This is a short fic based on @quirkette100‘s idea on this post.
There was a salty taste in Rusty’s mouth as his body hit the sand. He laid there for a long moment before he pushed himself up and rubbed his aching forehead. He had never expected Laurel, the young woman from the surf club who has been so helpful in getting him an exclusive interview with a leading professional surfer whose nemesis drowned to death to end up being the ruthless murderer in his mother’s recent case. A small cloud of sand struck his face when someone began chasing Laurel who ran into the water with a surfboard, trying to escape the police officers who came to arrest her. Rusty ungracefully spat the sand that went into his mouth as he watched his mother following Laurel into the water, unceremoniously grabbing a surfboard that one of the surfers stuck in the sand, and launching it into the water as soon as the water were high enough for her to be able to surf it. She laid on the surfboard and rowed fast, getting into deeper water before she managed to straighten up and stand on it. Laurel was only a short distance away from Sharon, who quickly maneuvered the surfboard between the waves, following the young murderer who charged into the waves. He noticed that Sharon nearly fell off her board as she changed the angle, but managed to balance her weight and continue surfing after Laurel. Rusty saw the massive wave that began building behind them just as Laurel pulled out a gun and pointed it at Sharon, shooting in her direction and only narrowly missing her. Sharon seemed barely affected, and she used Laurel’s distraction with the gun to close the distance between their boards, just when the big wave curled above them, and they disappeared from Rusty’s sight. The sea was raging, and he wondered if Sharon would be able to make it out there alive. He knew she was a good swimmer, but traversing the waters of a pool was not the same as doing it in the wild waves of the sea, in the pursuit of a dangerous murderer. He tried calling out her name, but it appeared that she was either too far into the water to be able to hear him. He felt the salty wind hitting his face mercilessly, making tears well in his eyes as he waited for his mother to resurface from the water. It was then when he noticed Laurel emerging out of a tube with Sharon tailing her. It appeared that the proximity of Sharon to her made Laurel lose her balance and she fell into the water, bringing Sharon down with her. A large wave crashed over their heads and once again, they disappeared from Rusty’s view. He could see water splashing as the two women fought in the water. Their colorful surfboards were carried away by the waves, and it became apparent to Rusty that their only way out to the shore would be by swimming. He was happy when he noticed his mother’s dark hair rising over the water, as she swam to the shore, carrying the unconscious Laurel with her.
“My Mom’s a badass,” he said to himself as she emerged from the water, her jeans and blouse soaking wet and her hair dripping all over the sand. He noticed that her shoes were gone and he wasn’t sure if she lost them in the water or if she took them off before chasing Laurel.
“Laurel Dinkel, you are under arrest,” she said and began Mirandizing Laurel before letting another officer take her away.
“Rusty,” he heard her voice, and it sounded as if it came from the bottom of a well. “Rusty, can you hear me?” His eyes fluttered open, and he was attacked with a splitting headache. Sharon was leaning over him, her hands soft on his face. Her hair was dry, and so were her clothes.
“Wow, you clean up fast,” he sighed, and his palm came to cover his forehead. The confused expression on Sharon’s face made him realize that something about that comment was wrong.
“Honey, do you know where we are?” She asked.
“Yeah, we’re at the beach. You arrested that surfer lady for murder,” Rusty responded. “You surfed through a tube, I saw you. It was awesome!” Once again, he noticed the puzzled expression appearing on Sharon’s face.
“Sharon, is the kid okay?” he heard Andy’s voice and the Lieutenant’s face came into his line of sight.
“He’s talking nonsense,” Sharon shook her head. “You should probably call an ambulance.”
“What’s going on, Mom?” Rusty wondered. Something felt really wrong with his head, and Sharon just said he was talking nonsense.
“Rusty, you’ve been hit in the head with a surfboard,” Sharon explained.
“Who did this to me?” Rusty wondered.
“A little girl who was running past you and her board collided with your head,” Sharon made a face, knowing that he would be embarrassed by the fact that a little girl was responsible for his injury.
“So there was no surfing chase in the water? No surfing through a tube and a fist fight between you and a murder suspect?” Rusty asked with disappointment. Sharon shook her head, trying to hide an amused smile at Rusty’s silly idea that she would surf through a tube. “What a letdown.”
“Here, this would make you feel a bit better,” she put an icepack to his forehead. Rusty scrunched his nose and then smiled at her ridiculously.
“Whatever, you’re still a badass,” he said.
