Note: This is the sequel to Playing Games. It takes place in the second season but in an AU. Kristen, Katie, and Ben never left though the other first seasoners did. Brody will appear later, as will Piccolo and Dagwood . I got the idea of Katie and Lonnie fighting from a fic I read a few months ago. It was called 'Battle of the Queens'. It is located on the seapoc site.

"Enough talking! Get on with it already!"

Cordie shut up! God! Muses can be awfully annoying sometimes. Well at least mine is.

Rupert Corbin was sitting in front of an oak desk. He was waiting for his new employer. He was very curious as to why this man had hired him, but if he got free plastic surgey he could wait a few more weeks to kill the boy who had ruined his career.

"Well, Mr. Corbin. I'm glad you could make it."

Corbin almost jumped out of his seat when he realized who his new boss was. "Is this some sort of set-up?"

Corbin's boss leaned forward, "No. I have a job for you. I want you to kill the boy. He could let some information slip that could destroy me. I want him dead before that can happen. Will you take the job?"

Corbin grinned, "As long as I can make the death painful, I will take the job. I want him dead as much as you do if not more. He has already destroyed my career."

The boss smiled. "Good. It can be painful, but I want him dead in a week or you will be found out. Do you understand?"

Corbin nodded, "What should I do if I need to talk to you?"

The boss grimaced. "Don't. If someone on the SeaQuest finds the transmission they will want to know why you called me. It will seem suspicious that you come on board, the boy is killed, and you call me. I will not be discovered."

Corbin nodded. "I take it you'll watch the news releases for the obituary?"

The boss nodded and smiled evily, "Exactly. I remember hearing about your drug RC296 at the trial four years ago. Use it. It's painful but will kill him in a matter of minutes."

Corbin shook his boss's hand. "Deal. And out of curiosity what does your wife think of this plan?"

The boss smiled, "She agrees it is the only option. If he reveals what he knows she will be destroyed as well."

They both grinned evily. By the end of a week Lucas Wolonczak would be dead.

It had been almost six months since Lucas had escaped from Rupert Corbin, and things were almost back to normal on the SeaQuest. Last month they had gotten some new crew members, including a flirty dingbat engineer, Lonnie Henderson, and a phsyic doctor, Wendy Smith. Kristen and Wendy had become fast friends, though Katie was always ready to strangle Lonnie. Lucas tried, mostly unsuccesfully, to hide his amusement at Katie and Lonnie's constant bickering.

They were sitting in the crew mess hall when Lucas finally lost his battle to hide it. He started laughing, and pretty soon everyone except Katie and Lonnie were laughing as well.

"Alright. What's so funny?" Katie asked completely unamused, while glaring at Lucas.

The teenager tried to answer but he couldn't catch his breath he was laughing so hard. Katie turned her gaze to her ex-husband, Ben.

When Ben finally noticed her look, he quickly answered. "Come on. You two are almost constantly bickering. And when your not fighting with each other your complaining to the rest of us about each other. We have all been trying to ignore it and not laugh but it is just too hard!"

Katie continued to glare.

Lucas glanced up and saw her glaring at Ben, he quickly added, "Katie? Don't be mad at Ben or any of them. I started laughing first. If your mad at anyone be mad at me."

Katie turned to look at Lucas and her gaze softened, "I'm not mad at anyone, Lucas. I just thought that since they are adults, at least they claim to be adults, they could hold in their laughter. I can understand it coming from you. I mean you have put up with even more of the fighting than they have. Anyway I really am not mad at anyone." She smiled at the teen, hoping to reassure him that she meant it.

He grinned back and started gigling again at the face Ben was making behind Katie's back.

Katie whipped around and knocked Ben to the floor. "Don't make faces behind my back."

With that most of the table's occupants got up to go to their duty stations.

Lucas had the day off but he was going to help Kristen with some research. As he walked down the hall that led to the lab he passed a new crew member. For some reason the man made him want to run away as fast as he could. Lucas knew he had never seen the man before though. So why was he so scared?

In medbay Kristen greeted Lucas with a smile. Right now she was working on discovering the full effects of a drug called PC468, the drug Corbin had used on Lucas. So far as she knew Lucas was the only living person ever to survive the drug. There had been two others but one had died from a different drug, and the other was murdered by Corbin a little over six months ago.

Lucas had been quite willing to let Kristen run some tests on him to determine the long term effects. Ever since the incident he had been on restricted duty, and even then someone was always with him. Over the past six months he had only been left alone for a total of about three hours.

"What are we gonna do today, Kristen?" Lucas asked as he sat down on the edge of a bed, she had asked him to call her Kristen instead of doctor.

Kristen looked up at him and told him, "More blood samples."

At Lucas' groan she smiled again. Next he would jokingly call her a vampire.

"Ya' know, Kristen, if I didn't know better I think you were a vampire."

Kristen glared good naturedly at him. "Yes, well, you do know better. Roll up your sleeve."

