From: eah4@po.CWRU.Edu (Elizabeth A. Hlabse) Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: BOOKENDS, 4 (conclusion) Date: 4 Jan 1995 22:53:39 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Message-Id: <3ef8tj$kpi@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> BOOKENDS, part 4 by Terri Librande "What the hell are you doing here?" Al spun on him, almost falling off the stool. His eyes widened as he realized Sam was in no condition to be walking, let alone standing. "You look terrible." "Not half as bad as you're going to feel when I'm finished. You ran away, Al." Sam's voice was controlled but shaking. "You promised me once you'd never do that again. I needed you." "Great, a guilt trip. Don't do that, Sam!" Al snapped. "I don't want to be held responsible for you, too. Christ, those nozzles at the Pentagon, and Wright..." "Screw Wright." "I wouldn't want to." Sam smacked the cigar out of Al's fingers before he could light it. "I'm speaking to you and I don't want to do it in front of a haze of cigar smoke. You're drunk." "No kiddin'." Al glanced at the fallen stogie and decided to let it go. "You're a genius." "I know what they said, Al." Sam reached over and gripped his friend's shoulders. "They told you that you were washed up, and that you'd never succeed at anything you could do." Face covered with perspiration from the fever, it took every ounce of available energy he had left to speak to Al. "I told them they'd lose me if you were fired. Star Bright, as a project, is finished. I cancelled it myself. They couldn't shut me down, so I quit. When they asked me what I wanted to do, I told them I had a theory on time travel, using holography. It was nuts, but a link. They bought it. I refused to work for them again unless they reinstated you as head of project management. Wright was spitting nails, but I made him see our way." "You did that for me, kid?" As drunk as he was, Al was beginning to understand. "I did it for _us_." His vision was beginning to blur, and his grip on Al's shoulders was more for support than reassurance. "We come as a team, or not at all." "You could've lost everything." "I'd lose everything," Sam said, forcing his focus to meet Al's eyes. "If I lost you." The confusion and anger left Al's expression, the coldness leaving his body with Sam's words. "God, you really mean that, don' t you?" "With all my heart." Sam reached up and touched his friends face, not caring who saw the gesture. "We finally have our time travel project, Al. Wright himself said if it wasn't for you, and the way you handle things, he'd never have considered it. He actually said he was wrong firing you like he did. I....I told him..." He felt his body collapse as Al caught him. "Al," he grinned, as his friend lowered him to the floor. "I feel awful." Al touched Sam's forehead and frowned. "You're burning up. What did you think you were doing, flying with a temperature?? Alone, on the plane--how did you make it here?" "I brought him." Donna arrived, followed by the in-house doctor. "I was worried about you, too." A quick retort was rapidly swallowed when Al saw the true concern in Donna's eyes. "I'll be all right thanks to him." Sam's eyes went wide as the doctor inserted a thermometer between his lips. "How'd I get on the floor?" he asked, his voice garbled by the instrument in his mouth. Al glanced conspiratorially at Donna. It seemed he finally had someone to help him handle Sam. Thank God. "You passed out," he answered, kneeling by his friend. The doctor removed the thermometer and frowned as he held it up to the light. "102. This man should be in a hospital." "No kidding," Al and Donna said simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned. "No way." Sam eased himself up from the floor, gripping his two friends for support. "We have a room," Donna said, almost falling under Sam's weight. "You're going to bed and let the doctor give you a thorough going over." "Right--if I have to hold you down myself," Al added, pulling Sam's arm around his shoulders. It took the combined efforts of Donna, Al and the doctor to take Samup the hall and to their room. It was air conditioned and clean. After checking his patient over, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic and ordered it from the pharmacy to be delivered to the hotel immediately. With a reluctant shake of his head, unable to convince Sam to go to a hospital, he left the three people to their own resources. Sam fell asleep almost immediately after the doctor left. Al slumped in a chair near his bed, his tired gaze on his friend. "He really cares about you." Donna leaned on the back of the chair Al was sitting in. "I couldn't talk him out of coming out here." "It doesn't sound like you tried too hard." Al glanced back at the young woman. "You're a pretty nice person to have around." "I'm glad you feel that way, Al. I was mad at you, the way you left him like that. He was so scared for you. Sam tried hard to not let on, but he was pretty shaken up. I couldn't figure out why he'd be so worried about a grown man..." "I pulled some real wing dings on him before." Al pushed back the hat he was wearing, letting it drop