Terrors of the High Seas

Kerry nodded. “Yes, and Dar told me a little.” She said. “I almost kicked Bud in the nuts a few times until he finally calmed down and stopped saying mean things.” Her fingers played with the edge of the table. “What was up with that?”

A server with a pitcher came up to them, and offered them a drink. Andrew held out his mug and they refilled it, then the server handed Kerry a cup as well.

“Thanks.” Kerry took a cautious sip, relieved to find somewhat luke-cold fruit juice. She sensed Andrew wasn’t comfortable discussing Bud with her, and decided not to push the subject. “I thought I saw cereal in there – did you eat yet?”

“Ah did.” He told her. “Went down and checked out the boat. Hull got banged up a bit, but nothing big. Should be fine to head back with.”

“Thank you.” Kerry said. “Did anyone say if DeSalliers’ boat was brought in?”

“No, ma’am.”

Kerry gazed quietly at him. After a moment, Andrew met her eyes.  “Sorry if I butted in where I didn’t belong.” She told him.

Andrew’s expression softened, and he blinked a few times. “Wasn’t that, Kerry.” He answered. “Just somethin that burns my shorts, and ah don’t like chatting about it.”

“Okay.” Kerry nodded. “Are you flying back home?”

“Yeap.” Andy said. “I figure you two got things all squared off now. Got a flight back out tonight. They ain’t reopened the airport yet.”  He told her. “Still cleaning up. Storm racked up some fuss, but not a whole lot outside the marina.”

Kerry studied the horizon, which was clear and cloud free. “It’s funny. I almost feel like last night was a dream.” She admitted. “But I know it wasn’t.”

Andrew cocked his head in a listening attitude.

“I’m glad you came out here after us.” Kerry told him. “Thanks.”

A smile tugged at the scarred face across from her. “S’what a father’s for, ain’t it?”

Kerry stared off past him, her eyes distant. “Only if you’re very lucky.”  She exhaled, dusting her fingers off from the muffin. “I’m going to grab something for me and Dar.” Pushing against the table, she stood up, suddenly wanting to be out of the sun and back with her partner. “Maybe we can find you for lunch?”

Andy got up and patted her on the shoulder. “Lemme give you a hand with your grub, kumquat.” He said. “We maybe need a chit chat, and I want to see my kid.”

Kerry smiled, feeling the tension between them relax a little. “Okay, Dad. It’s a deal.”

They went inside to the table, which didn’t have much in the way of plates. Andrew improvised by stealing a basket of flowers, dumping the flowers, and standing helpfully behind Kerry as she filled it. They were halfway down the table when Kerry’s progress was intercepted, and she looked up to see the police captain politely blocking her.  “Oh. Good morning.” She greeted him with wary cordiality.  “Guess you had a busy night.”

“Most certainly, yes, Ms. Stuart. That we did.” He replied with courtesy. “I am glad to see that you are safe. Is Ms. Roberts safe as well?”

“Very much so, yes.” Kerry told him, then noticed his eyes flicking over her shoulder. “Oh, I’m sorry. This is my father in law, Andrew Roberts. Dad, this is Captain Alalau, of the St. Thomas police.”

“Lo.” Andrew issued a moderately cordial greeting.

Alalau gave him a brief nod. “Sir.” He turned his attention back to Kerry. “Might I ask, Ms. Stuart, if you and your friend Ms. Roberts could find a moment to chat with me later on today? Perhaps over lunch?”

Uh oh. Kerry didn’t think they were in trouble, even in the Virgin Islands she figured criminals weren’t invited to lunch, but given all that had happened so far, you never knew. “Um.. sure.” She agreed cautiously.  “I’m sure that would be no problem at all.”

“Excellent.” The captain smiled, and ducked his head slightly at her. “Please, enjoy your breakfast. Unfortuntely, the power will most likely be out for the rest of the day, but we are working on restoring it.”

“Thanks.” Kerry watched him walk off. “Hm.”

“Nice feller.” Andrew drawled.

“Very nice.” Kerry sighed, dumping a last few items into their basket, and snagging a thermos of juice. “C’mon. Let’s go wake Dar up and tell her the social agenda’s changed.”

They left the lobby, leaving the increasingly crowded space behind.

