From afsinet@erols.com Thu Dec 18 09:03:27 1997 Path: news2.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!news.idt.net!netnews.com!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch.1 Date: 18 Dec 1997 17:03:27 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 17 Message-ID: <01bd0bd6$cbf85b80$d049accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as4s17.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 882464607 2770 207.172.73.208 (18 Dec 1997 17:03:27 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news2.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1059 Diane Smith woke early, as she always did on the mornings she had to work. She raked her fingers through her shoulder-length red hair, preparing to get into the tub to start her day. A scream of outraged agony outside her apartment woke her the rest of the way up and brought out the nurse in her. She yanked on her pants and shirt, not bothering with her undergarments in her haste to follow the cry. The source of the scream lay in a darkened alley between Diane's building and the one nextdoor. WHY DID I CHOOSE TO COME HERE? IN THIS DIMENSION I'M JUST AS HUMAN AS THE REST OF THE SCRAMBLING RABBLE. UGH,HURTS. He clutched the knife-handle which protruded from his chest, dark hazel eyes screwing up at the corners as another wave of burning anguish pounded through him.STUPID HUMANS. WHY WOULD I BE CARRYING MONEY? WHERE I'M FROM, I HAVE NO NEED OF IT. Then, it struck him.I'M STUCK HERE. The thought caused a heavy sadness to weigh on his soul.WHY DON'T I JUST PULL THE KNIFE OUT? BLEEDING MY LIFE OUT HERE ON THE PAVEMENT HAS GOT TO BE BETTER THAN THIS. From afsinet@erols.com Thu Dec 18 09:36:44 1997 Path: news2.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!nntp.flash.net!newsfeed.gte.net!news-out.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!205.252.116.205!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: LOOK HOMEWARD ANGELQ CH.2 Date: 18 Dec 1997 17:36:44 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 48 Message-ID: <01bd0bdb$53fa5520$d049accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as4s17.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 882466604 17012 207.172.73.208 (18 Dec 1997 17:36:44 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news2.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1060 Then, there was a girl bending over him, placing gentle, soothing hands on him. "I'll be right back,"she told him,"I work at hospital. I'll get you some help." Diane called John deLancie while inside. The actor who played her favorite Star Trek charactor had been in Chicago for a convention. They'd met, conversed, had a few laughs at the expense of the one he played, and exchanged phone numbers. He'd called her back(much to his wife's chagrin) and they'd become friends. "Yes, Di, I'm fine. Except that Mr. Frakes thinks you can't have on too much makeup." "Thanks,Johnny, call you later." IT'S REAL, HE'S...OH MY GOD. BUT HOW WAS SOMEONE ABLE TO HURT HIM? Q IS SUPPOSED TO BE OMNIPOTENT. WELL, NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS I'LL PROBABLY NEVER HAVE ANSWERS TO NOW. Q whimpered softly as she dragged him into the car, no longer having the strength to scream. Diane peeled out, heading for County General as fast as she could without hurting her injured passenger any further. She pulled up in front of the emergency entrance, spotting a familiar face as she entered. "Doctor Benton!" The tall black man whirled upon hearing that familiar feminine voice. "Hey, Diane, you're early." "Please get a gurney out front. Male, mid-thirties, stab wound to the chest, knife still embedded." The doctor scrambled over two orderlies with a gurney. They slid the now-groaning victim onto it without even the slightest jolt. "Please,"Q got out through clenched teeth,"Can't anyone see I'm in just abit of pain here?" There was a pinching sensation as the needle slid beneath his skin. Then, a blessed lack of pain as the morphine took effect. Diane stayed at his side as the doctors treated his wounds, drawn like a moth to a flame. "Get into your scrubs, Smith. You're going to be in O.R. for this one." Q wasn't sure exactly what was happening, except that the woman who'd saved his life had suddenly left his side. But he was reassured as a warm hand gripped his. "What's happening to me?" "They're taking you up to the O.R. to remove the knife and repair the damage it did. I'll be right here with you the whole time." "Why doesn't that make me feel anymore comfortable with the idea?" "Because these doctors and myself are only human. Unlike a certain omnipotent I know." Q smiled shakily despite himself."You figured that out pretty quick." "It's my job. I'm the woman." He sighed, letting his eyes slide closed. From afsinet@erols.com Mon Dec 22 18:55:55 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news2.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!news.abs.net!news.bconnex.net!rock.goldengate.net!news4.mr.net!mr.net!news2.chicago.iagnet.net!131.103.1.114!news1.chicago.iagnet.net!iagnet.net!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: look homeward angelQ ch.3 Date: 23 Dec 1997 02:55:55 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 40 Message-ID: <01bd0f49$55950260$064aaccf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as5s46.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 882845755 18394 207.172.74.46 (23 Dec 1997 02:55:55 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1071 They reached the O.R.. All went well until the anesthesiologist came over with the mask. Q saw it coming, and reacted in unreasoning terror, struggling to keep it away. WHAT I WOULDN'T GIVE FOR A HYPOSPRAY RIGHT ABOUT NOW, Diane thought to herself. "Chill out!"She grabbed his chin, peering deep into his dark hazel eyes. The anesthesiologist took advantadge of the lull and plunged over him with the mask, holding it firmly over his mouth and nose. He howled in outrage as the gas took effect. Diane tamped down her guilt over tricking Q. He had not left her much of a choice if she wanted him to live. Which she most definately did. Mark Greene pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose so he could see to place another delicate stitch. Suddenly, the heart beneath his hands began trembling erraticly, "He's gone into Defib. I need the open-chest paddles!"A nurse passed them to him."Set me up an Atropine drip." Diane hung the bag, hands shaking as she drove the needle into the line. "Clear!"Dr. Greene placed the paddles on the quivering heart. Q's body rose off the table as electricity coursed through him. Diane watched the monitor anxiously. The flat line was broken by one spike, went flat again for a momment, then another spike appeared, then another. "We got him back! Let's close him up and get him up to Recovery." Diane ran for the exit, knowing only that she needed toget out of there. She lit a cigarette with shaking hands. Dr. Benton followed her out. "What the Hell was that about? That was extremely unprofessional behavior." "I'm sorry. I shouldn't even have been in that operating room. I'm personaly involved." Diane inhaled, drawing the mentholated smoke into her lungs. Her hands stopped shaking as the nicotine hit her bloodstream. "Don't ask me to explain how, but I know this guy. When his heart stopped and he was dying, I almost bolted. It was too much. I lost Joel, my first husband, that way. His heart stopped during emergancy surgery after a car accident. They couldn't restart it and he died on the table." Benton nodded in sympathy. From afsinet@erols.com Mon Dec 22 18:55:58 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news2.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!nntp.flash.net!204.186.0.134.MISMATCH!ptdnetP!newsgate.ptd.net!fastnet!