"Nathan," Kristin said hesitantly, "I think that perhaps we should stop seeing each other for a while."

Bridger stopped his hand with his spoon half way between his butterscotch sundae and his mouth and stared at her.  She'd been quiet all evening but this totally unexpected.  "What did I do?" he asked with a perplexed face.

Kristin continued to stare at her ice cream and refused to look at him.  "You didn't do anything."

"Uh huh," Nathan said trying to work around the lump that had formed in his throat and get over the deep pit that was sitting in his stomach.  "Did I not do something?"

Kristin sighed and looked up at him quickly.  "No, it isn't anything that you didn't do."

"Then why?"

She looked around the deck of the restaurant they were at a little, never quite meeting his eyes.  "I just think that we need to back off a bit and look at this relationship."

"Why?" he repeated.

She sighed at him again in a little frustration.  "I think that perhaps we're moving too fast and we should slow down some."

"Slow down or quit?"

Now she looked right at him again.  "For right now, I think we should stop seeing each other."

Nathan shook his head.  "I don't understand, Kris."

"It's not that difficult, Nathan," she said with irritation.  "I... I just think that we're moving too fast.  All this... this relationship has happened so fast that it's just a blur."

Nathan sat back in his chair a little.  "It's supposed to be like that when you're in love," he said quietly.

Kristin looked him right in the face before dropping her gaze to his hand and the butterscotch and ice cream there.  "You're dripping."

Silently, Nathan dropped the spoon back into the ice cream glass and pushed it away.

"Kris, there has to be more," he said gently.

She met his gaze firmly.  "There isn't, Nathan.  I just think that we need to get a little distance between us."

"Why?" Nathan repeated.

Kristin sighed heavily.  "Because I say so."

"That's the Mommy answer," Nathan said with a little grin trying desperately to lighten the atmosphere.

"Yes," Kristin said shortly, "well, it's also my answer."  She sighed again and looked up at him, her heart almost giving in to the confused, anxious look on his face.  "It takes two people to have a relationship, Nathan.  So if I say that we stop then we do."

"Stop completely or just slow down?"

"Stop completely for right now."

"For right now or forever?"

Kristin leaned back in her chair and looked at the center of the table for a moment.  "I don't know yet."

"Oh," Nathan said in a little voice.  He chewed on his lower lip for a little while.  "What now?"

Kristin looked up at him again.  "I think that perhaps now you should take me home," she said sliding her chair back and standing.

Nathan didn't stand for a while but instead continued to stare at the table top.  Then he swallowed heavily and the legs of his chair made a scraping sound as he pushed back and stood.  "Alright, if that's what you want," he said in a slightly lost sounding voice.

Nathan pulled to the curb in front of the three-story stucco building where Kristin lived.  He stared straight ahead out the windshield for a moment.  "When will you know?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Know what?"

"If it's for now or forever?" he asked chewing on his bottom lip again.

"I'm not sure... I'll let you know."

"Uh huh," Nathan paused.  "Do I get to walk you in?"

Kristin reached for the door handle and shook her head.  "No, I don't think that would be a good idea."  She swung her legs over to get out of the car.

"Kris, are you sure about this?" Nathan asked looking over at her.

Silently, Kristin nodded her head and quickly got out of the car shutting the door firmly behind her.  She walked rapidly into the entry and Nathan saw her press the button for the elevator before the doors opened and she got in without so much as a glance back at him. He stared at the closed doors of the elevator for a moment before leaning forward to look through the windshield up to the third floor.  He saw the lights of Kristin's condo come on, first the living room light and then it went off and the light for her bedroom came on.  With a perplexed look on his face Nathan sat back in his seat and, shaking his head, turned the key to start the car up again before pulling away from the curb.

Upstairs in the bedroom of the north condo on the third floor Kristin lay face down on her bed sobbing into her pillow.

It was almost two in the morning when Lucas came bounding up the stairs of Bridger's beach house.  He pressed the buttons to unlock the new door security system and then locked it behind himself as he walked across the screened-in porch.  He had almost reached the French doors when he was startled by the sound of a sudden sigh next to him and he saw the glow of a wristwatch as the light button was pressed.

"You're late," Nathan said in a low voice.

Lucas tried to get his breathing back to normal.  "Geez, Cap, you scared the hell out of me."  In the darkness of the porch he could barely see the stoic look on Bridger's face as he sat in the white wicker chair next to the door but it was definitely there.

"You're still late."

"Yes, sir," Lucas started tentatively.  "Well, you see..."

"Save it," Nathan broke in sharply.

"Cap...." Lucas said hesitantly.

"Go to bed, Lucas," Nathan said in a no-nonsense monotone.  "We'll talk about it in the morning."

