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Jake had been working as a lifeguard at Town of Brooksville beaches for seven summers and this was his second as senior guard. The Pit (technically Sandspit Beach, but none of the guards ever called it that) was pretty much considered the worst of the assignments since it was such a small beach. Sure, it had barely enough sand for a single tower, let alone a lifeguard shack, and was located on the edge of the island half hidden behind the jetty that the ferry used to take rich tourists to the expensive private beaches across the bay, but Jake liked it. Working here was nothing like the chaos at the other locations since there was no jockeying for positions or trying to curry favor for the best hours because there was no one to compete with and there was no arguing over tower assignments since they only had the one so all they needed was a simple rotation to staff it. There was only four of them assigned to the Pit permanently with an occasional fifth floater they could request from Cedar or Nor'west if the crowds were busy enough to need another set of eyes or someone was out sick.Wednesday was always a pretty lowkey day and since there'd been a drizzle on and off it was even emptier than usual. With only eight people in the water - a mom and her two kids who were semi-regulars and were pretty comfortable in the water, four teenagers who'd biked over and were amusing themselves by the shoreline and a guy just past the flags doing laps - it was just Jake in the tower for the foreseeable future. Ravi was technically his backup but it was only three weeks into the season and he was a beach rook since he, like all lifeguards, had spent his first year at the town's pool. The LT, Maya, was chilling on the sand next to him with her town suit covered by a big t-shirt so it wouldn't appear like she was on duty too and thus wasting Precious Town Dollars. It looked like they had a deck of cards, so either they were about to start a game of spit or Maya was trying to convince the rook they should do a round of pushup wars. At the bigger beaches with larger staffs they'd have more choices of games to play - Jake always liked a game of Egyptian rat screw himself - but with only the two of them their options were pretty limited. Generally Jake didn't mind the extra exercise from doing a deck of pushups wars, it helped stay in shape for the annual testing, but for being by all appearances a wiry slip of a woman, Maya was insanely good at pushups. He never won against her.After checking the water (the lap swimmer was chugging along, the mom and kids were fine and the teens were now out and sitting on the sand right above the waterline) Jake quickly scanned the beach (empty other than Maya and Ravi, the teens, and the mom's big purple blanket with the family's stuff spread out on it, their shoes anchoring each corner) and the road leading up to the parking lot (not only was it a good idea to keep an eye on incoming traffic so they would be ready to get the tower properly staffed if there was a sudden influx of swimmers, but their captain drove a bright orange punch bug and a extra few minutes of warning before his arrival was always nice) before looking back at Maya and Ravi. Yep, pushups. And, not surprisingly, she seemed to be winning. The ferry's horn blasted twice, signaling it was about to leave its berth and head across the bay, putting Jake on alert since there was always a fairly decent wave in its wake. The teenagers startled at the noise and then laughed and razzed each other for their reactions while the mom took the opportunity to shoo her kids out of the water and back to their blanket. Once they were out, the only one still in the water was the lap swimmer, who didn't even seem to have noticed the horn, but Jake didn't expect it to be a problem for him; the guy had good form and obviously had some competitive training in his day, a little choppiness shouldn't bother him. His eyes raked over the beach. The teens were on their bikes, about to leave. The mom was slathering a new layer of sunblock on her kids and was far enough away from the water's edge that the higher wave wouldn't be an issue. Maya was laughing at Ravi's weak pushups. Nothing unexpected. There were no new cars in the parking lot and no vehicles were approaching. No one was at the shoreline. No one inside the flags. The ferry rumbled out past the jetty. The lap swimmer was on the opposite side of their guarded area, just past the far right flag. The wave came, rippling past the left flag and HOLY SHIT WHERE DID THAT SWIMMER COME FROM?Because someone was out there, even though Jake could have sworn there hadn't been a minute before, and they had the distinctive tilted back head with open mouth and stretched out, still arms of a drowning victim. Jake threw his sunglasses on the bench as he leapt to his feet, whistle in his mouth, and blew the code for a rescue as he jumped off the tower. TWEEEEEEEEET. He began running the second he was off the sand pile and grabbed the lifebuoy as he flew past it, his eyes never leaving the drowning swimmer. He could hear the rook scrabbling to take his place to keep the tower manned even as he shucked his whistle and hat and slung the buoy's strap over his shoulder and entered the water with the high kneed run that was the quickest way to get to where the water deep enough to dive into and then he began to swim. Rescues always seemed to take forever, but in less than a minute he'd reached the victim and, as taught, halted a little over an arm's length away. "It's okay," he shouted as he maneuvered the buoy between them and began the required speech, "I'm a lifeguard and I'm here to help you. You're going to be fine. I'm going to approach you with this buoy. If you need help just grab hold of it and I can pull you to shore."Now that his ass was covered, legally speaking, he offered the buoy but the man surged past it to try to grab hold of him. Jake did a weave and duck, but despite