Title: Flight Of Fancy

by Juls Heath with lots of help from Glen Trevino

PAIRING: Will/Smith

RATING: X for m/m sex with a minor

EMAIL: juls@texas.net

ARCHIVE: LostInSpaceFic; others by permission only

FEEDBACK: please

DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing
them for entertainment purposes.

SUMMARY: Will comes to the doctor with an unwelcome request.

AUTHORS NOTE: I am very touchy about this one because it involves a minor. I went to great lengths to NOT write kiddie porn.

ARCHIVE NOTE: This one deals with an uncomfortable situation in unsual circumstances. Consider well before reading on.

By Juls Heath with lots of help from Glen Trevino

John Robinson and Don West didn’t returned from the search for radioactive materials and time was running out. Maureen and Judy went to find them. Unable to make it back to the Jupiter II, both recon parties had been killed as the planet broke up around them. Will held a gun on Smith, forcing him to wait until the last second to lift off, but it had done little to help his family. When there was no question of whether any of them were still alive, the Jupiter II left that doomed world.

Even after lightening their load, there had been barely enough power to break orbit. Jupiter didn't make it far before being forced to find a suitable planet to call home. That was where she would forever remain as the crash landing by a trained amateur and the children left the ship unspaceworthy and claimed Penny's life.

William, a talented and gifted child was, none-the-less, a child. Even this intelligent, logical representative of the age group did nothing to ease Smith's loathing of children. However, if he had to be trapped with only the company of a 'juvenile guttersnipe', he could hardly have done better.

At first, Will had been bitter and depressed after losing his family and none too thrilled about being a ward of the man who had tried to kill them. By the time he started overcoming his despair, they actually become friends. To Smith’s surprise, William was the first person to treat him like a human being since the start of their ill-fated journey. Whether real or for show, this respect elicited a response from Dr. Smith and was reflected in his attitude towards the boy. Will's eventual recovery and Smith's less contemptuous disposition, facilitated their constant vigil of survival.

Their spare time was filled with hikes, cataloging fauna and flora and mapping geological features of their world. They even constructed a chess set and a deck of cards. They found themselves working, playing, surviving together, and actually enjoying each other.

Hearing a phrase that one of them had often said or remembering something they used to do together would sometimes cause bouts of despondency in Will. Smith would do his best to comfort the boy during those times. Although, excepting the safe return of his family there was nothing he could do to help
*****

It had been over four years since the Jupiter II had crashed on the uncharted planet. Will had been uncharacteristically inactive for several days. Unusual for a child of such natural enthusiasm, Smith instantly knew that something was bothering him but was unable to draw it out. He decided to let the boy stew for a while; then, maybe he'd be ready to talk.

It took nearly another week before Will hunted Dr. Smith down at the ED console where he was working. He sat and watched the doctor for several minutes, saying nothing. As the tension between them mounted, acting as if he'd just noticed his arrival, Zachary finally said, "Ah, William, you're prowling around like a sneak thief. What are you up to, young man?"

He'd obviously been rehearsing this for a long time, diving in as soon as he was prompted. "You know, Dr. Smith, I've been thinking, you're the closest thing I have to a father, now."

"I suppose that's true. I'm afraid I have been a poor replacement for Professor Robinson." He never spoke badly of the boy's deceased family anymore, not even that moron, Major West.

"Well, I've seen you try really hard. You make sure I eat right and get enough sleep, you've tutored me in my schoolwork and you've been my friend. You may not be my dad, but you've been a good one."

Smith turned away to work on something totally irrelevant so the youngster wouldn't see his eyes. The last thing he wanted Will knowing was that he was capable of a sentimental feeling, but that was the nicest thing anyone had said to him in years. Much to his distaste, he couldn't help but be effected.

"If you're wanting to borrow the keys to the car, it's out of the question."

Will laughed softly, but then his face turned serious again. "I just don't have anyone to talk to about...Dr. Smith, you don't like women, do you?"

"I have nothing but the highest regard for the fairer sex."

"But, I mean..."

"If you're trying to ask if I'm homosexual, the answer is yes."

Will was silent for a very long time before he asked, "Why?"

"It was a personal choice. I am, quite simply, attracted to men."

"How do I know if I am, too?" Smith couldn't help but give the boy a sympathetic smile.

"Well, the first thing you have to do is be around girls, to explore how you react to them."

"I don't think that's very likely."

"Will, dear boy, you don't just make a decision like that because it's convenient -- it's a way of life." He smiled tenderly again. "You're going through puberty and your body's changing. You're experiencing sexual desires that you've never felt before. You're in the unfortunate position of not having any young women around to interact with. That doesn't automatically mean you have feelings for men."

"That's true. But it doesn't really solve anything either. It only complicates what I'm feeling." He studied his hands as he spoke.

"And what are you feeling?"

"Things about you, Dr. Smith," he muttered softly, barely audible.

"Come here, William."

Will skulked up to stand sullenly in front of Smith.

He reached over and put a hand behind Will's head, tenderly caressing his neck and shoulders before he drew him in for a hug. "I understand what you're going though," he whispered into his ear. "Puberty is a confusing and frustrating period of growing up. It's going to be even harder on you because I'm your sole companion." He released the boy from the hug and pulled back until they had eye contact. "Don't mistake what you are for what's available."

"I know you realize that we could be talking about forever. We could be stranded on this planet for the rest of our lives. We don't have any power and if no one comes to rescue us...well, that's it, isn't it?"

Will was dreading a lifetime of imposed celibacy. If he couldn't have a relationship with Smith then there would be no relationship for him, at all.

"You're only fourteen. You're still a child. You don't have the slightest idea what you want. If I agreed to this, five years from now you might hate me for what I had done to you. You're too young. That's why people your age are protected from people my age. And have you already forgotten what a monster I can be?"

"No, I remember when you said you had no fear of devouring little boys..."

'You've thought about this one hell of a long time!'

"And now you feel as if you're ready to be devoured," he reasoned. "Consumption is a radical decision, William. Do you have the slightest idea what's involved in a relationship between two men?"

Eyes wide open, Will silently shook his head no.

"Maybe I should give you the run down. How is it going to impact you when I ask you to suck my cock? You didn't realize that was part of it? Oh yes, a vital part. I would also want to cum in your mouth."

Will started to look a bit pale. "Oh, that's not the worst of it, my dear. I have a big dick and it would be extremely painful in your virgin ass. And do you think you can keep an erection while you're contemplating plunging your penis into my hairy ass?" Smith laughed contemptuously. "What had you imagined? A harmless round of mutual masturbation while we conjured up fantasies about the persons we'd prefer to be with?"

Will now looked on the verge of passing out cold. Smith reached out a hand to steady him and he jerked away. Smith punctuated the morbid description with his most wicked laugh. "Now you don't even want me to touch you to keep you from falling. Imagine your disgust if I had agreed to this without letting you know what would be involved."

"I guess I was just being stupid," Will said weakly.

"Not at all. You're just being a horny teenage boy. Perhaps you should find a secluded spot and work out your current problem." After all the pornographic descriptions he'd just gone through, Smith managed to make his last suggestion sound like a prescription.

Somehow, when Will walked away, he'd found a new respect for Smith that he'd never thought possible. From Smith’s excessive honesty, he'd been saved from making a terrible mistake, one that could have benefited Smith. But he had refused to use him, even at his own clueless request. Now, not only did he like him, he trusted him, too.
*****

It was several months before Will approached Smith again on the subject of sex. After a bit of hemming and hawing, he finally blurted out, "Doctor Smith, you've got to do something to help me! I can't get it off my mind -- not ever!"

"William," he began with tolerance and sympathy, "That's because you have hormones raging through your body. This effects your mental attitude every bit as much as it does your body. All adolescents have sex on their minds to disproportionate degrees."

"Well, you’re a doctor. Can't you do something to stop it? I can't even sleep!"

"What you're describing is chemical castration -- a nasty thing to put your body through, especially for a young man."

"My body's going through some pretty nasty things right now," he muttered ruefully.

"I take it masturbation isn't working for you." Will shook his head, as embarrassed as he was frustrated.

"I need...I need to be touched. I've never even held hands, or kissed anyone."

Smith was over-whelmed with compassion for the boy's plight. After all, he'd been alone, too, and understood Will's needs. He took a few steps closer.

"William, do you want me to kiss you?"

He wasn't able to speak, but the look on his face left no doubt as to what he wanted. Smith gently ran his fingers across the youngster's soft lips. Will gasped at his touch and Smith let his hands slide back to cup Will's neck and head. Swiftly leaning forward, Zachary's lips met his. The boy's mouth opened slightly, but Smith was trying to lead him in a more platonic direction. When he backed away Will whispered breathlessly,

"That was nice."

"Kissing is a harmless way to have physical contact with another person. It doesn't have to mean anything except that you care about each other. And I do care for you, William, my boy. I'll be happy to kiss you any time you're feeling lonely."

"Dr. Smith...I always feel lonely..."

He kissed him again, relieved when it was easier this time. Then he felt an unbidden passion growing out of Will's desire, singeing him with wicked temptations. How was he going to fight this now that it was something he wanted?

And as with everything else, Will was a quick learner. The hunger he'd controlled for so long burned through, heating his lips and pulling him into Smith like they were atomically bonded. Will's arms lashed around him.

He dislodged himself and held both of Will's hands in his, trying to salvage his reserve. Zachary had always gone for the more masculine type, so young men had never appealed to him. But his fondness for Will and the youth's unbridled lust were ripping his resolve into tattered intentions.

"I never stop thinking about it," he whispered, "…All through the day, waking me up at night… You've got to help me, Dr. Smith!"

