FicWad

I gulped and looked from my leg to Barbossa. He wasn't threatening me or leering at me. On the contrary, he actually just looked concerned. He was frowning down at the blood on my leg like he really actually cared about me. Pirates were so good at deception. They could fake things really, really well. But regardless, I had to make up a decision about what to do about my leg.

My first inclination was just to let it bleed. After all, cuts must stop bleeding eventually...right? To be honest, I really had no idea. I wasn't one who knew anything about healing. I hadn't never gotten hurt like this ever before in my safe little town. On the other hand, if I just let the cut bleed, lots of bad things could happen. Like Barbossa had said, it could get infected. If it got infected, then he had said that I might actually have to have my leg cut off. I couldn't imagine myself without a leg. That was just disgusting.

So despite my gut feeling, I sighed and said, "Okay, fine, you can stitch it up. But just don't look...you know where..." I let the sentence trail off. Barbossa obviously knew what I meant. I wasn't just going to let him pull the blanket off though. Holding up a hand, I said, "Close your eyes for a moment. I have to do something."

"As you wish, little princess," Barbossa replied, making a mock bow to me before shutting his eyes. Once his eyes were closed, I swung myself into a sitting position, pulled my shirt down as low as it could go, and then arraged the blanket so that it was covering my panties and my left thigh. Since that one wasn't injured, there was no need to keep it exposed.

"Okay, you can open your eyes," I told Barbossa, smoothing the blanket over my lap. To my surprise, Barbossa's eyes did not go straight to my leg. Instead, he got up, strode across the room, and started digging through some drawer. Wondering what he was doing in there, I frowned and asked nervously, "What are you looking for, captain?"

Barbossa turned his head slightly in my direction as he answered, "A needle and things. I want ta do this right, ya know." I watched Barbossa nervously, but like he had said, he returned to my bedside only a few minutes later with a very ominous-looking needle in hand. Feeling scared, I took one look at the needle, one look at Barbossa, and then finally asked, "Is this going to hurt really bad?"

Barbossa threaded the needle and shrugged, "I dunno. I suppose it's bound ta hurt a little bit. It really depends on the person though. Do ya have a high tolerance of pain?" Did I have a high tolerance of pain? Definitely not. When I was little, paper cuts used to make me cry and cry. And of course, my largest injury ever before today had been a paper cut. There was no need for Barbossa to know quite that much info though. So I just shook my head and replied simply, "Not really. I'm not good with pain."

Barbossa finished threading the needle and sat contemplating something for a few minutes. He had his head tilted to the side and his eyes were narrowed in thought. Wanting to know what it was that he was thinking about, I looked at him and asked, "What's wrong? Do you know what to stitch it up after all?" Part of me wished he would say that he didn't.

Unfortunately, that was not what he said. Leaning forwards, Barbossa looked me in the eye and said, "I could give ya something fer the pain. It might make ya a little sleepy and...unpredictable, but it would certainly help with the pain." Barbossa's offer sounded pretty nice. I would love some sort of pain reliever. Yet, the part about doing "unpredictable" things didn't sound too good.

Giving Barbossa a nervous look, I asked, "So what do you mean by 'unpredictable'? It's a short term side effect, right?" I asked that question because as long as it eventually wore off, it couldn't cause too much harm. Well, I didn't think it could anyways. You never really know though. Especially when you're dealing with pirates.

"Well, it affects everyone different," Barbossa explained. As he talked, my eyes stayed zoomed in on the needle in his hand. Barbossa continued on, "It's a rather strong drug, so ya can never predict how it's gonna affect ya. But it does wear off. It doesn't change ya for ferever or anything. So what do ya think? Want some or not?"

"Okay," I finally agreed. Anything to take away the pain would be welcome really. Barbossa got up once more, crossed the room, and selected a vile of something. He poured out a spoonful of the clear substance, sat back down next to my bedside, and held the spoon out to me, "Here ya go. It doesn't taste great, but it doesn't taste bad either."

