"Cynthia get home all right?"

Kristin looked up from the research notes she'd been engrossed in for the better part of an hour and smiled as Captain Nathan Bridger strolled into the mess hall.  The SeaQuest's cafeteria was usually deserted at this time of the night, and Kristin found that the area served as an ideal place to go over paperwork and other items that had managed to escape her attention during the day.

"Yes, thank you for asking."

"I assume she's going to be taking it easy for the next couple of months?  No more gallivanting off to parts unknown?"  He continued as he took the seat opposite her.

Kristin snorted indelicately and answered.  "My daughter, take it easy?  You must be joking.  I don't she's ever 'taken it easy'."

"Just like her mother."  Nathan rejoined with an amused smile.

Kristin glared at him in mock-anger, but soon relented and answered his smile with one of her own.  "Yes, well... that is neither here nor there."

"I just got off the horn with Bill Noyce.  Seems they're going to impose some economic sanctions on the Amazonian Confederation until they clean their act up."

"And what about Malik and the others?"

Nathan shrugged.  "Right now they're being housed in one of the barracks on base until the UEO can get them placed in a civilian institute.  And from there... foster homes I would imagine."

Kristin nodded thoughtfully and spoke after a moment of silence.  "You should have seen it Nathan... the absolute squalor they lived in.  It was atrocious."  Nathan nodded sympathetically and waited for her to continue.  "No hospital to speak of,  no running
water... hell, there weren't even doors to their homes."

Kristin reached up to push an errant lock of hair behind her ear, and Nathan noticed her hand was trembling.  He leaned across the table and met her intense gaze.  "Are you all right Kristin?"

"I was so scared, Nathan.  I've never felt that helpless before."

"Everything turned out all right in the end though, didn't it?"

"That's not the point."  Kristin returned irritably.

"Well, what is then?"

Kristin was silent for so long that Nathan thought she wouldn't answer.  She lowered her gaze to the table and sighed deeply.  When she finally raised her eyes again, they were filled with unshed tears.  "I guess I'm just a little hurt that Cynny didn't come to me with her problem.  I could have helped her... and this mess could have been avoided.  She almost died because she couldn't trust me."

Nathan laid a comforting hand on her arm and squeezed reassuringly.  "You know what I think, Kristin?  I think that it wasn't a matter of trust.  I suspect that she wanted to make you proud... and she thought she'd achieve that by doing this by herself."

"But I'm already proud of her... I tell her that all the time."

"Yes, proud of her as your child.  I think she wanted you to be proud of her as a person."

"I suppose you could be right."  She admitted grudgingly.

"Well, it has been known to happen on occasion."  Nathan replied self-deprecatingly.

"I think maybe I should give her a call..."

"Sounds good to me."

Kristin began gathering her notes together and stood up.  Nathan followed suit and the pair walked out into the corridor together. Before they reached the conjuction that would separate their paths, Kristin to her quarters and Nathan to the bridge, the good doctor
stopped in her tracks.

Turning to Nathan, whose eyebrows were arched in curiosity, she said, "I have come to a conclusion about one thing after all of this though."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"If I wait for you to make the first move, I'll be waiting forever."

Before Bridger had a chance to respond, Kristin tugged at the shirt of his khaki uniform until he was mere centimeters away from her. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, she reached up and captured his lips with her own.  Although the kiss was gentle, there was an urgent undertone.  She pulled away just as he began to respond and smiled mischeviously.  "Goodnight, Captain."

Nathan stood rooted to the spot, watching in wonder as Kristin turned around and disappeared down an adjacent corridor.  He absently touched his lips and suddenly smiled.  Things were definitely getting interesting.