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[Maggie Voice-over]
I feel so bad for Rem. I mean, he had it all back, and just like that it was snatched away all over again. I just hope the next world allows Remmy to find some solace and continue in the hope that one day he will be with his old friends again and that his next slide could be the slide home.
What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds, where it's the same year and you're the same person, but everything else is different? And what if you can't find your way home?

Starring:
Cleavant Derricks as Rembrandt Brown
Kari Wuhrer as Maggie Beckett
Robert Floyd as Mallory
Tembi Locke as Diana Davis




by Mychand
Produced by Q-Ball79 and Chaser9
Story by JToner

Though he was the last in, Rembrandt was the first one to Slide out of the vortex. Diana, Mallory and Maggie followed closely behind him. They found themselves standing in the middle of a shipping dock. After the sliders helped each other up, Mallory noticed that Rembrandt was nowhere around.

"Remmy!" shouted Mallory. "Where are you?"

"I'm down here," screamed Rembrandt. "Help me!" Rembrandt had fallen over the side of the dock and was barely hanging on by his fingertips. His friends ran over to him and pulled him up. "Man, that was close," he said. "Hey, were are we?"

All four sliders looked up to see a huge cruise liner at the end of the dock. The side of the ship was marked with the name "The Chandler".

"Hey, it's the Love Boat," said Rembrandt with a grin.

"What's the Love Boat?" asked Diana.

"Mallory, how long do we have on this world?" asked Maggie as she picked up a flyer on the dock. "I think we should see if we can get on this cruise. After all, we could all use a vacation."

"Well, we've got three weeks," said Diana. "I think a cruise is a great idea. We should be able to stay out of trouble if we just relax and take it easy."

The four agreed to go on the cruise. Maggie couldn't help but notice that Rembrandt seemed a bit distracted.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Maggie.

"I'm fine," replied Rembrandt while trying to charm Maggie with a grin. "I think you're right though. I really could use a vacation."

The cruise was nearly booked solid, so the group had to share one cabin. Maggie was a bit irritated by the cramped quarters, but for Rembrandt's sake she decided not to make a big deal of it. She sensed that he really did need this vacation so she decided to help him make the best of it.

"Come on Remmy," she said. "Let's go up on deck and watch the send off. I think I could use some sun."

Rembrandt smiled. "Okay, darlin'. A little fresh air would do me some good."

The group headed to the deck of the cruise ship to watch the rest of the passengers come aboard.

Among the latest to board was beautiful young blonde woman. She seemed a bit distracted.

"Wow, look at her," said Mallory. "I wonder who she's looking for?"

"I'm sure it isn't you," jabbed Diana. "Don't forget the last time you decided to get involved with a woman from another world. I think you are better off just laying low."

"You're no fun," teased Mallory. "But you're right. All I want to do right now is relax."

Before Mallory had finished his comment the young blonde met up with a tall thin young man. They hugged as though they had not seen each other in a long time and quickly headed towards the cabin section of the ship.

"Sarah," the man said to his companion. "I'm so happy you made it. I really appreciate you helping me with this project. I couldn't do it without you."

"Well, you owe me one mister," she replied. "Do you know how much it cost me to fly out here?"

"Don't worry," he replied. "I'll reimburse you. This project is going to make me a lot of money. We'll both be famous, I promise."

Sarah couldn't help but smile. Daniel was always coming up with some kind of get rich scheme but she had a feeling that this time he may be onto something. Either way, she knew going on a cruise would be a lot of fun.

The ship left the dock and a few hours later the sun began to go down on the horizon. "It's so beautiful," said Diana. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"It really is," replied Maggie. "I'm glad we did this. It's nice to just get away and try to forget our problems. Even if it's just for a few days."

Diana looked over at Rembrandt, who was standing along the front of the ship. "I think this might be just what he needs," she said. "He hasn't been the same since he missed that last slide."

"I'm almost afraid he's given up on finding his way home," said Maggie. "He feels like he's lost so much of his life while sliding. I don't know what I can say or do to help him."

Mallory had been quiet for most of the conversation but felt the need to interject. "I think he just needs time," he said. "Maybe we all do."