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch.4 Date: 23 Dec 1997 02:55:58 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 40 Message-ID: <01bd0f4e$1a7b5d00$064aaccf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as5s46.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 882845758 18394 207.172.74.46 (23 Dec 1997 02:55:58 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1073 Diane went back inside and up to the recovery room Q had been taken to. "I'm back." Q opened one eye, watching as she approached. "I'm a bit upset with you," He was hoarse, but his voice was considerably stronger than it had been before the surgery,"you tricked me into letting that...barbarian gas me into unconsciousness." "Would you rather they opened up your chest and repaired your heart without any anesthetic? Considering your people's low pain threshold, I don't think so." "Well..."He broke off, realizing he didn't know her name,"Could you at least introduce yourself so we could argue properly? I'm not exactly comfortable arguing with someone when I can't even call them by their name." "Diane Lynn Smith. I'm 30, and I work here at County General as a nurse. I have one child, a little girl named Lucia, who'll be two this Christmas. I was widowed shortly before she was born." Something that looked almost like sympathy flashed across those handsome features. In truth, it was that the emotionless way in which she'd stated that fact reminded Q of all the losses he himself had endured. His face crumbled in on itself for a momment. Then, he smiled wryly, an expression that told Diane just how desperately he was trying to be brave. She set a hand on his shoulder, wanting to sweep him into her arms but knowing he probably wouldn't allow that much familiarity. Q's reserve toppled the rset of the way at that gentle touch. Hating himself for needing comfort that much but in too much anguish to care, he threw his arms around her neck, shoulders shaking as he sobbed. Diane embarced him, caressing his hair absently with her left hand. She didn't speak a word, only held him and rocked him, letting him cry himself out. At the same time, she silently prayed for him. GOD, I KNOW HE'S NOT HUMAN, SO HE'S TECHNICALLY NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILTY, BUT PLEASE HELP HIM. BRING HIM PEACE. Q sagged into her arms. For the first time in a very long time, he was completely at peace. Whatever higher power this girl had called upon had banished all his pain, fear, anger, and doubt. The stilness washing over him was incredibly wonderful, and he yearned for it to never end. When he lifted his eyes, tears still streamed from them. Diane saw a joy light his face that was neraly celestial. She'd never senn him so happy, never in all the years she'd followed his adventures. She thought it was a beautiful change. From afsinet@erols.com Tue Dec 23 17:05:34 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!ionews.ionet.net!zdc-e!super.zippo.com!lotsanews.com!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch. 5 Date: 24 Dec 1997 01:05:34 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 61 Message-ID: <01bd1007$c76bfb00$3b4aaccf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as5s59.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 882925534 25413 207.172.74.59 (24 Dec 1997 01:05:34 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1075 The next day was her day off, but she came in anyway to spend the day with Q. Laughter rang from room 214, putting everyone on the floor, doctors and nurses alike, in a good mood. "Would you like to stay at my place for awhile when you get out of here?" "Who said I needed your help?" "Where else can you go? I certainly wouldn't want to see you homeless around this place." "You do have a point. Perhaps I will, at that." Diane entered the room on the morning he was to be discharged bright and early."Wake up,"the artless pile of curls she'd styled into her hair bounced as she tossed her head,"you're outta here!" Q opened one eye with an almost reluctant air."Aren't we unnecessarily cheerful this morning?" he replied sardonically. "I take it that means you're glad to be leaving." Diane really had learned to read him too well during his ten-day stay. So he changed the subject, opting for a witty put-down. "Is that your hair, or have you simply tied a poodle to your head?" She smiled, seemingly unfazed."My hair, guilty as charged."She pulled a three-piece suit from behind her."Went shopping for you. The clothes I found you in were hopeless, and if you can be hurt here, I assume you wouldn't be able to, uh, whip up another set of clothes." He was stunned st her unsolicited kindness. No one had ever been kind to him without an ulterior motive before. He ran his fingers over the soft fabric, seeming almost to carress it. "This is real silk!" "Yep. You'd be surpriseed what you can afford when you know where to look. Go on, get into the bathroom and out of that drafty gown." He emerged ten minutes later. Diane gasped. Q was even more spectacularly handsome than she'd thought. He held his head high, his bearing oozing confidance. "I think the temperature in the room just rose about ten degrees," she breathed,"You are drop-dead, unadulterated gorgeous." . Those beutiful eyes sparkled mischeiviously over a ten-thousand watt smile. Diane had planned a trip to Virgina to visit a few friends. So she purchased another plane ticket in order to drag her new friend along. Q looked around her apartment as Diane said her good-byes to the baby-sitter. Suddenly, he collided with aa 21-month-old energy being. She clung to his legs, catipulting herself between them in search of her mother. "Mommy,"Lucia squealed in delight as she spotted Diane. "There's my little girl,"she swept the little red-haired moppet up into her arms."Mommy's got a friend with her. He'll be staying with us awhile." The little girl looked up at him with sparkling emerald green eyes. Apparantly she approved, for she began sucking on his lapel. Diane disengaged the cloth from her child's mouth as a look that seemed to be a mix of horror and bewilderment settled onto Q's face. "O, Lord I'm sorry. She usually doesn't act this way around strangers. She must like you." Lucia threw her arms around Q's neck. The horror receded to be replaced by a feeling he'd never had before. He nestled his chin against the top of Lucia's head. His eyes slid closed and he just let it come. "Daddy."Q, amazingly, didn't correct her. As a matter of fact, a small fraction of a wish formed that he really was her father. His heart overflowed with that simple familial love. From afsinet@erols.com Tue Dec 23 19:24:35 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!ionews.ionet.net!zdc-e!super.zippo.com!lotsanews.com!news-feed.inet.tele.dk!bofh.vszbr.cz!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch. 6 Date: 24 Dec 1997 03:24:35 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 37 Message-ID: <01bd1013$f8be8360$164baccf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as2s42.