THE SECRET

Chapter 4

By Kiddo

In Loving Memory of Jonathan Brandis

Disclaimer:

I don't have any rights to the TV show "seaQuest DSV" or "seaQuest 2032" and I am not making any money with this story.

A special thanks goes to my beta-reader Jackie and Crimson Amber, KatKnits00, kas7 and dolphinology for your kind and wonderfull reviews.

Feedback or reviews are always very welcome.

===================================================================

Many hours later, the party at the Wolenczak villa was in full swing. Lucas had introduced the senior crew of the seaQuest to his father, and Captain Bridger had been able to talk to Dr. Wolenczak for a few minutes.

But now, Nathan looked around the room in search of Lucas. Nathan's glance stopped at the fireplace. Over the fireplace was a mantelpiece with a few photos. He was surprised when he couldn't find a picture of the blond teenager.

Now he realized that he hadn't seen a photo of the young man in the whole house. There was no sign that the boy lived here. Bridger thought back to his own house; there had been photos of Robert at different ages, and there had been drawings on the wall that Robert had painted when he was younger. But there was nothing like that in the big villa. Nathan found this odd but thought that maybe that was something normal for a family like the Wolenczaks.

The captain had also closely observed how Lucas and his father acted around each other and felt sad for the boy. They treated each other more like strangers than like father and son. Now Nathan felt that he could understand why Lucas almost never talked about his parents, and if he did, it wasn't always in the best terms.

After some time, he spotted a familiar face and walked toward it. "Hello, Kristin. Have you seen Lucas in the last few minutes?"

Dr. Westphalen shook her head. "No, sorry."

Benjamin Krieg had heard the exchange and looked at the captain. "You're looking for Lucas too?"

Bridger nodded. "Yes."

"I just asked one of the staff. She suggested looking in his room for him and told me where to find it. I was just on my way there; do you want to come too?"

Nathan nodded. "Of course." Suddenly he smiled. "I really want to know if his room here is as untidy as his cabin on the seaQuest."

=======================

Only a couple minutes later Lt. Krieg and Captain Bridger knocked at the door of what they believed tobe the entrance to Lucas' room. When they received no answer, they knocked again, but this time a little bit louder.

Now they could here the teenager's voice. "It's open!"

Captain Bridger and Lt. Krieg stepped into the room. After Ben closed the door behind him, he looked around the room but couldn't see the young genius anywhere. The walls of the room were painted white. On one side of the room was a bed with a nightstand. The room also contained a desk, one wardrobe, a cupboard, one shelf, and a little sofa with a table in front of it. Every piece of furniture was colour-coordinated and in one corner of the room was a big green plant.

Lucas' travel bag was sitting in front of the wardrobe and looked very small, like he hadn't packed a lot.

There were no pictures or posters on the wall. On the shelf were a few books and other things. On the table lay 5 CD's and an old Discman. The room didn't have a lived-in feel and didn't look like Lucas' taste. It looked kind of impersonal.

But what really surprised Bridger and Krieg was that there was only one little computer in the room, and that was Lucas' own computer that he always carried around on the seaQuest. Both had expected to see expensive computer equipment of all sorts.

Finally, they spotted the blond teenager. A little balcony was attached to the room, and that was where Lucas was.

Both adults walked out on the balcony and stood next to the boy. The teenager was standing at the railing, his arms lying on the rail. Lucas looked up at the stars, and without looking away from them he asked, "Do you want something?"

Ben took a yellow disk out of his pocket. "I wanted to give you your disk back. I don't need it anymore."

The blond teenager took the yellow disk. "Thanks, Ben."

Bridger nodded at the Lieutenant and motioned to the door with his eyes. Krieg understood the message and smiled. "I have to go now. I have to convince Katie that her biggest wish is to dance with me."

The computer genius smiled, amused. "Alright, Ben. Good luck!"

Lt. Krieg looked indignant. "I don't need luck for this! I just have to use my famous Krieg charm!" Then he gave a short laugh and left the room.

