A Question of Trust

Chapter 12

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 Swasti, wolenczak2004, KatKnits00, dolphinology, TeacherTam, Nerene and kokomocalifornia for their reviews. Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, they make me turn red in the face and they make my days.

Swasti: Thank for your kind words. It's really nice of you to call me the king of cliffies. But just for the record, i would prefor to be called queen of cliffies. ;-) Here is more:

wolenczak2004: Thanks! And yes, I'm sure that I'm not the child of Devil.

KatKnits00: Thanks! I think I will have something for your love/hate relationship with cliffhangers in the end of this chapter. But it's not so cliffi like the chapters before.

dolphinology: Thanks for your review. Great that you liked it besides the one thing.

TeacherTam: Thanks! I also love the password

Nerene: Thanks for your kind words! You can breath again, I hope the wait wasn't to long.

kokomocalifornia: Thanks for your kind words. I know that it is mean to write cliffhangers, but I just love it so much. But I really hate it when other do this. ;-)

Two hour later, Bridger was still sitting at Lucas' bedside, but he had fallen asleep in his chair. Suddenly, he was awakened by a loud squealing. Immediately, Nathan's glance went to the different monitors and machines that the teen was hooked up to. It didn't take him more than a second to see why one of them was giving off the sound. The captain had the feeling that somehow, the ground he was standing on had fallen away from under his feet. Lucas' heart had stopped beating!

Dr. Westphalen, Dr. Miller, Dr. Peterson, and Lt. Krieg rushed into the room. Even those that weren't medical doctors like Kristin knew what to do - besides Peterson, they'd all had some degree of medical training.

Dr. Westphalen was the first to reach Lucas' bed, and grabbed the machine to restart the teenager's heart. "Nathan, go away, you're in our way!" The captain stepped back immediately and started to pray. The boy couldn't die. All of Bridger's concentration was focused on the teen; he didn't hear any of the orders that Kristin was giving to the others.

Lucas felt strange. He didn't feel any pain, just lightness and freedom.

In front of him, he could see a sparkling white light. Slowly, the teenager moved towards it. The light was warm and gave him a feeling of safety and comfort. Suddenly, Lucas stopped walking - he could see the silhouettes of his grandparents in the light. But they had died years ago! They had both died within months of each other when the computer genius was just 7 years old. Lucas could clearly remember times when he had visited his grandparents. They had always spoiled him. His grandpa had made him a spectacular treehouse, and his grandma had cooked and baked all his favorite things. His best childhood memories were connected with his grandparents.

The closer the young man got to them, the more clear their images became. The teen started to run and fell into their arms. Both were smiling at their grandson. But then, their faces became sad.

Lucas was confused. "What is it? Aren't you happy to see me again?"

His grandfather shook his head. "No, this is too early for you."

The teenager looked uncomprehendingly at the two. "Too early for what?"

"Too early for death!" anwered his nana.

"I'm dead?" The young genius was stunned. After a moment's thought, he realized that what they said made sense. "That's why I feel so diffrent!"

His grandpa nodded. "Yes, but it's too early for you - you have to go back. There is so much life ahead of you. We want to see what you will do in the future because we know you will do so much!"

Lucas looked at his grandfather, still confused. "How do you know that? I won't do anything, I'm dead!"

His grandmother smiled at that. "Oh, we know quite a lot. At the moment, you are just dead because you have given up. But, it is not too late. You still have the chance to fight!"

The teenager shook his head. "No, I want to stay here. I want to stay with you. You've been the only people that ever truly loved me. I don't mean anything to my parents, I want to stay with you two!"

Both grandparents shook their heads. "You can't give up because of Lawrence and Cynthia. There are so many other people you are important to. Just think of the seaQuest. You have so many friends on the seaQuest, and you mean something special to every one of them. Do you want them to mourn you? Would you do that to them? Would you do that to Captain Bridger?"

Lucas bit down on his lip as tears started running down his cheeks. He would never see the others again, and he would never swim with Darwin again. There would be no poker with Miguel and Tim; he would never work with Dr. Westphalen again. The red-haired woman would never again be able to tell him that he needed to eat and sleep more. He would never be able to joke around with Ben again, and the lieutenant would never be able to get him into trouble. Crocker would now have to try to understand the computer alone, even write his own security programs. Commander Ford would be never able to tell him again that he shouldn't run in the corridors of the seaQuest. Lucas and Hitchcock had just started to plan a new Stinger design, and now they wouldn't be able to complete it. And he would never be able to argue with her whether it was a Stinger or a Gazelle.

And he wouldn't be able to play online games with Wolfman anymore. Work at the computer, listen to music, read books, do things with the others... There were also the little things that sometimes got on his nerves, but he mostly he would miss everything.

And then, there was the captain. He had already lost his son and his wife. But did he really mean that much to him? Could he do that to the captain? Would the captain mourn his death?

But there were also so many others think about. His parents, who he wasn't getting along with, who hadn't even managed to come to his high school or college graduations. But now he didn't need to argue with them anymore. Now he didn't need to hope anymore that his relationship with them would get better, and he wouldn't get disappointed because it didn't.

Nodody would ever look at him funny again. How many times had it happened where he had been treated unfairly and meanly because of his age. His time at school had never been good - he had always been much younger than the others and therefore hadn't been able to make friends. The others had excluded him from group projects because of his age and intelligence. Group projects had always been pure horror for him. But there had also been teachers who hadn't been very friendly to him. They didn't like the fact that such a small child knew more than they did. He had felt their envy.

Most of the time, the kids or teenagers around his own age also didn't want to have anything to do with him. They were scared of him when they found out how smart he really was. He could count the few friends he had, besides the ones from the seaQuest, on one hand.

The teenager looked pleadingly at his grandparents. "I want to stay here, I want to be with you! There's nothing to go back to."

His grandmother lowered her head. "Alright, Lucas, but don't be scared if we suddenly disappear. We want to give you one last thing to think about. After that, you can decide if you want to fight for your life or not. We love you!"

Before Lucas had the chance to say anything, his grandparents disappeared. The white light began to fade. He was now in Medbay. He saw his body lying on a bed - Dr. Westphalen, Ben, Dr. Miller and Dr. Peterson were bent over him, trying to save his life.

Then he saw the captain. Bridger was standing by the wall, looking at Lucas' body. Tears were running down his face.

The teenager tried to speak to him. "Captain?" There was no reaction from the older man. "Captain? I'm feeling ok now, you don't need to be sad. Captain?" Again no reaction. Finally, the young man realized that the other couldn't see or hear him. For the others, there was only his body, lying on a bed, which they were fighting to bring life back to.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. The boy could hear Captain Bridger's thoughts in his head.

Lucas, please, don't leave me alone. I need you. You are like my own son. And I've said before but I'll say it again - I really wish that you were. Don't leave me alone. I can't lose another member of my family - not you! I won't survive it! There is still so much ahead of you, your entire life. You have so much potential. You can become one of the most important scientists of our time. You probably would be already if the Vocorder wasn't classified. Please, kiddo, don't leave me. You have to fight! Please, Lucas, fight!

That was enough for the teenager. He couldn't listen to the captain any longer. Tears had started again. He knew that he had to make his decision now. And he did.

To Be Continued …

Written Spring 2003 / Translated Winter 2005