Message-Id: <3148926D.2892@skyenet.net> Date: Thu, 14 Mar 1996 16:41:01 -0500 From: Christine Wirick Organization: Soong Press To: alt-tv-quantum-leap-creative@cisco.com Subject: The Assignment to Help an Orphan-ql story p3 "No, Miss McKensie," the girl replied, glancing away from the window only momentarily. "I'd rather stay up here and wait." She returned to staring out the window at the falling snow as though she were watching a cartoon instead. "Well, I'm not going to force you to play, but maybe later you'll change your mind." The girl continued to look absently at the snow falling down in huge flakes, saying no more. Lori stood up and walked over to Sam. "Will it bother you, her being in here?" "Not at all." Lori nodded and left the room. Sam opened the closet and noticed that the wooden shelf was collapsing. Two of the boards were rotting. He picked up the hammer from the floor and began pounding on one of the boards until it became loose enough for him to remove with his hands. He glanced over at the little girl, who was still sitting in the same position. I wonder if she might be a big part of the reason why I leaped into Mark Gordon, he thought. "Why don't you try talking to her," Jonathan said, appearing in the doorway. "I don't know what to say to her," Sam replied. "Do you know what's wrong with her?" "Her parents died in a car accident only a month ago. She doesn't accept that they're gone. She's waiting for them to come back for her." Beckett set the hammer down and approached the little girl. "The snow's very pretty, isn't it, Peggy?" Sam asked. "I remember when I was a little boy. I used to love making snow angels. And snowball fights, they were the best." Sam waited for the little girl to say something, but she didn't even move. "Peggy, I know it's terrible to lose your parents the way you did, but they're not going to come back." Suddenly, Peggy turned her head in Sam's direction. "Yes, they are! You'll see." She stood up and ran out of the room. "I don't know what I can do to help her, Jonathan," Sam said. "I'm not a psychologist. I don't know. Maybe it's too soon. Maybe denial is a natural thing that an orphaned child has to go through before adjusting to a life without his or her parents." "You did your best," Jonathan replied. "I think it's going to take another orphan to get through to her." "Another orphan?" Sam asked, and realized Jonathan meant Al before he even finished asking. "Do you really think this leap, or assignment as you call it, will help Al?" "The Boss helps those who are willing to help themselves." "You mean, Al has to decide for himself to come back, right?" "That's right, Sam." "About that diatribe I forced on you--" "I have a confession to make," Jonathan began, pausing as though checking to make sure he had permission from The Boss. He sighed heavily, an obvious admission that he'd not received any guidance. "No matter how hard I try to fight it, I'm afraid I'm feeling as angry about this whole situation as you are. We each miss our partner. But The Boss wants us to help each other, so let's try to get along and we'll make our way through this situation." "I couldn't agree more." Jonathan placed his hand on Sam's shoulder, but only briefly. In that moment, Sam thought about how nice it would be if he and Al could share the sensation of a friendly touch. "Well, you better get back to work," Jonathan said. "And I better get that box of clothes that Lori asked for." Jonathan left, heading for the stairs that led to the attic. A half hour later, Sam finished the repair job on the closet and went back downstairs to the living room where Lori and Ruth were looking through the clothes that Jonathan had brought down. Lori looked up. "Do you know where Jonathan went?" she asked. "I don't know," Sam replied, though he had his suspicions that a man named Peter McKensie was receiving a visit from a certain angel right about now. The doorbell rang and Lori stood, excused herself, then left the room to answer it. He noticed that Peggy had moved to one of the windows in the living room. He approached her, unsure of what he was going to say to her. Before he could reach the girl, he heard a man yelling and turned around to see Lori standing in the doorway beside a tall man in his thirties. "You have no right to do this!" Lori screamed. "Miss McKensie, I am a certified health inspector. That gives me the right." "Well, then you have no heart. Look at all these young faces around you." Lori waved her left arm around, pointing at her children. "Tell them what you plan to do. Tell them that they're going to lose their home." "A place is not a home when it's as rundown as this place is. I'm taking this to court on Monday, and I'll have you closed down by the end of the month." "Why did you come out here?" "What?" "You could have told me this on the phone. Why did you go to the trouble of coming out here? Did you want to see the expression on my face when you told me?" Halsey reached inside his coat and pulled a paper out from his inner pocket. "I'll see you in court," Halsey said, as he handed the paper to her, then turned around and stormed out. "What was that about?" Sam asked, after the man had gone. "He's the health inspector. He says that this building is too rundown to be safe for the children. And now I have to show up in court to plead my case." "What are you going to do about it?" "Appeal to the judge for more time." "You need a lawyer." Lori burst into tears. "I can't even afford to pay for the repairs. How in the Hell am I supposed to pay for a lawyer!" She ran from the room like a child being sent to her bedroom as punishment. Sam almost went after her, but stopped when he heard beeping sounds coming