Here's a new one for you! I have this one completely planned, and a sequal as well :o)
Don was pleased with himself. He was able to get vacation for his entire squad on a gorgeous cruise ship. The sun was warm, the water was blue, and Casey and Olivia were stretched out on chairs nearby, tanning, and laughing. Don had to bribe Munch to join the cruise, and blackmail Fin, but they were all there. They had a few rules; no work, no talking about work, and no thinking about work. Don tagged along to make sure they obeyed.
And the best thing that Fin and Munch had ever seen was Don Cragen in an Hawaiian shirt. The two had never laughed so hard in their lives. Elliot's children would have loved the pictures he took of the scene, but the camera was sitting on the bottom of the Pacific.
The cruise ship was small; 35 people at max including the crew. There were enough rooms to house 150 people, but the rest of the passsengers wouldn't be joining until the third week of the trip. It was quiet, personal, and everyone was having fun. Don was glad for that. When they got back to New York, there was to be a tough blow to the 'family.' He was being forced to split up Olivia and Elliot, by firing one and transferring the other, and then being forced into retirement. The unit would lose the best team its ever seen, and the captain they'd all come to love and trust. He hated that it was their last three weeks together. But, watching Elliot and Olivia now, as he put another coat of oil on her already tan skin, he knew they would only be separated at work. They were friends...more than friends but less than lovers. They were in a shadey middle ground that could go either way at this point. Perhaps it was a good idea to take work out of the mix.
Don smiled and turned back to watch the setting sun before the troops went in for dinner. He watched the ocean change from blue to millions of shades of red and orange. It was breath taking. He regretted tossing the camera now. He stared, burning it into his memory as the lights flickered on and the sun disappeared.
"I'm going in for dinner," He told his squad, who were never far away.
"Sounds fantastic," Elliot said, handing Olivia her shorts and shirt to put over the swim suit. Everyone followed suit and followed Don in.
"Did you guys see that sunset?"
"You don't get That in New York."
Little did Don know that if the sun had been setting on the other side of the sky, they'd have seen the storm headed their way.
"I don't know where we are!"
"What do you MEAN? All these little gadgets and you Don't know?" Don stood nose-to-nose with the captain of the ship.
"The computer is fried!" The captain yelled. "When the storm hit, we were blown so far off course that I can't navigate us back, and the computers were fried when the glass broke and everything got wet! READ MY LIPS! WE...ARE...SCREWED!" Elliot, John and Fin jumped to hold back the Captain as they saw his fists balling up, ready to strike out at the man.
"Don, go talk to Casey and Olivia, now."
"You aren't-"
"Go!" the three shouted. Don Snorted and left the deck.
"So, what do we do?"
"Find an Island, or Japan. Whichever we find first." The captain pulled out binoculars. "I'm going up," he said, leaving the deck to get as hig as he could. Elliot followed, leaving John and Fin down.
"What do we do when we find land?"
"Set the anchor down when we're as close as we can get safely, evac the ship, and send the crew back for supplies as needed. Hope we get rescued quickly. We have 3 weeks worth of food for 150 people; we can take apart the interior of the ship to build shelters."
"Or...we could stay on the ship?"
"No. She's damaged. Next storm and she'll sink. I have my crew repairing minor leaks below, but I don't think the ship will last more than a week...two tops, without a major refit. We need to find land...fast." Elliot nodded. "I have a crew of 7. They need help gutting the ship and organizing supplies. Can you and your captain gather the passengers and get volunteers?"
"Of course." Elliot climbed the ladder down and met John's gaze immediately. "Get everyone into the dinner hall. Everyone but the crew."
Elliot stood at the head of the room, meeting with 26 pairs of eyes. They were silent, waiting for him to speak. One of the small children fussed in his mother's arms once before getting quiet again. The reminder that he was now 'in charge' of the passengers, some of whom were babies and childre, made his stomach drop.
"The ship was...um..." He didn't know where to begin. Saying the wrong thing could cause panic. Elliot met Olivia's eyes, and knew that he had to appear strong. "I want to make one thing clear...first of all. I will not lie to you. The situation is bad. The ship was badly damaged last night. While the crew can repair a lot of the damage, its only temporary fixes. The computer is fried. The captain is looking for land, and we're going to have to evacuate the ship and settle there until we're rescued." He turned to Olivia. "Ready?" Liv Nodded. "We need to know who does what, and who can help with what. We need food, shelters, clean water."
"I worked on an organic farm in Oregon. I can scavenge for food," Liv said. Elliot noticed one man, who was wearing carpenter pants.
"What do you do?"
