All my thanks goes to Anarore for helping with beta reading!
To the nice reviewers for whom I translated the next chapter faster than expected: dolphinology, Lynnp, DavyJonesLocker deleted my sign where the next part begins I hope this time it works better), Kiddi (with many hugs and the hope your laptop will be back soon), Amy and bsgfan!
Have fun with the second one!
He tried to stop his headache by massaging his forehead with gentle circular motions. Shouldn't he get something against the pain? No, he wanted to lie down a bit now anyway. The whole excitement and the concern about Lucas hadn't let him sleep a wink the whole last night. Probably it was only because of the lack of sleep that he had such a headache now.
He got something to eat from the officers' mess, not much, but enough to make do with, and took nevertheless a light tablet against the pain. Before he disappeared into his accomodation however, he made a detour over the sea-deck. Darwin had certainly already noticed that he was on board and would already be waiting for him impatiently.
"Hello, my friend." he welcomed the sea mammal, as soon as he stepped to the edge of the moon pool.
Immediately the dolphin swam to the edge too. "Bridger there." squawked the machine voice from the loudspeakers.
"Do you want to play a little?" He looked around already for the red ball which otherwise always lay near the pool.
"Play, play." Excited Darwin nodded his head up and down.
"One moment, I can't find the ball." Bridger said and rose, in order to search farther back where the tables were. However, Darwin splashed a quantity water from the pool with his tail. Nathan looked up surprised. "What's up?"
"Ball away."
"So? Where is it?"
"Darwin not there, as went away."
Bridger sighed. He knew already why the ball had disappeared. In former times everyone had paid more attention to the dolphin, but it nearly seemed that, except for the young man, who was in the hospital ward in a coma, there was still hardly anyone who cared about Darwin. He returned again to the basin and sat down on the right side of it on the highest step. "What shall we do then?" He held his hand in the water. Darwin came and snuggled up to it.
"Lucas visit."
Nathan smiled first time in days. "That you would really like do, wouldn't you?"
Confirmed nodding was the answer. "I do not believe Oliver will agree to put him into a hospital with an aquatunnel. I know how much you miss him and want to be at his side. I understand it only too well." His voice became faint towards the end of the sentence.
"Lucas becomes again healthy." Bridger could not tell from the artificial voice whether it had been a statement or rather a question. He rubbed his hurting forehead. Despite the tablet it had not become better.
"I hope so a lot." he said dreamily after a while.
"Bridger tired?" The dolphin seemed rather free from worries. Even if his best friend lay unconscious in a bed, he did not make the impression as if he worried a lot about his condition. That was strange. When Lucas had a serious flu at the very beginning of their journey and Dr. Westphalen had kept him two weeks in the hospital ward, they all had been busy keeping Darwin in a good mood. He hadn't wanted to eat and had kept out of the way of everyone. He had even wanted to swim outside to catch some fish and had spoken only if he had to. The chatterbox Darwin had really grown silent. Bridger doubted however that it was because the two had drifted apart. On the contrary; their friendship had even grown more and that especially after he had gone.
Darwin had otherwise always accompanied Bridger, no matter where he went. Shortly before the thing with Hyperion happened, Darwin had followed his young friend a few times on vacation, but had always returned back to Bridgers island. Only since their return had the dolphin remained completely with Lucas. He couldn't leave him alone on seaQuest. Without Bridger having to say it to him, he automatically wanted to remain with Lucas.
He was just considering if a very special connection had developed between the two, which let the dolphin become so confident, when Darwin interrupted and forced him to an answer with his question. "Bridger tired?"
The Captain had to smile.
"I am. But I wanted to see you before I lie down and also play with you." He took a deep breath. "Only someone has thwarted our plans by stealing our ball. You'll get a new beautiful one for your birthday."
"Bridger tired, must go sleep and dream." Darwin wasn't interested in the lost ball anymore.
He looked again at his dolphin. "Will you tell me what is going on here?" Nathan leaned with crossed arms against the egde of the pool.
"Must sleep, soon with Darwin play."
"OK, you don't want to tell me but I'll keep an eye on you." he said in warning. "See you tomorrow, my friend." he said good-bye to the sea mammal. As he had spoken of dreams, something in him had changed completely and it was as if he had seen something in the dolphin which hadn't been there before. Never before had he had this strong feeling that someone was hiding an important detail from him. But the dolphin had helped him to became calmer internally.
It was time that he banished all these stupid thoughts from his mind. He was tired, his headache had become worse and Lucas wouldn't wake up either if he sat at his side. Perhaps everything would look better again the next day already. Bridger went into the accomodation especially prepared for him and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Again his path had led him into the strange bar. The words of the young man with the grey hair resounded in his ears. Today was the day when he was allowed to speak with him or was that young man holding him back again?
Just as he wanted to enter, someone from behind put his hand on his shoulder. Frightened by this unexpected gesture he turned around. Smiling, the greyhaired man regarded him. "Hello." he welcomed him.
His pulse had shot up as he had been touched, now he had to take three deep breaths before he answered the greeting.
"Let's go in. He will not be there yet, 'cause we were at the beach for a walk but he is coming. Be assured even if he shouldn't come today." the unknown man said and led him into the tavern.
Since his last visit, nothing had changed inside. It was still the same smoky area with the tangy smell of alcohol. The slightly dull light let a warm feeling run down his back as if he returned back to a place after a terrible time, where he had spent a happy childhood. Nearly the same people stood around the tables as the day before and behind the bar was the fat man with the greasy shirt and the just as greasy face. Only his garrison cap was missing, he wasn't wearing it today.
