"There's only one tank, and it's a quarter full. So only for one of us." Kat turns to John B, lips pursed. Nice job John B. Real nice."

John B, sitting next to her, rolls his eyes. "You think you could've handled that?"

Kat only shrugs, looking smug. "Maybe I would have."

JJ begs to differ. She's the loudest person he knows. For proof, she did almost fall face first in a backyard while trying to sneak inside the Palace.

Kie, on her other side, sighs. "Does anybody know how to dive?" she asks. Nobody answers. "Anybody?"

No, why would they? "It's kind of a Kook sport," answers JJ, standing in front of them.

They turn to Kat, who shakes her head. "Don't look at me like that, I barely know how to swim."

It's a lie. She's a great swimmer. Like everyone, actually. Since they were born on an island. She doesn't even know how to lie. Her cheeks are bright red and she's looking away. She has the same face as when she hid his pencil case.

"Yeah you do," JJ fires back.

"What I mean is, diving is very different from just swimming," she clarifies.

He hums, smirking slightly. She was still perfectly readable, and that filled him with satisfaction.

"I... read about it," proposes Pope.

There's silence. Even Kat, who barely grasps why they're all quiet, tries to hide her chuckle.

"Great, Pope read about it, so someone's gonna die," panicks Kie.

"Come on, Kie," Kat takes his defense. "At least one of us gets the idea."

They can't just give up now, they're too close! They're literally right there, turning away would just be sad.

"Look," JJ lets out. "Y–you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard could it be?"

Pope stares at him. "If you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood," he answers. "And you get the bends."

He has absolutely no idea what the bends are. So he bends over, trying to make a sexy face. "Bends like, bend over and--"

"No, bends like air bubbles forming in your joints and expanding until you can't walk or die," Kat explains, not raising her eyes from her hands.

He turns to her and her frowned eyes, and slowly stands up straight. "Right." He's picturing it. He's picturing it way too much.

"I can – I can dive."

JJ quickly nods. "You can dive. I'm cool with that," he says, earning himself a glare from Kie.

"It's your funeral," Kat lets out, crossing her arms. "I'm not pushing your wheelchair when you come out paralyzed."

"Liar. I can't wait for you to change my diapers." John B shakes his head. "I'll do it, it's fine."

JJ gestures to her like, see? If KD gets it, then anyone can get it.

"Let me do some calculations real quick," Pope sighs, taking a piece of paper and putting it against the operation panel. "That boat's about thirty feet down. So it'll take twenty five minutes at most at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about... ten feet. Alright? For two minutes."

JJ looks over his shoulder, watching him do some calculations. He notices something blue out of the corner of his eyes, and realizes that it's Kat's shorts. She took them off, and ditched them on the ground. He blinks as she takes her shirt off, keeps it in her hand, and jumps into the water.

JJ is still staring at the spot she just left, unblinking and lips parted a little.

John B frowns. "Uh..."

"What was that all about?" asks Pope.

His eyes strained to the point where Kat disappeared, JJ has a sly smile on his face. "I don't know. But I liked it. A lot."

Yeah... he really, really did.

Kie groans. "You're so hypocritical, JJ."

He doesn't think he is. He doesn't like Kat – well, not as much as he did at least – but he never said anything about the way she looks.

"I mean, she's fucking annoying, but she's still hot."

Pope hums. "You know, hatred is technically a passion."

John B shudders. "Oh my god."

Everyone goes silent when Kat resurfaces, climbing on the boat. JJ is a bit pink.

"Uh, so..." he stutters. "Yeah. Uh, when you – uh," oh god, get a grip Maybank, "when you're down there, you look for the cargo hold. You stick this thing inside and twist and pull, okay?"

John B nods, smugly staring at him, knowing exactly why he was stuttering. "Stick in, twist, pull."

"Yeah. My dad moved weight back in the day."

Kat wrings out her hair, making a face, and JJ has to make an effort not to stare again. She wags her finger at John B. "You better give me my shirt back, Routledge."

"Yes ma'am."

She rolls her eyes, saying nothing. JJ's eyes are burning holes through her skin from looking at her so much. She probably thinks it's because he has a cynical thing to say.

But he's not sure he can get three words out in a row again.

"Keep an eye on this." Pope hands John B a small device. "You need to make sure you have enough air to decompress."

"Okay, how much do I need?"

Pope grimaces. "Unclear. Breathe as little as possible."

"That's fantastic." Kat purses her lips. "Don't breathe, and don't die down there."

JJ doesn't think she's pretending to care anymore. That look of worry on her face is too similar to that one time John B tried to get five pancakes in his mouth.

Still, John B rolls his eyes and goes to stand on the edge of the boat. He straps the tank to his back.

"Hey, if we get caught in the marsh," reminds Pope, "we're basically screwed, so... better get a move on."

"Copy that."

They all observe Kie walking up to John B and kissing him on the cheek. For a split second, looking over at Kat, JJ wonders what she would've done if he was the one diving. Guess they'll never know.

