Raephier was sure that he wouldn't sleep at all, but he didn't even remember anything other than climbing into the bed before he was jolted awake by an almighty crash.

He sat bolt upright, his heart hammering so loud he could hear it. In fact, that was all he could hear. That and a slight ringing noise in his ear.

The door for the cabin was flung open and Jacob came rushin in. His eyes were wide and his movements urgent, and he was speaking rapidly, but Raephier couldn't hear a word of it over the ringing in his ears.

Raephier shook his head and poked at his ears, then suddenly there was a loud whooshing noise, and he felt like his ears were going to burst. But then it was gone. Like the pressure was released and he could hear normally again.

"Raephier! Raephier! Are you ok?"

Raepheir turned to look at Jacob and could see the worry in his eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine. But what was that?" he asked.

"We've been hit. On the starboard side. Just below this cabin. Not enough damage to sink us though."

Raephier felt his eyes go wide.

"They're here? They've caught us?"

"Yes," Jacob said, nodding grimly.

It was only then that Raephier picked up the noises going on around him. He could hear the shouts of Jacob's men, and then there was another loud "boom".

"That's our canon," Jacob said quickly, before Raephier could fully panic.

"What can I do to help?" Raephier asked, quickly getting out of bed. He couldn't believe that he had been sleeping while all this had been going on.

"Nothing," Jacob said, putting his hands on Raephier's shoulders to stop him. "I need you to stay in here."

"What?" Raephier cried out. "There must be something I can do to help?"

"Yes, you need to trust me," Jacob said, staring intently into Raephier's eyes. "And I need you to stay in here."

Reaphier opened his mouth to argue, but then realised that by doing that he was admitting to not trusting Jacob's opinion.

"Ok," he said instead, battling his instincts that told him he needed to help.

"Good. I'm going to lock you in. I promise it's for your own safety. But if anything happens and you need to get out, you have my permission to break the window."

Raephier looked to his left where Jacob was pointing. There was a small circular window that looked out over the sea. It would be just large enough for him to be able to squeeze through if needed.

Raephier nodded, resigned to his fate.

"Ok, I better get back out there. As soon as it's safe I'll come and get you," Jacob said.

He then turned to leave, but Raephier raced over and reached out his hand, placing it on Jacob's arm.

Jacob turned, his eyebrows lifted.

Raephier stared at the position he found himself in. He didn't even consciously choose to move. His body had done it automatically.

"Be careful," he said, in almost a whisper.

Jacob's eyes softened and a small smile played at his lips.

"I'll be fine," he said reassuringly, but Raephier still clung to him, worried that this might be the last time he saw him.

Jacob chuckled and removed the hand off his arm, and then took hold of Raephier's face, with one hand on each cheek.

"I will come back for you," he said, and then he placed the tiniest of kisses on the tip of Raephier's nose before letting go and walking quickly out of the cabin.

Raephier's heart was racing for a different reason now, but he had no time to dwell on that before he felt his stomach drop at the sound of the key turning in the lock.

Was this really for his safety? Or did Jacob not trust him after all?

Raephier spent his time between pacing the floor and sitting cross legged on the bed. Sometimes everything went silent and he was sure it was over, and then there would be another loud boom, or he would hear the shouts of the crew and he would feel himself tense up all over again. The ship jolted once more, not as violently as when Raephier was woken up, but it was enough for him to believe they had taken another hit. Rapehier listened carefully but didn't hear any voices indicating that they were sinking.

It seemed to go on for hours. Raephier's stomach growled in protest. It was funny how just a month ago he could easily go for a day without food without thinking about it, but now he was used to getting three meals a day, his stomach was not happy about missing them.

But he couldn't complain. He would rather the crew take care of themselves than bother about him.

The sun was dropping over the horizon by the time Jacob came back.

Raephier shot up off the bed to greet him enthusiastically, but stopped as soon as he caught sight of the state of him.

Jacob's eyes looked red and tired, and his clothes were dirty and dishevelled. And he was sure that he caught a glimpse of blood staining his white shirt.

"Are you ok?" Raephier asked hesitantly.

Jacob's face appeared to crumple, and Raephier shot over to his side, hesitantly reaching out to touch him. But he needn't have been hesitant as Jacob practically threw himself into Raephier's arms.

It took Raephier a couple of seconds to figure out what was happening, but then he quickly wrapped his arms around Jacob and held him tightly.

Raephier was sure by the way that Jacob's body was trembling that he was crying, but he didn't make any noise. Raephier just gently rubbed Jacob's back, feeling totally inadequate.

What should he do? He knew that he should offer some sort of comforting words but his mind was blank. And he didn't even know why he was upset, but was also too afraid to ask.

After a few minutes Jacob seemed to calm down. His breathing was more even and the shaking had stopped.

"We lost him," Jacob said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Lost who?" Raephier asked, a little confused.

"Marco," Jacob replied.

