Birds Can't Swim [Jane]

[JANE EYRE]

Jane nodded, feeling a bit chagrined. He obviously wasn't going to give in and let her thank him. Counting her losses, Jane muttered another small thank you. "I'll be off then." She gave another jerky nod and turned, walking off, holding the shirt around herself tightly. That was certainly one way to make a fool of herself. She ducked her head and tucked her hair behind her ear, hurrying off the dock.

Jane felt it niggling at her to thank him though. Saving someone's life wasn't a small thing. It was rather a big deal, at least it was to her. It had been her life after all. Granted, her life probably didn't mean much but it meant a little something, right? Right.

Out of sight of Perry, Jane resolved to thank him anyway. She tracked down the first dock worker and asked if he knew a very tall man, quiet, named Perry. 'Yeah of course' he had responded. 'Perry Goetzke, lived on a boat called the Neptune, docked just down there' and he pointed. Jane looked and nodded, thanking him. She hurried and flagged down a taxi to be taken home. Camera put up, shirt and clothes hung up to dry, Jane took a quick shower to wash the salt water out of her hair. Done, she braided her hair while wiggling into sandals, already dressed in a sun dress. It was still too nice and warm to wear anything too stifling. Grabbing the shirt and her purse, Jane was out the door soon after, driving to the market to make a thank you basket for him.

Jane wasn't sure what to get Perry so she got him a bit of everything. Fruit, muffins, candy and chocolate, a new t-shirt to replace the one he gave her (the shirt was brought along for sizing purposes) and then another shirt just in case he didn't like the one she picked out. Perry struck her as the type to enjoy some good alcohol but she was still barely too young to purchase any. And to carry it all, she bought a good, sturdy basket that could be used for anything.

With everything paid for, Jane hailed another taxi and told him to take her to the marina and set about arranging everything in the basket. It took a bit of creativity but everything fit eventually.

At the marina, Jane had to ask for help again locating the Neptune but got there eventually.

Then the big problem came about.

Jane stared at the boat and the five foot gap separating it from the dock. she didn't know how to get across that. It wasn't like she could jump; her feeble little legs couldn't do that. After much internal debate, grabbed the rope that connected the Neptune to the wooden pole it was hooked to, and pulled. She was a bit surprised when the boat slowly shifted closer, close enough for her to put the basket onto it.

Jane didn't like where the basket was positioned, finding it a bit precarious, and reached forward to push it more onto the boat but the Neptune had started drifting away. Making a rather spectacularly undignified sound, Jane clung to the edge of the boat, balancing on her toes on the deck. It took minimal flailing for her to realize that she was stuck.

"Lovely Jane." She huffed to herself. "You really have to stop getting yourself into these situations." Looking down, partly in defeat but mostly in self-directed anger, Jane eyed the water wearily. It looked a tab frightening. "You should really learn how to swim." She told herself.

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

The girl nodded and thanked him again and scurried off with his shirt wound tightly around her. Perry took a moment to watch her leave, tilting his head ever-so-slightly, until she was out of sight. She was probably still hurrying away, even out of his range of sight. He stood still for a couple minutes before shaking his head and bending over for his clip board and heading back to finish his job.

Perry was good at what he did; he finished the inspection quickly and effectively, speaking with the owner for a few moments and heading back to his boss. After he was let go for the day, he walked back to Neptune. He grabbed the rope and dragged the boat toward the dock so he could step on. Once on, he pushed against the deck to get the boat back out in it's spot.

He disappeared under the deck and decided that after his experience, a shower wouldn't hurt. When he showered, since it was so infrequent, he usually took his sweet time.

In the middle of washing out his hair, he felt Neptune move. Perry stopped and looking in a direction and looked confused. Why was his boat moving? It shouldn't be moving aside from a few ripples in the water. Someone was trying to get on. A quick shake of his head, with some rough rubbing, he washed out his hair and turned off the shower, grabbing a towel quickly and patting dry. He tied the towel around his hips, holding it in place, and headed on deck.

No one was there. That was odd. He looked around for a minute before seeing a basket on the deck. Well, that was really weird. He approached it, then noticed the fingers wrapped around the edge of the boat. Then he noticed the rest of the person, who was precariously placed on the edge of the boat, hanging on and balancing herself with her toes on the deck. Jane was back.

He walked up to her and sat on his haunches (just in case she looked up), watching her for a moment. She was talking to herself, muttering something about learning how to swim.

"I told you not to worry about it."

He grabbed her by her arms and lifted, pulling her on to the deck of his boat.

[JANE EYRE]

Jane adjusted her hold on the side of the boat, trying to figure out how to get herself out of the situation. She wasn't coming up with anything viable outside of falling into the water and hoping that she grabbed onto something.

"I told you not to worry about it."

Jane looked up, surprised that he was there and looked down immediately again, blushing darkly. Perry was in a towel and that most certainly wasn't appropriate. There was a difference between being shirtless in jeans and being in a towel and being...not appropriate at all.

Jane opened her mouth to say something but large, calloused hands wrapped around her arms and pulled her effortlessly onto the deck of the boat. Jane was used to feeling small and weak, but not like that. Once her feet were safely on a solid surface, Jane turned around so her back was to him.

