The insistent beeping of the alarm is what finally roused him out of the deep sleep he'd been in. He groaned, turning over and feeling around the desk for the remote to shut it off, face still buried in the pillow. Suddenly, his hand stopped moving as he realized what day it was. Jumping up he slammed his hand across the top of the clock and grabbed his things to head for the shower. Thankfully, he wasn't running late this morning.

He took a longer shower than normal, just standing underneath the warm water to wash away the last of the effects of whatever it was Dr. Westphalen had given him last night. It had done the trick though; he had to give her that, he felt refreshed and ready for whatever might come today.

He turned off the water and reached out for his towel, grabbing it and thinking that it seemed closer than normal. He shrugged it off and dried himself, throwing the towel around his waist as he walked out, running almost directly into Sam.

"SAM!!" Lucas cried out in shock. Then more quietly, "What are you doing in here?"

"When were you planning on telling me?"

Lucas just looked at her blankly. "Tell you what?"

"That you were leaving for two weeks, genius?!"

"Oh, that. I didn't think you'd care."

"Oh trust me Lucas, I care. I care because it means two things: 1) I won't have anyone my age to hang out with or talk to for 2 weeks, and 2) The Captain will be on edge the whole time you're gone and it makes extra work for me!"

"Sorry?"

"Whatever," she muttered, looking him up and down. He was suddenly glad that he'd put the towel around his waist this time. "You need some sun Lucas."

"I fully plan on getting some thank you," he replied.

"Hmm…we'll see," she said, turning her back on him and walking away. "Have fun and bring me back something good!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Lucas smirked and shook his head, finishing his morning routine. He headed back to his quarters and dressed quickly, then stuffed the hotel confirmation into the pocket of his jeans. He stuffed the mini-disk case into his backpack, zipped it, and slid it over his shoulders. He then tossed the shower kit into the duffel, closed it and shouldered it, along with his laptop. He took one last look around to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, and then headed out the door.

He decided to go to the moon pool first, to say goodbye to Darwin. He didn't want the dolphin to be confused when he didn't show up for a couple of weeks. He walked up to the pool, setting his duffel and laptop down. Picking up the vocorder, he paged Darwin; smiling as he saw him come flying out of the tubes that ran along the ship. He must not have been far away.

"Hey buddy," Lucas said as the dolphin surfaced. He reached out and patted his head.

"Lucas go away?"

"Yeah, but only for a couple of weeks. I'll be back before you know it."

"Where?"

"I'm going on shore leave, to see my family."

"Lucas family here."

Lucas smiled; things were so black and white for Darwin. "Yes, that's true, the crew is my family, but I'm going to see my real family."

"Confused."

"It's okay, it's a bit confusing even for me."

"Sam go too?"

"Nope, Sam is staying here. You won't be lonely or lacking a swimming partner."

"Bye Lucas."

"Bye Darwin, see ya soon," he replied, setting the vocorder back in its cradle and picking up his bags.

He headed to the launch bay, where they were busily loading up things that they wanted sent back to shore. Hard copies of reports, research documents, specimens; all of it going to various parts of the world for one reason or another. Lucas watched with interest, wondering how they were going to squeeze him in there as well. He didn't even notice the Captain until he spoke.

"So, Lucas, all set?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes Captain."

"Well, I know I've said it already, but be careful up there. It's my head if anything happens to you."

"I will," Lucas said, and he meant it. He didn't want the Captain getting into any trouble because of him.

"Alright then, have a good time," Bridger replied with a grin. "I have a feeling that a certain someone is going to prove a very interesting tour guide. Just don't let her talk you into anything crazy."

Lucas laughed. "We'll see sir. It will depend on if it's craziness that I actually want to try."

Bridger nodded his agreement and knew that Lucas would probably have some great stories to tell when he returned. He clapped the young man on the back as he walked away and left Lucas to watch the rest of the loading process. Once they had finished, Lucas was surprised at the amount of room actually left in the launch.

