Title: To Those Who Survive...

Author: Rebecca

Archiving Permission: My site, anyone else please ask

Pairings: Munder/Dodge

Ratings: not sure yet, but there will be a little bit of everything (including NC-17)

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing the characters and ships from the movie 'Ghost Ship'. I wouldn't sue me because all I have is a dog, a rabbit, a pair of guinea pigs, and student loans that I'm paying off.

Summary: This is an A.U where Munder lives. He remembers back to what has happened and starts to plan what will happen.

Notes: This is a SLASH fic, if you do not like slash...do not read it.

The dark haired man rolled over with a soft groan and clutched the other pillow close to him. He could feel a nightmare creeping around the edge of his mind and he whimpered. In a blink he was back on the ship watching from the shadows as he and Dodge played �Rock, Scissors, Paper� to see who would go down and find out what was blocking the pump line.

For once Dodge lost.

�No!� screamed Munder as he woke with a jump. He looked around his dark bedroom, making sure that there were no ghosts that would reach out and grab him. He sat there panting as he looked over at the clock on his nightstand and saw it read 1:54 in the morning. He took a deep breath and tried to get his shaking nerves back under control. He knew from past experience he wasn�t going to be able to go back to sleep, so he grabbed a pair of jeans from a nearby chair, and went out to the living room.

For a long time he sat in the darkness letting his mind wander. It had been almost two years since he escaped that nightmare that was the �Antonia Graza�. He had done what no one else had�he survived. But he knew at the same time, some part of him had been killed when the ship blew up.

Munder pulled his legs up until he was curled up in the overstuffed chair. He tried to move on with his life after getting out of the hospital. He tried to put what happened behind him. But he couldn�t do it. There was no one he could talk to, because there was no one that would believe him. If any doctors heard the full story, he would�ve been locked up in the loony pen before he could blink. So, he told the authorities that the �Arctic Warrior� had run into the �Antonia Graza� during a storm and resulting explosion had not only took both ships down but killed his friends as well.

At first the authorities didn�t believe him. Especially after they found a contract that the whole crew had signed at Murphy�s request. It stated that if the ship ever sank, the survivors would each get an equal share of the insurance money. The fewer people that survived the larger the amount to those that lived, and Munder was the only one who lived. They accused him of doing something that caused the ramming and explosion but there was no evidence. In fact people who knew him said there was no way he would�ve done something like that; he loved the team as if they were his family. So in time the authorities backed off and left Munder alone.

He felt that sense of loss start to creep through his soul when he looked at a near by photograph. It was of the whole crew about a year before the �Antonia Graza� cursed their lives. Murphy and Epps were standing side by side, with Murphy�s arm wrapped around Epps� shoulders in a fatherly way. Santos was holding his fingers like bunny ears behind Greer�s head with a shit eating grin on his face. He and Dodge were sitting on the ground in front of the others with matching smiles on their faces. Munder couldn�t help but smile at that memory from three years ago.

*Flashback*

Dodge was watching Munder as he lined up his next shot on the pool table. He once said that Munder was a biggest slob he had ever met, but that didn�t seem to affect his pool playing. Dodge was way behind on points and didn�t care about it. It was fun to go drinking and play pool with his friend.

�Come on Munder,� said Dodge as he picked up his beer. �Shoot the damn ball already.�

�Bang, bang,� chuckled Munder as he sent the eight ball rolling smoothly into a side pocket.

Dodge rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh and then said, �You are such a smartass, you know that don�t you?� Munder looked up and gave him a huge smile. �Do you want to play another round?� asked Dodge after he took a drink from his bottle.

�Do you want to lose more?� Munder asked as he went over to the small table and grabbed his own bottle.

�Not really,� groused the blond man as he took apart his pool stick and put it in its case. �How about we go back to my place and play some cards? Then I can see if I can in back some of the money I owe you.�

�Ok cool,� came the answer as Munder finished off his beer, took apart his own stick, and put it into its own case. They walked out of the bar talking about the last salvage they had done and the problems with the wielding torch.

�Man, I swear I thought you were going to snap it over your knee when it went out the fourth time,� smirked Dodge as he opened the door to his small house.

�No shit,� answered Munder as he popped off his boots just inside the door like Dodge had done. �And I thought Epps was going to kill me because she thought I was doing it on purpose. As much as I like wielding, I don�t like staying under water that much.� Dodge laughed at that as he went to the fridge and grabbed a couple bottles of beer and tossed one to Munder.

�Come on, the cards are in the living room,� he said as he lead the way. Munder flopped down on the couch with a yawn. �Damn, you�re not tired are you Munder?� asked Dodge as he got the cards off a near by stand.

�Yeah, I guess I am,� he muttered in return as he popped his bottle and drank about a quarter of it in one gulp.

Dodge looked at his friend for a minute before saying, �If you want we can play cards some other time.�

�No, I�m good,� answered Munder as he stifled another yawn.

�Alright. Don�t whine when I kick your sorry ass and win back all my money because you are falling asleep.�

Munder flipped him the bird and said, �Deal the damn cards already.�

*Two in the Morning*

The card game was long forgot after they figured out they couldn�t sit up without falling over from one too many beers.

