On the top of Loch Ness, the sun glinted merrily off the water, but deep below the surface, a menacing shape rose from the bottom.

A shadow fell on the beach by a lakeside hotel. Tongues of fire lashed out, consuming the furniture of a deserted patio.

****

Five hundred miles away, somewhere outside London, three figures appeared on a raised platform in a yellow room with green plants.

"Hullo, TIM," the elder boy smiled down at a console with three domes on top, his blue eyes sparkling, "miss us?"

"I am glad to see you again, Mike. Even though they have gotten easier and safer, intergalactic jaunts always make me nervous." Lights flickered on and off in rhythm with TIM's speech.

"Can I have a glass of water please, TIM? That jaunt made me thirsty, and the water at the Trig tastes funny." The younger boy inquired as he moved down from the jaunting pad-- he walked as if he weren't used to the jeans he wore.

Three glasses of water materialized on the top of TIM's console.

"It's all the chemicals in the water there, Andrew," Mike explained, ruffling Andrew's brown hair with one hand and grabbing a glass of water with the other. "You're right about what it does to the taste, though."

"Where are John and Elizabeth?" TIM's dome-lights blinked worriedly.

"They stayed on the Trig to help with the reorganization. Oh, John said to tell you to keep us out of trouble, but I say not to listen." Mike laughed between sips.

"John worries too much," Andrew sighed in his trademark Scottish accent. He collapsed onto one of the lab's two couches with his glass.

"I do not think you are being quite fair, Andrew," Hsui Tai scolded gently, her thick accent reflecting her Asian heritage. "John only behaves as he does because he cares."

"Aye, but he's like an overprotective father sometimes," Andrew admitted.

"Speaking of fathers, Andrew, yours is on our private telephone number," TIM interrupted.

"Oh no! I missed my UFO making night at home!" Andrew realized. "Can you connect us please, TIM?"

"You are connected."

"I'm sorry I forgot to have TIM contact you, father, but with the Sorsens, the Thargons, and trouble at the Trig, the past few days have been rather a blur," Andrew tried to nip any guilt trips his father had planned in the bud.

He failed.

"Andrew, m'boy, that may be, but you really should not have forgotten. I may let ye live at the lab, but I do still worry about you. When you did not show up for your weekly show, I feared you'd been eaten by the kelpy, or had been the one who made it appear in the first place."

[The what?] Mike inquired.

[The Loch Ness Monster,] Andrew replied.

[You're in for it.]

[Not as badly as you might think.]

"I'm sorry, father. It will not happen again. What's this about the kelpy?"

"You see that it doesn't. Come to dinner at the castle tonight, and I'll explain. Bring your friends with you."

Andrew glanced at Mike and Hsui Tai, who both nodded. "Mike, Hsui Tai, and I will be along shortly. Thanks, Dad."

"All right, Andy, see you in a few minutes, then."

Andrew winced at the nickname.

"A few minutes! Surely you can't have a meal ready that quickly, Father!"

"TIM warned me when you would be coming back. See you soon," Mr. Forbes broke the connection.

"TIM, really," Andrew sighed-- he often wondered who would win if TIM and John had a parenting contest. "Anyway, I'd better go change."

"What's wrong with what you've got on?" Mike teased. "I think your father would approve of your all-American boy disguise."

Andrew rolled his eyes and headed through the left-hand door by the jaunting pad to change in his cabin.

****

A scant fifteen minutes later, the three of them were seated around a table with Andrew's father in a small dining area away from the main one.

"Andrew, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I shall have to make you move back here instead o' living with John in the lab."

"Yes, Father," Andrew replied obediently.

Mike laughed, "Don't worry, Mr. Forbes, after an ultimatum that John won't *let* him forget."

Hsui Tai glared at Mike, but Andrew laughed.

****

After dinner, Andrew did a nighttime UFO appearance, and had to dissuade yet another American tourist from taking pictures that wouldn't come out. He failed, as usual.

Later, the Forbes' bartender, Angus, came in carrying drinks (scotch for Bruce, and root beer for the three Tomorrow People).

