THE SECRET
Chapter 25
By Kiddo
In Loving Memory of Jonathan Brandis
"Don't fix a broken heart. Who really wants to forget?" (Joseph Fiennes)
"I always will remember you by real good moments." ("Real Good Moments" by Christian Wunderlich)
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 spezial "Thank You" goes to me wonderful beta reader Jackie and to dolphinology for the Review.
dolphinology: Thanks for your Review! I really feared that others would find the law parts boring.
Feedback or reviews are always very welcome.
Lucas knocked on the captain's door.
"Come in!" came the captain's voice from the inside of the cabin.
The teenager opened the door and closed it behind him. Nathan Bridger looked up from the paper he had just been studying. "Lucas! I'm glad that you're here; I wanted to talk to you." He pointed to a chair opposite him. "Sit down, please."
The young man sat down. "What did you want to me talk about?"
"I'll tell you in a few minutes, but first, you can tell me why you came here." The boy was silent for a moment. "I think you came because you wanted to talk to me too. I don't remember us having a date to play chess," Bridger said with a smile.
The teenager nodded. "You're right, I haven't come to play chess. You know, I was thinking about a few things. I wanted to know if I can still stay on the seaQuest."
Nathan nodded. "Of course, why would you think that you couldn't stay here?"
Lucas shrugged. "I thought that since I'm no longer in the witness protection program there wouldn't be a place here for me anymore."
The captain shook his head. "You've earned your place on the seaQuest. You are our Chief Computer Analyst, and don't forget about the Vocorder. If you decided to stay here, we would all be very happy. If not, we'll have to look for sombody who can fill your position. But that would be nearly impossible. Where could we find such a genius? It's entirely your decision, of course, you can stay or go. But to tell you the truth, I would like it very much if you would stay."
"Hey, if I'm allowed to stay, then of course I'm going to. How could you even think that I would want to leave?" said Lucas. He paused a moment. "You said that you wanted to talk to me about something."
Bridger immediately tensed. How would the teenager react to this? He glanced at the Application for Adoption that was lying on the desk in front of him. He had received the application by e-mail 10 minutes ago, and he had printed it out. Nathan took a pen and wrote something in two little boxes. The first box was for the name of the person who wanted to adopt the child, and the other box was for the name of the child.
Than he took the paper and laid it down in front of the teen. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." The butterflies in his stomach were multiplying rapidly. How would the boy react?
Lucas took the paper in his hands and read it. He stopped a moment; then, he took the pen that Bridger had just used and signed his name on the application. He gave the application back to the captain and smiled. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into?"
The older man nodded. "Yes, I know." He wanted to ask the question personally, to make sure that he had unterstood what the young man meant by signing. "You agree to the adoption?"
The computer genius nodded. "You know, I know that I need someone to become my guardian or take custody of me, and if you want to adopt me, I would be thrilled."
Bridger smiled widely. "Good. Then I will send all the applications and information on their way."
Later, Lucas went back to his cabin. He was glad that his future was clear now, and he was happy that Bridger had presented him with the idea of adoption. The teenager would have never had the courage to bring up something like that himself. He had thought about it before, and he knew that he needed someone to take care of him because of his age. He had even thought about asking Bridger about it, but he couldn't work up the courage to do it.
The teenager opened the door to his cabin and closed it behind him. His eyes fell on the white envelope that was lying on his table. It was the letter from Sean. The young man picked it up off the table and sat down with it on his bed. He stared thoughtfully at the letter for a few moments. Finally, he opened the envelope; he was now so used to his cast that it was no problem. He took the sheet of paper out of the envelope and began to read:
Hi Andy,
Writing this letter feels really strange. I'm alive, but I know that when you read this I won't be. I decided to write this letter so that I would have the chance to say goodbye to you if something happens to me. I know that it sounds strange, but I'll regret it if I don't get to say goodbye. In any case, I hope that this letter won't be necessary and that I can throw it away.
You know how I have always enjoyed our "computer hours". But, I think with our hack into Sheffield & Co., we've bitten off more than we can chew. Your parents are dead, and who knows who will be next. The whole thing is just too big for us. Nevertheless, and you can really believe me when I say this, I don't for a moment regret going to the police. It was the right decision! We had to report them!
I know that you blame yourself for your parents' deaths. Don't. It's really not your fault. And if something happens to me, it's also not your fault! So don't torture yourself with feelings of guilt, and I know you'll want to because I know you too well. That wouldn't do anything; it wouldn't change anything or make it go away. You'll only destroy yourself that way.
We both made the decision to hack into Sheffield & Co. We both decided, and you have to accept it! We have been best friends since kindergarten, and even death can't change that. Think from time to time about all the fun we had together. What you have deep in your heart can't be taken away by death.
Don't lose yourself in your grief. Do something that will bring you happiness and not isolation. Do something!
Sean
"It's the same as for the flower. If you love a flower that lives on a star, then it's good, at night, to look up at the sky. All the stars are blossoming… When you look up at the sky at night, since I'll be living on one of them, since I'll be laughing on one of them, for you it'll be as if all the stars are laughing. You'll have stars that can laugh!… And when you're consoled (everyone eventually is consoled), you'll be glad you've known me… And it'll be as if I had given you, instead of stars, a lot of tiny bells that know how to laugh…
(Antoine De Saint-Exupéry - "The Little Prince")
Lucas put the letter down as the tears ran down his face. Carefully, he put the letter back in the envelope. Then, he stood up and put it in a drawer. It was like Sean had known exactly the right words to say. To the young man's surprise, he felt a little bit better, even though all of his grief had surfaced again.
To Be Continued... in two more chapters
Written December 2003 / Translated 2004