Author's Note: Remember how I mentioned that the timeline was wonky? Well, it's at this point where it becomes a true disaster.


September 1779

"So, Benedict Arnold's your hero, then, huh?"

"Not saying he's a hero, just that he did what any man might, given the circumstances."

Molly had herself pressed against the canvas of Ben's tent, listening to the commotion that was happening outside.

"Circumstances? What bloody circumstances?"

"He's a traitor!"

"What's this bastard saying?"

That was Caleb's voice.

Molly glanced over at where Ben was leaning against the table.

"Any moment now." She whispered, then she went back to eavesdropping.

"We got ourselves an Arnold lover."

"Is that right, Sergeant?" Caleb asked.

"I don't love the man. But do understand–"

She heard the sound of fist connecting with flesh. And then the sound of struggling. But that noise was quick drowned out by the shouts of soldiers, who were egging on the altercation.

"Now." She said.

With that, Ben pushed his shoulders back and stormed out of the tent.

"Lieutenant Brewster, desist! Brewster, desist!" Ben ordered.

Molly sighed and glanced over at where Anna was sat at Ben's desk. She had been working all morning, transcribing. She had to do so here, there were too many prying eyes back at Mr. Sackett's cart. Molly and Anna could hear Ben getting involved in the commotion outside.

"Get off! Get off! The both of you with me, now! I said now! Get in!"

A few seconds later, Ben reentered, with Caleb and a second man on his heels

The second man was John Champe. He was the man who Ben had selected to meet Abe in York City. He was the one who would finalize Benedict Arnold's abduction. John was much younger than the rest of them. He was a shy man, hardly over twenty years old, and he had only been a soldier in the Continental Army for a short time. But his commanding officer spoke highly of him. In a lot of ways, he reminded Molly of Abe and Mary's son. She imagined Thomas may act like this man when he grew up.

John stayed near the door while Caleb flopped into the nearest chair. His nose was bleeding. Molly went over to him and pressed a handkerchief to his nose.

"All right," Ben said in a hushed tone, "well, that looked realistic, I think."

Caleb chuckled.

"I tell you, the boy really packs a punch."

His voice was muffled by the handkerchief. They noticed John was looking warily at Anna. He had met all of them before, except for Anna.

Ben: "Oh, it's all right, Sergeant. She's one of us. Mrs. Strong, this is Sergeant John Champe, of Major Harry Lee's regiment."

Anna turned and smiled at the man.

"I've heard good things about you, Sergeant." She said. "Your country thanks you for your service."

John bowed his head. "Ma'am."

Ben: "Mrs. Strong will be providing you with a book of false intelligence to take over to the enemy."

That was what Anna had been transcribing all morning. Ben originally wanted Molly to work on it, but he quickly changed his mind. Molly's handwriting was sloppy, while Anna's was always legible.

Ben went on, "You'll be deserting for the British lines tomorrow night. You'll have no escort, no guide."

"A head start's the best we can give you, Johnny, but then we gotta hunt you down." Caleb added.

"Major Lee tells me you don't talk much."

John shook his head, "No, sir."

"Right, well, once you're in New York, you'll have to do your share of talking. You must convince the enemy not only that you have changed sides, but that others are soon to follow. This will get you close to your target. And remember, we want Arnold alive."

"I will see it done." John replied.

He was always very formal. Molly had been there when Ben interviewed the potential candidates. John's formality did not strike them as peculiar until Ben had officially selected him, and they began meeting privately to discuss the mission. It didn't matter if they went on a tangent to a topic not related to espionage. John always acted uncomfortable; like he wasn't used to exchanging pleasantries.

"Our agent will make contact with you in the city." Ben explained. "He'll introduce you to our other man in New York, who will signal us when all is ready."

"How will I know him, sir?"

"He's in Benedict Arnold's new regiment, the American Legion. He will respond to the phrase missing the summer of '73. Keep using the phrase and he will approach you."

John nodded; he understood. They had already been through these details before, but he appreciated being reminded. Truth was, he was scared to death.

"Good, now…" Ben cleared his throat before yelling once more, "Now get out of here, both of you!"

Caleb winked at Molly as he got to his feet and followed John outside.


