Killer wordlessly obeyed the command that he was to go to his sister's rescue only after he had been given the order. If Kidd had walked away and had not given him the order, he'd have probably have done so anyway . . . probably.

"T-thank y-you." Kate coughed and choked on the words, clinging to her brother for dear life even though they were no longer in the calm waters of the ocean below them. But instead they were safely on the deck of the ship. The only water near them was the water pooling beneath their bodies around them.

"What started it this time?" Killer muttered aloud.

"The weather, what else?" Kate gasped in a 'duh' tone of voice, still catching her breath.

"Stupid." Was all the man said.

"Coming from the man who wears a metal helmet mask thing when it could very well be the end of you."

"The weather, how did it escalate to what it did?" Killer asked, choosing to ignore her comment. If she continued on the way she was the end of her was much closer than his.

"Concerning our sexuality? Well you see, I believe he's ga-"

"Kidd is not gay." Killer was quick to interrupt his sister at that point.

"How would you know?" Kate instantly challenged, most likely just to be difficult.

"I would, it's as simple as that." Killer said with a single curt nod, not giving an answer or a reason as to how exactly he would know. He was sure Kidd would appreciate him not giving his reasons to Kate though. If his captain was gay, Killer would know, and he wasn't. He was one hundred percent into girls. If the screams he could hear almost nightly during their stays while the log pose set weren't enough evidence, Killer didn't want to know what would be.

"Then he's at least bi for Rogers's sake!" Kate exclaimed, turning heads. "And he believes that I'm incestuous! God-dammit, I am not into you. I mean yeah I love you and yeah I say it often, and yeah I can hardly live without you and yeah I-" Kate lowered her voice, " we sleep together. But I'm not into you like that, dear lord, you're my brother. It's not as though the feelings would be returned!"

"That's what incest is, the intimate relationship between family."

"Yes, I know that. Look, I'm going to change. Can I borrow a shirt and pants until mine are dry?" She had nothing else but Killers clothing to wear. He nodded, knowing that his clothing was her only option. He also didn't want her to go walking around the ship with a wet white shirt on. Kate stood up and went to change out of her sopping wet clothing, leaving a trail of drops and footprint sized puddles behind as she walked off the deck.

She constantly reached up where her necklace usually was only for her fingertips to meet skin instead of warm, familiar metal. That place almost burned with its absence.

For the rest of the day Kate avoided Kidd. Kate wasn't avoiding him because she was scared of him, that she felt like she couldn't handle another encounter with him. No, she was afraid that she would attack him, to try and get her precious necklace back. That and she simply wasn't in the mood to face him again. God forbid more than just their mouths would do the talking.

Kate lay on the deck stargazing a few hours after dinner. It was early in the morning so it was only her and the lookout on the deck, the other crew members were supposedly fast asleep in their- whatever those freaks slept in. It was a quiet and peaceful night, a gentle breeze making it almost cool. Few gulls squawked overhead, signifying that they were close to land, as the waves gently rocked the ship like a cradle. For Kate, this was the nighttime equivalent of cloud watching, creating straight lined pictures in the twinkling pinpricks of light, only to forget which ones she had used to create which picture.

When her eyelids kept slipping lower and lower and she began dozing off for a few seconds at a time, Kate decided that it was time to climb into Killer's bed, curl up next to him, and wrap herself in his warm blankets before going to sleep.

She stood, stretched and wasn't even able to take a full step before a pair of arms wrapped around her. A hand clamped over her mouth as a hot voice hissed into her ear to not scream. The other arm wrapped around her middle, pulling her tightly against the-from what she could feel- man's body. The person had broad shoulders and was quite muscular, Kate noted, instantly thinking of Kidd. But their skin was far too dark, their arm way too hairy, plus she knew that he wouldn't bother with sneaking up on her, he'd just smack her or something. She doubted stealth was Kidd's thing anyway. At those thoughts she couldn't help but think of the feel of his body on top of her, his weight pressing down on her body, pressing her down into his mattress, lying on his bed, how he used his strong arms to keep most- if not all- of his weight off of her. She let out a sound that one might make when eating a delicious food, not being held by a stranger who obviously had bad intentions. Right, this wasn't the time to think about him or that.

Her eyes narrowed, what the hell was the lookout doing, sleeping?! And how the hell had she missed this guy? As she thought this, another man walked into her line of vision. Correction, how had she missed them? This guy had darker skin too; though it was lighter than the man who had a hold of her, with light fuzz as hair. At that moment Kate realized that she preferred her guys to have hair-something she had never considered, or given much thought- so that she could run her fingers through it, feel it's texture between her fingers, fist her hand into it and pull on it, so that she could yank it, just like she had done with Kidd's. Again not the time to be thinking about Kidd. Kate mentally face palmed, what was it with Kidd in her thoughts? That thought gave Kate a pause, making her question herself again, did she even want to know the answer to that?

