Hooray! I'm not dead!

I know it's been FOREVER and I am SO SORRY. College attacked me. But that shouldn't be a problem anymore as I'm taking a leave of absence. No, I didn't drop out. They're holding all my scholarships and I get to go back and try again next year. Long story short, it didn't feel right, and I wanted to focus on writing. Not just fanfiction. I'm actually in the process of writing a book! But it's a long process... so we'll just have to see how that goes.

Anyway, here's a chapter! It wasn't one that was requested by anybody, but I had the idea and just went with it. It focuses on Silver and Tabby's relationship before the voyage to Treasure Planet.

I'm not entirely happy with the way it came out, but it's pretty good, and I was nothing short of exasperated and HAD to post SOMETHING. So here you go!

Enjoy!


"What color ya got goin' fer ya tonight, lass?"

Tabitha turned around from her place at the front of the ship to face Silver as he approached. "Oh. It's actually two colors tonight..."

"Is that so?"

"Mm-hmm." She peered back out at Meddyliau through her periscope. "One of them is blue, so that means I'm happy, but the other is yellow..." She closed the scope and turned back to him. "What does that mean?"

Silver chuckled. "It means that love be a'bloomin'."

"Love?" she repeated in shock.

"I reckon it just means ya like someone," he assured her.

"Oh..." Tabitha quickly turned back around to look out at the Etherium.

Silver smirked and leaned against the edge of the ship beside her. "So, who is it yer swoonin' over?"

She looked at him aghast, blushing a bright pink. "I am not swooning over anyone!"

"Tabby, I been around long enough t' know t'at first of all, t'at planet don't lie, an' second, ya like someone. Now, who is it?" She blushed, but didn't respond. Silver smirked and raised an eyebrow. "It ain't someone on t'is ship, is it?"

Tabitha turned to look at him. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Silver blinked. "Lass, yer much to young to be gettin' involved wit' any o' t'e men on t'is crew. Even the youngest one's a few years yer senior - "

"A few years isn't that much..." she mumbled.

"T'is at yer age!" Tabitha simply lowered her gaze and refused to argue the point. Silver sighed. "So it's Henry t'en?"

"What about Henry?"

Both Silver and Tabitha turned as Henry himself approached them. It was no wonder she liked him, really. He was tall, dark, and handsome, the son of the Captain, with a promising future of his own. His skin was bronzed from spending so much time outdoors on his father's ships, and it paired nicely with his jet black hair and brown eyes. The problem was that he knew he was handsome, that he could easily lure in any girl he wanted with his smooth-talking and devilish looks, and Silver heard enough bragging from him at night, after Tabitha had gone to bed, to know that's just what he did, every chance he got.

Tabitha was wide-eyed and still as a statue. Not only was she terrified that her conversation with Silver had been overheard, but Henry had taken the liberty to half-unbutton his shirt, and she embarrassingly found herself unable to look away.

Silver shook his head as he quickly covered for her. "Tabby here was just wonderin' how old ya are."

Henry raised an eyebrow skeptically at Silver, then turned to Tabitha and grinned. "I'm seventeen."

Silver raised his eyebrows as if trying to point out that Henry was clearly to old for her. Tabitha looked back and forth between them, then lowered her head in embarrassment.

"I-I'm going to bed," she mumbled quietly.

"Oh, then allow me to escort you," Henry volunteered, bowing in jokingly formal way.

Tabitha's eyes widened. "O-Okay..." She shakily laced her hand through the arm he offered. "'Night, Silver."

"Aye. 'Night, lass," he said, keeping his gaze focused on them completely as they walked down to the crew's quarters.

"So tell me, Tabitha," Henry began slyly. "What was the real reason you were talking about me?"

Tabitha opened her mouth to argue but instead only emitted a small gasp. Henry smirked, raising an eyebrow teasingly at her. She blushed and looked the opposite direction. "W-We... um..."

"What is it?"

"I-I, um... I was just saying that... I-I think you'll make a good captain one day," she blurted unconvincingly.

"I see," he said amusedly, obviously not buying it. "Well... what a coincidence, because I was just thinking that if I ever became a captain, you would make a wonderful first mate."

Tabitha blinked and turned to look at him as they halted in the middle of the hallway. "Wh-What? Me?"

"Of course. I've been watching you, Tabitha," Henry said in a low, suggestive voice. "You're only the cabin girl, and yet you work harder than most of the men on this crew. I'd be honored to have such a diligent - and not to mention beautiful - woman at my side."

Tabitha could feel her face radiating heat as hot as a supernova. She knew her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide in shock, but she couldn't bring herself to move, or even breathe.

