Archive of Our Own ^beta

Arriving at Crescentia always put Dr Delbert Doppler in a good mood. The colossal construct was in an orbit that ensured it was in constant daylight, making its cream-white buildings and their terracotta roofs glow as if lit from inside. On each side, the miles-long wings of the space station stretched away, curving as they did so until they towered over the central ports like cresting waves. But Doppler's eye was drawn, as always, to the vast central dome of Admiralty House with its towering flagpole. The Royal Navy flag flying from it was at full stretch, indicating a fresh stellar breeze blowing in from the etherium.

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" Sarah Hawkins joined him at the bottom of the ferry gangway. The other passengers disembarking around them were moving off on their own errands, paying no heed to the spectacle. Doppler stepped aside to let someone past as he nodded.

"It certainly is. Every time I come here."

"So it doesn't get old?" Sarah smiled. "I know you come here more than I do."

"It doesn't get old," Doppler smiled back. "And nor does the reason why."

"You soppy old romantic, Delbert," Sarah grinned.

"Guilty as charged." Doppler chuckled. "Well, it's a nice day. Shall we walk?"

Sarah nodded. "I'm sure you know the way."

The two friends set off into the hustle and bustle of the Empire's greatest spaceport. The atmosphere was one of commerce and industry as usual, but there was a festive air as well. Bunting in red, white, blue and gold festooned the facades of many buildings or was strung across the streets. Banners here and there proclaimed 'PEACE IN OUR TIME.'

"Well, that's nice," said Sarah, looking at one. "Do you think it'll happen?"

"So everyone says," said Doppler. "Amelia told me that the negotiations with the Procyons have been happening for months in secret. They only told everyone when they were sure they were near agreement."

"So she thinks it's for real?" Sarah asked. "I mean, I know I'd sleep better at night for Jim's sake if it is. It's hard enough knowing he's out there with those Ironclads on the loose, never mind having to fight the Procyons as well."

Doppler hesitated. "Er...well, Amelia has a history with the Procyons that it's hard for her to look past. So she was...somewhat sceptical. For once, I hope she's wrong."

"Me, too," said Sarah. "I guess you'll get the chance to ask her in person soon."

'Not quite yet, though," Doppler shaded his eyes and looked up at Admiralty House. The flagpole bore only the naval ensign, not the long, thin Admiral's pennant that indicated that Amelia was in residence. "They must still be on the way back from Parliament. I thought they'd be here by now."

"Maybe they were delayed?" said Sarah. "Something as complicated as a peace treaty, it's bound to have been delayed."

"I suppose you're right." Doppler nodded. "Well, we might be able to find out more at Admiralty House."

"Right." Sarah looked around. "And it looks like a few other people are agreeing with you..."

"Hmm?" Doppler looked around. As was usual, people were moving in all directions, and so he hadn't paid any more attention. But Sarah, newer to Crescentia, had detected something that took a few moments to dawn on him. A disproportionate number of people were heading towards the naval base, some of them at an unusual pace.

"Or...is this normal?" Sarah asked.

"Er, no. I don't think so." Doppler said, puzzled. "Rumour travels fast around here, though...maybe people think there's news from the peace summit."

Sarah looked at someone as they hurried past. "And not good news, it seems."

Doppler felt a nervous sensation rising in him, and he swallowed hard to quell it. Even so, part of him knew that Sarah was right.

"I think we'd better go and see for ourselves," he said.

The crowd was gathering in front of the main entrance to the naval base, an elaborate series of three wide gates set into a heavy wall of white stone. Sentry boxes stood between them, normally occupied by passive Royal Marines whose duties extended to checking the papers of any visitors and trying not to look too bored or get caught sneaking a cigarette. Today, however, there was something different. There were more marines around, perhaps as many as thirty, standing guard outside the gates. Their laslock rifles were in their hands and their foot-long bayonets were fixed.

"What's happening?" Sarah strained to see over the crowd. Doppler, a few inches taller, saw Major Bracic, the old soldier in charge of the port garrison, speaking to the young lieutenant in charge of the guard platoon, both men looking grim-faced and exchanging formal salutes as Bracic turned and marched back into the base.

"I don't know," he said. "But it looks serious."

"Could you ask them?" Sarah looked up at him. "You know the Admiral, after all."

"That's never really stood in my favour when it comes to dealing with them," said Doppler. "Hang on...something's happening now."

