By: Jaya
Rating: FRAO
Archive: tayryn’s tower
Disclaimer:
Amblin owns them
Summary:
what ‘really’ happened after first season
Notes
from tayryn: this is, without a doubt, the BEST story
I’ve ever read, that explains what happened after first season. It answers the questions of ‘what happened to
Kristin?’ and ‘who the heck is Michael really?’ and lastly, ‘what really became
of Robert?’
Jaya has outdone herself with this mini-epic!!
Be warned…
you’re going to laugh… cry, and yes, even shout out loud when reading
this! I did.
Now, get
comfy, and read this masterpiece written by ½ of ESB²!!
~tay
~*~*~
Nathan
plastered himself
against the wall, trying to look inconspicuous as two guards walked by. They were laughing and joking which put
Nathan more at ease. If they suspected
his presence in the facility they would have been on alert, weapons drawn. Once they were past he casually moved back
into the hallway as he fought the feeling that all eyes were on him. Even though he wore tattered clothes and had
smeared himself with dirt and grime he was still cleaner than most of the other
workers that he saw. ~ Workers? More like slaves. ~
He
wandered the hall for another half-hour, his eyes alert to his surroundings,
taking in various corridors and possible means of escape. Several of the workers eyed him curiously but
no one attempted to speak to him. After
surreptitiously trying several doorknobs Nathan found one that opened into a
supply closet and dived inside. He
pulled his communicator from inside his shirt and quickly tuned it to the
frequency O’Neill had specified.
“Bridger to seaQuest.”
Captain
Oliver Hudson’s voice came back immediately.
“We read you. Report.”
“I’m
inside without any problem. No one seems
to be paying much attention to me so I’m going to continue to see if I can
locate…him.”
“Remember
the time frame.”
“Understood. How is Michael?”
“Keeping Lucas and Darwin very busy. Don’t forget your next check-in. seaQuest out.”
Nathan
slipped the communicator back into his shirt and cracked the door to check the
hallway. Everything looked clear so he
stepped out, only to be stopped in his tracks by a loud voice.
“You there! What are you doing? Why aren’t you in the eating hall with
everyone else?”
Nathan
kept his head bowed in a subservient manner.
“I had to finish my cleaning, sir.
I was just putting away the brooms.” He mumbled.
The
guard seemed to accept Nathan’s explanation.
“Well you’re done now so get to the eating hall or you won’t get any
food.” Nathan quickly moved off in the
direction the guard pointed. Conscious
of the man’s eyes on his back he followed the sounds of clinking silverware
until he entered a large room. Nathan
was astounded at the number of people – workers – in the area. Initial intelligence had led them to believe
that the complex held no more than twenty prisoners. This room held closer to two hundred.
A
glare from a new guard sent Nathan to the end of the line. His stomach rebelled at the smell of the
contents of his tray. ~ They call this
food? ~ Another glance at the guard let him know that he had attracted some
unwanted attention. He quickly found a
place to sit in the middle of a table and began to eat, willing himself not to
be sick. He managed to get most of what
passed for food down before a squad of equally dirty women came round to pick
up the trays. Nathan shuddered to think
about the hygiene habits of the cooks.
Nathan
was taken aback by the hard stare the woman who picked up his tray gave him but
then he realized that he was more likely to be recognized as an outsider by one
of the prisoners than by a guard. To the
guards these people weren’t even human.
The woman turned to look at a guard who was yelling at her to hurry then
back at Nathan. ~ Please! ~ His eyes
pleaded with her.
The
woman broke the stare and continued with her work, never meeting his gaze
again, but to Nathan’s immense relief she didn’t call the guards down on
him. He breathed a sigh of thanks as he
stood and moved out toward the barracks with the rest of the male workers.
Nathan
was surprised to see the guards pulling men out of the line at random. He was even more surprised when he was
picked. He began to worry but all of the
other men seemed unbothered so he played along.
The
sorted group of men was led away from the larger group and through several
winding corridors before they were finally pushed into a large room. Crude comments from the guards left no doubt
in Nathan’s mind as to their purpose there.
The women were herded in from a separate door, the reason for their
presence soon made clear. Sex for the purpose of conception. Nathan felt his stomach grow sick once
again.
Although
it was obvious that very little pre-coital chitchat was needed, a table of food
had been provided and Nathan moved over to it. There were no guards in the room
but he felt sure that they were watching and his mind raced as he tried to
figure out how he was going to maintain his cover while avoiding the
reprehensible activity. The food on the
table was marginally better than what had been served at the meal so Nathan
began to nibble. He was going to need
his strength if he managed to get free to search. He was surprised to find that the woman
supplying the table was the same woman he’d seen at dinner; at least he thought
it was. They were all so filthy that it
was hard to be certain.
He
made a closer appraisal. The woman was
small and painfully thin but he could tell that she was strong by the way she
handled the large trays. A long braid
hung over one shoulder but Nathan couldn’t tell what color the hair was because
it was black with filth. Her face was
also covered with the black dirt and dust so prevalent in the underwater mining
prison. But then everyone Nathan had met was covered in the same manner. Her age could have been anywhere between
twenty and sixty. But her eyes…they
intrigued Nathan, reminded him of other eyes from long ago. But whose?
The
sounds coming from behind Nathan told him that the evening’s festivities were beginning
in earnest. ~ Oh, shit! ~ He glanced quickly
around the room trying to find a place to hide.
The woman seemed to sense his distress.
She made a slight motion, at least Nathan hoped that she did, and when she
slipped behind a curtain with an empty tray he quickly followed her.
The
curtain hid a small holding area filled with food and dishes. Another female stood at a sink washing the
dirty offerings the woman brought back.
~ She can’t be more than eight years old. ~ Apparently the woman sensed Nathan’s
interest because she moved between him and the girl, her arms folded across her
chest. Nathan realized what she was
thinking.
“No. I don’t want the girl. She’s just a child!” Nathan wondered how many times she’d had to defend the child before and hoped that she had always been successful. Thank God the raid on this place would begin in twelve hours. Although Nathan hoped to have achieved his personal goal well before then he wanted to help these people, set them free or at least find a more humane holding place.
The
woman started at his voice and Nathan realized that she had never spoken. In fact very few of the prisoners had said
anything except to the guards. ~ Can
they speak? ~
Nathan
knew he needed help to complete his mission and he decided to take a
chance. “No, I don’t belong here, but
you know that.”
The
woman nodded and began to move about the room, continuing her work.
“I’m
here looking for someone, a man. His
name is Robert. He would be about forty
now. He was once a naval officer. Do you know anyone who meets that
description?”
The
woman looked thoughtful before shaking her head, a small frown touching her
lips. Nathan marveled at the efficient
way she worked. He held himself tense
when she went to move back through the curtain and he knew by her quick glance
at the girl that she was uneasy as well.
“I
won’t touch her. I promise.”
The
woman gave a nod and exited through the curtain, leaving Nathan pleased that
she trusted him.
He started to talk to the child but he was afraid that he might frighten
her and he didn’t want to make the woman angry when she seemed willing to help
him. He picked up the job the woman had
left, drying the clean dishes and placing them back in the storage
containers.
The
woman made three more trips into the large room, returning with a full tray
each time. After she returned from the
last trip, she took the child’s hand and led her to the outer door. Nathan stood behind the door so as not to be
seen when she opened it. She pointed the
girl down the hall and dismissed her with a hug and a kiss to the cheek.
Once
the child was gone the woman moved back into her spot to wash the last of the
dishes. Nathan began to talk once again.
“Is
there anywhere else that they might be holding Robert? I don’t think he is in the men’s barracks so
they might be keeping him separately.”
Nathan asked. The woman nodded. “Could you tell me how to get there? Draw me a map?”
Once
again the woman seemed to hesitate.
Before she could respond a loud clamor came from behind the curtain.
“Shit! They know I’m missing don’t they? If they catch me they may look closer at my
identity, realize I don’t belong here.
Are there guards through this door?”
The
woman placed the last of the dishes in the cabinet and tilted her head toward
Nathan, an indication to follow. She
checked the hallway and motioned him after her, pausing only to lock the room
door behind her from a key she carried on a small ring.
Nathan
tried to make a mental map of the path they followed but he couldn’t keep
up. The woman moved with assurance,
confident of her way. She finally
stopped before another door and pulled the same key she carried out to unlock
it. While she was
doing this Nathan noticed a heavy steel door at the end of the corridor. ~ Is that where Robert might be? ~
The
room was similar to the first one but much smaller, just a refrigerator and a
few cabinets. There was barely enough
room for the two of them. The woman
pulled out a tray and flipped on a small kettle. While the water was heating she added cups and
saucers to the tray as well as a small bottle of whiskey. A sad smile crept across Nathan’s face as he
watched her make the tea – warm the pot with hot water then precisely measure
out the tea leaves, one teaspoon for the pot and one for each cup. He’d forgotten this small ritual that he’d
once watched with such delight.
The
woman pulled a cloth over the tray and motioned for Nathan to pick it up. She pointed in the direction of the steel
door and made a knocking motion then imitated the action of a turning key. Nathan understood.
“Behind
that door is where they might be holding Robert! The tea is for the guards. How many?”
The
woman held up two fingers.
“Do
I wait for the tray or will they expect me to leave immediately?”
The
woman leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her chest.
“Will
they be suspicious of me coming instead of you?”
The
woman shook her head, a perplexed look on her face. She lifted a hand to her breast and shook her
head then pointed in the direction of Nathan’s groin before making a walking
motion with her fingers.
“Women
aren’t allowed beyond the door. You make
the tray but a man carries it.”
The
woman made a few more motions with her hands, which Nathan took to mean that
she would wait in the room for him. He
picked up the tray and headed out.
Nathan
was nervous as he knocked on the door but he kept his head low and hoped that
the guards wouldn’t notice he wasn’t a regular deliveryman. A buzzer sounded and the door swung
open. Nathan entered the room to find
two guards playing cards. They barely
even noticed him as he sat the tray down on the table beside them and moved
away to the corner.
“Hey! The bitch sent us a present tonight! Must be a reward from the boss for the
information we extracted from our last admission.” One of the guards opened the whiskey bottle
with glee.
“She
could have sent two. Hey, I get half of
that!” Nathan took advantage of the two
men bickering to inspect the room. He
quickly noted the entry into the cell area and the access key hanging around
one guard’s neck. Nathan was almost
ready to make his move when he noticed one of the guards beginning to nod off. The other looked sleepy as well. ~ Damn! She drugged their drinks. When did she do that? ~
Both
men soon fell to the table snoring noisily.
Nathan quickly grabbed the key and punched it into the reader. The door slid back with a groan. Nathan roamed the corridor softly calling the
name of his son but got no response. Most of the prisoners just watched him from
behind the bars, their eyes devoid of life.
He’d reached the end of the corridor and was beginning to despair when
he heard a voice whisper.
“There
was a Robert here, a long time ago. He’s
been gone about five years. They said he
was transported but…”
Nathan
couldn’t tell who the voice belonged to and despite his entreaties no one would
speak any more. He finally realized that
time was slipping away and he was endangering both himself and the woman by lingering. Once UEO forces had liberated the private
prison he would make them give him access to the prisoners so that he could ask
more about Robert.
The
guards were still sleeping when Nathan walked back into the room but the
groaning door caused one of them to start and mumble. Nathan moved quietly to the table and dropped
the key into its keeper’s lap, after first snapping the chain. He had just settled down in the corner and
dropped his head to his chest when one of the men came awake with a start. Through slitted eyes Nathan observed the man
look at the cup suspiciously before looking at him. Nathan took care to keep his breath slow and
even.
Nathan
knew the slap was coming but that didn’t make it hurt any less. He fell to the floor as the guard shouted. “You fell asleep, you filthy dog. Where did you get that tea?”
“Usual, sir.” Nathan mumbled, keeping a
bewildered look on his face. “Sorry, sir.”
Nathan
crawled toward the table and began to gather up the dishes. The guard apparently decided that he was too
stupid to have done anything and began to pick at his partner. He shook the man awake. “Hey, I’m not doing all the work on this
shift. Why are you falling asleep on
me? Stay out too late last night with
the women in the east wing?”
The
two men were still bickering when Nathan left through the door they
opened. He walked slowly down the hall
and made sure that they’d turned the lock back before he entered the small
room. The woman was waiting as she’d promised, a worried look on her face. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw
Nathan and grabbed the tray. She quickly
but carefully washed every inch of the ceramic ware before drying it and
putting it away, all the while listening to Nathan tell what had happened.
They
were just about to exit the room when an alarm began to sound in the
corridor. “Intruder alert! Possible security breach!” Warnings came through the loud speaker.
Nathan
pushed the woman toward the door.
“You’ve got to go, get away before they find me. Listen, help is on the way. I just have to hide for a few hours and I’ll
be okay. Once they get here I promise I
will help you and your child.”
The
woman looked confused for a moment then shook her head decisively. She used her key to lock the door from the inside
and then pointed to the ceiling as she climbed up on a cabinet. Nathan noticed the ventilation grate and
hopped up on the cabinet beside her.
Together they slid it to the side.
Nathan reached out to boost the woman up and she froze at his touch on
her waist.
“I’m
sorry. I just wanted to help.” He shuddered internally at the thought of
what this woman might have gone through during her time in this hellhole. After a moment she nodded and cupped her
hands together. Nathan imitated her
motion and knelt so that she could fit her foot into his grasp before lifting
her up.
She
hoisted herself into the shaft then held out a hand to Nathan and he followed
her into the duct. They settled the
grate back in place and Nathan saw her begin to crawl away in the dim light
from the room. Once again he trusted the
woman, followed her even though he had no idea where they were bound.
They
halted several times at the sound of guards searching or to avoid beams of
light that sometimes swept through the grates.
“We
can’t stay in here. They’ll start
searching the shafts soon.” Even though
Nathan whispered the sound seemed to echo through the dark ducts.
Nathan
felt her hand pull lightly on his shirt and crawled after her once again. The shafts were so black that he couldn’t see
her and she made so little sound that he struggled to keep behind her. He ran into her several times as she waited
for him at a bend or turn.
He
couldn’t tell how much time had passed when he sensed that she had stopped and
reached out to her. Her hand led his to
a barely perceptible notch in the surface and he pulled, cringing at the sound
of scraping metal. She dropped through
the small hole and he once again followed, trusting her blindly. His feet hit a solid surface about nine feet
below the opening and he froze, waiting to find out where the woman was.
The
small flare of the match blinded him for a moment before his eyes
readjusted. They’d reentered the
corridor system of the station but even though Nathan had memorized as much of
the floor plan as was available he had no idea of the location. The woman lit a small shielded lantern and
closed the shutter until just a hint of light was barely perceptible. They strode stealthily down the hall keeping
to the shadows as much as possible.
The
sudden glare of the overhead lights blinded them and three guards came from
nowhere, nightsticks raised as they charged Nathan. ~ You won’t get me without a fight! ~ He
lashed out at the feet of his first attacker, knocking him down before his
bludgeon could make contact, but he wasn’t quick enough to avoid the
second. Nathan lashed out with his
fists, all the while waiting for the sting of the third man’s attack but it
didn’t come. His battle shifted and he
saw with surprise that the third man lay on the floor clutching his groin while
the woman brought his truncheon down on the first guard’s head. Within moments all three watchmen were
unconscious.
The
woman grabbed a flashlight from the floor and motioned Nathan quickly
onward. Nathan paused only a moment to
stare at her in wonder.
“Who
are you? Why are you willing to risk
everything to help me?”
A
husky whisper emerged from the woman. “I
help you because… you have my son’s eyes.”
*~*~*~*
Nathan
was so stunned that he didn’t realize the woman had moved away until she came
rushing back toward him. As she grabbed
his hand and began to drag him he heard the sound of other guards
approaching. They moved away together in
the opposite direction.
The
light faded as they slid back into the darkened corridors, the woman keeping a
firm grip on his hand. Finally she
stopped and pulled him down onto the floor beside her. Her hands led his to another latch and they
pulled together. She pushed him through
the opening and slid in beside him, closing the hatchway behind her.
Once
they were safely sealed in she turned on the flashlight. Nathan was surprised to see that the tiny
space had one corner full of supplies.
“You’ve
come here before.” The woman nodded and
gestured for Nathan to make himself comfortable. He shifted off his knees and sat watching the
woman as she crawled to the corner and pulled out matches and candles. She lit two and turned off the flashlight before
moving back to the opposite side of the room to sit across from Nathan. Not that there was much space between
them. The ceiling was barely a foot
above their heads and less than two feet separated their bodies.
Nathan’s
mind was still whirling from the woman’s earlier statement. “Is it safe to
talk?”
The
woman smiled and nodded.
“Are
you afraid to talk to me?” Nathan asked.
The
woman shook her head slightly and then stopped and spoke her raspy voice barely
above a whisper. “They don’t like for us
to speak.”
“How
long have you been here?”
The
woman looked thoughtful. “I don’t really
know. I don’t remember arriving. I remember my son being born here and he
would be… four maybe…”
Nathan
wanted to ask about the boy’s father but he thought that might alarm the
woman. “What about your daughter?”
The
woman looked confused for a moment and then her face brightened. “Monica isn’t my daughter. Well, she is now but I didn’t give birth to
her. Her mother befriended me… I don’t
remember when… but not long after my son was born she got sick. I promised her that I would protect her
daughter before she died. So she’s mine
now.”
“Tell
me about this place.”
“They
bring people in to work the mines. We
don’t leave. Once, back in the
beginning, I seem to remember being in another part of the station where
everything was clean and the food was better.
Sometimes in my dreams I can see a man’s face, hear his voice, but I
can’t tell what he is saying. I think
that he must be the warden.”
“What
about what happened tonight?”
She
looked uncomfortable. “They breed their
own workers. Some of the mineshafts are
very narrow and they use children to work them.
They also breed babies to sell on the black market. The men who are picked are given a day off
from the mines. If a woman gets pregnant
she’s given light work duty and better food.”
“Is
that how…?” Nathan stopped before he
finished his sentence at the look on her face.
“Where is your son?”
“I
don’t know.” This time her face showed
puzzlement. “I had the opportunity to
get him away from here and I took it. I
sent him… somewhere… there was a man… someone I trusted… I don’t know the name
anymore.”
Nathan
could tell that she was getting agitated so he stopped questioning her. He reached into his shirt and pulled out his
com-link, pleased when the light showed a faint signal. He saw the woman’s eyes widen as he began to
speak.
“Bridger to seaQuest.”
“We
read you but very faintly.”
“Be
advised, I have been discovered. I am in
hiding. Objective is not present. Please change plans accordingly. Bridger out.”
He
replaced the com-link. “I needed to call
my ship. I told you that help would be
here soon.”
“Are
you my son’s father?”
Nathan
gulped at the question even though he’d been half expecting it.
“No. I couldn’t have fathered your son. I was…far away from here at the time he would
have been conceived. Don’t you know who
his father is?”
She
ignored him. “Who are you and why are you here?”
Nathan
considered her question a moment before answering honestly. “I’m looking for a man. He was an officer in the US Navy and he was
thought killed but we’ve recently come to believe that he wasn’t. If he is in this hellhole we believe that he
might be executed at the first sign of attack so I’ve come to find him. Or at least to try…
If what I was told in the prison wing is true then he isn’t here any more.”
The
sound of voices and the heavy tread of feet silenced them for a moment. Nathan noticed the woman trying to hide a
yawn so he reached into the corner and pulled out a blanket. He handed it to her and grabbed another one
for himself.
“Why
don’t you try to get some sleep? I’ll
keep watch.”
“You
try to sleep as well. They won’t find us
here.”
Nathan
nodded and stretched out on the floor beside the woman, determined not to go to
sleep but willing to try and make her happy.
*~*~*~*
One
candle had burned completely out and the other was sputtering when Nathan
opened his eyes. He was momentarily
surprised to find a warm body curled up close to him. He felt his body react to the feel of
feminine flesh pressed up against his.
Her eyes popped open and in the dim light Nathan felt as if they were
reaching into his soul. Without
realizing what he was doing he bent to brush her lips with his. Awareness rushed through his body as she
opened her lips to him and met his tongue with hers, the two intertwining in a
mad dance.
Nathan
pulled back sharply. “Kristin?”
The
woman’s eyes widened and her breath caught.
“Kristin… that’s my name?” She asked then
stated more positively. “I
remember. Kristin is my name.”
Nathan
pulled back against the wall. “NO! Kristin is dead. When I got back they told me that she had
been killed. Lucas and I went to
He
grabbed the flashlight and held it to her face as he switched it on. She flinched at the bright light directed
into her eyes. Nathan grabbed a bottle
of water and wet the corner of the blanket.
He began to scrub her face vigorously with one hand while holding the
light with the other. Gradually the top
layer of grime began to come off and he was able to see her features more
distinctly.
Each
layer that he removed confused him even more.
She submitted to his vigorous cleaning without complaint, understanding
his bewilderment. Nathan finally dropped
the towel and simply stared, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him.
“How
could I look at you and not know you immediately? I don’t understand!”
“You
didn’t expect to see me. Why do you
recognize me now?”
“The
kiss… I only ever felt that from her… from you… oh my God… Kristin!”
“I
felt it too… Na… Nath…” Kristin gripped her head with
her hands as she struggled to pull anything out of her memory. “Your name is Nath…an.” Her hand strayed to his cheek. “You had a beard the last time I saw you…”
“I
did have a beard… my last leave. That
was over ten years ago.”
Nathan
couldn’t stand the look of pain on her face and wrapped his arms around
her. “Don’t fight so hard. I’ll help you find your memory. You’ll come back with me when seaQuest gets
here.”
The
sound of running and shouting once again interrupted them but this time it was
followed by the sound of gunfire. Nathan
glanced at his watch. “That will be UEO forces to liberate the prison. We just need to stay out of the way until
they get things settled down.”
Kristin
scrambled out of his arms and crawled toward the hatch. He tried to pull her back but she fought him
off.
“I’ve
got to get to Monica. She’ll be scared
if I’m not there.” She ripped the hatch
from the wall. Booted feet passing by held
her back for a few moments but once they passed she slid through the opening
and into the corridor. Nathan quickly
followed.
“No, stay here. They won’t harm me.”
“If
you think I’m ever letting you out of my sight again you are crazy. We go together.”
Kristen
nodded and led him down the hall.
*~*~*~*
The
journey back into the servant’s quarters was harrowing but Kristin knew enough
shortcuts that they were able to avoid the worst of the fighting. Twice Nathan thrust himself in front of her
but the guards who were retreating were more concerned with their own skins and
the UEO troops were only firing when they were fired on. They paid little attention to the dirty
couple flattened against the walls as they pushed forward.
They
finally reached the door to Kristin’s small quarters and she gave a patterned
knock. It was answered with another
pattern and Kristin replied with yet another.
The lock slid back and Kristin rushed into the rooms to grab the
girl. Tears sprang to the child’s eyes
when she saw Kristin and she looked at Nathan fearfully.
“It’s
okay, sweetie. He’s a friend. He won’t hurt us.” Kristin’s voice was low and soothing, calming
the child’s fears.
