A/N: Hey everyone!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I really loved writing it.

Chapter 14

Life and Death

Gibbs had once again condemned Izzy to scrubbing the decks. She hated it. It was almost like sitting in her room, staring at the walls. Oh well, at least she had something to do.

Izzy scrubbed at the deck harder. Damn Jack Sparrow to hell and back, she thought. Captain! She reminded herself. Why on earth was he so particular about being called captain?

I wonder if all of the stories are true. Izzy asked herself. No one challenged Elizabeth and Jack's tales so maybe…

"Ahhh!"

Izzy jumped to her feet and looked around to find who screamed.

The man who usually sat in the crow's nest, hung from the netting directly below by his ankle.

Izzy started running without giving it a second thought.

Jack was coming up the stairs before he heard the scream. A shriek like that meant someone was in peril. Jack quickened his pace to a sprint. Please don't be Izzy, he repeatedly thought.

As Jack hit the top of the stairs, he looked around. The entire crew was staring up at something. Jack redirected his gaze and saw that Tommy, the new boy who worked in the crow's nest, was hanging from the netting by his ankle. And then he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. A figure with long hair was climbing her way up the netting.

Elizabeth rots at climbing netting, Jack thought. Wow, she's gotten much better. She almost looks like she's done this for years. Wait…that's not Lizzie, that's Izzy! What in the bloody name of pirate does she think she's doing?

The boy Tommy was screaming now, something about his ankle.

At that exact moment, Izzy's foot slid on the ropes. Jack took two steps forward. No, he thought, I'm going to see how this goes I can't make this look like I care about her. I've never done that for any other crew member.

"Jack!" Gibbs shouted. "Aren't ya goin' ta do somethin'?"

"Nope," Jack said. "It's about time that Miss Peregrine proved herself."

Gibbs looked at Jack questioningly, but didn't say anything. Jack always understood what he did even if others didn't.

As Izzy climbed higher and higher, Jack felt it harder to keep himself in check. She'd be fine, he told himself. She's strong. She won't get hurt.

But that thought didn't comfort his fears.

When Izzy reached Tommy, she realized that she hadn't been breathing. So she took a deep breath and started talking soothingly to him to get him to calm down.

"Tommy," she said. "Look at me."

"I can't, Izzy," he said crazily. "I can't, I'm gonna fall."

"You're not gonna fall, now be a good boy and look at me," Izzy demanded. "Tommy look at me. Pretend you're six and you're standing on your head. You've just accomplished this and you're telling your mother about it. You're afraid because you got your foot tangled in her yarn. Talk to me."

"Okay," he said. "I did it mom! I did it! I've practiced for so many months and I've finally got it."

Izzy's hands worked quickly to undo the "yarn."

"I won the bet."

"What bet?" Izzy asked.

"Joey bet me that I wouldn't be able to stand on my head for ten whole seconds. He owes me this week's allowance. He never thought that I'd be able to stand on my head. I need this to go into the circus. He'd never thought I'd do it cause I couldn't stand on my head. Now I can and in a few years I'm gonna be in the circus as an acrobat. I'm gonna make tons of money and send a bunch of it to you ma."

"You're an amazing boy Tommy," Izzy said in a motherly voice. "I've almost got the yarn undone from your foot. What I need you to do is to grab onto the netting with both of your hands so you don't fall and break you skull. Yes, that's a good boy. Now twine your hands through it and pull your feet out of the yarn. Wonderful! Okay, I'm gonna let go for a second and then I want you to put your arms around my neck and hold tight while I get you down. Don't be scared. I'm right here. On the count of three all right? One, two, three!"

Izzy quickly let go and positioned herself so Tommy could get his arms around her neck.

"Very good, Tommy," she praised. "You're going to make a wonderful acrobat someday. Now hold on tight while I get you down."

Izzy slowly made her way down. She carefully placed her hands and lowered herself onto a lower net. She didn't let go of her breath until she gently touched the ground with both feet. A strong pair of hands untwined Tommy's arms from around Izzy's neck and lowered him to the floor. Izzy turned to him and knelt by his side.

"What hurts, Tommy?" she asked.

"My left ankle," he said.

"Okay let me see it." Izzy undid the laces of Tommy's left shoe and gently picked up his leg and put his foot in her lap. His ankle was already a bright rainbow of colors.

Izzy gently brushed her fingers over his ankle and searched for the break. When she found it, she pushed slightly harder.

"Ouch!"

"I know, I know," she consoled. "You've broken you ankle. It's a clean break so it's gonna heal faster."

She looked around and saw men on all sides of her.

"I need some sort of cloth to bandage this so it will heal in one position," she said. "Preferably something clean."

A man scampered off and returned with two rolls of beige colored bandage.

"Tommy," she said. "This is gonna hurt, okay? I want you to take this bandage and squeeze it as tight as you possibly can. Can you do that?"

"Ya."

"Okay, I'm gonna set your ankle now. One, two, three."

Izzy quickly turned Tommy's ankle into the correct position and started to wrap it. Tommy hadn't made a sound, but had tears rolling down his reddened cheeks and was squeezing the bandage like it was the difference between life and death.

Izzy finished wrapping Tommy's ankle and tucked the end into the rest of the bandage.

She looked up at Tommy and smiled.

"You can open your eyes now, Tommy," she said. "I'm all done."

Tommy slowly opened his eyes and looked at his leg. He grimaced and looked down at his hands.

"Thanks," he said. He handed her back the other roll of bandage. Izzy took it from him and glanced at it seeing finger prints embossed in its folds.

"Don't worry about it. Now all I want you to do is to sleep."

Izzy looked at the crew.

"I need someone to make up a bed in my room on the floor. It can be made out of anything squishy. I need some blankets, and a large bottle of rum, can someone handle that?" she asked.

"Yup." Two men sauntered away to do her bidding.

Someone handed her the largest bottle of rum she'd ever seen in her life. Izzy's eyes widened.

"Tommy," she said. "Have you ever had rum before?"

"Ya."

"How much can you drink before your vision gets blurry?" she asked.

"About three quarters of that bottle," he replied seriously.

Izzy gulped. "I want you to drink all of it, do you understand? It will make the pain in your leg go away, but you'll have a bad headache in the morning. Is that okay?"

"Ya, just give it to me." Tommy reached out for the bottle. Izzy took the cork out of it and let his fingers grasp it. He brought the opening to his lips and started to gulp the rum down. Izzy watched him, stunned at what she was watching.

She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Miss Peregrine," Gibbs said. "The bed is made up."

"All right," she said. "Just let him finish this before we take him in there."

Just as she said this, Tommy put the bottle down.

"Izzy," he slurred. "Ya look kinda funny."

"I know," she said. "Now, Tommy, we're gonna pick you up and bring you to a bed so you can sleep, okay?"

Tommy nodded.

Two men picked up Tommy carefully and started to walk towards the stairs. Izzy followed and opened doors for them. They entered her room and she found that a cot had been set up on the other side of the room from her bed. Tommy was tenderly laid down and Izzy covered him with blankets.

She turned to the two men. "Thanks for your help."

They looked at her uncertainly and made a speedy retreat for the door.

Izzy frowned and looked at Tommy.

How in the bloody name of pirate did a fourteen year old boy end up on a pirate ship? She thought. She was going to have a nice long chat with Captain Jack Sparrow about this one. She'd put up with a lot, but this was the last straw.

At that moment there was a soft knock at the door.

Coming up…

Who's at the door?

Will Izzy have her chat with Jack?

Will Izzy find out Tommy's story to why he's on a pirate ship?