Author's note: GAH! DAMN MOSQUITOS! (swats everything in sight) Thanks to the people who reviewed! (HUGGLE) I really appreciate it! I need help though..I'm not sure if i want this to be a Stephen/OC or a Nagel/OC...but the next few chapters will hopefully just help Leah getting to know the crew and so forth, so there won't be time for romance. In the meantime though, please tell me what you think I should do, okay? Thanks!

The throb in Leah's head turned to a dull ache. She had had a wicked strange dream about being on the HMS Surprise and meeting Dr. Stephen Maturin. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the dim lighting.

Strange, she thought frowning and looking around the room. There was a small window, small enough to know it was nighttime now. Okay, I'm sure I'm not in Kansas anymore...

She was laying on a table with a thin pillow for her head. Her wrist had been wrapped in a strange gauze, and as she gazed around the room, she didn't see any medical device that looked like professionals used.

Oh my God where am I? Leah felt panic form in the pit of her stomach. She swung her legs over the side of the table she had been laying on and she bit her lip thinking. Just when she began to formulate a plan of escape, a figure moved through the doorway towards her.

"Feeling better, I assume?" The figure stepped into the light and sure enough, Leah recognized it as the face of Stephen Maturin. But he was only a fictional character...right? He was using part of his shirt to wipe his glasses off. After finishing, he put them in his shirt pocket and smiled warmly down at her.

For probably once in her life, Leah felt at a loss for words. The only thing she could get out was," Am I in Heaven?" The man who could only be Dr. Maturin chuckled.

"Miss, if your looking for Heaven then I am afraid you are at the place farthest from it."

"But..where.." Leah sucked in a breath and continued. "Where am I exactly?"

Maturin settled himself down on the table next to Leah. "You are aboard the HMS Surprise, captained by Jack Aubrey. We found you floating in the water about this time yesterday, my dear. I am the surgeon aboard here, my name is Stephen Maturin."

If Leah's head didn't hurt as much, she was sure she would've digested all of this better. But since it wasn't-"So..so if this all is real"- she indicated her surroundings-"then what year is it?"

Stephen looked slightly confused. "It is 1805, Miss. Perhaps I should take another look at the gash on your head." He moved toward her but she pushed his hands away.

"What about my friend?"

Stephen stopped. "Friend?"

"She was with me. Robin. Did you pull her out too? Is she here right now too?" Leah looked around frantically for her friend, then back at Stephen, her expression almost pleading. Stephen's look was of the deepest sympathy.

"I'm sorry my dear, but there was no one else in the water. We were lucky enough Slate found you. Extraordinary I should think." Leah let the words sink in. There was no one else in the water...

"How on Earth did you wind up in the middle of the ocean may I ask?" Stephen continued, pressing gently.

"I-I don't..know..I just," Leah's eyes welled up with tears. What happened to Robin? She turned away from the doctor. "I'm sorry, I just really want to be alone right now, please." If there was one thing she hated, it was crying in front of people. Maturin seemed to understand.

"Of course." He got up quietly and turned to leave. "If it's not too much trouble, may I ask for your name dear?"

Through watery eyes, Leah said," Leah. Leah Conners." She turned away from him and laid back down, hugging the pillow for dear life. When Maturin left he could hear her sniffling.

Leah remembered when she was little, she had a stuffed animal teddy bear named Hobbes. And she would carry it around everywhere with her, and refused to go to sleep unless it was beside her. She suddenly found herself wishing she had it right now. The simple things we take for granted, Leah thought sardonically. Like friends...

She turned so she was on her back. She layed there thinking. Listening to the men on deck. Oh God I'm so alone..

Leah would spend the rest of the night clinging to that one thought.

Author's notes...again: (sighs heavily) So whaddya all think? Too corny? Too stupid? See that little review button? I'll give out little cookies in the shape of the HMS Surprise to all who review! (big grin)