THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PRESENT

by J7339

In the process of being rewritten with more complicated content and hopefully a better story. New version will be uploaded as soon as I can with many additions and some changes (January 2020). A Christmas story for SeaQuest.

1. Default Chapter

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Authors Notes: I know absolutely squat about the snow, skiing or anything like that. Most of what I have written is totally made up or from what I have seen on TV and the movies. My Christmas day will be about 46 Celsius so I will be spending most of it in my swimming pool with a beer in hand.

You will just have to bear with me and believe some of the little things I have put into the story such as the poor state of Lucas's wardrobe. Besides, I never saw him any more than three or four outfits the whole time the show was running anyway.

Thank you to Chance who kindly helped out a little with the geography between Pearl Harbour and Aspen Colorado.

and now the story..........

Captain Nathan Bridger was in his quarters trying to figure out what he was going to get Kristen and Lucas for Christmas. As usual he had left everything until five days to go when the shops were just so crowded and the lines seemed endless. He swore that the reason most shopping centres were open until midnight on the last week before December 25 was because that's how long would be waiting in some of the queues.

Kristen was the easiest to buy for. Something luxurious like jewellery or a bottle of a very fine perfume. But Lucas was just that bit harder to buy for. Sure there was computer equipment and miles of software that he had been hinting at for months now, but somehow that just didn't seem to cut it this year. This year Bridger wanted to get the teenager something different. Something that he would remember until the next Christmas.

Bridger's train of thought was interrupted by a knock at his door. At first he suspected it would be Lucas, snooping around or trying to give a hint as to want he would like. He was mildly surprised though when he said "Open" and Lieutenant Ben Krieg stuck his dark head around the door.

"Hello Sir" Ben said, looking around the room to make sure that nobody else was in the room. To be more precise he wanted to make sure that Lucas wasn't anywhere nearby or likely to walk in during the next ten minutes or so while he talked to Bridger.

"Hi Ben, come on in, something troubling you?" Bridger asked casually but trying to gauge the younger man's mood. It wasn't very often that Krieg came up to the door to his quarters just for a chit chat. There had to be something more to his visit.

"Have you got a few minutes to talk Sir?" Krieg now said, checking the corridor for a second to make sure that no one was coming. He then entered Bridger's quarters and closed the door behind him. He even went to the trouble of locking the door for a few seconds. Still paranoid about Lucas walking in on their conversation.

"Sure what's on your mind?" Bridger now asked, frowning a little at Krieg locking his door and thinking the whole thing was a little unorthodox. He waited for Ben to explain himself before he started saying anything.

"It's about Lucas sir...." Ben started to say. "Well it's kinda coming up to the holidays and the festive season and I just thought that we could...." he then continued and paused again.

"What about Lucas? He has been hinting at what he wants for Christmas since about July" Bridger now said jokingly.

"That's just it Sir, I don't think Lucas has much sense of what the Christmas spirit is all about. I mean his parents never had any sort of celebration with him from what he tells us. A few of us were talking a day or two ago about what we were doing with our families. At first the kid sounded real excited, talking about the decorations and shopping for presents and that. But when he started talking about spending time with family and being there for each other, well that when he started to feel a little left out I think." Ben now explained, recalling the group discussion that had taken place in the mess hall.

"I see your point Lieutenant, but what's your suggestion to fix the problem?" Bridger now asked, knowing that Ben wouldn't have come forward with the information if he didn't have a solution in mind.

"Well, I would really like to go all out for the kid this year Sir. You know, party, cake, decorations, a Christmas tree with all the trimming, food, presents, a snowman, Santa Claus and his elves, the works. He deserves to have the best that kid. He gives so much to others I thought it was time that we gave him something back in return." Ben now said revealing just how much he adored Lucas.

"A snowman huh? In Pearl Harbour?" Bridger said with a chuckle as he tried to think how long a snowman would last in the tropical weather outside. "You know I think your right though Lieutenant. I have been sitting here for an hour now trying to rack my brains about what to do for Lucas for Christmas. I think you may have just hit the nail right on the head and given me an idea."

"Really?" Ben asked with hopefulness. He knew if he had the support of the Captain that whatever they planned for Lucas would be terrific. "How about you leave it with me for a few hours and I will come up with something."

"Thanks sir, I appreciate your help with this. I just want to do something special" Ben now said as he unlocked the door. "It's Christmas Sir" Ben said on his way out knowing that the Captain knew what he meant.

Bridger smiled after the Lieutenant had left. No matter how slack he may become occasionally when performing his regular duties or how unorthodox his methods, Ben's heart was certainly in the right place when it came to Lucas.

Bridger now made an outgoing video-link call to Admiral Bill Noyce, to help out with the surprise.

"So you see Bill I need you to pull a few strings for me and get a few days off for some of my crew. I am going to talk to Lucas in a minute and see what other plans he has for the holidays just in case, but I don't think he would have planned anything and I know the Wolenczak's won't even give him a thought." the Captain said to his old navy friend.

"Hmmm, you said you want somewhere with snow Nathan" Bill now asked, quite shocked that Bridger was suggesting to take some of his crew on holiday. Bridger had already told Bill that he would be footing the bill for it. "The leave won't be a problem. All of you have had a long tour anyway and deserve some time off. Give me a few hours to work out the other part and I will get back to you by this afternoon."

No matter where they finally decided to go, that many people going on holiday all at once anywhere would cost a small fortune. But Bridger assured Noyce that he not only had the cash ready but was more than willing to spend what was necessary and a bit more just for Lucas's sake. It never ceased to amaze Noyce to what ends Nathan was prepared to go for that boy.

"Thanks Bill" Nathan said and terminated the link. Time now to go and just make sure that Lucas didn't have any plans of his own for the holidays that nobody knew about.

At first Bridger walked onto the Bridge, thinking that the teenager might be helping out there. He couldn't see him anywhere though and Commander Ford confirmed that he hadn't seen Lucas all morning when the Captain asked about him.

Next Bridger tried Lucas's quarters. He could hear something playing on the computer screen inside but couldn't quite pick whether it was a computer game or not. It really sounded like Lucas was talking to somebody. Bridger politely knocked on the door, respecting the boy's privacy. He knocked a second time even, but Lucas didn't seem to hear. Bridger threw caution to the wind and gently opened the door.

Lucas's attention was somewhere else when Bridger was knocking on the door. He had just received a video message from his father. He had just finished rewinding and fast forwarding the message over and over again, until the words that his father spoke were echoing in his head. He pressed the pause button to freeze it were it hurt the most. He turned around in haste as he heard the door to his quarters open. He hadn't heard anybody knock and when he saw the Captain, he quickly used his sleeve to wipe away the tears in an effort to hide them.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bridger now said in a soft voice as he sat on a chair opposite the teenager. He had seen the startled reaction when the teenager turned around and felt a little guilty about his unannounced appearance. But tears running down Lucas's face was the last thing he expected him to see. He now looked towards the paused screen in front of him and saw that Lucas's father Lawrence was in the middle of saying something.

Lucas didn't say anything, he pressed the pause button to unfreeze the frame and let the tape keep running so that the Captain could hear the words he had heard a thousand times by now:

"Sorry I can't be there for the Christmas Holidays son. There has just been so much come up at work lately that I cannot afford to let anything else distract me at the moment. But I hear that you are doing fine. I promise to make it up to you. I'll e-mail you again before Xmas day if I can son."

Lucas pressed the pause button again and then looked directly at Bridger "That was supposed to be my Christmas present" he said fighting to hold back the tears again. They were both from the sadness of being left alone yet again and from the frustration that he felt because he thought he would be over such things now. The same excuses had been given every year, the same emotionless messages had been sent. He thought he would be able to handle it now. But somehow the pain never entirely went away.

Bridger opened his mouth to say something but then promptly shut it again. He was going to say that the teenager should just ignore it and it would all go away, but looking at the sullen and tear-stained face before him, he couldn't even believe those words.

"Don't I matter anymore?" Lucas said bitterly but then remembered that he couldn't think of a time when he had ever mattered to his parents.

"You matter to me" Bridger now said, gently putting his hands on the boy's shoulders so he had his full attention. "You can't imagine how much you mean to me. To everybody else on this boat. I don't know what to say about your parents. It burns me up inside to hear them say that you don't come first in their lives. But you definitely mean something to me kiddo" he repeated with emphasis.

"Thanks Captain, I don't know why I let them keep getting to me like that" Lucas now said, voicing his earlier silence thought. "I mean Christmas is a time to spend together isn't it?"

"You leave all that to me Lucas" Bridger now said with determination. He was going to take Ben's suggestion and go all out this year for Lucas. "If you trust me I promise to make this the best damn Christmas you ever had. Get the senior crew together in about half an hour and I will bring Kristen. We are going to celebrate the holidays in style Lucas." he said triumphantly, giving the teenager a brief embrace before leaving the room to see what Noyce had managed to come up with.

Half and hour later Lucas had managed to tell Commander Ford, Miguel Ortiz, Tim O'Neill and Katie Hitchcock that the Captain was having a meeting in the Ward Room. All were curious to know what the meeting was about but Lucas decided it was best for Bridger to explain the idea he had.

Lucas had no idea of the grand scale of the idea that Ben and the Captain were organizing. He thought that there was possibly going to be a party aboard the ship.

The five of them had already assembled in the Ward room as asked and were now idling chatting about what the Captain's idea for the holidays might be. As is on cue, Bridger, Kristen and Ben now walked into the room with the biggest smiles on their faces.

Katie couldn't help but be a little suspicious about Ben's involvement in all of this. She had been married to the guy after all and the smile he had plastered all over his face right now was the one that said he was pretty impressed with himself. Of course it wasn't often that Ben wasn't impressed or pleased with himself over something.

Bridger now sat down beside Lucas, making the meeting more into an informal discussion. He put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, still able to see a little sadness in his eyes.

"What's this great idea Lucas says you have about the Christmas holiday's Captain?" Ortiz now asked on behalf of everybody else in the room.

Bridger could see Ben just about bursting at the seams beside him to let the cat out of the bag. "I talked to Admiral Noyce this morning and I have arranged it so that everybody here in this room now has a ten day paid vacation." he then said, waiting for it to sink in until he explained fully what was going on.

"Fully paid, all of us?" Tim O'Neill now said in surprise. You could literally see the numbers ticking over in his head as he tried to work how much that amounted to in monetary terms.

"You mean the U.E.O. is going to pay us to go on holidays for ten days Captain?" Ford now spoke up, carrying the same amount of dubiousness as O'Neill at first. It was the first time he had ever heard such a thing happening in all the time he had been in the navy.

"No Commander, unfortunately they are not that generous. They are giving you all the ten days off. I am the one paying for the vacation." he now said and knew what was about to happen.

"Captain Sir you can't do that" Ortiz now said "We can't allow you to pay for all of us to go away on holidays for that long. It's way to much money for you to spend."

"You just leave the money side of things to me Mr Ortiz. I am paying for this vacation and that's final. You are all going whether you like it or not and you are all going to enjoy yourselves, understood?" he said in mock sternness.

Lucas was the only one in the room not saying anything. Kristen had been told about the Captain's plans along with Ben and both of them had been overwhelmed that Bridger intended to pay for the lot of them to go away.

When he explained how he had found Lucas in his room with the message from his dad, both of them had almost lost control about how Lucas's parents treated him. When the Captain then said that he wanted to see to it that Lucas had the best Christmas ever, Kristen and Ben no longer had any qualms about the idea and actively worked together to make the dream a reality.

"You really want to do this for us....I mean for me too Captain?" Lucas now said in a quiet voice, scarcely believing that this was happening to him.

