-Little Miracles-

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it. Then I could buy nice things. But I don't, so I can't.

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Chapter 8

"I must admit, it's been a bit strange today," Gillette said as he and James passed through the gates of the fort.

"How so?" James asked.

"Lily wasn't there with you. It's rather funny how quickly she grows on a person."

James smiled. "Children tend to do that. Especially when they're that age."

"Did you have any trouble last night?" Nathan asked, having heard a little about her nightmares yesterday.

"No." James thought back to the previous night. "Nothing unusual, in any case." For the second night in a row, Lily had had a fairly mild nightmare. He vaguely remembered her creeping into his room and bed. She had been very quiet about it, which told him just how mild it had been. However, he clearly remembered having woken that morning to find Lily lying sideways using his stomach as her pillow. He wondered if she had had nightmares when she crossed on the Sea Gull. He would have to ask Henderson when the man came back into the port.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Not specifically, no." James looked up at the sky to see a storm gathering on the horizon. Instinct told him it would hit much later tonight. "Not yet, anyway." A short silence fell on them, and glancing at Nathan, he could see the lieutenant thinking about something.

"You should choose one of the quiet beaches and have a picnic dinner there. She'd probably enjoy herself," Gillette said.

James thought about it for a moment. She was a very curious child, though most were, and he wondered if she had ever been to a beach before. He knew the answer to be 'no' though. Taking in his surroundings, he noted that the air hadn't yet cooled off with the incoming storm and he already knew there would be plenty of time before it hit. "You know, Nathan, that does sound like a very pleasant idea."

"I thought you might like it." They stopped at James' gates. "Would you like me to send a carriage for you?"

"If you would like to, be my guest. If you do not, I would just have Cecil fetch one."

"I'll stop by the livery on my way to dinner, then. Have a lovely evening. I'm certain you will anyway. Good night, James."

"Good night, Nathan." He watched the lieutenant walk away whistling a tune. He chuckled quietly, shook his head, and made his way toward the house. Nathan was truly something else. The man could target you as the victim in some of the most devious of pranks one minute, and do something truly extraordinary for you the next.

He had just made it to the front walk when the doors flew open, and a violet-clad form rushed toward him. "James!"

He knelt just in time for her to crash into him and throw her arms around his neck. His own arms automatically wrapped around her, returning the hug. "Have you been watching for me?" he asked, pushing back the small laugh that threatened.

"Mmhmm. Mister Jacob said you'd be home soon, but he said that every time I asked."

He stood, Lily clinging to him as he did so. "So you just went and sat by the front window, is that it?"

"Mmhmm."

"Did you miss me?" he asked as he began walking toward the house again.

"You were gone too long."

"I was?"

"Mmhmm. Did you miss me?"

"I did. It was very strange to not have you at the fort with me."

"Does that mean I get to go back with you?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not, Lily," he answered sadly, closing the door behind him.

"Oh."

Her tone was one of dejection, and he struggled to not give in to it. "So what did you do today?" he asked, hoping to distract her—and himself. He noticed he had been doing that an awful lot, lately.

"I helped Mister Jacob an' Mister Cecil an' played with my boat."

"Did you? I imagine that was enjoyable, then. Did you have a good lunch?"

"Mmhmm. Mister Jacob made some chicken an' some bread an' some potatoes. It was good."

"I'd wager it was. What else did you do?"

"Did you tell him about your new toys, yet?" Jacob asked.

James looked up to find Cecil and the cook standing in the parlor doorway to greet him. "New toys?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"Mmhmm. Some like Mister Nathan an' Mister Hawke an' Mister Murtogg an' Mister Mullroy gave me toys."

He smiled. "They did? What did they give you?"

Lily squirmed to be set down, and as soon as he did so, she grabbed his hand and ran into the parlor, pulling James behind her. In the middle of the floor was a small pile of toys. Some, he saw, were quickly made carvings such as those that many sailors worked on in their spare time. Some were obviously the very inexpensive kind sold by the local street vendors and one item was a strand of wooden beads. But the item that caught his eye the most was what could have been an officer's logbook.

He knelt beside the pile and picked it up, only to find that his aide, Lieutenant Stone, had written down and illustrated several children's stories. Stone had also made sure to keep the letters simple enough so that one just beginning to learn to how to read could decipher them. So this is where he disappeared to today. James didn't know how he had gotten it done so quickly, as every page had been filled, but did know that he would certainly have to thank him and ask him.

