*Sinbad, you're doing it again-* a gentle voice chided in his head.
*I know, I know, I'm just..... worried. That's all. As soon as we find her, safe and sound, things will get back to normal. I swear.*
*Don't count on it.*
*What? Why?*
*Captain, I still haven't heard from her. She should have contacted me long ago. There are only but so many reasons that my sister wouldn't contact me, and the only one that makes any sense is that she's hiding something.*
*Why would she do that?*
*It's got to be something that she either thinks I couldn't handle - which I doubt - or something dramatic has happened to her that she for some reason doesn't feel comfortable discussing even with her own flesh and blood.*
*But what could that possibly be?* Sinbad wondered.
Dermott mentally sighed. *I don't know, but whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it's going to prevent things from 'getting back to normal' when she returns.*
Maeve surveyed the upper deck of the Night Raven with satisfaction. The changes that had been made were nothing short of a miracle. Men whistled and sang as they worked happily away at whatever task needed to be done. They no longer dragged through the day as if they wished it were their last. Old wounds, both physical and mental, were being healed, and it was obvious from the way they jumped at the opportunity to do anything and everything for their new Captain.
The half-starved men had devoured most of the ship's supplies when given the chance to live again. Yet rather than becoming angry at their carelessness, Maeve looked on them with compassion for all they'd been through and had them set a course for the nearest island so that they could stock up on supplies. Soon they would reach that small, secluded isle and she would take men ashore who probably hadn't left this ship in years.
"Look at all we've done," Maeve commented with a smile.
"You mean, look at all you've done," Sean corrected.
"I didn't-"
"Yes you did."
"Hey, you don't even know what I was about to say!" Maeve protested.
"Whatever it was, I'm sure it was going to be something humble that would have belittled everything that you have accomplished on this ship. You were probably about to say that you haven't done anything all that important, but you have, Maeve, for them, and for me."
He looked at her with all the love his heart held and drew her close to him. She searched past his eyes and deep into his soul, looking for the answer she had been seeking since that first kiss - whether he really and truly did love her. And what she found was that he loved her more than he loved even his own life, enough that he would lay down his life for her in a split second, enough that, at this very moment, nothing else in the world mattered but her.
They leaned closer and kissed lightly, not even a taste of the love and passion they both felt. They looked each other in the eyes before leaning in for a more expressive kiss. Their lips were barely a breath apart when a shout broke their tranquility.
"Land, ho!" a crew member shouted, and cheers from the rest of the crew followed.
Sean and Maeve broke apart in embarassment. Maeve looked quickly to the speck of green in the distance. "Well, soon these men will rediscover what it's like to have solid land under their feet."
"I just hope their little vacation is a peaceful one."
Neither of the two could have known that, even at this distance, they were being watched...
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A Fact Of Life - Part 10