"Yes of course for you silly. This is mostly for you. My Christmas present to the rest of you" Bridger said looking up and smiling at the rest of the crew around the room "But especially for you" he said now looking back at Lucas. "I know I can't make up for all of the Christmases you missed Lucas, but I want to open your eyes to the world of sharing and giving at this time of the year. When only family and friends should matter and all else is left behind."

"We don't know what to say Captain" Ford said honestly as they were all dumb-struck by the magnitude of the man's generosity. "I don't think any of us could come up with the words to thank you. Can you tell us where we are going?"

"Sure Commander. It was Mr Krieg's idea actually since Lucas hasn't seen snow before" Bridger now said. He looked towards the teenager who still had a look of unbelievable on his face. He nodded his head at the comment about not having seen snow before. He had seen it on the movies and T.V. a lot but had never seen the real thing.

"We are all off to the cold snowy slopes of Aspen Colorado for five days or more of fun-filled adventure. There will be mountain trekking, skiing and snow boarding plus lots lots more" Bridger now said, revealing the holiday package that he had been able to put together.

"Wow" was the only word that escaped Katie's lips. "I have wanted to go to Aspen since I was a little girl. Ben and I even had plans to go there after we got married but it didn't happen for some reason" she said, smiling genuinely at her ex-husband as she remembered that once upon a time they had been happy, even if it was only for a short time. There was still no hiding that both deeply cared for each other.

"I've never lived anywhere cold enough for snow" Miguel now admitted, having spent the majority of his childhood in the southern half of America.

"I am sure we will all have a marvellous time" Kristen now said, trying to hide her own girlhood excitement about going to the snow. True she had seen snow before back in England, yearly too. But she had never spent a holiday in places where they skied for fun and recreation.

"But I don't even know how to ski Captain" Lucas now said a little embarrassed at his admittance.

"That's alright Lucas, you can have lessons when we get there. They specialise in things like that. The resort that I chose has specific classes for beginners in all snow activities right up to advanced course if people feel they are up to it." Bridger explained.

"I still don't know how to say thankyou" Lucas now said with a smile of gratitude.

"Just as long as you promise me you will have fun and enjoy yourself Lucas, that will be thanks enough" Bridger said in reply. He meant every word of it too. There was nothing more worthwhile than seeing the teenager happy for a change and actually having fun at something that wasn't forced upon him.

"I promise." Lucas now said. "When do we leave and how are we going to get there?" Lucas now asked, a little concerned suddenly that the Captain might be considering flying to this resort.

"Well firstly there is a flight from Honolulu Airport to Aspen. Sardy Field to be exact and then there is a four hour drive by car from the airstrip to the resort. The flight leaves tomorrow and takes a full twelve hours. We will have to spend a night in a hotel when we get to Sardy Field because the conditions will be getting to darker and the road will be slippery." Bridger now explained.

"If we get an early start the next morning we should be there by mid- morning. I have organized a short trek around the resort for the afternoon with one of the guides as kind of a tour. I rented two vehicles for when we arrive at the air-strip. I figured you, me, Ben and Kristen could go in one. You others can go with Commander Ford and company."

"You mean in the morning as in tomorrow morning?" Lucas now said not expecting the holiday to be starting so quickly. The other thing about the trip was the flight. He had never really been on any long distance flight before and he wasn't exactly sure how he would handle it. He didn't have the heart to open up his mouth and say anything to the Captain about his fear. He would just battle it out as best he could. Bridger had gone to a lot of trouble organizing this holiday and he felt as though he would be letting everybody else down if he tried to chance the plans now.

"Yes tomorrow morning unless you want to wait another couple of days to start this vacation." Bridger said with a grin. "Now go start packing a bag" he said

"But I don't even own any skiing gear." Lucas now stated matter-of-factly. He didn't think any of the crew would own such gear having spent the majority of their year on board an underwater submarine.

"That's okay, we can use the day after we get to the resort as a shopping day. We can get a tree and decorations and all the skiing gear we need for everybody. Aspen itself is about 12 miles from the resort so it's close enough to get everything. I don't own any gear either so we can go together." Bridger now said.

The excitement had just started to show on Lucas as he thought of what lay ahead over the next few days. He got up and gave a boyish smile to all in the room before hurrying off like a five year old out the door and hurrying down to his room.

The crew all looked on as the teenager scurried out the room. All of them couldn't help but notice how much his spirits seemed to have lifted in only a few minutes.

"Gee, I hope he stays this happy all the time we are away" Tim O'Neill now said out loud. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"We all have Ben to thank too because most of this was his idea" Bridger now said looking towards that man right now.

"After what that kid has been through Captain...." Ben now said as his happiness for Lucas seemed to cloud over as soon as he thought of the Wolenczak's. "I swear Captain....." he said knowing that he didn't really have any hateful words to say out loud.

Bridger could see the confused expression on the faces of the other crew members and now went into details about what he had seen in Lucas's quarters with Lawrence's message. The same things he had told Kristen and Ben a short time ago. It was no secret that Lucas's childhood had been less than a happy one but there always seemed to be another dark secret to the teenager that they all never knew about.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you all after Lucas left just now" Bridger now explained. He went into details with the remainder of the crew about how Lucas had never really experienced Christmas the way it should be. "I want you guys to help out with the celebrations as much as you can. Let go for a while and forget you are all in the military. I want you to be nothing else but Lucas's friends during this holiday. Money is not an issue here. I will spend whatever it takes to see that kid smiling every day of this trip."

"You got out support that's for sure Captain. Just tell us what and when you want us to do it and we will be there. I don't think you need to explain to us how much Lucas means to you. He means almost as much to us as well. We wouldn't have gotten half of the work done with the systems this year without his help. But there more to it than that with Lucas sir." Commander Ford started to say.

"Yeah your right Jonathan" Katie Hitchcock now said "It doesn't matter what is going on the boat on a given day or what he has planned. There hasn't been a day go by this year that Lucas hasn't asked if he was able to help out somewhere.

"He always puts his own needs aside for others" Miguel now admitted, noting how many times he had Lucas helping him out. "Maybe we are not much better in that department than his parents."

"And he never asks for anything in return either" Tim O'Neill said. "He never waits for somebody to say thanks or give him praise."

"So then, it's agreed" Bridger now said now pleased that everybody was so willing to help out to get Lucas having a little fun this Christmas. "We all give him the time of his life and have a great time too. Let's go and get organized then people."

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The next morning, everybody was up bright and early because most of them hadn't been able to sleep because of the excitement and anticipation.

Lucas had put his bag together last night as was now wearing a pair of dress shorts and a shirt for the plane. They all had been alerted to the fact that the trip would get colder as the day wore on and they got closer to the snowfields. Lucas only owned one tracksuit and one thin sweater. The sweater was a few years old now and had seen better days. It was a couple of sizes too small by now as well but Lucas put it in his bag anyway. It was all he had. He had a little money of his own to buy a new one when they got to the snow.

The trip by taxi to the Honolulu airport was a noisy one with chattering going on between all of the crew about what they were going to be doing once they go to the snow fields. Even Lucas was joining in with the excitement. He still had a smile on his face from when he first knock on the Captain's door this morning.

Kristen had whispered to Bridger how great he was doing this for the crew as well as Lucas. It had been some time since she had seen such a sparkle in the boy's eyes. Even his laughter was that of an excited little boy waiting for Santa Claus to come on Christmas Eve.

A few minutes to go before they boarded the plane. All of the luggage had been checked in and was already being loaded into the cargo bay of the jet. The crew were now all sitting outside the checking in gates waiting for their flight to be called for boarding.

It was about now that a uncertain feeling began to settle into the pit of Lucas's stomach. He was standing out looking through the large glass windows at the plane that would be taking them to Aspen. He could see lots of small people running around on the ground, doing the last minutes checks before the passengers were allowed to get on. He swallowed hard to stop the feeling of uneasiness from growing any more.

"Are you okay?" Kristen now asked as she walked over to the teenager. She had been observing him for the last ten minutes or so and had noticed a decided change in his mood after they had entered the airport terminal building. She could see Lucas's hands deep in the pockets of his shorts, trying to hide his apprehensiveness.

"Yeah I am fine" he said trying his best to convince her. The slight paleness of his face however told Kristen just how not fine Lucas was.

Kristen promised herself to keep a close eye on him once they boarded the plane. She whispered her concerns to Bridger as the crew started walking down the corridor to the plane itself. He nodded in acknowledgement of what she was saying. Neither of them had guessed that Lucas might find flying a little nerve-racking.

Once they all entered the plane, Lucas told Bridger and Kristen that he preferred an aisle seat. He knew that he didn't need to look out of the window and see how high up they were. So with three seats in each row, Kristen took the window seat, Bridger the middle one and Lucas the aisle seat.

The rest of the crew had settled themselves into their own seats and were beginning to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Bridger looked over at Lucas's stony faced expression as they waited for the plane's engines to start up. Lucas hands were holding onto the armrests so tightly they were almost white at the knuckles.

"Try and relax kiddo. It's going to be fun okay." Bridger now said as he tried to reassure the nervous young man.

"Sure" Lucas said in reply. If I could only get my stomach to stop doing somersaults he told himself.

Lucas's thought was suddenly drowned out by the sound of the engines roaring into life. They got louder and louder he found himself putting his hands over his ears to block out some of the vibration.

About twenty minutes later the plane had taken off and was now winging it's way towards the snow fields of Colorado. The take off hadn't been quite as bad as Lucas expected it to be.

The trip however was a long one for Lucas. Some of the other crew who were used to flying more regularly had managed to get some sleep during the journey. Even Kristen and the Captain and Kristen had managed to nod off about five or six hours into the flight. Lucas however just couldn't seem to get himself to relax enough to fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. His nerves were still too much on edge.

Lucas soon found he was the only one awake at the moment. And he was grateful for that because the nauseous feeling that he had started out with this morning was now coming back and becoming more noticeable. He was glad they hadn't served anything to eat yet because he just couldn't bear the sight of food at the moment. He had managed to drink about half a cup of water about an hour ago but even that wasn't sitting very easy in this insides at the moment.

Looking through Kristen's window he could see that the thin translucent clouds they had flown into shortly after take-off had now disappeared. Now all he could see was thick fluffy, dark grey clouds that made it impossible to see anymore than two metres or so past the wing. He assumed that this was his first look at snow clouds.

And with the increase in cloud and the decrease in temperature outside came another new experience for Lucas: turbulence. Although he could see it because of the clouds, there was a lot of wind blowing in and around the clouds at the moment. It was these forces that kept bringing the clouds together and making them bigger and more dense. The more oxygen that entered the air space the plane was flying in, soon small air pockets began to form. These air pockets started to make the plane jump about slightly and this did not help Lucas's nauseousness at all.

After half an hour of the bumpy ride was all he could stand. He sighed in relief that he had decided to take the aisle seat. That decision now made it easier for him to slip to the bathroom without being noticed. He closed the door he sat down inside the small cubicle and waited for the inevitable to happen.

Unfortunately for Lucas though, Bridger and Kristen had awoken from their lengthy nap before the teenager returned from the bathroom. Both of them looked at each other for a moment, their eyes asking where he had gotten to. By this time a few of the other crew members had also been gently awoken by the slight rocking motion of the plane.

Bridger looked up at the sound of someone walking along the corridor to see a very white and waxy faced Lucas rejoin them in his seat. It didn't take a genius to work out by looking at his complexion that Lucas had lost the contents of his stomach in the bathroom. All of them felt sorry for him as they gazed on his pitiful expression but thought the kid could be spared the embarrassment of making his sickness public to everybody.

"Are you okay?" Bridger now asked gently, knowing that it sounded like a stupid question to begin with.

"No, I want to get off this merry-go-round please" was the short reply he got as Lucas now lay back against the head rest of his seat and closed his eyes. They knew he wasn't asleep. Only trying to stop his stomach from protesting again at the turbulence they were still experiencing.

