Lucas turned and punched his pillow for at least the sixth time before finally settling on his back and staring at the overhead above his bunk.   The Doc had told him that if he ate that much chocolate that he might have trouble sleeping and it looked like she was right.  The boy sighed and shook his head a little before slipping his legs from beneath the light blanket that had covered him and sitting up on the side of the bunk.  He glanced thoughtfully over at the aqua-tube that lined one wall of his room and then smiled a little and stood up.  Slipping on a pair of swimming trunks and a t-shirt Lucas grabbed a towel from the floor and headed out of the room towards Sea-Deck.  With any amount of luck Darwin would be in the boat and looking for someone to play with.

In the small lab area which was attached to Sea-Deck Kristin Westphalen bent over a microscope concentrating on the miniscule creatures that swam on her slide.  Nodding slightly she raised her head and made several notes on a piece of paper lying on the bench next to her.  Then she switched out the slide and slipped it into a holding jar that would keep her subjects alive and swimming.  She pushed her glasses up on her nose as she wrote quickly on the paper, concentrating intensely on the words she wanted to get down.

Lucas walked quietly through the side door of Sea-Deck.  He smiled as he saw the lights reflecting off the walls and then stopped short as he caught a slight movement to the side of his vision.  He glanced cautiously around a bend in the wall and smiled mischievously when he saw Doctor Westphalen with her back to him concentrating on some work at the lab bench.  Carefully he put his towel on the floor and started to move silently towards her.  Again he stopped suddenly when he saw a shadow at the main hatch to Sea-Deck.  The boy pulled back in surprise when he saw that the Captain was also moving very carefully and silently towards Westphalen.  Lucas grinned as the Captain softly moved up behind the Doc and grabbed her around the waist.  He almost laughed out loud when she jumped and then turned fixing the Captain with that infamous `Westphalen Glare'.  He started to move out of the shadows again but then stopped when he saw Bridger grin and then pull Westphalen into a close embrace.

"Nathan," he heard her growl in a warning voice before her frown also turned into a grin.  Lucas' eyes grew big and he almost gasped when her lips came up to meet Bridger's and they shared a long, romantic kiss.  The boy watched in shock as Bridger's hands slid around to Westphalen's back and softly caressed her body.  What he really hadn't expected was when the Captain's hands roamed down to cup the Doc's butt and he pulled her even closer.  Meanwhile, Westphalen wasn't being left out of the touch and tickle escapades occurring on the other side of the room.  One hand was weaving through the
Captain's hair while the other one rubbed across his back while she moaned softly.

Finally the kiss came to an end as Bridger pulled his head back and grinned at her again.  "Hi, Sweetheart," Lucas heard him say softly to the Doc.  Lucas quietly looked up and around the room in surprise.  The acoustics on Sea-Deck must reflect the sound from the other side of the room for even though he knew that Bridger had whispered his words, Lucas had heard them like he was standing next to the couple.

Westphalen ran her fingers through the hair on the side of Bridger's head.  "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that," she growled.

"You… were too good a target, my love," Nathan grinned back.  Then he dropped his head as his lips started an exploration of Westphalen's neck.

"Alright, I forgive you," Westphalen said with a sigh.  Lucas saw her turn her head so that Bridger had easier access to her neck and shoulder.  The boy frowned as he realized that the Captain had gained access to kiss the Doc's shoulder by somewhere along the way opening the top two buttons on her shirt.  "What in God's name are you doing up so late?" the Doctor said between little gasps.

"It's not late," Bridger mumbled into her skin.

"It's two in the morning, Nathan.  That's late."

Bridger raised his head again and gave her a fast kiss on the lips.  "I just got off duty and decided to take a turn around before heading for my cabin."  From his position in the shadows Lucas could see him grin again.  "Now I'm certainly glad that I did."  He kissed her quickly on the tip of her nose.  "And what are you doing up so late?" he countered.

Westphalen sighed and nuzzled her head into his neck.  "I was doing some research and realized that it would just be best if I completed it before going to bed."

"Am I interrupting your research?" Bridger asked with a frown.

"No," Westphalen said with a contented sigh, "I just finished."

"Oh good," Bridger said nipping on the top of her ear.

"Someone might catch us," Westphalen said in a languorous voice holding his body tight to hers.

"Who the hell else would be up and wandering around at this Godforsaken hour of the morning?" the Captain asked while kissing her temple.

In his hidden spot Lucas stood frozen in place afraid that they'd hear any movement he made.  It was just possible that the acoustics that were letting him hear what they said would work the other way and carry any noise he made over to them.  Glancing cautiously around the corner Lucas saw Bridger's hand slide up the Doc's back beneath her shirt.  The boy moaned quietly in frustration.

