Epilogue by C. Selene McBain and Kat Freymuth
Al rubbed his eyes as he walked from the Imaging Chamber. He didn't know what had gotten into Sam. First his leaping a second time after he was home for several months and now... He sighed. Now Sam was saying that God was a bartender!
"Gooshie, what the hell is wrong with that Retrieval Program? I thought you said you could fix it!" he yelled at the short red-headed man with halitosis.
"I did, Admiral," admitted the small nervous man, probably thinking that admitting to his mistake would make the punishment less painful, "I might have missed a decimal point somewhere in my calculations."
"Yeah, well, find out why the hell it won't work! Sam's lost it! I mean, he's really lost it!" Al exhaled slowly, rubbing his face again. "Just... fix it, will ya?" Walking out of the Control Room, all he could think of was the look on Sam's face, that... Al didn't know what to call it but it scared him. He HAD to get Sam out of that. He HAD to!
Going into his office, he slumped into his chair and cradled his head in his hands. He didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt someone gently shake him.
"What?" he muttered miserably. Raising his head, he blinked for a moment before seeing the woman standing beside him. "How... Beth! What... what are you doing here?" he asked with shock.
Beth was slightly older than she was the last time he saw her during Sam's 1969 leap into Jake Rawlins. She had a gentle smile on her face that had a few more wrinkles now than it did then, and her dark hair was threaded with silver. She wore a soft looking oversized sweater of a mauve tone over lavender slacks.
"Come on, Admiral," Beth laughed slightly, "You think I'd let you fall asleep here at the project. I . . ." She studied the absolute and total shock and his face and frowned. "Al, honey, don't worry. The girls are back home, sleeping safe and sound."
"G...Girls?" Al questioned for a long moment. His eyes wandered over his office. It looked different to him. There were pictures hanging on the walls. His desk actually had nick-nacks on it and... a framed picture. Reaching over, he picked up the photo and looked at it carefully. And remembered. "We took this seven years ago during Christmas," he murmured, admiring the family portrait he looked at every day.
Beth understood then what had happened. It had happened a few times before, where Al would suddenly seem like he didn't know important events or people of his current timeline. A time travel side effect, as it was described once, but one that usually caught up with the present. With that knowledge, she asked, "Do you remember their names, honey?"
Al gently touched the glass covering the precious photo. "Of course. Maxie, Sharon, Ruth and Allie. Why?"
"Just checking," said Beth, "You know how time travel affects your memory sometimes, honey. Do you remember Carlie too?"
Al shivered at the name, tears coming up. He didn't know why but he was so sad. "She's... dead," he whispered.
Beth took a deep breath, touching Al's arm gently. She had expected him not to remember her, but to hear that Carlie was dead - it frightened her. Beth was Carlie's mother, for all intents and purposes - since Carlie was five. And no mother likes to hear that their child might have been dead at one point or another, alternate history or not.
"No, honey. Carlie's very alive. She's at home right now with Allie. She's your niece, remember?"
"She's okay?" he asked, needing to know for sure. His eyes begged for Beth to give him some comfort.
"Oh, Al," Beth smiled, leaning in close and giving him a kiss on the cheek, "Maybe you should just come home to see for yourself. The break might do you good."
"Yeah." He exhaled slowly and then nodded as if he made an important decision. "Yeah, maybe I should." Slowly, he stood up and started to follow Beth out of his office. He stopped suddenly, finally realizing exactly what had happened and remembering how Beth, Maxie, Sharon, Ruth, Allie, and Carlie had come into his life. All of their daughters, except for Carlie, were Beth's and his by birth. They adopted Carlie when Beth insisted he go find any family that he come have.
What he found... sickened him. His half-sister Catherine and her husband were both into drugs and abused the little girl in their care. When he told Beth what he'd found, they both became determined to rescue Carlie from that hell. It didn't take long before he and Beth won custody for Carlie.
They adopted her shortly after that. With the new memories now firmly in place, Al whispered another thank you to his friend before reaching over and grabbing Beth's arm, pulling her over to him. Passionately, he kissed her, wrapping his arms around her.
Pleasantly surprised and very pleased, Beth indulged in the affection. Her hands found the curls at the back of his head and she took a moment to enjoy the kiss. When she pulled back, she touched noses with her husband.
"Come on. Let's go home." She said to him.