Here's part one of our favorite ensign's birthday celebration, so put on your
party hats and come on in! -- Jess

     Loni Henderson leaned back in her bunk with a long sigh, the card in her
right hand slipping from her grasp and fluttering to the floor.  She stared
glumly at it, but she was too tired to move.  The last week the entire crew
had spent drilling for a big inspection by UEO's top brass and Loni had worked
more consecutive shifts than she liked to remember.  The inspection had gone
smoothly and Capt. Bridger and the command staff now dined with Adm. Noyce
as he presented them with an excellent review.  But Loni wasn't simply phys-
ically tired, she was also fighting a mild case of the blues.
     She was just slipping into a light doze when a rap at the partially
opened door brought her wide awake.  She hesitated a moment before answering,
not sure she wanted company right now, but the door was already open and who-
ever it was would come in anyway regardless of what she wanted.  Her decision
made she sat up and called out, "Yeah?" hoping against hope that it would be
for her roommate.
     Instead Tim O'Neill poked his head around the door's edge, a lopsided
grin lighting his face.  "Just me," he announced, "Came to see what you were
up to since I didn't see you at the movie."
     Loni didn't think even Tim could cheer her up at this point, but she
waved at him to come in anyway.  "I'm just sitting here," she told him as she
reached to the floor to retrieve the card, "I didn't much feel like going to
the movie tonight -- and aren't you supposed to be at that dinner?"
     "Dinner ended about fifteen minutes ago so I went to the lounge to see
what was playing.  I didn't see you there, so I came here," he answered,
making himself comfortable in the middle of their floor.  "What's that?" he
asked pointing to the card she now held in her hand once again.
     "Just a note from my sister, Rachel," she replied as she looked down at
it.
     He asked to see it and she handed it across.  He regarded it silently for
a moment and then looked up at Loni.  "This is gorgeous Loni.  I've never
seen a card like this."
     "Rachel's an artist.  She did the whole thing herself -- from the paper
to the ink to the picture."
     Tim held the folded paper delicately in his hands and admired the work-
manship of the miniature watercolor set in the center of the card.  Rachel
had painted an underwater scene of a mermaid blowing out the candles on a
birthday cake held by a charming little sea horse.  The mermaid's hair and the
candles were set off with flecks of gilded paint, while the water and sea
floor glowed with an opalescent fire.  Without thinking Tim opened the card
and found a short message scrawled in a long fluid hand:  *Happy Birthday to
my little Mermaid.  I miss you, but I'm sure you'll have a glorious day. --
All my love, Rachel.*
     He nearly dropped the card on reading the message and looked up at Loni
every feature reflecting his surprise.  "Loni?  It's your birthday?"
     She shrugged and sat back on her bunk, folding her long legs beneath her.
"Actually it was yesterday, but I didn't get any mail until today."
     She sounded so resigned.  "Yesterday?!" he said stunned as he too sat
back.  He set the card down carefully, and tried again, "Why didn't you say
anything?"
     She shrugged again and refused to meet his concerned gaze.  If there was
anything she couldn't handle right now it was O'Neill's sweet, sad eyes look-
ing at her like that.  "With the inspection coming up and all the drills and
stuff . . . I just didn't want anyone to feel obligated to go to any trouble
for me.  It's no big deal -- it's just another birthday."
     She glanced up at him to see if he was still looking at her.  Thankfully
his eyes were averted, but his lips were pursed the way they always got when
he was thinking over something particularly troublesome.  He was staring at
the birthday card from her sister.  Without looking at her, and without any
preamble, he said, "It's hard being away from home isn't it?"
     *What is he talking about now?* she wondered, perplexed by this sudden
change of topic.  "What?"
     "It's hard being away from home when it's your birthday isn't it?  You
must miss your family."
     *So that's what he's getting at.*  "I guess."
     He was looking at her again damnit.  He obviously didn't believe her and
under the weight of his stare she couldn't really believe herself either.  She
bit her lip to keep the tears from falling, then in a moment of frustration
picked up her pillow and threw it at O'Neill.  She got off the bunk and paced
the room trying to control herself, but she snapped at him, "Damn you Tim! I
was already feeling like crap.  Now you're gonna make me feel worse."
