Her cheek was delivered a kiss for that little remark and wink. Stas did not have sea legs in the slightest. So when the ship lurched, announcing that they had set sail, he stagged a bit and held onto her tightly to keep them both balanced.

"Whoa, yeah!" He laughed softly as they clutched at each other in the sway of the ship.

The porter had brought them to a set of deck chairs and held out an armful of blankets. Stas stood aside, ready to grab a blanket for AJ if she chose to sit.

The slight sway of the ship as she moved up and over the harbour was enough to make AJ glad she'd chosen to wear flat soled boots this evening as she gently disengaged from Stas' arm. After all, there was no point them both falling over in a heap, was there"

With a smile and a murmur of thanks to the porter, she was about to sit when her attention was caught by the view from the port rail, and hazel eyes widened in sweet excitement, almost childlike. She moved to stand against the rail, leaning out over the water to look around in delight.

"Stas, this view is incredible! Look, I can see your house!" She pointed, laughing at the infantile exclamation even as she did so.

Where she was glad she'd worn flat soled boots, he was wishing he'd worn something with a bit more traction than the Italian leather wingtips that he sported. But the smile never wavered, even as she removed her hand and then moved across the deck to watch the coastline go slowly by.

A cheerful nod to the porter, letting him know to just leave the blankets on the chairs, was accepted with a gentle incline of the man's head as he backed away from the couple. Turning, Stas walked up behind AJ and placed his arms around her waist. Her blonde hair blew past his shoulder as he leaned his chin onto hers.

"Our house, Amelia. That's our house." He spoke quietly, but enough to be heard over the water lapping at the hull of the schooner.

Feeling his arms wrap about her waist, she leaned back into him, laying her hands over his after pulling her hair out of his face. "Alright ....our house."

She smiled back at him, but her delight at the little outing was too distracting for her at that moment, and she was soon gazing all around them as the Kashmira drew out into the bay.

"Aw, man, what I wouldn't give to have a view like this to paint everyday," she sighed happily, nuzzling her cheek against Stas even as her eyes flicked across the bay. "I'd be a master in no time."

Soft laughter filled her ear as his head turned with hers at every exclamation and finger point. Truly, he was enjoying holding her close and exploring the new sights with her.

"Look! There's dolphins!" He pointed to the bow of the boat just as a dolphin leapt from the water and splashed back down.

"Oh my gosh!"

There it was, the six-year old's squeal that had been dying to explode out of her from the moment the ship had slipped anchor. Blushing a little at her ridiculous excitement, AJ laughed, desperately searching her mind for something a litte more grown up to say, to alleviate just how childlike she'd become in those moments as the dolphins jumped.

"Back home, there's this old saying that the souls of sailors lost at sea become dolphins," she volunteered, turning her face to his so the wind wouldn't just whip away her words. "That they protect ships and rescue people who get wrecked."

Then she blinked, staring down at the water. "Was that one yellow?"

Stas was enthralled by her girlish giggle and exclamations. He'd never smiled so much before in his lifetime. His arms tightened around her as they watched the dolphins race before the ship's wake.

"I like that story, a lot." He chuckled and then laughed out loud. "I do believe it was. And that one's purple!"

AJ stared, her mouth open almost in fascinated shock. Of course she'd known RhyDin was different; she'd seen dragons and fairies, and what she was almost certain was a vampire, but somehow the sight of something so ordinary to her as a dolphin in such an unusual colour seemed to bring it all crashing down on her. This wasn't California, not at all.

As Stas' arms tightened on her, she leaned further into him, resting her forehead against his cheek, grateful for the comfort and security he offered as she smiled to herself. "Thank you," she murmured to him, certain her voice was quiet enough to be overpowered by the wind that whooshed past them.

Stas was taking it all in stride. While he'd never seen technicolored dolphins before, he accepted it as part of the magic that made up Rhy'din. As she leaned back against him, he gently nuzzled her forehead with his cheek. Turning his head, he read her lips as they uttered the soft words. Stas smiled then, a warm and loving smile as his eyes closed and he brought his lips to hers in a silent. "Welcome."

Her hand lifted from where it lay over his to curl her palm against his cheek as her head tipped back under the kiss, slightly blown away by the affection in the simple gesture. The ship's sway exaggerated for a moment, pushing her between the rail and Stas, and she broke the kiss with a faint giggle, knowing his slippery shoes wouldn't be able to take much more of this without dropping him on his backside.

His smile widened as the touch of her hand smoothed out his cheek and he felt his cheek heat up under her touch. As the ship jostled them again, the kiss was broken and he laughed. Looking out over the water, he sighed contently. The sunset was leaving a trail of sparkles on the water like tiny diamonds. He managed to keep on his feet by pressing against her back, forcing them both against the railing. "I love you, Amelia."

