The Leap Between Sisters

doogie1969

Project QL Intern
Nov 18, 2005
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My girls and I are big Quantum Leap fans, having watched the entire series over last summer. I wrote this story for them for Christmas. I have changed their names and my wife's name in the story just for safety sake...I welcome any input. Doug White

THE LEAP BETWEEN SISTERS

The first thing that Sam noticed as his vision came back into focus was a pretty little blond girl staring at him. She looked to be maybe five years of age and if her expression was any indication, she was NOT happy to see him.
?Uh, hi there.? said Sam.
?Where?s my sissy?? the girl asked him.
?Your sissy??
?My sister, Linda! Where is she?? the girl started to sob heavily.
?Hey, there, don?t cry, it?s okay.? Sam bent over near the young girl to try and calm her down.
The girl backed away from Sam with a look of fear in her eyes. Suddenly without warning she yelled out, ?MOMMY! THIS MAN TOOK SISSY!?
From behind Sam, a woman came out the door. ?What is going on out here you two??
Sam stood up and turned toward the woman. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of his image in a window from the house the woman exited. Another young, pretty girl, about eight or nine with short brown hair and a twinkle in her eye looked back at him.
?I?m a little girl.? Sam muttered to himself. ?Oh boy.?

?If you two can?t play out here without fighting you are going to spend a lot of time in separate corners in your room!? the woman said to Sam and the young girl. Sam looked at her sheepishly and said, ?Okay, um, uh, Mom.?
The woman went back inside. Sam started to turn back to the young girl when he felt a sharp pain in his leg. ?Ow! Why did you kick me??
?She?s not your mommy! She?s mine and my sister?s! What did you do with my sissy??
Sam bent down once more to the young girl. ?Look, I know this isn?t going to make sense, but to your mommy in there and everyone else, I am your, um, sissy.?
The girl looked at him wide-eyed and then suddenly started to laugh. ?That?s just weird! You?re a boy! You can?t be my sissy!?
Sam smiled back and said, ?I know, believe me, I know. However, no one else can see me as a boy. It?s kind of magic, you know? And you?re the only one who knows the trick! Isn?t that great??
The girl laughed a little softer this time. ?I guess so. Where?s my sissy then??
?Well, it?s kind of hard to explain, but she?s okay. She?s with a friend of mine.? Sam stood up again. ?So what is your name??
?Nancy. What is yours??
?I?m Sam. But to keep the magic trick going, you?ll have to pretend I?m your sister, uh, what is her name again??
?Her name is Linda. But I call her sissy.?
?Sissy it is then.?

About this time, the familiar whoosh of the imaging chamber door was heard and Sam?s holographic friend Al stepped forward. However, the door opened right in the middle of a shed nearby so to little Nancy, it looked like Al was floating through the wall.
?Cool!? she exclaimed, ?He?s like a ghost!?
?Hiya kid.? the gruff looking man said to Nancy, ?Your sister wanted me to tell you hi and that she?s okay.?
Nancy walked over slowly to Al, who was now out of the shed wall and put her hand on his leg only to have it pass right through. ?This is so, so weird.? she giggled. She continued to scrutinize Al up and down, stopping to look at the cigar in his hand. ?Hey mister, my mommy and daddy say that smoking is bad. Don?t you know that??
?No one?s perfect kid. Sam, can we go somewhere private and talk??
Sam grinned, thinking how funny it was that one little kid?s scrutiny could make his best friend so uncomfortable. ?Nancy, hon, can you play over there for a few minutes? My friend and I need to talk.? Nancy walked over to where Sam pointed, but it was easy to see she didn?t like the idea too much. ?So, what have you got? Why am I here??
Al pulled out his handlink and hit a few buttons. ?Well, let?s see. You?re name is Lin, uh, Lyn, uh...? he paused a moment to smack the handlink on the side a couple times, ?um, Lyn, Linda White. It?s September 12, 2005. You?re eight years old and you and your family have just moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where your dad just got a job as a computer programmer. Anyway, according to Ziggy, you?re here for two reasons. Linda is having a hard time with the move and Ziggy believes Dr. Beeks can help her with that.?
Sam interrupted Al with a small sigh, ?Well, that sounds fairly simple. But that?s on your end of this. What am I supposed to be doing??
Al hesitated briefly. Sam urged him, ?Al, come on, what is it? Why am I here??
?Well, from what we can tell, Linda?s school class is taking a field trip a week from today and uh, hmm, you see...?
?Al, c?mon! Tell me what it is!?
?Okay! Okay!? Al took a deep breath. ?Next week on that field trip, one of Linda?s classmates, a young girl by the name of Karla, goes missing and is never seen again.?

