Disclaimer: ya know this part, if not, check back to chapter one.

Personal Note: Thanks to Zev for the idea, get well soon. Thanks to Gryff, this is making
sense now! Oh, for Val that got confused, *--* means that person is thinking. Now that
we got that straight,-

Meaning of life
By the untalented JOxER
Chapter four

Nathan drew up his strength again to face what he had just witnessed. When he to raised
his head, he saw Lucas' leg elevated by a crane and in a heavy white cast. His eyes
traveled to the boy's arm where he followed the plastic pipes to the IV tree hanging
above the teen's head. There was so many liquids that there was only one of which the
captain recognized from maze of tubing and that was the life giving blood. Next to the
IV's stand the heart monitor beeped softly. Nathan glanced up to Lucas' arm only to find
deep purple bruises covering both arms. His observations had gotten as far as Lucas neck
before he lowered his head again. Then, after a few minutes of fantasizing with the
thought of killing the truck driver, he pulled himself together again and this time he
looked directly into Lucas' face.

*There is no way that this boy is Lucas. There is no way. I must be in the wrong room, I
must be looking at some horrific accident victim... the doctor had made a mistake...*
Nathan's mind kept telling him. If it weren't for the blond, shaggy hair, which was so
obviously Lucas, he would have had a hard time recognizing that this bruised and
swollen face belonged to the boy he knew and loved. There was a vibrant gash that, was
in such contrast to his pale skin, marred the fragile cheek from the left eye to the corner
of Lucas' mouth making it all the more difficult. He was startled when he felt a soft
touch on his shoulder.

"I told you that it wasn't going to be pretty," Dr. Chambers spoke quietly; Nathan noticed
that she held a folding chair. "I figured you'd want to stay with him for a while," as she
set the chair up for the captain.

"My god, I thought the worse but not like this. Nothing like this." Nathan pulled the
chair as close to the bed as he could.

"I know, but these bruises will fade away" The doctor opened her chart and began to
write down the readings from the heart monitor. She looked over the numbers and drew a
big sigh.

"What is it doctor? What's wrong?" Nathan quickly became alarmed, taking the sigh as a
signal to a form of disaster.

"It's nothing, I'm sorry to upset you. Lucas is fine, well maybe not fine...oh!. I just can't
believe what his own father... I mean, what bastard! Do you know what his excuse was
for leaving him here alone?" When Nathan shook his head and she continued, "He had to
attend an important meeting the next morning. I have a son around Lucas' age and I
would have dropped everything, done anything to be here if something like this had
happen to my son..." The doctor knew she was going over-board and that she had to
calm down. "I'm just glad that he has the support from you and your crew. He will get
past this with your help."

"I know how you feel. I've had a few experiences with Lawrence Wolenczak, doctor, but
what's the point of getting mad at someone who was never there for Lucas in the first
place? The important thing right now is that I am here for him now and I will be when he
wakes up." Nathan took Lucas' hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"He is very lucky to have you captain." She looked at the older man with such pride.
Here was a man who might have cared less for someone who was not his family, let alone
this youth, like so many people in this world. He could have just called in and ask for
information on Lucas's status. But this man didn't. HE actually cared for the teen. She
gave the captain a pat on the back and told him that she would come back to check on
them both in a few minutes.

Nathan, still holding the boy's narrow hand in his own larger one, began to think of all the
good times they'd shared since they'd joined seaQuest. He remembered the cockiness
Lucas had showed when Nathan had first came across the boy. How rudely the teen had
introduced himself and how he in some strange way Lucas was so much like Robert, his
son. After what seemed like hours to Nathan, he was quickly was brought back to reality
when an almost silent moan came from the still form in front of him.

"Lucas?... Lucas it's me, Captain Bridger, can you hear me?" His shouts brought Doctor
Chambers running into the room. *I guess I screamed a little too loud! * Dr. Chambers
quickly stood next to Lucas' bed directly opposing Nathan.

"Lucas? I am Dr. Chambers. You are in the. Buffalo Bay General Hospital. If you can
hear me Lucas, squeeze the captain's hand." Dr. Chambers and the captain turned their
eyes to Lucas hand, waiting for some sign that he could understand. A short time had
passed when Nathan felt a weak grip squeezing his own hand. Lucas understood.

"Thank god, you are going to be ok kiddo."

