The dark, angry sea swelled around the small boat, making it impossible for the three thieves to stand properly, let alone keep the boat from collapsing. Inside, where it was safer, but not dryer, Etienne kept the two small children close to him, half-realizing that his brother and friends were more scared than they were letting on.

"Y'know, I don' t'ink we get storms dis bad in Nawlins!" Claude yelled over the sound of the roaring ocean. As the waves gushed around them, he pitched forward, slamming into Henri, who pointed at the sail. It was ripped and coming off the mast.

"We're in trouble." Was all Henri got to say before the entire sail went flying away into the storm. There was a loud crack as the mast broke and nearly took off Theoren's head as it, too, blew away. The three friends gathered together to discuss the situation.

"D'you t'ink we should abandon ship?" Henri asked. "We don' know how far from any land mass we are; de map blew away ages ago."

"We're not 'xactly outta shape, Henri. We could swim a pretty far distance, even Etienne could." Claude commented.

Theoren shrugged. "But how would we hold onto de boys? It's dem I'm worried 'bout, not us. We can get out of dis situation. Dey can', not without our help."

As they continued discussing their options, the storm raged around them. Inside with Etienne, the two boys were crying from fear. All they wanted to do was go home and that was looking more and more impossible with every passing second. Etienne tried comforting them as best he could, but even he was starting to wonder if they were going to make it.

Suddenly there was a loud smash as the waves tossed the boat into something very solid. Henri was thrown from the boat, and when he hit the sharp rocks, his shoulder seared with pain.

"Aaaahhhh!" he yelled. "Land!" He got up in spite of his bleeding shoulder and got back on the boat, telling Etienne to help Theo and Claude get as much supplies as they could carry. He picked up Emil in his good arm and took Genard's hand with his free one.

"What happened?" Genard asked in a quiet voice as a terrified Emil buried his face against Henri's neck.

"We hit land, c'mon. Anyt'ing's better den stayin' on de boat, ne c'est pas?" Henri replied, taking the two boys off the boat.

Once on the land, they moved up away from the shoreline before Henri let the boys go. Claude was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Claude?" Henri demanded. He didn't like the fact that they'd only been stranded for thirty seconds and already one of them was missing. "Hey Genard, can you help us carry some of dis stuff?" Etienne asked the nine-year-old, who nodded and helped them move the supplies into the cave. Henri turned to Emil and said, reaching out to take the boy's hand,

"C'mon, kiddo. Let's get out of de rain, huh?"

Emil looked up at Henri, his big blue eyes filled with frightened tears. He was just a little boy, and the whole experience was a lot for him to deal with. He reached up both arms to Henri in a silent plea to be held. Henri smiled and took the hint, taking the child into his arms and carrying him into the cave.

Inside the cave, Theoren was trying to start a fire while Genard held a flashlight so he could see what he was doing. The wood he was using was damp, though, and it was rough going. Henri put Emil down, and the little boy joined them, watching in silence, while Claude bandaged up Henri's injured shoulder.

Theoren paused what he was doing and looked at Emil. "You see how Genard's helping me?" Emil nodded, still silent. "Well, I could use another helper. Would you like to help too?" Another nod, this one more vigorous. Emil was still scared, but he also wanted to help. "Could you go get dat blue duffel bag over dere an' see if you can find a small box of waterproof matches in it? I t'ink we're gon' need dem if dis fire is ever gon' start."

Emil went over and opened the duffel bag, rooting around until he finally found the box of matches Theo was looking for. Then he dutifully carried them over and gave them to his friend.

"T'ank you." Theoren smiled. Emil half-smiled back and continued to stand there, watching as Theoren started the fire with ease. The matches did help quite a bit, and soon they had a big warm fire to sit around and dry off with. Before anyone realized it, both Emil and Genard were sound asleep, one leaning against Theoren, the other against Etienne.

Claude laughed softly so he wouldn't wake them. "Y'know, I t'ink dey have de right idea. I'm exhausted."

"Oui, I t'ink maybe we should all get some sleep." Henri replied. "Maybe when we wake up, de storm will be over."

Theoren woke up the next morning to the feel of someone wriggling beside him. He opened his eyes and smiled at Emil, who was trying, rather unsuccessfully to get out from under Theo's arm.

"Good mornin'." Theoren whispered, not wanting to wake the others.

"Hi," the red-haired four-year-old replied, speaking for the first time since they got off the boat. Theoren didn't really blame Emil for being scared; he was too, but that wasn't something he was willing to admit to the little boy.

"You wan' go exploring a bit b'fore we get de others up an' have breakfast?" Theoren asked.

Emil nodded, and they got up as quietly as they could. When they left the cave, they were delighted to find a calm sea and a blue sky with a bright sun shining down on them. Not as delightful was the knowledge that the boat was smashed up pretty bad.

'We're not gon' be usin' dat anytime soon…' Theoren thought as he examined the boat while keeping an eye on Emil, who was looking at shells and rocks along the shoreline. He joined the boy after a few minutes, and was teaching him how to skip rocks when Claude came over.

