I have quantum leaped into many different circumstances, each challenging in their own right. This leap promised to be another doosey. I found myself wearing the uniform of an Air Force Colonel holding a very cranky baby. As a matter of fact the child was looking up at me screaming.

Oh Boy, I really should have paid more attention during my pediatrics rotation when I was an intern.

A very attractive blonde woman, most likely the baby's mother, came to my (and the child's) aid by saying, "There, there, Anthony Junior, be nice to the friendly Colonel," reading my name badge, Anthony Junior's mother asked, "Colonel Bellows, are you any relation to Doctor Bellows?"

An older woman, overhearing the exchange, exclaimed, "Jeannie, don't be silly, that is Alfred."

Jeannie disagreed, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Bellows, but he doesn't look anything like Dr. Bellows." Then Jeannie looked up at an Army Major General standing in the back of the room and added, "Colonel Healey, shouldn't you be up in the spacelab… and you shouldn't be dressed up like a General, you could get in trouble!"

The General replied, "That's Skylab. Jeannie, only you and the man in front of you can see or hear me. And you have to pretend the Colonel here actually is Doctor Bellows." Then the General informed me, "Sam, you are Doctor Alfred Bellows, MD, USAF. You've met Jeannie Nelson, wife of Lt. Colonel Anthony Nelson who currently is up in orbit with the Lt. Colonel version of myself and a Navy Commander named Wingate. The woman next to Jeannie is your wife Amanda. I'll give you more information later."

I noticed the device this Major General that Jeannie called Healey had in his hand. It looked very similar to the controller that my contact from the present time, Admiral Al Calavicci held. Was this General Al's replacement? Al would have told me if he was going anywhere. Both this General and Al were former Astronauts of Flag rank. Maybe the Army took control of Project Quantum Leap. I know they wanted it for some time. I just hope nothing serious happened to Al.

Jeannie Nelson was surprisingly cool. Too cool, it was if she had been keeping secrets all her life. She just told Amanda Bellows, "I'm sorry Mrs. Bellows, I've been under a lot of stress."

Amanda just laughed, "That's all right Jeannie. After all, here you are chasing a ten month old, celebrating your birthday, all while Tony is circling the earth for the next three months." Looking around, I saw the birthday decorations. Amanda added for my benefit, "Lets go home Alfred and let Jeannie get some rest."

I answered, "Sure, dear," and then using an old leaping trick, I added, "Why don't you drive home."

Amanda replied sharply, "A little too much of Tony's Scotch, eh."

I said nothing. I'd rather have her think I was drunk than not knowing were we lived. It was a fairly quiet drive home. After we got to the house, I decided to go into the garage. As I suspected, the good doctor had a little workshop in there. It was an excuse to be alone. I fiddled around with Dr. Bellows tools for a few minutes, hoping for Al, then the holographic general appeared.

"Who are you?" I asked the new hologram.

The hologram replied, concerned, "Oh, no! That Swiss cheese memory of yours is acting up again. You are Samuel Beckett MD, PHD, physician/ physicist who invented time travel. As incredible as this sounds, you "quantum leap" into the lives of individuals during your own lifetime. In most cases, everybody sees you as the person you leaped into. Jeannie is an exception though, as she's a very special case. You're here because something went wrong in the original time line. Once you fix the error, you will leap on to another person, or hopefully home."

I said exasperated, "I know who I am. Who in the blazes are you?"

Looking somewhat hurt, the General continued, "I am Major General Roger Healey, director of US Army Research. I was an Astronaut in the 60s and 70s, transferring over to Army research in '81 after earning my doctorate in astrophysics from FIT. Dr, Beckett, you and I have been working together since the Star Bright project. We started project Quantum Leap together. Right now I'm in 1997 New Mexico and you're seeing a holographic projection of me from the imaging chamber. Sam—I'm your best friend."

At first I thought my memory was bad, but I didn't think it was that bad. Then it occurred to me. This rip in time was larger than any I have dealt with in the past. Roger here wasn't Al's successor as the observer for project Quantum Leap. In this timeline, General Roger Healey was, for all intents and purposes, Admiral Al Calavicci.