From: Philippa Chapman <106360.1166@compuserve.com> (Glastonbury, Somerset, UK.) Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 15:00 +0000 Subject: Gothic Leap, Part 3/3 GOTHIC LEAP Al boggled at Merlyn's description of herself. He took a steadying breath. "Okay. I'll accept that for now. But what are we going to do about Selena...ohhh, boyy!" The last two words came out in something aproaching a squeak. Sam turned around, then wished he hadn't. Selena was standing at the foot of the bed, just beginning a slow strip-tease. She peeled off one stocking and threw it around Sam's neck, drawing him closer. "Now, Selena..." Sam warned, trying to resist. Selena stole a kiss, then started on the other stocking, which landed in Sam's hands. He dropped it as if it had been red-hot. Selena removed her garter and pulled Sam even closer with it. Sam picked her up and threw her on the bed. Selena smiled triumphantly, thinking that she had won. Sam stood, braced at the end of the bed, torn between the vision in front of him and his conscience. Selena started on her bra, slipping the straps off her shoulders. Sam's knees began to buckle. Merlyn turned to Al. She reminded him suddenly of someone he though he knew, but his mind refused to put in the connection. "Touch me again," Al reached out a trembling hand and took Merlyn's. Sam didn't stop this time. He was starting to follow Selena up the bed, "Kiss me, Al." Al turned to Merlyn, almost incredulous. "Is this another trick, like hers?" "Please, Al. If we don't stop him soon, he won't be able to stop and that's just what Lucas wants. *He's* the one that's seducing Sam, not Selena." Al looked back at the bed. Sam was poised over Selena's semi-nakedness. The need to touch her, to claim her, was almost irresistable. A tiny part of his mind held him back from the brink while the rest of his mind and body flamed with desire. Sam only kept his hands off Selena by staring on his own clothes first. "Sure looks like Selena to me." "Yes, I know, but when Sam finally succumbs, he'll find that he's got Lucas' likeness in his arms and he *won't* be able to stop....." Al's eyes opened wide. "Good God! After everything else that Lucas has done to him, it would destroy him." "It'll bend Sam completely to Lucas' will. You'll have an evil leaper on your hands with no foreseeable cure." Al's hands trembled as he drew closer to Merlyn. "Then I hope to God that you're right and this works..." He held Merlyn's face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. A brilliant white light spilled out from Merlyn and Al. Sam looked up, dazed. The light caught his attention for a moment, just long enough for the leap to take him away. Al opened his eyes barely seconds later. "That was one of the simplest and nicest..... Good grief, where *are* we?" "It's the place between the leaps, Al." Al looked away from Merlyn towards the familiar voice. "Sam! How on Earth...?" He smiled broadly, "We got you out in time?" Sam nodded, slowly. He closed his eyes and swallowed. The false desire had vanished, leaving Sam feeling empty, yet also incredibly content. "It was a close-run thing, Al. Selena's kisses were so overwhelming that I couldn't think straight. Then I saw you and Merlyn glowing...the light was so pure..... It helped me find myself again." Al looked at Sam speculatively. "Has he....? I mean, are you *fully* yourself again?" Merlyn and Sam nodded. "Where did he go?" Merlyn smiled gently. "He's replaced Sam, with Selena. He'll get his reward...especially when he finds out that his disorientation means that she's going to have a baby. A daughter, too. He's not going to like that, but when the little girl comes along, we may see a chink in that impressive armour of his. And, strange as it may sound, Selena loves him, though she'd never say so. You did good work tonight, Sam." "But it's not midnight yet, is it?" Merlyn shook her head. "No, it isn't. It's not only the dead and Leapers who can reach this place, Sam." Merlyn began to sing in German and Sam recognised the tune. "'Allerseelen', by Richard Strauss....'Place on the table the last roses, the heather and the asters and let us whisper, love, together as we did in May..'" Sam trailed off when he saw another female figure walking towards them. A beautiful smile spread over his face. He began to run towards her. Al watched as Sam took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly. It was vastly different to the other kisses he'd seen between Sam and Selena. This was a meeting of twin souls. Every move they made spoke of deep abiding love. Al turned away, smiling and looked at Merlyn. "I don't know *how* you got Donna here, but thank-you. She's been waiting a long time for him." Merlyn smiled gently with wisdom beyond her apparent years. "Sam did it himself when he came here, although he doesn't realise it. He needed a little redemption, too. His love called her here to be with him," Merlyn continued speaking the lyrics of the song in English, "'Give me your hand and let me press it fondly. If anyone sees, I don't care what they say. Look at me with your sweet glances, as you did in May. All the graves tonight are filled with sweet perfume. On this appointed day, come to my heart which longs to hold you and we'll dream of May.'" Al stroked Merlyn's cheek. "If there wasn't such an age-gap and you weren't....um...dead, I could wish to take you back home and kiss you some more." Merlyn's smile was radiant. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, Al. You have to go home now, though. Sam and Donna need some time alone. And you have someone waiting for you, too." Al indulged himself in a longer kiss, then he vanished. When Al opened his eyes, he was sitting on the Imaging Chamber floor and his clothes looked like they'd been worn for several days, not just one. He got to his feet slowly and opened the door. "I'm glad I don't go to Confession any more. I don't know *what* the priest would say if I told him exactly how I just conquered my fear of ghosts. If Merlyn's a saint, then I guess it's even worse....although I do seem to remember that Theresa of Avila had some pretty hot experiences and no-one batted an eyelid....then there's the Song of Songs to consider." Al started to smile. He put his handlink down on Ziggy's console. "Okay, Ziggy. How are things in Trinity now?" "LUCAS BUCK IS STILL SHERRIF, BUT SOME REDEMPTION HAS COME TO TRINITY THROUGH MY FATHER'S ACTIONS. HIS DAUGHTER IS NEARLY SIX YEARS OLD. DOCTOR BILLY PEEL MET HIS WIFE LAURA AT THE LECTURE TOUR. THEY FELL IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. THEY ARE BACK IN AFRICA, STILL TRYING TO COMBAT TROPICAL DISEASES. THEY HAVE TWO SETS OF TWINS AND ARE BLISSFULLY HAPPY. MY FATHER HAS NOT LEAPED YET." "Don't worry about Sam. He's with Doctor Eleese." "SO I SHOULD STOP THE MISSING PERSONS SEARCH ON HER WHEREABOUTS?" "Yes, absolutely. They're having a sort of second honeymoon...make that a third, after last time." "DO YOU THINK *HE* WILL TRY AGAIN?" "If he does, we'll be ready for him next time, won't we? I need a shower and some rest, Ziggy, so don't disturb me until Sam leaps again, okay?" Al went to his quarters on auto-pilot. He went straight to the shower and made it a hot one. He wrapped himself in a towel, picked up his suit and headed to the bedroom. "Dim light, please." He saw the lump of a female form in the unfamiliar double bed. he thought. His eye was caught by a painting by the wardrobe. It was by Georgia O'Keefe, or someone who copied her style. But this was a nude reclining woman, not a landscape. The gentle curves were only partially visible in the moonlight. Al turned even as the woman in the bed stirred. "Darling, I had an awful dream where I lost you again. I need you to hold me." Al froze. He hadn't expected to hear *that* voice ever again. He was trembling as he approached the bed. The lady switched on the light, then put her hand over her mouth in a gesture Al remembered only too well. She was older....a lot older, but the years had been kind to her. Al could hardly breathe. Now he knew who Merlyn had looked like. "ARE you a dream?" He reached out, touched and held her hand. Her dark eyes twinkled at him. "That's what you kept saying after you came back.....you could hardly believe I was really there. You couldn't refute it when we found out that the first night had made me pregnant with twins," she stopped and looked at him,"You want to relive that night again, don't you?" Al felt both sets of memories flooding his mind as he sat heavily on the bed. He began to move closer. "Just how many times have we relived that night?" "Quite a few, darling." Al traced her face with his hands, tears springing into his eyes. He began to kiss her, gently at first, then with increasing passion. "I have a feeling that this is going to be the best, my darling Beth." Al was right. It was. The very best. Sam and Donna, wrapped in each other's arms, lay close together. "I remember last time, Donna. I'm so sorry....." "It's okay. I told him not to tell you. You have a way of making up for everything when you take me in your arms. I *know* that you love me. And this time you resisted *her*." "You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, the one I need to make love with." Donna's smile was beautiful. "We already did that, my darling. And so wonderfully, too." Sam smiled back. "*This* time, we're going to make love more than once. It's been such a long time, not holding you. I'm hoping for something like a honeymoon...." He stroked her face with his hands. Donna looked into his eyes with delight. "I remember how passionate you were the first time. I *love* you, Sam." "And I," he answered, between kisses,"Adore you. Please don't let me forget you again?" "Let's have that honeymoon first, then we'll see..." * * * * * * * * * * * * Afterword: I'm sorry, this is a mushy ending, but after all that horror, I reckoned Our Heroes deserved it. Unless, of course, Lucas is planning a rematch.... Can he 'get' to Sam in limbo? (Well, he seemed to be able to go with Merlyn to somewhere that looked like limbo to *me*, so you never know....) I reckon that as Lucas can cheat death, he's almost invincible; Indestructable, even. (Fellow Scott fans will detect the track my mind has gone on right away.....but I don't *think* I'm the one to follow it; it's not close enough to QL, for a start). Though it has attractions.... Please write and let me know what you think of my fiction, but don't flame me too severely, I'm still learning. Leapers do it in blue light! (To which I usually add; But not as often as we'd like!!) That sounds like an 'Al' comment to me! Copyright, yours truly; but please spread it around - I would like to see the bumper sticker/T shirt/pin badge one day! Bye for now!