Lucas watched as Bridger shifted his glance out to the water. Besides the dead look in Nathan's eyes he could see how his jaw muscles were working as he clenched them.  "Yes, sir," he said quietly and went through the French doors casting a worried glance back at Bridger.

Lucas stretched and yawned as he walked into the dining room the next morning.  As he turned towards the kitchen Bridger came out of it. Boy, he looked pretty damned terrible.  The guy looked like he hadn't slept all night.

"Good morning, sir," Lucas said trying to start off on neutral ground.

"It's morning," Nathan said sourly.

"You feeling alright?" Lucas asked grabbing a box of cereal and a bowl.  He walked back out into the dining room where Bridger was sitting at the table cradling his cup of coffee.

"I'm fine," Bridger answered shortly.  Lucas sat down and poured his cereal.  He added milk and took a couple of bites before Bridger spoke again.

"1:52."

Lucas looked embarrassed and sighed before looking up at Bridger.  "Yes, sir."

"I got home a little earlier than you expected."

"Yes, sir," Lucas repeated.

Nathan nodded slightly.  "How often has this happened?" he asked with a little bite in his voice.

Lucas stared at the table.  "The last couple of weeks, I guess," he answered softly.

"Your curfew on Fridays is one."

"Yes, sir, I know," Lucas said looking up at him.  Bridger's hard stare and steady voice were beginning to make him nervous.  He had expected that Bridger would yell at him.  This was a lot more disconcerting.

Nathan leaned his elbows on the table resting his chin on his hands and then looked out the window shaking his head and sighing sadly.

"I'm sorry, sir," Lucas said tentatively.

Nathan looked back at him silently... just staring at him for a while until Lucas began to squirm uncomfortably.  "You're sorry that you got caught," Nathan said simply.  He shook his head again.  "I hate being lied to Lucas.  You told me you'd be in by curfew."

"It won't happen again, sir."

"Damned right it won't," Nathan said firmly.  "For starters you're grounded."

Lucas opened his mouth to object but one look at Bridger's face stopped him dead.  He swallowed heavily before responding.  "Yes, sir," he said quietly.  "How long?"

"I'm working on that," Nathan said standing and heading back into the kitchen.  "Meanwhile, you can start by scrubbing down the dock today."

"It's a brand new dock, sir," Lucas objected.

"Then you don't have to scrub too hard, do you?"

"Yes, sir," Lucas said meekly.  "Are you going out today?"

"I'm not planning to."

"I thought that since it's Saturday maybe you and the Doc would be going to lunch," Lucas said picking up his empty bowl and bringing it into the kitchen where Bridger was pulling everything out of the refrigerator.

Nathan glanced quickly up at Lucas and then returned his attention to cleaning out the refrigerator.  "No, I don't think so."

Lucas didn't know what he was missing here but Bridger sounded kind of upset... more upset than he should be about breaking curfew.  "Are you sure you're alright, sir?"

Nathan stood with a frustrated look on his face.  "I'm fine," he said shortly and then he relented a little.  "She dumped me," he said softly.

Lucas just stared at him for a moment.  "Who? The Doc?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"What did you do?"

Nathan shrugged.  "Nothing.  She said I didn't do anything."

"Did you not do something?"

Nathan sighed and shook his head.  "She says I didn't not do anything either."

"Then why did she dump you?"

"I have no damned idea, Lucas," Nathan answered in a frustrated voice.  He stuck his head back in the refrigerator and resumed pulling items out, placing two jars of jelly on the countertop.  "I just don't know."

The defeated sound of his voice upset Lucas more than the sharpness of his earlier responses.  "I'm sure it'll all be okay, sir," Lucas said hopefully.

Nathan looked up at him with a frown.  "I don't think so."  He turned back to the refrigerator and Lucas took the hint and headed down to the dock.

A couple of hours later Lucas was at the far end of the dock busily soaping it down with the bio-safe soap that Bridger had provided when he heard someone walking up the stairs to the house.  He swore silently as he saw Miguel and Tim walking across the porch.  He had been intending to intercept them before they ended up on the receiving end of Bridger's wrath.

Nathan was putting the last container back into the refrigerator when he heard footsteps on the porch.  He looked up as Miguel Ortiz leaned against the countertop between the dining room and the kitchen with Tim standing behind him.

"Good morning, Cap," he smiled.  "Is Lucas around?"

The silent stare that Bridger sent their way for a moment was more than a little unnerving.  "He's scrubbing down the dock," the Captain finally said.  Tim turned to look out the window.  "But you need to talk to me," Bridger said quietly.  He walked out of the kitchen and down towards the den with the two men following him.  Ortiz glanced over at Tim who shrugged his shoulders as they followed the older man.

