Quick note: I'm starting to look for a betareader, preferably someone who doesn't mind slash and is a fan of Quantum Leap but I guess I can have more than one. Obviously those stories will be posted on fanfiction but I have a few stories that can be posted on psychfic. Let me know if anyone is interested :D

CHAPTER 23

When they got to Beth's house, they saw Frisco in the front window barking at them. Beth smiled as they continued up the driveway and whispered, "Oh, I've missed you do much Frisco." Figuring that she wasn't looking for a response, Carlton pointed out to Henry about how far to park in order to close the gate.

Getting out of the low car was a bit difficult for Beth with the crutches but with help from Henry, they eventually made it up to the backdoor without a problem. Amy had mentioned that Susie and her "secret" boyfriend had made sure that the driveway and paths were both shoveled and salted. Amy had made a minor comment about wanting to know who the boyfriend was but left it at that.

Carlton unlocked the door and went in first in order to move Frisco out of the way. But the dog was a tad bit determined and pushed right past Carlton and tried to jump on Beth.

"EEK!" She exclaimed as she stumbled back a bit. Luckily Henry was behind her and helped to steady her. "Geez Frisco, take it easy!"

"Come on, dog," Carlton said as he pulled the dog back a few feet.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Beth finally moved into the house some more, letting Frisco get a clear view of Henry. The dog started back and tried to get closer to Henry.

Henry simply crossed his arms and said calmly, "Don't even try it dog."

Frisco immediately started growling which only caused Henry to glared. After a minute, the dog finally stopped, even put his head down slightly.

Beth laughed as she took off her coat. "Dang Henry, I think that you're even worse than Carlton when it comes to dogs."

Carlton looked at her confusedly as Henry stepped forward and pet Frisco briefly as he said, "You just have to show them you're not a push over, that you're in charge. That way if something happens, it will look to you for guidance instead of freaking out too much."

"Hmm, food for thought I guess." Beth shrugged before making her way to the living room. She stopped at the doorway and asked, "Can one of you guys get me a glass of water? I obviously have my hands full."

"Sure," Carlton replied as he let Frisco go and went to the sink. They had packed most of the dishes Sunday afternoon, only leaving out what they thought they would still need. Although, with Henry and who knows how many people that might stop by before they leave, they would most likely have to unpack some more.

After taking off his coat, Henry went over to the fridge and looked inside.

"Amy is getting dinner." Carlton commented as he headed for the living room.

"I know, I just want to make sure that nothing will go bad in the next day or so. Looks like some nice steaks here."

"Yeah, I forgot that Beth was going to make some stir-fry tonight since the plans were for Amy and her family to come over."

"Well, I can cook the steak tonight and then we can have it for either breakfast or lunch tomorrow."

"Okay, but Beth didn't really want either of us to be cooking when we're doing so much for her already."

Henry chuckled as he got out the steak and vegetables. "That kid needs to learn to accept help from others. Besides, I'd rather cook it and have her be a little upset then let it go to waste."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Carlton commented as he stepped into the living room and walked to the couch.

"Warn him of what?" Beth asked sleepily as she took the glass of water. She had her foot elevated on the coffee table with Frisco on the couch next to her and Murphy on her lap.

"That you would prefer it if neither of us cooked."

"Isn't Amy bringing food?"

"Yes, but Henry is cooking up the steak before it goes bad so we can have it tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. As long as he cooks it medium-well, it's fine by me."

"I'm pretty sure he knows hoe you like it but I'll remind him anyways."

"Thanks Carly! You're such a dear," Beth grinned brightly.

Carlton growled as he turned back to the kitchen. "Don't call me Carly."

"But you're okay with me calling you dear? Now that's interesting…."

Carlton ignored her slight laugh as he went to help Henry, who was opening all the drawers. "Where are the skillets?" Henry asked.

