The sound of a piano filtered through the darkness behind his closed eyes, calling him back to consciousness. He looked at the clock on the nightstand; he'd been asleep for a little over an hour. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes. He stood and went in search of the piano.
He followed it down the stairs and across the entranceway. In a large room, he saw Ellie, seated at the piano, playing Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8. He was shocked, he hadn't been aware that she could play like this. He stood and listened for a moment, but jumped when he heard Katherine speak.
"Your friend can play very well. Your mother used to play like this, she liked this song too. Ellie was quite a musician."
Lucas nodded, wondering if Ellie knew that Katherine was there. He wasn't sure she did, so engrossed was she in her playing. "I hope you don't mind that Sam is playing."
"Not at all, it's good to hear it played again. It's barely been touched since…" she said, faltering.
Lucas gave her a sympathetic gaze. "I think she is with you more often than you know," he said.
"Oh I certainly hope that's true Lucas. I just wish she'd let me know."
"I think you might get your wish soon," he replied, sitting down on the steps leading down into the room and listening to Ellie play. Katherine sat down next to him.
"You know, she could have been so many things. She could have done this professionally, but she didn't. She told me that if she made a career of it, it wouldn't be fun anymore. She was probably right. I know she liked to sing for fun with Sean's band, she was good at that too. She gave it all up when she married Lawrence because he wanted her to stay at home."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I suppose the thought of having a wife who might outshine him was too much for his ego to handle."
Lucas pondered the thought as Ellie launched into the first movement of Moonlight Sonata. He loved this song.
"To me that seems wrong," he said. "I would want my wife to be happy, to have her own career and accomplishments."
"Then you'll be a good husband someday Lucas. Gavin was that way too. He would have loved to have your mother go on research missions with him. And oh how they both would have loved to have the opportunity to work aboard the SeaQuest as you do."
Lucas closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. He'd never heard this song played live before and it was even more soothing and beautiful this way.
Opening his eyes again, he said, "I would love to have them there. I'm sure that the Captain would be able to use them."
Katherine smiled. "All I wish is that you had them here at all."
Lucas sighed. "Me too."
"I wanted her to wait for Gavin to come back from Nova Scotia. I knew how much he loved her even if he hadn't admitted it to her yet, and I knew that Lawrence could never love her the way Gavin did. When I found out about Cynthia, I urged her to wait, but she didn't. I never really understood why."
"I don't know either. She should have. They ended up together in the end anyway."
"Yes, you're right about that. I think your mother really wanted to make it work though, and that's why she stayed with Lawrence through everything. When she finally gave in, it was because by trying to hold her under his thumb, he'd shown her that he didn't really love or understand her and never had. She was a trophy. He drove her straight to Gavin, to the arms of someone who did love her as she had hoped that Lawrence would; and they both paid for it with their lives."
Lucas' breath caught in his throat at the first mention of their murders coming from Katherine's lips. "I think that's true," Lucas replied. "Lawrence is like that. No one is ever good enough. I never stood a chance because I was just like her."
"Do you regret that?"
"No," he replied instantly. "Not for a second. I would much rather be like her than anywhere even close to him. I was a sort of trophy for him too, that one last thing he'd taken from her after he'd taken everything else. When they realized that I was advanced for my age, it was even worse, but god forbid I act like the child I actually was."
"I'm sorry that we couldn't help you."
Lucas looked up at her. "There was nothing you could have done. He took me as far away as he could and made sure that I knew nothing about her or about you. All my life I believed that he and Cynthia were my parents. They acted the part in public, but they were never around for anything."
Ellie finished the second movement and stopped, sitting quietly for a moment. She turned and saw them sitting there, and a look of concern crossed her face. She had forgotten who she was supposed to be.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I should have asked first!" she said to Katherine.
"No dear, don't be sorry, you play beautifully."
"Thank you," she said gently. "Lucas, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"
"It's a good way to way to wake up," he said with a smile.
"Where did you learn to play?" Katherine asked.
"I had a private instructor," Ellie replied.
"Oh? Ellie did too. She loved the piano. I thought she'd outgrow it, but she never did. She had a tremendous love for all music."
Lucas could see her internal fight to silence herself, and he knew it must be anguish for her, but she remained silent on her true identity.
"Yes, she said so when she was here," Ellie replied.
Katherine smiled at her. "Well, dinner is ready. I was about to come up and get you both when I saw you standing here listening."
"Great!" Lucas said. "I'm starving."
"Just like a boy," Ellie teased.
Katherine laughed. "Ah the many times I heard those words come out of Gavin's mouth!"
Lucas saw a flicker of sadness pass through Ellie's eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it came. How long would she be able to keep this up? She stood up from the piano bench and gently closed the piano. He watched as her hands lingered on it for a moment, her fingers brushing across the smooth surface. He knew that Katherine would notice none of this and the only reason he noticed was because he was looking for it, these signs of her feelings.
When she turned around, she had a smile on her face. Lucas cocked his head in wonder. She had completely walled off anything she was feeling. It was the same sort of thing that he did when his emotions were getting the better of him or he felt like anyone was getting too close to them. He'd never seen what that looked like from the outside.
"Shall we?" Ellie asked.
"Absolutely!" Katherine responded, turning to walk toward the dining room. Ellie followed her, and she passed Lucas she ran her fingers through his hair. He gave an involuntary shudder as chills coursed through him.
He stood and followed the women through the house and to the dining room. As he crossed the threshold he stopped, not believing what he was seeing. This was a formal dining room; there was a fireplace in the wall across from him, and a table that had the ability to become much larger when needed. A great crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, and all along the walls there were beautiful paintings. To his right was a set of double doors leading out to a large terrace with a terracotta tile floor. The view from these doors was remarkable and he knew that he would forever be able to close his eyes and remember what it looked like. The doors were wide open; dinner was being set at a smaller table on the terrace.
"Lucas? Are you coming dear?" Katherine asked as she sat down.
"Yes, coming." He walked across the wood floor and out onto the terrace. The air was warm with just a hint of a breeze. He felt like he could stay here forever. Katherine and Patrick were seated at each end of the table, and Ellie was sitting across from him.
"Let us pray," Katherine said softly.
Pray? He'd never done that or seen it done. What should he do? Ellie gave him a small smile across the table, and he heard her whisper softly to him that he shouldn't worry. She closed her eyes, folded her hands and bowed her head. Lucas, seeing this, followed her example.
Katherine gave thanks for the food they were about to eat, and for the reappearance of their grandson. As she spoke, Lucas wondered if this is what normal families always did. He would have to ask some of the crew when he got back if they had done this. It was comforting to know that Katherine and Patrick were happy to see him.
The prayer ended and food was passed around. Lucas dug in with relish, thinking everything looked good. The meal, consisting of Chicken Parmigiana, a green salad, and pasta with an asiago cheese sauce was the most complete meal he'd had in months and he felt that he could die a happy man with food this good.
The laughter and conversation didn't surprise him, as he'd come to realize just how warm his real family was. Patrick asked him for stories of his time on the SeaQuest, and Lucas gladly told them; thrilled once again that anyone cared enough about him to ask. He told them of his trips to City Walk, the mall, and Hollywood Boulevard where he'd seen Jimi Hendrix's star on the Walk of Fame. He made them laugh with his tale of his first bungee jump with Sean, and he took great care to remember not to mention Ellie's presence there. It was everything he could have ever hoped that it would be. He finally had a family.