Before you start reading this let me just tell you this isn't going to be about Lawrence abusing Lucas. I know those stories have been done really well by others so I'm not going down that track. Other than that you'll just have to read on to see what happens. I know this chapter is short but it seemed a logical place to pause. I promise they will get longer.

As always, I don't own anything of the seaQuest universe except the bits that roll around in my head before falling out here. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter One

"So, have you called him yet?"

Lucas didn't look up at Tim's question but stared at his fork full of eggs instead. Finally he shoveled it into his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer.

"C'mon Lucas, you have to call him back. He's called you four times and I can't keep telling him you are unavailable."

Lucas shifted slightly in his seat and nodded at his friend while still avoiding making eye contact. He slowly swallowed the mouthful of eggs and finally looked up.

"Well it's true! I have been unavailable because he's just called at inconvenient times. That's not my fault is it?"

Tim nodded thoughtfully. "No, it's not, but it doesn't explain why you haven't called him back yet." The hint of a question hung in the air but Lucas refused to rise to it.

Before Tim could say anything further Lucas' PAL began to beep.

"Duty calls!" he said as he pushed his plate away and quickly rose from the seat.

Tim frowned as he watched the teenager hurriedly leave the mess. He had skipped the rest of his breakfast in his haste to answer the PAL out of earshot of anyone else. He knew Lucas could be secretive when he wanted to but this was just strange.

For his part Lucas didn't want to continue the uncomfortable conversation and had been relieved when his PAL went off. It gave him the perfect excuse to escape Tim's questions. He couldn't really explain to himself why he hadn't returned his father's calls yet. Maybe it was a little childish but it was a small chance at some payback. After all, how many times had he left messages with his father's secretary or lab assistant only to wait days or even weeks for a return call? Now the shoe was on the other foot and he wondered how it felt.

He heard Commander Hitchcock's voice over the PAL and quickly reigned in his thoughts. Duty really was calling and he was needed in Engineering. As he quickly made his way down to the maglev he decided he would call his father as soon as his shift was done. He figured he had made his point by now.

The rest of the day passed quickly as the engineering team ran a series of diagnostic tests on a new system. Lucas ran the computer simulations while Katie had oversight of the physical tests. As is usually the case with first tests, things didn't quite go to plan and it was many hours later before they could confidently say the system was running properly.

When Lucas finally made his way to his quarters that night he had almost forgotten about calling his father. It was late and he was tired and the idea of putting it off until tomorrow was very appealing. Until he got to his quarters and saw there was another message on his comm bank. A nagging feeling was starting to eat at him. His father would usually go through the captain if he wanted Lucas to do something. So why had he called five times and left personal messages rather than go through Bridger? Lucas decided it was time to stop being childish and just call his father.

He paced nervously as the vidphone link dialed through. It seemed only seconds before Doctor Lawrence Wolenczak appeared on the viewscreen. Lucas stopped pacing and turned to look at his father. He licked his lips and tried to think what to say to explain his tardiness in replying but he didn't get a chance to speak.

"Lucas!" Something about the eagerness in Lawrence's voice sounded wrong but he continued on anyway. "It's good to see you, son."

Lucas smiled and nodded at his father. "Um, sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you but I've been tied up with this new …"

"It's OK," Lawrence cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I know how busy you are. It's just that I …" he paused and tried to hide the awkwardness he was feeling. It had been so long since he had a real conversation with his own son and now that it really mattered he was stuck for words. He smiled and continued on anyway.

"Lucas I was wondering if, um, I'd be able to come out to the seaQuest and see you since I know you don't have shore leave due. I've checked with Captain Bridger and he's OK with it if you are."

Lucas wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to the request but it seemed as though once again the plans had already been made for him. If the captain had agreed to it then there really wasn't any way he could say no to his own father. He shrugged his shoulders in a non-committal fashion and nodded slightly.

"Um, I guess so. When were you planning on coming?"

"As soon as possible."

Lucas suddenly felt very wary of what this request was really all about. His father had never been in a hurry to see his only son before, so what was different now?

"Dad …is everything alright?"

Lawrence smiled but something about it didn't seem quite genuine. "Of course. There's just some things I want to discuss with you and they really need to be done face to face."

"Mmm … OK," Lucas replied warily.