Henry smiled. "Goodnight, Tabitha."

With that, he quickly kissed her cheek and turned to leave. Tabitha stood, frozen in some strange mix of emotions she didn't recognize. She was certain if she looked at Meddyliau now, it would be a rainbow of confusion, much like her thoughts. Heart pounding, mouth dry, and body trembling, she settled into her hammock and tried to make her heartbeat return to normal. Occasionally, she got it to settle slightly, but almost instantly, the thought of Henry would pop back into her mind, and her heart would be pounding once again.


Despite the fact she spent the whole night tossing and turning in excitement, she awoke the next morning feeling unusually energized, probably still running on the adrenaline rush from the night before. She came flouncing into the galley to meet Silver, beaming a huge smile for no apparent reason.

"Morning, lass..." Silver said, skeptical of why the girl who usually trudged into the galley moaning about how tired she was was suddenly so lively.

"Good morning!" she greeted cheerfully as she grabbed a stack of bowls and placed them beside Silver so he could start serving up breakfast.

"Ya seem awfully giddy t'is mornin'," he chuckled. "What's gotcha so hyped up?"

She shrugged, unable to shake the stupid grin off her face. While her back was turned as she placed the silverware out on the tables, he eyed her warily. "Tabby - "

But before he could say anything else, several of the crew members came lumbering downstairs for breakfast, with Henry leading the way. Tabitha froze for only a second, but Silver caught it and sighed to himself - this was not good.

"Good morning, Tabitha," Henry greeted.

"Oh, um... morning," she replied.

"Sleep well?"

"F-Fine thanks." Her mind scoffed at the flat out lie.

The group of crew members that had come down with Henry snickered quietly, but said nothing. As Tabitha began serving Silver's meal into bowls at the counter, Henry smirked and approached her. He began searching the cabinets above Tabitha's head. She didn't pay much attention until she turned around and found Henry leaned over her, one arm braced against the counter beside her and one outstretched for the door of the cabinet. She gasped at how close they were, her body pinned between his and the counter.

"Sorry," he smiled slyly. "I'm trying to find a mug."

Tabitha opened her mouth, but the lump in her throat prevented her from doing anything. His chocolate brown eyes flashed a spark of something that she was sure would make her heart stop. His grin broadened just before there was a tap at his shoulder.

"Ahem," Silver said, handing Henry a mug.

Henry looked displeased for only a second before he smiled. "Oh. Thanks, Silver."

Silver merely grunted in response, casting the older boy a disapproving glance. As Henry went to take his seat at the table, Tabitha's chest spasmed and she managed to gasp in a breath of her air, feeling her face warm to feverish temperatures. This was not a reaction that got past Silver, and he made sure to question her about it.

"What in blue blazes has gotten into ya, lass?" he hissed.

"Nothing!" she countered.

Silver scoffed. "Tabby, that boy's no good fer ya. He ain't worth yer time. 'Esides, yer too young t' be - "

"I am not too young!" she nearly shouted, catching the attention of several crew members who were eating breakfast. She quickly lowered her voice to a fierce whisper. "I'm not too young. I'm thirteen. I'm not looking to marry the guy, I just like him."

"I don't t'ink he likes ya t'e same way, lass."

"It's not like I can just stop liking him..." she admitted.

Silver sighed, cursing himself for ever taking on the responsibility of raising a young girl. "Tabby... Jus' t'ink about it. Don't lose yer head."

"Don't worry. I won't," she said stubbornly before turning on her heel and stomping out of the galley.


Tabitha was once again been looking at Meddyliau. It was always a pain to have to wait until it got dark to see it, but as soon as it did, she was out on the upper deck with her periscope. It wasn't that she didn't know how she was feeling - she knew she was frustrated with Silver and crushing on Henry - but sometimes looking at the colors of the planet helped her figure out things she didn't quite understand. Tonight, for example, it was just yellow. There was absolutely nothing to represent her anger toward Silver at the moment, which got her thinking. Was she even mad at Silver? No, not exactly. She was more frustrated. But it wasn't even that really. She knew he was just trying to look after her, and she appreciated that, because he was her protector. So maybe she wasn't even frustrated, because she knew he was just doing it to care for her, so what was -

Tabitha jumped about a foot in the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jerked around to find Henry looking not surprised, but amused by her reaction.

"Good evening," he chuckled.

"Oh. Um, yeah, hey," she stammered, immediately wanting to smack herself for her complete lack of causality.

He smirked and took a place beside her at the railing of the ship. "What is it that had you're attention so enraptured?"

"Oh, um, nothing," she stated, sliding the periscope discretely back into her pocket. "Just stargazing."

