“Hurricane Brian is currently stalled 75 miles east-south-east of New Cape Quest. This hurricane is packing winds of up to 105 miles per hour and that is expected to increase as the hurricane picks up energy while out at sea.”

Bridger walked in off the porch of the beach house and saw Lucas sitting on the ottoman with his elbows on his knees and his head leaning on his hands. He was totally engrossed in the words of the weather announcer on the vid-screen.

“The projected path of the hurricane calls for a landfall almost directly on New Cape Quest. An evacuation warning has been posted for everyone within three miles of the coast.” The screen showed people lined up at a store buying water and supplies. “Residents have been stocking up to prepare for this event and coastline buildings are being boarded up.”

Lucas suddenly realized that Bridger was standing next to him. “It’s going to be something else, isn’t it, sir?” he said in an excited voice.

Bridger looked surprised. “You’ve never been through a hurricane before, have you?”

The pained teenager look crossed Lucas’ face. “What do you call that storm we were in when the MR-7 went down?”

“I meant a hurricane when you’re on land... when you’re on the water the only thing the hurricane can toss at you is wind and water.” Bridger stopped and looked out of the window across the bay. His voice was remote when he continued, like he was thinking of other times and other places. “When you’re in a hurricane on land it throws things at you. Trees, cars, parts of houses, whatever it can...”

“Is this something like Dorothy and Toto with the neighbor lady on her bicycle going by?” Lucas smirked. He was awarded with a disapproving glance from Bridger.

“Come and give me a hand with the windows. The last owner left a full set of window boards for the house and we don’t have much time to get them on.”

Lucas stood and followed the Captain out onto the porch. “Window boards?? What do you mean window boards????”

Nathan looked back at the boy. “You know... sometimes for a smart kid... they’re boards you put over the windows.” He explained carefully. “It keeps the hurricane from blowing through the house... that is if the hurricane doesn’t knock over the house or pick it up... ala Kansas and Dorothy.” He went down the stairs followed by Lucas. “And we need to get them up before we leave.”

Lucas stopped. “Whoa... what do you mean ‘leave’? I’m not leaving... I want to see the hurricane.”

Nathan just shook his head. Sometimes this kid could be pretty dense. “You can still see the hurricane, Lucas. We’re going to evacuate to UEO headquarters and you can see it there.”

“Why UEO headquarters? That’s just as close to the water as this place is.”

Bridger knew that if they kept this up they’d be arguing right up to the time the hurricane made landfall. “The UEO headquarters building has four levels of underground shelters,” he patiently explained. “That way you can see the hurricane and I don’t have to worry about you getting blown away... besides, I need you there.”

Lucas gave him a sideways glance. “Why?”

Bridger sighed. “Because the only way I could get Kristin to go there was when I told her that you were refusing to go unless she was there. If I don’t get you there, Kristin is going to try to ride out the storm in her condo.”

“Her condo is three stories up and only two miles off the coastline. What is she??? ...crazy???” Lucas responded in surprise.

With a frustrated look on his face Bridger answered, “Yeah, that would cover it. So I need you to go since she won’t go unless you’re there... and right now I need your help with these boards.”

“Okay,” Lucas agreed and he and Bridger busied themselves putting the boards over all the windows in the house.

Two hours later found them reviewing the condition of the house. They had moved everything off the porch and put it inside the house. All the windows were boarded and the utilities were turned off. They had dragged their sailboat up out of the water and secured it under the porch as well as they could. Finally, Bridger walked around the house to make sure that nothing was left out that could be picked up by the wind and tossed.

His inspection completed, Nathan remounted the stairs and walked into the house. Since he’d turned the electricity off they were using flashlights for light. It was pretty strange to see the house so dark in the middle of the day. The boards on the windows cast a somber mood over the whole place. Lucas came out of his bedroom with a clothes bag in his hand.

“I think I’m all set, Captain. Anything else you can think that we need?”

“Why don’t you check the kitchen for any snack food you might want to take with you and I’ll give Kristin a call on the mobile phone to be sure she’s coming.”

“Okey-doke,” responded the teenager as he headed for the kitchen.

Bridger went back to his bedroom to collect his own bag and the phone. He sat on his bed while he dialed Kristin’s number. After a couple of rings he was relieved to hear her melodious voice answer. He said, “Hi, it’s me... we’re just getting ready to head out. You’re gonna meet us there, right?”

“Nathan, I still think you’re over-reacting. I’ll be just fine in my own place. Why don’t the two of you go hunker down in your shelter and have a good time?”

He closed his eyes and prepared for battle once more. “Kristin, we’ve been through this before. You’re right in the middle of the evacuation area. There’s at least a category three hurricane heading for us and it would be really nice if you’d just be reasonable and meet us over at the UEO headquarters.”

“What if I decided I wanted to go somewhere else?” Now she was just being a pain. “Why should I go and spend my hurricane time among all you military types?”

