Disclaimer: We have gone through this before… well; do I really need to say this? Check
out chapter one ok. Also- "I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way
they are -- even if they're bad -- to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they
do, everybody kind of loses" came from Trevor McKinney from the movie Pay it
Forward. I love that movie and use some bits and parts of it!
Personal Note: OMG!!! Thanks to KL and Jessica, the weird purple winged elephant!
Sorry. Thanks to Jules… hehe.. weird nephew. Thanks to Juan Nieto- thanks for screwing
up my mind and making fun of me! Payback… later…? Thanks to all the reviewers, I
love ya all!!! Sorry it took too long..some personal problems but all fixed up. sort of.. enjoy!
Meaning Of Life
By the Untalented JOxER
Chapter 15
Captain Nathan Bridger pulled his two crewmembers aside and privately recounted what
Lucas had revealed to him the previous night. Ben and Kristen were left speechless. The
captain found himself in the same boat as he tried to explain the arrest of the Dr.
Wolenczak and his charges. Kristen held back tears, but the Lt. Krieg didn't restrain his
emotions.
"What the hell are you saying, Captain? That fucken asshole 's been beating the shit out
of Lucas all this time!" Ben paced back and forth, trying to control his anger. It was no
use. "Where the hell is that bastard. Get him back here and leave us alone for just one
minute!"
"Lieutenant, please calm down," Kristen responded, attempting a comforting tone. She
knew how Ben felt, but this wasn't the place for it or the time.
"What do you mean calm down! Lucas is in the hospital because that bastard beat the
crap out of him! Where is he?! I'll kill that son of bitch!"
"Lieutenant! Please! I know how you feel, exactly how you feel, but this is not the place
to blow steam. Please. Right now, we have to tend to Lucas… and get him away from his
so-called father," Nathan said, as he also tried to soothe the Lieutenant, as well as, his
own anger. Ben responded with one last sigh before nodding in agreement.
"What do we do now?" Kristen asked.
"I don't really know, except that I'm going to try to get some kind of temporary custody.
I need to keep Lucas safe," Nathan replied. He looked at his crewmembers. "Come on,
we need to see Lucas."
"Yeah," Ben responded, as they all headed towards the elevator.
The trio entered the room to find a nervous teen on the bed. Lucas jumped as the door
opened and was relieve that it wasn't his father entering his room. He noticed the looks
on his crewmates' faces, a shadow of sadness and, almost, pity.
'Oh no.' Lucas thought.
"Hey, buddy, how are you feeling?" Ben asked, putting on a fake smile.
"Don't 'buddy' me…" Lucas replied, angrily.
"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.
"You told them, didn't you?" Lucas replied angrily to the captain. "All of you probably
think I'm a freak. Thanks a lot, Captain! This is just great!"
"We don't think you're a freak, Lucas. None of this was your fault," Kristen explained,
as she sat down near the bed.
"That's right! That bastard didn't deserve to have you, Lucas."
"Your wrong, Ben! I never deserved to live! I deserved everything I got," Lucas
responded.
"Wait a minute! None of this was your fault."
"Yes it was, captain! If I didn't piss my father off when he was in a bad mood…if I
wasn't such a klutz…if I wasn't such a mistake, such a problem… then I guess none of
this would have happened!" Lucas wailed, as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He was
tired of hiding his tears. He had enough!
"Stop talking like that! None of this was your fault. It was all your father. Your father is
the one that has the problem; there's no excuse for beating a child. None at all. And don't
you make more excuses for him. This was not your fault!" Nathan reassured Lucas.
"I want to believe that, my god, I want to believe so bad… but… I just can't," Lucas
responded, as he cried harder. Nathan moved over to the teen and held him in a tight
hug.
"It will be hard but I promise, I swear to any god there is, you will believe…" the captain
gave Lucas a tighter hug, reassuring the teen was okay. Lucas hugged back before
pushing the captain away. Nathan got the message. It would take time for Lucas to get
used to being loved, but he was going to make sure that Lucas was going to get used to it.
A soft knock at the door interrupted the silence in the room.
"Excuse me, Captain Bridger, there is a phone call for you," Nurse Bay informed the
captain.
"Thanks, Nurse Bay," Nathan replied and turned to Lucas. "I'm going to leave for a
while, but I will be back."
Lucas just nodded, and Nathan left the room with the nurse.
For Lucas's sake, Ben had begun to forget what the Captain had told them and began to
talk to Lucas as though nothing had changed. Ben chatted about was happening in the
world, including the news that the Marlins had lost another game and the Yankees were
going to the World Series. Lucas began to tune out Ben as he thought about his young
friend. Jesse would have loved to hear that the Yankees were going to the World Series.
