I am so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry guys. I really am. But my AS exams start on the 13th. So I've been working. Only I finished this by adding a few sentences at a time, and I had to post it. After the 22nd of May I will try and post more often. Honest... But for now, enjoy this!

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Chapter 13

John, who'd glanced up in time to see her face go white, leapt forward and grabbed her. Together with Mrs Blackett he'd carried her up the stairs and laid her on the bed. Having checked that her pulse was steady and all that had happened was that she'd fainted, they left her upstairs and joined everyone else in the living room, where the others were eager to hear the tale. It was now nearly morning, and though the sun wasn't yet risen, nobody felt like they would get any sleep till they'd heard the full story.

The man whom they'd rescued had been brought round, and he was now sitting on the sofa, wrapped in towels, blankets, and an old dressing gown, drinking cocoa, which cook had produced by the bucketful. The Great Aunt, aside from being slightly paler than usual, looked completely normal. She looked up as John and Mrs Blackett entered the room.

"How is Ruth? Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine, Aunt Maria, she's resting now."

"If anything happens... It'll be my fault."

Everyone stared in astonishment. Was the GA feeling guilty? She was capable of emotion?

"Don't worry, Aunt," Mrs Blackett soothed. "It'll be fine. Nan– Ruth is strong. She'll be alright. Now, how about you tell us what happened?"

"Well, you put me on the boat, as you know, and we set off pretty well. It was raining hard, and we couldn't see much, but I was convinced that as Simon" (she gestured to the man they'd saved with her) "is local, and has grown up on this lake, we'd be alright. We seemed to be making quick work through the dark, and I really thought we were going to make it safely. Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a grinding noise, and the whole boat shuddered. The next thing I knew, there was water in the bottom of the boat, around my feet. I didn't know what to do! Simon grabbed my arm, pulled me forward in the boat, and pretty much threw me out. The water was shallow, and in the darkness I could just about make out the shape of an island, so I scrambled towards it. I expected Simon to follow me, to appear behind me, but when I turned round he wasn't there.

"I waded back out, into the water, towards the boat. He was swimming towards me, but he wasn't really moving forwards. In one hand, just above water level, he held a torch. I could see he was sinking.

"As quickly as I could I waded towards him, taking the torch with one hand and using the other to help him stand. He was unsteady on his feet, and I could see he wouldn't make it far before collapsing. I urged him on as best I could, we made it close to 'dry' land, but then he lost his footing, fell. I managed to keep his head above water, but it was obvious that he was unconscious, and I'm afraid that in dragging him to shore I may have rather badly cut and bruised him.

"I dragged him as far up the beach as I could, still carrying the torch, then stopped to think. It was obvious the storm was planning on continuing on for ages, and I wasn't sure how badly injured Simon was. The last thing I wanted was to come down with a fever at Christmas, and I knew he wouldn't want pneumonia either. So I took the torch, and plodded back down to the lakes edge. Turning the torch on, I then realised I had no idea what to do with it, and I suddenly wished I had paid attention to Ruth, all those years ago, when she'd tried to explain to me that Morse code was important and I ought to learn it. But I hadn't listened, and I had no idea what to signal. So I just waved. I waved the torch up and down and backwards and forwards till I felt quite dizzy. And I didn't stop. Not when the wind changed direction and the rain hit my face, not when my hat blew off and disappeared into the distance, not even when I noticed the torch was dimming so rapidly I only had a short amount of time left.

"It was then, just as I thought I was going to have to give up hope, that I saw a light appearing in the distance. I yelled, then, like I've never yelled before and I hope I never have to yell again. 'Help!' I shouted, and it seemed like they could hear me. The boat was heading closer, and I kept yelling and waving my near dead torch. And then from the boat I heard Ruth's startled voice call out 'Aunt Maria?' and I knew everything was going to be alright.

"Together Ruth and this young man here picked up Simon, and carried him down to the boat, and I climbed in after, and then they rowed expertly back here."

Now the storytelling fell to John, and he recounted how Nancy had woken him up, and begged him to help. He told them of the hunt for the Amazon in the dark, and rowing to the island with Nancy (sorry, Ruth!) holding the lantern, and of their shock and horror at finding it was Mrs Turner who was stranded.

"And you know the rest." John finished.

