A/N: Umm...HELLO! So sorry for the incredibly long wait for an update! I guess I just needed a break from writing for a while...because I just didn't want do any of it for any of my ficts.
BUT the muses are back (somewhat) and something sparked my Gerry lust again (I really have no idea what set it off). So I give you a nice long, albeit kind of sad, chapter. And I have ideas for the next chapter so hopefully it won't take me close to 2 years to update again.
Enjoy!
Two mornings later saw Jack heading out in a small boat to meet up with the cargo ship that brought their supplies. Colleen and Nim (along with Selkie, Fred, and Chica) stayed on the beach and watched the exchange as Chica's babies used Colleen's legs as an amusing jungle gym.
In those two days, Colleen had yet to receive a response to her e-mail that she sent to her friends and colleagues. She was starting to give up hope of them actually being alive...and it was showing. She often caught herself zoning out during lulls of conversations and frowning when she thought the Rusoes couldn't see her. Attempting to stay strong, she promised herself that she would give a solid week without hearing anything from them before she would let herself mourn.
Colleen was busy trying to detach a baby from the edge of her pants when she heard Nim give a shout and run a few yards into the tide, waving. Shifting her gaze, Colleen saw that she was waving to the captain as he turned his small boat around—while waving back—and headed back to his ship. Nim stayed in the shallows as she waited for Jack to bring his own boat back to land.
Once Colleen finally made the little turtle release her pants, she brought the reptile up to eye level.
"Excuse you, little one," she started affectionately, "but my pants are not edible...for anyone." She gave the baby a tap on the end of his nose and he pulled his head back in his shell for a moment, then came back out and made a small hiss.
With a click of her tongue, the scientist put the turtle back in the sand and watched as he crawled back to his siblings. Shaking her head, Colleen brought her knees up to her chest as she kept an eye on Jack's progress back to shore. When he was a little more than half-way back, Colleen rolled up the cuffs of her pants to just below her knees, kicked off her shoes, and walked into the surf to join Nim. The girl smiled as the older woman stepped up next to her and as she crossed her arms over her chest, Nim transferred Fred from her shoulder to the doctor's. Colleen glanced down to her with a grin before continuing to watch Jack row back.
It took him another few minutes, but when the bottom of the boat grazed the sand and came to a stop, Jack hopped over the side and pulled it the rest of the way out. Nim went to go help him, while Colleen wrangled up the animals.
"How's the captain?" She heard Nim ask her father.
"He's fine. His crew, too." He answered. "They were going to make another stop anyway, so it was good we got to them when we did."
When the boat was out of the water and tied up so it wouldn't float away, Jack took a look over to Colleen. And grinned.
She was surrounded by animals and didn't have one care that they were the most mismatched bunch of creatures to ever get along.
Colleen caught his eye and felt a blush start to work its way up her neck. She dropped her gaze down to her feet before looking back up.
"Can I help with anything?" She asked, detaching herself from the group of animals and walking towards the Rusoes.
"You can help me with the crate." Jack said, the grin never leaving his face. "This one doesn't quite have the arm strength to make it back to the house in one go yet." He lovingly pointed over to his daughter.
"Hey!" Nim objected.
"I said 'yet'. Give it a few years and you can probably carry the crate yourself." Jack replied.
Nim rolled her eyes, but reached back into the boat to grab a smaller box that she knew she could handle.
Colleen—who had been watching their exchange with a content smile—walked closer, then replaced Fred onto Nim's shoulder. She readied herself to help Jack lift the reasonably sized crate out of the boat. Looking over the wooden box, Colleen released a small breath of air in relief when she was that it had rope handles attached to the sides. That would make carrying easier. Both her and Jack reached over the edge of the boat to grab a handle on opposite sides of the box.
"On three, we lift it up and over. We'll set it on the ground then fix grips and head back to the house." Jack explained.
