Hey ya'll, I took a break from this story for awhile because I kind of had writers block. I'm going to try to finish the story soon, sorry about the long wait!
Disclaimer: I only own Caroline!
One call to the institute and Matt would have everything he would need to research the shark by the time we left the next morning. I pulled together a bag of clothes I had sworn I would get rid of a long time ago, but never seemed to get around to it. Guess it was a good thing I didn't. It was late in the day when it seemed like phone calls stopped coming, and we were able to finally relax. "The guys from the institute are coming to my dad's to drop everything off there, why don't you meet us there?" I asked Martin who I was on the phone with.
"Sounds good Caroline, we'll meet you there." he said. I said goodbye before hanging up. I was making mixing up pancake batter for dinner; it was a tradition of mine, to have pancakes the night before going out on the Orca. As I poked at one of the pancakes with a spatula Matt came in from the living room.
"Pancakes for dinner?" he asked and I smiled.
"It's silly, but it's tradition." I said with a shrug.
"I haven't had homemade pancakes since I was a kid." he chuckled as I flipped a pancake. "You know..." he said slowly and I looked at him. "It's quiet." he said and I nodded as I flipped the other pancakes. "It's almost like it's not out there." he said and I smiled.
"Well he won't be for much longer." I said and he nodded.
After we finished our food I was doing the dishes when Matt came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I put the dishes down and turned off the water before touching his hands. He lanced our fingers together and I turned around, allowing him to kiss me deeply. I cupped his face, feeling his beard under my fingers I smiled lightly before wrapping my arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss before I pulled away. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said. "Let's go upstairs." He smiled and took my hand, before allowing me to lead him upstairs.
"So now's as good a time as any." he said as he walked back into the bedroom awhile later and I looked at him curiously.
"For what?" I asked as he sipped a glass of water he had gone to get.
"To tell me what really happened to make you stop working with your father."
"You want to know the truth?" I asked and he nodded. "Okay. Truth is, we were one a two day trip, it was night time, Quint decided to put me on the first night watch and he went to sleep after drinking heavily, and two of the men decided to come have a little chat with me while I was up by the helm..." I said slowly.
"Did they hurt you?" he asked, his eyes looked angry and fierce as he took my hand.
"They tried to. The third man on their trip, he stopped them. My dad never woke up." I said and he stared at me for a long moment before he walked the rest of the way into the room, sat down on the side of the bed and pulled me into a long hug. I hugged him back tightly and he rested his chin on the top of my head.
"Well I don't think you have to worry about anything like that with Martin." he said and I laughed before I looked up at him.
"Well what about you, Mr. Hooper?" I asked with a small smile.
"Well to be perfectly honest, Miss Quint," he said imitating my tone. "It might be best to worry about me."
"Oh really?" I asked and he smirked before he leaned in, pressing his lips against mine again.
"Hey guys." I said to the two boys from the oceanographic institute as they unloaded some stuff onto the dock. "Do you need any help?"
"Uh, no thanks Miss Quint." one of them smiled at me. I shrugged and walked onto the Orca, checking to make sure my bag was secure before going back to the dock.
"Caroline, make yerself useful!" Quint shouted before chucking a bag over the railing of the balcony at me. I caught it easily and brought it onto the boat, chuckling at the shocked and semi horrified faces of Matt's friends.
"What are you guys staring at?" I heard Matt ask and they both scrambled to do something quickly. I looked out at Matt who smiled and winked at me, before looking at his friends who were starting to explain all of the equipment.
"Straight Jet, killing lance, tail rope, eye splice, M1, handy billy, pliers, irons," Quint was listing off as he and his mate walked down the stairs to the dock.
"Sample bottles, dye markers, flares, saftey float, temperature gauge, spear guns, SMG..." Matt's friend was reading off their own list as I stood on the side of the boat looking amused at all of this high tech stuff.
"What are you, some kind of half ass astronaut?" Quint asked and Matt looked at him before rolling his eyes. Dad started cackling as he stepped on board the Orca and shoved an armload of stuff into my hands. "Take that junk below and you latch it secure, all right, you understand?" he shouted to his mate as a man came rolling some metal contraption up behind Matt who was stepping onto the boat. "Jesus H. Christ." he said as he looked at the equipment. "Caroline, you seeing this?"
"I'm right here." I said from the helm.
"When I was a boy every little squirt wanted to be a harpooner or a swordfisherman. What do you got here? A portable shower or a monkey cage?" he asked and Matt looked at it before looking at my Dad.
"Anti-Shark cage." Matt answered.
"Anti-Shark cage?" dad nodded, and looked back at me with a slightly amused, of not concerned look, then looked back at Matt. "You go inside the cage?" Matt nodded looking almost giddy at the idea. Either that or he was still in a really good mood from earlier. "Cage goes in the water? You go in the water? Shark's in the water. Our shark." Matt nodded the entire time and Dad grinned. "Farewell and Adeu, to you fair spanish ladies, Farewell and adeu, you ladies of spain. For we've recived orders, for to sail back to boston, And so nevermore, shall we see you again." he sang and to his credit Matt only looked at me, I rolled his eyes and he smiled widely.
"You seem to be handling him well." I said as I walked over to help pack up the rest of Matt's stuff.
"I've decided to just take whatever he dishes out." he informed me and I nodded.
"A very wise decision Mr. Hooper." I said and he smiled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me close.
"Why thank you Miss Quint." he said softly. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him when Dad started shouting about something I had done wrong.
"Son of a bitch! Goddamn women today, they can't handle nothing-"
"Quint, what are you hollering about?!" I shouted back to him, looking away from Matt. I huffed out a sigh and stepped back onto the Orca, narrowly avoiding the god damn little devil animal Quint claimed was a dog.
"Break it up, will you, chief?" Quint shouted suddenly as I carried the rest of the scientific crap Matt insisted on bringing with us. Call me old fashioned, or call me a Quint, I don't care, I just didn't see the point in bringing most of this stuff. "Daylight's wasting! Front, bow, back, stern. You don't get it right, squirt, I throw your ass out the little round window. Come one, chief! This isn't no boy scout picnic! I see you got your rubbers." He gave a vulgar laugh making me roll my eyes as Matt climbed on board and sent his friends from the institute off. "Here lies the body of Mary Lee, Died at the age of a hundred and three. For fifteen years she kept her virginity - Not a bad record for this vicinity!" he laughed again as Ellen ran off and I shook my head. "Don't worry, chief. They may not like you going out, but they'll love you coming back in! If you see a shark Hooper, swallow!" Martin climbed onto the boat and I told him where to store his stuff before I climbed up to the helm with Matt and started the boat up, before navigating out of the harbor.
Awhile later I was sitting in the Crow's nest, looking out at the empty water around me while Martin scooped the chum line. Dad sat in his seat, drinking a beer and holding his fishing pole while Matt messed around with a green box that was supposedly giving him some form of readings. "Keep that chum line going, chief. We got five good miles on him." Dad said to Martin.
"Who's driving this boat?" Martin asked as he looked at Matt who was sitting near him, and then to me.
"Nobody," was the reply. "The tide. One time I caught a sixteen footer off Montauk. Had to stick two barrels in him. Two to wear him down and bring him up." he looked Matt over as I climbed down from the crow's nest to grab a drink of water. "Nowadays, these kids, they bring everything. Radar, sonar, electric toothbrushes. Hey, chief! Best drop another chum marker." Matt just nodded as Quint poked fun at him, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Jesus H. Christ." dad muttered as he opened a beer and brought it to his lips.
He caught Matt looking and made it a point to down the entire beer in one singly, seemingly endless drink, before crushing it in his hand, his eyes never leaving Matt's. Matt, taking it as a challenge, drank the entire contents of his Styrofoam cup in one gulp and easily crushed the cup on his hand before dropping it one the ground.
A loud clang got everyone's attention as Martin pulled what he thought was the chum line, but ended up being the line securing the anti shark cage and Matt's compressed air. Martin fell back, groaning slightly before he pulled the orange safety vest off, he was the only one who had insisted on wearing it.
"Watch it! Damn it, Martin!" Matt sighed as he caught the tanks. "This is compressed air!"
"Well what the hell kind of a knot was that?!" Martin shouted back, obviously a little embarrassed about his mistake.
"You pulled the wrong one. You screw around with these tanks and they're going to blow up."
"Yeah, that's real fine expensive gear you brought out here Mr. Hooper," Quint said looking back at Matt quickly as Martin took the chum marker and went to work with it. "Course I don't know what that bastard shark's going to do with it. Might eat it, I suppose. Seen one eat a rocking chair one time." Matt worked on retying the knots securing the anti shark cage and the compressed air while I started the climb back onto the crow's nest, the excitement over apparently. "Hey Chiefey, Next time you just ask me which line to pull, right?" he muttered to Martin and Martin looked back at him, then to the chum line.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, you get to see a bit more of Caroline in her element.
Please don't forget to review!