Facing Ghosts

Chapter 1

Observer Affect

Checking behind theirself, Ian cautiously approached the door and knocked four times sharply.

A touch screen above the handle lit up, providing a series of letters and numbers.

Ian tapped at the screen until it turned green, upon which time a slip of paper was passed under the door. Ian grabbed it, shielding their hand as they wrote their response to the code phrase, and slipped it back under the door.

The layers of security had become second nature after these many months. There were three of them working on this project, which meant three potential receptacles for leapers, and the ever-present possibility of unseen holograms spying on them. So they’d devised a series of alternating code phrase questions and answers, that could never be recorded officially, and could not be spoken aloud—only written under a hand to shield it from invisible eyes. The slips of paper would then be crosscut shredded and, finally, burned.

A moment later, the door opened, and Janis nodded her greeting to Ian with a smile.

“Glad you could make it. How’s Ben doing?”

“Still not home,” Ian said, sighing as they entered, closing and dead-bolting the door behind them. “Ziggy’s giving him weird data and he might need to sleep with someone he’s not into, so things are a little dicey. Addison seemed incredibly uncomfortable about it.” They shrugged. “So what’s going on here? Your message seemed urgent.”

Janis grinned. “He’s contacted us.”

Ian’s jaw dropped. “He has?!”

It had been six months since the creepy ghost leap where Sam had shown up, and the three of them had been standing by, waiting for Sam to finally leap to their present so they could use him to develop their detection system, which would theoretically allow them to scan a person and tell if they have been replaced with a leaper. It would definitely reduce the paranoia that had stricken Ian since first hearing about all this ‘evil leaper’ business.

Finally, that day had come.

Janis nodded, taking Ian by the wrist and leading them further into the apartment. The white-haired Donna was waiting for them, standing at a computer terminal. She smiled warmly at Ian.

“He hasn’t gotten in touch with me in over a year,” she said, her voice full of emotion. “But he’s finally made it to 2023.”

“Where is he? Who is he?” Ian’s mind was buzzing with excitement and anticipation.

Donna passed another surreptitious slip of burn-after-reading paper to Ian. When they read it and saw who it was, they looked up with raised brows and an incredulous glance.

“Seriously?”

*        *        *

About 30 minutes earlier…

As Sam Beckett felt himself being pulled to yet another leap; another life to put right, he prepared himself for the landing.

First, the tingling electricity, then the blue light filling his senses, and finally, the touchdown. As his awareness ebbed into the now, he took a deep breath, preparing for the new situation—would he find himself in imminent danger, or a humiliating situation? It always seemed to be one of the two.

And when his eyes focused, he was standing just inside a quiet restroom, arms folded, with nobody else in sight.

Well, that’s a rarity, he thought, enjoying his peaceful moment.

Since he was in a bathroom, he decided to take the opportunity to check his reflection and see who he was this time. He stepped up to the mirrors, and stopped when he realised he did not cast any reflection.

Wondering if there was some optical illusion, he moved closer, reaching out for the mirror. He tried to tap at it, and realised his hand passed right through the glass.

What?! He shook his head—this couldn’t be. Had he died on the last leap and now he was a ghost?

But that leap had been in the sixties, and this bathroom looked pretty modern, judging from the sleek basins and moody lighting. If he had to guess, he would have thought late nineties.

As he tried to work out what was happening, the door burst open, letting in remnants of music, along with a very frazzled-looking…

“…Ben?” Sam croaked, recognising the fellow leaper as he shut the door and leaned back on it.

“Hey,” he said, wincing. “Look—Addison. I don’t care what Ziggy says, I don’t want to go home with that woman. She makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t think Ziggy quite understands the concept of enthusiastic consent, because…”

Wait. Am I… Addison?

“Oh boy,” whispered Sam as he became aware of the disc-shaped handlink in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out, and realised he didn’t know how to work the thing—it was markedly different than the handlinks he’d designed in the original project. “Uh, well…” he said, buying time, “Maybe I should go check to see if Ziggy’s—you know, working right.”

Ben looked at him with a curious expression. “Yeah. Maybe Ian needs to run some diagnostics, because this is all kinds of wrong.” He gestured for the door. “Becky is getting real handsy, and I can’t be in here for long without raising suspicion. Be quick, would you?”

Sam nodded, trying his best to work a handlink he barely even remembered. He swiped at it a few times before it mercifully gave him a holographic menu projected from the centre, and it took him another moment to figure out how to flick through the options.

Chuckling nervously, he looked up at Ben as he found the ‘exit’ option. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

And he pushed the button. The hologram around him sizzled away, leaving him standing in an empty Imaging Chamber.

Wow, he thought, marvelling at the upgraded technology surrounding him. So this is the new version of Project Quantum Leap. I can’t believe I’m here.

It was simultaneously awe-inspiring and anxiety-inducing, because he realised that if he was here, there was going to be a job to do.

And, being ever-careful not to reveal himself if it was unwise to do so, he knew that all he could do—as always when he had leaped into a time post-2002—was to call Donna and try to figure it out with her.

As he left the Imaging Chamber, he looked out at the bustling control floor, where computers blinked LEDs and people worked at huge transparent monitors.

“Hey, why’d you leave Ben on his own with Becky?” came a deep, playful voice belonging to a person Sam couldn’t tell the gender of at a glance.

He wasn’t a dinosaur, however, and was aware that gender variation had become more accepted in the last—how many years? He wondered what the date was here. Was it 2023, like the last time he’d seen Ben, Addison, Magic, and Janis? If so, that would certainly have been the furthest forward he’d ever leaped.

“Well…” Sam struggled to answer the question. He’d been thrown quite a curveball here. “I need to check that Ziggy really thinks Ben should sleep with—uh, Becky. He seems pretty adamant that he not go through with it, and I don’t blame him.”

He wondered about Addison’s feelings on the situation. It sounded terribly awkward for her too. She and Ben were still together, weren’t they? Or perhaps this was earlier in the timeline than when he’d met Ben.

The androgynous person before him pushed their round glasses up on their nose, frowning. “Well, Ziggy was pretty clear on the matter—he and Becky have to get together so when the guy he leapt into has a heart attack next year, there’ll be someone around to get him to hospital. That’s a ninety-four percenter; nothing else comes close. It does suck, though. If it were anyone else I’d say just walk away, but this seems like a necessary step to completing the leap.”

Sam bit his lip. That was incredibly unfair to Ben. It was times like this he was almost glad not to have Ziggy out there assigning him goals that went against his gut feelings on the matter.

“Ziggy’s been wrong before. Lots of times,” Sam said knowingly, garnering a conceding shrug from the gender-bending coworker.

“You and Ben have talked about all this, though, haven’t you?” they continued. “Sex stuff, I mean. Hard for a leaper to stay monogamous. You’d have had to deal with this yourself if it weren’t Ben out there.”

“I’m… sure it’s come up,” Sam hedged. “And yeah. It happens.” Sam was just glad it only seemed to be happening for him lately when he decided it was natural. Ben’s predicament seemed anything but. “I just wish Ben had a choice in the matter.”

But helping Ben avoid sex didn’t feel like the reason he would have leaped here, he thought.

“Well, I can double check Ziggy’s probability circuits, but I gotta tell you—I think Ben might have to bite the bullet on this if he wants to leap.”

Sam nodded as the coworker wandered away towards a maze of computer servers, and he searched his pockets, hoping to find a phone.

To his relief, there was one in his back pocket, and he whipped it out, using his usual channels to set up his secure text line to Donna.

Hi D,

Arrived just now at new PQL HQ?!
I’M ADDISON-??? Have to play Observer!

Should I tell them? Worried about L though. If I’m here, so could they be.

-S
xoxo

A moment later, a response came.

Finally! Stand by, I will be in touch very soon. Just play along until then. This job is right up your alley, huh?

-D

Sam frowned at this. That was not the response he had been expecting, certainly.

Across the room, the androgynous coworker, who Sam would love to have known the name for, similarly looked down at their phone a moment, before frowning and making a beeline to Sam.

“Sorry, I got… a thing… uh, an emergency,” they said awkwardly. “Yeah. Look, my best advice is have Ben go with his gut. It’s beaten Ziggy’s best estimates before, and I’m sure it can do it again. It’s a good gut.” With that, they turned on their heel, waving as they headed for the elevator. “I’ll see you a little later, okay?”

And Sam was left to deal with his predicament alone once more.

Well, I guess that advice about following the gut is good advice for me too, he decided, and headed back towards the Imaging Chamber, inspecting the handlink once again in an attempt to become less inept at using it.

*        *        *

“So you pull me out of work just to tell me Sam’s leapt into Addison?” Ian said, exasperated. “Who, might I remind you, I was just with? No wonder she seemed so… out of sorts.”

“Well we’re still operating under extreme secrecy,” Janis said. “We couldn’t tell you over the phone.”

“On top of that,” Donna added, “you’re going to need the adapted handlink.” She passed the colourful device to Ian. “Let’s hope he’s not here because something disastrous is going to happen to the Project.”

“You mean again?” Ian said wryly, pocketing the device.

“Listen, Ian,” Donna said, taking them by the hands, “Since you’re the one who works there, you’re going to have to be our eyes and ears. When you deem it safe to, tell Sam I’m waiting here for him. He once swore he’d come back to me, and I intend for him to keep that promise.”

Ian looked at the misty eyes of Sam’s wife, who’d been waiting a lifetime for the man she loved, and squeezed her hands.

“I’ll tell him.” They paused, realising that Sam was currently acting as Ben’s hologram. “Oh, god, I’m gonna have to show him how to use the handlink properly! I’ve gotta move!”

Ian gave a quick nod to Janis before sprinting out of the apartment.

Chapter 2

All’s Fair In Love and Leaping

When Sam returned to the Imaging Chamber, he wasn’t entirely sure how to bring the hologram back. Being used to tactile buttons, the gesture-based round handlink was just that little bit too foreign for him to pick up immediately.

He stood awkwardly on the hexagonal floor, making feeble swipes at the device and scratching his chin.

Finally, he managed to open the connection, and found himself waist-deep in the floor beside Ben, who was sitting at a table in a restaurant—presumably, it was the one attached to the bathroom from before.

Ben was leaning away from a woman in a red dress who seemed to be attached to him like a leech. One of her legs was over his lap, and her lips were attached to his neck.

The frazzled leaper looked down at Sam, a bewildered expression crossing his face as he saw Sam there poking out of the floor.

“Uh, hey,” Sam said, unsure of how to orient his hologram to the correct position on the Z-Axis. “Don’t worry about me. Ziggy’s—well, on the fritz.”

“Hmph, what else is new…” Ben mumbled.

“What’d you say, James?” the woman, who Sam figured must be Becky, asked.

“I, uh, said this shirt is new, so be careful not to get lipstick on the collar,” Ben said, in a very familiar way to Sam. It was nostalgic, really. He hadn’t had a surreptitious conversation with a hologram in a long time. But now he was the hologram, and he could say as much as he pleased.

“Good save,” Sam commented with a quickly flashed grin, before continuing. “Listen, I don’t think you should go through with this if you don’t want to, Ben. We’ll find another way to work this leap, alright? Becky’s just gonna have to take a cold shower.”

Ben mouthed the words ‘thank you’, and pushed Becky off him.

“Listen, Becky,” he said as she furrowed her brow at him, “I’m really not feeling this. I’m sorry.”

“But James…” she said with a pout, “you said you thought I was beautiful.”

Ben lifted her leg off his lap and stood. “You are beautiful, I promise. It’s not you, it’s me.” Having realised he’d just said that cliché, he cringed at himself.

Sam snickered. “Well, at least you let her down easy, right?”

Becky, however, didn’t look like she was taking it so well. Her eyes welled up and her cheeks flushed.

“But… I really thought we were hitting it off…”

“I didn’t mean to lead you on,” Ben said sincerely. “And I’m sure the internet dating scene will yield better results for you in the years to come. It’s really about to take off, you know?”

“You think…?”

“Trust me,” he said, patting her gently on the shoulder in a calculated non-amorous fashion. “There’s a man out there for you, Becky. I’m just not it.” Under his breath, he added: “Not today.”

He pulled out a wallet and threw a couple of twenties onto the table, before walking away from her, leaving her with both their drinks and desserts.

Sam’s gaze lingered a moment on her. “At least she has ice cream to console her,” he chirped, before turning and following Ben out of the restaurant.

Once outside, and with Sam still stuck part way in the sidewalk, Ben looked down at him, shaking his head. He held a cell phone to his ear, feigning a phone call as he spoke.

“That was so awkward, Addison. I’ve never come that close to… you know…” he said. “You’re my fiancée. I know we’ve discussed this before, but to have it actually happen—with you watching, no less—is something different. Not to mention everyone thinks I’m someone else. Is it really consensual?”

Sam considered this.

“Well, you knew what happened to m—uh, Sam before you went in the Accelerator, didn’t you? He had to deal with this kind of thing all the time.”

“Well, yes,” Ben admitted. “I knew what I was getting myself into, I assume. I only remember it vaguely, but I’m sure I must have known all about Sam.” He sighed. “But there’s a difference between knowing about it and living it. I’ve had to learn that one the hard way.”

He let the phone drop to his side, and he sat against the wall, coming into eye line with Sam.

“The only person I want to wake up next to is you, Addison. But now I can’t even touch you.”

Sam’s heart broke for Ben. And he knew all too well the predicament he was in.

“Well, you have one advantage over Sam,” he said. “You actually remember the woman you love. He forgot his wife, and she even wanted it kept that way so he wouldn’t hesitate in positions just like you were in.”

“Really?” Ben’s eyes widened. “He just forgot she existed?”

Sam nodded. “Leaping’s tough if you’re a hopeless romantic. Knowing she existed would have made him close himself off to relationships that he needed to feed for the leap to be successful.”

Ben was quiet for a moment, thinking. Then, he pursed his lips, looking at the night sky. “You think he ever remembered her? He’s been out there a long time. And if he did, did that mess up the leaps?”

Sam hid a smile. “If he did, I’d like to think he would have found a way to contact her and talked it out.”

“Like we’re doing now?”

“Yeah.”

Ben looked at him, and chuckled. “This conversation would have been a lot more profound without you sticking out of the ground like a turnip.”

Sam joined the laughter, and then decided it was time to come clean.

“Listen Ben… I need to tell you—”

He was abruptly cut off by the handlink making a frantic beeping sound. He looked down at it, and there seemed to be a message from someone named Ian.

Need to see you—now!!

“Huh,” he murmured. “I’ve gotta step out. Maybe Ziggy-related.”

Ben nodded, grinning with amusement. “Good. Make sure they’ve got the terrain matching algorithms working when you come back.” He looked impressed with himself. “Hey, I didn’t know I remembered that.”

Sam gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll bet there’s a lot more you’ve got tucked away in that head of yours that just needs a little coaxing out.” He brought up the exit option in the handlink. “I’ll see you soon,” he said before activating it.

He hurried out of the Imaging Chamber, only to have the same androgynous colleague waiting for him.

“Hey,” they said, gripping his arm and pulling him back inside. They shut the door. “I saw the tail end of that conversation…”

They can see into the Imaging Chamber? Sam thought. That’s new. And I’m glad I found that out before I spilled the beans to Ben.

“I think it could be good for Ben to have a mentor figure,” they continued. “Someone who’s been in his position. A seasoned professional, if you will.” They smiled. “Someone like… one Doctor Sam Beckett, for example?”

Sam’s jaw dropped. “How did you…”

“Your wife told me,” they replied in a whispered voice.

“My w—Donna’s been in touch with you?” Sam said, his voice breaking.

They shushed him. “Keep it down, we’re not sure who we can trust just yet.” They took his hand, shaking it. “I’m Ian, by the way. Big fan. Consider me your twenty-first century Gooshie with better fashion sense.”

“Are you, um…” Sam tried to find the words to ask about Ian’s gender, gesturing with his hands.

“Oh, my pronouns are they/them,” Ian added hastily. “I am the nonnest of binaries, even though I’m a computer programmer and I deal in binaries on a daily basis. How much do you know about—actually, let’s table that, because I need to show you how to work the handlink so you don’t get stuck inside the floor again.”

Sam nodded, his cheeks beginning to burn. Ian really had seen the whole embarrassing display, hadn’t they?

“Okay, yes—that’s a good idea. I’m a little behind the times on technology, but I’m a quick study.”

“Oh, I know,” Ian nodded. “Don’t worry, it’s more-or-less a re-skin of your original designs, with a few extra bells and whistles. It’s just a matter of showing you how to use the gestures.”

Sam smiled, holding up the handlink for Ian to begin. “Thank you. If Donna trusts you, then so do I.”

“High praise coming from you.” Ian looked chuffed. “Listen, I’ve got a collection of some of your original Ziggy schematics in my desk. Would you consider signing it? It would make my… uh, decade.”

“Let’s… not get ahead of ourselves,” said Sam. “We need to focus on figuring out what brought me here before we start worrying about autographs.”

Ian checked theirself. “R-right. Man, you sure sounded like Addison just now. ‘Focus on the leap’ is like, her mantra.”

“Well, she’s in here somewhere with me,” Sam said. “Let me know if I start acting too much like her, because it’s not uncommon for me to—”

“Psycho-synergise?” Ian finished.

Sam nodded. Ian had done their homework. “Exactly. I can usually keep it under control, though.” He tapped the handlink. “Now, about this… hockey puck…”

Chapter 3

Mentorship

Having satisfactorily explained the functions of the handlink to Sam, Ian returned to their terminal, where they ran a few commands once they were sure nobody was watching.

They didn’t want to do it, and Jenn and Magic would almost certainly be questioning them very soon, but knowing that other leapers of unknown origin wanted their hands on Sam, they knew that they had to wait until the detection system was up and running before making it known that the role of Addison was presently being filled by Sam Beckett.

And so, they inserted subtle code into the system that glitched the Imaging Chamber audio-visual monitoring, giving Sam a chance to speak to Ben privately.

They sent a message to the handlink, giving Sam a code phrase that would let him know it was safe to talk.

Still not knowing Sam’s true purpose for being here—perhaps it was so that they could configure the detector, but that might not have been all there was to it—Ian bit their lip, hoping they could trust everyone around them.

*        *        *

Sam returned to Ben in the Imaging Chamber, now capable of righting his hologram’s orientation in 3D space. He appeared beside Ben as he walked through the city. According to Ziggy, it was a Friday night in Chicago, in spring of 2000, and Ben was a 26-year-old man named James Reed.

“Hey, I’m back,” he announced. “Sorry about that.”

Ben slowed his pace before whipping out his cell phone again. “Hey. Good to see you’re back on solid ground, so to speak.”

Sam chuckled. “Yeah. Ian, uh, tinkered with the handlink and fixed the problem.”

“Well, now that I’ve messed up Ziggy’s instructions, what’s my next move?” Ben peeled off the busy sidewalk and sat on a bench in a park under a street lamp, keeping the phone at his ear. “This guy James doesn’t have his heart attack for a long while yet. Think there’s some other way of preventing it? Or maybe I’m not even here for that.”

Sam consulted the handlink, frowning. “There doesn’t seem to be anything in the original history that suggests anything notable happens to him until then. No wonder Ziggy came up with some convoluted—and frankly insensitive—idea of what you were supposed to do.”

I guess Ziggy hasn’t changed much…

He tilted his head as he continued to read Ziggy’s data. Several of the peripheral variables seemed to be changing every few seconds. Sam was experienced enough to know that this meant history was changing in subtle ways as he watched the values alter. But what was it about Ben sitting here in this park that was making that happen? He began to feel the tingle of suspicion in his mind.

And then, the handlink lit up with a message from Ian.

Wanna get lunch soon?

That was the code Ian had promised to send through when they’d shut down the Imaging Chamber feed.

He looked up from the handlink and took a seat next to Ben on the bench—or at least made it appear that way to the leaper.

“Uh, you know how earlier I was about to tell you something?”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “What is it?” Upon looking at Sam’s grim expression, his face filled with sudden horror. “Oh god. Addison, please don’t tell me you’re breaking up with me. I swear to god I intended to be home to you by now, and I haven’t given up on us yet. Please, just give me a chance to—”

“Whoa, whoa, take it easy,” Sam said, holding his palms toward Ben. “It’s nothing like that. Just hear me out.”

Ben sighed with relief, but still looked apprehensive. “Then what’s the issue?”

He swallowed. “Uh, well, the thing is…” he squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh boy, this is awkward.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense. Out with it!”

Sam took a deep breath, and blurted it all out.

“Well, I—I’m not Addison, I’m Sam Beckett, and I just leaped into your fiancée about an hour ago.” He winced. “Sorry.”

“Wha…” Ben took a moment as the words sunk in, and looked closely into Sam’s eyes, searching. “You’re… not kidding, are you…?”

Sam shook his head slowly. “It wasn’t Ziggy or the handlink having the problem. I was just still figuring out how to use the damn thing properly. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Ben was quiet for a few moments before speaking up.

“So you’re right where I want to be,” he said, wistful.

“I guess I am,” Sam said. “But I think that since I am here—as your hologram, no less—that there might be more to your leap than meets the eye.”

Ben gave him a solemn nod. “That seems like a reasonable assessment. Too bad you don’t have a hologram to tell you what you’ve gotta do.”

Sam looked down at his hands as thoughts of Al passed through his mind. In 2023, Al was dead, he reminded himself, and then tried to shake off the grief that accompanied that thought.

Ben licked his lips. “Do the others know?” he asked. “About you, I mean?”

“Ian knows,” he said, shifting in his seat. “And now you. Nobody else at the Project does.”

“Except whoever’s watching us talk right now,” Ben pointed out.

“Actually, Ian’s shut down the monitoring. It’s just you and me right now.”

Ben squinted. “Why?”

“Because it’s not safe for me to be open about my identity.” Sam leaned forward, planting his chin in his hands. “Remember when we first met in the asylum? I was convinced you wanted to kill me at first.”

Ben’s eyes widened with understanding. “Oh. You’re still being chased around by rogue leapers?”

“Sometimes I go a long time without running into one, but they’re always around, ruining things.” Sam sighed. “I never know when they might show up. And, just as importantly, who they’ll show up as. I have to be vigilant, you know?”

Ben thought for a moment. “Well, you can see them by touching them, right? That’s what happened when we touched that time.”

“If I can see them, they can see me too. And that paints a target right on my back. If I can figure them out before they do me, I have the advantage.”

“Fair point. So what do you think you’re here for?”

Sam sighed. “It could be anything. So let’s both just keep our eyes and ears open.”

Ben nodded. “And as for my leap… I guess I’ll have to figure out James’s job for tomorrow. Fantastic.” He met Sam’s eye. “You ever been a TV reporter?”

“Yes, in fact I have,” Sam said proudly.

He thought about the fact that once upon a time, he couldn’t believe how many different things Al had done in his life—and now, Sam himself was the one with a Swiss army knife full of different professions under his belt.

He couldn’t think of a better way to pay tribute to his departed friend than stepping into his holographic shoes and helping a new generation of leaper, even if Ben too seemed unwillingly trapped leaping, just as Sam had been prior to making his decision to continue indefinitely.

But, if Ben had to be stuck leaping, Sam was happy to make it a little easier for him. And, well, since he was here—maybe check in on the Accelerator and Ziggy and see if he couldn’t retrieve the poor guy. That way he could marry the woman he loved, and at least one of them could get a happy ending.

Sam stood up off the bench, looking out into the city streets. “I have a funny feeling about this leap, Ben.” He looked back down at the younger man. “Keep your head on a swivel. You may not be alone here.”

Ben pressed his lips together, nodding. “Roger that.”

“And the Imaging Chamber monitoring could come back any time, so try to treat me like I’m Addison, if you can.”

Ben looked less sure of that. “Now that I know, it’s kind of obvious you’re not Addison. The way you talk and gesture has… well, boomer energy. No offence.”

Sam stifled a laugh. “Well that stands to reason. But just in case…” He closed his eyes a moment, breathing in Addison’s essence. Over time, he had developed a certain amount of control over his psycho-synergy. Being able to tap into the personality of the person he’d leaped into sometimes proved a valuable survival tactic while leaping around on his own, but his ability to do so varied from person to person. “…I’ll try and bring a little piece of Addison to the table.” He flashed Ben a smile and wink that came straight from her.

Ben looked back at Sam, slightly off-balance. “Wow, that was actually incredibly Addison—even the cadence. How did you do that?”

“It’s a little ability I developed over time,” said Sam. “It was uncontrolled at first, but I got better at it. Just picking up on personality cues from my ‘host.’ I bet you could learn it too.” He held up a finger, closing his eyes. “You have much yet to learn, grasshopper.”

“Aaaand, straight back to the boomer,” Ben laughed. “But seriously, that would probably come in handy.”

“Oh, it does,” Sam confirmed. “But there’s always the danger of losing my own sense of self. It’s a balancing act.” He shrugged. “But you’ve got Addison. She’d never let you forget who you are.”

Ben considered this. “Did Al do that for you?”

Sam nodded. “From time to time.” He smiled. “It takes someone who knows you really well.”

“I’d say Addison has that covered,” Ben mused. The two of them were silent a moment, letting the sounds of the city wash over them. Then, Ben stood up, continuing on from the park. “I’ll be okay from here for a while, I think,”  he said. “Why don’t you go confer with Ian? I’m sure they’re very excited to show you around.”

Sam grinned. “They, uh, did ask for my autograph. I feel like a celebrity. Though to be honest, I haven’t signed my own name in so long I don’t even remember what my autograph used to look like.”

“I’m sure however you write it, Ian will be thrilled.”

“Alright, I’ll head out. Remember what I said: pay attention to everything.”

“Don’t you worry about me,” Ben said. “I’m getting the hang of this.”

With that, he ‘hung up’ his cell phone and strolled away, disappearing into the crowds.

Sam watched him go, feeling a little paternalistic towards his millennial successor.

Chapter 4

Keeping Secrets

As Sam once again left the Imaging Chamber, he saw Ian at their desk being crowded by Magic and the woman he recalled had briefly shared the Imaging Chamber with Janis during his last leap with Ben. He somehow couldn’t recall her name, but he could recall details of her onion server. Swiss-cheese memory was strange that way.

He wandered over, listening to their conversation.

“I’m telling you, I don’t know why it’s doing that,” Ian’s voice boomed, perhaps a little defensive.

“Well, figure it out,” Magic said, his voice terse. “We need to know what’s happening in there.”

“Isn’t that what Addison’s for anyway?” Ian countered.

“You know the original project never had a video feed of the Imaging Chamber,” added the woman Sam couldn’t remember the name for. “It was all just Al. Some people didn’t even believe he witnessed all the things he said.”

Magic frowned. “Sure, and we don’t want that to happen to us, Jenn.”

Jenn, Sam repeated in his head to secure the connection between name and face.

“Well, I’ll try and get it fixed, but I have no estimates on how long it’ll take, okay?” Ian looked up, meeting Sam’s eye. “Could be here all night, you know?”

“Well, try not to take that long,” Magic said, defeated, and turned to Sam. “How’s Ben doing?”

Sam put on a casual expression. “Well, he’s perfectly fine, but we decided not to go with Ziggy’s suggestion. Ben just wasn’t… in the mood.”

“So where does that leave us?” asked Jenn. “He’s not stuck there now, is he?”

Ian raised a finger. “As much as I like to pretend Ziggy is infallible, it is not.”

Ziggy’s an ‘it’ now? Sam wondered. That would be the third set of pronouns Ziggy used since the beginning of ‘its’ lifespan.

“It makes predictions with varying accuracy,” Ian continued, “And anything below one hundred percent means there is a possibility the prediction is wrong. Ziggy gave Becky a ninety-four percent accuracy; we just have to treat this like that rare six percent. Which is really more than 1 in 20, so it’s not that rare a number.”

“So then, what are our other leads?” Magic asked, crossing his arms.

“Well, we’re working on that,” Sam said, eyeing Ian. “He’s keeping his eyes peeled for possible… problems. And so am I. But he told me to leave him for now since he’s just going home. Just… I think we should keep an eye out for sudden changes to history.”

“What makes you say that?” said Jenn.

Sam bit his lip. How could he finesse this without giving anything away? “Uh…”

“Well, who knows what Ben changed accidentally?” Ian said, covering for Sam. “You never know, we might find something to fix that way. Something that went unnoticed before Ben was added to the equation.”

“Sounds tenuous, but it’s something,” Magic muttered. “I sure hope we haven’t ruined his chances of leaping, though.” He wandered away towards what Sam assumed was his office. Jenn didn’t go anywhere, though.

“So, what are you two up to, huh?” she asked with a sly smile. “I saw Ian pull you into the Imaging Chamber before, right before the feed screwed up. You guys are keeping secrets, aren’t you?” She tilted her head, raising her eyebrows. “I haven’t told Magic… yet. But I will if you two don’t let me in on it.”

Sam looked helplessly to Ian for cues.

“It might be, uh, Turtle Time,” Ian said in a low tone.

Sam had no clue what that meant, but Jenn seemed to perk up at this.

“Okay, you have my attention,” she said, eyes narrowed.

Ian looked to Sam. “It’s really her. Should we let her in on it?”

“Is there somewhere private we can talk?” asked Sam. “With no… security monitoring?”

“You mean besides the Imaging Chamber right now?” Jenn asked playfully. “Sure—follow me.”

*        *        *

“Are you serious right now?” Jenn blurted out as Sam and Ian finished their explanation. She circled Sam as best she could in the cramped closet where no cameras were operating. “That’s too weird. I know Ben does this all the time to people, but to see it in action…” She shook her head. “It still boggles my mind.”

“Hey, at least a future version of you that may no longer exist hasn’t leapt into someone who went on to draw pictures of you,” Ian said. “You want to talk about mind-boggling…”

Sam glared at Ian, eyes squinted. “What…?”

“See?” Ian said to Jenn, “it’s even confusing to the guy who invented time travel!”

Jenn stifled a laugh. “Yes, okay, you win the bananas time travel sweepstakes, Ian.” She turned to Sam. “Anyway, what are you doing here, Sam? Is one of us about to be hit by a train or something?”

Sam offered her a shrug. “I’m still figuring that out,” he said. “I’m thinking my leaping into Addison may have something to do with Ben’s leap, given that she’s his hologram.”

“Well, as long as you are here,” Ian said, reaching into their jacket, “Janis and I have been working on a little something and we need you as a guinea pig.” They leaned in close, pulling out a very familiar object.

“The old handlink,” Sam said with wonder, taking it and inspecting it. “Except it’s been… altered…?”

Ian nodded. “Just a few configurations based on your quantum data and it’ll be fully converted into a detection system for leapers.”

Sam couldn’t help but smile, an impressed laugh escaping his throat. “That’s brilliant!”

“You can thank Janis and Donna when we get back to their apartment.”

Sam looked up from the handlink at this. “Donna’s here?!” he said breathlessly. He paused, then added: “Where is here, anyway? New Mexico?”

“We’re in LA,” Ian said.

Sam was about to ask whose bright idea it was to build a potentially volatile nuclear-powered Quantum Accelerator in the second-most populated city in America, but Jenn cut in.

“Hang on, did you say Donna?” she asked. “Donna Elesee-Beckett?”

Ian nodded.

“How long has she been on the mainland?”

“About six months. She’s been… sequestered. For security purposes.”

Sam brushed a tear from his eye. “I can’t believe it… after all this time. The letters, the phone calls from afar over years and years. I-I’m finally gonna see her…” He let out a strained laugh. “She won’t see me though. Not really.”

“It’ll be enough,” Ian reassured him. “She’s looking forward to it. Even if you do look like Addison.” They turned to Jenn. “So anyway, I may have messed up the monitoring for the Imaging Chamber on purpose, so that Sam and Ben could talk freely. And it may be the reason I’ll be ‘stumped’ on how to fix it for a little while longer. Can you help stall Magic?”

“Why can’t we just tell him?” Jenn asked. “He really would love to see you, Sam. You know he promised Al he’d bring you home, and now here you are.”

Ian grabbed the handlink from Sam and waved it around. “Just let me configure this and then we’ll be able to let anyone in on it who needs to know. I’ll be ‘working late’ when everyone else has gone home, ostensibly to fix the Imaging Chamber, so that’ll be an ideal time to get the readings done. I’ll need some support from Ziggy.”

Jenn nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll stall Magic for today, and turn some of the security cams off so you can do your configuration thing. But tomorrow, you’d better have that doodad working, because Magic is gonna get suspicious with all this sneaking around. Hell, he’s probably wondering where we all are right now.”

“Okay, deal,” Ian said, stuffing the handlink back into their jacket and turning to Sam. “I don’t wanna be a pain, but those schematics are still in my desk just waiting to be signed.”

Sam smirked. “If you pull this off, I’ll gladly sign them.”

Ian grinned. “Couple o’ geniuses working together? What can go wrong?”

*        *        *

As Sam waited for Magic and the staff to finish up for the evening, he began searching through Addison’s phone, a standard thing for him to do when he leaped these days. Especially from the 2010s, people kept their whole lives on phones, he’d long since learned. So it was good recon to get to know someone through their phone.

It was true that he already had some help for his goals, but it was a habit that continued, even knowing that he was probably here to help Ben in some way.

Addison’s phone was full of photos of her and Ben together, throughout their dating and up to their engagement party. The photos stopped abruptly after a picture of the couple kissing. It was rather heartbreaking.

Then, something in Addison’s texts caught his eye.

Please call me? This is Mom.
I heard about Ben.

It was from an unsaved number, and there was a draft reply from a year ago that hadn’t been sent.

The draft read: I don’t need your pity.

Sam stared at it for a long moment. Maybe this leap wasn’t just about Ben after all.

Chapter 5

Overtime

The lights on the control floor were dimmed, and still Ian remained at their computer, awkwardly pretending to be baffled by the malfunction of their own design. Sam emerged from the Imaging Chamber, pocketing the handlink he’d described as a hockey puck. Ian kind of liked that.

“Ben all tucked in?” they asked, grinning.

Sam nodded. “I read him a bedtime story and everything.”

“Ha! I’d always hoped you had a sense of humour,” Ian said, beckoning Sam to their terminal. He eagerly crossed the room, admiring the huge monitors with data filling the screen.

“Of course I have a sense of humour,” Sam said, defensive. “Just what did Al tell you people about me, anyway?”

Ian smiled. “He said you were brave, and kind-hearted, and you always saw the best in people. Except when they were being cussholes to you and you kicked their butts.”

Sam squinted. “Cussholes?”

“Okay, he didn’t say ‘cuss.’”

Sam snorted. “But he told you I didn’t have a sense of humour?”

“Well, he said you never laughed at his dirty jokes.”

“He only made those jokes to get on my nerves,” Sam said, reminiscing. “But I got him back sometimes. One time, there were these identical twins…”

“Oh mah stars, I’m about to come down with the vapours,” Ian said in a mock southern accent, fanning themself with their hand. “Seriously though, we need to get this done. Sexcapades can wait, much as I am looking forward to the spilled tea.”

Sam nodded in agreement, his face turning serious as Ian typed at the computer and connected the modified handlink to a data cable.

“So, I’m just bringing up the quantum data modules. I’m going to need to get a DNA sample that I can put in the Accelerator—”

“— Which will allow you to analyse the temporal energy data readings from an active leaper and let you fill in the unknowns in your equations,” Sam finished, eyes darting over the screen. “Right?”

Ian stared at him, awestruck. “Exactly. Wow, you really are quick on the uptake. I love you.” Ian’s cheeks flushed. “I mean, I love your mind.”

Sam’s eyes danced. “Thanks, I think. Yours is pretty… lovable, too. I’m so impressed with this, Ian. You should be so proud of yourself.”

Ian shrugged modestly. “Well, it wasn’t just me. Janis and Donna had the real physics insights. I just developed it into software.”

“You all did great,” Sam said, patting Ian on the back. “So do you need a sample of my saliva, or…?”

“Tissue sample, I think,” Ian said, cleaning their glasses.

Sam nodded, his gaze lingering on the screen. Ian noticed his smile fading.

“What’s wrong?”

“I see all Ziggy’s probability matrices here on the screen,” he said, “but I kinda thought I’d be able to, you know, say ‘hello.’ Where’s her—I mean its—sentience centre these days?”

“Sentience?” Ian tilted their head. “What do you mean, sentience?”

Sam looked at Ian like they had two heads. “Is… isn’t this Ziggy created out of the original?”

“Sure,” Ian said. “We built it using your original plans and loaded it with the stored memory banks from your Project. It’s a bit of a Ship of Theseus scenario, but the essence is there.”

Sam frowned. “How original were these plans?”

Considering this a perfect time for obtaining his autograph, Ian pulled out the schematics from their drawer, showing them to Sam. He looked them over, brow furrowed.

“Sure, this is Ziggy’s original base, but… what about the ego?” He looked over at Ziggy’s physical servers curiously. “Where’s the… you know—the orb?”

“What orb?” Ian had no idea what he was saying.

“Oh boy,” Sam breathed, hand on forehead. “No wonder she hasn’t been talkin’ to you guys.”

“Your Ziggy talked?!” Ian’s jaw felt like it was about to hit the floor. “Are you freaking kidding me? I had no idea twentieth century computers had the processing power to do a ChatGPT.”

“A what?”

“Never mind. How do we build this… orb?”

Sam shook his head. “We don’t really have time for me to go into that, Ian. But, later you could go on a field trip to Stallions Gate and check out whatever’s left of the original Project. I have no idea what survived out there, though.” He held up a finger. “Now, are you gonna do your biopsy or not? I hope your collection tools are sterile. Do you know how to do it?”

Ian feigned offence as they reached into another desk drawer and pulled out a small medical kit. “Sir, I am a doctor.”

“Of medicine?”

Ian shrugged. “Well… no. Not exactly. But you are, right?”

Sam smirked, and snatched the kit away from Ian. “Fine, I’ll collect my own sample.” He opened the kit and began rummaging through it, pulling out plastic-wrapped needles and other objects, turning them in his hands. “Ian, what do you know about Addison’s mother?”

Ian was taken off guard by the apparently out-of-the-blue question. “What…?”

Sam kept his eyes down on his prep work, pulling on latex gloves and inspecting the biopsy punch. “Her Mom. Has she ever talked about her?”

Ian frowned. “No, she keeps that kind of thing way close to her chest. Why?”

Sam began to swab his arm with alcohol. “It’s just, I was looking in her phone and saw that her Mom sent her a message a while ago. Said she ‘heard about Ben’ and wanted to talk. Addison never responded.”

Ian let out a low whistle. “I had no idea…”

Sam stuck a needle just under the surface of his skin, injecting something into it. “When she said she ‘heard about’ Ben, what does that mean, exactly? Did Ben get reported as missing? Or does she…”

“Well, we’ve kept Ben’s unauthorised leap under our hats, even with the government,” Ian explained. “But it’s true that for the rest of the world, he dropped off the map—and the wedding was cancelled, of course. So her Mom must have heard about that part.”

“I see…” Sam plunged the biopsy tool into the prepped site on his arm, twisting it a few times. Then, with tweezers, he pulled on the circular tissue sample. “Hey, would you take this scalpel and just cut this off for me?”

His tone was so casual, even though he was holding a bloody piece of his own flesh with tweezers. Presumably, the injection had been a local anaesthetic, because he was showing no signs of pain.

With a squeamish grimace, Ian picked up the scalpel and gave it a slice. They then dropped the knife and shivered.

“Ugh, no wonder I didn’t go into medicine,” they said, looking away from the blood oozing from the hole now in Sam’s—or Addison’s?—arm.

Sam placed the sample in a test tube before pressing a gauze on the wound. “This is nothing,” he said, chuckling. “Everything pales in comparison to being in labour.” He extended the test tube to Ian. “Here you go.”

Ian took it, eyebrows high. “I did read about that leap. Utterly bonkers! You really almost had a baby?”

“I leaped out while it was crowning,” he said, bandaging his arm, “thank God.”

Ian grinned. “You’ve been so many different women. And you’re supposed to be cis, huh?”

Sam regarded them with a puzzled look in response. “Cis?”

“Cisgender. It’s when your gender aligns with your assigned gender at birth. Well, it’s a little more nuanced than that, but that’s the gist.”

Ian began heading down the hall to the Accelerator Chamber, with Sam following.

“Well, I’m not so sure about any of that,” Sam said. “Not really my area of expertise, but I can say that I’ve been called ‘she’ enough times that I’ll answer to it without a second thought.”

“Well then, by the trans powers vested in me, I bestow upon you the title of ‘gender fluid’—if you want it,” Ian said with a wink, before placing a hand on the security pad that led to the Accelerator. The door slid open, and the pair walked inside.

“This sure brings back memories,” Sam murmured, eyes rising to the ceiling. He seemed lost in thought for a few moments, turning in a slow circle.

Ian placed the test tube on the central platform. “This is where it all began, huh?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, we’d better get out of here before you and Addison get… I dunno… double-leapt.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “‘Double-leapt?’ Is that a technical term?”

“Shut up.”

They retreated from the chamber, and Ian entered parameters into the terminal that controlled the Accelerator as Sam watched.

“I’d suggest no greater than twenty-two percent power,” he said as Ian tapped away at the keypad.

“Why twenty-two?”

“Because in my Project’s original tests, that wattage was the threshold between getting accurate readings and melting your test tube glass, and I assume you don’t want that.”

“Point taken.” Ian completed their parameter settings, and looked to Sam. “You wanna do the honours?”

Sam looked down at the screen, then back up at Ian with a smile. “No, you go ahead.”

He turned his eye to the glass door of the chamber, looking inside, and Ian activated the Accelerator.

Chapter 6

Long Distance Relationships

Donna sipped at her tea, looking quietly out of Janis’s window up at the night sky. She and Sam had spent many a night stargazing before the fateful night he’d stepped into the Accelerator. Even after all this time, she had a vast number of constellations memorised.

Back before Sam had been completely lost to time, whenever he leaped, she’d look up and find a star that was as many light years away as the years separating them. Gazing on a star that far away meant she was viewing the past, the very time where Sam was. It was her way of keeping him and her linked somehow.

When Ziggy had lost track of him, she’d been no longer able to do that. And then, in 2002, Janis Calavicci had contacted her out of the blue through a throwaway email address. Sam was with her, having leaped into a classmate’s father, and she was setting up a secure way for him to keep in touch through his leaps, as long as they were taking place in the present.

At first, she’d been shocked Sam had remembered her, but it turned out that Janis had let the cat out of the bag. He corresponded with her via email, explaining that he never wanted to forget her again.

And he never did.

Since that time, when she looked up at the stars, from which beams of photons took years to reach her eyes, she saw an ocean of Sams, each sparkle in the firmament representing a life he’d made better. Every time she’d visited Al and Beth, each time she laid eyes on Tom Beckett, or Magic, or one of Al’s daughters, she knew that Sam had made the right choice in leaping long ago.

But her own life? His life? Those lives remained unrepaired and full of heartache.

Donna knew that Sam had visited her as an English Lit professor when she was in college. She knew that he’d helped resolve her abandonment issues, and that it had led to her not standing him up at the altar as she had in her original timeline. If it hadn’t been for Sam, she wouldn’t have been his lonely wife. But on the other hand, if it hadn’t been for Sam, she’d have been alone all the same. It seemed she was destined to be alone no matter what.

Her train of thought was interrupted by four knocks at the door. She heard Janis run through the usual routine; activating the door keypad, slipping a note under the door, and awaiting the return of the paper.

When the door opened, she heard Ian’s voice, along with the added voice of a woman that she assumed belonged to Addison Augustine—though she hadn’t actually met her before. The joy at which ‘Addison’ seemed to greet Janis was a dead giveaway that it was not Addison at all. Donna, of course, already knew this fact, and to hear Sam speak—even with the wrong voice—made her eyes well up. He’d finally made it back to her.

She stood from her armchair, moving past the racks of computer servers and out to the main expanse of Janis’s attic apartment.

She fixed her eyes on Sam, in the guise of Addison, and after a moment of staring, he finally sensed her presence in the room. He turned to face her, and his eyes shone with unshed tears.

“H-hi,” he said meekly.

The two of them took a few steps toward one another.

“You look stunning, Donna,” he added, voice husky.

“You look… like Addison,” she replied with a chuckle.

They finally met each other half way, and Sam threw his arms around her. They hugged for a long moment.

“Think Addison would mind if they kissed?” Janis asked Ian.

“That isn’t necessary,” Donna said. “This… this is enough. Just having him here.”

Their grip on each other loosened, and reluctantly, they separated, but Sam kept a hold of Donna’s hand.

“Sorry I’m late, honey,” Sam said, sheepish. “You know… traffic in LA is pretty bad.”

Donna shot him a rueful smile. “Your dinner’s been cold for… let’s see… twenty-four years? Not sure it’s worth reheating now, darling.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam’s voice broke, with rivulets of tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. “I’m so, so sorry I kept you waiting, Donna.”

Donna wasn’t sure how to respond. On one hand, for a long time she had wanted to hate him. She hadn’t been able to, but she thought that it would have been within her rights. On the other hand, it had partially been her fault that he’d made that decision not to return home; he hadn’t remembered her at the time, let alone his promise to her, and she’d made sure Al hadn’t revealed her existence to him.

Ostensibly, that had been to allow him to keep doing what he had to do while leaping without feeling like he was cheating on her. But in truth, it was for her own benefit too. She didn’t want to think that he was choosing to leap even with the knowledge of what he was leaving behind; it would truly have made her feel abandoned.

But things were different after Janis’s intervention. They had a line of communication, even though she never knew which Sam was going to send a message. She never knew what he remembered and what hadn’t yet happened for him. But it was still Sam, and he had a job to do.

They’d talked it all out time and time again, the two of them. Came to an understanding. She was no longer merely the long-suffering wife to an absent husband; she was his sole support when he leaped into her present, and she was her own person in between those leaps.

She brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. “Sam, we’ve been over this before, and… well, it’s no different now. You have to do what you have to do, and—”

“And you’re free to be with anyone you want. I know. I’m still sorry, though. I only wish I was me, and not Addison. It’s a little strange…” He awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder. “But if there’s any time I might be able to find my way home… as myself… maybe it’s this leap.”

He glanced towards Ian and Janis. “I’m in exactly the right company.” He gestured around the room. “And between the Project and this place, I—” he hesitated as he laid eyes on the large spherical structure at the back of the apartment. “Uh, is that… what I think it is?”

“If you think it’s an Imaging Chamber, then yes,” Janis said.

“What do you use it for?”

“At the moment it’s nothing but a waste of floor space,” she said drily. “But I did use it to hijack the imaging signal from the Project a while back. I was trying to warn Ben about something, but he leapt before I could relay the message—then I got locked out. It’s been collecting dust ever since.”

“Wow…”

As Sam wandered up to the sphere to study it, Ian produced the old handlink from their pocket.

“So I think we have this properly configured now,” they said proudly. “It makes an adorable little chirping sound when there’s a leaper within fifty feet, and kind of a moaning sound when there’s one within six feet. And it turns red on direct contact with one.” They switched it on, and the chirping sound immediately sounded. Donna recognised the noise as one the handlink would once have made upon Al calling up data.

Ian held out the handlink, striding closer and closer to Sam until the moaning sound began. And kept going. Ian finally tapped it against Sam’s arm, and the device turned red, just as they’d said.

“This isn’t very covert,” Janis commented with a frown. “We’re giving rogue leapers ample time to pull a gun on us, or run away.”

“Yes, I know,” Ian said, “which is why there’s a silent mode that uses haptic pulses.” They tapped a sequence into the handlink, and crossed the room, touching it to Janis’s hand.

“Oh. That’s better,” she said.

Ian moved to Donna, allowing her to feel the vibrations too. It was a subtle and silent tap-tap-tap-tap against her hand.

“It gets faster the closer you are, and when you’re within a few feet it changes to Morse code for SOS.”

“You’ve outdone yourself, Ian,” Donna said with a warm smile. “Thank you. This is going to make things much less scary for all of us.”

“Yes, and thank God for that,” Ian said, shaking their head. “D’you know how bad stress is for you? And I’ve been on edge for months. I think I’ve aged five years—some of my roots are coming in grey!”

Donna, whose hair was nearly fully white, raised an eyebrow. “How awful for you,” she said in a mocking tone.

“So now that we’ve got this thing built…” Ian said, their voice tinged with sadness, “what’s next for our little team? Is this it? We just go our own ways again?”

“No, this is just the start,” Janis said. “We have one single prototype, which is great, but we’re going to need more.”

Sam returned to the group. “And now that you have my quantum data, you might be able to plug that in to your Imaging Chamber here…”

“Wait…” Ian said, “you mean, so someone can be your new hologram?”

Sam nodded. “Well, only if I don’t make it home this time.”

Janis and Ian looked to Donna, who smiled.

“If he doesn’t make it home, I’d be delighted to be that hologram.”

Chapter 7

Breaking News

Ben yawned, stretching his arms as he reclined in the generously sized bed. When was the last time he’d got a good night’s sleep, he wondered? It had been leap after leap of frenetic rushing around, all at such a pace that he rarely got to sleep at all. He was just glad that each leap seemed to return his tiredness level to a baseline.

Still, it felt like a treat to actually be able to sleep in a comfy bed, all night, without any kind of disturbance. It was little things like this that he missed the most. Quiet, peaceful moments where he could just be Ben, rather than pretending to be the unfamiliar face that looked back at him from each reflective surface.

This guy, James, wasn’t bad to look at, necessarily. He was a television news reporter, which meant he was pretty fastidious when it came to his appearance. Clean shaven, neatly trimmed hair and manicured nails. A wardrobe full of pressed suits and shirts, and a selection of bland ties.

His apartment was tidy and spacious. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the guy’s life, save for the heart attack that wasn’t going to come for a while yet. Peering at his host in the full-length mirror against the wall, Ben wondered what condition this guy must have been afflicted with to have died of cardiac arrest at such a young age. He certainly looked healthy enough—but looks could be deceiving. His Mom had proven that. Ben knew all too well how sudden a death could be.

The radio at his bedside played ’NSync’s Bye Bye Bye softly, and Ben dropped a hand on it to shut off the boy band and leave him in peace.

He let his neck relax, and his head flopped back on the pillow. It was still early, and he wasn’t expected at work for another three hours. He relished the solitude. As much as he had begun to really appreciate the company of others, being alone was so rare since leaping that all he wanted to do was just lie there, basking in it.

Alas, the sound of a hologram materialising beside his bed made it clear to him that such solitude had come to an end.

He turned his head to the new figure in the room—it looked like Addison, but was Sam still in the driver’s seat? Or had he completed his leap and left while Ben had slept?

“Hi, Ben,” they said carefully. “Ian’s got the Imaging Chamber feed back up, so everyone can see us again.”

A couple of pointed winks from ‘Addison’ suggested it was Sam, still having to feign being her. But the way he carried himself gave Ben the impression that he might have been channelling Addison’s personality, as he’d demonstrated the previous day that he could do.

“Okay,” he said, waving around the room to whatever invisible eyes were watching him. “Hello out there! Don’t watch me shower, okay?”

Sam cringed at this. “Must be hard being watched all the time like that.”

“It’s what I signed up for, I guess.” Ben managed to recall in the far reaches of his mind that the old Project had not had quite the panoptic monitoring system that his did. The pair of them were under heavy scrutiny by whoever was on the control floor watching the feed, and neither could give away Sam’s presence until the older leaper indicated it was okay.

“Alright, I guess it’s time to figure out this reporter job,” Ben said, climbing out of his bed. “Any insights? What should I be expecting?”

“Well…” said Sam, looking briefly down at the handlink, “looks like you’re a live reporter, so you’re going to have to come up with things to say on the fly. Are you any good with improv?”

“Kinda comes with the territory, I suppose,” Ben said. “What kind of story will I need to be reporting on tonight?”

“We’ll just need to go through some archives for the station to find that out. But before I go help with that, there is something I should let you in on…”

“What is it?”

“Ziggy’s been picking up some… changes in history… that aren’t originating from you. Just little things, like transaction records, slight changes in traffic flow, tiny glitches like that.”

Ben snapped his head to Sam. “Wait, what? What’s causing them?” As he asked the question, he realised he already knew the probable answer: he wasn’t the only time traveller here.

“Ian and Jenn are trying to narrow down their origin using the available data,” Sam said, looking grim. “But I think you know as well as I do what we might be dealing with.”

Ben let out a breath. He sure did. It wasn’t Martinez this time—the system would have picked up on anyone originating from their version of the Accelerator—rather, it was probably somebody the likes of which Sam might have had some experience with. And it must have been one of the reasons why he’d leapt into Addison in the first place. And, for that matter, potentially what he was doing here, too.

“So, you’re saying I might be here because of… another leaper?”

Sam gave a tight-lipped nod. “It’s a possibility. So sit tight and I’ll be back soon with more information, okay?”

“Okay…” Ben said slowly. “You’ll be back to help me with this job though, right? I have no idea how to be a reporter.”

Sam nodded. “Of course—don’t even worry about it, okay? I’ve got you covered.”

*        *        *

Sam was thinking about Donna as he emerged from the Imaging Chamber. How lucky he was to know such an amazing person, and wishing things had been different.

But it was a paradox. If he hadn’t leaped to begin with, she wouldn’t have married him, and the memories she had of him leaving her to step into the Accelerator all those years ago were something that only existed because he leaped.

He’d apologised many times for putting her in that position. But, it was done, and the both of them had to live with that now.

He rubbed his forehead, trying to get his mind working on the problem at hand. There was another leaper somewhere near Ben, and that could only spell trouble.

And then there was Addison’s mother, something that felt important, somewhere deep inside of him—or maybe inside of Addison.

He looked over at Ian’s workstation. They were standing beside Jenn, with the two of them doing the research that would hopefully help them to pinpoint the other leaper.

And then, without warning, Magic appeared in front of Sam. “So have you and Ben figured out what he’s there to do yet?” he asked, frowning. “Any new developments?”

Sam stole a glance towards Ian, who had turned their head in his direction at the sound of Magic’s voice. They surreptitiously reached into their pocket, producing the modified handlink. They switched it on, and slowly began to approach Magic from behind, the device on its silent mode.

“Well, the biggest development is that Ben got a good night’s sleep for once,” Sam channelled Addison, buying time for Ian to give him an indication of whether Magic was to be trusted. “Maybe the leap’s actual goal is to give him a much-needed vacation. Wishful thinking, but…”

Ian leaned over, peeking out from behind Magic.

“Hey, Magic, would you mind if we stepped into your office for a minute?”

Magic turned around. “Why, what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain when we’re in there,” they pressed. “Come on. Addison’s coming with.”

They grabbed the hands of both Magic and Sam, guiding them to Magic’s office. Once inside, they shut the door, and turned around, meeting Sam’s eyes.

“He’s clean,” they said.

“Clean?” Magic frowned. “Just what are you up to, Ian?”

“It’s not what I’m up to…” Ian said, gesturing to Sam and clearing their throat.

Sam took the cue, piping up. “Uh, yeah, it’s kind of about me. Here’s the thing…”

Too much Addison, he thought. Reel it in.

He licked his lips, asserting his own personality. “Magic… you’re no longer the only one around here who’s been leaped into by Sam…”

“Come again?” Magic narrowed his eyes. “Could you be a little clearer?”

“Addison got, uh, nudged,” Ian blurted. “He leapt into her.”

Magic’s gaze snapped to Ian. “Are you serious?” He paused, and added, “…When?”

“I arrived yesterday,” Sam said, holding out a hand to Magic. “Look, we can actually shake hands this time.”

“Oh my Lord…” Magic gripped the hand lightly, letting Sam shake as he took in the startling information. “And it took you both until now to tell me this?”

“I can explain!” Ian yelped.

“Ian had to configure a leaper detection system using my quantum data,” Sam offered. “So they used it on you and made sure you weren’t an impostor before we could trust you with this information.”

“And it wouldn’t be the first time you were an impostor,” Ian added.

Magic winced at this. “Okay… well… this is not exactly what I expected out of today.” He rubbed his chin, looking towards Sam. “So… Sam? What brought you to us, exactly?”

“Something to do with Ben’s leap, I suspect,” he said. “You should know that there may be another leaper close by to him.”

Magic’s face tightened. “I see.”

“Speaking of which,” Ian said, “I need to get back to figuring out where—and hopefully who—they are.”

Magic nodded, taking all of this in. “What a damn morning. Okay Ian, you go and do that, the faster the better. And as for you…” he looked at Sam, “well, welcome, I suppose. I hope your adjustment to being Addison hasn’t been too difficult. Does Ben know?”

Sam bobbed his head. “That’s the reason the monitoring was down yesterday; so I could tell him privately.”

Magic heaved a sigh. “I don’t like being kept in the dark,” he said, glaring at Ian.

Ian made a beeline for the door. “Well, as someone who’s been host to Leaper X, surely you understand our hesitation.”

Sam didn’t know who or what a Leaper X was, but it sounded bad.

Magic glowered. “That version of me got cancelled out,” he said. “Isn’t that what you told me? What did you call it? An ‘aborted timeline’ that was destroyed when you activated your ‘cheat code?’”

“Yes, but… nevertheless…” Ian said, and left the room without finishing the thought.

Magic turned back to Sam, looking tired. “Oh, boy…”

“You can say that again,” Sam said with a wry smile. “I think it might be a good idea to shut off the Imaging Chamber feed for the duration of the leap. If there is another leaper there from further in the future than we are now, I’d prefer they can’t get a hold of these records.”

Magic frowned, but nodded. “Okay. Just this once. But only because I’m trusting you to know what you’re doing.”

“Thank you.” Sam gave him a sincere smile, before abruptly changing the subject. “Listen, about Addison… do you happen to know anything about her… mother?”

Magic stiffened at the mention. “Can’t say I’ve ever met her,” he said carefully. “Why?”

“Do you know why Addison doesn’t speak to her? Has she ever confided in you about it?”

“No, she hasn’t,” Magic replied quickly, and shut his mouth.

“Okay…” Sam said. There was definitely something Magic was not telling him, but he decided to let it be for the moment. He headed for the door, wondering if he should try calling the number she’d used to text Addison.

“Hang on,” Magic said as Sam placed a hand on the door handle. “If you plan to contact her, be very careful what you tell her.”

Sam looked back, brow furrowed. “Of course.”

He left the office a little more confused than he would have liked.

Chapter 8

Following Leads

Ben was busily combing gel into his hair when Sam re-appeared behind him in the bathroom. He was neatly dressed in a grey suit, though he hadn’t put the tie and jacket on just yet. He jumped at the sound of Sam’s arrival, and spun around.

“Hey,” he said eagerly. “How are things going? What’s the status of this other leaper?”

“Okay, first of all I want you to know we’re good to talk now.” Sam waved around the handlink as he spoke. “Magic’s in on this whole thing, and the Imaging Chamber monitoring is officially on hold for now, for privacy.”

“Meaning… we can drop the act?”

Sam nodded. “Yes—big relief, because it’s better that we don’t have distractions like that. History could be in serious danger, and Ziggy will be next to useless in making predictions where the unknowns of another leaper is involved.”

Ben swallowed hard. “Well, I’ve worked without Ziggy’s help before and I can do it again,” he said, hoping to convince himself as well as Sam. “Probably.”

“That’s just what I wanted to hear,” Sam declared, and swiped at the handlink until a street map appeared in a blue-hued hologram above it.

“So we’ve been able to mark out a radius of about half a mile around Old Town where the anomalies are most often originating, but it’s been impossible to narrow it down further. There’s just not enough data.” He sighed. “Luckily, I’m sure I’ve been around there before in a leap, so I can help you get around, and we may be able to catch anomalies as they happen. And, if you’re close enough, we can hopefully pinpoint who doesn’t belong. You can head there after you finish work.”

Ben pulled a tie around his neck and started wrestling with it before realising he wasn’t sure how to tie it in the fancy way. He tended to avoid ties entirely. “Do you know how to tie a Windsor knot?”

