A/N: Hi all!!
Wow, this is the sequel to, "Here," a Pocahontas story I posted about a month ago. Several people asked for a sequel, and I thought why not?
I hope you all will enjoy this, please leave your thoughts in a review!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pocahontas or any of the characters. Characters that you don't recognize are mine but I still make no money off of them. Lol…..
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'Six years, six long years.'
The young man thought as he stood on the deck of a ship that was bound for Virginia. His heart was pounding in his ears, his hands were slightly trembling. He had every intention of returning back to Virginia as soon as his wound had heeled, however certain circumstances had prevented this.
What could have been, why didn't you write, letters that were never completed and thus never sent. All of these things floated in his mind as he leaned over the side of the boat, his blue eyes fixed on the water below.
Captain John Smith had no answers for the inquiries that were in his mind. The young man only had one hope and it was to see his beloved Pocahontas again. He had spent endless hours praying to God that she hadn't moved on with her life.
'Nor find someone else.' He thought as he straightened in to a proper standing position.
His gaze searched for land, spotting a tiny dot growing ever bigger in front of his eyes. It would only be a few more days if his calculations were correct.
"It will not be long," John whispered to himself his gaze on the distant land, "It will not be long."
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"Taye, slow down!" Pocahontas shouted as she ran after her young son. The boy was now six years old, and Pocahontas could barely get her chores done around the village with out having to fetch him away from something.
It didn't take long before she caught up to her young son and scooped him up in her arms.
"Mama!" he protested as she began to carry him back towards the village, "I want to go play!"
Pocahontas turned her head away from him, she trying not to smile. An old memory surfaced in her mind of her and her mother having this same exact conversation.
Turning towards him once again she spoke the same words her mother had, "All I ask is that you stay where I can see you. Is that so hard to do?"
The boy pouted, "But mama, I just want to go to Jamestown. Thomas and Jane are there and I want to play."
Returning back to where Pocahontas had been folding clothes she sat down on the ground and placed Taye beside her.
"When I am done folding these clothes then we can go see Uncle Thomas and your friends," Pocahontas said as her expression became harsh, "However, no running off until then. Do you understand me? You may go play with Kailia but that is all."
"But-"
"Taye," she spoke his name in a firm tone and the young boy nodded his head as he looked at her. Pocahontas briefly wondered if John Smith's parents had ever gone through this with him.
"You can go play," she said as she smiled while Taye gave her a hug.
"I'll be good," he said as he jumped up and ran towards Nakoma's hut. The native woman smiled, knowing her best friend would keep an eye on the children. A year after John Smith's departure Nakoma had gotten married. It always amazed Pocahontas that nine moons after the wedding Nakoma had delivered a baby girl. They had named her Kailia. Nakoma was currently staying close to her hut for she was ripe with her second child. All the signs had pointed to Nakoma birthing a boy, and her husband could not have been happier.
Pocahontas sighed as she thought of her friend. The nights for her were completely different. Her son no longer slept beside her, preferring his own bed rather than sleeping by his mother. Pocahontas woke every morning to greet the son as she always did, however even that act wasn't bringing her the joy she once found by doing so. She poured all of her love and attention on Taye, and always tried not to cry when his blue eyes would look at her.
There was no secret about it; she was still in love with John Smith. A man whom she did not know what had become of him. All she knew was that he had safely made it to England.
That was not enough for her now. It was then as Pocahontas folded the last garment that she was going to speak to Thomas about writing John Smith a letter. She knew ships came to Jamestown every three to four moons, and it was nearing the end of the third month. The young woman stood up, balancing the folded clothes in her arms as she walked towards her hut. She hearing her and John's son's laughter echo through out the village.
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"Taye!!" Pocahontas grinned down at her son as he had let go of her hand and raced towards a redheaded little girl who was waving her arms. Watching as she grabbed Taye's hand, she heard a chuckle beside her.
Turning, she saw Thomas gazing after the two of them, "It looks like my daughter Jane has taken a liking to your son."
"Do not start with that," Pocahontas teased as her playful manor left her as the young woman sighed.
"Pocahontas, what is it?" Thomas asked as the two of them went to sit under a tree in order to watch the two children play.
"I'm fine, where is little Thomas?" she replied as her dark eyes looked around them.
"He is at the store with Fiona," Thomas answered as he touched her shoulder, "Come now Pocahontas, you can tell me. I have noticed something has been bothering you these past few months."
