A/N - Hey there y'all, sorry for the delay on this one! Hope you enjoy it and will tell me what you think. :) I don't own these characters, but the plot is all me. lol

Chapter 9 - Lines Crossed

When Sachiko's scream rent the air, Yumi found herself gracelessly tumbling from her bed, panic gripping her sleep-muddled mind as she tried to figure out where the cry had come from. Legs tangled in the sheets, Yumi wrestled her way to her feet and dashed for the cabin door. Flinging it wide she charged into the hall, looking about for the black-haired stowaway. Another cry came and before she had consciously realized it was from above deck, she was racing up the stairs two at a time. "Sachiko?! What's wrong? Where are you?"

Barefoot and wearing nothing but a sports bra and sleep shorts, Yumi dashed to the stern and found a pale and stricken-looking Sachiko staring over the edge of the boat. "It's dying! Yumi, it's dying!"

Not understanding, Yumi ducked past Sachiko and looked with horror at the poor creature before her. Barely staying afloat and struggling against the strangling, biting confines of what appeared to be a tangle of used fishing line, was a dolphin. It took her only a fleeting moment to assess what was going on. The tangled mess of fishing line was caught up around the dolphin's dorsal fin and left pectoral fin, making movement restrained and painful as the line cut deep into its skin. Blood already clouded the water and Yumi knew they needed to move quickly.

Pushing off the rail, she raced to the stand of instruments that lined the cabin wall. Grabbing a sheathed dive knife, she turned and ran for the edge of the boat. Throwing the sheath to the ground, she vaulted the railing, her dexterous feet landing nimbly on the outer edge of the boat.

"Yumi!"

Yumi ignored the scared cry from Sachiko, instead focusing entirely on the poor creature suffering off the side of her boat. It had drifted away a short distance and its movements were getting increasingly labored. Without another thought, Yumi dove head first into the waves. Though the salty water stung her eyes at first, Yumi soon spotty the dolphin and made her way smoothly through the water to its side.

She could hold her breath a good long while, but she knew this would push her limits. Besides that, the blood in the water was a clear invitation for any and all predators to head their way. Yumi needed to finish this before they decided to show up.

Reaching the thrashing side of the dolphin, she gently reached out and settled her palm against the poor creature's side. Instantly it stilled, putting trust in Yumi that she knew no wild animal would ever relinquish. That was a puzzle for another time though, she thought as she swiftly moved to cut the lines free of the dolphin's body. Her lungs were burning by the time she came to the final piece of line. It had dug itself deep into the dorsal fin and Yumi worried she might not be able to free it. Tracing the path of the line, she finally found a piece she thought she could cut without injuring the dolphin further.

Her lungs burned, demanding oxygen, but Yumi only needed to hold out a few moments longer. Digging her finger beneath the edge of the line, she tugged, trying to free enough room to safely wedge of the blade between the offending material and the dolphin's smooth skin. When she tugged it the dolphin jerked in obvious pain and made to swim away, but Yumi held tight to its fin and allowed the injured animal to pull her along. Thankfully, they surfaced long enough for Yumi to take a deep breath and for her to hear Sachiko's terror-filled cries coming from the boat.

Before she could respond they were beneath the waves again. This time when Yumi reached for the line still digging into the dolphin's flesh, she anticipated the dolphin's pain and moved swiftly with the blade. Soon the line was freed from the dolphin's fins, though Yumi could see her efforts were only going to help so much. Yes, the dolphin was still mobile, but it was obvious that its movements would be greatly impaired by its injuries. Out here a lone dolphin would already have a less than stellar chance of survival. With those injuries, it would take nothing short of a miracle for the creature to survive. The scent of blood would soon draw the predators in close and that would spell the end for this poor animal.

Even as Yumi kicked for the surface, a plan was forming in her mind. It would be hard, impossible if it were her alone on the boat, but with Sachiko's help, it just might work. Surfacing a few feet off starboard, Yumi gulped in a deep breath and tried to blink the water from her eyes.

"Yumi!" Looking up she couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips at the sight of Sachiko leaning over the rail toward her.

"Good morning." Turning, Yumi kicked and maneuvered her way back to the diver's deck and smoothly pulled herself from the water. Sachiko met her there, a look of fire in her eyes.

"Good morning? Are you serious?! You take a flying leap off the edge of the boat into bloody water and disappear for what felt like an eternity and all you have to say is good morning?"

