Hi Sara, I know what you mean but since I had to go back to work (and they actually expect me to work!) it's either longer chapters with bigger delays or shorter ones with quicker updates. I hate waiting myself so I'm opting for shorter and quicker. Hope that's OK cos my boss might complain otherwise.

Thanks Teresa – I wanted to write a story where Lucas is out of his comfort zone ie no computer and see what he'd do.

Chapter Seven

Lucas ran back towards the captain and grabbed his shoulder before he made it to the water. He was puffing heavily and couldn't believe such a short run could make him so breathless. He couldn't stop the coughing fit that followed and he had to hold onto the captain to stop himself falling over.

"I'm not that unfit!" he thought.

"Are you OK, kid?"

"Yeah, just … can't … catch my breath," he wheezed. "This really sucks!" He knew something wasn't right but he pushed the thought aside as he had bigger problems to take care of. Like keeping a leash on a grown man who seemed to have lost his mind.

He knew that he couldn't leave the captain alone so once he had calmed his breathing down to something close to normal Lucas suggested they keep heading down the beach in search of water. He felt achy all over and figured he was developing a serious cold but they needed to keep moving anyway.

His stomach started to rumble and he realised it was probably around lunch time, given the position of the sun. If this was the warmest part of the day it was shaping up to be a very cold night. He shivered at the thought of spending another night out here but at least it wouldn't be as awful as last night. He hoped he never experienced anything like that again.

They had walked quite a distance in silence when Lucas noticed something further along the beach. Whatever it was, it was red. The lifejacket? He'd forgotten all about it until now and hadn't even thought about the captain taking it off. "So this is where he washed up then."

He glanced over at Bridger and saw that he had noticed it too. The look on his face told Lucas he was still trying to put pieces together and the sight of the jacket had prompted something.

"Maybe it will jog his memory," he hoped.

Bridger bent down to pick up the jacket and Lucas noticed the frayed cords as the captain stared at them.

"How did you get this off, Sir?"

"It was … hurting my arm." He looked up at Lucas with a frown and then smiled. "I cut it off … with a shell."

Lucas smiled back as a tiny chunk of memory fell into place. It didn't matter how insignificant it was, he felt like he'd just won the lottery.

"Yeah, that's it. And then you walked down the beach. Do you remember why?"

"I was … looking … for you! I didn't know where you were." The anxiety level in his voice started to rise and Lucas decided to change tack. He eased the jacket out of the captain's hand.

"We can use this as a marker for when the seaQuest comes looking for us. It's the most visible thing we have so we need to raise it up somehow."

Looking around him the only thing he could think of was to hang it from one of the trees and hope the colour or movement would attract the attention of any search party.

"We need to leave them a message so they know we're both here. In case they come while we're off looking for water." Without any kind of writing instruments Lucas seemed lost for ideas until he looked back at the severed ropes. "Of course! The shell."

He looked around in the sand until he found the shell the captain had discarded earlier and began to scratch initials into the black webbing of the life jacket. It was tougher than he had counted on and it took quite a bit of effort to carve NB and LW into it. He was hunched over while he worked and he had to keep sitting back up straight to catch his breath.

"I don't have time for that now!" he angrily told himself and kept on with the it was done so he stood up slowly and headed over to the trees. He checked them out to find one that had branches that were high enough to be visible but low enough to climb. He selected one he thought he could manage and slinging the jacket over his arm, he started the climb up.

Jonathan Ford was not a man used to sitting on his hands. He was used to being in the thick of the action and this standing around waiting was driving him crazy. Under normal circumstances he would have been out there, leading the search teams, co-ordinating things from a shuttle. Instead he was stuck in here, trying to keep the focus on the right things. Things that didn't include how many hours it had been since they first received that emergency distress signal. Or thinking about just how small and vulnerable a life raft really was.

