CHAPTER 12

ESCAPES MADE, LOVE CONFIRMED

AND LIVES REBUILT

"Aloha Jimmy!" B.E.N called as I lowered the Ship down to the Portal.

I looked over the side, only to see Silver had survived as well.

I sighed mentally to myself, whose side was this guy on anyway?

But now was not the time to be figuring that out.

"Hurry People!" The Robot called out as he tapped so fast on the little console on his front his figures were a blur, "We've got exactly two minutes and thirty-four seconds till PLANET'S DESTRUCTION!!!"

"Ease her over gently Lieutenant," I heard Amelia call out over the explosions around us.

"We don't have time for gently!" I called back as I pulled the wheel to the left, a bit shaper than I realised, as we collided with the platform Jim and Silver were standing on, taking out a small chink of it as I did so.

I bit my lower lip and looked back guiltily at the Captain.

"Sorry! But with respect we are in a bit of a hurry!" I called back as Jim and Silver scrambled on board.

She gave me a sideways smile.

"I'll let it pass this time Lieutenant," she said calmly, before turning to B.E.N.

"Take us out of here, Metal Man!" she called as I urged the ship to rise slightly.

B.E.N nodded as he pulled down the thrust leavers once more, "AYE CAPTAIN!!"

Another thrust, this time the Doctor was ready, and we shot off, the Planet starting to fall apart (literally) around us, explosions coming out of the cracks as they were created.

"Cap'n," I heard Silver's brassy voice come through loud and clear, "You dropped from the heavens in the nick of…"

Amelia gave him a death glare, "Save your claptrap for the Judge Silver," she interrupted icily, before turning back to my driving.

I smiled inwardly to myself as I heard Silver let of a brief chuckle, but not the happiest of them.

Suddenly a chunk of the Planet whizzed over heads, smashing into the top sail of the mast behind us.

We watched in horror as it came tumbling down from above, smashing into one of the nearby cannons.

Below us we suddenly heard the engines cough and splutter.

"Mizzen Sail demobilized Captain!" B.E.N called, his fingers rapidly speeding over his panel and the ships engineering console, "Thrusters are at only thirty percent of capacity!"

"Thirty percent?" Delbert gasped, "That means…We'll never clear the planets explosion in time."

I looked back at him with disbelief, surely he was joking?

"No, we got to turn around." Jim suddenly, vaulting over the railing of the bridge and heading for the remains of the cannon.

"What?" Exclaimed the Captain as she leaned over the railing and looking at him in disbelief.

"There's a portal back there," he called back as he search the wreckage, "It can get us out of here!"

"Pardon me, Jim?" Doppler asked, Looking at the Teen as though he was mad, "but didn't that portal open onto a RAGING INFERNO!?!"

"Yes," he called back as he retrieved a triangle-shaped hunk of scrap metal from the carnage, "But I'm gonna change that. I'm gonna open a different door!"

"Captain really, I don't see how this could possibly…" Doppler began.

"Oh, shut up Delbert and for once listen to the boy!" I yelled at him before pointing a finger at the Cyborg.

"You, Silver, Go help Jim!"

The old man nodded and ran over to Jim as fast as his body would allow.

"One minute twenty-nine seconds to planet's destruction!" B.E.N called out as Silver wielded the firing tube to the hunk of metal.

Then, with the help of Morph, they managed to hoist whatever it was they had created onto the side, before Jim hopped onto it.

"Fifty-eight seconds!"

Jim muttered something to Silver, who nodded, before he pressed the loading pedal, blasting off into the distance, heading for the portal.

Silver gazed up at our blank faces.

"Well, you heard him!" he barked, "get this blasted heap turned round!"

The Captain blinked at being spoken too, before nodding hesitantly.

"Lieutenant head us back to the Portal." she said quietly.

I nodded, "Aye Captain," I called back as I swung the ship into a U-turn.

As we continued to sail towards the Portal, parts of the Planet began to break away totally, shooting up into space.

As I tried to dodge one such piece, another suddenly shot up from no where, taking off the starboard dorsal fin with it.

