Now we're cooking with gas...
Four
Jade let her eyes drift open as the sunlight poked it's way inside the hatch, dusting the bed with a square of buttery warmth. She remained still for a while, watching Tori sleep curled up against her, the Latina's arm wrapped around Jade's waist.
Tori had always been that way, Jade reflected idly. Even when they'd barely known each other she'd noticed Tori's almost unconscious instinct for close contact - a hand on the back, or the shoulder, making a connection with her that seemed as natural to her as breathing.
Jade had at first been bemused at that. She never could stand anyone putting their paws on her. Then she'd realized one day, after Tori had put both hands on her shoulders as she'd stepped around behind her in a meeting, that far from objecting to it, her body was suddenly craving the touch.
Shoulda been your first clue, bucket head. Jade gazed wryly at the roof of the cabin.
Tori shifted, rolling onto her other side, and releasing Jade for the moment. Since she was awake anyway, Jade decided to get up and shake the cobwebs out, and maybe surprise her lover with breakfast. She carefully slid out of bed and tucked the covers in around the brunette's sleeping body, then ambled into the corridor and down to the head.
A quick scrub of her face with cold water, and an experiment with Tori's new sparkly toothpaste later, Jade emerged from the bathroom in her swimsuit, pulling her hair back and fastening it with a bit of elastic as she walked.
The boat was moving gently and she rocked with it, making her way out onto the back deck and into the sun. It was very quiet on the dock, and they were still the only boat there. The beach was empty of everything except for a few gulls, and the water around her was still, with only a few ripples and pops to indicate the marine life around them.
Beautiful morning. Jade hitched herself up on the stern railing and hooked her feet under the bottom rung. Then she leaned back and stretched her body out over the water, holding it until she felt her spine pop gently into place. Then she extended her arms out and did a few slow rotations, giving her entire body a good warm up.
Satisfied, she pulled herself upright, then just for fun did a couple of sets of sit ups before she unhooked her legs and hopped off the railing. Cautiously, she extended her arms and checked her range of motion, pleased when her injured shoulder responded with only a mild grumpiness, allowing her to swing her arm in almost a complete circle.
Ah. Jade chuckled to herself happily. The diving and relaxing seemed to be doing the trick. With a contented grunt, she checked the boat's lines and rigging, then went back inside and made her way to the galley.
She filled the water pot and put it on the burner, then examined her choices for breakfast. Ah. She plucked a box from the cabinet and set it down, then turned to get a bowl.
Halfway around she stopped; feeling a sudden prickle up her spine, and then a hoarse cry sent her bolting for the bedroom. She shouldered the door open to find Tori thrashing in an evident nightmare, her hands clenching into fists in the sheets.
"Tor!" Jade quickly caught hold of her and shook her gently. "Tori!"
"N…no! No! NOO!" Tori abruptly woke up with a gasp, her eyes snapping wide open. She looked around wildly, stopping when her eyes met Jade's. "Oh." She exhaled, still breathing hard. "Jade."
"Easy." Jade rubbed her shoulder.
Tori lifted a shaking hand to her head. "Shit."
"You okay?" Jade asked quietly.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Tori replied, visibly trying to collect herself. "I'm okay."
Tori was, Jade had long ago decided, really good at a lot of things. Lying wasn't one of them. She slid under the covers and folded Tori into her arms, pulling her close in an attempt at comforting her.
For a moment, she thought the attempt was going to fail, then Tori's body relaxed and slumped against hers as Tori buried her face in Jade's shoulder. "Shh." Jade stroked her disordered hair. "It's okay. I've got you."
"I hate nightmares." Tori whispered.
"I don't think anyone likes them, sweetheart." Jade said. "I know I don't." She rocked Tori a little, unsettled by her recent spate of bad dreams, ever since they'd gotten back from Connecticut. "Was it the same dream?" The worst of the recurrent nightmares was of her watching her father die in the hospital, and now Jade found herself wondering how long it would take for that horror to fade.
"Yeah." Tori picked her head up and rested her cheek against Jade's arm. "Bah." Her voice had lost its hoarseness, though, and seemed more normal in tone. "What a way to wake up."