"These are very lovely toys, Lily." Apparently, Lily had met and interacted with many at the fort yesterday afternoon. Many more than he would have thought. "Did you thank them?" he asked.

"Mmhmm. They were nice, too."

"Yes, they are a very find group of men." He turned briefly to Jacob. "Have you prepared a meal yet?"

"Just a light one. It feels too hot for a large one today. Why?"

"Can it be easily packed into a basket, then?" James asked innocently.

A pleased gleam entered the older man's eyes, and James smiled. "It can, indeed."

"Good. How does dinner on the beach sound?"

"Well I, for one, think it sounds like a very pleasant change," Cecil said.

"Will the two of you get everything ready, then, and choose a quiet location while I go change?"

"Yes, Sir. Would you like me to send for a carriage?" Cecil asked.

"No, that won't be necessary. Nathan told me he would send one on his way to dinner."

"You can help me with the food, Cecil," Jacob said, walking toward the kitchen.

"What can I do?" Lily asked.

"Why don't you take your new toys up to your room and find a temporary place for them?" Lily simply nodded, smiling, and began picking up her things. "And Lily? You might want to leave your puppy here. He might not like the place we're going." She nodded again, so James turned and ran up to change his clothes.

He dressed quickly, opting for some of his older, more worn clothes—comfortable ones that he knew it wouldn't hurt to get dirty. Exchanging his white wig for the brown one, he quickly made his way back downstairs. The other three were waiting for him, as was the carriage. "Shall we go, then?"

Lily smiled and shot forward to grab his hand. "Where are we going?"

"We are going for a picnic dinner on the beach," he answered.

"Beach?" she asked, confirming his suspicions that she had never been to one.

"You'll see." He lifted her up into the carriage, climbing in after her. "I think you will like it." As he settled in, Lily climbing up into his lap, he heard Jacob and Cecil telling the driver where they had decided to go. They climbed in shortly after, then the driver urged the horses into motion.

They only traveled a short distance beyond the edge of town, but the cove they finally stopped at was small and rather private. After making suitable arrangements with the driver, they located an appropriate place for their meal. While Jacob and Cecil began setting it up, Lily insisted on removing her 'stiff' shoes and that James do the same.

It didn't take much on her part to convince him.

He insisted, however, that they remove their stockings as well, partially feeling like a child with his grandfather on similar outings, but it was also because the stockings might be difficult to wash if they didn't. He helped Lily with hers first, and while he was removing his own, he glanced up to find her looking at him in the most curious manner. "What?"

She didn't answer except to push his wig off onto the blanket he sat on. "A little better," she said, biting her lower lip in the cutest expression of contemplation he had seen. He slipped his remaining stocking off, strangely reveling in the feel of the sand between his toes. "Hmm," Lily continued her scrutiny. He raised an eyebrow, watching her, as she walked around him. Moments later, he felt her tugging on both his jacket and vest collars.

From his right, Jacob roared with laughter. "Off with 'em, Lad. You best use this opportunity to relax; I've a feeling you might not get many chances like this soon."

James quickly removed the apparently offending pieces of clothing and looked at her expectantly. "Is that better?"

Lily smiled. "Mmhmm." She then grabbed his hand and began trying to pull him up. "Can we look?" She tugged on his hand, as he wasn't moving fast enough for her. "Please?"

"Yes," he chuckled, "just let me stand up."

"Go on, you two, but if you want your food warm, you'll eat sooner rather than later," Jacob said.

The moment James stood, Lily pulled him away and began running toward the water. Once they were quite close, though, she stopped, looking at the incoming waves apprehensively. And she was right to be so, as they were slowly increasing in size and strength. She looked up at him with an inquiring expression. "They're safe," he said, "so long as you don't go too far."

"How far is too far?" she asked.

James thought about it for a moment, taking her size and inexperience into account. "Don't let the water come above this point on her leg," he said, stooping to touch her leg halfway between her knee and ankle. "And stay close so I can help you if needed." As he said that, memories of his own first trip to the beach surfaced. His grandfather, he recalled, had said much the same thing to him.

"Can I swim?" she asked.

"Not today, Lily. Not only is it too late in the day, but the waves are too rough. Perhaps another day."

