Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 21:54:19 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Mirror - part 1 Message-ID: Quantum Leap Mirror of Deception by Gary Marsh and Katherine Freymuth Copyright 1998 Part 1 Albert Calavicci, ADM. USN, slowly and gently massaged his neck as he stepped onto the elevator. "Level four, Ziggy," he requested softly to the walls. At his request, the elevator began at ascend at a steady pace. "I see that Dr. Beckett's recent leap, though difficult, was a complete success," a female voice told Al from seemingly everywhere in the elevator. Al took a breath. "How many times, in the past five years, has it not been a success? Five? Six?" "There have been a total of seven leap which were completely unsuccessful. However, five of those leaps were corrected with other leaps later." Al exhaled. "It was a rhetorical question, Ziggy." "I am unaware whether or not you wish a question to be answered without prior instructions against answering the question, Admiral." Al let out another breath loudly and rubbed his forehead. Despite what Ziggy, Project Quantum Leap's parallel-hybrid computer, had said, the last leap wasn't difficult; it was almost impossible. The last Al had seen of Sam Beckett, the scientist and holder of seven degrees had just helped a woman deliver a beautiful baby girl after thirty-six hours of being held hostage by a madman pumped up with amphetamines and wired with explosives. It had taken the entire thirty-six hours for Sam to convince the man, with much coaxing and fraying patience, to surrender and release his hostages. The woman had gone into labor seven hours before and, in the original history, the man panicked and blew himself up, killing everyone in the room in the process. Now, however, no one had been killed. "Forget it, Ziggy," Al instructed the computer. "Just let me know when Sam leaps again. Hopefully, the powers that be will give us a little down-time. I'll be in Tina's quarters for a while," he said as the elevator door opened. "And no peeking!" he warned. "I do not peek, Admiral," Ziggy told him. "You and Dr. Martinez-O'Farrell tend to forget to shut off the internal monitor while engaged in your... mating rituals." There was a slight leering tone in the computer's voice with these last two words. Al glared at the ceiling as he stepped out of the elevator. Slowly, he walked to a door marked "4L - QUARTERS". He knocked on the door with three rapid light thuds, strictly out of courtesy, and then entered without verbal permission. The sight of the tall, blond woman made his heart flutter slightly. He wanted her so much. Just a week ago, he had told her what he thought he would never tell her, used the words he couldn't use with a woman for the past thirty years. He told Tina Martinez-O'Farrell that he loved her. He now approached her quickly and kissed her passionately. He hadn't slept with his love since he had told her he loved her. He hadn't had the time nor the energy. The leaps had been coming so rapidly he hardly had time to sleep. Not to mention the strangeness of Sam's hosts: Dr. Ruth Westheimer followed by a vampire (so Al still believed him to be), a truck driver delivering military arms, and a lawyer in the middle of a hostage situation. He looked into Tina's eyes lustfully. "Tina, darling, I love you," he told her. "I need you. Right here. Right now." The look on Tina's face gave Al pause. At first, all he had seen was surprise, not unexpected given his suddenly kissing her. Now, though, he saw kind sympathy in her eyes. "Al, we need to talk," Tina finally said after a long moment of silence. Al frowned with concern. "Tina, honey, what's wrong?" he asked as he took her hands in his. He rose his eyebrows slightly. Something was wrong. Something was... different. He raised Tina's left hand and looked at it. "Al..." Tina started. "What is that?" Al questioned, confusion in his voice. Tina hesitates. "It's an engagement ring," she said quietly. Al looked into her eyes with question. "An engagement ring?" His face dropped and he frowned strongly. "Who's the lucky guy?" Tina gently pulled her hands away and walked slowly towards her bed. "Al, please, don't be upset." "Who is it?" Al repeated. She took a breath and faced him. "It's Mark," she told him bluntly. "He asked me this morning and I accepted." "Mark?" Al questioned. His eyes widened. "Davalos? Mark Davalos?" Tina nodded slightly. "He's just a kid!" Al exclaimed. Tina frowned at him. "I don't call a forty-eight year old man a kid." Al huffed. "Tina, I've known him for almost twenty-five years. I've kept him under my wing. Under that forty-eight year old exterior, he's still just a kid." Tina looked at Al with surprise. "A kid? A kid you placed as head of security of this project? Please, Al. You have a major case of jealousy." "What about us?" Al asked in frustration. "We've been together for five years! You're just going to throw that all away?" Tina exhaled. "Al, I do love you and I treasure what we had. But I love Mark more and he's.... Well, he's.... He and I are more... compatible." Al let out a slow breath. "I see," he said quietly before turning and heading for the door. "Al!" Tina tried to stop him. Al waved her away, not turning around as he left the quarters. Tina exhaled. "Shit," she muttered. "'Don't worry, Mark. I'll let him down easy'," she repeated sarcastically what she had said hours before. "What a louse I am!" No one spoke as Al marched past several people on his way to the elevator. He went up one level and then marched slightly towards his own project quarters. "Al," someone called to him. Al ignored the beckon. "Al." Again, Al gave no response. "Admiral Calavicci, sir!" At that, Al stopped and turned to face the caller. "Yes, Captain?" he said cooly. Mark exhaled. "Al, I know this all is a shock but I can explain." "Explain?" Al repeated the word. "Explain what, Captain? Explain how you and Tina had been seeing each other behind my back? Did you meet when she was supposedly going out to play pool or to shop... or to visit her mother?" "Al..." Mark started. "I don't want to hear about it," Al interrupted in a low voice. "If you have anything to say to me, it had better be project related." Without another word, he marched into his quarters and closed the door behind him, ignoring Mark's beckon to talk.