Nathan Bridger stared at the vidscreen in front of him for the ninth time in the last two days trying to get a connection. Finally the face of Terry Wallz came on the line. They were getting pretty familiar with each other.

"Good morning, Terry. I don't suppose by any chance he's in, is he?" Bridger expected the usual response. He figured that there was no way the secretary of Dr. Lawrence Wolenczak would actually let him talk to the man himself.

Terry smiled a sly smile, "Captain, you must live right... it usually takes at least a dozen calls before people can get ahold of Dr. Wolenczak... but it just so happens that he's in his office right now. Hang on and I'll put you through to him."

"Terry, you deserve sainthood. Thanks."

The vidscreen changed to a picture of the back of Lawrence Wolenczak's head. Bridger heard Terry voiceover to him. "Dr. Wolenczak, you have a call on..."

That was as far as he got as Wolenczak broke into his announcement, waving his hand at the screen that he didn't even turn to look at. "Not now, Terry. Tell whoever it is to call back."

Nathan grinned, "Too late, Lawrence, I'm already in."

Wolenczak spun around in his chair with a surprised look on his face that changed to a smile when he saw who was calling. "Nathan!" His look suddenly got serious. "Is Lucas alright?"

Bridger hurried to reassure him. "Lucas is just fine, Lawrence. He's doing great and enjoying being able to put some of his ideas into the new boat."

The smile returned to Wolenczak's face. "He's probably driving you crazy with his ideas and schemes. What can I do for you?"

"Actually, Lawrence, it's what I've done for you." A confused look crossed over Wolenczak's face. "Do you remember what tomorrow is?"

Wolenczak looked off screen, apparently checking a calendar. "Tomorrow... hmmm..." He suddenly realized the significance of the day. "Damn, tomorrow is Lucas' birthday, isn't it?"

"Yup."

Lawrence leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. "And I told him I'd be with him for his birthday." He sounded pretty disgusted with himself.

"That's alright, Lawrence, I don't think he realistically expected that you'd be here."

"Yeah, but I didn't even get him a birthday present."

Bridger grinned again. "Sure you did." Wolenczak brought his gaze down to the vidscreen. Bridger continued. "Not only did you get him a present... he's gonna love it."

That got Wolenczak grinning too. "Okay, what did you get for me to give him?"

"His keyboard was destroyed when the seaQuest went down and he's been messing around with a small one since then, so you got him a really good keyboard. It'll be delivered tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, the card with it says, ‘Happy Birthday to the Best Son in the World, Love, Dad'."

Wolenczak smiled and shook his head. "You cover my butt again, Nathan. What do I owe you for the keyboard?"

Bridger checked a receipt on his desk. "Let's see, you owe me $1,247."

Lawrence chuckled. "Wow, I really do love that kid, don't I."

"Well, it'll be worth it. He's really wanted a new keyboard and this is a nice one... you'll make all sorts of points."

"Am I allowed to feel guilty about this?"

"Absolutely, Lawrence. If he asks you how you knew he needed a keyboard just tell him that you checked with me. That should cover our bases." Bridger noticed that Terry had come in the office and was putting paperwork on Wolenczak's desk. "I do need you to do one thing for me, Lawrence."

"What would that be?"

"Terry, listen in on this one. I'm going to depend on you to make sure he does it." Terry grinned and looked towards the screen. "Lawrence, I need you to give him a call tomorrow night for his birthday. That would be the best present you could ever give him."

Wolenczak and Terry both nodded and Wolenczak answered. "You've got it, Nathan. Any particular time?"

"Well, we're having a birthday party for him right after work at the house. If you called about 9 or 9:30 our time he should be free by then."

"I'll do that, I promise."

Terry chimed in, "And I'll make sure he does it."

"Thanks, Terry."

"And I'll make sure the money for the keyboard gets transferred into your account, Nathan," said Wolenczak. He paused a moment and then looked at Nathan's image on the screen. "I can't thank you enough for keeping an eye on him for me, Nathan... and watching over me to be sure I don't screw up with him too bad."

"No problem, Lawrence. I like having the kid around. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Wolenczak nodded and leaned forward to break the link.

