"And that about sums up how babies are made." you said, finishing up a long description of the birds and the bees. You were just relieved that it was over. Peter sat there, wide eyed, looking mortified and horrified.  His mouth was slightly agape. Things went okay when you were talking about why men and woman looked different. But when you started talking about what happens before the baby comes…that's when things started to get a little…awkward.

You sat there for a moment to let all that information settle in his little mind. You remembered how grossed out you were when you first found out about it, so you knew he would need some time.
"My mother and father did THAT?!?" he said, shocked and disgusted at the same time. It was evident in his face. You nodded slowly.
"Yup. 'Fraid so little guy. But its not a bad thing. It's a beautiful thing when you love someone." you said, trying to make it seem less gross. Peter just spaced out. All the information was killing everything he had been told before about babies. Apparently Arthur had told him some story about birds flying near a goose berry bush and getting stung by bees…or something like that. It didn't really make sense to you.
"How can something like THAT be beautiful?" he asked, looking like he was going to throw up at any minute. You sighed and messed his hair up a bit.
"Well…it sort of makes sense more when you get older. Remember what I told you about what's going to happen when you get to a certain age?" you said, looking at him. He just nodded his head.
"You mean about how my voice will get deeper and my-" you cut him off. It was already awkward for you and you didn't want it to go on any longer then it needed to.
"-Yeah! That." you said quickly before he could finish his sentence. You felt bad about having to ruin his innocence but you had no choice. And besides! That should have been the Captains job! Peter is his younger brother and yet here you are explaining the facts of life to him.
"Miss (name)" he said looking at you. You looked at him, right in the eyes.
"Yes? You said.
"I don't want to become a man anymore. Its disgusting." he said, making a face that made you laugh a little.
"You say that now, but don't worry. As you become older its gets less and less disgusting to you." you said. He just nodded and looked off to the side.
"Hey" you said, taking his face in your hand. "Are you going to be okay?" you asked, knowing he was thoroughly grossed out at this point. Peter just looked at you and slowly nodded his head. He got up from your bed and walked toward the door.
"I have a lot of thinking I need to do right now." he said slowly and reached for the door knob.
"Peter." you called. He turned his head to look at you.
"Everything will be okay, I promise." you said, flashing him a reassuring smile. He just nodded his head and left you in your room, closing the door on your way out. When he was gone you fell back on your bed and covered your now red face with your hands. You groaned.
"Why did I have to be the one to explain THAT to him! That was sooo embarrassing!" you whined into your hands.
"That had to be the single most awkward conversation I've ever had in my life!"
You shook your head and removed your hands from your face.
"Well. The deed is done and I never have to do it again." you said reassuring yourself.
'wait…what if he asks more questions?' you thought.
"No way! That's his brothers job to answer those kind of questions!" you scolded yourself before sitting up. You held your lower stomach as you got hit with another cramp.
"Owey, owey, ow, ow, ow!" you shouted as you curled up into a ball. You breathed in and out hoping that would help.
"How did women do this before pain killers?" you said quietly to yourself. After a few minutes you heard a knock on your door.
"Breakfast Lass!" came a familiar Scottish accent.
"Come in!" you called. The door opened and Gibbons came in with a steaming bowl of oatmeal. He smiled big at you.
"Ah. I see the clothes fit ye nicely lass." he said as he handed you the bowl. You took it and smiled at him.
"Yeah. Thanks Gibbons." you said and looked down at your bowl.
"Yer welcome lass." he said. He stopped when he noticed you were just staring at your bowl, not eating it. He looked at you in concern.
"Lass? Ye alright?" he asked. You shook your head and looked him straight in the eyes.
"I just had to explain to Peter the facts of life…needless to say my appetite isn't very strong right now." you said. Gibbons chuckled and sat down beside you.
"Ahhh. The good ol' talkin' to. Its never easy no matter how many times ye do it." he said, resting his hands on his knees.
"So. How did the wee lad take the news?" he asked looking over at you. You just gave him a look.
"Must you ask?" you said. He chuckled and looked up.
"Ah. I remember when I told Ian." he said and laughed a bit.