Nervously, I took the spoon from Barbossa. I hesitated a moment before popping it into my mouth. I was still a little paranoid about the whole "poison" thing, but like I had said to myself a million times before, there really was no reason for Barbossa to poison me. There was, however, reason for me to panic because Barbossa was bringing the needle close to my leg.

I was so worried about what he was doing with the needle that I forgot to think about the drug going down my throat. It tasted sweet and syrupy, not at all what I thought it would taste like. Barbossa brought the needle just below where my cut started and then stopped. He got up, opened one of the barrels lying on the side of the room, and grabbed something out of it.

Feeling pretty suspicious and paranoid, I asked nervously, "What's that?" Barbossa held up a bottle and a cloth. Rolling his eyes, he sat down for the third or fourth time and explained, "This here is a rag. I assume ya know what those are. And this is a bottle of rum. The alcohol in it will disinfect yer wound. This may hurt just a bit."

I clenched my teeth as Barbossa grabbed the cork to the bottle of the rum with his teeth and then spat it across the room. Then he tilted the bottle ever so slightly and let the rum pour out. It dribbled down onto the wound and diluted the dried blood all around it. I did my best to keep from crying out as the rum cleaned out the cut. It stung quite a bit, but I didn't want to seem weak in front of Barbossa. Don't ask me why because I have no idea why. I was having strange feelings about Barbossa, that much was certain.

Once the cut was cleaned, Barbossa dried it off with the rag he had retrieved earlier. Now the cut was no longer bleeding, but the gash was still clearly visible. I guessed that I had fallen a lot harder than I thought I had. Barbossa took the need and pressed it into my skin just below the cut. This time I did make a little whimper. Being poked with a needle is never pain free.

However, as Barbossa started to stitch up my wound, I found it didn't hurt nearly as much. Soon, my body started to feel a tiny bit numb and I felt really slap happy. If you don't know what slap happy is, it's when you're tired and you act really hyper and giggly. So when Barbossa reached my upper thigh, I didn't bother to protest as he lifted the blanket up to finish sewing up the cut.

I could see Barbossa's eyes linger on the edge of my panties for a mere millisecond before he continued stitching me up. Despite the fact that I was still really quite hyper, I started to feel a little nervous. I wondered what Barbossa was thinking. Was he thinking about what was behind the small lacy piece of material?

I tried to shake those thoughts from my head. There was no point in thinking things like that. After all, Barbossa had said I was too small and underdeveloped or some shit like that anyways. So really, there was no need to worry...right? Oh god, I was worrying anyways. Being locked in a pirate ship with no escape automatically causes increased anxiety.

When Barbossa finished stitching up my wound, he pulled my blanket back down over my leg and stood up. With one hand on his hip and another at his side, he stated, "Ye'll be alright now, just ya wait and see. How are ya feelin'?" It took me a minute to try to figure out how I was feeling. The pain from my leg was gone, but I felt freakishly numb. I couldn't feel anything...well, hardly anything.

Choosing my words carefully, I replied, "It doesn't hurt that much anymore. I just feel really numb though. Am I suppose to feel this way?" Barbossa scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes as he thought. A moment later, he glanced back at me and said, "Aye, I think that be one of the side effects to the drug I gave ya. Don't worry though, it'll wear off. Besides, wouldn't ya rather feel numb than feel the pain?" That was true; numb was better than pain.

Nodding, I agreed, "Yes, I suppose so." There was suddenly an awkward silence in which the two of us locked eyes. I wanted to look away, but Barbossa's eyes were too turquoise and beautiful. I wanted to get lost in those eyes. Barbossa seemed to have a hard time looking away from me as well. He blinked slightly and finally managed to avert his eyes to the ceiling.

Taking a step backwards, Barbossa said, "I'm guessing yer gonna be wantin' some privacy now. I'm just gonna head up ta the upper deck. If ya need anything at all, don't hesitate to yell or come find me." With that, Barbossa started towards the door. And just like the time before, I didn't want him to leave.

"Barbossa?" I called in an attempt to get him to stay. Barbossa turned and raised an eyebrow at me, "Aye?" I blushed and tried to think of a reason for him to stay. Finally, I said, "Can you stay a while? I keep getting scared that someone is going to burst in on me." That was one of my fears so it wasn't like I was lying or anything.

