AU: I just want to say how much I love my beta and the two who reviewed my last chapter… I hope everyone enjoys this chapter… O and I really do love my beta

Chapter 4: Man Overboard or Woman

"Tom, It's been nearly two weeks since we left port… it's fun having my sister aboard, don't you think?" Jack asked his 1st Lieutenant Tom Pullings.

"Yes Sir," Tom said as he sat in the captain's cabin going over reports. "It's quite fun watching Bri chase you… while the doctor is chasing Bri… while you're chasing the doctor for chasing Bri. It's all really quite interesting, and it's giving the crew something to talk about," he said.

"Well, nothing gets by you or the crew does it?" Jack said with amusement, signing another paper.

"It may be a big ship, Captain, but not that big," Tom said with a grin, "You'd be surprised how fast word travels."

"Hmm," the captain murmured, "We're almost finished. Anything else I should know?" he asked.

"Oh… you can't forget Mr. Bleecker trying to get Bri's attention and acting like he knows everything that's going on." He stopped a moment as a thought came to him. "You don't think he knows why Bri's angry with the doctor, do you?"

The captain looked at him in confusion for a moment. "I was talking about the reports," he said. "What do you mean he's trying to get her attention?"

"He likes her Sir. Surly you have noticed it," Tom said, looking over the reports.

"The day before she left, didn't you tell me you saw Mr. Bleecker and my sister talking?" the captain remembered.

Tom thought a moment "Yes… at that tavern we stopped at in France," he said. "Why?"

"Do you think he said something to her to make her upset?"

"I don't know. It's possible, I suppose, but what could he have said to make Bri dislike the Doctor?" Tom asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll try asking her again," the captain mused. "Or…" he started, glancing at Tom.

"What?" Tom said.

"She won't talk to me but maybe she'll talk to you. Yesterday she told me not to ask her again or she'd lock herself up in her cabin and would refuse to come out until we reached land."

Tom laughed, "I believe her too, she's just like you sir. I'll talk to her but I don't think she'll tell me anything either," he said, still chuckling as he handed the captain the last paper. "What shall I ask her?"

"Why she is so angry and if Mr. Bleecker had anything to do with it," Jack said, reading the last paper before adding his signature. "You two get along, I'm hoping she'll talk to you."

"Yes sir," Tom said, gathering all the papers and stacking them neatly before handing them to his Captain.

"Thanks for walking with me, Mr. Blakeney," Bri told the boy standing to her left, who had become her friend despite the age difference between the two of them.

"Your welcome ma'am," he said, falling silent as they watched the crew. "Look over there," he said after a few moments, pointing to the water.

Bri looked toward where he pointed, but didn't see anything. "What?" she asked.

"Just watch," he said, walking to the starboard side of the ship, Bri following, looking to the place he had pointed out. After a moment she saw what he had been waiting for. Several big shapes had jumped out of the water, spraying the deck with water. "What are they?" Blakeney asked curiously, glancing at Bri then back to where the strange animals were still leaping out of the water.

"I don't know," Bri said, watching them jump some more.

"They're called dolphins," a voice from behind them said softly, startling them.

Turning, Bri smiled at the sight of her older brother. "Jack," she said happily as he came to stand next to her.

"I first saw them when I was a boy. I was around your age Master Blakeney," Jack said as the crew looked at the dolphins. "My captain told me they were good luck when you go on a long voyage." For a moment he watched as the dolphins leapt up with the waves caused by ship. "The doctor would want to see them," he said after a bit. "Master Blakeney, would you go and get him?" After the boy had left Bri stared at her brother, her eyebrows raised, "What?" he asked, noticing her expression. "You know he likes to see new… creatures."

After a moment she smiled, looking back to the water. He was correct; he always had an interest in animals. "I remember," she whispered softly, fond remembrance in her voice. "I guess it's time to talk to him anyway."

Jack smiled, "Really?" he asked and Bri nodded. "A real conversation in three years… it's about time Sister," he said playfully and she hit his arm, a slight grin on her face.

