Date: 10/17/2000
From: SouthernSlider

Well, this is it, boys and girls. We've come to the end of the ride. Fasten you seat belts, and hang onto your hats.
--------------------------

United We Slide, Divided . . . We Disappear

Chapter Twenty-six

Colin looked up at Kelly with more shock on his
face than Quinn. “Kelly?” he said as he stood.

Kelly stared for another moment at the man who
had lost her sister. He wouldn’t even look at her. Why
didn’t he at least say something? ‘I’m sorry,’ would be a
good start. If he would just show some remorse maybe
she could forgive him . . . at least for Colin’s sake.
Quinn looked up at the double of Wade’s sister.
Why did she do that? Did the Quinn of this world do the
same thing to his Wade? Is that why she attacked? Of
course, even if she was slapping the wrong Quinn, he
deserved it, so there was no reason to explain. But
where did she come from, and how did she know he was
here?

“Kelly?” Colin stood and repeated her name.
The sound of his voice drew her back to reality. She
turned and looked into his eyes.

“Colin. I’m sorry. But it couldn’t be helped.”
She started to tremble and wanted to slap him again, but
she knew it would serve no purpose. It didn’t seem to
have any effect, and her animosity would only drive a
wedge between her and Colin. She had to try to control
herself for their sake. “I will leave you two alone. You
have a lot to work out, but I know you will resolve your
problems. You must. You never know when one of you
might not be around anymore.”

Quinn blinked. Her stinging words hurt him
more than any slap she could offer. He wanted to tell
her how sorry he was but he knew the words would be
inadequate, so he bit his lip and said nothing. She
turned and headed for the door where Remmy and
Maggie still stood.

When the door closed, Colin returned to his seat
next to his brother. The silence was deafening. Every
little sound multiplied in volumed and echoed around
the room. Even with the windows closed a distant car
horn sounded like a blaring bullhorn in Quinn’s ears.
Colin leaned back on the sofa and sighed. To Quinn it
was like a gale-force wind.

“I have to tell you something, brother,” Colin
said.

“I think I should be the one to do the talking,
Colin.” Quinn stood and raked his fingers through his
hair. Colin noticed his trembling hand. Quinn paced the
room for a moment, then turned back to Colin.

“I know that anything I say now will not be
enough. It won’t change the fact that I have been a total
jack-ass. It won’t bring Wade back; and it probably
won’t put things back the way they were between us . . .
but I am sorry.” Colin started to respond, but Quinn
held a hand up to stop him. “Let me finish.” He
returned to the sofa and sat down, propping his elbows
on his knees and clasping his hands together in a tight
grip to control the shaking.

“I have made some terrible mistakes, but one of
the biggest was burying my feelings about Wade and
what happened to her. I thought if I pushed them down
deep enough, I could carry on. I was scared; scared that
I would never find her, scared that she had died at the
hands of those bastards, scared that if I took on the
relentless effort of looking for her that the same thing
might happen to the rest of you guys. I couldn’t live if I
lost another one.” He stopped speaking for a moment,
trying to hang on to his sanity.

“I almost lost you. I thought I *had* lost you.
And I was going to end it all right here. There was no
way I was going to go on living when I had destroyed so
many others with my foolishness. I want you to know
that I am going to dedicate the rest of my life to finding
Wade. I won’t stop. I won’t pretend any longer. I know
you have to move on with your life . . . you and Remmy
and Maggie. I understand that. But even if we aren’t
together, knowing you are alive and well will be enough
for me.”

Colin swallowed hard. His brother wasn’t a
cold-hearted monster after all; and he was a bit
cold-hearted himself to ever think he was. He should
have know Quinn was hurting so much that he had to
pretend he didn’t care just to get by. It had all been a big misunderstanding.

“Quinn. We are in this together. If it had not
been for your ‘foolishness’, as you put it, we would
never have found each other. I know you care, and I am
sorry for accusing you otherwise. And no, things will
not be as they once were between us . . . they will be
better.” He clasped his hand over the still-trembling
clinched fists of his brother. Quinn looked up at Colin
with watery eyes. He could say nothing. There were no
words that could be said.

“Now may I tell you my news?” Colin asked,
then continued without waiting for a response. “The
woman that slapped you a few moments ago is really
Wade’s sister, not a double from this world.” Quinn
frowned. “And the man you found on the island and
took to the hospital is really your old physics buddy,
Conrad Bennish. He’s not a double either.”

Quinn couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
The plane crash must have addled his brother’s brain.
His outward appearance seemed okay, but the boy was
going to need some serious help. Colin saw the look on
his brother’s face and knew he thought him insane.

He launched into an explanation with gusto.
Quinn was stunned to say the least. The more Colin told
him, the more astonished he became. What were the
odds that Conrad and Kelly would ever find them? But
if they could, then he could find Wade. He was going to
make that promise to Kelly when she returned.

Epilogue

 

Remmy opened the door carefully and peeked
inside. There was no broken furniture strewn around the
room. He saw the pair sitting on the sofa engrossed in a
conversation. Colin saw his head and motioned for him
to come in.

“It is safe, Remmy. Everything is going to be all
right,” he said.

Remmy opened the door all the way and stepped
inside with a big grin adorning his face. Maggie and
Kelly were right behind him. “All right. It’s about time
you two came to your senses. And it’s a good thing. I
thought I was going to have to do some serious
head-bashing on you guys.” Maggie rolled her eyes at
Remmy’s cocky words.

Quinn started to make a remark but stopped short
when he saw Kelly. He stood up and made his way to
her. He took her hand in his as he spoke.