Nathan
had closed the door behind him and it flew open, knocking him out of the way as
a guard entered the room, obviously looking for a place to hide. He took in Nathan sprawled on the floor.
“What
are you doing in the women’s area?
You’re the one they are looking for!
Get up!” He motioned for Nathan
to stand with one hand while the other pointed a gun at him. “You’re my ticket out of here.”
Nathan
stayed on the floor and kept the dazed look in his eye. The guard didn’t buy it. He looked from the woman to the girl and back
again before deciding on Kristin. He
yanked her away from Monica and held the gun to her head. “Get up now or I’ll shoot her.” His finger tightened on the trigger.
Both
Nathan and the child screamed as the sound of the gunshot ricocheted through
the room. The guard’s hold on Kristin
slowly loosened as he slid to the floor, a gaping red hole in his chest. Nathan scrambled to his feet just in time to
catch Kristin as she fell in a dead faint.
Jonathan Ford stood in the doorway holding a discharged firearm.
“Are
you okay, sir?”
Nathan
hoisted Kristin higher into his arms.
“Have you secured the station between here and the launch?”
Jonathan
nodded. “We expect to have complete
control within ten minutes. The security
forces have given up very quickly.”
Nathan
quickly gave Jonathan directions to the prison corridor Kristin had shown him
then turned to the girl. “Come on,
Monica. I’m taking you and your mother
away from here.”
“Sir,”
Jonathan stopped him. “Our orders state
that no one leaves the station. We are
to hold all of the inmates and staff here until the relief forces arrive.”
The
look in Nathan’s eye surprised Jonathan Ford.
“I’m going back to the seaQuest and I am taking this woman and this
child with me. Please don’t argue with
me about this. I have to do it.”
Many
years of working with the man before him told Ford that Bridger would not back
down and he stepped aside, watching curiously as Nathan carried the unconscious
woman out the door and down the hall, the young girl following behind.
*~*~*~*
The
launch was sliding into its docking port when Kristin began to come
around. Nathan still held her in his
arms and the child sat beside them, her hand stroking Kristin’s hair as she
stared worriedly at her mother.
Kristin’s eyes immediately began to search when they opened and Nathan
heard the quiet sigh of relief that escaped her lips when she saw that the
child was safe.
“Where
are we?”
“This
is a sea launch. We’re docking in the
seaQuest, the UEO’s flagship deep submersible.
You once served on board the seaQuest.
I was the Captain. That’s where
we met. Do you remember?”
“No…
nothing. The UEO is a military
organization, isn’t it? Was I in the
military? That doesn’t feel right.”
Nathan
had to stifle his smile at that thought.
“No, you most definitely weren’t in the military. You are a scientist, a medical doctor and an
oceanographer.”
“Then
what was I doing in a prison? Why don’t
I remember?”
“I
don’t know but I’m going to find out.
I’m going to find out everything that happened to you during the ten
years I was gone.” Nathan tightened his
arms around her. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m
okay.” She remembered what had happened
to her. “What happened to the
guard? Have I been shot? Monica!?!”
“You’re
fine and so is your daughter. Commander
Ford shot the guard and you fainted from the shock. The door is going to be open in a minute and
we’re going to gather some interest when we board the seaQuest. I’ll try to shield you but it’s going to be
hard.”
Kristin
reached out her hand to the child and squeezed the small hand the girl placed
in it. “We’ll be okay.” She wrinkled her nose at the child and was
rewarded with a big grin.
Nathan
led the way up the ladder and waited at the top for the women. Monica came up first, followed by
Kristin. Nathan helped them both onto
the deck before looking up into the steely eyes of Captain Oliver Hudson.
“I
presume that you can explain this, Captain Bridger. No one on that station was supposed to leave
it until obtaining proper clearance.”
Nathan’s
voice was low but determined. “Back off,
A
delighted cry sprang from across the deck.
“Grampa!”
And a small body began to run toward them. Nathan waited with baited breath as Michael
approached. The little boy suddenly
stopped dead in his tracks.
“Moni… Mama!?!”
Kristin
fell to her knees and held her arms out as her son ran to her embrace.
Oliver
Hudson moved to Nathan’s side. “I
understand now.”
“Thank
you, Oliver, but no, you don’t understand at all. I don’t even understand.” Nathan turned to Lucas who had followed
Michael across the deck.
“I’m
sorry you didn’t find your son but at least you found Michael’s mom. That’s fantastic.”
Nathan’s
eyes closed as a pained look crossed his face.
“Look at her, Lucas. Listen to
her.”
Lucas
fell silent as he listened to the woman speak to the little boy, her low
accented tones soothing, assuring Michael that she wouldn’t be leaving him
again. The voice sounded familiar to
Lucas but he couldn’t quite place it. It
was the gesture that enlightened him, a casual caress of the hand flipping the
boy’s hair away from his eyes.
“No…
it can’t be. She’s dead.”
The
woman turned her head to look straight at Lucas. The young man paled as he looked fully into
the face of the woman he thought of as his second mother, the woman he thought
he had lost. He slowly walked up to her
and fell to his knees beside the small group.
Kristin’s hand reached out to give his hair the same gentle caress it
had just given Michael’s.
“Lucas. Your name is Lucas… and you call me… Doc!”
Lucas
nodded. “Yes, that’s right. I call you Doc.”
“Bridger?” Oliver Hudson was clearly confused. “Is this woman your grandson’s mother?”
Nathan
swallowed hard. “It would seem so. I hope you’ll allow Dr. Levin to do some
testing.”
“Of course. But I thought you had no idea
who Michael’s mother might be. You seem
to know this woman.”
“Her
name is Kristin Westphalen. She was the
CMO of the first tour I served on this boat.”
“Westphalen,
I remember the name. She was one hell of
a scientist, but I thought that she died.
Some sort of freak lab accident years ago. Are you sure this is her?”
“I’m
positive. I’d know Kristin
anywhere. Before we were lost Kristin
and I were… very close.”
“Neither
do I, and she has very little memory of the last ten years, but I will find out
what happened.”
*~*~*~*
A
cursory examination by a stunned Joshua Levin had shown that both Kristin and
Monica were basically healthy though severely undernourished. One tense moment had come when he’d tried to
draw a blood sample from the little girl.
They had to scrub her skin very hard to remove enough dirt to make the
procedure safe. Monica endured this
silently but when she’d seen the needle a look of sheer terror had crossed her
face and she backed into the wall in an effort to get away. To both Nathan and Joshua’s surprise Kristin
had taken the needle from his hand and expertly drawn the blood sample, all the
while soothing the little girl as she’d soothed Michael earlier. Both Michael and Lucas hovered on the other
side of the room, neither willing to let the mother they thought they had lost
out of their sight.
Nathan
and Joshua had a whispered conversation before the doctor asked his nurse to
take the little girl away and give her a thorough bath. Monica protested vigorously at being
separated from her mother, lashing out at the woman trying to remove her, but a
few gentle words from Kristin and a promise by Lucas and Michael to stay close
by calmed her and they departed.
Kristin
sat down on the end of the exam table and watched silently as Joshua listened
to her heartbeat and checked her blood pressure before drawing blood from
her. Once he was done Joshua rolled his
stool back to the end of the table and Nathan moved to Kristin’s side.
“What
do you remember?”
Kristin’s
eyes closed as she struggled to make sense of random images. “I don’t remember very much. I have vague memories of someplace other than
the kitchens but I think they were still part of the complex. I remember my son’s birth and I remember bits
of his early years, and of Monica’s, but nothing is continuous.”
“You
don’t remember anything before the prison complex?”
Kristin
shook her head.
“But
you do remember some things… you remembered how to draw blood, you remembered
Captain Bridger, you remembered Lucas.
You didn’t forget your son even though he wasn’t with you.”
“I
didn’t remember Nathan until he spoke my name, not really, although there was
something familiar about him from the beginning. Hell, I didn’t even remember my own name
until he said it. But there are things…
this boat seems alien to me and yet oddly familiar. The voice of the officer who killed the
guard, I knew him didn’t I?” She turned
to look at Nathan. “His name is…
Jonathan… Commander Ford… and you were a … stowaway!” Kristin beamed as a sliver of memory returned
to her.
“That’s
right, Babe.” Nathan returned her grin.
“What
do you remember about Michael’s father, his conception?” Joshua slipped the question in before Nathan
could stop him. Kristin immediately
froze and refused to talk anymore.
Nathan
was furious but he knew that Levin was just trying to help. He slipped a hand gently beneath Kristin’s
elbow and pulled her to her feet. “Come
on. I think that a shower and some sleep
might help you feel better too. We’ll
continue the exam tomorrow, okay, Joshua?”
*~*~*~*
Nathan
led Kristin back to his quarters, worried beyond measure about her refusal to
speak again. He started the shower and
left towels and his bathrobe out for her before retreating back to the main
cabin. A knock on his door revealed a
very worried Lucas.
“Loni
helped the nurse bathe Monica and she almost fell asleep in the tub. She’s in my bunk with Michael and Piccolo
standing guard. Captain, I don’t
understand any of this. If Doc is
Michael’s mother then she… but she wouldn’t have done that. She loves you.”
“Lucas,
I don’t know exactly what happened but I don’t really think that Kristin had
any choice in the matter. Perhaps Robert
didn’t either. Levin is going to do a
DNA test just to make sure but I don’t have any doubt as to what the results
will be. What I want to know is who did
this to them? And why?”
“What
about Monica? You can leave her in my
bunk if you want. I’ll crash on the
floor with Michael.”
“Keep
them for a while if you don’t mind. I’ll
come and get them once Kristin has showered and gotten some rest.”
Lucas
nodded and exited; the worried look still present. Nathan knew just how he felt. He moved back to the bathroom door and knocked.
“Kristin? Are you okay?”
When
no response was forthcoming Nathan pushed the door open slightly and called
again. He thought he heard something
over the sound of the water so he pushed the door open further. Nathan expected to see Kristin’s body silhouetted
against the frosted glass of the shower but it wasn’t there. Instead he noticed a dark lump in the
corner. He jerked the door open.
Kristin
was huddled on the floor, her back to him, her head buried in her arms as she
sobbed.
“Kristin? What’s wrong?”
“The
dirt won’t come off! I scrub and I scrub
but I can’t get clean.” The white
washcloth that Nathan had provided lay black on the floor of the shower but
Kristin’s body was still coated with dirt.
Nathan’s
heart shattered as he listened to her sobs.
“No more. No one is going to make
you cry ever again!”
Nathan
quickly stripped down to his boxer shorts and stepped into the shower. He lifted Kristin to her feet, soothing her
as she had soothed her children earlier.
Nathan grabbed the washcloth from the floor and coated it with soap then
slowly began to scrub Kristin’s back. He
kept the pressure firm but gentle and eventually the dirt disappeared,
revealing glowing pink skin beneath. He
felt her shoulders continue to shake with her silent sobs as he worked his way
lower, gradually cleansing all the way down to her feet.
The
crying had stopped by the time that Nathan turned her to face him and began on
her front. Once again, inch by inch, he
washed the dirt away. She tensed when he
reached her most private area but Nathan kept his touch impartial even though
his own body was reacting as it always had to the sight of Kristin’s nude form.
When
he’d scrubbed every speck of dirt that he could find from her body, Nathan
pulled the ragged bit of string from the end of Kristin’s braid and freed her
hair from its restraint. Once again he
started at the top and shampooed it, smiling as the fiery color broke free of
the dirt and began to gleam in his hand.
He washed and rinsed the waist length curtain four times before the
water ran clear and he was satisfied.
Kristin’s
eyes had remained closed from the first touch of Nathan’s hands on her body so
he cupped her chin with his hand.
“See,
no dirt left. You are clean, Kristin.”
Sable
eyes opened and stared into his briefly before turning to look over her
shoulders and down her back. The
movement fanned her hair across her shoulder and over her breast to provide a
fiery silk covering, only the erect nipple peaking out. Nathan found the sight even more erotic than
seeing the mound completely uncovered and swallowed hard.
“Why
don’t we get you dried…” His voice faded away as
Kristin turned her attention to the front of her body and noticed the way that
his wet boxers molded to his aroused body.
Her hand moved slowly to the front of his shorts and her fingers brushed
lightly across his growing bulge.
“Nathan…”
She whispered his name with such longing that Nathan couldn’t stop himself as
he pulled her into his arms and captured her mouth with his. The kiss was gentle and full of promise. She moved against him and Nathan recognized
that while Kristin’s mind might not remember him as her lover, her body did. Not wanting to scare her, he quickly broke
the kiss and buried his face in her wet hair.
She clung to him, feeling safe for the first time that she could ever
remember.
Nathan
pulled her from the shower and began to dry her off. Kristin allowed him the liberty of touching
her so intimately because her body told her that he had already done so many
times before.
“We
were lovers.” She whispered; catching his gaze as he gently toweled her hair.
“We
were lovers.” He confirmed with a smile that made her heart leap.
“What
happened? Why did we part?”
“Not
because we wanted to. Something happened
with this ship… As strange as this may sound, the ship and her entire crew were
taken off of this planet for a period of about ten years. Our removal was without warning. There was no way that I could contact
you. When we returned I immediately
looked for you and was told that you had been killed in a freak accident in
your laboratory. Lucas and I went to
“Cynthia?”
“Cynthia
is your daughter.”
Kristin’s
breath caught. “I have a daughter? Why can’t I remember? A mother doesn’t forget her child.”
“I
don’t think that you have control over your memory right now, baby. Someone has taken that from you. Cynthia is your daughter from your first
marriage. She would be about thirty-two
now, I think.”
“Thirty-two? A grown woman… She’s old enough
to be the mother of her baby brother.”
Kristin’s voice caught as she turned to look at Nathan, fear once again
in her eyes. “Oh no, Michael…” Kristin
bolted from the room. Nathan grabbed his
robe and went after her.
Kristin
was sitting on the edge of the bunk a blanket pulled haphazardly around her
nakedness as she hugged her arms to her body and rocked.
Nathan
sat down beside her. “Tell me what’s
wrong.”
“Michael…
he called you Grampa. The soldier that
you were looking for… Robert… he was your son wasn’t he? And you think that he is Michael’s father. That’s why he has your eyes. Oh God, he was your son!”
Nathan
had known that Kristin would eventually make the connection, had dreaded this
moment. He tried to embrace her but she
pulled away from him. “How can you… you
must hate me.”
“I
could never hate you, Kristin. Do you
hear me? Never! I know that this whole thing has been
orchestrated; that someone with a sick sense of humor is behind it. And I swear to you that I will find out who. I know that you
didn’t willingly go to my son. Either
you didn’t know who he was or Michael was conceived like I saw tonight…”
Kristin’s
eyes closed and she swallowed hard. “I
remember being in a dark room. I was
tied down and there were needles, drugs.
That voice, the one I told you that I thought might be the warden, was
speaking to me, saying something... I
remember the man… your son… they drugged him as well… he tried to fight but
they made him…”
Kristin
shuddered violently at the memory.
“It’s okay, Kristin.
You don’t have to tell me. It’s
only a memory. It can’t harm you
anymore. I won’t let anyone hurt you
ever again. I promise you that I will
protect you, and Michael and Monica.”
Nathan
moved to his chest and pulled out a white tee shirt. He helped Kristin slip it over her head
before pushing her back into the bunk.
“You
need to try and get some rest. Lucas and
Michael are watching Monica and I’m going to stay right here.”
Kristin’s
mouth moved but she paused before the words actually came out.
“You
can ask me anything, tell me anything, okay?”
“Would
you… do you think that you could hold me… just for a little while? I feel so safe when your arms are around me…”
Nathan
slid into the bunk next to Kristin and wrapped his arms around her.
“How
can you do this? How can you stand to
touch me knowing that I might have been with… your son?”
Nathan
shifted so that they were face to face and ran his hands up through her still
damp hair. “Remember when we
kissed? When I realized who you
were? Do you remember that feeling between
us?”
She
nodded and he continued. “I love you,
Kristin. I have loved you for so long,
probably from the first moment I saw you.
We were going to be together after the end of my last tour but then they
took us away. The thought of you was the
only thing that kept me going. When I
came home to find you gone I wanted to die too.
I don’t know what I would have done if that little boy hadn’t come
along. You said that you sent him to
someone. You sent him to me. Somehow you found out that I was back and you
sent him to me, not because you knew that Robert was his father but because you
loved me…trusted me to take care of your child.
That has to be what happened.”
“It
sounds right, feels right.” Kristin’s
eyes closed as she struggled to remember more.
“The man kept coming to see us, saying things… I can’t remember what he
said but I didn’t like it. HE was going
to hurt Michael or use him to hurt someone else. He called Michael… retribution for a broken
promise. Those were his exact
words. I didn’t want to send my baby
away but I heard… I heard that this ship was back… that you were back and I
knew that you would take care of my son.
I remember…”
Kristin’s
eyes popped open. “I remember!”
Her
words were cut off as an agonizing scream of pain ripped from her. Her face contorted and Nathan felt her head
begin to pulse beneath his hands. He
quickly hit the com link and yelled for O’Neill to get Levin to his quarters on
the double. Nathan tried to soothe
Kristin but his words only seemed to increase her pain so he fell silent. He was attempting to lightly massage her neck
when he felt the pulse again, this time from a single spot just beneath her
hairline. He pushed her hair out of the
way to reveal an angry red bulge lying right beneath the surface of her
skin. A gentle touch there caused
Kristin to scream even louder.
Joshua
burst through the door at this point, followed closely by Captain Hudson and
Commander Ford. Nathan pointed out the
lesion and after a quick examination, Joshua agreed
that it was probably the cause of Kristin’s pain. He quickly prepared and injected a painkiller
and Kristin’s screams slowly dropped off to low moans.
“I
need to get her to med bay. I’m not sure
but I suspect that some sort of device has been implanted near her brain for
mind control. This may be the reason
that her memory is so sporadic.
Something has happened to activate a failsafe mechanism in the device,
probably removal from the station perimeter.”
“Can
you remove it?” Nathan asked.
“I
don’t know that yet, Captain. Removing
it might cause irreparable damage. We
need more information before we make any decisions.”
Nathan
grabbed a pair of pants and, turning his back to the men, he yanked them on
before discarding his robe and pulling a shirt over his head. He moved to the side of the bunk and
whispered softly.
“Kristin,
we need to go back to med bay. I’m going
to pick you up now, okay? I know that it
might hurt to move but Joshua will take care of you.” He slid his arms carefully beneath her
shoulders and knees and lifted her effortlessly.
“I
can call for a stretcher, sir.”
Nathan
shook his head. “I’ve got her.”
Levin
and Bridger brushed past the two men standing in the doorway as they left, but
Nathan barely gave either of them a second glance. If he had he would have seen the stunned
expression on Jonathan Ford’s face. “That woman! She’s
Kristin Westphalen. But she’s dead!”
“Apparently not, Mr. Ford, apparently not.”
*~*~*~*
Nathan
sat beside the exam table and gripped both of Kristin’s hands tightly. She lay on her side; her hair pulled out of
the way as Joshua examined the inflamed area beneath her scalp.
“There
is definitely some sort of device implanted here. I’ll have to do a more thorough exam, run
more tests before I know what to do about it.”
Kristin’s
face tightened with pain as the device in her body overrode the narcotic that
Joshua had given her.
“NO! It has to come out now.”
“I’m
just not sure. Let me get the results…”
“NOW! If you don’t take it out now it
will kill me.”
Nathan
was stunned at the terror those words evoked.
“Get it out of her, Joshua.”
Levin
nodded. “I’ll call the surgical team.”
Kristin’s
teeth were clenched with pain. “I don’t
have time for that luxury. Just get the
damned scapel and cut!”
Levin
opened a drawer and took out a surgical kit.
He ripped the package open and pulled out a sterile blade. “This is going to be painful. I need you to try and hold her steady,
Captain.”
The
doctor cut quickly. One tight scream
escaped Kristin’s lips as she clung to Nathan’s hands for dear life. Nathan wanted to scream as well as he watched
the blood flow down her neck. Joshua
probed quickly and came out with a small microchip. Attached to the chip was a tiny tube still
partially embedded in Kristin’s head.
“I
need to remove this delicately. I think
it’s feeding into her brain.”
Joshua
turned to pick up another instrument and the suction apparatus. Nathan’s hands had gone numb from the force
of her grip so he didn’t realize that Kristin had released one of them until
her hand moved in front of his face. She
grabbed the microchip where it dangled on her neck and snatched it, pulling the
tube from her head. One more scream
emerged from her lips before she fell into blissful unconsciousness.
*~*~*~*
“Are
you sure Mama is okay?” Michael reached
out to gingerly pat Kristin’s hand.
“Your
mother is just very tired so she needs lots of rest. I don’t want either of you to worry. Dr. Levin is taking good care of her and I’m
watching her too.” Nathan embraced
Michael and held out an arm to Monica but she moved away from him.
Kristin
had not regained consciousness in the twelve hours since she’d forcefully
removed her implant. Joshua could find
no reason for her continued sleep. Lucas
had reported the children’s worries to Nathan and, together with Levin; he’d
made the decision to let them visit.
He
watched Monica move to the other side of the bed and wrap both of her hands
around Kristin’s. Nathan had tried to
talk to the girl several times but although he thought that she understood him
she still refused to speak. He’d asked
Joshua to check the child for a physical problem and the doctor found nothing
but she continued to be shy around anyone except Michael. ~ Come on, Kristin. This little girl needs you. She’s going to be lost if you don’t wake
up. Just like me. ~
Nathan
sent the children on their way with Lucas in tow as the faithful babysitter
before settling back into his spot by the bunk.
Levin had tried to send him away once or twice but Nathan refused. When Kristin woke up he intended to be
there. The last twenty-four hours had
taken their toll and eventually his eyes drifted shut as his head fell to the
mattress.
He
jerked at the feather light touch on his head to find Kristin staring at him,
disbelief in her eyes. “They told me you
were dead but I didn’t believe them.”
She whispered. “I would have
known. And now you’ve come back to me
and to our bab…”
Nathan was stunned. “Our baby? Kristin?”
But Kristin had slipped back into unconsciousness.
*~*~*~*
The
hours continued to tick away but Kristin didn’t wake up again. Blood tests revealed the presence of some
unknown agent in her blood stream that matched residue from the tube on the
implant but Levin couldn’t isolate it.
The tube still contained a tiny reservoir full of the material that
would surely have killed Kristin had she not removed it in such a precipitous
fashion. Nathan refused to leave her side.
Lucas
and the children came and went along with the rest of the crew. Ortiz and O’Neill visited, shocked but happy
to know that Kristin was still alive.
Jonathan Ford stayed the longest, staring in disbelief at the woman
lying on the bed.
“I
didn’t recognize her on the station. How
is this possible, Captain? Why would
someone do this, go to all the trouble to convince the world she was dead?”
“To get back at me, Jonathan. I’m sure
that was the motive. Otherwise why would
they have brought Robert into it?”
“But
as far as the world was concerned you were dead, sir. How could anyone get back at a dead man?”
“Maybe
whoever it is just got off knowing that he had control of my son and of the
woman I love.”
Jonathan
immediately noticed Bridger’s use of the present tense but he didn’t comment.
