Rhapsody (OBX S2 Book II JJ fan fiction)

FIFTY-THREE (III)

**LEXI**

I don't know what possessed me to go for the captains knee, but it had worked regardless as he toppled to the ground in pain, a shiver running through me as I see it hyper extend before I'm jumping into the water.

Panic surged through me as my body got used to the cold, a thousand terrors coming to mind, the biggest one being that JJ's spine had snapped from the fall.

"Who knew I'd be using first aid so much, hey killer?" I said to his conscious body, treading water as I get my arms around his and keep his head out of the water; shielding him from the waves with my body. "Please wake up," I added a little wearily, trying not to think of what would happen if my heart rate got to be too fast and I seized right here, with no one to stop us from falling to the bottom of the ocean.

So when my eyes spotted Kie, I had never been more pleased to see her face.

"What happened," she rushes out after jumping in, holding his hips in the way I tell her to do so.

"Can't talk about it," I grit out, "if I go under, I need... I need you to hold onto him, okay?"

"Don't think like that," she tells me.

"Please," I add, tears beginning to leak from my eyes, warming my face as it mixes with the cold water.

"He'd never forgive me for that," she says, "Lexi, you don't understand, he needs you."

"And I need him," I cry out softly, checking his vitals for about the 15th time to hear his slow breath. "Kiara, please, just p-promise me?"

She reaches out to hold the side of my face, determination in her eyes as she makes me turn to look at her. "You aren't going to pass out, Lexi, I know you can do this."

I take a shaky breath, pretending it was just one of the manikins we used to practice on all the time, keeping my eyes on Kie as she assures me that everything is going to be okay; calling out for help with the hopes that they will here.

"Look," she gasps after a few minutes, pointing to the boat that's approaching us, "it's them. Laurie and Cleo's with them too."

I'm in too much of a shocked state to give much of a reaction, blindly helping them bring JJ onto the boat and get him in semi-prone. My ears only stop ringing when I hear a sputtered gasp, JJ coughing up water as he regains consciousness.

"JJ," I breathe out, pulling him into my arms without wasting another second, feeling him lightly hug me back as he tries to make sense of his surroundings.

"Can't keep your hands to yourself, can you princess?" He chuckles after a moment, glancing over at Kie as she sits on his other side, "what is this? Do I have a posse?"

She laughs, giving us some space as he takes the time to embrace me properly. "It's okay," he whispers in my ear, "I'm okay, sweetheart."

We stay like that until John B is able to find land on some island, everyone helping him tie the raft up as I try to figure out how badly JJ hit his head. "Don't worry about me, Lex," JJ chuckles, twisting away from my worried hands. "A few less brain cells isn't going to change the course of my future."

"Well, either way, forgive me for wanting to make sure that you're okay."

He smiles, "so, they said that you were the one who heroically jumped into save me? You were able to do it?"

"I had some help, Kie... I guess she kept me from slipping," I tell him.

"Either way, that's good that you were able to do it," JJ says, cupping my face in his hands as he presses a kiss to my lips.