Author's Note: Hello! Second story for the 5D's fandom! Personally, I'm shocked that there aren't more stories about the series; I think it's great. Also, I gave Trudge a non-Japanese name, so heads up for that. Please review!
Much love, Princess Kanako x

Title: A Splash of Colour

Author: Princess Kanako

Pairing(s): Trudge/OC

Date Edited: 26/12/14

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any of its affiliates; they belong to Kazuki Takahashi

Claimer: I do own Scarlett, a few plot ideas, and any OCs that pop up along the way.

Genre: Drama, Romance, Suspense, Humour.

Summary: Officer Trudge's life was grey, bleak and meaningless. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. Something bright. Something warm. Something he'd almost forgotten about. A splash of colour. (Previously known as To Trudge Towards The Light)

"Help us! Help our friend! Help us!" Scarlett saw that Trudge had almost reached the first of the young people in the water. The moon and clouds seemed to be engaged in a crazy game of Hide-And-Go-Seek, as moonlight once more suddenly flooded the lagoon and beach with beams of light. As she waded deeper after Trudge, she saw that two of the girls were desperately trying to keep a third afloat in the water. Trudge must have realized it as well, she guessed, before he was setting out with several powerful strokes to reach the exhausted swimmers.

"Help our friend, please! She's passed out."

Taking in the situation in a glance, Trudge ordered the girls to pass their friend to him. It was only after he had begun to swim to shore with the dead weight of the third girl, that he saw Scarlett heading toward him in the water. He found his footing as he reached her, but before he could bite out an order to get back to shore, Scarlett was passing him in the water, her hands reaching for the young girls who, now that their friend was safe, were floating listlessly, all the spirit gone out of them.

"Your friend is in good hands. I can help you in. That's it, we'll get you in." Her summers working as a lifeguard gave her voice the reassurance the girls needed to hear. Trudge heard it as well. In spite of the gravity of the situation, he smiled, glancing at her in the moonlight. Scarlett had a sudden sensation that she was being watched, and found Trudge looking at her, his eyes dark. There was the slightest trace of a smile on his face and she smiled back quickly before turning away.

Diners and staff at the restaurant had reached the shore by now, several splashing into the surf to lend a hand. Scarlett quickly relinquished the young girls, before heading over to the unmoving body Trudge was pulling up on the sand.

"I can help her, Chris. There's still one more out there!" Scarlett was kneeling in the sand, her nurse's training taking over as she made a quick assessment of her patient. She felt the warmth of Trudge's hand on her shoulder before he turned back into the water. Then all her attention was focused on the young girl lying unmoving on the sand as she heard someone call out that 911 had been called and Fire and Rescue were on their way.

By the time Trudge had located the fourth girl in the water, draped over an air mattress that barely kept his head above water, two waiters from the restaurant had appeared beside him, and together they dragged the air mattress to shore. As he rested on one knee on the sand, catching his breath, Trudge heard the sounds of sirens fast approaching. He wiped the water from his hair, noticing that some of the people who had come down from the restaurant were performing CPR on the young woman Scarlett had been assisting earlier. She darted by him just then, heading for the girl lying unmoving on the air mattress.

Scarlett fell to her knees in the sand, running down the same checklist of signs and symptoms that she had performed on the others. As she was taking her pulse, Trudge appeared beside her in the sand, resting on one knee. Whatever he was saying was drowned out by the wail of the sirens as the Rescue Squads roared onto the beach, bathing the sand in a dazzle of blue and red lights. Shaking her head to show she couldn't hear him, Scarlett glanced up to see an EMT approaching them, stretcher in hand. With a sigh of relief, she motioned that the girl was breathing, but had a shallow pulse. A touch on her arm from Trudge had her looking up and he motioned for her to follow him. The EMT nodded when she looked at him questioningly.

Fifty-five minutes later, Scarlett was seated at a table in the restaurant she and Trudge had dined in earlier. Gone were her wet clothes, in their place she was wearing a sweatshirt and bright pink sweatpants one of the waitresses had been kind enough to give her. She held a steaming cup of coffee in both hands, the welcome warmth helping to stop her shivering. The smiling waitress that had served them dinner earlier stopped by the table, setting down a plate of crispy, practically sizzling fries as well as some fresh fruit and a divine-looking dark chocolate brownie. Motioning to her coffee mug, she asked kindly,

"Would you like some more coffee?"

"No, thank you," Scarlett smiled gratefully. "This tastes wonderful. Thank you for the coffee and the dry clothes. I feel much better."

"It's the least we could do. You and the Captain saved those kids, I've heard. They are lucky you were on the beach. Although," the waitress grinned, "I imagine wading into the water in the lake was probably not how you expected the evening to end. I saw him carry you down to the beach. I wish my boyfriend had been here to see that." Scarlett felt her face grow warm. Before she could come up with a suitable response, the friendly waitress began to pour coffee in the second cup on the table. "Here comes the hero now." Glancing up, Scarlett watched Trudge weave his way through the tables in the dining area. He was impeccably dressed, the only telltale sign that he might have gone for an unexpected dip in the ocean was the dampness to his hair. Moments later, he was seated across from her, his eyes shining with concern.

"How're you feeling?"

"Kind of like one of Rosie's stuffies that she brought in from the yard after it has been left out in the rain." Scarlett moved to push some hair behind her ear out of habit and found nothing but a few strands plastered to the side of her face. She had wound her long hair up in a knot and managed to pin it to the top of her head with the few clips and holder she'd had in her small bag. "Thanks to the manager here, I've got dry clothes and it seems, a snack." Scarlett gestured to the plates of food. "How do you manage to look so …" words failed her and she shrugged, "normal?"

