From: Sean Smith X-From: rkwong@engin.umich.edu (Roberta Chi-Woon Kwong) Newsgroups: alt.tv.quantum-leap.creative,alt.ql.creative Subject: "Quanta" part 17/17 Date: 7 May 1995 22:31:27 GMT Message-Id: <3ojhnv$sak@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> This is being posted for Sean Smith , who is having some difficulty posting from his account. Please direct all comments to him. The following re-formatting has been done in this section: Replacement of smartquotes Replacement of tab spaces Adjustment of line length The actual text remains untouched. -------------------------------------------------- Al looked up at Ziggy, concern etched into his face. "Well?" "Well what?" "Are they alright, dammit?!" "Of course. That was the plan, Admiral, right?" All throughout the Project Control room, a collective breath was released, and Al cheered. Donna and Gooshie remained intent on their controls. "Ziggy, has Sam appeared yet?" She kept her hand on the recall control. "No Doctor. And according to Foxy's trace, he's no longer tied to the Accelerator. Too bad; he was kind of cute." Ziggy's voice possesed the smile she did not. "Gooshie," Donna spoke out firmly, "Acctivate the improved retrieval program." "Spinning up the Accelerator." Gooshie took Al's place at the Console. "Fusion reactors on line." Ziggy began the program. Donna's voice trembled slightly. "Firing." There was complete silence in the room as the Accelerator arced and snapped. "I'm sorry Doctor Alisee, he hasn't returned." Ziggy, as with everyone about her, still did not know what to say. Alisee swalowed once, and looked up, her eyes clear. "Okay. Ziggy. So how does everything work out okay for those two?" Donna forced a smile for the crowd. "I guess it really depends on how you chose to define 'okay,' right Al?" Ziggy snickered at the Admiral's expense. * * * Scully and Mulder were wrapped in soft blankets from their hotel room, Scully on the bed, Mulder up against a wall. Each had a large cup of steaming coffee in hand, and sipped from it slowly. Copies of their latest set of reports were strewn across the table top, along with a plastic baggie containing the thirty-six spent cartridges from Mulder's gun. Dana spoke up, softly. "Still don't remember the last couple of days?" Fox simply shook his head. "Too bad Mulder, you missed a great pillow fight last night." Mulder looked up at Dana's twinkling smile, surprise on his face. Then he smiled. "No wonder I went into shock!" Her thrown pillow missed him by several feet. "Well, looking at the number of rounds you burned, I'd say you had quite a scare." Fox was silent. "Mulder, when I jumped out of the car, I saw something, a bright light in the sky, and you were unconscious. Was that what you were shooting at?" Mulde r only nodded. "I see." "You know, Scully," Fox looked at her over the rim of his disposable cup. "thanks for backing me in the report. For not exactly telling them everything." "Mulder, no blood, no foul, right?" She'd spent a little too much time watching football with him. "I think this is one X-File that can slip quietly through our fingers." Mulder nodded again, and both drank from their coffee. Dana seemed lost in though as she stared at the shiny brass cartridges on the table. She ran her figer around the rim of her cup, clearly thinking about something. Fox simply watched her as they s at there. The scrape on her forehead was nearly hidden by her copper-red hair, and the small feet that stuck out from under the blanket were clad in fuzzy ankle-socks. For all he world, she reminded him of a college student, pulling an all nighter. He smiled at the thought. "I was thinking," Dana's voice pulled him back from his own thoughts. "Skinner did us a pretty big favor, really." "What? He suspended us for two weeks. Without pay, and effective immedeatly. That's not a favor, it's called punishment, Scully." She turned to look at him, a smile creeping across her lips. "Maybe officially. But he's stranded us in San Franscisco with a Bureau car, and tickets home for when ever we choose. I mean," the smile came out in full force. "it allmost sounds like a vacation." He laughed, and stood up. Dropping his blanket, he stretched his arms over his head, the muscles of his arms rippling. He slowly climbed into the bed across the nightstand from Scully. "Let's take up that good idea tomorrow. I'm beat." They climbed into their rspective beds and Dana flicked the small lamp off. Both managed to get themselves tucked away in their tiny beds, and began to doze. Mulder's eyes flew open, and he pushed himself upright. Reaching out to his wallet on the nig htstand, he pulled a slightly worn gold crucifix from a pocket. "Mulder, is something wrong?" Scully sat up in bed, tugging her tee-shirt back into place. "No, I just remembered that when I came to, I had your cross in my hand when I came to. Here." He started to hand it to her. "Uh uh, I still have mine." She patted her throat lightly in the dark. "No, I remember this from...from when you disapeared. This one is yours. I'm positive." "Mulder, you're positive of a lot of things." Despite her words, she snapped the light on, and crossed over to sit by Mulder. Both drew out their crosses, and compaired them in the light of the single lamp. They and their chains were identical, down to the scratches on the edges. Both even had the small gold tag at the clasp that Dana had bought some years before. The inscr iption on each tag was the same; 'DS.' Scully looked up at Mulder worriedly, and watched his sad eyes flicker, seemingly in time with the large shadow he cast behind him on the wall. Mulder slipped the second crucifix back into his wallet. "Dana, you and I are now, officially, on vacation." She started to speak, but he placed a finger to her lips. "This means that the cross can wait. Wait until I get back. Okay?" Dana nodded, and hugged Fox briefly, before returning to bed. Fox turned the light off, and lay back down. Just as she reached the fringes of sleep, she hears Mulder begin whistling softlt. The theme from 'The Twilight Zone.' Dana and Fox laughed, and laughed, and eventually fell asleep. Outside, the sun began to rise on a crisp, clear day. The storm had passed in the night. _____________________________________________________________