Nathan left the bridge wearily. He informed the acting commander that he was officially off duty. Not that he remembered ever being on duty. He was supposed to be on shore leave. He shook his head and groaned at the absurdity of the day. Completely unbelievable. He turned his attention to the more important task at hand. Lucas. He needed to find Lucas. No one had seen hide nor hair of the kid since he left c-deck, and that had been over two hours ago. His first thought was to head to Med-bay to check on some of the crew and maybe get some ideas from them on where to look. He just hoped that Lucas hadn't managed to sneak off the boat in all the commotion. What was the kid thinking? How injured was he? Why hadn't he come looking for him? Nathan had more questions than answers.

Nathan strode into Med-bay and was relieved to see Kristin busy checking out Tim and Katie and other patients. It warmed his heart to see her familiar face. He didn't think he would ever let another woman into his heart after Carol, but Kristin had somehow managed to steal his heart. Kristin turned to see him enter the room, and he saw a look of relief wash over her. She rushed to his side with tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Nathan, I'm so glad you're alright. When Jonathan told me, I," she rambled quickly. Nathan held up his hand to forestall her words and briefly embraced her.

Katie, Tim and Miguel stared at them, wide eyed. The obvious chemistry between the captain and the chief medical officer suddenly became very clear to them.

"I'm fine, Kristin," he replied softly into her hair. She momentarily melted into his embrace before pulling away suddenly.

"Lucas?" she asked. Nathan's eyes looked worried, and he shook his head sadly.

"I've searched every place I thought he'd be, but I haven't found him. I'm not gonna lie, Kristin, I'm really worried. I'm not even sure how hurt he is," groaned Nathan rubbing his face, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Kristin rubbed her hand on her pants nervously. "Clemens put that kid through hell. Lucas was badly battered, yet, through it all, he still managed to keep a cool head and tried to help." Nathan felt his temper flare as he reflected on all the events that occurred. "That son of bitch almost killed him," thundered Nathan, emotion catching his voice. Kristin patted his arm compassionately.

"The important thing to remember, Nathan, is he didn't," reminded Kristin, managing a weak smile. She turned to address the young woman medic. "Jenna, I think you have things well in hand here. The captain and I are going to look for a missing boy," said Kristin. The girl looked confused by the information, but nodded with a kind smile.

"I'll help too, Captain," said Miguel, rising to his feet suddenly. Nathan smiled gratefully at the dark eyed man.

"Any ideas at all where he'd be?" beseeched Nathan at the other crew in the room. They all shook their heads solemnly. Nathan sighed and left the room, followed by Kristin and Miguel.

A loud noise caused Lucas to startle and open his eyes, struggling to remember where he was. He glanced around to see that he was still in Captain Bridger's quarters. He rose to his feet to see that the door was closed. He walked to the door and attempted to open it but had no luck. The door was either locked from the outside or jammed shut. An eerie laugh came from behind him causing his skin to break out in goose bumps.

"Finally, we are alone, Lucas," stated a familiar gruff voice. Lucas spun around to see Clemens sitting in Captain Bridger's chair with a satisfied grin on his face. Lucas' mouth dropped open in shock and terror.

"But…how?" was all he was able to sputter before Clemens stood up and walked towards him menacingly. Clemens smiled again wickedly.

"Do you honestly think your Captain could stop me?" scoffed the man, laughing again. "You have single-handedly managed to ruin everything! Everything! All that I have accomplished destroyed by you: some rotten, stupid kid. I've worked for years to gain the creditability I attained, and it's ruined by some arrogant kid?" He strode closer to Lucas' face. Lucas instinctively stepped backwards until his back was against the wall. Lucas felt his heart in his throat. He was frozen in terror. Clemens angrily shook his fist at Lucas. He reached out, grabbing Lucas by his hair and viciously threw him to the floor. Lucas screamed in fear and attempted to crawl away, but Clemens kicked him harshly in the side. Lucas found himself being pinned to the floor on his stomach with his head pulled up sideways to look at Clemens. Clemens' face was full of venomous hatred and rage. Lucas blinked back tears of horror.

"Please, don't hurt me," he begged. Clemens smirked.

"Oh, this is gonna hurt real bad, Lucas," threatened Clemens, leaning in close to Lucas' ear with an evil snicker. He flipped the boy over and straddled him roughly. He put his hands around Lucas' neck and slowly started to squeeze. Lucas' eyes widened in alarm as he clawed at his neck desperately and screamed.

Lucas' eyes flew open in horror. He reached for his neck involuntarily and screamed. His body was soaked in perspiration, and he sat trembling too frightened to move. A dream? Had it just been a dream? His eyes scanned the room in terror. He wasn't even sure what reality was anymore. Had Clemens really been captured or was he still loose on the boat? Had Captain Bridger really come in the room before or had he dreamed that too? He needed to find a better place to hide in case Clemens came back. Lucas wiped the sweat off his brow as he wrapped his arms around his knees despondently, shivering and trembling in shock.

Nathan, Kristin and Miguel met up with Jonathan in the hallway outside of C-deck. Jonathan gave a brief update on SeaQuest and the happenings with Clemens.

"For now, Admiral Noyce has docked SeaQuest until further notice, Captain, pending an inquiry. He sends his regards and is currently en route to Port Everglades as we speak. Dr. Westphalen has clearance to provide medical care to any of the crew that requires it. Anything too serious to handle here can be sent to Port Everglades Hospital," finished Jonathan. Nathan nodded silently. His mind was still on locating Lucas. The rest of legal mumbo jumbo didn't matter to him at the moment. Everything else could wait.

"Captain?" question Jonathan, noticing the captain's distraction.

