Sea of Stars 09 Recovery and Rescue

[trekkiexb5]

"Sea of Stars"

A Gundam Wing Story
by Trekkiexb5


Category: Drama, Romance
Couples: 1xR, 2xH--the normal match-ups
Rating: R for language. Heero has a potty mouth and so does Zechs. It's a bit lime-y in parts, too.
Caution: part of this story is about rape, though it is really never described in detail.
Posting: I'm posting at fanfiction.net and at blissfulignorance.com, but anyone can post it, as long as my name stays attached. AND you write me and tell me how bad (or good) it was.

Summary: Relena told him to get a life, so he did, of sorts. Now, it?s her turn. But the past often shows it's ugly head at the worst of times. Are they ready to handle a past when they are just getting grips with the Present?

Gundam Wing isn't mine. If it was, you would be watching this, not reading it.

Author's notes:

(A tall man in his early twenties approaches the mic. He has a bandana tied on his forehead and is wearing a black vest and black leather pants. He has a silver sword and dragon pendant on a chain around his neck.) I want all you people to know that the REAL Argument is that the author wants you to read her notes. It's not about bitchy anime girls and the men who can't handle them.

CLEAO: Bitchy, huh!!! What hell do getting call those women with men that would pee their bitches without their support, bitches!!!
ORPHEN: (smugly) exactly my point!
CLEAO: Soooo, what do you call me, again?
ORPHEN: I call a bi...(jaw dropped) No wait, grrrrr. Cleao!!! Stop putting words in my mouth. And stop changing the subject! (Turns to the readers) Just read the notes. Ok?

***
Dedicated to "Old Ironsides" herself; the "USS CONSTITUTION" sitting in Boston Harbor. An over two hundred years, she's the oldest active duty Naval vessel.

Though not on purpose (sub-consciously?), there is a nod to Black Rose and one of her stories. Can you find it, Rose?

FYI--trekkixb5 is Star Trek, X-Files, and Babylon 5. If you are curious.

NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!

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***WARNING: A store-bought Key-LIME pie here. And no skipping to the good parts, people! hee-hee!
"Sea of Stars"
Chapter 9
Recovery and Rescue

We were stuck in the middle of the ocean. The only radio that worked was line-of-sight. The engine that turned the propeller wasn't turning over.

What did we have? Each other and a dog. The jib mast and sail, but we were drifting, so until I knew exactly where we were, that needed to stop. We were also sitting too low in the water.

The first thing was to pop my shoulder back.

I slid down the pilothouse to the main deck. I met up with Relena at the main hatch.

"You ok?" she asked. Well, I was holding my right arm.

"No, I dislocated my shoulder. I'm going to need your help to pop it back in."

She nodded. She looked so tired. I probably did, too, but we couldn't sleep. We were still in peril.

With some effort, we opened the main hatch. It was pitch dark inside. I heard Relena blindly scrabble against the bulkhead looking for the hand winch for the shutters. I used the bright shaft of afternoon light to make my way back aft. Relena started to crank back the shutters as I stumbled into the bathroom.

The bathroom looked like it was tossed in a search but outside the spilled shampoo and toothbrushes and razors all over the floor, it wasn't too bad. The bathroom porthole latch held and had not leaked. Neither did any of the plumbing fixtures. With some effort, I hooked the kit one-handed from the wall.

I came out, the main area now flooded in sunlight. The place was a mess. Everything here that wasn?t tied down in any way, was thrown around during the storm. Cushions, music disks, and anything that else that wasn?t affixed was everywhere. Though most of the dishes remained locked in the cabinets, the ones that didn?t littered on the floor or smashed into pieces everywhere.

Relena was rummaging in the kitchen with Zero, who, after he was let out of the cage life raft, was trembling and stayed near Relena like glue. Wish I could. "Relena, don't open the refrigerator,? She looked up startled and removed her hand from the offending object. "We have no power. Keeping it sealed will keep it colder, longer. Start using the water in the pantry. And you please feed Zero? Food and water will calm him down."

