VIRTUAL SEASONS EPISODES

PROLOGUE

Stephen couldn't wait for his father's best friend to arrive. He'd kept this secret long enough and now he felt it was the right time to reveal it to the one person that he knew could give approval to the result of his long hours of toil. Time to reveal what he'd spent most of his waking hours working on, furthering, developing and perfecting.

The Admiral entered Sam's lab just as Stephen had finished tightening the final screw.

"Whatcha doin' there, kiddo?" Al asked when he saw Stephen sitting at the workbench. Stephen had his back to him and didn't turn even to answer his question.

"Just something I've been tinkering with for the past couple of months," Stephen said drearily, hoping to keep his own excitement and enthusiasm out of his voice.

"Ha, ha," Al laughed as he neared the young boy. "So what is it, some new toy?"

"Nope… I've had the idea for quite some time, over a year now," the eight year-old said and sensing Al's closeness, he covered his 'secret' over with both hands.

Seeing the boy's secretiveness, Al quizzed him further, "Well, if ya don't want me to take a look, why did you ask me to come down here?" He stopped in his tracks, knowing full well that the boy wanted to share but at the same time being too embarrassed to do so. 'You're too much like your father for your own good,' Al thought to himself and then added, "You know I'm busy. Your dad could leap again at any minute, so, if you're not gonna show me then…" Al turned to leave, knowing that if the kid thought he was about to leave, it might bring him round.

"No! Don't go!" the boy turned abruptly. "I want you to see, I really do, but you might think it silly."

'I knew it, I just knew it!' Al chuckled to himself. "Silly!" Al conjectured, giving a sly glance towards Stephen. "Nothing you ever do would could be considered silly, Stephen. What makes you think that?"

"Because it's different," Stephen returned somberly as he slowly lifted his hands exposing the object beneath them. "Look."

Al stepped in closer and wasn't in the least bit surprised at what he was seeing. "What's so different about this?" he asked. "You've built one of these before."

Stephen looked at Al despondently but at the same time excited to disclose its secrets, "This one's biomolecular… and this here displays a holographic matrix…" he said pointing to a lens concealed within a tiny aperture on the uppermost edge. "Well it will… when I've downloaded the biogenetic code. It's not finished yet," he added as he watched his uncle squint at his creation. "I thought it might help you Uncle Al; I've noticed that you've been having some trouble with your eyesight recently."

Al looked at Stephen with more than a perplexed stance. He was totally stunned. "My eyesight? There's nothing wrong with my vision," he swallowed hard and scowled at the youngster in his awareness. "Honestly!" he shrugged, letting Stephen's comment pass further ignored. "And what will this holographic matrix display?"

Stephen looked at Al slyly. No-one else at the project knew that Al had sneaked a visit to the ophthalmologist but Stephen knew. He had seen the letter his uncle had received and had also noticed a couple of times as Al quickly removed his spectacles when someone entered the room he was in. He knew that they were kept in his inside pocket and Stephen was just about to challenge him but had second thoughts. Al wouldn't revere an inquisition from a child, let alone a challenge but he couldn't understand his uncle's denial nor why he was so upset at him for broaching the subject. So he decided for now, to let it drop but not to let it rest. "Ziggy!" he replied after the briefest of pauses.

The boy's reply had Al even more confused and was relieved that his latest question had conquered Stephen into submission for now, but knowing Stephen as well as he knew his father, he also knew that he wouldn't let it rest.

"You and dad will be able to communicate directly with Ziggy! It'll save time, you won't have to translate everything to dad, he'll see and hear it at the exact time that you do Uncle Al." Stephen's cheek twitched as he thought, 'I hope, Uncle Al!'

The Admiral stood blinking. 'Definitely his father's son, he's already confused the hell outta me. Out-brained by an eight year-old, but an exceptional eight year-old. Only one person has left me feeling so mediocre before and that was Sam. He could baffle the hell outta me with two words and his son has me baffled already with only one. Biomolecular. A holographic image of Ziggy, displayed from this handlink, is this possible?'

"But will it work?" Al deliberated.

"Only one way to find out," Stephen divulged.

"Now where have I heard that before?" Al stated, more as fact than as a question.

Stephen giggled.

"Oh Boy!" Al sighed.

PART ONE

May 16, 1969

Outskirts of Hot Springs , South Dakota

‘At best, Leap-in’s are tranquil affairs, a little confusing maybe… as they all are at first but this Leap-in… as I become aware, is unusually tranquil. I can even call it blissful or maybe it’s my imagination. As the blue haze diffuses from my surroundings I find myself by a poolside, relaxing on a sun-bed. It feels like it’s mid-afternoon on a glorious late August day. The sun feels hot, but not too hot against my face, a kinda warm glow that only August can bring. As I nestle my head back into the cushiony softness of the sun-lounger, I get a distinct feeling that somehow this peacefulness isn’t going to last much longer… and I am right…’

"Jacqui!" a high pitched female voice called out from the open doorway. "Are you still lazying out there?"

‘I am beginning to feel that whoever that voice belongs to is calling out to me. I can hear footsteps walking towards me. High heels on a concrete surface. My first thought is to get the hell out of here, but I fear that I’m too late to do anything about the approaching female.’

"Jacqui?" Sam mouthed softly to himself. "Oh, terrific! Not again!" he stated more loudly than he intended and rose himself up onto both elbows.

"Yes, again!" the voice reiterated Sam’s words. "I warned you yesterday about doing this now, didn’t I? The first glint of sun and off comes the clothing."

‘The first glint of…’ Sam thought as he looked around and then back to where the voice was coming from. ‘…so, it’s not August and if it’s not August then, when is it?’ his mind carried through to conjecture.

Standing before him was a middle-aged woman, dressed in a bright, flowery two-piece suit; a white blouse beneath the jacket and an expensive looking string of pearls adorning her elegant neck.

"But do you take any notice?" the woman’s voice continued. "No! I may as well be talking to the back of beyond for all you girls do in taking notice of me."

‘Is this woman my mother? She’s certainly talking and acting like one.’

"Mamma!" another voice had Sam reeling around in surprise; he thought he was alone. "Quit fussing so."

Sam noticed a head bob up from the water's edge; drenched, golden locks plastered the face of what obviously was a young woman. ‘Jacqui?’ he breathed with the relief at not being the ‘woman’ in question. As Sam watched Jacqui peel away the golden locks from her face, another head broke the water’s surface, gasping for breath and spluttering out water. Sam observed for the first time his attire: the most inadequate pair of bathing trunks and his mind ticked over, ‘The sixties, this has gotta be the sixties.’

"You too, Cheryl! Are you listening to me? Go get some clothes on, this instant!" the woman’s tone was none too pleased.

"Mamma, you’re such an old grouch," Cheryl announced disgruntled.

The first girl, Jacqui, reached up with her hands and pushing down, she raised herself out from the pool, splashing Sam with her actions. As Sam was about to make a comment at the girl for wetting him, he sat open mouthed as Jacqui straightened up before him, full frontal and naked.

Sam looked away embarrassed, but it was too late; he had seen it all.

"Inside now!" the mother screeched, whipping at the fleeting buttocks with the corner of a towel. "What on earth will the neighbors think child?"

Even as Sam averted his gaze, the other girl, Cheryl, had closed in on him and, unexpectedly, she leaned over Sam to retrieve a towel from the back of the lounger, giving Sam rise for further embarrassment. This time he had nowhere to look; she was crowding him, baring her nakedness only inches away and flaunting it ruthlessly, enhancing her mother’s exasperation.

