Quinn began to shiver. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened to him or even were he was at this point. His body ached all over. The struggle to get a glimpse of his surroundings had proved futile as he slowly slipped back into unconsciousness. In his delirium, Quinn never noticed that he wasn’t alone. Across the room sat a young woman. She could have been considered attractive but is was obvious that she had been through something very traumatic. She had long flowing blond hair that hung in her face and her fair skin looked as though it had never been touched by the sun. Her name was Caitlin but her friends always referred to her as Caitie. Although at thirty-three, she felt that she had outgrown the name, it never bothered her when someone close to her called her that.

Caitlin watched Quinn in wonder. Quinn was a little younger. He was tall and considered by many to be extremely handsome. His boyish features made him seem much younger than his age. He had been beaten pretty badly and Caitlin had done everything she could to make him comfortable. She felt drawn to Quinn, so much so that she didn’t know how she would ever be able to explain to him. All she knew right now was that she had to get him out of this prison they were in.

Caitlin watched her timer carefully and activated it. With all of her strength she dragged Quinn through the open vortex and back to her world.

"Help!" yelled Caitlin. "We need to get him to medical quickly."

Instantly three men came running towards Caitlin with a stretcher and proceeded to take Quinn back to the medical center. One of the men favoured Quinn but was a little younger. He had been waiting patiently for Caitlin to return. "Thank god you found him," he said. "You should have let me go with you. Are you alright?"

"Colin, you know why it was important for you to stay behind," replied Caitlin. "I’m fine and I think Quinn will be fine too."

"I understand," said Colin. "I guess we have a lot to explain to Quinn. He has a lot to adjust to."

"You’re right," said Caitlin. "We just have to take this one step at a time."

Colin smiled at Caitlin. In a short time she had become an important part of his life. He admired her strength. Caitlin smiled back. Somehow finding Quinn was like finding the last piece of a puzzle. She knew Quinn was going to be a challenge for her. She hoped he would be as understanding as Colin had been.

Colin sat quietly by Quinn’s bedside. Quinn looked as though he were resting peacefully. Colin was tired. He hadn’t had much sleep since Caitlin brought Quinn to this world but he wanted to spend some time with his brother before he had to leave. He had to find Remmy and Maggie. They had gotten separated from one another and he was trying to track them. This world he was brought to had more complex sliding capabilities. They were still confined to the time the timer gave them for each slide or window of opportunity but they could pick and chose the worlds they wanted to go to. Colin had been tracking Remmy and Maggie for awhile but so far he hadn’t had any luck in finding them. For safety, his timer could only bring him back were he started from and then he had to slide again from there. This was making it harder for him to find his friends but he knew it was for the best.

Caitlin walked into the room and watched Colin as he touched Quinn’s hand. "I’ll be back soon brother," he said softly. "Caitie will take care of you. I hope you make the right decisions."

Colin activated his timer and Caitlin watched until the vortex closed behind him. She then moved over to Quinn’s beside and sat down. "Come on Quinn," she said. "I know you have the strength to pull out of this."

Quinn began to stir. He felt somewhat disoriented as he opened his eyes and looked over at Caitlin. "Who are you?" he asked. "Where am I?"

"My name is Caitlin," she replied. "You are on a world called Safe Haven."

"Safe Haven?" asked Quinn. "What is Safe Haven?"

"Please Quinn, rest for now," she replied. "I will tell you all about it later."

Quinn started to ask more questions like how she knew his name but he felt so drained. He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

The next morning Caitlin was working in her office when someone came barging in her door. Caitlin looked up to see Quinn standing in front of her. "They told me I could find you here," he said. "I remembered you from last night. No one will tell me what’s going on here."

"Have a seat," she replied. "I will do my best to explain. How are you feeling?"

"I’m fine," said Quinn. "Please, tell me where I am. Where are my friends?"

