Thursday

~Rapunzel~~~

For the first time since they arrived, the bright blue sky is smothered by looming gray clouds. Rapunzel tries what feels like the hundredth time to read the open book in her hands, but the words swim on the page. Distracted, she glances around the quiet family room. Merida is sprawled out on the other end of the couch, her nose stuck in a book on archery and her feet lazily resting in Rapunzel's lap, while the boys are sitting in the middle of the floor trying to entertain themselves with a card game.

Based on the sloppy grin on Jack's face, Hiccup's proving to be an easy opponent.

"Come on, Hic, you can do better than that," he teases, easing a few more cards down onto the pile in front of him.

Hiccup's green eyes narrow in concentration, "I could if you stopped playing so fast."

"The game is called 'Speed' for a reason."

"Yeah, well," Hiccup starts, but the rest of his sentence trails off when Jack slaps his hands down with an audible smack.

"Ha, Speed!" Before anyone can object, Jack bounces to his feet and spins around in circles with his hands in the air in a ridiculous victory dance.

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup mutters, "Is that really necessary?"

"Yes, yes it is," Jack insists. "It's a critical element to the game."

"Well some of us are tryin' to enjoy a relaxing, peaceful afternoon," Merida shoots from the couch, pointedly glaring at Jack. "Can 'ya please take your obnoxious yelling somewhere else?"

The boy in question crosses his arms defiantly over his chest. "I would, but it's kind of raining outside, if you hadn't noticed, and there's nothing else to do. So, can you stop acting like our mother?"

"I will when you stop acting like a two-year-old."

Rapunzel sighs deeply at the banter and cries, "Enough! There has to be something better for us to do around here than argue."

"She's right," Hiccup agrees, stretching out his legs, "we can't just sit here all day."

Jack raises a quizzical eyebrow in Rapunzel's direction. "So what should do, then, Blondie?"

She shrugs and hesitates, "I don't know, we could go swimming?"

"Swimming? Seriously?" Merida asks incredulously. "As wonder-boy-Overland so kindly pointed out, it's raining."

"Well at least it was a suggestion."

Jack runs his fingers through his hair. "Actually, she might be onto something."

Merida rolls her eyes and covers her forehead with her palm. "Oh no, not you, too."

"Come on, Red, what's a little rain?"

"You've got to be jokin'."

"You're going to get wet, anyway, so what's the big deal?" By this point, Jack is not even paying attention to Merida anymore, but rather dramatically pulling up the window blinds to showcase the steady fall of rain. "See? Perfect swimming weather."

Rapunzel can't help but laugh as he bounds across the room to the hallway, where he stops to throw a smirk over his shoulder. "Swimsuit Time. Everybody." He shoots a pointed stare at Merida before adding, "five minutes."

After retreating to their rooms to change, Rapunzel excitedly throws on her bathing suit. She's never gone swimming in the rain before, and this is the closest thing to a rebellious adventure she's ever had, so her body is giddy with anticipation.

Merida, on the other hand, does not seem to share her best friend's enthusiasm.

"Are we seriously doing this?" the red-head moans, begrudgingly tugging on her bikini. "Can't we stay inside for some peace and quiet once in a while?"

"'Peace and quiet'? Since when are you not excited to do something unexpected and fun?"

The girl in question shrugs. "Just not in th' mood, I guess."

Rapunzel eyes her quizzically. "You okay?"

This earns her another half-hearted shrug.

Rapunzel's eyebrows knit together in confusion, and she opens her mouth to press Merida further for answers, but an obnoxiously loud knock on the door derails her train of thought. Turning the knob, she cracks open the heavy wooden door only to meet a smirk on the other side.

"You girls ready yet?" Jack asks impatiently, tilting his head to rest it on the door frame.

Her eyes fix on his swim trunks, and she covers her mouth with her hand to stifle a snort at the glaring pattern.

Following her gaze, Jack looks down at himself and crosses his arms over his chest. "What? What's so funny?"

"Little smiling snowflakes are so becoming."

