Crutchie woke up to Jack pushed tightly up against his body. He smiled warmly. He felt as if nothing could ever pull him from the serenity of the moment. He rolled over to face Jack, as he did he noted that the bedroom was empty of David and Les. It was good to have some privacy. Jack looked at Jack's beautiful face, so peaceful in sleep. Crutchie wanted to kiss him. Just a small kiss couldn't hurt. Soft on the lips or tender on the forehead. Jack looked like a magnificent god of the ocean to Crutchie; he almost cried at his stunning features.

Crutchie resisted the urge to kiss Jack, deciding it was better to wait for him to wake up. Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to wake up because Davey softly knocked on the door and gently called to them. "Hey fellas it's breakfast time."

Jack groaned loudly and Davey quietly shut the door on the freshly awakened boys. Crutchie sat up and got out of bed. He leaned against the wall and managed to grab Jack's wheelchair and bring it to Jack's side of the bed. "No," he whined, "let me sleep." Crutchie finally decided to indulge in the kiss he'd been craving. He leaned in and felt Jack's salty lips against his. It felt electrifying and despite being quite chaste both boys could feel the sparks between them during the kiss. "Suddenly I feel very awake," Jack informed him breathily.

Crutchie smiled at him. "I'm glad I could help." Crutchie paused. "Do you think Davey has some clothes he's let me borrow.

Jack glanced at Crutchie's blood stained clothes; the swims with Jack had done greatly to reduce the pigmentation of the reddish-brown blood stains on Crutchie's white shirt, but they still remained. The other problem with the clothes was that they were still wet and were making Crutchie very cold now that he was away from Jack's body heat. "Check the top drawer for a shirt and the bottom for pants. If I were you I'd look for the biggest shirt in the drawer because your build's bigger than his; you'll definitely need to roll up the pants legs because Dave's a lot taller than us.

Crutchie blushed all the way up to his ears and then some. "Are you saying I'm well built?" he teased.

"Why yes I am." Jack smiled.

"Get out so I can change, and please make sure that David's okay with me borrowing his clothes."

"You got it handsome." Jack wheeled out of the room. A minute later he yelled back. "Davey says you're good to go."

"Thanks," he called. Crutchie found a pale green shirt in the drawer that looked too big for David anyways. He pulled his own shirt off weakly. He made a small noise from pain as he lifted the shirt above his head. Crutchie surveyed the damage to his body with apprehension in the mirror. The scrape had scabbed over in a nasty greenish color, and sickening bruises impressed upon his abdomen like enlarged purple stamps. He hid them under the shirt; he found that he did not like the way he looked in green.

Crutchie found a tan pair of pants and replaced the still damp ones around his legs with them. They were too tight around the waist and too long on the legs, but at least they were dry and warm enough. I look a fool, he thought. How could I possibly present myself like this?

"Crutchie you coming?" he heard Jack call him. That was enough to coax him from the room and into the dining room. Davey, Sarah, Jack, and Les were all comfortably situated around the table waiting for him. They each had a plate of eggs and toast; there was even one laid out for him. He sat down.

"Now we can begin," Sarah allowed, and all the boys dug into their meals as soon as the words slipped from her mouth.

…

When they had all finished their meals; and Crutchie's stomach swelled from fullness he decided to broach the conversation about him returning to the mainland.

"I've got something to tell you, Jack already knows."

"What is it?" Davey asked, full of concern.

"So on the mainland I'm not just a guy, my father's the king." He hesitated at calling himself a prince, he doubted that he was welcome to the position anymore. "And he tried to have me killed. I need to go home, my sister Katherine is still there and I've got a new little brother I don't want to leave with my parents. They'll ruin him."

"Is this really true Crutchie?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"It's true." It was done. Crutchie had finally stopped hiding who he really was and from the looks on his friends' faces they believed him.