Lucas wiped the soap from his hands with a towel as he came through the French doors just in time to see the door to the den close behind Tim and Miguel.  He sighed and shook his head a little.  Somehow, he didn't think he wanted to be in on *that* discussion... but he would really have liked to warn the guys ahead of time.

Ortiz and O'Neil stood uncomfortably in the warmly furnished den as Bridger turned and leaned against the desk.  "1:52," was all he said.

"1: 52, sir?" O'Neil said hesitantly.

Bridger folded his arms and directed a granite stare their direction.  "1:52 is the time you brought Lucas home last night." Both men looked even more uncomfortable now and Tim swallowed nervously.  Bridger's voice was low and ominous but contained a definite bite.  "Was there something about a 1 a.m. curfew that you gentlemen had difficulty understanding?"

Neither one of them would look at him but instead stared at a place on the floor just in front of his feet.  "No, sir," O'Neil answered softly.

"Was it a problem for you, Chief?" Bridger asked sharply.

Ortiz glanced quickly up at the Captain.  "No, sir," he said quietly.

"I see," Bridger's voice was still soft and steady but O'Neil thought he could hear a nasty undertone in it, "then you intentionally allowed him to violate his curfew?"

"I guess we just got caught up in what we were doing last night, sir," Ortiz offered.

Bridger tilted his head a little and raised his eyebrows.  "And the weekend before?"

"Um," Tim said shuffling his feet, "I guess we got a little caught up then too."

"Caught is the right word, Lieutenant."

"We didn't figure that you'd be home yet, sir," Ortiz said faintly.

Nathan looked sharply at him.  "And that made it alright, Chief?"

"No, sir," Ortiz answered hastily.

Bridger's eyes flicked between the two men as they stood in front of him.  Displeasure was written all over his face and they could see how he was clenching and unclenching his jaw.  "I trusted you two to watch out for him."  They both looked up quickly at Bridger but then dropped their glances when they saw the steely look in his eyes.  "Lieutenant, I expected that an officer would have done a better job of following directions."  O'Neil looked up at Bridger again with an apologetic look on his face as Bridger shifted his gaze over to Ortiz and continued in that steady voice.  "But I'm really disappointed in you, Chief."  Miguel also looked up at his Captain.  "In my Navy the Chiefs watch out after their shipmates," he paused just a moment to let that sink in.  "You did a pretty lousy job of watching after him didn't you?"

Ortiz started to open his mouth to object when O'Neil broke in.

"Guilty, sir."  Nathan looked over at him.  "Guilty as charged," Tim said with an embarrassed frown.

Ortiz shrugged.  "I guess we let things get out of hand.  You're right, we should have made sure he was home on time."

"Yes, you should have," Nathan said sharply.  He straightened up from the desk and came closer to where the two men stood, essentially at attention.  "It was your responsibility to ensure that Lucas followed the rules that you had control over."  He paused a moment as his eyes raked across the two men.  "And since you were driving, you had control over when he got home."  Nathan sighed and leaned back against the desk again.  "But I imagine that he convinced you that it wouldn't be a problem since I wouldn't be home until later."

They were both silent for a moment before O'Neil answered.  "It was our responsibility, sir, and we blew it.  It's our fault."  Ortiz nodded slowly.

Nathan also nodded softly, he had to admire their defense of Lucas. He was almost positive that it had been the boy who had convinced them to let him stay out just a little later but they were willing to take the blame themselves.  "Yes, it was, Lieutenant." Nathan continued in an even more firm voice.  "He's sixteen years old.  You two are supposed to be the good examples who watch after him *not* aid and abet his violating the rules."  He nodded towards the door.  "He's grounded.  I'm not sure how long or how severely yet," Nathan paused a moment.  "I think I need to calm down a little before making that decision."  Both men looked even more uncomfortable.  "And you two," Nathan paused again fixing them both with a stern stare.  "You two are on probation."

"It won't happen again, Captain," Ortiz said earnestly looking the older man in the face.

Nathan stood in front of them again with his hands on his hips.  "It damned well better not, Chief," he answered in an ominous voice.  "Or it will be the last time he goes out with you two until he turns 18."  He looked at the two men before him, their faces alternating between embarrassment and distinct discomfort.  "That will be all, gentlemen."

"Aye, aye, sir," they said in unison and turned towards the door. O'Neil stopped with one hand on the doorknob.  "Sir?" he said in a soft voice.  Bridger looked up at him.  "We're sorry."  Nathan simply nodded and both men left the den closing the door softly behind them.

Lucas was pouring a glass of iced tea in the kitchen when Tim and Miguel came into the dining room.  "You guys okay?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, nothing that some shingles and tar won't fix," Miguel said morosely.  Lucas looked at him questioningly.  "I hear that's good for replacing pieces of your backend when it's been torn off," Miguel explained.

