PROLOGUE

As the leap-in effect dissipated, Sam found himself seated with several other men on a small makeshift podium in some sort of downtown park.  The picnic area was behind the stage, which faced a quad in the center of the park.  There was a speaker at the podium in the middle of a speech.  A large crowd of at least two thousand people was gathered in front of the podium.  The speaker went on, shouting “...and I tell you now, guys, that we have a right to OUR way of life – life the way WE want it, not as others would dictate toward us!” 

The crowd went wild. 

Sam at least felt the speaker knew what he’s talking about, but was getting a strange feeling. 

“On this day, we demand equal rights – the right to marry, the right against prejudice, and the right to be recognized as a community just as everyone else, with equal protection under the law!” 

More loud cheers came from the crowd.

‘But equal rights for whom?’ thought Sam. 

The speaker continued, “And now for more word on this subject, I’d like to bring up a strong speaker in his own right, and – a CLOSE personal friend of yours truly, if you know what I mean - Mr. Frank Peterson!” 

The crowd, which Sam by now had noticed was almost all men, started shouting a strange chant, which he couldn't make out. 

After what seemed like forever, the speaker walked back toward Sam and asked, “Well come on, Frank, are you coming up or what?” 

Sam just sat there with a glazed shocked expression on his face.  Sam, shocked, just sat there with a glazed look on his face.  ‘Oh God he means me!’ Sam nervously thought to himself. 

Obviously uncomfortable about what he was about to face, Sam slowly got up, and with knees shaking, started to walk up to the stage to the chant of “Gay Rights Now!  Gay Rights Now!”  Having no idea who he was, why he was here, or what he was expected to say, Sam nervously grabbed the large floor microphone.  Short on words, he managed only a nervous, “Oh boy!”

PART ONE

San Francisco, California

June 3, 1981

It was a good twenty minutes after the rally when Sam Beckett and Eric Campbell walked down one of the many San Francisco streets at dusk.  The sun was about to recede behind the horizon causing the sky to be lit with an ambient red hue.

Eric Campbell, the speaker from the rally glanced up at the horizon then broke the silence as he inquired, “Frank, you mind telling me what happened on that stage?”

“Sorry, uuh, Frank, I just got a little – nervous.”

“You, Frank Peterson?  Nervous?!  Aw come on, I don’t believe that for a second,” Eric replied, somewhat argumentatively, but soon settled down.  “Well it’s ok, I mean you’ve meant so much to me since we started dating.  You’ll get the hang of it eventually.  Plus, I know the divorce was tough on you, and you’re still getting over it.”

“Uh, I guess so.”  Sam blinked at the news he had just heard.  He wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“Well don’t sound TOO enthusiastic,” was Eric’s coy response.  “Ah… we’re finally home.  My feet are killing me.”

‘Home??  WE???  Oh boy,’ thought Sam as they entered their apartment near the trolley line on the west side of town. 

‘I never had anything against homosexual people.  I had leapt into them at least twice that I could remember, but this leap was getting, well, a little too close.  The two of us apparently shared an apartment, and I could tell from my surroundings that I was somewhere in San Francisco.  Eric, apparently was my, I mean FRANK’S, partner.  As open as I was to gays, I still wanted to leap out as soon as I could.’

When they entered the apartment, Eric proceeded to announce he was going to bed. 

“Yeah, I guess I am too,” Sam responded tiredly.

“Ok.  Come on, let’s go.”

“Uuh, you mean you and I share the… oh right of course.  Sorry Eric, I just haven’t been feeling myself today.”

“Yeah I understand, it’s been a rough day.  Well come on, let’s head in.”

“After listening to your conversation, I’d say you’ve had a rough day too,” came the voice from the holographic image of his best friend in the background.  Sam quickly turned around then did an about-face to Eric.

“I… I think I’ll stay up a while, I got some… reading to do.”

“Ok, whatever, Frank.  Good night,” Eric said as he disappeared into the bedroom – THEIR bedroom.  

After catching a glimpse of himself in the doorway mirror – a tall twenty-something with long sandy blond hair who looked kind of he belonged on a surfboard – Sam turned to Al with a rather annoyed expression.

“Hi Sam,” was Al’s playful reply.  After a long silent pause from Sam, Al continued.  “Ok, I know, the data,” the hologram repeated by rote as he chewed his cigar and punched the handlink. “Ok, your name is Frank Peterson, you’re in San Francisco, it’s June 3, 1981, and your, umm, partner there, Eric Campbell, he’s an attorney who’s very active in gay rights here in San Francisco, which had a big movement in the early 80s,” Al continued, trying to get the data faster than Ziggy could print it.

“Am I here because of Frank or Eric?” Sam guessed. 

Al replied dryly, “both.”  After licking his lips and then swallowing, Al continued, “Ziggy predicts that there’s a 84% chance that you’re here for Eric, to get him reunited with his family.  You’re a law clerk at the firm where Eric works and you two started dating six months ago, right after Eric’s divorce from his wife Heather.  They also have a 10-year-old son named Jeffrey.  Ziggy thinks that in the original history, the divorce devastated Jeff and ruined Eric’s entire family.  Not only that, but Heather re-marries, her marriage turns out to be lousy, they get divorced in 2 months and their son Jeff never gets over it.  You’re here to her back together with Eric.”

“Who did she marry?” asked Sam, trying to sound interested.

“No data,” replied Al, punching the handlink.  “Her marriage ends in annulment, and she never remarries either, so there isn’t much data to go by.  Ziggy says that the new marriage is a disaster, and in less than a year, Jeff runs away.”

Sam had to sit down to digest the data that Al was giving him.  “Then Eric’s not really gay?” 

“Well you know him better than me, Sam.  Lots of gay men get married and have families, sometimes to hide the fact or because they deny it.  Or maybe the gay thing is just an act.  This Eric Campbell has been arrested twice in the past for public disturbance.  Some like to give a good show.”  He noticed the glum expression on Sam’s face.  “Ok, maybe it’s not an act.  Sam, come on, you’ve had tougher leaps than this, and it’s not as if you never leapt into a gay man before.  Remember that track star at the Naval school?  Just buckle down and this’ll be over in a few days.”

“Until then, what do I do about the… sleeping arrangements?” queried Sam.

“For that, my friend, you’re on your own,” said Al jokingly as he disappeared through the Imaging Chamber door.

It had been a rather sleepless night.  I kept thinking about how I was going to pull this off.  I had known gay men and women in college, and at Star Bright.  But I guess this leap was putting me a little “closer to home” than I would have liked. The next day, I went to work with Eric at the firm.  Things seemed to be going well so far, until…

“So how’s the young couple??” mocked Steve Thomas, one of the other law clerks. “You fags had a good nights sleep?”  Sam sat and tried to ignore the ignorant banter.  He stood up for a moment but quickly sat down.  Steve got up and came over towards Sam, trying to imitate some stereotypical “homosexual walk.”  Eventually Sam rose up and went over to Steve.  Things almost broke out in a fight when Mr. Ratky, the senior partner, walked in.

