Chapter 13: Song

“Hey! Hey! I think she's waking up again!”

Joe's familiar voice was incredibly loud to Tina. It also sounded strangely unpleasant. Every noise around her sounded harsher and more irritating than it had any right to. She heard people talking, a lot of people, and it was a grating cacophony to her ears.

With such annoying sounds, it took Tina a few moments to realize that she wasn't laying in the familiar, uncomfortable cots that were aboard the Eden. The ground wasn't lurching with the waves and she couldn't really smell the salt of the ocean.

Tina opened her eyes and the light was unexpectedly and unpleasantly bright.

She turned her head and looked across an unfamiliar room. It was a poor room with no glass in the windows and a curtain in place of the door. The floor was made of dirt and it smelled like drying herbs.

Joe was sitting at her bedside, she looked worried and cautious. Behind her, Dallas and Ilia were standing back and eying her warily. Warren was standing beside the door, he looked prepared to block anyone from leaving the room at any moment. The air was charged like a field before a battle.

“Where's Crispin?” Tina couldn't help but ask. Her voice was strangely coarse. The others sent each other unreadable looks and didn't answer her.

She tried to sit up but stopped when she felt a tug on her arm. To her surprise, there was an IV stuck into her. She grabbed for it, fully intending to pull it out, when Joe's hands reached out and grabbed hers.

“It's okay, Tina.” she said slowly as if Tina were brain damaged. “You're safe now. It's okay. Just stay calm.”

“What are you talking about?” Tina asked, irritated. “Where are we? Where's the Eden? Why do I have an IV in my arm? Where's Crispin?”

“She's asking questions!” Joe cried like it was a miracle and laughed joyfully.

A sigh of relief went throughout the room and the tension inside eased.

“What is wrong with you?” Tina demanded to know. Her throat felt raw. When was the last time she had anything to drink? “Answer my questions, damn it.”

“She's getting mad, too.” Joe started crying happily.

“What the hell happened?” Tina asked, looking around at all of their faces. Something obviously happened. What had she missed?

She tried to think back to the last thing she remembered. She had been aboard the Eden, she hadn't been able to sleep so she had decided to go up on deck.

Tina groaned as a pain started echoing through her brain. She grabbed at her head. There was something she had forgotten. Had they been attacked? Why weren't they on the boat? Where was Crispin?

“It's okay, Tina.” Joe grabbed the hand she had put to her head and stroked it calmly. “Don't try to remember. I mean it. I'll tell you what happened just don't remember it.”

“That doesn't make any sense.” Tina shook her head to clear the pain. As soon as she stopped trying to remember, the pain faded. “What happened to me?”

“It's okay.” Joe promised her. “You're okay now.”

Tina growled, frustrated. “I will be if you stop treating me like I'm dying and tell me what happened!”

“You heard Crispin singing.” Ilia said softly like she was telling her that her father had died.

“So?” Tina tried to stand up but she felt dizzy with the movement and she sat back down. “Where is he?”

“He won't come here.” Joe held out her hands to steady her. “It's okay.”

“Are you trying to protect me from him?” Tina snapped.

“Of course we are.” Warren spoke up. “If he was here, you wouldn't have gotten any better.”

“I thought you liked Crispin.” she accused them. “When did you guys start being prejudiced against sirens?”

“Relax.” Dallas held up his hands. “Crispin is aboard the Eden with Kai. We just had to keep him away from you for awhile.”

“Why?” Tina stood up, slowly this time. The blood didn't rush from her head and she was able to keep her balance.

“Don't you know what happens to people who hear sirens sing?” Joe asked her.

Tina rolled her eyes. “My expertise is non-humanoid mythics. Sirens are humanoid and very rare.”

Ilia shook her head. She was tired of all of this tip-toeing around. “You went crazy, woman. We've had to keep you locked in this room for two weeks because you've been trying to kill yourself to get back to Crispin.”

“Two-!” Tina gasped. “We lost two weeks of travel time?!”