"Budge over Terrence!" she nudged at Sam, brushing a delicate breast across his shoulder. "You’re leaning on it."

Sam obliged by ducking down and crouching forwards. "Sorry," he muttered awkwardly. He was afraid to think of what was now pressing against his back.

Cheryl pulled at the towel and laughing she traced her sister’s steps.

"You too," the mother pronounced sharply, as she followed the girls inside. "I think you’ve all had enough sun for one day."

"I’ll be in, in a second… Mamma," Sam said, echoing the two girls and at the same time hoping that he’d used the correct ‘term’ for his host. "I just need to get my things together."

Sam couldn’t get either vision out of his mind. The images of fresh young dewy forms, with the sun sparkling on each tantalizing drop of moisture were almost as much as the quantum physicist could endure. As he felt the skimpiness of his swimwear tighten, he pulled the sheet from beneath him and attempted to conceal his discountenance only to hear a chuckle from behind.

"What are you hiding there Sam?" the familiar raspy tones of the Observer chortled slowly, forcing the quantum physicist to spin around dexterously.

"Al!" Sam breathed, his eyes widened in shock and he swallowed hard at the thought of his friend’s scrutiny. "H—how long have you been there – I didn’t hear you come in?"

"So it finally got ya, heh pal?" Al snickered with a mischievous glint in his eye. He rocked back and forth, both hands firmly inserted into his pockets and the stumpy end of a cigar dangled from the corner of his mouth.

Sam’s eyes narrowed and as he glared at his friend, Al raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "Hmmm… nice bathers," he said removing the cigar from his mouth. As he flicked the stub away it vanished into thin air, as did everything in Al’s timeline when he decided to relinquish a handle on it.

"Quit that Al," the quantum physicist grimaced as he wrapped and hugged the sheet even closer. In one awkward movement he gathered up his host’s belongings and almost lost the sheet in the process.

Sam stared down at the small round table at the side of the lounger and noticed the three half empty tumblers, all three had lipstick around the rim but he brushed it aside as he picked up the paperback and tucked it under his arm. In one stride, he straddled the lounger to the other side and strode off towards the open doorway, closely followed by a still chuckling Observer.

Once inside, Sam found the stairwell and started to ascend, aching to peel off the meager garment now concealed beneath the sheet. At the top of the two flights he could see several options, one of which was surely his room. But which one?

He beckoned to his friend who was not far behind. Al just merely shrugged his shoulders and in offering said, "Eeny, meany, miny mo." Pointing to each room in turn till he reached the fifth. "I should try that one Sam."

"Any particular reason?" Sam whispered.

"As good a room as any," Al abated, biting his lip.

Still clutching the sheet around his midriff, Sam nervously turned the knob to the door, fully rotated he pushed it open slightly and peeped inside and immediately stepped back, turning to Al he shook his head and closed the door quietly.

"No luck huh?"

"It’s a girl’s room, full of girlie stuff," Sam stated in hushed tones and then stiffened as the door next to the one he’d just tried opened.

Cheryl stepped out, a large bath sheet covering her femininity. "What ya doin’ Terrrrrence, gettin’ lost again?" she giggled, heading down the hallway and into one of the opposite rooms.

Sam’s gaze followed her.

"I see she’s got your hormones racing again Sam," the Observer conjectured and Sam’s jaw hardened. "Ahmm, least we’ve ruled out four possibilities. This one here’s the bathroom and I’m supposin’ that the one over there is the master bedroom, that being the front of the house. Those two over there are your sisters’ rooms… that just leaves the three… more than halfway there Sam," Al further hypothesized, feeling rather pleased and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Sam backed up to the next door behind him and pressed an ear to its surface. The subtle sound of music was coming from within and he gave a discerning glance towards the observer as he whispered, "There’s someone in here too Al, I hear music playing."

"Try another room then Sam, one of them has to be yours," Al tapped a few buttons on the handlink as Sam moved closer to another door. "According to Ziggy, there’s only the mother and the three siblings living here."

Sam listened as Al read the information from the handlink, also listening for any noises from inside the room. All seemed quiet and so he opened the door. Inside was full of boxes and so Sam closed the door making his way to the final room at the end of the hallway. Sam didn’t feel very optimistic, the final room being so far a way from the others, but still he had to try.

"Your mother’s name is Beatrice Horncastle and your father, Henry… oh sorry Sam… he’s deceased. After the father’s death in ’65 the housekeeper and cook were let go, Beatrice couldn’t afford to keep them on."

As he ventured inside he wasn’t too disappointed at what he found, another storage room but he did feel alarm at someone in the household finding him talking to his invisible friend. After closing the door he glared at Al, as though not finding his room was the observer's fault and pointed a retreat down the hallway.

"Where the hell is my room," he quietly reproached Al as he passed through him in eagerness to get to the bathroom.

"Don’t ask me pal, it’s you who’s been doin’ all the lookin’ and from the looks of ya, you’ve been usin’ more than just your eyes," Al disparaged in return, following Sam into the washroom. "Why do we always end up in the john?"

Sam glared wryly at the Observer as he entered through the closing door. "What else have you got?"

The Observer tapped a few more keys, hitting it twice when the information didn’t appear. "Darned it Ziggy, what’s taking so long?" he asked, looking up at the ceiling and then giving Sam an apologetic smirk. "Ahh, here it is, at last. You have two sisters Jacqui and Cheryl, you’re the youngest of a set of not so identical triplets. Oh and get this," Al laughed, "your name is… ha, ha, your name is… wait for it…"

"Al, I know what my name is," Sam said throwing his hands in the air and turning his back on his friend. "It’s Terrence, I’ve learned that much."

"No Sam, you’re wrong there," Al grinned.

"What?" Sam announced beset, turning sharply and looking toward the handlink.

Al pulled the handlink away, not allowing the quantum physicist to look. "So ya think that ya know everything do ya?" the Observer asked, a smirk crossing his face when he saw Sam’s disappointed expression. "So, what year is it then? I suppose ya got that worked out too… main brain."

Sam glared at Al, his face stern, "Quit foolin’ Al, you heard erm… Cheryl, she called me Terrence."

"Ha! Ya don’t know do ya? Come on tell me, what year is it?" Al asked again holding the handlink inconspicuously behind his back.

"Okay Al! Have it your way… I think it’s the late 60s. Now are you gonna tell me my name?"

"The year Sam… I want the year," Al demanded to know.

"’68!" Sam snapped.

"Ee-eR…" Al sounded out, like a buzzer on a cheap game show. "Wrong again Sam… one more chance," his grin was more than satisfied at the incorrect answer. He loved teasing his friend this way; it was part of who they were. Bosom buddies, pals, true friends. He pushed his tongue into his cheek as he waited for Sam’s next answer.

"’67?" Sam inquired slowly, his eyes wide in anticipation of being correct and he immediately cringed when he saw Al snicker.

The Observer didn’t say a word; he just pocketed the handlink and pressed his lips together suppressing his rapturous victory, running his tongue over the front of his teeth, through a closed mouth.

"Al!" Sam rebuked as the Observer turned away, finding it hard to contain his elation.

"You don’t see it, do ya?" the Observer stated rather than questioned. This was meant as a hint, but would Sam take the bait?