the guy's panic he was fast and managed to grab him. It wasn't an unexpected move; it was pretty much a given that a drowning victim was going to panic and try to grab onto the biggest, solidest thing that they could get their hands on and either hold on tight or use it to try to climb out of the water. Logically, it made no sense since that thing was usually the lifeguard who'd come to help them and all they were doing was delaying or outright preventing them from being able to do that, but that kind of clear thinking was usually beyond them in the heat of the moment.Normally Jake would do a complete break so he could dart out of reach and try approaching again but this guy was wrapped around him tight and was strong so instead Jake took a deep breath and did a controlled dive, sending the two of them under the water which startled the guy into loosening his hold somewhat. Then he reached down to break the grip the guy's legs had around his own and kicked his lower half away as he took the bottom of the guy's two arms and did a partial break, getting out of the immediate hold and twisting it into a controlled carry. Immediately, he brought the two of them back to the surface. "It's okay, I've got you. I'm going to take you to the shore now," he explained as soon as he could and, keeping the carry firm, began swimming them in. "Try to relax, I've got you. You're fine. Everything's going to be fine."The guy was still stiff and a little flaily, taking big, gulping breaths, but by the time they were where they could stand he seemed pretty much under control. Maya, now in official town gear, had waded in a few feet but stayed out of the way, ready to help if needed but letting Jake finish the rescue on his own. With a little prodding Jake managed to get the guy up and walking out of the water under his own power, although Jake kept one hand on his elbow and the other along the small of his back, just in case."Sorry, I did mean to freak out like that," the guy said a little breathlessly as Jake helped him settle on a patch of sand. "I don't know what happened. That wave came out of nowhere and then I couldn't—" the guy looked up at him then and broke off, swallowing heavily, before seeming to try to get himself under control."It's okay, really. How you doing, do you need some water?" They didn't have much crammed in the tiny first aid supply/equipment shed (aka the Shitty Shed of Craptitude) but there were a few bottles of water they could offer in situations like this. Jake kneeled down in front of the guy and did a quick visual assessment. Good coloring, not noticeably pale or sallow under the tan. Breathing easily with no wheezing or coughing. Eyes a bit watery but bright. Experience said he was probably fine, but he wasn't a medical professional or anything. As per protocol they'd suggest he go and get himself checked out at the urgent care clinic up by the highway or follow up with his doctor within the next few days just to be on the safe side."No, no. I'm good. Thanks. I mean, thank you for everything," he said, waving vaguely back to where he'd floundered in the water."Just doing my job." Clapping the guy on the shoulder he gestured to Maya who was hovering over to the side with the Clipboard of Doom. "I'm going to leave you in the lieutenant's capable hands so I can get back on duty," he explained, getting to his feet. "Take it easy."The guy looked like he was going to protest for a second before nodding and turning toward Maya. Jake took that opportunity to return to the tower, scooping up his hat and whistle on the way. He set the buoy back where it lived, taking a moment to prep it for the next rescue (hopefully there wouldn't be one, but just in case), and then climbed up the tower. Ravi scooted over and, eyes never leaving the water, held out Jake's sunglasses. "He okay?""Thanks. Yeah, seems like it anyway. I think the ferry wave just surprised him." Other than the lap swimmer, who was still going strong, the water was empty. The mom and her kids were having their lunch and the teens were on their bikes, halfway down the road. "You okay?" he asked. It hadn't been much of a rescue, but it was the first one this summer and he doubted if Ravi'd been involved in any at the pool the previous year. For all the hubbub and craziness of Nor'west, rescues there were pretty rare and if they happened they were for something along the lines of a kid falling over in the wading pool or something basic like that. Ravi let out a shaky breath. "Why wouldn't I be?"Knowing the tension and adrenaline of watching rescues first hand, Jake didn't comment further on it. "You kept the water under watch so I could focus on my rescue," he said instead, bumping Ravi's shoulder with his own. "You did good.""Thanks.""Now get out of here and back to your post. I got the water."Jake shifted back to the center of the tower once Ravi jumped off. Maya was still talking to the rescue, the mom was on her blanket reading a book while her two kids built sandcastles a few feet away, and the lap swimmer had come inside the flags and was cooling off doing a bit of a leisurely elementary backstroke combined with the occasional back crawl arm movement. As he took a quick sip from his canteen, Jake found his eyes drawn to the guy he'd rescued. He hadn't really registered it until he'd gotten him to the beach, but the guy was fucking gorgeous. Tanned, olive skin, lithe but strong, and only an inch or two shorter than Jake's own 6'3". The guy's eyes were this blue green color that he couldn't remember seeing before; it was almost the same as the ocean but… not. Also, the guy's hair was amazing. For simplicity's sake Jake kept his own hair in a short crew cut while guarding but this guy had his a little longer, and it fell in golden brown waves that Jake itched to run his fingers though.Gah. Focus.The lap swimmer exited the water, offering Jake a distracted wave as he headed to his car. The mom was dozing. The younger of the kids was doing her best to dig to