Step by step, Alicia made a thorough examination of the cataleptic pirate. Aside from the bullet hole in her chest —— which seemed to have missed the heart by millimetres —— the woman had no signs of other injury. Which meant that all Alicia had to do was remove the bullet from Anamaria's chest —— while making sure not to hit anything vital —— as well as any bone fragments from ribs that the metal ball may have hit on it's way in. Then it was only a matter of resealing the wound and hoping that the bullet didn't do too much damage to her lung.

'Yeah, easier said than done.' Alicia wiped away the sweat that began forming on her brow. 'Well, I've gotta start somewhere...' The first step in anything is to gather the needed supplies. "I'm going to need... Um... some cloth... Some... Something like chopsticks or something. Tweezers?" She wasn't surprised by their confusion... "Uh... I'll need more gun powder later. And—"

Her bewildering list was interrupted by the sound of a gun being cocked from across the room. "What 're you doing?" Jack's swoonable voice was not as enticing it should have been. 'Right now, I'm too preoccupied to think anything is sexy.' "Hands on your heads." His gun focussed on the three soldiers, one at a time 'Even the comatose one.' Recognition flashed through his eyes as he noticed his first mate's prone form. "What happened to her?" His voice was near panic.

"She got caught by a stray bullet." Alicia didn't want any more bloodshed. Two patients were enough for her to deal with. "I'm going to take care of her." She added a silent 'I hope' to the end of that. "I'll need some cloth, to clean up the wound." Logic was key. By listing the steps she would take with the materials, she'd not only convince them of what she needed, but she might just convince herself that could do it. "Some hot, clean water, to clean the wound with... Knife to open the area enough to get the bullet out..." She ticked the items off on her fingers. "Alcohol, I'll need it to clean the knife and my hands. Lets see... Something to pull the bullet out with. A pair forceps, or... A magnet might work, the bullets are iron, right?" They just stared, listening attentively, but not quite understanding that last bit. "I will need gun powder to seal the injury when I'm done... And some strips of cloth. I may have to wrap it up even after I cauterize the area. Just to be sure."

She wasn't sure what else she could do... Jack had left when she listed the cloth strips, and was back within moments with the alcohol, cloth (both thin strips and semi—clean towels), and small jar of gunpowder. His balance was incredible; he was able to keep equilibrium even with the pile of fabric, and containers. Still, she wasn't nearly as fazed as she normally would have been...

Norrington helped the captain with the lumbering load. Murtogg seemed unwilling to aid a criminal, choosing rather, to stand back and watch. "Your men have been returned to their ship. My crew won, like I knew we would." His words were directed to the Commodore, but his focus was on the red—coat. "If you want to go back to your 'Dauntless' then do so now. If not... Then we'll drop you off at the next port."

Murtogg made haste to the door, trying to look less eager than he felt (and failing miserably). Norrington watched him leave, his features unreadable. Once the soldier was gone, he turned back to Alicia. "What can I do to help?" His sincerity caught her by surprise. She wasn't used to such honour. 'I guess chivalry isn't dead yet...'

"Um..." It felt discomfiting to command adults. Even as a bully, she never had this much control. 'And this control is from respect...' "Get the water. Jack, uh... How close were —— are —— you to Anamaria?" According to fanon, they were lovers, but it was better to be sure.

Jack didn't seem to think that way. "What does it matter?" His voice was defensive. She would have deemed it OoC had she not heard it for herself. She hoped that it meant they were a pairing.

'Might as well explain myself. That way he may actually tell me.' She sighed and elucidated her prior inquiry. "I need to know if I should kick you out while I tend to her. I doubt she'd like it very much if you saw her without her shirt on if you aren't her..." With any luck, he got the idea and she wouldn't have to spell it out for him.

"I've seen her in less." The finality in his voice left no doubt that the discussion was over. Letting the subject drop, she cut the white shirt, growing ever redder, from the hole in Anamaria's chest. She felt her face redden with a blush as she exposed the woman's scarred breasts.

"Um... I'm going to have to cut the hole open a bit more... I need to be able to see what I'm doing and reach the bullet." She wasn't quite sure whether she was warning him or herself, but felt she had to say it anyway. "I'll need the alcohol to sterilize the knife before I begin." Her eyes locked with his meaningfully.

He handed her the required materials obediently. Norrington returned with the hot, clean water, setting the bucket beside her and stepping back. The procedure went on in silence, aside for her requests for various items. Jack and Norrington, seemingly forgetting their animosity, stood side by side, motionless. The only movement in the room was Alicia's, and occasionally the other two, handing her supplies.