If only he'd known he'd wind up in this predicament he'd have studied more child psychology and might be better able to handle this problem. As it was, he was being forced into a choice between what he wanted and what was best for William. He was not used to putting other people’s considerations before his own. He desperately tried to think of a way to defuse the situation, certain that William would suffer in preference to his own interests.

Will’s stare didn’t waver, a sure sign that he’d committed to his line of attack. "I am appealing to you as a doctor; please, either give me something that will end this or help me help myself. I just can’t take anymore."

It had been quite some time since Will had first approached him on this. He was removed from the social/developmental influences on sexuality on this desolate planet. Without the normal interactions with the rest of humanity, William had no social outlet and no idea how to control his budding libido.

This could also be damaging to his psyche and crippling to his sexual development.

"William, perhaps a round of mutual masturbation is called for at this point. But mind you be, this is instructional." By now, Will would have agreed to just about anything and nodded his head impatiently, wondering if this was another dream.

In his heart, Smith knew this was not the proper course for a boy so young to be taking and that any consequences to Will would be his fault. With all the nasty things he'd done during his life, he truly did not want to be responsible for hurting William. However, something needed to be done to help the boy through this time and he was the only one available. Feeling like the piece of shit he actually was, he took William's hand and led him to his room.

There was no need to turn the lock -- they'd been alone on this ship for years. He didn't even shut the door.

"There's no reason to undress," he said hurriedly as Will started to remove his shirt.

"Just open up your pants," he advised, following his own instructions. He lay down on the bed and patted beside him. Will took his place, looking at him with anticipation.

Smith took the initiative and slipped out his dick. It wasn't erect, but it was heavy with arousal. When he saw it, Will suppressed a 'Wow!'

Smith's warning had not been mere vanity -- he was big, at lease to William's eyes. Suddenly feeling insufficient, Will wished it wasn't too late to back out. A dry swallow and he followed Smith's example. Even in his own hands he looked small -- and he hated being little, especially here! He was already erect and not quite half the size of Dr. Smith, who appeared not to notice.

He watched as Smith began fondling himself and imitated his actions. It wasn't as if this was new to him, but he'd never known exactly what he was doing or the best way to do it. Having an example to follow made it easier and felt better. It also seemed that an expert in self-stimulation was guiding him.

After a few minutes Smith leaned back and relaxed into the sensations. He'd been watching Will's technique, obviously a beginner, but he was doing just fine, so he closed his eyes and intensified on securing his own pleasure.

Will, however, kept his eyes glued to Smith and his every movement, not only for instruction but also as a source of stimulation. Watching the older man, so skilled and at ease in his methods, gave added impetus to actions that had been so ineffective while alone.

Smith switched his hand position and fell into a systolic rhythm. Holding his dick tightly between his thumb and forefinger, he was simulating a taut rim of flesh -- the anus he fantasized fucking. Will tried it too, although he was unaware of the accompanying fantasy.

Smith knew what he was doing, all right! His breath was becoming shallow and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. As his balls grew taunt, the veins on his dick bulged and pulsated. He had been about to cum when he felt the small hands touch him and he jumped with a guilty start.

"Please...please touch me..." Will asked timidly, wanting to feel what Smith was feeling and to finally have an orgasm.

"William, you're just a boy. And I'm...I am not a nice man," he hissed.

"I don't care!" he whispered frantically. "I've thought about the things you told me and none of it sounds as terrible as going through this litany," he indicated his unsuccessful efforts, "or being alone for the rest of my life!

"If we're going to be here, alone together, forever, then I need you! Whatever I may want, I need you!" He slipped out of his pants and then shrugged off his shirt, offering Smith his naked body. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." His eyes were glossy with near-tears of desperation and desire.

"Please!"

Smith easily lifted the lean body of the youth into his lap, shifting nervously with the boy's naked ass on top of his hard cock. He ran a quivering hand over the undeveloped, hairless chest, bumping the groping penis with each down-stroke. Then he moved his hands up and started massaging the tense shoulders, his thumbs slipping tenderly over the larynx where he let them hover.

'Out of all the things I've done, young Will, this is the most deplorable. I could kill you right now, crush your innocent little throat and it wouldn't destroy me as thoroughly as what I'm about to do to you. Oh, why can't I just kill you!'

Smith's own eyes were threatening to tear, so he removed his hands from the vulnerable throat and cupped the pubescent genitals. There was only the merest splash of curly honey-red hair growing at the base. Feeling like the monster he always claimed to be, he found his excitement mounting as the stared at the youth's flesh, the sprouting pubic hair, the slender boyish legs. He caressed and tickled at the eager cock for a moment, then told him,

"Take off my shirt, very slowly."

As he complied, Will saw that Smith's chest was nearly devoid of hair, but his pubic hairs stretched in an enticing line, reaching for his navel. It looked like his sexuality was trying to spread throughout his body from that sensitive area. Will's hand instinctively went for that downy trail, tracing it from the base of his cock to his navel where it terminated.

Smith inhaled sharply at the unexpected action and smiled lustily as his head tilted back and his eyes closed. It had been a long time since he'd been touched, too. Thrilled at the pleasure he was generating, Will's hand fluttered across Smith's cock a few times before it clamped tightly around the swollen member. Then he started stroking up and down.

"Lick the head while you're doing that," he ordered with little conscience. Will had known this was coming -- he'd warned him of what to expect. He licked at it experimentally, trying to think of it as an ice cream cone.

"Yes, William. You're doing very well." He put his large hand over the smaller one, heat permeated his body as he felt the boy's hand doing what was meant for a man. He was caught in a riptide of prurience and guilt, being pulled deeper into desire while trying not to drown in the unfamiliar sensation of shame. He couldn't get any lower than this.

He had become a pedophile.

Unable to hold back any longer after passing that forbidden boundary, he tipped Will backwards in his arms and leaned over his torso. He prodded at nipples that had never been explored. Will wiggled and moaned in his arms, then broke into sudden giggles when Smith's beard tickled his sternum. He slowly moved his lips down the bony ribs and over the flat stomach to nuzzle at the slight red swath. The boy's cock strained up to his lips, begging to be let in. It felt small in his mouth, but that left plenty of room to manipulate it in unusual ways and allow for maximum suction.

With one hand he toyed with the boy's nipples, the other fondled his balls. Then he took Will all the way in, gnashing at the villous base with his teeth and pressing the head into the back of his throat with swallowing motions.

Thrusting hips and withdrawing testicles told him Will was about to experience that long-awaited moment. That was when the monster emerged. In a devilish attempt to further corrupt the boy, he pushed a finger up the tight ass just before his orgasm, a subconscious suggestion that it had been anal stimulation that pushed him over the edge.

His face grew hot with guilt over this beguiling action. He honestly could not help himself. Evil had been his philosophy for too long. It was his nature to choose the ugly thing to do. If this was going to happen, it would be under his terms.

He sucked up every drop of cum, nursing the diminishing phallus and pushing at the most excitable inner points with his invading finger. He left it in Will's rectum until the boy's breathing returned to normal, wiggling it occasionally to produce another sharp inhale and surprised squirms. He continued to masturbate as he watched Will basking in first-time afterglow.

He experienced only enough regret to be certain he had corrupted innocence, meaning this had been his only possible choice.

Will looked up when he felt the motion on the bed and saw that Smith was still hard. When he stretched an arm to join in, the doctor caught his wrist in a hot grip and guided his hand lower, below his balls.

"Put your fingers up my ass, William."

He spread his legs and Will cautiously inserting a finger, then two. He tried to remember the things Smith had done to him and repeat them. He must have done a fair job, for soon Smith was pushing harder onto his fingers and masturbating faster.

Will felt his excitement returning as he watched Smith. His erection was returning and he wanted nothing more than to see Dr. Smith have an orgasm, watch what it was like for him and know that he had been the reason. Besides, if he could make Smith cum, he probably wouldn't be so reluctant next time.

He removed his fingers and crawled between Smith' legs, even more aroused by the surprised look on the doctor's face as he took each testicle in his mouth. He sinuously climbed up Smith's body until they were face to face. Reaching a tube on the table, Zachary smeared the silky balm over Will's eager cock. His smiled was tantalizing as he whispered,

"What are you waiting for? Put it in."

Will guided his dick to the proper location and pushed inside. Having never experienced penetration before, the sensation was so over-whelming he almost lost it on the first stroke. Recognizing the look on his face, Smith encouraged him to remain still for a moment or two. He kissed him deep and long, unleashing all his passion. Slowly, he started moving up and down under the boy, gently sliding the slender cock in and out. God, how he wished it was bigger!

But Will was quickly possessed by the complete abandon of fucking for the first time and the boy's exuberance was making up for what he lacked in size. He was plunging into Smith for all he was worth and it was working.

Zachary felt the burning sensation spreading out through his body and limbs, pulling at his shoulders, drawing up his toes. He was close...so close...

He reached behind William and stuck his finger back in, then two, rotating and pushing deep, then almost pulling out before driving back in again. When he forced in the third, Will groaned in pain and lost his rhythm.

Smith didn't back off, pushing all three in as deep as they would go, then rotated them again. This drew a weak sob from Will. Something inside Smith ripped open and allowed all the darkness he'd been holding back to seep out and blacken his soul with malicious contentment.

He spun like a cat and Will found himself beneath Smith, his arms pinned over his head. There was something unreadable in those cold eyes and it pierced his spine like icy needles. Smith rubbed his aching-hard dick over the youthful stomach, colliding with his genitals in tormenting banter, then forced his legs apart with a knee.

"I warned you," he hissed. "I hope you're ready." Without waiting for a reply or allowing Will the opportunity to resist, he drove into the virgin ass.

Ignoring Will's instinctive struggles against the unfamiliar pain, he drove in deeper with each thrust until he'd buried himself inside the boy.

