SUMMARY: It's Halloween on the seaQuest and Lucas is holding a party.

CODES: SQ, B/W, a little F/H

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Amblin owns everything.

NOTES: The song is "This Night" by Billy Joel.

"Costume Party"
by Liz VanZandt

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this, Lucas," Nathan Bridger said taking one last look in the mirror. He was wearing a long blue coat and standing on a fake peg leg. There was a long sword attached to his belt and a black three corner hat perched on top of a long straggly wig. Under the fake beard, his chin was starting to itch as he pulled on the last piece of the ensemble - an eye patch.

Next to him, Lucas had on a baggy multicolored one piece pantsuit and large floppy red shoes. His normally unruly blonde hair was pulled back under a curly bright red wig. In the middle of his painted white face was a round red ball meant to be his nose.

"Relax, Captain," Lucas said, "we're all sacrificing our dignity tonight." He glanced in the mirror to straighten his big bow tie.

"I don't mean just the outfit, I mean this whole party," Bridger frowned.

"Come on, it'll be fun. And it's a great way to relieve the tension from finding the George last week."

An involuntary shudder went down Bridger's spine at the thought. Days earlier, the seaQuest had stumbled across the RMS King George, missing for the past century. That was when the weird things started happening. Bridger could have sworn he saw ghosts in his cabin, and after a group entered the George it got even weirder. Between a menacing ghost out to destroy Bridger's people, a century old love triangle, and a possessed doctor, the ship quickly turned from intriguing to dangerous.

"See what I mean," Lucas said, snapping Bridger from the memories, "even you can't stop thinking of what happened. A little fun will do you good."

"And when did you become a psychologist?" Bridger asked heading for the door.

"I've been taking some courses on the Internet," Lucas said following him.

"Yeah, sure."

The duo slowly walked down the halls toward Seadeck where the party was being held. It had started out as a small affair among the senior officers, but as word spread, others had wanted in on the fun. Before Lucas knew what was happening, the party had escalated out of proportion and had to be moved from the rec room to Seadeck.

By the time they reached it, the party was in full swing. Lucas had spent the day decorating, and his efforts had created quite an atmosphere. An eerie fog had been created by dry ice and low lighting, and positioned throughout the room were skeletons, witches, dead bodies, and other assorted traditional Halloween creatures. Coming from somewhere in the back of the room was lively music and more than one couple were taking advantage of it.

"Lucas, where have you been?" a man in the black and white stripes of a prisoner said coming over. Bridger took a closer look and was surprised to discover that it was none other than Tim O'Neill.

"I was dragging the Captain out of his cabin," Lucas said. "What's wrong?"

O'Neill gave Bridger a funny look before answering, "We've been having problems with the best costume judges."

"What kind of problems?"

"Well, they're kind of, um ..." he leaned close to Lucas's ear after glancing at Bridger again, "they're drunk."

Lucas couldn't help himself from laughing. "Aw, that's nothing. Come on," he grabbed O'Neill's arm, "let's go find some replacements. Catch ya later, Cap."

Bridger nodded and made his way over to the makeshift bar set up along one wall. Behind the bar was a man dressed in a faded green army uniform. He had a long dark beard and a cigar clutched between his teeth.

"What can I get ya, Cap?"

Bridger took a close look at the bartender. "Mr. Ortiz?"

"Yes, sir, but for tonight you can call me Miguel Castro, bartender extraordinaire."

"That's a ... that's a unique costume."

"Thanks. Now, what can I get for you?"

"Are you serving alcohol here?"

"Only to those people over twenty-one and not on duty for the next couple hours."

"I'll have a beer than," Bridger laughed.

"Bud, Coors, Molson, Dos Equis, Pabst, Heineken, or Miller?"

"Don't tell me you have that many brands back there?" Bridger stood up and tried to look behind the bar at the selection.

Ortiz just laughed, "No, only Bud and root. I just wanted to see your reaction."

"Root?"

"Yeah, root beer ... as in A&W ... carbonated ... similar to Coke ..."

"I get the picture," Bridger said, "I'll just go with a Bud."

"One Bud, coming right up."

"Make that two, Ortiz."

Bridger turned his head to see a tall man in a black suit standing next to him. The shine of his black shoes was equaled only by the shine in the sunglasses on his face.

"Yes, sir," Ortiz replied pulling out another bottle.

The man lowered his Ray-Bans a little to look at Bridger. "Is that you, Captain?"

"Yes, Commander," Bridger laughed. "And what are you tonight?"

