Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay, but my muse decided that she needed to work on my X-Men story for while. At any rate, Audrey's troubles aren't over yet, so here we go. Thanks to my reviewers for their kind words.
He hums along with the music in the background as he puts the finishing touches on the firing tubes for the fireworks he has planned. It'll be a glorious sight when that impostor that stands in the place of lady justice gets blown sky high and he silently thanks his long departed house guest for the suggestion of the music that will accompany his plan. His thoughts idly turn to Audrey and he smiles to himself, content in knowing that she should be walking on North American soil by now.
She lets out a sigh as she looks out over the railing, barely noticing the dolphins frolicking in the wake made by the ship while the freezing wind tries to rip her knitted cap from her head. V tried to train her to deal with the tossing and pitching of the ship's deck but did nothing to prepare her for the bitter cold. She closes up her pea coat a little tighter and attempts not shiver as the wind dries out her skin and steals her breath away.
She thinks about the strange man who saved her life, giving her this chance for freedom and she wonders if it was all for naught. She looks out at the horizon towards the setting sun in hopes that maybe, just maybe, the ship she's been waiting for is coming, but once again she's met with disappointment. She stares down into the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean thinking about all of the worry that's been eating her inside for the past week and small part of her wonders what would happen if she just jumped overboard.
"There ya are, love," the all too cheerful voice of the first mate says behind her. "The captain's been lookin' for ya."
She looks back over her shoulder at him and feels her stomach do a flip-flop. After all of these years of being alone, why does she have to find someone she's attracted to now? As much as she would love to be able to let him into her life, she's too close to finally having her freedom to take the chance. She's kept him at arm's length for the past few weeks that they've been out here, but it's done her very little good if her initial reaction of wanting to slip into his arms is anything to go by. She squashes down her feelings and points up to the pilot house while looking into those incredible blue eyes of his.
"He's in his office," he tells her and she smiles her thanks to him.
She quickly moves past him, resisting the urge to breathe in his cologne and heads below deck. A minute later she's standing outside the captain's office and she can hear the yelling going on on the other side of the door. She recognizes the voice of the engineer having a few choice words with the captain and for a change she's not the subject of this verbal sparring match.
"I'm telling you that we're going to be damn lucky to make it back to port!" the engineer shouts. "I've been telling you that for the past three days! Why the hell haven't you been listening to me!?"
"All right, Sean, I'll take care of it," the captain calmly replies. "See what you can do to keep her going."
"Why the hell should I bother, Paul?" Sean snarls back.
"Because there'll be a nice bonus in your check if we make it back to port before the catch goes south," Paul assures him.
She hears a bit of grumbling from Sean and she manages to move out of the way just as the door is forcefully opened. Sean steps out into the narrow hallway, spots her and then gives her a hard glare for several seconds. She doesn't back down and stares right back at him.
She didn't spend six months of her life living with a crazy person to be frightened or intimidated by this jerk. After several seconds, he turns on his heel and marches away, returning to the dark hole he crawled out from. She gives a sigh of relief as the muscles in her neck and shoulders start to relax and then she remembers what she overheard. She quickly steps up to the open portal and gently knocks on the door.
"Ah, Audrey, just the lass I wanted to see," Paul greets as he hangs up the phone that connects him to the pilot house. "Please come in."
She steps into the room with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and closes the door behind her. She pulls out her small pad of paper and pencil out of her pocket and starts writing before she even makes it to the desk. When she finally looks at the man across from her, he doesn't meet her eyes and she holds her pad up for him to read.
We're heading back.
"I'm afraid so," he softly replies and she starts writing again.
I can't go back.
"Well, unless you intend to swim the rest of the way to Canada, you're going to have to," he tells her, keeping his voice down so he can't be heard by anyone wandering past his door.
I'll take my chances, she writes back.
"Be reasonable," he quietly growls. "I've been putting my neck out for you ever since I agreed to take you on board. We should have started heading back five days ago, but instead we've been hanging out here waiting for your pick up."
Where are they?
"I don't know," he sighs in defeat and she can feel the ship starting to turn. "I've been calling them, but I haven't gotten a response. If they haven't shown up by now, I doubt they ever will."
If I go back, I'm dead.
"I'll keep you on board," he tells her as her heart starts to beat faster. "There's no reason for you to leave the ship. After all, someone has to stay on board and the authorities have never had a reason to search the ship before."
Until now.
"You'll be fine," he assures her. "The man who paid me to take you will be paying even more once you're safely across The Pond. I'll finally be able to get this old crate refitted and the engine properly fixed. I'll take care of you. You'll be fine."
Unless someone talks.
"Who's going to talk?" he asks. "My men are trustworthy. Besides, they all think you're a legitimate hire."
Sean hates me.
"Sean hates everyone," he scoffs. "You're his latest target because you're new."
And I'm a woman.
"Did you really slap him across the face the first day out at sea?" he questions in disbelief.
He grabbed my breast.
"I'm surprised you didn't kick in the privates," he chuckles.
No room in the hall.
He laughs out loud but quickly sobers when he sees the look on her face.
"It's going to be all right, Audrey," he says.
She doesn't answer him, just stares listlessly at the pad of paper and pencil in her hands, unable to give them the strength to work. She can feel her stomach tying itself up in knots, her heart pounding against her ribs and the sting of tears in her eyes, but she can do nothing to stop them as hope leaves her. She closes her eyes as she seeks to control her fears and she can hear Paul leave his seat.
"I promise I'll get you home," he says as he lays a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're just going to have to hang in there a little bit longer. Ok?"
I have a choice?
"No, I guess not," he sighs. "But it's the best I can offer you right now."
She sighs herself and then gets up to leave.
"Are you going to be all right?" he asks.
I'll live. For now anyways.
Before he can respond to that, she's out the door and he's about to go after her again when the first mate shows up in his door.
"What can I do for you, Tom?" Paul questions.
"I've cast the net," Tom reports, looking back over his shoulder.
"Ok, thank you," Paul replies as he goes to sit back down.
"Is she ok?" Tom asks, concern tingeing his words. "She looked like someone just told her her dog had run away."
"I'm not sure," Paul responds. "Do me a favor, try and keep an eye on her."
"Sure thing," Tom agrees.
"Thanks, Tom," Paul says as he starts to go through the paperwork on his desk.
"Not a problem," Tom replies as he disappears down the hall, intent on carrying out the request right away.
"Incoming!" someone yells over the howling wind.
They brace themselves as best they can and a second later another wave washes over the side, drenching everyone on deck. She quickly blinks the salt water off of her eyes, her face already too numb to feel the biting cold as she makes a grab for their latest catch. She easily shifts her weight as the ship dips down into the well before the next wave, barely managing to miss getting whacked by the blue fin tuna that's just landed on the deck in front of her.
One look is all she needs to know that this one is too small and will have be tossed back in. Without waiting for anyone else, she grabs the fish by the tail in one hand, under the gills with the other and hefts the struggling animal up. Another wave slams into the side of the ship just as she throws the fish back into the ocean and she gets hit head on with a wall of water, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She can feel her feet leave the deck as the ship dips down violently and she knows that she's about to die.
At first she panics as she starts to go over the side and then that calm part of her that learned to accept death takes over. She briefly wonders what Canada would have been like and how well she would have adjusted to a life where she belongs to herself. She then contemplates if she'll die from the fall over the side of the ship or if she'll just freeze to death in the icy waters.
The small part of her that still wants to live makes her grab for the railing just as she starts to go over it. However, a combination of the slick railing, wet gloves and her nearly numb fingers means that it's hopeless and she closes her eyes, not wanting to really see what fate has in store for her. The irony of having survived so much at the hands of humans only to lose her life to the sea is not lost on her.
Suddenly, someone grabs the hood of her slicker and yanks her back towards the ship. She can hear the material tearing as the front of her rain jacket slams into her throat, cutting off her air passage. She claws at her neck just as she's slammed down onto the deck, knocking what little air was left in her lungs out of them.
She's too stunned from being knocked around to notice what's going on and its not until she's being set down on the bench next to the table in the galley does her brain start to register what's going on. Tom is fussing over her, talking to her and trying to get her to respond as his face swims in and out of focus. It takes her several moments before she can start to understand what he's saying and by then she's also becoming aware of her body.
"Audrey, are ya alright?" he asks worriedly as she tries to draw a deep breath and winces at the pain in her throat. "Can ya understand me?"
She nods weakly at him as she tries reach up to rub her neck only to find that he's got hold of her hands. She looks down at them dumbly, trying to figure out why he's holding them. That's when she realizes she's shivering, her teeth are chattering and she's soaking wet.
"Ok, good," he responds as he vigorously rubs his hands over hers and she can hear the fear in his voice. "You're lookin' at me, that's a good start."
She gives him a small smile just as Paul comes in and she can see he's sopping wet too.
"Is she all right?" Paul asks.
"I think she'll be ok, but she needs to get warmed up," Tom answers. "I was about to take her back to her quarters and get her to change into dry clothes."
"Good," Paul replies with a sigh and she looks at him before casting her gaze at the door. "Don't worry, lass, the catch is in. We'll wait out this squall before casting the net again. Just go get warmed up now. You won't be doing anyone any good if you freeze yourself half to death."
She gives him a funny look before trying to stand up, only to find that her legs don't really want to obey her commands. Tom wastes no time getting his arm around her waist and helping her to her feet. She tries not to lean on him, but it's like her body turns traitor and her head drops onto his shoulder of its own accord.
She's so very cold and tired and all she wants to do is go to sleep. She's starting to go numb and hardly notices when Tom holds her tighter. She's not even aware of her eyes shutting so she never sees the worried look on Paul's face.
"See if you can get her into a hot shower," Paul instructs and Tom nods as he half carries, half drags her out of the room.
The next time she opens her eyes, she's standing in her tiny shower wearing just her long johns. The hot water pours over her and she tries to figure out how she got there. She finally notices that there's a hand that has a tight hold of her arm and she looks over at the owner of the arm.
"Are you alright now?" Tom asks, concern etched across his face. "Do ya think ya can stand on your own?"
She nods and he carefully releases her arm, staying close just in case she's mistaken.
"Alright then," he sighs in relief as he heads for the door. "I'm going to go get dried off. Ya might want to get the rest of you're clothes off before comin' out. I'll come back and check on ya in a bit, love."
By the time his words completely sink into her half frozen brain, he's gone, shutting the door behind him. With some difficulty, she manages to strip the last of her clothes off, glad that he was gentleman enough not to strip her bare. After washing herself as quickly as she can, she stumbles out of the shower, not sure if its her or the ship that's causing her lack coordination.
Despite the shower, she still feels cold right down to her core, so she dries off as quickly as she can. She leaves the warm and steamy bathroom and dashes for the chest of drawers with her clothing is kept, trying not to let her teeth chatter as she pulls her clothes out. Her trembling fingers make it hard to get dressed and it takes her a lot longer than normal to at least get the first couple of layers of clothes on.
She's just about to put her flannel shirt on over the other layers of clothing when there's a quiet knock at the door. Knowing that she doesn't so much as dare to squeak, she goes to the door and opens it a crack.
"Ah, good, you're out," Tom states happily and she nods as she opens the door for him. "You're lookin' a lot better, love. I've gotta tell ya, blue really isn't you're color."
She smiles over her shoulder at him and he grins in response as he follows her into the tiny cabin. He watches her as she shrugs her shirt on and starts to button it up. He sees she's having problems with her fingers still shaking and goes to help her, stopping dead when he sees the growing bruise across the base of her throat.
"Was that caused by me grabbing your slicker?" he asks as he gently traces a finger over the sensitive skin and she nods while her heart starts beating double time. "I'm really sorry about that."
She grabs a pad of paper and a pencil off of the dresser and quickly starts to write, hoping that the reason her hands are shaking is because she's still cold, but knowing it's not.
Better then swimming with the fishes.
"I guess so," he softly chuckles as he moves closer and she's fairly sure her heart is going to leap right out of her chest. "I've gotta tell ya, love, when I saw ya get hit by that wave, I just about had a heart attack."
Thank you for saving me.
"Trust me, love, the pleasure was all mine," he quietly tells her as his hand comes up and gently caresses her cheek. "If you had gone over, I would have never been able to do this."
Before she can even think to write anything, his lips are on hers and the pad and pencil slip out of nerveless fingers. He slips his arm around her waist while the other hand cradles the back of her head and it takes every ounce of willpower for her not to moan. She knows this can't continue, so she places the flat of her hands on his chest to push him away and he deepens the kiss making it even harder for her to think clearly.
Her fickle fingers instinctively curl up, grabbing several layers of clothing as the world shrinks down to just the two of them and that's when a explosion rocks the entire ship.