He knew the numbers Doctor Westphalen had given him about cold water exposure and hypothermia but right now he didn't want to think about that. He was a practical person and what had always been a good military trait was now coming back to bite him. He didn't want to be practical damn it! He wanted to be out there!

Ford had placed the crew on rotating shifts to make sure they all went to get some rest. In a way it had also forced him into heading to his quarters. He couldn't expect them to follow the order if he tried to say it didn't apply to him too. Even though he had gone to his quarters he hadn't gotten any sleep.

He couldn't help but feel completely useless as he paced around the small room so finally he decided to head back up to the bridge. It had only been two hours but he was in charge and given the look on his face it was unlikely anyone would question him being back so soon. As he rounded the corner to the clam doors he was deep in thought and almost ran into Lieutenant O'Neill.

"Tim! You're not due back on duty for two hours."

O'Neill cleared his throat and looked away for a second, hoping he wasn't going to be ordered back to sit in his quarters for another two hours.

"Uh, neither are you, Sir."

Ford looked at him and slowly nodded. "Yeah," was all he said before walking though the doors onto the busy bridge. O'Neill followed behind feeling he had won a small victory. Maybe that was a good sign for the rest of this shift.

After climbing down from the tree Lucas found he was out of breath again so he sat down next to Bridger in the sand to take a short rest. They seriously needed to find some water. His throat hurt and he knew they were both starting to dehydrate.

"Captain, do you remember if there was anything else that washed up along here? Anything we could use?" he looked over at Bridger hoping he was going to catch a break here.

When the captain didn't answer he gave him a gentle shake on his shoulder and was surprised to feel he was trembling again.

"Captain!" Bridger seemed lost in his thoughts and totally unaware of Lucas' presence beside him. After shaking him some more Lucas realised he was staring blankly ahead. "C'mon Captain! You have to snap out of this! Look at me …please!"

It seemed like hours before Bridger finally turned his head towards Lucas but he seemed dazed. The trembling had stopped but he was obviously far from all right. He seemed on the verge of speaking but a look of confusion crossed his face and he said nothing.

Ford realised he hadn't seen any sign of Darwin since checking in on the shuttle. Maybe the dolphin had been back while he was off duty.

"Miguel, has Darwin been back at all?"

"No, Sir, haven't seen him in hours."

Ford nodded to himself as he knew that Darwin was out there somewhere, looking just as urgently as they were.

"At least someone is!" he thought angrily. He had called in to Admiral Noyce shortly after the distress beacon had come through but the nearest UEO vessels were either too far from the search area to help immediately or else involved in their own dramas after the earthquake. The few small colonies out this way were also in need of help and for the time being the seaQuest was on its own.

Lucas was getting really worried. Bridger had barely spoken since they had left the tree with the life jacket hanging from it. They had continued down the beach in search of water and he had tried to get a conversation going several times. The confused comments he had been getting before were worrying enough but this silence was really starting to scare him. He had played along with the captain's belief that he was Robert, mainly because he didn't know what else to do. There was no point arguing and it had seemed to keep Bridger partially focused.

Now he was getting no response at all. He wished Ben were here. As much as Krieg acted like a big kid, when it really came down to it Lucas knew he could depend on him. It was ironic really he thought to himself. The two people he counted on most in the world and one of them seemed to be slipping away from him and the other didn't even know where he was!

The temperature was dropping rapidly and Lucas shivered in his torn shirt. He realised he would need to find somewhere for them to shelter for the night. There were still a couple of hours of daylight left but they still hadn't found any water and he was feeling the effects of dehydration. His mouth felt like sandpaper and he wished he could just curl up under the nearest tree and wait for someone else to come along and sort out this mess.

Lost in his thoughts Lucas didn't immediately register that the captain had stopped walking. He turned back to him just in time to see him collapse on the sand. His whole body was twitching and as Lucas dropped down beside him he realised it was a seizure. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop it so he knelt there helplessly holding his friend's hand, silently willing it to stop.