Jade stroked her cheek. She could see the sparkling remains of tears caught in Tori's lashes, but her expression had relaxed and she appeared much calmer. "And here I thought I'd let you get a little extra sleep. Shoulda woke you up and made you go do calisthenics with me."
"Mm. Yeah." Tori agreed, with a wry smile. "Or at least let me watch." She poked Jade in the belly, a reassuringly playful motion. "I don't wake up like this when we wake up together."
No. Jade realized. That's true. "I'll keep it in mind next time." She gave Tori a hug. "Interest you in some breakfast?"
A brown eyeball peeked up at her. "You cooking?"
"Yep." Jade said. "Unless you think that might seem like too much of another nightmare."
Tori smiled wanly. "As long as it comes with some Aspirin. I've got a headache that would knock down an AS400 at a hundred paces."
Jade slid her hands up and clasped the back of Tori's neck, kneading it gently. Tori slumped against her again and her eyes closed as she carefully probed the tense muscles she found under her fingertips. "Hang on." She eased a knot at the base of her lover's skull and felt her vertebra shift. "Hm."
"What's the verdict, Dr. Jade?" Tori asked.
Jade kissed her on the head. "Dr. Jade says you get to spend the entire day lazing around with me and relaxing."
"Oo." Tori exhaled. "That sounds like great medicine."
Jade gave her a last rub, and then got up from the bed. "I've got some water on. C'mon."
Tori willingly scrambled out from under the covers and followed her like a puppy, one finger hooked in the back of Jade's swimsuit. "Let me just put something on." She released her partner as they came even with the bathroom. "And wash the sleep out of my eyes."
Jade kept going, ducking behind the counter and reaching for the rattling water pot. "Hush." She scowled at it, picking it up and pouring the boiling water over the cups she had ready. She left the grounds to steep while she got out two bowls, filling one from the box she'd gotten down earlier.
She then removed some strawberries from the small refrigerator and set to work cutting them into slices, which she let fall onto the top of the cereal. She had finished several when Tori appeared, her hair damp and her body covered with a T-shirt.
Tori came over and leaned on the counter, resting her cheek against Jade's upper arm. "Thank you for cooking my Wheaties, honey."
Jade laughed silently.
"You made them just the way I like them." Tori plucked a flake from the bowl and put it into her mouth, chewing it. "Just right."
"You're welcome." Jade drawled. "Want to go outside?"
"Sure." Tori turned and opened the refrigerator, removing a yogurt and adding it to the tray Jade had sitting on the counter. She put the two cups of coffee on it as well, then stepped back as Jade finished pouring her own breakfast into it's bowl and picked up the tray.
She followed Jade onto the back deck, smiling a bit as the cool sea air blew against her. She waited for Jade to put the tray down on the little table, then she took her usual left hand seat and reached for her coffee. A few sips of the stuff seemed to ease her headache, and she leaned back, propping one bare foot up against the footrest and gazing off towards the horizon.
The nightmare had shaken her. Tori put her cup down and picked up her bowl, pouring some milk over the flakes and patting them down with her spoon. She took a mouthful and chewed, one ear cocked to catch the louder crunching as Jade munched on her favorite Frosted Flakes.
Watching her father die had been bad enough. But in her dream, after she relived that again, and again, and again, her father's stiffened figure would be replaced with Jade's, and the feeling of utter, helplessness and the shock of loss drove her awake screaming every time.
Tori forced herself to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat.
"Tor?"
How does she know? Tori glanced to her right. "Hm?"
Jade was watching her with an expression of concern. "You okay?"
C'mon, Victoria. Get yourself together, and let it go. It's just a damn dream. "Yeah." She smiled at Jade, trying to convey her gratitude without saying it.
Jade's face relaxed and her eyes gentled, apparently receiving the message.
"So." Tori firmly shifted her focus. "Tell me more about Charlie and Bud." She dug into her cereal again. "And Dad."
"Mmph." Jade swallowed a mouthful of flakes. "Long story."
"My favorite kind." Tori said.
