Chapter Twenty-five

"Phoebe," Piper called, "could you go see if you can find Lorne? We really need to get started, but we should wait for him." He had been so eager to begin his learning, and she would hate to have to start without him.

"Sure," Phoebe answered. She wondered why Piper had not assigned the duty to Prue but was not surprised that she had chosen her over her younger sister. Just what was with Prue any way? She seemed especially distracted, and Phoebe knew it wasn't entirely because of what had happened to their family earlier that day.

Piper watched Phoebe go before turning back to the blonde with the strange animals. "What kind of fruits would you like, ma'am?" she queried, but the woman did not even look at her. She glanced at Prue with a shrug, then set about fetching some raw meat for the wolf and lioness.

Prue wondered over to where the fruit rested in the bag. She looked inside and selected an apple, a pear, an orange, and a peach. She carried all of them over to the table and set them out in front of Crys. "Piper's an excellent cook. It won't take long for her to get some real food, but maybe these will tide you over?" she asked hopefully. She smiled at her. "What will the dragon eat?"

Crys only sat there. Fury and horror were still etched over her face. She stared ahead, unseeing, her mind caught in the never-ending circle of what would happen to Angel now that Blue had so ignorantly told him her uncle's real name. There was no way he would ever be safe from Frostbite now. She did not even blink as Prue moved in front of her, setting the fruits down on the table and talking to her.

Blue, who had been trying with no success to get Crys to allow him to sit on her shoulder again -- in fact, the one movement she had been making from time to time was shooing him away --, sighed and shook his head. He then hopped down from the back of the chair to the table. He looked up at the lady called Prue and cooed softly to her before taking a bite out of the apple.

Prue reached out and gently touched Crys. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she appeared to be in shock of some kind. "Angel said your name was Crys. Is that right?" she questioned as she sat down across from her. She reached out and took the apple from Blue. Slipping a knife out of her skirt pocket, she began to carve pieces off and feed it to him.

"You have some very interesting friends," she said, indicating each of the animals. "I have a cat; her name's Kit." She talked on to the pretty lady, hoping that something she said would penetrate her consciousness. She had finished slicing up an apple, got up, retrieved another one, and returned. She was sitting down when she came up with an ideal. Slicing a slightly larger piece of the apple, she offered it to Crys.

Realizing that the woman was not going to leave her to herself, Crys shook her head. "No thank you. I'm not hungry," she told her, her appetite having been destroyed by the grief in her heart, "but I . . . I do appreciate your giving them food." She gestured with her head to Cindy and Elvira who were busily munching on the meat that Piper's booted foot had cautiously slid over to them and then to Blue.

Blue looked up at his mistress as she nodded to him and cooed softly, but Crys quickly looked away. He sighed and waved the piece of apple he held at her. He considered hitting her with it for a moment but then swallowed it instead with another frustrated sigh. His tail whacked the table gently, causing Paige, who Piper was beginning to work around as she was still standing in the chair, to jump.

Prue looked at Paige. "Paige, get out of that chair and help Piper! We've got a lot of hungry people, and we've really got to get busy and cook some food!" Then she turned her attention back to Crys. "I don't know why you're angry at your little friend, but whatever he did, I'm sure it was to help you."

"Please try to eat a little bit. Angel says you haven't eaten in days. After all that time, you probably don't have an appetite, but one bite might help you to regain it." She reached out, took one of Crys' hands, and laid the piece of apple in it.

Prue had soon finished cutting the rest of the apple up and dividing it in between Crys and Blue. "Humph," she sighed. "I've really got to get up and get on the cornbread. Piper has a lot of trouble with cornbread, but it's about the only thing that I can cook and get right. She's tried to teach me other things, but it just doesn't sink in. If you need anything, Crys, I'll be close." She hesitated a moment, hoping that Crys would say something.

Knowing that Prue was waiting for some kind of word from her before she would get about her business and leave her to her own miserable thoughts and memories, Crys finally spoke again. "I appreciate it." Prue smiled before standing and running to get a bowl. She began fixing the cornbread.

As soon as Prue had turned her back, however, Crys had slid the fragments of apple over to Blue. The dragon looked at her. He wanted her to eat but knew that he could not force her. He started to turn back to the apple when he noticed that the redhead was still standing in the same chair, continuing to stare at them. With a soft growl of frustration, he flexed his wings before taking to the air. Maybe he couldn't do anything about his mistress, but surely he could do something about the redhead?

