Christmas Past

This Quantum Leap™ story utilizes characters that are copyright © by Bellasarius Productions and Universal Studios. No infringement on their respective copyrights is intended by the author in any way, shape or form. This fan fiction story is written solely for the entertainment of the readers and is not for profit. All fiction, plots, and original characters are the sole creations of the author

A special thank you to Al's "brunette in Delaware" for her permission to publish this story. It was written as a Christmas gift and therefore truly belongs to her.

Christmas Past

Epilogue

Time moves on despite any attempts to keep it from doing so, even if they were planning on trying to bend it a little through Quantum Leap, their upcoming project. The miracle of 1941 was left behind. In fact, 44 years had drifted past when two men got stuck in Philadelphia. It was a snowy and cold Christmas Eve and the older man, a one-star Admiral in the Navy, knew exactly where his special diner was. "It's around the corner, Sam."

The younger man was taller and more ruggedly built. "Al, you haven't been to this joint since you were seven. How can you find it?"

"Some things you never forget."

Sam Beckett had known Admiral Al Calavicci for a few years, but from the instant they met, a bond was formed, each knowing he had a lifelong friend in the other. All morning Sam had listened to the Admiral's story of his miracle at Mona's Diner and even this objective scientist was moved by the entire situation. However, there was more than a little sarcasm when he said, "Yeah, I guess I wouldn't forget either, even if it is 1985 now and I was over four decades older."

The Admiral walked quickly and with great anticipation. "You wouldn't forget, Sam. Some Christmases you never forget." They turned another corner. "It's down at the end of the block. Come on." He started to trot toward the little diner that changed his life. There it was. The sign above the front window was faded and dirty, but it was still there - Mona's Diner. "I don't believe it. The building is still here. Look, Sam. I told you it was called Mona's Diner." The diner was long deserted, but that didn't seem to matter.

Standing outside the front door, Al felt a warmth coursing through him, a warmth of contentment and joy. "I can't believe it." He stared at the door. "I was sure the building would have been razed."

The animation on the Admiral's face made Sam laugh with sheer enjoyment. "See if we can get in. Try the door."

"It can't be unlocked," but his hand found the doorknob and he was startled. "Good Lord." The two men walked into the dark, neglected diner and began to look around.

Sam was unimpressed. "This is the place where your miracle happened?"

"Damn straight it is." He pointed to the end of the counter. "That's where the tree was."

As much as he wanted to believe in miracles, Sam wasn't convinced. "The tree that sprouted its own lights, ornaments and star, right?"

Al was having too much fun remembering every spot where something significant happened. "It did, Sam. No one would go near it and then it would have these lights. It was amazing and no, I can't explain it in terms a quantum physicist would accept."

Starting at the counter, Sam walked the perimeter of the room and ran his hand over the counter. "This place is filthy."

"Well, Mona kept it spotless. I had my first cup of hot chocolate here."

The idea that a cup of cocoa could be important to this career military man was almost laughable, but Sam kept the chuckle to himself. His friend was reveling in his memories and on Christmas Eve, Sam wasn't going to spoil his fun. "Now I know where your sweet tooth comes from."

The Admiral was going to say something, but he was standing at the spot where Gracie told him, "I will always sing for you. I'll sing anything you want whenever you want." That promised had been fulfilled in profound ways. "I took her up on it, Sam. When I was MIA, sometimes I would imagine her being there and singing to me. She said she would always be there and she was."

Now, Sam still wasn't convinced anything miraculous happened at the diner, but if Al believed an apparition named Gracie alleviated some of the pain from those horrifying days of tortured incarceration in Vietnam, Sam wasn't going to argue. He kept walking around the diner doing his best to stay clean. The place was layered in dust.

Al saw Sam approach the booth where he and Trudy lived that day and told him, "That's our booth, Sam. Right there. Trudy and I slept there."

Patting the table Sam sardonically said, "This very booth? How exciting."

Okay, so maybe he was going overboard, but he was back at Mona's and even Sam's teasing wasn't going to take that from him. From across the room, he shook his finger at his friend, smiled and said, "Don't be a smart ass. This place was really important to me." Al was about to continue when he saw an anxious look on his friend's face. "What's wrong?"

Sam backed away from the table a bit. "You got to come here."

Even in the dim light, Al saw Sam's face pale. "What's wrong?"

"Just come here. Now." Sam pointed to the tabletop. "Look."

On the table was a small book, a copy of A Christmas Carol. While the table was loaded with decades of dust, the book was clean, spotless as if it had just been placed there. A white card lay on it and like the book, it was pristine. Al picked up the card and read aloud. "'Dear Al, I knew someday you'd be back for this. You've become quite a man and I'm proud of you. Glad you finally know you are loved. Merry Christmas, Admiral. Your friend, Mona Lisa Jerome.'" One more miracle added to the list. Smiling with a grin Sam never remembered seeing quite so big, Al said, "Mona Lisa - that makes sense. She had a fantastic smile, Sam."

Sam added, "Yeah, well Jerome makes even more sense."

Al hated when Sam did the I-know-something-you-don't stuff. "Okay and what might that be?"

"You're the Catholic. Don't you know?"

"Yes, I know I'm Catholic. So spill it."

