"Twas my pleasure, Mor’. Now, Ah think Ah will leave you t’get some sleep, now," he said then quickly stepped out the door, closing it quietly behind him. Allison glanced up at Morgan to find a pair of deep blue eyes watching her.

"You threw him overboard?" she asked quietly. Morgan nodded and flexed her hand, looking at her knuckles.

"He wasn’t worth hitting more than once, though he deserved to be whipped within an inch of his life for what he did," came the fierce answer. Allison wrapped her arms around Morgan’s neck and kissed her sweetly, smiling into it as she felt the tension ease out of her lover’s body. Morgan pulled back and glanced over her shoulder at the dark sky outside the porthole, then cocked her head slightly at Allison.

"Tired?" she asked quietly. Allison felt the exhaustion she had been trying to ignore flood back over her and nodded. "Let’s get some rest then," Morgan said quietly. "We have five days before we reach the harbor again, so we’ll have plenty of time to make up for lost time." Allison blushed slightly and Morgan chuckled before slipping out of the bed and shimmying out of her breeches. The redhead let her eyes trace the familiar lines of Morgan’s body before the older woman extinguished the lamp on the desk.

Morgan climbed into the bed next to her and stretched out on her back, reaching out for her in the dark. Allison curled herself against Morgan’s side and found her body easily making itself comfortable in her lover’s arms. She draped her arm across Morgan’s stomach and rested her head on her chest, smiling to herself as the strong sound of Morgan’s heartbeat filled her ear.

"Goodnight, Morgan," she said quietly. A kiss was pressed against the top of her head and Morgan wrapped her arms securely around her.

"Goodnight, Allison, sleep well, sweetheart." Allison smiled in the dark as the endearment sent warmth flooding through her, letting herself drift off to sleep.

The sound of gulls interrupted Morgan’s dreams, forcing her to reluctantly open her eyes and glare at the open porthole across the room. She yawned and stretched, briefly wishing she could dive back into her dream until the subject of it shifted next to her and draped herself across her body. Morgan looked down at the head curled on her chest, an unconscious smile curving her lips as she felt the soft puff of breath against her skin. She wrapped her arms around Allison and tugged her closer, her eyes drifting shut in pleasure as the young woman slid her thigh slowly across the top of hers. Her young lover shifted even closer to her and slid her hand up under her shirt, her fingers moving in small circles. Morgan opened her eyes and glanced down to find Allison looking up at her with a pair of twinkling eyes.

"Morning, darlin’," Allison said huskily. Morgan cocked an eyebrow at her companion’s tone of voice and smiled at her.

"Good Morning, gorgeous, sleep well?" The redhead nodded and pushed herself up on her elbow, looking down at her for a long moment before leaning down and boldly kissing her. Morgan’s eyebrows twitched in surprise before Allison’s teasing lips drove all conscious thought away. Morgan pulled the redhead into her and got lost in reacquainting herself with the sensual feel of her lover’s body against hers. Allison moaned softly against her lips and Morgan smiled into the kiss, nibbling gently on her lips before sliding her mouth along the redhead’s cheek and nibbling softly on the tender skin of her neck. Allison laughed softly as Morgan rolled her over onto her back and she smiled down into her brilliant green eyes. Morgan felt a wave of emotion sweep through her and she buried her face in Allison’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around her and holding her close for a long moment. Allison returned the embrace, wrapping herself tightly around her and pressing soft kisses against Morgan’s temple.

"Morgan?" Allison said softly. The captain lifted her head from her shoulder and propped herself up on her elbow next to her.

"Yes, Allison?" The redhead reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes then toyed with the laces of Morgan’s shirt. Recognizing the young woman’s nervous gesture she reached out and tilted the redhead’s chin up, making her meet her eyes. "What’s wrong?" Allison chewed nervously on her lower lip then took a shaky breath.

"When you were at the dock, why didn’t you take me away then?" Morgan frowned thoughtfully for a long moment and cocked her head at the tears she could see welling up in the redhead’s eyes. She reached out and brushed her fingers against Allison’s cheek.

"I couldn’t take you then, Allison. They would have made me give you back. No matter how much power George has in that town I never would have gotten away with kidnapping you there. I had to wait until you were out at sea." Allison lifted her eyes to Morgan’s and the look there tore at her heart. "I never would have made you go through such an ordeal if I had known he would do that, dearest," she said, brushing her fingers against the bruised cheekbone. "I rather foolishly thought that he wouldn’t have the nerve to touch you until he got you to Ireland." Morgan dropped her gaze to the bed. "I’m sorry, Allison, I’m sorry I didn’t get there soon enough." Allison let out a soft sigh and reached out for Morgan, wrapping herself around her again.

"I’m sorry, too, Morgan. I’m so sorry I didn’t stand up to Daddy two weeks ago. I don’t want to be with anyone but you." Morgan felt her heart jump as Allison whispered the last words fervently in her ear and pulled back, looking at the young woman, an intense expression on her face.

Allison nodded and brushed her lips against Morgan’s before slipping out of her arms and out of bed. Morgan watched her with confused eyes and Allison smiled reassuringly at her over her shoulder before padding over to the desk. She stared at the box where it sat for a moment then picked it up and returned to the bed, shyly meeting Morgan’s eyes as she climbed back into the bed. Morgan watched her for a moment as the redhead stared down at her puzzle box then nodded slightly to herself and reached out to take the box from her lover’s hands.

Morgan sat back a bit and easily worked her way through the hidden compartments until the lid of the box popped open, revealing the gold ring nestled inside. The captain pulled it out and set the box aside, looking down at the ring for a long time before lifting her eyes. Allison was watching her, a curious expression on her face and Morgan smiled at her. Morgan twisted the ring in her fingers then took a deep breath.

"Do you know why I gave this to you, Allison?" she asked quietly. The redhead swallowed hard and nodded hesitantly. Morgan kept her eyes locked with Allison’s. "I want to give it to you again, Allison, but I have to ask you something first." Allison’s brows drew together in confusion.

"What do you need to ask?" she asked quietly. Morgan’s jaw flexed and she nervously spun her own ring on her finger.

"What do you want for your future, Allison," she asked quietly. The redhead cocked her head at her and she continued. "When we get back to port you are free to go where ever you like. I’ll buy you passage on a ship back to Charleston if that’s what you want." Morgan’s heart tightened painfully as she said the words, waiting with baited breath for Allison’s answer. The redhead looked at her quietly for a long moment before finally answering.

"What I want is to be with you, Morgan. That’s all I want. If that means living the rest of my life on a ship then so be it, but, please, don’t send me back to Charleston." Allison’s voice quivered and Morgan reached out to pull her close.

"I don’t want you to go, Allison, I just wanted to make sure I knew what you wanted." The redhead leaned back and cupped Morgan’s face in her hands.

"I want to learn everything there is to learn about you, my dear captain, and I never want to be away from you again." Morgan felt like she could explode as she leaned into her lover and kissed her passionately. After a long while they finally separated and Morgan took Allison’s left hand in hers. With a deep breath she took the final step off the cliff she had been walking.