Jack's lips pucker in a pout as he glares at her. "If you're done being jealous of my awesome shorts, I'd like to actually swim now."

Rapunzel shakes her head as she reaches behind the door to grab her towel and throw a glance at her best friend. Merida just tosses her mass of curls over her shoulder before nodding toward the impish boy. Not convinced, Rapunzel stands in the doorway until Merida cracks a smile and playfully pushes her into the hallway.

"Make sure to push him in for me," her friend calls as Jack takes Rapunzel's hand and races outside.

Her skin jumps at the sudden touch of the cool rain, but welcomes the refreshing sensation. Carefully, they pick their way down the slippery steps, wet moss squishing under their bare feet as they descend. The lake looks different in the rain, teeming with thousands of ripples as the drops penetrate the water and bounce off of the paper-thin skin of the surface. Before she even reaches the end of the dock, her hair is drenched and plastered to her back, but she relishes the new and exciting feeling of getting completely wet before even setting foot into the lake. She peers over at the boy beside her, who looks as giddy as she feels. His blue eyes glow in stark contrast to the gray sky as they catch hers, and the beads of rain clinging to the spiked edges of his hair make a smile spread across her face.

Jack's mouth adopts his signature half-smile as he bows dramatically. Taking her hand, he gently presses his wet lips to her knuckles before asking, "May I?"

More than a little distracted by the kiss, Rapunzel just stares at him. "Um…"

Without waiting for any more confirmation, Jack scoops her up into his arms and tosses her off the dock. She barely has time to hold her nose as the chilling water closes in around her. Within seconds, Jack's submerged body is right beside her, but it isn't long before the world around her tilts again as he hoists her over his shoulder and lifts her into the air. Out in the cold rain, goosebumps immediately cover her arms and legs and water drips from her hair down her face. She kicks and writhes in Jack's arms, but he stubbornly keeps her upside-down on his shoulder and only laughs at her attempts to persuade him otherwise.

"Come on, is that the best you can do, Punz?" he asks, his voice not-so-subtly laced with a challenge.

Pushing stray strands of hair out of her eyes, Rapunzel retorts, "Fine, don't let me go. But I guess I should warn you that I have both hands free."

"What does that have to do with-"

Before he can even finish his sentence, Rapunzel attacks his bare sides with her fingertips and smiles smugly as the tickling causes him to squirm uncontrollably. She can feel his defenses fade away with every second he tries to resist being ticklish, and his labored breathing and red-faced laughing can't hold out much longer.

Sure enough, he wheezes out a plea bargain and promises over and over that he'll let her go. Satisfied, Rapunzel ceases the torture. What she didn't expect, however, was for his shoulder to duck out from under her weight and send her face-first straight back into water. For the second time that day she's left sputtering in the shallows, and she's willing to do anything to wipe that irritating smirk gracing Jack's face at the moment. Fueled by equal parts embarrassment and annoyance, she flails her arms through the water around her and splashes him hard once, twice, three times before relenting. The waves crash over Jack, but he accepts them without retaliation and just shakes out his hair like a dog so that the droplets fly in her direction. He looks up at her like a sheepish little kid, and the sheer joy in his eyes makes her melt inside.

Glancing away to hide her blush, Rapunzel looks out at the expanse of water before them, her heart pounding in her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices the raft bobbing with the rain-riddled waves, slowly inching towards them. She nudges Jack's arm to get his attention, pointing to the raft and telling him, "It's floating towards shore. The rope must have snapped or something."

Jack stares at her, puzzled, "What rope?"

"The rope that holds the raft in place. One end is tied to the raft, the other to a couple of concrete blocks at the bottom of the lake," She explains. "I saw Mr. Dunbroch attach it when we first came. Something must have happened to it."

"Well then we'd better check it out," Jack says, diving under the surface.

Rapunzel follows his lead, swimming out to the drifting raft. They hoist themselves on top of it, mentally speculating how far it had traveled already. "Luckily it hasn't gone far," Jack comments.

"How can you tell?"

