Marina Oneshots

Ripple In The Ocean

A/N: HELLO!!! Welcome back everyone!! Now, this is a very special Oneshot for a certain persons birthday (she knows who she is - and yes, birthday girl this message is purely to embarrass you - you're welcome).

Can we all just wish her a big Happy Birthday before we get started!! Thank you!!

I hope you all enjoy, it's a long one!

The pier was her place. The place where she found calm - calm in the crazy, the crazy of the world, in life, in her mind. It was her escape. Her solitude.

There was something so rhythmic about the water, gently hitting against the shore, or the posts of the dock. The saltiness in the air and the breeze that caused the boats to gently rock. The hues of the water that would change throughout the year - the soft ocean blue in the summer, the light bouncing of the waves as they moved and then the navy darkness of the winter with a bitter chill that was carried amongst its current, its force a lot stronger as it crashed against whatever it could reach.

She could watch it for hours - allowing her thoughts to be carried away with those waves in whatever capacity they may come - the soft, nonsensical thoughts that would mindlessly come, or the strong and bold ones that would weigh her down and dig their way into the pit of her soul.

They were all out there in the ocean, a beautiful yet sometimes sad reminder of the memories and things she'd experienced all contained in one vast place - and the good thing was, the ocean was so large there was always room for her thoughts, she knew it was the once place where she would always be welcomed and understood.

She had a bench, it was 'her bench', and in some ways it was as if the world knew that, because it would always be vacant when she arrived. Her own private sanctuary. It was wooden, with a curved back - just enough that you could relax into it but not feel uncomfortable. A few cracks and splits in the wood from its wear over the years, the first being one that ran down the back, it was wide and long but shallow - the most noticeable for the blank eye, but the others were smaller, more discreet, only when looking would you realise the depth that they held, the ones that could cause the entire bench to collapse if given enough pressure.

But this was her bench and she had faith that it would always be her bench - no amount of pressure would take that away from her.

As Maya looked out, a peaceful expression washed over her features - the ocean was calm today, it was the middle of August after all so the sun was bouncing off the water, birds being the spots that dotted the clear blues up above and their occasional calls being the only thing that disturbed the silence.

Despite the warmth in the air she still had on her Seattle Fire jacket, finding the breeze in the air just slightly too much to go without it. But apart from that she was dressed pretty casually, jeans and a basic t-shirt paired with some trainers - it was what she usually wore, nothing too much, she had a priority of comfort over style.

She dipped her head back and closed her eyes, letting it rest against the top of the bench, finding it nice and warm from the suns rays and let her face just soak up the heat. Taking in some deep breaths she found her balance - a mental one, a feeling of absolute serenity that was needed after a tough couple of shifts.

A few moments after she'd found that balance though she'd found it slightly disturbed as a shadow cast over her face, moving away as quickly as it had came before she felt someone sit down next to her - she didn't even need to open her eyes to know, so she decided to keep them closed and try to at least maintain some of her now disrupted peace.

However, Maya's attempts only lasted around a minute or so before six words cut through the silence and ruined any last hope she had for a peaceful morning on the pier.