Pink, purple, and orange shone painted the Caribbean skies. The air was clean and the sky bright blue. Far from the snows of New York, Rachel stirred in the bed. Looking over she saw her husband was missing. Her fears were calmed when she heard the shower running.
Ross came from the shower, "And a good morning to you, Mrs. Geller. he said as he wrapped his arms around Rachel's waist.
"I can't believe after yesterday, you are already up and dressed. Of course, you didn't have Hurricane Monica dragging you out of bed at seven either." commented Rachel.
"Well it is a beautiful day, and I can't wait to get into the water. So I think someone needs to get in the shower and dressed." he said as he kissed her neck.
"If you start that, we won't get to do anything today. I'm going," she playfully said as she snapped him with a towel.
Following breakfast, Rachel grabbed their gear bag and they headed for the clearing. Aruba was a well known diving spot and there were boats that would take people to the diving lanes. Once embarking on the boat, it was very important to test all the equipment before the dive. Gauges had to be checked and air lines cleared before their descent.
Even though the water was warm, it was still a good idea to wear a wet suit. At lower depths, there still might be a chill. Ross struggled to put on the blue and black wet suit. It was so tight. He had to laugh, the whole thing reminded him of those stupid leather pants that he tried to put on with paste.
Rachel seemed to have an easier time with hers. The tight fitting pink and yellow wet suit hugged every corner of her form. Modeling it, she stood up and put her hands on her tiny hips.
"How does this look?" she innocently asked. Ross had to smile as he viewed his wife. Unfortunately so did three other divers, their girlfriends made it very clear they were not amused. In the wet suit Rachel looked hotter than any of those chicks on Baywatch.
"Honey, you 're my little mermaid. I wish I was that suit." he sweetly said.
Ross came over to the bench and joined her. He held her tiny hand as it shook.
"You're nervous aren't you?" he shyly asked.
"A little, I mean I have taken the classes and everything , but it is a little different when you are going down by yourself with no guide." said Rachel.
"I am nervous too, but just because it's a new experience. It's something we can share and have the great memories of when we are old and in a wheelchair. And remember, I'll be swimming right next to you ,okay?" he assured her. Ross leaned over and kissed her.
"We're at the site, " the guide said.
"That's us," said Ross as he helped up Rachel. "You know this is just like how I had to lift you in your last months being pregnant with Emma." he laughed as he pulled her hand trying to lift the extra weight
"How would you like to be shark bait?" Rachel asked.
Walking to the edge, Rachel readjusted her tanks and strapped on her mask. The last thing she did was pull her hair back into a ponytail . She didn't want it flying in her face down there. Ross pulled a hood over his already short hair. Grabbing her hand they cautiously got on the rail. One more time , he kissed her on the mouth. Masks down and regulators in place , they leaped into the sea.
In one second, hues of blue closed in over their heads. Bubbles climbed to the surface. The only sound that could be heard was their own breaths magnified in this undersea abyss.
They had never seen anything like it in their lives. Vivid colors seem to pop out of no where. Anemones moving to the motion of the waves. Yellow and blue angel fish would swim right up to their masks, curious to get a look at these intruders in their underwater world.
Seeing a cave, Ross motioned to Rachel to follow him. She nodded and swam into the opening. Turning on a flashlight, they could see it wasn't a deep cave. Usually novice divers like them were told horror stories about being trapped in such places. A certain coral formation inside made him curious , so he entered the cave further. There was a stone that seemed to be jammed into the wall. It was loose and with all his might he pulled it out. Looking in ,there was some sort of strong box. Next to the opening was an odd looking piece of metal. This really peaked his curiosity. Handing Rachel the box, he remembered his knife strapped to his leg. He reached down and pulled it out. Hacking at the rock formation caused chips to fly. To get out of the way, Rachel used her arms to drop to the sandy bottom. Hitting it, she noticed something, she used her gloves to dust it off.It looked like some sort of a piece of pottery or something. She propelled herself back up and tapped Ross on the shoulder. Surprise seemed to come from the air trapped in his mask. He grabbed the pottery and immediately lowered himself to the sea bed.
He dropped with the buoyancy of the water and started to dig in the silt covered sea bed. He tossed the silt aside hoping to find more of these ocean treasures. His gloved hand came upon a vase that seemed to be older than time. Opening his mesh dive bag, he put the artifacts inside and pulled the string. He handed it to Rachel, and went back to the wall. Chiseling away, he took his glove and wiped his mask. When he sighed, the bubbles released through an opening in the mask. He looked down at his watch. Time was running out. He saw that the metal was ready to come out, with his last bit of energy he pulled the metal object from the wall. He tapped Rachel on the shoulder and motioned to the watch. They had only a few minutes of air left. She motioned for them to surface and he nodded. With a quick push, they started the slow ascent to the surface. They were very careful to ascend not too fast so they wouldn't spend their honeymoon in a decompression chamber.
Finally breaking the surface, they floated in the water. A guide helped them back onto the boat and took their tanks off them. Rachel shook her wet hair and Ross just sat and studied what he had brought up
They unloaded the bag with the artifacts and the steel box.Rachel opened the box and found a plastic bag filled with cash.
"Oh my, look Ross we're rich." she squealed. "I wonder why someone would put all this money at the bottom of the ocean." she questioned.
"Maybe pirates or thieves." Ross said as he looked at his treasures.
"I am looking at these but I can't believe it." he said astounded.
"Are they important ?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, last week I was reading an article about Atlantis and some of these pieces I recalled from that article." he said.
"And ?" she wanted to know.
"I am going to take some pictures and send them to New York, but if I am right this is one of the great scientific discoveries of our time. Imagine the lost continent of Atlantis being discovered. I'll be famous." he grinned as he hugged Rachel.
Meanwhile on another boat, a pair of eyes were watching as the two strangers looked through their treasures. Jesse vowed he would get them back one way or another.