──────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻: 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁

──────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────

꒰  𝘁𝘄: 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝘀𝗳𝘄  ꒱

John B's tires to the Twinkie skirted as he pulled up the hospital, the others immediately sliding open the doors to get Cassie and JJ out. The two of them stumbled out before they were grabbed again so they wouldn't fall over.

Cassie looked over, seeing that John B had been the one to place her arm over his shoulder once again while Pope helped JJ.

Cleo ran up to the front desk, banging her hands on the desk as she begged for help. Two nurses immediately rushed over to help Pope and John B bring the couple further into the hospital.

"They have the bends!" Pope told the nurses so they would know what to do.

The couple was taken down the hallway and into a room that stored a hyperbaric chamber. Cassie rolled inside first with a groan, followed by JJ who was grabbing his stomach.

They both leaned back against the pillows, practically twitching as they tried to fight off the pain they had been feeling. However, being in the chamber seemed to help right away since their sweating had died down and they started to breathe normally.

Cassie looked out the window of the tank, seeing John B looking at them through the door window. His arms had been crossed and he seemed extremely worried, the way his jaw had been clenched. Cassie lifted up a middle finger in his direction, earning a smile out of him at least.

John B had always considered JJ as a brother since they had grown up together. John B had accepted Cassie as a Pogue over two years ago, but he now had also seen her as his sister. And now that Cassie and JJ had been together, that only accentuated how he had felt toward them.

He didn't want to see them hurt and now that they could have died if they didn't make it to the hospital in time, he felt like it had been on him. If anything, he should have chose to dive with JJ, not Cassie. He didn't even know why he allowed it to begin with.

But seeing Cassie flip him off made him feel a bit better because it showed him the same girl who would have ripped Topper's head off for bringing up his supposed dead father as they fought at the kegger that fateful night — even when they weren't that close yet — was still there.

Soon, John B left with the rest of the Pogues since Cassie and JJ would be stuck in the chamber for twelve hours according to the doctors. They were determined to go back to this Wes Genrette guy and demand more money for almost having their two friends killed over an amulet they were only being paid fifty thousand dollars for.

Cassie and JJ lied in the chamber with their eyes closed, trying to rest after their bodies were just put through some immense pain. Cassie had never felt that type of pain before and all she knew was that she never wanted to go diving ever again.

"Cass?" JJ spoke up and she hummed in response, her eyes opening slowly. "You almost died. I should've never let you go down there."

Cassie made a face. "Jay, if I didn't go down there with you, you would've been attacked by that guy on your own. You could've..." She trailed off, not even wanting to say it out loud. "You would have had no one to save you if I wasn't there," she said instead.

"Okay, I saved you, too," JJ argued softly, looking over at her.

Cassie looked over at him, giving him a warm grin. "You did."

JJ glanced down for a second before he looked back up, meeting her eyes. "Thank God."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments before Cassie decided to grab JJ's hand, a hospital band around her wrist. "I didn't think we'd be sucked back into another treasure hunt again," she expressed. "We've risked our lives too many times. I know I said it was worth it back in the Twinkie, but...is it really?"

JJ let out a low whistle before he admitted, "I'd say so."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Because without these treasure hunts, we would have never...fell in love," he began and Cassie raised her brows a bit. "I know that shit sounds corny, but it's true. All those times I saved your life and all those times you saved mine...It would've never happened if we didn't find that Grady-White."

Cassie thought about it for a moment, looking up at the ceiling of the hyperbaric chamber. He was right. They would have still hated each other if they weren't forced to save each other's lives. They would have never realized how similar they actually were and they would have never fallen for one another.

So maybe it was all worth it in the end.

Cassie started to chuckle as she thought of the memory fondly. "So you're saying that maybe it wasn't the treasure that made it worth it...but the friends and lovers we made along the way?" she joked.

JJ let out a snort. "Now you just ruined the moment."

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed although the both of them were still laughing. "That damn Grady-White though. And those damn bullets we saved each other from."