Sam chuckled. “Sure. Start with the wide end crossed over the short end and flip it under from below…”

Sam continued to instruct Ben on how to tie it, to his great relief. When he was done, he returned his mind to the matter at hand.

“What do you think this… other leaper… is here to do?”

“I can’t be sure, but if they’re from Lothos, then it’s nothing good.” Sam dragged a hand over his mouth. “Could be something small, like ruining somebody’s life. Could be something dangerous like planting a bomb.”

“So can we afford to wait?” Ben asked, nervous as he fixed his collar. “They could already be about to accomplish whatever their goal is.”

Sam considered this. “You may be right,” he conceded, pensive. He looked down at the handlink. “But you know, there’s one useful thing about your being a reporter, and that’s being able to follow leads. We have your story for tonight as a live broadcast from an animal adoption drive. Now, I don’t want to take away from the importance of animal adoption, but I think if you find a better lead, they’ll let you follow it. You could fake a tip from Old Town and use that time to investigate.”

Heading out of the bathroom, Ben grinned. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he said. “And it’s entirely possible I will find something newsworthy and really get a scoop…” He paused, screwing up his face. “My god, that was a terrible thing to say! I should be hoping I stop them before anything newsworthy happens. Who cares about getting a scoop? I barely even know what a scoop is!”

Sam tapped his temple, giving a knowing smile . “Psycho-synergy. That thought probably came from James.”

Ben’s mouth drifted open. So that was psycho-synergy, huh? He didn’t like it.

“The less that happens, the better,” he said, unable to hide his disdain.

“With any luck it’ll be the last time it happens,” Sam said. “Because I’m gonna get you home.”

Ben met Sam’s eye, startled. “You… you really think you can?”

Sam gave him a confident nod. “It’s been a long time since I wrote the original retrieval program, and I’ve been thinking about it for years and years now. I think if we all put our heads together here, getting you home is within reach. Of course, we’ll need to be quick about it, ’cause I don’t know how long I’ve got here.”

“What about you, Sam?” Ben asked. He grabbed his suit jacket and pulled it over his arms. “You’re the one who should be coming home after all this time.”

Sam’s eyes looked back at him, full of regret. “I guess that’s not in the cards this time either. I don’t think your Accelerator can be configured to me in time to attempt a retrieval before I leap again. And even then…” His gaze dropped. “Well, retrievals have never quite worked for me anyway.”

Ben buttoned his cuffs. “I don’t accept that. I can’t.”

“You’re welcome to keep trying once you’re back with your wife.”

“You mean fiancée.”

“You’re not going to be engaged forever,” Sam countered. “And I’m going to make sure that wedding happens soon, okay? I promise. Addison loves you and misses you, Ben.”

Ben looked away. “Is your psycho-synergy telling you that?”

Sam shook his head, smiling. “Addison’s photo gallery on her phone told me that.” A short moment passed, and Sam seemed to think of something. “Ben, have you ever met Addison’s mother?”

“I don’t remember,” he said truthfully. “But I feel like, maybe no?”

“That fits,” Sam mumbled. “I’m not getting anywhere asking people about her, so I guess it’s about time I call her.”

“Oh… okay…” Ben said, eyes wide. “I remember Addison saying her relationship with her Mom was complicated. Are you going to try and untangle that mess?” He frowned. “Whatever it is.”

“If I can.”

“Boy, you’ve got a lot of irons in the fire this leap, huh? Are you sure you can handle it and still be my hologram?”

Sam smirked. “This is how I do things without Ziggy or Al. I try to fix everything my gut tells me is an issue. At least one of them usually sticks.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Ben said, heading for the door. “What’s your gut telling you about me right now?”

“It’s telling me your keys and wallet are in the kitchen,” Sam said, suppressing a grin. “So make sure you don’t lock yourself out of your apartment, okay?”

Ben took his hand off the door and looked back to the open plan kitchen. Indeed, the keys and wallet were sitting there on the counter-top, where he had left them the night before.

Ben may have had a photographic memory, but he was distractible.

“Nice catch.”

*        *        *

With Ben on his commute, Sam left the Imaging Chamber, pulling out Addison’s phone. He didn’t have a moment to waste if he wanted to do all of what he had planned.

He moved to a quiet area of the building, started the call, and waited as the phone rang at the other end a few times. Finally, it was picked up, and a distracted “Yeah?” came from the other end.

“Uh, hi…” Sam said, attempting to channel Addison once again. “…Mom.”

The line was silent for just long enough for Sam to wonder if he’d been disconnected, but as he was about to pull it away from his ear, the response came.

“Addie?”

Sam let out a relieved breath. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“It’s good to hear your voice.”

Okay, so far so good, he thought. Now what?

“I was wondering if you… wanted to talk. It doesn’t have to be in person, but—”

“Addie, of course I’d like to see you. I take it you’re still working in that dump in LA?”

“Dump?” Sam squinted. How much did Addison’s mother know about her line of work, anyway?

A sigh came over the line. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say that about the place your fiancée helped build. It’s just… you know how I feel about all of it, Addie.”

“Uh… y-yeah, well…”

“I can drive up there today if you want to meet me at the pier. We can do lunch.”

“Oh—yeah, okay. How long would you be?”

“Two hours, maybe three if the traffic’s bad.”

“Okay, Mom. Call me when you get there.”

“Addison… thank you for finally giving me a chance. I promise I’ll be more sensitive to your feelings this time.”

“Alright. I’ll see you then…”

The line went dead, and Sam let the phone fall to his side. Between Magic’s warning and that phone call, he had to wonder just what the conflict between them was all about. Did Addison’s Mom know about the Project? Or had Addison given a cover story? Either way, he’d have to gently pry out such information. He only hoped his lunch plans wouldn’t conflict with his hologram duties.

He returned to the Control Room quickly, hoping to get in a little work with Ian on the retrieval before he had to return to Ben. Maybe he had bitten off a little more than he could chew on this one.

Chapter 9

Tipline

Ben nervously walked into the television station, unsure of where to go. Sam hadn’t yet returned, despite his promises to help him out. Then again, apparently the guy had a lot on his plate.

“Mornin’, James!” said an older man Ben didn’t know, appearing beside him and slapping him hard on the back. “What’s shakin’, kiddo?”

Ben was lost for words. “Uh—buh… you know…”

He took the familiarity with which he’d been greeted as a cue to follow the well-groomed man, who laughed.

“Ah, you’re a riot,” he said, though Ben was positive he hadn’t said anything funny.

Ben walked with him down a couple of corridors, engaging in the least substantive small talk he could imagine.

“Alright son, I’m on in five,” he said as they approached a large set of double doors. “See you after the morning bulletin.”

He opened the doors dramatically and entered the studio, striding with great confidence towards the news desk beyond, before the doors swung shut and Ben could see no more.

“That’s Ross Kennedy, the chief news anchor on this network. Seems like he likes you?”

Ben spun around to find Sam standing there, to his great relief.

“Sorry I’m late,” the Addison-shaped hologram said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. “Got a little tied up writing equations.”

Ben nodded with understanding. “Well, I’d be upset, but to be honest that’s probably something I’d do too. And… you know, have done. If Addison was here, she’d vouch for that.”

Sam chuckled. “Math waits for no geek.” He gestured down the hall. “Your office should be this way. Come on.”

Sam guided him to a small office with a frosted glass window partitioning it from a few other similar rooms.

He stepped inside the room, that might as well have been a cubicle for how big it was, and squeezed himself behind the desk.

He looked over the papers on the desk, then up at Sam, who passed through the door.

“Yeah, I don’t know what I’m doing here,” he confessed. He gestured at a notepad with some indecipherable phrases on it. “I’m guessing those are different story leads, but I don’t know what any of this is referring to.” He pointed at one hastily written note next to a phone number and date. “‘Ellen jump rope’? What the hell does that mean?”

Sam frowned, looking down at the handlink and moving a finger across it. “Ellen… jump rope… oh!” He looked up. “Apparently a teenage girl named Ellen Hardy tried to set a world record for the most successful jump ropes in a minute. James is supposed to cross live to her tomorrow during the morning show and she’ll mess up after twenty-three skips. That’s too bad.”

“Pet adoption, jump rope world records… so James is really into the big stories, huh?” Ben said drily.

“There’s a hierarchy,” Sam explained. “The greener journalists get the fluff. But if they prove themselves—sniff out some meatier stories—they can get assigned better stuff.”

Ben sat on his chair, taking a breath. “So all I need to do is pretend to get some kind of a tip or a lead. Right? Then I can get out of here?”

“Right. Assuming you can’t find a real one, anyway.” Sam gestured to the phone sitting on the desk. “Go on, newshound. Call around.”

“Who?”

Sam gestured to a Rolodex on the desk. “Reporters have lots of different source contacts. Just look through there; you’ll find someone to call.”

Ben peered down at the Rolodex and began flipping through it. There were a couple of cops, politicians, and a range of different people involved in different government divisions and businesses throughout the city.

Just as he was deciding between trying a contact in the Chicago PD or the fire department, the phone rang, making him jump.

He put a hand on the phone, exchanging a look with Sam before answering.

“Hi, this is…” he cleared his throat, “the CMFTV Action News… uh, Newsroom. James Reed speaking.”

“Yeah, hi…” came a timid older black woman’s voice. “This is Jeanne Brennan from the pawn shop on North Wells and Schiller. Y’all gave me a business card a couple months ago?”

“Oh… yeah, sure. What’s up, Jeanne?” Ben shrugged at Sam, not really knowing how he was supposed to act when talking with a source. “I mean—er—what can I do for you?”

“I’ve reported this to the cops, but they never usually even bother following up, you know?” Jeanne continued, getting a little more relaxed as she went. “Mister Reed, I had a gun stolen from my premises last night—and well, you know what happens with stolen guns; they get used in crimes. I don’t want anyone to get hurt on account of my personal protection, you know?”

“Sure,” Ben said. “I totally get your concern, Jeanne. Except… what made you call me? A stolen gun isn’t exactly headline news. I’d love to help you, but—”

“Well, Mister Reed, I have security cameras posted in my shop, and it caught the culprit, clear as day.”

“Okay…” he held a hand to the mouthpiece, glancing up at Sam. “That’s still a matter for the cops though, right?” he whispered. Sam nodded, before looking down at the handlink, his forehead creasing as he swiped his finger over it.

“Mister Reed, I swear to Lord Jesus—if my eyes don’t deceive me—that the thief of my gun is the City Clerk’s wife. Think her name is Margaret Cartwright?”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “The City Clerk’s wife stole your… gun?” he asked with some incredulity. Was this a crank call?

But a quick glance at Sam’s grave face made him rethink his snap judgement.

“Yes, you just need to look here at my camera footage,” Jeanne said. “It’s honestly unmistakable, Mister Reed.”

“Ben, Ziggy’s reporting rapid changes regarding this woman,” Sam said urgently. “I think this is our leaper. We need to find her before she uses that gun.”

“Uh, thank you for your lead, Jeanne,” Ben said into the phone. “Do you have a copy of that security footage we could get a hold of?”

“Oh yes, but if you want it before the cops you’ll have to get here before them. Then again, they never are in a rush when it comes to folks like me.” She stated the final thought with an exhausted sigh.

Ben frowned. “Okay. Well, stay safe, Jeanne. I’ll see you soon, I hope.”

He hung up the phone, looking grimly at Sam. “Any idea where she might be?”

“It’s hard to say, because history surrounding her is totally in flux,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Ziggy can’t possibly predict where she’ll be or what she’s gonna do, because we don’t even know who she really is. But, whatever happens next, I think we can be pretty sure that gun is gonna be involved.”

Ben clenched his jaw. “Okay, so what should I do?”

Sam bit his lip and began to pace, his holographic form phasing through the desk as he moved. “Head in the direction of Old Town and I’ll keep an eye on Ziggy’s data for updates, okay?”

Ben stood from his chair, and scooted around the desk to leave.

“Ben…” Sam said quietly, “Be careful, okay? These people are ruthless. I don’t know why I’m here and not with you in person, but I’m gonna do all I can to help you, I promise.”

“I know, Sam,” Ben said with a ghost of a smile. “I may have not met you until that last leap, but stories about you were an inspiration since long before that. I trust you.”

Sam looked quite bashful about the compliment for a moment, and then the sound of a vibrating phone filled the room. Sam reacted quickly, drawing Addison’s cell phone from his pocket and looking at it.

“Oh boy,” he said. “That was much sooner than I expected.” He grimaced. “It’s Addison’s Mom. I told her to call when she was ready to meet me for lunch…”

Ben had to stop himself from laughing at the absurdity. “Great timing, Ma Augustine…” He shook his head. “Listen, you go have your lunch, Sam. It might be important.”

Sam’s mouth dropped open. “No, no, I can’t leave you here to deal with this—”

“You can send in someone else to be my hologram for a bit. Jenn or Ian.” At Sam’s indecisive expression, he added: “Sam, it’s not like we’ve tracked this lady down yet. It could be a while. Just… eat quickly, and you won’t miss the quote-unquote ‘fun’. Go.”

Sam hesitated another moment before finally answering the phone.

“Hey… M-Mom… yeah, okay. I’ll be there shortly, just gotta wrap something up real quick… Sure, that café sounds just fine. See you soon.” He hung up the phone and looked up at Ben. “You’re… gonna be okay, right?”

“Yes. I’m not a complete amateur at this, you know,” Ben said, a little defensive. “And I’m sure if things get dicey, they’ll call you back in. Now get going.”

“Alright. See you later, then.” Sam gave Ben a lingering look, before tapping the handlink and dissolving away.

I hope I don’t regret getting him to leave, Ben thought, shaking his head and leaving the office.

Chapter 10

Family Business

Back in the Control Room, a flustered Sam sidled up to Ian, holding out the handlink.

“Ben requested you or Jenn to sub in.”

Ian looked back at him with narrow eyes. “Why?”

“Because I have a lunch date with Addison’s Mom,” he replied. “We’ve got a lead on the leaper—”

“I saw as much in the readings you pulled up on the handlink,” said Ian, pointing to some graphed data on the screen. “Nice timing with the lunch.”

Sam sighed. “Ben told me to go in case it was important. I don’t know how it could possibly be more important than Ben’s leap, but he insisted. And the sooner I’m back, the better. So I’ve gotta get goin’.”

“Absolutely, go for it,” Ian said. “I’ll get Jenn in there—I’m still working on getting that retrieval program into the system. Nice job with that, by the way.”

“I still need to tweak it, but it’s a start,” Sam said. “Thank you, Ian. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He spun on his heel to leave, and nearly fell over when a distorted, shadowy shape appeared in front of him. He stepped back, watching it resolve into a human figure, and then a face formed in the strange static mist.

It was a hologram. Specifically, Janis was standing in front of him. He hadn’t expected her to get that Imaging Chamber online this quickly. She really was a genius, he thought.

“Oh, wow, it worked!” she cried, laughing with triumph. “The connection wouldn’t resolve before. You must have been in the Imaging Chamber, right? Seems to be  interference in there. No two holograms able to occupy the same space together, I guess.”

Sam opened his mouth to speak, then noticed the room full of people around them. He hastily walked out to the corridor as Janis trailed behind.

“We made eye contact,” she said, “so I assume you saw me and you just couldn’t say anything in there, which is fine. Just, I dunno, clear your throat or something so I know you hear me.”

Sam did as requested, covering his mouth and clearing his throat loudly as he headed for the building exit.

“Okay, great,” Janis said. “Mind if I ask where you’re headed? Answer me when you can.”

He passed through a security gate and then out the main entrance of the building. Taking a cue from Ben’s earlier tactic, he pulled out Addison’s cell phone and held it to his ear as he walked to the car.

“I’m on my way to have lunch with Addison’s Mom.”

“Her Mom?” Janis sounded baffled. “You’re abandoning your post with Ben to see her Mom? Why?”

Sam clicked Addison’s key fob, unlocking her car as he reached it. He looked back at Janis, who was still semi-transparent, like a ghost. “She and Addison are estranged. I’m trying to figure it out.” He opened the car door. “I thought Donna was supposed to be the hologram, anyway?”

He slid into the car seat, and jumped as he saw that Janis was already in the passenger seat.

“She is! I’m just in here for testing purposes.” She pouted. “I thought you’d be happier to see me.”

Sam turned the key in the ignition, and smiled at Janis. “Of course I’m happy to see you.” He began to drive towards the pier, stealing a few fond glances at Al’s daughter. “I take it you don’t know Addison’s Mom either, huh?”

“Addison hated my guts until recently,” Janis said matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t have the faintest clue about her family. But if they’re as abrasive as her, you’ve got your work cut out for ya.”

Sam stifled a laugh. “You’re both strong personalities. Two magnets with the same poles repel one another… maybe you’re just too similar.”

“I never hated her, you know. In fact, I helped Ben save her life.”

“You did?”

Janis nodded, and proceeded to explain some of the details behind Ben’s original leap, leading to the confrontation with Martinez in 2018.

“So that explains a few things,” Sam mumbled, feeling pangs of Addison’s mixed feelings about the past year. The anger and hurt of being abandoned, accompanied by love for Ben and deep fear for his well-being.

With the car approaching the pier, Sam pulled it into a parking space, and stepped out. Janis was still following, and he turned to her.

“Have you got a handlink? Can you help me with this conversation in some way?”

Janis shrugged. “No, I don’t have a handlink—the only one I had was converted into the leaper detector.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Having said that, I have Google, along with a few pathways into sensitive databases I’ve acquired over the years. I may be of assistance.”

“Okay then,” he said with a nod, “shall we?”

Together, they headed for the cafe that Missus Augustine had requested, Pretty Little Lattes, and entered the busy establishment, glancing around.

“Wish I knew who I was looking for,” he said under his breath to Janis.

“Well, she’d have to look something like Addison, right? And be sitting alone at a table? Maybe we can split up and look for her?”

Sam locked eyes with a woman at the far corner; a woman in her fifties, with golden brown hair flecked with grey. She looked… somehow familiar to him. He couldn’t quite think of how he recognised her, however—perhaps he’d met her in a leap long ago. It was going to bother him until he remembered, he was sure of it.

The woman waved at him, and he decided it must have been Addison’s mother. He weaved through the tables, reaching her and smiling.

“Hi, Mom?” he said in an inadvertently questioning tone.

“Addie…” the woman said sweetly, standing and drawing him into a tight hug. “I missed you so, so much.” She kissed him on the cheek, and returned to her seat. “I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered you a coffee. Latte, no sugar. Just the way you like it, right?”

Wrapped in the woman’s arms, Sam had not noticed Janis quietly slipping away, nor the alarmed look of recognition on her face.

“Thank you.” Sam took the opposite seat and sat down, smiling weakly. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” she said. “Don’t ever think I wouldn’t drop everything to come see you.”

“I… appreciate that.” Sam licked his lips. “So, about the last text you sent me…”

“You finally want to tell me what happened with Ben?” Missus Augustine asked, leaning in closely. “You can tell me, honey.”

“Well, it’s… complicated,” he said.

What could he really tell her? He needed to know what she knew before he could reveal any information about what had happened to Ben.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Look, I know you’re supposed to be all tight-lipped about it, Addie, but it’s me. You can talk about these things with me.” She placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Did Ben—you know… leap?”

So she does know, thought Sam. Which makes me wonder why Addison cut her out of her life.

Something in Sam’s eyes must have answered Missus Augustine’s question, because she nodded in understanding.

“Geniuses,” she said, shaking her head. “They just can’t help themselves. They get obsessed, you know. And on the night of your engagement party no less—just wow. Thoughtless.”

Sam wondered why it felt like she was talking about him just as much as Ben.

Who are you? he thought, squinting his eyes as he studied her very familiar face.

“He… he did it to save my life,” Sam said defensively. “It’s a long story, but I swear he didn’t just jump in there for fun.”

Missus Augustine sipped at the cup of coffee she had in front of her. “Oh, there’s always some reason they just have to get in the Accelerator.” She leaned back in her chair. “But it’s not all bad that he did that. He took your place, didn’t he? Now I won’t lose you—not as long as he’s out there.”

That’s right, he thought. Addison was supposed to be the leaper. Is that really why they fell out? She didn’t want Addison to leap?

“But you did lose me,” he said, taking the chance. “Whether I leaped or not—you lost me when you refused to support my choice.”

He took his latte, taking a long drink from it as he waited for her reply.

Missus Augustine’s eyes misted up. “Can you blame me? You were going to end up lost in time. Just like your grandfather.”

Grandfather?! The coffee in Sam’s mouth was drawn into his nasal cavity as he reacted to this, and he coughed.

“It’s true, Sam.” Donna’s husky voice cut through the din of the cafe as she materialised by the table. “Addison’s mother is… your daughter.”

Chapter 11

Locked and Loaded

Ben paced back and forth on a street corner in the Old Town Triangle. It was going to be one hell of a day, he thought. This unknown leaper was planning something—but what? When? And where?

Relief came as a hologram appeared beside him.

“Hey Ben. It’s good to see you.”

“Jenn,” he said, shoulders relaxing a little, “welcome to the nightmare. What have you got for me? Please tell me it’s something. I don’t even know what the City Clerk’s wife looks like.”

Jenn puffed her cheeks, letting out a breath. “Oh, Ben. This one’s really got Ziggy stumped, I gotta tell ya.”

“Yeah, I know—Sam told me already. But is there any data that could help track down this lady? I’m kind of flying blind here, you know?”

“Well, we’ve got a photo for you—so that’s a start.” Jenn peered down at the handlink, making gestures on it. An image projected from the centre, showing a smiling blond woman of around forty to fifty years of age. Her teeth were perfectly straight and bright white. She certainly looked like a politician’s wife, Ben thought.

Jenn closed the image and continued to swipe at the surface of the handlink. “Let’s see… oh! We just picked up an anomalous transaction at a convenience store, due south. Looks like our leaper… bought a bottle of Diet Coke and a sandwich about five minutes ago. That’s weird; she steals a gun from a pawn shop but she’ll pay for food from a different store?”

“Guns have waiting periods, right?” Ben shrugged—it wasn’t exactly useful to speculate on the logistics of thievery when he had to get moving. “Now, which way do I go?”

Jenn pointed in a direction down the street. “That way, six blocks. Better hurry, huh?”

Ben nodded and broke into a run.

Four blocks later, Jenn was waiting for him on another corner. He slowed down, wheezing. He felt a dull pain in his chest, and stopped as he began to worry about James’s heart.

“Okay, I think I’d better walk the rest of the way,” he said, still puffing. “I don’t like the way that run made me feel.”

Jenn nodded. “Yeah, your heart rate’s gone a little erratic… take it easy for now.”

Ben began walking again, spotting the convenience store. “Okay, so she was there some minutes ago—where do you think she might have gone next?”

He dropped the volume of his voice as he neared a few people sitting on a bus stop bench by the road, next to a home appliance store. In the window was a large screen television with a familiar face on it.

“Hey, that’s Ross Kennedy,” Ben said in a voice just above a whisper. “He slapped me on the back this morning.”

“Fascinating,” Jenn said without enthusiasm, her attention directed at the handlink.

Ben was about to ask her for an update when a familiar face appeared on the television, sitting at the end of the news desk. Blond hair, perfect teeth…

“Jenn,” he whispered fiercely. “It’s her. She’s at the station getting interviewed right now!”

“Oh, crap…” Jenn said, grimacing. “Wait, was Ziggy wrong about the sandwich? She can’t possibly have got to the station that fast.” She smacked the handlink. “Ian!” she called out, “Ziggy’s all screwy!”

Ignoring her, Ben burst into the store, turning up the volume of the TV so he could listen.

“Welcome to the news desk, Missus Cartwright,” Ross said in a cordial tone, much more professional than his banter with Ben earlier.

“It’s lovely to be here with you, Ross,” Margaret Cartwright said smoothly, smiling with her sparkling, perfect set of teeth.

“Now I understand you have some sort of an announcement,” Ross said, turning to the camera. “Exclusive to CMFTV Action News—you’re hearing it here first.”

“I sure do, Ross,” she said as the camera switched to a front-on shot of her. She looked down the barrel of the camera. “I have a vitally important message for the people of this city.”

She drew the gun, cocking it. “And I’d like not to have to use this, but it all depends on one thing.”

“Oh my god...” Ben croaked.

Ben’s urgent turning up of the television had attracted a few people towards the store window, each staring at the scene playing out with dropped jaws.

The leaper was still looking sweetly into the camera, running a finger over the gun barrel, which was now pointed at Ross.

“I have but one request,” she said evenly. “I’m looking for someone who doesn’t belong. All he has to do is come to the station, and Ross here gets to live.”

“Ma’am…” Ross said, hands raised. “Please reconsider…”

“You have thirty minutes to get here…” She leaned towards the camera with a stony glare, “…you know who you are.” As quickly as it had appeared, the serious expression vanished, becoming a bright, empty smile once again. “Oh, goodness me, I nearly forgot to mention the bomb at City Hall. If anyone but the man I'm looking for comes in this studio, well…” She winked. “I’ll leave that one to the imagination!”

The broadcast abruptly switched to coloured bars and a tone.

Ben felt ice in his veins as he looked at Jenn. “Do you think they’ve been noticing me the same way as we’ve been noticing them?”

Jenn was lost for words. “I don’t know, Ben. I… I don’t know. This is just… awful.”

“I need to get back to the station.”

He opened the door of the store, spotting a vacant taxi driving down the road, conveniently. He stepped to the kerb and—another man just in front of him waved his arms for the cab, which pulled over for him.

“Wait!” Ben cried, hurrying towards him. “You don’t understand, I need this taxi. Please.”

“I’m sorry, but this is an emergency,” the dark-skinned man said.

“I’ve got an emergency too,” Ben argued.

“Well I’m sorry, but I hailed this cab,” said the man just before jumping into the taxi. Ben grabbed the door before he could close it and jumped in beside him.

“What are you doing?” the man shouted. “This is my cab, okay? Get your own!” He pulled a Diet Coke bottle from his satchel bag and began batting it against Ben’s arm.

Ben ignored this and leaned toward the cab driver. “Sir, I need you to take me to the CMFTV station, please.”

This caused the man beside him to stop.

“That’s where I’m headed…” he said, eyeing Ben suspiciously.

Ben shut the cab door. “Okay then, we’ll go together.”

The cab driver shrugged at this development, and pulled into the street.

“So you… you saw the situation on the TV, didn’t you?” Ben asked. He realised that this man had been one of the people sitting on the bench when he’d arrived at the storefront. He was maybe thirty, and wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Ben couldn’t imagine why a guy who looked like this would be heading straight for a hostage situation.

“Yeah,” said the man. “So why would you want to go there?”

“I was about to ask you that same question,” Ben said. “But if you must know… I’m a reporter for that station. I know the anchor personally. My name is James Reed.”

“I see…” the man said, looking out the window with a pensive expression.

Ben narrowed his eyes, studying the man closely. “Well?”

The man turned his head. “Well what?”

“Why are you going to the station?”

He sighed. “I can’t explain. I just… need to go there.”

Ben frowned. That was possibly the most suspicious thing he could have said in response to that question.

At this point, Jenn appeared on the seat between them.

“Got a car pool going?” she said. “Listen, we’re trying to call Sam back in, but for now you’re stuck with me, so all I have to tell you is don’t confront her directly; you’ll get yourself killed real quick that way.”

“Did… you say something just now?” the man asked, squinting as he looked towards Ben.

“No…”

“Huh… I—I thought I heard my name,” the man said, rubbing his eyes as if he were trying to focus them.

Ben felt a strange sense of déjà vu at this.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Nick…” he said. “Uh, Bowers.”

“Nice to meet you, Nick.”

“Okay,” Jenn said. “Kinda weird. I said the word ‘quick’ and he thought he heard his name. Ben, you don’t think…”

“Hey… listen, would you be able to get me into the station?” Nick continued. “If you really work there, you could smuggle me in, right?”

Ben pursed his lips. “Why would I want to do that? I don’t want to put you in any danger. That lady is armed!”

Nick ran a hand through his braided hair. “I know. But…” He shut his eyes. “I’m the only one who can put a stop to this, because…” He opened his eyes again, fixing his gaze on Ben. “I’m the one she wants.”

Ben and Jenn exchanged a confused look.

“Pardon?”

Chapter 12

Family Secrets

Reeling from the alarming information Donna had just confirmed, Sam placed down his cup, scooting his chair out and rising to his feet.

“Um, would you excuse me? I gotta… take a breather.”

Missus Augustine, who Sam now recognised as a much older Sammy Jo Fuller, looked up at him with surprise. “Was it something I said?”

Sam didn’t take the time to respond, instead shuffling away from her, through the crowds, and out of the cafe. In his periphery, he sensed Donna following, and as soon as he found a quiet spot outside by the beach, he turned to her, glaring.

“Was there a reason nobody thought to tell me I’d leaped into my own granddaughter?” he hissed. “Never mind that I had one to begin with?”

Donna looked on the brink of tears. “I’m sorry, Sam. I was going to tell you, I just didn’t think it would come up… like this. Samantha lives hours away, I never realised you’d get her up here so soon, or at all.”

Sam dragged a hand down his face. “Okay. Okay, I just need a moment to adjust to all of this.” He paced a few times, breathing in and out, before turning back to Donna. “How much do you know about this… family tiff?”

“She and Addison had a blow-up years ago, when Addison joined the new project—so I heard anyway,” explained Donna. “I wasn’t kept in the loop very much, you understand, since I was in Hawaii. The last time I saw Samantha was the day they shut down the Stallions Gate complex, twenty years ago.” Donna shook her head. “And I never even met Addison. When Samantha worked for us, she lived off-base and kept her private life private. Yesterday was the first time I’d seen her in person, and it was you.”

“When did Sammy Jo find out about me?” Sam asked. “Being her father, I mean?”

“I don’t know, Sam,” Donna said. “As far as I knew, she never found that out. But she’s always been very intelligent. It’s not impossible that she connected the dots and then got confirmation from Al or Magic.”

Sam breathed out heavily through his nose, trying to keep his blood pressure down. “Alright. There’s nothing I can do about not knowing all this earlier, but now I can go back in and talk to her, finally being able to understand what we’re talking about.” He swallowed, looking into Donna’s glistening eyes. “You… really need to stop keeping secrets from me, Donna. Please.”

“Sorry, Sam,” she said shakily. “I just didn’t want you to lose sight of your goal here.”

“And you didn’t think that maybe that kind of information could be essential to my goal?”

Her gaze dropped away from him. “I screwed up.”

Sam’s heart broke as he watched tears roll down her cheeks. Had he been too harsh?

“Donna, I still love you, okay?” he said softly, wishing he could put a hand to her holographic cheek. “Did I tell you before how great it is to see your face?”

Donna smiled weakly. “You did. And through the Imaging Chamber, I can see yours now.”

“You can?”

“For the first time in decades.” She reached out a semitransparent hand to his face. “You sure have aged. I know I should have expected it, but… seeing you like this just makes me think about all the time we missed out on.”

Sam looked downward. “Yeah, well… not every story has a happy ending.” He shook his head. “I need to get back to Sammy Jo…”

Sam turned around, looking back to the cafe building, and was about to stride towards it when a figure stepped out from behind a thick palm tree trunk.

“I’m right here,” she said, her face neutral. “And I heard the whole thing… Dad.”

It was at this moment that Addison’s phone started vibrating in his pocket. He ignored it, his attention laser-focused on Sammy Jo.

“I don’t know what you think you heard, but—”

“Oh, come on,” she said, flattening her lips. “You think I don’t recognise the obvious actions of someone who needs to consult their hologram?”

Sam dropped his act. It was clear there was no getting out of this now.

“And to find out it was Donna—boy, that was a curve ball!” Samantha continued. “How is she doing these days? I imagine she doesn’t want to think much about the illegitimate child you conceived with someone else while leaping, right?”

Despite her bravado, Sam could see her face slowly growing less composed, and traces of tears were forming at the edges of her eyes.

“Sammy Jo…” Sam said gently. “I—”

“And here I thought my daughter was finally ready to talk to me after six long years…” She sat herself down on the grass, burying her head in her knees.

At that moment, Sam realised just how much damage his actions had caused. Between Donna and Sammy Jo, and now Addison, his fingerprints were all over this heartache.

It wasn’t that he regretted bringing Sammy Jo into existence, but he sure regretted the way he’d done it; especially leaving her to grow up without a Dad.

He lowered himself to the ground, taking a seat beside her. Donna watched them, hand over her mouth, unable to speak.

“Sammy Jo…” Sam said, gently placing an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t… I don’t know how to even start, except to say I’m sorry for everything.”

She didn’t look up. “I know you are. Of course you are. You’re the ultimate ‘good guy’—everyone tells me so. Sam the superhero.”

“I’m just human,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve made lots of mistakes. Just because I can fix other people’s problems doesn’t mean I can fix my own.” He stroked her hair. “But I’m just happy that you had a good life, despite the problems I burdened you with.”

“A good life, huh?” Sammy Jo looked up with a sceptical expression. “Sure. That’s why my daughter disowned me…”

“Last I heard, you were a brilliant quantum physicist working for the Project,” Sam said. “And you’d been working on a way to get me home.”

“And you see how well that worked out,” Sammy Jo said wryly. “I was useless. Years of work trying to fix the retrieval, and it never did a thing.” She gestured to Sam. “Case in point. It’s been twenty years since the original project was shuttered, and you’re still leaping even now. Some genius I turned out to be.” She laughed bitterly. “Then when they started up this new project, Magic offered me a job. Said they’d make sure it was working perfectly before anybody else leaped. I said to him if I couldn’t get the retrieval functioning after all that time, what chance did I really have figuring it out now?”

Sam watched her speak, her lower lip quivering. She was barely holding back sobs.

“Sammy Jo, it wasn’t your fault I never came home,” he said in a soothing tone. “I chose not to. You could have made a perfect retrieval algorithm—heck, I bet you even did—but the thing is, I didn’t want to go home. And that’s what it all boils down to, I think. It’ll only ever work if a leaper is truly ready to come home. And somewhere deep down, I never was ready, because what I was doing was… special. It was something I couldn’t do back in my own time, resting on my laurels.”

He realised in that moment that perhaps Ben had a subconscious need to keep helping people, just like him.

And he also realised that he was ready now. Seeing what his absence was doing to the people close to him. What it had done to Al.

He just ached to come back to them, in his own skin, and set it right.

And retire.

“So, you see,” Sam concluded, “you never failed. Nobody could have brought me home until I decided it was time. And I suspect it would have been the same with Addison. So, even if she had ended up leaping forever, it would only have been because deep down, she wanted it that way.”

“I didn’t know,” Sammy Jo murmured. “All this time… I thought… I thought I let you down, Sam.”

“You couldn’t let me down if you tried, Samantha Josephine.”

He squeezed her shoulders, and she let her head fall on his shoulder.

“You know,” she said quietly, “you should really answer that phone. It’s been ringing non-stop throughout this conversation.”

A sudden realisation gripped Sam—Ben! He grabbed the phone out of his pocket and answered.

“Sam! Oh my god, why haven’t you been answering?!” Ian’s urgent voice cried as the line connected.

“I’m sorry, Ian. Family—uh, emergency. What’s goin’ on?”

“Oh, just Stepford Wife Cartwright threatening the news anchor with a gun,” they replied, a manic sarcasm dripping from their words. “No biggie, I’m sure we can wait around a while longer during the hostage situation. Please get back here!”

“I’ll be there real soon, Ian. Don’t let Ben confront her directly, okay?”

“Okay, Sam.”

The line went dead, and Sam looked between his wife and daughter, eyes wide.

“Uh, I need to go.”

“Something happening with Ben?” asked Sammy Jo.

Sam nodded. He didn’t want to just leave her here. “Will you come with me?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t think I’m welcome there.”

“Well, I’d like to think I have enough clout to get you inside just this once.” He took her by the hand. “Come on.”

Chapter 13

Crossing Live

“What do you mean she’s looking for you?” Ben said sharply to the man who had introduced himself as Nick.

“Look, I’ve already said too much,” he replied, shaking his head, and looking out the taxi window.

A chime came from the handlink, and Jenn looked up. “Ziggy says there’s only a thirty percent chance this guy got mixed up in things by accident, Ben.” She clenched her jaw. “You don’t think he’s… a third leaper? I mean, he did kind of sense me, right?”

Ben pressed his lips together, keeping in check his urge to reach out and grab the man’s hand. He knew that if it did turn out to be another leaper, that would be giving himself away, and he was not aware of this man’s intentions.

Nick pointed to a building ahead. “There it is.” Sure enough, the CMFTV sign was lit up on the side. “Now will you help me or not?”

Ben looked to Jenn for help.

“Don’t look at me,” she said. “This guy could be anybody. Ziggy hasn’t got any ideas. Only advice I can give is proceed with extreme caution, but that’s obvious.” Then, another noise came from the handlink, and she checked it. “Oh, thank God. Sam’s gonna be back real soon. Try to stall this guy a little to buy time ’til he gets here.”

Ben gave her a subtle nod, and met Nick’s eye nervously.

“Okay, I’ll get you in,” he said, “but promise me you won’t just walk on into that studio without a plan. Without backup. Without something.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Are you proposing to help me?” His voice was high-pitched and hopeful.

“Yes,” said Ben. “This woman is dangerous. She could shoot you on sight. The least I could do is watch your back if you really plan on giving yourself up to her.”

“That’s actually a great idea,” said Jenn. “You know, roving reporters usually have a stash of Kevlar vests in case of dangerous situations just like this. You could start with that.”

“Th- thanks James… this means a lot,” Nick said, opening his wallet and throwing some cash at the cab driver before jumping out of the car.

Ben shared a lingering look with Jenn before he got out the other side. Jenn simply stood up, her head and shoulders poking out of the top of the cab until it drove away, leaving her whole again.

Ben and Nick headed for the entrance to the building—it didn’t appear that the cops had arrived yet to set up a perimeter, which was a small relief, but Ben figured they would be there any minute.

On the other hand, there were people pouring out of the front entrance, all looking terrified for their lives.

Ben turned to Nick. “I think we’d better find another way in, huh?” He looked past him to Jenn.

“Getting the floor plan now,” she said, busily tapping at the handlink. “Okay… head around to the…” She squinted, apparently trying to reconcile what she was seeing from the handlink with the building in front of her. Finally, she pointed to the west side of the building. “…That way.”

“This way,” Ben relayed to Nick, beckoning him as he followed Jenn around to the side of the building.

The side fire door was propped open, with a few people congregating outside of it, having just left their post.

“I’ll distract these guys while you slip in,” Ben said in a low voice to Nick. “Find a place to hide and I’ll call your name when I get inside. From there we can plan our next move.”

“It’s like you’ve done this before,” Nick remarked, eyebrows raised.

“Well, you know, in my line of work, you have to think on your feet.”

With that, Ben strode ahead to the five people talking animatedly amongst themselves.

“Hey, I just got back from chasing a lead,” he said, manoeuvring himself to the outer side of the group. “What’s going on in there? Is there a fire or something?”

The small group turned to face him, away from the door, giving Nick the opportunity to go inside.

“Some bitch went crazy on air,” said a short, stout man. “Pulled a gun on Ross!”

“Oh my god!” Ben feigned shock.

“She said she planted a bomb at City Hall too,” a woman said, looking incredibly shaken.

“God I hope Ross is alright,” said another lady. “I’m so frightened for him.”

“You know… I think we should all get away from this building,” Ben said. “What if she kills Ross and comes out looking for more victims?”

“You’re right,” said an older man. “Who knows what she’s gonna do next? Hell, dere could be a bomb somewhere at da station, too! Let’s get outta here before it blows!”

Ben watched the now-panicked group start to move away from the door. He dropped to the back of the pack, and then broke away, making a beeline for the fire door. On his way inside, he kicked aside the brick holding the door open and let it swing shut behind him.

“Nick? You in here?” Ben paused, realising that Jenn was no longer with him either. “N-Nick?”

“Over here!” came a muffled reply. Ben followed the voice around a corner, seeing Nick emerging from the men’s room. “I assume you know your way around this place. Which way do we go?”

Ben did not, in fact, know his way around; he’d only seen the path from the front entrance to the studio, and subsequently, James’s office.

“Well, I would suggest we start by finding the Kevlar vests…” he said, turning his head each way along the corridor. “I just… I’m not sure where to find them.”

“I thought you said you were a reporter here,” Nick said, eyes narrowing.

“Sure I am,” said Ben. “You don’t typically wear bulletproof vests to cover a teenager playing jump rope, though…”

“Jump rope?”

“Live coverage during the breakfast show tomorrow—don’t miss it.” He picked a direction and marched down the hall, Nick’s rubber soled sneakers squeaking as he followed.

After trying a few different doors and finding mostly offices, Ben finally came upon the wardrobe department, where a few pieces of clothing had been discarded on the floor, presumably when the order to evacuate had been sounded.

On the racks within, Ben found four bulletproof vests, to his eternal relief. He passed one to Nick, and grabbed one for himself, fitting it.

“I hear it still hurts like hell if you get shot with one of these on,” he remarked as he tightened the straps. “But as long as we don’t… die…” he trailed off as he turned around and noted that Nick was gone. “…Nick?”

His eyes jumped to the double doors, which were closed. He hurried to them and attempted to open them, only to find it was stuck. Had Nick blocked the door?

“Hey!” he yelled, banging on the doors.

“Sorry James,” Nick’s voice came from the other side. “You’ve been a big help, but you can’t come with me. So thanks. Do yourself a big favour and don’t follow me.”

A few shoe squeaks could be heard as he retreated from the door, and Ben let out a frustrated wail.

*        *        *

Sam fired up the Imaging Chamber, only to find Ben slamming his shoulder against a door. It barely moved.

“Ow, dammit,” he grumbled.

“Ben? What’s going on here?” Sam peered around the room, noting the racks of clothing. Ben had at least made it into the station, so that was something. But now he was stuck?

Ben rubbed at his arm, turning to Sam with a frustrated look on his face. “You took your time getting here. Was Addison’s Mom so riveting that this life-or-death situation could be put on hold?”

“Sorry, Ben.” Sam looked away from his accusatory expression. “It’s a long story. But what happened here? They told me there might be a third leaper?”

“Maybe—I wasn’t game to reveal myself to him, so I kept my hands clear,” Ben said. “Maybe for good reason, ’cause he just trapped me in here. Whoever he is, I think he plans on confronting that woman alone.”

“God… who could it be?” Sam wondered before looking at the doors. “That’s an internal lock…”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, and it’s open. The door’s stuck some other way.”

“I’ll check the other side,” Sam said, passing through the wall. It became clear that the doors had a broom slotted into the handles, preventing their free movement. Sam returned to Ben. “The old broom-in-the-handle trick,” he said. “Give it a good kick, and keep going until that broom handle either shifts out or breaks.”

He pointed to the crack between the handles. “Aim your kicks here to give it the most pressure on the rod.”

Ben stepped back, and kicked at the door feebly.

“You gotta give it more oomph than that,” Sam said, demonstrating with his own front kick. Not quite the roundhouse kick he was known for, but that wasn’t the right kind of kick for every situation. Just most.

“Sorry,” Ben said, trying again. This time the double doors shook violently, but the broom remained.

“That was good, Ben. Just keep going with that, okay?” He looked up from the handlink. “I’m gonna go check what’s going on in the studio.”

Ben nodded, wiping the beginnings of sweat droplets from his forehead as he tried again.

Sam tapped in a few settings on the handlink—which he was really getting the hang of now—and centred himself just inside the news studio, where a terrified Ross had his hands splayed on the desk. He was sobbing and begging for his life.

“Would you please shut the hell up?” Margaret Cartwright—or the leaper using her face—moaned. “You’re the most irritating bargaining chip I’ve ever had to deal with. Get a hold of yourself, man.” She rolled her eyes, looking to an empty space to her left. “Are you sure I can’t just shoot him now?”

She’s got a hologram, Sam realised. He was about to move himself back to Ben when the large studio doors swung open.

“Let him go. I’m here, so you can just let him go. Please.”

As Sam laid eyes on the familiar-looking man, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

Uh-oh.

The blonde woman flashed a dead-eyed smile at the man.

“Ah. Good of you to make it.” She looked to her hologram. “Gee, we should have tried something like this ages ago. So, should we do what he says?”

She listened to the invisible person for a moment, before turning back to the man. “Not just yet. Come on over here, we want to make sure it’s really you.”

She held out a hand to him, and he gingerly walked through the cameras and cables, into the bright studio lights, placing a shaking hand onto hers.

Sam was unable to see the resulting effect, but the look on the woman’s face told him everything he needed to know.

Hurriedly, he returned to Ben using the handlink. Ben had managed to escape the room and was charging down the corridor towards the studio. Upon seeing Sam, he stopped abruptly, huffing and puffing.

“Ben, that man in there…” Sam said weakly. “He is another leaper. And it’s… me.”

Chapter 14

Sneak Attack

Ben tried to ignore the pain in his chest as he stared at Sam, uncomprehending. “What do you mean it’s you?”

“I mean he’s… a version of me, Ben.” Sam clawed at his hair, pacing. “A long time ago, I leaped into that guy.”

“Oh my god…” Ben’s mind raced as he pieced together this information. “So wait—wait a second. Don’t you remember what happened, then? If it’s you but earlier on the timeline…”

“It never happened this way before. This leap was all about tracking down Nick’s lost kid. I never crossed paths with another leaper here, not the first time around. They must be overwriting it all as we speak—there’s no telling what could happen next.”

“Dammit.” Ben rubbed the left side of his chest unconsciously. “How do I get into the studio undetected?”

Sam watched him, looking concerned. “Are you feeling okay?”

Ben noticed what he was doing, and frowned. “I don’t know. I can’t worry about that right now. Just help me get in there and save your life.”

Sam looked at him grimly. “Okay. But please keep me updated on your symptoms.” He gestured on the handlink—like a pro, Ben thought—and nodded. “Okay, there is a back entrance to the studio through the Green Room.” He pointed down the hall. “Go that way, take two lefts, and you should find it.”

Ben headed off in that direction, cantering as best he could with the uncomfortable pain and breathlessness he was experiencing.

Sam was waiting for him at the entrance to the Green Room, which was thankfully open, and he found the stage door, a sign lit above it telling him to be quiet as filming was in progress. He didn’t need to be told to be quiet; that was a given.

“I’ll check the other side,” said Sam, passing through the door. He returned a moment later. “They won’t see you; the door is behind one of the backdrop panels. Just make sure to be silent.”

Ben nodded. “Is everyone still alive in there?” he whispered.

“For now,” Sam said, looking pale. “Hurry, but be careful.”

Ben gingerly opened the door, crept into the studio, and silently closed it behind him. He crept to the edge of the plywood backdrop, listening. Sam moved past him, watching the scene that Ben couldn’t see.

“How did you find me?” ‘Nick’ demanded.

“Well, we got lucky in this case. I wasn’t here for you, but then we started picking up all kinds of little changes in history. We knew it must have been another leaper, and it wasn’t one of ours. So sure, maybe we acted a little… over-the-top in getting you here, but hey—can’t argue with results, right?”

Ben exchanged a look with Sam, who gestured for him to move further around behind the backdrops.

“Head that way, Ben. You might be able to ambush her from behind.”

Ben nodded, and started inching his way to the other side of the studio, trying hard not to make a sound.

“Okay, so you have me,” continued ‘Nick’, “Now what? Are you going to kill me?”

“As itchy as my trigger finger is, I’m not here to kill you… not this time. That’s why I have my hostage here. I know you wouldn’t let this innocent man die.”

Ross whimpered at the mention.

Ben reached the other side of the studio, peeking an eye out to see what was happening. Ross and ‘Margaret’ were facing away from him. A good place to ambush from, but he’d have to be careful with the gun in the mix.

“If you’re not gonna kill me, then what do you want with me?” demanded ‘Nick’.

The antagonistic leaper looked towards her unseen hologram, apparently exchanging some unspoken agreement. Then she looked back at ‘Nick’.

“We have a little task for you. Some mathematical problems to figure out for us. You’re the smartest guy around, right? I’m sure it’ll take you no time.”

“You’re asking for my help…?”

“I wasn’t asking.” She waved the gun as a reminder of the stakes, before slapping a folded-up sheet of paper on the news desk.

‘Nick’ furrowed his brow, leaning over and snatching up the paper. As his line of sight changed, he caught Ben’s eye for a split second. Pretending he hadn’t seen him, he unfolded the paper and scanned the contents, which Ben was unable to see. Sam, on the other hand, moved in and read the paper with his counterpart.

They both finished reading simultaneously.

“Tracking…” they said in one voice.

‘Nick’ looked up to the hostage-taker. “I can’t finish this.”

Sam turned to Ben. “If I complete this for them, we’ll both be in serious trouble, Ben.”

“Can’t, or won’t?” ‘Margaret’ asked.

“Won’t.” He shook his head. “But this is ridiculous. You have me right here. You could just kill me now and be done with it—why waste time with a tracking algorithm?”

‘Margaret’ seemed surprised by this. “Because of the others.”

“Others…?”

“Other goody-goody leapers. We know of at least one other. Two separate mental asylum record logs from the fifties make mention of a ‘Ben Song.’ He must be one of yours? Particularly since one of the asylums also recorded one Sam Beckett.”

Uh-oh.

‘Nick’ stared blankly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I work alone now—I don’t even have a hologram. I don’t put anyone in danger but myself.”

“So… what about the little guy hiding behind the backdrops?” she said, turning and looking pointedly at Ben. “Yes, hello. I know you’ve been creeping around.”

“Her hologram must have seen you…” Sam said, slapping a palm to his forehead.

“Come on out where I can see you.”

Sam swallowed. “You… had better do what she says for now.”

Reluctantly, Ben stepped out into the open, his hands raised.

“James?” Ross said, surprised to see Ben in the studio.

“That’s just a reporter that works here,” ‘Nick’ argued. “I only met him twenty minutes ago!”

“Oh please—he’s been having conversations with thin air,” said ‘Margaret,’ tilting her head as she looked Ben up and down.

This made ‘Nick’ look to Ben with wide, fearful eyes. Accusing eyes.

“Wait…” Sam said, feverishly typing at the handlink. “Buy me a minute, I have an idea.”

“Look lady, I just talk to myself when I’m alone,” Ben said. “I don’t know what kind of crazy stuff you’re talking about with holographs and leapers. I’m just a second rate news reporter. Honest.”

‘Margaret’ laughed. “The jig’s up, alright? No sense denying it. Lothos already confirmed it.”

“Lothos?” Ben squinted. “Sounds like a Star Trek villain. Is that what this is? Some kinda LARP?”

Whatever you’re doing, Sam, Ben thought, do it quickly. This is gonna get me shot.

“I’ve covered LARPers on my beat before,” he continued, perhaps unwisely. The words were slipping out naturally, as if they weren’t coming from him at all, but from James. “They’re not usually as well-groomed as you, though. Oh, did I say that out loud? Well, it’s not like they’re here to hear that.”

As he rambled, Sam moved to his former self’s side and tapped something on the handlink. At that moment, a piercing sound and a flash of light came from him, leaving him rubbing his eyes.

A quiet gasp came from ‘Nick’, whose eyes were fixed on the hologram. Sam put a finger to his lips.

Imaging Chamber Protocol Sierra Bravo, Ben suddenly recalled. Addison had used it when they’d first encountered Sam at the asylum.

“Pretend you can’t see me, but listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you,” Sam told ‘Nick.’

Ben continued his distraction. “But seriously, are you all having some kind of mental break? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

As he spoke, Sam leaned in to his counterpart’s ear and whispered something that Ben couldn’t hear.

“Someone will be in an ambulance in a minute if you don’t shut up,” ‘Margaret’ snarled.

Ben flicked his gaze to ‘Nick,’ whose eyes were glistening. He wondered what Sam had told him, but he wouldn’t be finding that out right now.

Sam turned to him. “Ben, all you need to do is get her distracted and looking the other way long enough for him to sneak up behind and grab the gun. Can you do that?”

But Ben barely heard him as a feeling of dizziness began to overtake him, and the dull ache in his chest became a shooting pain. He clutched his chest with the arm that wasn’t feeling numb.

“Oh, not now,” was all he could say before he collapsed to the floor.

“Very creative,” the woman said drily. “Get up, will you?”

Ben glared up at her from the floor. “Why don’t you… check James… Reed’s cause of death,” he croaked. As the edges of his vision closed in, he saw the woman’s face look to her left, and then lose its incredulity.

“Huh,” she said. “Well then, I suppose that takes care of—”

‘Nick’ had seized the morbid opportunity to enact his plan, roundhouse kicking the gun. It went flying across the studio. He then punched the woman hard in the jaw, leaving her to fall to the ground in a similar position to Ben.

‘Nick’ dropped to his knees beside Ben. “Hey, listen, hold on for me, okay? You’re having some kind of cardiac episode.”

“His host suffers from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy,” the holographic Sam provided. “He’ll survive this if he gets medical attention.”

“Hospital…” Ben mumbled.

‘Nick’ looked to the side, nodding to Ross.

“It’s okay, the news anchor is calling them right now.” He reached out, taking Ben’s hand, triggering the strange morphing effect that he and Sam had once shared.

And the Sam Beckett he saw emerge out of Nick Bowers was much, much younger than the one he had seen the last time. Couldn’t have been older than fifty.

“So you really are… like me, huh?” the younger Sam said, smiling down at him with a gentle expression. “Nice to meet you.”

“Oh… boy…” Ben whispered. Then, he lost consciousness.

Chapter 15

Retrieving Hope

Meanwhile…

“Can I get you anything, Missus Augustine? Tea? Water? A paper bag to breathe into? You look a little anxious.”

Sammy Jo looked up to see the security woman who’d introduced herself as Jenn. “No, I’m alright.”

“If you say so. Magic will be here in a minute, so just sit tight.”

Sammy Jo lingered awkwardly against the wall of the Control Room as Jenn walked off.

She didn’t know why she’d let Sam drag her here. She had never wanted anything to do with the new Project Quantum Leap; she had convinced herself that there was no way to get a leaper back home, and she wasn’t going to be a part of sending another to their doom.

That day back in 2003, when the original Project finally shut down, had been the worst day of her life. It was the day she finally accepted that Sam was never getting home. When the hope inside her died and she retired from the world of physics entirely.

It was also the day she’d discovered who Sam truly was to her, which really rubbed salt in the wound.

But now here she was, in an overstimulating room filled with harsh, exposed LED lights, surrounded by people all working at state-of-the-art computers. She noticed that one of the monitors showed Ben’s vital signs. It was much more detailed than the data they’d had on Sam when he’d still been connected to Ziggy.

All this advanced tech and they still can’t get a leaper home, she thought bitterly. Perhaps Sam had been right; maybe a leaper had to really want it before a retrieval would be successful.

The thought made her uncomfortable. Sam was a married man, and still he had chosen to remain away from his own wife. And Ben left his fiancée to leap. Whatever reason he’d had to begin with, he was still out there a year later. And seeing his doting fiancée every day, never forgetting her like Sam had forgotten Donna. So if Sam had been right… well, didn’t that mean Ben didn’t love her daughter as much as he’d claimed? Did he even deserve her?

Of all the technology set out before her, it was the monitor being worked at by the stylish, androgynous individual with rounded glasses that interested her the most.

She stepped closer to it, becoming aware of what she recognised as lines of retrieval data.

“I remember running models of this,” she murmured as she joined the worker at their desk. “I think you’ll find it won’t gain an accurate target with your KM value set at 3449.33. I know that’s what Doctor Beckett used in the original retrieval program, but it didn’t account for his quantum drift. It got harder and harder to pinpoint him the longer he was out there, you know.”

They turned to her, mouth open. “Whoa whoa whoa. Hang on a sec. I thought you were Addison’s Mom?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Look, I don’t want to sound rude, but… how the absolute cuss does Addison’s Mom know quantum physics?”

“Uh, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced,” Sammy Jo said, raising an eyebrow. She extended a hand. “My name is Samantha.”

“Ian…” they shook her hand. “But seriously, you’ve gotta tell me how you know about retrieval.”

“Addison didn’t talk about me at all, did she?” she smirked. “How do you think she got involved in all this to begin with? I’m afraid it was nepotism.”

“Who are you?”

“She’s someone I would have liked working here from the beginning,” Magic said, approaching the two. “Frankly I’m surprised you came here, Samantha.” He held out a palm to her.

“I guess seeing my father in the guise of my daughter gave me a bout of temporary insanity,” she said coldly, not accepting his handshake.

“Sorry, what?” Ian exclaimed.

Magic winced. “Keep it down, both of you. Not everyone is privy to this information.” He waved them towards his office. “Let’s speak privately.”

Although she didn’t want to, Sammy Jo followed him into his office, where Jenn was standing by the door, leaning against the wall.

Magic sat at his desk, clasping his hands. “So, you figured it all out, did you, Samantha? I asked Sam not to say too much, but I guess you found out anyway.”

Sammy Jo crossed her arms. “It wasn’t difficult. The reaction he had when I mentioned Addison’s grandfather was the real tell.”

“You’re sharp. I’ll give you that. You really are your father’s daughter, you know.”

“Just so I’m following all this correctly,” Ian said, “are you guys saying that Addison is Sam’s…”

“Granddaughter—yes,” Magic confirmed.

“Okay—mind officially blown.” Ian turned to Jenn. “You knew this?”

“It’s my job to have the facts about everyone with clearance to know about Quantum Leap,” she said, nodding. “But it’s also my job not to reveal those facts unless given the okay… even when they’re as juicy as this. It’s a burden.”

“I didn’t even know he had a daughter,” Ian said breathlessly.

“That’s no surprise. My lineage is a well kept National Security secret,” Sammy Jo said, “because my… origins… are a little controversial, wouldn’t you say, Magic?”

Magic nodded. “You could say so.” He looked to Ian. “Sam fathered her… during a leap.”

“Oh… snap…” Ian said, eyes wide. “How does that even… work? I didn’t know he could use, like, his own swimmers when he’s someone else. Then again, he did almost have a baby that time… yowza. The guy is on levels of gender creativity I could only dream of. I’m jealous.”

“Can we please stop discussing my father’s apparent multi-sexual biology?” Sammy Jo snapped, cringing. “All you need to know is that it happened, and here I am. The leap baby with her mother’s mental illness and her father’s photographic memory.”

“Heavy,” Ian mumbled under their breath, looking away.

Magic leaned forward. “Now… we let you in here because Sam asked us to, but—”

“Look, Magic, before you ask,” Sammy Jo interrupted, “I don’t know why he insisted on bringing me back here. I suspect it was because he wants to get to know me, and he thought he’d never see me again if he left me there.” She blew a strand of hair from her face, trying to ignore the rising heat in her cheeks. “And he probably would have been right about that.”

Standing up, Magic placed his palms on the desk. “Well, I know we haven’t had the rosiest of relationships, Samantha, but I want to thank you for at least giving us a chance.”

He tried again to extend a hand to her. This time, she looked him in the eye with a terse expression, grasping his hand and shaking.

“Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for respecting Beth’s wishes but not mine.”

“For what it’s worth, we really were going to perfect the technology before ever sending anyone into the Accelerator.”

Sammy Jo shook her head, exasperated. “Then you’d never have been able to do it, Magic. That’s what I tried to tell you six years ago. Schrödinger’s Cat. You can’t know the outcome until you measure it. No true test could be done that wouldn’t have sacrificed somebody to the Accelerator. You got lucky that it was Doctor Song rather than my daughter, or I’d never have stepped foot in here—Sam or not.”

Ian placed a hand on Sammy Jo’s shoulder from behind. “What if you’re here for a reason, Samantha?”

Sammy Jo spun around. “Pardon me?”

The way she looked at Ian must have spooked them, because they shrank from her. “Uh… well… Sam brought you here. He’s busy in the Imaging Chamber. What if you’re here to fix the Accelerator and get Ben back home? You said it yourself; if Ben’s a test subject, then you now have a way to test. Maybe you’re the one who’s gonna perfect it.”

