The Most Valuable Gift

He sighed. He knew Ed wouldn't file charges against them. He just wanted them to realize their actions had repercussions.

The rest of the trip back was done in silence. Dale's peace of mind was gone. He was worried about Ed. The look of shame on his face as he pulled up his shorts was stuck in his mind. Dale needed to talk with Rachel. He had to tell her what happened.

He wished they'd gone shopping with the ladies today.

-=-

When they reached the dock a police car was waiting with its lights going. Two officers were standing on the dock. The Professor got the ship tied up and let the police on. The ladies looked terrified.

"Come with us please," one of the officers said and the two women left the boat with the police. They were placed in the back of the cruiser and the officers got in and drove away. Dale stood on the deck of the boat watching in shock. He looked up and saw Ed descending the ladder. When Ed reached the deck Dale looked closely at him as they moved to the dock. He handed Ed his bag.

"Are you OK Ed?"

The young man just nodded. Captain Dan slid down the ladder and looked over at Dale. "The police are friends of mine. They're just taking the women back to their hotel. Ed refused to press charges." He reached up to Dale from the deck of his ship and handed Dale a small memory chip. "I film the guests fishing so I can offer a value added service. The footage on this chip is of you catching the Marlin. It also has the two women pantsing Ed. If you have any more trouble with those women you have this as evidence."

"Thank you."

"On behalf of myself and my crew, I'm terribly sorry you had to deal with that. In all my years of running these tours I've never seen anything like that behavior." The captain shook his head and looked at Ed. "Take care of yourself Ed. Remember what I said."

Ed smiled and nodded to the man.

Dale shook the man's hand as well as the Professor's then he and Ed made their way to the waiting van. The ride back to the hotel was much slower. When they arrived Ed said he was going to go take a shower.

Dale nodded and watched the man leave. He went to reception and asked if his wife and her friend had returned yet. A quick check of the computer indicated that his wife had not yet returned to their room. He decided to wait in the lobby to catch Rachel on her way by.

He must have nodded off as he jolted awake when Tristan shook his shoulder. Rachel was standing behind her with a smile on her lips. Both had shopping bags in their hands.

"How went the fishing sleepyhead?" Tristan teased.

"We had a problem. I need to talk with you Rachel."

"Where's Ed?" she said sharply, her smile disappearing.

"He's in your room. Please, let's go talk in the lounge where we have more privacy." Dale asked.

They found a quiet corner and Dale went through the events of their trip, leaving nothing out.

Rachel was obviously desperate to see Ed but she stayed to hear the details.

"I don't know what made Ed think he's some kind of monster but that self-doubt is still alive and kicking. I don't think I'll ever forget that look of shame on his face."

"I want to scratch their eyes out!" Rachel growled. "Thank you Dale for being there for him. Now I have to go see him. I think we'll have dinner in the room tonight. See you at breakfast tomorrow? I'll let you know then if we'll be joining you on the catamaran trip."

The couple nodded at Rachel and she rushed off with her shopping bags clutched in her hands. She made it to their room and went inside. "Edward?" she called out.

"On the balcony," he responded. "Are you alone?"

She wondered at that question. "Yes, just me."

"Ok."

She dropped her bags on the desk and made her way out to see him. She saw the top of his head resting back against a lounge chair which had been rolled back to almost touch the glass doors. Hiding from being seen from below. She stepped through the door and came to an abrupt stop. He was naked. The towel he'd wrapped around his waist after his shower was open and hanging down on either side of the chair.

Ed turned his head to look at her. He gave her a smile and seemed to be looking for something in her eyes.

"Dale told me what those two bitches did to you today."

Ed looked away and chuckled quietly. "Bitches be crazy," he mumbled.

"What?"

"It's what Captain Dan told me on the boat. He let me ride up top with him on the way back. He told me not to care what they did or said because they were 'bitches' and 'bitches be crazy'.

Not the grandest examples of wisdom but there was compassion in the message. Rachel gave Captain Dan points for that.

"He was right. You shouldn't care about their opinions or actions. They were wrong-"

"I'm not normal." Ed interrupted her.

Rachel stopped and looked at him. "What? Of course you're normal."

"No, this part of me is abnormal. Freakish. They wouldn't react like they do otherwise."

