PRELUDE

"Do you see anything yet?" 

"Nope, sure don’t, Mitchell." 

The black and white patrol car crawled down the alley. The officers inside weren’t sure about what they were seeking but searched anyway. The call came from an elderly woman who resided in an apartment above the alleyway. She claimed she heard screaming and crying coming from what sounded to be a young woman, so she decided to call the police. 

David Mitchell, the newest recruit, scanned the right side of the alley, while Officer Jacob Hendson searched the left. Mitchell clicked his tongue disapprovingly as he rolled his eyes. "Hendson, there’s nothing here. It was probably some kids having some fun." 

"Maybe." Hendson replied dryly. He knew Mitchell wanted to be where the action was, but disturbance calls were a part of their job. He continued to inch the car down the alley. The headlights gave little light in front of them so he reached for his flashlight to shed light on the boxes they passed. He had a sneaking suspicion that they would come across something. Call it a sixth sense or a gut feeling; but he knew something was wrong. He had the same feeling when his daughter totaled her car last month. 

He squinted out into the darkness beyond his flashlight searchingly and he stopped the car suddenly. He’d found it. He was staring at a white tennis shoe. It was laying on its side splattered with blood. That in itself wouldn’t have bothered him, but it was still attached to the person that it belonged to. "Oh god." He picked up the mike and said, "Possible assaulted victim in alley between Elm and Ash Grove. Ambulance requested." 

"10-4." A female voice responded to his call. 

"Come on." As Hendson opened the car door, he saw the tennis shoe slightly move. He kept his flashlight on the shoe as he approached the victim and removed his gun from his holster as he approached. He was aware of Mitchell behind him from the sound of his breathing. He moved the flashlight up the body. He heard a muffled sob and turned to find Mitchell ducking his head across the alley to become violently ill. 

He returned the light to the victim. He swallowed hard tying to control his own stomach. Before him lay a young lady – laying half on her side, half on her back. Blood covered her body. The cause was from two deep slashes on her face – each gash went diagonally from her hairline to her chin. 

Assessing the situation, Hendson quickly went to his patrol car and grabbed the first aid kit from the trunk. He returned to her, gently picked her up and placed her in the light that came from the headlights. His fingers slipped on her slick flesh as he searched desperately for the throbbing artery in her neck. He could feel a faint beat, so he went to work on stopping the bleeding. He looked at the first aid kit and frowned. He knew that he didn’t have the proper supplies in there for an injury this severe. Knowing that he had to do something so she wouldn’t bleed to death, he opened the first aid kit, picked up the gauze compress and applied it to the cuts on her face. "Mitchell," he called out. "I need your help to stop the bleeding." 

"Can’t," a sob replied. 

"Get your ass over here. This girl needs your help." Hendson demanded. 

A physical change came over Mitchell as Dr. Samuel Beckett leapt into his aura and Jacob Mitchell leapt out. Sam straightened himself up as he heard the other officer call to him. 

"At least check the damn alley. God knows that bastard could still be here." 

"Oh boy." He whispered. Both the facts that the officer had called him and he wasn’t particularly pleased at what he was looking at, brought Sam back up on his feet. Even though his stomach was still flipping from looking at Mitchell’s lunch, his mind wouldn’t let him concentrate on it. He swept his gun up and began to slowly make his way down the alley. His nerves now finally tuned as he saw a movement to the left of him. He lowered his gun on the movement and his arms betrayed him. They began to shake from all of the adrenaline in his system. Using his other arm to steady him, he moved forward. He moved and it moved and he took his aim and yelled, "Freeze!". The noise resounded in the alleyway making Hendson jump. He turned his head to see what was happening but couldn’t tell what was going on. 

"Everything okay?" he called out. 

Sam held his ground and so did the movement until he moved again. Frowning, he moved his hand up to run his hand through his hair and saw the movement do the same. Realizing he was after his own shadow like Peter Pan, he frowned and he headed back, still on edge, knowing that someone could still be around. As he turned, he missed seeing the long shadow that slowly disappeared around the corner. 

"Well?" Hendson asked when Sam got back up to him. 

"It was nothing. No one else is here, I don’t think." It was then that the doctor in him took control. "No, you need to hold the compress this way on a cut like this." 

Hendson focused back on his patient as he changed the way he was holding the compress. Her eyes opened slowly. They didn’t stay open long, but she managed to say a few words. "Dad, help me." 

"Oh god." Hendson responded with hot tears filling his eyes. He knew that it wasn’t his flesh-in-blood daughter before him, but she was someone just as close. Someone who came into his life three years ago and he considered her as a daughter. His face rose as he looked up into the night sky. "Why?" He looked back down at the young woman once more. "Why did it have to be Cassandra?" 

Even as the ambulance pulled into the alleyway, a warm enveloping feeling encircled Sam, warming him from the inside out. He sighed when he saw the paramedics arrive and he leapt.

 **********************************

 Quantum Leaping through time, I’ve leapt into situations where instincts led me to my outcome. Without even contemplating about the newest situation I was in, I relied on my instincts on this one. 
 

His first sensations after a leap usually left him with a sense of confusion. At least this time it wasn’t confusion that found him. He knew at least he was lying down. He opened his eyes. 

It was dark; almost pitch black. The only thing that cast any light was a digital clock that was approximately two feet away on a bedside table. It read: 1:30. It had a dot beside the time indicating in the morning. 

He immediately gazed up toward the ceiling with a sigh. "Thank you." It was the first time to leap into a person where he could rest beforehand. It was not only a welcoming feeling, it was a joyous one. He laid his head back down on the pillow, and snuggled down on the mattress. "Oh boy." He then closed his eyes, sighed once more and slept.
 

PART ONE

Stallions Gate, New Mexico

March 25, 1999
 

Ex-Rear Admiral Albert Calavicci, however, wasn’t able to sleep. He was just about to fall asleep with Beth resting comfortably in his arms when Ziggy announced throughout the project that Dr. Samuel Beckett had leapt yet again. Growling more to himself than to anyone else, Al rose from his bed, stood, grabbed his purple polka-dotted robe and headed toward Central Control. 

He glanced at his watch. It read: twelve thirty. He rubbed his face and yawned tiredly. ' Why couldn’t Sam leap at a normal time,' he wondered as he nodded at those he passed in the corridors. He could be in bed right now, comfy cozy with his beautiful wife laying beside him, both of them curled up like a spoon against the other. He smiled at the thought as he continued his way down the corridor.

The corridors, the Admiral walked, were underground in a cavern in the middle of New Mexico. He was the Head Coordinator in the Project code named Quantum Leap; a project that had gone a little off kilter. The project was made with one objective in mind - to observe the past. They achieved more than that; Dr. Samuel Beckett was now trapped in time, leaping from person to person, putting right what was wrong in their lives.

