Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 14:38:50 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Circles of Fate - Part 17 Message-ID: Quantum Leap "Circles of Fate" Part 17 "What happened, Captain Strickler?" Sam repeated his demand, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Where's Al?" Genine took a breath. "Sam, do you remember coming home?" "Home?" Sam asked, confused. Genine nodded. "We were able to retrieve you." Sam shook his head. "I don't remember. Not really, anyway. I remember an argument and..." He stopped, looking completely shocked. "I have a son and Donna..." A tear came to his eyes. He closed them to block out the emotional pain. "She's dead, isn't she?" Genine hesitated. She felt sympathy for Sam. He was reliving the pain all over again. "Yes," she finally said quietly. Sam sat down with a shaky breath. "Oh, gawd!" he moaned. He looked at Genine. "What happened to Al?" "He's in the infirmary," she told him. "He wasn't killed in the explosion," Sam said with a little relief. Genine shook her head. "No, he wasn't killed," she told him as confirmation. "But he was badly injured." Sam paused. "And I leaped to save them," he concluded. "How did it happen?" "An electrical surge in the wall of Lab 8G," Genine told him. She lifted the handlink to read what Ziggy had for her. She frowned in frustration. "What is it?" Sam asked. "I can't read a damn thing from this thing!" she told him. Sam couldn't help but laugh. "Just hit it on its side." Genine raised her eyebrows. "This is government property." Sam smiled weakly. "That never stopped Al." Genine returned the smile. She gave the handlink a firm whack, thus clearing the viewscreen so that it was legible. She frowned again at the memories that came to her as she read the handlink. "In eighteen hours and forty-three minutes," she told Sam somberly, "there's going to be an explosion on Level Eight. Too much power was routed into the complex's secondary systems. This caused a large electrical spark which ignited some chemicals and thus caused the explosion." She took a small breath, lowering the handlink. "Dr. Hathorn, Dr. Anders, and Donna were killed and Al was severely injured." "How severely?" Sam asked quietly. Genine sighed. Now that Sam couldn't remember, she didn't really want to tell him, especially since it was hurting herself so much. But she also knew she had to tell him. He had the right to know. "He was severely burned. He lost his eyesight and most of his voluntary motor control." "Which is why you replaced him as Observer," Sam whispered. Genine didn't answer. "So," Sam said, taking a deep breath and getting into a more professional mode, "how do I prevent the explosion?" "Well, Ziggy doesn't think you can," she told Sam. "Preventing the explosion would mean a week of rerouting electrical lines. It's very doubtful you'd be able to prevent the explosion in only eighteen hours." Sam looked at her seriously. "Then why didn't I leap in a week before?" Genine paused. "You had set the destination for the day before the explosion. You didn't really give yourself any time to actually think about how you were going to prevent it." Sam exhaled in frustration. "Okay. So, what can I do?" Genine was looking at the handlink, beginning to slap it like a pro. "Looks like the only thing you can do is keep that area of the complex clear." Sam thought for a while. "Donna and Al were in my office just before the explosion occurred," he remembered to his surprise. "I'll just keep them in my office or at least keep an eye on them until after the explosion." Genine nodded. "That would take care of them. But what about Dr. Hathorn and Dr. Anders?" Sam sighed. "I'm not sure yet but I'll think of something, Captain Strickler." Genine smiled warmly. "We had agreed to call each other by our first names," she told him. "My name's Genine." Sam nodded. "Okay, Genine." She took a breath. "I'll go see if I can find out something that would help you." She looked at him in the eyes. "Good luck, Sam." Sam smiled. "You too, Genine." With that, Genine left the Imaging Chamber and strode into the Control Room. "Ziggy," she ordered. "Review the events of March 13th and find out the exact movements of Dr. Hathorn, Dr. Anders, Dr. Elesee, and Admiral Calavicci on that day. Let's find a way to keep them from Level Eight." "Yes, Captain Strickler," Ziggy replied. "Admiral Calavicci wishes to see you. He sounds extremely upset." Genine sighed. "I thought he would be," she muttered. "Admiral Kalarco also wishes to see you," Ziggy told her. "It is apparently urgent." Genine took a breath. "Please inform Admiral Kalarco that I am