Lucas did as he was told and she took the neccesary amount of blood. "Alright. Now we add some PC468 to the sample and, once it is mixed in and the blood is infected, we will try our latest attempt at an antidote."

Lucas smiled slightly. He had to admit he had several reasons to help Kristen. One, It was something to do. Ever since the incident he had been on restricted duty, and even then someone was always with him. Over the past six months he had only been left alone for a total of about three hours. Two, they were trying to find an antidote to the drug, so if anyone used it against another the person could be saved. Three, Kristen was like mother to him and he liked spending time with her. He knew she loved him more than either of his real parents. There were only two people he liked spending time with as much as Kristen. One was the Captain. Nathan was like a father to him. The other person was Ben Krieg. Ben was a lot of fun, even if the fun was usually illegal.

Lucas' thoughts were interupted first by a burst of bright light, then by a searing pain in his right arm.

Kristen ran back in as soon as she heard the explosion and she found Lucas desperately trying to get over to the moonpool. When she reached him she saw why. His whole right arm, from shoulder to fingertips, had been burned in the blast. She helped him to the pool and put his arm into the cold water. She knew she couldn't get the whole arm into the water but she got as much as possible in. She grabbed a cup and began pouring water over the teen's shoulder. She knew she had to flush as much of the chemicals out as possible. She stopped after a few minutes and turned his face so she could see if it had been burned but thankfully it hadn't. She did, however, see the immense pain and terror in the boy's eyes.

On the bridge Nathan was trying to find out what had happened. All anyone seemed to know is that there had been an explosion in the science section. Suddenly Lonnie called out, "I have confirmation that the explosion happened the lab ajoining the moonpool."

Katie and Ford exchanged Horrified looks. "Commander?

What's wrong?" Nathan asked.

Ford looked at his captain with fear in his eyes, "Sir... Lucas said he and Dr. Westphalen were going to be working in that lab today."

Nathan's eyes widened in horror, "Are you sure, Commander?"

Ford nodded and Tim spoke up, "Sir. I was there too. That's exactly what Lucas said."

Nathan nodded and started barking orders. "I want a med team to meet me at the lab. I..."

Katie interupted him, "Sir. The watertight doors may have closed. We may be locked out."

Nathan nodded again. "Alright. Katie I need you with me. We need to get to them as soon as possible. Let's go." The two walked out the door.

Lucas sat by the moonpool whimpering in pain. He was scared. 'Why had this happened to me?! Why does everything always hapen to me?! If I didn't know better I'd say there was someone who thinks their job is hurting me!!' Lucas thought.

Kristen was trying to get the lab door open. The blast had activated the emergency procedures and the doors had closed and locked. Kristen glanced up at the teen. She saw the pinched look on his pale face and sighed. He was hurt bad. If she didn't get him to medbay soon he might lose all use of his right arm. She shuddered at the thought. To Lucas, his computer skills were everything. If he lost the use of his arm he would be devastated.

Kristen stood up and walked over to the teen. "Lucas, I need to pour some more water on the burn, if I don't the cloth might stick and it will hurt more later." Kristen told him softly.

After a moment of hesitation he nodded, and gritted his teeth.

Kristen poured the water and tried to ignore his whimper of pain. "I know. I wish it didn't hurt but I have to."

Lucas nodded, afraid that if he tried to talk all he'd do is scream.

Suddenly they heard a hammering at the door.

"Kristen! Lucas! Are you two alright?" Nathan yelled though the door.

Kristen sighed in relief and Lucas smiled shakily. "Nathan we're alright but we need a med team. Lucas is burned fairly badly."

Nathan hollered back, "I have a med team here. We're working on getting the door open. Can you undo the internal lock?"

Kristen yelled back, "I already did. I tried the door myself but it wouldn't open."

All was silent for a moment but then Nathan yelled again, "We're almost there. Katie says five more minutes, tops."

Kristen sighed. "If that's the best you can do." Nathan was alarmed by Kristen's last comment. 'Was it that urgent they get a med team?' he thought.

Katie suddenly hollered, "I got it!"

Nathan was the first one through the door. He stopped short when he saw Lucas' pained look. The second thing he noticed was the boy's right arm submerged in the moonpool. When he got closer he spotted the reason for the submergence. There were burns covering the boy's whole arm from shoulder to fingertips.

Nathan knelt down in front of the teen and took his good hand. "It's okay. We'll get you to medbay in no time. The only response he got was a whimper of pain.

Twenty minutes later Lucas was laying on a bed in medbay. He had been given a mild sedetive to dull the pain while Kristen probed the wound for shards of glass.

To himself Nathan kept saying that he would never bother Lucas about hunching over while he worked again. If the boy had been sitting straight his face would have been burned as well, and that would have been even more painfull.

Lucas let out another whimper and Nathan squeezed the teen's good hand with care. Kristen looked apologeticly at Lucas. She hated having to hurt him, but she had to clean the burns. It looked like he would only have one scar, on his upper arm which had been closest, only six inches, to the explosion.

