Whims

by Hawkeye

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SeaQuest or any of it's characters.

ARCHIVE: Sure, if you got the rest.

Disclaimer: I don't own em. If I did, it would still be airing and it would be great! I do own Jade Collins, William Davenport, Travis Blank, Medic Michael Johnson, and Daniel Singer, but who's counting?

Archive: Go Ahead. Let me know though. You might wanna include the first 11 parts. ::winks::

First season

This is a whim.



Whims
by Hawkeye


Lucas looked around silently. Everything was quiet. Another day, another silence. He slid out of the small bed in his cramped little quarters. He liked his quarters. They felt like home to him. It was the one place that he did feel like he was at home for. He slowly got dressed and stepped out into the empty hallway. It didn't occur to him that it was only 4 in the morning on board the ship. He quietly walked down the hallway and arrived at the mess hall. He was extremely surprised to see the captain sitting there, staring solemnly, at a half empty coffee mug. Lucas sighed and slowly moved over to the table where he got some hot chocolate and then moved over to the captain and sat down opposite him.

"Can't sleep?" The young blond teenager asked. Nathan Bridger looked up at him and smiled weakly, shaking his head in response. With a sigh, the captain took another sip of the coffee.

"Nah. I got a few things on my mind." He said softly. Lucas nodded and sipped his hot chocolate.

"You wanna talk about any of them?" Lucas asked, focusing his piercing eyes into the captain's dark soft ones. Nathan gazed back at him and shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm so confused, I wouldn't be sure what to say. Everything has gotten so mixed up over the past few days." Nathan admitted. Lucas stared back at him.

"Like what? I mean, what's happened?" Lucas asked, pressing his captain, and his friend, a little further.

"I got a letter from an old friend, one that disappeared a while ago. She was one of my best friends, but something drove her away. I never did figure it out." He explained mournfully. "I've missed her, but I don't know if I'm ready to see her again."

"Why? What do you have to be ready for?" Lucas asked, curious. Before Nathan could answer, the ship shook violently. The red alert klaxon begin to ring throughout the hallways. Nathan stood up, his body gone into alert mode.

"We'll finish this later, kid, okay?" He said quickly as he darted out of the room. Lucas looked fearfully around and got up. He started to follow the captain when the ship shook again. Lucas fell to the ground and hit his head.

Then the lights seemed to dim and the shaking seemed to distance itself from where Lucas was. The young man tried to open his eyes and look around, but what he saw was blurry, dim and it seemed to be turning red. He tried to get up, but he couldn't.



Whims Part Two

Lucas opened his eyes very carefully. The light was incredibly bright and he winced as it flooded through his eyes. He groaned and tried to pull his hands over his eyes, but he couldn't. His arms felt weighted down. He moaned louldy, hoping for a friendly adult to come to his aid. Kristin soon did so, though her eyes were streaked with weariness.

"Well, hello there, young man. How nice to see you awake again." She said, sounding cheerful but also incredibly tired at the same time. Lucas tried to smile weakly.

"I can't move my arms." He moaned.

Kristin nodded. "Yes, I know. It's a precaution. After you passed out, I'm afraid you got a little jostled about. One of your arms is broken. The other one just needs some rest. You'll be able to move them in about an hour or so, I should think." She explained, stiflying a yawn.

Lucas nodded. "Okay. What happened?" He asked, trying to focus elsewhere. "Where's Captain Bridger?"

Kristin let the yawn come and nodded. "The captain is fine. He's up on the bridge, dealing with some damage control. We're not quite sure what happened as of yet. All we know is that we came under attack." Kristin explained as she checked a few things on the clipboard next to Lucas's bed.

He nodded. "Did we get any bad guys?" He asked with an eager grin.

She smiled back at him and shook her head. "One day, you'll grow up, Lucas. But yes, we did catch a few bad guys." She added with a grin.

Lucas smiled and leaned back into the pillow. Kristin smiled again and walked away, leaving to go home to her quarters to get some much needed sleep.

Meanwhile, Nathan was no longer on the bridge. He had made it back to his quarters and was once again staring at the letter than he had received. He tapped a few keys and pulled it up again.

The words leapt out at him. She missed him. She was sorry. She wanted to see him again. What was he supposed to say to that? The truth? That he missed her. That he was sorry she left. That he wanted to see her too. The days that they had together were in the past, but what could the future hold? In his heart, he knew what he might want the future to hold, but then he thought of Kristin. Wasn't that something too?

Slowly, he grabbed his computer interface and opened a menu to reply. He still didn't know what to say, so he just set his fingers to the pad and began to rant. He wrote everything that managed to survive the trip from his brain to his fingers. When he was done, or actually, when he thought the letter had reached a length far beyond an acceptable range, he stared at the send button. He knew that he had things to do. He had to check on Lucas, make sure the kid was okay, he had to get some sleep, he had to continue with the damage control center, he had to. . .

Nathan sighed and looked up. to himself, he thought aloud: "Longest journey begins with a single step." As soon as the final word escaped his lips, he closed his eyes and pressed the send button. A message appeared on his screen: "Mail has been sent."



Whims Part 3

Lucas opened his eyes again and looked around. Silently he slid up and swung his legs over the edge. He was bored and he wasn't about to just sit around in the medbay for the rest of his life. As he eased on to his feet, all the blood rushed to his head. He groaned and leaned back on the bed, his hands rushing up to rub his temples gently. He didn't notice the captain step into the room and smiled.

"Trying to escape early?" Nathan asked.

Lucas looked up and winced as the blood rushed again. He moaned and shrugged. "I'm bored. I figure it was worth a shot. I haven't talked to anyone in about an hour." He said, trying to force the pain away.

Nathan moved over next to him and sat down on the bed. "There's not much for you to do out there either. Half the crew is running around in circles. You might get in the way." Nathan said carefully.

"I'm always in the way." Lucas muttered.

Nathan sighed and put a fatherly arm around Lucas's shoulders. "No, you're not. It's just that right now a lot of us are in the way. Even I am sometimes. Too much has happened in the last twelve hours for people to be patient. Adulthood stinks that way." Nathan rambled.

Lucas looked at him, his piercing blue eyes burning with curiosity. "Do you want to talk about your problem some more?" He asked, eager to hear more about the captain's predicament.

Nathan smiled and looked back into the young man's eyes. "It's so much of a problem as it is a . . . " Nathan paused. "As a confusing situation." He said slowly, still not sure if he had chosen the right words.

Lucas nodded, but continued to stare at the captain expectantly.

"I wrote her a letter back. I'm not even sure what I put it in." Nathan admitted. "But that was an hour or two ago. Since then, I've been running around, trying to deal with all the reports that are being flung at me." Nathan said with a grin.

Lucas grinned back. "How can I help, cap?" Lucas asked enthusiastically.

Nathan smiled at him and thought about it. "You can stay here where we can keep an eye on you. A computer genius with a broken left arm and a severely bruised right arm is a valuable asset. We need to save you for emergancies." Nathan said after a few moments.

Lucas's expression deflated. "But captain, I want to help. I can still do my job." He practically whined.

Nathan stared at him, a stern paternal expression across his face. Lucas responded by putting on his saddest face and breaking out the puppy dog eyes that all teenagers are blessed with. Nathan mock winced and looked back at the young man.

"Okay. Okay. Stop it with the eyes. I'll find you something." Nathan exclaimed with a happy grin.

Lucas's smile returned and he stood up, ignoring the blood rush this time. "Okay. Lead the way." Lucas exclaimed.