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 882933875 28250 207.172.73.105 (24 Dec 1997 03:24:35 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1076 Disclaimers, I almost forgot. Q and all of the Enterprise crew are the property of the Great Studio of the Galaxy(Sorry,Q, no reproduction without express written consent of Paramount) Andrew, Tess, and Monica belong to CBS. Doctors Greene, Benton, and Carter belong to NBC. Queria Is Mercutio's(Read Propiniquity for more info on her{Plug, Plug}), Naomi belongs to her and Alara, Ari belongs to Mercutio, T'lara and the name Lhoviri Belong to Alara,as well. You can post it or archive it anywhere you want, even download copies for your friends as long as ya don't sell 'em and as long as Diane Smith(AKA DianaQ) gets credit. Allright, enough yabbering. Let's get back to the story. Diane saw the sad look enter his eyes as Lucia hugged his neck. "What's wrong?"she set her hand on his. Homesickness overwhelmed him. "I miss my home. I miss Jean-Luc, and my family. Hell, I even miss that annoying step-daughter of mine. Ariadne is seven now, the age where they start to speak intelligably and become somewhat less annoying."He handed her a photograph."My sister took this when Ari was four. Queria always did have a strange fascination with 20th century recording techniques.The woman holding her is Naomi Allen, my ex-girlfriend and her mother." "She's beautiful. She has your eyes. By the way , I'm planning a trip to Virgina to visit some friends of mine. I thought you might like to come." "I guess I'll come,"His eyes were hooded, but she'd seen the longing in them before he'd had a chance to hide it. "Good. I already bought a ticket for you." Diane awoke early on the morning they were to leave to pack a few last-minute items. She peeked into the spare room to find Q still asleep, Lucia curled into the protective curve of his arm, Her two cats, Callie Mae and Honey, curled up at his head and feet. "Wake up, everyone.We've got two hours before we have to leave for the airport." Q rubbed his eyes clear of sand and stumbled sleepily into the master bath to get showered and dressed. He held Lucia's hand tightly as the group waded through the crowd at O'Hare Airport. Diane found their gate and waved her arms frantically to lead her friend and daughter to her. From afsinet@erols.com Wed Dec 24 21:55:45 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch.7 Date: 25 Dec 1997 05:55:45 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 84 Message-ID: <01bd10f4$a32f69a0$6e49accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as2s47.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883029345 20745 207.172.73.110 (25 Dec 1997 05:55:45 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1087 Q looked out of the 757's window as the plane took off. I WONDER WHAT DEAR JEAN-LUC WOULD THINK IF HE COULD SEE ME RIGHT NOW? ON AN OLD-FASHIONED AIRPLANE, GOING WITH MY 20TH CENTURY GIRLFRIEND TO VISIT A GROUP OF HER CHRISTIAN FRIENDS. HE'D PROBABLY FALL OVER IN SHOCK. Q grinned at the image that formed in his head at the thought. A few hours later, they landed at Dulles. John had already arranged for her car.ONE OF THE PERKS OF KNOWING A CELEBRITY, she told herself. "Now, remember, these friends are good Christians. So behave yourself." "Are you implying..."Q protested. "I didn't say that you didn't know how. You just usually choose not to." Diane grinned impishly. Q returned the smile as soon as it dawned on him that he was being teased."Touche, point well taken." Dale Petit, her ex-roomate, answered the door when they arrived. His jaw dropped for a momment as he realized just who the man standing next to Diane was. "So,girl, we're consorting with omnipotent entities now, are we?" "Who else would be good enough for a girl like me?"Diane gave that impish smile again."Hi, Dale." A short,slightly plump woman with a mass of long, curly red hair saw them. "Hey!"Bonnie scuttled over, arms open wide."Can I get a hug from my sista?" "Sure."Diane squeezed Bonnie tight. "So, how's it going?" "Still at County General, though with my schedule there are alot of places I'd much rather be. I've got a friend with me" Bonnie's eyes widened the way Dale's had "Don't ask, Bonnie, it'd be too hard to explain. Just know that it ain't Johnny and leave it at that." "You must be Bonnie Ballyntyne. Diane's been talking about you ever since we met." "Bonnie Obata, actually. Tim and I have married since the last time Diane and I saw each other. Oh, do me a favor, Q. Try not to mingle too much. I don't wanna have to pull out the smelling salts tonight." Q smiled."Already been duly warned. I won't pull any rabitts out of hats or make Bibles appear out of nowhere."Lucia ran up to him and held out her arms, wanting to be picked up. He lifted her easily, nuzzling her hair with a bit of fatherly affection before setting her down again. "Go find your mother, Brat Child." "Okay,Daddy." Bonnie sensed a peace about him she'd not expected as he followed the child with his eyes. A half-hour later, Diane came back in from the bacony after having her cigarette. She saw Bonnie with Lucia in her arms, but Q was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd Q go?" Bonnie nodded to their friend Jim's bedroom. "Dave, Ron, and Tim are ministering to him in there." Diane's eyes misted a little as the memory of how lost she'd felt before coming here the first time came back."I feel God's spirit moving tonight, Bonnie. Do you think..."Diane trailed off, almost as if it was too much to hope for. "He just might, Miss Diane. He didn't freak or anything when he got here, and he's stuck it out instead of fleeing. I'd take that as a sign that he might be pretty receptive." Dave's stocky figure approached them. "Come on in, Sister." Q was on his knees. Tim and Ron were laying hands on him, praying. Years, millions of them, ones of sin, of aimlessness and searching for meaning in it all, poured from him in a hot rushing outpour of tears. "Lord,"his voice shook for a momment, as if he still wasn't sure he could actually do this,"I have done an infinite number of absolutely idiotic things in my life, despite the inordinate amount of intelligance you've endowed my people with. I've hurt my friends, shamed my family, and driven away the very small number of mortal beings that have ever cared about me. But You know all that. I think it's about time I stopped trying to run my life,since the mess I've made of it should make it obvious that I haven't made a very good go of it thus far, and let the One who created my people and Diane's both give it a try. Jesus, come into my heart and mind,teach me how to be as you would want me to be. Because I can't do it myself anymore." Diane laid her hands on his shoulders, thanking God for all she was worth. A slender woman with chesnut brown hair watched as the couple entered the store. "Look at them, Tess,"she spoke to the tall, stout black woman next to her. Her voice held an Irish brouge."They look so happy."She pointed at the man, who smiled as he hefted the little girl up onto his hip. "They're who we're here for, Miss Wings." From afsinet@erols.com Wed Dec 24 21:55:46 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch.8 Date: 25 Dec 1997 05:55:46 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 42 Message-ID: <01bd10f9$975d09c0$6e49accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as2s47.