"NOW TO THE RIGHT! NO RIGHT!" I heard Amelia scream in my ear.

"I know I know!" I shouted back glaring at her so hard her jaw dropped in amazement that I could do it, "WILL YOU JUST LET ME DRIVE!?!"

She fell silent after that as I turned back to steering as B.E.N called out: "Twenty-five seconds!"

I gripped the wheel tighter as Morph huddled up to my tunic, obviously scared for Jim's well being.

"SEVENTEEN SECONDS!!!"

Morph made what sounded like a scream and hid his face in my collar as Jim plummeted towards the fiery inferno below as his engine ran out.

I gazed helplessly as the ship drew ever closer towards the portal, it's innards glowing fiercely.

Suddenly, as we passed over the last crevice, Jim suddenly shot out, before heading towards the large green sphere in front of us as B.E.N made the final countdown.

"Seven…six…," Jim was almost there, I closed my eyes in preparation for the end, "five…four…three…," I barely heard the portal open to a new location, "two…one…zero!"

Suddenly I heard a loud explosion behind us, but only behind us. Not in front, not to the left or right. Behind.

I slowly opened one eye as cheering of my fellow crew mates was heard.

I let out a sigh of relief: Montressor Spaceport.

There she shone. The brilliant crescent shape of the Spaceport standing out against the dark bulk of the planet below.

I lent on the wheel and finally relaxed as Morph shot over to Jim as he landed.

As I looked back, I noticed that Delbert and Amelia were hugging tightly, before realising it, and pulling back slightly.

I smiled slightly as they walked off to congratulate Jim with B.E.N. Surprisingly, I found myself feeling quite empty after seeing them together. I guess it made more sense she should like the Good Doctor over me. A cat and a dog. Opposites attract. I sighed to myself, now feeling slightly deflated. No doubt she had wanted to say something about Doppler back on the planet when she said she had been thinking about…us.

Ah, it was no big. I had been turned down on many a date before. School Proms, discos, etcetera, this was no different, though I found it slightly embarrassing though to be chosen over a astrophysicist.

I watched with a hint of amusement as B.E.N suddenly broke down and cried onto Jim's shoulder. It took me minute to realise that I wasn't needed as a lieutenant anymore.

The voyage was over, cut short by a shortcut. My rank had been only temporary. I gazed down at my uniform forlornly. I would have to give it back to Amelia…Captain Amelia… after I'd washed it of course. Back to being Mr. Daniel Dearing instead of Lieutenant Daniel Dearing. But then what? I would probably try to find my way home, back to Earth.

"But why?" a voice in my head asked frantically, "why do you have to go back to Earth? Why not stay here? You have people who like you here! Why not stay and rebuild?"

"But what about my mother?" I asked the voice, "what about my Optician friend? How could I stay away from them?"

"Oh please, you've never liked your mother since you were born and you know it!" the voice in my head said angrily,

"She's been drinking since you can remember! Besides, your twenty two for god's sake! And as for the Optician, you can visit him. It took you about ten hours to get to Montressor, so it is possible!"

I was about to begin arguing with myself (Which, looking back, seemed rather stupid,) when I heard somebody cough from behind me.

"Lieutenant Dearing? Am I disturbing you?"

I looked back to see the Captain standing behind me, a look of worry on her face.

I chuckled and looked down at my uniform.

"It's just Mr. Dearing now," I said sadly, "The voyage is over, my temporary position is ended."

There was a small silence. As I looked back, I noticed that the Doctor wasn't with her.

Finally the Captain sighed and walked towards the stairs, beckoning me to follow.

"Lieutenant," she asked, emphasizing the word slightly, "May I have a word in my Stateroom…privately?"

I glanced back at her before nodding as B.E.N came up the stair case, wiping his now blue eyes on his arm.

"Of Course Ma'am. B.E.N will you take the Wheel? Just keep us straight and steady and inform me when we need to dock."

The robot blinked, "You want me to take the helm?" he asked disbelievingly.

