Healing
By: Melissa Adams
Disclaimer: SeaQuest and all its characters belong to Amblin Entertainment. I am only borrowing these characters for a while I am done. This is a work of amateur fan fiction and no infringement on the owner's copyright is meant. Please R&R
*****************************
Beep! Beep! Beep! 'Now what?' Captain Nathan Bridger wondered. It seemed like he had been woken up half a dozen times already for emergencies aboard SeaQuest and he wondered what someone had failed to do or blew up now.
"Bridger."
"Sorry to wake you again Captain but I have Admiral Noyce on the horn for you sir."
"Thanks and put him through down here." Bridger said as he got up and poured himself a glass of water before sitting down at his desk and activating his computer monitor.
The image of Bill Noyce filled the screen. "You know Bill, contrary to what you might believe I don't stay awake all the time. What's up that is so important it couldn't wait for a few hours?" Bridger asked sarcastically.
"And good morning to you also Nathan. Are you always this well mannered when someone calls you?"
Nathan scowled at Noyce and said, "Yes Bill. I am always in a good mood when someone wakes me up from a dead sleep."
"I'm sorry to wake you Nathan and God knows I wish I didn't have too but I have some bad news for you. You know Lucas' grandmother, Samantha Smith?"
Nathan thought about that a minute before answering. "Yes Bill. She's the one that used to take him in when their parents would go away and the one that the courts refused to give custody to because of her health right?"
Noyce shook his head. "I just got word that she died this morning, a heart attack. Lawrence contacted us and asked that we tell you. He said that there wouldn't be a funeral and the she would be buried before you could even dock the boat. I gather he wasn't too fond of her."
Bridger rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose. "Damn Bill I hate to hear that. Lucas has spoken to Kristin about her and it seems the two of them were rather close. I hate having to tell him this and then to top it off I have to leave late tomorrow for that conference and Kristin is gone for another two days at that medical symposium. I hate having to leave him here without one of us available."
"I know Nathan and before you ask I have a jet waiting to meet the launch at Pearl as soon as you can tell her. I gotta run please express my condolensces to Lucas on his loss and again Nathan I am sorry that I had to be the one to tell you."
Nathan nodded and switched off the monitor. He sat back in his chair and looked at the clock, 0323. Should he wake Lucas or let him sleep until tomorrow morning and tell him then. I'll call Kris first and then tell Lucas. He grabbed his PAL and asked the bridge to contact Kristin and page him when they got her. He got up and went into the bathroom to wash his face and wake up when his computer beeped indicating that Kris was on the line. He sat back down and activated his computer screen again. A very sleepy and mused image of Kris came on the screen.
"Nathan, it is 0330 in the morning. What's wrong? Are you and Lucas okay?" she asked instantly concerned and awake.
"I'm sorry to wake you honey but I do have bad news although both Lucas and I are fine. Bill just called me and said that Lucas' grandmother, Samantha Smith passed away. He also said that Lawrence has all ready arranged for the burial and there would be no funeral."
"Damn Nathan. Lucas is going to be devasted. He spoke to me a lot about her and she was one of the most important people in his life. Have you told him yet?"
Nathan shook his head. "I will as soon as I get off the vid with you. We do however have a problem. I have to leave at 1300 hundred tomorrow for that conference and that will leave no one here for Lucas until you get back in two days."
"When do I meet the boat Nathan?" she asked without even batting an eye.
She was good for being woken up in the middle of the night. "Thanks babe, I just wouldn't feel right leaving him here after hearing this. Bill said that a jet would meet you to take you to Pearl and I'll have a launch waiting. If you can be ready in the next hour or so you should be back aboard right before I leave."
She nodded and said, "Okay. I better go and get ready. Tell Lucas I love him and that I'm on my way." With that the screen went blank.
Well there is part one handled Nathan thought, now to go deliver the bad news since he had already ordered the launch to Pearl before speaking to Kris. He silently walked over to Lucas' bedroom and knocked on the door, although he really wasn't expecting an answer. Nathan opened the door and peered inside.
Lucas was laying his left side sort of curled into a ball and sound asleep. He looked so peaceful Nathan thought as he silently entered the room and crept toward the bed. He stood staring at Lucas for a moment before reaching out and gently shaking his shoulder.
"Lucas?"