It made him think about what had Jesse had told him – that he wasn't really dead. Jesse
would be living everything through him. He wasn't going to let him down. Lucas reached
in his pocket and began to play with the little ribbon in his pocket. Ben noticed that Lucas
was off in his own world and not really listening. He also noticed that Lucas was playing
with something in his pocket.
"Hey, Lucas, what you have there?" Ben inquired, as he eyed Lucas' pocket.
"Nothing… Hey Ben, you think we can go to a Yankee's game?"
"What are you saying?! Trading teams? What do you have there?" Ben responded,
pulling Lucas's hand from his pocket. Ben took note of the pink ribbon woven around the
teen's fingers. "What's that?"
"A... a friend gave it to me," Lucas answered. Ben nodded, thinking the friend was Jesse,
and knew why the teen wanted to go see the Yankees. "Sure thing, kid, whenever you
want."
Lucas nodded as Nurse Bay returned to the room holding something in her hands.
"Hey, kid, how ya feelin?"
"Okay, I guess, Nurse Bay."
"You gave us a scare yesterday… but hope ya learn your lesson."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Which is?"
"Next time bring a coat when I go outside…"
"Hey… well, at least ya learned... Got to get your vitals..." Nurse Bay informed her
patient as she took his vitals. "Hey, you're back to your old self, 96.2 degrees! That's
great!"
"That means I can go home?"
"Sure thing!" Nurse Bay said.
"Great!"
"Not that great. Once your back home, you'll not leave your quarters till I think you're up
to it," Kristen announced, while Lucas frowned. Nurse Bay only laughed as she turned to
Lucas.
"Here. We cleared out Jesse's room yesterday, and his aunt gave us this," Nurse Bay
said, as she handed him the wrapped package. "She said that it was addressed to you."
Nurse Bay added, before turning toward the Lt. "And this if for you."
She handed him a slip of purple paper. The lieutenant looked at the paper and grinned.
Nurse Bay simply laughed and exited the room.
"Are you going to open it?" Kristen asked. Lucas nodded and began to tear the paper.
He laughed as he opened the package and read the cover of the book inside, "Yankees
facts for non-Yankees fans." Lucas showed the book to the doctor and Ben, and then
opened the book. He was shocked to see that there was some sloppy writing inside the
inside cover and began to read the message.
~ Hey Lucas. Told ya it was worth your life, right? Am I right? Well, thanks for being
my friend and enjoy your life… remember, I will be right there with ya. Enjoy the book;
ya need to get some better taste in teams! Jesse. Ps- I heard this quote and I have loved it
ever since- "I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are -- even
if they're bad -- to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody
kind of loses." Remember this line ok. It helps. Jesse."~
Lucas laughed and cried as he read the message. 'How did Jesse write this when he was
alive and yet talk about events that happened after he died?' Lucas wondered…
"What's so funny?" Ben asked.
"Nothing… what did Nurse Bay give you?" Lucas responded. Ben grinned again and
held out the piece of paper for Lucas to see.
"Its her number!" Ben announced, as he folded it up and shoved it into his back pocket.
"Men," Kristen sighed, as another soft knock interrupted them. The captain came in and
sat down near Lucas.
"Who was it?" Kristen inquired.
"That was Bill. He just called to let me know that… well, if it is okay with you, Lucas, I
have temporary custody of you."
Lucas stared at the captain with disbelievingly. "What..?"
"Your father was arrested this morning, for child abuse," Nathan explained, gently places
his hand over Lucas's hand. "I asked Bill to arrange the arrest, since he has better
connections than anyone I know, and well… since he was your legal guardian and is
under arrest… you need a new guardian... So I asked for temporary custody…"
"You…are you sure?"
"Sure that I wanted to? Of course, Lucas. I love you as if you were my own son..."
Nathan answered. "And if everything goes the way it should… I would love for you to be
my son…"
"You really want me? After… after everything that happened?"
"I love you, Lucas! Nothing will ever change that. Please, believe me. Everything that
happened… it wasn't your fault… none of it..."
"Thanks…" Lucas stammered, as he began to cry again. Not from pain or sorrow this
time, it was a joyful cry. Nathan leaned over and hugged the teen again.
Kristen tugged on Ben's shirt and motioned him to follow her out the door. Ben shut the
door, leaving the new father and son alone in the room.
