Author's Note:

Woh. I just write the entire black hole sequence in one chapter. Hmm…

Chapter 19: Recovering

"How in the Etherium did she even…?"

Their conversation was chopped and partially muffled as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

"I speculate that her exposure to the cold of space could…"

How long had she been out? And when would she wake up?

"I still can't believe…"

Would she wake up?

"Stay here, you're to…"

Maybe.

"Just…"

But then again, it was as equal a chance for her not to wake up.

"Immediately…"

Silence; the stifled conversation halted with the echoing slam of a wooden door.

Warmth; something soft was being pressed against her forehead.

Sweetness; what in Captain Nathaniel Flint's name was that delicious scent?

Copper; blood was leaking onto her taste buds from her cracked lips.

Scroop?

Ariah blinked a couple of times as she adjusted to her new environment. She tried to move, but a thick layer of blankets bound her tired limbs together. She was lying on her side on a comfortable surface; it felt like a mattress of sorts.

A nauseous feeling suddenly swept over her body and she coughed out the pool of blood that had formed in the back of her throat.

Once her coughing fit had ended, a cool glass of sweet-scented liquid was pressed against Ariah's cracked lips.

From curiosity, she used much of her strength to sit up just so she could figure out what the liquid was. She obtained her prize, discovering that it was purp juice mixed with some sort of recovery tonic.

Ariah finished off the glass and winced at the bitter aftertaste that the recovery tonic had given to the usually sweet purp juice.

Slowly, she gained more strength in her arms and could remove them from her blanket cocoon. Ariah propped up her body on her elbows and leaned against a wall behind her.

After shaking away her dizziness she began to fully identify where she was…

The recovering teenager was covered from toes to shoulders in thick, plain-looking blankets. The wall she leaned against was a polished maple colour, glimmering like the rest of the ship.

She had been placed in a four-poster bed, one large enough that she could stretch out both arms and yet not reach the edges, and one that extended from her feet a least one metre.

Obviously this bed was suited for someone much larger than herself.

A couple of portholes fixed into one of the walls allowed the gentle starlight to filter into the room.

Ariah closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. When she exhaled she looked to the right of where she lay. There was Scroop, patiently waiting for her to recover. The crimson arachnid stood as a silent sentry at the right side of the bed.

An empty glass, a bowl filled with steaming water and a soaked towel rested on a maple bedside table.

Ariah looked down at herself, finally noticing a sharp pain in her rib cage –likely from cracked ribs- and a thick layer of bandages around her right forearm.

"We were wondering how you got that." Scroop stated. He eyed her arm suspiciously.

Ariah read Scroop's expression. "You don't think I would do this to myself…" She stated in her own defence. "Do you?" She nervously added.

Scroop rolled his golden eyes. "Exactly what was it that caused that?" He demanded.

"Um…" Ariah thought back to the day she was in the brig, much of the memory was fuzzy now. "It was a hurricane lamp, the glass from it anyways." She shrugged. "It must've fallen off of its bracket when the ship jolted and it smashed against the bars of my cell's door." Ariah cleared her throat and furrowed her brow in thought. "Exactly where am I?" She raised an eyebrow at the arachnid beside her.

"You're in the late Mister Arrow's room." Scroop answered bluntly.

"The late?" Ariah looked up glumly into the arachnid's golden eyes.

Scroop cleared his throat and picked up the items from the bedside table, turning away from Ariah as he prepared to leave the room. "His lifeline wasn't secured properly." The crimson alien stated.

Ariah's copper-brown eyes widened in surprise as she watched Mister Scroop exited the room and close the door behind him.

Mister Arrow was dead? And here she was lying in the bed that was once his… An eerie chill ran down Ariah's spine as she eased herself out from under the heavy sheets.

There was a minute tap at the door to Mister Arrow's room shortly after Scroop had left.

"Come in." Ariah stated.

A tiny pink blob squirmed its way through a gap between the door and its frame before the person the other side could fully open it. Morph squealed happily when he saw Ariah and he hurried over to the bedridden sailor.

Unable to control his own speed, Morph's light pink, gelatinous body splattered against Ariah's pale cheek before he could stop himself. Ariah giggled softly at the transformer's antics and she gently shook Morph off of her face.

"Ariah?" A hushed, familiar voice called into the room.

"Jim?" Ariah's copper-brown eyes lightened up at the sound of the cabin boy's voice.

The cabin boy in question silently slipped into the room, closing the wooden door behind him completely. Ariah smiled warmly and pushed the blankets under her legs. She gently patted the top of the sheets, inviting Jim to join her.

"Um…" Jim rubbed the back of his neck instinctively from unease.

The brunette cabin boy walked over to the huge bed and sat down beside Ariah on top of the thick covers.

He looked into her eyes. "How are you feeling, Ariah?"

Ariah smiled sincerely. "Much better." She noticed the troubled look in Jim's pale blue eyes and she tilted her head to one side. "What's wrong, Jim?" She enquired curiously.

"I was just…" Jim looked away and bit his bottom lip. "Well." He sighed. "I was really worried about you." He fiddled bashfully with his thumbs. "You were out for three days."

"Three days?" Ariah exclaimed, surprised at the amount of recovery time.

"Well," Jim cleared his throat. "Doctor Doppler assumed that, because you were exposed to space for so long…" Jim stated uneasily. He paused and sighed. "Maybe you wouldn't recover." The young man smoothed a hand thorough his brunette bangs. "Anyways, no need to worry now." He smiled weakly. Then something dawned on him. "Oh. The captain said that you don't have to go back into the brig once you've fully recovered."