Linda looked around the room once more. It was a big room, rather boring overall with just a bed in the middle but she took it all in, totally fascinated. According to the nice man with the smelly cigar, she was in the future! And when she looked at the bed, the reflective surface it had showed her an image - not of her - but of a friendly older man, one with dark hair - some gray in the front - and kind eyes.
It was like something out of one of Daddy?s books! And there was a computer that actually talked to her! She?d been answering all sorts of questions it asked her about her family which was fine, but funny enough it got a little snippy with her when she started firing questions its way. Go figure.
About this time the door opened to the room and an attractive black woman walked through. She smiled kindly at Linda. ?Hi Linda, my name is Verbeena Beeks. May I come in??
?Uh, sure.? Linda responded shyly.
?This is kind of scary, I?m sure, but I?m here to assure you that everything is going to be okay.? the young woman started out.
?I?m not scared at all, Ms. Beeks.?
?Verbeena, please.?
?Okay, uh, Verbeena. I?m not scared. It?s kind of cool. But I really want to see more of this place if that?s okay? I mean, what is it like here in the future? How did you send your friend back in time? Can I try it myself? Are there still cars? How about schools? What about space people? Are there any people from outer space here? I?m sure there are, what about...?
Verbeena laughed and held up her hand. ?Please, please, hold on. I?ll try to answer your questions if I can. If possible, maybe later we can go for a tour of the place. But first I want to talk to you about your family.?
?Sure, what would you like to know? There?s my mom and dad of course and then my sister, um...gee, that?s strange! I can?t remember her name!? Linda?s brow scrunched together in frustration. ?Why can?t I remember my sister?s name??
Verbeena smiled and said, ?It?s not your fault, sweetheart, that happens to the people who leap here. They forget things here and there that they?d otherwise normally know. When you get home again, you should remember just fine.?
?Whew! That?s good to know. My sister would not be happy if she found out I forgot her name!?
?I?d like to ask you a little about your recent move to Sioux Falls, Linda. Can we talk about that a bit??
A look of sadness overshadowed Linda?s face for a moment but was quickly replaced with her normal countenance. ?Sure, I guess.?
?Are you happy with the move?? ?Yeah, its okay I suppose.? Linda responded. ?There?s a lot to do in Sioux Falls and all but I sure miss my friends.?
Suddenly the computer, Ziggy interrupted the conversation. ?Dr. Beeks, I apologize but you?re wanted in Ward 27.?
Verbeena stood up and ruffled Linda?s hair a bit. ?Okay, Ziggy, I?ll be right there. Linda, thank you so much, I will stop by a bit later to continue or talk if that?s okay with you. I?ll have Gushi stop by with some things for you to do in the meantime, okay??
?Sure thing, Verbeena.? Linda stood up and stretched as the doctor left the room. ?Man that is so strange that I can?t remember my sister?s name...? she thought. ?I wonder how she?s doing with me not there...?

