Heylo everyone! This chapter may be a bit...not sure what the word for it is. I know that the last part of the last chapter was between Julian, Blakeney, Bonden, Pullings, and Killick, but I have changed gears somewhat.

to anna- i am not an expert either, God nows, but I had all the men leave the deck so it would work with my story. Thanks for the observatin though, I often thought about that when I was writting that chapter!

Enjoy!

Jack walked on board of the Surprise only to be greeted with a somewhat hum of excitement and the looks that came from the men only made it more obvious that something had happened. Jack kept walking, but slowly now and eyeing the men as he passed by them. Yes, something had definitely happened. He put a small smile on his face and walked into his cabin to find Bonden, Blakeney, Killick, and Pullings apparently waiting for him.

The men all got up and saluted him and the room was quiet, but a buzz of excitement was still there.

"So," Jack began, "I know something has happened today. Now which one of you is going to tell me about it?"

"Sir," Bonden said, "Today we saw someone."

"Yeah, someone we didn't expect to see," cried Blakeney.

There was a pause and all the men looked at one another, as though waiting for someone to talk.

"Well, who was it then?" Jack asked as he could hold the suspense any longer.

Pullings licked his lips and looked around slowly at the other men. "We saw Dr. Maturin today."

Jack's curious expression soon turned into a doubting one. "You saw Stephen?" he ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. "How could you see Stephen?"

"Well, sir, we were sitting out on the docks after we had cleared out the doctor's cabin," Blakeney started.

"Yeah and we were just sitting there talking when out-of-the-blue this man came running out of a crowd, chasin' a bird 'e was, and ran in'o Mr. Blakeney 'ere!" Killick exclaimed calmly.

"When the man pulled me up," Blakeney said with excitement, "we both looked at each other and the man looked exactly like him! Didn't he?" he said looking at Killick, Bonden, and Pullings.

"Yes he did. We all saw him, sir," Pullings cried. The other men shook their heads in agreement saying "It's true, sir" or "He looked just like him, sir".

"Did he recognize you?" Jack asked with a scrap of hope in his voice that was soon turned into a solemn tone, "I mean, if it was Stephen."

The other men looked at each other and finally Killick replied, "He seemed to know us, from the way he was looking at us."

"And when I called him 'Doctor' he seemed to know who we were," Blakeney stammered.

"Well," Jack said, "where is he now?"

"We don't rightly know, sir," Bonden responded. "You see, a man came up and he called him 'Julian'. He took him away. Not forcefully, mind you, the doctor seemed to know the man and he left us, somewhat reluctantly."

"Why did you let him leave?" Jack cried in frustration.

"We, um...well sir," Pullings began hesitantly, "We were quite shocked, sir. We weren't thinking."

Jack gave a small sigh and put on a grim face. "Well men, I thank you for the information, even if the man really wasn't Stephen. It's nice to know that there is a possibility that he is alive though." Jack looked down at his feet and remembered that he had to change. "You are dismissed. I have to get ready for a party."

When the men walked out, he looked out the window that showed a view of the dock and other ships. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting the silence take over the room.

"Are you out there Stephen?" Jack whispered. "Will I ever find you?"

Captain Conner strolled onto the Molly in good humor. He was humming to himself and was doing a sort jig-walk towards his cabin. He knew he would probably find Julian, which would be a good thing has he still hadn't told Julian of the party. He opened the door and, not only found Julian, but John Riley also.

Anthony smiled and said with contentment in his voice, "Hi! Julian did you have a good day?" and continued without a pause for answer, "We are invited to the Admiral's party tonight, you'd better go get dressed."

Julian looked at Anthony with a some what amused smirk on his face, "You seem happy."

"Yes, well today was an exceedingly good day for me," he said at a fast pace, "Now go on and get dressed and we'll leave in about half an hour's time." Julian got up and walked out the door.

Captain Conner now turned his attention to the midshipman. "Hello John, how was your adventure with Julian today?"

John's expression turned to one of seriousness and stated, "Sir, something rather interesting happened today."

"Well, what happened?" Anthony asked with worry written on his face.

"Well, sir, Julian ran into a group of men today, literally, and he seemed to know who they were, as they seemed to know who he was."

"Well that's wonderful!" Anthony said in a pleased tone, "Maybe he knew them before we found him. Did they say anything to him? Do know who they are?"

"I believe they were from the Surprise, sir, but as to whether they said anything to him, I cannot say."

"The Surprise?"

"Yes, sir, the one that Captain Aubrey commands."

"Yes I know that! I saw him today at the Admiral's office. He told me that his doctor was taken in a storm...wait a minute!" A light suddenly turned on inside the captain's head. Everything made sense now. His eyes grew wide and a smile spread across his face. "I know who Julian is!"

"Who, sir?" John cried in excitement.

"He is the Surprise's doctor! It all makes sense!" Anthony was now bouncing up and down with joy. "The man in Julian's dream matches the looks of Captain Aubrey, you know, fair skin and blonde hair. It also explains why he was called 'doctor' too!"

"Well, sir, aren't you going to see the captain tonight?"

"Yes, I believe so. I'll have to bring Julian to meet the captain, I'm sure he'll remember who he is!" Anthony was gleaming now he turned away for a moment and looked back over at John and said, "Yes, I have a feeling a reunion between two friends will take place tonight. I'm sure of it."

Told ya, kinda weird, but don't worry I'll get back on track in the next chapter! :)