“OK. Break it up, you two!”  Mr. Ratky said plainly.  After admonishing Steve in words that Sam couldn’t hear, Mr. Ratky turned to Sam.  “Look, Frank.  Eric’s your friend and a trusted associate.  And he recommended you to me, and I’m nothing if not an… equal opportunity employer.”  Sam winced at that last phrase, which was delivered in a rather condescending tone.  “But if this continues, there are going to have to be some changes around here!”  He turned back and walked down the hallway toward his office, yelling incomprehensibly the whole way back.  Steve meekly inched his way back to his seat, but whispered more remarks as Eric came back in from lunch.  Sam started back over to Steve again when Eric stopped him.

“Hey, it ain’t worth it, dude.” 

Sam walked back to his desk and Eric followed him after giving Steve a disturbing glance.  Steve sat back down and Eric turned back towards Sam.  “Sorry, I know you’re going to have to get used to stuff, buddy.” He paused and looked around, then turned back to Sam.  “Look, I’ve got to meet with a client then we’ll be out of here.”  ‘Out of here?’ Sam wondered.  Eric disappeared into one of the cubicles in the back, followed by a 40-ish female client.

A few moments later, another woman, a brunette in her late thirties walked in to the office.  When Sam didn’t greet her right away, she got testy.

“Don’t tell me you’re ALSO giving me the cold shoulder, Frank!” stammered the woman.  Sam obviously knew he was supposed to know her.

“So where’s my no-good ex-husband??” she replied impatiently.

“You’re… Eric’s wife,” murmured Sam rhetorically, as he usually did when he blurted out a fact that he was supposed to know.

“Oh so now it’s amnesia,” replied Heather, as Steve began to snicker in the background until he got an angry stare from both Sam and Heather.  “Just tell me if Leo’s in!”

“Leo???”

“Your BOSS??!!  You… oh never mind, Frank, just tell Eric that he can’t see Jeff this weekend.  I’m taking him to his grandparents in Santa Rosa.”

Before Sam could reply, Heather was out the door.  He didn’t know quite what to do but wait for Eric and, deliver the message.

Outside on the sidewalk, Heather stood holding the hand of a child, who looks back inquisitively at her. “But mom, why can’t I see daddy?”

A suddenly sensitive Heather Campbell knelt down next to her son; trying to find a way to put the situation in a way that a 10-year old child could understand, in other words, make an excuse.

“Your father’s just… busy.  Look, Jeffrey.  I love you and so does your father, but he’s too busy to be disturbed right now.  He’s a busy lawyer and he’s got a lot of work to do.”

“Is that why you divorced?”

“Nooo,” said Heather soothingly.  “We just grew ap… we… ooh, Jeff, you’ll understand when you get older.”

“You always say that,” pouted Jeff.  “It’s not because he’s friends with all those men, is it?”  Jeffrey Campbell was a precocious young child, who his mother thought thankfully had not yet reached the age where he could understand such matters.

“But I’m your mother,” Heather replied with a false sweetness in her voice.  “I know what’s best.  Come on, it’s a hot day, let’s get some ice cream.”

“Frank??  Frank!”  Sam woke up from a daydream as Frank came out from his meeting.  “Frank, you know if Ratky catches you dazing off on the job…. Wait, was that Heather that came in a few minutes ago?”

“Oh yea, your, umm, your ex-wife.  She came by and she said something about Jeff and this weekend.”

“Oh that woman takes every opportunity to remind me that she doesn’t want me to see my own son.  I mean, it just makes me…” Eric caught himself and turned back to Sam.  “Never mind, Frank, I fear I don’t want to hear it.  Nor do I care.  Come on, it’s quitting time, we should get going or we’ll be late.”

”Late??” replied Sam curiously.

“To see Andrew.  It’s our turn.  Thursday is our night with him.  Remember?”

“Yaaah”, Sam replied.  Latent homosexuals, ex-wives, homophobic bosses, and a new friend already?  This was turning out to be one complicated leap.

“Frank, Frank,” Eric said, suddenly with a wry grin.  “You are REALLY starting to worry me, buddy.”

After Sam had straightened Frank’s desk up, Sam saw that Eric seemed to be impatiently waiting for him.  Slapping the final stack of proposals on the desk, Sam headed toward the bank of elevators with Eric by his side.  Upon exiting the building, Sam wondered where they were going.  He knew the ‘whom’ but not the ‘where’ in town, so he decided to linger back and let Eric lead.

They caught the trolley two blocks away and sat down as the trolley car rolled away from Golden Gate Park, toward the uptown section.  The late afternoon sun lit the car from behind in the dying daylight, making the chrome sparkle like new.

On the trip down, Sam started to give Eric the news from earlier that day.  “I hope she didn’t give ya trouble buddy.”

“Who?” Sam asked, puzzled.  “Oh, you mean your ex-wife.  Yeah, well she seemed kind of impatient.  She…”

Eric interrupted.  “Frank.  You’re the person in my life now.  You know, until you started at Ratky & Fine and we met, I really never knew who I was.  I had denied that I was gay for so long.  Even when I got married, it felt right, but I also felt like I was making a mistake.  Our marriage fell apart because I wasn’t willing to accept who I was, and that caused a lot of tension.  I know Heather doesn’t have anything against gays – she just doesn’t want to be married to one.  I guess I can’t blame her.”  His voice trailed off.  “Heather and I were married for fifteen years.  I’m not sure I was even aware of my sexuality when we first met.  It was a bitter marriage, but we made it work for 15 years, then it was time to end it.  But I’m really glad I met you when you joined the firm.  You’ve helped me to take my mind off all of that.”

Sam replied, “Take your mind off?  But I mean, you have a son and all.”

“So does she!” Eric snapped back, and then quickly gathered himself.  “Sorry.  Of course I love little Jeffrey, but… I dunno, Heather just makes it so tough,” retorted Eric as he pulled the overhead chain above their trolley seat.  “I know I couldn’t fight for custody, but when Heather makes it so hard to even SEE my son, sometimes I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“But if you loved each other…” Sam started.  Again Eric interrupted.

“Look Frank, what’s gotten into you?”  He sounded impatient all of the sudden, like this was a topic he didn’t care to discuss.  “Do you want to be together or not?  I said it’s over and my former life isn’t something I want to discuss, not even with you.  I think I’ve told you too much already,” Eric replied impatiently as the trolley pulled to a stop.  “Come on, we’re here.”

Sam saw Al waiting by the trolley car, and motioned for Eric to go in ahead.

“You want me to go in first?  Geez, Frank, he was YOUR former lover, I’d think you’d…  Never mind, I’ll see you inside.”

Seeming to be nearly transparent in the glistening sunset, Al came up to Sam and inquired as to how it was going.

“Great, Al, just great.  Now he has an ex-wife angry at him and a kid, and now we have this other friend…”

”Andrew Norris,” Al interrupted.  “Frank in the waiting room says those two are close friends and former lovers.  According to what Ziggy could dig up, Andrew became sick about a month ago, which is right after the two of you broke up.  Apparently there’s a group of people who take turns looking after him, since he has no health insurance.  He likes it better at home anyway, apparently.  And tonight is yours and Eric’s turns, lucky you.”

Sam just shook his head and sighed.  “Well just our luck, now Eric doesn’t want to talk to me OR his ex-wife.  She stopped by today.  Stopped by and after venting about Eric she walked into the back – I think towards Leo’s office.”
       

“Leo Ratky, the firm’s president,” was Al’s reply.  Reading the handlink, he read, “Born September 12, nineteen-thiry...”

