100 REVIEWS & OVER 6,000 VIEWS! AHHH!

As B.E.N. would say - Hoozah! Thank you everyone so much! *throws a fiesta* You get a humpback whale! And you get a humpback whale! Uh... Dane Cook jokes? Anyone? No? ...Alrighty then, moving along.

Seriously, you guys - Thank you so much! If I ever meet any of my readers/reviewers in real life, I'll give you some Girl Scout Cookies.

Now, without further ado, what you all came to see - the story. AND to celebrate 100 reviews and over 6,000 views (and because I couldn't decide on a good stopping place), it's another long one :)

Enjoy!


--Tabitha's POV--

I'd only felt this lost one other time in my life: the day of the mutiny on the Legacy, when I'd had a fight with both Silver and Jim. I had so many questions: Charlotte and Ivan are married? Is she in on Ivan's plan? Why didn't Ivan tell us? Why did the Commodore just leave us? Is this the right thing? What am I even doing here?

Jim pulled me up to the front door and knocked.

"But what if Ivan's here?" Rylee asked in a worried whisper. "What are we going to do?"

"Then we won't go in," Cason whispered back.

"But what about Charlotte? Can we trust her if she's married to Ivan?" Theodore asked.

"We have to, at least somewhat. Tabitha wants to find out about her family," August replied.

"Everyone relax - we'll be fine as long as we stick together," Landon whispered.

I listened to my friends voicing some of the concerns that were running through my head, but their queries were lost in my tumultuous stream of consciousness.

The door slowly swung open, and there stood my second-cousin. My family.

My first thought was how beautiful she was. She appeared a bit older than my parents would have been, but not old by any means. She was taller than me, about Jim's height, and had a medium build. Her hair was black, but graying, and her eyes were a bright blue. There was nothing in particular that stood out about her, she was just... pretty.

"Um, hi," Jim said. "My name is Jim Hawk- "

"Oh, yes of course! I've been expecting you," Charlotte interrupted. "Come in, come in."

"Oh, um, thank you, but, um - " Jim stuttered, not really sure how to address the next issue. "Is Ivan here?"

"Not right now," she said confusedly.

"Okay, um..." Jim looked back at the rest of our friends before his eyes landed on me. I don't know what he was expecting, but all I did was stare back at him in my still dazed state.

"You do want to come in, don't you?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah..." Jim answered hesitantly.

We entered the house like a school of fish, none of us shifting more than a few inches away from the person next to us.

"Please, have a seat," Charlotte gestured to the furniture in the parlor we were now standing in. "Would you like something to drink?"

Everyone mumbled various 'no's, except for me and Jim; I was too overwhelmed to say anything, and I could feel Jim's stare focused on me. We all took our seats on the couches and chairs... and then it was silent. It was the weirdest silence I've ever experienced - tense, awkward, hopeful, worried, and filled to the brim with questions. Not to mention hot; the indoors were slightly cooler than outside, but not drastically. I could see that everyone was looking as uncomfortable on the outside as I did on the inside.

"Please, don't believe you need to stay so formal on my account," Charlotte finally said. "I know a lot of people wouldn't consider it proper, but feel free to remove your coats if the heat is getting to you. I don't mind in the least."

They didn't need to be told twice; after a brief pause to look at each other and verify this was okay, the boys all removed their coats, sighing gratefully at the small amount of relief this brought. Rylee however declined the offer and was content to simply keep fanning herself. The heat wasn't bothering me - I grew up here, I was used to it - and even if it had been, comfort was currently at the bottom of my priority list.

And then it was back - that heavy level of quiet that was pressing on all of us. I was sitting between Jim and Graham on a couch, Rylee and Cason were on a smaller love-seat, and everyone else was scattered on various chairs. I knew everyone was waiting on me to be the first to speak, but what was I supposed to say? I didn't know where to begin.

"You're my second-cousin," I finally said, half asking a question, half stating a fact.

"Yes. Your mother's cousin," Charlotte answered.

"And... you knew my parents well?"

"In a way," Charlotte answered. "I knew your father well, but not your mother. Our families weren't on the best of terms, and I never got the chance to meet her before she passed away. Everything I know of her I know on a second hand basis."

"Can you tell me about them?"

"What would you like to know?"

I started. What do I want to know? I'd never thought of specific questions... "I... just want to know about them."

Charlotte blinked and adjusted her position in her chair. "Very well then. Why don't you tell me what you already know, and I'll fill in any gaps that you have?"

"Um, okay," I took a deep breath and began. "Well, my dad... all I really know about him is that he worked for a company that builds ships, and that I just learned earlier today. Other than that, I only have a couple of scattered memories from when I was younger... and my mom... I remember a little about when she got sick, and a few things I learned by reading her diaries... and people say that I look just like her... that's really about it, I guess."

"Well, I'll do what I can, but I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure what to tell you," Charlotte said apologetically. "As I said, I didn't know your mother, but I've heard that she was very smart, very shy, and very beautiful. I've seen pictures of her, and you do look remarkably similar to her. I know she loved books. Not the holographic kind we have, but old books, novels, that you have to read cover to cover."

"I remember that..." I smiled to myself.

Charlotte sighed. "I'm afraid that's really all I could tell you about her. Your father, now, I grew to know personally. He was smart enough, I suppose, but didn't stand out in the same way your mother did. He was always smiling, always laughing... always bragging about you."

"Really?"

"Yes," she smiled. "About how you were just like your mother - how beautiful you were, how smart you were, how you loved to read, how you never complained, no matter what was asked of you."

"He really said all that?"

"Of course. He loved you dearly, Tabitha."

I didn't understand. My dad never - NEVER - said anything encouraging like that to me. He never said I was beautiful, or smart, or just like my mother... or that he loved me, yet he'd apparently bragged about me to every person he'd ever spoken to. Not to mention that he even knew these things; e was hardly ever home - I didn't have anyone to complain to, and how did he know I liked to read?