Nathan nodded and stood up. "Okay, kid. Let's go to the bridge. That's where all the excitement is, right?" The captain replied and began to lead the way. As they walked down the hallway talking, they passed the door to the captain's quarters. Nathan looked through the door quickly as they passed and stopped in his tracks.

"What is it, captain?" Lucas asked.

Nathan looked at the young man and then moved into his quarters.

On the screen, one simple message flashed:

"You have mail"


Whims (pt 4)

As Nathan began to reach out to the console, a loud chirp filled the room. Nathan jumped and clutched his chest, sure he was having a heart attack. When he realized this was not the case, he looked at the comm unit that had made the surprising noise. Instead of activating the mailbox, Nathan reached over and switched on the unit.

"Yes?" He spoke into the shiny black contraption.

Tim O'Neill's voice rang back through. "Um, sir? Admiral Noyce is calling for you. He says it's important." Tim said in his usual quirky and yet so kind voice.

Nathan smiled and nodded, not really thinking about the fact that Tim couldn't even see him nod. "Okay, Mr. O'Neill. Patch it through here." He exclaimed and then turned expectantly to the view screen.

Within a few seconds, Bill Noyce's face appeared on the screen.

"Nathan. Glad I caught you in the midst of all this confusion." Noyce exclaimed jovially. Nathan nodded again, slipping his hands into his pockets, standing before the screen.

"Nice to see you too, Bill. What's going on? Do you have any information we don't?" Nathan asked, trying to hide the fact that he was dealing with a personal conflict.

"We might. As it turns out, we think your attackers forgot to set their clocks correctly. We think they were coming after a UEO ambassador that we're sending to you." Noyce explained as he leaned into the screen, the same way he always did.

"What ambassador? I didn't hear about this." Nathan exclaimed.

Noyce smiled and nodded. "I know. That's what we mean by the fact that the attacker's clocks were off. They probably forgot to reset the damn things when they crossed the date line or something like that." Noyce muttered as he looked elsewhere.

"Bill. What ambassador?" Nathan asked again, a little more forcefully this time. Noyce looked up again and snapped.

"Right. Forgot. We're sending an ambassador to you. You're to escort her to the main colony by Dominion ridge." Noyce explained.

Nathan nodded. "And these idiots attacked a little too early? Why would they want her dead?" He replied.

"Nathan, are you aware of the situation on Dominion Ridge?" Noyce asked a little skeptically.

Nathan shook his head. "No. Is there something happening there?" he asked.

Noyce sighed and nodded. "I'll say. We've got territorial disputes up to our necks. Plus the colonies on one side of the ridge is extremely close to declaring war on the other side. Not to mention, vice versa. Ambassador Collins is one of three negotiators we're sending out there to try and resolve the situation." Noyce explained.

Nathan nodded, but upon hearing the name, he looked at his friend with a start. "Collins? Jade Collins?" He asked eagerly.

Noyce nodded. "Yes. How'd you know?" Noyce asked.

Nathan couldn't help but grin. "Call it a feeling. Are we still going to escort her? I mean, after the attack, do we want to risk it?" Nathan asked, trying to change the subject.

"It's up to you. We'd like to go ahead with it because she's waiting at Goldmine station about thirty miles from your current position. But if you want to preserve your ship, we can find more secure methods." Noyce explained officially.

"We can swing by and pick her up. I promise I'll get her there in one piece." Nathan said earnestly. "Anthing else, Bill?" He asked quickly.

Noyce paused a moment to look at his friend curiously. "No. Nothing else. Are you in a hurry?" He asked.

Nathan shook his head. "No. No, I'm not in a hurry. It's just we wouldn't want a war to break out while we're chatting, would we?" Nathan replied sternly, trying to recover from his brief lapse of childishness.

"No, we couldn't. I'll let her know you're coming." Noyce retorted and then switched off the connection. Nathan looked down at the console again and activated the mailbox function. It was from her, as he expected. He opened it up and looked at the words.

As he read the letter from his old friend, his mind began to move at a mile a minute. All the questions that he had before raced forward and so did a few hundred more. He didn't realize it when he started fidgeting in anticipation of the oncoming day. He closed out the letter and was about to leave for the bridge when his PAL ringed. He pulled it out.

"Hello. This is the captain." He said officiously.

"Nathan, it's Kristin. Could you come down to the medbay for a minute?" The doctor's lovely voice came streaming through the channel.

Nathan paled.

"Yes, I'll be there in ten minutes. Is that all right, doctor?" He replied.

"I'm not sure. It's about Lucas. I can't seem to find him anywhere." The doctor replied. Once again, the flow of her voice crashed into him.

"Oh, god. Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." He replied. Then he switched the thing to another channel and called the bridge.

"Ford here sir." His first officer replied through the channel, a cold replacement of Kristin's voice.

"Set a course for the Goldmine colony. We've got a new mission. I'll hold a briefing for it in a half an hour." Nathan said urgently, his mind now moving ten times faster.

"Yes, sir. Anything else sir?" Ford replied casually.

"Stay on alert. We may not have heard the last of those guys. Oh, and if anyone sees Lucas, let me know. He's missing." Nathan exclaimed. After Ford responded accordingly, Nathan put the PAL away and starting moving down the hall towards the mag-lev. Right now, two things were the most prominent in his mind.

The first one was Lucas. What was he up to? Where was he? The second was that when Jade arrived on the ship, what was he going to do? What was he giong to say? And how was everything going to turn out? Nathan began to wonder. Who did his future lie with? Was it with Kristin or was it with Jade? Or was it with the memory of Carol? Was it with the SeaQuest forever and always? He never felt so confused. He felt even worse when he arrived in the medbay and found that Lucas was indeed gone.


Whims part 5

Lucas groaned. His arm hurt, cast and all. He slipped down the stairs and started down the hallway. It wouldn't be long before they started going after him. He couldn't let them get that far. He had to get back to his quarters before they found the letter. He scrambled across the deckplates, trying to ignore the pain that was shooting up and down his arm. But he had to get the letter before they found it.

When they went looking for him, they would most likely go to his quarters. He couldn't let them find the real reason why he couldn't sleep that night. They couldn't find the truth. As he grew closer to his cramped little room, he noticed Darwin swimming in the tube next to him. He smiled at his aquatic friend and started to slow down.

Finally the door came into view, but his heart sank when he saw the captain stride into the room. The captain went in and didn't come out again for another minute. Lucas tried to hold his breath, but he then heard the captain mutter aloud.

"Damn it, kid. Where are you?" Nathan exclaimed softly. He was about to set out for the moon pool room when he noticed Darwin lingering in the tubes nearby. Nathan grinned and walked over, nearly having a heart attack when the blond teenager emerged out of nowhere.

"Geez, kid, you scared the--" Nathan stopped and then remembered that he should be mad at Lucas. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the medbay?" He said sternly.

Lucas nodded and looked down. "Yes, sir. But I had to get something. It was really important." Lucas said, avoiding the truth.

"So you endangered yourself and disobeyed my orders?" Nathan asked, still holding the kid by his good shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sir. But like I said, it was really important." Lucas said insistantly.

Nathan eyed him carefully. "All right. Well, get it and let's get you back where you should be. I don't want to have too many heart attacks today, thank you very much." Nathan said with a grin.

Lucas smiled back and nodded. He slowly moved into his quarters and grabbed the small disc that the letter was on. He ran it through his fingers, remembering the painful words that were imprinted on them and then shoved the disc into his pocket.

Nathan smiled to see the young man emerge again and was glad to escort him back to medbay where a worried Kristin let out a sigh of relief. Lucas was led into the room he had occupied before and relaxed back into the bed again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the disc again. He wanted so much to destroy it, but he couldn't. He couldn't do that, could he?

