Chapter Text
"Caz, you made it!"
“Brodie! What's wrong with Finlay, she's freaked out here?”
"Listen, Caz… There's no much time. There's oil and gas getting in here… When it fills… It'll be headed right up the drill pipe."
“What are you on about?”
"I'm still in the Pontoons... I've only got a couple of minutes. I cannae stop it. The rig's a time bomb now, you understand? One spark, and… you need tae find a way off."
“Just get back up here and we'll work it out, yeah?
"I cannae dae that."
“What?”
"I can't get back up."
“No wait!”
"I'm sorry…”
“Wait, listen…”
“Ye're on yer own now…"
“I'll come tae you, awright?
"Nae, ye won't. You wouldn't even get halfway to me. The leg's flooded and the gas… it's no possible."
“You got yer dive gear?”
"Aye, but-"
“So you can use that!”
"It's oil, Caz! There's nothing tae be done."
“Don't fuckin’ say that!”
"I knew the risk when I came doon here.”
“Fuck… I cannae lose you as well…”
"Listen, I'm awright, Caz. I'm… I'm already back on Skye. You've never seen water like that, Caz. Clear, peaceful… you just let go, and… everything's fine."
“Aye… that sounds beautiful.”
"You go, one day… awright?"
“Hah…! No, fuck that, Im never swimming again after this,”
"Aye!" Brodie chuckled.
"Caz. You and Finlay, you can do this, awright?"
"I'm sure she wouldn't dae something so stupid-”
“Brodie? You there?”
“Caz?”
“What's stupid? Talk tae me… I'm here!” Caz's eyes widened when he heard an explosion, even Finlay looked up in confusion, that wasn't good… but the rig didn't blow which meant…
Caz heard a loud gasp and loud rushing water through the phone and quickly lifted it back to his ear, “Brodie? What's going on?”
“Something's… something blew the side of the forward pontoons! The water is draining, but now the rig will probably sink much faster-” Brodie interrupted himself with a gasp when he saw something he never expected, “a support ship is here!”
Caz's eyes widened and he looked at Finlay, who couldn't hear Brodie, just raising a brow at Caz's agape mouth of shock, “...we're saved… we're saved! Thank Christ!” Caz exclaimed, Finlay's eyes widening, “Brodie? Brodie, ye still there?” Caz said hoping Brodie had an escape now, “...Brodie?” he repeated, feeling more anxious at the lack of response, before he heard yelling as unfamiliar voices approached, at first, both he and Finlay were cautious, making way to a more hidden corner until the door opened to reveal a group of men in hazmat suits, who shouted at the two survivors to follow them out.
Caz looked at Finlay, who was staring ahead blankly, as if still anticipating their demise even as they were guided into the support ship.
Once on the ship, the two them are shoved into separate isolation rooms, whoever brought them in seemed to separate them based on sex, same as public bathrooms and the cabins in the rig, but there was a glass window between their rooms with a curtain and a phone, kind of like a prisoner visiting sector but between two isolation rooms, so they can communicate still.
Caz looked around, at first, he thought he was alone, before noticing Brodie, his eyes lit up with a gasp of shock and relief, Brodie, despite having been in his diving gear, had his head covered in crude oil, and his swimsuit looked oil black from toes to his neck, pretty much drenched. Caz didn't care though, running over without a second thought and giving Brodie a big ol' hug, squeezing him tightly in his arms, “Brodie! Thank fuck… I thought I lost ye, never dae that tae me again, ye prick!”
“Aye aye- I'm sorry, Caz,” Brodie said, hugging Caz back, chuckling weakly and patting Caz's back lightly, “let's stick together from now on, eh?”
“Aye…” Caz nodded, releasing Brodie, “...where are we?”
“I dinnae ken,” Brodie said, sitting on the bench in the back of the room, Caz sitting next to him, “everything went by so fast, I didnae think tae ask or look for a logo or anything of that sort…”
“Same here,” Caz said, he sighed heavily, looking at the window connecting to Finlay's room, he got up, walking over and grabbing the phone off its stand, it made a ringing noise and Finlay looked over from where she sat on the bench alone in her own room, she got up, walking over and taking the other phone.
“Ye two laddies awright in there?” Finlay said, Caz smiling slightly, glancing at Brodie who was silently watching.
“Aye, we're awright, did ye happen to see anything that can tell us who took us here?” Caz asked, Finlay looking at Brodie briefly then back at Caz.
“Aye, I think it's one of Cadal's rival companies, got a wee glance at one of their papers, had the I.N.K. logo on the back,”
“I.N.K.? The fuck is I.N.K.?” Caz said, brows furrowed in confusion.
“Aye, I've never heard of them,” Brodie added, Finlay shrugged, nodding.
“They're nae well known, I.N.K., or INK, is short for the Institute of Nonconventional Knowledge, I dinnae know much about them, but I know they're a research company with a lab near my town, I only know of them because of all the rumours people in my town like throwing about,”
“Odd, what are they doing all the way out here then?” Brodie asked, walking over, the phones were loud enough Caz didn't have to hold it to his ear and Brodie could hear it, the phones felt kind of pointless.
