Lucas hit the floor with a thud. "Ow," he said, rolling over on his back and not opening his eyes. He stayed there for a moment, fuzzy headed, before it all came flooding back to him. His eyes remained closed. Had it all been a dream? If he opened his eyes, would he be in his own quarters or in the guest quarters with Ellie? He didn't even have to open his eyes to find out.
"Lucas, honey, are you okay?" Ellie said, her voice washing over him like a pleasant memory.
Lucas cracked one eye open and saw her leaning over the edge of the bed, looking at him with concern. Her hair hung down on either side of her face and she insistently pushed it back behind her ears.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just forgot that I was sharing a bed and that I had less space than normal," he explained, pushing himself up and leaning on an elbow.
"Oh…okay. I know I'm not that bad when it comes to taking up space," she said with a smirk.
Lucas chuckled. "No, all me."
Ellie grinned, and suddenly reached out and put her hand on Lucas' forehead, then shoved him, causing him to lose his balance and fall back to the floor.
"Hey!" Lucas said with fake indignation.
Ellie laughed. "Sorry, but it was too easy, I couldn't help myself."
"Sure," Lucas grumbled, even though he was smiling. He would have done the same thing.
A knock sounded at the door and the two looked at each other. "Come in," Lucas called out.
Kristen walked into the room and took in the scene; Lucas on the floor with the blanket tangled around him, Ellie on the bed, leaning over the edge. "You two look like you had fun," she said cheerily.
Lucas and Ellie grinned at each other and at Kristen, and she was taken aback by the similarity she saw there, the way the eyes positively lit up. "Here," she said, handing Ellie some clothing. "I got these from Lt. Commander Hitchcock. You're about the same size and she figured that you might like to change into some new clothes."
"How nice of her, please give her my thanks," Ellie said, taking the clothes from Kristen.
"I will," she replied. Out of her pocket she drew a small bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste and a small hairbrush. "Thought you could use these as well," Kristen said.
"Thank you, I was starting to wonder where I'd come by these things!"
Kristen nodded and gave a small smile. "Lucas, you can go on to your quarters and get cleaned up. We'll all meet in the Captain's quarters in 20 minutes."
Lucas nodded and stood up, grabbing the shoes he'd taken off sometime during the night and walking out the door. As it shut behind him, Ellie let out a deep sigh, and looked down at the floor.
"I'm going to miss him," she said softly.
Kristen took a chair from the small table and sat down in front of Ellie. "I know, but he is in good hands."
Ellie looked up, her cheeks wet with the tears that she'd been holding in. "Yes, he is, and I thank you for that. But I still would love nothing more than to be able to be here for him, to be able to celebrate all of his accomplishments and give him all of the love and attention that Lawrence apparently has neglected. He is so special and I hate that Lawrence can't see far enough past his own issues to realize it. I'm afraid for him, afraid that he is going to turn into a cold man, like Lawrence, because he was never given the attention he needed and deserved, because he learned that this is what people are like."
"Yes, Lucas is a special boy indeed. I'm sorry that Lawrence has neglected him so much, and I had the same concerns about his emotional standing as you do. But he has opened up so much since coming here, and especially since meeting Sam. He has been learning that not everyone is distant, cold and unfeeling."
"I don't want to leave," she whispered. "I want to stay with him, he needs me."
"But you can't stay," Kristen replied gently. "You know that you can't."
Ellie looked down again. "You're right, I can't. I know that, but I still want to stay. But if we're going to be on time, we'd better get going," Ellie said, scrubbing her tears away with her hands.
Kristen saw the wall go up and let it be. It was the same wall that Lucas would throw up at a moment's notice if he felt someone was getting too close. "I'll wait for you outside so I can show you the way."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucas headed toward the Captain's quarters, his mind moving a million miles an hour. Was there some way he could get Ellie to stay? Even if he did, what would happen when he was born? He put his hands to his temples; this thought process was giving him a headache.
