Had this one rattling around in my head for a while... I whipped up the first chapter pretty quickly so it may need rewrites but I decided to post it in the meantime. This is set in Season Four in that the current Sliders are: Quinn, Remmy, Maggie and Colin. Let me know what you think so far!

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"Now this is what I call a good world." Rembrandt 'Crying Man' Brown leant back in his chair sighing happily. "Good food. Nice, normal people. And great music."

Colin Mallory grinned at him. "After the worlds we've been to in the past three months, this place is perfect for a holiday."

"So, Quinn..." Maggie Beckett leant towards Colin's brother who had been unusually quiet during their lunch at the Chandler Hotel. "Do you agree that this world seems pretty normal? Not too different from where you came from?"

"What? Uh, yeah. So far, so good. Not quite home but it'll do for now."

"You okay, Q-Ball?" Remmy asked.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

The other Sliders glanced at each other. They knew that Quinn put a lot of pressure on himself to take care of them.

"Bro, how long we got before the next slide?" Colin asked.

Quinn sighed. Painfully. He raised his eyes to his brother's face. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Colin raised his eyebrows.

Quinn held up the timer. "It's fried. Again."

"And when were you going to tell us about this?" Maggie demanded.

"I didn't want everyone to worry. I'll take care of it." Quinn replied quietly.

Remmy clapped Quinn's shoulder in a supportive gesture. "Of course you will. You'll fix it. You always do. In the meantime, I suggest we just enjoy ourselves while we can."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Colin spoke up enthusiastically. The others followed his gaze to see the band that had been playing up until now stepping down to allow a soloist up onto the stage.

The woman stepped up to the microphone without really acknowledging the audience. She was wearing a black dress, the simplicity of which did absolutely nothing to disguise her luscious curves. Her face was devoid of all but the barest of makeup but that only highlighted her pale skin which made her seem almost ethereal. Her hair was dark and long, drifting wildly beautiful to the middle of her back, untouched by highlights or any kind of style cut.

Remmy gave a low whistle. "Q-Ball, what do you think? Ain't she something?"

Quinn hadn't really been paying attention but as he focussed on the figure up on stage he felt something catch in his chest. The thing that really stood out in particular were her eyes. They were as dark as her hair and filled with some kind of sadness that he felt like he wouldn't even begin to be able to understand.

"Sure, she's got that watered down goth look going for her," Maggie commented, feeling a little put out that her guys were so fixed on some other woman. "But can she actually sing?"

"We're about to find out." Colin grinned as a few remaining members of the previous band began the accompaniment for the beautiful singer.

She opened her pale full lips and sang. "He's always on my mind... from the time I wake up... till I close my eyes. He's everywhere I go... he's all I know..."

"Wow." Quinn whispered.

Her voice was soulful and rich. "And though he's so far away... it just keeps getting stronger every day... and even now he's gone... I'm still holding on..."

"Someone really broke this girl's heart." Remmy whispered back. "She's really feeling it."

"So am I." Maggie's eyes were suspiciously bright.

"So tell me where do I start... 'cause it's breaking my heart... don't want to let him go..." Her voice soared into sweet agony. "Maybe my love will come back some day... only heaven knows... and maybe our hearts will find a way... only heaven knows... and all I can do is hope and pray... 'cause heaven knows..."

"She's killer, isn't she?" Their waiter commented quietly as he slipped a few extra napkins on their table to act as tissues. Nearby patrons were also showing signs of needing the same as tears streamed down every second face.

"Man, you've got that right." Remmy agreed as he snatched up one of the napkins and dabbed at his eyes. "And what an incredible voice."

"Some guy really did a number on her, huh?" Maggie slid a hand forward to snag a napkin... just in case.

The waiter sighed. "Her husband. He disappeared nearly five years ago."

"Ran off with another woman?" Remmy suggested.

"No-one knows. I find it hard to believe myself. I mean who'd cheat on a woman like that? I never met the guy but people who knew them back then have told me that seeing them together was like watching a fairytale unfold before your very eyes."

"So what do you think happened to the husband?" Colin asked.

"There was an investigation – for a while the police even suspected that she may have murdered him and disposed of the body – but they never found any trace of him."

"How awful." Maggie shook her head.

"She never really recovered." The waiter sighed sadly. "Doug – the manager – persuades her to come here at least once a week to sing. At least gets her out of the house for a bit. She used to have this whole place jumping back in the day apparently. Luckily the patrons adore these heart wrenching numbers and come back for more every time. Even if some days she just does one song. They love her."

Tears were now streaming down the singer's pale cheeks. "... 'cause heaven knows... why I live in despair... because wide awake or dreaming... I know he's never there... and all the time I act so brave... I'm shaking inside... why does it hurt me so..."

Quinn couldn't breathe. He wanted to get up from his seat, leap up onto the stage and take her in his arms. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and take away all her pain. To take care of her so that she would never have the need to cry ever again. Instead, he just sat there and stared at her completely transfixed.

The song wound down. Her voice was haunting. Haunted. "Maybe my love will come back some day... only heaven knows... maybe our hearts will find a way... only heaven knows... and all I can do is hope and pray... 'cause heaven knows. Heaven knows... Heaven knows."

The crowd erupted into emotional applause. She barely noticed as she murmured a 'thank you'.

The lead singer of the previous band leapt up to the microphone and rather unnecessarily plugged more applause for her. "Let's give it up for the magical vocal stylings of Rebecca Mallory!"

Rebecca gave a small gracious bow and left the stage as quietly as she'd taken it.

The Sliders stared at each other in shock. "Mallory?"