I think that this is the time where I should disclose that I've never been on a cruise before. I went on a whale watch once when I was eleven, and I've been kayaking a few times on a calm lake, but that's the extent of my maritime experience.

Friday, October 11th, 2008

US/Floridian Waters

Skye had never been good with directions. She'd lived at St. Agnes' on and off for fifteen and a half years and even then, she'd still get lost somewhere between the church, the school, and the orphanage. She'd never been able to tell left from right, and her sense of direction was about as good as a compass with a magnet taped to its underside. Still – despite all of that – she was able to find her way from the main deck back to the bridge. How she did it, she couldn't say for sure, but she figured anger probably had something to do with it.

Immediately after breaking open the door, she was accosted by several crew members and the security team that she shouldn't have been able to get past in the first place. She heard a bunch of people with widely varying accents say things about "maritime law" and "security protocols" and possibly some swearing in languages she didn't understand. He'll, she even heard the numbers "9/11" get tossed around a few times. However, none of it was going to dissuade her from the war path she was on.

Although it was ultimately a feeble attempt, Skye did try to explain the situation over the din of voices. She didn't know how many times she had to say, "I need to speak to the captain," but it fell completely upon deaf ears. Before she knew it, the crew had ejected her from the bridge, leaving her standing outside the door with the two muscled security officers. Both were taller than Dean but shorter than Sam, and neither looked too pleased with the stunt she just pulled. Realizing the mistake, she had just made, Skye tried to give an apologetic smile. Both men remained unmoved.

"Skye!" she let out a breath of relief upon hearing Sam's voice. She turned around to see both Winchesters approaching from down the hall. "What happened?" Skye raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"What happened?" she repeated, aghast. "The boat left, that's what happened!"

"We know that," Dean said. "That doesn't explain why you flipped and ran off!"

"Doesn't explain…" Skye let out a scoffing laugh. "The boat left, and we can't get off. That's plenty of reason to flip!"

"Skye, calm down," Sam said in a placating tone. Skye frowned.

"I am calm," she stated firmly.

"She's not." Skye whipped around to see one of the strong security officers shaking his head.

"She really isn't," the other one added. The death glare she sent them had just as much of an effect as the smile.

"Skye," Sam said, calling her attention back. Turning back to the brothers, she huffed out a sigh.

"Look," she said. "I thought this was only gonna take a few minutes, so I left my bag in the car, okay?"

"So? We left stuff in the car, too. You don't see us flipping out!" The glower Sky locked on Dean had him taking a step back defensively. Sam stepped between them, keeping up the placating tone.

"Whatever it is you left in the car, it can't be that important," he said.

"Yes, it can!" Startling herself with her own shrillness, Skye glanced back at the two security officers, who looked uninterested in their conversation. Taking a deep breath, she motioned for Sam and Dean to come closer so she could whisper. Both brothers were hesitant – Dean particularly – but complied. "Okay, so I find this really humiliating to say because it makes me look like a freaking idiot, but…" She said the next part quickly through gritted teeth. The brothers exchanged an odd look.

"I'm sorry, what?" Dean said.

Skye grimaced but repeated herself again. The brothers still looked confused.

"Skye, you're going to have to speak up. We can't understand you."

Skye looked up, completely affronted by Sam's words, but still seemed to get the message. Speaking clearly at a normal volume, she said "I left my tampons in the car, okay?" She wasn't sure why she expected anything other than bewildered looks in response to that statement.

"So?" Dean said.

"So?" Skye repeated. "If we're trapped here, I don't have anything except what I already have."

"Still not seeing the problem," Dean said. "Don't they give that stuff out for free in the women's room? You know, like they do with condoms in the men's."

"They're not free," Skye explained. "They're usually in those locked crank boxes that you need exact change for, and I don't have that." Seconds after she finished saying that a realization dawned on her. "Wait, they have free condoms in the men's room?"

"Focus," Sam said, pulling them back to the topic at hand. "That's still no reason to freak out. We can still get back on shore."

"I'm sorry," Skye said. "I thought you said you knew the boat left."

"That doesn't mean we can't get off," Sam argued. "Think about it. We're un-ticketed passengers. They can't keep us on board. They're going to have to send us back to land."

"Yeah, and they're going to have to call the Coast Guard to do it," Skye said. "And as fun as a helicopter ride sounds, I'd rather not be in any proximity to a military or government agency." Strangely, Skye noticed Dean's face pale to a shade she wasn't sure she'd seen before.