Nathan hated arguing with her when she was like this... it was like trying to crack through concrete with a feather. He was going to have to try the reasoning approach.

He kept his voice calm. “I can think of a couple of reasons. One, the UEO’s normal physician who’s assigned to the HQ building is on leave and if there are any injuries around the building during the hurricane they won’t have any medical personnel on site. If you would, I’d like you to be there to take care of anyone who got hurt.”

The only response from the other end of the phone was an “Oh.” At least she wasn’t still arguing with him.

“And two, the only reason I got Lucas to go is because you’re going to be there. He has the idea that he should be able to ride out the storm on the porch of the house so he can watch it in all its glory.”

Even Kristin was shocked. “Nathan, that’s ridiculous. He’ll be killed if he stays there.”

“Kristin, I know that... and you know that... but try to explain it to a 17 year old.” His frustration was beginning to show. “If you’re not there, Lucas isn’t going to go either. So I need you to come along with us.” He hesitated and then for good measure tossed in, “Please.”

She gave in. “Oh, alright. I’ll meet you there in a couple of hours.”

“How about in an hour, Kristin. The storm has started to move again and it’s picking up speed.”

“Oh, alright,” she repeated. “In an hour then... or so.”

Bridger’s voice was firm. “In an hour, Kristin. No longer.” He eased up on his tone somewhat. “Really, honey, I mean it... it’ll get dangerous if you try to cut it too close.”

“I’ll see you there, Nathan.” He could hear the smile in her voice... she was laughing at him. “I love you.”

“I love you too, kiddo. Drive carefully.”

By the time Bridger and Lucas had gotten on the road the sky was already beginning to darken and you could feel the air pressure dropping. Lucas’ raid on the kitchen had resulted in a bag of snack food almost as large as the bag of clothes he was bringing. The back of the car was filled with Lucas’ food and their bags. The number of people on the road surprised Lucas. Bridger had been through this before so he knew what to expect but Lucas couldn’t imagine all these people just leaving their houses and running from the storm. As soon as they crossed the bridge onto the mainland Bridger turned the car to run up along the coast. The rest of the cars were heading inland and the traffic seemed to thin out for them now. It wasn’t long before they were pulling up at the UEO complex back gate.

Bridger waved to the gate guard as he motioned him through the gate and saluted. He drove the winding road between the back gate and the front of the complex where the headquarters building was. Lucas was surprised when Nathan pulled his car into a parking spot on the rear side of the building.

As they got out of the car and grabbed up their bags, Nathan responded to the question on Lucas’ face. “I figure the wind is going to be coming at the front side of the building. If I park out there I run a good chance of my car getting tossed... but if I park back here the building may act as a barrier to the wind and protect the car.”

He got a half-smile in return and Lucas said. “That supposes that the building doesn’t fall over on your car.”

Bridger slung his bag over his shoulder, flashed a smile at the boy and started walking around the building. “That’s the neat thing about life, Lucas... it’s kind of a crap-shoot.”

One hour later found Bridger and Lucas standing in the vestibule of the UEO headquarters building. Lucas was staring out the three story glass atrium front of the building, transfixed with the way the wind was picking up and the sky darkening over. Bridger was pacing. Westphalen had not arrived and he was getting nervous.

Lucas glanced over at the Captain. “Take it easy, sir,” he tried to reassure him. “You know the Doc’s never on time. She’ll be here.”

“As long as she gets here before the hurricane does,” groused Bridger.

Another thirty minutes passed and the lone guard left at the desk was beginning to look pretty nervous. The wind outside was bending the trees and starting to throw around small objects.

“Begging your pardon, Captain,” he said. “But don’t you think we should be getting down in the shelter? It’s getting kind of rough out there.”

“Just a little while longer,” hedged Bridger. He’d tried to call Kristin on her phone but there was no answer. He wondered if the transmission towers were down.

A safety ring from a sailboat came flying through the air only to plaster itself up on the side of the building. That was enough for the guard. “Captain...” he started.

“There she is,” cried Lucas, indicating a small figure outside fighting against the wind. Bridger and Lucas both ran out of the building to help Kristin get inside. Lucas grabbed the large bag she was carrying while Nathan put his arm around her to help her along. There was no point in trying to talk. The roar of the wind was too loud. The trio struggled against the wind and eventually made it to the front door of the building. The guard opened the door and pulled them inside.

Once inside the building Nathan didn’t release his hold on Kristin but instead added his other hand to pull her close to him. “You had me worried there,” he panted against her hair, out of breath from the exertion of fighting the wind.

The guard was already across the vestibule. He called back to them. “Captain?? ...sir?? ...the shelter??”

Bridger just nodded and led Kristin to the stairwell door. Lucas lagged behind watching out the windows. “Lucas, come on... we need to go.”

