Ethan found himself returning to the ferries almost every day. He leaned on the railing, watching the giant boats pull into their docks. The crew worked with the efficient movements of those long-familiar with their jobs. They handled the ropes with disinterest, quickly pulling the boat into the dock like absurd spiders spinning a web for some sort of giant fish. The practicality of that comparison was almost nonexistent, but somehow the imagery made him smile. He took his smiles where he could get them these days. It wasn't so much that he was unhappy as it was he was constantly consumed by thoughts of the past month. It near drove him insane sometimes, the wondering. He couldn't change the past, at least, not as far as he knew, but that didn't stop the speculation. What might have happened? What could he have done differently to make the ending better? He woke in the middle of the night sometimes, his lip bitten and blood filling his mouth as he instinctively restrained the scream that had been building in his chest. His dreams were still stained with blood. Mostly, the death of that man, Victor, still haunted him. The fact that he could come up with no other alternative for his escape, even after a month of thinking, was only so much comfort. Because, in the end, whether he liked it or not, he had killed that man. And nothing would ever bring him back.

Kevin had started coming to see Ethan every time he pulled into port. The ferryman seemed almost to have come to expect Ethan's presence, and Ethan could see his eager expression scanning the docks every time the ferry came in for docking. It was strange, having made a friend so easily. Mostly it was meaningless, neither of them knew anything about each other, and when the time came neither would really miss the other all that much. But it was also nice to have someone with whom to share a few hours of conversation, and maybe an occasional evening in the local pub.

It was also fun getting to show off some of his skills to someone who wouldn't have any reason to be suspicious of him. Kevin quickly learned never to bet money whenever Ethan challenged him to a game, and he called some of the things that Ethan was able to do with a dart or pool ball "legendary". They wound up talking a lot about where they saw themselves in the future. Or rather, Kevin did the talking, and Ethan listened to him for hours. It seemed that the man didn't get many people who were willing to honestly listen to him, and he seemed to glow in the attention Ethan was giving him.

Eventually, the two wound up talking about the ferry on which that Kevin worked. It was a decent job, Kevin said. Not a lot of downtime, but when there was no one waiting for you at home, knowing you would always have a roof over your head and a few good meals a day was enough. One evening, when both men had imbibed a bit too much and were tottering off down the street together, Kevin promised that he would always find a space for Ethan on board, should he ever want to leave the little town. Ethan thanked him profusely for the offer, but said, when he planned on leaving, it would be on very short notice. Kevin waved away that comment with the brim of his floppy hat. So long as the distance between the boat and the dock wasn't too great to jump, Ethan was welcome aboard.

Kevin nearly fell over when Ethan suddenly stopped walking, but caught himself against the side of a shop. "Can I hold you to that?" Ethan asked, his eyes suddenly intense.

Kevin blinked, but nodded slowly. "It's cool, man. I'll take care of you."

Ethan's smile was soft and sweet, especially in contrast with his almost fierce look from a moment before. Kevin's answering grin was equally sweet, if a little more lopsided. Ethan helped the man back to his feet, and they began to totter off down the street again, wind whistling down the narrow alley. How interesting, he thought under the white glow of the moon. It's been a long time since I've had a friend.

If Ethan's new-found friendship with Keith was on the rise, his relationship with the man from whom he was leasing a room was only deteriorating. Almost all of Ethan's rent money was going towards the man's drinking fund, and while the alcohol did not make him violent it certainly made him suspicious. For the first few days, Tom seemed entirely unconcerned with Ethan's comings and goings. But lately, when Ethan returned late in the evening, sometimes sober, sometimes not, he found Tom waiting up for him, eyes narrowed. For now, he wasn't going to do anything. The money was too enticing. But if the probability of him copping out got too high, Ethan might have to look to moving on again. For a little while he actually considered going to work on the ferries, but the idea of being on a bound route for any period of time made him begin to shiver.

Other than Tom, Port Townsend was almost everything that Ethan was looking for right now. Enough people came and went that it wasn't a place where he stuck out, but nor was it a place where people always made sure they had locked the door. It was loose and comfortable, like a pair of well-worn socks. And he had to believe it was the last place that the FBI would be coming to look for him. Even the local cops were more likely to let you off with a word of warning than an actual ticket.

The patrons and bartenders of Pourhouse, a small local bar, had become familiar with Ethan. The bartenders were friendly, and took it upon themselves to socialize with everyone who came in. At first it was only the standard conversations to make a customer feel comfortable, but it didn't take them long to warm up to his quiet, unassuming demeanor. They were also as amused by Ethan's "party tricks" as Kevin had been, if not even more so. They saw a lot of "tricks", but Ethan pulled them off better than anyone they had ever met. Once he got one of them laughing everyone was soon rolling along with it, and it brought them honest pleasure to see him emerge from his reclusive shell as the evening slowly unfolded.

Josie called out a friendly hello to him as he entered, the bell over the door chiming loudly. Ethan returned her greeting with an abstract wave, and wandered his way over to a window seat, looking out over the bay. She brought a beer and a smile and sat down next to him for a few minutes. They didn't say anything, but Ethan could feel her eyes on his face, and he would occasionally glance over, only to see her eyes quickly dart away. He couldn't help the small smile that flickered on the corners of his lips whenever that happened, which seemed to only encourage Josie's attentions. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty for it, since anything between them would never last. Ethan was a city-boy, through and through, and while he might hide in a place like Port Townsend until he could deal with the consequences of his actions, he would never be able to stay in a place like this long term. Eventually Josie left him to nurse at his beer, and he sat and stared out the window quietly, green eyes watching the numbers flicker over the water and around the town.