The Captain was hoping that the teen would be removed from the ICU and maybe
returned back to the boat. He turned around to see the doctor, waiting to hear the words
assuring him that Lucas was going to be fine. What he saw was not a happy face. The
doctor had a suspicious look. Samantha Chambers had seen this before and she was not
sure if Lucas really understood what he was told. This could have been just a reflex.

"Ok, Lucas, if you can hear me, squeeze the Captains hand twice." Samantha called to
the blonde youth, determined to see how far his comprehension went.

"Doctor, he already has proven that he can hear me, why ask him again?"

"I must know that this is just not a simple reflex. That he really does understand and is
following my instructions."

The both stood and waited for the teen to respond. A minute had passed, then another
and the doctor was starting to lose hope when her prayers were answered. There, in the
captain's hand, two gentle squeezes. The older man released the breath he felt he'd been
holding for an eternity. Lucas did understand. Again the Doctor was pleased but wanted
more.

"What is it Doctor? He passed your little test." The Captain almost shouted at the doctor.
Nathan was starting to lose his temper and grew suspicious of this so call doctor.
*Where'd this doctor get her medical degree? A mail order catalogue? All the signs are
very crystal clear to me; this was not just a reflex! *

"I am sorry Captain but I must be sure that he understands. I have to rule out all the
possibilities... He has not even tried to open his eyes and I just..."

"I am sorry Dr. Chambers, I know you are just doing your job." Nathan apologetic voice
sounded very comforting to the Doctor. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that, it's
just that I care deeply for Lucas." Samantha Chambers acknowledge the man's words
with a nod of her head. Being subjected emotional outbursts came with being a doctor so
she appreciated and accepted the man's apology.

"Its okay Captain. Under the circumstances I can understand your frustration." Turning
back to the prone figure Dr. Chambers continued her attempts to coax a response from
the boy. "Lucas, please honey, open your eyes. Please wake up."


Lucas was trying that much was obvious. His eyes danced behind his eyelids but
suddenly came to an abrupt halt. He started to whimper as if stuck in a nightmare and he
tried to sit up, with his eyes not yet open Lucas grabbed a hold of one of the guardrails
desperately clinging to it as if his life depended on it. Seeing Lucas' effort to sit up,
Nathan instantly got up from his chair and tried to hold the boy down.

The Doctor dashed out of the room, returning seconds later with a sedative, hands
moving automatically to adjust the hypo-spray she rushed back to the teen. Nathan
quickly released his grip when a loud and wild scream escaped Lucas throat. Dr.
Chambers quickly injected the boy with the sedative. Lucas' whimpers rapidly began to
die off and soon he was asleep. The pain was still evident in the teens' face but at least
he was no longer writhing about. Dr. Chambers stood back with a sigh of relief and as
she turned her attention to the captain, she wished she had brought two sedatives instead
of just the one.

"Oh my god, what did I do?" Nathan whispered to himself and sat back down hard
*Lucas was doing great, he was about to wake up when I held him down.!* "I tried to
help...But I made it worse..."

"It was not your fault Captain." Came the stern but gentle admonishment. " He could
have done more damage to himself by sitting up. You did not make him scream, his pain
from his wound and the broken ribs are the ones responsible. I know you wanted to help
and you did. This was not your fault." The Captain looked at the Doctor, part of his
brain didn't want to believe that is was not his fault. But her voice was assuring, so
peaceful, and his heart truly believed every word she said.

"Now what Dr. Chambers? The captain said trying to keep his focus on Lucas.

"He will stay in ICU for a couple more days. Just to make sure he truly awakens and see
that he did not injure himself more by this little stunt." She quickly pushed the nurses'
button and began to speak to Nathan again. "I have other patients to see today so I am
putting one of my best nurses in charge of this young lad. She is great with children, her
specialty is teenagers."

Nathan knew that the doctor was trying to get him to lighten up and to tell the truth, it
was working. Nathan gave her a small nod and a small grin.

Nathan heard footsteps coming from the entrance door when the curtain wall was opened.
*This must be the nurse... wait; she is too young to even attend medical school. * Nathan
quickly put on his questioned face and stared at the nurse. She was petite and had the
biggest brown eyes he had ever seen. She had a rainbow uniform and a pair of old Dr.
Martins purple shoes that were covered by a medical cap. She stood standing at the foot
of the bed and smiled. *There is something familiar about her, her smile...*

"Hello, I am Nurse Marcy Bay, I will be this guy's nurse. And ya are?." The nurse spoke
with a slight twang but Nathan didn't care about that, he just wanted Lucas in the hands
of a real nurse, not just a volunteer!

