Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 16:08:26 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Memories - Part 3 Message-ID: Quantum Leap Memories by Katherine R. Freymuth Copyright 1997 Part 3 Al looked at Maddie with total astonishment. "It is you, isn't it?" Maddie questioned. "You are Al Calavicci, aren't you?" Al didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. "Come on, Al. It's Maddie, here!" she told him. "Don't tell ,e you don't remember me - not after all we've been through." Al rubbed the bottom of his face gently. Maddie smiled. "You still rub your face the same way you always did when you didn't know what to do." Al's eyes widened slightly at her words. He looked at her intensely. The more he looked at her, the more he remembered, the more he was certain. Suddenly, everything clicked into place. "Come on! Nobody can predict the future! Nobody can travel in time like you said! That's science fiction stuff, Madd." "Everyone's a little psychic, Al, even you." Al smiled at the woman before him. "You were right. I was wrong," he said simply. "Then I have traveled in time," Maddie commented. Al nodded slightly. Maddie smiled and hugged Al tightly, giving a soft laugh as she did so. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "I knew I'd see you again. Even after you moved away, I knew it." Al took a breath. "That was a very long time ago for me, Madd. A very long time." Maddie giggled, pulling away from him. "Oh, Al! You don't know how long I've yearned to hear you call me Madd again. Twelve years is a long time to be separated from my best friend." Al lowered his head. "Try a few decades more," he said softly. Maddie raised Al's head gently and looked into his eyes. Al frowned at her actions. "You know what, Al?" "What?" "I can predict your future." "You're not going to do that weird mumbo-jumbo, are you?" Al questioned. "Why not?" Maddie asked. "Because you don't believe in ghosts, vampires, psychics or the Bermuda Triangle?" She looked carefully at Al's reaction and smiled. "Changed your mind since you were seven, huh?" Al didn't answer for a moment. "Well, a lot has happened in the past few decades." Maddie smiled, still looking into Al's eyes. "So, how old are you now? Forty-eight? Forty-nine?" Al laughed. "If only I were," he commented. Maddie's smile was fading as Al finished his comment. She suddenly looked very sad. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek. "Oh, Al!" she whispered, removing her eyes from his. "I saw so much pain in your eyes, Al. You've gone through a very hard life, haven't you? Had many heart-aches, especially..." She looked into Al's eyes. "When did it happen?" Al lowered his head. Even when he was seven, Maddie could tell what was on his mind. He had put it off as coincidence then. But now, he wasn't so sure. Nonetheless, he wasn't going to assume in favor of either the known world or the psychic world. "When did what happen?" he asked. Maddie paused a moment. "When did Trudy die?" Al closed his eyes. Damn it! How did she know I was thinking of her? Al looked at her softly. "They never really told me," he said quietly "Sometime in February of '53. Died of pneumonia. I found out about it when I went for her." "She was in a mental hospital," Maddie said gently. "It was June 14th, the day before your nineteenth birthday." Al looked at her with surprise. "How did you know?" Maddie gazed at him with compassion. "I saw it in your eyes. Oh, Al! I'm so sorry!" She hugged Al tightly, crying into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. She was such a good girl." Al returned the hug, knowing she was crying mostly for her own loss rather than his. "Yes, she was," he agreed. "John reminds me so much of her," Maddie said gently. Al nodded slightly. He hesitated. He didn't want to seem cold bit, despite all that had happened in the past ten minutes, he had come to the Waiting Room for a reason. "Madd, I need to ask you a few questions," he told her quietly. "I know this is a little sudden but I'm not sure how much time we have." Maddie pulled away from Al, wiping tears from her eyes. "I know. It's just that... the shock of it all, of all that has happened to you... Trudy, your dad, that war..." Al didn't say anything for a moment. She knows about Vietnam, he realized. "I know," he finally said, leading her to the Waiting Room table and helping her to sit down. "Maddie, how well do you know Michael Tornelli?" Maddie took a deep, calming breath. She shook her head. "Not very well," she said quietly, "even thought we've been neighbors for so long. He and his late wife had moved into..." She looked at Al with sympathy. "Al nodded. "It's okay. Go on." Maddie paused. "They moved in a couple of years after you left." Another pause. "The children on the block say that the house is cursed but, of course, we all know that's nonsense. They say that anyone who lives in that house is going to have...." She couldn't finish the sentence. Al closed his eyes and exhaled "Kids can be cruel." Maddie shook her head, obviously upset. "They pick on John so much. Linda gets into so many fights because of it. Their father doesn't help matters. Mr. Tornelli is not exactly the kind of person you would want to get to know. Poor Linda! I can't count the number of times he hit her." She looked at Al. "She isn't a bad girl. Sure, she's a little precocious but only when she's defending her brother." She looked at AL and smiled. "She is so much like you, Al, it's almost scary. Al slowly turned around. He didn't want Maddie to see the emotional pain in his eyes. "Has Michael hit John?" he asked quietly. Maddie shook her head. "No. Not that I've seen. Still, I think he might believe in the curse. He hardly acknowledges John as being his son. It's Linda who is raising John, not Michael." Al turned to look at Maddie. He could see in her eyes that she greatly cared for Linda and John. Like a flash of lightning, Al had a feeling about what Sam had to do to leap. He smiled at the woman. "Madd, you had no idea what a great help you've been." Maddie smiled slightly. "Yes, I do. But my mission isn't done yet." Al raised an eyebrow. "Your mission?" Maddie nodded. "You'll still need my help later. I know." She paused. "Go help your friend. I'm not going anywhere." Al headed for the Waiting Room door, giving Maddie a friendly smile before he left.