The alarm went off at 6 a.m. Normally, Lucas turned over and hit the snooze alarm at least five times and that's what he did now. Lucas lay in his bed on his back listening to the sounds of the Doc and the Captain getting ready for the day. Bridger was always up first and was usually dressed way before either of them. He liked to get the coffee started because he said he wasn't fit to talk to until he had at least one cup into him .and he was right. He might be an early riser but he certainly wasn't particularly pleasant about it.

He heard Bridger walk towards the front of the house. He must be done dressing and now it was Westphalen's turn. The alarm went off again and Lucas smacked the snooze button, silencing it. But he didn't go back to sleep. Instead he just lay on his back and smiled. Today was his birthday. It would be a birthday like no other he'd had before. He was 18. There were all sorts of things he could do as of today. Today he could get his driver's license back. The nine months since his traffic accident hadn't been too long but having to have a licensed driver with him was a bit of a pain and it cramped his style. He was 18... he could pick up and leave if he felt like it... not that he felt like it but it was nice to know it was there if he wanted to. He didn't have a curfew anymore. Oh, there were all sorts of things he could do now.

Lucas heard Dr. Westphalen finish in the bathroom and head into the bedroom she shared with Bridger. The alarm went off again and this time Lucas didn't hit the snooze but switched it to a radio instead. He got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. It was his turn. By the time he finished getting ready and dressing Kristin was already in the kitchen. She'd promised to make him French toast for his birthday breakfast. Lucas figured it was her way of ensuring that he ate okay but he wasn't going to argue about getting something he loved for breakfast. He went out into the dining room to find Bridger already seated at the table going over some paperwork having to do with the new boat. Kristin was puttering around in the kitchen. Bridger noticed him first and glanced at him over his reading glasses.

"Well, good morning, birthday boy. Happy Birthday, Lucas." He leaned over and pulled Lucas' chair away from the table.

Kristin came in from the kitchen. "Good morning. Happy Birthday, Lucas," she said as she planted a small kiss on his cheek. "And many, many more."

"Thanks Doc," Lucas said, blushing a bit.

"You just sit there and we'll have this breakfast ready in no time."

Bridger poured Lucas some milk and orange juice. "So how does it feel to be 18?"

"Kinda like it felt to be 17 but a day older."

Nathan grinned at the boy... nope, he had to correct himself... at the young man, "Congratulations, you've now reached the point where all the birthdays start blending into one another."

Kristin brought in a large plate of French toast and all the trimmings. All three of them eagerly attacked the food. Plates of this and that circled around the table with an amazing precision.

Lucas finished off the last of the French toast he was eating. "That was terrific, Doc. Thanks."

"Well, you're quite welcome. When I grew up that was a tradition in our household. On your birthday you had a choice of any meal and you picked what was eaten." She glanced back at Bridger who had taken the job of cleaning off the table. "Need any help there?"

"Nope, I think I've got everything all set."

"Well, just leave the dishes. I'm coming home early today to set up for the party and I'll take care of them when I do." Nathan didn't need to be convinced. He carefully stacked the dishes in the sink and left them.

Lucas had a question. "So I have to ask, what did you pick for your meal when you were growing up?"

Kristin got a small smile on her face. "We had a cook who made the most scrumptious chicken cordon bleu with lumpy mashed potatoes and green beans. It was a meal fit for a queen."

Nathan came in from the kitchen. "If you two are done reminiscing, we'd better be going. I'd hate for Lucas to be late for work on the first day that he's responsible for himself."

The trio headed out of the house. Bridger stopped to lock the main doors to the porch. As he walked through the porch to the outside door he picked up a small package which had been sitting behind a picture. Kristin and Lucas waited at the bottom of the stairs for him to lock the porch door. Before he turned to lock the door, Nathan threw the package down to Lucas.

"Happy Birthday, kiddo."

Lucas turned the package over in his hands. "Can I open it now?" Bridger nodded and Lucas tore at the wrapping paper covering the box. Inside the box was tissue paper... it looked like it was filled with tissue paper. Lucas took first one and then another sheet of the stuff out. There, taped to the bottom of the box, were two keys. Lucas stared at the keys and then at Bridger who had now made it down to ground level.

"You didn't," Lucas said with wonder in his voice.

