A/N hey faithful readers...sorry this took so long to post. There is so much angst to sort out with so many characters that I'm getting overwhelmed in it myself :) Just have to be patient as I sort through it all...if anyone has anything in particular they would like to see sorted out...let me know...don't want to miss anything.

Kristin gasped in relief, breathing heavily and bringing her hand to her mouth as she watched Nathan leap onto the launch. It felt like time had stopped while they waited for Nathan and Lucas to get to the launch. Kristin was shocked to see Mika in tow as well. She had thought the girl had escaped safely back to SeaQuest. Nathan was half carrying Mika under one arm and dragging Lucas behind him. All three of them were blood-splattered which made Kristin's heart race with concern. Nathan nimbly set Mika down on the ground as he released Lucas' arm. Kristin saw Lucas stumble to the ground and reach out to Mika who sat trembling. The two teens clung to each other, both with looks of terror. Kristin felt herself take a deep breath as she looked closer at Lucas' face. It was bruised and bloody. In fact, blood covered both of the teens. Kristin felt her heart racing in her chest as she stumbled awkwardly towards the kids to determine the extent of their injuries. Abalon was shaking viciously causing the launch to shudder, making it difficult to manoeuvre herself.

"Move now, Lieutenant," ordered Nathan, as he reached over the man to contact the bridge on SeaQuest. "O'Neill, do it now!"

Kristin looked up from Lucas to see the intense look on Nathan's face. It felt like everything was spinning out of control. She reached out and wrapped both teens in her arms as they all were pitched violently around. She heard Mika whimper and Lucas grimace as they hit the side of the wall. Seconds later, she felt an enormous jolt; she stifled a scream as the launch was yanked harshly forward, sending them all reeling in the opposite direction. She saw Nathan stumble to keep his balance and then be tossed harshly to the floor. She felt Lucas jerk away and crawl towards him.

"Captain," Lucas cried, his whole body was shaking as he made his way towards the man.

"I'm okay, Lucas." was the weak reply.

Kristin saw him wrap an arm around the frightened teenager. It was then she realized that Nathan was injured as well. She saw the blood on his hands as he stroked Lucas' head. Kristin crawled gingerly across the launch towards him. The launch was jerking back and forth making it difficult to stay on her hands.

"Nathan, you're wounded!" she cried.

"Just took a hit to my leg; nothing serious," assured Nathan. She saw him pull Lucas closer. "The kid's a hero, Kris. Couldn't have done it without him." Kristin saw a look of pride on Nathan's face as he held tightly to Lucas. The boy lay trembling with his head on Nathan's shoulder.

Just as Kristin reached Nathan's side, an explosion from behind them sent the launch reeling forward at breakneck speed. Kristin felt herself being thrown backwards and then she felt a strong arm holding firmly to her arm. She looked down to see Nathan grimacing as he held her in one hand and Lucas in the other. Within moments, things settled, and it was quiet. All Kristin could feel was her heart beating in her chest and Nathan's tight grip on her arm. She glanced around the launch looking at the faces of the crew and Mika. Everyone was solemn and white-faced. She couldn't be sure but a part of her knew that Abalon was gone. As if Mika could read her thoughts, she saw the girl drop her head into her hands and weep.

oOoOoOoOseaquestOoOoOoOo

Nathan sighed as he watched the Admiral pace in his office. The action was making him feel anxious simply out of his own sheer fatigue. It didn't help that his good friend was having his own miniature breakdown regarding the events. Nathan blinked his eyes wearily. He hadn't slept much since returning from Abalon. His anxiety chewed at him for many reasons including the fact that Lucas had been in and out of consciousness for nearly three days. When they arrived back to SeaQuest, Lucas had been completely emotionally exhausted. Mika's distress had escalated to the point of hysterics as the sudden explosion virtually wiped out any trace of Abalon. As they started to access for injuries in the teens, they had been appalled and horrified to discover how badly beaten they had been. Despite the fact that they had known Mika was abused, Nathan hadn't given much thought to the possibility of Lucas being beaten. His concern had always lied more in Wise experimenting on him like Jonathan. But all along, it seemed that Wise's intentions were to somehow physically assimilate Lucas by breaking his will. Kristin had also been able to ascertain several different drugs in his blood stream. The knowledge of that was bad enough, but the fact that Lucas had been brutally beaten made Nathan sickened. Such atrocities pierced his heart, and he blamed himself.