"Well, as I mentioned last night Quinn, you are on a world called Safe Haven," she said. "Safe Haven is a world your parents set up for those who couldn’t get back to the home world during the Kromagg war. It also a place we bring refugees from other worlds that the Kromaggs have overtaken as well as those from the Kromagg breeding camps. The Kromaggs can’t touch us here. It is our only safe place besides the home world. I run things here."

Quinn listened to what Caitlin had to say before commenting. "Are my parents here?" he asked. "How did you find me?"

"No," she replied. "They are on the home world. They don’t know I have found you yet. We can’t go there but they have the ability to come here. As for finding you, I have been tracking you for a long time. I am just glad I found you in time."

"Why were you tracking me? Asked Quinn. "Did my parents ask you to?"

"Well, sort of," said Caitlin. "You have been my mission for a long time. You and Colin. Your parents always believed that they would eventually find you."

"Colin, where is Colin?" Quinn asked. "I thought he was with me last night."

"He was," she replied. "He has gone to search for your friends."

Caitlin explained her world’s sliding capabilities to Quinn and Colin’s efforts to find Remmy and Maggie. Quinn was intrigued and wanted to know all he could about Caitlin’s world. One question came to mind.

"You said you bring refugees from the breeding camps," he said. "Do you know of a Wade Welles? She was a close friend of mine. We heard she had been brought to a breeding camp."

Caitlin took a deep breath. She wanted to answer Quinn’s question but she needed something from him first. She needed to know exactly how he felt about Wade Welles.

Part Three [posted: 6/22/99]

Quinn felt that Caitlin was stalling a bit. He could tell she really didn’t want to answer his question but he asked again. "Do you know Wade Welles? Is she her?"

"Yes," replied Caitlin. "She’s here."

"Where?" asked Quinn. "I want to see her."

Caitlin stood up and walked towards the window in the back of her office. She kept her back towards Quinn. Quinn felt uneasy.

"Is she ok?" he asked. "What are you keeping from me?"

"Quinn," she replied. "I just don’t think it is a good idea that you see her right now. I’m not even sure if she wants to see you."

Quinn was outraged at the thought of being kept from seeing Wade. She had been missing for so long and he couldn’t stand to wait any longer. Caitlin turned and looked at Quinn. Before she could say another word he lashed out at her.

"What do you mean it isn’t a good idea that I see her? Who are you to say she doesn’t want to see me?" he yelled. "Who are you anyway?"

"Caitlin Mallory," yelled a voice from behind. "Quinn, she’s our sister."

"Colin!" said Quinn as he ran over to his brother and gave him a hug. "What do you mean she’s our sister? We have a sister? Did you find Maggie and Remmy?"

Colin smiled. "One question at a time," he replied. "No, I missed Maggie and Remmy again but I was able to find out that they are doing well. I need to leave again in the morning. Maybe this time I’ll catch them."

Quinn looked at Caitlin and sat back down. "I’m sorry I yelled at you. I guess you have a lot to tell me," he said. "Can you start with how you are my sister?"

Caitlin breathed a sigh of relief. Colin’s timing couldn’t have been better. She told Quinn that she was the reason her parents had placed him and Colin on alternate worlds for their safety. The Kromaggs had taken Caitlin when she was young and her parents lived in fear that they would take Colin and Quinn a well. By the time their parents had defeated the Kromaggs and rescued Caitlin, Quinn and Colin could not be found. When Caitlin was old enough, her parents put her in charge of Safe Haven. She made finding Colin and Quinn her priority.

"You saved my life in that prison didn’t you?" asked Quinn. "Thank you."

"I would give my life for you Quinn," she replied. "You’re my brother."

Quinn stood up and walked over to Caitlin and gave her a hug. "First a brother, now a sister," he said. "Is there more?"

Caitlin laughed. "No," she said. "Not unless mom and dad are hiding something from me."

Quinn changed the subject. He needed to know more about Wade. "Will you tell me why you don’t think I should see Wade?" he asked. "I don’t understand."

"Wade has had some traumatic experiences since she was taken by the Kromaggs," Caitlin replied. "But, she is dealing with a lot of pain when it comes to her memories of you. She knows you’re here and that you are doing well but she isn’t ready to see you. I’m not sure if she’ll ever be ready."

