part fourteen
Tony was the first to speak. "You... you knew the codes?" Carefully controlled anger marked his words, giving them a hard edge. As soon as Thomas had ended the call with the Carlton, all of the faces on the bridge had turned towards Evans. "You freaking knew the codes and didn't say anything? You sat there while Lucas had a gun to his head and did nothing?!?"
"Tony--"
"You bastard!" This time the anger was not so carefully controlled. "You cold bastard! How could you?"
"Tony--"
"Just answer me this one thing. Would you have let him die? If we hadn't been fired on, would you have let that son of a bitch kill Lucas?"
"Look, Tony, I don't have the time to argue this with you right now. Help is on its way, and we need to get Lucas down to the launch bey. Are you going to help me or not?"
Tony kneeled down beside Lucas' body and looked Evans strait in the eye. "This isn't over, Evans. Not by a long shot."
Lucas woke slowly, floating for a while between reality and unconsciousness. It was warm there, and for the first time in a while there was no pain. Slowly, the mist surrounding his started to lighten to a slate gray, and in the distance he could hear the soft murmer of voices. He wanted to stay here, in this place between dreaming and waking, but he knew that his place was not meant for him.
Slowly, the mist thinned, and the voices grew louder. He thought he recognized one of them; the baritone timbre triggered something in the back of his mind of a time and place that he hadn't thought about in a long time.
He took a few deep breaths, noting that there was no pain in his chest when he did so, and tried to work through the fuzz that was his brain. A higher pitched, tenor voice spoke then in an encouraging tone that, despite his inability to process the words, comforted him and gave him the courage to open his eyes.
The light wasn't as bright as he had expected. After the initial glare, a few blinks made his eyes focus, and in a sudden rush, his brain began to comprehend the words that were being spoken to him.
"That's it, kiddo. Come back to us."
Lucas swallowed dryly before turning his head to come face to face with Nathan Bridger.
"Cap... captain..."
"Shh, kiddo. Don't try to speak. Do you want some water?"
He nodded sleepily, not having the energy to try verbal communication again. Bridger smiled warmly before brushing an unruly lock of hair out of Lucas' eyes and getting up.
Lucas started to close his eyes before a quiet shuffle from the other side of his bed revealed another presence in the room. His mouth fell open in shock as he turned his eyes and they focused on the face before him.
"D-dad?"
Lawrence Wolenczak quietly closed the door to his son's hospital room and turned to face Bridger's unreadable expression.
"He was pretty shocked."
"An understandable reaction."
Lawrence sighed and twisted his jacket in his hands as he walked down the hallway. "I know that you don't like me much, Nathan. You never have. And I know that I haven't done much to improve that impression these past few months."
"I don't think that it's my impression of you that you need to be worrying about," Nathan commented as the pair sat in the warn hospital chairs.
They were silent for a while, until Lawrence spoke. "The doctor said that he'll be okay, right?"
"Yes," Nathan replied, the relief evident in his voice. "Although it was touch-and-go there for a while." He paused for a moment, considering his words before deciding to go on. "You know, Lawrence, Lucas has spent the past several months in a kind-of... limbo. He hasn't had contact with anyone he knew before we... disappeared. It's been hard for all of us to take that step. Just imagine waking up in a world that you hardly recognize; one that is the same world that you went to sleep in, but the people are all different. Everyone he knew has lived ten years of their lives that he hasn't. Even more than that; you and everyone else who knew him mourned him. You all said goodbye and moved on with your lives. Was he supposed to just waltz back home and be completely accepted? Especially considering the circumstances? He didn't try to contact you, and for all he knew you didn't try to contact him. How do you think that made him feel?" Not that it wasn't out of character for you, Nathan added silently.
"I know that it was hard for him, Nathan, but it was the only way. If he knew what I've become... no; it's better this way. I think maybe I'll just leave before he wakes up long enough to remember that I was here."