"Right. Can't forget about the bullets," he grinned with a pointed finger as the two of them continued to laugh quietly.

Cassie started to laugh even more. "You know, the-the night I saved you from-from Crain's bullet," she spoke through her giggles, "I dreamt about you."

JJ arched a brow, his laughter dying down. "Oh, you dreamt about me? Anything in particular?"

She shrugged coyly. "Oh, you know, it was just me saving you from Crain again but this time when I pushed you down to save you from the bullet...We may have fallen onto my bed instead."

JJ blinked. "You had that dream about me even before we almost kissed? Damn, did you like me for that long?"

She nudged him with her elbow. "No. I mean, I don't know, maybe? When I had the dream, I tried to find every possible explanation in the book as to why I had it. You know what I came up with? Adrenaline."

JJ laughed out loud, "Adrenaline?"

She blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, I don't know what was wrong with me. I guess I was in denial about how much I really liked you and then I realized it after we almost kissed that one time."

JJ smiled at her, finding her embarrassment to be cute. "So you came up with adrenaline as the reason why you had that one dream?"

"It wasn't the only dream," she muttered, glancing away.

"Oh, shit, you really were down bad for me there, Blake," JJ teased and she covered her face with her hands, hiding the redness that had overtaken her cheeks. "Luckily for you, I was too."

"Shut up, you weren't," she denied, still keeping her face hidden.

"I was. Still am, too," JJ went on, causing her to slowly bring her hands down from her face. "I would literally think about you every second of the day. It was actually torture when I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."

She winced. "Sorry about that. My mind was, like, fucked."

"Is it not anymore?" JJ inquired and she gave him a look. "Oh, I didn't mean it as a joke for once. I was just asking...Is your little, angry Cassie brain good now?" He clarified, pressing his thumb between the space in her eyebrows.

She chuckled a bit before she shrugged, glancing back over at him. "I'm happy now. I'm happy with you."

He smiled warmly. "I am too."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments before she glanced out the window of the hyperbaric chamber, seeing the room had been empty. An idea formed in her "little, angry Cassie brain."

"You know..." She began. "We're in here for twelve hours..."

JJ hummed. "What are we gonna do?"

She started to grin charmingly. "I think you know."

JJ's smile turned into a devilish smirk as they both leaned toward one another, struggling a bit since their bodies were still fighting off the pain. He brought his hand up to the side of her face, making it easier for their lips to connect.

However, before they could, a woman over the PA system said, "Dr. Roberts to room 43. Dr Roberts to room 43."

Cassie looked out the chamber window to see some doctors walking by before she took her pillow, placing it against the window so no one would be able to see them. She turned back to JJ, immediately connecting her lips with his.

They made out on their sides before Cassie moved her leg upwards, swinging it over to the other side of his body so she could straddle him. She groaned a bit from the pain still in her body from the bends, shutting her eyes for a second.

JJ grabbed her waist, moving his hands up and down her torso soothingly. "You good?" He asked in concern. "We don't have to do this if you don't wanna."

She shook her head, opening her eyes to look down at him. "No, no. I'm good. I'm definitely not passing up on this opportunity to be alone with you for twelve hours," she told him as his hands continued to trace over her body. "But you know..." She began, leaning forward a bit so her shark tooth necklace hung over him. She lowered her voice seductively, "This is starting to seem like my dream I was just telling you about."

JJ glanced downward to where her shark tooth necklace hung right above her breasts that were just covered by a bikini top before back up at her face. "It's funny you say that because...I had a dream just like this too."

She tilted her head at him, an alluring smile on her lips. "Really? And how did it go?"

"Like this." He pulled her down by her necklace, crashing his lips into hers. She giggled into the kiss as she felt his hands run up and down her back, feeling his cold rings against her warm skin.

His hands traveled lower, gripping her ass that had been covered by her cotton shorts. She brought her own hand up, bringing it to the side of his face before it danced on over to his hair. He always loved when she played with it as they kissed, causing him to let out a low groan as she did so this time.