Rachel flashed back to the night in her basement. The football party. Ed's humiliation. The screams, curses and laughter. He was still carrying the wounds of that night.

She walked over to him and knelt next to his chair. She gently turned his chin until he was looking at her. She saw the sadness in his eyes. She wished it was possible to go back in time to the party and stop him from following that cruel boy downstairs but that was just a fantasy. It happened. She was here now to help him leave that trauma in the past.

"You're big. That's just a fact. You're NOT freakishly big! You're not stepping on your penis when you walk. THAT would be freakish." Ed gave her a small smile for that. "There are many reasons which have nothing to do with you personally that might cause people to react in many different ways to seeing your size. Everyone has their own issues when it comes to sexuality. Everyone has feelings of inadequacy in some areas. There are multiple ways people can react to that insecurity; anger, fear, disgust, mocking laughter but all of these are fed from their own insecurity. Their issues. Not yours."

"Can we just stay in the room tonight?"

She smiled. "Yes. I can order room service if you like."

Ed's stomach growled loudly. He looked at her sheepishly. "We missed lunch today," he murmured.

"A big dinner then an early bedtime," she smiled.

He nodded so that's what they did.

Chapter 8

Ed carried the beach bag with their towels and lotion as he followed Rachel down the beach to the waiting boat. They would be ferried out to the catamaran in this smaller boat. The catamaran was moored out in the bay and Ed was excited to get on board. There was supposed to be a large open area at the front where the only surface was a large net you could lie on to see the water below. Rachel made sure they arrived early so they could try to get seats up by that net. It was first come first served. Dale and Tristan were right behind them.

The small boat got them out to the catamaran quickly and they climbed on board. The larger boat was beautiful! They made their way forward and sure enough there was the open net. He grinned back at Rachel and her face lit up with a smile of her own. The 'net' turned out to be wide straps so it was comfortable to lie on. Rachel sat down next to Ed and Dale and Tristan on the opposite side. They could slide down and lie flat on the net side by side and there was still room at the far end of the net for two more guests. Ed took the position furthest out so he could feel the spray and the wind. Dale took the other end with the ladies in the middle.

More guests began to arrive and the boat filled quickly. There was a 30 passenger limit and to Ed it felt like double that but Rachel assured him there was probably only 20 other guests. He supposed he was just a little over sensitive.

Just before they got underway a young couple came by and asked if the space on the net next to them was open. Ed nodded and they smiled and got settled. Ed caught a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye and saw the young woman was tying her sandy blond hair back and her ear was now exposed. She had gold rings, lots of them, running up the outer edge of her ears. She noticed his stare and smiled.

"You like my earrings?" she said with a lovely accent he couldn't place.

"Yes, I've never seen so many!" Ed said in awe.

Her smile turned into a pleased grin at his wonder. Ed noticed the boyfriend giving him a hard look so he turned back to face Rachel. He heard the woman say something in another language to the man. She sounded annoyed and the man's response sounded... mean? It could have just been the language. Then silence.

It was to be a five hour cruise with lunch and snorkeling by an island. They'd have beach time then the cruise back. Ed hoped he hadn't started an argument and ruined the day for them.

Ed picked up Rachel's hand and pressed it against his lips. She had been so wonderful with him the night before. He felt so much better. Rachel squirmed as his lips travelled over her knuckles and she finally pulled her hand away and shook her finger at him. He saw her nipples were pressing against the tight cups of her red bikini top. He looked away quickly as he felt a familiar twitch in his bathing suit. Tristan and Dale were smiling at them and Ed smiled back. The young man wasn't smiling when Ed looked towards the bow. Ed sighed. Nothing he could do about that.

Ed tugged his shirt off and pulled the suntan lotion out of the bag as he tucked the shirt inside. Rachel took the bottle from his hand and squirted some in her palm then handed it back to him. He began rubbing lotion on his chest and stomach while Rachel got his back. He'd already done his face, arms, and legs back in the room. He had to twist his body to face the bow so Rachel could reach his back properly.

Ed tried not to look at the couple before him but there was an almost tangible quality to the man's glare. Looking the other way he saw an appreciative gaze from the woman who was smiling openly at him. She cried out in sudden pain and a string of coarse sounding words flew from her lips at her companion as she rubbed her hip. He'd kicked her?

