~Proximity~1041Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZkWuFbzBN
1041Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQpjpsaytc
"Can I help?" Kat asked, eyeing Shachi and Penguin with intrigue. The two were lying under the heater in the engine room. A pipe had burst while they were still submerged, leaving the entire submarine slowly freezing everyone on the inside. Law had ordered the two to fix the problem immediately, with the addition that Kat go along.
Penguin slid out from the metal contraption, wiping away the sweat from his forehead and took the flashlight out of his mouth. In the process, a long smudge of grease tracked its way on his face. He grinned easily up at her.
"Nah, it's alright. We've got it covered."
"Aww…" She mumbled, giving a very obvious pout. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do?" He rubbed the back of his neck, but Shachi rolled out before he could answer.
"Come on, Penguin. There's got to be something." Shachi's eyes were star-shaped and directed onto Kat. A small bit of drool slid down his chin. Penguin thought hard for a moment before smiling up at the expectant woman.
"Actually, could you hold the flashlight for us? It's a little dark under here." She squealed and grabbed the flashlight that Penguin offered up to her. The two men rolled back under the heater and searched for the broken pipe.
"The left end looks worn." Shachi said, gesturing to the pipe in question. "We'll have to replace the whole piece."
Kat crouched at the edge of the machine, holding the flashlight at an angle so the two could see. Penguin handed over the new piece and put the old one to the side.
"Hold it still and I'll tighten it." Penguin said. Shachi nodded and did as he said.
"Are you almost done?" Kat asked, trying to peer farther under the heater. Crouching was started to crane her neck and her thighs were beginning to burn.
"Shouldn't be too much longer. We just gotta...tighten...this...valve!" Each word was accentuated with the turn of his wrench. Shachi gave a sigh of relief. "That should do it. Try turning it on."
Penguin rolled out again and turned the heater on. Nothing happened. He shook his head in confusion. "Nope, nothing."
"Dammit! What did we miss?" Shachi's curse was muffled from being underneath. Penguin joined his friend under the machine again and helped search for the problem.
"Are you sure you tightened it all the way?"
"Yeah, it won't go any tighter. Maybe there's a leak somewhere else?" The two muttered as they looked for the problem.
Kat continued to crouch by the edge of the heater, unsure of how she could help. The room's temperature steadily dropped and her body started to shiver. Her arms wrapped around herself and she looked around for anything that would help.
Looking up, Kat saw a large beam crossing in front of the heater itself. It looked kind of out of place. A loose screw caught her eye and she stood back up, leaving the flashlight on the floor. It was still pointed underneath the machine, so she figured she could have a break.
Taking a closer look, she saw the screw was almost completely unscrewed, but it didn't seem to hold any significance. Pursing her lips, she reached towards the little piece of metal and pulled it the rest of the way out of its hole. She brought the screw closer to her face and saw that the top half was slightly red with rust. Shrugging, she tossed the screw somewhere towards the back of the room.
Deciding she wasn't needed anymore, she stalked out of the room to go look for something else to do.
"Hey! Here it is. The hose has a rip in the lining." Penguin said, gesturing with his wrench. Shachi rolled over to him and took a look for himself.
"We should have extra in the supply room."
"I'll go get it." Penguin went to roll out from under the heater, but banged his knee against the metal bottom. "Dammit!"
"You ok?" Shachi asked. Penguin held onto his knee with one hand, trying to rub away the pain.
"Yeah, I just-" He was cut off by a metallic groaning sound. Both men looked at each other warily. Something metal creaked and groaned as it shifted, then stopped suddenly. Neither of them moved for a few seconds, barely wanting to breathe.
"What was-AH!" Suddenly, the entire heater fell on top of the two, trapping them underneath the few hundred pounds of metal.
"I...can't…" Penguin struggled to speak. The weight pressing on top of them made it difficult to breathe. Both men did everything they could to hold up the heater so it wouldn't crush them entirely.
"Hey! Someone!" Shachi tried calling out to anyone nearby, hoping that their calls would be heard before their strength gave out.
