Title: Coming Home

Author/pseudonym: Spice

Fandom: seaQuest

Rating: PG (although I really don't think there's anything in here)

Status: New and Complete

Archive: Please, at WWOMB

E-mail address for feedback: spice@knology.net

Series/Sequel: No

Other websites: N/A

Disclaimers: seaQuest belongs to whomever it belongs to; no infringement intended. The Outriggers are the creation of AT Jackson, who is, sadly, no longer with us.

Notes: I used to e-mail AT Jackson after reading her Outrigger stories, and it always amazed me that we had similar ideas. She's gone now, and sorely missed. I wrote this last year, after thinking about her and rereading some of our e-mails. I have sent this to Chance, and she has read it. Oh, and this hasn't really been beta'd.

Summary: What happens when you come home, only to find that home is somewhere else?



Coming Home
by Spice
*******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*******

They stood in front of the desk, their bodies locked in parade rest, as they waited for their captain to finish reading the documents.

"You sure about this?" His dark eyes looked at their faces, wondering.

"Sir, yes, sir." They answered in unison.

"Very well." He signed the papers and put them in his outbox. "Your shuttle will be here tomorrow morning at 0630. Be ready to go."

"Thank you, sir." They saluted and waited for the return salute before pivoting and walking out of the room.

"Whew." Timothy O'Neil breathed out in one long sigh. "I was afraid he wasn't going to sign them."

"Probably figures we'll come running back with our tails between our legs." Lucas Wolenczak brushed the hair from his forehead as they walked.

The two men looked at each before grinning and heading to their quarters. They had started packing already, storing boxes out of sight in case everything fell through. They weren't planning on announcing their departure until right before they got on the shuttle the next morning. They already had a storage facility set up to house their possessions until they finished at Camp Outrigger and joined the team.

Admiral Sullivan had been somewhat surprised to hear from them, especially after their 10-year disappearance. He did a good job of disguising his surprise at their youthful appearances; instead, helping them prepare their paperwork for transfer. He promised not to inform Outrigger Blue until they completed their training.

The next morning, when they joined their friends at breakfast, both men were dressed in jeans and tee shirts.

"You two change shifts?" Commander Jonathon Ford studied the two men.

"Not exactly." Tim shook his head and looked at Lucas before turning back to the group at the table. "We're transferring."

Cups hit the table with resounding cracks. "You're what?" Jonathon stared at them in shock.

"Our request to transfer to the Outriggers was granted, and we leave in an hour." Lucas looked down at his plate, the food sticking in his throat. He never expected it to be this hard.

"I can't believe you're leaving." Lonnie sighed and looked down at her hands.

"We've got to do this, Lonnie. It's not like we're never going to talk to you or anything."

"I guess." She tried to smile, but it didn't quite work.

The group spent the remainder of their time talking before escorting the two men down to the shuttle bay. There were hugs and handshakes as Tim and Lucas refused to say goodbye, merely telling their friends "later". When the men were on the shuttle, they each tried not to look like they were wiping tears away.

"That was harder than I thought." Tim took a deep breath and released it.

"Yeah. We'll be back though." Lucas nodded firmly as the shuttle exited the seaQuest towards New Cape Quest.

**~~**

After storing their belongings, they spent the night in the BOQ before heading to the helo pad for their flight to Hawaii for Outrigger training. Although they had been on refresher courses with the team, they weren't quite sure what to expect. Hell was a mild word for what awaited them.

The battles they had faced helped their mindset, but the physical exertion of the training wore them to the bone. Every night, they poured themselves into bed, only to be awakened at odd times to take part in exercises. They got looks everywhere they went, the mystery of seaQuest's disappearance following them.

Sixteen weeks were spent learning the intricacies of command, strategy, infiltration, and combat training. Their innate gifts in language and computers gave them an edge in that department and helped them with their fellow trainees when they cheerfully provided assistance to anyone who asked.

When graduation day rolled around, Tim and Lucas put on their dress uniforms and immediately understood why none of the others ever wanted to wear them. Lucas ran his hand over the military haircut he had been given, grinning ruefully at Tim as the man laughed at him again.

"Maybe Ice will let you grow it back." Tim just grinned in the mirror as he finished buttoning his jacket.

"Yeah, right." Lucas rolled his eyes before he straightened his shoulders as he stood in front of the mirror.

They suffered through the ceremony, discreetly tugging on collars before walking up and receiving their service insignia. All of the graduates would be interviewing with the various Outrigger teams before placement.

Lucas smiled as he looked at the large stone building that was Outrigger headquarters. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?"

Tim smiled as he tossed his duffle over his shoulder. "Wonder if they've redecorated?"

They walked inside and looked at the plain reception area before turning to each other. "Nope." Their reply ended with chuckles.

The receptionist checked their identification before calling for an escort. Tim leaned close to his friend.

"I wonder if our codes still work."

"I'm not willing to risk an armed response if they don't." Lucas looked over at the older man.

An Outrigger greeted them before taking them to the quarters reserved for unassigned members, instructing them to change into their jumpsuits. When they had changed into their uniforms, they followed the escort up to the first set of interviews.

