Zeeksmom- Here ye go. I saw your review, and was quite enthusiastic that someone was enthusiastic to find me updating again. So I'm updating again rather quickly. I had it half done, and then shoved it aside. But I'm too lazy to bother installing my new computer software, so I'll write. It sounds a better use of my time.

And I get the 'point' (I'm a sucker for bad puns) on that comment. When I first wrote it, I was just rambling, and then I went back and was like 'Oh hey! This would be the best place to make someone cringe!' and I honestly didn't expect anyone to find it. -laughs- So I raise my water bottle to you, since I haven't a wine glass to toast you with… oh crud… to toast you with, this coming from the person named Toasterphantom. I'm just going to shut up and start writing now…

And, Bienvenido S. Canonizado, I know this isn't 3,000 words, but for now it's the best I've got. Merci for your magnificent comment, and I'll do my best to update often. I'm in the midst of a bit of a writer's block, but I shall attempt to update a bit more often. I shall email you at a later date, for right now, my email has been having a bit of a bug in it. It will read messages, but not send them.

To all, Read and review!

Erik got his answer as to what was going on in that cabin when the commodore and the captain did not come out for the remainder of the night. He expected that a bottle was emptied, or dang near close to it, and that there was an interesting night...

And the commodore was big on honor? Erik wondered vaguely how Christine would react if she knew... he also wondered how the commodore would react in the morning...

This was one of the many reasons Erik never bothered to touch the bottle. But if the pain was too great...sometimes it might be worth it. But he was a man of self discipline, so, it didn't seem likely.

Erik was still at the wheel, no apparently worse for wear at the lack of sleep. Christine was sleeping in that day, and Erik had checked up on Noel several times over the night, as it was apparent no one else would. She had been asleep, though.

When the commodore awoke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was his pounding headache. He gave a soft moan, pressing a hand to his temples. This is why I don't drink...

He rolled over, pulling the covers more tightly around him and resting his head on his chest.

Andre's eyes shot open. Whose chest? He looked over to see Firmin slowly rousing, and all but screamed. "For the love of god!"

"Not so loud..." moaned Firmin, trying to shield his eyes from the light.

"Keep your eyes closed!!" Andre snapped, jumping from the bed and searching the room frantically. "Where the bloody hell are my pants!?"

"How am I supposed to tell if I've got my eyes closed?" He was covering his eyes, but because the light was making his hangover worse. "Would you calm down?"

"You... seduced me!" accused Andre, hurrying to dress. "You forced me!"

"I didn't force anything, and I drank twice as much as you, I was too lit to seduce anyone."

"You can handle it better!" Andre accused.

"No one can handle the better part of a bottle of that stuff!" Firmin snapped back.

Andre stormed from the captain's cabin without another word, jacket in hand. He resolved to rip the label off later. He felt so... disgusted with himself. It was a crime, it was a sin! But as his mind recalled flashes of it, it had been... The commodore shook his head, and felt like beating it against the wall. No. No, that's vile. A moral flaw of character. Anything can be fixed, this can be, too.

Erik saw the look on the man's face as he strode from Firmin's cabin. A less than appealing night? Erik shrugged it off and resolved not to think of what most likely happened between them.

Andre went back to the brig; not the best of accommodations but he pledged never to return to the captain's cabin. The kitten was there, and he picked it up, stroking its fur and trying to calm himself.

Firmin emerged minutes later, yawning and trying to adjust his eyes to the light. "Don't tell me you've been at the wheel all night, Erik."

Erik looked to him simply. "And don't tell me where you've been all night. Of course I've been here all night. Who else was there to man it?" He asked mildly.

"Remind me to give you an extra cut of the profit from the next town we raid," he said, yawning again as he ascended to the helm. He paused, registering the comment. "And just what do you mean by that?"

Erik shrugged. "I mean nothing and anything. That is for you to decide, my friend. Unless of course the rum has clouded your mind beyond thinking today."

"Nothing happened, alright?" Firmin grunted, lying smoothly and taking the wheel. "And stop it with the riddles, I can barely think straight as it is."

"I noticed. You can't stand straight, either." Erik said, brushing him off the wheel and correcting the course he had altered. "I'm fine here. You should rest."

"It's a hangover, not polio," he muttered, not leaving but leaning against the railing. "Oh, danm, I never even thought to check up on Noel..." This made him feel more awful than the after effects of the rum ever could.

"Don't worry. I was in to check on her many times over the night. Out asleep like that." Erik said, snapping his fingers.

"Thank you..." sighed Firmin, relieved but still feeling like the world's worst father. "Christine's going to kill me when she finds out I got her man tanked..." If she'd kill him for that, he didn't want to know what she'd do if she knew the truth.

"I'm not sure she cares at this point." Erik said, but was interrupted as a very angry looking Christine stomped onto the deck.

Firmin raised an eyebrow.

Christine came up dealing him a healthy slap across the face. "Idiot." She snapped, moving back a step.

