Silver, still grinning at Jim's upgrade in responsibilities, headed down to the galley, where he met the male felinid, Jake MacGee.
"Ah, ye'd be Jake, I take it?" Silver asked, surveying the familiar galley again fondly.
"Aye, big feller, that'd be me all right," Jake replied in his distinct accent. He looked Silver over as the big man donned his apron. "You must be the new cook, is it?"
"Aye, lad. That'd be me. The name's John Silver," he replied, thrusting out his cyborg hand in greeting.
Jake grinned, and shook his hand firmly. "Well, Mr. Silver, then you might want to start work on supper, eh? I 'eard tell that you an' the Cap'n don't see eye to eye fer some reason, but don't you worry none. I can take food to the Cap'n and her family."
"Thank yeh, Jake. That's right kindly of yeh, lad," Silver responded and started his preparations for the evening meal.
Later that day, Jim appeared down in the galley for a visit. "A fine evenin' to yeh, Jimbo," Silver rumbled happily as he worked his cyborg cleaver to chop up a mess of vegetables.
"Evening to you too, Silver," Jim replied, giving his friend a genial nod. "I've been meaning to stop by to see you… but I just can't seem to find the time. Sorry."
"No problem, Jimmo," Silver told him with a grin. "Not surprised to hear that, you know… what with yeh bein' an officer an' all…" Silver was proud of Jim, and thought he made a right fine officer, so he did.
"Truth is, I dropped down here to fetch the Captain and her family's dinner," he confessed. He then looked back at Silver with a grin. "Your bonzabeast stew is still the best around, mister."
"Ah, a gentlemen yeh are to say so, Jim me lad," Silver accepted graciously, giving Jim a wink.
"'ere yeh are, Mr. Hawkins," Jake offered, giving Jim a tray stacked with food for the Captain and her family. "Remember me an' Mr. Silver ta the Cap'n, Mr. Hawkins, sir."
Jim took the tray from Jake, saying, "I'll try… but she's awfully busy, gents. See you all later!" And with that, he made his way out of the galley and toward the Captain's stateroom.
Upon arriving before Amelia's door, Jim paused, juggled his loaded-down tray, and knocked. "Service from the galley, Ma'am," Jim called.
"You may enter, Mr. Hawkins," he heard Amelia say through the door, and deftly opened the door.
"Good evening, Captain. Doc. Kids. Here's your dinner, folks. Enjoy!" he said, putting the tray down upon the small table in the stateroom.
"Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. That's all for the moment. Dismissed," Amelia said and gave Benjamin a bowlful of stew. Jim nodded and ducked back outside.
"Um, Mom? May I ask who Uncle Jim's new cyborg friend might be?" Benjamin asked around a spoonful of stew.
"You may," Amelia allowed. "Do you all remember when I told you of your father and I and our expedition to Treasure Planet?"
The children nodded dutifully, eager to hear what their mother had to say.
"Well, yes, may I also assume that you remember the fellow that attempted to take over the Legacy then too?" Amelia continued.
The four children nodded again, their eyes shining with curiosity.
"That fellow was a scoundrel of the name of John Silver," Amelia informed them. "The very same fellow you met this very day in fact."
"Oh… so that's what he looks like then," Amanda observed, clearly thinking. "He's very mysterious looking…"
Amelia scowled at that admission. "Yes, he is… but do remember that I do not want you to go anywhere near him," Amelia insisted sternly.
"Don´t worry, Momma," Benjamin said. "I'll be sure to protect Amanda, Alice and Angelina." With that promise, the boy gave Amelia a hug.
Amanda made a face at the notion of needing her brother's protection. "I can protect myself, thank you so much, Benjamin Doppler," Amanda countered in a huff. She then crossed her arms before her chest. "Besides… we don´t want anything to do with that pirate anyway!"
Amelia smiled, reassured, and then stood up from the table. Delbert immediately got to his feet too, holding his napkin in his hand as he looked to his wife. "Going somewhere, Amelia dear?" Delbert asked, curious and concerned.
"Oh, don't fuss now, Delbert. I'm just going to take in some fresh air is all," Amelia told him. She gave him what she hoped was a comforting smile, and headed out the door.
That particular evening, the air was cool and crisp aboard. Amelia walked to the rail, and looked out upon the splendor of the Etherium. Her thoughts were interrupted a few moments later, when she heard voices and looked down upon the main deck below. She spotted two figures that were undoubtedly Silver and Mr. Hawkins, standing beside the port rail, engrossed in conversation. Not wanting to intrude unnecessarily, she continued to direct her gaze about other parts of the ship. However, her sensitive ears were invariably drawn back to the sound of the nearby voices…
"… and when she came back and told the Doc she was pregnant… well, he nearly fainted dead away! As it was, me and Mom caught him before he could hurt himself," Jim related. Silver laughed softly at the mental image of the Doctor.
"Wish I could have been there, lad," Silver replied, puffing softly on his pipe. He then turned to Jim, and nodded. "Jim, I never got the chance to tell yeh how much I appreciate what yeh did fer me after our wild ride from Treasure Planet."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Jim protested, grinning in embarrassment.
Silver grunted in amusement, then paused. "So, Jimbo… what did yeh ever tell the Cap'n? Yeh know… after yeh'd be letting me go, that is?"
"Well, to be honest, I just told her that you escaped right before I could stop you," Jim recalled, frowning. "She wasn't happy, oh no!"
"Aye, I don´t doubt that, Jim, even for a second, so I don't," Silver replied. He then puffed sedately at his pipe, obviously thinking about something. "But, lad… what does surprise me is the fact that she even agreed to take yeh out lookin' for the likes o' me."
Jim grinned, rubbing the back of his neck, then nodded. "She surprised me too, Silver," he told the big man, then flicked his eyes back to his face. "She still hasn't forgiven you, you know… for what you did, I mean."
"Aye, an' I'll be believin' that as well, Jimmo. Though, it weren't like I had meself a lot o' choice now, had I? If'n I were to o' let you three go, the others would of thought I'd gone soft on 'em, and that'd o' been the end o' old John Silver, an' that's a fact!"
Jim didn't say a thing, only nodded his head.
"Now, o' course, I don´t blame the Cap'n fer not trusting the likes o' me, no sir I don't," he admitted with a snort and a shake of his head.
Jim looked at Silver, clearly surprised. "I´ll tell her that, if you'd like," he offered.
"Ah now, no need fer yeh to be doin' that on my account, Jimbo," Silver replied.
"And why not?" Jim returned, a little irked.
Silver chuckled. "Yeh humans are an unobservant lot, really," he observed. He then shrugged his right shoulder in the Captain's direction. "Take a look o'er my shoulder, lad. The Cap'n, she's been a-listenin' to the two o' us for quite the while now."
Amelia, upon hearing this, blinked, noticing that both Silver and Jim were now looking at her. Saying nothing, she simply turned on her heel and walked away, back into her stateroom. As she did so, she heard Silver say to Jim, "Don´t yeh fuss now, lad. The Cap'n, why, she's just tryin' to protect her ship and her crew, doncha know," before finally closing the door behind her.
