Ooh, I Wanna Take Ya Down To Kokomo...

Beth:  Sam...SAM...hey, don't throw the phone, okay...

Sam hung the phone up...hard...then put it back on the nightstand.  He
had to be content with pounding his pillow in impotent rage until stray
feathers were flying.  Beth reached to take his hands, hold them until
they were still.  She relieved him of his pillow before it could develop a
fatal rupture.

Beth:  Sam, you okay now, big guy?  You had me scared.

Sam reached for her and pulled her tight against his chest.  Some people 
had teddybears or blankies...Sam had Beth when he was frustrated, and it 
was a duty Beth was happy to pull.  She nestled close, then crawled between 
his knees and curled up under his chin.  She knew the comfort he took from
her trusting nearness.  Still, she wanted to lighten the mood a little all
the same.  How did that rowdy Don Henley song go...?

Beth:  Come on over here, baby, ya gonna give me a heart attack...I wanna
put my lovin' arms around the small of your back...

Sam tipped her chin up, grinned down into her face from close range.

Sam:  So, what's stoppin' you?

Beth:  You're on the warpath again.

Sam:  Not anymore, Frog.

Beth felt her mouth curving in a broad grin.  Sam was standing down 
nicely, and Frog was the kind of pet name she thought she might be able to 
handle now and then.  But there was something familiar about it she couldn't
quite put her finger on.

Beth:  Frog?  Why Frog?

Sam:  Cause you're little.  And you're cute...

Sam dumped her on her back and rolled over on her.

Sam:  And I wanna jump ya.

Beth was laughing now, and swatting weakly at Sam.  Half of her laughter
was coming from knowing that trying to smack Sam was making no impression
on the big lug.

Beth:  Don't be throwing any cheesy old Burt Reynolds lines at me!

Sam:  Cheesy!  You want cheesy, I'll do my James Cagney imitation.

Beth:  You go right ahead, just make sure some EMT's are standing by
because I'll die laughing for sure.

Soon the mood was warm again...except when Sam would glare over at the
phone.  Once his gaze fell on Beth afterwards, and it looked as though
his mouth might open.

Beth:  Don't go there.  You know better than to ask me.

Sam sighed, tightened his arms around her and briefly rocked her in them.

Sam:  Yes, I guess I do.  Damn!  So, you tell me...why is she so stubborn
where that mutt is concerned?

Beth:  Same reason I'm stubborn about you.  And there's no accounting for
taste.

Sam:  Still it makes no damn sense.

Beth:  It doesn't have to, Sam.  She's gone, lost.  It doesn't matter if it
makes sense.

Sam slid down on the mattress, taking her with him.

Sam:  I've made up my mind...we're going away for awhile, and the first one 
comes at me with a cellphone is gonna hate his mother for havin' him...you
ever done the camping thing?

Beth:  Been known to, why?  Where did you have in mind?

Sam slipped his hand under her jaw, fingers laid along one cheek and
thumb along the other.  He turned her face up to his.  She thought, 
hoped that Captain Viagra was going to lead another assault on her virtue -
instead he lovingly kissed the end of her nose and continued to hold her
face as though it was something fragile.

Sam:  Shit, girl, don't you know I could camp here for a month?

Beth:  Just when I think there's nothing more you could say to me to make 
me weak in the knees...

Sam:  I've got a lifetime full of 'em.

Beth;  I've got a lifetime to listen.

Sam:  That's it, we're goin', just you and me.  

Beth:  I'm game, but you can't just go, can you?

Sam:  Honey, I've been detached from regular duty.  Strannix is a full time
job.  He shows up on the moon, your boy'll follow him.

Beth:  So what did you want to do?  Go camping somewhere?

Sam:  Takes too much to get ready to camp, now that I think about it.  Can't
just up and go.  Besides which, this is your trip.

Beth:  Mine?  It was your idea.

Sam:  But it's you I'm takin'.  Anywhere you've ever wanted to go, or
anything you've ever wanted to do?

Beth thought of the story she and Deb had told the Border Guard.

Beth:  Take a cruise.  Always thought that would be fun.

Sam's face lit up.

Sam:  I know just the thing...three masted barkentine...

Beth:  Sounds like rootbeer.

Sam:  We can have him put us ashore on some of those deserted little beaches,
nobody'll know we've ever been there...we can swim naked, make love in the
sand...

Beth:  Sounds great to me.  Who do you know with a three masted beerstein,
or whatever it is.

Sam:  Barkentine, girl, and I don't know the fellow personally but I know
who does.  I'll call in the morning.  Pack your bags, honey.  I'll give you
some money tomorrow and you can buy me some clothes.

As always, Sam was as good or better than his word.  The following
evening the two of them were on a Delta flight to Miami, and at government
expense.

Beth:  How'd you manage the travel voucher?

Sam:  Told 'em I thought Strannix might be running guns in from the Islands.

Beth hoped Sam didn't hear her gulp.  He put her in a playful headlock.
He was up for this, way up.  He looked happy, and more than that, in his
white cotton pants with the drawstring waist, and the blue and white pull-
over, he looked the part as well.  Beth'd had an absolute blast shopping
for him, and he seemed more than content with the clothes she'd chosen.  He
looked a little like a typical vacationer, but it was so rarely that Sam
was a typical anything that it didn't matter much.