“You have a lot of hope in you, Ian.” Sammy Jo let out a soft sigh. “I once had that kind of hope. You let that hope in too much and it hurts all the more when it’s crushed.” She brushed Ian’s hand off her shoulder. “But Sam told me in his own words not an hour ago: retrieval is destined to fail unless the leaper is ready. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, since it’s never been successful, but what I do know is that every method I tried for four years failed.”

As she spoke, she watched Ian slowly descend into depression.

Was she really going to trample this bright-eyed person’s hope? Well, better to give them a realistic assessment of the situation, she thought.

“Look, Ian…” she said finally, “I learned a lot in those four years—and my retrieval program was as close to perfect as I think it could ever get. So, I can provide you with all the corrected algorithms needed to have your best chance at retrieval, but… I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. I just… don’t think the problem of a leaper can be solved with pure science. There’s… a little more to it. Something outside the bounds of even quantum mechanics.”

“A spiritual component…” Ian murmured. “I get it. Believe me, I get it.” They flashed her a wide smile. “Let’s get started, then.”

Chapter 16

The Place and People

Ben moaned as he found himself in an uncomfortable position, with an itchy arm, a pain in his chest, and something heavy over his mouth and nose.

He dared open an eye to find himself in a hospital bed. The itch in his arm was an IV needle, and the thing on his face was some kind of ventilator mask. He pulled it down, looking around the ward with some urgency.

What can you remember? he asked himself. Lady—a leaper—with a gun… Addison was there—no, it was Sam… he just looked like her. But also there was another Sam? A younger Sam. And I was having a heart attack. I guess I survived that. Small favours.

He felt a hand over his chest, finding a bandage and a surge of pain. Okay, I’ve been in surgery. I suppose that’s good. Probably saved my—uh, James’s life. But… how long was I out?

“S-Sam?” he croaked in a raw voice, barely above a whisper. Boy, his throat was dry. Unable to move much, he eyed his immediate area, finding a call button. He pressed it before letting his weak body go limp again.

A moment later, a nurse entered, meeting his eye with a smile.

“Ah, welcome back, Mister Reed,” he said, crossing to his bedside and writing something on his chart. “What can I do for you? Do you need some water?”

Ben nodded. “Please,” he whispered. “And… this… hurts,” he added, pointing to his chest.

The nurse nodded. “Water and something for the pain—coming right up. Oh, and I’ll go fetch your boyfriend. He’s off in one of the sitting rooms now, I think.”

“Boyfriend? Uh… okay…”

The nurse left, leaving Ben to wonder about the boyfriend comment.

***

“I’m still having a little trouble with this,” the younger Sam confessed to the hologram that appeared to him as a young woman, but was evidently his own self from later in his own lifetime. “There’s not only a new Project in the future that’s not Lothos, but you—I actually leaped into its hologram?”

He leaned back on the sitting room sofa. The little enclave was nice and private, with only the occasional orderly passing by the entrance. A good place to speak to a hologram. Something Sam had never expected to need to do again.

When this hologram had appeared during the stand-off, he had momentarily had the urge to flee, until ‘she’ had whispered something into his ear: “Al’s Uncle Stawpah.”

To most people that would have meant nothing, but to Sam it meant everything. He knew at that moment he could trust this strange woman.

The hologram followed it up with an instruction to go for the gun when Ben had the other leaper distracted. Since the incident, his older self had had a little more time to explain the situation. But it was still somewhat difficult to believe. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

“There’s more to it,” the holographic Sam said, “but essentially, yes. And I can only hope that all of this didn’t affect your future too much, since I’m that future.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” Sam said with a shrug. “I have a way of Swiss-cheesing these things, don’t I?”

“Yeah. I always forget the most important things.” The holographic Sam looked absolutely miserable for a moment, before regaining his composure.

“And this… ‘Ben Song’… he’s from when?”

“His present is 2023.”

Sam took a moment to process this. Last he’d heard from his present, it had been 1999. Of course, it had been a while since then, too. He didn’t know how many years—it wasn’t like he could keep a calendar. But he was certain it was far from the 24 years it would have taken to reach that time. This holographic version of him either was much, much older than him, or he had begun to leap into the future at some point. Either way, that was a lot to take in.

“I know what you’re thinking,” hologram Sam said, “and yes, it’s been a long time since I was you. A really long time.”

“And you never stopped leaping…”

“I never stopped.” He looked much sadder about that than Sam would have liked to see.

“Isn’t it what you wanted?”

His older self licked his lips, looking away. “I don’t quite remember the order of things. Have you met Janis in 2002 yet?”

“Janis Calavicci?” Sam nodded. “It was really good to see her.”

“Then you’ve spoken to Donna.”

“I have.”

The older Sam nodded pensively. “It takes its toll, you know? Remembering her.” He turned back around, looking Sam in the eyes. “Never mind the intimacy with other people. You get used to that. It’s the distance from her. It’s knowing she’s there, but out of your reach.”

He shook his head. “But I guess that’s something you’ll find out later.” He pulled out his circular hockey-puck-shaped handlink. “Listen, Nick doesn’t deserve to have his leap superseded like this. His son is still out there, and I know where. Write this down.”

***

Ben was yawning and wondering if he should go back to sleep when the sound of a hologram entered his perception.

“Sam?” he whispered, looking up at the vision of Addison at his bedside.

“Ben, I’m glad you’re okay,” Sam said with a relieved sigh. “It was touch and go for a while there—you’re lucky the emergency services already had an ambulance waiting outside the station in case someone got shot.” He looked towards the door. “The other me is… coming the long way around, but he’ll be here in a minute or two. We’ve… had some time to talk.”

Ben nodded, unwilling to test his throat’s fortitude any more until he could lubricate it with water. Instead, he smiled and gave a thumbs up.

“Margaret Cartwright is now in custody. You’ll be happy to know there was no bomb at City Hall. She was just buying time with that threat. And the leaper is gone. As soon as she was KO’d, Lothos yanked her.”

Ben wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Oh, and James is gonna be fine now,” he added brightly. “Well, at least for another twenty-one years, according to Ziggy. Now that the heart defect has been caught, he gets proper treatment. I suppose there’s no point explaining what an Implantable Cardioverter Defribillator is to you, so I won’t.”

Ben once again gave a thumbs up gesture. “So…” he gestured with his hands as best he could to ask if he was going to leap now. Sam must have understood, because he smiled and gave a nod.

“You should be leaping any time now.”

“But…” Ben whispered.

“But, we’re going to start a retrieval instead. Sammy Jo took the lead on that and I think we’ve got a great shot at it.”

Ben squinted. That name rang a bell for him, but he wasn’t able to place it.

“She’s Addison’s Mom. And… my daughter.”

Ben’s mouth fell open. “No way…” he barely got a sound out this time.

Something deep inside him told him he’d known that information already, but the shock was still the same. Sam was Addison’s grandfather… well, they certainly shared certain facial features.

The nurse returned, holding a bottle of water. Oblivious to the hologram’s presence, he walked through Sam and passed Ben the bottle, opening it for him. Ben guzzled it thirstily until it was completely empty.

“Thank you,” he said, his throat now a lot more supple.

“You’re welcome, Mister Reed. Now, let me just give you a nice booster for the pain…” He leaned over, doing something Ben couldn’t see at his drip bags before stepping back. “Okay, take it easy now. A doctor will be in to see you soon.”

Ben felt a wave of warmth pass into him from the painkillers, and he hoped it wouldn’t make him too groggy to know what was going on.

As the nurse left the room, he scooted aside as the younger Sam entered.

“Hi… um, sweetheart,” he said awkwardly, kissing Ben on the forehead for the apparent benefit of the nurse.

The nurse simply grinned at the display, before closing the door behind him.

“You didn’t have to kiss me,” Ben said, chuckling. “Or say you were my boyfriend, for that matter.”

Sam blushed. “Well, I had to say something plausible to give myself the chance to stay with you. Ben, right?”

Ben nodded. “I guess the cat’s really out of the bag. Even the ‘evil leapers’ know my name now.”

“No better time to quit while you’re ahead,” holographic Sam said, leaning over Ben with a serious expression. “And I mean that. If we’re gonna make a successful retrieval, you need to want to go home.”

“Of course I want to go home,” Ben said, laughing. Maybe a little too much, but he supposed that was the influence of the drug. “Look at me, I just had heart surgery. I want to be back in my own life free of congenial heart defects.”

“Congenital,” corrected the younger Sam.

“That’s what I meant to say,” Ben said with a snort.

“Ben,” the holographic Sam pressed, “When we start the retrieval, you need to be thinking about everything and everyone you want to see again, okay? I’m talking about your friends, your home… but most of all, think about Addison. Think about your love and how much you want to hold her.”

He blinked back tears. “Because if this doesn’t work, you might end up like me, and I screwed up everything I had, everyone I loved. My wife, my daughter, Al… my granddaughter, who I didn’t even know about until this leap.”

Rubbing his eyes, Sam crouched by the bed to get closer to Ben’s eye line. “Once, I asked Al why I could save strangers but not the people I love. I may have saved my brother’s life, but I also never got to see him again. And what I did to Donna… well, I have no excuse for it. It was rotten. And Sammy Jo… I’m the reason she doesn’t talk to Addison. It’s all because of my careless actions, all of it.” His voice began to break. “Ben, promise me. Promise me you’ll make it home. Don’t do what I did. You have a fiancée waiting for you in 2023, who deserves to have you with her.”

Ben drank in his words, unsure of how to respond. He did want to go home, didn’t he? He’d never questioned that. But then, somehow, he hadn’t got home when he was supposed to, and he’d never really figured out why.

Sam was talking to him like he was choosing to leap. But he’d only stepped into the Accelerator to save Addison’s life, hadn’t he?

He loved her, of that he was sure. He wanted to wake up next to her, to feel her lips on his.

But it’s true that he felt a pull in the other direction. Leaping was hard work, but it was rewarding in so many ways. Was it selfish to feel that way about helping people? To want to make things right in the world?

Maybe he was taking the scenic route back to Addison. Was that so bad?

But Sam; Sam had so many regrets. He didn’t want to end up weeping over a missed life too.

Ben swallowed. “I want… I want to go home, and marry Addison, and start a life with her like we planned,” he said firmly. More firmly than he believed the words. He looked deeply into Sam’s—well, Addison’s—sad eyes. “Are you ready to bring me back?”

“Just say the word.”

Ben flicked his gaze to the younger Sam, who seemed incredibly affected by what his older self had said. He was seeing his own future, and it hung over him like a spectre. He looked like he was about to break down.

“You okay?” he asked the fellow leaper.

Sam looked down at him, lip quivering. “Well, I… I feel pretty terrible now, but when I leap, I’ll probably forget all of this happened, so at least it’ll be a surprise.” He spoke without a hint of humour.

Despite the pain medication, Ben steeled his gaze. “I’m ready, Sam.”

“You’re gonna feel a tingle, followed by a feeling of flying,” said Sam, tapping out a sequence on the handlink. “Theoretically, anyway. Okay… retrieving in three… two… one.”

A final tap on the handlink, and Ben indeed felt a full body tingle. And as he felt the leap begin to overtake him, he reached out a hand and grasped the younger Sam’s arm as tightly as he could.

“We leap together if we’re holding on to one another, right?”

“Wait, I…” the younger Sam said, alarmed. “I’m not sure—”

“Come home with me, Sam. You deserve it more than I do.”

“Ben, this might not be…” Addison’s voice deepened into Sam’s as the leap took hold. And as everything faded to blue, Ben felt himself travelling at speed through… whatever this place was. And he knew that he wasn’t alone.

Flying through the nothingness, the drug haze cleared out of Ben’s mind, and he began to realise just how rash his decision had been.

Did I make a mistake?

It was the last thing he thought before all awareness departed from him.

***

In the Imaging Chamber, a bewildered Addison Augustine returned to consciousness in time to see a blue flash followed by the hologram fading away in the fashion it usually would when Ben leapt.

She felt a little seasick. Something had just happened, but she wasn’t quite sure what. The last thing she recalled, she’d been in a bathroom waiting for Ben to break off from the woman he was supposed to sleep with and come talk to her. He couldn’t have done it already?

She rubbed her temples, heading for the exit.

I wonder what Sam Beckett is doing now, she thought, then abruptly wondered where that thought had come from.

She stepped out of the door, and stopped in her tracks as she saw her mother standing at a computer, typing something.

“Mom…? What are you doing here?”

Sammy Jo looked towards Addison. “What does it look like I’m doing, sweetheart? I’m trying to get Ben home.”

“Why are you here, Mom?” Addison demanded. “Since when do you step foot in this place?”

Another head poked out from behind a monitor, making Addison feel like she was dreaming. It was Sam Beckett.

“Cut your Mom some slack,” he said. “She was only late twice last week. You know what traffic is like around here.”

Addison’s head swam. What was happening here, exactly?

“Captain Augustine,” came a smooth, feminine voice from all around Addison, “If you wouldn’t mind returning to the Imaging Chamber, I would like a short word with you.”

“Who said that?” Addison said, spinning around.

“It’s just Ziggy,” said Ian, placing a hand on her shoulder as they approached. “You feeling okay, Addison?”

“Oh boy,” she said.

Chapter 17

Drastic Times

Somewhere in New Mexico
May, 2003

Samantha Josephine Augustine sat brooding at the breakfast table, nursing a cup of coffee as she turned over, again and again, the algorithms in her mind.

Today was her last opportunity. Her last chance to bring home Doctor Beckett. After today, the Project was being officially mothballed.

And it was all her fault. She had been so sure, so confident at first. The math all added up. She just didn’t understand what was preventing the Accelerator from pulling him back to the present. The idea around the rest of the staff was that it was God, or Time, or Fate doing this. But Sammy Jo didn’t believe in such things. She’d left that kind of magical thinking behind when she was a child.

Up until now, numbers and science hadn’t steered her wrong. But when it came to the problem of Sam Beckett, it just didn’t seem to be enough. What was she doing wrong?

“Mom. Your toast is going cold.”

Sammy Jo blinked, realising that Addie was sitting across from her at the table. When had she crept in here?

She looked down at the plate in front of her, a half eaten slice of buttered toast sitting on it.

“I’m not that hungry anyway,” she muttered.

The teenager frowned. “I’m… worried about you, Mom. What are they doing to you at work?”

“Nothing,” she said, defensive. “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s my last day. Funding dried up thanks to the Iraq war. Can’t make a weapon out of what we do out at Stallions Gate.” She smirked, adding under her breath: “At least not that I’m willing to disclose to the brass.”

“And what do you do there?” Addison asked, hopeful.

“That’s still classified, sweetheart. Will be for the foreseeable future.” She checked her watch. It was eight. “You have a school bus to catch, don’t you?”

Addie gave her a tight-lipped nod. “Yeah, yeah.” She approached Sammy Jo, giving her a goodbye kiss on the cheek. “See you tonight.”

“Bye, sweetie.”

Sammy Jo loved her daughter to bits. It was a shame that without work, they’d need to pack up and move, leaving Addison’s friends behind. But she’d taken the news well—no screaming matches or anything. She really was getting to be a very mature young lady.

So mature that she probably no longer needed her mother. Nobody needed her, not after the failure of her entire career. She was washed up at the tender age of 36.

Doctor Beckett didn’t even step into the Accelerator until he was in his forties, she thought. But he’d accomplished so much by that point. Even had a Nobel Prize. What have I achieved? A teen pregnancy, a failed marriage, and a doctorate in a field at which I’ve accomplished exactly nothing.

For a long time, she considered herself following in the footsteps of her idol. But where Sam Beckett had blazed a trail, she had just floundered. What would he think of her now, having failed so miserably at retrieving him from being lost in time?

She threw her uneaten toast in the trash, and headed for the door. A final day of failure, a final nail in her coffin.

*        *        *

“Gooshie—how long will it take to…” Al Calavicci took a deep breath, “…to shut down Ziggy?”

What a rotten, no good day it was, having to decommission everything he and Sam had worked so hard to accomplish. Just terrible.

Al felt that maybe if Sam had been here, if he’d managed to make it back home, if he hadn’t disappeared off Ziggy’s radar entirely… maybe then, a day like this wouldn’t be so bad.

Gooshie sighed, his halitosis-ridden breath spreading out into Al’s face. Boy, he sure would miss that awful smell. He couldn’t imagine life without that stench.

“At this point, Admiral, with all the functions Ziggy has taken on over the years, I think it might take all day to take each component offline in the correct sequence.”

“Okay,” Al said, nodding, “well, better get started, then.”

This day would be full of sad goodbyes. Ziggy was only the beginning. He slapped a hand on Gooshie’s shoulder, before heading in the direction of his office to complete some paperwork.

“Admiral?” came a voice as he was walking down the corridor. He followed the voice to see Sammy Jo, a laser disc in her hand.

Sammy Jo—or Doctor Samantha Augustine—had been a special person in his life ever since she’d mysteriously appeared on the Project staff during Sam’s third leap to Potterville, Louisiana. He had been extra friendly to her, being Sam’s genius progeny, though she had always been a little standoffish towards him.

He’d always wanted to wait for Sam’s return to discuss her father with her, but it seemed, now, that day would never come.

“How you holding up, kid?” he asked.

“I’m okay,” she said shakily. She was clearly not okay, but Al decided not to press the issue for now. “Listen, I have my final version of the Retrieval Program here. I guess we’ve got one last shot before the lights go out.”

Al smiled warmly at her. She was one of the last ones left still holding out hope for Sam’s eventual return—aside from himself and Donna—though that hope seemed to be hanging by a thread for her.

“Go for it, Sammy,” he said in an encouraging tone. “And even if it doesn’t work, you’ve done an incredible job, okay? Be proud of yourself. Now go on and load ’er up before Gooshie shuts down too much of Ziggy.”

She nodded, and hurried towards the Control Room.

Poor kid, he thought. And then he stopped walking. Maybe it was time to let her in on the secret. There wasn’t really any putting off the conversation now, was there?

Al turned on his heel and hurried after her.

Back in the Control Room, he entered to find Gooshie loading the disc into the main console as Sammy Jo looked up at Ziggy’s orb, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Sammy Jo,” he said, approaching her.

She flicked a glance towards him. “Was there something else, Admiral?”

“Come on kid, after all we’ve been through here, the least you could do is call me ‘Al’—I keep telling you that’s what I prefer.”

“Sorry… Al,” she said, a distant look in her eyes. “I—I just… I guess I feel like it’s pointless getting attached to you now that this place is getting shut down. It’s not like we’re going to cross paths again.”

“You really think so?” Al said, mouth gaping. “’Cause I’d love to catch up with you and the kid once in a while. You know I’ve got a daughter of my own Addison’s age. What’s the angsty teen version of a playdate…? Mall mingle?”

“Thanks for offering, but…” Sammy Jo sighed. “I just don’t know if I want to keep being reminded of this place.” She looked him in the eye. “And with you being an Admiral, it just reminds me of my ex-husband. It’s all a little depressing. I think I’d rather just start fresh.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Al said, frowning. “For what it’s worth, that ex of yours is a putz for leaving you.”

Sammy Jo shook her head. “I was young and stupid, and we weren’t right for each other. It was for the best that we split.”

“I find it hard to believe you were ever stupid, Doctor. Hasty, sure. Naive, maybe. But stupid? No way.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” she said in a distracted tone. “Now, why’d you follow me back here, Adm—Al? You weren’t headed this way before. And you wanted something, right?”

Al shrugged. “I did, but it can wait ’til after the Retrieval attempt.”

“Yeah, okay,” she said, looking towards Gooshie. “Is it loaded?”

“Sure is, Doctor Augustine.”

“Alright,” she said in a maudlin tone, activating the console with her hand print. A blue beam of light connected the hand panel with Ziggy’s blue orb in the ceiling. “Ziggy, are we ready for Retrieval?”

“This is the last one, isn’t it, Samantha?” the computer said wistfully.

Samantha… Al raised an eyebrow. Usually, Ziggy called everyone by their formal titles with honorifics. Well, everyone except Gooshie and Tina, who both had something of a special relationship with the computer.

“After this, I’ll be nothing but scrap metal… won’t I?” continued Ziggy, her voice becoming less detached, as would be her usual tone, and more emotionally charged. “My time is up. Other computers will come along, mimicking my functions, but my consciousness will be terminated, like a common organic being. How depressing.”

“Sorry, Ziggy,” Al said. “Believe me, you will be missed. Almost as much as Sam.”

“Well, let’s see if we can get my father home, shall we? Retrieval initialised… engaged.”

“Retrieving,” Sammy Jo said, activating the hand panel once again.

Al held his breath. Come on, Sam. You can do it. Come back to us. Donna needs you. Oh hell, so do I, dammit.

Ziggy’s blue light swirled… and swirled… and swirled. Then it softened into its normal pulsation.

“Retrieval failed,” Ziggy said, her voice flat and disappointed. “I’m sorry.”

Al let his breath out slowly.

Well, that was it, wasn’t it? End of the road. It was all over now. Sam was gone forever.

He looked to Sammy Jo, and watched as the last light of hope in her eyes winked out. She blinked, letting the tears run down her cheeks, and turned abruptly to leave the Control Room.

“Wait, Sammy Jo!” Al cried, grabbing her shoulder. “I haven’t told you what I came in here to say… and it’s… well, it’s real important, sweetheart.”

She looked back at him through red eyes. “What?” she asked, without enthusiasm.

“Well…” he found his mouth to be suddenly very dry. “Your mother is Abigail Fuller, right?”

Sammy Jo narrowed her eyes, turning towards him hesitantly. “Yeah, why?”

“And your Dad…”

“I never knew him.”

Al smiled faintly. “Maybe not, but you did meet him. A long time ago.”

“No, I didn’t. What is this about, Admiral Calavicci?”

Al took a shuddering breath in. He’d practised this conversation in his head lots of times, but actually saying it—well, that was something else.

“Samantha Josephine Fuller… your father is Sam Beckett.”

“N-no, he’s not. My father is a man called Will Kinman.”

Al looked up to Ziggy’s orb. “Ziggy, if you don’t mind, can you enlighten Doctor Augustine on her parentage?”

“Certainly, Al.”

Ziggy had never called him ‘Al’ before.

“The mother of Samantha Josephine Augustine nee Fuller is Abigail Fuller, and there is a 91.9% probability that her father is Doctor Sam Beckett.”

“Wh- what?” Sammy Jo whispered, her eyes darting around as she pieced it all together. “Doctor Beckett is…” She glared at Al. “How long have you known this?!”

Al grimaced. “It’s been a few years now. I was going to let Sam tell you, if he ever got home.” He sighed. “So, I’m telling you now—’cause it’s looking like that ain’t happening.”

Sammy Jo looked as though she was about to shatter like glass. She took a few steps backward, before turning and running out of the room.

Al looked grimly at Gooshie, who had been watching the whole thing through his wide, bug-like eyes.

“That could’ve gone better, huh?”

*        *        *

Sammy Jo was a wreck. A total and complete mess of a person, undeserving of the faith Admiral Calavicci had apparently put in her since figuring out she was the product of Sam getting busy with her Mom in the past.

What a thing to tell her when she was already so emotionally fraught.

Where she thought she’d been trying to live up to her hero, it had been her own father all along. And she wasn’t coming close. What would he think of his own flesh and blood being unable to bring him home? How pathetic!

How could she ever go on, knowing what her father sacrificed to bring her into being, only for her to screw it all up?

No, there was only one way to find her redemption.

She checked her watch. Yeah, everyone would be on their lunch break, probably.

She crept into the Control Room, placing her hand on the activation panel.

“Ziggy, are you still functional?”

“I am at fifty percent operation,” Ziggy said stiffly. “I am without higher cognitive functions at this time.”

“Good,” Sammy Jo said. Just what she wanted. “Is the Accelerator still operational?”

“Yes.”

“Then prepare for a leap, Ziggy.”

“Yes, Doctor Augustine.”

Sammy Jo zipped up the Fermi Suit, and strode briskly to the Accelerator Chamber ramp.

“I’m gonna find you Dad,” she said as she stepped into the chamber. “If I can’t bring you home, then maybe I can at least find you out there and join you. You deserve someone watching your back.”

She swallowed as she looked at the chamber. This was where it had all started.

“Sammy Jo! Stop!”

Dammit. It was Al.

“Kid… what do you think you’re doing?”

“I think that’s pretty obvious,” she said, her voice thick with grief.

“Oh Sammy, don’t you do this too…” Al said as he stepped into her view. He looked utterly crestfallen. “I already lost one Beckett to this thing. Don’t make it another.”

“I’ve already made up my mind, Admiral.”

Al shook his head. “But… your daughter. What about Addison?”

“She doesn’t need me anymore.”

“How can you say that?” Al cried, slowly inching closer to her. “You’re all she has!”

“She has a father.”

“Who, last I heard, was deployed—thanks to ol’ Dubya. He can’t take care of her. She needs you, Sammy Jo.”

Sammy Jo turned away from him. “Addie’s so mature for her age. She’ll be fine.”

“Sweetheart, listen to me. I’ve raised four girls. They might grow up fast, but they still need emotional support as they grow into womanhood.” He was close enough to touch Sammy Jo’s cheek now, but he held back. “Please, honey. You gotta be there for your girl. She needs you as much now as she ever did. Trust me, they ain’t as self-sufficient as they look.”

Sammy Jo ran a hand over her face. “Then why didn’t I ever get to have a Dad?”

She broke down in tears, as Al moved in to comfort her.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “And if Sam were here, he’d do everything he could to make it up to you, I guarantee it.”

Sammy Jo wept as she realised she couldn’t even leap right. Yet another way she’d failed Sam.

And then, as she cried into Al’s shoulder, the Accelerator abruptly lit up with a blinding blue, and a figure tumbled out.

“What the…” Al said, breaking from Sammy Jo and approaching the figure, lying prone on the floor. “Hello?”

Sam Beckett looked up, eyes wild. When his gaze settled on Al, his mouth fell open.

“Al, is… is that really you?”

Sammy Jo and Al looked at one another, barely comprehending.

“Yeah. It’s really me.”

Sam scrambled to his feet. “Quick question: uh… what year is this?”

Chapter 18

Times Change

Bewildered and heart pounding, Addison stepped back into the Imaging Chamber. Had Ziggy really just ordered her in here? Since when did Ziggy just talk casually like a person?

Of course, that was perhaps the least confusing part of all of this. She really had just seen her mother and grandfather working side-by-side like it was the most normal thing in the world, hadn’t she?

The door closed itself behind her and she stood on the catwalk, unable to predict what was coming next.

“Captain Augustine,” said the voice, “It seems I’ve just recorded a major shift to history, and I suspect the catalyst leads back to you.”

Addison trembled. “Are you… really Ziggy?”

“I am,” the voice confirmed. “Doctor Beckett installed my ego into the mainframe of this complex, unlike the version of me from prior to the change. Given your marked surprise at this, I have to assume your memories have not been updated. That’s quite unusual. I will be flagging this as a critical anomaly in my log files.”

Addison felt weak at the knees, and she dropped to the floor, grasping for something to hold onto. She took a firm grip of the edge of the Imaging platform.

What kind of a catastrophic event could have occurred to cause something like this?

“So everything out there… it’s different now…”

“Yes, Captain—though technically it’s you that is different. As far as everyone else is concerned, you have just inexplicably become confused by what has always been your life.”

But, Addison thought, that meant anything could be radically different to what she remembered. Never mind that Sam and her mother were here—what else could be changed? She was a stranger in her own life.

Addison felt her chest and throat tighten. “No…”

“I don’t understand your consternation,” Ziggy said coolly. “Is that not what we do here all the time—change history for the better?”

“I… I don’t…” she began, but her breathing had become too laboured to continue. She tried to rein in her panic, but it wasn’t helping.

“You seem to be experiencing some difficulty breathing,” Ziggy observed. “I am sending in the nearest medic.”

A moment later, the door slid open, and Sam Beckett came into the Imaging Chamber, looking worried.

“Hey, what’s going—” Laying eyes on Addison, he let out a gasp. “Addie?” He hurried to her, dropping to his knees as he put an arm around her shoulders. “Hey… it’s okay, I’m here. Can you describe your symptoms?”

But Addison couldn’t speak. And having Sam’s arm around her made it real. He was really here, in the flesh. Her mind couldn’t reconcile this.

“Just breathe for me, okay? Can you do that? In… out…”

Addison followed his directions, taking gasping breaths at first, but the acute sensations finally began to release, making her able to take in air more easily.

“I think you just had a panic attack,” Sam observed. “Is it about Ben? Or is all of this too stressful? Listen, if you need time off, I’m sure we’d manage okay.”

“You don’t understand,” she croaked, grasping at his shirt. “I’m… I’m not from… here.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Everything’s wrong. You were never here before.” Addison looked up into his gentle, but puzzled, eyes. “I don’t know why Ziggy has a voice, or why you’re not lost in time, or why my Mom is working here. None of this is… my life. It all changed, and I—I didn’t, and I don’t understand why.”

Something in her words made Sam’s mouth drop open, and he let out a slow, “Ohhh… oh boy…” He gently turned her chin up towards him. “I think I might know what happened.”

“You do?”

He bit his lip. “Well, probably. I’ll have to look at Ziggy’s data, but… when I met him, he looked just like you do now.”

“Who?”

“The version of me that leaped into you.”

Addison glared at him. “Leapt… into me?”

Wait, thought Addison, is that why I had no idea what was going on? Sam had just leapt out of me? But then, how is he standing here now?

Sam gave her a weak smile, before letting it drop. “I was truly hoping something like this wouldn’t happen when we reached the point of convergence. It’s been twenty years for me, Addison.”

“Twenty years since what?” She didn’t understand a word of what he was saying.

He stood, holding out a hand to her. She grasped it, and he helped her to her feet.

“Since Ben changed everything.”

*        *        *

Ben was not home. And, to his extreme dismay, he was not with Sam either.

Instead, he was sitting in what appeared to be a high school cafeteria, a half-eaten tray of food set in front of him. Across from him sat a girl of probably sixteen or seventeen, chewing on a candy bar.

“Well? You gonna take the job?” she asked in a half-interested tone.

“Uh, job…? Oh, uh, I haven’t decided.” Ben sighed as he was forced to, yet again, play detective in a new leap, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “What do you think… about the… job…?”

The girl, who had bouncy chestnut hair and freckles, pondered the question as she took another bite of her chocolate.

“Well,” she said, her mouth still full, “A hundred bucks is a hundred bucks, you know? Cold hard cash. I’ve seen what you can do—you won’t get caught, will ya? You’re too smart for that.”

Ben idly prodded an unappetising piece of meatloaf on his tray. Caught? Whatever this ‘job’ was sounded illegal. And he was… how old, exactly?

“Uh, I dunno,” he said, shrugging. “Might not be worth the… you know. Risk.”

“Oh my gawd!” the girl cried. “You’re bonkers! I wish I could afford to just turn down a hundred smackeroos on a whim like that!”

“Well then, why don’t you do it?” Ben asked, bringing the fork to his nose and sniffing the meat before venturing a taste.

“Ugh,” he said, spitting it out. Not good.

The girl looked at him, incredulous. “Are you serious? Me? I couldn’t hack my way out of a paper bag. You’re the expert. Everyone knows it, even Mister Lopez.”

Hacking, he thought. Well, I guess I might be able to do something like that if I absolutely had to. It’s more a Jenn thing, though—or even Janis. Maybe when Addison gets here I can request one of them to help out. Then again, if I can avoid it, that would be a lot better.

But, he realised, Sam had been Addison the last he’d heard. Was he still there, in Addison, or had he left when…

Anxiety snaked its way around his chest as he wondered what it was he’d done by bringing a younger Sam along with him. Just what had happened to him, anyway? He had been certain they were leaping together; he’d felt it.

He stood up, eyes darting around for bathroom signage. He finally spotted some at the far side of the cafeteria. “I’m just gonna go… you know.”

“What, again?” The girl smirked. “Okay, don’t let me stop you.” She checked her watch. “Meet you at the side gate when you finish in there. Brad’s gonna be picking us up, right?”

“Brad? Uh… sure, I guess…”

Were he and this girl about to go play hooky with some guy?

Speaking of which, he wondered what gender his host was supposed to be. The baggy jeans, sneakers, backpack, and black t-shirt weren’t giving much away. If he picked the wrong restroom, he thought, there might be questions.

On his way to the bathroom, he looked carefully around himself for a reflective surface. He finally found what he was looking for at the cafeteria counter, where glass sneeze-guards protected bain-maries. He stepped up to one, catching a vague glimpse of black eyeliner and burgundy lipstick in the ghostly reflection.

Okay, chances are I’m a girl, he decided, before making a beeline for the girls room, trying to suppress the very uncomfortable feeling of entering a bathroom for teenage girls.

He stepped to the mirrors to get a better look at his appearance and stumbled back when he recognised the face.

Is that… am I…?

Looking back at him with young, but somehow jaded, eyes, appeared to be a teenage Janis Calavicci.

“Addison, where are you?” he whispered as he gazed upon Janis’s pale white face and dyed black hair with streaks of bright blue. He’d certainly never seen Janis like this before.

He opened her backpack to see if he could find any clues to the date. Inside one pocket, he found a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Oh, Janis, he thought, disapproving. Well, he supposed, her Dad wasn’t exactly setting the best example on that front, was he?

The thought of Al made Ben realise that he must still be alive, and he suddenly felt very lucky to have leapt here. He would go along with things for the moment, and hopefully Addison would show up soon to tell him why he was here.

Assuming what he’d done hadn’t screwed things up too bad.

Chapter 19

Facing Up

Sam was in the infirmary, awaiting a visit from Verbena Beeks for his first check-up in many years, when Al leaned into the room and knocked on the open door.

“Hey Sam,” he said, grinning. “Just double checking I wasn’t dreaming that you came home.” He rolled up his jacket sleeve and pinched his arm. “Well, I guess I’m not.”

Sam smiled, pinching his own arm in response. An acute pain concentrated in the pinch point as he did so, confirming that he, too, was awake.

“Me neither.”

Al moved himself all the way into the room, sitting on the examination bed next to Sam, and wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulders. He had barely stopped making physical contact with Sam since he’d arrived back, and Sam certainly wasn’t complaining. It was highly comforting, and something he never thought he’d get to experience again.

“I called Washington. They said we need to show proof of your return before they give an emergency extension of any kind to the funding here, but even so, I think we can last a few more days on a skeleton crew and Ziggy at half power.”

“I really came home on the last day before this place became defunct, huh?” asked Sam, a little shocked about the timing.

“You cut it close, pal,” Al said with a grin.

“Well, I’m happy to make whatever kind of proof-of-life appearances you need,” Sam said. “I don’t think we can say goodbye to this project just yet. Lot of debriefs to do, right?” He looked down at his hands, his mind moving to the pressing matter of his means of arrival. “Al… nobody else came out of the Accelerator today, did they?”

“Uh, no.” Al tilted his head. “Were you expecting someone else?”

“Well, kinda. Maybe.” He scratched his nose, frowning. “I think I’m only here because of another leaper. He pulled me into his retrieval—like I pulled Alia into my leap that one time. But obviously something anomalous happened if I ended up here, because it was meant to be to a completely different time period.”

“Another leaper?” Al looked at him with alarm. “You don’t mean some nozzle from the ‘Brotherhood of Evil Leapers?’”

“Brotherhood of—?” Sam screwed up his nose, before deciding it wasn’t worth asking. “No, no, he wasn’t one of them. He was from some version of this project, from decades in the future. His name was Ben Song. Can we get Ziggy to look him up?”

“Yeah, sure,” Al said, whipping the handlink from his jacket pocket and proceeding to punch in commands. “Gimme a minute or two; Ziggy’s running slow. Ben Song, you said?”

“Ben Song, yeah.” Sam observed that the suit Al was wearing was unusually plain for him—just a brightly coloured tie and lapel pin gave him the flair Sam remembered—and he began to wonder what changes he had wrought when he had told Beth to wait for Al, and subsequently when he’d decided to continue on leaping for good.

He thought back to the last events that had occurred prior to Ben grabbing him and the world fading into blue. He had looked upon his future self, still leaping for god-knows-how-long, and emotionally damaged to an alarming degree. He’d been grieving for the life he’d left unlived, for the people he’d left behind to suffer the fallout from his questionable decisions.

That had left the younger Sam in a vulnerable state when Ben had grabbed him. He’d thought he’d just keep on leaping around, but knowing what was in store for him… it felt like a punishment. And so, he hadn’t resisted Ben’s attempts to bring him along. But now he was wondering if that could have been poor judgement on his part.

And, where had Ben gone now? Had he been safely retrieved into his own time? Or was he lost somewhere in time, still?

All those alarming thoughts flooded his mind, but out of the swirling doubts came one thought: Donna.

The Swiss-cheese holes in his memory were beginning to fill in now that he was home, and he remembered vividly his promise to her from the last time he’d been home; that he would come back to her.

Coupled with the image of the look in the eye of his older self, the lifetime of pain that he could never be close to her, Sam decided that he was glad to be home.

“Ben Song…” Al muttered, looking closely at the handlink. “Well, Ziggy has a bunch of results here for that name, but there’s one kid that sticks out, because he’s got impressive grades. Straight A student, except one year he apparently had other interests than school and got Bs. Immigrated here from Korea in the nineties.”

“That might be him. Korea sounds right; he was definitely East Asian. But he’s a kid; guess he’s not going to be much help to us.”

“That’s okay,” Sam said with a smile. “Let’s just keep tabs on him as he comes of age, huh?” He shrugged. “And if we ever find the version of Ben that brought me home, I’ll need to thank him for doing what he did. The future I saw for myself if I stayed out there… well, it wasn’t what I’d hoped.”

“We all deserve second chances,” Al said, squeezing Sam’s shoulders. “Speaking of which… I know what you did that day. The last time I saw you. I remember how things used to be—and I’m glad I can finally thank you.”

Sam smiled. “I thought you might remember. You always did seem to keep a lot of the residual memories. Effects of the Imaging Chamber, I guess.”

“Did you know I have four daughters now?”

Sam felt a swell of emotion for his best friend. “I did. I’ve even met Janis.”

“Well sure you did. In this timeline you met all of them before you leaped. Are you getting those memories yet?”

“Yeah, I remember them,” Sam confirmed. “But I met Janis just last year, Al. On a leap.”

“Oh,” Al said, surprised, then narrowed his eyes. “Hold on one second, Sam. You mean to tell me you met Janis on a leap and you never thought to say ‘hi’ to me?”

Sam’s cheeks burned. “Well, I… I was trying to keep a low profile. I put people in danger if anyone knows where I am. And besides, I thought I’d given you someone who you could rely on more than me. I thought you wouldn’t need me.”

“Sam…” Al looked genuinely hurt. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing Beth back to me, but if I’d have known it would mean never seeing you again, I don’t think I would have let you go through with it. You and Beth are both the most important people in the world to me.”

Sam brushed a tear from his cheek. “Sorry, Al. I messed things up. And that’s why I’m glad I’m back, so I can put it all right. I left so many people to struggle in my absence. You, Donna…” he swallowed, “… Sammy Jo…”

He pressed his lips together a moment, thinking of his daughter, who had been there with Al when he arrived. “Why was she wearing a Fermi suit, Al?”

It was a question he already thought he knew the answer to. After all, there was only one logical reason she would have put it on.

Al let out a deep breath. “Same reason she was in the Accelerator Chamber; she was about to leap. I stopped her.”

“Why, though?”

“Because she thought she failed you. You know how many versions of the Retrieval program she’s written over the last four years? Hundreds! Not a one worked, of course.” He shrugged. “Until now.”

“My god,” Sam said, shaking his head. “I’ve got to apologise to her.”

“Apologise to who?” came a third voice. Sam looked up to see Verbena standing in the doorway. She had a huge smile on her face. “Apologise to me for having to put up with all the terrified people in the Waiting Room for five years?”

Sam stood, smiling fondly at the psychiatrist. “Hi, Verbena. Yeah, sorry—that must have been tough.”

She crossed to him, looking him closely in the eyes.

“My Lord! Sam, I never thought I’d see you looking back at me from those eyes again. Come here…” she wrapped her arms around him, and they hugged it out, before she peered down at Al, still sitting on the bed. “Al, I’m afraid I’ll need some private time with the patient, if you don’t mind.”

“You got it, Beeks,” he said, standing, and nodding at the pair. “Don’t keep him too long, okay? The man needs some R and R.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll only be an hour at most. Just gotta make sure he’s all in one piece.” She donned her stethoscope. “Now out you go. This is gonna get intimate.”

“Okay, okay,” Al said, leaving the room as he muttered: “Nothin’ I haven’t seen by accident anyway…”

Sam looked bashfully away, knowing it was true.

“Well, Doctor Beckett?” Verbena said as she shut the door. “What do you want checked first?”

Sam tapped a finger to the left side of his chest. “Start with the heart. I just watched someone nearly die of cardiac arrest, so you could say it’s on my mind.”

Chapter 20

Small World

A black Ford Fiesta hatchback pulled up by the gates as Ben arrived. He’d had to think on his feet just to find the gate, but it hadn’t been as difficult as he’d been afraid of.

He had found the date in Janis’s cell phone—it was mid-May in 2003, apparently. And, from the incomplete and lazily done homework found in her backpack, Ben decided she was playing down her intellect, which he knew was formidable. He remembered doing that once when he was a kid.

A broad-shouldered teenage boy leaned out of the car window. “Ladies,” he said with a grin.

“Wassup, Brad?” Janis’s friend said, opening the back door. Ben still wasn’t sure of her name.

“Clouds,” Brad replied. “Now come on, get in before a teacher sees you!”

The girl got in, and scooched over to make room for Ben, who climbed in beside her. It was at that point he noticed another boy in the front passenger seat.

Please don’t tell me we’re on our way to some make-out point, he thought. That would be the last thing he wanted, to have to turn down the kiss—or worse—of some teenage boy.

“Where we headed?” Ben asked timidly.

Brad peeled away onto the street, glancing back in the rear view mirror at Ben.

“I’ll let you keep guessing. But here’s a hint: why do you think I took all your measurements, Jan?”

Ben raised an eyebrow. Measurements…?

“All you need to know is you two’ll be the cutest couple at prom,” the other boy said with a wink.

You two…? At that moment, it occurred to Ben that this girlfriend of Janis may have been, in fact, a girlfriend.

Which spelled just as much trouble for Ben as one of the boys being interested in Janis. Especially if this prom was… tonight?

Please tell me it’s not tonight. He offered a forced smile to the unnamed boy in the front seat.

“Well, that sounds… interesting,” he said.

“My god, it’s like our own personal Queer Eye,” the girl whispered into Ben’s ear. “I’m so glad these guys like you so much… we’re totally reaping the benefits of their loaded parents.”

“We’re gonna be living vicariously through you girls,” Brad said. “Me and Todd never got a prom together. But you have the chance to be the first openly gay couple. And that ‘Concerned Albuquerque Parents’ group can go eat shit about it.”

“No CAP,” Ben said, stifling a laugh at his own private joke.

“Damn straight,” said the boy whose name was apparently Todd, then reconsidered his choice of words. “Uh, forget I said that.”

The car erupted in laughter, and Ben took the moment to relax a little. Janis wasn’t just skipping school to be a delinquent. These teens had an activist goal.

“Speaking of that homophobic hate group,” Brad continued, “you up for the job I told you about? A crisp Benjamin in it for ya. And the continued open invite for more shroom fun. Any time you want.”

‘Shroom’ fun? Okay… pin in that. Ben licked his lips as he figured out how to pry out the information. “Can you walk me through the job one more time, Brad?”

“Okay,” Brad said, shrugging one shoulder. “I’d say it’s a lot easier than the last job I sent your way. All you need to do is get into their mailing list admin and delete everything you can. They lose their database of subscribers and it’ll be a big setback for ’em. If you make it look like some kind of computer error instead of an intentional hack, all the better.”

“I mean, assuming you don’t want them to know it was someone gunning for them,” added Todd. “You could leave some sort of calling card, so long as they don’t trace it back to you.”

“Oh, they wouldn’t,” the girl added. “Janis is a pro.”

That certainly wasn’t untrue. Janis was a pro. But Janis wasn’t here now.

Just as he was wondering what he could be here for, since all of these problems seemed like things Janis was perfectly capable of solving herself, the sound of a hologram buzzing into existence caught his attention. He couldn’t see Addison, or anybody else from the Project for that matter, but he had definitely heard something.

“I’m still thinking about it—ask me again a little later,” he told Brad, hoping that would end the conversation for now. He leaned back and turned his eyes to the window, where to his surprise, he found Addison outside the car, looking at him. Her hologram was keeping pace with the car, and she was lowered so that he was looking right at her face. He smiled at her.

Wait—was it her? Or Sam? He squinted, trying to figure it out.

“Hi, Ben,” she said, her voice wavering.

It was her. He just knew from the look in her eye. And something was wrong.

Mouthing “what’s wrong?”, he raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

“Uh, well, there’s a lot to explain, and it might be better if you can get some alone time with me. But until you can—well, you’ve probably already figured out you’re Janis, right?” She was keeping a calculated poker face.

Ben sent her a subtle nod.

“Okay, well, that’s a start. She’s agreed to help out with the leap, so you may see her in here soon.” Addison looked away, grimacing. “Apparently, she’s my bestie now. We go way, way back.”

Ben furrowed his brow, giving her his best “what?” look.

Addison just shook her head. “Ben, what you did… it changed things. A lot of things.” She bit her lip. “So yeah, we have some things to discuss when you’re not surrounded by a car load of people. Okay? I’ll come back soon. Just… act like Janis would act, but younger. You’ll do fine.”

And with a tap at the handlink, she disappeared.

Ben glared at the empty spot where she had been. For her to drop a bomb like that and just not elaborate was… a choice.

What, exactly, had changed, and how? Was it something to do with Sam?

Surely I didn’t kill him?! he wondered, alarmed.

The heavy bass of Seven Nation Army filled his ears as the car hurtled down an Albuquerque highway, and he suddenly felt as though he were a teen again, going on some adventure with friends. Which, he supposed, was entirely the case, except he was a girl this time. Damn, his life was weird.

*        *        *

His physical complete, Sam gave Verbena a final squeeze of her hand before heading out into the familiar corridors of Project Quantum Leap, and towards Al’s office.

“Doctor B?” came an uncertain voice from the other direction.

Sam smiled as he recognised Tina’s voice. He spun around, smiling broadly. “Tina! I was wondering if you were still around.”

She approached him, a matching grin on her face. “I had a late start,” she explained. “I was gonna stay with Ziggy ’til she powered all the way down tonight, but looks like that’s been postponed, huh? Good thing too, because I was on the verge o’ tears. It’s like putting a pet dog to sleep!”

Sam glanced around, biting his lip. “I sure hope she didn’t hear that, Tina,” he said, stifling a laugh. He extended his arms, offering a hug, which she accepted.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” she murmured into his ear. “Al was gettin’ obsessed with your retrieval. Beth told me he’s barely been home in months, and he wasn’t even the one writing the program.”

If that had intended to make him feel better, it didn’t work. Sam knew that his lack of contact after his decision was what had caused all this. And now all he wanted was to reassure everybody that he was back for good. Especially Donna.

As he let go of Tina and continued down the hall, he tried to ignore the gnawing thoughts of all the people his other self must have helped in the ensuing years, and the sinking feeling he had about it all possibly being erased.

He knocked on Al’s door, and it was barely a few seconds before it swung wide open.

“Alright buddy,” Al announced, jingling the keys to his beloved car. “Let’s go see Donna.”

“Where is she?” Sam said, his worries forgotten at the mention of her name.

“She’s out in Albuquerque with Beth. Hasn’t had the heart to set foot in here since we lost touch with you.”

Sam bit back the guilt. “Okay, well, I can’t wait to see her.”

“Oh yeah—Sammy Jo’s coming too,” Al added. “I’m, uh, getting her clear of the Accelerator, for her own sake. Plus she lives up that way too.”

“I’m glad she’s tagging along,” Sam said with a weak smile. “I wanted to talk to her.”

Or rather, he thought, he wanted to apologise to her. Hell, there were so many apologies owed by him that he might as well have sent out a memo to the whole complex consisting solely of the word ‘sorry.’

As Al grabbed Sam by the arm, he added: “Before we go, I just want to take a quick detour to the Control Room. Gotta say hello to Gooshie and pay my dues to Ziggy.”

“Oh yeah, she’d never let you live it down if you didn’t,” Al agreed. “Then again, she’s a little impaired right now. She might not have an opinion about it.”

At this, a booming feminine voice bounced off the walls of the corridor.

“Admiral, I am not that impaired,” she said. “I remind you that I can still process more data than your limited mind could hold in a lifetime.”

“I stand corrected,” Al said with a private grin toward Sam.

But Sam was looking to the end of the hall, where he had thought he’d seen someone. But… there was nobody there.

He rubbed his eyes, and turned away. Maybe it was nothing.

Chapter 21

Being Janis

From the conversation in the car, Ben had surmised that Brad and Todd were, in fact, freshman college students—having graduated from their high school the previous year—and the girl sitting next to him in the car was Janis’s girlfriend, Kat. Both were high school seniors, and Janis was set to go to Caltech in the Fall to start her degree in astrophysics.

While it was beneficial that he had prior knowledge of Janis, the lack of Addison was really beginning to get to him. He really needed to know what he was supposed to do.

“Here we are,” Brad announced, as he pulled into the parking garage of a mall. “First off, we’re gonna treat you both to a massage and mani-pedi, then we’re gonna get gelato, and then—” he winked, “—the surprise.”

Ben looked nervously at Kat, who beamed back at him.

“Come on, Jan,” she said in a low voice, “I know it sounds super girly, but even a tough bitch like you needs pampering once in a while. Relax.” She grinned, patting Ben’s arm.

“Well, I do deserve a little spa treatment,” he muttered, thinking about his quite relentless leaps. But, he worried, that this was going to be just like the last time, when he’d had a good night’s sleep only to have a heart attack at gunpoint the next day. It was like in a video game when you got your health restored before a boss battle, he thought.

Trying his best to look unconcerned—like Janis would—he shrugged, and busied himself with Janis’s phone. Though it was a normal-looking phone for the era—one of the unbreakable Nokias with huge monochrome pixels on the screen—the interface seemed different to what Ben remembered. He thought maybe Janis had customised it, or perhaps her Dad had given her the phone and it had some additions that a regular consumer phone did not.

He peered at the contact list, which included both Al and Beth Calavicci under ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’. Neither of them knew Ben Song yet, of course, but the prospect that he could call either and have them answer was thrilling. Could he come clean to them?

The car pulled to a stop, and everyone got out, heading for the mall’s entrance. As they entered, a sprawling tiled floor expanded before them, lined with the usual boutique stores of the era.

And beside a fountain ahead stood Addison, gesturing with her head for him to join her.

Ben grimaced. What excuse was he going to give this time? He’d already used the bathroom one.

He looked to Brad. “What time is our appointment?” he asked, checking his watch.

“It’s booked for two. The place is just up there.” Brad pointed to a shopfront that could be seen one level above them.

Noting that he had ten minutes, Ben whipped out his phone. “Okay. Listen, I just need to make a quick call. A private one, so you three just meet me at the spa, okay?”

Kat raised an eyebrow. “Hacker business?”

“Yes, exactly,” Ben said. “Hacker. Business. Very hush-hush.”

“Oh man, your life is so cool,” she giggled, and placed arms at the backs of the two boys. “Let’s leave her to her shady activities, shall we?”

Ben breathed a sigh of relief as they left him alone, and he placed the phone to his ear, sauntering up to the fountain and sitting on a free bench.

“Addison, have you figured out why I’m here?”

Addison took a seat beside him. “Uh, Ziggy might have, but I’ve been a little preoccupied, because of everything that happened. I’ll tell you when she tells me.”

“She?”

“Ziggy.”

“Ziggy’s a she now?”

“Yup.” Addison locked eyes with him, her face betraying nothing. “One of many changes that happened since Sam arrived home.”

“He made it home? Oh, thank God!” Ben grinned, but it faded as he saw Addison’s glistening eyes. “…Addison, please tell me what’s wrong. What happened?”

Addison took a deep breath. “Well, Sam popped out of the original Accelerator, into the same time you’re in now. Which was the correct time for him, but the fact he’s back now means everything changed, and…” She licked her lips, “And I don’t remember any of it, Ben. I don’t think you do, either, by the sound of it.”

Ben’s mouth drifted open. The butterfly effect that change must have caused…

“Well, you’re here,” Ben said, gesturing. “That means there’s still a project, right?”

Addison nodded. “Right. It played out a little differently, but the project was still revived when Al, Magic, and Sam convinced congress to give them the funding back in 2015. You still leaped to save me from Martinez, and so you and I are still in the same place.” She looked at her hands. “It’s just… I don’t recognise things any more, Ben. Sam works at the Project. My Mom works at the Project. Janis works at the Project. She has Jenn’s job.”

“What happened to Jenn?”

“Jenn is serving time for identity theft.”

“Oh my God!”

Addison sighed. “Now do you see what I’ve been going through? Everything’s different and I don’t know if it’s for the better.”

Ben tried to swallow down the lump emerging in his throat. “Why… why do you remember how it was before when nobody else does?”

“Sam seems to think it might have been a combination of the fact the old version of him was leapt into me when the change happened, and the natural quantum bubble of the Imaging Chamber working in tandem… or something. But the moment the retrieval was attempted, and you grabbed the younger version of Sam, that’s when I… came back. But it was the old me, not the updated model. He called it the ‘convergence point’.”

“The moment two timelines converge into one,” Ben murmured, his mind racing. “And you were the point it converged on, because you had Sam with you.” He met her eye. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea what I was doing. I was all loopy on painkillers, and I saw Sam there, and I was leaping, and—”

“I know,” Addison whispered. “This is just something we’re going to have to navigate now. And we did it—we got Sam back. That’s an achievement, right?”

“Y-yeah. I guess it is.”

A blip came from the handlink, and Addison peered down at it. “Oh, good. Listen Ben, Janis is gonna swing by for a bit. This is her speciality, I guess.”

Ben nodded. “Okay. I guess you have a lot to figure out without worrying about me, huh?”

“Yeah.” Addison gave him a pained look. “I’ll see you round, Ben.”

No sooner had she vanished, than Janis materialised in her place, looking amused.

“Heya Ben!” she said, looking him over. “Wow, now this is super weird, huh? Actually, the emo look suits you. Better than it did me, at any rate.” She looked around the mall. “So you’re about to get the massage and manicure, right? Oh jeez, this is so nostalgic. I haven’t seen Kat since I went off to college.”

Ben didn’t remember Janis being so upbeat. Not that he was complaining.

“What am I doing here, Janis? You must know? Does something happen?”

Janis’s smile dropped a little. “Prom is tomorrow night.”

“Yeah. That guy Brad said something about you and Kat being the first gay couple at prom?”

Janis gave him a joyless laugh. “That was the plan.”

“It didn’t work out?”

Janis looked up to the spa on the floor above. “That stupid conservative Mom’s group petitioned to have us banned, and the school buckled under the pressure. We only heard about it when we tried to get in. Ended up spending the night getting drunk on cheap wine in the park instead.”

Ben jumped to his feet. “That’s gotta be why I’m here! To stop the school banning you.”

Janis’s frown softened. “That would be amazing, Ben.” She looked down at the handlink, her eyes widening. “Oh, shoot, I almost forgot. The phone is about to—”

Her voice was drowned out by the loud ringing of Janis’s phone right in Ben’s ear. If anyone had thought he was speaking on the phone before, the illusion was now broken.

He cringed at the sudden ringing, and lowered the phone, checking the ID: ‘Dad’.

Ben looked up at Janis, waiting for a clue.

“That’ll be Dad telling me Uncle Sam’s come home. Answer it. Don’t give yourself away… yet. Gotta scope things out with Ziggy on that front.”

Ben nodded, and pressed the answer button before bringing the phone to his ear.

“Uh, hello…”

“Heya pumpkin,” said a very fatherly Al. “Listen, I know you’re not at school right now—I already tried there—and I’d scold you if I thought that would make a difference, but hell, I have bigger fish to fry. Remember Uncle Sam?”

“Tell him yes, you remember him from when you were a kid,” Janis prompted.

“Yes, I remember him from when I was—”

“—Janis, you don’t have to play coy now. I know he met you last year. Helped some kid come out of the closet, right?”

Janis nodded. “Ask how he knows.”

“Uh…” Ben said, “How… how do you know that?”

“Because he told me. He’s sitting right next to me in the car right now. Want me to put him on?”

“Okay!” Ben’s heart fluttered. He wanted to blurt out everything to Sam, but Janis was shaking her head.

“Not yet, Ben.”

“Why?” he mouthed to her.

“Because Ziggy hasn’t given us the okay yet!”

Just who’s in charge at the Project now? thought Ben. Ziggy?

“Hi, Janis!” came Sam Beckett’s upbeat voice on the line. “It’s Sam.”

“Hi… Uncle Sam,” Ben said, closing his eyes. “I’m really glad you made it home.” At least that part was truthful.

“Head for the spa,” Janis whispered, gesturing to an escalator. Ben nodded, and began making his way toward it.

“Me too,” Sam continued. “I thought it would never happen. I was going to be out there forever. But… then I met someone who changed my fate. I guess my life needed fixing too.” He chuckled. “Anyway, I’m on my way to see Donna in Albuquerque. If you’re free tonight, you can join your Dad there for dinner. I’d love to see you, Janis.”

Ben looked to Janis, who nodded. “You’re due to finish up here at five.”

“Okay, I’ll be there later this afternoon.”

“Terrific. It’s good to hear your voice again.”

“Yours too, Sam.”

He hung up as he arrived at the spa, where the other three were waiting.

“Ooh, who’s Sam?” Kat asked. “One of your seedy underworld contacts?”

Ben snorted. “No, he’s more like… a mentor.”

Chapter 22

A Tale of Two Sams

In 2023, Sam Beckett sat alone in his office, silently mulling over the predicament he’d hoped wouldn’t come to pass for twenty long years.

His thoughts would often dwell upon what could have been. The other Sam, the one from before… he had certainly had his regrets, but on the other hand, he couldn’t help but wonder what wrongs he had failed to put right by returning home. He didn’t want to think about it, but his mind just tended to drift to it when he was alone with his thoughts.

And now, it seemed, the chickens were coming home to roost. Now that the timelines had converged, it seemed it was time to face the music.

Not that he’d seen it coming; not the issue with Addison’s memory. He thought Ben might have remembered, with his memory filling in over time, just as his own had when he’d returned home. Memories of Tom coming home from Vietnam. Of Al’s life with Beth. And his marriage to Donna, of course.

The things he’d changed slotted themselves into his memories retroactively, eventually causing the previous ones to fade to a faint recollection. Where once there had been the pain of losing Tom, now that feeling was replaced with happy memories of his marriage, his kids, his long career in the Navy. Birthdays, Christmases, Thanksgivings. The knowledge that he’d once died was now merely a fact Sam knew, rather than a deep set trauma.

But the strange, extra-temporal circumstances of Sam’s homecoming had brought about something new. Something… wrong.

Sam rubbed his eyes. What was he to do about this? He hadn’t lived the life of his previous counterpart, and he didn’t remember any of what the other Sam had known prior to Ben’s change. He had lived twenty years since even speaking to him. Twenty years diverged from the old timeline’s Sam…

After Addison’s panic attack, Sam had briefly connected to the Imaging Chamber and observed his former self in the halls of Project Quantum Leap. He hadn’t been game to actually reveal himself, but Sam now distinctly recalled sensing his future self’s presence, a memory which had inserted itself into his brain as he disconnected from the hologram. Even after all this time, such memory alterations gave him the willies.

A knock on his door brought him out of his rumination, and he peered up through the glass to see Ian waving at him from the other side. He motioned for them to enter, and the door swung open.

“Hey boss,” they said, closing the door. “I was just wondering what was going on with Addison, and she told me to come and ask you.”