"Oh, um probably still in the dishwasher." Carlton moved around him and opened the dishwasher. "Beth had decided to make as much food as possible yesterday morning which somehow involved using 2 skillets, a pan and 2 saucepans."

"Wow. How much food did she make?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know," Carlton replied as his phone went off. Stepping aside, he answered quickly, "Lassiter."

"Hello Mr. Lassiter! This is Cecelia with Pods moving and storage. I'm calling to confirm your order."

"Right, yeah. Sorry, it's been a crazy 24 hours." Carlton went over to the kitchen table where they had left the paperwork.

"It's okay sir. Now, we have you down for a 9am drop off tomorrow morning and then a 5pm pick up Wednesday afternoon. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. And then it will be delivered to our storage center in Ventura, California next Monday, around 7pm. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"Good. Do you have any questions?"

"Do I need to be there for pick up or delivery?"

"Only for the initial drop off sir, although we do recommend someone to be there for the other two."

"Okay, thank you. Is that it?"

"Yes, unless you have any other questions?"

"No, I don't."

"Alrighty then. We'll see you tomorrow morning. Thank you for choosing Pods for your moving and storage needs."

"Yeah, no problem." Carlton quickly hung up as he noticed Amy coming to the back door with quite a few bags. Opening the door for her, he asked, "Got enough food?"

Amy laughed as she went past him and placed the food on the kitchen counter. "Probably, but I wasn't sure what type of Chinese food you guys liked so I got a good variety. Plus, it makes great leftovers." She took off her coat as Frisco entered the room. "Hey buddy! How's it going?" Frisco barked excitedly and then went back into the living room after Amy petted him. "Oh, thanks for the love!" She huffed, hanging her coat on a chair.

"Beth's in the other room and Frisco seemed pretty excited to see her." Carlton said as he grabbed a few plates.

"Hey! Don't dirty up those dishes! I bought some disposable plates and silverware while I was waiting for the prescriptions." She started emptying the bags when she noticed that Henry was standing over the stove. "And what are you making? I have perfectly good Chinese food right here!"

Henry laughed as he turned to face her. "Well, I couldn't let this nice steak go to waste. It'll make a good breakfast meal."

"Alright then," Amy smiled as she put spoons in the containers. "Hey Carlton, does Beth still like orange chicken?"

"Yeah. She won't eat anything too spicy or with soy sauce though."

"She still doesn't like soy sauce?" Amy laughed as she started filling a plate. "Okay, I guess I'll stick to the classics that she loves. Help yourselves. Whatever doesn't get eaten I'll talk home with me." Amy gave them a smile as she went into the living room with two plates.

By the time Carlton had filled his plate and entered the living room, Beth was halfheartedly picking at her food while Amy was trying to find something to watch on tv. He sat down in the chair closest to Beth and asked, "What's wrong?"

Beth yawned and said, "Nothing, I'm just tired and Amy interrupted my nap."

"Hey!" Amy laughed. "You've had a long day and will need your strength for yet another long day tomorrow."

"I agree," Carlton commented as he started on his food.

Beth sighed as she took a bite. After a moment to chew, she said, "You know, Chinese was never one of my favorite meals."

Amy shrugged, "Sorry, but there weren't a whole lot of choices with the storm and you said that you wanted pizza tomorrow."

"It's okay," Beth yawned again as she slowly ate her food.

After everyone had there fill of Chinese and the movie came to a close, Amy stood up quietly and nodded for Carlton to follow her to the kitchen. Beth had fallen asleep not yet an hour ago and Henry had gotten a call from Shawna few minutes earlier and was outside.

As they packed up the Chinese food, Amy said, "So, I've been doing some thinking about logistics for tomorrow."

"Okay," Carlton nodded.

