PROLOGUE

The phasing receded away allowing Sam to settle back in a very comfortable chair. He smell of antiseptic hung in the air, and he felt tightness around his upper right arm. Looking at his arm, he found a blood pressure cuff. He looked at nurse who was taking his pulse and blood pressure and noting the readings on the gage. All normal. As the nurse began to take another reading, he looked up and saw a mirror across the room that reflected his host’s image. She had short brown hair, a beautiful face, blue eyes, and… and… working on what looked to be her second trimester in pregnancy. Sam began to breathe irregularly, not quite believing his own eyes.

"Sweetheart, you need to calm down or you’ll be having this little guy or girl early." The nurse said worriedly as she looked at the new readings and compared them to he ones she had written down earlier. The nurse let the air out of the pressure cuff and started to maneuver around in the small area. She moved to the side to write down some more data and Sam saw a couple sitting a few feet away that he hadn’t noticed before. 

He glanced between both the young couple and the nurse and muttered, "Oh boy."
 

PART ONE

San Diego, California

August 24, 1960

4:00 PM

After hearing the nurse tell him to calm down or have a child that he was obviously carrying from the mirror's perspective, he sighed heavily. He didn't want to have another child. Another child? The thought was ridiculous, but somehow he knew that he was right. 

The nurse chuckled slightly at the sigh, having finished the procedure. She looked at the readings. "Everything seems to be okay," she stated calmly, giving him a smile.

Sam smiled back at her weakly. "Thank you, nurse."

"You really ought to relax a bit more, Lisa." She patted his shoulder gently. "And a little more careful." She started to gather her instruments.

Sam looked back at the reflection that was across from him once more. She had a black eye and the left side of her face was red and swollen from some sort of physical abuse. He understood exactly what the nurse was saying. "I'll definitely try."

The nurse looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The look of question changed slightly to a weak smile. "You do that, honey." She took a step back, looking towards the couple in the room. "I'll just leave and let you all get better acquainted." Very slowly, she started for the door, shaking her head slightly with obvious concern that she didn't seem to want to voice.

Sam looked at the couple seated across the room from him and wondered exactly what in the heck was going on. The way the nurse was acting he could tell that something was very wrong and he wished that Al were here to tell him exactly what needed to be done. He needed answers, before he really goofed up.

The woman smiled at him, looking a little nervous, while the man held her hand gently. "I know this must be a hard decision for you," the woman started with hesitation.

Sam's hands came to rest on his stomach, understanding all to quickly what was going on. Why do I have this feeling of deja vu? He questioned himself. Slowly, he nodded to the woman's statement, not really sure what he needed to say. He was certain on one thing: He wasn't about to make a decision without talking to Al first.

The woman continued, seeing his nod. "It can't be easy, being a career woman like yourself, not having time for a family. But I hope you know that we'll take good care of the baby, just as if it were our own. That is, of course, if you decide to go ahead and give it up for adoption."

The man squeezed his wife's hand gingerly. "Lanette, don't force her into a decision," he told her gently. He looked at Sam with a firm yet gentle glance. "Whatever you decide, we'll accept it."

Sam nodded again, understanding. Again in a leap, he had to make a decision. A decision that would result in this beautiful, now familiar woman in the mirror to either keep this baby, or give it to this couple. Sam rubbed his stomach once more, not knowing what to do. 

After an awkward silence, the man stood slowly, guiding his wife in following his actions. "We'll leave you now. We just wanted to meet you... wanted you to meet the family your child may be going to."

Sam finally found his voice. "I... " He looked down at the ground before meeting the man's eyes before him. "You have a lovely wife and you both obviously love each other. I can sense that." He paused as he looked down at his stomach once more.

Lanette blushed at his words, tucking her hair behind her right ear. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

Her words caused him to look at her quickly. Lieutenant? "I wish that I could tell you straight off what I wanted to do. I'm ... I'm sort of at a point in my life that I need some direction, and I'm having a tough time as to which road I need to take. I don't want you to think that I’m rushing into this or putting it off. I just want to make the right decision for me and for the baby." Sam said knowing that those words were the safest that he could give to the truth.

Lanette nodded with understanding and smiled. "Of course. Take your time with the decision." She looked at her husband. "Let's go home, Syd."

"Goodbye." Sam said as he watched the couple start away from him.

Syd gently took Lanette’s arm and guided her towards the door, giving Sam a respectful nod as he left. They seemed to walk right through the Imaging Chamber door as it opened.

"Pardon me." Al said as he stepped aside for the holographic couple before closing the door behind him. 

Hearing the sound of the Imaging Chamber door and Al's voice made Sam perk up. He quickly sat up and turned to look at Al.

Al took a couple of steps towards Sam, looking in the direction that the couple left before turning towards him. He physically stopped a surprised look on his face. "Oh, my..." He quickly looked up at the ceiling. "You could have warned me, you know!"

The hand link made loud, obnoxious sounds in response to Al's slightly annoyed comment.

"Al?" Sam questioned not knowing what was going on with his best friend or the loud squawks from the handlink. "Al. What's wrong? Who am I? Where am I?" He asked, knowing that he was throwing too much at Al at one time. He took a deep breath. "I know that I'm a Lieutenant and that my name is Lisa... and that I'm pregnant, but... that's all I know..."

Al tilted his head at Sam's questions, a slight frown on his face. "Lieutenant Lisa Sherman, to be precise," he provided, interrupting him.

"Why does that name ring a bell with me?" Sam asked aloud as he subconsciously rubbed his stomach.

"Try looking in the mirror," Al told him briefly as he started to pace. "Of all people for you to leap into..."

"I already have." Sam said softly. "How do you think that she got the bruises, Al?" He asked, interrupting him.

Al stopped in mid-stride at the question before looking at him slowly and carefully. He took a deep breath, one that indicated he was more than a little upset by the sight. 

After a moment, he exhaled, walking up to him. "Ziggy’s told me practically nada so far." He rubbed his face with his left hand. "Guess I was running just a little too late to get any details."

"Lisa..." Sam said as he looked into the mirror once again. "Lisa Sherman... we saved her life before, didn't we?" Sam said as it slowly began to come back to him.

"Yeah," Al said softly. "In 1957. I was just an ensign then."

"Bingo." Sam said with a smile. "Yeah... I remember a little.... I was.... I was Bingo." 

"You were me," Al corrected slightly. "That was my nickname back then. Lisa was..." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Sam blinked at the memory as they came at him. "Lisa was your semi-girlfriend who was married to a nozzle that didn't give a damn about her anyway." Sam said as the revelation came to him. He looked back up at Al. "You had an affair with a married woman."

Al shrugged slightly. "It was a long time ago and I had no one other than her." He looked at Sam again, raising the hand link as a questioning look crossed his face. He pushed a few buttons, trying to get information from the parallel-hybrid computer in the Control Room.

Sam noticed the look on Al's face. "What is it, Al?"

Al read the hand link aloud, his manner slow. "Well, you already know who you are: Lieutenant Lisa Sherman. Married, no children..." He looked at the aura's round belly. "...yet. You're in San Diego, California, and it's August 24, 1960. You're... I mean Lisa... is four months pregnant..." His voice trailed off, the questioning look reappearing on his face as he tapped buttons on the handlink once again.

"Al?" Sam asked looking very worried at his partner. "What's going on in that brain of yours?"

"Huh?" Al hummed, looking up from the handlink, his concentration obviously having been interrupted by Sam's question.

"Earth to Al. Hello... " Sam began. "What are...." Suddenly it dawned on Sam. "Four months pregnant? Al....." He drawled, knowing that Al was probably hiding something. "Do you need to tell me something?"