"I noticed that when we were wrestling out here yesterday, we were exactly in line with that tree over there." He points to a fallen tree, half-submerged in the water on the left bank. "If I'm picturing this right, we should only be, like, ten feet off."

"We'll go with that, then, it looks about right." Suddenly, a flash of red in the water catches her eye. "I think I see the rope! Wait here and make sure the raft doesn't move any closer to shore; I'm going to dive down and see if I can catch the end of the rope so we can move it back again."

Jack catches her arm before she has a chance to jump in. "You sure you want to do that now? We can always drag it to shore and wait until tomorrow, so Hic's dad can fix it."

Stubbornly, she shakes her head, "I'm sure it's not that hard. Besides, where's your sense of adventure?" Without waiting for his response, she plunges into the murky water, kicking deeper and deeper. Once she's close enough to the bottom, she fumbles blindly with her hands, trying to feel around for the corded rope. Running out of breath, she floats the surface.

Jack peers down at her expectantly. "You found it already?"

"No, it's so hard to see down there without goggles or anything."

"Rapunzel, it can wait," he presses.

She freezes at her full name, unable to help loving how amazing it sounds coming from him.

Pride gets the better of her, not wanting to seem weak by giving up, and she replies, "No, I can do it, really."

Before he can protest, she ducks under again, determined to find the stupid rope. Reaching the bottom, she methodically waves her hands around in the murk until finally her fingertip touches something soft. She clutches the foreign object, the corded texture proving that she's found her prize. The end of the rope is knotted into a loop, and she realizes that it just has to be hooked onto the other half. Excited, Rapunzel furiously swims towards the raft, but quickly realizes the end in her hand isn't long enough to reach the surface. Disappointed, she lets go and steels herself swims straight up from where she had discovered the anchor so she can come back down. When she kicks to get more oxygen, however, the rope snags around her ankle, tightening with every move she makes. Panic swells up in her as she tries to untie herself, but the lack of visibility in the cloudy water makes it impossible to see the knot. She tugs as hard as she can, but the cord only digs deeper into her skin. Rapunzel's lungs begin to burn from holding her breath for so long, and her head suddenly feels unnaturally light. She can't even tell if she's crying because her tears get lost in the water around her. Screaming will only use up precious air, and even if she stretches, her fingers still don't graze the surface. She can feel herself starting to lose consciousness; the edges of her vision blurring to black. The last thing she hears is a splash before the darkness consumes her.

~Jack~~~

It had been a long time since Rapunzel had last come up for air, and Jack had grown more and more uneasy with every second that had passed. After a few minutes without any sign of her, he knew something was wrong. This was all too familiar, too much like the nightmare he's carried with him for the past few years. Immediately, he had let the adrenaline flood his system and knew what he had to do. He had dived in after her, but what he didn't expect to see were Rapunzel's eyes flutter closed and her limbs motionless in the water. She had started to sink when he caught her.

Now she feels limp in his arms as he fumbles with the rope snagged around her ankle. It's so tight the skin is rubbed raw, and for a few terrifying moments he's not sure if it'll ever come loose. Finally, he's able to wedge his finger in between the knot and her foot, and Jack tears it away as he furiously kicks to the surface.

Gasping for air, he props her head above water as he struggles to drag her to shore. Jack is panting by the time he reaches the dock, but he ignores his exhaustion and hoists her onto the pier, gently settling her head on the boards. He hauls himself up beside her, gathering her up in his lap so that her head rests against his chest. His heart breaks when he looks down at her, a pained but serene expression on her face. Tears spring to his eyes as he realizes that she had accepted her fate, had let herself be surrounded by the darkness.

"No!" Jack screams, pushing all the hair off her face and holding her head in his hands. As loud as he can, he yells up at the house, "Hiccup! Merida! Somebody! I need help!"

He can feel the tears leave cold tracks down his skin as he remembers how determined and bright her eyes were before she dove under. Adrenaline coursing in his veins, he whispers to her pale face, "Come on, come on, don't die on me! I need you."

Gently but forcefully, Jack pounds the heel of his hand against Rapunzel's back, hoping to help her get the water out of her lungs. Within a few seconds, water comes dribbling out of her mouth, but she still sags limp. Panicked, he lays her down flat on the pier again. Quickly bending forward, Jack presses his lips to hers and breathes heavily into her mouth.

He hears the screen door slam shut, but he doesn't dare look away from Rapunzel. A scream echoes in the empty cove, bouncing off the steady rain still pouring down around them. Red curls fill his sight as Merida kneels beside him, and the color instantly drains from Hiccup's face as he stands behind his sister. Merida sobs into her hands, and Hiccup lays a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but Jack can't think of anything else to do except kiss Rapunzel again, breathing harder this time. He cradles her head in his hands, waiting and praying. Suddenly, Rapunzel coughs and gasps, struggling to breathe. Her eyes pop open, her pupils dilated, and she bolts upright. She winces and drops her head against her knees. Seeing her awake again spurs Jack back into action.

"Hic, swim out to the raft and haul it to shore before it hits one of the boats. Merida, go get her towel; it's right next to the door."

As soon as they're gone, Jack pulls Rapunzel to him, holding her tight in his arms. She sags against him, clearly exhausted, and slips into sleep mode, but he can see that she's breathing normally again. For the first time that day the rain stops, but it doesn't matter to him anymore. He presses her body closer to him, the realization that he could have lost her crashing over him like a wave.

Merida returns with the towel, and he wraps it around Rapunzel's arms and legs. Gingerly, he slides one arm under her knees and another around her back, lifting her bridal-style off the ground. Her head lolls onto his chest as he carries her up the stairs, followed by a blurry-eyed Merida and a shaken Hiccup. Merida silently opens the door for them, her eyes never leaving her best friend's face. Jack brings Rapunzel into the girls' room, setting her on the bed before Merida shoos him out in order to help her friend out of her drenched swimsuit. Outside the door, Jack paces back and forth, his fingers twitching from not holding onto her. After what seems like an eternity, Merida comes back out of their room and slumps against the door frame.

"She's sleepin' like a baby," she whispers, her eyes calm but her cheeks still pale.

Sighing with relief, Jack asks, "Can I go in and see her?"

Merida shoots him a quizzical stare. "She's sleeping. I just told you that ya' ninny."

"I know," he says hastily, "but can I at least see her?"

Her eyes soften with understanding and she steps aside, gesturing with her hand for him to go in. Darkness is the first thing Jack sees when he opens the door, the only light flooding in from the hallway lamp above him. He slowly closes the door behind him, and it doesn't take long for his eyes to adjust to the dark surroundings. Rapunzel lays motionless on the bottom mattress of the bunk bed, and Jack inhales sharply, but the moment he sees her chest lightly rising and falling, he instantly relaxes. He kneels by her side, relieved just watching her breathe. Memories come rushing back like a current of when she wasn't breathing at all, and he winces at the thought. He almost let her slip out of his fingers, just like he almost lost his sister. He'll never forget the look on her face on the dock: distant but welcoming, as if she was embracing her death.

A/N - I know not every chapter should have an Author's Note, but if you've been following this story since 2014 then you know this one NEEDS a note. Yes, I haven't updated in almost two years, and yes, it's entirely my fault. To be honest, I didn't really know where to take this story. I didn't really have an end goal in mind, and so I just kind of brushed it aside until I eventually forgot about it. To my loyal followers, I am SO sorry, you guys are wonderful and didn't deserve this ridiculous break. In any case, I hope this chapter helps make my apology a little more acceptable. Please tell me what you all think - followers and guests alike. As always, I love hearing what everyone has to say, and I take suggestions and criticisms very seriously.

On a complete side-note, I am so very excited to announce that I am officially a Creative Writing major in college! This is huge for me, and I wouldn't have been able to make this huge leap without this story and the wonderful feedback all of you have given me over these past three years.

I can't thank you enough.

~Jackunzelhayniac3~