A/N: As a special request, a reader has asked for an early update of this story :) Good thing I had some extra chapters written! I'm glad ya'll like this story so much.

R&R! I really appreciate it.

Swabbing the deck once again, Jim felt a frown almost permanently etched into his face. Why did they even have to clean the deck? It's not like it got dirty, anyway. No muck or substance had been tracked on it for months, there was no point to cleaning it over and over and over.

Besides "pounding a few skills into him."

"Oh look, you missed a spot," Silver pointed a robotic finger to the wooden floorboards. There was no way he missed a spot, he'd made sure of that. Jim glared at the man, rising to his feet with a challenging disposition. Silver, wearing an equal glare and a smirk to boot, shoved a bucket of water into the teenager's arms and lumbered away. Jim said nothing except for a huff and dropped back down to his knees next to Vanessa. She sent him a small, comforting grin and picked up her scrub brush gingerly. Her hands had to be wrapped again, her blisters getting worse without the proper medical treatment, but Doc was doing the best he could with what he had.

One of the crew members, the beefy one with four muscled arms and a red tainted face, stomped between them, his giant foot knocking over the water bucket and splashing water all over the front of Vanessa's blouse. Gasping in surprise, she dropped her brush and fingered the hem of her white shirt.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Jim shouted at the alien's retreating back.

"I-It's okay, Jim," she whispered. Carefully, she began to remove the sopping garment. Jim felt a ripple of panic run through him, and he was about to stop her until he noticed that underneath she wore a yellow tank top. He also discerned she had more scars then just the two he'd inquired about. The removal of her shirt revealed a long, thick, vertical scar on her right shoulder, and if he got closer, which he didn't dare, he could see a small one above her right eyebrow and red rings around her neck from years of wearing the shock collar.

Whistles and howling were heard across the ship. Members of the crew ogled the young female, shouted rude remarks and threw perverted suggestions her way. Vanessa's face turned as red as her hair and she bit her lip, dropping her eyes to the ground and turning her back toward the men. Jim felt a fire ignite in the pit of his stomach and hot lava inject into his veins. He'd have fought them, every last one of them, those vile creatures, but he couldn't afford to get in any trouble. He reached out a hand to touch her, console her, and rethought the motion before she could flinch away.

The whistling increased, and Vanessa's lip now bled. Jim felt a low growl rip through his throat, and if his eyes could shoot lasers, they'd probably all be dead. Spotting his black, bulky jacket hanging off the ropes of a shroud, he quickly retrieved it and draped it over his friend's curled in form. She dropped her wet blouse into her lap and pulled the edges of the coat closer to her body. Jim grabbed her shirt and proceeded to rid it of water.

"T-Thank you," she stuttered quietly.

"They're all pigs," Jim hissed.

"Hey, Butterfly,"

That was the nickname Jim had given her since she told him the meaning of her name. He slid onto the floor beside her, making sure there was at least half a foot's space between them. In his hands was a thick book with battered and stained pages and a worn out, blue cover.

"W-What's that?" she asked.

"It's one of those books Doc brought with him. This one has tons of cool myths and legends involving the Earth's constellations," Jim explained. He opened up the novel, turning its pages very carefully as if they might turn to dust by a mere touch, "Here, read this one, it's about the constellation Corona Borealis,"

Nervously, Vanessa took the book from him. Her eyes scanned the black lines that supposedly formed words. Very few words popped out at her, words even a kindergartner could read. The rest looked like gibberish, a foreign language. The words teased and taunted her, dancing about the paper. Her eyes dragged back and forth, like if she stared at it long enough the symbols written in ink would eventually make sense.

Jim watched her try to read, watched as her forehead creased in concentration and her eyes squint desperately. The words weren't that long or complex, she shouldn't have a hard time reading them.

A realization crashed upon him, and he felt his heart sink.

"You . . . can't read . . . can you?" he asked.

Vanessa swallowed against the lump in her throat, feeling her cheeks heat in embarrassment. The two were stuck in an awkward silence.

