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Reunion	By : RoyalLightShip Category: +S through Z > Treasure Planet Views: 3093 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Treasure Planet, nor the characters from it. No money has been, or ever will be, made from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Reunion
- 1
Doctor Delbert Doppler pulled his faded red coat around himself tighter and looked for shelter along the docks of the spaceport.  For a construction so large that it barely needed its own artificial gravity generators, it suddenly seemed to be severely limited.

"Not much of a port in a storm," Doppler muttered to himself, and hoisting his satchel higher on his shoulder.   He tried to put up his small umbrella but the blast of thrust from a ship passing at low altitude, sails heavy with water, took it out of his hands and hurled it over the edge.  He watched it go and wondered sourly what was going to go wrong next.  Rain was pelting down around him.  Montressor's star had entered its high solar phase, unleashing flares into the local area of space.  When they reached the planet they were deflected by the natural magnetic fields, creating brilliant auroras at the poles.  But the spaceport had deliberately been built beyond the planet to avoid the havoc they played with ships' compasses, and when the ionised particles hit the field created by its gravity generators they span off into intricate vortices, drawing in particles of hydrogen and oxygen from the etherium and forging them together into water.  It was rain from a cloudless sky.  The bedraggled astrophysicist understood the technicalities of the phenomenon better than most, but that didn't mean he had to like it.  He wouldn't even be here at all if he didn't have what he considered to be the best reason in the galaxy to be anywhere.  A couple of stevedores ran past him, feet raising splashes from the puddled ground.  Well, one of them was slithering, but his companion had enough feet to make up for his shortfall.

"I say!  I say, excuse me!  Is there anywhere I could get out of this?"  Doppler called after them.  One of them paused to gesture with a tentacle.  Doppler squinted in that direction, sighed, and picked his way past the stacks of crates and barrels until he found an empty shipping container, one side hanging open.  Gratefully, he stepped inside and, as he tended to do when soaked to the skin, shook himself.

"Och, do you mind?"

He looked around in surprise as saw the other occupant of the container, a dockyard official wearing a cocked hat many times too large.

"I'm terribly sorry," Doppler apologised.  "I didn't see you there."

"Clearly."  The officer wiped his forehead.  "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Ah, trying to stay out of the rain?"

"I mean here, as in the spaceport.  Didn't you see the stellar forecasts?"

"Young man, I write the stellar forecasts," Doppler drew himself up and tried to look as impressive as he could whilst water was still dripping from the tips of his ears.

"So you really should have known better, then."  The officer blew his nose on his scarf.  "You're not Doppler, are you?  Delbert Doppler?"

"Doctor Delbert Doppler, to you," said Doppler.  "And who are you, anyway?"

"I think you need a few more vowels before that last part'll make sense," said the young man, ignoring the question. "Only reason I ask is that we got a message for you.  Someone knew you'd be here."

"What?  Who could that be?"  Doppler's curiosity got the better of his irritation.

"Superluminal signal from an incoming ship.  I've got it here somewhere..." the official rifled through his clipboard. "Ah, here we go.  Priority message from RLS Legacy.  Message reads: 'Try to keep dry.  Expect me soon.'"

"Ah...really?"

"Sounds like your ship's coming in, Doctor."

"Oh, yes...yes, indeed.  Well, not my ship, obviously, or I'd be on it.  But the ship I'm waiting for."

"Well, she's due in soon.  Any time now, really."  The official checked his pocket watch.  "Only you're in the wrong place."

"I am?"

"This is Berth 302.  Legacy is due into Berth 22."

Doppler sighed.  "And I imagine that'll be a very long way away from here, am I right?"

"I could tell you it's only ten minutes away...or I could tell you the truth."  The officer looked at him sympathetically. "Here.  You'd better take one of these."

He reached behind him and pulled out an empty sack, which he tossed to Doppler, who caught it and looked bemused.  The officer gestures pulling it on over his head and nodded encouragingly.  Doppler sighed again, did his best, and stepped back into the rain.  He looked left and right for a moment before turned back to his companion.

"Uh, if you wouldn't mind terribly pointing me-"

The official pointed to the left.  Doppler nodded and set off.  The rain drummed on the sack, sounding strangely distant to his ears.   The occasional large drip fell from the edge of the sack onto his nose, causing it to twitch. Painted numbers on the pavement counted down irritatingly slowly, but they eventually fell into double digits.  He paused for breath under a crate which had been propped up between two others and looked up at the darkening sky.  The spaceport had passed around to the night side of Montressor, giving a view into space as good as any. Shielded by the planet from the sun's wrath, the rain began slackening noticeably.  Doppler wiped the lenses of his round glasses and looked into the sky.  It was easy to miss, but what he saw there was enough to make his heart skip.  A point of light was moving against the backdrop of stars.  It could only be her.  He took a deep breath and hurried on down the dockside until the painted signs underfoot read 22.

"Keep clear, please, sir."

A spaceport official stepped out of the shadows and stopped him.  Doppler stared at the oversized hat until the penny dropped.

"You?  Weren't you hiding in that container up near Berth 302?"

"Yep."

"How did you get here?"

"Service bus.  Runs express down the second tier passageway."

Doppler glared.  "And you didn't think to tell me about that, even though you knew I was coming here?"

"No, sir, you seemed determined to get here yourself."

"Well, I hope you had your fun."  Doppler took off the sack and shook himself unapologetically.  The official demurely shielded his face with a clipboard and turned to a crowd of dockhands, barking orders that scattered them around the berth, where they began doing industrious things with ropes.  Doppler gritted his teeth and looked up.  It amazed even him how quickly what he saw made him relax.

"There she is..." he breathed.

A clipper was coming in under full solar sail, the white spreads glowing in the last of the sun and the light of the ship's navigation lamps.  Her ivory hull seemed to shine with its own luminescence and the gold trimming of her railings and ornamentation shone a deeper copper in the sunset.  Even though he was no spacer, Doppler was impressed at the way the ship handled.  As she made the last turn in towards the spaceport, tiny figures sprang to life across her upper masts, furling the sails efficiently and tying them down.  Pulses of light flared from the ship's stern as she rode her thrusters in on the final approach.   Her Imperial Majesty's Royal Light-Ship Legacy was a sight to move even the least poetic of landlubbers.

"Steady now!" shouted the dock officer.  "Stand by to receive lines!"

The ship was close enough now to read the name Legacy, proudly emblazoned on her sweeping bows.  The last of the sails was brought in as she began coasting, decelerating slowly.  A final burst of fire from her thrusters brought her to a halt directly above Berth 22.  Orders could be heard being shouted on her deck and crewmen appeared at the railings, dropping mooring lines over the side to the dockhands.  Doppler watched with genuine admiration on his face, all the greater for knowing the skill behind that impeccable ship-handling.

"Tie her up properly, now!" called the officer.  "Make her steady!  Haul in those after lines properly there!"

The ship was now descending slowly, but her back end was slightly higher than her bow.  The dockhands gripped the lines dropped from the stern and began heaving together until the trip was corrected.

"Hold her there!  Tie her off and prepare to receive the gangway!"

A section of Legacy's rail was hinged back and a group of crewmen began lowering a wooden walkway towards the ground.  Dockhands took hold of the trailing ropes and guided it into place.  The official turned to Doppler.

"You can approach now, sir.  Just stand clear as we offload her.  You'll be on board in a jiffy."

"On board?"  Doppler watched the gangway being secured.

"Captain's invited you on board.  It was in the message.  Didn't I tell you?"

Doppler bit back a reply and decided to just count his blessings, which suddenly seemed very close.  The ship was right above them, tilting gently in the low stellar breeze and making the ropes creak where they ran down to the dock.  The official straightened his massive hat and extracted a pen from behind his ear.

"Come on, then.  Follow me."

Montressan regulations prevented anyone leaving a newly-arrived ship before inspection could take place- an inconvenient holdover from the Second Procyon War half-heartedly retained as a guard against piracy.  Doppler had never understood why any determined pirates would remain aboard their ship just because they were told to, and he fancied that he had more experience with pirates than whoever had written the regulation.  He followed the official up the gangway, gazing along the sleek white hull of the ship so intently that he almost ran into the man's back when he stopped at the top of the gangway.  The official touched the tip of his hat, an exercise which involved stretching his arm out almost completely.

"Commissioner Mott, Spaceport Control.  Request permission to come aboard ship, Captain?"

"Permission granted, Mr Mott.  Welcome aboard."