"It's next to my car," Nathan said, indicating the direction with his head. Lucas took off running around the corner of the house followed by Nathan and Kristin. He stopped dead as he cleared the corner and stared in wonder at the yellow sports car parked next to Bridger's. It was almost comical to see him standing there with his mouth open. He stared for a long moment and glanced back to where Nathan and Kristin stood with each other's arms around their waists.

"It's a Mustang." Bridger nodded. "It's my Mustang?" Lucas asked.

"It's yours. The car's paid for and six months of insurance is paid. After that you're on your own."

Lucas got a doubting look on his face. "It's too expensive, sir. I can't accept this?" You could tell by the tone of his voice that he really wanted to accept it.

"Actually, if you think about it, you paid for part of it. Patents are wonderful things, Lucas. I've got the patent on the aquatubes and a couple of the modifications you came up with made them much more marketable. Let's just say that was one profitable invention."

Kristin piped in, "I would have thought that the military would have the patent."

Bridger looked at her as Lucas went up to the car and started inspecting it. "They would have if I hadn't left the Navy when I did. When I left the idea was there but the practical design wasn't anywhere near finished. I finished it when I was on the island and if the military wanted the aquatubes, they had to accept that I kept the patent."

Lucas raised his head from an inspection of the engine compartment. His voice held a tone of awe, "Sir, she's beautiful."

Nathan walked up and ran a hand over the fender. "She is pretty, isn't she. Now all we need to do is get you to DMV to get your full license reinstated."

Lucas looked up at him. "Miguel said that he'd take me this afternoon if it's alright."

"Yeah, that's okay with me." Bridger looked at his watch. "For that matter, that would work just fine. I've got this feeling that I'm going to be desk-bound for most of the day today."

Lucas was looking at the car again. He looked up at Nathan with a sideways glance and in a wondering voice said, "This is really for me?"

Nathan tousled his hair. "Yeah, it's for you."

Lucas turned towards him and grasped Nathan in a big bear hug. Nathan was surprised for a moment. He had hugged Lucas before when Lucas was upset but he'd never had Lucas initiate the hug before. It was a moment before he could say anything.

"Happy Birthday, kiddo," he pulled back and looked at Lucas. "And be careful in this thing... anything happens to you and I'd have it on my conscience."

"I promise, I'll be careful." He looked at the car again. "Wow."

Nathan gave him a pull. "Come on, we better get going or we're all going to be late." He stopped by Kristin who had pulled her keys out. "Are you taking your own car?"

"Yes, I need to get back here early to set up for the party. I'll see you after work." Nathan and Kristin exchanged a quick but intense kiss before separating. Lucas was standing by the passenger door of Bridger's car. He rolled his eyes.

"Just get into the car, Mr. Smart Guy," said Nathan, touching the lockpad to open the car.

The day went by uneventfully except for the occasional birthday greetings or gift that Lucas received. As predicted, Bridger was stuck at his desk all day dealing with administration matters. He was beginning to drag when Lucas stuck his head in the door about 1 p.m.

"Hi, I'm going to leave now if that's okay."

"That's fine, Lucas. Have a good afternoon off."

Lucas seemed a bit nervous. "I will... 'cause Miguel and I are going to go see about getting my license fully re-instated... and that's all."

Bridger's voice was cheerful. "Sounds good to me. Don't forget that Kristin has your party scheduled for right after work. You should try to be home by 5:30 or so."

"Um... I will... it won't take us near that much time to get my license straightened out."

Bridger just nodded and Lucas continued, stuttering a little, "C-c-ause, um, that's what we're doing this afternoon."

Bridger nodded again. "Then you'd better get going I think."

Lucas didn't look any more comfortable. "Um... okay, I'll be going then," and he headed out the door and down the hallway.

Bridger watched Lucas' retreating back thoughtfully. "Just going to get your license back my foot," he said under his breath.

By the time Nathan arrived home the party was in full swing. He headed back to the bedroom and changed out of his uniform into a comfortable pair of jeans and a white shirt. As he walked up to the living room he was amazed with what Kristin had done to the house. She'd said that she figured that it had been years, if ever, that Lucas had been given a ‘proper' birthday party. She'd definitely gone out of her way to be sure that he'd enjoy this one. There were crepe streamers hanging from the ceiling and the light fixtures. Helium balloons filled the house and one long table had been put against the dining room wall to hold all the food, and there certainly was enough of it. Even Lucas wouldn't be able to finish off all this food. His favorites were there, of course, pizza and little peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, but there was something on this table for everyone.

