Chapter Eight

Working Strictly To Rule

Carolyn stood beside the open front door with her children as they said goodbye to the departing party guests. It was a welcome relief to see them all leaving. An over-excited Scruffy added his bark to the chaos as he ran up and down the path.

"So long…" Jonathan said as he waved to them all. "And thanks for all the neat presents."

"Bye, dear," Carolyn consoled one young girl with a new gap in her front teeth. "I'm sure we'll find your missing tooth. We'll let you know."

"Oh, there you are! Thank goodness!" Jack's deeply harassed-looking mother hurried up to reclaim the toddling baby who'd inadvertently been added to the party when he'd followed his older siblings from her car.

The children had taken charge of him after the hide-and-seek game, and he'd been very well fed on lots of sweets, cake and ice cream. He was very sticky, over-tired and extremely content.

The baby's young mother was full of apologies. "I've been looking for him just everywhere. I'm so dreadfully sorry. I didn't see him get out of the car when I dropped the other two off. My husband is away on his fishing boat. I had so many errands to run that I didn't even notice Jack had gone."

"It's truly all right," Carolyn did her best to soothe the woman's deep distress. "He came to no harm. We did try to telephone you but there was no answer. We informed the constable. I'm afraid Jack has eaten more than his fair share of cake and ice cream."

"That doesn't matter as long as he's all right. Thank you so very much for looking after him," the woman said with heartfelt thanks as she escorted her brood down the front path to her car.

Candy and Jonathan followed the partygoers to the gate where their guests were all being collected. Carolyn released a grateful sigh as she turned from the door and walked back into the living room.

It was cluttered with paper plates, party hats and discarded present wrappings. It appeared as if a small birthday tornado had swept through the room. Martha was working her way around the room filling a large wastepaper basket with the detritus.

She paused in her cleaning. "What shall we do? Clean it all up, or tear it down and start all over again?" She shrugged. "I'm for putting a match to it all and letting it burn. We've still got some marshmallows left over."

"Let's not give up the ship just yet," Carolyn replied. "I'll start in here." She frowned doubtfully at the mess.

Martha sighed. "I remember those no expense spared parties your mother used to throw for you and the children. She always brought in an army of cleaners, afterwards. I didn't have to lift a finger to help. No hope of that around here, I suppose."

"Sorry…" Carolyn shook her head. "But, maybe next year."

"Oh…" Martha brightened. "Do you know something I don't? Confession time?"

"No, sorry, not yet…" Carolyn glanced at the Captain's portrait before she picked up an apple from the table littered with discarded food. "Oh, look! It's Suzie's tooth!" She extracted the displaced incisor and rolled it into a discarded tissue before putting it in her pocket.

"So, are we going to find the old boy's got some bags of gold buried in the back garden or is it something else?" Martha prompted as she hooked a thumb at the portrait over the mantlepiece. "That would be the best news. Of course, Claymore would plant his grubby mitts all over it the moment we dug it up. I guess there always has to be a dastardly villain in every good story." She shook her head as she left the room, burdened with her basket overflowing with refuse.

Jonathan and Candy returned from saying their goodbyes to the party guests. They both looked around the room.

"Mum, where's the Captain?" Jonathan asked. "I want to show him all my presents. Grandpa and Grandma gave me a whole new train set. I want to get it set up in the spare bedroom so I can play with it anytime I want to. I bet the Captain's never seen anything like it before. It puffs smoke and everything."

Candy rolled her eyes. "And Cousins Harriet and Hilda sent you some clothes."

"Yeah, well…" Jonathan pulled a face. "They always do. Funny things too." He shrugged.

"Well…" his mother prevaricated. "I really wouldn't go bothering the Captain right now, if I were you. He's not in a very good mood. He's a bit miffed about all the party noise we made today."

"Well, maybe we can cheer him up," Candy declared as she picked up a nearby toy bugle and blew a long blast on it.

"I wouldn't do that, dear," her mother advised. "He's not in a party mood either. Best to leave him alone for a while. There's still a lot of tidying up to do."

She shook her head as she left the room. The children looked after her, not at all deterred by her words of caution.

Candy shrugged. "I guess the Captain just doesn't like birthday parties."

"Yeah…" Her brother nodded. "He didn't even come to mine. Or give me anything. He knows it was my birthday."

"How could he?" Candy replied with firm feminine logic. "No one's supposed to know he's here."

