*~*~*

*~*~*

Half an hour later Lucas sat on a bed in Med Bay. He seemed to spend a lot of time here lately. His right hand was wrapped in thick bandages and he had been given some pain killers. Still, he felt the intense throbbing in his hand. But the fact barely registered in Lucas's mind. His position resembled very much the one Ben had found him in about thirty minutes ago: He had his knees drawn up to his chin and leaned against the wall behind the bed. He was staring at an indefinite spot at the opposite wall.

"Lucas, why did you do this, sweetie?" Dr Westphalen asked for the seventh time. But Lucas never responded; he didn't even acknowledge that he had heard her. He was completely silent.

"Why did you hurt yourself like that, Lucas?" The doctor probed again. Her tone was gentle, like she was talking to a young child. When the boy still wouldn't react she stroked softly over his head and gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, love. Everything's gonna be okay..." Dr Westphalen wasn't exactly sure whom she was trying to convince. She left Lucas in his meditation-like state and walked over to her office next door, where the Captain and Ben were waiting. The office had a window to the treating room so that they could still watch the teenager. Bridger was pacing up and down the room while Ben sat on a chair in the corner, breathing heavily. He had buried his head in his hands and was still trying to absorb the shock of finding his young friend in such a state.

Dr Westphalen sat down at the table in the middle of the office, sighing deeply. Bridger stepped to her and put a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of reassuring.

"How is he?" he asked softly.

The woman looked up at his face and tried a weak smile but failed. She shook her head. "Physically he'll be fine. He just has some superficial cuts and bruises that should heal within the next week. But mentally, I just don't know... What happened to this bright young man we used to know? To his mind, his smiles, his jokes, damn even his attitude? What happened?"

Ben lifted his head out of his hands and looked at the floor.

"Boy." He whispered and sighed, the significance of his word clear to everybody in the room.

Dr Westphalen gave a stifled sob. "To think... It's all my fault... He did this because of me... because I said that I pity him... It's my fault..." She lay her head in her arms on the table and began sobbing.

"No, Kristen." Bridger told her firmly and stroked her back to calm her. "This isn't your fault. True, maybe Lucas wouldn't have acted like this if you hadn't told him that you pity him. But the problem would have remained either ways. At least now we know how serious it is... very serious..."

"Captain," Ben spoke up, "what... what do we to do now?"

Bridger turned to the window and looked at Lucas. The boy hadn't moved, his eyes were fixed blankly at the wall. It hurt the old man to see his protégé and substitute son like this.

"We need help." He stated matter-of-factly. "Professional help. I'll talk to Admiral Noyce. I think I know who might be able to help us."

*~*

"And now you want me to do what, Nathan?" Admiral Noyce asked yet again.

Captain Bridger gave an impatient snort. "I want you to contact Dr Beck, the woman that was responsible for Lucas at the institute. We need to talk to her. Maybe she's able to help Lucas."

"Yes, I understand that part. But what do you need me for? You could simply call her yourself!"

"True, but... you are an Admiral, Bill, and I'm a simple Captain. You'll make a bigger impression on her..." he explained.

"What!?! And that's your only reason?" Admiral Noyce exclaimed. "Because you want to impress a doctor?"

The Captain had the grace to blush slightly at this. "No, actually I have another favor to ask from you, Bill." Noyce raised a questioning eyebrow. "It's so that... with Lucas being so... off it I... I don't want to have other things on my mind and so... I wanted to ask..." The great Nathan Bridger, Captain of the world's most advanced submarine, veteran soldier and diplomat, was truly embarassed to have to ask his old friend such a favor.

So he was more than grateful when he was quickly interrupted. "I get your point, Nathan. I'll make sure to send you orders for a long term project... something that should keep the seaQuest occupied and away from any interference for a while."

"Thank you, Bill!" Bridger was relieved. He knew how much his friend was risking with this: Should anyone find out that Admiral Noyce had practically disabled the UEO's largest vessel because of a fifteen-year-old boy, he would lose his position even before he could say 'Admiral'.

"You're welcome. I know how much you care for the boy... I'll see what I can do for you. Bye."