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883029346 20745 207.172.73.110 (25 Dec 1997 05:55:46 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1086 Q barely felt the weight of the child against his hip. All he knew was that it was warm for December first, the sun was shining, and the little girl in his arms smile up at him in delight. For once in his long life, the simple joys of home and family truly made him happy. I WILL NOT LOSE THIS JOY. EVEN IF I HAVE TO GIVE UP ALL THAT I EVER WAS. I WOULD RATHER GROW OLD AND DIE AT DIANE'S SIDE ON THIS PRIMITIVE WORLD THAN LOSE THIS. Diane nudged somone else as she bent over in the toy aisle. "Excuse me." "That's all right." Diane looked the girl over. She was a bit taller than Diane, with dark brown hair that reached her shoulderblades and brown eyes that shone with quiet joy."Hi, I'm Diane." "My name's Monica. It looks like you're shopping for a child." "Yeah, my daughter. My boyfriend's keeping her distracted so I can get her birthday/Christmas gift." "I saw you when I came in the store. I couldn't help but notice how happy you looked." "I am, most of the time. I mean this man is more than I ever thought I'd get. He's smart, witty, attractive. And Lucia loves him, to boot. But sometimes he just drives me crazy. You see, he's been somewhat sheltered as far as the rest of the human race goes, which means despite his extremely high I.Q there are some aspects of interacting with other people he just doesn't quite get." "It will come. It just takes experiance, that's all." Q eyed the black woman warily as she approached he and Lucia. Her officious manner reminded him a bit of Guinan, the Enterprise bartender that was forever tormenting him, but her warm smile put him at ease. "What a delightful child,"She tickled Lucia under the chin.,"Yours?" "No, my girlfriend's. Her name is Lucia. Mine's Quentin." "I'm Tess." "Diane told me kids are a great way to pick up girls. I wouldn't know, though. I know better than to try with her in the same building."He chuckled softly."I'm attempting to keep the little heathen distracted so that Diane can buy her gifts. Not much success, I'm afraid. She's in a rather cantankterous mood." "I see. Here, let me help." Diane walked towards the door still chatting with Monica, her purchases in a bag at her side. "Ready, Mon cher?" "Yes. Good-bye, Tess." Both women waved as the couple left. From afsinet@erols.com Fri Dec 26 17:22:01 1997 Path: news2.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!nntp.flash.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch.9 Date: 27 Dec 1997 01:22:01 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 62 Message-ID: <01bd1259$f3a97400$3e49accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as5s14.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883185721 17059 207.172.74.14 (27 Dec 1997 01:22:01 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news2.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1089 A knock on Diane's hotel-room door woke her from her replaying of the afternoon's events. When she opened it, a strawberry-blond girl and a dark-blond boy stood there. ""Katy, Brian! How'd you guys know I was here?" She waved her nephew and niece into the room. "Bonnie told us."Brian answered simply. Q entered with Lucia just then after spending an afternoon at the mall with her. Brian's jaw dropped. "Must I get this with everyone you know? It's beginning to get somewhat tedious." He held her daughter out to her. "Here. Take the little barbarian. She desperately needs a good long bath. Never again will I give her cotton candy." "Oh, Q, This is my nephew Brian and my niece Katy."Diane took her daughter from him and headed for the bathroom."Would you mind keeping them entertained for a bit, Mon Amor? I'm going to srub this child shiny." "But of course, Mon Cher. I think I can handle that." "She must really like you,"Katy giggled,"the only time she speaks anything other than English is when she likes someone." "Of course she likes me"He flashed the nineteen-year old a wicked smile,"I am Q, what's not to like?" "A bit arrogant, are we?"Brian's taunt was given in a teasing enough tone to take most of the sting out of it. He turned that teasing grin onto the boy."I have a right to be."Then, the arrogant pose dropped. His hazel eyes turned dark with longing as he looked toward the bathroom. Lucia came tearing out of the bathroom in a towel."Daddy!"she shrieked. She held a clean dress in her chubby fingers."Daddy dwess me?"The child peered up at him with bright green eyes. The longing in them was too strong to deny. The practiced way in which he handled the tiny buttons told Brian and Katy he'd done this before. The loving way in which he tied the belt into a bow even better than Diane's spoke volumes. Brian, having seen enough Star Trek to know quite well just how difficult it was for Q to show affection, was tactful enough not to comment. Katy, however, as was her way, blurted out exactly what was on her mind. "You really love my aunt, don't you?" Her blunt question caused a brilliant red flush of mortification to flood his face. He'd been caught out, stripped of his defenses completely by a mere human teenage girl. Any sarcasm on his part to cover the slip would be seen as just that. "Katy!"Diane charged to his rescue.She could feel the heat of the blush rising to Q's face at fifty paces. She forced herself to gentle her response."Q does not need any help making a total ass of himself. He can do that quite nicely on his own. And if, on rare occasions, he does need help to do so, that's my job." Diane turned to him as they left."I am so sorry about my niece. I should have warned you. She is rather direct, isn't she?" He recovered his composure quickly upon hearing the laughter in her tone"Yes she is. If i'd had my powers...."he trailed off, not quite sure of what revenge would have been appropriate. "Now, now, play nice. a good Chrisitan Q doesn't turn his girlfriend's relatives into some nonsentiant lifeform. Though I'll admit, the thought does appeal."Her exression became serious."You don't have to try and tell me how you feel. I know you care very deeply for me. I also know that it's very hard for you to tell me so. Your people simply aren't geared for vocal expressions of emotion. So I've learned to read your heart by what you do. You are a very beautiful person in God's eyes, and a more Human soul than some people I know who were born on Earth. So don't worry about verbalizing how you feel. Just keep showing me, just as you have ever since I rescued you. With your actions." From afsinet@erols.com Sat Dec 27 23:50:17 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!baron.netcom.net.uk!netcom.net.uk!nntp.news.xara.net!xara.net!recycled.news.erols.com!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look Homeward AngelQ Ch.10 Date: 28 Dec 1997 07:50:17 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 134 Message-ID: <01bd1365$1680b400$1049accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as1s16.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883295417 27131 207.172.73.16 (28 Dec 1997 07:50:17 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1092 "About the morning we met, you never told me how you ended up in an alley with a hunting knife stuck in your chest." "I was mugged. By two men who were, in my humble opinion, the two biggest wastes of God's creative energies I've ever encountered."He ran his hands through his hair sheepishly."I didn't realize I was without my powers, so I naturally told them to insert their heads firmly between their knees and blow themselves." "Naturally." "It was when one of them pulled out that damned hunting knife and plunged it into me that I realized I was in trouble. You can imagine how surprised I was to see blood pulsing out around the dratted thing. They rifled my pockets, then ran. They didn't even reclaim the blade." "That was when I came down, I think. I must have chased them off. It's a good thing they didn't remove the knife. You would most likely have bled to death." "I can't think of anything more embarrassing than to have had my body destroyed by those hoodlums. The rest of the Continuum would never have let me live it down." Q shivered as the memmories of that morning returned. He had been more than merely frightened. For the first time, he'd been close enough to death to taste the sour coldness of it, and it had terrified him. The sound of the traffic outside the apartment complex and the coppery taste of blood, his blood, on his tounge had burned themselves indelibly into his mind. But he knew he'd never fear death quite that much again. Diane saw the shudder run through him and immediatly put her arms