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I really don't know what else to say, unless you have specific questions you'd like to ask."

"Oh..." I sighed in disappointment. I couldn't think of anything else... I couldn't think of anything really... "I-I just..."

That's when it hit me - suddenly, unexpectedly - it wasn't that I wanted to know about my parents, i just wanted to know them.

For the first time in my life, I genuinely, truly missed my them. I don't know what caused it - maybe it was being with Charlotte, maybe it was hearing about them, maybe it was just being back on Lacuna - but I felt like I was reliving their deaths all over again, except this time, I really, really, felt it. I'd always missed them, of course, but this... this was genuine grieving. This was craving something I'd never really appreciated. This was yearning for something I could never have. This was...

"C-can I use the washroom?"

"Um," Charlotte said, a bit taken aback. "Yes, of course. Just down the hall - second door on the left."

"Thank you," I mumbled as I stood up.

As my hand slipped out of Jim's, I felt him stand up to, and I knew he was watching me with concern, but I wasn't going to turn around. I wasn't sure what was happening to me, if I was about to cry, or faint, or throw-up, but I needed to be somewhere else, away from my friends and family. I had not been at all prepared to have some kind of emotional epiphany in the midst of everything.

I closed the door to the washroom behind me, closed my eyes, and sank to the floor.


--Jim's POV--

Something was wrong, really wrong, with Tabitha. Before she even asked to be excused, I could see the color draining from her face and knew something was up. Then she'd rushed out of the room so quickly I hadn't even had time to ask if she was alright.

"So... you're Jim Hawkins?"

"Hmm?" I turned to Charlotte, trying to focus on what it was she had just asked. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I am."

She nodded and addressed everyone else in the same fashion. I was still staring after Tabitha.

"You could sit back down you know," Charlotte said with a small smile.

"Oh, yeah, um, right." I did, but I wasn't any less anxious about Tabitha's situation.

"Where's Silver?" she questioned.

"What?"

"John Silver," she repeated. "Ivan told me that he would be with you."

"Oh, yeah, he was supposed to be, but..." Jim struggled for an explanation. "There was a change in plans."

"Oh. I see..." She sounded disappointed.

"Um, so, you and Ivan are married?"

"What?" she said in surprised. "Oh, no, no. Where did you hear that?"

I sensed everyone's heads turning in surprise to look at the others for an explanation.

"Mr. Darcy said that your last name - "

"Oh, Mr. Darcy... no, we only tell people that to avoid getting a reputation," she explained. "We're in a relationship, yes, but we were living together even before that. When Ivan came to me after Tabitha left, he needed a place to stay, so I let him stay with me. It's just... slowly turned into more since then."

"I guess that makes sense..." I muttered.

Charlotte looked me over. "Is something the matter?"

It's just that your husbands a liar. "It's just that the way Ivan described everything made it seem like the two of you didn't actually know each other that well."

"Well, he hasn't been staying here the whole time. He's still a spacer; he's away on voyages fairly often," she shrugged.

Before I could question anything else, the sound of a key in a lock was heard. The front door swung open, revealing none other than Ivan himself. I was instantly back on my feet, quickly followed by Graham and the rest of the boys and almost Rylee, until Cason put a hand on her shoulder and made her sit back down.

"Hawkins! You finally made it! I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming," he chuckled as he hung up his coat and surveyed the group gathered in his house. "Where is Tabitha? And Silver?"

"She's just in the washroom, and he couldn't come. There was apparently a change in plans," Charlotte explained as she walked over and quickly kissed her... boyfriend?

No - there was something not right about it. The way they were together... it didn't look real. It looked like an act. Ivan didn't embrace Charlotte, didn't act like he missed her. I embrace Tabitha if I'm away from her for more than a few hours.

But then again, Charlotte didn't look like she wanted to be embraced. Something about her posture made it seem as if she didn't want to be touched.

They looked like magnets, magnets with the same polar side that were being forced together, or acquaintances that hadn't seen each other in a long time and now that they'd run back into each other, were unsure of how to react.

Charlotte was smiling, but her eyes were completely void of emotion. Ivan was almost the same way, though his eyes did have some kind of emotion. It wasn't the way Tabitha looked at me, or the way Cason looked at Rylee - it wasn't love, it was... something else. Something that seemed familiar, but not welcome.

"Well, by all means, have a seat," Ivan said to us.

Nobody moved a muscle. I just stood there and glared at him as my brain worked through various plans of how to handle this situation. You have to wait for Tabitha to go get back, or maybe you should just go get her. You need to get her out of here - now.

"Is something wrong?" he laughed nervously.

"Don't play games, Bryne," I said bitterly. "Silver told us everything."

He started. "Everything about what?"

As I opened my mouth to answer, Tabitha re-entered the room and everyone turned their attention to her. She stopped, and looked around from person to person, hesitating for a moment when her sights landed on Ivan, then they were back to me, then Ivan -

"Tabitha, my dear! So good to see you!" he said happily as he walked over to greet her.

I didn't even make the decision to rush to the other side of the room; I was just suddenly there, standing between him and Tabitha. "Don't touch her."

He stepped back, looking shocked. "What in Heaven's name have I done to upset you?"

I was not in the mood for this act. I just wanted to get out of there, get Tabitha as far away as possible from. "You know damn well what you did. Come on, we're leaving."

Without another word, I grabbed Tabitha's clammy hand and had to nearly drag her as we pushed past Charlotte and Ivan and left, followed by everyone else. It wasn't until we were almost back down to the sidewalk and well out of hearing range that I opened my mouth again.

"Are you alright?" I asked Tabitha.

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She looked at me curiously, then shifted her gaze, as if not entirely sure where she was.

"Wait!" Ivan said as he rushed after us. "Please!"

"What?" I questioned angrily as I turned back to face him.

"There must have been some kind of misunderstanding," he stammered. "I don't have the faintest idea what it is you're referring to."