"Pain?" questioned Quinn. "I don’t understand. How could I have caused her pain? Does she blame me for Sliding?"

"I think it would be best if you heard it from Wade," replied Caitlin.

Caitlin walked over to the small television in the corner of her office and turned it on.

"Here is tape that was made during one of Wade’s sessions with Dr. Michaels," she said. "Wade gave us permission to show it to you."

Caitlin started the tape. Quinn stared at the television. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Wade was more beautiful than he had remembered. Her hair was had grown down past her shoulders. He almost didn’t recognise her.

Dr. Michaels proceeded to ask Wade several questions. Quinn took notice when the questions directed to her were about him. "Wade," Dr. Michaels said. "You have told me all about your other friends but you never mention Quinn Mallory. Is there a reason for that?"

"I don’t mind talking about Quinn," she said. "I guess I just have some resentment towards him now."

"Why is that?" ask Dr. Michaels.

Wade paused a moment to gather her thoughts and began to tell her story. "When Quinn and I started Sliding it was great adventure," she said. "The first two years were the best two years of my life. I loved Quinn but I knew he didn’t feel the same."

"How did you know?" asked Dr. Michaels. "Did he tell you how he felt?"

"No, he never really came out and said it," replied Wade. "I guess I really wasn’t sure how he felt until the Professor died and Maggie joined us. After that, everything changed. I think Quinn is in love with Maggie. She seemed much stronger. I became nothing but a burden to Quinn, someone he felt responsible for. When I finally got back home I tried to forget about him. Then came the Kromaggs.

Caitlin stopped the tape. Quinn closed his eyes and quietly said, "You were never a burden Wade. If only you knew how I really felt all that time."

Suddenly, sounds of sirens filled the building. Quinn, Caitlin and Colin ran out into the hall.

"We’re being invaded," yelled one of the other workers. "Somehow the Kromaggs have broken through our safety shield. We need to leave now. Everyone activate your timers!"

"Wait!" Quinn yelled. "Where’s Wade? I need to find her. I am not leaving her again!"

Caitlin grabbed Quinn by the arm. "Follow me!" she yelled. "Her apartment is on the second floor."

By the time the siblings reach the second floor it was empty. Quinn felt sick. "I have to find her Caitie," he said. "I have to."

"Don’t worry," replied Caitlin. "Our emergency timers are set up to randomly take us to one of only three different worlds. We’ll find her."

With that, Caitlin activated her timer and the three of them jumped into the vortex.

Quinn lay silent on the ground. He didn’t move. Colin and Caitlin ran over to him and knelt beside him.

"Quinn!" yelled Colin. "Quinn, are you alright?"

Quinn slowly sat up. He was a bit groggy. "I’m fine," he said. "Where are we?"

Caitlin scanned their surroundings. "I’ve only been here once," replied Caitlin. "But, I think this is SH3. Our parents created Safe Havens on three other worlds as a precaution. They never underestimated the Kromaggs."

"I thought you said they couldn’t get to us on Safe Haven," said Quinn.

"They weren’t suppose to," replied Caitlin. "I’m not sure how they did it so we need to be careful from here on out. Come on, let’s find the main headquarters."

Quinn and Colin followed Caitlin. Quinn’s mind drifted back to Wade and the rest of his friends. So much had happened since they first started sliding. There was so much that he wished he could change.

As they entered the building, Quinn immediately saw a young woman kneeling down and wrapping a bandage around another young woman’s arm. Quinn’s heart skipped a beat as he ran toward the woman.

"Wade!" yelled Quinn. "Wade!"

Wade stood up and turned around. Before she could respond Quinn grabbed her and picked her up in a hug. He held her so tight she could barely breath but she didn’t pull away. Quinn slowly put her down and put his hand on one side of her face.

"Wade, are you alright?" asked Quinn. "I’m so sorry."

"I’m fine Quinn," replied Wade. "It’s alright. We’ll talk about it later. Right now we have several injured people to deal with and we need to see if the Kromaggs followed us here."