"Sure," she answered. I didn?t want to order her around but I was in no condition to do so myself.

She poured a water and food into his food dishes for Zero. The canine dug in. She emerged from the laundry room/pantry. "There seems to be no damage in there." She commented, handing me an open bottle of warm water. I accepted it graciously and drank it greedily. "What do you want me to do, Heero?" she asked me, playing with the first aid kit a laid on the table.

No panic, no fear. She was calm and cool. Professional. Good. As much as I would like to continue the kiss, we first needed asset the damage to the 'Sea of Stars' and reach a safe harbor. She seemed to understand that. I hope.

"I need you to help me to take my shirt off. Then we need to align the joint. Then I need you push me against the bulkhead, preferably in a corner."

She looked confuse but said,? This isn?t your first popped joint."

"Yeah."

Slowly and painfully we removed my shirt and jacket. She gasped at the huge bruise that probably covered half my back, or at least felt that way. I'm sure she had some bad ones, too. She guided me to the corner by the portside hatch and the laundry/pantry room bulkhead. Wordlessly, I guided her to move my arm until the ball was lined up with the socket. Leaning my right arm against the corner and counted down to one, Relena slammed her entire weight into me as I pushed against the corner with all my strength.

I screamed, blacking out momentary, and my body slid to the floor. Well, I screamed the last two times I had to do this.

"Heero?" I groggily heard her voice. "HEERO!" She shook my left shoulder.

"Yeah, I hear you." I shook my head, clearing the spider webs that suddenly formed. Relena's concerned face floated in my vision. "Get the ace bandages out the kit, the wide ones. I need you to wrap my shoulder." She nodded and did as I instructed. I told her how to wrap it without restricting me too much. I had a feeling I may need that shoulder.

A few minutes later, Relena finished and I put my jacket back on. She gave me some Ibuprofen (and too some herself) and it was time to assess the damage. We opened the hatch over the ladder well that would take us below.

I went down into the darkness first. When I reached the bottom, I was knee-deep in water. I could hear a faint tinkling of running water. Shit, we had a leak. I prayed it was the plumbing but I didn?t really think it would be. I called up to Relena and she responded by handing me a flashlight. I told her the situation and to look for damage on the outside. Our earpieces, by some miracle still worked, so we could still remain in contact.

The flashlight shined eerily in the dank darkness. I sloshed passed the pump and engine rooms, heading towards the sound. Despite the frantic rolling of the ship and subsequent flood, the storage compartment wasn't tossed. The tools still hung on the bulkhead and the boxes were still secured in their respective places and hopefully still watertight. I pulled a 50 lbs. sledgehammer and a burlap bag of various sized plugs off the wall.

"Portside, near the anchor." Relena's voice crackled across the earpiece. "At the waterline."

I looked by the chain lockers and saw what looked like a wooden spar that went through the hull. Gundamium is strong butt even the strongest materiel can be punctured by sticks going 150 mph. "Relena, do we still have our bow spirit?"

"Yeah."

I waded towards the leak. It looked about eight inches. I pulled the correct sized wooden plug out. I dropped it in the water, then the bag. I took a good look at it before pushing it out with the sledgehammer. It was painted light green with decorative scrollwork along it. Scrollwork on remember seeing on a certain ship. Shit!!

"Relena, see if you can loop it with a line. I would to keep it." She replied with an affirmative. A few minutes later she notified me that had completed her task.

I took the sledgehammer and swung it, keeping it at an angle so I would not overstrain my shoulder. It popped out with a single blow. I heard, "I got it" from Relena. Then she informed me she was going to lash it to the deck.

Now the water was really coming in, grabbing the plug before it floated away out of reach, I stuck it in the opening and held it there with my right hand. Awkwardly using my left, I hammered it in, then bending the jagged edges of the Gundamium over it to secure it. The water stopped. I didn?t hear any leaks or felt a current if there was a leak below the waterline. That task done, I headed to the pump room.

