An evening of girl talk and drinks and snacks did Rose a world of good. She was missing Lucas in the middle of the night though. She sat up and messaged him. He video called her back.

"I'm sorry." Rose said into the monitor.

"I am too. It's just that, I am so sure Miguel will be able to help me get the Stinger in better shape."

"I know."

"Can I come over? I can't sleep."

"Yeah. I'll unlock the door." Rose said.

"Okay. Be there in a few."

"All right." Rose got up and unlocked the door for him. She went back to bed, but turned a dim light on and sat with her legs crossed waiting for him.

The door opened and Lucas walked in, turned and locked the hatch. His eyes caught hers.

"Hey." He said uncertain.

"Hey."Rose answered.

Lucas came closer and before he even sat down they both blurted out 'I'm sorry!'.

"Rose, I know how you feel about me going out there to lure in the shark..."

"I just, Lucas I'm so scared to lose you!" Her voice cracked a little."You've been the best thing in my life in a long time! I'm terrified!"

Lucas saw the tears threatening to spill over from her eyes. "I promise I'll do everything in my power to be safe and come back. Miguel and I met tonight. We are doing a major over haul on the Stinger. We've got some great plans! But I need to know you trust in me. I'm scared too. That shark is unreal and certainly no joke." He ran his fingers through his hair. Then he focused on her again."Rose. Do you trust me?" He asked softly.

"I do. Of course I do! I'm so scared though. I trust in you and your piloting skills. I do not trust the shark or how deep in the ocean we are. I'd something goes wrong you'd never make it to the surface in time."

"We're going to take extra precautions. We're strengthening the hull and frame work. I also thought of needing to emergency exit, and so we're going to make sure I have a small air canister just in case." He reached for her hands and squeezed. "I love you Rose. I don't want to leave you. I'm not leaving you!" He pulled her into a hug burying his face in her neck. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and squeezing him tightly.

"I love you too!" The tears fell anyway.

They stayed huddled until she broke apart to meet his eyes.

"I love you so much!"

"I love you too Rose. More than anything." He touched her cheek and moved in for a warm kiss. The fire in his eyes could've burned her.

"Lucas what you want to do is so dangerous."

"I know Baby. I know. I really have faith in Miguel's and my mechanic skills though. I really think we can pull this off."

Rose sighed. "I know that you guys are brilliant. I do. Let's get this thing done and over with."

"Agreed. Can we snuggle?"Lucas asked softly.

Rose smirked. "Get over here. I didn't like being here alone."

"I couldn't sleep at all."

Rose stretched out and patted the bunk next to her. "Get in here."

"Yes ma'am." He slid in next to his lady and pulled the covers up around them. Rose turned off the light and snuggled into Lucas who wrapped his arm around her.

Both of them sighed, feeling better having talked about their issues.

********************************

That evening after they had finished their shifts, Miguel and Lucas went to the bay where the Stinger was kept. The guys started to address the issue of making the Stinger faster and more powerful.

"You know. The engine could use an overhaul. It's good, but not like new." Miguel leaned against a bar that was part of the support structure that held the Stinger above the pool.

"I know. I mean I've kept up on the maintenance, but I feel like we could do something new here."

"Yep, so, why don't we start there. Remove the engine and see what's going on with it."

"Yeah get it opened up, see what components really need replacing. "
"Yep. Good plan." Miguel said.

They used the hydraulic lift that held the Stinger to swing it in where they could work on it without having to go into the pool itself. Lucas had a portable table nearby that was set up for them to put their parts on to spread out the pieces. By midnight they had the engine out, with the help of Mitch and Derek who had come along after their shift to see what was going on. They offered to help and that help was much accepted.

Having four guys to work on it made things go a bit more smoothly. By midnight it was extracted from the engine compartment.

"Thanks for coming by guys!" Miguel thanked Mitch and Derek.

"You guys working on it after hours until it's done?" Mitch asked.

"Yeah."lucas said.

"Want some extra help? I can spare the time."

"That would be great! Thanks man!"

Derek chimed in." Yeah I can help too. Our girls are on the late shift rotation again for awhile, so we're kind of bored."

Miguel nodded,looking around the group of guys." It'll get done a lot faster with your help. Thanks guys."

"Sure Commander. I mean it's have a project to work on, or be alone. We'd rather be busy sir." Derek said.