"You are a 'Bio-Electronic-Navigator,' aren't you?"

Realisation dawned in his eyes. "Oh yes of course Lieutenant Danny sir!" he said grabbing the wheel from me as I let go. I sighed as I followed the Captain down to her Stateroom, the sound of B.E.N singing "A pirates life for me," echoing through the Etherium as I did so.

Amelia sighed as she walked through the hole that had used to be her Stateroom door. She had to tell him now, quickly, before it was too late.

She gazed behind her, noticing that the man behind her was a lot more quiet than he usually was. His hands were in the pockets of his trousers, and he looked totally miserable, a picture of sorrow.

She sighed, took a deep breath, before turning to her lieutenant.

"Mr. Dearing," she began, "Before we dock, I need to talk to you about…us."
He looked up at her, and frowned.

"It's alright Ma'am, I know."

She raised a eyebrow at him.

"Oh?"

Daniel gave her a sad little smile, " I saw you with the Doctor after we escaped. It's not hard to put two and two together."

She looked at him with amazement. No, he didn't know. He had gotton completely the wrong of the stick!

"No, Daniel, you don't understand…"

He held up a hand for silence, "No I understand. Your getting into a relationship with the Doctor. You just wanted to have a quick word so you wouldn't hurt my feelings. It's fine Captain, really."

He didn't understand! He really didn't understand!

She looked away, trying to think of a way to tell him he was wrong. Tell him how she really felt.

She felt a hand press down on her shoulder, and upon looking up she gazed into those dark brown orbs of his, framed behind his glasses.

"Don't worry," he said with a smile, "I'll still be there for you. And I'll always be your friend, even if I will be on Earth."

Her eyes widened, "Your going back to Earth?"

Daniel shrugged, "I have nothing here. No money, no house, no job. I might get bullied a lot my mother and people at College, but I have a roof over my head, food on the table and a job that brings the money in. If we had brought back the treasure, I might have a reason for staying…but we didn't. so I might as well just find a way to…go home."

She cast her eyes down, her ears drooped so low they were flat on her skull.

So he was leaving. She would most likely never see him again, all because he had misread her actions towards Dr. Doppler.

At that moment B.E.N barged into the room.

"We're ready to dock Lieutenant Danny sir! Oh and Jimmy wants to see you. Said something about having a couple of things for you."

Daniel nodded before following B.E.N out of the door.

He paused in the door way, looking back at his Captain for a moment.

"I'm happy for you and Delbert," he said quietly, his expression saying otherwise. He looked like he was going to say something else, then thought against it, before heading out the door without another word.

Amelia held out her hand to stop him, but she was too late, he had already left.

Her arm dropped limply to her side. She had lost him. The most important battle of her life, more dangerous than any Mutiny, and she had lost.

She gazed at the doorway forlornly, closing her eyes to fight back the tears. Suddenly she looked up again, her face determined to make Daniel see sense. She was going to tell him how she felt, if it was the last thing she did!

"Silver wanted you to have this," Jim said simply as he dropped a handful of coins, rings, rubies, sapphires and diamonds into my hand.

I stared at it in disbelief, "The treasure?"

"What he could grab before the Planet blew," Jim said with a smile, "He gave me a handful for mom, so we could rebuild the Inn."

"That's great!" I said a real smile on my face instead of the fake ones I had put on a moment ago.

"Oh, one more thing," he reached into my hand and tickled one of the diamonds. It wiggled and laughed, before suddenly turning into Morph, who proceeded to come up and lick my face happily.

"Silver asked Morph to keep an eye on us," Jim said as Morph made little affectionate noises, "But I'm hopefully going to the Interstellar Academy and there's a no pets rule there. Will you take care of him?"

I sighed as I put the treasure in my pocket, before tickling Morph in my hand.

"Sorry Jim, but I can't. I'm gonna try and get home," I walked past him sadly as I took up the wheel.

Jim looked at Morph disbelievingly before rushing up to join me on the Bridge.

"Your going home?"