**

The cell phone buzzed near her head, and Dar jerked herself out of a deep sleep, reaching for it blindly in the darkened room. “Buh.” She captured the instrument and opened it, her head pounding as her body tried to wake itself. “Yeah?”

Alastair’s voice was so normal, it almost hurt. “Morning, Alastair.” 

“Are you okay?”

Dar opened an eye and rolled it around, taking in her surroundings. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a damn storm.”

“Storm? What the hell are you talking about? I got a call last night saying you got held up or something!” Alastair said, his voice audibly upset. “What the hell is going on out there, Dar?”

Where do I start? Dar cleared her throat. “Hang on and let my brain boot.” She told him. “I was sleeping.”

A momentary silence. “At ten am? Good heavens. Let me get my diary.”

“I am supposed to be on vacation.” Dar told her boss, in a peeved tone. “In case that slipped your mind.”  She rubbed her eyes and tried to shake some sense into herself. “First off, I didn’t get held up.”

“Well, that’s wonderful.”

“My hotel room got broken into.”

“That’s terrible!”

“But they didn’t take anything, so they just moved us to a bigger room.”

“Well, that’s not so bad.” Alastair said. “Jesus, Dar. You had me worried for a minute. I’ve got a lot of company resources sitting out there in the islands at the moment.”

Should she tell him about the rest? “We had a couple snags out here, matter of fact.”

“Uh oh.”  Her boss said. “Maybe that’s what Mark was talking about. He sounded half nuts.”

“Mark? What the hell is he calling you for? Does he think he’s my mother all of a sudden?” Dar snapped.

“No, she called me last time.” Alastair answered benignly. “Apparently he picked up something on a police record, and wasn’t happy about it.”

Mother hens. Dar scowled, gazing up at the ceiling. “Well, we ran into a couple of old buddies of my father, and had to help them out of a jam. That, and the storm is making my life currently miserable.” She said. “Everything okay there?”

“Here?” Alastair’s voice dripped with surprised innocence. “Oh, sure. Right as rain, Dar. No problems here.”

Uh oh. Dar stared at her phone, then sighed. “Great. Guess I’ll talk to you next week when I get back in the office then, huh?”

“Sure… sure. You two having a good time otherwise?” Alastair asked. “Getting some rest and relaxation in?”

“Well.” Dar’s ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching. “Right now I’m flat on my back, and you woke me at ten. What does that tell you?”

“Good to hear, Dar. Good to hear. You take it easy, and try to keep out of trouble for the rest of your trip, hmm?”

“I’ll try.” Dar told him. “Talk to you later.”  She folded the phone and set it aside as the door opened, admitting Kerry and the unmistakable bulk of her father. “Ah.. hi.” She felt mildly embarrassed at being caught in bed.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Kerry teased her as she closed the door and set the basket down. “I figured you might be up by now.”

“Only by the graces of Alastair.” Dar admitted. “Mark told him we were having problems.”

Kerry stopped and stared at her. “What?”

“Yeah. Hundred bazillion dollar corporation run by two nanny worrywarts.” Dar laid her arm across her eyes, wincing at the dull headache. “Hi, Dad.”

“Hey there, Dardar.” Andrew crouched down by the bed and patted her arm. “You doin all right?”

“Mmpfh.” Dar grunted. “Any chance of getting some fresh air in here?”

Kerry walked to the windows and opened the blinds. Part of the wooden slats had been removed, and light flooded in. She unlatched the windows and pulled them open, rewarded when a gust of air puffed her hair back. “How’s that?”

“Better.” Dar still had her eyes closed. “What’s going on outside?”

“No power, grumpy tourists, muggy weather, and the police want to have lunch with us.”

Dar’s eyes popped open, and she hitched herself up onto her elbows. “Us?”

“Us.” Kerry confirmed.

“Bck.” Dar laid down, and pulled the covers up over her head.

“Yeah.” Kerry agreed ruefully. “That about covers it.”  

**

The boat rocked gently under her as Kerry jumped on board. Dar was still on the dock, examining the mild damage the hull had taken, and Kerry dropped into one of the chairs on the stern to wait for her. The sun was out, and the air was clearing of it’s moisture, the light breeze lifting strands of her hair idly. She leaned back and looked around the marina, wincing a little at the small boats tossed up onto the seawall and the debris floating in the water.