"Ah, there you are, Andy, I thought sure you'd been eaten by the kelpy," Angus exclaimed.

"Why does everyone have Nessie on the brain tonight?" Andrew asked no one in particular.

"Sorry to worry you, John and Andrew assumed you'd know he was safe with us," Mike interrupted. "Andrew has a point though, what is this fascination with the Loch Ness Monster?"

"She's been spotted many times in the past few days," Mr. Forbes explained. "She's been seen to breathe fire, too. No one's been hurt yet, thank G-d, but some property has been damaged."

Mike looked at Hsui Tai and Andrew meaningfully. "Thank you very much for dinner, Mr. Forbes, it was really good."

Andrew and Hsui Tai picked up on Mike's haste and quickly made their good-byes, then jaunted back to the lab.

****

"Back so soon?" TIM inquired.

"Why didn't you tell us about the Loch Ness Monster sightings, TIM?" Mike was nearly livid.

"I didn't think a couple of hours would do much harm, Mike."

Mike sighed. "Well, no use worrying about it now. The best thing to do now is figure out how Hsui Tai and I can keep watch over the lake."

"What about me?" Andrew nearly whined in exasperation.

"Someone has to stay and look after the lab," Mike replied.

Andrew frowned, and a look of frustration crossed his face.

Mike decided a change of tactics was in order, "Besides, who would bail us out if we got zapped by volumin again?"

"What self-respecting sea monster carries a volumin ray gun?" Andrew retorted. "And I know the area better than the two of you put together."

"No way." Mike faced Andrew and leaned on his shoulders, causing him to sit on the couch facing the video link screen. "John and Liz would have a collective fit."

"Liz and I would have a collective fit over what?" asked a voice from behind Mike.

Mike whirled around to discover a young man with brown hair and brown eyes on the video link from the Trig. "Me letting Andrew help us stake out Loch Ness for the monster. Do you always eavesdrop on our conversations when you're not around, John?"

"Only sometimes," the elder man joked.

His expression became more serious, "There are only three of you Mike, you may as well let him help- but *all three* of you should have stun guns- and Andrew, you call the other two if the Loch so much as bubbles, is that clear?"

Andrew nodded mutely, his eyes bright. He was finally going to get in on the action!

Mike sighed. "Did you want something, John, or were you just checking up on us?"

"Believe it or not, the Trig is actually concerned about the recent monster sightings. It seems the Khultan may have left a plascadron in the lake. It should be dead by now, but the descriptions of the monster match it exactly. This wouldn't be the first time one went into extensive hibernation. They've dispatched a pair of galactic police officers to help you. They're not exactly the top agents- with the Sorsens and Thargons duking it out near Preri it's amazing they can spare anyone-- but there's no one I'd trust more."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see, Mike. Good luck. Be careful."

"We will, John. 'Bye."

John passed a worried look over each of the three of them before the view screen went blank.

"Right then, let's get to work. I'll take the North shore, Andrew you take West, and Hsui Tai can take the South. TIM, could you give the two agents my position to jaunt to when they arrive, please?"

"Certainly, Mike."

Mike handed the other two stun guns, "Don't hesitate to use them. And don't forget what John told you, Andrew."

"I won't. I can always jaunt away if I get into too much trouble," Andrew replied.

"Always assuming plascadrons don't short out our powers," Mike sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder if our powers are as fragile as won tons," Hsui Tai wondered aloud as she grabbed her coat.

The two others looked at her strangely.

'What on earth is she taking her coat for,' Andrew wondered.

"Jaunt us to the lake please, TIM," Hsui Tai shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, as if the comment had called up bad memories.

****

Mike materialized at his post and started to scan the water. After a few minutes he started pacing, as much to keep warm as to cover more ground. 'That'll teach me not to bring a coat.'

[Mike, I'm going to jaunt back to the lab for my coat, want yours?] Andrew inquired.

[Please, Andrew- maybe you should put on trousers while you're at it.]

[I'm not that much of a wet.]

[Never mind, I'll bring them,] a third voice echoed in Mike's and Andrew's head- one Andrew thought was vaguely familiar- as if it belonged to someone he'd seen in passing at the Trig.

