FIXING THE DAMAGE

By Jules

Author's Note: This little story came about as I watched the Deleted Scenes from the episode "Nothing But the Truth" where Kristin was telling Lucas about how worried she was and about his room being destroyed by the hijackers.

In this story, it is assumed that Tim and Miguel were not present at the time of the SeaQuest being taken over.

and so the story continues:

Commander Jonathan Ford was walked towards the launch bay area, ready to greet the arrival of Captain Bridger and Doctor Westphalen. A few of the other crew members were returning also, but only to help with the repairs that were necessary until they reached Pearl Harbor.

Ford had changed clothes from the black jumpsuit he had taken from one of the hijackers. It had been almost 12 hours since Colonel Schrader had stolen a launch. The man had ignored Katie Hitchcock when she warned him the maximum depth that the vessel was and had paid the ultimate price.

As he turned the corner, he spotted Lucas standing near a bulk head, looking intently at some instrument panel that had been damaged by Schrader's men.

"How's it going, Lucas?"

Lucas jumped slightly at the Commander's voice, not hearing anybody come up behind him, "Oh sorry, I didn't see you."

Ford could see from his stance, the remnants of tension across the teenager's shoulders, "You don't have to do this now."

"I don't mind helping out. Everybody else is busy cleaning up."

"You should be getting some sleep," Ford pointed out, knowing that the Captain would be worried. Tiredness was plainly visible, as well as a few other emotions that the teenager was trying to mask.

"Nah, I am good," Lucas replied casually, pressing a few of the switches to see if they still worked, raking a hand through his messy blond hair, which only emphasised the fatigue even more.

Aware the strong independence streak that Lucas possessed, the Commander knew that the direct approach wasn't going to work, but didn't want to drop the subject entirely.

"So what's the damage bill?" he asked, still trying to figure out the boy's mood without arousing suspicions and keeping the tone of the conversation casual. A difficult thing to do with a teenager who was often too secretive and intuitive.

Lucas was taken a back for a moment, looking up briefly with guarded interest, before giving a crooked grin. He was generally chuffed that Ford was asking for his opinion, but he wouldn't openly admit that to the Commander or anyone else.

"This panel doesn't look too bad. I wasn't able to get a complete read out yet of what they were doing on the Bridge, but Katie said she would give me the run down later," he explained.

"Lucas," Ford prompted, waiting for the youth to look at him. But he instantly recognized the pause in his own voice and knew the teenager's suspicions would be raised.

"Yeah?"

The one word answer and the reluctant to turn and face him confirmed that the boy somehow worked out what Ford was going to say even before he did or the words left his mouth.

Ford took a deep breath, hoping the right words would come even if they sounded flat to begin with, "Lucas, I am proud of you….."

The teenager stopped what he was doing, refusing to acknowledge the change in the Commander's voice nor the few words of praise. Ford was not expecting his sentence to be interrupted:

"Proud of what? That I couldn't handle it and cracked under pressure." Lucas said with reproach and self-doubt, recalling how Ford had needed to talk to him and reassure him when they were trying to get back to his room to contact Bridger.

"There is nothing more you could have done, Lucas. You did your best. You were scared and had every right to be."

"I really didn't do anything, Commander."

"Lucas," Ford began to say, "That's not true and you know it," wanting to talk more

Lucas closed the panel that he had been working on, "I'm going to try and find Kreig and give him a list of the parts I am going to need," cutting off the conversation.

"Looks like we still have plenty of need of our Chief Computer Analyst for a while," Ford commented, trying to lighten the teenager's sullen mood.

"For a while."

Ford watched as the teenager walked away, silently thinking that Lucas was still trying to deal with what had happened on his own. He made a mental note to talk to Doctor Westphalen when she arrived.

Commander Ford continued his way to the launch bay, arriving just in time to hear the loudspeaker: SeaQuest MR-5 has arrived at Docking Bay Number 3.

"Captain onboard," came the announcement. Some of the enlisted crew members were waiting by the doors, each proceeding with a smart salute to Bridger as he walked out.

"As you were, gentlemen," Bridger said, returning the salutes.

