TITLE:Third Chances
WRITTEN: 04 Jan, 2001
AUTHOR: Michael Avery
FANDOM: Sliders, Groundhog Day
CHALLENGE: Sliders-Writer's Challenge, January 2001
ARCHIVE: Only on the Sliders-Writer's List Web Site. No-one else may post. I shall allow links to my own site as well.
RATING:13 and older, I'd say, for mild violence and mild language.
DISCLAIMER: Sliders TV show characters in a fan-fiction setting. I don't claim to own any of them, I treat them with respect of the real owners. Trace Torme is the God of the Sliders universe.
WARNINGS: Mild angst, vague violence, nothing major.
SPOILERS: Yes, if one has not watched the episode Exodus or beyond.
NOTES: I enjoy altering timelines, and so this follows the series post Exodus only vaguely. It continues in a timeline in my head. Maggie Lovers, and Wade lovers, please don't despair.

     Maggie sighed and stared at her glass. It was empty again, and she hated when her glass was empty. A laugh echoed across the room. Female, in response to a soft low whisper that made Maggie sigh yet again.
     Quinn Mallory had been kind enough, opening to her presence among the Sliders with a coolness that spoke volumes about his concern for the dying professor Arturo. She was almost certain that coolness had nothing to do with Maggie herself... but that lingering doubt was growing, nagging and nibbling at her nerves.
     Had she been any later, Arturo would be dead, instead of dying at San Miguel Crisis Centre. She sighed again, and looked up to find the bartender. The only person in the mirror's reflection was herself, staring back with accusing eyes.
     She turned and walked over to the table where the others sat.
     "I'm going upstairs, if nobody minds?" She asked it in a short manner, her eyes sweeping across the group to rest on Wade's own rich brown eyes.
     Wade looked away, turning instead to meet Quinn's eyes.
     Maggie followed the gaze and waited.
     Quinn nodded, sighing heavily. "I don't think we're going to be much longer," he answered. "Go on, then. You and Wade can share the bed. Remmy and I will pull out that couch thing and crash there.
     Maggie nodded and walked slowly out of the hotel's bar and up the stairs to their room. "Who ever heard of a world without elevators and escelators?" Of course, she thought to herself, the scenery was gorgeous, and it was nice to see the small buildings, the peacefulness of the countryside. People were gentler here, and kinder. Technological advances had gone to medical and space research, businesses were genuine.
     All because of an earthquake that convinced people to stay low to the ground, instead of building skyscrapers.
     Maggie sighed as she reached her door, and opened the room.
     Someone had come in and placed fresh cut flowers on the one desk. A stack of newspapers replaced what should have been a Television. She walked past them all and went straight for the huge bed with the feather mattress and the downy comforter.
     "All the comforts of Grandmother's cottage." She sighed and sat on the bed. Now that she was alone, she drew the locket from around her neck and opened it. There was her picture, from when she was eight. Across from it, on the other side of the delicate hinge, was her husband's photo. "I miss you."
     She sighed and closed the locket, then tucked it back under her shirt.
     "Who do you miss?" Wade asked.
     Maggie startled and tried to hide her surprise. She turned the fear in her heart into hostility. She remembered Wade's eyes as they turned away, her voice silent and ignoring her. "What do you care? Leave me alone, I want some sleep."
     Wade's face transformed from soft concern to teary confusion. Maggie didn't see it, she had already turned away to pull back the sheets on the bed. In anger, Wade moved to the other side of the bed and drew back the covers.
     Maggie turned out the light, and both girls lie down on the edges of their own sides of the bed, fuming at the other.