Lily nodded and, keeping hold of his hand, cautiously stepped towards the water. He kept an eye on her face, wondering what her reactions might be. When their feet hit the wet sand, she stopped and looked down at her feet, lifting them to look. He didn't know if her expression was disgusted, curious, or somewhat enthralled. Perhaps a combination of the three.

Then a wave swept over their feet.

Lily yelped and jumped closer to him. Once she recovered from the surprise, she looked up at him with a delighted giggle. James smiled. She kept hold of his hand until after several more waves came in. He led her around some, letting her get used to it. At one point, he showed her again, this time as a wave came in, what her boundaries concerning water depth were.

Eventually, she felt brave enough to release his hand. He kept a close eye on her as she chased the waves in and out. Whenever a wave touched her feet, she shrieked and jumped and kicked around, splashing water all over. The expression on her face was one he was very pleased to see. It was one of a child having incredible amounts of fun, and one he hoped to see more often.

She had slept through lunch yesterday, and he had managed to pry her fingers loose so that he could lay her down long enough to eat. In the officers' dining room, they had pushed a few chairs together, and several of the officers had lent their coats to provide some cushioning against the wooden seats. James' own coat had been her blanket. It had been distressing, though, when halfway through the meal, she had started whimpering and moving around in her sleep.

By the time he had gotten to her, a few tears had fallen while she slept. She had settled back down when he had brushed her curls back, and had remained so until he finished eating. He had had to explain a little of what he had gone through the past few nights when they kept asking in their concern, but his fellow officers hadn't pressed too far after that.

He looked down as Lily grabbed his hand again, apparently tired of chasing the waves. "What would you like to do now, Lily?"

"What's over there?" she asked, pointing further down the beach toward a small group of rocks.

"Well, I don't know. Why don't we go and see?" He began walking that direction, only to end up being dragged along by Lily.

"What is it?" she asked, looking down at the small pool.

"It is a tide pool, " he said, kneeling beside it. "It—"

"Not that," Lily interrupted. James raised an eyebrow. "That," she said, pointing at something inside the pool.

James looked again, trying to see more from her angle. He smiled and picked the small object up. "This?" Lily nodded. "It's a seashell." It was a tiny clamshell, perfectly shaped and a very pale pinkish-ivory in color.

"A seashell?"

"Mmhmm. A small creature once used it for a home."

"Would the creature mind if I kept it?"

"I would think not, Lily," he said, placing it in her hand. "I should think the creature might like you to enjoy it."

"There you two are," a voice called from behind them. Startled, James twisted around to find Jacob approaching swiftly. "I would have thought the two of you would have eaten by now. It's done gone cold."

James raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lily. "Are you hungry?"

"Mmhmm."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I forgot."

"You forgot you were hungry?" He paused, thinking about it. Lily simply gazed back at him. "I suppose you were playing rather hard. Come along, then, and we will eat." She took his hand as he stood.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Lass?" Jacob asked the skipping girl as they quickly returned to the blanket.

"Mmhmm. It's nice here."

James sat down near his things, smiling when Lily settled on his lap before he could serve himself. Seeing his predicament, Jacob laughed and fixed them both a plate. Carefully, James managed to eat around her, though it was awkward. Lily squirmed some, hitting his elbows occasionally and nearly sent his plate into the sand or onto the blanket several times.

As they finished their meal, Lily told him what else she had done while he had been gone. Apparently, their dinner was exactly what she had had for lunch, but she was happy enough to have it. He recalled that it had been mentioned during her first breakfast with them as being one of her favored foods.

She was also pleased to have more of Parson's sweet bread. She never seemed to get enough of it, and had been thrilled when Nathan had brought some for her to eat yesterday after she had woken up. Of course, he had also begun hiding a few partial loaves in a few spots in James' office. Then, after asking if she would be interested and if James minded, led her out to see more of the fort.

She continued chattering about her day and new toys as she finished her bread, and James listened attentively, pleased to know she had gotten through the day without being too sad. Despite near constant reassurances from Gillette, Evans and a few other officers, he had worried about her happiness.

Two hours later, James adjusted the blanket now wrapped around a slumbering little girl. After they had eaten, she had settled near the edge of the blanket and began piling sand. Interested, he had watched her several minutes, then realized she was trying to build a representation of sorts of Fort Charles.

