Shay had just docked the Morrigan at New York City's harbor. At this point, he just wanted to sleep, considering that he just killed his best friend and saw his former mentor blasted in the kneecap with a flintlock. What a day, he thought to himself. As he said his farewells to Christopher Gist and the crew members, he began his walk back to Fort Arsenal. Shay had walked a couple meters from the ship and looked behind him. The sun was setting and casted a beautiful orange and pink glow over the horizon. The colors reflected off of the ocean waters, making an astounding landscape. Shay had always loved the time he had to himself, even if it was barely any. He had spent much more time with nature recently and enjoyed what it had to offer him.

After about twenty minutes of strolling, Shay had finally reached his home. The sun had fully set, and darkness was all around. Though he knew that he had eradicated all of the Assassins and stalkers in New York, Shay still had that cautious feeling somewhere in his mind and heart. He hated always having to look behind or up when walking. He just wanted some rest. Just a couple hours of sleep.

He let out a rather loud sigh as he opened the door to the fort. Once he was in his home, he kicked off his boots and trudged tiredly to his bedroom. Shay saw that his sheets were cleanly made. It had been months since he had last seen this room. A soft smile crept up to his face, realizing that he might actually be able to rest after such a long damn time! Impatiently, he stripped himself of his weapons and unclasped all of the belts and buckles around his body. When he was finally in just his undershirt and briefs, he crawled under the covers. He closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

He slowly opened his eyes. Shay rubbed his face and looked out the window. The sun was out and shining brightly, and birds could be heard singing outside. He laughed. He was so pleased that he was able to have a real good night's sleep. Shay got out of bed and decided to dress in something a little more casual. He opened his closet and chose a simple shirt and pair of trousers. After fully dressing, he left Fort Arsenal and decided to take a walk around New York. He wanted to see if this wonderful city had changed when he was gone. Hell, of course, it did.

Near his home, more shops opened up and more gardens were built. He heard the constant yelling of merchants, hoping to sell their fruits or weapons. As Shay was walking, he happened upon his close friend and quartermaster, Christopher Gist.

"Good morning, Shay!" Gist greeted.

Shay smiled and responded, "And good mornin' to you too, Gist."

Christopher's eyes lit up for a moment, "Oh, Shay, I was wondering… the boys and I are going out for a drink today. I know you just got back from the mission yesterday and that you're probably still tired, but I think that a little drinking would do us all some good! So what do you say?"

No doubt Shay was still drained from yesterday, but he was very tempted to accept Christopher's offer. He felt that as a captain, he didn't spend enough bonding time with his crew.

Shay spoke, "Aye, I don't mind some drinkin'! What time?"

"How about this afternoon at around three? That'll give you a little time to rest and do whatever."

"Sounds great!"

And with that, the two men parted. Shay figured that he had a couple hours to walk around and rest. That would be plenty of time.

It was about 2:30 now. Shay knew that he should get ready. He decided to change his outfit back into the Templar robes. Once he was finished changing, he locked the doors of Fort Arsenal behind him and headed towards the local tavern.

He opened the door and was greeted by a bunch of rowdy sailors.

"Cap'n!"

"Ahoy, Captain!"

"Greetings, sir!"

Shay greeted all of his men and smiled at them. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around only to be face to face with Gist.

Christopher said, "Welcome, Shay! Let's buy you a drink!"

Shay nodded and proceeded to the bar table. Gist bought him a tankard of ale. When Shay drank the alcohol, he was so relaxed, even in the loud atmosphere. In the past months, he never had any time to drink. He was always busy doing Templar business for the Order. He was truly taking a break.

As the hours went on, Shay began to feel dizzy. He had always had a high drinking tolerance, but maybe twelve flagons of rum was a bit too much. He knew that his men were happy, as they were still clanking their tankards and laughing and yelling.

"You okay, Cap'n?" one of the sailors asked.

"Yeah... I'm good," Shay answered slightly slurred. The man nodded and continued to converse with his friends. Shay walked up to the barman and asked for another drink. The man behind the counter was beginning to see that Shay was getting drunk.

"Excuse me sir, but I think you've had a bit too much for the day," the bartender said, quite worried.

