A Question of Trust
Chapter 16
By Kiddo
In Loving Memory Of Jonathan Brandis
Disclaimer:
I don't have any rights to the TV show "seaQuest." I also don't own the different characters like Bridger, Lucas, or Darwin. I'm not making any money with this story; I'm just writing for my own pleasure.
A spezial „Thank You" goes to Jackie for beta-reading and to dolphinology, Lynnp, KatKnits00 and wolenczak2004 for their reviews.
dolphinology: Thanks!Good to hear that you liked the conversation.
Lynnp: Thanks! You will read how Lucas reacts.
KatKnits00:Thanks! Sometimes Lucas parents are like an enigma to me, even if I'm the one who writes about them and has the controll ;-)
Wolenczak2004: Thanks for your kind words.
And now on to the last chapter of this story:
When Nathan walked into Medbay, he saw that Lucas had woken up. The teenager was reading in his book, "The Gospel According To Larry." Somebody must have brought it to the boy.
When Lucas saw the captain, he immediately closed the book. He was so nervous that he even forgot to put the yellow paper back at the page where he had stopped reading. "Have you talked to my parents? What did they say?" Unsure and curious, he looked at the older man.
Captain Bridger's face was serious.
The young man's heart stopped. This was it; his parents had of course said no, and now he would really have problems with them. Why had he expected that his parents would just give up custody of him to someone else?
Nathan looked at the blond boy. "I'm really sorry Lucas, but in the future, you will have to ask me for permission for everything, and you will be spending all future shore leaves with me."
For a moment, the computer genius just stared at the captain, completely speechless. Then, he began to understand what Bridger had just said. A smile started to spread across his face, and his eyes shone with joy. "Does that mean you really have custody of me? My parents really agreed?"
Nathan nodded and smiled. "Yes, I really have custody of you, and yes, your parents have agreed."
The teenager grinned. "This is so cool! And you're still sure that you want to do this?"
"Yes!" Bridger said this word with complete conviction. Both of their eyes fell on the book.
Lucas moved his eyes from the book to the captain. "You wrote in your note that you wanted to talk to me about the book."
Bridger nodded. "Yes, that's true. I read it and was quite impressed by it. The author wrote a really fantastic book."
The teenager took the book in his hand but didn't open it. "I think I know what you mean. I can remember very clearly how I felt the first time I read it. I can't remember how often I've read it since. But, I was also interested in what other people thought about the book, so I did a little bit of research."
Captain Bridger looked curiously at Lucas. "And what did you find out?"
The young genius turned the book around. "First, that a lot of people were impressed by the book. They recognized that even one person can make a change, that one person can make a difference. The Web site also inspired people with new ideas. For example, the Web site also told people not to buy anything on particular days, to say no to the whole consumer-terror. A lot of people did that and instead of going shopping, they went out into the world and built something there. There were even people who destroyed their credit cards. The book really made some waves. Did you know that there's also a sequel to this book?"
Bridger shook his head. "No."
"It's called 'Vote For Larry,' and this time, Larry tries to run for president. If you're interested, I can give it to you."
"That would be nice. But there's something in the first book that I want to talk to you about."
The teenager nodded; he knew what the captain meant. "You mean the faked suicide, right? And you still remember what I said when the Regulator was on board. But I can assure you that I would never do something like that. A suicide, even a faked one, is never a real solution. You only hurt the people that mean the most to you. One thing this all has shown me is that I don't want to die. I decided to fight for my life."
Captain Bridger looked satisfied. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. "Are you sure?"
The blond teen nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't have said so otherwise, Captain!"
Bridger smiled and twisted his face at the same time. The whole expression looked really weird. "But Lucas, please do me one big favor. Stop calling me Captain. It sounds like we don't know each other; it's so formal. You can call me Nathan, and if you don't like that, then you can come up with something else. I'm open to any suggestions!"
Lucas had to smile at the older man. "Okay...Cap!"
THE END
Written March 2003 / Translated January and February 2005
Information:
The book "The Gospel According To Larry", written by Janet Tashjian, has nothing to do with seaQuest. I read the book some time ago and was really impressed by it. The Web site that is mentioned in the book is www . thegospalaccordingtolarry. com (sorry for the way this is written, fanfiction. net wouldn't let me post it the right way.)
At one point in time, the site actually existed on the Internet. But the last time I checked, I couldn't find it anymore.
In the beginning, I just needed a book that I could briefly mention in my fanfiction. But, when I got the idea to use "The Gospel According To Larry," I made the book play a bigger part. The book was written for teenagers, but I would recommend it to anyone; age doesn't matter.
In 2004, the sequel to this book was published in English, and it is called "Vote For Larry." I immediately bought it in English; I just couldn't wait until they translated it into German. And, I think that tells you how good these books are.