Pocahontas gave her friend a quizzical look, "Oh, is that so?"
Thomas chuckled as he shrugged, "Alright, Fiona noticed and brought it to my attention; however, upon thinking back I have noticed you have been with drawn. I know you are thinking about him, like in the way I think of Fiona when she is gone."
"Thomas," she began as she ran a hand through out her hair and let out a sigh again, "Thomas, I have not heard any news on John. I was wondering if you could write him a letter for me? I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, it is just…"
"I understand," the man said gently as he rose from the ground, "I will return shortly with a quill and parchment. You can tell me what to say, I will never repeat it."
Pocahontas nodded, watching Thomas walk around the corner and in to his house. She knew he would never divulge her thoughts to anyone, not even his wife. Over the years, Pocahontas and Thomas had formed a deep bond. Pocahontas considered him to be like a brother to her, she never knowing of the time before Fiona that Thomas had more intimate feelings for her.
It did not take long for Thomas to return with the items, and Pocahontas leaned back against the tree and began thinking about what she wanted Thomas to write. The princess could write her name, however that was the most of it. Taye was picking up reading and writing much faster than she was.
"It's good you want to write this now," Thomas began as he looked at her, "There is a ship that should be coming soon. I can give the letter to someone and they can take it to John."
The native woman watched as he dipped the quill in to the ink, "Now Pocahontas, what do you want to say?"
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Dark rain clouds seemed to be following the ship for the past few days. This more than irritated the young captain, and yet it made him overjoyed at the same time. Overjoyed because the wind was going with the ship, almost pushing it to land the captain thought. However, it was irritating for he feared the storm would hit just as him and the crew landed in Virginia.
"Captain!" one of the men yelled as one of the waves nearly crashed on the deck.
"We may-"
"Be on standby," John shouted over the hard blowing wind, "In case we need to be ready! Bolt the doors to the below deck!"
"Aye, sir!" the man exclaimed as John watched the sea rage below him before turning and starting to secure the ship as best as he could. Like hell he would let some blasted storm keep him from Pocahontas and the life he desperately wanted with her.
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It was getting late, and Pocahontas was cleaning up the dinner dishes. It had been Taye's favorite meal, and she smiled as he readied his bed in the corner of the hut.
"Are you sleepy?" she asked as she set a bowl on a shelf before facing her child.
"A little," he said as he began looking for something on the ground. Pocahontas watched puzzled as his search became more frantic.
"Taye, what is it?" she inquired approaching him
He didn't answer her for a moment the small boy bending to look under the little bed, "I can't find bear."
"Bear?" Pocahontas questioned also bending down to look for the little toy that Fiona had made for him. The thing was a ragged misshapen cloth bear. It had been chewed on, thrown in mud and once Percy and Meeko had gotten hold of it. However, none of this mattered to the young boy. He loved the bear, and slept with him at night. The mother knew it helped him with bad dreams, and so she had let him keep it even though Nakoma hadn't thought it was wise to do so. Pocahontas helped her son look for him, however after a few minutes of feudal searching Taye began to get upset.
"I'm sorry," Pocahontas held him, "It is alright, and we'll go to Thomas's house and look for it tomorrow."
"No," he said twisting out of her hold, "I want bear now."
"Taye," she began walking over towards him and pulling him away from the door, "We will go tomorrow in the morning."
She glanced outside of the flap, noting how ugly the sky looked. Dark storm clouds seemed to be heading towards the village, and Pocahontas could sense the calmness in the air. She could also see strikes of lightning cross the sky, yet she could not hear any thunder.
"Taye, a bad storm looks to be coming…"
"I want bear!"
"I know," Pocahontas said as she bent once more to embrace him, "I promise, we will get him tomorrow."
"I took him to show Jane," Taye said as Pocahontas gave a soft smile.
"That was very nice, I'm sure she liked it."
Taye nodded, "Her mom made her the same thing. What if he gets hurt during storm?"
"He will be alright," Pocahontas replied as she kissed his cheek, "He is a bear after all."
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A loud boom of thunder sent Pocahontas straight up in bed. Not to mention the rain that was blowing straight in to her hut.
'Oh, that damn flap.' She thought as she struggled out of bed. She flinching as she heard another loud clap of thunder. She began to fasten the flap closed as she happened to glance over at Taye's bed. It was then a strike of lightning lit up the sky that Pocahontas gasped.
Taye was not in his bed.
Diving over towards the bed Pocahontas through back the blanket and stared down in disbelief and shock.
'How could he not be in bed?'
'He was asleep when I fell asleep.'
'He has never done this before.'
All these thoughts coursed through out her mind as the young woman tried not to panic. Throwing on one of her native dresses as quickly as possible Pocahontas raced out of her hut not even bothering to shut it properly. Her first stop was to her father's hut as Pocahontas yelled for him over the rain.
"Daughter?" Powhatan questioned as he opened the flap and tried to usher her inside.
"Taye is gone! Is he here?"
Powhatan glanced back in his hut before joining his daughter outside in the driving rain, "No, I have not seen him since before dinner. Are you certain he is not?-"
"I am certain!" she yelled as more lightning strikes came followed by the boom of thunder. The lightning lit up the area they were in, allowing Pocahontas to see that her son was not around them.
"We need to look for him!"
"Calm down," Powhatan said, "I will go ask around the village. You go and see if Nakoma has seen him."
Pocahontas nodded, heading towards Nakoma's hut. She was half way there before she tripped and found herself flat on the ground. She cursed as she was now covered in mud, and her ankle was painful to stand on. Looking down, Pocahontas snatched the worn out misshapen bear that Taye had so desperately wanted before he had gone to bed. The young woman groaned in annoyance at herself as she noticed her father's warriors coming out of their huts.
"Father!" she shouted as she began to run towards the chief. Her ankle was hurting, however the young woman ignored the pain as Powhatan ran up to his only child.
"I have a feeling I know where he may be," Pocahontas said as she held up the muddy bear, "I told him we would go and get this tomorrow. He must have brought it back with him and had forgotten."
Powhatan nodded, "I will send Mantuwa to follow you-"
"No, I'll be alright-"
"Pocahontas," Powhatan began as he leaned close to her in order to be heard over the screaming winds, "You are my daughter, and I am sending someone."
Pocahontas watched her father walk swiftly over towards another hut. The young woman dashed off in another direction, stuffing the bear in to a pocket in her dress as she ran. Her dark eyes went around the cornfields, and she could hear the other villagers start looking for him as she ran.
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"Tie that one down, now pull!!"
It was hard to shout over the wind and rain, harder still to keep the ship afloat while trying to anchor it. John smith's prediction had come true, and the captain's crew along with other men from the settlement helped secure the ship.
"That's all we can do," John said as all of them began to fight the longboats to shore. The storm was starting to calm, however John knew it would be several hours before the danger would pass. It took some effort, however everyone was able to make it to dry land.
Slinging a pack over his shoulder John stood and gazed around the settlement. Much had changed in the years that he had been absent, and even in the middle of all of this his mind strayed to Pocahontas. Was she in her bed, warm and away from the storm? John's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a shout from his left.
"Captain, the people's houses," a man was running towards him now, "Some people need help with their house."
John followed the young crewmember, lightning flashing across the sky allowing him to see the scene in front of him.
"Thomas?!"
"John Smith?!"
"You're house, let me help," John said as he quickly grabbed a piece of wood.
"What are you doing here?!"
The men yelled back and forth, nailing up the boards as best as they could. A young child's screaming could be heard above the storm.
"That's my daughter Jane!" Thomas yelled as despite everything the captain grinned at his friend.
"Thomas, Thomas!!!!"
Both men turned in unison to see a woman running towards them. More lightning strikes came and John could see the face of his beloved before the thunder sounded
"Pocahontas!." Thomas yelled as John stood in the pouring rain with a shocked expression on his face.
"Thomas, Taye is missing! My son is gone!"
She hadn't seen John yet, and John felt like his world was fading quickly.
'A son?' he thought as his heart sped up.
"He left my hut, find a…" her words trailed off as John looked at her in surprise. She had a child, why would he be in Jamestown and during this storm? Not to mention she looked a mess, her clothes and hair splattered with mud.
"We'll find him!" John shouted as he began sprinting towards them. He watched her as she tore away from Thomas.
"Where is he?!" she shouted as her dark eyes landed on him. Shock and surprise crossed her face as she stared unmoving from her spot at the captain.
"We will find your son," John found himself saying as his feet were moving towards her. He could make out the sound of the mud gathering on his boots as he walked until he was directly in front of her.
"We'll find him," he said as she gasped his name the expression of shock and surprise not leaving her face.
