A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! I really do appreciate it! A lot! The next chapter, chapter 5, is going to mainly be an action sequence. Let me just warn you ahead of time that action scenes are not my cup of tea. Okay. Now, in this chapter Christine's really klutzy. But, we still love her anyway. Well, here it goes! Onto chapter 4!

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In the middle of the night, Christine was tossing and turning in her sleep and was twisting the blanket in knots around her legs. She whimpered and clenched her pillow with all her might. Finally, her eyes shot open and she sat upright in her bunk gasping for air. She placed a hand on her forehead and felt the beads of sweat that had been streaming down her face. Her back, chest, and legs were also wet. She pulled the covers off to cool off and sat on the edge of her hammock. She leaned over and ran a hand through her sweaty hair. "It was just a nightmare. It didn't really happen." She assured herself. The nightmare consisted of her brother and Captain Donovan. Christine gave him the map like she was supposed to. But instead of giving Sammy back, he slit the boy's throat. Chris closed her eyes and tried to get the picture out of her head. "He's okay. He's not dead." She kept saying. "I'll see him soon."

She laid back down and closed her eyes. Not to go to sleep, but to think. "But, still… Can I trust a pirate?" Her mouth was parched and she needed a glass of water before she died of thirst. She got up and tiptoed into the galley as to not wake up the other crew members. She looked behind her to see if anyone had awoke but didn't concentrate on where she was going and knocked into a barrel. It fell to the ground and a bunch of purps rolled out onto the floor. She got down on her knees and mentally cursed herself for her clumsiness. She made sure everyone was still asleep and fortunately for her, they were. The last thing she needed was another scolding lecture from Mr. Carlson. She had made a mental note not to screw up when he was breathing down her neck 24/7. This, for her, was not an easy task.

When she met the cook, Mr. Carlson, she knew right on the spot that she didn't care much for him. He was fat, sweaty, dirty, had a gold tooth, an eye patch, and was not exactly something you would want to meet in a dark alley. It wasn't his appearance that vexed her. But, his attitude. He first said something about how horrible it was to have a scrawny girl to do cabin boy's work. Then, when he finally agreed to have her as cabin girl and Mr. Starling left, Carlson told her to get right to work. First, with helping prepare the meals, swabbing the deck, making sure that Morph and B.E.N. didn't sneak anymore snacks from the kitchen, cleaning the bathrooms or heads as he called them, and then making sure the longboats were secure for the night.

She knew that that's not all the work she could have done since they didn't take-off until late afternoon. Christine placed the barrel in its right place and then continued on into the galley. She walked over to a cupboard and took out a cup. She then took a pitcher of water and poured it until it almost reached the brim. Chris sat down at the counter and drank it all. It felt good to have something cold after all that nausea. She sat the cup down and began tracing the brim just to pass time. She was still a little tired but she didn't want to go back to sleep. Mainly because she really didn't want to have another nightmare. She rested her chin on her knuckles and sighed. She decided to make a list of her likes and dislikes of things on the ship in no particular order.

Dislikes:

1. Everything about being a cabin girl

2. Mr. Carlson and his meals

3. Etherium sickness

Likes:

1. Her friends

2. The view of the stars

3. Jim Hawkins

Jim was probably the only one keeping her alive through this ordeal. She didn't talk to him since the launch except once at dinner. He told her that he knew how she felt and what to avoid eating if she wanted to live to be eighteen. She ran her hand up and down her arm nervously. She then lifted her sleeve to look at the permanent mark on her arm. It was a blue star tattoo. That's right! A tattoo! Christine chuckled to herself, still feeling foolish about getting that thing embedded in her arm for all eternity. She had never told anyone about it. Except her brother of course. That mark was the only reason why she never wore a tank top. Christine had her own personal reasons for covering it up. But, she never told a single soul. Not even Jim. She could feel that her sleepiness was overpowering her and she slowly began closing her eyes. She jolted back to being awake but that only lasted about five minutes and then she rested her head on the counter top and drifted into slumber.

