Damien busied about for a bit longer, gave the Captain water, a few last instructions on things she should keep an eye out for. The color in his face, the speed of his heartbeat. He showed her where to put her fingers on his wrist. Then he shooed Raff out, and Jane was suddenly alone, the only sound the Captain's even breathing.

   Jane sat still and quiet for a few minutes. After being still for a while, she reached out and took the Captain's hand in her own, slowly stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. She laughed at herself gently, before speaking quietly, "This may seem silly, but I bet you haven't let anybody take care of you in a very long time. You're too busy taking care of everybody else. So let us take care of you now." she placed her other hand on top of his, now holding his hand between hers. She still stroked his knuckles gently, "You might be surprised at how good it can feel, having someone hold you like a mother would. So as silly as you might think this is, just let me."

   Feeling that he couldn't hear her, or even remember if he knew what was happening, she started to hum a gentle tune. Still holding his hand with one of her own, she reached up with the other to gently brush his hair from his forehead and tuck it behind his ear. She dabbed his hot forehead with a damp cloth, checked his temperature, and kept humming to him. She tended to him carefully for a few hours, singing lullaby's and doing what she could to keep him comfortable. Once she finished a pretty song, she tucked him in a bit more snugly, "Thank you. Thank you for saving me." she whispered, closing her eyes, "I want to be worth saving, so please get better soon. What you did the other night on deck was really amazing." Thinking back on that night, she remembered the figurine in her pocket.

   Reaching into her pocket, she drew out the bundled handkerchief and leaned forward, "You dropped this, so I held onto it for you." she opened the fading fabric to show him the curious woman.

The Captain's eyes stayed closed. His cheeks were hollow. All he did was breathe. He didn't respond to any of her ministrations. Through the windows in his cabin, she could see the sky was still dark.
Then there was a soft knock at the door, and Wesley poked his head in. "Checking in." he whispered. "Any change?"

   Wrapping up the figure and turning to face Wesley, Jane shook her head, "No. At least he isn't getting any worse." she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and sighed, feeling weary now. She set the figurine bundle by the Captain and placed her hands on her back to lean and stretch. "It's still dark. How long until sunrise?"

"Four or five hours. You need relief?" Wesley straightened up and stepped a little further into the cabin, his slight frame telegraphing his worry more than his stoic face was.

   Jane looked down at the Captain's gaunt face, trying to decide if she could handle another five hours. Sighing, she shook her head, "No, he saved my life. I want to help all I can." she took the figurine and slipped it back into her pocket, "But I would like the company, if you can stay." she said, thinking that the time would pass more quickly with conversation.

Wes nodded and slipped through the door. "Brax just relieved me. A few more hours won't hurt me none." Moving to the desk, he folded his arms and leaned his hip against it, looking over at the Captain with concern in his eyes. When his gaze flicked to Jane, the concern remained, but was tinted with sadness.

   Jane averted her gaze for a moment, scrambling for a topic of conversation. She shifted in her chair and reached up to adjust the blanket that was covering the Captain, "You should tell me more about yourself."> she started, her gaze flickering back to him, "About how you came to the Cloudcutter." she placed her hand on the Captain's forehead, checking his temperature.

The Captain's skin was cool to the touch. Heat still wafted from where he was covered with blankets and sweaters, but his exposed skin had cooled considerably.

"Me?" Wesley asked. He shifted slightly as his blue eyes found the floor, considering. "I came to this vessel with Damien. We..." he cleared his throat. "We served a vessel called the Wormwood. A.. pirate vessel. The captain was a brute, and the doctor and I were sick of being under his lash. To leave a pirate crew, you have to have earned a certain amount of loot, so you can 'buy' your way off. We just ran. It would have taken us years to earn the bounty. Captain Jackson, he..." He stopped speaking suddenly, cleared his throat again. Not uncomfortably this time, but to keep emotion from his voice. "Captain Jackson took us in and fled from Captain Harrigan. A few years later he caught up with us, and the Captain managed to talk him out of murdering us. Talk! They might still be friends." Wesley barked a short, quiet laugh.

   Jane looked over at him with a scoff of disbelief, "What? He talked a pirate out of being paid? Out of killing?" she laughed, for the first time, and put her hand on the Captain's arm, "If he can do that, he can do anything. Including pulling through." she sighed and rubbed her eyes before turning to look at Wes, "Seems we both owe him a lot." she offered a small smile, seeing that the Captain, and life on his vessel meant so much to Wesley, "He'll pull through." she said again.