"Here Lucas" Kristen now said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small brownish looking tablet. "It's a ginger tablet. Very good for stopping motion sickness" she explained to him.

At first Lucas was a bit wary of taking it. Even though it was meant to help settle his stomach, he scarcely dared to put anything into his stomach at the moment. When he did swallow it, he did so without water to wash it down. The taste wasn't that unpleasant he told himself as he tasted the residual grains that were left behind on his tongue.

Lucas was surprised about fifteen minutes later when the nauseousness seemed to settle down considerably due to the ginger based remedy. The feeling wasn't totally gone, but it was a hell of a lot more bearable now that it had been a short while ago.

By the time the pilot's voice came over the loud speaker advising the passengers that they were about to land, the turbulence had even stopped. When the crew looked out the windows to the ground below, the only colour they could see was a white blanket of snow. It was very different from the ocean of water they were used to seeing but very beautiful all the same.

The crew quickly changed into some warmer clothes before they landed. They were told that the conditions were a lot cooler now than they had first been when they left Honolulu.

The crew walked off the plane feeling a little tired from such a long flight. Lucas however felt like his arms and legs would never work again. He was very tired to say the least and the vomiting he had done had taken a lot of energy out of him. He could barely keep his eyes open.

Bridger could see the slumped shoulder and the fatigue in the boy's eyes. It wasn't exactly the perfect start he had planned for their holiday, but hopefully after a good night's rest Lucas would be back to his normal good natured self.

The crew did whatever they could and offered to get all the luggage when it was ready while the Captain and Kristen hailed two taxi cabs to take them all to their motel for the night.

The change in temperature was definitely more noticeable as soon as the main doors to the terminal opened. Lucas and the others were grateful for the merger warmth that their clothes offered and were even more thankful for the heater inside the cabs themselves.

With the steady movement of the taxi-cab and the warmth coming from the heater inside the car, Lucas struggled even more to stay awake at the moment. With the little sleep he had gotten the night before and the sleep he hadn't gotten on board the plane, the tiredness was slowly catching up with him.

Bridger couldn't help but smile at the sleepy teenager as they travelled to the motel and didn't object at all when he felt Lucas's head rest against his shoulder.

Thankfully though Lucas hadn't been able to doze off into a very deep sleep before the cab pulled up outside their motel for the night. Bridger could already see the two rental vehicles parked outside, ready for their start to the snow field tomorrow.

With a gentle shake, Lucas was woken sufficiently to get him to walk under his own power. Kristen went and organized the check-in and collection of room keys whilst everyone else unloaded the luggage from the taxis.

"Come on junior, time for a nice long rest before we travel in the morning huh?" Bridger now said as he followed Lucas into the room Kristen had just unlocked.

"I'm just happy to have my feet on solid ground" Lucas replied. "I hope we don't have to fly again any time soon." he then asked, making it sound more like pleading than a statement.

The Captain had paid for the rental of two rooms: Kristen, Ben and Lucas would share with him whilst the rest of the crew shared the other room. Both were spacious enough inside and fully self contained. There was a small refrigerator inside as well as a microwave in case they didn't feel much like dining out anywhere.

"How about everybody store their luggage and I will make some nice hot chocolate and we can all meet in this room to have a nice quiet chat before dinner?" Kristen suggested.

The other crew members nodded their heads in agreement and went to throw their luggage into their room and refresh themselves a little after the long journey.

Lucas went a bit further than that in the other room and decided a nice long hot shower was what he needed to at least bring him back to life a little. He pulled off his track suit and folded it neatly and placed it on the bed, knowing that he had to take care of it until he could get to the shops and buy himself a second one.

Bridger relaxed on the couch in the room whilst Kristen went about making her world famous hot chocolate. Both looked up to see Lucas emerge from the bedroom with still damp hair clinging to his forehead.

Kristen frowned a little at the sight of the track suit that Lucas had worn earlier that day and the sweater that was now worn over the top of it. Although the room was comfortably heated at the moment, the clothes the teenager was wearing didn't look as though they would keep much cold out once they were outside in the open elements.

"Lucas is that the only sweater you own?" Kristen now asked, trying not to sound to alarmed at how low his wardrobe seemed to be. She couldn't help but notice that the sweater looked about two sizes too small as well.

"Yeah" Lucas admitted, not knowing how to avoid the question. "I haven't really had much need to buy warm clothes whilst living on SeaQuest" he said trying to use logic to avoid the topic as much as possible.

Bridger and Kristen exchanged worried glances at each other without Lucas seeing them and knew that what clothes the kid had would never last the entire trip and wouldn't keep out much of the cold either. The Captain went into his own bedroom and grabbed out one of his larger and spare sweaters. When he reached the living room again he tossed it at the teenager, engulfing the kid in an avalanche of polyester.

Lucas pulled the garment away from his face for a minute and then smiled sheepishly "Thanks" was all he could find the words to say. He pulled off his old one and replaced it with the luxurious one that Bridger had thrown at him. It was way to big but that suited Lucas just fine. He snuggled into the rolls of warmth and drank in the Captain's scent that lingered in the strands of wool from many years of use.

"Here you go, this will warm you up from the inside" Kristen now said as she passed a mug of hot chocolate to Lucas before the others arrived. Lucas took the cup and sipped at the delicious sweet liquid letting it drizzle down his throat.

Kristen handed one to Bridger and then got one for herself and the three of them sat drinking in silence for a few minutes.

"That's the best I have ever tasted Kristen" Lucas said as he smacked his lips to get the last of the taste that was left. "My stomach isn't even protesting at all now." he said easing their fears about whether he was still feeling sick from the plane flight.

Lucas now positioned himself lengthways on the couch with his feet up near the arm-rest. Bridger was seated at the other end. He had about a quarter of the space, Lucas about three- quarters.

When they had first arrived Lucas had been dead on his feet, but the long hot shower had rejuvenated him to a certain extent up until now. Now with the warmth from the sweater Bridger had given him, the effects of the hot chocolate in his stomach and the calming atmosphere he found himself in, it wasn't long before his eyelids began to droop again from tiredness.

Kristen was about to point out the sleepy teenager to Bridger when the boy's head fell softly against his shoulder as it had done in the cab. This time though the boy was fully asleep, still holding the empty mug.

"I think he has had a very tiring day" Kristen now said as she gently took the mug from Lucas's sleep limp hand. The teenager looked so peaceful and calm at the moment while he slept. As though he didn't have a care in the whole world.

When Kristen returned from putting the mugs in the kitchen, she held brought back a blanket and pillow from the bedroom. "How do you want to work this?" she asked, knowing that Bridger's arm would become numb after a while.

"You hold him upright for a moment and I will move." Bridger now said. Together they did just that and allowed the Captain to move out from underneath the sleeping boy without disturbing him. Once Bridger was free they placed the pillow underneath his head and the draped the blanket over him for extra warmth. Even though it was warm inside, the weather report had already predicted a cold night ahead.

Both of the stood looking down at the sleeping boy for a minute, wondering how they got to be so lucky to have somebody special as Lucas. Their train of thought was interrupted by knock at the front door.

As expected, it was the rest of the crew. Kristen held her fingers to her lips as they came in and pointed to the sleeping bundle on the couch. All of them laughed softly at the sight of Lucas sleeping.

"He's out for the count already" Ben said a little disappointed that Lucas was awake to join in with them. But there was plenty more nights ahead he reminded himself. He had been a little worried about the teenager when he saw how sick and pale looking he had been on the plane. Now at least his colour looked normal again and he looked nice and cosy snuggled up under the blanket.

"Yes, he is really tired." Kristen said in reply. "Nathan we have to get that boy some more clothes in the morning before we leave for the snow fields. That track suit he owns is certainly not warm enough." Kristen whispered to the others about Lucas's poor winter wardrobe and how he had not wanted to be a burden and speak up about not having anything warmer to wear through the holidays.

"It's already taken care of " Bridger said as he sipped at a second cup of hot chocolate. Kristen and the others left it at that, knowing that the Captain was very in tune with what Lucas's needs were. He wasn't about to let the kid go without anything. It would all be sorted out.

The crew enjoyed Kristen's hot chocolate and talked idly about what was going to happen the next day when they reached the snowfields. It wasn't a particularly late night because they were all a little weary from their journey.

Kristen had made a few rounds of sandwiches for everybody so they had a least something to eat. She left a few in the fridge for Lucas in the morning. The kid had gone all day without much to eat due to his nauseousness but they would have to try and get him to eat sufficiently tomorrow before they left in the car.

Bridger and Ben had been able to successfully move the slumbering teenager to his bed without waking him. By 10.00pm all lights were out and everybody was sleeping soundly in their motel beds and that's how they remained all night.

**************************************************************************** ********

The next morning, Bridger groaned out loud when he woke up and found the clock to be reading only 6:30am. His body clock still had to work out that he was in holiday mood. He looked over next to him and saw that Kristen was still enjoying her sleep in.

May as well get up he said to himself knowing that he was not going to be able to go back to sleep in a hurry. He walked to the kitchen to put the kettle on to boil for a cup of coffee. Although he was wearing a track suit, he soon felt cool enough to go back to his room and find his bath robe and slippers.

While he was waiting for the kettle to boil he poked his head into the room next to his and Kristen's. It had two single beds in it and this had been where Ben and Lucas's slept for the night. Bridger couldn't help but smile at the sight before him.

The two beds were completely the opposite. Ben was all the way underneath his blankets so not even a strand of his black hair was protruding from them. Bridger now turned to look at the other single bed in the room.

At some stage during the night Lucas had entangled himself in the sheets and then due to his perpetual restlessness, they had landed upon the floor where they now laid. Although the teenager wasn't shivering like Bridger thought he might have been without the warmth, but his skin was cool to touch as he touched the boy's uncovered feet. Bridger picked up the blankets and laid them back over him.

"Sleep well kiddo" Bridger said in a whisper. The kid never heard the words he uttered as he slept on oblivious to the Captain's administrations and fussings.

By the time Bridger was finishing off his second cup of coffee, Kristen had only just awoken and was know coming into the living room. "Good morning Nathan" she said a little surprised to see him up so early. She then looked around the room and his state of alertness and judged that he must have been awake for some time.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, thinking there might be a reason behind the early rising.

"No, just my body telling me that I am back on SeaQuest." he said. "Good morning to you too Kristen. How did you sleep last night?" he now said returning the question.

"Great actually. I was very warm all night which is more than I can say I am right now" she announced with a grimace looking under the front door for any sign of the invisible cold draught she could feel nipping at her heels from the weather outside.

"Junior is still asleep" Nathan replied to Kristen's unasked query as she looked towards his door. "When I got up all the blankets were on the floor. I put them back on. He never heard a thing. Judging by the time though he should be starting to stir shortly."

"Ben still asleep too I assume?" she enquired and Bridger nodded his head in answer.

"What time did you want to start out for the resort this morning?" Kristen now asked, looking over at the clock that now read 8:20am.

"No rush. Last night I was thinking about getting away as soon as everybody woke up. But now that I think about it this morning, we are not on any schedule or anything. We can afford to take our time and go whenever we want. I am going to go and get Lucas some warmer clothes in a minute." Bridger answered.

"Well I'll get breakfast organized for everybody and when they have all eaten and you get back, we can head off then. I don't want to leave it too late in the day to travel in the snow. The roads are probably going to be a little slippery and snow-bound too." Kristen stated.

Bridger went into his room and changed into something to wear outside "See you soon then" he said, giving Kristen a gentle kiss before he left. As the Captain was leaving to go shopping, the rest of the crew were just coming out of the other room and heading into where Kristen was.