***

The next morning, Jim awoke before anyone else and decided to get him coffee. He didn't really like it, but it was the only thing that could actually wake him up all the way. He got up and walked to the galley, hearing the boards creek beneath his feet. He froze at the entrance into the galley when he saw Christine huddled over, still sleeping. Her mouth was partly open and her hair was a mess. Yet, she still looked good. Jim smiled and walked over to his friend and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Chris? Christine?" he asked, trying to get some response of life from her. She mumbled something incoherent and then moved her head to the other side. Jim knew that she had been hunched over all night and she was going to have serious back pains when she woke up if he didn't do something. He tapped her again. "Chris? You need to go back to your hammock before Carlson wakes up." No response came from her except her slow steady breathing. He shook his head and smiled. He decided to try again after he got his coffee. It was no trouble making it. The challenge came in tasting it. The brand was something that he had never heard of. But, it was all he had until they came to the next spaceport to reload on supplies. He closed his eyes and quickly sipped it and spit it out back into the cup. It was the worst thing he had ever tasted. He walked over to the sink and cupped his hand to catch water and drank it to get the taste out.

He wiped his mouth and sighed. Well, he was fully awake now. He poured the coffee out and walked back over to Christine who was mumbling something. Jim shook her just a bit. While she was still asleep, she whispered, "Yes, I would like fries with that." Jim looked at her weird and chuckled. He looked down at her and something happened. He suddenly had this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. Without thinking, he carefully moved some loose bangs out of her eyes and pulled them behind her ear. He now had a much better look at her sleeping angelic face. She was really pretty. Even with the messy hair and little snoring noises she was making. In fact, it made her even more beautiful. She was probably the nicest and prettiest girl back home on Montressor. There weren't many humans around in the first place. So, he was pretty excited when his mom told him that she hired a human girl about his age to work in the Benbow Inn.

The first time they met about three years ago, Jim came home from solar surfing and saw her washing dishes. She was also singing a song and doing her own little dance to it. When he came up behind her to say hello, it surprised her and she took the sponge she was using as a microphone and threw it in his face. You can probably just imagine the embarrassment in that. The entire day, she kept making apologies about what she did and Jim kept telling her it was alright. He knew right away that he liked her and she liked him. But, what really drew him to liking her was how she acted. She wasn't anything like the other girls from the academy. She wasn't serious, she was silly at times, she was persistent, tough, and sometimes stubborn. Of course their relationship was nothing more than a friendly one. They were best friends after all.

Jim decided to help Chris to bed. He sat her up and placed an arm behind her back and his other under her knees. He then scooped her up without waking her and walked over to her bunk like a groom carrying his bride. He carefully laid her down and pulled the blanket over her. He fixed her pillow and made sure that she was comfortable. Then, he heard her mumble something. He could have sworn that it sounded like his name. Was she dreaming about him? No, of course not! Why would she be? He thought. He suddenly realized that his hand had somehow found its way onto hers. What the heck am I doing? He was about to remove it but Christine grabbed it. Jim's eyes went wide with confusion and he felt his face get warm. He looked over at her face but saw that she was still asleep. She was dreaming and maybe it was him that she was dreaming about. He looked back at their hands and then slowly and cautiously laced his fingers with hers. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth that he couldn't control.

That's when he heard one of the crew members waking up. He quickly let go of her hand and stood. Regret and disappointment swept over him after having to let go. He shook his head. What am I thinking? She's my best friend! It's not like she's my girlfriend or anything! He was relieved when the warmth on his face vanished and the feeling in his stomach was gone. He turned around and made his way over to the steps to go up on the deck. But, something tugged at his heart that told him to turn around. He gave in and looked back over his shoulder to see Christine all bundled up in the blanket and a look of comfort on her face. Knowing that she was cozy a satisfied smile came across his face and he continued to make his way up the steps.

***

Sammy could hear footsteps coming closer and closer to the room where the pirates locked him in. His heart literally stopped when he heard the footsteps stop right out his door. He backed up against the wall when the door whooshed open. In stepped two pirates and stood on either side of the doorway. Then a man in a black overcoat and a captain's hat stepped in. It was Captain Donovan. The door closed behind him and he approached the boy with an evil smile on his face. He stopped when he was about five feet away from the boy. He knelt down so that his yellow eyes could be level with his.

"What do you want?" Sammy asked with disgust.

Donovan raised an eyebrow. "Why…I just wanted to see if our bate was comfortable in this old abandoned rat infested warehouse."

