Chapter 29

Alex was still a little quiet that afternoon, but she was looking a lot more relaxed than she had all morning, when she had been a little nervy and distractable in much the way she had been when she'd first started work at the department. I couldn't really blame her; things at the lab had gone through a pretty big shake-up and as a newcomer she probably felt it the worst. It was good to see after a little joking and reassurance that she seemed to get over it, at least somewhat.

Anyway, as the wind picked up after lunch and grew a little gusty, we had other worries. Generally speaking we had had pretty good luck on the water so far - or at least on the boat we usually hired. Today, though, for some reason, our usual dinghy, the Aurora, had been booked out, and the replacement was... a little temperamental.

I wasn't too nervous, but it did take more attention than normal to keep her going where we wanted, and I could tell that Alex wasn't as comfortable as she had been in our previous trips. I tried to shoot her a reassuring grin every time I saw her knuckles go white on the lines, and a few times I was rewarded with a small but genuine smile back. It was a nice sight.

It wasn't until we were nearly back into harbour, though, that anything happened. As we had moored back at the bhoy and were disembarking to the little dubber dinghy we'd left waiting for us, a sudden gust sent the wayfarer pitching sideways a just as Alex was stepping off. Still on the boat, I was watching and managed to dart forward, my arm shooting out to circle her waist as my free hand grabbed at the nearest anchor point, which was the boom - it swung round and I found myself dipping down but I managed to support her weight against me.

Alex herself gasped, one of her legs buckling underneath her as she stumbled back onto the boat. "Careful," I said stupidly, my heart hammering in my ears as I pulled her closer, her back against my front. "Are you okay?"

"I... think so." She found the railing with one hand, the other coming to grip my wrist for support where my arm wrapped around her as if to make sure I wouldn't let go, and I felt her pull in a deep breath, and then the slight vibration of that laugh that bubbles up with the relief of a narrow escape. "Thought I was going in there," she said.

"Not exactly the time of year you want to be going for a dip," I murmured.

"Nope... let's... give that another go, shall we?" I could hear the smile in Alex's voice even with her back still to me, and I thought everything must be fine, but as I released my hand and she moved to try again she swore, this time grabbing successfully for the railing to either side of her as her left ankle refused to support her. "Shit - I think I've twisted it," she muttered, now turning and pulling herself back into the wayfarer to sit down, letting go of the rail with one hand to examine the damage.

"Here, let me," I offered, kneeling beside her. Before she could protest I had started unlacing her shoe, carefully loosening it and sliding it off her foot so that I could then peel back her sock. Sure enough, her slender ankle was already starting to swell alarmingly; I flinched just looking at it. "Ouch. I'd say you're looking at several day's bed rest and an ice pack, stat."

Alex frowned down at the offending limb. "I'm sure it'll be fine..." she said, reaching to prod it - and wincing. "It's really not that sore," she lied.

"Mmhmm. I'm sure. C'mon, let's get you back to the car - carefully - and home."

 

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