“Nae clue,” Finlay said, leaning against the wall while looking through the glass at the duo, “I think they study uncommon illnesses and diseases, that's why they're in such an unpopulated area,”
“Aye… dae… dae ye think they came because they caught wind of… whatever the fuck is on the rig?” Caz asked.
“Maybe, I dinnae have all the answers, Caz,” Finlay said, sighing, “we should get some sleep, we dinnae ken what's going tae happen once we're at the mainland, and personally I'm exhausted from running around on the rig from them beasties,”
“Aye, I'm with ye there, talk tae ye later, Finlay,”
“Aye, night,” Finlay said before hanging up the phone and shutting her side of the blinds, Caz did the same on their side before going to one of the two beds in the chamber, Brodie going to the other one.
“Goodnight, Caz,” Brodie said before turning onto his side.
Caz smiled, pulling off his boots and putting them aside before laying down, pulling the thin blanket over himself, “goodnight,”
—7-DAYS-LATER—
It'd been a week since the three were saved and were dropped of at an unfamiliar facility building, every day there so far has been the same, a doctor came in at morning and after dinner for check-ups and they get a little blood drawn in the morning, they're served 3 meals a day, and are let out into what seems to be a courtyard for 2 hours a day, when which Caz and Brodie got to see Finlay, it was a monotonous routine Caz had expected to experience if he ever went to prison, but this wasn't prison, at least, Caz doesn't think it's prison.
“Cameron McLeary, please follow me,” Caz and Brodie's current doctor, Dr. Miller, said. Caz got up from the bed he was sitting on, brows furrowing at the unfamiliar request, an unexpected change in routine.
Caz followed Dr. Miller out of the room, Brodie looking up in confusion, but didn't get the chance to say anything before Caz and Dr. Miller were already out of the room.
The doctor led Caz to a new room, it appeared to be an interview room, and he gestured for Caz to sit at the table, Dr. Miller sitting opposite him, “apologies for the change in your familiar routine, but we at I.N.K. have good news for you and your friends,”
“Aye? And what's that?” Caz said, looking at the doctor with a tilted head.
“We are preparing to release you guys and allow you to return back home, you will receive a large payment for your troubles as well as a monthly pay to assist your lack of careers and on-going medical needs you may have,”
“And what's the catch?” Caz asked, raising a brow, he could practically smell that there was more to it.
“Nothing too bad, we simply request you to sign an NDA to swear your silence on anything you've seen on the Baira D as well as here at our facilities, not a word to anyone, not even Cadal. We will also have monthly check-ins to ensure no spread of CFP,”
“CFP…?” Caz said inquisitively.
“Carnis Facies Parasitus. The entity from the rig,”
“Oh… that thing. Dae ye… know what it is?” Caz asked, looking at the doctor with wide eyes.
“No.” Dr. Miller said flatly, Caz looking away at the blunt word.
“Ah…” Caz mumbled, slowly, he returned his gaze to Dr. Miller, “so… an NDA and monthly check-ins… that's all?”
“Yes, but we need to do one last thing before we can release you,” Dr. Miller picks up the clipboard from the table, looking through the papers, “we have to have a quick chat first, your friends Mr. Brodie and Ms. Finlay will have this too,”
“Awright then…” Caz said, nodding in agreement to do this interview, or the chat, as the doctor said.
“Cameron McLeary, ex-boxer, electrician on the Baira D. Your current residence is in Glasgow, correct?”
“Aye,” Caz said, watching the doctor seemingly scribble down his answer with a pen.
“Married to Susan McLeary?”
“Aye,”
“Great, you were under legal fire for Assault charges when you went to work on the Baira D. Correct?”
“Aye…”
“Don't worry, we have handled that already,” Dr. Miller said, standing, Caz looked at him in confusion when the doctor walked over and held a vial up to his face, Caz wincing as his head began to hurt, “I see…” Dr. Miller murmured as he walked away and sat back down, Caz looking at the other man in confusion, “Do you consent to having your life monitored by the I.N.K.?”
“Excuse me?” Caz said, eyes widening, “like… tae what degree?”
“Pardon my wording, do you consent to I.N.K. to set up monitoring equipment in your home as well as putting a tracking chip on you? We will not monitor you in private settings such as bathrooms or bedrooms, and consent for certain room access may be removed under your control,”
“Uhm… I guess?” Caz mumbled, raising a brow, “I can revoke this anytime, correct?”
“Of course, our intentions are not to intrude into your personal life, we are doing this for your safety,”
“Okay… aye, I consent then,”
“Thank you, please follow me, we will give you your chip, and we must do one last blood test to ensure you are cleared of CFP,”
Caz nodded and followed the man, he was still a bit skeptical, the monitoring seemed like overkill and the payment felt too good to be true, but Caz wanted to go home, and if this was the only way then so be it.
Hopefully he can go with Brodie, oh and Finlay of course.
Caz had some blood drawn and they used a needle to put some sort of tracking chip device in his arm, it felt weird at first but after a few minutes he felt normal again, afterwards, he brought back to he and Brodie's room and Brodie is led out of the room before they could exchange any words.
