When James awoke next he found that he was being dragged into the lifeboat by his arms. Weakly he began to haul himself into the boat, but he was not yet fully conscious, he could barely remember what happened to him, or how he got into the water. Groves slapped him on the back a couple of times to help him cough up all of the salt water which he had swallowed. The salt water scratched painfully at his throat and he felt like vomiting, but he managed to hold it down. It was at that moment that James suddenly remembered all that had happened; he looked frantically around trying to find Miss Synnove either somewhere still in the ocean or hopefully in the boat somewhere.
Groves noticed the frantic look upon James' face and patted his old friend on the back before moving out of the way and letting James see the opposite end of the lifeboat where Miss Synnove was lying, still unconscious, "there she is," he said simply.
James hauled himself up in the rocking boat and darted over to her side, one of the men who was sitting nearest to her looked up at James and grimly said, "she has not moved since we pulled her out." He then moved aside and allowed James to sit down behind her and cradle her unresponsive body in his arms.
"Is there a doctor on board the ship?" James asked, he had not seen a doctor on board, but he had no reason to look for one until now.
"Aye," replied one of the other men in the boat, "he aint really a doctor, but he knows how to sew people up."
"Should be fine in no time," a third sailor added.
Groves and James exchanged concerned looks. A ship as large as the Engel Lied needed a proper doctor, not just some man with some apparent sewing skills. They would have to put their faith in a man who could potentially no as much about medicine as James did, which was not much at all. The prospect terrified James, and yet this was a kind of danger one frequently faced whilst at sea. Something could go wrong in the blink of an eye and there would be no one to provide the adequate assistance. James was furious; if he was Captain of this voyage then he would not have left port without a doctor he could trust with his own life. Captain Gibbons was a fool for allowing such an oversight to take place, and he was no better himself for not checking the situation more thoroughly before trusting the word of his cousin. There were so many things he should have done before allowing Synnove to board the ship, but he overlooked so much, he was disgusted with himself. Although he could not have foreseen such a turn of events, but that did not stop him from scolding himself and cursing the Captain any less.
Throughout the row back to the ship James cradled Synnove in his arms and remained silent, as if a single word would change her condition for the worst. She still had not stirred, but her chest rose and fell in the characteristic manner of breathing, for that at least he was grateful. Groves and the three other men continued to row, but unlike James they had no fear of talking. James drowned out their incessant chatter with the millions of worried thoughts clouding his mind. He should have at least asked her if she could swim before they had embarked on this journey, but the night he had told her he had found them a ship she was just too excited and happy to distract with practical questions. Her small arms wrapped around him and the beautiful smile on her face certainly never helped him to properly focus his attention when she was around. She was such a distraction from her own safety, but a highly pleasant distraction nonetheless. It cut him right to the bone that only moments before she had told him she never needed to worry because she knew he would always be there to save her. Within seconds he had failed her and betrayed the trust she had given to him since the moment that they had met. When she woke up he would beg her for forgiveness, on his hands and knees if he needed to. James briefly considered asking Groves and Gillette to take his place and watch over Synnove's safety, but he dismissed the idea. He could bear the thought of entrusting her care to someone else. He of course knew that Groves and Gillette would not let him down, but he did not want to let his grip on her go, even in the slightest until he absolutely had to.
James lost track of time as the boat neared the ship. He was only alerted to the fact that they had made it when he head Groves shout "pull us up, quickly now!" Groves shouted over the chaos on board.
The other passengers on deck scrambled around to haul the small lifeboat up and out of the cold water. Groves leapt out first, barking orders for the doctor to be brought up on deck and the men snapped to attention, almost as if they had been trained to react in such a way to orders. James lifted himself and Synnove out of the boat, he held her like a husband held their wife when carrying her across the threshold of their new home, but this was no such happy occasion. She still did not stir in his arms and his legs were buckling slightly from her weight combined with his exhaustion. He stumbled forth and lowered himself to the ground with her still tightly held in his arms. The other passengers scattered out of his way, making as much room as possible but still being close enough to hear everything that was going on. If James had been more aware of his surroundings he would have glared at the vulture like passengers and scared them off, but at that moment all he cared about was the small woman lying limp in his arms.
Her skin was freezing cold, like she was partially made of ice and it had a light blue tinge to it. Her normally full red lips were purple with the cold and her eyes remain closed. No part of Synnove's body moved apart from the slight rise and fall of her chest. Even then one had to really concentrate to see that she was indeed breathing. James cradled her head against his shoulder and whispered at her to please wake up, but still she did not stir. He ran his fingers through the tangles in her long hair, trying to make her move in some way, but it was all fruitless. Synnove simply lay in his arms unmoving.
Antanasia was cuddling close to Yulia with tears coming out of her eyes, "it is all my fault," she whimpered into her sisters embrace. Antanasia was wrapped in what appeared to be a coat that belonged to Groves and Yulia was wrapped in a blanket of some sort, but both were visibly shivering from the cold of the water mixed with the cold of the biting wind.