The Central Control Room, in which Admiral Calavicci headed, was in the center of the cavern. It was the room that housed the parallel hybrid neuro-computer’s motherboard. It was a large table made of translucent, multicolored cubes. It looked more like something a child would make with a bunch of leggos let alone a computer that had the intelligence to think on it’s own.

The Admiral entered the oval room. Around the perimeter of the room, men in white coats moved back and forth, exchanging worried looks. None of them spared a glance at Al. He frowned; something was up.

Chewing his lip, he went toward the Waiting Room. The Waiting Room was where the people Sam replaced came – their visitors. He waved his hand over the circuitry box and the door before him slid upward. Yawning, he stepped inside and the door slid down behind him like a slow guillotine.

The Waiting Room was a high-ceilinged room with an observation deck high on one wall, reachable by a small flight of stairs. The windows of the observation deck jutted out giving an un-obstructional view of the room below.

The room contained only one bed.

On the bed sat a figure. The figure was that of Dr. Samuel John Beckett; yet inside that figure sat another person frightened beyond belief. The physical shell of Sam Beckett appeared to be in his early forties; physically fit, but not thickly muscled. Honest green eyes glanced around the room. A shaky hand came up to brush the only gray strands back into light brown hair. When Al stepped into the room, his eyes came to rest on him. 

Al shifted his weight slightly as he watched Samantha Josephine Fuller descend the stairs across the room. She carried a drink for their newest visitor. He began to approach the bed only after Samantha was already present.

"Th… thank you." His green eyes flicked between her and the older man. He frowned as he gazed at the older man before him.

The man before him was of medium height, had a lean body and a dark complexion. His dark brown eyes glanced back at him as one bushy eyebrow raised curiously. He wore a purple polka dotted robe and was barefoot.

"Can you tell me your name?" Samantha asked, her voice soft and quiet, with a hint of a Southern accent.

Again, he divided a perplexed glance between them. "I’m…I’m Beau," he said slowly. "Who’re you?"

"My name is Sammy Jo." She gave a quick glance toward Al. "This is Admiral Calavicci. You’re perfectly safe, Beau. Just relax."

"Admiral?" He questioned and glanced around the room once more. "Where am I? How’d I get here?"

Al opened his mouth as if to answer those questions but Sammy Jo beat him to it. "Listen to me, Beau." Beau was still looking around the room. "Beau?" Sammy Jo called again to gain his attention. He looked at her warily. "Beau, you are safe. No one here is going to harm you, but we need to get some information from you. Do you think you could help us?"

Frowning, Beau asked, "What kind of information?"

"Can you give me your last name?" She asked mildly knowing that their visitor may not remember anything. The leaping process blotched the memories leaving a Swiss-cheese affect on the leapee; there were something’s that they just could not remember.

"Sure. It’s . . ." Beau’s gaze flickered helplessly between the two yet again. "It’s . . ." Fear began to enter his eyes. "Why can’t I remember my last name?"

"Shhhh. You’re okay." Sammy Jo responded and laid her hand on his arm. "It’s all right." 

Al stepped back. He watched amazed as Sammy Jo calmed him down and continued on. It marveled him to watch her with their visitors. "What day were you born?"

"If I can’t tell you my last name, I can’t tell you the day I was born," Beau stated dramatically.

"It’s amazing what the brain can do," Sammy Jo stated. "Think, what day were you born?"

Beau closed his eyes, then opened them amazed. "June 23, 1963."

"That’s good. June 23, 1963. Can you tell me what town you live in?"

"I can’t... wait... Morgan," he faltered.

"You live in Morgan?" she questioned.

"No, that’s my last name. Beau Morgan."

Al grinned. He was truly amazed at what the mind can do. He made a slight wave to Sammy Jo. She excused herself then followed Al away from the bed. "That’s all Ziggy needs to get started on the data for Sam. You keep at it. I’m going back to bed."

Sammy Jo grinned. "You know, Admiral, I was going to suggest you do just that. You look really tired," she stated as she glanced at the circles under his eyes. "Goodnight, Admiral Calavicci." 

"Goodnight, Sammy Jo." Al glanced behind her to Sam’s figure. "Beau." He gave a slight wave then left the Waiting Room.

Just outside the door, he stopped. He wanted to make sure Ziggy was doing her job. "Ziggy?" he asked as he approached the multicolored table in the middle of the room.

"Yes?" It drawled back a response. The giant blue-silver globe above the table shimmered erratically. 

"Did you…" Al began.

"Overhear the conversation with Beau Morgan and Samantha?" the neuro-computer finished his question and then answered it for him. "Certainly, Admiral. I see and hear just about everything in the project. I have all ready prepared some data for Dr. Beckett."

Al’s bushy eyebrows raised curiously and he waited. When there was no response, he said, "Well?"

"Beau Morgan, born June 23, 1963 at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas where his parents reside. He is twenty-two years old and is a college student at the University of Houston. And from what he just told Samantha, it is his summer vacation at home." Ziggy stopped for a moment and her tone changed dramatically from data oriented to a more personal tone. "Admiral, Samantha is correct. You do appear to be fatigued. You really should get more than five hours of sleep a night."

"Thank you, Ziggy. If you don’t mind, I’ll try to get some sleep now." As he turned to walk out of Central Control, he glanced at the men around the perimeter of the room once again. Their faces were no longer worried. Whatever the problem was, it was taken care of. As he began to walk down the corridor, he heard Ziggy say goodnight.

********************

Al woke a few hours later feeling completely exhilarated.

He woke to find Beth in his arms. He hugged her warmly and kissed the nape of her neck. She sighed in her sleep as Al slowly moved away from her. He knew that Sam would be wondering where he was, and he didn’t want his best friend to be worried. He took one last look at Beth as he regrettably got out of bed to get dressed. 

He picked out a long-sleeved black shirt, a pair of black slacks, and his favorite multicolored shoes. Once dressed, he grabbed the handlink that was on his desk by the door. He turned back to Beth and blew her a kiss then left.

His walk to the Control Room this morning seemed quicker than it did last night. He was definitely in better spirits than he was last night. He was about to open the door to Central Control when he heard his name called. He turned to see Dr. Verbena Beeks standing outside of her office. "Yes?"

"Al, you need to take a look at something." Verbena waited until Al was at her door before turning to return inside. He followed her inside and planted his feet firmly. 

"Well?" He asked.

"It’s the security tape that was going last night in the Waiting Room. I think that you’ll find this quite interesting." Verbena pushed play on the video recorder and let Al look at the television screen. 

He saw Dr. Beckett’s body walking in a small circle with the tip of his thumb in his mouth. "That’s Laura Beauchamp, there." Verbena stated. "But watch." There was a moment where Dr. Beckett’s body paused. He then stumbled around and landed on his knees. He hugged his abdomen and began to cough and dry heave where he fell. He began to rock back and forth on his heels. What Al heard next sent a shiver down his spine. "So much blood. I can’t help. So much blood." Dr. Beckett’s body then lowered himself down to the floor hugging himself as he curled into a fetal position. There was another pause that Al could see and then Dr. Beckett’s body stretched out as if in deep slumber then slowly awaken.