There was a large holographic billboard set by the side of the gates. Normally it bore nothing more than lists of port movements and advertisements, but now it went blank and started blinking the message PLEASE STAND BY.

"They're putting up notices of some kind," said Doppler. "Come on, let's try to get closer..."

As they started finding their way forward, the blinking words vanished and were replaced by several columns of densely-written text arrayed under a series of headlines. Doppler heard murmurs spreading through the crowd, starting from those closest to the notices and rippling backwards. The mass of people began gravitating towards the posters and Doppler went with them, standing on tiptoes where possible to make out the writing. The headlines practically shouted the news off the virtual page. The compositors had used every trick in their book to differentiate them, but there was no mistaking the story they were telling:

PROCYON TREACHERY!

The Great Betrayal at Parliament

Ironclads Revealed As Procyon Secret Weapons

Queen Attacked At Peace Summit

HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL NAVY HOLDS THE LINE

Battlefleet Crescentia Triumphant

Great destruction of ships

His heart in his mouth, Doppler pushed forward through the crowd with uncharacteristic determination to reach a position where he was able to read the smaller text of the story below.

"Procyon Diplomatic Fleet launched sneak attack on Parliament ahead of historic treaty summit..." he whispered. "Naval forces attending the momentous event forced into action...oh, no...that was Amelia's squadron..."

His eyes widened as he read down to the bottom of the article, where the prose stopped and gave way to a list printed in small text and arrayed across three columns, which he realised with a shock was a tally of losses.

"RLS Able...RLS Belmont...RLS Daring..."

Doppler surveyed the list frantically, running his wide eyes down the list until, almost at the bottom of the second column, one line jumped off the page at him and struck him in the heart.

RLS Lyonesse (flag) – Adm. Amelia – Destroyed

The sound of the crowd around him suddenly seemed to die away as his senses narrowed in on the last word, blocking out the rest of the world.

"Destroyed...no...it can't be..."

He could hear other exclamations from the crowd as more people caught sight of the posters – shouts of exclamation at the headlines or cries of dismay at seeing the name of a familiar ship in the casualty list – but he paid them no heed. Sarah finally shouldered her way through the throng to his side.

"Delbert? Delbert, are you okay?" She saw the look on his face with some concern.

"I...look..." Doppler pointed a shaking finger. Sarah followed it and read with widening eyes.

"Oh, my...a battle?" Sarah stared. "Jim! I wonder if he was there."

"I don't see his ship on the list of losses," said Doppler. "But Amelia's is there."

"Amelia's? Oh, Delbert..." Sarah saw it. "Oh, no...is she all right?"

"I don't know." Doppler re-read the article frantically. "It doesn't say."

"Maybe they don't know," said Sarah. "If this only just happened..."

"But maybe she's not..." Doppler said. "She might be out there now..."

Sarah suddenly put her arm around his shoulder. "Come on, Delbert."

"What?"

"We need to go." Sarah looked around for a way out of the crowd. "There's no use standing around here."

"Where are we going?" Doppler tried to follow her.

"Home," said Sarah firmly.

"What? Why? What if there's news? I should be here..."

"You said yourself they don't let you in," Sarah reminded him. "And news will reach Montressor just as fast as it does here. And it's more likely it'll be true, as well. You know how rumours circulate, and you don't need that right now."

"Yes, but-"

"Think about it, Delbert. What are you going to do here that you couldn't do from home?"

"I-" Doppler hesitated. "I suppose you're right..."

"Exactly." Sarah took his arm. "So come on."

Doppler had been quiet all the way back from Crescentia. Sarah had been watching him with mounting concern as the ferry descended from orbit and the carriage took them from the Benbow Port to Doppler's manor. He hadn't spoken, or even really looked at her – or anything else. His eyes were focused on a point that was somehow simultaneously a thousand yards away and yet deep inside himself.

He had always heard that your heart stops in moments like this, and he wished it was true. Instead, it continued on as if to serve as a painful reminder that he was forced to carry on without her. The throbbing in his ears an echo within the empty space that she had once filled.

"Delbert?" She'd guided him into his living room and sat him down on the couch. She perched herself across from him and leaned forward, speaking softly. "Delbert, talk to me."

It was a long time before he replied. "I...don't even know where to start...she's gone."

"You don't know that for sure," said Sarah. "She could have survived. If anyone could, it's her."

