So, this would be the result of me slacking off of my school work... probably not the best idea, but I had fun!
Enjoy!
"Come on, Jim. Wake up."
Jim groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes.
"Finally," Tabitha laughed quietly.
"What?" Jim asked.
"It's after noon. You've been asleep all day, and I've been trying to wake you up for five whole minutes."
"Oh. Sorry." He yawned, but abruptly stopped when his side began to ache. He moaned and clenched it tightly.
"That's why I'm here," Tabitha explained as she moved his hand away.
Jim was vaguely aware of her removing the old bandage, but he felt himself drifting back to sleep. He blinked rapidly, trying to keep his eyes open, but it was near impossible.
"This is going to sting, okay?" Tabitha warned.
Jim sucked in a breath through his teeth and winced as she cleaned the wound. "It's worse than yesterday," he commented tensely.
"Sorry," Tabitha apologized. "By the way... thanks."
He took a deep breath as the pain eased away. "For what?"
"You saved my life," she said quietly as she began to wrap a new bandage around him.
"Oh. Well, y-yeah..." he stuttered. "H-how could I not?"
She grinned as she finished applying the bandage, never speaking a word. When she finished, she absentmindedly ran her hand across Jim's chest and he sighed at her touch. She bit her lip and looked away and his brow furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Jim questioned.
"Hmm?"
"You're biting your lip," he explained. "You're nervous."
"Oh," she answered simply.
"What is it?" Jim asked in concern.
"Who... I mean, what... what do you want me to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you want me to do? About this fortune?"
Jim thought for a moment, then sat up. "I want you to do... what you want to do."
"No, Jim, I - " she sighed impatiently. "Pretend I'm not here. If it was just you, what would you want to do?"
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Tabitha, I don't want to make the decision for you."
"You're not. I just want to have your opinion."
"Look, I..." he began uncertainly. "If I had to choose, I'd want to try to find the fortune. We've come so far and gone through so much, and I'd like to see something good come out of it. But if you don't want to, we don't have to! I just - "
"No, I know. You just want to do what I want to do. I know," Tabitha explained. "So what would you do first? If you were me?"
"I'd get Rylee back. So I'd have to go talk to Ivan, I guess."
"Why not Silver?"
"We don't know where he is."
"Yeah, but... suppose we did," she suggested. "If we knew where both Ivan and Silver were, who would you go talk to first?"
Jim squinted suspiciously at her, but Tabitha didn't falter. "Ivan," he stated simply.
"Why?" Tabitha asked in shock.
"Because..."
"Because you don't trust Silver?"
Jim huffed and fell back against his pillow. "Tabitha, I don't want to go through this again."
"But I don't understand!" she pleaded. "I-I thought you loved him like I do, but - "
"I do!" he said defensively.
"But you were so easily swayed by Ivan. Why?"
"Ivan's story made more sense," Jim answered briskly.
"I know, but... it's Silver," Tabitha said quietly. "Do you really think he'd lie to us?"
"He's done it before."
"But he's changed since then."
"Supposedly," he responded.
"Why would you think that he hasn't? What is it that makes you trust Ivan more than Silver?"
"How many times do we have to go through this?" Jim sighed in exasperation. "Silver's a pirate. Ivan's your godfather. Your parents trusted Ivan with your life and your family's fortune. Silver seems like the likely candidate of who would be out to steal it."
"But my dreams - "
"Are just that, Tabitha - dreams," Jim rebutted, pushing himself up again. "That's all. I don't think we should base a decision on a vision you had that may or may not be true."
"But they've been true before!"
"Not exactly."
"You got shot, didn't you?!"
Jim scowled. "It's not proof, it's just an idea."
Tabitha frowned. "What do you have against Silver?"
"What?"
"It's like you're not even trying to trust him! I know that Ivan's story makes more sense, but I want to believe Silver, so I'm attempting to make sense of it all. You won't even do that."
