Path: cronkite.cisco.com!ames!tulane!spool.mu.edu!caen!destroyer!wsu-cs!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!po.CWRU.Edu!eah4 From: eah4@po.CWRU.Edu (Elizabeth A. Hlabse) Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: The Three Doctors, Part 6 Date: 31 Dec 1992 18:14:14 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Lines: 176 Message-ID: <1hvd9mINNec9@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> Reply-To: eah4@po.CWRU.Edu (Elizabeth A. Hlabse) NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu The Doctor and Sam Beckett ended up spending a great deal of time together during the next week. As the Doctor worked on the TARDIS, Sam told him of what he had done and his theory on time travel. He and the Doctor also discussed ways of making Quantum leap a more reliabel form of time travel, but neither thought it would work the way Sam had originally hoped. There seemed to be a random factor that was totally uncontrollable. The Doctor was also impressed with the questions that Sam asked about the TARDIS and was glad to have found someone who was more than eager to help in its repairs. On one trip to the lab where they were working, the Doctor was rather amused to find Al, helped by the ever-present Peri, putting a multi-level security lock on the Accelerator Chamber door. When the Doctor raised an inquisitive eyebrow, Al explained. "I saw Sam poking around in here again yesterday and I am not going to let him jump in the damn thing again. The only one who will be able to unlock this door will be me and I'm not going to open it for him." Al had a very determined look on his face which softened when he turned to Peri. It was then that the Doctor finally noticed that Peri was no longer wearing her shorts outfit that she had arrived in. He had vaguely remembered her saying that Al had taken her shopping the day of the welcome home party that had been planned for Dr. Beckett. She was wearing a mauve dress that had what was called a handkerchief cut hem and a heart shaped bodice with lights running along the neckline, something that was all the rage in this decade. She was wearing matching ankle boots that had lights in the heels and along the top. It looked a bit like the outfit Nyssa had worn for awile, but showed a lot more shoulder than Nyssa ever had. Not practical for TARDIS travel, but definitely something quite popular on Earth. Al's voice brought the Doctor's attention back to what was happening in front of him. "Now, I promised you a tour of the local area. If I may?" Al said, gallantly extending his arm to Peri and putting on his most winning smile. Peri returned the smile, took Al's arm, and they headed towards the exit and Al's car. The Doctor was still shaking his head when he arrived in the lab. As he entered the TARDIS he almost tripped over Sam's wheelchair since is mind was not on what he was doing, and he was not used to the control room being cluttered with things. "Sorry about that, Doctor," Sam's voice was muffled, coming from under the counsel. The Doctor joined Sam on the floor. "Did that new vacuum tube work?" the Doctor asked him as he poked his head into the opening. "Nope, just like all the others. Fine for a moment then BOOM." Sam was pulling out the remnants of another tube and dropped it into a container that was right at hand. It was nearly full of broken tubes. Sam had safety glasses hanging by the strap around his neck. "Sam, I need to ask you something." Sam say up, bracing hmself against the counsel as he pulled the glasses off. The Doctor sounded very concerned about something. "What is it?" "It's about Admiral Calavicci. I just saw him with Peri. He said he was taking her out for a tour and I've noticed the way he is around women and I was wondering..." The Doctor trailed off. He couldn't remember ever having this type of conversation about one of his traveling companions before and he was at a loss as to how to voice his concerns. "And you were wondering how safe she is with him?" Sam completed the question that he had been expecting ever since he had seen Peri in the latest outfit that Al had given her. It she hadn't already been smitten with the Admiral, Sam might even have asked her out, but she had eyes only for Al. The Doctor nodded. "Don't worry. Al's a perfect gentleman. He may act slimy sometimes, but he really does respect women. The direction and type of relationship will be entirely up to Peri." Sam was pushing himself up from the floor and had braced himself against the counsel, being careful not to touch any of the instrumentation. He didn't know what half of them did, and the other half he wasn't completely sure about. The Doctor wheeled the chair over to Sam and helped him into it. Sam's upper body motor control had