Fic: Stranded but not lost (1/1)
Title: Stranded but not lost
Fandom: Murder Call
Characters: Tessa Vance, Steve Hayden
Prompts: 051. Water, 052. Fire, 054. Air, 032. Sunset, 068. Lightening, 081. How?
Word Count: 4109
Rating: Teen
Summary: It's the 'deserted on an island trope'. Nothing like being forced to survive to change your perspective on things.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They belong to Jennifer Rowe, Hal McElroy and Southern Star. I make no profit out of this.
051. Water
God, everything hurt. Coughing and spitting, Tessa stumbled and fell as she waded heavily through the water, the sun bright and sharp in her eyes, the salt water burning in her nostrils. The smell made her dizzy, and the disorientation caused her to fall on her hands and knees the moment she hit the sandy beach.
Her hands sank into the wet sand and with her last remaining strength, she collapsed on her side. Despite the heat of the sun, her body began to shiver with exhaustion and cold.
It took her a moment before her eyes snapped open and stared frantically back at the plane wreckage about a hundred yards out in the coral reefs. All that remained visible was the tail fin and one of its wings, but it wasn’t the wreckage she wanted to see.
“Steve!” she yelled hoarsely, causing another coughing fit that gulped up more salt water. On trembling hands, she sat up and shielded her eyes for better vision. “Steve!”
“Yeah!” His voice sounded closer than she’d expected. A break in the waves let her see him; he was swimming towards her with the pilot floating behind him. Blood was running down his face.
Ignoring her own exhaustion, Tessa struggled to her feet and stood waiting for him, then helped him drag the unconscious pilot further up the beach until the waves couldn’t reach them any longer.
“You’re bleeding." Tessas's adrenaline-fuelled muscles dug through her pockets to find a drenched handkerchief. Steve, however, waved her off as he leaned over the pilot to check his pulse.
“He’s not breathing." Steve's eyes were fixated upon the pilot’s lifeless features. Acting swiftly, he started CPR, his hands pushing hard into the man’s chest in quick, hard motions.
Tessa only noticed his actions fleetingly; she was still staring wide-eyed at the blood running freely into Steve’s eyes. There was so much of it. It looked like he was dying, and the thought terrified her.
“Tess, get off,” Steve said sharply when she tried again to wipe off the blood from his face.
Stunned by his harshness, Tessa fell back on her arse, the handkerchief clutched impotently in her hands. Blinking away tears, she looked around at their surroundings, but not really taking it all in. All that registered was that there was a tropical forest along the edge of the beach that looked untouched by humans. If they hadn’t just been stranded here, it’d have been idyllic.
“Damnit, breathe!” Steve cursed below his breath as he continued his CPR, but Tessa knew somehow that it wouldn’t work. It was just a gut feeling. The impact had been hard.
She got to her feet, still exhausted, still filled with adrenaline, and walked brokenly around the beach, trying to think, trying to find something to do. She didn’t know how much time passed; her wrist watch had stopped working in the water. And her cell phone had been lost somewhere, so she wouldn’t be able to call anyone.
At that, her eyes drifted back to the plane wreckage out in the water. It moved with each wave, pushed towards the beach but unable to traverse the coral reefs, and thin trails of smoke rose from the visible wing. Maybe if she could swim back there, she could salvage the radio and any emergency kits the pilot might have had stored.
As Tessa waded into the water again, though, exhaustion overcame her and she sank to her knees in the wet sand. There was no energy left in her muscles and everything hurt. Rationally, she knew the shock was wearing off and if she stayed, she’d keel over and drown.
So, with her last remaining strength, she managed to crawl back onto the beach before she collapsed and passed out in blissful darkness.
052. Fire
Comfortable warmth surrounded her, shielded her, as Tessa woke up. In front of her, a roaring fire glared into her dry eyes, making her squint. Behind her, someone was snuggled against her back, arms holding her close, his breath heavy and even. From the familiar scent, she realised it was Steve.
“Ugh…” Tessa coughed and winced in pain; trying to speak had exposed the raw dryness of her throat, telling her she was dangerously dehydrated. As her shoulders racked with her coughs, Steve stirred and sat up immediately with a jolt; the loss of his body warmth immediately sent shivers down her spine and into her extremities.
“Tess. Oh, thank God.”
He helped her sit up so she could catch her breath, then shuffled over somewhere and came back with a military style water bottle filled with delicious fresh water. Tessa gulped it down hungrily, despite him telling her to take small sips, and started coughing again as a result.
As the water trickled into her system, though, Tessa’s senses sharpened and she became aware of their surroundings. It looked like a cave of some sort, the ground around the campfire covered in leafy branches and some assorted items she figured must have come from the plane wreckage. Steve must have swum back there and picked it up.
“I think you’ve got a concussion,” Steve muttered as he took the water bottle from her and put the cap back on. “You threw up a lot earlier, so you’ll need to replenish your fluids and nutrients. Here.” He dug in his pockets and came up with a survival bar, unwrapping it for her. “You remember what happened?”
“Most of it. Some things are a bit blurry.” Tessa nibbled at the bland survival bar, not feeling particularly hungry yet, and frowned at him. “You were bleeding.”
“Small cut, but probably looked worse than it was since it’s a head wound.” Wincing slightly, Steve turned his head so she could see it in the firelight. He’d closed the wound with some strips he could only have found in a first aid kit. “Headache’s worse.”