"Because there's no point!" Jim argued. "We have no way of knowing."
"I'm not saying you have to know, I'm saying you have to believe."
"Well I don't want to 'believe' in someone just to be let down again," he huffed and laid back down and closed his eyes.
She was quiet for a long time. "I don't get it. When this all started, you would have given the Etherium to have Silver back in your life. Now we have a chance to get him back, and you're just throwing it away."
"I'm not - " Jim paused, and turned away. "He keeps leaving us!"
"He's trying to protect us! It wasn't like he completely abandoned us; he sent the commodore."
"Yeah, and then we sent him away, and we get attacked," Jim rebutted. "I'm not going to believe that was just a coincidence."
"But Silver's been a father to both of us! "
"So?"
"So?!" Tabitha said aghast. "So he cares about us!"
"Are you sure?"
Tabitha's jaw dropped. "Yes, I'm sure."
"How?"
"I just know, and you should too."
"Well... I'm not so sure," Jim said bitterly. "Look, he left on his own, he can come back on his own. If he wants to come back and give us a perfect explanation of how none of this is his fault, fine. Otherwise, I'm not going to believe him."
Without another word, Tabitha stood up to leave, rubbing her chest absentmindedly to try and rid that ever present ache. She took a deep breath and walked into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind her.
"So?" an awaiting Graham asked. "What happened?"
Tabitha took a deep breath. "We're going."
"Tabitha - " Graham began, following her as she headed up to the deck. "Why are you doing this?"
"I have to. I don't have a choice."
"Why can't Jim go with you?" Graham begged.
"He told me to do whatever it is I needed to do to make a decision. This is what I have to do," she explained. "Jim doesn't want to make an effort to find out what's going on with Silver, so I'm going to do it for him. If Jim doesn't trust him, and nothing I can say will change that, the only thing I can do is go get Silver and bring him back here so he can talk to Jim."
"But... what if you get there and you're wrong?" he asked quietly. "What if Silver really is the bad guy? If you just walk in there, he could easily snatch you or the watch or whatever it is he wants."
"That's why you're going with me."
"What?" Graham asked skeptically. "You expect me to be able to take down Silver?"
Tabitha sighed. "It doesn't matter because that's not going to happen. He's a good guy. I know it."
"But if he's not, Tabitha," he tried to reason. "I want to believe he's good too, but there's a chance he isn't. How is Jim going to feel if something bad happens to you and he finds out you went over there voluntarily? I can't do that to him. He's my best friend."
"That will be between me and Jim later," she said. "And Rylee's my best friend. I've got to find out what happened to her and get her back."
Graham sighed, and Tabitha frowned. "If you aren't coming with me then I hope you can come up with a good explanation to give Jim when he finds out that you let me go alone or else you're life's in just as much danger as mine."
He glared at her, then sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. You win."
Tabitha smiled. "Thanks. Morph?" Morph flew out of her coat pocket and chirped at her. "You ready, buddy?"
"Ready!" he squeaked, turning into a tri-corner hat and landing on Tabitha's head.
"And that's supposed to keep you safe in that part of town?" Graham asked skeptically. "You just look like a girl in a lame attempt to disguise herself as a boy."
She frowned and pulled her hair underneath her hat, then zipped her father's jacket up halfway. "No one's going to be paying that much attention. Besides, we've both got guns. I'll be fine."
As Tabitha started to leave, Graham rolled his eyes to himself. "Jim's going to kill me."
"That's interesting..."
"What?" the second man questioned. "What's inreresting?"
"Two of those kids are leaving," the first explained.
The second squinted at the pair of teens as they headed off into town. "Hey, that's the one that Hawkins boy saved yesterday."
"What?" the first questioned eagerly. "Which one?"
"The one in that brown jacket," the second said. "I tried to shoot him, but Hawkins distracted me in order to protect him."
The first man's bright green eyes lit up as an evil smirk crossed his face at this new information.
"So what are you going to say?" Graham asked.