"Well, I reckon he would have had a good time." Jonathan began to play with a toy robot, winding it up and letting it go. Scruffy showed a great deal of interest in the wobbling toy, stalking it across the floor.

"Say, do we know even when the Captain's birthday is?" Candy asked. "He's never said."

Her brother shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we never asked. Maybe that's how come he's mad like Mum says. Why do you want to know?"

"Well…" Candy frowned. "We remembered Mum's birthday and we always give Martha a party. We celebrate yours and mine and Scruffy's. But we've never remembered his and he's family. Well, sort of. He has no one but us. He's sort of like a grumpy, old uncle."

"There's still Claymore…" Jonathan rolled his eyes. "He's the Captain's family."

Candy giggled. "Yeah, like I said, he's got no one. That's probably why he hates parties. When was the last time he had one? Claymore's too cheap to even think about giving him one. I bet he could afford it."

Jonathan looked suddenly anxious. "Do you think the Captain's feelings have been hurt, then? That we didn't invite him."

Candy looked thoughtful. "Maybe…"

"I know!" Jonathan brightened. "Let's give him his own birthday party! I bet he'd come to that!"

"Yeah, but to do that, we have to find out when his birthday actually is. It might have gone by already."

"Oh…" Jonathan looked briefly defeated. "Then, why don't we find him and ask him?"

"I guess it couldn't hurt. Come on, Scruffy…" Candy waved at their pet. "Let's go and find the Captain."

※※※※※

The children left the living room and raced up the stairs to the door leading up to the attic room. It stood open. They looked at each other before they ventured up into the wheelhouse.

It appeared to be empty, hung with shadows, cobwebs and silence. "I guess he's not in here then," Jonathan commented in a disappointed tone. "Blast…"

"No, he's here." Candy pointed to their dog. "Look at Scruffy. He says he's around here somewhere." The dog was whining and pointing with his raised foreleg. "Captain? Captain?"

Suddenly, the sailing ship in the bottle the resident ghost had been working on floated down to land in Jonathan's open hands. "Aw, wow…"

"Happy birthday, Jonathan…" the Captain's disembodied voice replied.

"Thanks, Captain!" The boy smiled at his gift, very pleased with it. "It's groovy! That is, I mean, she's very yar."

"That she is." The Captain appeared before them. "You are very welcome, lad. I have been waiting for a quiet time to give it to you. From the sound of it, you had a splendid party."

"Yeah…" Jonathan nodded. "I got lots of presents and cake and we played games. I got given a whole new train set. It was fun!"

"Say, when's your birthday, Captain?" Candy asked in an innocent tone with a wide-eyed look. "We all get one every year."

The ghost laughed ruefully. "I don't have birthdays anymore, Candy. There's no point. Who would I invite? Claymore? No, thanks."

"Okay, then when was it," Jonathan persisted. "Like Candy said, we all get one. So, you got one, once. I bet you had lots when you were a kid."

"Fair point, lad. I'll admit, my mother did make some effort on my behalf. My father was often away at sea, so we made do with what we had. I know there was cake, and I do seem to remember receiving a shiny new penny and a whole orange all to myself. That was an excellent treat."

"Just a new penny and an old orange?" Candy asked in surprise as both children looked startled. "How poor were you?"

"An orange was a rare and treasured commodity back then," the Captain replied with a chuckle. "One year I also received a book about ships. A gift from my father. I still have it about me here, somewhere…" He looked briefly distracted.

The children exchanged glances. "Okay, so when was your birthday?" Candy persisted.

The Captain's brow creased in thought. "Very well, let me see…" He stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully. "Ah, yes! May twenty-eighth seems to ring a vague bell."

"Okay…" Candy breathed to her brother and both their young faces brightened with expectation and they looked at each other significantly. "Now we're getting somewhere. Go on, Captain."

"No, no… Wait…" The Captain waved a dismissive hand. "That was the date of my encounter with a sperm whale off the coast of Newfoundland. I won that battle, but only just. The great beast thought he had me."

He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Yes, I have it! July, the eleventh!" Then his frown quickly returned. "No, wait a minute. That was the fateful day Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel. That was a very bad affair. I guess that's why I remember it."

He sighed, shaking his head. "No, I'm afraid I can't remember the date of my birth, after all. Enjoy the rest of your day, Jonathan. Happy birthday." He vanished as he spoke.