"Well, if you think so, then-" Captain Jackson's quiet, amused voice was interrupted with a bout of coughing, his body jerking with every phlegmy hack. Wesley's eyes had gone wide, and he scrambled around the desk to his Captain's side.

   "Captain!" Jane exclaimed, leaping to her feet. Relief and worry fought for dominance inside her, so she grabbed a pillow and looked at Wesley, "Help me sit him up. He'll breathe easier." With Wesley's assistance, they propped the Captain up with an extra pillow. Tilting her head and looking at the Captain's face, Jane started toward the door, "Damien said to get him if you woke up. I'll be back."

"I'll go," Wes offered. "Raff will want to know as well." The Captain was still coughing and trying to catch his breath.

   Jane stopped with her hand on the door and nodded, "Okay. Thank you, Wesley." she gave him another smile as she hurried back to the Captain. Sitting on his bedside, she picked up a glass of water from the desk and held it in readiness. As Wesley slipped out the door, she looked at the Captain in worry, "Nice and slow." she prompted gently, resting her other hand on his shoulder.

Jackson accepted the glass and drank slowly as Wesley hurried from the room. Once he had had enough, his green eyes, looking dark in the warm light from the lamp, met hers. He seemed to have a hard time focusing on her, and his breathing sounded thick and wheezy, but he smiled all the same. "You have it," he whispered, sounding glad. "Her new b... trinket?"

   Taking the glass from him and replacing it on the desk, Jane nodded and reached into her pocket, "Yes. It's here." she pulled out the figure and held it out to him. She looked at it with a slightly different feeling, wondering if he had been about to say 'body'. And if so, what did that mean?

He shakily plucked the trinket from the handkerchief and examined it for a moment. "Beautiful," he sighed, then tucked it away. "I am-" He cut off and coughed. "Mm. I am so glad everything worked. You're alive, I'm alive. Mostly," he said, thumping at his chest. "Once I get over this cold. How long have I been asleep?"

   "Oh, I guess about two days, almost." she said, quirking her mouth to the side slightly at his tight lipped mood. She sighed and thought she might as well take advantage of the fact that he can't get away to ask some questions, "Where you about to say, 'new body', a moment ago?" she raised her hand to point to where he tucked the figurine away, "I know that the necklace isn't attached to me anymore, so there is no reason to keep me around, but I would like to know what is really going on." she blinked, slightly surprised at the rush of words and folded her hands in her lap, "Please."

The Captain also blinked in surprise. "No reason to keep you around?" he said incredulously. "I do hope you're joking." He glanced toward the door, then fixed her with a stern look.

   Jane's hands clenched into fists on her knees, "Everyone on this ship got along fine before we came along, and I know girls aren't exactly encouraged to be among crews." she paused to take a deep breath, voicing the concern that had been dodging back and forth in her head, "I may not know where I will go when you drop me off, but I would wonder my whole life if I didn't know what the curse was, and who she is." she lifted her gaze to look at Jackson, a flare of determination in her eyes. She was starting to feel different. She was coming to the conclusion that being timid and soft spoken hadn't gotten her much in life. Now, she couldn't afford, and didn't want to be quiet anymore, "I'd like to know." she murmured, glancing at the door also.

Jackson regarded her solemnly for a moment, then smiled. "Hm. Never had someone just come out and ask me before." His gaze dropped as he considered. Finally he nodded to himself, pushed himself up in bed and threw his legs over the side. He fixed Jane with his green eyes, and in the direct light of the lamp their gold highlights glittered hypnotically. "Jane Lewin," he began, his narrow face intense. "You have a home here. This family is yours, if you want it. But if you insist, I will reluctantly drop you off anywhere you like. Now, in regards to the curse-" he paused to cough, the sound rattling deep in his chest, "Another time, when my strength is back. I promise to tell you as much as I can."

   Jane searched his deep eyes for a moment, then nodded in response to his promise, "Thank you." she said. Then, she allowed her smile to widen and rubbed her palms on her knees, "Captain, I don't want to leave. I want to be a part of this family. I'll always work hard, I promise." she said, feeling a terrible weight lift from her shoulders, and a warmth settle there instead.