"But if anyone was going to stay with their ship to the end, it would have been her as well," said Doppler. He caught his own use of the past tense and flinched. "She's always taken chances. Sooner or later, one wasn't going to come off."

"Don't trap yourself into thinking about that," Sarah took his hand. "Not until you know. You shouldn't make this harder on yourself than it already is."

"I know," Doppler whispered. "But how can I not? No matter how hard I try, I always think what if? What if she I gone? And I don't know how to order my thoughts. What if I have to organise her funeral? What will I tell the children?"

"Don't tell them anything yet," said Sarah firmly.

"Of course not. But what if I have to? How do you explain to someone that their mother isn't coming back?"

The last funeral he'd attended had been his mother's. He'd cried when she died, so much that he barely had any tears left for the day they buried her. He wondered if it would be the same now. Except that he knew it wasn't. The death of a parent was, in a sense, the death of a past. But Amelia had been his present and his future.

"Oh, Delbert..." Sarah saw his eyes glistening. She squeezed his hand. "It's all right..."

Doppler fumbled for his handkerchief and blew his nose. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be." Sarah hugged him. "I can't imagine what you're feeling right now."

Doppler held her back. "But you must be worried about Jim...I'm sorry if it's seemed like I've ignored him."

"It's fine." Sarah shrugged and smiled. "Of course I'm nervous, but his ship wasn't on the list, and Jim's spent most of his life getting himself out of trouble. I'm sure he hasn't lost the knack."

"No. He wouldn't have. Jim has always been a survivor." Doppler stopped. "Oh, gods, I just thought about it...what about everyone else? Aurora was on the Lyonesse. So was Dr Gray."

"Delbert, stop." Sarah tried to sound firm. "You don't know about them, either. You don't have to worry about everything."

"I can't not," Doppler shook his head. "I don't know how to stop."

"Focus on the here and now," said Sarah gently. "Don't get caught up in what the future may or may not hold, at least until you know for sure one way or another."

"Of course. You're right." Doppler looked down at his hands. "I just wish it were that easy."

"I never said it was easy," Sarah gave him a sad smile. "But you need to find something to do. Something to stop you dwelling on it. When will the children be let out of school?"

Doppler looked up at a clock on the mantlepiece. "Oh...about half an hour. I...Amelia and I were going to pick them up together...now I don't know if I..."

"It's all right," said Sarah quickly. "I'll take care of it. I've closed down the Benbow for the day anyway."

"Thank you." Doppler nodded. "I'm not sure how well I could handle that at the moment...and maybe by the time you're back, I'll know for sure whether she's all right."

"I hope so." Sarah patted his hand. "Are you sure you'll be all right by yourself?"

"I suppose I'll have to be." Doppler gave what he hoped was a brave smile.

Sarah ran her eyes over his face one last time, trying to judge her friend's state of mind. Eventually she gave up and stood to go.

"All right, then. Remember what I said."

"I will," said Doppler. "And Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Sarah smiled. "You were there for me once, Delbert. It's the least I can do. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Doppler nodded and watched her go. He heard her footsteps receding down the passageway and the click of the front door closing behind her, and then heaved a deep sigh. He sat for a moment, looking down at the handkerchief scrunched up in his hands.

Focus on the here and now. Don't think about what might have happened. Don't think about what you'll do next...don't think about how much it'll hurt you and whether you'll ever be able to move on...

Doppler realised that he was gripping the handkerchief so tightly that it was hurting his knuckles. He forced himself to put it away and stood up. He looked around the room, desperately trying to take himself out of his own head. But there were precious few distractions available, and he was growing acutely aware that he was all alone in the cavernous mansion. Of course, in a sense, that wasn't new – it was how he had lived before the Treasure Planet expedition – but it was a chapter in his life he'd hoped to have left behind. True, he hadn't exactly been sad during that time, but he could see now that it was largely because it was hard to miss what he'd never had. Now the emptiness rang and boomed silently inside him.

How long will it take to hear if she's alive? Hours? Days? What should he do in the meantime? How would he react to a knock on the door by a grim-faced naval officer in a black armband?

Spotting the gramophone in the corner, he went to it and reached out to the shelf where the records were kept. His hand alighted on one at random and he drew it towards himself, only stopping when he realised what it was and a wave of memories came crashing over him before he could brace himself.

