Title: Everyone Knows It But Me

Author: JaimeBlue

Sequel/Series: Sequel to "Masks" at http://jaimeblue.tripod.com/fanfic/stories/masks.htm

Pairing: Tim/Ben

Rating: PG

Archive: Yes, to whoever wants it! Let me know first, thought :)

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, but if I had a million dollars or more, I'd make a bid for the rights :)

Summary: seaQuest's crew has noticed that Tim O'Neill and Ben Krieg have been spending more and more time together, and they have their own suspicions as to why.

Story Notes: This story takes place a few weeks after "Masks." The sQ episode "Such Great Patience" takes place sometime between the 2 stories. For those unfamiliar with the episode (short summary so you understand the references in the story): seaQuest comes upon an alien space ship deep under the ocean. A scientist by the name of Scott Keller, Krieg (with the audio-visual equipment), Crocker, and O'Neill (to translate anything — woohoo!) all board the vessel. Crocker stays behind to watch their shuttle, so Tim & Ben are the only crewmen who get to see everything in the alien vessel with Keller. After the entire incident, the few crewmembers who know about what really happened agree not to speak of it again until the day they ever encounter such beings as those that built the ship.

Authors' Notes: Thanks go to JoeyRZ, who read this piece by piece for over 5 months, always able to keep track of what was going on, telling me how wonderful I was, and for helping me understand the machista attitudes of Latin men — you're a great beta, babe!

Dedication: To Beth and her son Jesse, whose special email gave my heart such joy on the day I needed it the most. I hope you both enjoy this story.



MASKS 2: EVERYONE KNOWS IT BUT ME
By JaimeBlue
***********

"I'll take three," Katherine Hitchcock called as she dropped three cards into the middle of the table.

Jonathan Ford nodded and dealt her three more, watching for any signs that the cards had helped her hand in any way. He turned to the man sitting at Katie's left. "What'll it be, Chief?"

"Give me one," Crocker answered in his gruff voice.

Jon dealt the card and looked to the next player.

"Keep going, Commander. I think I will hold for now."

Jon's eyebrows rose at the smug expression on the Doctor's face, shrugged, then turned to the last player at his right. "You need any, Lucas?"

"Just give me a sec..."

"Any more seconds, Lucas, and the game'll be over."

"What's wrong, Wolenczak," Katie teased from across the table. "You can't play without Ben looking over your shoulder?"

Lucas' eyes rose to meet Hitchcock's, then the teenager threw down two cards. Without saying a word, he picked up the cards Jon dealt him.

"And the dealer takes one. Katie?"

She dropped a chip into the center of the table. "Five to start."

Crocker looked at his cards, then lay them face down on the table. "I fold."

Doctor Westphalen continued grinning and threw in a couple of chips. "I raise ten."

Lucas took a few moments to study his cards before throwing in a few chips of his own. "I'll raise twenty."

The eyes of everyone at the table widened, each of them wondering what Ben Krieg had last taught the teen about playing poker. Jon's bottom lip twisted in thought, then he lay his cards down. "Dealer folds."

"So do I," Katie said, throwing down her cards. "A little too rich for my blood."

Kristin looked at Lucas with a gleam in her eye. "Well, it looks like it's just you and me, Lucas. I'll meet your twenty, and raise you another twenty."

Lucas' only answer was to drop a few more chips with the others. "I call."

Kristin's face didn't change as she lay her cards face up on the table. There for all to see were three 10s and two 7s. "Full House."

The Doctor moved to collect the chips, but was stopped by a hand on her arm. Lucas dropped his cards face up in front of her, revealing four 2s. "Four of a kind. I think that's mine, Doctor." The Doctor's mouth hung in shock and the others groaned as Lucas collected his winnings.

"What's wrong?" a voice called from the doorway to the dark quarters. "Did mini-Krieg strike again?"

"Miguel, finally!" Jon called out. "Did you remember the refreshments?"

"Right here," Miguel announced, holding up a bottle for all to see. "Whisky from Ben's private stash."

"Private stash?" Katie inquired, amazed. "How on earth did you manage that?"

"I don't have a clue," Miguel shrugged. "He just gave it to me one day. He's been a lot nicer than usual, and frankly, it's starting to scare me. He usually doesn't do things like this unless he's planning something big. Where is he, by the way?"

"I don't know. All he said was that he couldn't make it." Katie said, picking up the card Jon dealt her.

Miguel grabbed a stray chair and placed it between Crocker and the Doctor. He then grabbed a few glasses from a nearby shelf and started pouring the whisky as he sat down at the table. "That's all Tim said too. Those two have sure been busier than usual... Doctor, you don't mind if we indulge a little, do you?"

"Young man, surely you do not think I am ignorant of the medical benefits of alcohol."

Miguel smiled and passed her one of the glasses.

"You know, I've been feeling a little under the weather lately," Lucas said. "I wouldn't mind a few ‘medical benefits' myself..."

"No!" five voices chorused. Miguel picked up his hand as they continued talking while they played.

"Well," Katie began as she sorted her cards, "Tim usually keeps to himself, so that's no big surprise. Ben, however, hasn't gotten into any kind of trouble in over a week."

"That must be some kind of record!" Jon exclaimed as he dealt some cards to Miguel.

"Ah, they're probably just hanging out with Darwin or something... Ouch!" Lucas said, having reached out a hand to try to grab Jon's glass as the man turned away, only to have it slapped by Kristin.

"The lads have been spending quite a bit of time together, haven't they," Crocker added as he dropped a few chips onto the growing pile in the center of the table.

"Well, it is quite understandable," the Doctor said, voicing her opinion. "They did after all share quite an interesting experience on that vessel we are not supposed to mention."

"That's right — those two saw everything Keller did. That's bound to bring anybody a bit closer," Jon added, nodding.

"I think it started a little before that," Lucas said, dropping a chip onto the table. "I've walked in on them swimming with Darwin a few times."

"I guess it's kind of my fault," Miguel said, smiling. "A while ago Tim was kind of depressed and I just couldn't get through to him, so I recruited Ben. I don't know what he did, but Tim's been feeling better ever since."

"I wonder..." Katie's musings caught the attention of everyone at the table.

"What are you thinking?" Jon asked.

"Oh, it's probably nothing."

"You must have something on your mind, Katherine," Crocker encouraged.

"Well, I don't think any of you would like what I'm thinking."

"Try us." Miguel smiled at Katie, soon followed by the others.

Unable to stand up to the mass of smiling faces, she shook her head in defeat. "All right, but don't hate me if you don't like it." Five heads nodded in response. "Well, I was just thinking that they're both young, relatively attractive men, neither of which have any real attachments on or off-ship..." She trailed off as she saw the faces frozen in shock.

"You're not suggesting," Lucas finally managed to say, "that they... they... You were married to Ben!"

"Yes, I was. Not everybody's one way or the other, Lucas."

"That *is* true, Katherine," the Doctor said, tilting her head, "though I never really imagined either of them... particularly in consideration of Mister O'Neill's religious leanings."

"Exactly!" Lucas cried. "Tim's practically a saint. He's probably never even *thought* about sex in his life, let alone had it."

"And you have, young man?"

Lucas shrunk under the Doctor's scrutiny. "Umm, about Tim..."

"Well," Crocker relieved Lucas, smiling at the teen's embarrassment, "he's never had that much luck with the ladies."

"That doesn't necessarily mean..." Miguel interrupted.

"You never know, Ortiz. Remember, once upon a time this navy was a man's navy. Some things may have changed, and for the better of course ladies, but some things do stay the same."

"Have *you* ever..." Katie asked, cocking an eyebrow at the Chief.

"Me? No, but a few of my old buddies did when they were younger."

"Everybody experiments a little when they're younger, Chief," Kristin replied, smiling. "Even myself." She was greeted by four shocked men and a giggling Katie. "Come, gentlemen, you didn't think I was a nun, now did you? Mister O'Neill's the Catholic on this ship."

"Umm, w-why don't we get back to Tim and Ben," Lucas stuttered.

"Why don't we not," Miguel intercepted.

"What's wrong, Miguel?" Jon asked, looking a little concerned for his friend.

"Tim's just not that way. Let's leave it at that."

"What's the matter, Ortiz," Katie teased. "Are you jealous?"

"What? No! God, no! I just don't like you guys talking about my best friend like he's a... a..."

"Homosexual?" Kristin offered. "What would you do if he was?"

"Well, he's not. If he were, it would just be — uncomfortable."

Kristin giggled softly to herself. "Just because he's that way would not mean he's necessarily attracted to you, you know."

"Yeah," Katie chimed in. "You're probably not even his type. You're nothing like Ben." The others answered her with pained expressions.

"Well, we shouldn't be jumping to any conclusions without proof anyway," Miguel offered.

"True enough," Kristin said, nodding. "Why don't we keep our eyes on the two boys for a while, and only speak of it again if we notice anything that would support Katherine's hypothesis. Let's think of it as a sociology experiment, if you like."

The others nodded, some begrudgingly and others enthusiastically. They finished the hand and several others before some of the players showed signs of fatigue.

"I think it's time to turn in," Crocker said as he stretched his arms out. One by one, the others agreed and started rising and collecting their winnings.

When most of the players had left the room, Lucas made a grab for one of the half-full glasses of whisky, managing to get in a sip before...

"Lucas!"

He smiled sheepishly at Doctor Westphalen who was standing by the door, arms crossed over her chest and foot tapping. He walked out the door and headed for his room, unable to see the Doctor's smirk behind his back as she headed for Medbay.


* * *


Katie stretched out her limbs as she sat at her post on the bridge. She hadn't gotten much sleep the last night. Every time she closed her eyes, she kept seeing her ex-husband and the ship's commtech in compromising positions. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. *I like that idea way too much,* she thought.

She looked over at Jon, who was sitting in the Captain's seat while Bridger was off-duty, and smiled. He nodded and smiled in return. Her gaze moved around the bridge, from person to person until it fell on the communications station. Her smile turned sly as an idea occurred to her.

She checked her readings to make certain there was nothing that required her immediate attention and rose to walk across the bridge.

"O'Neill," she spoke loud enough so that her approach wouldn't frighten the quiet man.

"Commander... Is there a problem?"

"Not really," she replied, leaning around the commtech's chair so that they could talk more quietly. "I was just wondering why you didn't come to the poker game last night."

"Oh, well I'd already made plans when Miguel told me about the game, and I didn't want to back out at the last minute."

"What kind of plans?" she asked in a lilting voice.

"Nothing big. Ben just needed me to translate a few phrases for him into Mandarin so he could impress this new supplier of his. For once, I think the guy's actually legit."

"Maybe you're having a good influence on him." She grinned as she saw a pink glow rise from the commtech's neck.

"If that were the case, Commander, then it would be a miracle."

She caught his eye and smiled. She patted his shoulder and headed back for her station. As she passed Jon's questioning eyes, she shrugged and mouthed ‘Maybe?'

"Commander Ford," Tim called from his post. "There's a message coming in from Admiral Noyce."

"Put it on screen, Lieutenant." Ford watched as Tim's fingers flew across his comm board, and suddenly the all-too-familiar face of Admiral Noyce was before him. "Yes, Admiral. How may we help you?"