"Fer months the lad would avoid girls like his life depended on it." You laughed.
"Ian? Our Ian? That's hard to believe." you said, taking a small bite of your oatmeal. Gibbons chuckled softly.
"Aye, that it is." he said. You swallowed your oat meal and looked forward.
"Gibbons?" you asked. He looked over at you.
"Aye lass?" he said. You wanted to ask someone and Gibbons seemed like a good person to ask.
"Why do you think the Captain never told Peter about…you know." you said, hinting at the subject at hand. Gibbons rubbed his chin in thought.
"Hmm, Tis hard to tell lass. Perhaps he never got around to it?" he said, looking over at you. You smiled at him.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's it." you said sarcastically, turning your head and taking another bite.
"So…Is Ian still being a stick in the mud with you?" you asked. Gibbons sighed.
"Aye lass. He hasn't said a word to me since that first night." You felt bad for Gibbons. Why was Ian being such a butt head? You had to find out why, but you had to talk to Ian first. That was your next mission. Gibbons stood up while you were thinking.
"Well, I'll be seein' ye around lass. I have to get back to the galley and clean up." he said, heading for the door. You were sort of glad he was leaving. It wasn't that you didn't like Gibbons. You loved the guy! But you just wanted to be alone for a while. That's hormones for you. When he closed the door you sighed and placed the bowl down beside you. You weren't sure how you were going to entertain yourself, all by yourself stuck in a small room. But it was better then working among the crew while you were having 'issues'. Besides. You would probably snap at all of them anyways. You sighed and laid down again, giggling to yourself.
"Shark week has officially begun." you said to yourself, an evil smile spread on your face. Right now you felt sorry for any man that got on your bad side this week. You looked at your hands.
'I should probably unwrap these…' you thought to yourself. You sat up and unraveled the bandage. Once they were off you inspected them. They were starting to form scabs, which was good. You didn't need any open wounds getting infected. You wanted to leave this place with all extremities intact. You decided to leave the bandages off to help the scabbing process. Your skin was lighter in color and wrinkly from where the wrap had been.
"Ew. So that's what I'll look like when I'm old and decrepit." you said to yourself. You started waving your hands around to get some air to them. As you did this, for some odd reason, you thought of Peter. You sighed heavily.
"Poor guy. I hope he's going to be alright…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile…
The captain was at the helm, staring off into space. Unable to focus on the sea ahead of him.
'I can't get that image out of my head...' he thought.
'I've never been so embarrassed in all my life. Blast you idiot! Why did you have to make such a big scene about it! You probably embarrassed her just as well…' His thought trailed as he recalled the look on Peters face when he came bursting into the captains quarters that morning. He chuckled a bit.
'He's still so clueless and innocent to those types of things. How old is he now? Twelve?' He thought, sighing a bit.
'I need to talk with him soon about those things…' He hesitated for a moment.
'No, I'll wait another year. Besides, I think my last description of it was good enough.' The captain smiled to himself, feeling pride in his *cough* lame *cough* description of the birds and the bees. Just then he looked down to see Peter walking slowly up the stairs and onto the deck. This caught Arthur's attention.
'He's never that depressed looking' he thought.
"Peter!" he called out. Peter slowly looked up to see his older brother motioning him to come to over. Peter obeyed…very slowly. He was still grossed out by what you had told him. Arthur observed his little brothers slow movements and knew something was wrong.
'That's queer' he thought. 'Peter is usually bounding with energy. Hmmm…he must still be worried about (name).' His cheeks started to darken when he thought of you, that of course led him to thinking about that embarrassing incident earlier…
"Hello brother." Peter said glumly. Arthur cocked an eyebrow at him.
'He always refers me to my title when were out in the open…' Things were getting strange for the captain. His little brother just didn't seem…right, today.
"Peter. Are you alright? You seem glum today." he said, concerned about his brothers behavior. Peter just slowly nodded his head, not even making eye contact with the captain. Arthur just smiled and turned his attention to the sea, continuing to steer the ship.