Shay was feeling hot in his face. He wanted- no, needed that drink, "Just gimme the drink!"

The barman sighed and said, "Fine, but only one! I'll give it to you free of charge." The man turned around and got his drink ready for him and handed it over. Across the room, Gist saw that Shay could barely stand now. He rushed over to his friend just as he was nearly about to bump into a sailor.

"Woah there, Shay!" Chris said.

"Oh hey, Christopher! You were totally right… I needed this day off!" Shay declared proudly.

Christopher chuckled. He always liked seeing his friend happy… even if he was a little more than tipsy, "I can see that. But I think you should head home now. Though the night is still young, I believe that you're about near flat out drunk! No worries, I'll walk you home."

Shay was a little upset that even his own friend would deny him drinking for the rest of the night, but he was too drunk to fight him.

He answered Gist with a pout, "Alright. But you have to let me finish this drink first!"

"Alright. Take your time."

Once Shay was done with his drink, he leaned onto Chris. Gist thanked the bartender and left with his friend in one arm. As the left, the sea breeze softly blew against their faces. Christopher literally dragged his friend all the way back to Fort Arsenal. He had to stop several times to let Shay throw up.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let him drink that much," Christopher mumbled to himself.

As they arrived at the doors of Fort Arsenal, Chris's eyes lit up. His side was hurting from lugging Shay all the way from the tavern and he himself was feeling a bit tipsy from the drinks. He struggled to open the doors, but did so anyway. When the doors opened, Gist dragged his friend into the bedroom. He laid his friend on the bed and removed the pair of boots.

As he was finished, he got ready to leave the room, when he heard a voice call out, "Now where do you think you're goin', luv?"

Gist turned around in shock, "Um… excuse me?"

"You heard what I said," Shay slurred lazily as he positioned himself on the bed, "'Where do you think you're goin', luv?'"

Christopher's face went red. Was his friend seriously this drunk? Did he think that he was some whore?

"I think you're mistaken, Shay," Christopher said with a hesitant chuckle, "I'm not a whore."

Shay's face was much redder now, "Still doesn't answer my question, doesn't it? Why don't you come over here and I'll show you a real good time, yeah?"

After that sentence, Christopher booked it. He literally dashed out of the doors of the bedroom and of Fort Arsenal.

Chris said aloud, "That was fucking insane…"

Shay woke up with the worst headache. Outside the ocean waves could be heard crashing and the sun was shining brightly overhead, almost as if it was taunting him.

"Ughhh…" he groaned. He felt something coming up his throat. With panic, Shay searched the bedroom for a bucket. Luckily he founded one right before he projectile vomited.

"Oh lord," Shay sighed, "This is the worst hangover I've ever experienced." He knew that he had to rest once again. He fell asleep.

Shay woke up. The sun was shining, again. He jerked up from his bed and noticed that it the next day! Had he really drank that much, to the point that he slept through an entire day? Apparently, he had. Shay thought that a good way to ease off after a hangover and lots of sleep was to go sailing. He still had his Templar outfit on, so all he needed to do was to put on his boots and leave.

He saw that the Morrigan was still docked where he left it, and some of his men were moving cargo. He also saw that Christopher was standing near the helm where he usually was. Shay strode onto the ship and greeted his crew. When he reached the helm, he noticed that Gist visibly tensed when he got near him.

"Good mornin,'" Shay said.

"Um, uh, good morning," Christopher said with a quick nod.

Shay was suspicious, "Why are you acting like that? Is something wrong? Are there Assassins nearby?" He was getting worried.

"Oh no, nothing like that, captain," Gist said. He was being extremely vague, which was pissing off Shay.

"Spill it, man!"

"Ok!" Christ exclaimed. He told Shay the entire story of what happened two days prior. After hearing what he told him, Shay's cheeks burned red like a tomato. He was embarrassed, to say the least.

He asked his quartermaster, "Did I say anythin' else that was out of the ordinary?"

"No. Say… let's just go on a nice sail today, shall we? Clear ourselves from what happened earlier," Gist suggested.

Shay answered, with his still tomato cheeks, "I think that's best."