He reached the Captain's quarters and knocked. He heard the Captain give him permission to enter and he pushed open the door. The Captain, Ellie and Kristen were already seated around a table set for breakfast. Ellie looked normal to him now, dressed as she was in Hitchcock's clothes. There was nothing retro about the khaki cargo pants, light blue tank top and sandals that she'd been given. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and you could clearly see the lines of her face. She was beautiful and Lucas thought that he could see why both his father and Gavin had been attracted to her.
"Have a seat Lucas," the Captain said.
Lucas sat down and looked at the food. He was, as always, starving, but he remembered his manners and waited patiently. Ellie gave him a sideways glance and bit her lip to keep from laughing. She could see that he was starving and that it was taking all of his willpower to keep from attacking the plates of food.
Bridger saw it too, and decided to put the teen out of his misery. "Go ahead Lucas."
He didn't need a second invitation and quickly filled his plate with eggs, bacon, hash browns and a piece of toast. The others followed suit, though not piling on as much as Lucas had. They ate in relative silence, all lost in their own thoughts, until Ellie spoke.
"Lucas, you should have some of this orange juice."
Lucas froze, mid-chew and looked at her. Someone was suggesting that he have something?
She stared back at him, quite serious. "You should, the vitamin C, you know. I'm sure that with everyone living so closely together, you have an awful time when a cold goes around!"
"But…" Kristen began.
Lucas stopped her by nudging her with his foot under the table. Swallowing, he said, "Okay I will, thank you for thinking of it."
Ellie smiled softly and poured him a glass, handing it to him. Kristen realized then why Lucas had stopped her. It didn't matter that colds were easily taken care of now, not as they had been in 2002. It was the thought that mattered, the fact that she was trying to take care of Lucas, and he didn't want it marred for either of them with trivial details over colds and their prevention.
Another knock sounded and the Captain gave permission to enter. Sam stepped into the room.
"Good morning sir," she said.
"Good morning Sam, would you like to join us?"
"I'll just have a cup of coffee, thanks."
Bridger handed her a cup and poured the coffee for her. Sam looked to both Ellie and Lucas.
"Ellie, are you feeling better this morning?"
"Better? Did something happen last night?" Bridger asked.
"Oh, just things in the normal flow of a pregnancy," Kristen answered. Bridger nodded his understanding.
"I am, thank you for asking Sam," she said. The two women shared a look between them, indicating that there was more to it than the others knew, but all left it alone.
"Well," Bridger said, surveying the empty plates. "Are we ready?"
"No," Lucas mumbled.
Ellie reached out and took Lucas' hand, giving him a pleading look. "Lucas," she said. Lucas frowned but said nothing else.
"Alright then, we're as ready as we'll ever be. Sam, is the launch ready?"
"Yes sir."
"Good, let's go."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ellie climbed down the ladder and into the launch bay. She looked around in amazement, looking through the windows out into the open sea. She put her hands on the glass and strained to see as far as she could.
"Look," Ellie breathed.
"Huh?" Lucas said, turning.
"Look at it Lucas…I've never seen anything like this."
Even though he'd seen it many times, he looked again. He saw a fish swim by; it's own bio-incandescence lighting its way. Ellie saw it too and was fascinated. It was still hard for him to imagine what this must be like for her, hard to remember that this wasn't possible yet as far as she knew.
"C'mon, time to go," he said.
Ellie pulled herself away from the window and stepped into the launch. Even this she held in awe, observing all of the blinking lights and switches. Lucas guided her to a seat.
"You have to buckle in, like this," he explained as he attached the belts. "It can be a rough ride depending."
Lucas sat down next to her and hooked himself in as Hitchcock's voice came over the com. "Shuttle you're clear to go."
There was a slight shake as the shuttle moved out into the open water. Ellie turned her head and watched through the front windows. Lucas watched, thinking it was amusing that she was trying to take it all in as if she would never see it again.
And then he realized: she wouldn't.