He looked to the man and he was firing some coarse words back at the woman. He suddenly stood and made his way to the back of the boat pulling a cigarette from a pack.

Ed looked at the woman who was still rubbing her leg. "Are you alright?"

She smiled and shrugged. "Sergo can be a jealous prick sometimes. I am Katrina. Please, call me Kat."

"Hello Kat, I'm Ed. This is Rachel, Tristan, and Dale," he said, making the introductions. Kat nodded to each of them with a smile. They traded hotel names. Ed thought he recalled seeing hers when they were driving around.

"I'm not familiar with your accent. It's very nice," Ed said.

"We're Georgian." Seeing Ed's confusion she continued "A country near Turkey on the Black Sea."

"Ah, we're from the States," Ed replied.

Kat smiled. "Yes, I recognized your accent."

Ed looked at her in surprise. "I have an accent?"

Kat began to laugh and the others smiled at his innocence.

"I think you are a very sweet man, Ed from the United States, but I had better go find Sergo. I can leave our bags here?"

Ed nodded to her and she made her way to the back. He slid down until he was fully reclining on the mesh. It was heavenly. Rachel ran her fingers through his hair and he purred with contentment.

He must have fallen asleep as he suddenly jerked awake to the sound of shouting. Sergo and Kat were flaring at each other across the netting. Kat was sitting up on the center beam with her feet on the surface near Ed's shoulders. Sergo was sitting up on the hull across from her. Both were shouting and gesturing at him. Ed got annoyed.

"Hey! People are trying to relax here. Keep it down!"

Sergo gave him a condescending look and rattled off something directed at him.

Ed just looked at him tiredly. "Was that meant to upset or insult me? Or just make you feel brave?"

The look in Sergo's eyes went cold and dangerous. Ed just held his gaze calmly. Eventually Sergo made an odd sucking noise with his teeth, picked up his bag and walked to the back of the boat. Kat looked at Ed nervously. "You shouldn't have questioned his bravery."

Ed looked at Kat. "I wasn't the one hiding behind a language we didn't share."

With a final nervous look Kat grabbed her bag and went to find her boyfriend.

"Americans! Making friends wherever we go!" Dale teased and Ed smiled at him. He relaxed back against the mesh and was soon lulled back to sleep by the waves.

Ed woke once more as the boat anchored near a small reef. It was snorkeling time! Dale and Rachel decided to sit this one out but Ed and Tristan got their equipment. She got a life vest but they didn't have one large enough to fit around Ed's torso. He told them he'd come back to the ship when he got tired. They made their way to the steps leading down to the water and got in.

"How's your swimming?" Tristan asked.

"I'm an excellent swimmer in a pool but again, this is another first for me."

"It's a lot rougher in the ocean," she said with a grin.

They got their masks and snorkels in place and followed the other swimmers. Sergo and Kat could be seen ahead of them. Sergo also didn't have a life vest but he certainly would have fit one. Glancing at each other they veered a little to the side so they didn't get too close to the couple.

Ed was mesmerized by the beauty of the life under the sea. The reef was small but there was so many species of fish and other creatures living on it. It really seemed like an island under the water.

Tristan looked like she was enjoying herself as well. She kept pointing things out to Ed and making squeaky noises in her snorkel. Ed tried his best not to laugh as that flooded his mask.

They followed each other around the reef for thirty minutes and Ed was starting to get really tired. He wasn't exactly a floater with so little body fat.

Suddenly he heard choking and screaming. He lifted his head as did Tristan and they spotted Kat splashing on the surface. No sign of Sergo. Ed cast a quick look at Tristan then dove beneath the surface. He saw the man floating just above the reef. Ed quickly swam to him and dragged him up to the surface. Ed checked and the man wasn't breathing.

He was becoming exhausted but he immediately began pulling Sergo to the boat as that was the only solid surface around. He kicked and pulled for all he was worth and got to the boat's steps quickly. Hands lifted the unconscious man upwards and Ed pulled off his flippers and climbed up after them.

No one seemed to be doing anything so Ed's training kicked in. He concentrated hard and the steps clicked into place. He worked on Sergo as the other guests arrived and a cheer went up as the drowned man began to cough and gasp. Kat and Tristan finally managed to get back on the boat and Kat dropped to her knees next to the coughing man. She was crying and saying something that Ed couldn't understand.