Henry said nothing, so Tabitha felt the need to continue talking, in hopes of diffusing the slight awkwardness. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"What? The stars?" he scoffed.

"You don't think so?"

He smirked. "Not when I compare them to you."

Tabitha blushed and lowered her head, but tried to laugh it off still. "Come on, even I know that was cheesy."

He laughed. "Are you saying I wasn't sincere in my compliment?"

"I'm saying that was a line if I ever heard one," she giggled. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Well, well. Aren't we a bit full of ourselves?" he teased.

"I am not!" she countered. "I just can't be so easily swayed."

"And exactly what do you believe I was trying to sway you into?"

Tabitha blinked, but could give no logical answer.

"A dance perhaps?" he grinned, bowing and holding out his hand.

"What?" she laughed.

"A dance," he repeated as he took her hand and pulled her closer.

"But..." She started to object, but as soon as his hand found her waist and he stared down into her eyes like that, she found she couldn't. "Don't we look a bit ridiculous? Dancing to no music out here in the middle of the night."

Henry laughed. "Of course not, love. It's romantic."

Tabitha bit her lip to keep her smile from broadening too much, but suddenly became entangled in her own feet. With a small gasp, she stumbled to the side and braced herself to fall... Only to be caught by Henry in such a natural manner that he appeared to just be dipping her in the dance.

"A bit clumsy?" he smiled.

Tabitha could feel her face heating and couldn't bring herself to do more than nod. In a second, he'd pulled her back to her feet and against him.

"I'll simply have to hold you tighter then."

Still, she was unable to speak. She was too concentrated on the feel of his hand on the small of her back and the way his brown eyes were glowing and the warm chills he was giving her. She abruptly realized how close they were. Not just their bodies, their faces. Henry, who stood at least six or seven inches taller than her, was leaning down, hie eyes still locked on hers. Her breath caught completely and she knew what was coming and -

Henry sighed when his lips met her cheek. Tabitha didn't know what possessed her to turn her head, but it had just happened. Now that it had though, she was silently cursing herself: What was she thinking? That's what she wanted, wasn't it?

Henry chuckled and pulled away as if that's what he'd meant to do all along. "Goodnight, Tabitha."

Tabitha, looking hurt and completely bewildered, had absolutely no idea what to say, so she just turned and walked away, her mind blank, her heart racing, and nausea rolling through her stomach. Henry stared after her, a sly smirk spreading across his lips, before he turned and took his place for the evening watch.


The next few days passed with similar interactions. Henry did everything he could thing of that brought that bright blush to her face until Tabitha was sure it would be completely permanent for the rest of her life. Apparently, having your heart racing and your temperature rising and your mind swimming could take quite a toll on your body, as was evidenced by the night Tabitha fell asleep before dinner.

"Tabitha, it's time for din - " Henry stopped as he climbed into the crows nest and found Tabitha asleep against the side. "Well, some watchman you are," he chuckled. "Wake up, love."

"Mmm..." she sighed and rolled over, her eyes flickering open. "What is it? Henry?"

"You were supposed to be helping Silver prepare dinner half an hour ago," he smiled.

"Tell him I'm asleep," she mumbled as she rolled over.

Henry laughed. "I think you'll have to come up with a better excuse than that to get out of your duties."

"No..." she yawned. "He'll understand."

He sighed. "Alright... Here - " He shrugged off his coat and wrapped it around her. "It may get kind of chilly." He quickly kissed her cheek. "Enjoy your nap, love."

"Why do you always call me that?" she asked, managing to open her eyes long enough to hear his answer.

For once, he looked slightly caught off guard, but then he gave her a small smile. "Why do you think?"

Tabitha blinked in surprise, then laughed lightly and rolled over to go back to sleep.


"Where is that lass?" Silver questioned angrily as he attempted to simultaneously cook and serve on opposite sides of the kitchen. "Tabby!"

"I'm afraid you're out of luck, Silver," Henry chuckled as he entered the galley.

"And why is that?" he asked gruffly.

"Seems Miss Tabitha is too tired to complete her work this evening. I just found her asleep in the crow's nest."

Silver smiled slightly despite himself, but that quickly turned back into a frown when Henry walked over and began to help him ladle soup into bowls.

"I'm helping," Henry answered his questioning look.

Silver nodded slightly as the sound of thundering footsteps and raucous laughter echoed through the galley. The crew took their seats around the tables and continued their conversations.

"Henry! What in hell are you doing, man?" one of them shouted at the sight of Henry delivering bowls to the crew.

"I'm providing a helping hand for our cook," he answered simply.

"What happened to the gal?" another inquired.

"She was too tired and ended up falling asleep."