China - and Jake made a mental note to himself to remember to check to see if they'd need to fill it in later - while the older kept an eye on her while sneaking snacks out of their cooler. Ravi was playing pyramid solitaire. A car was heading their way, it looked like the old clunker that Betts drove which got Jake sitting up a little straighter. Betts was a retired English teacher who had been coming to swim at the Pit since before the ferry channel had been dug and it was still a prime beach destination. She loved baking if it wasn't too hot out and often brought some of "the fruits of her labor," as she called it, for the guards. The lap swimmer had toweled off and was slipping on a pair of Birkenstocks, looking like he was heading on his way. The kids were bugging their mom and Jake could overhear enough to tell they were asking if thirty minutes had passed yet so they could go back into the water. The rescue had gone to the edge of the beach and was poking about the rocks that made up the jetty. Maya and the Clipboard of Doom were headed his way; as the lifeguard who made the rescue he'd have to put his John Hancock on the form so she could file it later. "Budge over," she called as she approached the tower. Maya may have been a guard forever and knew the job backwards and forwards as well as every trick in the book, but she hated having to perch at the top slat of the ladder before being able to slide onto the bench. To be fair, it was a seriously thin slat and really annoying to have to balance on, but he still teased her a little about it because he was tall enough he could just wait on the second slat which was wider and more comfortable."Aye, aye, mon capitaine," he joked. As a result she thwacked him with the clipboard 'accidentally' as she sat down which, since he kind of deserved it, he didn't comment on. "It's only ten minutes until Ravi would spell you anyway, but I'm going to take the tower so you can do a quick write up. When you're done with it grab your lunch. Fair warning, if Betts has brought us something and you eat all of it, I'll make you do run and carries until you puke." Knowing it wasn't an idle threat he just took the clipboard from her, gathered his stuff and jumped down.It only took a few minutes to check the appropriate boxes (yes, he'd identified himself as a lifeguard; yes, he'd asked if his assistance was needed; no, he hadn't sustained any injury himself during the rescue; yes, the victim had seemed sober and of sound mind and body; etcetera, etcetera), note that the guy hadn’t given his name (it wasn’t required and a lot of people chose not to give theirs, but Jake was still a little disappointed not to know what it was), and initialed the parts that needed initialing before signing the damn thing and hanging the clipboard back on its hook and slipping the paperwork into the accordion file glued to the inside wall of the Shitty Shed of Craptitude for Maya to deal with later."Jake!" Betts walked up as he was relocking the shed, a towel-covered basket in her hands. "What's your opinion on rhubarb?""I don’t think I have one?""Well, that's about to change, hopefully for the better." She shoved the basket at him. "Rhubarb crumble muffins. Let me know what you think.""Wow, they smell amazing, thanks, Betts." "Enjoy!" Betts slapped him playfully on the arm and headed towards the water. "Now I'm going to work off the ones I ate."Upon peeking into the basket Jake discovered there were eight muffins; he figured Betts hadn't known if there would be three or four of them on the schedule today. They were kind of small though and he briefly considered eating two before Maya or Ravi noticed and then dividing the remaining six between the three of them equally but common sense prevailed and he carried the whole basket to the cordoned area instead."Muffins!" he announced happily, only to get a look from Maya. "I didn't eat any, I swear!" He was ninety percent sure she knew he'd thought about it though."Where's your coverup, Jake?" "It may be just a shitty shed and not an official shack, but we're still supposed to be in town gear when using it," he countered, correctly. He'd been a guard long enough, he knew the rules. "And besides, I figured you'd want these right away. If I detoured long enough to change they might have cooled off.""Ooh, they're still warm? Gimme." Jake snagged a muffin for himself and passed the basket over before hightailing it to his car so he could get his coverup. There was no point in pressing his luck and he didn't need Maya giving him disapproving looks the rest of the day or, even worse, a write up.In-between bites of the muffin, which, like everything Betts made, was delicious, Jake pulled on on a pair of boardshorts and an old t-shirt. He also grabbed a gatorade from his stash and slipped into the passenger seat to unlock the glove compartment to check his phone. Technically, now that he was off duty for the next two hours he could take it onto the beach, but, off duty or not, there was always the chance of getting roped into a rescue and he didn't want to risk dropping the phone and having it either wrecked by the water or the sand or being stolen. It was just easier to get in the habit of only looking at it when safely in your car or the shack (if, unlike the Pit, your beach had one). After eating and replying to a few texts he locked his phone back up and carried his stuff over next to the backup position. "Did you leave any for the rook?" he teased Maya, who had noticeable muffin crumbs down the top of her suit and another muffin in her hand. Poor Ravi, there was no food allowed on the tower so he'd have to wait until the end of his shift to try one, if there were any left.Maya scoffed at him, but her noticeable guilty demeanor gave her away. He wasn't certain, but it looked like she might have eaten two already. "It sure was nice of Betts to bring enough for us each to have two, wasn't it?" he said, just loudly enough Ravi would be sure to hear.A sly grin to her face, Maya