Birds Can't Swim [Jane]

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

Sometimes his days repeated themselves. Wake up, do physical training, go to work, go home. Rinse and repeat. Perry hated it. He hated anything that was too routine. He spent fourteen years in the military going by routine and he did not like it one bit. But he didn't have much say in how his days played out. The money was needed and to get money, you had to work.

Perry walked along the deck of the boat he was inspecting, his clipboard in hand and his shirt tucked in to his back pocket. It was unusually hot for that day, and any excuse he had, he would ditch the shirt. No one called him out on it and he was glad for that. All he wanted to do was go back to Neptune and lay on the dock, or jump in the water. He didn't want to deal with these clients and their tedious and very, very annoying problems. It was karma. He was made to work on yachts and other boating vehicles because he managed to punch his superior in the face. The man was talking and Perry was done listening. So he punched him. And ended up with the crummy, client jobs to do for two weeks instead of his more appreciated cargo ships.

The only problem on the boat was a lack of lubricant in the engine and a few scrapes on the hull from where the owner carelessly brought the boat close to the shore. Nothing a few hours wouldn't fix.

When he stepped on to the dock to get a better look at the scrapes, he heard something make a very big splash in the water behind him. He turned and looked. There was a camera on the dock some twenty feet away from. He looked back at the water.

"That was a big fuckin' bird."

[JANE EYRE]

Ever since her first trip to the beach almost a year ago, Jane loved going to it for artistic reasons. She tried to come down at least once a month with her camera or a sketch book and get something done. Today was a camera day. She wandered on the dock, taking pictures of this and that, whatever caught her attention. Her shoes were back on the beach, the wood of the dock warm under he bare feet. It was lovely.

Humming to herself, she saw a boat with interesting wear on the side, the distressing unique and beautiful to her. She hurried to it, snapping pictures here and there. She bent at the waist, her toes precariously close to the edge of the dock, taking more pictures, twisting the camera this way and that to get the perfect angle.

Spotting a particularly interesting paint chip a little lower, Jane foolishly bent more, leaning forward.

It didn't occur to her that that was a bad until she was tumbling head first off the dock. Fortunately she had the good sense to toss the camera behind her to safety.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the common sense to try and save herself. With a shriek and a flail she fell in to the water, splashing around desperately.

She couldn't swim.

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

It took him all of half a minute to realize that what had fallen in the water was not a large bird. It was a person. It took him another few seconds to realize it was a young girl, and she couldn't swim. At all. He looked from the flailing form to the dock and back at least twice before putting his clipboard down and tugging his shirt out of his pocket. He briskly walked to where the girl fell in, stepping out of his shoes quickly and jumping in head first.

The water was cold and nice. Perry would have enjoyed the water more if he wasn't on a mission. He swam over to where the girl was flailing and desperately trying to stay afloat and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against his hip and treading water for a moment. She was really young. He blinked at her, adjusted his hold, then looked for the ladder back on to the dock. It was about thirty-five feet away.

He swam awkwardly toward the ladder, supporting the girl so her head was above water. Once there, he pushed her against the ladder first, staying behind her so she could get a grip.

[JANE EYRE]

Jane couldn't do this, she couldn't swim, she couldn't save herself. She would slip under and her stupid, pathetic legs would give up and she would drown. She would drown in the ocean, which was oddly poetic, while her camera sat safely on the deck.

How she wished she was a camera.

Jane didn't hear anyone dive into the water, she couldn't over her own ragged breaths and splashing. When someone grabbed Jane, she didn't even think about it before turning into them and wrapping her arms around them. She was shaking and gasping, terrified out of her mind. Whoever it was was big and sturdy, safe feeling. Jane looked up, keeping her head craned carefully out of the water. The man saving her was large and just a little scary looking, or he would have been if Jane hadn't been thinking of ways to thank him for saving her life.

It seemed like it took forever to get to the ladder and once she could reach it, Jane let go of the man and grabbed the nearest rung, hugging it tightly. She was shivering violently, pale and obviously shaken. After a pause, she began to climb the ladder slowly and carefully, willing her legs to feel less like rubber and more like part of her body. She got onto the deck and crawled into the middle of it, shaking even harder now.

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

The girl waited a moment, clinging to the ladder tightly, before pulling herself up. She was shaking and pale, genuinely terrified. Perry stayed at the bottom of the ladder, watching her climb up and basically collapse on the dock. Once she was firmly planted, he climbed up the ladder, standing a few feet away from her.