After two hours, which seemed to all present to be an eternity, the teen stood, taking a step back. Holding up a small, bloody, silver ball, she turned triumphantly to the pair. "Well, here's the bullet. Now all I have to do is close the wound... Here, take this." She held the bullet out to Jack. He took it, looking at it with a mixture of curiosity and disgust. ""And can I have the cloth strips and gunpowder now?" Norrington held out a handful of strips and the jar of powder to her.

"What are you plannin' on doing with that?" Jack pointed to the gunpowder, as if realizing for the first time that she was going to use it on Anamaria.

Much to Alicia's surprise, Norrington placed a reassuring hand on Jack's shoulder. 'Wow, do I have James Norrington's personality profile completely wrong.' "It's quite alright, I assure you. She preformed the same procedure on one of my men to stop the bleeding." Removing his hand from Jack's shoulder, Norrington gestured towards the unconscious soldier's form.

It took a moment for Alicia to get over the shock. Following the Commodore's gesture, however, her eyes landed upon the fallen first mate. The sight of the pirate woman, insides exposed for all to see, snapped her back to reality. "Do you have a needle and thread?" Her inquiry broke the awkward silence that followed Norrington's words, startling both men. Jack hurried out the door, presumably in search of the requested supplies, leaving Alicia once more alone with Norrington and her patient.

The silence seemed to stretch on. Until Jack returned, Alicia could do nothing more for Anamaria. She and Norrington just stared at each other for a few moments, not saying anything.

"I apologise, I forgot to introduce myself..." Norrington was the first to break the silence. "My name is Commodore James Norrington, of the British Royal Navy. I am in charge of the military force at Port Royal." He held his hand out to her.

She took his hand, shaking it before he could do the overly chivalrous thing and kiss her knuckles. Laughing inwardly at the surprise on his face, she introduced herself. "My name is Alicia Abraham. I'm a Junior in High School. I don't really have any special rank, or even a job for that matter, but I do..." Her rambling was cut off as Jack entered with the needle and thread in hand.

He handed her the supplies, nervousness plain as day on his face. Jack returned to his place along the wall, as did Norrington. It was all up to Alicia; whether Anamaria lived or died was on her.

-----+-----

-.--. . -. -.. --- ..-. -.-. ... .- .--. - . .-. ... . ...- . -.. -.--.-

Wow, I know I took a hell of a long time with updating this, but I have my excuses. A member of my family died, My Comp crashed for a while, and I've been working. There's more, but I won't go into details...

I'm going to keep this skit short, too. (Try to get on with the next chapter)

Fire Claw: Fat chance of that happening... Don't you still have about a dozen books you have to finish from the library? And then there's that large stack of Animes you have yet to watch... Then there's——

Me: I think they got the picture...

Fire Claw: Oh, and don't you work tomorrow, and the rest of the week for that matter?

Me: I'll still do my best to update as fast as I can, okay?

Fire Claw: ...

Anyway, thank you for you patience.

Telomeric: Not that they had much of a choice, really...

(-Cue Hellsing theme-)

Scully: (-Groaning in annoyance-) I thought it was all just some horrid nightmare... It's been so long, I was hoping it wasn't real...

Mulder: So, is that pretty Muse here this time?

Me: Nope. But Scully is... (-Points to agitated former fed-)

Mulder: (-Nervously-) Hehehe... I was only kidding, you know. I... I... I'm outta here! (-Turns and runs out of sight as fast as possible-)

Ed: (-Confused-) Where's he going?

Jack Sparrow: My guess is he's trying to avoid the wrath of an irate mate. An activity I know all too well...

Ed: (Realization dawning) Oh... he was bad and is trying to escape punishment.

Telomeric: Yup. And now he's running away from the severe beating he's bound to get for having wandering eyes.

Jack: Tha's pretty much the gist of it...

Ed: Well then, I'll go find him... You can count on Ed! (-Salutes-)

Me: I think that's the signal to end the skit. The next chapter will be out shortly...

Telomeric: Promises, promises...

Me: Shut up, you. And to all my loyal fans, please review this chapter. Your input is the caffeine that keeps me up all night writing. Keep reviewing, I'll keep comin' out with new chapters.

/
(-)(-)
>

Telomeric: Cute Bunny... However, you realize the likelihood of anybody seeing it in it's proper format is slim to none, don't you? Might as well give up on the kawaii little thingies, they'll never turn out right on FF.N (or any other online writer group for that matter).

Me: Anyway, the end.

Telomeric: You don't really want to go through this again, do you?

(-Silence-)

Telomeric: Good! The end!