I'm so delighted with the response to this story, you guys are awesome! It took me longer to post this than I had hoped. I have a lot written but it's taking me a while to knit together. I'm away for work this week so I'm not sure how much writing I'll get in but I'm really trying to update this once a week (or so). Let's hope the muse is with me.

And I forgot to say, though you know it already, that I didn't invent these characters.

Blair felt her face sting in the fierce sunshine. She should go below deck and apply more sunscreen, but she was just so tired and the warmth seeping through her so delightful, she could surely lay there for a little longer. Sleep almost reclaimed her before the memory of the previous night arrived dazedly in her mind. She lifted her head in shock, the heaviness in her limbs and her sore throat the only thing that stopped her thinking she was dead and this was some kind of strange afterlife.

Dan lay beside her, pressed into the sand so she couldn't see his face. Still and quiet. Fear squeezed her chest as she reached for his shoulder, only abating a little when she realised his skin was warm to touch. She tried to turn him over, to see if he still breathed but he collapsed forward again as her strength gave way. "Dan?" The word come out as a squeak and she cleared her throat before trying again, anxiously tugging at his arm. "Dan, wake up! Please... wake up."

The rush of relief she felt when he lifted his head was palpable. He coughed painfully before slowly rolling over, looking up at her with gritty eyes. "Blair, you're ok?" His voice was as hoarse as her own.

"Where the hell are we?"

Dan sat up, blinking in the strong sunlight at the deserted beach they sat upon. "Your guess is as good as mine. On dry land, which is a good start."

They were in a small bay ringed by reef. Blair turned and peered behind her, hoping to see some sign of civilisation. All that met her eyes was a small hill, the steep slopes masked with green. "Where is everyone?"

Dan looked as bewildered as she felt. "I don't know. Maybe someone lives here." He shook his head, trying, and failing, to loosen the sand from his face. "There could even be a resort or something. And people must know we're missing. I doubt we'll be waiting longer than a few hours for rescue. Nate must have sent out the alert."

Blair gained some comfort from his words but her mind still sought the darker alternatives. "But what if he hasn't? What no one is looking for us and there's no one here?"

Salt crusted his eyelashes, making his irises almost appear black. "It's the 21st century, Blair, someone will find us. And no matter where we are, I'm still more than happy to be here." He looked up over the bay, his eyes growing distant. "...rather than still out there. That was, without doubt, the most hellish night of my life."

Blair hugged her knees to her chest. "Dan, you didn't need to do that. Risk your own life for mine."

His head dropped down, his gaze focussed on the damp sand beneath him. "I guess."

She bit her lip. It was hard to express gratitude when one's saviour so clearly rued the outcome. They sat silently for a moment, Blair trying to sort through her jumbled thoughts. "What time is it? I lost my watch."

Dan raised his bare wrist. "I wasn't wearing one." He looked to the sky, noting the position of the sun. "I don't know, maybe mid morning? We need to find some shade, this sun is frying me." He groaned as he pulled himself onto his hands and knees. "Jesus, I hurt all over."

Blair slowly stood up, feeling gritty and grazed, and though she could at that moment turn her back on the ocean forever, she staggered toward the water to rinse herself off as best she could. It stung her elbows and knees, but the cool was pure relief against her burning skin. Dan made his way to stand beside her, following her in trying to rid the sand from his clothes, pulling off his shirt to rinse it out and washing the grit from his face. Blair slipped her shirt and linen shift dress over her head to stand in her swimsuit, dropping into the water to get the sand from the black one piece and loosen it from her tangled hair.

Dan silently held his hand out to her. She looked warily at it before allowing him to help her rise from the water and lead her up the shore towards a stand of coconut trees. The shade, after the torment of the sun, was bliss. He sat, legs almost buckling beneath him. "I know we need to look around, but I need to sleep some more before I can even see straight."

Dan spread his wet shirt out and laid down upon it, closing his eyes. "But, Dan, we should see what's here first. Why sleep on the beach when there could be a resort in the next bay?"

He grunted an intelligible reply. "Dan?" Blair nudged him with her toe but he didn't respond, seemingly falling into immediate sleep. She stood helplessly regarding him, unsure what to do, unable to believe that she could possibly find herself in this situation. If only she weren't so tired, surely she could find a better option than laying like a dog in the dirt to sleep. But no solution offered itself and Blair, too exhausted to cry or even voice her distress when there was no one there to hear it, merely laid her own clothes out, curling up in the deep shade beside him.