from the television. He approached the set to read the snow storm warning flashing across the bottom of the screen, telling them to expect up to two feet of snow before nightfall. One of the older children, a black boy with a slender build, walked up beside the time traveler to read the warning. "Guess this means we won't be having any outside play for quite some time," the boy observed. "No, I'm afraid--" Before Sam could finish, the entrance door down the hall opened and Greg Halsey stepped back inside, stomping his feet on the welcome mat. "Damn it, damn it to Hell," the health inspector muttered. "My car is stuck in the driveway." What next? Sam wondered. "Don't tell me we're going to have to put up with him 'til the roads are cleared," the boy said. "I don't like him much. He wants us to move out of here, but if we did that Miss McKensie would lose her job." I don't like him either, Sam thought, but decided it was best not to say so. "It's just his job to make sure that all you kids have a healthy environment to live in," he said aloud. "Well, are you going to help me get my car unstuck or not?" the health inspector demanded. "I'll give it a try," Sam answered. "But the weather isn't exactly ideal for driving. The snow is coming down in buckets." "I have to get to my office," Halsey said, starting to turn red in the face. After he grabbed his coat from the closet, Sam followed the irate man out the door. Halsey had managed to back his classic New Yorker about a foot into the yard, enough to prevent him from leaving. The snow continued to fall, obscuring Sam's vision and intensifying the situation. His entire body rapidly grew numb. He tried to push the car out for a half hour while Halsey pumped the gas before giving in to the blizzard. The health inspector stepped out of the car spewing obscenities at Sam. He walked around to the front of the car, nearly slipped on a patch of ice in his haste to catch up with Sam. He cursed the weather, muttering, "You're lucky I didn't fall or I'd sue this damn orphanage." Sam flashed him an indignant glance. "Where are you going?" Halsey screamed. "It's no use. We'll have to wait until the storm clears." As the time traveler went inside and removed his coat he wondered what his friend was doing. He hoped Al would return soon. Peggy needed his help. I need his company, Sam thought. I feel lonely and abandoned without him. The health inspector came inside, stomping his feet as though he meant to put a hole in the floor. Sam returned to the living room where Lori was now playing "Ring around the Rosy" with the smaller children. She stopped when she noticed Halsey standing behind the janitor. "His car's stuck in the driveway," Sam explained. "So I'm afraid he has to spend the night." "Certainly not my idea of fun," Halsey grumbled. "I'll probably freeze to death tonight." "I'll prepare the empty bedroom upstairs for you," Lori said as though she hadn't heard the health inspector's churlish remark. "Sam, I need you to fix the toilet in the downstairs bathroom. And if you see Jonathan, tell him to come talk to me. You don't think he went outside, do you? I can't believe he would just disappear on his first day on the job, especially considering how nasty it is outside. "Ask Ruth to come into the living room to watch the children while I'm upstairs." She stepped out of the room. Sam turned to look at the other man. "Stop staring at me and go do your job, handyman," Halsey said saucily. Sam barely restrained himself from punching the man before leaving the room. * * * * "This stuff is really good," Mark said, and to Al's astonishment began filling his plate for the third time. "How much can one person eat?" Al asked, wondering if Gordon's weak spot wasn't more of a weak spot for him. "Hey, I told you food was my middle name." "We can't afford to feed you indefinitely. We only have a few million in the cafeteria budget." "You know how to get rid of me," Mark said in a teasing voice. "All you have to do is go to the orphanage and help your buddy Sam, so he can leap out of my body, and I can have it back." Al sighed heavily as he watched Gordon stuff a heaping spoon full of stroganoff into his mouth. Mark grinned as he chewed his food. "You know I can't stay in this body forever." "It's only been a couple days," Al argued. "Yeah, but even two days out of your own body is really taxing. This isn't the first time for me either." "It isn't?" "Nope. The Boss made me switch places with a woman once. Boy was I glad to get my old body back. I can just imagine how Sam feels. Always leaping around from one body to the next, never returning to his own." "Well, that's not entirely true. There was the one time. He leaped back into himself at sixteen. God, did he want to stay!" "Al, have you thought about how you're hurting Sam by avoiding your fears?" "Hurting Sam? No, I--" "You see! If you just thought about it for a minute, you'd understand how important it is for you to get back there and help him." Al sighed, but said nothing. He knew Mark was right, but hated the thought of admitting it. "You're orphaning him the way you're handling this." "Orphaning him?" "Sam thinks of you as a father figure or a big brother at least." "I never thought about it that way." Al placed his cigar in his mouth and puffed on it, reflecting on Mark's words. Mark pushed his plate away. "Boy, am I stuffed." "It's about time," Al said, feeling the tension lift from him now that he knew what he had to do. Both men burst into laughter. * * * * After lunch, Lori had the children sit down in front of the television to watch an animated movie. She asked Sam to mop the dining room floor and he went to the kitchen closet where she told him