Disclaimer: 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' movie is copyright of 20th Century Fox. No infringement is intended.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Three: the Heart Grows Older

Henry had eventually taken Tom back to his room last night and tucked the younger man into bed, wondering where the sudden fatherly instinct came from. Sawyer was hurting, that much was obvious, and probably felt like he had no one to turn to. And Jekyll had no idea what to tell him other than what he already had. But, he reflected as he walked to breakfast the next morning, he would probably be seeing much more of Agent Sawyer than he had ever wanted to and would be hearing many more sob stories much in the way a father has to listen to his son.

Dinner was the only meal on the Nautilus that was served at a particular time and everyone was expected to dress somewhat decently and remain at the table the entire meal. However, Nemo was not particularly strict about enforcing any of the rules about dinner. So, consequently, Henry and Nemo ended up being the only people on time, dressed nicely and sitting through all the courses at dinner. Breakfast and lunch were spread out on a side table and people came and went as they pleased. Henry did not know where the rest of the crew dined, because he had only ever seen Nemo, Mina, Sawyer and Skinner in the main dining room.

This morning, the dining room was empty when he entered. It was just as well. He wanted some time to compose his thoughts before running into anyone else. Bright sunshine came through the round windows and the breakfast platters steamed. He quickly filled his plate, got a mug of coffee and sat down at the table.

Too much had happened last night. First it had been the strange lights outside and then it had been Sawyer actually showing just how much he was in pain. And somehow, Henry could not help but think that the strange lights might be more important then Sawyer's self-made misery. But that was not fair to the youth. The lights could have been anything, a strange phenomenon, a trick of the eye. But there was no refuting the fact that they would have burned holes right through Jekyll and Nemo had Nemo not forced them to hit the deck.

"Well, I must say, you're up early."

He turned to the doorway of the dining room. Skinner was standing in the doorway although the only thing visible was Skinner's clothing and not Skinner himself. It was impossible to say if the invisible man was irritated or pleased to have company for breakfast, because he did not have any of the white make-up on that he normally would if wanted anyone to know how he was feeling. Jekyll wondered at the secrecy.

"Astute observation," Henry replied dryly.

"Isn't it?" Skinner chirped and then moved to the side table to fill his plate. It was rather unnerving to see a plate seemingly floating in midair where Skinner's hands should have been, but being a member of the League seemed to have numbed everyone to all shocks of the unusual.

Skinner took a seat across the table from Henry. The fork and knife began to cut up slices of ham and eggs seemingly by themselves. Henry almost rolled his eyes, because, whether he wanted to or not, he was going to get to see Skinner chewing his food. At least, the man had decency enough to wear a shirt so no one would have to see him digest it too.

"Lovely morning," Skinner commented through a mouthful of his breakfast, which, to Henry's eternal distaste, he could see. "What brings you about so early, especially when you had to entertain Sawyer until all hours last night?"

"How do you know about that?" Henry asked mildly, already knowing several possible answers that Skinner could give him.

"His room is next to mine," Skinner replied. "And I was going to the kitchen for a bit of a midnight snack when the two of you came down the hallway."

And he would have been invisible to nick food from the kitchen because the cook had almost walloped him last time Skinner tried to get food and was clothed. The domestic staff on the Nautilus had an extreme dislike for Skinner and his ability to terrorize and make a mess without so much as raising his little finger. The two really ready to throttle him were the cook and the butler.

"What was he so upset about?" the invisible man asked, carefully keeping his voice neutral.

"Recent wounds," Henry replied, trying not to feel sick as Skinner chomped on more of his eggs. The man had probably decided that if he couldn't get Mina to show any interest in him romantically, he could at least have Sawyer as a best friend to raise hell with.

"He's still thinking about Alan?"

"When will he not be?"

Skinner's hat bobbed up and down so Henry assumed he was nodding. "True," he said through another mouthful of food.

Henry quickly stuffed his remaining ham and eggs into a biscuit and got up from the table. If he had to sit here with Skinner and watch one more bite of food roll around in his rather exposed jaw, he was going to be sick.

"Leaving so soon?" Skinner asked in a voice that was supposed to be surprised. Henry figured he probably knew the reason.

"I'll enjoy the rest of my breakfast in the library."

