A warning: this has been sitting around for ages but it's not finished. I hope to complete it but with the coming holidays, it may be slow going. Apologies in advance.

Vacation of a Lifetime



Lucas stared at the tickets and the itinerary in his hand. "Captain... I'm... I can't accept this!" He lifted his face to look at Bridger's amused expression. "It's too much!" the teen protested.

"C'mon, kiddo. It's a present; accept it gracefully. We'll have lots of fun. Unless.... perhaps Kristin and I will cramp your style?" Bridger chuckled, happy with himself, excited about the trip and the fact that he had managed to surprise the teen.



Lucas smiled slyly at the older man. "I'll have to get a style first... maybe I should borrow Ben's?" he asked innocently

The captain's pained groan caused the teenager's face to split into a huge grin. The captain conceded; the kid had won that round.

"The launch leaves in an hour. Are you going to pack, or are you going to wear those same clothes for the next two weeks?" Nathan asked, shaking his head and wondering what he was getting himself into.

Lucas stared at the captain in surprise, then glanced at the itinerary details. It was true, there was just over an hour left for him to get his stuff together and get down to the launch. "How long have you had this organized?" he asked, suddenly suspicious that the captain had been holding out on him.

"A while," the captain nodded with delight, confirming the boy's theory.

Lucas prepared himself to argue with the captain about the short notice, but was forestalled by the captain's not-too-subtle tapping of his watch. Lucas realized with a frown that he was going to have to delay his discussion, if he was going to make it to the launch. Then the realization struck that he would have plenty of time over the next 14 days to get his point across. "I'll be right back," he said flashing the captain a cagey grin.

****

Lucas ran through the airplane door, throwing their boarding passes at the stewardess as Nathan followed close behind. "Hurry!" The Captain called back down as Kristin sprinted into view, pocketbook bumping against her hip. The Doctor flung herself onto the plane as the stewardess pulled the heavy door shut behind them.

"Find your seats, quickly. We're about to start take off prep," the steward informed them some what nastily, as he exchanged looks with the blond flight attendant. There's always one or two troublemakers each flight, he thought silently to himself.

Hurrying down the aisle, Lucas started to protest when Kristin moved in to take the window seat but one glare from the Doctor was enough to keep him quiet. He sat down in the middle seat and busied himself with his seatbelt.

Nathan tossed their carry on luggage in the open compartment and sat down breathlessly. "See, I told you we'd make it in time." He gave them an innocent smile while the others just stared at him.

The next couple of minutes were spent arranging their seat belts, and looking through the literature in front of them. Lucas glanced at the emergency guide and then stuffed it back into the pocket. As the flight attendant started her safety spiel, the teen whispered to the Captain, "Why an Alaskan cruise?"

"What do you mean?" The older man looked somewhat confused.

"All the time we spend on a boat under the water, I would think that you'd want to get as far as the ocean as you could," Lucas explained.

Nathan shrugged. "I don't know. Can't help myself, I guess. It'll be nice to spend time on top of the water, in the sun, see a few sunsets. I don't like to be cold, so skiing is out." At that, he dropped his head back against the seat, closing his eyes. "Carol and I always talked about taking a long cruise to somewhere exotic, but we never... " His voice trailed off. " It'll be nice to be pampered for awhile, not have to worry about the boat, not having responsibilities," he finished.

"It hasn't been a very auspicious beginning," Kristin stated firmly. "I hope things get better!"

The drink cart suddenly appeared, as it slammed Nathan in the elbow, and a dark haired stewardess with a plastic smile, said "What can I get you?"

Nathan wore a scowl as he rubbed his damaged elbow while Kristin ordered a hot tea and Lucas asked for a Coke. "Gin and tonic," the Captain growled, and shrugged when Kristin and Lucas gave him a strange look. "Hey, I'm on vacation!" he exclaimed.

Lucas pulled the folded itinerary out of his pocket and opened it, studying it like it was the insides of the vocorder. "Wow - I've never been to Alaska! This is going to be great."

Opening up his briefcase, Nathan pulled out a glossy, colorful brochure from Princess Cruises. "Here's some information about the ports where we'll be stopping. There some places in Canada too. I booked some excursions but we can always cancel them if you don't want to do them."