*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
OMG!! ONE MORE TO GO!!! SORRY… ABOUT THE SUSPENSE... WAIT… AM I
REALLY??? ONE CAN NEVER TELL!
out chapter one ok. Also- "I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way
they are -- even if they're bad -- to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they
do, everybody kind of loses" came from Trevor McKinney from the movie Pay it
Forward. I love that movie and use some bits and parts of it!
Personal Note: OMG!!! Thanks to KL and Jessica, the weird purple winged elephant!
Sorry. Thanks to Jules… hehe.. weird nephew. Thanks to Juan Nieto- thanks for screwing
up my mind and making fun of me! Payback… later…? Thanks to all the reviewers, I
love ya all!!! Sorry it took too long..some personal problems but all fixed up. sort of.. enjoy!
Meaning Of Life
By the Untalented JOxER
Chapter 15
Captain Nathan Bridger pulled his two crewmembers aside and privately recounted what
Lucas had revealed to him the previous night. Ben and Kristen were left speechless. The
captain found himself in the same boat as he tried to explain the arrest of the Dr.
Wolenczak and his charges. Kristen held back tears, but the Lt. Krieg didn't restrain his
emotions.
"What the hell are you saying, Captain? That fucken asshole 's been beating the shit out
of Lucas all this time!" Ben paced back and forth, trying to control his anger. It was no
use. "Where the hell is that bastard. Get him back here and leave us alone for just one
minute!"
"Lieutenant, please calm down," Kristen responded, attempting a comforting tone. She
knew how Ben felt, but this wasn't the place for it or the time.
"What do you mean calm down! Lucas is in the hospital because that bastard beat the
crap out of him! Where is he?! I'll kill that son of bitch!"
"Lieutenant! Please! I know how you feel, exactly how you feel, but this is not the place
to blow steam. Please. Right now, we have to tend to Lucas… and get him away from his
so-called father," Nathan said, as he also tried to soothe the Lieutenant, as well as, his
own anger. Ben responded with one last sigh before nodding in agreement.
"What do we do now?" Kristen asked.
"I don't really know, except that I'm going to try to get some kind of temporary custody.
I need to keep Lucas safe," Nathan replied. He looked at his crewmembers. "Come on,
we need to see Lucas."
"Yeah," Ben responded, as they all headed towards the elevator.
The trio entered the room to find a nervous teen on the bed. Lucas jumped as the door
opened and was relieve that it wasn't his father entering his room. He noticed the looks
on his crewmates' faces, a shadow of sadness and, almost, pity.
'Oh no.' Lucas thought.
"Hey, buddy, how are you feeling?" Ben asked, putting on a fake smile.
"Don't 'buddy' me…" Lucas replied, angrily.
"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.
"You told them, didn't you?" Lucas replied angrily to the captain. "All of you probably
think I'm a freak. Thanks a lot, Captain! This is just great!"
"We don't think you're a freak, Lucas. None of this was your fault," Kristen explained,
as she sat down near the bed.
"That's right! That bastard didn't deserve to have you, Lucas."
"Your wrong, Ben! I never deserved to live! I deserved everything I got," Lucas
responded.
"Wait a minute! None of this was your fault."
"Yes it was, captain! If I didn't piss my father off when he was in a bad mood…if I
wasn't such a klutz…if I wasn't such a mistake, such a problem… then I guess none of
this would have happened!" Lucas wailed, as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He was
tired of hiding his tears. He had enough!
"Stop talking like that! None of this was your fault. It was all your father. Your father is
the one that has the problem; there's no excuse for beating a child. None at all. And don't
you make more excuses for him. This was not your fault!" Nathan reassured Lucas.
"I want to believe that, my god, I want to believe so bad… but… I just can't," Lucas
responded, as he cried harder. Nathan moved over to the teen and held him in a tight
hug.
"It will be hard but I promise, I swear to any god there is, you will believe…" the captain
gave Lucas a tighter hug, reassuring the teen was okay. Lucas hugged back before
pushing the captain away. Nathan got the message. It would take time for Lucas to get
used to being loved, but he was going to make sure that Lucas was going to get used to it.
A soft knock at the door interrupted the silence in the room.
"Excuse me, Captain Bridger, there is a phone call for you," Nurse Bay informed the
captain.
"Thanks, Nurse Bay," Nathan replied and turned to Lucas. "I'm going to leave for a
while, but I will be back."
Lucas just nodded, and Nathan left the room with the nurse.
For Lucas's sake, Ben had begun to forget what the Captain had told them and began to
talk to Lucas as though nothing had changed. Ben chatted about was happening in the
world, including the news that the Marlins had lost another game and the Yankees were
going to the World Series. Lucas began to tune out Ben as he thought about his young
friend. Jesse would have loved to hear that the Yankees were going to the World Series.