Skinner shrugged. "Suit yourself."


Mina gazed critically at her reflection in the mirror. Another perk from the fact that the Count had not been able to complete the transformation was that she could still see her reflection in a mirror. Hopefully, she was late enough to breakfast that Henry had already finished and she would not have to look into those cobalt eyes and know what they said. Maybe Sawyer would be there and she could have a casual conversation with him, although she knew what he wanted too and it was nothing like what Henry wanted. She would even welcome a conversation with Skinner and endure his antics.

Things were not going to get any better, she thought. She might as well go down to the dining room and see what was being served. The first few nights on the Nautilus almost no one from the League came down to the dining room, preferring to take dinner in their rooms. But by the time they were facing M in Mongolia, everyone was in the dining room and talking loudly to cover the tension in the air. She almost missed that inane chatter about everything and everybody, nothing and nobody. That was when one could learn about his or her companions. And their love lives…

She could recall overhearing a part of the conversation Jekyll and Sawyer were having about past love interests. Jekyll had mentioned someone named Emmaline and how it did not work out quite like he had planned. Then Sawyer had launched into a huge story about how everyone in the town thought he and his best friend, Huck, were dead and they saw their own funeral and a girl called Polly had been crying for them. Mina recalled Jekyll's mild smile as he politely listened to the youth chatter on. But then, that was one of Henry's strong points. He would listen to anyone about anything.

Master the patient art of listening and being fully present… then you will be heard…

As she turned for the door, she realized how many people on this ship did listen to the concerns and troubles of everyone else, how many of them cared. It had take much for them to learn to care for one another… and Nemo had always been there to hear stories and listen to heartaches. Only now, did she realize that Henry did the same thing, but did not solicit himself for that service. If someone came to him, he would listen, but the person had to make the first move.

She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, only to almost run straight into Sawyer, who appeared to be on his way back from breakfast.

"Mornin', Mrs. Harker," he said, stepping aside quickly so she wouldn't run into him.

"Good morning," she replied.

"Headed to breakfast?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You?"

Tom shrugged. "I was actually looking for Jekyll. Skinner said he was at breakfast but left, saying he was going to the library. Well, he wasn't there."

And it appeared that Tom was headed for Jekyll's room, Mina thought. What could have made Tom suddenly decide that he wanted to pal around with Henry? Normally, the great pals were Sawyer and Skinner… not Sawyer and Jekyll. That was strange and stranger still because both of them had been vying for her affection in their own way. Why two former rivals were now friends was odd, but encouraging in a way.

"Did you check his room?" she asked.

"Where I'm headed," Sawyer replied and took off down the hallway.

A pair of floating clothes passed by Sawyer, greeted him and then came up to her. But before Skinner said anything to her, he turned and yelled to Sawyer, "He's not there either! Look on the deck!" The invisible man paused. "On second thought, wait to find him until lunch! Him and Nemo are discussing something odd that happened!"

Mina rolled her eyes. "Skinner," she said in a controlled voice.

"Why hello my darling damsel!" Skinner replied, taking off his hat in an exaggerated flourish. "If you ever turn into a damsel in distress, you know where to find me!"

"You are the last person I would want to rescue me," Mina muttered under her breath as Skinner continued down the hallway.

Well, it looked like she was going to be able to have a nice quiet breakfast since everyone else appeared to be occupied elsewhere.


Nemo frowned as he poured over the leather bound journals in the library. Jekyll had taken a stack of the journals up to the deck to read with the stipulation that if he found anything, he was to come to the library immediately. There was something tickling the back of his mind about lights like that, an old superstition or witch doctor saying, but he could not for the life of him remember where he remembered hearing about that. Or who said it, for that matter.

Well, his guests on the Nautilus seemed comfortable enough. At least everyone came to dinner now, rather than taking it in their rooms. But, he reflected, after the selection for dinner the first night when everyone was aboard… perhaps he should not have let the cook make the stuffed shark delicacy that the Indians liked, but the British and American guests were disgusted by. He supposed that if he had been American or British, he would have preferred to eat in his cabin as well and not brave a dinner with completely foreign foods. Now that the cook made things they were familiar with, everyone was more than willing to sit through the meal.

The captain turned the page in the journal. He was probably not going to find anything in this one. It was an account of some Mediterranean voyages several years ago. There would probably be nothing about old superstitions in it.

