epilogue
He looked out over the green grass and felt the warm breeze ruffle his hair. It had been a hard few weeks, and as soon as Dr. Smith had let him out of med-bay, he had asked the captain for shore leave. He turned his face up towards the sky, letting the sun's rays bake into his skin. It felt so good to get off the sub, this time under much better circumstances. Turning his eyes back to the field in front of him, he flushed and suddenly sat back down on the seat of the motorcycle. What was he doing here? He had never been before; he had never really felt the urge to. But now, after all that had happened, he needed to.
Sighing, he looked at the crumpled sheet of paper he held in his hand. Scribbled on it was the number A19. He scrunched it up and stuffed it in his jeans, sliding his sunglasses back over his nose. He grabbed his package and started walking down the white stone path.
A11... A13... A15... A17... A19. There it was. It looked so simple; much like her life had been. Or so Lucas had thought. He felt somehow betrayed by the revelation that his mother had lied to him. She had been a spy, all along leading him to believe that she was a scientist. He knew that it had only been to protect him, but it still hurt, nonetheless.
1983-2018
That's all that her grave said-her name, a few dates and a dash. That dash represented her life; him, his father, Mitchell-all reduced to a simple line connecting numbers. It was almost sad. He crouched down and placed the rose on the gray marble. Tracing his fingers over the raised words, he began to speak.
"Mom, I... I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to say right now. I don't blame you for what happened. I know that you were only doing what you thought was the right thing to do, and I think that you must have been incredibly brave. But, I do wish you had told me what you were doing." He sighed, not knowing all that he wanted to say. "Mom, most of all I... I just miss you. I miss you so much..." Tears started to well up in his eyes and fell immediately onto his cheeks. He didn't have the energy to fight them. "I wish I could see you again; more than anything in the world, I want to hear your voice." He stopped then, the sobs too much to be ignored. When he gained control, he went on. "I know I never will, but I can handle that now. You would be so proud of me, Mom; I know it. I'm all grown up. I wish you could meet the guys on seaQuest; you'd like them all, especially Captain Bridger. He's like a father to me, Mom; he's the father I never had, even when I was living with Lawrence." He paused, searching for the right words for the moment. "I can feel you sometimes, and I know you're looking down on me. I'll try to make you as proud a mother as I can. I love you, Mom; I always will."
Lucas was startled from him his speech by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the watery eyes of Nathan Bridger. Without saying a word, Bridger crouched down next to his son and placed his own rose on the ground.
"I met your mother at a conference in New Australia," he startled Lucas a few moments later by speaking, never taking his eyes of the name written in stone. "She was there to make a presentation about new innovations in sub design." He smiled sadly. "She was so much like you." The comment made Lucas smile. "We talked for hours that night; about science, the sea, our lives... she was so unhappy, Lucas. She loved so many things that Mitchell didn't. He took her for granted, and hadn't noticed how withdrawn she had become. We connected." He paused then, searching for the right words. "I didn't mean for it to happen, Lucas, but it did. I... I used to feel, somehow, that I had betrayed Carol by loving Kathryn, but now I realize I didn't betray anyone. I was only being true to my heart." He looked to Lucas for acceptance, needing it from his son. He expected judgement in his eyes, but instead he only saw forgiveness and acceptance; it gave him the confidence to go on. "When I found out that she was pregnant, I was so scared. I didn't want to go through the pain of losing Robert again. I figured that she and her child were better off without my interference." He stopped, turning so that he looked Lucas strait in the eyes. He had to do this part right. "Lucas, I am your father."
Finally. Lucas closed his eyes and felt the tears stream down his cheeks. He finally had heard the words that he had longed to hear for so very long. "I know. Somehow, I've always known."
Bridger smiled then, finally taking his son in his arms and holding him like a father should. They were together at last.