He stifled any appeals by covering the tremulous lips with his own, fucking his mouth with his tongue as vigorously as he was fucking his ass.

Then he reached for Will's dick and masturbated the boy with the expertise of a whore. He had them both coming in moments.

All the viciousness ebbed from his mind with his ejaculation. A kiss led his lips across a path of tears on the freckled cheek and he followed it down the back of the boy's neck.

Well, this was it. He'd exceeded his most abominable impiety and it felt glorious! A boy! He'd sated himself by ravaging a teenage boy! He'd even forced the child to enjoy it -- or, at least, to have an orgasm. If he wasn't property yet, he would be by the time Smith was finished with him.

There would be no turning around for either of them.

He rolled off Will and onto his side to face the outcome of his actions. Tears had dripped down into Will's hair and were wetting the sheet below him.

"I told you it would be painful."

"No -- you don't understand...thank you, Doctor Smith." Will leaned in and kissed him, then nuzzled his beard. "Thank you."

Smith closed his eyes to keep from suffering the same driveling sentimental fate and shoved away the stabbing self-hatred, preferring to believe a heart attack was eminent.

"Just remember what I've sacrificed for you, dear boy. I've done nothing less than sell my soul." His partial-truth made him seem a candidate for canonization in his martyred compassion for Will.

"I know," he sniffled and rubbed at an eye. "I guess I'm the one that bought it, so I'll try to take good care of it. I also know that if we were on Earth, you'd go to prison for this. And if my Dad was alive, he'd kill you." He snuggled close and pressed into Smith. "But for all I know, we're all that exists anymore. I couldn't go on without you. I gave my soul freely to you."

"Then I suppose we ought to be very good to each other," Smith whispered, more than slightly shaken by what the youth had said.
******

Zachary and William grew very close and attained unpredictable happiness in their relationship. Even on this deserted world, they never found room for boredom. Between work and play, they barely had time for sleep. Life had suddenly become a wondrous thing again for Smith, infused anew with vigor and satisfaction.

They taught each other everything they knew. Within two years, Will could have performed surgery or grift a nun; Smith had become an expert on physics, interdimensional time travel and engineering.

They also shared a fulfilling and active love life. Without the restraints of society to place limitations on their actions, their affection was open, frequent and casual. On a sunny day they would often run around their world naked and practically never dressed inside the ship. It was the happiest two years of Smith's life and he found his thoughts of Earth becoming more and more remote. That was when he realized he'd finally found the home he'd never had, and was experiencing actual love -- an emotion he'd never believed was possible for him to feel. His history hadn't prepared him in matters of affection, but Will helped him with that, too.

They had taken over the Captain's quarters since it was the largest cabin on the ship. Smith always slept on his back with an arm around Will. Will would drape an arm and leg across him, holding his penis as they slept. He loved to wake up while Zachary was having an erotic dream, as it was getting hard. On those nights, Smith would open his eyes to find his dick in Will's mouth, usually on the verge of an orgasm. William was incorrigible.

Inspired by Zachary’s acceptance, Will had a tendency towards sexual play and due to his young age was never reluctant to apply unconstrained creativity. He had only Smith's concepts of right and wrong, which was guided by sensation over sensibility. He constantly fed Zachary’s appetite for existing on the edge.

Zachary cared for him in an extreme manner that was unfamiliar to Will. Accustomed to sharing the attention of his father with all the others around him, he bathed in Smith's singular lavishments.

In an act of ritualistic ardor, Smith would call him over several times a week to look at his hands. The slightest crack or discontinuity of nail or cuticle and he would be sitting in Zachary’s lap for the next hour, being filed and buffed to shining perfection. Then he would apply lotion to his hands and body in erotic forms of massage that nearly always led to sleepless nights.

He often found himself assuming a fatherly role to raise the boy. This may have unlocked the door and allowed a glimmer of affection to light that sullen cavity of black nothingness. He cared about Will -- as much as he cared about himself. This was completely contradictory to his ultimate philosophy of life and definitely unheard of during his recent past.

He watched Will grow and develop and return his love in full. He tried not to pester or worry him, always pleasured him, and did as he was told without question. Smith was finally king of the world and had the total loyalty of all its subjects. What more could he have asked for?
*****

Smith was in a deep sleep, but on this night his dreams didn't make him horny. A beast, a human creature that wanted to kill him and take William away was pursuing them. This was a common dream for him, and he had feared somehow losing Will ever since they'd first made love.

"Smith! You bastard!"

"Oh, my God!"

He lifted his head up when he heard voices, blinded by the light in his face.

"Zachary?" Will asked, more asleep than awake. He huddled up against Smith, he was afraid of...what?br>
"What have you been doing to this boy?"

'Major West?'

"I should have killed you a long time ago!"

'Professor Robinson!'

The next thing Smith heard was a gut-turning thud as something smashed against the side of his head. Then he was jerked out of bed, thrown to the floor and pummeled by fists and feet. Unable to fight back against the two furious men, he tried to protect his already reeling head. "How could you have done this to a child! You fucking pervert!" he heard Don's wrathful words.

"Stop it! Stop! You don't understand!" Will was shouting. He was shoved out of the way and into Judy's grasp where he would be safe.

"Damn you, Smith!" John was so angry that he spit as he spoke and continued to pound on the naked man he'd found with his son.

"Judy, please," Will begged her with tears streaming from his eyes. "It wasn't his fault. It was mine! I love him. Please stop them!"

"Will, he's been using you..."

"No! He hasn't! Let me go!" he yelled as he became fluid and wriggled free. Flinging himself onto John Robinson, banging on him with all the strength his desperation could muster. Don tried to rid John of the flailing boy without hurting him and was attacked, too. In the seconds they used up trying to figure out how to contain Will without injuring him, he slid out of their reach and down over Zachary, protecting him with his own body. To touch Smith, they'd have to go through him. When they tried to dislodge him, he was the proverbial immovable object.

From somewhere amidst the tattered room Will produced a knife and held it threateningly towards them as they tried to continue the attack.

"Will, it's me, your father."

"You might have a son named Will, but you sure as Hell aren't my father! He died a long time ago," he spat acidly at the familiar stranger. He kept he knife between them but turned his attention to Dr. Smith.

"Zachary...Zachary, are you all right?" Blood was streaming from his nose and his pupils looked like pools of tar.

"Just ghosts..." he mumbled. "It's alright, William."

Then Will saw the blood seeping into the whites of his eyes just before they closed. Judy was down beside them, running a diagnosis as his ears started bleeding.

"He's having a cerebral hemorrhage..." she said as she applied a vascular stasis field.

He opened his bloody eyes, looked at William and whispered, "I love you, dear boy."

Blood seeped out of his eyes like tears as they closed for the last time.

"No! Please don't die...don't leave me, too..." he started sobbing as he held Zachary's beaten body in a final embrace.

"Will..." Robinson said at last, but before he could say another word Will was on his feet, tensed for a fatal attack, his hate-twisted face screaming, "You killed him! For no reason -- you just murdered him!"

As he dipped for a lunge, Judy was prepared and dosed him with a strong tranquilizer. He looked at her as if even she had betrayed him and fell to the floor of the Jupiter.

Robinson looked down at the scene like a man gone insane or the only sane man left in an insane Universe. "Let's get them back to the ship," he said numbly.

"What about Smith?" Don asked.

"He needs to be buried," was the somber reply.

He lifted Will into his arms and walked out of the Jupiter, assuming the others would follow. It was true he had murdered Smith, but hadn't he deserved it for what he'd been doing with a child?

"He was right about one thing, Dad," Judy said. "You're not his father!" They'd had this argument so many times.

"But he's my son."

"Dad, Will died. This isn't the same person and you can't force him to be. There's a very good chance that he'll never forgive you for killing Smith. He loved him."

"How's Will doing?" John asked, not wanting to compare anything they had shared with love. More than finding a man in bed with his son, he'd reacted to finding Smith there. No one else would have produced that murderous rage.

"He's in shock. Aside from that, Smith appears to have taken very good care of him. He's clean, healthy, well nourished; his teeth have been recently polished. Even his finger and toe nails are manicured."

"I can't believe Smith would do all that for him!"

"Maybe he wasn't the same Smith, either. Maybe Will changed him."

"He was sexually involved with a sixteen year old boy! He was using him!"

"I don't think so, Dad."

"What about the Stockholm syndrome? Couldn't he be suffering from something of that nature?"

"Will is over-whelmed by grief over losing the man he loved. I've put him on a suicide watch," she told him, trying to let him know how serious the situation was. "I've also put restrictions on his visitors. I think it will be best if you and Don stay away from him for a while."

"Will would be his age..." John said, slipping into one of his frequent reveries, "...if he'd lived."

"Dad, you can't just go hopping around through quantum realities until you find a Will that agrees to let you pretend to be his father. This is the third time you've tried and this is the third disaster you've caused -- and the worst one yet! You might have destroyed that young man's life in there!" she indicated the medical lab.

"Smith had already destroyed his life, corrupted him, changed him…"

"He was happy. He may never be happy again. We've taken him away from everything he knew and killed the only person left alive that he loved. How would you feel if it were you instead of him?"

"I was trying to help..." he said regretfully as he walked towards the door. "I just wanted to help my boy..."

"Daddy, you killed a man."

He didn't respond. He hadn't forgotten that for one second.
*****

"Hello, Will. How are you?" He didn't speak. He never did. What was the point? "I'm going to deactivate your hand restraints so you can eat, OK?" He looked at her, this woman who wanted to be his mother, saying nothing. She snapped off the field that immobilized his arms and handed him his breakfast. After accepting it, he threw it on the ground, continuing with the same cold stare. He hadn't eaten a bite in the four days he'd been on board.

