AKA IF IT'S TUESDAY, THIS MUST BE SHAMBALLAH

Prolouge

Kermit Griffin slid his arms underneath his wife's backside and lifted her off the floor as they passed the threshold of their stateroom on the MS Sea Goddess II. After a twelve hour flight from their fair city to the exotic city of Jakarta, Indonesia where their cruise ship was docked, Karen was glad to be lifted and carried around, even if it meant being draped over Kermit's shoulder instead of swept into his arms.

"You never do anything conventional, do you Kermit?" Karen said smiling as her new husband lightly set her on the floor and kissed her.

"Would you want me to?" He turned around to pick up their luggage from the hallway.

"No." Karen turned around in a circle as she looked at their huge stateroom. "Not bad."

"Thank you, My Lady, for your seal of approval." Kermit put the suitcases in the bedroom and returned to the sitting room area, where Karen was looking out of the window.

Karen turned and curtsied in response. "So, what on the agenda? We don't sail for four hours."

Kermit walked up to his wife, swung her into his arms, and carried her in the direction of the bedroom. Karen's laughter rang through the suite as she closed the inner door with her hand as they passed by.

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

Kermit watched his wife brush her hair knowing that the motion of her hair as it flew from her brush hypnotized him; flowing in golden waves down her back, it reminded him of waves lapping against the sand ….

He abruptly stood and walked to the window. Embarrassed by the intensity of his emotion, he tried to reign in the fervent thoughts that filled his mind, fearful of the depth of his love for this woman he valued more than life. But finding his normal state of detachment elusive, he walked over to Karen's chair and stared at their reflection in the mirror, absent-mindedly placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Tell me what you're thinking." Karen said softly as her gaze met his in the mirror. She put down her brush and captured his hands, holding them to her heart.

Kermit shook his head. "Not yet, Karen."

Karen leaned her head on the curve of his arm. Lost in Kermit's gaze, she was startled by a horn sounding above their heads. She raised her head to look at the ceiling. "We must be ready to cast off."

Kermit remained quiet and still, not willing to let go of the moment. Responding to his silence, Karen stood and led him to a salon chair in their bedroom. As they settled into each other's arms, Karen listened to the noise of departure and the sound of her husband's heart.

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

Long into the night, as the ship traveled the length of the island of Java, Karen and Kermit explored the lengths of their bodies, alternating between fits of passion and tender reflection. Sleep came reluctantly, but when the Sea Goddess halted for the night in the Java Sea along side the island of Bali, they finally succumbed to the rolling of the waves.

When morning came, softy calling to them with her gentle rays of sunlight, they reluctantly heeded her siren's song. A languid bath in the enormous tub began their morning preparations while a twist of tresses into a topknot ended it.

They emerged from their room and wandered to the main dining room, eating their fill of the exotic fruits and breads which tickled their palates. As they strolled the decks after breakfast, they stopped to look over the sea to their first destination, Bali.

Magnificent island, Bali sang her own siren's song. White beaches and tropical rainforests beckoned them; a launch from the Sea Goddess delivered them to her shore. Benoa, capital of Bali, stole their money as trinkets flowed into their bags for Holly and their friends. When darkness came, they watched the sun set and partook of the feast laid out for guests by the Goddess' staff. Returning to the ship from the starboard side, the lovers missed the strange sight of two clandestine skiffs which attached themselves to the Goddess' port side. Delivering their cargo of black clad men, the small boats dissolved into the night like a dream.

The next evening, the newlyweds finally decided to grace the dinning room with their presence. Or actually, Karen decided. With only 100 people allowed on a cruise at the time, every couple or person traveling alone was invited to sit at the captain's table at least once during the voyage and Karen thought it was their duty to go. Kermit, on the other hand, didn't give a flying fig about 'duty' and resolved to leave as soon as possible.

Walking into the reception area outside the formal dining room, they mingled with the other guests, exchanging the pleasantries they both hated. Or at least Karen did. Kermit threw out some of his usual barbs and soon found himself blissfully left alone, leaving the small talk to his wife who was standing at his side. Looking around the room in boredom, his eyes halted as he spied a couple across the room. A curse escaped from his lips as he lowered his glasses and stared.