After she nodded, Jack counted to three and they lifted the crate straight up with grunts from both of them. Once clear of the lip of the boat, they lowered it to the ground a little more heavily than they would have liked to. Colleen winced when she heard something clink in the box, hoping that it wasn't fragile or, heaven forbid, broken.
"Okay. Nim, you lead the way back to the house." Jack instructed to the girl, then turned to Colleen. "I'll walk in front of the crate if you'll get it from the back."
"No problem." Colleen replied, flexing her fingers in preparation as she went to put her shoes back on.
When Jack turned his back to the crate and crouched down to grab the handle behind him, Colleen readied herself at her own handle.
The oceanographer couldn't help but let her eyes wander over the wide expanse of the man's shoulders as his muscles moved under skin and clothing. She had to shake her head slightly to refocus on what needed to be done.
"Ready?" Jack asked over his shoulder.
"When you are." She answered softly, reaching for the handle.
"On three again, then. And let me know if you need to stop."
Colleen nodded.
On the count of three, they lifted the crate with only slight grunts and started a quick march through the trees behind Nim. Colleen could hear Selkie follow after them.
When they were just in sight of the waterfall and garden, Colleen needed a pause or her fingers were going to go numb.
"I gotta stop for a minute." She called up to Jack.
"Okay." He called back, and slowed to a stop, lowering the crate.
When the box was down, Colleen slowly released her grip on the rope with a wince and stood up straight. She flexed her fingers and shook them out. The woman was focused enough on her fingers that she didn't notice Jack step up to her until he was reaching for her hands.
"Numb?" He asked, rubbing her hands gently.
"A little bit." She replied, trying not to blush again. "So not used to lifting heavy things." She grinned.
"Sitting in a lab most of the time will do that to you." Jack smirked.
The woman shrugged a shoulder, still grinning. "I stay here long enough and that won't be a problem."
That got a chuckle out of Jack that she could feel through their joined hands. It sent a small, pleasing chill down her spine.
"Mmm, true." He eventually said, looking down at their hands. "Feel better?"
"Yeah." Colleen took her hands back and flexed her fingers again, double checking that they were back to normal. "We can keep moving."
"Okay." Jack whispered, going back to his spot on the crate.
Neither of them noticed that Nim had stopped on the far side of the garden to watch them interact...and to give them some privacy. With a large grin that she tried to suppress, she waited for the two adults to pick up the crate and continue on towards the house. Once they were close to her, she turned (to hide her smile, mostly) and started walking again.
After they reached the clearing in front of the house, Colleen let out a sigh and dug deep within herself to find some reserves of strength to get the crate the last few feet into the house. They set the crate down for the last time in front of the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Whew." Colleen huffed quietly, shaking out her hands once more.
"I'll go grab the crowbar, then we'll pop this puppy open." Jack said, wiping his hands together before turning and leaving the room.
Colleen walked around the box and table to sit on the end of the couch and kick off her too-large shoes. The scientist watched silently as Selkie made her way into the house and sat on the floor next to Colleen. She reached out and absentmindedly scratched the sea lion's head. As they waited for Jack to come back, Colleen watched Nim move around the room as she feed the fish in the fish tank, chasing them with the net, before she walked to the other side of the room to jump up into Jack's work chair and swivel herself around in circles. The scientist smiled and laughed when the girl stopped spinning, but swayed in the seat from the continuously circular motions.
Even Fred looked a little dizzy.
When Jack came back with the crowbar, Nim hopped off the chair and went to sit on her knees on the floor next to her father. Colleen stayed on the couch and watched the two with a reverent smile.
It took Jack only a few minutes and the use of his powerful arms and shoulders before the lid of the crate gave way. He set the crowbar on the floor next to him as he motioned for Nim to go ahead and remove the lid.
Colleen sat forward on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees as she clasped her hands together, trying to get a peak into the crate. She was curious more than anything and wanted to know how the box was assembled. But from her vantage point, she couldn't see too far into the crate. She watched as Jack reached into the crate and pulled out an envelope sealed in a plastic bag (presumably so it wouldn't get wet).
