Title: "The Bachelors of seaQuest" – in response to "The Men of seaQuest" challenge, posted by Ms. Deidre
Author: AngelBabs81 (Barbara)
Rating: PG
Copyright: February 2006
Disclaimer: I own none of it. Amblin owns the show and characters and Deidre owns the challenge.
Part 4:
Nathan stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his tan UEO dress uniform. A part of him wished he never agreed, yet the other part was glad he had. Before he had to leave, he'd call Kristin, see if she was okay and see how she was doing.
Going to the vid-phone, he dialed Kristin's number. There was no answer, so either she was still at her lab, too busy to pick up, sleeping, or in the shower. He decided against leaving a message and would try her the following day.
"Are you ready to go?" Lucas hollered from the living room.
"I'm coming," Nathan called back. He'd combed his hair out of his face to the side.
In the living room, Lucas stood, his left knee bent slightly to keep the foot from touching the ground, using crutches to keep him steady and upright. He was in a black and white suit, with the left leg of the pant torn to fit over the cast.
"I'm glad you are still coming," Nathan mentioned as they exited the house to the car.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," was Lucas's comment. Lucas tossed the crutches in the back seat, holding to the side of the car for support before sliding into the front seat. "I still haven't mastered those crutches."
Nathan laughed. "Before you know it, you won't need them anymore." At least Lucas had gotten his hair trimmed before the auction. It was still longer than Nathan liked it, but it was Lucas's choice of hair style.
Arriving to the Officer's club, where the auction and gala afterwards would be taking place, Nathan parked his car and assisted Lucas with the crutches.
"Ah, there you are," Noyce said as they entered through the front doors to the lobby. Looking at Lucas, "how are you doing?"
"Barely in any pain, sir," Lucas responded.
"I'll have Lori take you to your seat, while I get Nathan backstage," Noyce said as a waitress came up to Lucas.
"This way," she motioned to the doors of the ballroom.
"See you later, captain," Lucas called back as he hobbled on the crutches next to the waitress.
Noyce showed Nathan to the backstage, where the other bachelors were. Nathan greeted each of them and sat next to Commander Ford.
"First, we will be auctioning the copies of the first plans for seaQuest two," Noyce announced. "There are five, each has been professionally matted and framed, which should bring a little more money."
"After that, we'll take a 15 minute break," Noyce continued. "I will be the auctioneer for you guys. Dr. Levin you will be first." The young doctor nodded. "After Levin, it'll be Shan, Ortiz, O'Neill, Krieg, Ford, and Bridger." He looked at each man respectively.
"After the auction is finished, everyone will mingle about. For tonight, though, we ask that you stay with the woman who bought you. It will be up to you and the lady whether or not you take her to dinner the next night or what. We've invited respective women and whoever wins, they will be pulled aside and given certain rules. We expect you guys to be gentlemen, so do not plan to engage in any particular activities. Do you understand?"
There were a few grins, but they nodded.
"Take it easy until then, and no going front stage, so hang around here and chit-chat," Noyce told the men and left to do some checks.
Looking around, Joshua Levin was the only one in a tuxedo. The others wore their tan dress uniforms, like Nathan. Joshua had his long dark hair pulled back into one ponytail. William Shan had his hair slicked back out of his face. Levin and Shan began talking to the other. Miguel Ortiz and Tim O'Neill had already begun a conversation before Noyce had left. Nathan thought they were talking about the admiral's last comment. Ben Krieg and Jonathan Ford turned towards Nathan and began talking with him about the building of seaQuest.
Before they knew it, the auction had begun and the design copies sold for more than the UEO had suspected. The audience was dismissed for a 15 minute break before they had to return to bid on the bachelors.
Admiral Noyce entered backstage and smiled. "Are you ready to roll?" he asked the men. "The way it'll work will be that I'll go onstage and then introduce you. You all wrote what you wanted me to say in your introduction, so I'll go by that. When I am finished, you can step out on stage and the bidding will begin. I don't expect you to model yourself, just stand on the platform or next to me."
"Admiral, they are returning," a woman called, letting him know that the audience was returning and the last part of the auction was ready to begin.
"And smile," he finished and walked off to the front of the curtains, where there was an applause and he began by telling the audience a little about life on the seaQuest before introducing Levin.