Without much difficultly, I connected the bilge pump to the batteries and started it up. However, I needed to get the engine restarted before the batteries ran out.

"Heero,? Her voice was heard.

"hn,? Fuck! The engine room was a mess! I think the engine is damaged, and not to mention the water... I'm not a marine mechanic! I eyed the smaller engine sitting above the water. Maybe the gas engine...

"Heero, this bow spirit...It's from the 'Southern Cross!'"

"Which can mean anything. We need to take care of ourselves before we can help anyone else." I know she was concerned but there was work to do. I prayed that the fuel didn?t have water in it. I had thirty gallons for ballast. Damn, work!

"Yeah, but..."

"hn...uh yeah." I found a large wrench and started to beat on the fuel pump. "Chris is a good sailor. I would suggest use the radio but I believe it's dead except for line-of-sight. Go try."

"Ok." A few minutes later she would tell me that I was right. Of course I was.

Two hours later, I determined that I was never going to get the main engine started. The backup diesel, however, was working, if I didn?t overtax it. The water level had dropped about two inches. The desalination plant was still in the water. At the fuse box, I only left the navigation, radio, pump, main deck lights, refrigerator, and the propeller on. I switched the engines from charging the batteries to the main circuit. There was a groan and the noisy engine nearly stopped but it went back to its former noise level after a few seconds.

I instructed to turn off the lights that weren't needed.

"Heero,? Her voice a little quavering.

"Yes?" I asked, debating to look at the damage in the aft cabins on this deck.

"You might want to get up here."

What? Another storm? I raced up the ladder and onto the main deck outside. There, I saw her standing at the bow. "What?" I asked fearing some strange damage I haven?t found yet.

She pointed over the starboard side of the bow. I joined her and looked down.

I groaned. The storm took the wing and an arm off my figurehead.

SHIT.

"Heero?" I looked at her. She looked pensive. "I'm...I'm sorry about the..."

"It isn?t your fault," I assured her, cutting her off. I wanted to touch her right now. The need was almost unbearable. Her concern.

She then mumbled something about "throwing a fit" and "being a coward" but I wasn?t sure she was saying it about her or me. I thought she was apologizing for the figurehead. I was probably a good thing that I didn?t touch her. I still don?t know where I am in her eyes right now. But the urge to touch her was growing stronger.

Her head snapped up. "Oh, guess what?" She sounded a little depressed. Not good news, then. "The shutters didn?t hold for my cabin."

My eyes widened and went back inside. Sure enough, when I opened her cabin door, I was greeted by a breeze.

All the windows was shattered, glass littered everywhere. The closet door and dresser drawers were opened, revealing that all her clothes and personal items were drenched.

"Your cabin is fine, I checked. I thought that the shutters were latched. But I was in a hurry, the storm was coming so fast, and we had to get the sail down, I suppose...? She started to sniffle.

I didn?t blame her. I has been a difficult day and we still had a lot to do. I turned to her. She looked so pitiful and beautiful at the same time. I gave in to my urges and brought her into a hug. She started to cry outright, wrapping her arms around my waist. "You did very good," I murmured in her dirty and tangled hair. She felt wonderful. "You were very brave. Many people would have been able to do what you have done, but you held it together, despite your terror and probably saved our lives." I took a deep breath. "I am so proud of you, but I shouldn?t be surprised. You have always have had that gift of overcoming adversity."

She stepped back, but she didn?t release me. Tears made tracks through her dirty and bloody face. I had a sudden urge to wrap both of us up in blankets and hide from the world, forever. She smiled, her hand coming up to caress my cheek. I copied the movement with my left.

"We still got a lot to do, right?" she asked. I nodded. "We've got a lot to talk about, right?" Again I nodded. "Well, lets get started..."

I startled her by grabbing her waist with my right and pulling her to me. My left hand moved to caress her hair, still silky after everything. "There is one thing I need to do, WE need to do." I HAD to do or I'd...I'd pull weaponry out and take hostages. Well, that's how I felt.