Nathan grabbed himself a beer and headed out to the porch. There were sounds of laughter coming from the beach area. When he looked out, Nathan was rewarded with the sight of at least twenty adults of various age gathered around while Lucas, who was blindfolded, swung a broom handle at a large piñata donkey. Peals of laughter accompanied each failed try to break open the donkey. After several tries Lucas gave up and other members of the party tried. Tim and Katie didn't even make a dent in it. Miguel gave it a shot but only managed to put a little hole in the nose of the donkey. After much prodding, Jonathan was finally blindfolded and he gave it his best shot. Somehow Ford got lucky and on his second swing the papier-mâché donkey split open right in the middle and candy went flying all over the beach. It was quite a sight to see all those supposed grownups on the beach searching the sand for candy. Nathan felt Kristin walk up beside him and slip her arm around his waist. He pulled her close as they watched the scramble in the sand.

Kristin's voice had a smile in it. "I think he's enjoying himself, don't you?"

Nathan turned and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I think he's having a blast. Thanks."

"Oh, I didn't do anything," said Kristin.

Nathan gave her a squeeze. "Sure you didn't."

The party group was sitting in the sand now listening to something Lucas was saying. He must have been talking about the car because, as a group, they got up and headed around the side of the house. Nathan and Kristin went down the stairs to join them. As they turned the corner they found the members of the party admiring Lucas' new Mustang. Miguel looked over at Bridger.

"Captain, can you become my guardian?"

Bridger smiled and shook his head. "Not a chance, Miguel. I can hardly afford the ward I have now."

Kristin broke into the universal admiration of the car. "Come on, you guys, the food is ready and then Lucas gets to open up his birthday presents."

Tim was shaking his head. "Yeah, but how do you top that?" he indicated the car.

Kristin got her ‘mom' tone of voice. "You go for the thought and not necessarily the cost of the gift." This time Lucas took Kristin's hand as they headed back into the house followed by Nathan and the rest of the guests.

The food had been eaten and there was colored wrapping paper all over the place from the gifts Lucas had opened. After he had removed the last bow and torn the last piece of paper, Kristin doused the lights in the room as Bridger brought in Lucas' birthday cake. The cake was magnificent. A full sheet cake covered with white icing with ‘Happy Birthday Lucas' printed on it in blue. Across the cake was a large rendition of the seaQuest complete with a little dolphin swimming in its wake and 19 candles were arranged around the edges.

Tim was the first to make a smart comment. "Hey, did you have to get a permit from the fire department to put that many candles on it?"

Lucas grinned, his face lit by the light of the little candles. "No, that's only when it's the Captain's birthday." This pronouncement was greeted with a chorus of groans and whistles from the crowd and a pained look from Bridger.

"Teach me to be nice to you," Nathan said in a pretend hurt voice.

"Eighteen candles, Lucas, and one for good luck," said Kristin. "Make a wish and blow them out."

Lucas looked at the cake and then at the people surrounding him before inhaling deeply and blowing all the candles out with one breath. The crowd broke into applause.

By 8:45 the last of the party-goers had headed home and Nathan and Kristin sat on the couch on the porch. Lucas sat across from them playing with some of the things he'd received that night. Nathan had his head back on the couch with his eyes shut. Kristin rubbed his thigh.

"Tired?"

Nathan sighed, "A little. Everyone should have birthdays on Fridays like this so that people can sleep in the next day."

"See, I even timed that right," said Lucas with a smile.

Nathan lifted his head off the cushion. "Hey, I forgot to ask you how your afternoon went."

As he expected, Lucas tensed up some. "Um, everything went just fine. I got my license all straightened out so I can drive alone now."

"That's good. I know that was driving you nuts." Lucas attempted a rather feeble grin. Nathan leaned his head back again and continued. "So where did you put it?"

Lucas' face was a cross between confusion and consternation. "Uhhh... in my wallet?"

Kristin smiled at him. "Not your license, silly... where did you put the tattoo?"