"Wait a second, helicopter?" Before Dean could say anything further, Sam cut him off by pressing a hand to his chest.

"I doubt it'll go that far," he assured his brother. "They know we're 'FBI.' Once we explain that we didn't mean for this to happen, I'm sure they won't press charges and will get another boat to take us back to shore."

"Damn hope it's another boat," Dean remarked. Skye was slightly perplexed by his alarmed reaction, but before she could question it, she heard the bridge door open behind her.

Turning around, Captain Avellino stepped out from inside his command post. For all the upset she caused, Skye was surprised that he was able to keep that (phony) amicable expression on his face. It didn't pass her notice, though, that he had been careful to shut the bridge door behind him and was keeping at least half a step behind the two security officers. He gave each of them a nervous smile before he risked speaking.

"My apologies," he said. "Getting the ship underway is a difficult task that requires my undivided attention. I don't appreciate loud, panicked distractions."

"And I don't appreciate being trapped on a boat, but here we are."

"Skye." Sam pulled her back by the shoulder to stand behind him and Dean. Skye only let him because she was too tired and sore to get into a fight – with the captain or anyone else.

Sam took a forward to keep something between her and Avellino while Dean put a hand on her shoulder to pull her back if necessary. Skye rolled her eyes at the display. It was clearly meant for Avellino's peace of mind rather than anybody else's.

"Look," Sam said, making a placating gesture while keeping solid eye contact with Avellino. "Obviously a terrible mistake has been made here. I'm sure you didn't mean to leave port with us still on board, but it's happened. I'm sure there is an easy way we all can fix this. Right?"

"Yes, there is," Avellino said. "You can pay me the full ticket price now."

"What?" Skye gasped at the same time Dean said, "You've got to be kidding me."

"I cannot have un-ticketed passengers on this vessel," Avellino explained. "You are going to have to pay for a ticket, or else be considered a stowaway."

"That's bullshit," Dean protested. "Tickets are what? Two-hundred dollars?"

"Two-hundred fifty," Avellino corrected.

"Screw that!"

"Then you would not mind me reporting you three to the Coast Guard?" As soon as the threat was made, Dean's nostrils flared. Preemptively, the two security officers moved forward and took a firmer stance between the supposed FBI agents and the captain. The action made Dean roll his eyes.

"We didn't even mean to do this," Sam argued. "Your employee didn't tell us to get off the boat in time."

"Not my problem," Avellino threw back. "If you did not want to pay, you should have gotten off the ship."

"Did you not hear us?" Skye questioned. "We just told you that Hannah didn't let us know the boat was leaving early!"

"Yes, and I said that it was not my problem," Avellino insisted.

"We don't have the money to pay you," Skye said. "Hell, we don't even have passports! All our stuff was left onshore!"

Skye glanced over at Sam as she said that. She could tell that something had clicked and gears were turning behind his eyes. Skye hoped he had something because she didn't know what other arguments she could make, and Dean looked like he was seriously considering jumping over the two security officers and punching the captain.

"Not my problem," he denied for a third time.

"Yes, it is," Sam said. "Because if you knowingly transport us to another country without passports, you're the one they're going to throw the book at."

That got Avellino's attention. He looked up, eyes wide. His posture stiffened as he locked his gaze on Sam.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You knew we were here, without tickets or passports, and you left port anyway," Sam explained. "That puts you at fault."

"Well, there's no way you can prove it," Avellino argued.

"We don't need to," Sam said. "We're FBI agents. Who do you think the Coast Guard is going to believe? You or us?"

Avellino considered Sam's words carefully. He stood frozen and silent for a few moments. When he finally broke out of this state, he just murmured, "I need to make a call," before turning and walking back onto the bridge. The door slammed shut behind him. The two security officers stepped back into position with arms crossed, steely glares almost challenging the three of them to do something. They barley paid attention, moving further down the hallway so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Do you think that'll work?" Skye asked Sam in a hushed tone.

"Hopefully," he said. "I mean, he can't take us over the border without passports. That must be grounds for kidnapping, if not human trafficking."

"Has to be?" Dean questioned. "You don't know for sure? Jeez, didn't you go to law school?"

"I was pre-law, Dean," Sam corrected. "And unfortunately, I left before we got to cover the finer points of maritime law."

"Okay, so he broke the law," Skye said. "How does that help us?"

"Hopefully he'll try to rectify his mistake by calling for a boat to get us." Sam said. "And if he doesn't, his company will probably force him to. Like I said, they're not going to want to cause problems with the Coast Guard or the FBI."

