Season Six: episode four

First Love

May 12, 1993

As Sam leaps in he sees a ball coming toward his head. It nearly misses him but he stumbles into another person next to him, and that person knocks over a stand that falls on to a girl's leg knocking her down.

Sam gets up limping to see where he is. It is gymnasiums with a class of kids similar to the last leap. He then sees her. It's the girl he saved before. He is in shock that he leaped here again. Is it a fluke or did he control his leap in.

"Oh, boy!" he exclaims as tries to figure out this one.

As Doctor Samuel Beckett tries to regain his bearings, from the hit in the head and from the leap, he realizes that he is back at the same place he was moments ago. But when in time is he, and why is he back here.

He sees Bernadette, the girl whom he saved previously. She and another girl are arguing about the play in the volley ball game. The other girl slaps her and she begins to fight her. It is quickly broken up. The girls are separated, but the friend of another girl takes a baseball bat and hit Bernadette in the knee. She collapse and cries out in pain. One of the bullies that fought Sam before goes over and yells at Bernadette calling her a slut. Sam runs over and intervenes, and the bully backs off. Sam helps Bernadette to her feet but she can't walk without help.

"Do you need medical assistance?" the gym teacher asks.

"Yeah…I think so." Bernadette responds.

Sam takes the opportunity to find answers, "I'll take her to the nurse's office."

"Okay. In the meantime I'll be writing up detention slips for these three." Pointing at the instigators of the fight.

"Thanks." Bernadette tells Sam as he helps her to the exit of the gym.

"Your welcome." He responds.

As they struggle to walk up the stairs they come past a window and Sam sees that it is thunder storming outside. He doesn't remember that Al told him that she was killed in a tornado. Sam helps her up the last step and she says, "I think I can take it from here."

"Are you sure? I mean…well…can you walk…I mean by yourself?" he asks.

"I think so. Anyway I don't think it's socially correct that you go one. You know how they act toward you." She tells looking out for his safety.

Sam realizes that talking with her on the social ramifications of junior high school didn't seem to work out.

"After all it's been…a couple months since they tried to make their point." Sam says.

"It's been six months, and nothing has really changed. And the teachers don't seem to mind since we'll all be in high school next year. Just three more weeks until freedom." She happily says.

"Six months. This is May?" Sam asks knowing that danger could be near.

Before she can respond Sam hear the familiar sound of a tornado warning.

'Back on the farm in Indiana, we had our share of tornadoes and storms. And I knew well what that sound was. We may have lived a couples miles out of town but you could still hear the tornado siren for miles around.'

"Oh, boy! We have got to get to a shelter an interior room!" Sam says.

"It's too late…" she says looking out the window that they just passed.

The Sam sees it, a F-1 tornado heading right for the school. He and Bernadette head for the middle of the hallway and Sam pushes her down against the lockers. He looks up just before it hits. The twister shatters the windows and debris flies everywhere. The suction force is incredible. Bernadette begins to be pulled down the hall but Sam grabs her arm and holds on to her. In the middle of the howling of the wind and the debris hitting the school Sam hear the familiar sound of the imaging chamber door opening. Al walks out and closes it. He looks around as paper and books and ceiling tiles fly through him and around him.

"Gushie, is this the place or did Ziggy not pinpoint Sam's location correctly."

"AL!" Sam yells out.

"Sam! What the hell is going on?" the observer asks.

Sam points to the where the window used to be and Al sees that a twister is moving off as the wind and suction die down.

Sam and Bernadette slowly get up, as Al is awestruck at what just transpired.

"Are you okay Sam?" he asks.

"Yeah…I think so. Where have you been? You know I could have had some warning."

"Sorry. Ziggy's main location circuit malfunctioned and we had a little troubled finding you. That's all. Don't blame me, Ziggy's the one who wasn't able to find you in time."

"Where am I? I mean why am I back here?"

"Well let's see. It's May 13, 1993. You're in Quincy, California. You are here to save a girl named Bern-"

"Bernadette Johnson. Yeah she's right here." As Sam points the where she was.

Al looks puzzled and then says, "Where? To whom are you referring?"

"Where did she go?"

"Wait. Did you say she still dies?"

"You're right that doesn't make sense…" as Al hit the hand link and hits a few buttons. "In the original history she was killed when a tornado hit the school. There were 23 injured and she was the only casualty. Now she is shot and killed outside of town."

"Well we have to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Hey…the are some people hurt over here." She yells from down the hallway.

Sam and Al go over to help.

'As I helped the victims of this tragedy, I couldn't help but wonder why there was little warning. Why did I leap in to save one person only to change it worse than before? Al was right…the leaps are getting harder. May it's me or just that Time, or God, or fate wants me to try harder.'

Sam helps move some of the injured out as Bernadette ushers out the ones not hurt so they can get to safety. As night falls they are both exhausted. The last few go out as she checks off their names, to keep track of when they leave.

