Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 17:05:35 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: QL: Circles of Fate - Part 5 (fwd) Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Quantum Leap "Circles of Fate" Part 5 It was a few moments before Alia spoke again. "My brother was beaten to death before my eyes on February 2, 1972. I couldn't stop the beating because my father had ties my wrists to the water pipes by the ceiling. All I could do was beg my father to stop." Al took her into his arms as she cried. "He didn't stop beating him until he'd broken his skull open with the fireplace poker," she sobbed. Al held her tighter, tears coming to his own eyes. "Why?" he whispered more as a prayer than a question. Alia was quiet for a minute or so. "It was my punishment," she whispered. "Not his." Al froze. "What?" "He'd found out I was sneaking food and blankets to Freddie. He thought it was poetic justice that the person I'd been trying to save should die because of my actions." Al sighed painfully. "Oh, gawd, Alia." "He then stripped me naked and whipped me until I couldn't move. He cut me down and raped me and left me for dead in the basement," she whispered. "Shh," Al begged her, holding her firmly. "When I woke up, I was laying on top of my brother. He was dead. I grabbed the fireplace poker beside him, went upstairs, and drove the poker into the bastard's heart while he was asleep in bed. And then, I set fire to the house with intention on dying in it. I didn't want to live without Freddie in my life." "Please, Alia," Al pleaded gently. Alia didn't seem to hear him. "But someone pulled me out of the house and I was placed in the hospital. That night, I sneaked out of the hospital and left Ireland forever. I came to the United States and put myself through school and that's when I met Zoe." She took a shaky breath. "My father taught me how to hate; Zoe taught me how to perfect and focus my hatred." Al had gotten more than he'd ever wanted. "Alia, why are you telling me all of this?" Alia paused, realizing what she had told him. He had only wanted to know how to help Sam and she had poured her heart out to him. She gently pulled away from him and looked at him. He couldn't look at her, his sorrow for her was so great. She looked at the floor. "I've been carrying this with me for over thirty years. I'd only told Zoe and she used it to fuel my hatred for humanity. I needed to tell someone else - someone who wouldn't use it against me." Al looked at her carefully. He could tell she was truly sorry for what she had done and she desperately wanted someone to forgive her. He took her back into her arms. "We're only human, Alia," he said gently. "We all do things we regret later. Some are worse than others. All we can do is try to make up for them later." He paused. "Or, in this case, try to prevent them from ever happening." Alia gulped. "You really think that's why Sam's leaped into Freddie?" Al nodded. "What I don't understand is why you've leaped into Sammy Jo." Alia froze in Al's arms. She slowly moved away from him, standing up. "I can't tell you," she said firmly. Al stood up with her. "Why not?" "Because it could endanger the mission." She looked at him. "You can already surmise that I'm from your future. I can't risk you changing something that shouldn't be changed." "Like what?" Al asked. "Like you doing something that you shouldn't, or vice versa, based on what I tell you." She looked into his eyes. "Please, Al, you must treat me as if I really am Sammy Jo Fuller. And you must act as if I hadn't told you about my past. Or at least as if Freddie had told you about our father's abuse, not me." She took his hands. "Please." Al exhaled. "Like this visit never happened," he surmised. He looked at Alia. "I'll keep this quiet as long as Sam's not endangered without it." Alia nodded. "Thank you, Al." Al gave her a slight smile. "You're welcome, Sammy Jo," he said just before he started for the door. "Tina and Gushie will be wondering why you ran out like that. I'll tell them you weren't feeling well so you went to your lab to rest." With that, he left the lab. ******************************** When Al returned to the Control Room, Verbina Beeks was waiting for him. There was great concern in her eyes. "What is it?" Al asked. "It's Frederick," she told him. "Let's talk in my office." Al followed Verbina to her office and sat down. Verbina sat on the other side of her desk. Al waited