"What in the hell was that?"

"That’s what I’d like to know, Al. Ziggy told us twice last night that Dr. Beckett had leapt but Gooshie said it was a malfunction. But after talking with Ziggy this morning already she confirmed that yes, Dr. Beckett had leapt twice last night." Verbena looked at Al concerned. "I don’t know, Al. I don’t like this. Sam leaping into someone so quick that he won’t know what to do. I’m afraid for him, Al."

Al gave her a wary look. It wasn’t that often that Verbena verbally told Al her fears. It was only when Sam was in danger that she usually told him. Al mentally reviewed last night and this latest bit of information again. He rewound the tape and played it once more to reevaluate his actions. Pursing his lips, he placed a reassuring hand on Verbena’s shoulder then left her office.

Al headed back toward Central Control. His mind flooded with questions. Wherever Sam had leapt first someone was hurt badly enough that someone had retched. Was Sam hurt? If he wasn’t, who was? What had happened? Why had it happened? When he saw the multicolored control board he was very irritated that he wasn’t informed of the previous leap.

"Ziggy!" he barked.

"Yessss?" she purred.

"I need all the information you have on Dr. Beckett’s last leap."

"I have already given all the information on Laura Beauchamp and Carolyn Leslie, Admiral. Do you require a hard copy for reference?" It was plain to Al that Ziggy was a bit put out.

Al tried to control his temper. He took a deep breath then said, "I don’t require a hard copy of Laura Beauchamp or Carolyn Leslie. I want to know of the leap after Laura and Leslie and before Beau Morgan."

There was a definite pause from the computer. The pause was long enough that it could have been inferred as a sigh. "I can not give you the information you request, Admiral." 

"And just why not?" Al asked through clenched teeth. "I need to know how it fits into Sam’s current leap, if any."

"I cannot give you the data you have requested because no one gave any data during the particular time that you are requesting. I am sorry, Admiral Calavicci."

Al slammed his hand to his forehead and ran his hand down his face. "Fine." He took a deep cleansing breath. "Then at least continue checking out Beau’s background. Let’s try to figure out why Sam’s here, shall we?"
 

Part 2

Still curled on his side, Sam Beckett was asleep, his mouth slightly open and his breathing still deep and regular. Slowly, though, he rolled onto his back as he began to wake. He became aware of something on the bed with him. It slowly came up the length of his body then crept up onto his chest. It made a circle on his chest then sat looking at him. Sam softly moaned in his sleep. It responded to the moan with a rough sandpaper lick on Sam’s chin.

Sam opened his eyes quickly to find a small Siamese kitten on his chest. It cocked it’s head to the side looking at Sam. Sam grinned and gently began to pet the kitten. In response to the love it received, the kitten began kneading Sam’s chest with it’s sharp claws. Sam quickly placed the kitten to the side and rubbed his chest gently. The kitten hesitated only a moment before climbing back onto Sam.

"Stubborn little cuss," he muttered, as he put the kitten to the side again and turned back onto his side. 

The kitten, however, would not be dismissed. It walked around Sam’s feet and made it’s way up Sam’s body again. Its movement were slow and methodical. The movement stopped. Curious, Sam opened his eyes. He sat eye to eye with the fur ball. Knowing now that he wasn’t going to get any sleep with it around, he began petting it once more.

Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings. He found himself in a rather large room. To his right was a nightstand with a reading lamp and a clock. Not too far from that placed on the side of the wall, two chest of drawers stood with a closet in between them. On the wall in front of him, the door to his room stood open. Not but a few feet away from the door, a large handcrafted oak desk sat with an elaborate computer system on top. The whole left side of the room held a complete entertainment system and exercise equipment. The walls themselves held few pictures, one of a family (supposedly his host’s family), one of a mountain stream and one of a beautiful long black haired lady (possibly a girlfriend). 

He sat up in bed and took in a deep breath. He looked at the clock. It read ten forty-five. He blinked at it surprised. He never slept late. To an Indiana farm boy to sleep late was a sin. Yet, this Indiana farm boy was traveling through time, and he needed his rest. He stretched out his arms, yawned, and climbed out of bed.

He meandered over to the chest of drawers and searched for something to wear. He pulled out a dark blue tee-shirt and a pair of black denim shorts. As he opened the top drawer to find a pair of socks, he spied a letter propped up by one of his host’s trophies. The only thing written on the envelope was a name: Beau. 

Curious, he picked up the envelope and carried it with him to the bed. He hurriedly dressed, sat and picked up the letter once more. On inspection, he found that the lapel of the envelope was placed inside – it wasn’t sealed. He opened it. He found a letter and an antique diamond ring. Frowning slightly, he took out the letter, unfolded it and began reading it.

It read:
 

Beau,

By the time you read this you’ll be on your summer vacation. I hate that I have to do it this way, but I think it’s for the best. I’m terribly sorry but I can’t marry you.

With you at U of H, I’ve had time to think about things. Long distance relationships are difficult and they become more difficult when you’ve met another person as I have.

I know that I’m hurting you, but I am terribly sorry. I hope that you’ll find it in your heart to someday forgive me. I think it would be best if you accept this and not try to see me again. It would hurt too much. I am truly sorry.

                                                                        Kassaundra

Sam’s frown deepened as he realized what he was here to do, to get Beau and Kassaundra back together. He glanced at the letter once more. ‘Another person. This may be difficult,’ he thought. He picked up the engagement ring and sighed. "Oh boy."

Placing the ring and letter on the nightstand, he stood to start making the bed. The kitten, feeling playful, began swatting and pouncing on the sheets as they moved around it. Sam grinned and picked up the kitten wondering what its name was.

From behind him, he heard the Imaging Chamber door open and close. He turned around surprised and pleased to see his holographic friend.

"Hi Sam," Al began punching the hand link as he spoke. Sam had learned to read Al’s colorful ensembles over the years, but what he wore was unusually restrained; somber even. Sam took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst.

"What’s wrong?"

The question startled Al and his eyes darted between the hand link and his friend. "Oh, uh, nothing, unless you know something I don’t." Seeing the kitten in Sam’s hands, he said, "Cute cat."

"Nothing?" Sam repeated ignoring his comment about the kitten. "You stand there looking gloomy and foreboding and I’m suppose to think nothing’s wrong?"

Al glanced at his clothes. "Oh, this? I just didn’t feel colorful, that’s all. Haven’t had a lot of sleep lately, you know, with everything going on," Al said evasively.

"Oh," Sam replied impishly.

Al continued to access Ziggy through the hand link. "Let’s see, you’ve leapt into Temple, Texas. It’s May 31, 1985. You’re Beau Morgan. You’re a twenty-two years old and a student at the University of Houston where you have a scholarship for your entire college career. Impressive." 

