A/N: I'd just like to express my appreciation to everyone for reading, especially the reviewers. Also, thank you to everyone who has added the story to their favorites and alerts. Thank you.

Chapter 10

seaQuest

And so, everyone gathered around the poker table in Ben's room. Kristin still had her qualms about the whole thing, but the others seemed enthusiastic, so she tried to be too. Even Lucas seemed in better spirits, so it was quite possible Ben was right…again.

"OK, everyone, ante up," Ben stated after the cards were dealt.

The clinking sound of chips could be heard as everyone obliged. And, it wasn't long before an intense game ensued.

"I'll see you and raised you fifty," Jake announced.

Lucas examined the cards on the table. This was not good. The turn had not even been revealed yet, and the pot was already over five hundred dollars. "I fold," Lucas stated glumly, throwing his cards face down on the table.

"Me too," Katie replied.

Tim, Jonathan, and Miguel echoed the response. Everyone turned to Kristin, who was examining her hand, then looking to the cards on the table, her expression stone-faced.

"So, are you in or out?" Ben finally asked, getting rather impatient.

She gave him a look and placed her bet. "I'll see you and raise you a hundred."

Ben smiled. "I'll see that and raise it two hundred." Then, he turned the fourth card over. It was a king of clubs, but he didn't have any kings at all. In fact, he had nothing in his hand or on the table that would constitute as a good hand at all. And, he was sure that at least one of the others had a much better hand. He sighed. "I fold."

Jake gave Kristin a smile. "Looks like it's just you and me, little lady," he said, his southern drawl accenting the words.

She returned the smile. "So it is."

"I wouldn't mess with the doc," Lucas informed. "You know, she's become the new poker champ around here lately."

"Is that so? Well, who knew?" Jake said thoughtfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kristin replied, taking somewhat of an offense.

"I mean nothing by it," Jake assured her. "It's just that by looking at you, one would never guess."

Kristin simply gave him one of her famous 'cat that ate the canary' grins. "Well, looks can be deceiving. Now are you going to place your bet or not?"

Jake chuckled softly and placed his bet. Both players continued to see and raise bets until finally, it was time to turn over the river. As the fifth card was over-turned, an ace appeared.

"Any last bets?" Ben asked them.

Jake glanced towards Kristin, but her expression gave nothing away. He looked at the cards in his hand. He had a pair of kings; with the third card on the table, that meant three of a kind. Not bad. But, what did Kristin have?

Kristin spoke up. "I'll raise you it a hundred." She then raised an eyebrow at Jake, wondering what he was going to do.

"I'll see you," Jake replied.

"OK, show your cards," Ben stated.

Jake proudly showed his hand. "Three kings." A huge grin spread across his face when he saw the slight pout on Kristin's lips.

"Oh, that is a good hand," Kristin said after a moment. "Really, it's hard to beat that."

"Aww, have I beaten the poker champ?" Jake asked in jubilation, now feeling proud of himself. "There's one thing we know down south, and that's our poker."

Kristin smiled. "Yes, you do know your poker," she admitted. She then laid her cards out on the table-three aces. "But, we Brits know our poker too."

Jake stared open-mouthed for a moment as the others gave out a few cheers and congratulated Kristin.

"Way to go, Doc," Lucas said.

"That's the way to do it," Katie added.

"What's the matter, Mr. Collins, cat got your tongue?" Kristin teased as she pulled the chips towards her.

But, Jake quickly brushed it off. "Apparently, I have underestimated you. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Before Kristin could answer, Ben asked, "So, another hand?"

Jake shook his head. "I don't think my pocketbook can take it," he quipped. Then, he became serious. "Actually, I've had fun, but I do have work to do. I have a lot of ground to cover. It's too bad I didn't have more help," he muttered out loud.

"Like what kind of help?" Jonathan asked. "I'm sure the admiral already told you we'll help in any way we can."

Jake nodded. "That, he did, but unless there's a way I can get a group of you to leave the boat for a while, I'm not sure there's much you can do. I have a list of witnesses I need to question in many different locations," he admitted.

Kristin listened to Jake's plea carefully. "What if we could arrange it?" she asked after a moment.

"What do you mean, Doctor?" Jonathan questioned.

"Well…I'm sure if we spoke with the admiral, he could approve a few of us to take some shore leave. If he allows it, I'd certainly volunteer. You know Dr. Levin could handle med bay and the science labs for a week or two. And, anyone else who wanted to go could, of course." She paused for a moment to look at the others who were listening intently to her, and then she continued, "Honestly, because of the situation, I'm distracted, and I'm not sure I can be as effective if I stay here. I'd really like to do all I can to help the captain."

Jonathan thought for a moment. "I'm certainly not opposed to the idea. Certainly, we'd have to run it by the admiral." He turned to Jake. "How many of us would you need?"

"Three or four would be a huge help," he admitted.

"I'll go too," Ben volunteered. "The captain's like a father to me…and I think I owe it to Bobby as well."

The others nodded in agreement.

Lucas leaned over Kristin's shoulder and whispered something in her ear.

She gave him a smile and a nod. "If I go, Lucas goes as well," she announced.

No one argued. Jonathan asked, "Anyone else?"

Tim looked around at the others, and then raised his hand. "If the admiral allows it, I'd like to help too. It's the least I can do for the captain."

Jonathan nodded. "Very well then. Let's give the admiral a call."

And, so everyone retreated to the ward room where Admiral Noyce was called, and to everyone's delight, he gave the OK.

