I do not have any rights to the TV show "SeaQuest." However, keep in mind I
am also not making any money with this story.
This is my first fanfic, and I apologize for any typos as I have edited this myself. Any and all comments are welcome, but if you have criticism, please try to phrase it constructively. Mean comments make me break out in hives.
This is a sequel to the episode "Photon Bullet," and takes place 2 days after SeaQuest picked up Lucas at Node 3. I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but I always thought the ending of that episode was a little too neat to be believable, so this is what I think happened afterwards.
A special thanks to Kiddo for her wonderful encouragement, without which this story might not have been either written and/or posted.
Lastly, a "Happy Birthday" to Jonathan Brandis, wherever he is now. I grew up watching him, and he was my first ever crush. I hope wherever he is now, things are better.
"Ricochet"
By PhoenixTears80
Captain Nathan Bridger of the SeaQuest lay awake on his bunk, staring at the metal ceiling of his cabin. He turned onto his right side, closed his eyes, and waited. Nothing. He flipped over onto his left side, eyes still closed, and waited again; still nothing. Finally, he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. He lay there, staring at the ceiling again. He had the strangest feeling that something was not quite right - that unsettled feeling in his stomach and mind. He couldn't shake it.
Setting the idea of sleep aside for the moment, Captain Bridger got up and got dressed. Leaving the cabin, he headed in the direction of the bridge. Maybe if there were something wrong, there would be some sign of it there.
It was 2:00 in the morning so when Bridger entered the bridge, there were not many people there. Commander Ford was in the command chair and various personnel were stationed around the bridge. As Bridger approached the commander, everyone rose and stood at attention. Bridger looked around. "As you were," he said. He turned to Ford. "How is everything going, Commander?"
Ford glanced around the bridge. "Smooth sailing, sir." Bridger nodded, blankly. There was an awkward pause. "Sir, are you OK?"
Bridger snapped out of it. "Sure, Commander, why?"
"Well," Ford began, "you seem a little...anxious."
Bridger patted Ford's shoulder. "I'm fine, just had trouble sleeping. I figured I'd come up here and see how everything was going."
"Understandable, Sir," Ford said.
"Maybe I'll take a little stroll around the boat," Bridger said.
Ford nodded. "Good idea, Sir. I'll let you know if anything happens."
"Thank you, Commander." With that, Bridger turned and exited the bridge doors. Ford watched as he left, shrugged his shoulders, and turned back to what he was doing.
Bridger stood as the Mag-Lev came to a halt. He'd already been halfway around the ship and he still couldn't figure out what was bothering him. He got off the Mag-Lev at C-Deck and started wandering again. His mind told him that maybe a visit with Darwin might relax him enough to sleep. Apparently he wasn't the only one with those thoughts in mind.
As Bridger approached the moonpool, he could hear splashing, followed by a deep sigh. He started to step more quietly so as not to startle whomever was in there. He silently rounded the corner and saw that he needn't worry about being heard. The person sitting on the side of the pool was too deep in thought to notice the arrival of anyone else.
Bridger stopped and just looked on. Lucas was sitting on the side of the pool, his legs dangling in the water. He was staring off into space, idly kicking his feet in the water. Bridger could only see him from behind, but he could tell just from the set of Lucas' shoulders how tense the teenager was.
He wondered if the reason he was so uneasy was because Lucas was troubled about something. He knew that parents could often tell when their children were hurt or bothered and, while Lucas wasn't actually his son, he knew he was closer to the teenager than the boy's own father was.
He walked toward Lucas slowly, trying not to startle him. He gently reached out a hand to touch the boy's shoulder. He certainly wasn't expecting the reaction he got.
Lucas just about jumped out of his skin when he felt the hand touch his shoulder. He would have fallen in the water as well, had it not been for a pair of strong but gentle arms grabbing him around the waist. The arms pulled him back so that his legs were no longer in the water. Once he got his footing and was able to stand up straight, the arms disappeared. He turned around.
Standing in front of him was Captain Bridger. "Lucas, are you all right?"
Lucas just stood there breathing, watching the captain with a sheepish look on his face. "Yeah, I'm OK. You just surprised me is all."
Bridger watched Lucas' face, not believing for a minute that the teenager was "OK." Lucas, uncomfortable under such close scrutiny, blushed and looked down at his feet.
