Uma felt dizzy when she woke up, and pain shot through her, a sharp prick in her side; panic rose through her throat and her fingers automatically traveled to her skin, where she felt the threads and newly sewn skin, and she resisted the urge to vomit.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and Harry's scent entered her nose, filling her with ease. She wasn't sure what had happened, but whatever it was, Harry was with her and that was enough to calm her down.

The wood of the ceiling, the swaying of the waves... she was in her cabin, in her home. Someone had sewn her up and someone had taken care of her, and the thought that someone had stopped her from dying almost made her cry. Of course, she knew she was important to Harry, but he was a mess with needles, so it must have been someone else. Maybe Gil, loyal and loving as always.

Then Uma remembered that she had a crew that looked at her with adoration, people who had been born on the Isle of the Lost just like her, and who still respected her. She was lucky. More than lucky. She was not dead.

"Uma?" A sleepy Harry murmured beside her, immediately erasing all traces of sleep from himself to half sitting up in bed, exalted to see her awake. He brought his hand close to her face, stroking her cheek, her lips. His gaze was a bit frantic when he spoke again. "You're fine, you're fine. We brought you to the ship and you were cured, and you will be fine, I promise..."

It seemed like he was saying it more to himself than to her, and Uma lifted her hand to hold his against her skin, against her lips. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent hard. She was not dead. She was here with Harry. He was real, real, his scent, his skin. The burning pain in her heart.

Uma didn't know why she did it. She bit him, held his hand as her teeth caressed his palm, his fingers. A little hard, without breaking his skin. Maybe she wanted to bring him back to the real world, maybe she wanted just to mark him. Harry gasped, but it wasn't a gasp of pain, and he didn't take his hand an inch away.

"Harry," her voice against his skin cracked a bit, and then she changed biting into kisses, soft and light things, which Uma never believed her lips accustomed to pain were capable of, over the marks of teeth.

When she opened her eyes, he was sitting in front of her, looking at her with an expression he had never had before, between bewilderment and recognition of what she felt too. An overwhelming gratitude that Harry was here with her, that she existed in that life, in that place, because he was right there, regardless of the pain or the fire or the misery.

That longing was painful in her heart. A pain that Uma never wanted to go away, a little dark and a little bright...

"It hurts," she murmured, not knowing exactly if she was referring to physical pain or the other. Harry didn't ask, he nodded, running his thumb along the curve of her lips.

"I know," he said, "I'll check it, don't move".

Harry leaned over her, checking the stitching, and Uma realized she was only wearing her bra. He kissed the skin on her stomach as he sat up, sending a shiver down her spine. Softness, love... what a strange thing, so intense. Uma allowed herself to enjoy such terrible tenderness.

"You're healing really fast," he told her, and then frowned a little. "Too fast. Maybe it's due to the sea".

Just as she had taken strength from the storm.

"How bad was it?" She asked.

Harry took a deep breath.

"You were losing a lot of blood; Desiree had a hard time stopping it. It was definitely much worse".

Her dull mind tried to process things. Desiree… she had sewn her, of course. Now that she struggled, he could remember her through the pain and shock. Caressing her braids, reassuring her. God. Her crew, her people...

"And the rest of the crew? Harriet?"

Harry's expression darkened a bit, but he didn't lie to her. He would never do. It wasn't something that was in their blood, lying to each other.

"Bonny and Jonas stayed behind, Harriet said they'd catch up with us, but there's still no sign of the Tempest. We had to get you out of there, Uma".

She nodded and closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath and then slowly drawing it out. She tried to remember everything from the night before, but there were parts of her memory that had been clouded with pain. She should feel worse, she should be dying, but she felt, somehow, strong.

"Help me sit down," she asked Harry. He seemed to want to say something, but she looked him straight in the eye. "I feel good. I feel… capable of doing it".

And Harry helped her, holding her as she leaned up and slowly straightened up, aware that she might hurt herself in one wrong move. Harry didn't object, and Uma knew it wasn't because he did everything she said, but because he trusted her.

"Like this… it's fine like this. How does it feel?"

She didn't feel even so sore now, not like when she had woken up.

"I want to go on deck," she told him, and she couldn't help her voice sound demanding.

Harry laughed softly and buried his nose in her neck, between her braids. Uma's body no longer tensed, knowing that it was fine, that he was always welcome in her.

"You're fine," he asserted, barely a whisper that might not have been meant for Uma to hear, but she did it anyway. Then Harry offered his hand for her to take and lean herself to her feet. "On deck, then. Although maybe you should put something on first".

Uma feigned innocence.

"But this is my best outfit."

Harry laughed, wild and happy, the adrenaline of knowing that Uma was recovering rushed through his body and made him feel light, weightless.

Harry helped her put on her clothes after tying some bandages around her side, to keep her wound from rubbing against the fabric. Then he walked behind her, ready to hold her at any moment, as Uma walked up the stairs, slow, testing how far she could move.