"Love you back," was her soft reply, coupled with the sweet smile that was his and his alone.

Only very rarely did AJ let people see her, and even then, it was only the people she loved dearly. She was about lean close to return his kiss, when a faint cough behind them brought the intimate moment to a close. Turning, they found the porter standing off to one side, purposefully not looking at them as he politely suggested that they might like to look over the starboard rail, to the green isle of Avalon.

He gazed into her eyes and thought he could live forever in that moment. He understood what a huge undertaking it was for her to let anybody inside of her personal bubble. His lips were pursed and ready for that kiss when the porter interupted. Stas glanced over, then back down at AJ. A smile for her and her alone, then he kissed her softly. Pulling back, his arms slid from around her waist and he took her hand.

Momentarily distracted by the meal as it was placed before them, AJ agreed with a soft 'mmm' of anticipation. "Bet it tastes even better," she winked across at him with a grin. "Hardly know where to start ....hey, that's kinda familiar, isn't it?" And there was the wickedly suggestive smile she'd been trying to keep in check all evening as her eyes twinkled mischievously at Stas.

Stas sighed with relief at the subject change. Lifting a streak knife and fork, he dug in. "It does taste even better." he smiled and looked up at her. "What sounds familiar?" Wide eyes, so innocent and blue, held not a single spark of wickedness.

"Ask me again the morning after," AJ snickered back at him, cutting a bite-sized portion of the meat and lifting it to her mouth. As far as she was concerned, the subject had far from changed. "Anyway, I get why you're walking with me everywhere, but Devon' He really needs to get off this overly protective kick he's got going on. He's the kid in this outfit, not me."

Still a bit confused, Stas shrugged and cut off another piece. Keeping his head down, his eyes rolled and he groaned inwardly. Chewing slowly, he counted to ten before he lifted his head up, that smile back in place.

"Don't be too hard on your brother, Amelia. It's only natural for a guy to be protective of the ones he loves. And he does love you." His eyes widened a bit and then he lowered his head, pretending to be interested in the meal. His mind spun, did he just give too much away"

AJ stared at him, astonished. Had she heard that right, was Stas actually defending her kid brother" Clearing her throat a little, she turned her attention back to the meal as she spoke again.

"I know he does, he just needs to stop treating me like I'm this helpless little girl," she shrugged. "I'm glad you two are getting along better, though. That was too awkward for words for a while there."

He was glad that he missed her astonished look. It would have been his undoing. The silence that led up to her speaking had almost done it. "It's a guy thing. We were figuring each other out." He gave what he hoped was a nonchalant shrug. "I dno't step on his toes by talking about you in a sexual manner and he doesn't try to pound my face in with his fists. A wonderful arrangement, if you ask me." With a soft chuckle, he brought his head up to give her a questioning look.

"Well, since you're getting all manly with him, maybe you could tell him to back off and let me walk myself home when you're not around," she suggested with a smile. "Seriously, Stas, I love him to bits, but if he shows up at the studio one more time, I'm going to chase him down the street with a bucket of pink paint."

He laughed at that image and shook his head. "Really now. You know that my telling him won't get anything accomplished. He's as hard headed as you are." A playful wink and he finishes off the steak and potatoes in a single bite.

AJ snorted into her wine, pressing her fingers to her mouth to prevent herself from spitting the liquid across the table. "I do as I'm told," she protested indignantly, and then had to concede a point. "When there's a good enough reason for it." She wiped her lips with her napkin, knife and fork set neatly on the empty plate in front of her. "He doesn't have a reason for walking me everywhere. You do."

He looked upon her fondly, canting his head this way, then that. "He does have a reason. You're his blood, and the only family he truly has here. And as much as he dotes on Charley, she's not his blood." He wasn't sure where he was going with that so he merely picked up his glass of wine and took a sip. "Besides, I asked him to do it for me."

"You asked him to' Why?" She frowned curiously, leaning out of the way as the waiter removed the empty plates for them again, before leaning forward onto her elbows.

"Because you're my girl and I want to keep you safe." He nodded, sitting back in his chair. Well that much was true anyway. "Stop being so adamant about being able to take care of yourself. There are at least two other people in Rhy'din that care for your safety. Indulge us, please?"

She regarded him for a long moment, hazel eyes trusting despite the faint irritation deep within. Then she sighed and nodded, tapping her clasped hands against her mouth.

"All right, fine," she shook her head with a smile. "If the pair of you want to waste your time walking the same route every day, go right ahead." She smiled, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "So what?s this big plan you've got going on for a family planning clinic?"

