QUANTUM LEAP - REUNIONS
ACT 1A

INT.  QUANTUM LEAP CONTROL ROOM - THE FUTURE

Everyone is busily attending to various jobs.  Gushie
is at the controls frantically trying to take care of
something.  Al enters with Dr. Beeks; they are talking
about Sam.

                          GUSHIE
             Admiral.

                          AL
             Just a minute, Gushie.  I'll be right
             with ya.  

             Now, Dr. Beeks, I don't quite
             understand how the stress
             syndrome thing has...

                          GUSHIE
                    (Interrupting Al with
                    great urgency in his
                    voice.)
             Admiral!  I need you right now! 
             It's Dr. Beckett.  He leaped over 2
             minutes ago.

                          Al  
             What?   Ah, nah, nah... NO!  We
             can't lose him now.  We just can't. 
             He needs our help!  ...Can you
             track him?  Where is he?  Is there
             anyone in the Waiting Room?

                          GUSHIE
             No one, Admiral, and no indications
             showing traces of momentary leaps
             into individuals which would
             indicate he is bouncing around
             through time.  We do not know to
             where, or when, Dr. Beckett has
             leaped.  It is quite probable he has
             again leaped as himself.  

             And, if that is the case, Ziggy will
             have to do another NANO search in
             order to find him which, I'm afraid,
             requires your participation.

                          Al  
             Isn't there any other way?  

                          GUSHIE
             No, I'm afraid there's not.... 

             Admiral?  You wouldn't happen to
             have any "feelings" again about it
             being his birthday, or where to
             look, would you?

Al shoots Gushie an exasperated, irritated look.

                          GUSHIE
             I'm sorry, Admiral.  I was just
             hoping.  But....  Well, it is the only
             way to find him.

                          AL
                    (with fatalistic
                    resignation)
             God, I hate to go through that
             again.  Sam, 'ol buddy, it's a good
             thing you're worth it.

                                                                  CUT TO:

Al stands in the whirlwind.
                                                                  CUT TO:

Sam leaves Beth's house.  He picks up a newspaper off
a yard, takes it out of the plastic bag, opens it, and
looks at the headlines.



                          SAM 
                    (Voice-over as he reads
                    through the paper)
             During all these years of leaping
             through time to help put right
             what once went wrong, we all
             thought there was a higher power
             leaping me around; whether it was
             God, or Fate, or Time itself....  

             I can hardly believe I'm the one. 
             I'M doing it.  I'm leaping myself
             around within my own lifetime,
             helping others, righting wrongs. 
             I am achieving my dreams.

Sam closes paper and looks around.  As he speaks, he
folds the paper up and places it back in the plastic
bag.

                          SAM
                    (states out loud with
                    conviction)
             I can't go home yet; there's so
             much going wrong in the world
             every day; so much to put right. 
             Who knows what I can accomplish
             before I'm done.

Sam drops the paper where he found it; leaps.


EXT.  Shot of mountain used during series

Caption:  "Stallions Gate, New Mexico - 5 years later".

                                                                 FADE TO:


INT.  QUANTUM LEAP COMPLEX - THE FUTURE

Al and Donna are walking through the complex toward
the control center.  

They pause and look through a glass partition at
Sammy Jo (Sam's daughter with Abigail) as she is
working.

                          AL  
                    (conversational, upbeat,
                    looking at Sammy)
             Sam's daughter's doing great. 
             Thank God she was able to
             synthetically duplicate my
             neurological output so I don't have
             to stand in that damn whirlwind
             while Ziggy does the NANO search
             for Sam.  Now we can search non-
             stop; 24 hours a day.

Al glances at Donna as they resume walking.

                          AL  
             Is she any closer to figurin' out a
             better way to bring him home when
             we find him?

                          DONNA
                    (distant, as if quietly
                    musing; not looking at
                    Al, but rather at an
                    unknown point in space,
                    quietly stresses the
                    second "if", as though in
                    a dreamy state:)
             You mean "if", Al... "if" we find my
             husband. 


                          AL  
                    (stops for just a moment
                    and turns to Donna with
                    a serious look of
                    concern; Donna keeps
                    walking)
             Donna?  
                    (catches up with Donna
                    and then continues
                    walking with her and
                    speaks her name a slight
                    bit stronger)
             Donna!  

As Donna stops and turns to face Al, he examines
Donna's face during his next line and throughout her
reply with his way of skeptically eye-balling a
situation when he feels something is not quite right.

                          AL
             You're not still bitter about Sam's
             daughter workin' here with us, are
             you?

                          DONNA
                    (visibly composes
                    herself, but replies as if
                    nothing had happened)
             No, Al.  I'm not bitter about Sammy.
                    (she and Al continue
                    walking)
             She has some bright, new ideas. 
             But I don't think she has
             developed anything that has
             adequately increased the odds. 
             Ziggy is still only projecting a 32%
             chance of a successful retrieval.

                          AL  
                    (tries to elicit a positive
                    reaction from Donna)
             Yeah, but don't forget the odds are
             goin' up every day....  
                    (now with more concern)
             Donna, I'm worried that's not the
             real problem.  Are you sure you're
             OK with all of this?

                          DONNA  
             I'm fine, Al.  Really.  Really fine.... 
             Really.  I mean... well... actually no. 
             No, I'm not fine!  I'm miserable. 
             But it's not Sammy... not exactly.  
                    (stops and turns to face Al)
             If you really want me to be
             completely honest about it, I'm
             bitter about Sammy's mother, and
             every other woman Sam has been
             with since this terrible nightmare
             started.  