"I don't know," Tabitha laughed quietly. "I hadn't thought that through yet."
Graham laughed. "Well I suppose you could just - " He stopped mid-sentence and turned around.
"What?" Tabitha asked worriedly, turning around and seeing nothing and no one.
"Nothing," he said, still squinting at his surroundings. "I just... had a feeling. Don't worry about it. Just keep walking."
"Um, okay?" she agreed, noticing that Graham had protectively eased a bit closer to her.
The conversation between them ceased as Graham tried to focus on their surroundings and Tabitha was lost to thoughts of what she was going to say to Silver. What was she going to say? She had so many things to ask, many of them quite accusatory, and no gentle way to do it.
When they'd gone seven blocks west, they turned to head two blocks north, but once again, Graham froze and whipped around, staring back down the street they'd just walked on.
"What is it?" Tabitha asked again.
"I swear I... "
"What?"
"I think something's not right."
"You're just being paranoid," Tabitha said.
Graham didn't argue, but he did keep his hand on the gun tucked into his belt. Tabitha wasn't sure if it was just the power of suggestion, but she suddenly didn't feel comfortable either, so she did the same.
"Okay, here it is," he said at long last. "Half-Moon Inn. I'm going to wait out here... just in case."
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath to mentally prepare herself.
"Be careful," Graham warned as she entered the building.
She looked around the room at the typical tavern/restaurant that accompanied most inns. There were very few customers there at this odd, late afternoon hour, and the few that were there appeared to be the kind that never left. When no one so much as glanced her way, she plucked up her courage and walked over to the bar.
"What can I get fer ya, lad?" the bartender asked, not even bothering to glance up and notice that the 'boy' was clearly to young to be drinking.
"Nothing, thanks," Tabitha said, doing her best to disguise her voice. It apparently worked, because the bartender didn't appear put off by it. "I was wondering if you could tell me if a certain someone is staying here."
"Eh, I might could," he shrugged, finally glancing up at her. "Who is it yer lookin' for?"
"His name's John," she answered. "John Silver."
The man raised an eyebrow in surprise. "An' how is it that ya know John Silver?"
"What's it to you?" she said defensively.
"Hey now, boy, no need to get feisty," the bartender said warningly. "Yeah, he's here. Room 213."
"Thanks," she mumbled, rushing away towards the stairs before her disguise, or her courage, failed her.
Jim sighed and finally sat up; there was no way he was going back to sleep, not with all of this on his mind.
He replayed the conversation with Tabitha over in his head, wondering what exactly had happened. Tabitha was right; he had too easily given into Ivan's story. Yes, there was more proof against Silver, but he also cared more about Silver. Until now he though that Tabitha had been the ridiculous one, still choosing to believe Silver even when the facts were against him, allowing her emotions to make decisions over logic, but now he realized he'd been the stupid one. Tabitha courageously chose to have faith in Silver, putting her heart and her life on the line, while Jim had simply chosen what was easier, trying to avoid being hurt.
"But Silver's been a father to both of us!"
That's when Jim had made the connection. The reason he'd been choosing Ivan over Silver was more than he didn't want to be hurt, or see Tabitha hurt...
It was that he didn't want to lose another father.
Silver had been the only real father Jim had ever known, and he didn't want to be let down again. If he started pushing away Silver from the beginning, approaching the situation with low expectations, then it wouldn't hurt so much if Silver really was the bad guy, if he really was going to abandon him the same way Leland had.
Jim shot upright in bed, ignoring the pain from his wound. No - Silver wasn't Leland, and it wasn't fair to compare the two. Leland had left for selfish reasons; Silver had left because he thought it was best for them. Jim sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, silently cursing himself for not making the connection sooner. If he had, then he could have been on Tabitha's side from the beginning, they never would have argued, their friends wouldn't have fought, Rylee wouldn't be missing...