Nathan sighed and sat down in a chair in the medbay's main center. Kristin smiled and walked over to him. Oh, that heavenly smile. He watched her approach him and smiled weakly when she arrived. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You can relax now, Nathan. We found him." She said, only half joking. His smile tried to stretch, but he had too much on his mind.

"A lot has happened recently." He said softly, trying to decide if he should tell her what was on his mind. Then he wondered that if he did tell her, what would he say?

Nothing had really happened between the two of them, but the feeling was certainly there. And yet when he thought of Jade and the times that they had together so long ago, he knew that there would always be that feeling between them, even they had never done anything either.

"I get the feeling you're not just talking about the attack." Kristin exclaimed to break the small silence.

Nathan smiled and shook his head. "I've just had a run-in with the past. I'm kind of caught between conflicting situations. The past and the future, I guess." He tried to explain without eluding to what he was truly dealing with. Kristin nodded and sat down next to him.

"Anything you want to talk about?" She asked. Nathan looked at her, almost a little startled.

"No, uh, I think I can handle it myself." He replied. "I'd better get back to the bridge. Keep a close eye on the kiddo, okay?" He asked as he stood up and began to move out of the room. She nodded and watched him leave, more than a little confused.

Kristin then stood up and walked passed Lucas's room. He was still there, on the bed, staring at a small metal disc. She elected not to disturb him and moved on to her small office.

Meanwhile, Lucas's thoughts stilll focused on the contents of the disc. The words still leapt out at him, even though he wasn't directly looking at them. He sighed and bit his lip, fighting back the tears that came to him when he remembered what the words said.


Whims part 6

Nathan stood in his quarters, staring at the wall. So many thoughts ran through his mind still. So many problems, so many decisions, and yet he wanted to deal with the one thing that mattered the most to him.

In his past, he had made decisions that he later doubted. He had been happy with Carol and with Robert. Those were good days. But he still looked back on the days before Carol, and the days after. He could remember the first time he met Jade, on a beach a few miles away from the academy. They were friends from that day on. One time, one night before he met Carol, they became something more, but the next day he left. That was one of the decisions he doubted.

He remembered seeing Jade at Robert's funeral, and at Carol's. Both times, she stood in the background, leaning against a tree. He wanted to go to her and talk to her like the old days. The last time he saw her, she was leaning against a tree, staring at him and smiling. That was on his island. Then she turned around and disappeared into the trees. A year later, Bill Noyce brought the SeaQuest back to Nathan's life.

Now Nathan had found a life on SeaQuest and he had found a connection with Kristin Westphalen. But when he thought about Jade, about the friendship they had, the night they shared together, he knew there would always be something between the two of them, something that could be so much more if they were given a chance.

"Bridge to the captain. We've reached Goldmine station." Ford's voice announced through the comm unit.

Nathan bent over and clicked the respond button. "Okay. Open a channel to their commander." Nathan replied.

"Um, we've received order already, sir. They're sending a launch over." Ford said uncertainly.

Nathan nodded and sighed. "Okay. I'll meet them in the launch bay." Nathan explained and then switched the channel off. He slowly moved out of his quarters and walked for the launchbay uncertain of the fate he was about to meet. He stepped through the door frame and looked around. He asked a passing crewman about the ETA of the impending launch.

"Oh, it should be here any minute, sir. Last check said it was two minutes from arrival." The crewman replied.

Nathan nodded and let the crewman go. He swallowed and walked up to the main screen. He watched the read-outs and channels as they drifted past the screen. Then he heard the familiar sound of a launch docking. He moved to the door and watched it rise, opening to reveal the sum of his
past, his present and his future.



Whims part 7

Lucas looked around, searching for any adult that might stand in his way. He really hated to do this, especially after he promised the captain he'd stay still, but he had to move. He had to leave. He slipped out into the hallway and moved down.

The only sounds he could hear were his feet on the deckplates, the hum of the ship's systems and his heart pounding. He had to get off of the ship. He had to get away. He had to answer the author of the disc personally. He had to address the issues that were in the disc. He had to make sure that the words weren't followed through on.

"So, what have you been up to Nathan?" Jade Collins asked as the two of them walked together down the grey hallway. Nathan listened to the sound of the lights humming, their feet pattering on the floor. But the one thing he heard the loudest of all, was his heart pounding. He had never been so nervous in his life, but why?

"Nothing much, I guess. I was on the island for a few years. Then I came on to the SeaQuest, save the world a few dozen times. Nothing much at all." Nathan said with a grin.

Jade laughed and started shuffling her hands. After another moment, she noticed him watching her and stopped. She smiled weakly. "I haven't managed to shake that habit." She admitted.

Slowly, they arrived at her guest quarters and he showed her in. "Fidgeting isn't a bad thing." He assured her.

She smiled and shrugged. My god, he thought. She's nervous too. "No, it's just a thing that everyone notices. I was never one to like attracting attention." She replied.

"That's right. I remember. The day we met, you were standing in a dark corner watching everyone. I actually started talking to you on a dare." He said with a laugh.

She grinned and nodded. "I remember when you finally told me it was a dare. You were so embarassed. You thought I'd be mad, although I don't see why I would have been." She added. He shrugged. She leaned against the small desk in the room, and he found a spot right next to her. He shifted in his stance, leaning against the desk.

"What are you thinking, Nathan?" Jade asked quietly.

Nathan sighed and glanced at her, getting captured by her hazel green eyes. He gulped and shook his head, feeling like a teenager again. "Uh, just wondering how the heck I'm going to keep you occupied during this trip. There's not much to do around here." He lied.

"I'm sure we'll think of something." Jade replied with a breathtaking smile.

Nathan could of sworn he felt his knees shake. He opened his mouth to replied, but his PAL interrupted the words that he had been wanting to say. He stifled a groan and whipped it out. "Yes, this is the captain. What's up?" He asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as he really was.

"Captain, this is Ford. Lucas has just stolen the Stinger."


Whims part 8

Lucas held his breath. He closed his eyes and let all his feelings go. He let the rage and the hate flow out of him. He sat there, just breathing in and out. Everything that the letter had summed up in him, he let it go. Every memory that flocked to his brain and to his heart upon reading the words in
the letter, he tried to push out again.

It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to be a child prodigy. It wasn't enough to be on SeaQuest, surrounded by people who said they loved him. It wasn't enough that his parents never talked to him anymore. It wasn't enough to just simply live. It wasn't enough to breathe anymore. Still, he exhaled and inhaled slowly, his eyes tightly shut.

He knew that what he'd done was wrong. He knew that stealing the Stinger was wrong. He knew betraying the captain and the doctor and everyone else was wrong. But he had to do it. He had to escape from that ship. His hands rested on the control panel, tensely waiting for a command to arrive from his brain.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. There was very little light in the Stinger, but he could still make out a reflection of his piercing blue eyes in the glass before him. He slowly lifted up his right hand and winced, having forgotten that the darn thing was broken.

"Damn it." He whispered. "Where the hell am I going to go from here?" He thought aloud.

His left hand absentmindedly checked the sensor readouts. SeaQuest wasn't within range. Slowly, Lucas pulled the Stinger out from under
the rock he was hiding next to. He set a course for a place that he had once promised never to return to.

Slowly, he piloted for his destination, still breathing in and out slowly. His thoughts ran through his head at countless miles per hour. He couldn't understand how his past could come back to haunt him so bluntly. Lucas set the autopilot and pulled the letter once more. He ran his fingers gently over the smooth metal surface. Somewhere, encrypted within the data marks, there was a message for him. A message he'd already read. A
message he had yet to read. He knew who sent it, and yet he didn't.