The physicist’s brow creased taking in Al’s connotation. "You don’t mean…" he started as he charged towards the open closet door and in closing it revealing a long mirror.

For a long moment Sam stood looking at the reflection, then suddenly tore the sheet from around his waist, hugging it close to his chest. The Observer chuckled loudly unable to suppress his amusement any longer.

"Your name’s Terri Horncastle… that’s Terri with and ‘i’ Sam," the Observer said as seriously as his emotions would allow.

"Oh boy!" Sam uttered sharply. "I’m a woman," he groaned.

"You most definitely are Sam," the Observer sniggered, disguising it a behind a stumpy hand. "You're nineteen… well that is, you're all nineteen, all three of you… erm… you and your…"

"I get the picture, Al!" Sam reproached as he continued to peruse the image reflected. "She's beautiful, Al."

"You all are, though I think you already know that," Al remarked as he stepped close to his friend, duplicating his gaze into the mirror. "I think I'm gonna like this leap Sam," he concluded, reluctantly averting his gaze roguishly to look up at Sam.

"Come on girls, are you ready yet?" the mother shouted up from the bottom of the stairwell. "Charles will be here in fifteen minutes."

From outside both Sam and Al heard the echoes of Terri's sisters, "Be right down mamma."

"Me too," Sam echoed the others from within the bathroom and then quietly turned to Al. "Charles? Who's this Charles, Al? I thought they lived alone."

The Observer retrieved the handlink from his pocket and tapped a sturdy finger into the keypad. "One Charles Davenport Junior… oh, this is interesting Sam," a wicked grin spreading across his face.

The quantum physicist waited but soon became impatient when the Observer didn't continue, "Well, what is it that you're finding so interesting?"

"Apparently Sam, there's gonna be a wedding. Beatrice is to marry Charlie boy in three days’ time."

"What's so interesting about that, Al? Older people are allowed to marry ya know."

"Whoohoo, you're gonna love this Sam…" the Observer chuckled his amusement. "Pretty boy Charlie is only three years your senior. Looks like you're gonna be getting a big brother as a stepfather Sam."

"You mean their—our mother is gonna be marrying a twenty-two year old? Are you sure about that Al?"

The Observer read again from the handlink to verify the information. "Yup, 'cos I don't think she'll be marrying the senior Charles Davenport he's an old timer in his 70s. And speaking of time Sam, shouldn't you be gettin' into a dress or somethin'?"

"I should but…"

"Readin' ya there Sam… the first room? The one with all of the girlie stuff in it? I told you it was…" Al grinned smugly with highlighted presumption.

"Lucky guess Al… unless…" Sam narrowed his eyes. " …you knew all along I was a woman… you did - didn't you?"

The Observer turned to Sam in all innocence, tongue in cheek and shaking his head. "No, Sam I didn't…"

"Why don't I believe you, Al?" the quantum physicist said as he strode out of the bathroom slamming the door closed behind him.

Once alone, Al's innocent pout reconfigured itself into a wicked grin. "But I did know that you weren't a man."

After a shake of his head and whilst still chuckling, the Observer decided to take this time to check in on Stephen. He couldn't believe that this new prototyped handlink could possibly work as well as Stephen had hoped and he wanted to be there, to soften the blow of the youngster's disappointment when it didn't.

PART TWO

April 12, 2005

Project Quantum Leap

Al was still chortling to himself when he exited the Imaging Chamber. Both Sammy Jo and St. John , along with Donna and Tina, glanced strangely in Al's direction.

"Don't ask," Al gleefully announced, trying to rid his face of the amusing smirk that seemed to persist in remaining. "Sam's okay, though he is a little rattled at his present situation."

"We know Al," Tina giggled. "He's a fully grown man in a teenager's aura. Ziggy told us."

"Not only a teenager, though. I had him goin' for a while there - he thought he was male. You should'a seen his face when he looked into that mirror. Priceless! I wish I'd had a camera."

Al saw Donna take in a deep breath; he knew how relieved Donna felt when Sam had to convince everyone that he was a woman. At least there wouldn't be any females around trying to seduce him and so he decided to keep quiet as to Sam's reaction when he first encountered his two other siblings.

"Poor Sam," Tina sympathized. "He so dislikes it when he has to wear high heels, at least he knows what it's like."

Donna nodded her head in agreement, "So darned uncomfortable and such a strain on the legs."

"Is Stephen still in Sam's lab?" Al proffered in an excuse to change the subject.

"Yes, he is," Donna affirmed. "He's spent so much time in there lately, what is he doing in there, Al? He won't let on to any of us what he's up to."

Al touched the tip of his nose with a finger.

"So you do know! Are you gonna tell us what it is?" Donna urged for an explanation.

Again, Al's finger tapped his nose and he strode off in the direction of Sam's lab without another word, leaving Donna gazing upon a retreating Admiral.

"I have a feeling we're gonna find out soon enough," Sammy Jo broke in, in observance, with a knowing grin.

"I just hope he's not up to anything that's no good," Al heard Donna say as he entered Sam's lab.

"So Stevie boy, how's the prototype coming along?" Al asked as his stride took him up to the side of a studious Stephen.

"All of the data has been integrated, all it needs now is a test run," Stephen proclaimed with a wry smile.

"So switch it on, I've only got a few minutes before I have to be back with your dad."

"It won't work in here, Uncle Al. It'll only work in the Imaging Chamber where the holographic linkages are."

"You mean I've got to test run it on your dad?"

"Where else?" Stephen gave Al a dejected squint. "You don't think he'll disapprove do you?"

"I'm not saying that at all, it's just that… I'm gonna have trouble explaining it, when I don't understand how it works."

"It's not that at all is it, Uncle Al? What you're saying in a round about way is that you won't be able to explain who made it."

"Well you know how it is, if he doesn't remember, I can't tell him."

"I know," Stephen said with the tell-tale droop of his head indicating sadness.

"I doubt that deep in his heart he’s forgotten you or your mom. He couldn't remember me at first either, so I know how much it hurts."

"Yeah, it does hurt Uncle Al. But… how can he remember when he can't even remember ever even meeting me?" the youngster asked as a tear formed in his eye.

"Oh believe me he knows, deep down somewhere inside… he knows," Al said as he slapped the youngster's back. "Come on now, you want to see if this contraption of yours works now, don't you?"

"Sure do," Stephen beamed as he followed Al into the Control Room.

" St. John , is the Imaging Chamber still online?" the Admiral asked as he lead Stephen through to the Control Room.

"Yes sir!" Saint John replied, handing Al the handlink from its cradle.

"I won't be needing that one this time. Our young scientist here…" Al gave Stephen a hug around the shoulders, "…is developing a newer improved version. I'll be using this one for this visit."

"But Sir…"

"No buts St. John !" Al interrupted, giving him a stern glare. He then turned to Stephen with a wide smile. "We've got to test it sometime and now is as good a time as any in my book. Come on kiddo, take your position, we've got a test run to complete."

Stephen approached his mother's side and as he neared she took a step backwards.

"This is highly irregular Admiral!" St. John condescended, his tone adamant. "He's too…

Again, Al glared at St. John whose mouth hung open in mid sentence.

The Admiral finished his sentence for him. "Young!" he growled. "Physically maybe, intellectually, he's not! He has a far superior brain; it may even surpass that of his father's. Go on Stephen, do what you have to do." He shot a further glare towards the head programmer before stomping off towards the Imaging Chamber. "Just get me back there," he demanded and St. John obeyed albeit somewhat reluctantly.