"They were in a special training class together." Jade said, between bites. "Dad says from the very start, Bud was always confronting him, challenging him, while Charlie was just the opposite."
"Uh huh."
"So, after they graduated, the three of them, plus about six other guys were assigned to a special ops unit, and they shipped out for six months." Jade went on. "Dad said Charlie was a great guy, real friendly, all right to hang out with, but Bud was your typical antisocial military hardass."
"I see."
"They were… somewhere… and ended up under fire." Jade said. "I don't really know what happened, and I'm not sure I want to ask Dad, but it ended up with Dad carrying Charlie out on his shoulders after they walked into a mine, I guess, and they lost two other guys."
"Oh."
"So after that, Charlie got discharged, and Bud didn't re-up a month after that. They hung out around the guys at the base, though, and it came out that they were lovers."
"Ah." Tori finished her cereal and started on her yogurt.
"So, then Bud accused my Dad of chasing after his partner. He somehow was convinced that the only reason Dad got Charlie out of that firefight is because he wanted to impress him, and get between the two of them." She shook her head. "I think he's a couple chips short of a motherboard, if you ask me."
"No." Tori disagreed mildly. "He's just not seeing the real picture." She swallowed a mouthful of the plain stuff and pointed the spoon at her partner. "He doesn't want to think about the fact that this guy he's in love with is head over heels in love with your father."
Jade stopped eating, the spoon still in her mouth. She turned round, almost comical eyes on her partner.
Definite distraction. "Don't tell me you didn't know that." Tori spluttered. "C'mon, Jade!"
Jade removed the spoon. "Tori, it took a medical exam for me to figure out I had a crush on you. Gimme a break, okay?"
Tori went back to her cereal, suppressing a smile as she watched Jade process out of the corner of her eye.
"Son of a biscuit."
"You realize what a can of worms we just opened, right?"
"Son of a biscuit."
Tori sipped from the straw stuck into her glass of ice tea, her eyes scanning over the book held in her lap. She and Jade had just finished lunch, and true to her word, Jade was sprawled in the chair next to her, doing nothing more than beautifully taking up space, her body splashed with sunlight.
Her mystery novel was interesting, but she found herself sneaking looks over at her companion from time to time. Jade's bathing suit clung to her body and outlined its sculpted lines, which held a hint of dynamic motion despite the light doze Jade was in.
She was glad to see the bruising had faded around Jade's shoulder, leaving only a faint discoloration, hardly visible against her tan. Tori had also noticed that Jade had mostly stopped favoring the arm despite her stubborn refusal to go to her prescribed therapy sessions.
Lucky thing. Tori shook her head wryly, and returned her attention to her medieval mystery. Her own dislocated shoulder had taken weeks of physical therapy to ease and she was still being careful of it when she attacked the climbing wall at the gym. She stretched her bare legs out and crossed them at the ankle, then looked up again as the sound of a boat engine broke the peaceful silence.
Coming around the corner of the island was a small tender. Tori tipped her sunglasses down and squinted, wondering if it was the same boat that passed them by the day before. It was about the same size, but as yet it was too far away for her to really tell.
It was coming closer, though, and by its arc Tori suspected the dock was its destination. She set her book down and reached over, closing her fingers around Jade's wrist.
"Hm?" Jade stirred, turning her head towards Tori. "What's up?"
"Company." Tori pointed.
Jade pulled her sunglasses off, revealing sharp blue eyes that scanned the newcomer intently, all trace of sleep gone. "Ah." She murmured. "Our curious friends."
"It is them? You can tell?"
Jade nodded. "Same id numbers on the bow."
Tori squinted, then turned and looked at Jade in amazement. "You can read those?"
Another nod, and a shrug. "Yeah. It's…" Jade made a vague motion near her face. "Close up stuff I have a problem with." A pause. "Sometimes."
Tori wasn't sure if she should be more shocked by the boat, or by Jade's frank admission of her vision problems. She finally decided to deal with the boat first. "They're coming here."
"Looks like it."
"It could just be coincidence." Tori reasoned. "Maybe they heard about the food."
"Could be." Jade agreed, settling her glasses back onto her nose and resuming her relaxed position. "Guess we'll find out."
