Salvage

This story was originally written last year for Faeritales as a Christmas present. I thank her for allowing me to share it with you! Enjoy and Happy Holidays! Reviews most certainly appreciated!

Chapter 1

There was a dark spot on the water’s surface that hadn’t been there when Elizabeth had reached for her mask. She and Quinsy had only come up long enough to put on more oxygen, with each other’s help it hadn’t taken long to hook up new tanks. Elizabeth was half finished with her welds, the only underwater welder on the salvage team and U.S. Navy certified at that, a rarity among civilians, particularly women. She had looked forward to having the last of the large, heavy eye hooks secured to the hull, but suddenly her salvage work was forgotten. The stain on the water was unmistakable; blood, like a crimson cloud below the choppy surface, growing in size, the color red deepening as a black figure now began to swiftly ascend. Her face drained as the waves carried the blood in the water more towards the work barge, no, this couldn’t be happening, not so close to Christmas! Elizabeth dropped her mask, wriggled free of all her SCUBA gear and clamored forward to where bubbles and more blood pervaded the blue of the open Caribbean Sea. What had happened? Had someone lost their grip on the drill? Had a cable snapped and lashed someone open? Had the wreck shifted and caught someone beneath her? Who was it that was bleeding so much and so fast? And what did they do now?

“Mom!”

Both Elizabeth and Quinsy stood by the low rail of the barge, faces white, knowing that whatever and whoever it was, that much blood was not an encouraging sign! Caspian had come bursting from the waves so quickly, his blue eyes wide, red hair matted to his forehead as he ripped his regulator from his mouth. His haste had startled them both, but Elizabeth bent down and reached out to her son, though he was still some ten feet below her. “What’s—“

“Dad’s been attacked by a shark!”

Elizabeth felt her eyes sink closed as her knees turned to nothing beneath her, threatening to drop her hard onto the deck of the barge, but she couldn’t allow that, she must get to Hector! In all their years together, they’d each had their share of injuries and illnesses, but each trauma was just that, traumatic. Just as she thought to put one foot forward and run, she opened her eyes to see that she was already running, near the steps down to the dive platform, with her daughter close behind her, and more bubbles and blood beneath the platform itself. In one leap, Elizabeth landed there, reaching down into the waves, her hands immediately grabbing onto the wetsuit clad shoulders of her husband, and pulling him into her arms.

“Oceanic whitetip!” Hector spit out his regulator and growled as he knelt up onto the platform, Elizabeth clinging to him as much she held him to her, salt water seeping into his wound and making it burn. “Nine, ten foot! Bloody damned big one!”

“Where?” She wanted to scream, bury her face against his chest and just scream and cry her panic, but no, not with the children present, no matter how grown they were. For that matter, she owed it to Hector not to scream or cry. Elizabeth could feel that one of Hector’s arms was around her…only one; a new dread filled her. What if the whitetip had taken his arm? Could what they had with each other repair such a thing? A doctor, they needed medical attention! “Quinsy! Bring the cruiser around!”

But Quinsy stammered, pushing her wet dark blond hair behind her ears and still looking into the water, searching for something. “Where’s Uncle Jack?”

“I’ll do it!” Caspian vaulted onto the platform beside his parents and began to divest himself of fins, mask and tank. “I’m better with the cruiser than Quinn is, I’ll have us back to The Pride faster!”

“Tis not so bad, son,” Hector sighed, but smiled, his oldest boy was the fine, strapping, capable type of son he’d always envisioned having years before fatherhood actually came upon him. But Elizabeth’s obvious worry caused him to keep his right arm tucked against his chest as he removed his mask, undid the zipper of his suit with the left and pushed the hood off of his head to better look at his wife. He’d have to settle her, hated it when she was fearful, and hated more being the cause of that fear; all was not lost after all. Hector stroked his hand over Elizabeth’s hair, staring into her frightened eyes. “Just need the bleeding stopped.”

“You in one piece, mate?” A voice called from the water, and then Jack pushed himself up onto the platform with them all, regulator dangling down with his sopping dreadlocks, mask already pushed back, Quinsy sighing audibly in some relief and moved beside him. “I looked over and you were feeding the fish!”

