"Boy, it's really a shame that they can't get your new car to you any earlier, Doc," Lucas said from the back seat of Nathan's car.

"Well, I suppose it's to be expected when I was so insistent on the color and options," Kristin said looking back at him from the front passenger seat.

"Yup, so how come you didn't go for that sapphire blue one?  It had everything that you had on your car before it got smashed."

"Because I want just the same car as I had before the hurricane dumped that tree on top of my pretty little sports car," Kristin said firmly.  "Just because my car got destroyed doesn't mean I can't have what I want again.  I happened to like that car."

"Oh, it was a great car, Doc... it's just the wait to get the new one....."

"Well, I imagine if I need to use one in the meanwhile I can probably borrow this one," she turned and looked at Nathan who was driving silently.  "Right?"

For a moment or two he didn't respond then Nathan looked quickly over at her before returning his eyes to the road.  "What?"

"Have you been listening to us at all?" Kristin asked in an amused voice.

"Um, not really," Nathan said hesitantly.

"I was just saying that if I needed to borrow a car before my new one gets delivered next week I can probably borrow yours."

"Yeah," Nathan said with a nod.  "Any time.  I can always take my bike if I need to get somewhere."

Kristin sat back in her seat.  "Oh, just what I want to do... give you an excuse to ride that death trap," she said disapprovingly.

Nathan glanced silently over at her and Kristin saw his face get that blank look he got when he was upset.  "Learn to live with it.  It's my bike," Nathan said shortly.

"I just want to make sure that you live while you're on it," Kristin answered a little sharply.

Nathan stared fixedly out the front windshield for a good two minutes before answering and then all he said was,  "Not now."

"Not now, what?"

"You don't want to have this discussion now," Nathan said tightly.

Kristin watched him with a frown.  "Are you feeling alright?"

He looked at her quickly again and sighed.  "Yeah, I feel fine, why?" he said shortly.

"Because you're not usually quite as snappish as you've been today," Kristin answered soothingly.

"Oh," Nathan said softly and then shrugged his shoulders.  "I guess I'm just a little tired."

Kristin glanced quickly back at Lucas.  Last night Nathan had gotten out of bed around two a.m. and they'd both heard him walking the floor for the rest of the night.

"Was that a nightmare last night?" Kristin asked.

Nathan shook his head.  "No, not a nightmare."  Those had kept him awake often enough but it seemed like he hadn't had one since he and Kristin had started sharing his bed.  "I guess I just had a lot on my mind."

"Want to talk about it?" Kristin asked softly.

He glanced towards her and smiled a little.  "No... if you don't mind."

"No, that's alright," she said as they pulled into the drive of Nathan's beach house.

In the back seat Lucas relaxed a little.  That was the first time he'd seen them have a little spat since the hurricane had destroyed the Doc's condo and she'd moved in with them.  For a moment he'd been afraid that it might escalate.... neither one of them was particularly known for their patience but it seemed like it blew over easily enough... although Bridger still looked pretty tight.  He got out of the car and followed the adults up the stairs to the porch of the house, walking behind them as they headed for the French doors that led into the house.  He saw Bridger slip his arm around the Doc's waist and pull her close as they walked.

"Sorry," Nathan said softly.

Kristin leaned over and kissed him quickly on the cheek.  "That's alright.  You can't be expected to be in a good mood all the time." She smiled saucily at him.  "But you better be in a good mood when I want you to be in a good mood."

"I'll try," Nathan said as he pressed the buttons to open the French doors and pulled the door open for her.  He saw Lucas' smug smile.  "All bets are off when it comes to you though," he winked at the boy.

"Yeah," Lucas answered smartly, "but you pick on me all the time."

"Telling you to pick up your dirty clothes is not picking on you," Nathan countered.

"You don't tell the Doc to pick up her dirty clothes," Lucas grinned as he headed into the kitchen.

"She doesn't leave her dirty clothes on the floor," Nathan retorted, "and if she does I'm probably the one who put them there."

"Too much information, Cap," Lucas said breezing out of the kitchen with a soda in his hand and heading back for his bedroom to play on his computer.

Both adults smiled after him and Kristin moved in front of Nathan and slipped her arms around his waist.   "He's a joy to have around, isn't he?"