Tori felt a prickle of apprehension, unsure of what they were getting into. She watched the boat come nearer and nearer, then slow as it prepared to dock several slips away from them. It occurred to her that both she, and Jade were far out of their usual world, and if trouble really found them, it might not be as easy to deal with as their usual day-to-day life was.
Jade, however, seemed to be completely at ease, so Tori leaned back in her chair and opened her book, finding her spot and continuing to read.
The small boat docked, and four people got off, three men and a woman. Two of the men continued up the docks towards the buildings, but the third man, and the woman headed towards their boat. Tori kept her head down, but watched them as they approached from behind her sunglasses, evaluating them.
They were dressed in sharp, pressed shirts and Docker shorts, with conspicuous gold at throats and wrists, and Tori got an immediate impression of sophistication and money. The woman had blond hair a few shades lighter than Jade's sandy brown hair, pulled back in a neat tail that exposed a high cheek boned, elegantly made up face. She carried herself with a sense of aggressive self-possession and she was the one who was leading the way towards the boat.
The man behind her was tall, dark haired, and skinny to the point of emaciation. He had a high forehead, and he was carrying an over the shoulder briefcase with a satellite cell phone clipped to it.
Maybe they just want to say hello. Tori reasoned. Maybe they just like the boat. Maybe…
"Ahoy there." The woman addressed them. "Excuse me!"
Sounds about a friendly as an auditor with hemorrhoids. Tori closed her book a looked over, aware of Jade's watchful alertness next to her. "Hi." She replied. "Something we can do for you?"
The woman put her hands on her slim hips and regarded Tori. "We're looking for some information… maybe you could help us?"
Hm. "Sure, if we can. Would you like to come aboard?" Tori politely replied.
They stepped onto the railing, then down onto the deck and approached the two of them. Tori watched their eyes flick to Jade, who was to all appearances blissfully asleep. The woman returned her attention to Tori.
"My name is Christen Mayberry." The woman stated. "This is my associate, Juan Carlos." She paused, giving Tori an inquiring look.
"Tori." A sudden impulse towards reticence took hold. "West." Her ears heard the faint snort of surprise from Jade, and she smiled. "Nice to meet you."
Christen cleared her throat. "I represent a salvage consortium. We've contracted to do some research and location work in this area. We saw you out by the straits yesterday, and I was wondering what your interest is here."
Tori sorted through that, and felt a sense of relief. "Nothing, actually." She gave the woman a reassuring smile. "We're just on vacation."
"And you picked that spot at random?" The man asked suddenly.
"No." Jade's low voice broke in. "I picked the spot because it's got a great view and nice fish." She lifted a hand and tipped her glasses down, exposing her eyes, which studied their visitors.
"No offense." The man smiled at her. "See anything good?"
"Moray eel as tall as I am." Jade drawled softly. "And a lot of clowns."
"Well, that's great then." Christen's attitude had suddenly shifted. "You going to be around long? Maybe we can do dinner. We're new around here, and we don't know many people." She leaned against the back railing. "The locals are pretty tough nuts to crack."
Tori and Jade exchanged quick glances. "We'll be around for a few days, yes." Tori replied. "I'm sure we can get together."
"Great." Christen smiled. "Nice to meet you Tori." Her eyes shifted to Jade questioningly.
"This is my partner, Jade." Tori supplied. "Nice to meet you, too."
"We will be seeing you around, I am sure." Juan said. "This is a lovely boat you have."
"Thanks." Jade replied. "What's your consortium salvaging? I didn't think there was anything around here worth going after."
Juan looked at Christen. "It's a private commission." Christen said. "We can't really discuss it." She took Juan's elbow. "We'll drop by later, to set a date for dinner. Let's go, Juan."
Christen and Juan turned and jumped off the boat, strolling down the dock together.'
Jade and Tori watched them go, and then looked at each other. "What the heck was that all about?" Tori wondered.
"I don't know." Jade sat up and rested her elbows on her knees, studying Tori. "What was that name change all about?" She half grinned.
Tori nibbled her lower lip.