"I know your still probably worried about miss (Name), but don't worry. She's going to be fine." he said. Hoping to brighten his little brothers spirits. Peter's eye twitched when he thought of what you told him about your 'injury'. This didn't escape the captains notice. He looked down at his brother in worry.
"Peter? What's wrong?" he asked, now getting more concerned about his little brother. Peter looked up at his older brother, looking him straight in the eyes.
"I know she's not injured. I know what is the real matter with her. She told me. She told me everything." he said, grimacing as your little 'talk' came to his mind once more. Arthur's eyes widened.
'She didn't...' he thought. He cleared his throat and looked at the sea a bit before looking down at Peter and asking him.
"Uh…um. Peter? What exactly did she tell you?"…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Uhg! So……..BORED!" you shouted to no one in particular. You had been in your room with nothing to do for what felt like hours now. You had finished your breakfast already so you had pretty much nothing to do. You had washed your pants as best you could. With out any soap the stain was harder to see but still there. You scrubbed the stain off of your bed as best as you could. Now it looked like someone spilled Kool-aid on the bed. You couldn't play games on your phone because you needed to conserve its power. You thought about listening to your I-pod but decided against it.
'What if someone came in and saw me?' You thought. You huffed.
"That's it! I'm listening to some music!" you decided. You got up and walked over to your door, locking it and heading back to your bed. You plopped down and whipped out your I-pod. Turning on the shuffle and popping in the head phones. Your favorite song was the first song to play. You smiled to yourself.
'Well at least SOMETHING is going right today' you thought. You were just getting into the song, dancing a little and bobbing your head to the beat, when you heard frantic knocking on the door. You scowled.
'Oh come on! Can't a girl have a little alone time?!?'  you thought.
"(Name)! I need to talk to you for a moment!" Someone shouted. You knew by the voice and angry tone it was the captain. You groaned as the knocking became pounding. You popped your ear buds out and shoved your I-pod under your sweatshirt. You got up and put your face close to the door.
'I haven't messed with him at all today. Hmm…' you thought as you grinned deviously.
"Who is it?" you asked sweetly and innocently. Cracking a smile that he couldn't see.
"(Name), you know very well who it is! Open up this instant!" he shouted again. He sounded upset.
'What did I do to tick him off this time? Someone's got their panties in a twist.' you thought.
"No can do Mr. Captain sir. What if I'm indecent?" you said, teasing him a little. You heard him huff.
"(Name). Peter has informed me of what you told him." he said, sounding irritated. You giggled a bit to yourself.
"And?" you said.
"Blast it woman what were you thinking!?!" he shouted at you again. You clicked your tongue is disapprovement.
"Hey, he asked. What was I suppose to do? Tell him some stupid story about birds, a goose berry bush and bees?" you said, taunting the description he gave Peter.
"Hey! I thought it was a very appropriate way to describe it for now!" he said in defense. You scoffed and crossed your arms.
"It doesn't even make sense. At least what I told him was truthful and made sense." you said. Even though you knew very well the truth was disgusting to him.
"He asked me if two apples had to sleep together to make more apples!" he said in a raised voice. You laughed.
"Ah. I guess you should explain the difference between humans and produce to him." you said, giggling as you did. The captain was not pleased.
"I wanted to wait another year before I got into THAT discussion! What is the matter with you!" he shouted again. You wanted to tease him some more.
"Hey! Cage the rage pal. At least I had the guts to tell him. I was doing your job for you and this is how you thank me? I'm insulted. You should be more grateful" you said, saying the last part in a sweet voice. You could feel the heat coming off the captain through the door.
"Grateful?!? He's a walking zombie because of you!" he shouted again, getting more frustrated by the minute.
"He'll be fine. Besides. Now you don't have to worry about going through that awkward speech with him later on. The sooner you do it the better it is." you said. Leaning against the door. You loved messing with this guy. You didn't know why, it was just fun. Maybe it was the way he reacted to your sass?
'Keep it together old boy. She's just trying to get to you. Keep it together…' he thought before trying to compose himself.
"(Name)…you test my patients." he said, straining his voice to stay calm. You caught onto this and smiled, evilly.
"So far your losing. I think you need more practice." you said, stifling a giggle.