"There are at least six, Captain," someone shouted, referring to the dolphins once more and he looked over to where they were pointing for a moment before turning back to his little sister.

"Do you wish me to stay?" he asked gently.

She smiled and shook her head, "I'll be fine… We will just be talking, Brother. Trust me you'll know if you're needed."

He smiled then, "Of that I have no doubt, Sister," he said, amusement obvious on his face.

"There's more over here Captain," a crewmember called out and Jack left Bri to go to the other side of the ship to see the dolphins. "About four I think," Bri heard the man she had come to know as Mr. Conner say to her brother as she watched the ones in front of her jump higher and higher. Then another crewmember, called Mr. Suller, walked up behind her with looped rope.

"What's the rope for Mr. Suller?" she asked him.

He leaned over the rail to see the dolphins as he answered, "For the sails Miss Aubrey. The wind is blowing hard today. These will help hold them more efficiently." Bri nodded in understanding as she looked back toward the water.

"Look out," someone yelled from someplace high.

"Miss Aubrey!" she heard someone call out and a second later she felt something hard hit her from behind. 'What?'she thought, closing her eyes. She didn't understand what had happened but she felt like she was falling. Then it stopped and she felt cold and wet and she opened her eyes, realizing she was holding her breath. 'Water… I'm in the water. I'm under the water! She looked up, trying to kick her legs to go upward but she couldn't move.

She felt like she was being pulled down and she felt terror grab her.'What's going on, how did I get here? I don't like to swim! Jack, get me out! Jack, where are you?' she thought, panic making it difficult to do anything. Suddenly she realized that the dolphins were surrounding her. 'No go away. Don't eat me,' Bri thought as one started pushing her. 'No I don't want to be eaten!' Then for some reason she could breathe and she grabbed the dolphin as he pushed her forward and when someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her up she started to cough.

"Don't eat me," she whispered, still coughing.

Jack was at the aft side looking at the other dolphins Mr. Conner had pointed out. "Looks like they're giving us a show, Sir," Mr. Boyle said, watching as they jumped.

"It certainly appears that way," Jack said, still watching them.

"You sent for me?" he heard Stephen ask.

"Thought you would like to see what's following us, Doctor," Jack said, smiling.

Stephen walked over to stand beside his friend and looked down toward the water. "Amazing! I didn't think we would see them this far out!" he said, looking at them gleefully.

"I'll tell you something else that is amazing, Stephen," Jack whispered to his friend and when Stephen looked up he was his friend was smiling. "My dear sister said it was time to talk to you… perhaps now you can find out what you did and fix it. Then maybe we can go back to the way things were three years ago."

"Look out!" they heard someone yell suddenly before Stephen could reply and the smiles faded from their faces when they saw the sails from the mast starting to fall.

"Miss Aubrey!" they heard Mr. Blakeney yell and Jack and Stephen watched in horror as she fell over the rail.

"Bri!" Jack yelled, running around the sail, closely followed by Stephen.

"Man overboard!" Mr. Hollom yelled. "Or woman!"

Tom Pullings and Mark Bleecker were walking on the starboard side when they heard someone yelling from the top of the mast. They saw the sail fall and started to run toward it. Then they saw Bri being hit and falling off the ship.

"No!" Tom yelled, running to try to catch her but he was to far away and he threw off his hat and jumped into the water after her. In the water Tom looked around desperately, trying to find her. "This is were she should be,' he thought, panicked ashe started to swim deeper but still couldn't see anything. The water was too dark and he needing air, he started to swim toward the surface. When he finally surfaced, he looked to see if she was anywhere in sight.

"I can't see her," he yelled over to the captain who was staring anxiously into the water himself. He was about to dive back under, determined not to come back until he found Bri but then he saw her surface.

"Bri," he said quietly, swimming toward her, surprised when a dolphin all but pushed her into his arms. Grabbing onto her he noticed the blood on her head and his eyes widened. 'Have to get out of the water. The sharks might come' he thought as he started swimming toward the ship.

