Nathan Bridger stood in the docking bay talking to his X-O while they waited for the launches carrying the remaining crew to dock. "Well Commander, it's not everyday that a UEO submarine gets taken over by commandos… nothing in the manual about that one.  It was a job well done."

"Thank you, Sir."

Bridger's attention was diverted, at the sight of Kristin Westphalen stepping into the room. "Excuse me, Jonathan."

"Yes, Sir." Ford smiled to himself as he watched his captain make his way to the doctor's side.

"Welcome back, Doctor."

"Thank you. I hear you had some excitement while we were away."

"Not so much me as the rest of the crew. Here let me get that for you."

Kristin smiled as Nathan bent to pick up her gear, only to be jostled from behind. The bag toppled spilling some of the contents onto the deck. Nathan glowered at the offending crewman.

"Excuse me, Sir… Sorry Sir… Sorry…" He turned and fled.

"Do you have that affect on all your crew?" Kristin chuckled.

"Of course."

She stifled a laugh and hastily stuffed her belongings back into her bag.

"I think this is yours too." Nathan handed her a short-stemmed, single rose with a note attached. "Seems like I'm not the only one who had an exciting few days."

Kristin flushed slightly and gave an almost embarrassed shrug. "Shall we…?"

They walked to her quarters in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts, and when they reached their destination Nathan moved across the floor to put her stuff on the bunk. "I'd forgotten just how cramped crew quarters can be." He observed.

"Tell me about it." Putting the rose down onto the table she crossed to the head. "Excuse me a moment."

Nathan stared at the object on the table. He knew he shouldn't… it was none of his business. But why oh why, did she have to leave it there?

His curiosity finally overcame his principles and he flicked open the note. It was written in an elegant and obviously male hand. Bridger felt a pang of something unidentifiable, run through him… Well, it wasn't really unidentifiable, he just wasn't prepared to admit to himself what it was. He quickly scanned the words…
 

The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
The red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

Thank you for an unforgettable few days

                                               ~ R
 

He heard the lock on the head door and quickly closed the note again before moving to stare out at the ocean.

When Kristin emerged they briefly went over what had happened on seaQuest and he assured her that Lucas was fine before he was called to the bridge.

As he walked back up the corridor he shook his head in wonder. ~ Well, it seemed that there was far more to the good doctor than he'd imagined and he was going to make it his own personal mission to discover all he could…
 
 

**** The End ****