From: TajuddinA@aol.com Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 01:01:43 -0500 Message-ID: <961222010143_575848330@emout10.mail.aol.com> Subject: child 5 "Like As a Child" pt. V Sam blew a huge sigh in Al's general direction. "What am I supposed to do? I can't keep her from getting laid off." Al shrugged. "No, but you've got two days to get to know her. According to Ziggy, she's way overdue on several pa. Pa?" He made a face and "coaxed" the rest of the information out. "Ments. Payments. Yeah, she's behind on several payments and losing her job must have pushed her over the edge, poor kid." "Yeah, I'll talk to her at five when we get off. In the meantime, I've got all this work to get done and-" he paused as if just realizing something "-and you look exhausted. Al, is everything okay?" Sometimes Sam got so wrapped up in the leap and what was going on that he forgot how much work Al put in. Besides taking care of Sam and faithfully getting the information needed to get the job done, he also had to contend with paperwork, budgeting money, personel, and the entire Senate Committee and their constant threats to cut funding for the project. Sam was often tempted to ask him if he was the only one left at Project Quantum Leap, still trying to bring Sam home, but he wasn't entirely certian he wanted to know the answer. Al would undoubtedly tell him he couldn't give him that information anyhow. Now he looked worn in his slightly rumpled suit. "Yeah, everything's fine," Al assured, tucking the cigar between his lips and wiping his face as if to erase any signs of trouble. "It's just that a few things have been going on and it _is_ almost two in the morning by now back in my little world. And you weren't between leaps as long as usual either. Not only that, but I had a very early start this morning with very little sleep to being with." He stopped abruptly, surprised at his little outburst. The last thing he wanted from Sam was pity. He hadn't needed to worry; Sam knew him better than that. Sam's eyes glittered. "Tina keeping you up again?" "Not exactly." "Well, whoever," Sam relented, refraining from bombarding Al with his own moral code. "Just get some rest, will you? I can't have my only observer falling down on the job." Al stifled a yawn. "Can't. Got next month's budget to hammer out, and I have to run some scenarios through Ziggy for you." "Yeah, well, try to find some time to get some sleep, huh?" he finished lamely. Al gave him a salute. "Yes, sir. Admiral, sir," he teased and disappeared. Sam worked steadily on until five, grateful that Al had helped to pass some of the time, at least. He was a little worried about his friend, though. He knew that Al had to put up with a lot, but he had never looked quite so burnt out before; he apparantly hadn't had time to catch up while Sam was between leaps this time. And he looked, not upset actually,....more like disturbed. Troubled was a better word. In his varied life, Al had seen a lot and for something to to bother him this profoundly could not be a good sign. *Al usually just needs a little prodding,* Sam thought to himself. *I'll get it out of him next time.* Five o'clock came and passed while Sam pondered all this and he went ouside, hoping to intercept Jody before she went home. He saw her standing on the corner, waiting for the bus. "Jody?" he asked, coming up beside her. She turned and smiled when she saw him. "Do you have a little time? I'd love it if you'd join me for a cup of coffee or something." She looked surprised at his invitation. *Well,* he reminded himself, *it was a little out of the blue.* And a little blunt. He hadn't made any attempt at small talk, but he had been worried the bus would come and she would be gone before he could lead up to the question. "Oh, I do wish I could, really, but I have to go on an interview." "Second job?" Sam asked sympathetically. She nodded and gave a little sigh. "It's getting harder and harder to make ends meet these days and I've got a kid to pick up from daycare too." "Well," he said, "how about if you give me your number and I'll give you a call later tonight and the three of us can go out for ice cream." She hesitated. "My treat." She smiled again and Sam noted she had a nice smile, patient and trusting. She wrote her number on a piece of notepad paper. "You're on." Sam gave an inward sigh as she stepped on the bus and set about the task of finding his own home. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- It was almost 5:00 AM before Al got up to his room. The budget was done, but the best scenario he and Ziggy had come up with was "work with her", which Sam certainly didn't need their help to figure out. He was just glad that he would be able to sleep for a while during Sam's night. Tina had brought her work up to his room to watch Callie, and he sent her off to her room with a hug and as passionate a kiss as he felt he could manage. She looked rather tired herself, so she didn't particularly mind. After Tina left, he peeked in on Callie, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Sighing, he pulled off his tie and hung it on the back of his arm chair. His jacket followed moments later and he sank down on the couch, rubbing his face. Callie padded slowly into the room, yawning. Al looked up at her. "Why are you still up?