Doppler's heart skipped a few beats at the new voice.  It was clipped and efficient, and impeccably pronounced every syllable of every word.  He'd missed that voice so much and he couldn't help the whisper that passed his lips.

“Amelia...”

It was a whisper of relief as much as anticipation.  Doppler's faith in her spacing abilities was total, but he knew all too well that there were hazards in the void that even she could not overcome and it was always a dark thought at the back of his mind when she was away that she might encounter one.  He'd never admitted it to her, but every time she went away, after about two weeks, he would suffer a recurring nightmare of seeing the Legacy come into port without her aboard.  Always the same nightmare.  He pictured himself waiting on the dockside, watching one sailor after another disembark, until there was nobody left, and then boarding the ship by himself and wandering the empty passageways looking for her and knowing she wasn't there to be found...

He shook himself and smiled.  Such thoughts as that could now be put aside.  She was here.  He followed Mott onto the desk, daring to glance up at Legacy's bridge.  His heart skipped even faster at the sight of the slender figure standing there, clad in blue and gold.  Mott tipped his hat to her.

"Welcome to Montressor, Captain Amelia."

"Thank you, Mr. Mott.  It's a pleasure to be here."  Amelia glanced up, caught Doppler's eye and gave him a brief but genuine smile that left his heart doing laps of his chest.  She turned and walked down to the deck, producing a rolled document from behind her back.

"Our letter of trade, Mr. Mott.  All cargo present and accounted for.  Five tons of dried Tarhelian starsquids, four crates of Arcadese porcelain, three holds of astrajute, two of solar crystals and a partridge in a pear tree."

"Er, I don't have that last item on the inventory, Captain..."  Mott rummaged on his clipboard hurriedly.  Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Oh, not to worry.  Is the rest there?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Good.  Consider it all arrived."

"Very good, captain."  Mott took her papers and compared them to the copies on his clipboard.  He seemed to be taking a long time about it.  Not that Doppler minded.  From where he was standing, off to one side near the port laser carronade, he had a rather good profile view of Amelia.  It was always a pleasing profile, but never more so than when she was still in what Doppler liked to think of as her official guise.  There was something about the way she held her head high, shoulders back, and her tricorn hat covering the best of that auburn hair.  He became aware of the small smile on his face, which only broadened when Amelia looked sideways and caught his gaze.  Mott must have noticed because he coughed and waved a hand in the direction of Doppler, who had opened his satchel and was rummaging through the contents as if taking inventory, making a series of small clanking noises as he did so.

"Oh, right, yes.  I passed your message on, Captain.  This is-"

"I think I can guess, Mr. Mott, thank you.  I only requested the presence of one astrophysicist and I highly doubt that there are more than that around this port."  Amelia nodded curtly and looked over to Doppler, giving absolutely no indication that she recognised him from a bar of soap.  "Doctor Doppler, I presume?"

Doppler couldn't hide the smile at the memories of their first meeting.  Amelia had a better poker face, and only someone who knew her well could have seen the laughter in her green eyes.

"The one and only," he replied.  "It's an honour to meet you, Captain Amelia."

"Yes.  It is, isn't it." she said.  Those green eyes were almost singing.  "I'm pleased to have you aboard, Doctor.  I'll be with you directly."

"Of course, Captain."  Doppler was impressed.  If you didn't know, you'd swear she had never seen him before in her life.  Amelia turned back to Mott.

"Are we done here, Commissioner?  I don't like my crew being left to idle when there's a cargo to be unloaded."

Mott scribbled something on his papers and nodded.

"All done, Captain.  Thank you."

"Yes."  Amelia turned to the bridge.  "You heard the Commissioner, Mr. Pike!  Empty the holds!"

The first officer saluted.  "Aye aye, Captain!  Quartermaster, get your hands moving!  Sharply now!"

"Aye, sir!"

Doppler stood back again and tried not to get in the way as spacers ran back and forth.  Even Mott suffered the indignity of his hat being knocked sideways, and eventually off completely.  It was trampled underfoot before he was able to retrieve it, leaving it so badly out of shape that Doppler saw him grimace and stick it under his arm instead.  A shadow passed overhead, causing Doppler to duck instinctively, as a crate was swung outboard and lowered to the dockside.  Amid all the chaos, only Amelia seemed unperturbed.  It wasn't that she was avoiding the hustle and the obstacles, it was just that she conspired to never be in the same place as them and so proceeded as if they weren't there.

"Doctor?" she called.  "Perhaps you'd be more comfortable on the bridge?  Mr. Mott, I take it you're all right here."

Mott rammed his misshapen hat back on his head.  "Er, actually, with all due respect, captain...I think I should return to the docks to oversee my men there."

"Suit yourself," said Amelia.  "Doctor, would you care to follow me?"

It was certainly quieter on the bridge.  Doppler followed Amelia at a suitably respectful distance.

"Sorry for all the bother," she said.  "Rather goes with the territory, I'm afraid.  Allow me to introduce my first officer, Doctor.  This is Mr. Pike.  Mr. Pike, this is Dr. Doppler."

Pike was a young man in a freshly-starched Midshipman's uniform who greeted Doppler with enthusiasm, sweeping off his hat and bowing, revealing a mass of dirty blonde hair tied back in a regulation queue.  Doppler offered his hand, which was shaken eagerly enough to threaten to dislodge his glasses.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor.  I read your last work on supernovic collapsars in the Academy, especially the section on the frequency of early formative pulses in the accretion disc.  I can't imagine how you got close enough to one to write about the surface fluctuations in such detail!"

"Oh, er, well, I had some help, of course."  Doppler grinned at Amelia and tried to massage some life back into his hand.  Pike didn't notice.

"Well, in my opinion that paper should be mandatory reading for astronavigators," said Pike.  "I wrote my final examination on the subject of astrophysical fundamentals to stellar navigation.  I think I read everything you've ever written!"

"Oh, er...really?"  Doppler was somewhat wrong-footed.  He had met other academics before, of course, and more students than he really cared to remember.  But this was the first time he had ever met anyone who could be described as a fan.

"In fact, sir, have you thought of submitting any work directly to the Academy?  Because I had one or two thoughts about-"

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Pike," said Amelia, cutting him off.  "That was an introduction, not an invitation."

Pike looked suitably chastised and lowered his head, a thumb and forefinger nervously rubbing one of his white collar tabs.  "Yes, ma'am."

"I think the Quartermaster could do with another pair of eyes in the forward hold, Mr. Pike.  Even if he has got three already.  That cargo of porcelains.  I don't want any breakages."

"Yes, ma'am.  Right away."  Pike saluted and darted off the bridge.

"He's keen," said Doppler, after he had gone.

"That's one word for it," said Amelia.

"Well, I hope he at least lasts longer than the last couple of first officers you've had.  It seems like every trip you've had a new one."

"They come and go."  Amelia sighed.  "Not because of me, I'm glad to say.  But the powers that be in the Admiralty think that this is the best way of getting the newcomers some experience.  All the small ships like mine operating in the Fleet Reserve have been stuck with a revolving door of Midshipmen.  As if it wasn't bad enough that we're on cargo runs more often than patrols these days."

"Government-chartered runs, though," said Doppler.  "It's the only way to break the shipping cartels.  You remember what it was like even a couple of years ago, the mark-ups on everything were tantamount to piracy."

"Still...it's not exactly why I joined the Navy.  And to have Academy pups serving as first officers...it's not like the old days."

"No...no, I imagine it wouldn't be."  Doppler always felt on shaky ground around the topic of first officers.

"They're pushing them out the door so fast these days.  Half-trained, inexperienced neophytes, sending them to postings on any ship with a vacancy just to fast-track them."  Amelia shook her head.  "Sometimes I wonder if I was right to recommend young Mr. Hawkins to the Academy."

"I think Jim can handle anything," said Doppler.  "It must be the border business with the Procyons.  And since the stories about Treasure Planet got out, every pirate in the galaxy is combing the Empire for it.  Even if it was blown to subatomic particles.  Everyone seems to have overlooked that part, really."

"They do seem rather optimistic, don't they?  Personally I don't mind what they do, so long as they keep away from our ships.  Which they don't, of course.  Spacescum that they are."  Amelia's lip curled contemptuously.

"There's the explanation, then."  Doppler watched Pike disappear through a hatchway and found himself feeling sorry for the young man.  "The Navy must need as many officers as it can get."

"It's still not right," said Amelia.   "My Second Officer spent most of the voyage bedridden with spacesickness.  He's still down there even now.  And the whole point of a First Officer is that the Captain should be able to trust them with the ship so they don't have to do it all themselves."