     Maggie woke the next morning to the sounds of the door slamming. She lie in bed, gathering her orientation. She was sprawled out across the entire bed, and the coolness of the sheets around her suggested she had been that way for some time, and Wade had left much earlier.
     She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She smoothed her hair back and stretched, then turned to put her feet on the floor. She sighed at the softness of the carpet, and stood to stretch again.
     A light knock on the door asked permission to enter.
     "I'm decent," she called out. She sat back down on the bed and reached for the comb she had placed on the end table the day before.
     The door opened and Remmy peeked in. "Hey, Maggie. Quinn and Wade went out for a bit... you want breakfast?"
     She nodded. "Sure. Let me get the tangles out, and I'll be right out."
     Remmy nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

     Breakfast, to Remmy, was a startling sample of bacon and eggs, hash browns, pancakes, toast and jam. he had already soaked two glasses of milk and a carafe of Orange Juice on his own.
     Maggie looked down at her bagel and cream cheese and sighed. "You're going to burst."
     "Naw," Remmy was focused on the last bit of eggs. "The way we travel, it's important to get a good meal when you can. You're the one who's gonna end up sorry."
     She sighed. "What was that loud slam?"
     Remmy stared at her for a moment in confusion. "Oh, you mean this morning? Wade and Quinn sort of had a disagreement and they went out, like I said."
     "Together?" She met Remmy's eyes and waited. When he gave no response, she prodded further. "Come on, Rembrandt. I'm not dumb. Those two have been like cats at a dog show... what's going on?"
     "Frankly?" Remmy lowered his head and focused for a long time on the strips of bacon in front of him. "You."
     Maggie felt the cold chill down her back. "Okay, I don't need this. What's she mad at me for?"
     "She thinks you're responsible for Arturo being in the hospital, for us missing the Slide, and she thinks you're trying to steal Quinn from her."
     Maggie stood, furious. "I'll set that bitch right." She threw her napkin onto the table and began walking back to the room. "Thanks, Remmy!" she called.
     Rembrandt sighed and looked at the uneaten bagel. He then sighed and went back to his own meal. "I was serious about the eating thing," he said to nobody in particular.

     The call came just as Maggie entered the room. The Doctor was brief. Arturo should be recovering, but for some reason he wasn't responding. He kept asking for Quinn, for Wade and Remmy. She assured the Doctor she would contact them right away.
     She went downstairs and found Remmy paying the bill. She moaned softly, realising she had stiffed Rembrandt on her part. She ran to catch him. "Remmy!"
     "Hey, you change your mind? Wanna eat something now?"
     "No, thanks. Listen, they need you at the hospital. Where's Wade and Quinn?"
     "If they ain't in the bar, I don't know. This neighbourhood is different from our usual. Wade might try to find a park, and Quinn would try to find her."
     "Thanks, Remmy. I'll look for them." She paused. "And let me pay you back for my breakfast."
     He smiled at her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You wanna repay me, find Quinn and Wade."
     She blinked. She didn't realise it before, but these people were really a kind of family. She could see the fear in Remmy's eyes, the devotion to Arturo and the others. Yet there was something else, as well. She could see the love for Wade and Quinn, the concern for them and their relationship. 'They must be special,' she thought. 'This is so important...'
     She nodded and ran out the door to find the others.

     Wade sat in the park crying. When the warm arm slid around hers, the sobs became more frenzied. She felt fresh pain well up in her heart and spill out in anguished crying. She turned and buried her face in the soft warm chest of the man she loved.
     "It's okay, Wade, I'm here. I'm here." He pet her back and sighed softly. He loved Wade, that was the one truth that burned strongest in his own heart. He felt the warmth of her, snuggled close to him, every pore of her trusting him enough to be vulnerable in his arms.
    They had fought lately, about so many things, pretending their feelings weren't etched in glow in the dark colours all over their faces. Looking into her eyes, it was obvious, and he knew his lies were transparent.
     "What have we been doing?" he asked himself softly.
     "Protecting ourselves, I think." Wade's voice wavered, but it had calmed. "I needed this... I think I have for a long time."
     "Me too. We've been so busy running for our lives... we haven't lived." Quinn drew back just enough to look down at Wade, who looked up at him with soft doe eyes worn and red from crying. She smiled waveringly at him, and he found himself ready to say something he had never felt brave enough for in the past. "I--"
     "WADE! QUINN!"
     Maggie's voice cut the moment into shreds, and Quinn sighed. Wade felt the anger and fury inside her spring back. She and Quinn had almost solidified something that was so hard to build. Maybe the chance was gone, certainly they had never been so close to admittance before. 
     "The hospital called, Arturo's asking for you both." Maggie was out of breath. She had seen the closeness, but ignored it. She somehow felt Arturo needed Quinn and Wade immediately. Yet she felt bad for interrupting. "I wouldn't have bothered either of you otherwise."
     "Yeah, right," Wade muttered under her breath as she stalked past Maggie. Quinn was right behind her, and both Sliders set a quick pace to walk the few blocks to the hospital.