The Captain smiled brightly at her. "Good. Excellent! I'm so-" He was interrupted by the door banging open, and Damien, Wesley and Raff all trying to squeeze in at once. Wesley managed to slip in first, his small stature an advantage, then Raff had to step back with a sheepish face after he and Damien struggled for a few more moments. The doctor rushed to Jackson's side, Raff right behind him, and the small cabin became stuffed with people and questions. Wesley tapped Jane's shoulder. "You should head to bed. This'll likely go on a while."

   Jane merely nodded, not adding her voice to the already noisy room. Once she had ducked under Raff's elbow, it was fairly easy to slip outside. Her legs felt weak she realized, the weariness settling in. The fresh air blowing gently across deck gave her a clear head for a moment, and she moved to the stairs to go below. Sighing as she turned a few corners to her cozy closet, she closed the door behind her. She meant to wash up, at least wash her face, but she fell onto her cot and the familiar scent of her pillow whisked her to sleep in moments.

Doc Damien frowned down at his thermometer. "Again please, Captain." he said, shaking it to cool down the mercury. Captain Jackson sighed, adjusting the blanket Wes had tucked around his shoulders. He coughed heavily and wetly, brought a tin cup to his lips and spat, his face the picture of distaste. Damien snatched the cup from him and peered inside, tilting it toward the lamp to see better. He sniffed at it.

"Again?" the Captain said, frowning at the bespectacled doctor. "Has it been different the past two times?" Raff and Wesley stood nervously side by side, the difference in their heights almost comical. Jackson smiled at them, noting the dark circles under everyone's eyes. "I'm fine," he insisted again. "It's just a cough, a cold. Some hot drinks and a good nights sleep, and I'll be right as rain." He coughed again, rubbed at his aching ribs.

Quietly insistent, Damien held out the thermometer. Jackson glowered at it, as if his current situation were all it's fault. Then he took it and stuck it under his tongue. "Honessthly, Damien," he spoke thickly around the glass tube, "All thith hubbub ith nonthenthse." He fumed the entire wait, angrily scratching at one of the bandages on his leg.

Finally, Damien held out his hand. Jackson handed him the thermometer. The doctor regarded it in limp hands for a long time in silence. He sighed. "Alright. Turn to the side, sir, and lift up your sweaters." Jackson obeyed, looking worried now. Damien pressed his ear to Jackson's back. "Take a deep breath, as deep as you can." Even Raff and Wes could hear how Jackson's breath rattled, how when he got to the deep part of the breath his face blanched and his breath hitched in pain. Damien closed his eyes. "Again." The Captain breathed deeply again, winced again.

Damien stepped back and removed his glasses. Jackson felt his heart drop as Damien regarded him with watery blue eyes. "Captain, sir. It's pneumonia. Your lungs are inflamed and filled with liquid. Your temperature is many degrees lower than normal. This is beyond my ability to treat with what's available to me. You need antibiotics, more than I have. I suggest we turn around and head for Undertown. There will be supplies there, maybe a more skilled doctor to treat you."

"But we're on the run from the Patrol," Raff said, dark eyes wide with disbelief. "Going to Undertown... they're sure to find us."

Sighing wearily, Damien continued. "We also need to think of Carson. He still hasn't awakened. His arm might have to be amputated. A more skilled doctor, maybe, could save it..."

Silent during all this, Captain Jackson suddenly stood. His men fell silent. "Damien," he began. "You are as skilled a doctor as any I've met. You've saved the lives of many of my crew. Are you certain that there's nothing you can do? For either of us?"

The diminutive doctor thought seriously for a time, tapping one of the lenses of his spectacles with a fingernail. "Yes. At best, my care would return Carson only limited use of his arm and hand. He'd always ache, and any delicate work would be beyond him. At worst, he'd lose the arm above the elbow. Both would hamper his work as Alex's assistant. And as for you, Captain... without a full battery of antibiotics, at least a few weeks worth, you will weaken and eventually die. Your body will starve for air. So many things could go wrong because of this... organ failure, septic blood, infections everywhere else... Believe me, sir. I wish I could help. But..." He spread his hands helplessly, and they trembled. He clasped them together to hide it.

Captain Jackson bowed his head, a few strands of his hair that had escaped his ponytail sticking to his sweaty neck. "Then we'll have to risk it. Raff, alter course. True east. Take us to Undertown."