More some sus characters.

Three

"Whoo." Tori ruffled her hair dry with a towel, and padded across the deck. "Jade, that was awesome."

Jade looked up from the basin she was standing over, at the bottom of which rested their little prize. She studied Tori's face, finding a smile on her own responding the honest delight she saw there. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"

Tori applied the towel to her lover's body, drying the droplets of sea water off it. "That eel scared the poo out of me, though. Did it hit you on the way out?"

"Right in the mask, yeah." Jade chuckled. "Bounced off me and just kept going. He was a big one." She glanced up as the sound of far off engines disturbed the otherwise peaceful air, and watched as a relatively small tender approached them, slowing when they came even, very obviously giving them the once over.

Tori peered over Jade's shoulder. "What's that all about?" She wondered. "We've got the dive flag out. Is there a problem with that here?"

"Nah." Jade frowned. "There's a thousand old wrecks like this around these islands… that's just an old island freighter. Some of the historical wrecks have no dive zones, but not this area."

"So what's their problem?" The small boat circled them lazily, then after a moment, roared off.

Jade watched the small boat retreat into the distance. "Beats me." She shrugged. "Maybe they're not used to people using 56 foot Bertram's as dive platforms." She finished covering the water well, full of seawater, that held the box they'd brought up. "Let's leave that in there until I figure out how to take it out, and not have it fall to bits on us."

"Rats." Tori circled from behind with her arms and gave her a squeeze. "I wanted to open it up and see inside." She inspected the basin. "I know it's nothing much, just an old cigar box or something, but…"

Jade turned around and returned the hug, giving Tori's neck a friendly scratch. "I think we might need some oil first… to keep the wood from drying out. Tomorrow, okay?"

"Mm." Tori licked a few remaining drops of water off Jade's throat. "Okay." She released her lover, but took her hand and led her over to the cooler. "Share an ice tea with me?"

"Sure." Jade waited while Tori opened the bottle and took a swig, then accepted it and sucked down a mouthful herself. She swished the tea around before she swallowed it, clearing the last taste of salt water and rubber from the dive. "All right. How about we pull up anchor, and go get us some conch."

Tori stifled her mild amusement over the casual speech, wondering if Jade knew how much she sounded like her father sometimes. In the office, it almost never showed. There, Jade's vocalizations, when they weren't wall rattling yells, were crisp and sharply professional. Only when they were alone, and her lover was relaxed did her southern upbringing tend to slip in. "Sounds great to me, Dixiecup." She teased. "I'll go pull in the buoy."

Jade captured her with one long arm and pinned her up against the bulkhead. "You making fun of my accent, you little Yankee?"

"Nope." Tori ran her hands over Jade's still damp body. "I love your accent. I wish you'd let it out more."

One of Jade's eyebrows lifted expressively.

"I so want to hear you tell Jose to 'get yer damn ass out mah office.'" Tori giggled. "Yah damn little pansy assed pissant."

Jade burst into laughter. "He'd piss in his pants."

Tori nodded cheerfully. "Exactly!"

Jade's chuckles wound down, and she quieted. "It's funny.. you liking my redneck side."

"Why?"

A shrug. "It just is. To me anyway. I.. worked so hard to cover that all up." Jade said. "I remember sitting in a management meeting once,when I first started the company, and listening to three of the other people there trash one of the southern project managers." She exhaled. "Calling him a hick and a lowlife redneck."

Tori sighed. "They make fun of everyone, Jade."

Jade nodded. "I know. But this was different, because it might as well have been me they were talking about, only the other guy wasn't bothering to pretend." She gazed thoughtfully over Tori's shoulder.

"Mm." Tori was slowly rubbing Jade's back, easing the tension she felt there. "What did you do?" She asked softly.

"Called them jackasses and told them to go find some class before the company had to buy it for them." Jade admitted.

"That's my Jade." Tori leaned her head against Jade's collarbone, soft chuckles emerging from her throat.

"Yeah, well." Jade had to smile herself. "They never did say anything about rednecks after that in any meeting I was in."