[I don't believe it!] Mike was in awe.

[Don't believe what?] Andrew was confused.

A coat was tossed over Mike's head. "You have such faith in me, Mike."

"Hullo, Stephen," Mike replied, turning around and donning his coat.

"Why'd you tell the new boy to put on trousers, anyway?" Stephen asked as Tyso materialized behind him.

"Because he was wearing a kilt, that's why!" Tyso laughed after jaunting in from where he'd delivered Andrew's coat). "Isn't he a little young to be on stake out?"

"Let's just hope he's got the good sense to have something on underneath," Stephen muttered.

Mike gave Stephen a weird look and then turned to Tyso. "It was John's idea to bring him along. Besides, he knows the territory, he's lived over there all his life." Mike pointed in the direction of Forbes castle.

"Wow," Stephen marveled. "How do you want to split up watch duty?"

"I'll go keep watch with Andrew, one of you cover here, the other take the East shore." Mike gestured in that general direction.

"Be careful, Mike, we're not entirely sure how a plascadron will react to stun guns -- and they've been known to get pretty nasty when angered," Stephen warned. "Tyso and I have some heavy duty KO equipment, but we couldn't convince the higher-ups to issue us some extras -- we did get extra binoculars, though. Here." Stephen handed Mike two pairs of Federation issue macrobinoculars.

"All that talk about trusting the young..." Mike shook his head.

"It has more to do with the fact that you're still civilians." Tyso rolled his eyes, then jaunted to the East shore of the Loch.

Mike glanced at Stephen.

"If you're that worried about Andrew, then you really ought to get over there," Stephen reminded Mike.

Mike sighed and jaunted, wondering when the other two had started acting more like John than one of the kids. Kids? He wasn't a kid anymore, either. He gave up trying to suss it and turned his attention to the task at hand.

****

Two hours later, Mike was sitting on a rock for a moment, while Andrew was down the shore of the lake, nearly on a direct line of sight between the lake and his family's castle, scanning the water with his binoculars. A few bubbles rose about ten meters from the shore.

'It's probably just a fish again.' Andrew recalled incident from three-quarters of an hour prior.

The bubbles grew more and more turbulent, then a couple seconds later a large-scaled lump peeked through the water.

[Mike! Mike!]

[Another barracuda, Andrew?] Mike teased.

[Only if barracuda have large green scales.... and heads shaped like ichthyosaurs!]

Andrew marveled at the dinosauresque head that had appeared at the surface of the water.

Mike jaunted to Andrew within seconds. Stephen was close behind.

[Let's try the stun guns, Tyso, you drop back and get the dart gun ready.]

"Fan out and back up, everybody, get ready to fire at the creature's head on my mark," Stephen warned.

"Wait a minute, what if it doesn't have gills?" Andrew inquired.

[It doesn't.] Stephen and Andrew were getting far enough apart that shouting or telepathy were required to be heard distinctly. [That's why we're going to wait until he's out of the water first.]

The three Tomorrow People took cover in the underbrush.

[Ready...] Stephen 'pathed.

Hsui Tai jaunted in next to Mike, standing up.

Mike yanked her down, [Keep low and aim for its head.]

[Ready...] Stephen continued.

[Fire on Stephen's mark.]

Hsui Tai drew her stun gun.

The plascadron crept closer and closer. Its girth started to rise slowly from the water. It seemed to Tyso that it was about twice the size of his family's caravan. The monster's legs slowly became visible as Nessie's front end emerged from the lake.

[Now,] Stephen ordered.

All four fired. The monster hastened its advance like a charging elephant, spitting fire all the way.

Four hands reached for jaunting bands.

[Jaunt!] Tyso recommended, just as the other four disappeared from where they were and reappeared a few meters behind him.

Tyso carefully aimed and fired the dart gun at the creature. It fizzled, buckled, and the dart fired into the ground. [I'd have done better with a drug-tipped arrow!]

The monster loomed closer, and the five TP's jaunted- all to different places. The other four joined Andrew in front of his father's hotel.