May 16, 1969

Outskirts of Hot Springs , South Dakota

The Observer found himself standing at the foot of the stairs and as he heard the initial sound of one the upstairs doors open then close, he awaited the arrival of the first of the triplets. Cheryl was the first to demurely descend, dressed in a sky blue A-line dress; she was closely followed and overtaken by the bubbly temperament of Jacqui. Al's eyes widened with captivation when her fully frilled skirt wafted up with each elegant bouncing step, revealing flounced underskirts and long shapely legs.

Next came the youngest, Sam, awkwardly ambling and taking each step with the grace of a baboon in the spiked heels and tight skirted dress. Al couldn't help but snicker, even though he was trying his hardest to hold it back behind a cigar-laden hand.

"You should try it sometime!" Sam stated through gritted teeth as he passed him by.

"Try what?" Cheryl asked as she turned back towards her sister.

Sam felt very conscious at the slip he had made and at the fact that he'd been overheard. "Tr—ry, try reading that book I've started," he quickly recovered. "Erm… I've been meaning to tell you about it."

"Not one of those books Terri, you know I don't like the books you read," Cheryl shuddered with dismay.

Sam looked to his friend unnerved; he didn't know why Cheryl should give him that reaction just at the mention of a book.

"What book are you reading Sam?" the Observer countered with a glint in his eye. "No, not you Sam, surely not even you could be readin' a 'glossy'… are you Sam?"

Sam hurled an annoyed glare towards his friend and shrugged his shoulders uncertainly, as if to say 'I don't know'.

"You mean you didn't happen to peek at the title of the paperback that you so diligently brought in…" Al took a deep inhalation from his cigar and blew out a couple of smoke rings, watching them as they rose and dispersed. "… the one that you nursed all the way up from outside?" he looked at Sam down his nose, the glint remaining.

Sam waited until Cheryl had entered another room and was well out of earshot before he replied. "No, I didn't Al, you tell me, what IS Terri reading?"

"Don't ask me, I wasn't the one holding onto that book for dear life. That's why I was asking you," the Observer looked away trying to avoid Sam's relentless stare.

"Okay Al… Al, what else has Ziggy come up with?" Sam gave up and changed the subject. Feeling like a defeatist, he added, "Something useful will do, like… what I'm here to do?" Sam glanced around nervously, expecting one of the sisters to come and fetch him at any moment.

"Oh, that's an easy one Sam," the Observer stated as he lifted out the new device.

"What's that?" Sam asked of his friend as he pointed to the gadget in Al's hand.

"What this?" Al held up the object in question. "This… it's a prototype of a new handlink that's in development. I thought we'd give it a trial run whilst it's quiet."

Al's eyes shone in amazement when he depressed the only button on the new device and a 3D head and shoulder image of a beautiful woman appeared.

The hologram's dark brown eyes twinkled and her brown shoulder length hair bounced as the head turned towards her creator. "You're here to find out which sister killed Charles Davenport Junior, Doctor Beckett." Ziggy's dulcet tones echoed out to both men. 

Sam too was too dumbfounded with bewilderment to take in Ziggy's words immediately. "That's great Al! Whose innovation is this?"

"Looks like we've got a new and brilliant young scientist on our team now Sam," Al conjectured.

"What's his name Al, maybe I've heard of him?" Sam asked mesmerized by the holographic image projected.

Al shook his head. "I doubt you've heard of him Sam, he was way to young for you to remember him before you leapt, but his name is Stephen."

Al waited for a response of recognition from Sam.

"Hmmm, no, can't say I've heard of him," Sam shook his head. "Maybe I know his father, what's his last name?" Sam quizzed, wanting to know more about the brilliant young scientist that Al had just hired.

"Oh Terrence, you are such a nitwit… they both have the same name, silly." Jacqui announced as she bounced in through the doorway.

Al sighed with relief at this interruption; at least now he would have time to think up some kind of explanation and wouldn't have to go into a long elaborate and drawn out lie.

"Mamma says that you've got to make yourself presentable for when Charles gets here," Jacqui continued. "She wants to check you over before he arrives. Come on, she knows your dress sense isn't up to her standards." Jacqui flounced back into the other room with a titter.

"I'd better get in there Al, before Scarlet O'Hare starts getting suspicious and comes out again," Sam said as he started heading for the doorway to the room in which Jacqui had entered.

"I think you mean Scarlet O'Hara, Sam!" Al corrected.

"Whoever …" Sam said, his brow creasing at getting something else totally wrong. "I don't want her catching me talking to myself again. They all think that I'm crazy as it is."

"Sam whilst you go in there, I'll just nip back and tell Stephen that his handlink is working just fine," Al said scrutinizing the handlink in an attempt to figure out how to open the Imaging Chamber door.

But before he could even figure it out Ziggy's mouth moved to the tones that echoed through the holographic lips. "No need Admiral, Master Stephen already knows of its success."

Al shrugged his shoulders at Sam and followed him into the room, Ziggy's image hovered just above the new handlink and Al wondered what would happen if he pocketed the device. What would become of the hologram, would it stay outside of his clothing? OR… the thought tickled at Al's imagination.

Sam was too engrossed in his surroundings to notice Al tittering behind him. As Sam passed through the hallway, he noticed a door to the right that led to a large dining room, the table already set and awaiting their dinner guests. Sam continued to the only other door at the far end of the corridor and from which emanated the sounds of female voices, one of which he didn't recognize.

Sam suddenly felt very uncomfortable as he entered the sitting room. The chairs had been arranged in a semi-circle out skirting the room. He didn't know why he was feeling this way but something inside of him told him that this wasn't the usual seating arrangement. One chair in particular looked to be out of place, and was centered opposite to each of the chairs in the semi-circle. 'A display case,' Sam mentally noted.

"Are you feeling it too, Sam?" Al's voice startled him from behind.

PART THREE

Sam grimaced in reply to Al but also projected that same feeling for the mother's benefit. "Will I do?" Sam asked, holding his arms out from his sides for inspection.

Jacqui chuckled. A woman Sam had not been introduced to sat at the end of the row of chairs. She looked much the same age as Beatrice, the same hair coloring and the same refinement about her. He took her to be Beatrice's sister and he hoped that he was right. He didn't want to make any more mistakes; the ridicule from his two siblings was enough to handle for the moment.

"Quiet dear!" Beatrice sternly ordered of her second eldest daughter. "You've been far too derisive of your younger sister of late Jacqui."

Sam felt like ticking Jacqui off, too, for all the nit-picking he'd taken from her since his leap-in.

"You look very nice for a change Terri, though you have taken a little too much sun today. Your face is a little flushed - go and tone it down a little with some powder." There was no question of a rebuttal in the mother's tone, a subtle order if ever there was one. "And don't take all day about it. You have two minutes."

"And put some cream on first honey, we don't want that pretty young skin drying out too early now do we?" Sam looked at the woman.

He felt panicky, 'what on earth do I call her? Aunt? Ma'am? What? She looks so like my moth—Terri's mother, it's uncanny. Now, what would Terri call her?' "Of course, ma'am," Sam said excruciatingly uncertain.

"Good call, Sam," Al said as he also looked quizzically towards the woman.

"Yes, Mamma," Sam answered in quick succession as he backed out of the room. He'd just felt as if he'd been before the judiciary.