"St. Jerome, Al." Still, no recognition. "St. Jerome is the patron saint of orphans." Sam picked up the book and looked inside. "Oh, my God, Al, look." He showed his friend the inside cover where a scraggly name proclaimed ownership.

The Admiral took the revered volume and paged through it. It was his book, the very book left by a small boy who had other things on his mind that day. "I left this here accidentally."

Sam was getting nervous. "You planted that, right?" Al shook his head slowly and Sam could only mutter, "Oh, my God."

Looking into his friends wide eyes, Al said, "I told you this place was a miracle."

"You planted that, Al. I know you did."

The Admiral walked with complete reverence around the dingy Diner. "When did I have time to plant anything?"

That was true. Al was with Sam almost constantly for days. "Well, you paid someone."

The Admiral looked at his questioning friend. "Yeah? Well, did you see that when we came in?" He pointed to the end of the counter where a guitar appeared. Moments earlier, Sam had walked right past that spot and there wasn't any guitar. The two men approached the instrument with hearts racing.

"Al, this is too weird."

"No, Sam. It's Christmas. Miracles happen here all the time at Christmas." Not knowing if it was real or not, Al reached out and found the guitar had substance. With a nearly trembling hand, he handed it to Sam. "Play something. Put music back in here."

The ghost guitar spooked Sam, but he took it from Al's hand. "Probably hasn't been played for a long time. I don't know if I can tune it." He strummed a chord and every string sounded out in perfect harmony, one more impossibility.

A Cheshire cat grin made Al look like a little boy again. His eyes almost glittered. "Sounds in tune to me."

"Me, too." The enormity of Al's story was sinking in. "You did have a miracle here, didn't you."

Al wiped the counter seat with his hand and sat down. "This was where everything started for me." He brushed dirt from his hands. "You have no clue how much of a miracle happened here."

Sam began to pick at the guitar. "I'm starting to get it." He kept playing and watching his dear friend's thoughts disappear into the past. A serenity was in his expression that Sam had never seen before. The man's life was filled with tragedy after tragedy. The Admiral had every right to feel sorry for himself and yet there was something magic in his soul. He simply needed someone to tell him he had value. Apparently, Mona and her friends did that for him on that miracle Christmas. Sam wanted to tell Al that he too saw incredible value in him and suddenly Sam knew how to tell him. The chords he played were gentle and the song familiar. It was a song from Al's miracle. He started by saying, "This one's for you, Miss Mona." With hands and voice guided by a greater power, Sam sang, "There's a somebody I'm longing to see. I hope that she turns out to be someone to watch over me."

If at all possible, Al's grin got bigger. "Keep singing."

The sound filled the diner and a sweet contentment settled in the Admiral's heart. Sam sang on, "Although I may not be the man some girls think of handsome, to her heart I'll carry the key." Al's eyes closed. In his mind he was seven and dancing with Miss Mona. "Won't you tell her please to put on some speed, follow my lead? Oh how I need someone to watch over me."

The only thing that could make the day better was to tell Miss Mona all the things he wanted to share. Here he was, an educated man, a summa cum laude graduate of MIT who had piloted a spacecraft to the moon. On this chilly December day, he traveled to her diner with a true friend. Al realized this friend Sam Beckett, a friend who came to visit his past and who would remain by the Admiral's side forever into the future, loved him.

After one final chord, Sam put the venerable guitar back in place. Behind him, a flash of absurdly brilliant light brightened the room for a moment. He and Al turned to see a Christmas tree decorated with lights and ornaments and a shining star on the top. "That's the tree, Sam. Look, there's Mrs. Zimmer's scarf. I put that on the tree when I was seven." He walked over to the childhood miracle and took the scarf down. Its colors were still strong and vibrant. Al looked around and whispered, "Mona, I know you're here." He held the scarf in his hand like a soldier hanging onto his nation's emblem when all around him chaos ran rampant. The strength it bequeathed showed in his posture and resolve. Miss Mona brought him here to reassure him - Quantum Leap was his destiny and Sam was the one who found it for him.

They stayed a few more minutes pondering, wondering. Smiling at the best friend he ever had in his life, the Admiral winked and said, "Here, you take the scarf."

"Oh, no." Sam was shaking his head. "I can't. It's your miracle."

The Admiral knew full well what his miracle was. He was talking to him and he told Sam about it in the best way he could. "Your clothes are too damn boring. You keep it."

And Sam understood what he had just been told and needed to let Al know how much he cared. He gratefully took the scarf and said, "You just want to dress me like a Christmas tree."

"Be glad there isn't any tinsel." Al looked to the floor and murmured. "Merry Christmas, kid."

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Al." Sam wrapped himself in the long scarf. "You sure you want me to have this?"

The words of an old Christmas carol came back to him. "Yet what I can I give him."

Sam was clueless what the Admiral meant, but he accepted the gift knowing it was worth far more than anything he'd ever receive again.

As they left the old diner, Al whispered, "Merry Christmas, Miss Mona. Thank you." Al reverently put his book and note in his inside coat pocket and closed the door behind him. He didn't see the message written in the dust on the counter.

"You're welcome, Al."

THE END

Someone to Watch Over Me © George and Ira Gershwin