Lucas' eyes got big. "Waa... waa... what tattoo?"

Nathan lifted his head again and said in a calm voice. "The one you got this afternoon." He paused for a moment. "We have a bet going on it, you know?"

"A bet???"

"Yes... on what it is. We decided not to bet on where you'd put it but we do have a bet on what kind of tattoo you got."

Lucas was still trying to bluff his way out. "What makes you think that I got a tattoo?" He was sure that Bridger was going to kill him when he found out that he was right.

"Because you're 18... and now you don't need my permission."

Lucas decided to try a different tact. "So would you be angry if I did get one?"

Bridger sighed. "I wouldn't be particularly pleased but no, not angry. I told you before that I wouldn't sign to approve it but you don't need my approval now. You can get a tattoo if you want to."

Lucas was feeling a little better. A thought occurred to him. "What kind of bet did you make?"

Kristin leaned forward. "Nathan says you got a tattoo of a dolphin. I win if you've got anything else." She smiled over at Lucas. "So... where did you put it?"

"Right here," Lucas brought his hand up to the upper part of his left chest just below the collarbone.

"Can I see it?" Kristin seemed a lot more interested in it than Nathan.

A smile lit up Lucas' face. "Yeah." Kristin came over as Lucas opened up the top buttons on his shirt and pulled it back. There, on his chest, was a small beautiful picture of a bottlenose dolphin. Kristin turned on the light to get a better look at it.

"That's wonderful, Lucas." She turned to look at Bridger who was still on the couch. "You win... did you want to see it?"

"I can see it from here." Lucas glanced over at him with a worried look on his face. Bridger didn't sound upset. "Really, Lucas, it's your choice... not particularly what I'd do myself but it's up to you."

Kristin piped in. "Not that there's much of a choice now." Lucas grinned.

"Yeah, they're a heck of a lot more painful to have removed than they are to put on," grumbled Nathan.

Kristin came back over to sit with him mumbling under her breath, "You should know." She seemed to suddenly remember something. "Lucas, I forgot to tell you. A package came for you today." She pointed at a long thin box under the dining room table.

Lucas went into the house and retrieved the box, bringing it back onto the porch. There was a card attached to the outside of the box and he opened it first. Nathan saw Lucas' eyes get big and he began to blink more rapidly than normal. With a little catch in his voice he said, "It's from my father." He stared at the card a moment and said, "It says ‘Happy Birthday to the Best Son in the World, Love Dad'"

"Well, open it up," urged Kristin.

Lucas opened the end of the box and slid the box containing his gift from it. Lucas' eyes got big as he discovered that his father had sent him a new keyboard and this was a great keyboard. All sorts of bells and whistles. He looked up at Bridger, "How did he know?"

Nathan smiled at him, "He asked."

"Do you two talk about me much?"

"We talk pretty regularly. Your dad likes to keep track of how you're doing. He wants to know that you're okay." Lucas nodded and started taking the keyboard out of the box. Nathan looked at the empty beer bottle in his hand. He glanced over at Kristin. "We don't have to work tomorrow, right?" Kristin nodded and Bridger stood up. "Then I'm going to get another beer."

As he walked by Lucas the teen raised his head from the keyboard on his lap. "Cap?" Bridger stopped and glanced at him. "What did you win with the bet on my tattoo?"

Nathan slid his glance over to Kristin and fixed her with a leer. "You don't want to know," he said firmly.

"You're right. I don't want to know."

Nathan went into the house and they could hear him in the refrigerator getting his beer. As he started back for the porch, Nathan heard the vidphone ring. He went down into the den to answer the call. A short time later he re-appeared from the den and came out onto the porch where Kristin had been standing over Lucas' shoulder as he filled her in on the amazing things this keyboard could do.

Nathan put his hand on Lucas' shoulder. "The phone call's for you... in the den."

"Oh, okay," said Lucas as he got up and headed to the back room.

Kristin moved in front of Nathan and slid her hands around him, snuggling close. She pulled her head back to look at his face. "You're something special did you know that?"

Nathan shook his head, "No... nope, that kid... now he's something special."

Just before the door to the den closed they heard Lucas exclaim, "Dad!" and Wolenczak responding, "Happy Birthday Lucas."