Al exhaled. "I can't tell you anything...." He began.

Sam got up from the comfortable chair that he was on and started toward Al. "Did you just ask Ziggy something, Al?" Sam knew exactly what was going on. He knew what Al didn't want him to know...but he wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth. "Come on, studly. Answer me." Sam grinned.

"I can't answer you because I'm not sure what the answer is," Al told him firmly. "The only thing I can tell you is..."

Sam nodded not quite believing him. "Is that I'm carrying your baby." Sam finished for him with a grin realizing what he had just said wasn't quite possible, but comical at the same time.

Al swallowed slightly, not looking at Sam. "It's a possibility that Lisa's carrying my baby," he admitted. "But we aren't certain..." He looked at Sam firmly. "And I want to keep it that way."

Sam puckered his lips at Al's statement. "What's the percentage, Al?" Sam asked as he looked at him. 

Al shook his head, putting the handlink in his pocket. "Don't know."

Sam slowly nodded understanding that his friend’s actions were ones of denial. "Okay, Al." Sam quickly turned his nod into a shake of his head. "Then at least tell me the odds that I have that I should give the baby up for adoption, or keep the baby." Sam said knowing that Al wouldn't appreciate what he was trying to do.

Al exhaled, bringing the handlink back out of his pocket with a frown. He tapped the buttons with short jabs, looking for the information Sam requested. "50/50," he read from the handlink. "Ziggy says there's not enough data to make any further calculations."

Sam rolled his eyes at the data given to him. "Great." He interrupted as he rubbed his stomach again.

Al again pushed some buttons, his eyes narrowing slightly at Sam's actions. "She does say that in the original history, Lisa gave the child up for adoption."

"That's what Syd and Lanette were here for." Sam said as he pointed to the door. "They were the couple that want the baby. They seem like good people. But, I don't know Al. I wish that I had more information to go by. I don't like this... one bit. Something more is going on. Something that we're missing." Sam brought his hand up to his neck and began to rub his neck as he slowly began to pace back and forth. 

Al raised an eyebrow and turned towards Sam, following his pace with thoughtful eyes. "You mean like maybe those bruises on Lisa's... you’re... Lisa's face?" His expression turned into a small frown.

Sam turned back to Al. "You don't think that this might have been a one time thing, do you?" Sam asked as he pointed to the bruising and swelling.

Al hesitated, thinking about Sam's words. After a moment, he shook his head sadly. "With those kind of bruises? Probably not." His jaw clenched angrily. "Dammit! If I get my hands on the bastard that did this, I'll..." he punched the empty air and rocked on his toes.

Sam blinked at Al's words and decided that remaining silent for a few minutes would be the best thing. He finally said, "Al." Sam tried to catch his friend's attention.

Al forced himself to divert his anger by searching the hand link for information, anything that could help them with this leap.

"Al?"

Al raised his head at the question, anger still in his eyes but not as strong as it had been before. He lowered the handlink, giving Sam his attention.

"Why don't you talk to Lisa?" He said softly.

Al began to pace again. "Beeks is talking to her right now." He shook his head. "I don't know, Sam. I don't think she can help us any on this."

"Al, I'm not talking about the girl in the Waiting Room who is four months pregnant. Talk to Lisa, the woman who is already a mother, who already knows what happened and find out what she wants. If this is still what she wants. If she has any regrets."

Al shook his head slowly at the suggestion, obvious hesitation in his eyes. "I don't think I can, Sam."

"Why not?" He asked, still subconsciously rubbing his hand over his stomach. 

Al didn't look at Sam as he raised his head. He took a deep breath before licking his lips. "I haven't seen her in forty years, Sam. I'm not sure if I can even find her, much less talk to her about..."

The handlink in Al's hand quickly began playing reveille, as it was fed some coded information. 

"Obviously, Ziggy says that you can." Sam said with a smile. "Where is she, Al?" Sam said as he looked at the handlink.

Al frowned strongly at the noisy object, hitting it on its side to shut it up. Al lowered it forcefully. "I don't know," he said plainly.

"Just like you don't know that I'm carrying your child?" Sam stated more than questioned.

"You are NOT carrying my child, Sam! Lisa is!" Al shouted at him.

"AHA!" Sam said as he pointed at him. "Same difference!" Sam shouted back.

Al frowned at him strongly. "You know, it amazes me that a man with six degrees can't speak English properly," he goaded.

"And it amazes me that you won't go and see the woman who had your child." Sam said pointedly. 

"Why would I want to mess up my life by adding more problems to the batter? I'm a married man, Sam, and happily so." 

Sam shook a finger toward the ceiling as he walked in a circle around Al. "Okay... answer my questions with a yes or no. All right?"

Al gave his answer in the form of a small huff of annoyance, the kind that said he didn't like it but he would do as he was asked.

"Did you know Lisa before you knew Beth?" Sam began with something that he needed to know anyway.

"Yes," Al said quickly, rolling his eyes, feeling like he was on a game show all of a sudden.

"Ah... okay... and… ah, let's see... answer truthfully: Did you love her?" He knew that he would probably get hit if he weren’t a hologram for that one. 

Al turned quickly to face him with a glare. "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"Yes or no, Admiral." Sam replied to the glare and the harsh question.

Al growled a bit before sighing. "Yes, I loved her."

"And you have verbally admitted that Lisa Sherman is carrying your child at this moment in time, 1960?" It was more of a statement than a question, but he liked these sort of game with Al. He knew that it annoyed him and he knew how far he could go before Al decided to walk out of the Imaging Chamber.

Al frowned at the statement/question. "You tricked me, Sam. That's not fair."

"I'll take that as a yes. Okay... Al, one last question."

Sam looked over Al's face very carefully wondering if he should ask this last question or not. "If you honestly sit down and think about it, and you know that out there somewhere you have a little boy or a little girl who would obviously adore the person that you are, just like your own kids with Beth.... Can you honestly tell me now, that you don't want to know them or have anything to do with them just because of your marriage to Beth?"

Al's face became distraught with Sam's question. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath, puckering his lips.

Before Al could say anything, Sam started, "I know you, Al. You love kids. And kids obviously love you. I know that you know it. You just don't want anyone to see beyond that tough Admiral exterior. Go to her Al. Talk to her. Find out who your son/daughter is."

Al took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. "There's just one problem with what you just said. Lisa's child isn't a kid anymore." He rubbed his hand over his face slowly.

Sam looked at Al. "Don't you think that even an adult needs to know who their father is? Al, come on. If it were me, I'd want to know." Sam watched Al hesitantly.

Once again Al sighed, raised the hand link and tapped at the buttons, not really accomplishing anything with his actions. After a moment he lowered the hand link and looked at Sam with sad eyes. "If Lisa wanted me to know, don't you think she would have told me?" He raised the hand link again and started inputting the exiting sequence.

Sam mulled the thought over. He licked his lips then ran his teeth over his bottom lip. "Al.... if you had already met Beth, and Lisa knew that, I don't think that she would try to break you up. But if you really want the answer to that question, there's only one person to find out from. And it's not me, Al." He pointed to the hand link. "It's Lisa." The Imaging Chamber door opened and shined behind Al as Sam spoke. 

The older man gave a slight huff. "Just... make sure nothing happens to Lisa or the baby, okay?" It seemed an irrelevant request, given that both were in the Waiting Room. He took a step back and pressed a button, causing the door to shut in front of him.
 