to the floor. He was far too weary to pick it back up. "I would've come back. Maybe not for a long time, but..." He glanced over his shoulder at her for a moment, then returned his gaze to Sam. "It's damned strange having someone care about you this much. Do you know what that's like?" "No." The answer made Al frown. Here was this very attractive woman, who could have her pick of any man, yet seemingly knew nothing about friendship or love. "You will understand when you get to know Sam. He's one of the good guys. There's not a lot of them around." "I'm beginning to believe that." Her voice held just the slightest touch of faith, as if it was hard for her to have confidence in anyone. "He likes you." "Oh?" She leaned back on the empty bed. "And how do you know that?" "He wouldn't have trusted you to take him to Vegas if he didn't." Al turned the chair around to face her. "I don't want you taking this wrong, but I did some checking on you." He waved off the look that crossed her face, a mixture of anger and betrayal. "I'd do it for anyone we considered taking in on the Project. _Anyone_. Understood?" "Yes." Her annoyance faded. "What did you find out?" "Nothing bad, not a thing. You graduated from Lawrence College with a doctorate in quantum physics, summa cum Latin thingamajig. Very impressive. You've done field work for major companies since then but your real interest is in time travel. I think you'll get your wish on that one." "Sam didn't tell me that they accepted the time project." Her smile was warm. "I overheard part of your conversation when I was coming back to the casino with the doctor. I was afraid he was going to pass out, and as things happened...." "Good job--I'd 'a done it myself, but I had my hands full." He wanted a cigar badly, but didn't think it would be good for Sam if he lit up in the room. His breathing was labored enough. "You were engaged once, right?" She sat up from her position on the bed, her cheeks flaming with anger. "That's none of your business," she said sharply. "I made it my business. No offense, but I could see you and Sam had chemistry together before you even met him, okay?" "No, it's not okay. I can understand you investigating my academic record, and work experience, but my private life..." "Donna." Al's gaze was gentle, his face set in passive, tired lines. "I want to be your friend, too. You broke off your engagement to this nozzle. Why?" "What do you care? You seem to think I..." She shook her head abruptly. "I don't know what you think, except that you don't want Sam hurt. He's so much more different than Jerry was... Maybe..." "Sam is very sensitive. You could have a good future with him, and he with you." Al sighed, changing his track of conversation. "Sam hasn't dated a girl as long as I've known him and he's not gay either. All his life, with the exception of someone named Nicole and a cheerleader, he's been pretty much dedicated to his profession. When I came home last night and saw the electricity between you two, I felt pretty good. You can give him back some of those lost years when he didn't have any fun, burying his nose in books. God, that pissed me off." He rose from the chair, retrieving his hat, and clapping it on his head. "Are you leaving?" "Not for long. I have to go to the desk and get his prescription then find all of us some breakfast." He pulled his fedora over one eye. "If he wakes up, tell him I'm out picking up broads. He'll know everything is fine then." Donna watched as Al closed the door behind him. The room suddenly became very quiet, the sound of Sam's breathing and the low whir of the air conditioner the only noise. She sighed, getting up from the bed. Sam had pulled some of the covers away and the room wasn't exactly warm. She'd turn the air conditioning off, but the the temperature would go up and everyone would be uncomfortable. She went over to Sam and pulled the blankets up over his shoulders. Her fingers moved up to touch the hair that staryed over his forehead. There was one bunch of strands, pure white. Sam's hair was soft and thick, composed of many layers. She bent down and kissed his forehead, as her mother used to do when she was ill to check her temperature. His skin was still quite warm to the touch. She sat down next to him, her arm straying over his waist to stroke his back. It felt so natural, just sitting here with him, feeling close to someone again." Al returned an hour later. His expression softened as he glanced at the two sleeping in the bed together. Donna was laying on top of the blankets, wearing pajamas. Plainly exhausted, she was curled in spoon fashion against Sam's back, her arms holding him close. Al loosened his clothes and fell back on the other bed. It didn't look like a half bad idea, this sleep thing. ****** After Sam recovered, Al suggested that they check out the sight Wright had chose for the Project. It was within a day's drive from Vegas--New Mexico. Obtaining the proper clearance for the site from D.C. was simple. They started on the trip early in the morning and the heat wasn't quite as intense as they thought it might be as they drove through the desert. When they reached their