Big thanks to KP for the Sam/Lucas fight scene! Thank you all for the positive reviews!

The weight room was vacant, save for one individual, who was beating up a punching bag as if it were an old flat pillow with years of neglect.

"Keep it up, and the rest of the crew won't have anything to hit when they get angry." Sam watched Lucas pound his fist against the canvas. "You don't have to own up to Lawrence, ya know," she tossed him a towel from across the room.

Lucas caught it and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Yes I do, Sam. It's a matter of honor and dignity."

"Who's dignity, yours, or your mother's?" she said calmly.

Lucas spun on her. "Both! He murdered her! Everything I knew is now fiction!" he slammed the towel to the ground.

"Not fiction, wonder boy. Fact. It's your life." She untied the button up shirt from her waist and faced Lucas in tank top and jeans. Her left foot slid back and her hands came up.

Lucas saw this invitation and took it, raising his own hands. "You have no idea, Sam."

"Then tell me." She came at him, grabbing him around the waist. Both grappled to the ground in a wrestling match.

"Lawrence will pay for this!" He rolled up, taking her with him so his back was to her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, tripping him back to the ground. "He will pay. It's Karma."

"Only you would say that," he growled as he grabbed her arms and spun her around, putting her in a headlock.

"Yes, I would. Think about it, Lucas." Her hands gripped his arms, but she wasn't able to break the lock. "You work best in strategy. Use what god gave you, you idiot."

Lucas let her go. She backed away, reaching for her own towel. The fight over, she caught her breath. Lucas looked at her a moment. "Thanks."

"Hey, next time I'm kickin' your ass, Wolenczak," she smirked. Sam picked up her button up shirt and retied it around her waist, and left Lucas to think it over.

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Captain Bridger sat in his quarters, quietly reading a book. Things had been quiet, the computer system translation problems finally fixed thanks to Lucas coming back to work. Everything was running as smoothly as it had ever done.

Still, he wondered what kind of impact Ellie's brief appearance would have in the long term. He had seen a different side of Lucas since she'd come. He was more at ease, more comfortable with himself and with others. It was as if the simple thing of knowing where he came from, who he belonged to, that he had been and was loved; had put him in a state of mind where he didn't feel so isolated or freakish.

"I think knowing has helped him a great deal," he heard a familiar voice say.

Looking up from his book, he saw Ellie seated at the table across from him. Somehow, he wasn't surprised. "Well, Ellie, it's nice to see you again."

"The pleasure's mine Captain. Thank you for your help while I was here, I never got to tell you or Dr. Westphalen how much I appreciated it."

"I'll pass on your thanks to her."

"He's not alone now, he knows it. The whole experience has made him stronger."

"I have to say that I agree with that assessment."

Ellie smiled. "Captain, thank you for taking care of my son. It means so much to him, even though he may not express it very well."

"He's a good kid, he works and tries hard. He reminds me of…"

"Robert," Ellie said, finishing his sentence for him.

"Yes, how did you know about him?"

"Captain, I couldn't very well expect that you would take care of my son without my doing the same for you in return," she said softly.

"Wait, you mean…"

"Yes, I've seen him. We're watching over him, Gavin and me, until you meet with him again. Just like you're watching over Lucas for us. Just as my Lucas is in good hands, so is your Robert."

For once, his words failed him. He reached out and touched Ellie's hand. "Thank you," he said his voice full of emotion.

"You're very welcome."

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Lucas sat in front of his computer, attempting to work on some new code, but at the moment, it was eluding him.

"What are you doing?"

Lucas nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of someone else's voice. He'd thought he was alone. He turned to see who was talking to him in order to figure out how to best answer the question, when he saw Ellie standing there.

"Mom, hey," he said, smiling at her before turning back to his work.

"I love it when you call me that," Ellie said with a grin.

Lucas chuckled. "I know you do. I like saying it."

Ellie walked over to the terminal, putting her elbows on the table and setting her chin on her hands. She watched him typing, and, just when he needed it, she pulled the pencil out from behind his ear and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said, scribbling out a calculation.

"No problem. I saw your fight with Sam. Pretty good if I may say so."

Lucas stopped and looked at her. "Good? How?"

"Entertaining for one, not to mention that you guys are both pretty good fighters."

"Yeah, they make you take classes before boarding any military vessel. It's mandatory."

"I see," she said, looking at his calculation. "No, honey, this is wrong. Here, let me see," she said, taking the pencil from his hand and correcting his mistake. "There, that should work now."

Lucas looked at her in amazement as she handed the pencil back to him. "How did you know that?"

