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 Five: Unexpected Guests

Jekyll froze as the lights on the ship went out. What in the world was going on? Nemo was usually more careful with his inventions. It couldn't be a mere technical glitch, could it? Something like this had never happened when he was aboard the Nautilus. In the vague hazes of his memory, he could remember Nemo explaining that the lights went out in an emergency and if that was the case, they were to make their way to his office. But how was he supposed to get to Nemo's office in the pitch black dark? Lanterns and candles were not stored in the cabins and he was not sure where the nearest supply cabinet was.

Footsteps echoed down the seemingly deserted hallway. Henry frantically tried to think of a weapon that he had in his cabin that he might be able to use against an assailant. Nothing came to mind except the elixir and there was no way he was going to let Hyde out if it was not critical. He could hear the protests of Hyde's voice in the back of his mind, but pushed it out. No wonder he always panicked and let Hyde out- Hyde never let him think clearly in perilous situations.

The door opened and dim light flooded the room. The effect was like that of a supernova on his eyes. He shaded his eyes against the light and blinked.

"Henry?" a voice hissed.

"Mina?"

"Thank God!" The lantern and the voice moved closer to him until he could make out Mina's face. For a fleeting moment, he was glad he was still fully dressed and not in his nightshirt. Mina grabbed his arm. "We need to get to Nemo's office." She closed the shutters on the lantern.

"In the dark?"

"Do you know the way to Nemo's office?"

"Not in the dark! Do you?"

"No."

"I thought vampires had some sort of night vision."

"This one doesn't."

"Oh."

The words fell flat into the darkness. Mina was still clutching his arm and her fingernails were digging through his shirt sleeve. Her hand was shaking. He gently pried her hand off his arm and let her clutch his hand tightly rather than leave odd shaped bruises on his arm.

"What's going on?" he hissed.

"Nemo said there was an intruder on the ship."

"Then why are we all wandering around in the dark instead of trying to capture it?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask."

Henry shook his head. There was more to this than Nemo had told anyone and they would probably not get any answers until they went to his office. He gently took the lantern from her and opened one of the shutters a crack. A thin beam of light fell onto the floor, once more illuminating Mina's terrified face. Leaving the lantern like it was, he tugged on their joined hands and pulled her out into the hallway.

"Where are we going?"

"To Nemo's office."

"But-"

"I think we have enough light. Calm down! You are a vampire!"

"Oh." She seemed to have temporarily forgotten that. Henry almost smiled and shook his head, a glimpse of the real Mina who was obviously not as calm and collected in an emergency as she pretended to be. Hands still connected, they took off down the corridor.


Sawyer leaned against Nemo's desk, careful not to knock over the single candle that was placed in the middle of the desk. He, Nemo and Skinner had been gathered in the office for over an hour and there was still no sign of Jekyll and Mina. They couldn't have gotten lost on a ship that had been their home for more than a month, could they? As highly unlikely as it seemed, Sawyer could not imagine Jekyll had much of a sense of direction and it was probably worse in the dark.

"Should we go look for them?" Sawyer asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Ten minutes," Nemo replied, carefully loading a gun by the candlelight. Sawyer rechecked his Winchester for what seemed like the hundredth time as well.

"He said that ten minutes ago," Skinner muttered.

Well, when the thief was right, he was right. A sudden clattering caused Nemo, Sawyer and Skinner to scatter away from the desk. It had sounded like pens falling to the floor. Sawyer's heart pounded in his chest. He watched in amazement as a pen, as if being picked up by an invisible hand began to write on a piece of paper.

"Skinner? What the hell are you doing?" Sawyer asked, his voice quavering.

"I'm right behind you," Skinner whispered, neatly giving him a shove in the back. Sawyer looked over his shoulder, catching the corner of Skinner's hat and a glimpse of the white make-up.

'One of those invisible assassins M had isn't on board, is he?' Sawyer thought to himself, secure with the fact that Skinner was behind him. The pen dropped down to the desk.

As if in a trance, the three of them walked over to the desk and looked at the writing on the piece of paper. It was vaguely familiar- tall and square and cramped. But it was not the writing or the strangeness of the situation that shocked them, it was what the message said.

Jekyll and Mina are safe.

They will arrive in the morning with an unexpected guest.

You will arrive in Egypt as planned.


"Face it, we're lost," Mina whispered.

Henry sighed. She was right. They had been wandering around the ship for the better part of an hour, according to his pocket watch and had yet to make their way to Nemo's office. They were not going to find it tonight. He felt for a doorknob along the wall and opened the door. Well, at least they had found one of the lounges on the ship. But there was no telling where this one was located since they all tended to look alike. Mina stepped in behind him and shut the door. He pulled some blankets from the supply cabinet in the wall as Mina set the lantern on the coffee table and opened all the shutters. Bright, white light flooded the room.

"We should probably stay in one place, so if they start looking for us, they can find us."

"Good idea," Mina replied, her voice tinged with sarcasm. Henry ignored the barb and handed her a blanket. "How do we get lost on a ship we supposedly know our way around in?" she grumbled to herself.

"At least we're not down in the bowels somewhere."

"And you're so bloody optimistic all the time!" She shook her head. "How can you stand it? To see your dreams broken and remain happy."

"I never said I was happy," Henry said softly. Mina unfolded the blanket and collapsed onto one of the small couches in the room. Her blue eyes seemed more intense in the low light as her hair fell in soft waves over her face. He shook himself. Now was not the time to be getting amorous ideas about anything, especially not when she was in her nightclothes and he was still fully dressed minus his jacket.

"What would make you happy?" she whispered.

"What would make you happy?" he countered, pulling off his tie and throwing it over the arm of a chair. He put his vest with his tie and sat down on another armchair.