"He was *not* happy.  Very short, not very sweet but very to the point," Tim said with a frown.

"He had a bad night," Lucas said.  The other two looked at him questioningly.  "He and Doctor Westphalen broke up last night."

"You're kidding," Tim exclaimed.  "I thought that was a match made in heaven."

"So did he," Lucas said.  "But she dumped him."

"Wow," Miguel said shaking his head and then straightened up as the Captain came into the kitchen.

Bridger looked quickly at all three of them and then focused on Lucas.  "Isn't there something that you're supposed to be doing?"

Lucas grabbed his glass and hastily headed for the door.  "Yes, sir, right away."  Tim and Miguel went after him followed by Bridger's stoic gaze.

Nathan watched the three of them until they had reached the dock before he turned to the vid-phone on the countertop between the kitchen and the dining room.  He stared at it for a moment before reaching out and dialing a very familiar number.  The phone rang once, then twice, then a third time before it switched over to an answering machine.  Nathan patiently listened to the message before leaving one of his own.

"Kris, it's Nathan.  Please give me a call.  We need to talk about last night."  He paused for a moment.  "I really need to talk to you.  I love you, baby."  He reached out and pressed the disconnect button and stood for a while staring at the empty screen.

On the other side of town Kristin sat on her couch and clutched a pillow tightly to her chest as she watched Nathan leave his message. She'd seen it was him, of course, on the caller ID but she just wasn't ready to talk to him just yet.  As he ended his message and Kristin saw the sad, almost desperate look on his face she buried her face into the pillow and cried softly.

The car on the way to work on Monday was pretty quiet.  Hell, the whole weekend had been pretty quiet, Lucas thought.  What with Bridger keeping him busy working on menial jobs around the house and sulking around himself.  Lucas kept glancing nervously over at Bridger in the driver's seat until he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Did you try to give her a call, Cap?"

Nathan sighed and nodded slightly.  "Yeah, four times.  She isn't answering."

"Maybe she wasn't home."

Nathan looked over at the boy with a frown.  "She was home.  She's just not talking to me."

"Are you sure you didn't do anything?"

"I don't know, Lucas," Nathan responded in a frustrated voice.  "I've racked my mind trying to come up with some reason... something that I did or didn't do but I just can't come up with anything.  I don't know," he repeated.

Several times during the day Nathan called Kristin's office in an attempt to talk to her only to be told that she was busy each time. Finally, he decided to take the direct route and about three in the afternoon he wandered over to the Department of Biological Oceanography to try one more time.  As he came through the door the receptionist smiled up at him.

"Good afternoon, Captain.  How are you today?"

"I'm alright, Cindy.  Would Doctor Westphalen be in, by any chance?"

"I'm afraid she's tied up with meetings all day today, Captain... and probably tomorrow too.  Did you want to leave a message for her?"

A slightly depressed look covered Nathan's face.  "Yeah, would you just tell her that I need to talk to her?"

"No problem, Captain."

"Thanks," Nathan said turning and walking out of the office.

Cindy watched him leave before turning to face the office to her right.  The door opened and Kristin stuck her head out.  "Is he gone?"

"Yes, Doctor."

Kristin came the rest of the way out of the office and glanced at the door to the hallway.

"How long to you figure on keeping this up?" Cindy asked, a little disapproval lacing her voice.

"As long as it takes, Cindy."  Kristin turned back to her office.  "As long as it takes."

Throughout the next three days Nathan tried to contact Kristin on several occasions.  Calling her on the phone, leaving messages for her at the main desk, trying to catch her in her office or the lab and finally, sending her some flowers with a note all to no avail. Now he was once again at Cindy's desk to see if there was any chance that Kristin was in.

"At another meeting, huh?  She goes to more meetings than I do and I thought I was the king of the hill when it came to that," Nathan said resentfully, his eyes wandering over the flowers on Cindy's desk. Those had to be the ones that he had sent.

"I'm sorry, Captain," and Cindy was beginning to feel really sorry for the Captain.  He certainly was giving it a good try.

"Look, can you just tell her from me that I said she can't avoid me forever and she may as well get it over with?" Nathan asked with a little irritation in his voice.

"I can leave her that message, sir," Cindy said uncomfortably.

"Thanks," Nathan said leaving the office once again.

The next day Nathan was returning to the office from a visit to the dry dock where the new seaQuest would be assembled when, on the far side of the walking track that went around the UEO compound, he spotted a flash of familiar russet hair.  In order not to spook her, Nathan took a roundabout path so that she didn't see him until he came through the stand of trees behind her.

Kristin quickly stood and gathered up her lunch.

"Hi," Nathan said softly.  "Kris, please don't leave.  I only want to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about Nathan," Kristin said sharply.