Sam interrupted.  “So, what’s wrong with Andrew anyway?  How come we’re – I mean Frank and him not together anymore,” Sam inquired.

“They broke up.  It happens.  He got cancer.  About a week after the two of you broke up.  He’s been receiving treatments from a Jonathan Chang.  He’s an intern at San Francisco General where Andrew gets his treatments, and… OH this is interesting, they’re partners TOO.  Oh Sam this must be fun.”

Sam just gritted his teeth and stared.  “Great Al, so we have the ex-wife, the new lover, the old lover, and…  Wait, what type of cancer?”

“Not sure, Sam,” Al replied.

Eric was at the window in Andrew’s house, gaping as he saw Frank outside talking to thin air.  “Man, he’s REALLY lost it now.  I’m worried about him Norris.”

“If I know Frank, he’s as sane as Saturday,” Andrew replied almost with a laugh.  “That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about him.”  He turned towards Eric, realizing what he had just said.  “Oh Eric, I’m sorry, I keep forgetting that the two of you are dating now.

“Andrew, it’s ok.  I understand.  Actually on the ride over here, Eric was bugging me about my ex-wife.  Now that you mention it, he has been acting strange since yesterday afternoon.  He sure is supportive of you, Andrew.  How do you keep it up, even with all you’re going through?”

”He’s tough,” replied a voice from the hall.  It was Dr. Jonathan Chang, Andrew’s doctor.

Jonathan entered the room and sat down in between Eric and Andrew, putting his arm around Andrew.  “And he’ll beat this disease, even if we don’t know what it is.”

“Al,” said Sam impatiently, “if they don’t know what’s wrong with Andrew Norris, then how does Ziggy know what…” A stunned look crossed over both of their faces.  “Al, you don’t think he could have…. AIDS, do you?”

“It’s possible, but you know they didn’t have a test for it in 1981,” Al replied, “so there’s no way we could know for sure.

“Ok, but if Frank and Andrew were lovers, then maybe… maybe Frank has it??  Al, I got it!  Go back to the waiting room and have Beeks run an HIV test on Frank.  If he’s got it, then I’ve GOT to not only get Eric back with his family, but also get him away from Frank, so he doesn’t…  Well just go and find out, Al.”

Al shook his head.  “Sam, that’s not a good idea.  It’s 1981.  I don’t want to frighten the kid about some disease they don’t even know exists yet.”

“You don’t have to tell him, ok?” Sam replied, intermittently glancing at the house, growing nervous with every passing second.

“Ok, Sam, will do.”  Al punched the handlink as he spoke and stepped into the Imaging Chamber door.  “But for now, go and see Andrew.  They’re waiting.” 

‘Great,’ thought Sam.  Assuming he was right about Andrew, he now had two missions.  He needed to get Eric away from Frank, and, in case he was right about Andrew Norris having AIDS, he had to keep Dr. Chang safe as well.

PART TWO

Slowly and timidly, Dr, Beckett stepped into Andrew Norris’s house.  It was a small; two story townhouse near the East side of the city.  Inside the living room, in fact, the entire house was dimly lit, almost foreshadowing a gloomy end for its inhabitant.  A small antique-looking sofa was on the far end, where Andrew laid, and Dr. Jonathan Chang and Eric were now sitting on sates on either side of it.  A small forlorn-looking piano stood in the far corner, apparently neglected for years, symbolically representing the neglect it seemed this old house was under.

“Frank, good of you to come,” Dr. Chang spoke, acting as though he were surprised.  He came up to Sam and shook his hand vigorously.  “Andrew has been doing better lately, I think he may pull through.”

“Jonathan, please,” Andrew interrupted.  “I can speak for myself.”  Andrew coughed as he spoke and had strange large black freckles on his face and hands.

“Sorry, Andrew, I didn’t mean to –“

Then Sam, not figuring out what to say, simply blurted, “It’s nice to see you all again… again.”  He then sat down slowly next to Andrew, as if he was subconsciously trying to give a hint.

For several moments, everyone in the room was quiet.  It was Jonathan who finally broke the silence.  “Well, yes Andrew’s been doing better.  And hopefully for all our sakes, right Andrew?” 

Sam sighed with a hint of discomfort.

“Oh Jonathan,” cried Andrew, “you always…”

Eric DID get the hint.  He had to speak up.  He wanted to change the subject.  Talk about work, the firm, he and Frank, the 49ers chances to win their first Super Bowl, anything!  It was obvious to him what Sam was trying to do, and he didn’t like it. 

“Eric, calm down,” spoke Jonathan.  “Everything will be fine.”

“No it won’t,” interrupted a suddenly appearing Al.  “Sam, we gotta talk.”

“I’m gonna get a glass of water, anyone want anything?”  With a stunned sea of shaking heads, Sam and Al were off to the kitchen.

“The tests on Frank came back positive,” Al said solemnly.  “Ziggy says there’s a good chance that Eric and Jonathan are still safe and you gotta get them away from their current partners.”

“So I have two missions on this leap,” Sam lamented, dropping his head back in frustration.  “I gotta get back to…,” he paused in the kitchen as he spun back to Al.  “You think you should tell Frank in the waiting room about..”

“No,” Al responded.  “He wouldn’t understand, and that could only backfire and have serious consequences.  Let’s not ruin what’s left of his life.  Just get Eric and Heather back together, and hope all falls into place.”  With that, Al disappeared through the Imaging Chamber door.

Al had told me that Jonathan could be an important researcher in the AIDS field if he stayed alive.  As much as I had to get Eric back together with his family, I knew I had another goal here, one which would make getting Eric and Heather back together seem like child’s play, especially after the way Jonathan and Andrew talked to each other last night at Andrew’s.

“What is it that you were trying to do,” demanded Eric, as he got ready for bed.  “I mean, I …” Eric threw up his hands in the air and let out a deep breath of air and glanced over at Sam.  “I… I’m sorry.  I know you and Andrew were friends, I just… I thought that was over.  You obviously have feelings for him, especially in his time of trouble, but we’re supposed to be a team too.  He has Dr. Chang now, and that’s good for him and good for me.  I hope it’s good for you too.”

“Eric, I’m just… trying to do what’s right.”

“I know,” Eric replied, disappearing into the bedroom, but still audible to Sam sitting on the living room couch.  “I just hope what’s right for you is what’s right for us.”

The following afternoon, Eric had gone off to another rally.  With the two of us still in a spat I thought it would be best to let him go alone.  Besides, facing that crowd again…”

Just then, the phone rang.  “Hello?” Sam answered softly and meekly.

“Hey dad!  I just… Oh it’s you Unc… Frank.  Is my dad home?”

“No, umm, he’s out.  I can…”

The voice interrupted, “It’s me, Jeff, you remember?  Well anyway, mom would freak if she knew I was calling, but, it’s just, I miss my dad, and mom and I had an argument today, and we had an argument yesterday after she came by your work and I - ”

Sam could sense the tension and tried to calm the boy down before he hyperventilated.  “Jeff,” he started, “your mom and dad both love you,” Sam started in a series of clichés, trying to figure out the right words as he went along.  Suddenly he thought of an idea.  “Jeff, why don’t you, uuh, get your mom to meet me at the Wharf… for lunch tomorrow.”

