Astounded that she had maintained her sanity, between taxes, constables, conniving landlords and antiques popping in and out of Gull Cottage. Carolyn was perched in the kitchen, trying to find a quiet, peaceful moment to begin helping Martha with her own taxes. She jumped a bit as the Captain joined her, appearing near the stove. "Madam," he said with satisfaction, "I found a nice quiet space in the cellar for the watchamacallit."

Looking up with more than a wee bit of exasperation, Carolyn sighed, "Oh great and how am I going to explain that to Martha?" He merely shrugged, "Well, just say you couldn't bear to part with it." She opened her mouth to respond when Martha came charging into the room, "Mrs. Muir, it's the strangest thing I was closing the cellar door, and I happened to look down and that medieval firescreen is back!"

Stalling, Carolyn looked up blankly, "Is that what it is?"

Clearly waiting for a reasonable explanation, Martha looked down, "Sure."

Still stalling, and finding nothing coming to mind 'me and my head without an idea in it – AGAIN,' Carolyn thought, "Ahhhh . . ." she stretched out, as if time alone would allow her to avoid the topic, "Now about your income tax . . ."

Not to be dissuaded, Martha looked unblinkingly down at her employer and friend, "Mrs. Muir at times I get the feeling there are things going on around here that you're not telling me about."

Hoping that her blank expression might work again, she smiled kindly, "Not at all Martha."

Looking up at the no-nonsense woman, Carolyn knew the answer before the words were spoken, "Convince me," Martha continued, clearly unwilling to change topics.

"Well this is a completely normal family," Carolyn began in a too-chipper tone, accepting that yet again she'd regretfully have to continue the fiction of their lives to this woman who meant so much to all of them, "and a completely normal household and there's not a thing for you to be suspicious about."

Not willing to call Carolyn Muir a liar to her face, Martha let all her disbelief filter into two words, "I see."

Knowing the answer, Carolyn tried to salvage the situation, "Are you convinced?" she asked. Pausing, Martha recognized her logical questions were still going to go unanswered yet again, "Well, my ears are," she offered with slow deliberation, "but everything in between is still very doubtful." Turning she headed out to finish her chores, giving Mrs. Muir a wondering stare before leaving the kitchen.

Rolling her eyes, Carolyn took a deep breath, "She doesn't know the half of it," she muttered aloud. "Know half of what M'dear?" the Captain said, appearing in the chair beside her. "Captain Gregg," she said in a low rumble, "you have the most interesting ability. It's unprecedented really. How you are able to eavesdrop on things, you want to weigh in upon and when it's difficult or complex, all of a sudden you don't hear a thing. Resting on her elbows, she leaned closer to him, "why is that?"

"One of the great graces of command, M'dear. A Captain must know when he should leave things to his crew and when to take the helm himself." Unable to stop himself, he went on, "Just imagine, if I took care of every little thing for you, how would you learn to do them for yourself? Haven't you told me time and time again that you are more than able to fend for yourself? I merely want to show how much I honor your own very substantial abilities."

Looking up silently and with entirely disbelief, she breathed out a single word, "Right," while raising a single eyebrow. "Hmmm," the Captain said, looking thoughtfully at her, "That's a new talent – mimicry. I would have sworn I was listening to Martha just now."

Pushing the tax forms and receipts away, Carolyn recognized she had quite enough for the day, "Seems to me," she said coyly, "last time you congratulated me on a new talent, the setting was rather different." His confusion quickly was replaced by a vivid memory, "Ah, and substantial abilities were definitely 'recognized' then too, if I recall," he grinned with a distinctly lascivious gleam in his eyes. "I would have said something more than just substantial," she teased, "want to hear more?" "I am at your disposal M'dear," he whispered into her ear, as they turned and headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.