"I should get home. My mother must be worried. Are you going too?" she asks timidly.

"I don't know." Since Sam doesn't have a clue where his home is or who his family is.

"Uh…his family is safe Sam. They weren't even in town. He's been staying with some friends. And they left two hours ago."

"I guess I could make sure you get home safe." He states.

"That would be great." She gleefully replies.

"Okay, let's get going." Sam says.

'As we walked home through the wreckage, I couldn't help but wonder why I was here again. Was it something more than leaping or was it just another coincidence. I was going to make sure I found out.'

"So…" she begins, "Why are you hell bent on changing the way people think of you and others that aren't…"

"Losers. Well what about not in the social circle. Or I don't know how about a bunch of…"

"I get the point. Why are you doing this?" Bernadette asks.

"Why not? Do you know that kids who are shunned by the rest of the class and are labeled 'losers' or loners are the ones responsible for the shootings and bomb threats and all the others things that happen to schools where they wonder what went wrong? They wonder why these kids take such drastic measures to be heard and sometimes people are hurt or worse."

"That only happens in big cities. And besides, those kids are mostly in gangs. That couldn't happen here."

"Have you ever heard of Columbine?" Sam says.

"Where?" she wonders.

"That's right you don't know it yet. There will be a shooting at a school in…Colorado. 12 students and one teacher are killed by so called losers that were shunned by kids in their high school. So don't tell me that things will be different in high school because they won't. They'll just get worse." As Sam says, trying to convince her.

"And just how do you know this? Are you some time traveling nerd who knows about things in the future?" She mockingly asks.

"Well…sort of. That's why I am here."

"You know that is why everyone thinks you're a loser. Because you think all these things will happen when they won't."

Sam grabs her and intently says, "You have to convince other people to change their ways before it's too late!"

At that moment she is startled. But then they here some people by a house nearby. Two men are robbing a house destroyed by the tornado. They try to hide behind some bushes but it's too late. The men see them and shoot. Sam it hit in the arm and Bernadette is grazed in the leg.

The looters run up to them and the first one says, "Well, look what we have here."

On the ground Bernadette screams out in pain and Sam struggles to get up but fail, and says, "Oh, Boy."

As the looters pick Sam up on hold his arms and the other tires to hit him. Sam kicks him down and the other one lets go. Then Sam super kicks the other one and the first one gets up and Sam punches him down unconscious. Sam then helps Bernadette up and they both try to run away. The run down the road and come to a clearing where they see a house.

They both collapse and Sam go over to her and ask, "Where are you hit?"

"I the leg…ooooowwwww! It hurts!" she screams out.

"The bullet just grazed you. The bleeding is minimal." Sam looks at his own wound and says, "I think the bullet went through. Aaah! There isn't much bleeding here."

Sam sees Al arrive and asks, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Wh-well…I was preoccupied. One of my daughters, just told me some wonderful news." The hologram says.

"Well, if you hadn't noticed I was just shot. So I'd like to know what is going to happen so I can avoid anymore injuries." Sam says.

"Okay. Calm down." Al punches a couple of buttons and the hand link reacts, "Sam, you're only 50 yards from her house. It's just down that trail."

Sam struggles to get up and he carries her down to her front door. Her parents come out and are happy to see she is okay, more or less.

Sam backs off and speaks with Al, "We did it!"

"Yeah, it's looks like we did Sam. Everything's going to be just fine." But then the hand link chirps with new information.

Bernadette comes over and says, "Well maybe I could try to change people minds. We could try to get everyone to get along."

"We?" Sam asks.

She leans over and kisses him and she states, "I'm pretty sure that us being together will turn a few heads."

"She walks back over to the porch as Al informs, "That was the reason why you were here Sam. To change everyone's opinion about socialization."

"So everything works out just fine?" Sam asks.

"For a couple of years…then…"

"Then…what?" Sam asks.

"I don't know how to tell you this but…she… she is the ninth victim of a serial murder in the nearby town. After that Aaron is never heard or seen again."

"Well I can't let that happen!"

"You don't have a choice. Ziggy says it was a fluke you leaped here again but you did accomplish you mission."

"But I could leap again to save her."

"Ziggy doesn't think so. And anyway you're about to leap."

Sam looks at her and tells Al, "I'll come back here. I swear I will Al."

As the glow of blue electricity surrounds Sam he leaps out to his next adventure.

Sam leaps into man who is on a sidewalk in a small town, which appears to be in the 1960's. He looks around and everyone gives him stern and means looks.

Then a passenger in a truck passing by yells out, "Go home murderer!"

Sam is confused but then reads the note he has in his hand. It reads:

Jacob Denton

Released on probation for a minimum of ten years from this date forward. July 20, 1965.

To not have contact with the Rasmussen family, of which the crime of murder was committed by the subject on December 24, 1952.

Signed the Honorable Judge P. F. Henning presiding.

Sam is shocked that he's leaped into a parolee, and spouts, "Oh, Boy."