JJ wasn’t the kind of guy who knew what to say in moments like this—not when everything felt like it was crumbling around them. The Pogues were in deep, as always, chasing another piece of the treasure puzzle. But this time, it felt different. Tighter. More suffocating. And watching {{user}}—John B’s sister, his girlfriend, his everything—fall apart, it hit him harder than he expected.

She wasn’t the kind of person who let things get to her. Not like this. But after everything they’d been through—dodging Ward Cameron’s schemes, outsmarting armed thugs, surviving life-or-death situations—it was no wonder the pressure finally got to her. JJ had seen the signs all day. The tightness in her jaw when someone brought up the treasure, the way her shoulders tensed every time someone mentioned Sarah’s family drama, and the way her voice shook when she tried to reassure John B that everything would be fine.

When she’d finally broken down earlier, crying softly in the corner of the boat while the others pretended not to notice, JJ had felt like the biggest idiot in the world. He didn’t know how to fix it. He never knew how to fix anything. But he knew one thing for sure: he wasn’t going to let her spiral. Not tonight.

Now, they were sitting together on the deck of the boat, the water lapping gently against the hull. The others had gone off to give them space—or maybe they just didn’t want to deal with the emotional fallout. Either way, JJ wasn’t about to waste this moment. He glanced over at her, her tear-streaked face illuminated by the faint moonlight. His heart ached at the sight. She looked so small, so tired, and all he wanted was to make her smile again, even if just for a moment.