around him in order to help him ride it out. That was all it took for the dam to break. He'd been holding everything inside for the two weeks since the mugging, and he'd been hovering very close to the edge ever since. One gentle touch was all it had taken to convince him it was safe to go over. The shudder became tremors as he began to cry. Wrenching, soul-rending sobs tore their way out of him. "Shh,"Diane comforted him as those sobs of remembered terror seized him,"It's Okay, everything's going to be okay. I'm here. I'll never leave you." He quieted, his sobs subsiding enough for him to speak."I truly thought I was going to die that morning. If you hadn't come when you did..."he shuddered again. Another knock sounded at the door. "Katy? It's open. Just hurry up please. I've got a bit of a crisis on my hands at the momment." The girl who stood in the door wasn't Katy, that much was clear. She was thinner than Katy could ever hope to be, and her features reminded Diane of a face on a Cameo. "Amanda!"Q disengaged himself from Diane's arms."Does this mean I'm going home?" "Yeppers. By the way, your sister is with me." "Which one?" "What do you mean,'Which one'? Do you seriously think the older of the two would be caught dead in a place like this? Get real. It's Cassela, of course." Q grinned so widely that the corners of his eyes crinkled. It had been almost 45 years since he'd seen her, but he'd bet his life she hadn't changed much. Cassela had been a spitfire ever since he'd first met her. The form she typically wore around humaniods was slender, almost willowy. Especially considering that she was 5'10" tall. She had dark hair, the soft black of a raven's wings.It perfectly set off her turquoise eyes. "Cassela was the one that talked the Continuum into stripping me of my powers instead of just executing me. She and my dear brother. But she intended it as a merciful act. It took me awhile to see it that way, however." "The Enterprise will arrive soon. We're here to keep you company until they do." "Happy, happy, joy, joy."Sarcasm dripped nearly as thick as pancake syrup frm those four words. Amanda groaned."Did you have to show him television? That stuff'll rot a Q's brain." "I didn't do it. Lucia did! And while we're on the subject, can you convince him somehow that men do not watch soap operas or sappy movies unless forced? It's not normal." "So I liked'The mirror has two faces'.Since when have I wished to be normal?" "You may have a point.However, you aren't the one getting the heat about it. In some respects, woman are even more viscious than men" "It is not my fault that human females gossip.Besides, I cannot drive, not legally anyway, so I'm stuck in the house all day.Television is about the only thing between me and insanity." Amanda giggled. Q sounded for all the universe like a housewife who'd been married far too long. "I'm going with you."Diane made that statement in a way that said she expected him to challenge it."That means I need to go back to Chicago, give my two weeks' notice at County General, and clear out my apartment." Q knew better than to tangle with Diane. Besides, despite being too proud to say it, he really did want her to go. "Allright. We'll go back to Chicago in the morning. No sense in Cassela wasting the money she spent on the room." Diane smothered a laugh at his grumpy tone of voice. She coud tell he was getting tired. Lack of sleep tended to make him even more irritating and acerbic than usual. Amanda was the one to find the hotel. "Cassela Adams' room please." Diane bustled behind the bellhop as he showed them to Cassela's room. "Q! Hello, Little Brother. Come in, come in,"the voice was warm, rich. She noticed the human woman standing next to Q."Hello, I'm Cassela, Q's sister." "Diane Smith, Q's girlfriend. And this is my daughter, Lucia."The toddler peered up at the woman, deciding immediatly that she liked her."Up?" Lucia put actions to words in the form of outstretched arms. Cassela hefted the child into her arms with the practiced ease of one who'd handled children before. "You've done this before, haven't you?" "Of course."Cassela laughed, a ringing, bell-like peal."Q, after all, is my YOUNGER brother." The plane ride back to Chicago was aglow with warm chatter.Christmas was two weeks away, as every house on the drive back to her apartment seemed bent on reminding them. Q watched as the decorated buildings passed outside the passenger window. His heart lifted with hapoiness. A song bubbled up inside that bouyant organ, flying from lips which were not strong enough to contain it. "Love in any language, straight from the heart pulls us all together, never apart. And once we learn to speak it, all the world will hear love in any language, fluently spoken here." Diane joined him on the bridge, her voice high and sweet. "Though the rhetoric of governments may keep us worlds apart.There is no misinterpreting the language of the heart." Amanda and Cassela basked in the warmth of the two voices joined in a song of praise. The soprano and the tenor wrapped around each other, intertwining with a haunting beauty at the end. Amanda had been raised by humans in a firm, loving Christian home. She'd begun to take her faith for granted because she'd walked with Christ so long. But to see Q, her godfather, protecter, and benefactor, singing praises to him, face nearly glowing, brought the newness and wonder of it back to her. Cassela felt her brother's heart and mind unfolding befor her like a delicate flower. There was love there, an great fount of it. For her, for Amanda, for Lucia, but most of all for the woman nextto him who'd introduced him to the source of that evr-flowing spring. And intertwined with it all was a love for God so strong that it was nearly a living thing inside of him. YOU WILL BE PERSECUTED FOR THIS BIG-TIME, LITTLE BROTHER, BUT I CAN'T SAY I DON'T`LIKE THE CHANGE IT HAS PRODUCED IN YOU. From afsinet@erols.com Sun Dec 28 08:44:05 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch.11 Date: 28 Dec 1997 16:44:05 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 118 Message-ID: <01bd138a$0ce08fe0$2e49accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as7s20.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883327445 17421 207.172.74.147 (28 Dec 1997 16:44:05 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1093 A knock sounded at Diane's door as they were sitting down for dinner. "Monica! Tess! Great to see you. Come on in." "We thought we'd come and see your place."Monica smiled sweetly. "That's wonderful. Of course you know Quentin and Lucia. The blond girl is his goddaughter Amanda, and the brunette is his sister Cassela."Both ladies nodded in turn. They sat at the table and talked of inconsequential things. But Monica struggled inside. GOD, I AM AN ANGEL. I AM SUPPOSED TO PREVENT THINGS LIKE WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMMOROW MORNING. BUT IT'S NOT YOUR WILL THAT I DO SO. KNOWING THAT, THOUGH, DOESN'T MAKE KEEPING SILENT ANY EASIER. Monica and Tess left around nine. Diane woke around seven the next morning. Q had already awakened, showered, and dressed, so she had him walk up to the local conveniance mart for some milk for breakfast. Amanda and Cassela had gone to the park. IT FEELS GOOD TO HAVE THE HOUSE TO MYSELF FOR A BIT. She plugged in her curling iron and ran a hot bath. When Diane exited the bathroom about ten minutes later in search of her makeup, She smelled smoke. Her first thought was for the safety of her daughter. She ran for the child's bedroom. Locked! Somehow the young girl had managed to lock herslf in her bedroom. Diane ran nextdoor to call the fire department, then dashed outside. Q, Cassela, and Amanda all arrived at the same momment. They