Jeff replied, surprised, “What?  Why would she…” then he realized what Sam was up to.  He was pretty sharp for 10.  “Sure, I’ll get her there somehow.” 

In the background Sam heard, “Jeffrey Campbell, who are you talking to?”

“I’ll do it, Frank, thanks!”  Jeff hung up the phone in a hurry. 

Al popped in at just the right moment to check in.

“Sounds like a good plan if you can make it work.  Ziggy says so.  She also predicts that if Eric and his wife reunite, there’s a seventy-five percent chance that Frank will go back to Eric.

“That’s great, Al,” Sam responded, ignoring a knock at the door.  “If I can get Eric to meet Heather tomorrow… some way, I’d just…” The knocking got louder.

“Answer it Sam.  I think I should stick around and hear this too.”

Sam hurriedly answered the door.  It was Jonathan.

“Frank, I need to talk to you,” Jonathan said in a hurry, letting himself in to the apartment, barely saying hello as he passed.  “Is Eric home?”  After not hearing a response, he sat down and said, “Good.  I need to talk to you.”

Sam sat down on the opposite sofa, listening intently.  “Go ahead.”

“Ok, Frank, it’s like this.  I AM worried about Andrew but I’m afraid to tell him the truth.”  He continued, “Andrew’s really sick.  He’s got some weird kind of cancer that we can’t diagnose.  I’m an intern and can’t figure it out.  All the oncologists at the hospital are stumped too.  I know that you and he were lovers and I think that’s why last night got off to a tense start.  But I want you to know that I’ll be there for him for whatever time is left.”

Sam replied, “But if you know he’s sick, why don’t you say something?  I mean, you’re a doctor, isn’t it your job to –” Sam cut himself off when he realized why he was here.  He suddenly saw his chance.  “Jonathan, I don’t think that is a good idea.  Andrew needs, uuh he needs…” Words escaped him like water from a dam.

“He needs what?” Jonathan replied, getting tenser.  “He needs… YOU??!!  Is that what you’re trying to say to me?”

“No, not, um, necessarily, it’s just that…”

“Frank, I’ve tried to be understanding, but it’s obvious that you care more about your own needs than Andrew’s.”  He paused for a moment, trying to gather himself, but he failed.  “I want you staying away from him from now on!”

“Now look here,” Sam retorted, trying to match Jonathan’s sudden intensity, like someone whose buttons had been pressed one too many times.  “I want what’s best for Andrew… and for YOU.”

“For me???  Give me a break!  Frank, I’ve only known you for a couple of days, and I don’t know much about you, but I DO know about Andrew.  What’s best for me is to be with Andrew, and if you can’t accept that Andrew has moved on, then I’m afraid we have nothing else to talk about.”

“Jonathan, there’s no need to get excited.”

He turned back towards Sam and just said chillingly, “It’s Dr. Chang to you, sir.”  The word “sir” was dripping with sarcasm.

Dr. Chang left the living room and paced out the apartment door before Sam could get a word in edge-wise. 

I knew I had to trust in Al and Ziggy’s theory – that getting Eric and Heather together again would make everything else fall into place.  But now I had pissed off Jonathan too.  This would just make the mission harder, because now Andrew might never go back to Frank.  Hopefully Jeffrey’s plan would pan out.

I had told Eric to meet me for lunch at the wharf the next afternoon, after his morning chapter meeting, that we had some stuff to talk about.  Boooy, did we have stuff to talk about, and he had no idea.  I was there ahead of time, and Eric was the first to arrive.

“Oh, Frank, your restaurant,” Eric mused as he looked at the Clam Cafe on the boardwalk overlooking San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge glistening in the distance.  He turned back to Sam.  “I’m sorry for fighting, but let’s… let’s just enjoy this day.  Shall we sit down?”

“Uhh, yeah, sure,” was Sam’s hesitant reply.

As they were walking towards the pier, which contained the seafood restaurant, Sam had mentioned that Jeff called the previous day.

“What, you never heard of message pads?”  Eric half-joked.  “Eh, my ex-wife won’t even let him talk to me.  I’m afraid I’m losing my son for good, Frank.”  The two of them sat down at a table close to the pier.  Sam was nervously wondering when Heather would arrive, so much so that he almost lost track of the conversation.

“I love him, Frank, I really do.  I have to admit I also still love Heather, but after I came out of the closet, I just think she couldn’t live with it… I do love her, though; honestly…” he cut himself off.  “But I’m with you, now.

“Eric!” said Mrs. Heather Campbell in a fake surprise as she came to the table.  “What a pleasant surprise,” Heather mused with all the enthusiasm of a person about to get dental work.  “But I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation,” she said, sitting down at a third chair.  She had Jeff with her, who had cunningly convinced her to come, as she had some shopping to do on the pier that day.  She turned back towards her son, realizing that this was going to be an “adult” conversation.  “Jeffie, umm, why don’t you go look at the seagulls for a while?”

“Aw, mom, I want to…”

“We’re just going to be having a lot of grown-up talk, honey.  Please, I’ll bring you back when we order lunch.”  Changing her tone, she said lovingly, “You want fish sticks as usual?”

“Yeah mom, I love them, I just...”

“The run along, sweetie, I’ll get you later.”  As Jeff walked slowly and confusedly away, Heather turned back to her ex-husband.   “Eric, after overhearing you just now, I’ll be honest.  I still care about you too, it’s just that I… well…”

“Eric still loves you, Mrs. Campbell,” Sam interrupted as desperately as possible.

“I know he does, but I, I…” Heather and Eric gazed back at Sam as if to say, ‘It’s none of your business, back off.’  She ignored him and turned back to Eric.

Eric replied, “Hello, the two of you, I’m still here, you CAN talk to me directly, you know.”

“I’m sorry, honey,” Heather blurted out. ‘Did I just say, honey?’ she thought quickly to herself, and then turned back to Eric in a business-like fashion.  “Eric, honestly, I’d love to have you more involved in Jeffrey’s life, but, he… well, needs a male role model, so I’ve been…”

“Dating??” Eric said with a sudden twinge of returning anger.  “A ‘real man’, no doubt?  How do you think that makes me feel?  How do you think that made our marriage feel?  I’m just as much a man as any other.  My sexual preference has nothing to do with it!”  Eric was too dumbfounded to go on, but Sam was encouraged by Eric’s sudden outburst, because it said that Eric still loved Heather in some way.  Just then…

“Campbell?? Peterson?? What the heavens are you doing??”

Mr. Ratky was standing over them, his 6’3” frame hovering mightily above the other inhabitants of the small, tablecloth-covered table.  His thinning hair and thick gray mustache and the scowl on his face was enough to make the bravest of men shiver.

“Mr. Ratky,” Eric replied, “We were just…”

“Just trying to steal my fiancée from me?  Well I’ll never let you do anything of the sort!”

Eric was shocked.  Sam was even more shocked.  They both just sat there in silence, passing glances back at forth between each other, Heather, and Mr. Ratky.

“Your… YOUR fiancée??!!!” Eric questioned. 

Heather replied, doing her best at feigning sympathy, “Well that’s what I was about to tell you, Eric, you see, we’ve been dating for about six months.  Right after our divorce, I needed legal advice so I went back to your firm and saw Leo and I, just...” Now it was Heather’s turn to be nervous.

