It felt like I had only been home for a few seconds before I was back out at sea again. We stopped for a short time when Nav spotted a boat that had smoke coming from it. A man, Gavin Daley, was taking his two kids on a trip and they seemed to have some engine trouble. ET and Swain were sent over to help. I was still thinking about Josh and Rhihannon. I hoped we would get back to port soon. I really wanted to meet Rhihannon. Josh seemed so fond of her. I wanted to know who the girl was, that could make my brother so happy.
"Hey Red, are you gonna join us for a swim?" I jumped when I suddenly heard ET's voice. I hadn't even noticed him coming. He was already in his trunks, ready to go for a dip. "Sure," I replied, "Why not?" "Hurry up then." ET left and I went to my cabin to change into a swimsuit. A bikini might not be the best idea considering it could easily come off and there were a lot of guys out there. I'd rather wear a nice one piece. I quickly changed and went back on deck. Most of the guys were already in the water. Chefo was just jumping in, followed by ET and then Buffer. "Come on, Red!" ET called. I climbed up on the railing, getting a few playful wolf-whistles while doing so, and dove in, taking a header, quite gracefully if I may say so.
I just loved the ocean. It was a lot of fun taking a dip with the guys. If there was something like reincarnation, I wanted to be reborn as a creature of the sea.
"Red! Don't swim too far away!" I heard someone shout. I hadn't even realized that I had swum away, but there was a good distance between me and the others. I turned around and slowly swam back. I never wanted to get out of the water again. But I started getting cold at one point so I did leave in the end. I wrapped myself in a nice warm towel. "You swam away quite far back there," Spider, who handed me a cup of coffee, noticed, "Aren't you afraid of sharks?" "Sharks? No, why would I be?" I replied, "Don't you know that more people die from being hit by a coconut than from shark attacks?" "Really?" Spider asked surprised. "Yea," I smiled, "A lot of people don't know that sharks are actually quite peaceful predators." "Peaceful?" Spider raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Yea, they are," I said, "They only attack humans when they feel threatened or they mistake them for seals. Besides, you're more likely to win the lottery rather than get attacked by a shark." I tried to convince Spider that sharks weren't as malicious as they were often portrayed, but it didn't look like he would change his mind about them.
Until suddenly we were called to suit up and be ready. I hurriedly went to change and get ready for a boarding party call. Apparently the guy we met earlier had not only taken his kids out for trip, but kidnapped them. We were going to tail him now. That was until Gavin Daley suddenly pulled in to the mainland. I was preparing for a shore party with the others when the CO said he would lead this one and only take Swain and ET because they had already had contact with the man. I was a little surprised but I didn't have a problem with it. I felt a little exhausted.
The CO, ET and Swain left and I wanted to go back on deck to sit down and relax, breathe in the nice sea air. I was almost there when I suddenly felt all wobbly and my legs gave out under me. "Red!" Spider appeared in my field of vision and knelt down in front of me. "What happened? Are you okay?" he asked me frantically. "Yea, I'm fine," I waved him off, "I just felt a little wobbly there." "That doesn't sound comforting," Chefo's voice suddenly came from behind me. "I'm fine, really," I repeated and tried to get up. But I would have fallen down again if it wasn't for Spider, who steadied me. "Alright, let's go to the ward," Chefo said. I wanted to protest, but I didn't have the strength. So I just sighed and let myself be helped to the wardroom. "So, how do you really feel?" Chefo asked. "Fine," I replied, "Just a little dizzy and exhausted." "Have you been drinking enough water?" "Yea, I think so," I answered. "What about sleep? Have you been getting enough?" Chefo continued his questionnaire. "Um, I've been having some trouble sleeping, but it's not that bad." "Ah-hum." Chefo measured my blood pressure and then looked at me. "Your blood pressure is a little low," he said. "That means?" I asked. "You need to rest and drink a lot," Chefo answered. "But she'll be alright?" I had almost forgotten Spider was here as well. "Yea, it's not serious," Chefo replied, "But actually, Spider, you could watch over Red, make sure she rests and drinks a lot." "I don't need a babysitter," I protested. "Then just think of it as a friend keeping you company," Chefo retorted, "I'll talk to Swain when he gets back. For now, just go back to your cabin and rest."
