Author: SerenaJ
Title: Rachael and JD
Part: Chapter 12
Universe: Reedville and The Davidson Fishery
Summary: JD takes Rachael fishing
Keywords: nosex

Chapter 12: Home Front

It was pitch black when the phone rang.  JD answered it, still
half-asleep.

“Your turn, Jul.” said a female voice.

“Come again?”

She laughed, “Good morning, Jul, this is Candice.  Nick called in
this morning and it’s your turn to fill in.”

JD was silent, trying to jumpstart his brain.  It had been almost
a year since he was in town and got a call to serve as a deckhand
but he had done the job often enough since junior high and knew
it well enough.

“Jul?”

“Yeah, I’m up.” He lied. “Give me an hour.  I’ll be in.”

“Alrighty, then.  See you at the dock house.”

He hung up the phone and sighed deeply.  It must be around 4:30,
he thought, which meant he probably had less than an hour to get
aboard and settled before they left the dock at six.  He was
going to have to get moving.

Rachael snuggled against him making the need to move even more
regrettable, “Who was that?” she mumbled.

“Candice.”

“Who?”

“Marcus’ Candice.  I’ve got crew duty today.”

She rubbed her face against his chest, “Oh,” she yawned and
pulled a bit closer, “When?”

“Now.” He kissed her forehead, knowing that if he did not get up
soon, he was going to be late, “Gotta get movin’, honey.”

He got out of bed regretfully and stretched as he wandered into
the closet.  He closed the door before turning on the light and
found a pair of work pants and a shirt and sweater that should be
about the right weight for this time of year on the water.  By
the time he stepped out again, Rachael was awake and waiting.

“I don’t mean to be slow, but where did you say you were going?

He kissed her lightly, “The dock.  I got called for crew duty
today.”

“Why you?”

“It’s my turn.” He smiled at her looked of confusion as he
dressed, “Every McElroy works crew.  Always has.  If one of the
hired hands calls in, a family member fills in for the day. 
Today’s my turn.”

“Oh, so you guys all pitch in.”

“Everybody.  Momma used to be damn fine captain.”

“Oh.” Rachael frowned.

JD headed down to the bathroom and quickly went through his
morning routine.  When he returned, Rachael was dressing.

“Oh, now, honey, you don’t have to get up now.  Go on back to
bed.”

She ignored him and continued dressing, “What time do we need to
be at the dock?”

“‘We’ don’t need to be anywhar.  I, on th’othuh han’ have to be
on deck by 5:30.”

She held up a sweater, “Will this be good?”

“For what?”

“For a day crewing a boat.”

“Willow, go back to bed.”

“She looked at him, “You said ‘every McElroy’, JD.  That means me
too.”

“Willow,” he took her by the arms, “What do you know ‘bout
fishin’?”

“Not much.”

“Uh huh.  You evah even been on a boat before?”

“Well, no, not like this.”

“It’s gonna be a long, hard day, sweating ova a whole lotta fish.
 It’s not gonna be fun or easy by any means.  Especially seein’
as you ain’t done it before.”

“So, I’ll learn.  It’ll be easier next time.” She lifted her chin
a little, “I can do hard work, JD, I’m not some little princess.”

He smiled; Claudia had whined all day the one time that JD had
coaxed her on to the boat.  Now Rachael was all but begging to go
with him.  He kissed her chin, “I know you can.”  He looked at
the sweater she was still holding, “This is good but you’ll
likely be more comfortable if you have a long sleeve shirt ta go
under it.”

She smiled and nearly skipped happily to find a shirt and JD took
the time to pack a bag with extra clothes and a few other things
for the both of them.  It took him a few minutes search but he
finally found his buck knife and the rest of his kit.  He ran his
thumb over the worn initials on the case – MDM – it had been a
gift from Marcus when JD worked his first summer as full-time
crew.

They made it to the dock house with time to spare and spent a few
minutes chatting in line with the rest of the crews as Candice
handed out ship assignments.  She paused when Rachael said she
wanted to be assigned with JD.

“Your first time ever?  On a commercial boat?” she seemed
appalled, “Oh, no.  Jul maybe evil, but I’m not.”  She reassigned
them both to one of the charters and handed them nametags.  When
JD saw the name he groaned, “Candice, honey, now come on. Not the
Midday Sun.”  There were a few snickers behind them and JD shot
the group a look.  Most people knew it was Edward’s boat.

Rachael hit his shoulder “Stop fussing.  Candice does this
everyday.  If she says this is the best boat, deal with it.”

He looked at her, more than a little annoyed, “Who’s side you on,
anyhow?”

She bit her lip and looked at him in earnest. “JD, please?” As if
he could really have resisted that look.

“I swear, woman, you gonna be the death of me.”

She smiled broadly, “Thank you JD.” She leaned down and
whispered, “I’ll make it up to you tonight.  Promise.”

He stole a kiss, “Yeah,” he affirmed, “you will.”

JD shouldered his bag and tried to frown at Candice – which
failed, “Thanks, Candice.  See you later.”