The door to the library banged open and Henry Jekyll rushed in, laying the journal he had been reading on the table in front of the Indian captain. Nemo recognized the journal as one he himself had written about some African journeys.

"This talks about a superstition concerning the stars," Jekyll was saying, pointing to the passage.

Nemo leaned over the journal, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Jekyll must have left his jacket on the deck and his tie was loose and vest unbuttoned. Right now, he looked more like a batty assistant librarian than the normally composed doctor that he was. Nemo quickly scanned the passage.

A witch doctor in the small port town we visited insisted on giving myself, my first mate and second mate a tour of the village. We obliged him since the rendezvous with Ali is not due to take place until tomorrow. He also seemed a bit unbalanced, but we went along.

After a tour of the village, which was nothing more than grass huts and cooking fires, he pointed to the night sky. He explained that everyone who dies turns into a star and looks down upon the ones they left behind. However, he said that if the people want to send a message, the stars may attack. The phenomenon I believe he was speaking of is known as aurora borealis or aurora australis since we are in the southern hemisphere.

He looked up at Jekyll. The doctor was having trouble trying to disguise how pleased he was with himself and since no one ever thought the gentle doctor amounted to much, when he was helpful, his happiness showed.

The passage was curious.

"Do you suppose someone is trying to send us a message?" Jekyll asked.

Nemo slowly shook his head. "I don't know. I can't think of any reason for someone to try and send us a message."

"Nor can I. I mean it may just have seen some phenomenon that we had the misfortune of almost running into."

"Perhaps." Nemo paused. "Perhaps we should change our course for central Africa and track down the witch doctor."

Jekyll shrugged. "We could. But I think everyone else should have a say in what we decide."

"Yes. Let us go to Egypt as planned and then see about this. I will have someone keep watch on deck tonight to let us know if anything else happens."

The doctor nodded. "Sounds like a decent plan. I'll go get the journals I left on the deck and bring them here." Jekyll turned and disappeared down the corridor. Nemo looked down at the passage in front of him. Allan Quartermain couldn't be trying to contact them, could he?


Sawyer walked into the dining room for lunch and it was full. Everyone seemed to have gotten the idea to eat at the same time and all of them converged on the place. Nemo was sitting at the head of the table, carrying on what appeared to be a civilized conversation with Skinner, for once. Jekyll was sitting across from Skinner and Mina was sitting next to Jekyll. She smiled at something he said. Sawyer felt a sharp pang of jealousy. But as quickly as it came, he brushed it away. Mina had every right to talk to Jekyll whenever she wanted and Jekyll was his friend. Why should it matter if Mina decided she suddenly fancied Jekyll over Sawyer?

But it did matter. Sawyer drew in a deep breath.

"Ah! Mr. Sawyer! Join us!"

Tom forced a smile at Nemo's jovial tone and went over to the side table. He picked up a plate and filled it, not paying much attention to what he served himself. He then took a seat next to Skinner and returned the smile Mina gave him. Her words right after M attacked the Nautilus came back to him loud and clear.

"I thought Americans didn't give up so easily."

She had said it in light of what his interest in her was. And now she was cozying up to Jekyll like she had never said anything. He would be the first to admit that he had not followed up any of the advances after that- they were all to busy to find corners for romancing in. Tom inwardly shook his head. He should have seen it earlier, right after Jekyll gave her some of his blood. He could not imagine so casually slitting his wrist and letting his blood drip into a coffee mug of all things. But Jekyll had done it and he hadn't. But Jekyll was also a doctor and had probably helped with and performed surgery before, so why would the sight of his own blood be any different than a patient? It meant nothing…

But that was not it. He had pretty much unburdened his entire soul to Jekyll last night. He could ask the man what he felt for Mina. And if he did fancy her, then it would not ruin their friendship. Sawyer promised himself that. He did not want to lose Jekyll and Mina as friends if they did start courting. And he would if he got jealous.

"Tom? Are you all right?"

He snapped to attention at the sound of Jekyll's voice.

"I'm fine," he said softly. "Fine." But even to himself, it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that.

He caught Jekyll's concerned look, but busied himself with eating. He figured he'd be hearing about this later today.

To Be Continued...