Barbossa considered this and then retraced his steps, "Aye, I don't mind stayin'. But you really should be gettin' some sleep now. Remember how I said that drug can make ya do some strange things?" Barbossa looked at me nervously. I wondered if he hadn't told me everything about that drug. Maybe it was more serious than I thought.

About five minutes later, I realized just how much the drug messed you up. I was lying on the bed attempting to fall asleep when all of the sudden, all my emotions seemed to be ten times more intense than they normally were. I had been hyper before, but now I was like super hyper. And even though I'd like to deny it, I was kind of in a mood for love. And unfortunately, when you're in the mood for love, everything gets screwed up. Especially when you're in a pirate ship.

For some strange reason, I suddenly wanted Barbossa in the bed with me and not on the floor. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. In a giddy voice, I tapped Barbossa on the shoulder and asked, "Come sit in the bed, won't you? It can't hurt. Besides, that floor is rock solid and it's freezing here in the bed." In my opinion, a little body heat could make up for everything right now.

Barbossa turned, looked up at me, and then frowned. He hesitated for a moment before going to sit next to me on the bed. Once he was sitting there, he asked, "So how are ya feelin' now? Can you feel yer fingers and toes again or are ya still numb?" Numb? Oh right, everything had been numb before. God, I was either losing it or my brain was running very slowly right now.

I attempted to wiggle a toe. Nothing happened. Looking at Barbossa, I said, "Nope, can't feel them at all!" For some strange reason, this did not at all disturb me. I mean, who needed feeling anyways? Smiling widely at Barbossa, I grabbed his arm and tried to get him to lay next to me on the bed. Barbossa looked down at me, frowned, and shook my hand away.

"What?" I snapped irritably. "You can't stand me or something?" Barbossa sighed and stood up so that he was towering over me once again. I flinched, but didn't regret my last words. I didn't see why Barbossa couldn't just lay in the damn bed with me. Barbossa had his reasons though. He explained, "Yer messed up right now. It's the drug doin' it ta ya. Ye'll do strange things ye'll end up regrettin' if I stay in here with ya. I'm gonna leave ya fer a bit. If ya need anything, ye can find me on the upper dock."

With that, Barbossa turned away and exited the room. I watched him go in annoyance. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted someone's arms around me or wanted some sort of company. Unfortunately, it didn't look like I was going to get that though. Eventually, I was able to fall asleep even though my brain was fuzzy and my limbs felt like nothing at all.

~ ~ ~ ~

When I woke the next morning, everything was normal again. I could feel my limbs and I no longer felt so hyper and giddy. Immediately, last night came spilling back to me. Ugh, what had I been thinking when I had tried to pull Barbossa down on the bed next to me? Was I going crazy? Apparently so!

Slipping out of bed, I stumbled onto my feet and felt a sharp pang from my upper thigh where I had cut it yesterday. It hurt, but there was really nothing I could do about it. The only thing that might help was the pain pill and no frigging way was I going to take it and let it mess with my mind again. Crazy side affects must be able to occur if I was tempted to have Barbossa in my bed.

Steadying myself on my feet, I looked around and found my pair of black pants. Obviously needing to get dressed before going up on dock, I slipped on the black pants and buttoned my blue shirt up all the way. I was going to go up to see Barbossa now for two reasons. First of all, I definitely had to apologize for my audacity last night. And secondly, I wanted to figure out when we were going to reach an island, town, or any sort of settlement whatsoever.

Since I didn't have a brush, I finger combed my hair before taking a deep breath and walking to the door of my cabin. I opened it slightly and peered around. When I saw nobody there, I slipped out of the cabin and tiptoed across the room and over to the stairs. Once I reached the stairs, I ran up them and onto the upper deck.

It was a nice day outside. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. Barbossa looked so captain-like standing by the edge of the ship and gazing out at the horizon. Nervously, I walked over, tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Um...I wanted to apologize about last night..."