NEED

Chapter Eleven

"Si, si, Senor Hawkins! Have I ever steered you wrong?" She looked at him from under arched eyebrows. He shook his head. "Of course not, Maria. Thank you very much." He nodded and put his money down on the counter, along with a generous tip.

"Eh, Senor!" Maria winked at Jim and passed him back the money. "Is on the house, ya? You've always been good to us."

Jim gave half a smile and continued out the door, leaving his money on the counter.

So, Micha hadn't been to work in two years. Jim sighed. That helped. His mother had told him the little she'd known, which wasn't much, but it had been enough to let Jim know that wherever his daughter was, she wasn't anywhere near the place he then stood.

So if she wasn't on Montressor, where in the galaxy was she? Jim frowned and shaded his eyes as he looked into the sky. Where would he start asking? Where does a father go to look for his angry daughter?

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Over the next few weeks of soaring through the sky in search, the crew began to notice changes in their captain. After Warrick had been left behind on a far-off port, Micha had elected herself as the new captain. It was only days later that she decided their felon of a crewmate, Adrian Townsend, was to be her first mate. It rose suspicion and a few harsh accusations among the crew.

They'd noticed the eye contact and lingering touches of their hands when they were together. Something was going on beneath the surface, and they wanted to know what. How come Adrian was allowed to break the rules and go after her while they were not? As the only woman on board, she should be considered fair game to any of them.

It was on a cloudy, dark day that the Hangman stopped into port at a small planet to refuel that Micha decided to take herself shopping. Adrian insisted he come, but she wanted to go alone. She left him in charge with an alluring smile and headed into town.

She passed by a few other ships, some smaller, and thought. A smaller ship caught her eye as she watched a few of the miniscule crew work on the ship, bringing crates of new supplies on board. A young man stood at the head of the line of workers, surveying the work and nodding his approval. Micha frowned. There was something about this boy that intrigued her, but she decided it was best to leave it alone and go shopping.

Hours later, Micha returned with a few new clothes, a dagger or two and some playing cards for her crew.

The small ship she'd seen before was there again, but this time the young man was off the ship, on the port, drinking a mug of ale and crouching against a barrel. His crew was nowhere to be seen; perhaps they were eating in town. Micha paused from a distance and watched the young man carefully.

Long, roguish hair hung just below his ears, straggly almost, but the same black it had always been. His dark eyes were darker and held many secrets, many tales behind them. His eyes buried the hatred and pain he felt, but replaced those emotions with a deep love for those to whom he'd grown attached. It was a mask he wore well.

His face was worn, aged. A stubbly beard looked like it was trying to grow on his tanned skin. Micha gasped and began to walk towards him. Once so pale, now tanned by travel and age, Andrew Calls Hawkins was the spitting image of what would be Simon and Jim Hawkins if merged into one. With no blood relation to Jim whatsoever, Andrew had managed to acquire his adoptive father's facial expressions and used them with ease.

He was still slim and tall, but his body was beginning to look tired, as was his face. The only life was in his eyes, swimming amongst the hatred, fear, love… Micha said nothing as she looked at her older brother. Finally, she spoke. "When was the last time I saw you?"

Andrew wanted to cry. Tears were burning behind his eyes but he refused to let them show. It was all it took within him not to cry and scoop her into his arms and never let her go. He'd been searching for so long, and finally, here she was, after finding him. What was stopping him?

"Andrew…" Micha continued, wondering why he wasn't answering her. Andrew's eyes grew emotionless. "When Mama and Jim died…I left after that, remember?"

She nodded. "I'll never forget, Andy. You…didn't come back. That was years ago."

Watching Micha and Andrew, Adrian had stepped behind them, wanting to know who Micha was talking with. Neither of them noticed. The dam broke. Tears began to swim in Andrew's eyes, to her surprise. He stood and stepped forward. "My baby Micha…where have you been?" His voice cracked and he scooped her into his arms. Micha was taken aback at first, but accepted his embrace and melted into it. The only part of her family left…and they were reunited.

Adrian watched for a long time in awe. Smiling, he studied the two in their embrace. The resemblance was uncanny. Andrew, his little Andy from Capernaeuma, was a grown man, like he, with a beauty for a little sister. The same girl Adrian was interested in. The irony.

Andrew released his sister and kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Adrian figured it was time to step forward. "Andrew," he said quietly. Andrew shifted his eyes to the new voice and studied the newcomer carefully.

The eyes, that hair…the smile…that discolored skin on the cheekbone…and again, that smile. Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Nice to see ya again, Andy."

Andrew took in a breath and turned his bare forearm around, only to have Adrian lift up his shirt slightly. The two were in their own world, but Micha realized it immediately. That tattoo. The tattoo she'd noticed ages ago on Adrian was identical to that which was tattooed on her older brother's arm. Matching tattoos.

Creasing his eyebrows, Andrew smiled faintly. "It's really you?"

Adrian nodded. "Sure has been awhile. Where have you been?"

"Around…" Adrian took his opportunity to remind Micha he was standing there with her and put an arm around her waist. "So this is your sister, eh?"

Andrew's smile faded slightly. "She sure is. I've been looking for her for a long time…"
The corner of Adrian's mouth turned upward in a smile. "Andy, you sure have grown." He was trying to distract Andrew from his arm around Micha's waist.

"So have you, I mean…I hardly recognized you without the crazy hair and piercings," Andrew said, bringing a silly grin to Adrian's lips. Micha glanced at Adrian. "Piercings?"

Adrian smiled. "Andrew knew me when we were very young…"

"Adrian, how do you know my brother?" she asked, confusion swimming in her eyes.

Andrew frowned. "You go by Adrian?"

Adrian nodded. "It always was my real name. Adrian Townsend…I thought I'd stop lying to everyone around me for once."

"So you're no longer Avery?" Andrew questioned.

"Avery?" Micha asked. The same Avery whose music was in her mother's old collection? The same Avery Micha's friends had been obsessed with, not caring that he was 'by now, way too old for them'?

"Avery December," Adrian noted. "Not anymore."

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Author's Note: Ditched the last chapter, if you didn't notice. XD