passed him the basket. "Betts is truly a wonder."Checking out the area as he spread out his towel, Jake noticed the beach was empty other than the two of them and that the mom and the kids were back in the water and Betts was doing the beginning of her water aerobics routine. Huh, the rescue from earlier was gone. He could have sworn he didn't see him leave though."You see what happened to that guy, the one I brought in?"Eyes searching the beach, Maya shook her head. "Nope. That's weird. He didn't go past me."Definitely weird. Jake trusted Ravi enough to know that the guy hadn't gone back into the water and headed past the flags into the boating lanes. It was mostly just canoes and the like, but there was the occasional sailboat or speedboat so all the guards always kept an eye out for swimmers who were getting too far out and Jake would have heard the whistles of Ravi trying to warn anyone who tried that. Plopping down, Jake stretched out and thumbed open the paperback he'd brought with him today."Pushup war?" Maya asked hopefully, fanning the cards and waving them at him enticingly."Nope. Muffins and pushups do not mix.""Spoilsport," Maya grumbled, but left him alone.Before turning to his book, he scanned the area one last time for the rescue, even though he knew it was stupid. The beach wasn't that big, it wasn't like he could have missed spotting him. Weird.Oh well.The next several weeks were pretty boring, the weather cleared up enough to have the typical early summer weekend crowds (which were nothing in comparison with even the light days at most of the other of the town's beaches and pools so Jake couldn't complain) so they switched to a four man rotation with the four Pit guards (Jake, Maya, Ravi, and Angela) and a floater on standby as needed. Other than the typical interactions - sorry, no water wings allowed; no glass on the beach; swim lessons were available at the Brooksville Northwest Pool; stop throwing sand; no climbing the jetty rocks - there wasn’t much to do while on duty. Iz (technically Captain Roger Izaraldi, but no one ever called him that) dropped by for several ‘surprise’ inspections and, as always, was a bit put out that they were always ready for him. It just never seemed to occur to him that they could literally see him coming a mile away and always had plenty of warning as a result. They had nearly a full week of rain toward the middle of June, which was downright awful. If it’d been thunderstorms it would have been fine since they were required to clear the water for thirty minutes after every thunderclap, but just rain? Even if it was a freezing torrential downpour, without thunder or lightning swimmers were allowed in the water if they wanted to be. The stand did have an umbrella that, in theory, would keep the guard on duty mostly dry, but when the wind was too strong they couldn't risk opening it since there was the chance it could either be blown into a position that might block their line of sight or a big enough gust might pull it out of its holder and into the lifeguard (or worse, and what the town probably cared more about, into a beachgoer) injuring them. So in weather like this all they could do was cover themselves with towels, their town windbreaker and hat, and spend every minute hoping like hell the idiots would get out of the water.Said idiots were being extremely idiotic, although, given they were probably preteens, that kind of went without saying, and were standing where the water was about up to their waists, having a splash fight. If there was anyone else in the water Jake would be able to order them to stop. Technically he could anyway, but it would be a kind of dickish thing to do since they weren't actually bothering anyone. Besides, the dad/gullible adult who'd driven the kids over (but had smartly stayed in their car) was looking more and more bored and kept checking his watch, so Jake figured their playtime would be over soon.Ang was his backup, looking as miserable as he felt, although at least she could have multiple layers on and appeared to be wearing every item of town clothing she owned. Ravi, the lucky dog that he was, was in his car, huddled under a blanket. The parking lot was empty other than the three guards' cars and that parent's and there was no one on the road either so if the kids took off soon Jake would be able to get in his car and dry off and hopefully warm up. They'd have to officially stay on duty until the beach closed at 6 and would have to venture out then to break down the tower and put everything away, but the five hour window of not getting soaked between now and then would be greatly appreciated.The ferry wasn't running due to the weather and Jake hadn't spotted a single boat of any sort all day because some people, unlike these preteens, had a lick of sense. They couldn't take the radio out in the rain so it was just him and his thoughts and the idiot kids for the long two hour shift. The water was only a little choppier than usual and visibility was decent which was why Jake's eyes kept drifting to a dark patch between the jetty and the left flag. It was probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.Five minutes before the end of his shift the kids' parent tooted their horn and the kids ran for their car, covering their heads with their hands for some reason. Maybe because getting rained on when on dry land was different than when in the bay somehow? Jake didn't know and didn't care. As soon as they were off the beach and in the car he could get down and go dry off and maybe warm up a bit. Since he was in charge of the beach today he really wasn't supposed to leave for anything longer than a bathroom break but Ravi was a caffeine addict and usually more than willing to make a coffee run if asked…Some sixth sense or noise or something had him searching the water. Shit! That dark spot was starting to look like, no it was definitely— TWEEEEEEEEET.Throwing the towel off, he jumped down; the hat, jacket, and whistle all coming off