Upon A Foggy Day

The voyage had been long and arduous, and the crew was having a 'down day'. The last 5 days had all been at sea, attempting to gain their bearings due to an odd sort of fog that had settled all around them. Many of the sailors were superstitious and were blaming Rae Taylor for the streak of bad luck.

It had only been a few weeks since it had been revealed that she was a woman and not the round-bottomed male deckhand that she had been posing as. Many saw it as an insult, even Captain Smollett, who had accused her of being a stowaway, but it had been Livesey who had stepped in to explain that she had indeed signed up for the voyage fair and square.

It was also Livesey who had been the only one who had known her secret all along and, being the man that he was, he had kept it a secret for her benefit. It had only been due to an injury that she had been forced to reveal all.

The crew saw her presence as being a curse on them, as women aboard were still often considered unlucky by many an old seadog. No amount of trying to explain that it had only been recently they hit the mysterious fog bank and that it had been fine up to that point with her on board would convince them otherwise and Livesey, Trelawney and Jim had decided to just leave it be. Smollett, on the other hand, would intervene should it have any effect on work being done, so that was a small mercy.

The fog had slowly lifted through the course of the day and all it revealed was more ocean. The waves were calm, but there was a sort of electricity in the air.

Rae assumed it was a potential storm on the way and kept her eyes on the horizon for the red sails of the Sanguine. It was her turn on watch duty on deck, so she had made her way to the bow of the ship and leaned against the wooden balustrade humming to herself to keep her brain occupied. It was an old tune that she had picked up many years ago and it had entered her head by complete surprise. As she absentmindedly scanned the horizon for the pirate threat, she slowly mumbled the words to herself...

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas

With ne'er a fear of drowning

And gladly ride the waves of life..."

Suddenly, she felt a presence beside her and the distinctive chuckle of the good Doctor. "Ohhh, I know that one." Livesey instantly started singing along in his own way, each line punctuated with a small fit of giggles.

"No scorching sun nor freezing cold

Will stop me on my journey..."

Rae turned her head with a smile. She had not heard him sing often, so it was a very nice change. There was something about the enthusiasm in his words that made her join him in a very spontaneous and impromptu duet.

"If you will promise me your heart

And love me for eternity"

But what Rae though would just be a simple case of a short sing along became something else entirely, as Livesey reached out a hand. She took it, spurred on by curiosity and was instantly whipped into a jig to accompany the song. It was not at all her forte, but it was a well needed and appreciated bit of entertainment after a dull few days in foggy conditions.

After letting out a small yelp of surprise, she continued with her part of the duet. After all, it was all in good fun, right? She wanted to be a good sport at least.