"I hadn't thought you'd be home so I decided to just drop something off and then I got stuck." She mumbled, embarrassed. "I wasn't going to take no for an answer." Jane nodded her head and folded her arms, looking back at the dock, trying to figure out how she was going to get over there. Jumping still wasn't her strong.

Worst case scenario, she supposed, Perry could just throw her.

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

Jane turned a few shades of red in a few seconds. Once she was safely on the deck, she whipped around so her back was to him. Was he indecent? He looked down at himself. No, he was covered. He shifted the towel for good measure. Nothing was showing, so there was no reason to be worried about it.

She was muttering something under her breath about not taking no for an answer and how when she went to drop off the basket, she managed to get stuck in that strange position. Perry swore that he had seen that before. It was probably some Disney movie the Goetzke's made the children watch.

He watched her glance to the dock and back a few times. Perry nodded and bend over, grabbing the rope and giving it a firm tug, moving the boat easily closer to the dock.

"If you keep insisting on being near the water, get swimming lessons. Then you won't have to worry about dying."

[JANE EYRE]

"If you keep insisting on being near the water, get swimming lessons. Then you won't have to worry about dying."

Jane nodded and inched towards the side of the boat. "I plan on it. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who you could recommend, do you?" Jane wasn't expecting him to have anyone in mind, he seemed comfortable around water. Comfortable enough that Jane got the feeling that he had learned to swim years ago. She doubted that he knew anyone who could help her, but it didn't hurt to ask.

Looking at the dock, even though the boat had been pulled closer, Jane had a feeling that her dismount would be less than graceful. It was much closer, yes, but that didn't mean her balance or legs would be any better off. Jane nodded and pursed her lips, moving closer and turning this way and that, finding the best way to get off the boat without hurting herself.

"I'm terribly sorry for trespassing, by the way." She added before stepping down, grabbing onto a wooden post to keep her balance.

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

Jane went to the edge of the boat and attempted to step over, holding on to a banister post for support as she did. She was really shaky. It was a little weird, but then again, Perry had been around the water for a good long while. He wasn't afraid of it, and since she couldn't swim, she had all the rights in the world to be afraid. Perry stepped over himself, keeping one foot on the dock and one on the boat, making the distance as small as he could for her. Then he reached out and steadied her with his hand on her arm.

"I plan on it. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who you could recommend, do you?"

He shrugged, keeping a hand on his towel.

"Something like that, you'd need to find someone you trust your life with. Someone who knows how to swim better than they know how to walk."

Perry let go of her arm as soon as she was steady on the deck. Then he stepped back over on to the boat, grabbing the rope again to keep the distance.

"It's harder to learn to swim when you're twenty and not two."

[JANE EYRE]

Jane got her feet beneath herself on the dock, patting his hand once there. She muttered another thank you and smoothed down her dress, fixing the straps. Jane glanced around, then back at Perry.

"Something like that, you'd need to find someone you trust your life with. Someone who knows how to swim better than they know how to walk."

She nodded. That was a given, really. Jane wasn't sure who she trusted that much, to be honest. There weren't too man people in New York who she trusted with her life. In fact, there weren't too many she trusted at all.

"It's harder to learn to swim when you're twenty and not two."

"Obviously." It was such common to knowledge really. Jane looked at Perry once more, ready to bid him bye, when a thought occurred to her.

"What about you? I mean, I could pay you and if it doesn't work after one lesson, I can find someone else." Jane asked, twisting her hands together a bit. "If not, that's perfectly alright."

[PERRY "POSEIDON" GOETZKE]

"What about you? I mean, I could pay you and if it doesn't work after one lesson, I can find someone else. If not, that's perfectly alright."

She looked at him for a long moment. Perry shrugged and scratched at his stomach absently. He has taught people how to swim before. His sister Catherine, for one, was particularly hard to teach since she couldn't hear, but he managed. Then his friend William, who succeeded in leaving one of his legs behind in Iraq, had to relearn how to swim properly. People seemed to believe that Perry was the person to go to when they needed to learn how to swim. Really, it didn't bother him when it came down to it.

Although, it was a little weird that a girl he had met just that day trusted him enough to ask him to teach her how to swim. He did jump in after her when she fell in earlier, so he guessed that gave to some of the trusting feelings she had.

"Alright." He straightened up and looked at her. "Ten bucks per lesson, if you're paying."

[JANE EYRE]

"Alright. Ten bucks per lesson, if you're paying."

Jane smiled and nodded her head. "Ten dollars per lesson." She gave a little wave of her hand. "I'll be off then. I left my contact information in the basket, in case you didn't like something in it. Let me know when it works best for you and I'll be there." Jane gave a little nod of her head again.

"It was a pleasure." With a parting smile, Jane turned and hurried down the dock back to real, solid ground. She would have to do a little research before she could feel safe enough even attempting to swim.

Not to mention Jane was going to embark on a quest to find sunscreen that would actually protect her skin. Her fair complexion didn't tan. It would just burn to a bright red, peel, and go back to white.

And that, she would worry about when it happened. No use getting upset before it even happens.