     Remmy sat in the waiting room, his head down, staring at the floor. He was numb to everything around him. When the sliding doors admitted new arrivals, he somehow knew it was Quinn and Wade. The sounds of their breathing indicated they had ran the whole way.
     And yet it wasn't soon enough.
     He looked up and met their stares. They stood just inside the doorway, blocking it as Maggie tried to peek around them. He shook his head. "I'm sorry... five minutes sooner..."
     "He's dead.." Wade clutched at Quinn's shirt.
     "No," Quinn began, but stopped at the sound of Wade's voice.
     "HE'S DEAD!" Wade screamed it at Quinn.
     Quinn stared into Remmy's eyes. When the singer nodded, slightly and almost imperceptably, he turned around and stared at Maggie. "I blame YOU." He turned back around and went into the hospital, guiding Wade with him.
     Maggie stared at the group, huddled together trying to comfort each other. She thought of Quinn's words and the expression on his face. She could feel the heat of his grief... not his anger... rippling off each sound.
     She turned and ran out into the street. She wasn't sure where she would go, or what she would do. She could not make amends for Arturo's death, and they had equally blocked her out of their group time and again. This last time was not something they had calculated, she understood their grief. However, it was her final clue that she was not meant to travel with them, that she was not meant to find any kindof a world where she had any chance of finding happiness.
     She began to cry, and slammed into something solid and muscular. She realised she had bumped full into someone, and she looked up. Recognition sparked in her eyes, she knew this person, dispite the hat and the scarf around his mouth.
     The sudden cold of a gun barrel pointed into her stomach. She felt a cold panic just as the gun went off. Her last thought was that it was probably what she deserved.

     Maggie woke to the sounds of the door slamming. She lie in bed, gathering her orientation. She was sprawled out across the entire bed, and the coolness of the sheets around her suggested she had been that way for some time, and Wade had left much earlier.
     She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She smoothed her hair back and stretched, then turned to put her feet on the floor. She sighed at the softness of the carpet, and stood to stretch again.
     A light knock on the door asked permission to enter.
     "I'm decent," she called out. Suddenly she felt a strong sense of Deja-Vu. She struggled hard to remember what she had done the night before. She vaguely remembered the man with the gun, Arturo dying... "Oh, my god..." Then she remembered getting plastered in the hotel bar. "Maybe I had too much to drink... I should be dead if it were real." She sat back down on the bed and reached for the comb she had placed on the end table the day before, her hand shaking slightly.
     The door opened and Remmy peeked in. "Hey, Maggie. Quinn and Wade went out for a bit... you want breakfast?"
     She nodded, carefully. "Sure. Has Arturo's condition improved at all?"
     "Nothing new," he answered.
     "Okay," she said slowly. She must have dreamed it, then. "Let me get the tangles out, and I'll be right there." 
     Remmy nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