"All right then, I'll let you know as soon as I have travel details for you. Well you look exhausted so I'm going to go and leave you to get some rest."

Lucas nodded while trying to stifle a yawn. Long after the vidlink went blank he sat and stared at the screen. That was the strangest conversation he'd had with his father in a long time. Something was very definitely not right. As he lay on his bunk and tried to sleep, questions kept running through his mind. Sleep evaded him for most of the night as he tried to put together the puzzle that was obviously missing some important pieces.

"Lucas? Did you hear me?"

"Huh? Oh sorry Kristin. They'll be ready in a minute."

He turned back to the slide samples in front of him and continued to prep them for the incubator. It was boring work and his mind had wandered off. He shook his head slightly at his own lapse in concentration and focused again on what he was doing. The experiment was fascinating but setting up the preliminary control phase was just routine.

Kristin didn't say anything, but she had been watching him for the last ten minutes. His mind obviously wasn't on the job. He looked tired but she knew better than to quiz him about it. Suggesting a tired teenager should get off the internex and get more sleep was likely to earn her some sarcastic response but wouldn't ultimately make him get to bed any earlier. She smiled slightly and realised it had been a long time since she'd had to deal with teenagers and their peculiar logic. The one thing she did remember from her dramas with her own daughter was that it was often better to hold her tongue and let Cynthia work things out for herself. That sometimes meant allowing her to suffer the consequences of bad choices.

Kristin smiled fondly at him. Lucas had become part of the crew in the sense that he made a valuable contribution but he had become like family too. Eventually all teenagers grow up and start to make sense again. At least Cynthia had, so she held out hope for Lucas as well. She ignored the inclination to give him some motherly advice and turned back to the job at hand. After all, the control slides weren't going to get themselves done.

Captain Bridger paused outside the door to the lab. He knew Lucas was rostered on with Kristin today and he would find both of them down here. They had been telling him about their research project for weeks and today was the start of the control phase so obviously they would be in the lab.

He couldn't shake the sense of unease that had plagued him since the call from Doctor Wolenczak earlier in the day. There had been other matters to attend to on the bridge but he had finally gotten a chance to head down to speak with Lucas. Of course he knew that Lucas' father wanted to come out to the seaQuest and he had given permission. He had no idea why Lawrence was suddenly so keen to see his son but he wouldn't stand in the way. Especially if it meant Lucas would finally get some of the attention he needed and deserved.

Bridger shook his head as if to dislodge his own thoughts. Why was he so bothered by the fact that tomorrow morning Lawrence would be arriving on his boat? He took a deep breath and put on a calm face before stepping into the science lab. Kristin looked up as he entered and smiled at him. He returned the smile but she noted there was something odd about his demeanour. Before she could ask anything he had walked over to where Lucas still had his head down over the microscope.

"Hey, Kiddo."

Lucas waved his left hand vaguely in the air. As he pulled the slide out of the holder he laid it gently in a box with another fifty nine that looked just like it.

"Last one! We just need to get them sorted and labeled before we start the next phase," he smiled before standing up to hand the box to the doctor.

Bridger knew all about the experiment protocols and didn't need something so obvious explained to him. He understood that Lucas was avoiding the real reason the captain had come down and it just added to his concern.

"I just wanted to let you know your father will be arriving on the supply shuttle in the morning."

"OK." The brevity of the answer did nothing to help calm his worries.

"Lucas … I'm … I was just wondering if everything is all right. With you and your father I mean."

Lucas slowly turned back to look at them both. Kristin had moved over beside Bridger and was waiting for an answer too. Clearly she was just as concerned. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to look unfazed.

"You mean you're wondering why he's suddenly showing such an interest in me too?" He smiled at them before shaking his head. "I dunno either. But I don't expect it to last long." The last words were almost lost as his voice dropped. He quickly turned away to cover his embarrassment and picked up the equipment he'd been using.

"Gotta pack my toys away, otherwise the boss gets annoyed." He grinned cheekily at the doctor as he moved away to the supply storeroom.

Kristin shook her head in frustration before whispering, "He can joke all he likes but this has him unnerved."

"I know. I just wish I knew what was going on." The captain frowned at her. "I need to get back to the bridge but I'll talk with you later."