With a little effort Nathan kept his voice even and low.  "Yes, there is.  Look, if you talk to me for a couple of minutes I'll leave you alone.  If you keep avoiding me you're going to end up hiding in your office to stay away from me.  Is it that hard to talk?"

Kristin slowly put her lunch back down on the table and looked over at him.  "What do you want, Nathan?"

"I want to know why."

"I told you why," she said not meeting his eyes.

"You told me one part of why but there has to be more."  Kristin stayed silent.  "You said it wasn't anything I did or didn't do."

Kristin sighed and glanced quickly at him.  "No, Nathan, it wasn't anything you did or didn't do," she said in a disapproving voice.

"Is it something someone else did?"

Kristin finally looked right up at him, her face clearing.  "Yes," she said softly.

"Who and what?"

Finally, Kristin sat down on the bench of the table and Nathan sat down too, carefully sitting at the other end of the table so as not to make her uncomfortable.  When she spoke there was an earnestness in her voice.  "Nathan, you have to understand that I haven't been very lucky when it comes to lovers."  Nathan just nodded.  "Every man that I've loved has left me."

"What about your first husband?"

"Alex died... that was just another way of leaving me although he didn't have anything to say about it."  Nathan nodded again.  "You told me once that you weren't good at casual relationships..." she leaned towards him and Nathan had to restrain himself to keep his eyes from wandering down her body.  "Well, neither am I.  When relationships go bad I take it to heart.  I fall apart," she paused just a moment and sat back up.  "And I can't do that again."

"Kris, I'm not about to leave you.  I love you."

"That's what they all say," she said looking away from him.

"What makes you think that I'm like him?" Nathan asked in a sincere voice.  Kristin still refused to look at him and Nathan knew that he was on his way to losing her.  "Kristin, you can't let what happened with someone else dictate how you handle our relationship," he said desperately.

Nathan watched with heavy concern on his face as she picked up her lunch again and stood.  She finally turned to look at him.  "Yes, I can," she said in a low voice.  "Goodbye, Nathan."

She walked quickly away leaving Nathan sitting at the table staring off towards nothing.

Lucas ran happily down the steps in front of the UEO building at the end of the working day.  Altogether, today had been a fantastic day. He'd finally figured out the right configuration to make the vocorder truly portable.  He'd spent the majority of the day out on the dock talking with Darwin and soon he could bring one of the portable vocorders home to keep there so he could talk to Darwin anytime he wanted to... definitely a great day.  Just wait until he could tell the Captain, Lucas thought.  He'd gone looking for the man that afternoon but he was nowhere to be found.

He waved at one of the crew members across the parking lot as he turned the corner around a van that was parked near the car and stopped, surprised to see Bridger sitting on the hood of the car. Usually that was Lucas' place as he waited for the Captain to get done with work.

"On time?" Lucas asked with a smile.  "I can't believe it."

Nathan smiled a little and slid off the hood.  "Yeah, sometimes I manage it."  He grinned over the car at the boy.  "Not often, mind you but sometimes."  He opened the door and unlocked the car so Lucas could slide in.  Nathan glanced over at the boy.  "You look excited... what's up?"

Lucas sighed happily and grinned at Bridger.  "What a great day I had, sir.  I got the battery and the chips to work together and the vocorder is now truly portable."

"You're kidding?" Nathan asked turning towards Lucas.

"Nope, I'm not," Lucas answered proudly.  "I spent the majority of the day talking to Darwin out on the dock."

"I bet he was thrilled," Nathan smiled.

Lucas chuckled, "He's a little vague on the concept but he thinks the idea of being able to talk to us from the dock at home is a great idea."

Nathan turned the key and started up the car.  "They're going to let you take one home?" he asked as he backed out of the space.

"Yeah, they said as long as you said it was alright I could keep one in the house as long as we stored it in a safe place."

"I think we can probably find a safe place."  He smiled a little as he looked over at the excitement showing on Lucas' face.  "Same size?"

"Yup, exactly the same."

"Okay, then we should also be able to make a mount for it out on the dock so it doesn't fall in the water."

"It is waterproof," Lucas commented.

"Yeah, and it floats but I don't think we want to make a habit of sending it out for a swim."

Lucas frowned a little.  "Probably not.  I guess a mount would be a good idea."

"I'll work on it," Bridger said as he squinted through the windshield at the traffic around them.

"How did your day go, sir?" Lucas asked.

"Nothing quite as exciting as yours but I finally got to talk to Kristin," Nathan said still looking at the other cars.

Lucas' face turned serious as he looked at the Captain.  "How did that go?"

"I don't know," Nathan shrugged.  "At least I know why she dumped me now."

"Why?" Lucas asked cautiously.

