by
Jessica Parker and Jayelle Carey

Beta-read by Kim Jones

Blue sky.  Vast blue without a single cloud, only a sun that was high in the mid-afternoon sky, shining brightly.  Quinn stared up at it.  He was lying on his back, trying to breathe.  He finally shifted his gaze to the steep, rocky hillside that he rested at the bottom of.  The vortex had opened right at the edge of it.  He'd been first out this time - instead of taking the rear as usual - followed by Wade and Maggie.  Then came Rembrandt and Arturo.  They'd all hit into his back, causing him to lose his balance.  He thought he remembered Wade falling with him.  He painfully turned his head to look around him.  He spotted her a short ways from himself.  She wasn't moving and her back was towards him, making it impossible to tell if she was conscious.  As he tried to go to her, a bolt of pain shot through his entire body.  He tried again to move, but nothing happened.

Quinn pulled his eyes from Wade and looked at his blood-streaked hand.  He concentrated on moving his fingers.  Nothing.  He focussed harder, but he couldn't even feel his hand.  He couldn't feel anything.  Only the pain.

Moaning in agony, he returned his gaze to Wade, helpless to do anything for her.  He said a silent prayer that she was still alive.  He couldn't even tell if she was breathing.  He continued to stare at her as his vision began to blur.

After a while, Quinn heard voices calling out his name and Wade's.  The sound drew nearer and he wondered how Rembrandt and the professor had gotten down to them so quickly.

Arturo went hurriedly to Wade, and Rembrandt kneeled beside Quinn.  Maggie was still at the top of the steep hillside, which was actually more like a cliff.  She'd started to fall also, but had been able to stop herself before she went very far.  She wanted to help Quinn and Wade, but Arturo had insisted that she stay put.  She'd sprained her ankle, and he felt it would be dangerous for her to make the climb, despite the fact that they'd found a spot that allowed them to make it easily down.

"Hey, Q-ball," Rembrandt said.  "Can you hear me?"

Quinn didn't even move as Rembrandt placed a hand on his arm.  He didn't really even feel it.  He lifted his unfocused eyes slowly to his concerned friend.  He couldn't even breathe properly anymore.  His chest felt heavy and his mouth was full of blood.  "Remmy," he mumbled.  "I think I'm in trouble."

"Yeah, I know," Rembrandt interrupted him.  "You had quite a fall.  Just try to lie still."

Quinn shifted his view back to Wade.  "Help her," he managed to say, then he coughed and choked a few times.  He figured that they were probably too late to do anything for him.  He knew that he was hurt badly.  Very badly.  He let his eyes close as he felt himself slipping into the darkness that surrounded him.

"Q-ball, no you don't!  Come on, man, don't do this!" Rembrandt said frantically, noticing the blood on his lip.  He tried to keep him from losing consciousness.  "Don't even think about dying on me!"

Arturo joined Rembrandt by Quinn's side when he heard his words.  Wade was unconscious, but she was still breathing and had a steady pulse.  Their first priority was Quinn since he appeared to be more seriously injured.  One look told Arturo that Rembrandt was right - Quinn was indeed dying.  He gently touched the side of Quinn's head and inspected the bruise that was already forming there.  He wondered how hard he'd hit his head.  *Concussion,* jumped unbidden into his mind.  "Mr. Mallory, try to stay awake, my boy," he said firmly.  "Stay with us."

Quinn could hear their voices growing further away, although he knew they were still right next to him.  He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't.  He just listened as the voices of his worried friends faded.

"I saw a pay phone over there," Maggie said.  She was limping, but she knew things were more serious than they'd thought.  She was needed.  "Apparently we're not that far from civilization.  Remmy, go call for help!"

"Yeah, okay."

"Hurry, we're going to lose him!" Arturo called to Rembrandt.  He didn't even give Maggie a second glance before returning his attention to Quinn.  He was glad she hadn't listened to him and had come anyway.  He wondered if her military training included any medical knowledge.  "Quinn, my boy, just hold on," he told him.

"Quinn, you have to stay awake," Maggie said insistently, kneeling opposite Arturo.  "Quinn..."

Everything went silent.
 

*****

What if there was a world where the Russians ruled America?
Or where the dinosaurs never died off?
Or where women were in control instead of men?

These worlds do exist.  Same planet, different universe.  My
friends and I have found the gateway to reach them.  Now all
we have to do... is find a way to get home....

SLIDERS... Infinite Slides....
Based On the Original "Sliders" TV Series
Created by Tracy Torme and Robert K. Weiss

*****
 

When she woke up, everything felt strange.  Wade opened her eyes, then squinted against the light as she adjusted to the brightness of the neon bulb above her.  She was in a hospital room.  She wondered how she'd gotten there and how badly she was hurt.

"Hi, sweetheart," Rembrandt said, noticing that she was awake.  "How do you feel?"

"Just a dull ache all over."  She inspected the IV that was pricking her hand.  "What happened?"

"You had a pretty nasty tumble.  You're lucky you came out of it so well.  You only have a broken arm, some scrapes and bruises, and a slight concussion.  But you sure had us scared for a while there."  He half smiled at her.

The fall came back to her and she realized that only having a broken arm after that was very lucky indeed.  She wasn't even in that much pain.  She decided that she must be on a lot pain killers.  "How are the others?"

Rembrandt hesitated a moment before answering.  "You and Quinn are the only ones that fell.  The professor is fine.  Maggie sprained her ankle, but she's okay too.  She's in her own room sleeping."

Wade sensed that something was wrong.  Why had he only said that Arturo and Maggie were fine?  "What about Quinn?"  She looked around the room.  She and Rembrandt were alone.  "Does he have his own room?  Where is he?  I want to see him."  She started to get up.

Rembrandt put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently but firmly back down.  "You're staying in bed.  You need to rest."

"Where is he?" Wade asked again.  She noticed now that Rembrandt didn't look so good.  He seemed tired and worried.  Something was very wrong.

"Quinn will be fine," he told her.  "Now go back to sleep, sweetheart."

Wade could tell that there was something he wasn't telling her.  "Don't lie to me, Remmy.  I'm not a little kid; you don't have to protect me.  Just tell me what's wrong with Quinn.  Please."  Her voice pleaded with him to tell her.

Rembrandt rubbed his face with his hands.  He decided to just tell her everything.  "Quinn was hurt pretty badly.  Wade, he..."  At her terrified look, he quickly reassured her.  "He's still alive.  Don't worry, he's alive..."

"There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?"  She gazed nervously at him.

"I'm afraid so."

"Remmy, where is he?"  She looked like she was about to cry.

Rembrandt frowned.  "He's in surgery again.  Arturo is with him incase there are more complications."

"I want to see him."

"Wade, you can't.  Not now.  You don't want to be in there."  He patted her good arm comfortingly.

Wade let the tears break free and run down her face.  This was serious.  "What all is wrong with him?"

"He has a few broken ribs and serious internal injuries.  He also took a really bad blow to the head.  They thought they had him stable for a while, but..."  He sighed then walked over to the window and looked out.  The sun had gone completely down outside.  He absently wondered when that had happened.  He looked back at Wade and continued.  "They can't get the bleeding stopped.  It doesn't look good."

-----

"Give me some more suction!" one of the doctors yelled.  "I can't see anything!"

"I can't," answered a girl doctor whose hands were now covered with blood.  "He's bleeding too much!"

Another doctor shoved his way in between the others.  "God, Carter, where are you even at?"

"He's crashing!"

The pulsing green line on the screen behind the patient went flat.

"Defib - 300!  Clear!"

The patient's body jerked, but the line stayed flat.

"Nothing.  No response!"

"Again!"

The electrical paddles were slapped down a few more times.  Still with no luck.

"We've lost him."

"No," Carter yelled, then tried dramatically for another few minutes to revive him.

"Forget it.  He's gone."

"Call it."

Wade's lip trembled as she watched the doctor chart the time of death on a clipboard.

"Hey, Wade."  Rembrandt came in and took the TV remote from her, then flicked off ER.  "You okay?"

She quickly wiped her eyes with her uninjured hand as he set the remote on the table then pulled a chair over to her bed.  "How is he?"

"They're still working on him."  Rembrandt looked at her frightened face, then continued.  "We won't know anything until we see how he comes out of the operation."  She felt the tears well up.  "Quinn will pull through this.  He always does; he's strong."

"But is he strong enough?"  She searched Rembrandt's eyes.  "Tell me.  Is Quinn going to die?"

When he hesitated before answering, Wade started to get up.  "He'll make it," Rembrandt insisted, grabbing her.

She shook him off and swung her legs over the side of the bed.  "I have to see him."

"Wade, no.  You have to stay here."

"I can't," she stated flatly as she pulled the IV from her hand.  She ran from the room before he could stop her.

-----

Wade managed to find the room where Quinn was.  A group of doctors hovered around him as Arturo stood back watching them.  She looked through the glass at them, then pushed open the door and entered.  She walked partially over to them without being noticed.  Her face became stricken with horror when she caught a glimpse of Quinn.

"Oh my God.  Quinn..."  Wade had to grab a table with her good arm to steady herself.

Quinn looked terrible.  There hadn't been a chance to clean him up like they had her.  His face was sweaty and his hair was tangled with blood and dirt.  She looked at the small pieces of tape on his mouth that held the tube in place.  Realization that he probably couldn't breathe without it washed over her.  She saw a bag of blood hanging next to a
similar clear one, and felt a deep wave of panic hit her.

Wade held her breath as she stepped closer so she could get a better look at him.  Arturo spotted her and went over, seeking to block her view.  "Wade, you shouldn't be here."

Pale and shaking, she stood silently, reeling against the tight knot of fear she felt for Quinn.  Rembrandt finally entered the room, and Arturo took him by the arm firmly.  "You shouldn't have let her come here," he said sternly, and then motioned for the nurses to get Wade out of there.  His gaze returned harshly to Rembrandt.  "What were you thinking?"