Raephier could tell the importance of this situation to Jacob, but he wasn't quite understanding. 'Lost Marco where?' Is what he wanted to ask, but he was sure that Jacob wasn't this upset just because Marco was hiding on the ship somewhere. So if he wasn't on the ship then....

"Oh," Raephier said as the idea hit him. "Has he been taken by the other ship?"

Jacob pulled back slightly to look at Raephier. Raephier could see that Jacob's eyes looked red and tired.

"No, he's dead," he said in a very flat tone.

"OH!" Raepheir said, his eyes going wide. "Oh no! What happened?"

Jacob took hold of Raephier's hand and pulled him over to the bed. They both sat down, but Jacob didn't let go, but rather threaded his fingers through Raephier's.

"We took a second hit," Jacob explained. "It didn't seem that bad, just a glancing blow really, but..." Jacob paused, seeming to struggle to find the right words.

"There was just too much blood," he eventually said, and Raephier felt his heart breaking when he saw Jacob's chin wobble with the emotion.

"Oh no, I'm really sorry," Raephier said, pulling Jacob's head onto his shoulder. Jacob came willingly, letting Raephier gently stroke his hair.

They stayed like that for several minutes. It was only when Raephier's stomach gave an embarrassingly loud grumble of protest that Jacob moved his head.

"Oh, you must be hungry, I'll go and get you something."

"No, no," Raephier said, standing up. "You rest and I'll go."

"No wait!" Jacob said, jumping up and stopping Raephier from getting to the door.

Raephier looked at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"It's ok, I'll go," Jacob said. "You stay here."

"Fine, we'll both go then," Raephier said, as a needle of doubt started to lodge in his chest.

"No, there's a lot of debris up there and I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"But I'll be with you, so I'm sure I'll be fine. I've been stuck in here all day."

"I know, I know," said Jacob, "but just trust me on this. Please?"

Raephier folded his arms across his chest.

"I'll trust you if you give me the real reason why you don't want me to go out there."

Jacob shut his eyes for a moment, like he was trying to summon up the courage, or maybe just the energy to have this conversation.

"Let me go and get us both some food, and then I'll tell you," he eventually said.

"Fine," Raephier replied, feeling rather petulant.

Jacob cringed, then looked like he was going to say something else, but then just sighed instead, before heading out of the cabin.

Raephier didn't fail to notice the familiar click of the lock.

He was relieved that Jacob was only gone for a couple of minutes because his mind was already working through several worst case scenarios.

Jacob returned with some bread and cheese, and a large pitcher of wine.

Despite Raephier's desperation to know what was going on, and what had suddenly changed, his hunger won out as he dived into the food and drink. As he ate he kept seeing Jacob giving him discreet glances.

Once they had both eaten, Jacob motioned for Raephier to join him sitting on the bed. Raephier sat with his back to the headboard and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

"When you dove into the water," Jacob began, "the crew saw your tail. By the time we made it back onto the ship, Lyle had already told everyone what you....that you were a Siren. I explained to them as best as I could what that meant and how the curse worked, but they just couldn't......I don't know. It's my fault. I don't think I explained it properly."

Even though Raephier was sure that Jacob hadn't finished speaking, he took the pause to ask, "What's your fault?"

Jacob sighed, then took hold of Raephier's hand.

"They don't understand," Jacob tried to explain. "They asked me to use you as....to ask you to sing, but I wouldn't. I told them what taking a soul does to you, but they wouldn't listen. I think it was just the heat of the battle and the fact they were scared. Hell, I was scared!" Raephier squeezed Jacob's hand a little harder at that confession. "But then we were hit again, and Marco.......well Marco got hurt and now they blame me for-"

"No," Raephier cut in, unable to hold back anymore. "It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself. It's me! I'm the one who wouldn't sing. I'm the one who could have stopped Marco from dying! It's me! Tell them it was me!"

Despite the desperation in Raephier's voice, Jacob let out a small chuckle.

"Why do you do that?" he asked, finally looking up to look Raephier in the eyes.

"Do what?" Raephier asked quietly, trying to not get too distracted by Jacob's disheveled appearance. It was very unsettling to see his usually well put together captain, looking so untidy, but shamefully he couldn't say that he didn't like the look on him.

"You always try to sell yourself short. Like it doesn't matter to you that people dislike you, or that they will say cruel things. No one deserves that Raephier."

Raephier tried to will the blush aways from his cheeks.

"I know," he replied, "but I don't think there's anything wrong in me taking some of the blame that had unfairly landed on you."

"That's what being a Captain means," Jacob said firmly. "Anything that happens on this ship is my responsibility. Think about it. When a voyage is successful, it's the Captain who gets all the accolades, not the crew, even though he would have never succeeded without them. So it's only fair that he takes the failures too. If we fail in this mission, it is my fault and my fault alone."

The corners of Raephier's mouth twitched slightly as he tried not to smile ruefully at Jacob's words.

