Trama

Ben leaps to 1980s Los Angeles and into the body of Eva Sandoval, a no-nonsense bounty hunter in the midst of securing an elusive target; Ben remembers more about his own life.

Ben jumps into the body of a female bounty hunter in 1981, and tries to untangle her relationship with her partner Jake, whom he's unwittingly endangered, and help bring in their current bounty, a woman on the run named Tammy Jean Jessup, who has a secret or two of her own.—Gislef

Ben finds himself in a bar in 1981, and a man comes over and hits on him. Looking in a mirror, Ben sees that he's in the body of a woman. He tells the man to stop touching and throws a drink in his face. Addison appears and says that she likes the Leap, and admits that she doesn't know why Ben is there. Ben goes through "his" purse, and finds a taser, a can of mace, and a pair of handcuffs. However, there's no ID.

A man, Jake, comes over and Addison identifies him from her hand link and tells Ben he's in the body of Eva Sandoval, and Jake is her partner. Ben asks Jake to show him their target's photo, and Jake does so and says the man is Stewart Waters, the man who hit on Ben. Ben points him out to Jake, and Stuart runs when he sees Ben pointing at him; Jake and Ben chase after him. Their target runs outside but discovers that his car is parked and cut off. Stuart attacks Ben, and Ben punches him out.

The two men handcuff Stuart and drive off with him. Addison brings up more information and confirms that Eva's father posted a bond for Tammy Jean Jessup. Tammy didn't show up in court, and Addison confirms that Tammy was arrested for parking tickets, and Ben is there to help her. Her father has to pay $500 in forfeited bail. Jake notices that Ben looks distracted, and they pull up to the bail bond office that Eva's father runs. After Jake goes in, Ben figures that something bad might be happening, draws Eva's taser, and goes inside.

Jake is waiting for Ben with an engagement ring, and Ben tells him that he needs more time. Eva's father Alberto comes in and is surprised that Ben didn't accept Jake's proposal. He points out that Ben has often said that Jake is the perfect man for him, and Ben has no choice but to play along. Alberto says that he promised his wife that he'd be sure Ben was happy. Addison tells Ben that nobody saw Tammy after she left her apartment that morning, and Ben asks Alberto where the files are on Tammy. Alberto, while watching Princess Diana's wedding on TV, says that every father wants his daughter to feel like a princess.

Addison calls Ben over to look at the file she's found on Tammy. Jake, unhappy that Ben so casually went back to work, leaves. Ben goes after him, where Jake is sitting in the car, and gets in. Jake says that he needs a little space, and Ben says that Jake caught him off-guard. Ben suggests that Jake help him find Tammy, and they'll talk about it. Jake gives in and says they'll talk about their engagement after they find Tammy.

In the present at the Project, Jenn and Magic are discussing Ben's current situation. Ian joins them, and Jenn updates him. He says that he's contained Janis, and she's trying to access different parts of the system. Ian reports that Janis is using Ziggy to predict their future actions and says that they'll have to grant them access to their personal files. When Ian says that Magic's file is encrypted, Magic says that they need to talk privately about what's in his files.

The next morning, the team go to Tammy's apartment. Jake starts to go around the back, and then asks Ben how he messed up the proposal. Ben assures him that it was fine, and Jake goes off. Addison confirms that in the original timeline, Eva told Jake no and never married. Ben figures there has to be a reason why he's there. He tells Addison that he knows he had a girlfriend in his timeline, based on the vision he had in Vegas, but doesn't know who it was. Addison can't tell him and is interrupted when Jake signals to them that it's all clear.

Tammy is in her apartment, and Ben knocks on the door and claims to be a next-door neighbor with her mail. When Tammy opens the door, Ben tells her that he's there because she missed her court appearance. He says that he's going to take her there, and she goes to get her things. When she goes into the next room, Ben looks around and finds flyers to Mexico. Tammy comes back and says that she'll pay him $25.00 extra if he lets her go. When Ben refuses, Tammy breaks into tears and says that her boyfriend Zach is taking her to Mexico where he is going to propose to her. Tammy shows Ben photos of Zack and says that he owns a club, Carte Blanche.

A car pulls up outside, and Addison looks out the window and says that two armed men have shown up. Ben asks Tammy if there is anyone who wants to hurt her. Jake comes in and barricades the door, and says that two cartel thugs are checking the mailboxes looking for Tammy's apartment. He finds a dumpster below the window with garbage bags in it so they can jump on them, and Ben finds a skylight. The thugs pound on the door, and Ben handcuffs Tammy to his wrist. The thugs break in and find no one there, while Jake, and then Ben and Tammy jump from the roof into the dumpster. They get into their car and drive off, while the thugs come out and open fire on them. The trio makes good their escape, although the thugs hit one of the car's tires.

Once they're clear, Jake figures that the cartels were shooting at their tires because they want Tammy alive. Addison confirms that Tammy still isn't in the court, and Jake threatens to hand Tammy over to the police if she doesn't tell them the truth. Tammy says that The Serpent, a drug cartel, is after her because Zack sells drugs at the club. The Feds tried to flip Zack but had nothing on him, and the DA said that even if she didn't say anything, it would look like she did and that Zack did as well. As a result, the two of them were skipping town. Jake says that they should pull over to switch the tire, then turn Tammy into the police.