"Well, I didn't exactly *let* her come," he said in frustration.  "She kinda did that on her own."

Arturo looked back at Wade who was still stunned but refusing to be taken out.  Her face was streaked with tears.  "Make sure she leaves," he told Rembrandt.  "Look how much just seeing him like this has upset her.  This is the last place I want her to be should he die."  He walked back over to the doctors.

Rembrandt nodded in agreement, then moved to take care of Wade who was struggling with the nurses.  She was being careful to protect her broken arm, but kept squirming and managed to break free from them as they tried to calmly guide her out.

Wade felt a strong pair of hands grab her shoulders, and she suddenly found herself facing Rembrandt.  "Come on, let's go," he said softly to her.

"I'm not leaving," she replied defiantly.  "I should be with him.  He--"  She stopped mid-sentence as she felt a sharp pick in her upper arm.  She glared angrily at the nurse who'd just injected her with something.

Rembrandt protectively wrapped his arm around Wade to keep her from falling as the sedative began to work.  He gave the nurse a grateful look, then picked Wade up and carefully carried her to back to her room.

-----

Wade felt groggy when she woke up.  She was back in her room again.  Rembrandt was with her.  She glared at him.  "That wasn't necessary," she snapped, rubbing her arm even though the sore from the needle had long since worn off.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he apologized.  "But you kinda lost it in there.  You're probably still a little loopy from the pain killers they gave you.  And you're suppose to still be under observation.  You shouldn't have left your room in your condition.  I think the sleep even did you some good.  You look better."

"How long?"  She wanted to know what had happened while she'd been asleep.

"About five hours.  You took a nice long nap."

She sat up suddenly, causing her head to spin a bit.  "Quinn?  What happened to him?"

"He made it through surgery," Rembrandt answered.  "But, because he was in so much pain, they had to give him drugs that the professor had never heard of.  He had a reaction to some of them, probably because he's not from this world - we've been having a lot of trouble with that.  The professor made up some excuse for it.  A genetic thing or something; I forget what."  He rubbed his eyes.  "Anyway, he seems stable for now.  All his vital signs are pretty much normal.  But they couldn't wake him."

"He'll be alright though, won't he?  I mean, he's going to wake up soon, right?"  Her voice trembled with nervousness.

Rembrandt rubbed his face with his hands again.  He dreaded what he had to tell her next.  "Wade," he said hesitantly, "Quinn slipped into a coma about half an hour ago."

-----

Arturo got up as Wade and Rembrandt entered the room.  He offered his chair to Wade.  She gave him a small smile in thanks as she sat down on the chair and scooted it closer to Quinn's bed.  She knew that this was hard for Arturo also.  He hadn't known Quinn as long as they had, but Quinn was already almost like a son to him.  They were all like family.

Rembrandt watched as Wade gently took Quinn's hand in her own.  Tears rolled down her face.  He walked over to her and put a supporting hand on her shoulder.

Wade looked at Quinn sadly.  He looked better now, but still not well.  The blood streaks on his face had been wiped off and his hair didn't have as much dirt in it.  The tube that had been down his throat had even been replaced with an oxygen mask.  He appeared to be sleeping, but she knew that she couldn't just make a loud noise and wake him up.

Wade shifted her gaze to Rembrandt and Arturo.  "When's the slide?" she asked them.

"There isn't one," Arturo said, avoiding her eyes.  "The timer was damaged in the fall.  I doubt it can be repaired."

"Oh," Wade's voice was hollow, devoid of emotion.  She turned back to Quinn.  She remembered that he'd had the timer the last slide.

"Not that it matters," Arturo said.  "We couldn't have slid with Quinn in this condition."

"Yeah," Wade said simply as she pushed some of Quinn's hair from his forehead then ran her hand carefully down the side of his face, avoiding the bruise that ranged from the top of his cheek into his hair.  There would have been no discussion over what to do had the timer worked.  They all knew that none of them would have taken the slide.  With Quinn so badly hurt, it wasn't even an option.  They needed him.

Rembrandt watched her with him.  She hadn't even seemed to care that the timer had been destroyed.  All her thoughts were on Quinn, as were his.  None of them could bear to lose Quinn.  He turned to the professor and exchanged an unspoken conversation with him.  They both quietly left the room, leaving Wade alone with Quinn for a while.

Outside the room, a nurse approached them.  "She'll need to go back to her room now," she said, indicating Wade.  "You two can stay in the waiting area the rest of the night if you'd like."

Arturo nodded.  It would be impossible to get a hotel at this hour, and they all would want to be here if anything happened with Quinn.

Rembrandt turned to the nurse.  "Can't she stay in there for tonight?  You'd have a hell of a time getting her to leave."

The nurse looked at Wade through the glass window that separated them from Quinn's room in the ICU.  She was holding Quinn's hand and her head was leaning against both their arms.  Her lips were moving slightly as she spoke quietly to Quinn.  "She's still supposed to be under observation."  She looked again at Wade who was still crying.  "But I guess it wouldn't hurt too much if I let her stay.  I don't want to be the one to separate them.  They're such a cute couple.  I sure hope he pulls through this, for her sake at least."

Arturo and Rembrandt exchanged an interested look with each other as the nurse left.  Rembrandt smiled, trying to lighten the gloomy mood they all had.  "If you walk her down the isle, I get to be the best man," he joked.

Arturo laughed and patted Rembrandt on the back as they headed for the waiting area.  "Very well, Mr. Brown," he agreed, thankful for the chance to smile again after the long day.  "Very well."

---

Wade woke up with her head resting on Quinn's bed.  Their fingers were still intertwined.  She gently kissed his hand before letting it go so she could push her hair from her face.  Then she checked on Quinn.  He was still in a coma.

"God, Quinn," Wade sighed.  She softly caressed the side of his face.  "How did this happen?"

He remained motionless and she felt the tears start to blur in her eyes again.  "How did this happen to us?  I'm scared, Quinn.  We're all stuck here, you know?  The timer was damaged in the fall.  Just like that, we're all stranded here.  I don't even know where here is.  All I've seen of this world is the inside of this hospital.  I'm afraid of what might be outside, Quinn.  I don't want to have to go face some new world.  I'm afraid to start over.  We have nowhere to stay and no money either.  I guess we'll need to find jobs.  But what really scares me is having to start my life again.  Having to start over without you."

Wade started seriously crying then and rubbed her eyes before taking his hand again.  Her whole life had changed in a heartbeat.  "You have to wake up, Quinn.  I can't handle this without you.  I need you, Quinn.  I mean, I don't even know what a normal life is anymore.  For the past couple years, normal has been you and the others.  You're my life.  And if we are actually stuck here forever, I don't care.  It wouldn't matter as long you, Remmy, the professor, and even Maggie are right here with me, making everything normal again.  You make me feel safe.  I love you, Quinn, you're my best friend.  Please don't leave me."

-----

Maggie ran her hands through her messed-up hair as she sat next to Arturo and Rembrandt in the waiting area early that morning.  They had just waken up from not very sound or comfortable sleeps.  "Sorry I was asleep so long," she apologized.  "I guess I shouldn't have taken those pain pills last night."

"How's the ankle?" Rembrandt asked her.

"The doctor said not to use it any more than I have to.  But it's feeling much better."  She sighed.  "How's Quinn?  I heard about his condition.  Any change?"

Rembrandt shook his head.  "I think he's still in a coma.  We were just about to go check on him."

"You should have waken me last night," Maggie said as they got up and walked down the hall.  "You said that you would if anything happened, and I'd consider falling into a coma something."

Arturo stopped and looked at her.  "I'm sorry.  But your losing sleep wouldn't have changed things any.  We figured it best to just let you get some rest."

Maggie just continued walking again.  She decided to drop the subject.  Fighting was the last thing they needed now.

-----

Wade was crying again when the others entered the room.  She brushed the tears from her eyes and then looked up at them.

"How is he?" Maggie asked her.

"No change."  Wade looked sadly back at Quinn.

"He'll be alright," Maggie said positively, even though she wasn't so sure at all.  In fact, she was almost certain that Quinn wouldn't be alright.  "But we have to start thinking about how to fix the timer.  Maybe we can go find out if Quinn has a double on this world.  He might be able to help us."

Shocked, Wade turned her head to look at Maggie.  "What?  How can you think about sliding when Quinn is in a coma?  How insensitive are you?  Don't you care about anyone other than yourself?"

"Wade," Arturo said, "Maggie is right.  We can't just sit here."

Wade swallowed hard and looked away, thinking that maybe she agreed.  "I'm sorry," she apologized to Maggie.  "But sliding still isn't our first priority.  Quinn is.  We have to think about him.  We might not be able to just fix the timer and slide out of here when he gets better.  And we don't even know how long it will be until he is.  So we have to start thinking about that."

"About what?" Maggie asked irritably.  "We still have to find a way to fix the timer."

"And if there isn't one?" Wade asked.  "What then?  We can't just run away this time.  We have to face the fact that we might be stuck here.  And that is going to be expensive."  She looked at Quinn again then back at them.  "We're broke."

Rembrandt sighed.  "She's right.  We're gonna need some good paying jobs.  Hospital bills are going to be outrageous."

-----

"Any luck?" Wade asked the others late that afternoon.  They'd all gone job hunting.  She'd stayed at the hospital all day.  She'd said that she wasn't feeling so great, and Rembrandt had insisted that she wait a day or so before looking for a job.  She'd known he'd say that and felt a little guilty.  She really didn't feel good, but it was because of Quinn's and not her own physical condition as she'd let on.

Rembrandt smiled at her.  "The Cryin' Man gots himself a job singing at a night club.  Real classy joint with good pay.  I hung around there all morning."