He quickly and painstakingly pulled on his boots. He had to apologize: to Graham, to Cason, to Tabitha... Tabitha. This is what she'd wanted to know. This is what she'd been asking for all along, it had just taken him this long to realize it. He had to apologize to Tabitha - even more than he already needed to - explain himself, and tell her he was on her side.
Tabitha was right. She'd always been right. Silver cared about them, he'd been trying to protect them, he loved them, and Jim should have remembered that.
"Morph?" Jim questioned the empty rooms. "Where are you, you little squid? If you don't come out now, you're going to be stuck in here again."
He waited a moment, but when no pink blob came streaking out of its hiding spot he shrugged. Feeling wholly shocked and amazed at his epiphany, he set off to find Tabitha.
There was a knock at the door, and Commodore Aldamae and Silver turned to look at each other, startled and confused. Silver eyed the door warily while the commodore walked over to open it.
"Yes?" he asked the boy.
The boy said nothing, just took a deep breath and stepped around him into the room. Silver stood up defensively, preparing to question the boy... until 'he' removed her hat and her honey colored hair came tumbling down to her shoulders.
"Tabby..." Silver said in shock.
The commodore, unsure of what to do, simply closed the door and stood back, observing the stunned pair. Neither said anything, because neither knew what to say, how to react, what to do, where to begin...
"Did you only take me in because you were going to try and steal the fortune from me?" Tabitha suddenly blurted out. It wasn't where she'd planned to go, but it was the beginning, and it was always best to start at the beginning.
There was a long, awkward, heavy pause, then Silver sighed. "Aye."
Tabitha gulped and nodded, lowering her eyes to the floor, unsure of where to go from there.
"But that wasn't the reason I kept ya."
She looked back up hopefully.
"I knew soon enough ya didn't know anyt'ing 'bout t'e fortune," he explained. "But I already loved ya, lass."
Tabitha eyes widened. She paced slowly across the room, as if having to carefully consider each step individually. When she was standing in front of him, she looked up at him, her gaze pleading and curious. Silver looked down sympathetically and reached out to hug her... and was quite surprised when she punched his stomach.
"Don't - you - ever - leave - me - again," she said, accentuating every word with another punch. It didn't hurt him of course, but Silver didn't know how to react. When she was done, she quickly released a breath of relief and looked up at him, then leaned her head against him and wrapped her arms around him. Silver looked down, shocked at the girls actions, then knelt down to her level and returned the hug. The commodore smiled from the sidelines and quietly dismissed himself.
"I'm sorry," Tabitha said, her voice muffled by the fact that she was still pressed against Silver.
"What?" he asked, pulling her back to look at her.
"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I'm so sorry. I never should have said anything. You are my father, Silver. You're the only person who's ever really taken care of me like a father. You've shown how much you've cared for me more than anyone else in the Etherium, and it was all voluntary. I'm sorry, Silver. I'm so sorry."
"What t'e devil are ya talkin' 'bout, lass?"
"The reason you left. We had that fight, and I said that you weren't my father, but I was just mad! It wasn't true! I never - "
"Calm down," Silver consoled. "That ain't the reason I left."
"It's not? Well, then why...?"
He sighed. "I overheard you and Jimbo talkin' tha' night, 'bout how ya didn't want me to come."
"What? We never..." Tabitha racked her brain, trying to remember that conversation. When it finally clicked, she went back to hitting him. "You - idiot! We - weren't - talking - about - you!"
"What d'ya mean ya weren't - "
"We - were - talking - about - Ivan!"
"Wha - now, stop hittin' me, lass!" Silver ordered, grabbing her hands. "Ya weren't talkin' 'bout me?"
"No!" she explained. "We always wanted you to come."
"But..." he thought about it for a second, and realized he'd made a huge mistake. "Well I'll be damned," Silver sighed, sitting back down. "Tabby, ya got no reason to be apologizin' ta me. Seems I've been wrong from the beginnin'. I never should 'ave left ya. I'm sorry, lass. I just wanted ya ta be happy, and instead I ended up hurtin' ya and puttin' ya in danger."