No. Tori hugged her often curmudgeonly boss. "I bet they didn't." Just like no one says anything about you… in any meeting I'm in."

Damn right.

The small island they pulled into was definitely laid back. Tori peered over the railing with interest as they approached Matthew town, noting the gorgeous white beach and the cluster of small, sun bleached buildings behind the spare, patched together docks. "Now, Victoria." She murmured to herself. "We're not doing the Waldorf here."

Of course, she wasn't dressed for the Waldorf. Tori glanced down at her stonewashed white short overalls and sandals, her lips twitching as she imagined her family's reaction to the worn fabric and the cutoff, sleeveless gray sweatshirt she wore under it. "I'm just a proper marine vagabond, I am."

Jade skillfully navigated the Bertram into a slot at the end of the dock. Tori tossed the bow rope to the young boy who ran up to greet them, then took the stern rope and jumped onto the wooden surface, pulling the line taut around the rusted cleat and tying it off. "Thanks." She smiled at the boy, who smiled shyly back at her. He had even dark skin, and curly brown hair and eyes, and he was dressed in a pair of denim shorts and nothing else.

His eyes went past her and widened a little. Tori turned her head to see Jade leaping off the boat, a broad grin on her face. "Hey, Rufus." She said, pausing and sticking her hands into her pockets. "What do you think?"

"Wow." The boy replied. "Killer boat, Jade!" His eyes roved over the vessel. "Can I ride it?"

Jade chuckled. "Later, yeah." She put a hand on Tori's shoulder. "This is Tori. Tori, this is Rufus."

"Hi." Rufus studied Tori warily.

Tori held a hand out. "Hi, Rufus. Nice to meet you." She waited for the boy's hesitant hand clasp, then returned it gently.

Rufus backed off a step. "I'll go tell dada you're here, Jade." He told her, and then he turned and ran off, bare feet almost soundless on the wood.

Jade exhaled a little as she watched him go. She wandered at her willingness to bring a being that innocent into the world. She had told Kerry she would. They had talked to Beck about it. But she wondered if it wouldn't be better to do what these guys had done and adopt a beautiful little kid like Rufus. "I'm looking forward to seeing his father." She said, guiding Tori up the dock. "He was in the service with Dad."

"Ah!" Tori smiled. "His friends are always interesting people."

"Mm." Jade agreed. "He doesn't know." Her eyes flicked to Tori's face. "About my father being alive. There's no phones out here… I think he keeps it that way on purpose. Dad was going to make a run out here, but I told him we were stopping, and that I'd pass the news."

Tori read several levels of meaning to her wife's words. "Hm." She studied the small cluster of weather worn buildings. "Looking forward to meeting him, then. He lives here?"

"He runs the joint we're having dinner at." Jade said. "After he got discharged on a medical, he came out here and set up this place. Him and his partner – they do all the cooking, and brew their own beer."

Tori's ears pricked. "Partner?" She queried.

Jade nodded.

"Hmm."

"They adopted Rufus. He showed up one day on a little raft, and just refused to leave."

Tori absorbed all that as they walked off the dock and onto a shell strewn path. As they approached the buildings, a figure came out onto the porch of the biggest one, placing hands on the porch railing and leaning on it.

"Look at what that damn wind blew in, wouldja?"

The man behind the railing was tall and had a chunky build, but that's not what Tori noticed.

He was also missing a leg. Below his right knee, swathed in a overlarge pair of dark green khaki shorts, extended a metal frame. On the end of the frame was a well worn shoe. He had thick, silvered brown curly hair and a bushy beard, and his skin was crossed with thin, but noticeable scars.

"Howdy, Charlie." Jade greeted him, lifting a hand

The man limped down the wide, wooden steps and came to meet them, pulling Jade into an enthusiastic hug. "Damn, it's been over a year, Jade. Where've ya been?"

Jade released him. "Here and there." She replied. "Charlie, this is Victoria Vega." Her arm draped over Tori's shoulders. "My chosen one."