When she awoke the second time, Blair felt better able to think back on the ordeal she had endured. Not much remained in her memory. Only her horror when she had first slipped from the deck and her certainty that she was going to die when she could no longer see the boat. The water had kept flooding over her head so she could never draw a full breath, her limbs so heavy it became harder and harder to struggle against the waves. Never before had she felt so alone. It was true what they said. Life did truly flash before one's eyes.

She rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face in her elbow. Seeing Dan appear over the crest of the waves had pushed the dark visions back. She had determined not to drown, regretful and alone, and pushed her screaming limbs toward him. It was only at his words in her ear that she could let go of a little of her terror and just hold to him with a desperate grip. And the rest was just blackness, she was grateful for it.

The sun had moved so it showed through the branches above her, light dappling the shade on her face. Dan no longer lay beside her, instead he had draped his shirt over her shoulders and sat himself pensively against the trunk of the palm tree beside her.

He looked over at her movement, the grim set to his features relaxing a little. "You're awake. Do you feel better?"

She searched for something snide to say, feeling vulnerable beneath his gaze. "Better than what? A slightly less drowned rat?"

"It's good to know your tongue wasn't affected." He gave her a half smile before his gaze returned to the open horizon before them. "I guess we need to take stock before we do anything."

"Weren't we going to look around? This might not even be an island, it could be a peninsula or something."

Dan shook his head gravely. "I looked while you were still sleeping. It didn't take more than half an hour to walk around the whole island." He dug into the ground with a stick, turning up the damp sand beneath. "There's no sign of anything."

Blair sat up at his words, the pitch of her voice showing her disbelief. "Impossible. There has to be something."

His eyes searched out hers. "I hope I'm wrong. But all I saw was more coconut trees."

"How far did you look? Further than your navel?"

Dan twisted his lip. "I choose to ignore that. Go see for yourself if you want. I saw some other islands in the distance, but there's no way we could swim that far."

Blair stood up and picked up her dress, shaking the sand from it before slipping it over her head. Her arms still ached but the cramp that had burned behind her shoulder blades had relaxed. She stretched her neck as Dan sat back on his heels and emptied his pockets, laying out his iPhone, a sodden packet of cigarettes and a lighter on a dry palm frond. He took up his phone, pressing futilely at the on button, no welcoming apple icon greeting him. "Damn it. I was hoping it might dry out but it's hopeless."

"Give me that." Blair held her hand out.

He passed the phone to her, watching as she repeated his actions. "I already tried that. It doesn't work, Blair. It was under water for an extended period. Warranty null and void."

She let it drop to the sand, eyeing the ruined cigarettes. "I can't believe you smoke, Humphrey. It's disgusting."

"Yeah, well, don't complain, it's the reason we have a way to make fire for a beacon, unless you feel inclined to rub some sticks together." He flicked the lighter but no answering flame appeared. "If it doesn't dry out, I guess I can try and use the flint." He turned to her, an expectant gleam in his eye. "Now, what do you have?"

"Do you think I use pockets, Humphrey?" Blair fiddled at her wrist, pulling off her bracelet and letting fall by his feet. "I have a Cartier cuff and that is all."

Dan picked it up. "Useful. Maybe I can try and trade it for some water with that seagull over there."

Blair licked her lips, they were dry from the exposure, and her tongue did little to moisten them. She would given up anything for her La Mer lip balm and a bottle of Perrier. "You are not funny, Humphrey. We're alone here and we have nothing, and you think it's time to make jokes. What are we going to do?"

"Be pragmatic, I guess. Shelter, water of some kind, fire and sleep, in that order, if the Boy Scout within me remembers right."

"You were a Boy Scout?"

"Well no, but I did read Robinson Crusoe and Coral Island, and I saw Tom Hanks in Castaway."

"And Blue Lagoon."

Dan nodded in solemn agreement. "Of course, it's a classic. And a young Brooke Shields would make anywhere paradise."

Blair tossed her head. "I think you're wrong. Water should be our top priority."

"I looked, but I didn't see anything. Coconut it is."

The trees above them hung with nuts, all at various stages of maturity. "I'm thirsty."

"You don't say." Dan stood up and walked toward the shoreline, picking up a piece of driftwood that the high tide had left.

"Yes, I said I'm thirsty. This body is used to three litres of water a day."

