Episode 4: "Whispers."

Maggie lifted up her hand and stared at the red digits that were counting down on the timer's display. The readout indicated that they had just over three minutes left on this world. She looked back up and made her way over to the bench in the park where Rembrandt, Mallory, and Diana were sitting down and talking quietly to one another. As she stood next to them she just listened to their words and did not join in with the conversation. They had all been pushed hard on the last few worlds, and she was exhausted, their time on this one being so short that there was no time to rest. She hoped that the next world would offer this chance.

Rembrandt sighed. "We have not come across any Kromagg invaded worlds yet. And though that's a good thing it still means that when the time comes we have a lot of work to do. It's gonna take a lot of energy and time to synthesise the virus time and time again…"

"Don't worry Remmy. I'm sure that Diana will think of something." Mallory said, in between mouthfuls of the burger he was eating.

Diana looked up from the palm top that she held and sighed. "Hopefully. I am currently working on a theory to distribute the virus simultaneously to all worlds through the gateway. But so far … nothing."

"It's just gonna take time, right? Well I think our time on this world is almost up. Maggie?" Silence greeted Rembrandt. "Hey, Maggie, you ok?"

She turned around. "Sorry?"

"You were totally out of it for a minute. What's wrong?"

"I'm just really tired that's all." But though she did not share it with anyone else this was not the only reason for her withdrawal. She had been thinking a lot lately, thinking, about Quinn. Their time not only sliding but in the bubble universe had created a strong bond between them, one that could not be easily forgotten. If Quinn was here, she was sure that he could find a way to do what they could not. She looked at the timer. "Time to go."

Moving from the bench she pointed the timer at the grass in front of them. The stream of energy shot out as she activated it and a small point of light appeared. The light grew until it formed a swirling silver blue vortex, the wind blowing fiercely all around them.

"Who knows?" Said Mallory, smiling. "We may slide into a world where one of us is rich!" He rushed forward and disappeared into the vortex in a flash of light.

"I doubt it would be you though." Laughed Rembrandt. Diana chucked and went through the vortex second. "You sure you're ok, Maggie?"

"Go. I'm fine."

He continued to watch her for a moment and then jumped into the vortex. He had not seen the solitary tear that escaped her eyes, she quickly brushed it aside, resuming her naturally strong exterior, and followed the others.

The vortex expelled Maggie and she was thrown to the soft ground. The background sound of the howling vortex continued for a few moments longer and then slowly faded and disappeared. She looked around to gain her bearings and saw that they were in the same park from the last world that they slid out of. Mallory was checking out the paper off of the local newsstand, Diana was already looking over her palm top, and Rembrandt was scanning the area.

Suddenly there was a loud shout and they turned to see several armed police officers running after a man. The man tried to dodge in and out of the frightened crowd in the park to avoid being shot and kept firing back from a handgun he carried when he got the chance. The man froze as he saw the back-up that tried to block him from up ahead.

"Remmy…"

Rembrandt turned as he heard his name being called but was grabbed by the armed man who had started to panic because of his current predicament. He pushed the gun into Remmy's chest. "Don't move! Or I swear to God I'll shoot him!"

The Police Officers slowed. "You are outnumbered! Throw down your weapon and place you hands upon your head."

"Never! I'm never going back to jail!" He pulled the trigger.

"Remmy!" Maggie screamed.

Rembrandt fell to the floor as the blood flowed from the wound in his chest. He remembered hearing the gunfire that followed and the screams from the armed man as he was shot. His name was once again being called but it seemed faint and far off. He saw images of his friends surrounding him. Then nothing but darkness…

What if you found a portal to a parallel universe?

What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds?

Where it's the same year

And you're the same person

But everything else is different

And what if you can't find your way home…

Starring: Cleavent Derricks as Rembrandt Brown

Kari Wuhrer as Maggie Beckett

Robert Floyd as Mallory

And Tembi Locke as Diana Davis

… Sliders!

The double-doored entrance of the hospital burst open as the stretcher was pushed forward. Maggie, Mallory, and Diana ran slightly behind it and watched as the Doctors started to analyse Rembrandt's condition. They began to shout out strange medical orders that made no sense to Maggie and soon sedatives were injected into his arm to ease the pain. They followed their friend around the corridor but then were not allowed any closer.

"Sorry but you have to wait out here." Said a female Intern.

"But he's our friend. I…"

"I'm sorry but only doctors are allowed beyond this point. I promise you we will do all that we can to help your friend." She turned and went into the room.

Maggie reluctantly stepped back and made her way to the waiting area. She sat down onto a chair and glanced back towards the room, a worried expression on her face. She finally looked up as Mallory and Diana approached. They joined her by the chairs and they all sat in silence for several minutes. "He will be ok, won't he?"

Mallory placed his arms around her. "It will be ok. You know Remmy, he's a survivor, he'll be just fine."

Diana went over to the nearby cooler and poured some water for the three of them. As she handed it to Maggie she watched her expression. She was exhausted, worried, and tired, and was in serious need of some rest. Maggie avoided her gaze as she continued to sip at the water. She just could not loose another friend, she just couldn't.

