This story is driving me crazy! It won't leave me alone until I finish it. So here goes….

Chapter Eight

It only lasted a few minutes but to Lucas it felt like hours. He had never felt so completely useless as he watched the captain's body convulse in front of him. He had a hold of his friend's hand but almost wished he didn't as he felt his fingers being crushed.

When it finally stopped he didn't know whether to be relieved or more scared. Bridger's face seemed drained of colour and his skin felt clammy.

At least during the seizure there were signs of life. Now the captain was so deathly still that Lucas was almost afraid to check for a pulse.

Ben looked out at the view before him and clenched his fist in frustration. They had just checked off another section but it would soon be dark and they still hadn't seen any sign of the raft or its occupants. He looked over his shoulder at the others and he could see they were feeling the same way.

"How much of that grid have we covered, Doc?"

Kristin looked up at him, equal frustration showing in her eyes.

"Not enough. This is taking too long."

They continued on in silence for a while, each one lost in their own thoughts. Ben was startled out of his thoughts by a gray flash in front of him.

"Did you see that, Chief?"

"Yeah."

There it was again! Darwin had finally shown up.

Crocker had begun to turn the small craft onto a new heading so they could cover the next section of the search pattern while they still had some daylight. He was surprised to see the dolphin swim across the bow of the shuttle. As they continued on in the same direction he realised Darwin was pacing the shuttle. He sped off and leaped across in front of the shuttle again.

Ben grabbed Crocker's arm.

"Do you think he knows something, Chief?

"Well he hasn't been back to the seaQuest so it makes sense he's been out looking too. He found Lucas once before and…."

"And we all know how attached he is to the captain and Lucas!" Ben grinned. "Follow that dolphin!"

For the first time in hours Ford allowed himself to really hope. He hadn't realised how hopeless he had felt until then. Duty had kept him focused on what he needed to do and he had managed to push emotion aside for a time. Only minutes before Krieg had called in to say that Darwin had turned up and they were heading towards an island that hadn't been searched yet. As he looked around at the crew on duty Ford noted that the atmosphere on the bridge seemed to have suddenly changed.

Lucas felt like his chest was going to explode. He was barely holding it together and he was terrified the captain was going to die. He hadn't woken up since the seizure and his pulse didn't seem right. Not that Lucas was experienced in medical things but he knew enough to know that a heartbeat was supposed to be steady.

"I know you probably can't hear me but … "

But what?

Everything that came to mind sounded so stupid. Like some bad movie. All the things he wanted to say sounded like cliches but then didn't things become cliches because they were true?

He sat silently in the sand and clung onto Bridger's hand. There were so many things running through his mind and he couldn't stop the memories that threatened to swamp him.

"You always taught me to look at all the options. Well dying here isn't one of them! Do you hear me? That's not one of your options today."

As Crocker followed Darwin in the shuttle it quickly became obvious that he really was leading them somewhere. They were heading in a direct path towards an island that was part of the next search grid. As their shift was nearly up it would have been the next crew who would have covered this section.

Checking his instrument panel, Crocker could see they were coming in close to a reef. Sonar showed most of it was just under the surface and navigating it was going to be treacherous. It was easy for a single dolphin to skim through but for the larger shuttle it was a much tighter squeeze.

He carefully maneuvered them through the rocks and caught up with Darwin on the other side of the reef. As they scanned along the beach it was Kristin who first spotted a piece of the life raft. She felt both excited and a sense of dread at the same time. There was more of the raft along the shoreline.

"Shuttle Six to seaQuest. Come in seaQuest."

'We read you Shuttle Six. What have you got?" Ford's voice came back over the radio.

"We've found the life raft! It's in pieces but it's washed up on an island. We're still looking for them but the light is fading. You need to get more search teams here, fast!"

"We have your co-ordinates, Ben. I'm diverting more crews to you now. Keep us posted."

Ford turned back to O'Neill. "Get every shuttle in the vicinity to that island. Helm, lay in a course. Full speed!"

"Aye, Sir."

There was no sign of life along the beach so they decided to circle the island before heading ashore. As they continued along parallel to the beach it was clear the life raft had been torn apart on the reef. Debris had washed up in various places but there was still no indication that either the captain or Lucas had made it ashore.