"Why, doctor, I didn't know you could dance." Amelia's smile was warm and she looked up from his feet to his eyes as they navigated their way around the furniture, hand in hand, arm in arm, to the sound of the music.

"Well, certain things were expected of me when I was growing up," said Doppler. "Some skills my family was very keen on me possessing. Alas, astrophysics wasn't one of them."

"So I can imagine."

"And you're quite the dancer yourself," Doppler hastily added gallantly. "I mean, I don't know if they taught you that in the Navy..."

"There are some skills officers are supposed to have besides spacing," Amelia confirmed. "But I do rather enjoy it for its own sake. One seldom gets the chance to indulge aboard ship. Quite aside from the fact that you're lucky to have a spacer or two capable of a passable hornpipe on board, the quality of dancing partner available is generally lacking...unlike now..."

The record slipped out of his shaking hand and clattered to the floor. He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths until he regained his composure. Looking up again, he tried to find a record that didn't bring back any memories – but there were so many he'd bought with Amelia or had shared with her that it took him a painfully long time. Eventually he found a tatty old record that had half-fallen down the back of the shelf and dragged it out. It must have dated from his student days and was nothing more than a collection of third-rate concertos by second-rate composers long since ignored or forgotten, but he went to put it on anyway and took another deep breath as the first notes began drifting from the gramophone's gilt horn. The music itself wasn't really the point – but it filled the emptiness of the house and the conscious effort it required to block it out at least stopped him from thinking too much about what-ifs and maybes...

How do you organise a funeral? Mother's was all arranged before I even got back. Who should I speak to? What do you do if there isn't a body? Or if there's only some of a body? Who in Amelia's family needs to know? What would they want done? What if they don't want her buried on Montressor? Perhaps it would help if she was far away. Or perhaps that would make it worse. I don't know-

Searching for some normality and further distractions, he crossed the room and into the adjoining kitchen where he lit the kettle and reached for a mug. He brought it back and stood watching the kettle. His eyes fell on the neat array of tins alongside it.

I used to drink coffee. Now it's tea. When did that change? It must have been after meeting Amelia...she must have converted me. But I don't remember when. It must have happened by degrees, so slowly that I didn't even notice...

It occurred to him that the kettle was singing merrily and he impulsively reached out to shut it off. His appetite for tea was suddenly much reduced and he left the kitchen, crossing through the living room and into the corridor. The music followed him through the open door as he walked down it, passing the guestroom.

...Where Amelia slept the first time she stayed here...

He quickened his pace, passing the children's playroom.

...I still don't know what to tell them...

He remembered how he'd heard that his mother was dead. A letter had arrived from the family's solicitor. He'd found it in the little postbox in the foyer of the postgraduate student accommodation block. It had used language both oddly elaborate and yet strangely sparing. The signature on it hadn't matched the rest of the text and he'd guessed that one of the lawyer's clerks had written it pro forma. It was impersonal and bland, and in a strange way that had almost helped, enabling him to take his mother's death as practically as any fact written in a textbook. At least at first, before it really sank in. Taking that approach with the children would never work – it wouldn't be fair, even if he were capable of it, and he knew he wasn't. Could Sarah tell the children? Of course not – that would be unfair to her and to them. He knew he had to be brave and strong for them – that was what fathers were meant to do, wasn't it? - but how could he be either when his heart was broken? But perhaps there was one way to find some advice...

Doppler made his way up the main stairway from the hall. The fifth step creaked as it always did and it occurred to him that Amelia had been gently nagging him to get it fixed. At the top he stepped onto the landing and looked down the corridor. The automatic lights lit up as they sensed his presence, filling it with a familiar glow. The master bedroom was at the end, but he began walking slowly towards the study. The door was slightly ajar – he probably hadn't closed it properly when he left for the ferry port – and he approached it slowly. He could see that he'd left the light on inside, too.

The light was on in the study. Doppler opened the door curiously. He was usually the only one to use it, Amelia having an office of her own up on Crescentia, yet there she was sitting at the desk in a little pool of lamplight.

"Amelia?" He knocked on the door quietly.

"Oh, hello, Delbert." Amelia looked up and smiled. "Is it that late already?"

Doppler glanced at a clock on the wall. "It is rather. Are you working on something?"