Lucas sighed and focused on the blue water outside of the Stinger. It flowed so smoothly over the body of the submersible. How could it do that? How could it withstand all the obstacles of the universe and still be so smooth? Lucas began to wish he was the water, blue and peaceful. The water didn't have problems.

Kristin arrived on the bridge. She could see Nathan hanging over Ortiz's shoulder, trying to find some trace of the Stinger. Ford was talking to a extrtemely nice looking young lady, who seemed about Nathan's age. The woman had shoulder length brown hair and startling green eyes. Making a choice, Kristin moved over to Nathan.

"Any sign of him?" She asked quietly. Nathan shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Somehow, he managed to blind the sensors. The only thing we can do is retrace our steps to where he left from and try and track him down." Nathan exclaimed, not bothering to cover up the worry in his voice.

Kristin understood and pet his arm gently, reassuringly. "We'll find him, Nathan. Don't worry." She said soothingly. Nathan turned around and looked her in the eye. She felt something coming from him, something she'd never really felt before. He seemed to be radiating with emotion, but she couldn't get a handle on what it was.

He smiled gently and nodded. "Yes, we'll find him." He replied softly. Then he looked up and across the way until his eyes fell on Jade again. He watched her absentmindedly, still caught up in a world that he thought he'd left behind long ago.

"What is it, Nathan?" Kristin asked, following his gaze.

"I'm stuck between the past and the future, is all." He murmured. Then he shook his head, as if trying to shake away persistent spirits, and looked at her again, a faint smile on his lips.

"Is there anything I can do for you, doctor?" He asked kindly.

She stopped a minute, a little surprised by his sudden change in behavior. "No, I just came up to check on your progress with finding Lucas." She admitted, a little hurt by the sudden lack of emotion that was in his eyes.

He nodded and shrugged. "We're trying to find him. The best thing I think we can do right now is depend on the others. We can't get in their way now." He murmured.

She nodded. "I'll return to my work then." She said a little absentmindedly. She turned to leave, but then turned back again. "Nathan, are you sure you're all right?" She asked, not bothering to hide the worry in her voice.

He smiled reassuringly and nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about me. I just want to see Lucas safe and sound, you know?" He replied.

She nodded and slowly moved away.

Kristin managed to get off of the bridge before she turned back again. She watched as Nathan moved over to the other woman and began to talk to her. It struck her a strange way to see him talk to this other woman. It almost seemed like Nathan was *leaning* into this other woman. Kristin shook the thoughts out of her mind and moved slowly to the mag-lev. She sat down and listened to the machinery. She tried to relax, to tell herself it was only her imagination.

"Now I know how he felt with Malcolm." She whispered.

*

Meanwhile, Nathan escorted Jade back to her quarters. They stepped into the room and once again leaned against the desk. He gazed at her and she gazed at him.

"What are you thinking?" She asked quietly.

"I was thinking about the past." He replied honestly.

"What were you thinking about the past?" She asked earnestly.

He gazed into her eyes and thought hard. "I'm willing to bet you already know what I'm thinking." He whispered.

Jade smiled and nodded. "I'm not willing to take that bet." She replied with a laugh.

He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her close to his side. "Where did we go, Jade?" He asked, resting his chin on her head.

She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. "I don't know, but here we are." She replied softly.

He chuckled and nodded. "Here we are." He whispered back.



Whims part 9

"Bridge to captain." Ford's voice rang through. Nathan stepped out of the shower and glanced around the empty room. He moved over to the comm unit and clicked it on, brushing the towel over his hair.

"What can I do for you, Commander?" Nathan asked as he looked around his room with a new pair of eyes. He felt content now. So much had happened. He and Jade had found a new light. He ran over what happened in his mind.

"Sir, there's no sign of the Stinger. And they are expecting us at Dominion ridge." Ford's voice rang through.

Nathan sighed. He knew Ford was right. But going to the ridge now meant so many things. It meant leaving Lucas behind, wherever he was. And it would mean saying goodbye to Jade a lot sooner than he wanted to.

"I understand. Contact Dominion ridge. Tell them we'll be there in twelve hours." Nathan exclaimed.

"Um, sir? Dominion ridge is only three hours away at normal speed." Ford replied uncertainly.

Nathan grinned, not remembering that he couldn't be seen by his first officer.

"I realize that, Jonathan. It gives us a little more time." Nathan replied.

Ford chuckled. "Yes, sir. Understood. Message on its way." His youthful voice replied.

Nathan nodded slowly and switched off the com line. He sat down and looked around, confused by all the things that were happening. Where was Lucas, and why had he gone, even after the talk they'd shared? What had scared that poor boy away from the SeaQuest, one of the safest places for him?

What was going on with Jade? They hadn't actually done anything. They'd rested against other for a few more minutes, talked some more, but nothing completely inappropriate. But when he started to leave, Nathan turned back to her and kissed her gently, sweetly, and it felt good. It felt even better that she'd kissed back.

With a sigh, thoughts still running through and through his head, Nathan stood up and walked to his closet where he picked out the clothes for the day. In the back of his head, he knew what was lingering. The one thought that still left him unsettled. . . Kristin.

*

Kristin tapped her hands on the table top. She looked around for something to do, here in the dark of the night. She stood in the moon pool room, looking for something to do to keep her mind off all the things that were on her mind.

Kristin moved over to the fridge and fished around for a snack. She smiled weakly, remembering the conversation she and Nathan had had here once, with regards to Malcolm Lansdowne. Then, Nathan had shown signs of being jealous. Now Kristin shuddered as she realized that she was the jealous one this time.

"Anything good?" A familiar voice asked.

Kristin turned and faced Nathan.

He smiled weakly and moved over to fish around for his own snack.

Kristin took her food over to a table and glanced at him.

"I noticed we have a new passenger." She said quietly.

Nathan froze in mid-rummage. Kristin noticed it with great discomfort.

"Yeah, an ambassador. She's going to mediate a dispute over on Dominion ridge." He replied, turning to face her, snack in hand. He slowly began to eat it, watching her carefully.

"Do you know her well?" Kristin asked.

Nathan nearly choked. When he cleared his throat, he nodded. "Yes, we're old friends." He said slowly.

"Is that all? Just friends?" Kristin asked.

Nathan smiled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous." He said.

Kristin put on a shocked expression. "Jealous? No. Of course not. If there were something between you and this woman, that's your business." Kristin replied, then eyed him carefully. "Is there something?" She asked, trying to be subtle. Nathan mulled the question over for a minute.

"I don't know. I'm still checking." He said after a silent pause.

With that he walked away, leaving Kristin to smile upon hearing her own words regurgitated back at her.

*

"Almost there." Lucas whispered.

The computer confirmed his comment. The sensors showed the island up ahead. Now was the time. Lucas took a breath and pulled the Stinger up on land. He slowly climbed out of the blue single seater and looked around. He heard the crickets in the background, and he felt the humidity. He wasn't quite sure where on the planet he was, but he knew that he was close to the equator. The pale moonlight felt good on his shoulders, even though he knew it didn't have mass.

Lucas started moving through the forest, listening the strange sounds around him. He knew where he was going, but he wasn't sure the animals around him were going to let him get there. It felt like a jungle around him, and it sounded like one too.

Lucas squinted his eyes against the strange light of the jungle. He began to wish he'd not only brought a sidearm but a flashlight too. His arm began to hurt some more. He tried to ignore it. He also tried to ignore the voice in the back of his head that nagged him for coming when he did instead of
waiting for his arm to heal.