"Jonathan, Lucas is missing. No one has seen him in hours," replied Miguel. Jonathan looked shocked at the three faces in front of him. He had had no idea that Lucas was missing.

"I thought," began Jonathan, looking at Miguel for answers.

"He took off," explained Miguel quickly.

"Look, he's missing and all I care about right now is finding the kid. Let's split up and search deck by deck. It's not an order, gentlemen, but…" interjected Nathan, hesitating when Miguel held up his hand.

"Captain, we all care about Lucas. I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled about being assigned to a science boat, no offense Doc," started Miguel transparently.

"None taken, Miguel," replied Kristin, smirking slightly at the confession.

"But since coming onboard and serving under you, sir, and getting to know Lucas and the rest of the crew, well, this boat has started to feel like home. Like family. And, uh, Lucas is a huge part of that," finished Miguel, completely serious. Nathan nodded in understanding. Lucas was a big part of why he was so happy on SeaQuest as well. He loved his job, but he loved Lucas more. Lucas helped heal his heart every day. He had so many unanswered questions about his own son, but Lucas was a constant source of joy, salve on his heart.

"Grab your PAL and we'll search deck by deck. I'll start on A-deck, Kristin B-deck, Miguel C-deck and Jonathan D-deck. Message when you have finished, and we'll go lower. Check everywhere and I mean everywhere. Lucas isn't thinking like himself right now. He's scared," replied Nathan. Everyone nodded and took off in separate directions.

Nathan took off to A-deck quickly, groaning as his knees complained loudly. He was really feeling his age today. He proceeded to thoroughly check every room: the command room, Wardroom, his Ready room and each conference room. He looked in every broom closet and bathroom. He lifted floor grates and opened vents. He checked the now operational Mag-lev and the bridge. Nothing. No sign of Lucas anywhere. He checked Lucas' room twice, looking for any signs at all that the kid had returned to his room. He cursed in frustration as he sat on Lucas' bed. Where could the kid have gone? No one on the bridge had seen any kids onboard. No one off the boat had seen any kids other than Julianna and Nick. It was like the kid had disappeared into thin air. Nathan sighed and decided to return to his own quarters before continuing his search elsewhere on the boat. He knew he'd looked in his room before so he didn't hold out much hope to find the kid there. Nathan slowly walked down the corridor from Lucas' room to his. He thought about how often he heard music blaring from Lucas' room at night when he was trying to sleep. As much as that annoyed him, he wished he could hear it now. He'd gladly welcome some loud rock and roll about now.

Nathan entered his quarters and slammed the door. His heart was full. His emotions were all over the place. Anger, worry, sadness and more engulfed him as he looked around his quarters.

Nothing in his room gave him any indication that Lucas had been there. He strode across his floor and sat on his bed wearily, leaning his head against the wall.

"Come on, Lucas, where are you?" he mumbled under his breath.

"Captain?" whimpered a small voice. Nathan sat up in alarm. He wasn't sure if his ears were playing tricks on him. The voice was so soft; it could have been his imagination.

"Lucas?" he replied. His eyes began scanning the room frantically in desperation. He couldn't be positive that he had really heard Lucas' voice. It could have just been wishful thinking.

"Captain," whispered the voice again. This time Nathan heard the words clearly. He searched his room but still couldn't see anything.

"Lucas? Help me out, kid. Where are you?" he replied, his voice thick with emotion. A sudden flurry of movement alerted him to the ventilation system in his room. Nathan hurried to the vent and pulled off the cover roughly. His eyes squinted in the darkness of the vent and could just vaguely make out a form. He reached in the vent as far as he could and felt a warm leg. Just as he touched the boy, the frightened teen jerked away, crawling further into the vent.

"Lucas, it's me Captain Bridger," he said softly. All he got was a whimper for an answer. Nathan crawled into the vent towards Lucas. The boy kicked at him frantically.

"Leave me alone," the boy whimpered, obviously in terror.

"Lucas, hey, it's me; it's okay. You're safe. No one is gonna hurt you. Clemens is gone. You're safe, kiddo. It's just me, okay?" assured Nathan softly.

"He was here, Captain," responded the quivering voice.

"Who was here?"

"C-Clemens." Nathan narrowed his eyes in confusion. Clemens had been taken into custody. He couldn't have been here, at least not recently.

"Lucas, listen to me, Clemens is gone. He wasn't here, and he won't be here anymore. It's just you and me. You're safe. You can come out now," Nathan waited in the darkness seeing if the teen would move towards him or back further away. It was cramped, dirty and cold in the vent. Nathan wondered how long the kid had been hidden here. No wonder he couldn't find him. He never thought to check the vents in every room.

"I'm scared," replied Lucas, his voice still quivering.

"I know you are, son. It's okay. I promise you, everything is going to be okay now," stated Nathan, with deep conviction in his voice. If it was within his power, nothing would ever hurt Lucas again. "Come on out." The boy nodded in the darkness. A gesture Nathan could just barely make out. Nathan reversed himself, backing out of the vent. He watched as the boy crawled towards him. Nathan could see that he was visibly trembling. Nathan watched on baited breath as the boy inched towards him. As the kid approached the light, Nathan could see his bruised, tear-streaked face, with his bottom lip quivering. Once the kid managed to crawl far enough out, Nathan grabbed him, embracing him in a fierce hug. Nathan closed his eyes in relief. Lucas collapsed into him, trembling all over.

"It's gonna be okay, Lucas. Clemens can't hurt you anymore," whispered Nathan into the teen's hair. Nathan felt Lucas's heart racing against his chest. He gently stoked the boy's head to help calm him down. "You're safe, kiddo. I've got ya."

Nathan pulled his PAL out of his pocket carefully and tapped it.

"This is Bridger; I found him. I've got Lucas."