part ten
Lucas could see them again; they were there, standing beside his bed while he huddled beneath it. He heard the door slam open, and the voice of his mother as she was pushed into the room. He saw the legs of the man turn from his inquiry under the bed to the two who had burst into the room.
"I told you, he's not here!" Lucas had never heard his mother's voice sound so scared. "He's got night classes at the college and he always stays late to argue with the professor."
"Do you actually expect us to believe that?"
"You can believe what you want to believe, but I'm telling the truth." Rage filled Lucas as he heard the man slap his mother across the cheek.
"Mrs. Makenzie, it will serve you well to remember who is in control here. You are a very dangerous woman to us. The information you have been privy to and passed onto the UEO is very sensitive and classified. Therefore, under New Australian Law, article 7 clause 3, I, as a representative of the New Australian government, hereby declare you a traitor and thereby subject to the confederation's direst punishment." It was all Lucas could do to keep from making a noise at the man's words. The fear in him was so great that he couldn't bring himself to move; he felt it take over and completely control him. All he could do was shut his eyes tight and pray. He heard a thump as his mother was shoved to her knees, and the click of a gun as it was cocked and placed at her temple. He wanted to run out to her, somehow maybe stop what was happening with his mere presence. But something inside made him immobile.
The next thing Lucas knew, the gunshot that would haunt him for the rest of his life was fired and his mother fell with a thump onto the floor. The hands that had fed him, clothed him, and loved fell limp, inches in front of his face.
Mia walked out of the grove of trees and into the clearing, carrying the emergency blankets from the sub. Lucas was lying on the ground, and Bridger looked up from his side as she walked over and put the armful down beside him.
"Ensign Young is bringing the rest of the provisions from the sub, along with the rations." She spoke, but Bridger's eyes were once again focused on Lucas. She tried to get his attention anyway; he needed a distraction. "Lucas said that if we got him to this island, he could contact seaQuest. Do you know how?"
Bridger shook his head, confused. "Before he collapsed on the sub, he said something about having sent seaQuest a signal. I guess all we can do is wait here and see if they received it." Before Mia turned to leave, Bridger put his hand on her arm to stop her. "Thank you, Mia." She smiled at his kind eyes and nodded a silent my pleasure.
After she left, Bridger turned back to Lucas. He was critical, but stable. Bridger picked up a soft blanket from the pile Mia had set next to him and unfolded it in one huge throw. He placed it over Lucas and tucked it in around him. Gently placing his hand on his son's forehead when he stirred, Bridger felt the guilt start to rise again.
"I'm so sorry, Lucas." His voice sounded weary and quiet, which quite surprised Bridger. It had been a long time since his strength had left his voice. "God, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault. If I had told you before you left that I am..." he still couldn't bring himself to say it to him. He assumed though, that Mitchell had told him everything as soon as he had realized who he was. "Well, you wouldn't have left. And he wouldn't have taken you, and..." He couldn't let himself think about that last possibility. "This is my fault, Lucas. It was so selfishÐjust didn't want to lose face with you. You've been let down your entire life. I remember the first time I realized my father wasn't perfect, that he had flaws and screwed up once in a while." He sighed. "I didn't want to let you down. Now it's your turn, Lucas." He choked back tears. "You can't leave me, Lucas. You're all I have left!" He collapsed into sobs and laid his head on his son's chest.
As Mia stepped onto the sunny beach, she smiled as she felt the warmth engulf her. The worry she had felt looking at Lucas' motionless body subsided a bit as the sunshine she had missed so much comforted her. After a moment, she opened her eyes and walked down to the launch. She saw Mike sitting there, his arms around his knees, gazing out into he ocean and sensed that something was wrong. Popping down next to him, she waited for him to speak.
"It looks a lot different from up here."
"What does?" She knew very well what he was talking about, but after knowing him for as long as she had, she knew that he needed her to nudge him a bit.
"The ocean. It looks so... shallow and lifeless. It's very clever, you know, at hiding what goes on underneath its surface." She nodded and bit her lip. "How is he?"
"He's still unconscious, but he's stable." He started to say something, but stopped and looked down at his hands. "Mike, what is it?"
He looked up and stared right into her eyes. She noticed for the first time how beautiful Mike's blue eyes were. "Mia, have you ever..." He stopped, and started again, obviously not pleased with where that was going. "Mia, we've been friends since we were five. We've watched each other grow up, fall in and out of love, and for all those 15 years, have you ever even once thought about... you, know, us?"
"Us?"
"Yeah." Mia sat back, stunned. The fact was, not once had she thought of Mike as anything than her best friend. But as she thought about it, her entire life she had been subconsciously comparing every single guy she came in contact with to Mike. She had never had a serious relationship; any guy she dated always ended up getting jealous of the time she spent with Mike. And to come to think of it, Mike had never had a serious relationship before either...
Mike went on, ignoring her silence. "I've been thinking about things a lot lately, and... I love you, Mia. I always have." He paused, and cautiously turned his eyes to look at Mia's reaction. Her small mouth was slightly open in shock, and her green eyes glittered with wet tears. Gently, he brushed the back of his hand on her cheek. Slowly, as if pulled by a magnetic force, they inched closer and closer, until he could fell her warm breath on his cheek. Then their lips met and thoughts of all else faded away.
Tim sat nervously in the black command chair in the center of the bridge. Never before had he commanded anything, and now he had a whole ship to keep running, He sighed. Ford had caught up to him soon after the meeting in the ward room had broken up and told him that he needed Tim to stay here on seaQuest and keep things going. Tim had just stared after Ford as he patted him on the shoulder and ran of down the hallway.
"Sir?" O'Neil almost jumped as the ensign who had taken his set at communications called his name. He got up and walked over to the station.
"Yes, Ensign Kim?"
"Shuttle MR-3 is requesting permission to leave sir."
"Permission granted. Tell them to hurry home, John."
Be careful, guys, Tim prayed. Captain Bridger and Lucas are counting on you. Godspeed.