Alright ladies and gentlemen, I am back. Truth be told, the ending to my day today was less than pleasant, in fact it was just plain depressing. Anyways, enough with my terrible day... I give you a new chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. If you do, leave me a review! Help make my day better! Please?

Okay I will stop with the shameless begging ;) So here we go! Enjoy!

(How many exclamation marks can I use in an AN? Too many guys... too many)

~Elanor


Elsie sat patiently as she stretched in her chair. It had been two days since she had awoken from her fever and she was going a bit stir crazy. Doctor Cresswell had told her to remain in bed as she recovered, but now she felt more like herself than she had in a long time. Rising from her perch, she made her way to the washbasin that sat by her bed left for her use. Rolling up her sleeves, she splashed water on her face and rubbed her eyes. At moments she felt tired and thin, memories of the past and of the attack surfacing with every sway of the ship. But then she remembered that she had a duty to the young man whom she had saved. Why do I feel this sense of duty? Elsie only knew he was a sailor who had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe it was her identity that she clung to in a world so unlike her own. All she knew was that she had her abilities, and it was time to use them again to help Doctor Cresswell. Moving towards the door, she stopped as she realized something: her clothes. A quick glance down at her current appearance had stopped her from opening the door to the main deck.

"Fantastic. I'm still in my nightclothes," Elsie muttered to herself. It wasn't until after that revelation did she remembered that Doctor Cresswell had mentioned someone gathering clothes for her.

In the meantime, she needed to find something to do. She had already tried sitting patiently waiting for someone, anyone, to return to her room and that had lasted for a few minutes before boredom set in. Patience was never Elsie's strongest suit nor was it sitting quietly by herself for long periods of time. First, she made the bed and fluffed the pillows. "Well that took exactly 4 minutes of my time." She rolled her eyes and found a way to straighten the small table and two chairs that accompanied that other corner of the room. She didn't dare touch Captain Norrington's desk, lest she move something important. No, that beast would remain untamed for all she cared.

She decided to then meander around the room to take a closer look at the intricate charts and maps that adorned the walls. The captain had taken great care in hanging each around the room. Most had marks or flags denoting ports of call or areas of historic significance to the Royal Navy. Elsie smiled to herself as she wondered what her father would think of her living in this particular time in naval history. As her thoughts turned towards home, she deeply wished to be back where she belonged.

"There is no use in you pouting, Elsie." She admonished herself. "Keep your chin up and push on. There is nothing else you can do right at this minute so calm yourself." Taking a deep breath and running her hand over her weary eyes, she paused at a bookshelf skimming through the titles to see if she recognized any of them. Reading always seemed to calm her mind when nothing else could. A few titles seemed familiar, but one book in particular stood out to her. It was a book with a worn binding, obviously used more often than the others. She handled the book with tender care as she strained to read the title.

"Socrates Dialogues" she murmured to herself. Now this was fascinating to her. Content with her selection, she plopped down rather unceremoniously onto the bed she had just made and began to read. She was so immersed in her reading that she didn't hear the knock that persisted at her door, nor did she hear the door open.

"Ahem, Miss Kirk?" Captain Norrington raised an eyebrow as she jumped at the sound of his voice. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, I am just brushing up on my philosophy." She laughed lightly as she shut the book. She offered him the book as he nodded in understanding.

"Ah yes. "He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post to fight against the enemy." Words my father taught me from a young age when I wished to join the Navy. He gave me this book to remember the words of the great philosopher. To be frank, I haven't held this book in a long time. This pirate infestation has taken away most of my time for studying the finer points." He chuckled placing the book back on the shelf.

Thinking for a moment she chimed, "Yes, but I also believe Socrates said, "Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for."

"You, Miss Kirk, are correct. Thank you for pointing out my error." He bowed earning a genuine smile from Elsie. "But enough of philosophy, I have brought something for you to wear." Elsie had failed to notice the bundle of clothes that Captain Norrington had in his hand when he entered the room. Giving a polite thank you, she took the bundle from his arms and began to lay out her new ensemble. "Once we reach our next port, we will have to find more appropriate attire, but at the moment, this will have to do." He watched as her fingers brushed over the fabric, taking in all of the details. "Will this be to your satisfaction, Miss Kirk?"

"Oh yes, this will be more than enough, thank you." If only my father would see this.

Elsie made quick work of putting her new clothes on and used a black ribbon to tie back her wavy locks. After having very little time or opportunity to take a proper bath, her hair felt salty and unmanageable warranting it to be tamed by her fingers and a crisp bow. She did look like a proper midshipman. Squaring her shoulders, she opened the door to make her way to the deck to find Captain Norrington.

It took a few blinks of her eyes to adjust to the sudden barrage of sunlight before her. Breathing in the fresh sea air, she felt even better than when she was confined to her quarters. Unable to locate Captain Norrington right away, Elsie took it upon herself to look around the deck and see the activity around her, of course while looking for the captain. No matter where she was, she made sure to be aware of her surroundings. It was not uncommon in her medical school rotations to sit back and see everything that was happening around her. It improved her reaction time to emergencies and made her a better medical student. Now she used her skills as she slowly made her way around the deck. No one took particular notice to her, which she liked at the moment. If they were to hem and haw over her, she would never get the true feeling of the ship and the crew that worked on her. Grinning to herself, Elsie brushed her fingers over the thick ropes that adorned the side of the vessel.

While observing the crew, she noticed that Lieutenant Gillette was also on duty calling out orders and going about his duties. She appreciated the air of authority that he possessed, but also noticed the friendship that he carried with the captain and with Groves. It wasn't long before he nudged Groves and they began to make their way towards her.

"Midshipman," He called, too far away to recognize her. "You were due to report half an hour ago for lessons in navigation. This tardiness is uncalled for. What do you have to say for yourself?" He drew closer, but still failed to recognize their passenger.

"I…" She stammered unable to think of a response. Gillette's face reddened when he noticed that she was not a midshipman, but Miss Kirk.

"Oh! Miss Kirk!" He quickly rushed to apologize. "I beg your pardon. I mistook you for a midshipman…" His words trailing off as he saw Groves laughing behind Elsie. Throwing him a look that could have killed, he turned back to their guest. "I meant no disrespect."

"Lieutenant, I assure you that I will not be tardy for my lessons in navigation or swordsmanship. Unfortunately, I wasn't notified that I would be required to attend." She replied with a hint of sarcasm. Gillette turned a darker shade of pink, to Groves' delight, which made Elsie laugh even more. "It was an honest mistake, Sir. I am sure that it won't happen again," she replied, saluting in modern fashion to a very bewildered Gillette.

"Indeed," he muttered. "But I must ask, to what event are your referring to? My mistaking you for a midshipman or your tardiness?" He ventured to ask, for her reply confused him even more.

"That is for me to know and you to find out." And with that, she walked away flashing a grin to both men set to go look for Captain Norrington. She needed a status update on the wounded sailor, for he had been on her mind through much of the day.

"Theo?" Gillette asked after Elsie made her way to the captain. "Did you make sense of what she meant?" Groves just chuckled and made his way back to his post.

"I believe Miss Kirk has just outwitted you, Phillip." He grinned.

"Indeed, she has. A strange one indeed." And with that, he made his way back to his pupils to review navigation charts.