Chapter 11: Surprise

Consciousness returned to Tina slowly. She had to fight for it.

She could feel Crispin's voice hanging over her mind like a drug. Not only was it hard to wake up, she didn't even want to wake up. She knew she wasn't tired anymore, she was as rested as it was possible to get. The sleep induced by a siren's call was even better than that she normally had.

If Tina was more of a glutton, more like Ilia in that she never denied herself a pleasure, she might just give in to that want to return to sleep's sweet embrace.

His voice was like chains wrapping her body. They held her down, strapped her limbs to the cot she knew Crispin must have laid her on. It was a sweet, comfortable prison made of her own mind.

Her body was still, she could feel it. However, her mind was rebelling in a small way against Crispin's influence. That small mutiny was enough. She grabbed at it with both hands, used it to bring herself further from sleep.

It was so warm, it was so comfortable. She had Crispin's promise to wake her to ease any worry about never waking up again. And of course she believed it. She would believe anything that voice told her. Just because he told her, it would make it truth. All she had to do was wait and he would come for her.

The piece of Tina that refused to lay down and wait for anyone no matter the circumstances screamed at the thought she couldn't control. Like hell she would just wait. Like hell she would obey someone's order even if he was a siren.

She had fought off his voice before. True, it had been in the heat of fighting for her life when she was at her strongest both mentally and physically but she had done it. She just needed to summon that kind of fortitude now that she was peaceful and rested and comfortable.

It was considerably more difficult.

But each tiny battle to regain control of herself she considered a victory.

The first thing she took control of was her eyes. She moved them of her own volition under her eyelids. Up and down, rotating. They were her eyes, they moved as she commanded. Once she had that mastered, she worked on opened them. That was harder. Her eyelids resisted the orders, resisted the movement. It happened slowly. First a crack, flutter close. Just a peek, flutter close. Half lidded, flutter close.

When she finally got them open, she was getting mentally tired from the effort. It was exhausting just to keep them from shutting again.

But every victory she won threw off Crispin's thrall just a bit. She knew if she could get herself to stand then, like last time, the effects would be thrown off completely.

That, however, was a long way off. There was no one in the cabin, there wasn't even a window inside to tell her what time of day it was. She tried not to focus on that, she needed to focus on standing.

While forcing her eyes to stay open, which was a battle in and of itself, Tina began wiggling her fingers. They responded sluggishly, her body refusing to wake up. She forced it to.

As her fingers reluctantly began obeying her, she started making a fist. It was weak, barely a fist at all, but it was all the strength she could muster in her state.

She worked her way down from there. She worked on tightening her muscles, waking them up. Her fingers, her wrists, her arms. Down further and further she went, urging each muscle to come back to life slowly but surely.

After what felt like forever but was in actuality only fifteen or so minutes, Tina finally got her arms situated and pushing against the cot.

Her body didn't want to move. She forced it to break the chains that bound her so tightly.

As she sat up, the blood left her head and the thrall over her lessened ever so slightly. Just enough to free her a bit more.

She pushed until she was sitting totally erect. She could have given herself a chance to rest there, to recharge her mental energies. She wanted dearly to do so. But she knew better. If she stopped before she won, really won, she would fall straight under again.

It was will against will, there were no breaks.

So she swung her legs over the side of the cot. The movement was ungraceful and uncoordinated but her feet hit the ground and she considered that another victory.

Like hell, she thought with a wicked grin, some pretty boy siren was going to tell her what to do. She would be damned if she just sat back and let him. His will was stronger than hers, so what? She would just fight against him until she was stronger or equal to him.

It took a bit more preparation, minutes of just sitting on the bed and tightening her leg muscles to awaken them, before she felt able to stand up without falling on her face.

And when she did, the taste of ultimate victory was sweeter than even Crispin's voice.

The movement was slow, deliberate, and almost painful in a way. Her mind had fallen to a siren's spell, it took something from her to cast it off.

But she stood up straight, she broke through to the other side and she was left standing, staring at the wall as the last of the vestiges of his voice drained from her.

