"Permission to enter sir," Lucas said, standing outside of the door.

"Permission granted," he heard Captain Bridger replied. He opened the door and entered the room.

"Anything wrong Lucas?"

"No sir, I actually came to talk to you about something."

Bridger gestured to a chair and Lucas sat down. He studied the boy for a moment, he didn't seem agitated. "What can I do for you Lucas?"

"Well, sir," he began, trying to think about how to best phrase his request. "You know, of course, that I found out about Ellie, my mother, 6 months ago. Ever since then, I've wanted to find her family, my family, and meet them. I know that they still live in Los Angeles, and I was hoping that…"

"That you could go ashore and meet them, is that it?"

"Yes sir."

Bridger sat back and thought for a moment. "Does your father, I mean, Lawrence, know about this?"

Lucas' eyes turned to ice. "No sir. Lawrence and I don't talk anymore; I made a point of seeing to it. I see no reason that he needs to know."

"You're still technically a minor Lucas," Bridger said.

"Since when does that count for anything," Lucas snapped. Bridger gave him a look which told him that he ought to reconsider that last statement and the tone in which it was said. "Sorry sir. I only want to meet my family. If I have to jump through the hoop of getting permission from Lawrence, I'll never get the chance."

"You don't know that Lucas."

"Respectfully sir? Yes I do. He had her murdered and kept all knowledge of her from me. He still hasn't admitted knowing anything about her," Lucas said, not wanting to give away that he had contacted Lawrence months ago with Ellie by his side. "Why would he want me to meet her family?"

The boy had a point, but would he be safe on shore leave alone? He realized that he couldn't keep Lucas away forever, and he'd be off in search of whatever he could find the second he turned 18 if he didn't take his chance now.

Looking Lucas straight in the eye he replied, "Alright Lucas, fair enough. Permission for shore leave granted, but I need to know how long you're looking at."

"2 weeks should do it."

Bridger nodded. "2 weeks it is then. Be careful Lucas. You'll be required to check in, given your minor status."

"Yes sir," Lucas said, excitement in his voice.

"That's all Lucas?" Lucas nodded eagerly. "Okay then, you'll leave tomorrow. There's a transport to shore in the morning."

"Thank you sir!" he cried, jumping up from his seat and hugging the Captain before he fully realized what he was doing. He pulled back quickly, folding his arms in front of his chest and staring at the floor. He cleared his throat. "I mean, uh, thank you sir, I appreciate it."

Bridger fought the urge to laugh, but couldn't hold it in once the teen had left the room and nearly doubled over with laughter.

Lucas walked swiftly down the corridor to his quarters. Anyone who saw the grin plastered across his face would have thought that someone had just given him supreme control over all of the computers in the universe.

He had a lot to do before tomorrow morning and not very much time to do it in. "Better get dinner to go," he thought.

He walked quickly into the mess hall and put together a sandwich, grabbing a bottle of water on his way out. As he headed back to his quarters, he heard footsteps catching up to him but paid little attention until someone practically jumped on him.

"So you're going home!?"

Lucas couldn't help the smile that came to his lips as he recognized the excited voice of Ellie in his ear. "Yep, you coming?"

"Duh, of course!"

Lucas turned to look at her and laughed as he saw her wearing the same uniforms that the enlisted crew of the SeaQuest wore. "What are you wearing that for?"

"I'm in a public hallway, with you. I don't want to stand out too much. I figured that if I was wearing one of these I'd blend in a bit."

"You'll never blend in," he said.

"What does that mean?"

"Trust me; every guy on this boat would notice you even if you were wearing a burlap sack. Nice try though."

Ellie shrugged. "I'm so excited Lucas! I can't wait for you to come home! There is so much to see!"

"I bet. I've never been there. We left pretty soon after Lawrence married Cynthia."

"I'll show you around, I'll show you everything!"

"You're almost more excited than I am."

"Sorry, I just never thought you'd go home."

Lucas had reached his quarters and Ellie, seeing his hands full, opened the door for him. He walked in as she followed him and shut the door behind them. He sat down in his chair as she flopped down on his bunk. She picked up a small ball and started bouncing it off the wall. He watched her for a moment; it still amazed him how alike they were.

"I have all of the information that I need. It's just a matter of paying some visits now," he told her.

She caught the ball and turned her head to look at him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely sure," he replied as she resumed bouncing the ball.

"Just wanted you to be sure."

"Thanks for checking. I want to do something though, before I go, and for that I need your help."

"Okay, what is it?"

"I want to put a bunch of songs on mini-disk for the trip, but I want them to be songs from 2002 or before."

"Why do you want old songs?"

"Because, I just want to make a mix of what you and Gavin would have listened to. Please tell me what you liked?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, I'll give you bands, will that work?"

He nodded. "Anything will help so that I know where to start."

She put a finger to her lips while she thought. "Let's see, I liked Puddle of Mudd, Jimmy Eat World, Nickelback, Staind, and Dave Matthews Band. I also liked Nirvana, The Vines…there are too many to list!"

"That's a good start," he said with a smile.

She bounced the ball a few more times before she caught it and sat up. "I almost forgot one," she said.

"What is that?"

"One song, because really, I only liked the one song. It was called 'Nobody Like You' and it was by Limp Bizkit and Korn. I never liked either band really, but I did like that one song."

"Hmm..okay, I'll look that one up," he replied, wondering why that one particular song had stood out for her.

"I'd love to stay, but you have a lot to do, so you should probably eat. I'm going to go, I want to scare Ben," she said, a mischievous smile playing across her lips.

"What are you going to do to him?"

"Oh you know, sheets with eyeholes, chains rattling, that sort of thing. Maybe I'll visit Sam too."

"Good luck scaring her," Lucas replied.

"Oh I wasn't planning on scaring her. The only reason I'm getting Ben is because…well…because it's fun."

"And because you can?"

Ellie grinned. "That too. But enough talk. Eat your sandwich and get packing!" she said, stepping over to him. "Bye baby, sleep well and I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she kissed him on the forehead. She walked to the door, gave him a small wave, and walked out.

He shook his head and picked up his plate. He nearly choked on his food when, about 10 minutes later, he heard a scream come from down the hall. He started laughing hysterically because he knew that the scream had come from Ben, caught in Ellie's joke. He froze as his door opened and he saw Ben standing there, huffing.

"Lucas, your mom is so mean," was all he said before shutting the door again, sending Lucas into fresh fits of laughter.