The Miracle of the Ellington

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." Helen Keller

Chapter 6: Third Time Pays for All

"Well, that's it." Schaffner placed the last buoy and secured it with the FS-1's remote arm. "How much time do we have left?"

"Six minutes," Jamieson said. Beside him, Nelson shifted restlessly and moaned.

"It was hard on your captain to allow us do this without him."

"It would have been harder if he'd come," Jamieson grunted. "Besides the fact that his place is on Seaview when the anomaly hits again, I wanted to spare him having to put Harry back in the sea."

"You think he wouldn't have been strong enough to follow through?"

"I don't know." Nelson's hand twitched feebly, angry burns livid against the adjacent undamaged skin. The doctor's jaw tightened as he imagined salt water hitting them again. "I didn't want to find out."

"Will you stay firm?" Schaffner angled the flying sub upwards, speeding towards the surface.

"Yes. You?"

"Ja, I can. We care for Harry, but with Captain Crane I think it is something different."

"Lee's father died when he was very young. The admiral is more than a friend and a commanding officer to him."

Schaffner nodded, easing the craft into a gentler incline as they reached the surface. The ocean was smooth and quiet. It was hard to imagine it would soon be the stage for a maelstrom.

"There really is no warning," Jamieson murmured.

"No, there's not. Each time the anomaly has occurred, it's been a horrible surprise. I won't let it catch us unprepared this time, though." Schaffner allowed the FS-1 to idle as he turned to the doctor. "We've got to wake him up," he said, contemplating the task with distaste, "unless we want him to drown."

"Let's get him outside first. Maybe the fresh air will rouse him." Jamieson sounded more hopeful than he looked.

Together they carried the unconscious young man out onto the FS-1, careful of the slick metal beneath their feet. It seemed to Schaffner they were enacting a grotesque parody of the previous day's rescue. The German gritted his teeth, reminding himself they were still helping the admiral, despite all appearances to the contrary. "How much time left?"

"Three minutes."

"We mustn't wait longer." Steeling himself, Schaffner slapped Harry's face half-heartedly. "Wake up, ensign!"

Harry shook his head weakly, eyes still closed. Schaffner struck again, harder. "Come now! Is this all you have?"

For Nelson, returning to consciousness was like fighting his way out of a feather bed. A smothering softness strove to pull him back into quiet oblivion. He wanted to stay in that blessedly comfortable place but someone was beating on the edge of his awareness, berating him. He had no idea where he was or why anyone should want to abuse him. Images from the past day swirled in his mind but nothing made any sense. He began shivering uncontrollably as a horrible chill gripped his body, frightening and unnatural.

Alarmed, Harry forced his eyes open but they wouldn't focus. His cheeks stung and he squinted against the sunlight reflecting off the surface of the water. Schaffner's hand, a dark shadow against the brightness of the morning, snapped his head to the side. He tried to speak but no words would form.

"That will have to do," Schaffner said. "We're out of time." Holding the front of Nelson's life jacket in his fists, he lowered the young man into the ocean.

The sudden, searing pain of salt water invading his burns brought Harry around faster than any number of blows. He gasped, eyes wide, as he suddenly realized where he was. "No!" His hands were bathed in fire but he grabbed Schaffner's arm and held on tightly. "No, please!" He forced the words past chattering teeth.

Steeling himself, Schaffner tried to peel Harry's hands away. The young man's grip was weak but he hung on with tenacity born of desperation. Schaffner heard Nelson's breath hitch and allowed himself one glance at Harry's bewildered, pain-filled face. The German looked away quickly and, with a fierceness that made Harry cry out in pain, yanked his arm free and flung his friend backwards into the ocean. He turned to the doctor. "Get below!"

The water around the FS-1 began to churn, dragging Harry away from the craft. Jamieson watched fearfully as he tried to right himself and swim back to them. Schaffner pulled the doctor to face him, fingers digging deep into his arm. "I said 'Get below'," he snarled. "There's nothing else we can do."

He ducked into the flying sub and the engine sprang to life a moment later. Reluctantly, Jamieson followed him inside. Already the small craft was starting to pitch and buck. As he strapped himself into the co-pilot's seat, the doctor tried to forget his last view of Harry: a lone, forlorn figure fighting to keep his head above the rising swells.

X X X

The anomaly stuck Seaview with ferocious power but this time Crane was prepared. The crew was braced for impact, the men in the control room strapped into their seats. Even so, lights flickered and warning sirens sounded throughout the boat as the violence of the disturbance tested systems already strained to the breaking point.

As concerned as he was for Seaview, Lee's attention was focused on the fragile flying sub until he lost visual and sonar contact. He lurched to the radio shack, holding onto Sparks to keep from being thrown to the deck. "Crane to FS-1!" His voice sounded harshly in his ears. "Crane to FS-1! Come in, FS-1!"

Seaview shuddered and he gripped Sparks tightly enough to make the radio operator wince. Just when Lee thought the boat would surely snap in two like a brittle twig, the ocean suddenly became calm again. In the glow of the emergency lights he could see relieved expressions breaking across the faces of the crew. He wasn't able to share the feeling. "Seaview to FS-1, please respond. Crane to FS-1!"

"FS-1 to Seaview." Jamieson's voice was hollow, haunted. "We're still here, Skipper."

"Is the admiral with you? Did he…?" Lee found himself unable to finish the question.

"No." The doctor's voice was flat. "He didn't reappear. Lee, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Crane's throat was too dry to speak. He could feel the eyes of the crew on him. Not now, he told himself. Not here.

"Skipper!"

Not now, Ski. Dear God, whatever it is, not now…

"Skipper! Sonar's got something on the surface!"

"What?" Crane spun on him, eyes wide.

"Sonar's picking up something on the surface. It could be a body, sir!" Lee could hear the excitement in the crewman's voice.

"Crane to FS-1! Check the surface, Jamie! We're getting a reading that might be the admiral."

Inside the flying sub the doctor and Schaffner exchanged glances of mixed hope and dread, unsure what they'd find when they investigated. As soon as Schaffner surfaced, Jamieson sprang towards the hatch. Clambering out with the German on his heels, he almost fainted with relief at the sight of Harry, their Harry, treading water just where they had left Ensign Nelson minutes before.

As soon as the admiral saw them he began swimming in their direction. They couldn't pull him in fast enough, holding his shoulders and murmuring words of encouragement as he coughed up half of the Atlantic. Jamie looked down at Harry's strong hand gripping his own, the skin smooth and undamaged, and again felt relief wash over him like a tidal wave.

"What… the hell?" Nelson's voice was harsh. He coughed again, turning his face towards his shoulder. He squinted at the doctor, as if registering his presence for the first time. "How did you get on the flying sub with us?" As they gazed at him in wonder, Nelson's expression slowly changed. "It happened, didn't it? Just now?"

"Yes." Schaffner gently pressed him down on his back as Jamie set to work checking his pulse. "We just put a young ensign back in the water. I just…" he broke off as Nelson squeezed his hand.

"I don't remember."

"That is for the best."

"One minute I was working on the electrical panel in the flying sub and the next minute I was in the middle of the ocean." Nelson ran his hand over his face. The doctor brought out a stethoscope and pressed it against his chest.

"For us a full day elapsed," Schaffner said thoughtfully. "You had no sense of the passage of time?"

"No." The FS-1 rocked as Seaview surfaced nearby, sending gentle waves against the hull of the small craft. Nelson's fond gaze fell on the enormous submarine. "That's a beautiful sight. I remember so little, but I do recall lying like this before, long ago, in Seaview's shadow."

"We'll tell you everything that happened," Schaffner promised, "so you don't have to wonder any more."

"I just hope I didn't make a fool of myself."

Jamieson shook his head, taking the stethoscope out of his ears. "No, you were a bit of a handful, but you were also an impressive young man."

Nelson snorted. "I think you're being kind." With the doctor's help, he pulled himself to a sitting position. "What's the verdict, Jamie?"

"There might be a little seawater in your lungs. I'll give you an antibiotic when we're back on the boat. Considering you went through the anomaly without a life jacket, it's a miracle you survived. But," he smiled, "you specialize in miracles, don't you, Harry?"

Nelson was about to answer when he saw Crane emerge on Seaview's sail. At that point, he lost track of what the doctor was saying.

X X X

"This is excellent wine, Kurt!" Nelson sat back in his chair and lifted his glass to his friend.

"I'm glad you're here to drink it with me," Schaffner said. Beside him, Crane stared into his glass and nodded his silent agreement. The three of them and Jamieson were relaxing after dinner in the observation nose. "You're really not upset to learn I was on that U-boat so long ago?"

"We were enemies for a day," Nelson said, catching and holding the German's gaze, "and we've been friends for a decade. Which do you think is more important?"

"Ja, you make a good point." He leaned over and refilled Crane's glass. "You must forgive Harry," he said to the captain. "All's well that ends well."

"You could have told me," Lee said quietly. "You could have filled me in on your suspicions before we ever started this mission. If the situation had been reversed, I would have told you."

"Would you?" Nelson sighed and took a sip of wine. "I didn't know anything for certain. I was afraid to tell anyone I thought I'd traveled through time long ago, because making even the slightest deviation from our normal routine could have changed everything." He shook his head. "It was better that you not know until it happened, but I'm sorry, Lee. If it helps for me to say so, I am sorry for what I put you and the crew through. I know you risked your lives to get me back to 1944."

Lee smiled at him wanly. The admiral and his younger self had many things in common, one of which was that Lee couldn't stay angry with either of them for long. "All right," he conceded. "I guess I'm really upset with myself, anyway. Aren't you bothered by the things we did to you?"

Nelson's expression was placid. "No." He laid his hand on the captain's arm. "Look, Lee, for you this is all fresh and upsetting, but for me we're discussing events that took place more than thirty years ago. It's ancient history. Back then I didn't remember anything clearly enough to be traumatized and even if I had, I would have gotten over it long ago." He leaned forward and looked at Crane seriously. "Let it go. That's an order." Nelson patted Crane's arm once, with an air of finality.

"All right, sir." The captain drew a deep breath. "I never disobey orders."

"Hah!" Nelson gave a snort of laughter. "You and Kowalski are cut from the same cloth. What did you do with him, by the way? I feel I'm responsible for getting him in trouble."

"You're not. He made his own choices." Lee took a sip of wine. He hadn't noticed before how good it was. "I've assigned him an extra work detail—nothing too harsh. I've given him three of the newest crewmen to mentor. He has to report to Sharkey weekly on their progress."

"I have a feeling he'll be good at that," Nelson said. "I should ask him what we talked about when we were in the circuit room together. Although," he said thoughtfully, "I have the feeling I should fortify myself with another glass of wine first!"

Smiling, Crane passed him the bottle.

X X X

Thanks for your patience waiting for this final chapter. Hope you enjoyed the story!