patiently. Verbina took a breath. "Apparently, the abuse he's been receiving has been going on for a very long time. I've finally got him to tell me his last name and Ziggy was able to look up his history. There are records that indicate that Frederick's father was seriously chemically imbalanced. He had been married twice and his first wife had filed for divorce because of his abusive actions. He'd killed her, moved from the United States, changed his name, and remarried. Ziggy also found out that Frederick's sister..." "Is Alia," Al finished. "I know. She cleaned Sam's wounds after that bastard beat him." "There's more," Verbina continued. "Ziggy says that, tomorrow, Frederick and his father are going to be killed." Al looked at her. "Tomorrow?" he asked, trying to hide that he already knew. Verbina nodded. "The newspaper said that a wild man broke into the house, beat the son to death, stabbed the father with a fireplace poker, raped Alia, and set the house on fire. Alia barely survived the blaze but she ran away from the hospital, extremely traumatized by the whole thing." Al didn't answer, knowing the story wasn't completely true. "What's wrong?" Verbina asked. Al hesitated. "I don't think the newspaper had the story right." "What do you mean?" Al looked at her. "I don't think a wild man broke into the house and killed Frederick." Verbina leaned back. "Ziggy agrees with you. She says there's an eighty-eight percent chance that Alia killed them both." Al sat up straight, furious. "She didn't kill Frederick! Did she also rape herself as well?!" The comment took Verbina by surprise. Al took a calming breath. "I'm sorry. But you didn't see that thirteen year old girl in the Imaging Chamber as she pleaded for Sam's life, as she washed his wounds, as she took him into that cold dark room and covered him and kissed his forehead, all the while crying because she had to do this to her own brother!" There were tears in his eyes. "She didn't kill her brother!" He stood up and started pacing, trying to control his anger and his sorrow. "And her father?" Verbina asked. "I don't know," he lied. "I don't know who killed him but I do get this feeling that that bastard raped Alia and beat his own son to death!" He looked at Verbina. "Trust me on this one, 'Bina. I know I'm right." Verbina looked at him carefully. "You're hiding something," she finally said. "What is it?" Al paused. "I'm not hiding anything." Verbina frowned at him. "Al, I've known you for over ten years. I can tell when you're lying. You know a lot more about this than Ziggy. Why?" Al exhaled. "I can't tell you." "Why not?" "I just can't," he told her. "Please, 'Bina, don't ask me again." With that, he left the office and went into the Control Room again. "Where's Sammy Jo?" Tina asked him. "In her lab," Al replied, taking a handlink. "She's not feeling well." He started towards the Imaging Chamber. "I'm going to check on Sam before bed. Why don't you go on to bed?" Tina and Gushie nodded and left the Control Room as Al entered the Imaging Chamber one more time. The door closed behind him, leaving him in darkness. "Al?" a weak voice asked. Al closed his eyes in emotional pain. Sam sounded so frail. *It's bad enough that leaping was slowly killing him. But for that bastard to beat him and leave him here...* "I'm here, Sam," Al told the physicist with forced calmness. "I'm here." Al heard a sigh of relief from Sam which told him where Sam was. He took a chair, which he always kept in the Imaging Chamber, and placed it as close to Sam as he could guess before sitting down. "Sam, are you okay?" he asked gently. There was no response for a moment. "Gawd, Al!" Sam whispered. "It's so cold! How did Freddie handle this?" Al paused. He didn't know what to say. Everything that came to his mind felt so superficial compareed to his wanting to get Sam out of that room. "Let's just focus on your mission," he decided to say. "You know why I'm here?" Sam asked weakly. Al nodded. "Yes," he told Sam. "It's February 1, 1972, and your full name is Frederick Edward Hindon Jr. but you go by Freddie, mostly because your father hates the name. You and your sister, Alia, have been abused by Frederick Sr. ever since you were born. Your mother died giving birth to Alia but it looks like Fred Sr. was one of the causes of her death." Al read the information from the handlink, knowing most of it from his conversation with Alia. "Five months ago," Al read, "you turned eighteen and decided to