His eyes were red from constant crying. No matter where he looked, everything was different, a blatant reminder that Zachary would never hold him again. Even sleep offered no escape. In his dreams he would see Zachary, beaten to bloody-death for no other reason than his loving him and awaken to the same horrible reality.

He hadn't let anyone comb his hair, dress him or anything else that had been offered. All he wanted was for things to be the way they had been before. None of these other things meant a gnat's ass to him.

Maureen tried to talk to him for a while, but eventually gave up. "If there's anything, anything I can do for you, I will. Just let me know." She walked out in the shiver of an icy stare.

Maureen stayed in sickbay, maintaining the watch until Judy came to relieve her. She had a very displeased-looking Dr. Smith in tow.

"He's still not eating," she said to Judy while looking at Smith, wondering what he was doing here.

"It's time to try something drastic," she explained.

"And either way, I lose," Smith grumbled.

"I've filled him in on all the details about the situation on Priplanus and how Will is reacting to Zachary's death. He's agreed to see if he can help."

Smith looked miserable.

"What's wrong, Dr. Smith? You may be able to help him."

"I hear you had to bury the last person who befriended that boy. I hope it wasn't an instance of deja vu."

"Now why would you say that?"

"Because I'm aware of your husband's temper, not to mention the disposition of our Neanderthal pilot. I have no desire to exit this life in a similar fashion. Nor do I want anything to do with a disturbed teenage boy. I loathe children."

"Yes, we know, but you're a good actor, Dr. Smith. You fooled us all for over a year during the preparations for this mission. If you can just act like you care about him, you might get him through the worst of a this by simply being his friend."

I just wish I was back on Earth and had never heard the name 'Robinson'!

"Friends, with a mad child? Oh, the pain...the pain..." He sighed deeply. "And from what Judy has said, it's not just friendship he'll want from me. Despite what you all doubtlessly think of me, I've never laid a hand on anyone who wasn't of age. He wants his lover back and that's the role you're asking me to fill. I'm not a child psychologist and I don't know what is best for him. Pardon my pessimism, but I predict nothing but disaster from this encounter -- be it his, yours, or mine. Nothing good can come from this and I want no part in it."

"Zachary! Zachary! Is that you?!" Smith heard his muffled name being called. The boy on the other side of the translucent panel that housed the biolab had spotted him. He turned to look at the wild-eyed wicked haired being held in restraints. He must have been yelling at the top of his voice to be heard through the sound-retardant partition.

"No. I can't do this," he grumbled as he took in the hopeful look on the lad's tear-streaked face. His body language screamed with expectation, directed straight at Smith.

"He's already seen you. It will break his heart if you don't even speak to him."

Smith heaved a sigh that could have moved a small planet and nodded in silent acquiescence. He put on his most genuine phony smile and entered the lab.

"William, dear boy...what have they done to you?" he asked sourly as he removed the restraining fields.

Will leapt off the table and threw his naked body into Dr. Smith's unwilling arms. He stiffly reciprocated, uneasily patting the shoulders under his chin. After squeezing him in a crushing embrace, he leaned up and pressed passionate lips over Smith's icy mouth, nearly melting his cold exterior. He hesitated, then kissed back, but showed as little reaction as possible to such unsolicited intimacy.

Will finally withdrew and studied him curiously.

"You do know I'm not the same man you were stranded with, don't you, boy?"

"I know. But you are Zachary Smith and whatever that means here, I still want to be with you."

"Child, here, it is unacceptable for us to continue the relationship you shared with the man on that planet. You're only sixteen years old!" he reminded him severely.

"And I was only fourteen the first time I sucked your dick."

Smith looked a little faint upon hearing this. He was a heartless bastard, but he'd never seduced a child and at a mere fourteen years of age!

"Then you were led astray. Whoever that Smith was, he was more a monster than me."

"After we fell in love, you stopped calling yourself a monster. You changed as much as I did. It was a good thing for both of us." Abruptly, everything about him twisted around; his expression, the look in his eyes, his posture, even the tone in his voice as he said, "Dr. Smith, you taught me everything you knew about sex. You became everything I ever wanted and showed me how to be the same for you. I can satisfy you and make you happy -- I already have. I've done everything you've ever asked of me and I still want to. All you have to do is let me."

"William, I can't. I'm not attracted to children..."

"You weren't before, either, but I changed your mind once -- I'll change it again," he said, dropping to his knees and deftly opened the crotch of Smith's pants. He was delighted to find this Zachary already growing hard at his touch and just as well endowed as he had been in his reality.

"William, stop that!" he ordered, slapping half-heartedly at his head. He backed to the wall under Will's advance, glanced into the other room in panic. The women had vacated, leaving them to themselves. He was on his own... supposedly. But that couldn't possibly be what they had in mind! "Please, William, stop," he gasped, afraid for his life and even more afraid because he didn't want to stop this at all!

"No..." he said, mesmerized by the enlarging phallus. "I won't stop until you find out what you'll be turning away." He pulled open Smith's tunic to lick and nuzzle his abdomen, running his tongue along that singular strip of sparse hair that spread up from his pubes. He pushed the black pants over Smith's ass and down his legs, feasting all the way to his boots. Then he looked up at the bewildered doctor with a devilish smile of his own.

"Boys can also devour monsters, Zachary." A hot mouth that was determined to wear away any last threads of resistance engulfed his penis.

Now, it had been a long time since this particular monster had been given head and Will had been dead on when he said he knew exactly what Smith liked. His doppelganger had coached young William well, indeed.

'Someone had better drive a stake through my heart right now, or it's going to be too late!'

Then Will snaked his hands up across Smith's ass. His hands flew to Will's face, caressing cheeks that flexed in and out with decompression. He ran soft surgeon's fingertips down Will' neck, feeling his carotid artery throb with exhilaration. He'd always loved that and had gotten more than one hard-on while taking a patient's pulse. He pulled Will up so he could cover that beating point with his lips.

The sharp prickle of Smith's beard was a welcome tickle. Smith ran his hands up and down Will's body in long, sensual strokes, then lifted him into his arms. During a deep, passionate kiss, he easily carried the boy to the examination table, laying him out like a Thanksgiving dinner.

William's cock was not quite fully developed -- one reason he'd never been attracted to boys. He liked men, big men with big cocks. But at this moment, he had no trouble making an exception. He'd never had anyone desire him to this extent. He was almost quivering with anticipation. He spread his legs and reached out for Smith, pulling him down on top of him.

"Fuck me, Zachary."

The words -- coming from the young man that had been dead in Smith's mind until a few days ago -- were like a slap of reality. All he'd really intended to do was give the boy head and savor the exquisite taste of his efforts. But to actually fuck him...

"William, child, I can't do that," he said urgently, turning away from the deliciously tantalizing sight. His mind was reeling from the temptation to do exactly as Will had begged and disregard the danger of doing so.

"Zachary..."

He turned to look at the boy when he didn't continue and found him purposefully fondling himself, walking slowly in his direction.

"You're the only one I've got. Your Professor killed my Zachary. I loved him and there's nothing we didn't do together. Nothing! He was...you were my mate. Please, don't leave me, too. I need you!" He continued the slow approach, pulling Smith close again. "I'll never stop wanting you, Zachary! Give me the chance to have you want me again."

"I do, William," Smith whispered, surprised by the words. He gazed at the mild splattering of red hair sprouting out of the youthful chest, at the darker curls spangling his pubic area and the hard cock lusting for him. "Believe me, I do!" Will's eyes lit up like they were fusion powered at these words. "But I can't fuck a child!"

"Then I'll fuck you -- you always liked that better. I know I'm not as big as you'd prefer, but you've shown me some ways around that, too. All you have to do is lie down beside me and I'll do the rest. I'll do anything you want. Just...just be with me." He smiled miserably. "I never was very good by myself."

Suddenly Smith had the horrible idea that this was all some kind of Robinson trick; that Will hadn't really died a year ago -- he'd only been told that as part of an elaborate deception; and now, this was the final set up. He was being played and as soon as his dick touched this boy, he'd be ejected into space like they had always wanted.

There was no way this could be real! This handsome young man, horny and virile, wanting nothing more than his companionship? Right! If it wasn't a set up then he was dreaming, or perhaps he'd gone mad after his years of isolation. He checked out the security cameras in sudden paranoia, but they weren't activated.

"Wait right here," he ordered as he wrapped up in a blanket and stepped out into the vacated sickbay. He tried to open the bay door and found it locked. Either the entire crew had gone out of their way to leave them alone together or they'd abandoned ship without telling them. He shook his head, confused, frustrated and wanting very badly to do exactly as William had requested. He returned to the lab, activated the lock and found Will still masturbating, looking at him as if he were the only thing in the Universe.

None of this made any sense! He knew the Robinsons and they would never sanction such a thing on their ship!

"There's nothing we can do that we haven't already done, Zachary." He spoke his name like it was a religious icon. No one else had shown him enough care to call him by name since he'd become trapped on the Jupiter.

"William, can't you understand? You're simply too young!" he snapped.

"Then, if I wait for three years..." He stopped and dropped his head into his hands. "Hell, I don't know how I can wait for three minutes. Zachary, you're all I think about! You're all I've known for the last six years and the only person I've ever been in love with. I might as well be dead without you."

The more he spoke, the more he betrayed the madness that had set upon him. He was completely obsessed and he was likely to drag Smith in with him. He did want William, he wanted to fuck, taste him in his mouth, have the thin sufficiently long cock rammed up his ass. He wanted it all, but he'd never been more afraid of anything in his entire life.

Will saw the way Smith was looking at him, the cold reflection of desire in his eyes. He knew Zachary wanted him, too. It was the others -- fear of what they might do to him -- that's what was holding him back! Will was afraid, too; they had good reason, but this time they wouldn't take him by surprise. If nothing else, he would die defending his lover.

