Tymber Dalton - Pinch Me

There were definitely lights coming from the northwest, and now from the east, too. She pulled out the flare kit, trying to calm herself and not drop them or let them get wet. Her hands trembled from the shock and the stress and the cold. She was wet, soaked through from the spray.

Forcing herself to wait another minute to give them a chance to close in, she figured the wind direction and finally lifted her arms, closing her eyes as she fired the flare gun. Then she grabbed the cabin rail when the boat rolled again, barely keeping herself from sliding off the bow.

The flare swooped into the sky, exploding before finally fizzling out.

A moment later the radio came to life. “Laura? Honey? We saw it. We’re coming. Hang tight, honey—”

“Coast Guard Ft. Myers Beach, this is the Pelican Bay, we saw a flare. We’re about a half mile from last reported location. Over.”

Laura’s teeth chattered. She couldn’t tell what were tears and what was sea spray on her face. She forced herself to wait another twenty seconds, counting Mississippis as she did, before she sent up another flare.

The shrimper’s lights were closing in, but her entire stern was submerged. The radio and bilge alarm died as the batteries went under. She had maybe a minute left before the boat sank.

The wind picked up, howling, and then the rain. She quickly fired her last two flares, including the test flare from the kit, and dropped the gun. All the while she prayed she didn’t lose the EPIRB beacon, knowing if she did she’d die in the storm.

The deck pitched beneath her as a large wave finished the boat. It capsized, throwing her into the water. She nearly lost the life ring but managed to hold on to it somehow. With the hull still visible she swam for the boat while each swell tried to push her farther away.

She sobbed and took in a mouthful of salt water. Coughing, she flipped onto her back, clutching the life ring, and tried to control herself.

I can do this.

She had flotation, she had a life vest, she had the EPIRB, the water was relatively warm.

I am trained. Just float. Cough, swallow. Float and wait. Cough, swallow.

The baby kicked again.

What little calm she’d salvaged evaporated. Her baby! She had to stay with the boat!

She struggled to kick as another wave broke over her. She felt dizzy, coughing, struggling to breathe, and had just enough strength to flip onto her back again when she saw a bright, white light sweep over her.

No! She didn’t want to die. Not like this, please!

She lost consciousness.

* * *

Rob and Thomas held on for dear life, both soaked from spray. Steve’s face grim, he pushed the boat as fast as he dared through the rough seas. In the distance they saw the shrimper light up, all its work lights blazing in the deepening gloom, its search spot sweeping the water.

They were less than a mile from the location when they heard the radio.

“Coast Guard Station Ft. Myers Beach, this is the Pelican Bay. We’ve recovered one person from the water, they are unresponsive. Administering CPR now. Request instructions, over.”

“No!” Rob pounded his fist on the dash. “No, goddammit, no!”

“Rob, we don’t know if it’s her,” Thomas tried to reassure him when the Coast Guard came back on and gave instructions. Proceed on their course heading to meet with the rescue chopper. When the radio traffic paused, Steve grabbed the mic.

“Pelican Bay, this is Lemon Dive Two. We have visual contact and are proceeding to your location. We’re less than a mile off your port bow. Did you recover a man or a woman? Over.”

There was a pause during which Rob thought for sure his heart would stop.

“Lemon Dive Two, this is Pelican Bay. I see you. We recovered a woman. Over.”

Rob sobbed as his knees gave out and he collapsed to the deck.

Steve left him to Thomas. Between the boat and the radio and his own emotions, he had his hands full. “Roger, Pelican Bay. Please be advised she’s four months pregnant. I have her husband with me, he’s a paramedic. Over.”

“Lemon Dive Two, roger that. Approach from my starboard aft, he can board from there, but it’ll be rough. Standing by channel one-six. Over.”

Steve looked to the north and saw the rescue chopper in the distance, racing in from Clearwater. They would drop a basket and a rescue swimmer. He nudged the throttles up, pushing the engines a little harder, trying to reach the shrimper first and silently praying.

Laura’s head hurt like hell. And her chest. It felt like someone had pounded on it. Her throat hurt, too, scratchy. She took a breath that set off a coughing fit, and it felt like she was choking on water. Someone rolled her over and she was aware of voices, what felt like a pitching deck beneath her…

* * *

A loud roar filled her ears before the world shifted and dipped. She thought she heard Rob’s voice, or was it Steve’s? And then the world disappeared again…

* * *

“No!” Laura sat bolt upright, screaming, thrashing, fighting. She had to get to the boat, she had to swim—

“Laura!” Rob gently shook her, his hands on her arms, his face in hers. “Honey, it’s okay. You’re safe.”

The scream died on her lips and she stared at him, reaching for him. “Sir!”

He engulfed her in his arms as she cried, sobbing, relieved. “It’s okay,” he soothed her, burying his face in her hair. “You’re okay, baby girl. You’re safe.”

“Where am I?”

* * *

Rob’s gut clenched. “You’re at Bayfront. The chopper brought you to the Clearwater air station and they transported you here.” But she knew him.

That was good, right?

“The boat—”

“It’s gone. They’ll send a recovery team after the storm clears.”

“He’s dead, Sir. I killed him. It was Don Kern.” She cried, long and hard while he rocked her, holding her.