Dinnertime came quickly and the group was introduced to the captain. His name was Captain Blinkenship. He invited the group to join him at the Captain's table. The young couple, Daniel and Sarah, was also invited.

"I hope you're hungry," said the Captain. "I've had my cooks preparing a special dish all day."

"You bet," replied Remmy. "Thank you for inviting us to join you."

Mallory couldn't keep his eyes off of Sarah and it was becoming obvious to the young woman.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked Mallory.

"Oh, no," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you keep staring at me," she said. "I thought maybe I looked odd to you or something."

Mallory smiled. "I'm sorry," he said. "You are just very pretty. Your boyfriend is one lucky guy."

Sarah laughed. "Well, he's not my boyfriend. But thanks for the compliment."

Mallory tried hard to hide his excitement. "You're welcome."

Daniel found the exchange amusing but quickly chimed in and advised Mallory that Sarah was on the ship to help him with a school project and that she would be way too busy to do anything else besides assist him.

"Oh well, I understand," said Mallory. "Good luck with your project."

"Thanks," replied Daniel. "I'm sure it's going to go very well."

Daniel leaned over and whispered in Sarah's ear. "I think we just found our test subjects."

After dinner, Mallory suggested that they go and check out the ship's disco. The ladies thought it was a great idea, but Rembrandt was tired and decided to take a rain check.

Diana noticed that Maggie was trying a little too hard to have fun. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You haven't said a word since Remmy went up to bed."

Maggie hesitated, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little worried about Rem. I know he says he's fine but I don't know. Maybe I'm being a mother hen."

Diana laughed softly, "No, you're not. You're being a friend. He's lucky to have you."

"Thanks, but I'm lucky to have him," replied Maggie.

Before Maggie could say another word, Mallory grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto the dance floor. "Come on, no more gloom," he yelled. "It's time to get down and have a little fun."

Maggie decided he was right. She'd worry about Rembrandt later. She needed a little fun. They all did. She was finally beginning to let loose. She and Mallory were getting a lot of attention as they danced across the floor. Suddenly Maggie felt dizzy. Before she knew it, her world turned black as she passed out in the middle of the dance floor. Mallory caught her just before she hit the floor.

"Maggie! Maggie!" he yelled. "Maggie, can you hear me?"

Maggie couldn't hear him. She found herself in the middle of a storm. Rain pored down on her so hard that she could hardly move or breathe. Where am I? she wondered. How did I get here? She finally cried out, "Somebody help me!"

There was no one around to hear her cries. Just as soon as it started, the rain ceased. An image slowly came into view. It was a grave. The grave floated in the air in front of her. The headstone bore the name of Maggie Beckett. "Oh my God!" Maggie cried. "I'm dead?"

Mallory picked Maggie up off of the dance floor and carried her down to the infirmary. After waking the ship's doctor, Diana and Mallory waited outside while he examined her. Her pulse was quick and her breathing was shallow. He placed her on oxygen and let her friends back into the room to see her.

"What's wrong with her doc?" asked Mallory. "She was fine earlier. Why did she collapse?"

"I can't find anything so far," replied the doctor. "She seems to be having problems breathing. It's as if she is in the middle of some kind of nightmare and can't wake up."

Maggie suddenly screamed. Mallory and Diana ran to her side as she sat up on the examining table.

"Maggie are you okay?" asked Diana. "You gave us a scare."

It took a few moments for Maggie to adjust to her surroundings. "Uh, I think so," she replied. "What happened?"

"You passed out on the dance floor," replied Mallory. "The doctor said you seemed to be having some kind of nightmare. Do you remember anything?"

Maggie hesitated to respond. "Uh, no. I don't remember anything." She lied.

The doctor examined Maggie thoroughly and prescribed a good night's sleep. Mallory assisted Maggie back to their room. "I'm fine," she said. "I don't need you to treat me like a invalid."

"Come on Maggie," said Mallory. "You gave us quite a scare. I'm just worried about you."