Her mind was no longer rested. It was tired from the battle of wills, but her body was up and ready for the day. She grinned at herself into the darkness of the room.

She had won and she was going to give that siren a piece of her mind.

Tina, feeling invisible, strutted out of the cabin and up onto the deck. The early morning sunlight shined down onto the boat wakening her further. She heard the happy calls from people on the beach, the distant beats of loud music, and the calming glub-glub of water against the hull.

And she spotted Crispin almost immediately.

He was sitting at the stern, in the long seat there, with his head back and his eyes closed.

Tina didn't see or hear anyone else so she had to assume that he was there alone.

Perfect.

She walked over to him, making sure to keep her footsteps quiet. She wouldn't want to ruin the fun. She stopped just in front of him and put her hand on her hips.

“Hey!” she shouted loudly.

Crispin jumped to attention. He didn't jump from fear, he jumped to readiness. The fire in his eyes burned hot and intense for a second while his brain struggled to recognize what had happened.

Then he saw her and the surprise set in.

“You're up?” he asked, stunned.

“Surprise.” Tina smiled darkly. “You have any last words?”

“How are you awake?” he looked her over. She didn't look tired, she looked triumphant.

“Maybe you aren't as great as you thought, Mr. All-powerful-siren.” Tina said. “And now, I get to kill you. How dare you do that!”

Crispin stood up, preferring to have this battle on his feet. “It was for your own good.”

“And that's just up to you to decide?” Tina asked, letting the fury overtake her. “Taking care of the little woman again? No! You shut up.” she cut him off as he lifted his hands to sign something. “You had your say yesterday with that stunt of yours. My turn to talk.”

He lowered his hands, agreeing to let her speak.

“Good.” Tina nodded once, satisfied that he knew better than to try to justify his actions to her. “First of all, I am the only one on this boat who gets to determine what I do. I don't care what agreements you had with my father or what you think is best for me. You ever do that to me again, Crispin, and I won't hesitate to throw you out onto the street or the water or whatever is closest by. Get it?”

He nodded once.

Tina continued, “Second of all, you don't have the right to delay us even one day. You don't order this crew around, I do. If you want to play at being subservient and obedient, than you don't get to take over whenever the mood strikes you. This is my revenge, I agreed to take you along. I will leave you here and let you walk back home, don't you dare doubt me.”

“This is all of our revenge.” Crispin reminded her. “We all have a stake in this.”

“Regardless, you still don't have the right to just stop us.” she told him firmly. “Or to get everyone else in on your conspiracy.”

He nodded again. She could tell by the look on his face that he was saying he understood what she was saying but that didn't mean he agreed with it. She knew, if he felt it necessary, he would step in again.

“And, last of all,” she pressed forward, “as I said before, it was not my revenge that was keeping me up at night.”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her.

“You're doing those damn faces again.” she snapped, angry.

“I'm sorry for my faces.” he signed sincerely, smiling a bit.

“Don't get cute.” she sneered. He still looked unconcerned at her lecture. She was tempted to really throw him overboard if only to break up that passive face of his. Why, when she yelled at him, did he not show her that fire? She knew it was there. She wanted to see it. “I have no cause to lie. You put me to sleep for no good reason because I was not thinking about Ozera at night.”

“Then what were you thinking about?” he asked. He still didn't believe her but he was willing to listen to her explanation.

Tina hesitated. She couldn't tell him. One night's sleep, no matter how good, had done nothing to sort her emotions any better than staying awake all night had.

“I was going to tell you,” she told him with a bit of a mocking smile, “but after last night, I don't think I will. Which is too bad for you because it was really good news.”

“What news?” he asked curiously.

“Nope.” she turned, smiling evilly. “Too late. You had your chance. I'm not telling you now.”

He sent her a look that said clearly: Because you were thinking about Ozera.

“Again with the faces!” She turned to yell at him.

Then laughter and voices drew her attention to the front of the boat. She left Crispin behind to go chew out her less than loyal crew. She didn't care if they did have her best interests at heart, how dare they decide something for her.