"You went missing in fifth grade," he said, "You didn't get a chance,"

"N-Not like I c-could, anyway," she whispered, picking at the frayed edge of her blouse, "I-I was reading at an even l-lower level before I w-w-went missing, a third g-grade level,"

Another silence. Jim took the book back and cleared his throat, "The constellation Corona Borealis is nicknamed The Northern Crown," he read aloud.

She kept her blank facial expression, but inside she was grinning from ear to ear, as she settled in for a night of legendary myths.

"J-J-Jim, I d-don't know about this,"

"Oh come on, the view up there is great!"

Vanessa stood at the bottom of the mast, gaping up at Jim who hung five feet above her. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her teeth chattered, not because they were out in the dead of night with a strong wind blowing against them, but because of the fear that enveloped her.

"If you're afraid of heights, it's not that high up," Jim insisted.

"I-It's not the height," Vanessa told him, "I'm afraid of f-falling,"

"Then I'll catch you. Please, Butterfly, you absolutely have to see this, it's amazing,"

Jim's hand was held out for her to take. Vanessa bit her lip, her mind flitting between decisions. Her heart hammered in her rib cage the more she thought about being up that high and suddenly tipping back, feeling that dreadful weightlessness as gravity smothered her and brought her to a sickening crash. That, coupled with the fear of being touched, almost made her dizzy.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

Do I? she thought.

"I promise I won't let you fall. Trust me,"

She decided to take a chance.

Swallowing her fear of both things, she slid her small hand into his, feeling his warmth spread through her palm and shivering a little. Jim grinned, his lips stretched wide enough that he looked like a good natured Cheshire cat. He gently pulled her onto the shrouds and together they climbed to the empty crow's nest. With each pull upward, Vanessa's nerves were shot with excitement and pure adrenaline. The wind pushed back her braids, threatening to steal her bandanna from her head. At last they reached the nest, and Jim was right – the view was breath taking from this high. The cool hues above them swirled into a painting an artist could only dream of. She was so high up that she could almost touch the stars. Vanessa gripped the edge of their perch and very slightly leaned forward to catch some more wind, which cooled her skin from the long days' work.

"What did I tell you?" Jim retorted, kicking his feet onto the edge of the nest, "Amazing, right?"

"Beautiful," she sighed.

"I want to see this for the rest of my life," he added wistfully, "I want to go on adventures like this one every day. Just think about it – the sights, the freedom. You learn something new every minute. I mean, you should know, you've been on a pirate ship practically your whole like -"

Jim froze when the sentence escaped his mouth and he glimpsed her reaction. Vanessa stared out past the quarterdeck, her expression blank. She might not have heard him, but how could she not? He said it loud enough.

"Sorry,"

"D-Don't be, it's true," she disagreed softly.

"But I still shouldn't have said it,"

Vanessa shrugged, "So you l-like adventures?"

His demeanor perked up once more, "Love them, couldn't think of anything better to do with my life. I want to explore the galaxy one day,"

"Won't you b-b-be homesick?"

"Yeah, maybe. But right now I've had enough of Montressor, and there's no doubt in my mind they don't want me there either,"

"Why? she quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. Had he gotten worse since she was taken?

Jim hung his head, his brown bangs falling over his eyes, and he rubbed the back of his neck, "I-um . . . I got in some trouble back home. A lot of trouble, actually,"

"What k-kind of t-trouble?"

"You really wanna know?" when she nodded, he made her a deal, "I'll tell you, but only if you answer a question of mine,"

"F-Fine," she agreed.

Jim took a deep breath, his stomach stirring nervously. Everyone at school knew what kind of things he did, but Vanessa was different. He'd been coaxing her from her shell since she'd come aboard the RLS Legacy, getting her to live life without fear. He didn't want to scare her off with his criminal history.

"I . . . I went to juvie for a week," Jim exhaled.

Vanessa sucked in a slight breath. She remembered hearing how he almost went to juvenile hall at ten for riding his home made solar surfer at extreme speeds. Even if it was only a week, this boy was exactly what her mother had told her to stay away from.

