Cora twisted the small pipe attached to her sleeping pod, but it still didn't work. She frowned and rested her head against the glass encasing her pod, wishing she had paid more attention the last time Nibs had fixed her pipe. Since all the mermaids needed air every two hours, they had special tubes leading into their sleeping enclosures that piped in bubbles. This way they didn't have to wake up constantly to go get air from the surface or the common room.
Cora rubbed her temples. It was late and she was exhausted, but if she didn't get her pipe fixed she would be having a very long night. She swam up to the surface, hoping someone would still be awake. Sometimes she would find Smee on the beach roasting rum berries over the fire.
She emerged several meters away from shore. The fabricated Neverland moon and stars glistened on the water, and for a moment, Cora felt something close to serenity. She noticed someone walking along the beach with a flashlight. It looked like Peter. She swam over to where he was and slid up on a rock.
"Hey! I need your help!"
He jumped and turned around. "Cora?"
She frowned. It wasn't Peter, it was that meddlesome security guard, Jack. The one she had hoped never to see again.
"I thought you were Peter," she grumbled.
He took a half step towards her. Cora couldn't read his expression, his hazel eyes were hidden in the darkness. She silently cursed herself for remembering the color of his eyes.
"Why are you here?" She demanded.
"I'm working," Jack replied. "They decided they wanted a night guard and they asked me." He ventured a step closer. "Why are you here?"
Cora sighed in frustration. "The air tube in my sleeping pod isn't working." She explained quickly. "I need Nibs or Peter to fix it. Could you please go get one of them?"
Jack inclined his head, and Cora could see the moonlight shining across his strong features.
"I thought you could breathe underwater."
Cora resisted the urge to growl. She was a bit defensive that he was bringing up her abnormalities. "I can. I just have to get air every two hours."
Jack nodded. "That makes sense."
Cora tensed. This boy continued to infuriate her. Nothing about her situation made sense, and here he was, acting as if he understood her composition. It made her sick.
"Would you please go get Nibs or Peter?" She repeated through gritted teeth.
"Of course," he responded genially. He turned and walked away.
Cora almost fell asleep on the rock while she waited. The only thing that kept her awake was her frustration that she'd be seeing more of Jack if he was going to be the night guard. After about 20 minutes she heard a noise and was enraged to see Jack returning with some tools and a forever breathe mask.
"Peter's in London tonight and Nibs didn't want to get out of bed, so he gave me the instructions and told me to do it."
Cora was instantly filled with feelings of fear and indignation. She didn't want some stranger seeing where she lived.
"No," she said adamantly, slapping her tail against the rock.
Jack looked unsure of himself. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Cora cut in.
"It's a private place down there. I'd like to get this problem fixed, but just because some ruggedly handsome jerk offers his help doesn't mean that I'm going to let him into my bed!"
Jack quirked an eyebrow in amusement and Cora groaned. It had come out all wrong.
"That's not what I meant," she grumbled. "I just don't like strangers in my space."
"Not even ruggedly handsome ones?"
Cora rolled her eyes. Why did he have to pick out the compliment from the insult?
"Just tell me how," she demanded. "I'll do it myself."
Jack shook his head. "It's a two person job. I have to go with you. Unless you'd like to ask one of the other mermaids."
As much as she hated taking Jack to the bottom of the lagoon, Cora knew none of the other mermaids would help her. For a moment she considered sleeping in the common room, but the last time she did that she had a back ache for a week.
"Fine," she said, sliding down into the water.
Jack secured the tools on his belt and stepped into the water.
"Are you going to wear that?" She asked, eying him skeptically.
He laughed, and the pleasant sound of it took Cora by surprise. "Would you like me to take off my clothes?"
Cora suppressed a scream of frustration. This guy was really getting under her skin, and it was rare that she ever got this unsettled. "Let's just get this over with," she muttered and dove into the water.
She swam slowly so he could keep up, but then she realized she didn't have to. She was impressed that he was such a strong swimmer. He only had to pause once to equalize his ears as they went deeper into the lagoon. Once or twice he shined his flashlight on a big fish or in the spires of the mermaids' home, but mostly he kept next to her and shined the light straight ahead. When they arrived at her sleeping pod, he anchored himself to it by wrapping his leg around one of the posts.
He motioned for her to hold the glass encasing of the pod open with one hand while steadying the air pipe with the other. She watched him pry off the motor and then use a tiny screwdriver to replace and tighten the fasteners. She was amazed that his big fingers were nimble enough to handle such small tools. Finally, he replaced the motor and she helped him guide the pipe through it. A few seconds later, the pipe was generating small air bubbles again.
Cora quickly swam into the sleeping pod and shut the case, eager to put something between them. She signed thank you and then waved a very deliberate goodbye. It was hard to see his face behind the forever breathe mask, but she thought she detected a small smile. He checked the motor one more time, then nodded and swam away. Cora turned in her pod and tried to go to sleep, but she was so riled up that she knew it would be a while before she could finally drift off.