"Morning Kristen" Ben said from behind Kristen as he walked out into the living area of the motel room. The Lieutenant still hadn't lost any of his exuberance or excitement over the holiday from yesterday it seemed.

"Where is the Captain going?" Ben now asked. The other crew members had a similar look on their faces as they watched Bridger drive away in one of the rented vehicles.

"He is going to get Lucas some warmer clothes. He didn't bring very much with him. I don't think he owns too many sweaters or warm trousers. He is going to need them once we start travelling towards the resort today. He said he won't be long. Let's get breakfast started for everyone while we are waiting for him to come back. That way we can take off as soon as he is ready." Kristen explained.

"Where is the kid anyway?" Commander Ford asked as everyone sat down in the living room and waited for breakfast to be ordered and delivered. They had to admit that this was the least they had to do for some time. It wasn't everyday that someone else promised to get breakfast for them all.

"Did someone mention my name?" came voice from one of the bedrooms. All looked up to see a well slept teenager emerge, still dressed in the Captain's sweater and his track suit.

"It's awake" Ben said jokingly as he spied the teenager sitting down, still rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. It was a well known point that Lucas was not the best morning person in the world. They had all been on the receiving end of his wrath when one of them had been so bold as to disturb him on various occasions back on board the SeaQuest.

"But does it talk?" Miguel Ortiz said as he joined in the teasing.

"It's going to pound some friends if they don't stop talking about him as if he wasn't here" Lucas now responded now laughing at his own expense.

"You certainly look a lot more refreshed than you did yesterday Lucas" Katie Hitchcock said as she noted some of the sparkle back in his blue eyes.

"Yeah, I slept well too. I didn't even get up once during the night" Lucas now said. Kristen had to laugh secretly at this sentence as she remembered what Bridger had told her only a short time ago about how the teenager had been when he saw him this morning.

"Where's the Captain?" Lucas now asked, noticing the man's absence for the first time that morning.

"He just gone out for a drive. He will be back in a minute" Kristen answered, not wanting to alert the teenager to the fact that the Captain was probably out buying out a complete store for him. Lucas seemed happy enough with the explanation and didn't think it too strange an answer.

A knock at the front door brought in the room service maid together with two helpers who brought in trays of breakfast. It was a hot breakfast and the air was tingling with a wonderful aroma that it brought with it.

Kristen handed a plate to Lucas but was worried about the amount of food served. It wasn't an overly big sized meal, but to Lucas, getting him to eat any meal back aboard the boat was a battle in itself. She decided just to see how much he ate himself without niggling him about his eating habits like she normally did.

The crew chatted idly about the day's trip ahead whilst they ate. Everybody else was about half way through their breakfast when Lucas got up from the table and announced it was time for him to get dressed.

Kristen's eyes immediately fell onto his plate to see how much he had eaten. She kept looking for a few seconds but could scarcely believe what she saw. The boy's plate was completely empty.

"Okay where is it?" she asked in mock sternness to Lucas.

"Where's what?" he asked, confusion on his face.

"The dog that you fed your breakfast to" she replied, looking around at everyone else plate for a more rational answer to the breakfast being gone. He must have put it onto somebody else's plate she told herself .

Lucas chuckled out loud as he caught on to what she was on about. He knew how bad he normally was at meal times. He really didn't have an explanation this morning to please her. He had just felt a little bit more hungrier than he usually did.

"I was hungry?" he said turning the sentence into a question more than a statement. He didn't know if he was trying to convince Kristen and his friends or himself.

"That will be the day" Ben now said in a jibe.

Just then Bridger burst through the door laden down with shopping bags. He stomped his feet on the doorway mat to scrap off as much snow and ice from his shoes as possible. He walked through the door and looked at the bemused looks on his friends.

"What?" he said with a grin. He did admit if he was standing over the other side of the room he must have looked a sight.

"You look like the abdominal snowman" Kristen said back to him "And your son here ate his entire breakfast without being force fed."

"Good for you Lucas" Bridge replied, wanting to congratulate the boy on trying to change his habits. He thought it best not to make a big song and dance about it though because Lucas was likely to change back to his old habits again just as quickly.

"What have you got there Sir?" Tim O'Neill asked, noting the large bags in his hands.

"Clothes Tim" Bridger replied and started pulling out the garments that he had chosen. "I just hope they fit you Lucas" he now said and held up a large blue jacket for the teenager to inspect.

Lucas went over and took the jacket from the Captain, holding it against his chest to check for length and size "You bought this for me?" he asked sheepishly, grateful for the clothes but a little worried that the Captain had spent more money on him.

Just as if he was reading the boy's mind "Don't go worrying about the money Lucas. I wanted to buy it for you. I bought all of this for you too" he added, pulling out more warm sweaters, socks, trousers and thick warm tracksuits. He had also bought two pair of shoes, one pair casual, the other more boot like for hiking and walking. Then he pulled out the gloves and woollen beanie he had picked out. The beanie was multi- coloured and had very strong symbols over it.

Lucas stood there for a minute, too shocked at all before him to say anything. A moment ago he had been slightly worried about the Captain just buying a jacket for him. Now he had pulled out a virtual whole ward robe. He looked at Bridger, still trying to find words to say.

"You did all of this for me" he finally said, holding back his emotions. Nobody had ever been this generous to him before.

"Of course I did it for you kiddo" Bridger said as he smiled at the boy's humbleness towards people giving him things. "I couldn't let you go cold now could I. Kristen and the rest of the crew would never let me live it down if we went on holidays and you got sick."

Lucas flashed a great smile of appreciation and disappeared to get changed like he had wanted to, taking the bags of clothes with him to pack in his suit case. When he came back into the living room, he had on the blue jacket Bridger had held up first and a pair of fleece-lined tracksuit pants and the casual shoes and the lined gloves for his hands.

Everything else was now packed away in his suitcase. It had only been half full when he left SeaQuest, now it was close to overflowing. If he bought anything else on these holidays, he would have to buy a bigger suitcase to carry it all back in.

The other crew members now returned to their own room and changed into much warmer clothes as well. The breeze was only very gentle at the moment, but even so, it was enough to make their breath form condensation as they spoke outside the door.

**************************************************************************** ***

About an hour after everybody had let their breakfast settle down and they had gotten their belongings packed into the two vehicles, everybody was finally ready to head towards the resort.

Whilst they had been packing the vehicles that morning, Lucas had walked outside only to stare at the surroundings in awe and wonder. The place had been covered by a thin white blanket of snow overnight. It wasn't anything like what they were going to see later on that day. By the time they got to the resort, the ground would be frozen solid and the snow would be three feet deep in some areas.

Nevertheless Lucas couldn't help but crouch down and take off the glove from one of his hands and feel the white substance on his skin for the first time. Bridger could see the kid's curiosity and bent down next to him.

"What does it feel like?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"Kinda like the ice in your freezer you have to scrape off before you defrost it" Lucas replied as he squashed it in his palm and through his fingers. It was cold but not overly so. Not quite as bad as he had thought beforehand. "It even makes a strange squishy sound" he added and demonstrated it by repeating the process.

"Come on, there will be lots more time to feel the ice and snow when we get to the resort. We still have to drive there yet and I want to get on the road as soon as everyone is ready." Bridger now said, as the two of them returned to the vehicles.

Commander Ford, Miguel Ortiz, Tim O'Neill and Katie Hitchcock were already in their vehicle and slowly pulling out of the car park motel when Bridger and Kristen were climbing into their seats.

Ben and Lucas hadn't been watching each other's movements for a few seconds and both now put their hands on the same door handle. They looked at each other surprised at first but then as they looked at each other and then at Bridger and Kristen, a shadow of mischief came over both of their faces.

To Lucas, Kristen and Bridger had always been the parents he had wanted. Now he and Ben had an idea to be the kids that most parents hated to be with when they went on holidays. It was all in fun and meant to fill in time. It would be interesting just to see how long the Captain and the doctor could stand the childish antics.

"I was here first Lucas" Ben now declared in his best brat-like voice.

"You were not. I was" Lucas said falling right into cue with his friend. The both of them had to hid the giggles they had when they saw the looks on the faces of Bridger and Kristen.

"I was too"

"Were not"

"Were not not not not"

"Was too too too too"

"Oh for heavens sake you two, do you have to fight like children?" Kristen said a little annoyed at the impish behaviour. She hadn't quite caught onto their little game yet.

"Lucas you sit behind me, Ben you sit on the other side" she now said, making the seating arrangements for them.

To Lucas it was supposed to be a victory because it was the side of the car that they had been fighting over. He looked at the grumpy face of Ben and stuck out his tongue in triumph before climbing into his seat behind the doctor.

Ben walked around and got into the other seat behind the Captain. When the Captain and the doctor looked forward to see where they were headed, both Lucas and Ben gave each other smiles and winks to say how great their little game was working already.

The two scheming "children" left the next part of their little game until they had been on the road about half an hour. They thought they had better not carry on like that for the entire trip to the resort or Kristen was likely to dump them off on the side of the road and leave them there until they came back. Neither one of them doubted she would do it either when she was riled enough.

Bridger knew exactly what the two of them were trying to do. He wasn't going to interfere just yet. He would wait to see how long before the good doctor got ticked off by them. It was great to see the two of them so relaxed and having fun for a change. He had scarcely seen Lucas without his smile since they left the motel room and he couldn't be more happy about that.

Ben was first to start the next round of child arguing off "Mom, he's taking up all the room back here" he said in a pouty voice.

"Am not, I hardly got any room. He's got all the room. Mom tell him to move his big feet out of the way so I go some room" Lucas now responded.

"Lucas you got plenty of room" Kristen now said, not turning around to take a look.

Lucas put on a face that said a thousand words "But he....."

"For get it kid, she stuck up for you when you decided to take my side of the car"

"This is my side of the car"

"Is not"

"Is too"

"Is not not not not"

"Is too too too too"

"Will you two please try and behave like adults back there" Kristen said in mock annoyance.

Lucas and Ben both looked at each other after she had said it and immediately started pretending to bawl like a couple of tantrum throwing toddlers who weren't getting their own way. Soon the whole car was engulfed with the sounds of laughter coming from within. Kristen and Bridger were joining in just as heartily.

The mischief only kept up for another five minutes or so though until none of them could hold back their laughter anymore. The atmosphere in the car was great. Calm, relaxed, having a heck of a good time and there was plenty more to come.

"Wow look at that scenery" Bridger now said as he tried to keep his eyes on the road but also glancing towards the snow laden fields that surrounded them. It was very rare that he had gotten to see such pretty images up world. Normally it was only the look of fish through a glass window that he got to see almost every day of his life.

"We really are in for a white Christmas aren't we?" Kristen said as she too was awe struck by the beauty before her. These parts of the country were still under strict protection from authorities who aimed to keep them preserved for all generations to see. Kristen could now see why too as she gazed outside at the white wonder before her. It was scenes like this that she hoped that everybody could see at least once in their life time.

As the journey continued, the passengers continued to be amazed as they began to head into the mountains. The snow capped peaks stood towering beside the roadway.

The trip was a pleasant one with Ben occasionally falling into full chorus singing "She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes" the further they drove into the mountains.

About an hour out from the resort, Bridger pulled the vehicle over to stop and stretch his legs a little and give Kristen a turn at the driving. He could have kept driving for the entire trip if he wanted to but if Kristen drove he could take a better look out of the window without fear of losing his concentration on the road ahead.

Commander Ford and his party were already ahead in their vehicle and had made two stops to change drivers during the past three hours. They were about ten minutes ahead of Bridger's car.

As the car came to a complete stop, Bridger turned around to look in the back seat. There hadn't been any noise or chatter coming from their for over twenty minutes now. He laughed quietly as he could soon see why, both Ben and Lucas were both sound asleep with their heads reading up against either side door.

