Bridger tiptoed into his cabin as quietly as he could mentally crossing his fingers and hoping that Lucas was still asleep. A quick glance to his bunk showed a small, snoring blond bundle, and Nathan let out the breath he was holding.

Hearing him enter, Wendy glanced up from her paper work and gave him a smile. The smile disappeared quickly when she spotted the damage he had done to his knuckles.

Before she could even say anything, he cut her off. "It's nothing, Doctor. Really."

"It certainly looks like something to me, Captain."

He dismissed her concerns with a wave, and then realized that he was only drawing more attention to his bruised and bloody hands. Tucking them behind his back, he turned to her and said "I promise to come see you as soon as I can in the morning for some anti-bacterial spray."

Her mouth set in a firm line, she agreed. "But really, Captain. Obviously there's something going on. I can even sense the heavy emotions that are rolling off of you."

This fact wasn't lost on Bridger. Usually Wendy couldn't read him, his own abilities, however deeply set, were at the very least a good block from psychic readings. Except for now apparently.

He sighed audibly. He really couldn't stand to rehash what was going on with Lucas. He knew he'd need to tell Wendy, Lucas would need to be examined, but it could wait until morning.

"I promise to tell you in the morning. Suffice it to say, we need to talk." Slipping a glace towards Lucas, "How's my boy?"

Wendy couldn't help but raise a questioning eyebrow at that, but hearing the tenderness and genuine concern in Bridger's voice, she stuffed her thoughts down. "He's fine, Captain. He murmured a little, called for you once, but didn't wake."

"Thanks again, Wendy, I really appreciate this."

"Can I ask you something, Captain?" He glanced at her expectantly. "How long can we go on like this? I mean, I don't mind watching Lucas for you, but if this situation doesn't get fixed...what will happen to him?"

"I 'm not sure, and to tell you the truth, I have fewer options everyday."

"Have you told his parents yet?"

"Not yet. I'm hoping we can get this fixed and not need to tell them at all."

"Well, Dr. Gravel arrives today, so let's hope we can get on the road to a solution. But if you'll excuse me, Captain, I want to get some sleep before he arrives. I'll see you in the morning."

In the silence he could hear Lucas' heavy breathing, and he paused for a few minutes just to watch the steady rise and fall of his chest. In sleep, at least, he was calm. Pulling up he chair, he settled in for the night.

It felt like mere seconds before Nathan felt himself waking. His neck and shoulders felt like someone had taken a crowbar to them. He lay in the chair for several more seconds before slowly opening his eyes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his saw Lucas standing in front him, completely silent, just staring.

"Oh my god, Lucas, you scared me for a second there. I wasn't expecting to see a little pair of blue eyes staring at me."

Lucas looked down at the floor. Part of him wanted more than anything to explain the night before, to be steady. But he couldn't find the words, the way to do it. Instead, all he could really think about was the Captain sleeping in a chair all night.

"I'm sorry I stolded your bunk Cap'in." he said to the floor, as somewhere something inside him winced.

Nathan immediately noticed his syntax. He bit the inside of cheek, feeling himself get emotional. He couldn't quite figure out whether he was sad to see his teenage boy lose the parts of himself that were recognizable, or whether he was glad to see this little boy, with little boy words despite his genius. What was happening to them?

"Stole, Lucas, not stolded."

"yessir" Lucas replied, finally looking up. "Can I ask you somethin' Cap'in?"

"Always."

The next thing he knew Lucas was climbing into his lap. He was so surprised it took some effort not to make any sudden movements. He didn't want to scare the boy.

Lucas settled himself on Nathan's lap, facing away from him, his head resting back against Nathan's chest. Grabbing the man's left hand he pointed to his ring and asked

"What's this ring mean?"

Nathan took a deep breath, feeling Lucas' small fingers pulling at his ring.

"That's my wedding ring, champ."

The little boy's fingers moved to his right hand. "And this one?"

"That's my Naval Academy ring, I got it when I graduated."

"You gonna send me away?"

Nathan stiffened in spite of himself. "Why would I do that, Lucas?"

"I wet the bed. And I told secrets I wasn't s'posed to."

"I would never send you away, Lucas, unless I thought you might get hurt. And as for what happened last night – some things aren't meant to be secrets. Grown ups shouldn't hurt their children. I'm so glad you told me, Lucas. You can always come to me, ok?"

He felt Lucas nod against him. It was difficult not to laugh when he heard a small voice say "I wanna ring too, Cap'in."

"I'll work on that." Bridger replied, kissing the top of Lucas'' head.