"Your impossible!" he shouted quite loudly through the door. You then remembered something he told you on the first day and decided to use it against him.
"But Captain, I thought this was the Phantom Night. Where the impossible becomes possible." you said, bowing a little for emphasis. You heard him growl on the other side of the door.
'He really is the big bad wolf' you thought, shaking your head. He started pounding on the door again.
"(name)! Open up this instant!" he shouted again. You just rolled your eyed and walked away from the door.
"Like I said. No can do. What if I'm indecent?" you said, sounding innocent again.
"That won't work on me (Name)! I clearly gave Gibbons orders to give you spare clothing, I gave it to him myself." he said in defense. You smiled, looking into the mirror and examining yourself again.
"And they look fabulous on me by the way. Who knew you had clothing my size." you said, turning to look at yourself from the side.
"Aha! So you are wearing them! That's it. I'm coming in!" he said. You rolled your eyes a bit, until you heard the familiar keys jingling from outside.
'Crap…I forgot about his keys.' you thought. The door unlocked and opened quickly. In came the captain, looking red from anger.
"(Name) your acting like a child-" he started to say but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw you. You turned to face him and placed both hands on your hips, leaning your body to the side. Cocking an eyebrow at him. You knew you looked good.
"Yes? Can I help you?" you said. Now he seemed embarrassed again. You couldn't tell if his face was red from anger or from blushing.
"I, uh. I-" you interrupted him with a giggle.
"What's the matter captain? Cat got your tongue?" you said, teasing him again. This guy was so much fun to mess with! He cleared his throat, trying to look composed.
"I'm glad the clothes fit you" he managed to say, looking away from you a bit. You grinned internally. You were going to mess with him again. You were going to do something and wanted to see what his reaction was going to be.
"Thanks!" you said cheerily. You turned to the side and looked at him, placing a hand on the small of your back.
"Do these pants make my butt look big?" you asked, trying your best not to laugh hysterically. His eyes widened and he blushed even darker, turning his head away for a moment.
"I-I wouldn't know. A gentlemen doesn't look at ladies that way." he said, feeling like he was going to die from embarrassment. You tsked at him.
"Oh come on. I've caught you before. Don't lie to me." you said leaning forward and looking up at him. You thought every ounce of blood was now rushing to his face at this moment.
"I-I was not! I was merely, uh, observing your feet! Yes, to make sure you wouldn't trip!" he said, lying like his life depended on it. You laughed.
"Liar." you said bluntly. He still didn't look at you but he stood up straight.
"I am not" he said in defense.
"Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!" you said in a sing-song voice. His face got even redder, if that was even possible.
"I-I should really get going. I have duties to attend to and you need your rest." He said before turning quickly and leaving you by yourself. You smiled big.
'Just how I thought he would react' you thought to yourself as you closed the door. You yawned a bit and shook your head.
'Man! I forgot how Cousin Red makes me tired.' you thought to yourself. You walked over to your bed and sat down.
"Well. May as well get some sleep" you said and flopped down on the bed, getting as comfortable as you could. You were really tired and decided a nice nap was in order. You slowly closed your eyes and relaxed as sleep took over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
You awoke to someone gently shaking your shoulder. Your eyes fluttered open to see a shock of red hair and green eyes looking at you.
"Time to eat lassy." said Ian. You blinked a few times.
"What?" you said sleepily at him. He chuckled and sat on your bed.
"Did ye have a nice nap?" he asked, looking down at you. You rolled on your back and looked up at him, squinting slightly.
"Heeeeeeeey. Were you watching me sleep?" you asked, being silly. Ian just laughed.
"That wasn't me first intention lass. I brought ye yer lunch." he said, holding up a bowl. You smiled and sat up.
"Fooooooood!" you said like you were some crazy woman. He chuckled as you took the bowl from him.
"I see ye got some new clothes there lass. They look good on ye. Ye look like one of the crew now." he said. You looked at him and smiled.
"Thanks" you said and turned to your bowl.
"So, how ye feelin' lass?" he asked as you chowed down. You nodded your head and swallowed.