             There.  I've said it.  I shouldn't
             have... didn't intend to.... but I'm
             glad.  I'm glad I said it.  Now you
             know.  But...  Well, I'm glad it's out
             in the open and now you know.

Donna and Al resume walking.  Al is sympathetic.

                          DONNA
             I could forgive all of it and I could
             wait forever, if I could feel some
             sense of hope that we will ever be
             able to bring him home again.  But,
             Al, I don't believe it matters what
             the odds of a successful retrieval
             are, I still don't think we're ever
             going to find him to try to retrieve
             him! 

             What's he doing out there?  I've
             been over the tapes and
             transcripts of your last contact
             with him a million times and it just
             doesn't make any sense.  If he IS
             the one leaping himself around,
             why hasn't he come home?... 
             Either he can't... or he just doesn't
             want to.

                          AL 
             Donna, Sam isn't the one leaping
             himself around.

                          DONNA
             I'm not so sure anymore.

                          AL  
             Well, I am.  

Donna looks at him quizzically, searching for
reassurance.

                          AL  
             If he could control it, he'd be here. 
             He'd come home.

                          DONNA
                    (with a slight smile)
             I wish I could be sure you were
             right, Al.          
                    (the smile fades)
             I couldn't handle it, if he was the
             one doing it and he just didn't
             want to come home.  I have to
             believe there's some other reason
             keeping him away.  But that's like
             a double edged sword... if there is
             some other reason, that means he's
             in trouble.

                          AL  
             Donna, everything'll be alright. 
             You'll see.

                          DONNA
             I'm not so sure, Al; he told you he
             was the one leaping himself....

                          AL
             Donna...  he told me a BARTENDER
             told him he was the one leaping
             himself around through time.

                          DONNA
                    (sheepishly)
             Well, yes.  I keep forgetting... and
             the Bartender saying it does make
             a difference... in the general
             concept....  But I get so scared and
             full of doubts....

             Al, I have this terrible feeling that
             it's all true; that it really is Sam
             that's doing it... and maybe that
             he's been doing it all along.

                          AL
             Donna, it hasn't been Sam!  It's
             been the experiment; the Quantum
             Leap Project...  run by a computer
             with the biggest ego in the
             universe!  And you know that Dr.
             Beeks says the last time we saw
             Sam he was probably suffering
             from an overload of exasperation -
             sort of like  delayed-stress-
             syndrome... like he'd been at war...
             and he was inventing reasons he
             hadn't been able to come home.

                          Donna
             All the more reason to try and help
             him.  If he's not the one leaping
             himself around, then something
             has gone terribly wrong and he's
             probably no longer able to leap
             into someone else.  

They walk in silence for a moment, each with looks
indicating they still believe their own point of view,
but obviously each has a nagging suspicion that the
other may be closer to the truth of the matter. 

                          Donna
                    (to herself)
             I'd almost rather that were true! 
             Oh, dear God, please forgive me
             but I'd rather he were in trouble.
                    (spoken to Al)
             I know that could mean disaster
             for him, but I'm afraid I could
             handle that easier than him just
             not wanting to come home to me. 
             But, Al, if he is in trouble...

             Al, Sam needs our help.  We're
             going to have to go get him.

                          AL  
             Donna, we've already been through
             this a gazillion times.

They arrive at the control room and enter.

                          AL
             It's just too dangerous.

                          GUSHIE
                    (looks up from his work
                    at the controls)
             What is too dangerous, Admiral?

                          AL
             Donna's back on her kick about
             wanting to play Rescue Team to go
             fetch our boy.

                          GUSHIE
             Oh, Doctor Alissie, I still strongly
             advise against such action.

                          DONNA
                    (argumentative)
             It's been 5 years!  Sam is going to
             be stranded out there forever
             unless we go get him!

                          GUSHIE
             I disagree.  We have come quite
             close to locating him on numerous
             occasions.  True, we have not been
             successful in getting a complete
             lock on his location to allow
             Admiral Calevichi to contact him
             before he leaps again; but I am
             confident that we will eventually
             be successful.  But, these things
             take time.

                          DONNA
             I feel like I have no time left.

                          AL 
             Donna, we've just got to keep
             scanning all years until we find
             him.  And we will find him.

                          GUSHIE
             And don't forget, when Dr. Beckett
             leaps into someone rather than
             traveling through time as himself,
             we will immediately be able to get a
             lock on him.

                          DONNA
             That's just it, I don't think he can
             leap into someone.  But I think I
             can go to him; I can leap to him. 
             I've been working on the program
             to convert it to my...

                          AL  
             Donna, Sam is alright.  Hell, he's a
             hero!  And, think about it!  With
             Fate, or God, or whatever-it-is
             that's been leaping him around
             through time letting him be himself
             to the people he has helped or
             saved over the last few years:
             that's got to be like a reward to
             Sam.  Believe me, Donna; even if he
             never leaps into someone again,
             we'll find him.  Like Gushie said, it
             just takes time... and patience.

                          GUSHIE
             Please have faith in the Project,
             Doctor.  We will find him; and when
             we do, we will bring him home. 
             But, please believe me, it's just too
             dangerous to try to send another
             traveler.

Donna looks away from both men and gazes up at Ziggy.


                          DONNA
             You both know as well as I do that,
             even if we find Sam, we'll never be
             able to bring him home again.=1A