"Does Ziggy know why I’m here?"

Al waved his hand fleetingly. "Doesn’t have a clue."

"I think I know why," Sam responded. He reached over and grabbed the letter as he placed the kitten down. "I found this on the dresser." He opened it as he explained the jest of the letter. "It’s a note from Kassaundra, his fiancée. She broke their engagement because she found someone new. I bet, I’m suppose to get them back together."

Al programmed the suggested outcome to Ziggy. The hand link blinked back the percentage to that outcome. "A ninety-one percent probability. Ziggy says that Beau ended up a lonely, bitter man. He must have just accepted it. Guess in a way he just thought that they weren’t meant to be together."

Sam placed the letter back in the envelope. "I’m not going to let that happen."

"Let what happen?" a voice questioned.

Both hologram and leaper turned toward the door. A young woman stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Sam’s mouth sagged as he looked at her. Wearing only a gray sports bra and spandex shorts, both could see her lean, muscular body. She had long black hair, a model’s face and beautiful green eyes.

Realizing what he was doing, Sam looked away and asked, "What?"
     "Woooow," Al breathed as he moved closer to her.

"Let what happen?" she repeated.

"Oh, uh, I found this on my dresser." He held out the envelope to her as she entered the room. 

Her face fell as she read it. She went to him, sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Beau, I’m so sorry."

"Honey, you’re hugging the wrong man," Al moaned. While in the embrace, Sam mouthed who is she to Al. He shrugged his shoulders then consulted Ziggy. "This is Isabeau Morgan. She’s your fraternal twin sister."

She released Sam and sat back on the bed as she picked up the kitten. "I knew this would happen. I don’t mean to say I told you so, but…" She let her sentence fade.

"I told you so." Sam finished her sentence for her. 

Isabeau flinched even as he said the words. "I’m sorry, Beau. I really am."

Sam nodded not responding.

"Mom still has some breakfast saved for you. She knew you’d sleep late your first day home. It’s in the stove." She placed the kitten on the floor and stood. "Gotta go. Eric is taking me to the gym." She walked to the door then stopped, and turned to him once more. "I really am sorry." She glanced down at the kitten who nuzzled on Sam’s feet. "Come on, Al, I’ll feed you before I leave."

Both the kitten and Al perked at their name being called. Sam felt the laughter coming up inside him. He caught it in his throat, making only a choked sound: "Ummph."

Isabeau had left the room and they could hear the calling of "here, kitty-kitty" only to watch as the kitten raced out of the room. Al turned to Sam who sat smiling. "Don’t." He pointed a finger toward him. "Just don’t."

Sam stifled his laughter then questioned, "Do know anything about Kassaundra?"

Al punched an inquiry to the hand link, his eyebrows raised in interest. "Her name is Kassaundra Wellington. She was Beau’s girlfriend through high school. They were engaged to be married after they graduated from college. But that’s all we got …" The hand link squealed loudly. Al’s bushy eyebrows knitted together from the data he saw. "Ziggy found a news article in the Temple paper. It says that Kassaundra Wellington was mugged January 30, 1985 and was severely cut and found by police in an alley. She was rushed to Scott and White and she was in stable condition."

"I wonder if Beau knows about it."

"No data."

"But she’s okay, right?"

Al questioned Ziggy. "Oh yeah, obviously she’s fine or she wouldn’t have found someone else, now would she?" Al placed the hand link in his pocket. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"I’m not sure, Al. Guess I should go see her."

*******************

Beau slowly woke. He stretched his limbs and relaxed again wondering if he could return to sleep. He had the strangest dream. An attractive brunette named Sammy Jo had been asking him questions about himself and there were things he just couldn’t remember. Ridiculous. He grinned as he opened his eyes.

His grin faded as he saw the familiar high blue ceiling. It wasn’t a dream. He sat up quickly feeling fully awake. He glanced around the room. He was alone. H nervously licked his lips and took a better look around the room.

On closer observation, the only other object in the room was a rectangular frame with leaned against the far wall by the flight of stairs. Curious as it what it was, he stood and made his way to the stairway. He glanced around fleetingly. He wasn’t sure what was going on, wherever he was, but he was going to be wary of others.

He studied the rectangular frame. He knew that what he was looking at was the back of a picture or mirror. Mirror? He quickly turned it around and leaned it up against the wall. A mirror. ‘Why would they keep a mirror in this room?’ he thought to himself as he glanced at the image in the mirror. 

He blinked unbelievingly. The image he saw in the mirror wasn’t his own. The image was of an older man, somewhere in his early forties with brown hair and green eyes. He shook his head slowly, and the image mimicked him. "Oh shit." He ran his hand through his hair and again the image mirrored him. "Sammy Jo!" He took a few steps backward, stumbled and fell on his rear.

Sammy Jo raced down the stairway and went to his aid. Instead of helping him up, however, he pulled her down to him.

"What in the hell is going on here? You told me I’d be safe." His glance flickered from the woman he held to the mirror. The older man’s image was still present. "That is suppose to be me in that mirror not… not him."

"Beau, listen to me. You are in a delicate situation."

"Delicate?" he questioned sarcastically as his grip tightened. "Yeah, I guess you can say that."

"Please, Beau, you’re hurting me. Please, let go." He released his hold slightly but still held her. "Listen, what I’m about to tell you is going to sound far fetched but it is the Gods honest truth. Okay?" He nodded mutely. "All right. You’re in a time travel experiment that has gone a little out of kilter. You have been . . ."

"Wait. Did you say time travel? Time travel as in H. G. Wells type of thing?"

"Not quite." Sammy Jo sighed. Usually Verbena handled the explanation if they had to come to that point. But with Verbena away for the next hour, Sammy Jo knew that she was going to have to explain the situation in a calm, rational manner. "If you can remember, H. G. Wells wrote of a man making an actual time machine that he rode. In our quantum physics experiment, a good friend of ours got trapped in time. The result is that you’ve switched places."

"Wait." Beau said as he raised his hand to her. "Switched places? What do you mean? He’s in my body and I’m in his?" He had seen movies where the characters had switched places and had made messes out of each other’s lives and had learned a lesson from it. But this? This wasn’t a movie. The image in the mirror proved that to him. He stole a glance to the man in the mirror. ‘Would he make a mess of my life,’ he thought.

Knowing that talking about auras and the quantum leaping process would probably get all jumbled in his mind, Sammy Jo just let it go. "Well, uh, yes," Sammy Jo replied not knowing exactly how he would react. "He has to take care of a few things. Once he does that, you’ll switch back and you probably won’t remember anything about it." Of course, she wasn’t quite sure of that last part, but she had remembered the Admiral saying it before to one of their visitors.

"What things?"

Sammy Jo began to feel the pressure that she was sure the Admiral felt at all times. She slumped just a little as she said, "I don’t know. We’re trying to figure that out. That’s why I was asking you questions last night. We needed information from you."

"And once you figure it out and he does whatever he needs to do, I’ll switch back. Right?" Sammy Jo nodded. "And when I switch back everything will be fine, right?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. "Not always, but mostly everything goes back okay. Usually, it’s better than it was before."

Better than it was before. Beau let go of Sammy Jo and sat back. How could this be? Switching places, time travel? It all sounded preposterous but the evidence of the reality stared back at him from the mirror.

"Well, who’s he?" he asked looking at the older man in the mirror.

"That I, uh, I can’t tell you." Beau turned to Sammy Jo as he raised his eyebrow curiously. "If we succeed in getting you back, you may remember."

Beau chewed on his lower lip wonderingly. He was stuck in the man’s body and this older man was stuck in his body. The only way to restore things to normal is to answer questions they ask. ‘If they need information,’ he thought, ‘what harm could it do?’

His gaze went to the image in the mirror. He closed his eyes and sighed only to turn back to Sammy Jo. "Look, I want to get back home, so, uh, I’ll do the best I can to remember."

"That’s all we’re asking, Beau." Sammy Jo placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and gave a slight grin. "That’s all we’re asking."

Part 3

Sam wandered down the stairs to the kitchen with Al in tow. He looked in the oven and pulled out the plate Beau’s mother had made for him: eggs, bacon and toast. Al watched in agony as Sam began to eat.

"Being a hologram is horrible. I never get to eat anything that’s been home cooked," Al moaned.

"Hmmm." Sam began. "Al, what do you think I should do about Kassaundra."

"You need to get Beau and Kassaundra back together," Al said looking at Sam with a weird look.

Sam’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head slowly. "You know what I mean. How do you think that I should approach her?" Knowing Al’s highly sexual oriented mind, Sam knew he would respond with something sexual. Yet, he was surprised by Al’s response.

"Call her."

Sam’s eyebrows rose as he glanced at Al over his glass of milk. It wasn’t like Al to not get in a sexual innuendo whenever he could. 

"Yeah, give her a call. You could ask her if you could come over and talk, because this isn’t something to yak about over the phone." Al nodded to himself with his lips pursed. He looked at Sam with wisdom.

"Okay," Sam agreed. "I’ll call her." Sam nibbled thoughtfully on his toast and looked at Al. "Al, do you know the last time that they’ve seen each other? That letter had said a long distance relationship. I’m just wondering how long is long?"

Al consulted the handlink. "According to Beau, it sounds like they haven’t seen each other since Christmas. It’s May now. Wow. That’s at least five months of not seeing someone. I bet he was really looking forward to seeing her."

"Yeah. What a way to find out that she doesn’t want to marry him, huh?"

"Yep." Al fell into silence as he thought about the time that he and Beth had almost gotten a divorce. In the first eight years of their marriage, they had only spent two months of it together because of separate assignments. He knew how spending months apart hurt a relationship, but every time that he was able to see her, he was always amazed at how their love grew stronger.

Once finished with his breakfast, Sam took his dishes to the kitchen sink and rinsed them. He then looked up Kassaundra’s telephone number and dialed the number. The phone rang a couple of times. Just as he was about to hang up, someone answered.

"Wellington residence," A male voice answered.

Sam glanced at Al who was eyeing the family’s entertainment center as he said, "May I please speak with Kassaundra?"

"I’ll see if she is available. May I ask who’s calling?"

"Sa…Beau…Beau Morgan." Sam responded. He rolled his eyes at his own remark. They didn’t need to know Beau’s last name, he was almost their son-in-law.

"I’m glad you back, Beau," the voice brightened. "I’ll get Kassaundra. One moment."

"Thanks," Sam said as he heard the phone being set down. He wondered what he should say. Should he sound angry? Sad? What? The only thing he was feeling at the moment was confusion.

"Hello?" a soft angelic voice asked.

"Kassaundra."

"Beau." She sounded very pensive.

"May I come over so we can talk about a few things?" Sam began.

"Sam, you’re being to evasive. If you want to get them back together, you’ve got to be more blunt than that," Al said as he came to his side.

"Look, Kassaundra, I found your letter on my dresser. I would like the chance to see if we could still be together. Please, may I come over?"

"I don’t think that would be wise, Beau," Kassaundra stated anxiously. "There’s really nothing to discuss. What’s done is done."

"What’s done is done?" Sam questioned back amazed. He blinked confused. "This can’t be done, Kassaundra. I …"

"Go on, Sam. Tell her that Beau loves her," Al prodded.

"I love you."

"Beau…" Kassaundra started.

"No. Listen to me. I love you. Please, let me come and see you so we can talk this out. Please."

"I’m sorry, Beau, but there’s nothing to talk about." Sam could hear the choking back of tears in her voice. "I’m sorry. I’ve got to go."

"Kassaundra, wait."

"Goodbye, Beau."

"Kassaundra?" Sam heard the dial tone in his ear and slowly placed the receiver on the hook. "Damn." He grabbed the telephone book and looked up her name again.

"What are you doing, Sam?"

Sam looked at the address beside her name in the book and said, "Going to go win her back."

Al nodded and looked at the handlink in his hand. He pulled up the Imaging Chamber door. "Listen, Sam…I’ll be right back. I need to check on something." Sam nodded as Al stepped back into the Imaging Room and closed the door.

The dilemma of the other leap was still on Al’s mind. He couldn’t quite understand why Sam would leap into to someone’s life for only a few minutes and be able to save them from an untimely death. He just couldn’t comprehend it. He ran his teeth over his bottom lip and went to the Waiting Room.

Once there, he stopped inside the door as he saw Beau sitting on the bed swinging his legs lazily. He looked completely bored and Al approached him with a slight grin. "Hello, Beau."

"Hello, Al. Any progress in getting me home?"

"We’re trying Beau. We really are." Al accessed the handlink wanting to be able to add any information that he could for when he went back to Sam. "All right, Beau. I need you to try to remember something for me." 

"Okay, I’ll try." Beau leaned forward on his knees looking at Al now with interest. 

"Did you know that Kassaundra had been mugged?"

Beau’s face fell. His mouth opened and his eyes blinked dumbfounded at Al. "Kassaundra was mugged? When? By whom? I’ll kill him. I swear to God, I’ll kill him. Did she get hurt?" Beau hopped off of the bed and grabbed on to Al’s arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there, Beau. Kassaundra was mugged back in January. She didn’t tell you in any letters or anything?" 

"No. She didn’t. I don’t know why she didn’t tell me that. She usually confides in me about everything. We tell each other everything, Al. Was she hurt?"

"The police report said that yes she was hurt, but that she’s fine now." 

Beau nodded and sighed as he let go of Al’s arm. He shook his head confused. "I don’t understand, Al. Why didn’t she tell me?"