Nathan was in the wardroom listening to Jim Brody, his new security chief, report on the explosion. "Captain. Highly volatile chemicals are stored on that shelf. If the temperature had gotten just one degree too warm they might have exploded. I have no reason to believe it was anything more than an accident."

Nathan nodded. He hoped it had been just an accident but he feared it was something much worse.

Nathan's PAL beeped and when he answered it he was surprised to hear Kristen's concerned voice on the other end. "Nathan I think you should come down here. Lucas just got another E-mail. From Shadow Man."

Nathan sat bolt upright, "I'll be right there. Mr. Brody come with me."

Nathan and Brody raced down the halls at incredible speed. When they reached medbay Nathan ran straight to Lucas' side.

Kristen called the message up and Nathan read it, "Well, did you like my little surprise? It must burn you that you couldn't stop me."

Nathan wrapped his arms tightly around Lucas, trying not to agitate the boy's burned arm. "It's alright. Your safe." He murmured softly.

Lucas jerked away, "Safe? Don't you realize what this means? He was on the SeaQuest! He got onboard and planted a bomb."

Nathan pulled Lucas back against him. "Your right. It does mean that. But he won't get another chance. We'll find him."

Lucas layed his head against Nathan's chest and sighed, "How? He's not a dumb man. He probably got plastic surgery to make himself look different."

Nathan sighed, "I don't know how, but we will stop him. I promise."

Lucas sighed contently, "Just don't leave me alone. Okay?" He quietly asked Nathan.

"Of course I won't leave you alone, kiddo. I will stay with you for as much of the time as I can. And if I can't be with you, someone else will."

Lucas sighed again. Within ten minutes he was sound asleep.

Nathan kept his promise and stayed with Lucas for the next few hours. Unfortunetly he had to go to the birdge at that point so he recruited Ben to stay with the teen. Nathan had to admit that, although he didn't like Ben much, Ben was a good person and he would take care of Lucas.

As Nathan walked on to the bridge he was met by the whole senior staff's concerned gazes. "He's fine. He is hurt bedly, but Kristen says he'll be fine. He was asleep when I left medbay. And don't worry he's not alone. I left Lt. Kreig with him."

The senior staff nodded and smiled slightly in relief. They all knew Lucas was like a little brother to Ben. They also knew that despite his recklessness Ben would do his best to take care of the teen.

Katie and Lonnie approached Nathan. "Captain. I believe that the explosion was meant to only injure Lucas. The placement and the size of the explosion was strategic. When he put the bomb there,he knew what he was doing. He wanted Lucas hurt but not killed. He's trying to finish what he started."

Nathan nodded grimly. "I know. He sent Lucas another E-mail. It commented on the bomb. Shadow Man wants to destroy Lucas piece by piece over a long period of time."

Katie nodded, "He won't. We won't let him."

Brody and Lonnie looked at each other in confusion. "Sir? Who is this 'Shadow Man' everyone keeps talking about?" Lonnie asked.

Nathan sighed, "Shadow Man is someone who wants to kill Lucas. He was doing something illegal and Lucas helped put him in jail. He's the one who caused mostof the injuries Lucas is still recovering from. Does that explain it?"

Lonnie nodded.

Nathan turned to his chair and sat down. He sighed deeply. He didn't want to tell them any more that that. He knew that all it would do is embarass Lucas even more.

"Captain?" Ford asked quietly.

"Yes, Commander?"

Ford sighed, "Is Lucas really alright? There seems to be something troubling you and the only thing I can think of is Lucas."

Nathan sighed again. "I'm just trying to figure out how to keep him safe. Commander, I'm not sure if anyone has pieced it together yet, but Shadow Man planted the bomb himself. He somehow found his way onto the SeaQuest and was able to plant that bomb himself. And that means he is probably still on board." Nathan glanced over at his second officer. The man had a look of fear on his face. All Nathan could think of was that was the same look he had when Connor had called six months ago.

Everyone had been remembering things Lucas had done or said. All of the sudden the phone rang. Ford had gone to pick it up and after a moment he yelled out, "Captain! It's for you!" Everyone could here the fear in Ford's voice. And once the got into the room they had seen his face was frightened to.

That call had been Connor showing Nathan that he had Lucas and would kill him in the end. Nathan had barely managed to keep from screaming as he realized who's voice was on the other end showing him the terrified Lucas backed against a wall. Nathan shuddered at the memory.

Ford spoke up, "Captain. No matter what it takes we will find Shadow Man. He will not get at Lucas again. Nathan nodded and sighed. If only they could truely gareuntee it.

Ten minutes later Miguel and Tim were relieved by two ensigns and they left to go see how Lucas was doing. As they walked they talked about the fact that if Shadow Man had had placed the bomb, then he must be on the SeaQuest. They were both terrified at the idea. As the appraoched medbay they heard a monitor screech. They looked at each other and took off down the hall. As the reached the door they saw Ben backed against the wall with a look of horror on his face. "Ben! What happened?!" Miguel asked his terrified friend.

