How dare she accuse him of being jealous? Of all the ridiculous ideas… Nathan stormed along the corridor, completely oblivious to the curious looks he was getting from the crewmembers in his path. Jealous of Malcolm Lansdowne – please…

Concern, that's all it was. He'd known Malcolm a long time – too long he thought at times. Malcolm was crazy – hadn't he told her that? Why wasn't she listening to him? What exactly had gone on at Malcolm's before Tezlof had shown up? Had they…? Would she…?

Oh for goodness sake Bridger it's none of your business! Kristin had said as much, hadn't she?

Maybe he owed her an apology? He'd been arguing with himself about whether he did or didn't ever since they'd talked but seeing how cosy she was with Malcolm, and he with her, while they were on sea-deck still rankled.

Wait a minute… It rankled? Could it be that she was right? No! Definitely not, but then again…

Lord, his mind was going in circles. Why did he let her do this to him? He was the Captain of seaQuest and she merely a part of the crew. And, she had put him in an untenable position. Damn her!

Ford had been ready to mutiny. Tezlof’s enemies had been prepared to destroy seaQuest and Tezlof was swimming with his dolphin.

That was it – he wasn't jealous, he was angry with her. Yes, that was it, wasn't it? But then again…

This was getting him nowhere. Coffee, he needed coffee – strong, black coffee. Still fuming he headed for the Officer's mess.

As he approached the doorway he began to feel calmer – Yes, he was still angry but at least it wasn't jealousy. For an intelligent woman, Kristin had really been mistaken about that one.

The place was almost deserted and he was just about to walk over to the coffee-pot when he saw them - Kristin and Malcolm. They were talking quietly together, probably about their research he decided. Then suddenly she was in his arms, hers around his neck and then they were kissing.

Nathan Bridger, Captain of the seaQuest, felt an overwhelming emotion building up inside of him. He was furious! How dare Malcolm, one of his oldest friends, come aboard his boat and kiss his CMO. How dared he? She worked for the U.E.O and for seaQuest and by definition, for him. She was U.E.O property – his property.

‘His property…’ How could she betray him like that?

And where the hell did that thought come from?

He realised that he was still standing in the same spot, staring at the two ‘lovebirds’, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He had to get out of there… he felt sick, sick to his stomach.

When Kristin and Malcolm separated to finish their conversation, Nathan was gone…

He stormed down the corridor for the second time that night, and if he had been angry before…

Lucas was just approaching the captain's quarters when he saw Bridger ‘explode’ around the corner. All thoughts of asking for the help he needed evaporated when he saw the Captain's face and he hastily retreated to the safety of his own room.

The door to Bridger's cabin closed with a loud, metallic thud which could, in all probability, have been heard throughout the entire submarine.

He paced the room like an angry tiger. How dare they? How could they? In a public place as well… First thing in the morning Malcolm Lansdowne was off the boat and if he thought he'd ever be invited back – well it'd be over Nathan's dead body.

He could leave first thing and if there was no landfall nearby then so much the better, or maybe he could just fire him out of one of the torpedo tubes – now, there was a thought.

And as for Kristin… What if she wanted to leave with Lansdowne?

No, she couldn't…

Bridger lay down on his bunk, far too tired to pace anymore.

… And why not, he thought. There were plenty of potential CMOs out there. Any of which would be grateful to be on seaQuest – unlike Kristin who seemed to prefer working off the boat rather than on it. Let's face it, she grabbed every opportunity to leave. There was the time when his friend Scott had crashed his expensive toy into the ocean and she had insisted on going with Krieg in the rescue launch and then when the seaQuest had only a skeleton crew on board... Where was she then? She hadn't even bothered to say where she could be reached in case of emergency. Was she with him?

And the time when they had sent out the rescue launch to save the French children in the sightseeing sub…

His mind wandered back to that day.

For a while he had had no idea if the crew of the MR-7 were alive and he was scared, more scared than he had been in a long time. He had told himself that it was Lucas that he had been afraid for but when they had found the launch and he had seen Kristin disembark, soaked to the skin and shaking with cold, the relief had been like a physical blow. It took all his self-control not to grab her and pull her to him. He'd had an overwhelming desire to hold her, feel her body next to his, just to prove to himself that she was alive. But then, he was the Captain, and it was right that he should care for his crew.

Care that much, though...

As much as he tried to rationalise his feelings as concern for his crewmembers, he hadn't felt the urge to cuddle Krieg or Ford had he? No, and thank goodness for it. Then why did he feel that way about Kristin? Perhaps because she was a woman, and a very beautiful one at that? Way to go Bridger, you've finally admitted that you've noticed – has to be a step forward.

And then today, when Kristin's face had appeared on the vid-screen, and he'd realised that she was being held by Tezlof. Again, he'd felt that same fear shoot through him…

When she had confronted him on sea-deck and asked if he was annoyed with her – he knew now that he had been… Not just because she had brought Tezlof back to the boat, but because she had brought Lansdowne as well. He had been disturbed by the closeness they seemed to share. A closeness that he had had with Carol and one which, if he would just admit it, he needed to feel again.

He had thought at first that it was Kristin's friendship that he needed but as the two of them had worked closer together it had become more – An intimacy that he had badly missed while he was alone on the island. And then Malcolm had come along and invaded what he had considered to be, their space… their time together…

Suddenly it hit him like a tidal wave – he was jealous! - But jealous of what? After all he didn't have any claim on her – although she had all-but admitted that she would be open to it. And what had he done? Run away like a scared rabbit! God, he was an idiot sometimes.

But he couldn't think about this anymore – it was giving him a headache. He rose from his bunk and headed for the shower.

Finally, clothed in pyjamas, he lay down and tried to sleep.

An hour later and he was still trying. His thoughts just wouldn't quit. With a resigned sigh he pulled himself up out of the bed and headed for the mess, in search of some company…

Kristin Westphalen was suffering from demons of her own. She had turned down Malcolm's offer and now found herself wondering where to go from here.

She knew in her heart that she was in love with Nathan Bridger and she suspected that if he'd just admit it to himself, that he felt something for her too. But after today's little scene, when she had let her mouth get the upper hand over common-sense again, she doubted that he would even speak to her.

Knowing that sleep would not come easily, she headed to the mess for a fix of her favourite indulgence – chocolate ice cream.

As Nathan wandered into the room he couldn't believe his luck – there in front of him was the cause of his confusion. He was suddenly at a loss… A part of him knew that he owed her an apology but the other part was still annoyed. Well, at least Lansdowne was nowhere to be seen and that was a plus.

Knowing that he had to say something, he settled for a neutral topic and decided to discuss dessert. He had hoped that Kristin would bring up the subject of her research but no such luck. Finally he could stand the uncertainty no more and so he asked the question.

The answer that he received just added to the confusion in his mind. ‘She was checking.’ ‘Checking’ - what the hell did that mean?

Then a thought occurred to him... If she was checking then she wasn't leaving. And, if she wasn't leaving, then he had time to deal with his thoughts and feelings later. When exactly he had no idea, but definitely later… With a relieved smile on his face he headed back to his quarters and some well-deserved sleep.

His dreams were filled with a certain Doctor and the sexy way that her body had moved as she sauntered out of the mess hall…
 
 

**** The End? ****