The study was just as he'd left it, the desk covered with papers and a poster-sized copy of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. He knew that the disorderly state offended Amelia's sense of discipline, but she had agreed that his study was his sanctum and only bothered to raise the state of it when it began overflowing into the corridor. A small door set into the opposite wall led to the spiral stairway that rose to the top of the house and his private observatory, but he took his seat at the desk and reached down to the bottom drawer. In contrast to the rest of the desk, its contents were in perfect order – a rectangular wooden box in which he had kept a choice selection of the many letters he and Amelia had written to each other during their courtship. But underneath was another letter, one that he had never read – and had never wanted to.

"I was writing a letter," said Amelia. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all. I hope everything's all right? I imagine you're writing in your personal capacity rather than your official one."

"Quite all right. But this is something I've been meaning to do for some time." Amelia folded up the letter and sealed it into the envelope with a drop of wax. "And it is personal, so I didn't want to do this from headquarters."

"Contacting a distant relative?" asked Doppler. "I know your family is pretty far-flung. I hope the post can get it to them."

"Not a distant relative, no. And it won't need to be posted." Amelia put the envelope in the bottom drawer of the desk and smiled. "It'll stay there until it's needed."

Doppler scratched his head. "Not to pry, but I'm not sure I follow you..."

"It's a letter to you," said Amelia. "You and the children. For the future. If something ever happened to me, I want you to read it. I know we have our wills, but they're rather formal...this is something more personal."

"Oh. I see." Doppler looked worried. Amelia smiled.

"Don't worry, darling. I'm not planning to go anywhere. But now..." Amelia put her hand on her rounded belly and smiled thoughtfully. "I do find myself contemplating the future more often. And should the worst happen, I'd want there to be something to tell the children about me."

Doppler's hand shook as he reached down to pick up the envelope. He put it on the desk and looked at it. It was a simple, plain paper envelope, closed with Amelia's seal and with his name written on the front in her elegant copperplate. It suddenly struck him that its contents would be the last time he would ever hear from her, know what lay in her thoughts and her heart. The enormity struck him all at once and he felt his own heart go cold for a moment. He wasn't afraid of the letter, exactly – he had no reason to doubt Amelia's feelings – but there was a terrible finality to the thought. An irrational sense that opening that envelope would be tantamount to condemning Amelia to the past and turning her into some kind of exhibit in the museum of his life. But had Amelia not written the letter precisely to be opened and read? How could he deny her that?

But should he read it now? Before it was certain? He hesitated for a moment. But then, the longer he waited, the harder it would get. Perhaps it was best to grasp the nettle. There was only one thing to do and Doppler hoped fervently that he had the strength to do it. He reached out a hand towards the silver letter-opener that was sitting on the desk. His vision began clouding with tears before he even reached it.

For you, Amelia. No matter how much this hurts...

"Delbert?" It was Sarah's voice from the doorway. Doppler hastily drew back his hand, wiped his eyes and took a deep breath to steady his voice.

"Yes, Sarah? I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"Well, I met someone on the way to the school...and I thought I'd better bring them back here right away."

Doppler sighed. This was not a day he wanted visitors. "Who-"

He stopped as he turned his head, and stared wide-eyed. Sarah had stepped back from the door. Amelia was there, framed against the light of the corridor. Her blue uniform coat was missing and the white silk of her shirt and waistcoat was scuffed and stained with smoke, but there was no mistaking her. Doppler rose shakily to his feet.

"Amelia...is that...are you..."

"I'm no ghost, Delbert," she said softly, a kind smile spreading over her face as she understood the state he was in. "I'm not hurt."

"But I heard...the Lyonesse..."

"She's gone. But she died well. The Procs won't forget her name in a hurry."

"And...your crew...did everyone make it...?"

Amelia closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not everyone."

They took a step towards each other, eyes locked. Doppler scanned her from head to foot to make sure she hadn't been lying about being unharmed, but the only blood to be seen was on one of her cuffs and it clearly wasn't hers. The next time he looked up, his own eyes were starting to shine with tears of relief.

"Amelia..."

"Oh, Delbert," Amelia, startled at the strength of his reaction and wondering just what he had put himself through, put her arms around him, holding him close. "I'm so sorry."

Doppler hugged her back, burying his face in her familiar auburn hair, which still carried a trace of her normal scent despite the sharper tangs of smoke and ozone from the battle. Before he knew it, he was crying softly.