"How could I be happy without you?" she asked quietly. "You've got to come back!"
"Whoa, easy," he stopped her. "Jimbo don' want me back."
"Jim doesn't know what he wants!"
Silver raised an eyebrow at her. "An' you do?"
"I... I don't know. I just know that he doesn't want to believe you because he's... afraid you're lying to us again. I don't know what's going on, Silver. I wanted him to come with me, but he said that if you left on your own, you could come back on your own."
"So ya didn't tell 'im ya were comin'?"
"Well, no..."
"Blast it, Tabby, what are ya thinkin'?!" Silver chastised. "A pretty gal like ya can't be walking around t'rough t'is part o' town alone!"
"Relax, I know that," she explained. "I made Graham come with me and I got Morph to - Oops! Sorry, Morph. You can come out now."
The hat popped back into its pink form, licking Silver's face and nuzzling against him excitedly. Silver laughed and petted Morph affectionately.
"See? Now, come on," Tabitha said enthusiastically. "We've got to get back to the ship so you can talk some sense into Jim."
Silver chuckled. "Alright, lass. Take Morphy here wit' ya an' go ahead an' head back wit' Anthony an' Graham. That way ya can give Jimbo some warnin'."
"Good idea," Tabitha laughed. She persuaded Morph to turn back into a hat then started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. After a brief hesitation, she turned and rushed back to Silver, wrapping her arms around him once more before rushing out the door.
Silver shook his head and chuckled quietly to himself.
"Hey, have you guys seen Tabitha?" Jim asked August and Theodore as he entered the galley.
"Not since about lunch time," August shrugged.
"Maybe she's taking a nap," Theodore suggested. "She said that she didn't get any sleep last night."
"Oh," Jim said sadly, making a mental note to bring that up to her as well. "Well, no, she's not. I already checked."
"Well she can't have gone far," August said.
"Who can't have gone far?" Landon asked as he entered the galley too.
"Tabitha," Jim said.
"Oh. I haven't seen her either."
"That's weird... How's your nose by the way?"
Landon laughed. "I think I'll survive."
"Good. Well, okay, thanks," he said to the others, puzzled by his inability to locate Tabitha. "I guess I'll just... look around again..."
"I'm thrilled that everything's finally working out," Commodore Aldamae said to the two teens as they headed back to the ship.
"Tell me about it," Tabitha said, relieved. "I couldn't take much more of this."
The three laughed happily as they turned the corner, only to run straight into two men.
"Oh, pardon us," the commodore said politely. They tried to step around them, but the men shifted with them. They stepped the other direction, and again the men blocked their path. They barely had time to realize something wasn't right before they were thrown into the nearest alley.
One man grabbed Tabitha, covering her mouth before she could shout. Another grabbed Graham, quickly kneeing him in the stomach, knocking both the breath and the fight out of him as he fell to his knees. Two more grabbed the commodore, restraining him.
"Nicely done, men," a cold voice said as a man emerged from the shadows. "They didn't put up half the fight I expected."
Tabitha, who'd been trying to break free of her captors grip, froze. Those eyes... those terrifying green eyes...
"Where is she?" he demanded.
"Who?" Commodore Aldamae questioned.
The man with the green eyes pulled a gun and pointed it at him menacingly. "Don't play dumb! The Alexander girl!"
Tabitha couldn't help the gasp that escaped her, and her captor noticed. "Hey, boss, I think this one might know something."
"Really now?" the man smirked. "Well - "
Before he could say anything else, Tabitha quickly kicked back, hitting her captor in the only place sure to knock a man to the ground, as she grabbed for her gun. The distraction was also enough for Graham to knock his man down, as well as take a shot at one of Commodore Aldamae's. Tabitha took a step and tried to run, but the green eyed man stuck his leg out, sending her sprawling to the pavement and her gun skidding into the shadows out of reach. Her hat fell off as well, revealing her identity and stopping the men dead in their tracks.