Bridger shook his head as Lawrence moved to stand up. "I don't think that's a good idea, Lawrence."
"No, Nathan, it's the best thing I could do for him right now. I don't know why I came here in the first place. It's just... all of this has been very hard for me. After I was told that the seaQuest crew had been found, I wanted to contact him. More than that; I wanted to hug him, and play baseball with him, and do all of those fatherly things that I missed out on when I had the chance. But I lost the courage, and when time passed and he never contacted me I knew that he didn't want to reach me. So I got in touch with my contacts and called regularly to make sure he was okay. That's enough for me, and I know that it's all that he wants."
"How do you know that for sure if you haven't talked to him?"
"I just know, okay? It's not like I was father of the year before he disappeared; it won't do any harm if I just stay away." He stood up, shaking the wrinkles out of his jacket.
Nathan Bridger prided himself on the fact that he could keep cool under pressure; in fact, the UEO had counted on it several times in his career when he had negotiated talks with other confederations. There were, however, certain things that could get him so worked up that all of his famed self-control flew out the window; that short list was topped by a certain father of a certain blond-headed boy, who was currently sleeping in a hospital room a few feet down the hallway.
That control was no where to be found at the moment.
"What the hell is your problem, Wolenczak?"
Lawrence stilled his movements, stunned that retired UEO captain Nathan Bridger, who moments ago had been sitting calmly in a hospital chair, was now standing nose-to-nose with him, his face a mask of anger. "Umn, Nathan?"
"For a genius, you are positively one of the dumbest men I have ever met! And believe me, I have met my share of dumb! You are not seriously going to walk out that door?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Take your head out of your ass, for starters! You claim you want what's best for your son, yet here you are, leaving as soon as it gets hard! But then again, that's your MO, isn't it, Wolenczak? Promise your son a few moments of your time next week, next month, next decade, but as soon as that time comes there's never any time in your busy schedule for your son!" Nathan had been creeping forward during his tirade, and had now had the object of his anger backed up against the wall. "Well, it's time to show up or shut up, Dr.." He accentuated his words by shoving Lawrence against the wall, leaving his hands on the Dr.'s lapels. "What's it going to be? Your son is lying in a hospital bed recovering from near-death at the hands of an ex-girlfriend turned terrorist and you're running away because you don't want him to know how you've squandered every penny you ever earned and have become the laughing stock of your profession! Well, I'm sick of being party to your crimes against Lucas, Wolenczak. If you want to walk out that door right now, then fine, walk. It won't surprise anyone. But know this-- you walk now and so help me God I'll make sure that you can never walk back into his life again! Do you understand me?"
Lawrence nodded frantically, at least as frantically as he could with an ex-UEO captain holding him up against the wall.
Bridger took a deep breath before releasing his captive.
"Now, I'm going back to Lucas' room. You do whatever you want to do. I'm through with you." After a quick glare, Nathan started down the hallway. He only got a few feet before he heard Lawrence's quiet voice.
"I always loved him, Nathan. I still do."
Bridger paused. "Does he know that?"
The next time Lucas woke, he had a flash of panic before he remembered where he was. The pain was still gone, which he definitely liked, but the painkillers responsible for the miracle left him feeling groggy. Even so, his muddy mind still registered the form of the man sitting next to his bed.
"Hey, kiddo. It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"
Lucas licked his dry lips before answering in a hoarse voice. "I'll let you know when my brain starts working again."
Bridger smiled, brushing Lucas' unruly hair out of his face. Maybe it was just an effect of the drugs in his system, but Lucas felt like a lifeline had been thrown to him with that one simple act. He hadn't had physical human contact in a long time...
"I had the strangest dreams, Captain..." He closed his eyes, sighing. "I dreamt that my father was here."
Bridger sucked in a breath. He had been hoping that Lucas had been too drugged to remember that particular event. He paused, waging the pros and cons about telling him the truth-- that his father had been there, had in fact been calling Hudson every month to check up on him, but as soon as he had come face to face with his son he ran away. Again.