The boy reluctantly turned and followed the others down the stairs. Half way down the stairs the lights flickered and then went out to be replaced almost immediately by emergency lighting.

“Lost power,” said the guard.

A thought occurred to Bridger and he asked Kristin, “Where did you park?”

“I’m around back of the building next to your car. I figured you had some reason for parking all the way back there,” Kristin answered.

“Hah... yeah, a crap-shoot,” laughed Lucas.

Kristin darted Nathan a questioning look. “We’ll talk about it later,” he said as they arrived at the shelter door.

The number of people in the shelter surprised Kristin. There had to be 100 people down here. From across the main room Bill Noyce waved and crossed over to them. “Dr. Westphalen, I’m glad you were able to make it. I appreciate you coming to give us a hand.” Noyce made this sound like a party they were all attending. “How about I show you the infirmary?” Noyce led Kristin off while Lucas and Nathan went to check out the communications section for more information on the hurricane.

They were still watching the downlinks when Kristin and Noyce came back. Kristin no longer had her huge bag with her and she and Noyce were talking intently. Noyce broke off to attend to other matters and Kristin joined the rest at the wall of downlinks. Although some communications had been severed due to the hurricane, several other links were available since their antennas and satellites were in protected shelters.

Nathan noticed Kristin’s arrival. “So, how are your accommodations?”

“Not bad,” said Kristin. “Actually... better than I expected. The infirmary has a treatment area, a small hospital bay and an admin area which, I’m supposing from the lights on the ceiling, can be turned into a surgical theater if needed.” She scanned the screens with special attention on the radar reading of the hurricane. The edge of it was just making landfall. “It’s pretty well stocked... hopefully, I won’t need to use it.”

One UEO Lieutenant was walking around with a clipboard in his hand looking around the room and checking some sort of listing he had. The majority of the high ranking personnel in the shelter including Noyce had gathered around the communications area and he eventually came over to them. “Excuse me, sirs... but has anyone seen Lieutenant Commander Corbet?” he looked at his list again. “He’s on the list as being in the building but I can’t find him anywhere in the shelter.”

Noyce made a face. ”Knowing Corbet he’s still working at his desk.” He look over at Nathan. “If that guy had a wife she’d file for divorce and claim the UEO as the third party.”

“I’ll go get him,” Nathan said as he started for the door.

Lucas was already there. “I’m coming with you.”

Bridger was firm. “No.”

Lucas just grinned. “You’ll just waste time arguing with me... may as well let me go,” and he started out the door.

“Oh, alright. But you stay close.” Bridger was right behind him.

As they exited the stairwell both were surprised at the change apparent through the glass windows. The storm raging outside had turned the sky dark and the wind and rain were blowing harder than either of them had ever seen. Bridger knew that the atrium windows were made of a specially re-enforced polymer which combined the latest resilient material with glass to make a super-strong surface but even these windows were bowing some from the pressure of the wind on them.

Bridger started across the vestibule heading for where he knew Corbet’s office to be. He had to call to Lucas once to get him to keep close. Just as Bridger reached the door on the opposite side of the vestibule his PAL went off.

“Bridger,” he answered.

It was Noyce on the other end. “Nathan, Corbet just showed up. He came down a back stairwell. Get back down here.”

“We’re on our way,” Bridger responded.

Lucas was still standing staring at the storm raging outside the window and Bridger started back across to gather him up. It really did look like Kansas and Dorothy. Identifiable and unidentifiable items went flying through the air. Some of them were smacking into the building and some just flying by. The trees were bent over now almost in half and as Bridger watched he saw one large palm tree suddenly pull out of the ground and fly through the air towards the building. It was going to hit right where Lucas was standing. Lucas appeared to be frozen in place as the tree cartwheeled right for him.

“Lucas!!” shouted Bridger as he ran across the floor and knocked Lucas off his feet just as the tree struck the window and it shattered into a thousand missiles flying across the vestibule. The wind coming through the open pane picked up Lucas and Bridger and threw them across the room until they smashed into the opposite wall. They slid to the floor with Nathan lying on top of Lucas.

“Can you move?” Nathan shouted over the roar of the wind. Lucas nodded.

Bridger glanced towards the center of the room where the front desk was. “We’re going to get behind the desk. OK?” Lucas nodded his understanding and when the wind died down just a little, they both got up and ran towards the desk. The wind picked them up and gave them a boost when they vaulted the front desk. Both of them slammed against the back wall of the desk area, slid to the floor and crawled up under the overhang of the desk. The wind was still making it very hard to talk but at least here they were out of the way of its direct force.

Nathan put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Are you alright? You’re bleeding.”

Lucas nodded, “I’m alright... you’re bleeding too.”

Bridger had managed to shield Lucas with his body somewhat when the window blew in but the boy still had some cuts around his shoulders and face. Bridger had acquired a bloody nose when he hit the wall but also had been struck in the back by pieces of the window.

