A/N: This has been spell checked, half beta'd,so all mistakes are my own. The final part is most done, just hoping to get it done before summer semester starts!
Thursday 0930
Bridger's Island
The day began like any normal Thursday, with running, showers, house cleaning, and laundry. Lucas had cleaned his room the night before, but it still looked like a teenager lived in it. He had taken the news of the exams pretty well, checking the data bases for reports and credentials. The doctors were both well respected, with high security clearances.
Kristen knew what was coming, and had spoken to Lucas about it. He'd gotten a deranged smile when the shrink was mentioned. He wouldn't explained it, only offering Kristen a shrug. She had the strangest feeling she'd be counseling the lady after the session. She knew Lucas had deranged sense of humor, that was partially what she liked about him. He never shied from a large needle, only cocking an eyebrow and begging for a bigger one. At first she'd thought he was crazy, then realized it was his way of releasing the anxiety of medical exams.
Kristen sat outside watching the waves lap the beach, letting the ancient rhythm soothe her. Lucas slept on, having wonderful dreams of semi-clad females frolicking on the beach.
Finally around 1000, a boat approached with four passengers. Nathan walked down the dock to welcome the boat. Kristen had went to awaken Lucas, only she knocked too softly. She walked in on a underwear only teenager. He blushed slightly, but then blew a kiss at her. She was about to apologize, then just winked at the teen.
"The boats here. You probably should be dressed in at least shorts."
"I'd much rather face the shrink in less than my underwear."
An eyebrow raised.
"Any particular reason?"
"Nah, nudity tends to scare them. I'm not shy, plus a blushing shrink is always fun."
Kristen laughed, then shook her head.
"Play nice."
"Ben promised to help me. He's not shy either."
"If I see any nudist, I will personally guarantee a fate worse than death."
"Which is?"
"I'll think of something."
Lucas put his hands up.
"Ok, but I don't have to like wearing clothes."
"Reasonable."
She walked out, closing the door. Lucas dressed, pulling on shorts and an old Dust Puppy shirt. He loved Dust Puppy, but could completely see Crud Puppy's point to view. He walked to the kitchen, finding a pop tart and a glass of milk, then went to greet the guests.
Nathan was talking to two pressed uniform officers, while Kristen was talking to two women in basic civilian garments. Lucas walked toward the group, smiling at the strange looks he was getting. He knew what type of first impression he normally made. Kristen smiled, motioning him over.
"Lucas. This is Doctor Frazier and Doctor Smith."
Lucas shook both doctors hands, smiling at the resemblance between the red haired ones. He knew the black haired one was the shrink, but she seemed nice. He'd play nice as long as she didn't ask too many questions about his sex life. He'd been through too many sessions with his mothers pet shrink over that. He could understand questions about it now, but he'd only been 9 when he'd had to talk with Joe. His body had only began to think that maybe he could do more than urinate with that particular organ.
Nathan and the officers walked over, smiling at the group. Nathan looked at Lucas.
"Lucas, these are the JAG officers that will be representing the case. Major Sara Mackenzie and Commander Harmon Rabb."
Lucas shook the offered hands.
"So how's it look to you guys?"
Harm smiled.
"Pretty good. They will need your testimony and the good doctors approval, but everything looks wrapped up."
"Good. Can I request a loudly played 'Good Bye' for Lawrence?"
The statement was laden with sarcasm. The officers noticed none of the other adults scoffed at the thought. They had read through Lucas' medical history, the doctors had looked at the body scans, noting the old scars and fractures not noted on the charts. Lucas himself had hacked into a data base to get some of the information that had been edited from the charts. The information he found was not admissible in court, but it did explain some of the fractures. Dr. Frazier had been amazed at the sheer amount of old injuries. She said he had the same amount of injuries of one of her special ops team combined, including Daniel. She had refused to answer any further on the name, but had shaken her head sadly.
