Title: Kisses For Tim 2

Author: JaimeBlue

Fandom: seaQuest, of course :)

Season: 1st

Series/Sequel: Well, this story is neither, but it does have 3 possible endings - all of which will be posted separately tomorrow ;p

Pairing: Tim/Surprise

Disclaimer: The characters and all the stuff from the show don't belong to me. The poem, however, DOES belong to me, since I wrote it ;p

Summary: On Valentine's Day, Tim finds a special gift in his room which leads him on a little trek through the ship.

Author's note: This is written purely for fun's sake all. Enjoy! And don't die of curiosity waiting for the 3 possible endings (oh, I watched Clue one too many time - ‘I told you it was Minya in the bedroom with the knife!')



KISSES FOR TIM 2
by JaimeBlue
*****

Tim held back a yawn as he left the bridge after his shift. He smiled kindly to the various crewmembers he passed in the halls, all of which were rushing to be ready by the time seaQuest docked in the Cape Quest harbour. It wasn't often the crew got some shore leave, especially on ‘holidays', and everyone was more than ready to take advantage of it. Everyone but Tim.

Tim had never been a big fan of this particular holiday. It wasn't that he didn't like all the romance and mushiness the holiday tended to bring out in everybody, but he always felt like an outsider, content to live his more-or-less solitary life while everybody else looked for love in all places, right and wrong.

Well, he thought, at least I can take solace in the fact that it was named after a saint.

Once he'd entered his quarters, he quickly shut the door against the noise of people rushing to and fro through the halls. He sighed, then stood looking around his room. He had no idea how he was going to spend his time off.

As he mentally ran through the many languages he knew, trying to figure out which ones needed the most brushing up, his eye caught on a tiny flash of silver on his desk. He took several steps forward until he could see what was there, and couldn't keep the smile from his face. He reached out to pluck the object by the tiny ribbon that hung from its peak, then brought it up to his nose, inhaling deeply.

He'd always known Hershey's Kisses were his undoing.

As he unwrapped the tiny chocolate bud, he looked down at the spot where the Kiss had sat to see a small note. He popped the chocolate into his mouth, closing his eyes in ecstacy at the taste of his greatest vice, then finally reached down to open the note.

***There are more fish like me in the seaQuest. But eat too many, and you might get sick.***

Tim chuckled to himself. Somebody sure had a weird sense of humour, which pretty much described most of his friends. If one of them were playing games with him, he wasn't sure if he wanted to play along. However, if there were more Kisses on the boat...

His vice won out. Reading the note as the clue it was, he left his quarters to head for Medbay. When he entered, he saw Miguel and Dr. Westphalen talking softly to each other, heads bowed down conspiratorially. After several moments, Tim coughed, causing the two individuals to whip their heads up. Tim couldn't help but notice the blush that crept up Miguel's neck.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

"Mr. O'Neill," the Doctor said, "is there anything I can help you with?"

"I don't think so, Doctor. Mig, I should have known it was you."

"What are you talking about, Tim?" The Cuban looked genuinely confused, but Tim dismissed it. His best friend could be quite the actor when he set his mind to it.

"I'm talking about the Kiss and the note. I should have known I'd find you here."

The Doctor looked at Miguel with raised eyebrows as the man raised his hands as if to defend himself from an assault. "Hey, I don't know anything about any kisses, at least not with Tim."

"Give it up, Mig. You know I'm talking about the chocolate you left in my room."

The hands lowered and Miguel shrugged. "I didn't leave anything in your room, Tim. I just stopped here to talk to the Doc before my leave."

This time, Tim believed the slightly confused and embarassed look on his friend's face, briefly wondering what *had* brought his friend to Medbay. As he wondered who else could have snuck into his room, his thoughts were broken by the entrance of Dr. Levin.

"Doctor, here's the medicine you asked for..."

"Thank you, Doctor." As she tried to hide her smile, she turned her eyes back to Tim. "Now, Mr. O'Neill, why would you think someone from Medbay would have sent you a chocolate?"