It was going to be a long, enjoyable day. At least for Tina it was.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tina hummed happily as they sped along the water. Four days and her crew had been in tip top shape. Her lecture and very real threats had scared each of them enough into working perfectly. Even Ilia kept her gripes and grumbles under her breath.

They hadn't tried to speak to her. If they needed to say something to her, they got Crispin to pass along the message.

Since Crispin didn't mind being a whipping boy, he had done so.

Since he didn't mind being a whipping boy, Tina didn't have it in her to take out anymore of her anger on him. There was just something incredibly unsatisfying when her targets didn't even put up a shred of a defense against her.

So, most of the time, the boat was silent. They were pretending to be sorry for what they had done and having fun all night in a South American port town and Tina was enjoying having all of them being in top form. It worked out all around.

Joe was the first one to break the silence.

“Tina?” she said just a bit cautiously as she approached her standing at the prow of the boat.

Tina looked around, smiling a bit. She wasn't going to lie, she had enjoyed the way they had all just fallen into line in the wake of her anger.

“Yes?” she answered happily.

Joe smiled at the positive response. “Ilia says that we should be arriving at the next port tomorrow. Just thought you would want to know.”

“Great.” Tina beamed. Then she hesitated as she got her first real look at Joe in awhile.

The normally vibrant red head was pale and looked a little sick. There were bags under her eyes and, if Tina wasn't wrong, she looked like she was losing weight.

“Are you alright, Joe?” she asked, worried. She hoped her own anger and malicious joy hadn't blinded her to the fact that her crew was falling ill. Crispin really would have a right to mutiny at that and take over by force.

“I'm fine.” she promised. “I think I might have eaten something weird back in Puerto Placer.”

“Four days of food poisoning?” Tina asked doubtfully. “Joe, if you're sick say something. I can't use you if you're sick. You shouldn't even be up and around.”

“I'm fine.” Joe laughed. “First Kai, now you? I am well aware of my own limitations. I'm not pushing myself, I'm not overdoing it, I'm not being careless. I can solemnly swear that I am not ill. Okay?”

Tina regarded Joe carefully. She was smiling at her innocently. Every word she spoke was true. That didn't, however, mean it was the whole truth.

“You're not sick?” Tina asked just to clarify.

“I can guarantee it.” Joe crossed her heart just for added measure.

She was too certain that she wasn't sick. But she was still obviously not well.

“Are you pregnant?”

Joe's face turned to shock so quickly that Tina knew she was right.

“You are.” Tina accused. “Don't deny it.”

“Sh!” Joe looked around quickly to see who else had heard. “Don't say that so loud. What if Kai hears you?”

“He should hear me.” Tina told her firmly. “I can't use you if you're sick. I especially can't use you if you're pregnant. Why do you think we left Brook behind?”

“Shh!” Joe motioned desperately. “Think about it, Tina. What good would it do to have Kai find out?”

“Is he not the father or something?” Tina couldn't help herself.

“Don't even joke like that.” Joe said dryly. “Of course he is. But you saw how he was with Brook. He was so overprotective and helpful. She wasn't even his fiancee. Imagine how much he'll freak out if he finds out that I'm...you know.”

“Pregnant?” Tina smiled when Joe visibly panicked again. “Sorry, sorry. But you have to tell him.”

“I will.” Joe assured her. “Eventually. It wouldn't serve any purpose for him to know right now. There's no way for me to get back to Paradise Falls safely, not this far south. And we still haven't even crossed the ocean yet. There are more ports over there.”

“I'm not taking a pregnant woman across the ocean.” Tina said firmly. “I can't send you home in the next port but I can have Brook arrange to have you return at the one after that.”

“Tina.” Joe cried pitifully. “You can't deny me this. I hate Ozera, too.”

“You aren't risking an unborn baby for revenge.” Tina crossed her arms, her stance firm. “Do you know how many white whale speeches I would receive for that?”

“Huh?” Joe looked confused.

“Never mind.” Tina shook her head. “Crispin!”

“No!” Joe looked desperate. “Tina, please!”

Crispin walked around from the back of the boat, his face curious.

“Go downstairs and get Kai for me.” Tine said. He nodded and turned to the stairs.