“There
is more, Jonathan. When Kristin did wake
up she said something… that I came back to her and to our baby. I don’t know where her mind was. Perhaps she was remembering giving birth to
Michael, thinking he was mine. But maybe
not… she could have been pregnant when we were taken… we were together just
before… I’ve got to find out. I’ve asked Lucas to do a search for me, see
if he can locate any sign of Cynthia.
Her disappearance must be tied into all of this somehow. She deserves to know that her mother is
alive.”
“If
anyone can find her, sir, it’s Lucas.”
The
tears that gathered in the corner of Nathan’s eyes did not go unnoticed by the
young officer. He clapped his hand down
on Nathan’s shoulder reassuringly. “We
will help you find Cynthia and Robert.
And then we will find the person who orchestrated this entire plot.”
*~*~*~*
“Captain.” The soft voice combined with a
gentle shake woke Nathan immediately.
“Kristin?” He breathed as he jerked up to stare at the
sleeping woman but there had been no change.
“Has anything happened, Joshua?”
“She
hasn’t shown any signs of waking up. The
last blood test showed that the substance in her blood has increased
slightly. Her body doesn’t seem to be
fighting it or metabolizing it. I am
still trying to determine the nature of the beast, so to speak.”
Nathan
stood and stretched. “What else? You can tell me.”
“I
have the results of the genetic testing that we did. Dr. Westphalen is definitely the mother of
Michael.” Joshua’s face fell as he
relayed this news.
“You
don’t have to be upset.” Nathan reassured the younger man. “I never had any doubt. The test results are only confirmation. But it doesn’t matter. It can’t change how I feel about her.” Nathan’s hand wandered over her auburn locks
as he bent and brushed a gentle kiss against Kristin’s lips. “I love you, Kristin Westphalen. I need for you to wake up and give me hell
for being gone for so long. Do you hear
me?”
Joshua
cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed at witnessing such a tender
moment. “ I
need to continue my examination of Dr. Westphalen and I thought you could use a
break. The children could benefit from
spending a little time with you.”
Nathan
nodded. “You’ll call if there is any
change? Anything at
all?”
Levin
quickly reassured his former captain that he would but Nathan was still
reluctant to leave. He leaned over and
whispered into Kristin’s ear for several minutes before he finally gave in and
left the med bay.
His
first order of business was a quick shower and a change of clothes and then he
went in search of the children. He found
them in the moonpool, swimming with Lucas and Darwin. Michael immediately climbed out of the pool
and threw himself at his grandfather, asking about his mother. Monica moved slower but Nathan could tell
that she wanted to hear any news as well.
He reassured them both that their mother was resting comfortably and
invited them to the galley for ice cream.
With a loud ‘hurrah’ Michael quickly dragged Lucas off to change but
Monica seemed hesitant.
“Don’t
you want some ice cream?” Nathan asked
the child only to quickly realize that she probably had no idea what ice cream
was. “You will like it, I promise. You can try any flavor you want.”
Then
he noticed the tiny tear slipping down her cheek. Nathan knelt in front of the girl and
carefully wiped it away. “You are
worried about Kristin?” The child
nodded.
“She
is going to get better. The doctor is
working very hard to cure her. I don’t
know how long it will take but…” Nathan was amazed at the expressions readable
in the child’s face. “You have a home,
Monica. Nothing is going to happen to…
your mother but no matter what you belong with me and with Michael. I’m never going to let anything hurt Kristin
or you again. From now on the four of us
are a family. Won’t you give me a chance
to be your dad?”
The
little girl fell into his arms and Nathan felt her hot tears wet his
shoulder. He wrapped his arms tightly
around her and held her as she cried.
*~*~*~*
Monica
did indeed like ice cream and Nathan felt like a real dad when he had to put
his foot down on the fourth bowl. He
didn’t want her getting sick. She pouted
for a few moments but when he promised her that she could have more later he was rewarded with a beaming smile. In typical Michael fashion the boy managed to
get ice cream all over himself so Nathan sent both
children off with Lucas to clean up before he took them to visit their mother
again. He was just about to go meet them
when he received a page from Jonathan Ford.
Jonathan
met him at the mag-lev and walked with him toward the wardroom.
“I
hope you don’t mind, sir. I don’t mean
to interfere but it seems to me that you need some answers and they can only
come from someone who has been here for the last ten years. I took it upon myself to start the ball
rolling.”
“What…?” Nathan didn’t complete his sentence because Ford
had pushed the wardroom door open to reveal two people sitting there, a man and
a woman that Nathan knew very well.
“Bill! Janet! What are you doing here?”
Bill
shook Nathan’s hand while Janet embraced him.
“That’s what we’d like to know.
Commander Ford contacted us and said that you needed help so here we
are. Does this have something to do with
Michael?”
Nathan
glanced at Ford. The younger man held
his hands up and shook his head. “I just
asked them to come, Captain. The rest of
the story is yours.”
Nathan
ran his hand through iron gray hair as he sat down, unsure of where to start.
“Does
this have something to do with that raid on the deep sea prison camp? Did you find Robert?”
“No,
I didn’t find him, but I did find out that he was there about five years ago.”
“Are
you sure?”
Nathan
nodded. “As sure as I
can be. One of the prisoners I
talked to remembered him, but said that he was transported out at that time.”
“Then
we’ll interview all of them. Surely one
of them will know more.”
“There
is something else, Bill. I… found the
woman who gave birth to Michael. I found
his mother. DNA tests have confirmed
it.”
Bill
and Janet’s eyes grew wide. “That is
wonderful, Nathan. Doesn’t she know
anything about Robert? Surely…” Bill’s
voice trailed off and Janet’s took over.
“What
is wrong? Are you worried that the woman
might take Michael away from you? That
won’t happen, Nathan. After being in
that horrible camp no jury would ever take him away from you.”
“It
isn’t that, Janet. I know that she won’t
take Michael away from me. In fact,
there is something that you both should know…”
Nathan
stopped as the door to the wardroom inched open and Monica stepped through the
door, an expectant look on her face.
Nathan watched her expression change into a broad smile, as she looked
at the people in the room, just as if… she knew them.
Nathan
whirled at the sound of a small cry from Janet to see her staring at the child
as the blood drained from her face.
“
“Aunt
Janet!” The child flew into the woman’s
outstretched arms as she spoke the first words Nathan had ever heard from her
lips. Her voice was husky; her words
were slightly slurred but still understandable.
Nathan
stared at the scene, unable to comprehend what was happening as Bill joined the
two females in the embrace.
“Callie? But her name is Monica. I don’t understand.” He finally stammered.
The
child pulled away from Janet’s embrace and came to stand beside Nathan. He reached out and stroked her brown
locks. “You can talk. Why haven’t you said anything before?”
“Nobody
was talking to me. They were all talking
to Monica. I know that’s the name they
gave me but it isn’t mine. I like being
Callie better. That’s the name mama
knows me by.”
“How
do you know Bill and Janet?” He turned
to the couple. “How do you know this
child? Who is she?”
Bill
looked uncomfortable but Janet’s face was suffused with joy as she reached
across the table to grasp Callie’s hand.
“Is it really you, sweetheart? We
thought you died with your mother!”
Nathan’s
brain struggled to process all of the information it was receiving but then the
light came on. “Kristin is really her
mother. Kristin gave birth to her. She just didn’t remember…” He muttered as he
worked though the puzzle.
Kristin’s
last words leapt into his mind, but surely this child was too young…
“Mon…
Callie, how old are you?”
The
child thought hard for a moment before looking at Janet.
“Callie
is nine-years old. She was born seven
months and two weeks after you disappeared.”
Nathan
nodded, his mind quickly doing the math.
The timing was perfect, aligning exactly with the last shore leave he’d
spent with Kristin. He touched the
child’s cheek again.
“See,
I told you I was your papa.”
Callie
smiled and touched his cheek, her raspy voice touching his heart. “I know.
Pictures…”
Nathan
embraced the little girl and she gladly returned his hug this time.
“I’m
surprised you didn’t see the resemblance.”
Nathan pulled back to stare at Callie as Janet continued. “She is a perfect blend of you and
Kristin. Her eyes are the same shape as
yours and your hair used to be that color…”
Once
Janet pointed out these features Nathan was amazed that he hadn’t noticed them
earlier. But then Kristin had told him
that the child wasn’t hers and he knew that she truly believed that was the
case. Once again he resolved to untangle
this mystery that kept growing at every turn.
This thought reminded him that Bill and Janet didn’t know the entire
story but then neither did he.
He
stood and swung his daughter up into his arms.
“There is more to this story but I think that you should see something
first. Come with me.”
Nathan
led them through the corridors towards med bay, debating the merit of telling
them what they were going to see or springing it on them blindly before
deciding on the former. He halted
outside the door of med bay to offer an explanation but was cut off by the
arrival of Lucas and Michael. The boys
exchanged quick hugs with the couple but before anything else could be said
Michael burst through the door, anxious to see his mother.
Bill
and Janet followed him, curious to see the woman who had given birth to
Michael. Although he was behind them
Nathan knew the exact moment when they realized that the female in the bed was
Kristin Westphalen. They both stopped
dead in their tracks and Bill had to move quickly to hold Janet up as she began
to slide toward the floor.
“This
is my mama!” Michael announced proudly as Bill sank to the floor with a dazed
Janet in his arms.
Nathan
moved around them to the side of the bed, a quick glance making sure that Janet
was okay as he did so. He lowered Callie
to the ground then took Kristin’s hand in his own.
“Hey, sweetheart. I missed
you.” He bent over and kissed her
deeply, uncaring of who was watching. “I
brought some company back with me. Bill
and Janet came to see you. Our daughter is
here too. Callie is standing right
beside me and she sure wants to talk to her mama. Won’t you please wake up and talk to our
baby, Kris?”
Nathan
could feel both Lucas and Joshua’s stare at his words but he ignored them. “Talk to your mama, Callie. You too, Michael. I think that she can hear you.”
He
stepped backward to let the children get closer to the bed and listened as
their childish voices spoke out, Michael telling about swimming in the
moonpool, Callie talking about how much she loved ice cream.
Janet
moved to Nathan’s side. “How is this
possible?”
“I
don’t know, Janet. How is it possible
that Callie is alive, that she is here?
How is it possible that my best friends knew that I had a child and
didn’t tell me?”
Janet could hear the hurt in his voice.
“We thought she was gone, Nathan. We were told that both Kristin and Callie were killed in the laboratory explosion. Bill and I thought that it would hurt you too much to tell you. You’d already lost so much. We thought that losing Kristin… we couldn’t add to that pain anymore by telling you about the child you would never meet. I’m sorry.”
“I
had a right to know! What else aren’t
you telling me?” Nathan knew he hit a
nerve when guilty looks passed over both Bill and Janet’s faces. “There is more, isn’t there?”
Bill
answered after a nod from Janet. “We
will tell you everything but not now. Later, when we are alone.”
He inclined his head toward the children. “You said that you had found Michael’s
mother. Are you telling us that Kristin
is that woman? That she and Robert…”
Nathan’s
face turned hard as stone, stopping Bill’s words immediately. “I don’t know exactly what happened but I do
know that someone is using my family to get to me and I’m going to put a stop
to it.”
Nathan
would have continued but he was distracted when a med tech burst through the
door and hurried to Levin’s side.
“Excuse
me…” He left Bill and Janet with the kids and moved to the corner where Levin
and the tech were pouring over papers.
“What is going on? Has there been
some change?”
“The
substance in Dr. Westphalen’s blood has been holding steady but a few hours ago
it fell sharply for a few moments. This
happened again just a few minutes ago and we don’t know why.”
“Does
this mean that she is improving?”
“We
don’t know, sir, but if we can isolate the cause for the drop it may lead us to
a cure.”
“Keep
working on it, Joshua. Please!”
Nathan
slipped back through the small crowd around the bed to stand at Kristin’s
side. He wrapped her hand in his and
bent to her ear.
“Come
on, sweetheart. Those levels dropped for
some reason. I know that you are a fighter. We need for you to come back to us, Callie,
Michael, Lucas and me. We all need
you. Cynthia needs you.” He pressed his lips to hers, opening them
slightly and running his tongue along her mouth in search of any response. He got none.
He
felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Janet next to him. “She didn’t make it this far to lose now,
Nathan. Kristin is going to come back to
us. She’s in there somewhere, fighting
her way back to you and her children.”
Nathan
nodded, unable to speak, fear of losing his love after having just found her
washing over him.
“She
has to come back, Janet. If she
doesn’t…”
A
loud commotion caught their attention and Dr. Levin came rushing to the side of
the bed. “What happened here just a few
minutes ago?”
“Nothing…
everything is just the same. What’s
going on?”
“The
levels dropped again, a bigger decrease.
Something has to be causing it but what?”
“There
hasn’t been any change. I thought maybe,
when I kissed her a few minutes ago…”
“You
kissed her just now… again? I saw you
kiss her before… do you kiss her often?”
“Occasionally…what’s
the big deal? We’ve always had a sort of
connection when we kissed and I just want her to know that I’m here.”
But
Levin was no longer listening. “I need
to check something. I want you to kiss
Doctor Westphalen again, Captain. When I
give the word… kiss her just like you kissed her before.”
Nathan
looked at Levin as if he had lost his mind but he nodded anyway.
“Kids… why don’t you take Secretary and Mrs. Noyce to the moonpool to
see
Levin
waited until the room was empty before he waved at Nathan from the lab doorway
and disappeared. Nathan lowered his head
back to the woman in the bed.
“I
love you, baby.” He whispered before he possessed her mouth with his own. He laved her lips with his tongue to moisten
them, hoping for some kind of response.
His hands slid beneath her neck to angle her head into his, his thumbs
pulling slightly on her chin to part her lips.
Nathan slid his tongue inside, once again using his own saliva to
moisten her dry mouth as his tongue bathed every available nook and
cranny. Still no
response.
Nathan
continued his ministrations, desperate for some sort of response, until he
heard Levin’s voice at the door asking him to stop. He pulled back, with one last swipe of his
tongue and then began an impatient pace.
What
seemed like hours but was really only minutes passed before Dr. Levin came back
into the room, his hands full of papers.
“It’s
you, Captain. You are the cure. Whenever you kissed Kristin the levels went
down, sometimes a little, sometimes drastically but they always went down. This last time the levels dropped incredibly
as long as you were in contact with her.
The second you broke the kiss the decrease stopped.”
“That’s
crazy, Joshua. You mean if I kiss
Kristin long enough she’ll wake up. I
can do that.”
Levin
looked uncomfortable. “That’s what
preliminary results show but…I doubt that kissing alone is going to do it. We need to talk…”
*~*~*~*
Nathan
was exhausted by the time he finally made his way back to his quarters, needing
some time alone to process all of the information he’d been hit with over the
last day. He sank wearily to the side of
the bunk, his head slumping into his hands.
“Oh,
Kris… what am I going to do, sweetheart?”
Nathan’s
sought after peace was interrupted by a knock at the door. He sighed deeply before standing to open the
door. Bill and Janet stood on the other
side.
“Where
are the kids?”
“Lucas
has them in the galley eating dinner.
He’s promised them a movie after that.
We thought it might be a good time for us to talk.”
Nathan
wanted time alone to make the decision facing him but perhaps he needed to know
the whole story. He motioned the couple
in.
“Has
there been any change?” Janet asked as they sat on the two small chairs in the
tiny cabin.
Nathan dropped back to the
bunk. “There is the possibility that
Levin has discovered a way to bring Kristin back but… he’s doing more
tests. Are you ready to tell me
everything? Because I
really need to hear it.”
“We
will tell you what we know… which isn’t that much. We didn’t know that you and Kristin had…
reconnected… neither of you told us.”
“We
were waiting until the tour ended. We
wanted to surprise everyone.”
“When
the boat disappeared…Kristin asked us for information and I told her what I
could because I knew that she still cared for you and for Lucas and the
others.” Bill nodded at Janet to
continue.
“Perhaps
two months after the disappearance, Kristin and I were having lunch. She told me that she had decided to move back
to
“My
last shore leave… about six weeks before we
disappeared… Kristin and I ran into each other, literally, in
“That
isn’t the only thing that blossomed.” Janet replied with a smile. “When Kristin stood up her condition was obvious,
even more pronounced due to her weight loss.
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.”
Bill
picked the story up once again. “Kristin
moved back to
A
flicker of a smile touched Nathan’s lips.
“She told me… the one time she regained consciousness. What happened after the birth?”
“She
went to work for the British government doing research. Between that and being a full-time mommy she
stayed busy but she never stopped missing you.
We visited often. We’d just
landed in
“But
they weren’t… children?” Nathan’s eyes widened as Janet’s words sunk in.
“Children,
Nathan… twins… a girl and a boy.”
“I
have a son? Where is he?”
“That’s
just it. Kristin always kept the
children with her… always. After she
lost you she wouldn’t let them out of her sight. We knew that something was worrying her. She had mentioned that she felt like she was
being followed. That was one of the
reasons for our visit. There was no
reason to think that the kids weren’t with her. Then Cynthia disappeared. We never saw her again… not at the funeral or
the inquiry… it was as if she dropped off the face of the planet.”
“That
isn’t like Cynthia… unless Kristin knew…” Nathan’s mind was racing.
“We
worried about her, all alone in the world and we tried to find her, with no
success. But about a year ago…”
“What? Tell me!”
“We
got a package in the mail the day of Bill’s seventieth birthday party.”
“A letter, a bomb? What?”
Bill
sighed. “You remember how I collect
antique car miniatures? Well, in the
package was a small model of a Cooper Mini.”
Nathan
felt like he was pulling teeth. “And
this is significant how?”
“The
little boy… your son’s name was Cooper.
It’s a stretch of the imagination to connect the two but the package
didn’t have a name or return address on it and Cooper was always fascinated
with Bill’s collection… Nathan? Are you
listening to me?”
But
Nathan had stopped listening upon being told the name of his son. His mind drifted back to his last shore leave
when he’d run into Kristin in
*~*~*~*
“I don’t think this is going to work.”
“It will work, trust
me. Besides this was your idea.”
“It always sounded so cool
when I was a teenager, making out in the back of a Mini. I didn’t know that you had to be a contortionist
to do it.” Nathan peered over the seat,
an incredulous look on his face.
Kristin was perched on the
back seat, her blouse hanging open revealing satiny skin and rosy erect tips on
full firm breasts. She threw her right
leg over the seat next to Nathan’s head.
“Come on, big boy. You can do
it.”
Nathan’s doubts were fading
fast at the view that his love was presenting him, her short red skirt up
around her waist, her knickers having disappeared earlier in the make out
session. He vaulted his body over the
seat and settled between her legs.
Kristin turned her body sideways, lying back on the seat so that Nathan
could stretch out on top of her.
“Now what?” Nathan asked as Kristin’s left leg continually blocked his attempts to
get closer.
“Watch this!” She proclaimed, pushing her leg beside him
and out of the open window. A quick
backwards glance showed Nathan that her right foot was propped against the
steering wheel, leaving her completely open to his gaze and his touch.
“Me
thinks that you’ve done this before, Doctor Westphalen.” Nathan murmured
against the breast he’d begun to feast on.
“I’ll never tell… you’re not
so bad yourself now that you’ve got the hang of it.” Kristin slid her fingers across his bare
chest, the tips playing lightly in his downy chest hair.
“Umm… I think I’m getting a
cramp.”
“I know the perfect way to
work it out.” Kristin grinned as she pulled Nathan’s hips toward her waiting
cradle.”
“No foreplay?” Nathan asked
playfully as his fingers dipped into her wetness.
Kristin arched into
him. “That’s for tonight, darling. This car is too damned small for anything
other than a wham, bam, and thank you ma’am.
Besides I am so turned on right now that I don’t need any
foreplay.” Her fingers attacked the
button and zipper on his jeans. Before
Nathan realized it she’d managed to push the offending garments to his knees.
Nathan sank quickly into her
welcoming body and found that to be true.
“I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
“There’s nothing to make
up. Sometimes quick
and dirty can be fantastic. Now
MOVE!”
Nathan laughed as he ground
his hips into Kristin’s, her moans telling him that she was as turned on as he
was by the entire scenario.
“Harder, Nathan, oh please!”
Kristin begged as her climax began to tease her.
Nathan was straining against
his own release and her words spurred him on.
He planted his feet firmly, one against the side of the car and the
other against the back of the front seat and rocked, slamming himself into
Kristin with so much force that he knew he must be hurting her but she just
begged for more.
A high-pitched keen rose
from Kristin’s throat as she hung on the edge.
Nathan thrust his hands beneath her bottom and shifted her hips,
allowing for a deeper thrust. His lips sank
to hers and his kiss absorbed her long scream as she reached the zenith and
fell.
The squeeze of her muscles
around his arousal pushed Nathan over the peak as well and he felt every inch
of his seed as he expunged it into her welcoming body.
*~*~*~*
“Nathan…what’s
wrong, man? Are you listening?” Nathan shook his head and came back to the
present to find Bill and Janet staring at him intently.
“What’s
wrong?”
“What’s
wrong? You zone out on us and get the
goofiest grin I’ve ever seen on your face and you ask us what’s wrong?”
Nathan
tried to wipe the grin off but found that it was stuck there. “She named him Cooper… I can’t believe that
she did that. It’s very possible that
the twins were conceived in a Cooper Mini… the back seat of a mini.”
“More
information than I needed to know!” Bill announced.
“So
perhaps Callie was at the lab with Kristin but Cooper was with Cynthia. When the lab was destroyed Cynthia took
Cooper and disappeared, probably someplace that they had already set up. Cynthia is still there with my son and has no
idea that her mother and sister are still alive… or that she has another baby
brother.”
“Nathan…
about Michael… Kristin wouldn’t have… She showed absolutely no interest in
anyone else while you were gone. I can’t
believe that she would…”
Nathan
stood and laid a comforting hand on Janet’s shoulder. “I don’t know exactly what Kristin suffered
in that place but it wasn’t good. She
told me what little she could remember… that she was tied down…drugged… forced
to submit… and so was he. Michael’s
conception was a deliberate attempt to hurt me, control the people that I
loved. I know that. Now I have to find out who and why and stop
it.”
“We’ll
help you anyway we can.”
“I
appreciate that and I may have to call on you.
The kids… if Kristin doesn’t wake up soon I may need for you to take
them and keep them safe until I can put an end to this madness.”
“She
will wake up, Nathan. She didn’t fight
for ten years to leave you just when she’s found you.”
Nathan
nodded in agreement, his decision made.
He had to do everything he could to get Kristin back, for her children
but mostly for himself.
“Thank
you for telling me. She’s going to come
back to me. I’m going to make sure of
it. If you’ll excuse me I need to have a
talk with Levin.”
*~*~*~*
Nathan
finished his conversation with Levin then made his way to the galley to enjoy
dessert with his kids while arrangements were being made. Callie was growing more comfortable with him
all the time so he decided to risk a few questions.
“Callie,
would you like to talk about Cooper?” He asked hesitantly, unsure of what his
daughter’s response would be.
Her
face grew still, the smile falling away.
“Cooper is gone.”
“Do
you remember the last time you saw him?
Can you tell me about it? I don’t
want to upset you, sweetheart… I just want to know about him.”