He made work of wringing out his jeans, his good jeans to be honest, bunching the fabric up in his fists and trying to get most of the salt water out. Then he pushed his hair back, wringing the ends out too.

That was certainly not routine. He smiled to himself a little.

He looked at the girl again, then grabbed his shirt from where he put it down and threw it on top of her. It was dry and big (and mostly clean); she could stand to use it.

Maybe saying something would be of benefit to her. He considered kneeling down and rubbing her back. But he didn't. That would be weird.

"You alright?" he drawled finally.

[JANE EYRE]

Jane didn't know what he threw onto her but she didn't care, she grabbed it and pulled it tightly around herself. After shifting a little, Jane was sitting cross legged on the dock. She wasn't shaking quite as bad anymore and her heart rate had certainly calmed down quite a bit. Taking a deep breath, Jane closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them again.

She was okay.

Jane pulled the blanket...shirt, it was a shirt, tighter around herself and looked up at her savior. He was standing off to the side, shirtless, wearing soaked jeans. She didn't notice any of that, she noticed that odd, amused half smile he was wearing. It confused her for a moment but Jane brushed it off and stood up. The shirt clung to her wet frame, but was still dryer than anything she had on, not to mention it was huge. It was practically a blanket as it was.

"You alright?"

Jane nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." Jane paused and looked up at the man.

He had gone out of his way, interrupted his life, to save her. That was quite noble of him, even though he looked like he had enjoyed it a little too much with that smile of his. Jane felt terrible for dragging him away from his routine with her clumsiness. It wasn't as if she did it on purpose but it certainly was her fault for falling into the water in the first place.

"I'm sorry."

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

Perry stopped smiling and knocked some water off of his chest, watching as the girl wormed her way in to his shirt. It clung to her and almost hung down to her knees. She was so small it made him feel like a beast or giant seeing how ill-fitting the shirt was.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

He hummed in recognition and nodded a little. Even if she was shaky and pale, she said she was fine, so Perry didn't press it further. But something that bothered him a bit was the fact that she apologized.

I'm sorry? What was she sorry for? She didn't fall in to the water on purpose and tried to drown. Unless she was trying to commit suicide. Then he just ruined her attempt. He looked at her for a long moment. No, it wasn't that. So she had no reason to be sorry.

"Why?"

[JANE EYRE]

Jane was running her fingers through her hair, trying to shake the water out of it. It was going to be a horrible mess when she got back home to shower. It felt so gritty and it was tangled beyond belief. At least she was in the habit of carrying a hair tie on her wrist; Jane pulled her hair back and tied it off in a quick, messy ponytail just to keep it out of the way.

She pulled the shirt-blanket away from her body to inspect the damage done to her clothes and immediately pulled it close again. Her lovely cotton shirt, pink, did not handle water well it seemed. It wasn't quite transparent but it certainly showed far more than she was used to or liked.

Jane kept the shirt-blanket tight around her and looked at the man again. Even when she was standing, he was still very large.

"Why?"

"My clumsiness interrupted your day. I really am very sorry for that."

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

"My clumsiness interrupted your day. I really am very sorry for that."

He snorted a small laugh, looking a bit amused. Little did she know, she kept him from being too horribly bored that day. A quick dip in the water, playing Superman; it was fun. Yes, her clumsiness interrupted his day, but it was for the better.

Perry glanced over at where her camera laid almost forgotten and leaned over, shaking his hands off before picking it up and looking at it. It was nice. Really nice. Decent money kind of nice. He examined it for a moment, then handed it to her. Little rich kid.

"Just don't lean over the dock anymore if you can't swim."

That was good advice.

He glanced down the dock. He needed new clothes. Neptune was docked just down yonder.

"I'll be off. Keep the shirt."

[JANE EYRE]

"Just don't lean over the dock anymore if you can't swim."

That was brilliant advice, really. "I should really learn how to." Jane mumbled mostly to herself. She was spending more and more time at the beach, it would make sense if she learned how to swim. Jane supposed that she could ask Monte Cristo, he'd probably be glad to teach her. She would just have to find a time when he wasn't too busy with work, which wasn't very often it seemed.

Jane took the camera back from him, thanking him quietly as she checked it over. Thankfully, it seemed to be in tact.

"I'll be off. Keep the shirt."

Jane looked back at the man. "Oh, no I couldn't possibly. Could you, perhaps, give me a location where I can return it to?" Jane would have his shirt laundered and returned to him by tomorrow, she was sure of it. There was no way she was going to let this good Samaritan give up his shirt. And, there was the matter of thanking him for what he did. Awkwardly shuffling the camera around, Jane clutched it to her chest with one hand, holding the shirt-blanket closed still, and extended her hand. "My name's Jane, by the way."