"Greeting Rusoes and guest." Jack started reading out loud. "Enclosed is your normal supply with a bit extra of everything since we came earlier than scheduled." As Jack continued, Nim dug into the crate, pulling out seed packets, some books, and small pieces of electrical equipment that was probably used around the house. "Also in the crate, is the requested items for you guest. The feminine products are in the smaller crate that should have been delivered along with this one."
Colleen's ears perked up and she watched as a flush slowly worked its way up Jack's neck while he read the last sentence. She found the reaction endearing.
The man turned his eyes towards his daughter. "Where did you put that other box?" He asked, having to clear his throat to get past his embarrassment.
Nim got up off of the floor and ran into another room to grab the second crate.
While she was gone, Jack refused to look up from the crate as he continued reading. "We hope all is well and that you find everything to your satisfaction and that everything got there in one piece." He set the letter, envelope, and the plastic in came in onto the table, then dug through the crate, picking out things he needed.
When Nim came running back into the room, she went to hand the box off to Jack, but he waved her away and towards the woman. "That whole thing is for Colleen." He said.
Nim shrugged and walked around the coffee table to hand the box over to the oceanographer before turning and picking up the crowbar and handing that off as well.
With a quiet "thank you, Nim," Colleen set the box on the table and managed to pry off the lid to take a quick look inside before lightly placing the lid back on and setting it next to the couch, almost out of sight.
"Looks like all of our stuff is here." Jack eventually said, looking up at the two females, his flush slowly disappearing. His gaze rested on Colleen. "I think I got all of our stuff out, so the rest should be yours. I still have your list over by the computer if you want to check more in depth later."
"Thank you, Jack." Colleen breathed. "For getting me some supplies and not kicking me off of your island on a wooden raft."
"Welcome." He breathed back with a small smile, not taking his eyes away from her.
Nim glanced between the two. It was several long seconds before she started to feel out of place and tried to think of a way to break whatever love-struck spell the adults were under. Like the good girl she was, she remembered that she had some chores to do.
"I'm going to head to the garden for my chores, Jack." She said, effectively breaking the adults' concentration on each other.
Jack shook his head slightly, looking at his daughter. "Right. Just be back for lunch." He said.
"I know." Nim sighed. As if he needed to remind her.
As Nim left, Colleen stood up from the couch and stepped around everything that was laid out on the floor to kneel next to Jack. She hesitated for a moment or two before leaned towards him to place a light kiss on his lips. As she was going to pull away, Jack's arm shot out and wrapped around her mid-back, keeping her close to him. He kept their lips a hairsbreadth apart before Colleen stopped her backwards motion and let his lips crash back into hers.
Needing to take in a breath seconds later (since a deep kiss wasn't planned), she tilted her head down and sucked in air. Jack rested his forehead against the side of her head, while he also caught his breath.
"I meant it." Colleen eventually said. "Thank you."
"I know." Jack whispered in her ear. "You're still welcome and I'm glad you decided to stay." He kissed her cheek, then released her, leaning back.
Colleen grabbed his hand as it slowly snaked down her arm (almost as if he was afraid to let go of her) and squeezed his fingers before letting him take his hand back. She then stood up, holding her hand down to Jack. They both knew she could actually lift him, but it was the gesture that kept grins on both of their faces.
"Come on. Let's check on your back one last time. Shouldn't need to be cleaned and bandaged after today." She said, walking towards the bathroom, where a decent stash of first aid supplies still resided.
With a nod, Jack followed behind the woman, taking his shirt off carefully as he went.
Colleen turned back to ask him about checking her e-mail after lunch, but the words never made it out of her mouth. At the sight of a shirtless Jack, Colleen lost her ability to keep walking...which was a good thing since she was about to walk into a door frame.
