Suddenly the door slammed open and an apparently calm Amelia walked in.  She was carrying the newspaper folded in her hand and with the other she closed the door.  Delbert knew something was the matter by the way she entered the room.  Slamming doors was not one of Amelia's habits; she only did it if she wants to provoke a question and Delbert happily obliged. 

"What's the matter Amelia?" Delbert was now placing the last few specially placed ruffles in his cravat in front of the mirror.

"Oh nothing dear" there was a pause as Delbert waited for the rest of the explanation and Amelia mused over how to say it without sounding uncomfortable. 

"According to this pathetic excuse for a newspaper, it seems that the Interstellar Fleet is mobilizing.  It appears that the Procyon Armada has been attacking our ports again and as usual the bureaucrats and accountants that now run the navy seem to think it a good idea to charge in there with all guns blazing and try to stop them.  Of course, they will suffer heavy casualties.."

"The Procyon Armada?"

"No, of course not, our fleet will!  Standards have been slipping for ages, I saw it happening then and I can imagine its still happening now.  If they rush in there now they will loose half the fleet easily, the Procyon's are clever and tactful, and they fight in many styles some even we haven't seen before.  I truly can't believe they are even thinking of just rushing in there like that.  Our ports have only been attacked for a month, there's no way that they could have gathered enough intelligence in that time."  Her voice changing from anger to concern Amelia turned away from the reflection in the mirror that she was talking to and pondered on what terrible mistake she thought they were making.  Delbert stood up and put his hand on her tight shoulder, she immediately pulled away and continued thinking.  Her thoughts buried deep within her last true voyage, to treasure planet.  Although this time not thinking about Delbert but remembering about being a Captain and commanding a ship, her ship.  The one thing that had never let her down before, the only thing that she could truly trust and the one thing that she dreamed of commanding again. 

"Amelia, are you ok" interrupted the tour of the Legacy she was taking in her mind.

"Umm, Yes Doctor, Im fine thank you, sorry - Delbert"

"You can't let this thing upset you, the navy is in very capable hands and im sure they are making the right decisions" Delbert said in the most understanding voice he could do. "Your not in the navy anymore Amelia, remember that" The last sentence came out harsher than he expected and got an unexpected reply.  Amelia's head spun around and she looked at him with saddened eyes. She properly turned to face him and her eyes started watering over and a tear or two fell before shouting

"I HATE THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL" There was a pause as Delbert was now totally stunned, was there a loyalty split in their relationship?  She didn't give him time to think as she wrapped her arms around him and started to cry on his shoulder.   Delbert hugged her in return and could only think of saying "there there Amelia, Its ok".  He hadn't realised how she felt towards her former job and especially her ship.

"Amelia, I think we need to talk" Amelia lifted her head to see what expression he was holding but then returned it to his shoulder.  She then let go of Delbert and sat down on the end of the bed her hands now covering her face.  There was a long silence as Amelia and Delbert just thought about what had happened, Amelia brushed a stray strand of hair from her face behind her ear and said

"No, I don't think we need to Delbert" he sighed and looked at her "im never going back to that way of life" She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes "Im not going to put anyone else in any danger, its stupid of me to think I could have two great things in life."

"But Amelia, you don't.."

"I have made my choice, im marrying you" Delbert tried interrupting but was cut off "And that's final, unless you don't want me to?"

"Why of course not, no, I mean of course I want to marry me, er, marry you" Delbert giving a slight shake of the head at every slip up.  She laughed through her tears and then wiped them away. 

"Im just going to get myself ready and then we must go, we're late enough" She walked into the bathroom and pushed the door to.  Delbert sat in a chair by the window and just thought about what had just happened.  Many things rushed through his mind, many things he had answers too and many things he didn't.  He was sure though that there was something she wasn't telling him, what it was though he had no idea but he decided that if she wanted to tell him she would, in her own time. 

"Delbert, are you ready to go" came a soft voice from behind him

Startled he turned around, she had done it again, she had managed to creep up behind him without being noticed. 

"Yes" he repeated slower this time "Yes", he re-focussed then removed his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief taken from his jacket pocket before getting up and flowing Amelia out of the room.

They walked the one and a half miles to the Benbow Inn silently, neither one of them talking.  Amelia wondering what Delbert was thinking and imagining how he was dealing with the slightly strange incident that happened earlier and Delbert thinking exactly the same about Amelia.  That was the longest time they had beet together without exchanging anything, a stolen kiss, a touch or even a look.  The deeper into the journey they went the more awkward it seemed to get.

Five minutes into the journey Amelia held out her hand, Delbert, without looking instantly took it and they continued the journey, as before, in silence.  Even though they were only a few inches from each other it was the furthest apart they had been since falling in love.

A/N:  My workload has just doubled so therefore im finding it hard to find the time to write, that's why this chapter is so short.  I realise that my previous chapter was short also,  but that has nothing to do with this one.  Ahh, Im talking crap, again.  Anyhoo, don't expect anything from me for a while, 2 weeks max! 

Keep Smiling and please review ~ Robbie