Theorizing that one could time-travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett led an elite group of scientists into the desert to develop a top-secret project known as Quantum Leap.  Pressured to prove his theories or lose funding, Dr. Beckett prematurely stepped into the Project Accelerator…and vanished.

He awoke to find himself in the past, suffering from partial amnesia and facing a mirror image that was not his own.  Fortunately, contact with his own time was maintained through brainwave transmissions with Al, the Project Observer, who appeared in the form of a hologram that only Dr. Beckett can see and hear.

As evil ones do their best to stop Dr. Beckett’s journey, his children, Dr. Samantha Josephine Fulton and Stephen Beckett, continuously strive to retrieve their time-lost father and bring him home permanently.  Despite returning home several times over the last decade, Dr. Beckett has remained lost in the time stream…his final fate no longer certain.

Trapped in the past and driven by an unknown force, Dr. Beckett struggles to accept his destiny as he continues to find himself leaping from life to life, putting things right that once went wrong with the hopes that his next leap…will be the final leap home.

PROLOGUE

The tingling sensation that accompanied the blue light faded away and Sam found himself in that most hated position – wearing stiletto heels.  Even worse, though, was the fact that he was wearing them in a room blasting with a heavy Techno backbeat and walking quite quickly down a narrow runway.

Sam looked down and found he was wearing black slim trousers with a narrow waistband that sat just below the waist paired with a soft green blouse.  he was so disoriented that he didn't hear the Imaging chamber door open.

"Uh, Sam? You really need to give those hips some attitude."  Al was moving a bit to the backbeat music.

"Wha... huh?"  Sam was dumbfounded.  "Attitude?"

“Yeah.  You’re currently modeling in the September 2006 Vera Wang Spring Fashion show.  You need to show some attitude on the runway.  It’s sort of like moving your hips like when you were Elvis but you do it as you’re walking.”

Sam glared at Al as he came to the end of the runway.

"Okay.  now you need to stop and move around a bit.  You have to show off the outfit... and what an outfit!  Beth would love it!  I wonder how much it costs."  He turned to the handlink and started to key in some numbers.  

Sam continued to glare at Al, but did as he was told.  

“That’s enough.  Now turn and walk back… Shake that tushie, Sam.  C'mon, attitude, Sam, attitude! Watch out for the other model…now she’s showing hip attitude!”

Sam did everything he could but the warning came too late.  He tried to stay on the heels while avoiding the other model.  However, being in a meta-stable position was just too much for him.  He took a head dive through the curtain at the start of the runway.

“Oh Boy,” came to his lips as he hit his head hard on a pole just inside the curtain.  Mercifully, he entered blessed unconsciousness.

PART ONE

September 15, 2006

New York City

Sam awoke facing the angry face of a little, nervous man who was glaring and hissing at him.  “Karina!  What the hell was that all about!  If you ripped the Wang it’s coming out of your paycheck!  I’ve never seen you so wooden and stiff!”

“Sam!  Sam!  Are you okay?” Al asked in the next moment, his face right next to that of the mousy man.

“Uh, yeah.”  Sam sat up, rubbing his head.  “Ow, that hurt!”

The little man shouted, “There’s no time for that right now.  Suck it up and get into the next outfit.  Cheri, can you help her.  Gawd!  You’ve only got two minutes now!”  The man abruptly gestured to another woman who was carrying a pincushion and duct tape.  “Get her into the Taupe Tapestry dress with the jacket pronto!  She must be on the mark in one and a half minutes!  Move it people!”

Sam was amazed at the speed at which the outfit he’d been wearing was removed and another was donned.  It felt more like a NASCAR pit stop than anything else he’d experienced.  Before he knew it, his clothes, shoes, and hair of the aura had been redone and he was pushed to the start of the runway.  Another model was walking back.

“What are you waiting for?  Go!  Go!”  The angry little man was gesturing wildly.  “Move it, girl!  And this time give it your style!”

Sam again stepped out onto the catwalk that ran from the curtain down through the center of the room.  This time he noticed the people, the cameras, and the lights.  Especially the lights!  They made the catwalk extremely hot and he could feel the beads of sweat starting to form on his body.  Sam wondered why some women would actually salivate at the chance to work in this high-pressure world!

“Oh, Sam!  I like that one even more!”  Now that Sam was fine, Al was back into the spirit of the fashion show and into full gushing mode.  “Beth would really look good in it!”

Sam just continued down the runway, trying to keep his focus on walking upright, moving his hips, and doing it with as much grace as possible.  It was a good thing that on several leaps he had a chance to practice his dancing because right now, moving smoothly was critical.  All he knew was he didn’t want this going on much longer.  Al, meanwhile, seemed to be creating a mental catalog of outfits for Beth, though he did tell Sam when he came backstage again that he was going back to the Project to talk to Karina.

Sam completed that run and two more, moving into the evening wear towards the end.  At the finale, he’d been dressed in a wedding dress and had walked out to the oohs and ahs of the crowd.  He was still wearing the classy white dress when Vera Wang herself came out with all the models.

When Sam went back behind the curtain the final time, he was exhausted!  Who’d have ever thought that wearing clothes could take so much out of a person!

After the wedding dress was carefully removed, Sam put on the robe that was offered to him.  He noticed the other models were over at mirrored tables taking off their makeup and getting into their street clothes.  Most of the girls had already finished and left.  Sam saw an empty table at the end and sat down, finding a cosmetic case labeled Karina Valance.  He opened the case and removed cotton balls and cold cream.

As he removed the makeup, he was amazed at the absolutely perfect face that peered at him from the mirror.  It really was a shame that this face was so often covered with a mask of thickly layered makeup in intense tones.  She had naturally long eyelashes, full lips, and a flawless complexion.

Continuing to look into his cosmetic kit, he found a small purse.  He took it out and looked inside but couldn’t find any keys although he did have a driver’s license showing what was, for the duration of the leap, his address.  “How do I get around?” mused Sam softly.

Al suddenly appeared at his side.  “According to Karina, you generally take taxis around the city.  It’s easier than finding parking spots and to keep track of the mileage for taxes.  Be sure to get a receipt when you go home.”

Sam looked up at Al, annoyance dripping, “You know, I’ll never get used to you creeping up on me like that!”  He looked around making certain that no one was watching or listening.  Satisfied, he turned slightly to continue his conversation with Al.

“Al, do you know why I’m here?  This is not exactly the type of leap I want to extend.  It’s bad enough I’m a woman, but I have the feeling I’m not going to enjoy this life one bit.”

Al shook his head.  “Ziggy’s not sure yet.”  He looked down at the handlink.  “It’s September 15, 2006 and you’re Karina Valance.  She’s one of the hottest models currently in high fashion.  Ziggy says that you will have a swimsuit shoot tomorrow afternoon…” Al looked on as Sam’s face dropped at that news, “…and three days from now…”Al got an evil grin on his face, “…Oh, Sam, this will be fun!”

“What, Al?”  As worried as Sam was about the swimsuit shoot, he was even more concerned with the look on his best friend’s face.  A look that gleeful on Al had to mean something bad for him.

“You’re going to be doing a Lingerie Shoot!”  Al almost cackled.

Sam shook his head violently.  “No, No, No!  Al, you’ve got to get me out of here before then!  I can’t, and I mean can’t do those shoots!

Chuckling, his best friend answered, “Well, Sammy, looks like that’s what’s going to happen unless you get one of your infamous ‘gut feelings.’  Sorry, Pal.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed.  “Yeah, right.  I’ll just bet you’re sorry.  You’re eating this up.  I can’t believe I’ve leapt into a high fashion model!”  Sam continued in his agitated state.  “I want you to get Ziggy running scenarios and I want you to see what you can get from Karina.  This is one mission that I’m going to get to the bottom of in record time!  Whatever I need to do, I’ll fix it and then I’m outta here,” he said the final with a hand gesture that hit another solid body.

The woman he had hit, looked startled.  “What’s wrong, Karina?  You feeling okay?  That was a pretty hard head bang!  If you’re ready to get out of here, so am I.  You don’t have to hit me!”  The contact with the woman’s body combined with her voice pulled Sam’s attention away from the hologram.  Neither Sam nor Al had noticed the other model walking up behind them.

“Uh, no.  I’m fine,” Sam answered, a little surprised at the other woman’s appearance.  “That was some show, huh?”

“Yeah, well, Wang’s are usually one of the better attended.  You better get dressed so we can get going.”  Obviously, Sam had plans with this woman.

“I think going would be a good idea,” Sam said this with his eyes firmly focused on Al rather than the pretty young woman speaking with him.

