Part Nine

The sun was beating down on the water. He was enjoying the sense of strength and calm that always came from his body cutting powerfully through the waves. More than anyplace else perhaps he was at peace here, his mind a blank, his body in motion. He arrowed his body to cut through the breakwater, dove deep below the surface. The water cradled him, muffling sound, pressing in on him from all sides. He kicked to return to the surface, scissoring his legs. He waited for the change in pressure and light as his head broke through the waves, but somehow it didn't come. The water still pressed in on him, heavy and oppressive now, squeezing at his lungs. He kicked harder - he must have dived deeper than he realized - but the water pressure didn't lessen and there was no sign of light from above. He paused for a moment, suspended. He must be heading in the wrong direction…the weight of the water on his chest was almost unbearable now and odd flashes of light danced behind his eyes. He had to surface before he passed out. It occurred to him, oddly, that the water was very warm - uncomfortably warm, now that he came to think about it - so strange for being this far below the surface. He tried to blow out a little air so he would have some bubbles to follow upward, but he breathed it in instead. Water flooded his nostrils, burning his throat and choking him, and he coughed harshly, his back arching in a spasm.

"…cooling blanket? I asked for that fifteen minutes ago!"

The sudden sound of a voice shocked him and he struggled, trying to turn and see. The waves pushed at him, immobilizing him like the suck of an undertow.

"…STAT, doctor. I'll check…"

He tried to turn again. Was there someone down here with him? Maybe they could point the way up. The weight of the water was terrible now, crushing his chest and driving the air out, and he knew that if he didn't get a breath soon, he would black out and drown.

"It's okay, buddy - take it slow. Come on, nice, deep breaths for me…"

That was Jesse. The rush of familiarity and relief made him dizzy. Jesse would help him out - he wouldn't let him drown here - instinctively he reached to grab onto him, but his hand came up empty.

"Yeah, okay - I'm going to give you a little something to help you breathe…" He became gradually aware of something wrapped around his face, suffocating him, and he tried to reach it, to pull it off. "No - come on, Steve - don't touch that - could somebody give me a hand here?"


"Steve - " a different voice this time, holding onto his hand and gently restraining it. "Leave that alone, son."

Dad. Thank God. He tried to ask him to help him out of the water, to pull him up or at least direct him to the surface, but it came out as a cough instead, a cough that sent a slice of pain through his side intense enough to make his eyes water. Dad - without thinking, he clung to the hand, knowing that it would help him - pull him to dry land so he could breathe again.

"…better. Keep it up, Mark…"

The water was growing hotter - almost boiling now - how odd, for the sea to be boiling, though he had read of that happening sometimes around burning ships…and he needed to get out before he was scalded. He kicked his legs again, trying to surface, pushed down at the water. His chest tightened, squeezing out any remaining air and forcing out another cough, lancing the hot poker of pain through his side again. He twisted, trying to move away from it.

"Steve…sshhhh…lie still. You're making it worse, son…"

Worse? How could this be worse? He was boiling, he couldn't breathe, and someone kept harpooning him in the side…

"Finally! Set it up on him - I've got my hands a little full here…Damn it!" He heard Jesse swear and for a moment someone twisted the harpoon in his side. Nausea swept through him and the waters seemed to darken around him. "I want an antiseptic dressing and a suture kit here - I think he's bleeding again…come on, come on - don't make me wait!"

The water cooled marginally, as if someone had emptied cold water into it, and he relaxed automatically. The pressure was still pushing relentlessly against his chest, making it hard to take a breath, and something was chewing at his side, sickening him…the hand around his tightened, and he relaxed a little, trying to focus on breathing.

"Good boy. That's better…" The familiar singsong soothed him. His father was there. He couldn't drown while he was there. After a minute, the chewing at his side stopped and he relaxed further. He almost thought the waters over his head were lightening now, that he could almost see the surface. Something icy and burning at the same time eased into his veins and his head suddenly broke free, gulping in air and shaking the water out of his eyes. "Sshhh…take it easy. Not too hard…slow and easy…"

He could breathe. His chest still weighed about a thousand pounds, but he could breathe and the water wasn't so oppressively, unbearably hot. He looked for his father, to try to thank him, but couldn't see him at first. Then he spotted him standing on the beach, way on the other side of the breakwater. He was watching him tread water, his expression sad. He looked so far away.

*

Jesse straightened slowly, peeling off his gloves. "Okay. That's better. Nice work, everybody." He stood rechecking the monitor readings, glanced down at his patient's face. The blue shade around the mouth was starting to fade, despite the faint, disturbing burble that accompanied every breath, and the body temperature, while hardly pleasing, was less alarming. He patted the long, still arm nearest him without thinking, his eyes wandering to the other side of the bed. "Maybe you'd better sit down, Mark," he suggested quietly after a second.

Amanda heard him and moved the single ICU chair to Mark. Her eyes drifted to the figure in the bed for a moment, then she lifted them questioningly to Jesse. He shrugged unhappily. She cleared her throat. "I could use something to drink," she suggested. "How about you, Mark?"

"That'd be great, honey," he answered mindlessly, without looking at her.

She gave his shoulder a pat. "Jesse, want to help me?"

Jesse looked at the readings one more time and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah," he agreed flatly. "Why not."