New Cape Quest - Three Days Later

Kristen sat beside Lucas's bedside at New Cape Quest General Hospital, holding onto a frail hand. Lucas lay still and pale against the crisp white sheets, bruises and contusions standing out starkly along with a flush of fever across his cheeks. His shoulder and hands were bandaged, and she knew that more bandages were concealed beneath the sheets.

"My poor love," she murmured, reaching out to stroke his hair. "God knows what you've had to endure."

Her thoughts turned to the occupant of the room next door. After three days of treatment for the toxic effects of the botanical contamination he had experienced, Nathan was still delusional, combative, and irrational. He was in restraints while he detoxed. Benzodiazepines were being administered to help control his agitation.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Lucas pulled his hand from hers, moving restlessly. "Please - don't," he muttered, his head rolling from side to side. "Captain - please - stop!"

"It's okay, Lucas," Kristin said, trying to calm the agitated boy. She grasped his hand again and placed her other hand against his forehead to hold him still. "You're safe now, my boy. Nothing's going to hurt you. Shh, be still now, everything's all right."

Although Lucas did not awaken, the sound of Kristen's voice and the touch of her hands seemed to sooth him. He sighed, settling, and seemed to drift into a deeper sleep.

Kristen sat back in her chair and studied him worriedly. He had undergone surgery to repair tendon damage in his shoulder and his physicians predicted a full recovery from the effects of that injury. His burned hands had also been treated and would heal. He had a slight concussion from some type of head trauma, along with numerous bruises, scrapes, and scratches over his entire body. The wounds in the front and back of his abdomen had become infected, causing him to spike a high temperature and keeping him from regaining full consciousness. But he was showing signs of responding to the strong antibiotics he was receiving. His fever was coming down, and Kristen hoped that he would soon awaken.

Leaning over to kiss him on the forehead, she left Lucas's room and entered Nathan Bridger's. Nathan was sleeping, which she preferred to the yelling, irrational man she had seen on her last visit. Sitting in the chair beside his bed, she reflected on the good luck that a world-renowned toxicologist had been at the hospital consulting on a case when Nathan had been brought in. When his blood work showed signs of a botanical agent similar to the THC produced by use of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the expert had been able to identify the agent as being the product of a very rare and toxic fungi. With that identification, treatment had been able to begin immediately but the detoxing was still a work in progress.

"Kristen?" a hoarse voice said. Startling, Kristen looked at Nathan, seeing that he was awake and looking at her in puzzlement. "Where are we? What's happening?" For the first time since she had seen him, Kirsten could see rationality in his eyes.

"You're in the hospital," she said, reaching out to touch his arm. "You've been very sick, but you're getting better."

Bridger's eyelids fluttered as he tried to stay awake. "Sick?" he murmured. "I – I – I don't remember…." His words faded as he sank back into unconsciousness.

"Oh, Nathan," Kristen said sadly. "I wish you would never have to remember."

"Good news, Dr. Westphalen," Dr. Coleman said as encountered her entering Lucas's room the next morning while he was leaving. "Lucas is looking much better today. He was awake a little earlier. We still don't have that fever completely knocked out and he was still disoriented, but he was lucid and coherent. I think we've turned the corner on that infection."

"Thank God," Kristen said, relieved. "And his other injuries? Everything else is looking well?"

"Yes. He's going to be experiencing some discomfort from that shoulder and he's in for a long round of physical therapy as soon as he's up and about. There will be discomfort from those puncture wounds, but everything is looking good. He's young and strong, and that has helped."

"Thank you for everything," Kristen said. Dr. Coleman patted her shoulder as he moved aside to let her enter the room.

Lucas was asleep, but he had some natural color in his face now instead of the hectic flush of fever. Crossing to his side, Kristin placed a hand on his forehead, feeling some residual warmth but not the heat of the previous day. As she stroked his hair, she saw his eyelashes flutter and then caught a glimpse of bright blue as his eyelids began to open.

"Lucas? Lucas, sweetheart, can you hear me?" she asked anxiously, leaning nearer.

Lucas coughed, and she quickly poured a glass of water from the bedside carafe. Adding a straw, she held it to his lips and encouraged him to take a sip.

"Dr. Westphalen?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm here. Everything's fine."

Lucas's brow furrowed and he shifted uncomfortably, wincing as he tried to move. Then his eyes opened wide. "The Captain! Where is he? He's hurt, he needs help!"

