Chapter Text
Leaning over the side of the ship, John tried to figure out how far the reefs below were from the bilge, already certain that they were far closer than they should have been. His mind wandered as he watched the brightly colored fish flit to and fro amidst the rocks. Allowing himself a few moments to delay his assignment, he relaxed slightly as he followed a small eel with his eyes.
For several minutes, he simply stood there, mesmerized by the twisting of the lithe creature as it attempted to search out for prey. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue, though it quickly disappeared as he turned his head to follow the sudden movement. Frowning, he sighed and turned back to his ship. Might as well get this over with, he thought sullenly, looking around for the quartermaster.
It took several minutes before he spotted Dimmock’s thin form pacing the bow of the vessel. Quickly making his way over to him, John sidestepped the many questions his crewmates threw at him. He certainly didn’t want to be the one delivering bad news to the other men; that could be left to the man who had brought them this far. Bounding up the steps, he stopped at the top and stood for a few moments, waiting for Dimmock to notice him.
“Well?” he snapped, stress sharpening his words as he addressed the doctor.
“We’re definitely grounded for now, sir,” John responded quietly, face carefully neutral despite the other man’s tone. “Moving forward will wreck the hull, and moving back will be suicide with the holes we have now,” he continued, watching as Dimmock's face fell.
“Alright.” The other man sighed, scrubbing his hand across his face. “I don’t suppose you’d like to be the one to tell the Captain?” he asked with a slight chuckle, looking down at him.
“Not on your life,” John replied, laughing and backing up quickly to rejoin his mates near the mizzen.
OoOoO
Lifting his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun, John looked back at the ship several yards away. How do I get myself roped into these things? he grumbled, turning back to the shore. Carefully picking his way across the exposed coral, he gingerly moved across the flats. He looked down at his feet, just in time to avoid stepping on the dark spines of an urchin nestled in a crevice. He really needed to be more careful; the species out here were largely unfamiliar to him, and he didn’t fancy finding out what kind of “home remedies” the other sailors had come up with in the past.
Two hundred yards from the ship, he finally made his way to the shallows, though he scanned the water for the small sharks that favor reef beds before easing down. Luckily, it seemed that only small fish had been able to get this far inland. Pushing off of the rocks behind him, he moved into an easy rhythm, feeling the water sluice off his arms as he moved. It had been quite some time since he’d had the liberty of being able to swim; it was seen as bad luck among the deckhands. He’d often scoffed quietly at their insistence that it was better to drown quickly in teh sea than flounder for days. Despite his disbelief, he had kept this particular skill quiet, having learnt in the past that some crews had taken the idea seriously enough to threaten to leave him on the next island they crossed, inhabited or not. However, in light of recent events, it seemed they were willing to overlook the possibility of bad luck if it allowed them a chance to find supplies on the island.
After only a few minutes, he was able to stand upright, the water coming up to his hips as he waded ashore. Rubbing his fingers through his hair, he squeezed most of the moisture out as he wandered to the edge of the beach. It didn’t take long to realize that there would be nothing on the island to help them repair their ship. At a distance, it had seemed as though there was plenty of timber on the island; unfortunately, upon closer inspection, it became clear that much of it was unusable. Piles of logs rotted where storm gales had pulled their shallow roots from the sandy soil. Inspecting one of the few that were still standing, John found that the wood was far too soft to create even a temporary fix for the holes in their hull.
Further inspection only confirmed his fears, so he set about looking for water; if they weren’t going to be leaving right away, maybe they would at least refresh their stores a bit. Just a half-mile inland, he found a small stream burbling its way up from a hole in a rock. Crouching next to it, he dipped his hands into the water, taking several swallows before rinsing the dried salt from his face.
Leaning back, John looked around, wondering if there was anything else the island could offer. Deciding he should check, he allowed himself a few moments to bask in the sunlight that had filtered down through the fronds above him. A few more minutes surely wouldn’t hurt, he figured, stretching out to relax. Soon, his mind began to wander, the sunlight seeping into his skin, warming it as he drowsed.
OoOoO
Several hours later, he woke with a start, the air around him turning brisk with a night chill.
“Shit,” he cursed, scrambling to his feet.
There was no helping it now; he had to get back to the ship with nothing to show, all because he couldn’t resist lying around like a glorified house cat. Chiding himself, he took a few moments to reorient himself before striking off for the shore.
Luckily, it was still light enough to see as he splashed his way to the reef, clambering over the rocks as quickly as he dared. As he neared the ship, Wiggy caught sight of him, casting down a knotted rope for him to crawl aboard.
“Wha’ took ya so long?” he asked, not waiting for John to finish climbing.
“Got held up,” John replied curtly, glad he could blame the exertion for the slight blush that tinged his cheeks. “Where’s Cap?” he asked, shivering slightly as he looked around for the blanket he had stowed on deck before leaving.
“’Aving a conversation wiv Dimmock,” the navigator answered, stepping back a bit to avoid being splashed as John cast about, finally locating the woolen cover. “But ya should prolly wai’ a few before bargin’ in….” he started, the sentence trailing off as John strode away, the words barely registering.
Not bothering to thank him, John walked off quickly, knowing that the longer he delayed, the worse it would be. Wiggins would understand once he was able to explain properly, provided he wasn’t in too much trouble for this transgression.
Finding the door to the Captain’s bunk closed, John dawdled just a mnoment before finally raising his hand to pound once on the wood. The voices inside stopped and he heard the creaking of loose floorboards as someone made their way to the door.
“Yes?” Dimmock barked gruffly as he pulled the door open roughly, pausing when he saw who it was. “You were expected back quite some time ago, Watson.” The first mate chided, stepping aside so John could enter the room.
“Ah. Hmm. Yes,” John stuttered out, pulling his shoulders back on instinct as he laid eyes on Captain Lestrade. Slumped over the small desk they had managed to cram inside the captain’s private chamber, the man looked as though he hadn’t slept in weeks, the bags under his eyes beginning to look as though they were permanent bruises. With greying hair, the man was nearly a decade his elder, though he normally sported his years with grace and energy. Now, his grey-blue eyes were dull, peering out from hair that was beginning to look less disheveled and more like some small creature had taken residence in it.
“Well?” Lestrade prompted, his tone clipped.
Straightening his back even more, John took a deep breath before answering.
“The wood on the island is no good for repairs, sir. However, I did find a source of water,” he added after a short consideration, hoping that this might at least temper the man’s anger at his tardiness.
Sighing, Lestrade shook his head minutely, waving a hand to dismiss him.
Confused, John waited a moment before leaving the room. The door was quickly shut behind him. It wasn’t like the captain to simply ignore something like leaving post for hours, and while John certainly wasn’t going to complain about the lack of punishment, it did cause him to worry a bit. Glancing around, he went off to look for Wiggy, wondering what the man had been trying to tell him before.