Before I write, know that this chapter involves a cricket game. I don't know anything about cricket (well, not so much) so if I get something wrong, now you know. I play baseball myself, so it may sound like baseball, sort of. I actually put in the game because the crew played it on the Galapagos Islands and I needed something for my heroine to do.

I play baseball, yes, that's why I know all the terms. Currently, it being winter, I'm stuck inside (well, I dogsled, but that's not baseball. Far from it, though it's lots of fun) until the snow melts. By the way, Josh Gowdy is an actual person from my team last year. He was the best pitcher in the league, with a timed fastball of 74 MPH. Not bad, eh?

For all you people who can't tell, Emma is from the future and plays baseball. (Duh!)

Happy Christmahanukwanzakah to you all! evil grin I love that word!

Emma sat down on a small cot in the middle of the room and surveyed her surroundings with unhappiness. The walls were whitewashed and bare, and the only piece of furniture in the room was the cot.

"Er...do you like it, miss-I mean, Emma?" Blakeney asked awkwardly.

"Uh, it's fine, sure. Can we go outside now?" Emma asked hopefully, staring out the porthole at the crew, who were playing cricket on the shore. It looked an awful lot like baseball to her.

Blakeney raised his eyebrows. Was she serious? Seeing the look of rapt attention on her face, he shrugged and said, "Of course. Follow me." He offered her his arm, which she politely waved away, and followed her as she trotted on deck.

Emma approached Mowett, who was refereeing. "Can I play?" she asked.

Mowett had already seen her come aboard, so he wasn't surprised to see her, but he was surprised that she had asked to play. "Um...." he stammered, frantically looking around for someone to discourage her.

"I can play, you know," Emma said. She could tell by his hesitation that he didn't want a girl to play. Emma sighed. She hated that kind of prejudice. There was only one thing to do-prove her worth to them.

Emma picked up a spare bat lying on the ground. Blakeney and Mowett exchanged resigned glances and stood back.

Emma noticed how fast the pitcher was throwing. Since it was a different style than baseball, it was harder to time mentally, but when she got the rhythm figured out, it was easier. The pitcher (Bonden) was only throwing about as fast as the ace pitcher in her league back home, Josh Gowdy.

With a last warm-up swing, Emma stepped up to bat. "Hang on," she muttered as she kicked a hole in the dirt to get a good grip. She stood, balanced on the balls of her feet, eyes narrowed with concentration. In her mind, she was back at Memorial Field at a team practice. Josh was on the mound, coming into his wind-up, bringing his foot up off the ground and slamming it down as his arm reared back and fired the ball. It sped closer-a fastball. Right down the middle. Nice and easy.

Emma took her step forward with her left foot, building momentum for the swing. She twisted on the toes of her right feet, bringing her body around. Her hands were level with her hips. Dimly, she imagined the compliments she would have gotten at practice. Then, she was snapped back to the present, and she was making contact with the ball.

Crack! The bat made solid contact with the ball, which sped down the middle of the field. Line drive, Emma thought as she followed through with her swing. Not bad either. Single at least, I'd say. Cool.

"Run! Run!" yelled the men on the sidelines who were watching. Oh, duh! Emma thought with annoyance at herself. She sprinted for what appeared to be first base, lengthening her stride and diving for the base. Mowett ran up behind her, watching as her fingers made contact-and the ball landed in Naygle's hands a second later.

He pronounced her safe at once. Cheers rang out from the sidelines, and Emma got up with a grin. Naygle turned to her, mouth open.

"Where did'ya learn that? How to play like that?" he sputtered.

Emma's smile faded. "A long way from here," she muttered, and changed the subject.

She played cricket for the rest of the day until Jack got tired of the constant noise on the shore and had Mowett tell everyone off. Reluctantly, everyone packed up the gear and went back to the Surprise. Emma was already making plans for tomorrow.