     Tim remained seated on the floor knowing that Loni wasn't really angry
with him.  Loni got mad at herself, rarely at anyone else, but she needed to
work out her agitation so he let her pace.  She stalked around the room for
about a minute more and then stopped abruptly behind him.  She stared down at
his bent head, suddenly calm, suddenly drained of her frustration and anger.
She lowered herself to the floor behind him and leaned her forehead against
his back to feel his relaxed strenght and warmth flowing through her.
     Tim didn't move when he felt Loni settle against him; he simply relished
the feel of her resting against his back and wished fervently that the moment
could last forever.  They sat in silence like that for a long while until he
heard a tell-tale sniffle from behind him and automatically turned to wrap her
in his arms.  As she cried her homesickness out into his chest he rocked her
and murmured comforting nonsense into the soft waves of her hair as he remem-
bered his grandma doing for him when he was small.
     After a while her sobs subsided and Loni rested quietly in his embrace,
relaxed by the steady beat of his heart against her ear and the sweet, fresh
scent of him -- a mixture of detergent, sweat and her own tears.  She realized
that she hadn't felt this content in ages and prolonged the moment as long as
possible by just being still.  After another moment of blissful silence she
pulled away and wiped her tear-stained face with the back of her hand.  Tim
would have liked to abandon his typically reserved behavior at that moment
and throw caution to the wind by kissing her, but he hesitated and Loni broke
the mood, saying, "God, what a sucky birthday, huh?"
     He noticed a bit of her old humor flash in her brown eyes when she spoke
and managed to quell his desire to kiss her.  Instead he placed his hand
against her cheek and said, "Maybe we can do something about that."
     "Oh yeah?  What?" she replied unbelieving.
     He tapped her nose with his index finger and grinned at her, a vague plot
forming in his head, "Just leave it to me Birthday Girl.  But meet me at air-
lock C tomorrow night at 7:30, OK?"
     "OK, but what are we going to do?"
     "Leave it to me Loni.  You'll see," he informed her as he got up to go.
He tousled her hair affectionately before heading out the door though.  "Are
you feeling better?"
     She smiled still on the floor at his feet, "Yeah.  I do -- thanks Tim."
     "Thank me tomorrow."
* * * * * To be continued


Here's the second installment -- sorry it took so long :).
Hope you all enjoy!

     Tim left Loni's quarters pleased that she seemed happier after their
talk, but he had created quite a quandry for himself.  *How on earth am I
going to pull together a birthday party for her on such short notice!*
Ordinarily he would have liked to have done something impressive and fabu-
lous for Loni's birthday, but he didn't have the time.  Something small would
have to do -- *After all, he thought, Good things come in small packages,
right?*  But even for a smaller party he knew he was going to need help.
     He found Miguel Ortiz playing cards with Piccolo in one of the lounges.
"Miguel," he called across the room as he headed for their table, "I need your
help."
     He pulled out a chair and dropped into it as Miguel put down his cards,
"What's up Tim?"
     "Loni's birthday was yesterday and everyone forgot because of the big
drill," he told them both.
     "Oh man," groaned Ortiz, while Piccolo gave a low whistle of dismay,
"We missed it?  Is she OK?"
     Tim shrugged, uncertain how to answer this last question.  "She's feeling
pretty homesick, it's her first birthday away from home, so she's kinda
upset.  But she wasn't going to tell anyone, something about having a stiff
upper lip . . .".  He shook his head remembering her stubborn streak.
     "So how'd you find out?" asked Miguel.
     "I went to her room to see where she was -- she wasn't at the movie like
usual -- and I saw a card that she'd gotten from her older sister."
     Piccolo looked from one of them to the other and asked, "So what's the
plan?  Obviously you aren't going to let it go."
     Tim glanced at him and then back at Miguel, "The day after next we head
out again, so we only have a day left in port, but I think we should have a
party for her.  In town, small, nothing fancy, but I can't do it on my own."
     Miguel smiled, he loved a challenge and he knew that with some help they
could put together this party in to time, "What do you need?"
     "First, we need a place to have it . . ."