He took Smith's hand, put it to his cock and moved it around, urging him to do what they both wanted. Then he pulled the other hand up to his mouth and sucked on his fingers. Seeing he could barely stand it any longer, he brought Smith's hand down behind his balls, placing two long fingers where they could easily slip inside. Smith pushed and Will slid down, forcing them in deeper as he flexed his sphincter.

"Damn it, child!" he shouted as all resolve suddenly evaporated. He pushed his fingers in as far as they would go. His other hand found its way to Will's cock, hard and throbbing. He caressed it, pulling at it, toying with it and then it was in his mouth. He sucked and savored the forbidden feast, feeding the demon that lived in his shadowed soul. Once he'd given in to his desire, his actions were so intense that the boy was shooting sperm in his mouth in mere moments.

Strong, young hands pulled him up to Wills face where his tongue plunged past Zachary's lips, tasting himself and the familiar flavor of Smith's mouth. The smell of the musky breath made him feel like he'd found home again. This was where he belonged and how it was supposed to be.

He spread his legs and pulled Smith up on the table with him. He guided the hard flesh to his ass and wrapped his legs around Smith's back.

If he were killed for this in the morning it would be worth the price for tonight, he decided in the mental fog of passion. He pushed inside the tender flesh and seeing the pain on William's face, knew he was hurting him but didn't give a damn. If William tried to stop him now, he would become a rapist, too. It just didn't matter anymore! All he cared about was fucking this boy until he came, then he might just fuck him again. Will's lust had destroyed what little decency remained in him. He intended to take what he wanted until there was nothing left. Fuck his reluctant soul! He would not let something like fear or propriety interfere with his pleasure...
*****

Smith had fucked around with Siamese twins for a while. It was the most amazing thing he'd ever been through. Dave and Ron were joined from the hips to the ribs along their sides and shared the same heart. That was why they couldn't be separated. Otherwise, they had complete bodies, full legs and arms and cocks worth immortalizing.

Ron had fucked Smith from behind while they stood. Bent nearly in half, Dave licked and fondled the doctor's balls until he came on Smith's thigh. His brother came in his ass at the same time. After they licked him clean, Dave had tongue fucked his ass, then Ron gave him head. Later on, he watched while they played with each other; when he fucked Ron, both twins came again.

He could have played in that majestic triangle for the rest of his life without growing bored, but had decided it would too greatly complicate his life. He'd had to move away in order to stop seeing them. Sex with them had come very close to being an addiction for Smith. He was feeling that same need, that same intensity, with William. He knew William was obsessed and recognized the same fixation developing within him. He already wanted more.

After all the time he'd spent alone since leaving Earth, he never imagined it would be a horny specter of Will Robinson that finally broke him down. Clearly too young to be fucked, he was the splitting (if not graven) image of the Professor's deceased son and his seduction had been too dynamic to refuse. Smith could imagine that any man -- if tempted by the sensual noose that had been strung around his higher senses, or in sympathy for the poor boy who had lost his beloved mate -- might do as he had done and screwed that sweet ass. The Robinsons would somehow find a way, with their Victorian sexual moralities and judgmental enforcement of their ethics, to blame him for corrupting that juvenile coquet! Despite the boy's grief and Smith's resemblance to the dead Zachary; taking into account his fore-warnings and pleas to have nothing to do with this and his initial rejections of the child's advances; could only lead to ultimate disaster and he would be blamed in the end!

The worst part about it was that he had no regret or shame regarding his actions. In fact, he hoped to repeat them as often and diligently as possible. He had never touched a minor. Even when he was a teenager, he had been with older men -- manly men with big dicks and hairy chests. Boys had always seemed too androgynous, too soft and feminine. William might be soft-skinned and have sparse body hair, but he was not a pretty boy and had not a hint of girlishness. He was more effeminate than William. And, for Smith, his diminutive age was no longer an issue. Will knew what he wanted and would go to embarrassing lengths to receive it. He was gay, sexually active and likely to remain that way. Considering the only girls around were his sisters, this was probably for the best, genetically speaking. No, he had no qualms over his attraction to Will.

However, he also had no doubt that William was not entirely sane. He'd been shipwrecked on a planet for nearly six years with a man very much like himself. There was no telling how Will had come to fall in love with his Zachary or what type of manipulations had been used on the boy. Smith knew what he was capable of. He didn't doubt for a minute that Zachary had been cruel and abusive in general and could be damned vicious sexually. William's constant proclamation that he would do anything Smith wanted had been a beacon, eluding to vile demands that had been made upon the boy. Even by his own standards, Smith was perverted. Some of what the other man had done to this child would eventually come forward; what the others discovered would reflect on him, even though he'd been a Universe away.

Currently, he already had intentions for future encounters with young William -- and he despised sexual blandness. This was what he most feared; that while he could absolve himself of having any complicity in William's past involvement with Zachary, only he could assume responsibility for what happened from this point forward.

If Mrs. Robinson happened to walk in on them while Smith was lashed to the bed by barbed wire and found William with pierced nipples and a cat'o'nine in his gloved hand...well, he would have some explaining to do if he lived long enough. He knew what had become of Zachary when discovered innocently sleeping naked beside the boy. He would have to keep his hunger for spice at a level that wouldn't explode in his face in this claustrophobic echosphere.

While there was much to fear and reason for extreme caution, there was a more interesting, profitable aspect to this situation.

He could manipulate William in any manner he desired in his efforts to take over the ship. William hated John. John had killed Zachary. He could easily be convinced that Robinson was not the person who should be in control of their destinies -- and that he was. He could use him as a mole, under the pretense of a renewed father/son relationship.

No -- that could be dangerous and actually bring out latent feelings of love for his father -- even if he was a virtual stranger. It would probably work better if William merely assumed a civil attitude towards the others, eventually becoming a trusted member of the crew, while all along assisting him with his plans. Yes...that should work out quite nicely. And with William's affinity for the robot, they would be invincible!

However, he must never overlook the boy's mental instability. A dog that was beaten too severely would often turn on its master and he had no idea how badly Zachary might have treated William. He would have to be very careful in his dealings with the boy, making sure he believed he held his absolute loyalty.

Above all else, he had to insure his position; whatever the outcome, he had to make sure that he emerged on the side of the winner. Therefore, if something went wrong, he would have to work it so that the lad took the fall.

Smith smiled as he closed his eyes, eager to dream about what lay on the other side of the doors that were opened for him today. This would be one of the most intricate games he'd ever played. If done right, he could come out triumphant; in control of the Jupiter and smelling like a rose...
*****

William had been permanently released from his restraints and moved to sickbay. Smith had been returned to his former prison in the Medical Lab.

Occasionally, Smith would see William looking wistfully at him through the clear stripe running the vertical length of the partition that separated them. He would wiggle his finger and smile, then shake his head in apparent despair that they were apart. It was just before twelve hundred hours when he saw Will standing by the glass. He abandoned his book and went to stand on the opposite side of the pane. Will could have opened the intercom so they could talk again, but he didn't. Smith wondered what he was on his mind.

Instead, he held up a hand and pressed it into the glass. Smith held up the corresponding hand, matching finger for finger. He felt the cold glass heated by William's touch. William leaned up and pressed his lips to the pane. Smith, feeling like an idiot, repeated the motion. Will was pretending and Smith was humoring him. When their breath started steaming up the glass, Smith saw a mischievous gleam in his eyes that even the condensation couldn't conceal. Will ran to the bay doors and secured the inner lock. When he returned, he placed his lips back on the glass, then opened his pants and pressed his cock into the transparency.

Smith mirrored his wicked grin and dropped to one knee, licking the glass that came between them. He watched it grow hard at his phantom touch. He stood back up and pulled his own cock out. He pressed it up next to Will's.

"Your 'Zachary' must have been quite a fellow. He's taught you well..." Smith mused aloud.

Will thrust into the pane and put his lips back to the glass, calling for Smith to join him. His teeth collided with the glass in his haste to comply and they sucked on glass instead of tongues. The ridiculous play-acting had suddenly taken a very sensual turn. The pane, symbolic of the pain of separation, was suddenly very much in the way. Smith found himself grinding into it with his pelvis, adding a new dimension to achieving sexual release. He heard the boy's hipbone colliding hard against the unyielding surface and wouldn't be surprised if bruises formed.

If they could have, their arms would have closed around each other and their lips would have locked. They continued the mock fucking and the glass moist with the wetness of their bodies. Smith moved his hands down, showing Will that he wanted to touch him. Will returned the gesture and pressed his torso into the pane, rubbing against it like it was Smith's chest.

A moment later, Smith saw his head tilt back and his thrusts became more vigorous. He was practically throwing himself into the glass and he knew the young man was about to cum. He grabbed his cock and pumped strenuously, wanting to cum with him. He saw William's chest heaving, sweat beading down his face and onto the frosted surface. Seeing the milky stream splattering on the pane triggered Smith's orgasm, mirroring the same pearly spot. It was dripping to the floor when they collapsed against the glass and slid down the slippery barrier.

Smith looked at Will and gave him a heart-felt smile. In the annals of sexual oddities, this would rank as an outstanding memory. Looking very serious, instead of returning his smile, Will, began licking cum off the glass. His ability to achieve an incredible lusty, pout must have come natural to him. Smith could have gotten hard again just looking at that expression.

"Oh, you are a bad boy, aren't you?" he remarked with delight and followed his lead.

Just before their tongues met, Smith saw Will's lips say, 'I love you.'

Smith mouthed, 'Then fuck me!'