Ben continued to look at the frenzy surrounding Lucas' bed. "I don't know! I was sitting next to him. A doctor came in and gave him some meds. The next thing I know he's not breathing! I don't understand."

Out of the corner of his eye Tim saw Nathan walk in. He walked over to tell the captain what Ben had told them.

Nathan let out a strangled cry as he saw, through a break in the circle of doctors, Lucas. The teen's lips were blue and he was more pale than Nathan had ever seen him. 'Oh, god. Just let him be alright. I don't want to lose him. I love him too much.' Nathan thought.

All of a sudden the monitor stopped screeching and began bleeping out a steady rythym. The doctors had succeeded in getting the boy's heart started again. After a moment Kristen walked over. "He's breathing again. I don't know what caused this but it looks like he was given the wrong medications."

She was interrupted by Dr. Wendy Smith, "Kristen! Look at this." Wendy handed Kristen a bottle and she nearly dropped it in realization.

"Nathan, this bottle is labeled RC296."

As this news hit the crew, Nathan asked, "Why... How...Who... Who gave this to him?"

Ben answered, "A doctor I haven't seen before came and gave him an injection about five minutes ago. I thought... I never even..."

Kristen interrupted him, "It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing. What did the doctor look like?"

Ben thought for a moment, "He had grey hair, was about six foot one, he was wearing a turtleneck shirt."

Nathan commented, "To hide a mark caused by being stabbed with a key. Get Brody here and tell him to find that man. I'm going to go call his parents. They should know."

Nathan was furious. He had just talked to Cynthia Wolonczak and she had said she was too busy to come, even if her son had almost been killed. Now he had to call Lawrence Wolonczak and hope for a better response. "Hello. How may I help you?" Wolonczak's secretary picked up.

"I need to speak to Dr. Wolonczak. It is an emergency."

The secertary rolled her eyes and said, "Just a moment."

After a moment Wolonczak's face appeared on the screen. "What is it Bridger? I'm a very busy man." Nathan took a deep breath. "Dr. Wolonczak I called to inform you that a attempt has been made on your son's life. This is the second attack he has surffered in the past two days. I felt you should be alerted."

Wolonczak rolled his eyes, "Bridger. Is my son alive?" Nathan nodded and Wolonczak continued, "Fine. I'm sure you can handle it. Good bye."

Before Nathan could stop him the man had turned off the monitor. "Of all the pompous, self centered, pieces of scum. How did someone like him ever manage to raise a child like Lucas?" Nathan gripped the back of his chair, pretending it was Wolonczak's throat. He didn't know what to do. Kristen had ordered him to stay away from medbay for at least three hours after he made the calls. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. God! How could those two monsters have raised Lucas?! The teen was the sweetest, most gentle person Nathan had ever met. He suddenly decided what he would do.

Nathan left his quarters and walked down the hall to Lucas' room. He opened the door and smiled slightly when he noticed that for once the room was clean. After a moment he spotted a note on the table. It was adressed to him and when he opened it he smiled again. It read -

Captain,
Surprise! I know you wanted me to clean my room and I did most of it. I had to get Tim's help for some because I can't move too well yet. I wanted to give you a thank you present for being with me when I was scared. I really appreciated it. Thanks. Bye.
Lucas

Nathan smiled again. Leave it to Lucas to have done something so sweet. Nathan walked over to the bed and sat down. He spotted a half finished letter on Lucas' computer. He was going to save the work and then shut the computer down when he noticed who it was adresses to. Sarah Wolonczak. He had never heard of a Sarah Wolonczak and couldn't keep himself from looking through the letter.

Sar,
Hi! Life is harsh lately. Captain Bridger is still making sure I'm not left alone for more than a minute. I think he thinks that if I am I'll disappear. Of course, to tell the truth I don't really mind. He's great, Sar. I wish you could meet him. He's the way I always wished dad was. He really seems to love me. But, anyway, since someones always with me I haven't been able to call Lessa lately. Can you send her a message for me? The Message is - The red bone drops soon. I know. It sounds like I've lost what is left of my mind but it will make sense to her. I gotta go. I've got to get something to eat before I go help Kristen with those tests I was telling you about. I'll write more in this letter later. See ya' sis!
Lucas

Nathan was a bit surprised. He had never known Lucas had a sister. Let alone one he talked to so much. Nathan decided he should contact her and let her know what had happened. He dialed the number he found in Lucas adress book and waited for a moment. After a few minutes a pretty red-head answered, "Yes? Can I help you?" she asked.

Nathan quickly responded, "I'm trying to get ahold of Sarah Wolonczak. It's about her brother, Lucas."

The red-head smiled, "Just a sec. She's coming in now."

After a moment a gorgeous blode girl sat down. "Can I help you? Oh! Your Captain Bridger, aren't you? Lucas described you! What's wrong?"

Nathan took a deep breath. "Lucas is in medbay recovering from an attempt on his life. He will be fine. I came into his room to see if there was anything he might want when he wakes up and I found a half finished letter to you. I thought you might want to know what happened."