Of course Jacob caught it though.

"What? What are you smiling at?"

Raephier was relieved that Jacob sounded amused rather than offended. He debated whether he should tell him what he was thinking but then decided that they were both being truthful at the moment, so he should be honest.

"I just find it funny that you tell me not to do what you're doing yourself."

Jacob smiled and shook his head.

"I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I chose to be a Captain. I chose this responsibility. You never chose to be a Siren, and you most certainly did not choose to be sold to me as a weapon."

"I would though," Raephier replied without thinking through what he was saying. He quickly clamped his mouth shut and looked at Jacob with wide eyes.

Jacob frowned in confusion.

"You would what?"

Raephier chewed on his bottom lip nervously. Should he tell Jacob how he was feeling, or would that just ruin everything? As he stared at the blood soaked into Jacob's shirt, he decided that now wasn't the time for holding things back.

"I would choose to be here with you," he said quietly.

Raephier stole a quick glance at Jacob and when he saw the look of warmth in his eyes directed at him, it emboldened him to keep going.

"I used to hate what I was. I felt bitter and angry at the sea witch who put this curse on me, and I sometimes felt that my life......well I felt like my life was one big joke and that it would be better.....better if I was never born."

Jacob reached over and pulled Raephier's hand between his own.

It looked like Jacob was going to say something but Raephier wasn't finished speaking yet.

"But then I met you. And everything has changed. I'm not scared anymore. And for the first time in a very long time, I'm looking forward to the future. For such a long time I've thought that being a Siren meant that I wasn't normal, that I couldn't and shouldn't live a normal life. I truly thought of myself as a monster who needed to be caged.

"But you taught me that wasn't true. You showed me that I could still have a life. That I could be around people who I could call my friends. I would never hurt you or any of your crew, you know that don't you?"

Jacob nodded, looking speechless.

"Good," Raephier replied. "But to be honest, I didn't know that. Not really. Sure, I've never used my ability again, and refused when all my other masters demanded I did. But I think there was always that worry at the back of my mind that I would one day. That one day I would get tired of my life and of fighting against doing what everyone seemed to want me to do. But I don't think that anymore. You've made me feel things that I thought I would never feel again. I care!!!"

Raephier stopped briefly to laugh.

"I actually care about things again. I care about you, and your men. And I care about your family back at home, even though I've never met them. My mum always used to say that things happen for a reason. And well maybe this is my reason. I promise you Jacob. There is nowhere in the world that I would rather be right now."

Jacob just stared open mouthed for a few seconds, before he leaned in and placed a slow gentle kiss on Raephier's lips.

Raephier froze for the second the kiss lasted, then pulled back in shock.

"W-What was that?"

"I'm sorry," Jacob said with a chuckle. "You can't say things like that to me and expect me not to kiss you!"

Raephier felt like his face was on fire.

"You're not upset with me are you?" Jacob asked gently, studying Raephier's face, which just made the poor boy blush all the more.

"N-No, it's just I wasn't expecting it, that's all," Raephier was quick to reply.

"So now you're expecting it, would it be ok if I did it again?" Jacob asked, reaching up and tucking a piece of Raephier's hair behind his ear.

Raephier had to remind himself to breathe. And then he had to remind himself that for humans, kissing did not mean the same thing as it did to merpeople. It wasn't like Jacob was asking him to be his mate. Although he couldn't deny that there was a little part of him that was disappointed by that thought.

Not sure he could trust his voice, Raephier just nodded.

The smile that spread across Jacob's face was reward enough, but even though Raephier had warned him this time, he was in no way prepared for how he felt when Jacob kissed him a second time. He felt this one from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.

Jacob's arms wrapped around Raephier and pulled him close into his body, and Raephier felt his own hands reach up and tangle themselves into Jacob's hair.

The kiss turned more desperate, and open mouthed with both of them battling to get closer to each other. Raephier had never felt so connected to someone in his life. He felt as though they were sharing the same breath.

Jacob started guiding Raephier backwards until the back of his legs touched the bed. Then he was falling backwards, Jacob landing on top of him.

They broke the kiss, only for a couple of seconds, for them both to grin at the position they found themselves in, before Jacob's mouth was on him again, this time trailing kisses across his jaw and down the side of his neck.

Raephier felt himself tilt his head back, giving Jacob better access.

"Hmmmm, you like that don't you?" Jacob said with mischief in his voice, but before Raephier could respond, he'd reattached their lips together, his tongue invading Raephier's mouth which made his back arch off the bed in pleasure.

Suddenly there just seemed to be too many clothes, and Jacob and Raephier both started trying to pull the other's clothing to get it out of the way, but as neither party was willing to break the kiss, not much progress was made.

Which was not necessarily a bad thing as the door was suddenly flung open and Raephier and Jacob quickly broke apart and looked over to see Pete and James stood in the doorway, eyes wide in shock.