"Most of the time," Nathan smiled.  He pulled her closer and dropped his head onto her shoulder.  "Most of the time," he said again softly.  After holding on to her for a moment Nathan pulled away.  "I need to have a look at those reports I brought home," he said reaching for his briefcase.

"Never quite a nine-to-five job, is it?" Kristin teased.

"Never, ever," Nathan mumbled as he sat at the dining room table and pulled out the reports.

Kristin smiled over at him and took the book she was reading off of the credenza before settling into one of the blue recliners to read. About forty-five minutes later she heard Lucas' bedroom door open and the sound of his footsteps in the hall.  Lucas leaned over the top of her chair with a grin on his face.

"You know what I feel like?" he asked cheerily.

Kristin leaned her head back to look at him.  "No, what do you feel like?"

"I feel like a rocky road ice cream cone.  Wanna go to the ice cream parlor?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Lucas."  She looked over at Nathan who was fixedly staring at one of his reports.  "How about it, Nathan.  You deserve a break."

He glanced up at her, "Hmm?" and then he registered what she had said.  "Oh, um, no.  I'm waiting for a phone call so I need to stick around... but why don't you two go."

"You sure, Cap?  Ice cream would taste really good about now," Lucas said in a conniving voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure.  I've got to stay... but you go."

Kristin moved over next to his chair.  "We could be really quick," she said enticingly.

Nathan smiled softly and shook his head.  "No, I can't," he reached into his pocket and pulled out the car keys, "here, take your time."

"Alright," Kristin said with a pout and leaned down to kiss him.  "Come on, Lucas, let's go get that ice cream."

Nathan watched them walk across the porch and then heard their steps down the stairs before he stood and moved back into the den on the other side of the house.  He stood in the darkened room and looked out the window, not turning on the light until he saw the car back out of the drive and turn down the street.  Then he sighed heavily and moved over to sit in front of the large vid-screen.  Nathan punched in some numbers and waited while the connection went through.  After a short time he found himself looking at the smiling face of Terry Wallz, Lawrence Wolenczak's administrative aide.

"Hi, Terry, how are you doing?"

"I'm excellent, Captain.  How about you?"

"Doing well, very well.  Any chance that I can talk to him?"

Wallz looked over his shoulder and frowned.  "How important is it?" he hedged.

"It's kind of important, Terry.  Nothing serious.  I mean Lucas is alright and everything but I really need to speak with him if I can."

Wallz nodded.  "Let me see what I can do.  Can I put you on hold?"

"Sure."  Nathan saw Terry lean forward and then he was staring at the logo of the New World Power Project and listening to canned music while he waited for him to come back on again.  While he waited Nathan nervously tapped his fingers on the edge of his keyboard and stared at a picture of him and Lucas that sat on the top of his desk.

Suddenly the logo disappeared only to be replaced by the smiling face of Lawrence Wolenczak, Lucas' father.  "Nathan, how good to hear from you.  Is Lucas alright?"

"Lucas is fine, Lawrence," Nathan said smiling just a little.  He was beginning to understand just how deeply Lawrence cared for his son even if he wasn't very good at showing it or being there when he was needed.  "It was me.  I needed to talk to you."

Wolenczak leaned back in his chair a little and looked at Nathan's image on his screen with a slightly perplexed face.  "What about?"

Nathan took a deep breath.  "About a week ago this area got hit by a hurricane that did a lot of damage," he started.

"Yes, I know," Lawrence said seriously.  "And I truly appreciate you leaving me the message that Lucas was alright so quickly afterwards. You said he did get a little cut up though."

"Yeah, both me and him.  We had a window explode just as we were going past it.  It was a bit more exciting than I care to get but it was really minor cuts for the both of us and he's healing up nicely."

"Good."

"This really has more to do with another result of that storm."  He watched as Lawrence leaned back again just looking at him.  "I don't know if Lucas has told you about the lady I've been seeing for the last six months."

"Doctor Kristin Westphalen," Lawrence smiled.  "He's told me quite a bit about her... he seems to like her a lot."

"Yeah, well so do I," Nathan said softly.  "During the hurricane her condo was destroyed."

"Was she alright?" Lawrence asked concerned.

"Yes, she was alright.  She was at UEO Headquarters with Lucas and me when the storm hit."

"Thank God," Lawrence said fervently.

"I do, believe me, I do," Nathan answered back and then paused for a moment.  "When her condo was destroyed Lucas and I asked her to stay with us until she could find another place to live."  Lawrence nodded, not quite sure where this was going.  "That was a little over a week ago.  At first she was staying in Lucas' room and he was using the futon in the den to sleep on."