“I get the hint, Sam.  I’ll see what more I can pull out of Ziggy.  See ya!”  With that final flourish, the bright shaft of light that indicated the Imaging Chamber door had opened appeared and Al Calavicci exited Sam’s vision.

“So, where are we going?” Sam asked casually.

The other woman looked at him strangely.  “You must have hit your head harder than you thought.  We’ve been planning to go to Ectasy 91 since last Tuesday when the final contracts were signed on the swimsuit shoot. “

“Ectasy 91?”

“Yeah, that really neat and expensive spa?  You know we plan to get waxed!  You don’t want any hair showing in those shots!”

“Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t be such a good thing.”  Sam wasn’t exactly sure what waxing was but it sounded like a beauty treatment of some sort.

“Okay then.  Get your clothes on and let’s go or we’ll miss our appointments.”  Sam understood by the woman’s tone of voice missing the ‘waxing’ would not be a good thing in her opinion.

Sam had no idea where those clothes would be, though.  He looked around hoping that something would provide a clue.  “Uh, yeah.  Now where did I put them?”

The other woman rolled her eyes.  “Karina!  They’re over here in the wardrobe.”  The other woman went over and took out a pair of black pants and a white top.  She also pulled out a pair of boots.

Sam slipped behind a curtain and quickly put them on to the exasperated sound of the other woman.  “What are you doing, Karina?  It’s not like I’ve never seen you before!”  Sam walked out of the dressing area with a lopsided grin and got “his” things together.  They went to the elevator and down to the main lobby where the other woman walked over to the doorman.  “Hey, Steve?  Can you get us a cab?”

“Yes, Miss Michaels.  I’ll have one for you quickly.”

“Steve is such a great guy!  We’ll have a cab soon.”  Sam could only describe the other woman as ‘giddy.’  This Spa must be really something.

True to his promise, Steve got them a cab a minute later and they were off to Ectasy 91.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

February 2, 2008

2:00 p.m.

Project Quantum Leap

Stallion’s Gate NM

Al couldn’t stop laughing as he walked down the ramp, throwing the handlink to Dom.  “Oh, Dom, you should see Sam.  He so hates it when he leaps into a woman, and now he’s leaped into a Scandinavian Goddess!  This leap is gonna be fun!”

“For you maybe, Admiral.”  Dom wasn’t sure that he liked Al taking such pleasure at Sam’s discomfort.

“Oh, Dom.  A swimsuit and lingerie shoot both!  How can I let these pass?”  Al continued to chuckle.

Dom shook his head.  He knew that Sam was Al’s best friend in the world.  Certainly he wouldn’t take ribbing the physicist too far.

Al turned a little more serious.  “Dom, please start running scenarios for Sam…he really wants to know what he’s there to do.  I think letting him know that sooner than later would be a good idea.  I’m going to go see the visitor again.”  He headed out the Control Room door.

When Al got to the Waiting Room, he absently tugged at the lapels of his chocolate brown jacket and smoothed the front of his teal shirt.  He gave a final slight finger combing to his hair before going in.  Sure, everyone else saw Sam when they went in, but he saw Karina.  And from the brief talk they’d had before, he knew she was a knockout.  Even though he had no intention of flirting with her or otherwise jeopardizing his marriage to Beth, a man did want to look his best!

Karina stretched languidly on the bed in the Waiting Room and Al couldn’t help swallowing hard.  The Fermi suit left very little to the imagination.  She’s young enough to be your daughter, Calavicci, he reminded himself.  It didn’t help much.

“Oh, hi, Al,” she stated, a slight Scandinavian accent to her words.  He’d told her when he first saw her what his name was and had given her the brief explanation that would settle her mind, including the rundown of why she saw a man in the mirror instead of her reflection.  She’d thought that was funny.

Al asked their guest, “Are you comfortable?”

Karina shrugged.  “This outfit—not very stylish, no?”

“No, I guess it’s not,” Al had to agree.  But it sure looks good on you, he thought and gently tugged at his collar.  “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m fine.  Apart from being stuck in here, anyway.”  She yawned.

Al did a quick mental analysis of the length of time Karina had been in the Waiting Room along with a guess of how long she and the other models had been at the show before Sam had leapt in.  By his calculations it had been quite a long time since she’d have had anything to eat.  Al was just about to ask her if he could get her something to eat when his paternally attuned ears heard the distinct gurgle of her stomach rumbling its hunger.