The dragon flew to her, and Paige tried to back away but found her back pressed against the wall. Her face was pale as Blue came closer. Her mouth opened to scream for her sisters, but her voice fell silent in her throat as she felt the beast's breath brush over her face. She started to stumble, one foot beginning to slip from the chair, but then froze as the dragon placed his face against her cheek.

Blue rubbed her gently, cooing softly, and a slow smile spread over Paige's face. Just as slowly, unable to believe what she was doing, she raised a hand and stroked Blue's forehead. The dragon cooed even louder, and her smile grew as his cooing reminded her of Kit's purring. "Guess you're not going to eat me after all, little guy?" she asked him, and the sound he made in response told her that he wouldn't even consider eating a human. She giggled. "I would be pretty much bones. Not a lot of fun, eh?"

Prue continued stirring the cornbread, watching the scene. She had never stopped to think of why she wasn't afraid of the animals, but a stray thought crossed her mind. The man she was in love with was also part animal. She had always had a way with them. Could she tame him? How she wished that she could!

Even now, stirring the cornbread, her thoughts were filled with him and the one brief second she had had with him when their heated lips had met and burned her to her very soul. She had to do something, but what? She prayed the Goddess would guide her footsteps. She just had to have him or she knew she'd simply die because there would never be another man to fit her better!

Piper had to laugh as she looked up at her youngest sister and the dragon. "Looks like you've made a new friend."

Paige nodded, still grinning. "Yes, I have."

"That's great, but now you can get down from there and help me with the biscuits."

Paige groaned, her eyes rolling toward the ceiling. "That's all you ever study."

"Maybe so, but we need to get to work."

"Like I said . . . " Paige started.

"Just get down and come over here," Piper told her. She'd let her think what she would. It didn't bother Piper that Paige thought that cooking and working were the only things she ever paid any attention to. Actually, it was probably better that Paige didn't have even the faintest clue that her mind kept turning back to a tall, handsome man. Piper sighed in the back of her throat as she wondered where Cole had gotten to.


Angel was lost deep in thought as he walked beside Brendan. His mind refused to stop thinking about Cordelia. He wondered where she was at and if she was angry at him for having ran off after kissing her. He really had not had a chance to get back to her. Too much had been happening. He hoped she would allow him to explain as best he could, any way; even he did not have explanation for everything that had happened.

Brendan walked slowly along the pathway to Doctor Doom's lab, his every sense at full alert for any sign of Prue. Although his lips still burned and his betraying mind refused to cease playing over the memory of their kiss, he had to stay as far away from her as possible. He shoved his trembling hands deeper into his pockets. Just how was he going to get away from her? He knew he had to, but he also realized that they could not abandon her or her sisters and did not want to have to leave the Pearl. After all, his crewmates and their few allies in Tortuga were the only good people he'd ever known.

They arrived only to hear Wesley murmuring something that they could not make out. Angel reached out and tapped lightly on the door. "Wes, we've got problems."

Wesley snatched the door open. "Don't we always? What is it this time?" He glanced at Brendan, hoping that it was not something to do with the Werewolf but realizing that it was as soon as Brendan's gaze dropped from his. It couldn't be time for the full moon already, Wes thought even as he gazed skyward, searching for a sign of the moon.

Brendan shook his head. "It's not that." He sighed deeply. "I wish it were that simple."

"Then what is it?" Wesley asked with worry in his voice. "What has happened now?"

"The cage has been broken," Angel informed him, watching intently to see Wes' reaction. The cage was Wesley's creation. It was catproof, Vampireproof, and Werewolfproof. Nothing was supposed to be able to get out of the cage, and yet it was still broken!

"HOW IN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN!" Wesley screeched. Who or, more accurately, what could have hurt his baby!

"A newcomer to the ship," Angel replied. "An Ice Elemental."

"What? Down here?"

"Yes," Angel affirmed. "She's a beautiful woman and just appeared today on the ship. There's been a great fuss about that. How did you manage to miss all of it?"

Wesley glanced away even as he murmured, "I've sort of been busy with my own problems."

It was at that time that a voice chimed into the conversation from somewhere behind Wesley. "Wes?" Fred asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Angel glanced at Brendan and then back at Wes. Was the doctor holding out on them? He could not remember a time of ever seeing Wesley with a woman, and in fact, they had been beginning to think that Doctor Doom had no sex drive whatsoever. Yet he had a woman in his lab! "You aren't . . . conducting experiments on her?" Angel asked. Was this some kind of new creature Doctor Doom had discovered?