Another relieved smile as she relented. "Thank you, Amelia." The lobster dish was brought then, and he waved the waiter off of his side of the table. "Thank you, but no." His eyes went back to her. "No talk of work, we're here to have a good time. Work comes later."

"No, thank you," she, too, waved the waiter away with a smile, turning to meet Stas' gaze. "What' I'm not eating if you're not, I hate it when people watch me eat." She laughed softly. "No work talk at all, huh' Well, then I'll just have to step up the seduction timetable, won't I?" The grin was startlingly innocent as she said this.

He watched her dismiss the waiter with confusion in his eyes. But then she explained and he laughed softly. "Suit yourself." Leaning forward, his wine glass was picked up again. He had it halfway to his mouth when she spoke of seduction. The glass was brought back down and he shook his head. "There you go again, being incredibly adorable and incorrigible, all at the same time."

She slumped with a playful groan. "Adorable" Darn it, I was trying so hard to get all sexy and irresistible, too." She laughed, raising her glass in a toast to him. "To your amazing strength of will, and the soon weakening of your resolve." Another wicked wink was sent his way as she sipped with a faint smirk.

"I'll drink to the first, and as for the last, it'll be like water and stones. Takes a long time to wear them down." He grinned and sipped his own wine. The quartet continued to play softly in the background.

"Ah, but you do agree I am wearing you down." AJ smiled triumphantly, setting the glass down again. Her eyes flicked to the quartet playing nearby. "And I'm going to get you dancing again tonight, if only to prove to you that you can actually do it."

"Incrementally." He conceded, grudgingly. Her smile was infectious and it put his back on his face. "Dancing...if you don't mind flattened toes, then I think it can be arranged."

"Aw, c'mon, doc, don't try and get out of it. No pain, no gain, remember?" Hazel eyes lit up as the sweet course was brought out to them, profiteroles smothered in praline sauce. "Oh, I really have died and gone to heaven," she laughed softly, leaning back in her seat to resist the urge to grab her spoon and start shovelling the sweet treat into her mouth.

"Well, no pain for me at least." He grinned and picked up a spoon as the dessert was placed before him. Watching her eat with such enthusiasm had him laughing softly. "That good, hmm?"

Hearing his laugh made her slow, a dark blush crossing her cheeks as she smiled awkwardly. "What can I say, I have a sweet tooth," she laughed back, but did deliberately slow herself down, staring fixedly at her plate in acute embarrassment.

He hadn't meant to embarass her and he hurriedly started to dig into his own dessert. But he had to admit to himself that she looked adorable with the lighting and the flush to her face.

Even keeping herself slow, she finished before he did, wiping her lips as she sat back. Hazel eyes followed the spoon from the dish to his lips and lingered there, that embarrassment fading as she concentrated on the best man she had ever known.

Feeling the weight of her stare, he looked up with amusement. "What?" His voice traced with soft laughter.

Her smile widened sweetly as he looked up at her. "Nothing," she assured him softly. "Just admiring the view, that's all." There was an awful lot else she wanted to say, but being who she was, she knew he probably wouldn't believe a word of it. AJ Drake was not known for being sentimental, after all.

"Not as much as I am." his smile dissolved a bit, then he lowered his eyes to his plate once again. Where AJ may not be a sentimentalist, Stas was completely sentimental. Finishing off the dessert, he then leaned back and placed his hand on his stomach. "I don't think I could have eaten another bite."

"Mmm, it was lovely," she agreed, her own hand rubbing her stomach gently, watching as the plates were cleared away. "No coffee for me, thank you," she smiled in answer to the waiter's query, glancing at Stas with a smile. "Contrary to popular opinion, I never drink coffee."

He lifted his hand and shook his head to the offered coffee and the waiter walked away. "I never thought that." he grinned and watched her hand stroke her belly. In his mind's eye, he could see it rounded and his own hand replaced hers, lovingly laughing as he felt their child move and kick through her abdomen. A crooked smile on his face as his eyes widened in his reverie.

She watched that crooked smile appear, the distance in his blue eyes telling her that what he was looking at and what he was seeing were two different things, and part of her wondered what it was had him suddenly so softly happy. "Hey, doc," she called him back to reality gently. "What're you looking at, past or future" Or am I interrupting a fantasy?"

When she spoke, he blinked rapidly and shook his head. Pulled from the daydream, he flushed softly. "One possible future. A fantasy that I hope some day will become reality." Lifting up from the chair, he walked around the table and offered his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"

Her eyes lit up in happy surprise as her hand lifted to slip into his. "You mean I don't have to drag you onto the floor this time?" she laughed softly, rising fluidly to her feet and sliding around him, backing towards the open area away from the table as the waiters and staff made themselves scarce.