Fate and time were working against him though. Fate dictated that he receive the letter only moments before the ship was attacked. Fate and time said that he had to read the letter the evening before. Fate sent that letter to him on the night of the ship's attack, the letter to keep him up so he would be up and about when the ship was attacked, and he would fall and break his arm. That was what happened, right? He wondered. Fate was working against me, wasn't it?

As he stumbled over the sticks and stones, he felt the disc in his pocket. He slipped his good hand into his pocket and pulled out the disc. He clutched it in his hand and proceeded to walk. As he walked, his emotions built up stronger and stronger. His determination began to energize him and he walked faster and faster.

His hatred and bitterness began to build too. Every memory he'd ever had with this man, every emotion, every thing of any importance, all of it, were all things that Lucas had tried so hard to throw away with the past. Now it seemed to come back and haunt him.

Now the night was haunting him. Lucas stumbled through the sticks in the darkness, trying hard not to remember the days when he still interacted with the man who would become his worst enemy. The man who wrote the letter. The man who wanted to kill him. Lucas could still remember the cries in the night. The nightmare that was life when he still knew him.

In the heat of his anger and rage, Lucas tripped and fell. His good hand slammed into the ground and the disc shattered into thousands of glittering pieces, cutting his hand seriously. He wailed in pain, and began to cry, all the emotions of the moment reaching a climax of ultimate despair. The animals screeched to hear him cry. The night slowly grew darker, but Lucas stayed on the ground, pressing his bloody hand to his chest, crying for the days when life was simpler.


Whims part 10

Jade slowly poured the coffee into the mug she'd selected for herself. So many things ran through her mind now. She couldn't think straight. So much had happened in the entirety of her life, and yet the past twenty-four hours had felt the most active. Nothing had really happened, except that her heart fell into her knees and she began to feel regrets about every decision she'd made since the day she disappeared from his life.

She had her reasons that day. It was leave or die. Someone had actually threatened her life, so she had to descend into a form of the witness protection program. How she wanted to tell Nathan about it. How she wanted him to come with her. How often did the people behind the program tell her to forget about it?

But now her enemies had disappeared. Or had they? The SeaQuest was attacked by people who wanted to see her dead. Were they the same people who wanted her dead seven years ago, or were they simply disgruntled colonists fighting for their own side?

The colony dispute at Dominion ridge was complicated, but it had hardly risen to the point of assassination, had it? That's what Noyce had said, but now Jade doubted it. All the trouble of her past was coming back to haunt her, wasn't it? Just when things with Nathan were starting again. She loved him then, and she loved him now, but maybe it wasn't meant to be. Maybe fate decided that they couldn't be.

No. Jade refused to believe it. She refused to believe in fate and time.

Nothing else could dictate to her how her life was supposed to run. She decided what would happen, not fate. She couldn't allow herself to be scared by ancient superstitions.

She slowly sipped the coffee and sat down. She peered around the metalic gray mess hall and sighed. Life felt so calm here. So normal. She was safe here, wasn't she? She sipped the coffee again and looked around. Her eyes rested on a very pretty woman, about her age, who had just stepped into the mess hall. She had nice auburn hair and a gentle swagger. All in all, a very attractive woman.

***

Kristin moved into the mess hall, still a little groggy from the extra work she had decided to do. She tried to go to sleep after Nathan walked away in the moon pool room, but that didn't work out very well. So now, after her snack, she wanted something to eat that was a little more substantial. As she moved to the selection center, she noticed someone in the corner of the empty room, drinking a cup of coffee. As Kristin looked a little harder, she realized that the woman in the corner was the same one that she'd seen on the bridge today, as well as the same woman that she and Nathan had been talking about earlier.

Slowly, still trying to make up her mind, Kristin began to make some food. She got a mug of coffee, caffiene enriched, and a breakfast plate. Then she resolutely moved over to the table.

"Hello. Mind if I sit down? Could use the company." She said kindly.

"Please, do. So could I." Jade replied with a friendly smile.

Kristin smiled back and sat down. She wanted to stake out the unsuspecting competition. "I'm Kristin Westphalen. I'm the chief physician and scientist on board. Who might you be?" She asked in her most friendly tone.

"Jade Collins. Uh, admiral Jade Collins. Ambassador and designated passenger." Jade replied with a grin.

Kristin smiled back. Darn it. She liked this woman.

*

Nathan sighed and looked into the mirror. He couldn't understand what stared back at him. He knew who it was, but he didn't know what it wanted. He slowly placed his head on the mirror and continued to let the thoughts flood through his mind.

Who did he love? Who could he see himself with? In his heart, he knew he loved them both. He knew it in his heart. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear the lyrics of a song he once heard. A song that he heard in his childhood, hanging out with his friends before he went to the academy. God, the song didn't mean anything then, but now. . .

"I know you are torn between what was and what could be. I gotta know, wanna know, gotta know, wanna know, gotta know, who do you love?"

With another sigh, Nathan stepped back from the mirror and looked around. He moved over to his interface and called up the to-do list that he had made for himself yesterday.

He stifled a groan as he saw that he had to talk to the crew of the attacking vessel. He had to talk to the leader of the group that was trying to kill Jade, but couldn't even set their clocks right. With a sigh, he moved out of the door and down the hallway.

So much was happening, but only three things were important right now. The first was the Jade/Kristin situation. Second was this interview. Third, and the most important, was Lucas. Nathan changed his mind and switched directions. Things must be taken care of in order of their importance. Soon enough, he arrived at the bridge again.

"Captain. I was just about to call you." Ford exclaimed upon seeing his commanding officer stride on to the bridge.

"Really? What is it?" Nathan asked eagerly. Ford smiled, knowing what he had to say would be interpreted as good news.

"We've managed to track the Stinger. We still don't know where it is, but we know where it was headed." The first officer said cheerfully. Nathan grinned and nodded.

"Great. Set a course accordingly. Let's see if we can't catch up with our runaway prodigy, eh?" Nathan asked, searching for a way to handle all the new emotions. As if the Jade/Kristin situation weren't hard enough to deal with, Lucas had to go AWOL.

Poor Lucas. What was going through that kid's mind?

*

Lucas opened his eyes shakily. He looked at his right hand, which was still throbbing with pain. The bleeding seemed to have stopped. He stumbled up to his feet, and looked around the forest that he was in. The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon, casting a light blue haze all over the place. The clouds were pink and yellow. A perfect morning sunrise. Lucas looked around and began to move again, trying to do something to keep his mind off of the pain.

As the young blond began to make his way across the sticks and stones again, he realized that all the animal sounds had ceased. He grew a little frightened and looked around. As he turned his head, his eyes fell upon the most gutrenching sight he could ever see.

An gloved fist slamming down into his face, knocking him down to the ground. Everything went black.



Whims part 11

That was a loud thunk. Daniel opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the God forsaken cell. How could he have been so careless? He had gotten caught. He stood up and walked around the small gray cell. He ran his fingers over the thin metal, trying to plan a way to get out, which was the only thing left on his mind.

His superiors had ordered him to kill Jade Collins. Nothing else. Just kill her. Make sure she doesn't survive the trip to Dominion ridge. He had the unfortunate task of not realizing what he was going up against. He didn't realize all that SeaQuest was.

When he and his three crewmates attacked, they still didn't know who they were up against. They managed to get a few blows across the flagship's bow, but they'd hardly caused any damage. Then their ship was disabled, and they had to abandon in an escape pod. SeaQuest pulled them in and sent them straight to the holding cells.

