(Here's the next chapter. Keep reviewing and if you have any helpful criticisms, I'd be happy to hear them. I always like to improve my writings, and advice always helps!)

After dinner that night, Karen had driven Grace home after they skillfully managed to escape the company of Bobbi. The car ride had been silent, Karen sipping a martini with Grace chiming in comments every once in a while. Despite her reaction in the bathroom of the restaurant, Grace knew that Karen had been upset by remembering Stanley, and this was the reason for her quietness. Grace took this chance to reflect on her own marriage.

Leo had left at the beginning of the summer for Cambodia, and Grace had missed him horribly… for the first few days. Afterwards, it seemed like her life had gone back to before she met Leo. She had been spending a lot of time at Will's apartment, with Karen tagging along every once in a while. After the unsurprising union of Will and Jack as a couple (Grace had been rooting for this for years), the apartment became even more lively. Grace had woken up on Will's couch many nights to the sounds of moaning and movement in his bedroom, and rather than make an embarrassing situation even more embarrassing, she'd left to go back to her own apartment, telling him after the first time that they didn't have to stop because of her, but to try and keep it down. The nights she wasn't chased out by random sex sounds however, she slept comfortably at Will's, and there was always breakfast out for her, as it used to be, when she woke up. She was enjoying herself quite a lot this summer.

When Karen dropped Grace off at her own apartment, she had taken a bus back to Will's. Letting herself in to the empty place, she grabbed a pillow and a blanket and curled up in a chair to watch TV. The dull glow of the late night talk shows glossed over her eyes while her brain was lost in thought.

Why don't I miss Leo? she thought to herself. She thought that after he was gone, she'd be a mess until he returned, but she had seemed to blossom instead. I haven't felt empty or sad since he left, and I've been enjoying myself. Even his phone calls don't do much for me. It's like we're living totally separate lives, and the worst part is, I don't feel bad about it.

She thought back to Karen's emotions in the bathroom. The woman had been craving something, Grace could tell. She was almost positive that thing was Stanley. It couldn't have been easy for Karen, first her husband cheats on her, and then he dies, and leaves her with, well, millions. Grace smiled slightly - alright, so she had plenty of money. But what about her feelings? Despite her repeated denials, I know Karen feels hurt and wants love again. But how can I help her find it?

In a few minutes, she was asleep. Her mind would have to answer that question some other time. Smartly, however, she had put the sleep timer on the TV, so she wouldn't have to tell Will why his electricity bill was so high that month.

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"Stardate, August 14th, 2003. We are currently traveling north by northeast at a longitude of… of… oh who am I kidding, I'm no Captain Kirk."

Jack, who was currently engrossed in another magazine, took the time to shout "just don't crash the Enterprise, Sulu" from his seat on the bow of the boat. It was a small speed boat, not more than twenty feet long, with the steering wheel in the center, a bench seat in the back, and an arrow shaped bench seat that fit against the inside of the bow, as well as a captain's chair at the wheel with another chair next to it. Jack was lounging on part of the front bench seat, magazine gripped firmly to prevent it from flying away. They were currently speeding through the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas, Will at the wheel, and the wind on the boat was fierce enough to rip off nothing tied down or put into a secure position. The wind also made it hard for the two to hear each other, as their words were blown away on the blasts of air.

"You know" Will shouted to him, "you probably will never see sights like this again, the least you can do is appreciate them!" Jack looked up, rolled his eyes, and stood, leaning against the three foot high control box in the center of the boat. He edged his way around until he was next to Will and plopped himself in the seat there. Tucking his magazine in a safe place, he began to observe the scenery.

There were little sand dunes sticking out of the water, where seagulls and random sea creatures perched. Jack gasped with delight when he saw the fin of a dolphin crest the top of the water. "Look, more queens to join us!"

Will threw a laugh to the wind and wrapped an arm around Jack. "Compliments will get you nowhere with them" he said, keeping his eyes on the water. To the left there were larger islands, though they were still only a few hundred feet long and wide. To the right was open water, which stretched for thousands of miles outwards.

The sun shimmered over the ocean as their little boat raced along. Will found the driving easy, and buoys warned him of any dangers like shallow water, so soon enough they had emerged into a section of larger islands. These were more spread out, but could be miles long and thick, though still not as large as the most inhabited islands. "Where should we stop for lunch?" Will said, and Jack pointed to a large island about a mile further down the way. Will nodded to him and steered the boat there.