Doppler looked at her and was suddenly struck by how tired she was.  You had to be up close and you had to be searching for it and you had to know her, but it was there, around the eyes and in her bearing.  A certain sensation that behind the formidable wall of authority with which she surrounded herself, there was something being stretched so far that it was imperceptibly fraying around the edges.  Doppler wondered just how much strength she had...and how good she was at putting those walls and facades between herself and the world.

"Are..." he dropped his voice, knowing that Amelia wouldn't want a question like this asked in public at all, even with his good intentions, "Are you all right?"

"Of course."  She raised her chin.  "We got here eventually.  And on schedule."

"Yes...you certainly did."  Doppler checked his pocket watch.  "To the minute, practically."

"Ah?  Perhaps I should do better next time."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean that."  His eyes widened as he searched his sentences for any more of his verbal slip-ups.

"I know, Doctor.  I know."  Amelia gave him a small smile.  "Permit me a small exercise of my sense of humour.  The opportunities in the last few weeks have been rather limited.  At least, without having had to draw a picture afterwards to explain it."

"I wouldn't have thought you'd ever be short of an excuse to use that wit of yours," Doppler permitted himself a grin. "And it's always been crystal clear to me."

"Oh, you know. One does what one can."  Amelia moved the edge of the bridge and motioned Doppler to join her. Below the railing, out of sight of the crew on the deck, their hands found each other.  Doppler sighed happily and he even felt some of the tension go out of Amelia's stance.

"It's so good to see you again, Delbert," she murmured.

"And to see you," he said softly.  "I've missed you."

She squeezed his hand reassuringly.  "I'm here now."  There was a pause.  "And you're...soaking wet."

"Yes, I...I'm sorry about that.  There was a solar storm just before you arrived, and I managed to lose my umbrella." Doppler smiled apologetically.

"Ah, well.  Not to worry."  Amelia patted his hand.  "Didn't I tell you to stay dry?"

"Yes, I got your message."  Doppler sighed ruefully.  "A fraction of an hour too late, but I promise you that it's an order I'd have taken great pleasure in following."

"Now that I come to mention it, you have an interesting scent about you, too..."

"Yes, I'm afraid I lost my umbrella, so I was wearing a sack..."

"That sounds rather compromising."

"Well, it wasn't the only thing I was wearing!"

She tutted softly.  "Forgive my sense of humour again, Doctor..."  Amelia looked sideways for e moment.  "As well as my imagination."

Doppler coughed.  "Whatever you're imagining, I hope it doesn't necessitate quite so much precipitation."

"My poor Doctor."  Amelia gave him a sympathetic look.  "Perhaps we'll have to find a way to dry- watch those shrouds, you bat-blind sub-moron!"

Doppler was impressed.  Even while they had been talking quietly she hadn't lost her grip on everything that was happening on her ship.  The unfortunate crewman that had been the target for her wrath blanched.

"Don't forget- any damage to the cargo comes off our commission, which means your wages!  Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Captain!"

Amelia turned back to Doppler and softened her tone again.  "I'm sorry about that...I wish I could do more for us right now, but..."

"I understand."  It was Doppler's turn to squeeze her hand comfortingly.  "I'll be here.  I'm not going to give up on four weeks of waiting just in the last half-hour.  You're still the Captain."

Amelia smiled.  "Thank you...I'll try to make this as efficient as possible."

Doppler smiled back.  "You always do."

Amelia touched his hand again and turned away, striding down from the bridge, every inch the captain again.

"Keep those lines straight!  Can't you see where they're twisting?    You there, I'll not stand for idling!  If you've nothing to do, something can be arranged!  Gun captain, I want both carronades stowed and muzzled!  They're your responsibility, you know.   And hammer the tampions in properly this time, or I'll hammer them in somewhere else of yours, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Painfully so," murmured Doppler.  He watched her from the bridge, moving with absolute certainty around the deck, ordering, encouraging, castigating.  No detail was too small to escape her notice.  There was no hint of tiredness in her now.  Doppler watched her go, and wrung out the heavy cuffs of his coat over the bridge railing.  A splash of water caught a crewman on the head and he looked up in irritation to see Doppler whistling innocently, both hands behind his back.  The Doctor looked down and pretended to notice him.

"Strange, uh...strange weather we're having, isn't it?"

The spacer grunted and bustled off.  Doppler breathed out and returned his gaze to the blue-clad figure now moving near the bows.  Even though his heart and mind were racing, and he meant what he said about not giving up on the last half-hour of their long wait, he knew that the last half-hour was always the longest.

"All crew present and correct, Mr. Pike?"

Amelia expected an immediate answer.  When she didn't get one she looked sideways and had to contain a look of disgust at the sight of Pike obviously counting the crew one by one as they stood to attention in ranks in front of the bridge, duffel bags on the deck beside them.  If it had been anything but the end of a long day, she would have followed that up with a cutting remark like, today, if you please, Mr. Pike, or don't tell me you've managed to lose one of them, Mr. Pike.  But it was the end of many long days and she couldn't be bothered.

"All present and correct, Captain," Pike replied, eventually.

"Very good, Mr. Pike.  Mr. Lockwright, do you concur?"

The Second Officer, still looking green around the face, nodded carefully, as if afraid that his head would fall off.

"Very well, then."  She turned back to the crew and raised her head.  "That concludes our business today, gentlemen.   You are dismissed."

There was a cheer.  Finally released from the discipline of the voyage, the crew celebrated and scrambled to be the first down the gangway onto the docks.  Amelia watched them go and then turned to her two junior officers.

"You can leave as well, Mr. Pike.  And you, Mr. Lockwright."

"Yes, Captain."  Pike saluted.  "Thank you, Captain.  And may I say, it's been a pleasure to sail under your command."

"You may, Mr. Pike."  Amelia nodded and turned back to look up to Doppler, who had been watching from one of the bridge wings.  "Thank you for your patience, Doctor.  I'll be with you momentarily."

"Take your time," said Doppler.

Amelia smiled and turned back.  "Mr. Pike, you're still here.  I have to stay behind to write my report, but if I'm not mistaken you are now at liberty."

"Yes, Captain, I...I was just wondering...your report on my conduct..."

"Will contain only the facts, Mr. Pike.  Have you done anything wrong during this voyage?"

"No, Captain!  At least, I hope not."

"You think I wouldn't have made it abundantly clear if you had?  You have nothing to fear from my report, Mr. Pike."

"Thank you, Captain."  Pike saluted.

"Make the most of your shore leave, Mr. Pike."

"Yes, Captain."  He heaved his bag over his shoulder and followed Lockwright down the side of the ship.  Amelia watched them until they were out of sight, and then sighed.  She took off her tricorn hat and Doppler watched her shake out her hair before putting it back on.  He made his way down to the deck.  Amelia was already moving to her stateroom.

"Do step this way, Doctor," she smiled.  He smiled back and followed her, heart pounding until she closed the polished walnut door behind her.  They stood facing one another for a long moment before their patience ended and they fell into each other's arms.  They spoke in hurried whispers, delivered into each other's shoulder, neck and hair.

"I've missed you so much, Amelia, my love."

"Oh, Delbert...I've missed you, too.  More than I can put into words."

"And knowing your vocabulary, that must mean it was quite a lot."  He smiled.

Amelia chuckled and stroked his cheek with a white-gloved hand.  "A positively indescribable plenitude."

Doppler took her hand in his and ran his fingers over the soft fabric.  He met her eyes, which were still tired but now had a new shine to them.  She took his free hand in hers and they unconsciously moved a step closer to each other by mutual agreement.  Their noses touched.  Despite the anticipation written on both their faces, there was a hesitancy, a desire not to spoil a moment long-awaited and much-desired by doing anything inappropriate.  Amelia saw the concern in Doppler's eyes.  He saw the care in hers.  Their lips brushed, a light touch that was nowhere near a kiss.  But that boundary crossed, they met again and again, building into something heartfelt and passionate that resulted in Amelia's hat falling unnoticed to the floor.  Doppler closed his eyes and lost himself in the kiss, feeling the warm softness of her lips, and the gentle caresses of her fingers through his hair.  Amelia felt his hands on her back, holding her close.  Their breathing seemed to fill the silence as the cabin walls felt like they closed in to protect them.

"Oh, Amelia..."  Doppler sighed.