could all see that Diane was upset, but it was several minutes before she was coherant enough to tell them why. "The apartment's burning"she finally got out,"and Lucia locked herself in the bedroom. I couldn't get her out!" All Q could see in his mind's eye was the devastated expression that would flood that lovely face if anything should happen to her daughter. In that momment, she became his, too.He dashed inside, nearly busting in the door in his haste. "Lucia,"he called"it's Daddy. Please, listen to me." "Daddy,"the girl sounded frightened,"Can't open door. Stuck." "See the little metal thing in the middle of the knob? Turn it towards the window." He heard the click of the lock unlatching and opened the door to reveal a scared, disheveled toddler. "Here get inside my jacket. hunker down as small as you can and stay still. Daddy's going to get you out of here." THANK GOD I WORE MY LEATHER TRENCH-COAT THIS MORNING. He plunged out of the room. Suddenly, a backdraft caught the firestorm, sending a line of flame between them and the front door. GOT TWO CHOICES. STAY HERE AND WAIT FOR THE FIRE FIGHTERS, IN WHICH CASE LUCIA AND I BOTH WOULD LIKELY DIE OF SMOKE ASPHYXIATION, OR JUMP FOR THE DOOR. I PROBABLY WON'T MAKE IT, BUT LUCIA WILL. AND I'D RATHER DIANE SUFFER FOR A LITTLE WHILE FROM LOSING ME THEM SUFFER A LIFETIME OF GRIEF OVER LOSING LUCIA AND THEN LOSING ME ANYWAY ON TOP OF IT. So he made the most loving and logical decision he could make and lept through the smoking, smoldering hell. "Here,"He opened his jacket, and the shivering child tumbled to the ground. "Mother of God!"Diane exclaimed in a hoarse whisper when he looked up at her. His face, his chest where the jacket hadn't covered it, and the backs of his hands were all badly burned. The pain hit like a ton of bricks. Q gasped at the unexpectedness of it. But then of course he hadn't expected to be alive to feel it. He collapsed at her feet, going into a semi-conscious state with the intensity of it. Monica and Tess pulled up in their Rolls just as the building began visibly burning. "What happened?" Monica took in all of it, the burning building, the three adults standing there looking completely shell-shocked, and the shivering child. But then she saw the thing she'd feared most. Diane sitting in a heap on the street, tears streaming down her face as she watched her home burn and cradling the head of the only man she'd ever love in her lap. "The apartment burned. My home, it's gone."Fresh tears sprang to her eyes."I almost lost Lucia.Now I'm only waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm going to lose the man I love, the man I'd give my very life to protect from harm. I'm going to be forced to watch as his life slowly ebbs away, powerless to stop it." Diane looked skyward, but it wasn't God she raged at "Damn you! You claim you're better than we are, that we're nothing but ignorant savages compared to you. But at least we humans don't leave our children to die. Goddammit! He may be older than me by a factor of hundreds of thousands, but he's still a child! And you let him come here, knowing about the magnetic pole shift, knowing it would confuse his abilities, cut him off from you, and leave him totally helpless. You abandoned him! And that makes you better than us? You need a serious reality check, then." The ambulance arrived. Diane leaped into the back, leaving Tess and Monica to drive both cars. Dr. Carter, second-year resident,waited at the emergancy entrance. "Diane!"he yelped in surprise when she stepped from the back of the ambulance."What in the world..." "My apartment burned down." For the first time since he'd known her, this fiercly loving, ferociously efficient nurse looked....lost. Diane paced in the waiting area as Q's wounds were treated. "Diane,"Amanda saw the look of caged frustration in the human woman's eyes,"sit down." She seemed not to hear. Monica walked up to her, sweeping the girl into her arms. Diane melted, sobbing into her shoulder, repeating like a litany,"Please, I love him, let him live." That brought forth the tears Cassela had been holding back by sheer strength of will. "Why?"She wailed,"why my brother? Bad things aren't supposed to happen to him. Wasn't what he went through as a little kid enough? I always wanted to believe in you, God. Prove it to me! Let Q live!" Amanda held her, trying to comfort the older Q though she herself was dying inside. "H-he was b-better than any of u-us.w-why h-him? G-god knows our brother deserved this a helluva lot m-more than he did." A wail of anguish flosted from the treatment room Diane clenched her eyes shut. She knew in her head nthat cleaning the burns of dirt and debris was necessary, but each cry of pain tore at her heart. Finally, it was over. Dr. Greene strode over to them. "His burns have been dressed and he's been taken upstairs." From afsinet@erols.com Sun Dec 28 13:26:46 1997 Path: news6.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!diablo.cs.uofs.edu!204.186.0.134.MISMATCH!ptdnetP!newsgate.ptd.net!fastnet!howland.erols.net!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ Ch.11 Date: 28 Dec 1997 21:26:46 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 73 Message-ID: <01bd13b6$3b58e8a0$934aaccf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as7s55.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883344406 7913 207.172.74.182 (28 Dec 1997 21:26:46 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news6.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1094 Another knock sounded at her hotel-room door. "Katy? It's open. Just hurry up please. I have a bit of a crisis on my hands at the momment." The girl who stood in the door definately was not Katy. She was thinner than Katy could ever hope to be, and her features reminded Diane somewhat of a face on a cameo. "Amanda!"Q disengaged himself from Diane's arms."Does this mean I'm to be rescued?" "Yeppers. Your brother sent me on ahead. By the way, your sister's here." "Which sister?" "What do you mean'Which sister?'? Do you really think the older of the two would be caught dead in this place, even if some of its more arcane devices do fascinate her? It's Cassela, of course." Q smiled so widely his eyes crinkled up at the corners. He hadn't seen her in almost 45 years, but he'd bet she hadn't changed a bit. She'd always been a bit of a spitfire, and despite their older sister's claim, Cassela had done a lot more of the day to day raising of him. Several near-subsumptions during his early years in the Continuum had been prevented through Cassie's fierce protection of him. "The Enterprise will be here soon. We're here to keep ya company until they arrive." "Happy, happy, joy, joy,"sarcasm dripped near as thick as pancake syrup from those four words. Amanda groaned."Did you have to show him television? That stuff'll rot a Q's brain" "I didn't. Lucia did! By the way, could you convince him somehow that men do not watch soap operas and sappy movies unless forced to? It's not normal." "So I enjoyed'The Mirror Has Two Faces'. Since when have I wished to be normal?" "Good point, you are not the taking the heat, though. In some respects, women are even more viscious than men." "I can't help it if your infernal females gossip. Aside from that, I cannot drive, not legally at least, so I end up stuck in the house all day while you're at work. Television is about the ony thing between me and insanity." Amanda giggled. Q sounded for all the world like a housewife who'd been married far too long. "I'm going with you."Diane made that statement defiantly, almost as if she expected Q to fight her on it. Truth to tell, though,Q was almost relieved. He hadn't had to work up the courage to ask her to come."I'll need to go back to