“Bye Jul.  Bye Rae.” She waved them off and started the next
assignment.

As they headed down the dock, JD got his first real breath of the
morning sea and smiled.  It was tempting to sign on full time. 
Let Charles and Marcus fight with paperwork and the legislators,
he could handle tourists and bait.  He glanced over the six boats
that made up the Davidson Fishery fleet.  Three had been in
service, at least in name, since the 1800’s.  The other three had
been his gift to the family when it became apparent that the
charter side of the business needed expansion.  He occasionally
threatened to sell his personal stake, but it was pure bluff.  In
his will, he split the shares evenly between his sons and his
grandchildren.  He would no more sell out than he would sell his
right arm.  He greeted the familiar faces along the dock.  Some
of the crewmembers had worked for them for as long as JD had.

“Hey, what’s with ‘Jul’ and ‘Rae’?” She finally asked.

He shrugged, “Don’t know.  We’ve just always done it that way. 
Mark, Jul, Ed.  Chuck – oh he hates that, you know.”

“One syllable, eh?  I guess that’s easier to say when some one
goes in.”

“Now, don’t even joke about that, Willow.  ‘Specially around
Momma and Marcus.  You find yo’self out in the cold in uh hurry.”
 He put an arm around her.  “We take water safety right seriously
round here.”  He stopped walking and looked at her, “You don’t
know about Augustus, do you?”

“No.” she must have caught the timber of his voice because her
smile faded and she faced him gravely.

“Augustus was my eldest brother.  Died in, oh, I guess about
1947.  I was all of two at the time but he and Marcus were bein’
boys one night…”

“Night?”

“Yep.  Weren’t supposed ta be out the house in the first place
and damn sure weren’t supposed to be out here.  Anyway, they was
fooling around an’ fell in.  It was morning fo’ anyone knew they
was missing.” He shrugged, “Marcus survived, Augustus passed. 
Momma wouldn’t let me on a boat without her til I was ten.  Good
reason ta worry, I guess.”

“Oh, god.  I’m so sorry.”

“Now, don’t get all upset.  That was damn near sixty years ago. 
Just don’t go teasing ‘bout folks fallin’ in ‘round the family.”

“Oh, no.” she shook her head, “Of course not.”

He put his arm around her again and started walking again, “We’d
best shake a leg.  That’s us at the end an’ we don’t want ta be
late on yo’ first day, now do we.”  They walked on and as they
neared the boat, JD saw Edward lean over the rail and wave them
in.

“Who’s that?”

“That, it occurs to me, is the other use fo’ the one syllable
name, ship board.  Helps keep the rank-n-file in line.” He
swatted her butt, “Come on; Cap’n’s waitin’.”

Edward was waiting as they stepped aboard, “Mornin’ Jul, Mornin’
Miss Rachael.”

“Mornin’ Cap’n.”  It always struck JD with a mixture of pride and
annoyance that Edward could slip so easily and confidently
between the roles of Father/Son and Captain/Crew.  It was reason
he usually served aboard one of the commercial ships.  However,
it never really took long to adjust to taking orders shipboard
from his son and JD never let his personal feelings get in the
way of Edward running a tight ship, “but she’s crew, not a
passenger today.”

“Really?” Edward grinned then looked thoughtful, “How often you
done this, Miss Rachael?”

She lifted her chin indignantly again and JD stifled a grin of
him own, “I haven’t actually.  But I’ll do whatever need to be
done.”

“Alright.” Ed nodded sharply, “We cast off soon as I call in. 
Jul, go on up an’ give Mike a hand with the ropes.  Rae, galley’s
below.  We’ve got four crew and six passengers soon as we get to
Reedville.  Get breakfast started.”  He turned toward the bridge.

Rachael nearly burst, “Now wait just a god damned minute!”

JD had a hard time not chuckling as he kissed Rachael on the
cheek, “I ain’t about ta argue with the Cap’n on his own deck. 
But if-n you ain’t sailing with us today, I should be home in
time fo’ dinner.” He outlined a salute to Ed and practically fled
to the bow of the ship.

Twenty minutes later, Mike and JD were catching up on old times
and cutting squid into small, hook-sized pieces when Ed appeared,
shaking his head.  JD looked at him sideways, “She swear at ya in
Spanish?”

“No.” if his expression was any indication that was the only
thing she did not do.

JD went back to cutting bait, “Then relax, boy, she ain’t really
mad.”

“Huh.” Ed shrugged, “All the same, Jul, I’d stay out of the
galley, if-n I was you.  Mike, when you finish this, show Rae the
life jackets and get her up to speed. She can get the passengers
suited up.  Jul, you still remember the safety speech?”

“In my sleep, boy.” He caught himself, “Sorry.  In my sleep,
Cap’n.”

Ed shrugged it off and started to leave then paused, “Oh, yeah,
an’ Charles told me ya’ll worse than a pair uh teenagers so, uh,
no funny business, hear?”