Damn woman! How many times have you seen him without a shirt the past few days? She thought, shaking her head slightly and turning towards the bathroom. But he has such a nice body. The other part of her answered.
With a deep sigh to bring her thoughts together again, Colleen began the process of cleaning and bandaging Jack's injured back.
(())(())(())(())(())
After lunch—which was an enormous salad that consisted of vegetables from the garden, nuts from the natives trees, and a homemade dressing that Jack had Nim look up on the internet—the three separated into different parts of the house. Nim went up to her room to continue reading the latest Alex Rover book. Jack headed around to the back of the house to fiddle with some duct work that he wanted to put somewhere in the house. And Colleen sat down at the computer, trying to get up the nerve to check her e-mail.
As she procrastinated, Colleen swiveled in the chair to take a look down the microscope to see what Jack had been working on earlier in the day. She observed the Protozoa Nim for some time, making tiny sketches and adjustments to Jack's careful notes. Realizing that she shouldn't make too many more corrections to his notes, Colleen put down the pencil and physically pushed herself away from the research. She swiveled back towards the computer, already with her e-mail log in page pulled up. All she had to do was click and she would know or not.
She pulled on the end of her ponytail, scratched her scalp, and let out a low growl.
"Okay. Okay." She muttered to herself, placing her hands on the edge of the desk. "Just log on. There's always tomorrow." She reached for the mouse and hovered the arrow over the button, but couldn't press it yet. "Just do it, you sissy. Do it, do it, do it!"
Colleen closed her eyes and hit the button.
She didn't open her eyes until she counted slowly to ten. When she looked, she cracked open one eye and then the other as she scanned over the twenty or so e-mails she'd gained since the previous day.
Three of them stuck out.
Heart beating wildly in her throat, she clicked on the one from Jim as tears gathered in her eyes. Her mouth dropped open as she read through Jim's response, telling her that almost everyone made it...except Joe, who refused to get out of the boat and went down with it. They were able to grab onto the mast, which was the best floating object they could grab at the time. They had lost sight of her and thought the worst. The following morning, they were picked up by a helicopter. Joe had sent out an S.O.S. with their coordinates before the end, saving the rest of their lives. Jim added that he was "so wicked ecstatic" that Colleen was alright and to contact him as soon as she could.
Colleen's heart was still beating a mile a minute and her breathing increased with the emotions that were swelling within her. If she didn't let it out in some way she was going to burst. So she opened her mouth and let out something between a scream and a pained yelp. She then immediately covered her mouth with both hands as she squeezed her eyes shut and felt the tears leak out and roll down her cheeks. The oceanographer was about to bring her legs up onto the chair and curl into herself when she heard the back door slam.
"Colleen?! Nim?!" Jack yelled through the house as he ran to where she was. He came around the corner to his work space and stopped dead in his tracks. The woman was sitting in the chair, trying to keep her sobs as quiet as she could. He rushed over to her and turned the chair away from the desk. "Colleen? What is it? What happened?" He asked, putting his hands on her shoulders and rubbing them. He bent over so he was eye level to her.
Opening her eyes and lowering her hands to her chin, Colleen tried to explain. "I...they...not..." She couldn't form a proper sentence through her tears. Getting frustrated with herself (and adding to the turmoil already running though her), she gave up trying to speak and pointed to the computer.
Not removing his hands from her shoulders, he leaned towards the computer to get his eyes to focus without his glasses and read the e-mail. After reading it, he managed to smile as he came back to Colleen's line of sight. He moved his hands up to cup her face gently and ran his thumbs across her cheeks to catch her tears...but they were falling faster than he could catch them.
"They're alright, darling, they're alright." He said softly, staring into her eyes.
She knew that. That's why she was crying; she was happy. She was just too full of emotion to stop herself, so she just nodded, pulling her hands away from her chin to reach for Jack.
He pulled her off of the chair to stand in front of him as he wrapped an arm around her back and the other to hold lightly onto the back of her neck. She buried her face into his own neck and securely held him within the circle of her arms as she continued to cry.
