CHAPTER #6

The early morning sunlight, filtered into the cabin of the boat. Gina was curled up on her side and Crockett was spooning her, one arm protectively over her. He woke up first and just watched her sleeping. He was so glad that she had survived and that her mind was on it's way to recovery. She was a strong woman and had been through so much. This death weighed heavily on her, because she was blaming herself for it. She had been raped when undercover herself long ago. Feeling like a victim, was something she had vowed never to become again. She had promised him that. Now she had killed her lover, because she'd been a victim of his rage. Crockett knew, that in her mind, she questioned if being a victim, had made her react with deadly force, that may not have been necessary. He needed her to tell him all the details of that night, so she could understand that there had been no other option.

He got up and made breakfast. The smell of bacon and eggs, brought Gina awake. She stretched and then put a robe on. She joined him up on the deck. "Good morning."

The cooler was air refreshing, as they ate together. He gave her a cup of coffee, "how are you feeling this morning?"

She looked at him over her mug, "drained."

"Would you like to go snorkeling a little later? The water is very clear today," Sonny encouraged.

She nodded. "Thank you for this."

He looked at her and gave his signature smile, dimples showing and eyes crinkling. "For you Gina, any time."

Gina went below and had a quick shower. Then put on her bikini. Once she was on deck, Crockett changed and found the masks, snorkels and flippers. He strapped a knife to his ankle. Elvis looked longingly at him.

"You're not going anywhere Elvis. I'll feed you when I get back," Sonny said as he lowered himself into the water.

He handed Gina her gear and then they first circled the boat. He checked to make sure the anchor was secure, then they swam in wider circles. The clear water allowed them to see beautiful coral and the fish that inhabited them. There were blue and yellow fish, striped fish, big and little. They swam side by side, but Gina stayed close. She knew that when there were lots of coral fish, then sharks would be reef hunting. Crockett saw a tiger fish and pointed it out to Gina, he liked seeing her eyes go round at it's size. Then she almost came face to face, or so it seemed in the magnified mask glass, with a barracuda. She waived at him and he nodded. Feeling a little anxious, Gina treaded water until he surfaced.

"Sonny I'm a bit nervous swimming with these big fish, do you mind if we head back to the boat?"

"Sure no problem. Look for lobster or clams as you swim, maybe we can have a rich seafood lunch," Sonny replied.

They headed back. She watched him dive down between the reefs, searching for their lunch. He found a lobster and captured it, glad he had flippers on so he could swim one handed. She found some muscles around where the anchor was. She dived down and picked up as many as she could. Surfacing, she handed her find to Crockett, who was already on board.

"Can you grab the pot down below and fill it with water?" Sonny asked Gina.

"Okay Sonny," she obliged.

He got the barbecue going and put the pot on. Once the water was boiling he dumped the lobster and muscles in. "Do you want a beer?"

"I'll get it," Gina went back down and brought up two uncapped beers. She handed one to him. "It's so beautiful here. Makes me forget all the chaos from back home."

Sonny sipped his beer and then asked, "Gina you wont really enjoy it here, if we don't face Mark's death. You need to tell me everything that happened. If you talk about it, it will set you free."

She looked at him, fear of remembering clouded her eyes. "I don't know if I can."

"You're strong. Take your time, we have all day."

So she began to tell him about Mark. It was easier just talking about the good times first. Then she told him about the first time he hit her and finally gave him the play by play of that dreadful night. As her words painted him the picture, he also saw an invisible weight slowly come off her shoulders. She didn't realize it, but it was helping her let go of the guilt. She got restless and downed her beer as she talked. When it came to the attack and how she felt, she haltingly explained. Crockett patiently waited for her to get through it.

When she was done, she couldn't look at him. He went to her and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes. She saw not pity, not accusation, not disgust, but love. Her eyes grew wide with surprise, her breath caught in her throat. "Sonny," she whispered.

He kissed her gently. Then hugged her close to him and they stood like that a few moments. As much as she needed to be near him, she was scared that the image of Mark would haunt her. He felt her go tense in his arms, signaling that she wasn't ready.

Crockett checked on their boiling lunch, "it's almost done."

Gina went and got dishes, cutlery and new beers. They sat down and ate in silence for a few minutes. "This is so good." She broke off a claw from the lobster and sucked out it's flesh.

Sonny looked at her, "I needed this too. To get away from it all. I find the ocean very relaxing." Then he added, "we could tour around the islands with the scarab if you like."

She knew he was trying to cheer her up and show her why living was a good thing. She smiled at him from under her eye lashes. "I'd like that."

They finished eating, cleaned up, put some clothing over their swim wear, locked up the cabin and boarded the scarab. While Crockett started the engine, Gina untied the tow line. He backed up and then pointed them out into the ocean. His depth finder helped keep them from running a ground on the reefs and hidden rocks. Once they were further out, he opened it up. The front of the boat lifted up as they raced across the ocean. Gina was glad she had tied up her hair, or she would have come back with a rats nest of knots. They rode slowly by the smaller cays and then headed to the big island of Bahamas, where all the tourist resorts were. Near one of the privately owned islands, they met up with another boat and had a friendly race. Crockett won, but the other boat invited them to their dock. Gina wore a light scarf around her neck to hide the bruises and kept her sunglasses on. They had some drinks, food and talked about the area. As the sun began to go down, they thanked their hosts and went back to St. Vitus' Dance, Crockett's sailboat.

Together they worked on catching a few fish for Elvis. The alligator was hungry again. Gina caught a mackerel that Elvis made disappear in seconds. Crockett caught a yellowtail snapper, that finally satisfied his pet. They sat watching the sun go down and the stars come out.

"Sonny would you mind sharing your bed with me again? Could you hold me?" Gina asked shyly.

Sonny nodded, "I'll come down in a little while."

Gina put on a night gown, brushed her hair and teeth, then went to bed. It was too warm for anything more than just a sheet over her. The gentle slap of waves on the hull, eventually helped her go to sleep. When Crockett came to join her, she was already breathing deeply. He watched her sleep, the bruising was getting a little better. He noticed she became restless and knew she was in another nightmare. He waited until it woke her up, then held her comfortingly.

"It wasn't as bad as before," Gina confessed. "Did I wake you?"

"Not at all and it's okay even if you had." Sonny propped himself on his elbow and looked at her. "We are here to help break the hold on you. Don't rush it."

"Mark's funeral is tomorrow. I can't. I can't go. He had no family, just his friends. But Damien and Sam will be there..."

Sonny stroked her arm, "if you're not ready, then we wont go. He's taken enough from you. It's time to focus on yourself. We'll go when you're ready."

He continued to stroke her arm and eventually she fell back asleep. She didn't have any more nightmares that night. He put his arm around her and closed his eyes, listening to her breath. He promised that he would help her regain her confidence, her balance with the world, no matter how long it took.