"It was an accident Antanasia, it could have happened at any time," Yulia reassured her.
"That is not what Mr. Norrington will think! Or the others, they will all blame me."
"I know for a fact that Miss Synnove will not blame you young Miss Osmosechu, she is far too kind to do such a thing," Groves said, turning to the distraught young girl, trying to provide her with some form of comfort.
"See Antanasia, no one will blame you," Yulia confirmed rubbing her sisters back, trying to stop her from crying. Yulia gave a small, almost unnoticeable smile to Groves, he was the one who pulled her out of the ocean after all. She could still feel his hands around her body, pulling her much closer than she had ever been to a man before in her life, in fact, much closer than she had ever dreamed of being to a man. She would have been frozen in terror had she not been terrified for her and her younger sisters lives. Groves had saved Yulia and she promised herself she would make it up to him, somehow.
"And if Miss Synnove does not blame you, then Norrington will not blame you either rest assured," Groves said patting Antanasia gently on the head.
"But what if she does not survive, she has not moved yet!" Antanasia sobbed.
Norrington had heard nothing of the conversation until Antanasia spoke those words and they struck him right to the very soul. He was holding onto Synnove's unmoving body, cradling her upper body in his arms rocking her back and forth slightly and quietly pleading for her to wake up while someone went to fetch the ship's doctor. Keys sat beside James whimpering and nuzzling his face into Synnove's hand, which would usually come alive and stroke him between the ears. James' eyes darted to Antanasia as soon as she uttered those words. His eyes were full of sorrow for a split second before they filled with hatred, all of which was directed to the small child. The force of his glare made the girl shrink back into her sister and begin crying with more force.
"You are wrong Groves, even if Synnove can find it in her heart to forgive, I most certainly will not," he said, hatred and venom dripping from every word.
Yulia spoke to anyone other than her family or Synnove for the first time after James' comment, "it was an accident! Antanasia is as much a victim as Miss Synnove!" she exclaimed, "getting angry and blaming her will do you no good!"
"It was because of her actions that I was unable to protect Synnove!" James shouted. His words silenced any further comments, but the sobbing of the small girl and the whimpering of the dog continued.
It seemed like an eternity before the doctor finally showed up on deck. He was carrying a black leather bag, filled with the instruments of his trade. He was a short bespectacled man with white hair and shaking hands. The Doctor was an old man by the name of Joseph Watkins and he appeared to have been practicing medicine since the practice was invented, if the deep wrinkles of his skin were anything to go by. Truth be told, Doctor Watkins hated medicine for as long as he could remember, but his Father had been a Doctor, and his Father before him so it was inevitable that he should carry on the family tradition. He would have been much happier being a simple fisherman, but alas that was not the destiny he was chosen to follow. He had reluctantly agreed to become the ship's Doctor because it allowed him the freedom of fishing off the side of the ship during the times that he was not needed. James, Groves and Gillette had come to learn this during one of their many nights spent supervising the smooth sailing of the ship. Something he had refrained from telling his fellow sailors was that at his advanced age, he had forgotten most of the things that he had learnt in medical school. Many nights drinking alone after the untimely death of his young bride had served to wipe his memory clean of many once important things. He could not save his own wife and he knew he could not save the young woman lying before him. Doctor Watkins however did not want to make such a fact obvious, he planned to spend the rest of his life sailing on this ship, doing as he pleased and letting slip that he could not do his job would certainly see the end of his plans. He put on his best 'Doctors face' as he liked to call it and set about pretending to examine the young girl.
He placed the cold stethoscope over Synnove's heart and nodded in the authoritative looking manner he had perfected over the years. His light brown eyes turned to James and he said, "she is alive."
James bit his tongue to hold back the obvious snarky reply to the old Doctor; it would do Synnove no good for him to get into an argument with the only Doctor for miles of treacherous ocean.
Doctor Watkins continued, "the most we can do for her is to move her to her room and keep her warm until she eventually wakes up."
"Is that all?" Gillette shouted over the commotion on deck. He stood to one side of James while Groves stood to the other side.
"Yes I am afraid that is all that can be done. I have seen this many times before, all she needs is to be kept warm and dry and she will recover in no time," Doctor Watkins said, lying through his teeth to the companions of his patient, not that they were any the wiser. Doctor Watkins had no idea to do with the girl, she was obviously unconscious, but his mind no longer remembered what to do in such a situation, so he did as he usually did and made it up as he went along. He shook his head slightly, women were always such a pest on ocean journeys, always coming down with something or suffering from some ailment which no one told him about until it was too late for him to skip off the journey.
His light brown eyes surveyed the people standing the closest to half-dead girl before him and they immediately fell on the Osmosechu sisters. His eyes narrowed, more trouble he thought to himself. The younger of the two should know better than to take such risks, especially in her condition.
"Miss Antanasia?" He questioned.
"Yes Doctor?"
"Do you share a room with this young woman?"
"Yes, so does my sister."
"You will have to find another room to stay in until she wakes up. It is not safe for you to be around her in your condition."
"Oh, what about Yulia, will she be alright in there?"