Quinn knew Wade was right. Caitlin had already begun to organise and take note of those who had made it to this new world. By the next morning everyone was settled and it appeared that the Kromaggs were no longer a threat.

"What happens now?" asked Colin. "Will you continue your work from three different worlds?"

"Yes," replied Caitlin. "There will be two new leaders on the other two SH worlds."

"Why three different worlds?" asked Quinn.

"I think it was a safety measure to throw the Kromaggs off of our trail," replied Caitlin. "If they think we just all slid to different worlds they would be less likely to follow. They have no way of knowing it was only three different worlds."

Quinn walked over to Wade. "Can we go somewhere and talk?" he asked.

"Sure," replied Wade. "I have something to show you."

Quinn and Wade went to Wade's temporary quarters. Wade walked over and picked up an old backpack. She pulled out her diary, opened it to the back page and pulled out an envelope. It was address to Mr. Mallory.

"I found this in the lining of my diary," said Wade. "There was one for each of us. It’s from the Professor."

Quinn took the envelope from Wade. He stared at it, afraid to open it.

"It’s alright, Quinn," said Wade. "You really should open it."

"I can’t open this right now Wade," said Quinn. "I think I would rather do it later, alone"

"If you’d like, I will leave you alone," replied Wade. "I understand."

"No," replied Quinn. "I want to talk to you first. The Professor is gone. You are here and right now you are my first priority."

Wade smiled. "Ok," she said. "What did you want to talk about?"

Quinn motioned for Wade to come and sit beside him on the small makeshift bed. "Let’s have a seat," he said. "I have a lot I need to say to you."

Wade did as requested. She could tell that Quinn was bothered by more than the Professor’s letter.

"Wade," he said. "About what you said on the video tape. I really need to explain some things to you."

"Quinn," she interrupted. "You really don’t have to say anything. I understand."

"No, Wade," he replied. "You don’t understand. Please, let me say what I need to say and then you can respond however you want.

"Sure," she said. "I’m sorry. Go ahead."

"What I wanted to tell you was……..," said Quinn.

Quinn was interrupted once more as sirens filled the building. "Damn it," he said.

Suddenly Quinn pulled Wade to him tightly and kissed her. Wade was taken by surprise.

"We’ll talk about it later," said Quinn. "Come on. Let’s find Colin and Caitlin."

As they entered the hallway, Colin and Caitlin came running towards them.

"What’s going on now?" asked Quinn. "Did the Kromaggs find us?"

"We’re not sure," replied Caitlin. "It doesn’t appear that they have but we can’t find the source of the sirens. We don’t know yet how they were activated. Come on, follow me."

Caitlin led the group to an underground city. Others from above followed.

"What is this place?" asked Colin. "Why didn’t we come here before?"

"This is just an added safety measure," replied Caitlin. "Most of those who slid to this world from Safe Haven are already down here. I am in charge here so I had to stay above unless I had no choice to go below."

"But why didn’t you tell us about it?" asked Quinn.

"Sorry," replied Caitlin. "I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. I just didn’t feel we would need to come here. Apparently others felt more secure in doing so."

Quinn and Colin understood. Even though they had only known Caitlin for a short time they felt they could trust her.

The group settled into a small conference room. Caitlin pulled together her assistants and gave them their directions for organising those who had now settled in the underground city.

"You have a plan for everything don’t you Caitie?" asked Quinn. "I’m impressed."

Caitlin blushed. "Thanks Quinn but our parents set up plans for every situation that we encounter here,’ she replied. "I wish I could take the credit but I am just following their orders."

"What about Remmy and Maggie," asked Colin. "Can we still track them?"

"Yes," replied Caitlin. "I sent one of my other trackers out after them last night. He should return this evening."

"Let’s hope he found them," said Quinn.

"What’s that?" asked Colin referring to the envelope Quinn had clinched in his hands.

"Oh, just a letter," replied Quinn. "I’ll tell you about it later."