"Well, the note that came with it hinted that I'd find something here."

"It's funny you mention that," Dr. Levin broke in. "An hour ago or so, I entered the examination room next door and there was a chocolate in there with a note."

"Is it still there?" Tim asked.

"I didn't move it, so it must be."

Tim resisted the urge to run. Okay, he thought, maybe this is just a little fun. At least it's an adventure. He entered the room and immediately spotted the Kiss. This time, he placed the chocolate in his pocket and opened up the note.

***I'm shot through the heart, and you're to blame. You blow me right out of the water.***

With a grin on his face, Tim set out into the lower bowels of the ship. He finally reached the torpedo room to find it manned only by Chief Crocker. Tim didn't even allow the thought that the Chief might be behind this little game to enter his head.

"Good day, Lieutenant. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Perhaps. Have you seen anything different in the last hour or so?"

"You mean other than a bridge officer showing up in the torpedo room out of the blue?"

Tim blushed. "Yeah. I'm, uh, looking for a, uh, note... and a chocmmmm," he mumbled.

"Ah, so you're the one. I'm glad it's not me on this little chase of yours."

"You mean, you know who's been leaving me these notes?"

"I might, or maybe I just know the middle man. Either way, I'm sworn to secrecy... but the next note is in that tube over there."

Tim turned to where the Chief pointed him and pulled open the door to the torpedo tube. There, once again, was a Kiss and a note. Palming the chocolate, he opened up the note.

***You make me so hot, I have to take a dip to cool off.***

The Moonpool, he thought. With a parting nod to the Chief, he headed up to the seadeck. He had to admit to himself that he was really enjoying this. Sure, the clues were pretty easy, but they were still fun to figure out.

As he neared the moonpool, he couldn't help but be surprised at who he found in the room. Commanders Ford and Hitchcock weren't exactly known for spending time down there, yet there they were... taking inventory. He should have known neither of them would actually take time off when they could be doing something ‘useful'.

"Tim play!"

Smiling, Tim retrieved the vocoder so he could speak with his friend. "Not right now, Darwin. I'm kind of looking for something right now."

"Tim find shiny thing."

"Yeah, at least I'm trying."

"Darwin find."

The dolphin dove under the water, only to come up with a small waterproof bag hanging from between his teeth. Tim took the bag from his friend, rubbing the animal's nose in thanks.

"Thank you Darwin."

"Tim like?"

"Yeah, Darwin. I like a lot."

Tim put down the vocoder so he could open the bag. Once again pocketing the chocolate Kiss, he opened up the note, longer than the others.

***Thank you for this wondrous world you've somehow given me, And thank you for the mysteries you try to help me see. Thank you for the love you give that keeps me warm at night, And thank you for the dreams you're in that stay with me 'till light. Thank you for the moon and stars that shine bright in the sky, And thank you for the look you give when looking in my eyes. Thank you for your gentle touch that lingers night and day, And thank you for the loving kiss I love in every way. Thank you for the lessons that your heart is teaching mine, And thank you for the memories that'll last throughout all time. Thank you for the way that you can always make me feel, And finally thank you for the fact that you're completely real.

The easy part is over. Catch me if you can.***

Tim frowned. Was that it? And how on earth was he supposed to figure out who had led him on this wild goose chase?

Still clutching the note, Tim headed off to his quarters to sulk...

=====

Tim glanced around his room, thoughts swirling through his head. He first wondered where someone on the ship could have gotten the wonderfully sweet chocolates, but that wasn't a difficult task as long as whoever it was could meet Ben Krieg's price. He briefly wondered if the conman could have done all this simply to put him in a better mood for Valentine's Day, but he dismissed the thought. While he wouldn't put it past Ben, he knew for a fact the conman had spent the last few days spending all his time on planning a special outing for some girl in Cape Quest.