"I'm not objecting…" Jade said. "Just a little surprised."
Tori crossed one ankle over her knee, and rubbed a bit of sand off her skin. "You know." She finally said. "I'm not really sure why I did that." Her head rolled to one side, and she peered at Jade with sheepish honesty. "Let me think about it for a while."
"Sure." Jade nodded. "As for our visitors... I don't know what their game is, but now I'm wishing we'd brought the laptops with us."
"To find out who they are?"
"Yeah."
Tori drummed her fingers on the chair arm. "Well, I guess we'll just have to ferret that out the old fashioned way." She said. "You don't think they're going to be a problem though, do you?"
"Nah." Jade shook her head. "Just some gold diggers. We might not hear from them again, now that they know we're not after what they are." Jade put her glasses back on and resumed her comfortable position.
"That's true." Tori tucked her knees up under her chin and wrapped her arms around them, gazing out at the sea thoughtfully. "They were a little weird, though."
"Mm."
"Preppy." Tori added. "I don't k now, Jade. They just didn't seem like sea types. You know what I mean."
Jade opened one eye. "Maybe they're the business end." She suggested. "The money people."
Tori pursed her lips. "I just didn't like them."
"Well." Jade captured her hand and squeezed it. "I've always trusted your people judgment." She said. "Why don't we…"
"Hey Jade!"
Jade sat up, as they heard footsteps approaching rapidly. Rufus was running down the docks towards them. "Hey." Jade greeted him.
He stopped short of the boat. "C'n I come on board?"
"Sure." Jade waved him over.
The boy grinned and scrambled onto the boat, looking around wide-eyed as he walked across the stern deck. "Wow."
"Nice, huh?" Jade stood up. "Want to see inside?" She offered.
"Sure!" Rufus followed her eagerly as she opened the door, looking up at her in awe as he walked under her arm. "Boy, Jade. You got a lot of muscles!"
Tori muffled a giggle, as she caught the look of bemused consternation on her partner's face.
"Yeah, I sure do." Jade replied. "That's kinda weird for a girl, huh?"
"Yeah." Rufus nodded solemnly. "But it's really cool. Can you rassle a gator?"
Jade chuckled. "C'mon."
They disappeared inside, leaving Tori to resume her quiet pondering. She leaned back in her chair and exhaled. "What the hell is going on with you, Victoria?" She rested her head against her fist and tried to look inside herself for the answer.
Finally, she lifted her eyes and exhaled, nodding a few times. Had her family had so enraged and disgusted her, she mused, that a part of her wanted to just leave them behind? Maybe that same part thought doing that would rid her of the nightmares.
Was that good or bad? Tori wasn't sure. It hadn't seemed to bother Jade, though; in fact Tori suspected Jade kinda liked the theft of her surname. With a thoughtful frown, she picked up the strong golden chain on her neck and regarded the ring it was threaded through. She and Jade both wore their commitment rings the same way, and now she studied the inscription on hers carefully.
Then she smiled and pushed herself to her feet, shaking her head as she walked towards the cabin. Then a motion caught her eye and she turned to watch a much smaller boat, just a motored skiff, pull up to the dock and tie on.
The motor died, then a tall, grizzle haired man with a husky build got out. He was dressed in faded and patched fatigues and a black tank top, and he adjusted a blue cap as he paused on the dock. His eyes fell on their boat and he turned, examining it carefully from bow to stern. Then he turned on his heel and headed up towards the buildings, walking with a determined, powerful stride.
"You know." Tori leaned on the edge of the cabin door. "If I were the gambling type, I'd bet that guy's name is Bud." She watched as the man passed Christine and Juan coming back the other way, brushing by them without a word. The two continued back to their boat, but not without a look in Tori's direction. "This is starting to look squicky."
"Did you say something, Tor?" Jade appeared at her elbow. "I'm just going to kick the engines on and give Rufus the ride I promised him."
"Sounds like a great idea." Tori patted her on the side. "I'll untie us." She jumped onto the dock and set them free, aware of being watched from across the way.
Something definitely was going on. Tori suspected they'd be finding out what sooner or later.