SUMMARY: Kristin, Nathan, and Malcolm go for a dive and end up trapped in a cave. Can Ford save them before egos get in the way?

CODES: SQ, N/K/M

RATING: PG13

DISCLAIMER: The usual disclaimer about Amblin owning everything.

NOTES: Set right after the Milos Tezlof thing in "Hide and Seek" and is also post pudding scene

"Trapped"
by Liz VanZandt

Nathan Bridger strolled down the halls headed to Seadeck. He was going out scuba diving with Malcolm Landsdowne before returning him to his island. After the past week, Nathan was anxious to relieve a little tension.

First Nathan had been woken up in the middle of the night with orders to track down and apprehend Milos Tezlof, the recently deposed head of state of the Serbo-Croatian Alliance. Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem, but then Tezlof had taken Malcolm and Nathan's CMO, Kristin Westphalen, hostage.

That had been too much for Nathan. Not only was Malcolm a good friend, but Nathan cared a great deal for Kristin and knew he couldn't let anything happen to her. Throwing caution into the wind and ignoring Noyce's orders, Nathan gave Tezlof passage onto the seaQuest.

This set into effect a chain of events that had ruined whatever good mood Nathan still had. When the dust finally settled, Tezlof had been turned over to the proper authorities, his son Cesar was heading to Malcolm's in a few days, and most importantly, Kristin was staying on the seaQuest.

Now, Nathan and his friend were going for a quick dive in an effort to relax a little. As he rounded the corner, Nathan saw Malcolm sitting on the edge of the moonpool and Kristin standing in the water nearby. As he neared, Nathan couldn't help but admire the way the wetsuit clung to her body tightly.

"Nathan," Malcolm called across the room, seeing his approach, "I was beginning to worry that you'd chickened out on me."

"Some of us have work to do and can't spend the day loafing around," Nathan said. "Besides, I'm five minutes early."

"Whatever," Malcolm waved off the statement with his hand. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Kristin to join us."

Nathan looked over at Kristin, who smiled. "Of course not."

"Great," Malcolm said, swinging his legs into the moonpool. "I've heard there's some great underwater caves around here."

Nathan smiled as Malcolm's exuberance spread, his earlier bad mood slowly disappearing.

* * *

Everything was quiet on the bridge.

A little too quiet, Jonathan Ford thought. Sighing, he sat down. Relax, after last week anything would seem quiet. Normally Ford preferred the night watch. It was usually quiet and unless there was some kind of emergency, Bridger never bothered him.

"Commander."

"Yes, Mr. Ortiz," Ford got up and walked over to the young Cuban.

"I'm getting a strange rumble from the direction of the shore."

"A strange rumble?"

"Yes, sir. Neither I nor the computer can identify it."

"An earthquake?" Ford suggested.

"It doesn't sound like it and there are no fault lines nearby."

"O'Neill," Ford turned around.

"Sir."

"See if you can get ahold of someone upstairs and find out what's going on."

"Aye, sir."

* * *

"You've got to see what I found," Kristin heard as Malcolm came swimming over.

"Let me guess," Nathan said from behind her, his voice laced with sarcasm, "the fossilized remains of some long dead fish."

"No," Kristin couldn't see Malcolm's face, but knew he was rolling his eyes, "it's the best cave I've seen yet. You have to see it."

"Which one?" Nathan asked.

"Over here," Malcolm swam off with the other two following. As they reached the nearby cliff, Kristin realized Malcolm was leading them to a small hole in the cliff that was roughly a meter in diameter.

"You can't be serious," Kristin said. "We can't fit through that with the air tanks on."

"Why not?" Nathan said. "If Downey can get in there, you should have no problems whatsoever." He swam off and followed Malcolm into the hole.

Kristin sighed and was about to follow when something bumped her elbow. She looked down to see a dolphin and smiled. "Do me a favor, Darwin. If we don't come out of the hole, go to the seaQuest and get help. OK?"

Kristin could have sworn she saw the dolphin nod before he swam off. Reluctantly, she wiggled her way through the hole. Thankfully, the tunnel on the other side was wider and she could swim freely. It continued on for about three hundred meters before widening some more.