Lucas moaned softly and began to roll over facing the voice that was calling his name. He slowly opened sleep filled eyes and found himself staring into his dad's concerned face. After giving himself a mental shake he slowly sat up in bed. "Dad, what's wrong? Is mom okay?"
Nathan sat down beside his son and put his hand on Lucas' arm. "Yeah, she's fine. Lucas I have something to tell you and it is important. I just got a call from Bill and your father called him and asked that he tell me so I could tell you."
Lucas sat staring at his dad through a sleep-filled mind, trying to grasp what his dad was saying to him. "What did my father want?"
Nathan sighed before continuing. "He said that your grandmother Samantha died earlier this morning."
He sat in silence for minute, waiting patiently for the onslaught of tears and emotions he thought would come but instead Lucas just sat staring at him not saying anything. After a few moments he heard him say, "When's the funeral? I should be there."
Nathan reached out and grasped Lucas' shoulder before continuing. "Bill said there wasn't going to be a funeral. Your father would have her buried before we could even dock the boat. I'm so sorry Lucas."
Lucas nodded and just lowered his head. "It's all right dad, really. Thanks for telling me, I know you didn't want to. I guess I had better try to go back to sleep so I can be halfway coherent when you leave today." He started to slide back down in bed.
Nathan rose but didn't leave. He waited until Lucas was back covered up and somewhat settled and then he knelt down. "Lucas, do you want to talk about it? I know how much your grandmother meant to you and how much it is going to hurt to. Please don't hide your feelings from me. I want to help."
"I appreciate it dad, really. I'm fine though. Grandma was very special to me but she was old and dieing is a part of living right. Now if you don't mind I am going back to sleep." With that said he rolled back over with his back to his dad.
Bridger nodded to himself and rose. He was halfway to the door before turning back to his son. "Your mom is coming home today. She should be here before I leave for the conference."
Lucas turned over and faced his dad. "Why? I thought she wasn't due home until day after tomorrow."
He nodded, "She wasn't but I called and told her about your grandmother and she wanted to be here, especially since I wasn't going to be. She ought to get here around noon."
Lucas nodded and began to turn back over when he felt that the Cap was still watching him. He turned and spoke to Bridger. "Dad I appreciate that you want to help me but right now I just want to sleep. I promise to talk to mom sometime tomorrow. Okay?"
Nathan came over and lent down and kissed his son on the forehead. "Okay, Lucas. I just want to help and holding your feelings in isn't going to make them go away. It's okay that you loved her and that you're going to miss her."
Lucas nodded and let his dad ruffle his head before each headed back to bed.
*****************************
Bridger woke up at 0900 hundred hours and went to check on Lucas. He wasn't in his room and had left his PAL on the desk. Nathan became increasingly concerned as he showered and dressed. Maybe he went down to talk to Darwin so he headed for moon pool and sure enough there he lay with his hand in the pool. Bridger wasn't sure if he was asleep or not so he approached him cautiously. Once getting a little bit closer he saw that he was asleep. Kneeling down he shook Lucas.
"Lucas, you have to get up and go to bed."
He never opened his eyes but said, "There's something wrong in that Cap. I mean you are making me wake up so I can go to sleep."
Nathan laughed, "Well if you don't get up and go to bed your mom is going to find you and then we are both going to be in trouble. As it stands now you'll hear about it after I leave thank goodness. How long have you been here?"
Lucas opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them while rising to stand next to his dad. "Since about 0500 hundred. I came down to visit Darwin since I couldn't sleep and I guess I was more tired than I thought. You know what the odd thing is though?"
"What is that?" Nathan asked while helping to direct his son back to his quarters.
"Even though I have slept I am still tired. I feel like I could sleep all day."
They arrived at their quarters and Nathan said, "Why don't we go grab some breakfast and then you can take the day off and go get some more sack time?"
"Breakfast sounds good dad but I promised to help Crocker finish that new security program we're writing today and then I promised Darwin I would come and play with him some plus you're leaving and mom comes back today." Lucas stated while heading for the bathroom to get cleaned up.
Bridger nodded but said, "Okay, but you know that your mom is going to want to talk about your grandmother when she gets here. You're sure that you don't want to talk to me."
Lucas came out of the bathroom, "Thanks Cap, really. I think I am fine. Death is just a part of dieing and there is nothing I can do about it. Now how about breakfast so I can get to work and you can get ready to go?"
