AUTHOR'S NOTE : I sincerely apologise for the delay! I'm almost finished training to be a nurse which is what took me away from this site for so long. I hope the chapter was worth the wait, and it was what I had always planned when I conceived this particular story. So I hope you enjoy, although I do wonder if the end is a bit risky but it's how I mean to go on. Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

"Drink up then Heather!" Charlie insisted as he passed me a pint of ale.

I sniffed it which is something I wished that I didn't do. Holding my nose and ignoring the laughter that escaped from him, I attempted to swallow most of it in one go. I tried my hardest not to spit it back out and avoid Charlie laughing at me more. "That's disgusting!" I spluttered eventually. "Do they not have anything else down here?"

"You'll get used to it," He assured me as he drank some of his own pint. "They're not snooty enough down here to drink champagne," He teased while making a 'drink up' motion with his hands.

I rolled my eyes and finished the last drop before pushing the glass away from me. "God, that is just awful Charlie! How can you drink that stuff?"

"Easy, it's alcohol," He winked at me. To be fair, I was kind of expecting that answer. What I was not expecting however, was the next revelation to come out of his mouth, "Jim's taken a fancy to you."

"Excuse me?"

Charlie leaned back in his chair and grinned, "I've been teasing him about it, saying how your father would never allow it. Needless to say he got pissed off with me and told me to shut up. His face was bright red."

Raising an eyebrow I asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Revenge," He smirked, looking at me triumphantly. "He begged me not to tell you, but after today … Well let's just say that him doing a double shift isn't punishment enough. He is one of your co-conspirators, isn't he?"

"Well, yes," I responded, still blind-sided by the reveal.

"Exactly. I shall get the other men in time, particularly your father. I know this was your idea, but he helped, so I'll get him back. Maybe not tomorrow, but sometime before this voyage is over. I'll just need to be smart about it. Captain Smith was incredibly pissed off when he heard about what happened to me."

I grimaced a bit, "Oh." I didn't factor in the captain's response at all. Even though Charlie did say about the lads and my father being punished, I never considered his reaction. "I should thank Dad for taking the blame for me."

"You should," He chuckled while patting my back. "Now, shall I get you another?"

"You still have half a pint left!"

At my words, Charlies picked up the glass and drank the rest of it in one go. "Not now I don't," He pointed out. He stood up and said, "I'll be right back Heather."

I groaned at the mere idea of drinking another one of those pints. I've never seen a drink look less appealing, unless it was milk. I suppose I would drink a pint of ale over a pint of milk. Shaking my head, I looked towards the bar and saw Charlie joking with the barman. Getting rid of the goofy smile I could feel spread across my face, I tried to stay focused. One pint was all I had, albeit it was gone much quicker than I had anticipated. I was not down here to get drunk with Charlie.

Two hours later, and he and I were standing up in arms and belting out an old sea song my father taught me when I was younger. As it turned out, the more I drank, the less horrible it tasted. And now, the night was turning out to be more fun than I expected. I honestly can't remember the last time I enjoyed a good singalong with anyone! I didn't even mind the fact that other passengers were watching our performance. It was just fun!

"What shall we sing now?" Charlie asked me as he waved an empty glass around.

I giggled and whispered into his ear, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star!"

"That's for babies!" He laughed while tickling my sides. "You're not a baby are you?"

"No! Charlie! Stop that!" I laughed while trying to dodge his hands which seemed to be everywhere. "Come on …!"

He threw his hands up in the air and grinned, "There!"

I playfully shoved him and dragged him away from the table, "Dance with me!"

"Yes mi'lady," Charlie said as he bowed somewhat unsteadily.

Upon standing he took one of my hands and placed the other around my waist before what I could only describe as him pulling me against him. My face was smashed against his upper chest as he essentially twirled and stumbled around with me. I could actually feel myself getting dizzy. "Charlie, please! Stop it! You're making me dizzy!"

"Me too!"

That helps. "Charlie, please!"

He only laughed before tripping up over his own feet. He crashed down to the ground, bringing me with him. As I lay on top of him I could feel his body move with uncontrollable laughter. It wasn't long before I started giggling with him as we lay there. I wanted to get up but the room wouldn't stop spinning. Crawling off of him, I curled up on the floor and closed my eyes while waiting for the spinning to stop.