Nathan glanced at the boy quickly before looking back at the traffic.  "She was afraid that I'd dump her like all the other men have in her life so she beat me to the punch."

Lucas was silent for a moment before responding.  "That's crazy, sir," he said slowly.

"Yup."

"So what do you do now?"

Nathan sighed and frowned.  "See what happens, I suppose.  Not much I can do at this point except hope that pretty soon she'll decide that she'd rather be miserable with me than without me."

Lucas smiled a little.  At least it seemed like the Captain was recovering his sense of humor... a feature that had been notably absent in the last week.  "If I can do anything just let me know."

Nathan smiled tenderly at him.  "I will, Lucas.  Thanks."

Lucas and Nathan sat in the cafeteria of the UEO Headquarters building the next day eating their lunches and exchanging small talk.  Lucas had just finished explaining how the vocorder batteries worked when he saw a small smile cross Nathan's face which was quickly replaced by a look of disgust.

"What?"

Nathan shook his head.  "Kristin just walked in the room, saw me and walked out."  He shook his head again sadly.  "This is getting depressing."

Lucas looked quickly towards the entrance and then back at Nathan.  "Sorry about that, sir."

"Not your fault," Nathan frowned.  "Just another exciting episode in the menagerie we call life."

"Yeah," Lucas said sadly then he brightened a little.  "Are you still going to the party tonight?"

Nathan made a face and shrugged.  "I don't know.  I don't think so."

"Why not, sir?" Lucas asked excitedly.  "You'd have a great time. Everyone's going to be there... it's like the biggest bash in the place for the entire year and they've dropped the dress-code so you can even wear jeans.  Besides, you've already paid for your ticket."

"I don't know, Lucas, I'm not sure I feel like partying."

"You'd have a great time," Lucas encouraged.  "C'mon, give it a try... you can't just sit at home alone."  He saw Bridger beginning to waver and grinned at the man.  "Besides, this is the one thing you said I can do even though I'm grounded for another week.  Who would keep an eye on me and make sure I stay out of trouble?"

Nathan chuckled and nodded.  "Alright, you win.  I'll come to the party."

Lucas smiled broadly at him.  "You'll have a great time.  You'll see."

Nathan sat alone at a side table slowly picking the label off a bottle of beer.

"You going to stick with beer all night?" Lucas asked as he came up beside him.

Nathan smiled a little as he looked up at the boy.  "It's the same beer I've been nursing for the last two hours, Lucas."

"Oh." Lucas slid down into the chair next to him.  "How long can you make one of those things last?"

Nathan shrugged.  "If I want to drive home... it better be for the entire party."

Lucas saw his glance fix on someone on the other side of the room and looked that way.  Sure enough, Doctor Westphalen was standing in a group talking animatedly to a man with a goatee.  The man indicated the dance floor with a wave of his hand but the Doc smiled and shook her head.

"I wonder who he is?" Nathan mumbled.

"Doctor Garrett Conway.  He works in the Oceanographic Teutonics Division.  Specializes in plate bonding."

Nathan looked like he'd just eaten something spoiled.  "Really? ...Wonderful," he said morosely.  Lucas watched while Bridger chewed on his fingernail for a while before he straightened up and pushed the beer bottle to the middle of the table.  He glanced quickly at Lucas with a determined look on his face.  "Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?"

"Right," Lucas answered hesitantly.  Nathan stood and Lucas watched him go over and talk to one of the people from the band before he turned and headed for the Doc.

"Hi," Nathan said softly coming up behind Kristin.

She turned quickly towards him with a look of surprise on her face before she recovered.  "Hello, Nathan."  She glanced between the two men.  "Um, Nathan, this is Doctor Garrett Conway.  Garrett, Captain Nathan Bridger."

Nathan smiled slightly as he took Conway's outstretched hand.  "I've heard of you, Captain," he said shaking Nathan's hand.

"And I of you, Doctor.  A pleasure to meet you."  He turned towards Kristin with a slightly nervous look on his face.  "Look, um, Kristin.  Would you like to dance?"

"No, I don't think so, Nathan," she answered smoothly.

"I kind of made a request for the next song."  He shrugged his shoulders and smiled.  "C'mon, take a chance."

Kristin looked over at the band as they began the intro for the next song and then turned back to Nathan who was still smiling with his hand held out towards her.  "Alright," she said cautiously.  "But just one."

"You've got it," Nathan said taking her hand and leading her onto the dance floor.  As he gently slipped his hand around her waist making sure that he didn't pull her too close he looked at her face.  "The song kind of says what I can't," he said softly.  Kristin looked up at him and they began to move smoothly to the sound of the music.

Kristin recognized the song.  It wasn't a current one, probably twenty years old and she remembered liking it back then but she couldn't see quite how it applied.
 