There was a chirping sound under the noise of the wind. Lucas noticed it first. “Your belt is chirping, sir,” and Bridger reached for his PAL.

“What??!!” he shouted into the PAL. He really didn’t feel like idle chatter now.

It was Noyce again. “Nathan, are you two alright? We saw the window blow out on the camera but it went dead after that.”

“We’re alright, Bill.” Bridger looked over at Lucas who nodded. “We got a little cut up by the window but we’re hiding under the front desk right now. As soon as we get a break in the wind we’ll try to get back to the shelter.”

“Alright, but be careful up there and don’t take too many chances.”

“Too late,” muttered Lucas.

It took another long fifteen minutes before the wind died down at all. During that time various things had been blown through the hole in the window or tossed around the vestibule by the swirling wind. Lucas and Nathan both jumped when another, smaller tree was thrown through the window only to crash against the UEO plaque up on the wall behind them. The chairs behind the desk were being blown around the area and seemed to have a mind of their own. Lucas and Nathan were having to really watch for them as they came careening across the floor trying to smash into them.

The minute Nathan felt the wind diminish he was up and running for the door, pulling Lucas along with him. He had his security badge out and Bridger was just praying that the auxiliary power system also extended to the card readers in the door. He swiped his card and placed his hand on the reader. A welcome green light glowed and Bridger pushed the shelter stairway door open and pushed Lucas through. Bridger followed right behind and they both put their shoulders to the door to close it. As the door latched Lucas sank to the floor and leaned on the wall exhausted. Bridger pulled on him and made him get back up again.

“One more flight, kiddo,” he panted as they went down the stairs to the shelter entrance. The lower door was opened as they got to it and Lucas spied the concerned faces of Westphalen and Noyce in the front.

“Whoa... that was cool,” exclaimed Lucas.

Bridger looked at him in amazement. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re nuts?”

Lucas just grinned, “I’m a teenager, I’m supposed to be nuts.”

Westphalen took control now. “Look, you’re both hurt. Come along with me and we’ll check out those cuts.” Bridger and Lucas knew not to argue with her when she was in ‘doctor mode’ and followed her to the infirmary.

In the infirmary, Lucas and Nathan sat on adjoining beds. Kristin had gotten Nathan a towel to help stem the flow of blood from his nose.

Nathan indicated Lucas and said, “Him first.”

Kristin put on her serious face. “I make that decision, Captain.”

“OK, so make the decision that he goes first,” Nathan said, grinning under the cloth he held to his nose.

Westphalen gave him a disapproving glance but agreed to take care of Lucas first. After helping him off with his shirt, it became apparent that Lucas hadn’t fared too badly when the window shattered. Westphalen had to remove a couple of pieces of glass from his shoulders but as a general rule he only ended up with some minor cuts. The only serious cut was one on the side of his forehead.

As she stitched and dressed that cut she explained to Lucas, “I know this is going to upset you but you’re going to have a scar from this one.”

The expected smile lit up Lucas’ face. “Really?? A big one?”

“Well, not all that big. About an inch long but the cut’s too ragged to stitch it up cleanly.”

Lucas inspected the cut in the shiny door of an equipment locker. “Cool...”

When she finished dressing Lucas’ wounds, she turned to Bridger who had finally stemmed the flow of blood from his nose. “Your turn now. Take off your shirt,” she ordered.

Bridger grimaced. “Actually, I think I’m going to need a little help with that.”

Kristin moved behind Nathan to assist with his shirt and now noticed that he had been struck with about 20 small shards from the window which had embedded themselves in his back.

“Remind me never to have you do triage. Thank God you were wearing a heavy denim shirt and an undershirt,” she said as she inspected his back. “This is going to take a little time, Nathan. Why don’t you lie down on your stomach so I can get a proper angle to remove the pieces.”

Bridger lay down on his stomach and pillowed his head on his arms. “Is this going to hurt?”

“Oh, I think I can guarantee you that. We can handle it a few ways. I can put you out completely, I can inject a local anesthetic at each location or I can use a topical spray anesthetic for each shard.”

“Advantages and disadvantages?” was the mumbled response from the table.

She was all business now, “If I put you out totally, you’re not going to feel a thing. Then again you’re going to be unconscious for awhile and I’d rather not do that. If we use local injections you’ll feel less pain but there’s going to be a lot more needles and I know how you feel about needles. A spray topical anesthetic will cut the pain some but it’s definitely still going to be there and it has the advantage of no needles. Your choice.”

“Spray stuff, please.” He glanced over at Lucas who was making a face. “I don’t think I’m going to like the next hour or so.” There followed a thoroughly unpleasant hour while the collection of glass shards in the bowl Kristin had placed next to the bed continued to grow. Finally, Kristin put the last stitch in the last cut on his back.

