All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Dollybigmomma is my beta master as always, she also helps with the writing of Em's pov.

Chapter 41 - Storms Ahead

EDWARD

Captain Tagger was anxious to get to port in Galveston and drop off Chauncey. Beau was furious with her and had decided to stay with her in Texas. Apparently, they had a great-aunt or something that lived just north of Houston.

They were packing up the ship and getting her ready to sail as I worked on the injured man, trying to stabilize him enough to sail with them. He had been doing a lot better after that last operation, but it was still hard to tell. I told the captain as much, and he thanked me for my effort. I sat with him late into the night, making sure he was well-hydrated, and his feeding tube was in place before they left.

The captain took me to where they were keeping him, and I went over his care with Chauncey and another fellow who would be helping the man. Once they had him settled in the bed and ready to go, I still waited with him for a while longer, watching to make sure he was still going in the right direction. It was surprising how quickly a patient could go downhill at the drop of a hat, and I hated that I wouldn't be there to stop it if it happened.

There was a very good chance this fellow would die, but I was hoping I was wrong. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked at me confused as he took in his surroundings. "Hey, I'm Dr. Cullen, you need to drink lots of water and stay down. Your wound needs to stay clean, and you can only be tube fed for a while, because I had to remove part of your intestine that'd been damaged," I pointed out the tubes. "That's what that tube is for. You're also hooked up so you don't have to get up to go to the bathroom. I've shown a couple of the crew how to change out the bags for you, so there's no reason for you to get up. Do you understand? It's of vital importance that you stay down and not rip your stitches or reopen your wound. There isn't enough skin to cover it all, so it's very important that you don't disturb it."

He nodded, and I smiled.

"It's good that you're awake. I hope the next time I see you, you're well." He gave me a worried smile. "Remember, absolutely no alcohol or smoking. You don't have enough liver for the drink anymore, the smoke will inhibit healing, and believe me, you can use all the help you can get."

His mind was worried and scared. He wanted to see his grandmother. There was a pearl necklace he had hidden in his quarters he was keeping for her. He wanted to give it to her for her birthday, but wasn't sure now if he would make it. He worried that she'd be alone. She lived in New Orleans, and he wondered how she'd faired this hurricane season. The wind was coming from the south again. That was never a good sign.

I met with Captain Tagger one more time and wished them a safe voyage. They were eager to get ahead of the storm, and I hoped they did. I watched them, until they were well away from the island out on the ocean and on their way.

I hurried back toward the cave, watching the dark clouds rolling in on the horizon. I wondered if we had enough food left after the goat's mess to make it through another storm. I pulled off my shirt and pants and tied them into sacks. I filled the shirt full of all the ripe fruit I could find and what few vegetables we still had left growing and filled my pants full of grain tops, being careful to keep an eye out for the mountain lions. I suspected with the approaching storm, though, that they had sought shelter deeper into the jungle.

When I finally made it into the cave, I was surprised to see it was completely clean. Bella had wasted no time taking care of the goat mess. There was a small bowl with what looked like leftovers in it for me, so I ate it quickly and went looking for her.

I found her in our bed, with little Jake lying across her stomach. I wasn't surprised to find him there, after what had happened. I changed and snuggled in next to her. I moved Jake off of her and pulled her back against me. She rolled over in her sleep and snuggled into me as I held her.

I hoped with the coming storm that we'd be alright.

EMMETT

Holy hell! The ocean had gone from reasonably calm, to a freaking washing machine in a matter of hours. The captain had been quiet since our morning wakeup call that shall never again be mentioned, and that was fine with me. He had spent the morning going over the maps with Alice, plotting a course. Between the pitching waves and my hangover, I wasn't in much of a condition to contribute with my head hanging over the side of the boat.

I finally donated the last of my intestines to King Triton and made my way into the bridge, where the captain and Tinkerbelle were eyeing the sky warily. Dark, boiling clouds had overtaken us, and the smell of rain was heavy in the thick humid air. They had a shortwave radio on the NOAA weather radio channel, and it sounded like we were in for some choppy weather from a tropical depression developing in the Caribbean. They were expecting it to strengthen over the next twenty-four hours, which was bad news for us.

"If that thing turns into a hurricane, we're going to need to find a parking place in a hurry. Any speculation as to when we might be finding the island?" I asked Alice.

"We may be able to make it to the island before the storm, but I'm not sure if I can find them and get us safely into the shelter in time. We can't be out in this storm! It's only going to be a category one hurricane when it hits the island, but it's going to blow up into a huge storm before it hits the U.S. coast. I'm not sure what to do," she huffed, and I had a feeling that was a first for her.

"We can make it to the island, but I can't guarantee the ship's survival of the storm or our own! We can head to port, but again, the ship will be threatened, and it'll be by a much larger hurricane, causing immense damage! The island is the only place the ship has a chance, but I'm not sure we will! We'd have to hurry. Can you make the ship go faster?" she asked Captain Whitlock, looking up at the sails.