The man behind her shifted, pulling her out of her thoughts and mental interrogation as something hard and cold was pressed to her throat. The man before her smiled, taking a few steps towards her and her captor. "I'm surprised." He said, breaking the silky silence around them.

"At what?" She asked despite the big meaty hand clamped over her mouth.

"The ease in which my partner and I waltzed onto your ship." He gloated. Kate just rolled her eyes at him. It wasn't her fault that the lookout was slacking off. Plus who would have thought that she was on danger of a situation like this on a pirate ship? On Kidd's ship? "I'll keep things simple." He paused a beat before continuing with whatever he was going to go on about. "It's rather fortunate for you and your health Kate," he addressed her as Killer might, casual, as if he knew her. Well she certainly didn't know him. ",that I want your brother."

"He's already taken by my captain." She beamed cheekily at him. "Next time you say you want someone, you might want to be more clear. You might want to be more specific about which way you want my precious brother." Kate couldn't help but interrupt his ranting and raving about whatever. She had tried to keep a straight face, as the man's face, ears and neck turned bright red, though if he were embarrassed or as pissed as hell, Kate couldn't quite tell.

"I don't think you can refuse." He finally said, choosing not to take Kate's bait, instead he chose to ignore her comment. "It would be wise of you to simply accept my proposal-"

"Sorry man, I ain't tying myself down with marriage, not yet at least. Go find some other gorgeous blonde pirate." She interrupted yet again, ignoring the tool of intimidation pressed to her throat. To be honest, it wasn't working well. The man's wording wasn't the best, making it far too easy for Kate to slip in a comment. Making it hard for Kate to take him seriously when she could so easily throw a joke or two into his speech.

He scowled at her, though it could never rival Kidd's. The man's coal black eyes weren't nearly as threatening as Kidd's ruby red ones, they only implied that he'd use violence if he needed to, not if he felt like it. His normal colored lips weren't cursing at her, or pressed into a thin line, no the corners were turned down into a displeased frown. So all in all, Kate was completely unfazed. "You see, we're going to turn him in for his bounty. You'll have a few days to save your precious brother before the marines take any action against him, whether they cart him off to impel down or just execute him here. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

"How so?" Kate inquired, not actually considering his offer. It wasn't as tempting as he probably thought it was. There was nothing in it for her, or her brother.

"We get our money, you get time to save your brother." he said, sounding cocky, as though he thought he had made a deal that she just couldn't refuse.

She frowned at this and jerked her elbow back into the silent man's hard stomach. When his grip on her loosened, Kate twisted out of it, taking the blade he had held to her throat with her. She came to a stop and said with her hand on her hip "You see, I'm not defenseless." The only reason Kate had even bothered getting out of his grasp was to prove that point. Kate couldn't help but smile to herself, if Kidd were here this would be where she stuck her tongue out at him or said ha! I can take care of myself. But he wasn't, she she'd just gloat to these strangers who wanted her brother. "It's a shame that you decided to pick on a girl." It was always the half asleep, unsuspecting female wasn't it? There was a click and she turned towards it to see the man who had done all the talking thus far holding a gun, pointing it at her. And this was the part where Kidd would sneer something mean at her as he proceeded to easily take out the man and his 'partner'. "I was going to go peacefully." Kate pouted. "No need to nearly behead me and point a gun my direction." She rubbed the thin, sticky with blood, line on her neck where the blade had sliced the first few layers of skin, a far cry from decapitation.

He jerked his head in the direction of the door and barked "Go, get your brother. If you get your captain-"

"Don't make me laugh." Kate grumbled. "That's suicide. Anyway, that pale brute isn't my captain and will never be." She quickly cut in, then added "Anyways I know how this works. I go quietly, bring him and get away with my life. I know how to hand my precious brother off to a pair of stupid bounty hunters." With that Kate tossed the machete over her shoulder and skipped towards the door that lead down to the bowels of the ship as it sunk an inch or two into the deck.

Who was stupid enough to request her to get her brother? There was no way she was going to be able to lug his body up to the deck, meaning he had to come willingly, consciously, meaning he could help Kate fight them. She let out a sigh and muttered the word amateurs.

Killer was gently woken by a rocking motion other than that of the ship, it was someone shaking him. He recognized her voice before he could understand the words her moving mouth were forming. "I need you to grab your scythes and join me up on the deck. I also need you to hurry." Kate rushed handing him his mask.

Killers mind instantly began searching for reasons in which Kate would ask this of him. But when his mind grasped nothing solid, was unable to concoct any reasons for her request, he finally gave up and asked "Why?"

"Don't question me. When have I ever asked you to do anything stupid?" Killer could instantly think of a million things Kate had conned him into doing, and he could see almost his exact thoughts reflected in her eyes. "Ok, that's not the point. The point is I need you to do this." She sighed, shifted her weight to her other foot, ran her hand back through her bed head and mumbled something.

"Excuse me?" Killer asked, being unable to make out what she had said.

