PART ONE
Stallions Gate, New Mexico
March 25, 1999
Ex-Rear Admiral Albert Calavicci, however, wasn't able to sleep. He was just about to fall asleep with Beth resting comfortably in his arms when Ziggy announced throughout the project that Dr. Samuel Beckett had leapt yet again. Growling more to himself than to anyone else, Al rose from his bed, stood, grabbed his purple polka-dotted robe and headed toward Central Control.
He glanced at his watch. It read: twelve thirty. He rubbed his face and yawned tiredly. 'Why couldn't Sam leap at a normal time,' he wondered as he nodded at those he passed in the corridors. He could be in bed right now, comfy cozy with his beautiful wife lying beside him, both of them curled up like a spoon against the other. He smiled at the thought as he continued his way down the corridor.
The corridors, the Admiral walked, were underground in a cavern in the middle of New Mexico. He was the Head Coordinator in the Project code named Quantum Leap; a project that had gone a little off kilter. The project was made with one objective in mind - to observe the past. They achieved more than that; Dr. Samuel Beckett was now trapped in time, leaping from person to person, putting right what was wrong in their lives.
The Central Control Room, in which Admiral Calavicci headed, was in the center of the cavern. It was the room that housed the parallel hybrid neuro-computer's motherboard. It was a large table made of translucent, multicolored cubes. It looked more like something a child would make with a bunch of leggos let alone a computer that had the intelligence to think on it's own.
The Admiral entered the oval room. Around the perimeter of the room, men in white coats moved back and forth, exchanging worried looks. None of them spared a glance at Al. He frowned; something was up.
Chewing his lip, he went toward the Waiting Room. The Waiting Room was where the people Sam replaced came – their visitors. He waved his hand over the circuitry box and the door before him slid upward. Yawning, he stepped inside and the door slid down behind him like a slow guillotine.
The Waiting Room was a high-ceilinged room with an observation deck high on one wall, reachable by a small flight of stairs. The windows of the observation deck jutted out giving an un-obstructional view of the room below.
The room contained only one bed.
On the bed sat a figure. The figure was that of Dr. Samuel John Beckett; yet inside that figure sat another person frightened beyond belief. The physical shell of Sam Beckett appeared to be in his early forties; physically fit, but not thickly muscled. Honest green eyes glanced around the room. A shaky hand came up to brush the only gray strands back into light brown hair. When Al stepped into the room, his eyes came to rest on him.
Al shifted his weight slightly as he watched Samantha Josephine Fuller descend the stairs across the room. She carried a drink for their newest visitor. He began to approach the bed only after Samantha was already present.
"Th… thank you." His green eyes flicked between her and the older man. He frowned as he gazed at the older man before him.
The man before him was of medium height, had a lean body and a dark complexion. His dark brown eyes glanced back at him as one bushy eyebrow raised curiously. He wore a purple polka dotted robe and was barefoot.
"Can you tell me your name?" Samantha asked, her voice soft and quiet, with a hint of a Southern accent.
Again, he divided a perplexed glance between them. "I'm…I'm Beau," he said slowly. "Who're you?"
"My name is Sammy Jo." She gave a quick glance toward Al. "This is Admiral Calavicci. You're perfectly safe, Beau. Just relax."
"Admiral?" He questioned and glanced around the room once more. "Where am I? How'd I get here?"
Al opened his mouth as if to answer those questions but Sammy Jo beat him to it. "Listen to me, Beau." Beau was still looking around the room. "Beau?" Sammy Jo called again to gain his attention. He looked at her warily. "Beau, you are safe. No one here is going to harm you, but we need to get some information from you. Do you think you could help us?"
Frowning, Beau asked, "What kind of information?"
"Can you give me your last name?" She asked mildly knowing that their visitor may not remember anything. The leaping process blotched the memories leaving a Swiss-cheese affect on the leapee; there were something's that they just could not remember.
"Sure. It's . . ." Beau's gaze flickered helplessly between the two yet again. "It's . . ." Fear began to enter his eyes. "Why can't I remember my last name?"
"Shhhh. You're okay." Sammy Jo responded and laid her hand on his arm. "It's all right."
Al stepped back. He watched amazed as Sammy Jo calmed him down and continued on. It marveled him to watch her with their visitors. "What day were you born?"
"If I can't tell you my last name, I can't tell you the day I was born," Beau stated dramatically.
"It's amazing what the brain can do," Sammy Jo stated. "Think, what day were you born?"
Beau closed his eyes, then opened them amazed. "June 23, 1963."
"That's good. June 23, 1963. Can you tell me what town you live in?"
"I can't... wait... Morgan," he faltered.
"You live in Morgan?" she questioned.
"No, that's my last name. Beau Morgan."
Al grinned. He was truly amazed at what the mind can do. He made a slight wave to Sammy Jo. She excused herself then followed Al away from the bed. "That's all Ziggy needs to get started on the data for Sam. You keep at it. I'm going back to bed."
Sammy Jo grinned. "You know, Admiral, I was going to suggest you do just that. You look really tired," she stated as she glanced at the circles under his eyes. "Goodnight, Admiral Calavicci."