Tessa reached out and touched the edges of the wound with a gentle fingertip, causing Steve to wince again. “You cleaned it?”
“Yep. Found a stream not far from here.” Steve looked around the cave. “We’ve been lucky.”
“Pilot?”
Steve’s jaw clenched. “Buried him down by the beach.”
“I’m sorry,” Tessa whispered, her eyes tearing up. The survival bar was forgotten in her hand. “You did all this while I was sleeping.”
“I reckon ‘passed out’ is the more correct term,” Steve said sardonically, and Tessa recognised the attempt at rationalisation and compartmentalising that he was so good at. It was heart-breaking to watch. She knew how troubled he could get with the brutality they witnessed in their work, and the feeling of failure when they didn’t succeed in rescuing someone from dying.
Uncaring of propriety and boundaries, Tessa reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer until she could hug him. Almost awkwardly, Steve patted her back, which only caused her to tighten her hug and not let go. Eventually, his body betrayed him, revealing his exhaustion, and Tessa pulled him down until they were once more snuggled up next to the fire.
“You need to sleep,” Tessa whispered, distantly aware that his heartbeat was racing beneath the spot where her head rested. “I’ll keep watch.”
The fact that he didn’t argue was proof enough that her assessment was spot on. “Okay.”
032. Sunset
As far as they remembered, the pilot had been able to send off a Mayday signal before they crash-landed into the ocean, which meant it was just a matter of time before someone came looking for them.
They just hadn’t counted on it taking this long.
Sitting in the shade of the lean-to they’d constructed by the beach, Tessa stared out at the open horizon where the sun was slowly setting in brilliant hues of red and orange. She clutched her legs close to her chest, feeling vulnerable and exposed, wondering not for the last time if they’d ever get back to the mainland again.
“That’s the fifth sunset since we came here,” she uttered quietly, her voice slightly choked. Every part of her body itched and it felt like she had sand everywhere, even if she made sure to wash it off as often as possible in the freshwater stream further into the forest.
“They’ll find us, Tess,” Steve said, stretched out next to her with a tired arm over his eyes.
Neither of them had much energy right now. Although they kept hydrated, finding and eating enough food had become a chore capable of sucking more energy than they regained when eating - and the burning heat didn’t help. That said, Tessa had never thought crabs would taste as good as they did out here.
“Maybe we should build a raft or something.” She knew she was grasping at straws; that they had no idea how to build rafts or survive for long periods of time in this kind of environment. Well, at least her. Steve seemed to be handling things much better than her, his rural background clearly giving him an advantage.
The differences between them had never been this glaringly obvious. The reminder caused Tessa to wipe off a stray tear and sniff, conscious that every little tear and sweat meant more fluids to replenish.
Steve’s hand on her arm startled her. “It’ll be okay, Tess. We’ll make it. Just gotta hold on, watch out for ships, and keep the signal fire going once we spot them.”
Once we spot them. Not if. The words resonated with Tessa, but rather than feel comforted by Steve’s reassurances, she felt even lonelier. This hadn’t been how she’d pictured ending up on an idyllic beach with him - if at all - or ending up snuggled against him each night to keep warm.
She felt as if some divine power out there was playing her a terrible, horrible prank.
“Tess…” Sitting up, Steve shuffled over until he sat next to her and then slid his arm around her in a one-armed hug. “Come here.”
Tessa resisted slightly, but her body betrayed her by leaning against his shoulder anyway, soaking up his now familiar warmth, his comfort, his presence, as the sun set beautifully out on the horizon.
Maybe she could pretend this wasn’t just for survival. Maybe she could pretend this was love.
068. Lightening
On the sixth day, they were caught in a thunder storm. They’d been straying somewhat farther from their base in order to find new sources of food, and were now struggling through the mud and slapping vines on their way back to the cave.
Rain began to gush down, soon accompanied by the occasional roar of thunder and flash of lightening in the distance. By Tessa’s reckoning, it wouldn’t be long before they’d be trapped in the midst of it and she knew they wouldn’t make it back in time.
“We need to find shelter!” Tessa yelled, pulling at Steve’s arm to get his attention above the noise of the screaming wind.
Squinting in the rain slapping against his face, Steve looked hurriedly around them and then pointed to what appeared to be a rocky surface. “There!”
Tessa wiped rain out of her eyes and followed on shaky feet, the ground slippery and threatening to bring them both down. There were roots and sharp rocks to consider too, and the potential poisonous insect, arachnid or reptile, but soon the need for shelter overpowered the need for hyper-vigilance and Tessa half-ran after Steve.
They reached the rocky outcropping and the small cave entrance Steve had seen just in time. Outside, lightening struck down and split a tree in half. Flames burst up, covering the area in reddish hues.
“We’ll need that!” Steve gestured and disappeared back into the rain before Tessa could hold him back. Her heart was in her throat as she watched him traverse the forest ground and pick up a large burning piece of wood before heading back. As soon as he’d deposited it inside the cave, she made sure to punch him in the arm. “What the hell?”
“You could’ve been killed!” Punching him again, Tessa felt her sanity tip into an uncontrollable mess. “Don’t you ever do that again! Ever!”