Her eyes looked at me, then she smiled at me, a soft beautiful smile that made her glow despite the dirt, the blood. "Yes." she murmured, closing her eyes and draping her arms around my neck. My eyes closed as I met her lips. I tasted her and as her mouth slightly parted, I wedge my tongue between those luscious lips and past her teeth. I needed that flavor; that ambrosia that was her. Honey and salt, cinnamon and dirt. Everything that was uniquely her. I was dimly aware of her doing the same thing to me.

Suddenly, some strange signal (or lack of air) caused us to separate. Already I was in withdrawal. I needed the drug, which was Relena.

How in the hell did I get so...poetic? It's like a spell cast over me. This is ridiculous. Soon I'll be writing to lyrics to love songs...

Don?t go there, Heero.

She placed both of her hands on my chest. "All right, mister, get to work!" She gave me a gentle push. She turned to go, but she looked over her shoulder with her 'ditching' smile. "No dessert before dinner, Heero."

What want did she mean, is she going fix some foo... OH. I get it. With a grin I climbed the ladder to the pilothouse. I was looking forward to the delicacy called Relena after I finished with the 'main course.'

Several hours later, and in the waning light, we managed to clean up the main deck. Well, Relena did most of the work while I nailed up the broken windows in her cabin. Using an antiquated sextant and some star charts at dusk, I managed to place us about two days northwest of Easter Island at normal speed. I changed our heading to there. I only had the jib sail and propeller. The max I was going to do was about ten knots. It would take several more days that normal to reach Easter.

Relena had managed not only clean up the main deck, pick all the glass and debris, but also to make a simple dinner. We didn?t talk too much. We saved our voices for the line-of-sight radio. It was the only working one because since the antenna for the satellite communications was on the main mast. It was just as well; it probably wouldn?t function anyways due to the ionization of the atmosphere. My hade held GPS was still not working.

We work through the night cleaning and trying to sort through all the rubble, taking catnaps near sunrise. The damage on the lower deck cabins was severe. I lost the lower two rows of books on all my shelves and most of my computer stuff. Relena, however with some foresight, had placed both of my laptops and my consol unit of the floor and stuffed it in the closet with some pillows. The closet doors remained closed and I had those things, at least. I need to thank her, later.

The carpet was history, along with most of the furniture. It was the mix of salt water and filth from the overflowing bilge that ruined everything. There was no way I was going to remove the smell, I thought.

At mid afternoon on the next day, Relena spotted something on the horizon. Looking through binoculars, I noted that it was not Easter Island as we hoped, but a much smaller island, a cay or atoll, perhaps. As we got closer, we could make out the distinctive shape of a sailboat.

Correction, a sailing VESSEL. She was a three-master.

Correction, again. two vessels. There was catamaran, too. They looked like they were chewed up and spat out by the storm, too. The catamaran was almost split in two. There were a dozen or more large holes in the vessel, and she was listing. Both were moored in the protective coral arms of the atoll. The ?island? itself was maybe at tops a quarter of a mile long and about 500 feet at the widest. It was topped by four dozen or so palms of various sorts.

The crew of the two ships unfortunally could not speak English. Or Japanese. Finally, I found one that spoke a bit of French, of all things. Through Tamar I learned that the catamaran were Filipino and his crew were a bunch of Polynesians from Midway Island.

WE had pulled alongside the large vessel on the lee side. She was sitting low in the shallow water. They had got there this morning and was desperately trying to patch the holes in the sides and drain the hull before low tide.

I grabbed my supplies and Relena and I came over to help. It took hours to patch that hull. Luckily, she was wooden, which made it easier to remove and replace sections without damaging the hull's integrity. One of the Polynesians was a certified marine diesel engine mechanic. A rare thing in this day and age of cold fusion engines for boats. Less that an hour, he got my diesel engine running at peak and told me through my interpreter, even though he wasn?t an expert, my main fusion engine was shot. hn. That's what I thought.