Sam:  We're looking for the Blackbird.

Beth:  You're not serious.  The Blackbird?

Sam: Three masted...

Beth:  ...barkentine, I know.

Beth spotted the ship first.  She thought Sam had been pulling her leg.
Hell, she'd thought Deb had been pulling her leg.  But there it was.  And
there was Bully and Deb had definitely not been pulling her leg about THAT.

Sam:  Captain Hayes?

Bully:  Yessir.  Mr. Gerard, Ms. Wilson, I'm Captain Bully Hayes.  Welcome
aboard.

Bully eyed Beth appreciatively.  Beth shrank against Sam.  The feeling
of his hard body against her side reminded her that she needed to maintain
despite...everything.  Sam and Bully shook hands in the usual energetic 
style, then Bully took Beth's hand in both of his and laid it against his
chest.

Bully:  You'll have the safest voyage I can manage, Miss Beth.  I can't
remember the last time I had such precious cargo.

Strictly in character, Beth thought.  She could appreciate his effort,
but her intellectual take on Bully did nothing to still her wildly thumping
heart.  Bully released her hand reluctantly.  Sam didn't even seem to notice
this, though she knew he saw everything.

Bully:  If you'll follow me, I'll show you the Blackbird.  Mr. Starbuck,
stow our passenger's gear and prepare to cast off.

Bully tucked Beth's hand into the crook of his elbow.  Funny how this
didn't seem to bother Sam in the least, while if Billy so much as looked at
her Sam was ready to destroy him.  Sam followed along quite calmly, a hand 
in the small of Beth's back.  Within the hour, the Blackbird was underway.

It was the evening of the third day out, and Beth was lying awake beside Sam unable to sleep.  They had spent the day on one of those secluded beaches Sam
had been rhapsodizing about, and while there had been a lot to recommend the
experience in total, there were some few things that Beth didn't care to
repeat.  The swimming had been wonderful - the sea was as warm as a bath, 
the water crystalline.  Sam was as strong a swimmer as he was anything else,
and watching him had been great fun.  Lying on the white sand in the warm
salt wind had been lovely, especially with nothing between her and the sun
but...Sam.  On the other hand, lovemaking on the beach had been something
less than she had anticipated.  She had ended up with sand in her kiester, 
sand in her hair, sand in her ears - the primitive shower bath on the
Blackbird had been totally incapable of dealing with the amount of the beach
that Beth had brought back to the boat with her.  She had decided that she
would spend another afternoon on the beach with Sam if he wanted, but she
would only make love in a clean bed.  She chalked it up to experience, and
decided to take herself out of the cabin before she disturbed Sam's rest.
She wanted someone to talk to, and she headed for the radio room.  Deb had
told her that this was where the ship was really controlled from, and one
of Bully Hayes' goofy crew was bound to be on watch and ready to chat.  What
Beth wasn't prepared for was finding the Blackbird's master himself.

Bully:  No...NO...are you paying attention, Billy, I can't!...I have Sam
and Beth aboard...Sam?...you dumb shit, Sam Gerard!...THAT Sam!...Deputy
Who?  Dawg?...you gotta get out from in front of the damn cable tv, Bill...
yes I do and yes she is...naw, Billy, she's stapled to Gerard's hip, you
oughta know how that is...I only know what I see, Billy, but if you're 
carryin' a torch for Beth, you're gonna burn your fingers...just as well,
boy, just as well...yeah, I'll look after your pipsqueak, but I don't really
need to...well, I don't know about you but tanglin' with Gerard isn't
somethin' I'd do less I'd had my Wheaties...okay...yeah...I'll let you
know when they're comin' in...

Beth:  How's Billy?

Bully whipped around, hit her with a dazzling smile.

Bully:  What brings you down to the Blackbird's heart, Miss Beth?

Beth:  Skip the 'miss', will you please?  I know this is all a put on and
I think you're doing a tremendous job.  But what do you know about Billy?

Bully:  It's a funny thing, Beth.  All of us who've been played by Tommy,
we just sort of fall into an old boy's club.  Billy and I...I've run a
few things in for him in the past, he's done a few things for me...we're
both basically mercenary, though he does it because of a grudge he
carries and I just do it for fun.  There's not much to know, otherwise.

Beth:  Normally I wouldn't care, Bully.  But I think it's only fair to
warn you, my Sam is after Billy.  So you don't want to say anything about
Billy or Deb in front of him.  He doesn't think you know anything about
them, or if you do it's pure coincidence.  He'll pick your brains if he
gets any other idea.  So keep quiet.  Sam's trying to rest and he won't
be able to if he thinks he can find something out from you.  I don't want
his trip ruined like the last one was.

Bully:  I understand, Beth.  Your secret is safe with me.  I won't be
picking anything up on this trip.

Beth:  Good.  Thank you, Bully.  I think I'll get back to Sam.  Good night.

Bully:  Good night, Beth.  And...if you ever get tired... 

Beth:  That's very sweet, Bully, but don't hold your breath.  I could
never get tired of Sam.

TO BE CONTINUED...