A/N: It took forever to figure out if I was gunna cut the chapter where Jack speaks. Lol. This chapter sorta brings things full circle for Bella, as she learns about Hayes and such. And the end is fluff-ish and be a part of the next chapter.
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Chapter 13: A Haunted Past

Jimmy and Bella entered the cabin. She couldn't figure it out but something was different about him. 'I hope it's not something I did.' She sat down on her bed and took her hat off, placing it next to her. Bella looked slightly to her right and saw Jimmy, with his nose in his book, on his on bed. He glanced over his book at her but quickly returned to reading when their eyes locked. "Jimmy is something wrong? You're not acting like yourself..." she trailed off and kept her eyes on him. Jimmy said nothing; he didn't even move. "Jimmy," she sighed. "I'm not sure what's going on," Bella noticed he looked at her, "but if you tell me I can understa-"

"No!" Jimmy strongly cut her off and shut his book loudly. "No, you can't understand it. You wasn't there..." his voice lingered on his last sentence.

Bella got up and moved, sitting next to him. "Wasn't where? The island?" she whispered.

Jimmy was full of anger when he looked at her, and he wasn't hiding it. Bella was almost scared of him. "You don't know how many that thing killed. You didn't lose someone close to you-"

"Who?" she asked, tilting her head.

He sharply inhaled. "Mr. Hayes. The first mate before me," his voice grew weak.

"I...I'm sorry, Jimmy," Bella tried to reassure him. She looked at his eyes and saw he was on the verge of tears.

Jimmy sniffled. "I hate that thing. An' I hope the captain does kill it."

Bella's mouth fell open. "What?" She was shocked. 'Would he truely kill it?' Jimmy seemed to pull himself together. "Why would he kill the creature? It's practically a child."

"'Cause some of us know what it'll become," he replied.

Bella shook her head and stood up, walking out the door. "I won't let him do this," she mumbled as she stepped into the hallway.

-Englehorn POV-

It was reassuring to the captain that they were, once again, en-route to Great Britain. 'But that ape thing doesn't make me feel any better.' He was thinking about having either Max or Kurt kill it before they hit land. 'Then it won't cause a ruckuss.'

Bella stormed into the navigation room. "Captain!" she shouted.

"Yes Bella?" he asked, turning away from the ship's wheel to face her.

"If I may be so bold...How can you think about killing that little creature?" Her voice was strong and her words seemed to have a certain power to them. "The thing is practically an infant!" Bella had a look of anger on her face.

Englehorn never had a crew member yell at him before. 'She has a point,' a voice in his mind said. "Fine," he sighed. "I can try selling it at port," he gave in.

She sighed a breath of relief. "Thank you, sir. It's a much better choice than killing the poor thing." Bella gave a nod. "I'll be on my way now Captain. Sorry for yelling..." she scampered out of the room and down the steps.

Captain Englehorn turned back to the wheel. 'It's odd what can make a person cheerful.'

-Bella POV-

She knocked on the door of Ann and Jack's room before opening the door slowly. Grinning, Bella said, "Ann? Jack?"

Bella found Ann sitting in front of the mirror in her silk robe, looking awfully sad. "Jack's at the galley writing," she said dully.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked her friend as she sat down on the bed.

Ann turned to her and said bluntly, "I miss Kong." Bella noticed her eyes were red.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "But guess what? I just talked to Englehorn and instead of killing the poor creature he's gunna try an' sell it," Bella said cheerfully.

Ann's eyes lit up like stars. "That's wonderful, Bella. Maybe he would let me buy it. I could raise it!" she exclaimed as she turned to face her.

Bella was taken back by the idea and bit her lip. Jack walked in just then, holding a small stack of papers with a pen behind his ear. He laughed nervously, "What are we raising?"

Ann told Jack about her idea of wanting to raise "Little Kong", as she called it. Jack put a hand to his mouth and fell silent, staring at the floor. He finally said, "Ann, I'm not sure about that."

Bella started to sense a certain tension rising in the air. "Um...so I'm gunna go now," she said standing up. "If you two decide, yous best talk to the captain before we hit land." She gave a wave and exited the room. 'Didn't need to see them bicker.' Bella walked down the hall and around the corner before she reached Jimmy's cabin. It was late and Bella felt exhausted from wandering the ship so much in one day. As she walked in, she pulled off her blue button down over her head and threw it on her bunk. 'I think I'll wait for Jimmy. He should be back soon,' Bella thought as she pulled her boots off and tossed them in front of her bunk. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she laid down, resting her head on Jimmy's pillow. She watched the door hazily and adjusted her white shirt. 'Or maybe I'll just nap until then.' Her eyelids drooped and she felt herself drifting to sleep to the motion of the ship.

-Jimmy POV-

Jimmy hated late nights. 'Good thing they only happen every few days,' he thought as he walked into his cabin. The first thing he saw was a sleeping Bella on his bed. 'She always looks nice when she sleeps.' He didn't think there would be anything wrong if he just snuck in next to her. Jimmy took off his boots and removed his hat before crawling in carefully next to her, not bothering to tak his grimy work shirt off. He rolled onto his side slowly, facing the wall and shut his eyes.