I repaired their line-of-sight and satellite radios and we were able to contact Easter Island and inform them of our situation. The Island that because we were out of immediate danger, the soonest they could send a tug was tomorrow afternoon.

I told everybody. No one was happy, especially the well-to-do family that made up the crew of the catamaran. Their ship was a lost cause. It was too light to survive that storm; it must have been tossed like a leaf in the wind. But you couldn?t tell them that. They spent half the time arguing to their interpreter in Tagalong and the other half trying to put the two halves of the boat back together.

It took us a good six hours to repair the desalination plants on the two larger ships. Thankfully, they were the same brand name and modal and all we had to do was to interchange parts until we got both running. They helped me repair my rudder, (That I found out was partially missing), sew sails, fix railing and any other temp repair on our two ships we could do.

Relena and several women from the three-mast?er washed, cleaned and did laundry. She volunteered for it. As for Zero, he spent the day chasing crabs on the beach and barking at the waves. I didn?t think he could be of any help, even if it was possible. Too stupid.

We all worked through night; lights blazing on both ships. The three mast'er (Called 'Homa', a found out later) has plenty of fuel to spare. So we all worked together and generally ignored the catamaran.

At sunrise, Relena handed me a canvas bag. "Go wash up in the ocean. The salt will take the infection out of the cuts." I was thinking maybe she could use a bath too when she apparently read my thoughts, "I'll go after you."

I walked across the make shift gangplanks to the one that would lead me to the coral outcropping and to shore. Part of the half-circle of sand tree was split by an inlet during high tide. Since it was low tide, I could walk to the far end of the island, the main decks barely visible over the outcrop of coral rock.

I stripped out of my filthy clothes and flung them on the beach. In the bag was soap and shampoo, two towels, a washcloth and fresh clothes that included boxers, shorts, a windbreaker, shoes, and a button- down short sleeve shirt that would be easier to put on without stressing my shoulder. I waded out and dunked in. The salt stung my cuts and abrasions the wrap on my shoulder. I cleaned it, and laid it out to dry on a convenient rock. In the middle of scrubbing my body, I felt like I was being watched.

I was.

By Relena.

She was staring at me, standing in the bow of the ?Sea of Stars.? She saw me look back at her and she just stood there, unflinching.

All I have to say is this: I?m glad the water was cool enough! And I hope she enjoyed the show.

Her eyes followed me get back on the beach, dry off and change. I walked back to the ship. I looked her in the eyes and handed her the bag. ?Your turn.? I growled.

She smiled. It was one of her bodyguard ditching smiles. ?Oh, IS it, Heero?? She took the bag and added clothes for herself and left.

Tamar, my interpreter, handed me a cup of coffee, passing Relena on the gangplank. I watched her out until she passed the outcrop to the other side. Then she disappeared. I waited a few moments for her to reappear but she didn?t. Then I realized she stayed close to rock, blocking my view.

Damn! Bitch! I wanted?

?You wanted to see her bathe, no?? He said sipping his coffee.

How in the hell do you justify something like this? ?She watched me. Fair?s fair.? Well, it was juvenile, but damnit, I was frustrated!

?Oh, she likes to tease,? He chuckled. ?She will be a very passionate lover, no??

Suddenly, I wondered what she would be like in bed. I definably wanted to know, soon. Wait! How did he know that we haven?t slept?

Never Mind.

She soon returned, clean and wearing my clothes. God. I know her clothes were laden with salt but still?I didn?t know how? attractive she would be wearing mine. It wasn?t fair. I felt like I was losing a battle. She came up to me, took my now lukewarm coffee, took a sip, then kissed my cheek She handed my mug back and sashayed off in the direction of the main cabin hatch with a walk that?

Well, I was doing something, to me. Meanwhile good ol? Tamar was laughing his ass off. ?Watch out mi ami, she will be spanking you soon.?

Spanking? What in the hell? Did he mean?Oh Shit. A smile flickered across my face. She could try?