"Oh, how precious," the green eyed man ridiculed. "Seems you were right," he said to the man who'd originally held Tabitha hostage. "That's why that boy saved her. She is the Alexander girl."
Unnoticed by anyone, the 'hat' transformed back into Morph and took off down the street, off to seek help.
"Run!" Commodore Aldamae shouted. Tabitha turned over just in time to see Graham take off, followed by one of the men.
"You! Follow him!" the green eyed man ordered.
Taking advantage of this momentary distraction, Tabitha jumped to her feet and rushed to retrieve her gun. She found it quickly and looked up just in time to see the remaining enemy shoot Commodore Aldamae. On instinct, Tabitha fired, shooting the assailant in arm and sending him scurrying for safety while the commodore slumped against the wall.
Tabitha impulsively cried for the first name that came to mind. "SILVER!"
"He's not coming, Tabitha," the green eyed man said as he approached her. "He can't hear you..."
"No," Tabitha said in shock, taking a step back. It wasn't a 'no' of disagreement, it was a 'no' of disbelief. This was her dream... this wasn't real. No, this couldn't be happening... "No! Silver!"
"He doesn't care..."
"He does!" she cried. "S-Silver!"
With one great step, Tabitha was pinned against the wall by him. She gasped and dropped her gun in shock.
"Well, well, this does bring back memories, doesn't it?" the man laughed cruelly, running his fingers through her hair.
"Get off of me, you bastard!" she squealed, trying to push away the man.
Tabitha was not only exhausted from going two night without sleep, but n her panic-stricken state, she was trembling; she was hardly at full strength. The man easily overpowered her, ignoring her request as he covered her mouth. "Though you have matured a bit since then, haven't you? Not that you hadn't blossomed then, it's just now... you're in full bloom." He brushed his hand over her chest, but Tabitha pushed him away. "A bit feistier than last time too, I see. No matter. I can fix that."
He pulled her head forward, then smashed it back against the wall and Tabitha immediately felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her. She didn't give up though; she continued to punch, kick, and fight anyway she could. Quickly becoming annoyed, the man repeated the movement, and this time Tabitha's eyesight blackened before it slowly faded back in on a vision of the man laughing.
"Ivan ordered me to bring you back alive," the man whispered. "But he didn't say I couldn't have a little fun first."
Tabitha heard herself whimper, but it seemed as if she'd lost connection with her body. Her legs shook beneath her weight, and she couldn't make her arms swing anymore. She stood, paralyzed by fear and drowsy with ever fading consciousness. The only thing she was fully aware of was the fact that his hands were all over her body. It was when he felt his cold, rough hand on the bare skin of her waist as he attempted to slide his hand down the waistline of her pants that the nerves in her body seemed to reconnect with her brain and she had the ability to fight once again. She pushed as hard as she could, but the effect was still minuscule. The man laughed at the feeble attempt and Tabitha felt her head hit the hall once again. Just as she started to give in and succumb to the darkness, she was vaguely aware of someone calling to her...
"Tabby!" Silver shouted from the edge of the street.
The shout was enough to set the green-eyed man back a couple of steps and drop Tabitha. She crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, and listened to the two men arguing, though she couldn't comprehend what they were saying. Then, there was something cold on her hand. Something was squeaking. She focused her eyes on Morph, who was pushing her gun closer to her, chirping animatedly to get her attention. He flew up and licked her face as she picked it up. Tabitha looked up and, without a second thought, shot the green eyed man with a direct hit to the heart. He stumbled back, staring at her in shock, and he fell against the wall and slid to the ground.
Tabitha watched as his eyes blinked once, twice, then closed forever, never to haunt her in reality or dreams again.
After that, she was only vaguely aware of anything happening...
"Tabby! Are ya alrigh'? Talk t' me lass..." Silver called.
"Silver?" she asked quietly as she felt herself being lifted off the ground.