Firmin gave a snarl, glaring at her. "What the hell did I do!?"

"Ask the very drunk looking Andre." Christine spat at him.

"Night after. I doubt he is drunk." Erik put in.

"Close enough." She spat.

"He's just got a hangover, it happens," muttered Firmin, rubbing his cheek tenderly. "You call him by his last name... Cold, Miss Daae. And I fail to see how it's my fault."

"While I have the authority to call him Gilles, you have not, therefore I will advise you to call him Andre." She spat. She had a good point.

"I never called him anything other than that or his title." Probably incorrect, he could faintly recall a few times last night, but best not to mention that. "Look, he's a big boy, alright? He can make his own choices. I didn't hold a pistol to his head and tell him to drink."

"No, but you probably held him to it with insults." She said resentfully. She glared at Firmin.

"Is it my problem if he's easily to bully around? He's a naval commodore, for god's sake, you'd think he'd have a backbone. And why don't you go beat on him for a while instead of me? He's the one you need to train."

"And why would I need to do that?" She demanded angrily.

"Well, if you actually go ahead and marry him, you surely don't want him drinking like that," Firmin said innocently. Then he decided to pay her back for the slap. "That, and you'll probably want to beat the fruit out of him before you go to your wedding bed with him."

Christine's fist flew into his jaw this time. She had descended somewhat from the purebred society of England. "I'm not going to our wedding bed, since I am not going to a wedding with him." She growled.

If Firmin had no honor, he might have struck her back, but while he could not say he had been raised better than that, he wouldn't. "Oh, so it is officially off, then?" he smirked, ignoring the pain. "Might be for the best, I don't think he enjoys the female body as much as he tries."

"And you know this for a fact?" Christine asked him.

Firmin's grin widened, and his eyes narrowed. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't." The prospect of making her tick overrode the knowledge that Andre was going to be furious. Ah well, he hated him anyway.

Christine practically screamed with the anger. She snapped. She came forward in a shove, shoving much harder than she looked capable of. The force was enough to knock Firmin over the railing he was leaning against and into the sea.

Erik came forward immediately to the railing, abandoning the wheel to look for the captain.

This is why I don't like women... Firmin thought briefly as he felt himself falling. He probably would have elaborated on that point if his lungs hadn't suddenly filled with salt water.

Dazed and limbs heavy from the lingering effects of the rum, he struggled to move, to surface, not succeeding too well.

Erik's paused for a moment, contemplating his actions, and eventually gave in and jumped in after the captain.

--

Christine resolved herself to go down to the brig to at least speak with Andre. It was the least she could do after being so harsh earlier. Make nice. A good idea when they would probably be soon roommates...she had just tried an attempted murder on the captain.

Andre had his knees pulled up to his chest, trying to put what he remembered from the night before out of his head. Even if Christine left, he couldn't let those thoughts consume him. They were evil. He had to be stronger.

"Hey..." Christine said softly in an almost silent greeting to him as she came down there.

Andre looked up, his head bowing again. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Christine whispered mildly.

"I shouldn't have drank last night, it was stupid and it was my fault. It was his, too, but I shouldn't have..."

" No. But I can't hold it against you." She said softly, uncaringly. Her eyes weren't focused on anything, but she was frightened of the consequences that might follow her last actions.

Andre's cheeks burned, and his neck bent even more so that his face was hidden. He felt sick. He wanted to deny it, wanted to holler at her for suggesting such a thing, but all he could manage was a weak "Christine..."

"Yes?" She asked gently, mildly. She was giving in pretty easily now. She knew she should be angry with him, but she didn't care.

"Christine, I... I was drunk, I didn't know..." His own words were choking him. He was thoroughly shamed. "He came on to me, and the rum..."

"I know." She said softly. "I know." She looked to him. She didn't care that he had really.

Andre took a deep breath, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Ever since my brother died, my family has expected nothing short of perfection from me. And I almost had that..."

--

Erik reached Firmin and expertly wrapped an arm around his chest, using his other to swim. His chest was burning from lack of oxygen.

Firmin coughed up most of the saltwater, enough of his senses returning to at least support his own weight in the water. He knew he couldn't let Erik drown trying to keep him up.

Erik managed to get Firmin to the ladder to the boat. He said nothing and waited for the man to climb before he did.

Firmin struggled up the ladder, falling to his hands and knees upon reaching the deck and coughing up the last of the water. "I'm... going to kill... that woman..."

Erik climbed behind him. He couldn't say it was entirely her fault. He also ignored the fact he had just saved the man's life. "What are you going to do about it?" His voice was simple, serious, uncaring, but he was almost worried.

"I'm going to lock her in the brig with that idiot she intended to marry, that's why I'm going to do."

Erik tensed, but his voice was even and unbelieving...and calm. "I don't believe that you would."

"I will," Firmin growled. "I could have died! That woman will not make a mockery of my ship!"

Erik said nothing. He could have died...he was correct.