*~*

Meanwhile in Med Bay Dr Westphalen walked over to the teenager who was still staring into empty space. She noticed how pale he was and how thin he had grown during the last few days.

"Lucas, when was the last time that you had something to eat?" she asked him. Lucas didn't move or acknowledge her question. Dr Westphalen stepped directly into his point of view so that Lucas's eyes met hers.

"Lucas, I've asked some people of the crew. Nobody has seen you anywhere near the mess for some days. I take it that means your last meal was the one I ordered you two days ago?" she asked in her best doctor tone. But Lucas still wouldn't answer. He turned his head aside so that he didn't have to look into the doctor's face.

Instead of him Ben who came into the room answered: "To be honest Doctor, he didn't eat that meal, too."

"What?"

Ben cringed. He knew he might be in big trouble now, but he was sure that it was more important now that Dr Westphalen knew the truth – even if that meant trouble for him. "Yes, you see you told me to make sure that Lucas ate his meal. But he said that he really wasn't hungry at all and then the food that you picked for him didn't look too good either. So I let him skip that meal too. I know it was a mistake to do that and I'm sorry, Doctor."

The woman gave an angry snort. "You better be, Lieutenant Krieg. But what's done is done." She turned to Lucas again. "That only means that you need to eat something even more than I thought." With that she left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a tray with vegetable porridge. Ben took a short look at the meal and grimaced. He really didn't envy Lucas now.

Dr Westphalen sat down next to Lucas on the bed and placed the tray on a small table next to him.

"Here, now eat this, Lucas." She said firmly. Lucas slowly lifted his head to look at her, then he turned to eye the food in front of him. Dr Westphalen's tone softened immediately when she saw his eyes: They seemed so sad and vulnerable. This wasn't a moody teenager, trying to be difficult, she reminded herself. This was a young boy who had lost his orientation of life, she began to understand slowly. She took up one of his hands – it was cold.

"Lucas, please, try some of this." She said softly. "You need to eat at least a bit. You don't do yourself a favor by starving yourself. Your body needs some vitamins."

Lucas slowly look up at her and then gave the slightest nod. Hesitantly he picked up the spoon. Ever so slowly he began eating in small bites. When he had finished about half of the food Lucas put the spoon down. He turned to Dr Westphalen and shook his head, indicating that he couldn't eat anymore.

The doctor smiled and took the tray away. "That's okay, Lucas." She said and stroked his head. "It's a start. Everything will be okay." She gave Ben who still sat in the room a winning smile that said: We are on the way to improvement!

Lucas leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. His breathing was regular but the two people in the room could tell by the attentive expression of his face that he didn't go to sleep. They sat down in the corner and began talking quietly. Had anyone come in the room that moment he would have been amazed to see the Lieutenant and the doctor so peaceful together. Normally the two of them were like cat and dog, but their multiple concern for their young friend had united them.

*~*

Captain Bridger sat at the table in the ward room with his head in his hands. He was rubbing his temples in slow circles with his fingers, trying to relax a little bit. He was waiting for a certain call.

It was mid afternoon by now. Fifteen minutes ago the Captain had finished the Senior Staff meeting. Only Ben had been missing because he had stayed at Med Bay with Lucas. But the Lieutenant knew what the meeting was about anyway. Bridger told them about what had happened to Lucas. For as much as he respected the boy's privacy, there were some members of the crew who had to know about the situation – mainly Lucas's friends. When the Captain was finished he had given out the order to keep the information to themselves and not tell anybody else of the crew about it. Finally Bridger told them about what he asked Admiral Noyce to do, about both the call to Dr Beck and the order to keep the seaQuest occupied. He had seen that Ford wasn't very much at ease with the last demand, however the Commander had kept quiet and accepted the Captain's decision. Even though he wasn't showing it easily, Ford cared deeply for his young friend Lucas.

And now all that Captain Bridger could do was to wait for Noyce to tell him that he hadn't been able to achieve anything or for Dr Beck to call. Of course he hoped fiercely for the latter.

The old man jumped when his PAL chirped at his side. Quickly he flicked it on.

"Yeah?" His voice sound strangely rough.