Will smirked, 'I just did!'
******

Judy was the only one on the ship who would sympathize with what Will was going through. She actually encouraged the relationship with Smith. She noted his remarked improvement in attitude, health and happiness. Being CMO, she was 'God' in this matter and arranged to have them spend as much uninterrupted time together as was possible. She kept them separated by the glass, at least for now, except for a few hours a day. She did this to promote conversation over a mere physical relationship. Their Smith might not have had the shared-time it took Will to soften Zachary's nasty disposition, but he was willing to help. Who was to say it wouldn't better Smith in the process? A friend could work miracles and she'd seen few that needed a friend more than Dr. Smith.

Will realized Judy was doing everything she could to help them and came to think of her as an ally. Besides Dr. Smith, he felt like she was the only friend he had -- and he actively despised John and Don for violently destroying his world.

One day when she entered Sick Bay to let Smith out, she found Will staring wistfully through the glass. Standing beside him with an arm over his shoulder, they looked in on Smith. She wondered why he was just watching him sleep and then she saw why.

"Doesn't it hurt, Will?" The tented linen rose and fell with his rhythmic breathing. Will turned the color of her pink jumpsuit and smiled bashfully at the floor.

"Sometimes," he mumbled under his breath, then looked back at Smith with an odd sort of pride in his gaze. His eyes were aglow with conspicuous affection.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Judy asked affectionately.

"Yes, I am." His voice rained sorrow from those simple words.

"When did you realize this, Will?"

"Do you really want to know?" She could tell by his voice that he earnestly wanted to talk. After all, no one else cared enough to listen; they hated everything about it too fiercely to discuss it rationally. She knew people liked to talk about their relationships. It was fun, it made them feel good and it was good for them. She took his hand and led him over to the conference table so they would be more comfortable.

"How did he talk you into it? I really want to know. "

"Nobody understands, not even you -- he didn't; I convinced him. You've got to realize, our Jupiter wasn't going anywhere. I didn't think anyone from Earth would be able to find us. I never dreamed that a Jupiter II from another quantum reality would show up to rescue us. I mean, would you?"

She shook her head no. "So, as far as we knew, we were going to be on that planet, alone together, for the rest of our lives.

"Then, I started changing, feeling things I'd never felt before."

"You were going through puberty."

"Right. And I started thinking about sex -- a lot! Like, all the time. Even before our power consumption forced us to land, I knew about Dr. Smith -- how he wasn't attracted to women. I mean, you know," he shrugged, "I just sort of knew. Once I started thinking about sex, I eventually started thinking about him. So, one day, I asked him about it and told him what was happening to me.

"That's when he explained to me about puberty and hormones and all that. When I asked him how you knew if you were homosexual, he said I was too young to know anything and told me to…" he gave his sister an odd look and substituted his intended words with, "to take care of it myself. I told him I'd tried, but that I wasn't any good and how I felt about him."

At first, his stark honesty was somewhat shocking, but she realized his frankness was the result of having no inhibitions about his sexuality. This was, no doubt, due to their isolation and his lack of exposure to the more puritan aspects of society. In many ways, it was a very healthy attitude.

"Is that when he agreed to be your lover?"

"Oh, no. That didn't happen `til months later. That was when he gave me a detailed description of two guys having sex. He made it sound really scary and disgusting. He said that I wasn't gay, that I was just stranded with a man who was and that it was confusing me. So..." he blushed furiously again, "I took his advice and kept trying on my own. But I couldn't -- I couldn't finish. For months I tried, but it just didn't work.

"It got to where I couldn't think about anything else. I couldn't even sleep! So I finally talked to him again. I told him how lonely I was. Judy, I'd never even kissed anyone before and no one had ever touched me but me. That was what I needed, so he asked if I wanted him to kiss me. I said yes. He did and agreed to kiss me anytime I was lonely." He looked away, reliving the memory of that first encounter. "It felt so good…and I was kinda losing it.

"So that's when he decided that maybe it would help if we just, you know, masturbated together. He could show me some things that I might not know about pleasing myself. But it still didn't work for me and then watching him...well, I'd never stopped thinking about the things he'd told me about having sex with men. Suddenly, it didn't seem so bad. He tried to discourage me again, but that didn't happen. I loved him and I couldn't just forget about it."

She had been quiet throughout his tale, trying to accept it for what it was worth to him. Now he was expecting her to say something and the only thing she could think of was, "How old were you?"

"Almost fifteen." Judy looked down in shock, dismayed that it had started when he was barely a teenager.

"Will, if we were back on Earth, would you have fallen in love with Zachary?"

"No, he wouldn't have had anything to do with me. He knew I was too young for a man his age. But it didn't really have anything to do with what he wanted -- he did it all for me." Will hung his head low. "After the first time, he said he'd sold his soul for me. He even died for me." Judy noticed a solitary tear hit the floor. "No one knows what a...good man he was. Everyone hates him and I can't understand that." He started crying openly. "I know he was buried, but did he get a funeral? Did anyone say anything for him or anything nice about him? Was his grave even marked? Judy, I was unconscious. I don't know any of these things and I need to. I'm the only one who ever loved him. I'm the only person that misses him. My God, he was the loneliest person I've ever known."

He wiped his tears. When he looked back up, his sorrow had been replaced by contempt.

"And Smith...he's nothing like Zachary! He looks like him; he even kisses like him. Sometimes, he even thinks like him; but they have little in common!"

"You seem to be getting along alright." She tried to calm him with a soft voice making positive statements. The boy was a time bomb, any little thing capable of setting him off.

Will shrugged. "He reminds me of someone I miss, but I don't think I'll ever love him. I don't think he'll ever love anyone."

"Professor Robinson -- he's nothing like Dad," he continued the tirade. "In fact, I'd like to say your entire Universe is screwed up! I wish I could just go home and have everything like it used to be. I wish I'd never heard of any of you people."

"We're your family..." Judy said, shocked by the bitter admission.

"My family died. You're not any better replacements for them than Smith is for Zachary. You too, Judy."

"What have I done? I've tried to be your friend, I want to be your sister -- I even arranged for you to get to be with Dr. Smith."

"You held me back. You kept me away from the man I loved! I might have been able to save his life. You sedated me and I couldn't even be at his burial!" When his anger erupted, he had played the full spectrum of emotions. "What gave you the right to invade our world? You killed my lover, kidnapped me and wanted me to be grateful that I was rescued, expecting me to be happy that I was back home! I've never been here before and you're all strangers. You think you know me? You people don’t know anything about me! I didn't need to be rescued! We would have been happy together for the rest of our lives!"

"We were wrong -- I'm sorry. If there was any way I could change things, I would. I wish you were back on your Jupiter with Zachary, too. I wish we'd never interfered with your life, but I can't do anything about that. All I can do is tell you I'm sorry and agree that we screwed everything up for you. But Will, even if you're not family, I do love you. You're a lot more like my brother than Smith's comparison to Zachary. If you ever need anything, you can always come to me."

"I think you've done just about enough," he said as he turned around. Judy sighed and looked away. When he turned back, he saw the raw regret in her face.

"Look, I'm sorry, I do appreciate you arranging for me to be with Dr. Smith." With a timid smile he continued more seriously, "But I'm not happy here. I'm not going to be happy here and if you expect it, then you're expecting too much. Everyone is in for a big surprise." He sat down with his back to the wall, suddenly overcome by homesickness and grief over Zachary's death. "I just wish you'd left us alone."

Judy swallowed hard and spoke in a croaking voice. "I'm sorry, Will." She opened the access panel to the biolab and sealed the main door, locking them both in, but not before she heard him repeat, "We just wanted to be left alone..."

She made it to her quarters before she broke into tears over her role in yet another of her father's ill fated plans. She couldn't let him do this again! They had no right! These were not his family's lives to be tampering with.

She saw Will's broken-hearted face in her mind, remembering her own hands holding him, preventing him from reaching Zachary while he was being attacked; Will trying so desperately to help him, to save the life of the man he loved! She hid her head under her arms as her cries turned into sobs. She hadn't realized they were beating him so badly. They were so incredibly angry when they walked in on the two of them, Will holding Smith's penis in his hand like a security blanket…

Then she sat straight up in bed, all emotion and color draining from her already pale features.

'...when they had walked in on them...'

My God! Will and Zachary had been sleeping peacefully in their quarters. The away team didn't hesitated one second before they'd over-ridden the security locks -- the codes were the same -- and waltzed on board like they owned the ship. They had gone to the main quarters and found the sleeping occupants. After brutally murdering Will's mate in front of him and taking him hostage, they now huddled together and wondered why the child was acting strange!

This hit her with such impact that it knocked away her tears. How could one shed mere tears over a crime of this nature and what kind of absolution could ever be sufficient? There was no rectification for their actions or justifications for their deeds. Zachary was dead. Will was alone in this aberrant reality that could have been his home under different circumstances. How could she or anyone else live with what they had done?
*****

Smith had seen Judy unlock his door and dash out of the temporary incarceration area. Will hadn't rushed up to greet him as he usually did immediately upon his release. He walked up to the glass exit and peeked out for a moment before he stepped into sickbay. He saw Will slumped in a corner mumbling to himself. He approached him cautiously. Will was not an overly large boy, but in a fit of madness, he could do considerable damage to someone no stronger than Smith. With Will in his present state, the game he was playing could backfire on him at any second. The adrenaline hit his face, reddening with excitement. The added sexual edge of the situation sent wildfires shooting through his balls and down his inner thighs. How delightful it all was, to set oneself up in such circumstances and survive them no matter what the cost -- to others! A smile twitched across his face, more baring his teeth than any showing of affection. It was so hard to be sincere in this ludicrous position.

They had needed a monster, hired him to do the job and he was being one. Well done.

"Will, are you alright?"

"Sure, fine." His words, tone, demeanor, everything -- said this was definitely not the case.

Smith sat down beside him and rested an arm across his shoulder. In his most caring, doctorly voice, he asked, "Would you like to tell me about it, William?"