"But we're not the FBI!" That remark was met with harsh shushes from both Sam and Dean.

"Can you say that louder?" Dean questioned as he looked over Skye's shoulder, likely trying to gauge how much the security officers heard. Skye didn't bother with it. She remained facing the brothers, eyes and posture hard.

"Well, we're not," she was careful to say a lot more quietly. "And at some point, someone's going to want to check on that, and we can't exactly run. What do we do then?"

"We've got that covered," Dean dismissed.

"How?" Skye asked.

"Don't worry about it," he said.

"Well, I kind of have to," Skye said. "Because if I don't know what you two are doing, I might screw it up."

"You don't have to do anything," Sam assured. "Just stay quiet while we take care of it."

"That's helpful," Skye remarked.

"Yeah, it is," Dean said. "So, keep your mouth shut." Skye rolled her eyes. If they weren't going to be up front with her, that was fine. It wasn't like they were in a dire situation or anything.

Skye moved to press her back against the wall, and within a few minutes Sam and Dean had done the same. Sam stood directly across from her, and Dean was to her right. No one was coming down the hall, but it was nice to get some breathing room. Even though they were outside, the air was still oppressive.

Although, that was just what they were all feeling. Personally, Skye was still feeling off-kilter with all the different vibrations that were rocking the boat. Add to all of that the looming fear of developing toxic shock syndrome, and what you would come up with was one very nerve-wracked person. So yes, the breathing space and the added support of the wall was very necessary for her at that point.

God, how is this more painful and boring than working retail?

Just as Skye had thought that she and the Winchesters were broken out of their respective reveries by the sound of the bridge door opening. Almost twenty minutes later, Avellino had finally stepped out, still careful to keep the security officers at least one step in front of him. Standing up straighter, Sam, Dean, and Skye started moving towards him. He didn't wait for them to reach him, though.

"I just got off the phone with my superiors," he said. "We came to a solution we could all find preferable."

"We'd love to hear it," Sam said.

Avellino positioned himself to stand up straight and proper, but it had nothing to do with the information he had. He just wanted to look down on them. Too bad Sam and Dean were too tall for that to really work."

"The company agreed to waive the ticket price," he explained. "You'll be allowed to stay on the ship until we return to port on Monday."

Three jaws dropped simultaneously.

"I'm sorry, what?" Skye was able to get out first.

"You will still be required to pay for food and other amenities," Avellino continued. "But we can only be so generous."

"No," Dean said. "That's not going to work."

"Well, this is the only offer we can make," Avellino said. "You can't transport us across borders without passports," Sam said. "That's illegal; human smuggling if not kidnapping."

"You see, we found a way around that," Avellino said. "As long as none of you get off the boat when we dock in Freeport and Nassau, we technically have not transported you to another country."

"That's not how it works," Sam objected.

"That may be," the captain acknowledged. "But we will not have to argue that if you all stay on the ship and out of sight."

"Okay," Skye said. "And how is that easier than just calling another boat to come and take us back to shore?"

"That would not be possible," Avellino dismissed.

"How so?" Skye questioned, raising a single eyebrow.

"It would be dangerous to conduct a transfer from one vessel to another," Avellino claimed.

"Dangerous?" Dean questioned. "How the hell are the lifeboats supposed to work, then?"

"That is a different process entirely." All three of them highly doubted that – along with every other word that had come out of Avellino's mouth – and it read clearly on their faces. This made the captain hasty to speak. "Look, this is all we can offer you without getting authorities and lawyers involved. That would be easier for all of us, right?"

"No, it'd be easier if you took us back to shore," Dean snapped.

"I am on a schedule," Avellino said. "I cannot afford to turn around just to take three passengers back to port."

"Screw your schedule," Dean said, taking a step towards the captain. "You're the reason we're stuck on this damn boat in the first place! You can fix this!"

Automatically, the two security officers side-stepped to form a wall in front of Avellino. It didn't do much considering that Dean was just frustrated, not violent, but it got the point across that they were being perceived as a threat. Sam tried to diffuse the situation by pushing Dean back a few steps as he moved in front of him.

"Look," Sam said. "I didn't want to have to do this, but I am going to have to make a call to my superiors and they will make you turn this boat around."

Skye turned a curious look onto the two brothers. She caught Dean's eye and he quickly mouthed "stay quiet." Taking the hint, she faced forward and almost cringed at the look of pure smugness on Avellino's face.

"Go ahead," he said. "Call them, but I'm not holding my breath."

