What am doing? Danielle asked, standing as if she was a waitress on this large ship, waiting for a response like a waitress waits for an order.<em>"His mac and cheese?"</em>he asked her. She nodded with a slight rising of the corner of her mouth. She rounded the table and took a seat opposite him.<em>"Did you go back there and make this? For me?"</em><br/><br/><strong>"I didn't make it, but I asked Marcus if he could and he made it for me to give to you. I just needed to persuade him to use a different type of pasta in the place of mac,"</strong>she answered.<strong>"Go on, try it,"</strong><br/><br/>She was glad to see that Tristyn was responding to the food better than she expected. It was like he was the injured boy who fell off his bike and came home to a bowl of chicken noodle soup, helping him heal. She was no doctor, but she could tell that the lieutenant's spirits were lifted just a bit. In no time at all, every morsel of food was gone, leaving only a cheesy plate left. She witnessed the smile followed by the exclamation of how great the food was and she too smile, finding Tristyn just a tad bit more handsome this way.<br/><br/>Danielle had to admit. She was wrong about him too. After what Marcus told her in the kitchen, she began to believe that behind that rough exterior, was a vulnerable heart. And now that vulnerable heart was taking her somewhere, some place cameras cannot take pictures but where people can see, at least ... those people who are invited by an officer of this ship, she assumed.<strong>"Sure,"</strong>she said and took the lieutenant's hand and stood, grabbing her camera with her other hand. She couldn't believe this man was touching her hand with his own, instead of backhanding her, which half the time, she expect him to do that to someone. His hand was rough, with experience and work making callouses on it, but they were delicate. He gripped her hand, as if not wanting to let go, but also considering that the hand he held was much weaker than his. I wonder how soft is his soft side, Danielle thought.