Kylie was busy below deck. Like a child, she was playing with the Barbie dolls that Stephen had provided for her. She set her favorite doll down for a moment to show Stephen a maid's outfit that she'd found. "What do you think about this?" she wondered.

Stephen smiled. "It's nice," he replied absently, "but I like the princess dress better."

​​

They had been playing dress-up when Ethan had called earlier. Stephen and William had only been talking for a few moments when Kylie had called him. The princess dress that she had been trying to put on the doll had stuck in the middle, and she'd called him to help her.

He'd put Ethan on hold and, as he helped her, Kylie had spoken for Barbie, and Stephen had spoken for Ken.

Ken Doll, "You are very beautiful. You look just like a princess."

Barbie Doll, "Are you praising me or the dress?"

Ken Doll, "The dress is beautiful, but your beauty outshines it and makes it more beautiful than it otherwise could ever be!"

Ethan, who had heard everything, thought that Stephen and Kylie were sharing their true feeling for each other, and he had no idea that they'd just been playing with dolls – and by the time Stephen had returned to the phone, Ethan had hung up on him, and Stephen and Kylie had no idea that he'd overheard the conversation between the two dolls.

When Stephen rejoined Kylie, he looked at her sadly and said, "I think that you're going to have nightmares again tonight."

Startled by his words, Kylie slipped and cut herself with a small knife that she'd had in her hand. She cried out, and then she brought her finger to her mouth to suck. Seeing what had happened, Stephen got up and pulled her finger out of her mouth. After that, he helped her to her feet and led her to his bedroom, where he kept his First Aid Kit.

Blushing with embarrassment, Kylie said, "Don't worry about it. It is nothing."

Stephen looked at her seriously and said, "Bacterial infections can be very serious."

Kylie nodded meekly. After living on the ship for three days, this would be her first time in Stephen's room. As expected, it was very clean and excessively tidy. There was a place for everything, and everything was in its place.

She laughed and said, "Your OCD is showing."

"I am who I am," Stephen sighed. "If I can't be myself on my boat, where can I be?"

Kylie shrugged as he pulled the First Aid Kit out from under the bed. He had her sit beside him, and he used iodine to sterilize the wound. After that, he wrapped her finger in cotton batting and used two strips of medical take to hold it in place. And then he kissed it.

Kylie looked at him, shyly and thanked him for fixing her finger. She hadn't expected the kiss, though, and it had made her uncomfortable. Looking around, she noticed that his wardrobes were very large, and she made an off-hand comment about them.

"I am a connoisseur of clothes," he explained as he stood up and opened the first wardrobe. "Most of them are not for me to wear, though. Take a look. Perhaps there is something in here that you might like."

Kylie frowned as she looked at the assortment of clothes he carried along with him wherever he went. She could see close to all sizes, for men and women, and even for children. Stephen saw the look on her face and mistook it for excitement. Smiling, he picked out a dress that he hoped would fit her and brought it over to her. He set it in her lap and said, "Here; try this on later. I saw it in Paris Fashion, and I thought it would look nice on you, so I bought it."

Stephen went back to the closet. He picked out a smaller dress to show her. "This one is from New York. I found it in a thrift shop, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I'm afraid that it wouldn't fit you, though. I have many more that would, though. Perhaps you might wear one as your wedding dress…

Kylie cleared her throat in an attempt to grab Stephen���s attention; to get him to stop talking for long enough for her to get a word in.

Ignoring that, Stephen looked at her sadly and said, "I know that you love Ethan. I have given up on ever having a relationship with you, and I no longer hope to find happiness with you. As a parting gift, though, I would be honored if you would wear a dress from my collection."

Kylie looked down at her hands and frowned. "Even if I said yes," she replied. "I hardly think that Ethan would allow it. He is a jealous man, and I wouldn't want to spoil our big day anyway. Even as I walked down the aisle, if I were wearing one of your dresses, he would have a hard time thinking about anything else. I'm sorry… I really am."

Stephen nodded and reluctantly took the dress from her. Seeing how sad he was, Kylie got up and hugged him. "I really am sorry," she said, "but keep your chin up. There are plenty of fish in the sea. I am sure that you will find the right fish for you…"

Stephen ran his hands through his hair as they parted. "I will stop trying to pursue you," he promised. "Just know, though, if you are ever in need, even if I am married and have five children, you can always come to me for help.

A sympathetic tear ran down Kylie's face then, and she thanked him from the bottom of her heart. She knew that anything he had ever done, be it good or bad, had been done out of his love for her, and the last thing that she'd ever wanted to do was to hurt him.

***

Later that night, Stephen and Kylie got into a fine bottle of wine that he'd brought back from Portugal years ago, and they began to chat amicably about things less personal. It was only after they'd tossed back two glasses each that Stephen brought up Kylie's friend, Ken White. "I know that he means a lot to you," Stephen said, "and that is why I hired the best lawyer in Seattle to stand up for him in a court of law."

Kylie's eyes went wide at the news. "Really?" she exclaimed. "Are you really willing to help him?"

"For your sake," Stephen replied, "I am. Even with my help, he may still be condemned to prison for life. It sounds shitty, but if we can avoid the death penalty, we must celebrate that as a success. There is a lot of damning evidence against him…"

"Better alive than dead," Kylie agreed sadly.

"Don't you want to know why Ken killed Khloe?" Stephen wondered

Kylie shook her head back and forth. She did not want to know why Ken killed Khloe. She already had her theories. "Why don't we just leave it alone?" she said. "The sun is about to set. We should be up on the main deck, relaxing as we drink more wine."

By the time the sun had fully set, Stephen had sailed the boat back to the dock. Kylie got out first, and as Stephen tied the boat to the pier, he looked up at Kylie and said, "I have to sail a business acquaintance to Seattle in the morning. We will be setting sail long before you wake up, so don't panic when you find yourself alone in the house.