"Hello, Commander. I'm calling to inform you that, when seaQuest docks at Cape Quest tomorrow, you will be taking on an extra passenger. Doctor Alyssa Hamilton is needed on an outpost near the Canary Islands, and since seaQuest will be heading in that general direction, it is the perfect arrangement. Please see to it that her stay is enjoyable, Commander."

"Will do, Sir."

Jon let out a long breath once the Admiral's image disappeared from the forward screen. *Once again,* he sighed to himself, *seaQuest: international taxi service.* It was almost enough to make him wish for another encounter with an alien craft — almost.


* * *


Jon smiled at the various crewmen he passed on his way down the hall. When he reached the door he was looking for, he rapped three times.

"Hold on! Just a minute!" a voice shouted from within. After several moments, the door opened to reveal a slightly damp Ben Krieg wearing only his bathrobe. "Hello, Commander. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, there is Ben. Umm, can I come in for a few minutes?"

"Oh, yeah! Sure." Ben backed away from the door to let Jon enter, then closed the door behind his superior officer.

"Tomorrow, we'll be picking up a passenger to take to the Canary Islands, a Doctor Alyssa Hamilton." As Jon spoke, his eyes caught a glint of something shiny in the light and fell upon the charm and chain hanging from the other man's neck. He continued speaking, filing the information for later. "We've been asked to make certain she has an enjoyable stay aboard seaQuest..."

"And as Morale Officer, it's my duty to make certain she has it. Of course, Commander. I'll look into it immediately. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Jon's eyes paused once more on the gold charm before shaking his head. "No, that's all for now. Though Ben, let me know what you're planning before it happens this time, okay?"

Ben smiled. "Of course, Sir."

Nodding one last time, Jon took his leave and headed for the Mess. He grinned as he spotted Katie and Crocker eating at a nearby table and headed straight for them.

"Hey, you two. I might have something, but I need to ask Katie a couple of questions first."

"Shoot," she replied, swallowing a mouthful of food.

"Has Ben ever been a religious man?"

She almost choked, sputtering with the food she'd tried to swallow. She replied once she was calm enough to answer. "Hell, no. What kind of question is that?"

"Hold on a second. Just answer me this: has anyone ever given him a gold cross?"

She shook her head. "Where'd you see that?"

"I just came from his room. I was telling him about Doctor Hamilton and I guess I caught him getting dressed or something, but I distinctly saw a gold chain with a small cross hanging from it, right around his neck. We wouldn't see it if he keeps it hidden under his uniform."

"I bet you anything Tim gave it to him!" Her voice rose in pitch in her excitement. "Imagine what the rest of the crew would think if they knew what we've been suspecting."

"Actually," Crocker spoke up, "that's something I was hoping to discuss with the two of you." He had the full attention of the two younger officers. "I was talking a little with some of the security guys, and apparently there's a ship-wide pool on this very subject."

"My God, Chief," Jon said amazed. "What did you say?"

"What do you think? I put us down for fifty bucks."

Jon shook his head and watched Katie giggle. "What did you say to Tim this morning, anyway?"

"Oh, I was just asking him why he didn't come to the game last night. Apparently he was helping Ben translate a few phrases into Mandarin."

"That's not much to go on," Jon shrugged.

"Well, when he said he thought Ben's newest shipper was legal, I teased him saying he was a good influence. It got a blush out of him. Though he wasn't uncomfortable around me at all."

"Why would that make a difference?" Jon asked.

"Think of it this way," Crocker explained. "If you're just starting a relationship with someone, how comfortable would you be with their ex?"

"That, and Tim always tends to wear his heart on his sleeve," Katie finished. "He's the one we'll have to watch for clues."

"I don't know about that," Jon interrupted. "Ben can get pretty careless when he thinks he's gotten away with something."

"Well," Crocker said as he rose from his seat, "I hate to leave the two of you at such an ‘important juncture,' but some of us have work to do. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

With a final nod, Crocker headed out of the Mess and towards the Maglev. Just as the doors opened, a voice called to him.

"Chief!"

Crocker held the door in place and waited for Captain Nathan Bridger to catch up to him. Both men boarded the compartment and punched in their destinations. They sat in companionable silence until Bridger spoke again.

"It's been a while since we've been back to shore, hasn't it, Chief."

"That it has, Sir."

"It's too bad we can't stay for long. From what I've seen, the crew has been doing an excellent job keeping themselves entertained, have they not?"

"That they have, Sir." Crocker cocked an eyebrow, unsure as to the direction of the Captain's conversation.

"Mr. Krieg has been doing an excellent job of late, and I am pleased to say I haven't found it necessary to reprimand him in over a week."

"Some would say he has come under a... calming influence, Captain."

The Maglev slowed and Bridger rose to make his stop. "Yes, it appears some would say that. But I do believe I know my crew, Chief." Bridger reached out a hand to Crocker as the doors opened, which Crocker promptly shook.

The Chief watched as the doors closed behind the Captain, then looked down at the hand he'd shaken. He unfurled the curled pieces of paper he now held, straightening out the fresh fifty dollar bill and reading the small note.

"50 bucks says they aren't. Bridger."


* * *


Captain Bridger and Lieutenant Krieg put on smiles as the shuttle door opened, admitting a woman with dark blonde hair and medium build hidden behind a green jumper. Her brown eyes were wide with wonder as she took in the ship's launch bay.

"Doctor Hamilton, I presume," the Captain said, announcing his presence.

The woman broke out of her reverie and focused on the two men before her. "Oh, hello. Yes, that's me." She reached out her hand and shook with each man enthusiastically. "This is one nice ship you've got here."

"You haven't seen the half of it," Krieg replied. "Just wait until I give you the tour." The woman's eyebrows rose. "Oh, sorry. I'm Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg, ship's morale officer."

She smiled at him, then turned to the man next to him. "And you must be Captain Bridger. Nice to meet you, Sir."

"The pleasure is ours, I assure you. Now, if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to on the bridge. If you need anything, Mr. Krieg will be at your service."

Ben politely waited until the Captain had left, then turned to the Doctor. "This way, if you'll follow me. We'll drop your things off at your quarters, and then we can start on that tour I promised."


* * *


Katie heard laughter around the corner as she headed off the bridge. Coming around the bend, she saw Ben standing in the middle of the hall laughing with some blonde in a green jumpsuit. She frowned. *This doesn't bode well,* she thought.

"Hello, Ben. This must be Doctor Hamilton."

"Hey, Katie! I'm just showing the Doc here around the ship. Alyssa, this is Lieutenant Commander Katherine Hitchcock, ship's third in command."

The two women shook hands as the Doctor looked Katie over with an inquiring gaze. "It's nice to meet you, Doctor."

"Same here."

Katie stayed a few moments, answering some questions the Doctor had about seaQuest, then she made her excuses and headed off to the Mess for lunch. The room was nearly empty, most people being on duty, so she settled by herself at one of the tables. When she was nearly finished her meal, a shadow crossed the table. Katie looked up at Doctor Alyssa Hamilton.

"Yes, Doctor? Is there anything I can help you with?"

The woman waved a hand at one of the empty seats and Katie nodded. Once the Doctor had plopped herself down, she simply stared at Katie.

"Doctor?"

"Oh, sorry about that. I can get pretty intense sometimes without realizing it." She paused a moment. "You're her, aren't you."

"Who is it you think I am?"

"Baba Hitchcock."

Katie was frozen, unable to think of a thing to say or do. "Why do you think that?"

"I suspected the moment I stepped off the shuttle and saw the Captain and Ben Krieg. It's the exact same ship, and almost the exact same crew, just with different names." The Doctor grinned in triumph. "Come on, you didn't actually believe one of your biggest fans could visit this ship without recognizing it, did you?"

"One of my biggest fans?"

"Yeah. Oh, sorry. You might know me better as Alley Cat."

Katie's face brightened up, her eyes wide. "No! Oh my, I had no idea! Wait a moment — you're the one who suggested that Mack and Bruce would be perfect for each other, weren't you?"

"Yep. So far I've only met Bruce. I can't wait to meet Mack and see if he's as shy as you make him out to be."

"He's worse." The women giggled. "I just can't believe it, you're a doctor and you read..."

"Slash on the Internex? Is it any more surprising than the fact that it's written by a navy commander? Anyway, if I didn't respect you so much, I'd be off trying to find the nearest computer terminal to announce that what we've all thought was original fic is real."

"It's not completely real. After all, as far as I know, none of those relationships actually exist. And I changed the names."

"Doesn't matter. You're busted. But don't worry — I'll keep your secret."

Katie smiled at her, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Do you mind if I ask what gave you the idea to put Mack and Bruce together?"

"No problem. It's pretty much A/J syndrome, as my Mom calls it."

"Your Mom?"

"Yeah. Not only does my Mom know I read slash, she's the one who turned me onto it in the first place. She used to write in some fandom I don't know much about, and all her stuff was about this funny guy with a pointy hat in ancient Greece — but I digress. She told me that there was this pairing called A/J, I forget who it stands for, but the two characters were total opposites. One was dark and violent, the other was naive and innocent, and she said that in the stories, they just sparked. I guess it's kind of like that. Bruce always seemed so sure of himself, a con artist always trying to put one over on people. And Mack, well he's the super-moral officer who's forever filled with some kind of self-doubt. Total opposites, and when you put them together — sparks."

Katie nibbled on her bottom lip as she tried to figure out how to word her next question. "If they *were* together, what do you think would give them away?"

"Well, for starters, Mack would probably look guilty all the time. He just seems like the type. Other than that, Mack may start to get into more and more trouble, Bruce may seem to go straight — in a manner of speaking of course — and they may even withdraw a little from their friends because they're afraid they won't be able to hide the truth from them."

"How would you find out for sure?"

Doctor Hamilton was about to open her mouth when realization hit. "No! You actually suspect Ben and... and... what's his real name?"

"Tim."

"Tim? Ben and Tim — you know, that actually sounds nice together — that they're together? What clues have you got so far?"

"Well, they've been spending a lot of time together. Jon Ford, he's the ship's second in command, he saw Ben wearing a cross on a chain — and he's far from a religious man. We think Tim gave it to him. I joked with Tim that he was having a good influence on Ben and got him to blush. And apparently the entire ship agrees with us if you judge by the pool they've got going, though I must admit I doubt the accuracy of the pool since Ben isn't the one running it. Then again, that may be a reason to trust it."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah. Any suggestions?"

"Well, you can always shoot one of them."

"What?!"

Alyssa smiled slyly. "Well, it's a sure-fire way to see just how much they care about each other."

"Maybe as a last resort," Katie countered sarcastically.

"Why don't you get Louis to do a little..."

"Lucas."

"... Lucas to do a little spying on them. You know, checking up on their computer files to find any love notes, monitoring their communications, following them around. The way you described him, he's good at that kind of stuff."

"He is, but he's also good friends with both Tim and Ben. Going into their files and the monitoring would go against whatever scruples he has left."

"Well, that leaves sticking to them like glue. They're bound to slip up eventually."

"I guess you're right." Katie paused, trying to think up something else to talk about. "What's your area of specialization?"

"What?"

"You're a doctor — what kind?"

"Oh, I'm a zoologist."

"Oh. That sounds... interesting."

"Actually, it is. I study gender and sexuality as exhibited through animal behaviour. If you think slash is good, just wait until you see two male wolves trying to mate."