Kerry felt oddly itchy. She’d realized on the walk down to the boat that she wanted, more than anything, to be gone from the island and away from the chaos their vacation had become. A corner of her brain wondered what had happened to DeSalliers, but that corner wasn’t making much headway against the rest of her who wanted to put the last few days far behind the two of them.

Dar appeared on the dock, and circled the stern, hopping on board and stepping down onto the deck. “Not too bad.” She confirmed. “Just a few scrapes.”

“Good.” Kerry held a hand out to her. Dar stepped closer and took it, walking around behind the chair Kerry was sitting in and letting her other hand rest on Kerry’s shoulder. “Do we have a plan?”

“A plan.” Dar yawned, her jaw cracking softly. “I’m still too wiped to have a plan.” She eased into the chair next to Kerry and slung one long leg over it’s arm. “I guess we’ll go talk to the cops first.” She rested her head on one hand. “What do you want to do after that?”

Leave. Kerry bit back the answer, knowing her sense of responsibility would kill her for it. “Well, if that all turns out okay…”

“You think it won’t?” Dar interrupted mildly. “It’s a lunch date.”

“I know.” Kerry agreed. “But I’d rather not take anything for granted. Now, if that turns out okay, we could go see Bud and make sure he and Charlie are okay.”

“Uh.” Dar grunted.

“We could take Dad out for dinner before his flight.”

“Hm.” That got a much more interested response. “Okay, that sounds good.” Dar agreed. “Where did he run off to, anyway?”

Kerry shook her head. “He didn’t say. Just that he’d be back.” She glanced at the deck pensively. “I think I pissed him off before.”

The chair creaked as Dar leaned towards her. “You?” Her voice expressed disbelief. “How?”

“I asked him about him and Bud and Charlie.” Kerry admitted. “I don’t think he likes people knowing about all that. I guess it’s embarrassing for him.” She paused thoughtfully. “Or something.” She turned her head and gazed at Dar. “I’m sorry I mentioned anything.”

Dar reached over and gave Kerry a scratch on the back of the neck. “Sweetheart, it’s not what you think.” She said. “Yeah, the whole damn thing embarrasses the hell out of him, that’s true.”

“Having them think he was gay, you mean?” Kerry asked. “In that world, it’s kinda understandable.”

Dar chuckled. “No.” She replied. “He didn’t really care about that… but let me start at the beginning.” She cleared her throat. “It was all really my fault.”

“Your fault?” Kerry asked in much the same tone Dar had used moments earlier. “How?”

“I’d just come out to them.” Dar related. “It was tough for my folks, being part of the military world and seeing as I was such a pain in the ass child anyway.”

Kerry smiled, but kept quiet.

“So, my dad went out and read a whole boatload of stuff about homosexuality at the library.” Dar went on. “He even checked a few books out, and took one of them with him on a maneuver with a couple of squads off the base.”

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah.” Dar nodded. “So then he got assigned to sea duty for four months. The captain of the boat he was on was a real tight assed conservative, and one day he went off about gays in front of the guys.” She paused to reflect, then sighed. “So my dad, being my dad, took him into a torpedo room and nearly removed a couple teeth from his mouth.”

“Yikes.”

“Word got around about it, and everyone put two and two together and got six.” The dark haired woman stretched her legs out. “So after that, Charlie figured he was fair game.”

“Oh.” Kerry frowned. “But… I mean, Dar – he was married, and had a child. Didn’t they get a clue?”

Dar looked at her, one eyebrow lifting in wry sarcasm.

“Yes, I know that’s not necessarily an indication of heterosexuality, but Jesus! Your father drips it.” Kerry protested.

“True. But that’s really what he’s pissed off about.” Dar explained. “It wasn’t that they thought he was gay. Since I am, that wasn’t something he found offensive.”

Kerry cocked her head. “O…kay…” Her brows contracted. “But…”

“He was furious that they thought he was the kind of man who would cheat on his wife.” Dar said, simply. “He never forgave them for that.” She pushed herself out of the chair. “Want a drink?”

“Sure.” Kerry nodded, absorbing the previous information. “Wow. That makes sense.” She shook her head slightly. “It was hard for me to think Dad would have been that embarrassed about something thinking he was what we are.” She admitted. “But I can understand, now.”

“Mm.” Dar agreed. “He told me about it when he came back that time. He said he couldn’t tell mom, but he wanted to share that with me so I knew, in case I heard anything on the base, what really happened.”