“Well, I know I needn’t ask,” Al began with a broad smile on his face.  “Do you have a preference for your meal?”

“No.” Karina waved a dismissive hand and stretched again, arching her back and stretching her hands over her head.

At the sight Al felt heat rise in his neck, spreading towards his face and ears.  The heat was spreading in other areas, too.  He cleared his throat and tugged at his collar again.  “I’ll, uh, I’ll have someone send you a meal shortly,” he said, and beat a hasty retreat.

As soon as he was in the hall, he idly rubbed his face.  Once he was past the guards and out of their earshot, he lifted the wristlink he wore and pressed its button.  “Ziggy, where’s my wife?”

“Dr. Calavicci is in your quarters, Admiral.”

“Perfect.”

“Admiral, your voice sounds strained.  Your blood pressure appears elevated, as well,” Ziggy said.  “Perhaps Dr. Lofton would be better able to assist you.”

“No, Ziggy, trust me…it’s Beth I want to see.”

PART TWO

September 15, 2006

Ectasy 91

New York City

Sam and Ms. Michaels walked into the spa.  Relaxing tones of blue and white defined the sanctum.  They checked in at the front desk, a long white desk of clean contemporary lines in front of a wall of tiny tiles in blue hues.

“Let’s see.  Laura Michaels and Karina Valance,” said the receptionist.  “I can see you’re each in for the full Monty today!  Would you both like an Evian while you wait?  Your technicians will be with you shortly.”

Laura confirmed that the woman’s assessment was correct.  She indicated to Karina the sofa in the front reception area.  They went over and sat down to wait.

Sam took a drink out of his bottle.  Laura.  He finally had a first name to go by.  Laura continued to address him.  “I’m glad we were able to get the reservation so quickly!  If those tourists hadn’t backed out on their appointment, we wouldn’t be getting our wax jobs here!  This will be such a treat!  We’ll be silky smooth for the shoot!”

“Yeah, that will be great!”  Sam tried to sound enthusiastic but he still wasn’t exactly sure about this waxing thing.  He seemed to remember a woman he was close to getting her legs waxed.  He recalled that he had enjoyed the result: soft, silky, beautiful, long legs. 

His memory of the woman was fragmented.  He could feel a tug of an emotion, a wisp of a memory; she was just on the edge of his awareness.  Along with this ethereal vision, he knew he’d been happy and contented in her arms.  Why couldn’t he remember her name or her face!  The more he tried the more the memory pulled away, leaving him with an ache in his heart.  He realized then that he’d been in love with this woman who was now a mystery to him.  It hurt him deeply that he couldn’t recall more.  He wondered if Al would be able to fill in the blanks when he returned or if he’d known this woman and Al at the same time.

“So, are we getting our legs waxed?” Sam asked.  That was the only context he could put the waxing into.

“We’re getting everything waxed!”  At the look on Sam’s face she continued.  “Well, you know how things show when you’re wearing a thong.”

“A thong!?”  Sam asked weakly.  He suddenly was facing tomorrow’s swimsuit shoot with as much trepidation as the Thursday Lingerie one.  Now he wasn’t sure which would be worse.

Sam looked up and prayed. Please…let me fix whatever it is I need to fix and get me out of here before then!  Sam was beginning to realize just how prophetic his prediction was that he would not like living this life.

A lady in a lab coat walked up to them. “Laura?  I’m Tammy.  Please come with me.”

Laura got up turning to Sam.  “Karina?  After this we’ll go to dinner, okay?  I’ve been wanting to go back to Nobu Fifty-Seven—that great Sushi place we tried last month.  Sound good to you?

Sam recalled that he liked sushi so he agreed.  A minute after Laura left, another woman walked up to him.  “You must be Karina.  I’m Bernadette.  Please come with me.”

“Hi, Bernadette.”  Sam got up and threw his now empty bottle in the trash as they walked by the front desk.  Immediately, the receptionist offered him another bottle.

“Yeah, okay.”  He wondered if they had a contract with Evian to push the water.

Bernadette led him to a small dressing area with a row of closets.  “You can put your clothes in here.  There’s a robe to wear.  And be sure to wear the paper panties.”

Sam blushed.  “Paper panties?  Is that all?”

“Yeah…I need to be able to get to all the spots you want waxed.”

Sam was getting a bit nervous about this whole thing.  He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want a beauty treatment there!  “How exactly does this waxing work?”