Callie
nodded but there were tears in her eyes as she spoke. “Mama had to go to the
lab to pick up something and then we were all leaving. I was packed so I got to go with her. Cooper had been naughty so he had to stay
with Cynni and finish his packing. We
got to the lab and then… there was a loud noise. I don’t remember much after that. There were some men… they were laughing…
saying I could join the other rats in the kitchen. Mama wasn’t with me anymore and I didn’t see
her for a long time. When I did she was
calling me Monica and she wasn’t acting like Mama anymore.”
“Were
you at the prison?”
Callie
nodded, her eyes filled with fear. “Mama
was in a very nice room and I stayed with the other lady. She told me to call her mama, that she was my
mama now… but she wasn’t so I just didn’t say anything. I’d go with her to visit my real mama
sometimes and after the lady got sick I got to stay with Mama again. Michael was there then… I remember Mama
letting me feel him kicking in her tummy and then he
was born.”
“Do
you remember anyone else there?”
“There
was a man who came to see Mama once while we were there. He ignored us but he was very mean to
Mama. His voice and his eyes were cold.”
“Did
your mother call him by a name?”
“One
time she called him a bastard.” Callie whispered then covered her mouth with
her hands.
“It’s
okay, sweetheart. I don’t want you using
that word but this time it’s okay. I need to know anything that you can remember
about that man or anything else that happened while you and mommy were at the
prison.”
“Who’s Cooper, sir?” Lucas
asked, he and Michael having sat silently through
Callie’s narrative.
“Cooper
is Callie’s twin brother. Bill and Janet
just told me about him. He was supposed
to be in the lab explosion as well but I think that he and Cynthia are in
hiding somewhere. I want you to give the
search for Cynthia as much time as you possibly can.”
“A
twin… you’re family is growing by leaps and bounds, Cap.”
Nathan
grinned. “You can say that again. I’ve gone from one kid to four kids and a
grandson.”
“Four, sir?”
“Robert,
Callie, Cooper and you.”
A
stupid grin crossed Lucas face. “I’ll
find Cyn. I’ll go work on it right now.”
“Actually…
I need for you to do me a favor. Will
you watch the kids again tonight? I’m
going to be working on waking Kristin up.
The answers I need to solve this mystery are locked inside her brain and
Levin thinks he’s figured out how to help her.”
Nathan turned to the kids. “I am
going to get your mama back for you.”
Nathan knew he would never forget the smiles on the faces of the children in front of him. “I’d better go. Levin probably has everything ready. I’m sure that Bill and Janet will be glad to help you if you need it.”
“We’ll
watch a movie or something and then head to bed.”
“I’ll
meet you in the morning for breakfast… hopefully with good news.”
*~*~*~*
Levin pulled the last electrode from Kristin’s body. “Are you sure about this, Captain? There is no guarantee…”
“Do
you think that this is the answer?”
“Yes…
based on previous reaction, I think this is the only answer. None of our synthetic formulas worked but
your kiss drops the levels every time.”
“Then
I’m sure. There are three children out
there that need their mother. But most
of all I need her. You’ve made all of
the arrangements?”
“The
adjoining cabins are empty and the corridor is blocked to all but medical
personnel. If you need me for any reason
just call.”
Nathan
escorted Levin to the door and secured it behind him before returning to his
bunk to stare at the woman lying there.
He reached out and wrapped a strand of auburn fire around his fingers.
“I
love you so much, Kristin. I hope that
you know that… and that you will approve of what I’m about to do. Please fight your way back to me.”
Nathan
stripped his clothes away and climbed into the bunk beside Kristin. He wrapped his arms around her unresponsive
body and lowered his mouth to hers for the first kiss.
*~*~*~*
“What
the hell do you think you are doing?”
Levin’s
eyes popped open to find Captain Oliver Hudson’s face most definitely in his
space. His head jerked back and
encountered the cold steel of the wall he was sitting against. Levin laid a hand lightly on
Once
his space was once again his own, Levin stood up and shook his head into
wakefulness. He glanced at his watch,
surprised to find that almost three hours had passed. He realized that
“…moved
my crew around, disrupted working and sleeping arrangements and for what?”
“We
are trying to cure Doctor Westphalen.”
“And
why couldn’t this be done in med bay?”
“It
just couldn’t, sir. I am going to have
to ask you to respect my medical judgement and my patient’s right to privacy.”
“Damn
it, Levin…”
“I
can assure you, Captain Hudson, that the UEO will
support whatever Dr. Levin deems necessary to help us solve this mystery. We consider it a matter of great importance
to find out exactly who was in charge of that slave compound and Kristin
Westphalen may be the only who can help us.”
Bill Noyce’s voice chimed in.
“As you say, sir.”
“Any news so far?” Janet asked Levin.
The
young man shook his head. “Nothing yet,
but Captain Bridger hasn’t called for me which I am hoping is a good sign.”
At
that very moment a scream rent the air, a definitely feminine outcry. Laughter bubbled to Janet’s lips as she, Bill
and Levin all smiled.
“Was
that Westphalen? My God! He’s hurting her! You have to stop him.”
“He
isn’t hurting her. He’s curing her.”
Another
scream echoed through the empty hall, this one most definitely sensual in
nature.
“That’s
sick! An unresponsive
woman?”
“She
doesn’t sound so unresponsive to me.
Trust me, Captain Hudson; Kristin is enjoying herself and getting cured
in the process. Why don’t you just go to
bed and let them do what they need to do?
Now that I know the Captain’s treatment is working I don’t think any of
us need to stand in the hallway playing voyeur.”
*~*~*~*
Nathan fell back into the pillows exhausted, Kristin quickly moving over him. They shared several long wet kisses before she laid her head against his shoulder.
“Welcome
back, sweetheart.” Nathan whispered, his hand once again stroking her sable
tresses.
“Welcome
back to you as well, my darling. That
was a hell of a homecoming.”
“How
much do you remember about what’s happened?”
“I
remember that you were gone and now you’ve come back to me.” Nathan saw her squint in the dim light. “But I’m not exactly sure where we are…the
seaQuest? And where are the children?”
“They
are fine. Bill and Janet are here and
they have Callie. Lucas is looking after
Michael.”
“Michael? You mean Cooper… don’t you?”
“You
don’t remember Michael... we should call Levin.
He wanted to take blood samples periodically. I don’t think either of us were
expecting such a rapid response.” Nathan
didn’t want to push her so he tried to change the subject.
Kristin
wasn’t buying it. “Who is Michael and
where is Cooper?”
“Kristin,
how old are the twins?”
“They
are… three… almost four… I don’t know.
I’m confused. What’s wrong with
me, Nathan? Where have you been all this
time?”
“Let’s
call Levin and get that sample then we’ll talk about what’s happened.”
Kristin
hit the switch and blinked rapidly at the rush of light. She ignored Nathan’s protests and climbed
over him to cross the room and grab the med kit lying on the desk. Nathan did as he was told and tied the rubber
strap across her arm. He flinched as she
jabbed a needle into her vein. Moments
later a vial of blood was ready to be tested.
“Give
this to Levin to do whatever bloody tests he needs to do then get back in here
and start explaining. First question –
where are my children?”
Nathan
nodded and slipped on his pants. “Will
you get back in the bunk and rest while I’m gone? I promise that once I get back we will
talk. You haven’t been well,
sweetheart.”
“So
that’s why I feel like shit, huh?”
Kristin managed a small smile, which quickly turned into a yawn. “You promise we’ll talk when you get back,
even if you have to wake me up?”
Nathan
gave a nod and then exited into the corridor.
Levin was on his feet and waiting by the time that Nathan reached him.
“She’s
awake.” He said tersely.
“So
we heard. Is she okay?”
“Here
is the sample for you to find out. She
drew it herself. She doesn’t seem to
remember the explosion or anything after that.
She thinks the twins are four years old and she has no clue who Michael is.”
“That
could come with time, sir. She might
still have enough of this agent in her blood to block later memories as well.”
“I’m
not sure that I want her to remember.
What happened to her in that place?
But if she doesn’t remember that then she doesn’t remember Michael and
he will never understand. She’s
expecting me to come back, sit down and tell her what is going on. She knows that something isn’t right, that
she’s confused. What do I do?”
“It
would probably be better for her memory to come back naturally but trying to
persuade her of that will be impossible.”
“You’re
telling me! That woman is the epitome of
stub…”
Both
men jumped at the scream echoing from Nathan’s cabin and took off running. They found a wild-eyed Kristin entangled in
the bunk sheet, screaming as she tried to kick herself loose. Nathan moved to grab her and they both ended
up in a pile on the floor.
“Kristin! Wake up!”
“NO! I know this isn’t real! You can’t fool me again. Don’t touch me!”
Nathan
attempted to reach Kristin but the sound of his voice seemed to enflame her
more. Finally he did the only thing he
could think of. He captured her arms and
pressed her to him, his lips claiming mastery over hers in a forceful kiss.
Levin
couldn’t help but grin as Kristin slowly stopped struggling and melted into
Nathan’s arms, kissing him back passionately.
Suddenly she pulled back and stared at Nathan as if he would disappear
at any moment.
“You
are here!”
“I’m
real and I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.
Who were you fighting, baby? Who
hurt you?”
“Zellar…Zellar
was there. He…I think that he
wanted…tried…I fought him…he drugged me, Nathan…oh, Nathan!”
She
buried her face in his shoulder and burst into tears. Nathan waved Levin from the room. He soothed her gently as he laid her back in
the bunk and straightened the covers before climbing in after her.
Finally
the tears slowed. “I’m so confused. Please tell me what the hell is going on?”
Nathan
knew that she had to be frustrated.
“I’ll tell you what I can but I wasn’t here for most of it.”
“How
long were you gone?”
“Ten
years.”
“Oh,
God… then the twins are nine now… and Michael… Michael
is almost five.”
“So
you do remember Michael?”
Kristin
nodded against his chest, her silent tears warming his skin. “I remember Michael… and I remember who you
believe his father is.”
“You
said that Zellar was trying to hurt you.
Tell me anything that you can remember.
Take it slow… don’t force the memories.
You went to the lab with Callie and it exploded. What is the next thing you remember?”
“I
woke up in a strange place. The decor
was plush but I was still a prisoner. I
thought that Callie was dead, had no idea about Cynthia and Cooper. I could barely function. I remember Zellar being there… and another
man I didn’t know. They talked about
revenge against you as if they knew you were still alive. I don’t know how long I’d been there when
they began drugging me… maybe they were from the beginning. I remember waking up once in a small surgical
suite and knowing that they’d done something… they put a memory control device
in my brain, didn’t they?”
“You
ripped it out a few days ago, just before you fell into a coma.”
“I
knew… it had to come out. Callie… you
know about Callie? She’s here?”
“Ford
brought Bill and Janet out to help me figure out what happened with
Michael. They recognized Callie and she
responded to her real name.” Nathan
paused as a big smile crossed his lips.
“Then she called me papa.”
“The men that Zellar sent
to plant the bomb… they didn’t know what to do with her. I begged them to let her go… I knew that
Cynthia would find her… or Bill and Janet… but they brought her anyway. On the way there, the one in charge decided
that maybe bringing Callie was a mistake.
They dumped her in the kitchens and I’m sure they never told Zellar
about her. He would have used her
against me if he’d known.”
“He
made you forget Callie… and everything else… and then he hurt you.”
Kristin
nodded against Nathan’s chest. “I wish I
could remember more… I remember being pregnant with Michael… giving birth… they
took him away from me then, but formula didn’t agree with him so they gave him
back to me so that I could breast feed him.
I think, perhaps they just wanted me to bond with him even more so that
when they took him away my suffering would be greater.”
“Who
is they? You’ve
mentioned Zellar but you keep saying ‘they’?
I need to know who that other person is.”
“I…
I don’t know. I can’t even dredge up a
description.”
“It’s
okay, honey. What else do you remember?”
“I
sent Michael to you. There were times
that I remembered… some things at least.
I heard your name… that you were back and I knew you would protect
Michael. The men had begun to visit more
often. I didn’t like the way they looked
at my son, the way they talked about him as the means of their revenge. I had to get him away. The women from the kitchen helped me. Once they realized he was gone they put me in
the kitchens as well but I didn’t mind.
At least I was away from them.”
“When
I arrived back and found Michael I didn’t really know what to make of him. Here’s a four-year-old kid with a note saying
he’s my grandson and my only child has been dead for fifteen years. But then the DNA test showed he was
definitely a Bridger so I thought Robert sent him to me, that Robert was
alive. My search for Robert is what took
me to the prison complex.”
“I’m
sorry that you didn’t find Robert there.”
“I
am too, but I found you and I found Callie.
Now I’m going to find Zellar and I’m going to make him pay for what he’s
done to you.”
“I
just want to feel safe again. Could we
stay with you, Nathan? Just for a little
while? I need some time to get my
bearings back.”
Nathan
tightened his arms around her, not really believing that she thought he’d ever
let her go again. “You are safe with me
and you always will be. Why don’t you
try and get some rest now?”
Nathan
heard her muffled okay against his chest.
He stroked her hair as her breathing slowed and she eased off to sleep.
Nathan
wasn’t so lucky. His mind grabbed hold
of the information Kristin had given him and turned it over and over, trying to
make sense of it. What other surprises
did Zellar have planned? Because Nathan was certain that there would be
others. He wondered how many of the
events of the last few days had been scripted by the mad doctor. The other question he searched for the answer
to was who was the second man and what role did he play in this evil game.
Exhaustion
finally won out and Nathan slept deeply for several hours, waking to find
Kristin propped on her elbow staring at him.
“Good
morning.” She whispered when she realized he was awake.
“Unh-uh…”
Nathan slipped a hand behind her neck and drew her head down to his for a deep
kiss. “Now it’s a good morning. I’ve missed so many things over the last ten
years but this is one of the things I’ve missed the most… waking up with you.”
A
tentative smile crossed Kristin’s lips and Nathan realized that she was still
very nervous.
“Come
here.” He pulled her back to his side
and she snuggled in, fitting perfectly against the lean contours of his
body. Nathan was glad to feel Kristin’s
tight muscles begin to relax as he lightly stroked her back.
“You
know we are going to be invaded very soon, don’t you? Levin will be wanting
more blood samples and I know three kids that want desperately to see you, not
to mention Bill and Janet.”
“Three?”
“Michael, Callie and Lucas.”
“Surely
Lucas would resent being called a child.
He is twenty-seven years old now…”
“Um…
there are some things that I need to explain to you about the ten years that we
were gone…”
Kristin
listened in amazement as Nathan explained what he could about the last ten
years…how none of his crew had aged and that Lucas still appeared to be
seventeen.
“So
physiologically we are now about the same age?
I can no longer make any old man cracks?”
Nathan
pulled a face. “Smart ass! You don’t look a day older than you did when
I left.”
“Liar! This gray in my hair and the
lines on my face tell a different story.
Nathan, I need something to wear.
I don’t have any clothes.”
“You
used to steal mine…How about I lend you a shirt until we can scrounge something
else up. I think I’ve got a pair of
shorts and a belt that we could modify for you.
Buying you and Callie some new clothes will be our first order of
business once we get back to land.”
“What
about Callie? What is she wearing now?”
“Some
of the female crew have been dressing her in a tee
shirt maxi-dress motif. She has also
developed an addiction to ice cream.”
“She
always did love it… before…I’ve lost so much with her… with all of my
children.”
“We’ve
both got a lot of catching up to do.
Kristin, do you know where Cynthia and Cooper might be? They haven’t been seen since the explosion.”
Kristin’s
brow wrinkled, deep in thought. “I
should know… I can almost… but then it goes away.”
“Don’t
worry, sweetheart. We’ll find them. We will put our family back together.”
A
knock at the door broke his words.
“That
would be anxious little ones. Just a minute.” Nathan called out. He slid from the bed and tossed Kristin his
blue button up shirt, pulled his pants up then made sure that she had covered
herself completely before opening the door.
The
doorway was surrounded – Michael, Callie, Lucas, Bill and Janet all waiting
eagerly for news. Nathan smiled and
waved them in the door.
The
children immediately made a beeline for their mother, Lucas and Janet close
behind. Bill held Nathan back.
“Was
she able to remember anything?”
Nathan
nodded. “Zellar… why didn’t you tell me
he’d escaped?”
Bill
looked stunned. “Zellar did try to
escape… six years ago. He was killed in
the attempt.”
Nathan
shook his head, his eyes focused on the loving reunion taking place over at the
bunk. “Kristin saw him in that prison as
recently as a few months ago. Somehow he
faked his death. And there is someone
else involved, a man that she didn’t recognize.
I thought about this all last night.
Zellar knows by now that we’ve taken over the facility. He’ll guess that we’ve got Kristin. He won’t know that we guessed how to cure his
little concoction and that her memory is returning.”
“But
what do you do now?”
“Wait…
but it won’t be long. I suspect that
I’ll hear from Zellar within the next twenty-four hours. I think that a great deal of what has
happened over the last few months was scripted by him. Kristin thinks that she sent Michael away but
I’m guessing that was all a part of his plan.
How else would Michael end up with a note directing him toward me, a
note saying that I was his grandfather?
He is playing a game with me and he thinks he holds all the cards… but
I’m about to change the rules. This game
is coming to an end. There are a few
plans I’d like to make, some groundwork to lay but then I’m going to spend the
day with my family.”
“I’ll
help you anyway I can, Nathan, and I’ll make sure that
Nathan
smiled his thanks and then turned toward the bunk. “Make room for papa!”
Janet
moved over to one of the two chairs that Bill pulled up to the bed and Lucas
slid to the end of the bunk. The
children squealed as Nathan playfully climbed over them and Kristin and slid
into the bunk behind her, sitting up and pulling all of them into his lap.
“So…who
wants to go to the galley and get mama something to eat?”
Both
children quickly volunteered along with Lucas and they scampered out the door,
almost knocking Joshua Levin down on the way out the door.
“You’re
looking much better this morning!” Levin was genuinely surprised at how well
Kristin looked.
“I’m
feeling much better. So I guess you want
some more of my blood?”
“Just
a tad bit if you don’t mind. The last
results were excellent. Your blood
levels have dropped over sixty percent.
I’m hoping that they will have continued to decrease.”
Kristin
glanced down, a slight blush on her cheeks.
“Perhaps it will have done. Go
ahead, do your vampire bit.”
Levin
deftly drew the blood then took her vital signs. “You need to stay in bed. Get plenty of rest and eat something
nutritious. I don’t want too many
visitors wearing you out.”
“The
kids will be back with breakfast soon and once we eat I’ll get them out.”
Nathan promised.
“Maybe
Janet could watch them this morning while I make some calls and have a talk
with Captain Hudson.” Bill offered.
“I’ll
be glad…” Janet started but was interrupted by the entrance of the children.
The
adults burst into laughter at the sight of Lucas and the younger children, each
with a tray laden with food.
“We
didn’t know what mama would want so we brought some of everything!” Michael
announced.
Nathan
held the trays while Michael and Callie climbed back into the bed then settled
in beside them with the trays spread out between them.
“Grampa? How come Mon… I mean Callie
calls you papa and I call you Grampa?” Michael asked between bites of a banana.
“Uh…
I’m… uh…” Nathan stuttered, not sure of how to answer this question.
Kristin
wrapped her arms around her son. “Callie
calls Nathan papa because she’s older than you and she only knew him from
pictures and my stories. When you went
to live with Nathan on his island you got to know him for real and decided to
call him Grampa. One day you are going
to meet another little boy who will call Nathan papa, your brother,
Cooper. And you will also meet your
sister, Cynthia. She calls Nathan…
Nathan.”
Michael
shook his head. “I don’t
understand. How come I never met them
before?”
“Because
they live far away from here but they will love you. I know all of this is a little confusing but
as you get older it will make more sense.
All that you need to remember right now is that both Nathan and I love
you and Callie very much.”
“Are
you gonna come to the island to live with us?”
That
question gave Kristin pause. “You’re…
Nathan and I haven’t really talked about that yet but no matter where we end up
both of us will always be there for you, I promise.”
Michael
seemed satisfied by that answer but Nathan noticed that Callie looked a little
puzzled. “Once we get through here
Captain Hudson is going to take us to the island. Your mom and I will decide what to do from
there.”
“I
don’t want you to go away again, papa.”
Nathan
swooped across the bed to embrace his daughter.
“I’m never going to go away from you again, Callie girl. I promise you that.”
Both
children seemed to be happy with their parents’ answers and went back to their
breakfast. The adults, however, seemed
more nervous around each other than they had earlier. Janet motioned Nathan across the room.
“What’s
going on between the two of you? I don’t
mean… that… I know what happened last night.
But you seem so tense.”
“We’ve
just got to get comfortable with each other once again. Last night wasn’t exactly what you would call
romantic… I can’t even begin to imagine what they might have done to her in
there… she might not want me or any man anywhere near her.”
“Can
you accept that possibility? Don’t give
your children false hope. You and
Kristin need to decide if you want to be together before they come to expect
it. And don’t do it for the
children. Is it the right thing for the
two of you?”
“It’s
the right thing for me, Janet. I didn’t
realize how alive she makes me feel until I found her again. There is no way in hell that I’m going to let
her go but I don’t want to scare her away either.”
“The
kids are through eating. Why don’t I
take them away for a while? You and
Kristin sit down and have a long talk. I’ll bring them back with lunch.”
This
time Levin almost ran the children down as they once again met in the
doorway. He nodded in approval as the
group continued out, leaving him alone with Nathan and Kristin.
“I’m
glad you listened to me. You do need to
rest.”
“I’ve
been in bed for three days, Joshua.”
“Being
in a coma doesn’t count as rest! Now are
you going to follow my orders or do I have to readmit you to med bay?”
Kristin
sunk into the bed. “You don’t know how
badly I wish at this moment that I was still your boss! I’m not going anywhere. Now, what did the last test show?”
Levin
shrugged. “The levels haven’t gone down
anymore but they haven’t increased either.
I’d like to see them disappear completely since we don’t know what
effect they are having on your body or your memory.”
“I’d
like that as well but… never mind. What
other tests do you want?”
Levin
named a list of tests whose names sent Nathan’s head spinning. “Isn’t that a lot?” He asked but Kristin’s
look quickly quelled him. Her medical
knowledge was obviously back in force.
“I’ll
bring Kristin to med bay this afternoon, I promise.” Nathan answered, desperate
to get rid of Levin.
The
young man finally left and Nathan secured the door firmly behind him. Kristin lay quietly in the bed and watched as
Nathan wandered around the room, casually brushing imaginary dust to the
floor.
Nathan
circled the small room twice before he finally dropped down on the side of the
bunk to stare at Kristin. “So…”
“So? I’m sorry about Callie, about both of
them. Once we get settled they will come
to understand the situation better…”
“There
is no situation, Kristin. Unless you can
really convince me that you don’t love me anymore, and that can’t be done, we
stay together. If you don’t want to be
on my island then I’ll go wherever you are.
Don’t leave me, Kristin. You’re
the other half of my soul.”
Tears
came to her eyes. “You can’t still want
me after…”
Nathan
slid up the bunk until he could embrace her.