She had looked back at him once and smiled, before returning to her task. He had begun helping her at one point, especially with the various inner walls and battlements. Once built, she had decorated it with shells. It didn't really look anything like the fort, then, but she had been pleased with it.

She had then come around to sit in his lap and admire it, which proved to be her downfall for the day. The sudden inactivity had given her body a chance to rest, but he wondered if she had slept any at all since he had woken her early that morning. She had slumped against him, asleep, almost the instant she sat down.

The carriage came to a stop just past his front walkway. He shifted Lily slightly so he could climb out easier with out waking her, and, after paying the driver, followed Jacob and Cecil inside. "I'll start heating some water for baths. I think we could all use one before bed," Jacob said. "I know I don't want to sleep with sand all over me."

"Thank you, Jacob," James said, making his way upstairs to find Lily something clean to sleep in. He grabbed the first nightgown on the stack, as well as the other clothes she would need, then started back downstairs. Cecil emerged from James' room with clean clothes for him, as well. "Thank you, Cecil," he said, placing Lily's things in the servant's outstretched arm. Cecil, he noticed ruefully, was quickly picking up some of Jacob's mannerisms—particularly the ones that motivated James to not do things he was perfectly capable of doing.

Downstairs, the baths were not quite yet ready, though water was being heated, and Jacob, now with Cecil's help, worked at filling up the smaller tub for Lily. James sat down in a nearby chair to wait.

After several minutes, when it was nearly ready, Lily shifted in his arms in a way that gave him the impression of discomfort. He started, apparently having dozed off for a few moments, just as Lily cracked her eyes open despite how tired he knew she had to be. She blinked a few times, though her eyelids never raised more than halfway. "Itchy," was all she mumbled.

"I know you are, Lily. I am, too, but we'll have the sand and salt washed off in a bit."

"Bath?"

"Yes, Jacob and Cecil are readying baths."

"Bed?"

James smiled. "After the bath." Lily nodded sleepily, and shifted again in her little blanket cocoon.

She wriggled slightly a few seconds later, loosening the blanket. "James?" she whimpered.

"Yes, Lily?" she whimpered and wriggled again. He unwrapped the blanket and set it in the chair, then carried her to the nearest chamber pot. "There we go," he said, helping her with her clothes.

They returned to the kitchen moments later to find her bath ready. As he helped her with her clothes once again, sand falling to the floor with each movement, Jacob and Cecil started on the larger tub. He swung her up and into the tub, but she began leaning against the side, laying her head on her arm. "Just a little longer, Lily, and then you can go back to sleep," he said as he pulled her away from the side and began washing her.

He worked quickly so she wouldn't fall asleep and once he finished, Cecil passed him a cloth to dry her off with. Soon enough, she was dry and dressed for bed. He lifted her into his arms and carried her up to bed. She was asleep again before he reached the stairs.

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Author's Responses:

Cheska, Keindra, Moonbeam, Jaina Kenobi – I am so pleased to know you enjoyed the last chapter. I hope I can live up to your expectations with the rest of this story.

Erusuiel – I'm glad to know my pacing and all has been realistic in this little tale. I'm also pleased to know I'm doing the characters justice and all that stuff (sorry, my mind is beginning to go a bit blank).

Sallie, Eledhwen – To be honest, I'd not really thought about having Lily meet Jack or even have him in Port Royal, though the possibility is there. I'm just not sure I could write Jack and do justice to his character. I might give it a try at some point, though. You never know.

Dazzler420 – I'm glad you like the story. As for drama and her father, things are not completely well for Lily, even if this last chapter seems to show otherwise. There are still things planned. As for her father… He might make an appearance, but then he might not. :p

InaraSerra – [blushes] I'm flattered that you like my writing so well, and that you enjoy how close the characters are and all. Thank you.

noboddyinparticular – You really got my attention. I'm pleased you like this so well. If you can hold your breath all week, I'd say you're talented. I only update on the weekends, so I can give myself time to get more written ahead.

To anyone else that might be lurking, you apparently like this, and I'm glad you keep coming back, even if you don't review. I must admit I am curious what might exactly draw you to this story. Anyway…

If any of you don't mind, I'd like to start responding to your reviews on a more individual level. I can't, though, as I don't know email addresses. If anyone would prefer that way of response, just email me, or let me know your address somehow.

At any rate, I'll return next weekend with the next chapter.

Take care, and have a fun week! :p

- Seaweed