PART TWO

Project Quantum Leap

December 10, 2000

When Al stepped out of the Imaging Chamber he looked around the Control Room with a sigh. Of all the things to happen, of all the people for Sam to have leaped into, why Lisa? He took a deep breath and straightened himself. He had to admit there was a kind of appeal to the whole thing. Sam was right about one thing; he did love children. His daughters always brought a smile to his face just thinking about them; and that thought only made him start to wonder what Lisa's child was like.

With this floating in his mind, he made his way to the Waiting Room wondering whether he was doing the right thing or not. Before he realized it, he had entered the pale blue room and was watching as Verbena Beeks checked on her current patient.

Lisa sat with her legs crossed on the metallic bed that sat in the middle of the room. She looked at the woman before her and smiled at her and at the question at hand. "I'm four months along." She suddenly frowned as her hand went to her stomach as she talked. "Is there something wrong? Is the baby okay?"

Verbena gave her a gentle smile, patting her hand. "Your baby is just fine, honey. We just want to make sure it stays that way." She turned her head slowly towards Al, finally noticing his entrance.

Lisa nodded her head and glanced toward the door as Verbena had. Her eyes narrowed at the man that stood at the doorway. He looked familiar. She tilted her head to the side to peer around Verbena even more to get a clearer look.

Al stood exactly where he was, looking at the pregnant woman before him with a smile. Seeing that she noticed him, he slowly started walking toward her. "Hello, Lisa," he said gently.

She blinked her eyes as she recognized him. She swallowed and put her legs down so she could stand up. Her smile couldn't have gotten any bigger. "Bingo!" She said as she hopped off the bed and pulled him into a big bear hug.

Al returned the hug, surprised by the intensity of it. The nickname made him smile. "No one has called me Bingo in several years." He pulled gently from her to gaze at her. "How are you…"

"Admiral, I beg to differ." The neural hybrid computer acknowledged him from all around him, interrupting his sentence. "Just less than ten minutes ago, someone did call you Bingo." 

Lisa looked up into the air and around the room for the source, her eyes finally resting back on Al after the fruitless search. 

Al frowned at the ceiling. "That doesn't count, Ziggy. And keep your nose out of this."

She blinked at him. He was older, much older than she remembered from just four months earlier. "Admiral?" She asked, amazed.

Al shrugged slightly. "Who knew I'd be a horse's ass?"

She smiled at him and shook her head. "Are you and Chip playing some sort of game with me? It's only been four months since I've seen you, Al. What did you do, put on makeup?" She asked as she gazed into his eyes.

The mention of his dead comrade made his eyes lower slightly. "No, no makeup. Just time." He gave Lisa a gentle smile.

Verbena stood back and listened to the conversation going on between them. It didn't take her long to put two and two together. She lightly tapped her finger on her chin and quietly slipped away from the two of them, giving them some time alone together.

"Time?" She asked as she frowned a bit confused. "It's only been four months." She re-iterated.

Al scratched his cheek slightly. "Actually, it's been more like forty years. At least, in my perspective."

She stepped away from him as she scratched at her hairline. "What? What do you mean, Al?" She turned to look for the doctor that had just been talking to her and smiled. The coast was clear, at least for the moment. 

"Well, you see, it's like this. You've come forty years into the future."

Lisa looked at Al and slowly brought her hand up to his face. She could see the wrinkle lines left from years of laughter, and smiles, and could feel them as well. She softly shook her head. "Al, I've missed you so much. I..." She slowly stepped away from him. "I... I need to tell you something." She turned her back to him and leaned against the bed for support.

Al took a step towards her, putting his arms around her from behind. "Lisa, it's okay. Honest."

Feeling his arms around her again made her close her eyes and she placed her hands on his arms. "Al. I... I'm going to have your baby." She said simply as she lowered her head. 

Al held her a little more tightly, putting his head by her ear. "I know," he said simply. He was afraid of asking her anything, in case he said the wrong thing.

Lisa looked at the floor and shook her head. "I... I can't remember how I know... I just know. I... the last time I saw you, you were... " She broke away from his hold. "You... damn," she simply said. "I can't remember." She ran her hand through her hair then placed her hand over her mouth.

Al gently took her hand from her mouth and held it. "You don't have to remember, sweetie. It's okay. Really." He took a breath, wondering how he should voice his question. "Lisa..."

Before he could finish his next sentence, she quickly stepped up to him and kissed him. A soft tender kiss that she had remembered from only a few short months ago. She lightly wrapped her arms around him again lay her head on his shoulder when the kiss faded.

Al's eyes widened at the kiss and the hug. His expression changed slightly when she laid her head on his shoulder, unsure what to do or what to say. He took a breath. "Lisa," he said gruffly. "I can't."

She slowly looked up at him. "Can't?" She asked softly, confused. She swallowed as she backed away from him. What did that mean? She wondered.

Al took a step back from her, looking extremely apologetic. He swallowed, feeling like a complete heel. The expression on her face only made his heart hurt all the more.

Her eyes wandered down his body and slowly came upon his left hand. There, she saw a shiny, worn wedding band. Her mouth opened and closed and she turned around. She didn't need Al to see her blubber like a baby. She closed her eyes tightly and took several deep breaths. "I'm so sorry, Al. I didn't know. I..." She took several steps away from him suddenly realizing that she had just told a married man that she was having his baby.

He glanced down at his wedding band with a sigh.

Her right hand came back up to her lips as her chin began to quiver. Stop it! Stop it right now! She thought to herself and swallowed hard, choking down the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. She calmed herself down by taking deep breaths. She licked her lips and nodded to herself. You can do this, girl. Don't let Al Calavicci make you feel bad. She thought to herself and turned back to him once more; this time with the bed between them.

Al has watched her carefully the entire time, not knowing what to say or do. Even after all these years, he still loved her. But he loved his wife more. In either case, he didn't want to hurt either of them. 

"Lisa..." he started.

Knowing Al's tender side, she finally said, "I know how you used to feel for me, Al. But I also know how you must feel toward your wife. I hope that I just didn't do something to hurt your marriage. I would never want to hurt you, baby... Al." She shook her head at her blunder. 

"You didn't hurt my marriage, Lisa," Al tried to assure her.

Her hand fluttered to her stomach. "In a way, I guess I did." She said as she looked down at her protruding stomach. "I'm sorry, Al."

"For what?" He questioned with concern, walking around the table to get closer to her. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Lisa."

Although she wanted to be close to him, she moved away from him, taking a few steps backward. She was surprised that she had finally remembered. "You had been reassigned to San Diego before I was reassigned there myself. And I saw you and... I believe that I saw your possible wife now... just a week ago... you were happy, holding hands, laughing. She was carrying Calla Lilies." She stopped and shook her head. "I knew then that I was carrying your child, but I couldn't do that to her...." Lisa's brow furrowed. "To you."

Al rubbed his hand over his mouth. "That was a long time ago for me, Lisa. I'm a big boy now." He gave her a wry smile, hoping to cheer her up somehow. 

She didn't look up at him. She closed her eyes and turned away from him. "It may be history to you, but it's my present. My future." She looked down at her stomach once more. "Our future."

Al cleared his throat. He was hurting her unintentionally, and he didn’t know how to fix it. "I... I don't know what to say, Lisa." He looked at her with sadness. "I'm sorry." He exhaled slowly. "So, what do you think we should do about... this?" He motioned from her to himself and back.

Lisa saw the motion he made. "What this? There is no 'this', Al." Flustered she finally pointed to her stomach. "What you really mean to say, is this." She finally raised her head. "I already know what I'm going to do." She couldn't bear to see the expression that she saw in his face any longer. She finally said, "May I please be alone." She hugged herself tightly, letting her arms slightly rest on her tummy.