"Goodnight, Sammy Jo." Al glanced behind her to Sam's figure. "Beau." He gave a slight wave then left the Waiting Room.
Just outside the door, he stopped. He wanted to make sure Ziggy was doing her job. "Ziggy?" he asked as he approached the multicolored table in the middle of the room.
"Yes?" It drawled back a response. The giant blue-silver globe above the table shimmered erratically.
"Did you…" Al began.
"Overhear the conversation with Beau Morgan and Samantha?" the neuro-computer finished his question and then answered it for him. "Certainly, Admiral. I see and hear just about everything in the project. I have all ready prepared some data for Dr. Beckett."
Al's bushy eyebrows raised curiously and he waited. When there was no response, he said, "Well?"
"Beau Morgan, born June 23, 1963 at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas where his parents reside. He is twenty-two years old and is a college student at the University of Houston. And from what he just told Samantha, it is his summer vacation at home." Ziggy stopped for a moment and her tone changed dramatically from data oriented to a more personal tone. "Admiral, Samantha is correct. You do appear to be fatigued. You really should get more than five hours of sleep a night."
"Thank you, Ziggy. If you don't mind, I'll try to get some sleep now." As he turned to walk out of Central Control, he glanced at the men around the perimeter of the room once again. Their faces were no longer worried. Whatever the problem was, it was taken care of. As he began to walk down the corridor, he heard Ziggy say goodnight.
Al woke a few hours later feeling completely exhilarated.
He woke to find Beth in his arms. He hugged her warmly and kissed the nape of her neck. She sighed in her sleep as Al slowly moved away from her. He knew that Sam would be wondering where he was, and he didn't want his best friend to be worried. He took one last look at Beth as he regrettably got out of bed to get dressed.
He picked out a long-sleeved black shirt, a pair of black slacks, and his favorite multicolored shoes. Once dressed, he grabbed the handlink that was on his desk by the door. He turned back to Beth and blew her a kiss then left.
His walk to the Control Room this morning seemed quicker than it did last night. He was definitely in better spirits than he was last night. He was about to open the door to Central Control when he heard his name called. He turned to see Dr. Verbena Beeks standing outside of her office. "Yes?"
"Al, you need to take a look at something." Verbena waited until Al was at her door before turning to return inside. He followed her inside and planted his feet firmly.
"Well?" He asked.
"It's the security tape that was going last night in the Waiting Room. I think that you'll find this quite interesting." Verbena pushed play on the video recorder and let Al look at the television screen.
He saw Dr. Beckett's body walking in a small circle with the tip of his thumb in his mouth. "That's Laura Beauchamp, there." Verbena stated. "But watch." There was a moment where Dr. Beckett's body paused. He then stumbled around and landed on his knees. He hugged his abdomen and began to cough and dry heave where he fell. He began to rock back and forth on his heels. What Al heard next sent a shiver down his spine. "So much blood. I can't help. So much blood." Dr. Beckett's body then lowered himself down to the floor hugging himself as he curled into a fetal position. There was another pause that Al could see and then Dr. Beckett's body stretched out as if in deep slumber then slowly awaken.
"What in the hell was that?"
"That's what I'd like to know, Al. Ziggy told us twice last night that Dr. Beckett had leapt but Gooshie said it was a malfunction. But after talking with Ziggy this morning already she confirmed that yes, Dr. Beckett had leapt twice last night." Verbena looked at Al concerned. "I don't know, Al. I don't like this. Sam leaping into someone so quick that he won't know what to do. I'm afraid for him, Al."
Al gave her a wary look. It wasn't that often that Verbena verbally told Al her fears. It was only when Sam was in danger that she usually told him. Al mentally reviewed last night and this latest bit of information again. He rewound the tape and played it once more to reevaluate his actions. Pursing his lips, he placed a reassuring hand on Verbena's shoulder then left her office.
Al headed back toward Central Control. His mind flooded with questions. Wherever Sam had leapt first someone was hurt badly enough that someone had retched. Was Sam hurt? If he wasn't, who was? What had happened? Why had it happened? When he saw the multicolored control board he was very irritated that he wasn't informed of the previous leap.
"Ziggy!" he barked.
"Yessss?" she purred.
"I need all the information you have on Dr. Beckett's last leap."
"I have already given all the information on Laura Beauchamp and Carolyn Leslie, Admiral. Do you require a hard copy for reference?" It was plain to Al that Ziggy was a bit put out.
Al tried to control his temper. He took a deep breath then said, "I don't require a hard copy of Laura Beauchamp or Carolyn Leslie. I want to know of the leap after Laura and Leslie and before Beau Morgan."
There was a definite pause from the computer. The pause was long enough that it could have been inferred as a sigh. "I can not give you the information you request, Admiral."
"And just why not?" Al asked through clenched teeth. "I need to know how it fits into Sam's current leap, if any."
"I cannot give you the data you have requested because no one gave any data during the particular time that you are requesting. I am sorry, Admiral Calavicci."
Al slammed his hand to his forehead and ran his hand down his face. "Fine." He took a deep cleansing breath. "Then at least continue checking out Beau's background. Let's try to figure out why Sam's here, shall we?"