"Well, we have kind of been experimenting a little on each other," Wes sheepishly admitted, keeping his voice low enough so that only Angel's and Brendan's superior hearing could hear him, "but mostly we've been unpacking and putting away her things."

"Oh." Angel looked at Brendan with a twinkle in his eye.

"Don't," Brendan started sheepishly, fearing that Angel was about to spill the beans on his own problem. He then shook his head with a sigh. "Actually, we'd might as well." Looking at Wesley, he told him, "You have to get the cage back up -- immediately."

"Why? It's not a full moon tonight." Wes turned his full gaze upon Brendan, realizing how distraught the Werewolf was. "Do you feel an attack coming on?"

Brendan's gaze shifted away from Wesley's again. "I already changed once," he whispered.

"What happened?" Wes questioned with deep concern in his voice. He had been studying Brendan and his different reactions to things for a while in an effort to help him overcome his problems. What could possibly have triggered a Werewolf reaction without a full moon?

Hearing Fred approach, Wesley glanced back into the lab and straight at her. "I'll be back shortly," he assured her. "I need to talk to the men." He stepped out, closing the door softly behind him. Looking back at Brendan, he repeated, "What happened?"

Brendan sighed, his lips twitching even as he tried to come up with the right words. Finally, he admitted with a lustful sigh, "The most wonderful thing I've ever felt."

Wes reached out and touched Brendan's forehead to check for a fever, then automatically checked his pulse. He did not have a fever, but his heart was racing. "You aren't going to wolf right now, are you?" Wesley asked, his concern clear in his voice. "Have you been feeling sick, unable to sleep? Hormone problem?" He kept shooting questions at Brendan while he continued to check his vital signs.

"Wesley, you're not going to find anything that way," Brendan finally told him with yet another sigh. "It's . . . " he paused for a moment before finally admitting, " . . . a woman."

"DAMN!" Wesley's mouth flew open. "YOU'RE IN HEAT!" This was a whole new game -- Werewolf in heat --, and he had nothing at all to compare it against. He couldn't compare Brendan to Wolf, the only other Werewolf that he knew, because Wolf stayed in heat all the time and did not have a problem with his wolf. "Which lucky woman is it?" Wesley managed to choke out.

"She's not lucky," Brendan corrected him instantly. "At least, not in a good way." He shook his head sadly. "She has no idea what she's doing, and I've got to stay away from her." He paused again before forcing himself to admit, "I came very close to attacking over her already, as well. You have to get that cage up, Wes. Yesterday."

"Yesterday you what, Brendan?" Wes felt as though he was pulling teeth out of a hen.

Brendan shook his head. "I mean, that if you had gotten it back up yesterday, it still wouldn't be soon enough."

"Who's the woman, Brendan?" he asked him a second time even as he glanced imploringly at Angel.

Angel shook his head. He would not reveal the woman's identity unless Brendan did.

Brendan, too, shook his head. "Her name is not important, Wesley. What is important is that she is a beautiful, innocent lady whose very life is put into danger by my lowly hide being anywhere near her."

"Give me a minute, and I'll get my tools," Wes said. He stepped back inside and came face to face with Fred. "I've got to leave you for a little while. I have to work on a cage and get it back up and working."

Fred's eyes widened in surprise. "A cage?"

"Yes. We have some Pirates that have to be locked away sometimes for their own protection and the good of others, and some one broke the cage. I hope it only takes a little while as one of the men is badly in need of its services." He lifted her hand to his lips even as he kissed the back of it. "Until we meet again, Fred. Stay safe." He backed out the door and almost bumped into Angel, who was standing, staring at Brendan, and fussing.

"Tell him the whole thing, Brendan! He is your doctor."

"Angel," Brendan retorted, "he knows what he needs to know and that is all! Neither her identity nor any of the other has anything to do with it!"

"As your doctor, Brendan, I must protest. I do need to know your reaction -- how and why your attention was drawn to her and any other pertinent things that you can think of. You're a doctor; you know I need to know these things."

"This is entirely different!"

"Brendan . . . " Angel and Wesley started at the same time.

Yellow eyes flashed, a predatorial glare cutting through both even as he finally roared out, his angry voice carrying over most of the ship. "SHE KISSED ME, ALL RIGHT!"

"Oh. Is that all?" Wes said. "I thought maybe she had . . . physically attacked you with her luscious body or something?"

