Authors Note: This story takes place after the events of The Last of Eden. The Exodus never happens, and never will happen. Also the sliders took the correct Arturo from Azure world.

"No" Wade Wells whispered in horror, staring into the eyes of her close friend Rembrandt Brown. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. During the last few slides she had trouble sleeping, memories of the underground, and the creatures within haunting her mind. It had been a few weeks since the Sliders landed on the world plagued with earthquakes. She thought talking about it would bring her peace, but instead, it only caused more turmoil. His eyes spoke the same truth his voice did only moments ago, the professor, her professor, was sick and dying.

She turned her head to the sleeping man, Maximillian Arturo, who lay in a sleeping bag barely a few feet away from her. He looked so peaceful as if nothing was wrong with him. As if something wasn't killing him from the inside.

Her sorrow turned to anger. Why hadn't he told her? She had a right to know, just as Rembrandt and Quinn did. Yet he didn't plan to tell any of them. Her gaze moved to the other sleeping figure, Quinn Mallory, wondering how he handled the situation when he discovered the professor's illness.

A gentle hand gripped her shoulder and she turned back to see Rembrandt staring at her, sadness behind his eyes. She felt her anger dissolve and the despair come back full force. She wasn't mad at the professor, she was mad she would lose him. She was mad she didn't know sooner that she should cherish every second she had with him. Not that Sliding was safe, many of them nearly died, Quinn himself did die on the Egyptian earth but was luckily brought back. Despite the danger though she liked to try and tell herself they would all make it home. Though even that she doubted more often than not.

"I'm sorry, Wade" Rembrandt spoke softly, a hint of sadness in his tone. It was clear he was trying to hide it, perhaps to bring her comfort. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but I also wanted to respect his privacy."

"I get it" She managed through a dry throat, feeling the stinging of tears in her eyes. She reached up, wiping them and taking a deep breath. She laughed a quiet, bitter laugh, looking away from her friend. "I thought talking about what happened would help, but I don't think I can sleep now."

"I'll stay up with you, only four more hours until the next slide anyway" he replied, smiling sadly. "I'm glad you told Quinn that you want to have a baby. That's good news. We can use more positivity in the group right now"

"Yeah, no kidding," She said with a sniff, smiling back at him. "I wonder how Quinn handled knowing about this for so long without either of us to lean on."

"Q-balls strong, but so are we. We have to be, for the professor. He needs us now more than ever, even if he's to stubborn to admit it"

"What do we do?" Rembrandt asked quietly, looking over to the professor as he slept. Quinn and Wade sat across from him, an air of sadness and uncertainty permeating the room. It had been a few weeks since the Sliders escaped the underground world, where Rembrandt had learned of Arturo's illness. A few worlds after that he told Wade, the two huddled around a campfire as Quinn and Arturo slept. She needed to talk, having frequent nightmares of that world, and he felt she had a right to know.

Arturo's condition began to deteriorate rapidly after that. First came the headaches, then vertigo. Recently his speech began to slur, and only an hour ago he was vomiting in the hotel bathroom. They all knew his time was running short and none of them wanted to say goodbye.

"We won't leave him" Quinn answered, wiping at his eyes.

"Obviously" Wade replied "but he seems to be getting worse every day. I don't know how much longer he has. If he can handle sliding with us"

Her voice cracked as she spoke, all eyes on the professor. With a soft sniff, she placed her hand over his, squeezing it.

"If he can't handle it then I will stay with him" Quinn spoke softly "It's thanks to me he will never see home again. I don't want him to die alone on some world that isn't his own."

Rembrandt's head turned to Quinn, their eyes locking as he spoke. His voice quiet but harsh.