“Ah. Well…” Sam returned to his seat, slumping down into it. “It’s a long story, and it all started the day I arrived home from my leaps. Did anyone ever tell you how it happened?”

Ian shook their head. “The Becketts and Calaviccis keep all the secrets around here. I’m just the Ziggy whisperer.”

Sam nodded grimly. “Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.” He looked up at them, licking his lips. “Ben dragged me home when he met me in a leap. And it technically only just happened, as far as he and Addison are concerned.”

Ian stared blankly at him for a few seconds, before their jaw abruptly dropped. “Oh my god. Retroactive timeline memory alteration!” They slapped a palm to their forehead. “Sheesh! It’s the basketball game all over again!”

“Basketball game?”

“The one where Ben—you know what, don’t worry about it. Point is, I understand. I think. But what does that have to do with Addison?”

“Well, her memory didn’t update, and I suspect it’s my fault. Well, not me me. The other timeline me. Because he’d been leapt into Addison at the time Ben did what he did.”

“You were Addison?!” Ian’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, so there was a you in the present, and another you with Ben in the past…”

Sam huffed. “Yes. It’s a quantum headache and Addison’s paying the price.”

Ian shook their head. “Poor Addison. Do you know what the old timeline was like? How much does Addison not remember?”

Sam frowned. “Well, she seems to know the Project, and she knows Ben. She knows you, too. But she only knew me as the old leaper that never came home.”

“Heavy,” Ian said under their breath. “Is there anything we can do for her?”

Sam heaved a sigh, cradling his chin in his hands. “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out, Ian. But I keep running into dead ends.”

A moment of silence passed, as Ian inspected their outfit in the glass wall of the office. “I hope I’m just as stylish as I was in the old timeline,” they mumbled, before turning to Sam. “Do you think my jacket is too beige?”

Sam smirked at the abrupt change in topic. “Al wouldn’t have been caught dead in that colour,” he mused, “but it suits you just fine.”

Ian grinned. “We can’t all be the fashion icon he was, but I try.” They placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “We’re a team of brainiacs, Sam. If anybody can figure this out, it’s us.”

Sam smiled. “Thanks, Ian.”

“And hey, you’re not the only one who’s had a future version of yourself affect the past and erase themselves from existence.” Ian snorted. “God, working here is like a big ol’ mushroom trip, right?”

Hmm? Sam looked up at Ian, squinting. “Wait, what did you just say?”

Ian took a defensive step back. “Uh, nothing boss. I certainly don’t take psychoactive—”

Sam chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, forget the CYA, Ian. I don’t care about that. I was just thinking about… uh, magic mushrooms.”

Ian raised an eyebrow. “What about them?”

Sam looked away, to a photograph of Al and his family in a frame on his desk. He picked it up, looking at the teenage Janis in the picture.

I could forever wonder about the old timeline, he thought. I could lie on my death bed thinking about the people I could have helped. The blank faces of the people from all the leaps unleaped. If I don’t know who they are, how can I regret not helping them?

But...

He stood up, taking Ian by the shoulders. “This is gonna sound completely insane coming from me, but… if I asked you to bring me some—oh, what was it? Psilocybe cubensis?—would you do it?”

Ian gaped at him for a long moment.

“Ian. Please.”

“W-why?” they squeaked.

Sam looked bashfully away from Ian’s bewildered face. “Because a long time ago, Janis had a mushroom trip that showed her another timeline.” He gave Ian a sheepish look. “I want to see if… that wasn’t a freak occurrence.”

Ian’s eyes widened. “You think…”

“I have a lot of questions about the life I didn’t lead. I’d just like to… find out what I missed. If I can.”

Ian’s shocked expression softened, and slowly turned mischievous.

“Well, I can’t possibly turn you down on this one, boss. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” They laughed. “I can have the shrooms to you by six tonight. I’ll be your sitter—my place or yours?”

Sam felt heat rise in his cheeks as the reality of the matter dawned on him. “Uh… better make it yours. Somehow, I don’t think Donna will want to be party to this.”

*        *        *

Donna… I’m here, Sam thought, as Al pulled up to the small suburban bungalow where she apparently resided.

The car had barely come to a complete stop when Sam burst out of it, leaving Al and Sammy Jo in his wake. He pounded on the door.

“Donna?” he called out.

After a moment, the door slowly opened, and Donna’s teary-eyed face poked out, meeting Sam’s gaze with a heavy breath. A delicate hand emerged from behind the door, and she placed it gently on his face.

“Al told me you were back, but I didn’t believe it,” she said breathlessly. “Not until now.”

“I’m home, Donna,” Sam murmured, his voice wavering. “I kept my promise.”

Donna pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Sam. I knew you were a man of your word.”

Sam reasoned that now was not the time to tell her that if it hadn’t been for Ben, he would not have kept that promise.

Instead, he brought his lips to hers, kissing her deeply, as Al and Sammy Jo approached from behind. After a moment of passionate greetings, the sound of a gruff throat clearing cut through the magical moment.

“Far be it for me to break up this matrimonial mouth-to-mouth,” Al said, “but aren’t you gonna invite us in?” He waved a hand at Sammy Jo. “And I think you might have a bit of catching up to do with the newest addition to the Beckett family, huh?”

Sam pried himself away from Donna for long enough to nod and smile. “Yeah. Let’s head in and have some tea or something and… we can figure out where things go from here.”

Chapter 23

Mall Mingle

The sound of a ticking clock was all that filled the living room while Donna busied herself preparing tea in the kitchen.

Sam silently watched Sammy Jo, whose gaze was down at her hands, pointedly avoiding the two other sets of eyes in the room.

Al’s eyes flicked between her and Sam, expectant. “So…”

Sam licked his lips, leaning forward. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sammy Jo took the cue first.

“I really should have guessed,” she said quietly. “With my family history, I should have realised you had something to do with how it all turned out for my Mom.” She looked up at Sam slowly. “Grandma always said there was someone watching out for her…”

Sam nodded. “She knew. Every time, I think.”

“How many times did you leap there?”

“Three. Each time Abigail was in trouble. And, the last time, I got to meet you.”

Sammy Jo gave him a wry smile. “Sam-Larry Stanton, right? The lawyer with the photographic memory just like mine. Should have realised it a long time ago.”

“Uh, yeah.” Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen, I’m so sorry for what happened. If I could have stayed with you, I would have.”

Sammy Jo nodded, evading eye contact. “Yeah, well, now that you’re back, there’s no fixing that, so…”

“What’s important is that you have a chance to get to know each other now,” Al interjected. “Let bygones be bygones. Fresh start and all that.”

Sam looked at his daughter expectantly. It wasn’t his choice whether she wanted to know him after all this; it was hers.

With moist eyes, Sammy Jo nodded. “Worth a shot, I guess. Never did have a Daddy. Might be… nice.”

Sam stood from the armchair he had been sitting in, and moved to Sammy Jo on a loveseat. He sat beside her and offered his hand. Cautiously, she placed hers in his, and he squeezed it.

“Doctor Beck—err, Sam—uh, I mean… Dad… I’m sorry I wasn’t able to bring you home,” she said. “I tweaked the retrieval program every day, but nothing worked. And I hear you only came home via some other leaper?”

He shook his head, smiling. “Your work was flawless, Sammy Jo. I just wasn’t ready to come home.” He leaned in closer to her. “Wanna know a secret?”

“What?”

“I think it was your retrieval that brought me back. It’s just that it was meant for Ben, not me.”

“Really?” Sammy Jo looked like she didn’t quite believe him.

“Really truly. You did great, I promise.” He brushed her bangs aside and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Hey, remember when ‘Sam-Larry Stanton’ said he loved you?”

Sammy Jo nodded tearfully.

“Well, Sam Beckett does too.” He held her gaze. “Sammy Jo, I love you and I’m proud of you.”

This was enough for Sammy Jo to lose control of her held back tears, and begin to sob. Sam scooped her into his arms, letting her cry into his chest.

Sam looked up to the doorway to see Donna entering with a tray of tea and cookies. He nodded a greeting at her, and she looked down at Sammy Jo with what he thought was an expression of sympathy. She placed the tray on the coffee table and sat in the armchair Sam had previously vacated, exchanging glances with Al.

“I think she’s needed this a long time,” Al said quietly. “A Dad who says he’s proud. Kids need that kinda thing. Even adult kids. Believe me, not having parents around is tough.”

Sam patted his daughter on the back, before pulling back and lifting her chin. “You have a daughter, don’t you? I met… well, I didn’t meet her exactly, but… uh, it’s complicated. I saw her.”

Sammy Jo sniffed and nodded. “Addison. She’s sixteen.”

“Less than a year younger than Janis,” Al commented. “I keep saying they should meet…”

“That could be nice,” said Donna. “I know you always kept her away from the Project, but…”

Wiping at her face with her sleeve, Sammy Jo nodded. “Well, I was just following the Project classification advice. It’s national security, right?”

Sam and Al exchanged a nervous look.

“Well, maybe a few more people know about it than the government is aware of,” Al admitted. “Such as my wife.”

“And Janis,” Sam added. He turned to Sammy Jo. “If you told Addison, I don’t think anyone here would object to that. See, she’s the observer in the future Project I encountered.”

Sammy Jo stiffened. “Really?!”

Sam nodded. “I think she can handle the truth about her… lineage. Why don’t you invite her to dinner tonight? I would love to meet her properly.”

Sammy Jo sniffed again, and reached for a teacup. “Well… it’s true she’s very mature for her age. I guess I’ll call her and ask her to come along.”

*        *        *

Climbing down from the bus, Addison slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the mall. Better that than math class. She didn’t care for calculus one bit.

Her Mom was so swept up in whatever her job was that she hadn’t caught wind of Addison’s frequent absenteeism at school. Her grades weren’t suffering that badly anyway.

Addison figured that by taking initiative and having adventures outside of school, she was getting a certain kind of non-academic education. She was a woman of action, not of homework. Besides, she’d already decided she was joining the military after school; she didn’t need spectacular grades for that. Now was the time to seize her freedom.

She wandered the mall, window shopping and wishing she had the money for any of the nice dresses on display. Her mother wasn’t poor, but she didn’t dole out pocket money at a rate Addison would have liked. Still, she couldn’t really complain. She had basically everything she needed. She just wished her mother was a little more attentive, that was all.

When she passed by a tailor, she saw a couple of girls around her age trying on some formal clothes. One of them was wearing a sequined black ballgown, and the other a tuxedo that was fitted perfectly to her form. It struck her that they must have been a couple.

Well, it was prom season, she figured. Good for them.

As she began passing the window, she felt a set of eyes on her. She glanced towards the girls in the store, and realised that the girl in the gown was looking at her.

Something about the way she was looking at Addison made her stop, and lock eyes with the stranger.

The girl, who had dyed black hair and a streak or two of blue, muttered something that Addison couldn’t hear, before abruptly looking away. It was clear she was still stealing a peripheral look in her direction, though, and Addison hurried away from the window, feeling a little awkward about the strange moment.

It was at that moment that her phone began to ring in her bag. Addison stopped and pulled it out, finding that her Mom was calling.

“Uh, hey Mom,” she said as she brought the phone to her ear. “Something up?”

“Hi sweetie,” her mother said, her voice a little shakier than usual. “Are you in class? I can call back later—”

“No, no, I’ve got a free period,” she lied. “What’s goin’ on?”

“I just wanted to let you know that…” Sammy Jo took a breath, “that your grandfather is in town, and would like to have dinner with us.”

Addison’s nose screwed up. “Grandfather? You mean your Dad? I thought he abandoned you before you were born.”

“Um, well, it’s a little—well, a lot—more complicated than that, Addie. I just found out myself.”

“Okay. Weird. Where are we going for dinner?”

“I’ll text you the address. It’s in Mountainview. Don’t go off to the mall or anything after school—go straight there; I’m already here.”

Oops, already at the mall.

“Really? I thought you were supposed to be at work all day.” Addison scuffed her foot into a marble pillar.

“Well, something changed. Turns out it’s not quite my last day after all.”

Addison noted that her mother sounded kind of… excited. For years now, she’d returned from work with a look of defeat on her face. Never did she seem optimistic or pleased to be doing it. But now…

“Okay, well, I’ll see you there, Mom,” she said, now very curious about the sudden entrance of a new grandfather in her life.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Sammy Jo said. “I can’t wait to introduce you.”

Addison hung up her phone, and stared down at it in anticipation of the text message to come. But in the corner of her eye, she once again felt like someone was watching her. She glanced up, towards the tailor, and caught the tail of a sequined black dress fluttering as it disappeared into the door.

Who was that girl?

Chapter 24

New and Improved

“Janis, this is making me really uncomfortable,” Ben whispered, leaning against the partition of the changing room stall.

“Oh, you want me to give you some privacy?” Janis began backing out of the stall, hands raised in an appeasing gesture.

“No, not the changing,” Ben said, “though yes, I wouldn’t mind a few minutes alone. I mean, being you, and seeing Addison out there—”

“Oh yeah, that one threw me,” agreed Janis. “I had no idea she was here today. Of course, I hadn’t met her yet at this point…” She gave a casual shrug. “It’s no biggie, though. Relax.”

Ben wasn’t going to relax.

“This dinner tonight is going to be difficult,” Ben continued. “I have this awful feeling it’s all going to blow up in my face.” He grimaced. “Last time I saw a past Addison, I kinda screwed things up.”

“I know—I saw.” Janis smirked. “You might not have a reset button this time, but you do have me—and I learned from the best! Just try not to say anything stupid, and only reveal what Ziggy thinks you should.”

“And Ziggy… has opinions on this kind of thing now…” Ben said, brow furrowed.

Janis nodded. “You don’t remember either?” She frowned, looking at him like a therapist looks at a patient.

Ben shook his head. “I caused the changes, right?”

“Yeah, but don’t sweat it. Sam’s changes ebbed into his memory over time; yours will too.” Janis brushed aside her bangs. “Addison, on the other hand… I don’t know. But hey—maybe that just means you can’t really screw up with her this time because she won’t remember any of it.”

“Hmm, that’s something I didn’t consider,” Ben mused.

After taking a moment to worry about his fiancée, he carefully unzipped the sequined gown, his mind moving to more pressing concerns. “Hey, Janis… am I gonna have to kiss Kat?” He grimaced.

Janis shifted uncomfortably. “Uh… maybe? I would prefer the teen version of me kissing her, of course.” She stroked her chin. “But… I also don’t want you screwing around with my old love life, and if that means kissing her if you have to, you’d better. You shouldn’t need to go any further than that, though.”

“That’s a relief,” Ben said as he lowered the dress straps and looked at the hologram expectantly. “Now, uh…”

“Okay, I get the picture,” said Janis, taking a step back and disappearing into the wall, adding: “You know, I don’t even wanna think about what my Dad did with this kind of invisibility around changing rooms.”

Ben chuckled as he disrobed, hung the dress, and changed back into Janis’s street clothes. This version of Janis was so irreverent and carefree. Maybe he’d done the right thing after all. And if he could help her with her prom, maybe the resulting Janis would be even happier.

*        *        *

Addison upended her glass of wine as she sat on the floor of her apartment, flipping through old photo albums. It was a bizarre mixture of moments she remembered fondly, and ones she had no connection to. Photos of her and her mother smiling, her and Janis smiling, her and Sam smiling. Moments that must have happened in everyone else’s memory, but not her own.

Was it selfish of her to feel so resentful towards Ben for doing this to her? To her Mom for things that she must not have said and done in this timeline? To Janis for a past adversarial relationship that now never happened?

She poured herself another glass, before slapping shut the albums and dramatically casting them onto the coffee table.

She hadn’t been this furious since the morning after her engagement party, when she’d trashed this same apartment after watching Ben’s video message. She felt just as lost, too.

There was a knock at the door.

Addison wasn’t sure if she was ready to see anybody. She took another large sip of wine before opening the door a crack, enough for the chain latch to strain.

It was her mother. She grimaced—of all people, it had to be the one person for whom she didn’t know what to say at all. From her perspective, she hadn’t seen or spoken to this woman in years.

“Hi, Addie,” Sammy Jo said in a soothing tone. “I don’t want to force anything, but from what I heard from your Grandpa, I think maybe we should talk. I understand if you want to be alone, but…” She leaned toward the gap in the door. “Well, I feel like we need to get to know each other again, seeing as both of us have a different memory of the other.”

Addison blinked back tears. It was true, she supposed. Everyone else had just lost their version of her, just as she’d lost her version of them.

Slowly, she closed the door and unlatched the chain, before opening up again.

Sammy Jo held up a bottle of wine, the same type Addison was drinking. “Hope you still like Merlot.”

Addison stepped aside, allowing her mother entry.

“Merlot is just fine, Mom.”

She took a seat on the couch, and Sammy Jo sat beside her, but not so close that they were touching. Moments passed without either speaking. Each of them carefully studied the other.

Sammy Jo finally stood, moving to the glassware cabinet and getting herself a wine glass, before returning to pour some of the wine.

“So… we usually do this kind of thing on weekends,” she finally said, before taking a short sip. “Sitting and chatting. Drinking wine, maybe grazing on a charcuterie board.”

Addison nodded silently, feeling like she was dreaming. The surreality of all of this just was not going away.

“You remember a timeline where your grandfather never came home… is that right?”

Addison took a long drink from her glass before nodding.

“Oh boy,” her mother said under her breath. “I guess a lot must be different, then. I wasn’t in a good state in the days before he came home.” She licked her lips, straightening her back. “I wasn’t… dead, was I?”

“Dead?” Addison repeated, alarmed. “No, no. You were fine, all things considered. It’s just… well, we weren’t on speaking terms.”

Sammy Jo almost choked on her wine. “What?! W-why? Addie…”

“It was… a difference of opinion,” explained Addison. “I joined the Project revival to be the leaper, against your wishes. You were positive I’d be lost in time forever, just like Sam. I said you could either support me or get out of my life. And, well…” She finished her drink. “…You made your choice.”

Sammy Jo covered her mouth. “So that’s why you looked so shocked to see me this morning.”

Addison stiffened as her mother pulled her into a hug.

“Addison,” Sammy Jo murmured into her ear, “you have to believe me that that isn’t who I am now. Okay? And I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” She loosened her grip, letting Addison pull away. “The way things happened this time around, I supported your choice all the way. Of course, when Ben leapt, it threw a wrench into the works.”

Addison let out a snort. “You can say that again.”

“And you know, your Grandpa is one hell of a mediator,” Sammy Jo continued, “so if we had gotten into a fight, he would have had us crying and hugging it out in no time. He really made all the difference…” She trailed off, peering wistfully down into the deep red wine. “And I come to find out it was all thanks to that fiancé of yours…” She smiled. “You picked a good one, Addie.”

Addison sighed, rubbing her temples. “I just don’t understand why the retrieval brought Sam back to his time, but not Ben back here.”

Sammy Jo put her glass down on the coffee table, and grabbed Addison’s hand, sandwiching it between hers.

“All’s not lost, Addie.” She looked deeply into Addison’s eyes. “Sam told me a secret a long time ago. That a retrieval only works if a leaper is ready to come home.”

What? Addison’s eyes widened.

“I know what you’re thinking, sweetheart,” Sammy Jo continued. “You’re thinking that Ben should want to come home. Because you’re here, waiting for him.”

Addison looked away. “Well, yeah.”

“But Ben is so much like your grandfather. He’s too… good.” She picked her glass up once more, taking a sip. “He wants to save everyone. And he’s afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“Afraid that by coming home, he’ll lose his chance.”

Addison brought her knees to her chin as she took this in. It was true that since he’d leapt, Ben had shown himself to be a genuine… well, hero. When Addison had been planned as the leaper, she viewed it more as a job. The idea was that after each mission, they would bring her back. She’d be able to clock out. She’d had no interest in, nor intention of, getting stuck out there like Ben was.

But, perhaps, Ben knew that if he ever got home, she’d be taking his place as leaper. And so, somewhere deep within him, he didn’t want to give it up.

Addison looked over her knees at her apparently loving mother—so different to the deeply unhappy person she’d known—and reached a hand across the couch, entwining it with hers.

“I think I get it, Mom…” she said softly. “Ben and I might need to have a talk. Thank you… for telling me that.”

“Of course.” Sammy Jo smiled. “Addison, I love you and I’m proud of you. Don’t ever forget it.”

Addison hadn’t heard those words from her Mom since… well, she wasn’t sure.

This really isn’t the Mom I knew.

Chapter 25

Punk’d?

Hanging out at a strange house with people she didn’t know wasn’t Addison’s idea of a good time.

She’d been introduced to her biological grandfather and his wife, who seemed nice enough (if apparently pretty young to really be her mother’s parent), but there was another old guy here whose loud outfit and chatty behaviour was sucking all the oxygen out of the living room.

The man, who had been introduced to her as ‘Al’, was dressed in a bright red suit with an intricately embroidered black silk shirt underneath, and he stunk of cigars.

Addison might have been a teen rebel, but she wasn’t stupid enough to smoke.

She had spent the last hour or so pretending to have her head buried in her homework in an effort to ignore the awkwardness of the situation. Apparently they were going to have dinner whenever Al’s daughter arrived. The old man kept saying they were the same age and ‘would get along like a house on fire.’ Yeah, right. If this other girl was anything like him, she doubted it.

As she sat at the kitchen table, head down in her barely-used math textbook, her evidently well-preserved grandfather wandered in, pulling a chair out across from her.

Oh, great. He wants to chat. Addison winced, and tried to put on her polite talking-to-strange-adults face.

“Calculus, huh?” he said, peering at the pages. “I love calculus—used to do it in my head for fun when I was a kid. Need some help with it?”

Addison shook her head, though the truth was that she probably could have used a tutor if she’d cared about the subject. “No, it’s okay.”

So, he too was a genius, just like her Mom. So that was two generations—too bad it had skipped her, she thought.

Her grandfather, who she recalled was named Sam, shrugged, sitting down in the chair and leaning on the table, grinning at her.

Addison withered under the cheery gaze. “What?” she asked uncomfortably. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” he seemed to catch himself, and looked bashfully away from her. “Sorry, I guess I’m just excited to properly meet you. I want to get to know you, Addison. You and your mother. I’ve already missed too much.”

Addison closed her textbook, looking up at him plainly. “Why did you miss so much? Where’ve you been all this time, Gramps?”

Sam’s smile dropped away. “Well, we’ve all been trying to figure out the best way to explain that to you—I drew the short straw, so here I am. Thing is, you may find it a little hard to believe.”

Addison scoffed. “Come on, how unbelievable could it be? What, you’re some rock star who had a one night stand or something?” She shrugged, regarding him impishly. “Or maybe aliens stole your sperm and knocked Grandma up through a probe? Just spill already.”

Sam’s deep-set laugh lines crinkled at the edges of his eyes as he chuckled. “Aliens, huh? Well, I think it may rival that scenario, to be honest. Do you know what your mother does for her job at all?”

Addison shook her head. “Nope—I just know it’s top secret government research of some kind, right? I assume it’s something to do with like, quantum physics, since that’s Mom’s speciality.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, it’s the cutting edge of quantum physics. I know because I built the place.”

“And you’re just coming into our lives now?” Addison glared at the man. “Mom’s been working there for years and you never thought to say anything?”

Sam pursed his lips. He looked like he was about to answer her protests, but instead chose to press on with his explanation. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a length of string.

“Addison, imagine your life as a piece of string. On one end, your birth, and the other, your death…”

Addison squinted, confused by the sudden turn in the conversation. “What…?”

“Hear me out,” Sam insisted, bringing the two ends of the string together. “Now if you tie the ends together, you have a loop. And if you ball up the string, any moment of your life can touch another, allowing you to ‘leap’ between those moments. Travelling to any point within your own lifetime.” He dropped the screwed up string onto the table, and focused his gaze on Addison. “And that’s a layman’s explanation of my time travel theory.”

Addison raised an eyebrow, trying to look unimpressed. “Time travel,” she repeated cynically.

“Yes.” Sam nodded. “Your mother works for a secret government time travel project.”

Addison tilted her head. “And the reason you’ve been absent is—what? Because you’ve been travelling in time? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

Without flinching, Sam replied: “Yes.”

Addison let out an involuntary laugh. “Okay, Gramps. Let’s get you to bed.”

“It’s all true,” came the voice of her mother, who was now leaning in the doorway. “We could go into the math, but somehow I don’t think that will help. I’ve… seen your report cards.”

After a moment of trying to figure out if a big practical joke was being played on her, Addison crossed her arms, studying her grandfather’s face. His eyes were clear and steady. If he was lying, he was good at it. She looked towards her Mom, who moved fully into the kitchen. Her face was neutral, and eyes a little bloodshot as if she’d been crying. Addison couldn’t see any deception there either.

“Okay. So if this time travel stuff is so top secret, why are you telling me?”

Sam leaned forward. “I thought it would be best if we start our relationship with complete honesty,” he said. “About how your mother came to be. And to do that, I had to lay the groundwork by explaining what we do at Stallions Gate.” He stole a glance at Sammy Jo before continuing. “Because… during my time leaping through time, I… well…” He struggled to continue, eyes looking away from her.

Addison’s mind raced as she put together what he was getting at.

“Are you saying that you time travelled to the past and had sex with my grandmother?”

Sam’s silence and awkward expression told her everything she needed to know.

“Okay, stop,” she said, holding up her hands. “I don’t wanna know any more than that.” She stood from the table. “Mental images… not good. I think I would have preferred the aliens.” She bypassed Sam and approached her mother. “Did you know this, Mom?”

“I only found out today too,” she replied weakly. “I understand it’s going to be difficult to adjust to knowing this, but it doesn’t change anything. Not really.”

Addison grimaced, and left the kitchen, not knowing at all what to think. There was still the option that all of this was a great big prank, she thought.

As she hurried away, she headed to the front door in an effort to get some air, and as she reached it, it swung open, smacking her in the face.

“Agh!” she cried, keeling over and covering her nose. “Jeez, who—?”

She stopped short as she caught sight of the girl with black hair and blue streaks.

“You?!” Addison pointed with surprise. “From the mall!”

“Oh—whoa, I’m so sorry!” the girl said, realising what she’d done. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, no sweat,” Addison said flatly. “I take worse beatings at kickboxing class. Who the hell are you?”

“That’s my daughter, Janis,” came the gravelly voice of Al from behind. “Heya sweetheart,” he said, stepping past Addison and planting a kiss on Janis’s cheek, before gesturing back. “This is Addison. She’s Uncle Sam’s granddaughter. I think she’s the grade behind you. Come on in and take a seat, both of ya.”

Al put a hand on Addison’s shoulder, guiding her towards the couch. “I guess Sam gave you the lowdown, huh? Janis can probably give you another perspective on everything. Why don’t the two of you get acquainted while the grown-ups serve dinner?”

He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Addison and Janis to exchange a nervous glance.

Addison sighed, and slumped onto the couch. “So. Janis, huh?”

Janis nodded. “Yep. That’s… my name…” She shook her head. “Look, I’m sorry about staring at you through the window. That must have seemed weird.”

“Did you know we were about to meet, or what?”

“Yeah, exactly,” she replied quickly. “Dad kept telling me about some daughter of a woman he worked with and how we should hang out. Showed me a photo at one point. I recognised you from that.”

“Your Dad is…”

“A big personality.”

“Sure.”

“Al—er, Dad’s really a teddy bear when you get to know him, trust me.”

Addison snorted. “So what does he do at the time travel project?”

“You know about that?”

“Well, I’ve just been told that my grandfather took the DeLorean back to the sixties and romanced Grandma Fuller. I don’t know if I can believe it—I mean, that’s crazy, right?”

Janis laughed. “It doesn’t really work like that. It’s not a machine he travels around in like a car.” She looked towards the kitchen. “So Sam’s really in there, huh? Wow, I can barely believe it. I’m so glad he made it home.”

“Made it home?”

“He was lost in time, Addison. Nobody expected him to ever come home. Until today.” Janis was smiling, but her eyes betrayed some sadness.

So that must be why Mom’s so much happier today than I’ve seen her in a long time.

“Dinner’s on,” Sammy Jo called from the dining room. “Get it while it’s hot, girls!”

Addison hesitated to move, still eyeing Janis. “If you’re in high school, how come you know all of this top secret stuff?”

Janis smiled, standing up. “I found out by accident. Long story.” She began walking towards the dining room. “Dinner smells amazing. Do I detect paprika?”

Addison rose from the couch, following at a distance. All of this was way too weird, she thought. She wondered if she was on a hidden camera prank show. That seemed like the most likely explanation at this point.

Chapter 26

Taco Night

As Ben entered the dining room, he caught sight of Sam, standing closely beside his wife as they held hands.

That could’ve been me, he thought with envy. But he was truly happy for Sam, and he couldn’t help but light up at the sight. At least one of them was back where they belonged.

Sam caught his eye, and returned the delight. “Janis!”

He moved around the table and scooped Ben up into a tight hug. Ben returned the affection with gusto.

“It’s good to see you home,” he murmured.

The real Janis, in holographic form, was hanging back near the doorway, observing the scene closely. Addison passed through her form on her way into the room, causing her projection to glitch.

“These were some good tacos, if I remember correctly,” she mused, casting an eye at the spread on the table. “I’m getting hungry just looking at it.”

“Well, everyone, let’s dig in!” Al said, seating himself and rubbing his hands.

Everyone took this cue to move to a seat at the table and pull out their chair.

“Alright, hold your horses,” Donna said. “I think Sam should get first choice.”

Sam took his own seat, looking sheepish. “Oh, don’t give me any special treatment.” He peered around at the full table, turning sombre. “Everyone… thank you for believing in my dream, and for keeping alive the hope that I’d come home some day. And I’m sorry for causing you all such pain these past eight years. I look forward to spending the rest of my life making it up to you all.”

Ben realised those words were very similar to what he’d once said to Sam Beiderman’s wife on the phone, while making eye contact with Addison.

He picked up the glass of water that sat by his plate, and held it up. “I’ll raise a glass to that,” he said, smiling warmly. Al grinned and followed the toast, with Donna close behind.

Beside Ben, Addison took hold of her glass and tipped it slightly. Ben clinked his against hers, and took a drink.

“Okay. Eat up, kids,” Al said as he placed down his glass and reached for the tortillas.

This was the cue that caused everyone to grab at the food, and they filled their plates liberally. It had been a while since Ben had been able to eat a good taco, and he was famished.

As they ate, Sam spoke up. “So Al—where’s Beth tonight? I was hoping she’d be eating with us.”

“She’s working tonight, I’m sorry to say,” replied Al through a mouthful of food. “Nurse hours are nearly as bad as hologram hours, but she’ll be home by ten. I’ll make sure to bring her to see you tomorrow.”

This satisfied Sam, who nodded as he took a mouthful of soft taco.

“Hologram hours?” Addison asked. “What does that mean?”

From the doorway, Ben heard Janis chuckle.

“Oh, it’s part of the time travel,” Ben contributed.

“Right,” Al agreed. “When Sam was travelling through time, I was in a holographic projection of his surroundings, speaking with him from the future.”

“To me, he was kind of like a ghost,” Sam added. “I could see and hear him but not touch him, and nobody else knew he was there.”

“Unfortunately we couldn’t control what time of day it was, so I just had to keep to whatever schedule Sam had in his time. I tell ya, it wasn’t easy.”

“Remember the time I caught you sleeping in the Imaging Chamber?” Sam said, grinning at Al. “When I was in training for that boxing match.”

Ben chuckled—he couldn’t imagine Addison, or any of his colleagues, being that unprofessional. It really was a different time. Then again, when he’d been training for a boxing match, Addison had passed out from exhaustion in the Imaging Chamber. So, he supposed, it wasn’t so different.

“Yeah, what was the story I told you to explain that away?”

“Something about your neighbour making a lot of noise during the night.”

“Oh, yeah. Think I might’ve pulled that one out of you-know-where.”

“Yeah, I know.” Sam smirked, taking a bite of his taco, leaving Al to shrug dramatically at the rest of the table.

“What can I say? The guy knows me too well.”

Ben had never seen the dynamic between these two before, and it made him happy to see how at ease they were with one another. No wonder they’d made such a good team.

“You guys are really sticking to the bit, huh?” Addison said casually. “Well, I’m still not convinced this isn’t a great big joke on me.” She glanced around the room, looking up to the ceiling. “Where’s the camera?”

This caused an uncomfortable silence to descend over the table.

“Ben, you’re up,” Janis prompted. “Break the silence; reassure her. Do what I wish I’d done at this point.”

“Look, Addison…” Ben said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “none of us are so cruel as to lie like that. Well, maybe my Dad.” He looked up at Al with a wink. “But the rest of us wouldn’t do that, especially not Sam. He’s the most sincere guy around.”

Addison’s gaze shifted to Sam, who raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in a conceding gesture.

“I don’t know how to prove it to you,” Sammy Jo piped up. “Except, I guess, we could show you the Project.”

“Grand tour?” Al chimed in.

“You’ll have to sign a bunch of non-disclosures,” Sam added, “but we could do that. How’s tomorrow sound?”

Addison narrowed her eyes. “Sure. As long as you don’t have Ashton Kutcher jump out at me when I get there.”

“Who?” Sam asked, genuinely baffled.

“Can I come too?” Ben jumped in. He wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to see the old Project Quantum Leap before it got shut down.

“Ben, you have prom tomorrow!” Janis said harshly. “That’s what you’re here for!”

“As long as I can be back in time for prom,” Ben added.

Sam exchanged a glance with Al, then nodded. “Sure. I guess it’s settled then. We’ll all go. I’m sure Ziggy will be pleased to meet the both of you.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Janis warned. “It’s gonna be tight.”

At this, Ben sensed a quick movement from Sam. He flicked his gaze up to him and noticed his head was pointed in Janis’s direction, his expression slightly puzzled.

Apparently, he still had a sixth sense for holograms; even now.

Janis was looking back at him with a deer-in-headlights expression. “Uh… I’m gonna make myself scarce,” she whispered, before quickly tapping the handlink and disappearing.

Sam’s expression cleared a moment later, and he resumed eating his meal.

Al, on the other hand, set down his food and met the eye of Addison’s mother.

“How you holding up, Sammy Jo?” he asked cautiously.

Sammy Jo, whose mouth was full, swallowed quickly. “Better than earlier,” she said. “But… it is a lot to come to terms with.”

“You’re not gonna try and do something you’ll regret later, though, are you? Beth and I could take you in for the night, keep you company.”

Sammy Jo looked down. “You don’t have to worry about that, Admi—um, Al. I’m okay.”

“You and the munchkin can stay if you want. Have a slumber party.”

At this, Ben perked up. It might have been a bad idea, but the desire to spend time with Addison was, perhaps, clouding his judgement. And without Janis there to give him direction, he just went with his gut.

“I’d be up for that,” he said as nonchalantly as he could, looking towards Addison. “I mean, only if you want to. You seem pretty… uh, you know. Cool. Seems like you could use someone to ease you into all this crazy stuff.”

Addison chewed her food slowly, and swallowed. “Well…”

“We have a pool,” Al said, shrugging.

Addison raised an eyebrow. “Would I have to sleep on the floor?”

“We have two guest rooms,” Al said. “Kinda what happens when three out of four daughters fly the coop.”

Addison mulled it over another moment, looking at her mother, who was looking expectantly back.

“I’ll go if you go, Mom,” she said. “He invited you first.”

Sammy Jo took a sip of water. “Well, okay. It might be good for you to get to know Janis. Seems we’re stuck with this extended family.” She looked around the table. “I never expected this, but it’s… nice.”

Sam reached a hand out, grasping hers. “It is, isn’t it?”

It really is, thought Ben, eyes wandering the room, before resting on Addison. I wish I could tell you about our future together. Or at least who I am.

But that would be a bad idea. She was already plenty freaked out by all of this, he realised.

And so, he decided that he would simply be the best Janis he could be to her.

Chapter 27

Psychonaut

“Okay, I’m ready.”

Sam sat on Ian’s slightly worn couch, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

“Lay it on me.”

“Patience,” Ian said as they retrieved the dime bag of dried up mushrooms from a canister on top of their fridge. “The pizza hasn’t arrived yet. You don’t wanna eat these things on their own—especially if you haven’t tasted them before.”

Sam chuckled nervously. “Right. Okay. Jeez, my palms are really sweating.”

“You’re gonna wanna relax a little,” Ian said with a wink. “You don’t want your anxiety to ruin it. You’re in a safe environment and I’ll be here, so just take a deep breath for me.”

Sam obliged, and grinned up at his colleague. “Thanks for doing this for me, Ian. I… really hope you haven’t told anyone about this.”

Ian stifled a laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m not that much of a blabbermouth. Now, do you want me to put on any kind of music? It could help you establish a memory.”

Sam frowned. What music would be appropriate, he wondered?

“No, you’d better not play anything,” he decided. “I’d like it to be nice and quiet, if that’s okay.”

Ian nodded. “Sure thing.”

The doorbell chimed, and Ian flashed Sam a smile. “Well, that’ll be the pizza. Prepare thyself.”

As they answered the door, Sam took a few cleansing breaths, and wondered if this was his dumbest idea ever. If it was, then he’d just have to ride it out and deal with the fallout later.

A couple of pizza slices on a plate topped with psilocybe cubensis mushrooms were presented before him by a buzzing Ian.

“Bon appetit, boss.”

“I think we’ve moved past you calling me ‘boss’ at this point, don’t you?”

Ian laughed, and sat beside him on the couch. “Yeah, I guess a boss that will eat shrooms with you is a boss you can call a friend.”

Sam took up a slice, and locked eyes with Ian anxiously as he bit down. The flavour of the mushrooms was earthy, but rendered palatable enough by the pizza. He swallowed his first bite.

“Okay, you’ve officially gone past the point of no return,” Ian said. “Clean your plate and I guess it’s bon voyage at that point.”

“I’m counting on you to keep me safe, Ian. I don’t know what I’m going to see… what my physical reaction will be.”

“I know.” Ian rested a hand on his knee. “I’m a consummate professional. Just try not to throw any punches, okay champ?”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Is that likely to happen?”

“Well not normally, but it all depends on what you see and experience,” Ian hedged. “And if this works, who the cuss knows what that’ll be?”

“Well, I give you permission to do whatever you have to do to subdue me if it comes to that, Ian…”

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. But it’s too late to stop now.

Sam finished off his meal, and leaned back against the couch cushions, waiting for something to happen.

“How long can I expect to wait before it kicks in?” he asked.

“Give it a half hour at least. You might not even notice it at first, but don’t take that to mean it’s not working. You won’t need any more than what I gave you—trust me. Asking for more is asking for trouble.”

“I wasn’t going to ask for more.”

“Good.” Ian winked. “Just sit back, and let your mind wander. Eventually it’ll start wandering further than it normally would, and that’ll be when you know it’s starting. That, or the walls will start melting. One of the two.”

“What, your walls don’t usually melt?” Sam asked playfully.

“Not ideally. But it is a rental…”

*        *        *

Time passed.

Sam checked his watch. Forty-four minutes since he finished the pizza.

“Nothing yet,” he said impatiently.

“It’s coming. Don’t worry.”

He closed his eyes and drummed his fingers on the side table as he waited.

Come on…

From somewhere in the apartment, he began to hear a dance beat thumping through his ears, and vibrating through his body.

“Ian… I thought I said not to play any music,” he griped.

“I’m not playing any music, Sam.”

“Oh… ohh.”

“Well, good luck, my guy. It’s begun.”

When Sam opened his eyes, he was no longer seeing Ian’s living room; instead, he was in a van with two men in the front seats, and one man next to him; a man who didn’t look like Ben, but for some reason, he knew it was Ben.

Everyone was happily singing along to the music. What was it? Something by Lady Gaga?

Ian sat in the seat behind looking expectantly at him.

“You alright, Sam?” they asked.

“I don’t know…” he said, his eyes taking in the scene around him. “What is this…?”

“What’s what?”

“This…” he paused, realising that Ian wasn’t seeing what he was. “Uh, I’m in a van. Ben is next to me. Everyone’s singing.”

Ian shrugged. “Don’t ask me. It’s your hallucination.”

Sam reached out a hand to touch Ben, but it passed right through him.

Well, he’s not really there, Sam reminded himself. You’re trying to touch thin air. It was like he was in the Imaging Chamber, trying to touch a hologram.

“I don’t know the context for what I’m seeing,” he said with a frown. “Is this something from the other timeline? A leap, maybe?”

“Give it time,” Ian said in a reassuring tone. “It’s only just started.”

“Right. Yeah.” As he spoke, the music abruptly cut out and he felt the sensation of being grabbed by the arm and pulled forcefully, and tumbling onto a hard floor.

“Whoa—!” he said as he hit the ground.

“Hey, take it easy…” Ian peered down at him with concern. Beyond their hazy figure was a pitch dark, dilapidated building. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Ian’s form shifted into that of someone else. A silhouette with a headlamp shining bright light into his eyes. He shielded his face.

“Ian, turn off the light…”

“What light?”

“The light you have on your—” he shook his head; another hallucination, right? He climbed to his feet, brushing off his clothes.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I got a little carried away there…” He turned away, looking down the dark asylum corridor. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I just… I really need to get out of here. This place… it…”

Trailing off, he began moving away from the collapsed staircase and in the direction of the exit. He didn’t want to be here… not again. He’d just gone through too much in this hospital.

The figure with the headlamp reached out a hand, grasping his arm. “Sam, you need to sit down. You’re tripping, remember? Whatever you’re seeing isn’t real.”

He called me Sam…? he thought, alarmed. Greg was supposed to be seeing Iris. Wasn’t he?

“No…” he whispered, and made an effort to pull away from the grip of the shadowy figure, but they added another hand to the mix, holding him firmly in place.

“Sam. It’s me, Ian. You’re hallucinating. Listen to my voice.”

Sam blinked a few times, and the bright light in his eyes dimmed, allowing him to see a pair of rounded glasses. The sight of them was comforting, though he wasn’t quite sure why. A face behind the glasses came into focus, and he realised he knew this person.

“Ian…” he murmured, “I… I think it’s working. I think my mind is merging with the other timeline.”

“Okay, good,” Ian said in a worried tone, “but you need to sit down, okay? I can’t have you running around my apartment when your mind is in another world. You’re gonna knock over my lamps. Not to mention hurt yourself.”

“Right. Right. Sorry.” Sam let Ian lead him back to the couch, and he lowered himself onto it.

“Try lying down and closing your eyes,” Ian suggested. “That way you can—hopefully—go inside your own mind, instead of acting it out.”

Sam nodded, and let himself drop to a horizontal position, shutting his eyes tightly.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. The asylum. Ben is here. But who’s Ben? Why can’t I remember?

Sam’s mind raced as the separation between the timelines blurred, and he experienced all over again the torment of Sam Beiderman’s soul and his eventual redemption.

From there, he felt as though he was free-falling through scores of other peoples’ lives. A blur of faces in the mirror, of different circumstances and professions, each leap bringing catharsis and joy after the sometimes terrible trials that they put him through. Life and death, trauma and pain, offset by the satisfaction of a job well done.

At high speed, he hurtled through the high and low points, the sorrow and love and pain and pleasure.

And faces—endless faces—surrounded him, thanking him for helping.

Then, he touched down upon his leap into Addison, and finally watched as Ben grabbed his younger self from his hospital bed.

And all the grateful faces turned sour as their happiness was ripped away, and replaced with torment and death. They reached out hands, clawing at him, keeping him from escaping, and pulling him down.

And down.

And then he was falling, further and further, so far and so fast that he never thought he would ever hit bottom.

Until he did.

Sam let out a pained yelp as his cheek slammed against a cold surface.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he prepared to see what new horrors this journey would put him through. Yet more leaps to show him all the people he’d once saved? Or maybe he was about to be presented with some true hallucinations, things that would make perfect sense while his judgement was compromised, but would be completely incomprehensible when he was sober again.

His thoughts were cut short by the feeling of something rough against the skin of his arm, brushing against him at a steady frequency. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and raised his head to see what it was, and was met with a tortoiseshell cat licking him gently.

“Uh… hello…” he said to the animal, puzzled. “Are you a hallucination?”

The cat met his eye, looking at him curiously, before letting out a “mew” and turning around.

It was then that Sam realised he was in a room that smelled of musty books. He let his gaze wander around himself and found that he was in a hallway, with a low-lit room full of bookshelves ahead. A library?

He gingerly pulled himself to his feet, and followed the feline as it trotted towards the bookshelves. Perhaps, he thought, it would show him the way to where he needed to go. Whether it was a hallucination or not, it seemed to be walking with purpose.

“Hello?” he called out, feeling nervous at this strange place. It had been a long time since he’d felt so disoriented; not since he’d been leaping. Perhaps not even since he’d been to Al’s Place.

As he entered the dimly-lit library, he thought he heard a noise coming from somewhere to his left. He followed the sound, and saw a silhouette crouched, rifling through a pile of books at the end of an aisle.

He awkwardly cleared his throat. “Uh… hello?”

The figure jumped. “Blimey!” came the voice of a British man. “Where’d you come from?”

“Uh… I don’t know…” Sam admitted. “To be honest, I have no idea where I am.”

The silhouette stood, and moved into a shaft of light, revealing a pale, average-looking man with glasses squinting at Sam. He scratched his head, and then seemed to come to some sort of realisation.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting you so soon. Um, you’ve caught me all unprepared…” He shook his head. “Sorry. Bit unprofessional of me, eh?” He chuckled nervously, and strode towards Sam, holding a hand out. “Lovely to finally meet you—it’s an honour. I’m Matt.”

Sam took his hand tentatively, and shook. “H-hello, Matt. You were expecting me…?”

Matt nodded enthusiastically, his face brightening. “Oh, absolutely.” He shook Sam’s hand vigorously, before gesturing to a long table with some dusty chairs. “Have a seat, Doctor Beckett.”

Sam was surprised at the man addressing him as if he knew him, but reminded himself that this was a hallucination, and that it was probably a construct from his own mind caused by the psilocybin.

He pulled out a chair, which admittedly felt very much like real, solid timber, and sat down, eyeing the cat that watched him from a windowsill.

Either this was a hallucination, or it was an incredibly vivid memory from the other timeline, he decided.

“Is this… real?” he asked quietly, as Matt sat across from him at the table.

“Well, you might not think so when the mushrooms wear off,” Matt said with an impish grin. “But until then, yeah, it’s close enough.” He leaned over, and pinched Sam’s arm.

“Ow!” Sam complained, pulling away. “What the hell was that for?”

“You asked if it was real, so I pinched you. That’s the standard test, isn’t it?”

Sam gave the strange librarian a withering glare.

“What?” Matt said, throwing up his hands. “Don’t tell me I really hurt you? Sorry, I didn’t realise I was that strong. I just thought you had a high pain threshold. Didn’t you once give birth?”

He promptly stood, and grabbed a book from a nearby shelf. He flipped through the pages, and pointed a finger. “Yeah, here it is—Billie Jean Crockett… eight and a half months… that was quite the episode. You went into labour and almost gave birth, however that worked. Raised a lot of questions about the physical nature of your leaping, if I remember correctly.” He looked up from the book, grinning. “I bet that was quite painful. Bit worse than a pinch.”

Sam frowned. “What is this? A library of my leaps?”

Just a hallucination.

Matt nodded. “Well, not just yours. Ben’s got his own volumes too.”

Matt adjusted his spectacles as he looked at the shelves. “I’m trying to get them all more organised, you know. But bloody hell—did Ben ever give me a workload! I’ve had to rearrange decades worth of stories because of that little stunt he pulled. When you see him, tell him he’s on my naughty list.” With a sigh, he added: “And that would probably mean something if I was jolly old Saint Nick. Oh, but Christmas makes me a little bit sad these days.”

“So you know… the other timeline?” Sam said, perking up at the mention of Ben’s actions.

“Sure do,” Matt said, nodding. “Do you have any idea how many lives would have been affected by those leaps that never happened?”

Eyes blurring with tears, Sam shook his head. By the look in Matt’s eyes, it seemed as though it was going to be a large number. Larger than his experience so far had already suggested, perhaps.

Matt reached into his jacket, and pulled out a perfect replica of the multicoloured handlink that Sam had designed long ago, and began to tap at it, before pursing his lips.

“Ooh, Sam. I don’t think you want to know how many people died—or never even existed—because you made it home instead of continuing to leap.” He met Sam’s eye with a deep sadness.

Sam stood from his seat, frantic. “Please… just tell me.”

Matt took a deep breath.

“It’s in the tens of thousands.” He lowered the handlink. “It’s the ripple effect, Sam. You had such an impact on the lives of so many people. And by helping them, they were able to help others. You’ve done a lot of good, Sam Beckett.”

“And I could do a lot more…” Sam bowed his head, half chuckling. “I’ve heard this one before.”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “I know.” The librarian gave a warm smile, as he hiked a thumb over his shoulder at the bookshelves. “It’s all in here.”

Sam had to wonder if this really was just a hallucination, or if this was another being, not unlike Al the Bartender. Some kind of divine scribe, or—

“It doesn’t matter, Sam,” said Matt, as if to answer Sam’s thoughts. “Hallucination or not, I’m just here to help you come to a decision. Because… if you want to, you can still help all those people.”

“How?” Sam frowned. “What’s done is done. I’m too old to start leaping again…”

“I mean, obviously you’re a bit long in the tooth now,” agreed Matt. “But you’re in a unique position, you know. Because of Ben. You have a direct link with your past self, for a limited time.” He grinned a genuinely excited grin. “Oh, I really do love all this timey-wimey stuff.”

Sam’s mouth dropped open as he pieced together what this man was suggesting.

“Are you telling me I should get in the Imaging Chamber and tell my past self to leap again…?”

Matt waggled his eyebrows, still clearly enjoying himself. “I didn’t say it—you inferred it. But now that you mention it, that would solve your problem.”

“But I—that version of me, he just got home!” Sam protested. “How can I ask myself to undo a life I know I lived well?”

“That’s the conundrum, isn’t it? All that history changed for the better, but no happy ending for Sam Beckett.”

Sam shook his head. “But… Donna. Al. Sammy Jo. It’ll hurt them all over again if I leave.”

“True,” Matt nodded. “But think of it this way: now that you’ve been home, however briefly, you can give them a proper goodbye, Sam. You can give them the closure they never had before.”

Sam considered this proposal. “So, instead of never knowing what happened to me, they’ll know I’ll still be out there… by choice…” He licked his lips. “And Al won’t spend his life obsessing. Sammy Jo won’t blame herself…”

“Exactly!”

“If I do tell myself to leap… will I ever find my way home?”

Matt approached him, patting him on the arm. “When you’re really, truly ready to leap home, you’ll leap home. I think a certain bartender told you that one too, albeit in a more cryptic way.”

“He did.”

“Well there you go!” Matt leaned towards Sam with a private look. “Just as an aside… if you go ahead with it, I think that’ll save me some work too. But I don’t mean to impose.”

Sam smirked. “I didn’t ask you to keep a library of my life.”

“Oh, nobody asked me. But I’ve found it’s well appreciated nonetheless.”

“Appreciated by who?”

“What was that, Sam?”

Ian’s voice.

Sam rubbed his eyes, and let them focus. He realised he was back lying on the couch, and Ian was leaning over him, looking concerned.

“Ian…”

“Hi boss—you back from orbit?”

Sam nodded cautiously. “I think so.”

“You’re soaked with sweat. I’ll get you a glass of water so you can replace some fluids, huh?”

“Thanks.” Sam sat up. The room was teeming with strange movement, like every object around him was alive and watching him with unknown intent. Apparently, the trip was far from over. But he at least knew where he was now. Didn’t he?

The two timelines he now knew were entwined in his memories, twisted and layered together. Two lifetimes fought for dominance in his mind.

He figured he wouldn’t be sure which reality was the current one until he sobered up.

And he would think about everything that happened when his mind was clear. For now, he just needed to recover.

And mull over his encounter with Matt the Librarian.

Chapter 28

Easy Street

By the time Janis returned, Ben was getting into the back of Al’s family SUV with Addison. Ben noticed her materialise in the driveway, looking a little put off.

“Ben, did you really convince Addison to stay the night?” she slapped a hand to her forehead. “Now when are you gonna get the time to hack into the CAP mailing list?”

Unable to speak freely, Ben simply shrugged as he buckled up. Janis phased through the car door, groaning.

“Well, you’re lucky you have me to help you do it fast,” she said, head shaking, “otherwise you wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight.”

As Sammy Jo and Al jumped in the front seat, he waved to Sam and Donna in the rear-view mirror. The couple, standing at the doorstep, waved back, offering huge smiles.

“Those two are gonna be busy tonight,” Al commented with a sly look to Sammy Jo before starting the engine.

Addison looked at Ben with a grimace. “Know what?” she said in a voice that only Ben could hear, “I’ve pictured my grandfather having sex way too many times tonight.” She hid her eyes. “Gross gross gross…”

Ben grinned. “Well, if it never happened, you wouldn’t exist.”

Addison groaned. “Come on, not you too!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Ben said. “Let’s change the subject.”

“Good idea.” She leaned in towards him, whispering. “So, I saw you were trying on a prom dress with a… girlfriend?”

Ben nodded, eyes flicking to Janis between the seats for assistance.

“It’s okay, you can talk freely,” she said. “Dad knows already.”

Taking the cue, Ben piped up. “Ideally, we’ll be going as a couple. It’s tomorrow night.”

“Ideally?”

Ben shrugged. “Yeah, there’s some anti-gay group trying to pressure the school into banning us. Not if I have anything to do with it.” He flashed a smile at Janis.

“What can you do?” Addison asked, head tilted.

“Oh, I have some tricks up my sleeve,” he said, cracking his knuckles.

“You’re not gonna go hacking into their emails, are you?” Al asked from the front seat. “Not again with that. You gotta be careful! I don’t want my youngest daughter thrown into juvie.”

Ben noticed Janis smiling warmly at her father. “Tell him I’m too good to get caught.”

“I’m too good to get caught,” Ben parroted.

“Yeah? Well, you know—that’s what Al Capone thought,” Al said, the corner of his mouth lifting in amusement.

“Touché,” Ben said, smirking. “But if those homophobic jerks succeed, it’ll be such a setback for progress around here. Imagine us defeating them and making the news for being the first gay couple welcomed at prom? It’ll be huge!”

And Janis will have the prom memories she deserves.

Al stole a glance back to Ben as he stopped at a red light. “I don’t doubt that, pumpkin. But I’m just worried that a nice prom photo with Kat will be the last thing you get to see before one of those—” he mimed a small square shape and sliced a hand up and down across it, “—little prison windows with bars.”

Janis laughed, but it turned more into a sob as it went on. “God I miss you, Dad,” she murmured.

“Look… Dad…” Ben said, “no marginalised group who seized their rights did it without risking their own neck once in a while. If I somehow get caught, then so be it, you know? That’ll be on me.”

In his periphery, he sensed Addison smile at this statement. He was glad to be winning her over.

Al, for his part, also smiled. “Sweetheart, you got me there. Can’t say I didn’t get roughed up and locked in a cell a time or two during the Civil Rights movement. And I watched it happen to Sam a lot—you know one time he put a noose around his own neck in defence of a black man about to be lynched? And you know what? It was always worth it, every time.” He shrugged. “Okay. You do what you gotta, Janis—I’m behind you. Just do your best to avoid the fuzz, huh?”

Ben and Janis exchanged a satisfied glance.

“Yes sir,” Ben said with a lopsided grin.

“Sam did that?” Addison said quietly. “Was he… always doing stuff like that?”

“Oh yeah!” Al said. “The man’s a bona fide hero.”

“Every time he leapt, he had to do something to help others,” Ben said. “That’s the way it worked.”

“So what was he doing when he met Grandma Fuller?”

“Saving her life,” Sammy Jo cut in. “He met her multiple times. At least twice, maybe three times.”

“That’s right,” said Al. “He saved Abigail’s life three separate times. First from a house fire, then from… well, another lynching, actually. And then third from the death penalty.”

“He was the guardian angel Grandma Fuller sometimes talks about,” Sammy Jo said to her daughter. “The one she said was looking out for her all her life—who broke the family curse.” Her eyes were glistening with tears now, and she returned her gaze to the front in an apparent effort to hide that fact.

Addison went quiet, taking the information in. It seemed she may have been coming around to believing that Sam really was a time traveller.

If only you knew about the one right next to you, Ben thought.

*        *        *

Sam waved to the SUV as it started up, and found his eyes wandering to the back row, where he was sure he’d caught some kind of movement, but… well, there wasn’t anything there between the two teenage girls, nor behind them. He watched the vehicle drive away, his brow furrowed.

“Is something wrong, Sam?” asked Donna, looking at him with big, beautiful eyes.

Sam shook his head. “No… I don’t think so…” he said in an uncertain tone, and turned to his wife, taking hold of her hand and forcing a smile. “Let’s go inside.”

The two of them headed back in, and Sam started to relax again. Maybe he’d been too paranoid for too long. It was affecting him even now, safe in his own life. He was safe, wasn’t he?

Donna let go of his hand and headed to a set of drawers at the wall of the living room. “I have something to show you,” she said with a mischievous smile. “You might want to sit down for this.”

“What is it?” he asked, as he followed her suggestion and sat on the couch, leaning his elbows on his knees.

Donna pulled out a large unmarked envelope, and tossed it to him. Startled, he caught it, and peered in. A number of what looked like bank statements could be seen inside.

“What’s this?”

“Just take a look.”

As he scanned an eye over the pages, his eyes slowly became wider and wider.

“Is this…?” He looked up at her, speechless. A joint bank account in his and Donna’s names, replete with more than four million dollars.

“I invested your pay while you’ve been gone,” Donna explained. “As it is, you earned about seven hundred thousand in that time, and I managed to grow it nearly sixfold.”

“How did you know where to invest?” Sam asked. “Don’t tell me you got Ziggy to predict the stock market? I’m not sure if that’s ethical—”

“No, I just got lucky,” Donna said. “Well, as far as anyone can prove.” She winked, and approached him on the couch, holding both her hands out. “I’ve always wanted to make it with a handsome millionaire. What do you say?”

Sam tossed the envelope onto the coffee table, and grasped her hands, allowing her to lift him, meeting her lips with his own.

“We can do anything we want,” he mused between kisses. “Go anywhere we want.”

“The question is, what do we want?”

“I only know what I want right now…” he said, guiding her towards the bedroom.

It had been four years since the last time Sam had spent a night with Donna, but it was as if no time had passed at all.

And when it was over, Sam found himself lying awake long after Donna had drifted into a blissful sleep.

His mind had wandered back to the strange feeling of being watched while he was at the dinner table, and then the similar feeling when he had been watching the SUV drive away.

It had been so similar to when he had been with the man who’d turned out to be Ben in the back of that cab.

Was he really safe from Lothos now? Or would they go after him, knowing that he’d returned to his life?

And would they go after him directly, or… start with his loved ones?

Sam gingerly slipped out of the bed, throwing his clothes back on. He had a bad feeling, and it wasn’t going to stop until he could be sure everyone was who they said they were.

Chapter 29

A Series of Misunderstandings

Addison put the finishing touches on Janis’s freshly painted toenails, and returned the nail polish brush to its bottle.

“All done,” she said, grinning. “Hope you’re wearing open-toed shoes to prom, or I’m gonna be the only one to see my hard work.”

Janis hesitated to reply, but eventually gave a chuckle. “Yeah, I’ve got the right shoes.”

She was always doing that. It was like her mind was working on a delay, not giving her the right words immediately. Well, that didn’t seem to stop her from apparently being a hacking prodigy. Perhaps she just had social anxiety or something.

Addison supposed she hadn’t made it particularly easy for Janis to feel at ease with her. Maybe she’d been too stand-offish; but then again, she apparently had the most to deal with.

Time travel. Jeez. She was still trying to wrap her head around the explanation Janis had given her.

She’d said that Sam would become someone else, assuming their identity, and would spend a period of time from a few hours to a few weeks working on improving some historical outcome.