Standing about 5 feet away from him was a woman. Dressed in a black slip dress that barely covered anything, she had her arm tucked around a tall dark-haired man who seemed familiar somehow to the former mercenary. He'd think of the guy's name in time. Quickly returning his attention to the woman who was chatting animatedly with a smaller man with horn-rimmed glasses who stood in front of her and her date, he recognized the woman's laugh. And her raven black hair which she was tossing back from her face. There was no mistake.

Kermit, still cursing in his head, almost missed his wife turn her head and stare at the same couple. A swear emanating from Karen's lips caused him to focus back on her.

Muttering softly to herself, Karen didn't notice her husband looking at her in surprise. "I don't believe this ….. Why is he here? He hates ships. …. Damn, we should never have left the stateroom ….."

By this time, their stares seemed to have been felt by the couple in question because the black clad woman and her tall dark-haired friend excused themselves from their slightly nerdy conversation partner and approached Karen and Kermit with some speed.

Both feeling like deer caught in the headlights of a Mack truck, but for different reasons, unknown to each other, Karen and Kermit wanted to flee but seemed stuck to their spot on the wildly patterned rug beneath them.

The man waved to Karen. Kermit lifted one eyebrow at Karen, hoping that asking a question of his wife would keep her distracted from his own slightly green appearance. The best defense was a good offense, after all.

"Hello, Karen." The tall man said softly as he looked at her appraisingly. He pointedly ignored Kermit. "Todd told me you were going on a cruise. I didn't think it would be mine. I must say you look as beautiful as ever."

She inclined her head slightly in response to his complement. "Jason." Karen made a point to link her arm in Kermit's as he stood silently at her side looking at Jason Simms with equal coolness. "I could say the same of you." She lifted her chin slightly as she returned his appraising look. "I'm surprised to see you here. Ships have never been your cup of tea."

"Well, my lovely companion convinced me to try again. But where are my manners. Karen, this is Emma Thornton. Emma, this is my ex-wife, Karen." Jason Simms looked from woman to woman then finally turned his attention to Kermit. "You must be the new husband."

Kermit looked back blandly, keeping all seeds of animosity from his voice. "Kermit Griffin."

Inclining his head as he shook Kermit's hand firmly in a silent contest of strength, he turned back to his date. "Emma, this is Kermit Griffin-"

Interrupting her date's introduction , Emma, who had been looking at Karen in curiosity, turned the full force of her gaze on Kermit as she tossed her hair back from her face again.

"We've met." She smiled her smile of seduction and extended her hand to her former paramour. "It's been a long time, Kermit."

Karen looked up at her husband as he took Emma's hand briefly and flung out a cliché about how time flies. He looked uncomfortable. Clearly, she wasn't the only one with reason to curse this meeting. Filing that tidbit of information about her still-secretive husband in the back of her mind to ask him about later, she turned back to the couple in front of them and forced a smile. She could handle this …..

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

Dinner was proving to be interesting. If you could call having dinner on your honeymoon with your ex-husband and your new husband's ex-whatever-she-was interesting. By luck of the dammed, they'd been seated across from Emma and Jason who was trying to draw her into a conversation about Todd.

She stole a glance at Kermit who was trying to concentrate on dinner instead of shifting his attention between Karen and Jason and Emma who was again talking animatedly with the nerdy man she and Jason had been talking to earlier. She knew that look. Kermit looked like he was sizing up a suspect …. Another thought to be filed in her increasingly full subconscious as a comment from Jason brought her attention back from the man she loved to the man she'd thought she'd loved once.

"So, Todd tells me you have a baby now."

Karen smiled her first genuine smile of the evening as they hit on a topic not loaded with emotional landmines. "Holly. I found her behind the precinct on Christmas Eve. She's three now."

"A blessed event to be sure." He took a long drink from his glass of champagne. "I remember you didn't like the mother role too much the first time."

Bastard. She'd spoken too soon. Karen saw Kermit's head snap back from his observation of Emma and the man who looked to be a scientist of some sort and placed her hand on Kermit's knee, telling him to let her handle it.