"Aye, lass, I gotcha," he assured her. "Don't ya worry."
Tabitha slowly released a deep breath, unable to say anything else as her consciousness finally left her and her mind faded to black.
"Silver!"
The man jerked around and came face to face with a bloody, panting Graham.
"What?" the boy questioned the scene that lay before him. "You... Tabitha? The commodore! And..." Unsure of what to do, he raised his gun and pointed it straight at Silver.
"Yer gonna have t' trust me, lad," Silver pleaded. From his shoulder, Morph nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"Do it," Commodore Aldamae moaned from his spot at the wall. "You'll have to trust us, Graham."
"I thought you were dead..." Graham mumbled in shock. He thought for a moment, then lowered the weapon. "She isn't... is she?"
"She's alive," he sighed. "But we gotta get back t' the ship."
"What about him?" Graham asked, gesturing to the Commodore Aldamae.
"Can ya walk?" Silver asked the injured man.
He shook his head and released a shaky breath, clutching the wound on his stomach.
"Morphy - stay here wit' Anthony," Silver ordered. "We'll be back for ya soon."
"T-take care of Tabitha first," Commodore Aldamae told them. "Make her... your first priority."
"Where is she?" Jim asked in a panicky voice.
"She couldn't have gone far," Cason yawned, having just woken up from his 'nap' after the arma nut. "Lacuna's not that big."
"Not helping," Landon stopped him.
"She wouldn't leave without telling me? Without telling any of us? Would she?" Jim said as he paced the deck nervously.
"But Graham's gone too," Theodore pointed out.
"Yeah, I'm sure they're together," August assured him. "Maybe they just went to..."
Jim glared at him, waiting for a possible explanation, but August couldn't think of one.
"She'll be fine," Landon assured. "I'm sure Graham's with her and - "
"Jim!"
"Well, speak of the devil," Cason said sarcastically as Graham came rushing up onto deck.
"Graham! Where have you been? Where's Tabitha?" Jim questioned anxiously.
"Jim, just trust me! Stay calm," Graham tried to hastily explain.
"Wha - ?" he asked, startled by Graham's energy. "What are you talking about? Where were you?"
"I'll explain that later, just listen," Graham breathed heavily. "You have to trust Silver. She said so! And - "
"Who? Tabitha?"
"Yes, but she's - "
"What's going on?"
"She's going to be okay, Jim, but - "
"You mean she's not okay now?!"
"Well, she's - "
But Graham didn't have time to finish. At that moment, Silver arrived on deck, carrying the limp form of Tabitha in his arms. There was a unified gasp from all the witnesses, except Jim. All Jim could see was the lifeless body of the girl he loved, and he felt his world crash around him.
"No..." Jim breathed. "No!"
Graham put his arms on his shoulders to hold his attempt to run towards her. "Jim, wait!"
"No! Tabitha!" he begged, trying to pull away from Graham. "She's... sh-she can't be... No! Tabitha!"
"She's alrigh', lad," Silver assured her as he headed downstairs.
Jim couldn't breathe. He could hear conversation around him, but couldn't understand it.
"Commodore Aldamae's hurt as well," Graham explained. "You have to go get him and help him back here."
"Where is he?" Landon questioned.
Graham gave directions, then Landon and Theodore took off, running off the deck. None of this made any sense to Jim. He could think only of Tabitha. Then suddenly, Silver's statement snapped within his mind - she was alright. He repeated it like a mantra to himself.
Tabitha was alive. He hadn't lost her.
When that realization hit him, Jim remembered to breathe, gasping in a deep breath as his knees gave in and he dropped to the ground.
"Jim!" Graham called. "Jim, look at me! Tabitha's okay."
"Okay..." he repeated back, continuing to heave in deep breaths of air, despite the pain from his wound.
"Yes," August assured. "She's going to be fine."
"Maybe we should take him to the galley to sit down," Cason suggested.
