Disclaimer: Yeah, this is a filler chapter, what about it.
BD
It was a peaceful evening under the sea. Deborah was in her quarters, holding a book titled One Step Forward. Tweak had hyped up the book a lot for her, and now she was curious. She read the back of the book.
"Wendy Wolfe has been completely torn apart after her boyfriend dumped her over the summer. She's entering her junior year feeling desolate and alone. What she needs is a miracle; a miracle named Katie..."
Deborah was intrigued. She wanted to know what happened next. She sat down on her bed and opened to the first chapter.
"Everything just seems wrong to me."
…
"Katie understood me. I liked that."
…
"Things seemed a little brighter today."
…
"I laughed so hard today."
…
"I don't need to worry about him anymore."
…
"Deborah?"
Deborah looked up. Barnacles was standing next to her. "Yeah?"
"Can I talk to you for a bit? There's been a lot on my mind recently."
"Sure." Deborah budged up to allow him space.
Barnacles sat down next to Deborah. "Have I ever told you about Captain Seacliff?"
"Professor Inkling told me about him," said Deborah. "He sounds scary."
"Well…" Barnacles sighed. "I've just recently realized that…when I was shouting at you, it felt as if there was a tiny bit of Seacliff in me that came roaring out in a fiery rage."
Deborah blinked and flicked her ear.
"When I became captain, I swore that I would never let anyone on this team experience the same things Seacliff put us all through. But right then, I…I broke that promise all because I was angry."
"Captain, that was over a month ago," said Deborah. "Why is it still bothering you?"
"I just told you why," said Barnacles, agitated. "I did the very thing I swore I would put a stop to."
"But then you apologized." Deborah moved in closer. "You admitted to me that you were wrong and told me you were sorry. My dad never did that for me, and judging by everything I've heard about him, I don't think Seacliff ever did that either."
Barnacles clenched his jaw. The thought of Deborah's father still put him in a sour mood. "I wouldn't expect that son of a bitch to apologize to anyone, let alone his own daughter."
"He never did…" Deborah hugged her book to her chest. "Not even when he shouted at me for acting like a…W word because I wore a skirt a little above my knee."
Barnacles gripped the bedsheets tightly. He was getting very angry.
"My mom said the skirt was fine as long as I had something on underneath," said Deborah, pouting. "It was a nice skirt...but I never wore it again; I gave it away to charity."
Barnacles put an arm around her. "I'm guessing that's part of why you said I was a better grandfather to your niece than him."
"Actually…" Deborah relaxed her shoulders. "What I really meant is that you feel more like my dad than my actual dad. You like me the way I am, and you want me to achieve great things instead of just ending up as a housewife."
Barnacles' eyes went wide for a moment. He then gave Deborah a warm smile and let her sink into his chest. "You wanna go out for a drive?"
"Mmhmm." Deborah put the book on her bedside table.
BD
Out in the water, Captain Barnacles coasted above the sea floor in the GUP-A.
Deborah marveled at the beautiful blue hues of the ocean at night. "It's so pretty out here at night."
"It really is a beaut, isn't it?"
Deborah beamed. "Yeah..."
"You wouldn't get a view like this from the kitchen, eh?"
Deborah shook her head.
"You made a great choice, coming to work with us." Barnacles ruffled Deborah's hair; the way only a father would.
BD
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Barnacles is such a dad