Gathering her calm from within, she replied, "Funny. I don't seem to remember you being 'Father Knows Best' yourself." She lifted her glass to her lips and raised her eyebrows at her ex in challenge. Any hope of a cordial reunion was going down the drain, much like the champagne Jason was guzzling like water.

Hoping to change the subject and keep both Kermit and Jason distracted, she turned her attention to Emma who had broken off her conversation with the scientist to hear what had promised to be a fun exchange. Karen hoped Kermit would forgive her for what she was about to say …..

"So …Emma … How did you meet Jason? You seem to have a taste for older men," directing her comment at Kermit as well as the subject of the question. Both men stared at her for a moment.

Emma looked over at her counterpart and laughed, tossing her hair back for yet another time. "I sure do." She laughed again. "Older men have so much more experience." She glanced at Kermit and Jason. "More fire. But I digress. I met Jason at a French embassy party. I was doing a fashion shoot and was invited to the party by my photographer. It was love at first sight." She turned her face to Jason and nuzzled his cheek. Jason Simms almost looked embarrassed for a moment but recovered quickly as Emma continued.

"I thought I'd met my true love, once. At a computer fair." She glanced obviously at Kermit. "But we had irreconcilable differences." She turned back to Karen and smiled ironically.

Kermit muttered underneath his breath. "Poisonous differences."

Karen looked back at Kermit. This was getting more interesting all of the time …. She almost felt better …. Misery loved company, after all. But it was time to cut their losses and retire from the field of battle. Karen gave Kermit a look of silent apology, pleading for him to follow her lead so that they could escape. "Kermit, isn't it time to make that call to Teri? I promised to call Holly right about now."

Kermit rose out of his seat so fast, their heads all spun. He addressed the table. "It's been fun. But we have to go."

Emma replied for the table, "So soon?"

Karen and Kermit didn't even bother to reply as they left the dinning room.

Kermit held onto Karen's arm as they headed to the observation deck for some fresh air. Hearing her string of curses, he almost forgave her for her crack about older men. Jason's barb about motherhood had upset her more than she'd let on at the table. He waited silently, arms around her waist, for her tirade to subside as she leaned against the railing at the bow of the ship.

"You were right, Kermit. We should have stayed in the stateroom." Karen leaned into his embrace and stared at the stars.

"Told you." He kissed her hair. "but the evening was not without its merit." He mentally waited to see how long it would take Karen to react to that bone of information. She was always curious. The 'need to know' was her weakness; she wouldn't let his statement go by. Approximately two seconds later, she rotated in his arms and responded. She didn't disappoint him.

"Care to tell me why you were looking at that 'pretty young thing' like she was a suspect instead of just an ex-lover?"

Observant, too, he thought, as he looked Karen with satisfaction. He knew he loved her for more than her shapely legs, though they were certainly an incentive … as well as the rest of her body …. He mentally shook himself to clear his head of the bawdy thoughts and focused on answering her question. His mind must be trying to kick up defense mechanisms to protect him from having to think about his folly of three, almost four, years ago.

"I met her after you were arrested for Fletcher's murder. A few weeks before the Quinan in Chinatown."

"I remember. I was so jealous when the precinct gang told me you had a girlfriend." She touched his face and smiled. "I was starting to wonder what I had to do to get your attention. When you told me later that you'd broken up with her, I didn't care to dig too far beneath the surface."

"She's a member of a Black Widow sect that tried to invade Chinatown. She was sent to capture me as a punishment for Caine. Came at me with a syringe filled with spider venom."

Karen's eyes narrowed. "So what's she doing here now?"

"Don't know. Not romancing your ex, that's for sure. She's been chatting up that scientist all evening."

"It might be fruitful to check the ships manifest and see who that gentleman is." She wiggled her eyebrows at him like they were back at the precinct and she wanted him to look up someone on the computer.

"It would be even more fruitful if you talked to Jason. Tried to draw him out." He took off his glasses and stared back at her. She folded her arms and looked at him coldly like he knew that she would.

"This is just revenge for that comment about older men, isn't it?"

"Of course." He gave her an evil grin. "But it still needs to be done."

"Not tonight." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Our honeymoon has been interrupted enough for one evening. Wouldn't you agree?" She tilted her head and smiled at him.

"Oh, yeah."

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3    Part 4

Back to author's index      Back to Story index