From: eah4@po.CWRU.Edu (Elizabeth A. Hlabse) Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: There But for the Grace of God, Part 3 Date: 17 Apr 1993 18:23:22 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Lines: 185 Message-Id: <1qphuq$6is@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> Reply-To: eah4@po.CWRU.Edu (Elizabeth A. Hlabse) Nntp-Posting-Host: slc12.ins.cwru.edu Sorry it's been so long. Had to do a bit of a rewrite on this part. The next day went smoothly. Sam managed to ease his way through classes and was glad that Janice didn't have any tests. There was no way that he could face a 16-year-old's intelligence, especially since he'd already been at MIT when he was 16. Cheerleading practice went well and the pyramid managed to stay upright, unlike the day before. Everything also went smoothly at home. Mark and his father didn't argue once and Sam was beginning to feel like things were going to work out on their own without his interference. That is, things were going well until he settled in Janice's room for the night. "I don't care what other kids do. You're my son and you'll do as I say." A mumble coming from Mark that Sam couldn't make out was the answer and then the sound of flesh hitting flesh. That pulled Sam out of the room and across the hall in a matter of seconds. He flung open the door and stared at what he saw. Mark turned away quickly, but not before Sam saw the mark of John's hand on his cheek. John turned as the door opened. "Go back to your room, young lady. NOW!" "But..." "No buts. Go. This doesn't concern you." John turned back to Mark, ignoring Sam's hostile presence. Sam entered the room rather than leave and pulled John around. The older man, surprised by his 'daughter's' strength, didn't fight it. "Stop it, Dad. Right now. Mark's not you. I don't know why you're pushing him like this, but please just stop." "Janice." Mark this time, chiding him gently. "Please, sis. It's okay." "No, it's not." Sam felt real anger and a little bit of the rustrated sorrow he'd never allowed himself to show about Lonigro until he'd finally talked to Verbena Beeks about it. Tears started welling in his eyes and he didn't try to stop them. "Dad, you can't do this. I don't know what's wrong, but can't you work it out peacefully." Sam turned slightly when he heard the Imaging Chamber door open. Al stood there, sympathy in every movement he made. "Yelling at Mark to be something he isn't will just make things worse. I can't stand it. I heard about a group that...." Sam choked back a sob, saying words that he wished he'd been able to say to Lonigro. "Dad, he's different. He feels things differently. Please, try to understand. I did some checking into that group. It helps families with problems. Please, can we..." "Janice," John inturrupted softly. "This isn't any of your business and I'm not going to discuss my private life with a bunch of strangers. Now go back to bed and things will look better in the morning." He pushed Sam genly out of the room and across the hall. Sam heard the door lock when ti was closed and began pulling on the handle. "Dad! Let me out! Please." The last was almost a whisper. Sam sank to the floor, not even looking up when Al walked through the door. "Please don't do this. I'm doing the best I can." Al started at the words; the same one that Sam had mumbled in his sleep. He knelt down at his friend's side, wishing he could take him in his arms and sooth away the pain. "Come on, kid. It's okay." Al was worried and visibly shaking. "Gooshie, get Bena in here, NOW!" He turned back to Sam. "Come on, Sam. Answer me." "I'm doing my best, Professor. Honest. I know it'll work." Sam's voice seemed younger to Al. Al looked up and nodded after a few minutes. "Sam, where are you?" Al asked anxiously, dreading the answer. "The Berkshire's, Professor. You know that." Sam's voice was small and scared. "You were right, Bena," he whispered. "Sam, you're not in the Berkshire's. You're in Leeper, Pennsylvania. You're traveling in time, Sam. You did prove your theories. You prove that bastard wrong a long time ago." Tear stained hazel eyes moved up to contact concerned brown ones. "Al?" Sam rubbed the back of his hand over his nose. "What happened?" "Things got a little too close to home, Sammy. You're going to be okay." Al pulled out the handlink and turned it on. "Now all you have to do is..." He glanced at the readout. "Is get out of here now and get over to Mark's room. He's going to take those pills now." Al dashed through the door. Sam could hear him yelling at Mark not to take the pills. Sam backed up as much as he could, put his shoulder down and rushed the door. The frame gave way with little effort and he crashed across the hall into the other