"I'll be substitute-teaching a course on physics at the local high school," Arturo said.

"That's great, guys," Wade congratulated them.  "Maggie, what about you?"

"Oh, I got a job also," she said simply.

"Well, what it is?"

"I'm working at a..."  She sneezed and Wade couldn't make out anything else that she'd said.

"A what?" Wade inquired.

Maggie looked uncomfortable as she mumbled, "A dog groomer."

Wade held back a laugh.  "What was that?"

Maggie glared at her, but Rembrandt couldn't help but tell Wade.  "She's working at Pretty Poodle, the best doggie salon in California."

Wade, Rembrandt, and Arturo all started laughing then.  "Pretty Poodle?  That's really great, Mag."  Wade couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing again.

"Hey, it pays better than being a waitress," Maggie defended herself, but her pride took a beating anyway.  She was a military captain, not a dog groomer.

"Ouch," Wade complained and adjusted her sling.  "Maggie, stop making me laugh.  Your job is hazardous to my health."

Rembrandt cracked up at that remark and Wade had to try hard to hold back her laughter so as to not hurt her arm any further.

Maggie crossed her arms over her chest.  "Are you about through?"

Rembrandt was about to say "no," but a janitor walked into the cafeteria and cut him off.  "The hospital cafeteria is closing in a few minutes; it's almost five.  Visiting hours are also over, so I suggest you all should head home."  He started picking up trash and paid them no more attention.

"I think it would be best if we head back to the hotel," Arturo said.  "I got us a room at the Motel 12.  It's small, but it should be sufficient for the five... four of us," he corrected himself.

Wade frowned, all traces of her laughter from a minute ago were gone.  "I think I'll stay here again tonight."

"You can't, Wade," Maggie said.  "You're better and we can't afford to keep you here."

"But I could sleep on a chair in Quinn's room," Wade protested.

Rembrandt put an arm around her.  "You can't.  Visiting hours are very strict here - ten to five, period.  The other night was just an exception.  Come on, let's go to the hotel."

"I'm just gonna run up to Quinn's room real fast," Wade said.  "You go ahead and I'll catch up with you in a minute."

Rembrandt nodded and she rushed off.  If she hurried, she'd get there a minute before visiting hours ended.

Maggie watched her go.  "I'm worried about her," she said to Rembrandt and Arturo.  "How much does she know?"

Rembrandt frowned.  "Enough."

-----

A doctor stopped Wade when she got to Quinn's door and started to open it.  "I'm afraid visiting hours ended, Miss."

"But I'll just be a minute," Wade said in as polite a voice as she could manage.

"I'm afraid that is still against the rules."

"But I--" Wade started to argue.

"I'll have to ask that you leave now, Miss," the doctor interrupted her.

"Yes, sir," Wade relented and turned back down the hall.  She stopped around the corner and waited for the doctor to leave, then made her way back to Quinn's room and slipped inside.  "Visiting hours suck," she mumbled under her breath.

She walked over to Quinn's bed and ran her fingers slowly over his hand then slipped her hand into his.  "I can't stay here tonight," she said sadly.  "But I'll be back first thing in the morning.  Well, after ten, anyway."  She kissed his forehead and then quietly left the room before she got caught.

-----

Wade sat down at the small table in their motel room right after she walked inside.  "So, what's this world like?" she asked.  "I didn't see much through the cab's windows."  They'd started out walking the two miles to the motel, but it had rained most of the trip there and they'd decided to get a taxi.  The driver had been Pavel, which made her feel a little bit more comfortable, but she still didn't like the thought of being stuck here.

"Hey, what's for dinner?" Rembrandt asked Maggie as he took a seat.

She sat also.  "I don't know; I didn't get the food."

Arturo laid the door key on the counter, and then he frowned when he noticed the others looking at him.  "The food wasn't my job."

"Well, you both neglected to ask me to get it," Rembrandt retorted.

Maggie got up and started searching the cabinets.

Wade sighed.  "We met in the hospital cafeteria.  You should have thought to eat there."

"Hospital food?"  Maggie stopped looking at the contents of the shelves long enough to frown at Wade.  "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah, girl," Rembrandt agreed.  "That stuff shouldn't even be called food."  He joined Maggie in her search.

Wade just shrugged.  "Whatever."

"Hey, I found some Corn Flakes," Maggie announced proudly.  "Got any milk?"

"Ooo, what have we here?" Rembrandt said excitedly.

Arturo snatched up the bag of powdered doughnuts before Rembrandt could touch them.  "I have the holy grail of food substances.  You, Mr. Brown, have nothing."

Maggie grabbed the bag and held it up over her head.  "Ladies first."

"We all know that you're not a lady, Maggie," Wade commented.

"Fine."  Maggie tossed the bag back to Arturo.  "But then you're not getting any either."

"I'm not hungry anyway," Wade said.  "Now, back to this world.  What did you find out?"

Arturo sat down across from her and bit into a doughnut-hole before talking.  "Well, I was able to do a little research about this world.  It's basically like the one I come from - probably similar to yours also - but it's about twenty years behind in electronic advancements and all scientific discoveries."

"Including medical technology?" Wade asked.

"I'm afraid so," Arturo replied.

Wade rubbed her temples.  "Things just keep getting worse."

"I wish the timer was still working," Maggie sighed.

"And if it was?" Wade asked.  "What then?  Slide and pray for a miracle?  We don't know how much a slide would hurt Quinn.  And we could end up with a month's stay on a world with no society at all!"

"We could use a good miracle right about now."  Maggie closed the Corn Flakes box and walked across the room.  "We deserve one."  She added too quietly for Wade to hear, "And God only knows how much we need one."

-----

Wade moaned in pain as she pulled a large sweat-shirt over her head.  The room was cold, so they had all helped themselves to the clothes that had been left behind by whoever had stayed there last.  There were only a few sweats, but Wade was grateful for them.  She bit her lip as she adjusted her arm in the sleave.  She wished there'd been some aspirin left behind also.

She turned on the sink and washed her face with one hand.  She ended up getting water all over herself.  She groaned and grabbed a towel to dry off with.  Everything was harder without being able to use her other arm.  She hung the towel back up and then joined the others who were watching the TV.

"Lose a fight with a garden hose?" Maggie asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did," retorted Wade.

Maggie felt sorry for her comment.  Wade obviously wasn't in the mood for jokes.  "Sorry, Wade," she apologized.  "How's your arm?"

"Hurts like hell."  She wasn't in the mood to put on a happy face.  She was miserable.

"Maybe a good night's sleep will help," suggested Maggie.  "What side do you want?"

For the first time, Wade noticed that there were only two beds in the room.  Arturo was lying on one, Rembrandt had the couch, and Maggie was sitting on the other waiting for her to decide.  Wade groaned.  "Can't you just sleep on the floor?  I tend to kick in my sleep."  She felt a twinge of guilt as she realized how rude that had sounded.  "I guess old habits die hard.  I'll take the right."

"It's okay," Maggie said.  "Now come on and get some sleep."

Wade laid down in bed, but she knew she wouldn't be able sleep.

-----

Rembrandt threw a pillow at Wade.  "Rise and shine!  Get up, get breakfast, and get a job."

Wade groaned and pulled the sheet tighter over her.  She didn't feel like getting up and facing the world.

Maggie walked out of the bathroom and sat down at the table.  "Anything for breakfast?"

Rembrandt offered her the box of Corn Flakes.

"Never mind."  Maggie got up and headed for the door.  "I'm late for work anyway.  Max already leave?"

Rembrandt nodded.  "Yeah, he went early to prepare for his class."

Maggie looked over at Wade.  "She still asleep?"

"I dunno, but she should get up soon.  I'll stick around until she is."

"'Kay, I'll see you later at the hospital," Maggie said and then left.

Rembrandt put the cereal away, then went over and sat on the edge of Wade's bed.  "You awake, sweetheart?"

Wade rolled over a bit and looked at him.  "Yeah, I'm awake."

"Well, you'd better get up so you can start job hunting."

"I think I'll pass on that, Remmy."

Rembrandt sighed.  "Come on, girl, it's just a job.  I'm sure you'll find something."

"It's not the job," Wade said.  "I just don't feel like getting up.  I think I'll just rest for today."

"Let me guess," Rembrandt said.  "At the hospital with Quinn is where you plan on resting, right?  At least between ten and five, that is.  I know you're not planning on sleeping all day."

Wade just looked at him.  He knew her too well.  "Yeah," she said.

"Ah, sweetheart, Quinn will be okay.  I'll go over to hospital today and keep an eye on him for you, alright?"

"But I--" Wade started to say.

Rembrandt interrupted her.  "No buts about it.  We can't all be there all the time.  But I'll stay there until this afternoon.  You and the others will be there when I have to leave for the club.  Okay?"

Wade still felt like staying in bed, but finally relented.  "I guess so.  And we do need the money.  I think I'll see if Doppler has any job openings."

Rembrandt smiled.  "Good.  Now get up and we can walk over to the hospital together.  You can get a bite to eat at the cafeteria before heading over to Doppler."

-----

Walking down the hall, Arturo checked the signs on the doors, looking for the principal's office.  When he found the right room, he knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in," a voice called through the wall.  Arturo entered the room and saw a man shoving files into a drawer while talking on the phone.  "Yeah... I know that she--  What??  No, I wasn't aware of that...  Fine, yes, I see.  Send her to my office after class."  He hung up the phone and turned to Arturo.

"Principal Barnes, I presume?" Arturo asked.

The man sat down at his desk.  "Yes, and you must the physics sub?"  Arturo nodded.  "Okay, your room is PH3, class starts at 9:30 on the dot, here's what you need to cover for today and a role sheet."  He handed Arturo a stack of papers.  "You'll adjust to the chaos pretty quickly.  We're just a normal high school.  Oh, and good luck."