"Captain, there is a call for you." Lieutenant O'Neil informed him.

"Who is it?" Bridger demanded.

"Dr Elizabeth Beck, calling from Boston, Sir."

"Put her through."

"Aye, Sir."

Bridger took a deep breath and went to stand in front of vid screen. Only a few seconds later a woman appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Dr Beck. I am Captain Bridger." He introduced himself and eyed the woman. She was probably in her late forties, with blond hair that was tied up in a knot at the back of her head and green eyes. Her cool expression was unreadable and her eyes were icy.

"Hello. I was told by Admiral Noyce that you wanted to talk to me about a former patient of me. What can I do for you, Captain?" her voice was totally professional.

The fact that she referred to Lucas as a former patient of hers didn't go unnoticed by Bridger. Even though he didn't know why, he didn't like her too much from the very beginning. However, he told himself that he shouldn't judge anybody from the first impressions. So he answered politely:

"Well, as you're getting straight to the point, I hope very much that you can help us. This is about Lucas. Lucas Wolenczak, the boy you know better as Milan."

"Ah, Lucas. Of course, I should have expected it." Dr Beck said. "He was by far the most interesting subject in my career. But first I'll have you know that Mi.. Lucas is no longer my responsibility and I haven't heard from him in over a year."

Bridger clenched his teeth as the woman called Lucas a subject. Maybe she wasn't the best person to ask for help, but so far the Captain hadn't been able to think of another possibility. So he answered: "Yes, I'm very well aware that you're no longer responsible for Lucas. But I had hoped that you'd be able to get through to Lucas better than we do as you know more about this. You see..." With that Captain Bridger told Dr Beck everything that had happened during the last days, beginning with their encounter with the pod of dolphins. The doctor was listening all the time without interrupting him or asking a question. Her expression remained calm and untouched during the whole conversation and she didn't show any emotions about what she heard. When Bridger was finally finished she spoke up:

"I see your problem, Captain. However, I'm not sure if I'll be able to help you. I'm sad to say that Lucas and I didn't have the best relationship when he left the institute. But of course I'm willing to try and talk to the boy. If you want to we could try it right now."

Bridger nodded. "That would be good, I think. One moment please." He punched a few buttons at the table putting her on the waiting line then and flicked on his PAL.

"Dr Westphalen, would you please bring Lucas to the ward room? I want him to talk to someone."

"Of course, Captain." Came the immediate answer. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

Some minutes later Dr Westphalen lead Lucas into the ward room. She gently showed him to a seat facing the vid screen and he sat down. Lucas kept his gaze locked to the floor. As soon as he was seated he drew his knees up to his chin in a self protective manner.

Bridger mustered the boy critically: He was pale, his face was very thin and his whole body language spoke of insecurity. His shoulders were slumped forward and his hands were shaking. But the worse thing were Lucas's eyes: They were sunken in his face and had lost all their live; where once bright and sparkling pools of the color of the deepest sea had been were now only a pair of dull and empty grayish eyes. The Captain had to think of an old folktale that said that eyes were the mirror to one's soul. If that was true then Lucas's soul had changed completely in less than one week. The old man intently hoped that they would be able to bring back their friend's old true self.

Gently he addressed the teenager: "Lucas, there is someone I want you to meet and talk to. You already know her." When Lucas didn't respond he turned to Dr Westphalen for advice. But she only shrugged; the boy hadn't talked or reacted to her either before. While he would quietly do whatever he was told, he didn't say a word all the time. So Bridger pressed a button and Dr Beck's face appeared on the screen again.

"Hello, Mi... I mean Lucas." She greeted him. "How are you?" Patiently she waited a minute, however, when Lucas wouldn't react she realized she would have to change her tactics. Obviously she wouldn't be able to simply talk to him in a normal manner.

"Lucas, look at me. Tell me, do you remember me?" she asked, looking directly into his eyes. Lucas slowly raised his head and looked at her. Bridger noticed that the boy flinched under the doctor's icy glare. Lucas cast him a quick, fearful side glance before he hesitantly gave the slightest nod.