Jonathan Ford reached into his inside suit pocket and produced a card that simply said 'MIB.' "You can just call me D."

Bridger's chuckle was interrupted by a voice behind him. "Well fiddle dee dee, I see the good captain finally decided to make an appearance," came a low Southern drawl.

Bridger spun around to see a woman in a dark green hoop dress standing behind him. Her auburn hair was pulled up on top of her head and her shoulders were bared by short off the shoulder sleeves. As she stood there, a fan was waving in one hand.

"Well, don't you look fabulous," Bridger said.

"Glad you approve," Kristin Westphalen, aka Scarlet O'Hara, said, slipping back into her usual British intonation.

"The Captain's not the only one," Ford said, surprise still showing on his face.

"You might consider closing your mouth before someone thinks you have the hots for the Doc," Ortiz whispered leaning forward. Ford spun around, but Ortiz had already retreated to the other end of the bar.

"Thank you, Jonathan," Kristin said drawing his attention back to her. "You're looking pretty dapper tonight as well. I can't say the same for your roguish companion though."

"Ah," Nathan said quickly, "but I'm not supposed to look dashing, I'm a pirate."

"Yes, but Errol Flynn managed to make being a pirate seem like a respectable occupation," Kristin argued.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, my dear Scarlet. I am not Errol Flynn, and I am certainly not respectable."

"Well you could have fooled me," Kristin said and with a flip of her head was gone, lost in the crowd.

Ford fought to keep himself from losing it right there. Whoo, I'm not gonna touch that one, he thought as Bridger excused himself in an attempt to follow her. Both were soon forgotten, however, as Ford noticed Cleopatra walking straight towards him. Clad in a long, body hugging white dress with slits up the sides and a straight, dark, chin length wig, whoever it was was certainly a knockout.

"Jonathan, what are you doing here?" Ford breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the voice as belonging to Katie Hitchcock. "I thought you said you weren't coming."

"I changed my mind at the last minute, that's why my costume is a bit uncreative."

"Nonsense, you look fabulous. But I still think Will Smith looks better in the glasses."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he said sarcastically. "You, however, look great."

"Thank you," she laughed.

"What do you say we get in on some of the fun? Want to dance?"

"Only if you can 'Walk Like an Egyptian'," she said playfully.

"Of course. I haven't met a dance yet I didn't like."

Across the room, Lucas and O'Neill had just returned after taking the drunk judges back to their cabins.

"Great," O'Neill said, "what do we do now?"

"Don't worry," Lucas said optimistically, "we'll think of something."

"Hey, Lucas," Ben Krieg said coming over, "great party, but next time you need to invite a few less guys, and a few more of the opposite sex."

"Ya know, Krieg," O'Neill said with a roll of the eyes, "you really need to find a new hobby."

"What's wrong with the one I have now?" Krieg objected.

O'Neill simply rolled his eyes, "Do you really want to know?"

"Hey, guys, cut it out," Lucas said looking at Krieg's outfit. He was wearing a pinstripe suit with wide lapels and a fedora hat. On his feet were black and white wing tip shoes. "I think I know a way for Krieg to look at every single lady here, and they won't even mind one bit."

"How?" Krieg asked, suddenly interested.

"You aren't suggesting ..." O'Neill said.

"Yep. Krieg, you have just been drafted as a judge for the best costume contest."

"What?" he replied, incredulous. "You've got to be kidding, I was going to win that."

"Whatever," Lucas said scanning the room. "I suggest you start trying to pick your favorites so we can have some finalists by midnight."

"Fine, but you owe me big time for this, kiddo," Krieg walked off grumbling.

"OK, so there's one," O'Neill said. "But we still need three more."

"No," Lucas said, "only one, and I think I just found him." He walked off, pushing his way through the crowd toward the dance floor.

"What?" O'Neill called after him. "You can't expect me to be a judge."

"Too bad, you've been drafted," Lucas called over his shoulder.

Nathan Bridger spent almost an hour wandering around the party looking for Kristin. It seemed as though everywhere he looked, he just missed her by moments. Nathan was so preoccupied with finding her, he failed to realize the wide swath of inquiring minds he left in his wake. The rumor mill would definitely be buzzing for weeks to come.

Finally he found her. She was dancing with a large man in the grey uniform of a Civil War Confederate general. As he spun her around the dance floor, Kristin's head rolled back to laugh at a joke. Nathan just watched for a moment, enraptured. As she looked over the man's shoulder, caught his eye and winked, he knew it was time to make a move.

Nathan closed the distance to the couple and tapped on the man's shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

"No, go right ahead, Cap," Manilow Crocker smiled, turning around.