"Uh huh," Lawrence nodded tentatively.

"But a couple of days ago that changed.  Lucas moved back into his bedroom and Kristin moved into mine."

Lawrence nodded again, a neutral look on his face.  "Your bedroom," he said matter of factly.  "So you're living together?"

"Yeah."

"I see," Lawrence said staring fixedly at Nathan until he felt decidedly uncomfortable.

"I thought I should tell you," Nathan said hesitantly.

"Do you love her?"

"Oh, yeah," Nathan said in a heartfelt voice.

"Are you going to get married?"

Now Nathan looked uncomfortable.  "Um, not exactly," he sighed.  "We don't think that either one of us is quite ready for that step just yet."

"But you're prepared to live together," Lawrence said sharply.

"Yes," Nathan answered simply.

Lawrence leaned a little towards the screen with a firm look on his face.  "Are you just advising me or are you asking me permission to keep my son in that kind of situation?"

"I'm letting you know and also asking if it's alright," Nathan said calmly.  "If it's not alright I need you to tell me."

Lawrence leaned back again.  "I see," he said shortly.  "Let me think about it, Captain.  I'll get back to you tomorrow."  He leaned forward to push the disconnect and Nathan was left staring at a blank screen more than a little disturbed by Lawrence's use of his title rather than his first name at the end of the conversation.

Lucas had just arrived at work the next morning when he saw Commander Ford lean his head out of his office and motion to him.

"Hey, Lucas.  You've got a phone call in my office."

Lucas headed his way.  "Who would call me in your office?"

"Someone who didn't know how to get ahold of you otherwise," Ford grinned.  "I'm going to grab some breakfast so you can have some privacy."

"Thanks," Lucas said going into the office and shutting the door before turning to the vid-screen.  When he did a smile lit up his face.  "Dad!  How are you?"

"I'm just fine, Lucas," his father smiled.  "How about you?"

"I'm great," the boy said quickly looking at his watch with a frown.  "What time is it there?  You didn't stay up this late just to talk to me, did you?"

"Yeah, I did... I needed to talk to you."

"About what?" Lucas asked cautiously.

"Captain Bridger called me last night to let me know about Doctor Westphalen moving in with the two of you."

"Why did he have to do that?" Lucas asked angrily.

"He did that because he's an honorable man, Lucas," his father said calmly.  "He felt that I should know that he and Doctor Westphalen were living together."

Lucas looked a little embarrassed.  "Well, I don't know if I'd call it living together..." he hedged.

"Lucas, they're sharing the same bedroom and the same bed and they're not married.  That's the textbook description of 'living together'," Lawrence said sternly.

"Does it make a difference?" Lucas asked, a little afraid.

"It might," Lawrence said simply.  "Let's talk about it."  Lucas nodded and he and his father talked for over a half of an hour.

When he hung up with his father Lucas walked pensively out into the hallway and headed for the cafeteria.  Maybe a chocolate donut would help clear his mind some.  He had almost reached his destination he saw Doctor Westphalen coming from the opposite direction.  He speeded up a little to intercept her before she went into the cafeteria.

Kristin smiled when she looked up from the papers she was reading while walking and she saw Lucas coming towards her.  Then she sobered a little at the serious look on his face.

"Doc, you got a few minutes for me?" Lucas asked tentatively.

"Certainly.  What's wrong?"

Lucas looked over towards the walking path that ran outside the building.  "How about if we go for a walk?"  he said not answering her question.  He took her elbow and propelled her outside and didn't say anything until they were away from the building.  Then he slowed down and dropped his hand.  He glanced quickly up at her and then looked at the ground in front of him while he talked.  "I know why he seemed so nervous and out of sorts yesterday and this morning."

Kristin frowned.  She knew he was talking about Nathan.  He had barely slept again last night and this morning he was moody and rather quiet.  "Why?"

"He called my Dad last night to tell him that you'd moved in with us."  Lucas looked up at her with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh," Kristin said simply.

"I guess he told my Dad that he needed his permission to continue the living arrangements."

Kristin nodded slowly.  "I can see that, Lucas.  Nathan wouldn't want to hide something like that from your father.  Sooner or later he'd find out and it would be best if he was told right away."

