Storm Surge - Part 2

Chapter Nineteen

"ALL RIGHT, YOU little scamp. Stay still a minute."

Kerry did, closing her eyes as she heard the hum of the X-ray machine. She was flat on her back, the chill of the table cool against her bare shoulder blades and her skin still just a little warm from the sun outside.

The sun of home. The achingly hot sun and the thick, swampy air that coated her with sweat not ten steps outside the door to the Miami airport they'd landed at shortly before.

Heaven.

"Okay, got it." Dr. Steve stepped around the X-ray shield and came to Kerry's side. "That's a hell of a bruise you got there, spunky."

Kerry glanced down at her side. "Yeah. It was so stupid, Dr. Steve.I tripped trying to keep some guy from falling on his face and ended up halfway under a raised floor."

Their family doctor put his fingertip on her nose. "Next time let the guy fall on his head. Don't cause yourself such pain, huh?"

"Twenty-twenty hindsight." Kerry accepted his hand up and swung her legs off the table, easing off it to stand next to the doctor in her jeans and sports bra. "It still hurts like hell. But at least I'm not all foggy from those drugs they gave me."

"Hon." Dr. Steve put his hands on her shoulders. "That stuff could have killed you." He told her bluntly. "You were lucky you were running around like a crazy woman because you could have sat down somewhere and nodded off, and not woken up."

Kerry stared at him.

"I am not kidding. Not only wasn't it the right thing, but it was too big a dose for you. That size dose is for someone like Dar's daddy. You are not the size of Dar's daddy. I am going to call up that doctor and read him the riot act."

Kerry took a breath, and then released it. "I don't think he did it on purpose."

"That's not the point. We're doctors. We're supposed to know what the hell we're doing and not deliberately try to kill people. It's called the Hippocratic Oath. Ever hear of it?" Dr. Steve seemed truly outraged. "I'm sure that guy didn't do it on purpose, he was just in a hurry."

"Well." Kerry picked up her T-shirt, holding it in her hands. "It's a good thing Dar called you then, huh?"

"For once, she did. If it had been her, I bet she wouldn't have." Dr. Steve patted her shoulder. "Now, go on in there and keep her company while I develop these. After that prescription, I want to make sure you don't have a tennis ball inside there or something he might have missed."

"Okay." Kerry walked out of the X-ray room and down the hall of the small family practice, passing two occupied rooms with nurses busy at their work. Dr. Steve had cut off the bandage she'd had on, and as she passed the reception desk, she saw the doctor's daughter glance over and wince.

"Yow." The girl stood up and came over. "Wow, looks like you got hit with a baseball bat."

"Yeah." Kerry smiled as Dar jumped up and headed over. "Hon, give me a hand with the shirt. The doc's looking at my X-rays."

Dar took the garment and gathered it in her hands. "If I'd known your ribs looked like that two days ago we'd have been home way before now." She frowned at her partner, getting the clothing over her head and settling it around her carefully.

"I don't care what they look like." Kerry leaned against her. "I just want to go home and spend a few hours in our hot tub, have something scandalously decadent delivered for dinner, and crash with you in our waterbed after that. "

Dar paused and looked slightly overwhelmed. "Boy that sounds great," she said, after a minute. "No laptops, no pagers, no pain in the ass government officials--"

"You guys had a rough time up there, huh?" Sheryl commiserated.

"We did," Kerry said. "We're glad to be home."

Dr. Steve came out of the hallway, and crooked his finger at them. "C'mere, kiddies."

Dar and Kerry joined him in his small office, where he put the X-rays up on a screen and turned it on. "Look here." He pointed at a curved shadow on the picture. "That's your rib, Kerry. You have not one, but three hairline fractures." He indicated three things that looked like scratches. "A little more pressure and that would have been a real fracture, and probably caused you a hell of a problem."

"Yow." Kerry grimaced. "So what do I do?"

"Nothing," Dr. Steve said. "They're already healing, see here?" He indicated a blur on one end. "We wrap you up and you go home and relax, which I gather is what you want to do anyway."