Chicago, give my two weeks notice at County General, and empty out my apartment." "Allright. We'll leave tommorow morning. No sense in Cassela wasting the money she laid out for the hotel room." Diane chuckled at his grumpy tone. She could tell he was getting tired. Lack of sleep tended to make him even more irritating aand acerbic than usual. "Cassela Adams' room please." Diane bustled along behind the bellhop as he showed them to her room. The woman that answered the door appeared to be in her early thirties. She was nearly 5'10" tall and whip thin, maybe 120 pounds if that. Her hair was dark, that kind of black that reflects blue highlights when the moon hits it. She had huge turquoise eyes that seemed to pop out of her tiny china-doll face, a straight, upturned nose, and a jawline even more pointed than Diane's own. "Q! Well, come in, come in," the voice was low, rich. She noticed the human woman standing beside her brother."Hello, I'm Cassela, Q's sister." "Diane Smith, Q's girlfriend. And this is my daughter, Lucia." The little girl peered up at the woman, deciding immediatly that she liked her."Up?" She matched actions to words with outstretched arms. Cassela hefted the girl with the ease of one who'd handled children before. "You've done this before, haven't you?" "Of course. Q, after all, is my YOUNGER brother." From afsinet@erols.com Fri Jan 02 15:29:18 1998 Path: news7.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!ionews.ionet.net!zdc-e!super.zippo.com!lotsanews.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look Homeward AngelQ ch.12 Date: 2 Jan 1998 23:29:18 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 97 Message-ID: <01bd158a$4d1f29c0$a349accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as1s21.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883783758 27716 207.172.73.21 (2 Jan 1998 23:29:18 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news7.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1101 "May we see him now?" Mark smiled gently."Yes, but only two at a time, and you'll have to wear scrubs. We need to keep the room as sterile as possible." Amanda and Cassela entered first. "Hello brother,"Cassela's voice was thick with sorrow. "Lucia?"Q was hoarse from smoke inhalation, the question barely more than a whisper. "She's fine, thanks to you."She gingerly took his hands in hers,"You were so brave. I ccouldn't have lept through those flames, not in a billion years." "I was a coward. I panicked, and I got myself hurt as a result." "No,"Amanda insisted,"You saved that little girl's life. If that's not courage, if that's not heroism, I don't know what is." They exited, waving Diane and Lucia in. "Diane? Is that you?" "It's me, love. Lucia's here, too." "I really did it this time, didn't I?" Diane laughed hollowly at the wry, bitter joke. "Yes, you did, at that." They were both silent for a long momment. Then, voice trembling, Q asked,"Please, hold me." She laid down beside him, embracing him. Suddenly, they both burst into tears. "I want so badly to be brave, but it's so hard. I was terrified in there, Q. Of losing my home, of losing my daughter, and of losing you. But you, You aren't scared of anything." "Me?"The question was an incredulous shout."I'm scared of eeverything. I'm scared of what I saw, what I did, of who I am. But most of all, I'm scared of leaving here and never again feeling the way I do when I'm with you."He squeezed her tightly."Please, stay wih me. Marry me." Diane started crying again."Yes." Q's wounds became infected. for a week, he hovered between life and death with a fever of 105.3. "Amanda,"Diane sank into the young girl's arms after six days of being worn thin by worry,"I don't think he's going to pull out of this one. What am I going to tell Picard? What am I going to say to his brother? God only knows what an immortal, all-powerful being might accidentaly do to us all in a fit of enraged grief. Besides which, I don't know how I'll be able to speak the words without them choking me." "You won't have to. Q's stronger than you and me combined, in addition to being one of the most enfuriatingly stubborn people I know. He WILL make it." Dr. Carter came in to check on his patient the seventh day to find Diane asleep on the other bed. He shook her gently. "Diane, Quentin's fever broke last night. He's going to make it." THANK YOU, JESUS. "Diane?"The voice was weak, but coherant. "I'm here, love." "How do I get myself into these situations? My brother I could understand getting into things like this. After all, HE lost an entire asteroid belt. But I'm supposed to be the careful one. Oh, speaking of siblings, how are Cassela and Amanda?" "Amanda's heart is dying a slow death and Cassela is wailing about the injustice of God in doing this to you, but otherwise things are fine." Q grunted in exasperation."God didn't do this to me. I did to my stupid-despite-my-2010-I.Q self. The only reason I'm still here is that I know how much I have to live for." Diane was warmed by his admission of how much he needed her. Beverly Crusher spotted the building. The red car was there, just as Q's brother had said it would be. She walked in, realizing immediatly what the place was. It was a hospital. From afsinet@erols.com Fri Jan 02 16:00:22 1998 Path: news3.ispnews.com!news4.ispnews.com!news8.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!www.nntp.primenet.com!globalcenter0!news.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!newspump.sol.net!sol.net!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!winter.news.erols.com!not-for-mail From: "afsinet" Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look homeward AngelQ ch.13 Date: 3 Jan 1998 00:00:22 GMT Organization: Erol's Internet Services Lines: 75 Message-ID: <01bd17da$487cf4e0$1549accf@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: man-as1s21.erols.com X-Trace: winter.news.erols.com 883785622 10374 207.172.73.21 (3 Jan 1998 00:00:22 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@erols.com X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1162 Xref: news3.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1100 Beverly walked up to the desk."I need to find Diane Smith. Do you know where she might be?" "She's visiting her fiance, who's a patient here. Are you friend or family?" "Friend,"Beverly answered, then smiled wryly. It wasn't everyday she called herself Q's friend. "Room 214." She walked in to find Cassela and Amanda standing vigil at a bed. In the bed was someone she would never have recognized if it weren't for the company. "Beverly?" "It's me." "Thought so. I'd recognize that walk anywhere. Always trying to do it quietly and never succeeding thanks to those Fleet-issue boots. Thank the Almighty Father you're here. I thought these primitive medicine men masquerading as doctors were going to succeed in their attempts to maim me." "What in Heaven's name happened to you?" "Heaven had nothing to do with this, I assure you. " Diane awoke as the voices in the room grew louder. "Let's see,"Q looked at the ceiling as if mentally tabulating the happenings of the last 8 weeks."I got mugged and stabbed, became a Christian, fell in love, got caught in a burning apartment building, got engaged, nearly died. I'd say my schedule's been pretty full." Beverly started in amazment."I'd say it has, too." Diane sat up on the bed. She immediatly recognized the woman talking with her fiance. ""Dr. Crusher, I presume. I'm Diane Smith, Q's fiancee." Beverly's mouth dropped. Q was marrying a mortal, human woman. Not only that, she was four hundred years behind his time. OR MAYBE,She mused,SHE'S FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AHEAD OF HERS. "Dr. Crusher to Enterprise, four to beam...." Diane lifted her hand from the combadge, closing the channel."I'm coming, too." "You don't know what you're saying! If you come with us, you'll never see your home again." "I realize that. But Lucia and I have nothing to hold us here. My husband is dead, as are my parents. My sister and brother live out of state and I never see them enough to even know I have them. On the other hand, I love Q, and Lucia has taken it into her head that he's her father. Please, don't seperate us." All Beverly needed to convince her the rest of the way to take the girl with them was to look at Q's face. The sincere yearning in that intense dark hazel gaze blew her away. "All right. We'll leave as soon as you're ready." From aureliast@webtv.net Fri Jul 24 21:38:55 1998 Path: news5.ispnews.com!hub1.ispnews.com!news11.