"Wise move I think, Sam. I don't think I'd like to cross swords with this woman either. Boy, is she formidable."

Sam scuttled upstairs the best he could, the tight skirt and heels making the ascent more difficult than the descent, so, he removed the shoes and hitched the skirt up so that he could take the steps two at a time.

Al was already waiting at the top flight; there was no sign of the hologram, Ziggy. "If only Mamma could see you now Sam," he quirked, making Sam jump.

"Darn it Al, I didn't think girls this young should have to wear makeup," Sam complained as he reached the top step.

"It’s your own fault Sam, you shouldn't have exposed yourself for so long," Al mocked enjoying every moment of Sam's latest leap.

Sam headed straight for Terri's bedroom, throwing the shoes onto the bed and opened the top drawer to the dresser taking out an ornate compact.

Al remained on the landing as he depressed the button on the handlink and Ziggy's hologram pixelated, hovering just above the tiny lens. "Who the hell is that woman?" he asked as he took a second look over the banister.

"I am certainly a minority at your guessing games, Admiral," Ziggy replied glibly. "I need to be in close proximity, otherwise inaccuracies may occur," she concluded and closed herself down.

Al glanced wryly from the handlink to the banister and then in the direction that Sam went. "You've not commented on what Ziggy says you have to do," Al remarked as eventually, he followed Sam into the bedroom.

"I guess I was a little preoccupied at the time with our new scientist to take it all in…" Sam squirmed uncomfortably as he patted his face with the powder he'd found. "What did she say again, Al?"

"The guy that your mother… erm, Beatrice is about to marry… Sam, one of you kills him." Al said sticking the butt of his cigar immediately in his mouth, trying to shun the grim expression he was feeling.

"What!" Sam breathed in sharply, inhaling some of the fine particles from the make-up he coughed. "When?" he sneezed. "No… you're kidding me there Al, neither of them are strong enough to kill a man," he strongly disputed.

Al watched Sam has he doused his face with the powder. "Don't you think that you're overdoing it a little with the powder?" he suggested as he reactivated the handlink.

Sam glared towards Al as Ziggy purred out the most recent information. "In the recorded history all three sisters admitted to dosing Charles Davenport Jr. with sedatives on the morning of his wedding day but they all denied giving him enough to kill him."

"Well… it won't be Terri, will it?" Sam said after a moment's thought. "I mean, I'm Terri and I ain't gonna be killing him."

"Mr. Davenport still dies though, Doctor," Ziggy's voice pronounced.

Al spoke as he reiterated the conversation, "We know that Sam… and cos he still dies we know that it wasn't Terri, so that leaves either Cheryl or Jacqui."

"Or the mother!" Sam stated, staring wide eyed at Al.  "But why? What possible reason could any one of them have and why would Terri say that she'd dosed him with sedatives when she didn't?" Sam questioned.

"Maybe she did Sam," Al cautioned. "Maybe all three sisters dosed him without the knowledge from the others. Maybe the three combined measures of sedatives is what killed him off the first time."

"That was never determined Admiral," Ziggy's holographic head shook in contrition. "Admiral, the only information I have, is that all three sisters were convicted together and each shared the same sentence, since it could never be proved which sister actually committed the crime, they were all equally guilty."

"But what about now?" Sam asked as he added the finishing touches to his face.

"Hmmm, interesting Sam," Al said thoughtfully as he glanced down on the bed and saw the book Sam was carrying earlier.

"Interesting? What on earth have you found now that could be interesting?" Sam asked as he found a tube of pastel pink lipstick and started applying it.

"Hmmm, 'A Lady At Bay' the title says it all. I seem to remember something about this one, Sam. Beth had it on her bedside cabinet for months—true story I think—though, of course, I personally haven't read it," he added as an awkward afterthought.

Sam turned around and picked up the paperback in question. "No, I don't think I've read it either, Al," he said as he flipped through the pages. "Not my kinda book."

"You are right Admiral, it is a true story," Ziggy's dulcet tones flowed forth from the holographic matrix. "It is about the Marquise Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray de Brinvilliers – one of the most fascinating and mysterious women of the 17th century. She was accused of poisoning her father and her two brothers so that she might come into possession of the family fortune," Ziggy paused for a few seconds. "Don't you think it a strange coincidence Doctor, Admiral?"

"Hmmm," Al murmured as he wiped a hand across his brow.

"Coincidence yes, but not strange," Sam said not totally convinced in their parallelism. "It's not strange at all for a young woman to read about romantic novella of historical events."

"This isn't fiction and not really a story, though, Doctor. It is the retelling of historical facts. What about the fact that she's reading about historical poisonings and that's exactly the way that Charles Davenport died? And will still die."

"Poisoning?" Sam queried. "You m—mean your saying that I AM involved with Davenport 's death?"

"Seems that way Sam," Al said, turning away from his friend with a grimace. "Not you though, Terri," he added as an idea popped into his head. "Still, she and her sisters could have been collaborating before you Leapt in Sam, what do you say Ziggy?"

"If he still dies…" Sam broke off as he heard a knock on the front door.

"I'm with ya, Sam," Al said, also hearing the arrival of Charles Davenport Jr. Ziggy's holographic image converged back into the handlink and he smiled. "Time for you to meet your new daddy!"

Before he left the bedroom Sam slipped on a flatter pair of shoes and feeling more comfortable he headed towards the stairs.

"You need to check this out, Sam!" Al hollered as he re-centered in the main downstairs lobby. "He's a real cutie!"

Three-quarters of the way down the stairs, Sam noticed Al's reemergence through the main doorway and shook his head reproachfully. "You just couldn't wait could ya?"

"That's the fun of being a hologram," Al said grinning from ear to ear. "You get to see all the fun before others can and…" Al couldn't hold back a hearty chortle. "Phewie, ya really gotta see this, Sam."

As Sam reached the door, he held back from opening it for a few seconds, giving Al an astute glance. On first opening the door and at first glance, Sam was taken completely unaware. Even Al's forewarning didn't suffice what greeted him.

Standing before him was a man… no a boy, tall and tanned with wavy, shoulder length blonde hair that would have looked more appropriate on a woman. His crystal blue eyes sparked as he smiled, revealing perfectly aligned white teeth.

"Terri!" he greeted Sam with his boyish voice and lunged forward enveloping him in a bone crushing embrace.

Sam raised his eyebrows to Al for help but none was forthcoming; Al was too engrossed in his own amusement to be of any assistance.

"Ch—a—arle—s?" Sam stammered as the breath was squeezed out of him.

"Sure is!" Al broke out from amidst his joviality.

"What is it honey, are you not pleased to see me?" Charles held Sam away from him at arm's length. "You were expecting me, weren't you?"

"Ye-es…" Sam said gasping as he breathed in some much needed oxygen into his lungs. "We are expecting you! M-my mother is expecting you more though," he said as he stepped back trying to avoid the young man's reach.

"Always expect the unexpected Sam!" Al mused at Sam's awkwardness.

Ziggy's head turned towards the Observer and her eyes rolled at his comments. "Admiral, I do not think that Doctor Beckett needs your flippant suggestions at the moment," she stated sternly. "If you do not cessate your smart aleck innuendoes this very minute, I will be forced to switch off my matrix. I have no concept of how Doctor Beckett can put up with your behavior."