"Laim-ya, hand me the hydrogen peroxide." The medic turned to the supply cabinet to get the required materials. Law's focus was on the large cut that crossed one of his men's arm. Liam came up beside him with the bottle of solution and a large cotton cloth. Taking the cloth, he covered the top of the bottle and tipped it over, soaking the cloth in the liquid.
"This will sting, Scott-ya." Scott gave a nod and braced himself for the hydrogen peroxide. Law placed the cloth on the cut and applied pressure, holding his arm in place. Scott gave a hiss, but didn't squirm. Movement would only make the pain intensify.
The pain quickly subsided and Law grabbed a fresh roll of bandages. Taking Scott's arm, he wrapped the thin cloth around the limb and tied it off tightly, ensuring that it wouldn't loosen or fall off.
"Don't put it under too much stress and tell Reid-ya to check the engine room for sharp corners on all the machines."
"Thanks, Captain." Scott said, sliding off the examination table. Law nodded in acknowledgment and moved to his desk where the large stack of medical papers waited to be updated. Paperwork had started to pile up in Law's distraction, and he resigned himself to completing all of them tonight. The door opened and Law, assuming that it was only Scott leaving, didn't look up at the noise.
"What happened?" A high-pitched feminine voice asked. Law glanced up to see Kat ogling Scott's bandaged arm.
"Oh, just a cut is all. It's alright now, Captain fixed me up." He gave a nervous laugh, but flashed a small smile nonetheless. Kat's mouth formed an 'o' and she cocked her head to the side as she brought her face closer.
"Does it hurt?" She poked the bandage a few times, none too gently by the looks of it if Scott's painful grimace was anything to go by, and turned his arm this way and that. He recoiled his arm and cradled it to his chest. Law frowned and spoke from his position by the desk.
"Kat-ya, don't touch the bandages of someone who is injured." She glanced up in surprise, as if Law's presence was unexpected. A wide, goofy smile spread across her face and she walked over to him, losing interest in Scott who now hurried through the door before his wound was touched any further.
"Hi Law! Whatcha doin'?" She asked in a cheery voice, rocking back and forth on her heels. Law gave her a cold look and didn't answer, rearranging papers on top of his desk. A thick silence hung between them for a heartbeat. Liam began to squirm and started edging towards the door. He, like most people, recognized his silence as wanting peace and quiet.
Kat was obviously not most people.
"What are all these papers?" She asked, picking one up off the edge of the desk. She rotated it several ways, having no clue what anything written on it meant. Law snatched it out of her hands, turning his body towards hers and narrowing his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Liam slip away into the hallway.
"I would suggest not touching those. In fact, don't touch anything in this room." She pursed her lips, taking one more glance at the messy desk before smiling that damned smile once again.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Law's expression didn't change.
"No."
"But-"
"I said no, Kat-ya." Law restrained himself from lashing out at her, not wanting to scare or lose her trust in him. As long as he held her trust, his plan would still work. He hadn't realized how difficult keeping it would actually be, and now he was beginning to reconsider following through with it in the first place. The temptation to wring her neck was growing stronger by the minute, and Law wasn't sure how long he would hold out.
"Well, then what can I do?" Her eyes pleaded for him to order her around, to give her a task to perform. Realizing that she wouldn't leave without some form of guidance, he sighed loudly and returned to his papers.
"Why don't you go see if Casper-ya and Summer-ya need any help in the kitchen? The dinner rush should be starting soon." That smile that he was really beginning to hate flashed once again.
"Ok!" She said, spinning in place and bouncing out the double doors.
After her figure disappeared from view, he was left to reflect that despite Kat's innocent nature and good-girl personality he preferred Summer's hot-headed, short-tempered, and sarcastic attitude. Kat's seemingly dim intelligence held no amusement. Summer's never ceased to surprise him. She was always surpassing her own limits and standards, something that Law enjoyed puzzling over and figuring out.
The thought that her smile was much more attractive surfaced as well. He shook his head, not wanting to dwell on what exactly that meant.