In an instant, Dean produced his cell phone and transferred it to Sam's hand. Sam flipped it open and hit a speed dial number, bringing the phone to his ear with a look of determination on his face.

"So, let me get this straight, Bobby was your ace in the hole?"

Skye was laying on her back with her legs hanging off the side of the bed. She had finally gotten to change out of that suffocating pencil skirt and was savoring the feeling of being able to breathe properly. She'd collapsed onto the bed as soon as she'd come out of the bathroom and plunged right back into the conversation she'd been having with the brothers before.

"Don't say it like that," Dean said.

"Like what?" Skye asked.

"Like you think it's a joke or something," Dean said.

"I don't," Skye half-heartedly assured. "I just find it hard to believe that one guy can pretend to be an entire federal agency."

"Usually, we only ask him to back up our story if local LEOs get suspicious," Sam explained. "It's not that intricate."

"It's intricate enough if you thought it was going to get us back to shore."

Skye pulled her gaze away from the cabin's ceiling – the same cabin where Fred Thompson had died, as it was the only one that hadn't been booked out. She turned her head to look at Sam and Dean, who were both sitting with their arms crossed in the loveseat that was bolted to the wall. Like her, they had shed their blazers, dress shirts, and ties. They were now down to their undershirts and the pants they had come on board with, but they still looked sweaty and miserable.

"Yeah, well, it didn't matter anyway," Dean said. "We couldn't get through to Bobby and now we're stuck here." Skye made a noise of agreement.

"That smug jerk," she remarked. "He knew exactly how far out we needed to be to lose cell service. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't call his bosses; just sat on the bridge and waited until we were beyond the point of contact."

"He has to be involved in some way." Sam narrowed his eyes as he turned to look at his brother.

"Involved in what?" Dean gave him a look that said it should have been obvious.

"With the shapeshifter." Sam groaned in annoyance, causing Dean to frown. "What? The guy's acting shady. He's got to be involved."

"Involved in what, Dean," Sam questioned, struggling to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"The murders," Dean said, again, like it was obvious.

"What murders?" Sam asked. "There's only been one death and I would hesitate to call it a murder."

"The guy died with shapeshifter skin in his hand," Dean pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything," Sam argued. "For all we know, Thompson could've been the shapeshifter and this was just one contained event."

"Or there could be a shapeshifter on the loose on this ship!" Sam shook his head doubtfully.

"I don't know," he said. "I think you might be reaching here."

Dean uncrossed his arms and pushed himself into a standing position.

"Well, we won't know until we find out ourselves." He started moving towards the door, tapping Skye on the leg as he passed by her. "Come on, let's search the ship."

Skye turned her head to look at him, eyes narrowed.

"You can't be serious," she said. "I just lied down."

"Well, now you can get up." Dean bent over to pick up his dress shirt. Skye looked over at Sam – hoping to find some support – only to see him doing the same thing, just more dejectedly. She looked back at Dean, desperation coloring her gaze.

"Come on," she said. "It's hot, the boat is shaking…"

"It's floating," Dean said. "That's what boats tend to do. Float."

"But it's miserable," Skye complained. "And we don't even know if there is a shapeshifter, and I just spent my last ten dollars on pants!" That last point had nothing to do with anything. She was still aggrieved that Avellino asked for her last ten dollars in exchange for a spare pair of the crew's uniform pants in her size.

"I thought you wanted to learn how to hunt," Dean said. "Real hunters shove that shit down and get the job done."

"Dean…"

Skye knew Sam was trying to make some kind of argument on her behalf, but didn't want to hear it. Dean was right and that remark had hit home hard. She couldn't do this job if she was always complaining about being hot or sick. She had to suck it up, get over herself, and get the job done.

She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the last few seconds of rest before forcing herself upright. She stumbled a bit before catching herself on the edge of the dresser.

"Alright, I'm up," she said. "Let's get this over with."

"Skye, you don't have to…" Sam started to say before she cut him off.

"It's okay," she quickly assured. She took her hand off the dresser and miraculously remained balanced and upright. "Dean's right. I'm here to learn. I can't learn if I'm not actively participating." The corners of her lips twitched upwards as she indulged in an internal laugh. "Oh, if Sister Helen could see me now."

"That's the spirit," Dean said.

"I'm not putting my dress shirt back on though," Skye said. "I don't care if I'm not taken seriously. I can't wear long sleeves in this heat." Dean shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

Meanwhile, Sam was still giving Skye a concerned look.