"Well, what do we do now?" Jonathan asked, looking crestfallen. "We got no clues."

"Come on, let's walk into town. I bet Claymore knows," Candy replied. "He's got all those records and knows all sorts of things about the Captain. Things he's never told us."

"Yeah, but he'll go and tell the Captain all about what we're doing. He's a blabbermouthed windbag. The Captain said so."

"Okay." Candy shrugged. "But not if we make up some kind of story that he can tell him if he asks. We can make something up as we walk to town."

"Do you think we should? I mean, Mum said the Captain doesn't really like parties. We don't want him not to come."

"Sure, we should…" Candy replied as they left the wheelhouse and clattered down the stairs, followed by their dog. "Or we'll be left with throwing a party for the day Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton!"

Both giggled at the silliness of it all as they left the house and walked along the road toward the town.

※※※※※

"There…" Carolyn straightened from the last of her labours in the living room. "That's much better."

She and Martha had worked diligently for the last few hours to restore order, and it was now back to normal. Martha had complained about her sore ankles and retired to her bedroom to lie down before they began to make preparations for their dinner.

"I'm beat…" Carolyn fluffed a couple of cushions back into place and stood looking around the room.

With a sigh, she collected the opened mail from the mantlepiece and dropped onto the couch. She was startled by a sudden noise. Reaching behind her, she found a party clacker. She laughed softly, shaking her head as her children came running into the room, followed by their dog.

"Mum!" Jonathan said breathlessly, throwing himself onto the couch next to her. "We've just found out from Claymore when the Captain's birthday is! He told us all about it!"

"It was November thirteenth, eighteen-sixty-nine!" Candy added, not to be outdone. "Claymore found it for us!" Both crowded around their mother with expectant faces.

"I see…" Carolyn lowered the mail as she looked from one to another.

Afterwards, she looked back and knew she'd been too tired to do the maths and discover the obvious flaw in their calculations. She had simply accepted the errant fact. "Well, November's still over a month away yet. But why all the sudden excitement over the Captain's birthday?"

Candy beamed happily. "Because we want to give him a birthday party! He hasn't had one for over a hundred years and we don't want him to miss another one! We all get ours once every year and he must be feeling left out. So, we want to give him one too!"

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah, he's never had one since he died. He's had over a hundred to make up for. And all he ever got for presents when he was alive was a new penny and a silly old orange. Not much fun in that."

"And a book all about ships, one year," Candy added. "He liked getting that."

"Yeah…" Her brother brightened. "So, can we? We want to. He gave me a neato ship in a bottle for my birthday. He made it all by himself. We know he would just love to have a party all of his very own once he was there! Martha can make him a cake!"

"Well, it's very sweet of you to think of doing it for him," Carolyn replied cautiously. "But this is the Captain we're talking about here. You know how he hates surprises of any kind, and a surprise party does present us with a real problem. How would you keep it from him for over a month? You never know when he's around. He'll find out for sure and ruin the surprise."

"Scruffy always knows," Jonathan said firmly. "Where's the Captain, Scruffy?"

The dog jumped up onto the coffee table and turned to point one front leg toward the living room doors. He growled softly.

"He's here!" Candy declared quietly. "See, we told you Scruffy could do it!"

The Captain appeared in the doorway, holding a thick notepad in his hands and looking less than happy with the animal. "Blabbermouth!"

He walked into the room and frowned at Carolyn. "Madam, I have taken the liberty of drawing up a list of household rules I wish to discuss with you." He held up the notepad. "This is a very important matter and of the greatest urgency to maintain order and discipline aboard ship."

"Could we please do it later, Captain?" Carolyn asked sweetly. "I have some important, ah, 'business' to discuss with the children."

The ghost regarded her with deep suspicion. "Very well, Madam. We shall consult later. I will be waiting." He vanished again.

"Where is he, Scruffy?" Jonathan asked his pet quietly.

The animal jumped onto the couch and turned to point again toward the doors again and growled deep in his throat.

"He's still here!" Candy declared.

The Captain reappeared, now seated on the coffee table in front of them. "Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to point!" he growled at the dog.

Carolyn smiled at his chagrin. "If you don't mind, Captain. We really would like to be alone. Surely you have something more interesting to do than listen to us gossip all about Jonathan's party. He wants to talk about all his presents. We could be here for a while."

