When he had finished talking to Lucas, the boy had wanted to run off to find Tony. It was the chance to enjoy the first moment without Lucas all day. Well, it would have been, but Dr. Smith had made it clear she wanted to speak with him further.

"He's a little fragile right now, isn't he?" she asked.

"I think he's all kinds of mixed up, caught between the two ages, unable to control some behaviour, and not really wanting to control the others. Not to mention being embarrassed about the whole thing. It's been a hell of a long day Wendy – can you just tell me what you need to tell me?"

"Well, it's good news, or will hopefully lead to good news. I've been doing research on the machine that caused all t his, and I've located the name of one of the leading researchers in the field of age reversal. I'm hoping he'll be able to help us figure out this mystery and what caused it, and more importantly, how to fix it."

"So you haven't talked to him yet?"

"No, I wanted to get you up to speed before I made a move."

"At first convenience, please give him a call and brief him on our situation."

"Will do, sir."

With the first light news of the day, the Captain exited Medbay and stopped short.

"Oh, Lucas." He said when he spotted the small blond head bowed over a book. "I thought you went off to find Tony?"

A blush rose over Lucas' face as he looked up. "He wasn't there." He raised his chin and looked defiantly at Bridger. He looked so determined, Nathan had to bite his tongue so that he didn't smile or laugh at the boy. He chose not to push the issue any further.

"I think it's time we get you ready for bed."

"I'm too tired to walk all the way there. My legs are littler than yours."

Fully grinning now, Bridger raised an eyebrow at Lucas. "Oh? Well how would you suggest we get you back to quarters?"

Bright blue eyes sparkling, Lucas solemnly said, "I think a piggyback ride would work out just fine."

"I'll do ya one better kiddo," he responded, and with a quick motion grabbed Lucas under his arms and set the boy atop his shoulders.

As he walked them both towards their quarters, Nathan heard Lucas say in quiet awe "Captain, I can reach the ceiling from up here!"

00000000

Despite having put Lucas to bed many hours earlier, the Captain himself didn't get to sleep until the very early hours of the morning. Indeed, it seemed like he had barely shut his eyes when he felt movement at the foot of his bed.

'I'm just going to completely ignore that' he thought to himself and willed himself back to dreams.

He felt a small finger poked him on the cheek. 'No. Just no.'

"Captain?" Lucas was trying to whisper, Bridger could tell. It didn't make him feel anymore rested.

"Sir? You awake?" Bridger opened his eyes just enough to peek through his lashes. It was pretty hard to resist the sight before him. There was Lucas, kneeling beside him in the oversized T-shirt. He leaned in towards the Captain's ear, his hand cupped around his mouth like a tunnel and whispered again,

"Caaaaaptain." He was elongating vowels. It was time to give in. But not without a fight.

"Ok kiddo what are you doing waking me up?" he growled, scooping up the boy, flipping him over and tickling him mercilessly. He was instantly rewarded with high-pitched giggling. He could swear he felt his great grow to the sound of Lucas' laughter.

"Ca-capt-captain" Lucas gasped out between giggles, "I give up!"

"I thought you would. So what is so important that you felt the need to wake me up so early in the morning?"

"Um, I wanted to go play on my computer in my quarters for a while, work on some projects…"

"The vocoder?"

Lucas looked away. "Maybe just some of the vocabulary files. I'm not really sure of some of the other stuff anymore. I remember that I knew it once, but it's just a little too hard."

Bridger pushed the bangs off of Lucas' face and looked him in the eyes. "Don't feel bad about that Lucas. Things have changed a lot for you in the last couple days. You'll get your science back when you get back to your usual self."

Lucas just stared at him for a moment, and Nathan thought he saw something there. A difference in his eyes, a sign of maturity. He was thus completely caught off guard when Lucas wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him. And then he was off and running to get changed.