Under the Ice

She reached over her head to grab the bedframe, because he was pushing her off the mattress.

"Yes... yes... yes... fu..." She urged him on, a word for each thrust. She watched his face, saw the mist roll over his eyes, saw him tip over the edge and fall. He orgasm came with a roar of denial.

"Naaaah. God!"

Hannah felt his every pulse. She clung to him, wriggled her legs to hold him tighter, tried vainly to reach over his shoulders as they shook, his chest pressed to her face, her vision blurred, crushed in delight. His seed in her.

"Yes, yes," she cried as he lifted his astonished face from hers. "Oh Noah, Noah!"

* * * * *

That evening Noah checked in with base camp on the radio as Hannah wrote up her reports at the table. The weather report was concerning and would affect their plans. The current storm would pass through during the night, but after that there were a series of anticyclones blowing up from the mid west, possibly lasting a couple of weeks. The director at Nuuk recommended they cut short their trip or risk being stuck there.

Hannah looked up as Noah chattered away in Danish, but his glances to her didn't look hopeful. The call ended and he blew out his cheeks with a sigh.

"Good news or bad news, Hannah," he asked. Hannah leaned back in her chair tapping her pencil to her teeth.

"Bad news, I suppose," she sighed wearily. Nothing in Greenland was ever straightforward.

"Ok, bad news is there's going to be two weeks of shit weather and we only have supplies for five days."

"And the good news?" she asked plaintively.

"There's a break tomorrow, when we can at least make it back to Atammik, possibly Nuuk."

"What -- spend two weeks stuck in Atammik instead of here? Not such good news then," Hannah replied glumly, throwing her pencil on the table.

"Welcome to Greenland, Hannah," Noah shrugged in resignation.

Hannah pulled up her calendar and groaned again.

"I've got these students coming up from Imperial on the 18th. Oh fuck it. I knew this timetable was going to be tight, but this completely screws it up." She put her head on her hands. "Two years I've been working up to this."

"Can you get someone else to take the samples for you? I mean, I know the sites you've covered already and we have them plotted."

"Thanks, Noah. I appreciate that, I really do. I'll try to get hold of Monica in Seattle and see if they have anyone coming out. Anyway, we're already short of one auger and the manual one is a pain to use." Hannah was out of ideas and exchanged a long look with Noah. "Welcome to Greenland. Oh well, I have everything pretty much up to date with the samples I have. What time do we need to leave in the morning?"

"If you want to catch the ferry to Nuuk, we need to be there by eleven o'clock. So leave at six. Early start huh? That's assuming the weather is okay of course, but it does seem to be easing."

They sat in silence for some time, lost in their own thoughts, but with this change of plan they both mulled the same topic.

Each of them was struggling to unpick the emotional knot they had tied. Was this the start of something between them or a short, passionate fling?

From Noah's perspective, she was an attractive, clever girl, but the fact that she reminded him so much of Claudia was a two-edged sword. On the one hand, he already knew Hannah was the kind of girl who would make him happy -- in that respect she was a home run. On the other hand, she was too much like Claudia and his judgement of Hannah was skewed by his presumptions that were unfair to her. Hannah was her own woman and she was much younger than him. Why would a girl like her want to be with a has-been like him, stuck in this wilderness?

Hannah often thought about love. She was borderline autistic, so love was a complicated concept to her. She was transgender, which made it even more complicated. Two complicateds. Sure, fewer young people in the West were bothered about having children and slowly people's attitudes to trans were getting better, especially among millenials. But how long would her looks last? Would she end up a curiosity in the Biology department -- or a living case study for the Psychology shrinks?

Things between Noah and her looked promising, but they were in a strange situation and she couldn't rely on polar bears to keep their relationship exciting and fresh. Could she really make a life up here, in the middle of nowhere with one delightful Danish ogre for company?

"Come on, Noah. Help me pack the trailer and we can get away early tomorrow. Listen, I don't know what happens next between us, but I'd like to keep an open mind to it. Going back these few days early changes nothing between us does it? It just brings the decision forward. Sorry, I am I being too clinical in my decision?"

They both stood facing each other, holding hands.

"It has been my pleasure, my fierce girl," Noah replied.

"Oh don't say that, Noah. It sounds so final. Open mind, remember?"

"Sure. Come then, they always need more ice in Nuuk."

* * * * *

Hannah arrived in Nuuk in early evening but she had been able to warn her landlady to expect a late arrival. She managed to flutter a lift to her guest house from a homeward bound fisherman with his beaten up pickup and ruddy smile.

Noah had kept his promise of 'no promises' but 'keep in touch' in Atammik. They had both said farewell when they'd left the cabin in any case. Hannah hated goodbyes at the best of times and suspected Noah felt the same. They bear-hugged with thick coats on the dockside then Hannah quickly ducked away from him to join the boat. She kept her tears away by biting her lip as hard as she dared without drawing blood.

She saw him again as the ferry pulled away. He raised a hand from the pier as she stood at the guard rail. She bit her lip again, but her eyes were thick with tears as she turned to find a seat with her fellow passengers.

The next morning Hannah made her way to the Institute -- an impressive modern structure snuggled into a hillside. Inside, the blast of warm air made her gasp and like every visitor, she repeated the ritual of stripping off layers of bulky clothes and handed them to an attendant.

It felt a bit like school, or at least returning to one mid-term. People were busy engaged in their work or brushed past, chatting happily as she made her way to Oscar's office, her liaison at the Institute. A conference room led from the same corridor and she noticed a group attending their Safety Training as she had done a week or two before.

"Hannah! Good to see you. How was the trip?" Oscar called out, having spotted her approaching. "Please, come to my office and make yourself at home. You look well."

He ushered her into his modern office, with its panoramic view over the fjord and harbour. Hannah briefed him on her expedition, including its shortcomings, but omitted to mention the bear incident. Oscar made a quick call to make arrangements for her ice samples to be kept safe and they attended to other logistical details.

"Oh, before you go Hannah. Would you mind speaking to the group you just saw. They're the students from Imperial College," Oscar patted his hair as he spoke and waved an arm to his door.

He led her along the corridor and shouldered the door open, inviting her with a smile to follow.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced to the group, who were busy trying to pack emergency shelters back into bags.

Hannah had to smile. She'd found the same task almost impossible. It was like packing a duvet into a pillowcase.

"Don't let me stop you," Oscar continued, holding out his arms in a pastoral fashion. "I'd like to introduce you to your senior tutor from the United Kingdom. I believe she'll be advising on your coursework and so on and so forth. Forgive me if my English cannot remember all these academic terms. So, Hannah, please come and say hello."

"Thanks Oscar. Don't worry about formalities -- this is Greenland and I've learned there are different priorities here!"

Hannah turned to the group, whose faces were now turned to her expectantly. She was never very good at speaking off the cuff and hadn't anticipated this meeting. What completely threw her concentration and stopped her words, was a familiar face smiling back at her. Karolina!

(to be continued)

Previous stories that include Hannah

Under Your Skin

Under the Sky

Under Your Spell

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