They sat on the floor for what seemed to be hours, wrapped in each other's arms. Finally Nathan pulled back, "I have to make some calls." His voice was hoarse from weeping and he was bone weary from the deep emotional turmoil.
"Of course," Kristin whispered, equally as raspy, and placing a light kiss on is forehead. "I'll put the tea on."
Fervently wishing there was someone else to take this duty, Nathan placed the first call. He decided on Commander Ford. He knew Lucas and the Commander weren't extremely close, but he hoped the man would be able to shoulder some of his own difficult burden.
Ford's face was split with a wide grin when he answered. It vanished immediately when he saw Nathan, and stripped off his ball cap instinctually. "Captain, what happened?"
Nathan took a deep breath, "something bad, Jonathan, something terrible."
Nearly the entire crew was planning to meet them in Buffalo, but a day after them so Nathan and Kristin could visit alone first. Of everyone, Ben and Tim were the hardest to tell. They both went ghastly white, and insisted it was a sick joke. Nathan nearly broke down each time he had to recount the story.
The plane landed in the early evening and what would have been a beautiful sunset only reminded Nathan of blood splatter, forcing him to turn away from the gory sight. "Do you want to go to the hotel first?" Kristin asked him gently as they entered a waiting taxi.
"No," he muttered, not willing to look at her. The warmth he that he knew would be in her eyes was too much for him. Nathan was very aware that he was barely holding on. "I want to see the grave site before anything else." He passed a piece of paper to the cabby, who nodded curtly after reading the address.
Upon reaching the address, They both thought they were at a country club. It was gated with a uniformed security guard in a shack, and high reaching fountains and statues could be seen from the street. "He would have hated this." Nathan said shaking his head. "This isn't him at all, it's just too fancy. Lucas was comfortable in jeans and t-shirts, not... not this kind of thing. Doesn't Lawrence know him at all?"
Anger started to build that was only slowed by Kristin's hand squeezing his own. "Come on dear, don't think about it. It doesn't matter."
They left the car in the lot and approached the shack, Kristin was worried the guard would tell them the cemetery was closed, but the man waved them on without even turning to face them. Instead, he watched the closed circuit tv screens around him.
It was easy to find the fresh grave even in the near dark. A mound of dirt, still covered in flowers, was visible. After seeing Nathan hesitate, Kristin took charge, leading him to it. There was only a thin wooden post with the name "Wolenczak" printed on it as a marker. It was still much too soon for a stone.
"Hey Kiddo," Nathan whispered softly, staring at the marker as if it could answer him. Kristin gave his arm a squeeze and drifted away. He needed private time more than support at the moment, and she understood that.
After she was a safe distance away, admiring a large monument, Kristin saw a form coming out of the darkness, with a flashlight. Her heart hammered in her chest for a moment, but slowed when she saw the security guard uniform. She shook her head at the unnecessary panic, her nerves were far too frayed for her comfort. "Is the cemetery closing? We'll be done soon."
The man shook his silhouetted head and answered in a thick southern accent, "nah, ya'll have time. I just wanted to ask about the young man ya'll are visitin'. I was on duty when they did the service. It was a closed casket, but there was a very nice picture. What happened to him? Our people are real good, he musta been messed up real bad."
Kristin choked back a sob at the harsh comment, but tried to remain polite. She squinted in the bright light, thinking: why does he had to shine it right at my face? All she could see was the edge of his cap and a hint of wide jawline. "I'm afraid he killed himself, it was a shock to us all," she finally admitted, looking away and blinking to rid herself of sudden tears.
"So sad," the guard answered. "What would drive someone so young to do that?"
Kristin wouldn't have answered the very personal question had she been able to. She only shook her head in reply. "Perhaps," the man continued, "he did it to protect someone he cared about."
"Excuse me?"
"If someone threatened his family or crew mates and he may have done it to prevent them from getting hurt."
Kristin stepped backwards at the terrifying words, and the fact that the man's accent had slowly faded away completely. "Who are you?"
"Ah, I had hoped you would remember me better. I certainly remember you, Doctor." He pulled his hat off and smiled broadly, his teeth flashing in the moonlight.
"Zellar..." Kristin breathed, flicking her eyes desperately to Nathan still at the grave. "What did you do?"
"I simply had a conversation with the young Mr. Wolenczak about life and death, and the safety of those he holds dear."
Kristin strode forward and slapped him brutally across the face. Zellar was forced backwards by the blow, but caught her arm as she tried to flee. His other hand snaked around the back of her body and took tight hold of the hair at the nape of her neck.
Zellar was holding her as tight as a lover, with the very vital exception of him twisting her neck painfully to force her face towards him. She stomped on his foot to make one more bid for freedom, but paused when she heard a sloshing noise next to her ear. "Now now, we can't have that." He breathed into her ear. The hand holding her hair flashed a test tube with a black stopper at the edge of her vision. "Why don't we have a little chat without any interruptions?"
"Do you really think I'll believe that is real?" Kristin spat, still struggling in his grasp.
"No, I hoped not, in fact. There would be no sport in it." He smiled coldly. "But you will believe this." The hand holding her arm contracted, and Kristin felt a needle prick her skin. She didn't have time to call out before the darkness became all encompassing.
Nathan's sixth sense prickled, and he looked up from the grave. He saw two figures struggling in the dim light, and recognized the smaller one as Kristin. When she crumpled, Nathan was already up and running before she hit the ground. Something flew through the darkness, but missed him, shattering on a tombstone next to him. An acidic smelling cloud enveloped him, cutting of his air. Nathan clawed at his throat, fighting to get past it.
His vision grew spotty, and Nathan collapsed to his knees gasping for air. A fuzzy form leaned over him as he wheezed on the ground. "I expected more from you, Captain Bridger. But, we shall still have our fun, won't we?"