Kristin's heart was in her mouth as she stared out at the shoreline. She refused to believe they weren't here. The idea that she could have lost them both made her feel physically ill and she steadfastly pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

The shuttle had rounded a small rocky headland and there didn't seem to be any more of the life raft on this side. Ben was about to suggest they head back the other way when something caught his attention.

"Over there Chief! Turn the searchlights back that way!"

Crocker swung the powerful lights back in the direction Krieg was pointing and suddenly they all saw it – something red swinging from a tree.

As they got closer Ben slapped Crocker on the back and grinned. "Now Chief, does that or does that not look like a UEO life jacket to you?"

It only took minutes for Crocker to beach the shuttle and Ben seemed to be out on the sand before they had even stopped moving. He sprinted to the tree and scrambled up to pull down the jacket. He jumped back down to the sand and turned the jacket over in his hands.

"What's that? Along the webbing?" Johannsen turned it back over in Krieg's hands. "There!"

He ran his hand over the scratched webbing. NB and LW! They were here!

"Lucas! Captain!" he started shouting. The others joined in but they didn't get any answer back.

"Wait a minute!" Crocker stopped them. "This…these initials. Do you think maybe they left them here as a message. So we'd know they were here. But for some reason they left."

Krieg nodded at him. "We have to get back to the shuttle. They weren't back that way. We have to keep going this way. Let's presume for now they stuck to the shoreline. We'll start searching inland once the others get here."

Lucas saw the lights moving along the water and took a minute to register what it meant. Exhaustion, fear and breathlessness were all combining to slow his reaction time. He stood up and ran down to the water line waving frantically to get their attention. He felt like crying with relief when he saw the shuttle change direction and head towards him. He ran back to where the captain was and grabbed his hand again.

"Cavalry's here," he grinned.

The shuttle came to a stop on the sand and Lucas called out urgently. "Over here! Hurry!"

Doctor Westphalen dropped down in the sand beside him. She noted his ragged breathing but decided Bridger needed her help more urgently.

"How long has he been unconscious?"

"Over an hour I guess. He had some kind of seizure. He hit his head last night and was knocked out and then we got separated and he was really spacey when I found him today."

"Spacey?"

"Um, he seemed really out of it and then he'd get the shakes and … and he thought I was Robert and … he kept staring at things like he wasn't really seeing them."

"Small seizures building up in intensity. We need to get him back to seaQuest! He's most likely bleeding into the brain."

Crocker and Krieg lifted him as gently as they could and carried him back to the shuttle. Lucas walked along behind with Johannsen, relieved to know that finally someone who knew what they were doing was taking care of his friend. He watched as they laid the captain down across the bench seat and then the doctor checked his pupils for a reaction.

Crocker quickly had the shuttle back in the water and Ben was on the radio calling it in.

Lucas lay back along the seat and closed his eyes. His chest hurt with every breath he took and he just couldn't seem to get enough air. Every time he took a deep breath he would start off another violent coughing fit. Dr Westphalen was busy with the captain and Ensign Johanssen knelt by Lucas' side, monitoring his pulse and breathing. He recognised her from medbay. She was one of the new trainee doctors who had come aboard after the last shore leave.

"She's really pretty," he thought to himself and then smiled. "I must be OK if I'm thinking about a girl." He suddenly remembered the captain's story about Carol and his broken nose and he started to laugh. It quickly brought on another coughing fit and before he knew it his head was spinning. Struggling to breathe, he tried to sit up but had no strength.

"Doctor! You need to see this!" Johanssen called urgently. "He's coughing up something strange. It looks like … froth?"

Kristin ran over to check and sure enough, Lucas had foam around his mouth.

"Sit him up! Quickly!" They pulled Lucas into a sitting position but he continued to wheeze and gasp for air. His lips were turning blue as he couldn't draw enough air into his lungs.

"Lucas? You need to relax. Slow breaths."

He looked at her with panic in his eyes.

"Oh God! He's drowning."

"What? He hasn't been in the water, Doctor!"

"But he was and he's still got salt water in his lungs."

Before the young ensign could make sense of what Westphalen was saying Lucas slumped against her and she realised he had stopped breathing.