"But, only for a short time," he warned. "The UEO is not happy about this at all. They've actually threatened to strip Nathan of his credentials. Of course, I've persuaded them to change their minds for the time being, but I don't know how much longer I can continue doing that. So, the sooner we can get Nathan out of there, the better," he agreed. He turned to Lucas, Tim, Ben, and Kristin. "The four of you have two weeks. Take care of one another and do everything Mr. Collins asks." Then, he looked specifically at Ben. "And don't think this is some sort of vacation, got it?"

Ben suddenly noticed everyone was looking at him. "What?" he asked innocently. Then, he added, "Yeah, I get it. Don't worry."

The admiral then turned to Jake. "Is there anything else you think you'll need?"

Jake thought for a moment. "No, I think I have everything I need; thank you."

"Then, the four of you need to pack. And, please, keep in touch." With that, he cut the link.

"Alright," Jonathan stated, "you heard him." He then got out his PAL and instructed Chief Crocker to prepare a launch.

Kristin, Ben, Tim, and Lucas headed to their rooms to pack. As Kristin was doing so, she heard a knock. "Come in."

Ben entered the room. "I just thought I'd help you carry your bags," he offered.

She smiled. "Thank you; I'm nearly finished."

"You know, I just wanted to tell you that was a really kind thing you did back there," Ben continued as Kristin continued packing.

"You'll have to refresh my memory," she admitted, somewhat confused by what he meant.

"I mean just now…volunteering to help. I just think it was a good idea."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm just eager to have the captain back where he belongs. We all are."

Ben nodded in agreement. "Well, that's why I volunteered. Besides, I'm not quite sure if I trust this Jake guy," he admitted.

Kristin laughed. "Whyever not?"

"Well, I don't know who he's trying to fool, but it's obvious he has a crush on you."

Kristin gave him a look. "What makes you say that?"

"You mean, you haven't noticed?" Ben asked in surprise. Then, he used his best southern accent, "Looks like it's just you and me, little lady." He rolled his eyes. "He comes on a little strong, don't you think? He's shamelessly flirting with you."

Having finished her packing, Kristin zipped her bag shut and laughed slightly. "Oh, that's just his southern charm. Really, I think he's just being friendly. I'm sure he's harmless."

"Maybe, but I'm just letting you know right now, that's part of why I volunteered. I just want to make sure he's harmless. I just don't know if I trust him."

"Well, I appreciate it," she said gratefully. She really didn't agree with Ben's suspicions, but it was nice to know he was there to protect her.

Ben picked up her bag. "Anytime, Doc. I know if the captain were here, he'd tell me to keep an eye on you if this were a mission, and I'm treating it as such." He then offered his free arm. "Shall we?"

She accepted it, and the two headed to launch bay together. Jake, Tim, and Lucas were already there.

"By the way, thank you all so much for volunteering," Jake gushed once they were inside the launch. He gave Kristin a wink.

She noticed but brushed it off. Ben couldn't be correct. She made a mental note to stay with Ben, Tim, or Lucas at all times, just in case. She didn't want to give the Jake the wrong impression. "So, where's our first stop?"

"Well, actually, we need to stop at Nathan's island first," Jake informed. After that, we'll head to the mainland and rest for the night. There's plenty of room at my place for you," he offered.

Kristin hesitated and looked to Ben and Tim.

"Actually, I think we'll stay in a hotel room. There must be some close by," Ben replied, ignoring Jake's offer. "We certainly wouldn't want to impose. I think it's best under the circumstances."

"No problem," Jake answered. "Certainly, Cancun is full of hotels."

"So, why are we going to the island?" Lucas asked.

"Apparently, Nathan says that Carol kept a diary before her death. It should hold some clues, and I'd like to retrieve it."

"The detectives didn't take it for evidence?" Kristin questioned.

Jake shook his head. "Apparently, they didn't."

The rest of the trip to Nathan's island was fairly quiet, only with bits of small talk here and there. Once on the island, Jake invited everyone inside. "Now, Nathan says the diary is in the nightstand. I'll go get it and be right back."

The others watched as he headed up the stairs.

"Now does that make sense?" Ben asked after a moment.

"What are you talking about?" Tim chimed in.

"Why did we all have to come inside for one item?"

But, a moment later, Jake returned. "Because I thought this was going to happen. The diary isn't where Nathan said it would be. Do you mind splitting up and helping me look for it?"

Everyone nodded and headed up the stairs to search various rooms. Ben and Kristin searched one of the bedrooms while Tim and Lucas searched in the other. Jake searched downstairs in various drawers and bookcases. But, after hours of searching, they still came up empty-handed. And, it was obvious everyone was getting tired and hungry. Jake finally made the decision to call off the search.

"I guess we'll just have to tell Nathan we can't find it," he sighed in frustration. "It doesn't make sense though…"

"Is it possible it was taken?" Kristin asked worriedly. "If it really did hold information in it, isn't it possible that the real murderer took it?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking. I'm going to have to see Nathan tomorrow anyway. You'll be coming with me. We're going to get an exact description of it. Then, when we're questioning friends and acquaintances, we'll see if any of them know about it," Jake explained.

Everyone nodded in agreement. They were really too tired to argue. They headed back to the launch, and an hour and a half later, Kristin, Ben, Tim, and Lucas were settled in a hotel room. Kristin and Lucas were in one room while Ben and Tim were in an adjoining room. They ate a quick room service meal, and then went to bed, hoping to find some new information to help the captain very soon.