Ellie could hear the people around her before she could see them. Whatever they had given to her was wearing off now, or perhaps she was waking up from that horrible nightmare. She willed herself to open her eyes and they obeyed her by fluttering slightly and then opening fully. She winced at the brightness of the lights and tried to move a hand to block her eyes but found that she couldn't move them, that something was holding her down. She made a panicked sound and tried to fight the urge to scream.

At the sound, Lucas was up like a shot. "Hey, shhhh, its ok, don't be afraid," he said to her, softly.

Ellie turned her head in his direction. "Gavin," she whispered. "Where are we? What is this place and why can't I go home? Are you stuck here with these people?"

"Ellie, my name isn't Gavin. My name is Lucas. See?" he said, showing her his badge. "You're in the year 2018 and on the SeaQuest, a ship kind of like sub but better. I live and work here."

She gave him a confused look. "Gav, c'mon stop playing around."

"Ellie, I'm not him."

She frowned and looked away. When she looked back, her face was set and serious. "What did I do once, on Highway 1, that nearly scared you to death?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lucas replied, shaking his head.

"Oh my God, you're really not him. I'm so sorry! I….you…." she said, tears filling her eyes again.

Lucas felt pained that he couldn't help her, couldn't be who she so desperately wanted him to be. He gently wiped a tear away. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"He would have done something just like that," she whispered to Lucas. "I'm really sorry, I must seem crazy to you now. What is your name again?"

"Lucas," he replied. "And you don't seem crazy, just confused."

"How did I get here?"

"I really have no idea."

She seemed okay with that answer for the moment. "Lucas, I want to explain. You see, you look like my friend Gavin, he…" she began, but was interrupted by the Doctor.

"I see you're awake and have met Lucas. He's been with you this whole time." Kristen said with a smile.

"Have you?" she asked, looking to Lucas.

Embarrassed, he looked away but nodded his agreement.

"Ellie, the Captain would like to see you in his quarters. Your clothes are folded here at the bottom of the bed. We'll undo the restraints and you can change."

"Okay, thank you," she replied quietly.

Lucas released her hand and watched as Kristen unlocked the restraints. He stepped out of the way as Kristen closed the curtain so that Ellie could change back into her own clothes. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I guess I'll go try and get some sleep," Lucas said.

"Not so fast Lucas. The Captain wants to see you too."

"Why? I didn't do anything?"

"He didn't say, just that he wanted us in his quarters when she came to."

"Okay," Lucas said his exhaustion apparent.

After a few more minutes, Ellie emerged dressed and ready to go. She asked Kristen for a brush, which was provided, and then they were on their way. Kristen led the way, with Ellie in the middle and Lucas following behind. As they stepped out into the corridor, Ellie looked around her in amazement. They wound along the deck, their shoes making clicking sounds as they walked along the metallic grating. Ellie turned around and shot a worried, confused look at Lucas. He smiled at her in an attempt at reassurance. When she returned the smile, his breath caught. For the first time since her arrival he'd seen her smile, and she was breathtaking.

They reached the Captain's quarters and Kristen knocked on the door. She received permission to enter, and held the door for Ellie and Lucas. As the door shut silently behind them, Ellie stepped farther into the room and looked around her. Lucas tried to see it as someone who would be seeing this all for the first time. It dawned on him that if she was telling the truth about thinking it was 2002, then 75 percent of the technology on this ship would be completely foreign to her, the UEO wouldn't even exist for her yet, and a ship of this magnitude would still be absolutely unheard of in her time.

Bridger gave the girl a moment to look around before speaking. "Welcome to my quarters. Please," he said, motioning to the table and chairs, "sit down."

Ellie nodded. "Thank you," she said politely as she took a seat.

Once they were all seated, Bridger studied her for a long moment before speaking. "We've conducted tests and know that you're telling the truth about 2002," he began. She nodded and waited for him to go on.

"But," he continued, "I hope it is clear to you that you're not there now."

"Abundantly clear, sir," she replied.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, not sure if he'd caught a hint of sarcasm from her or not. Then the impact of what Bridger had just said hit him. She really was from 2002, she wasn't confused at all, she was telling her version of what she knew.

"And Lucas here," Bridger started.

"Isn't Gavin, I know, we cleared that up already. I apologize for that, really I do."

"Tell us more about Gavin so we can understand what's going on here."

She raised her gaze to meet Bridger's evenly. "Gavin? Gavin is dead," she replied coldly.

"Yes, but what happened to him and why did you mistake Lucas for him?"

She looked down again, trying to gather her thoughts together. She looked up again, her eyes clear. "Gavin was my best friend. We'd been friends for years; he'd always been there for me. He wasn't happy when I got married, because my new husband doesn't approve of my doing the things I'd done before. I've broken with that a few times, but not many. I still talked to Gavin, despite what Lawrence said. One night, about 3 months ago, Lawrence and I had a fight, and I left and went to Gavin's house. We talked and he helped me calm down, then I went home. The next day, I found out that Gavin had been killed in a car accident," she explained, the last words barely audible.

"And how is he tied to Lucas?"

"Lucas looks exactly like him," she said, looking at Lucas now. "When I saw him, I thought I must be having a dream and that Gavin was there to help me. But this is no dream."

"You said you were scared. May I ask of what?"

"No." she said firmly.

"Fair enough," Bridger replied. "Can you tell us more about yourself?"

"Okay," she began, but before she could go on, the lights flickered, just as they had on the bridge.

Lucas looked around him, and it was then that he saw the figure standing in the corner of the room. "Uh…Captain…" he started.

"What is it Lucas?" Bridger said, pre-occupied with the flickering lights.

"There is someone here," he replied.

"What?" Bridger asked, confused, as the lights went back to normal.

"There is someone here," Lucas repeated, as strains of music began to fill the room. It was a slow, sad song, and Lucas looked to Ellie as she gasped and stood up. Everyone except for Lucas followed her gaze, and saw a young man standing there.

"Oh my god," breathed Kristen.

Bridger couldn't speak as he stared at the young man. It was like looking at Lucas 6 years in the future. Finally, Lucas turned his head, and jumped as he saw his older counterpart.

"Hello Ellie," the young man said above the music.

She didn't speak, but only walked around the table and threw herself into the arms of the young man. Bridger had half expected her to go right through, but the young man was as solidly realized as he himself was.

"You must be Gavin," Bridger said, finally able to speak.

Gavin nodded slightly, still holding Ellie close to him. "I brought her here."

Ellie pulled away from him. "Why? Why did you bring me here?"

"To help you Ellie. So that you know what will happen to him."

"Happen? To him? Him who?" she asked, confused.

"To our son," Gavin said.

"I don't understand," Ellie said.

The music stopped. "I don't need that anymore, just my way of proving to you that I'm me. Ellie, you know how much I loved you. I should have stopped you from marrying him, and I'm so sorry that I didn't. Ellie, he knows, Lawrence knows. My accident wasn't an accident. He knows what we did that night."

Ellie gasped and backed away. "Oh God…Gavin," she said softly.

"I had to tell you, warn you. He knows. I wanted you to see what happens to him, to our son. I wanted you to know he would be okay."

"Why won't I be around to see it Gavin?" she asked, a bit frantic.

"I don't know, maybe Lawrence will take him away."

Ellie put her hands protectively over her mid-section. "No! I won't let him, I'd kill him first," she said fiercely. Then her face softened. "Who is he? Which one?"

"The one who has been with you all of this time," he replied. "Lucas."