Al nodded slowly, swallowing. He had a feeling that he knew what she was going to do and that was precisely what she did in the original history. 

A lonely teardrop slowly escaped down her cheek and she swallowed hard to keep the others from falling. She was clamping down the emotions that threatened her so that she felt as if her chest was about to burst. It was actually hurting her to not cry in front of him.

Very slowly he started for the door, feeling immensely depressed with the situation. He pursed his lips before turning towards her. He could see her physically shaking from trying not to cry and that hurt him more than he could say. Without saying a word, he walked up to her and took her into his arms, brushing her hair with his hand. 

"It's okay to cry, sweetie," he whispered gently. "I understand."

In his embrace, her chin quivered, and her vision blurred. Her body began to shake and she took a shaky breath as another tear began to fall. "Al, please don't unless your gonna tell me that you'll be mine."

Al closed his eyes tightly before slowly pulling away. 

Before he could see her, she quickly walked away from him, knowing that he wasn't going to say those words. Knowing that he was just being kind to her. She walked as far away from him as the room let her and then she leaned against the wall for support and slowly slid down the wall and crumbled on the floor.

Al opened his mouth to speak but closed it just as quickly, rubbing his hand over his face. Without saying a word, he marched out of the Waiting Room, his jaw gritted against his own emotions. Before the door was even closed, he hit the doorframe hard enough to make a metallic thud.

The moment the door closed, he leaned against it, and looked up at the ceiling as if to ask some cosmic force ‘why’. He hit the door with the back of his head before marching into the Control Room, intent on passing though it as quickly as possible without being interrupted, though he doubted he'd have such luck with the occupants of the Control Room.

Gooshie looked up from behind the Control Panel. "How goes it with our newest visitor?" He asked, unaware of the events as of yet.

Al turned rapidly on him, pointing a finger. "Don't start with me, Gooshie! You really don't want me on your ass right now!" He growled at him ferociously before continuing towards his office.

Al didn't stop his march until the door of his office was shut behind him. Even then, however, he continued, pacing rapidly. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" He continued pacing, breathing deeply, and trying to force himself to calm down. "I should have never listened to Sam."

Upon the third dammit, his door opened and Beth stood in the doorway. Ziggy was right. Al is very upset. She opened the door wider and carefully stepped into the room. "Al?"

He continued to pace, obviously absorbed in his frustration. He stopped only after he found that the recurring headaches he'd been having were starting to rear their ugly heads.

Beth finally went up to him and stood in his path. "Al." She stated finally. "Al, what's the matter, honey?"

He raised his head to see Beth standing in front of him, looking very concerned. He sighed and shook his head. Would she understand any of this? This craziness that is eating me up? 

"Al, don't you shake your head at me. I know that something is bothering you. Ziggy told me that something was up with you. Tell me. I'm your wife, I need to know so that I can help you work through it." She said lovingly putting her hand on his arm.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm not sure you can help me on this one, honey."

"Try me." She said, as she folded her arms across her chest showing him that she wasn't about to move out of the room until he told her what was wrong.

He exhaled yet again, looking at his wife with reluctance. "I'm a father," he stated matter-of-factly.

Beth raised a single eyebrow as she slightly smiled at him. "Al, you have four daughters. Of course you're a father."

He rubbed his face, realizing that he should have said something different. He hesitated to finish the thought in his mind. "But you're not the mother." He mentally winced at his choice of words.

Beth pursed her lips at his words, frowned, and shifted her lower jaw. "Exactly what are you saying, Al?" She asked as she sat down on one of the seats in his office.

He started to pace again. "It happened before we were even married, Beth, before we even met but... I just found out that this woman that I knew before..." He trailed off, letting the rest of the sentence to be surmised by his wife.

Beth slowly let the information sink in. She nodded. "So, you have another child." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. You just found out? But...Al, that was... that was forty years ago. The child would be... " She looked at her husband befuddled. "Oh boy."

He raised one eyebrow. "Oh, boy, is right. Or girl." He shook his head. "I don't even know what gender the child is." He stopped and slowly sat down beside her. "And to top it all off..." He shook his head.

Beth laid her hand down on his leg. "What baby? What is it?"

"Nothing except that I also just found out that the woman who had the child... wanted to marry me." He gritted his teeth.

Beth's hand went from his knee to his back. She gently rubbed it. "Who wouldn't want to marry a handsome guy like yourself? I did." She smiled at him as she glanced at him. "Who's the woman?" She asked curiously.

"Lisa Sherman," Al answered quickly, not looking at her.

Beth's hand stopped rubbing, and there was an uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Lisa Sherman had your child and your just now finding out forty years later?" She asked through clenched teeth.

At the tone in her voice, Al turned to look at her. "Beth..." he said warningly.

"No... This is the same woman that you and Chip would talk about in front of me." Beth said her hand turning in circles as she talked. "This is the same woman who did all those kind things for you? Oh… yeah... this was kind." She said flippantly.

"Don't," Al told her firmly. "It's not like that at all. She..."

Beth turned to him finally. "Not like what? She doesn't tell you and now she wants some sort of payback, right? Well, I'll give her a piece of my mind." Beth said as she shot up from the couch.

Al grabbed her elbow and forced her back down. "No, she doesn't want anything at all, Beth."

"Then what is it, Al? Why would she tell you now and not forty years ago? This doesn't make much sense. But, I'm ticked off that's for sure. Not at you, at her. If I knew where she was..." She let her sentence dangle.

"She's in the Waiting Room," he told her firmly. "And no, you may not go knock her block off.

"The Waiting Room!?" She interrupted. "What?" 

"Sam leaped into her," Al explained.

Questions ran through Beth’s mind. But, she finally decided on just one to ask. "And?"

"And... we don't know yet," he finished bluntly.

"But you know that she's had a child. This is great. I'm going to go talk to her." Beth said as she stood up again.

Al grabbed her arm again. "Beth, no." It was practically an order.

Beth faced him. "Albert Calavicci, are you ordering me around?" She asked a little irritated. "I'm not going to 'knock her block off'. I just want to talk to her." She looked at his hand on her arm and frowned wondering when he was going to let go.

Al slowly released her. "She's jealous of you, Beth. I don't think you going in there is such a good idea."

"What would it hurt?" She asked him softly. 

He exhaled. "Dammit, Beth, I don't want her to be hurt anymore than she already is." 

Beth softly tilted her head to the side as she looked at him. She knew. She knew already what his answer would be, but she had to ask. "I know how you feel about me, Al, but you still love her, don't you?"

Al looked at her with affection. "Beth, honey... You're my wife. I don't want...."

"Answer me, Al." She interrupted him.

Al gritted his teeth, breathing deeply before physically sagging. "Yes. I love her."

Beth nodded softly. She licked her lips and blinked rapidly as she quickly took several steps away from him. "I'll be in the infirmary this afternoon. If you need me, I'll be there." She talked quickly not letting him get a word in. "I'll be back at our quarters by six thirty to take a shower and get ready for dinner. I... " She started toward the door quickly. "I... I love you, Al." She quickly opened the door and shut it behind her. She hesitated, feeling the tears building, then ran down the hallway, her emotions finally getting the better of her.

Al started for the door intent on stopping her, but stopped when the door closed in front of him. "Shit," he muttered. He rubbed his face with his hand.

Ziggy's sultry voice came through the wall. "Admiral?"

He sighed; feeling even more depressed than he was before. "What, Ziggy?"

"I just wanted to inform you that at this very moment, that there is a possibility that Dr. Beckett is being assaulted by Jack Sherman."