Nodding he rose and headed for the mess with his son. It's obvious he won't talk to me I just hope he will tell Kris what is bothering him he thought.
2 hours and 15 minutes later he got word that Kris's launch was approaching the bay. He went down to meet her and asked Lucas to go but he said he couldn't get away. Nathan had just nodded and headed for the bay. He knew that his grandmother's death was beginning to get to him as he had gotten word from Crocker that Lucas had lost his temper several times while working on the security program, which wasn't like Lucas. He thought of computer programs as unique challenges and he seemed like he enjoyed handling the situations that arose with them.
Kristin emerged from the shuttle just as Nathan entered the bay. He came up and wrapped his arms around her waist while giving her a kiss. "Hi babe, I'm glad you're back, at least for 45 minutes or so." He winked at her and picked up her bags as they headed for their quarters.
"It's good to be back. How's Lucas? Has he talked about it at all?"
Nathan nodded no and proceeded to tell her about finding him by the moon pool and his attitude with Crocker. "Honestly honey, I don't know what's going on with him. I have tried to approach him several times but he just insists he's fine. He told me he would talk to you but didn't seem all that excited when he found out you were coming back early."
Kristin nodded as she entered their quarters. "I'm not surprised Nathan. From what Lucas has told me his granny Sam was very important to him. She was the mother he didn't have. It's only natural for him to want to keep from feeling her loss, but if he doesn't it will only be worse for him and us in the long run. Did he sleep all night?"
Bridger put Kris's bags on the bed. "I don't think so. I left him about 0400 hundred this morning and he said he came down to the moon pool about 0500 hundred and I found him there at 0900. If he did sleep it wasn't for very long."
She just nodded as she began putting her things away. "Well I will try to get him to talk to me but if he doesn't want to I have to be careful. If he's not ready it would be more disastrous trying to force him. How long until you have to leave?"
"About 30 minutes. I have to go up to the bridge and will likely be up there until time to launch. I sure missed you though, baby." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck.
Kris smiled, "Careful Bridger. If you keep it up you might never get up to the bridge."
Lucas and Kristin stood in the launch bay exactly 30 minutes later and told Nathan good-bye and to have a safe trip. He nodded and kissed each of them and promised to call as soon as he could get away. They nodded and watched him enter the launch. After he left Lucas turned and headed back to the room before him mom could approach him.
He went back to the room and got started working on a new computer game he was designing and was grateful when he knew his mom hadn't followed him. He worked on the game for several hours but kept having to back door into the system in order to fix problems he missed. He was hunched over the system again when he heard his mom knock.
"Yeah mom. Come on in. It's open."
Kristin entered his room and watched him for several minutes before approaching and sitting down in the chair opposite him. She sat watching him, patiently waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he didn't she spoke. "Lucas, can I talk to you for a second?"
Lucas nodded without looking up. "Sure mom, but can it wait a second while I finish debugging this circuit?" He was trying to put her off and he had a feeling it wasn't going to work but a guy had to try right.
"I'm going to go pick us up some dinner at the mess and then we can talk over dinner." She got up to leave when Lucas called her name. She turned around to face him.
"Mom really thanks, but I'm not hungry. I'll eat later I promise. I just want to finish this first."
Kristin put her hands on her hips while fixing him with a glare. "If you don't want to talk that's fine but are going to eat. I know that you missed lunch and Nathan told me that you ate very sparingly at breakfast. Now do you want to go down to the mess and eat or eat here?"
Lucas dropped the tool he was using and went to his bed. He sat and drew his knees and hugged them. He lowered his head onto his arms and remained that way for a few moments before he felt his mom come over and sit next to him. She pulled him close to her and wrapped her arms protectively around him.
"Lucas, do you want to talk about it?" she asked cautiously.
He drew back away from here and slowly lifted his tear-stained eyes nodding in the affirmative. "I knew granny was sick mom, I had known for a while but before you and dad she was the only family I had that really cared about me."
With each word Kristin could see her son getting more and more emotional. Her heart ached for this exceptional young man. He has been tortured and kidnapped several times after being abused from an early age. He had watched the people he loved most in the world hurt and almost killed and now the only tie to his previous life that he didn't hate wasn't in the world anymore, I mean how much did God think this young man could stand?