My reverie was jolted by the man shouting in the ?Homa?s? crow?s nest. Tamar translated. ?There is a ship on the horizon.?

A ship? The rescue ship early, then? I ran across the gangplank and grabbed a pair of binoculars from one of Tamar?s men. I sat my cup down on the railing and looked through them.

It didn?t have any sails but was moving steadily towards us. As it got closer, I could make out it was green and white and had a familiar shape?

The ?Southern Cross.?

I gasped. I told Tamar to have his men radio Easter and inform them of a forth ship. I told him the name of the ship and handed him the binoculars. I walked back to my ship.

I ducked inside the main hatch. I saw the canvas bag lying on the couch. I grabbed it, taking out the wet bandages.

Relena walked back forward from the cabins. She watched amused as I struggled to take off my jacket and shirt. "Are you enjoying the view, Relena?" She looked up from my bare chest, startled then she blushed. Good, some revenge for earlier. "I need you to rewrap my shoulder." I tossed her the damp cloth. "'Southern Cross' is on the horizon, heading this way. She'll be here in an hour."

Her eyes widened. "Chris and Mary...Oh my god, could they still be alive?"

I sat on a barstool, my right shoulder towards her. "Well, at least one is. I can't tell from here, though." She nodded, the morning?s little game forgotten, and the concern for our friends now growing.

When she arrived, we had to swim out to guide her into the safety of the atoll. Chris had shouted at us, that while they had power, they didn?t have any steering to speak of. I was reassured by the fact he said 'they.' She had all her masts but had lost all the sails. Black scouring on the main mast and the deck spoke of a lightning strike and a fire. She sat low in the water and scraped the bottom of the opening of the coral barrier that surrounded the lagoon.

There were leaks everywhere. Bad ones. It was a miracle they got this far. Relena and I climbed aboard as soon as the gangplank from the 'Homa' hit the deck. "Chris," A thought came to me when he came up to greet me. "Where's Mary?"

Chris's face fell.

"Oh, god..." Relena murmured behind me.

"No, no, she's alive,? Chris assured us. We weren?t assured. "She?s...well, come see." He led us into the main living space. There, on the floor on a mattress, was Mary. She looked pretty banged up and looked like a broken arm.

"How?" I asked quietly, not to wake her up.

"To save the damn piano." The item in question was tied up with what had to be miles of rope to their kitchen island. "We were weathering it pretty good, under the circumstances, even with the lightning hitting us and the fire. The rain put that out and we were in the pilothouse. Near the end of the storm, a big wave hit us and there was a crash down below. I was thinking the worst, and Mary went below to see what it was. It was the piano. It broke loose from its bolts. I was her grandma's... Anyways, it slid and pinned her to the wall.

"When she didn?t return I started to get worried. Then the storm ended and I ran down to find her wedged against the wall. I moved it and caught her. She told me she was only trying to save it. No concussion but she's been in and out ever since."

"I'll stay with her,? Relena volunteered. "Go fix the ship."

We were still working on her hull when the rescue ship arrived hours later. The sea-going tug had already three ships behind it like pearls on a necklace. Well, dirty, chipped pearls. I stayed aboard the 'Southern Cross.' The ship was badly damaged and Chris really looked like he needed more sleep than I. Besides, Relena was good enough of a sailor to handle the 'Sea of Stars.'

While the rest of us were prepping our ships to join the chain, the tug captain had to disembark and tell the Filipino family that their ship wasn?t going. I had looked at it close up earlier and I could tell that the construction was substandard. I hope they didn?t pay a lot. Suffice to say, it took over an hour to convince them. A bunch of us pushed the catamaran on to the beach, so they could come back later to salvage it. I doubt it would last long. Between thieves and the stormy weather that we were told heading this way, I would be very surprised if there would be scraps left within a week.

After hooking the ships up with the tug's towing lines, we headed towards Easter Island.