“Did you not hear the crazy part?” Ilia asked, getting irritated at her. “You heard a siren sing! You're lucky your mind didn't melt into mush!”

Joe stood between them quickly and said softly, “Tina, people who hear sirens sing don't usually regain control of themselves this quickly. It's practically a miracle it only took two weeks. Especially since Crispin has such a powerful voice.”

Tina shook her head. That wasn't right. There was no way just hearing Crispin sing would have put her out for two weeks. And she didn't remember a thing! Had she been really fighting against them all this time to get back to him?

Her head starting hurting again as she tried to remember so she stopped.

“Tell me what happened.” Tina repeated herself calmly and concisely.

“Crispin was singing on the bridge.” Dallas told her. “He didn't mean to. He was singing very softly, which was probably what saved you. He was keeping an ear out for people coming up from the compartments but you were really quiet when you climbed up to the bridge.”

Tina grimaced in slight pain as she remembered a flash of herself climbing the stairs. She had been admiring the night sky. Something had driven her to the bridge instead of the stern.

There, her memory distorted again. She couldn't remember singing, she couldn't even remember Crispin.

“-had to knock you out.” Warren was saying when she shook her head of the memory and forced herself to rejoin the conversation. “He came and got me and told me what happened. Ilia found this little town and we drove here. The healer here is a nice guy. He let us take over his clinic. He also thinks you are fighting a demon inside you though.”

“Which is why Crispin is on the Eden.” Joe took over. “They think he put the demon in you. Probably because you've been trying so hard to get back to him.”

If Tina focused really hard past the pain, she could kind of remember pieces of what they were telling her. It was mostly a feeling though. It had been desperation and agony. It wasn't just that she had wanted something, she had needed it to keep on living. She hadn't been angry then, she had been crying and pleading and struggling to get past them and to Crispin.

“Crispin feels terrible about it.” Ilia sighed sadly. “He barely speaks to us anymore. Signs. Whatever. You know what I mean. The point is, he's been beating himself up over this. He'll be happy to know you're back to normal.”

Joe nodded in agreement. “Brook will, too. She's been really worried. We haven't told Jack yet though. We weren't sure how to break the news to him.”

Which reminded Tina. “Why are you still here?” she asked Joe angrily. They had all agreed that Joe was to return to Paradise Falls after the next port.

Joe looked surprised then smiled. “It's a three hour trip inland from here to get to the nearest airport and it's over some pretty rugged terrain and through some bad cities. It was safer for me to stay here.”

“I need to get back to the Eden.” Tina said as she took a step towards the doorway. She pulled the IV from herself as she went. Even as the blood started flowing slowly down her arm, she grabbed a bandage from a table and wrapped it quickly around the crook of her elbow.

Warren put himself between her and the door, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Really?” Tina put her hands on her hips. “Get out of my way, Warren. I'm fine.”

He studied her for a moment more before stepping out of the way.

Tina walked from the hut confidently. The village she was greeted with reminded her of the first port they had stopped at. This place, though, looked considerably happier than that port had. It was bigger but just slightly and the people in it gave her strange looks as she stood there. They knew, sort of, what had happened to her. They were wondering how she was.

Tina ignored them and looked off towards the docks. Mostly, it was wooden boats and canoes there so the bright white Eden stuck out like a sore thumb.

Still feeling thirty and kind of hungry, Tina walked away from the clinic and towards the boat.

When she got there, Kai wasn't around. Judging by his clothes that were sitting on one of the benches at the prow, she could guess that he had gone swimming.

She jumped aboard the boat and looked around. It looked almost exactly as she remembered. She cast her eyes towards the bridge and felt suddenly light headed.

It wasn't that she could remember the sound of the song he had been singing. That memory was still denied her. What she could remember was the feeling of obsession and desperation that the singing had put in her. It was strong, even the memory was overpowering.

Somehow, she knew where Crispin was going to be.

She shook her head of the memories and walked to the back of the boat. Sitting on the stern, his eyes closed and his form sunken in on himself, Crispin looked like he had been beating himself up over what had happened.

