Sam was reeling from the aftershock. He slapped the drunken man back and felt his whole body spin. He screamed as he punched the man's face. "Sam, what the hell are you doing?" Al had just stepped into a war zone. The two people were glaring at each other. Sam shook his finger in the man's face, "Sober up old guy, and learn to treat women better." The man spit in Sam's face and laughed, "What the fuck gives you the right to tell me me to do what..what to do.."
The man passed out at Sam's feet. "Please tell me what's going on." Al said. "He came home drunk, I was on the computer here and he started yelling obscenities at me, well, at Amber. I couldn't stand it, so, well, we fought." Al looked sternly at Sam. "You mean Amber fought him. Believe me, Amber is not the kind of person to fight anyone. Sam, you really know how to screw things up." Sam went to the kitchen and cleaned his face, then turned to look at Al.
"What if I take her away. I mean as Amber I go to a home or some shelter for a little while. She's seventeen and in a few months's she'll be legally able to leave him." Al looked at Ziggy for a moment. "Well yeah, good idea. Ziggy says there is a 75 chance if you leave tonight Amber will be able to get help, she could get a job and live a fairly normal life. However, Sam, if Amber does leave tonight, she won't finish High School." Sam looked at the calendar. It was October 14th. "If she stays she won't finish High School either, and she won't finish her life."
Al looked at Sam, and Sam walked over to the purse on the computer desk. "She has $23 and this…Is this a credit card?" He held up a red card with a flag on it. Al stared at it for a few moments. "Oh hey buddy; these are the new food stamp cards. Instead of giving you a set number of stamps, they give you an amount of money each month on them, and yeah, you use them like a credit card." Sam pocketed the money and stepped right on the passed out man's back. "Ohhh" Al winched. Sam was in the bedroom packing clothes and other items into a duffel bag. Al told him, "I'm going to explain things to Amber now. You be careful."
Amber took the news solemnly. Al had explained that she was going to a troubled teenager's home for a few months to straighten her life out. "Listen to me, I want you to try and complete High School, or at least get your GED. And please, don't ever resort to the streets for money." He was trying to help the girl understand her situation, and Amber appeared to comprehend. She smiled at Al. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. You and this guy Sam are really nice."
Al hugged the girl, but she remained stiff. He looked at her. "Don't ever be afraid to talk to people, sometimes a friend can be a good thing." She looked down and then at Al. "If this is 1999, and I live in 1996, are you and Sam still working here?" Al thought. "Yes, the Quantum Leap Project was just beginning around 1995. He didn't leap until 1999." Al shook all thoughts of trying to rescue Sam from his mind.
"We can't just barge into there and say we are from three years from now. If Sam doesn't leap in 1999, then Sam won't be in 1996. Holy cow I'm confused." Amber giggled and Al patted her. "This has been a nice vacation. I'm going to try and fix up my life. Perhaps I'll talk to a therapist." Al smiled. "A nice little dog may help too." Suddenly Amber coughed and her eyes began to fade. Al knew Sam had just leaped. He looked at the body before him. "What the fucking hell! Goddamn!" The person began to shout. Al stood up and sighed. "Here we go again."
Two days later a young, strange female contacted Al Calavichie. He answered the phone. "Hi, this is Amber Lobstune. I don't know if you remember me but I do remember you and Sam." Al laughed. "How are you?" Amber had gone on to get her GED and was now working on her bachelor's degree in psychology. She thanked him liberally and Al asked if she wanted to have dinner. She had to decline that night because her two best friends and her new boyfriend were going to a concert. Indeed, Sam and Al had changed this young girl's life around. Al put the phone down and wiped a tear from his eye.