take Alia away from this house. Fred Sr. found out about it and nearly beat you to death. The only reason you survived is your sister pleaded for your life at the expense of her own." "What do you mean?" Sam whispered. Al hesitated. "He's not just beating her, Sam. He's sexually abusing her too." He closed his eyes at the memory of the sight in the kitchen. "Instead of killing Freddie, Fred Sr. decided on this." He didn't elaborate. He knew Sam would know what he meant. He paused when Sam didn't respond. "Sam?" he asked with concern. Sam coughed ferociously. "I'm listening," he rasped. Al frowned with concern. That cough was truly awful. "Are you okay?" Sam coughed again. "I'm okay," he lied obviously. "Just tell me what to do so I can leap." Al exhaled. He didn't want to tell him such horrible news but he knew he had to. "Tomorrow night," Al told him, "Frederick is going to be beaten to death by his father." Sam gave a severe cough, trying to take a breath. Al frowned with concern. Sam truly sounded horrible. "There's more," Sam surmised. "Isn't there?" Al paused. "Ziggy thinks Alia did it but I don't. Not with how much she loves her brother." As he said this, there was a sound of a lock being released. The door to the room opened. "Alia?" Sam asked, seeing the girl enter the room. "Shh," she said gently. "If Father hears us, who knows what he'll do." She put a bowl, as well as a large bottle, on the floor and approached Sam. She gently draped a couple of thick blankets over his shoulders and head. She then felt his forehead. "Gawd, Freddie!" she whispered. "You're burning up!" she tucked the blankets more firmly around Sam before retrieving the bottle and the bowl. She opened the bottle and gave Sam a sip. The water, warm from sitting at room temperature, felt good going down Sam's dry throat. "I've brought you some soup," Alia told him, giving Sam the water to slowly drink. "I'm sorry that it's cold but I couldn't risk heating it. Sorry, I don't have a spoon." She brought the bowl closer to Sam, bidding him to take some. Al took a breath. "She's risking her life enough as it is. When that bastard finds out what she's doing...." Sam took the soup from Alia. He looked at her with thanks. "Don't just sit there," she told him. "Eat before Father finds out." Sam took a drink from the bowl. The soup was indeed cold but, since it was warmer than the room he was in, it was warm enough. Besides, at that moment, whether the soup was hot or not didn't matter to Sam. Sam had drank half of the soup before a coughing fit hit him. Alia quickly took the bowl from him to prevent the soup from splashing out of the bowl. She put the bowl on the floor before tending to Sam. She tighten the blankets around his body and wiped perspiration from his forehead. "Gawd, I hope you don't catch that horrible cold again. It nearly killed you the last time," she commented as the coughing eased. Al frowned. "Sounds like Freddie might have caught pneumonia or something." He looked at Sam carefully. "Sam, you two have got to get out of here. Fred Sr. does find out what Alia's been doing and Ziggy says that the chances of him killing Alia as well as Freddie are going up." He looked at the handlink. "They're at sixty percent now." Sam looked at Alia. "We have to leave. Tonight." "Not tonight," Al commented. "Immediately!" Alia's eyes grew frightful. "He'll kill us if he catches us!" she whispered. Sam coughed. "He'll kill us if we don't leave." Alia thought a moment. "Okay," she finally said. "I'll pack us a small bag and we'll go." Al was looking at the handlink with concern. "No!" he exclaimed at Alia's comment. "The bastard will hear her!" Alia was headed for the door. "Alia!" Sam called out quietly. She turned to him with concern. "We can't risk you being heard by him," he told her. He slowly stood up. Alia went to him and put herself under his arm to support him. "What about you?" she asked. "It's snowing outside. You'll freeze!" "I'll risk it," he told her. Alia gave a nod as she leaned Sam against a wall long enough to gather the three blankets in the room. She wrapped them around Sam and herself as they left the room and started up the stairs. Al followed, trying to get information from the handlink. "Going somewhere?" Sam, Al, and Alia all looked up at the voice. "Oh, gawd!" Alia exclaimed as her father came down the stairs. -------------------------------------------- How's that for a cliff-hanger! :-) Part 6 coming soon. Katherine