Wow, what a great welcome to FanFiction.net! I appreciate all the positive and constructive feedback I received on Chapter 1 of this story. I hadn't actually intended to make this a two-part story, but after such wonderful words of encouragement, how could I not continue. Thanks go out to Andelia, kas7, Liz, dolphinology, FishFace12, Teresa, Hwi-Noree, and, of course, Kiddo. I apologize sincerely if I missed anyone.

Hopefully, I did this right this time. Last time I posted, I wasn't quite sure how it would look when it was up on FanFiction.net. This will be the last chapter of this story. But I've got some other ideas floating around in this puddle of mush I call a brain.

Thanks again, Kiddo, for catching my errors :o) What would I do without you? "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" opens 2 weeks from Friday! Yay!

Ricochet

Chapter 2

Bridger led the grumbling teenager down the corridors of the SeaQuest until they got to the medbay. He decided not to lecture the young man about some of the language coming out of his mouth. When they got to the medbay, Bridger motioned for Lucas to take a seat in a chair. Lucas sat with a grumpy expression on his face. Bridger looked around for Kristin before he remembered that it was 3:30 in the morning. Kristin would be asleep in her quarters right now. Bridger walked over to the comm unit on the wall by the door.

He looked over at Lucas with a wicked glint in his eyes. Lucas looked on curiously as Bridger pushed a button on the unit. "Bridge," came the voice of Tim O'Neill.

"O'Neill, this is Bridger. I need you to put me through to Dr. Westphalen's quarters."

"Sir," came O'Neill's uncertain reply, "it's...well...it's 3:30 in the morning, Sir."

Bridger's smile got even wider. "I know, Lieutenant."

"Aye, Sir." Before Tim put the captain on hold, Bridger thought he caught the words "your funeral" being muttered under the lieutenant's breath.

A moment later, Bridger heard the tone of the comm unit going off in Kristin's quarters. It was a full three minutes before Kristin's sleepy voice answered. "Y-yes?"

"Good morning, Doctor," Bridger said pleasantly. "I need you to come to medbay for a minute or two."

"Nathan Bridger, what in god's name is wrong with you?"

Lucas let out a snort of laughter. Bridger winked at the teenager. Things wouldn't be too pleasant for the kid once Dr. Westphalen got to medbay - might as well give him a laugh now. "I'm not sure what you mean, Doctor," Bridger said, innocence practically dripping from his voice.

"You know perfectly well what I mean," came the doctor's voice, followed by the rustling of sheets. Both Bridger and Lucas could have sworn they heard the words "military" and "peabrain" being grumbled.

Lucas couldn't stop grinning. Oh yeah? Bridger thought. We'll see about that. "I need you to come take a look at something in medbay for me," he said into the comm unit.

"And what, may I ask, is so important that it needs looking at when it's 3:30 in the morning?"

"Oh," Bridger started, "Lucas has some bruises I'd like you to check out." The amused grin on Lucas' face disappeared so quickly that Bridger could barely tell it had been there at all. His own grew a bit wider. "Of course, if you'd rather wait until tomorrow-"

"Three minutes," the doctor cut him off. "Don't go anywhere."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Bridger answered before severing the connection. He turned to Lucas. Glancing at the clock, he said, "I give her a minute and 40."

"Ha, ha, " Lucas almost growled. Bridger just raised his eyebrows. Lucas had to smile. "Oh, all right - I'll give her two minutes and 10." Bridger chuckled to himself and sat down next to Lucas so he could keep an eye on the clock.

Approximately two minutes and eight seconds later, the medbay doors opened and Dr. Westphalen came walking briskly through them. Lucas smiled briefly at Bridger. "You owe me."

"Sure," said Bridger, with a bright smile. "Just don't forget why we're here." Bridger stood up as Lucas' face fell again.

The doctor came over and stood next to Bridger, facing Lucas. If he hadn't been apprehensive about the doctor looking at his neck, Lucas would have laughed at the doctor's appearance. Her hair was sticking up in several directions, her bathrobe had been hastily thrown over wrinkled pajamas, and there were no shoes on her feet - just socks. For someone who looked so professional and proper on a daily basis, she sure looked a mess.

"Nice hair," Bridger said with a smirk, which he quickly lost as the doctor turned her glaring eyes on him.

"Nathan Bridger," she began, "don't you dare say another word about my appearance. You are the one who dragged me out of my cabin at this ungodly hour." Now she glanced from Bridger to Lucas, and back again. "Now, what's this about bruises?"