?Dad, it?s okay, I really don?t want to do this!? Sam tried to tell Linda?s father, but to no avail. The man had Sam up in the air in a Superman pose flying him around the room.
?What?s wrong booger? You normally like it when I fly you like Superman!? her dad, Doug, said.
?Booger? Booger?? Sam thought. ?Does she like it when he calls her booger? Good grief!? Sam climbed down from Doug?s arms and said, ?Not tonight Dad, I?m just not feeling in the flying mood.?
?Alright kiddo. Why don?t you and Nancy go play for a bit.?
Sam went into Linda and Nancy?s room where Nancy was playing with a Barbie doll and looking rather despondent. ?Hi, Nancy, what?s wrong??
?Nothing.? was the only response Sam got.
?Are you sure? You look awful sad.?
Nancy looked up at Sam with her big eyes and said, ?I miss sissy.? Then she started to cry.
?Oh boy.? Sam bent down and hugged little Nancy. ?Nancy, shh. Come on, sweety. You can?t let this make you sad. Remember, it?s not forever. I just have to help a friend of your sisters next week and then I?ll be gone and your sister will be back.?
?I know,? said Nancy with a sniffle. ?but it?s hard, I miss playing with her.?
?Well, you could play with me if you want.? Sam replied.
About this time, Nancy?s mom, Norma, came into the room. ?Time to get ready for bed ladies.?
Sam liked this lady. She was stern, but kind. And it was easy to tell she loved her girls a lot. He looked at Nancy and whispered, ?Guess we?ll have to play later, huh?? he said with a wink.

Nancy went in with Norma to take a bath. She climbed into the warm water and started to play with her toys quietly.
?Are you okay Nancy?? Norma asked her.
?I?m fine. Just afraid.?
?Of what??
?For sissy?s friend at school. Sam, uh, I mean sissy needs to help her.?
Confused, Norma pressed on a bit. ?What do you mean, Linda needs to help her??
?I don?t know. She just does. Next Monday.?
?Monday? You mean the field trip they?re going on? How do you know this??
?He told me.? Nancy replied.
?He? What he?? Norma asked the little girl.
?Oops.? Nancy giggled, ?I meant she. Sissy told me.?
Norma stopped with the questions and sat there quietly while Nancy finished her bath. What was Nancy talking about? Should she ask Linda? ?No,? thought Norma making up her mind, ?I?ll just go with her class next Monday on this trip and see what all this is about firsthand.?

The next morning, Sam sat in the car and looked out the window quietly as the family headed to school. They?d dropped off Doug already at his work and now it was Sam?s turn to be let out into the world. ?How am I going to pretend to be a third-grade girl?? Sam wondered to himself.
As the day progressed, Sam found that it wasn?t really that difficult after all. The school work was of course pretty easy; swiss-cheese brain or not, and the kids seemed pretty nice.
All except for little Alan. This ?nozzle? as Al might put it, was nothing but trouble, especially for Sam. He took things off Linda?s desk, he stuck his tongue out at Sam when the teacher wasn?t looking, and one time Sam was sure he?d had a spit ball thrown at him. There were times when Sam wanted nothing more than to pick Alan up and stuff him in Mrs. Black?s trash can. But of course, all that would do is ultimately get Linda into trouble and so he refrained and allowed Alan to continue heaping on the abuse.
That afternoon at recess, Al appeared to Sam again. ?Hey Sam, how?s it going? Oh man, recess!? Al exclaimed with obvious joy. ?I loved recess as a kid. The monkey bars, basketball hoops and little Jennie Bulman. Boy was she cute! I tell ya...?
Sam interrupted before Al?s memories took him places Sam didn?t want to go to. ?Al!? he whispered to his holographic friend. ?Cut it out! Have you found out anything more from Ziggy??
Al looked at his friend, an expression of seriousness replacing the joy from before. ?Well, for starters, we found out you have already changed history somehow.?
?How so??
?In the original history, Linda?s mom and sister don?t go with her to the field trip. Now they do.?
?How did I do that?? Sam asked. ?Wait, I wonder...Nancy may have said something to her mom. Do you think that may have caused the change??
?I don?t know Sam. But it gets worse.?
?How much worse??
?As bad as you can imagine. Now, both you and Nancy go missing on this field trip as well as Karla and none of you are heard from again.?
Alan had been watching ?Linda? talking to herself for the last few minutes and began to slowly sneak up on her. Once he got close enough he gave her a shove that sent her sprawling to the ground. ?Crazy girl! Whaddya doing talking to yourself?? he screamed at her laughing.
Sam, still stunned by Al?s latest revelation, had no answer.
?Hi Dr. Bee--, I mean Verbeena. How are you this morning??
?I?m doing wonderful Linda. And yourself??
?I?m okay. I kind of miss my family though.?
?I?m sure it won?t be long until your back home, sweetheart.? Verbeena paused and looked at the young girl thoughtfully for a moment. ?Would you be interested in taking a walk with me??
?Sure!? Linda exclaimed, ?Where are we going to go??
?Nowhere in particular. I just thought we?d walk around the complex and talk for a bit.?
The little girl grabbed Verbeena?s hand and off they went. Linda thoroughly enjoyed the walk and so over the next several days, they continued with this routine. Through it, Verbeena was able to learn a lot about Linda.
She found out about her interests, very typical for a young girl, Barbies and dolls and boys ? even though you could tell from the shyness in her voice she didn?t want to admit the last one too much. She found out about Linda?s best friend Kathy from the place her family just moved from. Linda couldn?t remember the name of that city, but Verbeena had been told by Ziggy that it was Wilmar, Minnesota.
Verbeena also found out that Linda wanted to be excited about Sioux Falls but was sad a lot too because she missed her friends so much. She liked school but was having a harder time making friends than she did in Marshall.
?Linda, have you ever thought about trying out for something?? Verbeena asked her one day.
?Try out...what do you mean??
?Oh I don?t know. What kind of things do they offer kids your age? Basketball, or soccer maybe??
?Hmm. Mrs. Black mentioned something about student council one day and I thought about doing that but,? Linda?s voice trailed off.
?But what dear??
?I?m new Verbeena! What if no one likes me and I don?t get any votes?? Linda?s voice cracked a little as tears formed in her eyes.
Verbeena bent down and grabbed the young girls? hand. ?Linda, we all have the feelings you have right now at one time or another. It?s tough trying something new. But I promise you, even if you don?t win the election and get on the council, the experience you have will be one you never forget. And,? she said with a wink, ?you just might win!?
Smiling at the doctor, Linda replied, ?All right, Verbeena. When I get home I?ll give it a try.?
Suddenly a young Marine soldier burst upon the two ladies. ?Dr. Beeks,? he started, ?you and the subject must come with me now, maam.?
?What?s going on??
?Dr. Beckett and the subject?s sister are in trouble.?