Janet looked at the teen in front of her. He looked healthy, normal weight and height. He had the most beautiful blue eyes, that could rival either Daniel's or Sam's. She had been afraid of the person she'd meet. She thought he might be withdrawn, very pale, severely underweight, even with the constant care of a doctor. The sheer amount of injuries that had been very old, some even received during infancy. He did have some new fractures and strains, but they were all documented with events on an active military vessel. He'd gotten one concussion during his tour, but that had been when the vessel was attacked and there had been only two dozen other concussions reported at the same time. The boy had been on the bridge at the time of the accident. He and another officer had been thrown from their seats.
Janet looked at the JAG officers.
"So what do you want to do first? Do you want to talk to the rest of the crew while we have Lucas or vice versa?"
Mac looked around, seeing the gathered people looking at them.
"You do the medical first, we can do interviews and look around the island."
"Darwin first!"
The visitors jumped at the sound. The SeaQuest people only smiled.
"I was wondering when you'd show up."
"Darwin fishing. Catch more than Bridger!"
"Watch it fish face, or I'll make you eat Lucas' cooking."
The only answer was laughter. Lucas looked at the bewildered faces.
"They did warn you about him, didn't they?"
Three heads shook no, while one looked like she knew.
"Jack told me his cousin worked with a talking dolphin, but I thought he was joking."
A tall brunette with glasses walked up.
"You work with Jack? My sympathies."
"He's handleable. I normally get out a large needle and he quiets nicely."
"Tim O'Neill."
"Janet Frazier."
"Jack's told me about you! He kept saying how much you love to torture him. He even sent me pictures of the team, you and your daughter, and someone named dementer in training."
Janet nodded. Leave it to Jack to give out pictures of his clone. Classified meant not telling the national press. She could see that Tim and the crew were used to classified, but all lived together, so everyone had all access.
"He showed us some pictures of the family reunion, but didn't talk much about it."
"He's trying to run away from one of the aunts that thinks he needs to be married to the blonde on his team."
"Sam?"
"I think so. She's pretty, but they don't understand the whole military rules and regs."
"True. She does need a date."
Tim smiled, almost laughing at the look of annoyance.
"You guys get the same as we do. Why don't you date? Aren't there any pretty girls around? I know a.."
Janet laughed.
"More true than you know. I can see Lucas has some pretty good role models."
Tim shrugged.
"I guess. He was 'good' when he came to us. We just helped a little, some for the better, some for the worse."'
She laughed, knowing SG-1 had the same effect on Cassie. She turned to the other doctors, smiling.
"What room do you want to be examined in?"
Lucas shrugged, then led the way into the house. He went into his room, sitting down on the bed. Kristen walked in after the women.
"Do you want me in here or is it better that I leave?"
Lucas smiled.
"I'm easy either way."
Dr. Frazier spoke next.
"We'd like it if you'd stay for the physical part, it's easier than referencing the notes and files. Dr. Smith will probably want to see him alone for the psych part."
"Yes, I would."
"Not a problem. I've seen everything he has to throw at me."
Lucas winked, making Kristen sigh and shake her head. This would be an interesting day.
The JAG lawyers walked around the island with Nathan and the crew. They noted how talkative the people were. They tended to get along, without being ultra formal. There were no sirs or ma ams, everyone was on a first name basis. The only person who called the Captain by the formal title was the security officer, but the name was Cap instead of Nathan.
They toured some of the houses, knowing they would be neat. After a tour of the area, the group settled on Nathan's deck. Tim went inside and got drinks for everyone. Finally with everyone settled, Harm and Mac opened their notes and started on interviews. It was a random Q and A session, with comments coming from everyone.
"Has Lucas changed from the beginning of his tour to now?"
Ben answered.
"Quite a lot. At first he would kind of come out when he was required, then hide again. He always ate in his room, not really talking much. I talked to him more with supplies than personal. He slowly began to relax."
Miguel:
"I know he'd heard horror stories of initiation rituals and non sense like that. I first really talked to him when he helped me on the WKRS. At first thought he'd be clueless, but then he showed he could back up the Ph D's. "
Mazzy:
"Yeah, he would show up in the oddest places at different hours. He'd be in a aft conduit fixing something, and I wouldn't hear him until I was right on top of him. The kid scared me several times. He always knew what he was doing, though."