Arturo just stared at the papers for a moment.  This was definitely going to be different from teaching at a college.

"Also, maybe I should warn you that you have a troublemaker in your class," Principal Barnes added.  "She's a smart kid, but she's always into something."

Arturo looked at his class role sheet.  His eyes immediately caught the second name on the list.  "Amy Bennish?"

"Yeah, she's the one," remarked Principal Barnes.  "How'd you know?"

-----

Wade waited impatiently for Michael Hurley to finish reviewing her resume.  She hadn't had much to put on it, but she knew that she was more than qualified for the job.  This world was twenty years behind, so she wouldn't have any trouble with new computer systems.  She began tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair.

"Nervous?" somebody asked her.

Wade jerked her head towards the voice.  "No," she quickly replied.

The young man smiled at her.  He could tell she was lying.  "I'm sure you'll get the job.  Hurley likes to act all official, but he needs more employees.  This place is under-staffed and he knows it."  He extended a hand to Wade.  "I'm Alex Taylor, by the way."

"Wade Wells," she said, taking his hand and looking at him.  He was about her age and was tall with dark hair.  He was actually kind of cute.

Alex shook her hand.  "Nice to meet you, Wade."

Just then Hurley walked over to them.  "Miss Wells, you've got the job.  When can you start?"

Wade stood up.  "Anytime."

"Good," he said.  "You can start by organizing the new software.  You'll be working with Mr. Taylor.  I see you've already met.  Your breaks will be at the same times as his.  Any questions, ask him, not me.  If you see a customer, offer to help them.  Your shift will be weekdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm with a one hour lunch break.  And you'll get a name-tag tomorrow."  He started to walk off.

"Wait," Wade said.  "I have to meet my friends at 4:30 tonight, and I need to get off by about four every day."  She was surprised that he expected her to start right that minute.

Hurley frowned.  "Fine, but don't make a habit of adjusting your work hours.  Show up at 8:00 tomorrow morning to make up for leaving early tonight.  We'll discus your permanent hours later."

Wade watched him enter the back of the store.  She sighed.  Things were just like back home.  She looked at Alex.  Except that he wasn't Quinn.  She tried to shake that thought from her mind.  "So, where do we start?" she asked.

-----

Pop!  Arturo ignored the noise and continued writing.  Pop, pop!  He put down the piece of chalk and spun around.  "Miss Bennish," he huffed, "I believe that there is no chewing gum on campus."

Amy stopped blowing her half finished bubble and snapped it back into her mouth.  "Nope, there's plenty around."

Arturo frowned at her wise-crack.  "Please go spit it out.  It is against the rules and something that I have a problem with."

"Don't ya mean that it's something with which you have a problem?" asked Amy.  "Never end a sentence with a preposition, sir."

"Now, Miss Bennish," Arturo stated, then resumed writing on the black board.

Amy removed her gum and stuck it to the bottom of her desk.  Then she pulled her headphones from around her neck and placed them on her ears.  She cranked her walkman to full blast and started drumming on her desk with a pencil.

Arturo spun around again.  "Miss Bennish!"

She lifted one side of her headphones.  "Yeah?"

"Yours is the exact type of behavior ... up with which I will not put!" he said, exasperated with her antics.  "Please stay after class."

She smiled at how he'd avoided using a preposition to end his sentence.  She turned off her walkman and decided to pay attention.  She usually hated subs, but maybe this one was okay.

-----

"Can I take you out for lunch?" Alex asked Wade at noon.

"Lunch break?" Wade asked.  "It's about time.  I'd love to take you up on that offer, but I was planning on meeting a friend and grabbing a bite with him."

Alex looked disappointed.  "Oh, made plans with your boyfriend, huh?"

"Not exactly," Wade sighed.  "I don't have a boyfriend, and Remmy and I don't really have plans.  I just thought I'd stop by."

"So, come get something with me."  Alex smiled at her.  "You're new here and I know some good places.  I'll show you around."

Wade wasn't sure.  She'd wanted to see Rembrandt and check on Quinn.  "Well, I--"

"I'm buying," Alex interrupted.

Wade finally gave in and smiled.  "Alright," she relented.  She could use a free lunch.

-----

"You know what?  That's it!  I've had it; I'm quitting tomorrow!" Maggie complained.  She sat down heavily on a chair in the hospital cafeteria.

Rembrandt laughed.  "Hello to you too, Maggie."

She sighed.  "Sorry, Remmy, but this job is killing me.  I don't care how much it pays anymore."

"I heard that a waitress quit night before last at the Blue Moon," he offered.  "Why don't you go with me tonight?  I don't think they planned on replacing on her yet, but maybe you can get the job.  The pay shouldn't be too bad at a classy place like that."

Maggie smiled a bit.  "Thanks, Remmy.  I'll take you up on that.  Unfortunately, though, my dignity has already been raked over the coals.  But, since I got ten dollars a dog, this morning I did make enough to take care of food for a day at least."

Rembrandt grinned.  "Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated."

-----

As Wade popped another French fry into her mouth, Alex finished doodling on his napkin.  Wade stared at the tree and the goofy cartoon cat that he'd drawn.  She laughed.  "So, how did you get him down?"

"I finally climbed out my window on to one of the branches, and was able to make my way over to him," Alex explained.  "Mrs. Felmington was very happy to get him back."

Wade grinned.  "The moral of the story being that neighbors are special and you should always lend a hand when they're in need?"

"Actually, it was make sure you own a ladder."  He smiled at her.

Wade laughed again.  She was having a great time talking with Alex.

"You have such a great smile," Alex commented.

Wade felt herself blush a bit.  "Thanks."

"Hey," Alex said, "there's a new Harrison Ford movie coming out today.  He and Sandra Bullock get stuck on an airplane that can't slow down or land.  Want to go see it with me tonight?  I mean, if you're not busy."

"Are you asking me out?"

Alex grinned awkwardly.  "Well, yeah."

"Like as in a date?" Wade started to ask.

"What?" Alex cut her off.  "Like you've never been asked out before.  I bet you've had a hundred boyfriends."

Wade's smile suddenly dropped.  The last person she'd considered a boyfriend had been Quinn.  She didn't take to the short-term sliding relationships like Maggie had.  She'd just put dating out of her mind all together.

Alex noticed her somber expression.  "When I said a hundred boyfriends, I just meant that there's probably a lot of guys who want to date you," he explained.  "I didn't mean that you'd actually gone out with a hundred of them."

"It's not that," Wade said.  "Look, let's just go, okay?"

"I thought we were having a good time."  Alex gazed questioningly at her.

That was the problem.  Wade frowned.  What was she doing?  She was out having fun with some guy.  She got a guilty feeling at that thought.  She hadn't even called the hospital to check on Quinn.  She crumpled up her napkin and then stood up.  "I need to make a phone call."

-----

"Hey, guys," Wade greeted the others as she took a seat at the cafeteria table late that afternoon.

"Hi, sweetheart," Rembrandt returned her greeting.  "How was work?"

Wade sighed.  "It was work."

"I know the feeling," Maggie groaned.

"I actually enjoyed teaching today," Arturo remarked.  "I have a very interesting student - one Miss Amy Bennish."

Wade raised her eyebrows a bit.  "Did you say Bennish?"

"Indeed I did," Arturo smiled.  "And she's exactly like her brother.  An illbehaved little brat, yet exceedingly smart.  I had an usual talk with her after class today.  I'll tell you about it when we get back to the motel."  He checked his watch.  "I suggest that you go see Mr. Mallory as visiting hours will be ending shortly."

Wade nodded and got up.  "I forgot that Hurley kept me so long."

"I'll go with you, sweetheart," Rembrandt said.

Wade looked at Arturo and Maggie.  "You coming?"

Arturo shook his head slightly.  "I was just up there before you arrived.  I'll go get us a taxi; it's rather cold out tonight."

"Okay," Wade agreed, relieved that she wouldn't have to walk back to the motel.  "I'll meet you out front in a bit."

-----

"I'm sorry, but my answer is no," said Richard Masey.

Rembrandt frowned slightly at his boss.  He'd just inquired about Maggie taking a waitressing job.

"Look," Masey continued, "I think you're great and I'd love to hire your friend.  She looks like she'd really bring in tips from the guys, but I can't afford to hire somebody with no experience."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Rembrandt replied.  "Thanks anyway."

Masey smiled at Rembrandt as if to make sure of no hard feelings, then returned to his office that was off the side of the bar.

Rembrandt walked over to Maggie.  "No luck," he told her as he took a seat next to her at their table.

"It's okay, Remmy.  I'll get work somewhere else; it's not a big deal."  She took a sip of her drink.  "Hey, shouldn't you be on stage?  This place needs some music.  You've been on break long enough."

He nodded.  "Yeah."  He walked over to the stage and grabbed the microphone.  He looked over at Maggie.  She was smiling; she always enjoyed hearing him sing.  But Rembrandt noticed that she seemed a bit down tonight.  "Get ready to play something really popular, alright?" he told the band.

They agreed and he grinned.  He stepped out to the middle of the stage, and the people in the club became quieter.  He flicked the microphone on.  "I'd like to do something a bit different for this song," he said, then motioned to Maggie.  "Everyone please give a hand for Miss Maggie Beckett; she'll be dazzling you with her vocal talents for the next song!"

Maggie choked on her drink when she noticed that the lights had moved from Rembrandt to her.  Everyone clapped in encouragement.  "Remmy, this isn't a karioki bar!" she hissed at him, hoping no one would overhear.

Rembrandt stepped off the stage and over to her.  He handed her the microphone.  "The public wants to hear you sing."  He grinned at her.

"Remmy, no," she complained quietly.  "I can't sing!"