On the other side of Sea-Deck Bridger slowly raised his head from his delicious attack on Kristin's ear.  To her surprise he moved back out of her embrace and leaned against the edge of the sea well.

"Well, that answered that question," Nathan said looking at her confused face.  Then he shook his head a little and looked at the floor.  "You can come out, Lucas," he said in an even voice.  In his corner Lucas gasped.  Bridger sighed a little.  "It's alright, Lucas," he said in a soft voice.  "You can come out."

Kristin lifted her eyes from where she had been watching Nathan's face to see Lucas tentatively step out around the edge of the far hatch.  The boy's face was a portrait of fear and apprehension.  Slowly, Nathan turned his head until he could look at the boy and Kristin was surprised at the slight look of amusement his face held.

"I'm sorry, sir.  I'm sorry, Doc.  I didn't know you were there," Lucas said hastily.

The soft smile that covered Bridger's face was reassuring.  "That's alright, Lucas.  I have a feeling that we might have both been working on sneaking up on Kristin at the same time."

"Yes, sir," Lucas nodded coming around the end of the sea well to move closer to the couple.

Nathan looked up at Kristin with a rueful smile.  "I think we've been found out."

Finally Lucas smiled a little.  "Hey, are you two dating?" he asked excitedly.  "That would be really cool."

A soft chuckle crossed Nathan's lips as he looked over at the boy.  "I certainly hope so.  I don't usually go around kissing people that I'm not dating."

Kristin was not smiling… she was frowning at Bridger.  "Nathan," she said in a warning voice.

"I know," he said looking over at her hastily and then he became a bit more serious.  He glanced up at Lucas who was standing with an excited smile on his face.  "There's a little complication in that."

The smile drained from the boy's face.  "What kind of complication?"

"Well, to begin with it's not really textbook for the ship's captain and the ship's doctor to be dating."  Kristin slipped down to sit next to him on the well-deck coping.  One of her hands moved over to cover the one he had rested on his leg and she looked up at the boy with a concerned face.

"It's a bit irregular," she said softly.

"Says who?" Lucas asked in a slightly offended tone.

"Says the UEO," Kristin answered.

"They're nuts."

"Maybe," Bridger countered evenly, "but they own the pink slip to this boat."

Lucas sat in the chair in front of the lab bench that the Doctor had used.  "Do you mean that they could say that the two of you couldn't date?"

"Yeah, it's called fraternization," Nathan nodded.

"I thought that was for between enlisted people and officers."

"And it also covers relationships by those in each other's chain of command."

"Yeah, but she's a civilian," Lucas objected.

"Yeah," Nathan nodded emphatically, "but she's also one of the only people on the boat who could declare me unfit for duty."

"Would you two quit talking about me like I'm not here?" Kristin interjected.

"Sorry, Doc," Lucas said sheepishly.

Nathan squeezed her hand.  "Sorry, babe."

"So, if you're not supposed to be doing it, why are you doing it?" Lucas asked reasonably.

"It just kind of happened, Lucas," Kristin answered looking over at Nathan.

"We didn't really intend for this to develop," Nathan said with a sigh.

Lucas shook his head.  "Yeah, but it seems so natural," he objected.

"Natural?" Kristin asked.

"Yeah, well," Lucas said with a sigh.  "It's just that the two of you seem to go together so well.  It's like you're made for each other.  You know, I hadn't really considered it much before but it's obvious when someone sees the two of you together that you like each other as people."  He shrugged and shook his head again.  "Why shouldn't you like each other a lot more?"

"Well, there is this thing called discipline," Nathan said scratching his neck.

"Oh, give me a break," the boy protested.  "Neither one of you are particularly good on protocol or following the rules."

"Obviously," Kristin observed dryly.

"I mean, you could bring this out in the open and no one on this boat would have any problem with it," Lucas said with a smile.

"It's the people off the boat who concern us, Lucas," Kristin said softly.

"I don't understand," the boy said shaking his head.

"Tell ya what," Nathan said standing and pulling Kristin up with him. "The galley should be empty at this time of night.  How about if we go there to talk?"

"Sounds good to me," Lucas said slipping off the chair.  "I like places with food."

The adults smiled gently at him and they left Sea-Deck with Nathan and Kristin studiously avoiding touching each other.  Sure enough, the galley was deserted and after they each found a dessert to their liking they sat down at a table.