* * *


Lucas stretched, fighting off a yawn as he logged off of his computer. His brain seemed to be pulsing with all the information he'd been looking up on the Internex. He'd been up all night doing ‘research', and though he knew he should try to get some sleep, he simply couldn't find the will to do so.

Late the last evening, he'd met up with Hitchcock, Ford, Crocker, Ortiz, and Westphalen so that any of them could share new observations on Tim and Ben. Katie had brought the Doctor currently traveling with seaQuest, much to the group's surprise. He and Miguel were still uncomfortable with the whole idea and had remained silent as Katie, Jon, and the Chief gave their news.

As they'd been about to say their goodnights, Doctor Hamilton had pulled him aside to comment on his reaction to the situation. Feeling somehow comfortable around the woman, he'd revealed his father's extreme homophobia, and how despite his own efforts to be more tolerant, he still had a lingering prejudice on the entire issue. The Doctor's response had been to suggest a few places on the Internex containing literature and information that may help.

Lucas had spent the entire night reading the many pages and articles to which he'd been directed, and though he knew he had yet to be completely cured of his own prejudices, he was nevertheless much more comfortable with the issue in general, particularly in light of the possible relationship between two of his closest friends.

Lucas looked disgustingly at his bunk and decided he needed some exercise to exhaust himself if he was to get any rest. With one last stretch, he gathered his towel and wetsuit and headed for the Moonpool on seadeck.

When Lucas came out of the change room, he noticed he wasn't the only person on seaQuest in the mood for a swim. He smiled as he watched the action in the water before him.

"Aww, come on. Pass it this way!"

"Get your own! Now Darwin, go get it!"

A ball was thrown across the water and the dolphin headed straight for it, using his tail to bounce the ball back to the man who'd thrown it.

"You're acting awfully possessive of that thing, you know."

"I said you could go get your own."

"Nah. I'd rather have yours."

Lucas laughed as the one man took a dive, knocking the other man over and into the water. They both came up sputtering, the one man blinking through his dripping glasses.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Lucas asked innocently.

"Lucas, good! Get in here and help me convince Mr. Catholic here to share."

"No way, Ben. The last thing I need is him halving my comm time."

Lucas hopped into the water, ignoring the I'm-never-selling-you-porno-mags-again look Ben shot him. He waded through the water, rubbing Darwin's nose when the dolphin swam up to him by way of greeting.

"Lucas play with Darwin!" the voice spoke from the vocoder on the wall.

"Yeah, Darwin. I'm here to play for a while."

"Lucas, Tim mean." The dolphin chittered in laughter.

"Hey!" Tim did his best to look indignant. Ben laughed so hard he fell over and almost started swallowing water. Tim reached out, allowing Ben to hold on to his arm so the man could regain his footing. Tim gave him a dirty look as he continued to laugh, gripping Tim's arm for dear life as he shook.

"Don't worry," Ben managed to say once he'd caught his breath. "I'll protect you, kid."

Ben tackled Tim, once again knocking him off his feet. Tim finally rose out of the water, a stern look on his face as he shook the water from his glasses. "Have you had enough yet?"

Ben stood up, his face barely an inch from Tim's, and grinned evilly. "I'll never get enough!"

Both men looked over at Lucas, who was bent over Darwin for support as his laughter consumed him.

"What's with him?" Tim asked, confused at the boy's reaction.

"I have no idea. Maybe he's been spending too much time with you."

"Okay, that's it!" Tim leapt at Ben, grabbing his arms and holding them behind his back.

"Come on, Tim. Let go."

"What do you say?"

"You're acting like a child."

"You should know; you're the expert. Now, what do you say?"

"How about ‘let me go or I'll kiss you.' That usually works for me," a voice called from the doorway.

The two men separated, blushing and embarrassed at having been caught playing around. Ben's sheepish look turned into a smile as he recognized the woman who had spoken. "Doctor Hamilton! What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd visit with that dolphin you introduced me to earlier. I didn't know I'd get a free show too. I'm guessing," the woman began, turning her gaze on Tim, "that you're Tim O'Neill, right?"

Tim nodded, still looking rather sheepish. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, your friends describe you pretty well. Hi Lucas." Lucas nodded and smiled in greeting. "Now, where's that dolphin?" The Doctor's face shone with delight as Darwin popped out of the water before her. "Hello, Darwin."

"Alyssa," the voice answered from the vocoder.

Doctor Hamilton spent a few moments with Darwin, then turned to leave.

"Hey, Doctor, you're not leaving already," Ben pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Krieg, but I'm not really in the mood for much company at the moment. I'll leave you boys to your games." With a final smile, she left the room.

Ben turned to look at a grimacing Tim, whose arms were crossed over his chest. "What's wrong?"

"Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"Of what?"

"Fawning over every female that boards this ship. God forbid you should ever get to know just one of them instead of flirting with every woman you meet."

"Oh, you're just jealous because none of them ever give you a second look." Ben's attitude flared. Lucas watched the exchange wide-eyed, realizing Tim *was* jealous — just not of Ben.

"Yeah, and you crash and burn the moment you open that mouth of yours."

"Well, at least I've got the guts to open my mouth. And anyway, I wasn't flirting, I was being nice — something I though you knew a little about."

"You could have fooled me."

"Hell, she's not even my type. And I'm definitely not hers."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Let's just say she's more likely to hit on Katie or Dr. Westphalen than any of us."

"Well, how would you know?!"

"Umm, well, I..." Ben said, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "Okay, I hit on her. Can you blame me?"

"Hmph!" Tim puffed out.

"What's with you anyway? Are you feeling all right?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't know. I'm fine. I'm just... tired, I guess."

"You're not the only one," Ben said, looking at a sleepy Lucas. "Why don't you let Lucas walk you back to your room, and get some sleep before your next shift."

Lucas watched Ben turn his gaze back on Tim, looking concerned for his friend. Ben tried to lay a hand on Tim's shoulder, but was immediately brushed off. Lucas couldn't help but notice the differing degrees of confusion in both men's eyes.

"I'll be fine. I just need to get out of the water. I'm shriveling up like a raisin in here."

Ben's eyes saddened slightly as Tim got up and out of the water. "Okay, if you say so."

Tim grabbed a towel and started wiping off his glasses. Once able to see clearly, he looked back at Ben. "Look, I'll see you at 17:00 hours like I promised, okay?"

Ben grinned half-heartedly. "Sure. You go get some rest."

With a small smile, Tim left for the change room. Lucas watched as Ben began swimming laps, oblivious to all but the water and the thoughts in his head. Not wanting to disturb him, Lucas got up and headed off to change. He had a lot to think about when he returned to his quarters, and he doubted he would get much sleep before his next shift.


* * *


Miguel sat on the bridge, checking over the readings from Junior and Loner. He smiled as he heard a familiar voice over his headset.

"Hey Mig, have you heard about the latest Norris film?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, nodding to himself. "I don't care how old he's getting, he'll never be too old to play Walker."

"It's not like it's that rare, Mig. Remember when Sean Connery came back to play James Bond at 80? My mother was ecstatic."

"Yeah, but Connery's no Chuck Norris."

"Are you guys talking about Walker XV: Ranger's Revenge?" a voice asked over the two men's headsets.

"Yeah," Tim replied hesitantly. "I didn't take you for a Norris fan, Lucas."

"Hey, I like karate as much as the next guy."

"More importantly," Miguel broke in, "what are you doing on this channel?"

"Oh that," Lucas dismissed. "I'm bored."

"Well young man," Tim and Miguel heard the voice distantly over their speakers and immediately turned to look at Lucas, who was sitting with the Captain leaning over his shoulder. "We can certainly fix that."

"Yes sir."

Tim and Miguel glanced at each other from their stations and smiled, amused at the resigned tone of Lucas' voice just before he switched off their channel.

"So, is Loner coming up with anything interesting?"

"Nah. Any messages coming in?"

"Just a comm from Crocker's wife."

"How're they coming along?"

"Don't ask."

"That good, huh?"

Before the two men could continue, the ship was shaken, pulled to a halt for several seconds before continuing just as suddenly.

"What the hell just happened," Bridger barked from the center seat. "Report."

"Communications is on the fritz, Sir," Tim called out. "Something is interfering with the lines."

"I've got something coming in from Loner, Captain," Miguel added. "Apparently we caught onto something floating in the water. It looks like some sort of netting that was stuck to the rocks on the ocean floor, and it came loose after it caught on us."

"Is there any danger to the ship?" the Captain asked.

"I don't think so, Sir," Miguel replied.

"Wait a minute," Lucas added from the back of the bridge. "This isn't any ordinary netting. This stuff's got an electrical charge."

"Who would be crazy enough to do something like that?" Miguel asked.

"There were a few made back in the late 20th century. The idea was to capture and kill sharks with the belief that the animals were harmful to humans. In reality, there was never any real threat, but some believe the paranoia came about from a series of corny horror movies."

"Some people will believe anything," Captain Bridger said. "Lieutenant, how are communications coming along?"

"Not well, Sir. I think the netting must have caught on the starboard communications hub. I'm trying to reroute but..."

The crew jumped as the communications station erupted in a shower of sparks and loud noises. Miguel flew out of his seat at the scent of burnt flesh and rushed to his best friend's side.

"Tim! Can you hear me?"

"Lucas," Bridger commanded, "find a way to contact Medbay and get them to send a team immediately!"

"Yes Sir."

The crew watched silently as Miguel knelt by the prone figure of his best friend, checking to see how badly he was injured. He placed two fingers at Tim's neck to feel for a pulse.

"Oh God, his heart's stopped. I need help here!"

Commander Ford came down from his position to kneel beside Miguel. "I'll breathe, you count."

The two men immediately fell into the rhythm they'd been trained to follow, Miguel pressing his hands over his friend's chest and the Commander trying to encourage the unconscious man's breathing. It wasn't long before a medical team came in headed by Dr. Levin, and the group immediately took over from the two men. Dr. Levin grabbed a pair of paddles from one of the kits and placed them against Tim's chest. Before long, the team had the commtech's heart beating again and he was breathing, however erratically. They lifted Tim onto a stretcher and started on their journey to Medbay, with Miguel following close behind.

As they made their way through the ship's halls, the group passed by the strolling form of Ben Krieg, who immediately grabbed onto Miguel's arm.

"What happened?"

"An accident at Tim's station on the bridge. He was hit by some kind of electrical charge and it stopped his heart. We're heading to Medbay now."

"I'm coming too."

Miguel didn't even think of arguing and simply nodded, continuing his path behind the medical team with Krieg at his side. Once they'd arrived in Medbay, Dr. Westphalen closed the door on the two men before they could follow their friend into the operating room.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but you'll have to wait out here. We won't be able to help him with the two of you in the way."

Two hours of nervous pacing, idle conversation, and several cups of coffee later, Dr. Westphalen came back out, smiling at the waiting men.

"He's going to be all right. His hands are a little singed, but other than that, the shock did minimal damage to his system. And since the two of you have been such good boys," she said sarcastically, "I'll let you in to see him. He should be waking up any moment now. If you need me, I'll be in my office catching up with my old friends, Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes."

The men filed into the room, uncomfortable at seeing their friend lying with wires hooked up to his limbs and bandages around his hands. Ben was the first to shake off his discomfort and, grabbing a chair, taking a place beside Tim's bed. Miguel, leaning against the wall, looked up at the sound of Dr. Levin muttering to himself as he wrote a few comments on a clipboard.