By time Molly returned to the camp followers, she found Mary and Mrs. Barnes sewing together. Mrs. Barnes had taken a liking to Mary. When Molly was occupied in other parts of camp, and Mary needed a break, she would ask Mrs. Barnes if she could watch Thomas for short periods of time. Mrs. Barnes enjoyed coddling the boy.

Molly caught a hint of their conversation as she neared.

"The queen, Ms. La-Dee-Da Anna Strong, and her beau, Major Tallmadge—" Mrs. Barnes voice caught in her throat when she caught sight of Molly. "Mrs. Tallmadge! There you are, we've been looking for you." She feigned a smile.

Molly fought the urge to roll her eyes.

When she was absent from camp, a rumor had been circulating among the camp followers that Ben and Anna were having an affair. Molly didn't blame any of them for thinking so; Anna was always sneaking off to Ben's tent so they could discuss the ring. But it was still annoying to hear.

Mary had asked her about it during one of her first days in camp. She knew it was a rumor, but Molly could tell that her friend was still uncomfortable to hear the gossip. It was annoying because the other women refused to bring up the subject in front of Molly, and she knew they were talking about her behind her back. But if the gossip was brought up often, Mary didn't let on, and Molly was glad for it.

"Hello, Mrs. Barnes." Molly pretended to be ignorant of the rumor.

She joined them on the ground, sitting beside Thomas who was playing with his toy soldiers. And she began mending as well.


A few days later, Mary had gone off to do something and Molly was watching Thomas.

Thomas had gotten bored writing on his chalkboard, so Molly had grabbed the book she currently had in her bag. It was a collection of poems by Thomas Grey. It was Ben's copy; he had studied it at university; and she found it in his trunk and borrowed.

While Molly sewed, Thomas enjoyed looking through the pages, looking for familiar words he recognized. But soon that game had evolved into him asking her what every word he didn't know was.

"Ms. Molly?" He kept tugging on her skirt. "Ms. Molly? What about this word?"

She sighed and took the book from him. She shifted so that he could see the words as she followed along with her finger. The book was opened Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.

"Where did we leave off?" she asked.

He pointed to the second verse. She cleared her throat and read,

"Ah happy hills, ah pleasing shade,

Ah fields beloved in vain,

Where once my careless childhood strayed,

A stranger yet to pain!

I feel the gales, that from ye blow,

A momentary bliss bestow,

As waving fresh their gladsome wing,

My weary soul they seem to soothe,

And, redolent of joy and youth,

To breathe a second spring.

Molly had always liked this poem. It made her think about Setauket. The next verse:

Say, Father—"

"Molly!"

Molly looked up. Mary was walking towards them. Thomas tugged on her shirt for her to continue.

"Hold on." She told him. "Hi, Mary!"

"I need to talk to you."

She was beside them now.

"If it's about Abe, I don't know anymore than I did yesterday." Which wasn't much. Although it had been four months, they still hadn't heard from him. They were hoping that meeting John Champe in the city would prompt him to make contact.

"Yes, but I do." She lifted her hand, a copy of the Gazette in hand.

"Look, right here. French raspberry brandy from Rivington's."

Molly's eyes widened. That was the signal from Robert, that Abe had made contact. But Mary wasn't supposed to know about that.

"I read it only just now, and I went to tell Anna, but she's not at her cart." She sighed. "Do you know where she is?"

Molly chewed on her lip for a moment. She knew Anna was probably with Ben; she had probably finished the false codebook by now. But then there was the thing with Mary. She knew none of them had told her about Robert's signal, so that meant that Abe had told her. But Ben was still adamant that Mary should be as uninvolved as possible, to prevent any security breaches. But Molly trusted Mary. She had to make a decision.

"I know where they are." She finally said.


They asked Mrs. Barnes to look after Thomas, and then Molly led her friend into the main camp. But when she got to Ben's tent, no one was there.

"Will they be back?" Mary asked.

Molly shook her head. She knew where else they might be. "Follow me."

So they walked back to their camp followers' side and began to trek through the woods, to the side of camp where the medical tents were… and where the barn was. When they reached the barn, Molly tried the door, but it was locked. She swore. That meant they were inside. She pressed her ear to the door, to make sure they weren't discussing the Arnold mission. The last thing they needed was Mary knowing all the logistics.

Molly could faintly hear remnants of their conversation.