"Build furniture in my garage. My boys' nanny helps with the painting, but I'm a decent carpenter. I can build anything if I have the right tools."
"I learned how to purify water in the Army," another person called out. "And I can help with shelters."
"We're all doctors," a table of 4 called. People started chattering amungst each other at the tables.
"I can fish," one man called out. "Have all my gear with me and everything."
"Okay, everyone line up at Detective Benson's table here and she's going to get your name, what you can do to help us, and how many people are with you. When you are done, go back to your quarters and pack everything you have into two bags. One bag of essentials; Every room has a first aid kit. Pack it. Any meds you have, a few changes of clothes, a jacket, and anything that you know we could use; pocket knives, keys, sewing kits, scissors, DVD's can be broken and used for tools, plastic bags, and everyone bring your bottled waters and the ice buckets from your room. We can use the buckets to carry and store water."
"For purifying, I need 5 white T Shirts, a metal pot, a fire, and at least three buckets."
"I got the shirts covered," John said. "Bought a pack for the beach. Would rather get a little burned and not die of thirst."
"On that note, any sunscreen should be packed as well." Everyone was lining up and Liv was ready to take notes.
"Detective," the carpenter said, leaving the line and walking up to Elliot. "My wife is worried about our twins. Their almost two. There are 3 other kids on board here, and by the looks of it, you'll need all the adult help you can get."
"We'll make sure that everyone is safe. There are 7 crew members, 5 cops, and the captain making sure all of you are safe."
"Everyone," The captain called. "We'll be hitting land in 13 hours. We'll spend tonight on the ship, and set off in the life boats tomorrow. The group nodded silently.
The moonlight was just bright enough for people to work in. Elliot recruited 5 people to go room by room and get supplies and sort everything onto the deck; blankets, first aid kits, bottled water, ice buckets, and anything else that could be used. The crew sorted through the kitchen and food stock to get as much canned foods up to the deck as they could.
"We can get about 100 yards from land," the capatin told Don. "Your people could probably swim it faster than we could row it." Cragen laughed. "I'll keep a minimum crew aboard; two cooks, and a few people to start moving supplies. I want to be on land organizing everything."
"My detectives have already taken over that," Don informed them.
"Good group you have there."
"The best." Don watched his team work. Elliot was in his shorts and Nikes, moving heavy cases of bottled water to the life boats. He was stocking each boat with two cases of water, and a few days worth of snacks. Liv was rolling sheets and blankets into bedrolls. Munch was carefully packing away medical supplies and emergency kits onto a boat. Casey was rolling all the towels that had been gathered and packing a boat near Liv's. The two could be heard across the deck, laughing. Fin was working in Olivia's notebook, making a count of all the supplies they had packed, so everything could be properly rationed.
"My crew will be cooking here, and bringing the food back via life boats until we can get settled, or until the meat runs out. The island is big, and should have some wild game. Perhaps even turkey."
"My people are hard workers. You can count on help in whatever you need from them. Elliot was a Marine and a damn good shot, but we're without our guns."
"He's already fashioned a few tools," the captain told Don. "Took a lighter, a few plastic knives and a pole, and made a spear for fish. They are taking everything with great stride."
"They're a great team."
"The rest of the passengers would be in a real panic if it hadn't been for your squad's cool tempers and quick logic."
"Captain?"
"What?" both men answered.
"Captain Cragen," Elliot clarified. "We've been chatting and came up with a few ideas."
"Let's hear 'em."
"After we get the supplies unloaded, we should set aside a few life boats for ship runs, and turn the rest into beds. Its safer than sleeping on the beach; no small critters can climb in, and the smaller kids can't climb out and get hurt. As we build shelters, they can be used as furniture."
"How long are you planning on staying, Stabler?"
"I'm hoping for less than 24 hours. I'm planning for the rest of our lives." Don nodded. That was Elliot. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. "I'd rather have everything we need and not need it, y'know?"
"Its getting pretty late," Don said. "You guys should sleep."
"Too much to do. We have too many people counting on us to get this supplies ready. If I sleep now, 34 other people suffer." Elliot turned back and headed down to the deck. "You guys are doing great!" he called. His words, the simple encouragement he gave, seemed to lighten the mood, and the work moved a little faster.
"I may be their captain, but he's their leader."
Elliot yawned as the sun peaked up behind him. The two cooks set up a simple breakfast on the deck for everyone; mostly meats and dairy as they would go bad a lot faster than bread and cereal. Coffee was also plentiful. Elliot warned everyone to ration everything, including coffee. There were nods amung the group of people.
Olivia made her way to a woman holding a tiny infant.