“I don’t know what happened to you in that hellhole but it doesn’t
matter to me. I love you, Kristin. I want us to be together in whatever way that
you can handle. I want the kids, all of
us together, but most of all I want you.”
Kristin
pushed up on her knees and pressed herself more fully into Nathan’s body. “I love you, Nathan. I never stopped; even when I didn’t know
myself, somewhere… deep down… you were still there in my heart. I don’t give a damn where we are as long as
you want me.”
Nathan’s
hand moved to caress Kristin’s cheek.
“Forever is a far as I’ll go, my love.”
Their
lips met in a tender kiss, a kiss of reaffirmation of a love that had stood the
test of time and distance. The kiss
continued in the same vein for several minutes, gentle and loving, seeking and
healing.
When
their lips finally parted they settled back into the bunk together.
“So
what would you like to do today?”
“Figure
out this entire mess, kick Zellar’s ass, have you kiss me senseless then sleep
for a week!”
Nathan
laughed. “I’m working on the first and
second parts. As for kissing you
senseless, I’m always up for that. I
think that maybe we need to work on getting your blood levels lower but… I
don’t think…”
Kristin
laid her fingers lightly over his mouth to shush him. “I agree.
I don’t know why but… that… doesn’t feel right… not yet… but perhaps…
I’d love to have a shower but I don’t know if I’m strong enough to stand up
that long. Would you help me?”
“It
would be my pleasure.”
*~*~*~*
Nathan
staggered through the door of med bay and lurched toward the bed, Kristin
giggling hysterically as Nathan moaned and groaned. He barely made it to the bed before dropping
her to the mattress and grabbing his back.
“Damn,
woman. You must weigh a ton!” He told her playfully, both of them painfully
aware that she had in fact lost too much weight.
Kristin
stuck her tongue out at him and he pounced on her, tickling her almost
senseless then finishing the job with his kisses.
“Umm…
I’m glad to see you are feeling better?” Levin asked, unsure of how to take the
couple’s playful antics.
Kristin’s
head popped up over Nathan’s shoulder before she reluctantly pushed him
away. “I am feeling much better. I’ve had an excellent nap.”
“And
don’t forget a fantastic shower…” Nathan interjected.
Levin
noted the rosy flush that rose into Kristin’s cheeks but didn’t comment. “Why don’t I draw a blood sample then we can
work on those other tests?”
“I’m
beginning to know how a pin cushion feels.” Kristin complained as the needle
slid into her arm.
“Excuse
me, Miss it-will-only-hurt-a-minute!
Make a note of this, Joshua. The
great Doctor Westphalen is complaining about a needle.” Nathan teased.
“I
am not complaining. I’m just not used to
having my blood sucked out every two or three hours! Why don’t you go play with the kids?” A sulky
pout graced Kristin’s lips, tempered slightly by the unturned corners.
“We
are meeting them in the galley for ice cream just as soon as we get through
here. How long is this going to take?”
“About
thirty minutes give or take.” Levin supplied.
“I’ll
just go call and set up the meeting time while you two do whatever it is you
need to do.”
Nathan
slipped into Levin’s office and made a quick call to Janet and then had Tim get
him an outside link to make a few more calls.
Before he realized it Levin was coming to get him, the testing
done. Nathan talked with him privately
for a few minutes before they returned to join Kristin.
“Did
Levin give you the good news?” Kristin beamed at him.
Nathan
turned to the doctor. “What good news?”
“It
seems that there is no longer any trace of Zellar’s damned substance left in my
bloodstream.”
Nathan’s
grin broke ear to ear to match Kristin’s blushing smile. She winked at him. “I told you it would work.”
Nathan
glanced at Levin but the doctor had turned his back to the couple, busying
himself at the counter. He planted a
quick but firm kiss on her upturned lips.
“So, Mama, you want to go get some ice cream?”
“You
bet, Papa.”
*~*~*~*
Nathan
stared into the darkness, flexing his arm slightly beneath the woman sleeping
at his side. Kristin pushed her body
deeper into the warmth of his arms but slept on. Nathan wanted to sleep but couldn’t. Every nerve in his body was buzzing and he
knew that something was about to happen.
That’s why he’d left the kids with Bill and Janet. He didn’t want them around when the showdown
began.
A
light chirp above his head signaled the beginning. Nathan stabbed the button.
“Yes,
Mr. O’Neill.”
“The
call you’ve been expecting, sir. He says
I have twenty seconds to get you or he’s gone.”
“Put
it through.”
Nathan
quickly sat up as the small vid screen on the desk flickered to life. At the last second he grabbed the edge of the
sheet and yanked it to the top of the bed, effectively obscuring the woman
within. He toggled the controls until
the screen narrowed in on his face alone.
“Seventeen…
Eight… Excellent, Captain. Two seconds to spare.” Nathan suppressed an involuntary shiver as
the countenance of Dr. Ruben Zellar filled the screen. He peered at Nathan with interest. “You don’t look well, Captain. Have some problems sleeping? That’s understandable since your life turned
a little upside down. Finding the lovely
doctor, discovering her intimacy with your son, losing her to that damned pesky
little coma I planned. You must not know
which way to turn. There is a way to
wake her up, you know.”
“What
do you want, Zellar? Fight your battles
with me, not my family.”
“Does
that mean that you don’t want to know how to wake up your woman? And as you well know I have plenty of reason
to fight a battle with her as well, the meddlesome bitch.”
“I
repeat, what do you want?” Nathan felt the subtle movement behind him and
carefully shifted a hand back to press Kristin into the mattress. She understood and quickly stilled.
“I
want a meeting, Bridger, face to face.
If you want to know how to wake up your lover then you’ll agree. Not that you’re man enough to do what it will
take…I might even give you information about your son.”
“And
if I don’t agree?”
“Then
the toxin in Doctor Westphalen’s system will begin to spike in about
twenty-four hours. Forty-eight hours
after that she will be dead.”
“Name
the time and place.”
“You
won’t have to travel far. Tomorrow
morning come to the surface alone in a launch.
From there you’ll be given directions to a house on the mainland. I fully expect the launch to be wired but let
me warn you… if anyone else comes with you, or attempts to enter my home, they
will trigger a bio defense system the likes of which this planet has never
seen.”
“So
I walk in and get zapped. How stupid do
you think I am?”
“Your DNA profile has been
entered into the security system to allow you to enter safely, but only
yours. Any thought of bringing a UEO
military contingent would result in their immediate and horrible deaths. I’ll expect you on the surface at 9 am…
sharp.”
“Wait…”
Nathan tried to stop Zellar but the screen went black.
“I’m
going with you.” Kristin threw the sheet off and popped up beside him.
“No
way in hell, lady. You stay here.”
“You
can’t tell me what to do. I’ve been that
bastard’s victim long enough. I want to
confront him.”
Nathan
sighed and mustered his ammunition. “If
you try to go with me you might get hurt.
He said only me. We’ve got three
children out there who need their mother.”
“They
need their father… they need you too.”
“I’m
not arguing with that and I intend to come back to them. But on the off chance that something goes
wrong they need at least one of their parents alive. They need you.”
“And
I need you, Nathan. How could I ever go
on if something happened to you?” A tear
formed in the corner of her eye but she batted it away defensively. “Don’t go!
Why should you? I’m awake and the
toxin is gone. We know where he is. Send the UEO in. They can blast the place into rubble without
any danger.”
“What
if he knows something about Robert? I’m
sorry, Kristin, but I have to try to find my son. I have to find both of my sons. Just like I would have moved heaven and earth
to get to you and Callie if I’d known…”
Kristin
nodded. “I don’t want you to go but I
understand why you feel that you have to…” She lay back in the bunk, her back
to Nathan, and yawned elaborately.
“You’d better get some sleep as well.”
Nathan
settled in beside her and spooned his body around hers; pulling her close in
his embrace even though he felt the stiffness in her body. His eyes fluttered closed and he was almost
asleep when he felt the slight movement of her shoulders and realized that she
was sobbing into the pillow. Nathan
pulled her even closer to him and held her, trying to comfort her as she cried
herself to sleep.
*~*~*~*
Nathan
pondered the long stretch of stairs in front of him and then began to climb
slowly, his mind drifting back over the morning’s events. Kristin’s anger at his departure was barely
veiled in front of the children and both kids cried when he’d left, even though
he’d reassured them that he would be back soon.
He’d forgotten that feeling, the ache in the pit of your stomach when
you have to leave someone that you love, someone who was crying for you. He’d gone back twice to hug both kids. The second time he’d pulled Kristin into his
arms as well.
“I
will be back!” He whispered emphatically before blistering her lips with his
own. She’d responded in kind, clinging
to him for long moments, both of them uncaring about the crowd gathered around
them.
“You’d
better be and soon!” Kristin replied as he reluctantly broke away from her and
moved back to the launch. He’d stopped
in the doorway and given a wave to his family, burning the image into his
brain.
This
was the image he clung to as he climbed to meet his nemesis. He caught his breath and pushed on the front
door of the cliffside villa. It swung
open with a small squeak.
“Welcome,
Captain Bridger!” Nathan jumped at the sound of Zellar’s voice issuing from a
small microphone by the entrance. “I am
glad to see that you followed my instructions.
Proceed into the house and up the stairs in front of you. When you get to the top turn left and walk
down to the room at the end of the hallway.”
Nathan
walked slowly but confidently through the house, his eyes scanning the walls
and doors, taking in every detail he could.
When he reached the end of the second floor corridor he was confronted
by closed double doors. He pushed them
down the center and they both swung open.
The
room in front of him was large with high ceilings. The center was clear but every inch of wall
space was crammed with laboratory equipment.
A large metal track bisected the room in the center both on floor and
ceiling.
Zellar
sat in a chair opposite the doors watching Nathan with an amused grin on his
face.
“So
glad you could join me. Won’t you have a
seat?” Zellar gestured to a chair near him.
“I’d
prefer to stand. Let’s get this over
with. What is your price?”
“My price, Captain? Whatever for?”
“Your price for Kristin Westphalen’s life. Your price for information
on my son. Don’t try to play with
my mind, Zellar. It won’t work.”
“Captain…
you’d deny me any joy out of the encounter!
What about my wants? Surely you
didn’t think I’d just volunteer this information!”
“I
repeat… What is your price?”
“Oh
very well… my price is safe passage out of here to a destination of my
choosing. We knew your little UEO raid
was coming, had been expecting it, but not for a few more weeks. My escape plans hit a snag and unfortunately
I ended up trapped here. So I get a
pilot and a helicopter with no tracking equipment. If I’m not followed I’ll let the pilot go
when I arrive at my first destination.”
Nathan
barked a tiny laugh, knowing that they would never see that pilot again. “You think the UEO is just going to let you
fly away from here?”
“They
will if you persuade them too. I will
tell you how to awaken your sleeping beauty as a show of good faith. Once I’m safely hidden away I’ll send word to
you about the whereabouts of your son.”
“What
sort of guarantee do I have that you will keep your word?”
“None,
Captain… none at all. Tell me, how does
it feel, knowing that I’ve had the woman you love, that she’s screamed my name
with passion?”
Nathan
saw red at Zellar’s words but tapped his anger down. He wouldn’t satisfy Zellar with the response
he expected.
“In
the first place you haven’t had Kristin.
You may have taken her body by force but you never touched her
soul. In the second place I doubt you
could have… risen to the occasion.” Nathan sneered as he spoke.
He knew he’d succeeded in
making Zellar angry when the man jumped from the chair. “Shall I tell you how she screamed with
pleasure? Describe the way her body
twisted beneath mine as she came for me?
As I filled her? Emptied myself inside her?”
“You
can do anything you want. That doesn’t
mean that I’ll believe you or that I’ll even care. I know that Kristin would never have gone to
you willingly. We already know that you
drugged her, that you practiced mind control.
If she reacted as you say why didn’t you keep her here instead of
putting her in the kitchen? If you had
really had Kristin Westphalen there is no way that you would ever have let her
go.”
Zellar’s
hand clenched into a fist and he reached to the lab station at his side. His fingers came up with a vial of innocuous
looking liquid and he slowly advanced on Nathan. “Making me mad isn’t a very wise thing to do
at this stage of the game, Captain.”
“And
making me mad wasn’t particularly wise either, Zellar.” Both men were shocked to see Kristin advance
into the room, a tazer held tightly in both of her hands. “Now put the vial down.”
Zellar
reached carefully behind him and laid the vial back in its holder, a smug smile
on his face. “So you did discover the
cure, Captain. Frankly, I didn’t think
you could do what it took, making love to an unresponsive woman… what kind of
man does that make you?”
“We
got your little toy out of my brain before I received the full dose. I didn’t stay unresponsive very long. What a sick little joke…
making the antitoxin Nathan’s DNA.”
“I
thought it was quite brilliant. After
all the only man who could cure you was supposed to be
dead. Why aren’t you dead, Captain?”
Nathan
had moved to Kristin’s side. “How did
you get here?” he whispered.
“The
house is connected with the undersea prison, a tunnel through the cliff
face. This is where Zellar kept me when
he first brought me here and I came back a few times with the kitchen
help. The servants are free to come and
go so my presence doesn’t trigger his damned device.”
Kristin
popped the gun a little higher as she noticed Zellar make a move toward them.
“You
are going to tell Nathan everything he needs to know and then you are going to
deactivate your little security device.” Kristin took a step closer, resolve
plastered across her features.
“And
if I don’t?” Zellar asked, that maddeningly
smug look still present.
“Then
I will kill you.”
Zellar
laughed. “You couldn’t kill me the last
time. Why should I believe that you
could go through with it now?”
Nathan
was taken aback for a moment by the evil glint in Kristin’s smile. “I loved my brother deeply and for a moment I
actually thought that I might kill you to avenge his death… but I couldn’t do
it. But that was my brother. Now you’ve decided to mess with my children
and that I absolutely will not tolerate.”
“You
should know better than to threaten a woman’s children, Zellar. It brings out the mother lioness in them.”
Nathan added to Kristin’s threat.
“If
you kill me you will never find out the answers to your questions about Robert
Bridger.”
“It
might take us a little longer but we’ll find the answers. Someday Robert will resurface and we will
never stop looking for him.”
“Ah… but there might be some new questions by then. In fact, you’re already facing another
dilemma that you don’t even know about.”
“But
I’m sure that you are going to enlighten us, aren’t you?” Nathan asked sarcastically.
“I
don’t have to say a word. The evidence
will be obvious in a few months, irrefutable in nine.”
Kristin
blanched slightly at his words but held the gun steady. “It won’t work, Zellar. I’m on the downward slide to sixty. There are no more babies in my future.”
Zellar grinned like a
Cheshire cat. “Perhaps if we were
talking about a normal conception but this one would have had a little
help. Admittedly it wasn’t easy; the boy
was hard enough. Planning this
conception took all my skills but it was an inspired idea if I do say so
myself.”
“What
exactly did you do?”
Zellar
settled his body back into the chair. “I
don’t guess that it will hurt to tell you.
After all, it’s too late to do anything about it.”
“Talk,
direct and to the point, NOW!” Kristin aimed the tazer directly at Zellar’s
head.
“Kill
me, Doctor. What’s done can’t be
changed. I did a little bioengineering
with your luscious body. If Captain
Bridger discovered how to cure you, as he obviously did, there would be
repercussions. Two specially engineered
eggs were left in stasis within your reproductive system. When Captain Bridger performed his manly duty
to wake you up they were both released.
One or both of them guaranteed to be fertilized.”
“You bastard.” Kristin whispered beneath her breath.
Nathan reached a hand to her waist to steady her.
“What
did you do to the eggs?”
“One
of them is normal. If it was the chosen
one you will have a perfectly normal child.”
“And the other?” Nathan asked, his voice bitter.
“The
other will be a monster of your own making, an abomination from the moment of
its birth.”
“Then
I’ll abort the child.”
“Oh,
you could… but it couldn’t really be that simple… could it? If the child dies, you die. Oh, come now, doctor. Surely you won’t mind bearing your lover
another child. Even numbers are so much
nicer don’t you think.”
The
smug smile on Zellar’s face faded as both Nathan and Kristin began to giggle.
“I
knew…” she gasped through the laughter.
“Somehow
I did too.” Nathan replied.
“You
are happy about this? I don’t
understand!”
“Then
let me enlighten you.” Nathan replied as he fought to bring his laughter back
under control. “Your little cure just
didn’t feel right so I took a few liberties, changed a few things so to speak.”
“You
couldn’t have. A simple kiss wouldn’t
have done the trick. A tremendous amount
of your DNA would have to be absorbed into the doctor’s system to trigger a
reduction. There isn’t enough surface
area in the human mouth.”
“I
never said that I kissed her mouth.
You’d be amazed at the amount of saliva a human mouth can produce given
the right inspiration.” Zellar’s mouth
fell open as he realized what Nathan was saying. It fell even further as Nathan
continued. “And once she was awake we
had even more surface areas to work with.”
“You
mean… she gave you a… you went down…”
“Yep…
that means there was no possibility of conception. And now that you’ve spilled the beans we will
make sure that it doesn’t happen.”
Zellar’s
face fell.
“It
appears that you no longer have the upper hand, Zellar.” Kristin’s voice
dripped ice. “Would you like to provide
us with information about Nathan’s son?
Or are those just empty words as well?”
“You
know they aren’t. The boy is proof of
that. We couldn’t discover what you had
done with him initially but somehow you arranged to send him to Bridger, didn’t
you? We were able to modify our plans,
plant the note about Michael being his grandson. The boy is on that sub right now, isn’t he?”
“Michael’s
whereabouts are no business of yours.
What about Robert?”
“I
sent him away. His role in our little
farce was done so he was of no more use to me.
Another of your old friends was anxious to have control of your flesh
and blood so I passed him on.”
“Who? Tell me a name.”
“Surely
you can figure that out yourself, Captain.
Let’s just say an eye for an eye…” Zellar threw his body sideways toward
the lab station, the chair he was sitting on toppling beneath him. He misjudged
the distance and glassware shattered around him as the station collapsed
beneath his weight.
“Run!”
Nathan pushed Kristin toward the door and quickly followed her. A hazy cloud began to drift from broken
glassware on the station as Zellar crawled along the floor trying to follow
them. Kristin stopped at the doorway and
began to claw at a small locked cabinet by the door.
“We’ve
got to get away!” Nathan tried to drag her from the room but she resisted.
“If
that cloud escapes into the atmosphere thousands will die. We have to stop it! Help me break the lock!”
Nathan
grabbed the tazer from the floor where Kristin had dropped it and took careful
aim at the lock. A quick blast issued
forth and the clasp fell to the floor.
Kristin flung the door open and hit a switch inside. Large glass doors slid from the wall with a
groan and began to move slowly across the tracks in the middle of the room,
effectively sealing the toxin within.
Zellar
crawled like mad toward the rapidly closing gap and Nathan moved forward to
help him but Kristin grabbed his waist and held him back.
“You
can’t do anything, Nathan. He’s already
dead…killed by his own evil concoction.”
A
single glance showed Nathan that her words were true. Zellar’s last potion was particularly deadly
as evidenced by the skin slowly curling away from the mad doctor’s flesh. Screams echoed through the room as the venom
ate its way into Zellar’s vital organs.
His
deep blue eyes drifted back to the haze hanging at the top of the room, most of
it behind the glass but a small amount creeping toward them. “What about that?”
Kristin
hit another button and the cloud began to flow toward an opening in the
ceiling. “It’s an exhaust fan. The filter system can handle that small
amount but we should get out of here.
Jonathan has a team standing by on the elevator from the prison. We can go back that way.”
Nathan
nodded and followed her back through the maze of corridors, his hand gripping
hers tightly as they ran from the nightmare behind them.
*~*~*~*
Half
of the sub must have been waiting in the launch bay for their arrival. A cheer went up when they exited the docking
ring but Nathan and Kristin only had eyes for the little boy and girl who ran
at them. Michael attacked Kristin’s knees
while Callie threw her arms around Nathan’s waist and began to sob.
Nathan
thanked the surrounding crew and moved his family through the crowd. The Noyce’s and Lucas trailed behind as med
bay came into view. Levin greeted them
at the door.
Nathan
quickly told him what had happened and he agreed that the Captain and the
Doctor needed to be examined for any traces of Zellar’s last toxin. The children refused to let their parents out
of their sight so Janet and Bill kept them occupied in the corner of the room
while Joshua performed his tests.
Nathan
joined the small group as Levin led Kristin into a side room for a bit more
privacy to continue her exam.
“What
the hell happened over there, Nathan?” Bill asked, his
voice tense.
“Zellar
is gone, killed by his own hand although not intentionally. Why in the hell didn’t you keep Kristin here
with you like I asked?”
“Have
you ever tried to stop that woman when she has her mind made up? It wasn’t a pretty sight. I even went so far as to threaten to have her
locked up. She told me if I did she
would emasculate me!”
“That’s
a very nice way of putting it!” Janet slipped in.
Nathan
could suppress the grin that slipped onto his face as an image of Kristin
making that declaration leapt into his mind. “She can be a handful.”
“A handful? I know you love the woman,
Nathan but she’s crazy! Well… crazy
about you. She made Janet and I promise
to take the children if anything happened.
And she was so good explaining to them why she had to leave for a little
while. Did something else happen? Why is Levin doing extra tests on Kristin?”
“Let’s
just say that Zellar’s little mind control device wasn’t the only booby trap he
planted in Kristin’s body. Callie…” The
child came to her father immediately when he called for her. “I want to ask you something about when you
and mommy first came to the prison. You
said that you visited mommy in a nice room.
Do you remember?”
Callie
nodded, her pale face clearly unhappy at having to recall that time.
“You
told me that you remember a man coming to see mommy. Would you recognize him if
I showed you a picture?”
“I…
I think so.”
Nathan
had a quick word with Lucas then led Callie over to the vid screen. Lucas’ fingers danced over the controls and a
picture of Zellar popped up on the screen.
“Is
that the man, sweetheart?”
Nathan
felt the shudder as it ran through his daughter’s small frame but was surprised
when she shook her head. “That man was
there a lot but mama just ignored him.
One time he tried to touch her and she hit him.”
Nathan
reeled off a list of names to Lucas and Bill, who had joined them, threw in a
few more. Pictures of men like Leslie
Farina and Milos Tezlof elicited no reaction from Callie. Nathan was beginning to run out of names when
Callie finally spoke.
“That
man…he’s the one that mama called the bad name.”
The
pieces of the puzzle fell into place for Nathan. He and Bill exchanged a knowing look but were
interrupted by Levin’s return.
Nathan
joined the doctor at the side of the room away from the children. “Kristin is okay, right?”
Levin
nodded. “We’ve completed the tests based
on what Dr. Westphalen told me and found what we were looking for. Kristin insisted that we go ahead and deal
with the problem so I’ve performed two separate procedures on her.”
“What
kind of procedures? Why didn’t she talk
to me first?” Nathan started toward the
door but Joshua stopped him.
“She’s
sleeping. Basically we performed a tubal
ligation so that there is no possibility of conception. The egg is blocked from the uterus so
fertilization can’t occur. We also
irradiated her ovaries which should kill any ova that might be left in her
system.”
