Nathan Bridger straightened up, one hand pressing on his aching back. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he smiled at the boy who was watching his every move intently. "See, Michael? Once we dig the holes, then we push the seed in and cover it back up. With some water and sunlight, we should see some sprouts in a week."

"What if the birds try to dig them up and eat them, Pop-Pop? Can we make a scarecrow? And do we need ....um, fertilizer?" Michael said the last word slowly, having just learned it from the plant book he was currently reading.

Nathan knew what was coming next. This boy could sure come up with a lot of questions. "Whoa," he answered, putting out his hand to stop the assault of words. He stood up. Let me wash up, and get settled in my chair with a nice cold glass of lemonade, and then you can ask me anything you want." Dropping one arm across the boy's shoulder, he pulled Michael close to him. "C'mere, kiddo," he said affectionately as they walked to the house. "Later, you can come out and plant the rest of the seeds."

: "Can I ask Nana to help me?" The boy asked eagerly.

"I'm sure Kristin would love to help you."

As the evening sky turned pink and purple later that day, Nathan and Kristin sat on the deck, watching Michael play in the yard below with Cooper, a big golden retriever. "Are you glad we moved here, Kristin?" Bridger asked, not for the first time.

"I miss the island, but being here is good for Michael. He needs to be around people, Nathan, not isolated."

"I will be glad when he starts kindergarten in a few weeks," Nathan admitted. "He's so curious about everything, I haven't got enough hours in the day to answer all his questions. I can't remember Robert being like this. I'm afraid he'll be bored in a regular kindergarten class."

"In a few months, I'll arrange to have his IQ tested and get him some private tutoring, but in the meantime, being with kids his own age will be good for him and he'll learn the rules of school." She lowered her voice and moved closer to Nathan, glancing down at the small boy playing. "We've talked about this many times. He needs to live a normal life," she chided gently.

Looking off into space, Nathan wondered for the millionth time if he had done the right thing. His thoughts were broken when 40 pounds of energy jumped it to his lap. "Aoofh! Why you...this means a tickle war." He quickly reduced the boy into a wiggling mass of giggles.

Lucas, rounding the corner of the house, stopped at the sight of the happy domestic scene. "Is he my son?" he demanded in a loud voice.

Kristin and Nathan, their attention focused on Michael, froze at the sound of Lucas' voice. It was a voice edged with fury mixed with pain. Exchanging a look with Kristin, Bridger, holding Michael, turned to face the younger man. "Yes."

"How?"

"Your father..." Bridger began only to be interrupted when Lucas exploded in fury.

"My father, I should have known he had to play a role in this some where. He's dead and he can still reach out to screw with my head! And you kept this from me? You're suppose to be my best friends, adults I could depend on, how could you hide this from me?" Walking in circles, waving his hands, he continued to scream at them until he caught sight of the wide blue eyes staring at him from Nathan's arms. Suddenly, the truth hit him like a ton of bricks, deflating his anger like a balloon.

Kristin stepped forward. "Michael, this is your father."

The young boy frowned at her. "Father? I thought you said my father was far away on a trip."

Shooting a cold glare at Kristin and Nathan, Lucas plastered a smile on his face. "Well, I'm here now. How would you like to go for ice cream? I bet you like ice cream don't you?" He went over to Nathan, and he took the boy in his arms, trying to look like he had held hundreds of children, but failing.

"Lucas, I don't think this is a good idea,"Kristin said tentatively as Lucas started backing away from them.

A look of panic crossed Michael's face as he realized that he was being separated from his beloved grandparents. "Pop-pop!" he cried, reaching his hands out. He started struggling, pushing away from Lucas, who held him tightly.

Moving slowly as not to scare the boy, Nathan tried to block Lucas' path out of the backyard. "Don't do this, Lucas," he warned. "Please, Lucas, stay here and we'll work this out."

"No. You lied to me, I can't trust you anymore," Lucas spat at them. "He's my responsibility. He's my son. Just leave us alone ."

"Where are you going? You can't go back to seaQuest with him, Ensign?"

Kristin's question and use of his rank made him hesitate for a minute, as if he hadn't consider his future action yet. "We'll be at a hotel, and I'll resign and then we'll find a house and be happy together." With that, Lucas' practically ran for the street and the car parked there.