"What I want to know," Mrs Blackett suddenly announced, "Is why N- Ruth was out of bed in the first place. She should have been asleep, not looking out the window."

"Who knows?" Peggy observed.

"She'll tell us when she's recovered," John said confidently. "She probably wanted a glass of water or something."

"Probably."

"But why," Titty complained, "Did she wake you? It's hardly fair! We're all good sailors, and I don't see why you got the adventure."

John's face flushed a strange shade of red, which he hoped people would put down to the heat in the room. Susan saved him.

"Because John's the oldest and the closest to Nancy in age. Besides, he's the commodore. It had to be him who went."

Everyone had to admit there was sense in this answer.

The conversation drifted after that, and the group sat up until it was gone seven. Then Mrs Walker caught Roger yawning, remembered that everyone had lost a lot of sleep, and rushed about organising the reorganising of rooms so that Nancy was left undisturbed. The GA was given Mrs Blackett's bed, and Captain Flint, Timothy, Roger and John were set up with beds in the sitting room, some on the floor and some on the sofa. The girls got the boys room and Simon was put on a collapsible camp bed in the dining room, where the table had to be shifted to one side. Mrs Blackett and Mrs Walker made sure everyone was safely tucked in and the curtains were shut, before heading to bed themselves, Mrs Walker in with Bridget, Titty, Susan and Peggy who were head and tailing in the beds, and Mrs Blackett in with Nancy, in the spare bed.

John lay downstairs, listening to the others breathing deepen as they fell asleep, and watching the room grow lighter as day grew. He soon gave up on sleep. As tired as he was, he was too worried about Nancy. Once he was certain the others were asleep he slipped out of the room and climbed the stairs, not really sure what he was going to do when he got there. Luckily for him, Mrs Blackett heard him coming, and stuck her head out, expecting to have to send someone back to bed. But when she saw the look in John's eyes she opened the door wide, and gestured to him to enter.

"How is she?" John whispered desperately, anxious to hear any news.

"I don't know." Worry crossed Mrs Blackett's face, and she sighed. "It isn't like Nancy. She doesn't faint, and she certainly doesn't collapse like this. She's never been in the habit of getting up for a glass of water in the night either."

"But physically...?"

"Her pulse is stable, her breathing regular. She has a slight temperature, but then she was out in the pouring rain. If I hadn't seen her collapse, I'd say she was just sleeping."

John saw the look of exhaustion that crossed Mrs Blackett's face.

"You need sleep too. Go to bed. I'll wake you if there's any change," He could see she was going to protest, so added "...Or after 2 hours. We'll work it like you would keeping watch on a ship. Get some sleep."

And Mrs Blackett found herself agreeing, and climbing into the other bed, vaguely aware of John taking up the wooden chair next to Nancy's bed. Then she felt sleep claim her, and this time she didn't fight it, aware her daughter was safe in John's care.

...

John sat beside Nancy, taking her hand and praying she was alright. He agreed with Mrs Blackett, it wasn't like Nancy, although he knew she hadn't had much sleep recently. It was probably a result of exhaustion, not helped by the pain she was obviously suffering from the loss of her father, many years before.

He'd heard that you could grow to associate a person with a time of the year, and if he'd died around Christmas, well, it made sense that that was when she remembered him most.

The clock in the corner ticked on steadily as Nancy and Mrs Blackett slept. John sat, lost in his thoughts. He didn't notice the two hours pass, nor the third. He didn't notice the room brighten as the rain outside stopped for the first time in days. He was entirely caught up in watching Nancy as she lay in front of him, a strange mix of worry and confidence muddling his head as he tried to convince himself she'd be fine.

"John..." His gaze flickered up, from her hand, which he'd been holding, to her face, her eyes wide open, and staring at him intently. "You look terrible!" She exclaimed, and he chuckled, worry abated.

"You look worse."

"What happened?"

"You fainted."

"I didn't!"

"You did."

"Amazon pirates don't faint."

"What was it then? A ploy to allow you to throw yourself into my arms? I'm flattered!"

She laughed along with him.

"Is Great Aunt...?"

"She's fine. So's Simon?"

"Simon?"

"The man we saved."

"What time is it?"

"About... Half eleven."

"Evening?"

"Morning."

"Why's it so quiet?"

"Everyone's asleep. Mother sent them all back to bed."

"And not you?"

