Lucas slammed the door to his quarters shut and sat down on his bunk, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. He buried his face in his hands, feeling completely overwhelmed. It was as if some of Ellie's emotion had rubbed off on him, and before he could even check himself, he was sobbing, though not as desperately as she had been.
After a few moments, he was able to calm himself with a few deep breaths. What was going on here? Who was Ellie and where had she come from? He knew that they would get to the bottom of her sudden appearance on the bridge, but something about her troubled Lucas greatly. Plus, she had mentioned the name Lawrence, a name Lucas had never associated with good things. He sighed heavily, he was so drained but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He could only think of Ellie.
He heard a knock on his door, and he stood, not even bothering to check in the mirror to see if anyone could tell that he'd been crying. Opening it, he saw Samantha standing there.
"Hey Sam," he said wearily.
"Lucas," she said, concern evident in her voice. "Are you alright?"
He knew he couldn't hide it from her, not after all they'd been through together. "No," he replied. "Come in."
Samantha stepped inside as he shut the door. She looked at him and could tell he'd been crying. She could only hope he'd tell her what was bothering him. He walked silently past her and sat down on his bunk again. She sat down next to him and waited. She didn't have to wait long.
"Sam, I…..Ellie…" he choked out.
"Do you know her?" she asked.
"No I don't. I was called back to the bridge, and then the bridge went dark. When the lights and systems came back on, she was just standing there."
"But how? She can't just appear out of thin air."
"Well, she must have, because there was no way for her to get on board Sam. If anything had docked with us or even been within 100 feet the sensors would have gone crazy."
"Good point. Why was she so upset?"
"She thought I was someone else, someone named Gavin. She's confused; she doesn't know where she is. She didn't even know what the SeaQuest was or what UEO meant. Plus, she thinks it's 2002."
"Really? That's odd; I wonder if she has amnesia?"
Lucas shrugged. It was all he could do because he didn't have an answer.
"Why did her appearance and mistaken identity upset you so much though?"
"Sam, if you could have seen what I saw, it would have bothered you too."
"What did you see?"
"Her eyes Sam, the pain in them. I've never seen anything like that before. When I was holding her hand, she pleaded with me not to let go. She really believed I was someone else, and she must have cared very deeply for him," Lucas said, feeling the lump rise in his throat again.
Samantha was silent; she didn't know what to say. She'd never seen Lucas this affected by someone and as well as she knew him she still wasn't sure how to react.
"Is she in the brig?" he asked quietly.
"No, Kristen talked the Captain into having her placed in restraints in the MedBay."
Lucas looked up at her. "I think I am going to go down and see if she is okay."
"Do you think that's wise Lucas? You look exhausted."
"I am exhausted, but I'll never sleep tonight if I don't see her and know that she is okay. I can't explain it, but I feel like I have to check on her."
Samantha nodded and followed him out the door.
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Lucas walked into MedBay feeling anxious and tense. It wasn't hard to find Ellie; she was surrounded by medical staff. True to Samantha's description, restraints had been placed on her wrists and ankles. He shuddered as he realized that it reminded him of a scene from a movie he'd once seen, where they'd had to restrain a mental patient this way. She was sleeping peacefully now and looked like a beautiful doll, no hint of the pain that he'd seen from her earlier.
Kristen noticed him first. "Lucas, what are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to check on her. Is she okay?"
Kristen looked at him for a moment. "She's fine, we're examining her now."
"And?" he asked.
"Lucas, if the Captain wants you to know he'll tell you about it."
Lucas didn't even have the energy to argue with her. "Can I sit with her? Please?"
Kristen gave him a strange look. She didn't understand his interest. "Why?"
Lucas didn't even look at her. His eyes remained on the sleeping form of Ellie. "I just feel concerned, that's all," he said flatly.
Kristen didn't see how it could hurt, and she motioned to him to go ahead. Lucas walked over to the chair next to Ellie's bed and sat down. He stared at the small hand and the fragile looking wrist encased in the restraint. So lifeless now, that hand which had so urgently clung to his less than an hour ago. He slowly reached out and took her hand again, leaning back in the chair and watching as the medical staff examined her and performed their various tests. She was pale, she looked dead and it filled Lucas with an awful sense of foreboding.
He looked away for a moment and locked eyes with Samantha across the room. She nodded to him silently, and then turned to walk away. She greeted the Captain as he entered the room and went on her way.
"What have you found out Doctor?" the Captain asked.
Kristen looked to Lucas and the Captain followed her look. Lucas was completely lost in his own thoughts, his eyes closed, and Ellie's hand firmly in his. The Captain nodded at her to go ahead.
"We've examined her and have found no traces of hidden explosives or other things that could be used against us. She has no identifying marks, her finger prints aren't even on record," she began.
"How are they not on record? Everyone's are on record, they finger print every child born for the global database."
"I don't know Captain, but they aren't there. There is no record of this girl anywhere. She has viable prints so it isn't like they've been deliberately obscured. We did find traces of chemicals on her though, that lend credence to her telling you what year she believed it was. She was telling you the truth; the chemical traces we found on her can't be found anymore. Either she is really from the past, or she's very clever. It would also explain her lack of inclusion in the database."
"But if she is from the past, she'd still be alive now and in the database, so how do you explain that."
"I can't. All I can say is that your theory is correct. If she was still alive when the database went into effect. If she wasn't, well…"
"So you're saying that we could quite possibly be dealing with a ghost?"
"No, what I'm saying is that her time in 2002 is short. She may not have made it to 2003. But there is more."
"More?" the Captain asked, incredulous. This wasn't enough?
"Yes, more. She's pregnant, I'd say about 3 months."
"Good God. We need to find out what is going on here. Bring her out of sedation Doctor."
Kristen nodded and went to get the drugs that would act against the sedative currently keeping Ellie asleep. Nathan sighed and looked once again to where Lucas sat, holding the hand of Ellie. He needed to get to the bottom of this, and he needed to do it quickly.