Brendan growled in response, and Wesley decided it would be best not to push him any further at the moment. Falling silent, the three men turned and headed together in the cell's direction.


Brendan's angry roar reached Jack's ears, and he grasped his silver cane tightly in his right hand. Not again! he despaired silently. He looked quickly inside the galley, making sure that the woman was still in there. What could possibly be aggravating his friend again? Shaking his head in disbelief, he rushed off in the direction the roar had come from, but upon seeing that Brendan had not wolfed out, he did not go any closer to them.

He felt filthy and had been thinking about going for a swim before he had heard Brendan but now realized he'd better hang around, unseen but watching, in case his cane was needed. He was standing directly under the crow's nest when some feathers fell down and landed in front of him. He picked up one of them and looked towards the crow's nest. "Who's up there?" he called. He heard bird sounds and knew that they were coming from Gnome lips. "Carl, what are you doing hiding up there?"

A little head and two eyes poked over the top and gazed down at him. "Is Angel around?"

"Nearby," Jack called back up, "but he's not interested in you right now."

"Oh, yes he is!" Carl whispered down. "He put Joxer and me on guard, and the woman got away! I don't know how she did it, but she knocked us both out without ever touching us and she broke the cage!"

"Oh, I see," Jack said even though he clearly did not. "You think Angel wants to eat you because you allowed the cage to get broke? He probably doesn't blame you, so why don't you come down and we'll go watch Wes fix it? If Angel tries to eat you, I'll stop him."

Carl shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere near that Vampire until he's cooled down and had some blood! He may not blame me for the cage, but he will for the woman!"

"Why will he blame you for the woman? Were you not unconscious? Angel is a reasonable man. He won't hold you to blame for that."

"He may be reasonable, but he'll expect an explanation! What am I supposed to say -- that she knocked me out without ever laying a finger on me!"

"Yes, if that's what happened," Jack returned. "That would be a neat trick to use against our enemies in a fight. Maybe you can find out what she does?"

"How? She's long gone!"

"No, she's not. She's somewhere aboard the ship. It hasn't been too long since I saw her."

Carl looked down at him disbelievingly. "She knocked us out and broke the cage but stayed on board? That doesn't make any sense!"

"She didn't want to be in the cage. I shouldn't have put her in there, but I was thinking about her safety and had too much other stuff on my mind. Things are beginning to settle down now. I've got to try to have another talk with her, so when you find her, let her know I'd like to speak with her again."

Carl shook his head. "No way! I'm not going anywhere near that woman as long as she's got her dragon! I am not getting ate, Captain, not for you or anybody else!"

"That dragon's not going to eat you, Carl! First of all, even if he did like to eat Gnome, you're bigger than he is, and second, he's not violent. He might not even eat meat."

"But -- But she told us he would!"

"Think about it, Carl. She was trying to scare you to death and get your mind off of the job at hand so that she could work her magic on you, and she did just that. You were so scared of the dragon that you never noticed when she worked her spell on you."

Carl paused, thinking over the Captain's words. Finally, a light dawned over his face. "You know what, Cap? I bet you're right! If that dragon wanted to be eating us, you never would've gotten her in the cage!"

"Let me know where she's at when you see her, Carl." Jack knew Carl's curiosity would not keep him away from her very long.

Carl was still muttering oaths under his breath as he began to make his way down. His eyes blazed, and his tiny fists shook. How dare she! How dare she make them think that that silly dragon would eat them! Why, he'd give them both a piece of his mind!

Jack walked calmly off to place himself within hearing distance in case a speeded rescue from Brendan was needed.


Phoebe rushed out of the galley, not paying attention to where she was running while trying desperately to spot anything green. Mister Green had to be around there somewhere! He must have just forgotten that he was supposed to be cooking in the galley. She knew that if it was possible, she'd like to forget it as well.

From another direction of the ship, Joxer was running full steam ahead, one thought on his mind -- get to the galley before Angel got to him! Angel was already mad at him. He didn't know why Angel blamed him for letting the woman out. It wasn't as though he could do anything about it. He still wasn't sure what she had done to him except knock him out without ever touching him. Why couldn't he be mad at Carl? After all, weren't Gnomes supposed to be tougher? How had she managed to knock Carl out, again without touching him? Those nagging questions filled his mind, and he paid scarce attention to the crew members he passed.

He was almost there. In fact, he could smell something cooking. They had started without him! He was in trouble, and he knew it. He increased his speed, and it was at that moment that something ran smack dab into him. His eyes closed as he collided with the other object. He grabbed wildly for something to hold himself up, but his hands did not find anything.

