Good Surprises
Posted on 11 Nov 2022 @ 12:46 by Lieutenant Isabel Castillo & Jonathan Demir & Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Watts
Episode:
E1: A Historic Voyage
Location: The Arizona, Pier 86, The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Timeline: Date 2025-05-09 at 1400
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum was, in fact, a ship. Jon had known that when he’d looked into where he needed to go to find the Arizona, but somehow he’d cemented in his mind the idea that the museum was more of a building with a ship next to it than a ship itself. The aircraft carrier was a monstrously large thing, dominating the pier where it was permanently docked for its use as a museum. Even from where he stood in a crowd of people queued to tour the Arizona he had to tilt his head to take the whole thing in.
He did so, squinting upward and then startling slightly as the person behind him said. “Awfully big boat.”
“Ship,” Jon corrected without thinking.
“Huh?” Asked the guy, giving Jon a look as if he may, perhaps, have grown a second head.
“The Intrepid is a ship,” Jon repeated, though this time he plastered on a warm customer-service smile. “The Arizona is a boat.” Here he nodded toward the submarine just in front of them. “If it can fit on another floating vessel it’s a boat. If it’s too big to do that then it’s a ship.”
Though initially irritated with Jon’s correction, the man was now eyeing him curiously. “Did you serve?” he asked.
Dark brown curls bounced slightly as Jon shook his head and a small goofy grin lit his face. “No. My girlfriend does,” he answered proudly before noticing that they were being waved ahead by an NYPD officer. “Looks like we’re up.”
The Arizona sat low in the water, her curving deck long and sleek. The sail stood tall and Jon found himself grinning at it fondly, acknowledging the flag with a brief pause in his step even though it wasn’t required of him as a civilian. It felt right. The right feeling quickly turned to nerves, though, as he crossed the temporary gangway that had been set up to allow individuals to move from the pier to the Arizona’s deck. A podium stood on the other end of the walkway manned by two enlisted crew, both armed and watching the group as they made their way onto the back of the vessel.
Jon found himself craning his neck, trying to decide if he knew any of the folks assigned to tour guide duty while he decided which person he should speak to. He’d emailed Commander Lewes letting him know what he planned and asking him to free up Liz, for a few hours at least. He hadn’t heard back and so he couldn’t be sure that the email had even been received. A shot of worry ran through him at the thought. Maybe this would backfire after all… again.
“Excuse me,” Jon said, making his way over to one of the two enlisted crew manning the podium. He didn’t recognize either of them and neither of them seemed to recognize him. He cleared his throat slightly. “I’m trying to find Lieutenant Commander Watts. Or…” when the two registered some surprise he added, “... or Commander Lewes.”
The two exchanged a glance, clearly not expecting someone who was clearly a civilian to be requesting the XO and CO. Jon began to think they were going to refuse him when a familiar voice called his name.
“Jon?”
The voice belonged to the dark haired, diminutive form of Isabel Castillo. Dressed in Navy camo with her rank and insignia clearly marked, the woman cut a sharp figure. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she was looking at him with no small amount of confusion.
“Lieutenant,” Jon said respectfully.
“Does XO know you’re here?” the Chop asked.
“I… don’t think so…” he said quickly. “But I was hoping to see her.”
Isabel, once she got over her shock at seeing someone she knew someplace she entirely did not expect to gave Liz’s beau a knowing look. “Let me see if I can find her,” she told him with a grin that bordered on mischief. “I think she was with the Skipper last time I looked. Come on.”
Jon grinned and nodded, nerves kicking up an additional notch from wiggly discomfort to someone taking a leaf blower to an entire pile of leaves in his gut.
Without a second thought Isabel turned and disappeared into the boat. Jon followed quickly, descending into the boat behind Isabel. It was evident in the way the Chop moved that she'd been living on the sub and was intimately familiar with the path. She deposited him next to the door to the Captain's stateroom and told him to wait there and then back tracked the way she'd come.
Liz had been off the submarine and responded to a call over her portable radio that the Captain was looking for her and that she needed to go to his stateroom. When Liz couldn't be located Isa had mentioned it to the Captain who had known via email that Jon would be coming to surprise Liz. She had been outside of the submarine in a place that the tour line was not visible to her. Liz was clad in the Navy Working Uniform the digital blue camouflage battle dress uniform. She was wearing her ball cap and on a gun belt was armed with a side arm and on the other side her portable was attached.
Liz rounded the corner into the passageway where the wardroom and officers stateroom was located and saw that Jon was standing there back to the door of the captain's stateroom. She stopped at the end of the corridor and caught herself moving to rub her eyes to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.
"Jon?" she asked, rushing to him her heart beating quickly enough for her to feel it in her chest.
"Merhaba Mavi Gozler." Jon grinned wide and his eyes danced as he stepped away from the spot where Isabel had left him and enveloped her in a hug. He pulled her tight and reveled in the familiarity of her and then, squeezing hard one last time released so she could step back far enough so that he could kiss her.
When they finally pulled apart the goofy smile on Jon's face was impossible to miss. "Surprise," he said with amused sheepishness.
"A huge surprise, why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she asked, her tone was that of curiosity and delight not that she was annoyed. Her face certainly showed the delight in the surprise as she stepped to her door and opened it waiting for him to enter before following him and closing the door and securing it.
"Jon..." she said, in disbelief still.
"It's not a surprise if I tell you is it?" He asked, still grinning, though there was a soft look to his eyes now. "Commander Lewes knew I was coming," he confessed. "I wanted to be sure I could see you." He shrugged unapologetically and then, for the first time since she had rounded the corner, let himself really look at her.
This was Liz in the place that was most natural to her. He could see it in her bearing and in the set of her shoulders. He drank her in. Ball cap. Camo uniform fitted for her frame. Those blue eyes that had mesmerized him since the very first day they met. Then there was the radio on her hip and the... He paused, a look of puzzled curiosity running across his features. "That's new," he commented, gesturing towards her firearm.
“I assume the reason isn’t a secret,” Liz said, not exactly sure what he might know and what he might not know. “Sit?” she asked, motioning toward her rack.
Jon frowned, forehead creasing slightly at her comment, but didn't say more. He wanted to focus on her and on the two of them and on the reason he had come. Following her gesture he sat, curious if she would join him or choose to stay standing.
“How long do you plan to be here?” she asked.
"Three nights," he told her. "Until you leave. I have a flight back home in the afternoon on the 12th." A bit of the nervousness he had felt earlier was worming its way back into his head. "I know you won't be free that whole time, but... I thought it might be nice to enjoy the time we could have together."
"I'll talk to the Captain, see what we can work out, one of us probably needs to be around," she told him. "Anything special planned?" she asked, with a big smirk.
Putting on a look of extreme innocence, Jon met her smirk with a look of surprise. "Surprising you in New York isn't special?" He teased. "Elizabeth Watts, you wound me, my love." He said the last with such overblown grandeur, hand pressed to his heart, that he couldn't keep a straight face. Eyes sparkling with amusement he added. "I may have a thing or two up my sleeve."