"Great travelling companions those two make" Bridger now commented as he pointed the sleeping duo out to Kristen. "Five minutes of driving in the car and they are dead to the world."

"Actually I think it's the forced immobility that did it. They have been in the car for over three hours now and they haven't been able to move much except for hurling jokes or smart comments at each other or us. Normally neither of them can sit still for two minutes without starting to squirm and wiggle about." Kristen replied.

Bridger now got out of the car and took a long luxurious stretch to alleviate some of the stiffness and tenseness out of his arms and legs. Continual sitting was something he wasn't very used to either.

Lucas now woke as his body finally realised that the car wasn't moving anymore. He sat up and looked out the window and could see the Captain standing near the driver's side door.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep so quickly again" he said to Kristen.

"Your partner in crime there is asleep too" Kristen now pointed out and Lucas looked over to Ben and saw what she said to be true.

"Get up ya lazy bum" he now said playfully as he jostled his friend from his catnap.

"Are we there yet?" came the famous old time question from Ben. "Are we there yet" he repeated just to add to the digging he meant for Kristen.

Kristen just rolled her eyes at the comment, "God give me strength" she muttered, still with a smile on her face though. Kristen now took her place at the steering wheel and soon the vehicle began moving again towards it's destination.

**************************************************************************** ***

As the resort finally started to come into sight, it was hardly the image they had pictured. Where they had expected large bungalow style chalets lined up along side each other, there was sparsely spread out cabins.

There was only large main building for the reception area and restaurant. Alongside it was a smaller building tacked on for use as a souvenir shop and ski equipment store. There was already a large number of people moving about the place. Most of them dressed in skiing gear with poles in their hands.

"This is going to be great" Lucas whispered as he tried to keep a check on the excitement and anticipation that was building up inside him.

Bridger could see Commander Ford's vehicle parked just outside the reception building and he now parked along side it too.

"Have a nice drive Captain?" Ford asked as Bridger climbed out.

"Yes thank you Jonathan" Bridger said deliberately dropping the official titles. "Just call me Nathan for the next few days huh?"

"Sure Captain..I mean Nathan" Ford said pulling himself up. It was going to be difficult to break a long standing tradition but he would manage. It wasn't easy to start calling your superior officer by his first name after being under his command for a few years.

"Where are the babes?" Ben Krieg said as he started compiling a list of the most important activities to attend to during their visit.

"Hold your horses Ben" Bridger said as he grabbed the over zealous Lieutenant. "We can go and meet the other people later. Firstly we have to check into the resort and get shown to our cabins. After that we have a tour organised with one of the guides here to show us around the place and where things are."

"When do we get to eat?" Lucas now asked innocently as he went through the list Bridger had explained.

Everybody now turned to the teenager with amazed expressions on their faces at what he had just asked.

"But you ate breakfast back at the motel Lucas" Miguel said on everybody's behalf. They were all starting to wonder if this was the same teenager they had brought with them that they claimed to know.

"Yeah but that was four hours ago" Lucas said in his defence. "I could go a burger and fries and coke right now" he added.

Bridger wiped off the shocked expression and replaced it with a grin. He was over the moon that the kid was finally finding his appetite. If the kid was hungry they should feed him.

"I don't know what they have to eat here Lucas but we will go and find out okay" he said as he started leading his party into the reception building to find their cabins.

"Come on Ben" Katie Hitchcock said as she began dragging him along by the arm. Ben's attention was distracted by three girls dressed in ski gear who had just walked past him. He could have sworn that one of them turned his way and winked at him. Maybe he was just being hopeful. Katie knew Ben had a fascination with pretty girls but she knew his personality traits too and he didn't stand a chance in hell of getting one of them to talk to him let alone go out with him.

"Good afternoon Sir" the clerk at the desk greeted Bridger and his party. "Welcome to Snowmass Village."

"Hello, I am Nathan Bridger and these are my friends. We have two cabins booked for the week and would like to check in and then have someone show us to our room please." the Captain said greeted him.

"Well Mr Bridger, I will attend to your check-in right now and I will have one of our staff escort you across the snow to your cabins. I can see by the notations in the reservations book that you have two large suites with extra beds and linen." the clerk said as he read from a book.

"Thank you and I think it was also arranged for one of your guides to give us a tour of your village later on this afternoon" Bridger added hoping the tour hadn't been left out of the arrangements.

"Yes I can see that has been booked Sir for 5.00pm this afternoon. It is 4.20pm now so that should give you and your party enough time to relax a little and get settled in their cabins before the tour begins. You will need to be promptly on time for the tour as it takes an hour and all activities cease at around 6.00pm at night due to the failing light and drop in temperature." the clerk explained.

Bridger signed all the required documentation and gave everybody's name to the clerk as requested. It was explained to them that the resort needed to know everybody's name and age and any other necessary information in case an emergency should arise. Although the risk of accident was relatively small, due to the remoteness of the village from any major centre, it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

"Mr Heinz will show you to your cabins. If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask. There will be a full menu on display after 6.30pm tonight in the dining room. The ski shop will be open first thing in the morning to attend to any equipment needs you or your party may have. I trust you will all enjoy your brief stay with us." he said being the perfect concierge and promoting his place of business as much as possible.

The crew followed Mr Heinz to their assigned cabins. Both of the rooms were side by side with an adjoining doorway between the two main living areas. The sleeping arrangements would be the same here as they had been back at the motel, Bridger, Kristen, Ben and Lucas in one, the rest of them in the other. But they could come and enjoy activities with each other as often as they liked because of the connecting doorway.

Most meals would probably be eaten in the dining room save for breakfast which would normally be delivered by room service each morning.

"Wow these room are really great Captain" Tim O'Neill said as they wandered through their temporary lodgings for the week. The rooms were very spacious and each had a small fireplace in them to heat the room. It was surprising how much of a difference it truly was between the temperatures outside than inside the cabins.

Both of the cabins had a large double bed and two single ones in them. Whilst this was the perfect arrangement for Bridger's room, it was less than ideal for Commander Ford's.

"Who is going to share the double bed then?" Katie Hitchcock asked with an amused look on her face. There was no way she was going to share with any of the guys. Maybe she would need to talk to Kristen about swapping rooms with Ben.

"We will work out something Katie" Ford said letting her know that the sleeping arrangements would eventually suit everyone.

Lucas and Ben seemed to be happy enough with the cabin they were in. There was even a TV in the living room. But it would depend on the weather at night as to how good the reception was going to be

It didn't take long for 5.00pm to roll around and when Bridger answered the expected knock at the door, a large broad blond man stood at the door introducing himself as their guide for the tour.

"My name is Andrew Smith and if you are all ready we will get underway with the tour." the man announced to them all.

"Lead on Mr Smith" Bridger instructed him. Everybody had made sure that they were wearing sturdy shoes, a thick jacket or overcoat and gloves on their hands. The wind had been blowing since they had arrived and it was cold.

They hadn't walked more than 10 metres from the cabin before the guide stopped the party and gave a few basic ground rules about the resort:

"The main thing to remember for the next hour is to stick together. We can slow down the pace or quicken it up to suit you all, but if one of you gets separated from the rest of us then we have a potentially dangerous situation at hand." the man now said in complete seriousness. He didn't want to it too sound like there wasn't any fun to be had. But they couldn't risk loosing one of their paying guests either.

Everybody nodded their head in agreement of the situation. All made a mental note to check regularly to make sure nobody was lagging behind.

"Okay, now the history of the place" the guide said as he started his regular little speech about the place. "This village is call Snowmass. It is situated about fifty miles north west of Aspen itself along route 82. "Further north is Woody Creek and North east the village of Lenado. About 100 miles south is the centre of Ashcroft."

"So as you can see, we are a little isolated here during some of the winter months. We can travel out by vehicle most months of the year. But if we have above average snow falls or avalanches then they only way out of the area is by ski or skiddoo. We can fly into here as well from Aspen but if the weather is bad like it can be, then the airport at Aspen normally suspends all flights. There is absolutely no flying allowed at night time for obvious reasons."

"Do you get many avalanches here?" Miguel asked picking up on that particular word.

"Not really, we normally get by with about three or four small ones through the skiing season. Most of them are triggered by people staying here. They either do silly things when they are snow-boarding or skiing in areas that they are not experienced enough for. Occasionally we get a major one from old mother nature when she sends down about ten ton of snow but they are very rare these days." Smith replied.

As the tour continued, Lucas tried to keep his attention focused on what the guide was telling them, but at times his mind just wandering to the white powdery snow under his feet. He loved the way his boots made a squelchy sound when he walked. The cold wind was nipping at his nose but he didn't care. Walking through the snow and wind gave him one of the most exhilarating feelings he had ever had.

"We normally have eight chair lifts operating each day and there are groups set up for cross-country skiing and snow-boarding. Those two activities normally take place a little away from the resort, higher up in the mountains if anybody is interested later on. There will a daily instructor available to give skiing lessons and he can even give individual tutorage if that is what you would prefer." Smith informed them.

The tour now moved closer to some of the more remote cabins and Lucas found his attention wandering out across the snow fields themselves. He gaze soon rested upon a peculiar site off into the distance from them.

"Excuse me Mr Smith, what are they?" Lucas asked.

"Andrew please. Mr Smith is my dad" the clerk told the teenager "Those are caribou...." he said hoping to find out the kid's name to use.

"Lucas" the boy replied seeing the clerk's unanswered question.

" Caribou? You mean as in deer?" he now asked.

"Yes, more precisely reindeer" he said with a laugh, adding a bit of season spirit to the whole conversation.

"Don't they get cold out in the snow there for months on end?" Lucas started to ask.

"Oh don't worry about them Lucas. Caribou have very thick fur on their bodies. They last throughout the coldest winters up here just fine. They eat the frozen shoots of plants that they find hidden underneath the snow." Smith replied.

"Don't they hibernate like other animals?" Miguel asked not knowing very much about the animals habits at all.

"No they don't hibernate like bears and squirrels and such. See how they are herded into one big group there now?" he asked, noting everybody's curiosity to the animals in the distance.

"Well they do that to keep warm. They huddle together in groups and use their fat stores in their bodies to maintain their body temperatures." he now told them.

"What happens to them when the weather turns really bad with the storms and that?" Katie Hitchcock now asked.

"They are pretty smart animals you know. They can sense when a storm is coming. "See those clouds over by the mountains," the man said, pointing to the west. "Those are snow clouds, and they're coming fast. If the weather turns nasty then they simply hide out in a cave. The mountains are literally dotted with hundreds of little nooks and caves around the place. Animals sense when a storm is coming"

"Okay folks that about covers the tour at this stage of things. My clock says it's about 5:50pm so if you would all like to head back to your cabins now to warm up a bit. It's starting to get a bit cold out here already tonight. Dinner will be served in the dining room at 6.30pm. I will probably meet up with most of you again there." he said and started leading the party back towards the resort.

The crew had been so enthralled by what was happening around them and learning about the history and geography of the place that they had lost track of the time. It almost seemed like they had only just stepped out of their cabins a few minutes ago rather than it being almost an hour later.

"That was really great" Lucas now said with a happy face. The rest of the crew nodded their heads in agreement.

"Are those clothes I got you warm enough Lucas?" Bridger asked later on after everybody had showered and changed for dinner.

"Yeah they really are. That wind out there was stinging my face a little but the clothes were nice and warm thanks." Lucas replied. "I don't know if I would like being cold all of the time you know." he now added.

"No, can't say as I would either Lucas. I think I am too used to living on my island for so long with the sun beating down on me most of the year. When the sun isn't roasting my back, it is usually pouring rain instead." Bridger admitted.

"Ready to go to dinner?" he know asked Kristen and the others.

"Am I ever" Lucas replied, "I still didn't have anything else to eat yet you know."