He fell forward, flaying his arms madly and taking down whatever had hit him. It was soft, and its sweet scent filled his nose. He opened his eyes and found himself gazing down into the startled eyes of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was looking at him with a doelike expression.

Phoebe had barely caught sight of Joxer running towards her and had started to try to move out of his way when he had hit her. His body had crashed into hers, and the impact threw them both instantly to the deck. She had exclaimed, but no words had came as the air was knocked out of her. The moment she felt able to speak again, her mouth flew open to yell at him, but she remained silent when she found herself looking up into his eyes. She had never seen eyes like his before. They were so handsome, so . . . bewitching . . .

Before Joxer knew what had hit him, he found himself leaning down and kissing the startled woman. Her lips tasted of honey and thrilled him beyond anything he'd ever felt before. Get off of her, you big oaf! he mentally chastised himself. You're probably killing her, and you know fully well that she's going to slap you for kissing her! What are you thinking!

Her lips had parted in a breath of a sigh when they were suddenly taken by his. The sensations that swept through her burned her, but before she could even react, he started to pull away. She raised a hand and cupped his neck. Her fingers curled around the ends of his hair even as she stilled his retreat. She recaptured his mouth with her own.


Angel looked at the cage as they walked up to it. It wasn't totally destroyed. Just two bars were missing, and the floor was covered with water that he knew must be the melted ice. He thought she must have frozen the bars, then shattered them and slipped through as the area created was just big enough for her slim body.

Wesley checked the cage and was surprised to find that it was not overall weakened. "This should be easily remedied," he said even as he walked over to a round tube hanging on the wall. "All I need to do is replace the two bars that she transformed and shattered. Quite a remarkable trick, actually. I never would have considered the possibility of that escape method, but then I still can not fathom what on Earth an Ice Elemental would be doing in this part of the world."

Wesley removed one bar from the tube and walked over, placing it into its normal position on the cell. He returned for another, fitting it in as well. He then began to mutter words in a sing-song voice that Angel had never heard before. Angel watched in amazement as the cage first shimmered and then began to solidify, the two bars wielding themselves into firm placement. As soon as Wes had finished, Angel got the key off of the wall and unlocked it, allowing Brendan a chance to get in it. "Tell me what you want in there, and I'll get it for you."

Jack had heard enough. Why was Brendan locking himself away two days early? He knew Brendan tortured himself a lot. Jack was tired of it but knew no way to get him to stop. He could stop this, however. Walking inside the holding area, he called a greeting. "Brendan, it's two days before the full moon, and there's a lot of work to be done. Weren't you giving the men physicals? How are you going to do that in here?"

Angel knew what Jack was doing and didn't make a single sound, because he knew that if any one could stop Brendan from locking himself away, it would be Jack. He also knew that Brendan was never one to quit work in the middle of anything. He hoped it would work but doubted it. Even Jack's abilities sometimes failed.

Brendan was already starting to walk into the cage when Jack called out to him. His friend's voice did not surprise him, nor did his comments, as he had smelled him and knew that he would attempt to intervene in the mistaken belief that he deserved to be free. "Jack, the physicals can wait for now. If I don't do this, I'm bound to kill her or some one else."

"Brendan, you've never killed any one! I suggest that you lock yourself in your cabin and not let any one come near you that you don't want to see. It's two days before the full moon. If you lock yourself up now, in the cage, you will be absolutely crazy by moon time."

"I'm already crazy," Brendan said, turning from where he stood in the cage to look back at Jack with sad, haunted eyes. "You know what happened. If you hadn't been there when she kissed me, I would have killed her. I've came close to wolfing since then, as well, and that was only over some one," his betraying eyes glanced at Angel before looking quickly back at Jack, "pretending interest in her."

"Oh, so you are interested!" Jack exclaimed before he could stop himself. "That's a good sign, Brendan," he added as he reached his friend, grasping his shoulder. "It's a sign in the right direction."

"No, it's a sign in the wrong direction! Jack, you know I've never been able to control it! If she touches me again, I might wolf just from the memory of the last time!"

"I'll lock you in your room, and I'll put a guard on the door so she can't get in."

Brendan eyed him. "Who?"

"Me," Jack replied. "You know I will not be far from you."

Brendan thought a moment. Finally, he sighed, his head dropping in relentment. "All right," he spoke at last, "but if I should start to wolf again, I'm coming in here and I'm not coming out until we can figure out what to do about her."