     "That's easy Tim.  We can do it at the Cove.  The Fontaines' will be
thrilled to see us.  We're their favorite customers."
     "I hadn't thought of that, but it's perfect.  Can you get that all set up
on such short notice?" he asked skeptically.
    Miguel winked at his old friend with a sly grin.  "Sure, no problem.
Remember the Fontaines' love us, plus their two waitresses, Hoo and Jules,
will be glad to see me.  I'm sure they'll help out."
     "Lucas and I can take care of the decorations Lieutenant," offered Tony.
    "Cmdr. Ford's going ashore tomorrow with Loni's friend -- you know, the
new med tech, Deanna -- they could handle the gift-buying.  And Lt. Brody's
C. O. since the captain and Ford will be gone -- he can take care of arranging
transportation for everyone," added Miguel.
     Tim began to relax.  With the help of his friends and crewmates every-
thing seemed to be falling into place nicely -- provided that everyone else
agreed to carry out their assigned tasks.  Of course, the mild-mannered
communications officer was well-liked by everyone on board the seaQuest from
the captain and Dagwood (who pretty much liked everyone) to Cmdr. Ford (who
did not).  Everyone would be pleased to help him out of a jam.  Particularly
in regard to affairs concerning the pretty ensign . . . "I guess that leaves
me with the task of getting Loni there," concluded Tim with a sigh.
     Miguel laughed at the look of consternation which passed over Tim's
features, and gave him a light pat on the shoulder, "Oh come on Tim.  You'll
think of something -- now let's get going and see if everyone can help out.~
* * * *To be continued


Part Three:

     Loni spent the hours between Tim's departure from her quarters until
7:30 the next evening wondering what sort of weird plan he was concocting.
She arrived at airlock C five minutes early hoping that she had dressed
properly.  She hadn't seen Tim all day, so she'd decided on comfortable and
casual -- jeans and a T-shirt topped by a corduroy blouse.  She paced around
the waiting area for a few minutes, chatted with Ens. Irish who was manning
the airlock controls that evening and had begun to wonder what could be
keeping Tim when Dagwood rounded the corner.  He was walking strangely, with
his hands behind his broad back, and looked like he had misplaced something.
Loni called out, "Hi Dagwood."
     He looked fixedly at her for a moment and then approached her, his hands
still behind his back.  "Hi Loni."
     "What're you up to?" she asked him.  "Why are you walking around with
your hands behind your back?"
     "I was looking for you," he said, "And now I've found you.  Lt. O'Neill
asked me to give you this."  He took his hands from behind his back, and
clutched in one meaty fist Dagwood held a long-stemmed, yellow rose with a
note attached to its stem.
     She took the flower and opened the note: *Hey Birthday Girl! This is a
treasure hunt.  Follow the note's instructions.  Take the next shuttle to the
marina and look for the statue of the pelican.  See you soon! -- Tim*
     Loni laughed out loud.  This was too much for crying out loud! But it
was so funny and sweet . . . She looked up as the airlock doors hissed open
and Lt.(j.g.) Spyridon poked her head out of the hatch.  "Hey Loni! Looks like
you're my only passenger for this run.  Want to sit up front and keep me
company?"
     "Sure Di," Loni answered.  Saying a quick farewell to Dagwood, she
boarded the shuttle just as the note said to and spent the fifteen minute ride
to the dock chatting with her fellow shuttle-driver and pondering what this
evening held in store for her.
     She found the pelican statue after a very brief search.  It wasn't very
challenging -- after all two yellow roses were sticking jauntily out of the
bird's beak along with another note: *You're getting warmer! Find the
balloon man and ask for a yellow balloon with a green ribbon.  Pop the
balloon . . .*
     Giggling to herself Loni followed the note's instructions and after a
five minute search spotted the balloon man ahead of her, his rainbow of
balloons bobbing gently in the night sky.  She made her way toward him through
the throng of people enjoying the balmy evening on the pier and then waited
while a young father bought his little girl a pretty blue balloon.  "And
what can I do for you miss?" inquired the balloon man with a twinkle in his
eye.
     "I'd like a yellow balloon on a green ribbon if you have one please,"
she said feeling a little silly at the request.
