Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, except for McCane and his wife. Blah, blah, blah, you all know the rest. This is the LXG sandbox; I just play in it.

Okay, Panzergal, here's your Jekyll story. I hope the rest of you enjoy it, too. To give you a better idea of what goes on, a series of events happen to make Jekyll very depressed and even to the point of suicide. However, there is a new stranger aboard the Nautilus to distract him from his unhappy thoughts. After meeting the interesting visitor, Jekyll will never be the same again.

As for Happy New Year.it's on hold until next New Year's, unless anybody objects. I'm sorry, but I just fell out of the spirit, and I still have that darn writer's block. Anyway, on with the story!

*

Dr. Henry Jekyll was sitting at the desk in Mina Harker's stateroom on the Nautilus, pouring over dozens of biology books. He had been practicing medicine for over thirty years now, but he had never had a case quite like this before.

Mina lay in bed, moaning. Dr. Jekyll had drawn the thick blankets up to her chin, but she had pushed them away, hurting too much to sleep. She clutched her stomach and heart, doubling over in pain.

"Dr. Jekyll, hurry," Tom Sawyer urged, shouting over to Jekyll while trying his hardest to keep Mina under control. "I think she's having muscle spasms now!"

"It all hurts," Mina moaned, both hands clutched over her heart.

"Tom, I'm going as fast as I can," Jekyll shouted irritably at him. "Just try to keep her calm and safe. That's all I can tell you right now. I can't find anything in these books!"

Sawyer sighed and tried to force Mina to lie down. "Mina, just try to get some rest, okay? Henry doesn't know much about this, and he's trying to get all the information he can on it." Mina just groaned painfully in reply.

Jekyll turned another page of the book he was reading. "Okay, here we go. I think I found it, Sawyer. Chapter twelve, vampire biology."

"Thank goodness," Sawyer said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I don't get it. I've never seen anybody so sick."

Like most other people, Mina hated being sick. However, this time was different. This time, she didn't even know what sickness she had. She just knew that her whole body hurt and she was burning up with fever. After a preliminary examination, Jekyll was certain that it was a vampiric illness. He had gone to the ship's library and gotten every book on diseases he could find.

"Hurry, Jekyll," the ever-impatient Sawyer urged. "We may have a dying vampire here!"

Mina groaned. She sat up in bed, clutching her stomach. "I need blood," she whined. "I'm sorry. I don't like to beg for it, but I need to suck some blood, right now!"

Sawyer grinned and rolled up his sleeve. "My throat's feeling pretty sensitive right now, so could you do with blood from an arm?"

"Anything," Mina moaned graciously. She greedily bit into his arm.

"Ow!" Sawyer laughed. "Mina, your fangs tickle!" Mina ignored him and kept on sucking thirstily.

Jekyll sighed and got up from Mina's desk. He tiredly rubbed his face with his hands. "Okay, I think I've got it. Mina just has a simple vampiric flu. It's worse than regular influenza, but we just have to treat her symptoms until she's feeling better."

"When will that be?" Sawyer asked, the color quickly draining from his face.

"A few days. Maybe a week," said Jekyll worriedly.

"A week?" Sawyer paled. "Poor Mina!"

Mina sat up, Sawyer's blood trickling down her chin. Usually after sucking blood, she was happy and satisfied, but this time, she was gasping for air and moaning.

"There, there, Mina," Jekyll said kindly, wiping her chin with his handkerchief. "You're going to be all right. You're not dying. You'll be okay."

Mina groaned again and grabbed her stomach. "I think I drank too much," she moaned. "I'm going to be sick!"

"Sawyer, fetch me something, quick," Jekyll said. "Hurry, now!"

Tom lifted a white porcelain washbasin off of Mina's chest of drawers and handed it to Jekyll. "I'll leave you two alone," he said quietly, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Jekyll held the empty washbasin under Mina. "Just be sick in here, Mina, if you need to. Don't worry about being embarrassed," he added reassuringly. "I'm a doctor, I've seen more than enough vomiting to last me a lifetime."

A very pale Mina nodded and looked up. "Thank you, Jekyll. You are forever kind."

* * *

"Captain, meet my former wife, Batsie."

As Andre McCane introduced them, Captain Nemo shook hands with a pale woman in a gorgeous white dress and a gentle smile. "Neeemo," she said, her voice as soft and gentle as a mild spring breeze, trying to pronounce his name right. "This is a brilliant Lady you've got here."

"Why, thank you, Mrs. McCane," Nemo smiled at her, knowing she meant his ship.

"Mrs. Linoge," Andre McCane corrected him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Nemo apologized politely. "I didn't know you were remarried."

"My last name doesn't matter," Batsie smiled gently. "It's just Batsie, please." The only woman Nemo really knew was Mina Harker, but Batsie seemed to be Mina's exact opposite. She wasn't intimidating, but warm and calm; her curly brown hair was worn gently down, and her skin was as pale as pure moonlight. The circles around her eyes indicated that she was very old, but still old enough to look quite young.

"Batsie needs to be in New Zealand in five days, Captain. It's an emergency," McCane told Nemo.

"Five days?" Nemo asked, his eyebrows raised. He turned to the lovely Batsie. "I bet I can get you there in four."

Batsie smiled. "You BET me. You didn't PROMISE me. That was good."

Nemo looked confused until McCane leaned over and whispered to him. "You won't make it in four days. She knows you won't. She can read your mind, Nemo."

* * *

"It's okay, Mina. This will all be over soon. Sawyer was just kidding; you won't die. You just have a vampire illness. It's not fatal. It's just part of who you are."

Mina nodded. Jekyll found it easier to calm her down when Sawyer wasn't in the room. "I feel a little better now after calming down a bit. My stomach and chest feel better, anyway. I should try to get some rest."

Jekyll nodded. "Sleep sweet, now, my sweet little vampire girl. I'll be back shortly to check on you.

When Jekyll tucked her in this time, Mina stayed tucked in. She drifted off to sleep, a tiny smile across her face.

*

I'll have the next chapter up before long. I have a feeling that this one is going to be pretty lengthy. Remember to review!

~ Alisonia