The island shore was quickly receding into the distance, already little more than a thin line on the horizon. Soon they would arrive on the main island and head for the airport. Their luggage sat next to them on the boat, neatly tagged. Their vacation was as good as over.

Duncan felt a hollow tug inside. Next to him, Riordan sighed wistfully.

"Let me have a look at your wound." Carefully, Duncan ran his fingers through Riordan's hair, looking for the almost healed injury. It was nice to have an excuse to touch him in public. Duncan was still a bit leery about such open displays of affection where another man was concerned. Then again, it wasn't as if anyone was watching them. There was just Oz, and he was distracted by Isabela, who had claimed the seat next to him and was chatting happily away.

"It's fine. Anders did a good job. Stitched it up without so much as a shave." Riordan sounded impressed.

A quick inspection confirmed he was right. "Such a talented young man." Duncan kept his voice as light as he could.

"He sure is." Riordan yawned. "Fuck, I'm tired."

"Yeah, well." Duncan couldn't quite keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "This was supposed to be a vacation, remember? But no. First you nearly crack your skull open, and then you volunteer for work instead of getting some rest. You only have yourself to blame."

"You sound like my mother." Riordan grinned unabashedly. "And anyway, it's not as if the two of you had let me rest at night. If you were so worried about me, maybe you should have made sure I got some sleep instead of-"

"I'm serious." Duncan could have slapped him. "It's a miracle you didn't break down at some point."

"Look, I know it was a bit much." To his surprise, Riordan actually sounded a bit chastened. "But, I loved it. This kind of work, helping people who really need it - this is what we always talked about in med school. Not that phony shit we're doing for a living nowadays."

"You've done a lot of humanitarian work." Duncan protested, painfully aware that he himself had been more interested in his own career.

"Yeah, but I always got hazard pay, and lots of public recognition, too." Riordan shook his head. "Anders is the real thing. An idealist, a crusader. Heck, he even pays the nurse out of his own pocket when the government money is late."

"I do hope he has some flaws." Duncan fought down another irrational surge of jealousy.

But Riordan just laughed. "I'm sure he has, but I didn't notice them. He could be a terrible lover or a mass murderer, I guess. No wait, there is something: He does make terrible coffee."

"Well, that's a relief." Shit. His voice had nearly cracked on the last word. Involuntarily, his fingers clenched in Riordan's hair.

"Duncan!" Turning around, Riordan caught his hand and held it tightly. "Stop that. Hey, you're pretty impressive yourself. When I told Anders who you were, he refused to believe me at first."

"Yeah, but he'd read your papers." He could no longer evade Riordan's gaze, not at this close distance.

Whatever he read in his eyes made Riordan's expression soften, his voice turn uncharacteristically gentle. "You've done some pretty great stuff as well, stuff I admire. And your name carries a lot of clout in the right circles." With a quick gesture, he waved Duncan's protests aside. "You know it's true. I may have done more field work, but when you come on stage, the chequebooks open. When I start to talk, the rich and famous squirm and head for the bathroom."

Duncan sighed. "That's because you shove reality down their throats. Nobody likes that."

"True, I guess. One day you must teach me how to serve these things in sugar-coated wrappers." Riordan yawned again. "Anyway, none of this changes the fact that you're at least as amazing as that Anders guy. And I love you, not him, you daft idiot. Now, move over a bit. Yeah, like that."

He placed his head in Duncan's lap. Within moments, his eyes were sliding shut. Duncan was staring down at him, too stunned to reply. Did he really just say what I think he said? Raising his head, he met Isabela's gaze. She was smiling fondly at them and, when she noticed him looking, she winked at him, just once, her eyes sparkling with amusement. He swallowed hard, then smiled back. A warm, happy feeling was spreading in his stomach.

I guess he did.

* The end *

Hugs and thanks to everyone who's stuck with me to the end of this little story - hope you got a little of that vacation feeling, too. ;)

And of course, many, many thanks to my wonderful beta suilven!