Kristin looked across at Nathan with disapproval.  "You know you'll never sleep if you drink coffee right before going to bed.  Even that fake coffee stuff you drink has caffeine."

"What makes you think I sleep anyways?" he said tiredly rubbing his forehead.

"We should let you go to bed, sir," Lucas said with a frown.

Nathan sat up in his chair a little.  "Oh, trust me. I couldn't sleep right now if I wanted to."

The boy nodded and looked at the middle of the table.  "Alright… then I don't understand.  What's the worst that the guys on the surface could do to you?"

"Well," Nathan sighed, "at the best they could take one of us off the boat."

"And somehow I don't think it would be you," Kristin interjected dryly.

Nathan looked over at her with a frown.  "And at the worst they could bring me up on charges for any number of reasons."

"Like what?" Lucas asked in a shocked voice.

"Like fraternization or conduct unbecoming an officer or several others."

"That doesn't make any sense," Lucas objected.

"When's the last time you saw the military make sense?" Kristin asked pointedly.

"When they convinced him to come back on board," Lucas said pointing to Bridger.

"Very funny," Nathan frowned.  "The fact still remains that if we want to stay together we need to keep this a secret from the surface people."

"Has this been going on for a while?" Lucas asked leaning forward to cut a piece from his chocolate pie.

"A little over a month," Kristin said looking over at Nathan.

"Wow, and you've managed to keep it secret this long?" Lucas said around the bite of pie.

Nathan carefully sipped the hot coffee.  "Right up until now."

Kristin glanced quickly at him and then over at Lucas.  "And whether it remains a secret is now up to you."

Lucas flashed both of them a patronizing look.  "Oh, I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Thank you, Lucas," Kristin said with another glance at Nathan.

The boy looked a little uncomfortable.  "It might be out of line but I do have a question."

"What?" Nathan said from behind a yawn.

"Do you two manage to get together very often?  It seems to me like both of you are working most of the time."

"Nope," Nathan in a discouraged voice, "if we're lucky maybe once a week."

"That's a hell of a relationship," the boy said sarcastically.

"It's the best we can do, I'm afraid," Kristin said tossing a concerned glance at Nathan.  "You need to get to bed, Nathan, before you fall asleep in that chair."

Nathan rolled his head over to look at her.  "Do you think it might have something to do with six hours of sleep in the last forty eight?"

Kristin stood and moved his coffee cup from his hands.  "Come on, bedtime."

Lucas stood with them and walked to the Captain's cabin.  "We really appreciate you understanding our dilemma, Lucas," Kristin said back over her shoulder.

"Not a problem, Doc.  I just wish there was something I could do to make it a little better for you."

"I think that happens when this tour is finished," Nathan said stopping outside the hatch to his cabin.  He quickly glanced up and down the passageway before leaning in to give Kristin a quick kiss.  "'Nite, babe.  Goodnight, Lucas," he said turning and entering his cabin.

"Goodnight," both of them chimed back and then turned to head for their own beds.

Two days later Bridger was just finishing the late evening shift on the bridge when he received a call from Lucas on his PAL.

"Cap, would you mind stopping down in Hydroponics Lab?  I've got something I need to ask you."

"No problem, Lucas, I'll be there in a little while," he said turning command of the bridge over to his executive officer.   A few minutes later found him walking into the warm, fragrant air of the Hydroponics Lab.  He quickly inspected a few freesia blossoms before heading to the back of the lab where there was a bench area set off the lab itself.  Lucas was bent over an instrument messing around with its insides.  "Looking for me, kiddo?"

The boy glanced up at him with a small smile.  "Hi Cap, well kind of.  I think I've figured out a way for the climate control to compensate for the fast changes in atmosphere when we make quick ascents or descents."

"That would be a nice thing.  It's almost like a small frost on the plants now and that doesn't do them any good at all."

"No, especially the tropical ones," Lucas grinned.  "But that wasn't the real reason I wanted to see you."  They both heard the door to the lab open and someone else come in.

"What did you want to see me for then?"

"Actually, I wanted to see both of you."

"Both of us?" Nathan asked turning around.  He smiled as Kristin came around the corner and her face lit up as she spied him.

"Hello, darling," Kristin said giving Nathan a quick kiss and then looking over at Lucas.  "You wanted to see me?"

"Not really," Lucas said still grinning, "but I figured that if I got both of you down here to see me then I can mess around in this lab room while you two have a little while to spend together alone."  He shrugged, "I don't think that anyone else is going to be visiting the Hydroponics Lab at this time of night."

