Part 2 This Slide of Reality
"You guys are going to love this!" Jen exclaimed as she turned on the TV. "Sci-Fi has been showing Sliders' reruns all week. We're just lucky that the hotel has cable."
As the image on the television stabilized, Wade, Maggie, and Rembrandt sat with there mouths agape. There on the screen were perfect doubles of them. But they were not them.
"Hey, has it started guys?" Quinn yelled from the bathroom.
"Yeah, Q-ball, and you ain't gonna believe it either," Rembrandt yelled to be heard over the running water.
"This is one of the best Sliders' episodes. It's called 'The Guardian'. It is one of my all-time favorites. You see, it's the time that you guys slide into the pa…." Jen let her sentence fade out. This wasn't a good episode to watch at all. Sure, it was good, but it was that way because it was emotional. Quinn shouldn't watch it at all. It would only open old wounds. It probably wouldn't help that the Professor was in it either. Then, there was Quinn and Arturo's secret pact about his illness.
"You know what, I think we should actually watch something else," Jen blurted out. "You guys have only just arrived here and want to sleep or rest or something like that. Watching your lives on TV probably isn't the best thing to do right now."
She was too late though. On the screen, Arturo had already stumbled out of the hospital and TV Quinn approached him about the next slide. Quinn exited the bathroom at the precise moment to hear himself converse with his now dead mentor. His jaw and the towel wrapped around his waist nearly hit the ground in surprise. This is not good, Jen thought. Quinn slowly lowered himself onto the corner of the bed Jen was lying on as he watched his father's funeral for the third time. As the opening credits rolled, Jen wanted to comfort the shocked Quinn, but she couldn't get a word in.
"You never told us that the Professor was sick!" Wade wailed. Rembradt and she stared at Quinn in disbelief.
"We had a promise," Quinn mumbled.
"Q-ball, if we had known, we could've helped him," Rembradt interjected. "There must've been something that we could've done. How could you let something as important as this remain secret?"
"He didn't want you to worry, Remy. He didn't want you to think he was weak."
"God, couldn't that pompous windbag ever get it through his think skull that we were in this together!" Wade exclaimed. Rembradt placed a reassuring arm around her shoulders as her eyes brimmed with tears. Watching the action, Maggie sat in a chair in the corner of the room. Jen had to break the tension.
"So, who wants some soda? There's a machine just down the hall and I have plenty of quarters, and I don't know about you, but I'm really thirs…" Everyone in the room was glaring at her. Well, at least they're not angry with each other anymore.
To Jen's surprise, Maggie broke the silence. "Sure, I'll have a Coke. Quinn, do you want anything?"
Quinn let out a sigh of relief. "No thanks. I think I'll get something from the bar now." He got up to get dressed and leave, only to be shoved back onto the bed.
"Oh no! You aren't getting out that easily Quinn Mallory!" Wade glared down at him. Jen sighed. The silence and tension had returned and she had no clue what to do. She didn't dare try to draw attention to herself again. She liked being able to breathe and walk and use her arms. Maggie must have seen her discomfort and for once cared.
"Why don't you get use all some cokes and maybe a root beer or two?" Maggie suggested politely.
Relieved at the chance to get out of the brewing battle, Jen grabbed her belt bag and dashed out of the room.
"That was close," sighed Jen as she headed to the vending machines. She quietly thought of what she had just done and, then, hit her forehead several times with the heel of her hand. "Stupid! Stupid! STUPID! Hey, I have a great idea. Why don't I show you your lives that are televised on this world and enjoy myself as you relive the torment of your past? God, real smart, Jen!" She slammed her fist into the vending machine in rage.
"Oooooww!" She gingerly shook her hand. "Swift move." She dug some change out of her red belt bag and clinked the quarters into the soda machine. She pounded the button and fished the shaken coke out of the cubby. She had to make this whole experience up to them somehow. But what could she do? She looked around as she deposited more change into the machine. Her eyes caught sight of the telephone near the water fountains. It would be so awesome if they got to meet their doubles on this world. She missed the coin slot as the idea hit her. All she needed to do was call the studio. Find the executive's number and convince him that the show was real. Then, with the exec's help, she could bring the two worlds together. It would be perfect. She glanced down the hall both ways. No one was coming. She walked over to the phone and slid the quarter into the slot.