All of a sudden, Kristin surfaced in a large cavern. The water only extended about halfway back and the rest was a stone ledge. The ceiling was pockmarked with holes that allowed the bright sun overhead to shine in, sending visible rays of light into the cavern. To the right was a waterfall falling through one of the larger holes down to the water below. The mist it kicked up gave the place an almost mystical quality that took Kristin's breath away.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Malcolm said seeing her expression.

"Fantastic," she replied swimming over to them. "How did you know about it?"

"I didn't, I just stumbled on it."

Suddenly, the trio heard a loud rumbling and the walls of the cavern appeared to shake around them.

"What was that?" Malcolm asked when the rumbling finally stopped.

"I don't know." Nathan put his diving mask back on, "Stay here, I'll be right back."

A few minutes later he resurfaced, a serious look on his face. "I don't know what caused it, but the tunnel collapsed. Unless we can climb out of here, we're trapped."

"What about the seaQuest?" Malcolm suggested. "Can't we just call them?"

"I already tried," he said pulling himself up out of the water onto the ledge. "The range on the communicators used when diving isn't very strong, and the cavern probably isn't helping any. Until Ford realizes how long we've been gone and sends help, we're stuck here."

"Well than I guess it's a good thing I told Darwin to go to the seaQuest for help if we don't return," Kristin said flippantly.

"You didn't," Nathan said.

"Mmmhmm, right before I followed you two in here."

"Son of a gun," Malcolm muttered.

As Kristin attempted to pull herself out of the water onto the ledge, she found two men at her side to help. "What are you two doing?" she asked.

"Just helping," Nathan replied quickly.

"Well thank you, but I'm not an invalid. I can climb out on my own." She gently pushed their hands off her and then pulled herself out of the water. Kristin looked around, "At least we're not stuck somewhere else."

"You can say that again," Nathan said.

"So, do either of you have any great ideas about how we can get out of here?" Malcolm asked.

"Until Ford decides to notice our absence, the only exit I see is up there," Nathan pointed to the ceiling. "Care to climb first?"

"Oh no, be my guest," Malcolm swept his arm upward.

"Is it my imagination," Kristin said quietly, "or are the beams of light hitting the walls a little higher than they were earlier?"

Both men frowned and studied the walls. "I think you're right," Nathan proclaimed.

"So?" Malcolm frowned.

"That means the sun is going down," Nathan answered.

Kristin nodded, "And pretty quick if it's that noticeable."

"OK," Malcolm sat down, "so we use the dive lights for a while."

* * *

Thump, thump

Lucas Wolenczak looked up from the computer screen and noticed Darwin floating in the tube by his bed his bed. "Hey, Darwin," he said picking up the vo-chorder, "what's up?"

"Doctor Kristin ... rocks ... no return."

"Woah, slow down, pal. What about the Doc?"

"Doctor Kristin no return."

"No return from where?" Lucas frowned.

"Bridger ... Malcolm ... hole in wall."

"They went into a hole in a wall?"

"Rocks fall ... no return."

"Rocks? What are you talking about Darwin?"

"Bridger, Doctor Kristin go in hole, no return."

"They went into a hole and didn't come out? How long ago Darwin?"

"Long time."

"OK, Darwin, go to the bridge. I'll meet you there."

Lucas whipped his headphones off and practically ran to the bridge. Ford gave him an admonishing look as he came running in and opened the moonpool. "Commander, I think you'd better hear this," he said between gasps.

"What is it, Lucas?" Ford said with a worried look as he joined Lucas by the moonpool.

Darwin surfaced at that moment. "Bridger, Doctor Kristin, no return."

"What is he talking about, Lucas?"

"Are the Captain and Doctor out somewhere?" Lucas asked.

"They went for a dive with Malcolm Landsdowne a few hours ago. Why?"

"According to Darwin they went in some hole and didn't come out."

Ford spun around. "Mr. Ortiz, has the Captain's party come back yet?"

"No, sir."

"How long ago did they leave?"

"They've been gone approximately four hours."

"Mr. O'Neill, see if you can raise them."

"Aye, sir." A few minutes passed quietly as O'Neill attempted to hail the captain. "I'm getting no answer. They could be out of range, the communicators aren't very strong."

