~~ Chapter Notes/Disclaimer – Thank you so much for the kind words and reviews. I really appreciate it and hopefully will be able to post chapters with more frequency in the coming weeks.

Also, I know little of Merchant Marine life or what it was like in the 1870s on the high seas (other than what can be found on the Inter-webs). In some research that was done, the position of Second Officer seems to carry a lot of responsibility – including that of the onboard medical officer. I'm not sure if that's true for all merchant marine vessels but for our sake, we'll say the Athena has a separate medical team – I don't think Nick is up for being a doctor as well.

Lastly, I am not from Scotland so if there are any Scots reading this, please forgive me for the poorly written dialect. Maybe this should be my chance to learn Gaelic. Slàinte Mhath! ~~

Nick ran his thumb over the paper as he sat in the noisy, cramped mess hall, the typed text smearing slightly with his touch. "My Dearest Nick," he read, his mind echoing her voice in his ears. He wasn't sure how she managed to get the letter into his pack but when found it the first night aboard, he was grateful for the surprise. After only 3 days at sea, he knew every word, the message full of admiration and memories that he hoped would help carry through his time away. He got to the end of the page yet again and smiled at the handwritten script, the curls and loops familiar and comforting. "All my love - Jo." His heart ached for her and he closed his eyes, trying to remember the feeling of her in his arms.

"What do ye have there, Riley?" McKenzie's voice broke Nick out of his thoughts as the younger man took a seat next to him, a tray of rations clanking against the table. Even though he was considered an officer, Nick couldn't bring himself to eat in the wardroom. Instead, he chose to be among the rest of the crew in the mess – the chaos reminded him of home.

Nick startled at the sound and his eyes flew open as he rushed to put away the papers. "Ah… it's nothin'. Just a letter."

"Aye, that I ken," McKenzie said, his Scottish drawl thick. "But from that look on yer face, it nae nothin'." He gave Nick a raised eyebrow while shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"How's he supposed to know what it says?" Brady called from an adjacent table. "Riley don't know how to read… never could."

Nick shot him a cold stare, shoving the letter into his pocket, and turning back to the food in front of him. "Shows how much ya know, Brady," he mumbled, trying to focus on his meal and not his mounting temper.

"Aye, that's right," McKenzie jumped in, trying to draw the conversation. "Yer brother says you've been stayin' at a school." He eyed Nick curiously. "It be from the lass?"

Nick gave him a sideways glance, a small grin on his lips. "Yep."

"A girl, eh?" O'Neill quirked, sitting down across from Nick, his gaze flashing between the men. "You got yourself a woman there, Riley?"

Nick rolled his eyes, not wanting to get into his life story, preferring to keep Jo to himself - the crew had other ideas. "Aye, Ben says she's bonny," McKenzie said wistfully, his mind seemed elsewhere for a fleeting moment. "And verra smart."

"Yep," Nick replied again, "she is." He stared into his plate, feeling the eyes of the men on him, almost begging for details. He continued eating, refusing to give in, hoping his silence would force them onto another topic.

After several awkward minutes, Brady stood, shaking his head. He slowly made his way over to the other men, a smirk crossing his lips. "If she's so smart, what's she doing with the likes of you?" He stopped directly behind O'Neill and stared at Nick, clearly wanting to start something. The tightened grip around his fork caused Nick's knuckles to turn white and he gritted his teeth against Brady's taunts.

"Hey - watch it there," O'Neill warned, putting a hand out to stop Brady's advances. "Remember who yer talkin' to."

Brady shrugged off the restraint, his anger mounting. "What's wrong, Riley? What's the big secret?" He leaned over the table, his face only inches away from Nick's. "You 'fraid I might be right? 'Fraid you ain't good enough for her?"

O'Neill and McKenzie jumped to their feet, pushing Brady away from Nick, trying to keep a fight from erupting. Nick could feel his blood start to boil and his control began to waver. At one time, after years on ships, his temper would have been the answer and the one everyone expected. Nick leapt to his feet, slamming his hand against the table, his gaze meeting Brady's. The room grew quiet, everyone's attention drawn to the impending brawl.

Nick's face was tight, his eyes squinted as he stared at the man before him. He allowed several tense moments to tick by, fighting with himself as the two men held Brady back. He knew the ways of the ships, knew the norm but he hadn't been at sea for over two years and in that time, he had gained a new norm. He took a deep breath and stood straight, picking up the food tray in front of him. He glanced at the men around him.

"The fact is, Brady," he said, "I know I ain't good enough for her." He smiled and turned, making his way from the room. "But she don't seem to mind."

XXXXX

Nick stormed down the Athena's port side, towards his quarters, his mind still whirling from the encounter with Brady. He couldn't believe he had let the man's words get to him - he had been so ready to let his temper reign and drop Brady to the floor with a few punches. But as soon as he thought of Jo, he knew that restraint was the best way to deal with the insults.