Admiral Sullivan had arranged it so that Outrigger Blue would be their last interview. They had recognized some of the other Outriggers, warning them not to say anything before they spoke to the team. At 4:45, they stood behind several other recruits and listened as Rodriguez complained about the lack of talented recruits. Peering around the others, Tim saw that almost the whole team was there. Karneering had been moved back to support after a training accident, and McKinnon had been promoted to Captain, overseeing a number of Outrigger teams. Rodriguez was now in charge of the team, and they were looking for new team members after cycling through temporary replacements.

He spent several minutes going over the history of Blue, making sure each person knew that making the team would only occur under the most stringent of circumstances. Standing in front of the nervous recruits, he looked them over.

"You people have anything you want to say that might convince us you've got what it takes?"

"They ever find a way to insert caffeine directly into your veins 'cause you obviously didn't get enough this morning."

Rodriguez narrowed his eyes as his mouth thinned. The recruits at the front of the group trembled.

"Front and center, soldier!"

The group parted liked the Red Sea, and Lucas stepped forward, his body moving to stand at attention. Outrigger Blue just stared at the young man as Rodriguez stepped forward and leaned close.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Interviewing, sir!"

"And what makes you think you've got what it takes?"

"I'm an Outrigger, sir, and I'm the best!" Lucas stared straight ahead, ignoring the mumbles behind him.

Rodriguez stepped back and looked at the crowd. "O'Neil!"

Tim stepped forward to stand next to Lucas. The commander looked at both of them.

"I knew we'd lure you away from seaQuest eventually." He grinned and hugged Lucas before hugging Tim.

The rest of Blue joined them, talking excitedly. Rodriguez stepped away from the huddle and looked at the other recruits.

"You're dismissed!"

The group left, mumbling to themselves at the unorthodox method of choosing the newest members of Outrigger Blue.

"We heard seaQuest was back, but we haven't really had a chance to get in touch with you guys." Ryan smiled at the two men.

"We heard about Einstein. How's he doing? How's Ice?" Tim looked around at the familiar faces.

"He's good, still enjoys torturing us when he can. They moved most of the doctors back to support, so only medics go out." Hallowell nodded at Chandler. "Ice is not having as much fun since she really has to deal with the chain of command now."

"I'm glad you're back." Adamsen patted each of them on the arm.

Rodriguez returned after stopping by his desk. Approaching the two men, he smiled. "I've been holding onto these for a while."

He applied a blue triangle to the right shoulders of the unadorned uniforms. Stepping back, he smiled.

"That looks right."

They spent the rest of the evening in the mess, getting reacquainted and telling what they could of their story. As they sat there, they heard the call for Outrigger Red to report to a briefing. Tim looked over at Rodriguez.

"We're on deck."

"Yeah, this is starting to feel real familiar." Lucas grinned before they stood up and dumped their trays.

Ryan took them down to get their duffles and escorted them up to Blue's area, pointing out the separate rooms for each man.

"Welcome home." She smiled at them before heading to her room.

The next morning, the two men were assigned to their stations and given an overview of the updated systems that were in use. Right before they were going to break for lunch, they heard the call to report for their briefing, and the group took off for a conference room.

Lucas looked around at the people in front of the table, smiling as the memories filled his mind of his first experience with the team. The vid screen flared on, and McKinnon didn't look up from her papers as the group began to call out names and ranks. Her head popped up when she heard Tim.

"O'Neil, Timothy. Lieutenant."

"Wolenczak, Lucas, Lieutenant j.g."

McKinnon looked at Rodriguez, who just shrugged. She cleared her throat. "The word of the day is Carillon."

The group sat down and logged into their computers with the assigned word, glancing briefly over the files as the captain talked. When she finished with their briefing, she looked at Tim and Lucas for a moment.

"Indy, Slick, a moment, please."

The rest of the team filed out, and the two men were left staring at McKinnon.

"Welcome home."

Tim smiled. "Thanks. It's good to be here."

Lucas nodded his agreement. "The food still sucks though."

She laughed. "Some things never change. How was camp?"

"Tough, but not as tough as coming back from the dead." Lucas chewed on his lip for a moment.

"Everyone home safely?" She didn't name any names, but they knew who she was referring to.

"Captain Bridger retired to care for his grandson and keep looking for Robert. Hudson is." The younger man tried to find a way to tactfully describe the new captain of seaQuest.

McKinnon held up her hand. "I've met him. No need to explain further. You two need to get your gear together. Ghost isn't quite as bad as I was, but he's close."

"Yes, ma'am." They saluted and waited for her to sign off before turning and heading for their rooms.

Adamsen met them in the stairwell as they headed for the roof. "Nothing like a day with the Outriggers."

The two men laughed as they reached the roof and Ryan lined them up for inspection. They divided into teams and headed for the helos. Once on board, they hooked up their headsets and listened as Rodriguez talked about their assignment. Tim and Lucas looked at each other and smiled. They were home.



Finis