"Maggie. Why don't you go and get some rest?"

She shook her head. "No. I have to wait here for Remmy and see if he's ok."

"There's nothing that we can do here. They are doing all that they can. All we can do is rest and wait for any news."

"She's right, Maggie." Added Mallory. "You've been working harder than the rest of us lately. Get some rest. We'll contact you if something comes up."

Maggie let out a long sigh. They were right. She needed a good rest but all her thoughts were on Remmy. He just had to be ok. He had to. She finally stood up and checked the timer. They had over 56 hours on this world. "Ok. I'm going to try and sort out all the paperwork at the Reception and then will see if they have a spare room here to rest in. As soon as there is any news … any … then I want you guys to come and find me."

"We promise."

Taking one last look at the operating room, Maggie turned, and walked down the bleak white corridor. She followed the signs on the walls to the Reception and after being handed a lot of forms sat down to fill them out.

"How is she doing?"

Maggie looked up to see two Doctors conferencing a few feet away from her.

"Our Jane Doe is still a bit of a mystery. We can not find out any information on her. As for her condition she regained consciousness this morning but fell back into unconsciousness again." He shook his head. "The regeneration work on her body is going slowly. We may have to start Electro-Magnetic Therapy in order to re-stimulate her unused leg muscles."

"Good. Contact Alex, he's the head of that department, to start work as soon as he can. Maybe once she awakens we can finally find out what the hell happened to her and why she was connected to that strange machine."

The other doctor nodded.

"Remmy…"

Rembrandt slowly opened his eyes. He turned away from the bright light that was shining down onto his face and found that he was lying on a hospital bed. As he tried to get up a burning pain erupted in his chest and he sat back down. Soon he remembered what had happened. He closed his eyes back to try and rest.

"Remmy…"

He opened his eyes once more. Someone had just called his name. As he slowly twisted his neck around to scan the entire room he found that he was alone. Puzzled, he continued to look around.

"Remmy… I need you…"

Rembrandt shook his head. It must be the sedative. He was now beginning to hear things. He looked down and saw tubes that came out of his arm and the bandage that was wrapped around his waist. As he rested his head back onto the pillow he suddenly shot back up.

"Wade?!"

He shifted his body up into a sitting position and waited until the dizziness stopped. He then slowly took out the tubes from his arm and moved off of the bed to stand onto his feet. It was going to be hard going, as every movement caused more pain in his side, but he just had to find out if this was all in his head or not. He found a wheelchair in the far corner of the room and sat down onto it. This was much better and eased the pain. Rolling the wheels with his hands he left the room and tried to follow the sound of the voice.

"Remmy…"

"Maggie … Maggie wake up?" Mallory shook her.

"Maybe we should let her rest still." Said Diana.

"And not tell her that the Docs have news on Rembrandt? She'd kill us when she does wake up." He continued to gently shake her awake. "Rise and shine Maggie."

Maggie yawned softly and stretched her cramped muscles. As she looked around she realised that she had fallen asleep whilst filling out the forms on the couch. "How long was I out for?" She quickly became alert and turned to the others. "Rembrandt?"

"You've been asleep for a good couple of hours. As for Remmy … they have news. We thought we'd wait and wake you up straight away."

Maggie quickly got up and followed Mallory as he led them to where a Doctor was waiting nearby. "Please let it be good news."

He smiled. "Good news it is. The wound was a lot worse than it appeared. The bullet created a large laceration in his skin that barely missed the lower section of his right lung. We have repaired the damage and he should be fine in a day or so."

A wave of relief fell on the Sliders. Rembrandt was going to be just fine. "Can we go and see him?" Asked Diana.

"You can. He should be resting in operating room 2."

Smiling their thanks the group made their way down the long corridor and to the operating room. They opened the door. "Rem-" Their words were cut short as they saw that the room was vacant. Rembrandt was no where in sight.

Rembrandt stopped and breathed out hard, his arms aching. But he could not stop for long. The voice was becoming louder and much clearer the closer he got to it. As he wheeled himself down a corridor he felt the strange connection grow stronger. It was her, It had to be!

"Wade!" He called out. "Where are you?"

"Turn left Remmy…"

To the left was a large door with the words: 'Electro-Mag Room' in blue letters above the doorway. He pushed the doors opened and entered. His face lit up as he saw the form that was lying still on the operating table.

"Wade…" Tears escaped his eyes. As he began to wheel over to her he stopped in shock as he saw her figure.

Her face was just as he remembered it, calm, beautiful, with the light red hair that framed it. As his gaze wandered lower he saw her neck with strange puncture marks on them that had now been stitched up and worked on. Memories flooded back of the Kromagg machine that she had been connected to.

"Damn Maggs!"

Out of her arms and limps various tubes protruded out of them, a source of substance for her body, replacing the Kromagg version. A strange machine rested just above her legs that sent small electric shocks along them in an attempt to re-stimulate neuro activity.

"Remmy. I'm so glad that you are here!" Her lips had not moved. She seemed to be speaking through telepathy.

"W-Wade …" He shook his heads. "I can't believe I've found you again … what happened? What happened after you dropped me back with the others?"