"What was their last known location, Mr. Ortiz?"

"I last had them about a mile north of here roughly three hours ago."

"Is there any kind of hole somewhere near that location?"

"Nothing showing, sir, but there is a large iron content in the rocks in the area. It's throwing the data off a bit."

"The iron is playing with communications as well," O'Neill added. "That might also be why I can't reach them."

"Keep trying."

Lucas stepped forward. "Commander, Darwin also said something about rocks falling."

Ford frowned. "Krieg, Shan."

"Yes," Ben Krieg came over, followed by William Shan.

"You two get out there and see if you can't find a hole they might have gone in. Let me know what you find."

"Aye, sir," they said in unison.

"Darwin," Ford turned back to the moonpool, "go with them. Show them where Bridger and Westphalen went."

"Darwin help." He dove down and disappeared.

"Don't worry, Lucas," Ford placed a reassuring hand on the obviously nervous boy's shoulder. "There's not much that could have happened to them out there."

* * *

Malcolm looked up and saw Kristin shiver. "Cold?"

"A little."

"We could ... snuggle, if you want," he suggested. Nathan shot him a look that would have frozen a penguin. "Or maybe not."

The group lapsed into silence for a few minutes. Finally Malcolm broke the silence again. "I still think there's got to be another way out of here."

"If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears," Nathan said, annoyed.

"Hey, you're the Captain. You're supposed to be the one that comes to the rescue."

"I told you, I surveyed the situation, considered the options, and concluded it best to wait for Ford."

"Sounds to me like you just decided not to do anything."

"Hey, I'm not the one that got us into this situation."

"I didn't hear you complaining when we entered the tunnel."

"I was cautiously optimistic."

"I wasn't the one that proclaimed 'Holy shit' when I first saw this place."

"Malcolm," Kristin said.

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did. I remember it clearly."

"I most certainly did not."

"Nathan," Kristin tried again.

"Than what did you say?"

"I was silent, absorbing the beauty of this place."

"Bull."

"Both of you," Kristin raised her voice a bit.

"I only spoke in response to your comment."

"You did not, you spoke first."

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud whistle ringing out, echoing through the cavern. Startled, both men, who were by this point nose to nose with each other, turned to the third member of the group.

"Thank you," Kristin said taking her fingers out of her mouth. "The two of you are acting like little boys. I don't know what's causing this rift, but I am not going to put up with it. You are good friends, and that friendship goes back farther than I have known either of you. I will not see it thrown out the window over something petty such as our current situation. Until you two can resolve whatever it is going on between you, I will be over there," she pointed toward the other end of the cavern, "by myself." She turned on her heel and went over to the other side of the cavern, curling up on the ground to get some sleep.

Both men just stared after her, matching sheepish looks on their faces.

"She's right, you know," Malcolm said.

"About what?"

"Us."

"How so?"

"Look at us. We've known each other for how long now and we're letting something as silly as being stuck down here come between us."

Nathan laughed, "You're right. What do you say we call a truce?" He held out his hand.

Malcolm grasped the hand with a hearty shake. "Deal." He looked over at Kristin's sleeping form. "She's quite a woman."

"Yes, she is," Nathan replied a bit absently.

"How the hell did she -- Wait a minute," Malcolm did a double take. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"Downey," Nathan flashed him an admonishing look.

"You're the reason Kristin's staying on the seaQuest."

"What?"

"Damn, I knew there had to be a real reason she's staying." A look of realization crossed his face, "And I'll bet I'm the reason you've been so bitter and distant the past few days."

"I have not been bitter and distant."

"Yeah, sure," Malcolm said sarcastically. "Look, Nathan, you're probably the only guy I would willing give up a chic to. Hell, I let you have Carol all those years ago."

"Carol? What about her?"

"Maybe I'll explain later. Right now, you should go over there and tell a certain Doctor how you really feel about her."

"Oh, that would be good. I could just see her reaction to that."

"Damnit, Nathan, she's leaving me for you. You can't tell me that means she doesn't care for you."

"I'm not going to do it. Least of all with you around."