As they kissed, Cassie felt JJ move his knee towards her inner thighs, causing her to let out a slight moan into his mouth from the sudden feeling that it caused. She kept kissing him, her breathing becoming heavier and heavier as she moved against his thigh.

She stopped for a second, moving her lips away but her forehead stayed pressed against his own. "Hey, Jay?" she whispered, her lips grazing his as she spoke.

JJ's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his eyes still shut. "Yeah?"

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"I love you," she told him, taking her head away so she could look into his eyes better which had opened at her words. She sat up and he followed so her legs could stay wrapped around him. She fluttered her eyelashes at him, doe eyes so enticing that anyone would have folded.

JJ stared at her like she was the only human to ever exist in the world. His hands stayed tight on her waist as he studied her face despite already memorizing it at this point. How her blue eyes always glistened. How her bottom lip had been fuller compared to her top lip. How her nose curved upwards perfectly.

How when she smiled at him, the whole world would melt away and the only thing that mattered was her.

"I love you too," JJ replied once he broke out of the trance she put him in. She smiled and just like that, she was the only thing that mattered. He pulled her toward him again, their lips finding each other hungrily.

They fell back onto the sheets below them once again, allowing their love for each other to take over without a care in the world except their care for each other.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Cassie and JJ fell asleep on different sides of the chamber after they were done. She had been snuggled up to him, her head on his chest to feel the rhythmic sound of his heart beating. It was calming, allowing her to sleep with a small smile on her face.

However, as she slept, she could feel the way his heart beat had started to quicken in pace. It was swiftly followed by him moving a bit and saying, "Cass. Cass, wake up." When she only hummed in response, he swept away some hair that had fallen over her eyes, cupping her cheek as he said, "Cass, wake up. Hey, look at me."

Cassie's eyes fluttered open, her brows furrowed as she looked up at her boyfriend. "What?"

"Hey, listen," he spoke frantically as she slowly pushed off of his chest. "There was a guy in the hall just now. I think it was the guy. The dude from the wreck. 'Cause he-he had a wound, right where I got him underwater with the spear gun."

Cassie started to realize the extremity of the situation, propping herself up. "Did he see you?" She questioned.

JJ looked back out the window. "Yeah."

"Great, so the guy that tried to kill us knows we're here. How fantastic," she deadpanned.

"Yeah, we've gotta get out."

"We gotta go."

"Wait. Ma'am! Ma'am! Miss!" JJ tried capturing the nurse's attention as he banged on the window. "Hello! Ma'am! Is there anyone out there? Ma'am! Hello!"

A nurse had passed by as JJ banged on the window. "Hey! Ma'am! Come here! Ma'am, there was a dude in the hall just now." The woman had said something in return, but they weren't able to hear her. "That man tried to kill us, okay?! He tried to kill us!" JJ made a stabbing motion to his neck as he said it out loud, trying to get the nurse to understand but it hadn't worked. "No, ma'am! Ma'am! Ma'am! Call security, please!"

Cassie turned to the door of the chamber, trying to pull it open but it wouldn't budge. She let out a frustrated groan, hitting her hand a few times against the door angrily.

She turned back to JJ, who was still focused on trying to gain the attention of the nurse but it was clear she wouldn't be letting them out. "Can you please help me with the door?" Cassie asked, but JJ just continued to yell toward the woman even though she couldn't understand what he was saying. "Jay, just help me. She's not letting us out. Just help!"

JJ tried yelling at the nurse one more time before she turned away. "Hey, wait! Ma'am, please listen to me!"

"Jay, she's not listening! Just help!" Cassie pleaded and JJ finally went next to her. "Help me with the door."

"Okay," JJ breathed out before he placed his hands on the door. "Two, one, go!" They both started to push on the door to try to get it open, but it wasn't working. It must have only opened from the outside.

They groaned as they pushed before Cassie panted, dropping her arms from the door. "Why the fuck won't they open?" she seethed, placing her hands on her hand. "Why won't they open?" she kept repeating, starting to freak out.