Maggie was about to argue back, but she knew Mallory's concerns were honest; so she went along with it when he helped her into bed. They were quiet as to not disturb Rembrandt, whom they felt needed the rest.
·          ·          ·


Morning came quickly and Rembrandt was the first to roust the others out of bed. "Come on, come on!" he yelled. "Time to rise and shine! Breakfast is calling my name!"

"Good morning," replied Diana. "Maggie, how are you doing this morning?"

Maggie gave Diana a disapproving look. She didn't want Rembrandt to know about the events that had taken place the prior evening.

Rembrandt caught Maggie's expression and laughed. "Ah, what's the matter, girl? Party a little too hard last night?"

Maggie smiled back at him. "I guess you could say that," she replied. "But, I'm starved now too. Come on, let's go get that breakfast."

At breakfast, the Sliders ran into Daniel and Sarah once again. Daniel seemed to be preoccupied with Maggie. "How are you today?" he asked. "I heard you had an incident at the disco."

Before Maggie could speak up to keep Daniel from saying anything else, Rembrandt overheard the comment.

"What happened in the Disco?" he asked.

"It's okay Remmy," replied Maggie. "I got a little dizzy and passed out. The doctor said I'm fine."

Daniel could tell that Maggie was shaken by the incident and decided it wasn't the right time to pry further into what she had experienced. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," he said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Rembrandt.

"I didn't want you to worry," replied Maggie. "Besides, it was no big deal." She lied again.

The day went by uneventful as Mallory and Maggie decided to sun bathe while Diana and Rembrandt checked out the ship's casino. Maggie was determined to forget about her dream. As alarming as it was, she was alive.

Over lunch, Daniel and Sarah discussed the turn of events. Daniel was more determined than ever to find a way to talk to Maggie about her experience. "I've got to get her to open up," he said.

"How are you going to do that?" asked Sarah. "You can't just go up to her and tell her that you caused that to happen and you want to know what she saw. They would stop our experiment in a heartbeat."

"I know," replied Daniel. "But I can tell she is hiding something. She experienced something that she isn't ready to tell. I just need to figure out a way to gain her confidence. Maybe you can distract her friend. He's definitely taken by you. Show a little interest in him so I can get close to her."

"Sure," replied Sarah. "I don't think that'll be too hard. Are we going to make him our second subject?"

"No," replied Daniel. "He seems a bit shallow. I think the other one is a better choice."

"Shallow, huh?' laughed Sarah. "He shows interest in me so he's shallow?"

Daniel smiled. "That's not what I meant," he said. "Come on, we have work to do."


Mallory opened his eyes as a shadow blocked his sun.

"Hi," said Sarah. "Is this all you're going to do while you're on board?"

Mallory smiled. "Well, do you have a better idea?"

"How about a tour of the ship?" she asked.

"What about your project?" asked Mallory. "I thought you would be too busy for anything else."

Sarah smiled and grabbed Mallory's hand to assist him in standing up. "Hey, everyone needs a break now and then."

"Ah, well then you've come to the right man," he replied. "I'd love to take a tour with you."

Just as Sarah and Mallory left the deck, Daniel sat down beside Maggie, who was still sunbathing.

"Hi," he said. "It feels great up here doesn't it?"

Maggie opened her eyes and stared at the young man beside her. She found him to be rather handsome and couldn't seem to resist his charm.

"Yes, it feels wonderful," she replied. "I've never felt more relaxed."

"Do you mind if I join you then?" he asked.

"Of course not," she replied. "It's a free deck."

Daniel wasn't sure how to take the comment until Maggie smiled up at him. "Come on, sit down. I'd love to have you join me."

Daniel decided to keep the conversation between them light. He wanted to slowly build Maggie's confidence in him. After about an hour Mallory and Sarah returned from their tour and Daniel and Sarah told their new friends that they had to get back to work on their project.

"Well?" asked Sarah. "Did she tell you anything?"

"I didn't ask," replied Daniel.

"What do you mean you didn't ask?!" yelled Sarah. "I spent over an hour with that guy fawning over me and it was for nothing?"

Daniel couldn't help but laugh. "Oh come on, you loved it and you know it."