Anna: "…Since a woman wouldn't be worth keeping around."

Ben: "Anna… look, I told Selah that you were needed here."

Molly's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Why were they talking about this?

Anna: "But you… tell him he could take me back to Philadelphia whenever he wanted?"

Ben: "Well, he can. But he didn't... maybe…"

Anna: "No, it means he's changed. He's not the same man I married."

Ben: "And does that make you happy or…"

She had heard enough. She pounded her fist on the door.

"I know you two are in there. Open up!"

A few seconds passed and then she could hear the door being unlocked, and Ben's face appeared as it swung open.

"Molly?"

She pushed past him, annoyed by what she had just overheard. Mary followed on her heels.

"Mary, what are you doing here?" Anna asked.

"French raspberry brandy from Rivington's."

She handed the newspaper to Ben, but he ignored it and quickly closed the door behind them.

"You told her?" He was looking at Molly.

"Didn't need to. Abe beat me to it."

Ben groaned in frustration and rubbed his temples for a second. Then he turned to Mary.

"Mrs. Woodhull, I have made it very clear to you—"

Mary cut him off, "That women are not allowed in the officers' tents, I know. Though that rule is broken regularly." She glanced briefly at Anna.

Anna tried to defend herself.

"Mary—"

"But this isn't your tent," Mary continued, "so I haven't broken your precious rule. You also said I had no right to know of Abe's whereabouts. But I see that she has that right."

"You have no—"

Ben began, but that's when Molly jumped into the conversation.

"What? No right? That's interesting considering the fact you two were just discussing my brother and my sister-in-law's marriage. Why do I not have the right to know about what you were discussing?" she snapped.

Ben hesitated, unsure what to say.

"Molly, it's not like that—" Anna tried.

"Anna!" Molly snapped, "Stop talking."

Anna ignored her though, because then she said.

"Look, we're being watched. There are spies in camp almost certainly. The fewer people who know of mine and Selah's problems—"

"I heard what you said about him. Sounding so innocent. He's not the same man I married." Molly mocked her. "Bullshit, Anna. My brother was wrongly arrested, and he survived for months on the Jersey, and came home to bring you with him, because he didn't forget about you. But you clearly never had a problem forgetting about him."

"Molly." Ben said quietly, reaching for her.

She sidestepped out of his reach.

"I-I'm not having this conversation with you again." Anna stammered.

"Why? Because I'm here?" Mary asked.

She had been hanging onto every word. She and Molly had never properly discussed the affair, but they knew that each of them was aware of it.

"No, no Mary, because we're discussing the ring." Anna replied. Despite everything, somehow, she was keeping her tone calm. "And like I said, we're being watched. The less people know a secret, the more secret it is, that's all this is about."

Molly: "But you weren't talking about the ring. You were talking about Selah."

That's when Mary cut in as well.

"Are you saying that you don't trust me? You don't trust me? You, an adulteress how many times over?"

"That's enough!" Ben's voice was rising now too.

"You may not care where your husband it, but I do."

Mary stormed out of the barn. Anna had a hurt expression on her face as she turned her attention back to Molly, who was glaring at her.

"Molly." She tried to console.

And that's when Molly hit her. It was one punch, but she hit Anna square in the jaw and Anna crumpled to the ground.

"Molly!" Ben surged forward and held her back before she could swing again.

But Molly wasn't planning on hitting her again. She had her satisfaction. She watched Anna stumbled to her feet, a hand pressed to her mouth. Her bottom lip was split open, and it was bleeding, and Molly knew it would leave a bruise, and she was glad for it.

"Get out." Molly said firmly.

Anna glanced at Ben briefly, but then she complied and made her way towards the door as well. They both waited until the door was closed before they spoke.

"What the hell was that?" Ben demanded, releasing her.

"So, what? You're defending Anna now?" Molly snapped.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" he asked. "You hit her."

"We both know that's not what I'm talking about."

She paused for a second, then she continued.

"We both know that we've been lying to Selah. Telling him that Anna was back home." She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "And I agreed to it. I agreed because Selah asked me to make peace with Anna and I've been trying. But then she goes behind my back to speak poorly of Selah?" Molly scoffed, "And you agreed to listen to her? Whose side are you on?"

"Side? I'm on no one's side. There are no sides!"