I scoffed. "Your little plan? The one you told Silver about? Sound familiar?"

Ivan blinked and looked to Tabitha.

"Forget it," I said as I turned to leave again.

"No, wait," he called. "Please, just come inside and we can discuss - "

"No, we aren't coming back inside and there's nothing to discuss!" I shouted.

"Jim," Landon said warningly as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ignore it. Let's just leave."

Once again, we turned to leave the baffled Ivan standing on the sidewalk gawking at us.

"Wait, I don't... " Tabitha suddenly began.

Resisting the urge to sigh impatiently, I turned to her. "What?"

"Charlotte..." she said. "I... my family..."

Damn it, why does this have to be so complicated? Why does the one thing Tabitha want most have to be tied to the one thing that's out to get her?

"Please," Charlotte said. She was now standing by Ivan's side, looking almost as startled as him. "Just come back so we can talk about this. I'm sure there's a logical explanation."

Sighing for even considering going back with them, I turned to everyone else. "Well?"

"I think we should go back," Rylee said immediately.

"What?" Cason turned on her.

"Jim, Tabitha will be safe as long as we're all there with her," Graham suggested. The others nodded in agreement.

Thanks you guys - you were supposed to back me up. "That is not the answer I wanted to hear." Damn it. What am I doing? I sighed. "Tabitha?"

She looked up at me. She didn't say anything, but I could tell what she wanted just by looking in her eyes. Their was so much hope, she might as well have been screaming she wanted to go back.

I took a deep breath and turned back to Ivan & Charlotte. "Fine."


As part of the compromise, the group decided they would sit outside on the patio instead of going back inside. Because there was less seating, Rylee and Tabitha were sharing a small couch, as were Charlotte and Ivan. Landon and August were each in their own chair. Theodore was balanced on the railing surrounding the porch, Graham was leaning against it, and Jim was pacing.

There'd already been an awkward explanation voiced by Jim and Tabitha; throughout the story, Jim had been angry, while Tabitha was perplexed, causing the retelling of what Silver had told them to be confusing and hard to keep up with, as was now evident by the stunned looks on Charlotte and Ivan's faces.

Charlotte finally cleared her throat. "Why... don't I go get everyone some refreshments? What would you all like?"

Everyone else turned her down again, except Tabitha, who requested water. Charlotte got up to go get it, but Ivan put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"No, I'll do it," he said. As he stood up, he shook his head and sighed, as if not entirely sure what to make of the explanation.

That dark silence was back once again. Everyone just sat there staring at each other. It was unclear where they went from here.

"Were you in on this?" Jim asked Charlotte bluntly. It sounded rude, but he was done with putting up fake facades. Everything was out in the open now - what did they have to lose?

Charlotte blinked in surprise. "No. I don't know anything about this."

Jim rolled his eyes and continued pacing.

"I don't think Ivan does either," she continued.

He stopped. "What?"

"I don't think Ivan ever made that plan. It just doesn't sound like him."

Jim scoffed. Ivan came back out carrying a glass of what one could assume was alcohol for himself and a glass of water for Tabitha.

"Here you are," he said as he handed it to her.

Without a word, she quickly downed the entire glass as if she hadn't had anything to drink in days.

"Would... you like some more?" Ivan asked in an unsure way.

Tabitha shook her head as Ivan retook his seat next to Charlotte.

"What now?" Tabitha finally voiced the question they'd all been thinking.

"Well, I got to hear your side. I think it's time you hear mine," Ivan suggested. When no one objected, he went on. "Tabitha, Jim, all of you - I... I really don't know how to say this, but I... I've never said any of that."

"Yeah, likely story," Jim said.

"Please, listen," Ivan begged. "If you'll only hear me out, then I think you'll see that it really doesn't make any sense -

"I don't really care what phony explanation you have to cover up with," Jim snapped.

"Well obviously someone here must or you would have just left," Ivan said bitterly. "I understand why you must be angry, but please... " When Jim only rolled his eyes as a response, Ivan sighed. "Jim, if this actually was my plan, why in Heaven's name would I have told Silver about it?"

"Because you used to be friends," Tabitha quietly spoke up.

Ivan turned his attention to her. "Even so, I know how attached he is to you. I wouldn't go flaunting a plan to harm you to someone you said was practically your father."

"Then why would he just make all of this up?" she countered.

"Perhaps to distract the attention away from himself," Charlotte suggested.

Jim stopped and turned on her. "Are you saying that this was all Silver's plan?"

"Well wouldn't that make more sense?"

"No!" Tabitha and Jim said at the same time.

"But... with that night he saved you in the alley..." Charlotte began.

"What about it?" Tabitha queried.

Charlotte and Ivan looked at each other, then he looked back to Tabitha. "Tabitha... did Silver ever tell you about that night?"

"He didn't need to tell me. I was there," she said sarcastically.

"No, I mean..." he sighed impatiently. "Look, I know the two of you are really close now, but did he ever explain his initial reasons for taking you in?"

Tabitha shifted uncomfortably. "No..."

"Oh, well he..." Ivan sighed. "Let me just start at the beginning. That night, Silver had been at one of the taverns, the same tavern that Charlotte here had been in. That was the night she let slip about you and the fortune - "

"Which I should apologize for," she interrupted. "I'm so very sorry, Tabitha. When the night started out, Ivan and I were out searching for you. We split up, and then I stopped for a drink. 1 drink turned into 4 and pretty soon..." she sighed. "I'm so sorry."

Tabitha said nothing, but her face read that she was clearly considering her cousins request to forgive her.

"Yes, so we were both in the area that night. The tavern that Charlotte was in was, of course, filled with spacers and pirates alike, Silver included. At the time, he didn't think much of the story, assuming it was just that - a story, not actually based on fact. Later, when he saved you from those men, he did that out of the kindness of his heart, but the next day, when he offered to let you stay with him, that was because he assumed you were the girl from the story, the one that could lead him to the fortune."