Without bothering to dry off, Yumi stepped up from the dive deck, tossed the troublesome fishing line and her knife in a spare bucket, and then moved past Sachiko without sparing her a glance. No matter how much her body urged her to put Sachiko at ease, there was a dolphin that needed her more at that moment.

"Yumi?!"

Not pausing in her mission, Yumi waved her concerns away. "I'm fine! But if I don't hurry, our dolphin friend won't be. So either step aside and let me work or be a friend and help me." She knew her words were harsh, but with everything swirling in her head about their relationship and the urgent need to see to the dolphin, she couldn't help it. Her nerves were frayed.

Hurt flashed in Sachiko's eyes before a look of determination settled on her face. "Alright. What do you need?"

Instead of responding right away, Yumi opened one of the horizontal doors in the forward decking near the mainmast. The hold was only about six feet deep so Yumi didn't bother with the ladder. Instead, she dropped below and flipped on the light. She didn't have to search for what she needed. This was her boat, she knew where everything was for just such an emergency.

"Sachiko, I'm going to pass the end of this up to you. It's heavy, so just hold onto it until I can get up and help pull it out. Okay?"

Sachiko, who had stayed above, nodded and yelled back down. "Okay!" Before long, two thick poles of reinforced piping and a thick durable cloth were shoved up through the opening. Wrapping her arms around them, grabbing desperately until she found a fold in the fabric she could easily grasp, Sachiko gasped, "Got it! But - shit! - hurry!"

A thud next to her signaled Yumi's return and soon she felt two arms wrap around the poles from the opposite side. "Alright, on three, pull. One, two, three!"

With a great amount of effort and a couple of attempts, one ending with Sachiko flat on her ass, they finally freed the materials from the hold. Wiping at the sweat forming on her brow, Sachiko eyed their prize skeptically. "Yumi, what is all this and how exactly is it supposed to help the dolphin?" As if just remembering their large friend, she turned, narrowing her eyes as she tried to spot the dolphin in the water.

Focus undeterred, Yumi moved to the side of the ship and unwound a line of rigging that had been secured there. It was already strung through a heavy-duty pulley system and controlled with a motorized lever in the cockpit. While it hadn't been used for this purpose before, it had been used for a massive reinforced shark cage, so Yumi knew the rig would hold. Kneeling by the poles, she spread them wide revealing that the fabric was a hammock of sorts used for transporting aquatic animals. It might be a bit big for their dolphin friend, but it would have to do. "It will help us get our friend out and away from that bloody water and the predators it'll attract."

"And then what?" Sachiko looked confused as she moved her gaze from the water back to Yumi, who knelt securing the line with a swift and complex series of knots.

"We'll have to see." Yumi didn't look up as she finished and moved to jump up into the cockpit. Lifting herself up, she turned, knelt, and lowered her hand to Sachiko. "I'll need you at the controls, so come on."

"Me?" Sachiko reached up, momentarily mesmerized by the soaking wet, half-naked woman before her, and was shocked at how effortlessly Yumi lifted her onto the roof alongside her. "Where will you be?"

With a humorless laugh, Yumi released her hand and jumped into the cockpit. "What? Did you think the dolphin would just magically swim into the hammock on their own?"

Eyes going wide with fear, Sachiko shook her head. "You can't be serious! You're going back into the water? Didn't you just say there will be predators out there?!"

"Yes, which is why we need to hurry and not have this conversation right now." Yumi's hard stare left no room for argument, but everything in Sachiko rebelled against the idea of Yumi jumping into danger again.

"Fine, but I don't like this plan."

Choosing to ignore the statement, Yumi pointed out a small control box on the starboard side of the cockpit. "Okay, this lever here can be used to lower or raise the hammock. This switch controls the locking mechanism." She flicked it up and a red light glowed. "This means it's locked and the hammock won't move up or down no matter what you do with the lever." She flicked it in the opposite direction and a green light replaced the red. "That means the hammock can move freely up or down with the use of the lever." To demonstrate she lifted the lever and the hammock raised off the deck until it was swinging a few feet off the polished wood. "Now this button, the big red one under the plastic covering, you see it?"

Sachiko nodded.

"Good. Don't ever touch it." Yumi warned, more serious than Sachiko ever remembered her being. "It's a quick release and will send the rigging, the hammock, and whoever or whatever is in or on it directly into the sea. Understood?"