"Nathan, are you even listening to me?" asked Bill, annoyance in his voice.

Nathan nodded as he reached for his coffee. "I'm listening." He looked at his friend who had stopped pacing long enough to stare at him only to resume it once again. He shifted in his chair uncomfortably as his body reminded him of his own injury. Kristin had patched him up, but he hadn't given himself a chance to dwell on it much. He was too concerned with Lucas and the rest of the teens. Not to mention he'd lost two of his best Navy Seals in the underwater scuffle when Wise had snatched Mika. Nathan closed his eyes to try and refocus himself.

"I should have pulled him off this boat after the whole thing with Node Three. I didn't listen to my better judgement. Military vessels are no places for kids."

Nathan's head jerked up as the conversation began to ring clear in his head. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Lucas doesn't belong on SeaQuest, Nathan."

Nathan shook his head at the words. He looked up at Bill who had stopped pacing and was pouring himself a cup of coffee as well. "Damn it, Bill. His father couldn't give a damn about him! And his mother? That woman hasn't been bothered to call or visit him once in all the time he's been here. I agree things can be dangerous sometimes, but Wolenczak knew that when he put the kid on this sub. I'm all that kid has," Nathan felt his temper rising at the mention of removing Lucas.

"He's not your son, Nathan. Sometimes, I think you forget that."

Nathan groaned. "You don't think I don't know that?"

"Why are you so stubborn? What is it about this kid that…"

"Bill, tell me, how much do you really know about Lucas? And don't give me the UEO spiel that is spewed out in his file. Tell me about Lucas," demanded Nathan, setting his cup on the table much harder then he intended, spilling the contents.

Bill sighed, sitting down. An uncomfortable silence hovered in the room. "Ok, I get it, Nathan."

"Do you? Are you sure? For the first time in his life, he has a family! He has accountability and discipline. He's got people who love him unconditionally. I'm not just talking about me and Kristin either. The whole crew pitches in where Lucas is concerned. Every single member on this vessel had a vested interest in Lucas. SeaQuest is his home!" insisted Nathan, adamantly. "You don't think I realize how close we came to losing him? You don't think I don't blame myself? Damn it, I do! I love that kid!"

"I know, Nathan, I know. It wasn't your fault." Bill sighed again. "But think of the ramifications should something happen to the kid?"

"For crying out loud, Wolenczak purposely pulled strings and paid unfathomable amounts of money to dust the kid under the UEO rug so he didn't have to fulfill his own parental duties. The man had the audacity to say Lucas was a discipline problem, and he couldn't handle the kid! Lucas isn't a discipline problem. His father is an imbecile who is too damned self-absorbed to give a rat's ass about him." Nathan pounded his fist on the desk as he allowed his temper to get the best of him. He had exhausted himself countless times trying to get through to Lucas' parents when the kid had really needed them. He had lost all patience and diplomacy.

Nathan watched as Bill lowered his head in acquiescence. "I hear you, Nathan…"

"Do you? Then don't you dare come here and tell me Lucas doesn't belong on SeaQuest."

Bill raised a hand in surrender. "Alright, Alright."

Nathan cast him a haughty look, but softened after a few minutes. "Let's cut to the chase here, Bill, why exactly did you come here? Was it just to tick me off, or did you have a real reason?"

Nathan watched as Bill stared at him, a look of astonishment on his face. A part of Nathan felt badly for being so abrupt, but they had been friends long enough for Bill to know when he had touched a nerve and should back off. Lucas wasn't a behaviour problem like his father insinuated. He was a 15 year old boy with an unprecedented intellect who had found a home, not just on SeaQuest but in Nathans heart. And he'd be damned if he'd let anyone mess with that. He was just so sick of the rigmarole surrounding Lucas. It made everything so complicated. He had half a mind to file for legal guardianship of the kid instead of constantly messing around trying to reach the teen's negligent parents. Nathan bit his lip to keep from blurting that out loud.

Bill rubbed the tension from the sides of his eyes. "I didn't come to make you upset. I've got people coming down on my head too, Nathan. You never even reported what happened to Jonathan. Now suddenly we have three unidentified kids on our hands."

Nathan groaned. "I never even had the chance, Bill. It all happened so fast, and the next thing we knew Lucas was gone. That damned Pickering kid…"

"About that? Did you seriously need to throw the kid in the brig?" scolded Bill, with a look of exasperation on his face.

"I should have left him there! He sabotaged my boat, for Pete's sake." Nathan grimaced irritably as he shifted his leg. The shooting, throbbing pain reminded him again of his own injury. Wise had left him with a nice little parting gift: a nice clean shot to his upper leg.

"If his father dares to kick up a stink about it, I'll have the kid charged with tampering with a UEO military vessel."

"Good grief, Nathan. You're so damned obstinate today!" commented Bill, in frustration.

Nathan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was true. He was wound up tighter than a drum. He wasn't thinking straight anymore. He was too worried about Lucas and angry as hell at the abuse and injury. He had two distraught teenage boys that he didn't know how to deal with plus one frightened young teen girl. And they were flying blind. They knew virtually nothing about Abalon or what Wise was doing. They didn't know where the kids had come from and the kids had little memories outside of Abalon. Most of all, Nathan blamed himself for the whole situation. He should have been more on top of things and that awareness was eating away at him.

"I'm sorry, Bill. I'm just really angry at this whole situation. I can't seem to get past that Wise brutally beat Lucas. I just can't." Nathan put his head into his hands. He couldn't think straight anymore. He could admit he wasn't coping well at the moment. He felt Bill place a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see a look of compassion on his friend's eyes.

Nathan looked up to see Bill rise to his feet. "I understand, Nathan. I think everyone needs a break. We can talk more later. Go see Lucas."

Nathan nodded gratefully. He really did need to check on Lucas. He would feel better to know how the kid was doing.

oOoOoOoOseaquestOoOoOoOo

Lucas moved his head, blinking his eyes a few times as the bright lights assaulted his vision. He willed his hand to move to his face in an attempt to rub it against his aching head. The small movement caused him to cry out in pain. He moaned as his vision cleared, and he searched his head for clarity. Where was he? What happened? Why did he hurt so badly? He blinked again trying to adjust his eyes to the light.

"Hey there, Sleepy-head," came a familiar voice from beside his head.

He turned his head and groaned again. "Captain," he muttered, his voice sounding foreign in his own ears. His lips were dry, and his throat hurt. Slowly his vision returned, and the captain became visible to him. He smiled slightly as he saw the older man peering down at him.

"It's about time you woke up. You've missed about four shifts on the bridge now, I think," smirked the man teasingly as he shifted in his chair and reached out to stroke his forehead.

Lucas caught a glimpse of a bandage on the man's leg, and his face twisted in concern.

"C-captain, you're hurt."

The captain waved his hand nonchalantly. "Nah, it's nothing serious. I'm an old war tank, Lucas. You should know that by now. Nothing but a little nick."

Lucas saw a twinkle in the man's eyes as he attempted to shift himself in the bed. He looked around the room trying to identify where he was. He recognised the medical bay, and he groaned again. It certainly was not one of favourite places to be. His head felt heavy, and his thoughts clouded. He couldn't figure out why he felt so muddled. He felt the captain's warm hand on his head, and he blinked a few times.

"How's the head?"

"A mess. I can't seem to clear it," muttered Lucas, feeling tears of frustration come to his eyes. He felt so mixed up and rushes of various emotions were hitting him all at once. It was making him feel off kilter.

"That's to be expected. Wise had you drugged up pretty good."

Lucas' eyes widened, shock apparent on his face. "What? I don't remember…I…how…" Lucas again tried to put a hand to his head but cried out in pain. Why was he so sore? Why was his head so clouded? His whole body felt like it was a lead weight.

"Try to stay still, Lucas. I know you're confused. Give it some time to sort through everything," soothed the captain, placing a firm hand on his arm.

Lucas took a deep breath and willed himself to relax. He felt comforted by the presence of the captain and was grateful the man had made it a priority to be close by. Lucas didn't want to admit that he felt scared, but he did. Having the older man close to him was a comforting feeling. Lucas turned to his side, waves of pain rippling over him. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt so muddled up in his own head before. He could only vaguely remember flashes of memories and even then, none of them made any sense to him.

"I suspect he drugged your food or water, Lucas. I'm not sure, but in time you might be able to tell us. Kristin said it's going to take awhile to get it out your system."

Images of Wise came to his head causing him to grimace. He looked at the captain and then shut his eyes. A very clear image of the captain appeared in his mind's eye. The man was standing over him threateningly, holding a belt. Lucas felt his heart rate pick up, and his eyes flew open, his throat dry.

"I…you…" he muttered, shrinking back in confusion.

"What is it, Lucas?" queried Nathan, his voice soft with concern.

Lucas shook his head, blinking back tears. He bit his lip hard to keep from allowing the tears to fall. The images he was seeing made no sense in his head.

"Lucas, it's okay. Tell me," repeated Nathan again.

"Uh, it's nothing, Captain," stammered Lucas, staring into space trying to keep from trembling. One minute he felt safe, and the next he felt threatened. What on earth happened? Captain Bridger had been angry with him, but he hadn't ever hit him or even threatened to hit him. Where had that image come from?

A sudden movement from the doorway caught his attention, and he looked up to see Dr. Westphalen approach his bed with a warm smile.

"Well, hello there. Nice to see you awake," replied Kristin, reaching out to put a hand on his brow. "Nathan, I thought I told you to rest and elevate that leg." Lucas could see the concern on her face as she scolded the captain.

The captain raised his hands in surrender. "I'm resting, I'm resting."

Kristin pulled a chair over and gently raised his leg into an elevated position. Lucas could see the man grimace and then relax. The familiar bantering between them felt comforting to him somehow.

"How are you feeling?" Kristin asked him as she checked his vital signs and generally fussed over him. "You've been sleeping for a long time." Lucas could see the looks of concern in both of the adults' eyes.

"Everything hurts, and I'm kinda confused but other than that, I'm great," mumbled Lucas with a lopsided grin, sarcasm apparent in his tone. As much as he felt all turned around, he knew that the two of them were genuinely worried about him. He hated being the one to put that look of concern on their faces. The truth of the matter was that he did feel extremely confused and unsettled, but he needed some time to iron things out in his own head before he started voicing how he was feeling.

"Can't be too bad off if he's already giving you lip, Kris," chuckled Nathan, reaching out to pat Lucas gently. Lucas could tell how worried the captain looked even as he joked.

Kristin smiled. "I rather like his lip right now," she replied, a faraway look in her eyes as she stroked his head. "Do you remember what happened, Lucas?"

Lucas' face grew more serious as he searched his mind for some clarity. He had flashes of jumbled up images but nothing too concrete. He remembered Jayson disabling the WSKRS and helping Mika in the moonpool. He remembered fighting with Kaman and waking up at Abalon. Things started to get considerably fuzzy and twisted up after that. Just flashes of images that made him feel very disconcerted including the one of the captain threatening him with a belt. That one upset him the most as it was a memory from SeaQuest. He remembered being grounded and arguing with the captain. His mind flooded him with a bunch of painful memories threaded with deep emotion as he was reminded of things he had done, and he felt a pinch of guilt once again. He felt his head pounding as he saw flashes of Mika. A vivid image of Wise hurting her came to his mind's eye; painful images, overwhelming feelings of despair and uncertainty mixed with a desperate inability to escape. He closed his eyes and felt his throat burn as he blinked back tears that threatened to fall. It seemed like his head had become like a broken projector of mixed up images, flashing pictures in random, nonsensical order.