     Again, Maggie felt a strong sense of Deja-Vu seeing Remmy eat his breakfast. He had a startling sample of bacon and eggs, hash browns, pancakes, toast and jam. He had already soaked two glasses of milk and a carafe of Orange Juice on his own.
     Maggie looked down at her half finished pancakes and hash browns and sighed. Whatever posessed her to get anything more than a bagel and cream cheese was beyond her knowledge. "You're going to burst."
     "Naw," Remmy was focused on the last bit of eggs. "The way we travel, it's important to get a good meal when you can. You're the one who's gonna end up sorry."
     She sighed. "What was that loud slam... this morning?"
 Remmy stared at her for a moment in confusion. "Oh. Wade and Quinn sort of had a disagreement and they went out, like I said."
     "Together?" She met Remmy's eyes and waited. When he gave no response, she prodded further. "Come on, Rembrandt. I'm not dumb. Those two have been like cats at a dog show... what's going on?"
     "Frankly?" Remmy lowered his head and focused for a long time on the strips of bacon in front of him. "You."
     Maggie stifled the anger that rose up. "Why... me?"
     Remmy sighed and met Maggie's eyes. "Wade feels like you're responsible for Arturo's death... She's full of grief, you know how that makes people. She feels threatened by you, and she thinks maybe you're gonna take Quinn away from her."
     Maggie sighed. She had the strange image of Wade and Quinn almost kissing, of a phone ringing incessantly, and then again the gun flinging a bullet into her stomach.
     She quickly shot back in her chair, propelling it with her feet, and stood. "Sorry, excuse me." She ran back upstairs and barely opened the door when the phone stopped ringing.
     "Oh, my god. It was real... somehow it was real..." She ran back downstairs, just as Remmy was running out the door to the street. "Shit... shit, shit!" She ran out and headed straight down the street, knowing somehow that a park would be nearby.

     Remmy sat in the waiting room, his head down, staring at the floor. He was numb to everything around him. When the sliding doors admitted new arrivals, he somehow knew it was Quinn and Wade. The sounds of their breathing indicated they had ran the whole way.
     And yet it wasn't soon enough.
     He looked up and met their stares. They stood just inside the doorway, blocking it as Maggie tried to peek around them. He shook his head. "I'm sorry... five minutes sooner..."
     "He's dead.." Wade clutched at Quinn's shirt.
     "No," Quinn began, but stopped at the sound of Wade's voice.
     "HE'S DEAD!" Wade screamed it at Quinn.
     Quinn stared into Remmy's eyes. When the singer nodded, slightly and almost imperceptably, he turned around and stared at Maggie. 
     "I'm sorry," Maggie started, tears in her eyes, but Quinn's sharp voice cut her off.
     "I blame YOU." Quinn stared at her, long and hard, then he turned back around and went into the waiting room, guiding Wade with him.
     Maggie stared at the group, huddled together trying to comfort each other. She thought of Quinn's words and the expression on his face. She could feel the heat of his grief... not his anger... rippling off each sound. Somehow she knew this was going to happen. Some strange premonition had her motivated to change it... but she had failed.
     She turned and ran out into the street. She found herself wandering aimlessly down an unfamiliar street. She could not make amends for Arturo's death, and they had equally blocked her out of their group time and again. This last time was not something they had calculated, she understood their grief. However, it was her final clue that she was not meant to travel with them, that she was not meant to find any kind of a world where she had any chance of finding happiness.
     She began to cry, and slammed into something solid and muscular. She realised she had bumped full into someone, and she looked up. Recognition sparked in her eyes, she knew this person, dispite the hat and the scarf around his mouth. She heard a soft voice in the back of her head say, "Not again..."
     The sudden cold of a gun barrel pointed into her stomach. She was still puzzling at that tiny voice when the gun went off. Her last thought was a scream for help, that she deserved to make things better.

     Maggie woke to the sounds of the door slamming. She lie in bed, gathering her orientation. She was sprawled out across the entire bed, and the coolness of the sheets around her suggested she had been that way for some time, and Wade had left much earlier.
     She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She smoothed her hair back and stretched, then turned to put her feet on the floor. She sighed at the softness of the carpet, and stood to stretch again.
     A light knock on the door asked permission to enter.
     "I'm decent," she called out. Suddenly she remembered the man with the gun, Arturo dying... "Oh, my god..." She knew, she just knew she was reliving the same day again, the day of her death. "Maybe I am dead... but if it's real." She stood quickly and grabbed her shose, barely running her fingers through her hair. "I need to catch Wade...
     The door opened and Remmy peeked in. "Hey, Maggie. Quinn and Wade went out for a bit... you want breakfast?"
     "No, we have to catch up to them, we need to go visit Arturo, right now!"
     Remmy was confused by her insistent suggestion. "What's wrong?"
     "Possibly everything. Possibly just everything!" She ran out the door and headed immediately for the park. She saw Quinn running ahead of her, and she forced herself to run faster.
     Quinn suddenly turned and rounded on Maggie. "You bitch! Can't you just leave us alone? You've hurt Wade enough, just leave us alone and let us get on with our lives. We don't need you."
     She skidded to a halt and heard Quinn's words. "Fine," her eyes filled with tears. "I don't care about that. Please, Arturo needs you, he's going to die. Please, you have to get there now."
     "Don't try to change the subject, Maggie..."
     Wade stepped forward. She looked at Maggie, saw the tears in her eyes. "I don't think she's bitching this time." She looked at Quinn and Remmy. "C'mon, let's go!"