“Did you?” Kerry asked, in a soft voice. “Hear anything?”

A half smile twitched at Dar’s lips. “Not directly.” She said. “By that time, I.. um.. had quite the reputation for a temper, and most of the other kids on the base knew if they ribbed me about my father, it meant a fight.”

Kerry tipped her head back and regarded Dar with a slight grin. “Two of a kind.” She reached up and touched the insignia now threaded through the silver chain around Dar’s neck. It nestled together with Dar’s joining ring and collected just the faintest hint of reflection off its dully burnished surface.

Dar stuck her hands in her pockets and looked down at the item, unable to hide the unabashedly proud grin. “Yeah.” Her eyes twinkled. “That we are.” Her attention returned to Kerry’s face. “Don’t worry, Ker. Dad would never be mad at anyone just for asking a question. Especially you.” She stroked Kerry’s hair. “He loves you.”

The green eyes looking up at her filled with unshed tears, as Kerry remained silent, just watching Dar’s expression.

“We’ve got a while before lunch.” Dar said, in a gentle tone. “Let’s go inside, and relax. Okay?” She held a hand out to Kerry. It was taken, and she guided both of them through the cabin door and out of the sun.

Inside, Kerry tugged her to a halt. She moved in and put her arms around Dar and hugged her fiercely.

Dar returned the hug, rubbing Kerry’s back as she did so.

“Urgh.” Kerry exhaled. “Can we just go out and get lost somewhere tomorrow, Dar?” She asked. “Find another of those blue holes, and just leave our minds out to dry?”

“Hmm. That’s an appealing thought.” Dar inclined her head and nipped Kerry on the jawbone. “I could see spending a couple days out lost with you, as a matter of fact.” She felt Kerry’s body press against hers. “I think I know some nice, deserted islands out there where it’ll just be you, me, and if they’re very lucky, a couple of dancing lobsters.”

“Dancing into my nice big pot?” Kerry burrowed into Dar’s chest, breathing in her scent greedily. “I have a bottle of champagne in here that would love to meet them.”

“Oh yeah.” Dar assured her. “We’ll spend the whole day just being sea bums.” She squeezed her partner, feeling her shoulders shift and relax. “Hey, I’ve got an idea.”

“M’sure it’s a good one.” Kerry mumbled into the skin of her neck.

“I know we were going to go up to the condo for New Years… how about we spend it down at the cabin?”

“Mmm.”

“Mmmmmm” Kerry made a low, pleased humming noise. “Even if we don’t have furniture, I think I’d really, really like that.”

Dar rested her cheek against Kerry’s hair, content with the reaction to her plan. While she knew the interruption was really none of either of their faults, she still felt bad about the net effect of it’s robbing them of their needed time out.

It was funny, but already she found the preceding day’s events fading into memory despite their fantastic nature. She’d always had a philosophy of setting aside things once they were over and done with, but she found it strange that she could look back on what she’d done last night and not have it seem terrifying to her.

It had been a bad situation. She had dealt with it as best as she’d been able to, and in the end things had turned out all right. What more, really, could she have asked?

It was over. Most often, when traumatic things happened, she examined them for lessons to hopefully avoid the problem the next time round, but usually that was in a business sense. Dar sincerely hoped she would not have to put her experience in escaping wacko pseudo pirates to use any time soon in the ILS boardroom.

Her blue eyes twinkled suddenly. Well…..

“What are you doing?” Kerry asked.

“Just thinking.” Dar replied. “Why?”

“I can feel you smiling.”

Dar chuckled. “I was just imagining Alastair dressed as Captain Blood.”

Kerry’s body convulsed into abrupt laughter. “I can barely imagine Alastair dressed as Captain Kangaroo.”

“Heh.”

The blond woman sighed, and circled Dar’s neck with her arms, swaying against her as the boat rocked. “Well, one thing for all the stuff that’s happened.”

“Made me totally forget my family.” Kerry murmured.

Dar lifted her head and looked down at Kerry’s profile. “Is that a good thing?”

Kerry nodded. “Maybe seeing other people with crummier relatives than me helped.” She stated. “I was thinking about that this morning after I talked to dad. My parents were pedantic and clueless, Dar – but you know something?”

“Mm?”