"Well, okay, he is kind of cute," she replied. "But still, why didn't you try to find out what she saw?"

"I want to build her confidence," he replied. "Even if I can get her to tell me what she saw, I'll need her help to explain it. She's the only one who will have the answers."

Sarah knew Daniel was right. "Okay, so when do we start on test subject two?" she asked.

"Tonight," replied Daniel. "This time let's do it after he goes to bed. I don't want another incident like what happened in the Disco. It draws too much attention. I knew we should have waited but I had hoped we get immediate feedback. I should have known it would be more difficult."


After a long day of relaxation, the Sliders decided to turn in early. They would be in port the next day and get a chance to do a little shopping and sight seeing. Diana suggested it would benefit them to be well rested. The others agreed.

Rembrandt was the first to fall asleep. At first his dreams were of the ship and the water and his friends. Then things became dark. Rembrandt felt as if he couldn't breathe. He saw himself standing on the pitcher's mound in front of a crowd of people. Before he could open his mouth to sing, a bolt of lightning struck his microphone and he fell to the ground. He watched as small crowd formed around him. "He's dead!" yelled one of the bystanders. "Rembrandt Brown is dead!"

Rembrandt couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Dead? I'm dead? I can't be dead. I wasn't there. I wasn't there!" Rembrandt screamed.

"Remmy! Rem!" yelled Maggie. "Remmy are you okay?"

Rembrandt opened his eyes to see Maggie, Diana and Mallory standing over him.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in bed, in our cabin," replied Maggie. "Are you okay?"

Rembrandt sat up and tried to catch his breath. "Yeah, I think so," he replied.

"Did you have a nightmare?" asked Diana.

Rembrandt wasn't sure he wanted to reply. "I, I'm not sure," he said. "I'm sorry to wake you all but I think I just want to go and get something to drink."

Rembrandt shrugged off any attempts by the others to go with him. He wanted to be alone.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" asked Diana.

Rembrandt tried to assure his friends that he was fine but Maggie didn't buy it. She waited about a half an hour and headed up on deck to talk to him. Rembrandt was standing by the railing, staring out at the moon that shone over the ocean. It was calming. Maggie walked over to him and placed her arm around his waist. He responded back in the same manner. Her presence didn't seem to faze him.

"I'm okay," said Rembrandt. "I really am. I just saw something in my dream tonight. Something that I don't understand."

"Did you see your death?" asked Maggie.

Rembrandt was surprised that Maggie would ask him that. "How did you know?" he asked.

"I saw my death the night I passed out in the Disco," she replied. "Well, I saw a grave with my name on it. Actually, it really wasn't exactly a grave. It was floating. I can't explain it."

Rembrandt pulled Maggie to him and held her tight. "I saw myself being struck by lightning while singing at a ball game," he said. "I was on my way to that game when I was pulled into the vortex for the very first time."

Maggie pulled away and looked at Rembrandt. "What's going on with us? Are we that exhausted from sliding?"

"I think maybe we are, "he replied. "I'm not so sure I can do this much longer. We've lost so much. I keep thinking about what my life would have been like if I had never been sliding. But this dream, I don't know what it means."

"I don't know either Remmy," said Maggie. "But I do know that I wouldn't be alive today if it hadn't been for sliding."

Before Rembrandt could respond to her, he heard a rattle of a deck chair as someone ran around the corner of the deck.

"Who's there?" asked Rembrandt as he and Maggie followed.

The dark figured picked up his pace, as did Rembrandt and Maggie.

"Wait!" yelled Maggie. "Who are you? Why were you eavesdropping on us?"

Suddenly the man stopped and turned to face the Sliders.

"Daniel?" asked Maggie.

"Yes, I'm sorry," replied Daniel. "I didn't mean to pry but…."

"But what?" asked Maggie.

"I'm responsible for your dreams," he replied.

"You what?" asked Maggie. "How can you be responsible?"

Daniel knew he had no choice but to explain his actions and hope that Maggie and Rembrandt would give him the answers he needed.