Kristin was behind him. Miguel Ortiz and Tim O'Neill had also returned with them on the launch. They been fortunate enough to make it off SeaQuest before Schrader's men attacked.

"Damage report, Jonathan?" Bridger asked plainly, wanting to assess the situation as quickly as possible.

"Levin is currently looking after Chief Crocker in Med Bay. There were a few other minor injuries that will still need attending to," Ford answered, looking at Westphalen as he spoke.

"I will be there in a few moments," Kristin informed him, gathering her belongings together, "I talk further with you later, Nathan," she added and then headed off in the direction of the medical area.

Ford continued with his report, "Crew are cleaning up E Deck as I speak, the water levels have dropped, but there is still a hell of a lot of mopping up to do."

"Have you gotten any sleep yourself since this all ended?" Bridger asked, knowing that the majority of the clean-up and other urgent matters had fallen directly into Ford's hands with neither of them having any control over the outcome.

"Yes, Sir, I did get a few hours of sleep. I insisted that Commander Hitchcock got some rest too, and we have both worked together with the rest of the crew as best we could."

"You two really did a terrific job, Commander," Bridger commended, "The situation could have gotten a lot more out of hand if you and Hitchcock hadn't kept your cool."

"There are other people that need mentioning too, Captain," Ford stated. "Up until now I had seriously thought about not approving Krieg's credentials, but he really pulled through when I needed him most."

Bridger had a small smile on his face as he heard Ford's report. It was no secret that there had been some tension between him and Ben recently. Ford must have thought he was chewing glass when speaking about the supply officer in such a positive way.

"The other person is Lucas, Sir."

"Where is Lucas now?" Bridger asked. The teenager was one of the first persons he had hoped to see upon arrival. He had been assured that the boy wasn't injured, but he wanted to check he was alright.

"I was talking to him just a few minutes before you arrived, Captain. He seemed okay."

"Seemed okay?" Bridger prompted, noting a little hesitation in Ford's statement. The Captain could be just as intuitive when the situation arose.

"He was looking a one of sensor panels that had been damaged. I told him that he had done a great job, but he tensed up and walked away, ashamed that he had felt scared."

"Thank you, Commander, I will go and find him."

"It's me that should be apologizing to you, Sir," Ford said, needing to say a few things to the Captain.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Jonathan."

"I was worried enough, Captain, when I first found Lucas and Schrader's men still controlled the boat. Together we managed to subdue a couple of them and get to his room to contact you."

"I can't help but think I was to blame for Lucas getting captured, Sir. We got to his room and he managed to send you that signal through the W.S.K.R., even though it was risky."

"I am sure that you did everything you could to keep him safe, Jonathan, and I am very grateful."

"You don't know how bad Ben and I felt, hearing Lucas calling out for help when those guys found him. They dragged him from that room and were fairly rough with him."

"One of the clean up crew informed me earlier just how bad his room looked. I know how important his computer equipment is to him. If he needs any money…"

Bridger interrupted him, "Thank you, Commander, that won't be necessary. I will go and find him and assess the damage to his room."

The Captain couldn't help but feel his stomach begin tying itself into knots at the additional details he had just heard. Schrader's men had used guns and everything could have turned out completely different. He couldn't help but feel guilty himself for not being onboard and able to protect the boy.

When he had walked away from Commander Ford, Lucas could have gone in any direction, but suddenly found himself standing outside his own cabin. He had yet to see the damage for himself, but slowly pushed the door open.

For a moment or two, his held his breath, too afraid that someone might hear the audible sigh he released from his throat, or the dismay written across his face. Not physical pain, but he certainly felt like he had been punched in the stomach, surveying the destruction.

The room was eerily silent, but as soon as he put his foot through the hatch, the first sound he heard was the distinct breaking of plastic covers from his music collection. He owned boxes and boxes of disks that had everything he listened to, hundreds of tracks. Mostly original artists, but some that he had mixed together on his computer.

Instead of the rows of boxes that had been carefully stored and categorized in the most used, there was nothing but piles of broken and shattered disks. Some had been splintered to pieces by the bullets that had torn through his room. He bent down and picked one up, but it was mangled beyond repair and he let the half piece of disk fall back out of his hand again.