The night before the trip, Sam got into a disagreement with Linda?s mom. He wasn?t sure who was in control of these leaps, but whoever thought that it was wise to leap him into an eight year old and then have him convince that child?s parents of something was either a lunatic or seriously deranged.
?Mom, you and Nancy do not need to go tomorrow.? Sam started off.
?I know we don?t need to go Linda, but I want to go.? Norma replied back.
?It won?t be safe for you!?
?What? What do you mean it won?t be safe for us? If it?s not safe for us, you?re certainly not going.?
?No!? Sam exclaimed.
?Excuse me young lady?? Norma?s voice took on a dangerous tone. ?Don?t you tell me no.?
Sam took a deep breath to calm himself. ?I?m sorry mom. It?s just that, well, uh, I didn?t want the kids to make fun of me for having my mom and kid sister there, you know??
Norma smiled and put her arm around Sam. ?Look sweetheart. I know how you feel, but this is your first field trip in this school and I really just want to be there to see how things go. I promise I?ll do my best to be a ?cool mom?, okay??
?But mom,? Sam began.
?No buts, kiddo. I?m going and there?s nothing more to be said.?

That was last night. Today they were on the field trip and Sam wasn?t sure what he was going to do. He had to keep track of little Nancy, and Karla and if Alan threw one more pebble at him he was sure he was going to, well, it?s better to just not think about it.
The excursion started off simple enough as field trips go. Before long, Sam even found himself enjoying the trip and the things he learned about Sioux Falls and its founder.
Towards the end of the museum part of the trip, Nancy started to squirm and wiggle and finally ran over to her Mom and whispered something in her ear. Norma looked at Sam and said, ?Linda, could you take your sister to the bathroom please??
?Sure, Mom.? Sam replied.
?I have to go too.? Linda?s friend Karla replied. ?I?ll come with you.?
The three of them entered the bathroom and Nancy ran into one stall and Karla into another. Sam stood there and patiently waited. As he was waiting, a young man walked into the restroom. Sam smiled at him, but the man didn?t smile back.
?Something?s wrong here.? Sam thought to himself as he moved closer to the stalls Nancy and Karla were in, turning his back to the young man. And then it occurred to him, he?d leaped into a girl on this leap and this was the girl?s room! The man who walked in just now shouldn?t be in here!
Sam tried to turn back to the man to stop him but before he could, the man had grabbed him and held him tight. In the course of doing so, Sam?s head hit the paper towel dispenser and he lost consciousness.