“So THAT’S why you dropped by the firm the other day,” Sam replied sternly.  “You wanted to…”

“Heather, you CAME to the office?  But I thought you...”

“That is EEEENOUGH!” roared Mr. Ratky, as Al popped back in, observing keenly.  The whole table, in fact, that whole section of the pier could now notice the ruckus.  Jeff, lured by the noise, came running back to his mom’s table.

“Uh oh, Sam, this doesn’t look good.”

”No,” Sam replied, forgetting he was talking to a hologram.

“What!!!”  Mark Ratky looked like he was going to jump from the pier right to the Pacific Ocean, obviously as steamed as the crabs that were being delivered to the table.  His scream knocked the waiter back five steps.  “It’s not enough?!  You want to mock me some MORE??? Well I won’t take it.  I…”

“Now wait Mr. Ratky,” Eric interrupted.  Sam was encouraged.  This was Eric’s chance to make a stand, to get Heather back.  It looked like he was taking it.  But… no dice.

“No YOU wait.”  Mr. Ratky was obviously at a rare lack for words.  Eric reared back.  “You’re fired, Campbell!  Come on Heather, let’s get out of here!”

“Mom!” Jeff cried, following his mother.  Sam, Al, and Eric all looked like they were in shock.

“Now wait, that’s not fair, just because my ex-wife is your fiancée, that doesn’t mean…” But it was too late; Mr. Ratky had stormed off, taking Heather with her.

Jeff tagged along behind them, taking two steps toward his mom, one glance back at Eric.  He was obviously confused and didn’t know what to do.  He didn’t even notice the stranger with the cigar and weird suit standing right behind him. Not sure what to do, he ran off, forcing his mom to chase after him. 

They faded into the distance as Eric grabbed Sam from behind.  Al, having seen the whole thing, was frantically pushing the buttons on the handlink, trying to figure out what had just happened.  “It always involves the kids, poor thing,” he mumbled as he was talking to Ziggy.

“You, you… you worm!” Eric yelled.

Sam, thinking he was referring to Mr. Ratky, turned back and nodded in agreement.

“You set me up, Frank!  Of all the dirty things… You want me out of your life, don’t you??  Out of your life so you can go back to Andrew.  Well I won’t forgive you for this.  For setting me up as a fool, for causing me to lose my job.”

Sam was sent aback by this remark.  “What??! Me??  Mr. Ratky cost you your job buddy,” was the only reply Sam could think of, as coarse as it was.

“Buddy?  Oh I don’t know if we’re buddies any more.  I befriended you after your divorce.  I got you a job at the firm, took you into my home, and THIS is how you repay me??!” he asked, obviously taking his frustration with his wife and with Mr. Ratky out on Sam.  “Well I won’t have it.  We’re through!”  He ran off in the opposite direction as Heather.  Sam started after him.

“Wait Sam, this isn’t going to do any good,” Al said plainly.

Sam just plopped down at the table, picking at the crabs legs.

Al continued, “We’ve got bigger problems, Sam.  You changed history.  Now, Frank has trouble finding work and with no one willing to hire gays, winds up in the streets.”  Before Sam could reply, Al went on, “And Ziggy says there’s an 80% chance now that Jeff runs away, and Frank and Heather never get over it.  He gets killed, Sam.”

As Sam slowly and nauseously got up from the table, he had the grim feeling that his plan had backfired.  Things had just gone from bad, to worse.

PART THREE

Eric and I had argued all the way home that afternoon, and after we got home he locked himself in the bedroom.  Well, at least he didn’t want me in there with him.  Now my plan had backfired, and Eric wasn’t talking to me at all.  The affair between Heather and Mr. Ratky was a complete surprise to me.  How could I not know?

“It isn’t your fault, Sam, Ziggy didn’t know either.” 

“How could you know what I was thinking, Al?” came Sam’s reply. 

“After nine years of leaping?  Come on,” Al paused to light a cigar.  “You know though, this might not be as unfortunate as you might think.”  Sam tried to interrupt but the hologram obliviously continued, musing as he spoke.  “Maybe breaking up with Eric is the key.”

“Al, I leapt in here to get him together with his family.  Even if this was the way I wanted to do it, it only half worked.  How do I know Eric will re-unite with his family?”

It was a good question.  Al paused in thought for some time, puffing on his cigar.  The drama could be cut with a butter knife.  “Give him no choice,” Al finally answered.  “You gotta get Andrew away from Jonathan and back to Eric.  Even if you caused Eric and his wife to reconcile, then when you leap out, Frank will leap back in and he may not try to win Andrew back.”  Al took a few steps towards the imaging door, and just before disappearing, called back, “You may not like it, but you’re going to have to, uuh… ‘woo’ Andrew back.  Good luck.”

Al disappeared before he could see the wry sarcastic grin stretched across Sam’s face.  Al was right though. He had to do it.  He took advantage of Eric’s absence and headed back to Andrew’s.

“Oh hi Frank.  Long time no see,” Andrew joked.  “Would you like to come in?”  Andrew was obviously having one of his better days.  Sam followed Andrew through the tiny foyer and back into the dimly lit living room where he and the others had visited three days before.  Andrew once again lay back on the antique sofa, and Sam sat in the chair on the other side of the retro-looking end table.

“Andrew, I…  I kind of… umm…”

“Yes Frank?  Honey, I never knew you to be this nervous.  Come on, we may not be together anymore, but we can still talk.  What’s the matter, buddy?”

Sam had to do it.  It was now or never.  “Andrew, I, uhh…” Sam paused, thought, knew what he wanted and needed to say, then with a rushed tone said, “Uhm… I loveyou. I…”

“Frank, you don’t need to say any more.  I thought you didn’t have feelings for me any more, but that’s changed.  You know, you seem different these past few days.  I could have sworn we’d broken up for good, but over the last few days, I don’t know, I can’t put my finger on it.”  He paused to think and take a deep breath, something, which was not coming easy for him.  “But what about Eric?  What about Jonathan?  I can’t just leave Jonathan, after we’ve become so close.”

Sam couldn’t do it.  He couldn’t tell Andrew what was wrong with him.  He felt he had to, but resisted the urge.  “Eric - well we’re, umm, having some difficulties.  There was a run-in yesterday, and his wife is in love with our boss, and it backfired, and… well it’s a long story.”

“Oh,” said Andrew, shocked.  He leaned back further in the chair and coughed.  ‘Shock,’ Sam told himself, ‘it was just shock.’  “I’m so sorry to hear that, Frank,” Andrew started, not really knowing what to say.  “I mean, I’d like to start over after seeing how you’ve changed, but I can’t hurt Jonathan, I hope you understand that.  He’s been,” Andrew struggled for the breath to come to him and wheezed, “… so… so… good… to me.”  Those last words came so deliberately that Sam, being a doctor, had to suspect something was wrong.  Andrew looked very uncomfortable as he rearranged his frail body against the soft back of the sofa, and soon felt and sounded better.

“He was there for me all the time I needed him.  We met when I was going in for the cancer treatments.  What can I say?  Doctors can’t fall in love with their patients but I guess there’s an exception for residents.”  The expression of Andrew’s voice was now so calm and sincere that Sam for a moment forgot that Andrew was sick and that he – Frank – needed to win Andrew back.