He picked up the notes he'd kept from each discovered chocolate, reading them over in search of some clue. His mind was drawn to the last one and the poem it held. The words struck a chord deep inside Tim. He didn't know why, but they felt so familiar.

He reread the last line. ‘The easy part is over. Catch me if you can.' It was so playful, yet the notes held no real clue as to who had written them. It was almost as if the gamester had deliberately masked his identity to cover his tracks...

Tim's eyes grew wide. No, he thought. It couldn't be, could it? If it was who he thought it was, then he had no idea how to handle the situation. The person probably didn't even expect to be caught. And if Tim were wrong...

He pulled out one of the uneaten chocolates, slowly unwrapping it as his tongue instinctively flickered along his lips. He gazed at the dart chocolate as if it would give him all the answers to his questions, and a small place in the back of his mind believed it would. His lips parted as his fingers slipped the sweet between them. His eyes closed as he savoured the taste of the melting chocolate, only opening them when no trace of the substance remained.

With one final glance around, Tim walked out of his quarters.

Within minutes, he found himself before a metal door. Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

"Come in!" a voice shouted from within.

Tim opened the door and quietly closed it behind himself. He watched the figure hunched over the computer, the green light from the screen making the young man's features appear unearthly, the slim fingers dancing across the keyboard.

Tim slowly walked up behind him, his presence masked by the heavy concentration of the figure at the computer. He reached into a pocket and pulled out one of his remaining Kisses, then placed it in the middle of the keyboard. As the fingers brushed against the foil wrapping, they finally stopped their dancing. The face slowly rose from the computer screen until a pair of blue eyes met Tim's brown ones.

"I think I've found something of yours," Tim said.

"Mine? I have no idea what you're talking about." The blond tried to turn back to the safety of his computer, but was stopped by Tim's voice.

"I know it was you, Lucas. I wanted to thank you. It was fun."

"How did you know it was me?"

"You hid your traces too well. I think I know how your mind works by now." Tim smiled a friendly smile, then grew confused as a sad look flickered across the teenager's face. "It's okay, Lucas. I don't mind. As I said, it was fun."

The blond's head looked down and nodded, then turned back to the computer. "I'm glad you liked it. I've got a bit of work to do. Programs and all, you know how it is."

Tim nodded, amazed at the teenager's ability to shut people out. However, before that final wall had slid into place, he thought he'd seen a hint of something; an emotion, a look, something that all of a sudden made him think of the final poem.

His stomach churned as realization hit. Not only had Lucas never expected to be caught, but he hadn't meant it to be a game. What the teen had done was express himself in the only way he knew how without risking rejection. And he'd been caught.

As Tim realized that Lucas had romantic feelings for him, he guiltily admitted that the thought made him happy. He knew he shouldn't be happy that a sixteen-year-old boy was attracted to him, at least not for the reasons it made him happy, yet he was.

"Lucas?"

The young man pretended he hadn't heard Tim, his fingers never pausing on the keyboard. Tim reached down and took Lucas' chin in his hand, raising it so that they were finally looking each other in the eye.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Lucas."

Impulsively, Tim leaned down to press his lips against Lucas'. The kiss was frustrating in its innocence, and within moments Tim had pulled away, looking into Lucas' elated eyes.

"Now," Tim began, "I don't know if you'll still be up to it by then, but if you are, we've got a date two years from now. Deal?" Lucas nodded somewhat dazedly. "Good. Now I'll let you get back to that program you're working on."

Tim had almost reached the door when he was stopped by Lucas' voice.

"A year and three months."

"What?" Tim asked, turning back to his friend.

"I'll be eighteen in a year and three months."

Tim couldn't help but smile. "A year and three months it is."

"Oh, and Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Valentine's Day, and thank you."

Tim smiled shyly, nodded, and finally left the room. Reaching into his pocket, he felt the last chocolate Kiss and pulled it out.

As the chocolate rolled around inside his mouth, he briefly wondered what he would be doing on Valentine's Day in two years.



=====
end