Nick steadied himself against the wood planked walls as the boat heaved to the side. His sea legs were still getting used to the constant back and forth but luckily his stomach had already adjusted. It was strange to him - it should have been easy - just simply walk aboard and it would be like he'd never been away from the waters. But he was finding things more difficult this time around and he wondered if he would ever get used to the confining spaces and constant motion.

As he neared the cabin door, he heard footsteps rushing towards him. "Riley!" McKenzie's voice called out as Nick turned the door's handle. He headed inside, trying to ignore the attention, not wanting to further fuel his unsteady mood. He was about to close the door when a hand reached out to stop him. "Riley, wait…" McKenzie followed him into the room.

Nick sunk down onto the bunk, his patience wearing thin. "What do ya want?"

"I just wanna talk," the younger Scot said. Nick had sailed many times with McKenzie, and they had always gotten along. He would peg him closer to Ben's age but seemed much more responsible and grown up. Nick had nothing against him and had once considered him a good friend but things were different. His time away from sea had been so long, it felt like he no longer had anything in common with the men that were once his family.

McKenzie flopped down onto the bunk across from him and looked down at his hands. "Brady dinnae mean it, ya ken."

"Sure he did," Nick replied, rolling his eyes. "Brady always means what he says."

"Well, he's just jealous… with you bein' Second Officer and all. He can be such an arse..." McKenzie shook his head. "I be surprised with ye though… I woulda thought ye'd give 'em a good wallap…" He smiled at Nick.

"I probably would have," Nick shrugged, knowing that everyone was expecting some other Nick Riley. "But things change."

"Aye, they do." McKenzie began to dig into this pocket. He pulled out a creased photo and smoothed it out over his knee. He handed the picture to Nick, a grin spreading across his face. The print in his hand was of a young woman, long curly hair falling around her shoulders. She was dressed in a simple gown and a crown of flowers sat on her head. Her smile was wide as she stood next to McKenzie donning a tartan, the photo apparently from their wedding day. "That's my Isla," he said proudly. "The only woman that would have me."

Nick chuckled and raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. "Yer lucky."

"Aye, that I am… and she won't let me forget it!" McKenzie took back the photo, handling it like glass. "Isla be the best thing in my life." He stared at the picture, his thumb running across her face. "We be havin' a wee bairn at the end of the year." He sighed deeply. "I dinnae want to leave her but the crop's been bad the last few seasons and we be needin' some extra money..." He looked up at Nick, his eyes glassy with tears.

Nick smiled gently. He could feel the desperation in McKenzie's voice and came to the quick realization that while two years had passed for him in Concord, it had also passed for everyone else aboard. He wasn't the only one with somebody waiting at home. "Congrats on the baby, McKenzie," Nick offered, trying to sound positive. "I'm sure yer wife will be real happy when ya get home."

The man nodded and swallowed down the emotion. "Aye, that's why I'm here," He eyed Nick suspiciously. "But if ye got a lass, why ye be here?"

Nick smiled. "Same as you… for her…" he trailed off. McKenzie stared, unconvinced. "She wanted me to go… get the sea outta my bones before we settled down."

"You? Settle down? Does a lass have that much power over Nick Riley?"

Nick sighed. "This one sure does." He leaned over and pulled out his pack from beneath the bunk. After digging through his belongings, he pulled out a similar piece of paper, the photo Jo had enclosed with the treasured letter. "Her name is Jo," he said, pointing her out to McKenzie on the picture, although in his mind, her beauty should have been indication enough.

"Jo?" McKenzie shook his head in confusion as he took the photo. "There's a many strange lassie's names, I ken. But Jo?"

"It's short for Josephine. But she's definitely not like other women."

McKenzie smiled at the photo. "Ben was right. She's verra bonny."

"Yep, she is." The pit in Nick's stomach started to ache with a longing. "I want to give her everythin'… and this was the only way I could think of ta start."

McKenzie handed back the picture. "A lass can do that to a man… make him lose all kind of sense and keep comin' back fer more."

"Yep." Nick chuckled as he carefully stowed the picture back into his pack. He looked back at McKenzie, suddenly feeling badly about his previous behavior. They weren't so different, the years had pretty much led them to the same point, the desire for a wife, family and a home. He smiled - maybe life back on the sea wouldn't be so bad. "Ya wanna see if the mess has any of those biscuits?"

McKenzie stood quickly, nodding in agreement. "Aye… the best ones I've had west of Scotland."

Nick followed his friend out the door, steadying himself against another heave starboard. "Ya need to come to Concord, then," Nick suggested. "Asia makes the best biscuits you'll ever have."