The next morning was as good as the previous one. He had fallen into a dead sleep the night before, exhausted after a (for him) huge meal and a fun evening watching the others teach Dagwood how to make a snowman. It had been late when they all went to bed, only Dagwood dragging behind wanting to make a second one, so his snowman wouldn't be lonely.

He followed his routine of the previous morning, although this time Dagwood was waiting to use the bathroom when he came out, eager to go out and play in the snow again.

They ate hot rolls, fresh from the oven while they bustled about the kitchen and waited for the others. Darwood took four, and rushed outside with them, and when the boys came down they ran outside and started a snowball fight.

They were planning to spend the day Christmas shopping, which was good for the SeaQuest crewmembers, as they had nothing for anyone.

They headed out after breakfast in a festive mood, Gina almost bursting with excitement was chattering non-stop to Lucas, the boys asking Dagwood a million questions about Gelf's and SeaQuest, and Tony got to catch up with his parents. Once they reached the shops, Gina dragged them all from store to store until the boys broke off and took Dagwood to the arcade. They would have asked Lucas, but Gina was keeping all his attention for herself, asking his opinions on everything she bought, and helping him with his purchases.

Tony watched, amused, as Gina tried on four outfits and insisted that Lucas give her his opinion.

Nick walked up and stood beside his son.

"That doesn't bother you?"

Tony looked confused. "What?"

"Well, she's obviously got a thing for him, and he's leading her on. It doesn't bother you that he's treating her like an amusing pet? He can't have any interest in a girl like Gina."

Tony looked surprised, he honestly hadn't noticed. Now as he looked he could see Gina's over bright eyes and beaming smile. He was always very protective of his younger relatives.

"He wouldn't hurt her," he told his father, but there was no conviction in his voice. Lucas also seemed to be smiling and laughing more than usual, and his father was right, what could he find so fascinating in a girl like Gina?

He brooded about it until lunch. They ate at a local restaurant that offered an all you can eat buffet, which Dagwood enjoyed greatly. The owners watched in horrified amazement at the amount of food the dagger could eat.

Lucas found once again that he was hungry, all the activities of the past couple of days giving him an appetite. In some part of his mind, he noticed that his throat felt a little raw, but he thought it was probably from all the talking and laughing he'd been doing. He drew himself next to Tony as Gina rushed off and promised to get something for both of them.

Tony couldn't help but scowl at him as he saw his cousin rush off.

"I would have got you something."

"Gina said she wanted me to try her favorites." Lucas didn't know what was wrong.

"She's a good kid!"

"Yeah, she is..." Lucas still didn't know where this was going, or why Tony was acting so strangely. "She's funny..."

Tony felt his blood boil. Funny? How patronizing was that? Like she was just there for him to laugh at! He stood up and picked up his plate.

"She's a good kid, and she deserves to be treated with respect!" And with that, he picked up his plate and went to sit beside his parents, leaving Lucas completely confused.

After lunch, they all went to one of the big department stores. The women had gone to try on clothes, and Tony, still fuming, had gone to see how Dagwood was doing with the others at the arcade, which they had returned to immediately after lunch. That left Lucas alone with Nick, which surprised him. Of all of them, he felt he knew Nick the least.

He completed his shopping, finishing with a charm bracelet that he thought would be perfect for Gina. He smiled as Nick walked up to him.

"You all done?"

"Yes, that was the last thing I needed."

"Hope you got something nice for Tony." There seemed to be an edge to his voice.

Lucas looked at him curiously. Why was everyone behaving oddly today?

"I think so."

"'Cause he does a lot for you, you know."

"I know. I'm very grateful to him."

"Well, I think he's doin' it for something a little more tangible than your gratitude. Gratitude doesn't pay the bills, y'know? I mean, he didn't join SeaQuest so he could become your unpaid nanny, did he?"

Lucas looked up in shock.

"Isn't that what he's really doing right now? I mean, just from what I've seen he's doin' pretty much everything for you, who knows what else he's doin'. Dunno how much of you works or anything, for all I know he's takin' ya to the bathroom as well as everything else. Guess we wouldn't have to worry 'bout Gina if that's the case."

Lucas flushed a deep red, but didn't seem able to move from the spot or speak. He suddenly realized why Tony was so annoyed about Gina earlier.

"I mean, with your money, you could be doin' something really nice for us all. You know they're gonna have to sell the house? I owe some guys some money, and I own a share of that house. Only way I can raise the cash is for them to sell the house and give me my money. Only thing is, that house ain't gonna sell for much, so I don't know how they're gonna get a place afterwards. Tony would be pleased to see his family settled. It's the least you could do, with all he's done for you. He's told us that him and Dagwood are awake half the night with your moaning and your cryin' and your nightmares and everything else."

Lucas felt sick. He knew - more than anyone, he knew - what they had taken on when they had agreed to look after him, but he hadn't known they were losing sleep because of him. He felt humiliated and guilty. He tried not to ask for help, but he knew they were doing a lot for him anyway.

He swallowed and tried to speak. He thought his voice sounded odd, like it came from far away.

"How much do you need?"

Nick looked pleased that they were finally getting to the point.

"Fifty grand."

"$50,000?"

"Yeah, I had a couple of business deals that went south."

"And if you had that money, Angie and her family could stay in that house?"

"Sure, yeah!"

Lucas may still have been a teenager, but he knew enough not to take anything on trust.

"Would you sign something to that effect?"

"What?"

"If I gave you $50,000, would you sign a document saying that you waive all future rights to the house?"

Nick wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, but he needed the money, and it looked like he was going to get it.

"Sure, Kid, I'll sign whatever you want."

Lucas nodded. "My lawyer will be in touch." And he turned to leave.

He had to get out of there. Once outside he took huge gulps of air and tried to fight down what felt like another panic attack. He couldn't stop shaking and thought he might be sick. He didn't even notice the cold air or the snow falling around him. All he could do was try to breathe normally. Tears started to prick his eyes. He hadn't asked for any of this. He hadn't wanted to be a burden to everybody else. The only thing he'd ever wanted was to stay on the SeaQuest with his friends, and it seemed to be getting harder all the time. He didn't want everyone to have to look after him all the time. He didn't know what to do, he just couldn't think of a way out of this situation.

Except one.

Except one...

In every despairing moment he had - and boy, were they becoming more plentiful - that same thought just kept coming into his head. Wouldn't that just be better for everyone in the long term?

He wasn't meant to be happy, he should just except that. Everyone he ever had feelings for had abandoned him sooner or later - usually sooner. He had no illusions that Tony and Dagwood would be any different. He didn't even know if they'd been given the choice. They'd probably been bullied into all this by the rest of the crew.

But he would help Angie and Gina first. He could do that.