“That
sounds major. How long will it take her
to recover?”
“I’d
like for her to stay here for the rest of the afternoon. I gave her a mild anesthetic that she needs
to sleep off but she should be fine by this evening. I know they sound scary but both procedures
are relatively minor in this day and time.”
“I
want to see her.”
Levin
nodded and gestured toward the door.
As
Nathan stood in the entryway he decided that he was tired of seeing Kristin
lying in a hospital bed. He moved to her
side and stroked her hair gently. “Soon,
Baby, this will all be over soon.”
Kristin’s
eyes flickered open but Nathan could tell she wasn’t completely coherent.
“Love
you so much…” She whispered before drifting back into peaceful darkness.
Nathan
stole one last caress before he rejoined the group in the main room.
“Papa,
is Mama sick again?” Callie asked with a trembling voice.
Nathan
squatted on his knees until he was eye-level with his daughter. “Mama is just tired after our adventure this
morning and needs to rest a while.
She’ll be awake in time to have supper with us and tuck you into
bed. Why don’t we go get something to
eat and let Mama rest? ”
“So
what’s our next move?” Bill asked as they followed Janet and the kids down the
hallway.
“I
don’t really know. My first impulse is
to go after the bastard but I can’t do that until I know that Kristin is okay
and that she and the kids are safe.
Perhaps it’s time that we went home.”
“Back to the island? You’d be
very vulnerable there, Nathan, if he decided to come after you.”
“I
don’t think that physical force is what he’s after. This is more of a mind game, at least at the
moment. I suspect that since my return
the plan may have changed but the ultimate goal is to hurt me by using those I
love. He knows we are here. He was probably monitoring Zellar’s
conversation with me and with Kristin. I
don’t really know what to do. We want to
find Cynthia and Cooper but how can I risk them as well? Maybe I should go home by myself and
wait. Kristin and the kids could go with
you.”
Bill
snorted. “Yeah, right, like she’s ever
gonna agree to that.”
“I
won’t give her a choice. I’ll go
now. If you will authorize a launch I
can be back at my island before night fall.”
“And
leave me here to tell her what you’ve done?
I don’t think so! I happen to
like my balls right where they are.”
“It’s
the best way, Bill.”
“No,
Nathan, it isn’t. Don’t run out on
her. You’ve just found each other after
ten years. Trust her enough to talk to
her.”
Nathan
sighed; knowing his friend was right but desperately wanting to protect his
family.
“Do
you realize that I’ll be seventy years old in a few years? I’m too old for this shit.”
“You’re
not even sixty thanks to your little high-jacking. But I understand your frustration. You haven’t had time to deal with finding
Kristin alive and learning about your kids much less with what happened
today. Give yourself a little time to
recover.”
“You’re
right. But I can’t let him hurt them
anymore. She’s been through so
much. The things I know about make me
sick. If what Zellar said was true… if
she really endured all that…” Nathan’s body shuddered as he broke off.
Bill
didn’t want to think about what Nathan was implying. “You’re back together. You have your daughter and soon you will have
your son. You have your grandson. Ruben Zellar is dead. He can’t hurt you.”
Nathan
stopped dead in his tracks. “My
grandson… Michael… maybe that’s it. He’s the key to this whole thing. Zellar said… oh my God. That’s it!”
“What! Tell me what’s going on!”
“Not
yet, Bill. I need to talk to Kristin
first, find out if this is possible… but I think I know what they are up to.”
Nathan
took off after the group leaving a stunned Bill standing alone in the corridor.
*~*~*~*
Michael
jumped out of the launch door and ran through the shallow surf toward the beach
and Nathan’s ramshackled hut.
“Don’t
run too far!” Nathan yelled after him as he scooped Kristin into his arms and
carried her through the knee-deep waves to the beach. He returned and performed the same service
for Callie, trying not to laugh as Bill attempted to get Janet through the water
unscathed.
Kristin
was eyeing the hut critically when he returned to her side. “I don’t think that we all will fit.”
Nathan
snickered. “The house is still there…
just around that bend.
It isn’t huge but there will be enough room for all of us, especially if
we double up.” He popped his eyebrows at her in a suggestive leer.
A
quiet smile touched Kristin’s lips but her eyes held a hint of promise. “You aren’t used to being interrupted in the
middle of the night by kids are you?”
“Michael
has wandered in once or twice but admittedly I wasn’t engaged in any…
activities… at the time. That’s what
Bill and Janet are here for, babysitting.
Are you sure that you are feeling okay?”
“I’m
fine. Three days is plenty of time to
recover. And what is more important is
that the procedure worked.”
A
quick glance told Nathan that Lucas and Tony Piccolo were unloading the luggage
so he wrapped his arm around Kristin’s waist and they began to stroll toward
the hut where Michael was busy telling his sister about living on the island
with Nathan. Over the last few days
Michael had begun to occasionally call Nathan Papa in imitation of Callie and
neither adult had the heart to correct him.
The
house was in a terrible state because Nathan had barely visited it since his
return, preferring to stay in the hut with Michael to avoid his memories of
happy times spent there with Kristin.
Before the men realized it, their ladies had them busy beating the dust
out of cushions and curtains. Even
Lucas, Piccolo and Dagwood were pressed into service. Even so, the sun was slipping beyond the
horizon by the time that they bid the young servicemen farewell, Lucas
promising to return to visit on his very next leave.
Both
children could barely keep their eyes open during dinner and they were quickly
tucked into bed in the room that Lucas had once used. Bill and Janet settled into the guestroom and
Nathan and Kristin retired to the room that they had briefly shared during the
first phase of their affair immediately following the destruction of the first
seaQuest.
Nathan
shed his clothes and climbed into the bed while Kristin lingered in the
bathroom. He lay there anticipating her
return and decided that he looked too eager so he moved to the chest and pulled
out a musty pair of pajamas and slipped them on. Still no Kristin. Nathan began to pace before working up the
courage to knock on the door.
“You
okay, hon?” He questioned nervously.
“I’m
fine. I’ll be out in just a minute.”
Nathan
then decided that the pajamas sent out the entirely wrong message and debated
whether or not to remove them. He
finally decided to get rid of the top, mainly because it was driving him
crazy. He was shoving it back into the
drawer when he heard the bathroom door open.
Kristin
stood in the opening framed by the light behind her. She was wearing one of Nathan’s pajama tops,
the thigh length garment accentuating her bare legs. Her hands were clasped together, the fingers
counting nervously back and forth over the backs of her hands.
“Come
here.” Nathan whispered as he moved to meet her halfway. Kristin flipped the light off and moved
slowly forward, surprised at how shy she felt.
Nathan’s arms slipped around her, pulling her close to him. “I can’t begin to tell you how blessed I feel
to have you back in my life.”
“Oh,
Nathan…” The dim light from a small lamp by the bed illuminated the tears that
came to Kristin’s eyes.
His
lips caressed hers gently as she moved more fully into his embrace. He let his hands rest lightly at her waist as
the kissing continued, while her hands drifted slowly up his arms and
neck. Her fingers fisted in his hair as
the kiss deepened. Nathan swung her into
his arms and moved to the bed. He
pressed her body into the mattress and covered it with his as their kisses and
caresses became even more intimate.
Nathan
felt Kristin’s tears against his cheek as he broke the kiss and pulled away,
rolling to sit beside her on the bed.
“This
isn’t working is it?”
Kristin
sniffled. “I’m sorry. I want you… I want to make love with you so
badly, Nathan. I don’t understand…”
Nathan
shifted and wiped the tears from her face.
“Perhaps we both want it too much.
We’re trying too hard.” He stared
at her for a long moment before jumping up from the mattress. “Stay here.
I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Kristin
curled into a ball and gave rein to her tears as Nathan left the room. Her ears tracked the sound of his movement
out of the house, back in to the kitchen, then a knock at a door. She heard the deep rumble of Bill’s voice and
Nathan’s answering tone for several minutes before the door closed and Nathan
reappeared in their room.
“Hey,
don’t cry, sweetheart. No more tears,
remember?” Nathan once again brushed her tears away. “Come with me. I’ve got a little surprise for you.” His hand flipped her sandals onto the bed and
began to slip them on her feet.
“Where…
where are we going?” Kristin snuffled as she sat up and let Nathan put her
shoes on.
“That’s
a surprise. I think that we need a few
hours to ourselves.”
“The children?”
“I
talked to Bill. He and Janet will deal
with any minor catastrophes that arise and we don’t have to worry about being
interrupted at a crucial moment. Come
on.” Nathan gave her a wink.
Kristin
looked skeptical but she took Nathan’s hand and allowed him to lead her out of
the house. They walked arm in arm across the beach, a flashlight illuminating
their way on the moonless night. She was
surprised when Nathan led her up the steps of his small hut.
Nathan
had used his few minutes wisely. Candles
burned all around the small room and soft music played. A bottle of champagne sat chilling in a
bucket in one corner.
A
shy smile touched Kristin’s lips. “This
is lovely.”
Nathan’s
mind drifted back to the first time Kristin had said that to him. “I think I’d be very jealous if anyone else
saw you looking like this… may I kiss you, doctor?”
At
her nod he planted a soft kiss on her lips.
Kristin
laughed and caressed his cheek. “That
was so long ago yet it seems like just yesterday.”
“And
you are just as lovely now as you were then.
Dance with me.”
Kristin
slid into his arms and they began to sway in time to the music. Neither of them tried to push the other into
heating things up as they simply enjoyed being in each other’s arms. Lips met as bodies relaxed into each
other. Time passed without notice as
they kissed and caressed while swaying in time with the music.
No
one existed except the two of them as Nathan gently worked a hand between their
bodies to slip the buttons of her top free.
Kristin felt his shaft hardening between them and slipped her hands
beneath the drawstring waist of his pajama pants to cup his bottom as she
rubbed her hips lightly against him.
The
music changed and Nathan felt Kristin start in surprise. She pulled her mouth away from his to
whisper, “Rachmaninov… you remembered.”
“I
found this in the house when I got back.
Listening to it… remembering listening to it with you… is one of the few
things that kept me sane after they told me you were gone. I suppose it must have been worse for you… me
disappearing and you finding out that you were pregnant at the same time.”
“The
children were my touchstone, my sanity.
I had to keep it together because they needed their mother. But somewhere deep inside I never gave up
hope that you were still alive somewhere, that you would come back to us. I missed you so much.”
“I
missed you too, baby.” Nathan’s fingers
drifted beneath the lapels of the open top hanging on Kristin’s shoulders to
tease her nipples to erectness. She
gasped as electricity shot through her body at his touch then whimpered when
Nathan quickly pulled his hands away.
“Kris,
I don’t have any idea what might have happened to you and I don’t want you to
tell me anything that you don’t want to but please know that I love you and I
want to be with you in whatever way you are comfortable with. We don’t have to be intimate now if you don’t
want to… if the time never comes… I’m content just to have you with me.”
“It’s
no wonder I love you so much, Nathan Bridger.
You are an amazing man.” Kristin
pulled her face down, her hand capturing his and pulling it back to her
breast. Nathan kissed her ravenously,
his hunger for her overwhelming any lingering fear. A gentle shrug of her shoulders saw the top
slide down her arms to the floor.
“Love
me, darling.” She whispered in his ear then pulled back from him and held out
her hand. They walked the few steps to
the bed together.
Kristin
knelt on the side of the bed and hooked her thumbs into Nathan’s waistband and
pulled slowly down. Nathan palmed the
sides of her breasts as he stared, carefully updating his memory of her body,
the changes subtle but obvious to his knowing eyes. Once the pajamas cleared his hips they slid
to the floor under their own momentum, Kristin’s hands returning to their
sensual caress of his butt cheeks.
Following
her lead Nathan allowed his hands to slide below the lacy fabric covering her
most intimate place. Long fingers
lightly massaged her bottom as they worked the garment lower. He felt the subtle shift of her knee to the
side of his leg and brought one hand around to lightly probe the nest of curls
between her thighs. The dripping
moisture he encountered surprised him and he pushed deeper, feeling her open to
his touch.
Nathan’s
mouth trailed down Kristin’s swan-like neck as her head fell back, his tongue
tasting her skin as he trailed toward her breast. He lowered her body to the mattress and
settled on top of her as he continued to love her generous peaks. Kristin whimpered and moaned beneath his
touch but when he had drunk his fill and would have moved lower she stopped
him.
Her
deep sable eyes told him what she needed but she whispered the words
anyway. “I want you inside me… I want us
to be together, please?”
Nathan
positioned himself and slowly penetrated until the head of his stiff member
rested within her then stopped to allow her body time to adjust to his
presence. When Kristin nodded her
readiness he resumed his gentle push in but Kristin was now more than
prepared. Nathan felt her nails dig into
his cheeks as she grabbed and pushed him down, raising her hips to thrust
against him at the same time. He sank to
the hilt of his generous member in one stroke.
Something
akin to a grimace covered Kristin’s face and Nathan started to withdraw
completely but then her eyes opened and he saw her love and desire reflected
within them. She wrapped her legs around
his waist and locked their bodies together as she met his thrusts.
“Kris…
baby… I won’t last long if you… oh, that feels so… I can’t…”
“I’m
not going to last either. Come with me,
my love.” She clenched her inner muscles
tightly around Nathan’s arousal and ground her hips against his as she strove
to pull him even deeper within her at every stroke.
Nathan
gasped at the feelings and increased the force of his stroke as her body
tightened around him. He felt her breath
catch and her body stiffen then she screamed his name as her climax took hold. The feel of her warm juices flowing over him
and the force of her inner spasms shook Nathan to his core and he pulsed within
her, spilling himself again and again before collapsing against her still
shaking body.
*~*~*~*
The
warmth of the sun on her hips and the resulting stimulation from that warmth
caused Kristin to wake with a smile on her face. She was slightly embarrassed to find her nude
form sprawled out across an equally naked Nathan, nothing covering them. She wiggled her hips experimentally against
Nathan’s and was pleased to feel his answering response.
“Again?” She heard him whisper and blushed as she settled herself onto his
rampant erection.
“Again.” He heard her whisper and grasped her hips to move her
up and down over him.
Once
the barrier between them had been broken down there had been no stopping
them. They’d loved all through the
night, slowly and sweetly, quickly and passionately, both of them amazed at
their unrelenting hunger for each other.
Exhaustion had finally forced them to sleep but both had woken up
extremely randy.
Nathan
was amazed at his own control as Kristin rode him hard and fast but he could
feel it slipping. One hand reached up to
caress a bouncing nipple while the other slid to the point of their joining,
caressing the swollen bundle of nerves pulsing at the top of her cleft. He wasn’t quick enough and he cried out as he
spewed his seed into her sheath, a sob escaping his mouth as the orgasm
stretched on and on. Kristin continued
to ride his semi-erect member until she reached her peak moments later.
“I’ve
missed waking up like this.” Nathan pulled her trembling body into his warm
embrace.
“Me too!” Kristin snuggled closer and they shared a gentle kiss.
“Honey…
are you okay with this? I don’t want you to feel like you have to…
that we have to sleep together… if you…”
“Nathan,
I don’t think that I was raped.”
A
slow sigh of relief escaped Nathan’s lips as his eyes closed and his head
fell. “I didn’t want to ask…”
“The
only memory that I have of anything of that nature is the one I told you… but
even that seems more fiction than fact now.
I was never forced to participate in the kind of meeting you witnessed…
I was too old to conceive. Zellar… he
tried… but as strange as it may sound, I think he wanted me willingly. He never tried to force me… only to seduce
me.”
“It
wouldn’t matter to me… only in how it might affect you.”
“I
know that, my love. But I am grateful
that it didn’t happen. It’s very
strange, you know… as much as I loathe Zellar… he is the reason I have Michael…
that we have Michael.”
“Forgive
me if I can’t be grateful to that bastard for anything.” Nathan’s voice was
full of anger. “He hurt you and he hurt
Robert… who knows how deep the younger children’s scars will run. I love Michael. I don’t care about the circumstances of his
conception, but to use you that way… to use Robert that way…”
“PAPA!” Callie’s scream rent the air, pulling both of her parents out of the
narrow bed. Nathan raced toward the
door, stopping only to yank on the pajama bottoms Kristin threw at him.
Callie
was fleeing toward the hut, screaming for her father as she ran. Nathan ran to meet her and scooped her into
his arms. “I’m right here,
princess. I didn’t leave you.”
Sobs
prevented Callie from speaking clearly.
“Men… Michael… Uncle Bill…”
“Callie!”
Kristin had reached them and was trying to calm her daughter down. “Breathe in slowly… now out… and in
again. Okay, tell us what’s happening.”
“Some
men came on the beach. Aunt Janet told
Michael to go hide in the jungle while Uncle Bill went out to talk to
them. They almost hit him, Papa, and
then they said that they were going to take Michael away!”
Nathan’s
eyes narrowed in anger as he thrust the child toward Kristin. “Stay here with mama, princess.”
“We’re
going back with you. Don’t waste time by
trying to argue with me.”
Nathan
returned Kristin’s glare for an instant but quickly gave in. He jerked his head in the direction of the
house before he took off running.
Kristin
followed as close behind him as she could while keeping up with Callie and cautioning
her about what to do once they reached the next cove. Her face paled when she rounded the corner
and the men Callie had spoken of came into view.
“You Bastard!” She whispered vehemently and picked up the pace, motioning Callie to
cut and run toward where Janet was supporting Bill, blood pouring from a gash
on his forehead.
Kristin
didn’t realize that Nathan had stopped moving until seconds before she impacted
against his back. He held himself
rigidly as he stared at the man standing twenty feet in front of him.
“Robert!”
Nathan breathed in a tortured whisper.
Nathan’s hand had whipped back to hold Kristin behind him so she stared over his shoulder at the man that no one could mistake for anyone other than Nathan Bridger’s son. He was almost a carbon copy of his father twenty years previously, deep blue eyes gazing out of a long angular face. But most importantly to Kristin, this man sparked no hint of recognition in her, no sudden memory of what might have happened between them.
“Dad.” Robert acknowledged his father
shortly. “I am here for my son. Please get him for me.”
“Robert…
son… what have they done to you?”
“Mr.
LeChein rescued me from that hellhole of a prison you left me in. He told me the truth about you, about how you
cheated on my mother, about how you made her so miserable that she killed
herself.”
Nathan
stared at his son, stunned. “That isn’t
true, Robert. I loved your mother and I
was never unfaithful to her. Not once in
nearly thirty years of marriage did I cheat on her. She died from a tropical fever. I did everything I could to save her… I would
have died in her place if I could have.”
“They
told me you would say that but I know the truth. I saw the documents. I talked to people. I only wish that I’d been rescued two years
earlier so I might have been able to prevent mother’s death.”
“Two
years…” Nathan couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Kristin
broke his grip and stepped out in front of Nathan. “If you really are Robert Bridger then
somewhere, deep down, you know that the things you are saying are lies. Nathan Bridger, your father isn’t capable of
what you’ve just described.”
“And
I’m supposed to take your word for that?
The word of his whore?” Robert sneered at her.
“If
you believe this man,” Kristin nodded at LeChein; “He would have you think that
I was your whore.”
Confusion
showed in Robert’s face as Kristin continued to speak. “I gave birth to the child, Michael.”
Robert’s
face was blank for a moment then became animated. “I remember your eyes. I met you at one of their baby making
sessions and I chose you for your eyes.”
Kristin
shook her head. “It never happened, at
least not that way. They implanted false
memories in you just as they did in me.
I sent a four-year-old Michael to Nathan before I ever saw one of those
sessions. I never left Zellar’s house to
go down into the prison until last year when I was sent to the kitchens as
punishment for getting Michael out of their grasp.”
“A
pity your little plan didn’t work, Doctor.”
An evil smile crossed LeChein’s features. “We’ve come for the boy and we will have him
anyway. The law is on our side. Admittedly you were supposed to be in a coma
but that doesn’t really matter. We have
papers that grant Robert legal custody of his child and we’ve brought the
authorities to make sure that you comply with those papers.”
“You
will not take my child from me.” Kristin’s voice was steely, matching the
countenance of her features.
“You
don’t have any choice in the matter. If
it bothers you so much, get a lawyer.
We’ll prove abandonment. After
all you did give your child away. And
all those years in the prison complex… that won’t look good. You won’t take this child away from me… from
his father. He’s all Robert has left.”
“You’ve
never even seen him! How can…”
Nathan
interrupted Kristin’s next words. “All
of this to get back at me for your son’s death.
Get over it, LeChein! I tried to
save the people in that sub. You are the
one who backed Marilyn Stark’s crazy plan.
You are the one who sent your son with her to protect your
interests. I am sorry that he died but
that is no reason for you to brainwash my son, imprison Kristin then rip my
family apart!”
The
mocking smile didn’t waver from LeChein’s lips.
“We will have the boy now. After
everything that you did to Robert’s mother he agrees with me that Michael would
be better off in my care while his father works for me.”
Nathan
turned back to his son. “Robert, I don’t
know what you’ve been brainwashed into believing but I am going to have my
say. What you said just a few minutes
ago about wishing that you were rescued two years earlier so that you could
have seen your mother… Carol has been dead for thirteen years, not seven. The U.S. Navy reported you as killed in
action when your ship went down. I
didn’t know that you were being held prisoner.”
“You
are lying.”
“Then
find out for yourself. Ask Bill and
Janet Noyce. You’ve known them since
birth. They loved your mother. They wouldn’t lie to you. Come with me.
We’ll go together to the hospital… to the record office. You can see official copies of the documents
with your own eyes, not something LeChein had doctored up to support his
lies. Just get away from this
madman. Don’t let him use Michael… don’t
let him use you to exact revenge against me!”
“I’m
getting tired of this, Captain. Produce
the child or the authorities will arrest you and tear the island apart to find
him.
Nathan
turned back to face his enemy. “I don’t
think so. You see I’ve been busy as well
over the last few days. Do you remember
the young girl who visited Kristin so often before Michael left? You probably never even noticed her. That little girl was able to identify you and
that gave me a little time to think about your motives and possible
actions. My conversation with Zellar was
also highly enlightening as well.”
“You’re
wasting time, Bridger.”
“I’m
explaining why you aren’t leaving this island with my son… with either of my
sons.”
Both
Robert and LeChein were stunned by Nathan’s words, as were Bill and Janet
Noyce.
“How?”
“That’s
impossible!”
The
Noyces’ comments broke the silence.
“You
didn’t know that, did you, LeChein?
Zellar changed the plans on you just a little bit. I don’t think that my son ever went anywhere
near Kristin. Zellar didn’t want anyone else touching her. He wanted Kristin for himself, but he wanted
her willingly. He thought that
eventually she would give in to him. But
you wanted your revenge so he made other arrangements to assure that she gave
birth to a child with Bridger DNA.”
It
was obvious that LeChein thought Nathan was bluffing. “You were no where to be found. I didn’t believe all that UEO propaganda
about you being dead but I do know that you were no where near our facility
when that boy was conceived.”
“You’re
right, I wasn’t. But I didn’t have to
be. Robert was a small boy when the
first Gulf War broke out. Carol and I
talked about having more children but then I got orders sending me to the
“You’re
grasping at straws.”