"There's nothing to tell that you don't know, Dr. Smith. I hate it here. What more can I
say?"

"I know, dear boy. I know." He squeezed the shoulder before rising to stand in front of the viewport and stare out at the stars. "I've tried to help, to make it easier for you, but I'm as powerless as you are." He glanced back -- trying to see if Will was being effected by what he was saying -- but couldn't tell without moving his head. He looked back outside. "I'm sorry. I'm no more than a prisoner, just as you."

"Yeah, right."

"Sarcasm is beneath you, William," he snapped crisply. "Save it for Major West."

Will's eyes lofted. Smith was so transparent. He was the Earth in a Ptolomian Universe. But with his self-indulgent blindness and over-abundant scheming, he could be very useful to Will -- at least, as useful as anything could now be.

He had been taught well. In all Zachary's cautioning about people, Smith was the kind of person he had most severely warned him to avoid. Not only did he know how to use, but how to recognize a user and what to do. In order to play the ends against the middle, turning their conniving back around, one must come up outside the whirlpool and remaining unscathed.

He looked at the effigy of his love, standing in the blue starlight of the blast port, hands clasped stiffly behind his back, trying to look insulted.

'An insult would be lost on you. You are the insult!'

His smile reflected the arctic emotions that drove Zachary. Walking up behind Smith, his arms slithered around the Doctor's sinewy waist. He pressed his hard dick into Smith's buttocks.

"Should I save this for Major West, too?"

Smith's smile was no warmer than black ice as he contemplated his momentary victory. As long as he could keep Will's affection, he had a lever. If he could just find the proper fulcrum point, he would move a mountain named Jupiter.

He spun in the arms that encircled him and ran his palms over young Will's face.

"Major West doesn't deserve you."

"And you do?" Will asked with a caustic smirk.

"No. But perhaps I'll suffice until something better comes along."

'How noble, you Son-of-a-bitch!'

"I suppose," he said, nuzzling into the familiar chest of a stranger. He closed his eyes against the reality here and went to the unreachable there.

Why was this such an impossible leap? He looked the same. He acted the same. He wanted the same things. His touch was no icier, his soul no blacker. They work on the same basic tenant. For the most part, they shared the same backgrounds, psychology, name and fingerprints. Their DNA would have been identical. They were the same man! They weren't mirror images -- not opposites, not particle and anti-particle. They weren't Yin and Yang, not two sides of the same coin. They were the same side of the same coin!br>
How could they be so different?
Smith was evil. So was Zachary. Smith used him. So did Zachary.

They both were monsters in different ways. Dr. Smith was not a nice person wherever he existed. There was no criticism he could make of one that wouldn't hold just as true against the other.

Will tried to imagine the myriad of Universes full of Smiths. Each likeness was reaching for the same thing at the same time in an infinite digression of coinciding linear instances. All were pointed in the same direction and occurring at the same moment...the only one containing his Zachary being the one of their inception. He shuddered; the order, exactness and clarity of everything -- the TOTALITY -- chaotic precision came crashing down on him. He was crushed with the knowledge of how small and alone each person would always be.

Once the chain of dominoes had been tipped, was there no way to halt the progression? Was there an instance when the chains crossed or a place where they looped on themselves? Was there a gap where they didn't overlap, when it could all be stopped...? If time could be flipped ahead, could it not be tipped back? The infinite digression ran in both directions throughout all things. That was the nature of the mobius lines of time that connected then with later at now.

What about the duplication -- occurring on a quantum level that gave him Smith and Zachary and how many others -- how did that fit into all this? What was the point of now? Was it possible to manipulate time/space in another direction other than forward? If so, one could surface outside the whirlpool, reversing the direction of the flow before plunging back in…

He knew time could be manipulated -- everyone on board had witnessed the occurrences. They'd been there, seen it and done it...it was a fact! Advancing at least a decade or two, Jupiter had entered the future when she passed through the time gate to investigate the Proteus. In addition, the bubbles of future, that had destroyed the planet and killed his family, were further instances of the same phenomenon.

He wished he'd gotten to investigate them further, to understand what they were and how they existed. Instead, he had waited on the ship with Zachary while his Mom and Judy had gone to search for Dad and Don. Zachary had tried to get him to leave Penny on the ship to go search for them together, but he'd refused. He'd kept a gun leveled on Smith, insisting they stay on the ship as they'd been ordered. That could have cost him the lives of his family, or it may have been the reason they had been the sole survivors -- he'd never know. This had left him little time to investigate the time portals.

He reached down to his chest to hold the dog tags hanging from his neck. Long before they were lovers, Will remembered crying in the doctor's arms over the loss of his family. Zachary had held and comforted him, assuring him he'd made the right decision. He'd spoken of how much his father had loved him and how he had gladly given his life so his son could be saved. Only living, he had been told, would give meaning to their deaths. This had given him the will to go on...

He suddenly became aware of those same arms yet different arms around him now. He squeezed tighter anyway.

'I can't go on like this...'

The mouth he found wasn't the one he was seeking.

'I'll find a way...a way back home...'

The kiss was fire without heat, ice that was tepid instead of cold. It was hollow, passionless and meaningless...

This was an inert Universe.
*****

"Dad, we need to talk," Judy stated severely.

"Honey, are you alright?"

He darted out of his chair and started over to his eldest daughter when he saw her. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Yet everything about her -- her stance, her expression, the anger welling in her eyes -- was the captured essence of defiance. He knew instantly that her wrath was directed at him and it stopped him cold. The room suddenly felt small around them.

"No! I'm not all right, we've seen to it that! Nothing is right and it's our fault!"

"Judy--"

In a silent fury he'd never witnessed even in her mother, she whispered, "Disable that program!" It was not a suggestion or a request. It was a demand; it was the way things would be, it was the final ultimatum. There was nothing he could conceive that might change her mind. The Universe was no longer large enough for her and that program.

He slowly sat at the keyboard, trying to think of anything that might delay this action. Hesitating as he started inputting data, he paused with his finger above the button that would delete the file.

"If I lose this program," Professor Robinson said to his skeptical accomplice, "I won't be able to fix anything."

Judy spun her father around in the chair and loomed over him like a thundercloud.

"Don't you get it! You're not God! It can't be fixed! Will is dead!"

"I'm not talking about my son, Will!" he yelled, his anger now flaring. "Don't you think I know why you're mad? Don't you think I'm mad, too? I know what's happened to that boy -- it's my fault. I'm the one who killed Zachary! I can't live with myself if I don't try to repair what I've done."

"I didn't believe it until just now, but it's true. You are insane," she said vacantly. "You're crazy and obsessed. Everything we've done since we started interfering with quantum time lines has been a mistake!"

"Maybe this mistake can be corrected."

"Daddy, that program is Pandora's Box! It isn't safe in your hands. It's not safe in anyone's hands."

"I need to try."

"Get rid of it!"

"First, just listen to me." 'This is so wrong!' "Please..." She tried to look away from him, his eyes begging her for a chance to absolve himself of the things he'd done in his blind search for Will.

'He must be a hypnotist...'

Shoving him out of the way, she said, "I'm putting a lock on this program, so you can't reactivate it."

"Thank you!"

It was true; it could always be destroyed later. She entered the code that would place this disastrous catalyst out of her father's reach and away from anyone's ability to tamper with the Universes, until a rational decision could be decided upon.

"Don't thank me. You're a nut and I'm going to remember that with every word you say!"

"It's more than I deserve."

"Will Mom be in on this, too?"

"Of course."

"And Don?" He nodded his head vigorously. "After a full briefing, we're going to take time to think about this, to make sure we're not screwing up again."

"That's all I'm asking for."

'Damn you! How have I let you talk me in to listening to you again?'

She left her father staring at the monitor; anger and doubt assaulted her from every direction. There was no telling what the hell he might be up to this time…
*****

"Hi, Will."

He'd been tampering behind a panel and jumped at the voice. He looked up to see Penny's smiling face. He smiled back, wondering where she had been.

"Hi, Pen."

"I haven't heard that in a long time." No one but ever called her that anymore. It reminded them too much of Will.

"Don't fool yourself. It's just an echo."

"Is that all we are to you -- just an echo?"

"You want the truth?"

"I always have."

"Less than an echo, really. You're not even a reflection of the same thing."

She plopped down on a chair by the computer console. "Yeah, I know. You're not exactly the way I remember you, either." She sighed. This had all been such a waste of time.

He looked sad and empty and she studied him, as out of place here as he must feel. He was older, colder and something she couldn't quite identify.

No one had told her about this Will and Smith, but it was a small ship. She wasn't as naïve as they thought. She knew what was going on. Maybe the differences she saw in Will were no more than that. Was Will evil now? Had he come to believe in whatever Smith believed in, things that would allow him to kill and cheat and lie? She couldn't believe that of Will. This might not be her brother, but wasn't he still Will Robinson?

"You know, my stupid cam/watch isn't working again. You haven't been around to keep it running." She waited for him to offer but he didn't, so she asked. "Do you think you could take a look at it later?"

Will shrugged haplessly. "Sure, why not?"

"Do you want to play chess or anything?"

Will scratched at the traces of his beard, rolling his eyes. "I don't think so."

She got up and strolled across the bay, trying not to react to his crass tone. She looked in on Smith in the Lab. He glanced up, like he felt her approach and smiled sarcastically in her direction. She shivered and turned away, her eyes coming to rest on Will.

He had been watching her and saw her reaction, knowing it had made her consider their relationship. Will's smile mirrored the sadistic expression she'd just seen on Smith's face, amused over her discomfort! She suddenly felt like a mouse being batted around by a cat. He saw her as something to be terrorized but not killed, as that would end the fun. It was the same thing she'd always felt in Smith's presence.