destination, Sam felt his stomach drop as he read the sign they passed at the entrance. "Are you sure this is right?" Al's face remained neutral, as if he drove onto missle ranges every day. The amused glint in his eyes was hidden by sunglasses. "White Sands, Sam. I don't think they'll shoot at us--much." The guard gave them instructions on which roads to take to arrive at the location Wright had mentioned. After another hour over rough terrain, they found the site. Getting out of the car, Sam glanced over the sun-swept area. Trinity, Al had called it. The first atomic detonation had occured here in 1945. Blasted and dead, the landscape was anything but pretty. There was something about the remote wilderness that made him pause. Grinning, Al watched the expression on his friend's face. The sun was killer hot, but it wasn't a mirage that Sam was happy. Somehow he knew the the physicist would find his element here, in the New Mexico desert. He felt Donna squeeze his hand for a moment before she joined Sam. "It's hot." Sam pulled Donna close. His eyes traversed from horizon to horizon. "There's plenty of room for the lab. Did Wright mention some kind of underground cavern....?" "Yup." Al moved to stand next to the couple. "Right under where we're standing. We can use that for the Imaging Chamber, once we figure out the nuts and bolts. As for the rest of it..." Al shrugged. "The moment Wright hears yea or nay from us, it goes up. We hire techs, set up and outline of the building and facilities and we're set." "And air conditioning," Sam added. He could see it now. The main building could go up to their left, where there was flat land now and scrub. Parking lot, some lighting. They'd have to have their own source for electricity, or find an alternate that wasn't far away. "It's beautiful," Donna said, looking up at Sam. "I love it here. So wild and open. No one around for miles and miles." "Except snakes and scorpions." Al glanced at his watch. "I got us reservations at a hotel in Alamogordo." From the look the other two were passing between them, it was obvious neither had heard a word he'd said. "Excuse me?" Sam smiled over at his partner, raising his eyebrows in question. "I have a, uh, friend in town--Ruthie. She's a peach. I sort of made arrangements to meet her so we can do the town tonight. Do you mind?" "Of course not," Sam said, a little too quickly. Donna just laughed. It was so easy to be happy right now. "Good. Well." Al felt uncomfortable and wanted to get us into town and leave these two alone. He was beginning to feel like a third wheel. "We can come back here tomorrow or the next day, when Wright sends the troops in. Until then, we're at liberty." "I haven't even taken you out to dinner yet," Sam said, looking down at Donna. "I know this great place in Taos," Donna replied as they followed Al back to the car. "The Hacienda. I know the way--it's only another couple of hours from here." "And I'm renting you both a car." Al jumped into the driver's seat as the two others got in. "My treat--actually our expense account can handle it. If I know Sam he'll want to come out here in the middle of the night and you'll willingly follow. Me, I've got other plans after the sun goes down, if you know what I mean." The trip to Taos and the dinner were intimate. Over candlelight, tacos, and enchiladas, neither Donna nor Sam paid much attention to the atmosphere. The return trip to Alamogordo was charged with an intensity neither had felt before. They arrived at the hotel and found Al had booked them a separate and private room. He'd left them a note, explaining that he and Ruthie had run off to Santa Fe to get hitched. Sam blanched for a moment, then realized Ruthie had been more than a one night stand or a casual affair for Al. His friend had spoken of her often in Washington, that he wished he could spend more time with her. Last year, their long distance bill had gone up, most of the calls, Sam remembered, to New Mexico. Perhaps it hadn't been coincidence that the site choice had been here, but Sam decided nt to question fate. Donna smiled as she read Al's note. Their brief meeting with Ruthie that afternoon had been fun. She was so full of life and goofiness, like Al, but with a practicality that would contrast nicely with his eccentricity. As they entered their room, the look exchanged between the couple answered whatever question they'd have about what would happen next. Without words, they undressed each other and went to bed. After a few days, Al and Ruthie returned to Alamogordo and made arrangements to have his and Sam's possesions shipped post haste. Ruthie took everyone on a shopping trip to remember, all new clothes. She was worth a bundle, Al insisted on pointing out, to Ruthie's chagrin. Sam could tell that wasn't why he married her. They found a four bedroom housethat was within their means to rent temporarily until the Project was completed. The government men arrived and ground-breaking had began. Al could sense that something was up when Sam asked to speak to him privately. "I"m getting married to Donna." Sam looked for a reaction from Al, frowning when he didn't see the expected