"Come on!" somebody in the back yelled, hearing their whole conversation over the microphone.  "We want to hear blondie sing!"

Maggie felt herself pulled out of her chair by Rembrandt who pointed her at the stage.  She numbly walked over to it.  As she stepped up onto it, the microphone screeched.  She quickly turned it off and looked embarrassed.  She turned it back on once she was on the stage.  "I really don't know how to sing--" she began.  But the music started and she'd be left standing there like an idiot if she didn't at least attempt to sing.

The music to "Fever" was very recognizable to Maggie.  She knew some of the words since it had once been one of her favorites.  But that didn't make her feel any better.

She finally summed up her courage and started to sing, not sure if she had the right lyrics.  "Never know how much I love you.  Never know how much I care."

She was horribly off-key and wished she could sink into the ground, but if she knew one thing about singing, it was that the show must go on.  "When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear.
You give me fever.  Fever when you love me; fever when you hold me tight."  She went too high on 'tight,' and her voice cracked a bit from nervousness.  A guy in the back cheered.  "Fever all through the night."

A couple more people clapped when she went off-key again.  Feeling a bit better, she actually began to enjoy singing, however badly she was doing it.

Rembrandt chuckled when she tried for another high note.  Everyone in the club started cheering her on.  The guy in the back whooped and hollered loudly.

All the noise drew out Masey.  He exited his office and, with one look at Maggie on the stage, he turned upset eyes on Rembrandt.  "What's the meaning of this?" he asked, walking over to Rembrandt.

"I thought I'd let her sing a song," he replied.  "What harm can it do?"

He focussed his gaze on Maggie who blurted out, "Sun shines in the daytime.  Twinkly stars light up the night.  That fever just keeps on burning, be it Celsius or Fahrenheit."

"What harm?" Masey repeated.  "She's awful.  Are those even the right lyrics?"

Before Rembrandt could answer, Maggie shouted out another, "Fever!"  Again everyone went wild, prodded on by the guy in the back who was now singing along as well as whooping.  Rembrandt just grinned.

Masey threw up his hands, but then shrugged.  Maggie finished her song, and he turned back to Rembrandt.  Over the noise of her applause, he said, "Tell her she's got the job."

-----

The lights flicked on, and Wade groaned.  Rembrandt and Maggie had just entered the hotel room, talking and laughing.  Wade glanced at the clock.  It's was almost 3:00am.  "People with 8 o'clock jobs trying to sleep," she mumbled.

"Sorry, Wade," Maggie said.  "But check this out."  She held out a fist full of bills.

"What did you two do this evening?" Arturo asked, also jolted from his sleep.  "Rob a bank?"

Rembrandt laughed.  "Nope, that's just tips from tonight.  Somewhere around 500 dollars."

"I got 50 just from this one guy," Maggie told them.  "I also got his phone number, but he's just dreaming there."

"That's not all," added Rembrandt.  "After she sang, she was offered the position of head singer in the band 'Silicon Barbie Dolls.'"

"I thought it was an insult at first, but then I got their business card."  Maggie started laughing again.

Wade raised an eyebrow.  "I didn't know you can sing."

"She can't!" Rembrandt blurted.  Maggie elbowed him.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun," said Wade.  "But turn out the lights already."  She rolled over and pulled the sheet over her head.

-----

"Miss Bennish," Arturo said after the bell rang, "I'd like you to stay for a few minutes."

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Amy quickly protested as everyone else dashed out of the classroom.

"I wasn't implying that you did," explained Arturo.  "I have something I'd like you to take a look at... at which I'd like you to take a look," he corrected.  "Oh, never mind!  You may go if you'd like."

Amy strolled over to his desk.  "No, tell me what's up."

Arturo set a piece of paper on the desk for her to look at.  It had the equation for sliding written on it.

Amy hopped up and sat on the edge of his desk, and turned the paper so that it was right side up.  "Whoa..." she sighed.  She stretched her gum from her mouth and twirled it around her finger.

"Your gum, Miss Bennish," Arturo remarked, breaking her concentration.

"Oh yeah," she replied, still staring at the paper.  She spit her gum into his trash can, then returned to studying the complex equation.  "What is this?  Some kind of anti-grav formula?"

Arturo just let her ponder over it some more.  He wondered just how smart she actually was.  She seamed to be making sense of it, yet one glance at it should have baffled somebody her age.

"No," she continued.  "It's more like some kind of temporal disturbance, like a ripple in space of some kind.  Hey, is this time travel?" she added, now joking.

Arturo could tell that her original line of thought had been serious; however, she'd thrown it out and decided to make of joke of it instead, thinking that it was silly and impossible.  The next bell rang, and Arturo looked at his watch.  "You'd better get to your other class," he told Amy.  He picked the paper up and put it back in his folder.

"See ya tomorrow, teacher dude!" Amy called, already on her way out.  She held up her hand the Vulcan 'live long and prosper' way.  "Beam me up, Scotty."

Arturo heard her laughing as she headed down the hall.  But he knew he'd sparked her interest.

-----

That evening, Wade entered their hotel room and sank down into the chair.  She kicked her shoes across the room.  Her feet hurt from walking back and forth around Doppler all day, trying to take an inventory of just about everything.  She'd needed new shoes for the past few worlds.  *It'll just have to wait another few,* she thought to herself.

She closed her eyes for a minute.  She was already tired.  The only peace she'd had all day was her lunch with Rembrandt at the hospital.  She was glad she'd met him there today.  Although she'd disappointed Alex, it had been her only chance to see Quinn since Hurley had kept her late.

Arturo came out of the bathroom and greeted her.  "Hard day?" he asked.  "We were expecting you at the hospital earlier.  Did you get any dinner?"

"No," groaned Wade, now realizing that she was hungry.  She got up and fixed herself a bowl of Corn Flakes.

Arturo sat down next to her at the table.  "I'm considering telling Miss Bennish about sliding," he commented.

"You what?" choked Wade through a mouthful of cereal.

"I showed her the equation earlier," Arturo told her.  "She's bright enough to understand the math at least.  I think she might be able to assist us in repairing the timer."

Wade put down her spoon.  "Are you crazy?" she asked.  "Amy is just a kid.  I don't care if she'd understand it - you can't tell her that we're sliders."

"But she's an incredibly fast learner.  If I explained the concepts to her, the two of us might be able to really get somewhere in just a few months time."

"No way," Wade cut him off.  "You think somebody like Amy wouldn't want to come with us if we slid?  She'd never be able to pass up the temptation of sliding if she knew it were possible.  Are you willing to get another person involved?  She has a home here."

Arturo sighed.  "You're correct, Miss Wells.  I'm not willing to get anyone else involved in our situation.  I should have learned my lesson when I slid with her brother."

Wade watched him walk over to the other side of the room.  "I didn't mean it like that," she started to say, realizing how he'd taken her comment.  She hadn't meant to make him feel guilty about his Bennish's death, but she didn't know what to say to take back her words.  He'd already been hurt.

-----

Arturo answered the phone when it rang, wondering who'd be calling.

"Hey," Alex's voice said.  "Is this Remmy?"

"No," Arturo replied.  "May I ask who's calling, and what it's concerning?"

"This is Alex Taylor.  I work with Wade," he explained.  "Is she around?"

"I'm sorry," Arturo told him.  "She's in the shower.  Can I take a message?"

"Just tell her she was supposed to leave her name-tag at work," Alex said, his voice relaying that he was now upset.  He hung up the phone.

-----

'January 09, 1999,' Wade wrote at the top of a page in her journal.  She hadn't been able to sleep, so she'd decided to make a record of the past couple weeks.  She hadn't updated her diary for a few worlds.

'1999,' she wrote again, looking at all the 9s in the date.  'Another new year.  And another new world.  One that might be our home from now on.  The timer was damaged when we slid here.  Arturo wants to try to fix it.  He's met a girl here named Amy Bennish, a parallel sister to the person he was originally sliding with.  She's young and smart, and the professor has taken quite a liking to her already.  I think she reminds him of Conrad Bennish.  But unfortunately, I reminded him of his death.'

She stopped for a moment, wondering if he was still hurting over that, and if he blamed himself for Bennish's death.  She hoped he didn't think she'd been accusing him of it earlier.  She knew how easy it was to feel responsible for the death of somebody close to you.

'I was only concerned for Amy,' Wade continued writing.  'But I know he took what I said the wrong way.  Now I doubt he'll even consider mentioning anything sliding related to Amy.  He had been wanting to work with her on either fixing the timer or building a new sliding machine.  Yet now I wonder if he'll even talk to her again.  I'd only been trying to point out that she has a normal life here.

'Actually, now that I think about it, we are all starting to have normal lives again.  Remmy seems truly happy with his job at the Blue Moon, and Maggie is starting to agree with him about the joys of singing as a career, and I think she actually appreciates good music now.  However, Maggie's singing can both shatter glass and wake the dead - she's much better as a waitress in my opinion.

'I too find myself falling into the habit of a normal life.  I've got my old job back on this world.  And I'm starting to wonder about a relationship with Alex.  He's cute, smart, and funny, and he also works at Doppler in this dimension.  He has Quinn's old job.'

She stopped when she wrote that, suddenly feeling bad.  'But, oh God, what about Quinn?  That's a question that looms in all our minds every minute of every day.  I feel so guilty.  I'm beginning to have this regular life again, and he can't have that.  How wrong is it that we're settling into normal lives without Quinn?  How can I be happy when he's lying in a hospital in a coma?'

