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Subject: Third Time's A Charm (Part 3)
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 22:50:00 -0500
Message-ID: <19960901034940441.AAB129@denp1-26.iglobal.net>

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM
by Deb Parizek and Rhonda Hallstrom

*****

Sam watched Peter peripherally, concerned, as he drove to Caine's home.
Peter just sat in the passenger seat and stared straight ahead, not saying a
word. Any attempts at conversation made by Sam were greeted by cold silence.
Sam STILL didn't know why Peter would want to commit suicide!

Sam had taken Peter's gun with him. As an experiment, he gave the gun back
to the young detective, ready to disarm him if need be. Peter took it
woodenly and placed it back into its holster.

"Over to the right, Sam," Al directed.

Sam and Peter both jumped. Sam looked at Peter curiously. *Did he actually
hear Al?* "Something wrong, Peter?"

Peter had turned around in his seat, and, seeing nothing, faced forward
again. Fortunately, Peter hadn't noticed that Sam had jumped, too. "I'm
going nuts," Peter muttered. "That's gotta be it."

"I'm going, Sam," Al said. "This is giving me the creeps!" He activated the
door and was gone.

Sam parked the car and let Peter lead him to Caine's domicile, since Sam
didn't know exactly where it was. Peter was so keyed up by this point, he
really didn't notice Kermit/Sam's odd behavior. He practically ran up the
stairs to his father's and was shocked by what he saw.

Caine was reclining against soft cushions, looking uncomfortable and more
pale than Peter had ever seen him, with the exception of when he had been
shot under circumstances that still remained a mystery to Peter. Tiredness
was etched into his face. Lo Si came forward and carefully put a cup of hot
tea in Caine's hands. Peter noticed his father's hands were shaking!

"POP!" Peter explained, as he darted forward, his worries about his own
troubles completely forgotten.

"I am all right, Peter," Caine said calmly, as he carefully drank the hot tea.

"Like HELL!" Peter exclaimed, as Sam came in quietly and closed the door
behind him. "What happened, Lo Si? The Sing Wah? Who attacked you, Pop?"

Lo Si merely favored Caine with a disgusted expression. Caine, answering
Peter's question, said, "No one attacked me, Peter."

"...then why...?"

Caine noticed Sam standing behind Peter. "YOU...."

Peter looked back to see Kermit. "Kermit??" he asked his father.

Caine stood up with an effort. Lo Si was instantly at his side but Caine
waved him off. "Peter," he said, "you know the truth. You must have seen it.
Come here."

Sam was starting to get nervous again. "Uhhh...." he stammered. "Caine, you
shouldn't be getting up. Should he?" he appealed to Lo Si as an attempt to
stall.

Peter instantly went to his father's side and steadied him. Caine put a
finger in front of Peter's face. "Focus," he said. "Calm your chi."

With all the effort Caine was taking, Peter had to try. He closed his eyes,
felt his chi, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, and felt his
tension calming despite himself.

"Look at your friend," Caine said.

Peter opened his eyes and looked - at a stranger! He wore Kermit's clothes,
but the man was more solidly built and taller than Kermit. He had handsome
features and light brown hair with a streak of white in it. Peter gasped
and, in one smooth motion, drew his gun.

"Peter!" Caine protested. He was now unable to remain standing and sank back
onto the cushions.

Peter stood there with his gun out, watching in fascination. When he let his
temper get the better of him, the stranger phased out and he could see
Kermit again. Calming himself once more, he could see the stranger.
Perversely, he began to "play" with it and was soon able to accomplish a
mood whereby he could see the stranger's features superimposed over Kermit's.

"Peter, put the gun down," Caine ordered. "He means no harm."

Gun still in hand, Peter asked, "How can you be sure? And WHERE is Kermit??"

Caine sighed. "THAT is what I was attempting to find out," he said.

Sam looked at Caine in confusion at that statement, then shook his head.
THAT was not the issue. "Why did you have to tell him?" he plaintively asked
Caine.

Caine shrugged tiredly. "I am uncomfortable keeping secrets from my son. I
have kept too many in the past."

"That's for sure!" Peter assented. "But I still don't get what the heck's
going on!"

Lo Si, crossing the room for more herbs, said to Peter almost teasingly,
"Are you going to arrest him?"

Peter looked from Lo Si to the stranger. "Good point," he said. "Everybody
else will see Kermit. So...if I shoot, I'll just hurt Kermit?"

"Look," Sam said, his hands up defensively, "you don't have to shoot at all!
I'm your friend, remember?"

"YOU are not my friend!" Peter snapped.