     They reached the emergency room just as the doctor lowered the reciever of the phone at the nurse's station. "There you are, I'm glad you're here. Can you come with me?"
     The group followed the doctor, but Maggie stayed back. Quinn had told her to leave them alone. She sighed and left the room quietly. As she wandered, she realised she was walking straight towards a bank. She recognised it as the place she had been shot. "There must be a robbery." She looked around and saw a payphone. She quickly dialed 911 and reported the robbery. As she stayed on the line with the operator, she saw the police car pull in. The arrest was swift, and nobody was hurt.
     She sighed, and then left the phone booth. She was startled to see Wade standing with her back against the building, watching her. "Hi."
     "Hi," Maggie said softly. "I'm sorry if I've done anything to hurt your feelings."
     "I think I understand... things haven't been easy for you either..." Wade smiled.
     Maggie walked over to stand near the petite redhead. "How's the professor?"
     "He seemed to get stronger when he saw us... and I think he blushed when I kissed his cheek... and the Doctors said that he was past the most dangerous stage... he's going to get better..."
     "I'm sorry you missed your Slide... but I'm glad he's all right."
     Wade nodded. "Quinn and I were talking. He said that all the tech that didn't go into things like elevators and tvs were sort of given over into the technology of medicine... if we had slid, and Arturo needed all this back there... he wouldn't have lived. So you sort of helped us, in the end."
     Maggie sighed heavily. "I don't want to fight with you. I'm sorry... I've been jealous. I lost my husband, and seeing you and Quinn so happy together just made me... heartsick and angry. That wasn't right."
     "We were all tense. Things will get better. There can be such things as happy endings. Max is going to be all right!"
     Maggie smiled. "Do you feel like you need something super-chocolate... maybe with whipped cream and fudge?"
     "And a cherry on top?" Wade asked.
     Maggie nodded. "Let's go get something to eat..."
     Wade reached forward and hugged Maggie quickly. "Thank you. I feel so happy..."
     They began to walk. "Did Quinn propose to you?" Maggie watched Wade's blush creep over her face, and laughed. "Congratulations, amiga."
     "Thank you," Wade answered softly.
     'Thank you, whomever you are...' Maggie thought to herself.

     Maggie woke the next morning to the sounds of the door slamming. She lie in bed, gathering her orientation. She was sprawled out across the entire bed, and the coolness of the sheets around her suggested she had been that way for some time, and Wade had left much earlier.
     She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She smoothed her hair back and stretched, then turned to put her feet on the floor. She sighed at the softness of the carpet, and stood to stretch again.
     A light knock on the door asked permission to enter.
     "I'm decent," she called out. She sat back down on the bed and reached for the comb she had placed on the end table the day before.
     The door opened and Remmy peeked in. "Hey, Maggie. They just delivered room service... you want breakfast?"
     She nodded. "Sure. Let me get the tangles out, and I'll be right out."
     Remmy nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.
With a sigh, she rose and looked out the window. The night before, they had stayed up late drinking champaign and putting it all on the tab of whomever Remmy's double was on this world. It had been a month, and Arturo was finally well enough to leave the hospital. They'd stayed long enough for his health to improve and his strength to increase. Now, they were ready to take the next Slide.
     The champaign had celebrated not only Arturo's health, but Wade's and Quinn's engagement.
     Things were moving along now.