surprised expression cross his face. "That's the news?" Al grinned, handing Sam a cigar. "Take it, kid and congratulations. Ruthie and me, we've been talking. You and her were meant for each other. When did you come to this momentous decision?" "The night we went to Taos." Sam looked across the yard where the womanfolk were setting up the barbeque. "I love you, Al." "You'll get married once, Sam. The one that lasts." Al looked over at his wife. She wasn't what you'd call beautiful, but her long dark hair framed a wonderful face-- that face of a thousand expressions. "I know you might have thought I was kind of impetuous, marrying Ruthie like I did, but she's real special, too. I finally found someone who can fight back, and fights dirty. She doesn't give up, not even when I'm in a mood." "You have some moods, Al." "Shut up, smart mouth." His dark eyes were soft. "I'm glad for you, kid." "Will you be my best man?" "What a stupid question!" Donna spent a day with Ruthie, finding the right place for the wedding. She chose Old Mission Chapel, which was within shouting distance of the Project site. Nerves on edge, as they had been since she and Sam had decided to get married, she walked into the landmark with Ruthie and the minister. It was small, but served its purpose. "You can have flowers brought in, anything you want, honey." Ruthie's New York accent was warm and motherly. "It's a very romantic place, and Father Santos is a personal friend. You trust me?" "Of course, Ruthie." Donna shoved her nervousness to the back of her mind. Wedding jitters, she thought, dismissing it instantly. "It'll be perfect, and I'm sure Sam will think the same." The morning of the wedding, Al picked up Katie, her husband Jim, and Mrs. Beckett from the airport, and did all the running around that needed to be done at the last minute. He was still grouching about not being able to hold a bachelor party the night before -- Sam had strictly forbidden it, no kidding around. His friend was edgy to the point of insanity. Nothing looked right, or worked correctly. Al shoved Mrs. Beckett in Sam's room and closed the door. It seemed to have the desired effect. Calmer, and a bit less crazy, Sam emerged with his mother on his arm and allowed Al to drive him to the church. He gave his bride-to-be one last quick kiss before he entered the car and Al drove him away. After they left, Donna went to the bedroom to change into her dress for the wedding. Her mother was sitting on the bed, next to the dress she and Ruthie had just put the finishing touches on the night before. It was white lawn, cut low, with small white roses sewn on by hand. A beautiful gown. "You'll look pretty, honey." Her face was tired but pleased. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" Donna felt the nervousness again, the same sensation that had kept her from touching Sam the last few days. "He's such a good person and I think I love him." "You think?" Her mother sighed. "Does he love you?" "Well, yes, of course. He loves everybody. And there's the Project..." That same niggling worry. "Maybe he'll grow to love that more than me--he'll be there all the time..." "It's different, dear, when you will be working with him." "I'm afraid, Mom." She bit her lower lip. "What if he forgets I'm there? What if I hold him too close and want every waking moment and can't have it? God..." She glanced at the dress and out the window. Everyone was on their way to the chapel. "I can't do it." The ball of fear that had formed in her stomach exploded. She burst into tears, running from the room. ***** The hot wind blew off the desert, kicking up dirt and dust. Sam Beckett waited patiently on the steps of the old church, his eyes squinting in the bright sunlight for any sign of Donna's arrival. Al was at his shoulder. "I just tried calling home again. No answer." He looked up at his friend's concerned face. "Ruthie is going to drive over quick and check to make sure they left." "She's two hours late. Two hours." Sam hit the side of the church with his fist. "She's been avoiding me the last few days, distancing me. What if..." "Remember what I said about 'what if' questions, Sam." Al sat down on the steps and Sam joined him. Screw the tux. "She probably had a case of nerves, that's all. Or maybe they had a flat. That happens." Another hour passed. The guests were leaving for hotel rooms and anyplace with air conditioning. Katie and Jim decided to return to Alamogordo with Mrs. Beckett and wait for word there. They each gave Sam a sad hug before driving away. It was beginning to get dark and Sam still sat on the steps of the church, Al joining him after he'd answered a phone call. "Gets cold out here in the desert." Sam frowned. "What'd you say?" "Says it gets cold. Ruthie called." "And??" Al turned to face the younger man by his side. This was going to be tough. "Donna left, Sam. There was a note. Said she couldn't go through with it, sorry, all that jazz." "No." Sam buried his face in his hands. "How could he hurt her like this?" The words were pain, ripped from his soul. "Who, Sam?" "Her father." In the growing darkness, Al could see the pain etched on Sam's face, hear it in