Returning his stare, she asked, "Enjoying yourself?"

"What?!"

"I asked if you were having fun. This is all a big game to you, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about! You probably think this is all really cool, coming on this ship and carrying on with...him..." she indicated the reluctant prisoner in the Lab. "How can you even consider letting someone like him touch you?"

Will was on his feet, propelled by his suppressed anger. "Look, big sister, let's get a few things straight. First: I didn't willingly board this ship -- I was dragged here unconscious, because that's the only way they could get me here. Second: I'm not enjoying a damn thing. This is Hell...and 'him' is your devil, not mine. You good people slaughtered my devil. And third: I'll do just about anything to try to forget what's happened to me for a few seconds, up to and including fucking 'him'. Is that cool enough for you?"

He spun and kicked the wall behind him, then hit it several times with well-delivered punches. His fury was simply too great to contain. It pissed him off when he didn't even leave the slightest scratch in the diamond-hard surface. He didn't feel or even notice what he'd done to his hands during the outburst.

Resting his palms against the wall above him, his head sagged between his shoulders. With breath whistling through his nose, she could see his heart pounding through his back as his chest rapidly expanded and contracted from hyperventilation.

She looked at him in confusion. There were a lot of things she didn't know. In fact, most of what was going on had been purposefully concealed. She only knew what she'd been able to secretly uncover. Her parents hadn't even allowed her to visit this Will. She was here as the result of days of trying to over-ride the code that kept her out.

After the extended silence, she cautiously asked, "Did he rape you?"

"Is that what they told you?" he asked as another knot formed in his stomach.

"They didn't tell me anything. I've been trying to find out what the deal is with you."

"I don't have a deal anymore." His anger began to quell, leaving him aware of the throbbing in his hands. He pulled away from the bloody wall and sat on the floor beneath its stained surface. He took a deep, calming breath and sighed. "He never raped me!"

"Not even in the beginning?" She just didn't get it, but he couldn't hold it against her anymore. They hadn't told her a damn thing. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know.

"Pen, I was attracted to Zachary -- not the other way around. The whole thing was my idea."

"You wanted Smith?"

"Not Smith: Zachary. They're nothing alike." After a short pause, he amended, "Well, they are, but they're not -- like your brother and me." She slowly nodded, trying to imagine two Smiths, one that her brother could find attractive. She couldn't understand how it happened, but she was looking at the results. "And Penny, I didn't just want him, I loved him. I miss him. If I'd been given a choice, I'd be on that deserted planet with him instead of here talking to you."

"You weren't given a choice?"

"Your father crept in while we were sleeping. He had Judy drug me while Don and he killed Zachary. I woke up here. Do you understand now why they didn't tell you about me?"

"I don't believe you! Dad wouldn't do..."

"Don't fool yourself. There isn't anything your Dad wouldn't do if he thought it would get Will back. He's worse than Smith is -- at least Smith admits he's out for himself! Your Father has destroyed my life and thinks he's done me some sort of favor."

"You've got to be mistaken, Will."

"Whatever. Look, I'm pretty tired right now. Could we continue this discussion after you've found out for yourself? I'm not going to try to convince you of anything. I'm telling you what happened because no one else would. Just do me a favor: when you find out what really happened, put it in a log somewhere so the truth exists on record. Otherwise, my story will be lost to whatever lies he wants to commit to history."

"Tell it yourself!" she retorted.

"Yeah." 'Maybe I would, if I was going to be around...' "Just remember what I asked you to do, OK?"

"Sure. I'll let you rest, now."

"Thanks for dropping by, Pen. It was...good to see you again." She remembered another different Will, an older Will, saying those exact same words. Awesome!

"Well, if what you say is true, I guess I should feel sorry for you, but it was good to see you, too."

Will wanted to hug her good-bye, but knew it wouldn't mean anything, so he didn't. Penny also wanted to hug him, to welcome him home. It seemed pointless since he didn't want to be here, so she didn't. She left the room with only a glance back.

Will looked down at his aching hands, the hands that Zachary had kept so meticulously manicured. He'd chewed off his nails to the quick and his knuckles were bloody -- one possibly broken.


He didn't consider what crossed his mind to be odd, as his only objective was to think of nothing at all. The only thing he could think about was how disappointed Zachary would be to see his hands in this condition. He loved these hands, even when they were so small.

He looked around sickbay, finding what he needed to repair the damage. Up until this point, he'd never had a need the medical training that he'd received, but he hadn't forgotten a word. Now, all he required was a nail file and a buffer...

Smith was instantly on his feet the moment he saw Will snooping through the stockpile of medical equipment. He'd been bribed with extra rations to keep an eye on Will and notify someone if he was up to anything. He'd seen the outburst in which he'd bloodied his hands, then watched him gather the supplies he'd need to treat the self-inflicted wounds. Smith was astounded as the lad repair broken skin and bone. Impressed by the technique, he recognized it as his own.

'So, you want to be like me when you grow up...how charming...'

After he'd finished with the medical procedures, he continued with a manicure. 'Curious!' Then he went through the clothes he'd been brought, selected a few things and started putting them on with deliberate care. His movements were rigid, perfected and ritualistic enough to send a red alert howling through Smith's brain. He always had a sixth sense about someone who was up to no good. Will then combed his hair, cleaned his teeth and shaved. When he continued looking around, Smith knew something was amiss. He was getting ready for something. Smith could only fathom one thing he might be preparing for.

He activated his intercom. "Judy, I think you need to get to Sick Bay." There was no response to his hail. "Judy... Judy? Professor Robinson? Mrs. Robinson? West?" Smith's throat grew tight when the only response was silence. Then he saw Will walking his way. He went to the control panel, reached in and pulled out two severed cables for Smith to see. He smugly raised a brow and smiled. He'd disabled the intercom circuit.

"William, what are you up to?" he yelled.

Will didn't bother to read his lips. He went back to his business.

All the dangerous chemicals had been locked away, along with any object that could possibly be used as a weapon. They removed everything he might be able to use to harm himself or anyone. However, without knowing about his medical training, a few things that had been over-looked.

Smith saw him find the hypojet, but all the dose-packs had been locked away. Then he took an empty vial from the counter and broke the vacuum seal.

'Oh God, William! Not that...'

"William! William, don't!" He started banging on the glass. Will looked up at the noise and flashed that calm, smug smile. Then he put the empty vial into the hypo and locked it in place. He put the setting on intravenous and walked up to the glass. Smith was frantically banging and screaming in useless effort. Will held up his second finger and said,

"Fuck you and your damned ship!"

He held the hypo up to his arm and pushed the button...

Smith turned around, unable to stifle the horror and helplessness he felt, unable to watch what would happen next -- he already knew what a bubble of air would do when it hit the boy's brain. He walked away from the panel, not looking at the death on the other side and sat down in his chair.

"Oh, William...I hope you find your Zachary. I really do..."

He closed his eyes. Now, all he could do was wait until someone walked in and found him. He was surprised to feel a tear strike his folded hands. 'Poor boy...'

"...then we can use a variation of Will's time machine to send him back. Well?"

"Energy, Professor. Where do you plan..."

"We're surrounded by it, everywhere, all kinds." Don looked at him skeptically.

"Dad, we don't have the slightest idea how Will constructed that machine."

"No, but we have Will. Even though he hasn't done it yet, he can build that time machine. If we can get him to his Universe, he can get himself back in time, if ..."

Maureen was shaking her head.

"Too many ifs, John."

"Impossible ifs, at that," Don added.

"We don't know how to target that continuum. It could take forever to just come across it," Judy pointed out.

"We can target Priplanus. If we route the images through the computer and analyze the data, we can narrow the search parameters to the system displaying a crash site and Zachary's grave."

"Then we hop across every physical boundary that exists and cross our fingers?" Don couldn't believe Robinson was serious.

"It's valid in theory."

"Only if you accept the existence..." Don stopped in midphrase. They'd already witnessed the existence of every aspect of what he was proposing, with the exception of locating the right quantum reality. "...of a lot more luck than we've encountered so far."

"Dad, I don't think we have enough--"

"Judy! Judy..." Penny was so breathless she could barely speak. Judy ran up to her. "You've got to get to Sick Bay. It's Will..."

Judy didn't wait to find out what was wrong with Will. She was halfway down the hall by the time the others were out of their seats.

When they caught up with her, they found her kneeling on the floor beside her brother.

"I'll help you get him to the table," Don said as he rushed over. But she shook her head.

"There's no need..."

"Smith!!" John shouted, looking venomously in his direction.

"John." Maureen was holding up the severed cables. "There was nothing he could do."

Judy was at Smith's door, entering the code, holding the empty hypo. Smith was still sitting in the chair, his hands folded across his lap. He didn't move or even look up, when the door opened.

"What was in it?"

"Air," he answered without visible reaction.

John was looking at the body on the floor. This was his fault and his Hell, and now his son had died for a second time…
*****

John sat up with a gasp. He glanced over at Maureen. She must have been exhausted to sleep through the noise. He crept out of the room before he disturbed her. She didn't get enough sleep anymore.

He walked down the hall and stopped by Will's room. It seemed so big without that small boy asleep in there. He looked at the bed, untouched for so long.

"Good-bye, Will."

This was the first time he'd said it because this was the first time he'd meant it. He emerged into the quiet corridor and headed for his bridge station.

Had any of it happened? Was that just a dream? Sometimes, when he first woke up, he wasn't even sure if Will was really dead. Well, that part was irrelevant at the moment. He'd find out in the morning. If he'd killed Zachary, there was nothing he could do to fix it and would have to live with it for the rest of his life. If he hadn't, then this could have been the most important dream he'd ever had. He went to the computer and called up the program. He hit the delete button.

Will was dead, and that was that....

The end


juls Heath
© 1998