"If you're really not feeling good, you don't have to do this," he said. "Ignore Dean. He's just being an ass."

"You're the ass, bitch," Skye heard Dean grumble behind her.

"Jerk," Sam shot back with a roll of his eyes. Skye shook her head.

"Really, it's fine. Nothing I can't get over."

At the same time she said that, Skye felt her stomach roll threateningly. She broke out into a cold sweat, but still managed to look assuring enough for Sam to take her words at face value. He nodded, moving to follow Dean out the door while still working on doing up the last few of his shirts buttons. Dean called over his shoulder for Skye to hurry up. She did so semi-enthusiastically, but once the brothers had their backs to her, she allowed her shoulders to sag and her pace to drag just the tiniest bit.

Dear God, what have I done?

Finding and getting access to the crew cabins hadn't been hard at all. They just walked up to the first person they saw wearing a blue polo with the name of the ship emblazoned on it and flashed a badge. Of course, the girl had to check with her superiors to make sure this wasn't a scam or prank, but once she got confirmation that they were FBI, she had no problem leading them down to the crew's quarters.

Of course, on their way down there they asked the girl if she knew anyone named Ed Clark. She said she did, but she hadn't seen him around yet. However, she did know that he was supposed to be scheduled for this trip and he wasn't the type to bail for no reason. Chances were he was on the ship, she just hadn't run into him yet. At least they had that promising lead.

When they reached the crew quarters, they thanked the girl for going out of her way to help them and for giving them the information. Skye took it a step further by jumping into the woman's path and reaching out for a handshake. The girl was obviously a little put off by her forwardness, but nonetheless shook Skye's hand before scampering off to get back to work. As soon as the girl was gone, Skye frowned, looking at her right hand.

"Hey," she said. "What exactly is supposed to happen if a shapeshifter comes into contact with silver?"

"It usually burns them," Sam answered. Skye nodded.

"Okay," she said, pointing in the direction that the girl just went. "That girl is not a shapeshifter."

"How do you know?" Dean asked. Skye held up her hand jiggling the ring that sat on said finger with her thumb.

"This ring is real silver," she said. "If she was a shapeshifter, it would have reacted, right?" Dean looked doubtful.

"That is real silver?" he said.

"Yeah," Skye assured, picking up on his tone. "Don't believe me? Taste it."

"What?"

"Taste it." She slipped the ring off her finger and held it out to Dean. His face scrunched with disgust.

"Why would I taste your dirty ring?" The question was sarcastic, but Skye still gave him an answer."

"Real silver has a bitter taste to it." Both Dean and Sam gave her a blank look at the explanation. Skye blinked. "Wait, seriously? You guys hunt things that are vulnerable to silver, but you don't know that trick?" Dean frowned.

"Give me that," he said, snatching the ring from her.

Cautiously, he brought it to his mouth and just barely pressed the tip of his tongue to the warm metal. She was right, it did taste slightly bitter. Mouth still twisted; he passed the ring off for Sam to try.

"Neat trick," he dismissed.

"It could be useful," Skye said.

"Where'd you get this?" Sam asked as he pulled the ring away from his mouth and handed it back to Skye.

"Party at a rich dude's house." She shrugged as she slid the ring back onto her finger. "Been keeping it to pawn as a second-to-last resort."

"What's your last resort?"

"Anyway," she said, pointedly ignoring Sam's question. "The point is, if the shape shifter is here, then all I've got to do is shake hands with them and we've got them."

"Yeah, I think the shapeshifter'll be smart enough not to shake hands with someone wearing a silver ring," Dean said.

"…And if they avoid it, we know they're suss and keep an eye on them," Skye said. "It's a no-lose situation."

Thinking about it a moment longer, Dean had to concede that she was right. He wasn't going to admit it aloud, though. Still, if her self-satisfied smirk was any indication, she knew she had won the argument. Dean rolled his eyes, growing a little bit more than annoyed at how often that seemed to be happening.

The plan went like this; Dean, Sam, and Skye would wait in the crew mess for a member of staff to appear. When someone did, they would introduce themselves as FBI agents and take turns shaking hands with the employee. To that point, Skye's ring test had failed to produce any results, but no one had outright avoided the handshake either. That left them with no suspects and Dean wondering whether the ring really was silver or if Skye was mistaken.

With the crew member in front of them ruled out as a suspect, Dean and Sam would move on to question them. Mostly, their questions consisted of whether that particular crew member had been on the last cruise, what they knew about Fred Thompson's death, and if Ed Clark was aboard the ship. Much like the ring test, the questions weren't producing the results they wanted.