"Occupational hazard Lottie," Trudge sipped his coffee. "I keep a change of clothes in the car. I find it comes in handy." He watched as Scarlett bit into one of the ripe strawberries on the fruit plate, but he didn't miss her eyeing the brownie.

"Does that mean you've found yourself in the water when you've taken a woman out for dinner before?" She grinned and bit into another strawberry, her fushia eyes wide and innocent.

"Only you, Lottie." Trudge answered. "I think this is the second time since I met you that I've gone home with wet clothes." His eyebrow lifted as he regarded her, his eyes serious, but the grin lurking on his handsome face indicated he was having a bit of fun with her.

"This one you can't blame on Rosie, or me." Scarlett nibbled on a crispy fry. "That was my favourite dress too." The wistful words were out before she could stop herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound so whiny. I couldn't have sat on the sidelines any more than you could, Chris."

Reaching for one of the small plates the waitress had left on the table, Trudge set the decadent looking treat on it then slid it in front of her.

"I think," he said quietly, "you earned this tonight. You knew what you were doing out there." Scarlett heard the admiration and respect in his voice and felt a warm glow spread through her that had nothing to do with the hot coffee. "You've been in that situation before?" Trudge's eyebrow went up as he sipped his coffee.

"Well, if you insist," Scarlett murmured, reaching for her fork as a grin spread across his handsome face. "Yummy. This is so good." Trudge still seemed to be waiting for an answer. "Not exactly, THAT situation," Scarlett prevaricated, slicing off another chocolatey bite. "Want a bite? I'll share." Scarlett offered him the delicious morsel, wondering if he would take it. He leaned forward, his dark eyes never leaving hers as he took the offered tidbit.

"Mmmm, delicious, and clever, but you didn't answer my question, Lottie," Trudge's voice was almost as velvety as the inside of the brownie Scarlett had been eating. Carefully setting down the fork and dabbing her lips daintily with the napkin for any errant chocolate bits, Scarlett considered how she was going to answer.

"I was a lifeguard every summer from the time I was old enough until I was out of college. Add that to my time spent as an ER nurse, and I guess it's like riding a bike."

"You kept your head and knew what had to be done, Scarlett." Trudge nodded at her, his expression serious. "Some people, even with training, don't always react well to a situation that is sprung on them like that. You probably saved that young woman's life, Lottie." Trudge sipped his coffee, watching as Scarlett's face flushed at his compliment.

"What about the other girl, Chris? The one on the air mattress?" Scarlett asked, stirring her coffee idly with her spoon. Almost to herself she added, "I wonder what happened to them? I don't think their condition was entirely due to being in the water this evening." She looked up quickly at the sound of Trudge's voice.

"I agree. The officer that was on scene tonight is a colleague. If I hear anything I can pass along to you, I certainly will do so."

Reaching for another strawberry on the plate, Scarlett said thoughtfully, "At the time, I didn't realize it, but the symptoms were similar to overdoses I used to see when I worked in the ER." She bit into the ripe berry, shivering slightly at the possessive look that flitted across Trudge's face, leaving her in no doubt that he hadn't forgotten what they had been doing before the excitement in the lake.

"How long did you work in the ER?" Trudge asked, curious to hear the answer.

"A few years longer than I should have, I think." Scarlett replied, sadness lurking in her beautiful twilight eyes. "I was burned out, and I fought it with everything I had. But it just got to be too much." Scarlett toyed with a slice of mango from the fruit plate, studiously inspecting it so she wouldn't have to look at him. Her voice was flat as she recited the rest of her story.

"We patched up the stabbing victims, the gunshot wounds, overdoses. And then they would leave and two nights later, we'd see them again or their friends. When we started seeing children coming in with gunshot wounds from all the drive-by shootings that were going on in the northern part of the city, I couldn't do it any more." Trudge watched her blink back a tear and regretted his question that seemed to dredge up painful memories. Reaching his hand out, he covered hers and she looked up at him.

"It's late. Let's go home."

Scarlett nodded, and they got up to leave, Trudge's hand warm at her back as he guided her from the dining area. They stopped on the way out to thank the manager, and staff for their kindness. As Scarlett watched him graciously accept the compliments for rescuing the young men, she realized that he would much rather have Trudge away quietly without the attention. Then he was helping her into his car, instructing her to relax and close her eyes if she'd like, he'd wake her when they arrived.

"I should probably call Granny," Scarlett murmured. "I'll wake half the house when I let myself inside."

"No worries." Trudge's voice floated over the soft strains of classical piano that drifted from the sound system. "I called your grandma while you were changing. She's aware of what happened. You can sit back and relax."

"Oh, thank you, Chris." Scarlett didn't know what else to say, an incredible tiredness overtaking her now that the adrenaline rush from earlier was wearing off. She closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep and didn't see the tenderness in those dark eyes as he glanced at her. He already admired her spirit and the unselfish way she looked after her family. Tonight he had seen another side of her, professional and cool-headed in a tense situation. Trudge knew that Scarlett was special person. There was a physical attraction between the two of them as well. He was feeling more comfortable with the idea that she should have a place in his life, but wasn't as confident that she was having the same thoughts.

When Scarlett felt the car slowing some time later, she opened her eyes, sitting up straighter in the seat, her hand automatically going to slide stray strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Chris, this isn't Granny's house or," Scarlett looked out the window, turning her head to peer into the darkness behind them, "her neighbourhood. Where are we going?" Trudge felt her vivid eyes on him in the dimness of the interior of the car.

"We're home, Lottie," was all he said as he turned the car into the driveway of a sleek apartment, tall trees shading the front yard, their branches serving as an umbrella over the drive.

To be continued...