"Did you keep all the receipts for those clothes Captain? Because judging by the way the kid is eating at the moment and saying his is hungry, they aren't going to fit him for very much longer." Ben said jokingly.

About an hour after the crew sat down to dinner, most of them were thinking along the same lines as Ben as they watched the teenager polish off the last of his hot apple crumble for desert. Lucas had chosen a nice hearty vegetable stew for main meal. It was hot and delicious and warmed him from the inside out. He had not one helping but two of the delicious dish before his dessert.

"Maybe it's the change in altitude" Tim O'Neill said logically as they all tried to figure out what had caused the boy's appetite to change so dramatically in the last 24 hours or so. "I mean he is usually under the water for nine months of the year and now we are on top of a mountain range."

Lucas knew that they were all looking at him but he didn't mind. He couldn't really put a finger on why he was so hungry all of the time either. He just looked at them all across the table and gave them all his flashiest smile and washed his meal down with a Pepsi.

None of them minded that Lucas was eating more. All of them thought he could use some more flesh on this bones. His clothes normally hung on his thin frame. It was just something that they were normally used to seeing.

Bridger didn't think there was any need to be logical about the change at all. He could see just by looking at the kid that he was relaxed. Relaxed, happy, having a great time already and thriving on the atmosphere around him. He hoped it never stopped, even once the holiday ended.

Everybody had returned from the restaurant warm and with a full belly. They had idly chatted in the living room for a hour or so before all of them bid each other good night and headed off to bed.

Katie finally persuaded her ex-husband to change rooms with her and she had taken his single bed in Lucas's room.

Ben hadn't been put out by the change but was now sleeping side by side Miguel in the double bed. They had drawn straws to see who would be the losers and undoubtedly he and his Portuguese friend declared that the whole draw had been rigged from the start.

Tomorrow was going to prove another long but enjoyable day. They were going shopping in Aspen.

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Everybody woke up the next morning feeling like they had had the best sleep ever. While the wind had blown outside and the snow fell in deep rifts along the various skiing trails and hiking treks, inside the cabins had been incredibly warm.

The blankets that the resort provided were made from richly thick material that made you just want to roll up in the folds of warmth.

All enjoyed a nice and relaxed breakfast together in Bridger's cabin and talked about what was planned for the day. Bridger pretty much left it up to each of them to decide what they wanted to do but by the end of the meal they were all heading to Aspen for some shopping before Christmas Eve.

By 9.00am that morning, everybody was once again seated in the two vehicles, ready to start the journey to Aspen and a full morning of shopping. It was only about 12 miles to the city, but due to the amount of snow and ice on the road, they would probably go at a very slow pace the entire way.

As they made their way to the shop, it was difficult to ignore just how much traffic was on the road at this time of the year for such a remote skiing area. Whilst is wasn't like the veins and arteries of the highways back in Los Angeles where you were stuck in endless lanes bumper to bumper. There were more cars on the road than they actually first thought.

About forty minutes of very slow travelling on the icy road to Aspen, they were now in the main part of town, searching for the best shops to visit. Up ahead they could see a large shopping centre that boasted over 70 different stores within. Although there were lots of other little shops and stores along the road as they went, all of them agreed that due to the amount of people that were going to be shopping as well today, they were best to go to one place that had everything.

At the shopping centre everybody could complete the Christmas present shopping that wasn't finished yet. They could also stock up on all the goodies for after Christmas dinner in the grocery store.

"Now don't forget you guys, we need to get some decorations to put up in the cabins this afternoon as well as for decorating the Christmas tree tonight" Bridger now reminded the people in his car as they pulled into the undercover car park area.

The place was huge. Everyone took careful notes of the numbers and letters written on the cement columns around them. Once they went inside they might very well never be able to find their vehicles again without them.

Bridger looked over towards Lucas as they prepared to walk through the main doors of the shopping centre. He couldn't force back the smiles as he looked at the teenager's expectant face. Part of the boy looked scared at a place so big and huge. The other part was just bursting to get inside and have a look around.

Lucas had been in many shopping centre before in his life. But somehow this one was a little different. He could scarcely believe the number of people coming in behind them. They all had to watch out in front and behind them in case they got stampeded on the way in by the crowd. As they walked through the door, their senses were bombarded from all sides.

There were Christmas carols being played over the speakers so loud that you could hardly hear yourself think. There was all sorts of decorations adorning each and every little shop. Some of them even had lights blinking on and off as well as part of the season's festivities.

And of course there was the most delicious aromas wafting in from all over the centre. The smell of freshly baking bread, donuts and other assorted confectionary. All of the crew could feel their stomach's protest in anticipation of being able to sample some of those delicious morsels.

Bridger now stopped in a spot where they weren't likely to be run over by the crowd to talk to them all briefly before they headed off on their separate ways.

"This is a big place guys, I don't want anybody wandering off and getting lost. Chances are we won't be able to find you again in a hurry if we have to. How about we all agree to meet back here in say an hour and a half. That should give everybody time enough to do their shopping. I want everybody to pick out two decorations to take back to the cabins. Some of you get some tinsel and ribbons, others can get ornaments for the tree." Bridger now said.

"But we don't even have a Christmas tree" Lucas now piped up thinking that they would probably have to buy a fake silver one whilst they were shopping today.

"We can get a real live one when we get back to the resort Lucas. I spoke briefly to the manager the other day about it when I made the arrangements. He says as long as we don't take one that is too big and makes a mess all over the cabin, then there are plenty to choose from back there." Bridger replied.

"That's great Nathan, a real one beats a plastic store one any day" Kristen now said with delight.

The group now split up some, Miguel, Tim and Ben seemed to go in one group, Katie and Jonathan were content to keep each other company for the hour and a half. That left Kristen, Bridger and Lucas in the other group. For a minute Lucas was almost going to walk off on his own, thinking that Kristen and the Captain wouldn't want him dragging long behind them.

"And where do you think your going all by yourself?" Kristen now asked the teenager as he turned to walk away in the opposite direction.

"Um well I just thought that, well I have to buy presents for you and the Captain yet as well as the others." Lucas said. "I didn't buy anything yet. I can't buy for you if you are looking over my shoulders now can I?" he now reasoned with her.

"Okay junior, but you be careful okay!" Bridger now said, emphasising the words. "You meet us back here like everybody else at the appointed time or I'll have to send out a search party for you." he now joked.

"Have you got enough money?" he now asked.

"Actually yes" Lucas said proudly. "Being underwater for so long at a time, there isn't anywhere to spend my pay unless you talk to Ben or Murray. I have been putting some away each month," he explained. He had fought tooth and nail to be recognized as a worthwhile member of the crew and that he deserved a salary.

Admittedly he had almost fallen over backwards when Commander Ford handed him his first pay check after leaving Node 3 but now that pay check was a monthly one and he had a sense of independence about himself that he didn't have to rely on his parents or somebody else to pay his way the whole time. He would never have had enough money to pay for a trip like this that Bridger was paying for but he could afford to buy nice things for them this year. He just had to figure out what.

"Well go easy on your funds now. You don't have to spend every cent you have saved. If you need any more let me know." Bridger said honestly.

"See you" the teenager now said as he walked into the crowd towards one of the larger department stores within the shopping centre.

Bridger and Kristen now went towards some of the more specialised stores, wondering what gifts to get for each other and the rest of the crew. Bridger knew that he had said the trip was a present for them all, and it was. But he wanted to see the excitement on Lucas's face as he tore the wrapping paper of a present from underneath the tree on Christmas day.

Lucas had thought long and hard about the gifts he got for each of the crew. He wanted to make sure that when they saw whatever it was, apart from the initial surprise, they would see that there had been some thought so into each of them when it was bought.

For Kristen he had bought a very fine gold necklace. Actually it was two necklaces interwoven to make one at first glance. At the bottom, there were two charms. Whoever you gave the necklace to, you were supposed to keep the other one showing that you would be friends always when you wore it.

For Katie Hitchcock, Lucas had again gone for fine things that girls liked. True he had had a boyhood crush on her when he first came aboard the SeaQuest. But now he liked to think that he had matured enough to be over that now. Nowadays he wanted to think of Katie as a very close friend who he could confide in when he needed some help from somebody else apart from Kristen or the Captain.

He ended up spotting a man at a makeshift table, blowing glass objects for the crowd. After watching in amazement for ten minutes he had inspected some of the very delicate items the man had on display. He ended up choosing a very delicate and long necked vase that had two little glass blue sparrows sitting on the rim of the vase. Katie liked little dainty things like that.

When it came to buy for Miguel, Lucas knew that the man had a passion for old style weapons and armoury. Probably came from his Spanish and Portuguese heritage. For him Lucas had chosen a finely crafted sabre with its own sheath. It was made from stainless steel and had a platinum handle intricately carved with historical symbols to identify it's point of origin. It came with a certificate of authenticity for Miguel's collection.

For Tim O'Neill, Lucas had bought a few reading items. Firstly a book of foreign languages so Tim could read until his heart's content. The other book dealt with the subject of bonsai and how to create the plants for yourself. Tim already had one or two bonsai trees back in his cabin on board the SeaQuest. They thrived in the artificial light and the underwater environment seemed to aid in hampering their growth without hurting the plant too much.

Commander Jonathan Ford was known to enjoy a good drop of fine alcohol in the seclusion of his own quarters after his shifts on the Bridge back at SeaQuest. Lucas had seen a large bottle of port that had been aged in a wooden barrel for over 100 years. Because of his age though, Lucas had to whisper nicely to Tim about buying the alcohol for him.

Ben was the person Lucas had the most trouble trying to decide what to buy for. The man just revelled in things that made jokes or pranks but he wanted to buy something else apart from that. He ended up buying his best friend a very nice looking silver watch. It came in a special display case with all the instructions for all of the extra features. It would take Ben until the New Year to figure out how to set the time on it.

Lucas had deliberately left Bridger's present until the last. At first it had been like Ben and he didn't know what to buy for him. Especially after the trip. How on earth was he going to buy something that even remotely came close in saying thanks. He had wandered around the various shops for almost half an hour without an idea at all until he came across something in one of the camera shops.

What he saw was a very expensive looking telescope. It wasn't full size, only about three feet long, but it was made entirely out of brass with an equally handsome matching polished wooden stand to sit on. Not knowing much about astrology items, Lucas had been assured by the shop-keeper that it was made by one of the best companies and was guaranteed to be accurate.

Lucas had swallowed hard when the man mentioned the price. Almost three times what he had first thought to spend and more than he had spent on everybody else together. He looked at what he had left in his wallet and what was available to him in the bank. At the end of the day he would have about fifty dollars left for the next month until they got paid from the U.E.O. again. But throwing caution to the wind he knew it would be all worth it when he saw the look on the Captain's face.

Now laden down with many wrapped presents and bags, Lucas looked at his watch and swore when he saw that he was nearly ten minutes late for meeting the rest of the crew. He quickly exited the store where he had bought Bridger's present and walked as fast as the crowd would let him back to the spot they had agreed to meet at.

By now the rest of the crew was waiting patiently for any signs of Lucas. Some of them had scarcely made it back in time themselves, but with Lucas being the youngest amongst them, they were all beginning to wonder where he was. Bridger was the one who was worried the most. Although he didn't think anything had happened to the kid, he didn't like it that the kid was late.

Kristen was just about to suggest they split up into two teams to go and look for him when they saw the puffed young man running towards them, trying hard to control the bags in his hands.

"Sorry....." he stammered and stopped to catch his breath. "Got caught up buying the last present." he said, hoping his excuse was enough.

"Glad to see you managed to work your way through this crowd okay Lucas" Bridger now said, trying to convince his fears that they could relax now.

"Hey Lucas what decorations did you get for the tree?" Ben now asked. He had to laugh secretly to himself about the plan he had come up with for later in the evening for the teenager.