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I hope you dance, I hope you dance.
 

On the other side of the room Lucas nervously watched the couple dance slowly but very properly as they moved across the floor.  He was used to seeing them hold each other tight when they danced, not holding each other apart like they were doing now.  Tim and Miguel came up behind him and watched them too.   Tim put a comforting hand on Lucas' shoulder.

As they danced Nathan pulled her just a little closer and sang along with the band softly in her ear during the next verse.
 

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance,
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking,
Loving might be a mistake but it's worth making,
Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to selling out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
I hope you dance, I hope you dance.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,
Dance, I hope you dance.
 

Nathan had managed to direct them so that when the song ended they were in a sparsely populated corner of the room.  Kristin slowly pulled away from him as the music ended.  Nathan kept hold of one of her hands and looked her right in the face as he spoke softly but sincerely.

"Kris, I understand what it feels like to get hurt by someone you love."

Kristin sighed and tilted her head at him.  "You and Carol were married for twenty years, Nathan."

"Twenty-five," he corrected her, "but that doesn't mean that there weren't women before her and I know how it feels to be betrayed.  I could never do that to you, Kristin.  You've got to believe that." She looked anything but convinced and Nathan gave it one more try.  "Kris, I don't know what he did to you...."

"They," Kristin interrupted.

"They?"

"More than one, Nathan."

"Okay... I don't know what they did to you but don't you realize that if you push me away they win?"  Kristin looked questioningly at him.  "If you give up on a chance to find your real love then they keep you from finding happiness... and they win."  Kristin just stared at him.  "Don't let them win, Kris," Nathan whispered softly.

"I... I need to go," Kristin said nervously pulling her hand away from his and turning quickly.  Nathan stared after her as she rushed out of the hall and then kept standing there looking at the closed door.

Lucas weaved his way through the crowd until he was standing behind Bridger and also looking at the door.  "Are you alright, sir?" he asked gently.

Nathan stood there staring for a moment more before answering.  "That was my best shot, Lucas," he said in a voice choked with emotion.  "And I don't think it worked."  He shook his head dejectedly.  "I think I've lost her."  He glanced back at the boy and noticed Tim and Miguel who had come up behind Lucas.  "Do you two think you could get him home?"

"No problem, Captain," Tim said.  "And we promise that he'll be there before one."

Nathan nodded slightly.  "You better, I'll be at home," he said stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Drive carefully, sir," Lucas said.

Nathan nodded and then looked over to the door that Kristin had gone through.  "Damn," he muttered under his breath and then turned to leave.

In the parking lot Nathan walked thoughtfully to his car and sat in it staring out the windshield for quite a while before starting the engine and pulling out of the lot.  One aisle over Kristin sat in her small green sports car watching him as tears softly fell down her cheeks.

Lucas tiredly walked up the stairs to the house and keyed the security code to get in.  He had walked about half way across the darkened porch before he stopped.

"Are you out here?" he asked into the darkness.

A soft chuckle reached his ears.  "Yeah, I'm out here," Nathan said softly from the wicker chair near the door.  "How was the rest of the party?"

Lucas sat down in the other chair, hearing the wicker groan as he settled in.  "Actually, it got kind of interesting.  Dan Pasterly managed to get into a fight with Commander Crew."

"Oh, really," Nathan said, his voice only a little slurred.  "Was there anything left of Pasterly?"

"Yeah," Lucas said leaning his head so he could see the whiskey bottle that Bridger had on the table between them.  It looked like it was over half empty and Lucas didn't think they'd had any whiskey in the house before tonight.  "Pasterly took a swipe at the Commander and Crew just punched him once... but that was all it took.   He sent Pasterly off to dreamland."

"Someone ought to send Pasterly off to Siberia," Nathan mumbled.

"Well, it made for a pretty good show... other than that it was pretty tame."  Lucas looked over as Bridger took a drink from his glass.  "Don't you think you've had enough, sir?" he asked gently.

"Nope," Nathan said shortly.  "Not near enough, Lucas."  He paused and continued gently, "but thank you for being concerned.  Why don't you go to bed, Lucas."

"I could sit up with you," the boy ventured.

"No, I don't think so," Nathan smiled softly.  "Go to bed."

Lucas stood and headed to the door... just before he went through he stopped and looked back at the Captain.  "Oh, by the way... 12:48"

Nathan looked blearily up at him, "12:48?"

Lucas grinned.  "That's when I got in... before one."

"Ah, yes... a definite improvement," Nathan smiled.  "Goodnight, Lucas."

"Goodnight, sir."