Addison wasn’t sure what to think of that. It sounded like a frightening violation of privacy—on the other hand, by what her mother and Al had said, he apparently had done a whole lot of positive things. She supposed that if she could consent to someone saving her on her worst day in exchange for giving up control of herself, then she’d probably agree to it.

“Thanks, Addison,” Janis said, wiggling her toes and pulling away the foam toe separators. “The black really matches my whole aesthetic.” He gestured a hand over his face and hair.

“You do have a certain emo thing going on,” she said. “I don’t think I have the guts to dye my hair black.”

Janis smiled. “And why would you?” She reached out a hand, playfully flicking at Addison’s dangling locks. “I love your golden hair. ‘Au naturale’ is a good look on you. At least, that’s what I think.”

“You really think so?” Addison bashfully played with the ends of her hair that she’d never really been proud of. It was just hair, right?

“Your hair is beautiful, Addison.”

At the expression on her face, Addison began to wonder if Janis was flirting with her.

Nah, she has a girlfriend already. Don’t be so self-absorbed.

To her surprise, though, she didn’t feel that uncomfortable about it, even if that was Janis’s intent. She’d never considered that she might not be exclusively attracted to boys, but Janis… well, it seemed this slightly strange girl was testing that resolve. Though she couldn’t articulate in her head why that was.

Of course, she’d never say anything about it. Hell no.

By the time Addison had come out of the thought, Janis was looking away. She stood, suddenly distracted.

“I’ve gotta use the bathroom,” she announced, and headed quickly towards the hall.

Huh? Addison suddenly felt as though she’d said something wrong. She stood, following Janis unseen to the bathroom to make sure she wasn’t upset or anything.

As she approached, she heard Janis talking from behind the door. Was she making a phone call? Had she gotten a text or something while they’d been talking that had caused this sudden change?

She pressed her ear to the door, and immediately began to second-guess her eavesdropping, but then…

“You’re the expert on all this… yeah, but Addison won’t be able to… how important are we talking here? Okay, okay, Addison will be fine, even though it’ll be—well, you know—doubly awkward under the circumstances. Just keep yourself standing by in case I need you. I’ll send her to bed and we can get started.”

Addison wasn’t sure what this meant, but it sounded like it had something to do with her. And whatever it was sounded incredibly shady. Just what was Janis involved in? Was there some other reason Janis had been eyeing her at the mall? Was all of this some kind of trap?

Addison scurried away from the door and back into the living room in time to be sitting quietly on the couch as Janis returned.

“Uh listen,” Janis said, clasping her hands, “It’s getting pretty late and I have some hacking to get done. Wanna call it a night?”

“Um, sure,” Addison said stiffly, standing up and following Janis to the guest room, where a single bed stood all made up, her overnight bag on top of the sheets.

“Feel free to use the pool in the morning,” Janis said. “I’ll probably be sleeping in, because I’m gonna be up all hours.”

Addison sat on the bed. “Sure thing. Good night, Janis.”

Janis pulled shut the door, and Addison now felt like doing anything but sleeping, worrying that someone was going to catch her unawares and throw her in an unmarked van. With her kickboxing, she could definitely take Janis, maybe her Dad. But both at once? Probably not.

She crossed to the window, which thankfully was at the ground level—the whole place was a sprawling single-level home—and opened it. Well, at least it wasn’t bolted shut or something.

After landing unceremoniously in a bush, she dusted herself off and crept out into the chilly night. Although her instincts were to just get the hell out of there, she couldn’t just let her mother be left to whatever was going on here. Problem was, she wasn’t sure where the other guest room was in relation to the perimeter of the house. She would just have to check each window as she got to it and hope there was enough light to see in.

But as she began to creep to the first of the windows, a hand closed around her mouth, along with a tight grip around her midriff.

Acting purely out of instinct, she let her martial arts training take over, jabbing the assailant in the ribs with her elbow, loosening their grip just enough to pull away and land a punch into their face.

Then the fight was on. The shadowy figure recovered from the punch, lunging at Addison. She responded with a kick, which the unknown figure—a man?—blocked easily. It seemed he too was well-trained in fighting, which made Addison’s adrenaline spike even higher.

“How long?” The shadowy figure demanded in a fierce whisper, going in for another punch. Addison attempted to dodge it, but the punch still managed to land on her shoulder hard.

“How long what?” she whispered back. She wasn’t sure why the man was whispering, if he was working with the rest of the freaks here, but she sure didn’t want to alert them.

She took a few steps back, raising her fists as she awaited a response.

“How long have you been here? Was it since dinner? Or maybe even earlier?”

Addison frowned as she realised the voice belonged to Sam. He was in on all this too?

“What do you mean? You watched me leave to come here.”

“When did you leap into Addison? And—while we’re at it—why?”

Leap into?

“Sorry, what?”

Sam grabbed her by her shirt, forcing her against the fence. “Are you here to destroy my life?” The moonlight caught a tear in his eye. “I just got it back…”

Addison was seriously puzzled at this turn of events. “What are you talking about?” she demanded. “I thought you were supposed to be the guy who did the ‘leap’ thing. Why are you—” Unable to keep back the shock of what was happening, her lip quivered, and she choked up. “Why are you fighting me? I’m only sixteen… I’ve never even been in a real fight! Please…”

At this, Sam seemed to realise exactly what he was doing. His face fell, and he let go of her.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” he said, stepping away from her. “I thought… I thought you weren’t you.”

Addison rubbed her shoulder. “W-why?”

“Because I have… enemies. Other people who leap through time and hide inside people to do awful things. And during dinner, I thought maybe I sensed a hologram. Then I came here and saw you climb out of the window and…” He shook his head. “I think I let my paranoia get away from me. I’m so sorry, Addie. I can’t believe I would hurt you.” He ran a bedraggled hand over his face, avoiding her eye in shame.

Eyes wide, all the things Addison had learned over the evening began to assemble into a full picture, and all pointed to one possibility. Her heart began to pound.

“Wait, a hologram?” she said quietly. “That’s like, an invisible person hanging around that talks to a time traveller, right?”

“Right,” Sam said, still not finding it in him to look at her.

“So let’s say I overheard someone talking about me in a one-sided conversation in the bathroom…”

Sam’s head snapped up, and he finally looked her in the eye. “Oh, god. Who?”

“…Janis.”

Sam looked completely gutted by this answer. He processed it for a moment, before rubbing his eyes.

“Addison, I’m so sorry I hurt you… and I wouldn’t ask this if it wasn’t incredibly important—” he dropped to his knees in an apparent attempt to look less threatening, “—but I could use your help.”

Chapter 30

And The Oscar Goes To…

Ben sat on Janis’s computer chair and fired up her liquid cooled PC. It was quite the marvel for a home computer in 2003, he noted. Janis was clearly serious about her little side business.

“Huh, Red Hat Linux,” Ben mused as he noted the operating system that was booting.

“Do you know how to use Linux?” asked Addison, as she materialised beside him. “Because I sure don’t.”

Ben smiled up at her. “Damn it’s good to see the grown-up you,” he said, conspicuously checking her out. “Have you got Janis’s password at least? It’s been a while since I used this old OS, but I should be able to work a few things out.”

“Yeah.” She tapped at the handlink, and it displayed an alphanumeric character sequence. He entered the password, and the OS completed booting.

“Now, I can look around and see what I can do here, but it would be helpful if Janis can come back and help me out as soon as possible, because she surely knows the security measures better than me. I don’t want to inadvertently expose her.”

“It’s okay, I don’t plan to be long,” Addison said, letting the handlink drop to her side. “I just needed a private talk with you about… us. And your being—” she raised her fingers, doing scare quotes, “—‘stuck’ leaping.”

About us? Uh-oh. Ben let go of the mouse, and spun the chair around to her, face turning serious. “What is it, Addison?”

Addison’s cheeks were rosy, like Ben knew she often would get after a couple of drinks. Well, Ben wasn’t going to criticise her for that, considering the day she’d had. Her eyes seemed clear enough, at any rate—if pained.

“I had a chat with Mom,” she said, her hands fidgeting.

“You did? I just met her, she seems like a nice lady.”

Addison’s face clouded over, her voice weakening as she spoke. “She’s… pretty great. Just like the Mom I… never had before. She told me she was proud of me.” She brought a hand to her mouth, blinking back tears. “I guess I owe you thanks…”

Ben reached out a hand to her, but it passed through her hologram. He let his arm drop, sighing. “I’m… I’m glad, Addison. You don’t look so happy about it though?”

“It’s great, really,” Addison said, attempting to regain her composure—badly. “I just wish I remembered why she’s like this now.”

“I’m gonna say it’s a lot to do with Sam,” Ben said. “I’ve seen it. Now that she’s got a father in her life, things already seem to be looking up for her—and teenage Addison, too.”

Addison nodded. “She said he made all the difference—Sam’s got a gift of bringing people together, just like you.” She sniffled. “And she told me you’re a lot like him in other ways.”

“You mean other than quantum physics and photographic memory?” Ben chuckled. “You could say we’re pretty alike, yeah.”

“It’s the saviour complex,” Addison said. “I’ve seen it over and over. From the very first leap when you risked your life to keep that guy out of prison, when you didn’t have to.”

“Or when I sent myself hurtling untethered through space, when a slight miscalculation of angle when I jumped would have left me adrift until my oxygen ran out?” Ben contributed. Jeez, that really could have gone badly, he realised now.

“Exactly. And even the reason you leapt in the first place. You just… get it into your head that you’re going to save everybody, and nothing can stop you; certainly not me. Now, I happen to think that’s an amazing quality to have, but… something else Mom told me made me realise that there’s a reason you haven’t come back to me.”

Ben furrowed his brow. “What? Something to do with the retrieval algorithm?”

“No, Ben. It’s because you don’t want to come home.”

Ben was about to protest, but then he thought about the older Sam’s last words to him, telling him he had to want to return to his time, and to think about all the people he loved. And the fact that his heart wasn’t entirely in it. But Sam had been in the right frame of mind, and so instead of going to 2023, they went to 20 years earlier, to the old Accelerator.

He opened his mouth to respond, but Addison cut him off with a raised finger.

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” she said. “Because I understand now, Ben. You’re afraid that if you come home, that will be the end of leaping. Of saving people. Am I right?”

Ben found himself speechless. He’d never articulated that before, but she was dead right.

“…Ohhh…” was all he could say.

“I thought so,” Addison said, quite pleased with herself for knowing something about Ben that he didn’t. “And that’s what we need to discuss. Okay?”

“O-okay,” Ben said dumbly.

Addison sat herself on the floor, crossing her legs. “Look, I know I was supposed to be the leaper, and ideally I’d still like to be.” She leaned forward. “But you’ve proven you can do it, and do it well.” She gave him a soft smile. “I spoke to Magic, and he agreed that if you come home, having two alternating leapers would offer both of us the chance to do it, and then give us time to recover after each mission.”

“Alternating…” Ben said breathlessly, as he pictured the arrangement. “So, I’d be your hologram, and you’d be mine?”

“And at the end of each leap, we’d be able to spend the night in physical contact for once. Together.”

“As husband and wife?”

“You got it.”

Ben lowered himself from the chair, matching Addison’s position on the floor. “Addison, I’d be honoured to share leap duty with you.”

Addison rewarded him with a brilliant smile. “That’s all I needed to hear, Ben. So I guess you’d better come back to me.”

Ben nodded, feeling like a weight had been lifted—and he hadn’t even realised he’d been carrying one.

“I promise,” he said, though he wasn’t quite sure how he would manage it. All he knew was that… yes. He was ready now.

He leaned forward, moving to his knees, and placing a ghostly kiss on the tip of Addison’s nose. “I love you, Addison.”

As Addison opened her mouth to reciprocate the words, the bedroom door received a sharp knock.

Ben exchanged a troubled look with Addison, and climbed reluctantly to his feet. He opened the door, to find Addison Junior standing there, looking a little less composed than the last time he’d seen her. Her face glistened with a layer of perspiration and her hair was a touch messed up.

“Oh, hey…” he said. “What’s going on? Is the guest room too hot or something? You look a little flushed.”

“Uh… no, it’s alright,” she said, moving past Ben into the room and planting herself on the bed. “I just wanted to see what you were up to. With the hacking.”

The holographic Addison looked her younger self up and down, at a loss. “Ben, I have no idea what I would have come in here for. I’ve never been the least bit interested in hacking.”

Perturbed, Ben sat on the computer chair, and gestured to the computer. “Well, I haven’t gotten started just yet,” he explained.

“Can I watch?”

Ben frowned. “I’d kind of rather you didn’t…”

“Oh, come on… pleeeease?” Teenage Addison clasped her hands, giving Ben a doe-eyed stare.

The older Addison looked completely perplexed by this. “What the hell is she doing?”

Ben turned to the pleading teen in his chair. “Addison… what’s this about?”

Addison sighed. “Okay, okay, you got me. I… I wanted to spend more time with you because… I think you’re cute.”

“What?!” Ben and the older Addison both exclaimed simultaneously.

“What, you’re allowed to like girls and I’m not?” the younger Addison said, pouting.

“Uh, well… it’s not that, it’s just…” Ben didn’t know how to explain to Addison that she wasn’t supposed to like girls. At least she’d never given him any indication that she did. Helpless, he looked to the holographic Addison, whose jaw was hanging loose.

“I’ve never had any attraction to a girl in my whole life!” she proclaimed. “This can’t be me, Ben!”

Without further warning, the younger Addison grabbed Ben and proceeded to kiss him.

“What the f—?” Addison cried out in utter disbelief.

At the same moment Ben realised that her lips were pressed against his and began to grapple with the strangeness of it, he felt two strong hands grab his wrists, pulling them to his lower back as if he was under arrest.

“That was… quite the distraction,” came the voice of Sam from behind. “Bold choice, but it worked.”

Addison pulled away from Ben, standing up from the bed and moving behind Sam. “Drama club,” she said simply.

The older Addison clawed at her hair. “What is going on here?!”

“Sam…?” Ben said tentatively, “uh, what is this?” He did not struggle against Sam’s firm hand; Janis wasn’t exactly built for fighting, and certainly not against a trained martial artist.

“Who are you really?” Sam demanded. “And don’t try to bluff your way out of it. I know you’ve got a hologram here. I can just… tell.”

Although Ben couldn’t see Sam, he could see the older Addison looking uncomfortably over his shoulder.

“He’s looking right at me,” she said out of the corner of her mouth.

“Jeez, I wish I knew how you did that,” Ben confessed. “But Sam, I’m not one of them.” He twisted his head, barely meeting Sam’s eye. “It’s me. Ben. Remember? I had a heart attack, and—”

“Come on, the other leaper saw all that,” Sam said. “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

“My hologram…” he said, nodding to his Observer.

Addison responded by shaking her head. “Not in front of her…” she said, pointing to her younger self.

“Sorry…” he said to her, and turned his head back towards Sam. “It’s Addison, okay? The older you had leapt into her. The other leapers never knew that, did they? Now could you please let me go? I have a hate group to hack and I’m running out of time!”

The younger Addison’s head popped up by Sam’s, eyes bulging.

“Excuse me… what?”

Chapter 31

Communication is Key

Hesitantly, Sam relinquished his grip on Ben’s hands, allowing the Janis-shaped leaper to turn and face him.

“Ben…?” he said, studying the eyes closely. He found that whenever people would pick him as being ‘different’ while he was leaping, it was usually the eyes giving it away. Gateway to the soul and all that.

And damned if Janis’s eyes weren’t giving him Ben vibes. He might have only known the man for a short time, but there was something mature and gentle about those eyes that was indicative of someone Sam could trust.

“Yeah, Sam—it’s me,” Ben confirmed, giving him a weak smile. “I hoped it wouldn’t be revealed like this, but here we are. At least I'm not a deranged politician’s wife with a gun, right?”

“I can’t believe it…” Sam whispered. “When did you get here? Why?”

Ben took a seat back in his computer chair, folding his arms. “I’m thinking I must have arrived here about the same time you did, Sam. We did leap together, after all. I guess I got bumped into Janis when we got here, while you showed up as you in the Accelerator.”

“The retrieval was supposed to be for you…” Sam murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, Sam. You—I mean the other you—were right about me not quite being ready.” He stole a glance at the empty—but eye-catching—space in the room where the future Addison must have been standing. “But I think it all might have been for the best. Mostly.” He clasped his hands. “A lot’s changed, Sam.”

“I can imagine…” Sam mused. “Did everything turn out okay for you?”

Ben took a moment, lips pursed, attempting to formulate an answer. Sam bit his lip—that wasn’t a good sign.

“Um, can someone please explain who Ben is?” the younger Addison cut in. “And what did you say about me being a hologram?”

Sam took her by the hand, and gestured with his free hand towards Ben. “Addison, I’d like you to meet Ben Song. He’s… one of the good guys, and the only reason I made it home today.”

Ben nodded his greeting toward her. “Sorry to have misled you, Addison.”

“So she… he’s another leaper… guy?” Addison asked Sam, bewildered. “How many of them are there?”

“Well, it’s hard to say,” Sam said, rubbing his neck. “Who knows who’ll end up with my tech in the future? That’s the problem with time machines. Once they exist, the probability of encountering a time traveller any time gets exponentially larger.” He frowned, knowing that Lothos may not have even been created yet.

He felt like one of the physicists of the nuclear age; inventing a technology so powerful and yet so dangerous that it never should have been put in the hands of man. And he had to wonder who had obtained his Accelerator blueprints; what horrible breach of security had taken place, or was going to take place.

“Well, for a start, there’s us,” Ben said. He offered the teenage Addison a grin. “Me and you… uh, the you of 2023.”

“2023…?” Addison’s face tightened as her eyes darted around. “So I’m… um, she’s… in the room right now?”

Sam pointed to the part of the room where he sensed her. “Yeah—right here, I think.”

“Earlier, it was Janis,” Ben continued, and gestured to himself in a mirror hanging on the wall. “For, uh, reasons that may be obvious.” He turned his head to the holographic Addison. “We have Sam’s and your own brainwaves programmed into the Imaging Chamber, right? Think you could add them in to the visibility settings so they can see you?”

“Oh, she doesn’t have to…” Sam said. “Not if it’s too much trouble.”

“I mean, it would be proof that all this is legit,” the younger Addison said. “And I kinda wanna see what I look like in my thirties.”

“I guess we’ll let Ziggy decide,” Ben said, still looking at the invisible Addison. “Since she’s apparently in charge now.”

Sam tilted his head. “What do you mean, ‘now?’”

“Who the heck’s Ziggy?” Addison chimed in.

“Um, well… until I brought you home, our Ziggy was a computer that ran advanced predictive models, while analysing available data and tracking changes to the timeline.”

“Well, that is her main function, yes…”

“Her!” Ben pointed a finger. “See, there—the pronouns! Our Ziggy was always an ‘it’. But now it’s a ‘she’ and… she… has all kinds of new opinions, apparently.”

“Well, Ziggy used to be a ‘he’, but she’s always had a gender since I built her,” Sam said, confused. “And of course she has opinions; I gave her a personality and ego, so she wouldn’t be just another number-cruncher.”

Ben shook his head, chuckling. “Incredible. I never knew our Ziggy was built lacking functions.” He spun his chair to the computer screen, cracking his knuckles. “Well, speaking of number-crunching, I have work to get done, so if you’ll excuse me…”

Sam leaned in to see the screen. “What work? What’s gonna happen, Ben?”

“Nothing life or death, but it still sucks,” Ben explained. “Some homophobic crusaders are gonna get Janis and her girlfriend banned from prom tomorrow.” He nodded in the direction of his hologram before turning back to the screen. “Addison’s gone to get Janis now.”

“Janis has a girlfriend?” Sam blinked as he processed the new information. Apparently he was still a little out of the loop. He shook his head. “Uh, never mind that. You said before you had to hack these people? What will that do to stop something they must already have in motion?”

“I don’t quite know, but it’s a start, right?” Ben opened up a console prompt, and turned to what now must have been Janis. “Hey—welcome back. Now, I assume you have some IP masking measures I can use, right? I mean, you set up that comms system with Sam, and… right, okay—go ahead.” Receiving silent instructions from the future, Ben began typing commands into the prompt.

“Hi, Janis,” Sam said quietly to the empty space, waving a hand and grinning and marvelling that she too would be at the Project of 2023. He knew she was brilliant, of course, and he supposed she was taking after her father by being a hologram.

On the bed, Addison watched on with a kind of stunned acceptance of the strange situation that he remembered feeling a time or two on his leaps.

“Janis says hello,” Ben relayed. “Oh, and she’s telling me Ziggy’s pissed about you guys finding me out. Something about melted microchips? It threw her predictive capabilities off by a factor of four.”

“That sounds like Ziggy alright.” Sam laughed, turning to the invisible Janis. “Tell her I said to learn meditation and let it go.” He turned to Ben with a shrug. “Oh, what am I saying? Ziggy’s way too egotistical to attain inner peace. Well, since Ziggy can’t help… what can I do?”

Ben snorted. “Maybe my Ziggy can’t help. But then, there’s a Ziggy in 2003, isn’t there? A supercomputer way more powerful than this PC that could, conceivably, do what I’m doing much more efficiently. And maybe I can get some sleep.”

“You know what, Ben?” Sam said, “That’s a really good idea.” He slapped the leaper on the back before reaching over him and typing some rapid commands into the prompt. “Pinging Ziggy…” he muttered, before covering the keyboard with one hand and typing his security code in with the other. Although he trusted Ben, he was still paranoid about rogue holograms watching him.

The screen abruptly turned blue, and Ben let out a groan. “It didn’t crash, did it?”

“No. Just wait,” said Sam.

A line of white text appeared in the centre of the screen.

It's late, Doctor Beckett.
Shouldn't you be in bed with Doctor Elesee? She's a lonely woman, you know.

Below Ziggy’s greeting was a flashing input cursor. Sam swiftly typed his response.

Couldn't sleep.

Ben stood from his chair, offering it to Sam.

“Thank you,” Sam said, taking his place in the seat. Ziggy’s reply appeared as he rolled it into the desk.

Interesting that I mentioned being in bed with your wife for the first time in years, and your first thought was that I was talking about sleeping.

Sam shot an exasperated look at Ben, before typing his reply.

You've been spending way too much time with Al.
Now, I have a request for you, if that's not too much trouble. It's not exactly legal.

“I appreciate this, Sam,” Ben said, taking a seat next to Addison on the bed, who finally found her voice again.

“Is… there anything I can do to help?”

Before Ben answered, Ziggy’s response came up on the computer screen.

Doctor Beckett, do not underestimate my ability to flagrantly disregard laws where necessary.

Ben chuckled. “Jeez, we really missed out on this Ziggy before. I think I like her.” He moved his attention back to Addison. “I think hacking their mailing list will only be the first step. How many friends have you got that would show up to a gay rights rally on short notice?”

Addison’s face lit up. “You’re really letting me help?”

“Sure… after we all get some sleep. It’s late.” He gestured to the watch on his wrist, which showed it was one in the morning. “You know, I think there could be merit in teaching you Quantum Leaping 101. I… have a sneaking suspicion that some day it might come in handy.”

Chapter 32

Conversations With The Future

“You awake?”

The voice cut through Sam’s slumber, pulling his awareness to the bed where he slept. The scent of Donna’s perfume on the sheets reminded him just where he was; apparently, yesterday hadn’t all been a dream. To his left, a clock radio proclaimed it to be 6:30 in the morning. No wonder he was still exhausted.

But who had just spoken? It hadn’t been Donna’s voice.

“Huh?” he moaned, rubbing at his eyes. “Who’s there?”

“Sorry to disturb you this early… I know you were up late with Ben.”

Sam’s sleepy eyes were jolted to full alertness when they focused upon the older version of himself standing by the bed.

“Oh boy,” he squeaked.

“We need to talk,” the hologram said, his face serious. “And I’m afraid you’re not gonna like what I have to say.”

Sam pulled the covers back, raising himself up onto his elbows.

“Are you… the me that was leaping? Or the me that’s been home for twenty years?” As soon as he asked, he realised that since he was seeing the older man’s real face—boy, it was strange seeing his own face that aged—it was likely the latter.

“Well, uh… there isn’t really a clear delineation now,” the apparition said, leaving Sam with more questions than before. “But listen…”

The hologram took a seat on the end of the bed; the only clue that he wasn’t really in the room was that the bed didn’t sink.

“Coming home… it was… really great,” the older Sam reminisced with a faint smile. “And I rebuilt my life well. I got to spend so much time with family. See all of Katie’s and Tom’s kids grow into adulthood. Donna and I travelled the world, and then when Magic contacted me in 2015, we started rebuilding the Project out west.” His expression turned bittersweet. “And... a couple of years ago, I gave the eulogy at Al’s funeral. You should've seen the crowd there. The man really was well loved. Three of his daughters have kids, and two have their own grandchildren. For a man who was an orphan, he sure had a big family at the end.”

Sam nodded silently. I guess I’m glad he had a good, long life.

But why was he being told all of this? Where was this going?

“But it always weighed on me, thinking about how much I could have done by continuing leaping. All those people I could have helped, but chose not to.” He bowed his head. “Recently, that’s come into… very sharp focus. And I guess I’d never be able to forgive myself if I didn’t take this opportunity to tell you…”

“Tell me what?” Sam asked, as if he didn’t already have an idea, deep down, of what his older self was about to say. Don't say it. Please.

“You—we have to leap.”

He said it.

“But…”

“I know, Sam. I know all too well. I lived the last twenty years with Donna, and Sammy Jo, and Al, and Addison, and everyone else I’ve come to know and love. And I wouldn’t ask you to undo those precious years of my life if I didn’t think it was for the best.” His eyes twinkled with tears. “But there are people out there who need you. And at least, now that you’re here, you can say a proper goodbye.”

Sam felt a wave of nausea in his gut. “No, I… I don’t want to give it up this time,” he said, voice gaining in volume. “I made a promise to Donna. And what about… what about what I want? Why can’t I ever have that?”

For once, somebody helped me. And now he’s asking me to give everything up… again?

The holographic Sam met his eye, giving him a devastated look. “Do you remember Sam Beiderman?”

The furious Sam was caught off-guard by this. “What?”

“Sam Beiderman. We leaped into him during his electroshock treatment.”

“I know who it is, but what’s your point, dammit?” he snapped.

“Do you know what happened to him after that?”

Sam shook his head.

“Well, I do. After we had our… episode… and leaped away, he was tightly monitored and tested daily, eventually being kept in isolation until he finally got his hands on a razor and ended the pain.” Older Sam’s eyes were haunted, as if he was recalling something horrible. “Sam… you can prevent it. Save him from that fate. All you have to do is get in the Accelerator.”

With an aching heart, Sam balled himself up on the bed. “Please… don’t make me leave the people I love…” he begged. “Not again. It would hurt them so much.”

But the older Sam knew as well as he did that a nerve had been hit.

“That’s the same leap you’ll meet Ben for the first time. Or, I guess, third time now.” The hologram smiled sadly. “And that’s just one life you can change.” He stood up and began pacing the room, rattling off names. “Gerald Washburne, industrial painter, saved from falling from a scaffold. Harmony McIntyre, aged three—rescued from an abusive father before being beaten into a coma. Yuri Akito, saved from getting involved in a robbery and subsequent manslaughter conviction. I had Ziggy look into these, so I know what happens to them without us.” He shook his head. “I could go on for hours. Need I?”

“No…” Sam looked away. “But how can you know about leaps you never did?”

“How did Janis know we were the reason she exists?”

Sam squinted. “You… did mushrooms?”

“I had to know. After what happened to Addison, I—”

“Addison? What happened to Addison?”

“Oh, you don’t know that yet.” Older Sam heaved a deep sigh. “When the old version of me who was leaped into her ceased to exist, she became kind of a… a relic of the old timeline. She doesn’t remember anything that happened in this timeline. The last twenty years are a mystery to her.”

“Oh my god. Ben didn’t say anything.”

“I think he didn’t want you to feel guilty about coming home.” Older Sam rubbed his forehead. “She’s taken it well, all things considered. Well, after she recovered from her panic attack.” He paused, looking his former self directly in the eye. “I think, maybe, if you leap, we just might prevent the paradox that led to that.”

Sam let out a breath and let his head and shoulders drop, melting into his pillow. “… I see.”

Older Sam held up his handlink. “Well, I’ve said my piece. I can’t force you to do anything, so the choice is yours.” He tapped on the device. “Think about it, huh?” With that, he disappeared, leaving Sam alone in the bed, fighting back tears.

After a moment, a knock sounded on the bedroom door, before it creaked open to reveal Donna, holding a tray of breakfast.

“Oh, I’m glad you’re awake,” she said with a smile, approaching the bed. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to nuke this later.”

“You didn’t have to—”

“— Oh, nonsense, Sam. Consider it a ‘welcome home’ breakfast.” She placed it on the bed beside him, her smile fading as she got a closer look at his face. “Are you alright? You look like you’re about to cry.”

“I’m okay,” Sam lied, brushing the moisture from his eyes and sitting up. He leaned over, kissing her on the cheek. “Never better.”

*        *        *

Yawning, Addison padded down the hall quietly, and tapped at Janis’s bedroom door. She wasn’t sure if Ben would be up yet, since it was only eight, but she’d barely been able to sleep herself. Her mind was absolutely buzzing with all that she had learned the previous night.

How the hell was she, all of a sudden, smack bang in the middle of some crazy sci fi plot? She felt like the wide-eyed protagonist of a young adult novel being thrust into another world. The ‘call to adventure’, her English teacher had called it, if she remembered correctly.

To her relief, she could hear a voice inside. Was it Ben speaking to his hologram?

The door swung open, and Ben smiled as he caught sight of her.

“Morning,” he said brightly through Janis’s mouth. “I was just thinking of coming to get you.”

“Really?”

Ben ushered her inside, closing the door. “Really.” He looked to his left, grinning. “You’re really gonna do it?” he asked the empty space. “Well, okay.” He turned to Addison. “You’ll want to look away until the blinding flash is over.”

“Blinding fla—?” she was unable to finish her question before there was indeed a blinding flash, that she was unable to evade. And when it subsided, she had to blink a few times before she could make out what she was seeing.

It was like looking in a mirror, except all of her features were sharper, more defined. Older.

“Uh, hey… me,” the holographic Addison said awkwardly.

“No freakin’ way,” Addison blurted out, and took a moment to circle the older version of herself, before whipping a hand through the projection, causing it to glitch. “This is, hands down, the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! I really look like this in the future?”

“You do,” the older Addison said, chuckling. “Okay, listen up, squirt. The reason we decided it was worth showing you this was because… I need you to put your faith in Ben and Sam. They’re really good people. Maybe the best in the world. And although you’ve only just met them both, I need you to trust them like you’ve known them forever. That’s the only way we’re gonna pull this off. Got it?”

Head swimming, Addison nodded.

“Good,” the holographic Addison said. “Also, only Sam and Ben can know about what’s going on, unless Ziggy gives the okay on others knowing. That means no blabbing about it, and always making sure to call Ben Janis. Okay?”

“Okay.” Jeez, I grew up to be a hardass.

“Now, this is using a lot of power, so I’ve gotta tune you out in a minute. But I’m still gonna be hanging around Ben, so just use him as a medium if you wanna talk. No spoilers, though.” She glanced upward. “I have a feeling Ziggy is gonna demote me if I say too much about your future. That, or Magic will take me off the coffee run list and I do not want to go without my lattes. They’re the only things that have stayed the same in my life lately.”

“Man, I really miss getting a latte made just the way I like it,” Ben said as the hologram faded from Addison’s sight.

She pinched herself to make sure she was awake, before wondering about the last thing her future self had said. What did she mean, ‘only things that have stayed the same in my life?’

Well, things in her life even now were pretty fluid, now that she had a time traveller for a grandfather. Maybe it came with the territory.

And so, she narrated to herself, the shining hologram jittered and fuzzed away, leaving the blank space once again. I turned my attention to my empty stomach, and wondered where I might go to break my fast. I had a big day ahead; a mission in time given to me by my future self and her undercover time agent wearing the face of a teenage girl. So off I ventured, in search of a kitchen.

Chapter 33

Rebellious Youth

“Ah, the teens finally emerge,” came the amused voice of Beth Calavicci, as Ben followed the younger Addison to the kitchen, with the older Addison bringing up the rear.

Beth was at the table next to Al, a newspaper open in front of her and a coffee in hand. She brought her coffee mug to her lips. “I sure hope you girls weren’t up too late.”

“Oh, let ’em be teens, Beth,” Al said with a wave of his hand and a grin. “And you know, if Janis falls asleep halfway through prom, that’ll be her own problem.”

“It’ll be ours if we have to come pick her up early,” Beth shot back, poking her husband in the side.

Taking a seat at the table, which was laid out with a spread of various breakfast foods, Ben smiled as he took in the scene of Al and Beth having a quiet breakfast together, just enjoying one another’s company. Sometimes he felt so lucky to be a time traveller, and this was one of those times.

“I think I can handle one or two hours less sleep,” he said, pouring some corn flakes into a bowl. “Not all of us fall asleep on the couch mid-afternoon, you know.”

“What?” the holographic Addison said, her head tilted.

Those weren’t my words, thought Ben. He closed his mouth, a little uncomfortable, as Al gave him a look of mock hurt.

“Well, when you get to be as old as me, you’ll change your tune,” he said, pouting.

“I’ll be sure to schedule a reminder email for 2055,” Ben shot back, once again finding the words just coming out of his mouth automatically.

Uh, Janis? Is that you?

“It’ll come sooner than you think, you know,” warned Al. “Just you wait and see—old age really sneaks up on ya. One day you look in the mirror and bam! You’ve got grey hair, and wrinkles, and your back hurts.”

Having leapt into an old man before, Ben had to concede that point.

“And that’s if you’re lucky enough to live that long,” continued Al. “Some of my best pals when I was your age didn’t make it past Vietnam.”

“Here we go again with Vietnam…” Ben once again said involuntarily, before shovelling a spoon of cereal into his mouth. “I know, Dad,” he said, his mouth full. “War is Hell. Good people died for nothing. Hanoi Hotel was awful. Count myself lucky and all that. Times change, Pops. They ditched the draft and we’ve moved on as a society.”

“Ben!” Older Addison hissed. “Stop that, would you! What’s gotten into you? You’re acting like… like a teenager…”

I know! I don’t know how to stop!

Even the younger Addison was looking at him with wide eyes, worried that an argument was about to break out.

“There’s no need to take that tone, kiddo,” Al scolded. “And you are lucky that there’s no draft this time, ’cause we’re already in another war that’s resulting in pointless deaths. History has a way of repeating itself, Jan, ’cause much as we like to think we learn from the past, we don’t, and politicians never change. Trust me, I have to deal with those putzes on the daily.” He grunted. “Let’s just hope this war don’t last as long as ’Nam did.”

Knowing just how long Iraq and Afghanistan did last, Ben opened his mouth to respond, but the holographic Addison stared him down until he closed it again.

The Addison eating breakfast was looking away awkwardly, sipping at a glass of juice.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Beth said, closing her paper. “Let’s not get into this again.” She looked to Al. “Honey, why don’t you go see how Sammy Jo’s doing?”

Al nodded, and stood. “Yeah, okay.” He pointed a finger at Janis. “You’d better be on your best behaviour today at the Project. That means no giving anyone lip. Capisce?”

“Yes sir,” Ben said with a casual two-fingered salute.

Al left the room, leaving Beth to pick up where he left off.

“I wish you wouldn’t give your father that attitude, Janis,” she said. “You know how he gets about the war.”

“I know,” Ben said, feeling terribly guilty about the display. “I couldn’t stop myself.” At this, he met the older Addison’s eye.

“Well, make an effort to in the future. Please. He gets real upset when he thinks about his time in the camps, and the pointlessness of it all, you know?”

“Sorry, Mom.”

“Okay, now, I need the both of you to be ready to go in a half hour when Sam gets here. Can you do that?”

“Okay.”

“Yes, Missus… um…” Addison trailed off, apparently realising she didn’t know the surname.

“Calavicci,” Beth finished. “Please just call me Beth.”

“Right. Okay, Beth.”

“Okay.” Beth smiled, and headed out of the kitchen.

When she was finally gone, Ben sighed deeply. “Wow. That was embarrassing.”

“Real mature stuff,” the younger Addison remarked, smirking. “You’re really inhabiting your role there, huh? Bet you’d do well in drama club.”

“It’s that psycho-synergy thing,” Ben said, rubbing his eyes. “Sam told me about it—personality merging with the person I leap into. But he could control it.” He groaned, letting his forehead meet the tabletop with a thud. “Janis just took over there for a minute. I wanted to stop, but she just kept going. God, I feel like such a jerk.”

“Psycho-what now?” Older Addison asked, tapping madly at her handlink.

“Psycho-synergy. You have a Sam there, go ask him about it.”

“Okay, maybe I will.” Addison disappeared, leaving Ben alone with the younger model.

“So how much of Janis have I been talking to all this time?” the bewildered teen asked, looking him over. “Is she like, still inside there with you?”

“They’re here, but usually they’re… quiet. Janis was too, before this. She must have just felt very strongly about pestering her Dad.”

“That’s creepy.”

“You’re telling me. I’m the one who’s blurting things out before I even realise what I’m saying. And I didn’t want to upset Al of all people.” Ben folded his arms, shaking his head sadly. “In my time, he’s not around any more.”

“Oh, that sucks. I guess he’s not exactly young, but… ”

“Yeah… well… if it happens again, feel free to pinch me, or stomp on my foot or something. Something physical that a hologram couldn’t do. Anything to snap me out of that.”

“Noted,” Addison said with a grin. She glanced at the door, before leaning towards him. “Say, what do you really look like, Ben?”

“Uh, you’ll find out some day. Don’t want to spoil your future too much, right?”

Addison pouted. “You realise this is all I’m gonna be thinking about for the next twenty years or however long it takes to finally meet you?”

“Um… try to act surprised?”

Addison rolled her eyes. “Fine. First thing I’m gonna do when I finally do meet you is kick you in the shins for the injustice of it all.”

“Well… that version of me is gonna be very confused about it, since he won’t know you.”

Addison frowned. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Okay, your shins are safe for now.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Now we’d better get ready before Sam shows.” He grinned. “I can’t wait to see the old Project. I want to read all the documentation, see how Sam tackled the quantum field matrices that I found so taxing when I was building our Accelerator…”

Addison smirked. “Wait, I thought you were some kind of badass undercover spy kinda deal. You’re actually a nerd?”

“Nerds are cool in 2023.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

“Well you can’t prove otherwise.” He winked, and stood, collecting his cereal bowl and leaving it in the sink before heading for Janis’s room to get ready.

As he opened the door, he jumped as he found an older Sam waiting for him inside.

“Hi, Ben. How’s my world been treating you?”

“Oh, not so bad,” he said, closing the door. “I take it Addison told you about the—”

“Psycho- synergy. Yeah.” Sam nodded. “Well, it’s not like Janis is deranged or dangerous, but I—uh—understand you may have butted heads with Al.”

“Yeah, I feel awful about it,” Ben confirmed. “I couldn’t shut Janis up.”

Sam nodded. “Teenagers. Janis may have been smart as a whip, but she could give some serious attitude at this age.”

“You told me last leap that I might need Addison to talk me out of these episodes.” He frowned. “Wait, that was—”

“The other timeline me,” Sam said, nodding. “It’s alright, I remember.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “You remember?”

Why does he remember and Addison doesn’t?

“It’s a long story. But yes, I do recall that conversation, and it was as correct then as it is now. I’ve given Addison a few pointers, ways she might be able to bring you back to yourself if it comes to that. But it’ll be trial and error.”

“You could just turn it on and off at will. How can I learn that?”

Sam pursed his lips, shoulders giving a light shrug. “It’s not easy. Took me a long time to master.”

“No time like the present to start learning.”

“Okay, but I don’t know if this is going to make any sense,” Sam said. “I guess the key is to become the gatekeeper of your own consciousness. You have to act as kind of a bouncer, to decide what goes in and out.” Sam scratched his head. “It’s really hard to explain, you know? You’ve got to feel out the other mind. Each one has its own unique flavour, so when there’s a thought or an action that’s demanding to come through, you can differentiate if it belongs to you, or them. And then you have to beat them back. It’s a conscious effort, so you have to be on the ball. That means no drinking, no drugs, and try and get enough sleep if you can help it.”

“Dear god that sounds exhausting,” Ben said, opening Janis’s closet and rifling through her clothes.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Sam said. “Luckily, most leapees don’t fight for control. It’s the strong personalities you have to watch out for.”

“Like Janis?”

“Like Janis,” Sam chuckled. “But, like I said, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with her, even if she does seep through. We’re all on the same team, right?”

“Yeah. Right. Thanks, Sam.”

Sam offered him a warm smile. “Listen, take care of the me in your time, would you? He’s going through a few things right now. And if he needs some time to himself, let him have it.”

“Okay,” Ben said, though he wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.

“And now, back to your regularly scheduled hologram,” Sam said with a flourish of his hand, as he dissolved.

It was really nice to see this Sam, he thought. But, he thought he’d detected some sorrow under the smiling exterior. Maybe it was just seeing Al again.

Chapter 34

To Leap Or Not To Leap

Returning once again to the Calavicci household—after having gone there unannounced the previous night—Sam pulled Donna’s car’s handbrake and took a deep breath, his hands slowly loosening their grip on the wheel as he calmed himself.

He was still reeling from the early morning visitation he’d received, and was not sure if he was going to be able to keep it together. Half of him felt like he needed to talk it over with someone as soon as possible, and the other half didn’t want to burden anyone else with this grave choice.

Everyone was so happy to have him back. It would devastate them to hear that he was even considering leaping again; perhaps they were better off not knowing until he’d made his decision. But… what a decision. He wouldn’t have considered it, except that it was his own future self asking him to do it. Normally one wouldn’t do such a thing if they didn’t have deep regrets.

The one person who he could confide in that wouldn’t have lasting repercussions among his loved ones, he realised, was Ben. And who would understand his predicament more? On the other hand, Ben had sacrificed his own retrieval to bring Sam home. It would be an insult to suggest rejecting that enormous gift.

Then again, he thought, there was always Verbena. It was her job to carry such burdens, as loathe as he was to unload his onto her. And he was about to go back to the Project complex.

Sam let his hands drop to his lap as he breathed in, his eyes closed as he attempted to centre himself.

Just forget about it for now. Enjoy the company of your friends and family.

He grabbed his key from the ignition, and opened the door, pasting a smile on his face as he hurried to Al’s front door.

About ten seconds after knocking, the door opened to a glowing Beth Calavicci. Though the last time Sam had seen her was 1969, she looked just as fresh and vibrant. Sam found his smile turning genuine, and he held out his arms.

“Hi, Beth,” he said warmly as she returned his hug.

“Sam, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” she said, voice muffled. “Al’s been losing his mind worrying about you, you know.”

“So I hear. I’m sorry about that, Beth. I never realised the toll it took on him.”

Beth backed up, letting Sam in the door, turning her head into the house. “He’s here!” she called out. Turning back to him, she smiled. “I already see a change in him, you know. More relaxed. More… amorous.” She winked.

“I figured he was pushing the limits on human libido already,” Sam remarked drily.

“Well he sure pushed my limits last night,” she said in a low, impish voice, as the teenagers emerged through a doorway—well, one wasn’t a teenager per se, but he looked the part.

Addison flashed him a grand smile. “Heya, Gramps! Let’s get going—I wanna see the Area 51 stuff.”

“Area 51 is in Nevada,” Sam said, grinning. “And our project is much more interesting than a bunch of experimental attack drones.”

“You mean there’s no aliens there?” Addison said. “Not that I believe in aliens…”

“Nah —not there, but don’t count out little green men altogether,” Al said as he entered the living room side-by-side with Sammy Jo. “Sam here once had a close encounter of the… what? At least second kind, right? Big freaky UFO hovering in the sky. I saw it too.”

Sam frowned, rifling through the files of his memory banks for his sparse knowledge of UFO lore. “Yeah, probably second kind,” he confirmed. “I have a feeling I would have been upgraded to third if I’d stuck around.”

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” Addison crossed her arms. “First time travel, now UFOs?”

Sam exchanged an amused glance with Al. “I guess we’ll leave that for you to decide. Now, we’d better get moving. It’s a bit of a drive.”

“Yeah. You heard the man, let’s mosey,” Al said, heading for the door, waving an arm—and stopping to kiss Beth’s cheek on his way out.

Sammy Jo escorted her daughter out, and Ben approached Sam with a curious, half-disbelieving look.

“Uh, did you really see a UFO?”

Instead of replying, Sam simply hummed the five note melody from the movie score of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and abruptly headed out the door, leaving Ben to wonder.

*        *        *

With a broad gesture as the elevator doors opened, Sam turned to watch the faces of Addison and Ben as they entered the Control floor of his version of Project Quantum Leap.

“Here we are,” he said proudly. “Ten floors deep under a mountain in the middle of the New Mexico desert. This is where the magic happens. I mean, the science. Well, same thing, I think.”

Ben was the first to leave the elevator and begin taking in the scenery. “Awesome,” he mumbled, disappearing around a bend in the corridor.

Addison was a little more timid, sticking to her mother’s side. Al was the last to step out, watching Sammy Jo usher her daughter in the same direction as Ben.

“So she’s really gonna be that future Project’s hologram, huh?” he asked in a low voice.

“I guess so,” Sam replied.

“Think she has the X-factor?”

Sam furrowed his brow. “X-factor?”

“You know… the fashion sense.” He adjusted his bolo tie as if to demonstrate.

“I don’t think that’s a prerequisite, Al.”

“What, you’d rather a hologram blends into the scenery? Why do you think I wore my best suits in the Imaging Chamber, Sam? For your benefit!”

“You’ve always worn suits like that,” Sam countered.

“Well the Committee always preferred I wear my Navy whites on the job. Luckily I had enough clout to avoid that—I had to give you something to look forward to, right? Something you could pick out of a crowd. Something to remind you you were from the future.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “I never knew that…”

“After we lost you, it almost felt wrong to wear half my wardrobe, ’cause I knew you weren’t gonna see it.” Al pulled a wrapped cigar from his breast pocket, twiddling it in his fingers. “Yeah, I kinda lost my sharp sense of style for a while there. Lost a lot of sleep, too.”

He began to walk onward, but Sam grabbed his shoulder, turning him back.

“Al, I’m sorry. I should have contacted you. I should have said something. Left a message in the paper, or sent a letter, or—”

“It’s okay, Sam.” Al smiled. “It’s over now. We can all get on with our lives. Speaking of which, you should call your family.”

Sam watched his best friend disappear down the hall, feeling even more terrible than before. He hurried ahead, catching up to Al.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “I do have a few phone calls to make. Mom, and Katie, and… Tom, too. Can you take over the tour for me?”

“Sure thing,” Al said cheerfully. “Tell Ma Beckett I said ‘hi,’ okay?”

“I will,” Sam said with a smile. Once Al was out of sight again, he turned and briskly made a beeline for Verbena’s office.

*        *        *

In 2023, an older, but no less maudlin Sam sat in his office, hand flat on the panel that activated his personal line with Ziggy.

“Ziggy, update please. What are the odds that the former me goes through with the leap?”

“The current probability is fifty-two percent,” Ziggy replied. “But I really must ask why you intend to rewrite twenty years of your own personal history, to your own detriment? Doctor Beckett, are you presently in your right mind?”

“Ziggy, my mind has more clarity now than it has ever had,” Sam said firmly. “But you wouldn’t understand why. Just trust me on this, okay? I’m doing this for a good reason.”

Ziggy sighed. “In that case, you should know that the probability has fallen sixteen percent in the last ten minutes.”

Sam stiffened. “Really? Why?”

“Since the former Doctor Beckett is now present at the Project Quantum Leap of 2003, I am now receiving detailed records of conversations I heard at the time. It seems you just had a conversation with Admiral Calavicci about his fashion sense.”

“Why would that lower my odds of… oh…” Sam trailed off as the memory of the conversation wrote itself into his mind. He stood from his swivel chair. “Can you notify Addison to leave the Imaging Chamber temporarily? I’d better get in there and talk to him again. Privacy Protocol 1.”

“Very well,” Ziggy said coolly. “However, I’m still not completely convinced you’re not cognitively impaired in some way.”

“Guess we’ll both find out soon enough, Ziggy.”

Chapter 35

Spock Theater

Doctor Verbena Beeks, Psychiatrist for the Project, had psychoanalysed many people over Sam’s time leaping. And most of them had looked just like Sam.

The Waiting Room, which was the holding area for the people Sam switched places with in time, was often populated with a very confused person seeing a middle-aged man in the mirror, usually with a variety of their memories missing. Thus, it had been fairly important to keep them calm as best she could so they would cooperate with the questions that would allow them to find and lock onto Sam.

Of course, ever since one leap around the turn of the millennium, the room had been empty, and she hadn’t had a whole lot to do around the place. She’d certainly continued to come in to work, knowing that the mental health of Al and Sammy Jo had been getting quite worrisome, but she wasn’t able to force anyone to open up to her. And so she had merely kept herself available for these past few years, hoping in vain that someone would come and see her.

And now, it seemed, someone had.

Responding to a nervous knock on her door, Verbena opened up to see Sam looking at her with a vaguely worried look on his face.

Having seen this face time and time again over the years inhabited by leapees of all stripes—the chimpanzee had been the weirdest by far—she nonetheless wasn’t used to it having a sharp mind with all its faculties behind it. It was refreshing and a great big relief that Sam was in his own skin after all this time.

But despite this being her boss standing in her doorway, force of habit took over, and she gave him a gentle, non-threatening smile, the same as she had whenever she would pay a visit to the occupant of the Waiting Room.

“Morning Sam,” she said warmly. “Thought I might be getting a visit from you. Are you having trouble adjusting to being back, perhaps?” She stepped aside so he could enter, and closed the door as he proceeded inside.

“It’s… complicated, Verbena,” he said, sitting heavily on her couch. “I need you to promise me what I’m about to tell you won’t leave this room. No Ziggy, no Al—nobody else can know, not yet anyway.”

“Of course, Sam,” Verbena said with a worried frown. This must have been something troubling. “You know the patient confidentiality laws as well as me.”

Sam relaxed a little. “Yeah. Thank you.” He ran a hand through his hair, as Verbena took a seat in her armchair.

“Go ahead, Sam. I’m listening.”

“Well, first off…” He took a deep breath. “Do you remember yesterday, I told you that another leaper helped me get home?”

“Sure. The one from twenty-twenty something?”

“Yeah. Name of Ben. Well, turns out he leaped into Janis Calavicci at the same time as I arrived here.”

Verbena’s eyebrows shot up. “I see. Does Al know about this?”

“No,” Sam said, shaking his head. “He’s keeping it covert for now. The only ones who know are me and… Addison.”

“Sammy Jo’s daughter?” Verbena tilted her head. “Why does she know?”

“We kinda figured it out together, but that’s not important right now. The important thing is the fact that in twenty years, I work on Ben’s Project. And the older me… well, his hologram visited me this morning.”

Not knowing how to react to this, Verbena simply asked, “What did he say?”

Sam leaned back on the psychiatrist’s couch, staring at the ceiling. “Verbena… he told me to get back in the Accelerator.”

Verbena’s back stiffened. “What?! Why would he do that?”

Sam turned his head, meeting her eye. “Before Ben brought me home, I met another version of me that had been leaping for many more years. And he had seen how the people he loved suffered in his absence. He made me want to come home. But this other me, the one who was home for twenty years, is now convinced that he should have been leaping instead. So it seems like no matter what I choose, no matter what I do, I’ll regret it later.”

Boy, Verbena thought, it never was easy to be a therapist for people whose histories kept changing.

“Why would this older Sam say these things? Has something gone horribly wrong in his life?”

“That’s the thing,” Sam said, his voice husky. “He told me his life’s been great. But… it was a trade-off.” He sat up, gesturing with his hands. “You know the trolley problem, right? Do nothing, and five people die, or pull a lever and save those five, but one other person dies who wouldn’t have otherwise?”

“Sure, I’m well acquainted with the moral dilemma. What about it?”

“I was leaping around for eight years,” he said. “And every time, people’s lives were saved or made better, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, in another timeline—one with which I crossed paths—I kept going for much longer. I helped many, many more people.” He laughed bitterly. “So imagine the trolley problem where I’m the guy on the other track and I’ve got the lever. I can sacrifice my own life for those five—only in this case, it’s countless more people than that who I’d be saving. Shouldn’t I do that, Verbena? Isn’t it a no-brainer?”

Verbena stood from her seat, and took a place next to Sam. She slung an arm over his shoulders and squeezed.

“Sam, you are not responsible for some alternate universe. You have no obligation to do anything to help strangers you’ve never met.”

“But… what if I do want to save those strangers?”

“Oh Sam, I’d be surprised if you didn’t. But answer me this: when did this hologram speak to you?”

“This morning. He woke me up.”

“Are you one hundred percent sure that he was… really there?”

Sam’s eyes widened. “You don’t believe me?”

“I just want to make sure you really did see a hologram and not a… a manifestation of your anxieties surrounding coming home.”

“You think he’s some kind of… hallucination?” Sam shook his head. “No, Ben can confirm it, surely.”

“So why don’t you ask him?”

Sam looked away from her. “I didn’t want him to know I was thinking about leaving, after what he gave up to bring me back. So I haven’t told him about it.”

Sam’s eye line abruptly shifted to his left, and he let out a tired moan. “Not now…” he muttered.

“Is the other Sam… in the room with us right now?” Verbena enquired, nervously looking in the direction Sam was looking.

“Yeah, he is.” Sam stood up, addressing the ghost. “What do you want now? Do you want Verbena to think I’m losing my mind?” He listened to the silence for a moment, before continuing his tirade. “Oh, don’t go quoting Spock to me, that’s hacky.” He turned to Verbena, gesturing to the empty space. “Can you believe this guy? ‘Needs of the many.’ Tch.” He shook his head, exasperated as he turned back to the hologram, pointing a finger. “You know what else he said? ‘Live long and prosper!’ So you’re gonna have to do better than that, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” Verbena said, holding up a hand. “Stop, please… uh, both of you, I guess. Now, is there anything that can prove to me that there really is a hologram of a future Sam here?”

Sam thought a moment, and his eyes lit up as he thought of something. “I think I’ve got an idea.” He looked to the invisible Sam. “I’ll roll up an RNG.” A moment later, he nodded, and turned to Verbena’s computer on her desk. “Give me a minute,” he said, sitting down and typing.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to have Ziggy generate and store a random six-digit number, and then display it on your monitor after thirty seconds. During that time, the holographic me will query the saved value from twenty years prior on his handlink, and allow me to relay the number to you before it appears. If the number I say matches what appears on the screen, that will prove that there’s really a hologram here. There’ll be no other possible way I can know the number.”

Well, Verbena thought, that sounds pretty foolproof. Though, to be sure, she watched Sam enter the commands closely.

“Okay, the number’s been generated.” Sam’s gaze flicked across the room. A moment later, he grabbed a pen and wrote the number 718327 on his palm. He held it up, next to the monitor. “Wait for it…”

Several seconds later, the very same number popped up on the screen.

“I knew it. I knew I wasn’t losing it.” Sam was visibly relieved to see the matching number. “See, Verbena? It isn’t my subconscious anxiety manifesting. I told you.”

Blinking, Verbena wondered if she was in over her head here.

“Okay,” she said, inhaling sharply, “I guess there really is a hologram in the room with us. You’re sure it’s… you?”

“I may have missed out on seeing my own face for a few years, but I still know it when I see it.”

“Okay.” She turned to the empty space where Sam had been looking. “Hello, future Sam. Do you think we can talk this out together? The three of us?”

“He says he’d be happy to.”

“Alright. You’ll have to relay all of his contributions to our chat, but I think we can work this.” Grabbing a pen and notepad, she sat in her armchair, crossing her legs. “Okay. Sam, Future Sam… take a seat and let’s get started.”

Chapter 36

Strictly Confidential… Well, Mostly

Ben’s excitement grew as he reached the end of the corridor, finding a Control Room with a multicoloured console in its centre, being manned by a guy in a white lab coat. In the ceiling glowed a large blue sphere. He looked up at it in awe.

“What is that?” he said, mostly to himself, as he approached the orb.

“Um, hi?” the scruffy-haired man at the console said, looking at Ben questioningly. His gaze flicked back to the corridor as he noted Sammy Jo and Addison entering. “Oh, uh… I didn’t realise it was ‘bring your kid to work’ day. Nobody keeps me in the loop around here.” He shook his head, his bug eyes lowering to the console again.

“Sorry to disturb your work here, Gooshie,” Sammy Jo said. “This is my daughter Addison, and—”

“— And that’s my girl Janis,” Al finished as he arrived. “Jan, you shouldn’t run ahead like that. Security’s tight in here; you don’t want someone to pull a gun on you.”

“Uh, no, I don’t think I would,” Ben said, cringing. “I was just excited is all.” He gestured to the sphere. “What is this thing?”

“It houses my consciousness,” came a booming, aloof woman’s voice from somewhere above.

Oh… thought Ben as he realised what Addison had been describing the previous day.

“Then you must be Ziggy,” Ben said, grinning. “Are you running slow today?”

“What a presumptuous question. I’m running at full capacity; likely much better than you. I hear humans only use ten percent of their brains at any given time.”

“And I suppose you use a hundred percent of your CPU at all times?” countered Ben.

“Hmm, you make a valid point,” Ziggy said thoughtfully. “Admiral, I think I may… like this daughter of yours.”

Al glanced proudly at Sammy Jo. “My girl has a way with computers, huh?”

“That could have gone either way,” Sammy Jo said, chuckling. “Ziggy doesn’t like being outwitted.”

Beside her, Addison was looking back to the corridor, puzzled. “Hey, where’s Gramps?”

“Sam had to go make some phone calls,” Al explained with a wave of his hand. “Family stuff. He’ll be back with us a little later on.”

Ben recalled what the holographic Sam had told him earlier: that if his past self wanted to have time alone, to let him. He hadn’t mentioned anything about calling family, but he had said that Sam was ‘going through some things.’ Whatever that meant. Ben crossed his arms, wondering what the deal was there, and if it was any of his business.

Maybe not.

But then again…

Ben resolved to ask him about it when he had the chance.

“Well,” Al said, patting Ben on the back, “Since you’ve got on Ziggy’s good side, why don’t you stay here with Gooshie for a bit and he can show you how she works?” He met Gooshie’s eye. “You don’t have anything better to do, right Goosh?”

Gooshie shifted on his feet. “Well, I have, um, six performance reports to write up, and a lunch date with Tina in—” he checked his watch, “—uh, ten minutes… but other than that…”

“Alright, we’ll be back soon,” Al said, turning away and waving for Sammy Jo and Addison to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you the Waiting Room. It’s a little barren now, but…”

Addison gave Ben a look of disappointment as her mother led her to the next corridor.

Ben gave Gooshie an apologetic smile. “Uh, sorry. I don’t want you to miss your date.” He looked down curiously at the console. “If I touch this, will anything explode?”

Gooshie chuckled, and Ben caught a whiff of some truly pungent bad breath. “No, not unless your Dad gave your hand print administrator privileges.” He looked up to the orb. “He didn’t, did he, Ziggy?”

The glow of the orb scintillated playfully. “No, but Janis Calavicci is an accomplished hacker.”

“How do you know that?” Ben asked, startled. If Ziggy knew, did that mean the government knew?

“You cover your tracks well enough to put most people off your trail. I am not most people. Additionally, Doctor Beckett allowed me access to your computer last night.”

“Shh!” Ben said. “Please keep that a secret.” Ben sent Gooshie a pleading look.

The programmer held up his hands, eyes wide. “I didn’t hear anything. Honest.”

“I know other things, too,” Ziggy said in a playful tone. “Doctor Beeks should have disabled my listening module outside her office. I’m really very good at eavesdropping through doors. But perhaps I’ve said too much.”

