A/N: Thanks for all the favorites and follows! And to ObsessedwReading for cheering me on! I just thought I'd let y'all know that I'll do my best to keep up with daily updates but may miss a day or two with family obligations over the next few days. You know how it is... :)

March 25, 1717

It was late. Or early. It was time to lock up, either way. I hadn't seen Ed or any of the others in a while. I wasn't even sure they were in Nassau. For as much as Ed looked in on me, he never bothered letting me know where he was headed or for how long. Taking off for weeks at a time without telling me a thing wasn't uncommon.

I fished the key from the chain around my neck and headed for the front door only to run into Kenway coming in the door.

"Bloody hell," he hissed as I bounced off of him.

"Well, hello to you, too." I brushed myself off. "I was just closing up."

"Have you seen Kidd?" He asked, his brows drawn together. He looked hurried, concerned.

I shook my head. "Not for a week, at least."

"Shit." He ran his hands through his already disheveled hair.

That's when I noticed the blood.

"Are you okay?"

He glanced down at his hand, the white edge of his coat was soaked. "Aye, I'm fine." He shook his head. "You see Kidd, tell him I need to see him."

"Sure. No problem." I nodded and, just as he was turning to leave, I blurted, "I have bandages, you know."

He paused and looked back at me. "It's not my blood."

With the bright moonlight shining through the open door, his face was mostly cast in shadow. But his teeth, impossibly white and straight, gleamed as he smiled at me. It was not a particularly friendly smile.

"Well," I muttered to myself as I locked the door behind him. "That was peculiar."

About an hour later, I had finished washing all the mugs and straightening the chairs and tables. I was just unlocking the door to my private room when I heard banging at the front door. With a sigh, I relocked my room and went to the door.

"What's the password?" I shouted. There wasn't one at all. But I didn't usually open the door this late for anyone but Ed, and his voice was one I'd recognize.

"What the—just open the door, damnit!"

Surprised at the urgency of the voice, I quickly unlocked the door, and Kenway nearly knocked me over as he barreled his way in, Ed slung over his shoulder like a sack of sugar. Kidd was following close behind. I closed and locked the door behind them and turned to see Kenway dropping Ed into a chair.

"You said you had bandages?" He looked at me expectantly. With a nod, I darted over to the bar and pulled out a kit of medical supplies I'd put together. As I carried it over, Kidd and Kenway started pulling Ed's vest and shirt off.

I set the small box of supplies on the table and pulled a clean rag off the top, passing it to Kidd. Kenway stepped aside, scrubbing his hands over his face.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded.

"The fool found himself on the wrong end of sword, that's what," Kenway spat back at me.

I looked back at Ed. There was a lot of blood. More than there should be. A flood of memories swept over me. Banging and shouting at my father's door, his friend, Rene, carrying in a man just like Kenway had carried Ed. My father calmly calling me in to help and silently working alongside him to stop the bleeding and clean the wound. It happened enough that when there was a knock at the door in the middle of the night, I knew to begin gathering supplies.

I watched Kidd trying to take care of Ed's wound, but I could tell a simple bandage wasn't going to be enough. There really was a lot of blood. And I couldn't lose Ed.

I shook off the memories and rummaged through the box for the needle and silk thread I knew was in there. Then I pushed Kidd aside and took over.

Two hours later, Ed was sleeping, breathing steadily, and the gash in his side had been cleaned and stitched up. Kidd and Kenway, both covered in blood, were slouched at the next table over, passing a bottle of rum back and forth. I was sitting at my own table, equally bloody, my head in my hands.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Kidd broke the silence. When I lifted my head and looked over at him, he nodded towards Ed. "The sewing," he clarified.

I shrugged.

"My father was a physician. I watched him do it a few times." I didn't say how many times. Or how many time I'd helped. Or how many times I'd watched a man succumb to his wounds, despite my and my father's efforts. I looked over at Ed and sighed, "And it's Ed."

"He means a lot to you," Kidd said. His tone hovered somewhere between question and observation.

"He's the closest thing to family I've got," I admitted slowly.

No one spoke for another few minutes until Kenway asked, "Why does he call you Magpie?"

I couldn't help but smile.

"The night we met, one of the first things he noticed was these." I ran a finger over the three silver hoops in my earlobe. Then wiggled my fingers to show the rings I wore, one on each finger. "And these. He asked me if I was a magpie that collected shiny things. It just sort of stuck."

Kidd chuckled, and Kenway and I both looked over at him. "I just realized," he said shaking his head. "That's where Mags comes from, innit?"

I just shrugged. "No one but Ed calls me Magpie."

Kidd chuckled again then stood and clapped a hand on Kenway's shoulder. "Let's go find Ben. See if he can round up a physician, just to make sure we've done enough."

I scowled at the name. Kidd cocked his head to one side.

"Don't like Ben?"

"I don't dislike Ben Hornigold. I just don't trust him," I replied. Kidd looked thoughtful for a moment, then slowly grinned.

"We'll find a physician somewhere else then."

I managed to doze off at the table next to Ed, but mostly I spent the next few hours worrying about what would happen if I'd missed something in my stitching or if he came down with an infection.

Kidd and Kenway returned with an older fellow with spectacles. While Kenway joined the older man at Ed's side, Kidd sat at the table with me and apologized for taking so long to find a physician willing to come to a tavern.

After a few minutes of examining Ed, the older man walked over to the table.

"You did a fine job with the stitches, lass," he said, smiling at me. "So long as it doesn't get infected, I think he'll be just fine."

I exhaled slowly, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. "What do I owe you, sir?" I stood and started towards the bar where I kept my coin, but the physician stopped me.

"I did nothing but look at the man," he said with a dry chuckle.

I turned to the older man and, leaning up on my tiptoes, brushed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."

The old man blushed furiously and nodded. "Of course, lass. Of course. I'll check back again in a day, just to be sure."

I walked the three men to the door and said farewell to both Kidd and the physician. When Kenway nodded his farewell, I stopped him with a hand on his arm. He looked down at my hand then at me, his eyebrows drawn together.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," I said softly. "And thank you for bringing him here."

He nodded, pulled his hood low over his eyes, and ducked into the dark street.