Bridger wondered if Lucas' stress had anything to do with the events of the last 2 days. 2 days ago they had picked Lucas up at Node 3. Just that afternoon they had dropped Mycroft off at UEO headquarters. Bridger knew that the teenager was sad to say goodbye to the friends he'd made. He also knew about the moral dilemma brought about by what Mycroft had asked him to do. But he didn't think the whole thing would have caused the kid that much anxiety.
"Lucas," Bridger began, "what's going on? I know when you're OK, and right now, you don't look very OK." Bridger leaned against the edge of the moonpool. "Now, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong." Without looking up, Lucas started to turn to head for the door when Bridger added, "And if you don't tell me, I'll tell Dr. Westphalen that I think you're sick and need a physical. And don't think I won't do it, either. Now, which would you prefer?"
Lucas sighed and his shoulders sagged a little. He turned back to Bridger and looked up. For the first time, Bridger noticed the faint circles under Lucas' normally bright blue eyes. "Lucas," he began, "you know you can trust me. If there's anything you need to get off your chest, I'll listen, and if you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't."
Lucas slowly nodded. He walked over and leaned against the pool next to Bridger. He took a deep breath. "I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of nights." Bridger nodded his head, silently encouraging Lucas to continue. "The last 2 nights, I've had some nightmares. I come here to relax, and it works, but when I go back to my cabin to go back to sleep, it just starts all over again."
Bridger nodded in understanding. "Why don't you tell me what the nightmares are about? Maybe talking about them will make them go away."
Lucas nodded. "OK." Bridger waited. "I've been having nightmares about Node 3."
Bridger quirked an eyebrow. "About what? About what would have happened if Mycroft had taken control of the World Bank?"
Lucas actually gave a strained laugh. "I wish that were it. Sir...I didn't...I didn't exactly tell you everything that happened at Node 3."
"Oh?" Bridger was surprised, but he didn't want to push Lucas. He wanted Lucas to take this at his own pace.
"Yeah," Lucas answered. "I told you that I almost helped Mycroft get control of the World Bank."
"You did," said Bridger, thinking that maybe Lucas was suffering a crisis of conscience. "But you also said you stopped him. I know you said he was angry, but obviously you must have talked him out of it; he turned himself in.
Lucas snorted at the captain's words. "That's not exactly why he turned himself in, me 'talking him out of it,' as you say." Lucas thought, carefully choosing his next words. "After I got into the World Bank's computer, Mycroft sat down at one of the terminals. Finally, I realized what could happen if he carried through on all of his plans. I couldn't let anything like that to happen. So I fought him for control of the system. I took the computers off-line; he brought them back. I took them off-line again, and he just brought them back again. It took about a minute, back and forth like that, but I got the computers off-line and I locked him out of the system." Lucas took a deep breath.
"And then what happened?" Bridger asked.
Lucas tried to swallow around the lump that was forming in his throat. "Mycroft – he got up from the computer and he...he came at me." Lucas focused his eyes straight ahead and willed his voice to stay calm. He could feel Bridger's comforting hand giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze of support. "He put his hands around my neck. He tried to kill me." Lucas' voice remained steady, but a tear worked its way out of his eye and rolled down the side of his nose.
Bridger didn't say anything. He was too surprised. And upset that Lucas hadn't told him any of this earlier. Now he remembered how friendly he'd been to Mycroft when they picked him and Lucas up at Node 3, how politely he'd treated him. If he'd known this before...
Lucas took a shuddering breath. "Everything started to get dark. And then Nick got on the computer and played a security tape that showed Mycroft killing a young man, a Chinese soldier. I think it kind of gave Mycroft a shock of reality. He had such a look of surprise and sadness on his face, like he didn't know what he'd been doing."
Bridger steadied himself and asked the question he'd been dying to ask. "Lucas, why didn't you tell me this before?"
Lucas had anticipated this question. "Two reasons, really. The first one being that I knew Mycroft wasn't bad. He had good intentions, I think, in the beginning. And seeing the look on his face when he let me go, I knew that he really hadn't intended to hurt me. He was just so caught up in his plans that when something stopped them he just kind of snapped. I didn't want you to do anything to him."