room. Mark was just about to put a handful of pills in his mouth when Sam slammed into him. Both ended up in a heap on the floor. Sam hit Mark's hand as he tried to take the pills even while struggling with Sam. "Oh, no you don't," Sam growled at him. "I'm not going to let you kill yourself." Sam grabbed the pills and scattered them over the room. "You do that and you prove Dad right." Both were breathing hard when Sam finally let Mark go. "You going to do that again?" "Maybe," as the short answer. "No one would care if I did." "Wrong. I'd care, you idiot." Sam turned his head to look at Mark. "And dad would care, too, even if he doesn't show it now. He does love you. And he thinks he's doing the right thing." Mark snorted. "That's why I suggested that group. They'd be able to help him, and us." "Us?" "We get hurt by what Dad's going through, too, you know." Sam glanced at Al. "You need people who really care about you, telling you that you're okay, to be able to get through this kind of abuse." Al glanced at Sam, smiled slightly, and then glanced over at Mark and the quicksilver change of emotions on his face. "I think you're getting through to him, Sam. Why don't you tell him about a certain kid genius that you know? Might help both of you. And you're welcome." Al looked up. "Stuff it, Dr. Beeks. I think it will help." Sam smiled back at the older man, remembering his support when he finally told him about Lonigro and then back at the younger one sitting next to him and decided to take Al's advice. "Mark, I heard about this person. He was the youngest ever to go to MIT. Only 16. He was already working on his third doctorate when he met a professor who had roughly the same ideas he had. The two of them became friends, of a sort, and worked constantly together, trying to perfect this theory that they shared. Problem was, the kid soon outpaced his professor and then the problems started. THe professor would treat the kid differently. Oh, they still worked together, but he would put him down, privately, and support him publicly. Called him an idiotic dreamer. A crackpot. Did everything but physically hit him." Sam stopped, remembering all the abuse that had been heaped on him and how much of it he had believed until he'd finally had the courage to tell someone. How Lonigro had cut apart what he had felt was a crucial part of his time travel theory and the anget that he had felt when this person he'd admired didn't believe in him. Al had dragged him down to Verbena's office five seconds after Sam had told him everything. It had been months before he felt that he'd gotten all the grief out of his system. Mark looked thoughtful. "So who is this _wunderkind_?" he asked finally. "Wait right here." Sam rushed into the living room and picked up a magazine he'd noticed earlier and brought it back into Mark's room. "This is him," he said, handing the magazine to Mark, smiling. Sam had always hated that photo but this time it was doing some good. Mark was carefully looking at the cover of Time Magazine adn the picture of a person that they were calling the next Einstein. "Dr. Beckett was really treated like that? Is that in the article?" Mark asked beginning to leaf throug the pages. He looked a bit skeptical. "Nope, I just heard about it. He didn't want it to be general knowledge, to keep the professor's reputation in tact. Perhaps he should. Might do some good for others, like you." In his mind, Sam promised himself that he would do just that when he finally got home. It would be good therapy for him and it might encourage children who were in the sam situation come forward. He looked at Al, eyes a little glassy. A question was there as well. "It worked, Sam. Mark ends up doing a lot of good, after he and Janice, and eventually John as well, get some therapy. He uses a football scholarship he got to get a medical degree. He doesn't do anything major, just helps a lot of people, especially abused children." Al looked up form the handlink and smiled at Sam, who was now sitting on the bed. "Good job, Sam." "So, what are you going to do now?" Sam asked Mark. "Going to run back to those pills?" "Nope," Mark said. I'm going to go with my little sister to that group she told me about and see about getting a little help. That is, if you'll go with me?" Sam nodded and smiled at Mark. The last thing he saw as the quantum fire carried him off to his next assignment was Mark's answering smile. END QL SPOILER IN SIG. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. -- Beth Hlabse eah4@po.CWRU.Edu Assistant Sysop The Science Fiction and Fantasy Sig (GO SCIFI) ______________________________________________________________________________ SPOILER! Al's Place: Where Leapers can be themselves! SPOILER!