“You’ve never waxed?  I thought all you models waxed!  Well…I put a warm wax where the hair is to be removed and then use a muslin cloth to pull the hair out.  It’s like pulling off a bandage.”

This was suddenly sounding rather painful.  Hair was supposed to be there.  This didn’t appear to be a beauty treatment from the description of it.  Still, he had to do what his host has set into motion.  To do otherwise would be out of character for the woman he’d leapt into.

Bernadette led Sam to a small room decorated in soothing tones of blue with a simple bed in the center.  In some ways it reminded him of the Waiting Room.

The Technician started with his eyebrows.  Looking critically at them, she voiced, “These look like they’ve been waxed.  You sure you haven’t done this before?”

“Uh, I guess I spaced it out.”  He knew the excuse was lame but didn’t have anything else he could think of to say.

Bernadette’s eyebrows rose.  “Really!  Most people remember a wax job.”

“Let’s just drop it, okay.”  Sam grinned weakly.

“Okay, just seems strange.  Go ahead and close your eyes if you want.”

“Okay.”  Sam closed his eyes.

Bernadette used an orange stick to separate the hairs from top to bottom, and then spread the warm wax on the bottom of Sam’s eyebrows.  It felt relaxing.  Then she lightly patted something over the wax.  For a split second, nothing happened and then…

Pain!

Sam’s eyes flew open.  Like a bandage?!  Like I’d put bandages there! Sam was sure that every hair above his eyes had been removed.  It was still stinging when another application of wax was applied.  This time, the apprehension of the removal didn’t make it as relaxing.

This activity went on for a few more minutes, first one brow and then the other.  Finally Bernadette took a cotton ball moistened with some lotion and applied it to his stinging brows.  It calmed the sting a bit, but didn’t make it go away entirely.

“Okay.  Now let’s get to those legs.”

PART THREE

September 15, 2006

Ecstasy 91 Spa

New York City , NY

Al returned just as the bikini wax started.  He noticed Sam’s eyebrows and legs were slightly reddened with irritation.  As he saw what was happening he exclaimed, “Ah, gee, Sam!  I didn’t know they did that!  I’ve only enjoyed the results of the process.  Why would women willingly submit themselves to this torture?”

Sam just looked at Al with a countenance of abject misery.  Sam felt he had barely lived through the leg waxing.  He’d found his eyes watering each time Bernadette pulled the muslin cloth away but he’d held it together.  However, when she moved to the paper diaper and started clipping his pelvic area (or at least the pelvic area of the aura), he blushed all the way to his roots.  He knew she couldn’t tell any difference – his experience with Buddy feeling his legs when he was Samantha Stormer told him that – but it was still so personal!  Only the fact that his host had planned on doing this kept him from walking out of the room.  At this point, he was beginning to think women were just insane to go through this willingly.

Bernadette again applied the warm wax.  However, this time as she pulled the muslin cloth away, Sam screamed!

The color fled from Al’s face and with a quick, “Sorry, pal,” to Sam, he punched out.

Bernadette seemed surprised.  “You must have really sensitive skin.”  She did the same to the other side of “Karina’s” bikini area and Sam clenched his teeth to hold the scream in.

“Are you finished?” he whined, hope dripping in his voice.

“Almost, just a few stray hairs to get.”

“Um, leave them.  I’ll just shave.”

“Really, less than a minute and everything will be fine.”

Sam figured that after going through this exercise in sheer sadistic torture, he could put up with a final minute.  “Okay.”  His voice was a bit shaky.

Bernadette finished and again put the cooling lotion on the affected part.  “All done.  Would you like some more water before your facial, massage, and paraffin?”

“My what?”

“Your facial, massage, and paraffin.  You reserved those as well.”

“Uh, sure.”  The massage he was sure might be something soothing.  The facial and paraffin, he had no idea.  Seeing that this last beauty treatment had been less than comfortable, he just hoped it would all be over quickly.

Bernadette walked to the door, indicating to Sam he should follow her.  “Let me show you to the lounge.  That’s where Kim will come to get you.”

Sam followed Bernadette out of the room, walking with a definite gait to an open area with a tabletop water fountain, soft sofas, and light soothing music.  He saw there was a tray with a carafe of hot water and herbal teas.  White mugs were available for the tea.  He fixed himself a cup of the herbal tea.

A minute later, Laura was brought to the same area.