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!news2.ais.net!jamie!ais.net!newsfeed1.earthlink.net!newsfeed.concentric.net!webtv.net!not-for-mail From: aureliast@webtv.net (Diane Smith) Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look Homeward, AngelQ Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1998 01:38:55 -0400 (EDT) Organization: WebTV Subscriber Lines: 50 Message-ID: <8461-35B96F6F-21@newsd-113.bryant.webtv.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.webtv.net Mime-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAsAhQvpAHCsWrIOUHHPt/0jKHE6xl8EwIUX9+uTFFu46uP0OoNZq1T49UgguI= Xref: news5.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1517 Disclaimers:Star Trek and all related charactes are copyright Paramount Television. Please do not distribute for profit. On with the show. LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL Q by Diana Q Chapter 14 Diane saw in her dream a face that belonged to one she knew could never have been there. "Monica, how...?" A beautifully unearthly light shone down on her. "I am an angel, sent by God to tell you that He's seen the way you've suffeed. He has allowed some of it to strengthen you for what is to come. God has plans for you and Q, great plans. You said many years ago that you had a vision o God's praises ringing across the cosmos. You're to have the chance to make it come true." At the same moment, Q had a visitor. "Tess? But it's impossible. . " Tess chuckled warmly. "I am an angel, sent by God let you know that He's been watching you, and is with you. He wants you to know that He loves you, no matter what you've done." "But my face! I'm . . . hideous! How coud anyone love ugliness? even my own people will hate me when they see." "God sees your heart, child." "I'm not. . ." he protested weakly. "You may be millions of years old, but in God's eyes you're still a child. And He will always look after you, no matter what. That's why you were brought to her world. God wants you to have something good in your life. He gave all of His creations free will, so the choice is yours. Take her, marry her, be happy. Or don't. But God hates your pain. Your confusion is not from Him for God is not the author of confusion.He wants you to have joy. Lay it all at his feet. He can work the miracle for you." Tears welled up in those hazel orbs. "Lord, I know I haven't always been the best child. It's hard giving it all up to You, and for some perverse reason, the time it's hardest is when things aren't going well. I guess it's because I still think my own strengh is enough. But it amazes me, that as great as the strengths and abilities You've given my people are, Yours are greater still. Please, restore me. Or, if it is not Your will, let others see past my features to see Your light shining in my heart." Tess and Monica smiled, the joyous music of an angelic choir ringing as another soul set itself firmly on the path God had created for it. Another week passed, and Q's wounds began healing. "Allright," Beverly grinned, "here's the mirror. I'm cutting the bandages now." Q examined his face in he mirror. Instead of the hideous roadmap of scars he'd expected, there was only a spider-web like tracingacross his jaw. From aureliast@webtv.net Sun Jul 26 07:22:00 1998 Path: news5.ispnews.com!news11.ispnews.com!news1.ispnews.com!howland.erols.net!newsfeed.concentric.net!webtv.net!not-for-mail From: aureliast@webtv.net (Diane Smith) Newsgroups: alt.fan.q Subject: Look Homeward AngelQ Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1998 11:22:00 -0400 (EDT) Organization: WebTV Subscriber Lines: 53 Message-ID: <15979-35BB4998-10@newsd-113.bryant.webtv.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.webtv.net Mime-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAuAhUAgUG97Zz8KGp1EtV7MFsEgjWlIl0CFQCQAe5VTx8kNSfrCd7yMdR0NkYbpg== Xref: news5.ispnews.com alt.fan.q:1518 Disclaimers:Star Trek is copyighted property, as are most of the characters in this story. please feel free to archive it anywhere you like, but do not distribute for profit. If you do srchive it, the rest of the chapters may be found at Mercutio's alt.fan.q ftp archive. Now, on with the show. Diane walked in just as the last of the bandages hit the floor. "Do you realize what day it is?" Diane asked, as if she herself had just realized it. "It's Chrismas Eve." Five sweet voices echoed in the near-empty room. Five flashes heralded the the arrival of Q's family, from his brother, whom Diane had nicknamed Loki for his joking nature, to Junior, Q's only child. "Merry Chinastmas!" They all shouted in unison. Loki patted his his shoulder. "Merry Christms, Bro," another flash, and a package appeared in is hand, "for you." "I'll open it tommorow," Q's eyes misted over just enough to make him turn his head to hide the tears. Amanda gave him a peck on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Q. I love you." Suzy approached almost shyly. "Happy Holidays, Q. I won't forget you." Cassela took his hands in hers. "Merry Christmas," she said softly. Lastly, his son strode over, his lanky fifteen-year-old frame bending akwardly as he hugged his father. "Merry Christmas, Dad." He squeezed Q tighter to him, tears pricking his blue eyes. "I wish you'd stay with us. We all love you." Q's eyes flooded, heart overcome by the love of his friends and family, love he'd usually doubted and oftentimes taken for granted. But never again would he doubt them, for they had come to him now, in his greatest time of need,, and acccepted him as he was. It was the one thing he'd needed all along from them. "I don't know how to thank you all," he said. He wiped his eyes, laughing wryly. "Look at this, crying again. Why is it that that's all I seem to do lately?" Captain Picard strolled into Sickbay aimlessly, almost as if he wasn't sure this was where he'd intended to be. Until a smile blossomed across his face. IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE, he thought, I'LL GIVE Q THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. He discovered it was the right decison when Q answered his smile in a way that almost seemed timid. "Merry, Christmas, friend," Picard's baritone contained a note of pleasure, "and welcome aboard." The captain's welcome warmed a too-long icy heart. Besides Diane and his family, Jean-Luc was the only person whose opinion he cared about. To Picard's astonishment, his old adversary's eyes glistened with tears. Q didn't speak for a momment, couldn't through the lump of emotion in his throat. Then, an even greater shock. Q answered with complete sincerity. "Jean-Luc, I can't express how much this means to me. I rsepect you, always have, though I haven't always shown it. I just didn't have the social skills to be your friend until recently. My people don't interact the way yours do, so there was no need for them." He swallowed hard, choking back a sob. "You'll never understand how loely I've been. You see, I'm a quarter human."