"WHAT?!" Al shouted with shock. He started for the door even as Ziggy continued to speak.

"There's a 89% chance that Jack Sherman is physically assaulting Dr. Beckett at this very moment."
 
 

PART THREE

San Diego, California

August 24, 1960

6:OO PM

Sam finally managed to make it to Lisa's house without too much trouble, only having to stop for directions twice since Al hadn't been there to direct him. He was tired from the events of the day, which shouldn't have worn him out as it had. Obviously some bleed through from Lisa was going on. He put his hand on the doorknob when the door flew open.

"Lisa, where in the hell have you been?" A very angry young man asked as he grabbed Sam by the arm and forcefully pulled him inside the house. 

Sam was shocked from the force that he had used, and angrily yanked his arm away from the man. "I've been to a doctor's appointment." Sam said as he gingerly touched his arm. 

"You saw 'him' didn't you?" He asked as he approached Sam after closing the door behind him. 

"Him?" Sam questioned confused only for a moment. "N..No." He stammered. "No, I didn't. I went to a doctor's appointment at the clinic." Sam found that he was actually scared of this guy before him. He swallowed as he backed away.

The man went up to Sam and with brute strength slapped Sam across the face. Sam's head spun from the force of the blow and he felt instant tears succumb to the surface. He was utterly shocked. He didn't even have time to react to the slap before another blow came, this time, a fist hitting the exposed left cheek. Sam physically fell from the blow. He looked up at the man before him. "Please, Jack. Stop. I... I already talked to the couple. They said that they wanted the baby. Please stop." Sam could hear himself talking, but he knew that he wasn't the one choosing the words to say. Lisa was doing that. 

Even as Sam pleaded with Lisa's husband to stop in his attack, the Imaging Chamber door opened, allowing Al to frantically rush in. "Sam! Sam, just keep as far away from that bastard as possible!" He looked at the man with extreme anger. "If you lay another hand..."

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before Jack grabbed Sam by the arm and raised him to his feet, forcing the latter against a wall. Without any kind of warning, he laid yet another brutal punch to Sam, this time firmly in the stomach.

"HEY!" Al shouted with fury, trying to stop Jack by standing in front of him. "You bastard! She's pregnant!" He swung his fists at him, forgetting that he couldn't do anything to prevent what he was seeing.

Sam, or rather the bleed-through of Lisa, was weeping from the pain inflicted upon him. Jack, seeing that Sam was now completely helpless to fight him, took a step back, glaring at the image of his wife with jealous anger.

"I don't give a damn whether they want the child or not. You get rid of that trash now! You get an abortion or I'll give you one myself! You got it?"

Al's heart tore at his vile words, wishing he could rip the man's tongue out with his bare hands.

Sam cringed at the tirade and turned his head to the side as he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to even imagine what Jack would do or try to do to abort the baby himself. Newfound tears spilled down his cheeks as he silently nodded.

"Answer me!" Jack yelled at him, yanking Sam up by the hair to face him again. He pulled his arm back, his fist ready to hit again. "Answer me, Lisa!"

Sam finally opened his eyes to look at Jack. "I got it...I got it..." He whispered his eyes locked on the fist. "Please, let go." 

Al stood in between Jack and Sam the entire time, trying to help, but knowing that he couldn't do a damn thing to stop the actions of someone forty years in the past. He just hoped the little guy or gal made it through all of this. 

Jack leered at Sam then slammed his head against the wall as he let go of his hair. He turned on his heel and left. As he stormed from the room, he tossed one word over his shoulder, "Slut."

Sam's hands went to his face, covering it as he slid down the wall he had so roughly been pushed against. He put his hands to his abdomen, hoping that the baby was safe in the waiting room with its mother and not here now. He finally picked his head up and brushed back at the tears, only to see Al standing protectively over him. "Al? How long have you been here?" He asked softly.

Al looked down at his friend and licked at his lips. "Long enough." He spat, sending a quick look behind his shoulder. 

"Al, I've got to get her out of this. I wouldn't want anyone to be treated like this. And from the fear that I just felt from her... I know that this has been going on for a long time... before the pregnancy." Sam looked up at Al as he gingerly touched his face and winced again at the pain. "I have to get her out of this. Do you have anything for me, Al? Please tell me that you do." Sam pleaded hoping that Al would have the percentages or scenarios that would help him out in any way. 

Al scratched his head roughly; still upset at the sight of a woman he loved being beaten brutally while pregnant with his child. He knew it was only the aura he saw, but the image was terrifying to him. 

Secure in the knowledge that the worst was over - for the time being - he slowly raised the hand link and pressed some buttons hoping that the Project computer had come up with something helpful. He nodded at what he read.

Ziggy says there's an eighty-four point fifty-three percent chance that you're here to get Lisa away from that bastard of a husband." He exhaled quickly. "Gawd, I knew he cheated on her whenever he got the chance but this? This?!" He shook his head, his jaw tightening. "Jeeze, Sam! He wants to murder my baby!"

Sam looked away from Al as he slowly stood up. His abdomen hurt from the punch, but he didn't think that the baby would be hurt. He vaguely remembered the classes that he had taken, remembering that a pregnant woman could take some abuse in that area and the baby still be all right. How much abuse, he wasn't sure. 

"Al, please ask Ziggy how I can leave without him finding out where Lisa is after I leap." He didn't want to upset Al any more than he already was. He needed him calm and levelheaded, not irate and irrational.

Al shook his head for a moment, lifting the hand link and checking for the answer to that question. "Dammit. Ziggy doesn't know. Seems Lisa tried to get away from him in the original history. She succeeded, too, for six months. Jack found her and literally drug her back home." He started to pace, his mind racing trying to find an answer.

Sam listened intently. "Did the abuse stop? I mean, after the baby was born." Sam didn't really want to ask, but he wanted to know.

Al looked at him with sad eyes. "We don't know. Hell, just the fact that she was being abused was a shocker." He sighed. "Only Lisa knows the answer to that."

"Then I guess that you know what you need to do then, huh?" Sam asked as he collapsed on the couch and reclined.

"Yeah," Al said plainly. He looked at Sam with concern. "But I don't want to leave you alone with that maniac!"

Sam sighed. "I'll be fine, Al. I'll just keep things calm around here and wait for you. That's all I can do." Sam finally turned back to Al. "Keeping him ... well... happy." He said as he licked his lips wondering himself exactly how he could do that.

"Keeping things calm around here, huh?" Al sighed. "Good luck."

Al slowly walked out of the Imaging Chamber, not wanting to leave Sam in such a scary predicament. Just the thought of everything that had been happening to his friend - both the one in the past and the one in the Waiting Room - was giving him a headache. He sighed, rubbing his temples gently to ward it off to almost non-existence. Getting old sucks, he thought sourly.

He raised his eyes to look around the Control Room, noting that Gooshie was no longer at the controls. Was it really that late? It made him wonder if leaving at this moment was such a good idea. The thought quickly vanished when he remembered just how important the information that Lisa had was to the leap.

Walking down the ramp, he carefully placed the hand link on the console and started for the exit.

It was then that Julianna stepped out of her quarters and started down the lonely corridors toward the Control Room. She couldn't sleep. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on at the moment, but it was completely throwing her off balance. She had dressed casually in a pair of pants and a tee shirt. She sighed as she stopped to tie her shoe when she looked up to see Al coming down the corridor still fully dressed.

"Admiral." She responded as she quickly stood up and saluted him. "Morning, sir."

Al's head raised, along with his eyebrow, at Julianna's greeting. "Morning?" He frowned at her. "Jules, drop the salute. And the 'sir'. That's an order, Captain."