It made him think about what had Jesse had told him – that he wasn't really dead. Jesse
would be living everything through him. He wasn't going to let him down. Lucas reached
in his pocket and began to play with the little ribbon in his pocket. Ben noticed that Lucas
was off in his own world and not really listening. He also noticed that Lucas was playing
with something in his pocket.
"Hey, Lucas, what you have there?" Ben inquired, as he eyed Lucas' pocket.
"Nothing… Hey Ben, you think we can go to a Yankee's game?"
"What are you saying?! Trading teams? What do you have there?" Ben responded,
pulling Lucas's hand from his pocket. Ben took note of the pink ribbon woven around the
teen's fingers. "What's that?"
"A... a friend gave it to me," Lucas answered. Ben nodded, thinking the friend was Jesse,
and knew why the teen wanted to go see the Yankees. "Sure thing, kid, whenever you
want."
Lucas nodded as Nurse Bay returned to the room holding something in her hands.
"Hey, kid, how ya feelin?"
"Okay, I guess, Nurse Bay."
"You gave us a scare yesterday… but hope ya learn your lesson."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Which is?"
"Next time bring a coat when I go outside…"
"Hey… well, at least ya learned... Got to get your vitals..." Nurse Bay informed her
patient as she took his vitals. "Hey, you're back to your old self, 96.2 degrees! That's
great!"
"That means I can go home?"
"Sure thing!" Nurse Bay said.
"Great!"
"Not that great. Once your back home, you'll not leave your quarters till I think you're up
to it," Kristen announced, while Lucas frowned. Nurse Bay only laughed as she turned to
Lucas.
"Here. We cleared out Jesse's room yesterday, and his aunt gave us this," Nurse Bay
said, as she handed him the wrapped package. "She said that it was addressed to you."
Nurse Bay added, before turning toward the Lt. "And this if for you."
She handed him a slip of purple paper. The lieutenant looked at the paper and grinned.
Nurse Bay simply laughed and exited the room.
"Are you going to open it?" Kristen asked. Lucas nodded and began to tear the paper.
He laughed as he opened the package and read the cover of the book inside, "Yankees
facts for non-Yankees fans." Lucas showed the book to the doctor and Ben, and then
opened the book. He was shocked to see that there was some sloppy writing inside the
inside cover and began to read the message.
~ Hey Lucas. Told ya it was worth your life, right? Am I right? Well, thanks for being
my friend and enjoy your life… remember, I will be right there with ya. Enjoy the book;
ya need to get some better taste in teams! Jesse. Ps- I heard this quote and I have loved it
ever since- "I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are -- even
if they're bad -- to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody
kind of loses." Remember this line ok. It helps. Jesse."~
Lucas laughed and cried as he read the message. 'How did Jesse write this when he was
alive and yet talk about events that happened after he died?' Lucas wondered…
"What's so funny?" Ben asked.
"Nothing… what did Nurse Bay give you?" Lucas responded. Ben grinned again and
held out the piece of paper for Lucas to see.
"Its her number!" Ben announced, as he folded it up and shoved it into his back pocket.
"Men," Kristen sighed, as another soft knock interrupted them. The captain came in and
sat down near Lucas.
"Who was it?" Kristen inquired.
"That was Bill. He just called to let me know that… well, if it is okay with you, Lucas, I
have temporary custody of you."
Lucas stared at the captain with disbelievingly. "What..?"
"Your father was arrested this morning, for child abuse," Nathan explained, gently places
his hand over Lucas's hand. "I asked Bill to arrange the arrest, since he has better
connections than anyone I know, and well… since he was your legal guardian and is
under arrest… you need a new guardian... So I asked for temporary custody…"
"You…are you sure?"
"Sure that I wanted to? Of course, Lucas. I love you as if you were my own son..."
Nathan answered. "And if everything goes the way it should… I would love for you to be
my son…"
"You really want me? After… after everything that happened?"
"I love you, Lucas! Nothing will ever change that. Please, believe me. Everything that
happened… it wasn't your fault… none of it..."
"Thanks…" Lucas stammered, as he began to cry again. Not from pain or sorrow this
time, it was a joyful cry. Nathan leaned over and hugged the teen again.
Kristen tugged on Ben's shirt and motioned him to follow her out the door. Ben shut the
door, leaving the new father and son alone in the room.
*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
OMG!! ONE MORE TO GO!!! SORRY… ABOUT THE SUSPENSE... WAIT… AM I
REALLY??? ONE CAN NEVER TELL!
