It didn’t take long, and the trip went fine.

The next week went quickly, with the boat being completed, repainted, and fully put back together.

Ralph smiled as his crew finished up and started testing the boat, which was named the Eternal, after the boat he had sunk ten miles offshore years before. It had been an ironic name for the old boat to have, considering it’s fate at the bottom of the North Sea.

He hoped it treated the new boat better.

He started to gather supplies for the young couple, and for himself, for the trip across the North sea. The trip would probably only take fourteen hours, maybe a bit more, but he wanted to help them to be set up as well as possible when they got to where they were going in Norway.

At Kira's request, he bought what seeds he could, along with a lot of dry goods, along with better cold-weather clothing for the two young lovers. He also bought them some well-made gardening tools and a pretty robust regular toolset.

The newly christened Eternal looked beautiful. Long, sleek and grey, missing the high mast that used to host the radio and radar arrays, which were now much lower in the upper cabin, helping to keep the center of balance low.

The provisions were securely stowed away, tied down tighter than John and Kira would have imagined. Ralph explained that the stove had not been reconnected, as not to have a possibility of a gas leak while on a rough voyage, but it would probably be no more than fifteen hours at sea at worst.

They were to set out in the afternoon and drop anchor off of Peterhead, spending the night there before setting off just before first light for Norway.

Ralph's hope was that they would hit the rougher sea at sunup, and try to be out of it around the time the sun went down. They would be "running from the sun", so to speak, so they might finish the trip in the dark.

But all along, Ralph planned to sail into Osoyro and have them drop him off there and continue on their way. They had planned to drop him off at Bergen, but he worried that if there was government scrutiny to be seen, it would be seen there.

John and Kira noticed the seating was improved, with harnesses everywhere. When Ralph fired up the engine, it sounded wonderful, much better than before. They topped off the fuel tank and surged across the coast to their next stop.

The trip to Peterhead went as expected, and they all got a good night's sleep and sailed North East just before the sun rose, and just as Ralph expected, they hit the bigger waves and angrier weather just at sunrise.

Kira had handled the boat well enough coming across the channel and up the English coast, but in this water, she was happy to have a more experienced sailor at the helm.

From time to time the North Sea calmed and the sky cleared, and when it did, Ralph took a break, had something to eat, and sat down, while Kira took the controls and pushed the throttle up to make up some time.

The old man seemed to get tired quickly, his breathing was rushed, he seemed to be in some pain he was concealing.

When the seas got angrier, Ralph would take the controls back, and everyone would strap in. They went around a big pressure system a hundred miles of the coast of England, and they ran into another one closer to Norway but had nowhere to go to get around it, so they pushed through it right up to the coast of Norway.

They had not had a clear sun for a while, but it wasn't pitch black either. It had been a rough trip, they were all tired, and they had found shore well South of the target. So Ralph pulled them into a cove on the inland side of a big island, and they dropped the anchor to get some rest.

The next day they took their time getting going, with Ralph obsessing over the condition of their boat, checking everything he could find.

They caught some fish and connected the stove and had a hot dinner before finally getting going again, hoping to drop Ralph off under cover of darkness.

As they got close, Ralph went over the maps and charts they had and gave Kira some pointers on how best to make the trip, and on the challenges of navigating inner waterways like those the Norse had.

When they finally got to a good dropoff point, the mood was sadder than they had expected. They pulled up to a small dock and Ralph hopped over the side and tied them off.

"Well, kids, we made it. I am glad we were able to help each other," the old sailor commented in a gruff voice. "If you happen by Ribigill, stop by and see me, let me know you are ok. I gave you our old number, in case they ever get the phones working again."

Cell phones had not worked in decades, and while some nations had internal telephone lines working in some manner, making a nation to nation call was all but impossible at this point.

Ralph reached up and shook John's hand firmly, as he handed Ralph's heavy backpack over the side to him. Kira had jumped over the side and gave Ralph a warm hug, she was thankful.

There were a lot of ways this could have gone, but this was perhaps the best it could have possibly gone. And while they had paid him, Ralph and his crew had been perfect gentlemen. They kept their composure around Kira, behaving themselves at their boss's insistence.

Ralph was faced away from John when Kira stepped in and gave him a warm and strong hug, she was stronger than she looked and warm. It was again just like being wrapped up in a warm blanket. It was comforting.

"Thank you, Ralph," she said looking up at the older man. "We won't forget you, and if we don't make it to you, you are welcome to come and find us."

She leaned up and kissed him on the lips, embracing him tightly, and caught up in the moment, not even thinking that she was doing it right in front of her dad.

Ralph was surprised, but pleasantly so when Kira put her tongue in his mouth, it was a wonderful sensation, as were her large breasts pushing up against him.

Surprisingly the kiss was not brief, and Ralph felt something almost like electricity from the young beauty.

Ralph reached up as squeezed one of her breasts on instinct. It felt just as good as he imagined. Firm, large, warm, really quite amazing.

But as quickly as it happened, it needed to stop. Kira was not his woman, he pushed away. "Good luck you two."

John wasn’t worried, it was his daughter being the free spirit he knew her to be.

The older man spun on his heels and walked away into the night towards the closest town. That was the last they would see of him for a while.

They were not worried about Ralph, he had some money that was good here, and a believable tale on how he came to be here. He would get home just fine.

Now it was time for Kira and Kira to sail inland to their new home. A house on a waterway, well away from most other people. Hopefully a safe place, safe for a long time.