At this, several of Henry's closest friends snickered.

"What?" Henry smirked.

"Well she's been spending all her time with you..." one of them hinted.

"What have the two of you been doing that's got her so worn out?" another laughed.

Silver's ears perked up at the question - it was an answer he wanted too.

Henry shook his head and chuckled. "Absolutely nothing."

"So your plan isn't working out as well as you'd hoped?"

Plan? It was all Silver could do to remain discrete in his eavesdropping. This plan didn't sound like something that needed to happen...

"Patience, lads," Henry grinned. "Plans like this take time. You can't be too over eager."

"I don't know how you couldn't be over eager. We've been trapped on this damned ship for months, and she's the only gal here."

Silver's fists clenched tightly. It was just as he'd expected.

"Even so," Henry laughed. "You can't just force the girl into anything. She isn't some spaceport floozy. The more time and effort you put into it, the more worth it it is in the end."

"Oh, is it?" one of the other men smirked.

"Trust me. I know what I'm talking about."

The men laughed and hooted in a way that meant only one thing. Silver had had enough. Slamming the ladle down onto the counter, he marched over and grabbed Henry by the shoulder.

"Come 'ere," he demanded, pulling him away from his comrades.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, mate?" Henry shouted as Silver forced him onto deck.

"Now see 'ere, Henry. You an' I both know t'e lass likes ya - "

"Who? Tabby?" Henry questioned.

"O' course Tabby! Ya been leadin' t'e gal on for weeks now. I was jus' fine lettin' 'er enjoy t'e attention, but it looks t' me like yer after a bit more t'en that," Silver snapped.

"And so what if I am?" Henry sneered.

"I'm not gonna see 'er get hurt," he said darkly, backing Henry up to the mast. "Tabby's had a hard 'nough time without ya breakin' her heart as well."

"I am not interested in breaking her heart."

"I ain't daft, Henry! I know damn well what yer interested in, an' as long as I'm here, it ain't gonna happen."

Henry finally took on a demeanor as serious as Silver's. "Who are you to stop me?"

"I'm t'e closest t'ing she's got to a pap o' her own! I been watchin' out fer her t'ree years now, an' if ya t'ink I'm gonna step back and let ya take advantage o' her, ya got another t'ing comin'."

"Even if you are practically her father, it doesn't give you the right to interfere with this aspect of her life!" Henry argued. "She's old enough to make decisions like this on her own!"

Silver started. Old enough? Since when was thirteen old enough to understand what she'd be getting herself into? After a moment of contemplation over whether Henry was that daft or if there'd been some sort of misunderstanding, he finally realized what's going on."

Henry cleared his throat. "So I'd appreciate it if you'd step back and let Tabitha decide what she wants to do on her own - "

"How old do ya t'ink Tabby is?"

Henry blinked. "What?"

"How old do ya t'ink she is?" Silver repeated.

"Well, she's got to be at least... fifteen, but she acts so mature that I was beginning to she was older, closer to my own age."

Silver sighed. Well that explained it. Just like those men in the alley, Henry didn't even realize the girl he was going after was still a child.

"What?" Henry asked, recognizing that he'd made some kind of mistake.

"Thirteen." Henry looked at him questioningly, so Silver repeated himself. "Tabitha is thirteen."

For a moment, Silver thought that Henry might actually fall out. "Thirteen...? Are you sure?"

"I met her when she was ten, an' t'at was t'ree years ago," Silver chuckled. "Almost certain t'at adds up t'e thirteen, lad."

Henry shook his head in disbelief. "I'm... I'm so sorry. I never would have... Thirteen? I-I had no idea - "

"Ya aren't in any trouble now, lad," Silver told him. "But ya will be if ya don't back off now."

"No! No, of course. I will. I-I would never - "

Silver interrupted his stammering with a gentle push. "Off wit' ya. Go eat yer supper."

Trying to regain his composure, Henry stumbled dazedly back down to the galley.


Tabitha awoke the next morning still in the crows nest, Henry's coat still wrapped around her. She smiled to herself then, after quickly brushing her fingers through her hair, scrambled down to find Henry. It didn't take long to find him lounging in his hammock, apparently unable or unwilling to find any work to do.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

Henry nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. "Oh, um, hello... Tabitha."

Tabitha stared at him for a second then shook her head. "Here. I brought your jacket back."

"Oh, um, right," he stammered as he stood up and took it from her.

"Um..." Tabitha began, unsure of why he was acting so put off. "So what are you - "

"I'm sorry, but... I-I have to go now."