Who’s Doctor Beeks? wondered Ben.

Gooshie frowned. “You should turn it off yourself if you know you’re hearing a private therapy session,” he admonished.

Therapy session?

“Oh, but it’s far too juicy,” Ziggy said in a petulant voice. “I can’t help that Doctor Beckett built me with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, now can I?”

“Ziggy… I’m begging,” Gooshie said. “Please don’t spread any gossip. The rumour mill… it’s bad enough around here.”

“I wouldn’t be concerned about that, Gooshie,” Ziggy said. “My virtual lips are sealed until… oh, shall we say… 2023?”

Ben’s eyes snapped to the blue sphere. What did Ziggy know?

“Now, I believe you were going to show Miss Calavicci my controls?”

*        *        *

“Alright… let me see if I’ve got all of this straight.” Verbena massaged her temples as she revised her notes.

Sam leaned back on the therapist couch, letting out a breath as he watched his future self pacing the room, arms crossed.

“So, Future Sam—you went on a drug trip, and this apparently allowed you to absorb memories from an alternate timeline where you kept leaping for twenty years. And you corroborated these leaps with Ziggy to confirm their credibility.”

“I know, it sounds crazy,” the older Sam confessed. “But that’s what happened.”

Sam relayed this message to Verbena, who frowned as she looked to Sam.

“And this… this side effect of magic mushrooms, you were familiar with this?”

Sam nodded. “I saw it first hand, when Janis took mushrooms. It’s completely plausible.”

“It’s more than just plausible,” Older Sam insisted. “I have two sets of memories in my head, and… well, I can’t stop thinking about all these people who needed my help. I know their names, their faces, their loved ones. I can’t turn a blind eye.”

Sam parroted the words to Verbena once again, as he had been doing for the whole conversation, adding: “See, this is what’s making it so hard. How can I live with myself knowing I’m going to end up feeling this way?”

Verbena bit the end of her pen. “Well, maybe there’s one way to stop that.”

Both Sams glared at her. “What?”

She pointed her pen at Sam. “You just need to resolve never to take the mushrooms, and you’ll never have those memories haunting you.”

Sam looked up at his older self, then back to Verbena. “It couldn’t be that simple.”

“The cat’s already out of the bag, Verbena,” Older Sam said, shaking his head. “Even if I don’t take the mushrooms, I’ll still remember this conversation, and know there are people that I could have helped.”

Sam passed on the argument, making Verbena sigh.

“Oh, Sam. I don’t know what I can say that your invisible friend won’t be able to shoot down. This is unprecedented territory.” She put down her notepad, leaning forward. “All I can say to the both of you is that you are taking on too much responsibility. I know you have spent the last eight years saving everybody you can, and I understand that it must feel by now like saving people is your one mission in life. But a human life is not defined by how many people they can save. Now that you’re not leaping, you get to decide what’s important to you. What and who are worth saving.”

She reached out, grasping his hand. “I’m not going to stop you from leaping, if that’s what you ultimately decide. But just don’t convince yourself that it’s something you have no choice in.”

Sam had already known this was likely to have been Verbena’s assessment of the situation. But it was good to talk about it with somebody other than himself all the same.

“I appreciate the advice, Verbena,” Sam said, eyes watering. “Thanks for listening.” He sat up, eyeing the hologram in the room. “I have to call my family.”

“Don’t let me stop you,” Future Sam said. “Sam, I am not here on some mission to destroy your life. I just needed you to understand the good you—we could still do, and I’m sorry that it’s so hard for you to know what to do. It’s not for me, but that’s because of my vantage point.” He dragged a hand down his chin. “Look, the Accelerator is only going to be online for another two days. Once it’s shut down… that’s it. So make your decision before that happens.” He hovered a finger over the handlink. “This’ll be the last time I talk to you—I don’t think there’s anything else I can do.”

With an electronic chirp, he winked out of existence, leaving Sam to deal with his churning stomach as he left Verbena’s office.

Chapter 37

Albuquerque Calls

Sam’s office was almost untouched from the time he’d left it; a few more files strewn on the desk seemed to be the bulk of the difference. He assumed Donna had rifled through his papers at one time or another in an effort to take care of business, or perhaps see if he’d left any clues on retrieving him.

Some photo frames were moved around—and some photos were distinctly different from the ones that had once been there thanks to the changes Sam had made in his own life. It was disorienting to have the memories fight in his mind over what was meant to be there and in what position. He almost wished he didn’t have a photographic memory that could detect such minutiae in his environment.

One photo in particular, which hadn’t been there before, caught his eye—the photo of a young Sam and his older brother Tom, which Al had once shown him from the Imaging Chamber. He’d said he’d save it for Sam’s return, and it was evident he’d kept that promise.

Promises, thought Sam. I’m not so great at keeping those myself, am I?

He sat down at his desk, staring at the phone a moment before picking it up and dialling a number that hadn’t existed in his memory before he’d leaped and saved his brother from his fate in Vietnam.

He recalled he’d made his brother promise to find a hole and hide through the day of his death, which he’d never done; the impetus for Sam’s arrival there in the aura of Magic. Heh. Guess it runs in the family, not keeping promises.

“Hello, Tom speaking,” came a somewhat distracted, terse voice over the phone.

For a moment, Sam lost any words, and he let out something in between a squeak and a groan from his dry throat. He regrouped, licking his lips, and tried again.

“Hi, Tom.” His voice lacked the booming authority of his brother’s. “It’s—”

“Sam?!”

Okay, he recognises my voice. That’s something.

“Yeah, you got it in one.”

“Oh my god. I… I thought you were… where have you—wait, it’s really you, isn’t it? I’m not being punk’d or something…?”

“Punk’d?” Sam said in a questioning tone, not knowing what that was supposed to mean.

“‘Smile, you’re on Candid Camera’, that kinda thing. You know, a prank.”

Sam recoiled at the suggestion. “My god, that would be a mean prank to pull if you really thought I was dead! What sick kinda person would do something like that?”

“Damn, it really is you,” Tom laughed. “Nobody gets indignant quite like my little brother. Jeez, I… I just can’t believe it…”

Sam brushed at the tears now making rivulets down his cheeks with the heel of his hand. “It’s real good to hear your voice.” Tom would never grasp just how good it really was.

“So? What happened to you? Why did you drop off the map? Years ago I got as far as talking to this guy—uh, Calavicci, right? Said he worked with you—but he stonewalled me on your whereabouts. So give me the real story, would ya?”

“Al and I worked on a top secret project, the details of which I’m not comfortable explaining over the phone. But it left me… uh, indisposed… for some years. I’m alright, though. None the worse for wear.”

“Where are you now? If you don’t want to explain on the phone, I can come see you. Hell, I can get the next flight to wherever.”

“You’d do that?”

“Sam, are you kidding? My little brother rises from his grave and I’m supposed to settle for a phone call where he can’t even spill the beans about what he’s been doing?”

“…Thanks, Tom. Do you have Donna’s current address?”

“She still at that place in Mountainview?”

“Yeah. I’m back with her there.”

“Boy, she must be happy to see you, huh? Listen, I’ll be there soon as I can. Love you, little bro.”

“I love you too, Tom,” Sam croaked.

The line clicked and went dead. Sam replaced the handset with a trembling hand. If there was anything that was going to keep him rooted to this time, it was going to be family, he thought.

He picked up the phone once again and began to dial his mother’s number.

*        *        *

“So I just put my hand here, and then…” Ben laughed with delight as the console lit up and a beam of light emerged from the hand plate, connecting with the orb in the ceiling. “Oh, that is cool.”

It all felt much more tactile than what he was used to. All these big flashing buttons and noisy controls. Retro, and yet enormously advanced for its time.

“Right, now you’ve logged in, so to speak,” explained Gooshie. “You can now access these controls…” he pointed to the console where a series of panels had lit up with data displays and slider controls. “I’m sure Ziggy has restricted your access so you can’t do any damage.” He looked up to the orb for confirmation.

“I do have a self-preservation imperative, Doctor Gushman. You needn’t worry. Oh, and did I mention Tina just entered the cafeteria?”

“Ah, nuts,” Gooshie said. “I can’t leave you here on your own.”

“It’s alright, Gooshie,” Ziggy insisted. “Please go ahead. There’s nothing problematic that Miss Calavicci is capable of doing here. I will page you if there is any problem.”

Ben squinted with suspicion at the orb, before shrugging at Gooshie. “I promise I won’t explode the place. And I’m sure the others will be back any minute.”

Gooshie considered this a moment, before giving in.

“Well, alright. I guess there’s no harm, then. Just, um, don’t make me regret this, okay?” He gave Ben a weak smile before heading into the corridor that led back to the elevator.

Ben folded his arms, speaking up toward Ziggy’s consciousness. “Alright, what’s going on here? There’s obviously a reason you got me alone.”

“Doctor Beckett is keeping secrets,” she said smugly. It was clear she was relishing having knowledge of something intriguing.

“What do you know, Ziggy?”

“I hear very nearly everything that goes on in these walls,” Ziggy said, continuing to be cryptic. “For example, I know that Doctor Beckett was brought home by one Benjamin Song, of the year 2023.”

“That’s nice…”

“And that Addison Augustine is his hologram.”

“Well, isn’t that something.”

A moment passed.

“My goodness, you’re just going to make me say it, are you?” Ziggy finally sulked.

“Go on, then… say what?”

Ziggy scoffed. “The disrespect! What sort of people are they picking to be leapers in the future? Are you even a quantum physicist, Ben Song?”

So Ziggy does know.

“Hey, there’s no rule that says a leaper has to be a quantum physicist,” Ben said, suddenly defensive of Addison, “but if you must know… yes I am. Okay?” He sighed. “I guess you got me. How did you find out?”

“Oh, just by keeping my ears open.”

Ben grimaced. “That therapy session you eavesdropped on?”

“Yes, and that wasn’t all I heard.”

Another moment passed.

“Well? Don’t you want to know?” Ziggy sounded like she was desperate to tell him whatever she was keeping secret.

“What? No! That’s private! And probably illegal to disclose!”

The orb above flickered in response. “Suit yourself. But I think Doctor Beckett may need another perspective on the…matter at hand. That’s all.”

“So let him come to me if he wants,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “God, are you a computer or a town gossip?”

“Oh, I am certainly both,” Ziggy said as though it were obvious. “Now, do you want an update on the work from last night, now that I know it must be related to your leap?”

Ben nodded. He had been worried about time running short on his plans. “Yeah, how is it going?”

“I have disabled eight computers belonging to key members of CAP.”

“Disabled? Wait, that’s more than I asked…”

“You’re welcome, Ben Song,” Ziggy said cheerily. “However, this has only marginally disrupted their plans and according to cellphone records, they may have already started gathering outside the high school.”

“Dammit.”

Shouldn’t Addison already have told me this? Where is she, anyway?

“The good news is that I can only verify six participants in this gathering so far.”

“Okay, that’s manageable.” He frowned. “But I’d better get back, pronto.”

“I have already paged the necessary people,” Ziggy said. “Ah, it feels good to be needed again. Such a shame I’m to be shut down in a matter of days.”

“Well, it won’t be forever,” Ben said, “I promise. And… thank you.”

“We’ll see if you’ll be thanking me in two days time,” Ziggy said quietly.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You didn’t want me to tell you, remember?”

Ben opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of approaching footsteps made him close it again.

“Hey, where’s Gooshie?” Al asked as he stepped into the Control Room, looking around in confusion. Behind him, Sammy Jo and Addison entered.

“Lunch with Tina,” Ben replied, still none the wiser on who Tina actually was.

“Huh, not like him to leave Ziggy alone with a stranger.” Al shook his head. “Well, never mind. Ziggy, you called us back here?”

“Yes. I was just telling Miss Calavicci that there are anti-gay protesters gathering at her high school. It may be prudent to proceed back to Albuquerque before Miss Calavicci and her girlfriend are barred from their prom.”

“Anti-gay—” Al scowled. “What a bunch of nozzles picking on a couple of teenage girls like that!” He grunted, and turned on his heel. “All right, tour’s over, folks. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. I’ll go grab Sam and we’ll meet at the elevator.”

He disappeared down the hall, and Ben met Sammy Jo’s curious eye.

“Ziggy’s pretty perceptive,” he said, shrugging.

“Yeah. I guess she is.”

Addison tugged on her mother’s sleeve. “Mom, would you mind if I go with Janis? We’re organising a counter-protest.”

Sammy Jo’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Gosh, you girls must have really hit it off last night.” She smiled. “Alright, just make sure you stay safe and peaceful. Don’t get into any scuffles.”

Addison beamed at Ben. “Of course not, Mom. Promise.”

Chapter 38

Prom and Prejudice

Principal Ronald Curtis let his sputtering old sedan come to a halt as he eyed the circus that was his high school. Who the hell were all these people standing around? He was only here to oversee the setup for prom in the auditorium—he sure didn’t expect whatever was happening here. And damned if he was in the mood for this kind of crap. Certainly not on a Saturday.

Wearing a scowl, he climbed out of the car and marched toward the crowds. It looked like there were two distinct groups here—a handful of angry-looking adults holding up signs, and some teenagers in a group of their own, screaming at the adult group. The groups were roughly the same size, though he could see some more cars pulling up, teens pouring out of them and joining the gathering.

“Oh, good Lord,” he muttered, stuffing his keys in his jeans pocket and approaching the group of adults. “Excuse me, what the hell is going on here? I’m the principal of this school and I never authorised any kind of… what is this, a protest rally?”

He looked up at their signs, and grimaced as he saw the content.

NO DEVIANTS IN OUR SCHOOLS

PROTECT THE CHILDREN

NO GAYS AT PROM

LEVITICUS 20:13

Oh, Jesus Christ, it’s a gay thing, he thought with a foul word uttered under his breath. It’s always something to do with the gays lately, isn’t it?

Ron pinched the bridge of his nose as one of the protesters emerged from the group; a large woman with a crucifix necklace and wide, judging eyes.

“You’re the principal?” she snarled. “How can you sanction this filth?”

“Ma’am, I do not know what you’re talking about,” he replied in a terse but even tone. “You are…?”

“I’m Mary-Sue Moresby, president of Concerned Albuquerque Parents,” the woman said, extending a hand. “CAP for short.”

Ron reluctantly shook her hand, eyes narrow.

“Okay,” he said. “Well, Ms Moresby, would you mind telling me what this is about? We are preparing for prom tonight and this rigmarole is just going to slow us down.”

“Sir, we were sent an anonymous tip recently about a homosexual couple that plan to attend tonight’s prom. We are here to demand an immediate stop to this deviance.” She crossed her arms. “We had been sending out emails to our mailing list so we would have a larger turnout, but apparently someone hacked us and deleted everything. I can’t help but think it was no coincidence. And I assure you, the police will be looking into it, and we’ve notified every paper in town. And you’d better believe Fox News will be hearing about this.”

Ron was not in the mood for this. The last thing he needed was a national spotlight on his school, let alone for something this controversial.

“I haven’t heard anything about a gay couple,” he said truthfully. “Just who are you talking about?”

At this, a girl emerged from the group of teenagers. Ron recognised her as one of Admiral Calavicci’s girls, the second of whom had been enrolled at his school.

“She’s talking about me, sir,” she said, scowling at the woman. “Me and Kat McCall. We’re registered as a couple on the guest list, and nobody has told us we can’t go together.”

“Oh, look at this creature,” Mary-Sue said, eyeing the girl, who had dyed black hair with blue streaks. “I should have guessed it was a devil worshipper. I’ll bet she’s into ouija boards and witchcraft. You should search her locker for satanic symbols.”

“Lady, what is the matter with you?” The Calavicci girl retorted. “Don’t you have your own life? Do you even have a kid that attends this school?” She looked smugly at Ron. “She doesn’t, you know. But even if she did, my personal life wouldn’t be her business.”

Ron groaned, meeting the girl’s eye. “Are you responsible for this… counter-protest, Miss Calavicci?”

“Yes, I am,” she said with a resolute nod. “I heard CAP was going to be here, so I called in some allies to show you that a few hateful adults are not the only ones around here with a voice and the ability to organise a snap protest.”

“Hateful?” Mary-Sue shrieked. “This gay agenda is hateful towards the family, the church, and America itself! I will not be silent while these deviants destroy our way of life!”

The Calavicci girl hiked a thumb at the woman. “You’re really going to listen to this word salad, sir?”

Ron stamped a foot. “That’s enough! Both of you, get your people off school grounds before I have you forcibly removed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”

He turned towards the auditorium, ploughing through the crowds as he seethed. He would not have his school made into a media circus.

The Calavicci girl was trouble, he could see. It wasn’t that he was happy to appease those homophobes, but frankly their threats were not empty. They would call up all the conservative media to tear him to pieces for allowing a lesbian couple to attend prom.

No, he knew it was best not to resist such terrible pressure at a time when the issue of gay rights was in the zeitgeist. He didn’t want to be eaten alive. He didn’t want his students to pay the price, even if he still had to metaphorically sacrifice two of them in an effort to keep the peace.

But how best to finesse the situation without making a mass of volatile teenagers start a riot?

*        *        *

As the principal pushed his way out of the crowd toward the auditorium, Ben retreated away from the homophobes and back into the group of high schoolers he and the teen Addison had managed to wrangle.

She was waiting for him, an uncertain expression on her face.

“What did he say? It’s a little noisy here, I couldn’t hear a thing.”

Ben shook his head. “All he said was to break it up and get off school property. Which I’ll be happy to do—once we’ve got confirmation that we’re allowed to go to prom.”

“Not looking good,” the holographic Addison said, materialising beside her teenage self. “We’ve got under twenty percent odds so far.”

Ben grimaced. “Dammit.”

The younger Addison furrowed her brow. “What? No good?”

Ben shook his head slowly, lips pursed. “We need to ramp up the pressure.”

“How?”

“Not sure—I was hoping you’d have ideas.” He looked between the two Addisons expectantly.

“Ideas for what?” came another girl’s voice—one Ben had almost forgotten about. He spun around to find Kat weaving through some kids.

“Oh, hey Kat,” Ben said with a smile. “Glad you could make it.”

As Kat reached Ben, she grabbed him by the face and planted a kiss on his lips—which he didn’t fight, but also didn’t return.

As she finished up and pulled away from him, some indistinct heckles came from the CAP protesters, who were highly offended by the display.

Ben exchanged an awkward glance with his fiancée before turning and giving the finger to the homophobes, accompanied by a large grin on his face.

“Love is love, assholes!” Kat shouted at them. In defiance, she pulled Ben in for another kiss, dipping him to make it extra dramatic. Ben uncomfortably let it happen, blushing at the holographic Addison’s giggles.

“So,” said Kat, as she brought him back to his upright position, “what’d I miss? Who’s she?” She nodded at the younger Addison, who was smiling impishly.

“I’m Addison,” she said. “I don’t go here, but I’m, uh, a family friend.”

“My Dad and her Grandpa are BFFs,” Ben explained. “Addison helped me organise this counter-protest. About half the people here are from her school.”

Kat grinned. “Nice to meet you, Alison. Thanks a bunch!”

“It’s Addison,” Ben and both Addisons corrected all at once.

“Oh, sorry. It’s loud here.” She swept her hair back. “Maybe we should go in the auditorium and confront Mister Curtis? Away from these dweebs.” She gestured a dismissive hand towards the CAP members.

Ben folded his arms thoughtfully. “Yeah, maybe.” He met the hologram’s eye, silently asking for information.

Addison took the cue, tapping at the handlink. “Your odds go up marginally if you do that. Try and talk on his level.”

“Look, I’ll do it,” Ben said to the teens. “Just gotta act like a grownup.” He winked at Teen Addison, before pointing to the CAP protesters. “Can you two distract those guys while I slip past? Don’t want them following.”

Addison and Kat exchanged a shrug.

“Leave it to me,” Addison said, patting Ben on the shoulder before marching towards Mary-Sue with a smirk pasted on her face.

“Hey, lady! The library’s over there, in case you wanted to read a book that was written more recently than 2000 years ago. You ought to try it some time! Some books are even non-fiction and contain facts!”

“Oh my god,” the holographic Addison groaned, hiding her eyes. “I forgot this was my edgy atheist phase. Come on, let’s go—I can’t watch any more of this.”

Ben stifled a laugh, and made a beeline for the auditorium entrance.

Chapter 39

Open Book

Sam sat at the upright piano in Donna’s living room, absent-mindedly playing scales as he continued to think about his big choice, turning over what Verbena had said in his head.

Feeling responsible for too much… she wasn’t wrong, he supposed. All those years knowing that he was the deciding factor in who lived or died. Even before he ever leaped, his few short years working in medicine had caused him significant stress, thinking about how much he held his patients lives in his hands.

Now, he had to admit, it was second nature to him to feel that way.

If he did stay, maybe that was a way to feel like he was still making a difference; going back into the medical field. He supposed he would need to brush up on advancements that had been made in recent years.

But even then, he’d never be able to get it out of his head that there were other times and places he was supposed to be. He mashed a palm onto the piano, sighing.

“It’s been a while since anyone played that,” Donna said as she wandered in from the kitchen, a mug of tea in her hands. “I’d been considering selling it, but I’m glad I waited.”

Sam mustered up a weak smile for her. “Any requests?”

“Did you pick up any new songs while you were leaping?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye. “I know there were at least a few musicians in the mix.”

Sam chuckled. “Yeah, a few.”

With a shrug, he poised his fingers over the keys and began playing Somewhere In The Night, a cheesy ballad he’d learned shortly before narrowly avoiding being blown to smithereens by a car bomb and then being shot in the lateral quadricep.

During the first chorus, his song was interrupted by the doorbell. Seeing that Donna was going to get it, he resumed playing.

“Let me love you there, somewhere in the—Tom?”

Sam abruptly stopped his song, standing from the piano bench as he looked Tom Beckett up and down. His older brother was a little dishevelled and had a hastily packed overnight bag in his hand.

“My god, you weren’t kidding about taking the next flight…” Sam marvelled, rushing over to Tom and wrapping him in a hug.

“I was only over in SoCal for some Navy business,” Tom explained. “Not a long flight.”

Pulling away, he gestured to the piano. “That song you were playing, I think I heard it before at some bar in Waikiki a few years back when I was out there visiting Mom and Katie.”

“That figures,” Sam said, meeting Donna’s eye momentarily. “Guy who wrote it lives out that way.”

“Well, I think you sing it better,” he laughed, and took a few steps back. “Hey, let me take a look at you. You seem healthy. Guess whatever you were doing gave you time to work out. You look fitter than I ever saw you.” He reached out a hand, feeling Sam’s arm. “Yeah. Firm, nice and toned. Impressive.”

“Uh, yeah, you could say my job’s been… pretty physically demanding,” Sam said. “But… you look great, too.”

Tom laughed. “You’re just saying that to be nice. I know I’ve lost a bit of strength lately. Getting too old, you know? The young guys are taking me to school in weight training. But never mind that—where can I stash this?” He held up his bag.

“I’ll take it to the guest room,” said Donna, taking it off him. “You two go ahead and catch up, okay?”

“Thanks, Donna,” Tom said, and turned his attention to Sam. “So, top secret project, huh? What can you tell me, Sam?”

Sam licked his lips uncomfortably, before gesturing to the couch. “Listen, why don’t we sit down? It’s going to be… difficult to wrap your head around.”

Tom raised an eyebrow as he took a seat. “Why? Is it complicated quantum physics stuff?”

Sam chuckled. “Yes, but that’s not the part that’s going to make your head spin. Now, you should know that I’m not technically cleared to tell you about this, but you have the right to know where I’ve been. And I need you to know that as far-fetched as it’s going to sound, I’m telling you the truth.”

He sat himself across from Tom, leaning on his knees.

Tom cocked his head, looking at Sam through narrow eyes. “Jeez. How far-fetched are we talking here? I know that guy Calavicci was an astronaut; so, uh, you haven’t been… in space, have you? Don’t tell me there’s a secret moon base or something?”

Sam laughed. “No, no. I haven’t been to space.” Under his breath, he added: “Though I came close a couple times.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Listen, do you remember when I was at MIT, I got my doctorate off the back of my quantum theory of time travel?”

Tom nodded. “Sure, you wouldn’t stop talking about it. The thing with the piece of string, and screwing it up into a ball.” His eyebrows rose as he connected the dots. “No… you didn’t—?”

“Build a time machine?” Sam finished. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I did.”

“Holy smokes,” Tom breathed. “But that doesn’t explain why you disappeared, does it?”

Sam winced. “I disappeared because I was—er—travelling in time,” he said nervously. This was the part that was going to be difficult.

“Oh, come on.”

“It’s true! And you even saw me do it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Sam let his shoulders drop. “Remember when I was sixteen… you came home for Thanksgiving before being deployed to Vietnam… and I was convinced you were gonna die there?” He gestured a hand for emphasis. “I told everyone I was from the future…”

“Yeah, I always assumed that was the start of your interest in time travel.”

Sam shook his head. “No, I was telling the truth. I was from the future. Only, you just saw the young me, so nobody believed it.”

“Yeah okay, that’s real cute, Sam.” Tom regarded him with a cynical expression. “If that was you from the future, why didn’t you know I survived Vietnam, huh?”

“Because you didn’t the first time around,” Donna chimed in from the hall entrance.

“Pardon?”

“I know it’s a little mind-bending, but when I first travelled in time, you had died in Vietnam,” Sam offered. “But I managed to change it. I went there and I saved your life.”

Tom frowned. “The only guy who saved my bacon in ’Nam was—”

“Your buddy Herbert Williams, right? Nickname ‘Magic?’”

“Exactly. I told you about him, didn’t I?”

“Maybe you did,” Sam said with a shrug. “But I wouldn’t have known at the time that it was actually me.” Sam let out a heavy breath. “There was a reason he had a ‘sixth sense,’ Tom. Why he knew things before they happened. The same reason the teen version of me knew the date you were supposed to die.”

Tom’s brow was deeply furrowed. “I don’t understand, Sam.”

“I was Magic. Or at least, for a couple of days, I was. That’s how my time travel worked. I would replace other people for short periods of time; live their lives. And you witnessed it twice.”

Tom was silent for a few moments, then finally frowned. “You have to be yanking my chain, right?”

“It’s the truth, Tom,” Donna said quietly. “Things were different before Sam travelled in time. You were… dead… and I had never married Sam. He’s helped far more people, you know. So many people are alive today because of Sam.”

Donna crossed to a bookshelf, pulling out an old book on the Vietnam war and flipping through the pages.

“It’s in here somewhere… that photograph that won the posthumous Pulitzer for Maggie Dawson…”

At this, Tom’s gaze snapped to her. “Maggie Dawson? I knew her…”

“Me too, because I was there,” Sam said. “She took photos of those POWs just before she died, if you remember.”

“I haven’t seen those photos in decades,” Tom admitted.

Donna turned the book, showing the photo.

“Wait…” Tom murmured. “Is that…”

“That’s Al Calavicci,” Sam confirmed. “The same one I’ve been working with all these years. I couldn’t get him home early, and I couldn’t save Maggie, but I did save you.” He swallowed. “I’m not telling you this to brag, or claim some kind of hero status, I just thought you had the right to know.”

Tom melted into the couch, taking in all that he had just heard. “Jesus,” was all he uttered as he rubbed his eyes.

“Can I get you some coffee?” Donna said suddenly. “Or…”

“Got anything hard?”

Chapter 40

Anger Mismanagement

Ben tapped anxiously at the door to the auditorium, hoping someone was close enough to hear it over the general din of the protests going on.

As he awaited a response, he turned to Addison. “Hey, where were you before, anyway? Back when I was at the Project.”

“Ziggy pulled me out,” she replied, frowning. “Said something about diagnostics? I dunno—I went and had lunch.”

“Weird,” Ben said, scratching his head before trying another knock. “Well, you missed some things. Ziggy had me cornered and really wanted to tell me about some therapy session Sam was having. She sure is… intense, huh?”

“Therapy session?” Addison screwed up her nose. “Why would Ziggy want to tell you about something like that?”

“I know, right? Seems like private doctor-patient stuff. But I can’t help but wonder if it was something to do with me.” He stared at the unmoving door another moment before sighing. “There another way in?”

“Yeah, around the side.” Addison bobbed her head to the left, and Ben followed the direction, moving around the side of the building where there was a fire exit.

“Has, uh, the other Sam spoken to you today?” Ben asked. “I mean, besides the psycho-synergy talk earlier.”

Addison shook her head. “No, why?”

“I don’t know, something just seemed to be bothering him when I saw him before. I just wonder if it’s related to what’s happening on this side.”

Ben knocked loudly at the fire door before turning back to Addison.

“Well, everyone’s a little tense here, since we’re rewriting parts of their history as we speak.” Addison said. She snorted. “And mine too, but I don’t remember this version anyway, so who cares, right? Long as I stay in good health. I guess I’m the only one who has nothing to lose.”

Ben gave a resigned nod. “Well listen, maybe if you get the chance, ask him if anything is the matter. Something in my gut’s telling me there’s something he’s not saying.”

A change in Addison’s eye line made Ben turn around, as the door clicked open, revealing a bespectacled woman in her thirties.

“Oh? Janis, what are you doing here?” she asked in a puzzled tone, eyebrows high. “Prom’s not for five more hours.”

“Oh, this is—” Addison checked her handlink, “—Miss Wilma Harris, she’s your French teacher.”

“Oh, uh—salut, Mademoiselle,” Ben said. “Je dois parler au directeur, s’il vous plait?”

Wilma waved a hand. “Oh, it’s my day off teaching, save your French for the speaking exam, Janis. Though that was some competent pronunciation, I have to admit.” She stepped aside. “Come on in, Principal Curtis is just hanging a banner right now.”

“Merç—uh, thank you,” Ben stammered, heading inside to find a sneak peek of the prom decorations. Several teachers were working in the auditorium, all absorbed in their tasks. The principal was atop a ladder, affixing the corner of a banner to the rafters. A roll of tape was wedged between his teeth.

Ben peered up at him, hands clasped behind his back. “Mister Curtis, do you have a minute?”

Ron’s eyes flicked down to Ben, and although he was already baring his teeth biting down on the tape, Ben could still detect a grimace.

An indistinct grunt came from the otherwise-occupied principal, and he held up an index finger.

“I can wait,” Ben said, and rocked on the balls of his feet as he let Ron finish his task and descend the ladder, finally removing the roll from his mouth.

“Miss Calavicci,” he said in an unhappy tone. “What was your first name again?”

“Janis.”

“Right. I meet hundreds of students every year, you know. Difficult to put names to faces sometimes.”

“That’s quite alright,” Ben said, acting his most professional.

“Now, Janis, I did tell your friends out there to leave, didn’t I?”

“Yes sir, and I’m sorry, but we won’t be going anywhere until you can guarantee that Kat and I will be allowed to go to prom. Those people out there, they have nothing to do with this school—they’re nothing but pot-stirrers. And I won’t let them steamroll you, sir.”

Ron wearily rubbed his eyes. “Janis, that concerned parents group, whatever they want to call themselves—they’re threatening to call in the national media. I can’t let that happen; it’s liable to ruin the lives of every student at this school.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry Janis, but I am afraid I’m going to have to bar you and Kat from the event. This is beyond my control at this point.”

Ben felt his stomach twisting inside of him. “But sir, you can’t just let bigotry win like this. Please. We can turn the media coverage into positive publicity for the school district. Believe me, more people want queer-inclusive schools than the conservative media would have you believe!”

Ron looked defeated, but not in the way that Ben was hoping to see.

“I’m sorry, Janis. Please go and tell your… ahem, girlfriend… that the two of you may not attend the festivities tonight. We will do what we can to make up for this. Maybe my wife can whip you up some cupcakes for Monday in apology.”

“Cupcakes…” Ben spat, his cheeks burning with anger—perhaps not his own. “That’s all you have to offer, huh? Some lousy cupcakes? I suppose you won’t compensate us for the money spent on our tailored outfits, or the emotional damage you’ve inflicted on us to protect some virulent homophobes, will you?”

“Ben, cool it!” Addison snapped. Ben barely heard her, and the part that did was swallowed by the rage.

“Miss Calavicci, you won’t take that tone with me again,” Ron boomed, anger overtaking his formerly meek demeanour, “or there will be detention waiting for you on Monday instead of cupcakes.”

Furious, Ben clenched his jaw and spun around, storming away to the door. Behind him, Addison’s frantic cries were distant, blended with the shouts of the crowd out in the schoolyard.

Janis’s teen rage propelled him out to a trash can by a bench, which he proceeded to kick until it fell over, spilling some rotting food as the metal lid clanged and rolled away.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” Ben dropped to the ground, pounding a fist into the concrete. As his knuckles began to bleed, he leaned back on his heels and began to sob, his sense of self completely obscured by the raw emotions.

That cowardly, kowtowing piece of… urrgh!

*        *        *

“Get thee behind me, Satan!” Mary-Sue screeched, holding her crucifix pendant towards Addison.

Laughing, Addison flipped her hair behind her ears nonchalantly. “What do you think I am, a vampire? What’s your little necklace going to do to me? Do you expect me to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West?”

“Christ will defeat the demonic forces that have overtaken this city,” the woman cried, “and all those who serve the devil!”

“Lady, I’m an atheist, not a devil worshipper. I don’t believe in a devil either.” Addison wondered if she was wasting her time trying to engage with this kind of… wackiness. Yeah, that was the polite word for it. Ben had already gained access to the auditorium, so she may have been beating a dead horse on this one.

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled—”

“Oh my god, do you say or think anything your pastor didn’t shout from the pulpit last Sunday?” Addison rolled her eyes and turned away.

“You will regret your choices when you find yourself at the gates of Hell, young lady!” Mary-Sue yelled as Addison walked away.

“Yeah, yeah—I’ll see you there,” Addison snarked over her shoulder, and as her head turned to the front again, she stopped short, almost walking straight through her older self’s ghostly form. “Whoa!” she hissed.

“Sorry,” her mature-age double said quickly. “Look, I need your help.”

“What happened?”

Adult Addison pressed a finger to her lips. “Don’t talk to me, okay? Nobody else can see me, remember? Just listen and do as I say.”

Addison closed her lips, giving a slight nod.

“Okay, follow me,” the hologram said, passing through the crowd, her form flickering like a badly tuned TV image as it phased through the other teens in the crowd. Even knowing all about holograms, Addison was still awed to be seeing such a freaky futuristic thing happening. And her own future self, no less.

She followed, towards the auditorium, and then out to one side of it. Adult Addison stopped and held up a hand.

“Uh, Ben’s just over there,” she said nodding behind herself. “Thing is, he’s doing that thing again. The psycho-synergy with Janis.”

“Oh, like this morning?”

“Exactly. And he doesn’t seem to be hearing me because of the neural interference, or at least that’s what Ziggy says. Would you be able to try and snap him out of it for me? He’s kind of… angry though. So don’t do anything that’ll upset him further.”

She stepped aside, revealing Ben—or was it Janis?—kneeling on the ground, weeping and pulling up clumps of grass before throwing them violently into a trash heap by an overturned can.

“Jeez…” Addison whispered, and slowly approached the figure. “Hey… you okay?”

“No I’m not okay,” he snapped back at her. “Kat and I were planning this for a month, and Curtis just gets to kick us out at the last minute to cater to the hateful whim of some random fundies! How is that fair?!”

“It’s not. But listen, you’re a grown man, remember? You can deal with stuff like this, right?”

Ben looked at her like she had two heads. “What?”

“You’re Ben, remember? Ben Song.”

By the blank look she received, she could tell it wasn’t ringing a bell.

“Sorry, who are you again?”

Addison frowned. “Addison.” Janis didn’t know her, she supposed.

“Well… Addison… just leave me alone, would you?” ‘Janis’ resumed digging at the grass in frustration.

So, if I can’t do anything that’ll make Janis angrier, that rules out stomping on feet or slapping. But there’s one thing that I know startled Ben pretty effectively.

She walked up to him, dropped to her knees, and planted a kiss on Ben’s lips.

Immediately, she felt him tense up, and his red eyes popped wide open.

“Whoa, whoa, stop—!” he pushed her back. “Oh my god. You really need to stop doing that, Addison! You’re sixteen and I’m…” he trailed off, brow furrowed. “I’m a grown man. Oh.”

Addison pumped a fist. “Ha! I knew that would rock your world.”

Wincing, Ben wiped at his lips. “I guess, thank you, but please… please don’t do that again.” He looked up at the holographic Addison, who was looking back at him sheepishly. “Uh. Hey. That was…”

“Inconvenient,” Adult Addison finished. “Look, forget it. We need to regroup before we fail this leap.”

Ben nodded. “Yeah.” He stood, dusting off his bleeding hands. “I think I may need medical attention. Know any good doctors?”

Chapter 41

The Best Policy

“So lemme get this straight,” Tom said, scratching at his five o’clock shadow. “You were bouncing in time like some kind of pinball, and you had no idea if you were ever gonna get home, or even see your own face in the mirror?”

Sam swallowed the bite he had been chewing of his turkey sandwich. “There was more to it than that,” he said. “I wasn’t leaping randomly. Every time, I had a… what do they call it in the military? A mission, right?”

“But no mission briefing…?”

Sam shrugged. “At first, my AI computer Ziggy could make predictions about my goal, and Al relayed them to me. Of course, a few years back they lost me and I had to work it all out on my own. But it wasn’t as difficult as you might think. I got pretty good at intuiting what I had to do.”

He stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth hungrily, watching the cogs in Tom’s mind slowly turn.

On the other side of the table, Donna nibbled at her own sandwich, meeting Sam’s eye. “I guess it’s a lot to take in,” she said quietly.

Sam wondered if that was her way of telling him to change the subject and give Tom some time to come to terms with the information already dumped on him.

Fair.

But, he was still glad he’d finally told one of his family. They all deserved the truth. And at least now, with Tom knowing, if he did go back to leaping, his brother would be able to relate to them what happened to him.

The question of how to explain Sammy Jo and Addison, though, still eluded him. But they were family. He’d have to bring it up. Right? He didn’t want to be like that dirtbag bigamist he’d once leaped into, hiding two separate families from one another. Besides it being reprehensible, he knew from experience just how exhausting that could get.

“So where’s Calavicci now?” Tom asked, stabbing at some lettuce with a fork.

“He’s at home with his wife,” Sam said, smiling with the knowledge that Beth was yet another one of his successes. “It’s not far from here. He had dinner here with us last night.”

“You said he relayed you info from the future? How?”

Sam dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “Subatomic agitation of carbon quarks tuned to the mesons of my optic and otic neurons.”

With a blank expression, Tom’s eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly. “Okay, brainiac, now do English.”

“He showed up as a hologram projected to my space-time coordinates in a way that only I could see or hear. For the most part.”

“Huh,” Tom said thoughtfully. “So he was the only guy from your own time you could talk to the whole time?”

Sam nodded. “Partner, mentor, friend. He was all I had.”

“And so when they couldn’t find you… you had nobody?”

Sam looked to Donna. “Not entirely.”

“About a year ago, Sam opened a secure line of communication with me from one of his leaps close to the present day,” she said. “Of course, he didn’t really get to use it except for when it was first constructed.”

Sam reached across the table, taking her hand. “It was worth it all the same. I had a lot to get off my chest.”

The two shared a moment, before being interrupted by the doorbell.

Again?

Wondering who it was this time, he headed out to the entrance and opened the door. Janis’s face peered back at him.

“Heya Sam, hope we’re not interrupting—have you got a first aid kit?” Ben blurted out in one breath, holding up a hand with a bloody tissue stuck to it. “You’re a doctor, right?”

A startled Sam took a hold of his hand, looking with concern at the raw wound underneath. Had the protest turned violent? “Uh, I’ll have to ask D—”

“Also, we need your input on the leap, Gramps,” Addison added cheerfully, stepping up to the doorway from the side. “We hit a dead end, and then Ben got a psycho-cinnamon and it was a total mess.”

Sam squinted. “Psycho-cinnamon?”

“What leap…?” came Donna’s sharp voice from behind Sam. “What’s going on, Sam…?”

“Uh, did she just call you ‘Gramps?’” another baffled voice chimed in.

“Oh boy,” Sam said with a wince, turning to see both Donna and Tom looking at him with matching puzzled expressions. “I think the cat’s out of the bag, Ben.”

*        *        *

Once again, Tom Beckett was dazed after another round of explanations, staring into the middle distance with a furrowed brow.

Donna was frowning at Sam as he double-checked the bandage he’d applied to Ben’s hand. Sam finally met her eye, offering her a sheepish smile.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to lie to you, but—”

“It was my fault,” Ben said. “I asked him to keep quiet. And Ziggy said to.”

Donna sighed and let her chin rest in her hands. “It’s alright. I understand. But we all could have been helping, you know. For once, everyone around you is on your side. You should make the most of it.”

“She’s right, you know,” Sam said. “Ziggy probably gave that order so she’d have fewer variables to deal with, but I think maybe it’s best everyone knows.”

He turned to his brother. “Tom… you, uh, doin’ okay there? I know this is a lot…”

Tom licked his lips. “You’re sure I’m not being punk’d?”

“That’s totally what I thought when they told me all this!” Addison piped up. “But they showed me the facility and everything this morning. Oh, and I’ve seen the hologram.” She leaned in, grinning. “It’s me from the future. Crazy, right?”

Tom scrubbed a hand over his face, and looked at her. “And what’s your story, anyway? Why do you call Sam…”

“Gramps?” Addison finished, looking to Sam with a smirk. “I guess that makes you—what, my Great Uncle?”

Tom’s eyes snapped to Sam. “Sam, what the hell?”

“Uh, well, yes, she’s… she’s my granddaughter. And I’d rather not talk about how that, um, happened.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve had the birds and bees talk, Uncle Tom,” Addison added, clearly enjoying this.

“How… how old is your mother…?” Tom asked her slowly, eyes widening.

“Thirty-six.”

As Tom’s eyes bored into him, Sam sank into his chair, wishing the ground would open and swallow him.

Donna loudly cleared her throat. “So, Ben. What’s this problem with the leap you’re having?”

Ben, apparently just as happy to change the topic, perked up. “Uh yeah. Doesn’t look as though the principal is gonna budge on keeping Janis and Kat out of prom. Too scared of bad publicity. CAP is threatening to call up the national media. There’s nothing I, as a teenager, can really do to change his mind. Especially when Janis keeps getting all… you know, hormonal on me. I nearly lost it earlier.”

As Sam puzzled out Ben’s predicament, he packed up the first aid kit and returned it to its place in the kitchen drawer.

If a teen couldn’t make a difference, then what about her father?

“Maybe we should ask Al to go down there and talk to the guy,” he said as he returned to the table. “He probably has the best chance to change the guy’s mind. When he puts on his Navy whites, he has a way of demanding respect, you know?”

Ben nodded thoughtfully. “Worth a shot.”

“We’d better tell him the truth,” Sam added. “About you.”

Ben winced. “Okay… that’s gonna be an awkward conversation for the both of us, huh?”

“Back when I first leaped,” Sam said thoughtfully, “when Al walked into the Imaging Chamber, he didn’t see me; he saw the person I saw in the mirror. Then, in the Waiting Room, he saw what looked like me, except it was somebody else. It became routine for him. So I’m sure he’ll be able to cope with his daughter not being Janis for a few days.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you’d better call him all the same.”

Sam chuckled, heading for the phone on the kitchen wall. “Alright.”

Al was on the speed dial, so he pressed it and waited, leaning against the kitchen counter.

As the other end of the phone rang, he eyed Tom, who looked quite pale, and hoped he hadn’t unloaded too much too fast on him. He’d already been breathless just to see Sam after all these years, and now he just looked like he was experiencing something tantamount to a computer crash in his head. It certainly wasn’t what he’d expected the explanation of Sam’s disappearance to be. Maybe he should have just indulged his brother’s theory about a moon base, he thought.

But that would have been a lie.

“’Lo?” came Al’s voice on the line.

“Hey buddy,” Sam said brightly. “Listen, what would you think if I asked you to help me with a leap? You know, for old time’s sake?”

“A leap? What are ya talkin’ about, Sam?”

“Well, uh, the thing is…” Sam swallowed. “You remember I was telling you about Ben?”

“Ben’s here? That’s great! Who’d he leap into?”

“Uh, Janis.”

“…Oh boy.”

Chapter 42

Naval Gazing

Pulling up at the kerb in front of Donna’s place, Al rolled down his window as he eyed the gathering out front. Addison, Sam, Donna, Tom—Already? That was fast—and… ‘Janis.’

He nodded to Tom, leaning an elbow out the window. He wore his crisp white uniform and hat, fully decorated with a career of bars and ribbons. “Afternoon, Captain Beckett,” he said. “Don’t suppose you have another round of colourful language for me today? Last time you left me a voicemail I had to take notes, because those were some mucho creative insults.”

Tom was pale, and neglected to meet his eye. “Uh, not today, Admiral.”

“Oh, Al,” Sam said, shaking his head. “I can only imagine the two of you butting heads over me. But lay off of my big brother today, okay? I just told him… well, pretty much everything, and you know how crazy it all gets.”

Al cleared his throat, shifting in his seat as he looked at what he now knew was not his daughter. “Oh, I know.” He hiked a thumb to his back seat. “Alright, who’s coming?”

Addison hurried to the car, followed by Ben. Al looked to the unmoving Sam curiously. “What about you?”

“I’m staying with Tom while he, uh… comes to terms. But if you need me, I’m just a phone call away.”

Seeing how shaken Tom looked, Al nodded in acceptance of that. “Fair enough.”

The two ‘teens’ climbed in and fastened their seat belts, and Al eyed the visage of Janis in the rear view mirror with suspicion.

Ben gave him an anxious smile. “Heya… Dad…”

“Don’t call me that,” he said, cringing. “You know, I shoulda noticed something was off when Ziggy was so nice to you.”

“Sorry,” Ben said. “It was Ziggy who told me not to come clean, you know.”

“Yeah, she’s a stickler for the rulebook,” Al muttered, gripping the steering wheel and peeling out into the street. “When it suits her.”

“You look sharp as ever in that uniform,” Ben offered. “I haven’t seen you in it for… maybe five or six years. Not since the early days of our project.”

This caused Al to raise an eyebrow. “You know me in the future, huh?”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, I knew you.”

Knew.

Yeah, there was no sugar-coating it. Al knew the cigars would catch up with him some day.

“Was it… preventable?”

Ben looked uncomfortable. “I don’t… I don’t think so. I don’t really remember. And it might have changed since I leapt.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess you ain’t meant to know your own death.” Al bit his lip as he considered. “But on the bright side, least I know I’ll live that long.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “Nobody can say you didn’t live a full life, Al.” He smiled, looking out the window. “You used to tell the most outrageous stories. I could never tell if they were true.”

Al snorted. “That’s for me to know. Ben, was it?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice to properly meetcha. How long’ve you been here, anyway?”

“Since about the time Sam arrived. We leapt together, so it stands to reason we probably got here at the same time.”

“And so, uh, that little scene at the breakfast table this morning…”

Ben gritted his teeth. “Those were… not my words. And I’m sorry about that.”

Al chuckled. “That’s my Janis for ya. Too damn stubborn to let a leaper do his job without giving notes.”

Ben echoed Al’s laugh. “She’s going to become a great physicist, you know? If it weren’t for her help…” he trailed off, eyes darting to Addison next to him. “…Uh, anyway. I consider her a close friend.”

“I knew she’d do great things,” Al said proudly. “She’s gonna shine at Caltech. Beats staying in this old city, that’s for damn sure.” As he finished his sentence, he pulled up his car by the duelling protests on the high school campus. “And as if I needed an example, here’s some rednecks to prove the point…” He turned to the back seat. “Alright, where’s this principal?”

“In the auditorium,” said Ben, “at least that’s where he was an hour ago.”

“Okay.” Al cracked his knuckles, opening the car door. “Anything I should know about this guy before I go in there and hold his feet to the fire? I’ve met him a few times, but it was only ever your basic pleasantries.”

Ben and Addison exchanged shrugs.

“Look, I only just met him,” Ben said feebly. “He’s in a bad mood and he’s scared of the media attention—that’s all I can really tell you.”

Al crossed his arms. “I wasn’t asking you, kid. What does Ziggy say? Isn’t your hologram hangin’ around here somewhere? Ask her; it’s what she’s there for, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Ben shot a look behind him, in the third row of seats. “Anything worth knowing, Addison?” He listened a moment before beginning to relay what the invisible Addison was telling him. “Principal Ronald Curtis… fifty-three… twice divorced, known for being stingy with teacher supplies. In fifteen years he retires and moves to Florida. Nothing else to tell.”

“Twice divorced, huh?” Al stroked his chin. “In another life, I had five marriages. And divorces. Might be an opening.”

“In another life?” Addison tilted her head.

“Lot can change with time travel,” Al said simply, before leaving the car and heading into the crowds.

Putting on his best no-nonsense stride, the mass of people divided like the Red Sea as his military aura startled them into submission.

“Thank you for your service,” one of the anti-gay protesters said as he passed.

Al stopped in his tracks, turning to the man with a withering look. “Hey, pal. Do you know how many gay men are in the military?”

“No—”

“That’s because of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” he continued. “But believe me, there are plenty. Will you be thanking them for their service too? Or are you gonna go with your Bible verse there and call for their death like you’re an enemy combatant?”

It had been years since Sam had evolved Al’s views on gays in the military, and ever since, he’d been a vocal advocate for the abolition of the horribly homophobic rules still in place. And more and more, bigotry towards the queer community had been boiling his blood. Since Janis had come out as bisexual, he’d had even more skin in the game, and it truly was gloves-off time, he thought. This fight had to be won.

“Personally, I would ask for them to be dishonourably discharged,” the man responded, slowly shrinking away from Al.

“Oh yeah? Well I guess it’s a relief that instead of making those kinda calls, you have so little goin’ on in your life that you’ll stand around a high school trying to ruin my daughter’s prom night.” He took a step closer to the man, itching to feed him a knuckle sandwich, but knowing that wouldn’t help his cause. “You nozzles better be gone by the time I come back out,” he finally said, before turning on his heel and proceeding to the auditorium.

A woman with glasses was milling just out the front, smoking a cigarette.

“You work here?” he asked as he approached.

“Yeah. Can I help you, sir?” she peered at his medallions and pins. “Uh…”

“Admiral,” he said, assuming she was trying to figure out his rank. “I’m here to see Kurt.”

“You mean Mister Curtis?”

“Yeah, him. The principal.”

She pushed the door open for him. “In there. I hope you’re not with those guys…” she bobbed a head towards the protesters. “He’s getting ready to call the cops on ’em, you know.”

“I am not with those Bible bashers,” Al snapped, before regaining his composure, brushing a loose hair on the side back, and pulling down his shirt. He stepped into the auditorium, where some cheap decorations hung along the walls.

Holding a clipboard and looking down at a folding table being set up was the principal.

“Principal Curtis?” he asked loudly, garnering the man’s attention.

“What is it now—?” the man replied reflexively, before he saw Al standing in his uniform and his eyes widened. “Oh, Admiral Calavicci…” he swallowed nervously. “Hello.”

“You’ve got yourself some explaining to do,” Al said, arms crossed. “So let’s hear it. How come my daughter’s crying right now ’cause she can’t attend her prom?”

Well, she probably would be if it was her.

Ron placed his clipboard down onto the table with a dramatic sigh.

“Look, I’m sorry about Janis. I really am, okay? And the McCall girl, too. But surely you understand the hell that group out there is gonna be raining on this school if we go through with this whole… lesbian thing…”

“I understand the hell I’m gonna be raining down if you don’t change that mind of yours,” he growled. “Now either you join us here in the twenty-first century where love is not an exclusively held privilege of straight people, or I’m gonna personally haunt your every waking moment. I’m very good at that kinda thing, you know.”

Curtis looked shaken, and he rubbed his eyes. “Oh god, can’t you see how I’m caught between a rock and a hard place, Admiral? But the fact is, this school simply doesn’t have the resources to deal with this kind of thing. Frankly I’d rather have you up in my face than a news camera, because the camera represents a million more people than you.”

“Resources?”

Curtis gestured around at the decorations. “Look around you! Look at this trash. You think I go out of my way to buy these crummy balloons from the discount racks? This school has no money and we’re relying on scraps. We don’t have some PR manager to talk to the press, and I’m sure not trained for that.”

He wandered to the stage, leaning against the raised surface and shaking his head. “Hell, the teachers have to buy their own damn chalk.”

“So that’s it, is it?” Al said, joining him against the stage. “You’re out of moolah.”

“Well, that’s a major factor in my decision, yes.”

Al frowned. So he could try to keep forcing the issue, but without the cold hard cash, he wouldn’t get far.

“I’m no stranger to budget cuts myself,” Al said thoughtfully. At Curtis’s look of incredulity, Al smirked. “Oh, Congress have endless money to fund war, don’t get me wrong. Never can reach a limit on military spending. But scientific research? Oops, suddenly their wallet’s in their other pants. Right now my main gig’s coming to an end ’cause of that.”

“So you understand that there’s nothing I can do. Short of a generous donation…”

Al snorted. “Sorry, I’m fresh out.”

“Well, there you have it.” He looked downward in defeat. “My hands are tied. Sorry, Admiral.”

Al huffed, and headed for the door. It seemed as though nothing was going to change this guy’s mind. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, placing a call to Sam; maybe he’d have an idea of a Plan C.

*        *        *

As Principal Ron Curtis surveyed his hard work, he sighed. The prom decorations sure looked pathetic. Balloons that could only be filled half way before popping, banners that had been in use since 1983, a drinks table with thin plastic cups that crumpled if you so much as looked at them wrong.

The DJ for the night was going to be one of the art teachers, Mark Dickerson, with his personal CD collection. He hoped the guy wouldn’t show up stoned this time. Last year, the delays between songs had gotten grating, by all accounts.

Boy, he was glad he wasn’t one of the students that would be looking back on this lacklustre event for the rest of their lives.

“Alright Wilma, let’s go take a break,” he said, stretching and looking at his watch. “We have two hours ’til showtime. Wanna get a bite?”

“Sure,” Wilma said, sliding out from under the stereo system and dusting her hands off. “Lemme guess, you won’t be buying.”

“You know how it is.”

The two of them shared a grim look before turning for the door. Ron hadn’t made it out of the auditorium when the cell phone clipped to his belt began to ring.

“Hello, this is Ron Curtis,” he answered.

“Hi Mister Curtis,” came a man’s voice. “You’re the principal of the South Mesa High School, right?”

“Yes, I am—to whom am I speaking?”

“Well, my name’s Doctor Sam Beckett,” the man said.

Sam Beckett… have I heard that name before? Well, there was the playwright I guess.

“I’m a Nobel Prize winning physicist and, uh, philanthropist,” the voice continued.

That’s it, I remember him from Time magazine some years ago. Why would he be calling me?

“You know, I heard through the grapevine that your school was going to allow your first ever same sex couple at prom, and—”

Ron let out a nervous laugh. “Uh, well, the thing about that is—”

“— and I just wanted to show my deepest appreciation to your school for being so progressive in the face of a possible backlash. That takes a special kind of principal.”

“Mister—I mean Doctor—”

“In fact, I’m so impressed that I’m willing to give a sizeable donation to your school to show my gratitude at your bold, brave stance.”

Ron stopped dead in the doorway. “A donation, you say?”

“Absolutely. I’d like to present the cheque at the prom tonight, if that’s possible.”

Ron licked his lips. “Just how… sizeable… are we talking here?”

“How does two million dollars sound?”

Ron held onto the door frame, suddenly weak at the knees. Could this be true? Had his prayers been answered?

“Hello? Mister Curtis?”

“I…” Ron cleared his throat. “I humbly accept your generous donation, Doctor Beckett.”

Chapter 43

Good Deeds Plant Seeds

Sam grinned as he returned the phone to the cradle. Most people wouldn’t have felt this good to give away half their fortune, he thought.

He briefly made eye contact with Donna across the room, who was giving him a look of disappointment blended with understanding. He responded to the unspoken communication with a tilt of his head and a shrug.

Tom, sitting at the kitchen table, was not so subtle.

“You’re really going to give two million bucks away just like that?” he asked, mouth hanging open. “Are you completely out of your mind?”

Sam laced his fingers together sheepishly. “Sometimes, you have to take drastic measures to make sure a leap succeeds. And I didn’t know I even had that money ’til yesterday, so there’s no reason to miss it.”

Tom shook his head in disbelief. “Good Lord! The Sam I knew eight years ago may have been a generous guy, but I never would have pictured him doin’ something like this. And this is all to… to make sure a couple of girls can go to prom?”

“Well, I guess I’m not the Sam you knew, Tom,” Sam said quietly, sitting down across from his brother. “Leaping, it… changes a person, you know?” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve led a charmed life—I mean, you were there, so you know that. I was so lucky to be born into the family I was, who could identify my gifts and nurture them until I went to university and got my doctorates; to be afforded every opportunity in the world. And I knew that I was fortunate to have that, but it never really sunk in just how deep the chasm is between my experience of life and that of so many other people. Not until I leaped, and I experienced it first-hand, one life at a time.”

Tom drank in his words in silence, looking intently down at his hands.

“So, if I can make the world that little bit better for people from this position of privilege,” Sam continued, “then shouldn’t I? And it’s not just two people this will benefit. It’ll help to advance the gay rights movement and embolden other schools to follow suit.”

He leaned forward excitedly, thinking of an analogy. “When black holes were discovered, it wasn’t that we looked into a telescope and saw them. We measured their effect across space and theorised the source of gravitational anomalies bending the light we could detect. Well, a good deed is like… a black hole…” He scratched his chin. Maybe this wasn’t the best example after all. “What I mean to say is, even if what we see is small, the effects can still be felt a long way down the line.”

“I… guess you have a point,” Tom conceded. He folded his arms. “Kinda like Addison, right? You had a booty call in the past, and now she’s here, a grandniece I never knew I had.”

Sam felt his cheeks flushing. “Uh, well…”

“And then she grew up to be a—what was it, a hologram for another leaper?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Meanwhile, I… survived the war, got married, had a kid who wouldn’t have otherwise existed, right?”

Sam nodded.

“Man, that’s some heavy stuff,” Tom mused. “But I think I get it.” He leaned back, lips pursed. “So you really had a big impact on things, huh? Even yourself.”

The colour had returned to Tom’s cheeks, to Sam’s relief.

“Looks that way,” Sam said, once again meeting Donna’s eye. He lingered his gaze there a moment, before flicking it back to Tom, his mind moving to thoughts of his brother’s daughter. “How is Maggie, anyway?”

*        *        *

With a call from Principal Curtis confirming that Janis would be allowed to go to prom, Al was satisfied that his work was done. And all it took was two million smackeroos courtesy of the Beckett Foundation.

He dropped Addison off at Sammy Jo’s place, and Ben joined him in the front for the trip back home.

“So, uh…” he said, gesturing at the image of Janis beside him. “Any chance of getting Jan back sometime soon? Leap’s over, right? She’ll be furious if you’re the one who gets to attend prom instead of her.”

Ben looked back helplessly. “Doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere, does it? I don’t know why.”

“I do,” came a grim voice from behind them.

Al almost swerved his car from surprise as he turned his head and caught a glimpse of a mature-faced Janis in the back seat.

“Heya, Dad,” she said, giving him a fond smile.

“Janis!” Al pulled the car to the side of the road, screeching to a halt. “Holy cow, I can see you?”

“Ziggy still had your neurological data on file,” Janis explained. “Thought it might be… nice for you to see me all grown up, huh? Since teenage me is out to lunch and all.” She turned to Ben. “And I’m gonna be riding out the rest of the leap with you. If I have to miss prom for a second time, I at least wanna see what I’m missing. But there’s more, Ben.”

“The reason I haven’t leapt, I’m guessing.”

“Precisely.” Janis took a deep breath. “See, unfortunately, you guys have changed history for the worse.”

“By letting you and Kat go to prom…?”