"Then I suppose I saved your life for the heck of it?!" Sam was not one to
blow his own horn but this whole leap was getting to him.

Caine looked askance at the last statement as he meekly took a second cup of
tea from Lo Si with the new mixture of herbs.

"Oh, uh...yeah, okay," Peter said. Slowly, he put the gun away but still
looked warily at the stranger. "Yeah, Pop, that's why we came. According to
Kerm - him - and Strenlich, I was trying to kill myself in the locker room.
I don't even remember going down there."

Caine stared at Sam. "Was this YOUR doing?"

"NO!!" Sam protested. "I was here to stop him!" Now, Caine AND Peter looked
skeptical. Sam had the feeling that it was not a good idea to get on the bad
side of this family. He sighed. His cover was blown, anyway. "All right," he
said, "my name is Sam Beckett. I'm a scientist. I invented this time-trav-"

"You did this with SCIENCE???" Caine interrupted incredulously.

"Yes."

Caine and Lo Si exchanged a look.

"Kermit is safe - he is in my time while I am in his. See, I "leap into"
people to prevent tragedies-"

"Time travel?" Caine mused. "When?"

"I'm not allowed to say."

"The future?" Caine asked. Sam was pathetic at lying; his face told Caine
the answer was obviously in the affirmative. "The future," he muttered
disgustedly and rubbed his eyes tiredly with one hand. He never would have
thought to look in the future.

"I. Told. You. So." Lo Si said, biting off each word. "You need to LISTEN to
me, Kwai Chang Caine. I was right! You have exhausted yourself for nothing!"

"Yes, Master," Caine sighed. The Ancient could be insufferable at times, but
even Caine had to admit he had acted foolheartedly.

"Pop, you're not buying this, are you?" Peter asked, looking as though he
still wanted to draw his gun.

"Why should I not believe it, Peter?"

"I...I...." Peter was at a loss. "The whole thing is ridiculous!"

"No, Peter. It is not. He is here for a reason-"

"I WAS here for a reason," Sam corrected. "But I don't know why I haven't
leaped yet." At their puzzled expression, he explained, "When I help
someone, I automatically leave and leap to the next person who might need
help. But I haven't leapt yet. That usually implies that there is something
else for me to do here."

The familiar sound of the imaging door opening came from behind Sam. Sam
steeled himself not to react. They may not be able to see Al and Sam didn't
want to give away any more secrets. His caution was wasted as he saw Caine
stiffen and narrow his eyes. Lo Si was doing the same, albeit with more
subtlety.

Al, oblivious, walked in. "Sam," he said, looking down at the handlink, "you-"

"AL!!!" Sam hissed.

"What?!" Al asked defensively.

"There is a displacement of air in this room...." Caine muttered.

Peter, taking his new lesson to heart, calmed his chi. Al was dismayed to
find himself the object of interest as Caine's, Lo Si's, and Peter's gaze
all swung to look at him.

"I WASN'T going crazy!" Peter exclaimed. "THAT is what I've been seeing all
day long!" He looked accusingly at Sam. "I thought I was losing my mind! AND
you didn't tell me! Some friend!"

Lo Si approached Al cautiously. He looked Al up and down, noting the purple
pants, yellow shirt, and a flower in the lapel. "Nice suit," was his
appraisal. Caine rolled his eyes.

Al looked smug. "Well, for once, someone has some fashion taste! Thank you,
sir!" At Sam's look, he sheepishly explained, "I was playing the Joker to
Tina's Vicki Vale and--Will you stop that!" Lo Si had attempted to touch the
flower and was amazed to see his finger pass through Al. He was enjoying
experimenting with this phenomena.

"I can only see a light there," Peter complained.

"It is difficult to see the outlines," Caine explained. "You must concentrate."

"Look, Al, these people know everything, so why don't you tell me what you
were going to tell me," Sam said, trying to get his leap back on track.

"In front of them?"

Sam shrugged. In his mind, they had kind of asked for it.

"Um, well, the kid's still in danger," Al said. Obviously, from his lack of
reaction, Peter could not hear Al, but Caine could and narrowed his eyes.
"Ziggy found another death certificate. Now he...uh...dies tomorrow. At 3:00
p.m."

Oblivious to the dire threat, Peter, since he could not see the other
visitor clearly, turned to Caine. "Well, you are out of it for today, Pop.
You can't even stand up so you're staying home tonight. Lo Si, watch him.
I'll be back - I'm going to do some investigating."

"Peter-" Caine protested. Lo Si walked over and stood by Caine. It was
amazing that someone so small and thin could look so intimidating. Caine
looked at him and finally shrugged with resignation. He decided that he
could afford the time to rest since Peter would not be in danger until the
next day.