"Not being a vampire." Her eyes followed him as he unfolded his blanket. "I suppose you would want to be rid of Hyde."

"I do," he acknowledged.

"Well, at least you don't have to kill someone to be rid of your curse. You have to reconcile it to yourself."

"You don't know how difficult that is."

"Try me."

"Hyde doesn't want to go away!"

He didn't realize how loudly he said it, until he saw Mina start. She pulled the blanket up to her neck, drawing her feet underneath her. "Sawyer kissed me tonight," she said in a barely audible voice. "He fancies me."

"I thought you knew that," Henry replied, tensing. He did not want to hear about Tom's advances on Mina. He knew that Sawyer loved her, God help him, he knew that. But he did not want to hear it from Mina. Hands shaking, he pulled his blanket around his shoulders.

"I did. But I never thought he would continue with it. I'm older than him and seen more than he ever has. He's not much more than a boy, playing at being the hero."

"He loved Allan."

"He did. I would have gone with him for a fling. But he is not looking for a fling. Dorian tried to spare me embarrassment by initially saying he was a friend of my family's. I know what I've done and I know what my past is. Sawyer doesn't see that. He sees some sort of angel he's put on a pedestal."

"Are you looking for someone like… like Jonathan?"

Mina turned her gaze to him and he basked in the warmth of those blue eyes, not tainted with red for once. "I already found someone like Jonathan."

It took him a moment to realize that she was talking about him. "And what would you have me do?" he asked in a deathly quiet voice.

"Love me. Love me and not the vampire."

"Done."

He stood up and crossed the room to her. She curled up on one end of the couch, allowing him room to sit next to her. He held out a hand to her and she took it. Gently pulling her into his lap, he smoothed back her slightly disheveled hair. She tilted her head back and smiled, breath warm on his neck and body hot against his.

"Henry," she breathed.

"Mina," he replied. He lifted her head up and gazed into those blue eyes for a moment before softly kissing her lips. She responded with more eagerness and passion than he could have ever expected. One long kiss melted into another as he explored the velvety depths of her mouth and felt the desire course through his body. He vaguely recalled the vow he and Emmaline had made to save themselves for their wedding night. That hadn't happened. He didn't think Mina would complain about it now. His fingers clumsily undid the laces at the neck of her nightgown. He pushed back the thin lace and fabric and planted a kiss on her collarbone, delighting in her satisfied sigh.

Mina suddenly pushed away from him and stood up. He felt a momentary sense of panic, fearing he had done something wrong. But he was entranced as she slid her dressing gown off, leaving nothing but the thin white cotton of her nightgown. He stood up and gave her a lingering kiss before she pulled both of them down on the floor, his body covering hers. The heaviness in his groin that he had been trying to ignore doubled. He pushed the nightgown off her shoulder.

"Make love to me," she said with a sigh.

"But the noise and the-" She cut him off with a finger on his lips, her hands undoing the buttons on his shirt and pushing it off his shoulders. Her hands ran over his bare chest and suddenly he didn't care how much noise they made.

"Are you sure this is entirely proper?" he said as a last ditch attempt for her to back out of a situation that could hardly be backed out of.

She gave him a lazy, mischievous smile and he suddenly didn't care about that either.


Mina sighed contentedly and snuggled up against Henry's warm body, delighting in the feel of skin upon skin. Gray light crept through the window, indicating how early it still was. He obviously did not have as much experience as she did in the bedroom realm, but he learned quickly what pleased her. No man had been interested in giving her any pleasure since Jonathan and he had to struggle to give it. Henry had been both concerned about her pleasure and had no trouble giving it to her. Why no one had snapped him up before was beyond her.

She propped herself up on one elbow and gazed at Henry's sleeping face. He looked so content and peaceful when he slept, nothing like the tense, edgy man he could become. She lightly traced his jaw line with one finger and planted a kiss on the corner of his lips. Yes, Jonathan would have been pleased to know she had chosen Henry Jekyll.

Henry suddenly smiled. "All right! I'm awake."

Mina laughed as he pulled her torso on top of him, snuggling her head under his chin. She sighed and rested her head on his chest, hands lightly on his shoulders. His hands were around his, holding her body close to his. If anyone was to walk in, they would have to pull the blankets up a little higher than their waists. And it was not a proper situation to be caught in anyways. They needed to get up, get dressed and figure out where they were in the ship. But that all seemed to be in some hazy, far-off world that did not seem to matter.

"You're right, this isn't entirely proper," she said.

He laughed. "I don't think it really matters now. Although I'm surprised a search party hasn't come looking for us."

"Or the intruder hasn't found us." She paused. "How did Nemo know there was an intruder on a ship this big?"

"He has his ways."

They fell silent. Mina listened to the sound of his heart beating. The predictable, rhythmic pounding soothed her and she felt her eyes grow heavy. For whatever reason she could not explain, she was not in the least tempted to feed on him. But then, perhaps some cravings satisfied others nicely.

"Henry?"

"Hmmm?"

"Would you marry me someday?"

She felt his smile rather than saw it. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Dorian never would have."

"I would in a heartbeat. That's the difference." Mina smiled to herself as his fingers gently stroked her hair. "Just as soon as I get the money for the ring-"

She pushed herself up so she was looking into his eyes. "I don't need a ring."

"But-"

"No." She laid a finger on his lips. "Neither of us can afford anything right now. We don't need rings to know what we truly feel. We know it and that's enough."

His next smile lit up his entire face. She knew that he strongly believed in being proper and doing the right thing, but if she could only convince him to put it on hold for a while. They did not need to get married until they sorted out their lives.

"Well, good morning."

Mina gasped scrambling for the blanket, as Henry quickly made sure that it was covering both of them. She looked at the person who just entered the room.

And found she was looking at… Allan Quartermain?

To Be Continued...