"Lucas," prompted the captain, concern in his voice.

"Is Mika okay?" Lucas blinked faster trying to keep control of his emotions. The images of Wise hurting her were on repeat in his head. He closed his eyes and put his fists to his temples.

Nathan leaned forward and placed a hand on his hand.

"Mika's fine. She's at the moonpool with Darwin. They have been waiting for you to wake up. You've been sleeping for a few days now. Eric is here as well," replied Nathan, shifting his leg.

Lucas frowned. "Why did you call, Eric? I'm fine, Captain. Geez," complained Lucas, angrily. He felt his temper flare, and he forced himself to sit up in obstinate objection. The mention of the counsellor just caused him to feel all the more frustrated. It wasn't that Lucas didn't like Eric, but it was just a reminder of how bad things were; he was already freaked out enough.

Lucas saw the captain shoot him a look of warning to calm down.

"You've been through a traumatic ordeal, kiddo. We're just covering all the bases, alright? Now sit back and relax."

Lucas stared intently at the captain's face as he sat back in the bed in frustration.

Kristin cleared her throat softly. "Eric has been very helpful with Mika and her brothers the last few days, Lucas. They're really confused." She straightened out the blanket and picked at a piece of lint. "I don't know how much you remember, sweetheart, but the reason why you are so sore is because you were beaten quite severely."

Lucas felt his heart rate increase as he was attacked by more images in his head. Odd sounds and puzzling flashes of confused and mixed up pictures and voices. His head pounded at his temples. He was feeling very frustrated at how jumbled up he felt. He balled up his fists and let out a little audible groan of frustration.

"It's all mixed up, Doctor. I can't…" he mumbled.

Kristin patted his blanket-covered leg. "Take your time, sweetheart. You don't need to figure it all out right now." Lucas saw her cast a concerned look at the Captain. "Do you feel strong enough to go see Darwin? He's been asking about you nonstop."

Lucas sucked in his lip and nodded, blinking back tears. "Yah, yah, I'd like that."

"Alright then, I'll leave you alone to get dressed."

Lucas watched as the doctor left the room. He swung his legs around, noticing he was in a hospital gown. He felt this face go crimson when he realised it. He hated thinking someone saw him in any state of undress. He looked around the room as he stood up, covering his backend with the gown. Stupid open ended gowns were embarrassing. He cast a pitiful glance at the captain who pointed to the corner closet. Lucas awkwardly walked over to the closet and was relieved to find a clean pair of jeans and a shirt hanging there. He pulled on his jeans, groaning in pain and stiffness. He didn't remember feeling so sore before. As he dropped the gown to the floor, he heard the Captain gasp. He turned quickly to see the look on the man's face. In doing so, he caught a glimpse of his back in the mirror. His eyes grew large. He saw large black, blue and purple welts across his back and lower torso. A few places were bandaged as well. He rolled down the waist of his jeans and saw the marks travelled even lower down.

"Sore?" came a voice that startled him.

Lucas looked up. "Uh, yah. I-I don't remember much of what happened." He felt himself blushing under the scrutiny of the captain's eye. It wasn't that he was embarrassed to be seen by him as they had shared quarters before; it was more the look the captain was giving him that was making him feel anxious.

"I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Lucas. I'm just…I'm so sorry, kiddo."

Lucas frowned in confusion. Again his head flashed more perplexing images and sounds. "Uh, why are you sorry?" he asked as he pulled on the shirt. "It's not your fault, Captain." Lucas buttoned his shirt and put a hand to his eyes to rub them. "My head is really muddled up."

Nathan nodded as he gingerly rose to his feet, reaching for his crutches. "C'mon, kiddo, let's go see Darwin."