Not many of the crew members had been on the last cruise. Apparently, the way the company worked was that they had a hub in Fort Lauderdale and the crew members were dispatched from that hub to the different ships every time one was set to embark. That meant two things. One, employees didn't know what boat they'd be on until the last minute. Two, boats never set said with the entirely same crew twice. Some would get lucky and be placed on the same boat two, even three times in a row, but the staff was always different. The only department this didn't apply to be the captain and the bridge officers. They were the only ones that would remain a constant.

Most of the crew members that were housed in this part of the boat were the interior and deck staff, but ultimately it probably wouldn't have mattered if they talked to the bridge officers. Both Dean and Sam had a pretty good feeling that if they talked to them, the bridge officers would just freeze them out much like Captain Avellino did. The better bet would be to talk to some of the lower-tier staff since they were willing to do so.

However, it seemed like talk was all they had. As stated before, most of the crew hadn't been on the ship during the previous cruise, but the few who had been on the cruise weren't exactly helpful either. None of them had seen the scene of the incident when it happened and had only heard rumors about it. The most popular one seemed to be that Mr. Thompson had died of climax. Admittedly, it was a little funny the first time they heard it, but by the eighth time it had lost its luster.

If that wasn't enough, what should have been the easiest question to answer turned out to give them the most conflicting information. Every time they asked about Ed Clark, they got a different answer. Some had no idea who they were talking about. Some did know him but said he had quit after finding the body. Others said that he had stayed with the company but was taking time off or had been assigned to a different ship. Still, others said that they had seen him onboard, but had no idea where he was right then.

All of it was proving to be extremely frustrating. With every person they talked to, they grew further and further from getting a clear picture of what happened. Dean was starting to consider that this might be worthless when the next crew member walked up to them.

The woman introduced herself as Claire Oswin. She was the ship's activities director and distinguished herself by her clearly British accent. She shook both Dean and Sam's hands just fine, but when she took Skye's hand, she froze, eyes widening slightly. Dean started to think that they had found their shapeshifter when…

"Excuse me, ma'am, are you okay?"

Skye seemed to be startled a bit at Oswin's question, but quickly shrugged it off.

"Me?" she said. "No, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Oswin asked. "Because you look like you're about to throw up."

Dean looked over and saw almost immediately that Oswin was right; Skye looked terrible. Her complexion was about three shades paler than it should have been and she was visibly shaking. Despite how obvious it was, Skye still tried to play it off like she was fine.

"I'm fine," she said even though she clearly didn't sound it, and no one was convinced.

"Skye…" Sam started to say before Skye waved him off.

"I'm fine… I…"

Skye's hand flew to her mouth as her stomach gave a very apparent lurch. Nothing came up, but given the fearful look on her face, that wouldn't be the case for long. Acting fast, Oswin pointed down the narrow corridor to their left.

"The first door on the right is a bathroom."

Skye didn't stick around. She bolted straight down the hall. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite paying attention to where she was going and slammed into someone. The collision spurred on Skye's gag reflex, causing her to empty the contents of her stomach onto the other person.

A shrill scream pierced the air as the person jumped backward, taking them out of the line of fire. It took a few seconds for Dean to recognize her – her red face and disgusted expression morphed her features – but as soon as she stopped moving and screaming, he recognized her as Hannah. As Hannah cursed and feebly tried to brush chunks of vomit off the front of her shirt, Dean tried very hard to resist the urge to smile. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it, but at the same time he didn't want her to catch him laughing at her misery. That would probably only lead to more screaming.

Skye, meanwhile, continued to vomit onto the floor. She had one hand on the wall to keep herself upright, but otherwise went unassisted as a silent collective judgement call had been made to give her space. Eventually, Skye's retching slowed to a stop, and all went silent save for the sound of her trying to catch her breath.

"I'm not okay," she said after a few moments, which became the understatement of the hour.

Oh, I've also watched almost every episode of Below Deck. (Entirely against my will.) I know that's the yachting industry, not the commercial cruise industry, but some things have got to carry over, right? Yeah, probably not. If I made any mistakes in how the cruise industry operates, can we all just pretend that I did that intentionally to make this company more suss? Great. Glad we all agreed.

Also, I'm surprised that no one on Supernatural ever tried shaking hands with someone while wearing a silver ring to try and detect monsters. That seems like it'd be very simple and effective, doesn't it?

Remember kids, it's always a smart idea to write what you don't know.

Originally uploaded on 9/18/2024.