"Delbert..."  Amelia rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

"I really have missed you."  Doppler nuzzled her, enjoying the scent of her hair.  How she kept it so fresh in space he never knew.  She luxuriated in his touch and clutched his coat in her hands, ignoring the dampness.  Despite the soaking, he still smelled like he always did- a mix of old-fashioned cologne, dust, papers and the smoke from the fireplace in his library.  It was a homely, comforting smell, unlike anything she had ever encountered in space.

"Just like I've missed you.  Every blasted, distant day I've missed you."

Doppler sighed.  "Yet strangely...even though so many days felt like they would never end...right now, it's as if they didn't matter."

He held her closer.  "If anything is worth the wait, Amelia, it's you."

"Oh...I might have some competition."  Amelia flicked one of his floppy ears fondly.  His glasses had been knocked askew at some point in their embrace and she delicately set them right.  Doppler smiled.

"I beg to differ, Captain.  With all due respect."

Amelia kissed him lightly and stepped back to pick up her hat, which she hung on the wall.  "I'm not the Captain, now," she said.  Doppler watched her undo the brass buttons fastening her blue coat, and then stretch gratefully, rising onto her toes, her back curving as she yawned.  Her expressive ears flicked once or twice as she turned around.  "And I'm rather glad of the fact."

"I don't think I can ever stop thinking of you as the Captain so long as you're on board this ship."

"I'll have to cure you of that delusion, Doctor," Amelia grinned, raising a perfect eyebrow.  "Is it the uniform that's causing it?  Because I can remove that easily enough..."

Doppler coughed and blushed.  She was so often seen in her coat that seeing her without it felt rather daring already, even if she was still perfectly well-dressed in a long shirt, fastened up past her neck, and a pristine white waistcoat with small silver buttons.  "Yes, well, I'm sure you could..."

Amelia winked and hung her long blue coat next to her hat.  She opened the collar of her shirt and the top button of her waistcoat and moved behind her desk.  Doppler had hung his red jacket on a hook behind the door.  Turning to the middle of the room he approached and put his satchel down on the edge of the desk.  There was a telltale clink, and Amelia looked up.

"Was that...crockery I just heard?"

"Hmm.  Maybe a little."  Doppler drew a couple of gold leaf-edged plates from the bag, as well as some paper-wrapped packages.  Amelia laughed.

"Is this dinner, Doctor?  How considerate!"

"Dinner, and drinks, thank you," Doppler waved a small foil-topped bottle and a pair of fluted glasses.  Amelia sat forward, resting her chin on her hands, smiling as she watched.

"You really are very considerate, Delbert," she said.

"Well, I was hungry."  Doppler pulled up a spare chair.  "And it'll make a nice change for me not be eating alone..."

There was a pause as the realisation of a significant truth set in.

"Yes...yes, it will be for me, too," Amelia murmured.  "A very nice change."

Doppler was surprised.  "I'm sorry...I just assumed...I mean, you're on a ship with so many others..."

"Yes, but I'm the Captain."  Amelia took the glass that Doppler offered her.  "There are protocols...the Captain can't eat with the common crew.  But the officers take their meals in the wardroom, and the Captain can only enter the wardroom by invitation.  I used to do that...before...but when the only company would have been Pike and Lockwright?  No...even if they had invited me I don't know that I would have gone."

Doppler watched her eyes, which suddenly looked very tired again.

"I see a lot of people every day, of course.  And talk to a lot of people...well...I give orders to a lot of people.  But that's not the same thing.  Even with the officers, even with the best of officers, it's hard to forget about rank and position."

"I imagine officers would set great store by that sort of thing."  Doppler spoke softly as he spread out the food he had brought.  Some of it had been slightly squashed, and some of it was slightly damp, but Amelia wasn't really looking at anything right now.

"We do, don't we," she said quietly, before shaking her head as if suddenly awaking.  Her ears, which had started sinking back, perked up with interest.  "Anyway, Doctor, what do we have here?"

"Tea, cakes, the whole shebang," Doppler grinned.  "Well, tea, anyway.  And a little champagne from my cellar.  And that actually used to be a cake, but it appears to be more of a pancake right now...I think the chicken was resting on it."

"Not to worry.  I'm sure it'll taste just fine."  Amelia took a piece of cold chicken and put it on her plate with some salad Doppler produced from a terracotta pot.  "Did you prepare it yourself?"

Doppler looked down.  "Well...some of it.  Although I had to ask Mrs. Hawkins to prepare some instructions for me."

Amelia laughed.  "My dear Delbert...how do you survive?"

"Not as well as I used to..." Doppler murmured.  He coughed.  "Anyway...I hope this is a satisfactory conclusion to your voyage."

He picked up his glass and offered a toast.  Amelia smiled and took it.

"Most satisfactory."

Amelia cut off a piece of chicken and tasted it.  "And rather delicious, too.  I must commend Mrs. Hawkins for her good counsel.  You should seek it more often.  Perhaps she'll domesticate you yet, Delbert."

"Not if someone else manages it first."  He smiled.  "With the right person I do feel I could be open to practising a little bit of domination.  Abomination.  Domestication."

Amelia stuck another piece of chicken in her mouth to hide her chuckle.  Doppler blushed and concentrated on his own meal, finishing it in a self-conscious silence.  Amelia smiled and joined him, pushing her plate away happily at the end.

"Most enjoyable," she said.  "Perhaps I should commission you as ship's cook for my next voyage."

"Do you know when that'll be?" Doppler asked.

Amelia sighed.  "Probably no more than a few weeks.  We'll get another commission...another cargo...probably another two wet-behind-the-ears Johnny-come-latelys knowing my luck."  She toyed with her fork for a moment. "You know...I was only half-joking there...crew selection is my prerogative, and I have the right to appoint my own private steward..."

Doppler looked up.  "Are you...are you serious?  You'd...I mean, us..."

Amelia sighed again, more deeply.  "If only...I know it's only a dream.  You have your work to do...and I can't arrange my voyages around the university calendar.  And then there's the other side of it...I mean, as Captain..."

"I understand."  Doppler took her hand gently.  "It's all about that rank and position thing, that even the best officers can't look past sometimes."

"Something like that."  Amelia held his hand.  "Especially in my position...females are rare enough in the Fleet, let alone female commanders.  I'd like to say that different standards aren't applied, but if I invite a male aboard my ship and treat him differently from the rest of the crew..."

"I understand that, too."  Doppler patted her hand.  She looked crestfallen, shadows under her eyes and her ears folded down in defeat.   "It won't be forever...we'll find a way.  A way to be together for more than your shore leave."

Amelia looked up.  "I hope so, Delbert...I really do."

"I know so." He tried to look reassuring.  "I believe in it.  I don't know how I'd manage if I didn't believe in it."

"Can you stay with me tonight?"

Her voice was so quiet that Doppler had to re-examine his memory to be sure that he had heard it.

"Tonight?  Here?"

Amelia tried to smile.  "Well, perhaps not here...my desk isn't as comfortable as some of the other items of furniture...but if you have to get back..."

"No, no!  Not at all." Doppler felt his heart lift.  "I'd like to stay...I'd like that very much.  And, um...perhaps after tonight...well, I was hoping to invite you to stay with me.  Just while you're here, to save you the cost of accommodation.  And because I miss you."

The frankness of the last sentence caught Amelia by surprise, but her smile was now broad and genuine.  "Thank you, Doctor...I'd like that very much, too."

Doppler smiled back, his ears lifting as he fought an urge to start skipping around the room.  "You'd be most welcome."

Amelia smiled happily and squeezed his hand.  "I'll be very lucky, too."  She stood up.  Doppler watched her cross the room to a set of white-painted doors in the wall which he had always assumed to be a row of cupboards.  Slatted louvered windows gave no clue of what was behind them.  To his surprise, they opened in a concertina fold, revealing a room on the other side.  Compared to the grandeur of the stateroom, it was small, but even from his seat at the desk Doppler could see that it was comfortable.  A bed, hanging on straps from the wall, occupied most of the space, but still had room underneath it for stowage.  Amelia flicked on a ceiling lamp and looked back at him.

"Don't look so shocked," she said, amused.  "You didn't think I slept at my desk, did you?"

"Well, no, I suppose not, I just never expected to see..."

"My private cabin?"  Amelia smiled.  "Most don't.  Most spacers go their whole career without ever seeing a Captain's personal quarters.  Now are you going to come over here, or are you going to try sleeping on that desk?"