Sarah nodded, "He'll be alright? Good. I... You already called our parents didn't you? I'll bet they both said they were too busy. They are such..."

Nathan cut her off with a wave of his hand, "Trust me. I know what you mean. I have been trying to figure out how those two managed to raise a kind, sweet, compassionate, young man like Lucas. I just don't understand it."

Sarah nodded, "Lucas said you seemed to really care. I'm glad to see he's right. Lucas thinks a lot of you captain. He trusts you. I need to ask you a favor." When Nathan nodded she continued, "I want to ask you to make sure mother and father don't get near him. They are worse than you know. Worse than you can imagine. Father used to hit us both. I got away but I wish I had taken him with me. I am scared they are involved."

Nathan sat upright, "You can't be serious! I know they are monsters, but you actually think they might be involved in the attempt on Lucas' life?"

Sarah nodded, "I'm afraid so. I keep track of them and father recently removed five million dollors from his acount. He has no new business deals. The only thing I can think of is that he paid someone to try to kill Lucas. And I know it sounds unbelievable, even about them, but it is the truth. Several years ago Lucas found out Father and Mother were doing some shady business dealings. They know he knows. They also know that if he told anyone both their careers would be over."

Nathan nodded. If this was true then Lucas must never go near his parents again. "I'll do my best. It was nice talking to you Miss Wolonczak."

Sarah smiled, "Call me Sarah. Lucas has told me so much about you I feel I know you."

Nathan smiled back. "Alright. Good-bye Sarah. I'll let you know when he wakes up." With one final wave the conection was cut. Nathan sat back. He had alot to do. First on his list was calling Admiral Bill Noyce.

Nathan was waiting for Noyce's secertary to connect him. He was upset but he had used some of his sources to check out Sarah's story. It was the truth as far as he could tell. Nathan looked up as Noyce's face appeared. "Hello, Nathan! What can I do for you today?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Well you certainly are cheerful. And I need you to help me get an injunction to bar the Wolonczaks from getting near Lucas."

Noyce was shocked, "Why?"

Nathan sighed, "I have reason to believe they are somehow involved in the two attacks on Lucas. First, they don't seem at all concerned that two attempts have been made on their son's life. Second, I talked to someone who says that Lucas knows something that could destroy his parent's careers. Third, when I checked out the individual's claims As far as I could tell they were the truth."

Noyce sighed. He knew that someday it might come to this. "I will get the injunction through by tonight. I have had suspisions about Lucas' safety with his parent's for years. This gives me the xcuse to have him removed from their custody. And I take it you are willing to take responsebilty for him?"

Nathan nodded, "Of course. I care a good deal about him. I just want him to be safe."

Noyce smiled. "Alright. By five pm Lucas will officially be in your custody. I know you will do your best. Bye."

Nathan also said good-bye then hung up. Well at least he knew Lucas would be safe from one monster. Now if he could just find the other monster.

Kristen was estatic. a few moments ago she had been sitting next to Lucas' bed and he had woken up and asked her why she was crying! She had squeezed him in a huge hug and then she started to explained what had happened.

When she had finished Lucas had asked quietly, "Is Ben in trouble? He had no way of knowing."

Kristen squeezed his hand. "No. Ben isn't in trouble. And look who just walked in."

Lucas turned and grinned when he saw Nathan standing in the doorway. "Captain!"

Nathan raced over and wrapped his arms around Lucas. "Thank god! I was worried you weren't going to wake up."

Lucas layed his head against Nathan's chest and smiled, "Yeah, well, I have woken up. Is everything okay?"

Nathan smiled slightly and settled down in a chair next to Lucas' bed. "It is now. I have some news. First of all Brody has found Corbin. He's in the brig. Second, I talked to Sarah..."

Lucas' eyes lit up, "You talked to Sar?! When? Why? About what? How did you know about her?"

Nathan grinned slightly, "I went into your room. I was thinking about getting some of your computer games ready to bring you when you woke up. I found your surprise by the way. Thank you. Anyway, I sat down on your bed and saw your half finished letter to her. I figured that sinse it seemed like you two were close I should let her know what happened. I told her and then she mentioned something about her thinking your parents were involved in this somehow. Something about you knowing something that could destroy both their careers. After I finshed talking to her I called Noyce and he is setting up an injunction to bar your parents from you until there can be an investigation. Your going to be put in my custody until that can happen, okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Thank you, captain. I think Sar's right they probably are involved. They probably payed for his plastic surgery."

Nathan just sat there next to Lucas as the teen drifted off to sleep. It had been a long tiring day and he was glad it was almost over. A few minutes after Lucas fell asleep Nathan also dozed off.

Nathan got a call from Noyce early the next morning. "Nathan. Good news! It turns out that several different groups had bits and pieces of information. The Wolonczaks are being charged with illegeal operations. That means that if they are found guilty I can alomst certainly get you custody of Lucas if you want it."

