Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 22:27:56 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Circles of Fate - Part 27 Message-ID: Quantum Leap "Circles of Fate" Part 27 - Epilogue Four Months Later: It wasn't often that Al wore his dress black uniform but he found that, as he grew older, he was wearing them more and more often, reminding him that one day soon there would be people wearing dress blacks for him. He hated funerals for just that reason. Funerals not only reminded him of his own mortality--something he had come to grips with a long time ago--but also that he was no longer a spry forty year old but rather an aged seventy-two year old. Normally, thoughts of his age didn't bother him but, as he attended the funeral of a forty-eight year old man, he now was seriously considering the issue. Beth, dressed in her own black uniform and standing beside him somberly, took his hand gently. She didn't need a lot to sense his thoughts and she knew how deeply affected Al was by the death of their friend. She remembered the sight of Al sitting by the hospital bed day in and day out for three months, Alex Hathorn's frailing body lying in the bed. When the ceremony was finally over, Beth and Al walked away from the small stone monument in which Alex's ashes had been permanently placed. Al wrapped his arm around Beth's shoulders, giving her consolation. Alex had believed in reincarnation. Both Beth and Al hoped that his beliefs hadn't failed him. ******************* "Admiral, Dr. Beckett has leaped," Ziggy's voice came over the speakers of Janet Kalarco's office. "Shall I inform Admiral Calavicci and Captain Strickler?" Admiral Kalarco leaned back in her chair. She had had a long day and it looked as if it were about to become longer. She exhaled. The only reason she was in the complex in the first place was to keep herself busy after Alex's funeral, her own way of coping with her sorrow. She knew that Al wouldn't want to leave his family today, even if for a couple of hours. "You'd better inform Captain Strickler," she finally told the computer. "This is not exactly the best day for Admiral Calavicci.' "I believe it would be wise, nonetheless, to inform Admiral Calavicci since there is a seventy-two point seven percent chance that Dr. Beckett's leap is related to Dr. Alexander Hathorn's death." Janet frowned slightly. "What makes you think that?" "I was able to track Dr. Beckett's leap. There is a ninety-four percent chance that Dr. Beckett has leaped into March 11, 2006, exactly two days before the explosion on Level Eight." Janet exhaled, rubbing her face. "Oh boy!" To be continued.... Keep an eye out for "Choices" Katherine Freymuth