He couldn't think of a coherent sentence that would explain just how much damage there was. Nothing was untouched or undisturbed and his room was unrecognizable. There were indiscriminate blackened char marks across the walls that demonstrated just how random the gunfire had been in hitting any object in the room.

Walking over to his music sound board, setting his jaw and refusing to allow emotions to dominate his thoughts, running a finger along the top, but seeing that it too was beyond repair. The switches were damaged, cables in the back had been severed by the bullets and deep gouges had been made on the front where the control panel was. There wasn't even anything to salvage from it.

Lucas turned at the sound of footsteps behind him on the broken plastic covers, to see Captain Bridger standing inside the hatch way. The shock on his face was evident too.

"Oh, kiddo, I am so sorry," Bridger said softly, seeing through the mask on the teenager's face.

"What's to be sorry about?" Lucas said as he looked away, "There is nothing left."

Lucas sat on his bunk, the slumped posture a testament to just how empty he was feeling at this point in time. The Captain had no idea of just how much Lucas felt like giving in to the unspoken question of "How are you feeling?" between them. The teenager was determined not to crumble and was not going to show weakness; he was capable of keeping it all together.

"We will fix this, Lucas. At least you are safe."

Bridger walked over, sitting down beside the teenager and placing his hand on the thin shoulder, trying to offer what little comfort he could, and wasn't surprised that the teenager's brave resolve. He had hoped that over time enough trust had developed between them to speak honestly with each other, but stubbornness was a shadow that often came to the forefront.

"It is all gone. It will take me months to catch up on the programming I was doing. Everything I ever owned was in this room."

Bridger sat quietly, knowing that there wasn't a lot he could say, his own anger beginning to grow at men like Schrader who didn't care about anybody but their own cause.

"All my clothes are ruined," Lucas said, picking up a shirt that was no longer good for anything but rags. "I haven't even got a bed to sleep in," he said glumly, running a hand across his tired face.

Bridger could see the strain on the young man's face and noted the defeated expression and was about to offer his own quarters to let Lucas rest for a while. But before he could say anything, Lucas jumped up from the bed, needing to escape the confines of his debris littered room.

"I don't want to deal with this at the moment," he stated and ran out the door before Bridger could stop him.

Bridger wanted to go after him, but knew that the boy was hurting and probably looking for some space. Still seated on the bunk, he idly picked up Lucas's pillow, a stab of fear running through his spine as his fingers found two bullet holes in the fabric.

Lucas wasn't ready to face what had happened to him yet, that much was certain.

Bridger left the room, closing the door behind him. He would have to talk to Krieg later on, but perhaps Kristin first.

Lucas had travelled quickly from his room towards the Moon Pool. He stood beside the tank, trying to get his emotions under control. With everyone else busy cleaning up, for the moment he was left alone with his thoughts and feelings.

He put his hand in the water, letting the coolness soothe away some of his frustration and anxiety.

Darwin surfaced a few minutes later, swimming up to his young friend and nudging his hand with the top of his head.

The dolphin let out a number of clicks and whistles which were deciphered through the vocorder sitting in its bracket against the pool; "Lucas, play."

"No, not now Dar," Lucas responded, his thoughts miles away.

Lucas hadn't noticed Kristin Westphalen watching him from a stairway across the deck. She had walked out of the medical area, satisfied that everything had been done as much as possible for those injured.

The doctor had not had a chance to talk to the teenager yet since she arrived back. She was unaware of what had transpired between Lucas and Ford earlier in the day, or just a few minutes earlier in his own cabin with Captain Bridger. As she watched, her motherly instincts kicked in and she could see that he was troubled and upset. His face looked tired and perhaps still held a little trace of fear that he must have experienced.

"Hello, Lucas," she greeted him, smiling at him, and hoping to put her own worry about him to rest.

Lucas turned at the voice, "Hi," he said, but went back to playing with the water.

"I heard they destroyed your room?" she said gently, knowing that the computers were very important to him.

"Yeah," came the one-worded response.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she urged.

Lucas turned sharply, ready to give an angered response, but the words died on his lips as he felt her fingers gently caress his cheek, "I was so worried about you."