"You would have thought I would have grown out of those fantasies long ago."
The hurt in his eyes convinced Bridger to spill it all.
"Lucas, your dream was--"
"Was no dream, son."
Shocked, Lucas looked up from contemplating the IV in his hand to stare open mouthed at the figure of his father standing in the doorway.
"Nathan, if you don't mind..." Lawrence motioned with his head, his intent clear, but Bridger paused, silently asking Lucas for permission.
"Go ahead, Captain."
Nathan patted his arm as he got up, sending Lawrence a look that clearly said-- you hurt him, you die-- before walking out, leaving Lawrence Wolenczak alone with his son for the first time in twelve years.
Lawrence moved from the entryway to sit beside his son's hospital bed, trying to fill the awkward silence with anything that he could. He fidgited with his hands while Lucas stared, over his initial shock at seeing his father again and now wanting to intimidate the one person who intimidated him for most of his young life.
"So, the doctor says you're going to be all right." Lawrence looked up into his son's face, trying to gauge his reaction to his presence. Lucas' face was completely void of any emotion. He just stared unblinkingly into his father's eyes. Lawrence decided to leave all pretense of small talk and jump in with both feet.
"Lucas, I'm sorry. I know that you've been having a hard time lately, and my... absence hasn't made it any easier. It's just that... when your mother died, I felt as if everything from that part of my life was gone. I just... I wanted to put all of that pain behind me. I'm sorry."
"Do you really expect to say that you're sorry and everything will be forgiven? I've been back and onboard the seaQuest now for six months! It wasn't like I was hard to find."
Lawrence's quick temper flared at his son's apparent disregard for his frankness. "It's not like you tried to get in touch with me, either."
"You're my father! For God's sake, if there was one time in my life that I needed you the most, it's now! Do you understand what happened to me? I went to sleep one night in 2022 and woke up ten years later! I don't remember half of what happened to us, and what I do remember comes back in flashes. It... it wasn't pretty, Dad. I lost friends. And then to suddenly be thrown into an entirely new world in which all the rules have changed... it would have been nice to have one thing I remembered be the same. But wait-- you were never around when I was growing up; I guess things with you were the same."
"Lucas, will you listen for once in your life?" Lawrence sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes. This was definitely not going the way he had imagined it. "Look, I... in the ten years you were gone, a lot of things happened, and... well, the truth is I lost all of my money. I mean all of it. After Cynthia died, I went a little... well, nuts, and immersed myself in any project I could find. I'm a joke, Lucas; a broke, old, joke. I just didn't want you to see me this way."
"Dad... I'm sorry, but I don't care about your money. I don't even care about the damned Wolenczak name. I guess I wanted a tearful reunion full of hugs and everything you'd expect in a sappy holo-vid. I watched the other crew reunite and... I wanted a fantasy. I shouldn't have expected so much. I--"
The rest of Lucas' sentence was muffled as he was crushed against his father's chest, arms encircling his still weak frame. He was stunned for a moment; his father had never been an affectionate man. In fact, Lucas could only think of a few times in his life in which he had been hugged this way. Slowly, as if moving too fast would break whatever spell Lawrence was under, he wrapped his arms around his father and hugged him back.
They stayed like that for a long time. When they finally broke apart, both of their faces were wet with tears. Lawrence cupped his son's face in his palms as he spoke.
"Lucas, don't you ever think that I didn't miss you, or that I forgot about you while you were gone. I poured money into the search effort, and once they stopped searching officially, I privately funded a group to continue. I missed you every day that you were gone, and I prayed to God that someday I would be able to fix the mistakes I have made with you. That start's now." With his thumb, he wiped the tears from under Lucas' eyes. "I love you, son. I have always loved you."
Lucas closed his eyes and sighed, finally feeling at peace. "I love you to, Dad."