     The jaunty old man tipped his hat to her with a wink.  "I've just one
left," he said, "And here it is."
     Loni offered him a coin in exchange for the balloon but he shook his
head and refused to take the money.  Tim after all had given him a nice tip.
Instead he offered her a pin, which she took knowing that the old gent was
obviously in on Tim's scheme.  With little ceremony Loni gave the balloon a
firm jab with the pin releasing a flurry of gold glitter into the air along
with -- another note! It read: *Head for the promenade and take the yellow
bicycle cab waiting for you there.*
     Loni handed the pin back to the balloon man, thanked him and hurried to
the street to find the bike-cab, her heart pounding with anticipation.  She
scanned the various vehicles lined up at the curb and then approached the only
yellow bike-cab she could see.  The female driver caught her eye and waved to
her, confirming her guess so Loni trotted over and climbed into the buggy,
her excitement mounting.
     "Loni, right?" asked the young woman.
     Loni gave her a warm smile as they shook hands, "Yep.  That's me."
    "Good to meetcha.  I'm Jenn and I'll be your driver tonight," she replied
and then they were off at a brisk speed, Jenn saying over her shoulder, "That
Tim of yours sure is a sweetie.  Where'd you find him?  I didn't think they
made them like that anymore?"
     Loni suffered a brief moment of confusion at the driver's words and then
thought, *Oh! She thinks we're a couple* and had to stifle a chuckle.  *Me and
Tim? . . . Me and Tim.  Yeah, why not?*  She'd been thinking about him a lot
lately, ever since Tim had tried to rescue her from that body-snatching alien,
and she'd been unable to get him off her mind since yesterday when he had
held her so tenderly and let her cry -- his gentle eyes, his deft hands, his
mobile mouth . . .
     Jenn tossed her a quick look.  "You still there?"
     Loni giggled at the train of her thoughts and responded, "Yeah, I'm still
here."
     "So where'd you find him?"
     "A submarine," she answered a certain glee livening her tone.
     "You're kidding.  A submarine?"
     "Yep.  We both serve on the seaQuest."
     Jenn lauged, "So you both work for the UEO?"
     "Um hmh."
     "So are all UEO men as adorable as your guy is?" she asked.
     Loni paused for a moment, seriously considering the question.  Cmdr.
Ford and Lt. Brody were certainly nice-looking enough, but the commander was
always so dour, while the brash, young lieutenant was perhaps just a little
 too . . . too brash.  The captain, of course, was a dish even at his age, but
he was afterall the captain.  Ortiz?  She had been down that road once before,
and while he was a delightful person, they made better friends than romantic
partners.  Lucas?  Piccolo?  Dagwood?  All fine human beings, but none were
really right for her.  Lt. Tim O'Neill seemed to be in a class of his own.
She wondered why she'd never thought about him more seriously in the past.
"They're good men," she conceded finally, "Really good in fact.  But Tim's
special."
     They had stopped by now, though Loni had not noticed.  They were about
three miles from the busy pier, on a section of the coast lit only by star-
light and the pretty faerie lights lining an overgrown pathway nearby.  The
path seemed to slope gently downward, and in the distance Loni could just
glimpse the lights of a small building.  Over the soft buzzing of insects and
rustling of the trees and bushes, she thought she could hear music and
laughter coming from that direction.  "Is this my stop?" she asked wondering
where Tim was.
     "That it is honey."  Jenn turned around as Loni stepped from the buggy
and they shook hands once again.
     "Thanks for the lift."
     "Hey, it was my pleasure.  You have a great evening now."
     Loni saluted her and said sincerly, "I'll do my best."
     She waited and watched as the young woman pedaled off before she turned
and began to make her way down the path.  At the first curve she noticed
another yellow rose lying on top of a fence post.  She caught the flower up
and opened the scrap of paper on which it had been lying:  *Follow me* was
all it said, and the bewildered ensign looked around uncertain how to follow
a rose that didn't seem inclined to spontaneously sprout feet.
     She took a few hesitant steps forward and glanced around the bend in the
path and sure enough, just a little ways ahead of her, another rose, its
vibrant hue glowing softly in the dusk, reclined in the branches of a low tree.