"Don't worry about me, I'm gonna take a light and explore one of these tunnels in the wall, see where it goes."

"I'm still not going to do it."

Malcolm threw his hands up in the air. "I give up. Call me when you've finally decided to take a chance." He grabbed a light and disappeared into a nearby tunnel.

Nathan just sighed and sat down to think.

* * *

Kristin woke a few hours later. She was momentarily disoriented until her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she remembered where she was. Sitting up, Kristin stretched in an attempt to work out the tension in her stiff muscles. She looked around and saw only Nathan sitting on the edge of the water, a visibly dying dive light nearby.

"You have that little-lost-boy look," she said coming over. "Are you OK?"

Nathan looked up, startled by her voice. "I'm fine, just doing a little thinking." She nodded and sat down next to him, dangling her legs in the water. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept, but not well. I think I'm going to have a backache for the next week."

"Maybe when we get back you can find someone to give you a back rub."

She looked at him, understanding his meaning. "That would be nice." She smiled and paused. "Did ... did you and Malcolm work things out?"

"Yeah."

"So where did he disappear to then?"

"He took a light and went to explore one of the tunnels back there," he pointed over his shoulder at the wall behind them.

She turned around and studied the wall, "I didn't even realize they were back there."

"Yeah, but we have no idea how far back they go or how extensive they are. I dismissed them as too much of a risk."

"But you let him go anyway."

"No, he ran off before I could stop him. And I had a lot on my mind at the moment."

"The same things you were thinking about when I interrupted you?"

"Yeah."

"Do you mind me asking what it is you were contemplating so intently?"

Nathan sighed and looked down at his hands. "You," he finally said.

"Me? I hope it was good things."

"Mostly." He smiled weakly and paused to let things sink in. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"What made you decide to stay on the seaQuest and not return with Malcolm?"

"I thought we went over this last night in the mess."

"We did, but I wasn't much into puzzles at the time. Do you think you could go over it once more, a little clearer this time?"

This time Kristin sighed and began lazily kicking her legs in the water. "Malcolm is a great guy, but I just can't see my life headed in that direction. And I ..." she shrugged, "I suppose it has a little to do with you."

"Me?"

"I've really enjoyed the past year aboard seaQuest, and there are so many possibilities there ... not only professionally."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning I've made some wonderful friends among the crew, some that I would be interested in continuing, see where they go."

"Like ours?"

"Maybe. Look, Nathan, I know you still have feelings you're wrestling with, heck, I even have some past baggage that may not be totally resolved, but I think there may be a chance for something in the future, and that's what I'm staying for."

Nathan met her gaze, his deep blue eyes meeting her brown ones. As he looked at her, Nathan knew he was seeing a side of her that few ever saw, her vulnerability rising to the forefront. Ever so slowly they leaned closer until their lips were almost touching.

"Captain ... Doctor ... please come in, this is the seaQuest ..." Tim O'Neill's faint voice shattered the moment.

"I'm not going to ask how he knew to interrupt at just that moment," Nathan said with a chuckle.

Kristin smiled and pulled back as Nathan got up to retrieve one of the masks.

"Lieutenant O'Neill, is that you?" he asked.

* * *

"Sir," O'Neill spun around in his chair, "I have Captain Bridger."

"Put him up, Lieutenant," Ford said with a smile. "Captain."

"Commander, good to hear your voice," Bridger's voice came over the speakers.

"Likewise, Captain. Where are you?"

"Funny you should ask, we're stuck in a cavern."

"A cavern?"

"There was an underwater tunnel leading back into the bedrock and eventually to the cavern we're in now. Unfortunately the tunnel collapsed and we're stuck in here."

"Is anyone in need of medical attention?" Ford asked, immediately snapping into command mode.

"No, we're all fine."

"Good. Is there any other way out of there, Captain?"

"Only some holes in the ceiling of the cavern. There's also a waterfall if that helps any."

Ford looked down at his watch and quickly did a little mental math. "OK, it's just after midnight local time. Can you hold on for about eight more hours?"

"I think we should be OK for a while."

"Good. We'll get to work on pinpointing your exact location and come get you come daylight."

"Understood. Oh, and Commander, you might consider sending some food with the rescue party."

