Date: 05/25/2001
From: SouthernSlider

A thousand apologies for taking so long to get to the next chapter. I've hardly had time to breath, much less get on line. And it isn't going to let up for a while, so I appreciate your patience.

In case you've forgotten what's going on, here are the previous chapter post #s:

(P,1)2840 (2)2841 (3)2843 (4)2845 (5)2847 (6)2853 (7)2856 (8)2859

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Chapter Nine

Maggie had paced around the room until she was sure there was a path worn into the carpet. She looked over at Remmy, sitting in relative peace, on the sofa. How could he be so calm? She walked over to him with purpose in her steps and got right to the point.

“Remmy, are you going to go back in time if Quinn finds out it’s possible for us?”

Remmy looked at her several seconds before speaking. His first inclination was to say ‘of course’, but he knew that was a reckless thought. Nothing had been so simple since he had gotten hooked up with Quinn Mallory.

“I don’t know, girl. I’d like to say yes, but I guess there’s a lot more to it than what we think. Before we start spinning dreams, we had better wait for the details from Quinn and the professor.”

“I guess you’re right,” she said with a sigh, “but it sure is nice to dream about it.” Her eyes took on a distant look as she thought about what she would do.

“Like I said, girl, don’t get too caught up in this. It might not be possible,” Remmy warned. Colin’s earlier words echoed in his mind. He wasn’t going to set
himself up for a big disappointment if he could help it, and he would try to keep Maggie’s head on straight, too.

“I know, but surely, it doesn’t hurt to plan ahead -- just in case.” She looked at him with almost pleading eyes for him not to spoil her fantasy. “Look, Remmy. We’re
stuck here right now waiting for the mighty Quinn to decide our fate, once again.” She let out a sigh. “We’re not naive, we’re sliders. We know just about anything is possible, and just about everything is potentially dangerous. We can sit here like zombies, or spin a tale of ‘what if’ for our amusement until they return with some news. Now, tell me, if you could go back in time, would you, and what would you change? What would you do all over again?”

Remmy shook his head with a chuckle as he took Maggie’s fingers in his hand. “Girl, you are one stubborn chick. I guess I’m not going to get out of this, am I?”

“Absolutely not. I’ve got my teeth sunk into this idea and I’m not ready to let go. Spill it.”

“Okay. But only if you do the same,” he said with warning, and a finger pointed in her face.

“Of course.”

Remmy sighed and stared into space for a moment, collecting his thoughts. What would he do if he could? Some things surfaced immediately. Of course, saving Wade was the first thing that popped out of his mouth. That was a no-brainer.

“I’m not sure you’ll get the opportunity,” Maggie answered, “I’m sure that’s the first thing on Quinn’s list.” Her words were almost glum. Remmy knew in his heart she didn’t mean to sound mean-spirited, but he knew she wished Wade wasn’t the foremost thing on Quinn’s mind.

“You know that’s something we all want to do, sweetheart -- even you, though I doubt you would admit it.” Remmy smiled at her sweetly. There was no condemnation in his words or his expression. And she knew he was right -- on both counts.

“And then, of course, there is the professor,” he continued.

“Yeah, yeah. We both know those things, but what about something personal for you, Remmy. Before you ever got caught up in all this sliding mess; what would you go
back and change in your life?”

Remmy didn’t answer right away. His countenance took on a distant stare. It was a simple enough question, and at first thought, maybe even the answers were simple --
like saving Wade and the professor. But when he really put thought to it, the answers were on the far end of the elementary scale. There were so many things he would do
different in his life if he had it to live over again. Or would there be? Would he really change anything of importance? Would he have stayed with the Spinning Topps? Would he have altered his beliefs in any way? And what about his love life? There were too many questions. So many, they made his head spin.

“You know, girl, I’m not sure I could answer that without a whole lot of thought. I mean, on the surface, it sounds so easy, but think about it. I mean, really think about it.
It’s a life-altering decision. You would have to really get your ducks in a row before you did something on that grand a scale. You could make things worse instead of better. One little difference could change everything. When I think about it, maybe we should just let God direct our lives. He’s got a whole lot more experience and know-how. Humans are good at screwing things up.”

He got up and started to pace the room as Maggie had done earlier.

“You’re getting way too philosophical about this, Remmy,” Maggie said as she went to him. “I just wanted to entertain some light-hearted ideas of how things might
could be different for us. I didn’t mean to shake up the world.”

“But that’s just it, Maggie. We’ve seen how one little difference on a parallel world could change everything there after. It could happen in our lives too. We’re
playing with fire here. If we go back and alter one little thing, it might change the course of our lives in a drastic way. We have no idea if it would be for the better or for the worse. I’m beginning to think we should leave well enough alone.”

Maggie’s jaw twitched. She had wanted to do a little wishful thinking and Remmy had to go and get way too serious. She didn’t like the way he was thinking.
Quinn and Colin had gone off with the professor’s double, and she was stuck here with the voice of doom and gloom. It rankled her nerves, causing her to speak before she
thought.

“Even if it means leaving your precious Wade in the hands of the Kromaggs?”

Remmy’s head jerked around so hard to glare at her, she thought it might snap off. Was that hatred shooting darts at her? She knew she had gone too far, but something in
her wouldn’t let her apologize. There was no taking it back now.

“I need some fresh air. I’ll be back later.”

With that she spun on her heels and stomped out of the suite with purpose -- at least on the surface. Inside, she knew she had no idea where she would go or what she
would do. She just had to get away from Remmy before the venomous words he was collecting in his mind spewed forth. One person regretting their words was enough.
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I'll try my best to post again in the morning, but then it will probably be Tuesday night before I could possibly get on again. Sorry to be so sporatic with this one.

SS

Wishful Thinking

Date: 05/25/2001
From: sliderlynn

There are alot of things that we would like to go back
and change,even in this life. So I know how the gang
feels on this one. Personally, I don't think the gang
will be foolish enough to do this. Or will they?????
I call this wishful thinking on their part. :)

Glad to see you're still out there.

Date: 05/25/2001
From: DieselMickeyDolenz

Yeah, real life has a nasty way of taking precedence over online fun. I hope all the business is due to good happenings, not bad.

DMD

P.S. I can wait a long time for a good story.

Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1095/3409
Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz