A/N: Hey readers! Thank you for the encouragement for the first chapter. Here is part 2!
The moment that they hit the water Rachel regrets her decision. Her rapid spike of courage seemed to make her forget that her hands are bound tightly together. Now there's a possibility that she could drown. That would leave no hope for the crew on the Nathan James or the rest of the world. She has no time to dwindle in her thoughts though, as Quincy climbs on top of her and pushes her down further into the water.
When they landed, Rachel was somewhat on top of him, but now he's using her to stay afloat. She can feel his hands on her head dunking her in and out of the water. She frantically gasps for air over and over again. He has a tight grip on her hair and somehow that hurts the most. She kicks her legs as hard and as fast as she can. It's the only way that she stays afloat because her arms can't really do much. She desperately tries to pull her hands out of the rope's tight knot, but she can't do it. She's beginning to panic from lack of oxygen. She can feel water in her nose and throat. It feels like its everywhere and she will never be able to escape it. Her body is numb now. She can barely feel the cold water surrounding her, but she can feel her limbs start to tire and the weakness creep in.
She decides to give it one last shot. She elbows him in the groin and can feel his grip loosen. She frantically reaches the surface and is able to breathe again. It only lasts a few seconds as he pushes her down once again. And somehow in the scuffle, Rachel is hit in her left eye by Quincy. She senses that it was deliberate.
She is momentarily stunned and forgets that she's in the water. Until she can't breathe anymore and there is water filling her lungs again. Then, she's suddenly freed from Quincy's grip. She doesn't know, nor does she care about what has happened to him. She stays focused on swimming towards the surface. Once she breaks through the water, she feels the crisp night air hitting her face before she can even suck in a breath. The uncontrollable coughing begins as her body tries to fight the water in her lungs and the incoming air. It feels like she is going to throw up the remaining contents in her stomach. There's no way that she can catch her breath with so much going on.
Quincy's hands settle on her waist this time around. Her insides tighten as she readies herself to fight for her life once again. She expects him to pull her back underwater, but instead he turns her around to face him. Rachel decides to take the upper hand by swinging her fist as hard as she can into the direction that she thinks his face is. She feels her knuckles make contact with his cheek bone. It hurts like hell. It makes her hand feel stiff and burning.
"Dr. Scott." Rachel hears the Captain's voice calling her name. She realizes that she only has to fight Quincy just a little bit longer and then the Captain will help her. Rachel swings her fists into his chest as she feels Quincy grip the sides of her arms. He's holding her above the water now. The wet blindfold is pulled off of her face. "Rachel it's me."
"Rachel," Captain Chandler says softly as he looks into her eyes. He sees her finally realize who he is as he his hands run down the length of her arms. Then, the Captain grasps her forearms and pulls her knotted wrists over his head, which makes her arms wind around his neck so that he can hold her up.
Rachel sucks in a deep breath. She can't believe that the Captain is actually here in the water with her. She had truly believed that he was Quincy preparing to drown her. She wants to speak, but can't get enough air into her lungs. She needs to tell the Captain about the samples that Quincy had brought along with them during the escape. But before she can, she begins to cough uncontrollably into Captain Chandler's shoulder. He wraps his arms around her body and pulls her flush against his own.
Somehow, in all of the chaos she feels a sense of security as he holds onto her. It's been months since she has had any physical contact with another person. But even in the ice cold water, she feels the heat seeping into her skin from Captain Chandler's body. She can feel him wrap his arms around her back, holding her tightly to his chest. Her chin rests on his shoulder, keeping her face out of the water.
He supports her weight while she continues to heave uncontrollably. She finds herself clinging to him. Her hands grip fistfuls of his t-shirt near the back of his neck, where her wrists are binded. She feels a spark of something warm in her body. The closeness to this man, this powerful Navy man, is something that she has never experienced before. Sure, she has had meaningful relationships with men before, but this is different. She has never felt like this before. She feels protected and genuinely cared about whenever he is around.
Rachel can't stop shaking. She hopes that she will be able to avoid becoming hypothermic. As long as they get out of the water soon, she believes that her body will be okay. That's all that the world needs, she muses. The greatest hope that they have of finding the cure dying due to hypothermia.
