NOTE – I do not own the WWE or its characters, they belong to Titan Sports and Vince McMahon. Please don't sell, don't sue, thanks***

The pair froze in mid-action as they turned in unison to face the ship doctor.

"How does he be?" Queried Kate trying hard to mask her inward fear.

"Aye, he took a bad wound," Colleen told her in a serious tone. "But, I think he'll pull through with enough restin' and carin' for."

Kate let out a sigh of relief as Colleen continued, "And he's not to be moved."

"Not to be moved?" Kate asked. "But where am I going to sleep?"

"Well cap'n that's just the thing," Colleen told her bluntly; "There were several others who were wounded in the battle, I must be seeing to them as well. I was thinkin' that since you two were getting close and all; you might help with him."

Kate's face grew bright red as the meaning of her words sunk in, Molly stifled a chuckle. "Help with him?! Getting close?!"

"Well, that and he's been asking for you," Colleen added while carefully gauging Kate's reaction.

"I see..well.." Kate sputtered, "Molly go check on the rest of the crew and give me a full report."

"Aye Cap'n," Molly smiled. "Do you want me to start the questionin' with the prisoner?"

"No," Kate returned. "That can wait."

"Cap'n?" Addressed Colleen once more.

"Yes?" Kate asked.

"Perhaps, we could take the day off to recuperate from this battle," Colleen advised. "The girls could use the break."

"Aye, very well," Kate nodded. "Spread the word 'round, we take a break until tomorrow."

"Yes Cap'n," Colleen nodded in acknowledgment as Kate opened the door to her quarters.

Jeff stood up quickly when she came inside and moved away from the side of his brother. Chris shifted his position in the chair opposite corner.

"Jeff, I'm going to step outside for a bit," Chris told him quietly.

"Yeah man," Jeff nodded. "Kate's here now, so she can help if I need anything for him."

Kate stepped forward silently and slowly approached the stool beside the bed. Matt's eyes fluttered open at the sound of a wooden plank creaking loudly under her weight.

"Kate?" He called weakly.

"Yeah buddy," Jeff affirmed for him. "She's here."

"Matt?" Kate whispered his name afraid to speak too loudly.

Jeff cleared his throat; "I'm going to walk outside for a bit, OK?"

Kate nodded and took the place at his side.

"Kate?" Matt called out again; it appeared that he was in a definite state of confusion.

"I'm here," Kate found her voice and squeezed his near hand...

***************

Elsewhere on the Roaring Lioness, Chris had walked to the rear of the ship for some quiet reflection. He stood facing the watery wake the ship's passage was creating. Staring down at the water, he sunk deep into his thoughts. 'Man, we came so close to losing Matt;' Chris sighed as tears for his friend still hung in his eyes. 'How can these people take this kind of life, not knowing if the next day could be your last. It could have been any of us, it could have been...' He couldn't even finish the sentence in his thoughts without losing his composure. She saw him standing there; shoulders slumped, leaning forward against the railing. For a moment, she thought he was going to jump then she realized that he was crying. She walked quietly up behind him and laid a hand on his arm in greeting.

"Hey," Chris muttered and turned his head to look at her; his expression thoughtful.

"What?" Molly pressed him.

"We almost lost him," Chris told her; trying to find the nerve to tell her more of what he was feeling.

"Yeah," Molly breathed and turned away a little watching the ocean behind.

"How can you do this?" Chris asked her suddenly.

"Do what?" She asked.

"Live in constant uncertainty," He tried to explain.

"Chris," Molly smiled grimly. "I realize that this life may seem barbaric to you but you must know. For us, this is all we have; we could never go back to living like the others. Here we are free; we are not slaves to society, to anyone, and most certainly not to any man. We choose this life, to embrace it because if we did not we would be just like all the other mindless, meaningless dogs that call themselves ladies."

Chris grabbed her shoulders then and made her face him. Cupping his hands on her cheeks he tilted her head up and gazed intensely at her, "Come back with me."

"What?" She struggled in his grasp but he held her still.

"To the future," Chris continued his plea forcing her to look at him.

"I-i-i can't," She muttered and this time wrenched free. She ran away from him as fast as she could go and headed in the direction of her private cabin.

Chris swore mildly as he watched her go. In fury, he slammed his fist into the railing but it did little to appease his current state of mind. Sean O' Haire chose this moment to approach his fellow wrestler; he had observed the exchange from afar.

"Looks like no one gets the girl, huh Jericho," He commented as he walked over.

"Go away Sean," Chris hissed through gritted teeth.

"Relax man," Sean told him; "I'm not here to rub it in or pick a fight."

"Whatever?" Chris shrugged and looked away towards the horizon.

"I know this hurts you man, but she's right," Sean said quietly. "She can't go with us; hell, Maxine shouldn't even be going with us. It could seriously alter the timeline and the consequences could be disastrous."

"I know you're right, but I just can't stop wishing it were different," Chris acknowledged. "I can't help it, she's just so, so...ugh...I don't know how to express it."

"Maybe perfect?" Sean filled in for him.

"Yeah," Chris sighed.

"I know," Sean smiled sadly. "I feel the same way about Lucy."

"So what do we do about it?" Chris breathed.

"Nothing man," Sean shook his head slowly. "There's not a thing we can do except for enjoy what time we have."

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