Miguel and Tim had been at the cash register of one of the shops, carrying what decorations the trio had picked out when Ben spotted some red and green lengths of tinsel and some over- sized red bows. His prank playing mind quickly turned to mischief and what he could use the decorations for. Needless to say he had brought one of the large bows and three lengths of the tinsel.

"On darn it" Lucas said and slapped his forehead that he had been too busy tied up with what presents to buy that he had totally forgot about buying decorations for the cabin and tree. "I'm sorry I forgot" he apologized and then winced as he took out his wallet and saw the couple of dollars he had left crumpled up inside. He didn't know how he was going to tell them that he had just about run out of money. Pride kept him from asking the Captain like had been suggested earlier.

Kristen could see the panged look on the boy's face. Whilst she didn't know the real reason why he looked to be out of pocket, she did have a suggestion to help him.

"Don't worry about it Lucas. I got some stuff where me and you can make our own decorations this afternoon when we get back to the cabin, okay?" Kristen now said.

"Really? What did you get?" he now asked, the curiosity getting to him.

"It's a surprise. You can all help once we get back to the resort." she said with a grin. "We have to get that tree first anyway before we can use any of the decorations."

"Hey can we get some of those donuts before we get back in the car?" Lucas asked as the crew walked towards the same doors they had come in.

"You're hungry again Lucas?" Miguel asked. "Come to think of it so am I" he added though as they walked past the counter. The aroma was hard to resist.

By the time they found the vehicles again, most of them enjoyed the sugar coated delicacies on the trip back to the resort. The backs of the vehicles were laden down with the bags and presents that everybody had bought. Everybody seemed happy enough with the purchases they had made and the gifts that they had chosen for one another. They could hardly wait to see the looks on the faces of those who they had bought for.

**************************************************************************** *********

The trip from the shopping centre in Aspen to the resort Snowmass Village was an enjoyable one for all. Although they were in separate vehicles, both teams decided to really get into the real spirit of Christmas and they all started singing Christmas Carols.

Of course some of the verses were a little hazy as to how the words went and the singing itself was a little off key in places. But to Bridger, the sound of those seeing the smiles on the faces around him and the sound of those voices, made this trip all worth while. He could scarcely remember the crew having such a good time.

Once they had reached the resort, the task of unloading the bags and parcels was taken care of. The next order of business was to find a Christmas tree for the decorations they had bought.

Everybody except Bridger and Kristen opted to go out looking for the tree. Kristen promised that she would have a special surprise and activity for them all to do when they returned with the tree.

The team for the tree search now put on some extra warmer clothing and headed off a little away from the cabin in search of the best looking Christmas tree.

Lucas was following behind the team, lagging behind occasionally to take in the breath taking scenery around him. Because of the recent and deep snow falls, every thing looked new and crisp. The scent of the pine needles invaded his senses giving off the most refreshing aroma as they walked through the trees.

The team wandered from tree to tree, discussing the merits and problems of each prospect. All the trees they looked at were either too fat, too skinny, too tall or too short. Lucas left it to the others to pick out the tree. He didn't have any real experience in choosing which tree was likely to be the best.

They had now travelled as far as they dared without knowing the terrain. It was actually one the return trip that Miguel spotted what he thought was the perfect tree. The specimen was too big in total for them to cut down and drag back to the cabin.

But it was just short enough for Commander Ford to be able to saw the top off the pine. That way they covered both bases. They had a big enough tree to put into the cabin without it being overly big and making a mess they would only have to clean up later. And secondly the tree would be allowed to continue to grow and in a few years time somebody else would have a whole new Christmas tree ready to be used.

Tim had managed to get a hold of a small hand saw from the local maintenance man at the resort to enable them to cut down the small section of tree. It was this saw that Miguel and Ford now used in tandem. Neither of them imagined how difficult the pine would be to cut at first. Even though it was a smallish tree, the frozen trunk proved a little tougher to saw and cut through. Both of them complained about their arm muscles aching from the effort.

Lucas had been standing a few metres away from everyone else, just content to let the others bicker and fight over what needed to be done. He was just so enthralled with the magnificence of the natural surroundings.

Commander Ford had been carefully monitoring where the branch was going to fall. He noted that Lucas was standing only a short distance from where he estimated it would fall.

"Stand back, Lucas, this tree is going to fall right where you're standing." Ford said as Miguel had taken over the sawing once more and continued to whack at the trunk, about four feet from the top of the tree.

Lucas did not move. He was too busy watching looking around at the mountains in the distance wondering which one that they were likely to be skiing on tomorrow morning after they took some lessons. At the sound of Commander Ford's voice, Lucas turned his head. Before he knew it, he was looking up into a Christmas tree as it fell from the sky. "Lucas!" yelled Ben as he lunged at the teenager's legs. Just in the nick of time, he pushed Lucas to the side, thus avoiding the imminent collision of boy and tree.

Everybody concerned had held their breath as they had watched the branch of the tree fall towards the unsuspecting teenager. Now that he was safely laying on the snow covered ground unharmed they all exhaled loudly allowing themselves to relax a little.

"Are you alright Lucas?" Ben managed to ask once he got his voice back. He didn't think he just acted. All he could see was the branch falling towards his best friend. The branch wasn't overly big but it still may have caused some pain to the boy if it had of hit him. He didn't want to think about it.

"Y-Yeah" Lucas said, his teeth chattering slightly from laying on the cold snow. He pulled himself up into a sitting position. He wrapped his arms tightly around his chest as the coldness began to seep deeper into his damp clothing and through his skin.

"Katie, you take Lucas back to the cabin now to start getting warmed up. By the time you walk back he will be even colder. Me and the other guys can drag the tree together and be right behind you." Ben now suggested as he glanced over the teenager, looking for any signs of injury. Thankfully he couldn't see any but he could see how cold the boy was beginning to become and he wanted him indoors and in dry clothes.

Lucas was now standing up and gladly started walking back towards the cabin with Katie. He could barely wait until he could have a hot shower and get warm again.

"ACHOO" Lucas sneezed. Katie threw him an "Uh-oh" look and quickened their pace to the cabin.

Lucas sneezed twice more before they got there. When they opened the door Bridger and Kristen were immediately on their feet looking with concern at the shivering teenager.

"What happened?" Kristen asked as she helped Katie direct the cold and wet teenager inside the cabin. By this time the cold wind that blew outside had caused the water on Lucas's pants from the snow to form icicles.

"Lucas got wet in the snow" Katie said a little nervously not really wanting to bear the full force of Kristen's and Bridger's wrath alone when she informed them that their boy was almost hit by a falling pine tree. She would leave that little piece of information until the others returned.

Kristen wasn't really satisfied with the half-hearted explanation but knew that they had to worry about getting Lucas dry and warm first.

"Nathan, you go with Lucas and get the hot shower started and him in it. I will fix us all a nice jug of hot cider for when the others get back." Kristen now said. "How far are the others behind you?"

"Did somebody mention us?" Ben Krieg asked as they walked through the door without knocking. He and Ford were on the front end of the pine tree while Tim and Miguel were grumbling about how they got stuck with the heavier end.

"ACHOO" Lucas said sneezing again which promptly brought Nathan back to reality about the hot shower.

"We will all talk shortly" he said as went into Lucas's bedroom. "You get out of those wet clothes Lucas and I will get the shower nice and hot for you and find some dry clothes." Lucas did as he was told.

The pine tree had been set up in one corner of the room and although it brightened the room somewhat with his green needles. It also looked a little bare at the moment they all noticed.

"So how did Lucas manage to get all wet from the snow?" Bridger asked the rest of the crew while Lucas was getting changed from his wet clothes.

Everybody's eyes quickly fell on Ben to come up with an answer that Bridger would be happy about. None of them were too happy in explaining to the Captain what had almost happened to his favourite person.

"Well you see sir...." Ben started to say, trying to think of a easy get away for everybody. Then changing his mind all together and deciding that the doctor and the Captain deserved to know what really happened on their tree hunting expedition, Ben told them about the near miss with the teenager and the tree.

Bridger had paled slightly when he was told how close the boy had come to being tangled up in the falling tree's branches. He had been so relieved to hear about Ben's quick reflexes and actions in knocking the boy off his feet to avoid injury.

Ben assured Bridger and the doctor that Lucas was fine, just a little wet from the snow as they had seen. The Captain decided to leave it at that as the boy didn't seem any worse for wear. Although they had all heard him sneezing once or twice, the hot shower and warm clothes should help to cull the onset of any cold or flu.

About half an hour later, a much warmer Lucas now came out into the living room of Bridger's cabin and sat down on the sofa next to Ben. All of the crew were seated there, idly talking about anything and everything.

While Lucas had been in taking his shower, Kristen had made the jug of cider and was now making something else for everyone. It was the surprise that she had told Lucas about back at the shopping centre in Aspen.

The crew turned their heads towards the small kitchenette of the cabin at the most delicious aroma they could smell wafting towards them.

"What is that wonderful smell?" Katie asked for everybody as they all lifted their noses into the air and just inhaled the warm scented smells.

"Freshly made popcorn" Kristen said. "But they are not for eating just yet." she warned as she now walked over to Commander Ford and Tim O'Neill and handed them each a large sewing needle and a length of string.

"Um doctor, I think I have to warn you that I didn't take sewing lessons back in high school" Ford joked as he looked a little confused at the needle and string.

"No silly, it's for threading the popcorn onto the string. We can make garlands to put onto the tree you went out to get. Edible decorations" she said as she took Commander Ford's needle and threaded it with the string. Kristen laid out a large bowl of popcorn on a table in front of everyone and then carefully demonstrated how to use the needle to thread the popcorn onto the string without breaking it.

After a few minutes, the crew were all sitting in the room trying to thread the small pieces of popcorn onto the string. It was harder than it looked and most of them found the popcorn breaking into pieces before they could put it onto the string.

Even Lucas was trying his best to participate. He had actually made a fairly good start and had a garland of popcorn about a foot long now. Whenever one of them would break he would quickly put it into his mouth and try for another. Problem was that the popcorn was disappearing into everybody's mouth quicker than it was being threaded onto the string.

After an hour of threading, the popcorn bowl on the coffee table was now empty and they had about a metre and a half of garland for the Christmas tree.

Ben and Katie went to the bags and gathered everybody's Christmas decorations from the shops. For the rest of the afternoon they each took a turn in putting firstly a length of popcorn garland or tinsel around the tree. And once that was done they each placed two ornaments onto the tree for the final affect.

When it was all finished, they stood back a little and gazed at the lovely sight in front of them.

"Boy this is the best Christmas ever you guys" Lucas now said as he gazed at the decorated tree. "I never strung popcorn on a tree before or even put any decorations on one since I was about five" he now added.

The crew couldn't help but feel a little saddened by Lucas's admission. It was Ben who voiced that opinion to the teenager.

"Didn't your folks believe in Christmas at home Lucas?" Ben asked, genuinely interested in knowing but not knowing how the boy would take the question.

Lucas knew that everybody felt sorry for him about what had happened in the past. But because of the fun he had been having even in just the last 48 hours, he was determined to answer the question without getting to upset about what he had missed out on in past years gone by.

"Any of you remember seeing that cartoon about the Grinch before?" Lucas replied with a question of his own to everybody. "You know, the green guy who goes into the town and steals all of the presents and food and decorations and stuff?"

The crew all nodded as they remembered such a cartoon from their childhood's.

"Well my father was like the Grinch" Lucas said trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "He was like Scrooge, didn't believe in Christmas, thought everybody should be working on Christmas day, didn't think there was any need for a holiday or presents. His logic was that because he didn't have an ounce of Christmas spirit or cheer in him then neither should anybody else."