Rob breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently she remembered him. His not-so-secret fear, debilitating, sitting like a knife-riddled rock in his stomach, had been that she would wake up firmly in the clutches of the amnesia again.

“It’s okay, honey. You’re safe.”

She looked terrified to ask. “The baby?” she finally whispered.

“She’s fine.”

“Oh, good—” She pulled back and stared at him. “She?”

Rob smiled. “Sorry. I know you wanted to be surprised. I didn’t even think about it when they examined you. I was just so relieved that they said you’re both—”

She kissed him, cutting off his words. “Thank you, Sir.” She touched his face, as if trying to absorb his image. “What happened? I thought I was dead. I saw this bright light. I thought I was drowning.”

Rob tried to stifle the laugh but didn’t quite succeed. “It was the shrimper’s searchlight.”

They’d pulled up to the shrimper minutes before the chopper. Rob had enough time to scramble on board and examine her, trying to push his personal feelings aside and treat her like a critical patient and not let his emotions knock him back.

The shrimper crew had already cleared her airway and got her breathing again before he arrived, but she didn’t regain consciousness. He couldn’t go with the chopper, because it would have taken too long to load him, and was too dangerous with the rapidly deteriorating weather. Instead, he rode back to the shop with Steve and Thomas, who had a marked cruiser drive him all the way up to St. Petersburg, to Bayfront Hospital, with lights and sirens running.

“How long have I been here?” she asked.

“Just a few hours. They want to keep an eye on you, to watch for pneumonia. You swallowed a lot of water. They’ll probably let you out in a day or two.”

She nodded and lay back on the bed, closing her eyes, his hands clutched in hers. “But the baby—”

He nodded, kissing her hand and holding it, not letting go. “She’s fine. Totally healthy. No problems.”

* * *

Laura covered her eyes. “I remember everything, Sir.”

“I was afraid you might have amnesia again.”

“No. I mean I have it all back.” She finally looked at him. “I remember the attack, before. Everything.” She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I remember You…Sir.”

His eyes went wide as she nodded at him. The slow smile that lit his face filled her with love.

She told him what happened. “Then he came into the shop after I hung up with you. I was securing the boats, and he jumped me, knocked me out.”

He looked down. “I’m sorry. If I’d been there—”

“No. Stop.” She grabbed his hand. “Look at me, Sir, this is not your fault.”

He stared at her. She could tell he wasn’t convinced.

“Well, twice now this asshole nearly killed you because I wasn’t there for you.”

“He won’t get a third try, Sir.”

He brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them. “Are you really okay, baby girl?” he whispered.

She nodded, unable to hide her smile. “I am now.”

There was a knock on the door and Rob turned. “Come in.”

Thomas stuck his head in. “Is she awake?”

“Yes.”

The detective entered. “How are you?”

“I remember everything. It was Don Kern the whole time.”

Thomas nodded. “His car was parked at the shop. It was his girlfriend we found dead.”

Laura felt ill. She remembered. The girl from the dive. Another victim. “Tammy Smith?”

A frown filled the detective’s face. “How did you know? We just ID’d her an hour ago.”

“She went out on a dive with him that Saturday morning. I was at the shop when the charter returned. He must have killed her that afternoon. Oh, god—”

Rob grabbed the wastebasket as Laura dry heaved, but she didn’t vomit. He rang for a nurse, who came in and checked on her before leaving again to fetch the doctor.

Thomas was still there, had moved into the corner and now spoke. “I know it’s a bad time to ask for a statement—”

“He’s dead,” she said flatly. “I shot him with a speargun. Multiple times. And a powerhead. Unless the cabin hatch gave way after it sank, he’s still in there. If the powerhead didn’t kill him by the time the boat sank, then he must have drowned.”

He nodded. “Okay. When you’re discharged, call me. I’ll come take your statement.”

Alone again, Rob looked at her. “It’s over.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead as he rested a hand on her stomach. “You’re finally safe. Both of you.”

“I feel like a different person.”

“Well, that’s understandable.”

She shook her head. “No. I mean it. Like there’s these two halves of me that are back together. I had some memories of before, but it was different. Like I was looking at things from an outside perspective without the context. Now I have all the original feelings and memories back, but there’s this new part of me from the attack until now.”

* * *

Rob felt a chill run down his spine. He wasn’t sure he liked where this conversation headed. “Is that good or bad?”

She met his eyes and smiled. “Don’t worry, Sir. All of my parts love you.”

He grinned. “You sure have a way of scaring me, you know that?”

“Gotta yank your chain, Fireman.” She winked.

She was back. All of her. Even her voice sounded different. Or, depending on your point of view, she finally sounded normal again. Some might say it was from coughing up seawater, but even how she talked sounded different, not just her voice.

She sounded confident, assured. Her old self.

Rob’s smile grew. “Gonna ring your bell, baby girl.” He leaned in and kissed her again. “Glad to have you back.”

She snuggled tightly against him, his shirt clutched in her fingers as if she was afraid he might leave her.

“I’m glad to be back, Sir.”

Rob was prepared to help Laura through the nightmares he’d expected her to have. Surprisingly, she slept like a rock most nights, rarely waking unless she had to go to the bathroom. Which, as the baby grew, was frequently.

Having her memory back in full was a weird sensation for him. He’d gotten so used to the new Laura, so similar and yet different from his old Laura, that it was an odd adjustment going back.