Lucas paged through the book, reading the ports out loud. "Vancouver, Juneau, Skagway... a glacier! Maybe we'll see some polar bears!"

Reaching over to page through the book, Nathan pointed out several things. "I thought we could do the wildlife cruise in Juneau, scuba diving in Ketchikan, and the Yukon railroad in Skagway."

Smiling fondly at the two bowed heads buried together in the cruise book, Kristin murmured to herself, "What ever happened to sitting around the pool and relaxing?"

*****

The taxi stopped at the port and the driver helped Nathan dragged their bags out of the trunk while Lucas and Kristin stood staring wide eyed at the huge ship waiting for them.

"Mmm, could I get some help here?" Nathan asked plaintively.

Lucas and Kristin turned to find the Captain weighed down with several pieces of luggage while other bags sat surrounding his feet.

Letting out a short laugh, Kristin flagged down a porter who loaded up their luggage. As they followed the porter into the cruise terminal, Lucas ran ahead, exploring and then met them at the check in counter.

As Nathan presented their cruise papers to the cruise employee, Lucas wiggled impatiently until Kristin placed a light hand on his shoulder. They were asked for IDs and Lucas and Nathan pulled out their wallets while Kristin rummaged through her purse.

The woman behind the counter studied the IDs, glancing up once or twice, and then turned to her computer, typing on the keyboard. "And which one of you is the parent of this young man?"

Kristin and Nathan exchanged glances and Nathan put his briefcase on the counter, unzipping it. "Neither of us are but I have..."

The woman stood up, pushing their cruise documents back across the counter to them. "We cannot allow any unaccompanied minors onto the boat. There are legal issues to consider, " she informed them in a nasty tone.

Lucas stood there awkwardly, head down, as he twisted his foot nervously into the carpeting. Great, the vacation of a lifetime and it's ending before I step on the ship, he thought. My parents manage to screw it up and they're not even here!

Using his best command 'look', Nathan said in an icy voice, "If you would give me a chance, ma'am, I have signed papers from the boy's father giving me all parental rights."

Grabbing the papers back, the employee quickly stamp them. "So you are the boy's guardian. You should have just said so in the first place." Handing them plastic cards and two packet of papers, she went on in a bored, sing song voice, "Here are your room keys. You can also use them to charge your shipboard purchases. When you board, there will be people to help you find your cabins. Buffet lunch is on deck ten. We depart at 5pm. Have a good trip." With that, she turned to another couple, who pushed forward, elbowing the SQ group out of the way.

Kristin gave the men a warm smile and put her hands on each hip. Getting the hint, Lucas and Nathan hooked arms with her on either side and they walked silently up the plank to the ship.



****

The cabin steward opened the door, Lucas walked in, stopped abruptly, in awe of the cabin that would be their home for the next two weeks.

Bridger lightly shoved him to get him out of the way and proceeded into the suite, dropping his carry on bag by the couch. There was a knock at the adjoining door and Nathan opened it to find Kristin standing on the other side.

"Enough room for you boys?" She inquired humorously.

The cabin was a two room suite, a bedroom and a living room with a convertible couch. Tastefully decorated in warm earthy tones, the room was spacious with a sliding door leading to a veranada. Kristin was in a mini suite next door.

"Captain, this room must have cost you.... more than I can ask you to spend on me!" Lucas gave the Captain a worried look.

Wrapping an arm around the boy, Bridger explained somewhat sheepishly, "Actually, this is all Kristin's doing. When I mentioned going on a cruise, she called a friend from Med School who's married to a major stockbroker of this line. The cabin I paid for is somewhere down on Deck one and is the size of a shoe box. So thank Kristin for this suite. "

Lucas was still feeling like a stowaway. "I have some money put away and I'll be glad to contribute my share."

Placing his hand on the teen's cheek, Bridger looked him in the eyes and stated firmly, "This is my gift to you. I want to do this for you."

Kristin, who was checking the contents of the mini bar, turned and said, "So say thank you gracefully and be quiet."

Looking back and forth between the two of them for a minute, the teen's face lit up with happiness. "Thank you, Captain, Kristin. This is going to be a great vacation!"

******