Nathan nodded hurriedly, "Of course I want it. I care about Lucas and want him to be safe. Bill, what about the fact that they may have been involved in the attacks?"

Noyce grinned even wider. "First of all, if they manage to win this trial they can be charged with that. Second, the fact that there is evidence of their involvement means they look worse and are more likely to be found guilty! So it works out either way!" Nathan grinned as well. "The question is, when is the trial and will Lucas have to testify?"

Noyce's grin dropped. "Three days and yes. I got you an extra day for him to rest before he takes the stand. You have four days until he is needed in this court room. I'm sorry, Nathan it was the best I could do."

Nathan nodded grimly. "I understand. And as long as the senior staff is allowed to come and sit in the audience then it will be fine. Lucas will feel much safer if he can see them there."

Noyce nodded. "I made sure that was arranged. I'll see you in four days. Bye."

Nathan hung up and sighed. 'Great. Just when he's getting better he has to do this. Oh well. I might as well go tell him and Kristen now rather than later.' With that thought he stood and walked out of the wardroom towards medbay.

When he reached the door to Lucas' room in medbay he smiled. Lucas was sitting up and playing poker with Ben, Tim, Miguel, and..., this shocked the captain a bit, Ford. "Well, Commander, I never expected to catch you playing poker with Krieg."

Ford looked up slightly sheepishly, "Well, Tim invited me. And I am winning so I figured I could put up with Krieg for a little while."

Nathan smiled and reached a hand over to tap Lucas on the shoulder. The teen looked up startled until he realized it was just Nathan. "Yes?" Lucas asked, feeling slightly foolish at having jumped.

Nathan patted his arm reasurringly, "I just wanted to know how you feeling."

Lucas grinned, "Great! The Commander and me are winning. If this game was for money we'd both be rich!"

Nathan grinned slightly. "Well, I'm surprised Mr. Krieg would agree to no stakes poker."

Ben looked at the captain for a moment trying to decide how to react. When he realized the captain was just trying to get Lucas to laugh he decided to act offended, "Hey! I resent that! I don't always do things for money!"

Nathan shifted his gaze to Krieg and gave the man a half smile, "Name one time Lt. Name one."

Krieg opened and closed his mouth a few times. Nathan had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing, "I wanted you to name a time, not do your impression of a fish. Now, I need to speak to Kristen for a moment. I'll talk to all of you later."

As he walked off Nathan heard Miguel starting to tease Ben. Nathan couldn't help smiling. Considering what he was about to tell Kristen he thought he should smile while he could.

"Kristen? I need to talk to you."

Kristen looked up from her work. "What about, Nathan?" Nathan sighed and began to tell her the latest devolopments, including that Lucas was going to have to testify in four days. To his surprise Kristen took it pretty well.

"If there is no other option than Lucas can testify then. At least as long as he feels alright. Noyce couldn't do any better?"

Nathan shook his head, "He tried. I know he did. But he couldn't arrange for Lucas take the stand any later in the week. Think of it this way, Kristen, after he tesifies he can relax. And you should know that if they are found guilty I am going to try to get custody of Lucas."

Kristen grinned widely, "Good. Lucas needs you, Nathan. You are the one person he trusts implicitely. He loves you like you were his dad. I think it would be perfect if you took custody of him."

Nathan grinned, "If the CPS will let me I want to adopt him. I want him to be officially be a member of my family."

Kristen smiled and looked out her office window at the commander jumping for joy. "It looks like the commander just won big." she said smiling and trying not to laugh.

Nathan followed her gaze and responded, "Looks like it. I think I should go clear them out and tell Lucas the news."

Kristen quickly nodded in agreement. "The sooner we tell him the better."

Lucas was a bit concerned by the idea of testifying, but once Nathan promised he would be right there the whole time Lucas agreed. The two would stay in a hotel near the courthouse while the others would comute from the ship each day.

Two days later they arrived at the hotel in Pearl Harbor. As Nathan and Lucas walked into the hotel room Nathan couldn't keep from whistling in appreciation. The room was huge. Two beds sat against one wall and there was a large area set aside for a kitchen. There was also a big screen TV against one wall. Nathan smiled when he saw Lucas make a beeline for one of the beds and lay down. He could tell the teenager was exausted. And tommorrow he had to testify against his parents. Nathan grinned and set his bag on the floor by the other bed

"Want to see if there's anything good on?" Nathan asked handing Lucas the TV remote.

Lucas glanced over at Nathan as he took the remote, "Sure, maybe we can find some junk movie on. You know alien pod people stuff or something."

Nathan chuckled softly and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll unpack our stuff while you look, okay?"

Lucas nodded.

Nathan smiled, glad to see the teen relaxing some. He knew the next few days would be hard. "You know, when the trial's over how bout we have the senior staff come here for dinner. It would be fun."

Lucas turned and smiled slightly, "Yeah, it would."

Nathan heard the slight tremor in Lucas voice, "What's wrong, kiddo?"