Tim:
"He used to have terrible nightmares. I'd find him wandering the maintenance areas, half scared, half exhausted. I found out he and I walked the same areas when sleep wasn't an option. At first he would not admit it, but he gradually warmed up to talking. It got to the point you could tell what external events would trigger a nightmare and I'd go over before he'd fall asleep to see if talking the situation out might help. We all started talking and just trying to help."
Jon:
"He and I didn't hit it off right away. I thought it was a buy off from the parents. I gradually began to realize that yes, he was under 18, but he was also a vital asset to the crew. He could process most things faster than the people in most places could. I also got to see him as a good person. He would play small pranks, most harmless, some just too funny not to laugh."
Ben:
"Turning my underwear purple was not funny."
Miguel:
"Itching powder in my baby powder is?"
Tim snickered.
"Ah Ha! I knew you were in on it."
"No, I just got to watch."
"Your underwear is so going to be mixed up."
The JAG officers looked at the men, laughing, remembering some of the pranks they'd seen or been part of. Katie laughed, remembering the event. Mogul had also wanted to shrink Ben's underwear to a child's size 3, but she'd been in the laundry. Finally the argument died down.
Katie:
"He used to be really shy around me. I could tell he knew what he was talking about, but he was slightly intimidated by me. He slowly got used to me, even building the stinger with me. He looked so cute when he fell asleep in it."
Nathan:
"True. He also snores like a freight train. The first impression of him was much like Jon's, but he quickly proved his worth with the whole Stark incident. He started coming to my cabin to talk, or would meet me to swim with Darwin. He would have some bad nights, but normally he could sleep ok. Darwin normally would notice when he worked for days on end, or if he was over stressed. I did my best to help. He's the son or brother to all of us."
The JAG officers continued with the questions, seeing the teen was respected, but also accepted, even being so much younger than some of the officers present.
The medical exam went fine, Kristen had to only answer a few questions, mainly on two marks not documented in any file. One was a week old, from one of the dolphins, while Lucas had been swimming with them. Lucas had just put some ointment on it and left it to heal. The other was from a IV. It was an old scar, probably as much as 12 yrs. It looked like a someone had had to do a vein cut down to insert an IV. Lucas couldn't remember it, but something that old, would be hard to remember. Lucas pulled his medical history up for the doctors to see any procedures that might have required such a thing.
Janet finished, watching him stretch. He had a lot of scars, but he seemed to have adjusted. She could see that Kristen watched over him, in a very mothering way. Lucas seemed to enjoy the attention. His room looked as it should, with geek humor and pretty girls. They were fully clothed, but the Scully poster was provocative. He had both a Dune poster and a "I want to believe" poster. The poster that made her laugh was the Rocky Horror Picture show, signed by the original cast.
It finally came time for the psych evaluation. The other doctors left the room, discussing the various new procedures that had been published. Large syllable words that sounded painful abounded. Lucas turned and faced Dr. Smith.
"What now, Doc?"
She smiled.
"Well, first, you can call me Wendy, then mainly I just need to ask some questions."
"Sure, just one thing, no in-depth inquest on my sex life, please."
She arched an eyebrow.
"I have no sex life. I am not sleeping with any of the crew. They haven't offered or are even interested. I haven't offered nor am I interested. They are my family. We are not like the Peacock family."
Seeing the puzzled look on her face he clarified.
"It's an episode of the X files. It's a family of inbreds that use their own mother to keep up the family blood lines. I've got the episode on the computer if you want to watch it."
"Maybe later. Ok, so the sex/intimacy isn't an issue?"
"No. Nathan and Kristen are dating, Ben and Katie are almost. Other than that, no one cares or squabbles. I was never treated like fresh meat. I'm more like the kid brother to most of my family."
"Does that bother you?"
"Not really. They offer advice, letting me learn from some of their mistakes. They love me for who I am, not what I can do for them."
She nodded.
"So the preference for the military crew doesn't affect your relationship with your parents?"
Lucas snorted in disgusted.
"I have no relationship with my birth parents. My mother is cold, she never wanted me. My father beat the hell out of me just to prove he could. Do you see any reasons why I would want to see them?"
The statement was made in a cold voice, with eyes mirroring in an icy blue. She decided to take the questioning in another direction.
"The Captain and Doctor are good parental figures in your life."