Sam laughed at Al's expression. For the first time in, well, he couldn't remember how long, Al was speechless but Sam was caught off guard and as he turned, Charles playfully slapped at Terri's voluptuous curves. Sam grimaced as he froze in annoyance; he was all but ready to turn back and slap his tormentor's face. 'Enough already,' his mind screamed out, he'd also had enough of Al's remarks to last him another thousand Leaps and this last one action seemed to be the final straw. Even Sam was surprised at how he'd managed to keep his cool and so he grinned pertly at his assailant as he pried the young man's hand away from the curves of Terri's behind.

"My mother," Sam said through gritted teeth, "…is waiting for you through here." He turned back and started heading toward the hallway and as he passed by he creased his brow at the Observer.

Charles followed Sam down the passage and towards the room where his, Terri's mother and sisters waited.

As soon as Charles entered, Beatrice steered him into the central chair and Sam sighed with contentment that it was the fiancé, Charles who had to endure her inquisition.

"What's all this in aid of?" Charles questioned and as he sat down he turned to Beatrice standing behind him.

"Before the wedding Charles, I want my daughters to find out a little more about you," the mother countered.

"A little late for that, don't you think Sam?" Al asked with a smirk.

"But…" Charles tried to get a word in edgewise.

"I mean, ha—ha," Al chuckled with a shake of his head. "It's only three days to the wedding. She really should've done all of the introductions months beforehand."

Beatrice cut Charles short. "But… Charles? Surely you don't have any objections to a few little questions from my girls do you?"

Al braced a watchful eye on the woman seated in the end chair and summoned Ziggy's image. "Now can you tell me who she is?" he countermanded.

"It's not that, Tricy… darling. It's not as if we don't know each other here, we did all attend the same high school together, didn't we?" Charles asked as the conversation between Sam's two invisible friends from the future talked between themselves.

Ziggy turned her head towards the woman. "Yes, Admiral I can, her name is Bridgett Tinkerton, née O'Hare…"

Al couldn't help but laugh at the irony, "O'Hare? tsk I wondered where Sam got that from, now I know. Sorry Zig, ha-ha, carry on."

"Nonsense!" Beatrice snapped at his subservience. "That was then and this is now. There are other things my girls need to know now… like how you are going to react to them when you are their father and not their equal? How are you going to handle discipline?"

"Thank you Admiral…" Ziggy rolled her eyes and shook the tresses of her dark hair. "She is the younger twin of Beatrice Horncastle, née O'Hare." Al laughed again as the hologram continued. "There is also an older sister, Bernadette Stanwick, née O'Hare and another set of twin brothers, Brendon and Benjamin."

Sam sat forward in his chair, engrossed in everything that was taking place, including that of the two holograms. He felt every sympathy as he saw Charles' chin drop and his mouth dangle open in shock. Charles' look of dismay told Sam that the young man had not thought this wedding business through. The thought had probably never occurred to him that after his marriage to Beatrice he would be stepfather to her daughters and they being only three years his junior.

"Erm… Sam…" Al said getting the physicist's attention when the hologram's image dissipated. "This is erm… getting a little too heavy for me… I think I'll take this time to go and check on Stephen."

Sam nodded mindfully towards his friend as the Imaging Chamber door opened and Al shrugged soulfully as the door closed down on that strange scene in the sitting room.

PART FOUR

April 12, 2005

Project, Quantum Leap

Stephen was the first to greet Al as he stepped out from the Imaging Chamber. "How did it go Uncle Al?" The excitement was clearly evident in the youngster's voice. He'd already heard of its success from Ziggy but what he really wanted to hear were the words coming from the Admiral's own lips.

"Hmmm… as a first attempt… I think…" Al said thoughtfully as he ruffled the young boy's hair, pausing only long enough to see a disappointed expression cloud Stephen's face. "It worked magnificently," he praised as he led Stephen into Sam's lab.

"It did? It did, Uncle Al?" the boy squealed with enthusiasm.

Al was surprised to find Sammy Jo already seated at the bench, she didn't have to ask her half brother how the test run went. The expression on her younger sibling's face said it all.

"It works then?" she said more than asked with a smile, as she slowly stood from her seat she crossed the room to meet Stephen and Al halfway. Bending down at her hips, a good eighteen inches, she whispered into Stephen's ear, "Told you there was nothing to worry about," she reassured with a whisper, but just loud enough so that the Admiral could hear.

As Sammy Jo straightened herself she winked cheekily at Al and disbelieving he watched as Sammy Jo walked jauntily out of the door.

Al took out Stephen's device from his pocket and looked wondrously towards the door. "She knew? Sammy Jo knew all the time about…" His gaze turned back to the object in his hand. "Who else knows kid?" he asked in his best Cagney impersonation.

"Awww, Uncle Al, you're so funny," Stephen giggled, nudging at Al with unfettered childishness.

"Wish someone else thought so," Al said, directing his words to the hand link and to the holographic image that was no longer visible.

"Admiral?" Ziggy's silky voice filtered through. "Something is changing back in Doctor Beckett's timeline. If Master Stephen's new device is taken into the Imaging Chamber, I think I could oversee the situation better from there. I fear there is something very seriously wrong and the new feature Master Stephen has incorporated may enable me to monitor what is happening."

Al looked aghast. "Wrong? Ziggy what can be wrong? I left Sam only a few minutes ago, how can something be wrong in such a short space of time?"

"I'm afraid to say that I lost contact with Doctor Beckett for a few seconds and within that time, time has progressed," Ziggy's tone sounded embittered. "The date Doctor Beckett is now in is May 18, the evening before the wedding day."

"I'll take it in Uncle Al!" Stephen stated as he wrenched his device from Al's grasp. As he raced towards the Imaging Chamber, all the Admiral could do was stand and blink imaginatively towards Ziggy's voice.

"What NEW feature Ziggy?" Al asked an unresponsive Ziggy.

It wasn't the first time that Stephen had been inside the Imaging Chamber but it was his first venture inside, alone. The eerieness of the feint blue light seemed to be magnified when he could still hear Ziggy's hollow voice from within the huge darkened cavern. "Doctor Beckett is not where you left him Admiral. He is some several hundred yards away from the house and below ground."

Stephen placed his contraption on the panel next to the holographic linkages and pressed the solitary button.

Ziggy's holographic matrix appeared, lighting up the boy's enthused face. "Admiral, I think you should get in here right away. I am receiving readings from Master Stephen's program and I'm fearful to admit that my interpretations are not good."

"Wha—a—at!" Al's voice, to Stephen, seemed to scream out to him as his father's best friend raced to his side. "Get out of here—now kid!" Al yelled. "You shouldn't see this—whatever it is—you shouldn't see it!"

Stephen backed out of the door anxiously and as soon as he'd entered the Control Room the door closed down on him locking him out.

"What the hell's going on?" Al screeched as he reached out for the handlink below the hovering image of Ziggy.

"I don't know what or how but Doctor Beckett has somehow changed history. Charles Davenport Jr. no longer dies," Ziggy said somberly.

"What about Sam? What danger is he in?" Al asked impatiently.

"From his vital signs Admiral, he is somewhere extremely cold and if something isn't done very soon then in approximately 32.57 minutes he will die of hypothermia," Ziggy said dolefully. She then added quickly, "And one more thing Admiral, Doctor Beckett is not alone."

"Okay cut the crap Ziggy—center me on Sam!" he said as all went dark suddenly except for the glowing silver diode on the handlink.