He leaned over closer to Sam and said in a weak voice, “I don’t have much longer to live, I think.  I need Jonathan and he…” he coughed as he looked into Sam’s eyes, “… needs…” Another coughing fit attacked Andrew and he suddenly slumped over.

Sam called out his name a couple of times and then rushed over to grab a telephone to call 9-1-1.  He dialed, called for the ambulance, and then rushed, panicked, back to Andrew’s side.  He had fainted, maybe blood loss to the brain caused by… damn he had never treated this sort of condition and neither oncology nor immunology was his specialty.  The slow minutes passed as they waited for the ambulance to arrive.  Sam grew tenser with every passing second.  Finally the medics arrived, but, Andrew still unconscious. 

This would have been the opportune time for Frank to profess his love for Andrew Norris, but if I did, it wouldn’t work - Frank was in the waiting room twenty years in the future, so if I try now, then when I leap out, the real Frank would just go back to Eric.  I had to break Frank and Eric up for good.  It was the only way…

The tension inside the 1980 Mercedes was thick.  As it sped away from the pier and toward the Golden Gate Bridge, Jeff’s complaints were non-stop.  “Mom, why did you just walk away from dad like that?  I wanted to see him.  I wanted to.”

“Shussh, Jeffery!”, Mrs. Campbell started out, then calmed quickly.  “How about you, honey?  Making me think I was meeting Mr. Ratky?  Did you call him TOO?”

“Well, mom, I, uuuh…”

“That’s what I thought.  Jeff, I know you love your father, but I have a right to whom I want to date too.  Your father has chosen a lifestyle that’s unacceptable for me, and you’re just going to have to realize that.”  Jeff just sat in the passenger seat and pouted, as his mom pressed harder on the gas pedal.

“Honey, your father fooled me to, showing up like that – with Frank of all people.  His GAY LOVER, I mean, god, in front of you too, the nerve of that man.”

”Mom, I’m sick of…” taking a big risk, he continued.  “I’m sick of how you talk about dad.  I love him, I don’t care who he loves, as long as he loves me.”  An intelligent comment from a ten-year-old boy, but ignored by the very woman who was supposed to understand, the one who took the wedding vows twelve years earlier.

The wait in the hospital was long.  Sam could do nothing but sit outside and wait, and hope for the best.  Just then, he saw Jonathan walk by.  This was his chance.  He cut Jonathan off in his path as he was headed towards the double doors at the other end of the waiting room, labeled “Physicians and Patients Only Beyond This Point.”

“Frank… WHAT?!”  After calming down, he continued.  “Frank, I can’t talk now, I’m in a hurry, I have to…”

“Get to Andrew, I know, I just want to…”

”Andrew’s HERE??!!  Oh god, I have to check on him.  Frank, I won’t kid you, he could be on his way out or he could have months left.  I’d let you see him but I can’t… hospital rules, you know.”

“Dammit Jonathan, Andrew still loves Frank – me, and I need to…” Sam continued. 

“What?  What?!  Do WHAT??!!”  Jonathan was trying to keep his voice down considering where he was, but he was finding it difficult.  Finally he composed himself, and whispered loudly, “Frank, I want to do what’s best for Andrew and you but I will not NOT NOT let you get him all confused on whom he should be with.”  Jonathan tried to quiet his voice as much as possible and spoke to Sam in a loud and impatient whisper.  “I’ll hear no more of it.”  Before Sam could respond, he walked off.

The night went on.  I couldn’t go home and face Eric, so I guessed I was spending the nigh in the hospital waiting room.  I stayed there waiting, waiting, as various doctors and nurses walked in and out, none of them able to give me any word on Andrew’s condition.

At about 6 AM Al popped in.  “Sam, we need to talk now!”

Sam was awoken and startled by Al’s sudden appearance.  Sam walked across the ER waiting room and picked up a pay phone.  “I blew it, Al, now no one’s talking to anyone.”

Seeming to not hear him, Al interrupted, “Well we may have bigger problems, Sam.  I tried to get a lock on Heather and Jeff just now, and I can’t find either of them!”

“What?? Come on, Al, he could be anywhere.”

“We’re still trying to get a lock on him, Sam,” Al continued impatiently. 

Eric walked in to the E.R. just as Sam and Al had finished talking, but Al felt he should stick around to hear what they were about to say.  Sam pretended to finish his conversation and then hung up the phone.  He walked cautiously over towards Eric, not really knowing what to expect from such a volatile personality.

“Frank – who were you talking to?” 

“I was just trying to call you.  Look, I’m sorry I didn’t come back last night, but Andrew had to come here last night, and I’ve just been waiting.”

Eric seemed to tense up for a moment.  Eric forgot about that and continued.  “Look, I know we had a fight yesterday.  It was wrong of me to blame you.  It was Heather.  She’s always trying to get the best of me.  I should have known she and Ratky were planning something, I just should have.”

Sam wanted to snap back at him, but realizing the delicateness of the situation, remained calm.  “Eric, would you just listen to yourself?  Get a grip.  It’s not Heather’s fault -- and it’s not yours.  But even though we’ve been dating for some time, I think you still love her and you’ll regret it if you don’t at least try to get her back.”

Eric just stared at Sam in puzzlement.

“Look, Eric, blaming each other isn’t helping here,” Sam continued, trying to sound stern under the circumstances. It was do-or-die now.  “Just remember that the two of you have a kid to think about.  One who loves the both of you, and who you both need to be thinking about right now.”

“And who YOU need to go find!” shouted Al, upset at being ignored.

“Of course I love him!” Eric shouted as if he forgotten the two of them were supposed to be making up.  “I’m just… frustrated.  Heather hates me, and after last night’s incident, I don’t think we could ever get back together.”

“Did you hear yourself just now?” Sam asked.  “You still love her don’t you?”

“Yes. Yes.  YES!!”  Eric took a step back as he realized what he had just said.

Al kept interrupting, reminding Sam that Jeffrey might have only an hour left.

“Eric…”, Sam said confidently, “Let’s FIND YOUR SON!”

Eric stepped back and took a long pause and walked out the E.R. doors.  Sam followed him, walking quickly, with Al floating close behind.

“Frank, I… “

“It’s ok.  It’s ok.  If you have to go back to her, I’ll understand.”

“I do love you Frank, but Heather – she’s always held a special place for me. Maybe I’m in love with her more as a friend, but I’m still in love…” 

‘He had said it,’ Sam thought, ‘he had finally said it.’  Sam looked at him intensely.  “It’s ok.  Go tell her…. But first, get your butt in the car!” Sam said sternly but with a grin on his face.

Al appeared in the back seat, punching buttons on the handlink and looking concerned.

“Sam!  Ziggy says there’s a good chance that Jeff is going to be killed in the next hour!  According to the records, he never showed up at school today, and… well, step on it, and go after him, so he doesn’t get killed, the probability of which Ziggy has now at 75 percent!”

Sam winced, stunned at the sudden life-or-death dilemma.  “What about Andrew?  Jonathan?”

Eric, as if Sam were talking to him, turned and said, “Frank, I understand, really.  You and Andrew were close, it’s ok now, I realize that we have to…” Eric’s words faded out as Al was talking to Sam at the same time.

“Forget about those two.  Ziggy says Andrew has another two months yet, but Jeff DOESN’T, and he’s who you’re here for, now go!”, Al growled.  Sam paused for a moment and ran out the waiting room just as Jonathan appeared from the E.R. doors. 

