An unidentified noise woke him, and as Nathan lay in bed, eyes still closed but wide-awake, he wondered when the last time he got a full night's sleep was. If I just lay here I might drift off to sleep again, he thought. That's when he heard the quiet crying from the other side of the room.

Bleary eyed he peered in the direction the noise was coming from, but couldn't see anything. "Lucas?" He heard the boy take a deep breath and try to stop crying, but he was highly unsuccessful. Indeed, it seemed that the crying got more desperate.

Turning on the lights, Bridger swept his eyes across the room. He saw the empty cot first and then quickly scanned until he saw Lucas crouched in a corner of the room by the door to their quarters. "Oh, Lucas," he says quietly as he approaches the boy.

The instant he gets within hands reach, Lucas tries to back away, but quickly discovers he is already as far as he can go. Nathan can see him shaking.

"Lucas, what happened? What's wrong?"

More tears meet his question, but Lucas gives no answer. He moves to comfort Lucas and he can see the flinch, tenseness settling over the boy's body.

"Hey, hey. It's ok. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Lucas still doesn't speak or even look at the Captain; he just raises one hand and points to the cot where he was sleeping. Puzzled, Bridger looks over to the cot and the back at Lucas. "What is it? Are you worried there are monsters under your bed? How about I go look?" he says with a small smile.

As he approaches the cot, Nathan can see (and smell) immediately what has happened. The wet stain in the middle of the bed, the 6 year old sleeping there, it seems so obvious now. Turning back to Lucas, he asks "Did you wet the bed, Champ?"

"I -I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." His voice was quiet but pleading.

"I know, little one, I know. Why are you so upset?" as he moved closer, Lucas flinched again, and held out his hand. Nathan stopped in his tracks when he saw that the boy was holding one of his belts.

"Lucas," his voice low and controlled, "why do you have that?"

"I was bad. Aren't you gonna dis-dis…" he couldn't say the word between his sobs.

"Lucas, you didn't do anything bad, and even if you did need to be disciplined, why would I need the belt?" Bridger asked, already fearing the answer.

"That's what my daddy did when I wet the bed before." Nathan felt his knees go weak.

He didn't want to ask questions that were leading, but he needed to know the truth. "What did he do with the belt Lucas?"

"When I was bad he'd make me get his belt and then he would hit me with it. Sometimes he'd use his hands, and hangers and other stuff."

"Put the belt on the floor ok? What your dad did wasn't right Lucas. He hurt you physically. Grown ups aren't supposed to hurt children."

"I know, but it's different with me. Smart kids aren't supposed to do stupid things."

"You're not stupid Lucas," Nathan said, managing to get a little closer to the boy. "Kids wet the bed all the time when they're small. Their bodies just can't keep up. Please put the belt down and let me come closer. I'm not angry and I'm not going to hurt you."

Lucas began crying again, but he did put the belt down. The instant it hit the floor, Bridger grabbed Lucas and pulled him to him.

"Please don't touch me. I'm dirty and disgusting."

With that, Nathan pulled the trembling child into his lap. "You're not disgusting. Yes, you're wet, but the only thing that'll hurt is our clothes, and clothes are not important right now." Lucas was still stiff and trying desperately not to touch the Captain.

"Just relax buddy, it's ok." He felt Lucas settle into him a little, but much of his body was still tense, ready in fight or flight mode.

"I wasn't supposed to say anything to anyone. Now I'm going to be in trouble." Nathan could tell the boy was terrified.

"I have to ask you an important question Lucas, and I know it will be hard for you to answer, but you can just say yes or no, alright?"

"Ok."

"You know that before the accident on the abandoned ship you were different. Older."

Lucas nodded, listening.

"Do you remember whether your father still punished you in the same way? I mean, did it stop at any point?"

"Yes. He couldn't discipline me when I was on the Seaquest. It didn't happen then."

Nathan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "And when you go home on leave?"

"It doesn't matter, Captain. It's not a big deal, it's just my father's way. It doesn't even happen that much because I don't go home very often." Bridger could instantly tell the difference in tone and body language. This was very much his Lucas, well, his original Lucas.

Settling the boy on his feet, Nathan knelt down in front of him and caught his eye.

"It is a big deal Lucas. Your father is hurting you, you've done nothing to deserve that. Hurting your child is wrong when they are any age. Doesn't matter if it's 6 or 16."

Lucas looked down at the floor, wrapping his arms around himself. Nathan could see the tears running down his face.

"I'm tired of being such a crybaby."

"You're dealing with a lot right now, champ. It's normal to cry when you feel strong emotions. I cry sometimes."

Lucas' head shot up, and he looked at the Captain in wide-eyed shock. "You do?"

"Yes, I do." He responded, and brushed s stray tear off Lucas' cheek. With that simple motion it was like a dam had been broken and the small boy standing in front of him broke down in sobs. He choked out a question between his tears.

"He doesn't hate you Lucas, and you didn't do anything to make him act the way he does. It's his problem and his fault. He doesn't hate you. It'd be impossible to hate you, Lucas. I know it seems hard to believe, but he does love you. And I love you. I want you to know that, ok?"

"I love you too, Captain."