"You can't blame yourself for that Q-Ball. None of us hold what happened against you. You already know that. If anything you gave the professor an adventure before... before... you know"

"Not to mention," Wade cut in before Quinn could reply "You're not the only one who will stay with him. If he doesn't slide neither will I"

"Nor I"

"Guys, you could be giving up getting home" Quinn tried to push "I can't live with myself knowing that not only the professor will never get home, but also both of you"

"Save it, Q-Ball. If you want to argue about it then let's do that when the time comes. For now, we need to stay strong, for the professor"

With a yell, Quinn Mallory landed beside Arturo and Rembrandt, the swirl of the vortex still ringing loudly behind them. Pushing himself up quickly, he turned in an attempt to catch Wade as she exited the vortex, preventing her from landing as harshly on the pavement as the three men. Rembrandt slowly sat up, brushing himself off and glimpsing toward Quinn.

"How long we got Q-Ball?" He asked as the vortex closed behind them.

"About three days" Quinn replied, pocketing the timer.

Rembrandt looked to where Arturo still lay, reaching down to help his friend to his feet. As Rembrandt's hands reached the professor his eyes lit with fear, sharply turning to face Quinn and Wade.

"Somethings wrong," he said, looking back to the professor who's body began to shake, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Quinn's own eyes widened in alarm as he quickly knelt next to Arturo and Remmy, Wade standing close behind him.

"He's having a seizure! Quick, Rembrandt, go find help! Wade, give me your jacket!" Quinn yelled, turning the professor to his side. In a quick motion, Rembrandt ran from the alleyway they landed in while Wade offered her jacket to Quinn, who folded it several times and put it under the professor's head as a makeshift pillow.

"Professor..." Wade whispered, her voice cracking as tears came to her eyes.

"We're here, Professor. You're going to be okay. Your not alone" Quinn spoke, his voice cracking as he looked in the direction the crying man ran not moments ago. With clear desperation in his voice, he called out "Rembrandt? Anyone! Please god, somebody help us!"

The room was quiet besides the soft breathing beside him and the pacing of his nervous friend. Quinn had his head in his hands, his mind solely on the professor. Rembrandt had returned moments later with others, who offered to drive them all to the nearby hospital. Now the three of them were waiting while they wheeled the professor into the back rooms.

"It sure seems empty," said Wade, as she looked around the emergency room.

"I noticed that too" Rembrandt replied, continuing to pace in his nervousness "Hopefully we just so happened to get here when no one else needed a doctor."

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Wade asked, the tears threatening to spill again as she took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm.

"I don't know," Rembrandt said, his voice low and filled with defeat. "I wish I could tell you everything will be okay. I wish I could tell myself that. But I don't know anymore. We've all seen him continue to decline, and we have no way of knowing what kind of world we landed on. How the doctors handle things here. I just hope we landed on a good world that will try to help him in some way"

"They will help him" Quinn whispered, lifting his head from his hands, his eyes swollen and red "I can't lose him. I can't lose him like I lost my father. I need to get him home, all of you home"

"You will," Wade told him, taking his hand and squeezing it to try and reassure him. But much like Rembrandt, her voice sounded broken too.

Minutes felt like hours as the time dragged on. The three friends alone, waiting for a doctor to come out and give them the news. Much to the surprise and horror of all three, a doctor came out after only thirty minutes.

"Family of Maximillian Arturo?" The man asked, looking curiously to the group.

"Yes, that's us. Is he okay?" Quinn asked, quickly standing and walking over to the doctor, Rembrandt and Wade at his heels.

Seeing the fear written across their faces the doctor smiled patiently, putting a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "Relax, he's perfectly fine. It was only Glioblastoma multiforme."

"In English, doc?" Rembrandt asked.

"Brain Cancer" he clarified, still seeming nonchalant' despite the new looks of horror written on the faces of the three friends. "Ah, you didn't know. That explains why you didn't bring him in sooner. I take it symptoms didn't start until recently?"

"That's right" Quinn managed weakly, his throat squeezing up and feeling dry.

"Well, he had an aggressive CNS tumor which is known to grow on the supportive tissues of the brain. I'm glad you brought him in when you did as it was killing him. But we had enough time."

"Enough time to do what?" Wade asked, feeling hope come back to her.

