" He paused again, perhaps to collect himself. My own heart was beating like a triphammer, and my palms were suddenly sweaty. "Skip and Theo were on t...eir way to pick up their dates earlier tonight, when they got into an accident. Another car was involved; Theo's car got pushed off the road and into a tree..." His voice was rising in pitch, his emotions raw. He stopped to take a deep breath. "Sean, Skip was killed instantly, and Theo is in very serious condition at the hospital." What?" My. Svetlana was delighted to see that Phillip was even more handsome than his photograph had shown. His deep blue eyes were friendly and welcoming. She went from relief at her first sight of him to doubting he would think she was pretty. She smiled tentatively as he approached. Neither of them was exactly sure what to say to each other past hello. Phillip reached for the bag Svetlana was still clutching tightly to her. She let him take it from her and took the flowers he’d brought. She looked up. Yet they would have their own sensations and perspectives. And best of all, when a copy returned to the machine, it disappeared just as suddenly as it had come, but his mind retained all the memories of each self simultaneously. She wasn't sure she understood, so he decided to give her a demonstration. Stepping into a small chamber that closed around him, he quickly emerged from another chamber connected to the machine; at least, what looked like him. It was exactly like him in every way, and. I love that you’re a fixer, but this isn’t something you can fix. You can’t be around me twenty four hours a day. You have to give me a little breathing room.’ He closed the distance between us, not touching, but close. ‘So…everything between us is hunky dory?’ ‘For the most part.’ He tentatively reached up to touch my cheek. ‘I don’t want to fight anymore.’ ‘Maybe we’re just one of those couples who fight a lot. But I’d rather yell at you than have a perfect relationship with anyone else.’.