�You know something Munder?� asked Dodge as he dragged himself over to the couch.

�What?� answered Munder as he slid down onto the much more secure floor, which for some reason wasn�t trying to knock him off his feet like the couch.

�I don�t understand women,� declared Dodge as he managed to sit beside his friend. At that statement Munder giggled. �What? It�s true. I don�t understand them at all. Like why do they go to the bathroom in a group? Or why do they say one thing but mean another? Honesty, how are we guys suppose to understand them if they change their minds every five minutes?�

Munder put his arm around the other man�s shoulders and said as seriously as he could, �Because we are suppose to be mind readers. I thought you knew that?� Then he broke out laughing and fell over.

�Fucking asshole,� said Dodge with no real anger in his voice as he playfully punched Munder in the ribs.

�Ouch,� said Munder as he sat up, �that hurt.�

�You�re a big baby,� snickered Dodge.

�No, just sore from that pipe hitting me,� yawned Munder as he rubbed his eyes. On the last salvage after the problems with the torch, Munder was on the abandoned ship�s deck and had gotten hit in the chest by a pipe that had swung lose.

�Shit I forgot about that,� said Dodge as he started to pull up Munder�s shirt.

�What the fuck are you doing?� asked Munder as he gently slapped away Dodge�s hands.

�I want to see your bruise.�

�It�s big and ugly. Now, get the hell away from me.� But Dodge kept pestering until Munder grumbled something about him being a nosey bastard as he unbuttoned his outer shirt and pulled up his tee shirt.

�Holy shit! Did you break any ribs? You have gone to the doctor�s haven�t you?� asked Dodge as he carefully ran a finger around the injury that engulfed most of Munder�s left side, starting just below his left nipple and ending just above the waist band of his pants.

�I don�t think there is anything broken and no I haven�t gone to the doctor�s,� hissed Munder as Dodge�s finger played over his nipple as it went around the bruise.

�Did that hurt?� asked Dodge as he pulled back from his friend.

�No. It�s fine. Your finger is a little cold,� stuttered Munder as he pulled his shirt back down.

Dodge smiled at him and asked, �Are you going to stay here tonight?�

�Yeah, I better,� answered Munder. �Seeing that I don�t think I could get home without getting lost.�

�Come on,� said Dodge as he pulled Munder up, �I�ll sleep on the couch and you can have the bed.�

�But it�s your bed,� protested Munder as the room spun a little bit. �I can sleep on the couch.�

�No, no, no,� countered Dodge as he dragged Munder down a short hall. �You sleep in the bed and I�ll sleep on the couch.�

Once they got into the room, Munder looked at the double bed and said, �It�s big enough, so we can both sleep in it.� Dodge cocked his head to one side and nodded as he stripped off his shirt. He stopped when he noticed Munder looking a bit uncomfortable.

�What�s wrong Munder? Not going shy are you?� asked Dodge with a flippant grin.

�Fuck you,� answered Munder with no anger in his voice. �It�s just that I haven�t had a chance to do my laundry yet and I don�t have any��

�Going commando again?� teased Dodge as he dug through a nearby dresser.

�Blow me blondie,� responded Munder as he flipped him the bird. The next thing he knew a pair of sweat pants landed on his head, at which Dodge roared with laughter. Munder pulled the pants off his head and walked into the bathroom, muttering the whole way. When he came back Dodge was already out like a light on the bed.

With a tired groan Munder crawled onto the bed. For a long time he just stared through a starlit window and tried to find a comfortable position. Finally he swore under his breath as he laid on his right side facing Dodge�s back. But he still wasn�t very comfortable. He had his right arm curled under his head and his left wrapped around his stomach. But it was pressing into his bruise. So, he carefully slid it around Dodge�s waist and rested his forehead against the back of his friend�s head with a contented sigh.

�Comfortable?� asked a voice suddenly. Munder almost jumped out of his skin as he pulled back, only to be stopped when Dodge grabbed his wrist. �No Munder, it�s alright. You can stay like that. I don�t mind.� Munder looked at the back of Dodge�s head for a minute and then went back into the position he was in before Dodge scared him. �Munder?� Asked Dodge in a quiet voice.

�Yeah?�

�Does it hurt a lot?�

�Only if I sleep on it or try to take a really deep breath.�

�Shit. You are planning to go to see a doctor, right?� Inquired Dodge as he rolled over and looked as his dark haired friend.

�No, I�ll be fine,� he answered as he tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

�Go to sleep,� chuckled Dodge as he gave Munder a friendly kiss on the forehead. Dodge looked at his friend for a minute and then gently kissed him on the lips.

Munder blinked and then whispered, �Dodge? What was that?�

The blond man smiled as he pulled his friend into his arms and said, �If you don�t know what that was, then we are going to have to talk sometime.�

*end flashback*

Munder felt his body relax at the recollections from that night three years ago. He decided that he could finally sleep, as those sweet memories kept away the ghosts that still haunted his nights.

TBC

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