“This is so great!  The shoot will be wonderful.  I’m as smooth as a baby’s behind everywhere.  How about you?”  Sam looked at her and wondered how she could be so happy.  Hadn’t she just been through the same torture?  Yeah.  Definitely insane.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” Sam stated honestly, a wounded look on his face.

Laura came over, a little concerned at her friend’s countenance of pain.  “Karina?  Why the sad face?  You said yourself that we should do this so that we’ll look good for the shoot.  You gotta admit it was worth it.”

Sam wasn’t about to admit anything of the kind.  He was just glad that Bernadette could only see the hair on his aura.  The concept that she’d have pulled all his chest hairs out by the roots wasn’t something he would have liked to experience.  He figured that the pain he’d felt today was on par or worse than anything he could remember – and since his memory was so Swiss cheesed at that point, he was thankful he didn’t remember anything that hurt worse.  Misery poured from every pore!

His masseuse, Kim, walked into the lounge and introduced herself, asking him to come with her.  He followed hoping that part two wasn’t going to get any worse.  He was led to a small room that had the lights low and held a massage table in the middle of the room.  Scented candles were burning and the room was filled with the sound of soft, soothing music.

“Just hang your robe over on the hook and crawl under the covers.  We’ll start with the massage and finish with the facial.  Just lay face down.”  After providing the instructions, Kim left the room.

Sam did as he was asked and was waiting with his face in a padded extension from the bed with a hole in the center for him to breathe.  He heard a soft knock on the door and indicated the person on the other side should enter.

Kim walked over to a small table to the side and poured some oil that had been warming in a water bath into her hands.  She rubbed them together and then pulled the top of the blanket down leaving Sam’s shoulders bared.

As Sam felt her hands touch him, he tensed suddenly, concerned as to how his body would react.

Kim felt him tense up and softly said, “Just relax.  Gee, you are really tense!  I feel knots in here that must have been around for years!  When was the last time you had a massage?”

“I don’t remember having one before,” Sam answered.  He mentally forced himself to relax as much as he could. 

Kim tsked softly, “You really should get them regularly.  You’re gonna need to drink lots of water after we’re through here today to get rid of the toxins I’ll be releasing.”  She had found a particularly large knot and was working it for all it was worth.  “Is this too hard?  Let me know if I’m being too rough.”  Sam was about to say something when the knot released with a sharp pain.  But then the pleasure of the relaxation came through and he decided that, from a therapeutic viewpoint: no pain, no gain.  He decided to let her expert hands relax his body as it hadn’t been for quite some time.

Kim continued working the knots on his back and the rest of his posterior.  She was careful not to touch anywhere too personal and by the time she was ready to have him turn over to massage the anterior, he felt he had found the secret road to Nirvana.  She stopped for a moment adjusting something and he suddenly felt steam blowing gently into his face.

Sam had never had a facial.  He felt the softness as the creams were applied amid the light face and head massage.  It was interesting but he found himself drifting off to sleep.  After cucumber slices were applied to his closed eyes, Kim continued the body massage, again deftly avoiding erogenous areas.  Suddenly he felt a very strange feeling as his hands were encased in plastic bags filled with a warm liquid.  He realized suddenly, it must be liquid paraffin.  The bags were sealed and his hands were put into oversized mittens to hold in the heat.  After an unknown amount of time - Sam found he had lost track - Kim cleaned off his face and removed the paraffin from his hands.

“Okay.  You lie there and when you’re ready, come back out to the lounge.  Don’t rush.”  Kim quietly slipped out the door.

Sam felt like his body had been turned into putty.  He didn’t know if he could get up.  He hadn’t felt this level of relaxation for years.  He tried to think of when he’d last felt this way and she was back in his mind, playfully just out of conscious reach.  He remembered, though, that the last time he’d felt this good was after they had made love as she laid in his arms, playing with the hairs on his chest.  If he could remember that, why couldn’t he remember her?

Sam barely heard the Imaging Chamber door open.  He opened one eye and saw Al.

“Sam, I don’t think I’ve seen you this relaxed in a long time.  In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you this relaxed!”

“Al… I’ve been through Hell today and I’ve been through Heaven.  The Heaven is worth it!”  A deep sigh exited the time traveling physicist.

