Warning! This story deals with the deaths of minor characters, drug abuse and self harm/suicide. Also, bad language.

I found the script for the unfilmed episode 'In Father's Footsteps' online, it's out there somewhere...shame it never got made, sounds like it would have been a good one! Anyway, here's a quick summation of the events of that episode -

It's revealed that Lucas' father disappeared beneath the ocean floor three years previously. They find a log recorder from his ship, showing him going into cryo-stasis. Hudson and Lucas take a shuttle and get close to the ship, but Captain Hudson deems it too dangerous to go aboard. Lucas grabs Hudson's sidearm and with the weapon pointed at his captain, tells him he's going anyway. When he gets on board, he finds the body of Lawrence Wolenczak covered by a transparent shell. He's mummified, practically a skeleton. The cryo-system was hooked directly into a hyperconducting coil which created a feedback loop, which sucked out the ships power. Lucas escapes, but he's unable to recover the body and the ship falls into a magma ribbon where it's consumed by fire.

When they return to the seaQuest, Lucas has to face a Board of Inquiry and pleads guilty to mutinous conduct. Hudson tells him that under normal circumstances, the charges would carry a penalty of twenty years hard labor in a military prison, but considering the circumstances of this case, McGath wanted to be lenient. When Lucas thanks Hudson for not throwing the book at him, Hudson tells him that it wasn't for lack of trying.

On to the story...

Lucas Wolenczak lay down heavily on his bunk and covered his eyes.

He was so tired. He felt as though he could sleep for a year. That was all he wanted, to close his eyes and forget about the past few days.

Tony burst into the room.

"So what happened? What did they do?"

"They were lenient, Tony. I was reduced a half grade in rank and removed from the promotion list for a year. Looks like I will be saluting you after all!"

"Hey, that's pretty good though, right? I mean, it was mutiny, technically, and you did hold a gun on Hudson. I was worried he'd throw the book at you."

"It wasn't for lack of trying on his part. McGath was the one who gave me the break. Hudson made it clear he would have gone for the full twenty years of hard labour."

Tony looked in concern at his friend. "Well, Hudson will get over it. You just need to keep your nose clean for a while."

"Tony, I'm always trying to keep my nose clean. Trouble just seems to find me. I mean, after all these years, who would have predicted that I'd be the one that would find my father's body..."

He suddenly realized what he was saying, and bile rose in his mouth. He jumped off his bunk and ran to the toilet, where he promptly threw up everything in his stomach. He crouched beside the bowl, shaking. Delayed shock, he guessed.

Tony was beside him in an instant. "Finished?"

"I think so."

"'Kay. Let's get you to bed."

He helped Lucas up, and they walked to their bunks. Lucas stared up at the top.

"Wanna trade for tonight?"

Lucas was shaking so much that Tony didn't think he'd be able to climb up there.

"Yeah... Thanks."

He sat on Tony's bed and started to undress. Tony disappeared and returned with a glass of water.

"Here."

He took it and drank it gratefully.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Might help. They say you should, y'know, a problem shared, all that stuff."

"I just want to forget all about it. I want to go to sleep, and never think about this again."

He lay down and pulled the covers over himself.

"Thanks Tony."

He closed his eyes.

He saw the moment again and again, his father's body sitting in the command chair, his face skeletal and mummified. In the dream his eyes found Lucas. Lucas heard his voice, calm and reasonable as ever...'Why didn't you save me Lucas? Why didn't you get me out of here? You left me here to burn...'

Lucas' eyes flew open and he gasped. He didn't know if he was still shaking or shaking from the dream, but he couldn't stop. He looked at the clock. 11pm. He'd slept for three hours. So much for sleeping for a year. He lay back in the bed and closed his eyes again.

It was right there, that image, still reaching out for him.

He grabbed his stuff and headed for the showers. He wasn't going to sleep again tonight, he may as well get back to work. One of the systems had been glitchy lately, and he suspected a faulty wire. He could spend the night tracking down the problem and fix it. At least it would keep his mind off things.