"Very well, Madam." The Captain squared his shoulders. "I shall accept your feminine dismissal with equanimity. Do not keep me waiting."

He vanished again and the dog looked disinterested. He lay down with his chin on his crossed front paws.

"You stand guard," his young master instructed. "We want to give him a surprise party and we need you to help us do that. We can do a lot better than just a penny and a silly old orange."

The dog barked and settled down again. He stared at the open doors.

Carolyn shook her head. "See what I mean about trying to surprise him?"

"Maybe we could get him out of our way for a little while," Candy offered.

"Scruffy can help," Jonathan stated.

"I hate to be a wet blanket, but I truly cannot see how. But it is such a lovely idea and I'm very proud of you both for wanting to do this for him. But it isn't as if we can send him away on a holiday or anything. Besides, he wouldn't go. It would make him too suspicious about why we're trying to get rid of him."

Jonathan's young shoulders slumped. "It's just that he's been so lonely all alone in this house for all of that time. He had no one to talk to or care about him. He only had Claymore before we came and that wouldn't have been any fun at all."

Carolyn stroked his hair with a caring hand. "I really don't think the Captain has cared about those things for the last one hundred years. He likes things just how he likes things. You know how he can get sometimes. He doesn't want to be bothered."

"Yeah…" Jonathan grinned. "But that's because he was always so lonely. He likes having us here. He said so."

"He did?" His mother raised sceptical eyebrows. "He's never said anything like that to me."

"Oh, he likes you too, Mum. I can tell," her daughter assured her. "He wants to be around you all the time. I've seen how he looks at you when you're not looking at him."

"When did you get to be all grown up and so wise?" Carolyn smiled as she put her hands around her daughter's face and kissed her forehead.

"Can we please try to give the Captain a party?" Candy wheedled. "I mean, if we don't try then we'll never know if we can do it."

"Very well…" Her mother gave in with a deep sigh. "But, if he finds out he will not be happy."

"Then we'll just tell him we love him and this is what families do for each other," Candy replied brightly. "Just like Grandma and Grandpa did when they used to throw parties for us."

"Yeah, it's what families do," her brother concurred.

"Families… Right…" Carolyn looked from one to the other in frowning bemusement.

※※※※※

After an early dinner, Martha and the children retired to bed. All were exhausted from the day's festivities. Carolyn yawned, covering her mouth with her hand, as she turned out the lights in the kitchen and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. She was mulling over the events of the last few hours.

She had no idea how they would succeed in throwing the Captain a surprise party. She hated to disappoint her children, but she doubted they would get away with it and their plans would soon be exposed. But, for their sakes, she had to try.

And then there was the new and exciting issue about rewriting and expanding 'Maiden Voyage' into a full-length novel that could be sold. For that to happen, she needed the Captain's expert input. And she was prepared to put up with his smugly satisfied look of 'I told you so' when she explained to him all about the startling new wave in women's popular fiction.

"I guess it can't be helped," she said as she seated herself at her writing desk. "He'll have to know sometime."

She felt buoyed by the whole idea and was looking forward to the challenge. She picked up a fresh sheet of paper and rolled it into the carriage of her typewriter. Opening a drawer in the desk, she pulled out a copy of the completed manuscript. She needed to have it on hand for reference.

"There's no time like the present to begin the alterations and extend the whole into novel length. Miss Colleen Ryan and her good Captain Webster are not going to know what hit them."

She would have to think about how to add a lot more scenes. And they would need to think about a new title for the novel. It was most important not to allow her identity as the novelist to leak out. She wondered where the Captain was and if would he appear if she called for him.

She was about to do so when, with a suddenness that made her jump, he appeared before her, holding the same thick notepad in his hand. He seemed less than pleased.

"Good evening. Madam. I trust you are now in a more receptive mood." He cleared his throat. "Good. Now, to ensure a tight and orderly ship…"

He slapped the pages with the back of his free hand for emphasis. "… I have taken the following measures to maintain order among the crew…" He paced toward the desk as he spoke, looking down at Carolyn intently.

"That's us," Carolyn queried, laying a hand on her chest and trying to look serious.

The idea still irked her. But he seemed determined on the course.

"That's you…" The Captain nodded, his eyes narrowing.

Knowing there could be no escape from whatever it was he had planned, Carolyn decided to play along for now. She wanted to start work as soon as possible, and it would be easier if she agreed to all his demands.