"The dangerous, moody, unruly, perverted types," Paula Kendrick defined, "Those kind of boys are no good. The kind that end up in jail for steeling or selling drugs, breaking the law. The kind that will use girls, good girls, pretty girls like you, they'll use them to their advantage and when they're finished with them, they'll leave them in the dust. They'll only break your heart and get you in trouble. Stay away from those kind of boys, Vanessa. They may be fun and exciting at first, but it won't be worth it in the end, it never is. Promise me you'll never go near one, promise me,"

"I promise, Mama,"

Vanessa turned to lean against the edge of the nest as she assessed the teen in front of her. He wouldn't look at her as he slumped further down in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. From her silence, he judged this piece of news had a negative effect on her.

"What, no reply? It's not that big a deal, it was only a week,"

Bad boys were dangerous, her mother said.

Bad boys were trouble.

Bad boys were womanizing plunders.

Bad boys only looked out for themselves.

And Jim Hawkins was nothing like that.

"My m-mom had a rule she m-made me promise to follow," she whispered, making Jim glance at her with those unbearably deep blue eyes, "S-She told me to never go near a b-bad boy,"

His shoulders drooping another inch and he sneered at the tips of his boots.

"But you're not l-like that," she countered.

Jim's head whipped in her direction, the spoiled expression gone, and still he said nothing.

"You're d-different," Vanessa claimed, "You're still kind of b-bad, but you're not that b-bad. You're very k-kind and you c-care about others, or at least about the d-doctor and Morph," in a discreet tone, she added, "and me."

A smile crept into his expression and he sat up a little straighter, "Thanks,"

"S-So what did you go to juvie for?"

"Stupid me decided to race the police bots on my solar surfer after having trespassed into several military areas," he informed her, adding a shrug, "I was put on probation after I got out. Mom was pissed. She grounded me for three months and made me clean all the rooms at the Inn by myself," Jim sighed, "Okay, so you know just how bad I've been, and now I get to ask you a question,"

"Shoot,"

"Why are you afraid of being touched?"

A needle laced with ice embedded itself in her veins. Her bones locked up, leaving her in a tense pose. It was abruptly difficult to breathe, she couldn't get enough air in her lungs.

"I mean, I'm surprised you even let me help you up here. You freak out when Doc wraps your hands. What's the deal? You -" Jim cut off his sentence when he heard her almost gasping, "Vanessa?"

She closed her eyes against his now concerned face, "I . . . I . . ." the nightmares clouded her mind. She could feel their touches ghosting over her body, feel their gruff, raspy voices in her ears, feel the pain between her thighs, screams ripping from her throat, tears running down her cheeks. The tears though – the tears were real. She reached up to wipe them away.

No tears, she scolded herself, don't let them see. Don't let them know how weak you are.

"They – I – they hurt m-me. They did . . . horrible things t-to me," Vanessa sobbed.

"Did they . . ." Jim gathered the courage to force the words from his mouth, "Did they rape you?"

That word sounded similar to nails on a chalk board. Vanessa flinched and clasped her hands over her ears in desperation, suddenly feeling faint. Her limbs quaked so much, Jim thought she might fall. She couldn't get the pain to go away, the voices wouldn't leave, all the crude groans and laughter.

The answer was obvious by now. As she slid to the ground, as hot tears leaked faster than she could wipe them away, Vanessa nodded in reply. Jim knelt in front of her, trying anything to calm he down, soothe her, but everything he could think of involved touching her. His eyes held untold amounts of sorrow and anxiety for her.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice cracking, "I'm so, so sorry Vanessa," he'd never felt so useless. The most he could do with the limitations was sit there and whisper comforting words, and what good was that doing? He came to the decision that doing nothing wasn't helping, and he reached out and wiped his thumb tenderly across her skin to stop a tear.

Vanessa cringed and tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go. This touch however . . . it was different. It was gentle, painless. It wasn't perverted or hurting her in anyway.

It's Jim, the calmer part of her brain thought, it's just Jim. He's trying to help, he won't hurt you.

So she let him wipe the tears away, wincing every time his skin made contact with hers. The revolting memories slowly ebbed away, the tears stopped as well as the shivering, and she was left with a numb sensation. Neither of them spoke for the longest time, letting the wind fill the quiet spaces until the morning light. Only when Vanessa heard the captain calling her name, and Silver screaming Jim's, did they leave the crow's nest.