Hector gave Jack a nod, but leaned into Elizabeth’s touch more.

“You’re bleeding badly, daddy!” Quinsy said nervously, watching the blood as it still spilled down over her father’s chest and weight belt. “Hurry, Cass!” She called to her older brother as he untied the cruiser from the starboard side of the barge.

He opened his mouth to say something to no doubt calm their daughter, but Elizabeth’s fingers were prying at her husband’s injured arm, trying to peel it away from where he had it tucked. “Let me see how bad it is.”

“Been hurt worse, Lizabeth,” He insisted, and though it was painful to do so, pulled his arm more into himself, not allowing her to look at it. It hadn’t hurt while he was in the water, or even when the shark grabbed hold of him, shaking and twisting, but now, in the air again with the adrenaline slowly wearing off, the bite began to burn savagely and throb with the ache of broken bones. The pain began to make him tremble, though he fought hard to hide it from Elizabeth, his adult son and daughter, and Jack. Blood was still pouring from his arm; he could feel himself getting more lightheaded with each beat of his heart. He was tired, had fought for his life beneath the waves though he’d had every confidence that he was in no danger of actually losing it. But instincts as such were hard to ignore, and once the shark had latched onto his forearm, the battle for life or death began to rage, lasting only a few seconds that had seemed hours, ending when he’d been able to hook two fingers of his left hand into the animal’s gill slits and gauge whatever lay behind them. Hector had grown unaccustomed to such physical fights, life had changed so drastically over the centuries, and this battle had worn him out so. It would have been so easy to collapse into his wife’s arms and sleep, if not just give into the loss of blood and pass out. But there was hope, and relief. They just had to get back home, to the sanctity of their bed. “Yeh haven’t had a change of heart lately, have yeh?” He managed to smile at Elizabeth.

She sighed, but it left her lungs as a shuddering breath. “Of course not,” after so many years, it was hard to imagine how there was a time when she didn’t love this man. “Now, let me see it.”

“Funny how used to men in the gray suits we get down there, sorta start to think they’re harmless. Must have been the vibrations from the drill what made him attack,” furthered Jack, standing beside them now as he removed his air tank, handing it to Quinsy. “Electrical stimulus,” Jack’s fingers fluttered before him as if performing some magic trick. “Wreaks havoc with their delicate senses, you know.”

“Thank the powers yer here, Jack Cousteau!” Hector rolled his eyes at his dark haired diving and business partner, but was then greeted by another shadow standing over him, this one barking and wagging its tail fiercely. He looked up at the black and white Bull Terrier mix as the dog sat down, whining now and anxiously leaning towards him to sniff at him. “S’alright, Jack,” he assured the dog, then sighed and looked back to Elizabeth, who still fought for control of his injured arm. “It seems I’ve managed to rile everyone sufficiently enough, now let go of me arm.” He tried to pull back from Elizabeth, didn’t want her to see, didn’t want to worry her, only wanted to be close to her, her arms around him as she kissed him and whispered that she loved him and he whispered the same to her; the pain, the bleeding, the fatigue, it would all go away if they could just be close. Elizabeth still pulled gently at his arm, determined to see the horror he was determined to hide from her, but it hurt too much to continue pressing his injury to his body, and his strength finally subsided. “Ow!”

“Oh, Hector!” Elizabeth’s face went white; ice seemed to fill her veins as she looked down at where the underside of his forearm used to be. She’d been expecting a few jagged, deep teeth marks, but not an actual half moon of flesh and muscle nearly the length of his lower arm gone. No wonder he’d been trying to hide this from her. She’d only been able to glance at the wound, the sight of blood, ragged bits of muscle and sinew, and the ribbons of stretched and torn skin that dangled from it too much for Elizabeth to bear. The severity of the situation and the pain Hector must be in, washed over her, tears in her eyes now. This was not some little hole from a bullet, or neat slit into skin from a sword or dagger, this was a large piece of flesh and bone, ripped off and swallowed by a shark. She hoped this could be healed. Her eyes held his now, more worried than before, the tears in them beginning to fall, but Hector cupped her cheek and wiped them away, giving her a faint, hopeful smile, and a subtle shake of his head. He was right, don’t do this; don’t cry; it was in no way a solution.