She rolled her eyes, and the gesture made him want to scream.

"Molly, why are you so obsessed with Anna's affair? You already admitted it was over. It's been over for a long time."

She scoffed bitterly, and then stepped forward and grabbed the collar of his coat.

"Hey!" He exclaimed and grabbed her arm.

"I am the one who's obsessed? Is that so? If anyone is obsessed, it's Anna. She's the one who refuses to move on."

"Come on—"

"You know I'm right. Everything that has happened to me has been because of her. We agreed that Abe and I would stay back home. She was supposed to go with you and Selah, but then she jumped from that whaleboat and she has done nothing but cause me frustration—

She stopped herself. And then she thought back to the rumors she heard Mrs. Barnes and Mary discussing, and that's when the thought came to her.

"Are you have an affair with her?"

"What?" Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Of course not!"

"Then I'll ask again, why are you so willing to defend her?"

Molly didn't want to have this conversation, but now that the thought was in her mind, it didn't seem so crazy to her.

Ben had been acting weird ever since she returned from York City. She had blamed it on his anxieties regarding Arnold and Washington, but now she wondered if it was for a different reason. After all, the rumor about the affair had begun while she was away too. And she also couldn't help but think back to when they were children.

When they were children, Molly and Ben were in no way attracted to each other. But Molly remembered when her brother and his friends had crushes on other neighbors.

It was no secret that Molly had briefly bullied Anna when they were children. This happened two separate times, and it was for the same reason. Molly had always been a jealous friend. She liked being the only girl when they would go on adventures in the woods, and she hated the idea of other girls joining in.

The first when Molly was ten and the others were eight, and Anna wanted to play with them in the woods. That was the time when Molly teased Anna and made fun of her toys and her clothes. The second time was when Molly was fourteen, and when the boys were twelve. That was the first time she learned about Selah's crush on Anna. And that was when she learned that the other boys had a crush on her as well.

She remembered how annoyed she had been. That summer, Selah and Caleb and Abe and Ben spent most of their time trying to get a kiss from Anna. Samuel found the entire thing amusing, but Molly disagreed. She spent a lot of time with Samuel that summer, and she remembered how grateful she had been when harvest came, and Caleb stopped chasing after Anna.

Ben sighed, "I am so willing to defend her because she is still a part of this ring. Whether you like it or not."

"And the rumors?"

Ben rubbed his temples again.

"Anna said it may be best to let the women think what they will. It would at least give her an excuse to visit so frequently."

She didn't say anything.

"Whatever they say, I know it's not true. You know it's not true…" He didn't know what else to say. It was clear she was still doubtful though. So he pulled her into a hug. She didn't fight him, but she didn't hug back either. "Look, I would never do that to you. I have never done that to you."

When she looked at him, she knew he was telling the truth. And that's when she blushed. She was embarrassed. She felt stupid for asking now, because of course it wasn't true. Why did I think it was? Do I have so little faith in him?

She didn't respond, so they just stood there for a moment in silence. Molly could feel herself slipping, like she had in Setauket. She didn't know why she let Anna get under her skin so much. But it kept happening, and now she could see the hurt on Ben's face. And, and…

"I don't think we should get married anymore."

She didn't know why she said that. But she did.

"W-What?"

She pulled away and wordlessly walked out of the barn. After a moment, he composed himself and rushed after her. But when he got outside, she wasn't there. He looked around, but he had no idea where she had gone.


Ben felt like he was the one losing his mind now. Since she walked out of the barn, he had been looking for her all day, but he couldn't find her anywhere. She hadn't returned to the camp followers, she wasn't at Anna's cart, and Caleb hadn't seen her all day. No one knew where she was.

As if that wasn't enough, the timing just as bad, for that night was when John Champe was supposed to desert the camp and cross into British lines. And Ben and Caleb were supposed to sound the alarm and follow in pursuit. It was already nightfall. He knew it was going to be a long night, and he knew he needed to rest before. So, he finally called it quits and returned to his tent.

When he walked inside, he did a doubletake. Molly sat cross-legged on his cot. She looked over at him.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Wha— Where have you been?"

She shrugged.

"Here." She paused, "I'm sorry for what I said." She had always hated apologizing. "I didn't mean it. I regretted it as soon as I said it."