A tear fell on the page and blurred some of her writing.  She wiped her eyes.  'I don't think that I could ever be happy here if he dies.  I think I try to put him out of my mind.  I don't know why I do it.  Maybe it's that I know I couldn't handle this without him.  If I just keep pretending that he'll be okay, then things are alright.  Because if he dies, I know I wouldn't be able to make it.  I can't cope with any more death.  I love him too much to lose him--'

She stopped herself again.  She was crying over something that wasn't going to happen.  She had stop playing worst case scenario.  She picked up her pen again and wrote, 'HE WON'T DIE' in bold letters.  She put a period, and then shut her journal.  Quinn couldn't die.  He was going to get better, and that was that.

-----

When Wade left for work the next day, Arturo was in the shower, and Maggie and Rembrandt were still sound asleep.  She decided to just leave without talking to any of them.

She walked to Doppler and got there a few minutes late.  Hurley gave her an annoyed look, but she just smiled sweetly at him.  She gave him a slight wave, then walked over to Alex to help him put software on a shelf.

He didn't say anything to her, so she greeted him.  "Thanks for calling about the name-tag.  I forgot that I wore it home."

"Yeah, sure," Alex replied, his tone flat.

"Something wrong?" Wade asked.

Alex didn't even look at her, just kept stacking boxes on the shelf.  "Nothing.  Why don't you go work on that shelf over there?"

"Okay," Wade said, a bit bewildered by his attitude towards her.  She walked to the other shelf and started working on it in silence.

-----

Rembrandt sat down at a table in the hospital.  He'd planned on meeting Wade for lunch, but she'd left a message saying that Hurley was making her take a late lunch and to eat without her.  He'd decided to get lunch in the cafeteria since he wanted to stop by the hospital anyway.  He was just starting his sandwich when a doctor walked up to him.

"Are you a friend of Quinn Mallory?" the doctor asked him.

Rembrandt stood up.  "Yeah, I am.  What's going on?"

"Can you come with me, please?" the doctor requested.  The cafeteria had several other groups of people in it and he wanted to talk in private.

Rembrandt crumpled up his napkin and tossed it down onto the table, then he followed the doctor into his office.

"Please have a seat," the doctor offered before sitting down himself.

Rembrandt sat then looked at the doctor.  "What is this about, Doctor..."

"Conner," the doctor finished for him.  "And I assume that you're Mr. Brown."

"That's right," said Rembrandt.  "What does this have to do with Quinn?"

Doctor Conner looked seriously at Rembrandt.  "Do you know how we can contact any of Mr. Mallory's family?  We need consent to preform an operation on him."

That information startled Rembrandt.  "Whoa, operation?  Why?"

"Your friend has started bleeding internally again.  We think it best that we operate immediately," Conner informed him.

"Why would you need family consent for that?" asked Rembrandt.  "You never needed it before."

"Because the probability of success is only about 30 percent," explained Conner.  "Before we were just doing what was necessary to treat an emergency victim.  However, in this case, the hospital could be charged and held responsible if the proper forms aren't signed and he dies."

Rembrandt rubbed his temples with his hand.  Those were pretty bad odds.  "And if you don't operate?"

"He'll probably die within 24 hours."

-----

At a little after noon, Hurley told Wade and Alex to break for lunch anyway since there wasn't anyone in the store, and they'd completed most of their work.  He'd told them to be back by two.

Wade figured that Rembrandt would have already gotten something to eat since it was half an hour past the time they'd planned to meet.  She looked at Alex.  "Wanna grab a bite together?  We've got around two hours.  Might be kinda boring eating alone."

"No thanks," Alex shrugged her off.

"Did I do something?" Wade asked, still not understanding his cold shoulder.  "If you're upset because I said no when you asked me out, I'm sorry.  I thought you were okay with it.  But I have been thinking about that.  Maybe after things in my life settle down a bit--"

"Sorry, but no," Alex replied, now angry with her.  "I got you so wrong.  You seemed like this nice girl, but I had you figured all wrong.  I don't know what your deal is, but I want no part of it."

"Excuse me?" Wade asked, stunned.

"I called your motel last night," explained Alex.  "I didn't know you were living with a man.  And you've been having lunch plans with yet another guy.  And now you want to go out with me?  I don't understand you."

"It's not like that," Wade tried to reply.  "I'm not shacked up with anyone.  I mean, I have been sharing hotel rooms with them for the past four years, but--"

"So they're like married?  Is that it?" Alex snapped at her.  "I'd thought you'd know better than that.  And I don't even want to know how you broke your arm!"

Wade turned away from him and walked off down the street.  She was fed up and offended by him.  "I might not show up for work again today," she called over her shoulder.  "If Hurley wants to know where I am, tell him I'm at the hospital.  I'm done trying to explain things to you, Alex."

He thought she was crying and cased after her.  "Wade, I'm sorry," he said.  He caught up to her and put a hand on her arm.  He could see that she was indeed crying.

"I should have never thought I could have a normal life again," said Wade.  "Nothing can be normal without Quinn.  I just want him to get better so we can leave.  I'm so tired of being here."

"Who's Quinn?" Alex asked, his voice no longer harsh.

Wade wiped her face to get rid of her tears.  "He's a friend we've been traveling with.  Him, Remmy, Max, Maggie, and I.  But now he's in a coma, and we're just trying to manage.  That's why we're all staying in the same hotel room, that's why I never have money, and that's why my arm is broken 'cause I was in that accident too.  But I don't have to tell you anything.  You want nothing to do with me anymore, remember?"

Alex gave her a look that asked for her forgiveness.  "I'm sorry I got upset.  I just really like you, Wade," he said, awkwardly trying to fix things between them.  "Can I maybe buy you lunch?"

-----

When Wade and Alex got back to Doppler after she'd reluctantly agreed and had lunch with him, Hurley rushed over to them and pulled Wade aside.  "Hey, I'm only five minutes late if that," she defended herself quickly before he had a chance to speak.  "But I'm sorry.  I'll get right to work and--"

"Wade," Hurley said, cutting her off.  "This isn't about that."  He wasn't going to give her the usual lecture.

Wade just looked at him for a moment.  He had a serious look on his face, but he also seemed concerned for her.  She waited nervously for him to continue.

"Wade, there was a phone call for you about two hours ago.  A Rembrandt something, I think.  He's at the hospital.  He said that you have to get down there now.  Something about Quinn."

Wade suddenly became stricken with fear.  "Oh my God!  Is he alright?  I mean, of course he's not alright; he's in a coma.  But did he come out of it, or is something wrong?"  Her words were just one long, blurred string.

"I don't know," Hurley answered.  "But from the sound of his voice, I think you'd better go immediately.  It didn't sound like good news."

Wade turned and ran towards the door.  She shoved it open and rushed outside.

"Hey, Wade, stop!" Alex called to her.  He'd accidentally-on-purpose overheard her conversation with Hurley.  She'd been talking about Quinn all during lunch.  Now she was obviously in a state of panic.  "You can't run the whole way there.  I'll drive you."

"Thanks," Wade mumbled as she went hurriedly with Alex to his car and they headed for the hospital.

-----

Wade spotted Maggie as she rushed into the hospital.  Maggie had been waiting for her and greeted her solemnly.  "Wade, I was wondering when you'd get here.  You'd better come with me."

"Hurley told me Rembrandt called.  What's going on?  Where are the others?"  She stared questioningly at Maggie.

Maggie hesitated a moment.  "They're in with Quinn.  He started bleeding internally again.  The doctors tried an emergency operation, but he hemorrhaged unexpectedly.  He crashed a while ago and they almost lost him.  Now, the doctors were able to revive him this time, but--"

"Where is he?" Wade asked frantically and started to push past Maggie.

Maggie stepped back in front of her and kept her from leaving.  "Wade, I'm afraid it's still worse than that."  She tried to stay calm and keep Wade that way also as she explained.  "Quinn lost a whole lot of blood... and the operation wasn't successful.  His condition was already downgraded to 'critical' and now he's doing even worse.  The doctors don't think that operating again is an option.  Wade--"

"I'm going to go see him," Wade said.  "This whole thing has probably been over-exaggerated.  I'll just go talk to a doctor and find out what's--"

"Wade," Maggie said again, this time interrupting her by grabbing her shoulders firmly and making her face her.  Wade had to listen to the facts.  "Wade, you have to know that Quinn is dying."

Wade just stood motionless, frozen in place.  This couldn't be happening!  She wasn't hearing this!  Quinn couldn't die.  She'd told herself that so many times that she almost believed it.  Quinn was a constant in her life.  She couldn't lose him.  She depended on him.  He wouldn't leave her!

"The doctors can't do anything for him.  They're just trying to keep him as comfortable as possible.  He doesn't have very long.  He probably won't make it through the night."

The reality of Maggie's words finally broke into Wade's shocked and panic filled thoughts.  This was real.  Her best friend was going to die.  "Oh, God, no!" she cried almost silently.

Maggie drew her into a caring hug.  "I'm sorry, Wade.  I know this is hard.  I'm hurting too."

Alex watched them for a minute, then he decided to leave.  Wade needed to be with her friends right now.  "I'll call you later," he said softly to her before going.

Wade didn't really hear him.  She didn't notice the pain in her arm from Maggie's embrace either.  All her senses had become useless.  She couldn't feel or focus on anything.

"You can see him if you want to," Maggie said gently.  "Come on, I'll take you to his room."

Wade tried to concentrate on walking with Maggie.  Just one foot in front of the other.  She had to get a grip on herself.  She couldn't let her emotions overwhelm her like this.

When they got to Quinn's room, Arturo was standing outside.  He nodded to Wade to go in.  He thought that she and Rembrandt should be alone now.  They'd started this whole crazy journey with Quinn.  The three of them shared a special bond.  He and Maggie returned to the waiting area.

Wade entered the room, and she and Rembrandt hugged for a minute.  Then she walked over to Quinn's bed.  He was drenched in sweat, and even though he still had on an oxygen mask, she could tell that his breathing was labored and that he was struggling.  "Quinn..."  She squinched her eyes shut to try and hold back the tears.