There was a small silence. "I will show you…"

Three months ago…

Maggie silently walked over to Mallory and Diana. She had lost him. Rembrandt had decided to stay with Wade. There was just no point on continuing on. She had lost everyone… Suddenly a burst of light appeared and she turned to see Rembrandt fall out of a swirling blue vortex. It closed as quickly as it had appeared. She wanted to run over to him and hug him tight but knew they needed to give him a little time. She watched as he walked slowly over to them.

"Remmy…"

He turned, hearing, sensing something. She had felt it too. It was Wade.

"I will always be with you Remmy…"

Rembrandt fought back the tears and tried to say his goodbye. Her image floated in the lake and then slowly disappeared. Whatever was to happen to Wade he would always be with her also. Gathering his strength he went over to the others and they comforted him.

Wade let the mental image that she projected fade and turned as she allowed the power of her vortex to pull her in. She knew what she had to do. Knew that she could not live like this for another moment longer. As she emerged onto the other side she used all of her energy to break free from the machine that trapped her body. The glass shattered, the fluid spilled out, and the machine malfunctioned and cracked open.
She waited until all of the fluid had drained and then she slowly lifted up her left arm that still seemed to have some life in it. She then ripped, one by one, the tubes that were connected from her body to the machine. The pain was excruciating and she almost blacked out many times but would not stop until they were all out. She soon slumped forward, as all the connections were broken, in a pool of blood and fluid, face down in the ground…

Present Day…

"Remmy?" Maggie looked into the next room but there was still no sign of him.

"I can't find him anywhere." Answered Mallory, as he joined her.

"Mallory! Maggie!" They turned to see Diana step out of a room. "It's Rembrandt … and Wade!"

The two stopped in shock. Wade? Wade was here? Suddenly the words of the two doctors filtered back to Maggie. The woman who they had found in a mechanical device … it had to be their Wade! Maggie rushed forward with Mallory right behind and they followed Diana into the Electro-Magnetic Therapy room.

"… Wade…"

Rembrandt looked up, still in his wheelchair, and at his friends. "It's Wade. We've found each other again!"

Diana checked her over. "Her body had been rendered totally useless by the machine that she was trapped in. But it looks like this machine is trying to re-stimulate the pathways in her body. With a lot of work her body could recover." She picked up the chart that was beside the bed. "They were planning on taking out the tubes in her body as soon as she was awake and could eat naturally."

Maggie smiled at Wade. "Hi Wade." She waited for a response. "Remmy can you still hear her?"

"No. I think she's resting. It took a lot out of her to contact me and show me how she ended up here."

"We should let her rest then." She turned to leave.

"You go on. I'm fine. I just … want to be here when she wakes."

Maggie nodded her understanding and led Diana and Mallory out of the room. She already knew how this was going to turn out.

The next morning the team returned to the hospital. The timer was ticking down and it was almost time for the slide. Diana and Mallory had expressed their apprehension the night before at the hotel but Maggie told them to wait as everything would sort itself out. They now stared through the glass window at Rembrandt who sat staring at the still form of Wade in her room.

"He is not going to come with us is he." Said Mallory, quietly. "And Wade is not fit enough to go anywhere."

Maggie closed her eyes and sighed. Taking a deep breath she opened them and entered the room.

Rembrandt looked up. "Listen. I have been thinking…"

"It's ok Remmy." Maggie answered, cutting him off. "I already know what you are going to say. You can't slide with us. You've lost her too many times to just get up and leave now. She needs you just as much as you need her … you need to stay by her side." Rembrandt lowered his gaze. "Don't worry. The rest of us are going to keep on sliding. We'll store this Earth's co-ordinates and come back every few slides to check up on the two of you. And when she is finally better then we will all slide out of here … together."

Rembrandt was lost for words. "Give me a hug girl!" Maggie rushed over to him and they hugged tightly. "Be careful…"

"We will." Maggie finally let him go. "We're coming right back for you soon. So Wade…" She turned to her. "You better fight to get better."

Rembrandt turned to face the others. "No words Mallory?"
"Nope." He said shaking his head. "Coz like she said we're coming right back here to check up on you guys. This isn't a goodbye…."
"… It's a see you soon." Finished Diana.
Remmy smiled. He watched as they all turned and activated the vortex. Shielded his face from the strong wind, it ruffled the bottom of his hospital gown, and he watched the three flashes of light that signalled their entry into the gateway. The wind slowly died down and the vortex closed. They were gone.
"Well Wade. Where were we? There is still so much more to tell..." He picked up her hand. "It was during a gunfight on the world before. Maggie and I went through the vortex first and Quinn and Colin were right behind. It was while travelling between universes that there was this bright flash of light. Quinn and Colin disappeared and this new Quinn, Mallory, appeared." He stopped and sighed. "We later found out that a man called Professor Geiger had somehow merged that world's Quinn with our own and in the process Colin had become unstuck..."
Rembrandt continued to talk to Wade for several hours. Detailing all that had happened to them since she was taken by the Kromaggs. He watched as her eyelids fluttered continuously. He knew that she could hear every word. He was finally here for her ... and would never leave her side.

End.