Without waiting for Tabitha to respond, Henry had darted out of the crew's quarters as fast as he could. Tabitha was puzzled to say the least, but managed to shake it off mostly and decide to try to talk to him again later. That attempt failed as well. She'd simply asked if he'd liked to go out in a longboat with her, but he'd gasped and looked at her in such a panicked way that anyone would have thought she'd asked him to help her plan a murder. Without giving her a vocal answer, he'd literally run away from her, leaving Tabitha once again shocked and a bit hurt.

The rest of the day passed in similar encounters, with Henry always looking at her in... fear? Tabitha couldn't quite place her finger on whatever it was, but it wasn't something she expected out of the calm and collected Henry, especially not towards her.

"H-Henry!" she managed to call out at the end of dinner.

Henry froze on his way out of the galley and turned around slowly. "Yes?"

"Um..." She turned back to the dishes she was washing, trying to act as natural as she could, as if this didn't matter, as if she was only curious. "What's... been going on with you today? You've been kind of... jumpy, or something..."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

Tabitha gave up her calm facade and turned around to face him. "You know what I mean. You've been acting weird towards me all day. Yesterday you were calling me love and tucking me in to go to sleep, and now you can hardly look at me without freaking out."

Henry clenched his eyes shut and sighed regretfully. "Tabitha... I'm sorry. I-It's not your fault."

"Well then what is it? You're certainly acting like it's my fault."

"I... I can't..." he faced her and shook his head. "Tabitha, I don't like you the way you like me."

Simultaneously, Tabitha felt her breath catch, her stomach begin to church, and her eyes sting with tears she knew wouldn't come. "Wh-What?"

"I'm sorry for leading you on, but... I didn't realize... what I was doing," he explained.

"What do you mean you didn't realize?" she accused. "You were trying to make me fall for you! Any idiot could see that!"

"You - " He stopped the angry tone of his voice and lowered it. "You'll have to ask Silver."

Tabitha dropped the plate she was holding and it shattered on the floor. "What?"

"I-I don't know what to tell you. You'll have to speak with him."

She watched as he turned to leave, still playing back through the conversation in her head. Finally, she gritted her teeth together. "Okay, I will." Storming out of the galley, she instantly found Silver in his spot at the bow of the ship. "Silver!"

Silver turned and smiled at her. "Hey t'ere, Tabby! Ya got yer chores done early?"

She ignored this and marched up to him. "What did you tell Henry?"

Silver looked shocked for a second, then he sighed heavily. "Lass..."

"What did you say?" she shouted. "He can hardly even stand to look at me now!"

"I told him he needed to back off," Silver said sternly. "The two of ya never weren't gonna work - "

"Why? Why not? Just because I'm younger than him?"

"Tabby, there's more to it than that! Ya were after different things, and I wasn't going to see ya get yer heart broken because - "

"You didn't want me - Ugh! Silver, that isn't fair!"

"Fair?" He said, now towering over her. "Listen t' me, Tabby. I know ya liked 'im, and t'ere's not a t'ing wrong wit' the lad... Well, mostly, anyway."

"Get to the point!" she demanded.

"You were gonna end up hurt lass, and I didn't want to see that happen to ya. T'e only reason Henry wanted ya was - "

"Stop it!" she screamed, her chest seizing up now. "Just... leave me alone!" she managed to choke out as she rushed away from him down to her cot.

Tabitha tore the covers around her and waited, willing the tears to come, though she knew they wouldn't. They never did. She slammed her fists down against the mattress then fell over, flopping face first into the pillow and willing sleep to take her, if only so she wouldn't have to feel this pain in her chest anymore.


Tabitha wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but she guessed it must be pretty late as several other crew members were now in their hammocks. Her head was pounding, her eyes itchy, and her stomach either sick or hungry, she couldn't tell. Either way, she thought a glass of water was in order. She groaned and managed to pull herself out of bed and meander over to the galley.

"... happened exactly?"

"Yeah, Henry, I thought you'd have her any day now!"

Tabitha stopped. Her. There was only one 'her' on this ship, and she was it...

She heard the familiar sound of Henry's laughter. "So did I! That was my plan, after all."

"So what was the problem then, man?"

"That cyborg father of hers didn't scare ya away, did he?"

"You think after all that work I'd let that stop me? Nah," he laughed. "It'd take more than that."

"All that work? What work would t'is be?"

"Hey, it takes a lot to make a girl like that fall for you. She's level headed. It takes more than a few compliments and flirtatious statements to lure her in. No, this was a job. It took time and effort to convince her that I actually care for her."

"But ya did convince her!"

"Convince her?" one of the other men scoffed. "He did much more than that. The gal was practically falling at his feet. I don't know why you waited as long as you did to try to get her in your bed."