Lucas could feel the emotions in him beginning to swell again, and he tried to squash them down again, "Thank you," he whispered, giving her a quick embrace.

"I have to go and find Ben," he said too quickly, pulling away from her and walking away. For a brief moment, wanting to surrender to her comfort, but the independent streak in him made him want to escape her company just as it had done with Bridger.

Kristin decided to talk to Nathan, concerned that the teenager was putting up the usual defensive walls and shutting out the people out that cared about him.

Lucas walked from the Moon Pool, towards the Mess Hall. He couldn't stomach the thought of food, but a hot cup of coffee sounded good. Within a few minutes, he was sitting at one of the small tables, holding the steaming cup in his hands, his mind wandering back and forth over Schrader and his unannounced visit.

He remembered how bad he had felt for accusing Commander Hitchcock of helping the hijackers too much. She had been doing her job, and carrying out a direct order from Ford. It took guts to do what she did and he hadn't helped things very much.

The teenager sipped at his hot drink, hoping it would help him keep alert. His body was worn out and he hadn't slept since it all happened. He had tried, briefly, to lay down and sleep, but too many images had plagued him, and he had quickly given the idea away as a bad joke.

"Hey Lucas," came the cheerful greeting from Miguel Ortiz as he and Tim O'Neill entered the Mess. They had been helping the clean up crews, and were taking a well earned break.

Lucas gave them a tired smile in return, but didn't think he would make very good company at present. He left them both looking a little bewildered when got up from the table and left his steaming cup of coffee unfinished.

For the last half an hour since leaving Lucas's room, Bridger had found himself talking to a number of people and overseeing the clean up operation.

Kristin found him standing in a corridor, reading some schematic drawings with Commander Ford, showing where the water level had reached to.

"Nathan, I need to talk to you, please."

"Sure, what is it, Kristin?" Bridger asked, handing the map back to his second-in-charge.

"Have you spoken to Lucas today?"

"Yes, I have. I went and seen the damage to his room," Bridger's answered. "You should have seen it, bullet holes riddled through every part of it."

"I spoke him by the Moon Pool just a short while ago, but I don't think he is coping very well with this whole incident," she informed him.

"I think he was lost about the destruction to his room, I tried to offer and talk, but he ran off," Nathan explained. "I know he is hurting at the moment. I planned to talk to Ben later and talk about what he will need replacing."

"At the moment, I am more worried about Lucas then what needs replacing in his room."

This statement certainly got Bridger's attention and he focused his attention solely on Lucas. Inwardly, he kicked himself for not talking to the boy more.

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know where he went to after the Moon Pool," Kristin responded.

"Let's try the Bridge, maybe he had some fool idea about doing some work to keep his mind off things," Bridger suggested. "Commander, we will have to continue this later," he said to Ford. For now he was satisfied that things were progressing as best they could, given the crew restrictions and the length of time that had elapsed.

All three of them began walking to the Bridge to see if they could find the teenage computer whiz.

Lucas left the Mess Hall and had roamed aimlessly down a number of the corridors, passing a few of the enlisted crew members.

He was just about to pass by the gymnasium, when he ran into Katie Hitchcock. She too had been trying to deal with the emotions of what had happened, but her approach was to sweat it out and use the punching bag to get rid of her frustrations.

"Hey, Lucas," she greeted friendly manner.

"Um, Hi," Lucas returned, not wanting to be rude to her. He didn't stop to talk though and kept walking.

She could see the boy looked distant and sullen, but surmised he was still fairly worked up over becoming a hostage. She was thankful that things had turned out the way they did, and he hadn't ended up being hurt. Although she had been scared for him when Schrader intended to take them both off the SeaQuest.

At the time she had been trying to figure out a way to help him, and had been mildly surprised when instead he had stomped on the captor's foot and told her to get away. She had yet to give praise to her ex-husband for being at the right place and letting the situation grow even more dangerous for her and Lucas.

Katie headed towards the shower room. She was due on the Bridge to begin her shift soon.

Lucas put his hand on the hatch, still thinking of where he could go onboard without running into anybody for a while. He knew they cared about him, but at the moment he wasn't ready to answer their questions or have them tell him that everything would be alright.

