Thicker Than Water – Chapter Fourteen – Take My Hand
As another two hours passed, Rebecca had finally gotten the hang of this "tacking" thing. It really wasn't so hard.
"Beck!" Jack shouted to her from the side of the boat. "Come over here."
Rebecca slipped the rope onto the wheel's handle and walked shakily over to Jack. She hadn't gotten her sea legs yet. He was standing over a bucket filled with pieces of short rope. He picked one up. It was about four feet long.
"Every good sailor should know how to splice a line. Needless to say, most of the crew doesn't know how, but I do and I'm going to teach you." Jack handed Rebecca a piece of rope.
For the next hour, Gibbs captained the ship while Jack sat with Rebecca, making a loop and the end of each rope by weaving the strands into each other.
Jack didn't even know why he was doing this. He felt this odd need to pass his knowledge on to her. He knew that she would understand him better than his crew, and she would put what she learned to use. He could see how she carefully watched him pull apart the strands and intricately weave them into the already twisted part. Splicing a line was usually extremely tedious, but he couldn't help but enjoy himself. Rebecca was trying so hard, but was so awful at it. It was as though he was enjoying helping someone other than himself. Impossible, he thought. Or possibly, only improbable?
This was a new feeling for him. What it is called? Oh yes, bonding.
Rebecca and Jack talked casually. Rebecca had spliced so many lines, it was becoming much easier and more natural to do.
"So what kinds of adventures have you been on?" asked Rebecca. "You're a pirate. You must have some exciting stories to tell."
Jack did have exciting stories to tell. And somehow he felt inclined to tell them all. To her. Right there.
Another hour passed, and they were about halfway to Tortuga. Rebecca had forgotten she was even on a boat. The rocking of the waves felt so natural, she guessed she got that from Jack.
Jack bent over and took Rebecca's most recently spliced line. He smiled at her. "You're getting better." He said.
Rebecca smiled back and took another piece of rope, unraveling the ends up to a certain point, and started weaving it into the rope.
Then, just as the boat was tacking, a sickening stretching sound was heard, and then a snap. One of the ropes had somehow gotten twisted on the maintop and snapped as the boat tacked. The sail now whipped loudly in the wind.
Rebecca and Jack got up. Jack rushed over to the mainmast and said to Rebecca, "This is why we splice lines, Beck." Jack went to start climbing up the mast, but Rebecca stopped him.
"Let me. Please?"
"No. I haven't taught you how to splice lines like this, yet. Besides, it's too dangerous. You'll fall." Jack waved his hand and moved to start climbing again. Rebecca was determined. She grabbed Jack's shirt and pulled him down.
"I can do this." She said to him and then started to climb up the mast.
Thank goodness for all those years of climbing trees, she thought. When she reached the maintop, she leaned out as far as she could to grab one end of the snapped rope. There were gasps from the crew below, as she almost lost her balance, but she finally got it. Then she untangled the other end and sat down on the maintop, weaving the two pieces together. It was like splicing two ropes at the same time. She had difficulty, but her job overall was fairly decent. The two ends were successfully re-attached.
As she stood up to start her descent, the boat jerked violently to one side. Rebecca heard a crewman shout from below. "Looks like some pretty big wake, Captain!"
Another jerk, Rebecca stumbled, trying to grab the mast for balance. She bent down to start descending when another jerk caused her to slip. She screamed and threw her arms out to grab something, anything. Her hand grasped a rope. The same rope she spliced.
At the bottom, Jack pushed the crew out of the way. He started climbing up the mast as fast as he could. When he was level with Rebecca, now swinging dangerously on the rope, he reached his hand out.
"Take my hand!" Jack shouted over the wind.
Rebecca held out her arm, but couldn't reach. She tried to swing towards him. The force of the swing, along with Rebecca's weight caused the rope to start to unravel once more. The more Rebecca swung, the more it unraveled. On the last swing, the rope completely snapped and Rebecca went falling.
Jack leaned out as far as he could and caught her arm. Her weight, however, was causing him to lose his grip. He started to slip as well.
"Drop me!" Rebecca said. "Drop me or we'll both fall!"
"I will not drop you!" Jack said, trying to get a better grip, but still sliding off.
"Drop me!" She screamed, just as Jack was about to fall. Jack let go of her arm and she fell, hitting the deck in a crumpled heap.
Jack quickly climbed down the mast and ran over to her. Rebecca got up, holding her arm.
"It's not broken, I think it's just—" She started to say, but Jack had pulled her into a…hug?
It was an awkward hug, as though Jack didn't give them often, but a tight and meaningful hug nonetheless. Rebecca returned it, gratefully. It was about time someone made her feel safe.
"Don't ever do that again." Jack said. He hadn't felt more fear in his life, than he had in that moment. Wow, Jack really had gotten soft. He hated this "being a father" thing.