Karla was scared. The man who?d knocked Linda out had pointed a gun at her and Nancy and forced them through the bathroom window and into a van out in the parking lot. He?d tied the two of them up in the back and thrown Linda?s unconscious form in there beside them. Karla wasn?t sure what this man was going to do with them but she knew it couldn?t be good.
And poor Nancy! Ever since this happened she?d been crying out for her sister and someone named Sam. She?d look at Linda and say, ?C?mon Sam, wake up! You need to get sissy for me! I want my sissy!? And her cries would get louder. Karla was sure the man was going to hurt them if she couldn?t calm Nancy down soon.

In the waiting room, Al looked at Linda and wondered if she could handle what he was about to ask of her. ?Look,? he stared off. ?I don?t have a lot of time to explain the details here but in a nutshell, my friend who leaped into you is hurt and we can?t track him. Plus, some bad people have him and your sister and your sister isn?t handling it well to say the least. So we need your help.?
Linda looked at Al with big and very innocent eyes but at the mention of her sister, a determination came over her face that Al was happy to see. ?What do you need me to do??
?Well, essentially all we need you to do is to go into the Imaging Chamber and hold my hand. We figure by doing so, that Ziggy should be able to lock your neurons onto Nancy?s since your sisters and we should be able to track her and Sam.?
?Okay,? Linda replied. ?so we?ll be able to go and get them??
?No, not exactly. We?ll see them and they?ll see us but we won?t really be there. They?ll appear as holograms to us. Do you know what that word means??
?Not really.?
?That?s okay, you?ll figure it out. It?s going to be a little scary when we get there Linda, the two of them and your friend Karla are in some trouble, but if we can get Sam to wake up, he should be able to get them out of this. We need you to calm your sister down so that the bad people don?t hurt them.?

And so they went. It took some time for Ziggy to accomplish the task of locking Linda onto Nancy but finally they were there floating alongside them inside the van. When Nancy saw Linda she let out a loud, ?Sissy! You?re here!?
?Shhh. Nancy, you need to be quiet!? Linda said to her sister.
Nancy brought her voice down a bit and sniffled. ?I miss you, sissy. Some bad people took me. What do I do?? Karla, watching this scene, looked on confused. Who was Nancy talking to?
?It?s okay Nancy, it?s okay.? Linda reached out to touch Nancy?s shoulder only to pass her hand through her. So THAT?S what Al meant by hologram. ?Sam and Al are going to help you.? Linda looked at Al expectantly. ?You are going to help my sister aren?t you??
?I?m going to try kid.? Al looked at his friend lying helpless on the floor in the van. ?Sam, wake up. Sam! SAM!?
Sam moaned groggily. ?Al, is that you??
?Yes, Sam, it?s me. C?mon Sam you?ve got to wake up and help these girls!?
At that moment the van came to a stop. Sam, still unsure of his surroundings struggled to get to his feet. Al, however had a different plan.
?No Sam, stay down! He thinks you?re still unconscious! You can catch him off guard.?
Sam played along and laid back down as he was. The man opened up the rear doors to the van. Karla and Nancy both moved backward in fear, but Sam, still pretending to be unconscious, stayed put. As the man bent over to grab Sam?s foot, he suddenly found it thrust into his face, causing him to fall backward. Sam leaped out of the van and continued his attack. With a front kick straight to the man?s belly and then a backspin kick to his head, the man was knocked unconscious.
?Wow, Linda that was cool!? Karla yelled.
Sam bent over to catch his breath. ?Thanks,? he said, ?but we need to get out of here. Do either of you know the way back?? Karla and Nancy both shook their heads negatively.
?I do.?