"Will I be able to speak with him?" he asked as he put the hat and the ochre-coloured coat down. His new acquaintance wore dark grey trousers and a simple black T-shirt under the dark bomber jacket. He also put his jacket on one of the bar stools and received, without even ordering something, a beer. "Something too?" the barman asked him.
He nodded and the today somewhat friendlier barman gave him one immediately.
Greyhair observed the inquiring look of the older man with a good-natured smile. "As soon as he notices that I am friendly with someone, he is also friendlier to the people around me. He doesn't want to drive away new guests and tries to be friendly but it is a small local. Here foreigners are usually seen critically in some ways."
He took the glass in his right hand, after he had taken place on the bar stool and drank a sip. The tingling, fresh liquid ran with a blissful sensation down his throat. The taste was indescribable. Immediately he had to take a bigger sip as not to lose the taste too fast. "You haven't answered my question." he said, when he finally placed the glass back on the bar.
"Whether you can speak with him? I think so. We talked about you several times today. Your odds are in our favour. It all depends on if he wants to come or not. You can't know it exactly. When I went, he wanted to be alone and I respected his wish." His gaze fell on some of the empty pool tables. "Wanna dare a game?" The merry smile appeared on his face again.
The man was not sure, but what else he could already do than play with his new friend? There was always time to drink and this delicious beer was tempting but he had to remain sober. In a drunk condition a discussion with the other man did not make sense. If he should appear in the tavern, and he hoped very much that he would, there would be many things to discuss. No, drunkenness would be completely uncalled for here.
"I know how enticing the beer is. Its taste is a true experience, isn't it?" asked the person opposite without losing a centimeter of his smile.
He looked surprised to the grey haired man. "Where did you know what I was thinking?"
He took him by the arm and pulled him to one of the more remote tables. There they would have their peace. "Let's say it is a kind of intuition. You wouldn't be the first who lost himself in the taste of the beer. I do not think, however, that you are someone who loses his self-control this thoughtlessly. If it were like that, I would not have even allowed you to drink it." He pressed the cue into his hand. Afterwards, he formed the triangle of balls and positioned the black nine in the center. Carefully he lifted the plastic triangular form from it. From a small shelf on the wall behind him, where he had put his beer down, he got a white ball and put it in front the triangle on the table.
"Please, begin." he said as he withdrew a few steps in order to give his new friend enough space for the first hit.
"So it is also possible that he doesn't come today?" he asked, while he aimed.
"Yes, that is possible. But I already said we have time and haven't to hurry. You also must give him time and don't bother him too much. I don't know what would happen otherwise."
Before he made his first hit, he straightend up again and regarded his new friend frightened. "But why? You maintained that you had talked about it several times today. He must know that I urgently need to talk to him. He can not shut his eyes to me!"
With his gentle, reassuring voice the grey haired man set to an answer. "That's it."
"What?" Slowly he began to lose his patience. "Stop speaking in riddles and finally tell me what exactly is going on here! I can't come here continuously. We do not have the time of which you speak. This could already be the last time. You have time, but I don't." He was full of impatience and that was also reflected in his words.
The smile had disappeared. "Please, trust me. I would really like to help you both to unite, but if you push too much, press him, he could turn away from us both. You don't want that either. He also doesn't want to close his mind to you, unfortunately this will be the consequence if you don't give him the time he needs to prepare for your meeting."
"Probably you are right." He turned and gave the white ball a strong hit. Two of the half ones disappeared in one of the rear holes.
During the game they hardly exchanged words with one another, if it did not concern the game. In both minds the man with the longer hair was pervasive, but he did not appear in the bar. After some games his new friend said good-bye and left him alone. He went to the bar, sat down and regarded the guests, the majority of whom were sailors. Only at a closer look he realised he had had something to do with some of them.
The guy with the poker playing group had been with him at his first command. What had became of him since then, he didn't know, but he was an efficient man.
Directly in front of him two other people known to him were having a hot billiard
match. They also served once on the same boat as him; and right at the back by a dartboard, he thought he recognized someone who had attended him during a punishment in the galley to peel potatoes.
"You are frustrated, aren't you?" The bar man had dried the last whiskey glass and came over to him. He leaned comfortably with one arm on the bar.
He sighed. "Yes, a little."
"It's about the blond boy, isn't it?" As he didn't answer the barman continued in a chatty tone. "It practically written in your face. The boy is very nice and smart but also very shy. The grey haired one is right, give him some time. If he wants to come, he will come and will chew your ear with his neverending speech." He laughed in an asthmatic way. "I have experienced it and I hope it won't happen again that fast. I'm glad every time when his buddy is here. Otherwise I have no clue how to serve my customers while listening to him."
The said helped him in some ways and gave him more courage. It was as if he only had to wait and his answers would come all by themselves. "Then I should go too."
"Yeah", the fat chap nodded. "Perhaps it's better that way. It's beginning to dawn and I'm pretty sure you also have to go back to your ship. At night the bear raves inside but in the daytime all these courageous sea-men are on their ships and work their asses off for a few cents. And for what? Only to end someday as fish fodder in the sea. The pirates, I say it everytime again and again, the pirates will be our fall. From day to day they become more. The merchant fleets hardly pay a penny per man, because their losses are so high. But who am I telling that. You don't look like someone who still has to worry about such things" He gave the older man a friendly pat on the shoulder and went back to his other guests.
Yes, the pirates, three days ago he met some of them but they had left him alone. Their ship had been covered with serious holes up to the bilge, maybe from a fighting with another pirate ship. Their only goal had been the home port, so that they could repair it. He was lucky things didn't turn out worse. His next journey would begin soon. Already in a few hours the instruction could reach him and by then he wanted to have clarified the topic with the young blond man.
He took his coat, put on the hat and went outside into the slowly awakening dockland.
to be continued...