"Thanks Doc. You're a real miracle worker. I bet you could even bring the dead back to life."

"That's my job, Mr. Ortiz," the dark man smiled. With a nod, he left the men to their vigil.

Two sets of eyes settled on the bed as a soft moan echoed in the room. Ben instinctively grabbed onto the nearest bandaged hand.

"Hey, Tim, welcome back."

"Where am I?" Tim asked weakly.

"You're in Medbay. You had a nasty accident on the bridge, but you're going to be okay now."

Miguel watched as Ben smiled down at their friend. Tim's eyes fluttered open, resting on the man sitting beside his bed. "How'd you get here, Ben? You weren't even on the bridge."

"I met up with you guys on the way down here. I couldn't exactly go back to work while my buddy was hurt, now could I."

"Thanks, Ben." Tim closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them, seeing Miguel for the first time. "Hey Mig. Is the ship okay?"

Miguel nodded. The Captain had contacted him while he and Ben had waited, updating him on the status of the ship. The netting was already being removed and the communications station was under repair.

"Don't worry about it. The ship's fine. You just get your rest and get better."

Tim nodded, then turned back to Ben. "How'd the meeting go with Kronenberg?"

"I had to cancel it."

"How come?"

"Because I couldn't concentrate on it knowing you were in here."

"Ben, I'm fine. Just a little well-done. You should have taken the meeting anyway."

"No way. You're more important than some silly meeting."

"Well, I'm not exactly a Siren calling you away from duty or anything."

"You might as well be. You know I can't deny you anything when you turn those puppy eyes on me..."

Miguel watched in shock at the exchange between the men, barely hearing a word of what they were saying. He watched the emotions flickering in each man's gaze as they looked at the other. He saw the way Ben held onto Tim's hand and the way Tim took comfort from Ben's presence. He couldn't help the tight ball of dark emotions that churned in his stomach.

*It happened so gradually that I didn't even see it,* he thought. *Sure my best friend was back after talking to Ben, but I kept seeing less and less of him. It's bad enough that I got him back just to lose him to another friend — but to lose him to *this!* This is just so wrong! How could he even think of doing anything, feeling anything for another man?*

Disgustedly, Miguel left the room. Tim called out for Miguel when he realized his friend was leaving, but the Cuban was too far to hear.

"What's wrong with Mr. Ortiz?" Dr. Westphalen asked as she entered the room.

"I don't know," Tim answered. "He just left."

"Well, perhaps he simply didn't like to see his friend with his hands all bandaged up." The Doctor smiled widely as her gaze passed over Tim's bandaged hands, noticing how the one was still being held gently by Ben. "How are you feeling, Mr. O'Neill?"

"I'm all right."

"Good. Now Mr. Krieg, you can stay for a few more minutes, but you will have to leave so that Mr. O'Neill can get his rest."

"Yes, Doctor," Ben answered begrudgingly.

Dr. Westphalen nodded then headed off for her office. She chuckled to herself. *They do make a cute couple, don't they.*


* * *


Lucas hopped from foot to foot, waiting for the door before him to open. He knocked again, impatient to meet up with his friends.

"Come on, Ortiz. We've got to meet with the others. They're waiting for us."

The door opened suddenly and Lucas jumped back in surprise.

"I'm not coming. Just go on without me."

"Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine. Just go."

"But why? The others are expecting you."

"Lucas, I'm out, okay? I've had enough of this. I refuse to be a party to it any longer."

"What are you talking about?"

"This whole disgusting thing with Tim and Ben. I'm out, okay? Just leave me alone."

Lucas looked on in shock as Miguel closed the door. He stood there several moments, trying to figure out what could have upset his friend so much. The troubled look in Miguel's eyes was hard to ignore. He took a deep breath and started towards Commander Hitchcock's quarters.

To the teenager's dismay, he was the last to arrive.

"Hey, Lucas," Commander Ford greeted. "Where's Ortiz?"

"He's not coming. He says he's out."

"Out?" Katie asked, confused. "What do you mean, out?"

"He says he's tired of the whole thing with Tim and Ben. He looked really upset. I'm worried about him."

"Oh, I should have known this would happen," Doctor Westphalen said, shaking her head. "That boy just oozes machismo. I don't know why it comes as a surprise that he'd be disturbed by this, especially when it's so obvious now."

"Obvious?" Commander Ford broke in. "Do you know something we don't, Doctor?"

"Oh, you should have seen the dears in Medbay. I had to call in Dr. Levin to drag Ben from Tim's side. Tim was finally asleep, but Ben just wouldn't leave. He just kept holding onto the one bandaged hand, murmuring to himself. It was just so obvious how they felt about each other. You would have to be blind not to see it, and even then you could feel it in the air."

"Well," Doctor Hamilton spoke up from across the room, "I guess you have your answer then."

"I don't know," Lucas said. "Something just doesn't seem right. None of you were in the moonpool with us the other day. Doctor Hamilton came in for a couple of minutes to see Darwin, and after she left, things got weird."

"How do you mean?" Alyssa asked. "Everything seemed fine when I left."

"Tim started acting really jealous and he and Ben started arguing, and when Ben admitted to hitting on you..."

"He hit on you?" Katie asked, shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"The last thing the poor guy needed was for his ex-wife to know he'd been shot down," the Doctor answered.

"Anyway," Lucas continued, "that isn't the weirdest part. That came when Ben called Tim on his strange behaviour. They both looked so confused. I don't even think Tim had a clue why he was acting the way he did."

"Well," Dr. Westphalen interjected, "we don't always know how we're going to act with a loved one, now do we."

"I know that, but there was just something off, you know?"

"Oh my God!" The entire group turned to stare at a belly-laughing Chief Crocker. "I bet that's it, too."

"What are you laughing about, Mr. Crocker?" Dr. Westphalen asked.

The man took a few deep breaths before answering. "Well, from the looks of things, we have plenty of evidence that the two boys have feelings for each other, but no evidence of an actual relationship, am I right?" Everybody nodded. "I think it's hilarious. Everyone on the ship can see it except them."

"What are you saying?" Commander Ford asked impatiently.

"I'm saying they probably don't even have a clue. In their minds, I bet they're thinking they're just really close friends. Then one day, they'll wake up and realize that what they thought were feelings of one kind, were in fact another — that they'd fallen in love and didn't even realize it."

The entire room stared in silence, taking in what Crocker had said. Katie was the first to smile.

"I knew there had to be a softie underneath that uniform."

"Just don't let it get out, Commander."

"And you really think that's what has happened," Dr. Westphalen said.

"Yeah. I think it was when the Captain bet against them being together that got me thinking along those lines."

"The Captain bet against the crew?" Commander Ford asked.

"Yep. Said he knew his crew, and that they weren't together. I trust the Cap's instincts."

"He's going to clean up," Lucas threw in.

"That's for sure," Ford added.

"So what are we going to do with this information?" Dr. Westphalen finally asked.

"I say," Katie began, "why wait until they wake up? Why not help them realize it now?"

"Oh no," Dr. Westphalen objected, "I'm not going to play Cupid for this crew, no matter how cute they are together."

"The Doctor's right," Crocker agreed. "I think we've gone far enough as it is."

"Well, it was just a suggestion," Katie sighed. "I guess that mean's this ‘war council' is dissolved."

The group rose, said their goodbyes, and started making their way out of Commander Hitchcock's quarters. She took hold of Commander Ford's arm just as he was the last to leave.

"So, how about it, Jonathan? Are you with me?"

"You've really got your mind set on this, don't you." She nodded. "You're sneaky, Lieutenant Commander. It's a good think I like that in my officers."

"Then you're in."

"Definitely."

The two officers shook hands, grinning at each other.

"So, Katie, where do we start?"

"Figuring that out is our first step."

"And after that?"

"Figuring out how to get away with it."


* * *


"Are you sure this is going to work? They're sure to suspect something the moment they get here."

"Not necessarily. Either way, it'll be fun." Katie pulled the match away from the newly-lit candle and blew out the flame. She smiled as she gazed upon her handiwork. The storage room was lit entirely by row after row of candles, illuminating the table and chairs set up in the center. She checked the bucket in which a bottle of wine sat and was satisfied the ice hadn't melted. After one last sniff at the roses she'd appropriated from the ship's tiny arboretum, she pulled away from the table and turned to Jon.

"They should be here any second now."

"Good. Why don't you start the music, then we'll pop into the side room before they arrive."

As the soft strains of Frank Sinatra's voice wafted through the room, Jon and Katie quickly entered the tiny room where they would have an excellent view of the storage room. They weren't waiting long before a whistling Ben arrived. He took a look around the room with raised eyebrows, finally stopping at the table.

"Well, look what we have here. Whoever gave me that message sure has nice taste."

"Ben?"

Ben turned and smiled at the new arrival. "I should have known it was you. What's the occasion?"

"What are you talking about? Wait a minute, is that the good stuff?" Tim approached the table and examined the label on the bottle of wine. He looked quite well, showing no signs of his short stay in Medbay several days earlier. "Ben, you really go all out, don't you."

"I didn't do this. You did."

"No I didn't. I got a note saying there would be a surprise for me down here."

"So did I."

The two men looked at each other, then turned their gazes to the table.

"Well," Ben began, "somebody wanted to do something nice for us. It would be rude to refuse."

"It would be very rude," Tim agreed, eyeing a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries while licking his lips unconsciously.

The men sat down, Ben popping the cork on the wine as Tim plucked one of the strawberries from the bowl, taking a bite and savouring the taste. His low moan of satisfaction caused Ben to spill some of the wine as he poured it into his own glass.

"Good?"

"Oh yeah," Tim growled.

Ben chuckled softly as he moved to fill Tim's glass. Once done, he took a sip of the wine, smiling as he relaxed. "Hey, Tim, isn't that Sinatra?"

Tim's eyes unfocused as he concentrated on the soft music, just making out a few words... ‘But why should I try to resist, when Baby I know so well..."

"Katie?" Jon whispered in her ear.

"Yes?"

"Could I have this dance?"

Smiling, she turned away from her view of the men in the main room. She offered her hand to Jon, who immediately took it and twirled her once before sweeping her into his arms and moving to the soft music.

"I never knew you could dance so well," Katie spoke softly.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."

The two continued to move, caught up in the crooner's tune, eyes locked in the room lit only by the candlelight flowing in from the next room. The song finished, but the two didn't move from each other's side. Katie lifted her lips to press them against Jon's, and for several moments, the rest of the world faded away.

When they finally separated and remembered the reason they were hiding out in the small room, they realized they'd missed something.

Ben was now sitting at the table alone, nibbling on a strawberry while staring at the door. They realized Tim must have been called away while they'd been distracted. They watched as Ben dejectedly threw down the fruit in his hand and ran the other hand through his hair.

"Damn it, Krieg, what's gotten into you," the man said to himself. "He's the closest thing you've got to a best friend around here, so of course you've got to think of a way to screw things up. You've got to stop thinking like this. It doesn't matter how his face glows in the candlelight, or how his smile brightens up your worst days, or how you prefer his company to a good game of poker..."

Ben's monologue trailed off as his face fell into his cupped hands.

"It looks like somebody's finally waking up," Katie whispered.

"He's not the only one," Jon replied, running a hand along Katie's arm.