"So dis is where you too ran off to!" he exclaimed, shielding the sun from his eyes with one had. He ruffled Emil's hair with his other one. "You hungry, kid?"

Emil nodded and dropped the rock he'd been holding. He had been so caught up in skipping stones that he didn't realize how empty his stomach was until Claude mentioned it.

"Well, c'mon den. Let's go eat. De others are up too." Claude told them.

After breakfast, the six set out to explore the island. The two boys had great fun playing on the sandy beaches and among the tropical trees, while the four adults discussed the situation. It was decided that they had to ration their food as much as they could, and find more when the stuff they had ran out. They also had to face the idea that it might be a long time before they'd be rescued. But they didn't tell the children that. No need to scare them again when they were starting to feel more relaxed.

On the third day they were on the island, Theoren and Etienne were out collecting coconuts when Genard joined them.

"Are we gon' be rescued?" he asked point blank, shoving his glasses up on his nose.

"I don' know, kiddo," Theoren replied, kneeling down to the level of the nine-year-old. "I wish I could tell you somet'ing better, but I really don' know."

Genard looked thoughtful for a minute before speaking again. "What're we gon' to do if we're stuck here?"

"I don' know dat either. We'll t'ink of somet'ing. But don' give up hope. I'm sure someone will come for us. Dey jus' have to find us."

When Genard left, Etienne looked at his brother. "D'you really b'lieve what you jus' told him, Theo?"

Theoren sighed. "I hope it's true. Dat's all I can do at dis point. Hope."

"An' de very next day, Jean-Luc showed up on a big boat wit' Mercy an' de Coast Guard. Never t'ought it would happen dat soon." Theoren finished.

"Dat was a weird few days, for sure." Claude agreed. "We all got sunburned…'member, poor Emil looked like a little lobster!"

Theoren laughed. "Oui…we were all pretty miserable for awhile after dat. Burns hurt!"

"Yeah…don' t'ink we ever forgot our sunblock when we went anywhere after dat." Claude joked.

"Hey, do you 'member Stephanie?" Theo asked suddenly, changing the topic.

Claude looked at him. "You dreamin' 'bout her too? I'm sorry, mon ami."

"Yeah, well, what can I do? I don' have much of a say in what I'm dreamin' dese days."

"You really wan' talk 'bout her? I mean you were pretty upset 'bout it at de time."

Theoren smiled gratefully. "It was a long time ago. B'sides you're de one who offered to listen to my crazy ramblin'."

"Well, if you wan' tell me, den I'm listenin'. It's up to you."

"I t'ink I have to talk 'bout dese t'ings. Maybe I'll stop havin' de dreams if I do."

"Theoren! Wait up!" the girl called.

Theoren paused and waited for her to catch up to him, half wondering what she wanted. The other half was marvelling at how beautiful she was. She had thick, curly brown hair that hung almost down to her waist and piercing green eyes.

"You sure are a hard person to keep track of, Theoren Marceaux," the girl laughed, falling into step beside him. Her name was Stephanie Samson; she was an acquaintance of Theoren's from high school. He saw her around from time to time, but they never really spoke much.

"I'm usually pretty busy." Theoren replied. "What's up?"

"I can' b'lieve you don' remember! Our ten-year high school reunion is coming up in a few weeks. I was wondering if you were going or not. No one on de committee has been able to get in touch wit' you."

"Oh! I…um…I don' t'ink so, Stephanie. I don' really have anyone I want to see. Dere's no real point to me goin'."

Stephanie's face fell although she tried to hide her disappointment. "Oh. Okay den. Sorry I bothered you."

"I'm getting de impression you want me to go…" Theoren commented quietly before she could move away from him.

Stephanie blushed and tried to make an escape. "It's not'ing. Forget it. Forget I even mentioned it."

Theoren reached out and grabbed her arm, trying not to think about how attracted to her he was suddenly finding himself. "Stephanie, non. What is it?"

"It's silly…I feel like we're back in school…I shouldn' have brought anyt'ing up. I should've known you weren' goin' to go. I'm sorry." Stephanie faltered. "I jus'…"

"You jus' what?" Theoren asked softly.

Stephanie sighed. "Dis is so embarrassing…oui, I want you to go, mais, not jus' b'cause de committee wants as many of us to go as possible. De t'ing is, ever since high school, I've had dis huge crush on you, but you were always so elusive, I didn' t'ink I'd stand a chance…"

Theoren blinked a couple of times, as the information he'd just heard registered in his head. Then he started laughing, much to Stephanie's alarm.

"I knew I shouldn' have said anyt'ing…" she groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"Oh, no Stephanie, I'm not laughin' at you. I'm sorry. It's jus' ironic, dat's all. You didn' t'ink you'd stand a chance wit' me? I was a loner who had no life. You were a cheerleader. If anyone didn' stand a chance, it was me!"

Stephanie frowned. "What are you sayin', Theoren?"

"I'm sayin' I'll go to de reunion if you'll be my date." Theoren replied, deciding to just go for it. He didn't think he had anything to lose, and he also didn't think he'd get another chance like the one he was getting right then.