"How old is she?"
"Almost 4 months."
"Are you formula feeding?"
"I was starting to ween her, but I'm still able to breast feed enough to sustain life. I've got a couple of canisters of formula; enough for 3 weeks." Liv nodded.
"Hopefully, she'll be home before she needs to start solids," Olivia said, smiling. She headed back over to Elliot. "We may have a problem. Breast-feeding baby. We need to make sure that she eats enough for her and the baby, and build their shelter first."
"Is she still able to feed the kid?"
"For now, but as her diet changes, the baby could easily get sick."
"I'll have one of the doctors moniter her a little more carefully than the rest." Liv nodded and took a small plate of food. "Take more than that. You're one of the last in line, and you've been up 24 hours." Elliot piled a few more sausages onto Olivia's plate.
"So much for vegetarian..." she muttered. Elliot chuckled.
"Hey," Casey called, waving the two over. Elliot dropped down next to the blonde woman. "At least if we have to be stuck somewhere, we're stuck somewhere beautiful," she said, pointing to the dolphins playing in the distance. "So, can we build a kick-ass tree house, like in the movies?" she joked.
"You got 80 miles of rope, 10,000 nailes, and a contractor?"
"Ha...ha..." came the sarcastic reply.
"So," Olivia broke in, softly. "What's left to do?"
"Get everyone to land safely, and we'll unload supplies into two boats that'll stay on land." The women nodded. "We're coming back after the first load is sorted, and we'll be hauling mattresses from the rooms, taking the axes from the fire extinguisher stations, looking for any kind of tool we can use, and taking apart the thin walls to build shelters."
"Its going to be a long day, isn't it..."
"Oh, yes."
As night fell, dinner was 'shipped' over from the cruise liner for everyone. Steak, eggs, potatoes, and fresh corn. As much as everyone enjoyed the food, they knew it wouldn't last much longer. The men had dug a pit to put a fire in so they could sterilize water as soon as the scouting team found a stream. Everyone had worked hard that day. The mothers of the young children worked in shifts handing out supplies and caring for the children, while the rest of the people worked on gutting the ship and hauling supplies.
Olivia and a small team scouted out potential food sources and water. So far, they'd found tiny bananas.
Fish would be a good food source, and eventually, they'd be able to find something other than bananas; it had been a short trip into the jungle. No one had any weapons for protection if larger animals lived on the island. Elliot and the crew were able to make 6 or 7 spears with plastic cutlery, creative use ofrope, and sticks. There would always be at least 5 people awake, standing guard for anything that left the trees to sniff out the new inhabitants of the island. For now, everyone would sleep close to each other, and close to the fire pit.
The axes were sharp, but they were needed for shelters.
Cole, the carpenter with the twins, had taken the day to build a small fenced in area for the small kids to sleep and play in. It was bigger than the mesh play yards the twins slept in on the ship, and allowed them freedom to play and explore safely. Elliot reminded himself to ask Cole to build one around the fire pit as well.
"Hey," Olivia said, climbing into the boat next to Elliot.
"What's up?"
"Not enough boats for everyone; people have to share. Fin and Munch are lying at attention." Elliot snorted a laugh.
"Tomorrow, we're going to start building huts."
"Sounds like fun."
"You gutting?"
"Scouting and hopefully just hauling water. Also, taking spare sheets and making diapers."
"Sounds fun."
"We need a specific bathroom. Someone should dig a hole and buils a latrine."
"Its in the works. That's what Captain Douglas is doing with his crew tomorrow. First shelter to be built is around a toilet." Liv laughed.
"Think we'll be here a while?"
"Nah. Week, two tops."
"Liar."
"We'll be rescued, Olivia. I'll be home in time for Maureen's birthday." His tone was firm, and Olivia hurt for him. Everything she had was on the island with her; Elliot had a family waiting for him, not knowing he was lost. Her heart broke for him. "We have to be back for her birthday. I've been saving all year to get her a car."
"El," she soothed. "We'll be rescued."
"Mrs. Stabler?"
"Yes?"
"We're from Tropic Isle cruise line. Your ex-husband is on one of our ships?"
"What's happened?"
"There was a storm, and its disappeared off radar night before last." Kathy felt dizzy, and weak.
"We think they were just blown off course. Its an able crew, and the captain is a very smart guy. He'll get them home safely." Kathy could hear her children calling out to her as darkness surrounded her.
"Mom?" Maureen called, gripping her mother's arms. "What did you do!?"
"Your father," Kathy whispered, as tears fell. "His ship is missing."
Heh, Heh, that's all for chapter 1!