"I must say, I like your wake-up calls, Commander."

"If you like that," his breath whispered into her ear, "just wait till you get one of my REAL wake-up calls."

Feeling a shiver run up her spine, she turned to capture Jon's lips once more.


* * *


Tim walked onto seadeck and smiled at Lucas. "The Captain said you needed my help?"

"Yeah. I was doing some tests on the vocoder when there was some sort of electrical discharge. Now, all that comes out is gibberish — to me, anyway." Lucas walked over to the moonpool and Tim followed. "I was hoping you could take a listen and see if you recognized it as an actual language. If so, that could lead us to a way to fix this."

"No problem. Where's Darwin?"

"On his way. Now, here's where I think the problem started..."

After the dolphin had arrived and they'd performed a few tests, they were relieved to discover that the vocoder was still translating Darwin's speech, only into Russian rather than English. Lucas had been able to trace the problem back to some of the circuits in the moonpool microphones that picked up the animal's natural speech. The two had to get into their wetsuits to reach the circuits, but thankfully the work didn't take too long. Tim leaned against the side of the pool as Lucas closed up the circuit-board, and his ears perked up as he heard a pair of ensigns step into the room, chatting, oblivious to him and Lucas in the moonpool.

"Rosie, remind me again why we're doing this?"

"Because we're ensigns, Gil. Do you actually think they'd make the Lieutenants take inventory?"

"I wish. They should make Wolenczak do this. Make the kid useful for once."

Tim chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, well we all know how he plays the Captain. Speaking of which, he's really cleaned up from what I've seen."

"You mean the pool? Yeah, who'd have thought he'd make a bet."

"More importantly, who'd have thought the rest of us would lose? I swear, anyone who's ever seen Krieg and O'Neill in the same room would have thought the same thing."

Tim's eyebrows twisted together in confusion. *What on earth are they talking about?* he thought.

"Well, not everyone's got as dirty a mind as you do, Rosie. I for one would rather not think about it. I don't have anything against queers, but that doesn't mean I want to spend all my time talking about them."

"What, you don't want to talk about why they aren't screwing around?"

"No."

"Or which one shot the other down? My bet's on O'Neill."

"No."

"What about how I heard that the bridge crew were holding war sessions, trying to figure out what was happening?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. All the way from Ford to Wolenczak. Ortiz backed out at the last minute from what I hear, but I saw them all in Hitchcock's quarters. I even overheard her telling how she was trying to get O'Neill to blush on the bridge..."

Lucas had frozen as he'd overheard the tail end of the ensigns' conversation. He'd finished closing the circuit-board and was turning toward Tim when he'd heard his name mentioned. Now, he looked up into his friend's pain-filled eyes.

"Tim, I can explain..."

"Forget it, Lucas. Just, forget it."

Tim pulled himself up onto the deck, followed closely by a worried Lucas. He was so angry, he didn't see the shocked expressions on the ensigns' faces. Wanting to be as far away from the teen as possible, he left the room without even changing out of his wetsuit.

"Damn it!" Lucas yelled. The teen seemed to close in on himself as the ensigns looked on worriedly.

"Hey, kid. You okay?"

"Just leave me alone!" Lucas stomped out of the room, looking as miserable as he felt.

"Man Rosie, the kid looks terrible. Like he just lost his best friend or something."

"I think he just did."


* * *


Miguel was lost in thought as he wandered down the hallway. He didn't really know, or care, where he was going. It had been a few days since he'd blown up at Lucas and he felt bad about the incident. However, he felt even worse about what he'd found out about his best friend. *Former best friend,* he corrected himself.

He hadn't spoken to Tim since the incident in Medbay. He knew the commtech was confused, and he hated causing the man any kind of pain, but he just couldn't deal with his friend being attracted to other men. It just wasn't right. It was disgusting and unmanly, and Miguel felt that to even associate with the man would be a blow to his manhood.

He just wished he didn't miss Tim so much.

Miguel was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't see a figure barreling around a corner and into the corridor until they'd literally met head-on, both landing on their backsides. Miguel shook his head, shaking off his disorientation. As he heard a low moan, he looked over to where the other figure lay sprawled on his back, arms stretched out as if searching for something — his missing glasses.

"Tim? Hey, Tim, you okay?"

"Miguel? Is that you?"

"Yeah." The Cuban spotted the stranded glasses and passed them back to their owner.

"Thanks. Now get the hell away from me."

Miguel sat back on his heels, confused at his friend's reaction. "Are you really okay?"

"Like you care. Then again, you've got to keep your nose right in the middle of my life, now don't you!" Tim's voice rose as he pulled himself up off the floor, droplets of water flying from his wetsuit. "You, and Ford, and Hitchcock, and Lucas, and pretty much the whole damned ship!"

*Oh shit,* Miguel thought to himself. *He knows.* "Well, I'm not the one screwing around with my male friend!" Miguel instinctively took the defensive as he rose from his crouch. "What the hell did you expect?"

"You know, that's the worst part of all this. Not only is everyone talking about me behind my back, but it's not even the truth! I have no idea why you think there's something between me and Ben, but there isn't. Nothing! Not a single thing!"

"But you want there to be something, don't you!"

"No! We're just friends, that's all!" Tim panted a few moments, trying to catch his breath after his tirade. "And after all this, I doubt it would be prudent to be even that."

Miguel watched his friend with wide eyes. *He sounds like he's trying to convince himself,* a little voice in the back of his head commented, but was drowned out by an even louder voice. *No. He's doing the right thing. Miguel, you should have trusted him to know this is wrong. Now you have to help him stay on the right path.*

"I'm sorry," Miguel offered. "I knew there was something wrong with all this from the very beginning."

"Is that why you pulled out?"

"Yeah."

The two men stood there for several moments, simply staring at one another. After one final deep breath, Tim managed to extend an arm to Miguel. Ortiz tentatively took the hand he was being offered and shook it. Almost simultaneously, both men's mouths twitched up in the beginnings of smiles.

"You doing anything right now, Tim?" Miguel asked, letting go of his friend's hand.

"After I get into some decent clothes? Not really."

"Good. I'll meet you in your quarters in a few minutes. I just got this new Machistas cd you've got to hear."

"Sounds good."

The two men parted temporarily with smiles on their faces. It had been far too long since they'd simply ‘hung out' with one another.


* * *


Katie sighed, placing the bowl containing a strange, orange substance on her tray. SeaQuest had just left the underwater complex near the Canary Islands after dropping off Dr. Hamilton, and Katie was already missing her new/old friend. It was nice to have another female around to talk to about her stories in between plottings.

She turned with her tray and headed for the table where Jonathan, Ben and Lucas sat, and she couldn't keep the worry from her mind. It had been a week since she and Jonathan had set up the interlude in the storage room, and both Ben and Lucas had been withdrawn and distracted ever since. Neither of them had been forthcoming as to what was bothering them, no matter how much she tried to get it out. What worried her even more was that none of them had been able to speak to Tim once since that day. She had no clue what had happened, but she knew when she was being avoided. She stopped at the table and took a seat between Jonathan and Ben.

After a couple of failed attempts to draw Lucas and Ben out of their sulking, Katie concentrated on a conversation with Jonathan. She groaned as she saw a pair of ensigns approach from the corner of her eye. She couldn't stand those two. She seriously doubted there were any bigger gossips and sycophants on the entire ship.

"Hello, Commanders! Enjoying your lunch?"

"Commander Ford, looking handsome as usual. And Commander Hitchcock, how on earth do you get your hair to look so nice on a daily basis?"

Katie and Jonathan rolled their eyes before turning to the two ensigns.

"Ensign Rosencrantz. Ensign Gildenstern," Jonathan greeted. "Is there anything we can help you with?"

"Actually, Commander," Gil replied, "we came to speak to Lucas."

The blond head lifted to allow a pair of blue eyes to glare at the ensigns. "I don't feel much like talking to either of you."

Katie watched with curious eyes, thinking that she was finally getting a clue as to what had been bothering Lucas all week.

"Look, Lucas," Rosie started, "we just wanted to apologize. We had no clue either of you were there. If we did, we wouldn't have said a word."

"Though it was worth it just to see O'Neill's face as he ran off," Gil murmured loud enough for everyone to hear.

All of a sudden, everyone but Lucas looked up at the ensigns with questioning eyes.

"Cut it out," Rosie said, smacking Gil on the arm. "Now, Lucas, as I was saying, I'm sorry we freaked Tim out. I know it's not much of a consolation, but I'd have thought he'd have found out about the poll and the bets by now."

"Poll?" Ben interjected. "Bets?"

Gil started laughing. "No! Don't tell me Krieg doesn't know either!"

"Know about what?" Ben demanded.

Katie and Jonathan's eyes wandered, looking everywhere but at their friend as Lucas' forehead slammed against the table.

Gil's laughing stopped abruptly as Rosie's fingers locked on his earlobe. "I would like to apologize for my friend. He always lets his mouth run away with him."

The group at the table watched as Rosie dragged Gil away by his ear, the man whining the whole way.

"Guys?" Ben asked. "What were they talking about? And what's this got to do with Tim?"

Katie didn't know whether to panic because their secret was out, or smile wickedly at Ben's concern for Tim. Tim... who had overheard Rosie and Gil... who had freaked out over the news... who hadn't spoken to any of them since, and she finally knew why.

Katie's forehead landed not too far from Lucas' on the table.

Jonathan coughed loudly under Ben's scrutiny. After several moments, he resigned himself to do his duty as Commander of seaQuest. "Ben, there has been some... speculation about the exact nature of your relationship with Tim."

Ben blanched, never asking about what kind of speculation. "What did Tim hear?"

Jonathan looked over at Lucas, who was only now raising his head off the table. "He heard about the ship-wide pool, didn't he." Lucas nodded. "No wonder he's freaked out. We all know how much he values his privacy."

"That's not all," Lucas moaned, laying his face in his hands.

"What else could there be?" Katie asked. "Unless... Oh no!" She winced at Lucas' nod.

"What?" Ben demanded. "What else did he hear?"

"Umm, Ben," Katie explained, "a few of us were kind of trying to figure out the truth for ourselves."

Ben looked at his ex-wife with a blank expression. "The candles, that was you." Katie opened her mouth to respond, but was stopped as Ben rose from his seat. "Excuse me. I think I need some time alone."

Katie tried to rise to follow the departing man, but was held back by a hand on her arm. "He needs time to think, Katie," Jonathan soothed.

"Umm, guys?" Jonathan and Katie looked over at Lucas. "What's this about candles?"


* * *


"... and she said they had this great house on the beach they'd take us to the next time we stop in there."

"Uh huh."

"She says Larissa's really cute and just can't wait to meet you."

"Uh huh."

"And last I checked, we'll be stopping around there in a couple week's time, so we won't have to wait that long."

Miguel stopped talking when he noticed his companion nodding mechanically, not really listening to what he was saying. He sighed. He'd spent the last week trying to cheer the man up, but to no avail. He remained as distracted as the day Miguel had bumped into him in the halls, wearing nothing but a soaked wetsuit.

*Maybe it's time to get him to talk*, he thought.

"Tim?"

The man's head rose from the desk at which he sat. "Yeah, Mig?"

Before any words could leave his mouth, Miguel was interrupted by a knock at the door. He exhaled and turned to see who was there as he opened the door.