"I bet that she didn’t want you to worry about her, Beau."

"I guess so." Beau sat back down on the bed with a concerned look on his face.

"Beau, tell me something. If you knew that there was a chance that you could lose Kassaundra to someone else, what would you tell her?"

"Lose Kassaundra?" Beau’s mind went into overdrive. "Are you telling me that this guy," Beau pointed to his body, "has done something to where I’ve lost my relationship with Kassie? Please don’t tell me that, Al."

"I’m not saying that, Beau. Tell me about Kassie."

"She is the most beautiful person there is. Gorgeous dark blue eyes, petite nose, great figure, but that’s not only it, Al. She is the most kindest person, sweetest, loving person around. She has a positive attitude on life. Ya know, I fell in love with her body at first, I mean, who wouldn’t. But, her inner beauty makes her glow. Last November, she went to go to a modeling agency and they said that there was a chance. She’s awesome. I love her. I love her more and more every time I get a letter, or a card. She expresses her love to me in so many ways, Al, it scares me to even think of losing her."

Al thought of Beth back in his quarters as Beau talked. "I do understand what you’re saying Beau." Al took a few steps back toward the door and said, "Thanks Beau. That’s all I needed to know."

******************

Sam pulled Beau’s 1983 dark blue Mustang into the Wellington’s driveway and sat there a moment before turning off the ignition. He knew what he had to do – to get them back on the right track again. He was very nervous as how to handle the situation. Nodding to himself, he opened the car door just as Al popped in beside him, startling him. "Gosh, I really wish you wouldn’t pop in beside me like that," Sam said as he shut the door. 

"When you tell me how to fade in carbon-quartz, then I won’t startle you anymore. You’d think that you’d be used to that by now," Al said with a small grin on his face. 

Sam gave him a sideways glance and shook his head slowly. He looked up at the Wellington household and sighed. As he ambled up the sidewalk to the door, Al briefed Sam on what Beau had just told him in the waiting room. He then rang the doorbell and looked at Al who bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, his hands deep in his pockets.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal a tall, muscular gentleman who looked to be about twenty-seven years old. He positioned himself in the doorway, almost acting as a blockade between Sam and the household itself.

"Beau."

"Ahm…" Sam began as he looked toward Al for help for a name.

"Derrick Wellington," Al said quickly as he accessed the handlink. "He’s Kassaundra’s brother."

"Derrick is Kassaundra home?" 

"Kassaundra doesn’t want to see you, Beau. She just told me that you tried to call her awhile ago. Don’t you get the hint? She doesn’t want to see you." Derrick’s tone turned harsh as if Sam was the one to blame for the relationship failing.

"I need to talk to her. I can’t let her go without even trying to fix whatever needs to be fixed. I can fix this." Sam wasn’t sure what this he was referring to, but he needed to see her to try to fix it.

Derrick smirked at him. "You were the one that found someone else. And you expect her to come running back into your arms after you slept with someone else? I don’t think so. You need to leave."

Sam glanced at Al confused. If this is what happened, this shed new light onto the whole situation. Sam didn’t know what to say. He felt like a jerk as his mind began to run over new information. He glanced down toward the floor his mind going into overdrive trying to desperately think of what he needed to do.

"Sam, Sam, there she is." Al pointed in between Derrick’s massive arms at a figure that was moving in the room. "That’s Kassaundra."

Sam looked around Derrick’s mass to see the slim figure trying to escape the room. Knowing that he probably couldn’t get through Derrick without a fight, he called out to her hoping that hearing Beau’s voice in the doorway would stop her. "Kassaundra, please. Talk with me."

"Don’t you get it?" Derrick asked shifting his body weight to where Sam couldn’t see Kassaundra anymore. "You’ve hurt her enough. Go home, Beau."

Sam found a newfound determination. "Move, Derrick."

Derrick’s head bobbed back surprised at Beau’s change in attitude. He smirked again as he took a step toward Sam intending for his size alone to rid himself of this pest. Sam took a step back as well knowing that he was going to have to do whatever it took so that he could see her. He mentally prepared himself for the oncoming fight.

"Come on, Sam, give him a flying noodle kick and go and talk to Kassaundra," Al responded as he glanced inside to see her look toward the door. 

"The fight’s not with you, Derrick," Sam said as he held his ground making sure that he was still in sight of the doorway. He knew now how he’d get to see Kassaundra, and he wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

Derrick stepped up just as he reared back with his right hand. He swung with a force that felt like a sledge hammer as it hit Sam’s head popping it back. Sam staggered from the blow and shook his head trying to fight off the dizzy spell that was overtaking him. "Well, it is now." 

"Sam! What are you doing?" Al said in complete confusion. He turned away from the door and went to Sam. "Hit him and go talk with her."

Sam looked at Al just as Derrick’s fist came up again and slammed into his jaw, making him crumble on the sidewalk. Al’s mouth fell open. "That wasn’t fair! You weren’t looking at him, Sam. Come on, get up and fight this nozzle!" In his hand, the handlink squealed. Al looked down and begins to read the information it is giving to him.

"Stop it!" A feminine voice says from the doorway. "Derrick, stop it."

Derrick turns and goes to her quickly. "Kassie… go back inside. I’ve got this taken care of out here. He won’t ever bother you again." 

Slowly Sam picked himself off the sidewalk and looked in her direction. Derrick was still blocking the way to his goal. ‘I really don’t want to get hit again,’ he thought to himself as he began to go up the sidewalk to him.

"Sam… ahm, there’s something here that I need to tell you about Kassaundra. Remember when I told you that she was mugged? There’s more to it that Ziggy just found out in another article from the Temple Times. Ahm…"

Derrick moved to the side as he talked quietly with Kassaundra about taking care of her. Sam could plainly see the right side of her face. His mouth fell open as he looked upon her.

"The mugger," Al continued, "had taken the knife he used to hold her up with and proceeded to cut an actual V into her face. The police report said that it started from the right side of her face right below her temple went down her cheek to her chin and back up the other side. The report also said that the knife that was used was serrated so that the cuts weren’t even clean neat cuts." Al couldn’t look at her. "Ohmigod, Sam. The papers in the Times said that she was going to be a model. I bet she was so beautiful."

Sam couldn’t take his eyes away from her. "She still is." 

"What did you say punk?" Derrick said as he turned to Sam. Derrick saw how Sam was staring at his sister and took two steps to reach him. He picked him up by his shirt collar, but Sam was still able to see Kassaundra and couldn’t take his eyes off of her. 

Kassaundra finally turned fully to face Sam and her brother. "Derrick, I said stop." Kassaundra laid her hand on her brother’s arm resulting in Derrick placing Sam back down. "Go on, Derrick, I can handle this, okay?"

Derrick laid a kiss on her forehead. "If you need me sis, just holler." He leered at Sam then went back into the house.

