Topgallant : Master & Commander : As Luck Would Have It

Fandom: Master & Commander
Pairing: What else? Aubrey/Maturin
Note: For

chaos_rose, as the first of the 4Christina.org drabbles. This is terribly unbeta�d, and I drastically apologize if I have somehow contradicted part of the 9 � books of O�Brien canon I�ve yet to read.

As Luck Would Have It.

They were three days off the Sao Luis coast when the captain summoned Maturin from his attempts to master Mendelssohn�s infuriatingly logical fingering. Jack rarely had urgent need of him during the day while the company was performing deck work, and it was with some haste that the doctor made his way above-stairs. He found there, much to his relief, no injured sailors, but a group of them crowded around the quarter deck, peering at the flying jib. So eagerly did they crowd the rail that Stephen could not at first make out what had attracted their attention; not, at least, til Aubrey came to stand beside him, eyes glittering (from the light of the sun or his own private amusement, Stephen could not tell), and said gruffly to him under his breath, �We�re bound to have a blasted mutiny on our hands if you cannot convince these fools that we aren�t beset by an albatross.�

�Oh!� said Stephen impulsively, with so much interest that his friend chuckled beside him, and bade the men huddled around the front of the ship to make way for the good doctor.

The bird, all black from webbed foot to bill, was perched contentedly upon the figurehead, paying no heed either to its rapt audience or the bobbing and swaying of the jib over its head.

�Well,� remarked Maturin in some satisfaction. �It�s not an albatross, to be sure, but it is a rarity.�

�Not an albatross!� Mr. Johnstone said critically. �Look at that wingspan!�

�Yes, it is a bit overlarge for a member of the Phalacrocoracidae,� Stephen replied smoothly. �But not extraordinary, especially considering the fellow must have been unusually strong to have survived winds that took him approximately 3,500 miles off course.�

The row of ship�s mates had turned, and all were now regarding him as if he were the albatross. Aubrey chuckled again, and placed his broad hand on Maturin�s shoulder.

�Well, what is it, then?� he asked amiably. Stephen, glancing quickly over his shoulder to see whether he were being subtly laughed at, found only the sort of cleverness in the captain�s face that he would well like to alter into quite a few even more agreeable changes in countenance.

�It�s a double-breasted cormorant,� he announced calmly. �The Phalacrocorax auritas. Since its natural range of habitat typically ends along the Southern regions of the Caribbean, I�d say you have hurricane winds from the north, in a southerly direction, strong enough to blow our friend here into his new roost.�

The cormorant let out a low sound of agreement.

The shipmates continued to stare at the good doctor. �So we shouldn�t shoot it, then?� asked one.

At this, Maturin laughed, and had the warm satisfaction of feeling Jack�s hand tighten appreciatively around his shoulder. �You�d do better to let the bird rest. Cormorants aren�t terribly strong flyers, hurricanes notwithstanding.�

�It would seem, Dr. Maturin,� broke in Aubrey, �that our friend is in fact an omen of good luck�is not that right, Pullings?�

�Aye, sir,� replied the lieutenant. �If the hurricane travels south as the good doctor says, we�ll arrive in Vittoria a good two days ahead of schedule.�

The men in attendance let forth a cry of appreciation, and Maturin observed the captain�s lips twitch a moment before ordering them to be about their business.

�I thought for certain a cormorant had a shorter bill than that,� muttered Johnstone, still staring at their visitor.

�A very apt observation,� remarked Stephen helpfully. �Some members of the Pelecaniformes most certainly do possess the shorter beaks you�ve seen, undoubtedly along the Central American coast.� Johnstone nodded doubtfully. �I think you�ll find that the short-billed cormorant belongs to the genus Phalacrocorax novitius, whereas our friend here, the double-breasted, longer-billed cormorant, corresponds exactly to the notes I have made in my travels on the genus Phalacrocorax auritius.� He smiled. �I�m sure the captain could have no objection to you coming below deck to take a look at my findings. The studies from the Galapagos are particularly fascinating.�

Mr. Johnstone blinked at him for one bewildered moment before making his excuses, muttering something about seeing to the mainsail, and hurrying back to his business.

He left the captain and Maturin alone on the quarterdeck to survey their oblivious feathered companion. Aubrey�s hand still lay on Stephen�s shoulder, and as Stephen directed a sidelong glance at him, it tightened still further.

A very decided, knowing smile was threatening to break over the captain�s features.

�If that�s a cormorant, Stephen, I�m a midshipman,� he said authoritatively.

Stephen raised his eyebrows expressively, and did not venture a return remark.

�What a blasted complete hand you are,� said Jack, in a tone that might have frightened anyone else. �I only hope no one on board has a copy of Coleridge about them. Not even your distinguished science will quiet them if they take the truth into their heads once more.�

�It did work once, though, did it not,� said Stephen a bit primly.

The captain turned to face him, then, removing his hand from Stephen�s shoulder at last and grasping his arm gently.

�So it did,� he said quietly. �And glad I am to be able to rely on you to stave off all our foolish superstitions.�

Stephen smiled. �God save thee, Ancient Mariner, from the fiends that plague thee thus!�

At this Jack laughed his hearty, invigorating laugh; the rare black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) started at the sound and took to the air, tracing a long, graceful arc through the gold-tipped sky.

�God grant it so, indeed,� Jack replied, turning his gaze from the bird back to Stephen�s face. �Though here, at least, is one plague I hope shall never be lifted from me. I should be miserably hipped without you, Stephen.�

Stephen blinked at him in considerable surprise, feeling the warmth rise to his cheeks; but the captain stood unmoving, meeting his eyes with a degree of affection Stephen had rarely seen except when directed at himself�a circumstance which, he had told himself upon many a restless night, he could not take too much for granted, or analyze too little.

Swallowing his sudden and considerable nervousness, Stephen placed his other hand over Jack�s where it clasped his forearm.

�My dear Jack,� he said, quietly but unmistakably, �You know you shall never be rid of me.�

For a long moment they stood thus, looking back at each other, accepting all that rested in the other�s gaze, Stephen reflecting that never had a single face held so much, and only for him. How long they might have stayed in this mutual private reverie he was never to know, however, for a moment later the indignant squawk of the albatross as it settled again on the mast of the jib roused them both, and sent the captain back to his rounds. As he turned away, however, he allowed his hand to issue one firm clasp of Maturin�s own, and murmured, �I shall very much look forward to our duets tonight, doctor.�

Without so much as a quirk of his lips he turned and made his way to his first mate. Stephen watched him go much longer than was absolutely necessary, before turning back to his invented cormorant. The bird flapped its wings, heedless of his presence, of the rolling waves, or the blue sea that lay beyond.

Stephen regarded it for a moment. The power of persuasion was quite considerable, after all; it wasn�t wholly inconceivable that the Vittoria ports might in fact be two days nearer thanks to the redoubled efforts and encouraged spirits of the captain�s mates.

Dry land, then, and, if he had very good fortune, a very large bed.

He clucked appreciatively at the albatross. Today, it would seem, was his lucky day.