he would find the mop and bucket. He no more than got started when he heard the health inspector harassing Lori, blaming her because he was stuck at an orphanage with a bunch of brats. The wind rattled against the windows, and Sam could feel the cold air creeping inside. He knew that Greg Halsey was right. The orphanage was severely rundown. Sam empathized with the children, because as a time traveler he was constantly forced to "move". He missed having a place to call home. Home, he thought. I wish Al would come back. He's the only piece of home I have left. He wrung the mop out in the bucket and the water turned black. A floor sure can get dirty when kids are around, he thought, then began mopping the next strip of linoleum, his musings returning to his absent friend. If I were stuck in this orphanage indefinitely without Al around, I'd feel as much like an orphan as any one of these kids. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Lori's screaming. "Ruth, There's something wrong with Robin! I think it might be his appendix." Sam dropped the mop, missing the bucket, and the mop made a loud smacking sound as it hit the floor. He rushed out to the living room where a boy, about eight-years old, was curled in the fetal position on the floor. Lori was kneeling by the boy's side, trying to comfort him. The other children backed away from them to let Sam through. Sam knelt down next to Robin, asking him where it hurt, and the boy pointed to his lower right side. Ruth entered the room and asked, "Is it his tummy again?" "Robin, it's going to be okay," Lori said. "You don't have to be scared, because we're going to take care of you." Sam turned to Lori. "You were right. It's his appendix." "How do you know for sure?" Lori asked. "I don't have time to explain that right now. If we don't get him some help soon, it may rupture." They both looked out the window, seeing nothing but white. Sam walked up to the phone and picked up the receiver, but there was no dial tone. "The phone's dead," he said. "We can't call an ambulance. Now what do we do?" "My pickup is a four-wheel drive," Lori said. "Do you think we can make it?" "We'll have to try," Sam replied, lifting Robin into his arms. Greg Halsey smiled as the janitor and Lori McKensie bundled up for the cold ride to the hospital. Halsey was sure he could climb in the back of the pickup without being seen. Once in town, he'd be able to make his way to his office where he had a desk full of paperwork. The top item on his agenda was writing a plea to present to Judge Thompson on the court date to have the Marshall County Orphanage shut down for good. The health inspector made his way out to the garage and into the back of the truck. Within minutes, the falling snow buried his footprints. * * * * Jonathan climbed the stairs, approached room 217, then knocked on the door. A moment later an elderly man opened the door. "Excuse me," Jonathan said. "Are you Peter McKensie?" "Good Lord, son," the man exclaimed in a Scottish accent. "What the bloody Hell are ya doin' out in this storm. Ya'll catch pneumonia." The man stepped aside. "Come inside where it's warm." "Why, thank you." Jonathan stepped inside and the other man closed the door. "Mister. McKensie, my name's Jonathan Smith. I'm a janitor at the Marshall County Orphanage where your daughter works." "How is she?" McKensie asked anxiously. "She's fine, but I'm afraid the orphanage is in dire straights. If they don't receive financial aid immediately, they will be forced to close at the end of the month." "That's a shame. I'd offer to help, but I don't think I'll ever be welcome. Mister. Smith, I'm a rich man, but I'm afraid I'm poor where it really counts, 'cause I don't have the love of my little lassie. Oh, I don't blame her for bein' angry with me. I guess I deserve nothin' more. But if I could just see her again, and tell her how much I love her." "Oh, you don't have to convince me, Mister. McKensie," Jonathan replied. "It's your daughter who lost a father at five, then a mother at nine." "Honest, I didn't know her mom had passed on until a few years ago. If I could do anythin' to change that, don't you think I'd bloody well do it!" "Why don't you tell your daughter your story?" "How can I when she won't even talk to me on the phone?" "Because I'm going to take you to her." "In this storm? We won't even make it a mile before--" "Mister. McKensie, God will be with us on this journey. You see, I'm an angel." Peter McKensie bellowed a deep guttural laugh. "And I'm Santie Claus, Mister. Smith. Do you actually expect me to believe that you're a real live angel?" "Oh, of course not. You see, we angels are not alive." Suddenly, Peter McKensie found himself flying outside in the midst of the storm beside Jonathan Smith. He was bundled up in his coat, hat, and scarf that only a moment ago had been lying on his bed. Somehow, he couldn't feel the snow and wind whipping at his face. "You really are an angel!" McKensie exclaimed with a laugh. A clear path opened up in the sky before them like the Red Sea parting for Moses. The sun shone through, showing them the way to Lori. Jonathan was sure that it was a sign that The Boss was pleased with the way he was handling this assignment. "Oh it's no use!" Lori said after fifteen minutes had passed since Sam skidded the truck into the ditch. She was holding Robin in her arms with a wool blanket wrapped around him. "We'll never make it to the hospital, not tonight. We're probably going to freeze to death out here." "We have to," Sam replied, feeling helpless. "We've only got a couple more miles. Maybe I should walk to the hospital and send back for help." "Ohhhhh," Robin groaned. "It hurts, Miss McKensie!"