"Give it up, Donovan!" Sam yelled. "My sister will come and get me and then she'll kick your---"

"Remember two things, boy!" Donovan yelled, getting right into the child's face. "One: You are to address me as Captain Donovan. Second: Your sister is not going to stop me from getting to the treasure. All she'll go home with is a whinny little brother. And I shall go home with more money than a king." Sammy frowned at him and then stuck his tongue out. Captain Donovan chuckled evilly. "Remember, boy I gave you the privilege of not being tied up and gagged anymore. You keep quiet and try not to escape, and then I'll think about giving you something beside bread to eat." He turned on his heels and left the room. The other two pirates followed him out and closed the door, locking it.

Sammy found a piece of a wooden crate and threw it at the door out of anger. He curled up into a ball and buried his face in his knees and cried. What if Donovan tried to deceive his sister and he killed her? He felt even worst knowing that he was not in any state to be able to go help her.

***

The day was hot and tiring and Chris was growing very annoyed of being a cabin girl pretty fast. She was first ordered to swab the deck again because Mr. Carlson found a spot that wasn't mopped up. Then, she had to help with breakfast and was left to clean the dishes by herself. Next, she had to scrub all the scum off of the side of the ship without any assistance. Yeah, well I can think of one piece of scum that made its way on this ship that deserves to be scrubbed off. That's what she wanted to tell him. But she knew that she was already in way over her head and didn't want to get in any trouble with Captain Amelia.

On her break, Chris took a purp and made her way up to the mast. She sat down and watched as the sky was steadily turning into a dark blue. The wind was whipping the hair that was hanging down from her loose ponytail in her face. She tossed the purp from one hand to the other and made sure not to drop it then took a bite. Suddenly, morph popped up behind her and barked like a dog. Christine jumped and dropped the purp down to the deck. She couldn't see where it landed because she was too busy trying to catch Morph. "Come here, you little trouble maker!" she ordered in a serious but humorous voice.

The blob zipped up to the crow's nest to get away from her reach. She started to climb the rope ladder up to where Morph was hiding. She stopped about halfway and looked down. She didn't realize how high she actually was. But, she continued to climb. She peeked over the edge and saw nothing but a coil of rope. She squinted her eyes at the rope suspiciously and climbed all the way in. As soon as he was all the way in, the rope flew at her and tied itself around her ankles causing her to lose her balance and fall down. The rope unwrapped itself from her and changed back into a giggling Morph.

"Man, are you gonna get it!" she said, getting up.

Morph continued zipping around her and causing her much frustration in catching him. She leaned over the edge of the crow's nest to reach him, Then, she heard crackling noises and before she could act, the side of the nest broke and she went plummeting towards the deck. She quickly grabbed a rope and held on for dear life. She was hanging a little more than half way between the crow's nest and the deck. Suddenly, the rope snapped and she freefell into a bunch of barrels and crates.

Everything went black and silent. Chris didn't know whether she was dead or unconscious. She waited for that bright majestic light to come and take her away to the afterlife. Then, she finally started hearing voices that sounded like they were in panic. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the faces of the crew members standing over her. One of them was snickering at her little accident and she would have punched his lights out. But, her body wouldn't let her. Her entire body ached from head to toe, like pins piercing her all over, and she thought that all her bones were broken. She felt something wet trickling down the side of her head and despite the pain she lifted her hand to feel it. She looked at her hand only to find fresh blood.

Her hand fell back onto the deck and it was hard to breathe. Finally, she saw a face that she recognized and she felt relieved. It was Jim and he had Dr. Doppler with him. She saw the horrific look on Jim's face. It was the kind of look that a mother would give her child if they fell off the playground and got terribly hurt. He was obviously fearing for her life.

"Doc is she going to be alright?" he asked.

"Well, uh…" Dr. Doppler had to find the exact words to say.

"Doc!" he yelled in rage, "I don't have time for this! Is she going to---?"

"Calm down, Jim! We just have to get her to bed." He said, trying to calm Jim down. But, he knew deep down that her wounds were serious and it would probably take more than rest to help her.

Christine tried her best to stay conscious so that she could know what's wrong with her. But, instead her entire body went numb and her vision became blurry. Then, everything went black and dead silent again.

***

A/N: Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Another cliff hanger! I only do it to annoy you guys! He-he-he! Please R&R! Love ya'll!