The door was locked, but he knew the access code, and quickly punched it in. A green light signalled that it had been accepted and he walked in, closing the door behind him. The usual occupant wasn't there and wouldn't be back anytime soon. That suited him just fine at the moment.

He sat down on the bed and ran his hand through his unruly blond hair. God he was tired. Maybe he could keep himself awake a while longer and start writing a list of what stuff he needed to get fixed in his room.

Everything was trashed, and he knew he wouldn't be able to afford to do it all at once, but he could do it a bit at a time. He didn't have any money that he could get access to straight away until the tour finished.

He managed to find a writing pad and a pen, and began scribbling his list. He picked up the pillow at the foot of the bed and placed it behind his head and leaned against the back wall of the bed. The thought of being without his computers and music that long depressed him even more.

Ten minutes later, the tired teenager barely noticed his head nodding towards his chest.

Captain Bridger together with Kristin Westphalen were talking to Ortiz and O'Neill on the Bridge when Katie Hitchcock arrived to begin her shift.

"Have either of you seen Lucas today?" Bridger asked. They both had been looking for the teenager over the past twenty minutes without success and beginning to become

concerned about his state of mind.

"He was having a cup of coffee in the Mess," O'Neill answered.

"But he left when we came into the room, the cup was only half finished and still hot," Ortiz continued.

"Have either of you seen him since then?" Kristin enquired. Both men shaking their head with negative responses.

"What's going on?" Katie Hitchcock asked, walking up the grated floor and approaching the group standing next to O'Neill's communication station.

"We are trying to find Lucas, Commander, have you seen him?" Bridger asked.

"Yes, he walked past the gymnasium about half an hour ago. He didn't say much, just kept going," she confirmed.

"He can't have gone far then," Ford suggested, trying to relay any fears that were growing about the youth.

"Is something wrong?" Katie wanted to know, seeing concern on the faces of the Doctor and Captain.

"We are worried about him," Kristin commented. "He has been avoiding everyone."

"Katie, when he was with you, Colonel Schrader and his men didn't hurt him did he?"

Hitchcock understood where the concern was coming from, "Not that I can recall. They handcuffed him to the railing over there with me, but I didn't see them physically hit him."

"Nathan, maybe that is what he is hiding, apart from his being unhappy about his room," Kristin said with worry in her voice. "I couldn't see any marks on him, but he did pull back rather quickly from the hug I offered."

"He did look pretty worn out when I saw him," Ford commented. "He said he was fine, and brushed off any comments about him some sleep fairly quickly."

"Don't jump to any conclusions just yet," Bridger remarked, trying to convince himself that Lucas had not been attempting to keep any injury a secret. "He has to be somewhere. We can't use his PAL communicator to contact him, as it is still in pieces on the floor in his room."

"I suggest we split into small groups and trying to find him, but quietly," Kristin said, "If he is trying to avoid us, too many confronting him at once might just make the situation worse."

"Commander Ford, you and Katie, you two remain here on the Bridge, but keep in contact. O'Neill, you and Ortiz cover the science labs and Mammal Engineering. I don't think he would have gone back to his room, but I will check just in case. Kristin and I will check the crew quarters and my quarters and make our way back to the Moon Pool," Bridger instructed.

The crew members standing in the group nodded their agreement.

Bridger addressed Ford once more, "Jonathan, see if you can find Lieutenant Krieg, he might have seen Lucas as well."

"Will do, Sir."

The four of them now left the Bridge area, trying to find the missing and possibly injured teenager.

Bridger and the Doctor began their search at Lucas's destroyed room. Kristin had gasped out loud at the sight before her, understanding why the teenager had been sullen.

There was no sign of him here though, so they moved onto the next most probably place, the Captain's quarters. There had been a few times where Bridger had returned to his room late at night after shift, to find Lucas in his room.

Bridger opened the door quietly, hoping that they would find the missing teenager curled up on the couch in the room catching up on some much needed sleep.

Kristin stated the obvious, "He is not here either, Nathan,"

"Where else would he be?" Bridger asked out loud. He knew that Lucas had a number of little secret hiding places on the boat. Secluded areas that were out of the way from the usual noise and chaos of the crew. Could this be where he was now?