On first impression Al didn't know what to make of his surroundings. It was so dark he couldn't see a thing, only the flashing silvery light of the liquid diode on Stephen's new handlink.

The Observer pounded a finger into the single button on the handlink and Ziggy's image pixilated into focus. "Damn it Ziggy who turned the lights out?" he supplicated angrily.

"I told you Admiral that Doctor Beckett was underground," Ziggy's voice reiterated hollowly, echoing back, making Ziggy's words difficult to comprehend.

"Where underground?" the Admiral asked as he tried to focus his eyes in the darkness. Ziggy's nimbus not making his surroundings any clearer. "And why here instead of at the house… where he should be?"

"I have no available details on why this should be happening Admiral, there is nothing in my information database," Ziggy's voice echoed almost inaudibly.

"Damned it Ziggy how do you know Sam's situation? You can't monitor his vital signs."

"I can now Admiral! Master Stephen's program now allows me to monitor everything pertaining to Doctor Beckett's situation, that is as long as his new device is in the Imaging Chamber and next to the holographic linkages. Using the goniospectrophotometer, two quantum displacement pods direct pure white light beams through the spectrum refractor, amalgamating the two opposing ends of the spectrum—infrared and ultraviolet, creating a dynatron tracer. This has been incorporated into the loupe of the biomolecular circuitry. This enables me to…"

"Quit the physics lecture Zig," Al interrupted. "You know all of that goes right over the top of my head—damn it, just tell me where Sam is, will ya!"

"He's about fifteen feet below you Admiral," Ziggy perpetuated through the darkness.

"You mean there's… nothin' below me? Get me down AND now!" Al reached out an unsolicited hand trying to grasp onto something tangible as he felt an unexpected descent. "Zzzooooiiiinnnnnggg," he heard and 'Going down!' he thought as sudden imaginings of cartoon characters filled his head: Wile Coyote, for one, suspended in mid-air and not falling until he looked and saw that there was nothing beneath him. Al's face bore the same expression and he hoped that he wouldn't come to such a messy end. He was no cartoon caricature AND the ground to the Imaging Chamber was of solid rock, he'd seen its construction.

He could hear it now; a steady drip, plop, drip that seemed as near and yet as far away as it could be. He didn't know which to believe. If only Ziggy's holographic luminescence didn't contort the hologram surrounding him.

"Sam?" he called out quietly and the sound of his own empty voice startled him. It sounded unreal, as if it wasn't his and that it wasn't him that had spoken them. "Sam?" he repeated, louder and, yet again he was taken aback by the reverberation. "Are you there Sam?"

A communicative groan entered Al's senses but it wasn't from Sam. Least he didn't think it was Sam, it didn't sound like him, more of a woman's whimpering plea for help. "Who's here with Sam, Ziggy?" Al asked, desperately needing answers.

"Z-Z-igg-y…" the weak voice spluttered.

"Sam, is that you?"

"N-no…" the voice was halted by a coughing fit and it sounded none too healthy.

Al almost dropped the handlink at the unforeseen answer and he started moving in the direction that the voice had come from.

"Admiral, this is Cheryl Horncastle," Ziggy advised, helping to speed things along. "And from my estimation she is closer to death than Doctor Beckett."

"Cheryl, where's Sam—Terri," Al corrected quickly, "your sister?"

"D-on't… kn-ow," Cheryl's voice faltered as her teeth chattered together. "H-he t-took-k h-her f-fir-rst… s-so I-I d-on't kn-ow."

"Who's he, Cheryl? Who did this to you?"

As Al spoke, he heard a grating noise from above and a shaft of light slowly opened up and beamed down from the luminous moon above, lighting up his surroundings. Now he could see Cheryl's face, she was wet through and above her right brow he could see a nasty gash, with the 'red stuff' oozing from the wound. He quickly looked around for Sam before the light faded and then he saw him, up to his neck in filthy, stagnant water.

Sam didn't look much better than Cheryl. What Al saw was more transcendental than what he'd witnessed in ' Nam and he felt sickened to his stomach.

"Up! Get me up there Ziggy! I want to see who the hell that is!" Al demanded and as he rose quickly he could see just exactly where he was. Rough stone walls curved about him, lichen or something similar, festooned downwards causing green slime splotches to creep along its surface. It reminded him of the orphanage and one kid in particular, the kid always seemed to have a perpetual cold. Al shuddered with repulsion and then he realized that he was in a deep pit with water at the bottom. He could almost smell the stench and he was glad for once to be a hologram. 'A disused well perhaps, it certainly looks like one.' Water or something drizzled past him and once or twice he found himself ducking as debris fell past him and into the pit. He hoped that the largest chunks of rubble had missed the occupants below. He looked down but couldn't see anything beneath him, a shadow had been cast over the opening; he listened, something was being dragged.

As Al reached the top he emerged through a crumpled figure and as he quickly sidestepped out of the way he could see that the figure was that of a woman. Not as young as Sam's sisters and he guessed that this must be Beatrice, the mother, though her face was hardly recognizable with its deathly white pallor.

"SAM! Look out below!" the Admiral hollered into the shaft before looking up into the face of the assailant. "You dirty dog, you!" he snarled, facing Charles Davenport, Jr. head on. "It should be you—you should be the one lyin' down there all bleedin' an' mangled!"

The Admiral swiped a vicious hand through the air, not missing his target but passing his fist straight through and his face reddened in anger and frustration. He ranted and raved unheard as the blonde haired antagonist heaved the dead weight over the open hatchway.

"Sam! Ziggy!" he yelled and lashed out again in a fit of utter desolation but no matter how much he screamed or struck out he could do nothing against thin air. In a last ditch attempt he grappled at the man's clothing but he stumbled when his weight slammed into nothingness, sending the handlink hurtling through the air of the Imaging Chamber. He tried to reach out to catch it but instead, ended up in rumpled heap on the ground. Al watched as the handlink bounced once, twice and on the third rebound, splitting into two halves and scattering it's insides across the floor.

"Awww Gawd… whatever next?" Al asked as he stared blankly at Stephen's dismembered creation. "Ziggy? If you can hear me, tell St. John that we need the other handlink in here—and how." He sat up and rubbed at a throbbing elbow but it wasn't half as painful as his bruised pride. Glancing back at the handlink he could just make out the shimmering hologram of his surroundings. Davenport Jr. was now replacing the heavy oak cover, masking the hole in the ground and he was alone.

Al rubbed at his eyes. He didn't know if it was his vision failing him or if was the actual hologram around him fading as the link between him and Sam was lost—was the handlink dying? He couldn't see the silvery glow of the flashing diode.

"Ziggy!" he shouted as he crawled his way to where he remembered seeing the hole in the ground. "Can you hear me, Zig? 'Cos I really need that other handlink—Sam's in a real bad way and there's Cheryl, she needs help too. And Sam's in no condition to help."

Not finding any semblance of the holographic well, Al scrambled to his feet and winced at the pain in his elbow as he attempted to push his weight upward. After a few precarious moments of dizziness, he managed to make his way to the Imaging Chamber door and as he approached it opened vertically as usual. He wasn't prepared for what greeted him on the other side of the door.