fully returned and the leg muscles were coming along much faster than Dr. Peterson had expected. Two two-hour therapy sessions a day were helping and Sam was a very dedicated patient. The fact that Sam Beckett hated to be confined in any way helped his progress more than anything else. The two left the TARDIS as Sam headed towards the gym and another therapy session. Yesterday, he had actually managed a few steps with the help of a pair of canes and he was eager to see how many he would be able to manage today. "Al may seem like a real womanizer and God only knows how many times he would get me upset mentioning one woman or another when he was in contact with me on one of my Leaps, but I think that was mainly to keep me distraced when I was really upset about something or to lighten my mood. For the most part, I think, he's been pretty much a one woman man since Tina showed up, but that doesn't stop him from looking." Sam looked up at the Doctor as they rounded another corner. He still had a thoughtful, slightly worried expression on his face. "If it bothers you that much I could always talk to him about it." "No, I don't think that will be necessary," the Doctor answered as they walked through the doors to the gym. "I just hope Peri isn't taking him too seriously, unless she plans on staying here once the TARDIS is completely repaired." The Doctor sat on one of the benches that were situated aroung the gym floor as Jason, Sam's physical therapist, joined them. "Don't worry about that, Doctor. I overheard the two of them talking, and she really doesn't want to stay here. She told Al that there's too much she hasn't seen yet." "All set, Dr. Beckett?" Jason asked, handing Sam the crutches. Sam just smiled and adjusted the crutches in his hands and pushed himself forward until he was standing. "Let's do it," he answered. The Doctor watched the dedicateed man as he maneuvered his way awkwardly on the crutches. Sam gave 110% on everything he did: first on his Leaps, now on his therapy as well as his invaluable help with the TARDIS. It was a definite shame that Al was so dead set against Sam travelling for a while with him. 'Maybe if I invited the Admiral to come along as well?' the Doctor mused to himself. But he didn't really think Al would enjoy travelling in the TARDIS. The few times that Lethridge-Stewart had been a definite problem and one he did not want ot repeat if at all possible. ********** "Al, this is absolutely fantastic!" Peri told him as they sped along the open desert. She was fascinated by the many gadgets that Alhad had specially installed in his car. She also like the speed that the car was able to achieve, and she didn't have to worry about getting lost in it. It even included a built in coputerized holographic map. "Yeah, a real kick in the butt, ain't it?" Al answered, a grin on his face. He punched a few buttons that showed what was to him a very familiar route. "How would you like to spend the weekend in Vegas, Peri?" he asked her, showing the route to her. She gave him a look that asked what he was up to. "I promise, separate rooms if you want. What do you say?" "What about cloths?" Peri asked, the practical side of her nature showing. "No problemmo, kiddo. I have an overnight bag in the the back and we can always go shopping when we get there. I know this really nice place that will have some stuff you'll just love," he answered her, grinning mischievously. "Well?" "Where's the phone so I can tell the Doctor what I'm up to, and you should tell Dr. Beckett." Al punched a few buttons and Gooshie's voice came over the speaker. "Control. Is that you Admiral?" the programmer asked. "Yeah, Gooshie. Do me a favor. The next time you see Sam and the Doctor, tell them Peri and I are spending the weekend in Vegas and that we'll see them sometime Monday, probably around mid-morning." he told him, grinning at Peri the entire time. "Oh, of course, Admiral, and then how do I stop either one or both of them from coming after you. They're both starting to sound like overprotective uncles." The voice sounded amused. Peri spoke up. "Tell them it was my idea. That should take care of it." She returned Al's grin. Two could play this game. "Peri, I really don't think they'll believe that," Gooshie said, "but I'll tell them. Have a good time." And with that the contact was broken. Al checked to make sure Peri's seatbelt was buckled securely then put his foot down hard on the accelerator. The car leapt forward with almost as much speed as Sam had Leaped through time. to be continued..... -- Beth Hlabse eah4@po.CWRU.Edu Assistant Sysop The Science Fiction and Fantasy Sig (GO SCIFI) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If all the beasts were gone man would die from a great lonliness of the spirit.