"Blair, there's no water that I can find. I can't magically make it appear." He scratched his head. "I'll try to climb a coconut tree but after we've got a shelter organised." He turned to her, raising both his brows. "Feel free to do it yourself though."

Blair scoffed. "I doubt you'd find me doing that." His careless assumption of authority raised her gall. "Why do we have to do it your way anyway? Who voted you president?"

"I know you'd prefer to waste the afternoon arguing about it. But you know I'm right."

"I know nothing of the sort. What good is shelter when you're dying of thirst?"

"Blair, I'm too exhausted to get into this with you." She watched him in silence until he rolled his eyes at her. "Ok...ok, you win. I'll try and climb a tree to get some coconuts. You sort out somewhere we can make a shelter. It has to be on the beach, so we can see if any boats are around. And they can see our fire. I thought maybe over there." He pointed toward a grove of closely set coconut palms. "We can lean sticks against them and put leaves over them."

"You've made two errors, Humphrey. One, I will not sleep in the dirt again and two, coconuts are deadly, and you may not have enough brain cells to worry about if one lands on your head, but I can't say the same about myself." Dan muttered something she couldn't quite catch, swinging around to survey the beach behind him. "What did you say?"

"I said, I should be so lucky." He looked back at her. "Fine, you go find somewhere off the ground, with the required 1000 thread count sheets, and order me a mojito while you're at it." He pointed to a large tree growing apart from the others, heavy with large green and yellow nuts. It grew on a slant toward the water, offering a fairly gentle climb in comparison to its upright neighbours. "I'll be over there."

Blair frowned. "I hate coconut."

"Good, there will be more for me."

Blair couldn't hold back the exasperation from her sigh as she watched Dan survey the palm from every angle before clambering awkwardly up the curve of the trunk. He began to shimmy up it, his bare shoulders flexing as they kept him steady. "There's coconuts on the ground, why don't you just collect them?"

"The green ones are better to drink. Those are probably old and I'm not going to all the effort of opening one just to get sick."

"How do you know that?" She crossed her arms before her. "The tree that grew in Brooklyn was a coconut?"

His lips twitched at her words, the effort of hoisting himself up the tree making his reply come in a breathy rush. "No, you've clearly never had the pleasure of drinking an icy cold green coconut on a hot day in the tropics. Now can you stop distracting me and seriously start to look for a place we can sleep? Or do I have to do everything?"

She rested her hand on the tree below him. "I thought once you'd finished playing Boy Scout, we could lean the sticks against this very palm. It's above the high tide mark and it's on such an angle, it can't drop nuts on us."

Dan grunted, he had nearly reached the top of the tree and the trunk sloped upward again, leaving him to struggle over the last foot of bark. His shorts had ridden up exposing the strained muscles of his thighs. Blair held her breath as they nearly lost their grip but his hands eventually found purchase in the stalks of the palm fronds. The nuts lay in reach of his arms and he tried to pull at them. She felt a pang clench her gut as his legs slipped again from the effort. "Twist them off, you idiot, you're going to fall if you do that, and I'm not going to nurse you if you get hurt."

He looked down at her but didn't waste his energy on a retort, instead following her advice and twisting the nut slowly in his hand. After a few complete turns it dropped to the sand with a soft thud. Dan moved onto the next one, working his way around the tree and it wasn't long before a collection of the green and yellow nuts lay on the ground below him. Once the harvest had been completed, his legs lost their grip and he slipped down the trunk, clutching frantically at it to slow his descent. He moaned as he collapsed on the sand. "Ow. I think that took half the skin off my thigh."

She walked over to him, pulling at the fabric of his shorts. The matter of factness with which she touched him made Dan flinch. "It didn't even tear. But you should be more careful."

"Flattering that you're so incredibly concerned for my safety, Waldorf."

She blinked rapidly down at him. "Its not my job to climb the coconut trees."

"Oh, is that right? What is your job?"

"Clearly, I'm the brains of the operation." Blair picked up one of the coconuts, shaking it to listen to the liquid slosh inside. "How do we open it."

"You tell me, Einstein." He curled up from the sand, taking the nut from her to examine the thick husk. "Maybe a sharp stick?"

Blair left him in the sand, looking for a piece of driftwood that fitted that description. The smooth wood lying on the beach was rounded and polished from it's time in the sea but she managed to pry loose a piece that had broken off, leaving a sharp shard of wood at its end.