Doppler nodded and collected himself.  He stood up and followed her.  She had stepped inside her room and was undoing the silver buttons on her waistcoat.  She peeled it off easily and casually hung it from a hook.  Not an inch of space in the small room was wasted, and a pair of doors identical to the ones from the stateroom comprised one of the three remaining walls.  Small as the room was, Doppler was acutely aware of crossing the threshold, entering an inner sanctum of Amelia's.

"It's um, very nice," he said, looking at a small candleholder set on a fold-down tray near the head of the bed.  "Very cosy.  Homely."

"It's kind of you to say so," Amelia said, placing a small silver-edged rectangle down on the small shelf.  "Practical, yes, cosy, mostly, homely...not any more.  Not since I learned there was something better."

The inflection in her tone was clear and Doppler's breath caught.

"Mind you, I've never tried this cabin for two occupants."  Amelia took his hand and kissed him on the cheek.  "It may prove very homely indeed now."

Doppler coughed again and kissed her back.  Amelia tousled his hair playfully and stepped back, opening the two doors in the end wall.

"The bathroom is through here, by the way.  I'll just be a minute."

She shut the door behind her.  Doppler tried breathing again and found it rather agreeable.  He sat on the edge of the bed gingerly and unbuttoned his vest.  He looked around and stowed it under the bed along with his shoes before untying his dark green cravat.  He was hesitantly undoing the top buttons of his shirt when the doors opened again. Instinctively, Doppler looked up, and wished he hadn't.  Amelia was still wearing her long white shirt, but not much else.  The tan breeches and black boots were gone.  Doppler didn't trust himself to see whenever anything had replaced them but it took a considerable effort of will to keep his gaze above her waist.

"Don't look so surprised," Amelia has a faintly amused look as she closed to the doors to the larger stateroom, sealing them into the intimacy of her private cabin.  "Unless you sleep fully clothed?"

Doppler thought about all the nights he had fallen asleep in his high-backed armchair, some book or another open on his lap and swallowed.  'Well...no, I'd prefer not to..."

"You'd prefer not to sleep clothed?"

"Yes.  I mean, no!  I mean, yes, no, well, not, that is..." he stammered into silence and sighed.

"Dear, easily-flustered Delbert."  Amelia bent down to kiss his forehead.  Her eyes closed, which is why she was surprised to feel against her lips not his fur or hair, but his own lips kissing her back.  Not that this was an unwelcome development.  A gentle hand stroked the side of her head, keeping back the fall of her hair.  The kiss ended and they looked into each others' eyes.

"You really are beautiful," Doppler whispered.  "And I do love you, Amelia."

"Oh, Delbert..." her green eyes wavered with emotion.  "And I love you, too.  And I know I don't say that enough."

"Often enough," Doppler kissed her again.  "And I still believe in that future, somehow.  We'll have all the opportunities we could want."

"A future."  Amelia smiled.  "It was hard to look forward to the future before I met you...now there are times I can't think of anything else."

"Oh, my darling."  Doppler smiled back.  "I believe I know the feeling."

She kissed his forehead and slid onto the bed behind him, drawing the covers back and over herself.  Doppler finished unbuttoning his shirt and tucked it under the bed.  As Amelia lit the bedside candle he peeled off his leggings and, still somewhat self-consciously, turned towards her.  She smiled at sight of him shirtless and drew back the covers for him.

"I apologise for the squeeze...this bed was never designed for two."

Doppler settled down next to her.  "Hm.  No kidding.  But that doesn't mean I don't like it," he added hastily.  He removed his round glasses and put them carefully aside.  Amelia smiled, enjoying the reflection of the candle flame in his dark eyes.

"I find it rather pleasant as well," she said.

Doppler looked up at her, for his part enjoying the highlights the candlelight produced around the edges of her hair. She reached out a languid hand and stroked his hair, a lazy finger running down the length of his sideburns.  A faint smile played around her lips.

"Thank you for tonight, Delbert," she said softly.  "I couldn't have imagined a more perfect welcome."

His hand caressed her face.  "I'm glad I could provide it.  You don't deserve anything less."

Amelia shivered in delight as his hand glided under her jaw and rubbed her chin, a special spot that only Doppler got to know about.  She flattened her ears back as she raised her head and made a happy sound.

"Mmm...oh, Delbert..."

"My darling." He smiled adoringly.  She opened her eyes to gaze at him, and settled down next to him, blowing out the candle on the way.  She slid neatly into the crook of his arm, her head resting on his shoulder, their chests together.  Doppler could feel her purr start inside her, a fraction of a second before he heard it in her breathing.  It was a warm sound, all the more beautiful to him for how seldom it was heard.  And it was even more beautiful because he knew that, out of the entire population of the multiverse, he was only one trusted to hear it.  The only one Amelia ever allowed to get this close.  Her fingers stroked his bare chest idly.

"If your fur is always this soft after a soaking, perhaps you should stand in the rain more often," she commented.

Doppler blushed in the darkness.  "Ah, well, perhaps I...perhaps I should.  Or perhaps I should just shower more often.  Not that I don't shower as often as necessary now, of course, I just meant that I should more often when I'm with you.  Not with you in the shower, I mean, unless..."

"Delbert?"  Amelia's voice was getting sleepy and the purring was becoming softer and deeper.

"Y- yes?"

"Stop giving me ideas."

The blush was so deep now that he was amazed it wasn't glowing somehow.

"Um...all right."

"At least...for now."  She found his cheek and kissed it in the dark.  "It was a long voyage...too long..."

"I know you're tired, my dear."  Doppler patted the hand on his chest.  "It's all right.  You can sleep."

She yawned.  "Thank you for understanding..."

"There's nothing to thank me for, Amelia...it goes with loving you."

The note of the purring changed for just a moment as she signed contentedly.

"I know, Delbert.  And I love you, too."

"Good night, my dear.  Sweet dreams."

"I'm sure they will be."  She squeezed his hand and kissed him one last time.  "And good night to you, my sweet doctor."

Doppler smiled in the night, one hand stroking hers, running down the length of those slender fingers.  Within a few minutes her sounds had slowed as she drifted into well-earned sleep.  Doppler turned his head and kissed her forehead tenderly before he lay back to sleep himself.  He closed his eyes and gave a happy sigh of his own, happy to be with her again, in her world.  The silence of the ship closed around them, keeping them safe and private, a wooden world for their peace and companionship.  He was happier than he had been in weeks, and he felt himself drifting off to sleep far easier than he usually managed, even though his bed at home was much larger and, in technical terms, much more comfortable.  But it was also empty, and an ever-present reminder even as he slept of what he spent every waking hour missing.  Not here, though.  And, he smiled as he remembered her acceptance of his offer, perhaps not for a few blessed, happy weeks to come.  He closed his eyes and nestled down into her bed, enjoying the feeling of her warm body against his.  All the riches of Treasure Planet couldn't have persuaded him to move an inch.

Doppler awoke to the sound of sloshing water coming from the bathroom, and light shining through the louvered windows.  He rolled over and yawned, stopping suddenly when he realised that Amelia was no longer beside him. He frowned for a moment, trying to work out whether he had dreamed the previous night, but the fact that he was still in her bed in her private cabin put paid to that.  One of the doors into the main stateroom was open and Doppler fumbled around for his glasses.  Amelia stepped through the door back into the cabin and smiled down at him.  She was wearing his burgundy coat as a dressing gown.

"Good morning, Doctor."

"And good morning, Captain."  Doppler blinked away the last of his sleep and smiled.  "I hope you slept well?"

"Better than I have done in weeks."  Amelia smiled. The mantle of weariness she had worn the night before had vanished.  She was as fresh and alert as ever, and it wasn't just the morning light that was making her eyes glow.

"And, ah...can I assume that my coat is dry now?"

She grinned.  "It certainly appears to be."

Doppler sat up and raised an eyebrow.  "It also appears to be in the wrong place...I was sure I hung it in your stateroom rather than around your shoulders.  I feel certain I would have remembered that."

Amelia smirked.  "If you don't like it where it is, you're free to try to take it off me..."

"Is that an order, Captain?"  Doppler swung his legs out of bed.

"Do I have to make it one?"

Doppler blushed.  Amelia cupped his chin in her hands, and lifted his face so she could kiss his nose.

"This might sound awfully sappy and tragically romantic..."

"And we couldn't have you sounding romantic, could we?" Doppler grinned.  Amelia chuckled and kissed him again.

"But I really have missed you...and it's not just the days...or even just the nights.  I've missed our mornings together. There's something about them..."

Doppler nodded and took her hands.  "I know what you mean...something calm.  Something peaceful.  Just having the time to ourselves, and knowing that we have the rest of day as well."