“Caspian!” Jack, who’d obviously seen the wound as well, bounded up the steps from the platform. “I’ve been a captain for longer than you kids been calling me ‘Uncle,’ I’ll take us in!” Jack, the dog, barked as Jack, the rogue, reached the top of the stairs, looking over his shoulder. “Quinsy,” he said with a jerk of his head and wet dreadlocks, knowing it was best now to leave Hector and Elizabeth alone. “C’mon, step to!” Quinsy was quick to follow as Jack looked down at the uneasy animal panting at his feet. “You too, you sorry namesake, let’s go!”

“Yer not needed, Jack.” Hector shook his head in staunch objection. “There’s a storm bearing down on us, we’re running out of time here! At least one hand should remain to finish driving oak pegs into the holes where her iron nails have rusted away, she’s still got two leaks to be sealed, and she needs to be better secured to the Manitowoc.”

“Now, now, Hector,” Jack shook his head. “No one works at the site without supervision of the Dive Master, and that’s you, mate! Also your own rule!”

“And now the Dive Master is ordering yeh to stay with the wreck!”

Jack smirked at him and turned once more towards the Cruiser. “I am staying with the wreck. Just not the one what’s secured to a crane!”

Elizabeth shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she was thankful for Jack’s disobedience, he could get them home the fastest, and home, alone with one another where sacred bonds could be unleashed in undisturbed seclusion was where they needed to be. She leaned against the man she held and sighed again, trying to get control of herself, ignoring the tears that wanted to fall. She’d had lots of practice at this over the centuries, pretending some injury or sickness was not so bad, to spare the children from fear and worry, but she’d never seen them, or Hector hurt like this. What if he lost his arm? Or worse? He was bleeding badly, and quickly. Christmas was less than a week away, the children, they couldn’t lose their father at Christmas! True, they were all grown now, all three of them born within eight years of her and Hector’s official marriage, but ever since December of 1865, Christmas had become such a special time for the family! And now this…Hector had never before been hurt like this, never had lay in her arms with some missing piece of his body needing to be restored by the miraculous blessedness of their love.

It had to work! It just had to! They’d kept one another alive for so very long, neither one of them had aged a minute from the moment they’d fallen in love with one another, and even the love they bore their children had protected Caspian, Brendan and Quinsy throughout the centuries, had extended their childhoods for nearly 200 hundred years and left them currently somewhere between late teens and mid twenties. But could this love that had generated so much regenerate a severed limb? It was such a shock to think that she’d left Hector, Caspian and Jack just minutes before and all was fine, even the wreck was taking well to the work they did on her, and the sharks, while present today, had seemed so lethargic. Elizabeth shook her head, tried to let go of the worry, but couldn’t. “I don’t believe this is happening.”

Hector shifted, it was becoming a bit difficult now to remain upright, his eyesight dimming and his neck weakening in its ability to hold his head up. “Kiss me,” he whispered, and his hand limply brushed her cheek. He knew she was scared, she was scared any time something befell him or the children, though in this instance, Hector himself was not quite as concerned. He’d suffered more ills and injuries than she or the children, and she’d always managed to nurse him through them. It wasn’t right to let his family worry, he didn’t like to see his family worry, particularly his wife. It was awful to see Elizabeth cry and he wanted it to stop. A kiss, it would do both of them good.

He didn’t have to ask, for Elizabeth pressed her trembling lips to his, swallowing the words as he spoke them, a quiet, calming kiss, her tongue gently and lightly touching the tip of his, letting his maimed arm rest between their two hearts. “I love you,” she whispered, her forehead to his.

“And I you,” he whispered back, able to gather enough renewed strength now to kiss her, feeling all that he was to her, all the pride she took in being his wife and mother of his children, all the joy and hope and pleasure and love ever born in her for him flowing through him with an energy more searing and invigorating than was held in the blood he’d lost. His left arm came around her lithe body more, pulling her closer, his right shoulder flinching to put that arm around her as well, but it wouldn’t move, only thrummed with fire and ache.

