PG for cursing, body fluid (is that the right term? g) and 'biology'. Nothing that you won't find in family life or science class. Thanks to Evermore and Georgie for inspiration, Bridget for information, Melissa for proper punctuation (etc.) and Margaret for plot help (etc.)



Flesh and Blood

Lucas trudged to his quarters, tired after his long shift. He still wasn't used to working a shift straight through as an official member of the UEO. As a civilian, he had worked long hours but there were plenty of people to make sure he had breaks and his work had varied throughout the day. Now, as an officer, it felt as if he did the same thing for hours on end and no one was concerned with his work habits. As much as he had resented it at the time, he missed being treated as the little brother.

Entering his quarters, he noticed it was empty and wondered where Tony had gone to. He was hoping for some company for dinner. Undoing the zipper on his jumpsuit slowly, he slipped out of his shoes and kicked them under the bed. Opening his locker, he hesitated and then grabbed for a shirt that had fallen to the floor, and slid the top of the jumpsuit off, replacing it with the soft comfortable flannel.

It was then he noticed the envelopes sitting on top of his computer. Finally, mail delivery. He snatched it up eagerly, and flipped through it. Junk...junk..a postcard from Biff....junk....computer magazine....what the heck? Frowning, he studied the return address. Federal Social Security. Ripping open the envelope, he pulled out several pieces of paper. One was letter and there were two applications.

'Dear Mr. Wolenczak, Please be advised that you must register your son, Michael, with the Social Security office by his fifth birthday. Thank you.'

Confused, he read through the letter several times, searching for the missing piece. A son? Somebody had made a huge clerical error. Or some practical joke from a friend, Tony perhaps. He laughed to himself, crushing the whole thing into a ball and throwing it in the trash can. A son...only if it was some sort of miracle conception. Kicking off his jumpsuit, he pulled on a pair of faded jeans, shoved his feet into his sneakers and left to find some dinner and some company.

It was late that night as he was lying in bed, when he remembered the letter and a stray thought crossed his mind. Nathan's grandson was named Michael....mmm, that was strange. Rolling over, he closed his eyes, listening to Tony snore. The seed of doubt that had been planted started to grow and he attempted to quiet it with sound logic. He had never actually gone all the way with a girl, and that's how babies were made, right? So the letter might be a mistake and the name just a coincidence, right? The whole thing was impossible. Besides, Bridger would NEVER lie to him. At least about something this important. A wicked little voice inside whispered...unless he thought it was for your own good.

Falling into an uneasy sleep, his dreams were filled with aliens, man eating plants, gigantic crocodiles and golden haired, blue eyed little boys.

*****

The next morning, Lucas sat at the mess hall table, nursing a cup of lukewarm coffee. Bits of conversation flew around him as the other occupants of the table laughed and joked their way through breakfast.

"Hey, Luke, we've gotta go on duty in five minutes. Aren't you going to have something real to eat?" Tony questioned him.

"What are you, my mother?" Lucas glared back at him.

Getting up, Tony gave him a grin. "Grumpy this morning. I'll have to talk to the Captain about giving you an earlier bed time." Tony took his tray and left.

The others got up to leave, but Tim lingered behind. "Everything ok, Lucas? You were awfully quiet."

Looking up to meet Tim's concerned eyes, Lucas' prickly attitude soften a little. "Yeah, Tim, I just...have some stuff to think about."

"Well, if I can do anything to help...." Tim's voice trailed off softly, as Lucas shook his head.

The younger man swallowed the rest of his coffee, got up and moved a few steps away. "We'd better get to work." He waited for O'Neill to catch up and they walked together to the bridge.

****

After his duty shift ended, Lucas sat down at his computer and stared at the screen. This was stupid. Why was this bothering him? Running his fingers though his hair, he called up the internex and did a search for Wolenczak and birth record. The search came up with 100 hits. Sitting back for awhile, nervously tapping his fingers on the desk, he was ready to switch the computer off and forget the whole thing. But it pulled him like a magnet, and his curiosity got the better of him. Scrolling down, he saw a bunch of names, web sites, his father's name, then his own name. There. He stared at the screen in disbelief.

Michael Wolenczak. Holding his breath, he clicked on the name. Born: November 12, 2028, New Cape Quest Mother: Emily Rose Morgan. Father: Lucas David Wolenczak.

His first reaction was disbelief. There must be another Lucas David Wolenczak in the world. His second reaction was to throw up. Which he did, in the trash can. Quickly, he saved the information to his hard drive and then exited the internex. Taking the can, he went out in the hallway, dumping the contents in the waste disposal and trudged slowly down to the bathroom. Splashing cold water several times on his face, he glared at his image in the mirror. What the hell was going on? Making a decision, he straightened his uniform and smoothed his hair. He was going to find out WHAT was going on.

****

Standing at rigid attention, Lucas stared at a spot three inches over Hudson's shoulder. "Sir, I would like to ask permission for immediate leave."

"I assume you have a good reason for this request, Ensign," Hudson asked in a neutral voice. Studying the Ensign, he noticed the tense shoulders, the tight control he seemed to be maintaining and wondered what was going on. Ever since the Chaudaii incident, the younger man had been reserved and uncommunicative, devoting himself to his work. He hardly even played with the dolphin anymore.

"It's personal, Captain, a family matter," Lucas answered in a cold tone, hoping that Hudson wouldn't push the subject any further. He had never lied to a Captain and he didn't want to have to start now.

After a few seconds, Hudson consented. "You have a week, Wolenczak. I'll have a shuttle take you to the coast and then you can catch a plane to where ever you need to go."

As Lucas muttered a few words of gratitude, and turned towards the door, Hudson's voice stopped him.

"I hope everything is all right."

Giving a quick nod, Lucas left behind the puzzled Captain.

****

Leaning his head back against the shuttle seat, Lucas closed his eyes, and tried to relax. After Hyperion, when he went to the island to find Bridger, he had met Michael but had seldom seen him after that. Since that time, he had talked to Nathan over the vidlink several times, between the Captain's visits to the SQ, but had never seen Michael again. The Captain always seemed awkward when talking about his grandson, often changing the subject abruptly. Thinking about it all now only made Lucas more suspicious. A cold chill settled into his body.

****