Jules smiled lopsidedly at him as she bent back down to finish tying her shoelace. "Yeah, yeah, yeah... it's morning. Ya know... wee hours. As in… 0300, and as in oh my God, it's early."

"Or, oh my God, it's late." Al corrected. "Beth isn't going to be very happy with me, I can tell you that."

"Well, si..." She smiled at him as she stood. "Al. I think that Beth understands."

Al responded to her smile with a yawn. "Damn," he muttered with a bit of frustration. "I could use some sleep."

Jules couldn't help but notice the yawn. "I hope it's that you're just tired and not bored with me." She said softly. She looked at him worried. "You haven't slept well this leap have you... if any? Right?"

Al gave her a knowing frown. "I already have one doctor in the family, Jules. I don't need my assistant to act as a surrogate..."

"Bodyguard." She corrected.

"Assistant." Al told her firmly.

"Bodyguard." She said again. "I can be just as stubborn as you can be, Al. Don't try me. I've had more sleep than you have... obviously."

Al growled at her, walking past her, knowing full well that she was following him. "Just because SECNAV says I need a bodyguard doesn't mean I really need one. Jeeze, Louise, Jules! It was over half a year ago! There are no whackos out to get me."

"Except the one behind you." She mimicked from behind him and straightened up as he turned back to her. "Listen, Al....SECNAV gave me the orders. And unfortunately, I follow my orders from SECNAV, unlike some people." She insinuated. "And anyway, I like being around you. You remind me of myself."

He gave her a bit of a frown. "That is exactly the problem I'm having." Al turned and started down the corridor again, stepping quickly into the elevator and pressing the button for the highest level.

Jules followed him inside the elevator quickly and leaned against the back wall. "So...where are we going?"

"You are going for your morning jog, like you always do. I am going for a drive," Al told her firmly.

"Oh no we're not." She said plainly. "It sounds like we are going on a drive."

Al turned towards her and pointed a finger at her. "Don't start…"

"Watch it...three are pointing back at ya." She started before he could start.

He growled at her interruption, lowering the finger despite himself. "Don't start acting like Jackie, Jules. I'm not in the mood." As he spoke, the door opened to allow him to turn and head for the security entrance.

Jules hopped up from the back wall and followed him, bouncing down the hall. "You just don't get it do you, Al? I'm your shadow and there's nuttin' you can do about it." She said as she be-bopped behind him.

"You're starting to act like a six-year-old," Al commented dryly as he presented his authorization to the guard.

"I know... and it's annoying the hell out of you." She said as she also presented her authorization. "Hey, Thomas. We're just going for a little drive. Be back in a little bit."

"Hey Jules..." He said, as he looked her up and down. "A drive huh? Why don't you go with me on a drive." 

Al turned at the guard’s use of the nickname, frowning with annoyance. 

"I’m not your shadow." She said as Al began to walk away. "I'm his." She said as she jerked a thumb his way.

"Don't you think he's a little immature for you, Jules? Besides, since when was just anyone allowed to call you that?" It was plainly obvious that he was being overly protective of her and was annoyed that the nickname wasn't as exclusive between them anymore.

Julianna quickly caught up with him. "Yes, father," she said joking around with him as she jumped ahead of him. She turned quickly and began walking backwards toward his car. "Actually, Thomas and I dated awhile back.... High School and in college. And... the only people that call me that are you and him. No one else.... so quit being jealous, already."

"Jealous?" Al huffed. "Captain, I never get jealous." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to the red Ferrari Testarosa, which sat in the parking lot.

Julianna grinned playfully as she quickly nabbed the keys from him. "If I can't salute and say sir, you can't call me Captain, then." She said as she twirled away from him with the keys dangling in her hand.

Al shook his head slowly. "Fine. Jules, we don't have time for this nonsense. Just give me back the keys and get in the damn car. All right?" He forced his voice to remain low, trying not to let the tension of the day be put out upon his friend/assistant/bodyguard.

"Damn car? Which damn car? I don't see a damn car. I see the sleek red Ferrari that I'd love to drive. Here..." She quickly opened the car and got in the driver's seat. "Where are we going? I'll drive... you sleep. You need the rest anyway." She said as she put her hands on the wheel, feeling the sleekness of the car around her.

Al sighed. There really was no way to win when she was being this way, not unless he donned his dress uniform and starting being austere with her. And he was too tired to go back into the complex. 

"Come on Al... get in!" She hollered at him. "Let's go."

He sighed, the sigh unintentionally becoming a yawn. "Ziggy, let my wife know that I had to go out on business and send instructions to the car on the best route to Lisa's current address." With a bit of reluctance, he slipped into the passenger's seat. "I'm probably going to regret this."

Jules lightly hit his arm. "You gotta trust me, Al. I know what I'm doing." She said as she started the car and gunned it experimentally letting the engine roar.

Al winced strongly at the sound. It was a terrible thing to do to such a wonderful piece of machinery. Without hesitation, he put the seatbelt on.

She put the car in drive and slowly pulled out away from the complex. "Fooled ya, didn't I?" she questioned as she began to get the information from Ziggy as to where she needed to drive. All the way to Longview, Texas! Oh, boy!

Al tried the best he could to stay awake but the gentle roll of highway under the car caused his eyes to finally close, and he started to breathe in that deep manner that indicated he was dead to the world.

Julianna turned her head to look upon Al. She was glad that he was asleep. It was about time that he had a good night's sleep even though it was only going to last half of the night. A few moments after he was completely out, she finally heard the sound that told her that yes, he was asleep. Snoring. She sighed herself and turned on the radio to try to drown out the noise that Al was making, but not loud enough to wake him. With an oldies station playing Be Bop A Lulu, she sang along and shot down the road.

Al hummed a bit. "Danesa," he muttered in his sleep, the song obviously filtering into his dreams.

Jules quickly looked at him. She shook her head softly. "Danesa, huh?" She asked softly, rubbing her neck. "Blackmail can be so much fun."
 

PART FOUR

Outside Longview, Texas

December 11, 2000

Al woke slowly, rolling his neck along the back of the passenger's seat. Wincing at the crick in his neck, he looked around to find that the Ferrari had stopped at some kind of gas station in the middle of a city. He looked to the driver's side to see Jules just returning to the car, her hands full.

Jules handed him the cup of coffee that she had in her right hand. "Here. Just like you like it," she muttered as she tried to get in the car without making a mess with the other cup. "Sweet, like your women." She said, remembering his little blunder from last night. "Oh... and ... Al, just who is Danesa, anyway?"

Al was grateful that he hadn't yet taken a sip of the coffee, otherwise there would be one hell of a cleaning bill on his VISA. Still, he had a hard time keeping his hands on the cup.

"Danesa?" he questioned, finally taking that sip he needed. He winced at the taste. Tastes like the sludge from the cafeteria.

"Yeah, Danesa. Ya know... the one that only comes to you at night... the one that creeps into your dreams." She said as she started the car once again. "The one that comes when Be-Bop A Lulu comes on the radio."

Al frowned at her with confusion. "Be-Bop..." He stopped before turning his attention to the coffee in his hands. "No one important."

"Innocent people don't talk in their sleep, Al." She said softly. "And they don't whisper the other person's name so seductively either."

Al sighed, giving her a meaningful glare. "Innocent people never had my experiences either. I never said I was an angel."

"Ain't that the damn truth." She muttered as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She backed up the car and continued on the route that Ziggy had given her. "We're almost there." She said quickly wanting to change the subject knowing that Al would be giving her those glares all day if she didn't stop.