Dan had worked the coconut into the sand so it stayed upright and took the stick from her, lifting it to plunge it into the husk. It barely left a bruise on the hard exterior, instead shattering into pieces from the impact. "Ok, that's not going to work. Maybe we could try a rock." He looked up at her encouragingly. "A sharp one?"

"I think it's your turn to fetch, Humphrey."

"Come on, I think I deserve a little respite from duties. I was the one who got these, wasn't I?"

Blair's lips were really parched now and the salt crusting on her skin made it itchy and dry. She narrowed her eyes, but Dan just collapsed onto the sand closing his eyes to her glare. She looked up the beach to the outcrop of rocks and then back at him. He had one eye open but shut it quickly at her glance.

She sighed resignedly and walked up to the rocks, her thirst winning the war against her desire to pursue the disagreement. The sand burned against her bare feet, making her quicken her pace against the discomfort. Loose rocks lay scattered around the outcrop and she selected a few that she thought might be suitable, returning to drop them carelessly at Dan's feet. He looked them over, trying to pick the most likely tool as Blair knelt beside him to watch.

The rock he chose had a sharp edge from where it had broken from the outcrop and he turned it in his hands before raising it to smash against the husk. It gave way almost immediately, cracks opening to show the white pith beneath the tough skin. Another few blows split it entirely, revealing the hardy nut encased within. Dan scratched at the surface until he found the hard shell, twisting the sharp tip of the rock until he felt it give. His eyes met hers, a satisfied spark glowing warmly as his fingers worked at the hole he had made. "Ladies first."

Blair took the nut Dan passed and swallowed deeply of the juice inside it. "Oh..." She took another sip. "It tastes just like coconut water."

"You are incredible, Waldorf. It is coconut water." Dan took it from her and held it to his quivering mouth, taking a long draught.

She should have felt irritated at the smile that broke out on his face; she should have known that her return smile would torment her cracked lips further. But her relief at the touch of liquid against her dry tongue made her forget anything but the simple pleasure of drinking. Her hands reached up to snatch the nut back. "The rest of this is mine. You can open another."

Dan cocked his eyebrow. "So, I held up my end of the deal. How is our shelter coming along?"

She pursed her lips. "You said to chose a place to make it, which I have done. I'll be ready to supervise the construction as soon as you're ready to start the labour."

Dan rolled his eyes but silently bent his head to the next nut to coax it open. Blair finished her own, pushing her fingers inside to scoop out the jelly like flesh that stuck to the inside of the shell. The sand that clung made it crunch against her teeth but nonetheless she felt her spirits rise a little as the coconut filled her stomach and moistened her mouth.

Dan made short work of the next nut, drinking most of it before passing it to her. She held it above her mouth to catch the last drops. "More?"

He stood up, ignoring her gaze, though she made it as beguiling as she could. "Shelter."

Blair peered out across the bay, hoping for any sight of possible rescue but it was only the endlessly lapping waves and the sight of the sun dipping toward the horizon that met her gaze. "I can't believe it's possible to be stuck on a desert island in this day and age."

"I know, I keep thinking I'm going to wake up any minute." He turned to her, his gaze darkly candid. "But we are here, Blair. You say you don't sleep in the dirt but what are all Miss Waldorf's millions if there's nowhere to spend them. We need a shelter."

"I'm not a child, Humphrey. Don't be so condescending."

He raised his brow, his face closing to her as he bent to pick up a piece of wood that lay on the sand. "Blair, we're here, deal with it."

There were a few pieces of driftwood long enough to make struts for their shelter laying on their stretch of beach for Dan to collect, though they wouldn't make the structure particularly sturdy. He collected all the wood he found, piling the smaller pieces just above the tide mark and bringing the longer ones to the tree she sat by. Blair stood up when he dragged over his first load, slipping on her deck shoes against the hot sand and stepping into the sun. It only took a few strides for her to return for her shirt, wrapping it around over her head to protect it from the glare. She glanced at Dan ready to defend her garb if he dare laugh but he didn't look up, his lowered face looking drawn and tired as he wrestled with his armload.

She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Ok...what are we doing?"

He looked pointedly at her. "If you don't want to sleep on the sand then you could lower yourself to start breaking off some of those branches?" He pointed at the dark green shrubs that lined the beach. "Try for the ones with the most leaves." Blair looked where he directed but didn't move. "Blair, if you don't help me, I swear I'm going to make this shelter just for one and you can sleep with the crabs."

"But there are probably spiders in there."