Kerry nodded vigorously.

"I will give you something to take the edge off." Dr. Steve continued. "Can I talk you into taking a few days off as well?"

"Absolutely." Dar answered for her. "We're both taking the rest of the week off."

The doctor stared at her suspiciously.

"Thanks boss." Kerry gave her a kiss on the shoulder. "Can we go out on the boat?"

"Absolutely." Dar agreed.

"Let me get you wrapped up before this pipe dream disappears." Dr. Steve waved Kerry out to the hallway. "I should take an X-ray of her head, the way she's talking."

TWILIGHT FOUND KERRY seated on the porch, a tall glass of ice tea by her side, and a Labrador at her feet. She rocked the swing chair back and forth with one foot braced against the railing, and savored the salt tinged air wafting past her face.

It was so good to finally be home. She reached down and scratched Chino's ears. "Hey Cheebles. You glad we're back?"

Chino stood up and licked her knee, laying her chin there and staring soulfully up at Kerry. "Gruff."

"I'm glad we're back too." Kerry told her pet. "I missed you." She watched Chino's tail wag, and felt like wagging her own in response."Thanks for being good for your grandma."

The sliding door opened and Dar appeared, wandering over to join her and stepping over Chino to take a seat next to her.

"Ahhh." Dar propped her feet up on the rail, and put her hands behind her head. "Damn I'm glad to be here."

"Me too." Kerry took a sip of her ice tea. "Listen to those waves."

The ocean was crashing up against the beach and the seawall, and they could hear rollers coming in. "Dad just called. He and Mom just made it back over to South Point," Dar said. "He said we should get together for dinner sometime later on this week."

"Sure." Kerry leaned a little and kissed Dar on her bare shoulder. "Whatever you want to do is cool with me."

Dar put her arm over Kerry's shoulders and let her head rest against her partner's. "I want to put you in the hot tub,"she said. "I have some cold apple cider chilling next to it and a bowl of cherries."

Kerry was more than ready for that. She was already in her swimsuit and she joined Dar on the steps to the tub, easing down into the heated water as the scent of chlorine rose around her. The warmth stole into her bones and she felt a sense of relief as she settled in place and the bubbles rumbled around her soothingly. "OOohhhh."

Dar slid into place next to her. She tipped her head back and looked up, to see a partly cloudy sky just starting to show a few stars scattered around. They usually visited the hot tub at night when the shadows and indirect lighting let them dispense with the swimsuits, but it was very nice to just float weightless in the water as the sky turned dark. "Feel better?"

Kerry let herself relax, and felt the tension drain from her as the bubbles flowed gently over her body. Her muscles relaxed, and even the ache in her ribs subsided a little as she no longer bore weight on her chest. "That feels wonderful," she admitted.

"It does. If you didn't have cracked ribs I'd suggest we go out for a night dive."

"Ooh." Kerry imagined the immersion and the rich twilight. "Stupid damn ribs."

"We have time." Dar offered her a glass of cider. "We can just be beach bums this week."

Kerry sipped the cold, fizzy drink. "You were serious? We're taking the week off?"

"This week, and next week if we want to," Dar responded. "They just got a month's worth of hours out of us in six days. We're due."

"Good." Kerry set the cup down and closed her eyes. "I want to sleep in tomorrow. I told Mayte to just tell everyone who calls I'm on sick leave."

Dar rolled onto her side and nibbled Kerry's ear. "I told Maria to say our offices are closed for the week," she whispered, "and not to save the voice mails or emails."

Kerry eased over onto her side facing her partner. She rested her hand on Dar's hip and leaned forward kissing her on the lips. "We're going to regret these suits, aren't we?" She savored the sensual rush as Dar's arms gently encircled her pulling them together.

"Just this once I wish we'd put on bikinis," Dar admitted. "Or waited until it was dark."