Kristin chewing her thumb, thinking logically about what she knew of Lucas and his moods. She had to be honest and admit that this was how she thought they might find Lucas. "If I didn't feel like talking to anyone and wanted to feel safe, where would I go?" she whispered quietly.

"I have a hunch," she declared and walked quickly out of Bridger's quarters and down the hallway, with Bridger following.

"Are you going to share it?" Bridger prompted, but they hadn't gone far before he found both of them standing outside a door labelled A119 that he recognized.

"Do you think…..," he began to asked, but Kristin put her hand on the door and pushed it opened it. A little surprised when the hatch opened easily. On any other day,

this door would be secured and required a code to unlock it.

Westphalen stepped inside the room, knowing that she had rarely been afforded an invitation to enter. Bridger followed, recalling being here a few times, but usually

for official reasons.

Kristin turned to Nathan and signalled for him to come further into the room, but she held her fingers to her lips in a gesture for him to be as quiet as possible.

The Captain gave an audible sigh of relief when they looked towards the bed and their eyes fell on a most heart-warming, almost comical scene.

"I better let Commander Ford and the others know," Bridger whispered, leaving the room for a moment to use his PAL communicator.

"Ford here," the man responded to the Captain's page.

"You can stop looking, Commander," Bridger informed him, proceeding to explain where they had found Lucas.

"Will do, Sir," Ford said, pleased that they could all relax again and continue the clean-up duties.

Ben Krieg was just walking onto the Bridge to give his final report of the day on the clean up to Ford. The bottom of his trousers were soaked from the mopping operation on E Deck, and there were scuff marks on various parts of his black uniform.

"Still another couple of hours, but we are making progress," he started to say, but then became aware of some strange looks on the faces of the few crew members present, "What?" he demanded, daring them to call him out on the state of his clothes.

"Nothing Krieg," Ford suppressed a laugh at the expression of suspicion coming from the usually unflappable Moral Officer, "You did a fine job."

Krieg was certain that Ford was about to be chastise him over something until he heard the comment. He thought the Commander must be thanking him for his efforts during the take over.

"Don't mention it, Sir," but he had no idea what was going on.

"You did great, Ben," Katie said from behind him. She was giving him a genuine smile of appreciation, and the fact that she called him by his first name, in front of other crew members didn't go amiss.

"Katie, don't mess with my head right now, huh. I am wet and want to change my clothes and get something to eat. If you are going to hit me with an anvil, do it now."

"I am not messing with you, Ben. Everyone here appreciates what you did."

Calling me by my first name twice in the same hour.

"Ah-huh," was the only comment he could come back with. He couldn't work out what her game was, and was definitely waiting for the sucker punch to come out of nowhere.

"Don't act like you don't know, Krieg," O'Neill taunted, thinking the guy was trying to pull some kind of gag himself.

Ben gave Tim the strangest look. This was a guy that normally didn't pull any practical jokes, but at the moment, he had the distinct feeling that they were all setting him up for something.

"Commander, what is going on?" Ben asked plainly, not wanting to beat around the bush anymore.

"Bridger talked to me just a few minutes ago and wanted you to bring him a spare blanket and pillow from your store," Ford told him.

"A blanket and a pillow?" Ben repeated, not getting the punch line at all. Krieg began walking from the Bridge, still stumped as what they were all up to.

Ben was still trying to work out what Ford and the others were up to as he meandered his way back to his room. Upon reaching his quarters, he was surprised to hear whispers coming from inside.

He paused at the door, listening for who it might be. Usually his door was locked due to the amount of stores he held and was responsible for. Once inside he was greeted by Captain Bridger and Doctor Westphalen standing inside, talking quietly to each other.

"You did a wonderful thing here today, Ben," Kristin exclaimed, giving him a big smile.

"She's right, I can't thank you enough," Bridger now added.

Ben was a bit puzzled for a moment, until he looked over at his bunk and saw Lucas. He hadn't had a chance to talk to the teenager due to all the clean up.

Kristin saw the expression, "You really didn't know he was here, did you?"

"Um, no," Krieg answered truthfully, not that he minded. The conversation on the Bridge began to make a little more sense. The crew thought he had found Lucas and taken care of him.