Hesitant now, Sachiko nodded, fear showing on her face. "Don't hit the button that would most likely kill you and the animal we're trying to save. Got it!"

With a small grin, Yumi shook her head. "I wouldn't be that dramatic, but yeah, basically." She moved back onto the roof in front of the cockpit, talking as she went. "Okay, I'll move the hammock into place and then I'll signal for you to lower it. I'll go in and get the dolphin."

"How can you do that on your own?" Fear was evident in her voice, but Yumi couldn't pay attention to that. Not yet. Or she'd lose her own nerve. She was the dolphin's only hope though. She knew that and she had dedicated herself to marine life. Yumi wasn't about to go without at least trying to save this dolphin. And she had a feeling it wouldn't be too hard to get this particular animal to cooperate.

"I have to try!" Swinging the hammock out over the waves, Yumi spotted the dolphin, unsurprisingly lingering lethargically off the starboard side of the boat, gliding in a wide slow circle. "Alright, lower it!" Moving back to the dive deck she didn't wait to see if Sachiko did it, but the splash a few moments later told her the hammock was in the water. Spotting her dive knife in the bucket, she hesitated only a moment before grabbing it and tucking it into the waistband of her shorts.

With a deep breath to steady her racing heart, she jumped into the cold waves, shivering despite everything. Taking a moment to orient herself, she spotted the dolphin not far from the hammock. She only prayed what she suspected was true. Swimming to the hammock, she swung herself up onto the poles and grabbed the carabiner that held the rigging together. Hoisting herself up, she called out to Sachiko, "Sachiko, raise it just a bit." When the rigging had raised enough that Yumi could stand securely, she called out again. "Alright, hold it there and wait for my signal!"

"Yumi, I think I see something else in the water!"

"Damn it!" Casting her gaze quickly along the surface of the water, Yumi tried to spot any sign of danger, but she only had to look as far as the dolphin to know that something was wrong. The dolphin was moving more erratically now.

"Come back, Yumi! It's too dangerous!"

"No, I have to try!"

"Damn, you! Fine, but hurry!"

She would have laughed at Sachiko cursing her, but there was nothing funny about the situation. Standing with her back to the carabiner and her feet planted firmly on the poles she faced the dolphin moving nearby. Slapping the surface of the water, she whistled shrilly through her teeth. At first, she didn't see a change, and she feared her suspicions were wrong until she repeated the actions again. Then, slowly but surely, the dolphin turned and made its way in her direction. "That's right, girl! Come on, just a bit further."

Just when the dolphin entered the hammock, a motion to the side caught Yumi's attention and she turned just in time to see a large, dark fin charging her. "Fuck!" Yumi had only a moment to grab the main line before the rigging was jarred by a massive shark. Everything shook and the dolphin would have been jarred out of the hammock if she hadn't instinctively dropped into the hammock beside it. In hindsight, not the smartest decision as the thrashing of the dolphin nearly slammed her headfirst into one of the hammock poles.

"Yumi, what's going - Yumi! It's a shark! Get out of there!"

Half underwater and unable to divert her attention to reply, Yumi redoubled her efforts, pushing the dolphin further until its fins slipped into the holes designed for them and its nose pressed against the mesh at the head of the hammock.

Gasping, Yumi surfaced and looked around frantically for the shark. It wasn't far, swinging around for another pass at them. "Shit, shit, shit!" The dolphin must have sensed it too because it began to thrash again.

Grabbing the pole, she hoisted herself up and over, freeing herself of the hammock and the erratic movements of the dolphin, but exposing herself to the predator that circled them. "Up! Now!"

As if Sachiko had already been about to push the lever, the hammock instantly jerked upwards, nearly dislodging Yumi from her place. Hoisting herself up, she grabbed the mainline and looked down just in time to see the dark fin and its accompanying, foreboding silhouette go beneath them. "Oh god, that was a big mf'er."

Breathing hard, water still dripping down her face, she looked up to see Sachiko jumping down from the cockpit roof and running to the rail. Her eyes, thankfully, didn't go to the water but were instead fixed upon Yumi and Yumi alone. At that realization, a goofy grin spread across Yumi's face. "Special delivery."

With a sigh of relief and a giggle of relief, Sachiko nearly collapsed to the deck. "You are the most reckless, heedless, -"

"Uh, not to interrupt, but before we do a deep dive into my actions, could you possibly pull us in over the deck?" Walking her through pulling the hammock over the deck took only a few minutes and then she was dropping to the deck.