When the morale officer had closed the door, Lucas looked questioningly at the captain. His hands where fiddling with the disk. "And what do you want?"

"Oh, nothing special. I just wanted to see where you had dissapeared to," said Bridger.

"I see." The teenager looked at the sky again.

Nathan followed Lucas' gaze. He couldn't see anything special up there, only stars. "Anything special up there?"

The youngest crew member of the SeaQuest nodded but said nothing.

"What is it?"

Lucas thought about the question for a moment. Should he really tell the captain? "Draco."

Bridger lifted his eyebrows in curiosity. "Draco?"

The teen nodded. "Yes, Draco. The constellation. In our languege it is called Dragon."

Nathan hadn't been aware of the fact that Lucas was interested in astronomy. "Is that your favourite constellation?"

Lucas shook his head, still looking at the constellation. "No."

The captain had the feeling that he had fight to get any answers out of the boy. "What is your favourite constellation?"

This time, the blond teen answered without hesitation. "Delphinus." Lucas thought about his answer. Not everyone new astronomical terms. "It means 'the dolphin'."

Bridger nodded. Yes, that suited Lucas. "I didn't know that you were interested in astronomy."

The boy kept looking at the stars as he turned the yellow disk over and over in his hands. "I'm not really interested in it."

Nathan thought that was a strange answer. "Oh, you are not really interested, but nevertheless, you can recognize the Dragon even if it isn't your favourite constellation?"

The teenager stopped playing with the disk. Should he really answer that? "Draco was my best friend's favourite constellation."

The captain observed the young man closely. "Was?"

Lucas could have kicked himself for answering; his face twisted. "Yes, he died three months ago. One night, a fire broke out in their house, just suddenly. He and his parents had no chance. They all died in the fire." The teenager decided that he could tell Bridger this much. The captain wouldn't suspect anything from this answer; he would only get suspicious, distrustful, and curious if he said nothing.

Sympathetically, the older man put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm really sorry for you, Lucas."

The teenager smiled sadly. "It's alright; I can handle it."

"You know, I'm always here if you need someone to talk to." Bridger had the feeling that he had to remind the boy about that. But, he doubted that the teen would really come to him; Lucas was a person that rarely talked about his feelings.

The computer genius nodded. "I know." The teen had the feeling that Bridger expected him to tell a little bit more. If he didn't, he was sure that the captain would ask questions. And the older man was good at asking questions. "When I think about him, I feel like watching the stars at night." Lucas smiled. "He was very interested in astronomy. It was a big hobby for him. One year ago, we camped in their garden. When it got dark, we got out of the tent with our sleeping-bags. We lay down in the grass and looked at the sky. He explained to me all the constellations we could see. Before that day, the only constellation I could recognize was Orion. He is really easy to find because of his belt and sword. But that night, I began to understand him; I understood why he loved the stars. Nevertheless, the constellations are a big mystery for me. There are only a few I can recognize and pick out in the sky. But somehow, the stars have are calming and comforting."

Bridger nodded. It surprised him that Lucas had told him so much. "I can understand you pretty well, Kiddo, Carol also loved the stars."

Both were silent for a moment and looked at the night sky. After some time, the captain remembered an excerpt from the book "The Little Prince," by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry. He knew it by the heart and remembered every word. "It is just as it is with the flower. If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a-bloom with flowers. In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night.You--only you--will have stars that can laugh! It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens . . . they will all be your friends! And when your sorrow is comforted you will be content that you have known me!"

Lucas let go of the disk he had held the whole time in his hands. It fell down from the balcony and landed on the tiles next to the swimming pool, breaking into many yellow pieces. The teenager didn't seem to notice it; he just looked at the captain in shock.

Bridger looked at the boy, concern lining his face. "What's wrong, Lucas?"

The kid was fighting against tears. "That part ... what you just said... I-I used it for his obituary." Slowly the tears began to run down his cheeks.

Captain Bridger hugged the boy, trying to comfort him. "I'm so sorry, Kiddo. I'm so sorry..."

==================

To Be Continued

Written October 2003 / Translated Summer 2004