Tabitha was completely confounded. "How... how do you know all that?"

"Well, obviously, if he had told then me he'd found the Alexander girl, I would have known it was you and would have rescued you right then and there - "

Tabitha gritted her teeth at the word 'rescued'. She didn't need to be 'rescued' from Silver.

" - but I didn't find out till later, after the two of you had already departed. And even then, the only story I ever heard about it was from the owner of the inn that you'd stayed at. He said a cyborg had left with a young girl... I put two and two together and concluded that, since we couldn't find you anywhere here on Lacuna, and nobody else had claimed they saw you, you were now with Silver. That was the only basis of information Charlotte and I had to look for you over the next eight years."

Tabitha looked, and felt, as if she'd just unexpectedly been doused with ice cold water. Everyone sat staring at her and Jim, waiting for one of them to have an outburst of some kind.

"That..." Jim began, surprising everyone with how calm he was. "That makes a lot of sense."

"It should. It's the truth," Charlotte said kindly.

"So you're saying the whole time I was with Silver, he was only using to me to find that fortune? That fortune I knew absolutely nothing about?" Tabitha nearly shouted.

"I hardly think he knew you didn't know about it, but yes, that's why he let you stay with him," Ivan said solemnly. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it is the truth."

The truth. Tabitha couldn't bear to here those words. This was not the truth. She didn't care if it made a lot of sense. Silver was not... no, it just wasn't true.

Then there it was again - that weakening, nauseating feeling she'd had earlier. She managed to keep it to a minimum since she'd left the washroom, but now it was back, stronger than before, and she was certain something was going to happen if she didn't get out fast.

Rylee was first to notice Tabitha's distress this time. "Tabitha?" she asked quietly.

At the worried tone, Jim stopped pacing and turned to face her.

"I want to leave." It was all Tabitha could manage to say. She couldn't stand around giving explanations, or stand at all for that matter. She got up determinedly, but her legs weren't as willing to comply. Rylee stood up to help, but Tabitha stumbled in the opposite direction and was supported by the expectant Graham.

Jim started to go over to her, but Tabitha quickly shook Graham off and stood on her own.

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asked in concern.

"I want to leave," she repeated more slowly.

"I am sorry, Tabitha," Ivan sighed as he walked over to her. "I know this must be hard for..."

But his words were lost before Tabitha could focus on them. It felt like someone had stuffed her ears with cotton. Her vision was blurring, but she could make out the outlines of several people standing around her... too many people... everyone was much too close...

Rylee was the first to figure it out. "She's going to faint," she hurriedly explained to Jim.

Jim rushed over to join the crowd around her as well. If he said anything, Tabitha didn't hear it. She just shook her head - no, no she would not faint.

Then her vision was all but gone completely, and that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach was moving upwards, slowly overwhelming her... she was going to be sick. That is what her mind chose to focus on: You're going to be sick. Get to the edge of the porch now.

"Tabitha..."

She shook her head again. Before she could lose her vision completely, she pushed past the people surrounding her and stumbled to where she was pretty sure the railing was. Theodore had just enough time to get out of the way before Tabitha came rushing to the side and started retching.

"Tabitha!" Jim cried out.

But she didn't hear his voice... or see him standing beside her... or feel his hand on her back...

Everything was black... just black.


The walk back to the ship was uncomfortable, pressured, and silent as the grave.

The teens not directly involved in the conflict kept quiet, as they had most of the night. This was not their place to interfere. All of their opinions on the subject would be kept between them, especially at the moment. The commodore and Jim, carrying Tabitha, who kept coming in and out of either sleep or consciousness or something in between, led the group.

"I'm sorry," Commodore Aldamae said once again. "I shouldn't have let you go alone."

Jim said nothing in return.

"What was it that happened that had such an effect on Tabitha?"

At the sound of her name, or perhaps just by coincidence, she moaned and turned her head slightly. Jim look down at her, still refusing to say anything.

"She will be alright, you know," the commodore said to the worried boy.

"She'd better be," Jim mumbled under his breath. He knew it wasn't the commodore's fault. Even if he'd been there, the scene would have played out basically the same. This just gave him someone to blame without having to put a lot of thought into who was actually at fault.

The commodore sighed remorsefully, giving up on conversation.

"You said Silver told you everything?" Jim finally asked.

Commodore Aldamae glanced over at him. "He did."

"Including the night he saved Tabitha?"

"Yes."

"What did he say?" Jim's voice was rough from pushing back emotions. Anger, sadness, confusion, worry - all fighting for a place.

"Several men went after her in an alley. Silver intervened and saved her."

"And then?" Jim asked expectantly.

"Then she fainted and he took her to the inn where he let her spend the night."

"And then?"

The commodore faltered, unsure of what it was the boy wanted. "Then she told him his name and what she was doing at the spaceport... and Silver offered her a job."

"Why?"

The commodore almost stopped walking in surprise. "I'm sorry?"

"Why? Why did he take her in?" Jim demanded.

"I don't know, I suppose he felt sorry for her," the commodore answered, his own temper rising now. "What was he supposed to do? Let her go out alone and have the same thing happen to her again? She was alone in the world."

Jim scoffed at the empty reasoning. Silver had been a pirate. Pirates didn't just take in orphan girls because they felt sorry for them. Another part of his mind argued that they probably wouldn't save a girl in an alley either... but that was different. If Silver had had any morals left, he would have of course saved her like he did. There was no reason for him to take her in. That was a full time commitment, one that was unnecessary unless he was getting something in return... something like a fortune.

"What exactly do you want to hear from me, Jim?" the commodore asked.

"Forget it," Jim sighed as they finally reached the ship.

The commodore stopped at the bottom of the plank, but Jim continued on. The rest of his friends stopped behind the commodore.

"Can one of you please explain what's going on?" Commodore Aldamae sounded desperate.