"I said was stargazing, the lookout was slacking off and there's now some idiots who want your head up on the deck. They sent me to get you, so here I am. Their more than I can handle, with guns and stuff." Kate muttered the last word, as if she were ashamed of having to ask her brother for help to take out these guys. Actually she had only said the words 'bounty hunters' but figured that he'd ask for an exclamation and wanted to save a few minutes but just explaining when he asked for her to repeat herself.

Killer stood and rubbed the small scratch on Kate's neck with his thumb, his fingers curled lightly around the back of her neck, asking "Did you do this to yourself, of did they?"

Kate couldn't help but shudder, it wasn't at his touch, but at his voice, the anticipation that it summoned within her. She smiled almost wickedly and said "Nah, I'm not that stupid. They did this. Let's go." She hooked her arm through his and began skipping jovially towards the deck.

Kidd was sleeping deeply, not a single dream in mind, even though his last thought had been that the week was almost over and Kate was that much closer to leaving, only to be jolted awake by something jumping on his bed, shouting at him.

"What?" He growled, moving his legs to that the jumping thing fell with a satisfying thud on the ground beside his bed.

"Hey!" The voice he recognized as Kate's protested as she popped up like a weed at the side of his bed, holding her side with both hands.

"What the fuck?" He growled, glaring none too pleased that she had woken him up like that, let alone at all. "Stop bleeding all over my damn floor." He shouted at her when he noticed her heavily bleeding, the blood escaping from between her fingers, pouring out of her like there was no tomorrow. Her fingers were splayed as she gripped her side, as if she were trying to hold her blood and guts inside of her. God only knew what was on his floor, but whatever it was he didn't need her bleeding all over it.

"Sorry King Kidd, they took my brother, I have other, better things to fucking worry about!" Kate shouted back at him with more anger than he had originally used.

Well that was a first. Kidd blinked a few times, surprised by the girl's furious tone. Normally he'd have hauled off and punched her by now, but after the words she had said, they made him think twice for once. "Killer, your brother, my first mate?" He asked, rubbing any remaining sleep out of his eyes.

"Noo, my other brother." She growled, sarcasm dripping from her tone like blood from her fingers.

"What happened?" He asked, weighing the chances that Kate was just fucking with his head. But if she were just fucking with him as he wearily suspected, she wouldn't be injured, sarcastic or have a dead serious expression. She wouldn't seem to be fighting for breath, let alone fighting just to stand straight. She began quickly telling him what had happened, explaining everything after they had gotten on the deck, how everything had gone wrong. When she was done Kidd didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he wanted to beat Kate like he wanted to, kill off whoever the hell the lookout person was-they were in deep shit if he didn't kill them-, or immediately rush after Killer- who obviously couldn't take care of himself. But all Kidd said was "Why the hell did you wake me?"

Kate gaped at the man before her for a few seconds before clamping her jaw shut and with a curt nod said "Enjoy the rest of the night." Kidd could honestly say that he expected more of a response, maybe some screaming, a punch or insult or two to be thrown. "I just thought you could help me. Do what I can't- after all, the chasm that divides us is experience." She sneered that last bit at him almost bitterly.

He raised a brow, had he heard the short blonde correctly? Surely not. Yet, there had been no mistaking her words. "Really?" He asked.

"That's what Killer said, and I can see it now. Had it been you out there, Killer wouldn't have lost and I wouldn't be about to pass out right now." As if to confirm her words, she swayed dangerously, grabbing a hold of his shoulder to steady herself. When he looked at her arm then proceeded to scowl at her, she grumbled "Don't give me that look. I can hardly see or think straight, and yet here I am choking on my pride while I feed your ego." She closed her eyes tight, to try to stop the swaying in her head, to stop seeing doubles of Kidd's face.

However before he could say anything, before he could sneer any smart ass comments, or even a single word, Kate collapsed onto his floor, into a puddle of her own blood, the hand on his shoulder limply slipping off. He looked down at her, wondering how the hell she had managed the feat of getting onto his bed then proceeding to jump until she had aroused him from his slumber and last that long with such a gaping hole in her side.

Suddenly Kidd felt a bit of . . .something he couldn't- no didn't want to- place for the girl before him.

He let out a heavy sigh. Where were the bandages from the last time Killer had bandaged him? Kidd began quickly searching his drawers for the white rolls. After all he couldn't let her die, not unless it was by his hand. If it had been him, if he had been the one to harm her, he would have finished her off.

Kidd never thought he'd hesitate or stop and debate whether or not he should remove a girl's shirt when they were in his quarters. But when he realized that he'd have to remove the stained crimson half shirt of hers, what's exactly what ended up happening. Some of the white fabric was almost plastered in the wound and needed to be removed. And it was reasons like this that Kidd didn't have females on his crew. If this had been anyone else, he would have woken the doctor Killer had convinced him that they needed, and taken them there. But right now, he wasn't in the mood, plus he doubted that Kate could afford to loose that much more blood.

And it wasn't as if he didn't know how to fix her himself.

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