Late the next morning Lucas putting the last drop cloth over the furniture on the porch prior to his latest chore which was painting the ceiling of the porch.  He glanced quickly out on the dock where Bridger was busy attaching a frame that he'd designed to hold the portable vocoder to one of the pilings of the dock.  When Lucas had gotten up this morning he'd found the empty whiskey bottle in the kitchen and Bridger hadn't made an appearance until after 10 which was tremendously late for him... and when he did appear he didn't look too good.  Lucas had done his best to be sure that he kept the noisemaking down to a minimum since the Captain looked like his head was killing him.

Lucas heard light footsteps coming up the stairs and smiled as Kristin came around the corner of the porch.  "Good morning, Doc," he said cheerily.

Kristin didn't answer him quite so cheerily.  She looked like she had her own version of Bridger's headache.  "Good morning, Lucas," she said softly.  "Is Nathan home?"

"He's out on the dock," Lucas said pointing that way but keeping his eyes on Westphalen.  Actually, she looked pretty miserable too.  He was betting that she'd destroyed her own bottle of whiskey last night.

Kristin looked out to where Nathan was busily screwing something onto a piling.  "Thank you," she said moving back off the porch and heading out to the dock.

Nathan heard the footsteps behind him and pressed the piece he was trying to attach a little tighter to the piling.  "Hand me that Phillips screwdriver," he said over his shoulder without looking at the person behind him.  He put his hand up and the screwdriver was put into his palm.  Carefully, Nathan attached the securing band to the frame that he'd designed and then he leaned back.  "That should work."

"What's it for?" he heard Kristin ask from behind him.  Nathan spun around on his knees and looked up at her, surprise written all over his face.

"Um, it's a frame to hold a portable vocordor," he said hesitantly.

"Really?" Kristin asked, surprised.  "I didn't know he'd managed to make it into a portable."

"He, uh, he only got it working this week and they're going to let him keep one here."

His heart jumped just a little as Kristin smiled.  "That will be nice.  Then he and Darwin can talk whenever they want to."

"Yeah," Nathan said standing up and facing her but keeping a distance between them.

Kristin didn't meet his glance and when she finally spoke her voice was a little hesitant.  "I got to thinking about what you said last night."

"Did I make any sense?" Nathan asked as he turned the screwdriver over in his hands.

"Yes, you did," she said smiling a little and looking up at him.  "You made a hell of a lot more sense than I have over the last week or so."

"I really do understand your hesitancy, Kris," he said softly and earnestly, "but like I've told you... I'm not like all the other men you've been with before.  All I'm asking for is a chance."

Kristin looked out at the water for a moment before returning her gaze to Nathan.  Her eyes swept over his face, that face that she'd seen in her dreams for the last year regularly and even more in the last week.  "If I give you a chance you have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Promise me that you're not an asshole," Kristin said quietly.

Nathan smiled softly and replied with feeling.  "I promise you with all my heart that I'm not an asshole."

"I do love you, Nathan," Kristin said with a serious face.

Nathan's smile was bigger.  "I love you, baby, more than you can ever know.  I promise that I'll never intentionally do anything to hurt you."

A gentle smile lit up Kristin's face as she brought one hand up to rest against his cheek and after a moment she pulled a little on his head bringing his lips down to hers.

"YEEESSSS!!!" they heard shouted from the porch.

The couple broke the kiss laughing.  Nathan slipped his arm around Kristin's waist and hugged her close for a moment before they started walking off the dock.

"Is he that interested in how we get along?" Kristin asked with a grin.

"It seems like he's become rather attached to you," Nathan grinned back.  "And I can understand his sentiment."  He gave her waist a little squeeze.  "Besides, you haven't had to put up with me over the last week."

"Oh, I don't think I was any prize myself," she said a little sadly.

"I think the only ones I know that you drove crazy were me and Cindy."

"Poor Cindy.  I'm going to have to take her out to lunch to make up for this one."  They had reached the stairs and climbed up to the porch.  Lucas was waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

"Does that mean that you two are back together again?" he asked hopefully.

"I think so," Nathan said hesitantly.  He turned to Kristin.  "Are we back together again?"

"Yes," she said positively.  "We're back together... and this time it's going to be for a very, very long time."

"Right," Nathan said nodding.  "Tell you what, how about if I take you out to lunch to seal this deal?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me, sailor," Kristin smiled as she again stroked his cheek with her hand.

They turned and headed towards the outside door.  Just before they turned the corner of the porch Nathan stopped them and looked over at Kristin, nodding his head backwards.  She smiled and nodded.  "Hey, kid," Nathan said back over his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Lucas said hesitantly.

"C'mon, you need to eat too."  A broad smile broke across Lucas' face as he hurried to follow them off the porch.

"Does this mean that my grounding is over?" he asked hopefully.

Nathan smiled benevolently back at the boy.  "Don't push your luck."