The man turned to study Tori, who was hard pressed to hide her bemused surprise at Jade's new term for her. "Ahhh.. so that's where you been, huh?" He held a hand out. "Ms. Vega, it's an honor and a pleasure."

"Mine too." Tori rose to the occasion, clasping his hand firmly. "I hear you make some mean conch chowder."

Charlie laughed, clapping Jade on the shoulder and gesturing towards the larger building. "C'mon. Let's go siddown and let me prove out my reputation. We got some catching up to do." He limped ahead of them, obviously used to his disability to the point where it didn't appreciably hamper him.

Tori and Jade followed after him, Jade with her arm still draped over Tori's neck.

"Chosen one?" Tori inquired softly, giving her wife a curious look.

Jade's jaw bunched, and she glanced down at the ground before she snuck a look at Tori's face. "I'll explain later." She murmured as they reached the steps. "It's a compliment."

"Duh." Tori bumped her hip with her own as they walked up the stairs. "Looks like we'll have lots of interesting things to talk about tonight."

"Hm." Jade held the door open, and they went inside.

Tori glanced around curiously at the inside of the little shack. They were seated at one of six tables, all made of hand worked driftwood. The room wasn't much bigger than her bedroom at the house, though at the rear a door led into a kitchen. The place was lit by oil lamps, both hanging on the walls and on their table, though the large, square windows on three sides of the room let in the glow of sunset and a cool breeze.

Two other tables were occupied, one by two scruffy looking men in beach combers outfits, and the other by what sounded like an islander. His Dark skin and smooth musical sound seemed to have his extremely sexy lady companion completely smitten. Both exuded an aura of a new relationship. Tori lived that for them.

"Smells great in here." Tori commented, sniffing appreciatively at the spicy, delicious scents coming from the kitchen.

A quirky grin twisted Jade's lips. "Not too rustic for you?"

"Jade." Tori frowned, glancing down at herself. "Did I forget to rip the alligator off my shirt pocket or something today?"

"Just kidding." Jade fingered the woven rope salt and pepper holder.

"No, that's the second time you brought this up." Tori shook her head. "Are you really that sensitive about dragging a New England wasp around with you?" She turned her head and regarded Jade seriously, finding soft, round blue eyes gazing back at her. "Honey?" She put a hand on Jade's in pure reflex.

After a moment, Jade cleared her throat with a touch of sheepishness, and propped her chin on her fist. "Yeah, I really am that sensitive." She admitted quietly. "Sorry."

"Well." Tori relaxed a little, stroking Jade's fingers with her own. "I'll just have to work on that, then." She glanced up as Charlie limped over, almost jumping up to help him as he navigated a tray towards them.

"Naw... just siddown, there, little lady." Charlie managed to get the tray on the table in one piece. "Go figure Bud's over on the big island right when I need em." He set a large bowl of steaming, spicy scented almost stew like soup in front of each of them. "There ya go."

"Wow." Tori blinked at the mass of rich broth and seafood. "This looks great."

Charlie grinned at her. "Ya got good taste, but I knew that seeing as you picked old Jade here. Get you anything else for now?"

Tori looked up at him. "The biggest mug of beer you have. I think I'll need it."

An even bigger grin split his face. "You got it. Jade, same for you?"

Jade nodded vigorously.

"All right. I'll get these here folks taken care of, then we can sit down and catch up… how's that?" Charlie picked up his tray.

"Sounds great." Jade replied. "Thanks, Charlie."

He winked at them, and then limped back towards the kitchen, disappearing behind two swinging doors.

Tori waited a few moments, watching Jade out of the corner of her eye. The sandy haired woman was fiddling with her spoon, a pucker visible above her eyebrows. "Jade?"

"Hm?"

A tumble of words suddenly filled Tori's mouth, and she let them out, almost without thinking. "You want to talk about it?"

Jade cocked her head, gazing at Tori curiously for several heartbeats. Then she put her spoon into her chowder and stirred it. "It's… um... " She paused as Charlie returned, putting down two huge tankards in front of them, with nice, foamy heads. "Thanks."

"Ditto." Tori grinned in appreciation.

Charlie chuckled, and then headed off towards the next customers.