Due to the tug's powerful engines, we arrived at the island near Dusk. I had talked to Relena in the few hours we were being towed. Mostly we spoke of what repairs needed to be done. We both deftly avoided the topic was on our minds.

Well, my mind.

As we pulled into the harbor of Hanga Roa, the 'Sea of Stars' got a call. It seems that the 'North Star' was in the harbor. They had been looking on the lists of contacted ships and saw my ship. So they were on the look out for us. They were thrilled to know 'Southern Cross' had made it. They arrange transportation, mooring spaces in the already crowded harbor filled with damaged vessels, and a hotel room for each ship.

I take back every rude I ever thought about them.

Wait a minute; I'll retract that statement. As I pulled the sluggish 'Southern Cross' next to my ship. Then helped Mary in the ambulance below, I noticed there was one ship that had no damage.

Pristine.

Not a Scratch.

Bastards!

There was a temporary medical treatment area at the boathouse. Both Relena and I went. Outside my shoulder, most of our injuries were minor, there was just so many of them. They pronounce my shoulder better (they thought I was lying that I pulled it out during the storm. It was too well healed to be a recent injury.) Gave us ointments for our cuts and abrasions and finally a broad-spectrum antibiotic shot. hn. They released us and we returned to the ship.

Dave was there to give us the keys to the car and the hotel room. He grabbed Zero's collar. "Here, we'll watch him it?s suppose to storm the next three days. Some kind of backlash from the original storm. The Hotel name and address and room number is here,? he handed us a piece of paper. It also had a rough map drawn on it. 'It paid through the week. We won?t call unless there's an emergency." He smiled at up. "Now git! You two need all the beauty sleep you can get."

I don?t know about beauty but sleep we did need. We both had been up for nearly three days. Relena wearily loaded some bags of clothes and food she packed, and we took off to the center of the city.

We didn?t speak. Three days of adrenalin rush finally had stopped. I could barely keep my eyes open. We were luck I didn?t crash us. When we got to the room, barely noticed that there was only one bed. We didn?t care. Actually, too tired to care. I put the food away in the room?s tiny refrigerator. She used the bathroom to change and clean up.

She walked out wearing one of my tee shirts. I was too tired to care about that, either. I followed her example and used the bathroom and change into clean boxers. When I came out, she was asleep. She didn?t even get under the covers. I pulled the blankets out and curled up next to her and followed her into sleep soon after.

We both up several time, usually to eat something or to use the bathroom, but all in all, we slept for about eighteen hours. I woke up finally feeling close to normal. Relena wasn?t in the bed.

I got out of bed. I could hear her in the bathroom. When she emerged, she looked rested. I nodded to her and then made use of the bathroom. She was still standing when I came out.

"Relena," My voice horse from disuse. She turned to face me. Suddenly, I felt awkward. I wasn?t sure what to say, or weather or not to say anything at all. But I felt I needed to say something. I wasn?t going to be silent this time. 'I apologize we wont make it to Sydney in time to catch your flight." Actually, I was glad. "We could...could get a ticket at a later date, if you want."

Please don?t.

Here eyes narrowed. I must have said the wrong thing again. Will I ever get this right? She put her hand to her hips and...

oh...my...god...

She pulled down her panties and then flung them in a corn of the tiny hotel room. Now both hands were on her shirt, Excuse me, MY shirt, Very important detail, she was wearing. Suddenly that ache I have tried to ignore as long as I remember hit me full force in the stomach and loins. I could feel them fluttering.

"Heero Yuy,? Her voice brought me out of my reverie. She stood still, her eyes flickering to my pelvic region for a moment the retreated back to my face...slowly. My discomfort increased, but that was a good thing, I think. No, I hope. "Heero, I don?t want you to mention the Sydney again,"

Her hand moved and suddenly she was standing there completely and utterly naked.

And I was having a difficult time focusing on her face. Hell, I was having problems focusing, period.