"I don't?" Ariah raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" Jim shrugged. "Your rank has been pulled."

"Oh." Ariah exhaled, slightly crest-fallen.

"But you won't have to go into the brig…" Jim pointed out. After saying this he smirked vaguely. "Unless of course you do something that's against the rules. Again."

Ariah smiled. "I guess that's a fair deal." She cleared her throat. "So, what rank have I been assigned to?"

"Scullery maid." Jim stated bluntly.

Ariah shrugged. "I'm used to that." Suddenly her stomach growled in hunger.

Jim chuckled. "I guess after three days of sleeping you're probably hungry." He smiled genuinely. "Do you want me to get you something from the galley or are you strong enough to walk there?" He enquired.

"I should be strong enough…" Ariah stated. She pushed herself fully from under the heavy covers and gently stepped out of the bed.

The black-haired teenager slowly eased her body's weight onto her wobbling legs, trying to get accustomed to using them after three days of sleep.

Ariah straightened up her posture confidently and walked around a bit. She turned and smiled nonchalantly at Jim.

"No big deal…" She stated with a careless laugh.

Jim smirked back with an eyebrow raised suggestively.

Ariah grinned mischievously. "Or would you prefer something a bit more femme fatale?"

The young teenager lifted the back of her hand to press her forehead melodramatically, as if she were going to faint on the spot.

"Oh dear, Mister Hawkins." She said in a polite accent, similar to Captain Amelia's, winking at the cabin boy playfully.

Jim and Morph strained to hold back their laughter and keep straight faces.

Ariah continued with her damsel in distress skit. "I don't believe…" The overdramatic girl rolled her copper-brown eyes up slightly as if praying to a high entity. "I have the strength…" Ariah winged a bit. "To… go… on." She made fake choking noises before falling backwards onto the large bed right beside Jim.

The would-be actress lay atop the covers limply for a few moments before she cracked up and began laughing aloud. Jim and Morph joined in with her laughter soon after the little performance.

The two young teenagers were clutching their stomachs and laughing so hard that tears were forming in their eyes. Finally their laughs calmed down to a few stifled giggles.

Jim lay down on his side and looked back at Ariah, who lay down staring up at the ceiling of Mister Arrow's room.

Their eyes met and they smiled at each other happily. Jim leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on Ariah's cheek. Ariah closed her copper-brown eyes and inhaled slowly as Jim's lips left her face.

Never in her life had there been a more –dare she think it- perfect moment…

Blam! Blam! Blam! A strong fist hammered against the wooden door.

"Jimbo!" Silver's gruff voice hollered from the other side of the door. "Yer needed in the galley…" The cook ordered. "An' I mean now!"

Perfect moment: ruined…

Ariah opened her copper-brown eyes irately and looked up into Jim's pale blue eyes. He shrugged and they both sat up.

Jim slipped past Ariah, ignoring Morph's accurate mimicking of Silver's demands, and gave the recovered sailor a weak grin. Ariah sighed and finally got to her feet.

She pushed the blankets back into place, gently smoothing out the creases on the former first mate's bed, and then she brushed past Jim and reached for the doorknob.

The rejuvenated female reached forwards; opened the door and then looked up sheepishly at John Silver.

Silver smiled widely. "Oh so now yer awake, darling…" He chuckled lightly at the only female teenager in his crew.

Ariah looked up at the older sailor and smiled weakly. Then she stepped from the doorway and into the corridor. Jim and Morph exited the room soon afterwards.

Morph instantaneously zoomed over to Silver to snuggle his portly cheek. Jim half-heartedly elbowed the door closed and looked up at the RLS Legacy's cook.

"Well now." Silver placed his hands on his hips and loomed over the two teenagers. He looked at each of them in turn. "I don't suppose I was interrupting anythin'…" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Was I?"

Jim said; "No…" the same time when Ariah said; "Yes..."

The two teenagers glanced at each other in confusion, trying to make up their minds.

Then Ariah said; "No…" the same time that Jim said; "Yes..."

"Didn't think so…" Silver smirked all-knowingly at the two teenagers.

"So…" Ariah smiled softly and tilted her head to the side. "Did I miss anything?" She enquired.

"Yeh didn't personally miss anythin', Sleepin' Beauty…" Silver rolled his eyes as-a-matter-of-factly. "…But I can tell that the crew missed yeh, lass."

"Including you?" Ariah raised an eyebrow.

"Including me, darling." Silver chuckled. He placed his human hand on Ariah's bare shoulder. "Yeh gave us all quite the scare, darling." He admitted with concerned eyes.

"Yeah…" Jim added. "We were worried that you weren't going to wake up."

"I'm sorry…" Ariah blinked her copper-brown eyes innocently with an identical smile.

Silver chuckled, shaking his head and sighing at the female adolescent's typical behaviour. "Now on with yeh… the dishes in the galley aren't going teh clean up themselves."

Ariah's stomach growled at the mere mention of 'the galley'. She put on a pouting face and looked up at Silver with large, pleading eyes; similar to what Morph did often when requiring something.

Silver chuckled heartily. "Of course we'll get somethin' for the little lady first." He patted Ariah lightly on the shoulder.

Ariah smiled cheekily at Jim, who rolled his pale blue eyes at her, and then they all walked towards the galley.

Author's Note:

Thanks as per usual to Whisperwings for her phenomenal betaing work.

MG#6