"Forgive me for the shorts, yet?" Tony slid his arms around Jethro's waist and leaned against Jethro's back putting his head on his husband's shoulder.
"Tony, I..." Jethro sighed. "I can't believe this. How... why... It..."
Tony snickered. "I know how much you love sailing and I love my creature comforts... voila..."
Jethro leaned his head to rest against Tony's head. "A catamaran? Isn't that a bit overkill?"
"Mmmm..." Tony breathed in the fresh salty air. "I wanted us to be able to have our family with us at times. Big family... needed a big boat..."
"Ship, Tony," Jethro corrected. "Big? This is huge. I mean, it's over two hundred feet."
"You don't like it?" Tony asked quietly.
"Her. I love her." Jethro turned to face his husband. "And I love you. I just can't believe you'd do this."
Tony signed with relief. He had wondered sometimes during the day what Jethro's reaction would be when they were alone; whether he had made a two-hundred-foot mistake when he watched Jethro talking to Captain Bunting.
"How did you ever find her?"
"I talked to a naval ensign after one of our cases. He steered" Tony snickered, "me to a company that arranged private sales."
"I've never seen a catamaran quite like her. Usually, they are lower to the water."
"The Sanctuary was actually custom made for a lottery winner. He wanted a party boat off of Aruba, hence the size of the deck, the outdoor kitchen area and the lounge. He also wanted to have plenty of staterooms for his friends to sleep over. I had hoped we'd have the renovations done in time for today."
"What else is there to renovate?"
"There's a few more cabins on the other side near the crew quarters."
"More cabins? How many did we need?"
"One for Tobias and Emily. One for Helen and Diana. A couple for guests. I thought Carey, Becca and Ethan might like to come with Helen and Diana." Tony smiled.
After the "insurance" had paid for a unit in next to Diana's, the two families had met and become fast friends. Becca had, of course, smelled a rat... well a pup... behind the insurance story. She had called in tears to thank them and had told them that Ethan was getting and would be home soon.
"Isn't it going to be a bit tight for the wheelchairs?"
"Two cabins will be ADA compliant with their own bath." Luckily the cabins for family had plenty of baths on the other side of the hallway for them to have their own.
Ducky and Jackson's had were handicap accessible just in case it was needed.
"Is there room for that many?"
"We gutted most of the crew quarters and the other cabins."
"How many crew did he have?"
"He sailed with a crew of twenty plus."
"Twenty?"
"From what I understand he had morning waitresses and cocktail waitresses and beverage waitresses and snack waitresses..."
"I get the picture." Jethro grimaced.
"We are running a crew of eight that's what Captain Bunting and I thought was sufficient. We have room to accommodate up to six more if we hold a big party and what a chef or some extra help. The previous owner had the ship crew stuffed into two rooms of six each and the waitresses another four."
"Six to a room?"
"We decided on two to a room. They are smaller but still decent size. We also added some conveniences for the regular crew, phone, computer and stuff. The crew share two baths. That left room for two nice cabins sharing another bath."
"This isn't a ship. It's a floating hotel," Jethro laughed.
"I heard the guy who built it had a party with over one hundred guests one night. They were crashed all over the deck the next morning."
"I bet."
"Do you think it's too big?" Tony's insecurities reared its head again.
Jethro smiled. "Nope. I think it's perfect. Just like you."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Gonna get your Captain's license?"
"Eventually. For now..." Jethro pulled him closer. "Captain Bunting can pilot and I will thank my husband for a wonderful surprise." Tender kisses were a wonderful thank-you, Tony decided. He would have told Jethro there was no need to thank him, but kisses... He'd take the thanks. After several delightful minutes, Jethro looked at Tony and laughed. "Poor Zuma." He pictured how Tony had struggled to secure the pup.
"He hates that life jacket. I almost couldn't get it fastened." Tony laughed as he remembered the pup's attempts to scrape it off on the deck, a chair, his stroller.
"His face... If he could talk..." Zuma had sunk to the deck on his belly and refused to look at Tony. It had taken nearly an hour to coax the disgruntled pup out of his sulk.
"He was probably saying, I'm a pup not a pumpkin." Tony laughed again. Had Zuma heard him, he would have agreed. Puffy orange said pumpkin suit and it was not Halloween.
From the lounge, the two men who hear laughter. "Want to go join in?" Jethro asked.
"Nope. Had a wonderful day with our family, now I just want to stay right here in the moonlight with you."
"Perfect end to a perfect day."
"Life can't get any better." Tony sighed and snuggled closer to his husband. As Jethro held Tony tightly, he agreed. But, it did.