The looked to each other, but Landon was the one who spoke up. "I... don't think we can. We've just been the bystanders in all of this... If anyone's going to explain anything, it needs to be Jim and Tabitha."

The commodore nodded, but was clearly upset by the situation.

"Besides..." August said. "We don't really know... what to tell you."

"I understand... sort of," Commodore Aldamae chuckled halfheartedly.

The teens returned the sad smile and continued up to the ship.

The commodore stayed in place. "Oh! And, I realize this is horrid timing, but we've been invited to a party, at the Darcy's home tomorrow night."

"Oh, boy," Graham said. "That's going to be the last thing Jim needs to hear right now."

"Not to mention Tabitha," Rylee added.

As the reached the ship and split up, Commodore Aldamae turned and headed back into town, navigating his way through the now mostly empty streets until he reached the place he was looking for.


The next thing Tabitha remembered feeling was hot. Her arms, her legs, her back, her chest... she was burning up.

She couldn't figure out if she was semi-conscious or just too sleepy to open her eyes, but either way, it was taking her a while to adjust to her surroundings. First she realized she was cold, then that she was on a bed, then that she wasn't wearing the ensemble she'd had on earlier, then that there was someone else in the room...

Slowly she opened her eyes. "Rylee?"

"Huh, August was right," the girl sitting beside her answered. "That stuff really will wake you up."

"What...?"

"Happened?" she filled in. "You're sick... or something. You threw up and then fainted. Jim carried you back, and then August suggested we feed you Aglettian roots. He said it would help wake you up."

"I'm hot," Tabitha responded as if she hadn't heard a word her friend had spoken to her. "Where's Jim?"

Rylee sighed. "He's kind of... stressed out right now. I don't really know..."

"What about everyone else?" Tabitha asked quietly, now a bit more cognizant of her surroundings. "The commodore?"

"No one's really said anything yet. We were mostly focused on you," she shrugged. "The commodore's really confused. Jim wouldn't tell him what Ivan said."

"Why?"

"I don't know, and I haven't had the time to ask. Jim asked me to come take care of you, help you change into something cooler to help with the fever and stuff."

That's why she wasn't wearing the outfit she'd had on earlier; Rylee had stripped her of her the cotton skirt and jacket along with the shirt and petticoats.

"What do you think?"

"About... all of this?"

Tabitha nodded.

Rylee sighed and walked over to the water basin. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You just don't want to tell me," Tabitha countered.

Rylee laughed sadly. "Yeah, you're right," she placed a cool wet-rag to Tabitha's forehead, "I think... that I still believe Silver."

"Good," Tabitha sighed. Rylee looked at her questioningly and she continued. "I'm glad I'm not the only one. I felt kind of stupid, still believing him, but I just... I just can't believe Ivan."

Rylee smiled. "Have I ever told you how much I envy you?"

"What?" Tabitha almost laughed. "Why? You wish you were at the center of all this attention?"

"Not exactly..." she said earnestly. "It's that you're... you're so strong."

Tabitha opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't know what.

"Even through all of this, you've kept smiling. You know what you want, and you go after it. You always know exactly what to do, and... you've got Jim and Silver and Ivan and Charlotte... and I can barely even deal with a relationship with Cason!" Rylee choked.

Tabitha pushed herself up and reached a hand out to her crying friend. "Ry..."

"God, you see?" she laughed through the tears. "You're dealing with all of this, and I'm the one crying."

"What happened?" Tabitha asked. "Why are you upset?"

"No. You've already got a lot on your mind - "

"I can make room for my best friend!" Tabitha assured her. "Talk to me."

"It's not that bad. Really, I'm overreacting..." she took a deep breath and dabbed her eyes. "Cason... we had a fight."

"What?" Tabitha gasped. "Why? When?

"Just a little while ago. August said something about how he didn't know what to say about all of this and it sparked a conversation between all of us and we realized that we're kind of split down the middle on who we want to believe. Graham, Theodore, and I are all still taking Silver's side, but Cason and Landon and August kind of believe Ivan..."

"Oh." Tabitha couldn't help feeling guilty. If her friends were starting to take sides and fight with each other, then she was to blame. She was what caused all of this.

"But don't worry about it. We've already decided we're not going to try to influence what you and Jim want to believe. We're behind you, whatever you decide."

"Thanks, I guess," Tabitha said. "And hey, if it makes you feel any better, Cason's going to apologize. Probably tonight."

"I doubt it," Rylee scoffed as she dried her eyes.

"Well you're wrong. He likes you too much not to," Tabitha laughed. "I mean, have you seen the way he looks at you?"

"Oh, stop," Rylee blushed.

"I really am serious, Ry. He loves you."

Rylee blanched. "What? No, he..."

Tabitha smiled. "He looks at you the same way Jim looks at me..."

Rylee looked off dreamily, trying to remember that look.

"I bet he's on his way down here to apologize as we speak," Tabitha smirked.

And then Rylee did something Tabitha wasn't expecting at all - she hugged her.

"How do you always know what to say?" Rylee asked.

"I'm your best friend. It's in the job description."

They laughed, but were quickly interrupted by a knock at the door. Rylee raised her eyebrows as if asking if it was okay. Tabitha nodded and pulled the sheet up to cover her, then started to pull her hair into a ponytail to help cool her off. Rylee opened the door and was greeted by Jim.

"Is she awake?"

"Yeah," Rylee said as she swung the door open farther.

Jim walked over to the bed. Rylee started to shut the door, but was stopped when someone spoke up just as she was about to shut it.

"Rylee?"

She opened it back up, not quite as wide. "Oh. Cason."

"Hey, I just... are you... um, is Tabitha okay?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Good," he answered. "Um, I... can... can I talk to you?"

"Um... okay," Rylee said. "Hang on..."

"Okay."

Rylee shut the door and turned back to Tabitha, who smirked. "Told you so."

"How do you do that?" Rylee asked in a hushed whisper.