Kerry had to admit she agreed. "Twenty-twenty hindsight." She settled a little closer and kissed Dar again, the rush of the water over her skin now equal parts comforting and erotic. She blocked out the recent past and concentrated on the body pressed up against her, fingers already itching to slide the strap of Dar's suit down her shoulder.

There was no pressure against her ribs and though she still ached, she could breathe with some comfort in the weightlessness of the water. Even the ache faded as Dar's hand slid along the back of her thigh and their lips met again for a longer exploration.

It was so strange not to feel anxious. Kerry gave in to her inclination and slid Dar's strap down feeling a faint chuckle against her lips as she did so. So strange not to have all that tension and the ticking clock hanging over them.

The warm water suddenly swirled against her bare breasts as Dar neatly extracted her upper body from her suit before she even realized it was happening. She shoved aside her thoughts and focused on the teasing touch against her nipples, the gentle tweaks wringing a gutteral sound from deep in her throat.

It was still twilight, but she didn't care. She got Dar's other strap down and they worked their suits off in something like harmony,motions slow and easy, ending in a rush of passion as their bare bodies met and brushed against each other.

Dar's hand stroked lightly down the inside of her thigh and Kerry forgot about everything except the desire she felt and the craving of her body for that touch. She half rolled onto her back as Dar's attentions became intimate, her hands sliding down Dar's sides in response.

The sensations built so fast she barely had time to take a breath. Her body felt like it was on fire and she surrendered to the wave of intensity just holding onto Dar to keep herself from slipping under the water.

Her body tensed and convulsed, her grip tightening instinctively and then slowly loosening as her heart hammered incessantly in her ears. She let her head fall back and looked up at Dar who was gazing lazily down at her, a sexy, knowing smile on her face.

The whole world could have changed around them, but it didn't matter. Kerry cupped the back of Dar's neck and pulled her head down for a kiss, her other hand making its way down her partner's belly.

They mattered. This mattered. Being in love mattered. Let the world go crazy. She couldn't give a damn.

DAR SURVEYED HER handiwork on the tray, trying to decide if there were exactly enough grapes surrounding the crab claws and shrimp or if she needed to add another handful. Eventually she selected a few strawberries instead, and settled them in place. Then she picked up the tray and headed into the living room with it.

Kerry was sitting in one of the plush leather chairs in her pajamas,her feet up on an ottoman, and a colorful dive magazine in her hands. She looked up as Dar entered her face creasing into an easy grin. "Oh my gosh, Paladar. What do you have there?"

"Dinner." Dar set the tray down on the table between the two chairs. "You wanted decadent, you got it. We've got seafood platters with a half dozen things to dunk stuff in, hush puppies, corn fritters,conch fritters, spicy fries, corn on the cob, a token bowl of cream spinach so you don't spank me, and Baileys mocha milkshakes."

"Ahhh." Kerry surveyed the feast. "Where do I start?" She picked up the milkshake and sucked on it. "Mm." She pointed at the magazine with her pinky. "We should go on a dive boat, Dar."

"We own a dive boat, hon." Dar curled up in the chair across from her partner. She picked up a crab claw and dunked it in a few things, then sucked the flesh from it with a low gurgle. "Mm."

"Yes, I know." Kerry selected a shrimp and scooped up a thick coating of cocktail sauce. "But I think it would be cool if we go somewhere the Dixie can't take us, like Australia or Papua New Guinea, and do a diving live aboard there."

"Hm." Dar nibbled on a corn fritter. "That could be fun. Is there a package advertised in there?" She pointed at the magazine. "Gimme. I'll book us."

Kerry tossed the magazine over. "Page 74. It's a nice looking boat, and they got good reviews."

Dar examined the page while she sucked on a crab claw. "You got it," she said. "They've got a ten day going out end of October. Want that for a birthday present?"

"Yep."

"Done."

Kerry grunted in contentment, carefully lifting her plate over and resting it on the arm of the chair as she dug into its contents. "That's going to be so cool."

They hadn't talked about work since they'd gotten home. Dar had no intention of changing that trend. "How's your side feeling?"

Kerry chewed her shrimp and swallowed before she answered. "It hurts," she admitted. "If I breathe the wrong way, it's painful, and if I move my arm around a lot. It's not that bad though." She went back for a crab claw. "It feels a lot better just being here in our home."

Dar nodded in agreement. She stretched her legs out and propped her feet on the ottoman, reaching with her other hand for the remote control"What are you in the mood for?"

"Crocodile man," Kerry said. "Anything except news and sports."

"Gotcha." Dar found the channel and set the remote down. "After we wake up tomorrow I'm going to go down and spool the boat up. Maybe we can do sunset on the water tomorrow night. I'll have the club cater the galley."

"Sounds great to me." Kerry took a sip of her milkshake. "You think the seas are still up from that storm?"

"Hurricane Gabrielle?" Dar chuckled. "I'll check the marine forecast, but it should be all right if we head south."

"Head south." Kerry mused. "Want to go to the cabin? Chino'd love that, wouldn't you, Chi?"

The Labrador's head popped up, ears perked. Her tail started sweeping the tile floor.

"Yeah, I do," Dar said, after a brief pause. "I want to get lost for a few days. Hard to do that here."

Kerry looked up and studied her partner's profile for a moment. Dar didn't seem upset, just somewhat thoughtful and quiet, and she wondered what was going through her head. She almost asked, and then decided to be patient and see if Dar would start talking about it instead.

They ate in silence for a little while watching the antics on the screen. Kerry took a few forkfuls of the spinach and munched them, enjoying the fresh, green taste that cut the richness of the fritters and the tangy taste of the cocktail sauce.

The items were familiar to her. She and Dar often shared fresh seafood, which they both liked, and she'd gained a taste for the sweet spiciness of the fritters and the rough texture of the corn. She dipped a fritter in the spinach and chewed it, washing the whole thing down with a mouthful of milkshake that tasted almost as bad for her as she figured it probably was.

Who cared? She picked up another crab claw and dunked it in the butter sauce. "Did I dream it, or did I actually show my mother my tattoo?" she asked, glancing at Dar. "I sort of halfway remember something like that."

"You did." Dar agreed. "You pulled your shirt off in the conference room and your mom was right there. I was counting your ribs."

"Jesus." Kerry laughed softly. "Oh well. Worse ways for her to see it I guess. All in all, she really wasn't that bad for all this, even before it happened. I think I was more of a jerk to her than the other way around."

"She's had her moments." Dar demurred.

"No, I know." Kerry worked on cleaning her plate. "Nothing's going to change what happened between us, it happened. I know that, and I think she knows that. But I really was a bastard those first few days, Dar. I'm kind of ashamed of that."

"But you're such a cute bastard, Ker." Dar didn't seem fazed. "Anyway, it all ended up pretty much okay, didn't it? I thought she reacted pretty well to the tattoo. She didn't freak out. Dad said she told him she was happy she'd been invited down here."

Kerry munched a fry. "Yeah," she said, after a moment's thought."She came through for us at the Exchange. She had no idea what was going on, but she just went with what I was asking." Kerry remembered the moment. "Maybe there's hope for us."

"I'm thinking we'll find out at your sister's wedding." Dar said, dryly. "I hope you get to pick your own dress, and you don't have to wear one of those creepy bow front things."

"I'll pick my own dress. They know better." Kerry smiled. "I'm glad for Angie."

"Me too," Dar said. "I was hoping they'd get together. I know your mother had them move in, but two kids to take care of can be tough. I know my mother had a rough time with just me."

"Just you?" Kerry looked affectionately at her partner. "Honey you're equal to triplets in anyone's book." She finished the last of her fries and sat back. "Whoof. I'm stuffed." She rested her chin on her fist, her elbow propped on the chair arm.

"Too stuffed for key lime pie?" Dar eyed her.

"Hm."

"That's what I thought."

KERRY IDLY WATCHED a seagull wheel over the dock, peering hopefully down at the tall figure wandering back up the beach. She was ensconced comfortably in the big hammock on the porch of their cabin, her bare feet dusted with sand and her skin slightly tight with sun and salt air.

It was Friday. She was several shades bronzer, a few pounds heavier, and her ribs had subsided to an ache she could manage with Advil. They had spent most of the week just lazing around the cabin, swimming in the surf and taking walks down the beach together since the weight of their dive gear was too much for Kerry's injured side to handle.

They had spent time shell hunting instead. Kerry now had quite a collection of them, and she was pondering what to do with them as she swung in the languid air. Maybe some jewelry? She'd found several tiny olives she imagined would make pretty earrings, at any rate.

She wondered if Dar would like them. She knew some of her work colleagues would. Maybe she'd make a few for Mayte and Maria before they went back. There was a place down the road that she knew would have the settings for them, and a goldsmith's shop she could get chains at a little further south.

"Hey." Dar arrived on the porch, tweaking one of Kerry's toes as she dropped into a chair nearby. Chino trotted up after her shaking herself free of salt and sand, before she went over to a large bowl near the door and lapped thirstily.

"Hey." Kerry amiably replied.

"You decided yet?" Dar leaned back and laced her fingers behind her head.

Kerry studied her partner. Dressed in a tattered pair of shorts and a tank top, her dark hair windblown all to hell, it was very hard to imagine her willingly going back to their maroon offices in Miami encased in a business suit.

Or, was that just rationalization for what she wanted to do anyway? Eh. Kerry smiled. Who cared? "I want to stay here. We can do a little work from our offices back there."

"Great decision." Dar complimented her. "Especially since we're getting a couple of visitors next week. Alastair's dropping by for his scuba lesson."

"Really?" Kerry rested her hands on her stomach and twiddled her thumbs."That should be fun. Is he bringing his wife?"

"Yes. They're going to stay in one of the resorts down the road," Dar said. "We're going to have a board meeting while he's here. Get some stuff resolved. Talk about the market. The whole world is in a tailspin."

"Okay." Kerry wriggled into a slightly more comfortable position."Sounds good to me. I still don't have to look at email until Monday, right?"

Dar gazed at her, a faint grin on her face. "Nope."

Kerry closed her eyes. "Good." She wiggled her toes. "I've almost got my brain to the fully flushed point, where I maybe could start thinking of dealing with all the crap again by Monday."

Dar got up and circled the hammock taking hold of the edge and lowering herself into it next to Kerry. She snuggled up next to her partner and sighed happily. "I vote we move the company down here. What do you think?"

"Mm." Kerry pondered that. "We'd have a hell of a time in hurricane season, honey." She mused. "But yeah, I would love to leave the traffic and the chaos behind for a while."

"Well." Dar rested her head against Kerry's. "It'll depend which way the company wants to go. If we pull out of the government contracts like Alastair was talking about, that's one thing. But I got an email from Gerry. "

"Uh oh."

"Apparently," Dar cleared her throat, "that little bit of weenie waggling Alastair did had the reverse effect than he was looking for. He got some major mojo points for telling those bastards to kiss his ass."

"Oh for Pete's sake." Kerry rolled her eyes. "Why in the hell would we want to get involved with them after what they did, Dar? They tried to screw us to the wall!"

"Huge amounts of money," Dar replied. "Unlimited budget. Unlimited resources. Gerry's happy as a clam. He apparently thinks I should be too."

"Are you?" Kerry turned her head to study Dar's profile.

Dar looked up at the porch overhang for a little while as they swung together. "I'm a moderately patriotic person," she said, finally."My father's a retired career military officer. I grew up on a military base. I came very, very close to joining the service."

"I remember when you got that medal," Kerry said. "You couldn't have stood up any straighter if you'd been a soldier. "

Dar nodded. "I've always been very proud of the fact that our company handled--no, protected so many resources of our country. I felt it was--it was always sort of a way I could be a part of that world even though I decided against it way back when."