"Come on." Captain Chandler unwraps an arm from Rachel's body so that he can begin to swim them over to his RHIB. Rachel does little to contribute. She can barely keep her head afloat. The Captain basically drags her limp body the couple yards to the boat. Once they are close enough he begins to lift her out of the water and into the boat. But before he can pull her out she starts to resist. It's as if she has suddenly come out of a drug induced haze. She begins fighting against his hands as he tries to hold onto her.
"No...no. The samples," she tells him. "We have to get the samples first. Quincy took a container full from the lab."
His eyebrows shoot up unintentionally as he flashes her an incredulous look. At first he thought that she was reacting to Quincy's presence on the boat. That he could understand. But he cannot believe that she would refuse getting out of the water just for the case of samples. "Look, I'll get the samples. You let Wentz get you dried off and comfortable." He wants to keep Her calm and safe. He figures that the faster that they can come to an agreement, the faster that she will get onto the boat.
"Ma'am." Jeff offers Dr. Scott his hand in order to pull her up.
She immediately shakes her head no. "I need to get them," she states passionately. She begins to unwrap herself from the Captain and moves to swim over towards the RHIB that Quincy held her on.
She is frozen to her spot as Captain Chandler keeps a strong grip on her arm, effectively holding her back. "Dr. Scott, listen to me. You've been through hell. Just get on the boat and I'll retrieve the samples. You can observe everything that I do. Let me help you." He lowers his voice, "you know as well as I do that everyone on that ship needs you alive and well. So please do as I ask."
Rachel stares into Captain Chandler's serious face and caring eyes. For some reason, the way that he looks at her makes her want to burst into tears. She feels overwhelmed and cannot take anymore stress tonight."Can you cut this off of my wrists...please," she begs almost in a whisper, gesturing to her binds.
Wordlessly, Captain Chandler pulls out his pocket knife and slices through the thick rope wrapped around her tiny wrists.
Jeff offers Rachel his hand to board the RHIB, which she finally accepts. He lifts her effortlessly out of the freezing water and into the more familiar boat.
"Lieutenant, get her all of the blankets and towels you can find," Chandler orders from his position in the water. This situation is nothing to him. He is barely affected by the icy temperature of the ocean as he swims steadily towards RHIB C. His training has prepared him for the worst, so this is no big deal. But he can't seem to shake the feeling of anxiousness that has been eating away at him ever since he spotted Rachel with a gun pointed at her. That, he wasn't prepared for. His heart just about dropped to his feet when he spotted her blindfolded and bound inside one of his own RHIBs. He feels guilty for having such a strong reaction towards Dr. Scott, but it is out of his control. It seems natural to care for her safety. To know that she is securely tucked away in her lab aboard the Nathan James keeps his mind at ease. He doesn't know when he started worrying about her. And he wonders what else the worrying will turn into. After all, she is a beautiful and smart woman. It is only natural that he would be attracted to her, who wouldn't.
"Captain!," Wentz calls out to him.
Chandler turns around to see the RHIB approaching and keeping a distance of a few feet.
"The doctor insisted on helping you." He gestures behind him to Rachel leaning over the side of the boat intently gazing at the container of samples in the other RHIB.
The Captain's focus is pulled behind Rachel's shoulder to the opposite side of the RHIB where his other lieutenant and Dr. Tophet are seated. He can see that Jones has Tophet handcuffed to his own wrist, effectively restraining him. This makes Captain Chandler feel a tad more relieved about the situation. He can't help but feel uneasy having Rachel in Tophet's presence right now. He would feel much better if he was next to her on the boat. That way he could keep a close eye on her and protect her in case Tophet would make any sudden movements.
Rachel pulls him back to the present as she starts speaking, somehow calmly as if nothing has even happened. "Captain, as you approach the case I need you to make sure that it is intact." He observes her, making sure she's alright. He sees that she is now wrapped up in layers of blankets with a hooded jacket on underneath covering her head. At least the wind wouldn't be able to hit her wet hair, he thinks. Even under all of the clothing she still looks as passionate about her work as ever. Not even taking a moment to sit down as she braces her leaning body against the side of the boat.
"There can't be any cracks or we could be put at risk." Tom listens as he hoists his body over the side of the RHIB and rolls inside. The engine is smoking from the bullet that punctured it, but the rest of the boat is otherwise undamaged. He spots the case of samples on the other side of the RHIB, next to a backpack. Captain Chandler approaches it wearily. He doesn't know what he would do if the case was cracked. What options would they have? Could they have already been exposed? He shakes his head, he can't think like that. He's the Captain. He must stay positive. He reaches the case, but doesn't know how to properly handle it. "Uh, Dr. Scott...how should I do this?," he calls out to her.