"Go. Make out - oh, I mean up - with your boyfriend," Tabitha teased.

"Shut up!" Rylee blushed, but laughed right along with her as she left the room.

Tabitha turned back to face Jim and her smile fell. "Jim, I'm fine."

Jim was either concerned, or angry, or gult-ridden, or all of the above. "What happened?"

"Rylee said I fainted, but - "

"No, before that," he said as he sat down beside her. "Are you sick?"

"I really don't know," she sighed. "I started feeling bad when we were talking to Charlotte, but I thought it... it was just because of what she was telling me, like I was in shock or something. Then it started back up when Ivan told me his side of the story, and I thought it was the same thing, but then it got worse and... I don't know."

"But what actually happened? How did you feel?" Jim asked as he took the washcloth from her and went to wet it with cooler water.

"I just felt... sick. I don't know, Jim, I couldn't really focus on anything and I felt nauseous... and then my vision started to blur and stuff... then I threw up and fainted, and now I'm burning up. I can't figure it out. The symptoms don't really go together."

Jim gave her the washcloth again. "Maybe you really are just in shock or something."

"I guess so."

"But... you're sure you haven't contracted some awful disease?" Jim said, his smirk returning a bit.

"No. I already feel a lot better, actually," Tabitha smiled.

"Good. Now I'm not so worried about doing this." Jim leaned over and kissed her, tenderly, yet ambitiously. When he pulled back, he slumped over as he finally relaxed. "You know, I was... I was actually really scared."

"Scared?" Tabitha questioned.

"Yeah. Watching - " he paused long enough to clear his throat and cover up any emotions that were threatening to reveal themselves in his voice "Watching you faint was... If Rylee hadn't warned me..." He rubbed his neck, unsure of exactly how to explain that wave of terror that overtook him when he saw her collapse. "Please don't ever do that again," he laughed nervously.

"I don't plan to," she laughed. "But... what was so bad about it?"

"It was just... watching you fall like that..." he shook his head as if to clear the image from his mind. "Never mind."

"I really am okay," Tabitha assured him.

"I know," he smiled and cleared his throat once more. "Oh, by the way, since you're feeling okay, we're going to a party tomorrow."

"What?" Tabitha groaned. "Why?"

"The Darcy's invited us," he said, his voice expressing his annoyance as well. "And the commodore sort of already told them we'd be there, before he knew about... this."

"Ugh..."

Jim laughed at her reaction, then his face changed, as if he was seeing her for the first time that night.

"Don't even think about it."

Jim started. "I didn't even say anything!"

"Yeah, but I know what you're thinking."

"What then? Tell me," he challenged.

"You're thinking about the fact that I'm not dressed right now. Right?"

His jaw dropped, but then his smirk was back. "Well, yeah, now that's what I'm thinking about."

"Oh, so you weren't before?" she teased.

"No. I was thinking..." but he dropped off and didn't finish the thought.

"I knew it. You had that look."

"'That look'?" he laughed. "What look?"

"That nervous but excited one. You always get it when you're up to something mischievous."

"Me? Mischievous?" Jim feigned shock. "No..."

Tabitha laughed, glad that the mood had finally let up a bit. "Alright, go over there and face the wall."

"What? Why?"

"Believe it or not, I actually prefer to wear clothes," she laughed.

"Shame."

Tabitha pushed him off the bed but they continued to laugh. Once he'd turned around, she got out and slowly stood up to make sure she wouldn't collapse or anything. Once she was convinced she could stand on her own two feet, she started to pull on some pants and a light-weight shirt as she was still pretty hot.

"I wish I hadn't freaked out so much," she sighed. "I wanted to find out more about my family."

"Well, we can always go back."

"Yeah, and do this all over again? I don't think so."

"It wouldn't be so bad now that we know what's really going on."

"What do you mean?"

"Ivan's story."

"What about it?"

Jim paused. "It makes a lot of sense."

"So?"

"So... I believe him."

Tabitha stopped, unable to believe what she'd just heard.

"Why?" Jim questioned the silence. "Don't you?"

"No."

At that, Jim forgot why he was supposed to remain facing the wall and pivoted back around. "What?"

Luckily, Tabitha was already dressed. "I believe Silver."

"What? Why?"

"What do you mean why? Because I trust him."

"Even after what Ivan told us?" Jim asked.

"Ivan's a liar."

"Yeah, says Silver," he answered. "Ivan's story actually made sense."

"So did Silver's," she argued.

"Not nearly as much though. Don't you remember? Back on Montressor, when Silver told us the story, you said that you felt like something was missing, remember? Well here it is! This fits in perfectly!"

"Well I don't want to believe it."

"Just because you don't want to believe it doesn't mean it isn't true."

She glared at him then shook her head. So much for the mood finally lightening up.

Jim sighed. "I don't want to believe it either, but I don't really have a choice."

"Of course you have a choice!" she shouted.

"Tabitha," he sighed in exasperation. "It just doesn't make any sense. Ivan's right - if he had made that plan, he wouldn't have told Silver about it."

"We already went through this with Silver," she huffed. "He would if he thought that Silver would help him."

"But why would Ivan think Silver would help hurt you? That only makes sense if Silver's plan all along had been to hurt you, like Ivan said."

"But then if we believe that - "

"Look," Jim began sternly. "I know he's been like your father - "

"For eight years! I think that's long enough to figure out if you can trust someone or not. We've known Ivan, what? A month? And we haven't even been around him most of that time."

"Yeah, and five of those years Silver was with you he was only after you're family's fortune and the other three he was God knows where in the galaxy! Come on, you've known that he was a pirate since the Legacy. How many pirates do you think would adopt some orphan girl off the street unless they thought they'd be getting something in return? I know it's hard to - "

"No!" she shouted. "No you don't! You don't even care that he's the only real parent I've ever had."