“Quite a collection, Nathan.” She inspected her work. All together 14 cuts with 6 requiring stitches. How’s it feel?”

Bridger was shrugging on the shirt that Lucas had fetched for him. “It hurts. Not really bad but pretty uncomfortable.”

Lucas had gone back out to watch the storm on the vidlinks so Kristin and Nathan were alone in the infirmary. Kristin stripped off her gloves and stood next to Nathan as he sat on the side of the bed. She wrapped her arms around him, carefully avoiding the new bandages.

“I can see that this is going to get in the way already.” Nathan’s hands were on her arms as he lowered his lips to hers.

The sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway caused them to break their embrace. Noyce was standing there with a satisfied grin on his face.

“I just thought I’d check and see how you were doing.”

“I was doing a lot better a couple of seconds ago,” Nathan groused. He got off the bed. “How’s storm central doing out there?”

“Well, it looks like the worst has passed over us. The winds are still kicking up to about 90 miles an hour occasionally.”

As they walked back out into the central room Nathan asked, “Any damage reports yet?” He was concerned about how the building holding the pieces of the new seaQuest was faring.

“So far, lots of broken windows, the surge put a few boats up in the parking lot, the expected damage to buildings and things like that. It’s sounding like the town caught it worse than us.” Noyce looked over at Kristin. “And you’ve got a couple more patients coming. A couple of the security guards were hit by flying debris. Nothing serious from the sounds of it but we told them to come here to get looked at.”

“I’ll go get ready for them,” Kristin said as she turned back to the infirmary.

Once the storm had passed, the occupants of the shelter gingerly came upstairs to see what damage the storm had wrought. Their first sight was of the havoc in the entrance vestibule to UEO headquarters. A place which always looked so spit and polished... there were glass shards everywhere from the broken window. A tree lay half way in and half way out of the hole where the window had been and another smaller tree was on the floor behind the front desk. All the furniture was tossed about as if some giant had taken the room and shook it.

When they ventured outside they saw that the damage was even worse. The vestibule window wasn’t the only one broken in by the storm. Nathan could see at least three more holes in the front of the building. The roof of the overhang outside the main doors had peeled away and the support posts collapsed so that the overhang now tilted at an unsafe angle. Trees had been uprooted throughout the complex and nothing was in its place anymore. From the front of the building they could see one of the Admiral’s gigs which normally was kept tied up down at the pier sitting in the end of the parking lot, high and dry.

Cars and trucks started showing up at the Headquarters building as those who had been injured during the storm were brought here for treatment. Kristin pressed Nathan and Lucas into service as medical assistants along with a couple of corpsmen who showed up from the barracks. Even though the electricity was still out, the elevator was powered by the backup generators and it was kept busy bringing patients to the HQ infirmary throughout the night.

Kristin had managed to grab a couple of hours of sleep during the night. Right now she was curled up on the sofa in the infirmary office clutching a cup of coffee Bridger had brought to her. Fortunately, none of the night’s patients had been serious injuries but Kristin thought that she had stitched and glued more cuts in the last 12 hours than she had in the last three years. She glanced across at Nathan, who looked as tired as she felt.

“Where’s Lucas?”

Bridger took a sip of his coffee. “He’s crashed out under one of the tables in the central room.”

That made Kristin smile, “Under one of the tables?”

“Yeah, he said people kept bothering him when he slept on top of the table so he decided to sleep underneath it... must be working... he’s dead to the world out there.”

Kristin rolled the coffee cup between her hands. “He was really so much of a help during all this. I don’t know what I would have done without him... without both of you.”

“Well, if it hadn’t been for me you wouldn’t have gotten to have all this fun tonight anyway.” Bridger stretched, straightening up his back. “Probably would have been happily stowed away in some YMCA inland.”

“Oh, that would have been no fun whatsoever,” she grinned and then looking at Nathan asked seriously, “How’s the back?”

“The back is definitely there... but it’ll be alright.” He grimaced. “I think we’ll be able to get out of here soon and get you back home so you can get some sleep.”

Kristin stood and stretched. “That would be nice.” She smiled as she looked over to see Nathan’s admiring eyes on her.

“It amazes me that you still look so good even after the night you’ve had.”

“Mmmm, well, I’ve had sleepless nights before... I guess you get used to it,” and she passed a hand over Nathan’s unshaven cheek.

“Hey, I’m getting good at this, aren’t I?” a far too cheerful Bill Noyce said from the doorway as he interrupted yet another embrace between the couple. He must have found somewhere to sleep. He looked at Nathan. “Good news, from the reports we’ve got there was minimal damage on the building where the seaQuest is housed. Looks like you came through it pretty well.”

Nathan heaved a sigh of relief.

“But, not all good news. The drydock where the assembly was supposed start taking place next week was pretty badly damaged. Looks like you’ll have at least a three week delay until we can get it back in operation... and that’s only a preliminary guesstimate.”