Lucas was sobbing uncontrollably as he continued. "When my mom and dad would beat me she would rush over at my call and take me for days and promise that she was going to protect me but the courts always made me go back to them. I know granny feared getting that phone call when they would tell her I had died." He paused long enough to wipe his face with his sleeve and slid a little closer to his mom.
"There was even one time when she showed up for a visit and saw the end of one of my father's regular beatings. She immediately stepped in the middle and tried to shield me from his attack and all she got out of it was a broken wrist and several bruises. Once my dad had left granny despite all the pain and horror she saw made sure I was okay and rushed me to the hospital. She insisted that they take care of me before her, even though she was hurt worse than I was. Why mom? Why would she die? Why in the end couldn't I protect her?" He threw his head in his mom's lap.
Kristin was in tears as she tried to comfort her son and assure him that everything was going to be okay. She rocked and hugged him until he had calmed down enough to lean back against the bed. "Lucas, honey I don't know why she had to die. It was just her time. Maybe she knew that her job was done now that you had a loving family and friends to make sure no one hurt you again."
She retch up and placed her hand along his cheek. "You did the best thing in the world for her Lucas. You became the best person you could be and showed her you were better than the environment you were raised in. Both Nathan and I couldn't be more proud of you and we love you so much."
Kristin held her arms open and Lucas sank into her warm embrace. She rocked him until she though he was done crying. "Lucas you are exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Will you let me get you something to eat and something to help you sleep, please?"
Lucas looked up at her and slowly nodded but said, "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep mom?"
Kristin ruffled his hair. "Of course Lucas. Now why don't you get ready for bed and I'll go grab us some dinner and your medicine, okay?"
Lucas nodded and rose. He headed toward the bathroom but stopped and looked back at his mom. "Do you think on the next leave that the three of us could go visit granny's grave? I want to show her my new family and to say good-bye."
Kristin had tears forming in her eyes as she said, "Yes, son I think that will be perfect. I'll arrange it with your dad when he gets back."
Lucas smiled and headed toward the bathroom again. Kristin Westphalen rose and thought to herself how lucky she and Nathan were to have such a special person in their lives. He enriched them both greatly.
~FIN~
By: Melissa Adams
Disclaimer: SeaQuest and all its characters belong to Amblin Entertainment. I am only borrowing these characters for a while I am done. This is a work of amateur fan fiction and no infringement on the owner's copyright is meant. Please R&R
*****************************
Beep! Beep! Beep! 'Now what?' Captain Nathan Bridger wondered. It seemed like he had been woken up half a dozen times already for emergencies aboard SeaQuest and he wondered what someone had failed to do or blew up now.
"Bridger."
"Sorry to wake you again Captain but I have Admiral Noyce on the horn for you sir."
"Thanks and put him through down here." Bridger said as he got up and poured himself a glass of water before sitting down at his desk and activating his computer monitor.
The image of Bill Noyce filled the screen. "You know Bill, contrary to what you might believe I don't stay awake all the time. What's up that is so important it couldn't wait for a few hours?" Bridger asked sarcastically.
"And good morning to you also Nathan. Are you always this well mannered when someone calls you?"
Nathan scowled at Noyce and said, "Yes Bill. I am always in a good mood when someone wakes me up from a dead sleep."
"I'm sorry to wake you Nathan and God knows I wish I didn't have too but I have some bad news for you. You know Lucas' grandmother, Samantha Smith?"
Nathan thought about that a minute before answering. "Yes Bill. She's the one that used to take him in when their parents would go away and the one that the courts refused to give custody to because of her health right?"
Noyce shook his head. "I just got word that she died this morning, a heart attack. Lawrence contacted us and asked that we tell you. He said that there wouldn't be a funeral and the she would be buried before you could even dock the boat. I gather he wasn't too fond of her."
Bridger rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose. "Damn Bill I hate to hear that. Lucas has spoken to Kristin about her and it seems the two of them were rather close. I hate having to tell him this and then to top it off I have to leave late tomorrow for that conference and Kristin is gone for another two days at that medical symposium. I hate having to leave him here without one of us available."
"I know Nathan and before you ask I have a jet waiting to meet the launch at Pearl as soon as you can tell her. I gotta run please express my condolensces to Lucas on his loss and again Nathan I am sorry that I had to be the one to tell you."