I sighed. I guess there wasn't much room to argue here. So I left the ward with Spider. On the way to my cabin we stopped by the galley to get me some more water. "Are you feeling okay?" Spider asked me worriedly. "I'm feeling alright," I reassured him smiling at his concern, "And with the rest ordered by Dr. Chefo I'll be fine in no time." "Good."
It was a little awkward having Spider sit there when I was lying in my bunk to get some rest. At first I tried to sleep, but my eyes just wouldn't stay shut. "Tell me a story," I demanded of Spider. "What?" he asked surprised. "I can't fall asleep. So tell me a story," I said. "Um…" Spider looked at me strangely, "What do you want to hear?" Spider asked. „I don't know, tell me about your childhood, your favorite food. Your first girlfriend. I don't care." Spider thought for some moments. But then he started telling me about his high school years, his friends and teachers. It was nice listening to Spider talk. I felt my eyelids start to drop.
Suddenly my cabin door opened. "Oh, I'm sorry," Swain apologized, "Were you telling her a bedtime story?" "No," Spider vigorously shook his head. "Okay, well Chefo told me you weren't feeling good, Red," Swain addressed me. "Yea, I was a little dizzy," I replied, "And Chefo said I had low blood pressure." "I heard. I also heard you almost collapsed because you haven't gotten enough sleep lately," Swain said and I nodded, "These are mild sedatives. If you have trouble falling asleep, take one. You need to make sure that you always get a good night's rest for now." "Okay." I took the sleeping pills from Swain. "See you tomorrow morning." Swain smiled at me before he left again. "Should I leave too?" Spider asked. "No, continue talking," I demanded. Spider laughed and continued with the story how he and his friends had played a prank on their history teacher.
I opened up my eyes again and found myself alone in my cabin. I stretched happily. I felt like I had slept for a whole week.. After I left my cabin I couldn't find anyone below decks. Really no one. So I went up on the decks. There was quite a commotion going on there. "What's going on?" I asked. "Mr. Daley jumped overboard. We're just getting him back on," Nav answered me. She filled me in on everything that had happened while I had been asleep. They had found Carl Davies on Tiwi Island while they had been searching for Mr. Daley and his kids. Mr. Daley had kidnapped his kids because his ex-wife was going to move to the United States with her new husband and the kids. He was afraid of losing them. But Carl Davies was badly injured, so we needed to get back to port as soon as possible. Which was where we set course for once both Mr. Daley and ET were back onboard Hammersley.
"Red, come here for a second," Swain called. I quickly went over to him. "How are you feeling now?" he asked me. "Great," I replied truthfully, "I feel like I slept for a days." "That's good to hear," Swain smiled, "But go get yourself checked up in the hospital when we get back to port, alright?" "Okay." "Then get some more rest now, just to make sure." I nodded. I was rested up enough but I didn't want to start an argument. So I just walked back to my cabin, but I was stopped on my way there. "Red, you got a minute for me?" "ET. Sure." ET pulled me into the empty galley. "What did you do to make her mad this time?" I asked him straightforward. "I didn't do anything!" ET defended himself, "Well at least not on purpose." "Then what did you do unintentionally?" I rephrased my question. "You know, I talked to Nav like you said I should and we were good. I made a vow of chastity to her for the next six months." "You did what?" I interrupted surprised. "She means a lot to me," ET said and I nodded, that much was obvious now, "But… something came up." "Oh, ET…." "No! Not something like that. Well, kinda… My ex-girlfriend, she found me in a bar and… well, she told me she is pregnant… with my child," ET explained. I blinked at him. Was he serious? He seemed to be. "That's big… No, that's huge!" I exclaimed, "Congratulations. But I don't know if I can help you there." ET sighed, "Yea, I guess it's not that easy to handle:" "Maybe the best thing to do is just talk? Explain how you feel about all of this? I don't know," I said, "Maybe Nav will understand you better then." "Talking's better than doing nothing, right?" I nodded.
ET took off and I continued on my mission: Get more rest until we reach port and then go visit the hospital.
The doctor checked my vitals. "Well, everything seems to be alright now. Your vitals are fine," the doctor said, "Just make sure you always get enough rest and drink enough so we won't see each other again, alright?" I nodded laughing, "Will do." But I wasn't going to tell my brother's about this, they didn't need to worry about me more than they already did.