Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 22:46:37 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Mirror - part 23 Message-ID: Quantum Leap Mirror of Deception By Katherine R. Freymuth and Gary Marsh Copyright 1998 Part 23 "How are you feeling, Verbina?" Verbina sat up in the infirmary bed with a small yawn and rubbed her hair back. Sleep had done the psychiatrist good: she was no longer hostile, her head was no longer clouded, and, despite feeling a little worn, she was beginning to feel like her old self again. She answered Dan's question honestly on her condition. Dan smiled at her response. "Glad to hear it. You really had me frightened." She laughed slightly. "I had myself frightened." She took a breath and exhaled slowly. "So, did you find out what the heck happened to me?" Dan walked closer to her. "Actually, we do have an idea of what happened." Verbina looked at him with interest. "We ran a test on that pudding you tasted," he told her. "We found something very interesting." He hesitated for a moment. "There was an unusual substance in the pudding. We also found it in the cooked chicken in Al's kitchen and in your blood. Verbina, I can't even tell you what it is exactly. It had some highly unusual herbs and medicines, all of them extremely strong. But we do know what it does." Verbina frowned slightly. "You did experiments with it?" "Just one on a mouse," he told her. "The mouse should be fine; the drug wears off quickly enough. But the mouse's reaction confirmed that your earlier hostility was a reaction to whatever this substance is." Verbina exhaled. "I only had a taste of it." Dan gave her a gentle smile. "You're very sensitive to medication," he pointed out. She looked at him, worry in her eyes. "But Al isn't. If that stuff was affecting his behavior, how much would he have had?" "Quite a bit," Dan answered matter-of-factly. He hesitated again. "And that's what worries me. Given what I've seen with you and the mouse, I don't think it would take too much to cause serious reactions for Al either, though he would need about two times the amount that you had. We can definitely assume that Al had not been thinking rationally after a while, if he had a great amount of it. It would explain his resignation and his running off to England." Verbina frowned in thought. "Do you think this woman he was seeing.... What was her name? Keller?" "Kellington," Dan corrected. "Catherine Kellington." She looked at him. "Do you think she could have given this stuff to Al?" Dan smiled at her." Now you're reaching into Captain Davalos' realm. But personally? Yeah. I think so. This whole thing started when Al met her, wherever and whenever that was." Verbina exhales loudly. "Well, we have to find him, bring him back, tell me what we found out." "Captain Davalos is on it," Dan assured. "In the meantime, you're free to go. Just take it easy and call me if you have any problems. Okay?" Verbina smiled gently, standing from the infirmary bed. "Of course," she assured. "You have my word, Dan." "Where have you been?" Zoe smiled evilly at the battered woman sitting on the bed before her. "Is that any way to speak to me, Catherine? After all I've done for you?" Cathy didn't look at her. "Don't you mean after everything you've done TO me?" Zoe laughed. "Please, Catherine, it isn't the first time you've been punished." Cathy huffed slightly. "Being beaten, yes. Being locked in my quarters, when not on duty, for an entire month, no." She looked at Zoe viciously. "And you treating Al like you are, using him for your own personal gain. I heard what you did." She stood angrily and slapped her hard across her face. "Rapist!" Zoe slowly straightened herself and looked at her with a mixture of anger and amusement. "I'm no rapist, Catherine. The Admiral gave himself to me quite willingly." There was a smug smile on her face. "Only because of what you did to him! He doesn't even know you anymore! How dare you use him like that!" Zoe laughed cynically. "And you haven't used him? Toyed with him? Played with his mind and his heart?" Cathy hesitated. "That was different. I was doing my job. You're doing it to get your kicks!" There was a mischievous gleam in Zoe's eyes. "Oh, I'm sure you hated every minute of it." She took a step closer to Cathy, now close enough to see the retina pattern in her eyes. "It must have been very difficult to fall in love with a man you've been forced to engage in tawdry contact." She gave a small chuckle. Cathy glared deeply into Zoe's dark eyes. "I hate you," she said with conviction. Zoe took a few steps from her, heading for the door. "You can hate me all you want, Catherine, as long as you obey me." She stopped and faced the woman. "And remember, I have connections with the Director. The only reason he's allowing me to handle you is that you have brought in quite a prize for him." She paused dramatically. "But let me warn you. One more slip up and I don't care if you brought in Beckett or the Pope himself. I'll give you to the Director and let him deal with you." She smiled wickedly. "And you'll wish I had handed you over to Lothos." With those cold words, Zoe left the quarters, making sure the door locked behind her. "Problems?" Al questioned as Zoe stepped out further into the hallway. Zoe smiled at him. "Not really. Just reminding someone of who is in charge, that is all." Al hummed with slight interest and walked with Zoe through the silvery hallway. "Her voice sounded a little familiar," he told her. "I heard her yelling at you." Zoe's face became stern. "She's an insolent little witch; no one for whom you need to be concerned." She looked at Al with a little smile and laced her arm around his. "Come along, Albert. We have a meeting to attend." Mark knocked gently at the door and waited for it to open. He had been watching and thinking since Al resigned and left for England. He now knew what he had to do. It was the only thing he could do, the only thing that was best for all parties involved. The door slid up, revealing Tina's lovely, smiling face. "Hi, honey," she told him as she kissed him gently on the lips. Mark exhaled silently. *This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.* He took a step into the quarters and allowed the door to slide closed. "Tina," he said after a moment. "We need to talk." The words rang eerily in Tina's ears. She had said those words herself, just before revealing to Al her engagement. Tears began to form in her eyes as she realized what Mark was doing. Mark took her shoulders gently. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It just wouldn't be fair to you or Al. I can tell you're still in love with him, more so than you're in love with me." She looked at him with hurt eyes. "But, we're going to be married." He hesitated before he shook his head slowly. "No, we're not. I love you, Tina, but so does every other man in the complex. There's only one of us you love in return and that is Al. I can tell." Tina lowered her head, knowing Mark was right. She realized her accepting his proposal wasn't due to love but rather due to what some would call a mid-life crisis. She wanted children but she was going to be in her forties soon and menopause tended to come early in her family. Tears again had formed in her eyes. She let them flow as she hugged Mark almost desperately. He hugged her gently in return. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "No, it's okay," she told him between sobs. "You're right. But...." Mark waited a moment for her to continue. "But what?" he finally asked gently, pressing her to answer. "I want a family," she sobbed. "I want children. I want them before it's too late to have them." "Then tell that to Al when he comes back," Mark told her. "Okay? You may be surprised with his answer." Tina hesitated. "What if he doesn't come back?" He held her gently and stroked her hair. "He'll come back," he assured. "I know he will."