"Hey, no one ever said you were the only one with a high IQ kiddo."

Lucas laughed and shook his head, entering the calculation results into his coding.

"It's good to see you back to your old self," she said. "I was worried about you for a while there."

He nodded, still looking at the screen. "Yeah, it was pretty rough there at first. I wouldn't say I'm back to normal, but close. I just wanted to disappear, but it wasn't happening. Now that I know that even though you're gone I haven't lost you, I think I can be okay."

"But you're still angry."

"Angry is an understatement."

"Then do something about it."

"I will. Trust me."

"Oh, I know you're formulating a long term strategy, but I mean do something now. I'll help you."

Lucas looked at her questioningly. "Like what…"

Ellie smiled like a Cheshire cat, and Lucas knew he was about to hear something good.

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Lawrence Wolenczak sat in his study, surrounded by charts, grids and other various forms of paperwork. He was poring over a map, trying to decipher some of the coding when his vidcom unit began buzzing.

Looking up, he rolled his chair over to it. This had better be good. He pressed the button to answer. "Lawrence Wolenczak."

"Hello Dad," Lucas said.

Lawrence was shocked to see his son on the other end. "Lucas, this is a surprise. How are you?"

"Fine," he replied. "I've had a rough few weeks, but things are looking up. Anyway, I don't have time for idle chit chat. I have a specific purpose for calling."

"What is it son?"

On the other end, Lucas cringed internally at being called 'son' by a man that he now hated with every ounce of his being. "I wanted to ask you something about me, about when I was born."

Lawrence's face betrayed no signs of concern. "Sure. Ask away."

"Tell me about Ellie, Dad."

Lawrence's face didn't change, though he didn't speak right away. When he finally did, he was subdued. "I don't know who you're talking about."

Out of the screen's view, Lucas' hand clenched into a fist, but he remained calm. "Sure you do. Tell me."

"Lucas, what is going on with you? I honestly have no idea who you're talking about."

"Awww…Lawrence, is it really so easy for you to forget about me?" Ellie asked, walking into the picture and putting her hand on Lucas' shoulder.

Lawrence jumped and went pale. It gave Lucas instant gratification. "Ellie…"

"That's right dear, surprised?"

"How…"

"How isn't the issue, is it Lawrence? I'm dead, you made sure of that."

"I don't know what you mean; there was a mix-up at the hospital…"

"Sure there was Lawrence, just like there as a mix-up at the garage where Gavin had gotten his brakes done right?"

"I don't know what the hell is going on here but…"

Lucas cut him off. "Let me tell you what's going on here Dad," he said, stressing the last word like it was a dagger he could stab into Lawrence's heart. "I know what you did. I know about Ellie, I know about Gavin, I know who they are. I know that you and Cynthia aren't my parents. We have DNA tests here that prove that. I know how you tried to erase any traces of them from your life and mine, even if it meant ripping it out of me, but it didn't work and that's why I'm here. I know everything."

"Lucas, I can explain…"

"No you can't. There is nothing you can say that will change what you've done or erase the crimes you've committed. You can't excuse it because there is nothing that can justify it. I hope you rot in hell for all you've taken from me."

"Lucas, your mother, Ellie, was an adulteress, she strayed from our marriage…"

"And who drove her to it? You did. But you're too concerned about your own image to see when you've done anything wrong. We're done talking. I want you to know that I'm fine, and that I do thank you for one thing: sending me here. It's been the best thing you could ever have done for me. It put me in a place where I could see that not everyone is as cold-hearted as you always have been. I'm sorry that you've always seen me as a disappointment to you when all I ever did was my best to please you. But because of who my parents were, nothing I ever did could have been good enough for you; you couldn't take it out on them anymore and so I was the only one left. Let's just agree on this: Don't call me, don't write to me, don't ever try and contact me again. I don't want to have anything to do with you. That goes for Cynthia as well. Hope all goes well for you both." Lucas said, disconnecting the call.

Lawrence Wolenczak could only stare in disbelief at the vidcom unit.

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"Don't you feel better now?" Ellie asked.

Lucas exhaled. "You know what? I do…"

"I figured. But you have a ways to go before you can start on your plan."

Lucas nodded. "There is a lot to find out, a lot of research to do, and I'll have to ask the Captain for leave."

"I have a feeling you'll get it," Ellie replied.

Lucas looked up, and covered her hand, which was still on his shoulder, with his own. "I think so too. He just won't know that the leave I ask for will serve a dual purpose."

"I'll help you however I can Lucas."

"I know you will. To pull this off, I'm gonna need it."

tbc