Nathan nodded and switched off the monitor. He sat back in his chair and looked at the clock, 0323. Should he wake Lucas or let him sleep until tomorrow morning and tell him then. I'll call Kris first and then tell Lucas. He grabbed his PAL and asked the bridge to contact Kristin and page him when they got her. He got up and went into the bathroom to wash his face and wake up when his computer beeped indicating that Kris was on the line. He sat back down and activated his computer screen again. A very sleepy and mused image of Kris came on the screen.
"Nathan, it is 0330 in the morning. What's wrong? Are you and Lucas okay?" she asked instantly concerned and awake.
"I'm sorry to wake you honey but I do have bad news although both Lucas and I are fine. Bill just called me and said that Lucas' grandmother, Samantha Smith passed away. He also said that Lawrence has all ready arranged for the burial and there would be no funeral."
"Damn Nathan. Lucas is going to be devasted. He spoke to me a lot about her and she was one of the most important people in his life. Have you told him yet?"
Nathan shook his head. "I will as soon as I get off the vid with you. We do however have a problem. I have to leave at 1300 hundred tomorrow for that conference and that will leave no one here for Lucas until you get back in two days."
"When do I meet the boat Nathan?" she asked without even batting an eye.
She was good for being woken up in the middle of the night. "Thanks babe, I just wouldn't feel right leaving him here after hearing this. Bill said that a jet would meet you to take you to Pearl and I'll have a launch waiting. If you can be ready in the next hour or so you should be back aboard right before I leave."
She nodded and said, "Okay. I better go and get ready. Tell Lucas I love him and that I'm on my way." With that the screen went blank.
Well there is part one handled Nathan thought, now to go deliver the bad news since he had already ordered the launch to Pearl before speaking to Kris. He silently walked over to Lucas' bedroom and knocked on the door, although he really wasn't expecting an answer. Nathan opened the door and peered inside.
Lucas was laying his left side sort of curled into a ball and sound asleep. He looked so peaceful Nathan thought as he silently entered the room and crept toward the bed. He stood staring at Lucas for a moment before reaching out and gently shaking his shoulder.
"Lucas?"
Lucas moaned softly and began to roll over facing the voice that was calling his name. He slowly opened sleep filled eyes and found himself staring into his dad's concerned face. After giving himself a mental shake he slowly sat up in bed. "Dad, what's wrong? Is mom okay?"
Nathan sat down beside his son and put his hand on Lucas' arm. "Yeah, she's fine. Lucas I have something to tell you and it is important. I just got a call from Bill and your father called him and asked that he tell me so I could tell you."
Lucas sat staring at his dad through a sleep-filled mind, trying to grasp what his dad was saying to him. "What did my father want?"
Nathan sighed before continuing. "He said that your grandmother Samantha died earlier this morning."
He sat in silence for minute, waiting patiently for the onslaught of tears and emotions he thought would come but instead Lucas just sat staring at him not saying anything. After a few moments he heard him say, "When's the funeral? I should be there."
Nathan reached out and grasped Lucas' shoulder before continuing. "Bill said there wasn't going to be a funeral. Your father would have her buried before we could even dock the boat. I'm so sorry Lucas."
Lucas nodded and just lowered his head. "It's all right dad, really. Thanks for telling me, I know you didn't want to. I guess I had better try to go back to sleep so I can be halfway coherent when you leave today." He started to slide back down in bed.
Nathan rose but didn't leave. He waited until Lucas was back covered up and somewhat settled and then he knelt down. "Lucas, do you want to talk about it? I know how much your grandmother meant to you and how much it is going to hurt to. Please don't hide your feelings from me. I want to help."
"I appreciate it dad, really. I'm fine though. Grandma was very special to me but she was old and dieing is a part of living right. Now if you don't mind I am going back to sleep." With that said he rolled back over with his back to his dad.
Bridger nodded to himself and rose. He was halfway to the door before turning back to his son. "Your mom is coming home today. She should be here before I leave for the conference."
Lucas turned over and faced his dad. "Why? I thought she wasn't due home until day after tomorrow."
He nodded, "She wasn't but I called and told her about your grandmother and she wanted to be here, especially since I wasn't going to be. She ought to get here around noon."