as he grabbed the lifebuoy and ran into the water. Behind him he could hear Ang climbing the tower and a car door slamming and bare feet running on pavement and then sand which was probably Ravi moving into backup position. Good job, rook!Thoughts swirled through his head as he headed toward the victim. Things like what the fuck was a swimmer doing out there on a day like this and how hadn't Jake seen him until now? And also, holy hell, the water was fucking cold. He stopped an arm's length or so away, tugged the buoy's rope to grab it and get it between them; then, practically by rote, began the rescue speech. "It's okay, I'm a lifeguard and I'm here to help you," he said before recognizing them. It was the ferry wave victim from earlier that summer. "Um, everything's going to be fine. I'm going to approach you with this buoy. If you need help just grab hold of it and I can pull you to shore."He'd barely finished speaking before the guy was practically jumping him and climbing him like a tree. Shit, he was strong. Working quickly since, despite getting what amounted to being felt up by a handsome guy, he was not only a professional, but also freezing his ass off, Jake broke the guy's hold and twisted it into a carry and started swimming them to shore as fast as he could. This time the guy relaxed against him which made it a lot easier to bring him in. When prompted, he didn't seem to have any trouble getting to his feet and walking to the beach either, but Jake kept a hand on the small of his back just in case. Ravi was waiting for them at the shoreline with the spare umbrella and the Clipboard of Doom. "Ang told me to get this from the shed for you?""Thanks, Ravi. The car with those kids gone?" Jake asked as he got close enough to pass over the buoy and snag the clipboard and umbrella."Yeah, they took off just before you hit the water.""Okay, you two set everything back up and then head to your cars. This," he gestured to the clipboard, "will take a while and I've got the beach.""Thanks, boss!""Ask Ang to keep an eye on the parking lot, though. She’s up next if anyone drives up.""Will do.""You're their boss?" the guy asked softly. Jake assessed him quickly, but other than looking a bit put out by the rain, he didn't look any worse for wear, thankfully."For today anyway, since the LT isn't here, yeah. I'm going to need to ask you some questions so I can complete this paperwork. Would that be okay?" "Like last time with that other guard, yes?""Yeah." Where the hell could they go that was dry enough to fill out the damn forms? The Pit lacked the first aid station of the big beaches and didn't even have a shack like the other small ones. The shed certainly wasn't big enough for one grown man to comfortably stand in, let alone two. The only shelter around would be in a car and the only cars in the lot belonged to the three guards. "Okay, this is going to sound a little weird, but would you be willing to come with me to my car to fill this out? It's that old hatchback. With the direction the wind's blowing if I popped the back we could sit there and stay pretty much out of the rain.""That would be fine. Thank you…" the guy trailed off as they headed for the car, Jake pausing to pick up the bits and bobs of his uniform and other stuff on the way, before adding a hesitant, "sir.""Oh. Sorry, Jake. My name's Jake.""Ah, yes. Thank you, Jake." He had a slight accent Jake couldn't place and the name came out more like Zhake. It sounded nice. "I am Mikal.""A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mikal." Jake unlocked the car and climbed in the back, waving Mikal in to join him. "Although, I have to say, you picked a bad day for a swim.""I don't know. I think I would consider today a good day after all," Mikal replied, grinning widely as he squeezed in next to him. Jake wasn't sure, but he kind of thought that Mikal was sitting a little closer than absolutely necessary. Although, since he couldn't say he really minded, he didn't mention it. Unfortunately, the paperwork didn't take all that long and once it was finished Mikal thanked Jake for saving him again, patting him on the arm as he did so. His hand lingered there while he excused himself with a quick, "I am sorry, but I must go," and then slipped out the back of the car and began walking through the parking lot towards the road.It was only after he left that Jake realized that Mikal had been barefoot and only wearing a bathing suit. He had nothing with him; no towel, no shoes, no obvious wallet or keys… where was he going and how was he going to get there? But, by the time he'd finished the paperwork and dashed to the shed to file it and lock it back up, Mikal was gone.The next week brought with it a heatwave that, when combined with all the schools being out and many of the summer programs not having started yet, resulted in there being at least two dozen people in the water practically from open to close which meant they were required to have two guards on the tower at all times. The beach was also crowded enough that they not only needed to have a third guard on backup, but also another walking the beach and just generally being visible and available to take care of the minor things that cropped up so the guards on duty wouldn't be distracted. They wound up not only had to call in two floaters, but Iz even pulled a shift here and there when he dropped by.To say it was unpleasant would be an understatement. The only good thing about it was that due to the extra shifts everyone was doing the morning runs became optional. Neither Maya nor Jake were remotely surprised when 'optional' in this case pretty much meant that no one did them. They still took Ravi out past the flags for the occasional skills practice since Brooksville required all first, second and third year guards take and pass the annual run-swim-carry held the weekend after July fourth, but his technique was fine and neither of them were worried he'd fail.Sometimes when out there with Ravi, or swimming