All the energy Ty had felt from being freed from the Batcave had been sucked out of her during her conversation with Hudson. When she had left the offices, Hudson had been in the far regions of her mind and she was even considering being around her co-workers but all she wanted to do now was find somewhere she could be alone.

There was really only one place she could go to find solitude but it meant she had to pass the cafeteria. She checked her watch to find the time. Seven-thirty. It would take a miracle from above for her to pass the cafeteria without running into one of her co-workers.

She risked it anyways and found luck was not on her side. She hadn't even reached the cafeteria when she saw Anders walking towards her. "Hey," he called out. He walked quicker and Ty didn't like the fact that he was eager to see her. One look at his face told her he knew about Hudson, which made him the only person who knew the whole story.

"Hey," she said, pulling on her last little bit of energy to try and seem like her normal peppy self. "Are you grabbing dinner?" she asked as they reached the door to the cafeteria at the same time.

"Yeah," he said, "but wait." He grabbed her arm and pulled her gently away from the door. "What happened with Hudson?"

She sucked in a deep breath ready to spew nonsense but she took one look at the sympathetic look on his face and let the breath out slowly. It was pointless to lie to him. Nico had his well-founded suspicions but Anders had heard the truth from Ty's very mouth. She shrugged. "He kissed another girl." She watched his concerned frown deepen and knew she didn't want his sympathy. She waved it away as she laughed sardonically. "I guess I wasn't the only one thinking about having some fun this week."

"Are you okay?"

Was she okay? At the moment her answer was no, but she knew that eventually she would be okay. It might take days or weeks for the sting of the situation to wear off but she knew she would be okay. And even though everything felt raw after her fight with Hudson, she was aware that she was standing in the hallway outside the cafeteria. She would rather grin and bear it on her own than fall apart in front of her co-workers.

"I'm fine," she said with a smile. "Really, I should have seen this coming." She managed a little chuckle. "I mean, how many times have we seen passengers treat cruises as an excuse to kiss as many people as they can? I got to kiss a cute boy and now I don't have to worry about dealing with the goodbye. Sounds like a win-win to me."

Ty knew how hollow the words felt to her but she could see some of Anders' concern fading. "I mean, you saw me yesterday. I was ready to end it then," she added, hoping to send all his doubt away and she could see her words working.

Before he could argue anything Jules came around the corner and Ty's eye's lit up with eagerness. Jules was the perfect distraction to put this conversation to rest. "Ty!" Jules said when she spotted them. "Are you guys getting dinner?"

Anders nodded and started heading for the door.

"Are you guys going to The Deck?" Jules asked, unaware that Ty hadn't started moving with Anders.

"Of course," Anders grunted. "Kenny owes me a Ping-Pong rematch."

"Shoot!" Ty said loudly to get their attention before they entered the cafeteria. "I just realized Louis needed to see me." She took a step back into the hall. "I'll catch you guys later." She walked away quickly so they couldn't ask any questions.

She didn't stop moving until she reached the door leading to her favorite spot. She pulled it open and breathed the fresh air in deeply. She could still hear the passengers below on the deck and in the pool but she knew she wouldn't be bothered here. She walked to her normal spot and sat. The sun was just starting to set and the sky was turning a light blue.

She rested her head against the wall. She had her solitude but she quickly discovered that just because people couldn't find her it didn't mean that her thoughts couldn't. She braced herself as her fight with Hudson filled her mind. To her annoyance, it wasn't just all the bad stuff that came back but also the good. In between feeling all the negative feelings she felt over their fight, her brain also reminded her of their walk along the beach and dancing in Jamaica.

Wading her way through both the negative and positive she found that as she slowly pushed things aside the most overwhelming feeling was disappointment. She had never met anyone like Hudson before. She had never met someone who could respond just as quickly as she talked and was sarcastic and funny. She hadn't been counting on a future beyond the week but she had at least hoped to be able to enjoy all the time they had. They still had a full day left and now Ty would spend it trying to avoid contact with him as much as she could.

The sky turned shades of pink and purple then dark blue as the sun completely disappeared under the horizon. On the deck below her, she could hear the Deck Band start playing music for Thursday night Salsa dancing. She listened to the crowd below as her brain settled on disappointment and let all the other thoughts of Hudson fade into the background.

She had almost managed to push Hudson completely aside when the door to her left banged open. She jumped to her feet at the loud noise and froze when she saw Hudson.

"Hudson," she breathed out in disbelief. She had just managed to put him away and now here he was standing in front of her.

His only response was to hold up a finger for her to wait then he disappeared. When he reappeared a moment later he was dragging Johnny with him.

"Johnny?" Ty questioned, now more confused than surprised.

"Hey Ty," Johnny said with a big smile that made her suspicious.

"Tell her," Hudson said. He said it calmly but it was clear from his tone that he wasn't letting Johnny go until he said whatever Hudson wanted him to say.

"So, funny story," Johnny started. He laughed awkwardly and looked at Hudson. Hudson gave him and pointed look that made Johnny focus back on Ty.

"The other night, when I said Hudson kissed Ally..." Johnny said.

"Really?" Ty addressed Hudson. "You got Johnny on your side now."

"Please," Hudson said, his whole expression softening with the single word as he looked at Ty. "Just listen to what he has to say."

Ty crossed her arms and frowned. She wasn't sure what Johnny could say to change anything but she finally waved her hand for him to continue. Hudson nudged Johnny to continue.

Johnny gave a guilty laugh. "When I said Hudson kissed Ally I actually meant to say that Ally kissed Hudson. It's really just a minute detail. I also left out the fact that Hudson pushed Ally away right away."