"Me as well. I couldn't sleep, I was too worried. I came up to see how you were, and your mum was here, and she looked exhausted, so I offered to keep an eye on you so she could sleep."

"And she let you?"

"Well, I promised to wake her up after two hours. You know, work shifts."

"Like keeping watch on a boat. How long ago was this?"

"Three and a half hours ago. Ish."

"Perhaps you should wake her."

"Perhaps I should. But she needed sleep."

"So do you. You look exhausted."

"I am," he said, suddenly realising how true that was.

She grinned up at him. "You sound surprised commodore! Neither of us have had much sleep recently."

"True," he admitted. "Do you think that's why...?"

"... Why I collapsed? Probably. After having very little sleep the night before last, and then last night, I was so tired, but I couldn't sleep, I felt restless, probably a result of being trapped inside all the time. In the end I got up, and just paced, round and round, downstairs. And then I saw the light, coming from the lake, and you know what my first feeling was? Relief. Not worry or fear, but relief, because finally I had an excuse to leave the house. Does that make me a bad person?"

And to his surprise, because this sort of worry was not one often presented by Nancy, he could see real, genuine fear in her eyes. His heart jumped in his chest, and he rose, sitting down next to her on the bed and wrapping his arms around her. "No," he whispered. "No, Nance, you're not a bad person. You did the right thing. You woke me, and we launched a rescue mission. The fact you're worrying about being a bad person just proves you aren't one."

She leant into his embrace for a while, then pulled away slightly. "Thank you, commodore. Thank you."

"No problem, love, it's what I'm here for."He paused for a moment, then sighed. "I guess I should wake your mother now."

"No need," came a voice from behind him. "I'm awake."

Mrs Blackett came forward and smiled at Nancy. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright."

John suddenly became aware he was still sitting on the bed with Nancy wrapped in his arms and shifted as though to move away. Mrs Blackett placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, stay where you are. I know your motives were pure."

"How long have you been awake, mother?" Nancy asked, for Mrs Blackett's statement had revealed she had heard at least some of the conversation.

"I came round as you told John he looked tired. Why have neither of you had much sleep?"

Nancy sighed.

"I don't... sleep much at Christmas time. The other night John found me, sat with me, and eventually convinced me to go to bed."

"But... Why?"

John felt Nancy tense, and squeezed her hand. Nancy smiled at him gratefully, then turned to her mother.

"Because... that's when... Daddy," And Nancy dissolved into tears.

"Oh, Nancy!" Exclaimed her mother, rushing forward to comfort her. And John, seeing he was no longer needed, or wanted, for this was a family matter, slipped out the room and back downstairs, where he settled back down on his blanket on the floor, and, worries relieved, fell asleep.

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So, there you go. I hope it went a small way to making up for my complete disappearance...

Dracones: Thanks for the praise. I don't know whether to make the GA nicer now, or whether she should stay being the 'evil' character... Any suggestions. Also, whether I should give her a backstory...

Twiggy288: No, she's not dead...! Thanks for reviewing, it means a lot

constantlearner: Yup! Lack of sleep just about covers it. Well done for guessing... Thanks for the support and the mention in 'Interview'!

SkyeBlue: Thanks for the review, hope it all made sense. Don't worry about not reviewing... It's not like I'm regular at updating, so it balances out...

huidinigirl: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this.

Jen4850: Thanks for the feedback, pleased you enjoyed it.

Solo2863: Thanks for reading it! I realise sometimes it's a bit modern in places, I've found myself looking up the most odd things (such as when welly boots become popular, I think that's the next chapter...) to try and get it as accurate as possible, but sometimes I miss stuff...

Nankai no kyoufu: I apologise for apologising all the time! Thanks for reviewing. I shall bear in mind the surnames thing. I greatly enjoyed having the GA told off... Also, thanks for the racing idea, I shall consider it, perhaps for later though (not sure about having them racing at christmas!). I shall try and fit something in. The actual race was in August...

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The other thing is, there are a growing number of us on here, but where is the fandom on Tumblr? I have yet to find a S&A Fan group, as such. I have set up an account under the name swallowsandamazonsforever and it would be great if we could try and get a small fandom section for ourselves, with some fan art etc. (I can't draw...)

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Bye for now, I hope to post again soon,

Thanks,

G4E