coming immediately," she told Ziggy as she laid the handlink on the control console and left the Control Room. ******************** Genine's visit to Admiral Kalarco's office was short and painless, mostly because Genine hadn't actually broken any rules even if she had kept her actions quiet. Janet had listened to Genine's explanation closely, nodded, and warned her to inform Janet of her actions in the future. She also warned Genine that, should retrieving Sam prove to be a failure, Genine would have to answer for her unauthorized actions. Genine left the office with a respectful salute and walked down the corridor towards the infirmary. "Did Janet rake you over the coals?" Al asked as she approached the bed. "Not severely," Genine told him as she sat beside the bed. "She just wanted a report and gave me a reprimand." Al slowly sat up in the bed. "Good," he told her. "Because I'm going to! What the hell were you doing, Genine? You told me you wouldn't let Sam do anything stupid!" "Al..." Genine started with a breath. "Not only do you break your word to me, you help Sam break his word! I get this funny feeling that something's wrong and guess what Ziggy tells me. She tells me that Sam's leaped and that there's only a sixty-nine percent chance of his retrieval and the odds are dropping!" "Al, please, calm down," Genine requested. "Remember your heart." Al glared towards her. "My heart is fine," he told her firmly. "But yours won't be if you don't start explaining yourself!" Genine took out Sam's letter from her uniform jacket pocket. "Both Sam and I felt it was necessary," she told him. "Necessary?!" Al yelled. "Like hell, it's necessary!" "Al," Genine raised her voice. "For once in your life, would you please listen without interrupting." She took a breath, opening the letter. "Sam asked me to read this to you if you found out about his leap." She took another breath as she unfolded the paper and began reading it aloud: Al, You're probably very angry with me right now and I can understand that. I have, after all, leaped once again. I can assure you that I am certain a retrieval will be possible and, thus, you will see me again soon. And I do mean 'see.' You may hide behind your tough guy exterior but I know you well enough to know that what happened has greatly affected you in many ways. I can see that you have begun to give up on life, otherwise you wouldn't have begged me to take care of Beth and the girls. And it hurts me to see you in so much physical and emotional pain. I am in a lot of pain as well, seeing what has happened because of my mistake. The look on Jim's face when he heard his mother was dead was truly too much to bear. I don't want him to grow up without Donna being there for him. There is more. Susan Anders was a mother of two and was happily married. Alex Hathorn was a close friend to many people in this complex, including you and me. I know what you're thinking, Al, and you're wrong. The whole thing was my fault. Maybe it wasn't directly but it was indirectly. I'm responsible for Donna's, Susan's, and Alex's deaths. What's more, I'm responsible for your condition. Al, I love Donna. I love her more than anything in the world. To think I cause her death is more than I can bear. I can't let her die. I also can't let your life be ruined by my actions. I have to do this, Al. The only reason I'm writing this instead of telling you in person is because I'm afraid you'll talk me out of it and I don't want to be talked out of it. This is the right thing to do. I know it is. I remember the report you showed me about the replacement Observer. I'm going to call Captain Strickler to my office to see if she will observe this leap. Whether she does or not, though, I'm going to do this. I'm sure she will, though. You seem to trust her and, therefore, so do I. I don't expect you to understand my reasoning, only that you accept it. I'm sorry if I've disappointed or hurt you in anyway but I don't think I could live with myself if you didn't SEE your grand-children grow up. I'll see you soon. Sam Al exhaled once Genine had finished reading the letter. Neither of them said anything to each other for a moment. "So, why did you agree?" Al finally asked. "I felt I needed to help a friend," she told him. Al huffed slightly. It was what he thought she would say. "Well, you're Sam's Observer. Go observe." Genine smiled gently, standing up. "Yes, sir." She left the infirmary quietly, allowing Al to think about Sam's letter. --------------------------- So, what do you think? Come on, guys! A writer is only as good or as bad as her readers let her know she is. Give me feedback! :-) Katherine