Triton's Destiny

Part Forty-Two

Though there was the constant worry about being discovered and a jolt of fear every time someone came near the stable door, the first night aboard the Sunderland was calm and relatively quiet, and Maki was quite hopeful for an uneventful voyage. The animal pen was surprisingly cozy and warm and the food Tristan packed was enough to keep them going for a few days. Overall, it hadn't been a traumatic start to their new life together.

Until Tristan woke up in the small hours of the morning absolutely drenched in cold sweat and shuddering in terror.

It was the soft, helpless whimpers, stuttered gasps, and violent shaking that woke Maki at first. Groggy, he looked around in the dark to figure out what was going on. When he saw his mate huddled in the corner, pulling on his hair, and sobbing uncontrollably, the shock sobered Maki into full, glaring awareness. Tristan was consumed by panic, trapped in unrelenting fear. Maki scrambled to sit up, desperate to help.

"Tristan." Maki reached for him but gasped and flinched backward when his mate slapped his hand away.

"No! No... Don't... I..." Tristan whimpered pitifully and shook his head.

Maki took a deep breath. He was here to help Tristan, help him get through this. Getting him calmed down was the most important thing at the moment. Reaching out again, he approached his partner more slowly. "Tristan," he crooned in a low, soothing voice. "My love, my wonderful Tristan... Listen to me, sweetheart. I'm right here. I'm not leaving you. You're safe."

The shake of Tristan's head looked like an extension of his full-body tremors. "No... No... Water... Water everywhere... I'm... I'm gonna drown..."

"No, sweetheart. You're safe and dry. I'm here to protect you." Maki inched closer to him, still holding out his hand.

"No!" Tristan clamped his eyes shut, pressing farther into the corner. "The ship! It's... It's gonna sink!"

Maki kept murmuring quiet words to him, ever so slowly closing the distance between them. "Why do you think it's going to sink, Tristan?"

"My parents... Their ship sank."

Maki shook his head. "That was a different ship. That's not going to happen this time."

"Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not lying, sweetheart. I can look out the window right here and see that the sea is calm and the sky is clear. I can see the stars, Tristan. There's no danger and this ship is perfectly sound. It'll be morning soon and it looks like it will be a beautiful day."

Tristan's breath hitched on a sob. "Maki..."

"Yes, babe. I'm right here." Maki held out his hand where Tristan could reach it. "I'm right here."

"Maki... I'm scared."

"I know, love. But I'm not. If you need my strength, I give it to you. Take it."

Still crying, still paralyzed by fear, Tristan finally looked at him, his wide eyes red and puffy. "Maki. I need you."

He nodded. "You have me. For the rest of our lives. Can I...? Can I hold you? Can I try to take away the pain? I don't want you to be afraid. Please let me help."

Tristan continued to look at him for another moment and then nodded slowly.

"My beautiful Tristan..." Maki opened his arms and gave him a soft smile.

With another sob, Tristan collapsed in his embrace, crying on Maki's shoulder and holding him like he was afraid he'd disappear. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so pathetic and I'm sorry."

"No, my love. No, you're not. Fear is a powerful thing, capable of breaking the strongest person. But you're not broken. You faced your fear and got on this ship for me. For us. I'm so, so proud of you." Maki brushed the hair off Tristan's brow and dropped a kiss there. "You know, when I was a child, I was afraid of dolphins. I thought they sounded scary and they always seemed to play tricks on tritons. When I'd see a dolphin, I'd swim away as fast as I could. But then Kai told me all the things he loved about dolphins and asked me to take him to see a visiting pod. And I did. I did it for him. Because that's what he needed from me. I still don't love dolphins. But I'm not afraid of them anymore."