"Yeah?"

"Ortiz. Hey."

"Ben." Miguel quickly kept the door half-closed so that the Morale Officer couldn't see the other man in his quarters. "What can I do for you?"

"I... I mean that... I was wondering if... Is Tim okay?"

"Yeah, of course he is. Why wouldn't he be?"

"Well, I just found out that he recently heard some... disturbing news, and I haven't been able to talk to him all week, so I have no idea how he's taking it. I know he's been spending a lot of time with you, so I thought you'd be able to let me know."

*He didn't know and now he's worried about Tim*, the little voice in Miguel's mind called out louder than before. *But you saw him, Tim's doing fine without Ben, without any of them. All he needs is your friendship,* the louder voice retorted.

"He's doing fine, Ben. I wouldn't worry about him."

Ben half-smiled. "All right. You take care of him, okay Ortiz?"

"I always do."

"Yeah, you do. I'll see you around. You're a good guy, Miguel."

Something twisted inside Miguel's gut at that last comment as he closed the door to his quarters. He took a deep breath, but the feeling wouldn't go away. He turned around to continue speaking to Tim but froze.

Tim's hands covered his face, fingers rubbing his eyes behind the frames of his glasses. He was taking deep shuddering breaths in an attempt to gain control over himself. Miguel was torn. He wanted to walk over there, wrap his arms around his best friend, and tell the man everything was all right. He wanted to take all the pain away. But he couldn't. He had been trying all week and had only succeeded in producing a few short-lived smiles. Yet the mere sound of concern in Ben's voice had been enough to cause such a strong reaction in Tim.

"Tim?"

The hands pulled away from the red face, revealing a tired, yet remarkably dry face. "I'm sorry, Mig. I'm... I'm feeling really tired. I think I'll head back to my room."

"Are you sure you're ok?"

Tim rose and approached the door, which Miguel reluctantly reopened. "I'll be fine. I just need a little rest." Tim rushed past him, trying to hide his face from Miguel's concerned eyes. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Miguel closed the door after him, then sat himself down on his bunk. He rested his face in his hand, his mind filled with turmoil as he was suddenly able to empathize with all the cartoons he'd watched while growing up, feeling as if he himself had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. He simply couldn't decide which was which.

*You saw him, Miguel. He's miserable, and even you couldn't help him. He needs what only Ben can give him. Love.*

*Forget it! He's getting exactly what he deserves! God is punishing him and he knows it. He knew the consequences of these... feelings better than anyone else.*

*But it's not just any feelings. It's love. You saw how much Ben cared for him, and how much he cared in return. How can love like that be wrong?*

*Because it is! It's dirty, unnatural, and completely and utterly wrong! You know it, Tim knows it, everyone on this ship knows it. It's not your fault they'd rather deny the truth.*

*Is it also wrong that people with different coloured skin love each other? Is it wrong for women to have lives and careers away from their kitchens? How many things that were once thought of as wrong are now okay? And how can you say one is justified while the other isn't?*

*Because it is! Do you know what it would mean to accept this as being okay?*

*It would mean Mom and Dad were wrong. It would mean that much of what you were brought up to believe was wrong, which scares you. And it would mean that Pablo's family was wrong to send him away...*

Miguel squeezed his eyes shut from the onslaught of words from his own mind. Tears squeezed through as he was forced to remember the boy that had been his best friend for most of his childhood. He shook his head wildly, trying to rid himself of the memories. He rose and made his way to the head, hoping a hot shower would bring him back to the present. However, the moment the pulsing water worked its way under his skin, the memories returned.

The two boys had been virtually inseparable most of their lives. They'd been twelve years old and had been studying for a test in Pablo's room one night when, much to Miguel's surprise, his friend had leaned over and kissed him. He'd been in shock, neither acting nor reacting, and Pablo had kissed him a second time, moments before the bedroom door had swung open to admit the boy's mother. Pablo had reiterated over and over that Miguel had done nothing wrong, and though Miguel's parents came to believe the boy's adamant pleas, they'd still sat with their son for several hours, emphasizing why what Pablo had done was wrong.

Miguel never saw Pablo again. The boy's parents had sent him away immediately to a military academy in the hopes that the new environment would rid the boy of his ‘improper' desires. For several years, Miguel and Pablo had kept in touch through letters, until one day the letters had stopped with no warning. Miguel had felt abandoned by his friend until he'd returned home from school to find his father waiting in the kitchen with a newspaper open on the table. He'd motioned Miguel to sit and read.

Pablo had been killed. The ‘accident', as the academy had called it, was obviously a murder. Miguel had asked his father why nothing was being done to find Pablo's real killer, and the man had answered, "Nobody asked, so nobody told."

Miguel reached out to shut off the water. As he dried his face, he thought of his friendship with Tim. They were both in the Navy, and both worked with the knowledge that there was a chance that one of them could die in the line of duty. Miguel could handle that. He *didn't* know if he could handle another death like Pablo's.


* * *


Lucas' eyes lost their focus for a moment as his hand rubbed across his face, giving him a moment's reprieve from the harsh glare of the computer screen. He took a deep breath, his eyes once again finding their place in the long strings of complicated numbers and letters, only to have his concentration broken by a knock at the door. If he hadn't been so tired, he'd have never heard the knock, however lack of sleep, strangely enough, improved his hearing.

Rolling his head to stretch the tired muscles in his neck, he rose and opened the door, only to freeze.

"Ben."

"Hey, kid. Working late again, as usual."

Lucas couldn't move. Ben was the last person he'd thought would show up at his door, especially after everything that had happened. "Yeah. What do you want, Ben?"

Ben took a deep breath, his teeth pulling on his bottom lip for a moment before he spoke. "I wanted to talk. Can I come in?"

With a nod, Lucas moved back to let Ben through the door, closing it behind the man. His eyes followed the Lieutenant as he walked into the room, finally sitting upon the chair Lucas had just vacated. It wasn't until Ben made a gesture at Lucas' bunk that the teenager realized he'd spent several moments just standing there, staring at Ben. With a bit of trepidation, Lucas hopped onto the mattress, readying himself for whatever words Ben would throw at him. *Come on, Wolenczak,* he thought, *take it like a man. You've already lost two of your best friends. How much worse can it get?* Before Lucas could open his mouth, Ben started speaking.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, kid. I'm not happy about what happened. However, I thought it only fair to give you a chance to explain. So, spill it."

For a moment, Lucas didn't know whether to be scared or relieved. Would Ben still be upset when he heard the details? Maybe, but at least Lucas was being given the chance to put things right. Taking a deep breath, Lucas started by telling Ben about the poker game, not stopping until after he'd described the scene in the moonpool with Ensigns Rosencrantz and Gildenstern. Ben sat back a moment, let out a puff of air, then let his eyes meet Lucas'.

"Well, kid, it could have been worse." The small smile that appeared on Ben's face melted away all of Lucas' fear. "And, it's not half as bad as I'd feared."

"So you're not mad?"

"A little, but not at you guys. Most of you anyway. Now Katie, that's another story... I'm going to have to plan my revenge very carefully."

"Just go easy on Commander Ford. I'm not sure he knew what he was getting into."

"Don't worry. I more than anyone know just how ‘persuasive' our Katie can be."

"So, Ben," Lucas began after several moments of silence, "how's Tim handling all this?"

The smile fell from the lieutenant's face. "Miguel says he's doing okay. I have to take his word for it."

Lucas felt his heart sink at the pain in Ben's eyes. He was ecstatic to have his friend back, but he couldn't stand to see him hurting. Momentarily feeling brave, or stupid, Lucas decided to ask the question that had plagued him ever since he'd found out the truth about his friends.

"Ben, can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Ben only nodded and Lucas continued. "Well, umm, I was just wondering... How close to the truth were we?"

For a moment, it seemed like Ben wouldn't answer. "Between you and me, kid, okay?" Ben said after several moments, waiting for a nod from Lucas before continuing. "This whole thing's my fault. I-I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the line I developed... feelings for Tim. I've tried so hard to hide them, but I guess I didn't do a good job of it. I guess everyone just presumed they went both ways."

"How do you know they don't? Tim *did* seem kind of jealous that day in the moonpool."

"What, the patron saint of shy commtechs? Trust me, Lucas, I know Tim, and he doesn't have those kinds of feelings for me."

"But Ben, if that were the case, then how come everyone's been talking about the both of you instead of just you? I think..."

"Please, Lucas, let's just drop it, okay? Tim's been through enough already. He doesn't need us questioning him like this."

"Okay."

The two friends continued talking about anything and everything but Tim. Lucas did his best to put all thoughts of the man out of his head, but he just couldn't forget how, even now, Ben was still watching out for the commtech.


* * *


"Come in."

Captain Bridger looked away from the print-out on the table before him as the door opened, admitting the man he'd been waiting for.

"You asked for me, Sir?"

"Yes. Please, Tim, have a seat." Once the man had settled himself at the table, Nathan pushed the print-out towards him. "If I had my way, I'd just tell the sender where he could put his request. However, it's my duty to bring this to your attention."

For several moments, the room was quiet as Tim read over the paper before him. Finally his head rose, eyes full of questions. "The Trudeau, Sir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. It's a diplomatic vessel, originally launched in Halifax two years ago. Her captain, Kurtis Beers, and first mate, Wesley Clarke, are former ministers of the provincial government of New Brunswick. While the mostly-Canadian crew are fluent in both French and English, they are currently looking for a communications expert to assist them with translation to and from other languages..."

Bridger paused in his explanation to gauge the commtech's reaction. Contrary to what he'd expected, Tim seemed to actually consider the new post. He heaved a mental sigh, not willing to let go of the man so easily. Tim was good at his job, one of the best in the UEO, and completed the crew of seaQuest like no other. He couldn't imagine his ship without the man at his station.

"I know this is a difficult decision to make, Lieutenant. There are certainly advantages to leaving, most noticeably the promotion to full Lieutenant. However, the seaQuest isn't just any ship. If you would like, you can take the next day and a half until we meet with the Trudeau to decide. I'll have Commander Ford find someone to take your shifts on the bridge."

"Thank you, Sir. I think I will take the time to think about this. Is that all, Sir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. You are dismissed." Tim rose and made his way to the door. "And Lieutenant?"

"Yes Sir?"

"I'm here if you need someone to talk to."

"Thank you, Sir, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

Nathan watched as Tim closed the door behind him, hoping he hadn't just lost a vital member of his crew.

* * *

*SPLASH!*

Water sprayed from the moonpool as a bright red ball was smacked off the surface and into a pair of waiting hands. The ball bounced from one hand to the other until their owner finally sent it sailing back toward the water.

"You know, I think it'll be good for me. New ship, new crew..."

"No. Tim stay with Darwin."

Tim sighed and shook his head. He watched his bare feet paddle in the cool salt water as his thoughts kept spinning.

"I'll miss you too, Darwin, but sometimes it's just time to move on."

"Darwin no go. Darwin stay. Tim stay."

"It'll be better for everyone if I go, Darwin."

"No. Darwin miss Tim. Miguel and Ben miss Tim."

"They'll get along fine without me, Darwin." Tim frowned as the dolphin directed a splash at his face. He pulled off his glasses and wiped his face with his free hand.