He nodded yes and disappeared. We heard a soft hum, and the ship jerked forward, picking up considerable speed. I looked at the pixie and she smiled.

"That should do it. We should get there in time!" she said squealing and jumped into the arms of our captain. They quickly plotted a course to the island. We were going to have to go around part of it, so the ship wouldn't be damaged by the coral reefs that surrounded part of the island. Then Alice insisted we had to pull the damn ship ashore. I wasn't even sure that was possible, but the captain seemed to think it was. We had to beach the ship, and all I could think was that we were finally getting there. We were finally going to make it to the island!

BELLA

I woke to Edward pressing his cock against me and squeezing my breast. He let out a groan in his sleep and whispered my name. Apparently, he was having a good dream. I smiled at him and then looked across our bed at Jake sleeping. He was starting to stir, and I didn't want him to catch Edward feeling me up. I started to unwind Edward's arms from me, but he tightened his grip and complained. "Mine," he mumbled, and it made me smile. I leaned down and kissed his nose. Maybe later tonight I could get Jake into his own bed and we could finally be alone.

I pulled away, kissing his lips softly, and he finally started to release me with a groan of discontent. "I'm sorry, baby," I whispered as I moved off the bed. I headed for the hidden entrance and started removing the blockade. I needed to let the goats out for the day.

Sam heard me up and came to give me moral support. When I finally got the door open, I realized the sky was heavily overcast. I didn't know if I should take the goats out or not. I didn't want them to panic and scatter like in the last storm.

I walked back through our kitchen and found Edward's pants and shirt full of food on my counter. Apparently, he had been aware of the approaching storm last night. I decided to do my best to keep an eye on the goats and let them out.

I pulled the debris that hid the entrance inside. I thought we could use it for firewood if we needed to, and I decided to grab the duffle bag. I had started making a mattress for Chauncey, but decided that I wouldn't mind using it as extra padding for our bed. I wanted to get more moss, before it got wet. I took it and the cart. When I went to let the goats out, the chickens all perked up, and I shushed them and told them to follow me as well. I needed their bug eating expertise while I collected the moss.

I figured I'd only stay out as long as the weather would allow. First sign of rain in the distance and I'd be moving the goats back inside. We couldn't risk losing any more of them.

I poked my head back in my room to make sure Jake was still sleeping and was surprised to find Ollie had made his way into my bed, filling my spot by snuggling into Edward. I had to muffle my laugh as Edward cuddled him closer, probably thinking it was me. I hoped I didn't smell like monkey, but when I sniffed myself, I knew that I probably did.

The goats were anxious and excited after being locked up for a few days. They were jumping over each other, trying to get to the pasture faster. They seemed to know where they were going and happily hurried ahead of me. I let Sam go ahead with them. I trusted him to keep an eye on them, while I did my best to fill the cart with moss. The chickens happily ate their breakfast, and Polly walked along with them, quietly getting her fill as well. I wondered if Polly recognized another storm was coming.

My efforts had taken us to the waterfall, and I looked around, wondering if the pirates had left or not. It was one thing to take the goats out, but it was another entirely to be caught naked by one of them.

I finished loading my cart and returned to the cave. I was surprised to find Edward up with Jake sitting in his lap. I truly thought Jake would sleep later.

"Hey, I'm sorry if he woke you up."

"Nah, it's fine. What do you have there?" he asked eyeing the cart.

"Well, I had pretty much sewn most of Chauncey's mattress, so I thought I'd stuff it and throw it on top of our bed."

He smiled. "That'd be nice. Sam watching the goats?" he asked.

"Yeah, I figured we'd come in, before it started to rain. I wish I could take a shower, though. The cave water smells like sulfur. Do you know when the pirates are leaving?"

"They're gone. You can go shower if you want." I looked down at little Jake. "Maybe I should take Jake to get cleaned up, too. It's been a while since he's had a good bath."

Edward smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing." He said nothing in a way that didn't imply nothing.

I carried Jake down to the waterfall, happy to finally get us cleaned up. We were both getting to be a little gamey. It was when I was undressed and turned toward little Jake, who was watching me curiously, that I remembered Edward was probably watching me through him. That dirty boy. I giggled to myself.

"Come on, Jake, let's get cleaned up. Oh, and you tell that daddy of yours to come down and get you, so I can clean up on my own."

"Da-Da!" Jake shouted happily.

I washed Jake up, and Edward came and took him from me just like I knew he would. I wasn't surprised he'd been watching me. He dried Jake off, dressing him and then set him loose to chase after the chickens. I watched as he settled down on the bank and watched me shower shamelessly.

Toward the end of my shower, he noticed Ollie was keeping Jake busy and stripped down, joining me under the waterfall. "If we were in a regular shower, I'd take you against the wall right now," he growled out. "But as it is, there's no wall to press you up against."

I didn't let that stop me from grabbing his member. It was a bold move for me, but I knew he would love it. I was right.

I would make sure there was a wall for him to take me against tonight.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!