"Diver down?" says John B.

"Diver down."

He puts the mask on, and jumps in the water, disappearing after giving them a salute.

Yeah, Kat is definitely not pretending to be worried. She's very visibly anxious, sitting on the edge of the boat, looking down, trying to see John B, probably. More than anything, the obvious caring for the Pogues is what gets JJ to play nice and not get angry at her.

So he takes whatever thing he can find, and comes up next to her.

Immediately, without looking at him, she sighs. "If you're going to take the piss..."

"Peace offering." He hands her a beer with a smirk. "Take it before I change my mind."

She turns to him, and the sunset casts shadows on her face, accentuating the sharpness of her traits and the plumpness of her lips.

She narrows her eyes at him, but takes it. "Is it poisoned?"

"The thought crossed my mind," he admits as he sits down next to her.

She still seems a bit unsure, but she smiles a little, so he finds that it's a win. "Thanks."

He turns away from her as she fiddles with the beer, deep in thought. He has no idea what she's thinking about, obviously, but he still feels a spike of fear at the idea she's forming. It's a sixth sense. A spider-sense. A Kat-sense, whatever, he just knows it's bad.

But when she looks back at him with a soft smile that swears with the sharpness of her face, he's immediately reassured.

"I didn't know I was leaving," she says quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'm sorry I didn't reach out after that, though, but I didn't realise my mum was shipping us off, until we were on the plane." She keeps her gaze focused on the beer. "And by then, reaching out was just too hard."

JJ blinks. He didn't expect her to say anything about her leaving, but he's happy she does. For someone who was waiting for an explanation, he can't help the bitter twist of his stomach. It explains some things, but not all of it.

He still has no idea what happened on the twentieth of December, and the fact that she wouldn't tell them, back then, makes it dreadful.

He wants to ask, he wants to tell her that it's okay, he wants to lie that it didn't hurt that bad.

"Shit, JJ."

They turn around to see a cop boat coming up next to the HMS Pogue.

"Fuck, that's the police."

JJ stands up, walking away from Kat shaking his head. "You've got to be kidding me. Who is it?"

"What do you mean 'who is it?'" JJ cries out, panicking too, and confused as to why 'who' would make a difference. "You want me to give you their registration number too?"

"Guys! Just... act frickin' normal," says Kie.

The police siren whoops as they arrive next to them. JJ eyes the boat, wondering if Max Donovan, Kat's uncle, is there to save the day, but no. It's just Shoupe.

"Evening officers," Kat says in a sing-song voice.

He smirks, and turns to her. Her smile fades away when she recognizes who is on the boat. The urge to ask what's going on is burning his gut, but he can't, not with Shoupe breathing down his neck and making her look small. Something's wrong.

They toss the rope to him, and he ties it to the boat to connect the two. Once the boats are tied, the deputy takes off his sunglasses.

"How are you kids doing? You know the marsh is closed?"

JJ mutters a weak no, as Kat shakes her head looking at her feet. Something is definitely wrong for her to act that way. He wants to get her out of there, as fast as he can.

"Why is it closed?" Pope asks.

"Well, we're conducting a search out here. Boat went down. Seen anything?"

It's a concert of 'no's again. The deputy looks around and frowns.

"Where's your friend you always hang with? He here?" JJ clenches his jaw, looking for something to say.

"He's working," says Kie.

Pope and Kat exchange a look, both extremely uneasy.

Shoupe gets on the HMS Pogue. "I'm gonna check your little boat out."

Pope stands up from the control panel, and Kat fidgets behind JJ. He notices that she's trying to hide the beer he just gave her. Underage drinking on a boat in the marsh? Not good.

He puts his arm on her shoulders, taking the beer in his hand. He ignores the heat coming off of her and the flush making her cheeks red. Not to mention the way her chest is falling and rising, way too quickly. If he looks at her, there's a high percentage of chance that he'll lose it.

He takes his arm off, and hides the beer behind the cushions next to him, nodding at her.

He steps away from her. Stress and physical attraction? Not a good mix.

"You got a lifejacket?"

Kat clears her throat and looks back at the deputy. "Right here," she says, pointing to her left. "In the hold."

He narrows her eyes at her, and checks. "That wasn't hard, was it?"

Okay, no, that's just weird, and awful, and mean, and JJ wants to punch Shoupe in the face. It wouldn't be the first time he feels that way, but the urge is really strong right now.

Especially going by how Kat's jaw is clenched, and eyes frantic.

"Alright," Shoupe says. "We can go now."

He begins to get back to his boat, only to slowly turn around.

"Be careful. You don't wanna slip," Pope tries.

He still walks towards the edge of their boat, and perches himself, looking at the water.

Time seems to stop as they wait for him to get down or say that he sees the ship or anything. Just when JJ thinks he should create a diversion, like, by throwing himself in the water, the deputy gets off the edge and goes back in his boat.