"To treat him" The doctor replied slowly, looking at the three with mild confusion "I gave him Blinatumocin. It's the most common drug for treating brain cancer and has the least amount of side effects. He responded well to it, so the tumor should be completely gone in the next twelve hours or so"

"You're telling me you cured his brain cancer?" Quinn asked in disbelief "As in completely cured it? It won't come back, he's back to full health? In just half an hour?"

The doctor looked stunned for a moment before regaining his composure. "Of course. Blinatumocin, like most cancer-curing drugs, is potent and acts quickly. They completely wipe the body of cancer cells and are long-lasting, preventing the regrowth of cancer cells. By the time the drug is completely gone from his body, he will be well into his nineties. By which time I doubt he will need to worry about cancer anymore. He should live a long and healthy life"

"Could the cancer have spread anywhere else?" Rembrandt asked, wanting to be sure.

"Doubtful, but if it did Blinatumocin will kill those cells as well. While its most commonly used to treat brain cancer it is effective on other cancers too. Your friend will be fine. He is still unconscious due to the seizure and is resting in one of our rooms."

"Can we see him?" Wade asked.

"Of course"

The stress left the sliders exhausted, but knowing the professor would live brought them peace. Huddled around Arturo's bed each slider took a chair and let the exhaustion lull them to slumber. By the time Quinn awoke he saw darkness outside the hospital windows. Turning his head he spotted the professor sitting up, a book in his lap, looking at him with a kind smile.

"Pleasant dreams Mr. Mallory?" he asked softly, not wanting to wake miss Welles or Mr. brown.

"Professor..." Quinn whispered, a mix of sorrow and joy in his voice. "You're really okay"

"Of course I am" He replied with a smile, lifting the book he had been reading. "From what I can gather this world's medical advancements are lightyears beyond our own or any other worlds for that matter. To them something as serious as brain cancer is nothing. Treated as no more threatening than the common cold"

"That explains why the doctor seemed so confident you would be fine" Quinn supplied.

"Ah yes, Doctor Robert. A very pleasant man. He told me at a young age he had a tumor like mine. This very hospital saved him, using the same medicine he gave me. It's apparently what inspired him to become a doctor, so he too could save lives. He came to check on me several times as you slept"

"Did anyone wake up before me?"

"No" Arturo shook his head "and I am glad for it. There is something I wish to discuss with you"

"Of course, anything. What is it?" Quinn asked, moving closer to the side of the bed.

"Mr. Mallory I thought for sure I had lost you back on that Egyptian earth. Today I nearly died. I have to tell you this now, as we never know what the next slide may bring. You once told me you dreamt I was your father. I never had the courage to admit to you that I...I so often wish you were my son" Arturo admitted, looking nervous as he spoke.

"Professor..."

"My boy I know you still harbor guilt over getting us lost in the multiverse. But I wouldn't change these last few years for anything. Because of you, we became a family. I love you, Quinn, as I would my own son. I love Wade and Rembrandt too. You are all my family, a family I wouldn't have, had we never taken this journey"

Quinn felt tears form in his eyes once again, running down his cheeks as the professor reached over and took his hand in his own.

"We saved many worlds, Quinn, because of your timer. We cured a world without penicillin. We saved a world from the destruction of an asteroid. We brought different points of view to worlds that were set in their ways."

"But you're still lost, because of me" Quinn argued softly "I keep saying I will get us home but I can't really promise that. You may never see home again, because of me"

"Mr. Mallory" Arturo spoke bluntly, but not without compassion "If you never invented sliding...if you had never gotten us lost in the first place, then I would be dead"

"What?" Quinn asked

"Think Mr. Mallory. If we were home now I would be dying of brain cancer, alone in some hospital. Because of you, I have a family. Because of you, we found a world that could treat my illness, an illness that is a death sentence on every other world we have been to so far. You saved my life, Quinn. In more ways than you could possibly imagine. Let go of that guilt. What you have done has changed the lives of more people than you can count in unimaginably positive ways. You are a blessing on the multiverse, and I am honored to call you my pupil, my family, my son"