The eyes instantly warmed.
"Yes, they worry about me. They care if I've eaten or how much sleep I've gotten. They don't need to tear me down to make themselves feel good."
She nodded for him to continue.
"They care about what I'm doing. They are there to help and comfort me when I have nightmares. I can wake them up and tell them about it without fear. Nathan said I could even come in and sleep with them if the nightmares get to be too bad."
She smiled at the assurance he had. She had heard the Captains recap of the abuse the boy had suffered at the hands of his parents. She and the JAG officers had talked the issue over and decided he would not need to recount the episodes for the court. They had enough evidence with the medical records to prove the point. She seriously doubted the Wolenczak camp would want to bring it up.
The interview continued for about 30 minutes, with Lucas growing bored. It was understandable, but the questions still needed to be answered. She announced the end of the session, with the answers she needed. It was evident the teen was not being held against his will. He had justifiable reasons not to want to go back to the Wolenczak's. He was happy where he was, doing a job he liked, with people he liked.
They walked out to the living room. The other two doctors were still deep in discussion each with a cup of tea. Lucas walked up behind Kristen, trying to take out her hair clip. She didn't even break conversation, only grabbed his hand. He laughed, then pulled his hand back. She looked up at him.
"Behave."
"That's no fun."
She smiled.
"Why don't you go help Nathan with the grill. Ben and Miguel have been dutifully making mischief."
He smiled.
"Sure!"
He bounded outside, glad to be free. Kristen watched him, shaking her head.
"I wish I had half his energy."
Janet nodded.
"Here here! They eat whatever they want, lose weight. They get by on an hours sleep and are still alert."
"It's got to be the hormones."
The doctors nodded in agreement.
Katie and Jonathan came in, getting the plates and untensils. The doctors walked to the kitchen to get the cold food out of the fridge. They carried some salads and various condiments out to the deck. Nathan and Mazzy were grilling out burgers, chicken, and fish. Harm and Mac where hiding behind Tim and Katie as Lucas, Ben, and Miguel chased each other with water guns. Kristen laughed.
"Go closer to the beach to play."
The three men turned toward her. A smile appearing instantly.
"I get wet, you wake up with your clothes out of date."
Lucas smirked.
"Aren't Ben's already?"
With that, he ran to the side of the house. Ben and Miguel followed, laughing. Kristen laughed, shaking her head.
The meal was great, with the visitors seeing the interaction between people. They seemed to get along. They did play more than a normal crew, but they were also living on an island. They got the work done that needed to be, still held the respect officers deserved, but didn't take situations super serious. They seemed to learn to watch some situations to see exactly what needed to be done. It was a skill new officers lacked. Nathan was a good role model in that respect.
It finally came time for Lucas to talk to the JAG officers. They went into Nathan's study. Lucas sat on the rocking chair, letting the lawyers get their notes together. Finally they looked up at him. He looked relaxed with life and himself. Harm started the questioning.
"We talked to the Captain and crew earlier. They seem to be good role models for you. They also held you in high opinion. Is that a fair statement?"
Lucas nodded.
"They let me learn that some people are your friends because they like you, not what you can do for them. They also taught me how to judge and treat people."
Mac:
"Nathan and Kristen are very good parents compared to your birth parents?"
"Yes. They correct me, show what behavior is acceptable. They don't have to beat me mentally or physically to get the point across. They accept that I'm going to make mistakes, that I'm not perfect. They know reality. The Wolenczak's do not. They are so used to money making what ever reality they want to see."
Harm:
"So, it's a fair statement that you are happy and content here and with the arrangement?"
"Yes. I told Lawrence to fix his own mistakes, just like he's told me so many times. I love my family here. I like the work. I'm needed. My work is appreciated. I am appreciated. I don't ever want to go back to either Wolenczak. Cynthia doesn't want me. She's said that clear enough. Lawrence only want something to control."
The interview lasted a bit longer than the psych evaluation, but the end result was the same. Lucas voluntarily stayed on the island. He signed all the forms, stating that, even adding his own hand written request to stay.
The entire group met on the deck at around 1630. The lawyers and doctors had the necessary information for the case. It looked pretty good for the SeaQuest side.