“Oh hell...” Nathan stood. “Well, Mother Nature sure has a strange sense of humor.”

Noyce agreed, “She does indeed.” He glanced around the infirmary. “Kristin, I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your assistance last night. Your being here made everyone more comfortable... whether they needed your services or not.”

“I was glad to be able to help, Bill... and besides which, it gave Nathan a chance to keep an eye on me during the storm.”

Bridger groaned. He had hoped that his intentions hadn’t been so transparent.

“I think we’ve got things pretty well tied up here so if you wanted to go that would be alright.” He looked over at Bridger. “You may as well go too Nathan. There’s nothing you’re going to be able to do or even inspect for at least 48 hours. If we need you we’ll find you.”

“OK, Bill. I guess Lucas and I will go see if we have a beach house left.”

Nathan helped Kristin gather up the medical supplies she had brought with her in the large bag she had been carrying. They walked out into the central room and Kristin gave Lucas a shake.

“Rise and shine, Lucas. Time to go home.”

The young man squinted up at them and then bounded out from underneath the table. He grabbed his bag which had been sitting on the table. “Ready anytime you are.”

Nathan and Kristin just looked at each other. “He obviously got more sleep than the both of us put together,” said Nathan.

The trio walked up the shelter steps and out into the ravaged vestibule. A work crew was busy boarding up the broken window. They left the building and walked around to the back where their cars were parked. As Nathan had hoped, the building had apparently protected his car and it appeared mostly undamaged. Kristin groaned as she saw that she had not been that lucky. The tree that had been in front of her car was now on top of it. The small green car was almost invisible underneath the leaves of the large tree and the tree trunk had smashed the roof.

“Oh, boy,” was Lucas’ rueful remark.

Nathan looked over the crushed car. “I’m afraid this one isn’t going anywhere. Come on, we’ll give you a ride home.” He put his arm around Kristin.

“That was such a nice little car,” said Kristin as she got into Nathan’s car for the ride home.

As they drove through the city of New Cape Quest Lucas was amazed by how random the storm had been. Some blocks showed very little damage while the next block over was almost razed by the storm. The damage started to pick up as they got closer to Dr. Westphalen’s condo. After trying several different paths into the area Nathan finally pulled into a parking lot about 4 blocks away from Kristin’s home.

“I’m afraid this is as close as we’re going to get. We’ll have to walk in the rest of the way.”

They all got out of the car and started down the street. Kristin stopped and looked back at the car.

“Lucas, go get my bag please.”

Lucas looked at the Captain. He nodded. “Bring some gloves too.” He had a bad feeling about this.

The devastation that became apparent as they walked up the block was terrible. There were parts of trees, houses and cars all over the street. It looked like none of the buildings in the area had been left unscathed. Kristin could only hope that her building had been more fortunate. Her neighbors were standing in the street in front of her building inspecting the damage. Kristin lived on the third and top floor of the condo building. It was a light red stucco type structure with an art deco appearance to it. At the moment it also had no roof.

The neighbors stood back as Kristin approached and got her first good look at what was left of her condo. Besides the roof being torn off, the west wall of the third floor had broken off partway and all the windows had been blown out. Her favorite chiffon draperies were flapping outside the dining room window. Kristin stood there shocked looking at what used to be her home. Lucas lowered the bag to the ground and stood regarding the building in amazement. Nathan came up behind Kristin and put his arms around her. Feeling his touch she turned and buried her face in his chest as the weariness, the pressure and the destruction of the last 12 hours overflowed in tears.

Nathan held her close until the tears stopped and then stroked her hair. “I won’t say it’s alright... because it’s not... but there’s really nothing we can do about it, dear.” He kissed her on the top of her forehead. “I’m just so glad you decided to come and stay with us where you were safe,” he said in a voice choked with emotion.

Lucas came up and also put his arms around Kristin. “Me too.” He looked pretty shaken too.

“Trust you two to pick out the positive part of a disaster,” she said in a mock chastising tone. “You do realize that this is the second home I’ve lost in the last year.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Nathan’s chest. There wasn’t really anything to say so Nathan just stroked her hair and held her close.

The neighbors pointed Kristin towards the Emergency Management group in charge of the area and she checked in with them. It was obvious that she couldn’t even go up to check her condo until the building had been inspected for damage. The crew advised her that they expected the inspection to be sometime tomorrow but until then the building was totally off-bounds. She left her cell phone number with the crew in case they needed to contact her.

Kristin and Lucas looked at Nathan for direction on what to do.

“Well, we might as well make it a totally shitty day and go see if we have a house left.”