"Where do you think you're going?" Peter asked Sam, who was obviously
readying himself to go with Peter.

"I'm going with you."

"No, you're not! I can't investigate this and watch my back at the same time."

"I'LL watch your back."

"But I don't trust YOU!"

"Peter," Sam said, approaching the young man and putting a friendly hand on
his shoulder, "I've already saved your life. Doesn't that buy me some
measure of your trust? I'm going to do everything I can to help you. I promise."

"Peter."

The familiar note in his father's voice reached Peter. He knelt down beside
Caine. "Yeah, Pop?" he asked.

"I cannot be with you tonight. Trust him," Caine said. "I want someone to be
with you. Please?"

"Okay," Peter sighed reluctantly. He straightened and looked at Sam crossly.
"Come on." After a few steps, he stopped Sam. "Give me your gun. I'm not
risking anything at this point."

"Gladly," Sam said, as Peter warily watched him draw it out of its holster.
Sam handed it butt-first over to Peter, who tucked it in his jacket and
visibly relaxed. They left together.

Once his son was gone, Caine allowed himself a look of distaste at the tea,
then looked up at Lo Si reproachfully.

Lo Si shrugged. "Maybe THAT will teach you to not act so irresponsibly in
the future...."

*****

On the drive back to the precinct, Peter was more talkative.

"Why do you DO this, Ker...uh, Sam?" Peter asked curiously, watching Sam for
a reaction.

Sam smiled. It was good to see Peter reaching out and communicating again.
"I don't really have a choice - not that I mind helping people, though," Sam
told him.

"You don't have a choice...? Care to unpack that a bit?"

"Weellll....I'm really not supposed to tell anyone about it. It IS a
restricted scientific project," Sam said.

"Well, you certainly leapt into the right guy this time, then," Peter
stated, hoping to lead the conversation.

"Care to unpack that a bit?" Sam asked, turning a slight smile toward Peter.

Peter, still watching Sam for hidden motives, saw Sam smile, then Kermit
smile as he tensed, testing his perceptual mode. He relaxed again,
preferring to deal with Sam now.

"No one really knows him - except my foster father, who is...vacationing at
the moment," Peter explained, "so as long as you play him like you have
been, no one will know the difference. Only, don't take the sunglasses off."
They both grinned at Kermit's peculiar trademark. "Did you pick Kermit to
leap into for that reason; that no one knows him?" Peter asked.

Sam hesitated. "I don't pick them," he said flatly.

"Who does pick them?"

"I don't know...whomever is jumping me around through time, I guess."

Peter raised an eyebrow at that. Sam kept his eyes on the road.

"You aren't sure who's doing this but you ARE sure Kermit is all right. It
doesn't make sense...." Peter said, confused.

Sam sighed. Peter knew all the right questions to ask, he thought. He must
be a terrific detective!

"Like I said, Kermit is in my time with my friend Al while I'm here," Sam
told him.

"But this Al was just here-!" Peter protested, his head spinning.

"Al wasn't REALLY here; it's just a...holographic projection of him that
only I can see and hear - well, I am the only one that is SUPPOSED to see
and hear him!"

Peter shook his head. This was worse than physics class!

"That's just the way it is," Sam finished weakly.

"Hey, if you're not-! I mean, you're not Kermit, so how did you get the
computer information...oh," Peter mused, answering his own question, "I
guess computers are more advanced where you're from. Ours is a piece of cake
for you."

"Kind of," Sam grinned, deciding not to tell Peter about Ziggy. He'd
divulged too much already.

"So, who EXACTLY is Al?"

"He's...my partner," Sam said, for want of a better term. "He's back in my
time but can come to observe what is going on here," Sam replied.

"When is 'your time'?" Peter asked curiously.

"Sorry, I can't tell you that."

"Why not - especially if I know the rest?"

"That's the way it has to be...."

"Does Al do anything besides 'observe'?" Peter asked, realizing he had hit
one brick wall and decided to try another track before Sam shut down.

"He can usually give me some information about the situation in which I find
myself-"

"Like what information?"

"Like who I've leapt into."

"And what you're there to do?"

"Sometimes...It's not always accurate. Sometimes, Al questions the person
I've leapt into to find out the information."

"I bet he had fun trying to get Kermit to talk," Peter chuckled. "I'd like
to see someone try that..."

"Al was a bit irritated at him - to put it mildly," Sam said, with a smile.

"Kermit will be returned unharmed when you leave?" Peter asked, endeavoring
to verify Sam's previous response to that question.

"Yes."

"Will he remember any of what happened?"