"Well, say you were captain of the ship," Firmin said, rasping and trying to regain his breath. "And say that she had pushed you over when she knew you weren't all in your senses. What would you do?"

Erik's gaze never faltered. "I honestly don't know." It would depend on the girl really.

"It's not like I'm going to starve her," growled Firmin as he started down towards the brig. "But maybe a day or two in the lockdown might make her see that her actions have consequences."

Erik frowned. He followed him. "I wouldn't..." He started.

"And why not?" Firmin asked his tones sharp if not snapping. "That woman has assaulted me, demeaned me, and generally been a pain since she set foot on the ship. I was starting to be able to put up with her, and then she goes and shoves me overboard."

"You provoked her." Erik stated calmly. "She reacted."

"You don't push someone overboard because you implied that your ex-husband-to-be's a sod! She said she doesn't even like him!"

"She doesn't love him. There is a difference." Erik stated plainly.

"The fact remains that she didn't have to push me overboard. I was simply stating fact. The man doesn't like women; it's not the worst thing in the world."

"To hit a raw nerve is reason enough." Erik stated angrily.

Firmin stopped short. They were almost at the brig. "Erik, I am the captain of this ship. I usually listen to you, you know that, but I will not have that women threaten me."

--

"I really am sorry, I swear, if I were in my right senses..." Andre wanted to kill Firmin, he really did. "I can change, I swear it. I can fix myself..."

"It won't accomplish anything. I don't care either." Christine replied. He was working himself up about it as if she was appalled at him.

"I just wanted to be everything for you… to be who you wanted me to be…" Andre finished softly.

Christine sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about that. But I just can't..." She said softly. She couldn't pretend like that.

"I know you can't, and it's unfair of me to expect you to," he replied, opening his eyes and sighing as his gaze rested on her. "I just wish I could love you."

"I know..." She said softly. She wondered how it would be different then.

"I'm sorry, and I don't even know what I'm sorry for..." sighed Andre, bowing his head again.

Christine nodded. "I know." She said softly, lapsing into silence. She was shaking.

Andre could not find the right words to say. His emotions disgusted him, he didn't want to feel that way, but he did, and he couldn't stop them. He simply wanted to be normal, but it seemed too much to ask.

Christine sighed, being in the middle of the room. She heard a voice...Firmin's? ...probably.

Firmin threw open the door of the brig, and he saw Andre jump slightly at the sound of it.

The commodore looked to Firmin. He was dripping wet and he didn't look happy. He stood slowly.

Christine shrank back a step. He didn't look happy at all. He was alive, though. She took a deep breath.

"On most ships, including naval ones, an attempt to kill the captain is one they punish with death," he growled, glaring at the woman.

Christine took a defiant step forward. "And?" She tried.

"And all I can say is that you're lucky this isn't a naval ship."

Andre tried to put himself in between them, but he didn't get far. Before he knew it he had been shoved against the wall. Hard. His breath was knocked out of him, and he slid to the floor.

Firmin grabbed Christine's wrist, the pain in his chest driving him. He dragged her to the chains that had held Andre, clapping it over her ankle. He threw her to the ground angrily. Spinning on heal, and glancing at the commodore, who was struggling to stand, he gave him a swift kick in the ribs before storming off.

In him forcing her to the floor, Christine hit the floor, hard. Her head made swift contact with the ground, knocking her out. Blood started to trickle from the side of her head. She lay still and pale.

Erik's swift descent brought him to her side. He lifted her head up onto his lap, swiftly ripping off part of his shirt and pressing it to her head. He cursed silently under his breath. He was going to kill Firmin.

She didn't move, but she was breathing. He stroked her hair back and out of the blood. He kept the cloth to her bleeding head.

Andre gave a soft moan, struggling to sit up and glancing over to Christine. His face hardened when he saw Christine. He did not love her, but no one crossed the ocean for a woman they wanted to see hurt.

"Why do you follow him?" Andre asked softly, gazing sadly at the woman. "From the time I've come on this ship, he's been a violent, egoistic bully."

"Because he generally isn't drunk." Erik said simply, distractedly. He was a good person...when he chose to be. "He generally doesn't sleep with men and he also doesn't take to beating a woman unless she has done something to him." He said when he had at last gotten the bleeding slowed. He sighed, laying her back down on the ground.

Andre looked to her, his eyes remaining on her still form. "She'll be alright?..." He asked hesitantly.

Erik nodded. "She'll be fine. Keep with her… She'll wake up sometime later." He said, satisfied with what he had seen. She wasn't hurt badly. A small cut on the head… nothing to worry about. He stood, leaving the brig without another word.

There we go! Not the best, but alright. So. What do you all think? Tell me! Ten reviews for eleven chapters now! Come on people! Prove you don't hate my writing! I'm not above resorting to begging! Ack. Not sure when I'll update again, but I'll try to soon. A lot of school work as of late, and I'm working on some actual stuff I actually might be getting published, so we'll see how things go.