No sooner had her feet touched polished wood than Sachiko had her arms around her. "Whoa! I'm okay, Sachiko."

In a severe case of whiplash, Yumi found herself pushed back, and then before she realized what was happening, Sachiko's fist had connected with her upper arm. "Ow! What the actual fuu- That hurt!"

It wasn't until then that she noticed the tears in Sachiko's eyes. "Well, good then! You deserve it! Risking your life like that and not explaining anything to me - What was I supposed to do if something happened?! If I had lost you?!"

Feeling the weight of her words, Yumi searched her sapphire blue eyes and saw the truth there. A truth that scared Yumi to death. No, she couldn't let this go further, but could she really turn away from her while she was so upset. Again, the answer was no, of course not.

Pulling a reluctant and crying Sachiko back into her embrace, Yumi held her close and whispered into her ear. "I'm okay, Sachiko. Really. I'm right here."

Through her tears, Sachiko clung to Yumi and pounded powerlessly on her back. "You really are reckless and heedless. Y-You're also a pain in the ass! You don't stop to think, do you? No. No, you don't!"

"Shhhhh… It's okay." Having run out of words, Sachiko buried her face into Yumi's neck and cried.

Yumi didn't move until she felt Sachiko's grip loosen on her. Taking a half step back, she searched Sachiko's redrimmed eyes with concern. "You okay? I'm sorry I scared-" Her words were cut off though by the press of Sachiko's lips on hers.

Instinctively, Yumi's hands went to Sachiko's hips, her fingers finding purchase and digging in for a firm, satisfying grip. Her eyes fluttered closed as the hypnotic caress of Sachiko's lips drew her to a place better than all the sunshine and beaches Yumi had ever experienced. It was warm, inviting, and was sending unimaginable pulses to long-dormant places. It was that sensation that caught Yumi off guard and had her pulling away abruptly.

Covering her mouth with her lips, as if the action would keep the sensation of Sachiko's lips on hers there a bit longer, Yumi stared wide-eyed at the older woman who also stood wide-eyed staring right back. "I'm sorry-" They both started, but stopped, deep flushes spreading over their cheeks.

"Uh- Sachiko, I-" She cleared her throat, trying desperately to not break eye contact. "I'm sorry, but I just can't. You still don't know about me and my life. You don't really know me, the me I've grown into. I have a lot- I mean, there is so much I need to tell you. I can't do this." She motioned between them and shook her head. "Not what you're wanting. Not right now. This isn't just about us."

Yumi's rejection stung, but Sachiko found she wasn't shocked by it. She knew Yumi wasn't ready, she had said as much already. Sachiko really hadn't intended to kiss her. It had been the heat of the moment and then she was in her arms and Yumi was wet and half-naked. It had shortcircuited her inhibitions in a big way. "No, Yumi, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I just - I'm sorry." Shaking her head Sachiko stepped back. "I know we aren't ready for any of this and there are no guarantees for the future. I guess," She smiled softly and shrugged a bit. "I guess I was just afraid that the next hair-brained idea you have would take you away from me for good without my ever getting to experience that kiss. I understand though… I do want to learn more about you and your life." She narrowed her eyes a fraction as a curious look passed over her face. "What did you mean that this isn't just about us?"

Panic lit Yumi's eyes and she opened her mouth to respond, but the dolphin took that opportunity to wriggle in the confines of the hammock, splashing them both with residual water and making its presence known.

Sachiko shrieked at the cold spray and laughed.

Yumi too laughed, shaking excess water from her hair like a dog and grinning ear to ear. Walking forward she rubbed the nose of their new stowaway, calming it. "We didn't forget about you, baby girl." Still smiling, she looked up and met the soft, inviting eyes of the woman she had always dreamed about. That kiss had her stomach in knots and would keep her thinking and dreaming for days. However, she needed to be careful. She just got Sachiko back in her life and regardless of how she had felt only days prior, now that they had reconnected she didn't want that connection to end. Regardless of what kind of relationship they would settle on, Yumi knew she could never go back to a Sachiko-less life. "Let's take care of our new friend first, then maybe we can talk."

A/N - Apologies for any inaccuracies when it comes to the technical side of things here. Just like with my previous stories, research online will only garner me so much knowledge. I have to use my imagination for the rest. :) Hope you enjoyed regardless!