"Of course I care!" he shouted back. "But now that we know we can trust Ivan, we can go back and find out more about you're real parents. Then you won't - "

"Don't you dare say I won't need him," she turned on him. "And I don't care what Ivan said. After these dreams, I'll never trust him."

"Your dreams?" Jim asked in a tone of near awe that she was finally talking about it. "What about them?"

She sighed for even bringing it up. "Jim, I don't want to talk about - "

"I don't care," he said as he reached out and grabbed her arms. "I'm tired of watching you go through that every night. If it has something to do with Ivan, with any of this, you need to just tell me!"

"Fine!" she said, shaking his hands away. "You won't to know what they're about?"

"Yeah!"

"They're about you - dying. Every single night I have to watch you and Ivan argue, and then he raises a gun and shoots you."

Jim blanched. No wonder they'd bothered her so much. He'd had trouble just watching Tabitha faint once... having to watch her die... every night...

"So, yeah, forgive me for not believing him," she said sarcastically.

Jim snapped out of it. "But a few weeks ago weren't you having dreams about not trusting Silver?"

"I don't know, Jim!" she yelled. "I don't know what they're about! All I can do is guess!"

"So guess that these mean something different!"

"No! Nothing else - " She stopped. She had to. That feeling - the one she hadn't felt in years... It was back. That awful panicky feeling in her chest.

Jim said nothing, just sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger. "Tabitha - "

"Just don't." That awful feeling... that sickening feeling of dread.

"Look, I'm sorry that you don't want to believe the truth, but this is the answer to all our problems. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Happy? How the hell am I supposed to be happy?" she couldn't do this anymore. "How could you?"

"How could you not?" Jim yelled in frustration.

Tabitha stared at him for one intense moment, then turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.


Commodore Aldamae glanced around, then quickly entered the inn, walked over to the table, and joined the person he was there to see.

"You made it," the commodore said. "Seems that tracking device I installed worked pretty well after all."

"Guess so," Silver chuckled. "How's Tabby? Jimbo?"

"Oh, boy, do I have a lot of information for you," Commodore Aldamae sighed regrettably. When Silver looked alarmed, he continued reassuringly. "Don't worry! Everyone's... fine, I suppose."

Silver frowned. "That don't sound too convincin'."

He sighed. "I'll have to start from the beginning to explain it all. First off, you should know that they don't want to go find the fortune."

"Wha'?" Silver asked. "When'd t'ey make tha' decision? Tabby said she was goin' no matter wha' an' - "

The commodore held up a hand to stop him. "They apparently made it before you even left, they just didn't have time to tell you. Tabitha decided she really only wanted to come to Lacuna to talk to Charlotte and find out about her family, so that's all they're doing."

"She 'adn't gone t' talk t' 'er yet, has she?" Silver asked in a slightly panicked voice.

"Well, yes, actually," the commodore explained. "Why?"

"Blast it all..." he muttered. "I figured out that Charlotte must be workin' wit' Ivan. He said she was the one t' blab abou' Tabby's fortune, and he was t'ere wit' me tha' night at the bar - "

"So if he hadn't been working with her, then he would have stopped her and found out where Tabitha was? Correct?" Silver nodded and the commodore sighed. "Well... that might help explain some things."

"What d'ya mean? Wha' happened?"

Commodore Aldamae sighed and rubbed his temples. "I blame myself. We ran into some people, the Darcy's, who not only knew Tabitha's parents, but were old friends of mine. While Tabitha and the rest of the group went to talk to Charlotte, I went to the Darcy's home. It was right down the road from Charlotte's, and Tabitha had all of her friends with her, so I thought she'd be alright, but..."

"Wha'?" Silver asked worriedly. "Wha' happened t' her?"

"When they left and I met back up with them, Tabitha had fainted and - "

"The lass fainted?"

The commodore nodded. "And they all seemed very... put off about something. I thought at first Jim was just worried about Tabitha, but then he seemed angry. He kept questioning the story of what 'really' happened the night you saved Tabitha."

"What'd ya tell 'im?"

"Exactly the same story you told me! I don't know, Silver. Whatever Charlotte said to them... it's changed things. I'm so sorry. I never should have let them go alone."

Silver sighed. "Sooner or later it would 'ave 'appened, no matter what ya did."

"Why don't you just come back Silver?" Commodore Aldamae pleaded.

"Anthony, we been t'rough t'is," Silver told him. "I'm not comin' back. I don' wan' Ivan t' come between Tabby an' me."

"But that's what's happening anyway, isn't it?"

"Yes, but t'is way, 'e can't use me... again. I know it ain't a great plan..." he explained sadly. "But I jus' wanna make sure she's safe."


Tabitha stood out on deck, leaned against the edge, staring out at the galaxies and stars around them.

"Damn it," she mumbled to herself.

Not only was she freezing, but that damn feeling was back. That awful feeling that she hadn't felt in years. That one that told her she should be crying, but she couldn't.

She considered willing the tears to come, but stopped. She didn't want to cry. She'd spent a ridiculous amount of time crying since this all began, and she was sick of it. No, she'd hoped that she could go back to this, not being able to cry. She'd sure not crying at all would be better than crying all the time. Now that it was here and she was having to cope with the awful pressure, she wasn't so sure, but there was nothing she could do beside rub her chest and plead for the feeling to go away.

"Tabitha."

She turned around and came face to face with the commodore, who had suddenly appeared on deck. "Oh. Hello, sir."

"I didn't expect to see you up and about," he smiled.

"Yeah, well..."

"Could I speak to you for a moment?"

"I guess..."

He joined her side. "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"Not really."

"Nothing at all?" he verified. "Not whatever it was Charlotte or Ivan said? Or the nightmare you keep having?"

Tabitha didn't want to talk at all, much less now, much less about anything at all related to Silver or Ivan or her family or Jim...

"No..." she muttered unconvincingly. She continued to feel his gaze boring into her, but she ignored it, keeping her eyes focused on the constellations.

