Soft moonlight warmed the edges of the bed as she crawled carefully across the covers, coming to rest a top them and cuddling close to his back turned towards her.

Ever so carefully she laid an arm across his stomach, softly to avoid stirring the sleeping man beside her as dreams drifted aimlessly around them, enveloping her in their sleepy haze.

"Goodnight" she whispered into the fabric of his shirt, resting her forehead against the crook at the base of his neck, muscles tensing slightly before relaxing under her soothing breath.

She felt him shuffle onto his back, arm snuggling around her body to draw her nearer to his own, desperately craving the warmth she brought to his other wise cool self. She drew a sharp breath as his leg brushed her own, the light gauze he still wore feeling heavy beneath his flannelette pyjama pants.

"Kate" he mumbled unintelligibly, burying his head into her blonde locks. His eyes fluttered open sleepily, coming to rest upon her own bright emerald orbs, gazing intently at him through the moonlight. He leant his body back to drink in the sight of her, thin straps of her black tank top barley visible against her pale skin, hunny blonde strands falling down to shield her face slightly; the small smile that played at her lips as he leant towards her once more.

"You came" he whispered, reaching an unsteady hand to brush away her hair. He froze a moment, remembering another instance where he had done similar; her words from the evening aboard the Hammersley bringing a smile to his features.

He closed his eyes briefly as her small fingers grasped his own larger ones, resting their hands together against her cheek.

"You told me too" she reminded, rubbing a thumb across the rough skin of his hand. Her mind drifted back to that evening, when she had wandered out of his house with the rest of the crew, deciding that the captain wasn't up to a nights drinking yet and leaving him instead laughing under the influence of diet coke. He had hobbled unsteadily after her, his knee stiffer than he'd have liked after sitting on it all night, leaning close to her forehead and whispering four simple words against her temple. She'd felt the warmth of his touch as he'd pressed the tiny metal key into her palm, gazing at her knowingly before turning to wave the rest of his friends off.

"I said it was up to you" he reminded gently, coaxing her fingers open to lock his around her palm in a firm embrace. He rolled back softly, pulling her with him to rest against the side of his chest, tangling his good leg between her own and resting his arm around her waist as she had earlier.

He felt her tense briefly before resting against his him, wrapping one arm around his stomach whilst the other drew a lazy circle against his chest.

"Are we really doing this?" he mumbled, earning a small laugh for himself. He glanced quickly at her, praying that no end was in sight.

"You left me, remember" she answered, smiling down at him. She raised her head till it lay parallel with his own, bright emeralds matching his own uncertain pools of blue.

"I won't" he whispered leaning up to kiss her cheek in promise. He felt her soft sigh against his own and pulled her to his chest once more, kissing the tip of her nose gently and whispering softly.

"I need you beside me Kate, I promise you that"

His heart beat steadily against the inside of his chest as Kate shuffled, turning her head to lie against him.

"How are we going to do this?" she questioned slowly, eyes fluttering dangerously between consciousness and the land of nod. She blinked them open quickly, desperate to stay awake until they had finished talking.

"I could take up Ray's offer" she heard him mumble in response, causing her to immediately push herself from his chest to tower above him, strands of hair framing them both.

"I don't trust him Mike" she pleaded, surprising him with the conviction with which her voice carried "I don't want you all over the world with him whilst I'm here without you"

"Why?" he couldn't help quipping, smiling teasingly at her as he had done just over a month earlier. "Would you miss me?"

He's smiled softened as she buried her head against his shoulder, it taking him a moment to realise that her shuddering shoulders were from suppressed sobs.

"Please don't joke about that" she stuttered, barely intelligible as she mumbled against his shoulder

"Please don't go away again"

Mike drew in a deep breathe, steadying his own voice as he ran a hand up and down her back, realising for the first time how close he had come to leaving her – again.

"I told you Katie, I'm not going anywhere" he soothed, rubbing her back as she hiccuped against him, no doubt the last in a long line of tears that had fallen because of him.

"I promise" he whispered.

What seemed like hours later the pair lay half asleep, tangled in each others arms, neither minds on any particular thought, rather that they were both safe with the other.

"Three months" whispered Kate finally, startling Mike from his half conscious state.

He fluttered his eyelids open drowsily, running a hand down Kate's back distractedly.

"Three months, no fraternisation on board and no sex; if we can survive that long and still feel this way, then we can discuss where to go from here" she nodded finally, kissing his chest before settling her eyes closed once more.

She felt Mike's hand stop mid way up her back and glanced up at him, noting the mildly confused look he was wearing.

Somewhere in the backs of his mind he understood that what she had said was the most sensible solution to their predicament, but as he lay there with her in his arms two words stood out clearly in his mind.

"Why no sex?" he whined, running his hands up underneath her shirt and grinning as she squirmed ticklishly.

"Mike!" she chastised, grabbing his dancing fingers and bringing them out to rest before her, where no mischief could be made.

"It's not like we haven't already" he noted, shrugging as best he could with her laying a top of him.

"Mike, promise me that we'll try this the right way" she pleaded, surprising him at how desperate she sounded.

For the second time that night he realised how effected she had been by the explosion weeks earlier, and how desperately she was depending on him to hold her heart safe with his own this time around.

He bought her hand to his lips gently, brushing them against her pale knuckles before pulling the blanket tighter around them, shuffling her within his arms and avoiding his bad leg, leaning up to kiss her forehead in promise.

"Three months and counting Katie"