Sam turned around to see himself holding Al?s hand. That must be Linda, he thought. ?You do??
?Yeah, I watched out the window the whole time. You?re not very far from the museum.?
?Are you sure? A lot was going on.? Sam said doubtfully to his counterpart.
?Sam, trust her, she knows!? Al replied, ?This kid has an amazing memory! She?s helped Gushie find his keys the other day and she remembered where I?d misplaced my cigar lighter and...?
?Okay, fine. Linda, which way do we go??
Sam watched as his image from the future stood up, pointed in one direction and vanished.
?Wha...? Where?d she go?? Sam exclaimed.
Al looked up in the sky as if he was listening to someone. ?What do you mean you can?t hold the image?? Then he looked down as if looking at a little kid. ?Can you still do it?? Al listened for a bit longer and then looked at Sam, ?Linda says she?d be able to lead you in the right direction, but she has to see what?s going on to do it.?
Sam felt the pressure of the situation growing inside of him. ?So what do we do now?? he asked. At the same time he felt that familiar tingling sensation...and leaped.

When he could finally see what was going on again, it looked like nothing had changed. He was still in Sioux Falls, still in this botched kidnapping situation. Well, maybe something changed, because he was looking at it from a whole different perspective. A slightly smaller one it seemed.
?Nancy, what?s going on?? a familiar voice asked.
Sam looked up and saw Linda looking down at him with concern. What?s going on? ?Uh, sissy?? he stammered.
?Sam, you?ve leaped into Nancy!? a voice from behind him yelled out. Al stood by hitting his handlink in frustration. ?Ziggy believes that this happened in order to allow Linda the ability to lead you out of here.?
?But she doesn?t remember what happened, Al!?
?I don?t think it matters Sam. She probably knows her way back to the museum anyways. See if you can talk her through it.?

And so he did. Sam convinced his ?big sister? they needed to leave and that she needed to get them to the museum. Holding his and Karla?s hand, Linda lead them around multiple roads until finally they arrived at their destination and found Norma and Mrs. Black. Linda, not remembering what had happened could not explain the situation but Karla and Sam were able to just fine. A policeman was sent to the scene and the man who attempted to abduct the girls was arrested.

The next morning, Sam sat on Nancy?s bed, unsure of what to do. About this time, Al appeared. ?Well, Sam, you did it.?
?Really.?
?What do you mean, really? Of course, you did it! The girls are safe, Linda signs up to get involved in the student council and with that martial arts move you did to the kidnapper she becomes the talk of the school and wins by a landslide. Her and Nancy lead normal, productive lives.?
?So why haven?t I leaped?? Sam asked.
?I think I know.? Al replied.
?Do tell.?
?There?s a little four-year-old in the waiting room who has done nothing but talk about you for the last 24 hours. I think you?re still here so that you can get a chance to tell her goodbye.?

A short time later, Sam looked up at Al and said, ?Do you think that will do it??
Al looked at him with a small smile and said, ?Yeah, Sam, I think it?ll do just fine.?
Sam smiled sadly thinking of his ?little sister? and the ?big sister? he started this adventure as, and leaped...

That afternoon Nancy awakes from a nap, sits up, stretches and stifles a yawn. As she climbs off her bed she notices a slip of paper sticking out from her pillow. She pulls it out and notices some words on it, obviously typed. ?Sissy, what does this say??
Linda takes the sheet of paper and reads it aloud:

Hello Nancy,
I?m sorry we couldn?t say good-bye face to face. I don?t have a lot of control on when I leave the places I go or where I go next.
I really enjoyed having you as my sister, if only for a little while. You were a lot of fun to play with.
If you can, try and remember me from time to time.
Your friend,
Sam


?Sam? Who?s Sam?? Linda asked her sister.

Nancy looked up with a smile, a small tear running down her face. ?Just a friend, sissy. One of the nicest I have, next to you.?
Linda felt a touch of a memory, a smiling black lady, a man with a smelly cigar, a man?s face in the mirror, one with kind eyes and then it passed. Shrugging, she ruffled her sisters? head and ran with her outside to play.
 
My oldest really enjoyed it. My youngest got kind of bored but it's a pretty long story and she was only four when I gave it to them. I hope that's it anyways and not because the story was bad! :)
 
Very Nice Story

A very enjoyable read. Someday even the little one will enjoy this. It now becomes a family heirloom!