Suddenly, the engine began to sputter. Will jumped slightly, surprised, and eased the engine down, hoping to let the problem die away. But the engine continued to make noise. Jack was getting nervous now, but they were close to their destination. Will steered the boat as the power began to die in it, and they floated into a shallow area of the island, good for landing at. "Come on" said Will, moving towards the small pull out ladder. "We'll check the engine to see what the problem is."

Both men exited the boat, and went to the back to check out the engine. Everything seemed to be fine, and Jack jumped back in to check out the control panel. "Get back in here so I can turn on the engine" Jack called back to him; he wasn't stupid, he knew engines could be dangerous. Will climbed back up, and as he jumped back in, Jack turned on the power. The first thing he saw made him groan and hit his head against the steering wheel.

"Jack!" Will cried, thinking he had passed out and hit his head. He sighed with relief when he saw the younger man lift his head to look at him. Will walked over and stared at the thing Jack was pointing at. "Crap, no!" he said, placing a hand to his forehead. The fuel gage read empty. They were out of gas, and miles away from an inhabited island. They were literally lost at sea.

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Karen curled into her bed that night without a martini for the first time in years. Her stomach had been doing back flips ever since she'd gotten into the limo after leaving the restaurant that night. She'd avoided Grace's comments throughout the car ride, staring out the window, her mind blank. She was afraid that if she started thinking, her brain would explode, or worse; she'd spill all her secrets to her friend.

She gave a sigh of relief when Grace left the car. Still though, she kept her mind blank until she'd made it back to the house. She'd even taken a bubble bath, alcohol by the side of the tub, before allowing her mind to proceed. When she did begin to think as she entered her room, alcohol just wasn't appealing at the moment; she needed to think this through while at least slightly sober.

First she tried to imagine Stanley again. Her large, brown eyed husband was standing there, smiling at her. They were hosting a dinner party, and the guests were just arriving to their beautiful manse. Beverly Leslie of course showed up with his 'business associate', and the two of them exchanged cutting but subtly so greetings. Karen remembered the moment with fondness. She tried to figure out if this type of thing was what she missed.

Stanley, though evoking much emotion from her, was not what her mind yearned for though. As she tiptoed through the confines of her brain, bubbling laughter echoed up into memories, breaking their solitude and reminding Karen of the truth she wanted to ignore. A flash of red hair here, a genuine smile there, and Karen was head over heels in love. But Stan didn't have red hair, his brown mop of a hair style no longer appealed to her. Karen's mind morphed into scenes that she couldn't admit to herself, erotic and dirty scenes from which she could not escape.

She turned over onto her other side and stared at the wall. A face began to morph on the outside of it, and Karen shut her eyes to try and block it out. But it sunk through the confines of her eyelids, searing itself into her mind. Why are you doing this to me! she thought to herself, turning to face the ceiling. A little voice answered her back in her mind. Because you won't admit the truth otherwise.

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"So what do we do now?"

"We wait."

Will had been sending out radio messages for the last half hour, trying to get in contact with a nearby boat or the boatyard. No response had come from the tiny boat radio, but after almost having a heart attack, Will wasn't nervous. If they didn't come back by sunset, surely someone would come and look for them.

"What are we going to eat if we get stuck out here?" Jack whined, curling up into a ball on the front bench seat. Will chuckled and moved from the captain's chair to sit next to him. "I packed a picnic lunch, remember?" he said, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend. "That will last us for a while. The most I think we'd be stuck out here would be a day or so; they're not just going to abandon us here."

This cheered Jack up slightly, and he proposed that they take time to explore the island and see if they could find anything interesting. Will had other ideas however. "There's supposed to be rain tonight, and if we don't get rescued, I at least want some place dry to sleep" he announced. "We're going to build a small hut to keep out the rain." Jack groaned slightly, he knew Will was on one of his 'streaks of motivation' as he was apt to call them, and this would involve a lot of work. He argued against leaving the boat. "Besides" he said, pointing to the radio, "what if we get a signal and we're not around to hear it?"

Will shook his head. "We're not going to go far, and besides, it's a pretty loud radio. Come on Jack, you wanted adventure, let's go for it."

Jack gave a defeated sigh and nodded. "Alright" he said. "But I'm not doing anything that'll kill the manicure I just got!" He waved his perfectly painted nails in Will's face. The older man just sighed and nodded.

"Let's get to work."

(Next chapter will be up this weekend!)