She usually didn't get claustrophobic, but suddenly it felt like the walls had been closing in on her and her body was starting to feel anxious. That man had almost killed the both of them before and if they were trapped in here, there was nothing stopping him from coming over and finishing the job.

JJ noticed the way Cassie had started to breathe heavily. "Cass. Cass—"

"I'm like really freaking out right now," she told him through labored breaths.

"I know, I know, all right. Deep breath. Okay?" JJ spoke calmly before he placed a hand on his heart. "Remember? Deep breaths." Cassie nodded quickly before she placed her hand on her heart, trying to slow down her breathing to the best of her ability. "Good. Just-just calm down. We're gonna figure this out."

Cassie kept her hand on her chest, feeling the way her chest rose and fell in a panic. She moved her hand up a bit, feeling where the shark tooth sat on her chest and she let out a long breath. She watched as JJ looked back down at the window, his eyes narrowing.

"Wait a minute. I've got an idea. All right? This is not my best idea," JJ began.

"When are your ideas ever good?" She pointed out and he gave her a look. "Sorry, not the time." He turned away, going on his back before he placed his feet up on the window. Cassie realized what he was doing and shuffled out of the way. "Yes, wait, that's-that's good. Kick that shit open."

He started to kick against the window as hard as he could, trying to break through it. With every kick he took, he grunted loudly from the exertion of his body. Cassie watched, her hand now clasped tight around her shark tooth necklace.

Once she heard the glass start to crack, she breathed out, "Kick it! Kick it harder!"

JJ listened and tried to kick the window as hard as he could before the glass finally shattered. Alarms immediately went off as soon as he broke through the window and Cassie blinked, in shock that he was able to break it open.

"That's my man right there!" Cassie cheered, a smile making its way up to her face. JJ turned to her, a surprised grin on his face as well.

"Security to hyperbaric chamber," someone spoke over the PA system. "Security, hyperbaric chamber."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Oh shit, that's not good. We should go."

"One second, one second." JJ climbed out of the hyperbaric chamber and fell onto the floor with a grunt.

"Get the door, get the door!" Cassie told him.

JJ went over to the door and pulled it open, freeing Cassie from the chamber so she wouldn't have to escape out the window he just broke.

"What the— Security! We got a runner!" The nurse from the before shouted once she noticed what had happened.

"All right, I'm gonna buy you some time. Meet me outside," JJ instructed as he moved away from the door.

"Hey, what? Wait, what do you mean?" Cassie questioned as she stepped out of the chamber, but JJ didn't listen as he ran toward the nurse.

"Oh, my god, my brain! We were in there way too long. No, you microwaved me! What are you trying to do? Fry me like chicken?!" JJ yelled at her before two men went toward him, grabbing him. "No, no!"

"All this movement is not good for him. All you had to do was relax. He was basically done until he lost his mind!" The nurse told the men as Cassie pressed her back up on the wall, watching the men pull JJ away with wide eyes.

She would have tried to help him, but JJ told her he was buying her some time. Some time for what? She guessed was about to find out.

"Wait. No, you know what? How 'bout you gentlemen take me out of here 'cause I gotta make a phone call. I'm gonna file a formal complaint," JJ complained, making direct eye contact with Cassie behind the nurse. "Okay? File a formal complaint."

Cassie somehow realized what he was trying to tell her. He wanted her to find a file. The file of the man that tried to kill them. Maybe the both of them had gotten smarter by living with Pope for over two years now.

She pushed away from the wall once JJ and the nurse were far enough, and made her way down the hall. She looked over her shoulder, seeing that JJ and the others had rounded the corner and had disappeared from her sight. She kept walking until she made it into the hospital lobby, walking past some doctors.

Once she made it to the front desk, she glanced downward to see a file opened with a photo of a wound on someone's arm. This has gotta be his.

She looked around to make sure no one had been looking before she swiped it. She held it to her chest as she ran toward the exit door, pushing it open to free herself from the hospital.