"Good," he said firmly. "Hope you packed breakfast too."

Jules pointed to the sack between them. "Eat up." She said. "There are breakfast burritos, muffins, and donuts in there. Take your pick... but I want that blueberry muffin. Don't you take it."

Al chuckled. "Beth'll kill you over the donuts." He reached in and grabbed one. 

"Hey... I just bought them. You don't have to eat them." She supplied.

"How long until we get there?" He asked, as the thought that he was going to see the mother of his child finally settled on him. He could swear he was getting nervous.

"According to Ziggy, about ten minutes."

Al downed the donut in less than a minute, finishing the coffee in a similar, yet less quick, manner.

"Oh… yeah... that's really good for you. Eating like a hog isn't going to help your cholesterol level any, Al."

"No doctors, no cholesterol," he commented, leaning back in the car seat to watch the trees and buildings pass.

"Yeah, yeah. No high blood pressure, no stress; right. You keep telling yourself that, sir." She said softly. "And anyway, I wanted that donut." 

Al closed his eyes and smiled. "Then you should have called dibs on it."

"I didn't know that I was back in 5th grade." Jules said as she turned on a side street. She began to look at the numbers on the houses. "601.... .603... 605.... Aha... here... 611. We're here."

Julianna noticed he just sat there. She turned off the car ignition and turned to him. "Alright, Al. I want it straight. Why did you need to come to Longview, Texas? What is so almighty important in that house?"

Al opened his eyes at her words, looking at the house, which they had parked in front of. It was a nice small house, kind of reminiscent of the bungalow that Beth and he once owned. He didn't move from his seat, but merely looked at the building with a hint of nervousness and wonder. He knew the woman on the other side of the door. Or did he?

He took a breath. "My ex-girlfriend lives here," he said quietly. "Lisa Sherman."

Jules looked at Al incredulously. "I'm going to be an accessory to murder." She replied as she looked at him. "Beth is going to kill you. And... I... oh man... I thought it was for something else.... like... Sam." She said emphatically.

"It is for Sam," he answered, opening the door and stepping out of the car. His eyes never left the house. "He's leaped into her."

Jules hopped out of her side of the car listening to him. "Wait. He leaped into Lisa? Lisa lives here? The girl in the Waiting Room?" She frowned not understanding everything. "Do I need to be aware of anything before we go up to this house?"

Al frowned, his attention finally drawn to Jules. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do I need to know something before we go up to the house?" She stated again. "You haven't told me squat about why you're here. I'm here to protect you, Al. Don't make my job harder."

Al shook his head, giving her a small smile. "There's nothing here you need to protect me from, Jules, except maybe from myself." He sighed, looking at her. 

Jules looked at him and threw her hand down at him. "Oh...is that all?" She blew air through her lips making a sound. "Well...hell...let's go."

Al glared at her. "You're being glib."

"Yeah...well… if the shoe fits...." She let her sentence fade away as she started towards the house.

Al followed suit, making his way so that he was in front of her when he rang the doorbell. He gave her a definite look that indicated that he was in charge and that she should stay out of everything.

Jules held up her hands close to her chest letting him know that she was stepping down from the charge position, and even took a step back.

The door opened and a woman stood behind the screen, openly peering out at the two of them. "May... May I help you?"

Al smiled gently at her. "Hello, Lisa," he said gently, his eyes full of fondness. It seemed far too repetitive to him after saying the same words in the Waiting Room.

Lisa stood there as her mouth opened in awe. She blinked at the image that she was seeing and suddenly snapped her mouth shut and opened the door. "Bingo? Oh good Lord...BINGO!" She stepped out onto the porch and threw her arms around him.

"Bingo?" Jules questioned in a low voice.

Al returned the hug, ignoring the inquiry as he rubbed Lisa's back. "Yeah, it's me all right."

Lisa didn't want to step away from him just yet, but hearing the other young woman's voice, she quickly stepped back. She looked at him then back to the young lady. "This is.... ah.... your...daughter?" She asked quietly.

Al's eyes widened at her words before he shook his head. "No, just a close friend. This is my assistant, Jules Thomas. Jules, this is Lisa Sherman."

Jules took a step towards her and took the hand with a firm but gentle grip. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

Lisa held out her hand to the younger woman and looked at her interestingly. "Thomas... Thomas... I knew some Thomas's at one point in time...." She said as she looked from Al to Jules. "Nice to meet you, too. Oh, look at me! Come in. Please come in. Would you like something to drink?" She asked as she stepped back over the threshold to let them in the house. Both Al and Jules saw her glance back outside worriedly.

Al stepped in the house with a smile, followed by Jules who looked around the house with examining eyes.

"No, thank you, though," Al responded politely.

"Jules?" She asked once more. "My... you do look so much like Al." She said then shook her head at a thought that came to her mind.

Jules frowned slightly at her words before shaking her head. "No, thank you, ma'am." She stood by the couch as Al sat down.

"Lisa, I need to talk to you," Al said, needing to get down to the matter at hand before he became too involved in the visiting aspect of the meeting.

Lisa took a seat beside him and leaned forward as she took his hands in hers. "What is it, Al? You look flustered. What's wrong?"

Al exhaled. "I don't know how to ask you this but... Ah, hell," he muttered.

"Just ask me, Al." She said plainly.

Al turned and looked into her eyes. "Lisa... where's my... where's our baby?" He couldn't believe he had been so drastically blunt with the question, but he didn't know how to ask it gently.

Jules' eyes widened. Baby?!

Lisa blinked at the question as he put it so bluntly. She looked at him in the eye for a moment, then looked down and away, turning her body totally from him. "How... how did you find out?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Al questioned, knowing he couldn't explain that she already told him only the day before.

"I guess... I guess not." She looked down at her hands. "I... our baby..." she said as she looked back up but not at him. "I don't know. I don't know where our baby is, Al." She said her voice full of emotion.

"You gave the child up for adoption." He stated matter-of-factly, knowing that it was the truth. 

"Yes." She said simply. "I did what I had to do." 

"To save you and the child," he continued.

"Admiral..." Jules said in a warning tone.

"To save the child." Lisa said softly. "That child needed a family. Someone who would care for them better than I could." She said, hating lying to him.

Al already knew it was a lie, though. It didn't take a genius to know the real reason.

Lisa began to wring her hands as she sat on the edge of the couch. "Al, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

"You did tell me."

"Al..." Jules said with more emphasis.

"Just now," Al added quickly, throwing Jules a slight frown before turning back towards Lisa. "Buy, why are you lying to me, Lisa?"

Lisa quickly stood. "I.... " She went across the room to look at the pictures that she had of her own family. "I'm not." She said softly. She continued to wring her hands insistently. 

Al firmly walked up behind her. "You gave the child up because you were afraid that he would kill both of you," he told her with incredible calmness.

Lisa closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her mouth before turning to him. "I had to at least save our child, Al. I ... I didn't want her here. I didn't want her to suffer." Her chin quivered slightly. "I didn't want our baby beaten."

He noted her choice of gender. I have another daughter... somewhere. He took a breath, shaking his head. "Why didn't you go with her?"

"You don't think that I tried, do you?" She said indignantly. "I tried. I tried several times to go with her...to be with her... to just hold her.... And... although they were good people. I didn't want him to find her. He always found me. Always. That's why I'm still here." Tears finally spilled forward onto her cheeks. "I wanted our daughter, Al. More than anything. I couldn't have you... but, I needed her...."