Lucas could see the sad looks on everybody's faces. He was determined not to let the memories get to him again "But that's all in the past now anyway. So let's leave it where it belongs." he said cheerfully.

"Let's go outside and play in the snow" he now said, noting that they still had another hour or so of daylight left before the temperature would start to drop even more again.

The crew couldn't help but admire the kid's gumption. They remembered what the Captain had told them about making this the best darned Christmas Lucas had ever had and they aimed to see it all happen.

"Last one outside is a rotten egg" Lucas shouted with mirth and raced to the door followed closely behind by everybody else.

"Hey Lucas let's build a snowman!" Ben announced once they were outside.

"Okay, but I have never done it before" Lucas replied with enthusiasm.

"Let me show you how it's done my boy" Ben said as he draped an arm around Lucas's neck and led him over to a fairly flat and even piece of ground not far from the cabin.

Lucas's enthusiasm soon waned as he walked around the area, rolling a large ball of ice to make the bottom ball for the snowman. He didn't think trying to roll a ball of snow would be so hard on your arms and legs.

To start with he had knelt down and begun rolling a small chunk of snow across the ground. He let it collect more and more snow until he had a very large ball.

"Help me out would you Ben" Lucas asked, seeing that Ben was doing more of the supervisory role whilst everybody else was freezing from handling the cold, hard snow. "This is my snowman and he's getting too fat." Lucas announced when he thought the ball was big enough. The crew couldn't help but burst out in laughter at the boy's description of his would be snow creation.

Ben came to help friend. Once they had the bottom one finished, Lucas groaned out loud when he was told there was another two to do yet before the snowman was anywhere near complete. They rolled, and rolled and rolled.

Katie and Tim took pity on Lucas and offered to make the middle ball while he and Ben moved the large bottom one into position.

"That's a great bottom, Lucas" Bridger commented, trying to keep the boy's spirit's high about the whole project. He hadn't built too many snowmen in his own lifetime he must admit.

Within the hour, the crew had managed to finish rolling all three balls to make the snowman. Each of them was now stacked on top of one another and looking a little like the right shape at least.

"We need other stuff to make it complete" Tim now said as they gazed at the very white and plain snowman. At the moment apart from the outline, you couldn't even really tell it was meant to be a snowman. It was just three balls of snow stacked onto of each other in a tower formation.

"We need a hat and a scarf for him don't we" Lucas now suggested, remembering from pictures he had seen on TV and other sources about what snowmen were supposed to look like.

"Yeah Lucas, and pieces of charcoal to make the eyes and mouth" Tim added in.

"Don't forget a carrot for his nose" Kristen said as she smiled that the crew's playful antics. Unlike Bridger she had managed to make quite a few snowmen during her childhood.

"Um people, we had better leave the snowman decorating to tomorrow" Bridger now said as he glanced up at the sky and noted the failing light and the light snow flakes just starting to drift down from the heavens.

Everybody reluctantly agreed that it was best to leave it until the next day. They all headed into their assigned cabins for that hot shower but this time there was a line up at each bathroom as they all needed to have one this time and not just Lucas.

"Did we make it okay out there?" Lucas asked, wanting Bridger's opinion on their building project.

Bridger could see that although his comments were going to bring the end of the world for the teenager, Lucas was searching for approval. It wasn't a new thing this approval seeking. Something that Lucas had probably been looking for all of his life and never got from his parents.

"It's great Lucas. Just needs the little bits and pieces tomorrow to make him come to life" Bridger now said with honesty.

With the wind picking up outside that evening, everybody voted for getting their meals delivered to the cabins and spending a nice cosy little night inside where it was warm.

They had all ordered hot meals together with piping hot soup for entrée to warm their insides before the main meal.

The crew had spent a relaxing night watching TV and all of the various Christmas variety shows that were programmed. It was now the 23rd December, two more days until Christmas day so there were lots of movies about Christmas and Santa Claus and his reindeer. Lucas had enjoyed everyone they had watched until his eyelids began to feel heavy and he started dozing off on the couch.

Kristen woke him sufficiently enough to go to bed before he could fall fully asleep on the couch and need moving once they all retired for the night. She made sure that she listened to his chest as she wrapped the blankets tightly around him as he snuggled down into the bed. She was pleased when she couldn't hear any signs of a cold or cough from earlier in the day.

"Good night Lucas" she whispered and smiled at the drowsy mumble she got in response.

**************************************************************************** ******

Kristen had walked back into the living room and announced that she was also going to bed for the night. Bridger told the other crew members that they could stay as long as they liked in their cabin before excusing himself and going to bed also. Tomorrow was going to be a great new experience for most of them and he wanted to make sure that he was fully awake for it all.

With the Captain and the good doctor now retired for the night, Ben Krieg looked back towards his fellow crew members with mischief written all over his face. He had carefully hidden the red ribbons and bow that he had purchased from the shopping centre and now it was time to bring them out and use them.

Ben had told them all to meet back in Bridger's cabin in the pre-dawn hours. He didn't want to risk Lucas waking up before the prank was sprung or ruined because the boy had rolled over in his sleep.

Ben had taken pleasure in digging all involved in the ribs at 5.30am the next morning but then they had all set about doing their part.

Katie told everybody that she was taking no part in whatever prank they had in store for Lucas thanks to her ex-husband, but because she was sleeping in the same room as Lucas, she soon found herself being roped in as lookout in case the Captain or Doctor should come in to check on the teenager before they were finished.

Tim busied himself with writing out the extra large size gift tag that was bought, whilst Ben, Miguel and Jonathan went about sneaking into Lucas's room without being heard.

They were a little worried that the teenager might be in a light sleep and could wake up before they were finished. Now they were standing over Lucas's bed and were glad to see that the boy was deeply asleep. Ben had even tried to wake the teenager by brushing the blond hair off his face, but much to their relief he hadn't even stirred at Ben's touch.

Miguel handed Ford one end of the wide red ribbon and this was carefully tied loosely around Lucas's feet, securing them together. The other end was then draped around his arms and then finally secured around his neck. They had wanted to wrap it around his chest too but thought moving him so the ribbon could be placed underneath him might wake him no matter how deep his sleep.

When all the ribbon was used the three of them stood back towards the doorway and took note of their wrapping expertise. Tim now walked in and whistled at what they had done to Lucas. He wasn't sure that the Captain and Kristen were going to be very happy at all about what they were doing. He was pretty sure that Lucas was going to have some words to say about it all in the morning.

It was all in harmless fun though and at the end of the day they didn't think too many sparks would fly. They could scarcely keep from laughing though about how Lucas was going to react when he woke up in the morning.

"Have you got the tag all written out Tim?" Ben now asked. Tim nodded and handed the tag to him to peruse first for approval.

Ben smiled when he read the inscription that Tim had written. Now the gift tag and extra large bow were secured in place around Lucas's neck, just under his chin. It's careful placement slightly to the side should mean that Lucas shouldn't feel it against his skin if he rolled over before he woke up. They weren't so sure about the ribbon wrapped around his feet and arms, but they hoped and prayed that the kid didn't move around too much in the next couple of hours. Chances were that the Captain would be awake in another hour or so anyway.

None of the team could go back to sleep after they had finished preparing the surprise for the Captain, so they had gone about cooking breakfast for him and Kristen before they awoke. They were going to need something as a means of bribery they thought.

As if on cue, Bridger found himself awake at 6:45am. He laughed out loud to himself about managing to oversleep an extra fifteen minutes this morning before putting on his robe and slippers and heading out into the living room area.

He was a little startled to say the least when the majority of the crew were seated at the table eating breakfast.

"Morning Captain" came the cheerful greeting from Tim O'Neill.

"Morning" Bridger said, looking around suspiciously at the room as if something was amiss. He knew that they were all up to something but he couldn't work out what.

"What's going on you guys?" he decided to ask straight forward.

"Oh I think Santa Claus came a little earlier for you this year Sir" Ben now said, a little too formerly for Bridger's liking. Ben very rarely greeted any superior officer with "Sir" unless he had to. The fact that he said it this morning of all days, make Bridger even more suspicious. He could see the crew trying to hide smirks and grins behind their coffee cups so whatever it was couldn't be too bad.

Ben pointed in the direction of Lucas's room for the Captain and watched the man head towards there. All quickly got up from the table and stood behind Bridger as he entered the teenager's room.

When he turned on the light, at first he was stunned to say the least. His eyes took in all of the red ribbon and bows but it took a few more seconds for it to sink in that Lucas was actually underneath all of the decorations.

Bridger chuckled to himself as it hit him what the crew had done. He walked over softly, seeing that the teenager was still asleep and not wanting to disturb him. He could see that they had done a good job in wrapping him up in the ribbon. He couldn't imagine what the boy's reaction was going to be when he did wake up.

Bridger now bent over slightly and allowed himself to read the gift tag that was adorning Lucas's neck. It read:

To the Captain:

We found this young man and thought that you might be able to take in him in and give him a home. He needs guidance, support and somewhere to live for a while. He is also in need of an extra dose of patience and understanding but above all else, love.

We hope you approve of what we picked out and trust that you will do the right thing.

Merry Xmas - your crew

"Thanks to all of you, I actually think it's a great gift rather than a practical joke" Bridger said, hoping they didn't see the mist that he wiped away from his eyes suddenly. To him he couldn't have thought of a better gift to receive this year than Lucas. Obviously the crew thought the same way he did too and he was grateful for that.

"Your welcome Captain" came from them all in unison.

"And just what are you going to tell him when he wakes up?" Bridger now said, thinking back to Lucas's reaction to it all.

"Um we were sort of thinking that you might be able to speak up for us Captain" Ben now said in fun.

Kristen had now awoken and joined them all at the doorway. They all stood aside so that the doctor could walk into the room and survey what they had done.

She could scarcely hold back a laugh when she saw Lucas trussed up like a prized turkey, meant to be an early Christmas gift for the Captain. She too read the note and smile at the genuine heart felt message that they had all meant.

Lucas still hadn't stirred by this time and had yet to notice that he was wrapped up in red ribbon so they all left to enjoy their breakfast and leave him wake up on his own.

They didn't have to wait long though when a resounding "BEN...... WHAT THE HELL

...... BEN KRIEG WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME" came from within the bedroom.

All of them laughed heartily at the teenager's comments. It was just the reaction they had been looking for. After a few minutes of more threats to do bodily injury to a certain Lieutenant if they didn't help get him out of his bondage, Ben did go to help his friend.

Once he was all untied, Lucas had been a little more relaxed about the whole idea and after reading the gift tag had laughed along with the rest of them at himself. He didn't plan to let this little exercise go without retaliation though. And it was halfway through his breakfast that an idea came to him that could get them all back at once.



TO BE CONTINUED.......

Sorry folks, I promised a few people that this whole story would be totally up on Christmas Eve or

Christmas Day for you all. Whilst I still aim to do just that, my hopes of getting it all finished in time are slowly fading. I have written what would normally take me a week and a half or so in about three days so please don't hate me if I don't quite keep to schedule.

Many many thanks to Sammie who helped read this story to see if it made sense. Thanks again.

Some of the information I have used in this story including the name of the snow resort actually exist, but I did not to offend them or anything else I have written about buy using their names in my story. I used them to help bring the story to life.

There is about the same amount of writing to do yet. The elfy bits will be in the next part - nothing to over the top this time though - this is supposed to be a Christmas story where everybody lives happily ever after but it wouldn't be my story if there wasn't something a little nasty about to happen in the middle.

Please let me know what you think as this is my first Christmas story of any description. As stated before, I don't know anything about snow, ice, Aspen or even how Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world so please don't be offended if I don't get it quite right.

May all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year for 2003. Lots more writing to come next year, finishing off a few old ones and a whole new set of stories to hopely keep you entertained until this time next year.



JULES