"Jesus Christ. How do you climb up a tree in the hospital?!" Cleo called out from Heyward's truck when she saw Cassie running outside.

"Guys," Cassie panted as she neared the truck.

"Uh, where's JJ?" Pope asked, starting the truck.

Cassie immediately hopped in the back of the truck. "JJ's coming. Drive! Go!" she told Pope, hitting the window behind his head.

Pope pressed down on the gas pedal, the tires screeching as he drove down the road. Cassie spotted JJ running outside up ahead and pointed at him. "There!"

"Come on!" Cleo urged as Pope slowed down the truck, allowing JJ to hop in the back next to Cassie.

"Are we good?" Cassie questioned as she looked behind her at the boy.

"Yeah. Go, Pope, go!" JJ screamed before Pope began driving again.

"Are you guys okay?" Cleo queried.

"Yeah, yeah. So you know that guy that was down at the wreck that tried to kill us?" JJ reminded them.

"He was at the hospital!" Cassie revealed.

"At the hospital with you?" Pope said in confusion.

"What other fucking hospital?" Cassie snapped and JJ placed a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to calm down.

"Yeah! He was getting stitched up where I got him with the harpoon gun," JJ continued, pointing to his arm to show him where he had sliced the man.

"I got this. It's his file. It's got an address," Cassie said, holding up the file against the window for them to see. "Downtown Pelican somewhere." She noticed the man's name was Lightner, having never seen the name before.

"What are we supposed to do with that?" Pope questioned.

"Uh, hello? Pay him a fucking visit. He tried to kill us!" Cassie exclaimed. She didn't want to let this guy get away with what he did. And now that he was injured, what was he supposed to do? Especially with four against one.

"Exactly," JJ agreed. "We find out who this goon is, Po. Four against one? I mean, I think we could take him," he voiced Cassie's thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna let him get away with what he did. He could've killed either of us so I think it's time he gets the same treatment," Cassie spoke darkly, her eyes narrowed.

"Attagirl," JJ nudged her arm proudly and Cassie smirked. "We'll be ready for him this time."

Cleo looked at Pope from the passenger seat and shrugged while Pope only furrowed his brows, unsure if that was a good idea.

"Hey, where are the others?" Cassie inquired once she realized it was just Pope and Cleo in the truck.

"I was able to get the barnacles off the amulet and we found a message written in Arabic on the inside of it. JB and Sarah took it to this Muslim guy his dad used to play pool with, and Kie and Em stayed back home to keep the shop open," Pope explained.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Kie and Em stayed back together?" Cassie repeated, blinking.

Pope shrugged. "Yeah. Why?"

"Poguelandia might not be left by the time we get back. Kie hates Em," Cassie groaned, rubbing her face.

"Yeah, she didn't seem too excited when Em offered to stay back with her," Cleo pointed out. "Why doesn't she like her, by the way?"

Cassie shook her head. "I have no idea. Think it's because Em's too peppy or something."

"And Kie tends to hold grudges so whatever Em possibly did to her, she's definitely holding it against her," JJ added and Cassie nodded, knowing about that all too well. JJ then turned to Cassie, a determined look in his eyes. "So what are we gonna do when we catch this guy?"

"Ooh, okay, okay. You and Pope can sneak up on him from behind and then, like, put him in a double chokehold."

"Oh, yeah! Then you can come up and kick him in the balls as Cleo holds a knife to his throat!"

"Oh, now I'm definitely doing that. And then..."

As Cassie and JJ planned out what they were going to do to this guy, Pope and Cleo shared an amused look with one another before shaking their heads at the extreme couple.

authors note!
yall idk how tf kie and jj were able to
get freaky in the hyperbaric chamber but
i just let it happen here bc why not ig?? we
deserved more than just one kiss scene (bc we
didn't even see them kiss in the chamber scene
either) from jiara tho ughhh it makes me so
upset. i pray every day they bring jj back i
literally don't care if it's unrealistic the show
is already unrealistic like idc (im in denial)