"Aye, sir," Ford smiled. "seaQuest out." He turned back to O'Neill. "Can you get me an exact location on the source of the Captain's signal?"

O'Neill shook his head. "It's too refracted and fouled up by the iron in the area. I did finally get ahold of the locals though."

"And?"

"They're doing some digging and construction work near the shore. That's probably what the rumbling was."

"Um, Commander, I think I figured out for sure what the rumbling was," Ortiz jumped in.

"Yes, Mr. Ortiz."

"I think the construction may be weakening the surrounding bedrock, and the rumble was the bedrock moving."

"That would mean the entire area is unstable," Ford said.

"Very possible," Ortiz replied.

"OK, I'll have the rescue party take extra precautions." Ford turned back to O'Neill. "Lieutenant, get Krieg and Shan back and then get the locals upstairs back on the horn. Tell them about the unstable bedrock and have them stop the construction for at least the next twenty-four hours."

"Aye, sir," O'Neill nodded.

"Commander," Lucas came over, "is there anything I can do to help?"

"See if you can find some topographical maps of the area. Look for holes somewhere near a river or stream. Get with Krieg on it when he gets back."

"You got it," Lucas said with a smile and left the bridge.

* * *

Kristin opened her eyes again, memory returning slowly. She rolled over but her motion was hampered by an arm wrapped around her waist. Slowly lifting the arm, she turned over and smiled at the sight of a sleeping Nathan Bridger.

Kristin sighed softly and settled back down on her back. She stared up at the ceiling, the events of the previous night replaying in her mind like a movie. After Nathan had finished talking with the seaQuest, they had stayed up for a while just talking before eventually falling asleep. Though there was still a lot of unresolved feelings between them, Kristin felt that they'd come to a new understanding. Things may not be where either of them wished they were, but they were certainly headed in that direction.

She smiled as the body next to her stirred, but didn't awaken. Sunlight was beginning to send beams of light onto the far wall. It was probably shortly after sunrise on the surface, she realized, and the team from seaQuest would be there soon.

Suddenly the shadow of a man broke into one of the sunbeams and a rope dropped down through one of the holes in the ceiling of the cavern. "Nathan," Kristin said, shaking his shoulder. "Nathan, wake up."

"Hmm," he murmured. "What is it?"

"Ford's people are here," she replied, sitting up and stretching her aching muscles.

Next to her, Nathan's eyes snapped open and he rolled over onto his back. "What?"

"Anyone down here?" Ben Krieg said, sliding down the rope dangling from the ceiling. Seeing the two forms on the other side of the cavern, he yelled instructions up at the rest of the team before heading over.

By then, both Nathan and Kristin were picking themselves up off the floor. "What took you so long, Lieutenant?" Nathan asked with a smile.

"Actually, sir," Krieg replied, "we're early. It's only seven local time, but Ford said you sounded eager to get out of here." He looked back and forth at Nathan and Kristin. "However, if I'd known you didn't want to be rescued, I'd have wasted more time on the surface."

"Oh no," Kristin said, "your timing is perfect."

"Where's Mr. Landsdowne?" Krieg asked, looking around. "Isn't he down here with you?"

"Malcolm went exploring in those caves last night," Nathan explained. "You might want to get someone down here with a light to search for him."

"There's no need for that," Malcolm said, emerging from one of the caves. "I told you I wouldn't get lost." He looked around at the cavern rapidly filling with people. "I see the rescue party finally showed up. Took you guys long enough."

"Well if you're all ready to go ..." Krieg said. "Doctor," he motioned for Kristin to go first before following her over to where the others were setting up a sling to get everyone out.

"So," Malcolm said quietly to Nathan, "did you have that discussion?"

Nathan looked at his friend for a moment. "Yes."

"And?"

"And I'm never letting you back on my boat again. You're too much trouble."

"Yeah," Malcolm laughed, "but if it wasn't for me you two would still be dancing around each other. You should be thanking me, Nathan."

"Who's to say we're not still dancing around each other?" Nathan countered, walking off toward the others.

"Oh no, Nathan, don't do that to me," Malcolm said, following him. "I thought I was your friend."

The End

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