laps, or when he took the board out to warn the boaters off from getting to close Jake got the strangest feeling of being watched, but he never could spot anyone with actual eyes on him. He asked around, but none of the other guards seemed to notice anything. Either he was just more observant than them or more paranoid, it was hard to decide which, but it was a little disconcerting.Thankfully, things calmed down, at least during the week, once they got closer to July. The weather broke and a lot of kids went off to camp or any of the various other programs held around the island. Jake even got to take two days off in a row, which was unexpected but appreciated. His first day back started off well enough since Betts came by for the first time in a while with a basket of the most amazing brownies Jake had ever tasted, but then started going downhill in a hurry. They had a set of parents who refused to remove their kid's water wings and, despite being shown the sign where it clearly stated they weren't allowed, argued loudly and continually that they'd been using them for years and never been told such a thing in the past and demanded an exemption be made. Maya had to threaten to call the cops to have them escorted off town property before they finally packed in and left. Right after that got settled something happened with ferry and it blasted its horn over and over for probably ten minutes straight. Jake had lost count somewhere after the thirtieth blast and was strongly considering asking Maya if he could drive over there to either see what was going on or kill someone if they were doing it on purpose when it finally stopped. Then, to cap off the day, a drunk started climbing the jetty and Jake had to literally climb up after him and haul him down, kicking and screaming the whole way. The rocks were sharp and Jake had been just in his town suit and a pair of flip-flops and he wound up getting a few scrapes on his thigh and calf and decent cut along his side. Which, considering they actually did wind up calling the cops since the guy was belligerent and had gotten violent, meant a lot of paperwork. Wonderful.The next day was the fourth and with the weather halfway decent it was another stupidly crowded day but after that things went back to normal and they all fell back into their usual routines. Ravi aced the run-swim-carry, coming in fourth overall, winning Iz some accolades (and probably some money via the bets the various captains and LTs absolutely didn't make) since technically he was Iz's rook even if Iz had nothing whatsoever to do with his training, which meant Iz would be in a great mood whenever he'd drop by for a while which made a nice change.Ang had a rescue while Jake was on backup, but it was less of someone drowning and more of a kid going past where they were comfortable because they wanted to impress their friends. Basically, Ang just helped them back to where it was a bit shallower and spoke to them for a few minutes about staying closer to shore. Maya didn't even have to get out the Clipboard of Doom for the incident.Jake had the tower for the closing shift a few days after that and with only twenty minutes until closing the water had already started to empty out. They had a floater today, Nia, who was on backup while Maya was packing everything away that wasn't completely necessary so as soon as it hit six o'clock Jake could clear the water and they could pack up the final few things (the rescue board, lifebuoy and the stand's umbrella) and they could go on their way. At times like this Jake always longed for some sort of mental powers or telepathy so he could wish people out of the water. If only sending people subliminal messages suggesting they get out and go home actually worked. The family sitting in the surf- don't you want dinner soon? The twenty somethings chatting where the water was waist high- give it up dude, she's just not interested. The woman doing laps looked like she was almost done at least. He took a quick look at his watch. 5:42; three more minutes until he could give the fifteen minute warning which would hopefully hurry people along. Something in the water caught his eye just then. A distressed swimmer just past the far left flag, where Jake was pretty sure there hadn't been anybody just a moment before but he tabled that thought and jumped down, blowing the code for a rescue as he took off. As he approached he recognized the victim. Mikal. What the hell, did this guy always pop up out of nowhere?Like always, he stopped about an arm's length away and held the buoy out. Because it was routine and he had to, he began with, "It's okay, I'm a lifeguard and I'm here to help you." He suspected it wouldn't matter, but he still added, "It's going to be fine. I'm going to approach you with this buoy, just grab hold of it and I'll pull you to shore."And, like always, Mikal ignored the buoy and grabbed onto Jake instead. Which, despite the adrenaline of the rescue, felt kind of good. Jake maintained his professionalism though, and brought his arms up quickly so they wouldn't be pinned. The movement forced the two of them under the water where Jake used Mikal's surprise to turn the rather intimate grip into a hold before kicking them back to the surface and slipping into a carry. Also like last time, Mikal relaxed against him as he brought them in and had no problem getting to his feet once the water was shallow enough for them to stand. "What happened? Are you hurt?" Mikal's fingers ghosted along the mostly healed gash on his side as they started walking out of the water. "I didn't I do this, did I?""No! No, you didn't. I cut it on the rocks a few days ago.""Good, I'm glad. I mean," he added quickly, "not that you got hurt, but that it wasn't me that hurt you."Jake grinned. "No worries, I knew what you meant."Mikal smiled back, then leaned over, his lips brushing against Jake's ear, and said, "Thank you for saving me again.""Just doing my job, but, you're welcome. Although, I feel I should say, we