MAES 4: The Birth of Loyalty
AN: Davies being rescued by Jack is something that the books commonly mention, yet the original incident itself is never included. Davies is in several of the earlier books, including the first, which makes me think that the rescue must have taken place while they were on board the Sophie together. In Post Captain, when Jack is discussing rescues with Stephen he says “It depends: some take it very kind. Bonden, for example. I pulled him out of the Mediterranean, as I dare say you remember, and no one could be more sensible of it.” This event must certainly have happened aboard the Sophie as well. One thing that was a problem with this fic is that Davies is never given a first name, other than Awkward, which can’t be his real name.
The Birth of Loyalty
Davies had never given much thought to how he would die. Although he had been wounded in battle many times, and hurt by the normal amount of shipboard accidents that are common to all sailors, not one had ever killed him, or even come close to killing him.
Still, he thought as the water closed over his head, perhaps it was not so surprising that he should drown. He had been surrounded by very deep water for most of his life. He had known many a man to die after falling overboard, when there was no-one about with the skill at swimming required to effect a rescue. Men such as Captain Aubrey.
Davies had been among those on deck when the near-drowning occurred. Bonden had somehow lost his grip on the ratlines when the sloop gave a strong heave, and the young man had fallen, yelling, into the sea. The Sophie had been going along at a fine pace, the waves were unusually high, and it was well-known that Bonden was not a swimmer. Everyone expected him to be lost.
What nobody had expected was for Aubrey, standing on the quarterdeck, to shed his coat and shoes, call for a line to be thrown into the ship’s wake, and dive headfirst over the rail. He had surfaced, blowing saltwater from his nose, and begun swimming strongly for his coxswain, calling out to Bonden to “Keep your head up, man! Never say die!”
To the astonishment of all who beheld the scene, Aubrey soon reached his half-drowned crewman, looped the line ‘round his chest and called out to “Heave away now!” The crew had done so with a will, pulling rescuer and rescued back aboard. Aubrey had shaken himself like a dog, clapped Bonden heartily on the back saying, “Get it all up now. Nothing makes a man thirsty so much as a bellyful of salt water, you know.” And gone below, seemingly oblivious to the amazed looks the crew directed at his back.
It had made sense to Davies that Aubrey would rescue Bonden. The coxswain, though quite young, was a valuable member of the crew, one any captain would hate to lose.
As he sank deeper into the sea, it never occurred to Davies that anyone would try to rescue him. Aubrey had been on deck a moment ago, too, but surely the captain would never risk his life to save such a one as him. Davies had been in the navy long enough to have no illusions as to his own worth in the eyes of his various captains. They thought him a brute, a near-worthless man whose greatest virtue was his prodigious strength, when it was used for heavy jobs and not turned against other members of the crew, who sometimes mocked him.
No, he would certainly not be saved. The sea might be quite calm today, but several sharks had been spotted in the ship’s wake, hopeful for scraps thrown overboard. Even if he had been as valuable as Bonden, no-one would take such a risk; sailors hated sharks for good reason.
He kept his eyes closed, holding onto the last breath he had taken for as long as possible. As inevitable as drowning was, the instinct to cling to his life was still strong. However, he nearly let the air go from complete shock when he felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around his chest.
In a panicked moment, he thought it might be a giant octopus, or some other sea creature that was not a shark, but who still wanted him for a meal. Then the man holding him began kicking his legs, driving them both toward light and air with perfect ease.
Davies felt his head break the surface, the feeling of cool air on his face, and gulped down several breaths before turning his head to see his rescuer.
It was Aubrey. The captain had saved him.
Jack began swimming one-armed for the sloop, keeping the other firmly around his chest. Davies was too astonished, too amazed and confused by the recent events to quite know what he felt. It was only when the pair had regained the deck, and Killick had handed Aubrey a towel, which the captain passed on to him, saying, “Never mind, Killick, the sun will soon dry me out. I daresay Davies here is a little less accustomed to being soaked through than I,” with a particularly kind smile, that Davies felt a strange state come over him. It was a moment of perfect clarity, a welcome knowledge that shot through him as powerfully as the blast of a thirty-two pound gun: the captain had saved him. He had risked his life to do so.
For perhaps the first time in his life, Davies was certain that at least one of his captains valued him. Even if only a little.
He watched Aubrey with a steady, unblinking gaze as the captain moved away, speaking to Dillon about the necessity for all hands to take great care when up in the rigging on such a blustery day as this; what a terrible thing it was to lose any man to drowning, and how such events might be prevented. Dillon nodded in agreement, as in duty bound, and when Jack had gone below said, “Well, Davies, you had best get yourself dried off and back up into the rigging; you and your mates have still got a deal of work to finish, and I expect you’ll be more careful from now on. It would be a shame if the captain should have to rescue you again.” This last said with a certain amount of derision.
Davies paid the man’s tone no mind. Ordinarily, such a comment would make him angry, even if he would never so lose his temper as to strike a superior officer. Instead, to Dillon’s astonishment, he said meekly, “Yes, sir. I should hate to cause the captain any trouble, of that you may be sure sir.”