Bridger nodded. "What was the other reason you didn't tell me?"
Lucas' face colored before he spoke. "You'll probably think it's stupid." Bridger just stared at him until he continued. "Honestly...I kind of felt like a wimp for letting this get to me so much. It's just that...ever since I've been on the SeaQuest, we've run into one dangerous or screwy situation after another. Each time I've come out OK. When I had the first nightmare, I felt like a coward for not handling this as well as every other time." As he finished speaking, he let his head hang down.
Bridger let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He stood up straight and moved in front of Lucas. With a gentle hand, he brought Lucas' head up so he could look him in the eye. "Kiddo, I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could tell me all this. Although if I had known this before, I probably would have strangled Mycroft while I had the chance." Lucas almost smiled at this. Almost. "And I also want you to know that I most definitely do not think you are a coward or a wimp. Being on a submarine with an entire military crew that's under attack is a lot different than having someone put their hands around your throat trying to strangle you. Of course it's going to affect you." Now Lucas really did smile. "I still wish you had told me, though. It may have saved you a few nightmares." At this, he pulled Lucas into a tight hug. Lucas hugged the captain back, taking as much comfort as he could get.
"You're probably right, Sir. I do feel a little bit better now." Bridger patted him on the back of his neck before letting him go.
As he backed away, he saw a slight grimace of pain on Lucas' face. "What's the matter?" he asked, and as Lucas went to open his mouth, he continued, "and don't say you're OK."
Lucas took a breath. "My neck's just a little sore."
"A little sore, huh?" Bridger said skeptically. "Let me see." And before Lucas could object, he reached out a hand and pulled down the collar of the teenager's turtleneck. "Damn." He could see the bruises around Lucas' throat. No wonder the kid was sore.
"It doesn't feel half as bad as it looks," Lucas offered feebly.
"Yeah," Bridger said, "right." He took Lucas by the hand and started leading him away from the moonpool in the direction of Med-Bay. "I think it's time to go wake up Dr. Westphalen."
"But you said if I talked I didn't need to be checked out!" Lucas protested.
Bridger just laughed, shook his head, and kept walking, his hand grasping Lucas'.
The End
This is my first fanfic, and I apologize for any typos as I have edited this myself. Any and all comments are welcome, but if you have criticism, please try to phrase it constructively. Mean comments make me break out in hives.
This is a sequel to the episode "Photon Bullet," and takes place 2 days after SeaQuest picked up Lucas at Node 3. I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but I always thought the ending of that episode was a little too neat to be believable, so this is what I think happened afterwards.
A special thanks to Kiddo for her wonderful encouragement, without which this story might not have been either written and/or posted.
Lastly, a "Happy Birthday" to Jonathan Brandis, wherever he is now. I grew up watching him, and he was my first ever crush. I hope wherever he is now, things are better.
"Ricochet"
By PhoenixTears80
Captain Nathan Bridger of the SeaQuest lay awake on his bunk, staring at the metal ceiling of his cabin. He turned onto his right side, closed his eyes, and waited. Nothing. He flipped over onto his left side, eyes still closed, and waited again; still nothing. Finally, he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. He lay there, staring at the ceiling again. He had the strangest feeling that something was not quite right - that unsettled feeling in his stomach and mind. He couldn't shake it.
Setting the idea of sleep aside for the moment, Captain Bridger got up and got dressed. Leaving the cabin, he headed in the direction of the bridge. Maybe if there were something wrong, there would be some sign of it there.
It was 2:00 in the morning so when Bridger entered the bridge, there were not many people there. Commander Ford was in the command chair and various personnel were stationed around the bridge. As Bridger approached the commander, everyone rose and stood at attention. Bridger looked around. "As you were," he said. He turned to Ford. "How is everything going, Commander?"
Ford glanced around the bridge. "Smooth sailing, sir." Bridger nodded, blankly. There was an awkward pause. "Sir, are you OK?"
Bridger snapped out of it. "Sure, Commander, why?"
"Well," Ford began, "you seem a little...anxious."
Bridger patted Ford's shoulder. "I'm fine, just had trouble sleeping. I figured I'd come up here and see how everything was going."
"Understandable, Sir," Ford said.