May 18, 1969

Outskirts of Hot Springs , South Dakota

A tiny scream in the dimness and the splash of something plunging into the reservoir at the bottom of the well rendered a brief awareness to Sam's senses. He moaned and as he blinked, he couldn't see much at all in the dimness. He moved feebly and even with this slightest momentum he could feel himself slipping further into the murky depths, making his senses recoil. As he grabbed onto the narrow ledge his dulled senses became aware that his movements were being restricted. Something was tight and chafing at his wrists. As he struggled against his bonds he felt the sleeve to his dress tearing: the only thing that had kept his head above water. His feet thrashed at nothingness in the icy quagmire and he wondered just how deep the water was. Then the thought crossed his mind as to how long he had been in this Godforsaken hellhole and how much longer his gnarled fingers could grasp onto this shallow ridge.

"Hu-uh!" he breathed in as the razor sharp coldness of the water slashed at his flesh.

"T-Terri… T-Terri, i-is th-that y-you?" the shuddering voice of Cheryl floated over to him and out of the gloom. "I-I th-thought th-that the a-angel w-was b-back a-again."

"W-wh-o?" Sam asked, his voice quivering as his body began to shiver with cold. He looked upward as an abrasive noise from above began to shut out the only light.

"Th-the an-angel, Z-Ziggy – f-funny n-name f-for an an-angel if y-you a-ask me," Cheryl paused for a moment before she persevered in her task, her voice getting weaker. "I-it's Ch-Cher-ryl… o-oh G-Go-od… it's s-so c-cold… I-I th-thought I-I w-was h-here all… al-alone!"

'Ziggy? No, she couldn't have said that, could she? Did I hear right?' he thought as he tried to shift position to ease his aching limbs, the shivering was making his muscles tense and the cold wasn't helping any.

He shook his head in disbelief, wincing with a pain that volleyed from the back of his neck and up to the top of his head and at the same time he felt something unnerving slap the side of his face.

"W-wha-t? H-ho-w?" Sam began to say and then he realized he wasn't making any sense. "W-ha-t th-e h-ell h-ap-pen-ed?" he implored as his chattering teeth cut is words into pieces and he felt again that something slapping him. Bringing his head down to his hands, he clutched relentlessly to the narrow ledge with the trembling fingers of one hand and felt tentatively to his cheek with his other. He felt its sliminess and immediately thought of leeches. He gasped inwardly at the thought. 'But it doesn't feel like a leech, not the correct pulpicity or mass,' his addled thoughts concluded and as he examined further, he felt its rigidity, like crumpled paper, but not… it was smoother.

"W-what-e-ever m-made you a-ask h-him th-that T-Terri?" she stammered uncontrollably.

"W-what d-did I-I a-ask?" Sam queried, his thoughts were too numb to recollect whatever it was he'd said.

He continued to carefully finger at the object of his obsession and finally taking a grip of it between a frozen finger and an equally numbed thumb, he pulled at it gently, unpeeling it from his face. Raising his head he looked through the dimness to what it was that he held in his blood smeared hand and gasped at the sight.

"Sticky tape?" he queried all too loudly as he stroked his hand though his hair where the pain was at its worst.

Dark smudges trickled between his fingers and along the length of his bare arm, dripping repeatedly with silent plops. With a gaunt expression he took his sights from the vision he was seeing and desperately looked about him in search of a way out of their prevalent hell-hole.

"N-not a-again T-Terri," Sam could hear Cheryl's teeth as they rattled together. "P-please n-not n-now, don't s-start acting the d-dumb ass. Y-you know d-darn w-well w-what you s-said to h-him. You should n-never have a-asked h-him th…" Cheryl's voice rose to a high-pitched scream as an outstretched hand rose from the murky depths. Even Sam lost his grip on the slimy narrow ledge as the hand continued its ascension. He tried to spit out the filthy water as his head dipped and sunk lower into the unfathomable sump.

The depths below him and, now above him was a sewerage of messy waste, a conduit that years ago contained fresh spring water, but no more. As Sam fought to resurface he felt the strange beginnings of a Leap but yet the familiar tingle seemed to be somewhat alien. He gasped for air as the unusual prickle grew in its intensity and then suddenly diminished. It was then that he saw it: the bright light, the white walls, the reflective bench below him. The sudden contrast from pitch dark to brilliant light hurt his eyes and he couldn't suppress an impulse to close them tightly.

He was just seeing things. He hoped.

He knew full well that he couldn't be where he thought he was. Could he?

"Welcome home… Doctor Beckett," a very familiar voice purred out, acknowledging his presence.

"Ziggy?" he anticipated halfheartedly, not expecting an immediate response.

"Yes Doctor, who else could I be?" Ziggy replied within a split second.

Doctor Beckett opened his eyes slowly and began to take in his surroundings. Everything about him was vaguely familiar and it wasn't long before he remembered exactly where he was, though he'd never had much of an opportunity to visit it too often in the past.

'The past? My past? The Waiting Room… I can't be here, no, it's impossible!' Thoughts ran through his mind, a confusion of thoughts, cumulating and tumulting around in his head, making even less sense.

"But how?" he muttered in his baffled state.

"You created me Doctor Beckett, is your mind so magnafluxed that you don't remember Doctor?"

"No, Ziggy no! How did I get here? I know all about you, just tell me how this could have happened… and why now?"

"Do you not recall your previous surroundings, Doctor?"

Sam nodded his head.

"Twenty feet down? A very slimy well shaft with no apparent means of escape? And in your current state at that time I doubted that you could have survived another ten minutes. I had no choice Doctor, it was a split nanoseconds decision on my part. Now that I can lock onto you biological signature, I thought it the best time to try for a retrieval but when the Admiral had his accident…"

"Accident? Al! Is he okay?" Sam asked alarmed.

"Please let me finish Doctor Beckett!" Ziggy scorned. "The Admiral had a mishap with Master Stephen's device and I was about to lose contact with you again…"

"What do you mean you lost contact with me AGAIN?"

"When the Admiral left you in the sitting room and returned here, I lost contact with you for only a few seconds and we have no knowledge of how you came to be where you were. Doctor Beckett, can you recollect what has happened over the previous forty-eight hours?"

Sam shook his head. "It's all a blur Ziggy, like it was a dream," he shook his head again. "You know how dreams are—when you wake up, most of it is forgotten?"

"Doctor Beckett! I am not given the luxury of such human essentialities!"

Sam flinched at Ziggy's indignation; his first thought was for that of the two sisters and whoever else it was that was abandoned in the pit. If he was so near to death—then what of them? Clearly Cheryl was down there the longest, hadn't he witnessed the barbaric aptitude of Charles' wrath, what was it she's said? 'She thought she was there alone.' Poor kid, she must've been out of her mind knowing she was the first. 'But how could she know?' Sam asked of himself as he remembered one vital fact. Cheryl was out cold when Charles took her away. 'Concussion and the temperature in that shaft was an imminent death sentence just waiting to happen!' Sam chastised himself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Ziggy open the doors at once! I have to see the others immediately!" Sam supplicated as he encroached on the Waiting Room door.

"I don't think that that is such a good idea Doctor. Evidently you have not envisioned the circumstances nor your appearance."

Sam quickly retreated back to the glossy bench and stood aloft, quickly his gaze relocated to the image reflected. He expected to see himself just this once but instead his reflection remained that of Terri. Again his head filled with an immeasurable amount of questions.

"Exactly Doctor," Ziggy hypothesized. "Everyone will see you as Miss Terri Horncastle. I'm afraid that your retrieval didn't quite work as anticipated."

Sam stood and stared at the image mirrored in the glazed surface, a look of immense perplexity clouding his features.

"Uuoooh b-boooy!"

To Be Continued