"John Smith?" she whispered as a sudden yell startled them both.
"Princess! Princess! I have found Taye!"
It was Mantuwa, the man that her father had said he would send after her. He held up a soaking wet Taye who was clinging to his shoulder.
"Taye!" Pocahontas yelled as tears of relief ran down her face. She ran to the young warrior, all the while making frantic hand gestures to her son and the young man. John took a step back, feeling suddenly very awkward.
"I'm going to try and find an inn," John said to Thomas as he had turned away from the scene in front of him.
"No you won't," Thomas spoke, "You'll get yourself cleaned up and you'll stay in my house along with Pocahontas and Taye."
"I won't have them go all that way back to the village," a blonde woman smiled at Thomas, a little girl holding her hand in the doorway.
"Thomas, I do not think that man would let her and his child-"
Thomas glanced over at Pocahontas and the man that were talking not far off. The rain had turned in to a steady light downpour now, and Thomas watched as Pocahontas took Taye from the man's arms.
"John," Thomas began as he neared the other man. When the captain looked as if he were going to speak Thomas held up a hand in order to silence him, "The child is yours."
The sudden revelation startled John in to total silence. He looked at Pocahontas as she neared Thomas's house, and Thomas and Fiona took a step back.
"Come now," Fiona spoke to Pocahontas, "I will clean Taye up and get you situated."
The three people followed the couple in to the small house, Pocahontas still carrying a softly crying child.
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"He's asleep now," Pocahontas whispered as she smoothed the young boy's hair away from his face. John Smith stood in the doorway, gazing at her as she straightened up and looked at him.
"John, I well," she took a deep breath, "John, Taye is your son."
"I know," he said as he cautiously stepped in to the small spare room that Thomas had lent to Pocahontas and her son. After getting cleaned up Thomas had offered John the couch to which the captain was grateful for. However now, sleep would not come to the young man. Not until he would speak with Pocahontas.
"Why did you not write to me?" she inquired, sitting on a chair that was beside the window. Her dark eyes were gazing out that said window, watching the rain fall out of the sky.
"Why did you not tell me I had a son?" John retorted, walking over and standing beside the chair.
"Why did you wait so long to come back to me?"
There was a pause for a moment before John spoke, "Just, things happened in England-"
"What happened? Why did you never write to me?"
"Pocahontas," he sighed as Taye shifted in his sleep, "My wound got infected. I stayed in hospital longer than I would have liked. I didn't have the money to pay the doctor so I had to sell a lot of my mother's possessions. I didn't want to, if only there had been another…"
Pocahontas nodded, "I understand, I know that must have been hard for you."
"Yes, it was," John replied after a moment before he softly cleared his throat, "I came back to be with you. I was going through everything with out you and I desperately wanted to be near you."
"I know what that's like," she said as John sat on the floor beside her, "I always told Taye about you. I always told him about you when he asked why the other kids had dads and he did not. He is going to be so happy to get to finally know you."
John gently took her hand in to his own as Pocahontas turned to him. There gazes locked on one another, and John could feel himself leaning closer towards her.
"I want to get to know him as well. I want to know his favorite color, his favorite food, toy, bedtime story and I just want to be there for you and him. I always thought about a family with you, it looks like I have one already."
Pocahontas smiled, "He's a handful."
A deep chuckle was her reply, and Pocahontas found herself longing to hear it for the rest of her days. He leaned in and softly kissed her, his other hand reaching so that now he could hold both of her hands in his own. Pocahontas kissed him back, squeezing his hands as to not only reassure her that this was not a dream but to reassure him of her love for him.
"John?" she softly whispered after the kiss had ended.
He opened his eyes to gaze at her, "Yes, Pocahontas?"
"His favorite food is corn stew, his favorite color is green, his favorite toy is a ragged cloth bear and his favorite bedtime story is when I tell him about the time I rescued you and everyone in Jamestown are now all friends."
John Grinned as he kissed her again, "It's a new start."
He stood up then, "I'll be on the couch if you need anything."
"Alright," she replied as he bent slightly to embrace her sitting on the chair. She hugged him back, smiling as he released her. She watched him head out the door, shutting it softly behind him.
"A new start," she softly whispered as she got in to bed with Taye. Pulling the blanket around them both she settled down in order to get some sleep before dawn, "It certainly is," she whispered as she closed her eyes.
"A new start for our family."
----End of, "Family."-----