Stephen started fussing with this dart gun. [This thing has an appalling set-up time! It'd better work!]

Mike was watching the monster's progress through his binoculars-- it was heading for the castle!

[Andrew, take Hsui Tai and see if you can convince your father to evacuate the hotel,] Mike ordered.

The two of them jaunted.

Tyso took over. [Mike, come with me. Let's see if we can draw it off while Stephen fusses with his dart gun.]

****

"Andrew, you really should not do that. One of these days you're going to give me a heart attack!" Andrew's father scolded after he and Hsui Tai appeared right in front of him in Andrew's room.

"Father, the kelpy's come out of the lake and it's heading straight for the hotel!" Andrew decided it was wiser to cut straight to the chase.

"That seems unlikely, Andrew. It hasn't ever come inland before," Mr. Forbes scolded.

"It is true, Bruce, see for yourself," Hsui Tai indicated the window.

Andrew's father looked out, and grew pale. "Andrew, you and Hsui Tai start knocking on doors and evacuate the guests. I'll hold the creature off."

Bruce took off like a shot, and went barreling down the hall and steps.

"What are you going to do, Father?" Andrew called after him.

Mr. Forbes picked up his gun and came running back up the stairs.

"You won't need that, Father," Andrew told him. "Mike, Stephen, and Tyso are taking care of it."

"Stephen and Tyso, who are they? If they're more of your kind, than they won't be able to do much against a creature like that."

"They're Tomorrow People who became Federation Police, Father. They know what they're doing!"

"So do I son, now see to the guests."

[Come on, Andrew, we'd better do as he says.] Hsui Tai pulled at him gently.

[Saps,] Andrew sighed.

[You shouldn't talk about your father like that, Andrew. What if John heard you?]

Andrew decided not to justify that with a reply, especially since there were more important things to talk about. [Mike, Stephen, Tyso! Watch out, my father's taken up with his gun from a second story window!]

****

'Great,' thought Mike.

"Oy, over here." Tyso tried throwing rocks yet again.

The creature kept on a bee-line path for the castle.

[Desperate times call for desperate measures,] Mike decided. He drew his stun gun and fired it at the creature again.

Nessie screamed and increased speed towards the castle.

Within seconds, she was barreling closer and closer- and Stephen was right in her path. Stephen didn't even notice because he was so busy fussing with getting the dart gun properly activated (it stayed fully charged for only a minute before it discharged automatically). The monster would be on top of him in seconds.

[Jaunt, Stephen, jaunt!] Mike called out.

Stephen looked up and jaunted to a safe distance behind the creature.

At that moment, a gun shot rang out into the night. Nessie started, but did not appear to have been hit. She charged the castle at break-neck speed, spitting fire. Smoke began rising from the rooms with open windows. Other windows began to glow red as the glass heated.

[Andrew, is everyone out?] Mike asked, worriedly.

[All the guests-- we even jaunted into rooms where there wasn't an answer just to be sure. And all the staff, except for my father-- we're jaunting to him now... Oh no!]

[Andrew? Andrew? Answer me! Hsui Tai? Hsui Tai!] Mike gave up calling them. [TIM, jaunt me to him! *Now*.]

Mike appeared to find Andrew trying to use TK on a board.

Andrew glanced over his shoulder, "Mike, help me."

Together, they managed to make the board rise and move a few meters behind them.

Lifting the rafter revealed Andrew's father lying there, his clothes and skin a ghastly, charred shade of black. Andrew raised a hand, trying to use his healing powers.

"What are you standing there for, Mike?"

"There's nothing we can do for him, now, Andrew," Mike replied gently.

"Yes there is," Andrew replied stubbornly.

Mike couldn't tell if the sweat running down the other boy's face was from the heat of the fire or the exertion of trying to heal what couldn't be cured.

"Look at his legs, Andrew," Mike replied, gently, not really wanting to force his friend to see what he must.

Andrew looked, for the first time noticing that his father's legs were being slowly burned away-- there was nothing left below the knee-- and the floorboards beneath them, which were also burning, were getting weaker.

