Author's Note: Written as a gift for 123Writer.
You don't need to know a lot about Jaws to get this, just the basic info (ie; big ole shark eating people, a glance at the synopsis is probably enough). I'm not going to bother with how these two times coincide, it's just a fun little story. Takes place directly after the first "Jaws" and the season two episode "Vapors." And needless to say, AU. Enjoy!
Nathan Bridger watched with mild interest as a large flock of seagulls took off from the water in front of him. He was sipping coffee on the pier of his island in the early morning sun. The small contingent of his crew was till sleeping it off back at the house.
Although he tried to keep the drinking to a minimum, he knew more went on than he saw. And they had all stayed up very late talking, and enjoying the short shore leave. Nathan was grateful to have the chance to get to know the latest additions of the crew better. He was already seeing a great untapped potential in Tony, in particular. The ex-con hid it well, but the captain was able to recognize the young man had quickly developed a great loyalty to his new friends and co-workers.
Hearing stumbling footsteps behind him, Nathan turned suddenly. Lucas was carefully making his way down the pier looking disheveled, well, more than usual. He tried to smooth his shaggy blonde hair down when the captain chuckled at this appearance. "I'm surprised to see you up and around this early, Lucas."
"Yeah, me too." Lucas rasped, rubbing his face wearily. "What was in that iced tea Tony gave me?"
Nathan let out a short laugh. "Very little actual tea." Lucas grimaced at the noise, causing the older man to smile with some sympathy. "What did he tell you it was?"
"Something from New York… popular in Long Island, I think."
"That's what I thought." He answered, struggling not to laugh.
Lucas groaned and scowled at the seagulls squawking loudly as they flew over the water. "Why didn't you warn me?"
"You were almost done with the first one when I saw it. It was already too late. I did stop Tony from giving you a third one, though. And we all stopped him from shaving your eyebrows off when you passed out. I told Dagwood to keep watch over you."
"Oh… That's why I woke up on his chest. Thanks… I think." Lucas blinked his eyes, trying to clear them, and his aching, muddled brain.
"So, why are you awake this early?" Nathan asked, watching Lucas yawn and his eyelids droop. "I have a hard time getting you up before eight hundred hours on the ship."
"Oh!" Lucas snapped to attention, "sorry. You had a call on your vidlink." He smiled mischievously, his blue eyes glinting. "She said she'd call back, and I quote, 'when there is less carnage on the floor.' I guess she could see everyone still sleeping."
Nathan raised an eyebrow, "mind telling me who it was, Mr. Wolenczak?"
Lucas saluted smartly, while smirking, "yes, sir, captain. Dr. Westphalen will be contacting you soon."
"Kristin?" His face lit up, then reddened slightly. "What did she want?"
"I'm not sure," Lucas smiled at his captain's reaction. "My head was pounding… in fact," he wrinkled his face, "it still is." He paused, trying to think, "I believe she said something about a shark? And a cousin? Maybe a shark's cousin? Does that make sense?"
"Did she say a name?" Nathan's tone turned from confusion and amusement to irritation in a breath's time.
Lucas hesitated when he saw the reaction. "Um… yeah, she said something about 'Brody.' But I thought she meant the lieutenant. Does she even know him?"
"Brody?" Nathan's eyes sparked with recognition, then darkened with annoyance again. He sighed, "Martin has a shark problem, again. Damn it, how did she get mixed up with him?" He stalked toward the house, leaving the bewildered Lucas in his wake.
Nathan took a deep breath as he sat in front of his bedroom's vidlink. It was the only place in the house that would allow him privacy and didn't have an unconscious crew member in the line of sight. Carefully smoothing his facial hair down, he wondering if he should shave before calling. Instead, he quickly dialed the familiar number before he could change his mind.
After only one ring, it was answered, and although the face that filled the screen was furious, it still took his breath away. "Kristin…"
"Was Lucas hung over?" She demanded, without a greeting of any sort. "How could you let him drink?"
"Well… um…" he fumbled for a reply. Nathan could successfully conduct himself in front of military and government panels, or easily command a sub full of crew through pretty much any situation. But, for some reason, seeing this fiery redhead in front of him seemed to reduce him to the metal scrambling of a guilty schoolboy.
"Kristin," he tried again, ruffling his hair. "You look well. You… you haven't changed a bit."
She narrowed her eyes at his distraction technique, but didn't fight it. "Thank you, Nathan. It's only been a few months." Her steely gaze dropped and her voice softened, "but longer than that since you actually looked at me."
Nathan swallowed uncomfortably, "yes… I… um… Did you need something, Doctor?"
"I… we need your help, Nathan."
"You and Martin?" He asked suspiciously.
"Yes, Nathan, I'm working with your cousin. We met at a conference about the Lazarus Taxon phenomenon a month ago. At first…" she hesitated, "I thought he was you, you look so similar. But I knew were underway."
"You've been watching me?" He replied hopefully, and in obvious surprise.
"In a way." Kristin admitted. "Lucas and Tim call me regularly."
Nathan blinked in astonishment, he knew Lucas felt very close to the doctor, but neither the teen nor Tim mentioned speaking with her at all, let alone often. "I see," he nodded, prompting her to continue.
"Yes, well, as you know after my services were…. no longer required abroad the SeaQuest, I began researching other interests. One of these interests is the study of previously thought to be extinct species that have been found again."
"Lazarus taxon…" he mused, looking for the connection. "And Martin…" Nathan raised an eyebrow before bursting into laughter. "Let me guess, Martin has you convinced that a giant prehistoric shark is out there."
The scowl that crossed Kristin's face was so reminiscent of Lucas', Nathan bit his tongue to stifle the laugh. "Yes, he has. But perhaps you should see some of the damage that has been done to colonies, and how many people have died, before you push this away so flippantly."
This caught Nathan's attention and he cocked his head, staring at her. "What do you mean? The UEO hasn't told us about any attacks or damage."
Kristin met his gaze smugly, "do you truly expect them to admit something like this?"
"No, not at first." He admitted sourly. "They'd hide it until they had to warn the public. But they should have told me at least. I could have helped some of those people."
"You're much too honorable, Nathan. If there was a threat like this out there, and you know knew, you would be on every news channel telling everyone to get out of the water, your reputation be damned. I know the UEO doesn't think the global economy can handle that kind of panic."
Nathan flushed at the complement and looked at the screen with a wry grin, as his mind wandered. If Kristin still believed he was honorable, his missteps in the past may be forgiven. "What can we do? The ship is out of commission for another week. And even if we had it, the UEO won't let us investigate it."
"I have a sub, we could start looking. When we have proof, you can demand to use the SeaQuest." Kristin offered.
"You want to search for a giant shark that can eat humpbacked whales, in a tin can?" Nathan scoffed, "and what happens when… if we find it?"
Kristin's lips thinned in anger. "You outran an exploding lava rift in a single seat experimental mini-sub, but if you are too afraid to do this, Nathan, Martin and I can only hope it will swallow us and choke to death on my 'tin can.'" She ended in a hiss before shutting down the link.
"Damn it!" Nathan growled, slumping in his seat. After considering for a few moments, he punched in a new number on the screen, holding his breath and getting ready for a fight.