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. He just wanted sleep! "I've been asleep," she told him, "but I heard you come in." Al patted the couch beside him. "Come sit down for a moment before I send you back to bed." Obediently, she sat on the couch and watched him carefully. "Is something on your mind?" he asked gently. She nodded and he waited a moment. "Thank you," she whispered and hugged him. She was so starved for attention and love that Al didn't think anyone would ever be able to offer her enough, certainly not him, but he vowed at that moment, to try. It seemed that if she were given the choice between the embrace he found himself engaged in and the air that surrounded them, the girl would die of asphyxiation in his arms. Al kept his arm around her after she pulled away and decided that now that she fully trusted him, it was time to clear a few things up. "Callie, why did your father say he was not your father?" "I don't know," she replied, with less fear than she usually expressed when talking about him. "He never tells anyone that. I....wasn't supposed to tell you." "Well, that's okay." He cocked his head, trying to process that information despite being dead tired. He was amazed she was so awake. They sat there a moment longer as Al tried to figure out how to ask his next question, when to his surprise, she volunteered the information. "I told Ms Wendy once and she got very angry. She said that I lied and then she told my daddy what I said. And then he-" She shivered and Al clenched his teeth. "I never told anyone ever again." Her words were punctuated by silent sobs of agony and she huddled in the comfort of his arm. "No wonder you were so afraid," he whispered, sleep suddenly the furthest thing from his mind. "But, Callie, I'm trying to make you understand that you don't have to worry about that anymore." She didn't respond and Al feared she had closed up on him again. "Callie?" Her soft breathing told him she was asleep and made him wonder if she had really been sleeping while he was gone. He made a mental note to ask Tina about it later. Al settled in a more comfortable position and kicked off his shoes. His suit was already pretty rumpled as it was; sleeping in it one night wouldn't do it any more damage. Callie sighed softly in her sleep as he readjusted his arm and snuggled up against his shoulder. Al thought it was probably the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. When he closed his eyes, all he could see were her deep green ones, shadowed with the memory of things she had seen that she shouldn't have. Her eyes reminded him of Sam's. Yet, how could it be that the eyes of a grown man could be more innocent than those of a little girl? Sam had witnessed his own share of injustice, yet he seemed to maintain the ideaology that people were genuinely good at heart whereas a young soul had been so easily enslaved by fear. It was these thoughts as well as the vaguely uncomfortable sleeping position that drove Al into nightmares all night. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- Sam met Jody and her son, Michael, at a small ice cream shop on the outskirts of the city and from there, they went to a park where the boy could run around unrestrained. It was an unusually beautiful day, Sam noted as they sat on a park bench. He hadn't had the time earlier to take advantage of it; he'd been too busy to think about it. For two hours, Sam had gone through classifieds, made phone calls, inquiries.... History had said that Jody didn't get the job she had applied for, even though she didn't know that yet. Or maybe she would have gotten it, but it came too late. Either way, the best way Sam could see to help her was to get her another job before she got laid off. How he was going to pull that off as a veritable stranger was another story. "You know," she said, "I almost gave up on him." "What?" Sam asked, confused. "Michael. I didn't really have the money to support the two of us, but I think God wanted us to stay together. The job I had been holding at the time suddenly presented me with a raise. And so we stayed together." She smiled slightly and Sam returned it in admiration. "So, you two have always lived alone?" he inquired. She didn't pretend to misunderstand, he could see, but she did refrain from offering the information he was curious about. "That's right." "Listen," Sam said, uncertain of how to tell her he had been job hunting on her behalf. "How did your interview go?" he asked, suddenly changing direction, ignoring the part of his mind that told him if it had gone well, this wouldn't have happened in the original history and he would have no reason to be here. She sighed. "Well, you know how these things go. They said to expect a call some time next week." Sam sighed himself as he realized that no place would respond before Friday night, before she got laid off and two people lost their lives. He watched Michael and wondered what would happen to him when his mother went to prison. "Well, you never know," he responded to her earlier statement as lightly as he could. "Hey, you know, I heard about a couple of great opportunities from a friend and I took the liberty of writing down the information in case you're interested. I hope that doesn't offend you." She laughed lightly. "Now why should I be upset that you tried to help me? I appreciate your concern." She looked at him closely. "You have the love