I nodded, "I've got nothing here. There's no point in me sticking around."

"But what about the Captain?" He asked earnestly as I pulled up into the designated docking berth, "Aren't you and her…"

"My relationship with Captain Amelia is strictly professional," I said sternly as I completed docking procedures, "Now if you excuse me, I have to go pack my things."

As I walked away, I could feel their disbelieving eyes on my back. I sighed. I thought it would be when it came to the Captain…I guess I was wrong.

Fifteen minutes later, I had packed what little things I had into the bag I had taken. I still wore my old uniform, simply because it seemed a bit silly just to change.

I sighed as I looked around my old room. It didn't look much different then when I had first been shown it. I knew, deep in my heart, that I would miss this place.

As I came out on deck, I saw B.E.N gaze in wonder at the myriad people down below, the Doctor heading down the gangplank towards the Dock below with Jim.

Sighing sadly, I finally got to the top of the gangplank myself, and slowly walked down it.

As I reached the bottom, I saw a happy reunion between Jim, Delbert and Sarah as she hugged them both tightly.

I sighed as I dropped my bag beside me, gazing about at all the other people walking around. The hustle and bustle made me realise how much I would miss this new universe I had dropped into.

Suddenly I felt something grab me by the shoulder. On looking down I realised it was a hand. A white gloved hand.

I sighed mentally to myself. What did she want now?

"Captain I…" I turned around ready to tell her I was fine about her and Doppler, but I never got that far.

No sooner had I turned around, she suddenly pulled me in close to her, bringing her lips to mine in a strong, heartfelt kiss.

I tensed up immediately, half afraid of what she was doing, half out of pure shock of what she was doing, but then I suddenly noticed something. A feeling. A feeling that this was all very…right.

Before my brain could register what my hands were doing, they had come to rest on Amelia's waist as I began kiss her back as I relaxed, while her arms came around my neck.

My mind went numb with pleasure, I had never felt so good in my life. I wanted that feeling to last forever, but unfortunately the kiss finally came to an end.

As we broke apart, arms still entwined, I looked into her emerald eyes, puzzlement evident.

"But…I thought…the Doctor…"

I stopped as she pressed a finger to my lips.

"Daniel, you thought wrong," she said with a smile, "The good Doctor just happened to be the closest living thing to me at the time, so I hugged him. But I wouldn't want to have a relationship with him, not when I have you,"

I gazed in wonder at her, did I think she meant what she was saying?

She gazed at me intently, before inching closer to my face again, and whispering three simple words:

"I love you,"

Those three little words set my senses aflame as she pulled me close and kissed me fervently once more.

This kiss was interpreted however when Morph decided to have another shot at making me keep him.

I laughed as the little pink blob I was so fond of tired to squeeze between me and Amelia, making us both laugh.

"You know," Amelia said thoughtfully as I stroked Morph and gave him some attention, "I could use a First Officer on my ship, what do you say Daniel? You up for it?"

Jim, Delbert and Sarah came up behind us, smirks evident on their faces.

"It looks like you got at a few reasons to stay Dan," Jim said quietly, "You got a job, I'm sure you could live with the Captain, and I'm sure you can help her bring the money in and put food on the table. So that's all the things on the list! So you gonna stay or not?"

"Gonna stay or not?" Morph squeaked before turning into the Captains hat and falling onto my head.

I gazed up at him, then to Jim, then Delbert, then Sarah, then finally Amelia, who looked the most hopeful of them all.

I sighed as I looked into her mesmerizing green eyes, before giving her a small smile.

"I can't say no to you," I said with a small chuckle, "Alright, I'm staying!"

A cheer rose up from our group as Morph shot up into the air turning into a small fireworks display, before coming down and licking my face over and over, emitting a lot of excited squeaking as he did so.

I sighed happily as two burly Police robots came to take the pirates away, while B.E.N overenthusiastically greeted Sarah. I gazed at Amelia happily. For the first time ever, I felt like I belonged somewhere. And that somewhere, was at Amelia's, my Captain's, side.