After changing into a large tee shirt, Sam slowly descended downstairs on wobbly legs. Michael was lounging on the couch and looked up to watch as she sat on the stairs every couple of steps to keep from falling.
“Good afternoon, sleeping beauty. Hey? You okay?” He got up and trotted to her.
“My legs are rubber bands. Feel these quivers.”
“I see them, you poor thing. Probably side-affects from your Ton induced sleep.” He scooped her up to carry her to the couch. “Relax, I’ll get you something to eat.”
“You’re such a good big brother. Thank you for the earrings. They are beautiful.”
“You earned them. I’ll be right back.”
He sat with her as she gobbled down her grilled cheese sandwich hungrily.
“It's good to see your appetite is normal. Would you like me to take your duty tomorrow? You might still need some recovery time,” he offered, massaging her legs.
Sam considered it for a moment, and then shook her head. “As tempting as that is, no thanks. I offered, so it’s my responsibility. Plus, Rich is going to keep me company.”
“Did you hear they’re pushing a promotion for him?”
“No! When?”
“ASAP. He’s going to take control of engineering which will free me to oversee both labs and training.”
“That means he has to deal with Uncle Scott three days a week. Poor guy.” She giggled.
“I don't feel sorry for him. He and Scott get along well and Scott doesn't give him the type of problems that he gives us. Do you feel like talking about yesterday?”
“Sure. What’s your question?” She leaned back, legs in his lap as he rubbed her calves.
“What happened with the shark thing?”
“It is hard to explain. The degree of concentration was so intense and it took everything I had to pull them from the wreck and keep them in a pattern. It felt a little like trying to write two different things with both hands at the same time. Remember those exercises that Daddy made us do?”
“I hated them. I never succeeded. You were a little better.”
“I’m ambidextrous, that’s why. Still, this situation was way out of my control. I was thinking that I should start training with Rich with sensory deprivation. I think it could increase my ability to multi-task.”
“His skills blow me away. We need to find a way to use them.”
“The only skills I am interested in are the ones associated with his sexy body.”
“He’s a perfect addition to our team. Would you want to take him out with us?”
“NO!” She sat up, her eyes wide. “NOOO! We can’t put him at risk out there! I would be too distracted!”
“He could replace you, if you wanted,” Michael said softly.
Her mouth hung open, tears in her eyes. “Don’t you want me anymore?”
“Of course I do. I was just thinking it might be easier on everyone if us guys did the work.”
“It would be one thing if I had fucked up. But not because I’m a girl,” she snapped. Tears ran down her face as she pulled away from him. She ran unsteadily out to the deck and dove over the side before he even had the chance to get up. Sam dislodged the bulky shirt from her body the moment she struck the waves. Naked and upset, she painfully swam out to catch the rip and allowed it to pull her into deep water. Not paying attention, she continued her escape just below the surface, only to get caught in a tuna net. Swearing, she fought to untangle herself as she was hauled to the fishing boat. Fuck! How the hell was she going to get out of this mess?
The fishermen halted the catch in shock, seeing the beautiful redheaded girl, breasts covered by her long hair and waist deep in shimmering fish. They started shouting mermaid. She groaned. Double fuck.
“Pull the net on deck,” the skipper commanded. The crewmen obeyed, dumping the catch with Sam in the midst of it. She curled her naked body close, using her hair to hide what she could.
“She has legs. Mermaids don’t have legs,” one crewman said, poking at her with a long probe.
“Stop that!” she snapped.
“You speak English?”
“Of course I do! You need to let me go.”
“I don’t think so. You are a discovery that can make us a lot of money.”
“This is kidnapping,” she hissed, trying unsuccessfully to stand on her weak legs. She began to curse her own stubbornness.
“Seaman’s Rule of Ownership.”
“That applies to bounty, not to people, you idiot. If you don’t let me go, you’ll be in major trouble with the authorities.”
“We’re not afraid of the authorities, Mermaid. Put her in the holding tank. No touching,” the skipper ordered. Sam was helpless to fight the two men who grabbed and dumped her in a large salt-water Plexiglas tank designed to keep fresh catches. She glared hatefully in their direction as she sank to the bottom. This was not good.
She reached to signal Michael on her transmitter, dismayed to see that it had been removed. Now what? Would Michael sense her presence with their infamous ‘twin power’ thing? She could only hope. Sam watched the crew as they pointed at her, still unable to bring her mind to focus as she tried desperately to call in whales to start a breach. She didn’t want to kill all these people, but she needed to escape. Michael! I need you! She cried out mentally.
CHAPTER TWO
Michael felt her further away than before. Where could she be? His conscience racked with guilt in knowing that he had hurt her. He was joined by the pod of dolphin and communicated his need through the neuroband. Together, they began the search.
“I feel her. Maybe on that tuna boat?” Michael spoke aloud, surfacing with the pod. He waved his arm at a crewman off the main bow. “Ahoy!” He removed his mask. “Have you seen another diver? A girl with red hair?”
“We caught ourselves a naked redheaded mermaid. Where’s your boat?” the man called back over the side
“I’m Lt. Quimby, Marine Corps. She’s my partner. Permission to board,” Michael requested, striking his transmitter to send a signal to HQ and report the incident to dispatch. Several minutes passed before permission was granted, and Michael was greeted by the scowling face of his sister as she pouted, fully submerged, in the holding tank.
“Are you okay?” he asked through the glass, watching her nod. He turned to the crew, quickly devising a story that he hoped they would buy. “She is involved in a top secret military experiment. I need you to release her immediately, please. She is under a time restriction. Also, because this is a military operation, I insist you destroy any photographs you might have taken.”
“The last thing we need is to piss off the military. Don't worry about pictures, there are no cameras aboard this vessel.” The skipper looked at the girl longingly and then sighed. She looked miserable. “Okay, go and dump the tank. Sorry about the misunderstanding.”
“We appreciate it on many levels. Thank you.” Michael shook his hand, relieved. He waited until his sister had sunk into the gray waves out of sight, and, with a respectful salute to the skipper, he donned his mask and dove over.
He met Sam on the surface, clinging to Splasher’s dorsal fin with her face buried in the dolphin's back.
“Sammi? What’s wrong with your legs?” Michael asked, “Did they hurt you?”
“No. I told you my legs weren't working right. Thank you for rescuing me; however, I’m not talking to you. Splasher, take me back to my pod please.”
“Why didn’t you call a blue? Or Ton?” No answer. “Sammi, listen... I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking of us and the family. You know how scared we are every time something happens to you. Do you have any ideas as to why you are so weak or the reason why you were not able to summon the cetaceans to help you?”
She still did not answer. He sighed in response to her stubbornness. Once they had arrived back to the house, Michael carried her up and settled her in the Jacuzzi. The family walked in just as he was heading up the sta
irs to fix her a bath.
“Hey, how’s she doing?” Scott asked, hugging his nephew. “You’re wet.”
“Duh, and still in my wetsuit. I'm glad you’re home. I really screwed up this time,” Michael admitted, leaning against the stair rails. He told them what had transpired, Sam's reaction, and the end results. He also expressed his concern for her weakness and inability to make the neurological connection with the pod.
“Hmm. Go and get cleaned up, son. I’ll take care of her,” Dr. Quimby said calmly, holding Scott back from rushing his niece. “Scott, please start dinner. Jen, help him. Rich, with me.”
“Hi baby. How are you feeling?” her father asked, squatting next to the hot tub.
Sam looked up at him warily. “Exhausted, weak and I can’t concentrate. Whatever Ton did to me, he put me down for the count.”
“I see. So why did you run off?”
“Michael hurt my feelings,” she pouted. Her father was silent. He never accepted that excuse as a reason to act immaturely and Sam knew it. She sighed, “I was mad.”
“We’ve talked before about you running off like that, haven’t we?”
“Yes, Daddy. I’m sorry. It really hurt.”
“Do you think he meant to hurt you?”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“No, sir.”
“Where’s your transmitter?”
“I took it off her last night when I cleaned her up. Her wrist was irritated,” Rich intervened. “That’s my fault, not hers.”
“First rule is to never leave this house without it. Michael might not have been able to find you without it. Then what would we have done?”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Sam hung her head.
Dr. Quimby clasped her chin in his hand and lifted her face so that he could kiss her temple. “I’m going to call off your duty tomorrow. You are grounded for the weekend and then we will revisit this incident once you are able to function again. Understand me?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Rich, please take her up and get her presentable. No dilly-dallying. She’s grounded.”
“Yes, sir. Come on, peanut.” Rich pulled her out of the water, wrapped her in a towel, and carried her up to her room without another word.
Dr. Quimby watched them, shaking his head in exasperation.
“Is she ever going to stop running off when she’s mad?” Scott asked from behind.
“I doubt it. She’s always been this way. You used to do the same, remember?”
“It was different, I would go for a run, not run off. My dad used to make me do that to keep my temper from getting out of control.”
“Yes, and he always knew where you were going. We never know with her. Scott, she’s too much sometimes,” Dr. Quimby said, rubbing his temple.
Scott patted his back. “Yep, and that’s why you have me. Do you want me to take care of things?”
“No, I will. She needs to recover first, though,” Dr. Quimby sighed. “I just wish she would learn already. She’s smart. There is no reason for her to keep getting herself into trouble like this.”
“I recall saying the exact thing about her mother,” Scott chuckled. “Things will work out, they always do.”
Rich silently placed the naked girl under the fresh running water, taking time to thoroughly wash her. His large hands grazed her breasts, tickling the tiny pink nipples. She arched her back, inviting more.
“Nope,” Rich said, making her groan in protest. “Your dad said no messing around. Up you go and no pouting,” he stated, lifting her out of the tub and placing her on a towel. Sam scowled as he dried her and pulled one of his tee shirts over her head.
She snuggled into it, inhaling. “It smells like you.” Rich said nothing as he simply stroked her face. She met his eye and frowned. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Rich shook his head, not trusting his emotions. Sam wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her. “I’m sorry if I scared you. What Mike said hurt and terrified me.”