"Miss Yulia will be fine, she does not share your, ahem, ailment," he explained to the young girl.
Doctor Watkins stood from his kneeling position on the deck, "Mr, Norrington, if you would be so kind as to carrying your female companion down to her room?"
Norrington only nodded in response, he did not trust his voice not to betray the despair he felt building up every moment she did not move.
"Miss Yulia, run off and find as many spare blankets as you can. This woman needs to be kept warm," he ordered.
"I will accompany you Miss Osmosechu," Groves said turning and following behind the two young women.
"Alright then, let us get her moved," the Doctor said clapping his hands together and leading the way down the stairs.
"Let me help you Norrington," Gillette said, bending and scoping Synnove up into his arms and lifting her from the deck.
James stood up as quickly as his exhausted limbs would let him and took Synnove back into his arms, "thank you."
"There is no need for that Norrington," Gillette said with a nod, effectively ending the potentially awkward conversation.
James cradled Synnove in his arms down through the levels of the ship, passing many curious passengers on the way to Synnove's shared bedroom. Keys trailed behind, whimpering every so often with his tail between his legs.
Yulia came darting back into the room carrying a chair with Groves following behind carrying a mountain of blankets they had found. Yulia placed the chair next to what must have been Synnove's bed and took the blankets from Groves and placed them on her bed. She turned to the men in the room and meekly ordered them to "get out."
"What? Why should I leave?" James began.
"She needs to be changed out of her wet clothing, so get out. You can come back when I am done. Antanasia, stay out of here," she ordered when she saw her younger sister hovering near the door.
"I want to help!" the younger girl exclaimed.
"Do not make me tell Mother that you are ignoring the Doctor's orders!" Yulia threatened, knowing the one definite way to make her younger sister stop whining.
The younger girl let out a string of words in a language only her Mother and her sister could understand before stomping away back to her Mother's room.
"I am telling Mother you said that!" Yulia shouted after Antanasia. Seeing the looks of confusion on their faces she blushed, "I am sorry about that. Now hurry up and put her down and leave so I can get Synnove into something warm and dry."
James placed Synnove gently down on the bed and then reluctantly left the room with Groves and Gillette following him out and shutting the door behind him.
James crossed him arms over his chest and leant against the door behind him. He kept his head down and his loose hair covered his face from view. Finally he spoke, "Groves, will you please grab my coat from my bed. It will help to keep her warm," James requested, seating himself down in the chair next to Synnove's bed that Yulia had just brought in.
"Of course," Groves said leaving the room to find James' Admiral's coat.
Gillette stepped forward patted James on the back, "she will be fine."
James grunted before saying, "I hope you are right Gillette, I hope you are right."
The stood there for in silence until Groves returned and Yulia opened the door signalling that it was appropriate for them to enter.
Yulia had changed Synnove's clothes and brushed the tangles from her damp hair before allowing the men back in. Synnove was lying on the bed with her hands at her sides and her legs straight as a board. James choked back tears as he looked at her prone form. From the way she was lying so still and straight on the bed, with her pale skin even more pale than usual, it look like she was truly dead. It looked as though she had been laid out for the funeral director to begin his business with yet another young lady taken before her time. James kept his head down and his mouth firmly shut as he pulled her into his arms and wrapped his coat around her small body. He lifted her from the bed and Yulia pulled back the sheets, pulling them back up once Synnove had been placed gently between them. Yulia and Groves began piling blankets on top of her until they could see that she was no longer shaking from the cold.
"I will stay with my Mother and sister tonight, please stay with Synnove for as long as you wish," Yulia said before backing out of the room.
"We will take your shifts until you feel ready to come back Norrington," Gillette said.
James turned his eyes to his two closest friends and managed to a simple "thank you," before turning his attention back to Synnove. James lowered himself into the seat Yulia had provided earlier and pulled one of Synnove's hands from underneath the covers. He entwined her stiff ice cold fingers with his own and sat in silence gazing at the wall, but not seeing anything.
After a while of silence the Doctor finally reappeared, "excellent work all of you!" he praised; "now if anyone need me I shall be fishing off the side of the ship. Good day!" Doctor Watkins said sweeping from the room and making his way back on deck. When he was far enough away to not be overheard he let out a sigh, "that girl will never see the light of day again. It is a shame really, she was a pretty wee thing," he said to himself before continuing on his way.
Shortly after the Doctor left, Groves and Gillette slipped from the room, leaving James in peace with Synnove's unconscious form.
I am so glad everyone thought James wasn't out of character in the last chapter. You have no idea how long I agonized over the chapter before posting it 0_0
Don't worry though – we are nowhere near the end yet!
Norrieo – I am glad you are finding Synnove a worthy challenger for James' affections! And of course you can use those lines. Would you be amazed if I said I don't find Will Turner good looking, so I find the appeal of choosing him over James even more absurd! Oh and before I forget – I finally finished 'Wives and Daughters' Tom Hollander is so gorgeous in that show! He really deserves more recognition, as does Mr. Davenport!