It felt good to have someone to cry on for a change.
As her tears slowly subsided, Colleen lifted her head and glanced over Jack's shoulder. She caught sight of Nim sitting at the top of the stairs with her knees drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped around them. She had a sad and lost look on her young face.
Colleen lifted her mouth to Jack's ear. "Nim's on the stairs." She whispered to him, a waver still in her voice.
Jack's arms slowly fell away from Colleen as he turned his body so he could look for her.
"Dad?" The girl asked with a wobble in her voice. "Everything okay?"
Jack managed a small smile to his daughter. "Yeah, Nim." He replied, running his hands up and down Colleen's arms. "Colleen got some good news from her friends."
Nim unfolded herself and ran down the stairs, where she latched onto Colleen's waist.
Momentarily startled, Colleen froze, then gradually lifted her arms to wrap loosely around Nim's shoulders.
"I'm glad your friends are okay." The girl said airily.
"Me too, kiddo." Colleen breathed back, turning her gaze from Nim to Jack, who was watching them fondly.
After another minute of Nim holding onto her waist, Colleen eased out of the hug, taking the girl's hands into her own.
"Thanks, Nim." She said.
Nim nodded her head once, a blush working its way onto her cheeks. She then turned towards the stairs and went back up to her room, presumably to continue reading.
Jack and Colleen turned to face one another. Jack lifted his hand up to cup her cheek. Colleen covered his large hand with her own.
"Are you alright?" He asked her tenderly.
"Yeah." She said with a breathy laugh. "Yeah. I'm okay. I'm happy...honestly."
"Okay." Jack replied, lowering his hand from her face, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. He leaned in to place a short kiss to her lips. "I'm gonna go back outside. If you need anything, come find me."
Colleen nodded. "Of course."
Taking a few long seconds to look over her closely, Jack then turned and headed back out the back door.
Colleen watched him go, then turned back to the computer with a huff. "Okay, girl, you got two more important e-mails to read." She gave herself a quiet pep talk before returning to the chair and clicking on the next e-mail from Edmund.
Apparently Jim had copied everyone onto his e-mail, so Edmund's was more of additional thoughts along with his own words of gladness. The last e-mail was from both Mindy and Tabitha...who had finally gotten together and went out on at least one date; they were now officially a couple, according to them.
"About time." Colleen muttered tenderly.
She continued reading to see that the four of them were going to get together that night to pay tribute to Joe by throwing flower wreaths into the ocean. They admitted it was a little cheesy, but it was what they could do, being poor research assistants.
With a thoughtful look pasted on her face, Colleen logged off of her e-mail account and shut down the computer to save energy. She swiveled the chair back and forth a few times, trying to figure out if she could have Jack take her to where he found her so she could pay her own tribute to Joe.
While deciding what she could do, the scientist absently looked for her list on Jack's desk, then went over to the crate to sort through it, looking for something appropriate to wear. Torn up Adidas pants and a man's shirt didn't make for the best memorial clothes.
Digging through the slight mountain of clothes she pulled out of the crate, Colleen was able to find a cream-colored, light-weight, sleeveless dress with a square neck line that probably fell to about mid-shin. She also found a pair of nude-colored thong sandals in the crate. Rooting through the pile of clothes again, she found a matching bra and panty set in white. She meticulously went through and folded the clothes, putting them into piles by item; she'd ask for a basket or something to store her stuff in later.
After the clothes were folded and sorted, Colleen got up off of the floor, and picked up her selected "funeral" clothes. She took them into the bathroom with her and, after a quick cat bath with a wash cloth, she changed into the underclothes, dress, and sandals, grinning down at her feet as she wiggled her toes. It felt good to once again have footwear that actually fit her. She grabbed the brush she'd borrowed from Nim as she pulled the tie out of her hair to let it cascade down past her shoulders, then brushed it out until it was soft and shiny.
Satisfied with her look, she walked out of the bathroom and after tossing the worn clothes towards the end of the couch, she made her way through the house and out the back door to look for Jack. She walked around the side of the house to find him up a ladder, cleaning out the gutter.
Jack was wrist-deep in gutter leaves when he saw Colleen out of the corner of his eye. He stopped what he was doing as his jaw unhinged at the sight. Collecting himself, he descended the ladder, then wiped his hands on his shorts as he walked towards her.
"As much as I liked how my shirt looked on you, this is a much better look." He said with a smirk.
Colleen laughed, a blush creeping up onto her cheeks. "It was a comfy shirt, I'll give you that." She quipped back. "Everything that was on the list was in the crate, by the way." She added.
"Good." Jack was still smirking as he continued to stare at her.
When Colleen realized that he was still watching her closely, she subtly cleared her throat and broke eye contact by looking towards his chest.
"No rush or anything, but do you have a basket or something that I can keep my clothes in?" She asked as she brought her hands up and twisted her fingers together nervously.
Jack nodded his head slightly. "I think we might have an empty plastic tub with a lid somewhere." He answered.
"That would be perfect." She replied.
The two looked at anything but each other until Colleen finally asked another question.
"Around sunset, could you possibly take me to where you found me?" She asked.
"What?" Jack asked before he could stop himself. "I mean, why would you want to go there?"
"Uh..." Colleen reached up to rub the back of her neck. "Well, my crew...er, friends, are paying tribute to Joe tonight by tossing flower wreaths into the ocean. I wanted to do something too and figured that even though I'm not with them, I could still participate at the same time." She rambled.
"Oh." Jack said. "Okay. Yeah, no problem. We can head out before dinner."
Colleen's shoulders visibly relaxed. "Thank you." She breathed.
The man nodded, then turned to go back up the ladder. "Anything else?"
"Nope, I think I'm good for now." She grinned. "Though, if you don't mind, may I take a look at some of those samples we collected from Fire Mountain the other day?"
"Sure. Be my guest." Jack acquiesced.
Colleen nodded and turned to go back into the house.
Jack watched the woman walk away, then when she was out of his line of sight, he huffed to himself and went up the ladder to continue cleaning out the gutters.
(())(())(())(())(())
About an hour before sunset, Colleen pushed herself away from the microscope and the notes she was taking. She stretched her arms above her head with a grunt as she felt—and heard—her back pop in a few places. Standing from the chair, she realized that she needed to find some flowers to attempt to weave together for her little tribute. Deciding that Nim could easily help her out, Colleen marched up the stairs to the girl's room where she had been hiding out all afternoon.
When she walked up to the door, she leaned her head around the frame to take a peek inside. She smiled at the sight of Nim curled up against Selkie, with Fred sitting on her shoulder, as she absently hummed to some song and colored in a coloring book.
It had been years since Colleen had the time to sit down and relax with a coloring book...and she didn't care how old she was; you can never bee too old to color.
She knocked on the door frame to get the girl's attention. When Nim, Selkie, and Fred stopped what they were doing and looked over at her, Colleen stepped into full view, but didn't step into Nim's personal area.
"Hey." The girl said jumping up from the floor, the coloring book and crayons forgotten as she ran to Colleen, wrapping her little arms around her waist again. "Are you okay?"
And to think, just days ago, this little girl was so hostile to the woman for accidentally washing up on the beach of her own personal oasis.
"Yeah, Nim." She laughed. "I'm okay." She answered as she rubbed Nim's back. "I could use your help with something, though."
"What?"
"I need to find some flowers that I can attempt to weave into something that will look like a wreath. Think you can help me that?"
Nim thought for a moment as she pulled out of their hug before nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah. There's some real pretty ones that grow near the waterfall."
Colleen smiled as Fred crawled off of Nim's shoulder and onto the oceanographer's arm. "Perfect." She said as she watched Fred settle himself on her own shoulder. "Can we go now or would you like to finish your coloring?"