Daniel sighed and looked around. He had been put in a separate cell then the others. The one they called Ford leaned in once to say that Samuel, one of Dan's companions, had to be taken to med bay for a delayed reaction to some internal injuries he suffered during the attack. Perhaps that was a good device. To get out, go to medbay, where they wouldn't be watching him so closely.

Daniel dropped to the ground, making as much noise as he could. He groaned and whimpered, thrashing about as if he were having a seizure. A guard peered in the door and rang an alarm.

"Medical alert!" Daniel heard the young foolish ensign cry.

*

Nathan walked through the well-lit gray halllway with a sigh. He hadn't seen either Kristin or Jade recently. His heart ached almost. After having so much of an overdose on hormones from seeing the two of them, he was start to come down off of it.

He tried to recall his to-do list. SeaQuest was now on course after the readings that Lucas had left behind. Nathan had yet to talk to the terrorist attackers, but he was on his way to do so now. The three things on his list were Lucas, Terrorists and the Jade/Kristin situation.

Situation. That's what it was now. It was a situation. The thing with Lucas had been taken as far as could be now. It was up to fate to allow for any further developments in finding the lost boy. The Terrorists were about to be dealt with. So that left . . . the situation. Nathan could practically hear
the dramatic music swell in the back of his head.

As Nathan started to turn down the hallway, he felt a large object smash into his chest and stomach. It felt like he was hit by a bullet train. He felt himself fly backwards into the hard metal floor and he cried out. He carefully blinked in time to see a young man scrambling away from him. Nathan watched two security guards chase after the young man and he heard a third trying to talk to him.

"Captain, are you all right? Just stay still." The young man said slowly.

Nathan groaned, blinked again, feeling the consciousness ooze out of him.

"Right. Okay. Thank you, Robert." He murmured as everything went black. The guard frowned and then grabbed his PAL.

*

"Security alert. Security alert. All senior command officers report to the bridge. Repeat. Security alert, escaped prisoner. All senior command officers report to the bridge." Tim O'Neil's voice rang out through the metal walls of SeaQuest. Across the large flagship of the UEO, crewmembers looked up and glanced at each other uncertainly. Jade gulped and stared nervously at the small black public address box in the corner of the science lab where Kristin was showing her Darwin's vocorder program.

"That would be me, I suppose." Kristin murmured. Jade nodded, kind of out of it. Kristin tried to smile reassuringly. "Don't worry, Jade, there's nothing to worry about. Why don't you come with me?" She asked.

Jade smiled back and nodded. "I'd like to do that." She said.

Kristin nodded back and started to move when her own PAL chirped. She frowned, for it was extremely rare for anyone to contact her through the PAL. They rarely needed her except for. . . except for medical emergancies. She grabbed the machine and clicked it on. "Westphalen here." She said, trying desperately not to let emotion or eagerness cloud her voice.

"Doctor, this is medic Johnson in the med bay. Captain Bridger sustained some pretty serious injuries when the prisoner escaped. We need you down here." Michael Johnson exclaimed through the com line.

Kristin bit her lip and Jade gasped.

"I'm on my way." Kristin said sharply and put the PAL away. Then she looked at Jade and smiled. "I think you may want to come too." She said softly, putting her jealousy aside. Jade nodded emphatically. Kristin smiled and lead Jade to the mag-lev where they sat down and listened to the whir of machinery in silence.

Both of them were thinking the same thing. They were praying that Nathan would be all right, that Johnson was mistaken in his account of the injuries.

But Kristin was wondering something else, somewhere in the back of her head. She was wondering what Nathan's thoughts were now. Who was he thinking of? Was he thinking of her? Or Jade? Kristin had decided some time ago that she was happy that Nathan had found someone, but she'd also decided that she was incredibly sad that she wasn't that someone. She sighed, still longing to know what Nathan was thinking right now.

Jade just sat, praying that Nathan was all right. As the mag-lev neared its destination, she seemed to grow more nervous. Kristin smiled reassuringly and squeezed Jade's hand. Sure, it was patronizing, but it seemed to make the other woman feel better. As the mag-lev began to slow down, it stopped completely, and the lights went out. Suddenly, the two women were sitting in pitch black darkness.

*

"Captain?" Lucas murmured softly, trying to open his eyes. He couldn't for the light around him was too bright for his eyes, and he felt so weak that he couldn't find the strength to open his lids. Pain seared through his arms and his right hand. When he tried to move, it just hurt even more. His cheek burned from the open cut that was still bleeding, and it made his cheek sting like hell.

Somehow, somewhere, he was tied to something, or tied down. Lucas was so out of it, he wasn't sure if he was sitting or lying down. There was an enormous amount of pressure adding to the pain in his arms, and it was holding him down. He swayed his head around, forcing his eyes open and focusing on the first thing he saw.

Unfortunately, the first thing he saw was not a pleasant thing. All he saw was the blurry vision of the one man who wanted him dead more than anything else in the world..


Whims 12

Lucas opened his eyes and weakly looked around. He glanced to the side and saw the back of a young man, about thirty-five years old, as he huddled over his science table. Lucas looked about the room and noticed that it was basically primitive. The walls were made of weak boards of wood and had cobwebs dripping down from the ceiling and in the corners. A small fishing rod was mounted on the far wall, but everything else was pure science. One wall was covered with computers, and another was a giant bookshelf full of chemicals and scientific instruments. Lucas sighed softly and looked at his hand. It was bandaged well, but his wrist was chained down to the small table that he was on. He tugged at his feet and found a similar situation: they wouldn't budge an inch.

"Well, well. If it isn't young Mr. Wolenczak. I told you he'd come to visit me, Virgil. I did, I told you." William's voice exclaimed. William Davenport, age thirty four, height 5'9", black hair and grey eyes, turned on his heels and walked over to the small T-shaped table to peer at the young blond-haired genius.

"I had to talk to you. About the letter." Lucas exclaimed desperately, his throat dry and scratchy. "Will, let me out of this."

"Like hell I will, Luke. You might, you know, heh, might fire a nuclear warhead on me." Will retorted as he rocked from side to side on his heels.

Lucas sighed. "Will, where's Travis?" He asked gently, ignoring the pain.

Will snorted and began poking Lucas's side. "Travis is dead, Luuuukkkkeeee." The man retorted, dragging the name out on his tongue.

Lucas turned even paler than he was before, which was quite a feat.

If Travis was dead, that meant only one thing. "Will, what happened to Travis?"

"He volunteered. Uh-huh. He did. I zapped him. I harnessed the energy and added about fifteen years of energy to my generator. Now you're here, I can put it to good use." Will exclaimed eagerly, a cheesy grin on his face.

"Will, unchain me. Now." Lucas exclaimed sharply.

Will grinned and shook his head, still swaying from side to side on the balls of his feet.

Lucas didn't like the looks of the situation.

"No, Luke. That would be no fun. We're going to have fun. You're back with me now, so we're going to have fun. That's what we're going to do. Travis would be proud of me, wouldn't he, Luke?" Will started to ramble as he tottered back to his workbench.

"Yes, he'd be proud, and I'm proud of you too. Let me see what you're working on there, Will." Lucas asked softly.

"Nuh-uh! You no peek until I'm done!." Will replied and huddled over the contraption.

Lucas sighed and looked up at the ceiling. In his left sleeve, he felt the small pen that Dr. Westphalen had given him for a random present the week before. He had stuck it up his sleeve before leaving, just for good luck. Now he needed the luck more than ever. He slowly began to slide the pen
out into his palm so that he could disassemble it. It may have stood as his only chance.