It was day again, beautiful, but not sunny, somewhat cloudy, a bit mysterious. She felt the cool air rush nimbly and fast across her face, stirring her braids. And she was greeted by Gil, Desiree and Gonzo who worked furiously to keep the ship on its way. They needed people. Bonny and Jonas were needed, and Uma knew not just in terms of work.

She didn't want to think about Clay, who was the reminder of how valuable her people were.

"Captain," Gonzo said, surprised to see her there. He turned to Desiree, dismayed. "Should she be standing?"

The girl stopped lowering the rope and walked over to where Uma was.

"No," she replied, and sounded just as surprised as Gonzo. "I saw the wound. It was big enough..."

"I'm fine," Uma interrupted impatiently. "Really. Harry checked it. I am healing fast, very fast".

Gil snorted a laugh.

"Yeah, sure Harry checked it..."

Uma silenced him with a look, but Gil didn't remove his smile. Harry didn't seem the least bit bothered by the comment, rather he looked proud of his best friend's comment. Uma rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Desiree seemed concerned, so Uma did something that she had never done before. She took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze, by way of thanks, and she seemed to understand, because she nodded curtly and said nothing more.

They sailed for about a quarter of an hour more before Gil announced that the Red Tempest was approaching on the horizon, and the three of them - he, Harry, and Uma - peeked around the stern to see the ship. Uma wasn't going to deny it, she was worried that Bonny and Jonas were okay, she wanted to know if someone had healed Jonas's wound because she should have. This was her family, each of her crazy crewmembers. Desiree, who looked weak but was stronger than a rock, Bonny with her perpetual crazed gaze, Gonzo and Jonas, that were big and fearsome and yet respected her as Captain. Not to mention Harry and Gil, who were a part of herself, something she couldn't live without. It was instinctive for her to take care of them.

Hell, Uma was even worried about Harriet and CJ, and Sammy and the crew.

"Let them catch up to us," she ordered. Harry met her gaze and she shared what she was thinking with him. The treasure was near, they were about to get there, and Uma didn't want to do it without the rest of her crew, nor without Harriet or CJ. They had all embarked on this adventure together, and although the treasure turned out to be worthless, Uma was not a traitor. She wasn't going to leave her people behind.

When the Red Tempest got close enough for them to send out a boat, Bonny, Jonas, CJ, and the rest of Uma's new crew crossed from ship to ship. Desiree and Gil helped them up the Revenge, and Uma checked that Jonas had been treated and that he didn't look too bad.

"But what the hell?" CJ asked, pointing an accusing finger at Uma. She looked terribly outraged. "You were dying and now you are here! That girl threw Clayton overboard because she thought you were dying, and it turns out that you walk around the deck like nothing happened!"

Uma raised an eyebrow at CJ's drama, and then reacted to her words. Harry, who had listened, approached as well.

"Who did what?" Uma asked, a little surprised.

"Bonny," Jonas replied, "threw Clay overboard because the coward made fun of you".

Harry gave a mad laugh, lifting his hook triumphantly, and leaned closer to Bonny, held her in a hug that lifted her off the ground and then lowered her again. He bowed dramatically to the girl, who looked more shocked than ever.

"This I owe you," he said. Bonny raised both eyebrows, still not sure what to say. Owing something on the Isle was never a pleasant thing, but Harry wanted to thank her for doing what he would have wanted to do. Because Clay deserved no less than that. For Uma and people there was nothing more dishonorable than betrayal, turning away from their people, forgetting about them.

"That's enough, Harry," Uma said, holding his hook to pull him towards her, but her voice hid a softness that Harry knew how to find and that was imperceptible to others.

"And why are you here?" Harry asked, looking at his sister with a frown.

CJ snorted, arms crossed.

"I was bored of Harriet. I wanted to see if something more interesting happened here, and apparently it is", she replied, but there was something hidden in her words, Harry had the feeling that she was lying, but did not insist.

At that moment, Gil, who was perched in the crow's nest, raised his voice.

"Captain, land in sight!"

Uma walked to the stern, holding onto the rigging, feeling the presence she loved behind her, Harry. They were almost there. In no time they would know if this entire journey had made any sense; if they were capable of breaking the curse. And a hope grew in her heart, that maybe things would change and somehow, if she was strong and sagacious enough... No. She didn't want to think about that possibility, because it would hurt too much if she didn't make it.

"Drop all the sails. Let the Lost Revenge sail as fast as she can," she ordered. Then she muttered to herself. "We are almost there".

And the restlessness in her spirit was enlivened, struggling to get out, to spring up like water, like moisture, as she supposed that everything green that is alive sprouts. It made her feel her blood change a little.

She shouldn't be standing. Her injury had been bad enough to put her out of the game for a few days. However, she recovered with each passing minute, extremely fast. And that restlessness to which she had not been able to name before made sense when her necklace shone, throbbing in her neck, and Uma knew that magic was calling her.

A/N: Hello! I leave this chapter here, which is written with a lot of love. I also want to say that I made an exclusive instagram account for the fanfics that I write, so if anyone is interested I will leave it here: .bello and you can also find me on tumblr as .com

As always, thank you so much for reading. I sent you a warm hug!