"Casper, is the sauce almost ready?" Summer asked across the room. She glanced up from dicing the meat to Casper who stood in front of the range. He glanced up as well, meeting her eyes with his own even gaze.
"Just a moment longer. I'm going to need that meat in a minute here."
"It's almost ready. Have the potatoes already been peeled?" He shook his head. "I'll get that done after this." He grunted in response.
Both cooks were brought out of their focus by the sound of the door banging open. Summer was just about to lecture yet another man who thought he could sneak some food before dinner when she noticed that it was Kat who walked happily into the heated kitchen. Letting out an exasperated breath, Summer frowned at her. "What are you doing here?"
Her tone was not polite in the slightest, edging more towards irritation and impatience. She caught Casper's eye and he gave a tiny shake of his head. Obviously, he expected her to be nicer about the whole situation, to give her at least a chance.
Kat didn't seem to notice her angry tone and smiled at the food being cut. "What are you making?" She peered over the cut meat and Summer went to stand in front of it so Kat's hair wouldn't get all over the food.
"Pot roast, but you'll have to wait for it like everyone else." Summer said, crossing her arms. She was vaguely aware that she still held the knife in her hand, and she briefly entertained the thought of cutting the redhead down where she stood. She shook her head, that wasn't an option.
'I might get blood on the ingredients.' She thought.
"Can I help with anything? Law said you might need some help." Summer rolled her eyes and was about to reply that no, they didn't need any help and Law didn't know what he was talking about, but Casper beat her to it.
"Well, put on an apron and you can start peeling those potatoes over there." She gave a wide smile and hurried off to get an apron from the wall. Coming back to the counter, she reached for a potato and the peeler sitting on the counter.
"Hey! You have to wash your hands first. And put the potatoes under a cutting board or you'll scratch the counter."
"Oh! Sorry!" She scurried to the sink, and Casper and Summer shared a look without her notice. It was pretty obvious the girl had never worked in a kitchen before.
"Ok!" She exclaimed when she was done. Summer watched her out of the corner of her eye, just to make sure she didn't injure herself. To her slight surprise, she seemed to be competent enough to know how to peel a vegetable, so she concentrated on cutting the meat again.
Unfortunately, Summer was expecting to lapse into the usual silence that enveloped the kitchen as Casper and her worked. That's not what she received.
"This is such a big kitchen! It's so cool! How many people are there on this ship? Are we landing on an island soon? What do pirates usually do during the day?" Summer gave a bland look to the wall in front of her.
'Don't yell at her. Give her a chance. Just suck it up for now and you can beat the shit out of your pillow tonight pretending its her face.'
Casper answered a few of her questions, or at least enough to keep her somewhat subdued. Summer finished cutting the meat and brought it over to the large pot. She looked over to Kat and noticed that only two potatoes out of the fifteen that needed peeling were done. Sighing, she walked up beside her.
"You've got to pick up the pace if we're gonna make dinner on time." Summer went over to a cupboard and pulled out the other peeler, returned to her spot and started to help with the potatoes. Kat pouted at Summer's presence beside her.
"I can do it." Summer subtly rolled her eyes, making sure the woman beside her didn't notice. Much as she really didn't like her, she wasn't one to openly show it.
"We've got to finish dinner soon and these need to be done now. Just let me help you."
"But I can do it!" Kat whined, crossing her arms somewhat childishly. Her whining was all Summer could take.
"Just let me do it so we can get done with this. I want to eat and then go to sleep." She snapped, making it plainly obvious that her presence was annoying her. But it seemed that the jab went unnoticed by the redhead.
"Oh, ok. Then let's do it together!" Her tone of voice made it sound like working together was her idea, and much as Summer really wanted to paint the room in her blood, she resisted the urge and continued peeling at a much faster pace than Kat.
Summer's pile grew higher and Summer noticed that there were only a few left. She could see they were still behind and tried to find a way to speed up the process. A thought came to her. "Here, start chopping them into small cubes. I'll peel the rest." She said, bringing out a large knife. Kat smiled and dropped the peeler, taking the knife in her hands with a little too much enthusiasm for Summer's liking.
