You won't. I'll make sure of it. Please, Dan, trust me."

        "You're not my mother, so stop trying to be."

        Stay calm, PPMC. "This isn't about me trying to be her. It's the fact that we have to do this together." If they didn't, they ran the risk of trapping themselves in time. "What if I told you that the process to get through the wormhole is similar to your little Portals and Aliens game?"

        "Really?" Dan perked up. "How?"

        "Why don't you come out from under there, change, and I'll show you?" PPMC removed Dan's hoverscooter and opened a path for him to crawl through. It took a little time and effort, but he eventually complied and stood.

        He blushed when PPMC tried to stay. "May I have some privacy to change?"

        "What, you're uncomfortable if an inanimate object watches you change?" PPMC tittered. "You may wanna re-think that one-night stand, kid."

        "Grr. Shut up." Dan hustled into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

        "Yep, he's definitely not ready," PPMC concluded.