A Question of Trust
Chapter 10
By Kiddo
In Loving Memory Of Jonathan Brandis
Disclaimer:
I don't have any rights to the TV show "seaQuest." I also don't own the different characters like Bridger, Lucas, or Darwin. I'm not making any money with this story; I'm just writing for my own pleasure.
A spezial „Thank You" goes to Jackie for beta-reading and to wolenczak2004,kokomocalifornia, sweet me, Kat Knits00, Nerene, dolphinology ,Swasti and Lynnp for their reviews.
wolenczak2004: Thanks! Here is the bird ;-)
kokomocalifornia: Thanks! Sorry because of your fingernails. I'm also afraid that the cliffhanger from this chapter is even worser than the last…
sweet me: Thanks! Yeah, poor Lucas.
KatKnits00: Thanks for the review!
Nerene: Thanks for your kind words! The boy is really a genius if he has finished Stanford with 16 or in my story even with 14. So there should be some quick thinking from time to time.
dolphinology: Thanks for your kind words!
Swasti: Thanks, your kind words make me turn red. You will get more of my evil side at the end of this chapter.
Lynnp: Tanks for your review. Ha, I know that I can be evil! ;-) Here is the next one:
"Kristin! Please hurry, his eyelids are starting to flicker!" It sounded to Lucas like the captain's voice was coming from a far distance.
Dr. Westphalen immediately came to the captain's side and knelt down next to the teenager, who was lying on the only mattress in the cell. Bridger's bathrobe was used as a cover for the injured boy. "Yes, that's good Lucas, open your eyes."
A few moments later, Lucas had managed to pry his eyes open. "What happened?"
Nathan brushed a strand of Lucas's hair out of his face. "Major attacked you, and you lost consciousness."
The boy shook his head slowly and carefully. "I don't mean that, I mean what are we doing here?" His voice sounded quiet and sleepy.
Bridger nodded. "After you lost consciousness, they put us in the cell with Dr. Westphalen, Dr. Williams, Dr. Line, Dr. Miller and Dr. Smithen. Ford, Krieg, Ortiz and Dr. Peterson are still free. We can only hope that they will be able to free us also. Oh, and by the way, the password and the voice-recognition programs were brilliant!"
Lucas smiled slightly. "Thanks... It was the only thing I could think of, given the circumstances." The teenager tried to move and cried out in pain."
Dr. Westphalen moved closer to the teenager. "Where does it hurt?"
The young man thought about the answer to that question. "To tell you the truth, nearly everywhere. But it's okay, only my head feels like exploding."
The red-haired doctor nodded. "That's to be expected. You have several nasty bruises, and I would imagine that you have a consussion as well. I'm terribly sorry, but I have nothing here to help the pain."
The teenager nodded. "No problem, Dr. Westphalen, I'll survive without it." Lucas tried to sit up. He didn't want to lie down any longer, and it was a weird feeling having everyone else looking down at him.
Bridger gave him a helping hand. When Lucas made it to a sitting position, the captain wrapped his bathrobe around the boy once more.
"Thanks." Lucas gave Bridger a brief smile. Then he thought back to their argument. "Captain, I'm really sorry about our argument. I didn't really mean what I said. I was just so angry! Can you please forgive me?" The teen looked at the captain with his big blue eyes.
Nathan smiled. Lucas' apology went straight to his heart. Then he smiled again; the teenager was always so serious with him. Bridger was still waiting for the day when the boy would just call him Nathan. Sometimes, it didn't sound right to him when Lucas called him Captain. They knew each other so well and were such good friends that it sometimes just seemed wrong to him. But, he was pretty sure that Lucas would never have the courage to call him anything but Captain. The boy wasn't raised that way. The teenager had been taught that adults had higher status and that you were only allowed to use their first names if they had told you or asked you to use them. He really should tell the boy to use his first name in the future.
"I think we both have to apologize. I also said a few things that I shouldn't have said. I would never send you back to your parents!" Captain Bridger gave the teenager a gentle hug so as not to hurt him anymore. Then, he looked his youngest crew member in the eye. "There's something I need to know."
The blond teen looked curiously at him. "Yeah?"
"Back on the bridge, you said that you're 14, but we always thought that you were 16. How old are you really?" Lucas looked down at the ground. "Kiddo, please look at me. How old are you?"
It was completely silent in the cell; everyone was anxious to hear what Lucas had to say.
The teenager raised his eyes to meet Bridger's. "What I said on the bridge was true – I am 14. I just wasn't thinking when I said it. My parents wanted me to say that I'm 16. The admiral wouldn't have agreed to let me come on board the seaQuest if he knew how old I really was. So I hacked into the Social Security records and changed the year on my birth certificate to two years earlier. Please don't send me away because of that. If we get out of this alive, that is."
Bridger shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't send you away, I already told you that. I know that the seaQuest is your home. And, I promise you that we will all survive this. We can trust to Ford and the others!"
At that moment, the door opened and Bert Major, Oliver, and two other men came into the cell. Major turned to Lucas. "Either you tell us the password now, or your last hour has just began."
The blond teenager shook his head with conviction. "No. And besides, you can't kill me because if you do, you'll never get the password."
Major's eyes narrowed. "We don't have much time left, and if we don't get it now, then it won't matter to us anymore. We need the password now!"
The computer genius shook his head again. "Forget it - I will never tell you the password!"
Major gave Oliver a little sign that went unnoticed by the others. Oliver Stevens drew his gun, aimed it at Lucas, and pulled the trigger.
To Be Continued …
Written Spring 2003 / Translated Winter 2005