each tortured syllable. "He stole her only chance at happiness. She has nothing now." "Well you've got me and Ruthie. And the Project. Don't forget that. Donna loved you, Sam." "I'm not mad at her, Al." Sam felt the tears come and he clung to Al as he cried. She'd been so good with him, so perfect. Their bodies matched, each touch, each look, as if they'd known each other for years. Now it was wrenched away, by a man who had no idea what his selfishness had cost. Not only had he taken love away from Donna by his actions, but he'd taken her life, too. ***** The next years were filled with work. After the wedding fiasco Sam pushed himself to his very limits, not allowing a day to pass without twenty hours of labor. He poured concrete with the workmen, set up electronic equipment, and helped Al hire the techs they'd need for the Project. Applicants were not hard to come by. Many came from California, the Silicon Valley turning more sour with each passing day. One man that came to apply for a job seemed undistinguished. He was short, balding, and soft spoken. Al and Sam exchanged looks as he approached the desk they sat behind. His resume seemed in order, but experience aside, they needed to find out more. "My name is Clifford Gooshe. My friends call me Gooshie." Sam and Al exchanged amused glances. Al leaned on one elbow, giving the timid looking man one of his icy 'officer' looks. "Dr. Beckett and I have looked over your resume and it seems in order. Why do you want to work on this Project?" "I'm the originator of the supertronic computer. I heard you were building an organic one here, and decided this was the job for me, even if it meant working under the Government. See, the Pentagon bought my invention and left me pretty much out in the cold. I heard you two were radicals, not ones to give in, and thought that maybe you could let me program the computer. I'll never be able to get my invention back, but maybe I can make my mark here." "You were screwed by the government?" Al asked, eyes cold. "Yes, sir." Gooshie was trembling, staring down at the floor. "Hired!" Sam and Al chorused, each grabbing one of the surprised man's hands and shaking it vigourously. The computer set-up and building the Accelerator seemed like unendng projects, much as the Imaging Chamber was. The holographic work had been completed after months of tests. Suddenly it seemed, with the exception of a few tests, everything was in place. Ziggy, named for the cartoon character that always runs into roadblocks, started making his mark on the world of computerized intelligence. Sam and Gooshie spent hours feeding it data, and it accepted it like a hungry baby bird. "It's all happening so fast, Al." It was the dead of night and the Project slept. The two men stood on the desert floor, looking at the completed buildings in amazement. Sam's voice was all gosh, golly, gee whiz, like the kid Al had met twenty-two years before. He glanced over at the younger man. Ruthie had been gone for a year, and there was no one else in the world besides Sam that he had left to lean on. It had been Sam's turn to hold him while he cried. "You're ready to leap right now, aren't you, kid?" "Oh yeah." Sam's face grew serious for a moment. "What if something goes wrong?" "'What if' questions again?? When, for Christ's sake are you going to learn to stop asking those things? Every time you do that something happens?" "Ruthie's gone, Donna..." He'd tried searching her out after the wedding that never was, but she'd disappeared. Her mother couldn't or wouldn't give him any clues. "I'm worried about leaving you alone. If I go, you'll..." "I'll be just fine. Anyway, you can't go and just _leap_. There's tests, and Gooshie says..." Sam shook his head, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. "No, something tells me necessity will precede the tests, the system checks. Wright, Weitzman they've been breathing down our necks, and you know it. They want results. Who's to say they don't come in here tomorrow and demand either we go ahead or they'll dismantle the whole thing, money be damned." His face set in determined lines. "I can't let them do that, Al." "I know, kid, I know." Al felt Sam's arm come across his shoulders, a solid weight that felt pretty good. "Just hold out a little while longer, okay? It's not worth risking your life over. Ziggy says we may not even be able to retrieve you at this point, so don't get any crazy ideas, okay?" "I can't make any promises, Al." From the look on Sam's face, the older man knew it was pointless to argue with him. The desert night was cut by the faint color of neon, the lights of Project Quantum Leap. Even the silly art deco sign Al had made, illuminating the entrance -- Chez Leap -- gave an aura of unearthly beauty to the scene. The sky was overhead, a blanket of stars and darkness. The two men stood together, surveying their work, their labor of love. Another day was ahead of them. The beginning... -- Beth Hlabse eah4@po.CWRU.Edu Assistant Sysop The Science Fiction and Fantasy Sig (GO SCIFI) __________________________________________________________________________ Al's Place: Where Leapers can be themselves!