Lucas sighed softly and turned away from Nathan. "It's just... what if they win? What if they make me leave the SeaQuest?"

Nathan went over and sat on Lucas' bed, gently placing his hand on the teen's back. "That won't happen. If they somehow win this I will everything in my power to keep them from ever touching you again!" Nathan felt Lucas start shaking and after a moment he gently turned the boy towards him. When Nathan saw the tears starting to well up in the teen's eyes he quickly shifted and pulled Lucas against him. Despite the boy's weak protests, Nathan settled so that Lucas was laying against him. Nathan wrapped his arms tightly around the boy and, after another few moments of struggling, Lucas finally relaxed against Nathan.

The teenager turned slightly so he could rest his cheek against the front of Nathan's shirt. "I am just so scared. I hate being scared." Lucas whispered softly.

Nathan rested his chin on top of the boy's hair, "I wish I could make the fear stop. But I can't. All I can do is be here. And I will be here for as long as you need me to be."

Lucas sighed, "Good. That's all I want right now. For you to stay with me. I feel safer when your nearby."

Nathan grinned and squeezed Lucas softly, "Good. I want you to feel safe. Just remember, I will do whatever it takes to protect you. I love you, kiddo."

Lucas sighed contentedly. Nathan's words wrapped around his mind and had the same effect Nathan's arms did. They made him feel safe. Within five minutes Lucas was sound asleep. So was Nathan.

The next morning Nathan woke to a knock on the door. He tried to sit up but then he realized he had Lucas laying on him. He gently shifted the boy and went to answer the door before it woke the teen.

"Nathan! I'm glad you didn't go out for an early breakfast. I need to talk to you!"

Nathan was a bit surprised to see Bill Noyce standing there. He quickly gestured for the man to be quiet and then led Noyce in.

Noyce smiled slightly when he saw Lucas sound asleep on one of the room's two beds. He also noticed that Nathan looked like he had just woken up but the second bed was still made.

After they had moved into the kitchen Nathan responded to the question in Noyce's eyes. "I was Lucas' pillow last night. He's pretty nervous about testifying so I was trying to reasure him and he fell asleep in my arms so I just stayed put. I guess I fell asleep pretty soon after, because the next thing I know I'm waking up to someone knocking on the door."

Noyce grinned. "At least he seems to be sleeping very peacefully."

Nathan nodded grimly, "I just hope today doesn't ruin that. I know he had nightmares the last few nights. I am worried about what this will do to him."

Noyce nodded, "I'm a little worried, too. But we need his testimony if we want to put the Wolonczaks in jail." Both men turned and looked as Lucas came stumbling into the kitchen.

"Hi. I just need to get some water." he said quietly.

Noyce placed his hand on Lucas' shoulder and told him, "Actually you should stay. I came to talk to both of you about today."

Lucas nodded and asked if they could go sit in the living room area. Both of the older men agreed and they went and sat on the sofas in the room.

"Alright. I talked to the judge. He agreed that the SeaQuest crew should be present. He also said that he wants to speak in private to you, Lucas, before you testify, and before you ask he said that it would be fine if Nathan was with you." Lucas smiled slightly, relieved that Nathan would be with him. Noyce continued, "The trial begins at ten and the judge wants to see you at eight. Is that alright with you?"

Both Lucas and Nathan nodded. "Alright. Now how about I take you two out to breakfast. Your going to need your strength up for today."

Nathan and Lucas both agreed and went to change.

Twenty minutes later the trio sat at a pizza parlor down the street from the courthouse. They were eating a pepperoni pizza. Well Nathan and Lucas were eating it. Noyce was virtually inhaling it. Lucas started coughing at one point when it looked like Noyce had just vacuumed his last bit of crust into his mouth. Nathan patted the boy on his back as Lucas sipped a little bit of his soda. Nathan turned and smiled at Noyce. He knew Noyce had long ago broken that particular characteristic from himself, mostly because his wife hated it, and that Noyce had delibrately done it to get Lucas to laugh some. All three knew that the next few hours would be hard. Very hard.

The judge smiled, "It's good to see you have grown up fairly well, Lucas."

Nathan looked back and forth between the two before Lucas noticed the man's somewhat confused look. "Judge Morgan was the Judge at Corbin's trial when I was twelve." Nathan nodded, understanding now. Lucas had mentioned that the Judge was very nice to him and Melanie.

Judge Morgan looked at the two people sitting in front of them and sighed, "Lucas, are you sure you want to testify on the stand? you can give me a statement that I can read to the jury at the appropriate time."

Lucas shook his head, "I have to stand up to them. If I don't go on the stand, the defense lawer might try to say that I am lying and that's why I refused to take the stand. I won't let him get that chance."

Judge Morgan smiled, "Okay. It's your descision. I just thought I should ask." Judge Morgan turned to Nathan and asked "Captain Bridger, I understand you have put in a request to adopt Lucas. If all I have heard about you is true, then good. Lucas deserves much better than those two people who claim to be his parents. How those two managed to raise such an honest and brave young man is beyond me."