*It's like following the yellow brick road,* Loni thought as she made her way
down the path, *Or a little like Alice falling into Wonderland.*  There was no
note on this rose but she picked it up and added it to her little bouquet,
confident that she had Tim's little game figured out.  She walked on, and sure
enough she could see another rose a few yards away on a path leading away
from, rather than to, the little building.
     By now she was sure that she could hear people inside laughing gleefully,
above the steady beast of a vaguely familiar song, and she wondered what they
could be doing.  Even more enticing was the delicious aroma of roasted garlic
and chicken which wafted toward her from the building.  Her stomach growled in
response and she remembered that in her excitement over the evening's mystery
she had forgotten to eat lunch.  *Whatever Tim's got planned had better in-
volve food,* she thought but she kept on walking.
* * * *To be continued (but only one more to go!)

Here's the final installment of Loni's birthday.  Sorry for the delay -- it
got longer than expected -- but hope it was worth waiting for. -- Jess

Part Four

     By the time she reached the end of the path Loni had collected eight more
roses, giving her an odd total of eleven.  She stepped off of the path and
found herself in a small cove.  The ocean, directly ahead of her, lapped gently
at the shore and on both sides of her palm trees and lush vegetation stretched
as far as she could see.  To her right, further along the beach, she could see
the back of the small building which she had seen from above, and it was not
as small as she had at first thought.  From the path Loni had only seen the
upper entrance, but the building in fact extended down the slope into an
expansive lower level with an outdoor terrace stretching toward the water.
Torches lined the the beach and Chinese paper lanterns swung lazily from the
terrace beams.  It was a bewitching scene, but there was no one in sight --
even the sounds of music and merriment emanating from the building seemed to
have faded away.
     Loni walked to the water's edge and turned around to take a better look
around her; only then did she spot Tim watching her as he leaned against one
of the palm trees.  He held the twelfth and final rose and Loni grinned like
a fool when she saw him there waiting for her, the smile on his face matching
her own.  "Happy Birthday Loni," he said as she approached him across the
sand.
     She took the final flower from him with a soft "Thank you," the look in
her eyes as she spoke setting off a fluttery feeling in the pit of Tim's
belly.  The feeling increased tenfold when she raised her eyebrow and asked
coyly, "So.  Are you the treasure at the end of my hunt Tim O'Neill?"
     Tim blushed and fumblingly replied, "Umm, no . . . no, I hadn't -- I
mean, that's not what . . ."
     "It's OK Tim," she said interrupting him as she leaned forward to press
her lips to his still-warm cheek, "I'm not disappointed."
     Her words rang in his ears -- *I'm not disappointed* -- and he suddenly
wished that they were really alone, that forty more people were not waiting
inside to wish her well, so that he could finally tell her how he really felt
about her.  Loni, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched, stood
regarding Tim wondering why it had taken so long her so long to realize what
a kissable mouth he had and whether or not now was the right time to find out
just *how* kissable.  But before she could decide forty pairs of lungs
startled her by shouting "Happy Birthday Loni."  Loni whirled around, and
there on the terrace stood almost every living soul she knew on the seaQuest
-- thanks to the efforts of Lt. Brody and Transport Chief Seet -- laughing,
blowing noisemakers and waving at her.  In the crowd she could see Ortiz and
Dr. Smith, Lucas, flanked by his UEO research interns Shelia and Crys, Piccolo
looking ludicrously adorable in a pointy party hat, while Dagwood towered over
them all.  The only person not in evidence was the captain himself; Darwin
even made an appearance, waving a flipper to them and then playing and jumping
in the cove's gentle waters.
     Speechless she turned a stunned face to Tim and managed to ask, "Did you
do all this?"
     He nodded feeling a little embarrassed, but added, "I had some help," and
when she made no move to do so, suggested, "Why don't we go and join them?"
     Together they walked the several meters to the steps in silence.  Loni
still felt overwhelmed by this unexpected outpouring of caring, but the smile
covering her face radiated her delight.  As she reached the top step Lt.