"I doubt it," Sam said, and briefly explained about the swiss-cheese effect
leaping had on the leaper - him - and the leapee. "Although, I've never had
the opportunity to go back and check it out for certain."

"Will my father, Lo Si, and I remember it?"

Sam looked at Peter, impressed. "Good question...one to which I don't have
an answer. You probably will remember. It could depend on your level of
competence as a psychic."

"Hmmm...short end of the stick for me again, I see."

"Don't sell yourself short, Peter," Sam told him. "It looked to me - given
how quickly you could see me once you had a little guidance - like you are
quite talented."

Peter flinched. He didn't like admitting to being paranormally skilled.

Sam noticed Peter's uncomfortableness and considerately changed the subject.
"Your father seemed surprised that I do this with science," Sam continued.
"Why?"

"Pop isn't what you'd call technologically gifted," Peter said. "He doesn't
even know how to drive. Besides he has travelled in time psychically before."

"How??"

"I don't know - one of his Shaolin tricks, I guess," Peter said. "He comes
up with a new one every time I turn around. He said something once about an
ancient method of soul travel once but I didn't ask about details. You'll
have to ask him."

"I might, if I get the chance."

Sam realized with dismay that he forgot to mention Alia to Caine to warn
him. He made a mental note to mention it later.

"Hey...uh...Sorry about being such a pain earlier," Peter said suddenly,
startling Sam with his sincerity. "Thanks for saving my life."

Sam smiled. It was rare that someone had actually THANKED him! "You're
welcome, Peter," he replied warmly. "but...uh...never mind." He decided to
spare Peter the knowledge that he had less than 24 hours to live unless they
came up with the solution to this puzzle quickly. *What does ALIA have to do
with this?* Sam thought. *What she described was irritating but nonlethal.
Unless she's still not telling me something.*

"But what?" Peter asked, unable to let any obvious lead like that go
unquestioned.

"I was going to say 'we're not out of the woods yet'," Sam covered quickly.

"You said there must be more to do since you're still here...?"

"Yes," Sam replied somberly, pulling into the precinct parking garage.

They walked into the precinct in silence.

Sam felt a curious sense of relief. Pondering it, he determined that he was
glad Peter and his father knew about him. It was nice to be honest with
people for a change.

Peter discovered he was beginning to like and trust this Sam Beckett. He
didn't doubt the man's sincerity but resolved to be wary nevertheless.

*****

"Well, I didn't expect to see you two back here tonight," Strenlich said,
seeing Sam and Peter enter Kermit's office.

"This is where the clues have to be, Chief," Peter said.

"Talk to me," the Chief replied, entering the office after Peter and closing
the door.

Sam sat down in "his" chair. Frank sat in the guest chair. Peter paced.

"I was telling...Kermit," Peter hesitated, making certain to use the correct
name even though he saw Sam, "that I don't remember going to the locker
room. My last clear memory of this afternoon is sitting down to read mail
messages on his computer. Do you remember what time that was, Kermit?"

"About 3:15," Sam told them.

"Why were you reading mail messages on Kermit's computer?" Strenlich asked.

Peter looked to Sam, who fielded the question. "I ran a check on Peter's
suicides. Besides dying here in the last three days, they had only one link
between them - a mailing list on the Internet for people interested in
Chinese-American Taoist information. I joined the list and picked up recent
mail. When I looked at the messages, I didn't spot anything so I called
Peter in so he could take a look."

"Then what did I do?" Peter asked. "I don't remember anything between that
and getting into your car after the locker room. There's a 4-hour gap in my
memory!"

"You read the messages, got intensely involved in at least one, then you
asked me to put three of the messages on a diskette for you so you could get
them on your computer and take a closer look at them."

"Which three?"

"There were three that you said were I'Ching. Those were the
ones you asked for."

"Okay, then what did I do?"

"You sat at your desk studying the messages until 6:55ish when you went to
the locker room," Sam said. "During that time, you spoke only to the Chief.

"Well," Peter concluded, "I guess we have to check out those messages." He
didn't move; he felt safe in Kermit's office.

Sam stood up. "Come on," he said.

Together, they exited the office and crossed to Peter's desk. After
reactivating the system, they saw a word processing document. Sam scanned
the document and found that Peter had reorganized and condensed the three
messages into one. He read the document; it still seemed like just a
translation of Chinese into English to him.

"Chief, want to take a look?" Sam asked.

Strenlich read the message. It was clear that it meant nothing to him.

"Peter...your turn."

Leery, Peter sat down. "Okay...but don't let me...well...you know...."

"I told you I would watch your back," Sam reassured him.

Peter read the message, then sat staring at the screen.