"Is he okay?" Ben asked, noticing the kid's slumped posture.

"Four of us just spent the last half an hour combing this place upside-down for him," Bridger told him. "We were worried that he had been hurt and was trying to hide it from everyone."

"Do you have that blanket and pillow?" Kristin enquired.

"Yeah, sure," Ben responded, walking over to one of his larger supply cupboards and grabbing out a large pillow and thick blue woollen blanket. "He looks really uncomfortable

sitting up and with his neck at an odd angle like that."

Bridger reached over and carefully took the writing pad back out of Lucas's sleep limp hand. "Looks like he is putting together quite a list," showing Ben what the teenager had scribbled.

"Nathan, will you help lay him down. He knows your touch and you are not likely to wake him," Kristin spoke.

Putting aside the wish list, Bridger helped Kristin lean the slumbering teenager forward, the blond head coming to rest on his shoulder. There was a slight incoherent mumble, but nothing more. With the two pillows in place, Kristin nodded her head and watched as Lucas was gently laid down. Nathan lifted his feet onto the bed and removed his shoes, showing great care the whole time.

Kristin and Ben gave a smile at each other, seeing the Captain share such a tender moment with the sleeping teen. No doubt Lucas would blush bright red and declare hotly that he wasn't a baby if he was awake.

The doctor wanted to examine him for any signs of injury, and laid her hand on his chest. She pulled back at seeing Lucas stir, not wanting to disturb him further, telling herself that any other examination could wait until morning. Another incoherent mumble and he was lost to the land of dreams again.

Usually the teenager was a very light sleeper "He really must be tired," Ben commented, noting the lack of response from Lucas.

"No, he is just truly exhausted. All the emotions and events of the last twenty four hours have finally caught up with him, Ben," Kristin said, taking the blanket and laying it over him. She briefly laid a hand on his forehead, but could only detect a natural warmth to his skin.

"Sleep well," Kristin whispered, her voice filled with caring.

"Good-night, kiddo," Bridger said softly to the slumbering teenager.

Krieg saw the Captain and the Doctor to the door so that they wouldn't wake Lucas with their conversation.

Bridger spoke to Ben before they left, "I want to talk to you in the morning about the wish list that is here. I think Lucas will want to add more to it. Once it is complete, see how quickly you can get the equipment here."

"All of it, Sir," Ben asked, noting how much dollars they were talking about.

"Don't worry about the bill, I will be paying for it. It's the least I can do when I wasn't here to protect him. I will add some extra cash and you can take him with you up-world to pick out what he wants. If you have to use any of your own free time, just let me know and I will put a little bonus into your pocket."

"You don't have to do that, Sir, I'll be happy to take care of it."

"Sorry to take your bed for the night, Lieutenant," Bridger whispered.

"Not a problem, Sir. Lucas is welcome here anytime."

Bridger smiled at this comment. Krieg was notorious for not allowing anybody into his quarters. Even going so far as challenging Crocker when the Regulator had been onboard about how much valuable equipment he had in the room.

"If he needs anything…, Bridger began to say, "I am sure you will know what to do," was the final comment as they walked away from Ben, grateful that Lucas was safe and in capable hands getting some much needed rest.

Ben Krieg closed his door and sat back on a chair for a moment, looking back at his sleeping friend.

"Maybe I should keep you around here for a few more days. Then when everybody starts missing the Lucas-man, I will be a hero all over again," Ben started to scheme.

On a more sobering thought, there was no denying that he had been worried about the teenager when Schrader's men had taken him hostage.

"I will always be there for you, Lucas."

As if in response to the comment, the teenager stirred briefly enough to turn his head. His soft blond hair fanning out over the pillow.

Lucas looked peaceful when he was sleeping, showing his age and vulnerability. Any stress that might have been present had been temporarily replaced by calm serenity.

"No wonder the crew fall all over you, buddy," Ben said with a chuckle. "All I have to do is keep you looking as cute as that for the rest of the tour and Ford will be choking on the admiration and praise that I receive from Bridger and the Doc."

The End.

Just a little piece. Probably too sappy at the end.

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Onto the next story….

JULES