"No," Jim insisted, shakily pushing himself to his feet. "No."
He didn't say anything else as he pushed past his friends and traced Silver's path downstairs. Graham followed hurriedly, with Theodore and Cason not far behind, hanging close by him. Jim didn't pause to think about what he might see on the other side of the door before he swung it open and entered the bedroom.
"She's gonna be fine, Jimbo," Silver assured, not turning around as he continued to dab at her head with a washcloth.
"What...?" Jim asked as he entered the room while the three friends stood in the doorway.
"She hit 'er head," he explained simply, not bothering to go into details now for fear it would only frighten Jim more.
"So... what? We just have to wait for her to wake up?" Cason questioned.
"'Fraid so."
Silver quickly found the first aid supplies and bandage Tabitha. Jim stood back, unable to move forward, unable to move back, unable to do anything but stare at Tabitha and silently remind himself that she wasn't dead, she was okay. She was going to be okay. She was going to wake back up and be okay...
"Wh-what about those Aglettian root things? That we gave her when she fainted?" Graham asked.
August shook his head. "No, those work by speeding up the heart rate. Fine if you've simply fainted, but dangerous with a head wound like that."
"Tabitha's okay?" Jim verified once again, his voice hardly louder than a whisper.
Silver turned around to face him. He glanced first at his friends, making it clear that they could, and probably should, leave. Once the door had closed and only he and Jim were left, he sighed. "Look a' me, Jim. She's okay."
Jim swallowed. Silver knew that Tabitha was going to be okay. Tabitha had known that Silver loved her. What had Jim known? His chest constricted and he felt his breaths getting shallower. Silver had believed that leaving them was best for their protection. Tabitha had believed that Silver had their best interests at heart. What had Jim believed? His body felt like it had just been turned into jello.
Jim had known that Ivan's story made more sense and believed him over Silver. Look where that logic had gotten him.
Now, Jim had to know that this was, in part, his fault, and believe that Tabitha would be okay... even if that meant he might be let down again.
"Sh-she's been sick, a-and she hasn't been sleeping well b-because she's been having nightmares," Jim stuttered worriedly. "Sh-she's weak, Silver. Does that... I-I mean, do y-you still think she'll b-be okay?"
"I do, lad," Silver said without hesitation.
Jim tried to believe him, but he couldn't stop the concern and fear from building up, pressing on him from the inside.
Silver placed a hand on Jim's shoulder compassionately. "We need t' talk, when ya feel yer ready."
Jim heard the door shut, but stayed standing alone in the room for what could have been months or minutes - he had no idea. Finally, he grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the bedside. As he sat down, he carefully grabbed one of Tabitha's hands. He brought his lips to it, lightly kissing the back of it before cupping his hand over hers.
Suddenly, the words he'd searched for the day before, the words he'd needed to sum up everything he had to say, hit him like a ton of bricks.
"I'm sorry, Tabitha," he whispered into the silence. "I'm so sorry."
And the drama continues...
As many of you have asked, yes, both Jim and Tabitha will be okay and there will be a happy ending :) In the meantime, there are a few more surprises in store. No, no one else is going to get shot. These are good surprises... mostly.
Thanks you guys! I can haz reviewz?
-Emily
23jk: Of course Jim's okay! Well, physically at least. He's kind of struggling emotionally as you may have noticed... Thank you!!
NeverTooLate03: I'm glad you thought so! Hopefully this chapter was as thrilling for you as the last! Thank you!
Anon: I love your long reviews! Thank you so so much for the comments, tips, etc.! I haven't done a bio on her friends, but I'm going to work on one. I'll post it... sometime. Thank you!
APirateGirl: Are Jim and Tabitha ever going to have sex? Yes. Am I going to write it? No. I would fail epically at lemons. The most your going to get from me are some things that suggest they have and/or are going to... but not for a while.
Malisa: I'm not exactly sure this is what you would call back to normal... however, I hope you still enjoyed it :) Thank you!