"Pete?" Strenlich asked, bending down to look at Peter's profile.

Sam walked around behind the PC and took a good look at the expression on
Peter's face. He looked vacant but scared. The determination that was there
before was now missing.

"Chief, it looks like he's hypnotized or something..." Sam said.

Strenlich joined Sam on the other side of the desk and observed Peter's
expression for himself. "Geez...!" Strenlich whispered. "Could a mail
message do that to someone??"

As they watched, the determination component reappeared, then Peter got up
out of his chair and strode toward the stairs. Sam and the Chief followed
closely behind him.

Peter walked stiffly down the stairs. Jody was just heading up to the squadroom.

"Hey, Partner!" Jody said, with a smile that faded as she got a good look at
his face.

Peter ignored her and continued on in the direction of the locker room.

Jody looked to Sam and the Chief, noting the fact that they were keeping an
eye on him. "What's wrong with him?"

"Later," Strenlich replied as he and Sam followed Peter.

Inside the locker room, Peter walked into the shower area, took up the same
spot as before and pulled his gun out of his holster.

Sam and the Chief quickly stopped the action before it got out of hand. Sam
slapped Peter's face and Peter returned to reality.

"Huh?" Peter looked around and realized where he was. "Not again...!"

"Unfortunately so," Sam told him. "but we didn't let it go too far."

"Thanks." Peter found himself sweating. This was getting more than a little
unnerving.

"What do you remember?" Sam asked.

"I sat down and read the document on my screen."

"That's it?" Strenlich asked.

Peter nodded.

Strenlich stood, as did Sam. Sam held out a hand and helped Peter to his
feet. Together, the men exited the shower area. The Chief and Sam sat down
on the nearest bench. Peter leaned against the lockers facing them.

"So, what are we dealing with here?" Strenlich asked.

"A message that induces suicide?" Peter offered.

"I don't think so. It's been proven that hypnosis can't force a person to do
something against their nature and their self-preservation instinct," Sam
told them, despite a memory with great gaping holes in it.

"What if the reader has contemplated suicide before...?" Peter asked, not
really wanting to hear the answer.

Sam shook his head. "I don't know. Have you ever considered killing yourself
before?"

Peter looked at the floor. "Only about every day for the better part of two
years...."

Sam looked at the young man with sympathy. "How close did you come to going
through with it and how old were you?" Sam asked gently, wishing he'd heard
this from Al during Al's recitation of Peter's history.

"I fully intended to celebrate my 13th birthday by watching the blood drain
from the severed veins of my wrists," Peter confessed. "I had the knife in
position but couldn't make the cut."

Strenlich's mouth dropped silently open, shocked.

"Why couldn't you go through with it?" Sam asked.

"Saving a little kid from a fire in another part of the building kept me
from getting to the place I intended to die on time. When I got there, the
time wasn't 'right'." Peter let out a contemptuous little laugh, then
continued, "Seems kinda silly, doesn't it?"

"Not at all, Peter," Sam assured him as he stood up to be by his side. "Not
at all. Tell me something, though...How do you feel right now?"

Peter was silent for a moment as he took an emotional inventory, then said,
"Depressed - like there is no reason to live - scared...alone...."

Sam once again put a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder. "Did you feel THAT
way then?"

"Yes, and then some."

"Perhaps that mail message has some subliminal content that can induce
severe depression in certain people?" Sam suggested. "If the depression is
bad enough, perhaps they commit suicide."

Let's check the victims' records for previous psychological assistance -
especially, for depression and/or suicidal tendencies," Strenlich said. He
thought about his young detective's state of mind. "Pete, you up for this?"

"You're not going to get me off this case NOW," Peter responded. "Besides,
it'll...keep me from blowing my head off...I hope!"

"Chief, I'll trace the origins of those messages. I wonder if our
perpetrator thinks they've planned the perfect crime," Sam said, getting
into the cop role.

"You also better get a printout of that message to Caine or the Ancient for
a proper translation," Strenlich suggested to Sam.

"I'll do that after I check the victims' psych profiles, Chief," Peter said.

Strenlich looked wary. "Just don't YOU look at the message again!" he
warned. Peter nodded. "Then, let's get to it!" Strenlich ordered. Standing,
he headed back upstairs. Sam fell in behind him with Peter bringing up the rear.

As he followed the two upstairs, Peter mulled the events of the day over in
his mind. He'd escaped death twice today, suicide almost 17 years earlier,
plus numerous life-threatening injuries... He had come through it all with
barely a scratch. Could he have some kind of guardian angel? "Nah...." he
muttered, shaking his head.

*****

TO BE CONTINUED!