"Andrew, we need to get out of here."

"No, I won't leave him."

"There's nothing you can do. Let's go before we get ourselves killed too."

Andrew shook his head stubbornly.

****

"Andrew, your father loved you very much, and he knew how much you loved him, but he wouldn't have wanted you to die trying to save his life when he was already dead."

Andrew started trying to heal his father again, not paying attention.

Mike saw the plascadron's head leaning closer to the window. Closer.

"We need to go *now*," he tried one last time, to no avail.

There was no time left for arguments. [TIM, jaunt both of us out of here. Fast!]

The two disappeared from the room seconds before another tongue of flame lashed through the window, catching the floorboards on fire, and causing them to crash down on the floor below.

They reappeared just behind Stephen, who had just gotten the dart gun up and running. He fired, and the dot planted itself right in the monster's neck. It shrieked, then collapsed, fast asleep.

Sap firefighters moved in, and police arrived, taking over the crowd control of the hotel guests from Tyso.

Tyso jogged over and joined the others. "Is everyone all right?"

"Physically, at least," Stephen replied.

Andrew was sitting at Mike's feet, his legs drawn into his chest, staring at the flames crackling merrily as they destroyed his home.

A thought suddenly struck Mike, "Where's Hsui Tai?"

"I thought she was with Andrew," Stephen began.

"Not when I jaunted in there." Mike knelt down next to Andrew. "Where's Hsui Tai?"

"Jaunted."

"Where?"

"Don't know."

Mike gave Stephen an exasperated look.

****

At that moment, the object of the boys' concern was pacing in a waiting room of the Galactic Trig. She'd been there ever since she'd realized that Andrew's father had probably been killed by the flames. She knew Mike would jaunt to Andrew when he didn't answer his calls and make sure Andrew was all right, but she knew John would be needed-- if not for dealing with Andrew then for convincing the Saps that he would be well looked after now that his father was dead.

She'd been waiting fifteen minutes, pacing the whole time. Hsui Tai was just beginning to wonder if it would be better to just break any semblance of protocol and telepath to John when the doors opened.

"John, thank..." She cut short upon recognizing her visitor. "Timus!"

"Hsui Tai," Timus bowed, his hands forward in a prayer position.

Hsui Tai returned the gesture.

"What can I do for you, Hsui Tai? I was told there was some sort of emergency. Did things not go well with the plascadron?"

"When I left, it was not yet under control, but I have no doubt that Stephen, Mike, and Tyso have managed to subdue it by now. You have been inconvenienced unnecessarily, I fear. When I told the computer, that I needed to talk to John about a family emergency, I fear that it did not realize that it was not a concern of the Trig."

"Family emergency? Is John's family well?"

"His immediate family is well, as far as I know, at least. Andrew's father has been killed, and as Andrew's guardian, John will be needed. Otherwise the Saps might take Andrew and put him in a home for children who do not have parents. I wish it were otherwise, but these are not very pleasant places on Earth."

"Oh, my. I am actually taking a break from the council meeting he's in right now."

"Just tell him it's a family emergency. Not his," Hsui Tai recited. "He'll know what that means."

She, Mike, and John had come up with the code before the three younger Tomorrow People had left the Trig. Hsui Tai had the feeling that something awful was going to happen to one of them in the near future, and it was decided that it was best to prepare something along those lines in case John was needed. Timus nodded, "All right. If you'll excuse me?" Hsui Tai nodded her assent, and Timus left. Hsui Tai returned to pacing.

****

"What, already?" John looked at Timus incredulously when he delivered Hsui Tai's message.

[What exactly happened, Hsui Tai?]

Back in the waiting room, Hsui Tai let out a sigh of relief. [Andrew's father wouldn't leave the hotel and the plascadron set it on fire. I fear he did not make it.]

[I'll be there as soon as I can!] Worry crossed John's face-- while Andrew had been living in the lab for over a year, he was still quite close to his father; it would be quite a blow to the youngster.