Jack sighed. "I will first go and tell Miss Halliwell to stay away from you unless you seek her out. Then I will return. I will not be very far from your door. I will lock you in first before I go, and Angel will stand guard until I return." He glanced inquiringly at Brendan, hoping that his friend would agree.

Brendan nodded. "I . . . I am only sorry to have to be such a nuisance. I know you both have so many other things to take care of already, but I can not be free at this moment."

"You are not a nuisance, Brendan," Jack assured him. "You've never been a nuisance. I care about you a lot. I only wish I had the answer. She is a beautiful woman, and I fear she has it for you very badly. She's not going to take the information easily."

"Perhaps not," Brendan admitted, "but she can not be allowed to continue to place herself in danger. I . . . Something has to be done, Jack, because I . . . " He raised his head to look up into his dearest friend's face, tears shining in his eyes. "I don't want to have to leave, but I can not endanger her life."

"You're not going anywhere, Brendan!" Jack's voice raised in alarm. "Don't even think it! You're my family, and I want you where I am! I want you to do something for me, though. I want you to search your feelings for this woman. I know you just met her, but I want to know. Do you feel anything for her? I'm not talking about fear that you're going to kill her. Is there something there? Perhaps we could work on it and get you a real chance with her? Gods, I hope she doesn't go to pieces on me! I hate crying women!"

Brendan was already shaking his head. "I do not want to make her cry, Jack, but you know very well that anything of that nature is completely out of the question. You know my background. You know I have never been able to control the wolf and that I never will."

"But if you could, Brendan, would you want her?"

Brendan sighed, his gaze traveling from Jack to Angel to Wesley and then back to Jack. He knew he could trust all three of them more than he could ever trust himself. "If things were different?" he asked him. "If we lived in another world where I could? Because it will never happen in this lifetime."

"Yes, Brendan, if all those things were different, would you . . . " he searched for the words, " . . . think you could love her and would want to be with her?"

Brendan sighed deeply. "All too easily."

"Then we are going to work on it," Jack said. "You and I have overcome many obstacles together, and I think that this is one obstacle it might take a team to get over."

"Jack, no!" Brendan exclaimed, grabbing his friend's hand. "We can not even think about that!"

"Yes, we can, and the first person that we need to see is Wolf. He, too, is a Werewolf who had trouble controlling himself and dreamed of blood. I'm not going further into his past; it's for him to tell. I will alert him to your situation, however, and knowing him, he will definitely take a paw in it. Come, Brendan; let's go to your room."

"Jack, I'm not Wolf! What he can have I can never have, and I will not work on it because to test it would be to endanger her! I will not do that again!"

"I hate to do this, Brendan," Jack said, "but if we work with you and we get to the point that you want to see her and you wolf, I promise you I will knock you out with greatest pleasure. I will not let harm come to her, but I will also not stand idly by and watch you throw your chance away."

"But what if the cane doesn't work the next time? We've been lucky that it has so far, but . . . but if something should happen so that she turns me on so badly that it does not . . . "

"It's never failed yet," Jack replied, "and how many times have I knocked you out? I've lost track."

"As have I," Brendan admitted, "but it may yet fail. We don't know. Will you . . . " He took a deep breath. He'd tried to broach this subject before in the past, and Jack always managed to get away from it. He turned suddenly, placing both hands on Jack's shoulders and looking him straight in his eyes. "If it should fail, if there should be no other way to save her, to save yourself, to save any one else, will you . . . ?"

Jack sighed but continued to hold Brendan's gaze. "I will do what I need to do, Brendan, to stop you. I give you my word on that. I will not willingly let you hurt any one, and though it will kill me, if I have to put you down, I will."

Angel and Wesley had been following behind the two, their attention intent on their conversation though they had not spoken. "And should you put the Captain in danger," Wesley spoke up, "we will stop you . . . regardless of the consequences."

Angel added, "I solemnly vow that if the Captain fails in his attempt to stop you, Brendan, I will stop you."

Brendan's gaze traveled again over his three friends before resting once more on Jack. Finally, he nodded. "Then we can try, . . . and thank you, all." He had to fight to keep the tears from his voice.


Lorne rounded the corner to the galley only to see a sight that made his mouth fall open and his eyes bug out. "HOLY SHIT!" he yelled. He could not believe what his eyes were trying to tell him: Joxer and the girl were about to couple on the ground! "JOXER, GET OFF OF HER!" he commanded as soon as he was able to find his voice.