"And?" Kerry asked, after a period of silence.

"And now, after what we just went through with the people representing our government I feel ashamed to admit to anyone we have anything to do with them." Dar's voice was gentle, and reflective. "I feel betrayed."

"When I was down by the battery, I gave one of those firemen working there some ice tea," Kerry said. "He said the same thing. He felt betrayed." She curled her fingers around Dar's. "See and I always came at it from the opposite direction, Dar. I always felt betrayed by our government because I lived with it. I saw it from the inside."

"Mm." Dar grunted. "I never thought of you like that."

Kerry chuckled. "I know. I think you see me as a lot more innocent than I really am," she said. "I don't show you my bastard side."

"You never did. Even when I was going to fire you."

"No." Kerry admitted. "You never gave me a chance. I fell in love with you the minute I saw you and the worst I could be was indignant.God, how confusing that was for me. I wanted to be so nasty to you and I think the worst thing I ever said was--"

"That you hoped I was going straight to hell because that was where I belonged." Dar interjected.

Kerry was quiet for a moment. "Yeah. Right before you saved my ass from being robbed, and maybe raped, and probably killed. So much for my ability to judge people, huh?"

"Meh." Dar shrugged, chuckling under her breath.

Kerry exhaled. "What are you going to do, Dar?"

"I don't know. I just don't know. I want to talk to Alastair, find out what he thinks, and tell him what I'm thinking. I know we talked about starting our own company before but--"

"But now maybe we mean it," Kerry finished, in a soft tone. "I could make a change. I like what I do, but sometimes it's like looking at a never-ending train track of problems just coming at you. I don't know how you did it as long as you did."

"You know what our biggest problem is?" Dar pondered the ceiling again. "For one thing, I know they'll put me under a non-compete clause if I resign and for another, if I open a consulting firm the first people who are going to be banging at my door will probably be the government."

"How long for the non-compete?" Kerry asked.

"A year, probably. That's the standard," Dar replied. "But in return for that I get all my accrued vacation time, my pension, stock options--it's a bribe, but it's a pretty good one."

"So can we go traveling around the world for a year?" Kerry asked. "Just seeing stuff?"

Dar cocked her head thoughtfully. "Now, that doesn't sound bad at all," she admitted. "Is that something you'd like to do? You want to just blow everything off for a year?"

"Are you kidding me?" Kerry eased over onto her left side and wrapped herself around Dar's body. "Yes. I would very much like to do that. Maybe after Angie's wedding we can just take off and go everywhere. Anywhere."

"That would work," Dar said, after a brief pause. "Because we'll need to give them a couple months to find our replacements." She smiled."Wow. I can't believe how good it feels to say that."

Kerry gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks."

"For?" Dar nibbled her earlobe.

"Not making me ask you to fire me."

Dar looked at her in surprise.

"I'm halfway kidding," Kerry admitted. "It's just been so nice to be able to do whatever I wanted this week instead of what I felt like I had to do." She traced one of Dar's ribs. "I guess seeing what happened to so many of those people made me realize how precious every minute is."

Dar captured her hand and lifted it, kissing the knuckles. "Yeah. That's pretty much how I feel too. I don't want to waste all my life minutes on broken routers." She went nose to nose with Kerry. "We need to have more fun."

Kerry grinned. "Of course, every time we try to have fun--" she reminded Dar. "We get our asses in trouble."

"That can be fun too." Dar cupped her cheek, and then kissed her on the lips. "You up for a walk on the beach before dinner? I think we're going to have a nice sunset."

They rolled carefully out of the hammock and paused long enough for Kerry to duck inside and get her camera and a couple of bottles of beer. Then they sauntered down the steps and headed off across the sand with Chino racing ahead of them.

"You think I could make shell jewelry Dar?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"But would you wear it?"

"Sure."

"Even if I made you a pair of three inch round sand dollar earrings?"

"No."

"You wouldn't?"

"No."

"How about a shark's tooth necklace?"

"Now you're talking."