Tina walked straight over to him and smacked him upside the back of his head.

Crispin fell forward from the force of it then glared up to see whoever had done it. When he saw her, his face fell and the irritation at being struck faded into guilt and shame.

“Are you seriously having a pity party right now?” Tina asked him, crossing her arms. “Get up, idiot. We've got to get back on the water soon. I can't believe we lost two whole weeks.”

Because it had been an order, Crispin got to his feet. Still, he regarded her with a pained look. He was punishing himself over her. That only served to make Tina angrier.

“Get that look off of your face.” she told him. “I don't want your pity.”

He didn't sign a word, but she could read the apology in his eyes.

“You better be sorry.” Tina said. “You cost us two weeks of travel time. Also, I'm hungry. And thirsty. You're cooking. So get down there and make me food.”

Crispin looked a little surprised at the orders but, being him, he did what he was told.

Tina followed him down to the compartments where he began gathering the makings of a sandwich in their tiny closet sized kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to her with another apologetic look on his face.

“What did I tell you about those damn faces of yours?” Tina snatched the bottle. She unscrewed the cap and started drinking. She didn't realize until the water hit her throat just how thirsty she was. The IV, which had undoubtedly come from the Eden, had kept her hydrated and had given her the nutrients she needed but it didn't compare to real food and water.

When Crispin finished the sandwich, Tina took it and started eating it right there. She didn't move from her spot in the hall which forced Crispin to remain in the tiny kitchen while she ate. He didn't complain. He just stood there forcing his face to be impassive because Tina got mad when he looked sorry.

Tina finished the food and dusted the crumbs from her hands. “That was great. Thanks.”

He nodded his head once and Tina glared.

“Aren't you going to say anything?” she snapped at him.

His face sent the message: What would you like me to say?

Tina growled. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the girls cabin and practically threw him inside. He went in without a fight. Tina followed him, slid the door closed, and threw the lock. It gave a sense of deja vu. The last time they had done this though it had been him locking the door.

He didn't look nearly as unhappy as she was sure she had back then.

Tina turned to him and put her hands on her waist. “Alright. What is your problem? You look like your puppy just died.”

He didn't sign anything. He didn't have to.

Tina sighed and shook her head. “I don't really remember what happened but I'm fine now. You can stop being depressed and pathetic any second because it's getting on my nerves.”

He smiled ever so slightly. Not because he was feeling better. He was smiling at her. Her attitude about what had happened was amusing to him. It was so very her.

“So?” she asked. “You over it yet?”

He shook his head with a silent sigh. “You are a strange woman.”

“Ah, you do talk.” Tina smiled. “I was beginning to wonder.”

“I have to apologize again.” he signed. “I apologized before but if you don't remember...”

“I don't.” Tina said. “And I don't want your apology. When I want one from you, I will ask you for it. Until then, stop feeling so damn sorry for yourself.”

“Then what do you want?” he asked her.

Tina got angry at the question. It wasn't just that he asked, it was the way he did it. That infuriating smile of his came back and he hid himself behind the curtains in his eyes. He asked it like a servant would ask their master. He was distancing himself from her because of what happened.

Which was not what Tina wanted at all. He didn't get to just force himself on her for weeks then back off when he wanted to. She didn't care what triggered the back off, she didn't care that he made her crazy for two weeks, he wasn't turning from her just when she was started to get interested in him.

“Just what do you think you're doing?” she asked him, her eyes narrowing. “No one asked you to be nice and subservient again.”

His eyebrow raised slightly in question but the smile didn't slip from his face.

Which only served to make Tina angrier.

She growled and shoved him. Hard. Crispin, who wouldn't put up a fight against her, allowed the shove to throw him back and down onto his butt. He flinched as his back his the wall and his legs hit the floor but it was more of a reflex than a response to real pain. He didn't even grunt. He was so damn practiced at keeping himself silent and it pissed Tina off.

She kneeled down between his legs and looked his face over carefully. He wasn't even pretending to put up a fight. He would allow her to do as she pleased to him.