Quinn left the others and found a quiet place to be alone. He sat down and slowly opened the letter. His hands were trembling and his heart was racing. He wasn’t sure he would be able to handle what was inside. He had always kept his feelings of losing the Professor buried deep down and he wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with the loss.

The letter read:

Quinn sat quietly for several hours after reading the letter. He wasn’t sure why but the letter finally gave him the closure he was looking for. His mind drifted to all of the adventures he had shared with the Professor. "Maybe he’s right," Quinn thought to himself. "Maybe for the Professor, sliding was the right decision."

Suddenly Quinn heard a voice call from behind. "Quinn!" he yelled. "Q-ball! I’ve been looking everywhere for you."

Quinn turned around quickly. "Remmy!" he yelled.

Quinn ran towards Remmy and the two embraced. Both were relieved to see each other.

"I see they found you," said Quinn. "When did you get here? How are you?"

"I’m fine Q-ball," Remmy replied. "We’ve been here about an hour. Your sister filled us in. We were worried sick about you and Colin. We thought we’d never see you again."

"Hey," said Quinn. "Don’t you ever give up on me."

"I don’t think I ever will," replied Remmy. "I saw Wade. She looks wonderful."

"Yeah, she does," replied Quinn. "Have you had time to talk with her? "There are so many things I still need to tell her."

"Yes," said Remmy. "I cried when I saw her Quinn. My heart nearly stopped. I couldn’t believe she was there in front of me, alive and well."

"She’s fine Remmy," replied Quinn. "But, I know how you feel. How’s Maggie?"

"Maggie is the same as always," said Remmy. "She and Wade are actually getting along."

Quinn smiled. He was relieved.

"I see you got a letter too," Remmy said while pulling another letter out of his pocket. "I just read mine."

"Yeah," replied Quinn. "It sure is ironic. He knew he was going to die but not that way."

"It wasn’t your fault Quinn," said Remmy. "Just like what happened to Wade wasn’t my fault. We did the best we could to protect them. We were like family."

"Yes," replied Quinn. "Yes we are like a family. I have a brother and sister now that I never knew I had but you, Wade and the Professor have been my family too. I am really thankful for that. I’m not sure if I ever told you that."

"You didn’t have to Q-ball," said Remmy. "I knew. Come on. Let’s get back. Everyone is waiting on us."

"I’ll be there in a minute," said Quinn. "You go ahead."

Quinn followed a few minutes later. Before he could reach the city’s entrance the entire city exploded before his eyes. "NO!" yelled Quinn. "NO!"

Flashes of all the adventures he had shared with Wade, Remmy and the Professor flashed before Quinn’s eyes as though he were reliving them one by one. Quinn fell to the ground and closed his eyes. A sense of hopelessness overcame him.

Something touched Quinn’s arm. Startled, he opened his eyes. He was in his basement.

"What’s wrong Quinn?" said Wade who was snuggled up beside him on his bed. "You must have pretty bad hang over." Wade turned on her side and propped her head up with one arm. Quinn sat up and looked at her.

"What do you mean hangover?" asked Quinn. "What happened? How did I get here?"

"Well it is no wonder you don’t remember," said Wade. "You shouldn’t have been trying to keep up with those tequila shots that your Frat brother Colin was doing. I hope you don’t mind that I decided to stay here and make sure you were ok."

Quinn tried to stand up but he felt too dizzy. He couldn’t remember what had happened to him.

"Wade," asked Quinn. "Did we ever slide?"

Wade smiled at Quinn. "Wow, that must have been some strong tequila," she replied. "Of course we slid Quinn. We slid for three years. Are you ok?"

"I’m not sure," replied Quinn. "We made it home? When did we make it home? Did Maggie come with us?"

Wade sat up and put her hand on Quinn’s forehead. "Well, you feel ok," she replied. "You don’t look so good though."

Quinn grabbed her hand and held it. "Seriously Wade," he said. "I can’t remember what happened. I remember you and Remmy slid without us and then I found out I had a brother but…"

Wade interrupted. "What are talking about Quinn?" she asked. "You slid home with Remmy and me. Maggie slid alone. She couldn’t breath on our world remember?"