"For Christ's sake, Blair. Ok, you collect the driftwood and I'll get the branches. We need long sticks, can you manage that?" He didn't wait for her answer, only throwing her a vexed glance before stalking away.

Dan had found most of the suitable wood that lay on the sand and Blair didn't feel inclined to wander further to find more. She took her time gathering the few sticks she could find, all the while thinking on another source. A dead tree offered some solution, it's long dead branches weathered silver as they lay exposed against the rocks. They were fairly easy to snap with the heel of her foot but less accommodating when she dragged them back over the sand to where Dan was clearing debris away from the base of their tree. He laid the green branches he had gathered below the curve of the trunk, building up a thick layer of leaves. The sticks rattled as she dropped them behind him. "I don't think this division of labour is very equal, Humphrey."

His eyes creased as he turned at her words, taking in her soiled clothes and sweating brow. "I don't believe it. I just wish I my phone was working so I could take a photo of you. Gossip Girl would come out of retirement just to post it."

"Very funny. I only wish Gossip Girl could, at least someone would know where we were." She would have liked him to celebrate her contribution just a little more, but at least the tension had dropped from his posture.

Blair leaned a stick against the trunk of the palm tree, pressing the base into the sand by the bed of leaves so it would hold firm. It wasn't difficult work though she resented the way it tore at her hands. Dan joined her to lay more on the other side of the structure to make a tent shaped opening that faced the water.

The palm branches that lay around them were easily long enough to reach the length of the walls they had laid but it was difficult to secure them so they would stay in place. Dan took off his shirt, the skin of his chest glowing pale against the reflection of the sand. "This is already so torn up, I guess I could use strips of it to tie it all together."

"Humphrey, you'll likely pass out from sun stroke." Her voice became silky. "As much as I'd like to see you rip that horrible thing to pieces."

"What do you suggest then?"

Blair slipped her shirt from where she had wrapped it round her shoulders, rubbing at the stains that marked the front. "I suppose I can sacrifice my Lauren."

"Blair, mine's already torn up."

"Relax, Humphrey, it's ruined anyway. And it's long enough that we can just tear strips from the bottom and I can still wear it if I have to."

The long strips of fabric made it a simple task to tie the fronds in a layer up the sticks, though it took up more of Blair's shirt than she liked. She worked the fabric with her teeth to tear the linen, wondering all the while what her life had been reduced to. Dan had to walk further and further away to collect enough branches to cover both sides of the shelter so she took her time laying them up the sides, tying them off against each other until a dense layer of leaves covered the sticks to the tree trunk.

Dan lay his last armload beside her as she secured the last branch, pleased at her handiwork. "Done."

"The Waldorf Arboria."

Blair gave him a sour smile. "How long did it take you to think of that?"

"Oh, not long."

"Well, it shows."

Dan snorted as she peered inside the shelter, dipping her head so not to knock it against the tree. The layer of palm leaves blocked out most of the sun, though a few chinks let a few streams of light into the dim interior.

"Now fire, I suppose. It'll be dark soon."

When she crawled inside, there was just enough height to kneel at the entrance. The sense of security the walls around her gave her surprised her, she never thought something so insignificant could feel like a sanctuary. "Do we have to? I could just crawl in here and sleep forever."

Dan's lips tugged up in a weary smile. "I know. But it's going to be dark soon and we need a beacon in case a boat goes by. And hopefully it will help keep away mosquitos."

"Mosquitos? So all of this isn't bad enough, we're going to be plagued by mosquitos too?"

"Probably." Dan began clearing a spot in the sand, smoothing a circle to lay the fire in. Blair sat watching his movements, her heavy eyes blinking sleepily. They snapped open when she heard his retreating footsteps. "Where are you going?"

"To get rocks to ring the fire with, Miss Curiosity. Just stay there, ok? I've got this."

Blair's thighs ached as she stood up, but it was difficult to just sit while Dan continued to work. He looked exhausted, like he could just drop where he stood. The scrub that lined the beach left dry litter on the ground and she walked toward it to gather some kindling for the fire. Each piece she collected was carefully kicked to dislodge any stray insect that could be lurking beneath it until she was convinced it was safe to pick up and place in the slowly growing pile beside her. A crackle in leaves made her look up to meet Dan's amused eyes.

"What are you doing? Rain dances are a myth, Waldorf."

She gave him a withering glance. "Collecting kindling, Humphrey. Even I know that you can't light a fire with just sticks."

"Go and sit down. You look ready to drop."