"Tabitha," he began tentatively. "I realize that we've only known each other a matter of days, but please understand that I'm here on behalf of Silver. Anything that you would tell him, you can tell me."

But what would she have told Silver? What was she supposed to say about all of this?

"I miss him." It was the easiest way to sum up what she wanted.

"I know," Commodore Aldamae said softly.

"He told me he wasn't going to leave this time, that he was going to stay..." she said more to herself than the commodore. "Did he tell you why he left? Did he give a reason?"

"Only that he was worried about what Ivan was planning."

"That doesn't make sense!" Tabitha shouted, pushing herself away from the edge of the ship and taking up pacing again. "If he was so worried about me, why didn't he stay to protect me?"

"That's what he's trying to do," Commodore Aldamae explained. "He knows first hand how devious and conniving Ivan can be, and he doesn't want anything to come between the two of you."

Yeah, Tabitha knew all about that. "Well, his leaving kind of creates a gap between us too, you know."

"I realize that," he tried to reason. "But a physical gap can always be mended, where as an emotional gap cannot. Silver already lost a girl he loved once because something, or someone, got in between them. He doesn't want to take any chances with losing you the same way."

"But why is he making me do this all on my own?" she slumped against the edge and sank down.

"You're hardly alone, Tabitha," he said kindly as he surprisingly took a seat too. "Even if you don't want to talk to me, you've got your friends, and Jim of course."

He knew immediately he'd said something wrong. It was as if the very air surrounding Tabitha had changed. She only had half of her friends, and... did she have Jim?

He sighed. "Tabitha, I'm not entirely sure of what's going on, but... I do want to help, in anyway I can."

Damn him and the mention of everything she didn't want to hear about right now. It wasn't his fault of course, but it still irritated her. The feeling overwhelmed her even more, so she simply nodded and turned away again. She couldn't explain things right now. She'd had enough of these awful explanations for one night.

Seeing it was a hopeless case, Commodore Aldamae patted her back once, then stood up and left her. Tabitha didn't move, she just stayed out on deck, freezing, until eventually she fell asleep.


Jim felt awful the instant Tabitha left the room. He should have been easier on her, but no. He let his emotions - his stress, his anger at Silver, the worry he still felt for Tabitha, his surprise that she didn't agree with him - get the best of him. He'd taken it out on her.

Cursing himself, he fell into a fitful sleep. Even in his sleep, his conscience was eating away at him. He had to do something. Hours of the awful tossing and turning later his mind gave up on letting him sleep, and he went to go find Tabitha, to apologize, to... to do something.

To promise to compromise.

It was easy enough to find her - laying out on deck, using her arm as a pillow. Part of his mind said wake her up and apologize - but he didn't want to risk starting another fight - part said carry her to bed - but he wasn't sure if she was still mad - part said just leave her - but she was alone, and shivering.

Settling for something in between, he did the only thing he really could do. He pulled off his jacket, knelt down, and gently laid it over her shoulders, his hand lingering a moment as he brushed her hair out of her face. Despite it's simplicity, it was a comforting gesture and apology rolled into one. Hopefully she would realize that.

Standing back up, he sighed and scratched his neck. He'd given up on sleep altogether for tonight, but he went back to bed anyway, if for no other reason than to be alone for a while so he could concentrate on working this all out.


Tabitha was cold. The sweat from earlier was easily cooled by the night air and she was wearing a thin shirt. And her head hurt from laying on the deck; she slid an arm under to use as a pillow. Only in the half-asleep stage, she knew she shouldn't wake back up. Some small part of her told her if she woke back up, she'd never fall back asleep.

And then she was warm. She welcomed the warmth, not bothering to care where it came from... but then there was that smell. That smell she recognized beyond a shadow of a doubt, that couldn't be mistaken for anything else. Sweat and soap and something else... Jim.

Finally, her mind woke her up and she realized she'd been right; his jacket was now laid across her. Feeling slightly comforted by the gesture, she sat up and pulled her arms into the sleeves. She stood up slowly and, after a moment of debating what to do, she left to find Jim.

She knocked quietly - no answer. Opening the door to their room, she found Jim already asleep. Now she was faced with the next choice - wake him up? Apologize? Thank him?

No. She laid down next to him. It was the easiest way of apologizing and saying thank you, without actually saying anything.

She wasn't going to fall asleep, but she closed her eyes anyway. Then the bed moved and her eyes shot back open.

Jim was sitting up, staring down at her. She didn't speak, and neither did he. He didn't look angry, he looked confused, as if he was trying to figure how he should feel about her being there. She stared back at him, her expression nervous and pleading. Jim's shoulders sagged as his face softened to that of something apologetic. Tabitha bit her lip. Jim laid back down, this time facing her.

Their gazes said everything: I'm sorry. I love you. We'll work this out. We're in this together...

Jim tentatively reached out between them and softly brushed his fingers right against the edge of Tabitha's hand. In return, she cupped her hand underneath his. Jim laced their fingers together, assuring them both of one thing:

We're in this together.


Oh, the drama.
But I had to end it on a somewhat hopeful note.

Leave more reviews! You know how much I love 'em :D

Thank you!
-Emily

+Responses to Reviews+

anon: Thank you! And I didn't think you were trying to rush me, I was just apologizing in general that it took so long. Sorry if I made it sound like that! I'm glad you like it!
23jk: Well, there certainly are some surprises... Thanks! :)
cookiesnmilk123: Haha Thank you so much! I'm glad you like them, and the story in general!
HG 96: Thank you, as always!
BloodAngelKisses: Wow, I don't think I could have written a better comment to be my 100th! Thank you so much! I'm really glad to hear that they seem so real. I have been trying to make it seem as accurate as possible. Well, as accurate as a story from the 1800's set in space could be XD I hope you continue to enjoy it, and good luck with your own story! I'll be sure to check it out when you post it! Oh, and pocky is SO GOOD!