"Good. Do you know my name?" Dr Beck probed further. Lucas looked at the tips of his shoes again and was silent. "Lucas, what is my name?" the woman on the screen demanded.

The teenager took a deep breath before he whispered "Dr Beck." He still refused to meet her eyes again.

Captain slowly began to realize that it might have been not the best idea to make Lucas talk to this woman as she only seemed to upset him more. Dr Beck herself had said that the two of them didn't have the best relationship when they parted. A quick look at Dr Westphalen told him that her thoughts went along the same lines.

Dr Beck was now questioning Lucas further. "Lucas, tell me what happened a few days ago?" she demanded. And "why did you try to leave?" "Do you remember the game with the cards that you liked so much?" From time to time she tried to make him talk about more recent topics. "They told me that you have finished the vocoder. I'm really proud of you. What do you want to do next?" Nothing of it worked. Lucas remained completely silent and stared at the floor, refusing to look at the woman again.

As time passed by Dr Beck grew more and more impatient. Her questions and her tone became harsher and more ordering, but it didn't change Lucas's behavior.

Finally after almost an hour of this one sided conversation, the doctor lost her temper.

"Lucas!" she yelled. "Look at me! I know that you hear me! Lucas! Damn it, MILAN!"

At this Lucas looked up at her fearfully. His hands were shaking violently. Captain Bridger who had been sitting in the back of the room with Dr Westphalen during the whole procedure now stood up and stepped between Lucas and Dr Beck's image.

"I think that was enough." He declared. "Thank you, Doctor, but I don't think this is going to lead anywhere."

Dr Beck gave a nervous laugh and ran a hand through her hair, a little embarassed about her outburst in front of the man. "I guess you are right, Captain." She said. "As said, I didn't really think that I would be able to achieve anything. The boy used to have a better relationship to my daughter, Justine, though I don't know exactly why. And then, to be honest, Captain, this development isn't really a surprise. We had the same thing happening to Shay, another patient of our institute. Only that it happened earlier with her, and of course she didn't reach the level that Lucas did. Well..."

The doctor was interrupted by Lucas. "Justine..." he whispered, hearing her talk about her. Surprised by this Dr Beck stopped talking and looked at the boy, as did Bridger and Dr Westphalen.

"What did you say, Lucas?" the Captain asked him gently.

"Justine..." the teenager repeated and finally looked up at the woman on the screen. "Dr Beck, how is Justine?" he asked eagerly.

The doctor was stunned. "She's fine, I assume." She answered finally. "I haven't been talking to her a lot lately. She's very much involved in the University."

Lucas stood up from his seat and walked closer to the screen. "Tell her hello from me please. Tell her that I miss her..." Lucas's breathing quickened very fast. Concerned that he might be hyperventilating, Dr Westphalen stepped towards him.

"Hush, Lucas it's okay." She tried to calm him. "Please calm down."

But Lucas waved her off and turned to Dr Beck again. His gaze was very intense – this was very important to him! "Please tell her..." he managed to say again, just before he collapsed. Bridger reached forward and was able to catch the boy in time before he hit the floor. Slowly he lowered him to the ground and patted his face.

"Lucas! Lucas, come on, kiddo, wake up!" The man whispered urgently to the boy. But Lucas only gave a weak groan. His breathing was shallow and slow. Dr Westphalen was at his side at an instant and checked on him. After a few endless moments she gave a sigh of relief.

"It's okay, Nathan." She told him. "He only fainted, most likely to his weakness and the stress. He'll be fine." Bridger nodded, then turned his attention back to Lucas. He settled the boy's head in his lap and stroke a stray of his blond hair out of his face.

"Let's get him to Med Bay." With that Dr Westphalen reached for the intercom on the wall and called a med. team with a stretcher.

The team arrived only a few minutes later and Lucas was carried out with both Bridger and Dr Westphalen never leaving his side. Dr Beck's image remained alone in the ward room until she realized that nobody would address her and shut off the vid link a few minutes later. She still didn't show any affection about this and when she had switched off the vid she went back to her regular work as if nothing had happened. Like she had said earlier, Lucas was no longer her concern and she had meant it.