“No…
I confirmed that my samples had been stolen from the depository yesterday.”
“Even
if that were true… after so many years… your specimens wouldn’t have been
viable.”
“Probably
not all of them but Zellar had enough to work with. He used my sperm to impregnate Kristin. She remembers being in a surgical suite and
having the sense that something had been done to her. Zellar then used his little memory devices to
plant false memories in both Robert and Kristin about the conception, taking
care of your demands in the little scheme.
Once the device was removed Kristin no longer had that memory. Zellar told us how difficult Michael’s
conception was. That’s because it took
place in a lab and Kristin had already started going through menopause.”
“This
is all bullshit. You are trying to delay
us… stop us from taking the boy. It
won’t work.”
Nathan continued as if he hadn’t heard
LeChein. “There is another plus for my
theory. It also explains how Zellar was able to program my DNA into his little
security system. There is no other way
he could have had a sample from me, to allow me to pass through the system
unscathed.”
“Zellar
made another slip.” Kristin interjected.
“Because of a bit of genetic engineering he’d done, I was supposed to
conceive once again, if Nathan guessed how to bring me out of the coma. He made a comment about I should be glad to
have Nathan’s child, that even numbers were so much nicer. He didn’t know… as far as he knew the only
way that my having another child could even things up is if Michael were
Nathan’s as well.”
“None
of your speculation proves anything.” LeChein snarled but Nathan noticed that Robert
was listening intently.
Kristin
slipped her hand into Nathan’s and was rewarded with a tight squeeze.
“Proof…we’ve
got that too. Neither you nor Zellar
knew that Kristin didn’t come to your little prison alone. The goons that grabbed her brought the little
girl that was at the lab with Kris and dumped her in the kitchens. That little girl was Callie Westphalen,
Kristin’s daughter…and mine. Once I
began to suspect your little game, the doctor on the seaQuest did a full DNA
work up on both of the children as well as Kristin and myself. His findings prove that Callie and Michael
are full brother and sister…they have the same parents…and those parents are
Kristin Westphalen and Nathan Bridger.”
“NO!” Robert’s face fell.
“I
am sorry, Robert, but Michael is my child.
You have no moral or legal claim to him.”
LeChein
stepped up menacingly. “All of that is
irrelevant. This document gives legal
custody of that child to Robert. You can
make your claims to the judge.”
“I
have enough sense to know that if you take Michael off this island today we
will never see him again.”
LeChein
turned to the man in uniform waiting in the background. “Serve the papers and get the child. We are done here.”
The
man stepped up to Nathan with a sheaf of papers in his hand. “I’m sorry, sir, but I have to do my job.”
Nathan held a hand up to
the man. “I understand and I expect
that. You have to uphold the letter of
the law. I am counting on that because
if you notice, Admiral Noyce is returning from the house with another set of
papers that I suspect postdate the ones that you have. Those papers have been duly signed by the
necessary legal authorities and state that the minor child, Michael Bridger,
shall not be removed from the custody of his mother under any circumstances
until the question of paternity has been completely resolved. It further orders Robert Bridger to submit a
sample to an independent and anonymous lab chosen by the court for
examination. Kristin and I will also
submit samples. Once those results are
completed Michael’s birth certificate will be entered with the names of his
birth parents – myself and Kristin.”
The
man took the papers from Bill and flipped through them, pausing occasionally to
double check certain points. Finally he
turned back to Robert and LeChein.
“I’m
sorry, sir, but the Captain is right.
His papers are in order. I have
no authority to remove the child from his mother’s custody.”
LeChein’s
face turned bright red but Robert just looked stunned. “He isn’t mine… they told me that he was
mine… that I had a son.” He murmured over and over.
Nathan
caught the surreptitious motion that LeChein made out of the corner of his eye
and quickly pulled Kristin back behind him as armed men began to pour from the
back of the visiting launch. In seconds
five men holding everything from tazers to sub machine guns had fanned out over
the beach.
“Give
me the child or I’ll simply kill the rest of them, everyone but you, Captain,
then I’ll take the child anyway, and your little girl as well, leaving you here
to know that all of your flesh and blood is in my control.”
“I
expected this of you as well. Which is why I took a few precautions of my own.” Nathan raised his voice slightly. “Commander Ford!”
The
area around the beach house immediately came alive as armed UEO troops poured
from the jungle, their weapons trained on LeChein and his men. The five gunmen quickly weighed the odds and
dropped their weapons into the sand.
“Perhaps
you’d like to take Mr. LeChein into custody, Commander. I think that there are laws against
threatening a UEO admiral, trespassing, attempted kidnapping and about a dozen
other things. Perhaps the officer here
would be good enough to sign a statement as to what he’s witnessed today.”
“How
could you do this? I’ve had the island
under observation since you arrived. No
one landed after you.” LeChein asked as he was being handcuffed.
“Simple really. They arrived before we
did. They’ve been in hiding in the jungle
since early yesterday morning.”
“You
won’t make any charges hold. I’ll be
free before the day is over.”
“They’ll
stick.” Nathan moved in to stare LeChein
in the eyes as his voice. “There is no
way in hell that you will ever get near my wife or my children again. I will kill you with my bare hands if you
try. Do you understand me?”
Cold
hatred filled LeChein’s eyes. “Robert… call my lawyers and have them get to work on this.”
Robert
nodded slowly his mind still whirling from information overload. Nathan intervened.
“You’ll
be given the opportunity to contact anyone you need to. But you’ll be transported on the seaQuest…
just in case you had any rescue plans prearranged. Take him away.”
The
soldiers turned LeChein and pulled him toward the launch that had appeared on
the beach at Jonathan’s signal. Robert
fell in behind the group much to Nathan’s dismay. He took a step toward his son then stopped,
unsure of what to say.
In
the end Kristin made the first gesture, moving away from Nathan and grabbing
Robert’s arm to stop him.
“You
don’t have to go with them. You’ve done
nothing wrong. You were a pawn in these
bastard’s game just as I was… we all were.
Stay here and get to know your father again but use your own judgement
this time. You have a sister and
brothers who would like to know you as well.”
Robert
stared down at the woman he’d insulted so badly a few moments before, not
believing that she was trying to be nice to him. “It would be too awkward.”
“Maybe
at first, but we’d all deal with it.
Nathan told you the truth, Robert.
There was nothing between us for over two years after your mother
died. She’d been gone more than a year
before we even met.”
Kristin
noticed that Bill and Janet had moved closer and she motioned them over then
backed slowly away. Bill clasped a hand
on Robert’s shoulder as Janet moved to embrace him. Robert, unused to any sort of affection or
touch, sank to the sand sobbing as he clung to Janet.
Kristin
pulled Nathan away from the group and embraced him, surprised to feel him
trembling in her arms. “Give him a
moment to adjust.”
“What
if he leaves?” Nathan whispered and Kristin felt his tears wet against her
neck.
“He
won’t leave. If this doesn’t work then
I’ll insist that he submit to a full medical exam. Levin will be glad to help and we need to
make sure that he doesn’t have a memory implant controlling him.”
“Papa?” Nathan and Kristin looked down to see Callie standing there, a worried
look on her face. “Are you okay? Are they going to take Michael?”
Nathan
pulled the girl into his arms to share their embrace. “We are fine and nobody is going to take
Michael away from us. Speaking of which,
I’d better go find him.”
“He’s
there, Papa, just under the beach house.”
Sure
enough, at Callie’s wave, the little boy appeared from beneath the porch,
covered in sand and ran to his parents.
Kristin
caught him on a run and swung him up so that the four of them could share an
embrace. They stood locked together for
long moments until Nathan felt other eyes on them and looked to find Robert
staring at the family group.
“Come
on.” Nathan told the children. “There is
someone very special I want you to meet… your brother, Robert.”
The
kids slid to the sand and walked hand in hand with their parents until they
stood in front of Robert. Nathan knelt
beside them.
“Robert,
this is your sister, Callie.”
Callie
held out a hand politely. “Hello,
Robert. I’m glad to meet you.”
“I’m
very glad to meet you, Callie.” Robert stared at the small hand for a moment
before he captured it with his own in a gentle shake.
“And
this is your brother, Michael.” Nathan continued, a bit worried at how his
eldest son might react at meeting the child he had so recently thought was his
own.
Robert’s
smile trembled for a moment. “Hello,
Michael.” He stuck a hand out and lightly tousled the boy’s hair, a look of
regret on his face.
Michael
grinned. “Another
brother. This is so cool,
Papa.” He threw his arms around Robert’s
neck and Callie quickly followed. Robert
held them tightly as he looked enquiringly at Kristin.
“You
said brothers… plural?”
A
small smile touched her face. “We have
quite a large family actually. Nathan
and I sort of unofficially adopted a young man from the seaQuest, Lucas
Wolenczak. I have a grown daughter,
Cynthia, and Callie has a twin brother, Cooper.”
“Are
they here?” Robert’s eyes swept the house.
Kristin’s
face fell and Nathan reached out to squeeze her hand as he answered. “We don’t actually know where Cynthia and
Cooper are. Callie was with Kristin when
Zellar’s goons kidnapped her and took her to the prison. Kris knew that someone was after her and
she’d made arrangements for their safety.
A few more hours and they never would have gotten her at all. Cynthia believed that her mother and sister
were killed so she took Cooper and went undercover. Kristin’s memory hasn’t recovered one hundred
percent so we don’t know exactly where they are yet…but we will find them.”
“I
always wanted brothers and sisters.” Robert cast a tentative smile at the
children still clinging to him.
“You
will stay with us won’t you, Robert?”
Callie asked pleadingly.
Kristin
gently eased the children away. “Why
don’t we let your papa and Robert have some time together? Let’s go make some breakfast, okay?” With all of the men milling around on the
beach Kristin had suddenly become conscious of the fact that she was wearing a
pajama top that only covered her to mid thigh and nothing more.
She
felt Nathan’s eyes rake her bare legs.
“I think that’s a very good idea and maybe you might put on a few more
clothes as well?” He whispered to her.
Kristin
blushed and nodded her eyes dancing merrily as she noticed Nathan’s now obvious
reaction to her state of dress. “I’ll
call you when breakfast is ready.”
Nathan
nodded and brushed a light kiss over her lips, allowing his hips to brush her
thigh.
“Tease!” She whispered for his ears alone then took off toward the house,
children in hand.
“We’ll
just go help Kristin.” Bill offered as
he and Janet headed back toward the house leaving Nathan and Robert alone among
the milling soldiers on the beach.
Nathan
waited for Robert to say something but he didn’t so finally Nathan spoke. “Why
don’t we walk for a little while?”
Robert nodded and they took off in the general direction of Nathan’s hut. Eventually Robert began to speak.
“Mom…
how did… was she in pain?” He could see
the anguish on his father’s face as Nathan remembered.
“After
they told us you were dead I left the navy and we came here to live. Your mother wanted it that way…she couldn’t
stand the thought of having any connection with the military at all. We had been here about five years…one day
Carol wasn’t feeling well but there was a storm front moving through and she
thought that was what was causing her headache.
The fever hit a few hours later but by then the weather was so bad that
the rescue team had trouble getting through.”
Nathan’s voice caught as the memories overwhelmed him.
“I
tried to keep her cool, keep the fever down but… then the team got here and
took us to the hospital but it was too late.
Her kidneys had already shut down and her other systems started
going. The doctors did everything that
they could but… it was too late.”
Tears
filled Robert’s eyes. “And that was
thirteen years ago?”
“About that. I was so lost without her. I shut the world out. I came back here and turned into a crazed
hermit. I’d still be that if Bill hadn’t
dragged me off to tour the finished seaQuest.
Touring was all I was going to do but there was a conflict…”
“The
one that George’s son was killed in.”
Robert’s voice was full of emotion.
“That’s
the one. I found out that I missed
people and I missed the boat. They’d
turned it into mainly a research vessel and I really enjoyed that aspect of
things.”
Robert
was silent for a long moment. “And then
you met her…Kristin?”
That
memory brought a smile to Nathan’s face.
“I met her the first day on the boat.
She was the chief medical officer and head of the science division as
well. Over time we became friends…
nothing romantic… I wasn’t ready for that yet and she’d been burned before as
well. Our research interests merged and
we spent a lot of time together but I didn’t realize that my feelings were
growing stronger until Malcolm Lansdowne began to buzz around her. I was jealous… I realized then that I was
falling in love with her. By the end of
the tour we had grown very close and both of us were ready to act on our
feelings.”
“So
you… are you married?”
“No…
not yet… but we will be very soon if I have my way. I let her get away once and I don’t intend to
ever make that mistake again.”
“When
they took her, you mean? Why did it take
you so long to find her?”
Nathan
sighed, knowing that this part of the story might be a bit fantastic to
believe. “Work tore us apart. I was transferred to New Cape Quest in
“But Callie… and Cooper?”
“I
tried to form other relationships after Kristin but no one else ever felt
right. Over a year after we split up I
attended a UEO conference in
“That’s
when Callie and Cooper were… well… you know.”
Nathan
grinned. “At the end of the shore leave
I asked her if I could come back to her when the tour was up and she said
yes. We both knew… the time had come to
put ourselves first. I went back to the
boat and then…well something happened and as strange as it sounds… the seaQuest
and all of her crew disappeared for ten years.
When we came back I immediately went looking for Kristin. I was told that her lab had exploded over
five years before… that she’d been killed.”
“Oh,
God…” Sympathy filled Robert’s voice.
“I
came back here and did the same thing I did after you and your mother died,
tried to hide from the world. I refused
to go back to the boat when they got it seaworthy… would have nothing to do
with anyone. Then Michael showed up and
gave me a reason to live again.”
“He
seems like a special little boy.” Nathan
heard the tinge of regret in Robert’s statement.
“Michael
is a fantastic kid. I was stunned when I
found him then the DNA testing showed that he was a Bridger and I heard the
rumours from the UEO that you were alive.
Since there was no way that I could have fathered him I assumed that you
were his father and I began to search for you.”
“That
search is what led you to the prison.”
“The
UEO allowed me to infiltrate before they raided it. I found out that you had been there about
five years ago but that you’d been moved.
And I found Kristin… and Callie, although I didn’t know about her. Kristin hadn’t let her condition be known and
after their birth she kept the children sheltered. Bill and Janet were two of the few people who
knew about the twins and they didn’t tell me because they thought it might be
too much for me to handle their deaths along with losing their mother. That led us here.”
“You…you
love her…very much. I can see that.”
Nathan
didn’t pull any punches with his son.
“She completes me. She’s my other
half.”
“For
what it’s worth I think she was right…about her and me. I didn’t feel any sense of… familiarity about
her… if that’s the word for it. I don’t
think that I would have…”
“It
doesn’t matter, Robert. Nothing matters
except that you are safe and you are back here with us. Will you stay? Even if only for a little
while. You could stay in my
hut.” Nathan gestured at the small
building and led Robert toward it.
“It’s
small but you would have privacy. You
could eat up at the house with us and maybe… when you’re ready… we could spend
some time together. You could get to
know Kristin and the kids and Lucas is coming to spend some time with us in a
few weeks.”
Robert
didn’t respond and Nathan was afraid he’d tried too much too fast. “I don’t mean to push. You take some time… think about it.” Before he could say anything else he found
himself wrapped in his son’s embrace.
Nathan held on to his child and shed a few tears himself as the anger
that had been programmed into him washed slowly away from Robert.
“I’d
like that, Dad, I really would.”
Nathan
pushed the door to the hut open to show Robert and immediately pulled it shut
again. “Maybe I should clean up a little
first.”
“I
am sure it will be fine, Dad…” A grin broke out on Robert’s face as he stared
at the room through the door he’d pushed back open.
Remnants
of burnt out candles were scattered around the room and most of the bedclothes
lay scattered across the floor. Delicate black lace panties hung from a blade
of the ceiling fan in the middle of the room.
Nathan
hurried over and snatched the knickers from their perch, balling them into his fist. “I’ll… get this cleaned up right now. We’ve got clean linen up at the house… you
might want to leave that door open a little while… let the place air out.”
He
hurried over to the bed and began to strip the bottom sheet from the mattress,
throwing it to the floor and rolling the entire bundle into his arms, the tiny
ball in his fist ending up in the very center.
Robert quietly gathered the candle stubs and deposited them in the
wastebasket in the corner.
Nathan
was embarrassed and he knew that Robert was as well. “Look, son… I…”
“Dad…
I know that you love that woman… Kristin.
Your feelings for each other are so obvious… it’s just going to take
some time… for me to get used to seeing you with someone besides mom.”
Nathan nodded. “I understand. Robert, what I feel for Kristin in no way
diminishes the love that your mother and I had for each other. Please believe that.”
“I
know, dad. Just give me a little time,
please?”
“I’ll
take this stuff back to the house to wash.
Breakfast should be ready by now.
Are you hungry?”
“I…
I’ll come back for a while but… could you explain to the kids that I need some
time on my own?”
Nathan
nodded. “We’ll give you all the space
you need, Robert.”
*~*~*~*
Robert
stared at the setting sun as Bill and Janet slipped onto the porch behind
him. Bill thrust a beer at the young man
and Robert took it gratefully as they settled down into the circle of chairs.
“Where’s
Dad?”
“He’s
and Kristin are finishing up the dinner dishes.” Janet
answered.
“In between gropes.” Bill mumbled, only to grimace when his wife’s foot
connected solidly with his shin.
“They
do seem to… like to touch each other.” Robert observed.
“They
always did… even before they actually got together. They always seemed to find some excuse to hug
or touch.” Bill supplied.
Janet
cleared her throat gently and shook her head slightly at her husband.
“It’s okay, Aunt Janet.
It’s difficult… but a blind man could see how crazy they are for each
other. I don’t believe that mother would
have wanted Dad to be lonely… and she has been gone for a very long time.”
“Robert…
your father was absolutely devastated after Carol’s death. If you could have seen him when I first came
to bring him to the seaQuest… He hadn’t
shaved, his hair was unkempt… he was angry, belligerent… mad at the world. Hell, he was a damned recluse. Kristin brought him back from that… Kristin and Lucas.”
“She
seems like a very nice person…”
“Kristin
is nice. But what is more is that she is
sincere. She wants you to stay with them
just as much as Nathan does.”
“It
can’t be easy for her. Even if the
memories were implanted they are still there.”
“Do
you look at Kristin and remember? Did
you actually see her? Because
she didn’t see you. She has no
memory of what the man looked like, only a sense of being violated. You didn’t do that, Robert.” Janet moved to
hug the man she’d known since his birth.
All
three looked up at the sound of giggling from just inside the door. Moments later Nathan and Kristin
emerged. Bill just grinned at the sight
of the wet handprint dampening the tee shirt over Kristin’s left breast.
Kristin
dove into a chair and crossed her arms over her chest as the night air reacted
with the dampness to cause her nipple to peak even further beneath the tee
shirt. She glared at Bill, daring him to
laugh.
Nathan
moved to the chair next to hers and sat, plopping his beer down on the table
with the others.
“It
is amazing how quiet it gets when those two finally go to sleep!”
“They are a lively pair.” Robert joined in. “What is your next step… how are you going to find your other children?”
“We
don’t really know. We were planning on
going back to the mainland with Bill and Janet.
Kristin has a colleague there who might be able to help her with her
memory.”
“Do
you… do you think that your friend might be able to help me as well?” Robert
shocked them by asking.
A
gentle smile touched Kristin’s face. “I
am sure that he will be… and I know that he will be happy to do so. I think that we both could use some
counseling, Robert… perhaps all of us should have a go at it.” She laughed at
the look on Nathan’s face.
“After
that…” Robert continued tentatively, “Maybe I could help you… find the rest of
your… our family.”
“We
could certainly use all the help we could get.”
Nathan allowed a flicker of hope to linger.
“What
do you have to go on so far?”
“Kristin
remembers that she had a strategy in place to escape the people after her. She and Callie went to her lab for one last
time when Zellar got her. Bill and Janet
thought that Cooper must have been with them as well and that they were all
killed when the lab exploded. Then
Cynthia disappeared. When your old uncle
there turned seventy last year he got an unmarked present in the mail. It contained a miniature car… a Cooper Mini.”
Robert
nodded vigorously, having some idea of the connection and desperately not
wanting any further explanation. “So you
think that Cooper and Cynthia are out there somewhere?”
Kristin’s
face looked sad. “But I can’t remember
any details about my plan. I don’t know
what names they would have used or where they would have gone.”
“Oh,
I just remembered. There was something
else in that package as well… another car… a 1933 Rolls Royce.”
“Does
that mean anything to you, baby?” Nathan asked but Kristin just shook her head.
“Don’t
worry about it.” He laid a hand on her knee and began to caress it gently. “We will find them.”
“What
about your daughter’s father? Would she
have contacted him?” Robert asked.
Kristin’s
brow furrowed. “I… I don’t know. She wouldn’t have if I had been with them, we
wouldn’t have risked the contact… but I guess that it is possible… I can
contact him… but he thinks I’m dead. Oh
God, this is a mess.”
“Why
don’t I contact him for you and explain things?” Bill offered.
“That
might work but he will be so angry that he won’t be much help. Somehow, in his eyes, this will all be my
fault.”
“He
sounds like a right royal bastard.” Robert said.
“You
don’t know the half of it. But we have
to try.”
The
group continued to chat as the moon rose higher into the sky. Finally Robert stood.
“I
think I’m going to get some sleep if you don’t mind.”
Nathan
jumped to his feet. “Let me get a
flashlight and I’ll walk you to the hut.”
“I’ll
get the bed things.” Kristin volunteered.
Bill
and Janet wished Robert a good night and disappeared into the house just as
Nathan and Kristin returned.
“Thanks,
but I can make it to the hut. You stay
here. I’ll see you in the morning.” With a final nod Robert moved off the porch.
Nathan
stared pensively across the sand after his son.
“Do you think he’s coming around?”
Kristin
moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, her head resting
against his shoulder. “I think he’s
doing better than we could have hoped for.
He has a genuine interest in helping us find his brother and that’s very
positive.”
“Has
he been polite with you? I know he’s
having a difficult time but I won’t allow him to be rude to you.”
“Nathan…
give him time.
He’s been perfectly polite. I
don’t want to be the cause of dissent between the two of you.”
Nathan
shifted Kristin around so that they were face to face and locked her into his
arms. “I love my son. I love our children. But most of all, I love you. I am never letting you leave me again.”
“I
never want to leave you. I couldn’t bear
to let you go.”
Nathan
moved his mouth over hers, devouring its softness, asking for entrance with a
gentle nibble. She opened to him and he
stabbed his tongue into her warmth, stroking hers into a gentle dance with
him. One of his strong hands slid down
her bare arm to capture her hand, his thumb stroking the palm sensually. The pleasant caress of his fingers sent jolts
of pleasure through her body and she deepened the kiss, her tongue exploring
the innermost recesses of his mouth.
Nathan
turned her back against the rail and ground his hips against her mound, his
hard erection growing even more with the pressure. His free hand slipped beneath the bottom of
her shirt and slid slowly up the smooth curve of her back. He palmed a heavy breast and Kristin’s head
fell back as she moaned his name.