"I figured that while Beth is at vet appointments, you and Henry can stay here and do some more packing. I'm going to call a few of the high schoolers from church who are on break this week and see if they can help load up the storage unit. I'll probably show up around 1 or 2 with them, hopefully without Adam, but no guarantees. Last I heard, Bobby should be bringing Beth's car by 4, but Bobby's not very good with deadlines so he might be an hour or too late. Then I told my parents that I would be by around 5 to pick them up and bring them over. Hopefully they won't want to stay too long and we'll leave by 8. If everything goes well, you guys should be on the road by noon tomorrow!"

Carlton laughed slightly once Amy was done. "Wow, you definitely have it all planned out."

"What can I say, I'm a planner." She smiled brightly and went to get her coat. "I'm just glad that I'm not going with you guys. 3 people in Beth's car with a dog and 2 cats for half a week, no thanks."

Henry chuckled as he came back inside. "Thanks to Shawn, we won't have to worry about that now."

"Why? What did he do this time?" Carlton asked cautiously.

"Nothing bad, I think. He put me in touch with a couple and their son who own an RV and would appreciate it if we brought it to a town just outside of Las Vegas. The couple's oldest granddaughter just had their first kid so they flew out to see them and would appreciate being able to drive back. I'm meeting the son tomorrow morning to pick it up."

"Nice to know that your son is good for something." Carlton said.

"Hey!" Amy laughed. "Beth told me that he is very good at solving crimes."

"Yeah," Carlton snorted. "with his so-called psychic visions. He doesn't take things seriously and usually ends up embarrassing the police department."

"Anyways," Henry interrupted. "I was wondering if you had a map or road atlas? The airport only gave me one of the main roads near Cleveland and I need to get to Pittsburgh."

Amy sighed, "No, sorry I don't and I know that Beth keeps hers in her car. But I bet you can use Beth's computer, assuming of course she hasn't packed it or her printer yet."

"No, they're still hooked up since she was in the process of figuring out our route and what motels allowed pets. I also have my laptop, just in case." Carlton said.

"Okay. Thanks."

"Now that we have that settled, I'm going to go say goodnight to Beth." Amy smiled as she went into the other room.

Once they were alone, Carlton asked, "You do know how to drive an RV, right?"

"Yes, I do." Henry sighed as he went to the sink to wash the few dishes that were there. "I'll have you know that my family use to go camping in them from time to time, even though I preferred tents and would sometimes sleep out in one when given the chance. I even had a few assignments that involved RVs. It's really not that hard. Besides, would you rather be packed in a tiny car for 4 days?"

"No, not really. At least your son isn't here."

"Amen to that," Henry chuckled as Amy came back into the room.

"I told her that I will be back tomorrow after 1 and Susie will be by around 10. If you want to get her upstairs, now would be the time to do it before she falls back asleep." Amy said as she picked up her bags. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow. Have a goodnight!"

"Night," Carlton called as he went into the living room. Beth had slouched over onto her side with her ankle still resting on the coffee table. Sighing, he said, "Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Time for bed."

Beth whined as she covered her head. "Why can't you guys just let me sleep?"

"We will. Just as soon as you get upstairs to bed."

"So not fair," Beth mumbled as she sat up. "It's so much work! Why can't I stay down here!"

"Because not only is your bathroom upstairs, but so are your clothes," Carlton said as he handed her the crutches. "Now get moving. The sooner you get upstairs, the sooner you can get back to sleep."

"Fine!" She huffed as she slowly got up and made her way to the stairs. "Next time I get a house, it's going to have a bathroom on the main floor, even if I have to build one myself."

"Have fun with that," Carlton commented, ignoring Beth sticking out her tongue.

Henry laughed as he entered the room. "Glad to see you two are still getting along so well."

"Yeah me, too." Carlton sighed as he watched Murphy and Frisco follow her. "As soon as she's upstairs, I can show you where the computer is and the guest bedroom."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"The couch. It's not that bad."

"Nonsense, I have to leave around 7 anyways, so it only makes sense that I sleep down here and not disturb either of you in the morning."

"Fine. I'm too tired to argue anyways."