Kassaundra looked down and away from Sam. She couldn’t fully meet his intent gaze. He knew immediately that this had nothing to do with another person in her life or in Beau’s life. This had to do with the scarring that was left on her face. She lifted one delicate eyebrow and shifted her long black hair behind her ear. "So, have you had your fill yet?"

Sam knew that she was talking about his stare. He couldn’t help it. She was breathtaking. Her physique was one that most women craved for, an almost perfect "Barbie" figure, the long thick black as ebony hair, the full lips, the long eyelashes, the high cheekbones, petite nose, -- the perfect models package. Sam was sure even as he knew his physics, that her personality was the plus to the package. Beau may have first fallen for the outside package, but the inside was probably more beautiful than the outside.

"Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me that this happened?" Sam put his index finger under her chin to make her look at him. "Why?"

"Who’d want a scarred freak?" She turned away from him and quickly walked toward the door.

Sam caught up with her just as Al turned around. Listening to their conversation, Al quickly caught on to where Sam was going. Sam stopped her from entering the house, turning her slightly to face him. "I do." 

"So you do think I’m a freak."

"No!" Sam stated emphatically. "You aren’t a freak, Kassaundra. You are so beautiful." Sam reached up to caress her cheek. She turned away from his caresses. 

Al popped in behind Sam to look at Kassaundra for the first time. He blinked in awe. He was shocked at her beauty more than by the scars that threatened it. "You’re right, Sam. She is beautiful."

"Please leave, Beau. There’s nothing to our relationship anymore." Kassaundra went inside the house and Sam followed close behind her. 

"I’m not going anywhere, Kassie. I know that somewhere here is our relationship and I’m going to find it here with you," Sam said the words very gently as he followed her through the living room. He walked behind her as she went through the kitchen and out the back door to the porch. "Don’t you understand, Kassie, that I fell in love with the person inside as well as the person on the outside?"

"You can’t expect me to believe that," Kassaundra said as she sat down on the porch swing.

Sam knelt down in front of her and took her hand just as Al popped in beside him. "Okay. You’re right. I did fall for the beautiful young woman in high school. I did. You took my breath away. Hell, you took everyone’s breath away and yet, you chose to date me. I know that I’m not God’s gift to women, but I can hold my own. But still, you choose me over all the other guys." Sam took her other hand in his as he looked up into her face. "And since then, I’ve fallen so much more in love with you. You told me your secrets. You put your trust in me and I put mine in yours. Being away from you and getting your letters, I was able to learn so much more… love so much more. I …" 

Kassaundra’s eyes began to tear up and she quickly took her hands away from him and walked toward the gazebo that stood about ten feet away from the house. Al stood up beside Sam as he stood. "You’re getting to her, Sam. Since we know that Beau doesn’t know about the scars, I’ll go tell him about them." Al pulled the Imaging Chamber door open with a push of a button on the handlink and waved to Sam. "Good luck, Sam."

Sam nodded to him and listened as the Imaging Chamber door closed behind him as he walked up to Kassaundra in the gazebo. He went to stand in front of her so that she could look into his eyes. "Kassie, look at my eyes, please."

Kassaundra looked into his eyes and saw them begin to tear up as well. "I’ll make this easy for you. If you can look me in the eyes and honestly tell me that you don’t love me anymore, that you don’t want to see me anymore, then I’ll walk out of here right now, and never bother you again."

Kassaundra looked into his eyes and her bottom lip began to quiver as her emotions began to take the better of her. Tears began to cascade down her cheeks. She looked away from him, but Sam brought her face back up with his hands, making her look back into his eyes once more. "I… I love you, Beau." 

Sam took her into his embrace and hugged her deeply. "I love you, too." Suddenly, Sam turned sideways to see someone coming up to them dressed in an officers uniform and released his hold on her.

"Jacob," Kassaundra said as he approached wiping the tears away.

Officer Hendson smiled at her as he gave her a quick hug. "We’ve got some good news, Kassie. We arrested the "slayer" this afternoon. We’ve got him and he’s confessed to doing this to you and to mugging a lot of other people. He’s going to be put away for a long time."

Sam looked at Officer Hendson oddly. "Have we met before?"

Officer Hendson shook his head negatively. "I don’t believe we have son. I’m Jacob Hendson. My partner, David Mitchell and I were the officers that found Kassie when she had first been mugged. If I hadn’t been there, she’d have died."

Sam recalled the previous leap just as the enveloping feeling came upon him. His extremities tingled as he took the officer’s hand in his. "Thank you, Officer." And he leapt.
 

Part 4

November 18, 1995

The storm that raged through the Colorado mountains made the summer homes appear desolate and vulnerable as dusk settled. The lights had already gone out twice causing the occupant of the house to light a few candles to ward off the darkness when it came again. Presently, the phone rang and she went to the phone picking up the receiver only for a light blue hue to come over them, taking her just a few years into the future, while leaving a tired, bruised, Dr. Beckett in their wake.

It took Sam only a moment to collect himself as he stood there with the receiver at his ear. He could hear a voice on the other end of the line talking rapidly. Not being able to make out what they were saying, he presently said, "I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear what you were saying." He looked down at his attire and presently realized that he was wearing a navy blue top, with a blue-jean denim skirt underneath, and socked feet. He had leapt into a woman again.

"You didn’t hear me?!" There was a definite sigh. "Kassaundra, this is Officer Hendson. I’m glad that we found you. He’s escaped…"

Sam knew exactly who the he was. He didn’t have to be told. He knew. Without realizing it, the phone slid down with his hand. He was standing in front of a mirror and he hadn’t even realized it. He looked at the beautiful lady staring back at him. Kassaundra. He turned his head and evaluated the scars that he had first seen only twenty minutes before. They were faded, but still remained engrained into her skin. His hand went up to the scar touching it slightly when he saw a movement in the corner of the mirror. 

He spun around quickly dropping the receiver in the process. "Beau?" he asked knowing that he had assured that they would be together just a few minutes ago. For a long silent moment, he didn’t hear anything. But he could feel a presence in the room with him and that eerie, creepy, crawly feeling suddenly sprang into Sam’s psyche.

Suddenly the presence was made known as a person came rushing into the room, holding a long butcher knife in his hand, it’s blade gleaming in the candlelight. Sam moved rapidly around the couch, trying to put any large object between him and his attacker. "I’m going to kill you, you bitch! You put me behind bars for ten fucking years! I may go back for doing this, but I’ll be damned if I’m going there for a few measly dollars from your purse," he growled.

Sam remembered what had happened to Kassaundra and what the police officer had told her. "You confessed when they caught you. What did you expect?" Sam again dodged as the man ran at him again. An old lamp was pushed off of the side table and shattered on the floor. Sam could hear Officer Hendson still on the phone calling out to Kassaundra, hearing the commotion in the room but not being able to help him any. 

