After numerous protests, Deryn had been allowed from the scuffle without a medical check-up. Newkirk hadn't been so lucky, but he had looked so pale that she thought it was probably for the best anyways. She and Alek had retired to her room; because of his recent heroism in saving two members of the Leviathan's crew, midshipmen or not, he had been given a temporary and tacit release from his imprisonment.

The two sat alone on Deryn's bed. Behind closed doors, they were confident enough to hold hands, even if they still blushed when they did so. "Thanks for what you did back there," Deryn told him quietly. She really meant it. The one time her brazenness had taken her too far, he had been there to bring her back, against all odds, and against all the rules, too. She squeezed his hand.

"It was nothing," Alek responded thoughtfully. Less than an hour ago, they had been standing in his room kissing for the first time, and he had had no idea what to think, but after recent events, he was sure that he still loved her, reckless as she was. He could get over the idea that she was a midshipman and a woman at the same time. It was bizarre and unfamiliar to him, but for her, he was willing to overturn old prejudices.

Deryn raised an eyebrow, and Alek reflected, not for the first time, how he ever could have mistaken her for a boy. There was something undeniably feminine about her, even when she was dressed in a uniform like this. It was a good disguise, taking into consideration that nobody expected her to be a girl, but once one knew, it was hard to see her as a male. She told him wryly, "If you ask me, that was a bit more than nothing. You saved my barking life, and Newkirk's too. And the loris. Not bad for one day." Possibly even better than she could have done, but even if she could admit that to herself, she'd never say it out loud to him, especially now that he knew who she really was. Even though she knew she could trust him with her life, she was still suspicious of his views towards women. Not that she minded showing off a little extra to make sure he got the point.

"I suppose I did," Alek agreed. "And you're welcome. But once the excitement has faded, do you really think anything will have changed? I'm still a prisoner, I'm still Austrian, and our countries are still at war. I know the crew was impressed, but from what I've heard, the Admiralty would not necessarily find my disobedience impressive, regardless of its outcome."

"Bunch of sods they are," Deryn muttered. "I don't understand why they can't just figure out that not every Austrian is out to kill them. A couple of kids get it, but a bunch of old men can't."

"People like that think everyone is out to harm them in some way," Alek replied wryly. Deryn smirked and cuffed him. He tried halfheartedly to evade her, but ended up letting her hit him anyways. There was nothing to be lost from just taking it easy once in a while; she had taught him that much.

There was silence for a moment before Deryn's expression slowly transformed into one of curiosity. "Alek, how did you save us, exactly? You haven't even told the whole story yet. Start when Mr. Bennett brought you back to your room."

Alek sighed, recalling the stern man's disapproval. He wondered if Bennett thought any differently now that his disobedience had actually proven to have a positive outcome. Some peoples' minds could never be changed... suddenly, he was reminded of Volger. One was his enemy, and the other his ally, but they were more similar than they thought.

He realized he was keeping Deryn waiting, and snapped back to the present. "After we were separated," he began, "I kept thinking that I couldn't leave you to face the spy all alone. We hadn't found him, and we'd have known if Dr. Barlow and Mr. Newkirk had; that meant he was probably on the Spine, and you were going to face him all alone."

"I probably could have, if I hadn't had to save Newkirk's bum," Deryn muttered. Alek grinned and continued. "When I was all alone in my room, that wasn't what I was thinking. I was worried sick, and I kept thinking about how things could go wrong. All the images running through my head of you, falling or getting hurt or dying—they just got to be too much. I grabbed my sabre and left again, and I brought Bovril, too."

"And nobody else brought you back?" Deryn asked.

Alek smiled thinly. "I ran too quickly. There were men calling after me the entire way, trying to stop me. I don't know what they thought I was doing—it wasn't as if I could escape, not when the Leviathan is this far off the ground. Not unless I had a death wish, anyway. I don't blame them, though. They couldn't have known what was happening. I got to the spine just in time to see you and Newkirk go over the side. It was obvious that the man pushing you was the spy. If I'm to tell the truth, I was frozen for a moment. I thought you had been killed, and that... it was like I'd become a statue. I suppose the idea of it was shocking," he added with a rueful smile, "even though I should be used to you risking your life by now. Then Mr. Hall began cutting a rope, and I realized the two of you must have been holding onto it, which meant you were still alive. I put Bovril down and attacked him, if only to distract him from you. He had a knife, but I had a sabre. The fight was short. I backed him towards the side of the spine, so that he'd surrender; I didn't expect him to jump to his death, but in hindsight, I wouldn't have been surprised.

The man still held the other loris, but then Bovril grabbed onto the man's boot and bit his leg. That made him drop it, and they got out of the way, but he also started to fall backwards. I tried to grab him so that he wouldn't fall, but he took my hand and tried to pull me with him. I yanked away and let him fall. I had to kick him over, or we'd both have died."

Deryn watched Alek with sympathy. She didn't feel much remorse at all for the spy's death, but he and Alek were supposed to be allies, and it was easy to see how he would feel bad for killing him, even if there'd been no other choice. With an awkward hesitance, she put her arm around his shoulder. "Hey," she said softly. "What you did was right. It was him or the both of you, so don't you dare blame yourself for any of it, you ninny." Alek let out a bark of laughter despite himself, and a warm feeling started to flood through him, the same feeling that had caused him to kiss Deryn back in his room. "I won't," he promised. With her constant reminders, he knew it'd be an easy one to keep.

There was a short, comfortable silence as the two of them basked in the soft light of the bioluminescent worms, enjoying one another's company. Then Alek elbowed Deryn gently. "So, Mr. Sharp," he said in a teasing imitation of Bovril's phrase, "shall we go and see that Mr. Newkirk is getting quality treatment?"

"Aye, your Princeliness," Deryn agreed. "And maybe after that, we can go watch the sunset like two barking lovebirds."

Alek caught on to the gist of her charade quickly. "Right in front of some crewmembers. I'm sure that'd have them asking questions."

Deryn flashed him a wicked grin. "Sounds like a deal to me."

The end! Well, there'll be an epilogue, but that'll only be the length of the prologue. Probably. Thanks to all you wonderful readers for your faves, alerts, and comments. Sorry this took so long coming; with any luck, the epilogue will be a bit faster.