Tori took a sip of her beer. It was rich, with a nutty taste, smooth, and very, very potent. "Oo." She licked her lips. "This could be dangerous."

"It is." Jade took a sip of her own brew, then a second, longer one before she set the mug down. "The last time I was here, I got in trouble with it." She studied the tankard. "Charlie and my father were good friends."

Tori accepted the sudden change of subject with grace. "Mm." She made an encouraging noise.

"But dad and Bud never got along." Jade continued, with a sigh. "But hated him, and it took me a long time to figure out why." She glanced at Tori. "He told me the last time I was here he was glad dad was gone."

Tori stopped dead in mid motion. Then she put her mug down and looked around the place. "What the hell are we doing here then?" She asked, with a splutter. "That guy's lucky he's not around. I'd kick his ass. For that matter, why didn't you?"

Jade grinned wryly. "He was drunk, I was halfway there, and he ended up apologizing for being a jackass." She said. "He told me then that he'd always been convinced that Dad was after Charlie."

"Wait." Tori covered her eyes. "Wait… wait….wait. He thought your father… " She peeked between her fingers. "Your father, James West, the sailor man, the most hetero male I think I've ever known was chasing his partner?"

Jade nodded. "Yeah."

A clue waddled inside the door and pecked Tori on the foot. "So you're nervous about telling them he's alive."

Jade nodded again. "Yeah." She exhaled, scrubbing her face with one hand. "Isn't that pathetic? I can tell the president of Exxon to tap-dance on his boardroom table but I get nerves doing this."

"Relax." Tori felt a sense of relief at unknotting Jade's mood. "We'll get through it… after we get through this really great smelling soup and this awesome beer." She patted Jade's knee under the table. "I'm sure it'll be okay."

"Yeah." Jade visibly unwound, taking a spoonful of the chowder. She chewed it, swallowed, then reached over and brushed her knuckles against Tori's cheek. "Thanks... I know I'm acting a little off tonight."

"You're never off." Tori reassured her, sampling some of the chowder. "Oh, wow… this is awesome." The chowder was full of seafood, from shrimp to scallops, to its namesake conch. It was spicy, and it had lots of other things in it too. "You better eat yours, before I do."

Jade stifled a grin, resting her chin against her fist as she consumed her soup.

It was full dark out before Charlie finished taking care of the five other groups of patrons who came in. He dusted his hands off on his shirt and limped over to their table, settling down in a chair across from Jade. "Well, Jade, how've you been?" He asked.

"All right." Jade drawled softly. "You?"

The grizzled man nodded. "Life's been good." He said. "Quiet out here, but the place has a good rep, we make out all right." His eyes flicked around the room. "Bud's doin okay. He's putting on some weight, but he's finally chilled out and decided he likes the life out here."

"Glad to hear that." Jade could feel a light buzz from the beer, and the meal, a large plate of fresh fish after the chowder with a whole loaf of fragrant herb bread was making her sleepy.

Tori was finishing off her tankard, the oil lamp's light casting her light brown eyes in shades of amber. She was watching them quietly, her weight shifting slightly to bring her knee into contact with Jade's as she listened to the conversation.

"What about you?" Charlie asked. "Aside from the obvious." He turned a grin on Tori. "Tell me about your chosen one here."

"What would you like to know?" Tori asked, with a charming smile. "I work in the same business as Jade does... I'm from Connecticut… I love your cooking and your beer…"

Charlie chuckled delightedly. "Can't ask for better than that." He said. "So you do that computer stuff, huh? That where you two met?"

"More or less, yes." Tori agreed. "We've been together over a year."

"I knew you'd find a good one." The man turned his eyes to Jade. "I said you would, didn't I?"

"You did." Jade admitted. "Though... " She waggled her hand. "I'm not sure which one of us found the other." She took a deep breath, and decided to just get it over with. It was late, and she was tired. "A lot of things changed for me this last year."

Charlie leaned on his elbows, watching her. "Yeah?"