Amelia smiled.  "I couldn't have put it better myself...you know, Doctor, if this physics business doesn't work out for you, you could always try your hand at poetry."

Doppler laughed.  "Oh, I'll bear that in mind.  But I have to say, right now I'm happy as a scholar of the physical arts. Er, I mean, the art of physicals.  Physics.  Astrophysics."

"Well, you're not too shabby at those other skills either."  Amelia winked.  "But I'd rather you didn't make a career out of them, if I may say so."

Doppler stroked the lock of hair the fell past her cheek.  "So would I...I'd only want to keep them for you."

"Oh, Delbert...I suppose that makes me the luckiest Captain in the galaxy."

"No, that's just your endless ability to spit in the face of fate and all reasonable balances of probabilities," Doppler smiled.  "I don't feel that way for you because of luck."

Amelia sighed happily.  Nobody treated her like this.  "Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't run out."

"I don't see that ever happening."  Doppler kissed her.  "It's one of the fundamental constants of the universe."

She smiled and sat next to him, drawing his coat around her a bit tighter as she rested her head on his shoulder. Doppler put an arm around her and she made a small cat-like noise as she shifted closer.

"I know what you mean about the mornings," Doppler said.  "These moments are worth treasuring."

"They're worth more than treasure."  Amelia gave him a fond lick.  "They're priceless.  In the good sense of the word."

"It's rather strange," Doppler said.  "I've missed you for weeks...missed you like I'd lost a part of my life.  And now, after just one night...it's like you were never gone."

"I could say the same to you.  It's so nice just to be with someone again, and not to have anything to do.  The ship is at rest, the crew are at liberty...and I could swear you'd been here the whole time."  She poked him in the side. "That said, it could just be because you were on my mind for the entire voyage...here in my thoughts, if not in fact."

"Oh, Amelia..."  Doppler held her.  "Now who's the poet?"

"Hm.  I'm still happy to leave it to you, Doctor."  Amelia ticked his sideburn.  Doppler pulled away, grinning.

"Now was that an order, Captain?"

She shrugged.  "Not just now, thank you.  I much prefer hearing you speak...and not just when you get so adorably tongue-tied."

"It doesn't happen all that often," said Doppler defensively.  "I didn't study languages all through school for nothing. If I hadn't discovered astrophysics I think I'd have made quite the cunnilingus.  Um, cunning linguist.  Oh, dear. There I go again..."

Amelia laughed and ruffled his hair.  "Oh, Delbert, you really are the one and only...and as for your expertise in that other department, I can assure you-"

"Gosh, is that the time already?" Doppler stood up hurriedly, trying to hide his blush.  Amelia laughed again and stood up next to him.

"I'm sorry, Delbert, but you really do make it too easy...and too flattering."

"For...for you or, or, or for me?" he stammered.

"Either.  But preferably both.  I do prefer it that way.  It's not the same when I'm alone."

Doppler tried to read her face.  "Er...what isn't?"

She smirked.  "Linguistics, doctor.  Of the fiendishly cunning variety.  It's not as much fun to study by myself."

The Doctor's breath caught in his throat.  Surely, surely, surely she wasn't implying what he thought she was?

"Er..."

Still, she was a feline...

"Oh, take that look off your face, Delbert," Amelia smiled.  "It doesn't suit you."

She kissed him softly, but irresistibly.  Any qualms on his part melted away as she deepened this kiss and he put his arms around her slender frame.  Amelia broke off the kiss and drew her head back, inhaling.  Doppler was suddenly struck by a new perfume about her- she hadn't been wearing it the night before.

"I haven't smelled that before," he commented.

"Just a little something I picked up on the voyage.  A small spaceport near New Pisces with nothing else to recommend it.  The proverbial wretched hive of scum and villainy.  But a rather nice marketplace, even if you do have to keep one hand on your money and the other on the hilt of a cutlass," Amelia said softly.  She stroked his floppy ear.  "I hope you don't mind it."

Doppler breathed it in and shivered.  "Oh, not at all...quite the opposite."

"Money well spent, then."  She kissed him again, drawing her fingertips down his bare back, leaving trails in his fur. Doppler shuddered again and sighed.

"My darling...what's got into you this morning?"

"Nothing, yet."  She kissed her way down his neck.  "But we can fix that."

Doppler was blushing furiously, but retained enough control to turn down the collar on his coat she was wearing to expose more of her own neck.  He ran his fingers down it, rubbing in small circles and finding the soft scruff.  She mewed her consent and almost sagged into his arms.

"Oh, Delbert...oh, I've been waiting for you to do that."

"Well, I know how much you like it."  Doppler kissed the side of her neck and nuzzled her ear.  "And it's frankly rather enjoyable for me, too."

"Oh, dear...not as much as I think it is for me."  Amelia sighed as a wave of sensation washed over her.   She clung to him like he was a piece of flotsam in a storm.  Doppler ran his fingers back up her neck and playfully rubbed a spot on the top of her head, making her ears twitch approvingly.  Take advantage of her current incapacity, he moved to retrieve his coat, but froze, his breath audibly catching as his hands slipped inside it and felt her fur beneath.

"Amelia, I..."

She smiled and let the coat fall from her shoulders.  She wasn't wearing the shirt any longer.  Doppler exhaled involuntarily at the sight of her.

"It's all right...if it's all right," she whispered.  Her hand stroked his chest as she stepped closer.  He swallowed hard.

"Oh, er...yes...more than all right."  He brought his eyes up to meet hers.  "It's beautiful."

He took his hands away from her side, allowing the coat to drop to the floor.  Amelia wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him close for a gentle, heartfelt kiss.  It was hard to believe that it had been only yesterday that she was still the Captain, buttoned-up and authoritative.  This side of her was another well-kept secret that Doppler never took for granted.  His hands found her flanks again, stroking down them until they met a patch of fur that felt differently.  Doppler looked down at her body and sighed.  His right hand was on the site of the injury she had suffered on Treasure Planet, just below her left breast.  His left hand was on a patch lower down her right side.  The scars she had jokingly promised not to bore him with at their introduction.  A reminder of the dangers her job entailed.  Her skin had regrown over a pattern of wounds, leaving behind ridges that her calico fur had covered but not hidden.  He ran his hand over them, following them around onto her stomach, tracing the one that almost reached her navel.  Amelia watched the emotions flickering over his face and gently took his hand.

"You don't have to touch them," she whispered.  "Not if it bothers you.  I know they're not my best feature."

Doppler shook his head.   "No, it's not that...there's no part of you that isn't beautiful.  But..."

"Delbert?"

He looked up into her eyes.  She was amazed at the depth of the care she saw in his.

"They're a reminder...they remind me of the pain you must have gone through.  Before I could help you.  Of course you managed, or you wouldn't be here...but I hope you never have to suffer again...I hope I can always be by your side, like I was."

"You will be."  Amelia stroked his hair.  "You will be.  You'll be in my heart, even if you can't be there in person."

"I just hope that can be enough," Doppler whispered.

"It will be," Amelia promised.  She took his hand.  "I can't forget how you helped me.  Here..." She pressed his hand against the injury he had so gently tended.  "And here."

Doppler watched as she rested his hand on her breast, her palms folded over it.  He could feel her heart beating and he closed his eyes to concentrate on it.

"I love you so much, Amelia," he said.

"I love you, too, Delbert."  Amelia squeezed his hand.  Doppler opened his eyes and saw her loving green gaze.  He kissed her softly, and she responded, her arms snaking around him again, stroking and soft.  She drew them down his side and began toying with his waistband.  She felt him freeze for a moment and stopped at once, watching his face.  Doppler swallowed again and suddenly realised that his hand hadn't moved from her breast.  And she didn't seem to be objecting.  Almost without realising he was doing it, he nodded.  Amelia smiled, reassured, and helped him strip off his undergarments.  Doppler sighed as he was exposed and hugged her closer, sharing their nakedness.  Amelia embraced him, breathed in his scent, and sighed with happiness.  This was a closeness that she could never experience with anyone else.  Doppler's hands were so gentle against her, and his breath on her fur was warm and comforting, another reminder of his proximity.  She walked her fingers down his chest and stomach, stroking his waist.  They met each other's gaze, and by unspoken agreement, stepped back into the cabin and moved towards the bed.

"Delbert..."

"Amelia..."