There were also the Saps to think about. Fortunately, he and Bruce had made arrangements for such circumstances. John had found the whole thing rather morbid at the time, but he was suddenly quite glad Bruce had insisted. [Tell Mike the papers are in the top drawer of my dresser. I wish I could leave now, but there are protocols that must be observed.]

[That is still the way of the Trig,] Hsui Tai replied-- that was the reason she had been waiting in that room in the first place.

[Oh, and don't leave the Trig just yet-- you may have to serve as a replacement with such short notice-- although I'm sure Liz will be able to handle it.]

[I won't, John.]

Hsui Tai sighed into a chair. She hated the politics of the Trig. It was all too... confrontational.

****

"She can't be dead," Mike surmised. "We'd feel the emptiness."

[TIM, where's Hsui Tai?]

[She's jaunted to the Trig to get John.]

[Good, we'll probably need him before this is all over with,] Mike replied, glancing at Andrew.

The young Scot was curled up in a little ball, staring absently as Sap firefighters tried to save what was left of his childhood home. The firefighters and policemen were so busy trying to get the fire and the crowd of guests under control, they barely noticed the plascadron disappearing behind them-- or Tyso disappearing a few seconds afterwards.

[Tyso, you need help up there?]

[Don't worry about it, Stephen, I can handle it. I'll be back down soon-- Mike may need help with Andrew.]

[An understatement.]

[Hey, I can hear you now, y'know.] Mike was mildly perturbed by their lack of confidence.

A policeman approached, "Hey, kids, would you mind getting back with the rest of the guests."

"Sure, officer, c'mon, Andrew." Mike pulled gently at Andrew's shoulders.

Andrew rose reluctantly. "I suppose we really should make arrangements for the guests to stay elsewhere."

[TIM's already on it,] Mike soothed.

The police officer looked at him, "Andrew? Are you the hotel owner's son?"

Andrew nodded-- he had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't going to like this.

"Where's your father?"

Andrew looked back at the castle longingly.

"In there," he nearly whispered.

Mike suspected he knew where this conversation was going. [TIM, any word from John or Hsui Tai yet?]

[John's doing his best to get away. There are papers in John's top dresser drawer.]

[Thanks, TIM.]

"I think you'd better come with me until other arrangements can be made," the policeman said.

Mike hoped this policeman was the trusting type. "Look, Officer, my dad-- well, guardian really, is Andrew's godfather. I'd be happy to see to it that..."

"I don't think so, son-- not unless you've got proof."

****

Mike wondered if he'd smelt the lie-- it wasn't a lie, exactly, though-- somewhere in John's drawers was a letter from Mike's mother which gave John power of attorney when dealing with Mike just in case she couldn't be reached-- or something happened in another country and they didn't really want to explain just how they'd gotten into the country in the first place.

"Mike, go and check the car. If I know my big brother, there's a copy of the paperwork in the glove box just for emergencies," Stephen said off-handedly.

[Nice excuse.] It was all Mike could do to keep from laughing. "All right, *Uncle* Stephen."

Mike headed back behind the crowd of people and sneaked off into the lab. He jaunted to the lab.

"Hi, TIM," Mike said as he ran into the boys' wing and straight into John's cabin.

He opened the top drawer of John's dresser and found the custody papers right on top. He grabbed them, then rifled through quickly to make sure he hadn't missed anything. The first things he happened upon were current driver's licenses for Stephen and Tyso. John had asked TIM to use his computer connections to update them.

Mike decided these would be a good thing to have. 'Darn coppers, never know when they're gonna want you to show an ID.' He flipped through the remaining papers, but this time the search revealed only the letter from his mom and similar ones from Tyso and Stephen's parents-- and Carol and Kenny's parents oddly enough.

'Packrat,' Mike thought.

He shot out of the cabin wing and onto the jaunting pad. "Bye, TIM."

He rematerialized in the same place he had originally jaunted from and ran back to where Stephen, Andrew, and the police officer were waiting.

Mike handed the officer the custody papers and a letter John had prepared in case something of this sort occurred.

"It says here that in your guardian's absence, Andrew is to be left with Elizabeth M'Bondo, Stephen Jameson, Tyso Boswell, or Patricia Conway."