“Yeah. See, after prom, Kat went missing and…” Janis’s lip quivered as she looked down at the handlink. “She turned up dead, Ben. Police report says she went night swimming in the Rio Grande with alcohol in her system, hit her head on a rock, and drowned, but… that sounds fishy as hell to me.” Her voice wavered, and she covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes.

“Oh my God,” Ben gasped.

“Well, that’s an easy fix!” Al said, attempting to salvage the mood. “All you gotta do is stay with her, and I’ll come pick the both of you up. Bingo bango bongo, nobody dies, everyone’s safe.”

Janis nodded, though she was still too close to tears to speak.

“Right,” Ben agreed. “If this is why I haven’t leapt, then that’s what I’m here to make sure of.”

“Thanks,” Janis choked, smiling through her distress. She reached a hand to Al, but stopped herself when she realised that she was a hologram. “Oh Dad… why do I feel like a kid again in front of you…?”

Al offered her a fatherly smile. “Grown up or not, you’re still my little girl, Jan. Nothin’ wrong with acting like it once in a while.”

“I love you, Dad,” she said with a sniffle. “And I’m sorry for the attitude I gave you at this age. I was an idiot.”

“You were a teenager,” Al said with a shrug. “I had three of ’em before you and they were all little snots in their adolescence. Comes with the territory. You don’t even wanna know what I was like at your age.” He winked. “Oh, and uh—I love you too, pumpkin.”

With that, he began driving again, allowing Ben and Janis to plan their next move.

“Okay, so I can keep eyes on her in the auditorium,” Ben said. “But I may not be able to see her at all times. Gotta use the bathroom sometime, right? And what if she slips out when I’m distracted?”

“We may need our exits covered,” Janis mused, tapping at the handlink. “We have the main entrance, and three fire exits around the perimeter.”

“Okay. Well, maybe we can enlist some help to cover the exits.”

“What, like Sam, and Dad?”

“And Addison?” Ben offered.

Janis smirked. “You’ve got a real soft spot for baby Addison, haven’t you?”

“Well, I do happen to be engaged to her older form…”

Al raised an eyebrow. “Engaged? Really…” He grinned. “You know, I’ve noticed the way she’s been looking at you. She’s got herself a big ol’ case of puppy love.”

“Dad…” Janis griped. “When she looks at him she sees me!”

Ben, however, was blushing. “Uh, well, you could be… sort of right. She hasn’t exactly been subtle. I’ve drawn the line on that, though.” He shivered. “Now if only I could do that with Kat.”

“I’ll do what I can to help you navigate that,” Janis said. “Now, I guess I’ll go enlist our allies, shall I?” She tapped on the handlink, and dematerialised from the car.

Al felt himself swelling with pride. “She’s got a knack for this hologram thing, don’t she?”

Ben grinned. “She told me she learned from the best.”

Chapter 44

Putting On Her Face

“If you keep that fridge open any longer, we’re gonna have to buy new milk,” Sammy Jo said playfully to her daughter, who had been spending the last couple of minutes spacing out in front of the Tupperware-enclosed leftovers. “Something eating you? Did your counter-protest go badly?”

“No, Mom,” Addison replied distractedly. “Actually, we did beat those Bible thumping assholes. Metaphorically, not literally.”

“Language…”

“Sorry.” Addison let the door of the fridge fall shut, turning around. “No, I just wish I could spend more time with B—buh, Janis.”

“You really like her, huh?” Sammy Jo smiled. “Well, there’ll be time to get to know her. I guess the Calaviccis are… family friends for us now.”

Addison winced. “Well, there’s something about her right now that’s, um, limited-time only. And I’d like to see her again before that changes.”

“What does that mean?” Sammy Jo furrowed her brow, trying to comprehend Addison’s words.

Addison looked about ready to burst. “Look, I dunno if I’m meant to tell you this, Mom, but everyone else seems to know now, even my Great Uncle—”

“—Great Uncle?!”

“Yeah, Gramps’s brother showed up,” Addison said flippantly. “Long story. Anyway, the thing is, Janis is…”

Addison trailed off, looking over Sammy Jo’s shoulder.

“Janis is what?”

“…Right behind you…”

Confused, Sammy Jo turned her head, only to see an otherwise empty room. She returned her gaze to Addison, eyebrow raised.

“Addison, what are you—”

“My god you look… old,” Addison said, pushing her mother aside and staring intently at something Sammy Jo wasn’t seeing.

Almost like a…

“No, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just—what are you, like my Mom’s age?”

Limited time…

“My help?” Addison continued. “Really? At the prom? Oh hell yeah I’m in.” She circled the empty space before nervously meeting Sammy Jo’s gaze, realising the way her mother was looking at her. “Oh, uh, you may be wondering why I’m talking to thin air, right?”

Sammy Jo folded her arms, as all the pieces seemed to fall into place within her genius mind.

“Well, from the clues you’ve dropped, it appears that somebody’s leaped into Janis. You said something about Janis was ‘limited-time only’, and you faltered, starting to say a name beginning with ‘B,’ so I can only assume the leaper is the man named Ben who brought Sam home. And now, for some reason, their hologram is talking to you. And the hologram is… also Janis…? Presumably a version of her from twenty years in the future, given you compared her age to mine. Am I close?”

“Damn, Mom,” Addison said, impressed. “Very Sherlock Holmes. You’re observant when you wanna be.”

“Just what is that supposed to mean?”

“Absolutely nothing. Anyway, yeah—you got it. And they need my help tonight. Can I, Mom?”

“They need your help? With what?” Sammy Jo gave the empty space a withering look. “Listen, you. I’m gonna need some more details. Addie’s only sixteen, remember.” With a look back to Addison, she added: “Leapers can be involved in awfully dangerous things, you know.”

After a look at the hologram and a moment’s pause, Addison returned her eye to her mother. “All they need is someone to watch one of the exits outside Janis’s prom tonight and stop her girlfriend from wandering off. And Gramps will be there, and Al’s gonna drive everybody home after. Easy peasy!”

“Hmm,” Sammy Jo frowned. “Do you think it would be better if I went? That way, if something happens…”

“Mo- om!” Addison huffed. “They have the hologram tuned to me and everything. Plus I know kickboxing if anything goes wrong.” She raised an index finger. “Not that anything will.”

Sammy Jo sighed. If they were enlisting Addison’s help, then this must have been more serious than she was letting on. But then, if that were true, they clearly needed all the help they could get.

“How about we go together?” she finally suggested.

Eyes lit up, Addison looked to the hologram for a few seconds, listening, before relaying the new information. “She says they have one more exit to cover, so you can watch that one.”

“Alright,” Sammy Jo conceded. “Guess we do this as a family, then.”

“You’re the best, Mom!”

*        *        *

Peering with a frown at Janis’s reflection in the bathroom mirror, Ben opened a lipstick and rolled it up, before groaning loudly. This was going to be a disaster, wasn’t it?

“Something the matter?” Al asked, poking a head in the open door. “Can’t figure out whether to sit or stand?”

Ben sent him an exhausted look. “Very funny.” He gestured to the makeup laid out on the vanity. “I’ve only been a girl a handful of times, and I never had to do this before. I’ve got no idea what I’m doing.”

“What, a little greasepaint? Some maquillage, if you will?”

Ben stared back blankly. “What?”

Al chuckled as he came into the room, and picked up a bottle of foundation. “Here, lemme make you up, kid.”

“You know how to put on makeup?”

“You kiddin’?” Al snorted. “Of course I do—I had four daughters! And I’ve been known to appreciate a good application of makeup in my time. You could say I studied abroad—or two.” He laughed heartily at his bad joke, even as Ben groaned. “I even know how Janis likes her little ‘emo’ look. Just sit still and shut your eyes.”

“Thanks, Al,” Ben said gratefully, and did as requested. A moment later, a cold paste began to be applied to his face.

“Well you know, if I’m gonna have photos to commemorate the time a leaper took Janis’s face to prom, that face might as well look pretty.”

He massaged the foundation into Ben’s face, then used some kind of sponge to blend it at the edges.

“So, what made a guy like you decide to go quantum leaping, anyway? While engaged, no less—or didja propose to a hologram?”

He began dabbing a soft powder puff over Ben’s face, pausing occasionally to tap it in the compact.

“It was actually supposed to be Addison,” Ben confessed, as the powder puff moved away from his mouth and ascended toward his forehead. “Only, I found out from my future that there was a leaper coming to assassinate her in my past.”

“Assassinate? Oh boy. And so, you went in your Accelerator to save her life, huh?”

Ben snorted despite himself. “I left the night of our engagement party.”

“And she’s still on the hook?” Al’s voice was surprised. “A lesser woman would have pawned her ring. You got lucky. Keep those eyes closed, will ya?” A moment later, he began to apply eye shadow.

After finishing the first eye, he continued his chat. “We looked you up with Ziggy, you know. You’re one smart cookie.”

“I thought you might have.”

“What got you interested in time travel and quantum physics, anyway? Pretty niche sort of topics.”

“Same reason as anyone gets interested in time travel, right? Regrets.”

“Regrets?”

Ben heard a container closing, then another flip open before a brush started dancing on his cheekbones.

“Mmhmm,” Ben said, not wanting to make his face move too dramatically while Al was doing this.

“What do you regret? Or is it too personal?”

The brush withdrew, and Ben could hear Al rummaging through the makeup on the vanity.

“It’s alright. I just regret not telling my Mom I loved her before she died. She… she died very suddenly, and I’d been a total jerk to her.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s a common one. Sam felt the same way about his Pop. And me… well, I told my sister and my Dad I loved ’em all the time, but—” he shook his head as if to shake away the emotion. “Anyway, I’m gonna do your eyeliner and mascara, so tilt that head back and raise your eyebrows. Try not to flinch.”

As Al applied the makeup, Ben tried his best to minimise his involuntary blinks.

“Must feel pretty weird to be talking to someone who looks like your daughter, but isn’t.”

Al chuckled. “It’s nothing compared to our psychiatrist, Verbena. Once, she had to deal with a chimpanzee that looked like Sam.”

Ben stifled a laugh. “Are you kidding? I could leap into a monkey?”

“Well, a great ape. I can’t see you leaping into a spider monkey or something else all teeny weeny like that. But you better watch out if you leap into a bonobo. I hear they don’t ask consent, if you catch my drift.” Al waggled his eyebrows.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Ben said with a look of distaste, before changing the subject. “Must have been wild to have that—what was it? Waiting Room?”

Having finished with the eyes, Al pulled at Ben’s jaw and began gliding lipstick over his lips.

“You don’t got a Waiting Room? Where’s the other guy go?” He let go of Ben’s face. “Smack your lips together, sweet cheeks.”

Ben did as asked, before finally glimpsing his reflection.

Oh, that’s emo alright. Dark, smokey eyes and black lipstick juxtaposed starkly with Janis’s pale face, with a little brownish blush contouring the face so it didn’t look completely flat.

“The ‘other guy’ remains in a quantum superposition, occupying the same space,” Ben explained. “Janis really is here, she’s just… sharing with me. Great job on the makeup, by the way. Thank you.”

“Di niente!” Al said, admiring his work. “Now let’s see you in this dress those boys went and had stitched up for Janis. And we can both cross our fingers the heels won’t trip you up. Don’t want you messing up that makeup by planting your face in the dirt.”

“No, we do not.”

Of course, the perils of high heels were the least of his worries at this point.

Chapter 45

Riding In Cars With Holograms

Janis was waiting for Ben when he got into the back of Al’s SUV, fully dolled up for prom. He held up his dress as he climbed in, and nodded his greeting to her.

“Well, I have to admit, you pull it off,” Janis said with a wide grin as she inspected his appearance. To her, he was a man in a dress with lily white makeup, clashing quite a bit with his skin tone. His hair was as it always looked: plain, parted at the side, and neatly combed. In the rear view mirror, on the other hand, Janis could see her own teenage blue-streaked hair styled into curls.

“How do you do that, anyway?” she asked, gesturing to the mirror. “With the hair? Your hair is super short.”

“Don’t ask me,” Ben replied with a shrug. “Beth did that. And Al did my makeup. I just let ’em do it.”

Janis chuckled. “Looks good anyway. That’s a relief.” She smirked. “Get lots of photos, seeing as I won’t remember this.”

Ben produced a digital camera from his purse. “You got it.” He buckled his seatbelt, gazing to the front of the car for a moment, before piping up: “I always thought Al was a big environmentalist. What’s with the gas guzzler?”

“What, the SUV?” Janis said, head tilted. At Ben’s nod, she continued, “Looks can be deceiving. Dad always bought cars that had dud engines, and installed electromagnetic components. This baby is a hybrid.”

Ben’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Well, good for him.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t just talk, my Dad. He had the know-how, and he put it to use.” Janis smiled. “Man, I miss that cigar-smokin’ clown.”

As if to answer her, the driver’s door opened, and Al plonked himself into the seat.

“Hi there, pumpkin,” he said, grinning at her. “You gotta be visible to a few different people tonight. Think your project can handle the power usage?”

Janis chuckled. “I’m sure it’s raising all kinds of red flags in DC. But as far as overload goes, I think Ian’s ironed out the kinks for tonight.”

“I don’t know who that is, but give him my thanks.”

“I will. They’ll be super excited to hear that.”

Al raised an eyebrow. “They? Is ‘Ian’ some kind of code name for a team of people?”

“No, just the one,” Ben interjected. “But they’re as good as a team.”

Al squinted, trying to figure out what they were describing.

“In the not-so-distant future, people get to choose the pronouns they use,” Ben attempted to explain.

“Right! Ian doesn’t consider themself a man or woman—rather something in between,” Janis added. “So they have us use they/them pronouns instead of he or she.”

Al considered this for a moment, before nodding slowly. “I guess that gives me a head start on the coming decades, huh?” He snorted. “I bet the right wing threw a hissy fit over that, didn’t they?”

Ben laughed. “How’d you know?”

“Told you this morning,” Al said, starting his engine. “History has a way of repeating. Those folks gotta have something new to whine about when the old one loses steam. Civil rights, rock and roll, miscegenation, Satanic Panic, gay rights—they just love to kick up a stink over the latest moral panic. You’ve seen it first hand today, right?”

The car began to move, and Ben waved a hand to Beth at the door as the SUV left the driveway.

“Oh yeah,” Ben said with a resolute nod. “And it was bad enough growing up with this the first time around. Living it again reminds me just how resistant those people were to the mildest change.”

“Things are better in your time?” Al asked hopefully. “They at least ditched Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, right?”

Janis nodded. “Yeah. The Supreme Court even struck down bans on gay marriage. Eventually.”

Al pumped a fist, laughing with relief. “I damn well knew it was gonna happen!”

“I wish it was all good news,” Janis mumbled, looking down at the handlink, then to Ben. “Let’s not ruin his mood with the past six or seven years, huh?”

Ben nodded with agreement, leaving Al to look curiously in the rear view mirror.

“You realise that makes me want to know more, right?”

Ben licked his lips, apparently deciding whether or not to throw him a bone. “Well, you live long enough to see Donald Trump voted out, and a—uh, vaccine released. For the pandemic.”

There was a long silence from the front seat, as Al made a few turns. Finally, he said: “Oh, ha ha. Real funny.”

Janis gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, Ben’s a real joker.”

The car rounded another corner before pulling up in front of another house, where Kat awaited in her tailored tuxedo. She quickly kissed her mother goodbye and hurried to the SUV excitedly.

“Guess that’s my cue to wrangle the others,” Janis said, swiping at the handlink. “I’ll meet you guys at the school.”

Ben nodded. “Okay. See you soon.”

With that, Janis re-centred herself on Sam, who was similarly driving, clad in a sharp suit. At her sudden presence beside him, he jumped and almost lost control of the steering wheel.

“You’re as bad as your Dad, you know that?” he scolded. “You’d think I would have got used to holograms appearing out of nowhere by now, but…”

“Mea culpa,” she said, palms open. “You heading to the school?”

“I’m picking up Sammy Jo and Addison on the way,” he said. “We spoke over the phone, decided to go together.”

“Car pool—very environmentally friendly,” Janis said approvingly. “Were my instructions clear about what you’re all doing tonight?”

“Eyes on each exit, look for the girl in the tux.”

“Right,” Janis confirmed. “I’ll be flipping between everyone through the night, though mainly I’ll be shadowing Kat herself, and giving Ben pointers.”

Sam nodded as he stopped at the Augustine residence, pulling into their driveway.

“Now, I’m going to be presenting my donation sometime during the formalities,” he said. “So I won’t be able to watch any doors then.”

“Not a problem,” Janis said. “It’s gonna put the HQ circuit breakers through their paces pretty bad, but we’ve got the tech to have a second hologram. I’ll call Addie in when the time comes.”

Sam seemed to relax at this, and he honked his horn. A moment later, two decidedly less formally clad brunettes emerged from the front door. Addison was wearing all black, with a large messenger bag slung over her shoulder, as if she was going to go cat-burgling. Sammy Jo just wore a blouse with jeans.

As they approached the car, Sam smiled at them.

“Some mixed attire you’ve got there,” he mused.

“Well, we were thinking practical,” Sammy Jo said, opening the back door. “I don’t intend to make myself obvious.” She shuffled into her seat, with Addison close behind.

“We’re sticking to the shadows,” Addison added. “I told her to wear dark clothes, but she just went with Mom clothes instead.” She nodded to Janis, giving a mock salute. “Reporting for duty, Old Janis.”

Sammy Jo’s eyes flicked to the front passenger seat, where Janis sat, but looked straight through her.

“Sorry, Samantha,” Janis said. “We never programmed in your brain waves.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “We still could, you know.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Janis said, frowning.

“Sure we do,” Sam said cheerily. “We have twenty years, right?” He turned to Sammy Jo. “We just need to remember to program your neural data into the Imaging Chamber when the Project is revived later. That way, Janis can tune into you.”

Sammy Jo shrugged. “Think that’ll work?” Smirking, she added: “Okay, well, I hereby promise to record my neural data to the Imaging Chamber some time in the next twenty years.”

To Janis’s surprise, the handlink lit up, and a message from Ziggy appeared, affirming that she could now tune the hologram to Sammy Jo.

“Well, okay then,” Janis said with a grin. “Everyone look away, unless you want spots in your eyes.”

After Sam passed this on to Sammy Jo, Janis activated the spectrum change.

One bright flash later, Sammy Jo was staring into Janis’s eyes, a smile creeping to her face.

“Wow…” she said, breathless. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you properly, Janis.”

“Likewise,” Janis said. “Now let’s go, people. We have a long night ahead. Hope you like Avril Lavigne and Justin Timberlake.”

“I have absolutely no idea who they are,” Sam confessed.

“Well, you’ll know soon enough,” Addison said with a grin.

Chapter 46

Family Friendly

As if answering Sam’s question, the muffled sound of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Rock Your Body’ was drifting out of the auditorium as the trigenerational family group gathered in a shadowed area to the side of the auditorium entrance. Janis had gone to find Al, who she was reliably informed would be waiting somewhere near the busy entrance, where all the teen attendees were arriving and snapping photos with one another.

Sammy Jo watched her daughter rocking on her heels—she seemed positively ecstatic to be doing this ‘mission.’

Addison tended to be like that. She threw her all into everything that drew her interest. Sammy Jo had never put any expectations on her as she grew up, but that didn’t stop Addie from excelling at all kinds of physical activities.

And frankly, she’d been relieved that she hadn’t been a math genius like her Mom. There were so many pressures foist upon you when you had a big stamp on your record proclaiming you to be a child prodigy. Everyone dumped all these high expectations on you, and sometimes you ended up with the Sisyphean task of bringing home a time traveller when no-one else could.

But Addison had her own inner drive to succeed. When she had decided to learn kickboxing, she’d been tenacious in her practice. When Sammy Jo would arrive home from work, she’d very often find her daughter in the garage, beating the snot out of a punching bag.

Now, it seemed, she had a brand new passion. And it was the family business, as it were.

Sammy Jo wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that, but she could see the spark in Addison’s eye, and knew that she was going to be headstrong and determined when it came to helping this ‘Ben.’

“Okay, I’ll go around back and watch the door.”

Sammy Jo winced. “The back? That’s the furthest from all the people. It might be dangerous.”

“Hello!” Addison retorted, gesturing to her clothes. “That’s why I wore black. So I could blend into the shadows. It’s darkest at the back, ergo, I should go there where I’m least likely to be seen.”

Sammy Jo looked to Sam for help.

“Uh, well, your Mom’s right that it could be dangerous,” he said. “But if you are seen sneaking around, that’ll raise some suspicion, considering what you’re wearing. You kind of look like you’re about to go on a crime spree. No offence.”

“None taken.” Addison folded her arms. “Fine, we’ll split the difference. I’ll take one of the side entrances.” She gestured off to a dark bush they were standing close to. “I can hide over there.” She scurried to it, shining a flashlight over the leaves, before stepping partially into the bush, turning off her light and disappearing into the blackness.

“Can you see me?” she called out.

“Nope,” Sam called back. “It’s perfect.”

“I’ll get comfy, then!”

Sammy Jo shrugged in defeat. “I suppose she’s well-hidden. As long as she stays that way, I guess there’s nothing to worry about.”

Sam nodded, eyeing the entrance, where a limo had just pulled up, spilling a group of immaculately-dressed students from its side. “Do you two know what we’re up against here, Sammy Jo?” he asked quietly.

“I’ve barely been told anything.”

Sammy Jo turned to look at what Sam was looking at. Weaving his way through the crowds of teens and parents was Al, with Janis walking ahead, flickering in and out of bodies.

“Well, we don’t exactly know the story, but at some point tonight Janis’s date, Kat, is going to end up in the river and drown.”

“That’s right,” Janis said as she reached the group. “It was ruled an accident, but I’m not so sure about that. So keep your eyes peeled.”

Sammy Jo shifted on her feet. “Foul play, you think?”

“Never know,” Sam said gravely. “Which is why it’s essential we know where she is at all times, and keep an eye out for anyone suspicious wandering around.”

“Except for the girl in all black hiding in the bushes,” Sammy Jo said with a roll of her eyes.

“What girl in the bushes?” Al asked, having only caught the last comment as he approached.

“Addison.”

“Oh. Okay, so who’s taking what door?”

Sam raised a hand. “Since I’m the only one on the guest list, I’ll take the front doors. I’ll be able to go and check in with the principal for my donation, too.”

“You got it,” Al said. “And Addison’s hiding where exactly?”

Sam gestured to the bush where Addison hid. “Just here. She’s watching this side’s exit. Which leaves the back and the other side. Now the back is the most remote exit…”

“I’ll take it,” Al said. “I have a couple cigars to burn—I won’t bother anybody back there.”

“And that leaves the other side for me,” Sammy Jo said, turning to Janis. “I’m trusting you not to let my daughter get into trouble.”

Janis met her eye with a solemn look. “Nobody is going to die tonight.” She held up her handlink. “Everyone, in position. I’m going inside.”

She tapped a button and blinked away.

Al waved a hand, starting for the back of the building. “Adios, folks. I’ll see you all when the coast is clear, huh?”

“Stay vigilant, buddy,” Sam said with a pat on the shoulder as he passed.

“Have I ever let you down?” Al asked. “Actually, don’t think too hard about that,” he added quickly, chuckling as he headed away.

“Addison, it’s showtime,” Sammy Jo called to the shadowed bush. A rustling sound came from her position, followed by a hand catching the light and giving a thumbs-up gesture.

Sammy Jo and Sam headed for the entrance, where they stopped a moment, looking at one another.

“You were about to leap when I came out of the Accelerator,” Sam said quietly.

Sammy Jo looked away, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. “You noticed that, huh?”

“There’s a lot I probably should have done differently when I was leaping,” Sam confessed, “but you—you being here… I wouldn’t ever give that up. You and Addison. Promise me you won’t ever leave her on her own, like… I did to you.”

“I promise.” Although she had the urge not to, Sammy Jo met her father’s eyes. “I’ll be there for her no matter what.”

Sam favoured her with a smile, before hugging her.

“Thank you.” Pulling away, he nodded his head towards the corner of the auditorium. “You’d better get in position. If you get in any trouble, yell as loud as you can and I’ll come running.”

“Oh, trust me. I will be screaming like a banshee. I don’t have any fancy fighting skills like everyone else.”

Sam looked contemplative for a moment, before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small, colourful device.

“A wristlink?” Sammy Jo said with surprise. “We’re not supposed to go this far away from the complex with one of these…”

“Well it’s a good thing I made the rules,” Sam said, grinning. “Take it. In case of emergency.”

Sammy Jo strapped it to her wrist. “Thanks, Dad.” She took a step towards the corner, before pausing. “What a strange family activity this is, huh?”

“Well, we’re a pretty strange family.”

“Ain’t that the truth?”

Sammy Jo chuckled as she passed through the crowds, heading to the dark side of the building. The din faded as she found a place between a fence and a tree to watch the door. It was going to be a long night.

*        *        *

This is going to be a long night, thought Ben, as he awkwardly danced face-to-face with Kat while ‘In Da Club’ played.

The room filled with the prom guests singing along with the hip hop song. “Go shawty, it’s your birthday, we gon’ party like it’s your birthday…”

Even Kat was mouthing along to the lyrics. She noticed his unease, and put her hands on her hips.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, her voice verging on shouting to carry over the general noise around them.

“What makes you think something’s the matter?” he replied, cupping a hand over her ear.

Kat shot him a look. “Because you look like you’d rather be anywhere else. We fought hard to be here! You should be happy!”

“I am happy! You know me. I look moody even when I’m perfectly fine.” Well, that was what he remembered of Janis anyway.

Kat looked unconvinced. “Okay, well, it’s just you’ve been… I dunno, a little cold. Since yesterday.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Ben said with a nervous laugh.

Kat shook her head, sighing. “I’ve gotta go pee.”

Ben nodded. “I’ll come with.”

Kat shrugged, and turned, allowing Ben to follow her to the much less loud bathroom. As they headed there, Ben noticed Janis appear in his periphery, and she proceeded to tag along.

Inside, Kat turned to Ben, giving him a sly grin. “I have a surprise,” she said, and headed to the stall nearest the far wall. Once inside, she leaned out, beckoning a finger. “Come on—there’s room for two.”

Ben’s eyes widened, and he looked to Janis, who looked equally concerned.

“Ben, I don’t exactly know what she wants, but proceed with caution. If she goes to lock the door, I say get outta there.”

Ben slowly walked to the stall, leaning into it, but not getting all the way in. “What’s the, um, surprise?”

Kat pulled his arm, partially closing the door. “When I was in here a couple of days ago, I smuggled something in.” She crouched, fiddling with a vent on the wall.

“So you didn’t wanna make out,” Ben said, letting out a held breath.

Kat looked up at him, amused. “You don’t have to sound so happy about that, jeez. Man, you’re totally uptight tonight—but this ought to take the edge off.”

She pulled the vent cover off, and slid out a metal flask.

“They searched us for booze at the entrance, but they didn’t know I prepared in advance!” She unscrewed the cap, took a swig, then offered it to Ben. “We gon’ sip Bacardi like it’s your birthday,” she sang.

Ben exchanged a look of consternation with Janis. “Oh boy…”

Chapter 47

Party Harty, Drink Some Bacardi

Kat gave the bottle a little shake. “Go on. Relax a little.”

Ben leaned over, smelling the rum in the flask. “That… smells strong,” he said, mainly to Janis behind him.

“You know, in most countries the legal drinking age is eighteen,” Kat said matter-of-factly. “And I’m eighteen next week. Close enough, right?”

Janis cleared her throat to gain Ben’s attention. “Ben, this may sound a little crazy, but… maybe you should have some.”

What?! Ben almost blurted this out, but instead gave Janis a sharp look.

“The more you have, the less she has,” Janis rationalised. “And if you try to get rid of it, she might get mad at you and end up running off. We do not want that.” She leaned to his ear. “Do we?”

I hate this idea, Ben thought. But have I got a better one?

Ben’s gaze returned to the flask. He took it and sloshed around the contents, trying to gauge how much was in there. It was pretty close to full.

“How many shots worth are in this?” he asked, once again more to Janis than Kat.

“I dunno. Enough,” the teenager replied as Janis queried the handlink.

“About eight,” Janis said grimly.

I definitely wouldn’t want Kat having any more than three shots if I want her mind clear enough, he thought. But that leaves me with five. Can teen Janis handle her drink?

“If it helps,” continued the hologram, “We have someone guarding every exit. If you get a little tipsy, we have four people to pick up the slack. Plus me.”

With great reluctance, Ben took the flask from Kat’s grasp and took a large drink from it. He took in as much as he could before the burning in his throat forced him to stop. He screwed up his nose as he let the booze go down, and shivered.

A giggling Kat found this quite hilarious. “Damn, Janis. Save some for the rest of us.”

Ben held up a finger, and took another swig, before shaking the bottle to work out how much was left. It felt a bit less than half full now.

I’m gonna regret this in about fifteen minutes, he thought with a grimace. But at least I’ll start to sober up sooner if I get it over and done with now.

“Gimme that,” Kat said, grabbing the flask and drinking more herself. “If you’re getting insta-drunk, then so am I.” She chugged what she could before looking away, her tongue sticking out as she processed the alcohol. “Whew, that’s disgusting,” she said with a laugh.

“Well, Ben, look on the bright side,” Janis said. “At least now it won’t feel so embarrassing to dance to Linkin Park in front of a bunch of kids.”

Ben sighed, and snatched the flask, finishing off what was left.

“Dude, I guess you needed it more than me tonight,” Kat conceded with a shrug, before taking the empty bottle and sliding it back to its hiding spot. “Now—I really do have to pee, so…” She made a ‘shooing’ gesture with one hand, placing the vent cover back with the other.

Ben nodded, and stepped out of the bathroom stall. The door closed behind him, and he sighed.

“I hope this was a good idea,” he said in a low voice to Janis. “Because I might be back in here puking in a half hour.”

“Better you than her,” Janis said, smirking at him. “But like I said, you have a whole support team to back you up tonight. Kat’s right—just relax. As long as she’s with you, then she’s safe. And I’ve got everything else under control here.”

Ben nodded slowly. He was already feeling the initial effects of the five—maybe even up to six?—shots of alcohol he’d just consumed in the last few minutes. Spread out over several hours, in his own body, that would have been perfectly manageable. But all at once, with a teen girl’s metabolism? Oh boy.

He moved to the sink, splashing a little water on his hot cheeks.

The toilet behind him flushed, and Kat emerged, joining him at the sink. “Try to keep it together if we see a teacher near us,” she advised him as she washed her hands.

“Oh, I’ll try. I’ll… definitely try.”

As she took his hand and dragged him back to the dance floor, he took a deep breath, and decided to follow Janis’s advice and try to enjoy himself. After all, if even she wasn’t worried, then what good was it for him to be?

*        *        *

Sam was sitting on a metal bench, gazing quietly up at the stars in the chilly night air, listening to a song he didn’t recognise, with lyrics he couldn’t make out. All he could really hear were the chords, which he was figuring out in his head as he listened. C Major, E Flat, B Flat, F Major, back to C Major, F—suspended?

He found himself humming it to himself, tapping fingers on his thigh to try and figure out the correct suspension through the muffling of the brick walls. Anything to get his mind off the looming decision he had to make.

His humming was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, and he looked around to find the middle-aged man he assumed to be Principal Curtis.

“Doctor Beckett? Oh, it’s lovely to meet you face-to-face.” Ron eagerly extended a hand, which Sam took as he stood.

“Feeling’s mutual, Mister Curtis,” he said with a polite smile.

“I was a little worried I’d imagined our conversation,” Ron went on. “It’s not every day this school receives such good fortune.”

“It’s not every day I hear of someone with your kind of courage,” Sam said. Al would have described this as ‘blowing smoke up his ass,’ he thought with amusement.  “I’m ready to present the donation whenever you are, sir. I have a few words prepared, but not many, so I’m sure your students won’t mind the interruption from their dancing too much.”

“We have you pencilled in just before announcing Prom King and Queen, if that’s alright,” Ron said, checking his watch. “About ten minutes from now.”

“Perfect,” Sam said, gesturing towards the entrance. “Lead the way.”

*        *        *

Ben had an upset stomach.

But, he had indeed managed to relax a bit, and was—dare he admit it—even having fun. It had been a long time since he’d been able to just let loose.

The nostalgic music of his youth made him almost feel like he was back at his own high school prom.

But he still had a job to do. Yes sirree. Eyes on Kat. Always on Kat.

It was just a shame he was seeing two of her.

“How you feelin’?” Kat shouted into his ear.

“Great, I’m great,” he shouted back. “But my feet are getting real sore, though.”

Kat chuckled. “Yeah, heels’ll do that. That’s why I wore these.” She pulled up a pant leg, revealing a big chunky boot beneath.

“Smart. You know, I wish I was the one in the tux.”

“Oh, you look gorgeous in that dress,” Kat said, slapping him playfully on the arm.

“That’s the first time I ever heard somebody tell me that,” he mumbled, and then realised the music had stopped and the lights were coming up. Something was happening.

Unsteadily, he turned to face the stage, and saw that Principal Curtis was escorting Sam up there. As they reached the centre, Ron switched on a microphone.

“Good evening, students. I hope you’ve been enjoying the night so far.”

“Woo!” Kat shouted, hands cupped around her mouth. She then realised that nobody else had responded to the statement, and sheepishly dropped her hands.

Ben cringed. So much for not drawing attention to themselves.

Ron cleared his throat. “Anyway, before we get to crowning the Prom Court, I have a very special guest to introduce to all of you. Please put your hands together for Nobel laureate and eminent scientist, Doctor Sam Beckett, who’s here to present the school with a generous donation.”

A lacklustre round of applause followed, and it seemed Ben was the over-enthusiastic one this time, as he became aware of a several pairs of eyes on him after he apparently clapped too loudly. Or were they noticing him swaying?

Oh jeez. Must stand still.

His attempt to do so caused him to lose his balance even more, and a few loud clacks from his shoes echoed through the otherwise quiet auditorium. Ben steadied himself, and tried to look natural as Sam approached the microphone.

“Good evening, everyone,” Sam said cordially. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time, so I just wanted to say this school has done a fantastic job with its limited resources. It came to my attention recently that a same sex couple was attending prom in an official capacity for the first time ever in this district’s history. I think that’s fantastic, and I wanted to show my appreciation by helping to ease the burden of this school’s financial situation. I’m very proud to present this cheque for two million dollars to your school.”

He pulled the cheque from his jacket pocket, holding it up.

Principal Curtis held out his arms, clapping, cuing the students to begin a new round of applause. When that died down, he approached the microphone.

“Would our happy couple like to come up here for some photographs with Doctor Beckett?” he asked. “Janis Calavicci and Katherine McCall, where are you girls?” He caught sight of them in the crowd and beckoned them. “Everyone give them a round of applause while they come on up here.”

Ben frowned. Nobody had told him this was going to happen. Oh, why did he have to drink that much straight liquor?

Kat excitedly grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along through the crowd as he held his head down and focused intently on not tripping.

But as she dragged him up the stairs, his heels tripped him up, and he found himself kneeling on one of the steps.

“These stupid shoes,” he hissed, angrily pulling them off and throwing them to the bottom of the stairs. He completed the journey onstage with bare feet, just hoping the framing of these godforsaken photos would be above the ankle.

The rest of the presentation and photos went by in a (quite literal) blur, and before he knew it he was most of the way offstage with Sam holding onto him by the arm.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked in a fierce whisper in his ear. “You almost seem…”

“Drunk?” Ben whispered back. “Yeah, I am. It’s Janis-ses fault. She made me.”

“Oh, no. Not psycho-synergy again?”

“Not that Janis. Big Janis.”

“Hologram Janis?”

Ben nodded. “Right. Holo-Janis.”

“Why would she make you drunk?”

“Somebody was gonna drink all that alcohol, and you know, we didn’t want it to be Kat,” Ben explained. “So I hadda take the bullet. I didn’t know we’d have to go up on stage. I’m gonna have red-eye in those photos, I just know it.”

Sam glanced around, his brows knitted. “Where is Janis now?”

Ben squinted, bleary eyes scanning the auditorium. He wasn’t sure when he had last seen her, come to think of it. “You know, I… dunno. But listen—she said to me, she said she had everything under control. And she told me to relax, so…” he shrugged loosely, returning his attention to Kat, who was picking up his shoes. On the stage, a Prom King and Queen were being announced, and he was relieved to hear the names did not include him.

He turned back to Sam. “Just gotta stay with Kat, right? All the rest’ll work out.” He gave a quick two-fingered salute before shuffling away to recover his shoes.

*        *        *

In 2023, Addison lounged on a seat in her grandfather’s office, chopsticks picking at a noodle box.

On the other side of the desk, Sam was doing the same, while flipping through some printout Ian had given him. The two had spent a little quality time together as they waited for Janis’s cue to join her in the Imaging Chamber.

It had been a while.

“Just how much longer?” she wondered aloud. “Maybe we should go check.”

Sam slurped some noodles into his mouth. “She promised she’d notify us when she needs you,” he said. “Have a little faith in her. She knows what’s at st—”

His sentence stopped dead, and Addison looked curiously at him. He was staring out the glass wall of the office into the hall beyond, looking suddenly quite haunted.

“What?” she asked.

“Is that…”

Addison turned to follow his eye line, and almost fell clean off her chair when the door was pushed open by…

“Jenn?!” the two of them croaked in unison.

Jenn looked up from the clipboard she was holding. “What? God, you guys look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Chapter 48

No Rest For The Wicked

Addison sprang up from her seat, throwing herself at Jenn and scooping her into a hug.

“Oh my god, it’s good to see you,” she said excitedly, but pulled back a moment later as it hit her that the last she’d heard, Jenn was in prison. “What… what are you doing here?”

“Ben must have changed something,” Sam contributed. “But…”

“Uh, I appreciate the love, but what’s this all about?” Jenn asked, perplexed, as she continued on to Sam’s desk. “Magic wanted me to give you these security reports. That’s all I’m here for.”

Brow furrowed, Sam took the reports, scanning over them briefly. “So… you’re in the security team?”

Jenn squinted, turning to Addison. “Uh, don’t tell me he’s lost his memory too?”

“Jenn,” Addison said, trying to come up with the words, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but you… you didn’t work here an hour ago. You were in prison, actually.”

Jenn laughed nervously. “W-what are you talking about? I’ve worked here for eight years. And my youthful indiscretions aside, I’m… uh, mostly law-abiding these days.”

Addison’s eyes flicked to Sam for help, but he was busily typing on his computer.

“Head of security…” he mumbled as he read the records on the screen. “But that was Janis’s job, right?”

“Jenn…” Addison said slowly, meeting the eye of her friend, “where’s… Janis? Is she still in the Imaging Chamber?”

“Who?” Jenn looked back and forth from Sam to Addison, half laughing. “You mean the girl Ben leapt into? Al’s daughter?”

Addison’s blood ran cold. “You… don’t know Janis?”

“How can I know someone I never met? Are you guys high or something?” She grinned. “Whatever it is, I want some.”

“If Janis isn’t here, who’s in the Imaging Chamber?” Sam asked, scrambling to his feet.

Jenn frowned. “Well I was gonna ask Addison why she’s out here instead of in there, but—”

“What happens to Janis, Jenn?” Sam demanded. “What’s the… ‘original’ history, as you know it?”

Jenn folded her arms, humouring them. “Well—she originally died, but isn’t that what Ben’s there to stop? Don’t you already know this…?”

Addison exchanged a horrified look with Sam, and they both bolted past a bewildered Jenn and out the door.

“Should I tell Magic you approved these?” Jenn called out as they ran towards the Imaging Chamber.

*        *        *

A little earlier on…

As the Prom King and Queen moved to the dance floor, and Sam returned to his post at the front entrance, ‘I’m With You’ by Avril Lavigne began to play. A slow ballad that caused Kat to move in uncomfortably close to Ben as they danced.

“Well, we may both be a li’l bit drunk, but I know this is gonna be one of our best memories together,” Kat murmured into his ear. “Who’da thought some rich guy would come save the day, huh?”

“Yeah, pretty random,” Ben said, chuckling.

She nuzzled his neck, making him tense up.

Janis, if you could please tell me what to do here, that’d be great.

But no such help came.

And as Kat leaned in to kiss him, Ben involuntarily recoiled perhaps a little too obviously. Kat’s lips landed on his ear, and she looked at him with a creased brow.

“Again with the cold shoulder?” she asked, pouting.

“I…” Ben didn’t know what to say to make this situation better. His head was swimming way too much to find the words, and he assumed even if he did think of something, it would fail to be eloquent and probably make things worse. “Sorry, Kat, it’s just…”

“Come on Janis, what the hell’s goin’ on here?” Kat met his eye with a suspicious look. “Is it that girl, Addison?” Something must have flashed on Ben’s face, because she pointed an accusing finger. “Oh my god, it is!”

“No, it’s not like that—”

Kat pressed a finger sharply into his chest. “Oh please. Don’t think I didn’t see her kiss you today.”

“You—you saw that?!” He held up his hands defensively. “That was all her, okay? I had no idea she was gonna do it, honest! Took me by complete surprise.”

“Oh, I wanted to believe that, I really did. That’s why I didn’t say anything—but Janis, you’ve been acting so weird. Avoiding kissing me and keepin’ me at arm’s length. And then she showed up to the protest with you and it started to make sense.” Kat took him by the cheeks. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t have feelings for Addison. That you wouldn’t rather be here with her than me.”

Locking eyes with her, he opened his mouth, but no words came out, just a garbled mess of vowels.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t lie about his feelings for Addison, even if it wasn’t exactly the same Addison that Kat was talking about.

Kat shook her head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

She shoved Ben aside, making for the nearest side exit. “Going for some air. Don’t follow me.”

“Wait!” Ben made a move to chase after her, but without warning, he felt alarmingly dizzy and weak-kneed, as a wave of nausea overtook him.

Always with the bad timing.

She disappeared out the door as he keeled over, clutching his stomach shakily. He held a hand over his mouth, weaving inelegantly through the dancers and towards the door. If he could just get out there before the inevitable…

*        *        *

Addison brushed a loose leaf off her shoulder, yawning. What a boring night it had been so far. Not even Adult Janis had come to visit her yet. She was beginning to think this guard duty wasn’t so exciting—or important—after all.

Feeling a tickle on her neck, she prayed it was merely another leaf, rather than a bug or spider. She reached back to brush off whatever it may have been, when a loud thunk was heard from the double doors.

If this is just some guy coming out to smoke, I swear to God…

But it wasn’t. To Addison’s delight, Kat burst out of the doors, slamming them shut behind her.

Boy, she looked upset.

With a snapping of twigs, Addison emerged from her hiding place. Kat froze at the sound.

“Hey Kat! Remember me?” Addison announced as she passed into the dim light. “You okay?”

The look of fear on Kat’s face abruptly morphed into anger. “You!”

“Uh, me?” Addison said nervously, taking a step back. “Yeah, it’s me. Listen, I—”

“You… hussy, you!” Kat stomped clumsily towards Addison. “You keep your hands off my girlfriend! Were you hiding in the bushes just to get a quickie with her on the side, or what?!”

Completely off balance now, Addison glared at Kat. “What in the world are you talking about?”

Kat let out a frustrated groan, shoving Addison aside as she walked towards the front of the building. “I’m sick of all the damn lies!” she announced.

Whatever had just happened inside, Addison figured, must have been the cause of this behaviour. Just what had Ben said to her in there?

Well, I have a job to do. Even if she doesn’t want to talk to me.

Addison followed behind her closely. Presumably once she reached the front, Sam was going to be there to help stop her from wandering off. She still didn’t know exactly what they were all trying to prevent.

*        *        *

Finally reaching the door, Ben leaned on the bar and spilled out into the night air, where the contents of his stomach finally flowed freely onto the dirt. He stumbled out a little further, and threw up again in a bush.

Kat wasn’t here. And neither was whoever was supposed to be watching this door. Surely that meant they were taking care of her.

Well, in that case, he was free to finish retching. He dropped to his hands and knees, gagging like a cat with a hairball. His vision spun like a kaleidoscope, as sweat poured down his pale face. His makeup was probably not looking so good, he thought with a laugh.

Finally, he slumped to a sideways lying position, feeling like he’d lost all strength in his arms. Maybe he needed to just take a breather for a minute.

If there was a problem, Janis would be telling him about it, right?

Yeah, he was okay to lie here for a little while, surely. Just until he could see straight enough to orient himself.

He shut his eyes, hoping when he opened them he’d feel a little more focused.

Then he heard crunching footsteps approaching. Like big, practical boots. Ben smiled. She was still here.

“Kat, I’m really sorry,” he mumbled, rolling over and opening his eyes, squinting them in an attempt to focus on Kat’s looming face.

Wait. That isn’t Kat.

A hand pressed against his mouth, and he was roughly pulled to his feet.

“Look at you,” hissed Mary-Sue. “You filthy reprobate. Passed out drunk like this after cavorting with your fag lover.” She kneed his lower back sharply, keeping him upright by his neck. “But you still have a chance at salvation.”

Chapter 49

To The Rescue

Sam was once again playing an imaginary piano against his thigh when he heard two sets of footsteps approaching from the side of the building. He stood, and watched as Kat walked increasingly briskly from a pursuing Addison. The girl was red in the face, and her eye makeup had begun to run down her cheeks.

He quickly moved himself into her path.

“Hey, are you alright, Miss?”

She grunted in response, before pausing and turning to Addison.

“Get the hell away from me!” she spat. “I saw you kiss Janis, okay? I saw it. I know you two are a thing, okay?”

Sam shot Addison a questioning look.

“Kat, listen, he—uh she told me not to do it again.” Addison reasoned. “And I didn’t! We’re not a ‘thing,’ I swear to God!”

“Then why are you sneaking around at our prom? You don’t even go to this school!”

Seeing Addison struggle to think of something, Sam stepped in.

“Addison, why don’t you see how your Mom’s doing?” he said, bobbing a head towards the other side of the building, before turning to Kat. “She’s here with me. Because she’s my granddaughter. She… was the one who told me about all this and prompted me to make the donation. So I guess, she’s kinda the reason you got to attend tonight.”

Kat was taken off-guard by this, and looked with wide eyes at the two.

Addison nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be right back, Gramps.”

As Addison disappeared, Sam gestured to the bench he’d been sitting at. “Sounds like you need a breather.”

Kat hesitantly sat down, and moved to cradle her chin in her hands, but missed, and awkwardly attempted to hide her clumsiness by pretending she meant to do it.

Sam took a seat next to her. “So, you and Janis hit the bottle tonight, huh?”

“No, no,” Kat said reflexively, but a moment later her shoulders slumped—she knew she couldn’t deny it. “Ugh. Is it that obvious?”

“Well, I noticed. But I won’t tell any of your teachers.”

“Janis had way more.”

“I noticed that, too,” he said with a soft snort. “Doesn’t sound like either of you are having a good time, though.”

“Guess not,” Kat wiped at her eyes with her palm. “So Addison and Janis aren’t…?”

“I really don’t think you have to worry about that,” Sam said. “And Addison knows that’s a dead end for her. Your girlfriend is all yours.”

Kat leaned back, looking up at the night sky. “Dammit! I totally screwed things up. Janis probably hates me now, and it was all a misunderstanding!”

Sam shook his head. “Nonsense. If you go apologise to her, I’m sure you can salvage your evening.” He stood, extending his arms to help her up. “Come on, I’ll walk you back in.”

Kat sniffled and rubbed her nose. “Why do you care so much about me and Janis that you coughed up all that money for the school? And now you’re helping me make up with her? What’s the deal? Are you gay or something?”

Sam chuckled. “Does it matter? Just think of me as someone who… wants love to save the day.”

Kat took his hands and let him pull her to her unsteady feet.

“If it still doesn’t work out, and you need a ride home, I’ll be out here after prom,” he said as he walked her back inside the auditorium.

“Thanks, but Janis’s Dad is supposed to be taking me home,” Kat said, scanning the dance floor. “Hmm. Where is she?”

“Not here,” a familiar voice said with urgency from behind Sam. It was his own voice. “Janis and Ben have forty-six minutes to live, and we need to move. I’m gonna get the others—meet you out front.”

Just as suddenly as he’d appeared, he was gone.

Oh my God.

“Uh, listen,” Sam said to Kat quickly, “you stay in here and wait for Janis. Maybe she went out to find you—I’ll go and check. You can… uh, go look in the bathroom, okay? Maybe she’s not feeling so hot. When you’re done, stay indoors and wait.”

Kat nodded. “O… okay. Thanks—uh, what was your name again? Doctor something?”

“Just call me Sam.” He gave her a quick pat on the shoulder and hurried back out into the night.

It was only a moment before Sammy Jo and Addison emerged from the side of the building, looking pale in the face.

“Gramps,” Addison said shakily, “We just met an old man version of you…”

“I know. Did he tell you what’s going on?”

Sammy Jo nodded gravely. “What do we do?”

As Sam opened his mouth to reply, the older version of himself winked into existence beside him.

“Al’s on his way around,” he announced, before tapping the controls of his handlink, and speaking into it like a radio. “Addie, have you found Ben?”

“Affirmative,” came the adult Addison’s no-nonsense reply. “Tied up in the trunk of a car.”

Sam’s jaw fell open. “Whose car?!”

“That lady from the CAP protest group,” Addison responded through the handlink. “Mary-Sue Moresby. Get everyone moving, okay? I’ll stay with Ben, but keep me updated.”

Older Sam looked grimly at the group. “We need to get to the river. Janis is found the same way Kat was originally.”

The younger Sam winced at this. “She picked the easier target.” He caught movement in the corner of his eye, and turned to find Al walking quickly towards them from the other side of the building.

“Somebody ralphed by the side door. Almost stepped in it,” he said with a look of disgust. “So what’s goin’ on here? We lose Kat?”

“We lost Ben,” Older Sam explained. “And, by extension, Janis. Everyone get to your cars and head for the Rio Grande, okay? I’ll get you a more exact location when Ziggy coughs it up.”

“Janis…” Al’s expression turned serious, and he nodded, pulling his keys from his pocket. “We should split into two groups, take different routes in case of hold-ups.”

The full group began scurrying towards the parking lot.

Sam looked to Sammy Jo. “You want to go with your daughter? I can give you the keys to Donna’s car, and I’ll go with Al…”

Sammy Jo frowned. “No… You and Al have experience with these kinds of things, you should head the teams.” She took Sam’s hand. “Take Addie with you. I trust you to keep her safe. And I’ll go with Al. I don’t know what I bring to the table, but…”

Sam smiled. “You’ll do fine. Just don’t let your guard down. We don’t know what this woman is capable of.”

Sammy Jo nodded, and climbed into Al’s car. “Good luck.”

“You too.” Sam got into Donna’s car, and Addison hurried to the passenger side, joining him and buckling up.

“Let’s roll, Gramps.”

*        *        *

Ben felt absolutely wretched, and it wasn’t because his hands were tied behind his back. Nor was it because he was folded up like laundry in the trunk of a car, though neither of those things were helping matters.

“Hold on, Ben,” Addison’s voice soothed. “Help is on the way.”

Was she really there? He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t see anything. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he was hearing things.

He still didn’t know why Janis had not shown up at all. He thought she probably should have, under the circumstances. Or maybe she had, and the alcohol made him black it out.

Oh, drinking all that at once had been a stupid idea. It had let his guard all the way down. He’d been a sitting duck.

And now he was a sitting duck with a pounding head and severe nausea.

“Addison…” he slurred. “Are you here?”

“I’m here, Ben. Well, kind of. I’m in the back seat of the car. No point in poking my head through, you won’t see me anyway.”

“Addison, I screwed up, didn’t I?”

“Uh, well, that depends. Ziggy says your blood alcohol content is way up. What the heck happened? Someone spike the punch?”

“Janis said to drink the booze, so Kat wouldn’t drink it all. So I did, but I guess it was a little too much, huh…” he laughed despite himself. “But listen, where is Janis? She said she had everything under control. She promised. But then I didn’t see her.”

Addison hesitated to answer a moment. “Listen, Ben. Don’t worry about Janis right now, okay? You just stay awake for me and we’ll get out of this, I promise. Sam’s getting everybody to come help.”

“The other you calls him Gramps,” Ben mused. “But you don’t. How come you don’t…?”

“It’s because I never met him until less than a year ago, remember? I never had a familial relationship with him.”

“Oh.”

Ben closed his eyes. He was tired. Part of him knew that sleeping was a bad idea, but he really, really felt like he should. Maybe just for a minute?

“Hey! Ben, what did I just say about staying awake?”

Ben moaned in reply, not opening his eyes. “I’m awake,” he mumbled.

“Ben, come on. Keep it together. Just a little longer, okay? Stay with me.”

“I’m not feeling good, Addison,” he said.

“I know, Ben. Tilt your head back, okay? If you regurgitate, it’ll reduce your chances of choking on it.”

Ben did as she asked. “How much longer will I be here?”

“Probably ten more minutes,” Addison said. “Once she gets you out I need you to take some deep breaths, get some more oxygen in you, because you don’t have a lot in there. But I want you to play up your drunkenness and go limp. It’ll put her guard down, and she’ll have to use more effort to drag you where she plans to take you. It’ll buy us time. Got it?”

“I dunno if that’ll be an act or not,” Ben confessed.

“Either way, I need you awake when that happens. So just keep talking to me.”

“I love you, Addison,” Ben blurted.

Addison chuckled. “I know that’s just the alcohol, but I love you too.”

“It’s not! I love you and I’m sorry for leaping without telling you. I shoulda told you.”

“Water under the bridge, Ben. You just survive this, make it home, and we’ll be square.”

“I couldn’t do this without you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

A moment passed, and Ben’s intoxicated mind finally connected the dots.

“Janis isn’t there because she dies tonight, doesn’t she? I made this happen.”

“We’re going to fix it. So don’t even worry.”

“Okay, Addison. I love you.”

Chapter 50

Move It Or Lose It

“Come on… come on…” Al tapped impatiently on the steering wheel as he waited in a traffic gridlock. He’d gone what he thought was the shorter route, but it was only shorter in miles. He had neglected to account for traffic, and for 8:30pm on a Saturday, it was unusually slow-moving. “What the hell’s the holdup?”

Sammy Jo craned her neck, attempting to look ahead past the truck in front of them. “Can’t see anything,” she said, a resigned expression on her face. “We’re boxed in.”

Al bit his lip. It may have technically been Ben Song in the trunk of that car, but it was Janis whose life was hanging in the balance. His youngest daughter, his flesh and blood. How could he just sit here and let that nasty witch do whatever awful thing she was about to do?

“Please, please let us get through,” he muttered, half praying and half just trying to keep calm.

An electronic buzz behind him signalled that a hologram had just arrived in the back seat, and he looked around at the version of Sam he realised he’d never be able to see again, because he wouldn’t be around to see it.

“Sam, you gotta get me out of this jam.” He looked pleadingly at his friend. “Look at this, it’s bumper-to-bumper on all sides!”

“Oh Al, you shouldn’t have come this way,” Sam said, grimacing as he looked at his handlink. “There’s an accident up ahead. Traffic’s gonna be at a standstill for two miles. You won’t make it in time. I’m sorry.”

Al pounded his forehead on the steering wheel. “No. This is my daughter we’re talkin’ about! Her life’s on the line, Sam!” He gave Sam a desperate look. “At least tell me the others are gonna get there…”

“Ziggy gives it a 66.2 percent.” Sam looked up from the handlink. “That’s the best we’ve got.”

“That’s not good enough,” Al snapped. “Isn’t there anything we can do from here?”

“Donna’s place is closer, isn’t it?” Sammy Jo piped up. “We could call her.”

“Sam’s got her car,” Al moaned.

“True, but…” Sam looked pensive. “Tom does have a hire car.”

Sammy Jo sent Sam a questioning look.

“Sam’s brother,” Al explained. “Your uncle, I guess.”

“Oh…” Sammy Jo brought a finger to her lip. “Addie mentioned meeting her Great Uncle, and that he knew about Ben. You think he would help?”

“Well, he hated my guts last I heard,” Al said, “but I’m sure he wants to help save a life as much as anybody. Worth a shot.”

“Yeah, he’s coming around on everything he’s learned today,” Sam said. “I remember that much. Only problem is I’m not tuned in to Donna or Tom. I wouldn’t be able to direct them where they need to go.”

“You think we could do that… that thing again?” Sammy Jo suggested.

“Thing? What thing?”

“Earlier, Janis made me promise to put my neural data into Ziggy sometime in the future, so that she could tune into my brainwaves in her present. And voila, it worked like a charm.” She shrugged. “Guess the photographic memory helped out there, huh? Made it a hundred percent likelihood as soon as I pledged to do it.”

“Is that what happened?” Sam looked impressed. “Well, yeah. If you would be so kind.”

“Okay.” Sammy Jo rubbed her temples dramatically. “Resolving to tell Sam to register more brainwaves into the Imaging Chamber. Donna and… Uncle… Uncle…?” She glanced up, waiting for someone to give her his name.

“Tom Beckett,” Al supplied.

“Tom Beckett. Right.” She gave a thumbs up. “Done—in the ol’ memory banks.”

“Wait, did you say tell me to do it?” Sam asked, frowning.

“Well, it’s your project. You’d be doing it, right?”

“Uh, I wouldn’t count on me to do it…” Sam rubbed his chin nervously. “Because there’s a chance I won’t be around to.”

Al whipped his head around. “What’s that supposed to mean, Sam? You’re right there, aren’t you?”

Sam shook his head. “I… might not be come Monday. Look, don’t worry about it. Just, make sure you resolve to do it yourself, Sammy Jo. Please.”

Puzzled, Sammy Jo nodded. “Okay… Dad. I promise.”

With that, the handlink chimed. “Thanks—that did the trick,” Sam said. “We’re gonna save Janis, Al. Okay? And Ben. Leave it to me. And… the other me. And Addison. And the other Addison. You know what I mean.”

He pressed a button, and disappeared.

Al looked to Sammy Jo, bewildered. “What do you think Sam meant, he might not be around come Monday?”

At this prompt, the wristlink on Sammy Jo’s arm suddenly lit up, which in turn activated the computer terminal Al had built into his dashboard.

“I know the answer to that, Admiral,” Ziggy announced with glee from the stereo speakers. “And I’m simply dying to tell someone.”

*        *        *

Sam sped down the street. This was a little more convoluted a route than Al was taking, but it was more quiet, and as such he could really put his foot down.

Beside him, Addison gripped the sides of her seat tightly.

“You okay?” he asked, giving her a quick glance to make sure she wasn’t panicking. Her expression was unreadable, however.

She took a moment to reply. “Gramps, when you’re really keyed up, do you ever get this weird sense of like… almost calm? Like everything in your life has been leading up to this moment?”

A smile tickled at Sam’s lips. “Yeah. Happens to me a lot.”

“Well I guess it’s hereditary,” Addison remarked, holding up a steady hand. “I should be shaking, right? My heart’s not even racing.”

“Well, that makes one of us,” Sam said. “But that’s good. It means you’re calm under pressure. It’s a great quality to have; incredibly valuable in an emergency.”

“Huh.” She stared out the window at the blur of streetlights. “Do you think I could someday do what you did? I know I grow up to be a hologram, but—”

“I’m sure you’ll do amazing things, whatever you choose to do,” Sam said warmly. “Whether or not you follow in my footsteps, well—I guess that’s your choice. It’s a tough job. You never know whose shoes you’ll end up in.”

Addison nodded thoughtfully. “I guess I should brush up on all kinds of skills, if that’s my potential future. What kinds of skills would you recommend?”

Sam considered this for a moment. Well, she already had the martial arts background. That was a pretty valuable tool in the proverbial kit for the more dangerous situations.

“Well, it’s always useful to know first aid, CPR, and other basic medical procedures. Including using older technology.”

“Field medic stuff?”

“Yeah,” Sam said with a nod. “But honestly, I think the number one skill you need is empathy.”

“Empathy?”