They switched places, Summer now on her right and Kat humming softly as she very slowly chopped the vegetable. Her patience was almost at its limit. It wouldn't be much longer before she started yelling or throwing things, and Casper wouldn't approve of that.
"Kat, you really need to-" Her sentence was cut off by a loud crash behind her. Everyone's attention was brought to the kitchen door, where a medic poked his head in most likely to inquire as to when dinner would be ready. Unfortunately, the noise startled Kat to the point that her entire body spun around, including the knife held tightly in her hand.
The blade faced outwards and Summer's arm was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. The sharp blade sliced easily across her pale skin and instantly a deep gash appeared and began bleeding heavily. Summer's hand flew to the wound to stop the flow.
"AH! DAMMIT!" Her body crumpled into itself by reflex. Kat's hands flew up to her cheeks at her shout next to her ear, letting go of the knife in the process.
Summer's torment was not over, because the knife fell straight down into her foot. The blade dub deep into the bone and she gritted her teeth in pain. She heard Casper's quick footsteps approach her from behind, and his strong and gentle hands gripped her shoulders in support.
Kat reached out to her in attempt to help. "Are you alri-"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She dropped to her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. Reluctantly, one eye cracked open to survey the damage to her arm. Her hand was dripping with blood and she was sure that she wouldn't be able to walk on her injured foot. The pain was far too much for her.
A few men rushed into the kitchen to see what the problem was and hurried to crouch next to her. One who was obviously a medic took command of the situation.
"Summer-chan, I need you to let go of your arm for just a second, ok?" Her eyes refused to open and her cheeks were tear-streaked. She refused to unclench her teeth either, so she only nodded. Slowly, her grip loosened and she allowed the medic to examine it.
"It was a clean cut, but you'll still need quite a few stitches." Next he removed her shoe as gently as he could but still noticed her grimace of pain. The sight was not pretty. The wound was bleeding steadily as well, and he knew she needed immediate medical attention.
"We need to get her to Captain." He said, to which the others quickly nodded. "Can you walk?" He asked her gently. She shook her head vigorously. "We're gonna have to carry you there then, ok?"
She nodded her head and allowed herself to be picked up bridal style. The others moved away to allow them room to get through the door. The medic's pace was quick but he made sure to keep her still so as not to injure her further. In no time they burst through the double doors where Law was working.
"Captain!"
Law looked up at the urgent voice and took in the scene. Blake carried a heavily bleeding Summer into the room, before quickly placing her on one of the examination tables. Standing up and almost toppling over the chair he had been sitting in, he snatched a pair of latex gloves out of a container and approached Summer's side.
"Get the suture and thread, bandage rolls, and disinfectant." He ordered crisply and Blake hurried off to find the materials. Law took up a cloth and began cleaning off the blood on her arm. Summer was still too tense for his liking though. Her eyes were still squeezed shut.
"Summer-ya, I need you to relax your body. The bleeding won't stop if you're strung up like this." He spoke gently so as not to startle or anger her. Thankfully, his words seemed to get through to her and she loosened her shoulders. A few calming breaths and muttered curses had her opening her eyes to look at his own. They were red from reflex tears and still looked a little watery, but they looked normal otherwise. Defiance and determination stared straight into his eyes. He nodded, satisfied that she was relaxed enough not to pass out from stress.
Blake returned with the materials and he quickly disinfected the wound and cleaned away all the blood from both her arm and foot. The stitches were quick and Summer didn't so much as blink. Law was impressed, but he didn't think much of it. He knew she was tough, and stitches were a relatively insignificant matter.
Taking the bandages, he wound them tightly around her limbs before tying them off. She gave out a shuddering breath, relieved that the whole thing was done with. Law moved off to throw away the used gloves and wash his hands. He spoke with his back to her.
"You'll have a limp for a few days, maybe a week, but it didn't look too serious. As for your arm, avoid any heavy lifting for awhile. The pressure might pop the stitches."
"Alright." Was her monotone answer. He turned to face her, asking the important question.