Elizabeth heard the boat’s engine finally start up as she took note of Hector’s improved strength, running one hand through his long, wet, reddish hair and then down through his redder beard; Hector groaned and fumbled with the zipper of her wetsuit, wanting more, and needing it as well. Perhaps this injury could be healed? They’d over an hour’s trip back to The Pride, perhaps longer on choppy seas like this, the injury was serious, for all that she loved him and he loved her, they’d have to wait to share it. “It’s bad, Hector. I think we should radio the Coast Guard and get you airlifted.”

“Airlifted?” He pulled away with a mild snarl. “What for? To end up in a hospital, having surgery, and have doctors and physical therapists poking around for weeks?” Hector paused, grumbling something else. “Won’t need any physical therapists anyway, I’ve the Bowflex, Elizabeth!”

Elizabeth felt herself start to laugh, but stifled it. It was so like Hector to try and make her laugh at a moment such as this…him and that damned Bowflex! Although, she had to admit, she liked the results he was getting from working out on it so regularly! But no, she wouldn’t argue with him over a stupid piece of exercise equipment when he could be losing blood faster than love could stop. “I’m afraid you’ll bleed out! At least you could be given an I.V. in the Coast Guard chopper on the way to a hospital!”

“No, Elizabeth! We’ve all spent over nine months digging The Pearl outta the seabed, and now drilling her hull and girding her around with cable, and hooking her up to that bloody huge crane. Finally she’s starting to rise, and a blasted rare December hurricane is building out there! I’ll not be leaving her to chance in a storm, or leaving her to rise on her own while I’m told to sit and recover from a fish bite!”

Elizabeth sighed again and shook her head, reaching up and drawing down the zipper of his wetsuit further, laying her head to his chest, wanting to settle him and also to be close to him, close enough to keep him from bleeding to death. Why argue? Now was no time for such. “I know, I should have known better,” she said, and kissed him again, letting him draw it out for as long as he wished to, physical contact, any expression of what they felt for one another, so incredibly vital, and always in instances such as these, so very natural to the two of them. “I just don’t want to lose you, you know.”

“Yeh haven’t yet, have yeh?” He whispered passed her ear, and began to press kisses to her neck when the boat, Jack, Jack and Caspian and Quinsy raced around the bow end of the work barge and stopped by the platform.

Jack was the first one over to offer his assistance, followed by Caspian, but both were waved off by Hector, who was by then strong enough to stand on his own, the blood beginning to clot. “Quinsy,” Jack said, seeing that she watched her father with great concern, thinking the girl might even be in tears soon if he didn’t think of a way to give her some hope, to give them all some hope. “Get the blue sports bottle there and give it to your father. It’s full of my water.”

Quinsy reached for the bottle Jack indicated, but Hector waved her and it off as well. “Save yer water for yerself, Jack. Don’t need yer chivalry, and won’t take the chance of coming through this with half an arm but two or three decades younger.”

“Daddy!” Quinsy exclaimed, brushing at a tear in her eyes. “Please, you might need it!”

Hector sighed and put his good hand on her shoulder, the imploringness in her voice nearly breaking his heart, for dare he say it, his daughter had always had him wrapped around her littlest of fingers. “My treasure,” he began, looking into her eyes. “I love yeh too much to see yeh lookin’ all like that! Smile! That be all I need.”

“Dad, stop being so damn stubborn!” Caspian groaned, throwing his dive mask in frustration, but before he could continue, Jack did for him.

“My nephew here is right, Hector! A sip or two don’t remove much in the way of years, trust me on this one, I live on the stuff, mate, it’s why I’m still here, and I look the same as when I found it, don’t I?” Jack took the bottle from Quinsy and shoved it into Hector’s good hand. “Won’t even heal you up, but gives you a bit more strength, and I’d say you could use it right now.”

With another roll of his eyes Hector took the sports bottle from Jack, Elizabeth’s arm around his back, steadying him as he looked from the sampling of el agua de la vida to his beautiful, loving wife of so many centuries. “Already got that.”