should probably stop meeting like this."Maya had stayed out of the water this time, but was waving the clipboard in their general direction, which Mikal noted by nodding and giving her a half wave. As he broke away from Jake to head towards her he said over his shoulder, "I don't know. I rather like it."Well, that was a sign of interest if Jake ever heard one. He thought about asking Mikal out for coffee or something after work, but by the time the shift was over, the paperwork finished, the beach broken down, and everything locked away Mikal was nowhere to be seen. Damn it.Summer was in full swing now and, as always, the boat traffic in the bay started getting heavier. Despite the clear markings, too often boats would veer close to the designated swimming area and one of the guards would have to take the board out to wave them back to deeper waters to ensure the safety of both the swimmers as well as the people in the boats. Any job involving the board usually fell to Jake if he wasn't on duty on the tower since, even though he'd never had any desire to learn to surf, he really enjoyed taking out the rescue board and paddling on it and loved the clip you could get going when you got in the groove. Late one Saturday afternoon Jake returned from a coffee run to find that Maya had pulled the binoculars out from the shed and was staring at something in the water. "What's up, LT?" he asked as he passed over her iced mocha."I dunno. Ravi thought he spotted something just past the jetty, but I can't tell if there's anything there or not." "Yeah, I can't tell either," he said after he'd taken the binoculars and gotten a look for himself. There was a slightly lighter splotch of water where she'd been pointing and the waves were breaking a bit strange, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was, if anything at all. Stuff washed off boats and into the bay all the time so there definitely could be something there, but it was hard to say for certain. "It might be a partially submerged cooler, maybe? Or a boogie board? Want me to take the board and check it out? It's probably nothing, but could be a boating hazard if it is a boogie board and the rope catches in an outboard motor.""You mind?"He gave his coffee a long look and sighed. "Next round's on you?""You got it." She walked with him to the board. "I'll dump your stuff in your car for you and hold onto your keys.""Thanks." He stripped down to his town suit and grabbed the board from where it lived on the left side of the cordoned area and headed into the water to check it out. There weren't many swimmers in the water so it was easy to maneuver out past the flags to the open water. The ferry had already made its afternoon run so he didn't have to worry about it coming from its berth and churning up the water in its wake or its slow reaction time when it came to navigating around things in its path. After searching around the spot he'd marked from back on shore for a few minutes, he eventually found what Ravi had noticed. His first guess had been right, it was a large cooler; upside down but still shut. The damned thing was heavy and made a clunking noise as he tried to right it and grab it so it was probably still packed full. He heard a motor as he worked to pull it onto the board and position it in a way so he could still paddle, but didn't pay much attention to it; the rule was since he was smaller and less navigable than anything else out here, he had right of way. Boats would steer around him.The noise from the motor grew and the board began to shift under him, affected by the wake of an approaching speedboat. He looked up to see the boat bearing down on him, not showing any sign of having noticed him at all. Once in motion he was fast on the board, but trying to get going to any speed from a standstill took time, time he didn't have especially considering he wasn't even positioned on the board properly. He was dimly aware of whistles coming from shore as Ravi and/or Maya noticed what was going on, but he didn't have time to do anything but try to dive off the board, pushing off it to propel himself further away.Launching himself into the water caused the board to flip and the cooler and board came crashing down, only to be rammed as the speedboat hit it as it whizzed by. The water was a chaotic swirling mess and then suddenly the rocks from the edge of the jetty were there and he smacked into them. Surprised and in pain, he released the breath he'd been holding and took in some water. He tried not to panic. He'd gotten all turned around and lost the surface but he knew if he just focused and concentrated he could find it again. Fuck.The water was too dark to see more than a few feet and he'd instinctively kicked away from the rocks so he couldn't try to follow them up. Something - something and not someone because it had scales, like a fish, not skin, like a person - brushed against him and he startled. He thrashed, trying to get away, but then suddenly Mikal was there, right in front of him, hands on either side of his face, kissing him. And he could breathe? What the hell?Then Mikal was pushing him, lifting him, showing him the way towards the light. When they were just a few feet from the surface Mikal paled, turned tail - literally a tail. What. The. Fuck. - and swam away. Jake reached out, but instead of getting hold of Mikal his arm was grabbed by Ravi, who'd swum out to rescue him. Ravi'd had him in enough carries while practicing this summer that it didn't even bother him when Ravi began swimming him in instead of letting him go in under his own power. On the way they passed Angela who was heading out, probably to pick up the rescue board and the cooler that had started this whole mess. Maya, meanwhile, had cleared the water and was waiting at the shoreline."Jake? You okay?" She ran in and supported him on his left while Ravi took his right. Considering how discombobulated and achy he felt, he actually appreciated the help. "An ambulance and the police are