"Me? No, that's why I know how to cook." He grinned at her.

He enjoyed those days, fishing for their dinner to supplement the provisions and the fresh fruit that Dart brought them in her net. He also enjoyed Theo's undemanding company, especially after she asked him for the loan of his reader and the historical tape that mentioned the Dunkirk Evacuation.

"I think we've sort of turned it all around, the flotilla being rescued by men and dolphins," she said, "but those troops must have experienced the same sense of amazed wonder that they survived!"

Jim grinned down at her, knowing exactly what she meant. In fact, he was beginning to half wish that their convalescence could last a long time. But he was getting stronger, able to do several laps around the Cross even though the gelicast arm was awkward. Beth remarked that he was putting a little flesh on his old bones and the break was knitting nicely. At Theo's insistence, the medic reinforced the sealants on her wounds and let her join Jim in their laps, Dart now squee-eeing joyfully to accompany her partner.

"Dart's better than the Cross," Theo remarked one day after she had carefully and slowly climbed the rope ladder. The rake wounds made her movements stiff on land; in the sea she regained some of her usual grace.

"How so?" Jim replied, surprised.

"Dart talks back," Theo said with a grin as she gingerly arranged herself on the cockpit cushion.

"And you think my ship doesn't communicate with me?"

"Does she?"

"In her own fashion. Like right now," he said, feeling the alteration of the waves under her. He leaned across and tapped the barometer. Just then the comunit buzzed.

"Squall's on its way, Jim," Kaarvan said when Jim checked in. "Estimate it'll arrive in an hour, give or take five minutes. Need any help?"

Suddenly Dart breached the water, walking on her tail and talking so agitatedly that Jim didn't understand her. Theo did.

"She said"—Theo grinned—"sea is changing and will get rough. Storm coming."

"Now we know it's true." Jim grinned back. "I'll just close the for'ard hatches. We are anchored properly to ride out a squall, so that doesn't need to be altered."

"Need any help?"

"No, you get below before we get any choppy water."

Theo grimaced but swung her legs around and pushed herself up.

As he battened down the hatches and checked other gear on the deck, Jim saw that the beach dwellers were also taking precautions. Fins zipped about the area, as the dolphins set about landing partners. An unaccompanied group—and Jim thought it was Kibby leaping at the head of the pod—headed toward the storm to bring a report back to Kaarvan.

"I'd feel safer out there with Dart," Theo said, scowling at him when he joined her in the wardroom. She had fixed some klah and laid out some food.

"You know, Eba Dar remarked on that." Jim slid in to his usual seat at the end of the table.

"We were safer because we could just go deeper, to calmer water. I'd plenty of oxygen in my breather." Theo sipped her klah. Her right arm was regaining flexibility, but she still couldn't raise it all the way to her mouth. "I knew you lot were having a helluva time topside, but we kept watch below."

Jim covered her right hand, soothing fingers that twitched impatiently. "I know you did. The reason we'd no loss of life was you dolphineers!"

"That's our job," she said with a cocky grin and a jerk of her head. She let her fingers lie still in his grasp.

Under them, the Cross responded to the sea's agitation. The comunit buzzed.

"Kaarvan here. Dolphins report it'll be short and sweet but a bit heavy. You ready for it?"

"As we'll ever be." Jim switched off and turned to Theo, absently catching his cup of klah as it slid toward the raised edge of the table. "Would you be more comfortable in a bunk? It might be rough on that healing skin of yours."

She gave him an odd look and an odder smile. "It might at that."

She eased her way across the cushions to the end of the table. He joined her, slipping one hand under her elbow as the ship gave a convulsive rock. They could hear the wind rising, and the slap of lines against the mast, and feel waves slamming into the starboard side of the Cross.

Her good hand balancing her against the increased pitching, Theo made her way to the forward cabin where the double bunk in the space under the bow allowed her just that much more space than the narrower singles. Jim followed, anxious that she not get thrown against the walls. He had his own right arm tucked against his body, his left held up in case he needed to balance himself.

Just as she reached the cabin, the Cross pitched again and Theo fell against him. Instinctively he grabbed and held her close, a lifetime of experience helping him to balance them both against the erratic movement. She wrapped her left arm about his waist, hugging herself to him. He could feel her trembling and the smoothness of her skin against his, and he tightened his arm, surprised by a number of conflicting and long-forgotten emotions.

"It won't be as bad a blow as the other one," he said to reassure her. Though why Theo would need reassurance.

"I'm not scared, you iggerant old fool," she said in a taut voice. Switching her left arm to around his neck, she hauled his head down to hers and kissed him so thoroughly that he lost his balance and they both tumbled into the cabin as the Cross pitched them forward. Nor would Theo let go of him even after they had fallen across one of the smaller bunks.

"Your legs? Your arm," Jim began without lessening the pressure of his arm around her. "I'll hurt you…"

"There are ways, damn it, Jim Tillek, there are ways!"

Dispite the rolling and pitching of the Cross, which sometimes worked to their advantage, he discovered that indeed there were ways and very little hurting. In fact, Jim decided that the next hour could be termed therapeutic—among other adjectives that he had had no occasion to employ for too long a time.

"We're neither of us young," Theo said when the Southern Cross lay calmly at anchor again, "but you're definitely not beyond it, my friend."

"No," Jim said in drawl, allowing surprise and pride to color his reply, "and glad to prove it. Especially with you!" And he kissed her tenderly.

The comunit began to buzz, and with a sigh of resignation, Jim rose to answer it.

"Dart approves of you, you know," Theo called after him

He let a chuckle answer that sally, but he felt a little taller all the same. Dolphins were extraordinarily good readers of human character and defects.

Beth Eagles gave Jim the go-ahead to undertake light employment. "And I mean ‘light,' Jim Tillek, though you look rested."

"I am," he said with no inflection, and sought Kaarvan to see how he could lightly employ himself to advantage.

He knew enough of ship design and chandlery so that Kaarvan shared with him the supervision of the repairs. The squall had done little damage to the makeshift boatyard, and it had released a few more errant bundles, which the dolphins brought in close enough to be collected by Joel's apprentices.

Theo also complained that inactivity was driving her nuts, so Beth allowed her to come ashore every day and help decipher waterlogged bar codes on the pile of "mystery" cargo.

If Jim and Theo preferred to row back out to the Cross for their evenings, no one seemed to regard that as odd, especially when Dart followed.

"Do they think Dart plays the duenna?" Jim asked slyly. When Theo looked puzzled, he explained the term and she laughed.

"Not her. You'll notice she doesn't swim between us," she said with a sly grin.

Jim laughed because he hadn't. "That's good, because it'd be awful if she came between us," he said, masking the apprehension he felt at even such a subtle mention of their relationship. He wanted the association to continue but wasn't sure how to broach the subject.