“Stop it!” Steve caught both her hands by the wrist and held her tightly in place, his expression furious. “I’m fine, Tessa, I’m fine! But we don’t know how long that storm’s gonna last, and we’re not dying of hypothermia. Not after coming this far.”
Stunned as if he’d slapped her, Tessa began to cry and crumbled slightly into his arms on automatic. Her heart was still racing, her entire body was on edge, and she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she’d been about to lose him.
Steve sighed and caressed her back, trying to calm her down. His voice was gentle when he said, “Come on. We’ll have to get out of these wet clothes. I’ll see if I can find some more firewood too.”
Tessa’s shoulders instantly tensed. Even though she knew it was the rational thing to do, that they’d already seen each other in various states of undress over the past week, her mind was too wired, too imaginative. As Steve disappeared outside the cave once more, she remained frozen in place, hot and cold at the same time.
“Tess… I won’t watch,” Steve said later as she sat next to the roaring fire, still wearing her drenched clothes. “You know what: I’ll sit on this side and you’ll sit on that side. The fire should be enough to keep us both warm.”
To prove yet again he was a man of his word, Steve turned away and began to pull off his own clothes one by one. The view of his naked skin made Tessa’s eyes blink, her cheeks flush, and she hurriedly looked away too. Then, with great hesitation, she took off her clothes and laid them to dry against the rocks. When she was finished, she threw a quick glance in Steve’s direction and saw he was staring stoically at the wall in front of him.
It made her smile slightly. “You’re a real gentleman, Steve. Not that many guys who’d resist the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a naked woman.”
Steve chuckled, his tone low in a familiar tease, “Who says I didn’t take a peek?”
Tessa both blushed and rolled her eyes at the same time, the internal heat dampening some of the shivers running down her spine. Using a leafy branch as a cushion, she sat down and brought her legs close to her chest to conserve her warmth. The action, however, exposed parts of her to the gusts of wind that snuck inside their shelter, causing her to tremble despite her best efforts.
It didn’t help that the storm only seemed to rise in intensity, not dissipate.
“Steve…” she muttered eventually, her teeth chattering slightly. “Don’t think this’ll work. Wind’s picking up.”
“Ah, you’re just saying that ‘cause you can’t resist me,” Steve teased, sounding as if he was shivering a bit himself. Tessa wondered if he knew exactly how right he was, but tried to play along.
“I’d have said the same thing if someone else was here instead of you.”
“Even Thorne? Or Fisk?”
“God, no!” Tessa groaned, rubbing her hands over her arms, which were covered in goose bumps. Although her back was comfortably warm from the fire, her front was cold to the touch. “Ugh, that’s an image I can’t unsee.”
“Me neither…” Steve chuckled, a wondrous sound that always seemed to hit her straight in the gut.
“So…” Hesitant, Tessa didn’t know how to go on. This was definitely a boundary they’d never uncross. If they did this…there’d be no turning back. They might never be able to look each other in the eyes again.
“We’ll just close our eyes and never speak of this again,” Steve said quietly.
“Um, yeah.” Blushing furiously, Tessa thought her heart would beat its way out of her chest. “So how you wanna do this?”
“I’ll come over to you?”
“Sure.”
With rising trepidation, Tessa shut her eyes hard and listened to Steve rise to his feet, and then sit down somewhere behind her. His tense hands touched her shoulders hesitantly, causing her to jump slightly in her seat, but she pushed down all her insecurities and shuffled backwards until she sat snuggled up against his chest, her front facing the fire.
Thankfully, he’d put one of his wet clothes over his groin. Tessa wasn’t sure what she’d do if…well, she probably shouldn’t be thinking about that. Definitely a bad idea. Definitely, definitely…
Think of something else. Think of crime scenes. Think of Thorne.
It worked…until she noticed Steve’s heart was beating rapidly against her back, and his arms were tense and barely touching her where they encircled her.
“Maybe this was a bad idea…” Tessa breathed, feeling her whole body stiffen, definitely anything but cold and shivering.
“I think you’re right,” Steve muttered, his breath hot on her neck, sending pleasant and terrible shivers down her spine. Heart racing, Tessa leaned slightly away from him, but for some reason, his arms didn’t move. “Tess…”
“Don’t…” Somehow, she just knew which track his mind was on, which direction this was headed. She started trembling heavily, her legs shaking as if all they wanted was to run away...or wrap themselves around something. “This was a bad idea, but we can still fix it. Just…just gotta…”
Her mind went numb as Steve leaned his chin on her shoulder, his lips just an inch away from her throbbing neck vein.
“You should punch me again,” he said after a breathless moment.
Tessa agreed, but her body wouldn’t comply. Instead, it betrayed her and leaned into his soft, gentle lips.
054. Air
It was like coming up for air after a near drowning. As they lay entangled in each other’s arms, spent from their previous activities, Tessa realised she couldn’t regret it. This line that they’d crossed…she didn’t want to reinforce it again, come hell or high waters.
She just didn’t know if Steve felt the same way.
“You okay?”
Well, he had to be a mind reader, at least. Tessa reined in a sigh. “Yeah… I’m just trying to make sense of all this.”
Steve didn’t reply immediately, instead simply caressing her bare skin almost lazily with his fingertips. When he did speak, his voice was gentle, yet with an undertone of trepidation. “Maybe you don’t need to. Maybe…it is what it is.”
Tessa frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I’m saying maybe we don’t need to overthink this, and instead just let it happen.” Steve’s hand stilled upon her skin, his body tensing slightly. Tessa’s did the same in response, not quite knowing what to say.
“Um, you mean we don’t go back to just being partners once we’re off this island,” she tried and her heart skipped a beat when Steve cuddled her closer with his arm.
“Yeah. I mean, if you want.” He paused, his tone slightly melancholic. “But I’m not going to make this harder for you, Tess. If you want to go back to the way things were…”
Tessa chuckled nervously, an exhilarating sensation fluttering in the pit of her stomach. “A little too late for that, I reckon.” She propped herself up on her elbow and finally met Steve’s eyes, feeling suddenly quite brave; maybe the lingering concussion was loosening her inhibitions. “I don’t regret this. In fact…I want to see where this is going.”
A grin broke out on Steve’s face. “Really?”
“Really,” Tessa grinned and leaned down to seal the deal with a kiss.
Steve’s eyes twinkled when she withdrew. “You know, with our luck, we’ll be rescued the moment we step out of this cave.”
Tessa viewed the still raging storm outside the entrance. “Better make the most of it then.”
081. How?
“Oh, come one, Steve! You were on that island for two weeks. How did you survive?” Completely forgetting it was her turn, Dee leaned on her pool cue and swerved dangerously close to toppling over in an effort to come closer to him.
Steve only smirked and shrugged. “We were lucky.”
“Don’t give me that!” Dee scoffed. “Lucky, my ass.”
“Dee, just make the shot,” Steve said, waving his hand at the pool table.
Watching the scene unfold from her seat by the bar, Tessa tried very hard not to blush as she recalled the memories evoked from Dee’s line of questioning. However, when Steve threw a quick glance and smirk in her direction, she failed and felt her face flush pleasantly.
Embarrassed, Tessa turned away and drank deeply from her wide-rimmed water glass, letting the liquid cool her down. Thankfully, by the time Tootsie appeared next to her, her face was restored to his usual colour.
“Two wine, please,” Tootsie told the bartender, then looked sideways at Tessa while she waited. “You okay, Tessa? Pleased to be back at the mainland again?”
“Very.” Swallowing the last drops of water, Tessa set her glass down and left it there for the bartender to clear it away. “I’ll never complain about the traffic ever again - or Thorne.”
“Good luck on both counts.” Tootsie’s eyes twinkled as she glanced back to where Fisk sat alone in one of the bar’s booths. “Lance told me Malcolm’s looking at a promotion. I’ll wager you’ll want to return to your little island before long.”
Tessa winced. The last time Malcolm had applied for a promotion, Central Homicide had been through the wringer trying to churn out the best possible results, within budget of course, to butter up the brass. Compared to that, being stranded on an deserted island didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
“I’ll make sure to bring something to read this time, then,” Tessa said lightly as Tootsie received her two glasses of wine and turned to leave. Tessa slid off the bar stool, slipping the strap of her handbag over her shoulder.
“Good choice.” Tootsie winked at her and then returned to the booth where Fisk looked up with a slight smile when she sat down. That smile made Tessa smile, and she decided not to follow the pathologist.
As she instead approached the pool table, Dee was clearly in the process of humiliating Steve once more; she had all but a few balls left, and had shot them down by the time Tessa arrived.
Dee whooped. “That’s how you do it, Steve-o. Nice and easy, posh and peasy.”
Raising his hands in surrender, Steve chuckled. “I’ll bow to the master.”
“Right you are,” Dee said, then shifted her stare to Tessa. “You up for a game, Tessa? Might be more of a challenge than this old guy.”
Tessa grinned at the affronted look on Steve’s face, but decided to save him from further injury. “Actually, Steve’s my ride home.”
“Aw, not yet! It’s not even ten!” For emphasis, Dee waved her pool cue towards the wall-mounted clock hanging behind the bar. “You don’t even have to get in early tomorrow. Steve told me.”
Tessa and Steve shared a look, and he put down his pool cue on the table with a smirk. “The lady decides, Dee. I’m just the chauffeur tonight.”
“You know what?” Putting down her own cue in defeat, Dee gave them both an exasperated stare. “That island changed you guys. You used to be a lot more fun.”
She doesn’t know how right she is.
“Give us time, Dee,” Steve said, shrugging. “We’ve only been back a week and spent most of that time in a hospital. Only got cleared for duty again today.” His hand reached down to Tessa’s lower back to nudge her forwards, an almost imperceptible motion that nearly caused her control to falter. “We’ll be back to normal before you know it.”
“I’ll hold you to that!” Dee called after them as they traversed the tables between the pool table and the front door, Steve’s hand still guiding Tessa ever forward, gently but also impatiently; she felt all hot and flustered by the touch.
Once out in the cool fresh evening air, Tessa turned to glare at him. “Thought we said ‘no touching’.”
“Can’t help it,” Steve grinned and headed towards his parked car nearby. “Haven’t had a chance to do it all week with the two of us being cooped up in separate hospital rooms.”
Tessa rolled her eyes as she got into his car and fastened her seat belt. “Well, don’t speed on our way home. I don’t wanna spend the night in a cell.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Steve smirked and started the car.
END? I might do a mini-sequel. :)
Fandom: Murder Call
Characters: Tessa Vance, Steve Hayden
Prompts: 051. Water, 052. Fire, 054. Air, 032. Sunset, 068. Lightening, 081. How?
Word Count: 4109
Rating: Teen
Summary: It's the 'deserted on an island trope'. Nothing like being forced to survive to change your perspective on things.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They belong to Jennifer Rowe, Hal McElroy and Southern Star. I make no profit out of this.
051. Water
God, everything hurt. Coughing and spitting, Tessa stumbled and fell as she waded heavily through the water, the sun bright and sharp in her eyes, the salt water burning in her nostrils. The smell made her dizzy, and the disorientation caused her to fall on her hands and knees the moment she hit the sandy beach.
Her hands sank into the wet sand and with her last remaining strength, she collapsed on her side. Despite the heat of the sun, her body began to shiver with exhaustion and cold.
It took her a moment before her eyes snapped open and stared frantically back at the plane wreckage about a hundred yards out in the coral reefs. All that remained visible was the tail fin and one of its wings, but it wasn’t the wreckage she wanted to see.
“Steve!” she yelled hoarsely, causing another coughing fit that gulped up more salt water. On trembling hands, she sat up and shielded her eyes for better vision. “Steve!”
“Yeah!” His voice sounded closer than she’d expected. A break in the waves let her see him; he was swimming towards her with the pilot floating behind him. Blood was running down his face.
Ignoring her own exhaustion, Tessa struggled to her feet and stood waiting for him, then helped him drag the unconscious pilot further up the beach until the waves couldn’t reach them any longer.
“You’re bleeding." Tessas's adrenaline-fuelled muscles dug through her pockets to find a drenched handkerchief. Steve, however, waved her off as he leaned over the pilot to check his pulse.
“He’s not breathing." Steve's eyes were fixated upon the pilot’s lifeless features. Acting swiftly, he started CPR, his hands pushing hard into the man’s chest in quick, hard motions.
Tessa only noticed his actions fleetingly; she was still staring wide-eyed at the blood running freely into Steve’s eyes. There was so much of it. It looked like he was dying, and the thought terrified her.
“Tess, get off,” Steve said sharply when she tried again to wipe off the blood from his face.
Stunned by his harshness, Tessa fell back on her arse, the handkerchief clutched impotently in her hands. Blinking away tears, she looked around at their surroundings, but not really taking it all in. All that registered was that there was a tropical forest along the edge of the beach that looked untouched by humans. If they hadn’t just been stranded here, it’d have been idyllic.
“Damnit, breathe!” Steve cursed below his breath as he continued his CPR, but Tessa knew somehow that it wouldn’t work. It was just a gut feeling. The impact had been hard.
She got to her feet, still exhausted, still filled with adrenaline, and walked brokenly around the beach, trying to think, trying to find something to do. She didn’t know how much time passed; her wrist watch had stopped working in the water. And her cell phone had been lost somewhere, so she wouldn’t be able to call anyone.
At that, her eyes drifted back to the plane wreckage out in the water. It moved with each wave, pushed towards the beach but unable to traverse the coral reefs, and thin trails of smoke rose from the visible wing. Maybe if she could swim back there, she could salvage the radio and any emergency kits the pilot might have had stored.
As Tessa waded into the water again, though, exhaustion overcame her and she sank to her knees in the wet sand. There was no energy left in her muscles and everything hurt. Rationally, she knew the shock was wearing off and if she stayed, she’d keel over and drown.
So, with her last remaining strength, she managed to crawl back onto the beach before she collapsed and passed out in blissful darkness.
052. Fire
Comfortable warmth surrounded her, shielded her, as Tessa woke up. In front of her, a roaring fire glared into her dry eyes, making her squint. Behind her, someone was snuggled against her back, arms holding her close, his breath heavy and even. From the familiar scent, she realised it was Steve.
“Ugh…” Tessa coughed and winced in pain; trying to speak had exposed the raw dryness of her throat, telling her she was dangerously dehydrated. As her shoulders racked with her coughs, Steve stirred and sat up immediately with a jolt; the loss of his body warmth immediately sent shivers down her spine and into her extremities.
“Tess. Oh, thank God.”
He helped her sit up so she could catch her breath, then shuffled over somewhere and came back with a military style water bottle filled with delicious fresh water. Tessa gulped it down hungrily, despite him telling her to take small sips, and started coughing again as a result.
As the water trickled into her system, though, Tessa’s senses sharpened and she became aware of their surroundings. It looked like a cave of some sort, the ground around the campfire covered in leafy branches and some assorted items she figured must have come from the plane wreckage. Steve must have swum back there and picked it up.
“I think you’ve got a concussion,” Steve muttered as he took the water bottle from her and put the cap back on. “You threw up a lot earlier, so you’ll need to replenish your fluids and nutrients. Here.” He dug in his pockets and came up with a survival bar, unwrapping it for her. “You remember what happened?”
“Most of it. Some things are a bit blurry.” Tessa nibbled at the bland survival bar, not feeling particularly hungry yet, and frowned at him. “You were bleeding.”
“Small cut, but probably looked worse than it was since it’s a head wound.” Wincing slightly, Steve turned his head so she could see it in the firelight. He’d closed the wound with some strips he could only have found in a first aid kit. “Headache’s worse.”