on their way. I can't believe they just ran into you like that! It's like they didn't even see you!" "Maya, I'm fine." "Bullshit." She spread a towel against the sandpile so he could stretch out his legs but still sit without having to support himself. "Iz and two backups from Nor'west are on their way so the beach can reopen while I go with you to the hospital.""The hospital? Is that really necessary?" It wasn't a whine, but it was close."Jake," Maya said softly. "You're hurt. And besides, you know the rules. Anything serious needs to be documented and I'd say smashing into the rocks after nearly being run over by a boat counts as serious."She had a point. His whole left side and chest felt kind of fucked and when he scrubbed a hand over his face he realized the wetness wasn't just seawater, but blood too, which was probably why his head hurt. He sighed. There was going to be a lot of prodding and poking in his future. And paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork."Think of it this way, at least it's a good excuse to miss the 601?"That confused Jake for a moment. Usually Maya loved going to 601s, the party guards held after work (which was what gave them their name because work ended at 6:00, so the party would, in theory, start at 6:01; except not really, because there was still clean up and then going home and changing and travel time and whatnot before you could party and teleportation wasn't a thing, but they'd been called that since before Jake started working for the town and probably would continue to be long after he left, so 601 it was), until he remembered that today's was being held at Cedar and Maya hated Cedar. For good reason, in Jake's opinion since it was the town's premiere beach with gorgeous sand, four towers, a first aid station, and a large lifeguard shack that even had air conditioning for some ridiculous reason. It was staffed with two lieutenants, four senior guards and nearly two dozen lifeguards all of whom thought they were better than anyone who deigned to work at one of the smaller beaches and the Pit was as small as they come.Once he remembered though he had a good laugh about it. "Whelp, glad I could be of help." He would have teased her about it further, but the cops showed up then and it was down to business. Between statements and examinations and tests and waiting for their results it was coming up on nine o'clock before Jake finally got out of the ER. He had begged Maya to drive him back to the Pit's parking lot so he could pick up his car. "I will drive straight home," he promised as he slid out of her car. "And I will follow doctor's orders and take it easy for the next two days.""And you will call me if you start feeling any worse or if you begin coughing.""Coughing? I know the signs of secondary drowning, Maya, and I don't think—""I know you do and I don't care. You cough, you call, got it?""Got it, boss." He gave her a sloppy, two fingered salute and shut the door, cutting off the possibility of any further orders. "See you Tuesday!" he yelled as he turned toward his car, digging around in his pocket for his keys.Maya tooted the horn twice in reply and then pulled away."What a fucking day." He threw his stuff in the back and had just unlocked the driver's side door when something on the beach caught his eye. The moon was bright enough that he could see that someone was sitting just above the waterline. "Of course," he grumbled to himself. "Why would anything be easy today?"Just in case, he grabbed his phone and a flashlight from the glove compartment before venturing onto the sand. "Excuse me," he called out, "but it's afterhours and the beach is closed. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."At the sound of his voice the person turned around. Mikal."Zhake," he said in that soft accent of his. "You are okay."He'd managed to walk away with only bumps and bruises and needing a few stitches on his forehead. "Mostly, yeah." Over the last few hours he'd nearly convinced himself that he'd imagined everything that had happened under the water, but, looking at Mikal now, he knew he hadn't. "Thanks to you."There was a moment where Jake thought Mikal was going to deny it, but then he tipped his head to the side and shrugged. "You saved me, I saved you. It's only fair, yes?""Yeah," Jake replied, drawing out the word as he plunked down on the sand next to Mikal. "I kind of have to wonder about that though. If you are what I am kind of thinking you are, why did you need saving?"Mikal blushed. "I was distracted. By you. I wasn't paying attention to the water and before this summer I hadn't spent much time in the bay so I didn't know what the ferry would do. Its wave startled me.""Uh-huh. And… those other times?"Impossibly, Mikal's blush deepened. "I'm sorry. I wanted an excuse to be close to you.""So, just so we're clear here. You really are a," Jake trailed off, making a vague fluttery motion with his hand at Mikal's legs."Merman, yes.""And, if I'm not mistaken, you've been watching me all summer. Every time I've gone past the flags I've felt like I had eyes on me. That was you, wasn't it."Mikal winced, ever so slightly. "Yes.""Okay, that's a little stalkerish and creepy but it did wind up saving my life so I guess I'm okay with it.""You are?""Yeah. Rescuing me gets you a free pass. Well, up to now anyway. Are you going to keep doing it?""Pretending to drown or watching you when you're out in the water?""Both. Either.""That depends," Mikal said, his tone light and teasing."Depends? On what?""On this." Mikal hesitated for a moment before leaning over and giving Jake a quick peck on the lips."Oh, then I guess you'll be stopping." Jake couldn't help but chuckle as he reached out and ran a hand through Mikal's hair, just like he'd been thinking about doing since that first rescue. He wasn't surprised to find it as silky and amazing as he'd hoped it would be. "I'm going to miss saving you though." Then he cupped the back of Mikal's head and pulled him into a deep kiss.