Kristin jumped forward, pulling Nathan's arm as he lunged at Lucas.

"No. What if you knock him over, or cause him to stumble? Michael could get hurt," murmured Kristin in a quiet voice. "Let them go."

His heart breaking at Michael's wails, Nathan turned to envelope Kristin in a bear hug as Lucas put Michael in the backseat of the car and drove off. "Oh, god, what have I done?"

Pulling away a little, Kristin cupped her hand under Nathan's chin, forcing him to look at her. "You thought you were doing what was best for both of them. Now he knows. We'll deal with it best we can."

Breaking from her embrace, Nathan strode towards the house. "I'm calling the police..."

Hurrying after him, Kristin protested. "And tell them what? Lucas kidnapped his son? And what will that do? Lucas will end up in jail and will never speak to us ever again?"

Realizing the logic in Kristin's reasoning, Nathan sat heavily in a chair on the deck, staring out at the backyard and Michael's toys scattered on the grass. "Lucas doesn't know anything about taking care of a child."

A small smile appeared on Kristin's face. "That's what I'm counting on."

***

After leaving Nathan and Kristin, with Michael crying in the back seat, Lucas drove around for awhile in a total panic, trying to figure out what the heck he was doing. He almost went back, ready to admit he had made a huge mistake, until a little voice came from the back seat, "I thought we were going to get ice cream?" Glancing in the rearview mirror, Lucas saw the boy had stopped crying and was staring at him curiously.

"You want ice cream? At the boy's vigorous nod, Lucas smiled. Maybe things would work out after all. "OK, ice cream is the next stop."

Sitting in the booth at the restaurant, Michael studied his menu intently as the waitress waited to take their order. "Can I have a sundae," he asked hopefully, "with chocolate ice cream?" He continued as Lucas nodded, "with hot fudge AND marshmallow and whipped cream with sprinkles and a cherry?"

"Yes, yes and yes," Lucas agreed, eager to please the boy. "I'll just have a cup of coffee."

The waitress collected the menus and disappeared.

"So, Pop Pop says you talk with dolphins," Michael stated, conversationally. Still a little frightened of this stranger, his natural inquisitiveness got the best of him. Pop Pop and Nana had told him many stories of his father and now he was finally sitting in front of him and he was allowed to have a sundae which Nana would have frowned about.

Surprised, Lucas exclaimed, "You know about Darwin?"

"Yes. Pop Pop always tells me stories about the seaQuest for my bedtime stories. I told him he should write a book. Are you going to take me to see the boat?"

"I thought we'd get a hotel room for awhile and take time to get to know each other first. How does that sound to you?" Lucas hoped that the boy would agree to at least give it a try. It would make things easier.

"Kind of like a vacation, Lucas?" The boy was digging into his ice cream, with chocolate dripping down his face.

Lucas reached over to wipe a spot of whipped cream off his nose. "Yeah, like a vacation, kiddo."

"Can Nana and Pop Pop come with us? We went on vacation together and stayed in a hotel." A confused look crossed the young face. "I have to get home, soon, Lucas, so I can finish planting the garden. And Nana needs me to help her in the kitchen. They seemed awful upset when we were leaving."

"It'll be all right, Michael. How about we go find a hotel and then you can call them?" He owed them that much, at least. Let them know that the kid was ok. "After all, I am your ...father." The last word still felt strange rolling off his tongue. At some point, he was going to have to get an explanation for that.

"Tommy has a father. And Rachel and Christopher. They always ask me where my father is." The boy had a far away look, thinking about his friends. "They're coming to my house on Friday, and maybe you can meet them. That'll stop Tommy from calling me a liar."

"C'mon. Let's go find a place to stay. And I guess we'll have to stop and get you some new clothes, too." Throwing some bills on the table, Lucas got up and extended a hand to Michael, who scrambled out of the booth to join him.

"Can I get a truck shirt? I had a truck shirt but Pop Pop washed it with a red shirt and it turned pink so Nana had to throw it out. We really should go back to my house and get my suitcase, 'cause whenever we go on vacation...."



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