"Heather! Heather!" Charlie shouted as he shook my body violently.

"The room won't stop spinning!"

He stopped shaking me as a cackle escaped his mouth. The alcohol made him much louder than usual, something I had forgotten in my current state. "Gerrup!" He slurred as I felt his hand clumsily tap my shoulder.

Giggling, I sat on the floor and tried to keep my balance. It was suddenly a tricker task, and I could swear that the room was still spinning. It wasn't long before I slumped against him and closed my eyes again.

"Wakey wakey!" Came Charlie's voice as he bounced his shoulder against mine. "It's too early for bedtime!" He had to quickly cover me as we were narrowly missed by some other passengers who were dancing around. "We need to get uuuuup!"

"Uuuuup!" I repeated before giggling again. Before I knew it, I was on my feet and the two of us were swaying with the music again. "This is how the room spins Charlie!"

"Then let's get more pints!"

I shook my head and insisted, "I'm so dizzy!"

He chuckled and put an arm around my waist. Holding me securely he grinned and said, "You need fresh air." I didn't protest as we staggered through the crowds together. Getting up the stairs was a different matter as I clung to the railing in a desperate attempt not to fall back. Sure, if I fell I might not have felt it, but I still didn't want to fall.

When we eventually made it outside after about ten wrong turns – or was it twenty? I lost count – the fresh air hit me with such force that I could feel the rest of my inhibitions leave. Suddenly the idea of leaning precariously over the railings to look at the water seemed like a great idea. Not for Charlie though who kept pulling at my waist for me to come back over.

"Heather you can't fall!"

"I won't!" I laughed as I balanced on the railings. "I'm flying! Wheeee!"

With a powerful tug, Charlie managed to loosen my grip so that I fell backwards on top of him. I felt my elbow catch him in the stomach, or at least that's what I think it was because I got up too quickly to notice what it was.

"Whoa, Heather!" He shouted as he too leapt to his feet and stumbled into me. "You need to go to bed before something happens and Daddy gets maaaad …"

I merely shrugged and decided to skip down the deck. Why? It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was also more fun than regular walking which I was finding increasingly difficult. I say it was a good idea at the time because about thirty seconds after I started, I fell right over a deckchair onto the deck. Not that I could feel it.

"Shitty shit, shit!" Charlie shouted as I heard his footsteps thunder down the deck. I didn't even get the chance to climb to my feet before I was scooped into his arms. Then I heard his footsteps again as the world around me seemed to whizz by. I didn't even register that he had brought me inside, I just squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the feeling to stop.

When it did stop, I felt relief. And also softness. Turns out I had been placed on my bed by Charles who was slumped across it. I slapped his chest, "Charlie!"

He sat bolt upright and looked at me with a drunken grin. "I didn't want you hurt anymore," He told me.

"I'm not hurt," I insisted as I sat up to look at him.

Pulling out a hipflask from his jacket pocket he asked me, "Have you ever tried whisky?"

I laughed as I grabbed the flask and tried a mouthful. "It burns!" I cried out as I thrust the flask back in his direction. "It's like poison!"

"It's not poison," He scoffed before taking a gulp. "It's delicious. Go on, try some more," He said as he put the flask back in my hand.

I don't know what result I was expecting. I swigged some more whisky only to find that it still burned the back of my throat. Only this time I didn't shout it out, I just scrunched my face up which seemed to make him laugh.

To be perfectly honest, I don't remember much else after we started on the whisky. I remember laughing. A lot. I think Charlie was making goofy faces, I'm not sure. He did seem to hug me a lot and we must have had some sort of conversation. I didn't see Lily which was weird because I thought we were loud.

I just remember waking up and now I have the worst headache I've ever experienced. My mouth is dry and there's a strange taste to it. I feel shivery, and wonder for a brief second that it's the alcohol. Then I realise that I'm completely naked. Why I didn't pull on a nightgown is anyone's guess. I suppose I could always ask Charlie, because he's lying next to me and I'm not sure that I want to know if he's naked as well under the covers.

"Okay," I tell myself in a hoarse whisper. "This is not that bad … I think …"