"I'm Stephen Jameson," Stephen replied hesitantly.

"Can I see some ID, please?"

Mike handed Stephen the driver's license. "Here, you left this in the car."

Stephen showed it to the officer.

"All right, then, I'll leave Andrew in your care." The policeman handed Stephen the papers back and left.

[Good thing you had that-- who knows how he would have reacted if I'd pulled my Federation badge out!] Stephen was relieved.

[Mike, I have found a place to lodge the hotel guests,] TIM broke in.

[Thanks, TIM. I'll take care of the hotel guests, Mike, you get Andrew back to the lab.] Stephen decided it was a good idea to take charge.

TIM jaunted Andrew and Mike back. Andrew went directly into his cabin and shut the door. Mike went and knocked on the door.

[Andrew?]

[Leave me alone.]

Mike could hear faint sobs coming from within. [It'll be all right, Andrew. John will be back soon.]

[I don't want John! I want my father!]

Mike sighed. He knew there was nothing he could say, and he wasn't very sure of what to do.

At that moment, John came into the hallway.

"There you are." Relief washed over Mike's body.

"How is he?"

"How d'you think? He's barricaded himself in his room and I can't calm him."

John nodded. [Andrew?]

[Leave me alone! You think you can replace my father, but you can't!]

[Of course I can't, Andrew. I'm not your father-- but he's not here now. He loved you very much, Andrew, and of course you'll always miss him, but he wouldn't want you to be miserable.]

There was no reply.

John went into his cabin and opened a box in the bottom of his closet. He contemplated its contents, selected a moderately battered book, and returned to Andrew's cabin.

He went inside. Mike trailed him, hoping he'd figure out how to help Andrew cope.

John sat down on the bed and began, "All this has happened before..."

Mike smiled-- _Peter Pan_ -- why John always insisted on adding the Disney beginning was beyond him. Andrew was still sniffling.

On a hunch, he went into Andrew's top drawer-- and was rewarded with a very shabby stuffed Scottie dog with one eye missing and wearing a kilt that looked like it was hanging on by a thread.

"...and it will all happen again..."

Mike drew out the dog and handed it to Andrew, who hugged it tightly.

"...but this time, it happened to Wendy, John, and Michael Darling..."

Mike left the room, leaving the two alone. He slipped into his cabin, donned his bathrobe, showered, then picked up his copy of _To Ride Pegasus_ and went into the lounge to read.

"Hullo, TIM. Is John still with the patient?"

"Yes, Mike. It's almost morning. You should sleep."

"I'm too wound up to sleep right now; I thought I'd read for a bit."

****

Liz and Hsui Tai came back to the lab a few minutes later.

"Hullo," Mike said absently.

"How's Andrew?" Liz inquired.

"Bad enough for _Peter Pan_ but not for _Winnie the Pooh_," Mike replied.

"TIM, did you dig up that design we discussed?"

"Yes, Elizabeth, but I don't think it's the sort of thing Andrew needs right now," TIM replied.

"Well, we'll just wait until he's not around, that's all," Liz replied.

"Have to wait until who's not around?" John asked suspiciously from the doorway leading to the boys' wing.

"Andrew. How is he, anyway?"

"Sleeping. Badly shaken, though," John replied. "Just what are you plotting Liz?"

"This," TIM replied.

A newspaper, a cake knife, and a fork appeared on TIM's console. The newspaper had an article about an American expedition searching for the Loch Ness Monster.

John gave Liz a look.

"Well, you did say you'd eat that copy of the Times if Nessie turned out to be live and well," Liz grinned.

John sighed, picked up the knife and cut at the newspaper. "It's a cake!"

"To celebrate your becoming a father," Liz teased.

"I just hope I'm up to the task."

"What, did Stephen, Tyso, and I turn out that bad?" Mike was indignant.

John and Liz exchanged glances and burst out laughing. Mike gave them both puzzled looks. John patted Mike on the head which set Hsui Tai laughing. Mike shrugged, and joined in the laughter.

Back in his cabin, Andrew smiled in his sleep. The mirth in the lounge was catching.

****
The End