Across the room, William Davenport fiddled with a small box of wires and switches, humming a soft tune he'd heard when he was in the hospital. Luke had never come to visit him in the hospital. No one ever did. They just kept away, forgetting about poor little Willy. He was the one who had had an accident, not them. He was the one who was left out in the rain. He was the one who made it into the record books for being . . . struck. Not them. Now it was his turn. No one would come to visit them either. Just like no one visited Travis. Travis was still in his room, and no one missed him. The smell wasn't so bad after awhile. Will just wanted to get rid of that stupid nurse's uniform. Didn't Travis know that only women were nurses? Will thought.

*

"Captain? Do you hear me?" Medic Johnson's voice exclaimed.

Nathan opened his eyes and looked around the sickbay. A couple of medics were watching him carefully, but there was a specific absence that he couldn't help but notice.

Kristin wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Yeah, I'm awake." He mumbled weakly, his head pounding gently.

Johnson smiled weakly and leaned back to grab the blood pressure gauge.

Nathan slowly tried to sit up and groaned as the blood rushed to his head.

"Sir, don't sit up too . . . Okay then." Johnson stopped himself and began to roll up the captain's sleeve so he could take a blood pressure reading.

"What happened?" Nathan asked as he blinked back the sudden increase in volume of the pounding in his head.

"One of the terrorists from the attack escaped from his holding cell. He plowed into you, knocking you back on to the deckplate. You had a close encounter with a concussion, but you won. There's no sign of one." Johnson reported as he began pumping softly.

"Where's Dr. Westphalen?" Nathan asked as he watched the gauge slowly move.

Johnson sighed as he checked his watch. "She was on her way here with Ambassador Collins when the prisoner cut the power to C deck. She and the ambassador are currently trapped in the mag-lev between section 12 and 13. They're working on getting them out as we stand here." Johnson replied, his eyes widening as the captain's blood pressure began to rise before his eyes.

"What? How long have they been in there? Are they still connected to the air system? Where's the intruder?" Nathan exclaimed as he jumped off the medical bed. He ignored all the blood that started pumping and ripped the gauge off of his arm. Johnson opened his mouth to say something, but Nathan was already out the door, moving towards the bridge.

*

"At least we're still breathing." Jade murmured. Kristin nodded as she felt the mag-lev door in the darkness.

"We're stil connected to the ventilation. It's just the lights, the power." The doctor replied.

Jade nodded and glanced out the window at the blue light that glistened in from the water right outside the ship. The starboard mag-lev often brushed by the outer hull in some parts of the ship, giving a view out into the ocean and all it's beautiful sights. The water was coursing past that hour as they zipped towards Dominion ridge. No. Wait. They weren't going to Dominion ridge anymore. They were heading towards an island, Jade remembered. To find a young man named Lucas that Nathan cared for very much.

"Let's see if we can't get into the wiring. I might be able to do something." Jade exclaimed softly as she moved through the darkness towards where she'd seen the control panels earlier.

Kristin moved away from the door and watched as Jade pulled a cover off the wiring, revealing a small dim white light and several wires.

"Well, there's still *some* power." Jade murmured.

Kristin watched from an angle as the white lit up different parts of Jade's face and made her seem almost angelic. She sat there a moment and thought. Suddenly, her PAL chirped. She hadn't thought of that before. Why hadn't she?

"Westphalen here." She exclaimed urgently as she pressed the appropriate key.

"Kristin. Are you all right?" Nathan's voice came through.

Kristin smiled weakly as she heard his voice. She saw Jade out of the corner of her eye. The other woman was smiling weakly and had sighed in relief. "I'm good. We're both fine. It's just a little dark in here. Jade has managed to find some of the wiring that powers this tub." The doctor replied as she tried to relax. Somehow, just hearing his voice, she felt safer. "Are you okay, Nathan?" She asked, remembering the call from sickbay.

"Yes, I've got a little headache. Tell Jade not to mess around in there. We've almost got the power completely restored, so I don't want her to shock herself or anything." Nathan's voice insisted.

Kristin glanced at Jade who nodded that she'd heard.

"She heard you, Nathan." Kristin replied. Just then, the lights came to life again and the mag-lev started to whir. "Nathan, we're moving."

"Good. Come to the bridge. With this guy on the loose, we need to keep Jade under watch." He exclaimed through the channel. Kristin frowned and looked at a worried Jade.

"Nathan, do you believe this guy is going to come after me?" Jade asked loudly, hoping her voice rang through.

Nathan wilted a little as he heard a slight feather of fear in her voice.

She was scared, and so was he. "I honestly don't know, Jade. But we want to be careful, none the less." He replied.

Behind the captain, Ford raised an eyebrow at the sudden softness in his captain's voice and glanced at Tim O'Neil who had noticed it too. They'd heard somewhere that something had once happened between their captain and this stranger from afar, but they were never sure about trusting things they'd only 'heard' and not proven.

"Sir, the mag-lev is moving towards the bridge now." Ortiz called from his post.

Nathan nodded and moved off the bridge to the mag-lev doors to wait for his . . . his women. . . What an ironical thought, he murmured to himself. The doors soon did open and the two women stepped out. He resisted the urge to hug them both and merely smiled.

"Sir, we're detecting movement in the aqua tunnels! Our intruder is swimming through the port side." Tim cried as he hit another key on his panel. Nathan glanced back and then pulled the two women onto the bridge.

"Close the doors. Notify all security teams and find him." Nathan began to be the captain he always was as he began barking orders. "Mr. Ford, what's are E.T.A.?"

"We're going to arrive at the island where Lucas's trail ends in about forty minutes." Ford replied as he darted over to the security station to help find a lock on the intruder.

Suddenly there was a loud splash.

Nathan turned around to see a man leap out of the water and roll under the strategic planning table.

"Hey, there!" Nathan exclaimed as he started towards the table.

The man jumped out from behind the table and dove towards the closing clam shell doors.

Nathan started after him but skidded to a stop as the man grabbed Jade and pulled her back, whipping out a knife and holding it to her throat. He held her in a choke hold as he pressed the razor sharp blade to her flesh.

"Open the doors!" The man demanded. "Open them!"

Nathan glanced at Jade who didn't look as scared as she had sounded ten minutes before. With a grunt, she lifted her foot into the man's groin and swung an arm back into his face. The man yelped, surprised by the attack, and fell backwards. Nathan couldn't help but smile as he watched her spin around and snap kick the man in the chin. He went flying back into the wall and hit his head on one of the pipes. Unconscious, he fell forward and landed on the deckplate with a thud.

Kristin stepped forward to check the pulse of the young man, a pulse she soon found. Nathan moved forward to take Jade's arms in his hands and to make sure she was all right. She turned around, her hand pressed to her neck, her eyes wide and her complexion pale.

"Jade?" He whispered.

She took the hand away to reveal a spurt of blood as she fainted away.

"Kristin!!" He cried as the woman he loved collapsed into his arms. . .



Part 13

Lucas tried to move a little as he glanced across the room. Virgil sat on his perch and chirped happily. Lucas was just glad that Will couldn't reach the damn bird. He slid the empty pen case back down into his sleeve and tried to maneuver the spring into the lock. He could hear Will humming across the room. God, how does someone like that get out of a mental hospital? Lucas felt bad for Travis, and prayed that he would rest in peace. Virgil's repetitive chirp was starting to get annoying as Lucas tried to pry the chain off.

"Almost done, Luuukkkkeeeee." Will's voice exclaimed.

"Done with what, Will?" Lucas asked as he struggled against the metal binders.

