Author's Notes: - Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.

Miguel wondered how long it would take him to knock himself unconscious on the table top, Tim and Kate had been arguing over the dumb movie Krieg had shown the night before for about an hour now.

"Okay," he cried, shocking them both into silence, "Enough already. It was the worst movie possible and the fact you're still talking about it makes it even worse."

Kate turned to Tim, "Time."

"Fifty six minutes," Tim groaned as Kate clapped her hands in victory, "You couldn't have held on for five more minutes."

"What?" he stared at them.

"Please he was never going to hang on," Kate chuckled, "My next comment would have made him run screaming."

"You two were playing me?" Miguel demanded annoyed.

They gave him identical innocent smiles before Tim checked his watch again.

"We better go," he told them.

"Hey, Miguel," Kate called, "I'm shadowing you later. See you then."

He shook his head as they left her in the mess.

"I will get you two back for that," Miguel told his friend as they headed up to the bridge.

Tim smirked, "You can try.

Miguel chuckled as they split and headed to their stations.

x

Kate finished her tea and checked the time; she had about half an hour before she was due to meet Hitchcock. The woman had taken Nathan's request to train her very seriously and put together a training programme for her to augment her studies.

As she left the mess Kate saw Ford walking towards her and grimaced. She'd successfully avoided him since Culver two weeks before but had no way to as he was coming straight towards her.

"Miss Foster," he stated firmly, "I need to speak to you."

Kate grimaced before she nodded and allowed him to move her into one of the empty rooms.

"What can I do for you, Commander?" she asked, trying very hard to keep herself poised.

She clenched one fist tightly as he said nothing for several minutes making sure she didn't make any smart remarks.

"I'm sure Captain Bridger let you know that he told me the truth about you," Ford started.

Kate nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"I've agreed, for now, to keep your secret," he told her, "But I'm warning you if there is even the slightest hint that you will betray this boat I will turn you in."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," she replied.

Before he could leave Kate called him back.

"Yes, Miss Foster?"

"Nathan showed you the medical file," Kate said, "But I'm betting he didn't tell you about the nights he sat holding me as I screamed through nightmares. How I almost stabbed him once because I was so caught up in one of them I had no idea where I was."

He stared at her but said nothing.

"Nathan is the only family I've had in a very long time," she continued, "And Tim is the first friend I've ever truly had. Although it's only been a few months, this is my home. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardise it."

Ford nodded and left.

Kate sighed, "That went well."

x

"Lucas," Kate called with an amused smile as he stood staring after the teenage girl they'd brought back as she stood watching Darwin play, "Lucas, anyone in there?"

"What?" he turned to her bemused.

"She's cute," Kate told him wrapping her arm around him, "Nathan wants you two on the bridge as soon as you're finished the tour."

"Okay."

Kate smacked his shoulder, "It's polite to introduce people."

"Sure," he moved, "Cleo."

As the teenager turned Lucas smiled at her before introducing, "This is Kate. She's Captain Bridger's assistant."

"Hello," Cleo gave a shy smile.

Kate smiled back, "Nice to meet you. Don't take too long, Lucas."

She gave him a smirk before jogging back up to the bridge. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Lucas. No matter how intelligent he was, he was still allowed to be a teenager. Still able to get the experiences of a normal kid that she never got to have. She'd never had that first crush or puppy love, she'd learned to flirt and manipulate without feeling anything. There were times she wondered if she was capable of real emotions.

Reaching the bridge she threw a warm smile at Tim before joining Miguel at his station.

"You do know I'll get you two back for this morning," Miguel told her as she sat beside him.

Kate smiled at him, "In my defence it was Tim's idea."

"He has a mean streak," Miguel agreed, "But you joined in."

Kate patted his arm giving him a cheeky grin, "I have a meaner streak."

Conversation quickly moved to work, Kate listened attentively to Miguel asking questions and making notes. She was enjoying learning about the inner workings of the Seaquest, even if Hitchcock's quizzes were becoming brutal.

Lucas sat at the edge of the moon pool absently tossing the toy to Darwin. He winced as he heard voices coming towards him, he wanted to be alone but that wasn't exactly easy living on a tub underwater with people everywhere who seemed to want to run his life.

"Hey," Kate appeared suddenly, resting her arm across his shoulders, "Are you still moping?"

"I'm fine," he replied through gritted teeth.

Kate rolled her eyes, "It's not like you'll never get to see her again."

Lucas frowned at her.

"Leave him alone, Kate," Tim spoke up scolding her.

She glanced back before looking at Lucas again, "We're going to watch a movie with Ortiz. Do you want to join us?"

"Who picked the movie?" Lucas asked suspiciously.

"Miguel," Tim told him.

Lucas shrugged, "Then I'll come."

He tossed the toy one final time before following them through the boat.

"Good, you found him," Miguel said as they walked into his quarters.

"Tell me we're watching something with lots of car chases and gunfights?" Lucas pleaded.

Miguel rolled his eyes, "Of course we are."

Lucas bounced up to sit on the bunk, "Good, because I was not watching something they would pick."

"What is wrong with our movie choices?" Kate demanded sitting beside him.

"Black and white romances," Lucas grimaced.

"The Philadelphia Story is a classic," Tim defended himself as he passed out drinks.

"Musicals," Miguel added.

"I like musicals," Kate retorted.

Tim sat at Kate's side while Miguel sat beside Lucas.

"Okay, it's time for the classic," Miguel announced, "Adrenaline 2 – Dark Dawn."

"I think I preferred the first Adrenaline," Kate chuckled.

When Miguel started the film they passed popcorn and candy between them, mocking the dialogue and laughing at the absurdity of the action sequences.

Lucas joined in after a few minutes smiling; maybe being here wasn't so bad.