Tabitha gasped quietly from outside the galley door.

"Oh, I'd have had her alright, if it weren't for the small fact I learned about her..." Henry led them on.

"Small fact?"

"What was it, lad?"

Henry paused for dramatic effect. "Tabitha," he took a sip from his mug. "Is thirteen."

The outcry that went up was unbelievable. Some whistled, some gasped, some laughed. The comments were what really shocked Tabitha, though:

"Thirteen? Well, ain't she a looker fer her age?"

"Don't know why you let that stop you, mate! Age is nothing but a number!"

"I second that! After all that waiting, I don't know how you managed not to jump her bones!"

Henry laughed, albeit a little uncomfortably. "Lads, calm down. She's just some girl."

For some reason, that statement hit her the hardest of all. She bit her lips, feeling her chest began to spasm in fake sobs again.

"HEY!"

Tabitha was so startled by the voice that she stumbled back into the ajar door and fell to her back. The crew that was in the galley all stood up from their places and looked at her. The crew member that had caught her eavesdropping entered the room and looked down at her as well.

"Tabitha!" Henry gasped.

The silence that followed felt actually painful to Tabitha. She stared up at the men in the room as they stared down at her. She was sure her face must have been bright red and she couldn't figure out what to do. She glanced around in panic, her sights finally falling on Henry as another wave of emotions hit her.

She tried to say something, anything, but nothing happened. When she could take the pain no more, she scrambled to her feet, pushed her way past the crew member at the door, and ran.


Silver had been heading to bed at the end of his watch when Tabitha suddenly came rushing out of the galley, looking nothing short of humiliated. He watched her rush up to the crows nest to be alone.

"Tabitha, wait!"

Silver turned again to see Henry running after her. He stopped at the top of the stairs when he realized she was already up in the nest. He sighed.

"What in blue blazes did ya do t' her?" Silver accused.

"Nothing! I swear!" Henry said, holding his hands up in surrender. After a moment though, he glared right back. "Why didn't you talk to her?"

"What?"

"I sent her to you! I didn't know what to tell her, so I thought you would explain it!"

"I tried to, but she got upset!"

Henry winced. "So she had no idea that I wanted to..."

"No," Silver interrupted.

"I..." Henry sighed. "I really didn't mean for her to get hurt."

Silver scoffed. "I'm not so sure about t'at, but t'e point is t'at she is now."

The men stared at each other for a minute, silently fighting for who should be the one to talk to her.

"She hates me," Henry finally spoke up.

"Well t'e two of us aren't on t'e best of terms at t'e moment now either."

"But you're still practically her father. If anyone can help her, it's you."

Silver glared at him, then sighed. "Alright. I'll talk t' her. But ya best start workin' on yer apology t' her. We get back to port t'morrow, an' I want ya t' fix t'ings before t'en."

Henry nodded. "Yes. Of course."


Tabitha hugged her arms tightly to herself as she stared out at the stars. She was much too scared to look at Meddyliau, afraid the planet might simply explode if she cast that many feelings onto it. Instead, she focused on one particular star. It seemed a shade dimmer than all the others. She just stared at it, willing her body to calm down. A few minutes of failing miserably at this, she heard the clicking and whirling of gears and then a grunt as Silver pulled himself into the crow's nest with her.

"Really wish ya'd find somewhere else t' hide out when yer upset," he chuckled. "T'ain't easy gettin' up here wit' t'is hunk o' hardware."

"Did you ever think that maybe I come up here because I don't want you to follow me?" she snapped.

Silver sighed and leaned against the wooden enclosure beside her. "So... what 'xactly did ya hear?"

Tabitha gulped and turned her attention way from the star to look at the wood grain of the wall. "More than I would have ever wanted to... You were right, Silver," she whispered. "We wanted... different things."

Silver opened his mouth to begin his 'I-told-you-so' speech, but stopped himself when he began to observe how shaken up she looked. "Tabby... are ya cryin'?"

Tabitha shook her head, but her body still wracked with dry sobs. Her chest was heaving, her face bright red, her eyes clenched tightly shut. Silver really didn't have much experience with this whole 'comforting' thing, but he couldn't just let watch her fall apart. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she took care of the rest. In an instant, she'd turned and latched onto him, desperately clenching onto his coat, her face pressed against his stomach.

"He just wanted me for sex," she choked. "He was just using me. That's all. He never liked me."

"T'at's not true now, lass," he told her. "He must 'ave cared 'bout ya some or he would've gone t'rough wit' his plan."

"He only stopped because he found out how old I was! He was just like the men in the alley that you saved me from..."