“I think you were right. I think… at some level, somewhere, they both did love all of us.” Kerry blinked. “Even my father. Even me. Because as bad as he was, somewhere in all that twistedness he thought he was doing the right thing.”

“I think I’ve seen enough true hatred the past few days to tell the difference.”

“Ah.”

“He hated what I was doing. He hated us. He hated my being gay, he hated me squealing on him.” Kerry went on. “But I don’t think he ever hated me.”

“I can live with that.” The blond woman said. “Because it gives us something in common.”

And then, Dar considered, she’d always lived by the theory that things happened for a reason. She cupped Kerry’s face in her hands and smiled at her. Their eyes met, and she could see a note of tired peace in Kerry’s expression for the first time since they’d gotten back from Michigan. She leaned forward and rubbed noses with her.

Kerry pulled Dar towards her and traded a nose rub for a kiss. Then they hugged each other again.

“Okay.” Kerry released a long, heartfelt sigh. “Let’s get back to the serious business of having fun.”

Dar kissed the back of Kerry’s neck, moving the pale hair aside as she was rewarded with a sudden intake of breath at the action. “I’ve had about enough… “ She growled into the blond woman’s ear. “Of real life intruding on my hedonistic vacation. How about you?”

“You bet.” Kerry felt a nudge. “Hey… “

Dar nudged her again.

“I think I’m being bumped.”

“You are.” Another gentle shove.

“Looks like it’s towards the bedroom.”

“Good sense of direction.”

“Heh.”

**

Kerry lay on her back, her body half tangled in sheets and Dar’s head pillowed on her stomach. She stroked the dark hair laying across her belly idly with one hand, twirling a few strands of it around her fingers. After a moment, she lifted her arm and examined her palm, flexing it a little and turning it into the light.

With a brief, pensive sigh, she went back to playing with Dar’s hair, her eyes tracing her lover’s face and watching the faint twitches of a dream flicker under her closed eyelids. Dar had gotten a little bruise herself, Kerry noticed, as she smoothed a fingertip over a discolored patch of tan skin across one high cheekbone.

She leaned closer. More of a burn, really, than a bruise. Kerry frowned, thinking back over the fight and wondering where it could have come from. She remembered hearing Dar curse as she’d been tossed head over tail to safety, and then the sound of a gun going off and…

Kerry’s eyes widened.

Had it come that close? Horrified, she stared at the mark, imagining if it had been just a fraction of a hair different in it’s path.

It had come that close. She had come that close to losing Dar.

Kerry tipped her head back and looked up at the ceiling. Her eyes closed and she whispered a few words of heartfelt thanks to the god that surely, surely had been watching over both of them. She had no doubt now that she was blessed – that Dar was blessed, and that the love between them was as sanctified as any that had ever been.

It would have been so easy to punish her otherwise. Kerry looked back down at Dar’s face. Just a fraction of a inch, and like a wisp of smoke, it all would have been gone.

She felt Dar’s breath warm the skin on her bare belly. She’d still been tired, even after their night’s rest and lying here sleeping she looked as peaceful as a child. Kerry absorbed the sight of her, newly made aware of just how fragile, and how precious life was.

With a soft murmur, Dar stirred, stretching her body out and curling it up again. Her eyes drifted open, and she regarded Kerry with sleepy affection. “Mm.. w’time is it?”

Kerry stroked her cheek. “Near one.” She said.

Dar sighed, a reluctant expression appearing on her face. “I guess we should go find out what our lunch date’s all about, hm?” She drawled. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“Literally.” Kerry smiled. “You were tired.”

Dar nodded. “I tossed around a while last night. Too much noise, I think.”

“Too much excitement.” Kerry agreed. Her index finger traced the mark on Dar’s face. “I didn’t notice this until now.”

“Hm?” Dar’s brows contracted in puzzlement. “Didn’t notice what?”

“The burn on your face.”

“Burn?” Dar lifted a hand and touched the spot, then her expression cleared. “Oh.” She nodded. “Yeah, stupid bastard nearly blew my damn head off.”

Kerry rubbed the spot with a trembling hand. “Yeah, so I see.”

Dar’s expression gentled. “No chance I was going to let him get away with that, though.” She settled back down atop Kerry. “I’m not nearly done living this life with you yet.” Her fingers clasped Kerry’s, and she pulled her hand close and kissed it, nibbling the skin with frank sensuality.