“You will never know how sorry I am about
everything. If taking my own life would bring her back,
I would do it in a heartbeat.” He stopped a moment to
collect himself, then continued. “I promise you I will
never give up looking for her. I will slide to every
parallel earth in every dimension if it takes the rest of
my life.”

A foreign feeling began to wash over her.
What? It suddenly dawned on her that she was no
longer angry, or frustrated, or hurt. Hearing his heartfelt
words, she knew she could make peace with the
situation. She had no room in her heart any longer for
hate. She put her arms around him and whispered in his
ear.

“If we can find each other, we can find her.
Someday, Quinn. Someday.”

***

Two days later, Quinn, Colin, Remmy and
Maggie led Kelly and Conrad down the familiar back
alley. After a visit to the hospital, and a grand reunion
of two eggheads, it was decided that the four sliders
would become six. Conie and Kelly didn’t want to start
a new band. They mourned the loss of their friends and
decided it wouldn’t be the same if they tried to replace
them.

Conrad looked forward to picking Quinn’s brain
and vice versa. Maggie and Remmy moaned and
groaned -- in jest, of course -- about having to listen to
the two brains talk their mumbo-jumbo. Colin and Kelly
were just glad to be together. He worried about how
Quinn would take their union and expressed that concern
to him in private. Quinn assured him he approved. He
told Colin it gave him hope.

The timer counted down to zero and one by one
they jumped in until only Colin and Kelly were left. He
took her hand in his, then kissed her lightly on the lips.

“We will find her someday, Kelly,” he said as
they stepped toward the vortex.

“I know. And with you by my side, the search
won’t be so hard.”

He squeezed her hand and they jumped in
together, ready for another adventure, ready for another
chance at finding their lost comrade.

***

She walked into the Sassy Brass Bar and plopped
herself down on the stool.

“What can I get you, little lady?” asked Brad.

“A beer will do,” she answered quietly.

Brad started to ask what kind, but thought better
of it. He decided from the look on her face she probably
didn’t care. He wouldn’t waste the words. When he sat
the full mug in front of her, she slid the money toward
him with a quiet ‘thanks’.

“You’re not looking too chipper, there. Want to
talk about it? That’s what bartenders are for, you
know.”

She took another swallow from the mug, and
looked into the man’s eyes. “You wouldn’t believe me,
if I told you,” she said.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve just about heard it all
back here behind the bar. Try me.”

She tried to smile, but just shook her head and
turned to listen to the band performing on stage. Who,
in their right mind, would believe she was from a
parallel earth, who had been captured and held hostage
by a sub-human race for two and a half years, then
finally deposited on a world not her own when she
wouldn’t cooperate and bend to their ways?

She was stranded here for the rest of her life with
no way to get home. She wasn’t going to try to tell the
world her story and be put away in some mental
institution. She had a life, albeit, not the one she
thought she would have, but she had one. Wade
Kathleen Welles was going to make the best of it. And
who knows, someday a vortex may open and her knight
in shining armor will come tumbling out. She could
have sworn she heard the swoosh of one just outside the doors, but it had to be only in her mind.

The End
-------------------------------

There you go. May I say thanks to all those who read and reponded to the story. Your comments are appreciated very much.

sliderlynn and sweetone: I can't remember all the info I gave you on the other board, so I may be repeating myself. But if you are interested in Colin, "The Garden of Eden, Revisited" starts with post #2127 on page 56, and "Gone With the Slide" starts with post #1586 on page 42. My first ff "Lovers and Other Strangers" and it's sequel is posted on Sarah's site. Colin is not the main focus but he is definitely a good part of the story.

Again, thanks to all those that have supported my work.

SS

Oops. Prev. post #s

Date: 10/17/2000
From: SouthernSlider

Forgot previous post #s: P)2277 1)2280 2)2283 3)2285 4)2292 5)2295 6)2298 7)2303 8)2306 9)2312 10)2313 11)2322 12)2325 13)2331 14)2333 15)2337 16)2338 17)2341 18)2343 19)2346 20)2350 21)2352 22)2353 23)2354 24)2358 25)2363

SS

Arrrrgh!

Date: 10/17/2000
From: DieselMickeyDolenz

You just had to do that to us at the end, didn't you? LOL Another great story SS. This board is just too quiet in between your postings.

Diesel
Mickey
Dolnez

boy what a wild ride...

Date: 10/17/2000
From: sweetone

great story. I'll check out your others. What is the url for SliderSarah's site? Thanks for the pages to the other ones.

SweetOne

"All our actions take their
hue from the complexion of the heart, as
landscapes their variety from light."
Francis Bacon

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Date: 10/17/2000
From: Longagoslider

What a great(and surprise) ending to a fantastic story. I hope the ending is a teaser for the beginning of your next story. I mean, you absolutely MUST give us an explanation of how Wade escaped from the Maggs and arrived on that world.

LS

That's Great !!

Date: 10/17/2000
From: sliderlynn

SS you are a great writer.I've read the entire story
and loved it!! I am definitely going to check out your
other stories about Colin. I hope you don't mind, but
all the stories about Colin I want to put on a floppy
disk,so that I can reread them.I adore Colin.You are
the only one to give Charlie/Colin a chance.The guy's
does have talent,he is not Jerry's twin.He is his own
person.Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for this
story.I'm not able to get Sarah's site,so I'm going to
miss that story.Who is Sarah linked with? That will be
the only way I will be able to get to her site. Thanks
alot.Take care.
P.S. I'm looking forward to your next story.How long
will it be for the next one?

A round of applause...

Date: 10/18/2000
From: dellyone

To another outstanding story from you, SS. Bravo. I can't wait for another fine fanfic from you. Thank you for sharing your stories with all of us.

dellyone

Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1095/2902
Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz