... strangely conflicted :|a

[elegante_masks]

[After several of the passengers had broken the emergency glass panel in the Captain's command deck, the Elegante slowly, slowly begins to move again. But it's not a smooth journey. In fact, she seems to vibrate and shake as she lurches along, and with every inch further every passenger will feel more tired, more shaken and exhausted, as if their

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[lrjthrgibbs]

[He glanced at Jen and took her hand when the ship lurched and suddenly icy water hit his ankles. Shit. He had to get her out of here and fast.]

Don't let go.

[He ran with her, holding her hand tightly as they ran up to the deck. If this was the end, at least he could try to save her first. He reached the deck and pulled her into his arms. He wouldn't let her go as the ship started sinking.]

[agent_littlered]

[She gasped when there was that terrible loud sound and the lurch of the boat. It made her a little queasy- but the icy water made her blood run cold, figuratively of course.]

What the- Jethr-

[She stumbled the first few steps, crying out in protest, but running with him anyway. She stumbled into him once they were on the top deck and pressed close to him, making a quiet sound.]

An iceberg? I swear if Tony were here he'd make Some kind of movie reference...

[She giggles a little.]

[lrjthrgibbs]

[He winced at the reference to Tony. He hadn't realized how much he had missed his team until now. They were about to die, and his family was the last thing he was going to think about.]

Damn, Jen, stop giggling. This isn't funny!

[He wished she could be serious about this. At least they were going together this time, if they were going to die. Knowing this ship, something crazy would happen to save them all at the last minute.]

[agent_littlered]

[Her giggles stopped suddenly, when reality crept back into her mind. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him.]

Jethro... This ship is sinking.

[Thank you captain obvious.

A sudden shout captured her attention and she looked up at Maia.]

What?

[lrjthrgibbs]

[He looked up when she did and saw Maia. The announcement gave him hope. He could swim that, no problem. And if Jen couldn't, he could carry her on his back. He could do it for her.]

I know. Climb onto my back when we go under. We're swimming for it.

[The very least he could do was give her some hope at making it. He would carry her as long as he could. And a mile wasn't very long at all, if he remembered what he had gone through in boot camp.]

[agent_littlered]

[Jen looked up at him, her eyes stinging with tears again.]

Jethro? How far is it? Could we really make it?

[She heard the same announcement on her communicator, but never took her eyes from Jethro.]

Jethro, I can swim. I can do this.

[She could do it! Well... She would at least try, for him. And herself.]

Please. I can do this. We'll just- swim together...

[If she got too weak, she knew he would give her no choice but to swim with him. But for now, she would try. She would do her best, and never let her features show if it got too hard.]

We can do this. Together.

[lrjthrgibbs]

[Squeezing her hand, he nodded. They could make it. He knew they could. They had to.]

It's a mile. It'll be tough, but I think we can do it.

[Even if she got too weak to swim, he would carry her. He could do it. He had done it before.]

Can you swim a mile? If you can't, I can try and pull you to shore.

[He promised himself that if they lived, he would make an honest woman out of her. She would be his only wife here. He knew he couldn't picture his life with any other woman.]

[agent_littlered]

[She blushed, although she kept a mostly straight face. This was not a time for smiling. She nodded.]

And if you can't make it. ... Then neither can I.

[Her voice held only the most sincerely serious tone. She turned her gaze to look toward the ship edge, staring at the seemingly endless water that spread in every direction but that island.

She took a deep breath and looked up at him, pressing close and resting a hand against his cheek.]

Jethro, I love you. I know we can do this.

[lrjthrgibbs]

[He held onto her as the ship kept sinking, pulling her into a deep passionate kiss.]

I know, Jen. Not gonna lose you again. I love you.

[He had only been that honest with two other women in his life. His mother, and Shannon. He couldn't go on without her again. Two years of hell had showed him that much. If she couldn't make it, neither would he.]

[agent_littlered]

[She gasped softly, all but throwing her arms around his neck. She returned the kiss eagerly, panting softly when she pulled away. Her eyes were lit with something like happiness.]

God, I love you. And this. This is the most cliche moment of my whole. Fucking life. Even more than us falling in love in Paris.

[She smiled, and she let out a short giggle.]

We'll make it. We have to. This isn't over for us.

[lrjthrgibbs]

[He smiled at her optimism. It was good to see her like this. Even if they didn't make it, it was good she had this attitude. He kissed her again and gave her a smile.]

I love you too. We'll make it.

[He continued to kiss her. It was all he could focus on. Making these last few moments with her as pleasurable as possible if they didn't make it. But they had to make it. They survived the battle. They had to survive this.]

[agent_littlered]

[She returned every kiss tenderly, pulling away finally and smiling, working to catch her breath. This smile was real, legitimate.]

I guess it's now or never.

[She took a deep breath, moving her hand to his and taking his hand. Gently she pulled him toward the edge, looking down at the rapidly approaching water.]

Think it's cold?

[It was probably a stupid question, there was an ice berg. It had to be cold...

Right?

She looked up at Jethro again, squeezing his hand.]

Should we go now, or wait until the boat goes down?

[She kind of wanted to go.]

[lrjthrgibbs]

[He returned the smile and squeezed her hand. Even at the end of their world, he knew he would follow her anywhere. Like to the edge of this rapidly sinking ship.]

Probably. Ocean anywhere is cold.

[He squeezed her hand again and kissed her temple gently.]

Now. It'll be worse when it goes down.

[This had to be like ripping off a band-aid, right? The quicker they hit the water, the easier it would be to swim to shore.]

[agent_littlered]

Well then, what are we waiting for?

[She squeezed his hand one last time before letting go. Her footsteps a little unsteady on the sinking ship, she took a few steps back and took a deep breath.]

I should be more scared to do this.

[She smiled at him and sprinted, launching herself off of the ship's edge and bracing herself for the sting of freezing water.

In an instant she was surrounded, but the water wasn't cold. That was a bit of a shock on it's own. She pushed her arms down, forcing her way to the surface.]

It's not cold, come on!

[lrjthrgibbs]

[His heart almost stopped when he watched her jump off the ship with a smile on her face. He watched her plummet and sighed, relaxing when she popped back up and called to him.]

Be right there.

[He took a few steps back and ran for the edge of the deck, launching himself as far as he could from the doomed ship. Instead of the icy cold water he had been expecting, it was comfortably warm. He kicked hard, surfacing and turning to find her.]

We need to swim. If you can't make it, I'll carry you.

[She was fit. She could make it. At least, he hoped she could.]

[agent_littlered]

I'll make it, don't worry.

[Warmer water was easier to swim in. At least you could comfortable breathe.]

Let's go.

[She nodded in the general direction of the island, the same way everyone else was going. She took a deep breath and dove, finding it a little easier to swim below the surface, at least for a short period.

Just pretend you're in Hawaii, or something.]