There was an air of anticipation.  Like their first kiss, a sensation of mutual desire and consent, but also of concern. This was something else that they had missed, dreamed of, wanted, and couldn't bear to risk.  They settled side by side on the bed.  Doppler stroked Amelia's sensitive ear out to the spot on the tip.  She purred appreciatively and returned the favour, rolling back onto the bed and drawing Doppler over on top of her.   He gazed down at her, adoring the way her hair fell back against the white linen of the pillowcase, framing the delicate lines of her face. The light from the stateroom windows fell through the open door, making her green eyes glow and take on a special kind of translucence, as if her very soul was just behind them.

"You really are beautiful, Amelia," whispered Doppler.  "You're the most beautiful sight I've ever seen."

"Oh, Delbert...from a stargazer like you, that's quite a compliment."  She smiled.

"No star compares to you."  He touched her cheek.  "No nebula, no galaxy...of all the wonders of this cosmos, the most perfect is the one I'm looking at right now."

Amelia sighed.  "You really are awfully sweet, my love."

"Just honest."  Doppler shook his head.

"Well...that, too."  Amelia kissed him and pressed his body against hers, feeling the shape of him between them.  "Oh, stars...I've missed this so much."

Doppler kissed her and sat back.  His hands stroked down her shoulders and over her breasts, reversing course to bunch and lift them.  Amelia exhaled and arched her back to improve his access.  He watched her face as he massaged her, delighting in the way her lips fell open and her flawless teeth became visible.  He moved his hands slowly, carefully, building up the courage to take her nipples between his forefingers and thumbs.  Amelia jumped and laughed joyfully.

"Oh, Delbert!  Oh, you..."

"Hmm.  Me."  Doppler kissed her, feeling her hands roaming through his hair.  "Only ever for you."

"Lucky me," Amelia kissed him back and released him.  He sat up again, taking her breasts in his hands again. Amelia reached down her body to his arousal and delicately took hold of it, pressing it against her stomach and enjoying the look on his face at her slightest touch there.  When her touch became considerably more than slight, Doppler felt his breath starting to run ragged.

"You're beautiful, too," she whispered.  "My very own Delbert..."

"Oh, Amelia."  He shivered, raising his head and closing his eyes as she stroked.  "And I'll only be yours.  All of me...all that I am."

She slid her hands underneath him and cupped his knot in her palm, rubbing it sensually and making him wonder how his glasses hadn't steamed over yet.  A moan escaped his lips.  Amelia smiled as the movement of her hand lifted his arousal straight, allowing her other hand to return to its length.  The feeling of second hand joining in made the rest of Doppler's body go limp- in some kind of compensation, Amelia supposed- and his moan became hoarser.

"Ah...Amelia..."

She sat up, trapping him between their bodies, and began moving against him rhythmically, rubbing his arousal between their stomachs as she explored his mouth.  His hands clasped her back, stroking her fur.

"Oh, my love," he gazed at her.  "I've missed you."

"But we're here now," Amelia whispered.  "Together, like we always should be."

She threw her head back as Doppler kissed along her collarbone.  Exhaling ecstatically she raised herself on her knees to let him lavish his affections on her breasts.  A nipple was sucked into his hot mouth and she purred approvingly.  Doppler felt his instincts rising as he tasted her other breast, urged on by the hard nipples his tongue was pressing against.  She shuddered at the sensation.  He lifted her left breast and licked the old injury there, making her hum with pleasure.  He looked up at her, a question in his eyes.

"Yes, Delbert...it's okay."  Amelia kissed his forehead.  "I'm safe.  And I want it, too."

"Are you sure?"  Doppler searched her face for any hint of doubt.  She kissed him again.

I'm sure, my love.  If you are."

Doppler nodded.  "I...I want it, too."

They shared a last kiss and Amelia climbed back off him, turning her back.  Doppler got to his knees behind her, stroking her body lovingly.

"We can stop at any time," he murmured.

"I know."  Amelia smiled over her shoulder.

Doppler smiled back and pressed closer.  Amelia felt his arousal between her legs and she moved a hand to take him and guide him towards her opening.  His tip found it and they eased together, taking no more than an inch inside her.  Even so, she sighed at the feeling.  Doppler slid his hands around to her front, caressing her stomach, her scars, her breasts.  They shuffled closer together, more of him entering her, until he felt his knot pressing against her entrance.

"Amelia?"

"I'm sure, Delbert.  Please."

"I love you."  There was still a note of hesitation in his voice.  Amelia lifted one of his hands and kissed it reassuringly.

"I love you, too.  And I trust you."

Doppler nodded and pressed all the way inside her, feeling her steel herself as he did so.  He leaned forward and took the scruff of her neck gently in his teeth, increasing the pressure in line with his penetration.  Amelia cried out briefly, and her breath caught at the size of the final part of him.  Her ears dropped submissively on her head.  He bit her harder and she sighed, feeling the comforting warmth spread from her scruff throughout her body, easing the pressure.

"I love you, Amelia.  So much."

She started breathing again and raised a hand to stroke her hair back over her ears, which were perking up again.

"Oh, sweet Delbert...I love you too."  She turned her head and Doppler saw the love in her green eyes.  "So much...and I've missed you so dearly..."

He kissed her, and kissed her scruff as he began to move delicately, feeling her tightness around him.  His hands held her tenderly, protectively.  She felt encompassed in his affection, his body close against hers, insider hers, his arms around her.  It was such a joy to be able to give herself over to this feeling.  There were no more walls between her and the world, no mask of authority.  Just her and her lover, her perfect lover.  It was a miracle.  She rose up again, riding his thrusts as they became firmer and more assertive.  His breathing became harsher in her ear, but she was always aware of his care for her and his desire for her comfort and pleasure.  The feeling of him inside her was filling and completing, a beautiful sensation of pressure that made her feel even more on-edge.

"Amelia..."  Doppler whispered her name into her ear.  He was alive to every sound she made in response to his movements.  He kissed her neck, nuzzled her hair, and delivered soft bites to her scruff whenever her sounds changed.  She mewed and turned her head to give him a playful lick.

"Oh, my love...ah...this feels wonderful."

Doppler moaned.  "Amelia...oh, Amelia, it does...you're incredible..."

"You're certainly making me feel that way...oh, my darling..."

She cried out again as Doppler thrust somehow deeper inside her and he moved again to her neck, but a note in her voice told him that it wasn't been discomfort behind that exclamation.  Quite the opposite.  The thought emboldened him to continue and Amelia gave voice to the sensations.  Unable to hold herself upright she dropped onto all fours in front of him.  Doppler gazed at the calico landscape of her narrow back and traced her spine with his finger.  He placed a hand on the top of her back, and slid his other one around under her stomach, reaching down her body, feeling the softness of her fur as it neared her secret.

"Allow me, my love," Amelia breathed.  Her hand stroked over the top of his.  She made a small noise as she found herself and began to touch it gently.  Doppler breathed deeply as her touch became bolder, encouraging him to increase his own exertions.  Amelia's head fell forwards and she sank lower, as if immersing herself in her pleasure. The feeling of being joined, of fulfilment, was intoxicating.  The sensations she was giving herself, and those she felt as his knot moved inside her, were building up.  Her whole universe comprised this cabin, Doppler's touch, his intimacy.

"Oh, Amelia...I love you..."

His voice was as much an incentive.  She moaned.

"Delbert...and I love you, my darling..." Her free hand gripped the sheet, pulling it up from under the thin mattress. "Don't stop..."

"My love, I won't,"  Doppler sighed, feeling something starting inside him too.  "I've waited for this, for you...always for you...for even a moment in your eyes again..."

Amelia drew a deep breath and shuddered in ecstasy.  "As many as you like...for as long as you like...and I'll wait for you, too, my darling Delbert...for as long as it takes..."

He moaned.  "Not long now, I fancy..."

Amelia began to laugh, but realised the truth of it.  She summoned the last of her strength and sat up again.  Doppler held her with his hands, his thumbs grazing over her nipples, pressing them into her breasts, drawing them in small circles.  She cried out and touched herself more urgently, feeling her climax.  Doppler kissed her shoulders, her back, her ears, whispered his love to her.  His fingers stroked through her hair, the auburn strands soft and smooth.  He closed his hand, trapping them, tugging them gently.  Amelia gave a small cry, but it wasn't one of disapproval.  She reached a hand up to clasp Doppler's to her breast.  He felt her claws against his skin, and his sound wasn't one of disapproval either.

"Delbert, oh, Delbert...yes...oh, I've waited...oh, stars...oh, Delbert!"