"Oh, Chief, there you are," Lucas said coming over. "I've been looking for you. I need a favor."

"Sure, Lucas. What's up?" Crocker replied.

Lucas looked at Nathan and Kristin, "We should probably discuss this somewhere other than the middle of the dance floor." He practically dragged Crocker off, leaving Nathan and Kristin laughing.

As the song ended and a new one began, Nathan took Kristin's hand in his and placed his other on her slim waist, made slimmer by an old-fashioned corset.

Didn't I say
I wasn't ready for romance
Didn't we promise
We would only be friends
And so we danced
Even though it was only a slow dance
I started breakin' my promises
Right there and then

Kristin smiled, "Thank you for rescuing me from Crocker's two left feet."

"You looked like you were having a pretty good time to me."

"Crocker is wonderful to listen to, but he's lacking in the dancing department."

"I'm afraid I'm not much better," Nathan chuckled.

"You seem to be doing fine tonight."

"Maybe it's the company I'm keeping."

She smiled at the compliment, but didn't reply.

Didn't I swear
There would be no complications
Didn't you want
Someone who's seen it all before
Now that you're here
It's not the same situation
Suddenly I don't remember the rules anymore

"I'm kind of partial to that Siamese cat over there," Krieg said.

Lucas shook his head in disgust, "You've suggested more than enough ladies, now how 'bout some of the guys?"

"Hey, you never said I had to look at the guys' costumes."

"Ben," Lucas said, exasperated.

"I think the Captain should at least get a special commendation," Crocker suggested.

"Why?" O'Neill asked. "We have at least half a dozen pirates here."

"Yeah, but he's the only one with the peg leg."

This night
Is mine
It's only you and I
Tomorrow is a long time away
This night
Can last forever

"Check out those two," Ford said, twirling Katie around so she could see the couple in question.

"Is that the Captain and the Doctor?" she replied, surprised.

"Yeah, and they certainly look pretty ... close." Kristin's head had come to rest on Nathan's shoulder. The hand on her waist had reached back to pull her as close as possible with the large skirt of her dress.

Katie gave Ford a light slap on his arm. "So what if they are? You make it sound as if it's a bad thing."

Ford shrugged, "Well, technically it is."

"Only if the UEO brass hears, though. And I'm certainly not going to tell, so where would they hear it from?"

He smiled, "Not here."

I've been around
Someone like me should know better
Falling in love
Could be the worst thing I could do
Didn't I say
I needed time to forget her
Aren't you running from someone
Who's not over you

"Penny for your thoughts," Kristin broke the silence.

"Hmm?" he looked down at her, thoughts returning to reality. "Oh, I was wondering how I became so lucky."

"Lucky?"

"Mmmhmm, I'm standing here, looking like a scurvy dog who should be keel hauled, yet I'm dancing with probably the most beautiful woman on the boat."

She laughed, "Thank you, but you're not lucky, you're simply you."

How many nights
Have I been lonely without you
I tell myself
How much I really don't care
How many nights
Have I been thinking about you
Wanting to hold you
But knowing you would not be there

"Errol Flynn you may not be, but there's still something ... attractive about you."

"Attractive?" he said sounding slightly surprised.

"Well, without the wig maybe."

He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "What would Rhett say if we snuck out and I showed you what I look like without the wig?"

She leaned back to study what was visible of his face, a small smile forming on her own face. "I don't know, why don't we see?"

This night
You're mine
It's only you and I
I'll tell you
To forget yesterday
This night
We are together

Only Ford and Hitchcock saw the couple sneak out of the party. They smiled at each other and returned to their conversation.

As midnight arrived, Lucas, Crocker, Krieg, and O'Neill made their way to the front of the party.

"OK, everybody, the moment you've all been waiting for," Lucas announced after quieting the crowd.

"Free drinks for everyone!" someone yelled from the back.

Lucas decided it was safer to ignore that comment. "No, we're gonna announce the winner of the best costume contest." Cheers went up around the crowd. Lucas went through the finalists, and the crowd applauded politely for each.

"And now, for the winner," Lucas said. "It was a difficult choice, and we talked long and hard before finally coming to a consensus."

"Just tell us who it is!" Ortiz yelled.

"The winner is ..." he paused for effect, "Long John Silver, Captain Bridger."

As everyone again clapped and cheered, they looked around for the winner, but he was nowhere to be found.

In fact, only four people knew for certain where he was.

And none of them was about to tell.

El Fin

Back to my homepage
Back to seaQuest stories