"I thought...I really thought...Amelia..."

"I know. I can see. But you don't have to think that any more." Amelia stroked him comfortingly. "I'm here. I promise."

Doppler looked up and saw that Aurora was standing in the door, her arm bandaged and in a sling but otherwise apparently alive and well. The younger felinid gave him a small smile and nodded to reassure him before politely withdrawing with Sarah to give the couple some privacy. For a while, they just stood and held each other until Doppler regained his composure and stepped back.

"I heard about it at the spaceport...I was there to meet you."

"I thought you would be. I took the fastest ship as soon as I could but I knew I would probably miss you, and I'm afraid those headlines from the fleet communiques are apt to confuse as much as they are to clarify," Amelia smiled wryly. "But the essence is true. The Procyons betrayed us. The squadron I was leading to welcome them found itself in the line of fire. We held them, with some help from Mr Hawkins' ships and those of Mr Silver. And then we beat them when the rest of the fleet arrived. But it came at a cost."

"Do you know how many?" Doppler knew how personally Amelia took casualties.

She shook her head. "No. It'll take days to know for sure. Our wounded are scattered across their ships, Parliament, Crescentia...there's a lot to count."

"I'm sure there is. But...selfish as it is...I'm glad you made it."

"As am I." Amelia kissed him. "Aurora will be all right, too. And Dr Gray is on Parliament leading the medical effort."

"And..." Doppler remembered Sarah. "Jim? And did you say Silver was there?"

"Mr Hawkins is just fine," said Amelia. "Which is fortunate, as I'd very much like to know what Mr Silver was doing there on our side at the head of a pirate armada."

"Oh." Doppler blinked. "That part wasn't in the communique."

"There are one or two questions the Admiralty would like answered before publicising all of that," said Amelia meaningfully. "It's been a rather complicated day. And I'm sorry I scared you. Again. I know it's not the first time."

"It is one of your more vexing habits," Doppler kissed her back and tried to smile. "But I'm not sure that I'd have it any other way."

"Thank you." Amelia patted his arm. "Really. And not just for this. I know it hasn't been easy to love a spacer."

"No." Doppler admitted. "But I wouldn't have met you if you weren't. And I'm sure it was as hard for you to love a landlubber."

Amelia smiled. "Well...you were always with me in my mind. Even today. As we brought Lyonesse around for her last pass, I thought of you."

"In a good way, I hope?"

"Oh, yes. But also...with regrets." Amelia gave a sad little shrug. "It occurred to me that I perhaps don't show how much you mean to me as much as I should."

"You must do it enough," said Doppler. "Because I've never doubted it."

"I hope not." Amelia squeezed his hand.

"I know. And now so do you. I wouldn't want your last thoughts of me to be tinged with regret."

"They won't be." Amelia promised. "But tell me. Why were you all alone up here?"

"Oh. Yes. Well, after I saw that the Lyonesse was destroyed, I couldn't stay on Crescentia. Sarah very sensibly brought me back here. She was going to collect the children when she ran into you."

"So she told me. I'm glad she was here for you."

"I shudder to think what would have happened if she wasn't." Doppler murmured.

"Something else you needn't think about," said Amelia comfortingly. "Well...I'm sure she and Aurora can take care of that. Or we could go together, if you liked?"

Dopper looked up and smiled. "I'd like that very much. If you can make it."

"I left the fleet in good hands," said Amelia. "I'm sure I can take an hour or two off. But I will have to go back to my headquarters later."

"I understand," Doppler smiled again. "It's all right."

"Well, then. Let's not keep the children waiting." Amelia turned to go, but her eyes caught sight of the envelope on the desk behind Doppler. "Wait...is that..."

"The letter. The one you wrote. The one you said I should open if...if the worst ever happened." Doppler nodded. "Yes. I came up here to retrieve it. Just in case...I thought I might need it."

"Oh, Delbert." Amelia turned back and embraced him. "You really thought I was gone...I'm so sorry..."

"It's all right now." Doppler whispered. "I love you."

"I love you, too," said Amelia softly, stroking Doppler's cheeks. "And you can still open it if you want to. It doesn't say anything you don't already know."

Doppler looked down at the envelope for a moment. Then he smiled, and put it back in the drawer, which he pushed shut with his hand as he looked back up at Amelia.

"Another time," he smiled. "Or, perhaps, with a little bit of luck...never."