"Oh, is t'at what ya t'ink?" Tabitha nodded and Silver wrapped his arms around her. "T'at ain't all true. Henry wasn't gonna force ya to do anyt'ing ya didn't want t' do. He was simply tryin' t' lure you in. T'ose men I saved ya from wouldn't 'ave cared if you'd been hurt or if you'd begged t'em to stop." He pushed her back slightly so he could see her face. "Henry does like ya, lass."

Tabitha shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He told me he didn't like me the same way - "

"An' t'at may be true," Silver interrupted. "Henry may have been after somethin' more... mature t'en you, but he does care about yer feelings. He was worried about ya. He sent me up here to make sure ya were okay."

"He did?" she asked hopefully.

Silver nodded. "I'm not gonna say what Henry did was alright, but he's not t'e first t' do it, an' he won't be t'e last, but he will be one of t'e few t'at takes yer feelings into consideration."

Tabitha thought this through for a second, then, with a small smile, tightly embraced Silver. He started slightly, then chuckled and returned the hug.

"Now t'en," he said as he pulled away from her. "Why don't ya look at t'at planet and tell me what it is yer feelin'?"

Tabitha laughed lightly and pulled out her periscope to look at it. "Black. Big surprise."

"Tabby, it takes a lot fer that planet t' show up black. Ya gotta have too many t'ings on yer mind, and no lass yer age should be focused on t'at much."

"Yeah, well, that little encounter with Henry was pretty confusing. There's a hundred different colors that planet could be. Pink, red, purple, green - "

"Now wait a second, lass," he stopped her. "I got t'e first three - it makes sense fer ya t' be embarrassed or angry or confused - but green? What are ya so hopeful 'bout?"

Tabitha hesitated, then turned away shaking her head. "It's nothing."

Silver frowned. "Tabby..."

She bit her lip at the harsh tone of his voice, then sighed and opened up. "I'm hopeful that not all guys are like this." She looked back at Silver to see him standing there looking kind of baffled. "That a bit out of your league as far as comforting goes?" she teased.

Silver chuckled. "Not at all. Listen t' me, Tabitha: t'ere are plenty o' boys out t'ere t'at are jus' like t'ose men in t'e alley - only after one t'ing. T'en there are t'ose like Henry - interested, but they care about ya some as well. T'en there are t'e men t'at are gonna sweep ya off yer feet, treat ya wit' not'ing but kindness, never dream o' layin' a hand t' ya - T'at's t'e kind o' man yer gonna fall in love wit'."

"You seem so sure," she giggled.

"Well t'at's cause I am!" he laughed with her. "Ye'll meet 'im someday when ya least expect it."

"Mhmm," she agreed. "And he'll be riding a white horse and his surname will be Charming."

Silver laughed heartily. "I ain't writin' a fairytale fer ya, lass! I'm tryin' t' be serious. It's gonna happen one day. Ye'll meet a lad who's gonna make ya fall, but he'll be t'ere t' catch ya."

Tabitha smiled to herself. Without a prompt from Silver, she decided to look at the planet again. "It's just green now," she laughed. "You've turned me into a hopeless romantic in under five minutes!"

"Not'ing wrong wit' t'at," he winked at her.

She smiled and he started to leave, but she stopped him. "Why is it never gold?"

"What?"

"Meddyliau. It's never gold. I've seen every other color, but never gold..." she looked at him curiously. "Does it ever turn gold?"

"O' course it does. It turns every color yer mind can tink up, but gold is t'e most elusive," he explained.

"Why is that?"

"Well... T'at planet is only gonna turn gold when yer completely happy. When ya know yer right where yer s'pposed t' be, an' ya wouldn't change a t'ing."

"Wait, completely happy?" she questioned. "Isn't happiness relative? It's different to different people, so how would you know when you're completely happy?"

Silver smirked and shook his head. "Yer pretty bright fer yer age, lass. Yer right, it will be different, but ye'll know. Only problem is most people tend t' spend t'ere whole lives waitin' on t'e next t'ing, searchin' fer somethin' more t'en what t'ey have... T'ey don't know a good t'ing when t'ey got it..." Silver drifted off dazedly, but quickly snapped his attention back to Tabitha. "Complete happiness is hard enough t' find, but even harder t' keep."

"Have you ever seen it turn gold?"

Silver almost gave the truthful answer, but stopped himself; he wasn't in the mood to go down the path that story would lead to... "Nope. Never known anyone else who has eit'er."

"Guess I don't have much of a chance of seeing it then, do I?"

"I don't know, Tabby..." he smirked, rubbing his chin. "We'll wait 'till t'at Prince Charmin' o' yers turns up an' t'en we'll see."