"What?" Ty said in disbelief, her arms dropping to her side. Hudson had pushed Ally away?

Johnny took a step back but Hudson stopped Johnny from moving any further by grabbing his arm. "Say it again," Hudson said.

"Hudson pushed Ally away," Johnny repeated, "but I didn't tell anyone that because I figured if they knew that they wouldn't place any new bets." He gave Ty a weak smile as he shrugged like she really couldn't expect anything different from him.

"Thanks, Johnny," Hudson said. He patted Johnny on the shoulder then led him back through the door and shut it behind him. Hudson turned around to face Ty and it was suddenly just the two of them. Ty watched as the businesslike manner he had used with Johnny disappeared as he took a step toward her.

"Does that clear everything up?" he asked.

Ty laughed as she nodded her head. "I think so...?" She held her hand up, asking for a minute. She raced through what Johnny had said looking for holes in the story but she couldn't find any. It made sense Johnny wouldn't mention Hudson pushing Ally away and of course, Ally wasn't going to mention that either.

"You pushed Ally away," she clarified.

He nodded and took another step towards her. "As quick as I could," he reassured her. "I'm sorry for all the confusion. Looking back I shouldn't have even been dancing. I shouldn't have played any of the games and I definitely shouldn't have had anything to drink." He reached a hand out tentatively and Ty took it without hesitation.

"Sorry about yelling at you for having a girlfriend," she said. Looking back now she could see she had been dumb to believe anything Bianca had said, especially when it was clear Bianca had been jealous of Ally.

He waved away her apology. "I said some pretty stupid things in that argument as well."

Ty chuckled as the sudden change in reality hit her. Hudson hadn't kissed another girl and he had come to find her to make sure she knew that. She reached for his other hand. "How about we forgive each other for all the stupid things we said and forget about the fight."

He smiled. "I want nothing more." Then he cocked his head in thought. "Actually, that's a lie. There is one thing I want more." He dropped her hands and cupped her face.

Ty smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rose to her tiptoes to kiss him. He pulled her as close as possible and Ty held on tight. She had thought she had lost Hudson and having him back made the kiss all the sweeter.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Hudson held onto her face for a moment longer, just looking at her. "I'm so glad you listened to Johnny," he said, finally letting her go only to take one of her hands in his.

"Me too," she said. "I usually don't, but you seemed like you meant business."

"I did!" He said. "This morning was miserable spending time with the guys without you around and then fighting with you..." He shook his head.

"Well, listening to Ally gloat about kissing you and then hearing that you had a girlfriend wasn't that much fun either."

"That makes it clear. We should never not be together. Bad things happen when we are apart."

Ty laughed. "Well, we're together now and things are already going better."

"Much better," he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her again like he couldn't resist. "Sorry, I just can't...Have I told you I like you?"

Ty chuckled her arms still loosely around his neck, his arms around her waist. "Really? Because I spent most of the day really not liking you." His face fell so she quickly added, "But don't worry about it because some boss guy interrupted me being mad and brought along enough evidence to convince me you were worth liking again."

He smiled shyly. "When I'm invested in something I'll do anything to make it happen."

"Including dragging Johnny around the ship. How did you even get him to admit the truth?" When she gave a thought to what Hudson had done a lot of questions rose to the top of her mind. "How did you even find me? Or him?"

"Well, to be honest, I didn't remember Ally kissing me until you mentioned it." He grimaced. "The only thing I really remember about last night was trying to get your attention."

"You shimmied." His face turned horrified and Ty laughed.

"This is why I should never drink," he grumbled, dropping his head.

"What? I think the shimmy is an argument for drinking."

He shook his head like he'd like to shake the memory gone forever. "I'm okay with not remembering that one. But hearing about the kiss really threw me off. I had to ask Grant about it." He grimaced again. "Not a fun conversation. But it was very enlightening. He told me that he saw Ally kiss me but I pushed her away immediately and left the dance floor searching for something."

Ty thought back to how the events of the night had unfolded for her. Right before she had found out about the kiss Hudson had found her. She smiled. "You came and found me."

To Ty's surprise, Hudson started laughing. "That's right! I remember. I really wanted to kiss you."

Ty laughed this time. "I sensed that. I made sure the interaction didn't last long."

"Why? You didn't trust I was making good decisions?" He joked.

"That was when you shimmied."

"You're a smart woman," he said. He grinned at her for a moment before his expression softened as his eyes settled on her. "I really like you. Have I mentioned that before?" "

She shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to hear it again."

"I really," he kissed her, "really," kissed her again, "like you."

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

OH BREAKING WAVES AND BUCKETS!!

*flops to the floor dramatically*

The storm has passed! Though we might have gotten drenched in it at least we survived.

How are you doing? Besides a little waterlogged? 🗯💭💬🛟

I know, I know what your thinking: is the sky blue because the ocean is or is the ocean blue because the sky is?

Or maybe you're just thinking: Joy was all that emotional distress really necessary.

And to that I say yes. I know you hate me for that but it's true. Life isn't always smooth sailing and perfectly palmy days. It's a mix of that and storms, humidity that makes your hair frizz and gray days that make you feel melancholy.

Without the rough times we would never know to appreciate the smooth times. So you're welcome for showing you that you can get through the rough times and come out the other side with a better appreciation for the happy moments.

Vote, comment, follow because I just made you stronger, you're welcome!

And when I say I did I mean my sister did. I just teased you about it in the author's notes.