Author's Note: Sorry the last chapter was so short. I had sudden inspiration for this one, so I wanted to finish that one as soon as possible haha. THIS ONE HAS VIOLENCE AND YELLING. It's also, I believe, the longest chapter so far O.o So I hope you enjoy! XD
Chapter 5 - Two Days Later
Marie clutched the wall she just fell against, trying to stop her mind from reeling with the movement of the ship. She groaned, and decided she better stop her stomach reeling too. The storm was bad, but based off what some of the crew said, it wasn't the worst storm any of them had encountered. Shoving herself away from the wall, she continued down the hall, heading for the steps leading up to the deck.
The doc's words echoed in her mind about it being more dangerous up there. She didn't give a fuck, at least up there the rain might cool her off. It was hotter than hell down there, what with most of the crew below decks out of the rain.
"Oh, brave pirates...pushed below decks by a little water...uuugggh...Stop moving, damnit!" She snapped at the ship as she headed up the stairs. On deck, what crew members were up there were working hard to keep the ship steady. It occurred to her then that maybe so many were below deck to conserve some energy for being out here. "...Probably not." She growled, and gasped as the ship rocked violently. She slide, stumbling to her right and crashed into the railing.
She'd only been out here not even a couple of minutes, and she was already getting soaked. Shaking her head, she gazed around the dark deck, trying to spot somewhere that might be a little more sheltered. The ship rocked again, causing her to hang tightly onto the railing to avoid falling or going overboard. Once it was save to move again she made her way to what might have been crates quickly. If she could put them between herself and the railing, she might not go overboard.
The young woman managed to reach the crates without further incident, and sank down against them. She'd slide, she knew, but at least this was better than clinging against the railing. Gazing up at the dark sky, she briefly wondered if they'd run into a lot of storms like this one. Great timing too; they had been hoping to catch one of their hunting targets in the next day or so. Her thoughts were broken as she slid a bit, and she grabbed the edge of a crate to steady herself.
"Ugh...I hate storms.." She growled to herself, then thought about the last two days. Since being 'relocated', or 'reassigned', nothing bad had happened. She didn't even hear snide comments as she walked by. I guess they're actually afraid she would let a wound fester...That's pretty bad. Not like she could keep the doctor from stopping her. It's good nothing had happened. Vane needed to believe she was useful if he was ever going to even remotely trust her. And she need him to trust her, desperately.
The problem was...she hadn't seen him in the past two days. Well, thats not true. She'd seen him, from a distance, for brief moments. Beyond that? Nothing! How the hell was this going to work if she never saw the man unless he was mad at her?!
"Fuck!" She gasped as the boat rocked extra violently, knocking her away from her crates. As she had been sitting, she's just flung onto her face. Growling, Marie started to push herself up when boots came into view and stopped infront of her.
"Marie? Damn woman, what the hell are you doing up here?" She glanced up to see Jack standing there, soaked, staring down at her like 'what the fuck.' To be heard over the roaring of the waves and rain, he had to yell.
"Oh...you know...swimming." Standing, she pushed her hair from her face.
"Right...uh...You shouldn't be here...Go back..below decks.." He had a that 'yes, I think that's right' look on his face for a moment when the boat lurched again. Jack fell into her, slamming her back against the crates, and knocking the breath out of her. She heard him grunt next to her ear from the impact, then he shifted, bracing his arms against the crates on either side of her. The boat continued rocking violently for a moment, forcing Marie and Jack closer together. Neither of them fell,braced against the crates as they were.
Marie could, through the rain, smell him; he smelt like an unwashed man, with the hint of something else. Probably Anne. As the boat stopped lurching for a second, he pushed back a bit, panting from the strain of keeping them both there. He cast a glance up briefly at the sky, cursing the weather before looking down at her.
"Are..you alright?" She nodded, and he stepped back, firmly grasping her arm. "Right then. Below decks with you.." Jack turned, starting to haul her back. If she wasn't trying so hard to keep her balance, she would have tried to pull back more. Plus, his grip was like iron anyways, so it probably wouldn't have mattered. She contented herself with shooting eye-daggers at his soaked back.
In the end, it was his grip that was about the only thing keeping her from falling when the boat lurched again. She cursed under her breath as he pulled her up against his side to help steady her. He was much better at staying upright than she was. Marie glared up at him, and he just pretended not to notice or care.
"Jack! What the hell is taking you!" They both looked over as Charles came up, shaking his head slightly to clear his eyes a bit. The moment he saw Marie, he scowled. "Fuck. Why are you...?" He shook his head, scowl deepening. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Vane didn't give him a chance, hauling Marie roughly from his side. She slipped, falling against Charles' chest. He instinctively wrapped his other arm around to steady her as the boat rocked again, almost knocking all of them over.
Charles turned and hauled her across the deck, away from Jack. She started to protest, but thought better of it when she almost slipped again. Her hatred of boats was slowly increasing.
Vane flung open the door of his cabin, shoving her in. Why the hell he'd dragged her here he didn't know, but this is where his feet had taken him. He stepped in after her, and slammed the door shut behind him. She stood a few feet away, rubbing her arm, and eyeing him with unveiled annoyance. He stared at her a moment, taking her in. She was soaked..no...drenched. Her hair was so sodden with water, it was more wavy than curly; probably be a bigger mess too when it dried. Clothes though...He narrowed his eyes slightly, and stalked to his desk.
He felt her eyes on him, and he took a deep breath as he picked up a bottle from his desk. Taking a swig, Vane decided he had to keep his cool.
"Why were you on the deck?" He turned, leaning against his desk, and watched her. Marie didn't answer right away, just stood there rubbing her arms for a moment, brow furrowed. He took another swig, and waited. Finally she sighed.
"I...needed air. Even rain filled air was better than being below deck." She muttered, and he felt his annoyance stir. Damn her. "Plus...I rather like storms...Just not on boats."
"Ships."
"...Fine. Ships. Either way...I needed air...I was by some crates when Jack found me. He was taking me back below deck when you found us.." Shit. Jack. Vane kinda left him standing on the deck, alone. The he remembered the way he had been when he walked up, and got over any thought concerning Jack for awhile. He realized that Marie was quiet, and glanced at her. She had turned her back to him, and was rubbing her arms again, shivering.
"..." He turned, walking over to his and yanked the blanket off. Vane then headed towards her. He dropped the blanket on her head, successfully draping it on her. Marie jumped, instinctively grabbing the edges as she looked up at him. "You'll catch a cold.." Vane took another swig from his bottle then offered it to her. After a moments thought she reached out carefully from the blanket and took it.
Vane watched her intently as she took a small sip. She wrinkled her nose, but took a longer second drink anyways. Snorting from the taste, she handed it back to him, and he chuckled, taking it.
"Why did you bring me here?" Blunt, and straight to the point, as usual. Vane glanced down at her, and shrugged.
"Storms letting up."
"You didn't answer my question...! And how do you know?!"
"Ranger hasn't suddenly lurched in quite a bit."
"...You're right...And the rain doesn't sound as..loud..." She tilted her head, listening. Vane watched her for a moment, watching the light play off her features. With a loud curse, he turned away and stalked to his desk, tense and agitated. Slamming his bottle down, he didn't need to turn around to know he had startled her.
"Charles...?" He didn't respond, and heard her soft footsteps come up behind him. Then he felt her hand lightly touch his arm, and glanced down at her worried eyes. "Whats wrong...?"
"Don't." He growled down at her. Her brow furrowed, and she narrowed her eyes slightly, unconsciously stepping closer.
"Don't what...?"
"Do you even realize the situation you're in?" Vane snapped, glaring down at her.