She snapped him a smart salute. "Aye, aye, Sir."

"At ease, Madam…" The Captain frowned at her, obviously distrusting her easy agreement.

Carolyn smiled at him as she dropped her hand. "Thank you, Sir." She couldn't resist needling him just a little.

The Captain's frown deepened as he paced away again. "Now, I have organised a schedule of rules and regulations for the public rooms…"

"Fancy that," Carolyn mused, trying not to look disgruntled.

The Captain ignored her sarcasm as he continued reading his notes. "The living and dining rooms are yours from seven until nine in the morning. Twelve to two in the afternoons, five to eight-thirty in the evenings and all day, Sunday."

He frowned at her. "I haven't written it down in bells because I thought Greenwich time would be simpler for you."

"Very considerate of you, Sir," Carolyn responded cheekily.

The Captain glared at her dismissive tone. "I shall require one week's written notice of all social events and, if you wish to discuss anything with me, I shall be available for conference daily between the hours of four and six P.M. We shall meet in here since we can be assured of peace and quiet. You simply have to name the time when you are free, Madam, and I will attend."

He looked down at her significantly. "Of course, our weekly Monday assignation for a glass or two of Madeira shall remain in force. But the attic and the widow's walk are henceforth off-limits except when a special pass is issued."

He pulled two pages from his notebook. "You will also find I have itemised other measures I deem to be suitable for the future of our voyage together. I trust you will accept my word that this will be for the best."

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Carolyn responded, finally losing patience with his autocratic tone. "This is a house, not a ship. And I do have a lease. It says I can go where and when I please."

He ignored her protest as he waved the notes. "It's one way of securing privacy and justice for all. Here's your copy, Madam." He placed the pages before her.

"Thank you, Captain." Carolyn sighed as she picked them up. "But I told you before I cannot be regimented in my own home. We are not in the Navy. I thought we had gone beyond all this, we're the crew and you're our captain, silliness."

"Please, Madam…" The Captain rolled his eyes. "It's the only way to maintain order and sanity. I'll respect your tenancy and you'll respect mine. We'll stay out of one another's way and glorious peace shall reign supreme once more. I will not countenance any further feminine disagreement. You must be brought to understand just who is in command here. I will not be gainsaid."

"But, Captain…" Carolyn began to protest again, reading his notes. "It's just —"

She stopped, looking up at him in bemusement. "You'll stay out of our way? Completely out of our way? You'll abide by all of your own rules?"

"Yes, of course," the Captain replied shortly. "I did draw them up, after all. Now I will not stand for any more mutiny among my crew. I have given my orders and I require no further argument, Madam. Do not forget who is the captain of this ship."

"All right, fine. I accept," Carolyn replied quickly before he changed his mind.

She pulled the blank sheet of paper from the typewriter and casually covered up the manuscript, hoping he hadn't already seen it. Regrettably, the work she had planned for them to do on 'Maiden Voyage' would just have to wait. Her children's idea for a party came first and keeping it a secret was going to be a perilous mission all of its own.

For now, she would have to work on alone, given that the Captain had stated he wouldn't be around to hinder her anyway. It would be both a blessing and a relief.

"If you would just run your eyes over this schedule, you'll see…" the Captain blustered, then stopped to frown. "You accept?"

"Yes, completely. I think we should try it."

His expression darkened to suspicion. "Just like that?"

"Uh, huh…" Carolyn nodded.

"Splendid. Most cooperative and sensible of you, Madam. At last, you realise who is in command of this vessel."

"Oh, I certainly do, Sir." Carolyn glanced up at him, resisting the urge to salute him again.

The Captain hesitated in his smugness. He leaned down to frown at her. "Are you up to something, Madam?"

"Captain, you do me a great injustice." Carolyn laid a hand on her chest again, doing her best to look deeply hurt.

"Oh, I do, do I?" The Captain stared at her, stroking his beard with cautious fingers.

"Mmmm…" Carolyn reassured him with a quick nod before she looked away and pretended to be busy with her notepad and pen.

The ghost stared at her for some moments, seeming to be debating within himself as to her veracity. "Very well, Madam. Since you seem to be in an unusually receptive mood, we shall implement the changes immediately."

"Oh…" Carolyn looked up. "I didn't realise you were still here, Captain." She shook her head. "Ah, was there anything else you wanted to say?"