By time Brodie was back though, Caz had long fallen asleep, and the next day seemed to arrive faster than usual.
“Mr. McLeary and Mr. Brodie, please follow me,” one of the facility guards, not a person either of them knew well enough to identify with a name, led them out, Finlay was there too, and they are brought to what seemed to be the building exit, all three of them sign a NDA and are given a bag, before being ushered out of the building and into a truck, where they were also given their breakfast to eat during the ride, two guards also put in the back.
“...Shouldn't we be in separate vehicles?” Finlay said, looking out the window skeptically.
“What dae ye mean?” Caz asked, looking at Finlay with a tilt of the head.
“Brodie lives in Skye, you live in Glasgow, I live in Aberdeen… these are different places and quite far from each other,” Finlay pointed out, Caz humming in thought, but Brodie seemed to brush it off.
“Dinnae be so pessimistic, Finlay, they could just be dropping us off one at a time, maybe they dinnae have more vehicles available,” Brodie said, shrugging, “or maybe there's a transfer stop, like my old school bus days,”
“Could be,” Caz said in agreement, eating the breakfast he was provided, they were all eating between words.
After two or so hours, the vehicle stopped, Caz looked outside in confusion, the area was unfamiliar, albeit it looked like a lovely town, but Caz definitely has never been here before, “where are we?”
“...This is my hometown,” Finlay said, the truck opened, the guards in the back with them did not follow as Dr. Miller, who had been driving, led them towards what appeared to be a… a castle?
“It's beautiful, but why are we all here?” Brodie said, looking around as he followed the doctor alongside Caz and Finlay.
“I know you guys must be very confused,” Dr. Miller said as they stopped before the mid sized castle, interrupting their chat, “welcome to your new home, your families have been moved in already, for the sake of convenience and safety, your housing has been moved here, apologies for no forewarning,”
Caz stared up at the castle with an agaped mouth, he never knew wealth growing up, he barely had food for most of his life and now he's going to live in a goddamn castle!? I mean, it's not a huge castle, but a castle is a castle! Plus it was gorgeous, one could almost mistake it for a palace. Caz couldn't help but gawk as they went in and walked through the courtyard.
“Callum!” Finlay exclaimed suddenly, catching Caz's attention, both he and Brodie looked over in time to see Finlay run into a younger man , hugging the man, who seemed to be half her age, if not younger, "I'm sorry for being gone longer than I said… How's college been going?”
Caz smiled at the sight, looking around to see if his own girls were around, he frowned a bit when he didn't see them, but his face softened when he saw Brodie approach his daughter, Mhairi, the girl was an adult, but still seemed to care greatly for her pa, but he didn't see his wife oddly enough.
“Da!” A familiar young voice called, immediately, Caz's head whipped around just in time to catch his girls, one in each arm.
“Aye! Hello lassies, hope your Christmas was nae tae bad without me, eh?” Caz teased, the girls giggling and hugging him.
“We missed you!” Maidie whined, hugging his neck, Caz chuckled, patting her back with the hand that held her up.
“Aye well… I missed ye tae, Maidie, ye tae Cait,” Caz said softly, kissing each of his girls foreheads, and Cait smiled brightly, giggling happily, “where's Mama at?”
“There!” Maidie said eagerly, pointing to what appeared to be a stable, a moment later, the women he loved most stepped out and smiled softly at him, Caz couldn't help but stare and smile back, he forgot all about their conflicts and felt like he was falling in love with her again.
Gently putting down his girls, he approached Suze, looking at her with a doe eyed expression as he trotted over to meet her halfway, he gives her a kiss as soon as he's close enough, and is overjoyed when she returned the kiss, “Suze… ye're just as beautiful as the day we met,” he murmured, Suze smiled, suddenly yanking him over and hugging him tightly.
“Never dae that again ye bampot…” she whispered, Caz frowned a bit, feeling her tears start soaking into his shoulder, “I thought I'd lost ye tae…”
Caz took a deep breath, not wanting to think of the losses, of Roy, fuck… he deserved better than that… Why him? Why couldn't it be him who died and Roy who lived? Caz didn't deserve this second change.
“Caz, I can practically hear yer thought, ye bampot, stop,” Suze murmured, pulling away she cupped Caz's cheek to look into his green eyes, her own brown eyes teary, “it's okay tae cry, love,”
“Aye… aye I know…” Caz mumbled, he yanked her back into a hug as a few tears escaped, “I'm sorry… I couldnae save him…” he whispered.
“It's… it's nae yer fault…” Suze murmured, “why dinnae we go inside? Ye look like ye could use some sleep,”
Suze led Caz to bed, where she made him lay and pet his hair gently while humming a soft tune until he fell asleep, Cait and Maidie didn't fully understand what was happening, but they understood in whatever way Suze had explained it to them, so they had snuggled up with their dad, where the girls slept beside him and Suze soon joined.
Caz was hoping these feelings wouldn't appear, but it was inevitable, he knew he, Brodie, and Finlay were likely going to have some emotional and mental troubles for a bit.
How fun.