Sam instinctively ran toward another room as he tossed the table the lamp was sitting on behind him in an attempt to slow down the attacker. He managed to run into the kitchen realizing that all he had to do was to have an advantage over the guy. He hid beside the refrigerator out of sight knowing that just at the right moment, he might be able to make this an even fight, even if he was in a dress.

The attacker entered the kitchen and warily looked around the room not seeing his victim. Knowing that the kitchen only had one doorway, he knew that she was in the room. "You can’t hide from me. I’ll find you, and then I’ll torture you until you die." He slowly started walking around the kitchen going toward the direction that Sam had hidden.

Sam licked at his lips just as the Imaging Chamber door opened up right beside him causing his heart to skip a beat. He knew that if he ever got back home, that he was going to have to fix that. 

Al stepped through the door with a smile. "Hey, who turned off the lights? Sam?" Al turned toward the attacker just as he saw the knife gleam as lightning lit the room. "Sam? Where are you Sam?" Another streak of lightning lit the room briefly to allow Al to see Sam beside the refrigerator. "Stay behind there, Sam. He’s got a knife."

Not even looking at Al, Sam was ready to spring into action when he saw the blade of the knife. As if on cue, the point of the knife came into his line of vision and he took a deep breath, reached out and spun the knife out of the guys hand with enough force for it to sling across the room and come to a rest beside the trashcan. 

Surprised, the attacker grunted, but quickly grabbed for Sam’s throat and began to squeeze. Sam saw the murderous look in the man’s green eyes and he took in a raspy breath as he looked at Al for support. 

"Come on, Sam. You’re on even ground, now. Knock this nozzle out."

Al began to program in questions as to this leap even as Sam stood there in the madman’s grasp. 

Sam grabbed the man’s arm with one hand and the man’s shirt with his other. He pulled him quickly toward him, throwing his balance off, making him release his hold on him for only a moment. Sam used that advantage and kneed his attacker in the groin making him double over finally releasing his hold on Sam’s neck.

Al grimaced as well as the attacker. "That’s gotta hurt."

Sam spun around giving the attacker a spin kick which put him on the ground. He was dazed and hurting and Sam used that to his advantage. He went around the attacker and headed toward another part of the house, wondering if he was all alone or if Beau had already been taken care of. He was hoping that the latter wasn’t the truth. 

From what he could see, he was alone in the house with the attacker. Only after running out of the kitchen, did he realize that he had left the knife behind. Sam cursed his clumsiness and hid in one of the bedrooms in the other end of the house, hoping that his attacker would think that she had left the house.

Al popped in beside Sam giving him another start. Al quietly apologized and began, "We know why you’re here, Sam." Sam only looked at Al with a glance as he watched the door. "Yeah," Al said emphatically. "In the last leap in Kassaundra’s life, you were right, you were there to save their relationship." Sam turned to face him. "But this time, to save her life. Mr. Personality here kills her the first time. She has to be around Sam, because….watch out!!"

Sam turned back in time to see the man coming at him from the door, the knife in his hand again. The knife penetrated Sam’s left shoulder as he blocked it from going into his head. He cried out in pain as the attacker pulled it out and grinned ready to hurt him again. He grabbed at Sam’s arms as he tried to protect himself, and held them back as he raised the knife again, this time, his aim for Sam’s heart. "Die, bitch." The gleam of the knife again was lit by lightning from a nearby window.

"NO!" Al screamed.

Suddenly, there was a deafening boom in the room. The attacker’s grip on Sam’s arms relaxed, his eyes closed and the knife clattered on the wooden floor. Sam grunted as the heavy man fell onto him. Sam wasn’t sure what was going on until Al said, "Thank God, they arrived."

The weight was shifted off of Sam. The now dead attacker was left in a heap on the floor. Sam looked up into the caring eyes of Beau Morgan. "Kassie, are you okay, baby?" 

Sam looked at his left shoulder seeing the blood seeping into Kassaundra’s blue shirt. "I think I’ll be okay."

"Oh, Kassie." Beau slowly helped Sam up so that he was able to sit on the bed. "I’ll be right back. Let me get something." Beau quickly exited the room.

Sam looked at Al. "You were saying?"

Al blinked at him confused. "Oh…oh yeah,… Kassaundra had to stay alive because she is one of the lobbyists that help fund the project. Amazingly enough, she is a professor at one of the biggest Universities in Texas and for some reason suspects that some scientist will need the money for a necessary project. When questioned about it later, she says that it’s something her husband talked her into." Al looked at Beau with a smile as he came back into the room. "Subconsciously, he must have remembered something and wanted to help out."

Sam looked at Beau considering what Al had said. "I’m glad that you decided to stick around." 

Sam grimaced as Beau placed the towel on his shoulder and began to press down to control the bleeding. "Well, dear, I’m glad that you did too." Beau leaned closer to Sam and Sam began to fidget under Beau intense gaze.

"Oh Sam… that’s sweet." Al grinned jokingly.

Sam began to feel the tingling sensations spread through his extremities as Beau pressed his lips to his. He looked up to the heavens and thankfully leaped.

Epilogue

The space was dark and cramped. And bumpy. Very bumpy. Just bumpy would have been all right, though; it was the frequent sideways slides that got Sam’s stomach rolling. He clunked his head on a window beside him and realized he was wearing a helmet. The "Ouch!" he yelped was drowned out by the continual roaring/thumping noise that seemed centered above his head and vaguely familiar. 

Grabbing firmly the seat he was in to avoid another head banging Dr. Sam Beckett, time traveler, took a terrified second to figure out where he was before total panic set in. Before him in the darkness was a green glowing instrument gauge of some kind. Sam looked carefully into the padded hood around the face of the gauge just as an unexpected dip made his face connect with the instrument. His face was saved by the padded hood, obviously there for that very reason, but his stomach wasn’t so lucky as it seemed to slam against his throat. To keep from throwing up, Sam tasked his brain to figure out what the gauge was. He glanced again, uneventfully, and deduced that it was a radar screen. 

Looking around in the darkness he saw he was seated behind a wall with a small doorway in the middle. The profile of another helmeted person seated to Sam’s right in front of the wall was barely visible, lighted only by the slew of gauges set low in the front of the compartment. There was a window of some sort in front of that person, and all Sam saw outside was darkness and rain slamming into the glass. Still peering out the front window Sam was suddenly shocked to see a bright light with the words "FIRE" distinctly spelled out on it snap on above the window. Slowly, the unidentified person reached up and tapped the light with his finger as Sam’s heartbeat jumped and his grip tightened on the seat. A crackly voice in his ears surprised him and made him gasp.

"Damn thing always goes on in the rain," it said calmly, then with an edge of laughter, "See any fire back there, Stubbs?"

It was then Sam recognized the thumping sounds.

"Oh, boy," he groaned to himself. "I’m in a helicopter!