Brody lifted her off of her feet with his hug, spun her around once before
depositing her in front of Cmdr. Ford.  Jim kissed her cheek, said "Happy
Birthday," then indicated with a gesture that the commander now had the floor.
     Jonathon, looking unusually jubilant with Deanna at his side, held two
glasses of champagne.  He handed one to Loni, while Tim received one from
Kate, a lieutenant j. g. in engineering.  Ford, still grinning, then raised
his glass to toast the birthday girl.  "We screwed up ensign.  We forgot your
birthday though you've always done your best to make ours' special.  But we
thought we'd make it up to you with this little party and a few tokens of our
appreciation," nodding to the hefty pile of gifts he and Deanna had combed the
town for, "We hope you can forgive us Loni -- Happy Birthday!" he concluded,
hugging her.
     Shouts of "Hear Hear" and "Happy Birthday" filled the air as everyone
pressed forward to wish Loni well, but over them cut Piccolo's voice as he
shouted, a half-eaten drumstick in his hand, "Dinner's served!"
     Loni's stomach growled in reply and she hurriedly excused herself to
follow Piccolo inside where a buffet of house specialities greeted her.
Jambalaya, chicken and dumplings, garlic roasted chicken, mashed potatoes,
corn on the cob, an array of salads wafted their delicious scents towards
Loni who, with mouth watering, stopped and stared at the spread.  Everything
looked so good she couldn't decide where to begin and finally opted for the
chicken and dumplings, some salad and iced tea to wash it down.  She sat down
and Tim soon joined her describing to  Ortiz, Brody and Dr. Smith how he had
lured her here.  She sighed with contentment as the tables filled with her
happy friends and then got up for seconds as the music started.
    Capt. Bridger arrived soon after people got up to begin dancing.  His
aide, Ensign McCullough followed awkwardly carrying a large pink box.  Loni
made a quick escape from Piccolo, her dancing partner, who had been entertain-
ing her with some unusual gyrations, in order to greet the captain.  Bridger
took her hand in both of his, his patented smile of fatherly affection on his
lips, "Sorry I'm late Henderson, but O'Neill insisted I bring the cake and it
took a bit of doing," he explained, leading her to the now-opened box, "Happy
Birthday."
     Loni gaped down at the cake.  It was the very same chocolate cake her mom
had made for each of Loni's twenty-two previous birthdays, down to the fudgy
frosting and pink lettering.  She looked up at the captain, shaking her head
in disbelief, "How?  How did you do it?"
     He laughed and gave her hug.  "O'Neill was insistent that the cake be
authentic, so I contacted your mother.  She gave me the recipe and I had one
of the cooks whip it up.  We're late because Cam had a little trouble finding
the right pink icing."
     Loni looked from him to O'Neill and thought she might start crying, so
she kept her thanks simple saying only, "Thank you Sir."
     "No need to thank me Henderson.  Just make a good wish."
     Ens. McCullough had meanwhile lit the twenty three candles adorning the
cake; Loni stared down at them racking her brain for the perfect wish.  *No
more encounters with body-snatching aliens?  Better food in the mess?  No more
giant, prehistoric alligators?  A bigger water ration?*
     "Hey Loni.  Hurry it up.  You don't want to set off the smoke detectors
in here," Piccolo teased, distracting her.
     She looked up at him in time to see Tim swat his arm, telling him, "Shut
up Tony.  Take your time Loni."  And then she had it -- the perfect wish!  She
shut her eyes and blew out the candles to the cheers and applause of her
friends and wondered how to make her wish come true as Hoo handed her the
first slice of cake.
     The party lasted for several more hours as Loni opened her presents and
everyone danced into the wee hours.  She spent time with as many people as
possible, but she never left Tim's side for very long.  Tim was ecstatic over
how well everything had turned out, so ecstatic that he even let Loni coax
him out onto the dance floor.  But finally it was time to go.  The seaQuest
was due to leave port at 9am sharp and many of them had 7am shifts including
Tim and Loni, giving them just a few hours of shut-eye.  Loni was reluctant
to go as she watched her gifts being packed into the cars heading back to the
shuttles.  She came up behind Tim and nudged his elbow as he was speaking to
Cmdr. Ford, "Tim, is it possible to walk back from here?"