“No more than what you do terrifies me. Sam, every time you go out, you get hurt or close to being hurt. Let me go instead. Please.”
“You can’t do what I do out there. No one can. Plus, it’s who I am. Don’t take that away from me. It makes me unique. I’m not just a smart, talented kid when I’m in the field. I have purpose and value. I’ve trained for this my entire life and to take it away would take away my existence.”
“I know it feels that way, but—”
“No. I love you, but this is a deal-breaker. If you replace me in the field, then we are through.”
Rich stared at her, stunned. “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do. Rich, you say you love me. To change or remove part of who I am would be like me telling you to stop being who and what you are. Be honest. Would you pursue a relationship with me if I refused to engaged in your, uh, sexual preferences?”
Rich thought it over for a moment, and then shook his head. “I guess not. I need that.”
“Would you stay with me if I told you that you had to wash beakers all day instead of using your brain to do the things you were trained in? Or what if you were required to hold back every time you sparred?”
“I’d be miserable,” he admitted. “I get it. I just don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it. Truthfully, I don’t always like it, either. But I also don’t want to have to be afraid of losing both Michael and you. I love you.”
“You know you’re in big trouble with your dad again, don’t you?” Rich asked, pulling away as she tried to kiss him.
She plopped back against her headboard. “Yeah, for running off. I’m sorry we won’t be able to go out this weekend.”
“You won’t be up to it. I’m guessing it will take you more time to recover from this then you thought.” He rubbed her legs. “What do you think happened with the integration to cause this?”
“I have no idea other than that dumb whale knocked my ass out. At least he got rid of that headache. I thought my brain was going to explode.”
“I am glad he was able to help you. Get some rest. I’ll be up later.”
“Don’t let Daddy see you. Mr. Meanie made it clear that you weren’t supposed to come play with me.”
“I’ll keep it superficial. Bye, baby.”
***
By Sunday morning, Sam was feeling back to normal. Her legs had regained their strength and she could concentrate again. She peeked out the door and looked down the hall. Her father’s bedroom door was still shut, as was Rich’s. She tiptoed across to her brother’s room and silently walked in. She inhaled gratefully when she discovered he was alone.
“Michael?” she called quietly, climbing onto his bed and on top of his back.
He grumbled, “What? I’m sleeping.”
“I’m being nice. No jumping and no sunshine.”
“Go back to bed.”
“Mike, I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. Hold me,” she said, sliding under the blankets next to him like she had done ever since she could walk.
He sleepily wrapped his arm around her and pinned her down with his leg. “Go back to sleep.”
“I’m not tired anymore. I feel better,” she said a few minutes later as she squirmed out from under him. She then ventured into Rich’s room and received the same response. While the prospect of staying pinned under his leg was appealing, she didn’t want him in trouble with her father. Her next victim was Dr. Quimby.
“Samantha, it’s too early. Go back to bed. Please.”
“It’s 0610.”
“Honey, I need to sleep. Back to your room.”
Sighing, she contemplated her next move. It was the most daring. “Uncle Scott? Make room.”
“Hmmm? What are you doing up so early, my love?” Scott asked, pulling her under the covers with him.
“I need cuddles and no one will give them. I’m sorry about Friday.”
“Dad will take care of that
. Go back to sleep.”
“I’m not tired. Do you want to get up and go surfing?”
“Sam, you are on restriction, remember? I’ll get up and take a run with you, if you want,” the man offered, slinging his arm behind his head and blinking sleepily at the ceiling.
“I hate running.”
“I’m not getting in that ice bath you call an ocean. Turn on the pool and swim laps. Or go down to the gym.”
“I don’t wanna.”
“Then sleep. No more talking. Come here, princess. I love you.” He drew her snugly against his chest like she was a child again. Sam felt safe in the protection of his long arms and soon closed her eyes and fell into a deep, restful sleep.
The house was bustling by 0930. Michael and Jen went surfing while Rich and Scott decided to go shopping for a new compound bow set (despite Dr. Quimby’s protests). Dr. Quimby opted to stay home and enjoy some quiet while his daughter was still confined to quarters. He ventured upstairs at about 1030 and walked into her room and found her on the floor doing sit-ups.
“You must be bored,” he observed, sitting on the edge of the window seat overlooking the ocean.
“I hate being grounded, Daddy. It’s like a prison to me.”
“Come here, it’s time to talk.”
Slowly, she joined him, biting her lip as he placed his arm around her and kissed the side of her head. “I know what Mike said hurt you, but this habit of taking off has got to stop once and for all. Look at the trouble it brought you this time. You were, literally, unprepared to handle anything. If not for that weird twin power thing with your brother, we might have not gotten you back.”
“I know. It was stupid. I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“Do you understand why Mike had made that suggestion in the first place? It was because of this very thing. You are the best in the field; but you are careless with yourself. I don’t know how I can get through to you.”
“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I really am.” Guilty tears spilled down her flawless cheeks.
“Does spanking you even help? Does anything help?”
Healing (General's Daughter Book 5) Page 2