Lucas nodded and began to turn back over when he felt that the Cap was still watching him. He turned and spoke to Bridger. "Dad I appreciate that you want to help me but right now I just want to sleep. I promise to talk to mom sometime tomorrow. Okay?"
Nathan came over and lent down and kissed his son on the forehead. "Okay, Lucas. I just want to help and holding your feelings in isn't going to make them go away. It's okay that you loved her and that you're going to miss her."
Lucas nodded and let his dad ruffle his head before each headed back to bed.
*****************************
Bridger woke up at 0900 hundred hours and went to check on Lucas. He wasn't in his room and had left his PAL on the desk. Nathan became increasingly concerned as he showered and dressed. Maybe he went down to talk to Darwin so he headed for moon pool and sure enough there he lay with his hand in the pool. Bridger wasn't sure if he was asleep or not so he approached him cautiously. Once getting a little bit closer he saw that he was asleep. Kneeling down he shook Lucas.
"Lucas, you have to get up and go to bed."
He never opened his eyes but said, "There's something wrong in that Cap. I mean you are making me wake up so I can go to sleep."
Nathan laughed, "Well if you don't get up and go to bed your mom is going to find you and then we are both going to be in trouble. As it stands now you'll hear about it after I leave thank goodness. How long have you been here?"
Lucas opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them while rising to stand next to his dad. "Since about 0500 hundred. I came down to visit Darwin since I couldn't sleep and I guess I was more tired than I thought. You know what the odd thing is though?"
"What is that?" Nathan asked while helping to direct his son back to his quarters.
"Even though I have slept I am still tired. I feel like I could sleep all day."
They arrived at their quarters and Nathan said, "Why don't we go grab some breakfast and then you can take the day off and go get some more sack time?"
"Breakfast sounds good dad but I promised to help Crocker finish that new security program we're writing today and then I promised Darwin I would come and play with him some plus you're leaving and mom comes back today." Lucas stated while heading for the bathroom to get cleaned up.
Bridger nodded but said, "Okay, but you know that your mom is going to want to talk about your grandmother when she gets here. You're sure that you don't want to talk to me."
Lucas came out of the bathroom, "Thanks Cap, really. I think I am fine. Death is just a part of dieing and there is nothing I can do about it. Now how about breakfast so I can get to work and you can get ready to go?"
Nodding he rose and headed for the mess with his son. It's obvious he won't talk to me I just hope he will tell Kris what is bothering him he thought.
2 hours and 15 minutes later he got word that Kris's launch was approaching the bay. He went down to meet her and asked Lucas to go but he said he couldn't get away. Nathan had just nodded and headed for the bay. He knew that his grandmother's death was beginning to get to him as he had gotten word from Crocker that Lucas had lost his temper several times while working on the security program, which wasn't like Lucas. He thought of computer programs as unique challenges and he seemed like he enjoyed handling the situations that arose with them.
Kristin emerged from the shuttle just as Nathan entered the bay. He came up and wrapped his arms around her waist while giving her a kiss. "Hi babe, I'm glad you're back, at least for 45 minutes or so." He winked at her and picked up her bags as they headed for their quarters.
"It's good to be back. How's Lucas? Has he talked about it at all?"
Nathan nodded no and proceeded to tell her about finding him by the moon pool and his attitude with Crocker. "Honestly honey, I don't know what's going on with him. I have tried to approach him several times but he just insists he's fine. He told me he would talk to you but didn't seem all that excited when he found out you were coming back early."
Kristin nodded as she entered their quarters. "I'm not surprised Nathan. From what Lucas has told me his granny Sam was very important to him. She was the mother he didn't have. It's only natural for him to want to keep from feeling her loss, but if he doesn't it will only be worse for him and us in the long run. Did he sleep all night?"
Bridger put Kris's bags on the bed. "I don't think so. I left him about 0400 hundred this morning and he said he came down to the moon pool about 0500 hundred and I found him there at 0900. If he did sleep it wasn't for very long."
She just nodded as she began putting her things away. "Well I will try to get him to talk to me but if he doesn't want to I have to be careful. If he's not ready it would be more disastrous trying to force him. How long until you have to leave?"
"About 30 minutes. I have to go up to the bridge and will likely be up there until time to launch. I sure missed you though, baby." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck.
Kris smiled, "Careful Bridger. If you keep it up you might never get up to the bridge."