Rembrandt put his arm around her.  She looked sadly at him.  "I know, sweetheart," he said as she cried.  "I know."

Wade wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  "I just can't believe this is happening.  I mean, after all we've been through and all the things that have happened, it's a stupid bad landing that kills him."  She started sobbing.  "That can't happen.  It can't!"

"Wade..."  Rembrandt tried to comfort her, but didn't know what to say.

"Can he hear us?" she asked when she'd calmed down a bit.  She pushed some of Quinn's damp hair from his forehead.  "I mean, there's just so much I never got to say to him."

"The doctors said that he can't.  He's still completely out of it."  Rembrandt sighed.  "But I think that he can.  I know I've said a few things I wanted him to hear."

"Like what?" Wade asked.

"Like that even though I complained a hell of a lot, I've always been glad that I ended up on this little adventure of ours.  And that I consider him a good friend."  Rembrandt looked at her.  "What do you want to say?"

Wade shook her head.  "I don't really know.  Just that I don't want to lose him.  That I'm thankful for everything he's done for me.  Even the whole sliding thing."  She laughed a bit.  "Maybe especially the sliding thing.  I'm the person I am because of him.  He's changed my life so much.  I'll never regret anything.  I just wish that I'd told him how much I care."  She started crying again.  "I love him, Remmy.  I don't know how I'm going to go on without him."

"We all love him, sweetheart.  But we'll be okay," he said.  He made up his mind that he'd always look after Wade, no matter what.  The last thing Quinn had told him was to help her.  When Quinn died, he'd be all she had left from their world.  He'd always be her friend.

-----

Wade and Rembrandt were forced to leave Quinn's room at five when the visiting hours ended.  Wade hesitantly obeyed.  The doctor had said that they might be able to be with Quinn when his condition became worse, since he thought they'd want to be with him when he died.  However, until then, the hospital rules had to be enforced.  But he promised to inform them of any change in Quinn's condition.

Rembrandt started to head for the cafeteria where he guessed Maggie and Arturo would be, but he stopped when he noticed that Wade wasn't following him.  She was leaning against the outside of Quinn's door, trembling.  Her hair got caught on the chart hanging from it and she reached up and pulled the hairs free with her right hand.  Then she removed the chart from the door and held it in her hands.  She sank to the floor and just stared at the top of it.

Quinn Mallory
Sex: Male / Age: 25
Status: comatose / Condition: critical

Rembrandt sat down next to her.  He didn't say anything, so after a while, she did.  "He shouldn't be dying.  I mean, he's just a little older than me.  He's only 25, Remmy."  She looked at Quinn's chart again, seeing the seriousness of his condition thoroughly typed out on the page.  "It's doesn't look right printed in black and white like that.  He's so young; he has so much still ahead of him in life.  But he's going to die."

She remembered a world that they'd been on a few months ago.  She and Quinn had been taking care of a baby.  He'd told her that he wanted to have five kids someday and had joked about them being his own basketball squad.  He'd had so many hopes and dreams that would never become reality.  She leaned against Rembrandt and cried.

-----

It was a little after 6:00pm and Wade, Rembrandt, Maggie, and Arturo were sitting at a table in the cafeteria.  They were no longer serving food except to the doctors, but none of them cared.  They weren't hungry.

They sat there in silence for a long while, each lost in his or her own thoughts.  Finally Arturo spoke.  "Miss Wells, I'm aware that this probably isn't a good time to discuss this with you, but it has to be done."  He set a clipboard with a few sheets of paper clipped to it on the table.  "We all talked about this earlier."

Wade looked at the papers.  "What is this?" she inquired.

"It's a do-not-resuscitate order," Maggie told her.  "Since Quinn has no family, one of us would have to sign it.  We decided that the decision should be yours.  You've known him the longest; he's closer to you than any of us.  It's your choice, Wade."

She looked at the paper.  Signing it would give the hospital permission to just let Quinn die if he crashed again.  Her stomach knotted and she pushed it away.  "I can't sign that."

"I understand how you feel, Wade," Maggie acknowledged.  "But try to think about this.  I felt the same way you do at first - thought it was wrong - but I've been considering things, and I think you should sign it."

Wade stared at her.  How could she suggest that?  She turned her gaze to the others.

"I'm afraid I agree with Miss Beckett," Arturo said to Wade's surprise.  "Prolonging things would only cause more pain.  For us, and for Quinn."

Wade couldn't believe this.  They wanted her to just let Quinn die!  "No," she said fiercely.  "If it was me, I'd want every chance possible.  And Quinn wouldn't want us to give up on him.  He's strong; you all know that.  Quinn could still get through this."

Rembrandt shook his head.  "Wade, I thought you understood that Quinn is going to die.  The doctor's have already given up on him.  They've already taken him off the strong medication.  We've done everything we could."

Wade stood up quickly and pounded her fists on the table.  Her action sent a jolt of pain through her arm, but she didn't care.  "They can't do that!  Quinn is still alive!  They're doctors; they should be trying to help him!  Didn't they take an oath saying they had to help?  Why aren't they trying to save him?!"

"Wade, stop it!" Rembrandt said angrily, standing up also and putting a hand on her arm.  "Pumping his system full of drugs wasn't helping him.  Quinn's bleeding internally, and this world doesn't have the technology to help him.  There is nothing they can do."

"They could at least try!" Wade yelled in frustration.  "Damn it, why don't they try?"

"Even if they could stop the bleeding, he'd probably be in a coma for the rest of his life," Rembrandt said.  "People don't wake up after injuries like his.  Not without at least having brain damage."

Wade stared at him blankly.  "What?" she asked almost silently.

"Wade," Rembrandt's expression changed and he spoke calmly to her, "Quinn hit his head when he fell.  The doctors said that the force of impact probably caused severe damage and that he has massive head trauma.  That's probably why they couldn't bring him out of his coma.  I know that boy has brains to spare, but he wouldn't have ever been the same.  Just let him go, Wade."

"You never told me," Wade said sadly and angrily at the same time.  "How long did you know that and not tell me?  How could you?"  She looked from him to Arturo and Maggie.  Neither would make eye contact with her and she returned her focus to Rembrandt.

"Wade, I'm sorry.  We thought it best that you didn't know.  We didn't know how you'd react.  We didn't want you hurt."

Wade couldn't believe that he'd lied to her.  They'd all been lying to her.  Quinn's condition had always been worse than they'd told her.  "Damn you!  I had a right to know!  I should have known from the beginning!"

Rembrandt rubbed his hand along her arm soothingly.  "Wade, we thought it was for your own good."

"Go to hell, Remmy!"  Her voice was now even louder and her shouting had drawn the attention of a few people.  "We already lost the professor!  How many more of us do we have to 'just let go?'  One is already too many!  I won't lose Quinn too!"  She spun and ran out of the hospital.  She couldn't believe that they'd all kept that from her.  Those were her friends?  She decided to go find somebody that she had to see, prayed existed on this world, and hoped she could trust.

-----

"I know she should have been told.  I guess I was just hoping that Q-ball would pull through this."  Rembrandt sighed.  It had already been an hour and Wade still hadn't returned.  He figured she'd be back soon.  She wouldn't stay away no matter how mad or hurt she was.  "I half thought that he'd just recover and be fine, like always."

"I think we all did," Arturo said.

"Yeah."  Maggie's sad voice matched their own.

They all fell silent for a moment.  "I just can't believe Quinn's going to die," Rembrandt eventually said.

"I can't believe how unprepared I am," Maggie added.  "I've always known that sliding is dangerous, and I thought I'd just take it in stride if something ever happened to one of us.  I've lost people before - commanding officers, friends... family - but I've never been so scared.  I don't know how I'll deal with Quinn's death.  I really don't.  God, I never thought he'd actually die."

Maggie felt like she might cry.  "I've always acted tough, but he was our leader, he held our group together, and he always had some techno-babble to throw out in any situation that made me feel like he knew what was going on and had a plan.  Kinda silly, I guess."

"No," Rembrandt said, "it's not silly.  I'd never admit it to his face, but I liked hearing his smarty-pants solutions and explanations also."

-----

Wade sat down at a table in the library to catch her breath.  She'd walked there from Quinn's house.  Of course on this world it wasn't his, though.  She found a 'for sale' sign in the yard and had taken a flyer from a box that was connected to it.  The house was being sold by the Wilsons.  But she wasn't giving up.  She found the library's phone books and began searching.

Twenty minutes later, she'd still found nothing.  Maybe a Quinn Mallory just didn't exist on this world.  She sighed in despair.  She had even checked in Carmel where Quinn had once told her his grandparents lived.  Maybe it was hopeless.

Wade was just about to admit defeat and head back to the hospital when she had an idea.  She couldn't believe she was doing it, but she had to check.  She picked up the phone book again, and this time turned to the "S" section.  She flipped through the pages until she found the listings for "St. Clair."

-----

"I'm really worried about her," Maggie said, twirling her finger absently along the edge of her half-full coffee cup.  She normally wouldn't have admitted that, but as time went by she was seeing Wade more and more as a real friend.  She really was concerned about what was going on with her.

"Wade still not back?" Rembrandt asked, returning to the corner of the waiting area that he, Maggie, and Arturo figured would be home for the rest of the night.  He handed Arturo a fresh cup of coffee, then sat down on the small couch next to Maggie.  He picked up his own cup off the table and took a sip.  It had gotten cold, but he didn't notice.

Maggie reached over Rembrandt and set her cup next to his.  "No," she replied.  "She's still gone.  I thought she'd have been back by now.  I wonder where she went."

"Probably back to the hotel."  Arturo blew on his coffee, trying to cool it enough to take a sip.  "She's been through a lot.  Maybe she needed some time to herself."  He looked at Rembrandt.  "How's Mr. Mallory?"