He nodded with understanding, shushing her gently as he wiped her tears away. "It's okay, Lisa. It's okay." His fingers brushed her cheek gently but he could still feel the damage that had been done to her jaw. "Oh, God!" he whispered with angered sorrow. He lowered his hand and took a step back, wanting to give her some room.

Lisa slowly sank to the floor. "I just...." She began to cry openly. "Oh, Al! I'm so sorry!"

Al lowered himself in front of her. "No, I'm sorry," he said gently, looking at her with caring eyes. "Did Jack do that to you? Knock out your back teeth?"

"No!" She said too fast. She quickly began to brush at her face as she heard the bells chiming from a clock in her living room. "No… he didn't."

"Don't lie to me, Lisa," he said firmly. "I know he's hurt you. Otherwise you wouldn't have given our daughter up."

Lisa cringed at his words. Slowly, she nodded. "Al," she started. "You need to leave."

Al moved closer to her, gently taking her into his arms, petting her hair. "I'm not leaving without you, Lisa. I'm getting you the hell away from that maniac."

Lisa cuddled closer to Al's embrace, and wrapped her arms around him, not wanting to let go. "I can't. He'll kill me if he finds me gone."

Jules frowned at her words. "Not if I can help it, ma'am."

Al smiled gratefully at her. "You'll be safe, Lisa. Beth has wanted to meet you anyway, and we live in a very safe neighborhood."

"Oh... Al... I..."

"What the hell is going on!?" Jack asked as he stepped inside the door, slamming it behind him. Seeing Lisa in Al's arms, his lip curled. "You... you slut!"

Jules quickly turned at the bellow to see a tall, muscular man come into the house. She immediately took a tactical position between him and the two friends now behind her. 

"Get out of my way, little girl." He stated hauntingly.

"Not on your life, mister," she growled back.

"Jules..." Al warned, himself taking a protective stance in front of Lisa.

"YOU!" Jack pointed a finger at Al. "You're the one that got her pregnant so long ago, aren’t you?"

"I was just providing her with something that you obviously couldn't: Affection," Al answered firmly.

"Al," Lisa warned as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Please stop."

"Sir..." Jules warned simultaneously.

"What the hell is this? A family reunion? All we need is the other little bitch and you'd have it." Jack said as he took a step forward.

Jules took a step in his direction upon his actions. "Don't take another step, sir," she warned firmly.

Lisa didn't like where this was going at all. She quickly walked around Al toward her husband. "Jack, this is a misunderstanding."

"Lisa!" Al called out firmly to stop her.

Jules quickly blocked her actions with skill.

Lisa looked at Jules before her. "Let me go. He only wants me. Let me go." She finally said lowly.

"He only wants to knock you around, ma'am, and I won't have it." Her eyes never left Jack, watching him like a hawk.

Al took several steps towards them. "We are leaving, Captain Sherman. All three of us. " 

Jack stated simply, "over my dead body. My wife isn't going anywhere with you," as he took another step towards them

Jules prepared herself for a fight as he came closer. One more step and she would have that fight. "Admiral, we'd better go now," she told him, letting him know that she meant business. 

Somehow, Lisa slipped between both Al and Jules hands and took a few hesitant steps toward her husband. "Jack, come on... I'll go get you a beer. We'll sit down and have something extra special tonight for supper. Please... Jack...let them leave. I'm not going anywhere. I prom... I... promise."

"Lisa," Al said with gently. "You don't have to do this."

Jack roughly pulled her to him. "See? She doesn't want to go, and if you know anything about Lisa, she keeps her promises."

Lisa closed her eyes as Jack's hand clasped onto her neck, holding her close to him. "Please, Al. Just go." She said as she opened her eyes again. She didn't want him see the punishment that she was going to have for even letting people in the house when he wasn't home, let alone what she was going to get for talking to A. 

"I am not going to let him hurt you again, Lisa," he said with determination.

Hot tears came to her cheeks. "Please Al... leave. " 

Jules cringed at the words she was about to say. "Admiral, let's go." She started to herd him towards the door.

Lisa caught Julianna's eyes with her own as she mouthed. "Thank you."

"No!" Al exclaimed with fury. "We are not going anywhere without her, Captain! That's an order!"

Jules firmly pushed Al towards the door, keeping herself between the two men. "Dammit, Al! Get the hell out of here, will you?"

Lisa closed her eyes to the plight of her once lover, while Jack stood cocky and arrogant watching the little girl move the stubborn man out of his house.

Acting purely out of anger, Al pushed passed Jules and punched Jack firmly in the jaw.

"Al!" Jules yelled, hurrying to pull him away before things could get worse.

Jack's head popped back, and he looked at Al angrily. He pushed Lisa out of the way, and headed for Al. He kicked the coffee table out of the way with one quite booted foot and firmly punched Al back, hitting his jaw.

Jules quickly grabbed Al's shirt and pushed him out of the way, taking a stance between Jack and Al. She delivering a hard jab to Jack's stomach and then to his jaw.

"No! Stop it!" Lisa cried out.

Jack stumbled backward only to step back up again. He swung for Jules, but he missed when she ducked. He was madder than anything now. He quickly followed up with another swing, which landed in Jules' stomach and knocked the wind out of her.

Jules fell to her knees, wincing at the punch, while Al stood up to start towards Jack again. Before either of them could get near each other, she quickly pulled a pistol and aiming it at the man. "Hold it right there!"

Jack slapped at the gun that she held in her hand, knocking it across the room to land on the couch. "Bitches and their guns," he said menacingly as he slapped her hard across the face.

Jules fell to the floor at the harsh blow while Al hurried to her side defensively.

"NO!" Lisa screamed out and picked up the gun from the couch where it had fallen. She pointed the gun at him. "STOP IT!" She yelled her voice almost like a banshee.

Al raised his head quickly at her scream. "Lisa... come on! Let's go!" He urged, helping Jules to her feet.

Jules recovered quickly and started towards Lisa to recover the gun and make sure that she was out of the way.

Jack growled at the sight of his wife with the gun and started towards her. 

Lisa boldly took several steps toward Jack, holding the gun up to him. "Kiss my ass, Jack. I'm leaving." 

Jack reared back his hand. At the same moment that his hand met her cheek, the gun went off. The shock on his face was enough for him to bounce back several feet. He fell to the floor holding his stomach.

Lisa fell to the floor from the force of the blow and began crying, the smoking gun still in her hand.

Jules hesitated, looking at the situation for only a moment before gently going over and taking the gun from her and rubbing her back at the same time. Al stood from his knelt position and slowly walked towards them.

"It's all right," Jules was assuring. "It's all over now."

"Is it?" Lisa asked as she continued to cry, wrapping her arms around herself. 

"Yes, it is." Al told her, taking Jules' place with sad eyes. "He can't hurt you anymore."

Lisa quickly went to Al for support. She wanted to be held in his arms again. At least there she knew that she wouldn't be hurt anymore.

Al held her carefully, helping her onto her feet. "Julianna, call the police," he said softly.

Julianna nodded briefly, going to find a telephone.

Suddenly, Lisa looked at the woman walking away from her. "What did you say her name was?" She asked softly. 

Al reached for a blanket and wrapped it over her shoulders before leading her to the couch. "Julianna. I call her Jules for short," he told her, gently rubbing her arms.

"Oh my Lord," she whispered, looking at him with surprise.

Jules could easily be seen from the living room, her ear against the receiver as she spoke with the police. 

"Al, do you remember what you first asked me today?" Lisa asked not taking her eyes away from the lady in her living room.

Al looked at her with curiosity. "I asked you where our child was. You said you didn't know. Why?"

"I didn't." She said only to point a finger at Jules. "But I