Lucas and Kristin stood in the launch bay exactly 30 minutes later and told Nathan good-bye and to have a safe trip. He nodded and kissed each of them and promised to call as soon as he could get away. They nodded and watched him enter the launch. After he left Lucas turned and headed back to the room before him mom could approach him.
He went back to the room and got started working on a new computer game he was designing and was grateful when he knew his mom hadn't followed him. He worked on the game for several hours but kept having to back door into the system in order to fix problems he missed. He was hunched over the system again when he heard his mom knock.
"Yeah mom. Come on in. It's open."
Kristin entered his room and watched him for several minutes before approaching and sitting down in the chair opposite him. She sat watching him, patiently waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he didn't she spoke. "Lucas, can I talk to you for a second?"
Lucas nodded without looking up. "Sure mom, but can it wait a second while I finish debugging this circuit?" He was trying to put her off and he had a feeling it wasn't going to work but a guy had to try right.
"I'm going to go pick us up some dinner at the mess and then we can talk over dinner." She got up to leave when Lucas called her name. She turned around to face him.
"Mom really thanks, but I'm not hungry. I'll eat later I promise. I just want to finish this first."
Kristin put her hands on her hips while fixing him with a glare. "If you don't want to talk that's fine but are going to eat. I know that you missed lunch and Nathan told me that you ate very sparingly at breakfast. Now do you want to go down to the mess and eat or eat here?"
Lucas dropped the tool he was using and went to his bed. He sat and drew his knees and hugged them. He lowered his head onto his arms and remained that way for a few moments before he felt his mom come over and sit next to him. She pulled him close to her and wrapped her arms protectively around him.
"Lucas, do you want to talk about it?" she asked cautiously.
He drew back away from here and slowly lifted his tear-stained eyes nodding in the affirmative. "I knew granny was sick mom, I had known for a while but before you and dad she was the only family I had that really cared about me."
With each word Kristin could see her son getting more and more emotional. Her heart ached for this exceptional young man. He has been tortured and kidnapped several times after being abused from an early age. He had watched the people he loved most in the world hurt and almost killed and now the only tie to his previous life that he didn't hate wasn't in the world anymore, I mean how much did God think this young man could stand?
Lucas was sobbing uncontrollably as he continued. "When my mom and dad would beat me she would rush over at my call and take me for days and promise that she was going to protect me but the courts always made me go back to them. I know granny feared getting that phone call when they would tell her I had died." He paused long enough to wipe his face with his sleeve and slid a little closer to his mom.
"There was even one time when she showed up for a visit and saw the end of one of my father's regular beatings. She immediately stepped in the middle and tried to shield me from his attack and all she got out of it was a broken wrist and several bruises. Once my dad had left granny despite all the pain and horror she saw made sure I was okay and rushed me to the hospital. She insisted that they take care of me before her, even though she was hurt worse than I was. Why mom? Why would she die? Why in the end couldn't I protect her?" He threw his head in his mom's lap.
Kristin was in tears as she tried to comfort her son and assure him that everything was going to be okay. She rocked and hugged him until he had calmed down enough to lean back against the bed. "Lucas, honey I don't know why she had to die. It was just her time. Maybe she knew that her job was done now that you had a loving family and friends to make sure no one hurt you again."
She retch up and placed her hand along his cheek. "You did the best thing in the world for her Lucas. You became the best person you could be and showed her you were better than the environment you were raised in. Both Nathan and I couldn't be more proud of you and we love you so much."
Kristin held her arms open and Lucas sank into her warm embrace. She rocked him until she though he was done crying. "Lucas you are exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Will you let me get you something to eat and something to help you sleep, please?"
Lucas looked up at her and slowly nodded but said, "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep mom?"
Kristin ruffled his hair. "Of course Lucas. Now why don't you get ready for bed and I'll go grab us some dinner and your medicine, okay?"
Lucas nodded and rose. He headed toward the bathroom but stopped and looked back at his mom. "Do you think on the next leave that the three of us could go visit granny's grave? I want to show her my new family and to say good-bye."
Kristin had tears forming in her eyes as she said, "Yes, son I think that will be perfect. I'll arrange it with your dad when he gets back."
Lucas smiled and headed toward the bathroom again. Kristin Westphalen rose and thought to herself how lucky she and Nathan were to have such a special person in their lives. He enriched them both greatly.
~FIN~