"Ready?" one of the crew asked him.

"Yeah, all ready."

"Come on down, we'll be leaving momentarily."

Lucas handed his duffel and laptop down for the crewmember to hold as he descended the ladder. Retrieving them, he walked onto the launch and stowed both things under his seat. He pulled off his backpack and set it on the seat next to him, pretty sure that no one would mind since he was the only passenger on this trip. He pulled out the mini-disk player and the disk case, taking out his mix and sliding it into the player.

The doors to the launch were shut and the clearance to depart given. The usual shake of the launch undocking from the ship was felt as they headed towards shore. It would be about an hour-long trip, and Lucas settled in for the ride.

From the launch bay, concealed where Lucas wouldn't have seen him, Captain Bridger watched the launch depart from the ship. He was anxious about Lucas leaving alone, and hoped that nothing would happen to him. It was more than his job being on the line; it was worry at losing the boy that he'd come to think of like a son. It was going to be a long two weeks.

Lucas heard the conversation between the pilot and co-pilot start and switched his mini-disk player on, slipping the headphones on. The songs were in no particular order, so he looked at the digital read out to see what song he'd be hearing. He listened, interested, as the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana came up on the read out. He began to tap out the beat with his foot; he liked this song. As the song progressed he became engrossed in it and his head moved along with his foot to the beat. He was disappointed when it ended and was about to press the button to repeat it when he looked at the read out and saw that another song by Nirvana was coming on.

He raised an eyebrow at the title. "Rape Me?" he thought to himself. "Uh, ok?" But as the song started he was again tapping out the beat with head and foot, and as the first chorus came on, he was fully into it.

"Yeah!!" Lucas thought to himself. After the chorus the song slowed again, but as the song ramped up for the next chorus, Lucas was on his feet jumping and playing air guitar like he was alone in his room. "This band is awesome!"

As the song ended, he became aware of his surroundings again and sheepishly returned to his seat. The pilot and co-pilot were so engrossed in their own conversation that they hadn't even noticed him. He silently laughed at himself and was glad that he'd made this mix of music. He wondered if Gavin, his father, had ever done what he'd just done to that particular song.

The next song caught him by surprise. It was Ellie, singing the song to Gavin from the memory disk. He leaned back and listened, momentarily saddened, but remembering where he was going and what he was going for. The song was quickly followed by something upbeat from the Dave Matthews Band, which he also liked. He wondered if he'd actually dislike anything on this disk.

As they pulled into the harbor to dock, Lucas stopped the player and put it back into his backpack. His excitement was building now that they were actually here and his stomach felt like a thousand knots had been tied in it.

"Alright kid, you're out first," the pilot said, walking past Lucas and opening up the launch doors. "We'll see you again in 2 weeks. We leave 5PM sharp."

"Okay, great. Thanks for the ride guys," Lucas said, stepping out of the launch. He looked around him and followed the signs for the elevator that would take him to street level. He pressed the button and didn't have long to wait. The doors slid open and he stepped inside, trying to contain himself.

As the doors closed, he heard laughter and turned his head to see Ellie standing there. Hair pulled back in a ponytail, she was naturally pretty, and Lucas had never seen her wearing makeup. She was dressed in low-rise jeans, a teal t-shirt that barely skirted the top of the jeans and matched her eyes, a pair of black Doc Martens, which were the only retro things she had on; and the black bracelet that she always wore. Not that it mattered, she looked great anyway and anyone who saw her would think her trendy.

"Very cool Lucas," she said.

"Huh?"

"Your Nirvana performance, I liked it. And, to answer the question you asked, yes. Gavin did that to that song MANY times."

Lucas blushed at having actually been seen. "It's a good song," he explained.

"Oh I agree. Don't worry Lucas; I'm not teasing you. I'm glad you liked it!"

The elevator reached surface level and the doors slid open as Ellie walked out, Lucas behind her.

He gaped as Ellie looked around her. "Welcome home Lucas," she said softly.