"I'm gonna blow up the world, Lucas!!" Will declared happily. "Then nobody ain't ever got to suffer again. I'm gonna save everyone."

Lucas groaned. Will was a smart guy, if a little mentally imbalanced, and this was a stupid thing to have to go through. Anyone could talk Will down. "You can't blow up the world just because of me, Will." Lucas said softly.

"Why not?" Will snapped angrily, his mood changing before Lucas's eyes. "If you can send me away, tell people I'm crazy and have them lock me up, then why can't I prove that I'm just as smart as you?"

"Because it's stupid to kill yourself just so that you can prove you're smart!" Lucas replied, losing all the fear he had before. For some reason, his adrenaline took over and he didn't have to worry about being afraid any more.

"So you admit I'm smart!!" Will snapped.

"Yes, you are smart. You're just an idiot!" Lucas retorted.

Will growled and spun around to find Lucas sitting up, prying at his leg irons.

"No!" He cried and lunged for the blonde genius.

Lucas jumped out of the leg irons, and thankfully enough, out of the way. He sprang for the door only to find it locked.

"Crud." He muttered before turning and seeing Will standing before him with a grin. "Will, you were sent to the institute so that you wouldn't hurt people. You say you're trying to prove us all wrong when in fact all you're doing is proving us right!" Lucas insisted as his mind raced to think of another plan. He knew Will couldn't blow up the planet, but he could very well blow up the island they were on, taking him with it. That didn't seem like a fun thing. Lucas's hand throbbed as he leaned back against the door and tried to think. Will was getting closer and that damn bird was getting louder. Wait. Why was he getting louder?

"Lucas, where are you?" The captain's voice called through the trees.

Captain Bridger.

"Captain, I'm here!!" Lucas called, forgetting everything that had happened over the past few days.

"NO!" Will cried and lunged for the blond genius.

Lucas dove for another corner of the room and nearly cracked his skull on the hard wall. He stopped a half an inch short of the nail that erupted from the cement and then felt Will's strong grasp on his shoulders. He kicked wildly but Will was a large, strong person, capable of throwing Lucas across the room, which he did with a growl of anger. Lucas impacted against the opposite wall and slid to the ground. Will got ready to charge the young man again when a green laser blast sliced through the door, sending the iron to the ground to reveal Nathan Bridger and his team. Will scowled and ran for the back door. Nathan signaled that Ortiz follow as he and Kristin ran to Lucas's unconscious side. Kristin pressed her fingers to Lucas's neck.

"We have to get him back to the ship. Now!!" Kristin exclaimed in worry as she tested Lucas's vital signs. Nathan nodded and scooped Lucas up,
heading right back to the launch.

*

Nathan stared at the wall, trying desperately to think clearly. Ortiz yelped behind the captain's back as Kristin gently applied a butterfly bandage to the cut he'd gotten while trying to hold Will down. Finally, Shan had managed to give Will a tranq, sending the young man down. Nathan still was surprised by the whole ordeal. Noyce had sent him a report on the strange gentleman, complete with notes on the death of Will's guardian, Travis, and the bird Virgil who now sat on the perch next to an unconscious Will.

But the two people he was worried about most were the ones that occupied his thoughts even now. Nathan moved his gaze to the sight of Lucas on the bed to his right. The young man was breathing regularly, but Kristin wasn't so sure about him. He had a bad concussion, lots of cuts and bruises and his hand was mangled with shards of glass. The concussion worried her the most, as well as the effect of the wall on Lucas's back.

Nathan sighed and looked to his left where Jade was sleeping on another bed. Her neck was bandaged and an IV pumped nutrients into her veins, but her eyes had yet to open. Kristin didn't know what to say about her. Jade was on the brink, could fall either way. One direction led to a normal life, back to everything she was used to. And the other direction fell away into the dark pit of death, leaving Nathan without her. Her sway depended on how well her heart could keep up. The knife had nicked her artery, and she'd lost a lot of blood before he could get her to the medbay.
Now it was a matter of time before they could find out whether or not her heart had recreated enough blood to keep her alive.

"Nathan." Kristin said softly as she walked up behind him.

He turned and looked at her.

"Lucas will be okay." She tried weakly.

"I know. He's a strong kid. He'll be fine. Hell, he's gotten through worse." Nathan replied softly.

Kristin wanted to cry when she saw the look in his eyes. He was hurting, and she knew why. She was almost jealous, but she couldn't do that to him. She couldn't do anything but be there for him. She sat down and rested a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"Nooo . . ." A soft voice interrupted their thoughts.

Nathan looked at Jade hopefully and saw her eyes blink open. She could barely move her head as she glanced around the room. He got up and moved within her sight, smiling weakly while Kristin moved to check the vital signs.

"Hey, you." He said softly, his voice cracking.

"Where . . ." Jade started to whisper.

"You're in our sickbay. You got hurt, remember?" He said softly, not noticing the frown on Kristin's face.

"Sharp . . . neck. . . Am I . . ." Jade mumbled, barely able to talk.

Nathan flashed a quick glance to Kristin and then looked back into Jade's eyes.

"Am I . . okay?" She whispered.

"I think you're . . ." Nathan trailed off, not knowing what to say. He could make no guarantees. "It's a good sign that you woke up, sweetie." He whispered back stroking her face with his fingers.

"Hurts." Jade said simply, trying to look at Kristin, then she gave up and stared at Nathan. "Don't think. . ."

"What? What don't you think?" Nathan asked almost eagerly, trying to get her to hang on and talk to him.

"Love you." She said softly. "But . . ."

"No buts." Nathan said sharply when she stopped.

"When . . . met Carol . . . Knew she . . was yours." Jade struggled.

"Glad . . Had a chance."

"Stop talking like that." Nathan pleaded.

"I don't . . want . . to stand .. your way." Jade mumbled.

Nathan looked at Kristin and saw the tears in her eyes. It couldn't be. Not this, not now. Not again. He couldn't do this. He looked at Jade with tears in his eyes.

"You could never be in my way." He assured her softly.

"Cry?" Jade asked.

"Yes." Nathan admitted with a nod.

Behind them, Lucas sat up on his bed and saw the scene through the doorway. He frowned and got up, approaching the other room.

"No cry." Jade insisted as sternly as she could, which was not that well.

"Jade." Nathan started.

"Had my chance . . . Worth it." Jade said with a weak smile.

"I don't want you to lose your chance." Nathan said softly.

"You have . . have yours. . . You have it . . . in front of you." Jade said, her eyes rolling towards Kristin and then moving back.

Kristin turned and saw Lucas in the door frame. She moved to him and saw the tears in his eyes.

"Don't leave me." Nathan pleaded.

"Never . . . will." Jade replied as she closed her eyes.

Nathan listened to the sound of the heart monitor slow and then rubbed his eyes with his hands. Soon it flatlined and it was over. Kristin knew there was nothing she could do, so she didn't put Nathan through the pain of watching her try futilely.

"Captain?" Lucas said in a cracking voice.

Nathan turned and looked at the boy, his teary brown eyes meeting wet blue ones.

"Lucas." Nathan whispered as he stood up.

Lucas charged forward and hugged his captain. Nathan hugged him back and tried hard not to cry. "Glad you're okay." He added softly as he felt the boy breathe against his chest.

"I'm sorry, Captain." Lucas exclaimed weakly. He'd never met Jade, but he could hear it in the captain's voice, and he saw it in the captain's eyes and all he could think was that it was somehow his fault. It was always his fault.

"Not your fault, Lucas." Nathan assured him softly. "Not your fault."



The End . . . .
Finally