"Situation...? What the hell are you-"
Vane snarled something, and grabbed her, pushing her infront of him and into the desk. With his other hand he yanked the blanket, tossing it aside.
"This situation." He growled, pinning her to the desk, hands on either side of her. He leaned down closer to her, face inches from hers. "Do you...realize..." Vane dropped his gaze, taking her in, slowly, intently. She stiffened, and crossed her arms over her chest quickly. "Being here.."
"YOU dragged me here!" She snapped, angrily, her eyes blazing. Vane frowned at her.
"Do you know what could have happened if the men saw you like this? How fucking distracting you are? You can be?" Marie had gone perfectly still, staring up at him with wide eyes. "No, you don't, clearly!" Vane leaned in even closer, growling softly at her. "The men have no damn respect for you, they'd have no fucking problem taking you, storm or no storm. Over and ov-"
The sound of flesh on flesh, the sharp pain, snapped him out of his state momentarily. He looked down at her, her eyes blazing, hand still raised to slap him again. Her golden eyes had darkened with her angers, her cheeks flushed, nad she was panting with her anger.
He backhanded her.
Marie crashed back against the desk with a gasp, steadying herself with a hand. She stood there for a second, processing what happened, then turned her head slightly to glare at him.
"Do that again, and it'll be worse." Vane snapped at her, and pushed away from the desk. Her lips curled up into a sneer as she regarded him.
"Right back at you!" He opened his mouth to say something, but she shoved past him and ran from the room.
Marie ran back onto the deck, tears in her eyes from the pain. Her cheek stung, no; stung wasn't a good enough word to describe the pain. For a moment her vision had gone out, and if she wasn't use to taking hits, she might have passed out. She ran across the deck, the rain a light drizzle now, and headed below deck. She thought she heard someone call her name, but she ignored it.
Racing down the hall, she went to the doc's small room, flinging the door open. He jumped, turning to look at her as she closed the door quickly behind her. No one else seemed to be there.
"Marie...? My god, your face."
"it's nothing." She snapped, ducking around her, but he grabbed her arm, and forced her to look at him. He sucked in his breath.
"What did you do..?" She knew what he meant.
"...I hit him first. Well, I slapped him. He merely returned the favor..."
"Return the favor? Bloody hell, you probably barely scratch him." He snapped, and made her sit down well he fussed over her. She let him, mind reeling about the events that had taken place with Charles. Damn him!
Why did I have to fucking him?! Fucking bastard! Talking like that... She shivered at the memory. He was right there...Damnit...
Vane stood in his quarters, staring after Marie for a moment. With a growl, and a cuss word, he swept most of the items off his desk. The crashing noise took several seconds to leave his brain.
"Fuck!" What the hell had he been thinking? Talking to her like that...Hitting her. She hit him first, but...It was already bruising when she left...Damn it. What did it matter.
He looked around for his bottle, only to see it had shattered when it hit the floor. Fuck.
"Er...Captain..." Jack's voice broke through his thoughts. He cast him a side-long glance, feeling his anger redirect itself at him.
"What the hell do you want?" Jack blinked, clearly surprised, but hurried to speak.
"Well...I was wondering what happened...Marie was running...like a demon was after her...I could swear she was crying, but with the...er...rain..." He trailed off, noticing that Vane had gone still, just radiating anger.
"Get out."
"Bu..."
"It's none of your fucking business!" Vane turned, stalking towards Jack, who decided that perhaps leaving was in his best interest. Vane slammed the door after him, and stood there a moment, one hand on the door. He closed his eyes, cursing himself again.
An image conjured itself into his brain of a small girl, wide eyes staring up at him from the ground where he had pinned her. Innocent. Sweet.
What the hell had happened to that?
The image was replaced by a young woman, standing there, eyes blazing with anger, cheek turning red, hair a wild mess as it dried.
Nine days out at sea...The woman was a plague on his ship. Damn her to fucking hell.
"Need more damn booze..."