"No dragging. Besides, can't hurt myself or you to this kind of music." He glanced towards the quartet as he walked towards her. His hand was placed behind her back and his other hand lifted hers, pulling her close. A smile on his face as he expertly turned them around and then stepped into a slow waltz.

Her fingers tightened on his, her other hand rising to slide along his shoulder and into his hair as they moved together. "Why, Doctor Ryan, I do believe you're dancing," she teased affectionately, her smile lighting up her face as she looked into his eyes from barely any distance at all.

He laughed softly in response. "Surprised?" Another quick turn and then more gliding. "Mother insisted that I take lessons when I started college."

It was AJ who made a false move, forward instead of back, bringing them rather closer together than they should have been for a simple waltz. She glanced down, laughing. "I guess I should have paid more attention in my own lessons, huh?"

He wondered if her blunder wasn't intentional and he shook his head. The closeness didn't bother him in the least. "My goodness, Amelia. One would think you're trying to make love to me, right here on the dance floor." His eyes danced as he teased her.

"Well, I don't hear any complaining, do you?" She smiled wickedly, moving with him again but refusing to retreat to where they had been before her stumble. "In fact, you're actually holding me closer, aren't you? My, my, hotshot ....weakening already?" She laughed impishly, rubbing her nose to his.

His hand dropped hers so that it could find it's partner in the small of her back. After the nose rub, he brought his forehead to hers. Their dancing slowed to middle school swaying. "Never a complaint when you're in my arms. But wearing down?" He chuckled and brought his lips to hers.

Her impish smile faded as their lips touched, her freed hand moving to rest against his chest while they swayed together. Fingertips in his hair, she was reluctant to end the kiss, but she knew herself well enough to know that if she didn't, it could end up embarrassing both of them. They weren't nearly as alone as they seemed to be.

Hazel eyes twinkled as she looked up at him. "A girl can dream, can't she?"

When the kiss was broken, he sighed softly and his eyes were gentle. "Dream a little dream of me." He sang softly and pulled her from the dance floor. "Thank you for trusting me, Amelia. I can't imagine this night being as special as it is with anybody else."

She couldn't resist, smiling sweetly as he pulled her with him. "Oh, I don't know," she shrugged. "If you'd brought Devon instead of me, it would have been special in it's own way." She giggled a little, wrapping her arms around his waist to kiss his cheek. "But, for what it's worth ....I couldn't imagine doing any of this without you right here with me."

He gave her a horrified look at the thought of bringing her brother on board the Kashmira. "Yeah, food fights and throwing each other over." He chuckled and turned then, just his hand on the small of her back. "And that's right where I'll always be, Amelia. Beside you." He smiled and led her to the staircase.

She kissed his cheek again, loosing one arm from around him to hold onto the rail as they made their way back to the deck. The wind whipped her hair across her face, and she shivered a little in the breeze, eternally grateful she'd remembered to bring her cardigan. She would have frozen without it.

As they stepped onto the deck, he led her to the chairs and the waiting down blankes. He sat, then pulled her down onto his lap. A blanket was picked up and brought around her shoulders. Tugging her to his chest, he watched the moonlight dance across the water. "Amelia, I love you. So, so much."

She pulled her hair over her shoulder as he tugged her to him, tucking it between them to prevent face-whippage in the stiff breeze. Where he watched the water, she watched him, amazingly touched by his oft-repeated declaration as she always was. Her hand lifted, pushing out from under the blanket, to stroke his cheek as she answered softly. "I know. And I do love you, Stas. I know I'm not so good at showing it, but ....I love you."

He broke the gaze of the water to look down at her with a warm smile as she touched his face. "Oh, you do, Amelia. I can see it when you look at me. It's a look you give nobody else. The way you touch my arm when you're talking to somebody else, just to keep me aware of your presence. Not that I could ever forget it." He chuckled softly and lowered his head to kiss her.

Her hand slid from his cheek to his neck as she willingly submitted to that kiss, warmed right through by the strength of his affection for her, and hers for him. It was so strange; she was supposed to be an independent woman of the 21st century, and here she was, wanting all the things she wasn't supposed to want. To be looked after, cared for ....loved. By the man in whose arms she was currently curled.

The kiss was broken and he used his hand to guide her head to be tucked under his chin. Sitting quietly, his eyes go back to watching the moonlight on the water. Many things were whirling in his mind. At the forefront was the union that he just knew would take place between the two curled up in each others arms. He didn't speak of it, too afraid that the fragile dream would shatter into a million pieces if he even whispered it.

His chest heaved as a sigh escaped his lips. The magic of the cruise would end all too quickly and they'd go back to their normal lives. But for this moment in time, they were royalty, the centre of the world, and at that centre was a love neither of them had ever dreamed of capturing.

((A collaboration between AJ Drake and Stas Ryan.))