Sister wanted a follow up on my drowning story. I thought I'd try my hand at doctor Adewale.

"For the sake of my sanity Edward, hold still."

To say Adewale was getting frustrated would be an understatement. When Edward took the Jackdaw too close to a water spout, that was frustrating. When Edward decided to attack a ship three times the Jackdaw's size, that was frustrating.

This was infuriating.

Edward hadn't been all too careful with his freediving and decided to pick a fight with a shark. Said shark hadn't appreciated his boldness and had sunk its teeth into his shoulder and chest and then left them there. James had put in the work to get him out of the water and then get the water out of him, but that left Adewale to deal with his injuries.

"For the sake of my shoulder Addy, stop digging!" Edward retorted, jerking away and covering part of his bloodied chest with a hand.

Adewale huffed through his nose, staring at Edward in exasperation. "Edward, you will not heal and you will get an infection if we do not remove these teeth. Should you really wish to relinquish your role as captain I'll take up the mantle, but as I assume you're more attached to your Jackdaw than your pride, let me help you."

Edward scowled and dropped his hand back into his lap, rubbing his fingers together, smearing blood all over them. "Hang on, who's at the helm right now?"

"James," Adewale replied shortly, grabbing Edward's shoulder and forcing him down before he could jump up and storm the deck. "Stay still."

"I do not want that cheeky sod in charge of my ship!" Edward exclaimed.

"And I do not want to deal with your recklessly obtained injuries but here I am!" Adewale said, picking another tooth out of Edward's back. His angry gestures had worked it to the surface enough for Adewale to see it and pluck it out. He dropped it into Edward's bloodied hand. "Here, there's only maybe ten more."

Edward growled and turned his shoulder so he could see it better. A glisten of dirty white was poking just beneath his collarbone and the entire area was throbbing, blood oozing slowly down his chest and back.

"That is going to leave a right wicked scar," he commented.

Adewale grunted and braced Edward's shoulder, squinting at the tooth buried in under his collarbone. "Edward…" he said, reaching slowly for his knife. "Hold very, very still."

"Why?"

"There is a rather large vein that runs just below your collarbone," Adewale explained, tapping the undamaged part of Edward's collar with his forefinger. He was moving very slowly, assessing the injury and the best way to remove the tooth without damaging anything else. "This tooth seems dangerously close to it, and if it pricks the vein I'll not be able to stop the bleeding in time."

Edward's eyebrows shot up but he held very still, eying the area. "Maybe leave it, Addy," he said. "If it's already cut through removing it—"

Adewale shook his head. "No, it hasn't pierced, or you'd be bleeding much more heavily. Just hold very, very still."

He took a deep breath and steadied his hand, bracing the tip of the knife at the edge of the wound. Edward was holding his breath as well. Very, very carefully Adewale slid the knife in under the tooth and pried it upwards. Edward's shoulder tensed, but he didn't move an inch. Very, very slowly Adewale dug his knife a little deeper until he could turn it, reach in, and grab hold of the tooth. He pulled it and the knife out the moment he was sure they were properly positioned. Edward let out the breath and gripped his shoulder, peeling his palm away long enough to see with relief that there was only a slight trickle, not a gushing coming from the new hole.

"Still think the sunken gold is worth it, or should we stick to human targets?" Adewale said dryly, pressing a cloth to the part of the injury he'd cleared.

Edward chuckled weakly, dropping his head into his hand. "All gold is worth it, Addy. I'm just going harpooning the moment I get my ship back from Kidd."