Tessa reached out and touched the edges of the wound with a gentle fingertip, causing Steve to wince again. “You cleaned it?”
“Yep. Found a stream not far from here.” Steve looked around the cave. “We’ve been lucky.”
“Pilot?”
Steve’s jaw clenched. “Buried him down by the beach.”
“I’m sorry,” Tessa whispered, her eyes tearing up. The survival bar was forgotten in her hand. “You did all this while I was sleeping.”
“I reckon ‘passed out’ is the more correct term,” Steve said sardonically, and Tessa recognised the attempt at rationalisation and compartmentalising that he was so good at. It was heart-breaking to watch. She knew how troubled he could get with the brutality they witnessed in their work, and the feeling of failure when they didn’t succeed in rescuing someone from dying.
Uncaring of propriety and boundaries, Tessa reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer until she could hug him. Almost awkwardly, Steve patted her back, which only caused her to tighten her hug and not let go. Eventually, his body betrayed him, revealing his exhaustion, and Tessa pulled him down until they were once more snuggled up next to the fire.
“You need to sleep,” Tessa whispered, distantly aware that his heartbeat was racing beneath the spot where her head rested. “I’ll keep watch.”
The fact that he didn’t argue was proof enough that her assessment was spot on. “Okay.”
032. Sunset
As far as they remembered, the pilot had been able to send off a Mayday signal before they crash-landed into the ocean, which meant it was just a matter of time before someone came looking for them.
They just hadn’t counted on it taking this long.
Sitting in the shade of the lean-to they’d constructed by the beach, Tessa stared out at the open horizon where the sun was slowly setting in brilliant hues of red and orange. She clutched her legs close to her chest, feeling vulnerable and exposed, wondering not for the last time if they’d ever get back to the mainland again.
“That’s the fifth sunset since we came here,” she uttered quietly, her voice slightly choked. Every part of her body itched and it felt like she had sand everywhere, even if she made sure to wash it off as often as possible in the freshwater stream further into the forest.
“They’ll find us, Tess,” Steve said, stretched out next to her with a tired arm over his eyes.
Neither of them had much energy right now. Although they kept hydrated, finding and eating enough food had become a chore capable of sucking more energy than they regained when eating - and the burning heat didn’t help. That said, Tessa had never thought crabs would taste as good as they did out here.
“Maybe we should build a raft or something.” She knew she was grasping at straws; that they had no idea how to build rafts or survive for long periods of time in this kind of environment. Well, at least her. Steve seemed to be handling things much better than her, his rural background clearly giving him an advantage.
The differences between them had never been this glaringly obvious. The reminder caused Tessa to wipe off a stray tear and sniff, conscious that every little tear and sweat meant more fluids to replenish.
Steve’s hand on her arm startled her. “It’ll be okay, Tess. We’ll make it. Just gotta hold on, watch out for ships, and keep the signal fire going once we spot them.”
Once we spot them. Not if. The words resonated with Tessa, but rather than feel comforted by Steve’s reassurances, she felt even lonelier. This hadn’t been how she’d pictured ending up on an idyllic beach with him - if at all - or ending up snuggled against him each night to keep warm.
She felt as if some divine power out there was playing her a terrible, horrible prank.
“Tess…” Sitting up, Steve shuffled over until he sat next to her and then slid his arm around her in a one-armed hug. “Come here.”
Tessa resisted slightly, but her body betrayed her by leaning against his shoulder anyway, soaking up his now familiar warmth, his comfort, his presence, as the sun set beautifully out on the horizon.
Maybe she could pretend this wasn’t just for survival. Maybe she could pretend this was love.
068. Lightening
On the sixth day, they were caught in a thunder storm. They’d been straying somewhat farther from their base in order to find new sources of food, and were now struggling through the mud and slapping vines on their way back to the cave.
Rain began to gush down, soon accompanied by the occasional roar of thunder and flash of lightening in the distance. By Tessa’s reckoning, it wouldn’t be long before they’d be trapped in the midst of it and she knew they wouldn’t make it back in time.
“We need to find shelter!” Tessa yelled, pulling at Steve’s arm to get his attention above the noise of the screaming wind.
Squinting in the rain slapping against his face, Steve looked hurriedly around them and then pointed to what appeared to be a rocky surface. “There!”
Tessa wiped rain out of her eyes and followed on shaky feet, the ground slippery and threatening to bring them both down. There were roots and sharp rocks to consider too, and the potential poisonous insect, arachnid or reptile, but soon the need for shelter overpowered the need for hyper-vigilance and Tessa half-ran after Steve.
They reached the rocky outcropping and the small cave entrance Steve had seen just in time. Outside, lightening struck down and split a tree in half. Flames burst up, covering the area in reddish hues.
“We’ll need that!” Steve gestured and disappeared back into the rain before Tessa could hold him back. Her heart was in her throat as she watched him traverse the forest ground and pick up a large burning piece of wood before heading back. As soon as he’d deposited it inside the cave, she made sure to punch him in the arm. “What the hell?”
“You could’ve been killed!” Punching him again, Tessa felt her sanity tip into an uncontrollable mess. “Don’t you ever do that again! Ever!”
“Stop it!” Steve caught both her hands by the wrist and held her tightly in place, his expression furious. “I’m fine, Tessa, I’m fine! But we don’t know how long that storm’s gonna last, and we’re not dying of hypothermia. Not after coming this far.”
Stunned as if he’d slapped her, Tessa began to cry and crumbled slightly into his arms on automatic. Her heart was still racing, her entire body was on edge, and she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she’d been about to lose him.
Steve sighed and caressed her back, trying to calm her down. His voice was gentle when he said, “Come on. We’ll have to get out of these wet clothes. I’ll see if I can find some more firewood too.”
Tessa’s shoulders instantly tensed. Even though she knew it was the rational thing to do, that they’d already seen each other in various states of undress over the past week, her mind was too wired, too imaginative. As Steve disappeared outside the cave once more, she remained frozen in place, hot and cold at the same time.
“Tess… I won’t watch,” Steve said later as she sat next to the roaring fire, still wearing her drenched clothes. “You know what: I’ll sit on this side and you’ll sit on that side. The fire should be enough to keep us both warm.”
To prove yet again he was a man of his word, Steve turned away and began to pull off his own clothes one by one. The view of his naked skin made Tessa’s eyes blink, her cheeks flush, and she hurriedly looked away too. Then, with great hesitation, she took off her clothes and laid them to dry against the rocks. When she was finished, she threw a quick glance in Steve’s direction and saw he was staring stoically at the wall in front of him.
It made her smile slightly. “You’re a real gentleman, Steve. Not that many guys who’d resist the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a naked woman.”
Steve chuckled, his tone low in a familiar tease, “Who says I didn’t take a peek?”
Tessa both blushed and rolled her eyes at the same time, the internal heat dampening some of the shivers running down her spine. Using a leafy branch as a cushion, she sat down and brought her legs close to her chest to conserve her warmth. The action, however, exposed parts of her to the gusts of wind that snuck inside their shelter, causing her to tremble despite her best efforts.
It didn’t help that the storm only seemed to rise in intensity, not dissipate.
“Steve…” she muttered eventually, her teeth chattering slightly. “Don’t think this’ll work. Wind’s picking up.”
“Ah, you’re just saying that ‘cause you can’t resist me,” Steve teased, sounding as if he was shivering a bit himself. Tessa wondered if he knew exactly how right he was, but tried to play along.
“I’d have said the same thing if someone else was here instead of you.”
“Even Thorne? Or Fisk?”
“God, no!” Tessa groaned, rubbing her hands over her arms, which were covered in goose bumps. Although her back was comfortably warm from the fire, her front was cold to the touch. “Ugh, that’s an image I can’t unsee.”
“Me neither…” Steve chuckled, a wondrous sound that always seemed to hit her straight in the gut.
“So…” Hesitant, Tessa didn’t know how to go on. This was definitely a boundary they’d never uncross. If they did this…there’d be no turning back. They might never be able to look each other in the eyes again.
“We’ll just close our eyes and never speak of this again,” Steve said quietly.
“Um, yeah.” Blushing furiously, Tessa thought her heart would beat its way out of her chest. “So how you wanna do this?”
“I’ll come over to you?”
“Sure.”
With rising trepidation, Tessa shut her eyes hard and listened to Steve rise to his feet, and then sit down somewhere behind her. His tense hands touched her shoulders hesitantly, causing her to jump slightly in her seat, but she pushed down all her insecurities and shuffled backwards until she sat snuggled up against his chest, her front facing the fire.
Thankfully, he’d put one of his wet clothes over his groin. Tessa wasn’t sure what she’d do if…well, she probably shouldn’t be thinking about that. Definitely a bad idea. Definitely, definitely…
Think of something else. Think of crime scenes. Think of Thorne.
It worked…until she noticed Steve’s heart was beating rapidly against her back, and his arms were tense and barely touching her where they encircled her.
“Maybe this was a bad idea…” Tessa breathed, feeling her whole body stiffen, definitely anything but cold and shivering.
“I think you’re right,” Steve muttered, his breath hot on her neck, sending pleasant and terrible shivers down her spine. Heart racing, Tessa leaned slightly away from him, but for some reason, his arms didn’t move. “Tess…”
“Don’t…” Somehow, she just knew which track his mind was on, which direction this was headed. She started trembling heavily, her legs shaking as if all they wanted was to run away...or wrap themselves around something. “This was a bad idea, but we can still fix it. Just…just gotta…”
Her mind went numb as Steve leaned his chin on her shoulder, his lips just an inch away from her throbbing neck vein.
“You should punch me again,” he said after a breathless moment.
Tessa agreed, but her body wouldn’t comply. Instead, it betrayed her and leaned into his soft, gentle lips.
054. Air
It was like coming up for air after a near drowning. As they lay entangled in each other’s arms, spent from their previous activities, Tessa realised she couldn’t regret it. This line that they’d crossed…she didn’t want to reinforce it again, come hell or high waters.
She just didn’t know if Steve felt the same way.
“You okay?”
Well, he had to be a mind reader, at least. Tessa reined in a sigh. “Yeah… I’m just trying to make sense of all this.”
Steve didn’t reply immediately, instead simply caressing her bare skin almost lazily with his fingertips. When he did speak, his voice was gentle, yet with an undertone of trepidation. “Maybe you don’t need to. Maybe…it is what it is.”
Tessa frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I’m saying maybe we don’t need to overthink this, and instead just let it happen.” Steve’s hand stilled upon her skin, his body tensing slightly. Tessa’s did the same in response, not quite knowing what to say.
“Um, you mean we don’t go back to just being partners once we’re off this island,” she tried and her heart skipped a beat when Steve cuddled her closer with his arm.
“Yeah. I mean, if you want.” He paused, his tone slightly melancholic. “But I’m not going to make this harder for you, Tess. If you want to go back to the way things were…”
Tessa chuckled nervously, an exhilarating sensation fluttering in the pit of her stomach. “A little too late for that, I reckon.” She propped herself up on her elbow and finally met Steve’s eyes, feeling suddenly quite brave; maybe the lingering concussion was loosening her inhibitions. “I don’t regret this. In fact…I want to see where this is going.”
A grin broke out on Steve’s face. “Really?”
“Really,” Tessa grinned and leaned down to seal the deal with a kiss.
Steve’s eyes twinkled when she withdrew. “You know, with our luck, we’ll be rescued the moment we step out of this cave.”
Tessa viewed the still raging storm outside the entrance. “Better make the most of it then.”
081. How?
“Oh, come one, Steve! You were on that island for two weeks. How did you survive?” Completely forgetting it was her turn, Dee leaned on her pool cue and swerved dangerously close to toppling over in an effort to come closer to him.
Steve only smirked and shrugged. “We were lucky.”
“Don’t give me that!” Dee scoffed. “Lucky, my ass.”
“Dee, just make the shot,” Steve said, waving his hand at the pool table.
Watching the scene unfold from her seat by the bar, Tessa tried very hard not to blush as she recalled the memories evoked from Dee’s line of questioning. However, when Steve threw a quick glance and smirk in her direction, she failed and felt her face flush pleasantly.
Embarrassed, Tessa turned away and drank deeply from her wide-rimmed water glass, letting the liquid cool her down. Thankfully, by the time Tootsie appeared next to her, her face was restored to his usual colour.
“Two wine, please,” Tootsie told the bartender, then looked sideways at Tessa while she waited. “You okay, Tessa? Pleased to be back at the mainland again?”
“Very.” Swallowing the last drops of water, Tessa set her glass down and left it there for the bartender to clear it away. “I’ll never complain about the traffic ever again - or Thorne.”
“Good luck on both counts.” Tootsie’s eyes twinkled as she glanced back to where Fisk sat alone in one of the bar’s booths. “Lance told me Malcolm’s looking at a promotion. I’ll wager you’ll want to return to your little island before long.”
Tessa winced. The last time Malcolm had applied for a promotion, Central Homicide had been through the wringer trying to churn out the best possible results, within budget of course, to butter up the brass. Compared to that, being stranded on an deserted island didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
“I’ll make sure to bring something to read this time, then,” Tessa said lightly as Tootsie received her two glasses of wine and turned to leave. Tessa slid off the bar stool, slipping the strap of her handbag over her shoulder.
“Good choice.” Tootsie winked at her and then returned to the booth where Fisk looked up with a slight smile when she sat down. That smile made Tessa smile, and she decided not to follow the pathologist.
As she instead approached the pool table, Dee was clearly in the process of humiliating Steve once more; she had all but a few balls left, and had shot them down by the time Tessa arrived.
Dee whooped. “That’s how you do it, Steve-o. Nice and easy, posh and peasy.”
Raising his hands in surrender, Steve chuckled. “I’ll bow to the master.”
“Right you are,” Dee said, then shifted her stare to Tessa. “You up for a game, Tessa? Might be more of a challenge than this old guy.”
Tessa grinned at the affronted look on Steve’s face, but decided to save him from further injury. “Actually, Steve’s my ride home.”
“Aw, not yet! It’s not even ten!” For emphasis, Dee waved her pool cue towards the wall-mounted clock hanging behind the bar. “You don’t even have to get in early tomorrow. Steve told me.”
Tessa and Steve shared a look, and he put down his pool cue on the table with a smirk. “The lady decides, Dee. I’m just the chauffeur tonight.”
“You know what?” Putting down her own cue in defeat, Dee gave them both an exasperated stare. “That island changed you guys. You used to be a lot more fun.”
She doesn’t know how right she is.
“Give us time, Dee,” Steve said, shrugging. “We’ve only been back a week and spent most of that time in a hospital. Only got cleared for duty again today.” His hand reached down to Tessa’s lower back to nudge her forwards, an almost imperceptible motion that nearly caused her control to falter. “We’ll be back to normal before you know it.”
“I’ll hold you to that!” Dee called after them as they traversed the tables between the pool table and the front door, Steve’s hand still guiding Tessa ever forward, gently but also impatiently; she felt all hot and flustered by the touch.
Once out in the cool fresh evening air, Tessa turned to glare at him. “Thought we said ‘no touching’.”
“Can’t help it,” Steve grinned and headed towards his parked car nearby. “Haven’t had a chance to do it all week with the two of us being cooped up in separate hospital rooms.”
Tessa rolled her eyes as she got into his car and fastened her seat belt. “Well, don’t speed on our way home. I don’t wanna spend the night in a cell.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Steve smirked and started the car.
END? I might do a mini-sequel. :)