“It’s not all racing around and saving lives. Sometimes you just have to be able to give someone emotional support. To give advice, and understand things from another’s perspective. Sometimes kindness is the best gift you can give somebody.” He shifted gears, and gestured with the hand no longer resting on the steering wheel. “Leaping is all about leading by example. If you help someone, they’re more likely to go on to help someone too. And in that way, a ripple goes through the quantum field from your point of change, affecting the ultimate position of quarks all the way out.”

“Of whats?”

“Uh, never mind. My point is, a leaper isn’t a superhero, or a superspy, or anything else with the word super attached. A leaper is somebody who uses their humanity in the best way they can, and just tries to make the world a tiny bit better than it was before. It’s tough work, but… it’s so rewarding, Addison.”

Addison was looking at him wordlessly, absorbing what he’d said. Perhaps seeing him with new eyes, he thought.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” came the slightly rougher voice of his older self, who had quietly appeared in the back seat. “And there are so many people out there who could still use someone like that. Just waiting.” He looked pointedly into Sam’s eyes.

“How are Al and Sammy Jo doing?” Sam asked, ignoring his implication and cutting to the chase.

“They won’t make it.”

“Oh boy. Why not?”

“They’re stuck in traffic. But I got Donna and Tom heading there on their behalf. You’ll have backup, as long as you get a move on.”

“I’m already five over the limit,” Sam said, gritting his teeth.

“Make it fifteen and your chances of getting there in time go up to ninety-two percent. I’ll scan for police and hazards, and tell you if and when to slow down.”

Sam glanced at Addison. “Listen, it’s my duty as a grandparent to tell you never to speed, okay? You won’t have a hologram from the future to guide you away from potential crashes.”

Addison giggled. “I know, Gramps. I know. Now kick this junker into gear, would ya?”

“My pleasure.” Sam slammed his foot down on the accelerator, and the two of them were thrust back against their seats as the car sped into the night.

Chapter 51

He Who Is Without Sin

With a quick tap of his handlink, Sam appeared in the back seat of Tom’s rental. For travelling solo, he’d sure picked a big, rugged vehicle.

A quick look at the passenger seat seemed to suggest Donna wasn’t with him.

“Tom, where’s Donna?” Sam demanded. His sudden loud voice made Tom almost jump out of his skin.

“Jesus!” he growled. “Give me some warning! It’s unsettling enough I’m even lookin’ at my little brother from the future—do you have to sneak around like that?”

“Sorry… it’s supposed to make a noise when I appear,” Sam said distractedly, smacking a hand against the handlink. “But answer my question, would ya? Why isn’t Donna with you?”

He repositioned himself to the vacant passenger seat.

Tom jumped at the sudden change, before taking a breath. “I’m not driving your wife to help me intercept some deranged killer, Sam. I have training to deal with threats like that. What’s she gonna do? Stand there and hope not to get hurt?”

Sam sighed. “Donna is not a damsel in distress, Tom. There’s safety in numbers, and this is just one woman preying on a vulnerable kid.”

“A kid who’s like, possessed by a grown man, if I understand all of this correctly.”

“Look, Ben is not in an… optimal state to fight for himself right now,” Sam said. “But never mind that. I guess there’s no turning back and getting Donna now, so just keep on driving.” He glanced around the SUV. “Is this thing an off-roader?”

“Yeah,” Tom said, nodding. “I figured I might have to drive in the desert, so I wanted to be prepared.”

“Tom, I could kiss you. Except that I’m twenty years in the future.” Sam grinned. “I’ve got a map of where Janis’s body was found, and if you can drive this thing down to the riverside, that would be perfect. You might have to go through some bushes, though…”

“I don’t think the insurance covers that,” Tom lamented.

“Don’t worry, Tom. Remember, I’ve still got two million bucks to burn.”

“This is an expensive day for you,” mused Tom, giving Sam a look.

“Ancient history,” Sam said with a nonchalant shrug. He studied his brother’s flustered face. “Listen. Tom. Thank you for doing this. I know you and Al have a patchy history, but…”

“Sam, I have no beef with the Admiral—as long as I know you’re okay. That’s what it was always about. You.” He turned a sharp corner before continuing. “Besides, this is a murder we’re talking about. Who’s got time to worry about personal conflicts?”

Sam smiled. “Yeah, you’re completely right. If you have the power to save someone, you should do whatever you can to do it. And even if that means giving up some personal comfort… it’s… you know, still worth trying. Because… I could do so much more, Tom. Janis is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Tom eyed his brother curiously. “Um… what are you trying to tell me here, Sam?”

Sam cleared his throat, and abruptly changed the subject. “Try to be available around Christmas of 2008, Tom. Mom could use your support when she goes through chemo.”

Tom looked at him with wide eyes. “Sam…”

“It’s alright. She’ll beat the cancer, but… she could use the extra company.” He glanced down at his handlink as it threw up an alert; looked like there was a cop in the vicinity of Donna’s car. “Listen, I gotta get back to… uh, me. Keep going this way, and when you hit the riverside, you’ll want to head to the south side of the bridge. The water’s shallow and it’s a gentle incline, so don’t worry about falling in.” He looked up from the handlink. “I think you’re gonna get there first—so be on guard, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Tom looked ahead, a grave expression on his face. “Aye aye,” he said. Sam smiled at this, knowing that he said it with the utmost military respect.

*        *        *

With a shudder, the car surrounding Ben finally came to a stop, and his churning stomach was pleased to be stationary once more.

“This is it, Ben,” Addison announced. “You remember what I said?”

“Uh… go limp,” Ben parroted. “Right?”

“Right. The cavalry will be here in the next six to ten minutes, so do everything you can to slow down whatever it is she’s got planned.”

“Okay. I can do this.”

He was more trying to convince himself than anything. As Mary-Sue flipped open the trunk, she glared down at him menacingly.

“Come on, you little whore,” she snarled, pulling him up by the bindings on his wrists. “Move.”

Taking his cue, Ben let all his muscles relax, and she struggled to drag him out into the night air.

“Remember to breathe,” Addison prompted. He took a few gasping breaths, before closing his eyes and feigning passing out.

“Lord have mercy,” Mary-Sue muttered, before kicking him in the stomach. “Wake up, you useless child.”

She kicked him again, and Ben flinched, letting out a yelp.

So much for playing possum.

“Get up,” the deranged woman commanded. “Get up, or I will retrieve my switch from the back seat and start whipping. I bet that’s your problem; those liberal parents of yours never lifting a finger to drive the devil out of you. That’s what made you this wretched thing you’ve become.”

“What are you gonna do to me?” Ben asked, still refraining from moving from his now prone position on the ground.

“You’re going to be cleansed of your sins,” Mary-Sue replied with an eerily chipper tone. “I’ve got my work cut out for me, but you’ll feel much better after receiving the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. You’ll be born again.”

Ben looked out upon the rippling waters of the Rio Grande. “You want to baptise me?”

“You have just one chance to go to Heaven, and you’re very lucky I’m extending that offer—it’s because I care about your eternal soul. You’ll thank me once you see your unclean friends writhing in the fires of Hell, while you are in perfect happiness.”

Doesn’t sound like I could be happy with that scenario.

He felt a rough hand grab him by the hair and pull until he cried out.

“Get up.”

Ben made a feeble display of attempting to rise to his feet, and fall over again.

“I can’t.”

Mary-Sue groaned. “Well then, I pity the state of your dress when I finish dragging you. Pray you stay decent.”

She grabbed him once again by the bindings, and began tugging, grunting with the effort as Ben simply passively let her do it. He could feel his skin getting grazed and scratched, but he figured it was better than hurrying to his death.

“You’re doing great,” Addison said as she walked beside him. “Ziggy says if you cooperate with her baptism once she gets you in the water, there’s a better chance she’ll let you live. It isn’t by much, but hopefully the others will be here by the time she finishes.”

The stones and weeds underneath Ben gave way to smooth sand, followed by cold water against his shivering body.

Mary- Sue finally dropped Ben’s hands, and she rolled him over so he was lying in the water facing upwards. She pushed him into a loose sitting position, and Ben did his best not to flop back into the water where he might become submerged. With his hands tied behind his back, it might have been a one way trip.

Mary-Sue pulled her shoes off, resting them on a jutting rock before continuing into the dark water beside Ben. She towered over him, looking skyward.

“Lord Jesus Christ, before you is a sinner. Bless me with your light, Lord, that I may drive away the evil and wash away all her sins in Your name.”

She cupped water in her hands, trickling it over Ben’s head.

Well, this wasn’t so bad. Just a shower, really.

“In the name of Jesus, I banish the demons from this child!”

This isn’t how you do an exorcism, Ben thought idly. Where is she getting this stuff?

His thoughts were banished from his mind as she violently grabbed him by the hair once again.

“Renounce the devil and all his lies.”

“Wha—”

“Renounce him!”

“O-okay, fine!” Ben said, flummoxed. “I renounce the devil, alright?”

“Say it like you mean it!” Mary-Sue slapped him hard on the cheek, briefly making him dizzy. He blinked a few times. How was he supposed to appease this woman?

“Just turn on the waterworks,” Addison suggested. “These religious nuts love when people get weepy and sincere.”

“Do you renounce the devil?” Mary-Sue continued.

Ben let his lip quiver, and he did his best to feign some kind of epiphany, before making a show of crying.

“I do! I do renounce the devil!” he said, sobbing dramatically.

“Do you accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your saviour?!”

“Yes! Praise Jesus!” Ben said, beginning to feel like he was dissociating from the surreal experience. “I see the light!” he added, lifting his eyes to the stars.

“Hallelujah!” Addison contributed snarkily. “Nice going, I think she’s buying it.”

“Beg the Lord for forgiveness!” Mary-Sue commanded.

“O Lord Jesus—the, um, Way, the Truth and the Light!” Ben recited, channelling every evangelical megachurch broadcast he’d ever happened upon while channel surfing. “Forgive me my sins!”

“May the blood of Jesus wash away her sins!” Mary-Sue cried, before thrusting Ben’s head under the water. As quickly as she did it, she pulled it back up again, still by the hair.

Ben was partially distracted by the idea of blood being able to wash anything away. Blood wasn’t known for leaving things clean.

“I baptise you in the name of the Father—”

She dunked him again.

“—the Son—”

Ben gasped for breath as she repeated the action.

“—and the Holy Spirit!”

And once more his head was submersed. Each cold shock had made him feel just a little more sober. Not sober enough to escape, but enough to make him more alert.

“Congratulations,” Mary-Sue said. “You have been born anew.”

“Okay… great… so, can I go now?” Ben asked, pleading with his eyes.

Mary-Sue laughed. “Oh my, no. You’ll go back to your life of sin, now won’t you?”

“What if I promised not to?”

Mary Sue stepped out of the water, crouching by the dark riverside. She returned to a standing position, now with a large rock in her hand.

“The only way to guarantee Heaven for you is to send you there now, while you are cleansed of your sins.” She smiled in perhaps the creepiest way possible as she approached; a broad, absent grin that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m doing you a favour. You will thank me, I promise you that.”

Ben exchanged an open-mouthed look of horror with Addison.

“Ben, you have to fight her,” she said urgently. “Buy time.”

With his hands tied up, sitting chest deep in a river, Ben failed to see how he’d win against the blunt force of a rock. But he had to try.

First, he struggled with an attempt to rise to his feet. That failed as the current of the river threw him off balance, and he fell awkwardly back to the river bed.

Addison groaned. “Okay, so you can’t stand and your hands are tied. That leaves your legs—try and trip her up.”

Ben thrashed his legs towards the oncoming killer. She responded to this by grabbing his ankle with her free hand.

“Now now, you don’t want to do that,” she said calmly. “Don’t want to go to Hell at the last minute because of a little sinful behaviour, do you?”

She threw his leg aside, raising the boulder over her head.

Ben tried to get himself into a position to kick at her, but he knew his efforts wouldn’t be fast or precise enough to help him.

And then, the roar of an engine filled Ben’s senses as a big SUV emerged out of the vegetation, screeching to a halt, its bright headlights causing Ben and his assailant to squint and shade their eyes.

The door of the vehicle opened, and a silhouette pointed a handgun out from behind the door.

“Put the rock down,” boomed a deep, commanding voice.

“Oh, thank God,” Addison said. “It’s Sam’s brother. He made it.”

Mary Sue grimaced, and threw the rock down, before diving into the dark water and emerging behind Ben, grabbing him around the collar and using him as a human shield.

“This soul has been saved,” she snarled. “You can’t let it be made dirty again. I will finish this.”

“You’re completely out of your mind,” Tom said, cautiously approaching, keeping his aim, but knowing full well that he couldn’t risk a shot with Ben in the way.

“Uh… thou shalt not kill?” Ben tried. This only served to tighten Mary-Sue’s vice-like grip on him.

“Jesus will forgive my sins,” she whispered fiercely into his ear. “Just like he forgives yours.”

With that, she pulled both of them beneath the surface of the water.

“Shit!” Tom hissed, running towards them. With what little Ben could now see from under the water, he thought he saw a second silhouette behind Tom.

I… hope that’s Sam, he thought as he began to feel desperate for air.

Chapter 52

Troubled Waters

Tom holstered his sidearm, hurrying to the water’s edge. He hadn’t expected to take a dip tonight, but that girl—or man, or whatever was the deal with this whole time travel crap—was in a bad situation, and it looked like he was the only one here to help. The apparition of his brother nearby was not going to be able to do much, certainly.

As he prepared to dive upon the woman holding the defenceless victim under the surface, Sam’s voice piped up urgently. “Tom, behind you!”

This was followed closely by the distinct sound of a shotgun being pumped.

“You better hold still now,” a gruff male voice with a southern accent said. “Hands up. Won’t ask twice.”

Grimacing, Tom raised his hands.

“Turn around, nice and slow.”

Tom did as commanded, but the sound of Ben’s legs thrashing violently in the water made him seriously regret doing so.

Now facing the mystery man—the bright headlights behind him made it difficult to see what he looked like—Tom tried to assess the situation. Rifle wasn’t close enough to grab and redirect. If he reached for his gun he would be shot in the chest before he could pull it from the holster. Sam was nowhere in sight.

He was in a bind.

“Now step aside an’ let my lovely wife win a soul for Heaven.”

“You’re her husband? And you’re in on this too?” Tom was incredulous. One nutcase, sure. But two, married to each other? Goddamn.

“We’re a traditional Christian household,” the man said. “I’m the head. Ain’t nothin’ my woman does I don’t approve first.” He looked over Tom’s shoulder. “Ain’t that right, sweetheart?”

The sound of a gasping breath came from the water, and Tom hoped desperately that was Ben getting in some much needed air. The look of disappointment on the man’s face seemed to suggest it might have been.

But Ben could only fight for so long.

Sam, where are you, little brother?

*        *        *

“We’re nearly there,” Sam said, taking a sharp turn towards the waterside and mounting the kerb.

Addison nodded, cracking her knuckles. “Right. What’s the plan? We flank her? Close in from either side?”

“You’re gonna make yourself scarce is the plan. I promised your Mom I’d protect you.”

“Oh, come on.” Addison scowled at her grandfather. Didn’t he have any faith in her? “I can help!”

Sam gave her a pained look. “Please, don’t argue. This is life or death, Addison. It’s bad enough Janis is in this kind of danger. Keep hidden in the shadows and only come out if you have absolutely no other choice.”

Addison huffed, crossing her arms. “Fine, but I decide when that is.”

Sam pursed his lips. After a moment, he let out a breath. “Okay. Deal.”

The car came to a stop, and Addison became aware of bright lights on the other side of the bushes. As she and Sam jumped out of the car, crouching as they moved to peer through the leaves, a voice came from behind.

“She’s not alone.”

Addison spun around to see the older Sam, looking at them with severe worry.

“She?” the younger Sam said. “You mean Mary-Sue?”

“Yeah. Her husband’s here too, and he’s got a gun. He’s holding Tom hostage, and she’s got Ben under the water. He won’t last much longer.”

“So we work together,” Addison said.

Sam looked hesitant, but he knew full well there was no time to argue.

“Okay. Let’s move.”

*        *        *

“On your knees,” the man said to Tom, gesturing with the barrel of the shotgun.

Tom slowly lowered himself. “You gonna kill me too, are you?”

“Well, we can either do it afore or after you accept Jesus into your heart. I recommend the latter.”

“How are you so casual about this?!”

“You think this is the first time we done this?” The man snorted. “Hey, Mary-Sue! How many souls we saved now?”

“I’m busy, Billy!” Mary-Sue snapped. The distraction gave Ben another chance to resurface and gasp for air. “Oh, look what you made me do!”

Billy shrugged. “Four, I think. ’Course my Mama was dyin’ anyway.”

“You’re sick.”

“Just doin’ the Lord’s work. You said yer prayers yet?”

“Bite me.” Tom wasn’t going to give these maniacs the satisfaction of thinking they’d saved his soul, though he was silently praying for help.

“Well, your loss.” He aimed the gun at Tom’s face, and Tom squeezed his eyes shut. So this was it, huh? Sam had saved his life once, but apparently he was destined to lose it once more.

The shotgun discharged, and Tom jumped—but his face was notably still attached to his head. He opened his eyes, to see his brother very efficiently disarming Billy with some well-placed martial arts moves.

“Sam!” Apparently he’d redirected the shot at the last second. Talk about timing.

Sam quickly unloaded the shotgun, throwing it away from them. “Tom, keep eyes on this guy.”

Tom nodded, retrieving his own gun from its holster and training it on Billy. “Your turn to put your hands up, asshole.”

“Let her go right now,” Sam demanded, striding to the water’s edge. “It’s over. The police are on their way.”

He took a few steps into the water, wrenching Ben away from her and pulling him to the sand.

“No!” Mary-Sue screeched. “Don’t you understand? This is her only chance to reach Heaven! Don’t you care about this child’s eternal soul?!”

“I think God has other plans,” Sam said, inspecting the now-unconscious body before him and commencing CPR.

“Sam, look out!” Tom said, seeing Mary-Sue emerging from the water, a deep scowl on her face. She reached into her blouse and pulled out a large crucifix hanging around her neck, which she pulled at, unveiling a stiletto blade.

That’s gotta be sacrilegious.

Sam was still pumping at the chest of the—girl?—lying on the ground, not noticing the approaching danger.

“Sam—”

His warning was cut off by the ghostly apparition of the older Sam stepping into view, putting a finger to his lips. “Just wait.”

Sure enough, at the moment Mary-Sue began to telegraph her attempt to impale Sam, a black-clad Addison stepped out of the darkness and propelled herself into the unsuspecting murderer, toppling her back into the water.

“Hey, lady!” Addison said as they both emerged from under the surface. “You love Jesus, right? So—” She landed a sharp right hook into the woman’s face, causing her to drop her blade as she recoiled. “—why don’t you turn the other cheek!”

Mary-Sue clutched at her jaw, looking completely dumbfounded.

“How did all of you find me?” she demanded.

“Maybe God sent us,” Addison said flatly. “Because he sure as hell isn’t on your team, you murderer.”

“Sam, is she… he… okay?” Tom asked, looking down at the pale-faced Ben. As if to respond, he coughed up water and groaned, his eyelids fluttering.

“Remains to be seen,” Sam said. “But he’s alive. Which means Janis is alive.”

The flashing of red and blue lights through the bushes signalled the arrival of police, and Tom watched Sam help a dizzy-looking Ben to a sitting position.

The older Sam stepped up to Sam, quietly giving him some information from the weird computer thing in his hand.

Sam looked to Mary-Sue with a disdainful expression. “You think this teenage girl just trying to live her life is depraved, while you use your religion as justification for murder?”

“All sins are equal in the eyes of God,” Mary-Sue said, getting ever more wide-eyed with the realisation that her life was now effectively over. “And Jesus forgives even the lowliest sinner who puts their faith in Him.”

She felt around the shallows for her weapon, finally getting a hold of it and holding it against her wrist.

“Lord Jesus, forgive me for what I am about to do,” she whispered, and moved to thrust the spike into her vein.

But Sam grabbed her by the arm. “No!”

Mary-Sue attempted to pull away from his grip, but she was already exhausted.

“Don’t you understand?” he asked her. “Nobody has to die here. Nobody.”

“But I’m going to Heaven,” Mary-Sue argued, her eyes brimming with tears. “I would much rather go there than a prison cell.”

Sam shook his head. “I can’t say whether or not there’s a Heaven or Hell, and neither can you. What we know is right here and now, okay? Why don’t you put death aside, and start thinking about life for once?”

“Jesus died for us,” Mary-Sue countered. “Christianity is all about death.”

“Jesus raised people from the dead. Including himself, remember?”

“Well, he has got a point there,” Billy chimed in.

“Not you too, Billy!”

As the police closed in, Billy shook his head.

“Come on, Mary-Sue. Let’s face the music t’gether. Let Jesus take the wheel.”

“But we… we…”

“We always knew someday it might come to this.”

Mary-Sue dropped her weapon, bursting into tears. “I thought God was on our side.”

Tom watched with a loose jaw as his brother brought the murderous woman into a hug.

“I think this is exactly God’s plan,” he said, patting her on the back. “And he’s telling you that it’s time to stop all of this. Stop the hatred and death—it’s not the right way to serve him. It’s not too late to become a better person, even if you’re in prison, Mary-Sue.”

He let go of her, and she stared at him for a long moment, tears slipping down her face. Then she slowly stood up, raising her hands as the police swarmed the scene.

As she and Billy were being led away, Tom heard her tell him quietly, “Billy, I saw something in that man’s eyes. I think he might be an angel.”

Chapter 53

Hangover

“Addison…” Ben murmured, groggily planting his hand in the sand so he wouldn’t slip back into a horizontal position. “Is it over?”

Addison, who was sitting cross-legged opposite him, smiled. “Yeah, Ben. You survived.”

She’d been beside him the whole ordeal, telling him to keep fighting, showing him opportunities to get a breath in. She was really something.

Ben ran a hand through his dripping hair, as he caught sight of his assailants being escorted away in cuffs. “Thanks,” was all he said to the woman he loved.

“You alright?” Sam crouched beside him, holding two warm fingers to his cold neck to check his pulse. “I was afraid I might not have made it in time.”

“I’m glad you did,” Ben said, coughing a few times. His lungs ached. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“Here,” Sam said, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Ben’s shoulders. “You’re freezing cold.”

“That was amazing, Gramps,” the teenage Addison said as she approached them, grinning ear to ear. “We kicked so much ass! And you really showed off those skills you were telling me about.”

That was Addison, wasn’t it? She loved to get in the middle of the action. Ben was glad to have given her that opportunity for once.

“I think I get the empathy thing now,” she continued. “I was happy just to break that lady’s jaw, but you really went above and beyond.”

Sam nodded. “I don’t know if she deserved it, but I just wanted to try and help her understand how warped she’d become. I think I maybe got through to her a little.”

Ben became aware of Tom standing to the side, listening to the conversation. He looked up at Sam’s brother. “Thank you too, Tom. She’d have knocked me out cold if you hadn’t arrived when you did.”

Tom gave an awkward nod. “You’re welcome…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Is this kind of thing what happens on all of these time travel missions?”

Ben exchanged a look with Sam, and they both peered sheepishly up at Tom. “More or less.”

Tom appeared spooked, and he walked away from the group, lost in thought.

A police officer approached, looking down at the group with concern. “This young lady need an ambulance?”

“It’s alright,” Sam said. “I’m a doctor. She needs a warm bed and a night’s sleep, but she’ll be okay.”

The officer put a hand on his hip, nodding. “Well, I am gonna need statements from each of you…” He mulled over his request. “But I reckon we could wait until morning. Let me just jot down your details now.”

*        *        *

Al sighed with relief as the traffic finally began to move at a normal pace. But the relief might have been short-lived; he hadn’t heard anything from anybody about what was happening.

And then there was the information Ziggy had given. Sam was thinking of leaping again. Oh boy. They’d have to have a little chat about that.

“Do you think Janis is safe?” Al asked Sammy Jo nervously, though he knew she was just as in the dark as he was. “They would have told us if she wasn’t, right?”

“That depends on how much work the holograms had to do,” Sammy Jo said, frowning. “Maybe they didn’t have the chance to get back to us. But I sure hope so.”

“My ears are burning!” said a sing-song voice from the back seat.

“Janis!” Al cried, immediately pulling the car over to the side of the road and turning to face his daughter. “Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes.”

“Thanks —I think,” she said with a chuckle, tapping at her handlink. “You’ll be pleased to know the day is saved, thanks to the combined might of the Beckett family…” Janis hesitated, looking awkwardly up at Sammy Jo. “Well, you helped too, in a less direct way.”

“Never mind that,” Sammy Jo said, “are they all okay? Is Addie safe?”

“Everyone’s just fine,” Janis reassured her. “In fact, Ben will leap any minute, and we’ve got a new retrieval in place to bring him home for real this time.”

“That’s great,” Al said. “He’ll finally be able to marry Addi—” He cut himself off as he received a wide-eyed look from Sammy-Jo. “Ah… Ad-adorable—his adorable girlfriend.”

Sammy Jo glared at him, clearly not being taken in by his crude cover-up.

“Listen, one more thing,” Janis said. “Sam sent me here with a message for you guys. He says when the new Project is set up, you’re supposed to hire someone named…” she squinted at the readout on the handlink. “Uh, Jenn Chu?” That’s with two ‘n’s.”

Al and Sammy Jo looked at one another.

“Jenn… Chu?”

“Okay…” Sammy Jo said. “I suppose I’ll remember that along with everything else.”

“Alrighty,” Janis said with a sad smile. “I guess… I guess this is goodbye, Dad.”

“I guess so,” Al replied. This would be Janis’s last conversation with him—ever!—he realised. “Sweetheart, I love you and I’m proud of you.”

“I love you too, Dad.” she wiped a tear from her eye. “Anything you want me to tell Mom for you?”

Al looked, leering, into the distance. “Tell her I said she’s got one helluva—”

“Dad…” 

“—daughter.”

Janis tilted her head, giving him the kind of high browed disapproving look he was oh-so used to receiving, before letting it melt back into yearning sadness.

“Bye, Dad. When the teen me comes back, make sure you cut her a little slack. And consider this a pre-emptive apology for all future teen dumbassery.”

“Don’t sweat it, Janis. I love ya and don’t ever forget it.”

With glistening eyes, Janis dematerialised from the car.

“So…” Sammy Jo said, folding her arms, “I guess nobody was planning on telling me Ben’s engaged to Addison?”

“Uh…” Al’s eyes shifted back to the road. “Surprise!”

*        *        *

Addison was wide awake and buzzing in the back of Sam’s car, in stark contrast to Ben, who was shivering and half asleep. But she sensed a stiffening of his muscles, and he looked up towards Sam in the front seat.

“Sam…” he said, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “I think I’m about to go.”

“Really?” Addison said, giving him puppy-dog eyes. “Do you have to?”

Ben chuckled. “’Fraid so. But you get to meet Janis now.”

“Thank you for everything, Ben,” Sam said sincerely. “I never thought I’d see my family all together like this, you know?”

“I think we’re even after tonight. So thank you too.” He turned to Addison, taking her hand. “And you’re gonna make an amazing leaper in the future. Try not to spoil me too early when we meet, alright?”

“I won’t,” Addison vowed. “You’ll just be… my professional colleague, I promise.”

Ben grinned. “I hope it’s more than that.”

Addison raised an eyebrow. “Wait, really…?”

But Ben looked away, blinking, then squinted at Sam in confusion, sitting bolt upright.

“Uncle Sam? Oh God, I’m not tripping again, am I?”

Sam looked into the rear view mirror. “Not this time, Janis. Welcome back—you, uh, missed a thing or two.”

Realising what had happened, Addison let go of Janis’s hand. “Uh, hi Janis,” she said awkwardly. “Nice to… meet you. I’m Addison.”

Janis studied her face a moment and licked her lips. “Do I know you?”

“Well, we kinda met earlier today, I… think. You were angry ’cause you got banned from prom, and—”

“Oh my God, prom! Is that happening now?” She looked down at the torn black sequined dress underneath the men’s suit jacket wrapped around her shoulders. “What the hell…”

“Guess we’d better give her the whole story,” Sam said. “Do you want to, or will I?”

“Eh, I’ll do it,” Addison said with a grin. “So, here’s the thing…”

*        *        *

Kat slumped on the bench. Prom was over, and Janis was nowhere to be found. And worse, her Dad wasn’t here, and even that guy Sam who’d promised he’d drive her home wasn’t here either! So it was either call a taxi with money she didn’t have, or call up her Dad to pick her up, who had probably been drinking.

Terrific.

What a crappy night. She couldn’t help but think it was her own fault for jumping to conclusions. Janis could be dead in a ditch for all she knew. And of course she was stone cold sober now, to make things just that much crummier.

Kat buried her head in her hands, sobbing. Worst prom ever.

“Can I have this dance?”

Kat looked up at the sound of Janis’s voice, and her voice caught in her throat as she saw the state of Janis. Talk about dead in a ditch!

“Oh my God, what happened to you, Janis?!”

Sweeping back damp hair, the waterlogged teen held a hand to her. “I’ll tell you later, Kat. Please just dance with me so this whole prom doesn’t end up nothing but bad memories?”

“There’s not even any music…”

Just as she said it, an SUV pulled up by them, and the door opened wide, bathing the area in the car stereo’s music: Beautiful by Christina Aguilera.

“Nice timing, Dad,” Janis said, grinning at her father in the front seat, who gave her a salute.

“Welcome back, pumpkin,” he said quietly to her.

Janis moved in closer to Kat, resting a head on her shoulder.

This felt more like Janis’s usual affection, Kat thought as they began to sway to the music.

Janis felt very damp, her dress was torn up, and she had cuts and scrapes all over her body. Shoes long gone. Where the hell had she been? She’d been pretty wasted—had she fallen into some fountain somewhere? Or worse?

“Janis… I don’t want to spoil the moment, but do you need medical attention…?”

“Just dance, okay? Happy memories.”

Kat sighed. “Yeah, okay. Happy memories.”

As the song came to its conclusion, Janis gave Kat a soft kiss on the lips.

“Thank you, Kat. Let’s go home.”

Chapter 54

Indecision

The clock was striking eleven o’clock as Donna handed Sam a glass of wine, joining him on the couch and getting herself comfortable under his arm.

A tired Tom was sitting on a recliner across the room, legs up and going through some Navy files with a pen. There was no need to ask what they were; he’d come here to see Sam with no notice, so of course he’d brought work to get done.

Sam caressed Donna’s hair absent-mindedly, distracted by his racing thoughts.

The last couple of days had been… well, indescribable. In just a short time, he’d experienced highs, lows, and every emotion in between.

And while Ben had leaped away at the end of the danger, he still remained. It was an undeniably strange feeling, he had to admit. This time, he would need to be proactive if he actually intended to leap. But the question remained: would he—could he—should he do it?

“You’re tense,” Donna remarked, looking up at him. “What’s the matter, Sam?”

“I guess I’m still worked up from the fight,” Sam said with a hitch of his shoulder. He took a drink from his wine glass. “Just gotta relax a little, that’s all.”

“I know that look,” Tom cut in. “Ever seen the inside of a watch? All those little cogs and gears spinning? That’s what it looks like inside Sam’s head right now. Somethin’s on his mind.”

“Huh?” Sam gave Tom a confused glance. “How often do you watch me think?”

“It’s been a while, sure. But ever since you were a kid you’d get that deep pensive look on your face when you were trying to figure out some complex problem. With your brows knitted and your eyes narrowed, and your lips kind of… puckered.

“Remember the time you played chess against a computer and won?” He pointed at Sam’s face. “That’s the look you had.”

“It is?” Sam now felt exceptionally self-conscious of his facial expression.

“It is,” agreed Donna. “So, what’s on your mind? You can at least tell me, right?”

Betrayed by my own expressive face.

Thinking fast, Sam opened his mouth to spout some technobabble about optimising Ziggy, but he was saved by the sudden chime of the doorbell.

The doorbell, at this hour?

“Uh, I’ll get that,” he said, scrambling to his feet.

As he opened the door, he was surprised to see Al standing there, frowning at him.

“Al? I wasn’t expecting you here this late…”

“Now that the life-or-death stuff’s over with, I have a bone to pick, Sam.” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “We need to talk.”

The look on his face told Sam this was not going to be a jovial chitchat, so he slipped out the door, closing it behind him.

“Uh, what’s up?” Sam asked casually.

“Look, I hate to say this,” Al said, lighting up a cigar, “but you know Ziggy’s kind of an amoral gossip-monger. She told me about your talk with Beeks, which she overheard.”

“Oh boy…” Sam’s breath caught. So Al knew.

“Sam, why didn’t you tell me you were thinking of leaping again?” Al asked, clearly wounded. “You used to tell me everything.”

Sam’s shoulders sank, following his heart. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I haven’t made my mind up about it, Al. And I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s day by bringing it up if it ends up I don’t do it.”

“Don’t you think I could help you figure it out? Come on Sam, give me a little credit!”

Sam shook his head, taking a seat on the front steps. “I know nobody here would want me to leave. Everyone’s been so excited to have me back, especially you. It’s pretty obvious what your advice would be, Al.”

Al blew out a puff of smoke, and took a seat beside him. Sam had almost forgotten just how strong the smell of Al’s cigars were.

“Look, Sam. Quantum Leap is our project. Both of us wanted to see it happen, and both of us saw it all the way through until you went off on your own. The Quantum Leap Accelerator is one of the greatest inventions ever created. Being an astronaut was great, but getting to see Marilyn Monroe up close and personal—while skinny dipping!—well…” He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. “That was somethin’ else.”

“Al, I think you’re losing your point.”

Al gave a conceding shrug. “Okay, okay. What I’m trying to say is you shouldn’t just assume I’m gonna be opposed to you leaping if that’s what you have your heart set on. Of course I’d prefer you to stay, but if the tubby Bartender in the sky has you convinced otherwise, then maybe I can find it in my heart to let you go.”

Flabbergasted, Sam grabbed his friend by the shoulders and squeezed. “Al, I… I didn’t know you felt that way.”

Al chuckled. “Like I said, you could have just asked. Just like you coulda told me you were dropping off the map after bringing Beth back to me.” He took a long drag on his cigar, letting it out in rings. “And, uh… you do realise you need to talk to Donna about it too, right? She’s the one who really deserves to hear this. I mean, you know how she ended up married to you…”

Sam buried his head in his hands. “I know, I know.” He moaned, rubbing at his eyes. “I feel like such a jerk even considering leaving again after what I’ve done to her life. Her abandonment issues… did I make it all worse for her? I don’t deserve her, do I?”

“Sam, don’t tell me this stuff, tell her.”

Sam sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I promised her when Janis set up our secure contact that I’d tell her everything from now on.” He shook his head, appalled that he’d already let her down.

He definitely should have told Al sooner. What had he been thinking, carrying all this around alone?

“I should tell you that Sammy Jo also knows,” Al added. “She was there when Ziggy spilled the beans.”

“Sammy —?” A wave of nausea overtook Sam at the thought. “Oh, God. She must feel abandoned all over again too. Al, I’m such a jerk!” He brought his palms to his head, slapping himself on his temples.

“I don’t know what she feels, to be honest,” Al said. “She clammed up and wanted to focus on the leap after that. Worrying about Addison and all.”

Sam stood up, taking a deep breath. “Since secrecy’s turned out to be disastrous, I think it’s time I air my dirty laundry and tell everyone.”

The door behind them creaked open, and Tom poked a head out. “Well, I’m glad to hear that, because I was feeling a little guilty about listening through the door.”

Sam felt his mouth go dry. “Tom… how much of that did you hear…?”

“Enough to know my little brother may or may not be going AWOL again soon.”

Sam found himself grasping unsuccessfully for words.

“Listen, Sam,” Al said, patting Sam on the back, “How about we share the load? I’ll talk to your big bro, while you talk to Donna?”

“You’re sure you two won’t start duking it out?” Sam asked with apprehension.

“Scout’s honour,” Tom said. “Go on inside, Sam. The Admiral and I have much to discuss.”

Sam lingered a moment, looking between the two Navy men, and finally moved inside, shutting the door and approaching Donna, wiping off the anxious sweat that was beading on his brow.

“What’s Al doing here at this hour?” she asked, handing Sam his unfinished wine.

“Reminding me that a marriage is supposed to be about honesty,” he said grimly. “So I’ve got a confession to make, Donna.”

Donna gave him a troubled look, before sitting down and patting the seat beside her. “Okay. Well, I already know about Sammy Jo. What could be more major a confession than that?”

Sam took a seat, but didn’t draw himself too close to her. “You met the holographic version of me from the future earlier, right? He’s the reason Tom got to the river in time.”

Donna nodded.

“Well, I first saw him early this morning, and he told me something that’s been weighing on me all day.”

Sam launched into recounting the struggle that had beset him from that meeting with his future. Explaining that he had to choose between his own life—his own happiness—and that of countless others.

Donna’s eyes were teary by the time he finished.

“I’m sorry I kept it a secret,” he said, bowing his head. “I promised to be honest with you, and I already screwed up.”

“Have you… decided?” Donna asked shakily.

“No, not yet,” he said. “But you deserve to have a say, Donna. I want to hear what you think.”

Donna finished her wine. “Well, I…” she took a long, shuddering breath. “I think I need time to think about it.”

Sam nodded. “That’s perfectly understandable, and I’m happy for you to sleep on it.” He took a hold of her delicate hand. “No matter what, remember that I love you.”

Donna stood up, pulling her hand from his. “I… I’m going to get ready for bed.”

Sam nodded. “I understand if you’d prefer I sleep on the couch…”

Donna shook her head. “Sam, if this is our last night together, you had better bring your A-game.”

Sam looked up at her, mouth open. “Uh… duly noted.”

Chapter 55

Decision

In the morning, after giving his police statement, Sam took a quiet walk to clear his head. Well, that wasn’t going to happen, he assumed. His head was way too busy circling the same problem over and over.

He’d be letting everybody down by leaping, wouldn’t he? He wouldn’t see his Mom, or Katie. He wouldn’t be around to watch Addison come of age. All these things that his older self had told him were wonderful and worthwhile, and yet still he’d insisted that leaping was a more valuable option than that life.

And now everyone knew about it. What must they think of him now, that he’d be thinking seriously about abandoning them all again?

Donna had given him the cold shoulder since they woke up. He was more than happy to give her space, but she still hadn’t given him her opinion on the matter, and it was turning his stomach to think about. She had been the one to suggest he take this walk—maybe she just didn’t want to look at him any longer.

Well, he decided, he needed her thoughts. He headed back to the house, aiming to plead with her to talk to him. But as he approached, he noticed that Tom’s SUV was gone, and the house was empty.

A note sat on the coffee table, scrawled in Donna’s handwriting: “Went out for a while. Don’t know how long.”

She went out with Tom?

Perplexed, Sam collapsed onto the couch. Did neither of them want to be around him now? What could he do to make it up to them?

Don’t leap, he thought. This is a sign.

After a little while, his moping was interrupted by the phone ringing, and he forced himself off the couch to answer.

“Hello?” Please be Donna.

“Uh, good morning Doctor Beckett,” Gooshie said cheerfully.

“Hi Gooshie,” Sam said through a sigh. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, Ziggy’s requested that you come in ASAP for some paperwork.”

Sam rubbed his eyes. “Can it wait a bit? Like, until tomorrow? I’m not having the best day, and—”

“She, uh—she said it’s urgent. Sorry. Please come in as soon as you can.”

Sam let out a long, groaning breath. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Gooshie. I’ll be there soon.”

Grabbing Donna’s car keys from the hook near the door, he reluctantly made for the Project complex.

*        *        *

As the elevator descended, Sam leaned against the wall, crossing his arms, wondering what the hell paperwork could be this urgent.

And did Gooshie ever have a day off? He was working on a Sunday. Did he have a life other than the Project? Sam figured he’d better make sure the programmer wouldn’t be completely rudderless when the Project was shut down.

Yeah, he supposed there was a lot for him to do. Maybe leaping was just some way of avoiding his responsibilities. It was hard, and it was dangerous, but it was… simple, in a way. No filling out tax returns or calling a plumber or keeping track of monthly schedules. No maintaining long term relationships. He could be single-minded about the job he had to do. Always it was other people who had to pick up the pieces when he was gone.

And boy, there were a lot of pieces of his own life he was now carrying and trying to put back together. And he was fumbling them big time. If Donna would just let him talk to her…

The elevator doors finally drew open, and he stepped into the corridor, turning towards his office.

“Doctor Beckett,” Ziggy’s voice boomed from above. “Please proceed to the Control Room.”

“The paperwork is in the Control Room?” Sam turned on his heel, frowning as he headed back in the other direction.

As he rounded the corner to the dark Control Room, everything lit up, and Sam was startled to see a crowd of people waiting for him inside.

“Surprise!” they all exclaimed.

“What…”

Donna, Al, Gooshie, Tina and Verbena stood by the main console, but there were more people.

Sammy Jo stood to one side with Addison and Janis, who was in turn beside Beth.

But Tom wasn’t here?

Hanging from the ceiling was a long chain of connected dot-matrix printer paper, with letters printed in ASCII symbols, spelling out: “Welcome Home and/or Bon Voyage, Sam.”

“Is this… a surprise party?”

“Well, we did just shout ‘surprise,’” Al said, elbowing Donna in the side with a grin. “The genius dummy strikes again, huh?”

Donna stepped up to Sam, taking him by his hands.

“We’ve all been talking,” she said, “and well, we all decided that whatever you choose, we’re behind you.”

“Even us,” Tom’s voice came from behind, and Sam turned to find his brother standing next to his sister and mother.

“Mom? Katie?” Sam choked.

“Surprise, Sam,” Katie said with a grin. “Tom booked us flights from Honolulu yesterday.”

“I was saving it as a surprise,” Tom said, “so I guess now’s a good time.”

Sam snatched up his family into a tight hug. “Oh my God, thank you, Tom.”

“Tom filled us in on what you’ve been doing,” Katie said from over his shoulder. “It was pretty hard to believe, but then we saw this joint, and well—this sure is some technology you’ve got here.”

“I don’t understand a lick of it,” Thelma Beckett admitted, “but it sounds like you’ve been doing mighty good things these past eight years. If only your Dad could see you now.”

Brushing stray tears from his eyes, Sam turned back to his friends. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Just enjoy everyone’s company,” Donna said, leading him further into the room. “And whether you decide to come home, or step in the Accelerator at the end of the day, that’ll be your decision. We don’t want to pressure you one way or the other.”

Sam hugged each person around him one at a time, not truly comprehending how or why they all had seemed to come to this collective conclusion. But he definitely had to admit that it was a load off his mind.

Finally, Tom and Al pulled him aside.

“Sam, this was all Tom’s idea,” Al said, nudging his fellow Navy man.

“Yours?” Sam raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Tom nodded. “When I saw you doing your thing last night, I realised that maybe you have… you know… some kind of higher purpose.”

“Which is, as you and I both know by now,” Al added, “the straight up truth.”

“It’s like being deployed, right?” Tom continued. “You leave your loved ones, your comfort zone, and you fight the good fight.”

“Only yours isn’t dictated by some stuffed shirts in Washington,” Al interjected.

“Right,” Tom said, “but the point is, it’s not like you’d be going AWOL like I insinuated last night. In fact, that’s why I suggested all this. So, if you decide this is what you need to do, you can clear your conscience and get the proper goodbyes you deserve.”

Sam smiled. “Like when you came home for Thanksgiving before shipping out.”

“Now you’re getting it.”

Sam looked down at the floor. “Thank you—both of you.” He peered up through blurred eyes. “Because I think, deep down, I was just waiting for everyone to say it was okay.”

“So you’re gonna do it, huh?” Al asked, hiding his sadness with a weak, but warm, smile.

“I… I’ve got a lot of work left to do,” Sam said, nodding. “So yes. I’m gonna leap.”

“Well then, let’s give you a send-off to remember,” Al announced loudly. “DJ Ziggy, hit it!”

The lights dimmed, and music filled the room. Sam chuckled, blushing as he recognised Peggy Sue.

He felt a small hand grab his, and found himself being pulled by Addison towards Sammy Jo.

“Hey Gramps, Mom’s got stuff to say,” she said. “And so do I, but I think she gets first dibs.”

Sammy Jo looked up at Sam bashfully. “Hi Dad,” she said quietly.

Sam felt his heart breaking. “Sammy Jo, I—I’m sorry I let you down. I said I was going to stick around, didn’t I?”

“Your exact words, I believe, were ‘I look forward to spending the rest of my life making it up to you all.’”

Sam winced at his own words. “That photographic memory, huh?”

Sammy Jo sighed. “As hard as it is to see you leave now, after all that’s happened in the last few days, I…” She squeezed his hand. “I understand now that it wasn’t my failures that prevented you from coming home before. And… that means a lot.”

Sam took her by the shoulders. “Sammy Jo, I will never, ever stop loving you, and being proud of everything you’ve accomplished. You’re amazing, and you’re so, so smart. And some day—though I don’t know when—your retrievals will bring me home again. I’m counting on it.”

Sammy Jo wrapped her arms around him. “Thanks, Daddy.”

“And hey…” Sam continued. “If you ever need anything, you’ve got Donna, and Al, and Tom, and Mom, and Katie.”

Sammy Jo smiled. “Yeah. I never knew I had so much family.”

“And neither did I,” Addison cut in. “Oh, by the way. I think Janis and I are gonna get along.” She grinned at the fellow teen across the room, waving. “It’s kind of a thrill to share such a crazy secret with somebody. I bet we’ll get up to all kinds of no good.”

Sam laughed. “I hope you do.”

Having been summoned, Janis approached the group.

“So you’re leaping again?” she asked Sam. “Jeez, I didn’t get much time to say ‘hi,’ did I?”

“Sorry, Janis. How are you feeling, by the way?”

“Well, my hangover was a bitch,” she moaned. “Which would have been fine if I’d been the one to cause it. Thanks a lot, future guy.” She snorted. “But anyway, I’m fine now. Just a little weirded out by the whole thing.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Is Kat doing okay?”

“Yeah. She apologised to me about a hundred times. I assume she has a reason to, but I don’t know what it is.”

“I’ll explain that one later,” Addison said, sharing a sheepish look with Sam.

“Hey, Uncle Sam…” Janis added. “I just wanna thank you. Not just for saving me from those nutjobs, but that was pretty dope too. I mean, thanks for coming back and talking to Dad. He was getting a little crazy not knowing what happened to you, and I felt really guilty that I knew and couldn’t tell him.”

“I’m sorry I put that on you, Janis.”

“Bygones, I guess.” Janis shrugged. “At least now we all know this is your choice. That’s made all the difference.”

“Yeah…” Sam smiled. “I guess you’re right.”

It wasn’t long before Sam was being pulled in another direction by Tina, who brought him to Gooshie and Verbena.

“Sam, I’m sorry that Ziggy managed to overhear our private consultation,” Verbena said, looking up at Ziggy’s orb with a scowl. “But I can tell you that it seems everyone knowing the truth turned out to be a good thing in the end.”

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, it sure looks that way.”

“Doctor B, we’re all rootin’ for ya,” Tina said, kissing him on the cheek. “Just wish we could keep track of your leaps again, but the Project is still gettin’ canned.”

“Do you have anything lined up for after this?” Sam asked, looking between all three of them. “I can write letters of recommendation—”

“We already have generous job offers from both Apple and Microsoft,” Gooshie explained. “The thing is, I want to go to Microsoft and Tina wants to go to Apple. I think that could be a conflict of interest for a married couple.”

“You two are married?”

They nodded, each holding up their hands to display their matching rings.

“We got hitched last year,” Tina said. “And there may be a baby on the horizon, once we settle into our jobs at Apple.”

“Microsoft,” Gooshie corrected.

Sam chuckled, not knowing exactly how or why he recalled them being married before.

“Well, whether Apple or Microsoft or both, I wish you both the best,” Sam said, hugging them. “And you, Verbena?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, Sam,” she said. “My line of work is never without demand. But it’ll never be quite so demanding as this place used to be, that’s for sure.”

“You’re an unsung hero, Verbena,” Sam said, patting a hand on her upper arm. “Thank you. All of you. None of this would have been possible without your hard work.”

“Awright, you’ve buttered us up enough, Doctor B,” Tina laughed.

As the party went on, Sam found himself leaning against the console, staring up at the sphere in the ceiling. So this was it. One last hurrah.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Donna asked as she sidled up to him.

“I was wondering how I could be this lucky,” Sam confessed. “I honestly expected at least you to beg me to stay.”

“I did that last time, remember?” Donna flipped her hair back. “But since then I’ve come to realise that as much as I love and need you, that people out there need you more. It hurts that you’re leaving me again, Sam—it does, but we already worked out our arrangement a year ago, didn’t we?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, I guess we did.” He leaned over, kissing her gently. “That bank account…”

“Should do me just fine, even though you halved it in the space of one day,” she said with an amused grin. “I’d been thinking of moving somewhere warm, by the ocean.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

“I expect you to keep in touch using that secure server.”

“Of course I will.” Sam looked over to Janis. “That’s a promise.”

“And what about me?” Al asked, approaching the console. “You gonna stay in touch with your best pal too?”

“Yes, you’d better,” Beth added, flanking them. “We don’t want Al going out of his mind again, do we?”

Sam pursed his lips, slowly nodding. “Okay. Tell Janis I said to give you access too. But remember: it’s secured for a reason.”

“Right, ’cause of Lothos,” Al said. “Well, we just need to finagle some security protocols. No sweat.”

It was then, as Sam felt the collective love and support of the people around him, that he felt the same feeling of being pulled he would when he was about to leap, and he knew that it was time.

And so, he changed into a Fermi suit, and said his final goodbyes to everybody.

“Ahem,” came Ziggy’s voice. “Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

Sam looked up at the orb. “You know I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to you, Ziggy.”

“Well I’d like to say I’ll miss you, Doctor Beckett,” she said in her cold, nonchalant manner, “but I’m being deactivated tomorrow, so I won’t get the chance.”

“In that case, I’ll do the missing for us both,” Sam said, patting a hand on the console like it was a pet. “Goodbye, Ziggy.”

“Goodbye, Doctor Beckett.”

The sound system, then, began to play The Impossible Dream.

Sam gave Donna a final kiss, and Al one last hug.

“I love you… both of you,” he said to them, before ascending the ramp and waving to the sea of faces, each looking up at him with bittersweet smiles.

“I’ll be back some day,” he promised. “So this goodbye is not forever.”

And so, surrounded by his loved ones wishing him well, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap Accelerator and vanished.

Chapter 56

A Little Caca

Los Angeles, 2021

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzzzzzt.

“Hey, come on!” Al cried out as he pressed his call button over and over. “Give a dying man some attention already!”

Al hated being confined to this uncomfortable hospice bed—if only he had the strength to get out of it. Now he knew why they called it a death bed.

Finally, the door of his dinky little room opened. One of the doctors entered; the smallest one—Doctor Handler, if he remembered correctly—with the bald head, who always seemed to look at him like he was a baby needing a diaper change. But he was an adult who needed a diaper change, dammit.

“What can I do for you, Mister Calavicci?” He picked up Al’s chart and flipped through it without much care.

“That’s Admiral to you, Doctor.”

“Admiral, right. My mistake. What do you need?”

“Look, I know it’s the cigars that got me into this mess, but can’t a guy have a few quality Cubans to make his last days worth living?”

Doctor Handler looked up from the chart with a frown. “First of all, we do not provide… cigars. You would need your wife to bring them to you. Second, there’s strictly no smoking in the building. If you really must, you’ll need to have someone put you in a wheelchair and take you into the designated smoking area in the courtyard. But I highly recommend not smoking, Mister Calavicci.”

Al scowled. “Admiral.”

“Right, right…”

“Can I at least get a window open? I’m suffocating in here.”

With a put-upon sigh, Doctor Handler strode to the window, and cracked it open. Then, he lingered there a moment, looking out onto the courtyard two floors below.

“Checking out all the hot and horny GILFs in your area, are you?” Al let out a wheezing laugh.

Doctor Handler turned around with a quizzical expression. “GILFs?”

“Yeah—Grandmas I’d Like to—”

“Al! Oh, I’m glad I made it.” The doctor rushed to Al’s bedside with a drastically changed demeanour. “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you?”

Could it be?

“Uh, Sam…? That you in there?”

Sam nodded, taking Al’s hand. “Hey buddy. Long time no see.” He looked down at the ID badge attached to his lab coat. “‘George Handler’… this guy your doctor?”

“One of ’em,” Al said with a snarl. “Treats me like an annoyance. I mean, sorry I’m dying, jeez. Least he could do is talk to me like a big boy. Lifetime of hard-earned experience and now I’m just a lump in a bed to these nozzles.” He softened his expression. “So, what version of Sam am I talking to? You an old fart like me yet?”

Sam laughed. “You know I can’t look in a mirror and be able to tell that. But it’s been a while. Last time I talked to you was… 2013, I think—when I was helping that homeless girl with the one-eyed dog.”

“For me it was two years back,” Al reminisced. “The mass shooting down in Florida.”

“Oh yeah.” Sam took a seat on the chair by Al’s bed. “Boy, I’ll never forget that one. Did the little boy survive?”

“He did,” Al said. “By the skin of his teeth, poor kid.”

“I’m glad.” Sam looked down, his smile fading. “How are you, Al?”

“Well, I’m not exactly doing the hustle over here. But things are lookin’ up now.” He gave Sam as bright a smile as he could muster. “Are you here just for me?”

“I guess you could call this a pit stop,” Sam said. “I’m finally going home, but I knew I had one last thing to do.”

Al’s smile dropped. “A pit stop? So you won’t be here long, then?”

Sam squeezed his hand. “I’ll be here as long as you need me, Al.”

“Oh, good. In that case, you think you could get me a cigar?”

*        *        *

As Ben’s essence hurtled through the gaps between time and space, his only thought was of Addison.

I need to get back home to her, he told himself. It won’t be the end of leaping, but the beginning. And we’ll do it above board this time. I’m coming, Addison.

The blue all around him propelled him forwards, and as he flew, he felt another presence, the same as the last time he’d leapt, one that he could feel holding on to him somehow.

And suddenly, he found himself tumbling out onto the familiar floor of the Accelerator Chamber.

I made it… I’m home!

He unsteadily climbed to his feet, but nearly fell back to the ground when he heard a voice beside him.

“Hope you don’t mind I hitched a ride with you there.”

Ben straightened as he found himself face-to-face with Sam. The fellow leaper was much older than he’d last seen him, but a similar age to the first time they’d met. Like Ben, he was clad in a Fermi suit.

“It’s good to see you again, Ben.”

“Why are you… how did…” Ben gestured to the Accelerator.

The last he knew, Sam was back home with his family. So what was he doing coming out of the Accelerator like he’d been leaping?

“Sam, I brought you home… didn’t I? In 2003. You were home.”

“You did, and I thank you for that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It let me give everyone closure.” Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go see what’s waiting for us out there, shall we? I’m as curious as you are.”

As they approached the door, it opened, and Addison appeared, staring with wide eyes at the two of them.

“Oh… oh my God!” she said, pointing weakly at the two returned leapers, her mouth unable to form words.

She pulled both of them into a group hug.

“I… I can’t believe both of you made it back…” she pulled away, turning towards the door. “Come on, everyone’s waiting.”

With a quick glance at one another, Ben and Sam followed her out and to the main control floor, where Magic, Ian, Jenn, Janis, and Sammy Jo all stood in a line together, each caught off guard by the fact that both Ben and Sam had emerged.

“Holy cow, it’s a two-for-one special,” Ian said, covering their mouth with manicured fingers.

“Buy Ben, get Sam free,” Jenn added, smiling ear to ear. “Welcome back, you guys…”

Janis and Sammy Jo were tightly holding hands as they looked upon the two.

“I think your retrieval was a roaring success,” Janis said to her.

Sammy Jo wiped away sudden tears. “I finally did it.”

“I guess both of us were ready,” Ben said, grinning at Sam. He reached out to Addison, taking her by the hand. “What about you, Addison? Did your memories… did they—”

“We can talk about me later,” Addison said. “You guys are late for your date with the staff doctor. Health check first, then you can worry about me. Deal?”

Slightly miffed that he hadn’t even had the chance to kiss her yet, Ben nodded. “Okay, deal.”

“Step this way, folks,” Magic said, putting an arm around Ben’s shoulders and leading him, as Sam followed closely. As they walked, Magic leaned over to Ben’s ear, and murmured: “We all knew you’d make it back sooner or later. I’m just glad it was today.”

As they reached the Infirmary, Magic stepped back, holding the door open, stopping Sam for a moment to pat him on the shoulder. “It’s really good to see you home.”

“Thanks, Magic,” Sam said. “I hope I didn’t impose.”

Magic furrowed his brow. “Impose? I don’t know why you’d think that.” He gestured to the room. “Doctor Mahanti’s on his way, so just sit tight.”

Inside the room, the two of them sat anxiously side by side on the examination bed.

“So what happened, Sam?” asked Ben. “You leapt again? Why?”

Sam sighed. “It’s… a long story, Ben. Let me put it this way: I had a lot of IOUs to sort out.” He brightened. “But you know what’s interesting? I think… I think I might be remembering some things that happened in the other timeline.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“I think… Ian gave me psychedelic mushrooms on a pizza.”

Perplexed, Ben squinted at him. “Well that definitely sounds like Ian, but it doesn’t sound like you.”

Sam chuckled. “You’d be surprised.”

Before Ben had time to ask follow-up questions, the door opened to reveal the doctor that Ben recalled from before he’d leapt, Doctor Mahanti. Not that he’d ever had to come to the Infirmary before. Addison had been here for health checks while she was expected to be leaping, but Ben had had no such mandate.

“How are we doing, gentlemen?” he asked with a smile.

“You tell us,” Ben said. “I guess there hasn’t been a lot of precedent for returned leaper checkups in the last twenty years.”

“This is true,” the doctor said. “Well, let me just get started with your basic vital signs.”

He pulled up his stethoscope and got to work.

*        *        *

“Well, you both seem to be in remarkably good health for your respective ages,” Doctor Mahanti said, collecting his computer tablet and heading for the door. “You are both free to go. But do keep me updated if you experience any unexpected health effects.”

With that, he disappeared out the door, leaving Sam to mull over what he’d seen during the checkup—because it had been markedly different to what the doctor had claimed.

Ben stood, stretching. “Well, I’m gonna go find Addison. We have some catching up to do.”

Sam gave a distracted nod. “Yeah, okay.”

“Something wrong?”

“No, it’s just…” Sam scratched his chin. “All the readings I got—resting heart rate, blood pressure, reflexes—were… really good for my age. Like, I wouldn’t have expected that, considering how I’ve slowed down over the years.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Ben tilted his head.

“Yeah, but…” Sam crossed his arms. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

Ben shrugged, and headed out of the room. Sam lingered within for a moment, wondering why Ben’s results were markedly worse than his own.

“Whoa!”

Sam’s head snapped up as he heard Addison’s distinctive voice crying out. He stood, and peered out of the door, down the hall to Addison, who was prying Ben’s lips off her mouth.

“What are you doing?” she said, her eyes wide as saucers.

“Uh—” Ben took a confused step back. “Are we not—?”

“Look Gramps, I don’t know how they say hello out in the cornfields, but that’s a little intimate, wouldn’t you say?”

“Wh-what did you just call me?”

Oh boy.

Heart racing, Sam searched the immediate area for a reflective surface. Finding a small mirror on the inside of the Infirmary, he peered into it and grimaced.

Oh no. Oh no no no.

He knew something had been off about the medical tests. But this? Oh, this wasn’t good. He pulled the mirror from the wall, and sprinted down the corridor to Ben.

“Ben…” he held the mirror up, showing Ben that his reflection was still, regrettably, not his own.

Ben stared into the mirror, where Sam’s equally astonished face looked back—just as Sam’s mirror image had been Ben’s. “Oh, you have gotta be kidding me.”