Tina smirked. Fine. If he was going to let her do whatever she wanted then she would do whatever she wanted.

She grabbed his face in her hands and turned it up to hers. His look of surprise was registered in her mind just before she slammed her lips down onto his. He didn't stop her but he didn't respond to her either. He let her kiss him without putting up a fight but he didn't kiss her back.

Tina ignored him. She reached down to his shirt and tore it open, scattering buttons across the floor. She pushed it down over his shoulder and onto the floor exposing his chest to her. She took advantage of that and began letting her fingers explore the contours of his body.

She laughed huskily when his muscles jumped at her touch. She enjoyed that a great deal. She let her fingers travel down his chest, down his abdomen, getting closer and closer to his arousal.

Her wrists were caught in his hands so suddenly, she wasn't prepared for it.

Crispin moved her hands out to the sides and shook his head.

Tina's eyes narrowed on him. “You certainly don't feel unwilling.” she pressed her body into his, stroking along the hard length of him, and she was rewarded with a strangled, quiet grunt.

She grinned at the sound. That was what she wanted. She wanted to break through that steel and feel that fire. She craved it now. The thought of it burning her wasn't scary, it was exciting.

He shook his head. She could read the guilt on his face again: You're still under the influence of my voice.

“Oh, get over yourself.” she snapped. “You're strong but you're not that strong. Now either tell me no or let me do as I please.”

He shook his head again. It wasn't a no though. It was a denial that this was what she wanted.

When exactly, she briefly wondered, did she become so good at reading him when he didn't sign a word? It felt like she had always been able to. Like she always would be able to.

Tina fell backwards. Crispin's hands, still closed tightly around her wrists, had him falling with her so that he ended up on top of her. She took advantage of his confusion by wrapping her legs around his waist and locking them at the ankle. Their bodies were pressed close to each other and the heat was fantastic.

He sighed slightly and sent her a look that said don't make me do this.

“Do your worst.” Tina twisted her wrists quickly so that her hands were freed and wrapping around his wrists. She was grinning. This was fun to her. She enjoyed this fight.

Left with no choice, he couldn't allow her to do something that she would regret like this, he took a breath and said firmly, “Tina, release me.”

Tina closed her eyes and let his voice flow over her. She felt the power in it, she felt the pull to obey. And she smiled because it was so easy to ignore. She could succumb to him, she could feel it. But she didn't have to. She opened her eyes again and tightened the hold her legs on him so that he was pressing harder into her. Their groins were grinding together and her blood set afire with the pressure.

He blinked in surprise at the fact that she hadn't even looked like she was fighting it. She just brushed the words to the side like they had no effect on her. It wasn't like before when she ignored him. Then he had seen the obsession and insanity his song had put into her mind. Now it was just amusement at his attempt.

He strengthened his voice and tried again. “Let me go.”

“No.”

She smiled at the dumbfounded look on his face at her quick refusal. “I like hearing your voice. You should speak to me more often.”

He shook his head. Where had this strength of will come from? She just woke up from two weeks of having been completely lost mentally, she shouldn't be this strong willed.

She released his wrists and wrapped them around his neck and tugged him down so that he was directly in front of her. She laughed at the look on his face.

“Tina...” he tried to tell her no. It wasn't right to do this now. She just woke up, she should be resting some more and recuperating. Even as a logical, purely mental part of him told him that his body was aching against hers and telling him something else. He needed to end this now before he became lost in her.

Tina, however, knew her mind better than that. She knew what she wanted and she wasn't asking for it. She was demanding it.

She kissed the tip of his nose. “This is going to happen Crispin. I want this. I want you to cry out my name. I'm going to make you.”

Crispin couldn't tell her no. In this, her will was stronger than his and he couldn't say that he didn't want it as well.

And, if she truly wanted this, he couldn't deny her. So, instead, he would make it the best thing she had ever experienced.

He kissed her this time and she opened to him eagerly.

She could feel the fire coming from him but she knew she was giving him that same fire in return. They burned together and it was all the more glorious because of it.