"Beautiful day, ain't it?"

Kat, though, seems seconds away from throwing up. "Sure is," JJ says, trying hard not to look at her too much and show how worried he is.

"Let us know if you see anything on your way out."

"Will do," Pope agrees. "Will do."

"We'll be gone soon, sir," JJ adds.

They watch the boat leave, wait for a few minutes, before turning around and looking at the water, trying to see John B.

"How long has he been down there?" asks Kat, panicked.

"He's definitely out of air," says Pope.

"Not helping!"

But then John B's face pokes out of the water.

"There he is!"

"Oh god."

"Jesus fuck!"

"Don't scare us like that!"

"How did it go down there?" JJ asks.

John B makes the OK sign with his hand. He swims back to the ladder.

"Your joints hurt?" Kat asks, helping him up.

"Did you find anything?"

"I'm fine." He takes the mask off. "And did I find anything?"

He throws a bag on the boat, and the Pogues begin to cheer.

"You okay?" asks Kie.

John B is panting. "Yeah, I ran out of air."

"You scared the shit out of me."

Pope helps him sit and take off the scuba gear. "Yeah, the cops were up here, but, uh... took care of 'em."

"Yeah, you kinda missed the show, brother," JJ jokes, before remembering how distraught Kat had been. He turns to her, but she's looking opposite to him. "Hey, what was up with the cops...?"

"Guys," she says, interrupting him, eyes narrowed towards the distance. "Someone's coming."

"What?"

JJ's head whips around as all the Pogues turn towards the other boat.

"Do you recognize that boat?" asks Pope.

"Nope."

"What are they doing back here?" asks Kie. "The marsh is closed."

"I mean, we're here too." Kat frowns. "Do you guys think they're here for the ship?"

"I don't know," JJ answers. "Let's not stick around and find out."

"Agreed. JJ, get the bowline."

He obeys, walking towards it.

"Should we wait on them?" Pope asks.

"No," John B answers. "No, we're not gonna wait on them. Take the stern."

JJ is pulling the bowline up so fast, his hands and arms are hurting. "Hurry up, JJ."

"You wanna do it?" he asks Kat, voice strained. "Don't wait on me, just go!"

They start the boat, and JJ retrieves the anchor.

"I don't like this," John B says.

"No shit JB!" Kat shouts back.

I don't think anyone does. "They coming for us?" JJ asks, beginning to panic.

"Maybe they're fishing," Pope proposes.

"Mhm," Kat hums. "Go into the marsh, just in case."

"Let's go!" Kie screams.

"I'm going. Act natural," Pope reminds.

And then the other boat starts to speed up and follows them.

"Yes, let's act natural while they follow us!"

"This can't be good."

"You don't say, Pope!"

John B takes the stern, JJ almost running to him. "Dude," he presses, heart in his throat. "You gotta go faster!"

"I'm going!"

"Gun it!"

"I'm going!"

Kat moves him out of the way. JJ doesn't find it in himself to argue – he's seen her drive way past the speed limit, and he figures that in this situation, she's clearly the most fit to drive.

Alright, the cops, now two shady dudes chasing, what could be worse?

That's when they start shooting at them.

"What the--"

"Holy shit!"

JJ's eyes fly back to Kat, and when he sees that she hasn't moved, he forces her to duck. He doesn't care if it's the same type of shit she did with Topper or if she's too busy trying to get them out, he makes sure she's out of harm's way.

"Kat!" Pope screams. "Get down!"

The others are curled up against the sides of the boat, but she's fully exposed. She does her best to crouch, bullets flying past her. JJ is there to make sure she does.

Yeah, he's aware of the thing about fire and priorities, but he doesn't care. He's not letting her die over some teenage grudge.

"We're gonna die!"

"Shut up Pope!" Kie screams back at him.

JJ is still holding Kat, just in case she can't move or something, and can stop herself from sliding to the other side, or something. He doesn't know! He just wants to make sure she's safe.

They hear metal scrapping, and the boat behind them is sent into an abrupt stop. Hesitantly, he takes his arms off of Kat's waist.

He whoops in joy. "Pogue god, man! See you, guys!"

"Pogue god?" Kat repeats. "I'm not hearing a 'thank Kat for driving us out'." She heaves out a sigh, shuddering a little. "I thought we were gonna die back there."

Her velvety voice makes JJ turn to her, pointing his finger at her, calming down a bit because of how scared he was for her. He genuinely thought she was going to get shot back there. What would he have done then? Actually hate her ghost? Wait for her to come back and haunt him? He plays the waiting game, not a losing one.

"You," he says. "You're the worst driver I've ever seen." It's not like he's going to admit he almost shit himself with worry.

The impossible happens. Kat's head tilts back, and she laughs. Out loud, mouth opened, tears in the corner of her eyes. She hasn't laughed like that in a long time.

JJ should've recorded it. It's his favorite sound.

Author's Note: We're getting to the good stuff now

Editor's Note: I meant the trauma.