Sam turned to Eric.  “We have to find Jeffrey.  NOW!  I don’t have time to explain.”  He spoke this as he motioned for Eric to get in the car.  He looked back and yelled back at Heather to follow them.

Sam and Eric were racing to find Jeffrey, hoping that they weren’t too late.  Heather got in the Cadillac, speeding behind them.  Sam was sure this would be it, but was very afraid of what they might be headed for.

PART FOUR

“Frank, for Heaven’s sake, slow down!” Eric called from the passenger seat of the 1979 Buick.  It was racing for the Bay Bridge as fast as Al could get a lock on Jeffrey’s location.

“Mister, umm, where are you taking me?!  I want to go back to my mom!”  Jeff Campbell could see that his pleas were going nowhere, as Ratky’s glaze lay fixed on the hilly roads of the East Bay.

“Kid, you shouldn’t have run away!”  Ratky quieted down when he realized he should seem to be on the kid’s side.  Yet he spoke to the kid without ever taking his stare off of the road ahead.  “I’m only protecting you.  Your mom told me to take you to her vacation house in Napa,” Ratky continued, feigning kindness.  “Trust me, we’ll be there soon.  If only you hadn’t run away…” Ratky’s voice trailed off as his fix remained on the stretch of I-80 ahead, and as he slammed the gas pedal, completely ignoring the “55 MPH” sign overhanging the roadway.

“I told you, mister, I came to your house to look for mom because I thought she might come back to my dad, and…”

“Your dad is a fruit!” Ratky hollered, forgetting he was supposed to be calm, but by now he didn’t care. “Your mother deserves better.  Your father doesn’t seem to care about you, he doesn’t love your mom, and he’s trying to take her away from us.  So we have to go to Napa where we’ll all be safe.”

The way Mr. Ratky said “us” made Jeff freeze up and sent a chill down his spine.

“No you won’t!  Sam!  Hurry!”  Al had finally centered in on Ratky and Jeff, but he hoped Sam wouldn’t take that long to get there.

“Who won’t what??” said Jeff, suddenly turning around to see a man in an ugly neon suit FLOATING outside the car.  Although the strange man was gone, Jeff suddenly screamed as to nearly make Mr. Ratky turn off the road.

“Saaaam!”  Sam almost braked when he heard the hologram calling from who-knows-where.

“Frank be careful, man, you’re gonna get us in a hell of a lot of trouble.”

“Eric, shut up this is YOUR son we’re going after!  Maybe if you took some time to care about him and Heather you could get them back!”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you about!”  Al was frantically trying to yell above the engine’s roar, but boy were those old station wagons noisy!

“Frank this is not the time to lecture me about my family.  Just drive, I want to get my son back, but please, stay out of it and drive – oh God, do we even know where they are?”

By this time Al continued on in spite of the commotion.  “Sam, I got a lock on Jeffrey.  Mr. Ratky’s got him.  They’re headed for a secluded summerhouse Mr. Ratky has in Napa.  I just overheard them.  He’s trying to kidnap Jeff to try to punish Eric and to get Heather to come back to him.  According to Ziggy, Jeff skipped school today to go to Ratky’s house looking for you or Heather, but Ratky took him, and Ziggy says he’s going to die in less than an hour unless you get there.  I’ll stay here and guide you.  But…”

“What Al??  What!” was Sam’s reply.

“What are you talking about, pal?” said Eric, unaware that Sam was talking to his “imaginary friend.”

”Just ignore him Sam!  I think Jeffrey can hear me.  He turned towards me just as I popped out.”

“Go to him, Al!  You can calm him down.”

“Who’s Al???”

Sam ignored Eric’s responses.  “Go to Jeff and make sure he’s ok.” 

“Yeah, Sam but if I do that then how will you find him?!”  After a brief pause, “Ok, I’ll switch off.  Here I go.”  Al popped out as Sam continued to accelerate.  After crossing the bridge, he took the exit to 29 North, toward Napa, hoping Al will get back to him in time.

“Jeff, just hang in there, your dad is coming to save you!”  A frightened Jeff turned around, not knowing what was more scary, being in this car or having an invisible man talking to him.  “Jeff, no one else can see me, but I’m here to help you so just listen to me and don’t say anything.”

But Jeff couldn’t help it.  “Who… who ARE you, mister?  Wait, I recognize you from the restaurant yesterday.”

“Damn straight you do, kid” muttered Ratky as he turned on to the final road leading up to his cabin.  After stopping the car, and an uncomfortable pause, he bent down and glared at Jeff, mumbling,  “And you know damn well who I am TOO!,” in crescendo; the last word was roared as he got out of the car, walked to the passenger side, grabbed Jeff by the arm and swung him out of the passenger seat.

“Hey!  You nozzle!” Al said as he turned, “Just pretend I’m not here, Jeff,” Al said as he remembered that he wasn’t alone.  “And you, you leave the kid alone!  I got to find Sam and hurry him up.”

Al popped in on Sam and, still screaming above the old car motor, started to give Sam directions to the Napa house.  Sam tried not to talk back, lest Eric thought he was even nuttier than he already thought at the moment.  As Sam approached the final turn off of the highway, Al grew increasingly impatient.  “Hurry up Sam, please.  I gotta get back to the kid.”

Back to the cabin Al went, centering on Jeff to make sure he was ok.  Locking onto his signature, Al found him tied up in some basement. 

“Kid, just hang in there,” Al tried to impatiently reassure him.  Ratky was nowhere to be seen.  Al returned to Sam only to find that he was driving toward the cabin, and was very near to where Ratky, who by now had seen Frank’s car, and was patiently waiting for them to arrive.

“Sam, wait!  You’re here.  Now Ratky is waiting around the corner for you, about 200 meters from the house. It’s some sort of cabin or guesthouse.  Jeff’s inside, but take out Ratky first.  The guy’s like 60 years old, but you can take him.”

Sam nodded in acknowledgement as he got out of the car slowly.  He motioned for Eric to stay in the car.

“But Frank, that’s my son –“

“Sssh!”  Sam wasn’t having another word of it.

He was walking up the road leading to the cabin.  Mr. Ratky was about halfway up the trail, hiding in a cove just off the trail.  Sam tried to walk quietly, but the rustling grass gave up his position like sonar does to a ship.  He called out “Jeff!” knowing that if Ratky was trying to hide then he wouldn’t come out, and he just might forget and give up his location.  The plan worked.  Sam saw a rustling in the bushes about 20 yards ahead and ran towards the clearing in the woods by the side of the road, where Ratky met him with a revolver.

“Sorry Sam I should have warned you but I had to check on the kid, and – oh God, umm Sam, Ziggy says this could be dangerous, so watch out.”

Sam, ignoring Al, asked, “What do you want, Mr. Ranky?”

“What do I WANT, Frank?  I WANT Heather to be with me, for Eric to stay AWAY from me, and for YOU to BUTT OWWWWT,” he trailed off as he received a quick and painful karate chop from Sam, sending the gun flying out onto the road, nearly discharging.

“What about Eric?  Doesn’t he have a right to be with his wife?”

“His… EX-wife!” Ratky screamed as they both scrambled for the gun, about ten feet away, the two of them wrestling for position like pigeons going after that last bread crumb.