Nim looked back at the coloring book and crayons strewn on the floor before looking back to Colleen. She shrugged a shoulder. "That can wait. We can go now."
"Right on." Colleen said, then winced at the out-of-date phrase. "You lead."
Nim nodded then straightened her back as she made her way down the stairs followed by Colleen, who was then followed by Selkie (apparently she didn't want to be left by herself).
The ragtag group left the house and passed Jack, who was sitting on the porch, fiddling with a fishing pole. He looked up at them with a quizzical glance. Colleen caught the look.
"We're going to pick some flowers. Be back shortly." She explained with a half smile.
Jack nodded in understanding.
Colleen power walked to catch up to Nim before she was out of sight, then continued to follow her out to the garden and waterfall. To the left of the waterfall were the stone steps that led up to the top of the waterfall's slide...and bunches of exotic-looking flowers grew on either side of each step. Colleen was amazed and a little embarrassed to say that she didn't know what kinds they were; all she knew (and cared about at the moment) was that they were perfect and just what she needed.
The two girls collected handfuls of flowers before deciding that they probably had enough and made their way back to the house. They stopped at the unlit fire pit and sat on a log next to each other. Nim started to bend and twist the stems of the flowers one way to try to get them to stay together, while Colleen tried another way.
After thirty minutes of trial and error, they eventually created something that looked like a wreath, but would have gotten them an F if they were taking Floral Arrangement 101. It would serve it's purpose just fine, though.
Jack came over once they finished the finally touches.
"Ready?" He asked quietly, looking at Colleen.
With a nod and a deep breath, she stood from the log. She held her hand down to Nim for the wreath with a small, almost forced, smile.
"Ready for what?" Nim asked, confused.
Jack and Colleen looked at one another, silently deciding who would explain. Jack took the initiative.
"Remember when we found Colleen and she told us her boat and friends were lost at sea and she wondered if they were...alright?" He asked kneeling down in front of his daughter.
The girl nodded.
"Well, one of those friends didn't make it home. Her surviving friends are remembering him at home, so she'll do it here." He continued to explain.
Nim looked up at Colleen for a moment. "That's why you needed the flowers?" she asked.
"Yes." Colleen whispered. "My friends that made it back are tossing their own wreaths into the ocean at sunset in honor of him."
"Oh." The girl paused. "Do you want me to come along?"
An sweet smile crossed Colleen lips. "Nah. You can stay here with Selkie and Fred."
At the mention of their names, Selkie let out a bark and Fred cawed from his place near Nim's foot.
"You can get a fire going and start something for dinner if you want." Jack suggested. "We shouldn't be gone too long." He added looking over at Colleen, who shook her head, agreeing with him.
"Okay. I can do that." The girl half smiled at the adults.
"Okay. We'll be back a little after sun down, then." Jack finished. He then looked over to Colleen and nodded towards a path across from the fire. She gave her own answering nod and followed him over. Once they were out of Nim's sight, Jack reached over and took Colleen's hand that wasn't holding onto the flimsy flower wreath, giving it a light squeeze of comfort. They were silent as Jack led the way to the beach.
(())(())(())(())(())
When they arrived at the beach where Colleen washed up on the island, Jack stopped them and looked around critically.
"We found you on this strip of sand." He pointed directly in front of him to the little sandbar peninsula. "But if you want those flowers to go out to sea and not wash back up on the sand, you might want to head over to those rocks." He shifted his point to the right of where they stood. About a hundred yards away, there were rocks that formed a small cliff.
Colleen readily agreed and they walked over to the rocks.
Jack climbed up first to find the best footholds for them, but when they reached the top, he let Colleen go out to the edge by herself so she could have some privacy. He kept a close eye on her, though.