     He turned from the commander to Loni, "Yeah, sure.  You can walk back on
the beach.  It takes about half an hour.  You'd make the last shuttle."
     Loni looked around the nearly deserted room before speaking again.
Miguel stood outside on the terrace talking quietly with Hoo and Jules, and
John had drifted away towards Deanna who waited near the door for him.  "Walk
back with me?" Loni asked him softly.
     Tim stared back at her, mildly surprised at the request, but highly
pleased.  He had enjoyed every minute of their time together and was in no
hurry for it to end.  "Sure," he answered, "Just let me get my jacket."
     He told John that they were walking back and then he and Loni headed out
to the terrace and down the steps to the beach, saying good night to Ortiz and
his friends as they passed.  Tim led the way along the cove's shore to another
path back to the main beach, and neither spoke for several minutes, each
enjoying the quiet company.  Loni was the first to break the silence, saying,
"I didn't really thank you for everything you did tonight Tim, but I had a
wonderful time.  Thanks."
     He glanced over at her and found that she was regarding him intently, her
eyes dark with thought.  He wondered what she could be thinking about so
seriously, but did not broach the subject, and said only, "Well, I didn't do
it alone, but I'm glad you had a good time."
     She smiled at his unwillingness to take all the credit, and reached out
to squeeze his hand.  Tim felt her hand slip into his and she astonished him
by leaving it there.  They walked along hand and hand now, Tim attempting to
discern what Loni was thinking, while Loni attempted to figure out what to do
next.  She had to think fast though when the marina came into view.  Pretty
soon they would be back on the shuttle, heading back to the boat, and her
fabulous evening would be over, and her wish unfulfilled.  Still holding Tim's
hand she halted in the sand, jerking him backwards when she didn't let go.
He turned back to her.  She stared at him a slightly worried look on her face.
"Loni?  Are you all right?" he asked with concern.
     She squeezed his hand more tightly and said, "We can't go back yet."
     "What?  Why not?" he asked in confusion.
     "Because." She paused searching for the words she needed to explain to
him.  Nothing came to mind except the obvious, so finally she decided it had
to be the only way.  "Tim."
     "Yes?"
     She moved in close to him so that they were barely touching and gazed
for a moment into his eyes, then let her gaze linger on his mouth.  She bit
her lower lip, looked back up athim and said, "I don't mean to be forwathan he
thought possible and he drew in a deep breath trying to regain his balance.
*Kiss her?  Did she say she wants me to kiss her?* He simply stared across the
inches that separated them and felt imperceptibly pulled in by the velvety
darkness of her eyes.  He let go of her hand and raised his hand to caress the
same cheek he had touched the night before.  She raised her own hand to trace
the outline of his mouth with a finger, then dropped her hand to his chest as
his other hand moved to her neck and his head lowered to hers and their lips
gently met.
     They kissed tentatively at first, but after the initial contact both grew
more eager acknowledging their mutual longing.  Tim had never been drunk
before, not unless one counted the three glasses of champagne at his cousin's
wedding when he was twelve, but that hadn't been a pleasant experience.  Kiss-
ing Loni, on the other hand, was what he imagined the exhilarating feeling of
intoxication to be like.  Loni just wished they didn't have to go back to the
boat right away; she wanted more time to enjoy her new discovery.  But they
had to stop eventually and Tim was the first to pull away leaving her breath-
less.  "Wow!" he said, a little breathless himself.
     "You could say that again," she agreed, "If I'd known you were such a
great kisser, I would have done this a long time ago."
     Tim wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.  Cocking
his head to one side he considered her for a minute, then asked, "Should I
advertise?"
     She laughed and gave his cheek a light tap, "I don't think so buddy.
Let's keep it our little secret," and then she put her arms around his neck
and kissed him again.

     They made it to the shuttle in time, and were at their assigned shifts
the following morning, sleepy but happy.  Later that day Loni took a few
minutes and wrote back to her sister telling her all about the surprise
party.  She signed her name and then added a postscript:  *P. S. Rachel --
I found out the wishes really do come true!*

                             The End.