Amelia reared up, clutching his hand tighter than before.  Doppler raised himself to maintain the rhythm that was taking her.  She cried out once, twice, and called his name.  The effect was like a tonic.  Doppler found himself replying.

"Amelia, Amelia, Amelia...my darling...my Captain, Amelia..."

"Oh, Delbert, yes..."  Panting, Amelia turned her head to kiss him, drawing his head around to meet her.  "Yes, my love..."

"Amelia...oh, Amelia."  Doppler's breathing became shorter, catching in his throat.  His moans were harsher as his peak neared.  Amelia began moving to drive him on.  His sounds in her ear grew hoarser.

"Oh...oh, love...oh..."

They weren't even words now.  She heard him give in to his pleasure.  His breath became a series of exclamations, animalistic and passionate.  She felt him swelling inside her, and finally felt his climax pulsing forth.  He seemed to fill her with warmth, with love, with his heart and soul.  His final exultation was a bark of her name before he subsided, shuddering throughout his whole body.  It seemed to her like his breath was coming in low growls until he regained control of himself.  They sank down onto the bed, still joined by his anatomy.  They lay together, breathing hard. Doppler finally gave a sigh and put his arms around her, holding her warmly.

"I really do love you, Amelia."

She smiled and nestled into him.

"How could I doubt it after that..."  She turned in his arms and caught his eye playfully.  "Woof..."

Doppler blushed.  "I'm sorry about that...I may have got a bit carried away..."

"Oh, love."  Amelia smiled and kissed his nose.  "I wouldn't have it any other way."

He smiled and kissed her back.  "Thank you for understanding."

Amelia nuzzled him and lay back down, closing her eyes in satisfaction.  Doppler cleared his throat.

"Meow..."

Her eyes opened again, a wry smile on her face at the sound of his voice.

"Delbert?"

He stroked her flank.  "I wouldn't have it any other way either."

She laughed and elbowed him gently.  "Oh, you canine..."

"Guilty as charged."  Doppler kissed her neck and rested his head against the pillow.  His breath tickled Amelia's ear, which flicked and batted the end of his snout.  He snorted and shook his head.  Amelia laughed.

"Am I bothering you, Delbert?"

"In all sorts of ways," Doppler chuckled.  "You know, just because I can barely move, you shouldn't feel the need to take advantage of the fact."

"Ah, but what if I want to?"

"Well, I'm hardly in a position to object," Doppler flopped an arm around her.  "I strike my colours, Captain.  I surrender."

"Hmm.  Well, maybe some other time."   Amelia smiled.  She shifted to allow Doppler to withdraw from her, her eyes fluttering briefly at the sensation.  "Oh, my darling...this really has been such a perfect morning."

"I'm glad it could be for you, too," Doppler nuzzled her hair.  "I've looked forward to it so much...not for...I mean, for what we just did, you know, although obviously I've...um...it's more than just that to me.  It's the companionship..."

"Oh, Delbert, it really is."  Amelia shuffled against him.  "It's strange.  I didn't miss it before I met you because I never had it...now I can't imagine my life without it."

"Never?"  Doppler was genuinely surprised.

"My lifestyle hasn't been the most accommodating of this sort of thing."  Amelia smiled ruefully.  "As we're finding out now, I suppose."

"Well, yes, but...I assumed...you've always been so adventurous.  Always here and there, exploring the etherium..."

"Well, that's just it, isn't it?  It doesn't leave you in one place for long enough for anything much to happen."  Amelia sighed.  "I don't mean to sound like I regret it...I don't.  Not a moment of it.   But the Academy wasn't big on fraternisation, and neither is the Admiralty...friendships, yes.  Friendships that will stand the test of time even if you don't meet them again for years.  Comradeships, always, of course.  Relationships...not so much. And I wanted a ship of my own.  Command was always what I was aiming for.  This command.  I used to think that the Legacy was the best thing that had ever happened to me."

"Used to?"  Doppler frowned.  "What happened?  Was it...I'm sorry, was it...the mutiny?  Losing Mr. Arrow?"

"Not that...although that was a treat, of course," A tinge of bitter sorrow crept into her voice.  "No, fortunately, it was because of something very different."

"What was it?"

"I met you, Delbert," Amelia said simply.  "I met you.  And suddenly my world was more than just my ship and my responsibility to her and to my crew.  I realised that I was leaving something behind every time I left port...leaving you behind."

Doppler held her gently, comfortingly.  "Oh, my Amelia...I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?" She glanced sideways wryly.  "Sorry for what?  Making me fall in love with you?  Being the adorable, oddly-charming eccentric that you are?"

"No, I mean, well, I'm flattered, of course, but I mean...spacing is so much a part of you.  I never wanted to take away from that."  Doppler sounded genuinely apologetic.

Amelia put her hands on top of his.  "You didn't, Delbert.  And I know you never would.  All you've done is...open up another part of the universe to me.  A wonderful part.  Well, I say 'all you've done'...truth be told...nobody could have done more for me."

Doppler kissed her.  "I'm the luckiest astrophysicist in the galaxy for that."

"You'll always be with me...however far apart we are.  There's always a part of you with me.  Something I can turn to when I need it the most."

Amelia turned in his arms to kiss him back on the lips, a hand stroking his cheek and sideburn.  She gazed into his gentle, dark eyes and smiled.

"I love you, Delbert."

"I love you, too, Amelia."

They shared another kiss, lingering and sweet.  Amelia reached out and arm and picked up the silver-edged rectangle she had turned down the night before.  Doppler was looking at the back of it, but he saw a smile on her face.  She glanced up and turned it around.  It was a holographic picture frame, the sort that projected a three-dimensional recorded image on command.  Currently it showed a single picture- Doppler, looking at the unseen camera from across a table in a small diner near Pier 86 and smiling, a glass of orange juice halfway to his lips.  The memory of that day came back in a rush.  It had been on Amelia's return from her first voyage out after she and Doppler had reached...their agreement with each other.

"What are you doing?" he had asked.  Amelia had grinned from behind the camera.

"Just making sure I have a souvenir worth keeping.  I'd like a little something to bring back the memories"

"Aren't you meant to get the souvenirs while you're actually away?"

"Ah, but what if I need one for while I'm away?  Now hold still, Doctor, and smile..."

"You've kept this that whole time..." he murmured.

Amelia nodded and put it back on the shelf.  "I can't keep it out on my desk, of course."

"Oh, I understand...I'm even more touched that you'd keep it in here."  Doppler smiled.  "I have to confess that I've made similar arrangements...and my study is a lot more private than yours."

"I look forward to seeing it."  Amelia smiled back.  "And perhaps we can update our albums while we're at it."

"Good thinking, Captain."

"It goes with the job."  She snuggled closer, one hand idly playing with the lighter fur on Doppler's chest.  "Sadly, so does report-writing.  I have a logbook to complete."

"Ah, deciding upon the fate of the unfortunate Mr. Pike?"  Doppler raised an eyebrow.  "I quite understand.  I can wait.  In fact, if they galley is still open, I can probably arrange breakfast."

"So Sarah Hawkins taught you how to fry an egg as well?" Amelia joked.

"As a matter of fact, she did."  Doppler frowned.  "They're actually a lot harder to flip than I had anticipated."

"Oh, Delbert...no matter.  That would be most welcome."

He kissed her.  "That would be my pleasure, Captain."

"And it would be my honour.  But you can put it on hold for now, because...one thing I always do the morning after arriving back in port," Amelia murmured, still stroking him.  "I run myself a bath...a proper bath.  It's impossible on the voyage, of course.  Water is rationed and of course in an emergency one can't get out of a bath in a hurry with one's dignity intact.  But in port..."

"I wondered what that water sound was," said Doppler.

"And that stall in the marketplace near New Pisces was selling some rather interesting soaps..." she went on.

Doppler nestled closer and breathed in the scent she was wearing.  "Very interesting, I should think."

She kissed him.  "I'll see you in a minute, then."

He watched appreciatively as Amelia got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, casting a loving glance over her shoulder as she disappeared.  Doppler gazed peacefully at nothing for a few moments before sitting up and banging his elbow on the shelf hard enough to knock the picture off it again.  Rubbing his offended limb and hoping that Amelia hadn't heard that, Doppler picked up the picture, accidentally turning the projection cell on as he did so.

"..a little something to bring back the memories..."

He turned it off again quickly and replaced it on the shelf, now facing outward.

There was one thing about long-distance relationships, Doppler decided.  It made you value your blessings even more.

Smiling to himself, he got up and followed her.
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