They picked their way back through the debris to where they had parked the car and started off for Bridger’s house. The drive would normally have taken 15 minutes but with the detours necessary to avoid the extensive damage in the city the trip now took over an hour. Nathan was glad to see that at least the bridge to the barrier islands where his house was appeared to be undamaged and was open. They drove over the bridge expecting to see devastation on the other side but instead were greeted with what looked to be minimal damage. The whimsy of Mother Nature had played another game and the barrier island chain looked to have sustained only minor damage, relatively speaking. There were trees uprooted here and there and some windows which were shattered, but, by and large, the area appeared to have not suffered too badly.

Bridger still wasn’t sure what he would find at his house and as they drove down the drive their path was blocked by a fallen tree. The tree wasn’t very big so Lucas and Nathan got out and shifted it over to the side of the road. Nathan drove carefully around other debris and plants now dotting the roadway and pulled up next to his house. From this angle it looked pretty much intact. They all got out and took a quick tour around the outside of the house. Nathan pointed out to Lucas where the surge had caused water marks six feet up the piers which elevated the building. The dock had lost one section, there was some damaged roofing on the porch section and the screens had been torn off the porch but that appeared to be the only damage. By this time the sun was setting and Lucas brought the flashlights along to light up the house. They went up the stairs and into the building itself where they found the window boards had done their job and there was no apparent internal damage to the house. The lanterns Nathan lit for inside lighting leant a surreal appearance to the inside of the house.

Kristin could only stand in the middle of the living room and shake her head. Nathan came up and put his arms around her. “What can I say... it doesn’t make any sense.”

She looked up at his face. “No, it’s like you said... Mother Nature has a weird sense of humor.” She leaned against him.

“You’re about ready to fall over from exhaustion. You need to go to bed, Kristin.”

“You can use my room, Doc,” said Lucas.

She smiled tiredly at him, “Then where are you going to sleep?”

Lucas smiled a knowing smile. “I get to sleep on the futon in the den... I like sleeping on that thing.”

Kristin threw a questioning glance at Nathan who shrugged. “What can I say... it must have something to do with being a kid.”

Kristin felt the pressure and weariness of the day wash over her and allowed Nathan to lead her to Lucas’ bedroom where he helped her undress. Kristin lay down and turned on her side away from the door as Bridger covered her with a blanket.

Nathan turned to leave the room but stopped when he heard Kristin speak in a small voice.

“I don’t understand why... it doesn’t seem fair... why should I lose two homes in one year?” Nathan came back and sat on the edge of the bed. He smoothed her auburn hair away from her face and leaned over to hold on to her. She was crying again.

“I don’t know, Kristin... I just don’t know.” Nathan couldn’t find the words to help her so he just held her close and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.

Lucas was waiting in the living room when Nathan came out of the bedroom.

“I thought you’d be sound asleep on the futon.”

“I wanted to wait to see how the Doc was doing. Is she OK?” Lucas asked, concern lacing his voice.

Bridger put his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “She’s as OK as you can expect for someone who’s just worked for 24 hours after a storm and then discovered that her home is destroyed. She’s pretty upset but I don’t know how much of that is exhaustion.” He ruffled Lucas’ hair. “You look pretty worn yourself, how about getting some sleep.”

Lucas made a show of looking Bridger up and down. “If I look tired... you look like hell.”

An amused smile crossed Nathan’s face. “Then at least I look like I feel. Tell you what... how about we both go to bed.”

“Ya got a deal,” said Lucas heading for the den. “Good night, sir.”

“Good night, Lucas,” said Nathan as he dragged himself off to his own bed.

Nathan awoke early the next morning to a darkened room. The window boards still covered up all the openings in the house. He found a clean pair of jeans and a work shirt and quickly dressed. The water and other utilities for the house hadn’t been turned on yet. Bridger wanted to check all the connections to be sure that no damage to the pipes and wires had occurred. Nathan used some of the water they had set aside before the storm hit to brush his teeth and wash up but decided that there was no point in shaving. He went outside the house to get a better look at the damage from the storm.

The broken section of the dock was splintered and shattered. It would have to be completely replaced. As Nathan inspected the dock a familiar grey form broke the surface and chattered at him.

“Hey Darwin, old boy,” smiled Bridger. “Looks like you weathered the storm OK. I’d talk to you but at the moment I have no idea where the vocorder is.”

Darwin rolled over and looked at him out of one eye. Somehow he always seemed to understand what Bridger said, whether the vocorder was there or not. He lifted his head and sent a splash of water up to soak Nathan and then swam away chattering.

Nathan heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Lucas coming onto the dock. He looked happy.

“Great... I was worried about Darwin.”

“He seems to be in one piece,” Bridger said as he picked up a shattered piece of board. “Which is more than I can say for this dock. Looks like we’ve got ourselves another project.”

Nathan looked over to the house. “How about we remove those window boards? They’re depressing.”

Lucas nodded. “Sounds like an excellent idea to me, sir. Then we can check the utility lines and see if we can get them back up.”