"What exactly happened to cause such a mess?" She narrowed her eyes and glared in her direction.
"Well, it was thanks to your new pet that I got hurt in the first place. WHy the hell did you send her into the kitchen?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I need to find a place for her to work for the time being."
"Well, keep her the hell away from the kitchen. She's more trouble than she's worth." He smirked, enjoying her evident anger.
"And you're any different? I remember that you caused us a bit of trouble before with your attitude." She shook her head, denying his words.
"Not like this. She's worthless! Why did you even let her join the crew?" She scowled at her own question. "Why did she get a choice and I was forced?" Law walked over and sat in his desk chair, spinning around to face her. The smirk was still on her face.
"Are you questioning my decisions, Summer-ya?"
"I guess I am." He chuckled darkly, amused by her blatant defiance to him.
"Are you jealous of Kat-ya? Because that's what it sounds like?" She scoffed, as if the very thought was ridiculous.
"No way in hell would I be jealous of her." Her words were full of vindication, but her cheeks turned a shade of soft pink. She wouldn't meet his eyes either, which told him all he needed to know.
"Is it the special attention I'm giving her? Do you feel neglected?" He stood and stalked closer to her sitting form. There noses were only a few inches from touching, but neither broke eye contact. He placed his hands on either side of her thighs on the metal table. She didn't seem outwardly affected by his proximity, but he did register her heart beating faster than normal.
"Like hell I do."
"Stop lying to yourself."
"Quit trying to inflate your oversized ego." She shot back, leaning back just slightly to escape from his closeness. She wasn't getting off the hook that easy, so he simply leaned closer.
At this proximity, he could feel her warm breath against his lips, and his eyes couldn't help but drop down to her own. Something stirred in his chest, something he couldn't name or place. It was confusing, but not unpleasant. In that moment he figured there was nothing he could to stop whatever this was and decided that fighting wouldn't get him anywhere. No matter how hard he had tried to tell himself that he didn't feel anything for her, she forced herself back into his subconscious.
As to how deep these feelings ran, he had yet to figure that out. He assumed that this was one way to accomplish that.
He realized he hadn't answered, and gave a belated "Hmm" in response.
Her eyes widened a fraction when his gaze lowered, and he hadn't realized he was leaning closer than he had thought. His own heartbeat had accelerated. Her breathing came quick but she didn't seem to be trying to escape. Her eyes looked confused but curious. He saw the determination to stand her own against him, and sensed the struggle in her mind.
It seemed like time had stopped, what felt like hours was probably just a matter of seconds. But in those seconds she didn't push him away, despite having plenty of opportunity to do so.
The infirmary door opened to their right and Summer swung to face it, her cheeks turning a deep red. Law glanced up at the intrusion as well, a sudden swell of irritation overcoming him. Why now of all times?
Liam stepped through the double doors before stopping at the sight before him. His own cheeks turned red as his eyes flickered back and forth between the two. He began backing away, stuttering in his nervousness.
"Uh...I'll j-just...I've got to...I was...I'm gonna leave now." He darted back through the doors and disappeared down the halls. Summer broke out of her embarrassment and shoved Law away from her.
"Get away!" He allowed her to slide down the table and land on one foot. Her face was still red and she avoided making eye contact with him. Limping heavily, she walked away as quickly as she could in her condition.
"Thanks for fixing me." She muttered, almost too quiet for him to hear. She pushed into the hall and he was left in the silence of the infirmary.
His smirk didn't disappear. He rubbed his chin in thought, wandering aimlessly back over to his desk. He still had papers to finish, but he doubted much of it would get done. Something else was occupying his mind now.
His time to ponder this new development with his blonde cook was short lived, however, because the noise arrival of his two troublesome engineers brought him straight from his thoughts. The two were being supported by a overwhelmed looking Reid who grasped each of them by an arm.
"Captain! I think my body is broken!" Shachi moaned before Penguin and him collapsed onto the ground. Reid was left to look down at his fellow engineers in concern.
Law sighed and shook his head, closing his eyes. Some days he just couldn't catch a break.
1041Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kcXGOA6sY