A
quick glance at the beach told Nathan that Robert had disappeared around the
edge of the cove. ~ Thank God! ~ He
thought as he efficiently stripped the white cotton shirt over her head and
tossed it away, his hands returning to rub the bare skin of her back and
shoulders as his mouth fell to taste a pebbled peak.
“Nathan…”
She whispered with ragged breath.
“Umm?”
he ground out, unwilling to release the tender flesh in his mouth.
“Take
me to bed, please?” Kristin pleaded.
Nathan
pulled her legs up around his waist and locked his hands beneath her bottom,
settling her into his hips before he turned and carried her toward the house.
*~*~*~*
~
Damn! I meant to grab another beer! ~ Robert thought to himself as he stopped
his trek. He laid the sheets on top of a
rock and turned back toward the house.
His trek halted as the house came in sight, the moonlight clearly
defining the two figures on the porch.
There was no doubt in Robert’s mind as to who they were or what was
happening. He tried to look away but the
sheer sensuality of the picture called to him and his gaze remained locked on
his father and Kristin.
He
gasped as the creamy white expanse of Kristin’s back came into view. Her moans floated across the air, blending
with the sound of the waves at his back.
Then Nathan picked her up and carried her into the house, taking care to
keep their bodies pressed together.
Robert
stood there for a long time, staring at the now empty porch. He’d witness many affectionate moments shared
between his parents but none so blatantly sexual and yet full of love as the
scene he’d just witnessed. He was going
to have to reanalyze the entire situation.
He desperately wanted to rediscover his connection with his father. That he’d allowed himself to be duped he had
no doubt. Janet Noyce had been his
mother’s best friend. Robert knew with
certainty that she wouldn’t lie to him and she had backed up the things that
his father and Kristin said one hundred percent.
~
She’s certainly a wonderful mother. ~ Robert had noted the way she interacted
with both Callie and Michael. Both
children obviously adored her. Robert’s
thought drifted to his unknown sibling, Cooper.
He’d lived so long without his parents that he could imagine how the
little boy must feel every day.
As
Robert walked slowly back to the hut his thoughts were filled with what he knew
was surely happening in his father’s bedroom.
To his surprise he found that he was jealous… not over Kristin but over
the happiness that his father had found.
~ I want someone to love me. I
want a family. I want… I want my father
back. ~
*~*~*~*
Nathan
felt the cool air rush over his damp skin and grabbed at the covers that had
suddenly disappeared from his naked body.
“Let me sleep a few more minutes, baby.” He murmured as she began to
shake his shoulders.
“Wake
up, you dolt. I know where they
are. I remember.”
Nathan
bolted upright and stared at Kristin.
“You remember? You remember!” He
grabbed her and crushed her to him.
“Where are they?”
“It
was the other car… the one in Bill’s package.
My brain just needed a little time to process that information. My father had a 1933 Rolls Royce and it was
still in the garage at the house. Cooper
loved to play in it. His name was going
to be Royce Rollins and Cynthia was going to be Susan Rollins.”
“I’ll
call seaQuest and get Lucas on it immediately!”
Nathan started to climb out of bed but Kristin stopped him.
“You
don’t have to. I doubt that he’d find
them. No computer was part of our plan…
nothing to leave a paper trail. I’d
already established the bank accounts and bought a house… all through third and
even fourth parties.”
Nathan
said a silent prayer as he wiped happy tears from Kristin’s face. “So tomorrow morning we make arrangements to
go get our kids?”
Kristin
nodded, a brilliant smile on her face. “Why
not start now?”
Nathan
gripped her waist and pulled her until she straddled his hips. “Now we celebrate!”
*~*~*~*
Kristin
stood in the bow of the boat, Nathan standing right behind her, as they both
stared at the sea ahead of them, willing the tiny island in the distance to
move closer. He wrapped his arms around
her waist.
“They’ll
be there.” He whispered in her ear.
“I
hope so. Oh God, please let them be
there.”
“You folks visiting? We don’t get
too many strangers to the island.”
“Yes,
we are visiting… a friend. I don’t
suppose you know her… Susan Rollins?”
Robert asked as he stared at the couple in the front of the boat.
“Rollins…
Rollins? Can’t
say as I… oh wait, she got a little boy?
Seems like I’ve heard my grandson Angus talk about a Royce Rollins,
friend of his from school. Angus says
he’s smart as a whip and real good at sports. I’ll bet that Royce and his mom are at the
village fete today, along with damn near everyone else on the island.”
“Then
that’s where we’ll look first.”
“Can’t be too much trouble to find them. The island isn’t that big. Can’t imagine why they would have moved up
here in the first place. Not too many
people voluntarily chose to live in the Orkney’s.”
Nathan
felt Kristin’s body tremble at the man’s words even though she showed no other
outward sign of her anxiousness. “We are
all going to be together soon.” He murmured into her ear, warming her cold skin
with his breath.
“But
what if Cooper doesn’t remember me? What
if they don’t want us back in their lives?”
“Can
you really imagine that happening? Sure
this is going to be difficult, but you’ve never backed down from a challenge
before. Cynny and Cooper are going to be
shocked, of course, but they are going to be ecstatic to find out that you and
Callie are alive.”
“And
you…” Kristin turned to gaze into Nathan’s face.
“And
me, too.” His lips brushed hers lightly.
Fifteen
minutes later they were tied to the dock and disembarking, Nathan and Kristin
rubbing the children’s faces vigorously.
The wind on the crossing had been biting and they were all cold so the
captain of the small boat invited them to the dockside pub for a ‘wee dram’.
A
roaring fire and warm beverages, hot chocolate for the children and whiskey for
the adults, soon had them ready to face the elements once again and they set
off on the ten minute walk to the heart of the village, following the
instructions the old sailor had given them.
The day was actually very pleasant without the added wind velocity of
the open sea and they approached the town square in good spirits.
The
crowds of people milling about startled them.
Everyone on the island must have been there. Nathan knew their work was cut out for them
and was afraid that they would miss Cindy and Cooper in the hubbub and have to
start asking a lot of questions.
Questions would scare Cindy so they had to get to her before she could
run again.
“We’ll
split up and find them…” Nathan squeezed Kristin’s hand as he reassured her.
“No…
we don’t have to, at least I think we don’t.
There’s something that I should have told you… about the twins… but I’m
not sure if it still…”
“Cooper! Cooper’s here!” Callie blurted out, her face
coming alive with excitement.
At
that moment they heard a voice come over the loud speaker. “And first prize in the five kilometer race
in the nine to thirteen year old category goes to Royce Rollins.”
Callie
took off through the crowd before either parent could stop her, intent on
finding her twin. Her senses honed in on
what she was feeling as she wove through the crowd.
“Robert!”
Nathan thrust Michael’s hand into his brother’s then took off after Kristin who
had gone after Callie.
The
crowds surrounded the small staging area but were held back from the front by a
rope. Nathan’s height allowed him to see
Callie just after she slipped beneath it even though he hadn’t quite reached
the barrier yet.
A
young boy stood on the stage shaking hands with an older man, a pretty
strawberry blond woman by his side. The
boy stepped to the microphone and began to speak. “Thank you, s…Callie! Callie’s here!”
Cooper
scanned the crowd then saw his twin enter the open ground and threw himself
over the edge of the stage to run toward his sister, unaware of Cynthia’s
anxious grab behind him. Nathan had just
slipped beneath the rope, barely five feet behind Kristin when he heard the cry
of disbelief from the loud speaker.
“Mom?” Cynthia’s whispered question was picked up by the sensitive microphone
that Cooper had dropped and reverberated through the sound system. Kristin’s oldest child scrambled to her feet
and followed her brother over the end of the stage racing toward the point mid
field where Callie and Cooper met head on in a fierce embrace. Kristin was there moments later, crying as
her son threw an arm around her neck while continuing to hold on to his sister.
The
staring crowd had gone completely silent as Nathan slowly walked toward the
group. Cynthia fell to her knees about
two feet away and just stared at the face of the mother she thought she’d lost
five years previously. Kristin pulled an
arm away from the children in her arms and held it out to Cindy.
“Mom?” She asked incredulously. “Is it
really you?”
“It’s
me, darling. I swear it’s me. The nightmare is over. We don’t have to hide any more.”
Tears
began to run down Cynthia’s face but she wasn’t sure what to believe. She felt more than saw the shadow that fell
over her as she kept her gaze locked to her mother’s until finally she could
stand the scrutiny no more and looked up.
“Captain…
Nathan!?! Oh my God! You’re alive!”
Nathan
quickly knelt beside her. “Hi ya, kiddo!” He
glanced at Kristin. “Word
to your mother.” He told Cindy with a wink.
Cynthia
launched herself into her mother’s arms, her body racked with sobs. Callie pulled Cooper away and the women moved
more fully into each other’s embrace, Kristin soothing her distraught
daughter. The twins stopped in front of
Nathan.
“Cooper,
he’s our papa! He’s come home to us!”
Callie exclaimed.
Nathan
stared at his newly found son, his eyes drinking in every detail. Cooper was larger than his sister, thicker
through the body and several inches taller, but then he’d not been half starved
for several years like Callie had. There
was no mistaking the boy as his son. His
eyes were Bridger blue and his face was long and angular, his body lean and
lanky, just like his father’s.
“Cooper…”
Nathan whispered, unsure of how to react but he shouldn’t have worried. The boy fell into Nathan’s embrace with a
whispered ‘Papa!’
“Who
are those people, Robert?” Michael asked
as his big brother hoisted him into his arms and moved to stand near the
group.
“This
is the rest of your family, Michael.
Remember your mama and papa telling you that you had another brother and
sister? Well you are about to meet
them.”
Michael
stared at the boy who was hugging his father so enthusiastically, unsure how to
feel, but he did enjoy seeing a smile on his papa’s face.
Somehow,
through the din, Cynthia heard the strange man’s words to the unknown child and
pulled her head from her mother’s shoulder.
A shiver went through her as the man’s eyes locked with her gaze. “Mother?” She
questioned.
Kristin
brushed her own tears away and struggled to her feet, bringing Cynthia with
her. “This is Robert Bridger, Nathan’s
son. Robert, my
daughter, Cynthia.”
The
handsome man took Cynthia’s hand in his and smiled. “I’m very glad to meet you. Your mother talks about you so much that I
feel as if I know you already.” Robert
felt as if he were drowning in her deep brown eyes.
“Pleased
to meet you… but I thought… Nathan’s son was supposed to be…”
“Dead? Yes I was. Sometimes over the past fifteen years I even
wished I was but I’m still here.”
“There
is a lot that we have to tell you… to explain to you, Cynni. Some of it… a great deal of it actually… will
be a bit hard to believe. This is one of
those things… Cynthia this is Michael.
He is my son… mine and Nathan’s.”
Cynthia’s
eyes darted back to her mother. “I don’t
understand. You’ve been back together
for all this time…” Her confusion showed on her face.
“No…
it’s difficult to explain and I don’t think that this is the time or
place. Maybe we could go someplace a
little more private?”
Cynthia
glanced around, seeing the sea of faces staring at them as if for the first
time. “Of course.”
The
elderly man from the stage approached them cautiously. “Is everything okay, Susan?”
Cynthia
nodded. “Mr. MacLean, I’d like for you
to meet my mother, Kristin Westphalen.”
Kristin
smiled graciously as the gallant gentleman took her hand and brushed his lips
across her knuckles before she introduced the rest of the company.
Vague
introductions were performed and Cooper thanked the man once again for his
prize then the group managed to break away and begin the walk back to Cynthia’s
cottage.
*~*~*~*
Kristin
found Nathan sitting on a craggy rock jutting out into the ocean, Cynthia’s
small home barely visible in the distance.
“Hey, sailor. What’s on your mind?” She
questioned as she climbed up beside him.
Nathan
pulled her down until she was straddling his lap facing him. “I was just thinking…”
“Deep thoughts?” Kristin’s right hand gently caressed his cheek while her left arm
slipped around his back.
“I’m
pleased by how well our reunion seemed to go.”
Nathan’s hands began to roam lightly up and down her back. “I was also thinking that we need a lot more
space very quickly.”
“Perhaps
we should stay in NCQ for awhile. Bill
looked after both of our homes and our estates so we have a place. I also think
we should continue counseling and we are going to have to think about school
for all of the younger children…”
Nathan
laid two fingers across Kristin’s lips to silence her. “I know you are right but we don’t have to
let the world intrude just yet.”
Kristin
nodded and leaned slightly forward to share a loving kiss with him. “Okay, no world… not yet.”
Nathan
gazed into her eyes. “There is one other
thing that we need to talk about.”
“Umm…
what is that?” She asked, continuing her oral exploration of the line of his
cheekbone.
“We
need to talk about our future. It seems
like I’ve told everybody I know exactly how I feel about you…except you.” Nathan ran his hands over her cheeks and
cupped them in his palms, his thumbs running lightly over her cheekbones. “Kristin Westphalen, I have loved you across
time and space and I will love you until the day I die. You have given me the gift of three beautiful
children; you’ve given me joy and happiness.
But most importantly you’ve given me your love in return.”
Kristin
drew up to stare at him as he spoke, her eyes glowing at the depth of emotion
she saw in his face. “What about the
things you’ve given me? Your love, your friendship, the kids…my freedom. I too have loved you across time and space
and will love you until the day I die.”
Nathan
smiled. “Then it seems to me like it’s
about time that the two of us get married.
Ten plus years is a hell of a long courtship. How about it? My beautiful Kristin, will you marry me?”
“Are
you sure? You could do much better than
a stuffy old scientist whose fiftieth birthday is a very distant memory.”
“Hey,
you are talking about the woman I love!
She’s a brilliant scientist who is also the most beautiful woman I’ve
ever known both inside and out. And she
hasn’t answered my question yet.”
“Well…if
you’re sure…I want nothing more on this earth than to marry you, Nathan Bridger.”
Nathan’s
answering grin spoke volumes and Kristin couldn’t help but respond in
kind. She began to giggle with happiness
and buried her head in his shoulder.
Nathan nuzzled her neck, teasing her skin until she turned her face to
his and met his lips in a celebratory kiss.
*~*~*~*
“So,
do they do that a lot?” Robert asked Cynthia as they stared at the couple
silhouetted against the setting sun in the distance. A quick tag by Michael distracted her for a
moment as she paused to check on the children running wildly in the field
around them. They’d been fantastic
through all of the afternoon discussions but her cottage was small and the kids
were obviously happy to have wide-open space to play in.
Finally
she turned back to Robert with a happy smile on her face. “Cooper has been so lost without Callie. I am amazed to see the difference in him so
quickly. He seems to be adapting to Michael
as well. And to answer
your question… I haven’t been around them a great deal but the first
time they were together… kissing was one of their favorite past times,
according to Lucas at least.”
“Ah,
yes… Lucas. I have yet to meet him.”
“Lucas
is a good kid. He truly cares about mom
and about Nathan. Looks like you’re
stuck with all of us… one big happy family.”
Robert
cautiously took Cindy’s hand in his own and
squeezed. “I can think of worse things…
I’ve lived through worse things. I’m
actually looking forward to spending time with you… and with the kids… really
getting to know all of you.”
“And
mom?”
Robert
saw the worried look in Cynthia’s eye and hastily reassured her. “I like your mother. Dad really loves her.”
“They
belong together, Robert. I know that you
miss your mom… when I was younger I used to wish my mom and dad would get back
together but I realize now that mom is so much happier.”
“I
can see that and what’s more… I want that.
I think that it is extremely rare but I want a love like that.”
“So
do I.”
Cynthia
blushed as she realized the intimacy of their conversation and quickly pulled
her hand from Robert’s, moving toward the couple approaching them. She immediately noticed the silly grins
plastered across their parent’s faces.
“What’s
going on?” She asked, half-knowing what the answer was going to be.
“Hang
on a sec.” Nathan shouted across the field, his voice quickly bringing all of
the children running to his side. When
they were gathered around he bent down on one knee and locked his arms around
Kristin’s hips.
“My
children, Cynthia… I want to talk to you about something very important. I’ve asked your mama to marry me and she has
said yes but I thought maybe I’d better ask all of you what you thought about
that idea.”
Nathan
blinked and found himself flat on his back on the ground, Kristin sitting on
her bottom beside him as three small children swarmed them. Cynthia quickly found her way through the
group to embrace her mother.
“I
take it you approve then?” Nathan laughingly asked.
“Yes!”
They screamed in unison.
Nathan
looked up at his son and was rewarded with a quiet smile. Robert stretched his hand out to his
father. “Congratulations, Dad… Kristin.”
Cooper
caught Robert by surprise, grabbing him around the knees and sending him
tumbling to the ground in the midst of the rest of the group.
“So
when’s this wedding going to take place?” Cynthia asked as Cooper climbed into
her lap, suddenly skittish around his older brother.
Nathan
and Kristin looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. “We haven’t really talked about that. I have an idea… Janet did mention something
about their house… didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t know for sure
if we would…”
Nathan
stuck his tongue out at her. “Of course
we were!”
“Are
you sure you wouldn’t like something a little bit larger?” Cynthia asked.
“NO!” Their voices chimed together.
“Almost
everyone we need is right here.” Kristin said.
“Maybe Bill and Janet… and Lucas of course. Perhaps some of the guys from the seaQuest
would like to come…but if you invite Piccolo he’d better be on his best
behavior!”
“I’ll
call Bill and get him started on the legal aspects. He’s already put the ball in motion to take
care of the death certificate and get your medical license reinstated. This should be a piece of cake.”
“How
soon before you can be ready to leave, Cynni?”
They’d
already decided that Cynthia would return to
“I
can have the house closed up in a day or two.
We have friends here who will watch things until I decide what to
do. It’s really just a matter of packing
our clothes and saying a few good-byes!”
“Then
I’ll make the arrangements for us to leave the day after tomorrow.”
*~*~*~*
Kristin
stared out over the sea of people spread out across the beach in front of
her. The wedding they had planned had
been a small affair but it hadn’t ended up that way. An added person here and another one there
had increased the numbers until they had to frantically scramble to get a
bigger cake.
Nimble
fingers brushed her back then crept around her waist. Kristin leaned back into her husband’s arms.
“Happy, Mrs. Bridger?”
“Ecstatic, Mr. Bridger!”
“I
wish they’d all go home now.”
“Nathan! You shouldn’t just wish our friends away!”
“The
wedding is over. The cake has been
cut. The bride and groom are anxious to
steal away. I would like to take my wife
to bed and make passionate love to her!
Why shouldn’t I wish them away?”
Kristin
grinned. “We could just sneak away for
ten or fifteen minutes. I doubt anyone
would notice that we were gone.”
Nathan
grinned and took her hand, pulling her toward the door of the beach house.
“You
are amazing… do you know that?” Kristin whispered to him as he slammed the door
shut behind him and backed her up against it.
Nathan’s
nimble fingers were making short work of the buttons of Kristin’s dress. “Why do you say that?” He asked just as he
worked a sleeve down her arm, the strap of her bra sliding with it.
“Because you… uhmm… a man of your age… to
still be so insat…iable… oh, Nathan!” Kristin moaned and locked
her hands into his hair, holding him firmly to the naked breast that he was
suckling.
“That’s
because I’m married to a beautiful and equally insatiable woman.”
“Mom? Dad?”
Nathan groaned and pulled back, using his body to shield Kristin as the french
doors on the opposite end of the room flew open.
“There
you are!” Callie stuck her head around the door and eyed the couple for a
moment as she watched her mother’s frantic movements behind her father. When Kristin had her clothes back together
Callie continued in, followed closely by Lucas, a knowing look on both of their
faces.
Nathan
lifted an arm to Kristin’s waist and pulled her closely to him, both of them
smiling at the couple in front of them, still decked out in their wedding
finery. Callie looked gorgeous in her
white wedding gown and Lucas was quite dashing in his UEO dress uniform.
Thirteen
years had passed since Nathan and Kristin had spoken their vows, thirteen years
of love and laughter, of peace and happiness.
Although the children had some adjustments early on, their parents’ love
had helped them through the troublesome times.
Cooper had recently graduated from the naval academy and was very proud
that his first posting was on board his father’s old ship. His goal was to someday be the captain of the
seaQuest.
Callie
had grown into a stunning young woman, the beauty she inherited from her mother
captivating many young men. But Lucas
held her heart, had held it from the first moment she’d met him and he’d been
so kind to her. Lucas had taken a little longer to realize his feelings for
Callie but after some initial hesitation on his part the two began to date
while Callie was in college. Nathan and
Kristin were delighted with the match, happy to welcome Lucas officially into
the family that he was already so much a part of. The couple would settle nearby after their
honeymoon, Lucas working as head of the computer division for the UEO and
Callie continuing her medical studies.
Michael
was something of a mystery to both of his parents, a perfect blend of the two
of them. He had his father’s piercing
blue eyes and little boy charm and his mother’s auburn hair and direct
manner. His brilliance astounded them
both and in many ways he reminded his parents more of a young Lucas than of any
of his siblings. Michael had a passion
for video games, motorcycles, quantum mechanics and girls.
Having
found a love and passion with each other to rival that of their parents, Robert
and Cynthia married thus completing the Bridger family. The younger Bridgers
had three sons – William, Charles and Edward – who were the apple of their
parents’ eyes and the joy of their grandparents’ hearts.
“Do you think it’s too early for us to
change? We’d like to get out of here but
we don’t want to offend anyone.” Callie asked hesitantly.
“Hell no it isn’t too early. It’s the
bridal couple’s prerogative to leave the reception when they want to. I don’t think your mother and I stayed at
ours more than a couple of hours.”
Kristin rolled her eyes as
she stared at him. “Fifteen minutes.”
“What?”
“We
stayed at our wedding reception fifteen minutes before you decided that it was
time for us to leave.”
“No…
we stayed longer than that. We stayed
forever!”
“Fifteen
minutes, sir. Cake… toast… honeymoon.”
Lucas confirmed Kristin’s statement.
“Hey! You should agree with your father-in-law at
least until the wedding is paid for.”
Lucas
laughed. “I’m staying on my new
mother-in-law’s good side!”
Kristin
inclined her head toward the hallway leading toward the bedrooms. “Go change.
Your father and I will… pave the way… so to speak!”
“But
you’d better be back in ten minutes or I am coming to interrupt you! I owe both of you a couple of interruptions
at least!” Nathan yelled after the retreating couple. He waited until they’d disappeared before
pushing his wife back up against the wall and lightly biting her neck. She moaned quietly.
“Nathan
Bridger… you have to behave yourself.
You are nearly eighty years old!” She halfheartedly pushed his hands away
from their caressing grip on her chest.
“Don’t
feel a day over seventy!” He countered as his lips moved lower down her scooped
neckline. Kristin laughed and twisted
away from him.
“Later…
I promise! Cooper has to leave on the
seaQuest. We’ll send Michael home with
Robert and Cynthia.”
“Our
baby is almost eighteen years old, honey.
He’s getting a little old to ship off for a few hours.”
“Trust
me, Nathan, he’ll be glad to get out of clean-up duty.
He and our grandsons will be buried in video games for the rest of the
evening.”
“Then
let’s go get rid of everybody!”
They
linked hands and shared a loving kiss, chaste but full of promise for the
evening ahead, and went out the doors together.
~fin