"Maybe I'll take a little stroll around the boat," Bridger said.
Ford nodded. "Good idea, Sir. I'll let you know if anything happens."
"Thank you, Commander." With that, Bridger turned and exited the bridge doors. Ford watched as he left, shrugged his shoulders, and turned back to what he was doing.
Bridger stood as the Mag-Lev came to a halt. He'd already been halfway around the ship and he still couldn't figure out what was bothering him. He got off the Mag-Lev at C-Deck and started wandering again. His mind told him that maybe a visit with Darwin might relax him enough to sleep. Apparently he wasn't the only one with those thoughts in mind.
As Bridger approached the moonpool, he could hear splashing, followed by a deep sigh. He started to step more quietly so as not to startle whomever was in there. He silently rounded the corner and saw that he needn't worry about being heard. The person sitting on the side of the pool was too deep in thought to notice the arrival of anyone else.
Bridger stopped and just looked on. Lucas was sitting on the side of the pool, his legs dangling in the water. He was staring off into space, idly kicking his feet in the water. Bridger could only see him from behind, but he could tell just from the set of Lucas' shoulders how tense the teenager was.
He wondered if the reason he was so uneasy was because Lucas was troubled about something. He knew that parents could often tell when their children were hurt or bothered and, while Lucas wasn't actually his son, he knew he was closer to the teenager than the boy's own father was.
He walked toward Lucas slowly, trying not to startle him. He gently reached out a hand to touch the boy's shoulder. He certainly wasn't expecting the reaction he got.
Lucas just about jumped out of his skin when he felt the hand touch his shoulder. He would have fallen in the water as well, had it not been for a pair of strong but gentle arms grabbing him around the waist. The arms pulled him back so that his legs were no longer in the water. Once he got his footing and was able to stand up straight, the arms disappeared. He turned around.
Standing in front of him was Captain Bridger. "Lucas, are you all right?"
Lucas just stood there breathing, watching the captain with a sheepish look on his face. "Yeah, I'm OK. You just surprised me is all."
Bridger watched Lucas' face, not believing for a minute that the teenager was "OK." Lucas, uncomfortable under such close scrutiny, blushed and looked down at his feet.
Bridger wondered if Lucas' stress had anything to do with the events of the last 2 days. 2 days ago they had picked Lucas up at Node 3. Just that afternoon they had dropped Mycroft off at UEO headquarters. Bridger knew that the teenager was sad to say goodbye to the friends he'd made. He also knew about the moral dilemma brought about by what Mycroft had asked him to do. But he didn't think the whole thing would have caused the kid that much anxiety.
"Lucas," Bridger began, "what's going on? I know when you're OK, and right now, you don't look very OK." Bridger leaned against the edge of the moonpool. "Now, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong." Without looking up, Lucas started to turn to head for the door when Bridger added, "And if you don't tell me, I'll tell Dr. Westphalen that I think you're sick and need a physical. And don't think I won't do it, either. Now, which would you prefer?"
Lucas sighed and his shoulders sagged a little. He turned back to Bridger and looked up. For the first time, Bridger noticed the faint circles under Lucas' normally bright blue eyes. "Lucas," he began, "you know you can trust me. If there's anything you need to get off your chest, I'll listen, and if you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't."
Lucas slowly nodded. He walked over and leaned against the pool next to Bridger. He took a deep breath. "I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of nights." Bridger nodded his head, silently encouraging Lucas to continue. "The last 2 nights, I've had some nightmares. I come here to relax, and it works, but when I go back to my cabin to go back to sleep, it just starts all over again."
Bridger nodded in understanding. "Why don't you tell me what the nightmares are about? Maybe talking about them will make them go away."
Lucas nodded. "OK." Bridger waited. "I've been having nightmares about Node 3."
Bridger quirked an eyebrow. "About what? About what would have happened if Mycroft had taken control of the World Bank?"
Lucas actually gave a strained laugh. "I wish that were it. Sir...I didn't...I didn't exactly tell you everything that happened at Node 3."
"Oh?" Bridger was surprised, but he didn't want to push Lucas. He wanted Lucas to take this at his own pace.
"Yeah," Lucas answered. "I told you that I almost helped Mycroft get control of the World Bank."