"Worse," Rembrandt answered.  He didn't give any more details than that.  The others already knew that things were bad.  They were expecting sad news any hour now.

Arturo nodded slightly.  "One of us should go find Miss Wells.  She'll want to be here."

Rembrandt stood up and started to slip on his jacket.  "I'll go," he said.

"No," Maggie told him.  "You stay.  I'll find Wade."

"You sure?" Rembrandt asked.

"Yeah."  Maggie gave him a small hug.  "You stay with Quinn."  She grabbed her sweatshirt off the couch, then headed for the exit from the hospital.

When she walked out the doors, cold wind hit her face and made her shiver.  She stepped back inside the hospital, and untied her sweatshirt from around her shoulders and slipped it over her head.  Then she checked her pockets to see if she had enough money for the cab ride back to the hotel.  She found that she did and was about to step back outside when some commotion caught her attention.

Maggie walked back the way she'd come and saw a few doctors rushing down the hall.  She ran over to a nurse that was nearby, who looked to be in her fifties, and tried to get her attention.  "Excuse me, Ma'am!" Maggie called.  "What's going on?"

"Oh, it's nothing you need to concern yourself with, dear," the nurse said.  "This kind of sad thing happens at hospitals all the time."

"What is it?" Maggie implored.

The woman gave Maggie an understanding look.  "One of the patients is having some kind of fit.  The doctors think that they're probably going to lose him," she explained.  "A Mallow or Malloy..." she pondered over the name.  "Well anyway, it's a sad thing.  He's practically just a boy.  Couldn't be much older than you."

Maggie became panicked.  "Oh God!"  She ran back to the waiting area, leaving the nurse wondering what she'd said to upset her so.

-----

Wade hesitated a moment before knocking on the door.  She wondered what she was doing, but she had to go through with it.  She raised her first then rapped on the door.

After about a minute, the door was opened and Wade saw Logan standing there.  "Hello, Wade," she said.

"Um, hi," replied Wade.  Seeing Logan, even though she wasn't the same person she knew, made her slightly uncomfortable.

Logan laughed.  "Are you just gonna stand there or come in?"  She opened the door wide for Wade who slowly entered.  "So, what happened to Europe?  I wasn't expecting you back for quite a while."

Wade didn't know what to say.  Clearly, her double on this world was good friends with Logan.  She contemplated whether to play along or just burst out the truth.

Logan noticed her hesitation and looked carefully at her.  She smiled.  "Oh, you're a slider."

Well, that made her decision easier.  "Yeah," Wade said.  "You know about sliding?"

"Sure," Logan answered.  "I invented it about five years ago.  So, what brings you here all by yourself at this time of night?  I was just finishing dinner.  You hungry?"

"No.  Thank you."  Wade stared at Logan.  It was strange having her be so friendly.  Maybe she was more like the Quinn she knew and less like the other Logan.  "I don't really know why I came," she said.  "It's just that in some way, you're Quinn, I guess.  And I just had to come, and I can't explain it.  Maybe I was hoping you could help.  But I don't know if that help is for him or me."

Logan ushered her into the main room of the house and motioned for her to sit down on the couch.  "What's wrong?"  She was concerned for Wade.  She couldn't help but notice her broken arm and bruises.  Had somebody hurt her?  But she'd said something about Quinn.  All the Quinns she'd met would have never hurt her.  But then, she had also said that he needed help.  Maybe something had happened to both of them.  She decided to just let Wade tell her what was going on.

"Quinn - my Quinn that I'm sliding with - well, him and I, we're lost and can't control sliding and have been trying to find home for about four years now."  Wade rushed along, hoping to get it all out in one breath.  "But I don't care about home anymore.  Quinn is hurt.  He's in the hospital."

"I know some medical stuff," Logan said hesitantly.  "I mean, I know a Quinn who is the best doctor I've ever met; he taught me some things.  What's wrong with your Quinn?  Maybe I can help."

"He's bleeding internally and has head injuries," Wade told her.  "He could die at any time.  I don't even know what I'm doing here.  I should be with him."

Logan frowned.  "Well, that's a bit more than I can fix with a Band-Aid.  But he's all in one piece?"

Wade nodded.

"Well, I can't do anything for him here," Logan said.  "But if you give me your timer, I can set it to send you to my friend's world.  I go there often.  The world is very medically advanced, and Mallory - he goes by that and not Quinn, by the way - is even more so.  He could help your Quinn."

Wade had hope for half a second before she sunk back into her despair and sadness.  "Our timer was destroyed."

Logan looked at Wade.  It hurt her to see her friend so hopeless and depressed, even if she was just a double.  "Then I'll take you."

-----

"He's having some kind of seizure!" Doctor Nealson shouted to Doctor Harper as he entered the room with Doctor Baits.  She was still new and had no idea what was wrong or what to do.  "His heartbeat is totally erratic!"

Quinn's body shook and his breathing was fast and irregular.  The green line on the monitor behind him was zigzagging rapidly.

"He's arrhythmic!" Harper said.  "We've got to get him stabilized!"

"His BP is dropping," stated Nealson.  "No pulse! He's crashing!"

The line on the monitor suddenly ceased its sharp motions and became flat.  A loud, high-pitched hum filled the room, alerting the doctors that Quinn's heart had stopped.

-----

When Rembrandt, Maggie, and Arturo rushed into Quinn's room, he was already in cardiac arrest and Doctor Baits was giving him closed-chest heart massage while Harper charged a crash cart and Nealson rubbed gel on its electrical paddles.

"You sure there's no DNR on this guy?" Nealson asked.

"No," Maggie said quickly, immediately taking in the situation.  "We didn't sign it.  Save his life."  Now that Quinn was actually dying, she was glad Wade had refused to sign.  She couldn't just stand by and watch him die.

"What's happening?" Rembrandt asked frantically.

"You three need to leave right now," Harper ordered them.

Baits didn't even notice the sliders as they ignored Harper's demand and stayed.  He just cursed under his breath and kept pressing Quinn's chest.  When that didn't work he ripped Quinn's hospital gown and took the paddles from Nealson.

"It's charged at 150," Harper informed him.

"Okay, clear!" Baits yelled, then slapped the paddles against Quinn's bare chest, sending a strong charge through his body.

There was no response.

"Up it to 200," Baits instructed and Harped complied.  "Clear!"

Quinn's body jerked again at the shock, but the line stayed flat.  Both doctors wore deep lines of frustration as they continued to work to revive their patient.

"Damn it!" Baits yelled.  "Didn't anybody page Cardiology?  Why the hell are we the only ones here?"

"Somebody will probably be here soon," Nealson said.

"Soon isn't good enough.  By then he'll be dead!"  Baits mumbled something unintelligible, then turned back to Harper and Nealson.  "Give me 200 again."

The paddles were slapped down upon Quinn's chest again, and all eyes turned to the monitor.  Still no response.

"Somebody shut off that damn alarm!" Baits shouted.  "Shock isn't working; let's try something else."

Rembrandt left the room as Baits prepared an adrenalin needle that would be plunged into Quinn's heart in a final attempt to bring him back.  He looked both ways down the hall, hoping to see someone from the Cardiology Department.  *Wade, where are you?* he thought.  He knew she'd never forgive herself for not being there, and he hated the thought of having to be the one to explain Quinn's death to her.

He re-entered Quinn's room as he was being shocked again.  The adrenalin had failed.

"Keep it at 300," Baits instructed.  "Again!"

Quinn's body lurched violently.  Once again all eyes focussed on the monitor.

Nothing.

Now Baits felt anger surge through him.  *Damn it, you will come back!* he thought as he slapped down the paddles once more and Quinn's body convulsed.  The monitor glowed like a specter, evilly denying Quinn redemption.  Then the green line swerved up slightly, then dipped down before returning to the center.  There was momentary pause, then it zigzagged again and returned to a steady pattern.

"BP is 100 over 50," Nealson announced.  "We've got him again."

Maggie sighed with relief as she felt the tension in the air fade, yet she knew that they wouldn't be so lucky next time.

----

Wade and Logan sneaked into Quinn's hospital room.  Logan had her timer with her, and Wade had brought their damaged one.  They had decided to kidnap Quinn.  Actually Wade decided, Logan was just going along with her.

Wade walked over to Quinn and touched his face gently.  She could tell that he didn't have much time left.  She glanced around the room.  "Nobody's here," she remarked in surprise.

"Were you expecting someone?" Logan asked.

"Quinn and I weren't sliding alone," Wade explained.  "There are three others with us.  I thought for sure that one of them at least would be here with him."

"Maybe they're out looking for you?" Logan guessed, then checked on Quinn.  "He's dying," she confirmed.  "We have to go now.  I've set the timer to take us directly to Mallory's basement; that's where I always slide in at."

"What about time?" Wade asked.  "How long will we have there?"

"It doesn't matter," Logan told her.  "I can use Mallory's stuff to send me back home.  I've done it before."

Wade smiled a bit.  "Okay then, let's go."

"Wait, what about your friends?"  Logan figured she'd want to let them know what they were planning.  "And should we just take him?  I mean, won't the hospital staff get all upset?"

"Yeah," Wade said with a smirk.  "They will."  She picked up the chart with Quinn's information on it, then opened the door and took that one too.  "And my friends deserve to be left in the dark.  Stay with Quinn; I'll be right back."  She slipped out of the room.

Logan waited until she returned a few minutes later.  "Where did you go?"

"Let's just say that they'll have a hard time figuring out what happened to Quinn."  Wade gave Logan a small smile, then she became serious again.  "Let's get him out of here."

Logan opened the vortex and then helped Wade with Quinn.  "Be careful on the landing," she warned before they jumped in.

Wade nodded and they disappeared into the reddish vortex that swirled shut behind them.
 

THE END