"Yeah, well, my Dad called me this morning to talk about it."

"Really?" Kristin asked surprised.  "What did he say?"

"Nothing much, really," Lucas said in a perplexed voice.  "He asked me a whole lot of questions about how I felt about it..." He glanced up at Kristin again and explained, "About the two of you living together and not being married and all."

"Should I ask what you said?" Kristin asked uncomfortably.

Lucas shrugged.  "Doesn't matter.  I told him that it didn't make much difference to me and that you two were a great example of how two people in love acted."  Lucas hesitated a moment before continuing.  "I guess I probably shot my mouth off a bit."

"How so?"

Lucas looked a little embarrassed.  "Well, we'd been talking for almost a half-hour and I just couldn't tell how he felt about it so when I was talking about how the two of you acted I guess I told him that you two were providing the example that he and my mom were never able to...."

"Oh, I bet you that went over well," Kristin smiled ruefully.

"Do you think that I blew it?" the boy asked, concern written all over his face.

Kristin wrapped one arm around his shoulder.  "No, I think your father is a good man and he and Nathan will come to the right decision here.  I don't think you've got anything to worry about," she said comfortingly.

Lucas stopped and looked right at her.  "Really?"

"Yes, really," she said bringing one hand up to stroke the side of his face.  "It'll be alright."

Lucas smiled wanly at her.  "Okay," he said a little relieved as they headed back into the building.

Just as Lucas met Kristin in the hallway Nathan Bridger answered the chime of his vid-phone.  One of the yeomen from the office smiled at him on the screen.

"Captain, you've got a call from a Doctor Lawrence Wolenczak.  Are you available?"

Nathan felt his stomach knot up just a little and he nodded.  "Certainly, Petty Officer Dahlgren, put him through." Nathan took a deep breath and steadied himself before Lawrence Wolenczak appeared on the vid-screen.

"You're easier to get ahold of than I am, Nathan," Wolenczak said with a little smile.

"Almost anyone is easier to get ahold of than you are, Lawrence," Nathan said gently.

"Yeah," Lawrence nodded and his face turned serious.  "I just got off the phone with Lucas.  We had quite a long talk."

"Uh huh," Nathan answered watching the man intently.

"And now I've got a couple of questions to ask you."

Nathan nodded.  "Sure, go ahead."

Wolenczak looked up at the ceiling while he asked his first question.  "You said that you loved her but that neither of you were ready to get married just yet."  He brought his eyes back down to look at Nathan.

"That's right."

"My question is that a never get married situation, get married in the foreseeable future situation or maybe get married sometime situation?"

Nathan took a deep breath and looked off-screen a moment.  "It's a maybe we get married someday type of situation."  He saw Lawrence nod slowly.  "I'd like to get married someday but I don't quite know if Kristin has the same idea."

"Why wouldn't she?"

Nathan shrugged.  "She's been married a few times before and some of the unions haven't been particularly good ones so she might be a bit gun-shy."

Lawrence sat up in his chair.  "A *few* times?"

"Yeah," Nathan answered uncomfortably.

"I see," Wolenczak said leaning back in his chair again and resting his chin on his hand.  "Lucas seems to like her."

"And she likes Lucas," Nathan said softly.  "I think she kind of fills a void for him."

"He mentioned that," Lawrence said, a small smile that almost reached his eyes.  "Something about the two of you presenting the example that his mother and I had never quite managed to give him."

Nathan sighed and shook his head a little.  "He didn't really say that, did he?"

"Um hmm," Lawrence nodded.  "But I knew what he meant."  He brought his hand up and rubbed his forehead a little before looking right at Nathan.  "Alright, the next question is a harder one... What if I said that I couldn't agree to you remaining my son's guardian under these circumstances?"

Nathan swallowed heavily before answering.  "I've thought about that, Lawrence.  I've thought a lot about it."  Nathan paused.  "And if you don't agree with Lucas remaining with me while Kristin is living in my house then I've got to come up with an alternative."

"What would that be?" Lawrence asked levelly.

Nathan looked down for just a moment before answering.  Then he raised his face and looked at Lawrence directly.  "Lucas needs me here with him more than Kristin does.  She and I have managed up to now not living together and I suppose we could go back to that."  He paused and took a deep breath.  "I won't lie to you, Lawrence, I've been sleeping with Kristin for the last six months," he shrugged a little, "mostly at her place and I know that Lucas knows even though we've tried to keep it away from him."

Lawrence smiled just a little and nodded.  "Yes, I know.  He told me."

"Yeah, well, we'll survive," Nathan said seriously.  "If it comes down to deciding between the two of them then Lucas wins.  I think he needs me with him more."

Lawrence just nodded and stared back at him fixedly.

Nathan Bridger took a deep breath and shook his head as he walked out of his office.  He'd tried to call Lucas but the boy wasn't in the labs or in the seaQuest work area.  The next best place to look for him was in the cafeteria so Bridger headed that direction.  As he entered the room he looked out the window and saw Lucas and Kristin walking towards the building on the walking path that circled the complex.  A soft smile crossed his face as he watched the two of them walk together in serious discussion.  When Kristin raised her hand to brush away a piece of Lucas' hair off his forehead Nathan shook his head a little and walked out of the building towards them.

The angle they were walking at meant that they wouldn't see him until he was almost upon them so Nathan spoke up before reaching the duo.

"Hi there," he said to their backs.  Both of them turned around to stare at him.  "Am I interrupting?"

"No," Lucas said hastily.

"No, Nathan, no," Kristin popped up at the same time.

Nathan looked over at Lucas.  "Talking about your Dad?" he asked gently.

"Yeah," Lucas said quietly with a concerned look.

"Nathan, I think I should move out," Kristin said quickly.  Nathan just looked at her.

"No, you shouldn't move out," Lucas protested.  "I can find somewhere else to go."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lucas.  The two of you belong together.  You're a team."

"And you two aren't??" Lucas shot back.

"We can manage, Lucas," Kristin answered.  "We haven't lived together up till now and we can live apart again."

"But I don't want you two to live apart.  I want you to live together," Lucas insisted.

Nathan stood there silently, turning his head from one to the other as they spoke.

"Well, that isn't your choice," Kristin said firmly.  "If I decide to move out then I decide to move out.  I won't be responsible for breaking the two of you apart."

"Like I'm supposed to enjoy being the one who breaks the two of you apart???" Lucas said loudly.

"Just because we aren't living together doesn't mean that we'll be apart," Kristin stated steadfastly.

"Yeah, but you're a lot better when you're living together," Lucas countered.  "You're not going to tell me that both of you aren't calmer since you moved in, are you????  I know better."

"Except for the last couple of days," Nathan finally interjected.

"That was your fault," Lucas shot back at him and then turned back to Westphalen.  "No, if someone has to go then it's going to be me."

"It most certainly will not be, Lucas.  If someone has to go it will be me... and that's final."

"I've got a better solution," Nathan said softly.  Lucas and Kristin both turned towards him and he noted with a little inside grin that they both were rather red in the face.

Nathan just looked at the two of them for a moment before a soft smile finally made it to his face.  "How about if both of you stay."

"Don't you even think that you're going to move out, Nathan," Kristin said in a strident voice.

Nathan shook his head resignedly.  "Nope, how about if no one moves out."

Lucas and Kristin just stared at him for a moment.

"No one?" Kristin asked.

"None of us?" said Lucas.

"No," Nathan said in a frustratingly calm voice.  "I just got off the phone with your father," he said to Lucas, "and he says that from what he's seen and heard from you, Kristin and I are providing not only a good example for you but he also feels that together we may be able to give you the family life that you've never really had a chance to have before...."  He paused just a moment.  "So he says that he has no objection to Kristin living with us... and staying with me... in the same bedroom."

For several moments the two of them just stared at him with wide eyes until finally Lucas spoke up.

"You're kidding?" he asked softly.

"Are you serious, Nathan?" Kristin asked just as softly.

A gentle smile lit up his face and eyes as he looked at the two of them.  Until a few moments ago each had been willing to tear their lives apart to make sure that the other one was taken care of and now they were facing the very real possibility that they could actually all share their lives together.  "No, I'm not kidding," he said to Lucas, "and yes, I'm serious," he said to Kristin.  His smile got a lot bigger.  "It seems that somewhere along the way, we've become a
family."

Nathan staggered back as Kristin threw her arms around his chest while Lucas' arms encircled his neck.

"Yes!!" the boy shouted in his ear as Kristin buried her head into Nathan's shoulder.   Nathan brought both of his arms around to hug onto them as they stood there.  The latest new family in New Cape Quest.