"If you'll come with me to my cabin I'll show you," he said. "Please, a lot is riding on this for me."

Maggie and Rembrandt decided that they had nothing to lose by going with Daniel. They wanted an explanation.

As soon as the got to the cabin, Daniel called Sarah and asked her to join them.

"This couldn't wait until morning?" she asked.

"Sorry," replied Daniel. "I guess you could say I got caught snooping."

"I'll say you did," said Rembrandt. "Now do you care to explain why?"

Daniel decided he had no choice but to tell the entire story. He had private investors who had given him money to support his project. He'd been working on it for six years along with several other projects and they were losing patience with him. He wasn't able to get volunteers to be test subjects so he felt that a good way to get a controlled environment would be aboard a ship.

"So we're some kind of test subjects?" asked Maggie. "What are you testing? What exactly did you do to us?"

Before Daniel could reply, Sarah interrupted him. "Spare them the technical aspects of it," she said. "They'll be as interested as I was when you told me."

"Okay," replied Daniel. "Basically, our lives are made up of choices. Everyday we make choices that can change our lives or the paths we follow."

"What does that have to do with your project and us?" Maggie interrupted.

"Well, my machine here will show a person their unfulfilled destiny," he said. "Basically, what could have been if a choice in life hadn't been made to send them down a different path."

"Why would your investors be interested in that?" asked Maggie.

"Because people spend their lives wondering what should have been," Daniel replied. "If someone knows the truth about what could have happened to them, maybe they can appreciate what did happen or find a way to correct the path they've taken."

"What if they find that the choices they made were the wrong ones?" asked Rembrandt. "Why would anyone want to know that?"

"Maybe they wouldn't," replied Sarah. "It's a risk. That's why Daniel couldn't find any test subjects. Not everyone wants to know what could have been. But in time, I think people will change their minds."

"So what I saw in my dream. That was my destiny?" asked Rembrandt. "I would have died if I hadn't…."

"If you hadn't what?" urged Daniel.

"If I hadn't missed my singing gig," replied Rembrandt. "I would have been struck by lightning."

Rembrandt went on to explain what happened but changed the details about why he didn't make it to the ballpark. Daniel was thrilled by Rembrandt's revelation.

Daniel pressed further to try to get Maggie to open up about what she had seen. Rembrandt knew that Maggie couldn't tell her story to Daniel. At least not what he wanted to hear from her.

Maggie chose her words carefully. "My hometown was destroyed. I left just in time. What I saw in my dream was a grave. I would have died."

Daniel was elated. "I can't believe it works!" he said.

"I need a favor," he begged. "May I video tape you and ask you a few questions about your experience?"

Maggie and Rembrandt agreed to help but only if they could approve the questions that would be asked to them.

Sarah had fallen asleep on Daniel's bed while Maggie and Rembrandt finished answering Daniel's questions.

"Well, it's almost sunup," said Rembrandt. "I don't know about you, Maggie, but I could use a little fresh air."

Maggie smiled. "Yeah, me too."

"Thank you both so much," replied Daniel. "I'm sorry that I didn't ask you before I did this. You've been more than kind to me. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you."

"It's okay," said Rembrandt. "You gave me back more than you'll ever know."

The comment took Daniel by surprise but he decided not to press it further.
·          ·          ·


Maggie and Rembrandt walked to the edge of the deck and looked out over the water as the sun began to creep up on the horizon. Rembrandt put his arm around Maggie's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Thank you Q-Ball," he whispered.

Maggie looked up at Rembrandt and smiled. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am now," he replied. "All this time I blamed Quinn for changing me life. It turns out he saved it instead."

"You know Rembrandt," said Maggie. "Sometimes it's fate, sometimes it's a choice. Nothing in life is predictable. I don't know that I would want to know if all the choices I've made in life were the right ones or not."

"Me either," replied Rembrandt. "But I think knowing this one will help me go on…for now."

"But it wasn't your choice," said Maggie.

"No it wasn't," replied Rembrandt. "I'm alive today thanks to Quinn. I just wish there was a way I could repay that favor."

"Yeah, me too," said Maggie. "Me too."

The End

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