She stretched her arms above her head. "I was about to get up and go to bed. It has been a very busy and tiring day."

"I… No, Madam." He looked miffed. "Very well, I shall bid you a fair goodnight."

"Goodnight," Carolyn replied in a distracted tone, not looking up again until he had vanished.

She looked after him then, not sure if she should be grateful or not for the unexpected boon of his rules and regulations. Her gaze fell on the envelope containing the Captain's poem that Tim Seagirt had returned to her. She had intended to give it back to the ghost tonight, until all this nonsense about his new rules had blown in, fast and furious, like a summer squall.

Now she felt disinclined to give him any more ammunition. She decided it could wait until he was in a better mood and more receptive.

She got up slowly from the chair and went to prepare for bed. She was tired and doubted she would be able to get any work done tonight.

It would have to keep until tomorrow when her mind would be refreshed and her new-found peace undisturbed. She prayed the new regime would go smoothly without too many upsets.

※※※※※

Finally surrendering to the rising power of his inner need to be near to her, the Captain materialised among the shadows in the corner of Carolyn's room. He excused his new intrusion because he'd convinced himself he was on a mission to uncover the truth.

The lady of the house was sleeping, curled on her side in his bed like a child with her cheek resting on the back of one hand. He sighed at the sight of her soft beauty as he walked forward, his hands clasped in the small of his back.

The hour was early in the morning, the breathless time between when the night had ended but the dawn had not yet begun. Many creatures were born at this time and foul death often stalked abroad.

The Captain's mouth thinned. "The very time of the morning when I kicked the blasted gas heater on with my blasted foot…" He glanced across the room to the curtained windows. "There was a sou-west gale blowing that confounded night…" He sighed roughly, knowing it was useless to rail against his fate.

If he hadn't died so unexpectedly and tragically, then he would not have become a ghost. If he'd managed to live out his allotted span of years he would now be resting in peace, quietly mouldering away in a corner of the town's overgrown graveyard.

Instead of enduring such an awful fate, he was here, yearning for the one unattainable woman he'd searched for his entire earthly life. "Blast…"

He shook his head as he turned away toward the writing desk. That was the real object of his venture here tonight. He uncovered the manuscript he'd seen Carolyn hide beneath the blank sheet of paper she'd pulled from the typewriter. She obviously hadn't wanted him to see it.

He frowned down at the work that had caused them both so much trouble last year. "Now what could you be wanting with this thing, Madam? What new game is afoot? You swore you would not pen another such as this…"

He looked back to the bed. "Last evening, you agreed all too readily to my commands. I knew you were up to something. But what?"

He shook his head as he walked slowly back to the bedside. He bent down to trace the line of Carolyn's cheek with one forefinger a mere breath away from her skin. As before, she moved and sighed, smiling softly in her sleep.

"Carolyn…" He leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"Daniel…" she murmured in reply, moving her head on her pillow.

The Captain's hand closed into a fist, so great was the need to touch her anew. His given name on her lips was like sweet music. His breath left him in a gusting rush.

His unplanned physical interaction with Scruffy had rocked him to his core. He had been angry and out of sorts that day. Then his ability to tend to the seal the children had found. Finally, the baby from Jonathan's birthday party had proved to him that his powers had advanced faster and further than he suspected. He was almost sure he'd felt the baby's small hand wrap around his finger.

"Or maybe I simply imagined it all from an excess of wanting…" he whispered.

He needed to know for certain. To plan ahead, he needed information. Any good sea captain always relied on maps to chart his course through troubled waters. "And these uncharted waters are troubled, indeed…"

He braced himself as he advanced his forefinger again, this time to actually gossamer-touch Carolyn's soft skin. He drew a tentative line from her temple to the very corner of her softly curved mouth.

Her lips moved beneath his questing touch as she smiled. "Daniel…" she breathed again as she snuggled deeper into the bed and hugged a pillow against her chest with both arms wrapped tightly around it.

"My beautiful Carolyn…" The Captain sighed, withdrawing his touch before he went too far and risked too much.

It was enough for now to know he could. It gave him hope and a measure of comfort even as it took all his energy to maintain the contact. His future, which had always seemed so lonely and confined had suddenly blossomed into a whole new universe of breathless possibilities.

He turned away and went back to the desk. He sat down behind it and picked up the manuscript. He settled back as he began to read…

※※※※※