of God in your eyes," she said sadly, as if that was something she once had, but had lost in the shuffle of life. Sam wondered how a woman with such faith could become so lost and suddenly he saw a way to help her. "Why do you sound so sad when you say that?" he asked gently. She shook her head. "I know He never promised peace here on earth, but it's been so long since I had any that I'm beginning to wonder." He wondered at that. He had never really been a part of any religious practices, but years of leaping around had taught him that there was more to the world than science could explain. Sam put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a little hug. "Well," he said slowly, "I guess you got to just keep praying about it." The words seemed foreign to his own lips, but she accepted the suggestion without question. "I try. But it's so hard." She put her head on his shoulder. "May He help all of us," she whispered. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- Ziggy had the entire profile on Francis Winters compiled and ready to go by the time Al was up the next day. He sat at the small table in his room with a cup of steaming coffee, trying desperately to be awake at 11:00 AM after only four hours of sleep the night (morning?) before. At the very same time he was trying very hard not to be completely angry at Ziggy for not granting him with the information of Winters' political status earlier. He had woken up to find himself in the same position he had fallen asleep in, with an incredibly stiff neck as a result. Callie, who had been asleep on his lap, had since been transferred to his bed; it seemed he would never get to sleep in his own bed again. Now he sat in the stiff chair and tried to work the kinks out of his neck while he geared up for Ziggy's report. "You slept well, I trust?" Ziggy prodded. Al was about to make a very smart retort when Tina walked in. "You looked tired," was her tactless comment. "What is this, a conspiracy?" He rolled his eyes elaborately. "Thanks, I feel tired." He turned back to his desk and moaned as the muscles in his neck sent waves of pain to his head. "Here," Tina said, moving to stand behind him, "let me." Her fingers dug into his source of agony, coaxing out the tension with gentle fingers. "What's going on?" "Ziggy was about to give me the run down on our soon-to-be US senator." "US senator?" she questioned and her fingers paused on the nape of his neck. "Well, not if I have anything to say about it." She cast him another puzzled look. "I'll explain later. What do you have, Ziggy?" he asked, motioning Tina to continue her inistrations. With a small smile, she readily complied. "It appears that your rival hasn't blown the whistle on you yet." "On _me_?!" Al demanded, sitting forward. Tina felt the muscles she had just soothed tighten again and she pulled him back against the chair in frusturation. "On me?" he repeated, calmer now. "Threats and physical assualt, Admiral. On a government official." Al snorted. "Please. He won't blow the whistle on anything.....I could easily cause a scandal in my position." "I don't mean with the law." He narrowed his eyes. "What _do_ you mean?" "I mean that the enemies of Mr. Winters tend to end up evaporating." "Evaporating?" "Well, disappearing into thin air. Evaporating." Al shook his head. "He is very careful, but given evidence computes a 93.2% probability that he's connected. Not only that, but he's played the wounded animal in the situation, even going so far as to cry wolf about being the next one on the hit list. In doing so, he's gained the pity and thus the support of the voters." "Okay, Ziggy. I've got friends who are reporters. It shouldn't be too hard to dig up a scandal at least about Callie. Even the possibility should stop him from being elected to office." Ziggy cleared her mechanical throat. "So what's the problem?" Al demanded, sitting forward again and wondering why Tina wasn't trying to keep him still. "'What's the problem?!'" Tina repeated incredously. "Al, did you ever think about how hard it's going to be to take care of Callie if _you_ evaporate?" "That won't happen," he replied confidently. "I'm afraid there's more, Admiral. There's a great deal of money going into the Brook Street Orphanage at a steady flow. I think we can both guess where it's coming from." "Well, that explains Wendy Price's role in the whole thing. I knew she was protecting him; I just didn't know why. Okay, so we've got a politician with perhaps an illigitimate child that he dumps off in an orphanage, he's supplying Wendy with money for her orphanage and probably for her too to keep her quiet, and he conveniently disposes of anyone who gets in his way." He paused. "Shouldn't be too hard to bring him down," he added with a cocky grin. He stood. "Tina, stay with Callie, will you? She's still asleep and I've got plenty of work to get done before Sam gets up, if he's even in bed yet." "Al," Tina protested, catching his arm, "please don't do this." "You're kidding me," he stated flatly, pulling away from her hold. "No, Al....these guys are dangerous. Why don't you go to the authorities on this one. Please." He looked at her steadily. "You know I couldn't do that," he said. "And you know that even if I could, I wouldn't, so I believe this conversation is over." He left. "No," she agreed softly. "I don't suppose you would."