By the next morning, the weather had cleared, and the Lady Elizabeth was on course and moving along smoothly. Amanda was enjoying a light breakfast at a table next to the pool when Morgan appeared, carrying a very full plate of food.
"I have always heard about the food on a cruise ship," he told her. "This looks great!"
"Good morning Agent Morgan" Amanda greeted him cheerfully. "You appear to have recovered nicely!"
"Good morning, Ma'am," Morgan was unfailingly polite. "And, yes, I am feeling much better! Is it alright if I join you?"
Amanda smiled at him. "Go right ahead. Make yourself at home! And, please, call me Amanda."
"Yes, Ma'am – I mean Amanda," Morgan replied as he sat down. "And, it's Derek, if you don't mind."
"Now, I hate to put a damper on your meal, Derek, but are you planning on eating all of that?" Amanda inquired.
Morgan looked at her, puzzled. "Yes?"
"And, when, exactly, will you need to get on a very small boat to travel through some very rough waters, to get to shore?" she followed up her initial question.
"About three hours?" Morgan guessed.
"And, are you planning on contributing to the problem of ocean pollution during your trip to shore?" Amanda couldn't help herself. She really didn't want to see the handsome agent get seasick all over again.
Morgan gave her a shocked look as point she was making sunk in. "Oh Shit!" he exclaimed, and then he caught himself. "Excuse me, Ma'am – Amanda."
Amanda laughed as then traded her plate of rolls for his plate of food. "You are excused," she told him. "Try these instead. Actually," she continued the conversation, "I wanted to try the Eggs Benedict this morning and you just saved me a trip to the buffet. I should be thanking you!"
Lena, carrying two glasses of juice and followed by a crewmember carrying several plates of food, walked over to the table.
Morgan looked at her. "You do exist!" he exclaimed in amazement.
"Excuse me?" Lena was clearly confused.
"My Angel of Mercy - You do exist!" Morgan effused.
"Agent Morgan - What are you talking about?" that explanation hadn't helped Lena much.
"Yesterday afternoon - I was so sick - and you were just so great!" Morgan told her. "I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciated it!"
"I really didn't do that much," Lena told him shyly. "However, you did look kind of green."
Amanda had been trying not to laugh as she watched the exchange. "Agent Morgan, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Lena," she decided it was time to intervene.
"Call me Derek," he told Lena, giving her his patented megawatt smile.
As the crewmember put the plates of food on the table and then excused himself, Lana handed one of the glasses of juice to Amanda. Standing up, Morgan pulled out the chair next to him. "Please, join me for breakfast, Lena," he said gallantly.
The sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the sliding doors announced Reid's arrival. When he reached the table, however, it was obvious that he was still slightly shaky from his experience the previous afternoon.
Amanda spoke up. "Dr. Reid, please sit down. I hate to say this, but you still look a little green. Not your best color, by the way."
She stood up to move another chair over, but Morgan waved her back into her seat while he brought a chair over for Reid.
Reid moaned, "I thought this was supposed to go away," as he carefully took the offered seat.
"Sometimes it does need a little help," Amanda conceded. She flagged down a passing crewmember. "Do you have any candied ginger around here?" she asked.
The man smiled at her. "Yes, Miss Amanda. I'll get some right away." He hurried off towards the bar area.
"Sometimes candied ginger helps," Amanda told Reid. "It is more of a homeopathic remedy."
Morgan looked at her curiously. "Why didn't you suggest that yesterday?" he asked.
"Some people swear by it," Amanda told him. "But it doesn't seem to work 100% of the time. Plus, I always think it's better to give your body a chance to heal itself."
A very cheerful Rossi strolled in and joined them. "Good Morning Everyone!" he caroled. "Lovely morning isn't it, Amanda?"
As he walked over to her and put his hand familiarly on her shoulder, Amanda looked slightly embarrassed by the attention. "Good morning, Dave. You, obviously, are off to a good start today," she observed smiling up at him.
"The best!" he assured her with a wink.
JJ and Blake, both carrying full plates of food, joined the group and everyone began pushing several of the small tables together to form one big table. Several crewmembers came over to assist, while another came over and handed some candied ginger to Reid.
Reid looked at him gratefully, "Thanks!"