The Aurelia

4. Almost and a Cannon

Tim woke up to an unfamiliar weight against his arm, and when he turned, he saw that it was Lucy's head resting against him. His first thought was that he found he liked waking up beside her, but then he blinked hard as reality set in. As gently as he could, he moved off of the mattress and away from her body heat to leave her in bed alone. Tim had hoped that he would be alone in the corridors to avoid anyone drawing the wrong conclusion, but he came upon Angela and Jackson who had just returned after their two-day party in outfits they had not been wearing when they left the yacht.

"Good morning," Angela smirked and eyed the door Tim had just closed quietly as to not wake up Lucy.

"Morning," he replied hurriedly and squeezed past their smug faces to navigate to his room.

"Even if we don't find the treasure, at least we know Lucy's doing better," Jackson smiled as he pieced together what must have happened the night before.

"I can't wait to hear all the details," Angela said excitedly, and so she showered and dressed quickly before finding their friend.

Lucy was sitting in the lounge eating her breakfast when her friends approached her looking way too happy. "How was the party?" She wondered if they had met anyone during their two-day escapade.

"We didn't have nearly as much fun as you did," Jackson quirked his eyebrow.

"Sorry, but I didn't find any treasure while you two were gone."

"Who cares about the treasure? We're talking about you hooking up with Dr. Hottie," Angela smiled.

Lucy practically spat out her coffee. "No, no, NO! I did not..." she quieted her voice before saying, "hook up with Tim."

"We saw him leaving your room this morning."

"We fell asleep watching a 'Doctor Who' marathon. That's all...wait, he left in the morning? He stayed all night but then left in the morning?" She thought he must have left once she had drifted off, and did not understand why he would have stayed all evening only to sneak out before she woke up. Did he regret sleeping next to her? Was he trying to avoid an awkward conversation? She thought she knew everything about Tim...except for how he felt about her...and that mystery only continued to nag at her.

"A 'Doctor Who' marathon? Lucy, we're all adults here. You can just say you two slept together. We won't judge," Jackson said.

"Seriously, nothing like that happened! We just sat in my bed all day watching TV, and it was...nice," she could not stop a smile from tugging at her lips as she recalled how pleasant his body heat felt against her side, or the way he already knew what she would want for lunch when he ordered their food from the chef, and he even laughed a few times at The Doctor's antics. That was her favorite part- reveling in the sound of his laugh, and she did not want to forget it.

"Morning, Tim," Angela sounded amused as she saw the man slowly walking towards the lounge as though he was apprehensive to enter the space.

"Hey, everyone," he regarded the group, but his eyes remained on Lucy. "How's the ankle?"

"Feels a lot better. Thanks," she gave him a guarded smile back. She still was not sure what happened last night or this morning, but she was genuinely happy to see him and appreciative that he had asked about her ankle.

"Brought you some ice just in case," he said and lifted her leg to stretch along the bench seat. Then, he lightly put the ice on just the right spot.

"Thank you," she mumbled; it still felt surreal how careful and sweet he was when taking care of her injury.

"Are you feeling up to searching for the Queen's Dowry today, or do you need more time to rest?"

"Yeah, I'm good, but I still think we need to look somewhere else. Not sure where."