Jade nodded, then lifted her head and met his gaze squarely. "My father's alive." She stated softly. "He came home." She felt warmth close around her knee as Tori's fingers tightened comfortingly around it.

The man across from her simply stared blankly at them for the longest time. Then he slowly let out a breath and looked away. "Well, damn." He whispered. "Ain't that something." His hands were visibly shaking as he picked up the glass he'd brought with him.

"It was." Jade agreed. "He… just contacted me one day… and, um… " She shook her head. "He'd been hurt pretty badly, but they patched him up, and there he was."

Charlie nodded faintly. "He okay?"

Tori's ears pricked.

"Yeah... " Jade smiled. "He retired from the service… he and my mother got a boat, if you can believe that, and they're living on it. Having the time of their lives." She sipped at the remainder of her beer. "He was planning a trip out here in a couple months – but I told him I was swinging by, so I told him I'd let you know."

Charlie absorbed all that, a shuffle of emotions flickering across his face. "Damn, Jade. " He finally said. "What a kickass thing to happen. That's great." A smile appeared, only trembling at the edges. "You must have been some kind of stoked."

Jade's face relaxed into a rare, broad grin. "Stoked." She laughed softly. "Yeah."

"Wow." Charlie collected himself. "I hardly know what to say." His eyes went to Tori. "Jade's dad is a heck of a guy."

Tori draped an arm over Jade's shoulders. "I know. He adopted me." She said. "I love both of my parents in law very much."

The kitchen doors creaked open. Charlie turned, as Rufus poked his head shyly inside. "Hey, Rufie. C'mon over here."

The boy obeyed, coming over and resting his hands on the table. Charlie put his arm around him. "We adopted Rufie here." He said. "He's learning how to run the kitchen, right Rufie?"

"Yep." Rufus grinned. "Jade's gonna gimme a ride on her boat, dada."

"Is she now?" Charlie asked. "Think she'd give me one too?" He glanced at Jade. "You in a rush out of here?"

"Nah." Jade replied easily. "We're just planning on bumming around, doing some diving. Tori and I just needed some time off."

"Great.' Charlie seemed to have recovered his spirits completely. "Bud's due back tomorrow – I know he'd love to see you." He said. "You need a bunk for the night?"

Jade shook her head. "We're fine on the boat. You'll have to let me know what dock power cost – no bs, Charlie. I can afford it."

He chuckled. "So you said the last time." He stood up. "Great. We'll see ya tomorrow, then. I gotta get cleaning up this place, and get this little pup to bed."

"Bye." Rufus waved his hand at Tori. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Rufus." Tori replied. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Jade."

"Night, Rufus." Jade said, watching as the two disappeared into the kitchen, leaving her and Tori in solitary splendor in the room. With a sigh, Jade leaned her head against Tori's. "I'm trashed."

"Me too." Tori murmured. "You interested in a nice, soft bed?" She decided to put off discussing the odd evening until after a good night's sleep.

"That means I have to get up and walk, huh?"

"I could try carrying you."

Jade stood up and pulled Tori up with her. They left the tiny restaurant and walked down the path, now lit only by moonlight that poured up from the beach. It was incredibly quiet, only the surf sounds breaking the night, and the faint whispers of the leaves around them rustling in the breeze.

Tori put her arm around Jade's waist and leaned her head against her shoulder as they walked. She tried to think about what she'd heard, but the two tankards of very good beer defeated her best efforts, and she finally had to be contented to simply concentrate on getting back to the boat. "Urmph." She stifled a yawn as they stepped off the dock and onto their deck.

Jade opened the door to the cabin and they went inside. Tori was already shucking her overalls as she trudged into the bedroom, pulling off her cutoff sweats and standing for a moment, swaying gently.

Jade came up behind her and took her by the shoulders, guiding her to the bed and pulling the light blankets down. Tori crawled gratefully into its soft confines, and waited until Jade slid in behind her, the warmth of her bare skin brushing against Tori's in a very pleasant way.

Thoughts buzzed like bees through her mind, but she shooed them away as she tangled her arms and legs with Jade's, and snuggled close to her, leaving the problems for another day.