He watched as Darwin swam around the moonpool, his thoughts unconsciously turning to his crewmates. He hadn't been able to face them since finding out about the bets. He'd re- established his friendship with Miguel, but he couldn't help but feel that it was causing problems between the Cuban and the rest of their crewmates. It *would* be better for everyone if he left.

And then there was Ben...

Avoiding Ben had been the hardest thing Tim had ever done. He knew it was necessary to dissolve the rumours, but it still hurt. Ben had become such a close friend, and Tim had come to care for him deeply...

But the others were wrong. It *was* just friendship he felt for the man. It was. That's why they spent so much time together. That's why they helped keep each other sane. That's why they bared their souls to each other in a way Tim never had with Miguel or anyone else. It was friendship, and if the others on the ship couldn't see that...

Tim wasn't aware of the moment he realized that it was no longer seawater he was wiping from his face, but his own tears. He felt such a pain in his chest, had for a week now, and he still couldn't explain it. He didn't hurt this much when he thought of avoiding his other friends. It was just that they'd become so close, that was all. Although, when he'd heard Ben's voice again while in Miguel's quarters...

A fresh wave of pain swept over him. His heart had leapt at the sound of that voice. The concern he'd heard had torn his heart apart. He'd longed to rush out, to tell Ben that it was all a misunderstanding and that everything would be all right. However, he had to keep the rumours at bay, because they were wrong. They were wrong.

They were wrong.

Weren't they?

* * *

Miguel watched from the entrance to the moonpool as his best friend splashed his feet around the salt water. He couldn't help but notice the wetness that surrounded Tim's red eyes. Purely on instinct, the Cuban walked over and sat cross-legged next to his friend.

"Hey, Tim, you okay?"

Tim slid his glasses back onto his face and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just doing some thinking."

"Yeah, I've been doing a bit of that myself." Tim didn't respond, and Miguel knew it was time to talk about the subject they'd both avoided for a week. "Tim, this can't go on anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Tim asked in a voice that was almost convincing in its innocence.

"Don't give me that. We've been friends too long for you to lie to me now." Miguel tried to look into Tim's face, but the man turned away. "You've always talked to me before. What's different now?"

"Nothing, Mig. I just, I need some time alone, that's all."

"Bull." With a sigh, Miguel decided to change tactics. "It's not that big a ship, Tim. You can't avoid him forever."

"I can try," Tim whispered.

"Tim, you don't have to. The ship's learned its lesson already. Nobody will think anything if you and Ben are friends again." Miguel watched as Tim's face rose a moment, and couldn't help but notice the glimmer in his friend's eyes. He felt as if his heart was being released by a fist he hadn't known was holding it. The man before him was the most important person in his life, and he could no longer deny that, no matter how scared he was of losing him, watching Tim deny himself the happiness he was due would only kill something inside them both. Taking a deep breath, he continued with the words he never thought he'd hear himself speaking. "And if, and I mean *if*, there should be anything more than friendship between the two of you, then I can do nothing less than offer my unconditional support."

Tim didn't make a sound, yet Miguel could see that tears were once again flowing freely down his cheeks. He decided it was a good time to take his leave, yet as he stood above his friend, he felt there was something left to be said. He crouched down and laid a hand on the commtech's shoulder.

"Go to him," he spoke quietly in Tim's ear. "He cares about you, and he misses you."

With a final pat on Tim's shoulder, Miguel rose and left the moonpool. A great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and deciding he was on a roll, he headed for the Mess where he knew most of his crewmates would be attempting to eat one of the galley's excuses for dinner.

As he'd said to Tim, this couldn't go on any longer.

* * *

Katie smiled, listening to yet another of Chief Crocker's stories about his earlier days in the navy and wishing Jonathan weren't on bridge duty. This one was about an incident on his very first tour with the American Navy, when his vessel encountered a Russian submarine for the first time after the dismantling of the Soviet Union. She had to admit, he was one fine storyteller. The way he described the tension, the anger and the residual prejudices of the time, she almost felt as if she'd actually been there.

Looking around the table, she noticed that something else had caught Lucas' attention. Following his line of sight, she almost gasped in surprise. There, slowly approaching the table with a mug of coffee in his hands, was Miguel Ortiz. Within moments, he'd stopped at the table's end, and one by one, all eyes turned to him.

"Umm, hi guys. I was wondering if there was an empty seat."

Four heads nodded and everyone moved so that Miguel could take a seat between Lucas and Doctor Westphalen. "How have you been, Mr. Ortiz?" Kristin began.

"I guess I've been okay," he replied, smiling for the Doctor. "I... I think I owe all of you an apology. I know I've got a few... things to work out, but that was no excuse for acting the way I did with you guys."

The other four occupants looked at each other, then back at Miguel. "Mr. Ortiz," the Doctor spoke for all four, "I think I speak for us all when I say that all is forgiven. Now, tell us how Tim is doing?"

Miguel sighed and took a sip from his mug. "He's miserable. He's not doing good, and I don't have a clue what to do to help him. I hate seeing him like this."

"Well," Lucas spoke up, "you don't have to worry about it yourself anymore. There's five of us at this table, seven when you include Ford and Ben. We'll figure out something."

"The kid's right," Crocker agreed. "After all, it may take a little time, but that's something we have in spades."

* * *

Ben Krieg huffed as he completed another set of sit-ups. He rose from the floor and flopped down onto his bed, closing his eyes tightly. After several minutes, his eyes popped back open and he slumped in defeat on the mattress. He'd tried reading, he'd tried soft music, he'd tried exercise, heck, he'd even tried counting sheep. His body was no closer to sleep than it had been an hour earlier.

*I should be used to it by now,* he thought. He hadn't slept well in over a week. His every waking moment was filled with worries for his friend. He couldn't stop thinking about Tim, and he was afraid it would soon drive him to the nuthouse.

He forced himself to raise his head when he heard a knock at the door. He rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, then reluctantly lifted himself from the mattress. With one final stretch, he made his way to the door, only to stand paralyzed once it was opened.

"Tim."

"Umm, Ben," Tim stammered nervously as his eyes took in Ben's disheveled state, standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a t-shirt and boxer shorts. "I'm bothering you. I knew this was a bad idea. I'll just go..."

"No, Tim, wait!" Ben hoped he didn't sound as desperate as he felt. He fought the urge to reach out and pull Tim to him, wrapping his arms around the commtech and never letting him go. He wanted to kick himself for having such thoughts about his friend, but knew it would have been useless. He couldn't deny what he felt whenever Tim was near, he could only do his best to live with it. His eyes took in the lieutenant's own appearance, noticing the redness around Tim's eyes. "Is everything okay? You know you can talk to me, right?"

After a moment, Tim nodded. He slowly stepped toward the door and Ben held it open for him, closing it once the man was inside his quarters. Ben noticed a shadow of a smile pull up the corners of the commtech's lips as the man looked around the ever-messy quarters.

"You'll never change, will you Ben." Tim finally smiled, not expecting a response. "Can we sit and talk a bit?"

Ben immediately rushed around the room, clearing off boxes and clothing to make room for the two of them to sit. Tim settled into the desk chair and Ben plopped himself onto his bunk.

"So, Tim, what's on your mind?"

* * *

Jonathan Ford rose from the center seat on seaQuest's bridge at Captain Bridger's approach. He nodded a greeting before calling out to the Ensign at the communications station.

"Mr. Fitzpatrick, what is your status?"

"Umm, Sir, s-so far e-everything is clear, Sir."

"Thank you, Ensign." Ford shared a look with Bridger. While Fitzpatrick may have the potential to become an excellent Communications Officer, he wasn't Lt. O'Neill. "Captain, if my presence is no longer required on the bridge, then I have some business to take care of below decks."

"Very well. You are dismissed, Commander."

Jonathan started to leave, but stopped and turned. "Captain, I was wondering if Mr. O'Neill was feeling well. When you asked that he be taken off today's duty rotation, you did not give a reason."

Bridger settled into the Captain's seat and sighed, conscious of how every pair of ears on the bridge was finely tuned to this conversation. Many things could be said of his crew, but one thing was for certain: they took care of their own. "Well, Commander, I felt he needed some time away from his duties in order to make a very important decision."

"Sir, may I ask what decision?"

Bridger nodded before answering his Executive Officer. "As you know, Commander, we are to rendezvous with the diplomatic vessel Trudeau before departing the Mediterranean area. Yesterday, they issued a request through the UEO for Mr. O'Neill's presence as a full Lieutenant on their vessel. He has until we rendezvous to make his decision."

"Thank you, Captain," Ford said without enthusiasm. He managed to make his way off the bridge at a normal pace, then rushed to the Maglev. He had to get to the Mess as soon as possible. If he hadn't known about the request, then neither did the rest of the crew.

They had to speak to Tim immediately, or risk losing their friend and crewmate forever.

* * *

Two sets of eyes settled on the same section of the floor, unconsciously avoiding each other. Tim had told Ben about the conversation he'd overheard in the moonpool, and Ben had told about his own discovery and his talk with Lucas, leaving out certain details of course. The room had been silent for several moments since Ben had finished his story.

"So, the strawberries and stuff..." Tim began.

"Yeah," Ben responded.

Another silence fell over the room.

"Well, Lucas must be pretty happy," Tim spoke again. "I know how much he looks up to you, even if he'd never admit it."

"He looks up to you too, you know."

Both men's gazes rose and met for several moments, until they both shyly looked away.

"The crazy things people come up with." Tim shook his head along with the words.

"Yeah," Ben agreed half-heartedly.

Suddenly, Tim rose from his seat and started walking toward the door. "Well, it was nice talking to you Ben..."

Ben rose just as suddenly and grabbed Tim's arm, allowing the commtech's momentum to turn him so that they stood face to face. "Tim, I don't give a damn about what anyone else says. You're the closest friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose that."

They stood there for several moments, their eyes locked as a myriad of thoughts and feelings passed through their minds.

*Please don't leave me, Tim,* Ben thought as his thumb unconsciously stroked the arm he still held. *I don't know what I'd do without you here to keep me sane.*

Tim felt the heat that radiated from his arm where Ben held it, and was amazed to realize that it had always been there, every time Ben had ever touched him. It was only now that he could identify it for what it was. He fought down the panic that threatened to disable him. *Oh, God, please tell me this isn't so. Don't tell me I'm in... that I l...* He couldn't even think the words. Soon, the panic was gone, and in its wake was the need for certainty.

Were these feelings he had for his friend real? Did Ben feel the same way? If the answers were yes, was he ready to risk losing something that might be the most wonderful experience of his life? And if the answers were no, could he forgive himself for ruining a friendship while trying to find out?

Tim still had no idea what to do. As he tried to make sense of his muddled thoughts, one idea surfaced above the rest. *There's always the Trudeau...*

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Tim realized that, all considered, he had nothing to lose.

Tim lifted his free hand to the back of Ben's head, pulling their faces closer together. Their lips found each other instinctively, pressing together in a gentle greeting. Tim could feel Ben's fingers moving up his arm and shivered, moving his newly freed hand to Ben's waist to pull him closer. Ben's lips parted first, his tongue tickling, seeking access to Tim's mouth.

With a moan, Tim acquiesced.

* * *

Jonathan practically ran to the Mess the moment he got off the Maglev, almost running down one of the science personnel. He forced himself to a stop at his friends' table, uncaring about the many eyes that rested on him. As he caught his breath, he was surprised to find Miguel Ortiz sitting with the others.