*~*

Bridger groaned as he buried his head in his hands and slowly rocked back and forth. The light in the room was dimmed, simulating nighttime. The old man shifted in his chair, trying to find a comfortable position. He wondered briefly why they didn't have any chairs that were more comfortable for longer sitting in Med Bay. He seemed to spend a lot of time in those lately, sitting next to a bed with a certain teenager in it. Which brought the Captain back to why he was here: Lucas.

The boy hadn't woken up since he collapsed earlier that day. He had been brought to Med Bay where Dr Westphalen diagnosed a collapse due to an extreme weakness and immediately attached an IV with nutrients. The bag with the fluid hung above Lucas's head, its content slowly dripping into his veins.

By now Bridger was the only one at the boy's side; Dr Westphalen had lay down in the room next door in order to get a bit of sleep. Bridger watched Lucas intently. If it wasn't for the IV and the strained expression on his face, he would have looked like a regular teenager. The Captain noticed a movement at the other side of the room and turned to see Darwin's sleek grey form in the aqua tubes. The dolphin was slowly swimming up and down the small part of the tube's system that allowed him to look into the room. He was looking at Lucas all the while.

"Hey, pal!" Bridger addressed the animal, knowing that it would understand him even without the vocoder. "You're also worried about your friend, aren't you?" Darwin gave a movement of his head, clearly a yes.

Next to the Captain's side Lucas stirred and began to move. Bridger turned to him.

"Lucas? Are you awake? Can you hear me, kiddo?" he asked hopefully and took the boy's hand. Lucas moaned and then mumbled something. The old man leaned forward to understand him better.

"... Justine... help me... Justine..." Lucas whispered and a tear formed under his lash and ran down his cheek.

"Shh... Hush, kiddo!" Bridger crooned. "It's okay! Whatever it is I'll help you..." he promised. He wasn't sure if Lucas had understood him, however, the next second the boy's eyes snapped open and he stared at the Captain with unseeing eyes.

"Help me!" he pleaded again. Bridger gulped hard; what was he supposed to do, should he leave Lucas in order to get Dr Westphalen or should he stay? Unwilling to leave his protégé Bridger decided to stay.

"How can I help you, kiddo?" he asked softly and stroked the small hand in his own.

Lucas turned his gaze to the aqua tubes, noticing Darwin in it. The dolphin did a roll-over and whistled a greeting. The boy stared at the animal for a long time, but Bridger wasn't sure if he even really saw it. More tears began rolling down his face and he turned back to the Captain. His eyes were pleadingly.

"What am I?" he whispered desperately. "I don't know anymore... tell me, please, what am I?" Bridger gulped back his own tears as Lucas continued. The boy hadn't talked all day long, but now the words were spilling out of him as if it was his last chance to voice them. "I'm no dolphin, that's what they and my body tell me; and I'm not a human boy, that's what my heart tells me. But what am I then? Please, I need to know..."

Captain Bridger struggled to find an answer for the boy, but he knew it was in vain – there was no answer. While Lucas was no dolphin neither was he regular human boy or would ever be one; his mind, his heart and his soul made him different. So instead of an answer the Captain bent down and took Lucas into his arms. He held him tightly and hugged him in an attempt to comfort him, rocking them gently back and forth. Bridger kept whispering calming nonsense in Lucas's ears who was weeping and sobbing uncontrollably in his arms. The old man felt the fragile body shiver violently, his desperation finally breaking out and surfacing. Eventually Lucas calmed down and his body went limb as he drifted to exhausted sleep.

"Justine..." he sighed again, the last thing he said just before he fell into sweet obliviousness. Still Bridger refused to let him go. And so he held Lucas in his arms, sitting on the edge of the bed, for the rest of the night. Darwin stayed in his place in the aqua tubes, watching his two human friends in the bluish light, reflecting from the tubes.

*~*~*

Okay that's it so far again. I'm afraid to say that I will have to put the story to a stop for some time. It will take a while before I can post another part, I'm sorry. I hope you liked it so far.

Feedback and comments are always more than welcome. Please either review or send me an e-mail to Bright.Phoenix@gmx.de

Sheela