She sauntered up to stand in front of me. I could feel the blood from my brain drain downward, a residue creating a blush on my cheeks. Why wasn?t I doing anything? Her hands were on my waistband as she finished her statement, "Unless you are taking me to the Opera." With that, she pulled on the waistband out in front and looked down. Then her eyes were back on my face. "Do you understand me, Heero Yuy?"

What? She wanted a statement-words? I swallowed. I was having problem breathing, probably due the lack of blood in the upper chest area but somehow I managed to nod.

And apparently that was acceptable, for she grinned and pulled my boxers off. She then pushed me onto to the bed (which I was grateful, for I certainly couldn?t walk), and after that my brain shut down completely.

Given our past history, this wasn?t the wisest thing to do, but I was certainly wasn?t going to argue with her.

Well, this time.


END OF CHAPTER

PLEASE NOTE: AUTHOR ISN?T FINISH HER TORTURE BY A LOOOONNNGGG SHOT!!!!
*******
Glossary-
COMPARTMENT--a room on a ship
PLUGS--thick pieces of wood at various diameters to plug up small leaks.
CHAIN LOCKER--where the anchor chain is kept.
SPAR--any pole in nautical terms.
BALLAST--extra weight to keep a ship in the water. Or allow subs to dive and come up with a BALLAST TANK.
LEE--protected side, usually for the wind but can be used for other contexts. In this case, the 'Sea of Stars' is smaller than the 'Homa' so at low tide, neither ship would hit bottom.
HANGA ROA-- The only city on Easter Island.

trekkiexb5 was bad-BAD. she didn't use the right word. Any deck exposed to the weather is called the WEATHERDECK. I'll fix it in the rewrite.

******

R&R pleez!!!!

[AngelOfDeath]

Meanie! What a place to stop.... sheesh.

But things will be ok, ::wipes brow in relief:: and that makes me feel good.

You really like torturing those two, ne?

And the French guy was a great touch. Hehe.

[Sai Hikaru]

ooooooo wut a chpt!!! so where da nxt chpt? is ther gonna be a lemon, a steamy lemon chpt??!?! can't wait to c wuts gonna happen nxt!!!! so hope dat da nxt would come out soon!!!

[stefy]

AH AHHhhh!!! finally!!
But something tells me that you are more evil than me. I don't know why but I have this feeling....
So, your next chapter?
(yes, I know, you have just posted one, but you know, I am kinda addicted )
CIAO!

[WingGirl]

What! You ended it there! That's not fair!
There will be more of that scene, right??? *pokes*
Looking forward for the next chapter.

[Faye Faye]

Great Chapter...I look forward to more...BRING ON THE LEMON!!!

[Morrighan]

Ooh..... ^____________________^ Heh-heh-heh... Heero's finally getting some, eh?? The conversation with the translator was hilarious!! "..she will be spanking you soon"...

Now about that last scene... Write more!!!!

Can't wait to see more!!

[Melville's Best Friend]

I guess I should be happy you posted another chapter.

HOWEVER

You posted a pukkin' cliffhanger, and that will not be dealt with in a painless way.

I'll sit you down in front of raine and make you listen to hours of drug-induced fluff love.

Don't think I won't.

But, as usuall, good chapter. Your knowledge of ships and the like is @__@ <-- that.

If I ever write a fic about music, *laughs* you'll all be screwed. *giggles*

But, great job, keep up the good work, and TTFN!

*glares as a final warning to hurry with the next chpt*

[athena]

*grins*

This was great! But ....a cliffhanger??? NOOO! Please, hurry up and post the next chapter soon...for our sanity's sake.

Relena was great! She knows exactly what she wants and exactly how to get it. Poor Heero...

But, thanks for posting so soon! It means a lot to us poor readers...

Can't wait for the lemon!!

[zipdos]

:x WHAT!?!?!? A CLIFFHANGER?!?!?!?!? Ah well!! I guess I have to do like everyone and wait for the lemon...eeeehhhh.....chapter I mean. We can always wish It was an amazing chapter and I'm happy to see that mary and Chris and the others are ok. Can't wait to read the next one!!!!