Chapter Three

A/N: I own Jesse Hawkins. No one else owns him, but I cannot use him for monetary gain, as Disney owns the rights to Treasure Planet.

Which, as a side note, I purchased recently so now I can write this story and be able to view which scene I want to talk about—and so I can watch it without commentary!

The next day, Jesse woke up stiff and sore but ready to help out again if needed. Though it took him a while to remember where he was exactly, as he didn't expect to wake up on a ship.

"Whoa," Jesse shook his head and got ready quickly. He did not want to be sent back because he was lazy. He went to the dining hall, where there was only one other member of the crew there.

"Ah good," Captain Amelia gave a slight nod upon noticing Jesse's presence. Jesse returned it and sat down, his head meeting the table almost as soon as he sat at the table. The last time he'd gotten up so early was when the Benbow was just starting out and his mom needed some help from both of the brothers.

"Morning Captain," Mr. Arrow's voice filled the galley, causing Jesse to pull his head off the table and rub his sleep filled eyes.

"Good morning Mr. Arrow," Amelia nodded to her first mate. The two of them had a friendly conversation while Jesse ate what looked to be porridge. He tried not to stare, but Jesse couldn't help being awed by the captain. He had read so many books about her, it was uncanny.

"Yes Mr. Hawkins?" Amelia had finally noticed the avid staring by the eight-year-old and Jesse flushed.

"Pardon my asking ma'am," Jesse said, "but is it true you blasted thirteen protean ships into the Lagoon Nebula all by yourself?"

"No of course not," Amelia scoffed. "It was fifteen, but Mr. Arrow would know better than I."

"I believe it was sixteen captain," Arrow corrected. "They were coming after us like rats on garbage they were," he turned to Jesse and began to tell him the story of the battle. Amelia had to attend to captain business, so by the time the story was over, she was gone. But Jesse had listened in rapt attention to every detail.

"Wow!" he gasped as it finished up.

"Wow indeed, and now we best be getting to work," Arrow said. They looked around at the mess the crew had left behind and Jesse made a face.

"I doubt there'd be much work above ship," Mr. Arrow said after a few minutes. "How about you help Mr. Silver out? He's got to make sure all the crew gets fed in time. Who knows what they might do otherwise?"

Jesse giggled but nodded and started collecting the dishes, like he would do at the inn when it was a weekend and Jim was probably doing his community service. Bringing them in, he put them where Mr. Silver would see it.

"Mr. Silver?" he called out to the empty kitchen.

"Right here lad," the cyborg chuckled as he stepped out of the pantry. "Just makin' sure we've got what we need for our trip."

"Cool," Jesse grinned and ran off to get the rest of the dishes. After that, he put them on the floor and began to wash.

"Aw, you don't got to do that lad," Silver said. "I'd have done it."

"It's fine," Jesse said with a half-grin that his mom insisted came from his dad. "I do this at home all the time."

"Do you now?"

"Yep," Jesse nodded. "Mom says I do it better than my brother Jim most of the time. Except when she's made chocolate cake with baked purps. Then Jim clears the entire tray."

Both child and machine burst out laughing at that. Then, Silver settled down but chuckled quietly a few times.

"So what about your pap?" Silver asked. "You talk about your brother and your mam."

"Oh," Jesse's smile turned slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of talking about his father. "He's…away. He's been that way for four years."

Before anyone could say anything, Mr. Arrow called for Jesse from the main deck. Apparently, there was some mopping to do.

"Joy," Jesse rolled his eyes but ran out of there. "See you later Silver!"

"Run along lad," Silver's voice followed after him. Jesse looked for the rock-man and found him a few minutes later, holding a bucket and mop.

"Think you can handle that?" Mr. Arrow asked after giving Jesse to mop around the captain's quarters.

"Aye sir!" Jesse nodded and got straight to work. The mop was heavy and the bucket overturned at times, but all in all Jesse found himself having a fun time. Of course, there was the awkward incident where the captain had almost slipped on a wet section of the deck Jesse had just finished swabbing in front of the door to her stateroom.

"Mr. Hawkins," Amelia said, "perhaps a bit more caution to where you are mopping next time?"

"Yes captain," Jesse nodded and ran to where Mr. Arrow was directing him to mop next. By day's end, Jesse had mopped the entire deck twice (some member of the crew had stepped in some sort of dung while on land) and cleaned more plates than he cared to.

"Perhaps it's time for bed," Mr. Arrow said upon seeing the young boy try to hide a yawn behind his hand. "Off with you now. There'll be more work waiting tomorrow."

Jesse made a face but even he couldn't deny his tired body the rest it needed any longer. It was almost as if someone had decided to make this trip the most boring one in the history of trips. When was the adventure going to start?

"Probably when Jim gets here," he muttered as he searched for his pillow. The stupid thing kept hiding from him every day and every night he had to look for it again. Finding it under his hammock, Jesse kicked off his shoes and grabbed his bear. Not even waiting to find the covers, Jesse fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

000

The next day, Jesse awoke to his body covered with the blanket that was standard for the crew's quarters.

"Who'd…" he muttered as he pulled his shoes back on. Deciding he'd deal with it later, Jesse ran above deck to find Mr. Arrow talking to a man in an odd suit and a smaller looking man. Unfortunately, the captain's arrival distracted him.

"Dr. Doppler, I presume?" Amelia asked loudly and Jesse gasped. How had they managed to get a ride that was only two days instead of three? Wait….

"This would be three days," he gasped and backed down the stairs to go help Silver out. The galley was a mess—again.

"Lousy stinking crewmembers," Jesse grumbled, piling the dishes as high as they could go without impairing his vision so he wouldn't break a plate. Silver was hard at work cooking something so Jesse just piled the dishes off to the side without talking to him. It was on his second run that it happened. He heard the voices.

"It's my map and she's got me busing tables!" Jim griped and ran straight into Jesse. "Oh sorry man…"

Jim stared in shock upon the image of his younger brother. Jesse flushed and looked at Mr. Arrow instead of at his brother. No way did he want a lecture right now.

"Jesse….what are you doing here?" Jim and Delbert asked at the exact same time.