Date: Tue, 8 Apr 1997 15:03:05 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Circles of Fate - Chapter 11 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII FINALLY! Some time to do a little fiction posting. :) ---------------- Quantum Leap "Circles of Fate" Part 11 Three months later: The holiday season had passed and Sam had taken a much deserved break from his project. Still, he couldn't ignore the project. There was still a lot to do, including finalizing the report to the Congressional committee that funded the project. The word had gotten out about his sudden reappearance. His picture was on every known newspaper in the world, each with the same kind of headline: "Famous Quantum Physicist Reappears After Ten Years, Gives no comment as to the mysterious disappearance." His being constantly questioned by the press was one of the main reasons he stayed away from the project. The other reason was James. He and Sam were becoming quite close. They enjoyed being together. Sam could see a lot of himself in James but he could see more of Donna in the young man. James had a quick mind and could easily comprehend a lot but his talents laid more on the artistic side. He loved to draw and had a wonderful imagination. "Come on, Sam!" James said as they entered Donna's home in Santa Fe. Sam sighed. "Jim, you're gonna wear me out!" he said as he slowly walked behind him. Jim laughed. "Where'd you learn to rollerblade like that?" Sam asked. "My step-dad," Jim told him. "He used to be a professional." "Well, he certainly taught you well," Sam told him. "Thanks," Jim said, dropping his rollerblades and heading for the kitchen. "James?" Donna's voice called out from upstairs. "Yes, Mom?" Jim called back, stopping in his journey to the kitchen. "Put them away first," Donna told him. "Yes, Mom," Jim replied back, a bit disappointed. He picked up the rollerblades and put them in the living room's closet. Sam couldn't help but smile at the situation as he left his own skates outside and closed the door. "Come on," Jim told him, leading him into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and took out a small pitcher. Sam took it from him. "I'll pour," he told the boy with a gentle smile. "Thanks," Jim told him, opening a cabinet and taking out some saltine crackers. "Want some?" he asked Sam. Sam smiled, finishing pouring the apple juice for Jim and himself. "No, thank you." Jim carried the box to the table and sat down. Sat put the pitcher back into the refrigerator and gave Jim his juice while sitting down. As he did so, Donna came into the kitchen. "Don't eat too much of those, Jim. You'll spoil your dinner." She turned to Sam. "Al called here while you were out. He said he needed to talk to you about a report to the committee." Sam nodded. "We have to have it done be tomorrow. They want to know the details about my leaping." Sam sighed. "As if I could remember it all." "Reverse Swiss cheese effect," Donna commented. "Exactly," Sam replied. He looked at the clock. It was nearly four o'clock. He stood up. "I've got to leave. I'm supposed to meet Al at the complex. I'll call him from the car." "Do you have to go?" Jim asked with disappointment. "Afraid so, buddy," Sam told him. "We'll do something next week, if it's okay with your mom." Donna nodded with a slight smile. "We'll see." Sam ruffled Jim's hair. "See you, sport!" He approached Donna with a smile. "See you later," he told her, kissing her on the cheek in a friendly manner. Donna watched as Sam started for the door. She took a deep breath. "Bye, Sam," she said quietly as he left the house. She didn't move for a moment, staring at the door, before she turned around and gave Jim a kiss on the forehead. ********************************** Al yawned. They'd been working on the report to the Congressional committee for hours and they had finally finished it. Both Sam and Al were tired from researching the past ten years and trying to put the personal touch that the committee was expecting in the report. "What time is it?" Al asked, standing to stretch his sore muscles. "Ten fifty-six," Sam answered, looking at his watch. Al sighed. "I'd better call Beth and tell her not to wait up for me. I think I'll spend the night here. I'm too tired to drive home." Sam nodded in agreement. He didn't think he could drive himself home with how tired he was either. "Good idea," he replied, leaning back in his chair as Al made his phone call. Al looked at Sam after he disconnected the line. "So, what now?" he asked. "I mean, now that you're officially back from saving the world." Sam smiled. "I thought I'd perfect the process. Make it easier to pinpoint a time and to retrieve." Al laughed slightly. "Gonna try to reinvent the wheel, huh?" Sam shrugged. "Maybe." Al looked at Sam with curiosity. "You still haven't told me about you trip to Hawaii to see your mom and Katie. How was it?" Sam nodded. "It was great!" He sighed. "Ten years is too long to be away from family. I hadn't realized how big Aaron and Joseph have gotten!" Al smiled. "Kate's boys, right? Isn't Aaron nineteen?" Sam's eyebrows rose. "Twenty-two. Would you believe it? And Katie's a grandmother!" "How's your mom?" Sam gave a slight smile. "She's doing well. She's starting to lose a little of her memory though." He paused. "These past few months have really shown me what I've been missing. All my nieces and nephews have grown up. Tom's an admiral now," he said with raised eyebrows at Al, who shrugged knowingly. "Both he and Katie are grandparents. And I have a wonderful son." He looked at Al. "I'm never going to step into that Accelerator Chamber again unless I'm one hundred percent certain I will be retrieved immediately and without having to have to do something first." Al looked at him with firm, examining eyes. "You don't believe me?" Sam questioned. Al paused. "I have no doubt that that is your intention but I just get this strange feeling that you're going to leap again... and you won't come home." Sam gave him an amused smile. "Trust me, Al. I'm not going to leave my family ever again. Not without the certainty of coming home." "I hope you're right, Sam," Al said gently, slight doubt in his voice. ******************************** [male's voice singing] It is my quest to follow that star No matter how hopeless, no matter how far And to fight for the right, without question or pause To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause. ------------- Al smiled slightly when he heard the music coming from the main speakers as he entered the Control Room. It brought back fond memories to him - memories of Sam and him working together on the Accelerator Chamber and the Imaging Chamber, back when his youngest daughter was still a little girl. He approached the control console where, he knew, Sam was working. "How early did you get up to work on this?" Al heard a loud bump and a slight exclamation of pain, indicating Sam had raised his head in astonishment and had hit it on the control console's frame. Sam pulled away from the console and stood up, giving Al a friendly glare. "Even when you're not a hologram, you sneak up on me." Al laughed. "I guess it's become a bad habit. Of course, if you had this music a little more quiet, you would have heard me come in." He walked around the console and looked into it. "So, what are you doing this time?" Sam looked at him. "I'm getting her back up to specs. What the hell did you guys do to her?" Al frowned. "What do you mean?" Sam smiled with a friendly gleam. "I mean all of those modifications to Ziggy. It's like she's a completely different computer." Al paused. "Well, technically, she is. A lot of things happened in the past ten years." "True," Sam conceded. "But, still, it makes it difficult for me to find out exactly where I went wrong the first time." "I'm sure you'll figure it out," Al told him. He exhaled. "I'm going home. Promise me you won't overwork yourself." "Why would I overwork myself?" Sam questioned. Al smiled. "Because you're Dr. Samuel Beckett, over-achiever extraordinaire." Sam laughed. "I promise I won't overwork myself." Al nodded with acceptance before leaving the Control Room and going up to the parking garage. Sam took a breath, looking into the control console yet again. He examined it closely, learning about the console and the changes that had been made over the years. --------------------------------------- Will Sam keep his promises to Al? Find out in Part 12 Katherine