"Tabitha!"

Tabitha turned around at the bottom of the plank from the ship to find Henry racing after her. "Oh. Hello, Henry."

"Tabitha, I..." Henry stopped when he noticed Silver standing with her. He took a chance and pulled her a short distance away, wishing for this apology to be a bit more truthful and not under the harsh gaze of her guardian.

"What is it?" she inquired.

"I want to apologize," he admitted as he took her hands in his. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you. It wasn't right for me to lead you on and sway your feelings in my favor to try to take advantage of you, regardless of your age. I never wanted to see you hurt. I-I just assumed that you knew what I was after, because i-if you'd been older, I'm sure you would have recognized it, but... I-I had no idea how young and naive you were or I never would have even thought about it. I'm so sorry you had to learn it through overhearing my conversation with the other crew mates. I should have told you the real reason personally. I know you must despise me, Tabitha, but please forgive me. I swear it was never my intention to see you come to harm of any kind."

Tabitha smiled. "Henry, it's really alright. I'm not going to say what you did was right, but things would have been different if I was older. You didn't know. It's okay. Thank you for being honest."

Henry managed to give her a half-smile. "I know it probably doesn't mean much now, but you aren't just some girl - You're an amazing girl, Tabitha. You're bright, and funny, and beautiful... and now you know I'm not just saying that to try to make you fall for me. I promise I'm being completely honest. Whatever man ends up with you is going to be the luckiest man in the Etherium."

Tabitha smirked. "You're feeding me lines again."

Henry laughed. "Alright, admittedly it's a bit cliche, but I mean it. Every word." He gently raised her hand and pressed a gently kiss to the back of it. "Goodbye, Miss Tabitha."

Tabitha watched him walk away. She stood there for a moment, looking a bit shocked but happy more than anything.

"Ya look a bit dopey wearin' a smile like t'at, lass," Silver interrupted her thoughts. "He didn't charm ya again now, did he?"

Tabitha laughed and shook her head. "No. He's leaving that job for someone else."


Yeah, okay, the more I read this chapter, the less I like it. I pretty much just gave up on it though.

This always happens: As soon as I post it, I think of a million different, better ways I could have done it... Ugh. Le sigh. Whatever. I hope it's not too bad. You know, other than it being rushed and cliche and too... happy ending-y. (Yeah, I just made up that adjective. What of it? :P)

Anyway, at least it's a chapter, right?

There are probably more things I should say, but I'm tired and I don't know what they are so oh well.

I promise I'll do better on the next chapter, and hopefully post it sooner.

And remember, reviewers are made of awesome!

Thanks!
-Emily

+Responses to Reviews+

Horseygirl 96: Thank you! Sorry about the wait for this one.

23jk: Thank you! I'm glad it made you forget about school. That's always good... Or usually, at least. :D

anon: Wow, another long review! I'm so glad you enjoyed it all! I like your ideas. I'll try to work them in somewhere. :) Thank you!

Tsukasa-kun: I'm so glad you enjoyed the fluffiness! I know, I can't wait to have my own house! :D Oh my gosh, I've already written some of what happens after they have kids, and Jim totally has a line about how it's just 'the next big adventure' like you said. Haha I just thought that was interesting. Thank you!

malisa: Of course you can feel the sparks! The story is called 'Sparks Fly' after all. :D Yep, Tabitha's not pregnant... yet. You'll see how it plays out soon enough. Just keep reading! ;) Thanks!

Blair Bear Tate Monster: Your comments always make me laugh! Probably because I sound exactly the same when I fangirl. :D I am honored that you are fangirling over my story!

NeverTooLate03: I'm so glad you're still fangirling over my story! That is still crazy to me. Oh yeah... I definitely need to write peoples reactions to Rylee and Cason having a kid... I'll do something along those lines. It sounds fun. :D Yeah, Tabitha and Jim did beat them at everything else... Well, actually, they may have tied in the whole making love thing... it was the same day, after all. I know! Jim bought a house! Well, of course I know, I wrote it, lol, but I still thought it was cool. You'll find out where the kiddies are soon enough! Damn it! Where the hell did that protoplasmic blob get to now? *goes off in search of Morph* Oh, and thank you, as always!

MistressTaco: Thank you! I love you and your reviews!

SweetAngel183: I know, right? Jim is just too cute. Don't worry! The kiddies will be here soon! :D Thank you!

FallenAngelx3: Thanks! Oh, wow! I'm so glad I inspired you! That's awesome!

chibimaker: Thank you so much! Ooh, that is an interesting idea... but I've actually already got the love interests of their kids planned out. I'm sorry! It was a really cute idea!