Bridger cleared his throat and nodded to Lucas. "Show her." Rolling his eyes, Lucas hesitantly moved his hands up to the collar of his turtleneck. Carefully, he folded it down. He cast his eyes downward so he wouldn't have to look Westphalen in the eyes. Even though he couldn't see her, he could still hear her. He heard the quick intake of breath and the clucking sound she made with her tongue.

After a full minute of uncomfortable silence, Lucas risked a glance up at the doctor. She was standing with her hands on her hips, a stern expression on her face, and one eyebrow arched. "And how did that happen, young man?" Dr. Westphalen asked.

"Umm," Lucas started, "well...you see...it was like this..."

"Yes?" prompted the doctor. "Well," Lucas began again, "i-it happened at Node 3."

"And what exactly happened at Node 3?" Lucas looked down at the floor. "Let me guess, you don't want to tell me." Lucas silently nodded. "Pillow tried to strangle you, I expect?" She looked at Bridger. Bridger mouthed the word "later" and the doctor simply nodded, knowing that she would get the whole story at some point. Kristin just put a smile on her face and bent forward. She grasped Lucas' chin and tilted his head up until his eyes met hers. "Well, I suppose grown- ups aren't meant to know everything children get up to. Not children," she corrected herself when she saw him scowl, "young adults."

Lucas jerked his thumb in Bridger's direction. "Tell HIM that."

Kristin winked at Lucas. "Oh, I'm sure you'll have plenty opportunity to teach him that yourself." Lucas tried to keep from smiling, but felt the corners of his mouth turning up anyway. "There we are, I knew I could get a smile out of you. Now, I just want to check you out, ok?"

"Sure," Lucas replied.

"Ok." She reached out a gentle hand and ran her fingers lightly over the bruises encircling Lucas' neck. "Does that hurt?" Lucas shook his head. She kept running her fingers over the bruises, this time putting a slight pressure on them. Lucas winced. "I guess I don't need to ask if that hurt." She walked over to a medical supply cabinet and took out a small penlight. Returning to stand in front of Lucas, she instructed him, "Tilt your head back, open your mouth, and say 'Ahhhh.'" Lucas did as he was told and the doctor shone the light down his throat. She turned the light off and Lucas closed his mouth. "Hmm, your throat is a bit raw. Is it sore at all?"

Lucas nodded. "A little."

"All right. Now, for the next three days, I want you to gargle with salt water twice a day. Best do it when you get up in the morning and when you go to bed at night - makes it easier to remember." Lucas nodded. "Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot to do for the bruises. But, my suggestion would be to take a cold pack - there are some in the freezer here - wrap it in a towel, and hold it 'round your neck when you're in your cabin."

"Sounds easy enough," said Lucas.

"Good." Dr. Westphalen shifted her glance to Bridger for a second before focusing her attention back on Lucas. "Since it's late, why don't you use the lavatory here to gargle before you go back to bed?" Lucas nodded and started in the direction of the medbay lavatory. "The salt is in the cabinet to the left," she called out as Lucas disappeared into the next room. Dr. Westphalen turned back to Bridger. "Well, what happened?"

Bridger could hear the water running in the next room. "Well," he started, and he proceeded to tell the doctor everything that happened to Lucas on Node 3. When he was done, he could still hear Lucas gargling and spitting in the lavatory.

Kristin was visibly upset at the news. "That poor boy, no wonder he was sore. Why didn't he tell anyone?"

"He didn't want anyone to think he was a coward. He only told me a little while ago because I ran into him at the moonpool. He's had trouble sleeping the last few nights - nightmares - and I thought talking would help."

The sound of running water in the lavatory stopped. A second later, Lucas came back into the medbay, yawning and stretching, his arms up in the air. "Well," he began, "I'm beat. I'm going to head off to bed, if that's ok with you two?"

"Sure thing," Bridger said.

Lucas started heading toward the exit door when Kristin grabbed him and hugged him tight. Bridger almost laughed at the shocked and completely confused expression that came over Lucas' face. "Uhhh...goodnight to you too, Doctor?"

Dr. Westphalen released him with a brief pat on the back. "Goodnight, Lucas. Let me know if that doesn't feel better in a few days."

"Yeah, sure." Lucas left the medbay, glancing over his shoulder at the doctor as he went, the same bewildered expression on his face.

Bridger and Kristin watched him go. They said nothing for a few moments. Without taking his eyes off the door, Bridger asked, " Do you ever feel like this is a ship full of children and we're the parents?" "All the time," Kristin replied, still staring at the door. And at that, they left the medbay and headed to their own beds, discussing the various "children" they were looking after on the ship.

The End

I know it doesn't take that long to gargle, but for the purposes of this story, it does.