"Oh my Gods!" he fluttered, his shock and fright growing when Joxer did not respond. Lorne reached out, his hands shaking, and snatched Joxer off. "Man, do you realize it's a child! GET OFF OF HER BEFORE THE CAPTAIN SEES!"

"I AM NOT A CHILD," Phoebe bellowed, glaring up at Lorne as though her eyes could cut straight through him. She rose to her feet, then twirled to face him with her hands on her hips. "AND MAYBE I WANTED HIM ON ME!"

"Whatever, miss, but if the Captain sees one of the men on a child, he goes crazy. I won't even go where Captain Xena goes! She's already after Autolycus. Joxer, get in the galley now! Thank the Gods Jack didn't see! Whatever you two want to do later, it's between you, but make it in private, not out here where the whole ship can see!"

Joxer stood still. He had never in his wildest dreams thought that a beautiful woman would kiss him back for as many women as he had attempted to pay court to, every one of them but Meg had slapped him. Meg had taken his money and always given him whatever he wanted in return, but he knew that even she would never have so much as glanced twice at him if he had not paid her. He looked at Phoebe as his mind began to clear. He could not see the child any longer, because it had not been a child that had kissed him but a woman. And, man, what a woman! he thought.

He wished for the thousandth time that he was suave, debonair, and a true man of the world. Maybe then he could have really impressed her, but he knew his shortcomings and realized that once she got back with her sisters, it would all be over. He would never get a chance to be alone with her again. Looking deep into her eyes, he spoke, "I would like to apologize, Miss Halliwell, but I can't. It was the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me!" He could not take his eyes off of her even as he felt Lorne pushing him.

Phoebe's angry eyes turned from Lorne to Joxer, but her expression melted completely as she looked again at him and he spoke to her. "You'd better not apologize," she told him. "There's nothing to apologize for, and that would only ruin it." She cast another glare at Lorne before continuing, "I don't care what anybody says. I'm not a child. I'm a woman. I know what I want," she took a step closer to Joxer, her eyes returning to his, "and what I want is you."

Lorne did not give Joxer a chance to reply but instead pushed him even harder until they were all the way into the galley and safely inside the door. Joxer's arms reached longingly back for Phoebe. "Maybe later?" he called hopefully.

Phoebe grinned. "Whenever we can ditch Mister Green."

Prue looked up as Joxer was pushed into the galley. "What's the matter, Joxer -- you don't want to help in the galley? Isn't that your job?"

"Huh?" he asked.

"Whatever!" Prue snapped. "Get to cutting those potatoes and getting them ready to cook!" She pointed at a huge mound of potatoes. Joxer headed over to the pile and sat down on a small stool. He whistled a little tune to himself even as he picked up the first potato and began to carve it into the shape of Phoebe Halliwell.

It was taking Joxer some time to do it. Prue glanced back over at him as she had not heard even one single potato land in the pot. "Joxer, what are you doing?" She walked over and looked down at what he held in his hand. She blushed red. "OH MY GODS!" she yelled.

Several heads turned in the direction of Prue's shocked exclamation. Piper started to ask her what was wrong when Phoebe spoke before she could. "What?" she demanded, hurriedly making her way over. If somebody else was going to start in on her Joxer --

"Joxer, I said peel the potatoes, not carve the potatoes! Give me that!"

"No, it's mine," Joxer protested, "and I am going to give it to who I made it for!" He lifted it up toward Phoebe.

Phoebe stared at the potato in shock for a moment before realizing that he had taken the time and effort to so carefully carve it into her likeness. "Aw!" She beamed at him. "You did that for me?"

"I'm glad you like it," Joxer said with a grin and started peeling the potatoes. He had not been able to help himself. He had had to give her something, but he didn't want the others to get even an inkling of an ideal of what was going on between them. He hoped she really did like it. He continued to whistle his tune.

Phoebe held the potato in her hands as though it was the best treasure in the world. She wanted to kiss him but knew she couldn't with her older sisters both watching.

Prue's mind was whirling. Why would Joxer carve a potato in Phoebe's likeness? She'd talk to the girl later. Had she done something she shouldn't have? She returned to her cornbread, pouring it up into a huge skillet and putting it into the oven to cook.

"Do you need any more help, Piper?" she asked hopefully. She hoped Piper was going to say "no" so that she could find out where Brendan had gotten off to. Maybe they could have that little talk? She knew she had promised Piper not to hunt for him again that day, but she just had to see him to make sure that he was all right. The last time she had seen him, Captain Jack had knocked the crap out of him, and she just knew Brendan hated her now.