Al looked over to Sam, not wanting to take this pleasure from him but understanding he would want to know the purpose of his leap. “Well, hopefully you’re ready to work again.  Ziggy’s finally figured out what you’re here for.  She says there’s a 94.7 percent probability that you’re here to prevent a heroin overdose by a model named Candice Morrison.”

“When does this happen?”  Sam noticed his newly relaxed muscles starting to tense again.  Damn!  Well, at least it isn’t as bad as it was before!  He got up and put on the robe.  He took another bottle of Evian off the counter, unscrewed the cap, and drank deeply.

Al checked the handlink again to ascertain the information Sam was requesting.  “It happens on Thursday, after the Lingerie Shoot.”

“Well, maybe I can get to her tonight or tomorrow and finish before the shoot.”  Sam was still in hope that he could still get out of what he still felt was the worst part of the leap, although after the Hell part, he wasn’t too sure.

Al shook his head, continuing to allow his fingers to play on the handlink.  “No such luck, Sam.  She’s on the other side of the world right now, in Thailand .  She’s set to work with you on the Lingerie shoot, but won’t be back until tomorrow night.”

“Then I’ll take care of it then.”  So, he’d have to model the swimsuits.  He figured he could probably get through that, although he really didn’t want to.

Al looked up at him, indicating that wasn’t an option.  “No, Sam.  You’ll be in sunny Zihuatenaho/Ixtapa for the Swimsuit shoot.  You leave early tomorrow morning for a late afternoon shoot.  Then you finish the shoot Wednesday morning.  You won’t be back to New York City until late Wednesday night.”

Sam’s head tilted.  “Where’s Zihuatenaho/Ixtapa?”

“Pacific coast of Mexico , about 50 miles north of Acapulco ,” the hologram spouted off.

“Oh.  I don’t think I’ve ever been to Mexico on a leap before.  I seem to remember going there with…damn!  I still can’t remember her name!”  Sam looked at Al, a deep questioning look in his eyes.  “Al, do you remember if I’ve ever been in love?”

“Many times, Sam.  Several leaps.”

“No.  I mean in my life back at the project.”

Al looked at his friend and followed the drill.  “Uh, Sam.  You know I can’t tell you that.”

Sam turned and started to pace.  “You know, that excuse is getting really old!  I’ve been leaping…how many years now?  I know you’ve told me things before.  I can’t remember what at the moment, but I know you’ve broken that particular rule before.  Why not now!”  Sam said this last, his eyes holding the request in his eyes.  He was begging Al to tell him.

Al looked down at the handlink.  Sam was right, of course.  In the years since he’d stepped into that Accelerator, Al had played his role in many ways.  It was always difficult to see his friend struggling like this.  He was always struggling with something, usually leap related but sometimes, like now, it was his trying to regain something he had lost from that life he’d left behind the night he’d stepped into the accelerator.

Oh, Sammy!  I miss that life too!  Back when we just had to worry about getting funding and building your dream!  Going to the pub afterwards for a cold beer!  Having the chance to really talk about things. Yeah, Al missed that, but he couldn’t honestly say he would turn back the clock.  If he did, he wouldn’t have Beth, or his daughters, or his grandchildren.  They wouldn’t be with him if not for the man standing in front of him almost a year and a half in the past.

Al took a deep breath.  He paused a moment and then answered, sadly, “Sam, there are reasons I can’t tell you.  Some of the reasons have to do with promises I’ve made and not just to you.  You’re asking me to ignore my integrity.  But if you really push it….”  Al faltered a minute.  No one but this man could get him to say what he was going to say next.  “…I’ll tell you.”

Sam looked dejected.  He knew he couldn’t ask Al to do that.  “No, Al, I’d never ask you to compromise yourself.  You’re my friend and that means way too much to me.  I guess if I need to remember it someday, I will.”  He simply looked down for a moment and then raised his eyes to Al once more.  “But if there is someone back there for me, let them know that somehow, my love for them is as strong as ever.  Even though I can’t remember them.”

Al wished at that moment he could put his arm around his friend’s shoulders.  Donna would be thrilled to hear Sam’s declaration of love for her, even though she would know it wasn’t all it could be.  Since leaving the project, as Sam had asked her, to work on the entangled particles project in Albuquerque , she’d felt somewhat worried that her not being there would somehow be detrimental to Sam.  Al had found just the opposite to be true.  Since Donna had left, his memory of her seemed to come to the fore even more. 