He took a seat beside her on the cot.

"Well, why would you say it in the first place? And why would you accuse me of having an—" He didn't even want to say it.

"I shouldn't have said that either. I was angry and…" her voice trailed off.

Another pause.

"I know. You've been angry a lot lately."

She refused to meet his gaze.

"I know the blame is mine." He said.

"What? No Ben—"

"The blame is both of ours. You agree with that?"

She nodded.

"Did you mean what you said? About us not getting married?"

"I thought that's what you might want, after what I did." Her voice was barely a whisper now.

A smirk tugged at his lips, "It was a good punch."

She pushed against him slightly, but she was struggling to hide her grin.

"Don't you know that's the opposite if what I want?"

"Why though?"

Ben blinked. The entire time he had known her, she never had low self-esteem. In fact, the only time he had ever seen her truly doubt herself was last year after she found him in the woods, and after she first came to camp. He still wasn't used to seeing it.

"Why did you wait for me?" he countered.

Because I love you. She thought. But she had always been hesitant to say it. Even when they were originally engaged, she rarely said it. But when she did say it, she meant it. She didn't need to say it though, because her actions spoke for her. He knew it was true.

They were staring at each other now. And when she looked at him, she knew he was thinking the same thing. Without a word, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. He pulled away slightly, but then she leaned herself forward as well to keep them connected. And the familiar warmth rushed through their bodies.

They weren't sure when they made the decision, but next thing they knew, both of them were half-dressed. Molly was on her back with her skirts hiked up to her waist. She quietly gasped as she felt Ben's hands roam from her hips to her stomach. But that was quickly replaced by the weight of Ben himself as he pressed himself down on top of her. She moaned in approval and shifted so that he was laying between her legs, and she had her legs bent and on either side of his torso.

Her hands were knotted in his hair, following his movements as he trailed kisses from her mouth, down her neck, and to her chest. She could feel her blush deepening as he moved lower down her body. He had already pulled his shirt off, and she wanted nothing more than to pull off her own shift so that she could feel his skin against hers.

But she was soon glad they hadn't gotten that far, because a sudden voice joined them.

"Oi, Ben— Shite!"

Both of them gasped and pulled away from each other. They turned to the entrance of the tent where Caleb Brewster was stood. He had his eyes averted, but he was still standing there.

"Caleb, what the hell?" Ben rasped.

"Listen, sorry to interrupt, but we've got an issue."

"And it can't wait?" Molly asked.

"It's about Johnny."

Molly and Ben quickly untangled themselves and began to pull their clothes back into place.

"The plan was working fine. I saw Johnny receive the newest dispatches and get on his horse acting like he was making way to deliver them." Caleb explained. "But as he was leaving, the scouts happened to be returning for the night. And one of the bastards saw our fight the other day, and he signaled the alarm. I said I'd come find you and we'd head out."

Ben swore. This would mean that John wouldn't get the head start they were hoping for. There was a very real possibility that they could catch up with him. Ben quickly pulled on the rest of his uniform. Caleb was outside waiting for him, and Molly was stood beside him, with her arms folded across her chest. She was still only in her shift.

"Good luck." She said.

"I'll be back."


The pursuit of John Champe proved to be just as unsuccessful as they were hoping for. John was able to cross the British lines and defect. The hiccups in the plan were quickly forgotten. And the next morning, for the first time in a long time, Ben and Molly awoke beside each other.


Author's Note: I intended to have a section of this season show Molly/Anna making up. But then I rewatched 4x06, and Anna's comments about Selah reaffirmed my dislike towards her. So, out of sheer pettiness, I decided to scrap my redemption arc.

I don't know if anyone cares, but I worked really hard to have this season mirror Season 1. In Season 1, Molly was always the one without power bc she didn't really have anyone. It was Abe/Anna and then Abe/Mary against Molly and hiding things from her. But this season... to quote Michael Scott, "Well, well, well, oh how the turntables". Now it's Ben/Molly who have more power over characters like Anna and Mary. Idk, it really doesn't matter, but I enjoy the parallels.

Also, apologies that the romance has been taking such a dive lately. I underestimated how exposition-heavy Season 4 is. On the bright side, please refer to "Things We Lost in the Fire" for this chapter's more in-depth saucy scene ;)