JD felt his jaw drop and Mike laughed uproariously.  He snapped
his mouth shut and went back to cutting bait.  The last thing he
wanted was his sons discussing his sex life.  Of course, he had
to admit that it was nice having a sex life worth discussing. 
That thought kept him smiling until they docked in Reedville at
which point he was too busy to think of much.

The passengers – a group of city guys on vacation away from their
wives – wanted to do some offshore fishing so Mike and JD hauled
out the heavy-duty rods.  When they got back on deck, JD passed
Rachael and was surprised to see her blushing furiously.

“What’s up, Willow?”

She blushed even deeper, “If I told you that you don’t really
want to know, would you let it go?”

He kissed her cheek, “Suit yo’self.” He went aft to start setting
up the equipment.  Five of the passengers were laughing; the
sixth had a noticeable red handprint on his cheek.  JD chuckled
as he passed the man, “I see you’ve met mah wife.” He continued
working with the rods and clamps – Rae was going to handle
herself just fine for the day.

Just before they got underway, all hands wrapped in bright orange
vests, JD began the standard greeting and safety speech.  “Good
mornin’ Gentlemen and welcome aboard Davidson’s Midday Sun. 
Cap’n Ed McElroy is getting’ us underway an’ we gonna cruise on
out to the Chesapeake Bay, see if we can’t find a bass or two for
ya.  My name is Jul, the fella behind you is Mike and the young
lady that helped ya’ll into yo’ life vests is my wife, Rae.”  He
was enjoying saying far too much, “Now before we get too far from
shore, let’s talk a bit ‘bout safety.” He covered that and some
history about the company, the boat and the area.

By the time he finished, the men were at ease and Rae and Mike
had begun serving breakfast.  Not fancy but enough eggs, bacon,
toast and coffee to fill up everyone.

“Good job.”  JD overheard Ed tell her, “Mike will clean up.  Jul,
show her how to bait and cast off.”

Seated the bow, JD showed her how to handle the hook safely and
showed her the scars on both sides of his hand where he imbedded
himself as a teen. “Marcus pulled it through fo’ me ‘cause you
can’t back it out.  Remember that less’on you want a whole lotta
pain.”  Then he taught her how to tie hooks and lures securely
and how to throw the line without hooking the person behind you.
She learned quickly – in part because every time she did
something right, he kissed her.  Ed found them a half an hour
later doing more kissing than casting and separated them for the
rest of the day.

The weather was clear and the catching was good.  By the time Ed
started the engine and headed back to Reedville, there was a
cooler full of blue and bass and a deck full of happy passengers.
 JD finished stowing the last of the equipment and joined Ed in
the wheelhouse.

“So whatcha think of her?”

Ed glanced at him, “As my Daddy’s future wife or as a member uh
my crew?”

“Both.”

“Well as a crew member, she’s got a lot to learn and needs more
discipline, but” he smiled at his father, “I’ve had worse.  As
your wife, I think you bit off more-n you can chew but I ain’t
never seen you this happy.”

“I ain’t never been this happy.”

Ed nodded, “Yeah, figured.  That’s why me an’ Charles talked to
Wilton.”

“’Bout what?”

“We bought him out, Daddy.  He got enough money out uh the deal
ta do what he please so long as he don’t evah come within a
hunnard miles uh you an’ her.”

JD felt his knees give out and dropped heavily on the first mate
chair.  Charles had been working on a contract he would not
discuss.  100 miles.  He suspected that was not just a phrase
coming from the two of them.

“He’s a bad seed, Dad.”  Ed went on, “Happens.  Whole family
better off without him.”

“He’s your brother.” JD whispered, “He’s my son.”

“I near caught him.”

JD looked at him slowly, not understanding the phrase.

“Joan an’ Jean.  They was eight.  Wilton says he gonna take ‘em
to school.  They was dressed an’ they swear he nevah touched ‘em
but I still can’t think of a reason in the world he shoulda been
in the bathroom with ‘em at seven in the mornin’.  April an’ me,
we banned him from the house an’ he ain’t allowed on school
property either.  This ain’t just fo’ you, Daddy.”

JD hung his head.  He failed the boy.  Somewhere along the line,
he failed and Wilton was paying for it.  Ed put his hand on his
father’s shoulder.

“Dad, he jumped at the deal.  He don’t care if-n he never sees us
again.  He took the money an’ ran.  Hell, I don’t know if he
bothered ta say goodbye ta Momma.  I know he’s my brother, but
that one….  He ain’t right.”

They stayed like that for a while until a light began flashing.

Ed swore and grabbed the wheel.  After he satisfied himself that
they were not off course, he looked at his father, “We be in
Reedville ‘bout uh-nother half hour.  Show Rae how ta tie us up.”

“Yeah.” JD sighed “Edward…”

“I need you Jul.  We’ll talk with Charles when we get back ta
port.”

JD took a deep breath and counted to ten before releasing slowly.
 “Yeah, Cap’t.  I’ll get’er up ta speed.”

* * * * * *

Thank you for reading the whole thing. More of my work can be
found at http://www1.asstr.org/files/Authors/SerenaJ/