She hovered as he took over her task, watching as he swiftly added more dry twigs and leaves to the pile she had started. "Dan? No one's come. You said that someone would have found us by now."

He sat back on his heels toying with the twig in his hands. "I know, I guess the storm has made such a mess of things they couldn't start the search. They'll find us tomorrow, don't worry, Waldorf. And meanwhile, it could actually be worse."

"What do you mean worse? How could it be possibly worse than this?"

His eyes met hers soberly. "Well, we could still be floating at sea. It's the purest luck that we're here at all. And I for one, am going to count my blessings." He picked up the pile she had accumulated. "I think that's enough. And," he nodded toward the sun, glowing dimly through the rosy clouds on the horizon, "if we don't want to be stumbling around in the dark, we need to get this fire started."

Dan laid the fire without comment. Blair had never imagined he could be so self sufficient, his dark head diligently bent as he arranged the wood to his liking. They both held their breath as he tried the lighter. It sprayed sparks against the flint but on the third try, a small flame sprung up, winning a relieved sigh from Dan. Soon a comforting blaze flickered green and orange in the pile of driftwood.

The sunset was glorious, orange and pinks colouring the clouds and setting a rosy glow over the water, though dark followed swiftly after it. Dan sat with his head bent, working at another coconut, the more yellow husk showing it's maturity. Blair chewed at the piece of coconut meat he passed her but the dry mealy flesh was difficult to swallow. She put it down on her knee and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, trying to stop the sudden rush of moisture that had sprung there. Dan's industry had kept her mind occupied, but now it was dark and there was nothing to stop her thoughts delving back into the dark moments they had shared in the water.

"Dan...I didn't thank you... I need...to thank you." Her words came in a disjointed rush. "I know I'd be dead if you hadn't jumped in the water to save me."

His eyes flicked sideways, reflecting the light of the fire. Softening a little as they met hers. "I'm glad I did it. I'd do it again. It doesn't matter that we're not really friends anymore, Blair, I still like to think of you making life hell for some poor soul somewhere in the world." He leaned his head back focussing on the stars beginning to appear above them. "And I doubt I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't."

She had never ceased to feel a certain friendliness towards Dan, she just didn't know how to behave around him any more, always conscious of his judgement directed at her. But the way he spoke, in such a matter of fact fashion, made her feel a little sorrow that they had grown so distant. "I'm sorry I've been so difficult. This isn't easy on you either."

His hand reached out to touch her shoulder. The human contact warmed her and she unconsciously leaned toward him. "You haven't been difficult. Not really." He gave her a slow smile. "Well, not in comparison to how I thought you'd be." Blair stiffened but Dan just nudged her with his elbow, his voice growing airy. "I guess...in retrospect, if I was going to be stuck on an island with someone, it could be worse than you."

Blair let her lips curl up in return. "Can you imagine Serena here?"

Dan laughed. "I can actually, she'd probably look at it as a perfect opportunity for tanning. And as for Chuck, well he'd be trying to negotiate with the sharks to get them to tow him off the island"

Blair fell silent at the mention of Chuck's name and Dan didn't pursue the topic, whether out of tact or disinterest, it didn't matter. It still sent her mind on a track she had been avoiding all day. She doubted he even knew she was missing. Surely, despite how things lay between them, if he knew, he'd expend every effort to find her. She wanted to be found, it just that she wasn't sure if she wanted Chuck to be the one to do it. It felt curious, how dispassionate her thoughts were, that she could just think of him for once without longing or despair.

Dan brushed her arm to draw her attention. "I'm going to bed, there's nothing to stay awake for."

"There's nothing to wake up for either." Melancholy had settled upon her, it didn't help that Dan had the affront to brush her hair from her brow. She tugged her head away. "I'm going to stay up for a while. Maybe I'll see a boat."

Blair sat motionless by the fire after he left her, her eyes fixed on the water. The moon illuminated the sea so it felt like she could see for miles. But no welcome flicker of lights marred her view or sound of a distant motor disturbed the peace.

It wasn't long before she gave up her vigil and crawled in beside Dan. The shelter was small, hardly even the size of a two man tent. She wanted to complain that there was enough beach for them not to sleep quite so close, but a worry that he might take her up on her suggestion shut her mouth before she could say the words. It wasn't that she wanted to be near him particularly but the thought of sleeping alone and exposed that made her curl into his back and try to sleep, her eyes dropping closed to the musky salt smell of Dan's shirt.