"Is it sitting up or knocked over?"
The Captain takes steps within an arms length of the case in order to get a better look at it. "It's just sitting upright, the handle is at the top. The plastic doesn't look cracked or anything." He eyes it wearily as if it would pop open by itself at any second.
"Okay, we're safe then. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't disturbed during all of the commotion. You may pick it up carefully and bring it over here."
He grips the handle of the case tightly and cradles it in his arms like he would an infant. He's afraid that it will somehow break if he doesn't.
"Captain, I'll take it," Jeff says to him from the other RHIB.
Now, the other RHIB is no more than a foot away from the RHIB that Tom is on. He looks across to his men and sees Wentz waiting for the case with outstretched arms. Dr. Scott is still standing near the edge of the boat anxiously awaiting the return of her samples. Wordlessly, the Captain passes the case over to Wentz and leaps over to the other boat in order to join them.
Rachel immediately reaches for the case. "I've got it," she assures Jeff.
"Ma'am," he says hesitantly as he grips the case tighter, not letting go. He looks to the Captain on how to handle the situation.
The Captain closes his eyes, taking a moment to calm his frustration. He doesn't want to tell Rachel what to do, but she is in no condition to be handling the virus. He wishes she was more compliant with him, but then again he does respect her passion. He reaches out, placing a hand on her arm. "Dr. Scott, relax...please. Wentz will take care of it."
"He isn't trained-"
"You need to rest. Please just wait until we get back to the ship."
Her shoulders fall in defeat. She knows that her body needs time to rest, but she can't stop worrying about the samples. She gives up. She doesn't want to start a fight on the boat. Because she knows that she would probably lose the argument. But mostly because she doesn't have the energy. "Fine," she whispers. She sits in a heap on the bench in the boat.
"Sir," Wentz says while offering a jacket and pile of blankets to the Captain.
He puts the jacket on and wraps the blankets around his body, like Rachel had done. He then settles in next to her, sitting as close as he can get without making her uncomfortable. They both sit there soaking wet and shivering uncontrollably. The blankets don't seem to be effectively helping either of them. Tom notices that her lips are blue, yet they are somehow no less desirable than her normally soft red ones.
All of the passengers sit in silence as the RHIB begins its track back to the Nathan James. The silence between the doctor and captain is filled with tension. Rachel can't figure out why.
Suddenly, she remembers what she had done to him out in the water. "I punched you," she blurts out in disbelief.
"Yea," is all that he can think to say.
It hurt like hell. She is definitely stronger than she looks.
"I'm so sorry. I thought that you were Quincy. I had absolutely no idea what was going on." She feels terrible. He tried to help her and got a punch in the face for his efforts.
He nods in understanding. "I know. It's alright. You have nothing to apologize for."
She offers him a small smile and her nerves quiet down. "So what happens now?"
"We get you taken care of immediately," Tom says without hesitation.
"I meant...to Quincy. What happens to him?" Her voice is quiet.
Tom's face visibly hardens at the shift in their conversation. He can't help but direct his gaze over to Quincy's position. He stares at the man in question with contempt for almost a full minute before turning back to Rachel. He locks eyes with her, letting her know that he is serious regarding what he is about to say. "He will be under strict armed guard. I'll see to it myself. You'll be safe. He won't be able to get to you again."
"That's not. No. I just wanted to know what was going to happen to him." She reacts nervously to the passion in Tom's voice and eyes. "He's been my partner for years. He had to have a good reason for doing this."
"Money? Ruskov was probably offering a pretty sweet deal," Tom says.
Rachel shakes her head. "No. He wouldn't do that. He is first and foremost a scientist. He wouldn't compromise our work for money."
Tom is unconvinced. "You're sure?"
"Positive."
"Well we'll find out." The Captain stares over at Quincy trying to figure out what they were going to do with him once they got back to the Nathan James. He can't help himself from feeling anxious and distrustful of Dr. Scott. He thought that they were on his side, but now he's questioning everything. Especially, the woman sitting next to him.
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TBC, There's some doubt starting to creep in about Rachel. ;). Reviews are love! Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading.