CONTINUING EDUCATION
Door 15
By Kiddo
In Loving Memory of Jonathan Brandis
Disclaimer:
I don't have any rights to the TV show "seaQuest DSV," and I am not making any money by writing this.
A special "Thank You" goes to my wonderful beta-reader Jackie and Lynnp and KatKnits00 for their Reviews.
Lucas stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. There were no lights on, but Bridger was still awake, sitting in a chair by the open window. He turned around so that he was facing the teenager.
The computer genius had expected the captain to still be awake, and he wanted to talk with him about his earlier behavior.
Lucas went to the wardrobe and pulled out a T-shirt, then changed out of the shirt he was already wearing. He then slipped out of his jeans and went to bed wearing just the T-shirt and boxer shorts. He pulled the blanket around him and looked in Bridger's direction, only seeing his silhouette in the darkness.
Nathan's gaze met the teenager's. "We need to talk."
Lucas nodded. "I know." He paused briefly. "I'm sorry for how I acted before. I know it was inappropriate."
"Okay," said Nathan. He tried to see the expression on the boy's face in the dark. "I suspect that there was some reason for you to act that way. Why were you suddenly in such a bad mood? The music can't be the only reason."
The young genius nodded. "You have to know that Christmas isn't the greatest time of the year for me. In fact, it's just the opposite. When I see how happy everyone else is, it only reminds me of how lousy things are with my family. It's really depressing."
Bridger could hear the emotion behind Lucas's words and understood it. Christmas had also been a difficult time for him the past few years. "And when you heard the others telling stories about the happy Christmases they spent with their families, it made you very sad. And then the whole music thing kind of pushed you over the edge."
The teenager nodded. "You know, sometimes it seems like I can't ever remember celebrating Christmas peacefully with my parents." He was silent for a moment. "I think I was maybe 4 years old the last time that happened. After that, they just argued. And then my father started working on Christmas..." The boy fell silent again.
The captain had the feeling that there more to the story than just that. "And what happened then?"
"When I was 12, my parents decided to try again, for me. Both of them took some time off work so that they would have time for the family. But the whole thing ended in disaster, and that lead to the divorce." His voice was heavy with bitterness.
"I didn't know that. Did your parents ever celebrate Christmas together after that?" he asked, even though he had a pretty good idea what the answer would be.
Lucas shook his head. "No. In the years after the divorce, I spent one Christmas with my father and one with my mother. But they were exactly the same for me. My father always worked, and my mother tried to hide away."
"And now your mother works up until Christmas."
The teenager nodded thoughtfully. "Actually, my mother is really okay. I don't want you to think badly about her. She just works so that she won't have to think about what a disaster our family became. The divorce and all the arguments with my dad were very hard on her, and at Christmas, it all re-surfaces again, so she tries to distract herself with work. And this year, she's trying to work for as long as possible." He looked out the windows at the stars. "Of course I'm sad and disappointed that she won't spend any time with me, but I can't really hold that against her because I know why she's doing it."
Bridger was thoughtful. "And what about your father? Do you blame him for his behavior towards you?"
The blond boy was silent for a moment. His relationship with his father left a lot to be desired. "It's hard to put into words. He always made promises, but he never kept them. I was never very important to him, or at least, I got the feeling that I wasn't. Even in the first grade, I knew that if my father was supposed to pick me up from school that I shouldn't count on it. If I got lucky, he was only a couple hours late, but on other days, he forgot completely. My mom, on the other hand, was always there on time. I haven't seen my father a lot since the divorce, and when we do meet, it nearly always goes wrong. We often clashed over differences of opinion... Could we please end this topic now?"
Nathan had listened to the boy without interruption. He had the feeling that Lucas didn't allow himself to express these feelings very often.
The teenager shifted his pillow to a more comfortable spot and yawned.
Bridger grinned. "Looks like somebody is tired." He also felt the effects of the day.
The computer genius shook his head. "Not at all, I'm just exercising my face."
The captain had to smile. "If you want to call it that."
Lucas smiled as well. "Okay, maybe I'm a little tired."
Bridger stood up. "Should I leave the window open?"
The teenager nodded. "At least it will let some cooler air inside."
Nathan lay down on his own bed. "Goodnight, Lucas."
"Goodnight, Captain."
Fifteen minutes later, they were both asleep.
Written November 2004 – Translated November 2005