The smile on the boy's face got even bigger when he saw the matching grins on Nathan and Kristin's faces.  "Thank you," Nathan said softly.   His hand came up to gently stroke Kristin's cheek.  "I think we really need a little time alone."

"Yes," Kristin said quietly keeping her eyes on his.

"Well, I'm going to be back here and if you two are out among the plants I shouldn't be able to hear anything you say or do so say or do what ever you want," Lucas said cheerily.

"Thank you, Lucas," Kristin said slipping her arm around Nathan's waist and guiding him out into the lab.

Lucas went happily back to his work on the climate control system allowing the adults the time they needed alone.  After a little over an hour his curiosity got the best of him and he surreptitiously glanced around the side of the door.  To his surprise Bridger and Westphalen weren't involved in a heavy necking session but instead were sitting on a bench on the side of the lab devoted to flowers.  Well, Bridger was sitting on the bench and Westphalen was actually
sitting in his lap but they weren't kissing at all.  Lucas watched while Westphalen slowly traced the curves of Bridger's jaw and face with her fingers and Bridger tenderly rubbed her back.  All the time they were talking softly….. just talking.  Finally Lucas saw the Doc lower her head and rest it on Bridger's shoulder while her hand moved down to rub his chest but they continued to either talk quietly or just sit there.  The boy turned and went back to his work with a puzzled look on his face.  The scene certainly hadn't been what he expected but he thought it probably was the most romantic thing he'd
ever seen.

About a half hour later Lucas was concentrating on his work when he felt a touch on his shoulder. He glanced up quickly to see the Captain leaning against the work bench.  Westphalen was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did the Doc go?" Lucas asked softly.

"She figured it would probably be a good idea if we left here at different times so she went already."

"Did you have long enough?"

Nathan slipped onto the chair in front of the bench and sighed a little.  "It's never long enough, Lucas, but we had almost two hours longer than we've had before," he said with a little smile.  "Thank you."

"No problem," Lucas said shyly and then stared at the climate control unit for a little while.  Nathan knew that look, the boy wanted to ask a question but was unsure if he could.

"What do you want to ask, Lucas?"

Lucas looked back up at him thoughtfully.  "I looked out there once and the two of you weren't kissing like I expected."

"No we weren't," Nathan said quietly.

"Why not?"

A gentle smile crossed Nathan's face before he responded.  "Lucas, we've been able to sneak away for the occasional necking session in the storage closet or the quick snuggle in one of our offices but we haven't been able to just talk and we really needed to do that."

The boy squinted over at him with a doubtful look.  "That's more fun than the necking stuff?"

"Maybe not more fun but certainly more important especially given our rather delicate situation."

Lucas was still surprised, "And you haven't managed to really talk at all?"

Nathan sighed again and his gaze moved to a space above the boy's head.  "Well, we do talk a couple of times but we're usually busy doing something else that interrupts the conversation."

"Doing what???"

Nathan brought his eyes down and just stared at the boy impassively.  After a few uncomfortable moments Lucas' eyes started with surprise.

"You don't mean you've been able to do that on the boat," he asked disbelievingly.

Nathan continued to just stare at him.

Lucas smiled sheepishly, "I think I withdraw that question."

"Good idea," Nathan said evenly.  Then he looked over at the climate control unit.  "So did you really figure that out?"

"Almost," Lucas said looking back at the recalcitrant piece of equipment.  "I'm almost there and I think the rest is only fine-tuning the settings."

"That would be very good," Nathan said impressed.

"But I'm kind of tired now," Lucas said straightening up his tools.  "I think the settings part should wait until morning."

"Probably a good idea," Nathan said putting one arm over the boy's shoulder.  "I need to say thank you again," he said as they walked to the hatch of the lab.  "It was very thoughtful of you to let us have that time together."

"That's okay, Cap.  My pleasure," he shrugged a little, "and it's part of that seeming natural routine."

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked as they stepped into the passageway.  They both smiled at a couple of passing crewmembers and waited until they were gone.

Now Lucas was the one who was quiet.  "For quite a while now you've been like my father," Lucas glanced quickly up at Nathan with a little grin.  "Actually, you've been more like my father than my father ever was and the Doc sure has been like the mom I always wished that I had so the two of you being together is just natural to me."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Lucas.  I know both of us feel the same."  They came to a stop outside the Captain's cabin.

"You need to go to bed, sir," Lucas said with a little smile.

"Yeah," Nathan nodded.  "Somehow, I think tonight I'll even be able to sleep.  Thanks again."

"Any time, Cap," the boy said fondly watching the Captain as he went into his cabin.