Quinn looked at her. Suddenly it all came back to him. "The Professor is gone," he said.

"Yes," she replied. "I know you still haven’t gotten over that."

"Wade, do you still have your diary?" Quinn asked.

"Of course I do," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Can I see it?" he asked. "I don’t want to read it. I just want to look at something."

Wade retrieved her diary from her purse and handed it to Quinn. Quinn took it and pulled out his pocket-knife.

"What are doing?" shrieked Wade.

"I’m sorry Wade but this is important," replied Quinn.

Quinn used pocket-knife to make a slit down the inside of the back of the book. Just as he thought, there were three envelopes placed in the lining of the diary.

"Oh my gosh," replied Wade. "How did you know they would be there? Who are they from?"

"I can’t explain it Wade," replied Quinn. "It was just a hunch. They are from the Professor."

Quinn read his letter. He was speechless. It was similar to the letter he had dreamed about but had a totally different message.

The letter read:

Wade looked at Quinn after she read her letter from the Professor. "Quinn does your letter say…..," asked Wade as Quinn cut her off.

"Yes," he said. "It says that we were sliding with the wrong Professor all that time."

"I can’t believe it," she replied. "I would never had guessed that he wasn’t our Professor."

"Me either," said Quinn. "Now I don’t know how we will ever find the real Professor. We left him behind and we never knew it."

"At least as far as we know, he’s alive," replied Wade. "We need to bring Remmy's letter to him tonight."

"Tonight?" asked Quinn.

"Yeah," replied Wade. "Don’t you remember? Remmy is performing down at the Coliseum. We have backstage passes."

"That’s right," said Quinn. "I forgot. I’m still a little foggy."

Quinn took Wade’s hand and pulled her over to the bed. "Have a seat," he said. "There’s something I need to talk to you about."

"Sure," said Wade. "What is it?"

"Wade," Quinn started. "After the Professor died. Well, I mean, after the man we thought was our Professor died I changed. I know I didn’t show you or tell you how important you are to me."

"You don’t owe me an explanation," replied Wade. "I understand."

"No, you don’t," said Quinn. "Please let me explain."

Wade listened quietly as Quinn finally had the chance to tell her how he felt.

"Wade, I hated myself for everything that happened," he said. "It was my fault that you were sliding and I felt responsible for getting you home. I want you to know you were never a burden to me."

Quinn took hold of both of Wade’s hands. He held them tightly. "I knew how you felt about me," he said. "I always have. I just felt that I wasn’t worthy of your feelings. I put your life in danger and I was constantly worried about losing you. Pushing you away made it easier to deal with."

Wade started to reply but Quinn placed his finger on her lips. "Shh," he said. "I’m not done."

Quinn leaned in closer to Wade. "I love you Wade," he said. "I have for a very long time."

With that, Quinn gently kissed Wade as though he was afraid she would break. He pulled back and looked at her for a response. Wade’s eyes were filled with tears that began to stream down her face.

"Wade," he said. "Are you ok?"

"I’m fine Quinn," she replied. "I never thought I would hear you say those words."

"I mean it," said Quinn. "I do love you Wade but I understand if it is too late."

Wade grabbed Quinn around the neck and pulled him towards her. Her kiss was more intense than the one he had previously given her. He responded back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him. Now that he finally had her, he wasn’t about to let her go.

Suddenly Quinn pulled back.

"Wade," he said. "Who’s Caitlin?"

Wade smiled. "Caitlin is my new kitten. Why do you ask?"

"Mallory!" yelled Maggie. "Mallory, what are you doing? What are you doing with VR goggles? I was once on a world were those were habit forming."

Mallory took off the VR goggles and looked up at Maggie. "Don’t worry Maggie," he replied. "These aren’t habit forming. I borrowed them. There was something that needed to be finished and I was the only one who could do it."

"Do you care to explain that?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "Sometimes dreams can become reality. I was just trying to help it along a bit."

Alternate Earth 117
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