"He's fine, Lucas," Kristen assured him, encouraging him to lie still. "Jonathan and I called for a medivac copter to bring you and Nathan to New Cape Quest and you're both in the hospital. Do you remember that we came to the island?"

"Yes," Lucas said slowly. "I remember the boat was coming in - but then -" He shuddered and she saw tears fill his eyes. He brought a hand up to his face to rub his eyes, looking startled as he saw the bandages. "He tried to kill me," he said, his voice shaking. "The Captain tried to kill me."

"Oh, darling!" Kristen exclaimed, bending over the boy to hug him gingerly, trying to comfort while not inflicting more pain. "I know. But it wasn't him, not really. He wasn't himself. He was poisoned by some toxic mushrooms. But he's getting treatment and he'll be better soon."

As Lucas got control of his emotions, Kristen sat down in the chair by his bedside. "I want you to tell me everything that happened," she said, giving his arm an encouraging squeeze. "I need to know what happened to you, and I think you need to talk about it."

"It started when the Captain came back from his walk that morning," Lucas said, remembering. "His head was bleeding. He said he fell. I thought he was okay, but later that day…"

Lucas continued talking as Kristen's eyes filled with sympathy for what he had been through.

Kristen sat beside Nathan again two days later watching him sleep. Dr. Lawrence, the toxicologist, had given her a good report. He expected a full recovery with no lingering effects from the fungi poisoning. Nathan had woken briefly the previous day and during the night and was rational and coherent, although he had no memory of what had happened. He had been told he was suffering the effects of an accidental mushroom poisoning and had seemed to accept the explanation. Dr. Coleman felt that he was well enough to be told about what had happened and had left it to Kristen's discretion as to what and how much to say.

Beside her, Nathan moved restlessly in the bed. His restraints had been removed earlier that morning after Dr. Coleman had found his blood work to be clear and his behavior to be calm and rational. As Kristen watched, his brow furrowed as he rolled his head from side to side, and then slowly opened his eyes.

"Hello, Nathan, how do you feel?" Kristen asked, reaching out to him.

"Kristen? Where am I? Wait – I remember, I'm at a hospital. The doctor told me I was accidentally poisoned by mushrooms. Where did that happen? Did we have some mushrooms on seaQuest?" Bridger asked hoarsely.

"Nathan, seaQuest was destroyed when the World Power plant exploded. Don't you remember?" Kristin asked anxiously.

Nathan looked at her blankly, but then his gaze sharpened. "Yes, of course, I remember," he said. He reached up and rubbed his head. "I'm sorry, things are just kind of confused."

"It's fine," Kristen assured him. "Totally expected with what you've been through."

"I remember seaQuest going down… then we were on the beach…" Nathan murmured, closing his eyes in concentration. "But everything after that's a big blank until I woke up here." He looked up at Kristen in confusion. "What happened?"

"Do you remember deciding to spend some time on your island while you worked on the seaQuest redesign?" Kristin prompted him.

"Yes," Nathan said slowly. "I remember Lucas and I –" Nathan's head jerked up and his eyes snapped to hers. "Where's Lucas?" he demanded. "Was he with me? Is he all right?"

"Yes, yes, Lucas will be just fine," Kristen soothed him. "Just calm down." She took his hand and squeezed it.

"What do you mean, he will be just fine?! Did something happen to Lucas?" Nathan was becoming more agitated. "Tell me what's happened!"

Kirsten sighed. "I'll tell you, Nathan, but you're not going to like it," she said. "Do you remember going for a walk on your island and coming into contact with some kind of mushrooms or fungi? Lucas said you were covered in some kind of powder that smelled very strongly."

Nathan frowned, trying to remember. "Yes," he said, "I remember now, I fell off the path and into a clearing where these mushrooms were growing. A big cloud of powder went up and drifted back down."

"That was a very rare and toxic type of mushroom, Nathan," Kristen said. "A type of hallucinogenic mushroom, although the toxin it produces is to psilocybin what nuclear power is to a steam engine. It affected your mind. It caused you to believe things that weren't true. This is what Lucas told me…"

By the end of Kristen's recitation of the recent events, Nathan was crying. His earlier denials of "I would never do that!" and "That can't be true!" had dwindled to silence as he could see the truth in Kristen's eyes.

"Lucas doesn't blame you," Kristen said gently, holding his hands. "He knows it wasn't your fault."

"How could I ever hurt him, Kristen?" Bridger whispered brokenly. "He's like - like a son to me. How could I ever - " his words broke off as he buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking. "How can he ever forgive me?" he whispered.