Piper looked at her sister. She was about to release her when she noticed the look in her eyes. "Prue, you're not going anywhere. Beans or dishes. Take your pick."

"Darn!" Prue said. "Not beans! You know I can't cook beans! I'll take the dishes. I don't want them, but I'll take them."

"You're not getting what you want," Piper told her with a shake of her head. "You promised me you'd wait until tomorrow!"

Just how the heck did her sister know what she was thinking? Prue wondered. It was not fair of Piper to read her mind! She stomped over to the cabinets and began to look for dishes. They didn't seem to have any. She looked in every cabinet, but no dishes appeared. "Where are the dishes?" she asked Joxer.

"Huh . . . Broken? Gone? Thrown overboard? We've been eating out of cups."

Prue looked again but did not see very many cups. "What do you do, take turns eating behind each other? MEN!"

"Well, yeah, when they eat. We haven't eaten much around here for a while. I'm not a very good cook, and Autolycus can't cook either."

Prue sighed. They were going to starve to death for lack of food! What to do? "Piper? There's not any dishes. They've been eating out of cups, and there's not very many of those. What should I do?"

"Cups!" Piper exclaimed, glancing at Lorne for affirmation that Joxer was telling the truth. Lorne shrugged, then nodded, and Piper shook her head in disbelief. "It's a good thing we brought ours with us then!" She pointed to one of the bags that stood in a corner, its contents not yet having been put up. "You can check them out, Prue. Some of them might need to be washed."

Prue went over to the bag, opened it up, and began to remove plates. She was surprised at how many they had and even more so that none of them matched. She carried them over to one of the tables and set about getting a dishpan of water and soap.

Autolycus finally stuck his head in. "I'm hiding," he said, "so I'm not cooking."

"Thank Gods for that!" Lorne exclaimed.

"Maybe not," Prue told Autolycus, "but you're going to help with the dishes."

Autolycus had started to tell Prue that they didn't have any dishes when he realized that there seemed to be stack after stack at the table where she was setting to work. He grinned at her, twirling his mustache with a twinkle in his eyes. "Why don't you tell the truth?" he asked her, striding into the galley. "You just can't stand being away from me, can you, beautiful?"

Prue slapped him upside the head with the dishtowel. "Stop telling lies! I could live a lifetime and never see you again, but you've got a job and you're darn well going to do it! We need your help."

"Aw, come on," he teased her gently, still grinning. "You know that's not all you want from me." He started to reach a hand out toward her waist.

"Touch me and lose it, buster! There's only one man I want, and he isn't you!" She glared furiously at him. "Now get to drying!"

"Mmm. I love a woman who knows how to boss a man around!"

She ignored him as best she could and continued washing the dishes. He finally quieted and began to dry the dishes. He wondered who she had the hots for. After all, if it truly wasn't him, who could it be? Did the bloke even know that she wanted him? There might be some money to be made, he realized, and his mind set off on a course of how he would take bets with the other Pirates on who this woman wanted. He would know the answer the whole time, so of course, he'd get the money. He grinned as he imagined the riches rolling in.


They reached Brendan's room, and Jack watched as Brendan walked in. "I won't be gone any longer than necessary to talk to Miss Halliwell."

Wes was about to move off back to his lab when Jack called to him. "Wesley, if you'll look in the two bags that I gave you earlier, you'll see one is full of weapons. Those are to go to Will. The second is full of women's stuff and is for Elizabeth. Would you please see that they both get them? Check on Will for me." His voice held longing in it, because he was not able to go himself to check on Will and he had not seen him for a while.

"As soon as I get to my room, Captain, I'll take care of it. I'll come back and let you know how Will is."

"Thanks, Wes."

"You're welcome, Captain, and I'll spare you later if Brendan will allow it." He looked inquiringly at Brendan.

Brendan nodded before stepping backwards into his room. He waited for the door to be shut.

"You can do the physicals later, Brendan," Jack called to him as he closed the door. "I'm sure the crew will be thankful of that." He locked the door, pocketing the key.

Angel took up a position with his back against the door and sat on the deck. He whipped out a knife and a little piece of wood and began to whittle.

Jack glanced at it and was surprised to see that a small bird was forming out of it. He had not known Angel was so artistic. He didn't say anything but hurried off to the galley.

To Be Continued . . .