Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 12:59:06 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Choices - Chapter 13 Message-ID: Quantum Leap Choices by Katherine R. Freymuth Copyright 1997, 1998 Chapter 13 He couldn't go to the complex nor could he go home. So he went into a bar in Albuquerque for a drink. It was only after he had ordered the beer and had taken a gulp that he realized he was in the same bar as four months ago - the same bar he had been in when he lamented about Sam's time traveling. *This is where it all started*, Al told himself as he drank his beer. *If I hadn't burst out like that, none of this would have happened. Aptheker would never have gotten the bit between his teeth.* He rubbed his face and exhaled. "What the hell am I going to do?" As he asked this, he felt a slight vibration on his belt. Exhaling, he lifted the pager and read the message. RETURN TO THE COMPLEX IMMEDIATELY. VERY IMPORTANT. JANET. Al sighed and finished his drink. He really didn't want to leave just yet but he knew, if he didn't, he'd be drunk soon. Besides, Sam needed him, Al knew. Therefore, he paid his bill and drove back to the complex. "How'd it go with Aptheker?" Janet asked, hopefulness in her voice, as she met Al at the main entrance. Al looked into her eyes. "You don't want to know." Janet closed her eyes. "Damn! I was afraid of that." She opened her eyes, looking far too dejected for Al's tastes. "I was hoping you had some success. We have new orders. We have to shut down the project completely before tomorrow afternoon. The Committee wants this place to look as if it hasn't been occupied since 1995." Al frowned in anger. "They can't do that!" "They can and they have," Janet told him firmly. "Weitzman got a copy of that article too. It didn't take him long to convince the Committee that the project is now a liability to national security." She took a slow breath. "I'm sorry, Al. Project Quantum Leap is over." Al lowered his eyelids. "Not yet, it isn't." He marched towards the elevator, Janet following. "Al, I have no choice," she said as she followed him into the elevator. "They're my orders." Al looked at the Admiral as the elevator started down. "I understand, Janet. You have to do what you have to do. And so do I. Just promise me one thing." "What is it?" Janet queried with curiosity. "Do Ziggy's research and the Imaging Chamber last. We need to help Sam as much as possible before we..." *Leave him out there alone*, Al finished mentally, closing his eyes. "You've got it," Janet told him firmly. "Thank you," Al replied, not looking at her. "You're welcome," Janet said gently as the elevator door opened. Al took a deep breath before opening his eyes and exiting the elevator. He and Janet immediately entered the Control Room, both silent. Al walked to the control console and grabbed a handlink while looking at Gushie, who stood behind the console. "Center me on Sam, Gushie," Al instructed. Gushie nodded. "Yes, Admiral." He started to say something more but stopped as Al entered the Imaging Chamber. Gushie looked at Janet with questioning. "Admiral, does he know?" Janet nodded. "He knows, Dr. Conelf. Center him on Dr. Beckett. Then let's get to work on this place." She turned her attention to the incandescent sphere hanging from the ceiling. "We'll keep you on line as long as we can, Ziggy. We're not going to give up without a fight." The computer did not answer as Gushie and Janet prepared to close down Project Quantum Leap - permanently. Sam stopped before the door, wondering if he should even go through it. He knew what was on the other side - his younger self. However, he wasn't sure he was ready for the situation. So many things could go wrong, the two primary ones being that his younger self would either touch him or see "Al" as acting very strangely and thus know that "Al" was in fact Sam. Finally, Sam decided that whatever happens, happens. He opened the door and stepped into the lab to see himself sitting at the table, pouring over Ziggy's blueprints. An odd sense of deja vu came over him and he instantly knew how to handle the situation. "Hi, Sam," he said to gain the younger's attention. Dr. Beckett jumped slightly at the interruption and turned around. "Hi, Al," he greeted. Sam put his hands in his pockets and slowly approached Dr. Beckett. Aside from the fact that it seemed like something Al would do, it also helped avoid the physical contact that could be eminent. "So, how's it going?" Sam asked. The younger exhaled slowly. "I'm so close, Al. So close. I know I can get the retrieval program to work." He looked at Sam. "Permanently, I mean. I just can't seem to find the answer." Sam resisted the urge to hurry over to take a look at Dr. Beckett's work. First of all, it wouldn't be like Al to do so. Al was a mechanical engineer, not a physicist. He worked better with circuit boards and wires than with numbers. Second of all, the closer Sam was to himself, the more likely Dr. Beckett would touch him. "I'm sure you'll find it," Sam said with a smile. Dr. Beckett nodded his thanks. Sam took a breath. It was time to implement his idea. "Sam, I think you should take a break," he told his other self. Dr. Beckett didn't reply or turn from his work. Sam waited, knowing Dr. Beckett had heard him. "A break?" Dr. Beckett questioned, expectancy in his voice. "Sam looked at the younger with curiosity. "You haven't left your lab in - what? - three, four days? Maybe if you left the lab for a little while it would help you think a little more clearly." As Sam said this, the Imaging Chamber door opened on the left side of his counterpart. Instead of Al stepping through the door, though, it was a lovely brown-haired woman dressed in a Naval uniform. "Sam," she said as she played with a handlink, "Ziggy says history's changing but she isn't sure why. It isn't a big change but it's enough to have her a bit concerned." She looked at Dr. Beckett as he nodded slightly to let her know he was listening. "Maybe you're right," Dr. Beckett replied to Sam's suggestion. "What did you have in mind?" Both Dr. Beckett and the woman looked at Sam with curiosity. At that moment, Sam recognized the woman. *Genine Strickler*, he thought. *She was my Observer on that leap.* He took a breath, ignoring the look of concern on Genine's face as she looked at him. "Something's wrong with Alex," he told Dr. Beckett. "He's having migraines but he won't see a doctor about them." Dr. Beckett frowned with concern. "Are you sure? How long?" He approached Sam with determination. Sam shook his head. "I have no idea how long he's had them but he's definitely having migraines. Since he won't see a doctor, I though maybe you'd have a look at him." Dr. Beckett nodded. "Okay. Let's go then." Sam went ahead of Dr. Beckett as they exited the lab, Sam avoiding touching the latter. As he did so, he noticed Al standing just to the left, fiddling with the handlink. It suddenly occurred to Sam that, if he could see Genine, Dr. Beckett might be able to see Al. He turned his head towards Al with extreme concern. "Get out of here!" he whispered emphatically. Al frowned strongly with confusion at Sam's words. Nonetheless, when Dr. Beckett left the lab followed by Genine, he quickly stepped backwards through the wall and into the lab. Dr. Beckett turned his head towards the place where Al had been and frowned slightly. "What's wrong?" Sam asked, hoping his fears had not come to pass. Genine looked at Dr. Beckett quickly, the same question on her mind. Dr. Beckett shook his head slightly. "For a moment, I could have sworn there was someone there." He exhaled. "I guess I have been working too hard." Sam held back a sigh of relief as the three continued to Alex's office, Al watching with concern as they left.