The woman carefully picked her way to the edge above the water. When she looked down, she realized it was only about a ten foot drop to the waves. There was a gentle breeze coming off of the sea that blew her hair out of her face and left the smell of salt in her nose. She looked to the west to watch the sun set a little further, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly. She opened her eyes and focused straight out to the horizon as she spoke softly, out loud.
"Ahh, Joe. You were the best damn captain I ever had…okay, you were the only one I ever had." She smiled before continuing. "You were the surliest man before you had at least three cups of coffee in the morning, but at heart you were just as eager for the day as any of us were." Her smile faded. "I came to think of you as another uncle, as someone who would look out for me even when I didn't ask or need you to...I had a feeling if that boat ever went down, you'd pull a Titanic and go down with her. That was how dedicated you were to your job. And I'm proud of you for that...I will miss you, my friend. Tabitha and Mindy and Edmund will miss you, too. And I know Jim will miss you like crazy. You two had something special and it was cute." She felt her throat start to tighten and her eyes burn. "I hope it was quick and I hope you thought good things when you left. Because I will be thinking of all the good times we had together for the rest of my life." She took another deep breath. "So good-bye, my friend. My adopted uncle. My Captain. May you rest in peace."
Colleen felt the tears finally fall down her cheeks as she tossed the flower wreath out far enough into the water that it would be taken out to sea. She stood on the rocks and watched the flowers float away as she took some time to gather herself.
Jack watched Colleen from the edge of the rock formation. He couldn't hear what she was saying (which would have been rude to listen to anyway), but he knew she would need a few minutes to pay her respects. He contemplated as the wind blew her dress around her knees, that the diaphanous material made her look like some sort of legendary sea goddess; her hair billowing along with it completed the image. He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and hold her for at least the rest of the night...if not the rest of his life. Jack froze at the realization.
He was fairly sure that he was falling in love with the woman in front of him.
Dear god. I haven't even know her a week! He thought. But damnit. I never want her to leave us...me. He rolled his eyes at himself. Now I sound like something out of a Shakespeare play.
Once Jack saw her toss the flower wreath into the water, he waited a few beats before slowly making his way towards her. He didn't want her to feel like she was alone while she mourned. When he reached her, he gently put his hand on her shoulder and when she didn't flinch, but looked back over her shoulder at him with a weak smile, he stepped closer to her back and slid his arm across the front of her shoulders, delicately pulling her into his solid body. His other arm came up and wrapped around her waist, holding her close.
After Jack rested his arms around her, Colleen leaned into his chest as she reached up to wipe the tears off of her cheeks before resting her hands over his arms. She didn't say anything and neither did he; there was no need to. She felt safe and comforted in his arms. And—dare she say it—loved. Mentally shaking her head of that thought, she rested her head back against his strong shoulder as she got her thoughts and emotions in order.
Minutes later, and after the sun was almost completely set, Colleen picked her head up off of Jack's shoulder.
"I'm okay to head back now." She said quietly after turning her face towards him.
"You sure?" Jack asked. He didn't want to rush her to go back at all.
Colleen turned herself in his arms and rested her hands on his chest. She looked up into the man's blue-green eyes, then with a smirk stood up on her toes and kissed him. Several moments passed before she pulled back and replied. "Yeah. I'm good."
With an answering smirk, Jack leaned down and took her lips with his again, kissing her thoroughly.
Over the crashing of the waves against the rocks, they could hear the sudden grumble of Jack's stomach. They pulled away and both looked down to his midsection before laughing.
"Hungry, are we?" Colleen asked as she disentangled herself from Jack's arms.
"A little, I guess." Jack replied.
He took her hand and the two carefully made their way back across the rocks and down them, back onto the sand. They continued to hold hands and occasionally look at each other with silly grins the whole way back to the house where Nim had dinner ready and waiting for them all.
A/N: Well. There you have it, folks! Like I said: it was a long one.
Don't forget to please leave a review of what you thought.
And wicked thanks to all of those who have read, reviewed, favored and/or alerted!