"She claims to be from the future," Jekyll exclaimed, sounding astonished. "From the year 2005. Her clothes are...unusual"

"Unusual!" Nemo swelled up like a blowfish. "It is downright sacrilegious! The women of England are immodest enough without the future generations digressing to–to heathenism!"

The others at the table stirred restlessly, all avoiding the Captain's eyes. "That may be, Captain," Mina replied, perhaps a bit more coolly than usual, "But the fact remains that she is a mere child. How she dresses is a fault of her ancestors, not of her own. We should turn our attention away from her attire and more to the question of: How did she get here? And then perhaps 'why'?"

"And wot are we goin' ta do abou' it?" Skinner added helpfully, earning himself a few mildly startled looks. Abruptly he realize that his reputation as a wisecracking joker was at stake, so he added swiftly with a little smirk, "Check below, Sawyer."

After Sawyer had ascertained that his pants were indeed closed, he glared at Skinner, "You're not helping." Skinner simply smirked, knowing that his reputation was saved.

"Gentlemen, please!" Mina interrupted, faintly disgusted at the exchange. "She is waiting just outside the doors. If she is from the future, then there is a purpose for her being sent to the past. We should try to ascertain what that reason is."

"And soon." Jekyll said quietly, cringing imperceptibly from everyone's eyes. "While she was unconscious, I examined her and found her to be in...very poor health."

"Just how poor are we talkin' here?" Sawyer asked, brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"If her body continues to atrophy at this rate...she will be dead within a month. I don't know her other symptoms. It's possible she will die before then."

"Is she aware of this, Doctor?" Nemo asked, disregarding her heathenish habits to replace them with concern. Nemo didn't have any children of his own but he did have a soft spot in his heart for those who were abandoned as such.

"It's hard to say," Jekyll sighed, "It is difficult to believe that she would be unaware of these things, but I doubt she knows their true implications."

"Well, wot are we waitin' for then? Let's get this over with."

"For once I agree with you, Mister Skinner." Mina replied coolly, rising to go bring Pegeen in while Nemo had his cooks bring in lunch.

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Thanks to loyaltonone, who is my longest standing reviewer so far ;) And thanks to Caiden McBrien and ToTaKeKe13for reviewing as well. Any and all suggestions are welcome. R&R guys!