"Don't eat me," he heard her say faintly. 'What?'he thought, confused, as he grabbed the rope the captain had thrown down.

Jack and Stephen ran up to see Mr. Bleecker standing there.

Jack looked at the water, seeing Tom come up and he started to jump in but someone grabbed his arm. He looked to see his second officer holding on to him and the doctor. "Mr. Pullings has already jumped in after her Sir," he heard him say.

He pulled his arm away. "She's my sister," he told him. 'Why is he stopping me? My sister is going to die if she doesn't come up soon,' he thought as he saw Stephen pull away.

"You're the captain, sir! You can't risk your life! You know as well as I the sharks will come. This ship needs its captain!" he said, and looking toward the doctor he added, "And its doctor. Mr. Pullings will find her."

For a tense moment Jack stared at the water, not saying anything, until finally, with relief he spotted his sister and Tom surfacing, Bri surrounded by dolphins. "I can't see her," he said, letting out a breath. 'Why did I bring her? Stephen was right. She should never have been here! If she dies I'll never forgive myself!' Jack thought desperately. Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard Mark say something, but he wasn't paying attention.

"There she is!" someone yelled.

Tom reached her with one final push of the dolphin and Jack watched as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Don't eat me" he heard her say faintly.

"It's alright," he told her soothingly, swimming toward the ship. He grabbed the rope that Jack had thrown down to him. "Everything's going to be fine," he told her.

"I didn't know we were going swimming today," he heard her say faintly.

"Neither did I," Tom said. "I'd prefer it if next time we were in shallow water… next time maybe try to stay out of deep water like this, agreed?" Tom kept a hold of Bri while members of the crew pulled them out of the water.

"Stephen," she said softly and Tom griped her more tightly as they reached the edge of the ship where Stephen and Mark grabbed Bri and Tom, pulling them back onboard.

"She bleeding pretty badly," Stephen said. He checked her head. There was blood in her hair and going down her face and Tom's uniform had blood on the shoulder were her head had been.

Jack sat next to his sister as Stephen checked her over. She looked up at him "I didn't think you would really throw me overboard," she said softly. He smiled a little but there was still worry in his eyes. She held up her hand and he took it. "I'm fine Jack," she said as she closed her eyes. "Just a little wet and tired. Next time we go swimming tell me first and make sure the water's not so deep," she said. "Tom would prefer it that way… that's what he said anyway," she murmured, whispering so softly that only those closest to her had heard. She opened her eyes, looking at Stephen when she felt him touching her head.

"Try to stay awake," he told her softly. She nodded before looking toward Tom.

"Your bleeding Tom," she said bringing her hand to his shoulder, which was covered, in blood.

" It's not my blood Bri," he told her before she closed her eyes. "Doctor, will she be all right?" Tom asked.

"She'll be fine, but she's lost a lot of blood," Stephen told Jack and Tom, looking over her head wound. "We need to get her below and… get her in something dry," he said as Jack picked her up.

"How are we supposed to put dry clothes on her sir? She's a girl," the youngest of the midshipmen asked. It would have been funny by the look on his face if it were under better circumstances. Everyone looked at the captain and the doctor.

"Carefully, Master Joever. Very carefully," Jack said, walking toward the door that would take them to her cabin. "Thank you Tom," the captain whispered as he walked by him.

Stephen walked by behind him as well. "We should try to wake her Jack," he told him as they walked by the crew. Tom watched as they left and felt someone tap him on the arm.

"Your hat, sir," Mr. Joever said, handing him his hat and saluting.

"Thank you," he told him, turning to look at Mark. "I thought you were going to help me. If it weren't for those dolphins she probably would have died," he whispered to him walking toward the hatch that would take him below. "You have the deck," he said shortly. "I'm going to change."

"Yes sir," was Mark's only reply. He had watched the whole display between Bri and Doctor Maturin in a cold silence. She had looked like she was almost happy to see him. 'It wasn't supposed to be her,' he thought angrily, looking up at the mast, starting to yell orders for it to be fixed. He had to change his plans.