"Alright I guess." you said. Well it WAS true. How good could you feel when it felt like someone was tap dancing on your uterus with ice climbing shoes? He chuckled and ate from his bowl. You cocked an eyebrow at him. He laughed.
"I thought I'd keep ye company fer lunch today. I know how borin' it can be bein' quarantined for a day." he said, taking a bite. You nodded your head. You thought that was sweet of him. Seems he really does enjoy your company. That made you feel good.
"Thanks Ian." you said smiling at him.
"Anythin' fer the wee lass." he said and began to eat again. You smiled and then thought of something.
"Hey Ian? How come you refuse to talk to Gibbons?" you asked suddenly. Ian stopped eating and looked at you.
"An' since when do ye care what I do with me Uncle lass?" he said, curious of your question. You looked down and took a bite before speaking.
"Well. I've been spending a lot of time with him and he's sad that you refuse to speak to him." you said, looking up from your bowl at Ian. Ian looked away from you.
"Is he now." he said, looking forward. You nodded.
"I know why your mad at him. And its understandable. But I'm afraid that your blaming your uncle for something he didn't do." you said, giving him a consoling look. He continued to look ahead.
"An' what would ye know about it?" he said, sounding like he was getting upset. You sighed and looked down at your bowl.
"Well, he told me his side of the story. And I have to say, its completely different from what you told me. Being that he was the one who was there when it happened I have no choice but to take his word for it." you said, looking at him. He looked back at you, right in the eyes, his green eyes seemed to flick with anger.
"I think yer poking yer nose in places ye have no business in lass." he said, sounding a bit threatening. You had to calm him down if you were ever going to convince him to talk with Gibbons again.
"Ian." you started, using your best calming voice you had. "I'm not trying to be nosy" you said, putting emphasis on 'trying'.
"But family has always been really important to me. If there's one thing I can't stand its seeing family being torn apart by misinformation. Family will always be there for you when no one else will.  I guess-" you stopped and sighed a bit "- I guess I just wanted you and Gibbons to be happy again." you said, looking down at your bowl. Ian's composure softened when he listened to you talk.
"I didn' know ye felt that way lass." he said solemnly. You looked at him and placed a hand on his. His hand dwarfed yours.
"I'm not the only one who feels that way." you said smiling sweetly at him.
"You have no idea how much your uncle loves you and wants to talk with you. Don't you think, that after all these years, he deserves at least that much?" you said, tilting your head to the side. Ian sighed and looked at you.
"I don' know lass. I jus' don' know." he said. Your face fell a bit. You removed your hand and went back to eating. You were slightly irritated now. You couldn't tell if it was just Ian's stubbornness or the hormones…or both. But your irritation was clearly detected by Ian.
"Lass? Ye alright?" he asked cautiously. He was not ignorant to a woman's wrath, especially yours. You just shot him a glare that sent a shiver down his spine.
"You know what? Fine! Be like that! Be stubborn and never speak to him again! Let him die alone with you regretting everyday not talking with him!" you said in a raised voice. Ian stood up.
"What's gotten into ye lass?" he asked. You got even more angry and stood up.
"You know exactly what I mean! Here you have an uncle who loves you and wants to be like a father to you and you refuse him?!? My brother's dead and I will never see him again and you stand there and complain to me about something that may or may not be true?!?" you shouted at him slightly. He just stood there looking down at you, speechless. He remembered how frightening you sounded the other day at breakfast and he didn't want another repeat.
"Lass..I-" you cut him off.
"You know what Ian? If your not going to man up, swallow your pride and hear him out then I really don't want to talk to you." you said, huffing and turning around.
"Please leave now." you muttered. He decided it would be best to leave, you were sounding pretty crazy anyways. He grabbed his bowl and left you alone. When he did you started crying again. You didn't want to yell at him like that. You really liked Ian, he was like a brother to you now. But he was just too stubborn, you had to be tough with him to get your point across. You sat on your bed and cried silently.
"I'm sorry Ian…" you said in a hushed whisper.
"I had no choice." You sniffed and wiped away some tears with your hand.
"Stupid hormones! I hate you!" you scolded as you blamed them for your outburst.