Al nodded. “Yeah, Sam.  If there’s anyone here that needs to hear that, I’ll let them know.”  He figured he could extend those words to Stephen and eventually Sammie Jo as well, when she, Daniel, and Isabella returned from their trip to Hawaii .

Another soft knock came from the door.  “Are you okay in there?”

Sam realized that he and Al had been in the room for quite sometime.  Kim probably thought something had happened to him.  He answered, “Yeah, I fell asleep but I was just about to come out.”  He turned to Al.  “Go back and see if you can get more specific information on the heroin overdose.  I’ll need to know exactly when, where, and how.”

After Al nodded and left, Sam grabbed another Evian and opened the door.  Kim nodded at the water.  “Good… make sure you drink a lot of water.  We did quite a bit of body work!”

Sam gave her one of the lopsided Beckett grins and then went into the hub where Laura was waiting for him, already dressed.  Sam went back to the closet where his clothes were and changed back into them.  He and Laura went to the front desk to finish the financial arrangements.  Sam made sure that both Bernadette and Kim got handsome tips.  While his time with Bernadette had been the single most horrific experience he could remember and his time with Kim was akin to the feeling he had after incredible sex, both of them had been fully professional and had done their jobs admirably.

But he told himself he would try to remember this waxing thing and if ever a host wanted to do it again, he swore he’d do everything in his power to avoid it.  Massages on the other hand…

PART FOUR

September 15, 2006

Ectasy 91 Spa

New York City , NY

Once they’d paid, Sam turned to Laura, “Done.  Where’s this Sushi Restaurant again?”

“It’s over on West 57th.”  She gave him an odd look.  “We were just there.  You sure your head is okay?”

“Yeah.  Let’s go.  I’m famished.”  Sam suddenly realized that he truly was famished.  He hoped he’d be able to get some tempura at the restaurant too.

They hailed a cab and arrived at the restaurant, finding a line, which meant a twenty-minute wait.  Although Sam was really hungry and didn’t want to wait that long, Laura convinced him they should.  The wait turned out to be a bit shorter.  When they were seated, Sam picked up the menu to scan his choices.  Laura looked at him wide eyed.

“You’re going to order something off the menu?  I thought we were going to share the Vegetable Kushiyaki.”  The woman seemed shocked. 

Sam couldn’t understand why.  He was just looking at the menu.  He noticed that what she was referring to was listed as an appetizer for two.  “Well, we are.  But, I’m really pretty hungry so I thought I’d get some tempura too.”

Laura shook her head.  “You do and you’ll just throw up again.  You know you can’t stomach that fried food.”

“Uh, yeah.”  He figured his host probably didn’t eat a lot of fried foods.  “I guess I could go for the sukiyaki.”

Laura looked at him again with sheer confusion plastered on her face.  “Karina, what are you doing?  You never eat more than an appetizer without throwing up.  Why do you want to do that to yourself?”

Sam’s medical training started to kick in.  Either my host has severe gastroenteritis or she’s got an eating disorder.  I’ll have Al look into it. If it was the first, he could leave medical treatment information and get an appointment set up with a specialist.  If it were the latter… well, he’d cross that bridge when he got to it.  Sam hoped that Al would return soon.  He really needed to check on these possibilities.

In the meantime, he at least needed to eat what he could.  “All right, Laura, just the kushiyaki.”  They ordered the appetizer with hot tea.

When the food came to the table, it was all Sam could do not to wolf down the relatively meager fare.  He took his cues from Laura, watching her mix wasabi with soy sauce slowly and deliberately like it was a ritual of grave importance.  She arranged her plate several times, breaking up the kushiyaki and making sure each sushi piece was exactly placed.  She then picked up her first piece and nibbled at it a bit.

Sam realized that he was going to be making a meal of something that at best would be a tease to his growling stomach.  By eating the way Laura was, they would be at the restaurant at least an hour!

Sam wondered, Is this how they do it?  Stretching time, convincing themselves that a tiny amount of food was enough to sustain life? Sam thought back to what he’d seen that day.  Several of the models at the Wang show looked relatively healthy, but many looked like they starved themselves on a regular basis.  He knew that anorexia and bulimia ran rampant through this business.

The two continued to eat the food on their plates.  Finally, Sam decided that this just wouldn’t do.  “I don’t know Laura, for some reason I really am feeling hungrier than usual.  I think I’ll be okay if I order some other food too.  Maybe a noodle bowl.”