“He has rights!  Gay people have rights too!”

“Oh just like one of you fairies to defend them, Peterson!” The men continued to wrestle for the gun.

Finally, a voice came from back down the road, “Hey, let him go!”  It was Eric.  Fortunately, he had ignored Sam’s orders to stay in the car, and even more so because in a moment of distraction, Ratky forgot about the gun.  “Get away from me, you queer, and away from my WIIIIFE---“ Just then he felt the cold sting of lead against his back.  Sam was standing above him, holding the gun.  Ratky tried to move but Sam kept holding the gun right there.  He called out to Eric, “Go get Jeff, he’s inside…”

Al pitched in, “In the basement!”  Sam repeated the words to Eric, who disappeared around the corner towards the back of the house.

“God damn you people, you think that you could just… Why I should…” As Ratky struggled for words he eventually, in frustration, lunged at Sam who immediately knocked him out cold with the butt of the gun. 

Just then, Mrs. Campbell arrived on the scene, frantically searching for her fiancée with the hopes that he might have Jeffrey.  “Frank!! Why… why are you here?  Jeffrey’s school called today and they said that some man came to pick him up.  I thought that Leo….”  She sounded frantic, catching her breath.  “Where the hell is Eric?”

Sam turned to her, exhausted, and shouted in a lecturing tone, “He’s going to save YOUR son!!”

“And what happened to… Leo!  Honey are you alright?!”

“Stay away from him,” Sam warned, picking up the gun.

“Hey Frank!  Put that down, what do you think you’re doing to my…”

Ratky woke up just as Eric appeared back with Jeff.  Ratky tried one more desperate time.  “I tried… to protect Jeff, but he… ran away, and… I.”

“No you didn’t!”  Jeff screamed.  “Mom, he tried to kidnap me, and I..”

“Eric,” Heather cried, “Get away from my son!  Leo, come on…”

“No, you wait, Mrs. Campbell,” Sam said, out of frustration.  Can’t you see it?  Eric loves you.  Jeff loves you.  Leo Ratky was taking advantage of you.  He tried to kidnap Jeff to get you away from Eric.  Eric still loves you both, Mrs. Campbell.  You both have to accept each other for who the other is, that’s how marriage works,” Sam continued desperately.

“Don’t listen to them, Heather, dear, it’s just a mistake.”

Suddenly in a flash, Heather’s expression changed, turning back towards Mr. Ratky, still held at bay by the gun.

“No, Leo,” she said calmly.  “The mistake I made is lying in front of me.  You’re the one I shouldn’t listen to.”  Turning toward Eric and Jeff.  “Eric… Eric saved Jeff’s life.  You tried to… you… YOU… “  Just then she gave Ratky a big swift kick in the groin, and ran towards Eric and Jeff.  “I’m sorry, honey,” she said towards both her ex-husband and son.  “I guess I didn’t understand.  Eric, you’re my husband and will always be, and Jeff, you’re our son.  We will ALWAYS love you no matter what.”

Sam handed the captive Mr. Ratky over to Eric and walked over to Al, where they could talk discreetly.  In the distance, Heather, Eric, and Jeff are making up.

“Well, Sam, Ziggy says that now Heather and Eric re-marry and have more children, and Ratky does ten years for kidnapping.”

“Finally, it’s over, Al,” Sam whispered.

“Oh come on, Sam, leaping into a gay guy isn’t new for you.”

“Yeah”, said Sam, panting, “but supposing to be in love with someone’s ex-husband while her new lover chases her son around, it’s just… weird.”

”Oh Sam,” Al looked over and chuckled.

After a long pause, Sam asked, “So…. I should be going now, right?”

“Well, Sam, I think there’s still one piece left…”

Later that day, Sam, Eric, and Jonathan were sitting around in the hospital where Andrew Norris rested in considerable agony.  Eric and Jonathan were standing together on one side of the bed, Sam and Al on the other.

“I’m glad you came back, Frank…” Andrew said faintly.  “It was nice of you…”

“It was the least I could do for an old friend,” Sam said as he sat down at the bedside.  He turned across the room to see Eric and Heather giving him the thumbs up.

Andrew was fading fast.  Everyone stepped closer to the bed.  Dr. Chang couldn’t take it; he walked over to the other side of the room in tears.  Eric followed him over.  “Jonathan, I’m sorry about what happened.  I’m sorry we couldn’t make up under better circumstances.”

Dr. Chang fought off the tears and hugged Eric.  “Thanks.  Maybe I’ll see you around.”

The focus slowly turned back to Andrew’s bed.  “I’ll remember you always,” Andrew spoke weakly.  “And… you??”  Andrew looked mysteriously up towards the center of the room.  He could clearly see Al, and both Sam and Al knew what that meant.

“And I... will always remember you,” said Sam with a sudden tone of tenderness.  Sam’s eyes turned to Eric and Sam saw Eric nodding his head in affirmation of what Sam was telling the man before him.  He grabbed Andrew Norris’s hand just in time to feel it turn from warm to cold.  He began to feel that familiar rush of electricity pulsating around him.  The room started to warp and the hospital room, and all its contents and occupants appeared hazy blue, and an instant later, Frank Peterson was back holding his friend’s hand.  But Sam and Andrew Norris were gone.

EPILOGUE

Sam felt the first tingle begin to tug at the inside of his abdomen as if he had been on a roller coaster about to top the first tumultuous hill at the beginning of each and every ride and knew that he was once again being called upon to help yet another life.  He didn’t know who it was going to be; yet, he felt one word tug at his subconscious: ‘Home’.  That was the one place that he needed, no – wanted to be for so long that he had finally quit asking the voice, which seemed to be all watchful and just hoped it would happen.

When he felt the feeling subside, he waited for the swimming dizziness to fade with his eyes closed; hoping that anything on the opposite side of his eyelids would wait for an answer if a question had been asked.  He swayed slightly and brought his hands up and out to steady himself.  He opened his eyes to find himself standing in a pitch-black room, seemingly facing a window that was sheltering him from a fierce storm that raged outside.

Sam blinked, took three steps toward the window and slammed his shin into an object before him.  He gasped in pain and leaned forward to lightly touch his shin in response.  He reached out before him to feel a coffee table or an end table.  Using his hands to guide him around it, he headed toward the window.  This time; however, he took it slow and easy not wanting to add another bruise to his leg.

Once he was around the object, he turned to look up at the window just as a bright iridescent light shattered through the night sky momentarily before veiling it once more into darkness.  As the lightning splattered across the sky again displaying its magnificence and glory, a low rumble of thunder answered back in response.

Unknowingly, Sam shuddered uneasily as he took another step toward the window and pressed his hand against the cool glass.  The warmth of his hand formed a foggy imprint around his flesh as he peered out at the rain that splattered against the glass.

In the darkened window, he could make out his hosts outline and some facial features before the rain distorted them, but not enough to see whom he had leaped into.  Another bright array displayed across the night sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder.  The noise itself was deafening and made Sam take two steps back from the window.  Sam’s legs came in contact with another piece of furniture that caught him off guard, and he tumbled backward, the back of his head coming in contact with something hard and un-giving.

Sam brought his hand up to his head with a moan and winced as he felt something wet and sticky.  “Oooooh…” he began in a low achy voice before he added, “boy….” And let the growing aching darkness take him away.