<USS Atlantis> "Brother's Keeper"

From: "Brad Ruder" <groundzero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: ussatlantis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 17:10:16 -0700

“Brother’s Keeper”
by Lt. Commander Houston Ducaine
& Ensign Dan Williams-Ducaine

The first run in with the Machen Bren was turbulent, but Houston had expected more. Much more. The damage repair crews had done their job during the ensuing fire fight and most of the Atlantis' broken bones had been successfully mended without much of a hitch. Houston was finding the adaptation from Assistant Chief to Chief itself less than challenging. Simply, they did what he asked them to and asked only for clarification.

"All right, listen up. I need Potter to check the dilithium matrix, I need Davis to secure the plasma coolant injectors, Thoma to reset the manifold's power index, and I need Williams to check turbolift 3 Beta 2. If you have any questions, I'll be in my office." After addressing his crew - his crew - he turned around and retreated back into the comfort of his office to pore over more of Atlantis' engineering work logs.

Dan chuckled to himself as he grabbed his toolkit. Of course they had just gotten started and he was new on the job, but you would think that his brother would at least read his staff manifest and notice the double last name? "Heh, and he gives me the best job of them of course." Taking his pride with him, Dan strode over and into Houston's office.

"So I'm curious if you just assign your tasks by alphabetical order or if you just like giving your younger brother the turbolift gig?" He leaned against the doorway, still holding his tools and with his classic mechanic hat on.

He looked up, visibly stunned. "Woah, Dan? Where the hell did you come from?" Houston's hands scrambled to unearth the PADD from beneath the chaos that was his desk. He could've sworn that his hand brushed past a leftover ham sandwich when he was digging around. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were posted here. It's been a hectic couple of weeks, let me tell you."

Houston gauged his younger brother up and down, a sense of deception picked up in the most minute quantities. They hadn't actually talked all that much in the past, well, fifteen years or so. It was a long drawn out story that deserved to be made into a chick flick holonovel for people's mindless amusement, but instead it got to be his family history. So, he couldn't be anything but skeptical at his brother's first showing of a peaceful coexistence. "How have you been?"

"Me? Oh, managing and such. Got into the NCO core for a bit and then got sponsored for the Academy, and now I'm here. Probably one of the only other Navy folks around here, seems like the whole ship is swamped with those damned Marines." He chuckled as he picked up his brother's sandwich. "Ham? I thought you hated ham?"

While he spoke casually Dan watched Houston's face for reactions. True they hadn't talked for awhile, but it wasn't Houston's fault that they were separated. I mean, sure he completely ditched me on my birthday way back when, and hasn't even tried to keep in touch for anything, but forgive and forget? Maybe... "How's Elisha treatin' ya?"

"Uh, we divorced about ten years ago." It stopped the conversation and Houston hadn't a clue on how to continue it without it sounding like he was blatantly changing the topic. So, he sat there in utter silence, and looked at the picture of his son on the table. Keaton was his son, his blood, and yet his mother wanted nothing to do with him. Elisha was like that: hot one moment and then cold the next - twenty-fourth century bi-polar disorder, Houston was sure of it.

Divorced... sounds like we've got quite a bit of catching up to do. He put down his kit and strolled over behind Houston and looked at the picture. "Looks like you, though I imagine there's more then a few stories we've got to share still." He playfully punched Houston's shoulder. Even though the air was thick with the tension, Dan knew that both people needed to lighten up. Their jobs dictated as much, at least the relax from their other thoughts for awhile.

"Yeah, and already went through two moms." Houston wasn't in the mood to tell his life story to his estranged younger brother; after all, hadn't they just started speaking again for the first time in like fifteen years? "I remarried about four years after that and that didn't last long either. Cali up and left too without much notice. Now that I've shared my marriage failures, what about you?" He smirked slightly.

Dan just laughed. "Who me? I'm too young for the serious steady relationship bit. Sure I've had a few here and there, but none too serious and none currently. Last girl I dated was at the end of the academy. Her name was Alice, and she was a cutie." Of course the tension hadn't released at all but hey, at least they weren't at each other's throats. "But yeah, thats the love life of me, at least up till now. Havn't had a chance to meet anybody on this ship yet though. But excuse me, mr. Lt. Commander." He stood straight into perfect academy attention. "Last I checked you were mentioning a promotion to Lieutenant, Junior Grade." He smiled but remained in his mock stance.

Houston grinned, "Why don't you come over for dinner tonight. Keaton is a whiz at the replicator and I'm sure that he'd love to meet his uncle that I always talk so bad about."

He chuckled. "Assuming I'm still not fixing turbolifts, which I tend to enjoy sometimes mind you, I'd love to. Replicator whizes always make the food taste that much more interesting." He grabbed his stuff and smiled broadly. "I'm not sure if that's wise though, SIR. Your son will now get to hear all those stories you never wanted to know about, like the one when you skipped out completely on school and almost got eaten by that big croc." He held back his laughter, just only slightly though.

"Hey, it was a dare!" Houston laughed out loud. "Not my fault!"

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." He smiled as he nodded to his brother. "Well, its time for me to go fix a turbolift and then probably help Thoma with the power index. She never liked that subject, at least thats what she says." He turned but then abruptly turned back around. "What time for dinner is good for you bro?"

"Twenty hundred hours?" Bro? He smiled a bit having missed that brother bond that he had heard from so many of his friends. Perhaps there was still time to mend those fences.

"Works fer me." He grinned once more. "Good to see you again bro, you look good." Dan added after a moments pause, seeming to try to find a suitable ending to the conversation. He headed out of the doorway to leave Houston to whatever demonic paper-work awaited him.

<USS Atlantis> "Brother's Keeper"

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