"Jonathan, what's wrong?" Katie asked, concerned.

"Miguel, has Tim made his decision yet?" Jonathan asked.

"What decision?" Miguel answered, looking as perplexed as everyone else at the table.

"You mean, you don't know?"

"Don't know what, Commander?" Kristin asked.

"Tim's been offered a promotion and a spot on another ship. With everything that's been happening... We've got to talk to him."

"He can't leave!" Lucas exclaimed. "The seaQuest wouldn't be the same without him!"

"You should tell *him* that, Lucas," Kristin commented. "We should *all* go tell him that. He may be able to turn one of us away, but not all of use. There is power in numbers."

"Well," Miguel piped up, "the last place I saw him was the moonpool. I don't know if he's still there, but it's worth a try."

"And if not," Lucas continued, "we should go get Ben. He'll want to know what's going on, and he can get through to Tim if we can't."

"All right. Let's go." Ford backed away from the table as the others rose from their seats, then led the way to the moonpool.

* * *

"Oh, God!" Tim gasped as he pulled his lips away from Ben's, his body trembling. "They were right. They were all right."

"Tim..." Ben couldn't finish the thought as their eyes met again. He was terrified that at any moment, he would wake up to find this was all a dream.

Tim could see the worry and fear in Ben's eyes and couldn't help but sympathize. He wrapped his arms around Ben's shoulders, pulling him close until he could feel Ben's head resting next to his. Their arms tightened around each other, their breaths synchronizing until they were almost breathing as one.

Ben turned his nose into Tim's neck, inhaling the scent that was his friend's alone. He pressed his lips against that neck once, then again, moving up to run the tip of his nose against the nearby earlobe. He shivered upon hearing Tim's breath grow shallow and pulled away to look into his friend's chocolate-coloured eyes.

"Tim, I have no idea how it happened, but I..."

"Ben, you don't have to say anything."

"I want to. I don't know how, but I love you."

Tim could see the truth shining in Ben's eyes. His chest tightened as his own eyes began to water. He lifted his hands to cup the face before him and pulled it closer for another kiss, cherishing and committing to memory every sensation.


* * *


People scurried out of the way, watching as most of the ship's command staff rushed through the halls.

"Any idea where to look next?" Ford asked. His only answers were several shaking heads. They'd arrived at the moonpool to find it empty. They'd stopped at Tim's quarters and he wasn't there either. They could only hope that Ben could shed some light on where to look next.

When they arrived at Lt. Krieg's quarters, Ford rose his fist to knock but was interrupted by Katie brushing past him and reaching for the door's handle.

"What if he's indecent?" Jonathan asked as the handle was turned.

Katie shrugged and grinned. "It isn't anything I haven't seen before." She turned back toward the slowly opening door. "Ben..."

All six of them crowded into the doorway, only to stop and stare in shock. Ben and his companion, whose back was turned to the group, had apparently been too distracted to hear the activity at the door.

Lucas was the first to find his tongue. "Well, if you can't be with the one you love, huh Ben?" he said with as much disdain as possible.

They could see Ben still at the comment, his eyes growing wide and taking in the crowd at his door. He pulled away from the person in his arms with a sheepish smile. "Umm, hi guys."

"Forget the ‘hi guys'," Katie practically growled as she stalked into the room to stand next to her ex-husband. "We've got a morale emergency and we need your help finding Tim." She nodded to Ben's companion in acknowledgment. "Hi Tim." She was about to give Ben an explanation when her head swung back to his companion. "Tim?!"

The group pushed into the room and Kristin pulled Tim to face them, smacking his shoulder for emphasis.

"What was that for?" the commtech asked, rubbing his arm.

"For making us worry. We've been looking for you, Mr. O'Neill."

Tim was speechless, and so was everyone else. They all fidgeted, trying to find something, anything to say to break the heavy silence.

"So, does this mean you're not going?" Lucas asked, his voice masking his own fears.

Tim's eyes met Ben's and he knew he'd have some explaining to do, however he was relieved that the possibility of his leaving was distracting the others from what he'd been doing with Ben when they'd arrived.

"Going?" Ben asked.

"What Mr Wolenczak is trying to say," Jonathan began in a formal voice, "is have you made a decision yet?"

Ben's eyes widened. "Decision?"

"Yes, Ben," Crocker broke in, realizing Ben was as ignorant to the situation as they'd been. "We're talking about the Trudeau..."

"They offered him a promotion on their ship," Lucas continued.

"Don't tell me you actually thought he'd leave seaQuest," Ben argued.

"Well," Katie continued, "with everything that's been going on lately..."

"What Katherine is trying to say," Kristin interjected, "is that sometimes the possibility of making a new start can be quite irresistible."

"And God only knows how little room there is for advancement when staying on the same ship," Ford continued.

"Hey!" Tim practically shouted, then grew silent as all eyes turned upon him. "Umm, what I mean is, don't I get a chance to speak here?"

"Go ahead then," Kristin said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Say your piece."

Tim took a deep breath before beginning. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? Yes, I was offered the promotion, and yes, I did consider it. There aren't exactly a lot of opportunities when you're a communications officer, you know. And, I will admit things have been a little... uncomfortable lately." Tim paused as the others had the decency to look guilty. His eyes met Ben's for a moment before he continued. "But the seaQuest isn't just any ship; it's my home, and after a lot of thought, I realized that the reasons to stay more than outweigh the reasons to leave."

After several moments, Katie spoke quietly. "Oh. All right then."

"If you'll excuse us," Jonathan spoke up, "the Lieutenant Commander and I have a, umm, appointment with the Captain."

As the two officers backed toward the door, Kristin shared a look with Lucas and motioned toward the door. "And Lucas was about to give us a sneak peak at one of his experiments..."

One by one, each of them nodded and backed out the door. Once the door was closed behind them, all but one of them practically collapsed on the floor in a heap of laughter. Only once the laughter had passed did they finally notice Miguel, who'd been quiet from the moment they'd entered Ben's quarters, leaning against a wall, looking quite stricken.

"Hey, Miguel," Lucas asked, "you okay?"

The Cuban took a breath before turning to look his friends in the eyes. "You know, thinking you can deal with something and actually seeing it with your own eyes..."

Kristin placed an arm around the man's shoulders and gently led him away from the wall and down the corridor, followed by the rest of their group. "It will take time, Mr. Ortiz, but don't give up. After all, I seriously doubt we'll be coming across any more unlocked doors in the near future."

"Hey, you guys!" The six of them stopped and turned to see Ben standing in the middle of the corridor. "If you tell anyone about what you saw in there..."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ben," Jonathan answered. "Did you see anything Katie?"

She shook her head. "No, not me. Did you Chief?"

"Not a thing," Crocker replied.

"See Ben," Jonathan continued, "we haven't a clue what you're talking about."

The group turned and walked away down the corridor, leaving a surprised but nevertheless grinning morale officer in their wake.


* * *


"You were really going to leave," the voice startled Tim out of his thoughts and he turned to face Ben as he shut the door, "weren't you."

Tim didn't answer. He simply stood where he was, hands resting at his sides, his eyes begging Ben for understanding.

"If I hadn't responded, or if I'd turned you away, you would have left." The voice would have been emotionless had it not cracked upon speaking the last word. "Would you have said goodbye?"

"Ben," Tim interrupted, "don't do this."

"Don't do what?" the morale officer continued in a monotone. "Tell me, what is it I shouldn't be doing."

Tim suddenly found the floor interesting. He didn't look up until a pair of hands grabbed his upper arms, pulling him forward until his forehead pressed against Ben's, his eyes raising to look into those of the other man.

"What the hell was going through your head? Why did it take you a whole week to talk to me, huh? Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

Any fear Tim had felt at Ben's reaction was assuaged by the look in his eyes. He lifted his hand to lovingly cup the man's cheek. "I was scared. I wasn't ready to deal with this, any of this. I don't even know if I'm ready now, but I had to do what I felt was right."

"And what's that, Tim?" Ben asked. "What's right?"

"This." Tim tilted his head up and brushed his lips against Ben's. With an almost unheard groan, Ben tightened his hold on the commtech and opened his mouth to devour Tim's. After several minutes, Tim reluctantly pulled away. "I-I think I should maybe, umm, go let the Captain know I won't be leaving. You know, so he can tell the Trudeau, when we meet up."

Ben rubbed the arms where he'd gripped them so tightly, feeling a shiver go through Tim's body. Looking into Tim's face, he couldn't help admiring how calm he appeared, especially when he was having so much trouble getting a grip on his own emotions. He had no idea how Tim brought out his strongest feelings, nor did he care.

"Good idea." Although it was the last thing he wanted to do, Ben pulled his hands away from Tim. "I don't suppose you have any plans tomorrow after your usual shift?"

"I'm sorry, Ben, but I've got an appointment."

"Oh. Okay." Ben shrugged, not wanting to show his disappointment.

"Yeah, I've been feeling a little depressed, you know? So, I thought I should spend some time with the ship's morale officer to cheer me up."

Tim burst into a fit of giggles as Ben's expression showed exactly what he thought of Tim's little joke. Ben mockingly swatted Tim's head, only to miss when Tim ducked, popping up to press a quick kiss against Ben's cheek.

The morale officer watched as the man he loved walked out of his quarters with a smile he'd never seen before, his heart soaring at the fact that it was for him alone.


* * *


"And so I tell the guy it's genuine Jamaican rum, but he doesn't believe me!" Ben exclaimed.

"Because it wasn't," Tim broke in.

"And then," Ben continued, sparing a minute glare for his companion, "he accuses me of being a crook!"

"Because you are," Miguel finished.

"Hey, why am I always the one getting picked on, huh?"

"Because it's so easy, Ben," Lucas said.

"Kid's got you there," Crocker popped in.

Ben was about to make an attempt at defending himself when there was a small commotion at the Mess' entrance. Ensigns Rosie and Gil had just entered surrounded by several crewmembers, holding clipboards and accepting money from a number of flying hands.

"Okay, everyone," Gil shouted, "the odds are now 5 to 1. Place your bets now!"

His face a mask of curiosity, Ben rose from his seat and made his way across the room to the Ensigns. As he approached, the commotion died down. "What's up, Gil?"

"Oh, just a little wagering, Lieutenant," Rosie supplied. "You want to place a bet?"

"What's the wager?"

"The Lieutenant Commander and Commander Ford, Sir," Gil replied. "So far, odds are 5 to 1 that they're on very intimate terms."

The two ensigns began cowering as Ben's eyes narrowed. "Haven't you two learned your lessons yet? Now give me those!" Ben snatched the clipboards and the money from the ensigns, watching as they immediately took off, trying to get as far from the Lieutenant as possible. Once they were out of sight, Ben's face broke out into a grin and he leaped on top of the nearest table. "All right, everybody, you heard him. Odds are 5 to 1..."

The four men remaining at the one table turned to each other with incredulous looks.

"He'll never change, will he," Lucas commented.

"Nope," Tim said. "And to tell you the truth, I wouldn't have him any other way."


* * *


"Aren't you going to do anything about that display, Nathan?" Kristin asked from the Mess' doorway.

"Not on your life," Nathan grinned, taking the Doctor's arm in his to escort her down the corridor. "For the first time in weeks, this ship's finally back to normal."



--The End... for now :).--