He flopped onto his back and gasped for air as his exhausted muscles twitched and shook. Rachel knelt next to him and put his head on her soft legs. He smiled up at her. "Hello pretty lady."

"I didn't know you were a lifeguard too."

"Didn't I mention I got certified when I had that job working at the community pool?" he said weakly.

"Are you ok?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"I'm just exhausted... and hungry!"

"You're always hungry! Luckily they are about to serve lunch." Rachel pointed to the back.

"Ah! You're an angel!" he gasped and sat up.

Sergo was sitting up as well and was looking at Ed with a sour expression. Kat was speaking quietly and rapidly to him in their language. Finally Sergo raised his hand to indicate he'd heard enough. He looked at Ed again.

"Thank you," was all he said and even that hadn't come across as very sincere. Kat looked furious again.

'You're welcome," was Ed's reply. He had no more time or energy for the man. He didn't wait around for more words as there was food waiting for him.

The staff were delighted he'd been there to save their guest and piled food onto two plates for Ed. They cleared a table for four and Ed's group got to sit together and enjoy the delicious chicken, fish, rice, salads, and vegetables. There was a huge dessert assortment, mostly cookies.

Ed powered through his lunch and ate a few cookies for dessert. Finally he pushed back and patted his tummy to show its little bulge. He was stuffed! He yawned hugely.

"Oh! Sorry about that," he said to his friends.

"I think someone needs a snooze." Rachel said.

"Well I am a little bit tired," Dale admitted with a straight face. Tristan swatted his arm and Dale chuckled. The group made their way back out to the front of the boat.

Kat and Sergo were back in their spot.

"If you do not mind we would like to share this area with you." Kat asked.

"Not at all. We were just going to have a nap," Ed said.

"We will be quiet." Kat replied picking up Ed's hint. He smiled and settled himself down.

"Hang on Ed. You have to reapply your lotion after swimming," Rachel said holding out the bottle. He sighed and took it from her. It took ten minutes to cover all of his exposed skin and that was with Rachel's assistance. His eyelids were drooping when he was done. Using his rolled up towel as a pillow he laid down on his stomach and was out.

-=-

When he woke once he felt shadows across his body and the boat was moving once more. He was still on his stomach and felt someone soft pressed against his left arm, sharing his warmth. Opening his eyes he was looking through Rachel's lush red hair. Then he realized he felt someone soft pressed against his right arm. He turned his head and saw sandy blond hair and many, many earrings. Lifting his head he saw the angry eyes of Sergo staring at him from his seated position on the hull. Ed raised an eyebrow in question but Sergo just stood up and walked away carrying his bag.

"Kat."

She stretched out against him, rubbing down the length of his body. She pulled her head back and blinked. "Oh! Ed! I am sorry. I was just trying to stay warm and you are very warm."

"That's OK. Uh, I think Sergo hates me again. He just left if you want to find him."

"No. I am done with him. I have told him that as well. He showed me what kind of man he is when you saved his life. I will not waste my life on a man like that. When we get back to Georgia I am moving back in with my mother."

"If you don't mind me saying it I'm glad to hear that. I know you can do better than him," Ed sighed.

He felt movement on his left side so he turned his head and looked into beautiful blue eyes. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly making Rachel purr. Her eyes widened when Kat sat up leaning on Ed's back to steady herself. The breeze was much cooler and sitting on top of the mesh meant the breeze got them from below as well.

Ed looked over Rachel and saw Tristan cuddled up against Dale. They looked so sweet together Ed smiled at them and Rachel looked to see what he was smiling at. She also thought they made a cute couple. Ed caught motion in the corner of his eye and saw they were re-entering the bay they'd left from.

"We're back," he said to Rachel. She sat up and tapped Tristin's foot. The woman blinked her eyes open and stretched against her husband who was awoken by that delightful feeling.

They got their stuff ready. While Ed was over by Dale the older man leaned in beside his ear. "What happened to Kat's boyfriend?" he whispered.

"She dumped him. She didn't like the man she saw when he came back."

"That's going to make for an awkward remaining few days." Dale said and Ed's eyes widened.

"I hadn't thought of that."

"The girl seems bright and tough. She'll land on her feet," Dale suggested.