"Aren't you kind of young to be a nurse?" Completely forgeting the nurse's question.

"Why thank you ,Sir, I take that as a complement. No, I am not sir. Don't let my age fool ya,
I am just 25 but I have the skills of a fully trained RN." The Nurse said without losing
that now familiar smile.

"Captain, she is the best nurse here. Marcy has had more experience then the other nurses
here that treat children. She has worked by my side ever since she entered my hospital.
She started as a volunteer at the age of 15 and since her graduation from BU she has
worked here as a full time nurse. Trust me when I say if that Lucas would be begging to
leave this place once he finds out how strict this nurse is."

There was a glint in Samantha's eye that Nathan couldn't quite explain, but the doctor
had faith in this nurse and Nathan took it as a good sign.

The nurse stood straight as an arrow when the doctor praised her as the best.

"I'm sorry Nurse Bay, it is just that I get over protective of this kid." The Captain was
embarrassed of his latest action. The nurse just smiled at him but he was lost in his own
thoughts. *What is wrong with me, I just blew up in a sweet caring nurse. What is going
on me, I haven't felt like since...*

Nurse Bay took notice of the captain look; he was kicking himself hard for what just happened.
She had to call it truth. "It's alright Sir, ya forgiven. Don't worry yourself
bout this guy, I will have this kid back to his old self in nano-seconds!" Marcy added
with such confidence. Nathan just stared at the young nurse, for some strange reason, he
believed her. She had the same convincing character the Doctor had. Nathan had high
respect for the doctor's character. *Maybe it could work both ways. *

The Nurse took Nathan's smile as an apology and she gave him one in return. *That's it,
her smile; it is identical to Lucas' smile. * Nathan must have expressed his happy
thought in his face when the nurse spoke to him with some unsure ness.

"Sir, is there something wrong, don't tell me I have something on my face? eww.." She
quickly raised her hand to brush anything that was lying on her face.

"Oh no...It is that your smile, you remind me of ... of Lucas." The Nurse just blushed at
this comment and gave him another assuring smile.

"Thanks, thought I was embarrassing myself in front of all of ya!" she gave out a small
laugh and quickly stopped, as she remembered something important. "Oh! I almost
forgot, there are people in the waiting room bugging me bout this guy. I kept telling
them that he was fine but they didn't believe me. I guess they want to hear it from the
you sir."

"Yes, I think you are right Nurse Bay." He quickly turned back to Lucas and gently
squeezed the boy's hand. "Be right back kiddo". He excused himself to the nurse and
the doctor and almost ran out the door to where his crew were waiting.

As Marcy lowered the guardrails to check the teen's temperature, she turned to the
doctor. "Sam, you know, Lucas is very lucky to have such a caring father. Ya don't find
that kind of father anymore." she spoke with such pride about the captain, as she
motioned with her head the direction of the door. Dr. Chambers, who was recording the
event of the day in Lucas' chart, soon stopped her recording and responded to the
optimistic nurse.

"I wish he was, Mar, the one he has was too busy to stick around." The calm voice the
Doctor previously displayed had gone sour.

"What do you mean, Sam?" Marcy stopped what she was doing and shot her a puzzled
look. She recognized that tone of her voice and knew it meant trouble. "If he is not this
young man's father, than who is he?"

"It's a long story. C'mon, I tell you while you do basic 411!"

"Wow Sam, ya starting to sound just like me! Ya losing it!" Nurse bay tried to lighten up
the doctor's mood.

"Don't Mar or else you do not get to hear this." The doctor gave her a small smile and her
tone was back to normal.

"Blackmailing me now, that is pure evil Sam. Evil... Ya learning"

"Nurse Bay!!!..." Now the tone indicated that she was getting angry, but the softness in
the doctor's eyes belied her true emotion.

"Alright, alright, I'm going" She quickly turned back her attention to what she was doing
and knew that her "mission: Get Sam Character Back" had worked and only gave out a
small joyful sigh at her triumph. Marcy listened to the story of this young man's life seen
from the eyes of a Samantha Chambers, as she took the "basic 411".

********************************--********************

Sorry for the delay! Man, been crazy this summer start and sorry to keep all ya waiting!
So, should I cont or hide in the corner with my own thoughts to myself? Ha, leave
feedback if like, not forcing ya to but it would be nice. Or directly to
seaQuest_fan@yahoo.com Thanks ya'll!