"I…uh…I don' know what to say…" Stephanie replied.

"How 'bout yes?"

Stephanie smiled. "Okay. De answer's yes," she said, pulling a business card out of her purse. "Here's my card. Give me a call later in de week an' I'll give you all de details."

Theoren took the card. "Okay."

Fifteen minutes later, Theoren walked into the living room of the LeBeau mansion, still shaking his head over what had happened with Stephanie. The only other members of the Guild in the room were Jean-Luc, Henri, Claude and Pierre.

"How did dis happen?" he asked.

The other four thieves looked at him. "How did what happen, Theo?" Pierre asked. Pierre Alouette was one of the older members of the Guild, and one of Jean-Luc LeBeau's closest friends.

"I'm goin' to my high school reunion. Again, how de hell did dis happen?" Theoren replied.

Henri laughed. "Okay, what pretty girl roped ya into dat?"

Theoren sighed and blushed slightly. "Never mind."

"So it was a girl! What's her name?" Claude asked.

"Her name is Stephanie. I knew her when we were in school. She was a cheerleader. An' now she an' I are goin' to de reunion together. Okay?"

"Whoa…Theo's got a date! Will wonders ever cease?" Claude joked. "I wish I had a date. Even jus' for a movie or somet'ing. You're lucky, mon ami."

The high school reunion was only the beginning of a relationship between Theoren and Stephanie. After the reunion, they went on numerous other dates, to movies, dinner, even dancing. They were very attracted to each other and their relationship grew very quickly, however Stephanie had a few questions for Theoren that she didn't like the answers to.

"Where do you go? When you're not wit' me an' you're not at your house, where do you go?"

Theoren looked at her. He was bound by his allegiance to the Guild to keep it a secret from the outside world and as much as he was realizing he was in love with Stephanie, he couldn't tell her. "Around."

"C'mon. You get phone messages in code an' you never explain what's goin' on, even when you have to cut a date short. I'd like to know why."

"Stephanie, I care 'bout you. I can' tell you, you're better off not knowin'. I'm sorry." Theoren told her.

"Theo, tell me. Please. All dis secrecy worries me."

Theoren sighed. He knew he was going to regret telling her the truth, but he had to. She wanted to know. There wasn't much he could do. Saying no wasn't going to work anymore.

"Stephanie, sit down, please. De reason for all de secrecy, de reason you haven' met any of my friends…I shouldn' be tellin' you dis, I could get in trouble…" Theoren's voice trailed off.

Stephanie reached over and took Theoren's hand. "Please. If you get in trouble, tell dem it's my fault."

Theoren smiled slightly before continuing. "I'm not ashamed of who I am, or what I do, but others look down on it. Can' say I blame dem…. Stephanie, I'm…in a word, a criminal. My fam'ly b'longs to de New Orleans T'ieves Guild. I'm a t'ief. De Guild's been 'round for over a century, it's always been part of my life, even when we were in high school. Dat's why I kept to myself, why no one knew much 'bout me. De biggest part of my life couldn' be talked 'bout. It still can'."

Stephanie was silent. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke, her voice laden with tears. "Theo, I'm sorry…I can' deal wit' dat. I can'…I don' t'ink we can see each other anymore. Dere's too much involved."

Theoren closed his eyes and sighed softly. "Je sais. I'm sorry. Are you gon' tell de cops?"

Stephanie leaned up and kissed him lightly. "Non. Who am I to screw 'round wit' a Guild dat's been around for dat long? You take care of yourself, okay? An' if you guys ever get arrested, I wasn' de one who said anyt'ing. You have my word."

"T'anks."

Theoren wandered around in the dark shadows of the city for a long time after that conversation. He felt like someone had taken his heart and ripped it out of his chest with their bare hands. Surprisingly, he ran into Tante Mattie while he was in Jackson Square.

"Theoren. Come sit wit' me for a moment, Chil'." She said. He did as he was told and sat beside her. "You're unhappy." She commented.

"Oui." Theoren sighed. "Stephanie jus' broke up wit' me."

"She did? Pourquoi?" Mattie asked, her astonishment showing in her eyes.

"She wanted to know de truth, so I told her. An' she couldn't deal wit' it. She couldn' handle datin' a t'ief."

"Oh Theoren, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

"Non, but I will be, I suppose. Eventually."

"It took you a long time to get over her…" Claude commented.

Theoren got up and went over to the window, looking out into the yard, with a sigh. He remained there for a few minutes, not speaking. Claude went and joined him, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You still miss her, don' you?"

Theoren gave a sad chuckle. "I still love her, Claude. I t'ink I always will."

"Well, I'd go find her an' bring her back for you, but I don' t'ink dat would really work, an' I have a feelin' she hasn' changed her mind 'bout datin' t'ieves. Sorry." Claude joked.

"I still miss her, an' I still love her, but I have gotten over her, to an extent. T'anks for de t'ought t'ough."

"No problem. So what now? Any more stories to tell?"

"Yeah…one more. If you're still awake for it."

"I'm awake. Go for it."