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

She protested keeping the shirt. "Oh, no I couldn't possibly. Could you, perhaps, give me a location where I can return it to?"

Perry scratched at his chest a bit, salt water mixed with sweat always made him slightly itchy, and shrugged. There was really no point in getting worked up over a shirt. It was just a shirt. A five dollar t-shirt from a generic clothing store. It was replaceable. Besides, there were holes in it. It was time to get a new one.

"No need. Keep it. Use it for a towel or something."

Something told him she was artsy. The way she held her camera and took the pictures, the way she held herself. He had a few friends like that. They were usually multi-talented, meaning they didn't just do one thing. Maybe she painted. She could use it as a rag to wipe up some stuff. A good way to recycle things.

"I'm Jane, by the way."

She jutted out her little hand. He reached forward, grabbing her hand in his, and gave a small shake. It amused him how her hand disappeared in his. Another way of making him feel like a giant.

"Perry." He nodded once at her.

[JANE EYRE]

"No need. Keep it. Use it for a towel or something."

Jane nodded, wanting to protest again but she had a feeling that it wouldn't do any good. This man, laconic as he was, gave her the idea that he was the stubborn sort. Jane liked that, stubbornness made people interesting.

Jane looked down at their hands as they shook. His hand was massive, engulfing her's completely. It was lovely, near perfect imagery. His hand, large, weather beaten, and darkly tanned wrapped around her thin, pale, almost frail hand was like a study in contrast. For every bit his hand was calloused and leathery, her's was soft and sensitive. His fingers could easily encircle her wrist but instead they were wrapped loosely around her hand in a gentle greeting.

"Hold on, don't move." Jane let go of the shirt and awkwardly juggled her camera for a bit. With a fair bit of fumbling, Jane got the camera righted and aimed at their hands. Chewing on her lip, Jane took a few pictures. She moved their hands, still together, to take more pictures and then wiggled her hand to lace their fingers together, then took pictures of that.

Jane got so caught up in what she was doing, she had forgotten that the hand she was using was actually attached to a person. Stilling, she blushed a little and sheepishly withdrew her hand.

"Sorry, got a bit carried away."

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

Jane shook his hand for a moment, then seemed to be distracted. She looked at their hands and stared for a moment, then gripped his hand and started manuvering her camera. Perry didn't protest what she was doing; he was more surprised than anything. She started taking pictures of their hands. This included sliding their hands together in a different position, more pictures, then lacing their fingers for even more pictures.

Perry rose his brow, but went along with the pulling and pictures. Pictures didn't bother him. He liked acting a little vain sometimes. It was good for the confidence aspect of life.

Jane seemed to remember that he was the owner of his hand and she darkened and pulled away from him. Perry looked at his hand for a moment, then shrugged and pulled it back to his bubble. She apologized for getting carried away, looking a bit sheepish.

"Not a problem," he said. "You're an artist."

It wasn't the first time one of his more artsy friends demanded using him as a model. He was used to it.

[JANE EYRE]

Jane nodded and stepped back again, ducking her head to click through the pictures. "These are great. You're a wonderful hand model." Jane said lightly, deleting the bad pictures and saving the good ones. She could use these for a larger project later. Jane already had a fantastic idea for a large scale piece that blended watercolors, chalk pastels, and oil paints. She couldn't wait to get home and get it started.

Jane made sure everything was good with the camera and turned it off, smiling up at Perry. "How did you know I was an artist? No, wait, that's a silly question." She gestured to the camera. "It's probably obvious." Jane laughed a little and brought a hand to her face. She really needed to stop spouting stupid, obvious things all the time. What had Lady de Bourgh taught her? Think before speaking. Jane really needed to do that.

"I really do want to thank you for what you did, though. Do you like muffins?"

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

"These are great. You're a wonderful hand model."

Perry cringed and made a face at her. A hand model? Hands like his were anything but model worthy. All weird and large, knuckles huge and covered in callouses and scars. They were far from anything like that. But compared to her hand, it was good enough for a couple pictures.

Jane looked entirely too excited over those pictures. Perry looked at her weird. She would probably use them for a project. He couldn't be sure. If he was sure, he'd ask for compensation. Maybe. If he felt like it.

"I really do want to thank you for what you did, though. Do you like muffins?"

"No."

He didn't want anything. Nothing.