"Dr. Joshua Levin was born in St. Joseph, Missouri and his family moved to Seattle, Washington when he was one, where he was raised. He has a master degree in the paranormal psychology and in biochemistry. He served on the seaQuest for almost a year," Noyce finished and Joshua gave one last glance at the others before appearing on stage.
It didn't take long for Levin to get bid on. After the gavel pounded, Levin stepped down to escort the lady to a table where a young officer would explain the rules and get the money. After that, he escorted her to his assigned table, with the spot next to him for her.
After the applause died down, Noyce moved on to Shan. Again, quick bids and a lady was on Shan's arm. Ortiz, O'Neill, and Krieg went fast as well. They all sat at the large table reserved for them and their bidders.
Commander Ford looked back at Bridger as the admiral introduced him to the audience. "See you on the other side, captain," he said before hearing the end of his introduction and walking confidently on stage.
Nathan was the last one and waited as Ford was bided on. His thoughts went out to Kristin, hoping she was okay and wishing she was there. A smile crossed his face as he remembered the look on her face when he mentioned the auction. She was very amused by it.
At last the gavel pounded and Noyce hollered, "sold." Nathan wanted to peak out to see who was the highest bidder on Jonathan, but couldn't without being seen. From where he stood, he watched Jonathan get off the stage, but that was as far as he could see without revealing himself.
In the aisle, Jonathan stood in shock at who had been the highest bidder. Stunning blue eyes stared and sparkled as she smiled. Her hair was longer, a little below her shoulder, than when he last seen her and she wore the most beautiful velvet blue gown, floor length with a small train and buttoned around her neck.
"Katie," Ford's voice croaked and he cleared it before trying to talk again. "I thought you were out to sea, commanding your new boat."
As they walked to the table, Katie looped her arm in his. "You know it's the funniest thing. My boat docked a couple days ago and I was going through my mail at home when a flyer caught my eyes." She paused her story as the young officer took her money and told her policy before continuing as they walked to the larger table to join the rest. "It was about an auction to raise money for a new seaQuest. Then it mentioned names of some bachelors who were being auctioned off to help. When I saw your name, I couldn't pass the opportunity up. I called Admiral Noyce, told him I'd be coming. I surprised you, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes, you did." Ford pause to hug her. "It is good to see you again." He pulled out the empty chair next to his name for her and than sat down. Katie had busied herself saying 'hi' to her old ship mates.
Back on stage, Admiral Noyce finished introducing Nathan as the captain of the seaQuest, not to mention the creator, walked out on stage and stood next to his friend.
In the audience, Dr. Wendy Smith had finally had an opportunity to meet the captain. As she kept getting out bided, she raised her hand up. Though, they had not met before, Wendy admired Nathan's work and every time she tried to get in touch with him, he had disappeared or was too busy and never called her back. Finally, the other ladies had stopped bidding with her bid the highest and Admiral Noyce was about to pound the gavel when a female voice came from the back of the room, calling out a phenomenal amount of money.
Admiral Noyce looked at Wendy and she frowned. She couldn't beat that price and shook her head. Admiral tried one more time for anyone, and then pounded the gavel, ending the last bachelor auction.
Nathan hadn't paid any attention to amount but the voice he recognized. Before he could move from his spot, Kristin appeared in the aisle. She wore red outfit which included pants, a long sleeve shirt with a v-neck and a red scarf around her neck. Instead of taking the stairs down, he jumped off the front and walked briskly to her. They smiled at each other. Nathan was about to speak when Kristin stopped him.
"It is bad when I have to pay to spend time with you," she spoke softly.
"It's for a good cause," Nathan stated and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I'm glad you made it."
"Me, too."
Nathan escorted her to the first table to pay and then to the bachelor's table. Introductions were made from the guys as to who their buyers are. Levin had Jessica, a young lady doctor who also enjoyed the paranormal. Shan had his long time friend from grade school, Maria, who he hadn't seen in many years. Ortiz had a bright young officer, Felicity, from another boat. O'Neill had Trinnity, the twin sister of Felicity, who was a multi-lingual interpreter for the UEO. Krieg had Bethany, the daughter of one of the seaQuest's contributors. Ford had Katie, who he considered a good friend. And Nathan had Kristin, the woman who stole his heart the day they met. He squeezed her and kissed the back of it. He was glad he agreed to this.
The End
Note (2): Levin's biography (where he was born and raised) was taken from the actor's, Tim(othy) Omundson, biography - .com/name/nm0648486/bio