Nathan smiled, he liked this judge immediately, "I know what you mean. I have felt the same way since the first time Lucas got injured and his parents never even called."

Judge Morgan smiled back, "Well, we have a trial to get to. And Lucas, if at any point while you are tesifying you want to stop just let me know. I also want to warn you that you may be asked about your relationship with your parents."

Lucas stopped, "I might? I...should I mention that they hit me sometimes if someone askes about what they are like?" Judge Morgan nodded.

Nathan put his arm over Lucas' shoulder and whispered, "It will be alright. The whole senior staff will be in the front row of the audience. We won't let anything bad happen." Lucas smiled and hugged the captain before a bailiff asked Lucas to follow him.

Ten minutes later Nathan was sitting between Kristen and Ford in the front row. "The prosocution would like to call Lucas Wolonczak to the stand."

Lucas walked into the courtroom through the main doors at the back. The first thing he saw was the entire senior staff of the SeaQuest smiling at him from the front of the room. The next thing he noticed was Ford's smile dropping and the man jumping up and pulling him aside just as a shot rang out across the room.

It took a moment for everyone to proccess what had just happened but by then the SeaQuest crew were already surrounding Lucas and the slightly injured Commander. All Ford was trying to do was make sure Lucas was alright, he was so busy trying to see that he didn't even realize he was hurt at first. "Lucas, are you alright?" Ford asked.

Lucas nodded and then his eyes went wide, "Yes, but your not. Your bleeding."

When Kristen heard that she turned quickly to the commander and began checking him over. "It's just a graze. Nothing serious." she said as she finished the check.

Nathan nodded his attention still on the fact that someone had tried to shoot Lucas. Suddenly he realized that the man might have gotten away. "Did the guy get away?"

Katie shook here head, smiling, "Brody got him. The man's got his arms pinned back. Brody's got some help from Ben."

Nathan sighed in relief. But his relief didn't last long. "Hey captain! This guys saying he was hired by Lawerence and Cynthia Wolonczak to kill Lucas."

Brody's words silenced all the noise in the room. Up front the Wolonczaks paled and began talking franticlly to their lawyers. Suddenly their head lawyer stood up, "My clients would like to confess. They are guilty of the embezzleing and of this attack as well as the two attacks that happened on board the SeaQuest. They wish to be sentenced hastily."

Judge Morgan smiled grimly, "I'm sure they do. If they go to prison soon they might be safe from the wrath of the SeaQuest's crew. I sentence Lawerence Wolonczak to ten years in Marin Penitentuary with possibilty of parole in five years. I sentence Cynthis Wolonczak to five years at Coral Ridge Women's Penitentuary with possibilty of parole in two years. Court dismissed."

Lucas relaxed against the bench he was leaning on and closed his eyes in relief. After a moment he felt Nathan pick him up but he was too tired to protest so he just layed against the older man's chest and whispered, "I never even had to testify."

Nathan laughed softly as he sat down on the bench still holding the exhausted Lucas.

Two weeks later Commander Ford was back on duty. Even though the bullet had only grazed his arm, Nathan had insisted he take two weeks off, as reward for being so brave. Ford was glad to be back, but he was getting tired of everyone congratulating him on being a hero. He only did what he did because he was the only one who saw the man with the gun and he didn't want Lucas to get hurt.

The worst of the attention was Lucas constantly thanking him. After about the tenth time Lucas had thanked him he finally said, "Lucas. Stop thanking me. I did what I had to. I was the only one who saw the gun. I was the only one close enough to do something. If Krieg, or Tim, or anyone else had seen the gun and been close enough they would have done the same. I just didn't want you to get hurt. So stop thanking me." Ford made sure to smile at the teen to make sure he understood Ford wasn't mad at him.

Lucas looked at the older man, "Thaks commander. For just telling me the truth. Everyone has been so carefull about what they say when I'm around. I think that they think that if they mention their families I'm going to get upset. But I'm not. I have a family. This one. The crew, but particularly the senior staff. You guys mean more to me than anyone else ever has. Mostly because you guys actually care. I hope you don't mind that I consider you family."

Ford put his hand on the teen's shoulder, "Of course I don't mind. If I didn't care about you I wouldn't have been honest. And that doesn't mean that since the other's are being carefull about what they say they don't care. They do, they just don't want to hurt your feelings. We all know that you are having a hard time. Or at least we know we would be in your situation."

Lucas looked at the floor for a moment before responding, "Thanks again for being honest. I know your right about what you said. Right know the hardest part is waiting to see if the adoption will be aproved. Admiral Noyce says that the adoption will almost certainly be approved, but I can't help worrying."

Ford smiled, "I'm sure it will be approved. Anyone with half a brain can see you belong here. Can see the captain is the ideal person to take care of you.

Whether you want to admit you need to be taken care of or not."

Lucas laughed softly at the commander's teasing. Maybe things would really be alright.