“Come on.” Joe looked like she very dearly wanted to run. There as, however, no where she could go. “I'm not ready for this, Tina. I'm not mentally prepared.

“Well, you have about a minute to do so.” Tina's voice was merciless and Joe cried softly, wordlessly.

Just under a minute later, Kai and Crispin were coming up from the compartment.

“You called?” Kai asked her, blinking against the harsh midday light. His shift at the wheel was at night. This time of day, he should be sleeping.

“Joe has something to tell you.” Tina pushed Joe forward.

“You're cruel, Tina.” Joe began fiddling with her hair nervously. She hadn't wanted to tell Kai because she had been scared of what his reaction would be. She had used their isolation and revenge as justification to keep her mouth sealed. Now, Tina was giving her no choice. She had to tell him.

“What's wrong, Kyma?” Kai asked her. His face looked as close to worried as it ever got.

“Um, well...” Joe hesitated, trying to find the words. Somehow, she just couldn't come right out and say it. “You know how you used to talk about that house on the beach where we would live one day?”

Kai nodded, not understanding where this was going but willing to let her take her time to get there.

“And, you know how you always enjoyed telling me about our life there?” she continued. Another nod. “You talked about a cozy little house right up on the beach. How we would be able to play in the ocean everyday.”

“Yes.” he said uncertainly. He could tell she was trying to baby step him to something but he didn't know what it was.

Tina rolled her eyes. She had no patience for such things. Crispin looked at her curiously but she just shook her head. It was Joe's news to tell.

“You'd show me the world underwater and we would make our home there.” she continued, getting more anxious the more she talked. This wouldn't, she realized, get any easier the longer she dithered. “And...about our children playing in the water?”

He nodded, still not understanding where this was heading. Behind him, Crispin understood faster and his eyes darted down to Joe's exposed midriff.

“Well,” she laughed nervously, “those children are going to be here a lot quicker than we intended.”

It only took another second for Kai to realize what she was saying.

Then, to Tina's amazement, Kai's face reeled in an actual emotion.

Shock. Then awe. Then pure joy swept across his features so quickly that Tina almost missed them.

“Kyma!” he cried out. He couldn't work out another word past his excitement.

“Surprise.” Joe laughed excitedly. She knew Kai's expressions better than anyone. Just seeing the happiness that swept across his face told her that she had been pointlessly nervous. Of course Kai was going to be excited. Why had she thought anything else?

“Kyma kardia!” he exclaimed, pulling her eagerly into his arms and spinning her around. He started talking quickly in Greek but Tina had no idea what he was saying. By the love and bliss that came over Joe's face, she had a feeling she did.

“Pregnant?” Crispin asked Tina, just to be sure.

Tina nodded.

A moment later, Kai released Joe rather suddenly. He looked just as anxious as Joe had a moment ago.

“What's wrong?” Joe asked him, scared at this sudden change in her mate.

“You're pregnant.” he said, his voice hollow.

“That's bad now?” Joe looked devastated. How had he changed his mind so quickly?

“You just realized it, huh?” Tina spoke up.

“She can't stay here.” Kai looked over at Tina. “She has to go back to Paradise Falls.”

“Tell her that.” Tina pointed to Joe.

“You have to go back.” he told Joe firmly. “You can't come with us any further.”

“Not you too, Kai.” Joe groaned. “I don't ever do anything dangerous. It was never the plan for me to do anything dangerous. I'm purely logic and ideas. That's what I do. I can do that just fine here even if I am pregnant.”

“Are you letting her stay?” Crispin asked Tina, his face unreadable.

“I'm not throwing her off the boat if she refuses to go.” Tina shrugged in a what-are-you-gonna-do kind of way. “I don't suppose you'd be up to forcing her to leave?”

Crispin sent her a look that said he would if there was no choice but he wouldn't like it.

“You know, you didn't look that guilty when you forced me to sleep the other day.” she glared at him.

“I felt bad inside.” he promised with an innocent smile.

Tina rolled her eyes and looked back to Joe and Kai. They were arguing about whether or not it was safe to allow her to remain on the boat, on their mission