Addison leaves the chamber and meets with Jenn and asks to see Magic. Jenn tells Addison that Magic is with Ian, and she's done some digging into Ben's background. Six months ago, he claimed to be out of town at a conference, but he left the conference early and spent three days at Caltech. Jenn doesn't know yet whom he saw there, and Addison figures that he was with Janis working on their new code. When Jenn says that she needs access to Addison's phone to figure out where else Ben went, Addison figures that she can trust Ben because she knows the man he is.

Jake pulls into an alley to change the tire, and Ben handcuffs Tammy to a pipe. Ben then says that Jake is still figuring out his life and might not want to move. Jake doesn't believe it and tells Ben to look him in the eye and tell him that he doesn't love her. When Ben hesitates, Tammy speaks up and tells Ben that she's scared, and she understands. She says that you never keep secrets from the one you love, and insists she's just trying to help. Ben handcuffs her to a pipe further down the alley, and Jake says that if he's being shot at, he deserves an answer.

Addison appears, and meanwhile Tammy gets free and runs out the other side of the alley. Jake figures that Tammy isn't worth the effort. Meanwhile, Addison tells Ben that Ziggy says there's a 100% chance Tammy needs to appear in court or Ben will lose his chance of Leaping. Ben figures that Tammy is going to Zack's club because she loves him and wants to warn him. Jake finishes changing the tire and figure they have to go to the club.

As Jake drives to the club, Ben asks Addison if she's okay. She says that she's fine, while Jake figures that Ben is talking to him and complains that his fiancée doesn't want to marry him. Addison gives Ben the directions to the club.

Magic and Ian go to the nearby park to get coffee, and Magic talks about how he was in Vietnam and he blacked out for a day. When he woke up, he discovered that he had saved his platoon, including his commander, Lt. Tom Beckett. Magic figures that Sam jumped into his body to save his brother, and afterward Magic had dreams of Sam. He got promoted, pulled the Quantum Leap files, saw a picture of Sam, and it all fell into place. Magic and every soldier in his platoon were killed in the original timeline. Magic figured he had to start up the project again to get Sam back.

In 1981, Jake and Ben go to the club and see the thugs' car outside. Ben tells Jake that he thinks if they can save Tammy, they can save their relationship. Ben manages to pick the lock on the gate going in, and they go into the club. They find the thugs and Tammy questioning Zack, and she says that she saw the profit Zack was making. She takes a gun, and he calls her "Carla" and begs her to stop. Tammy shoots him in the chest, killing him, and Ben bumps into a table. They run, and Tammy sends the thugs after them. The two men drive away, and the cartel thugs try to drive after them but discover that their car engine doesn't work.

In the car, Ben shows Jake the alternator he took. Addison has Ziggy check a FBI file from 2022 and learns that The Serpent was headed by a woman. She tells Ben that they have to bring Tammy in, or he won't leap. Jake drives back to the bail bond office, and Jake tells Ben that he's been waiting on an answer from Ben, but now he knows the answer. He figures that Ben doesn't want to quit being a bounty hunter, and if she comes to Illinois with him, she'll resent him for the rest of their lives. Jake drives off, and Ben goes into the office and sits down at a desk. Addison tells him that she's sorry, and Ben says Eva and Jake weren't meant to be, and he was trying to force his own desire for a happy ending.

Ben regains more of his memories of being in bed with the woman he loved, and asks Addison if the woman is mad because he didn't tell anyone, including her. Addison says that she's not mad but she's confused. Alberto comes in and hugs Ben in relief, and Ben tells him that he and Jake are fine, but Alberto won't be seeing Jake anymore. Alberto says all of Tammy's tickets were somewhere near Union Station, so that's where she's heading.

After borrowing Alberto's car, Ben goes to Union Station with Addison. At the Station, Carla gets a suitcase from a locker with money and a gun. Jake shows up and tells Ben, and says that Alberto called him and asked him why Jake was giving up on Ben. He admits that he's scared Ben is going to get hurt, so he's been running. Jake figures a life with Eva is still better than one without her.

The two thugs come into the station, and Jake goes to take care of them. Ben and Addison check the crowd, while Jake convinces two guards to take the thugs away. Jake then comes back to Ben and says that Carla found him first and has a gun in his side. He tells Ben to save himself and get out, and Ben points out that if Carla kills two people in public, the Feds will never let her go. When Jake drops a hint that Ben should use Eva's taser, Addison picks up on it and tells Ben that he should shoot the metal suitcase Carla is holding. He does so, forcing her to drop it. The money spreads everywhere, and the crowd runs over to grab it, while Jake arrests Carla.

Ian comes back to the project and tells Jenn, who already knew. Ian says that they're not going to let the same thing that happened to Sam happen to Ben, and insists that they're bringing Ben home. Jenn agrees, and Ian check to see what Janis is worried about that they're going to do next.

Jake hugs Ben and walks off, and Ben tells Addison that Eva and Jake are going to talk over dinner. He asks Addison what happens to Carla in the new timeline, and Addison uses her hand link to confirm Carla goes to prison for Zack's murder. Ben remembers more of the woman he was involved with, while Addison confirms that Alberto has two grandchildren. Staring at Addison, Ben remembers that she's the woman. Addison smiles and admits that it's true, and they try to touch hands before Ben leaps out.

Ben appears in a cowboy's uniform in a hotel, holding a suitcase. A woman complains that he's harsh and cold, and her father built the town for all of them. Her father was Ben's son, and Ben isn't honoring her memory. She walks out, and Ben follows her, and finds himself on the street of an 1800s Western town.