"You did," said Bridger, thinking that maybe Lucas was suffering a crisis of conscience. "But you also said you stopped him. I know you said he was angry, but obviously you must have talked him out of it; he turned himself in.
Lucas snorted at the captain's words. "That's not exactly why he turned himself in, me 'talking him out of it,' as you say." Lucas thought, carefully choosing his next words. "After I got into the World Bank's computer, Mycroft sat down at one of the terminals. Finally, I realized what could happen if he carried through on all of his plans. I couldn't let anything like that to happen. So I fought him for control of the system. I took the computers off-line; he brought them back. I took them off-line again, and he just brought them back again. It took about a minute, back and forth like that, but I got the computers off-line and I locked him out of the system." Lucas took a deep breath.
"And then what happened?" Bridger asked.
Lucas tried to swallow around the lump that was forming in his throat. "Mycroft – he got up from the computer and he...he came at me." Lucas focused his eyes straight ahead and willed his voice to stay calm. He could feel Bridger's comforting hand giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze of support. "He put his hands around my neck. He tried to kill me." Lucas' voice remained steady, but a tear worked its way out of his eye and rolled down the side of his nose.
Bridger didn't say anything. He was too surprised. And upset that Lucas hadn't told him any of this earlier. Now he remembered how friendly he'd been to Mycroft when they picked him and Lucas up at Node 3, how politely he'd treated him. If he'd known this before...
Lucas took a shuddering breath. "Everything started to get dark. And then Nick got on the computer and played a security tape that showed Mycroft killing a young man, a Chinese soldier. I think it kind of gave Mycroft a shock of reality. He had such a look of surprise and sadness on his face, like he didn't know what he'd been doing."
Bridger steadied himself and asked the question he'd been dying to ask. "Lucas, why didn't you tell me this before?"
Lucas had anticipated this question. "Two reasons, really. The first one being that I knew Mycroft wasn't bad. He had good intentions, I think, in the beginning. And seeing the look on his face when he let me go, I knew that he really hadn't intended to hurt me. He was just so caught up in his plans that when something stopped them he just kind of snapped. I didn't want you to do anything to him."
Bridger nodded. "What was the other reason you didn't tell me?"
Lucas' face colored before he spoke. "You'll probably think it's stupid." Bridger just stared at him until he continued. "Honestly...I kind of felt like a wimp for letting this get to me so much. It's just that...ever since I've been on the SeaQuest, we've run into one dangerous or screwy situation after another. Each time I've come out OK. When I had the first nightmare, I felt like a coward for not handling this as well as every other time." As he finished speaking, he let his head hang down.
Bridger let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He stood up straight and moved in front of Lucas. With a gentle hand, he brought Lucas' head up so he could look him in the eye. "Kiddo, I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could tell me all this. Although if I had known this before, I probably would have strangled Mycroft while I had the chance." Lucas almost smiled at this. Almost. "And I also want you to know that I most definitely do not think you are a coward or a wimp. Being on a submarine with an entire military crew that's under attack is a lot different than having someone put their hands around your throat trying to strangle you. Of course it's going to affect you." Now Lucas really did smile. "I still wish you had told me, though. It may have saved you a few nightmares." At this, he pulled Lucas into a tight hug. Lucas hugged the captain back, taking as much comfort as he could get.
"You're probably right, Sir. I do feel a little bit better now." Bridger patted him on the back of his neck before letting him go.
As he backed away, he saw a slight grimace of pain on Lucas' face. "What's the matter?" he asked, and as Lucas went to open his mouth, he continued, "and don't say you're OK."
Lucas took a breath. "My neck's just a little sore."
"A little sore, huh?" Bridger said skeptically. "Let me see." And before Lucas could object, he reached out a hand and pulled down the collar of the teenager's turtleneck. "Damn." He could see the bruises around Lucas' throat. No wonder the kid was sore.
"It doesn't feel half as bad as it looks," Lucas offered feebly.
"Yeah," Bridger said, "right." He took Lucas by the hand and started leading him away from the moonpool in the direction of Med-Bay. "I think it's time to go wake up Dr. Westphalen."
"But you said if I talked I didn't need to be checked out!" Lucas protested.
Bridger just laughed, shook his head, and kept walking, his hand grasping Lucas'.
The End