I Promise You'll Get Better

Fourteen

"You two were missing all night."

It was the crack of dawn, the sun just rising in the ocean. Dashi and Shellington were in the Sick Bay at a table near Tweak's bed. Captain Barnacles was sitting opposite them, his light blue eyes sombre. Tweak was as still as ever, her hair falling over her face.

"Do you have any idea," Captain Barnacles continued, "how worried we all were? It took us ages to track the Gup down, and then we found it damaged and half-flooded, and both of you unconscious. You could have drowned."

Shellington's hand found Dashi's under the table.

"Dashi, I'm especially shocked at you," Captain Barnacles said solemnly. "You're not in the best of conditions at the moment. You know how likely you are to go into a state of panic. I'm shocked that you would risk your life like that. It's so unlike you."

Dashi's cheeks flooded with shame. She dropped her gaze to her steaming mug of hot chocolate and blinked back tears.

"I wanted to get out of here for a while," she admitted. "Everything's been so stressful recently, and I've been trapped inside, having to deal with it all. I needed a break, and I didn't want anyone constantly checking up on me to see if I was alright. So I suggested to Shellington that we sneaked out of here for a bit. None of this is his fault, Captain, it's all mine. I should've checked the currents, I know... but I didn't care at the time. I wanted to forget about Tweak for a bit. Forget about the cone snail attack. I just wanted to relax."

"We tried to radio the Octopod when we realised we were in danger," Shellington explained. "But Danielle didn't answer..."

"When the cousins discovered you two were missing," Captain Barnacles said, "Danielle kind of cracked. She had a panic attack."

"What?!" Dashi cried, standing up immediately.

"She'll make a full recovery, don't worry," the Captain reassured hastily. Dashi sank back into her chair, head in hands.

"I can't believe this," she muttered, so quietly Shellington strained to catch the words. "I just wanted a break. Why does everything have to be so hard?"

Captain Barnacles clearly heard what she said, because he said kindly, "We want to do as much as we can to help you out, Dashi. Do you think you're not coping too well with what's going on?"

Shellington's arm went around Dashi's shoulders.

"I'm not," Dashi mumbled. "And I hate it. Shel's been so kind to me..."

"Dashi, a lot of your recovery is down to you," Shellington said, swiftly kissing her cheek. "You only need a little more help..."

His words trailed off at the Captain's stare. Dashi slowly raised her head, eyes darting nervously towards Shellington and then back again. It seemed like everything had gone silent.

Dashi's heart thudded painfully hard.

"I knew there was something going on between you two," Captain Barnacles said slowly, "but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Are you together?"

Shellington was going bright red. He couldn't find any words. They were busted...

"Yes."

The surprisingly calm Australian tones broke the silence. Dashi had removed her head from her hands and was looking directly at Captain Barnacles, smiling slightly. "Shel and I are together. We haven't actually been on a date yet..."

"Yet," Shellington interrupted, starting to grin.

"...but we both like each other," Dashi smiled. "A lot. Liking in that way. We're not ready to announce it to the whole crew yet, but please let us be together, Captain."