Chapter Eight-
Giordano started compressions, fighting to keep Pete alive.
"Come on Pete, now's not the time to die," muttered Daniel.
"What would make his heart stop like that?" Asked 2Dads.
"The only thing we have on board that could do this is adrenaline, and he'd have to have a pre-existing heart condition for this to happen; it wouldn't affect a normal person," answered Giordano. Pete sucked in a painful breath, and Daniel sighed with relief.
"He's back," he announced.
"How did this even happen?" Asked Taylor.
"I don't know," admitted Giordano. Pete didn't even stir.
"2Dads, can you help me get him down to the wardroom? We'll get some oxygen on him to help him for a while," said Giordano. Leo nodded, and helped Daniel lift Pete up.
"We'll come back in a bit Taylor." Giordano, Pete and Leo left Taylor on the deck. He looked at the complement list in front of him, and realised that they were still missing two crew members.
Thorpe and Flynn.
Taylor sprinted to the bridge, and found Dutchy still in command.
"Taylor? What is it?" Asked Dutchy.
"They're not here," said Taylor breathlessly.
"What do you mean?"
"Charge and Commander Flynn. They're not on Victory," replied Taylor.
"No. They have to be here," came Kelly's voice as she appeared on the bridge.
"They're not ma'am. I've checked everywhere, and they're not here." Kelly felt her legs disappear from underneath her, and was lucky that Dutchy was quick enough to catch her.
"We need to go back," said Taylor.
"And do what?" Asked Kate as she came up the stairs.
"We need to save Charge and the CO! We can't let them drown!" Exclaimed Alex. Kate sighed, and rubbed her aching temples.
"Right; Dutchy, you've got a diving licence. Go with Taylor, see if you can find the CO or Charge. If at any point it becomes unsafe for you to be there, you get out, you hear? It's an order," said Kate. Dutchy nodded.
"Let me grab my gear, and we can be gone in two minutes. There's a spare set in the boarding room; I'll grab it for you," said Dutchy. Alex followed Dutchy down the stairs, leaving Kelly and Kate on the bridge.
"I can't lose Mike," whispered Kelly. Dutchy had moved her to the EOD chair, where she sat playing with the ring hanging from her neck.
"We won't lose him Kelly," assured Kate.
"We're going to get married," she whispered.
"He asked you to marry him?" Asked Kate incredulously. Kelly nodded, and looked up at Kate, her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't lose him Kate. I don't know what I'd do!" Exclaimed Kelly.
"We won't! You can't think like that. Dutchy and Taylor are going to get to him; you need to believe that," encouraged Kate. Kelly shook her head.
"What if they don't get to them in time? I won't get to tell Mike," she lamented.
"Tell Mike what?" Asked Kate. Kelly looked down at her hands, refusing to answer.
"Kelly? Tell Mike what?" Pressed Kate.
"I'm pregnant."
Bec woke up as Daniel and 2Dads dragged Pete into the wardroom. Slinger jumped up as they pulled him in.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Heart stopped. We got it going again, but he's not in a good way. Can we leave him with you?" Asked Giordano.
"Yeah, of course. Put him over here, and I'll look after him," said Slinger. Dutchy appeared in the doorway.
"Giordano, grab Halfy; we're going back to Hammersley." Giordano left, leaving 2Dads with Pete, Bec and Slinger.
"Will he be alright?" Asked Bec softly.
"We were there as soon as he went down, and Giordano started compressions straight away. He needs to be," said Leo.
"Well, he's breathing, he's got a good colour. If he comes around, it'll be even better, but for now, he's alive, and that's all that matters," replied Slinger. Sophia gave a little cry, and 2Dads came around the bed to see his daughters face.
"You are so beautiful," said Leo softly.
"Wouldn't want people to think you're soft now, would you 2Dads," said Pete raspily.
"You're awake! How do you feel?" Asked Slinger.
"Like a truck ran over my chest," admitted Pete.
"Do you know what happened?" Asked Charlie.
"I remember a young sailor approaching me, asking if I knew where Lex was. I said no, and then he injected me with something. I could feel my heart racing, and I just went looking for someone; anyone to help out. Next thing I know, I'm lying on my back, listening to Leo melt over his baby," said Pete breathily.
"Do you remember anything in between being injected and waking up here?" Asked Slinger. Pete shook his head.
"No. Is everyone else okay? Did we get everyone off the Hammersley?"
"Giordano, grab Halfy; we're going back to Hammersley," ordered Dutchy. Giordano sprinted out of the wardroom, medi-bag in tow, and grabbed Halfy on their way out to the RHIB.
"Why are we going back?" Asked Giordano as the RHIB was lowered. Dutchy and Taylor pulled on their dive gear.
"We're going back because we think that Charge and the CO are still on board. We just need you there in case we do find them. Bird and Flash are busy, and we can't have Slinger out here," said Dutchy, strapping on an oxygen tank.
"Why no Slinger?" Asked Halfy.
"Charge is her uncle. We can't have her involved. She's level-headed, but that could all change in an instant. We'll be fine," assured Dutchy. Taylor pulled on his own oxygen tank, and hauled his flippers on.
"So how do we do this?" Asked Taylor.
"How often do you go diving? Where were they last seen?" Asked Dutchy.
"They were heading for the engine room. CO wanted to check the damage and make sure any sailors were out safe, and when he didn't return, Charge went after him. After that, we were more pre-occupied making sure everyone else was off the boat. Noble told us that Charge and the CO were already on Victory. We didn't think to go back and double check," admitted Taylor.
"You weren't to know. Don't worry. We'll go and hopefully find them," said Dutchy. They pulled up near the Hammersley.
"Right. We head straight to the engine room, and if we don't find them there, we moved up from there," said Dutchy. Taylor nodded.
"Sounds easy enough. Are you ready for this?" Asked Taylor. Dutchy nodded, double checking his equipment.
"Let's go."