Nathan and Lucas spent the better part of the next hour removing the covers from the windows. As they took off the boards on Lucas’ bedroom they tried to be quiet so as not to wake Kristin but the squeaks caused from pulling out the nails pierced through her sleep and she gradually woke up.

By the time she had gotten out of the bed, cleaned up and gotten dressed, Nathan and Lucas were working on the last set of window boards. She could hear them talking quietly outside the window.

“So, what did you think of the hurricane, Lucas,” Nathan asked. “Was it as exciting as you expected?”

Lucas was quiet for a moment and then responded. “You know, sir... when I was a kid I was in a flood. I’d seen floods before on the vidscreen and they looked really neat. I mean, all that water everywhere. Sailing around in rowboats on the street. It looked pretty cool.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But the vidscreen can’t show how bad you feel when it’s 50 degrees out and it’s been raining for six days and all you are is wet and cold. And the vidscreen can’t explain the smell... the smell of a flood is just terrible.” Lucas stopped for a bit. “Hurricanes looked really neat on the news. The surf coming in so high and the occasional boat that ended up in the middle of the street... but the vidscreen can’t show the noise. I never realized how noisy a hurricane is... or how fast things can be thrown through the air at you.” Lucas stopped again and then went on softer. “Or how bad you feel when you’re standing next to someone who’s just lost their home.”

Bridger was impressed with the thought that Lucas had put into this and at the same time he was a little sad. It was like seeing your child grow up. Lucas had lost some of that carefree attitude that goes with being a kid.

Lucas looked over at Bridger as they lowered the last board. “What’s Dr. Westphalen going to do now, sir?”

“I don’t think she’s got anywhere to go... and God knows her condo isn’t going to be in any shape to be inhabited for a while.”

Lucas pushed the board into its storage place and looked over at Nathan. “Can’t she stay with us?”

Bridger nodded his head. “She could but we’d have to turn the den back into a bedroom. With the shape of that condo, she’s not going to be back in there for at least several months.”

“She can stay in my room and I’ll sleep in the den. I like the futon so we won’t have to do too much rearranging,” Lucas said eagerly.

Nathan was touched at the boy’s offer. “It’s going to put you out for quite a while,” he cautioned.

Lucas looked at Nathan with confusion on his face. “Don’t you want her to stay here, sir?”

“Oh yeah,” Nathan reassured him. “I want her to stay here. But I also want you to be sure you know what you’re getting into.”

Lucas put his arm around Nathan’s shoulder, mimicking a gesture that Nathan had often done with him. “I understand. But I think she’s going to need some friends to lean on in the next few weeks... I think we need to be there for her.”

Nathan patted Lucas on the back. “Alright, we’re agreed. Let’s go see if we can convince Kristin.”

As they re-entered the house they saw Kristin sitting at the kitchen table staring out the window towards the water. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Nathan’s heart pulled a little at the forlorn sight of her sitting there.

“It looks a little better with the boards off the windows, don’t you think?” he asked in a cheery voice.

Kristin just glanced at him, nodded and went back to staring out the window.

Lucas sat down at the table next to Kristin. “How are you feeling?” he asked in a sincere voice.

Kristin seemed to come back into herself and looked over at Lucas with a wan smile. “Like I just got run over by a hurricane.” Lucas covered her hand with his. Nathan sat in the chair on the other side of her and slowly rubbed her back.

“Lucas and I have talked about it and we think you should stay here.”

Kristin turned her head and threw him a questioning look. “You only have two bedrooms. How do you figure that’s going to work?”

Lucas answered in an enthusiastic voice, “I told you I like sleeping on the futon, or for that matter, if the weather’s nice I like putting a hammock up out on the porch to sleep in.” Kristin looked over at Nathan who just nodded. “So you stay in my room and I get the den.”

Kristin squeezed Lucas’ hand. “Lucas, I can’t put you out like that.”

“Yes you can... and we insist.”

Kristin glanced at Nathan again.

“Absolutely, unless you can come up with an extremely convincing argument against it, you’re staying with us.”

Kristin didn’t know what to say. She was saved by Lucas’ smart comment. “Besides, we need to rebuild part of the dock. You know what happened last time when he and I worked on that thing. We’re going to need a referee,” he ended with a smile.

“Alright,” Kristin said and then continued as she glanced from one man to the other. “I’ll stay... and I truly appreciate the offer. I’ll try not to get in the way.”

Lucas grinned widely, “Get in the way?” he said in surprise. “This is going to be great.” He sobered a little, “It’s almost like a family.”

This was from a boy whose own family essentially deserted him. Kristin was too choked up to respond to that so she just raised her hand and stroked the side of Lucas’ face. It was Nathan who found the words.

“Let me tell you something, Lucas,” He moved so he was between Kristin and the boy and put his arm around both of them. “Sometimes the people who aren’t related make better families than real families. Maybe it’s because they get to choose each other. I think we’re something like that. Better than a real family.”