Over the next few days Tilly slowly made her way around every job on the ship, pitching in and helping out every member of the crew with their assigned chores. She went fishing with Fang, pealed potatoes with Roach, fixed the rigging with Frenchie, and polished knives with Jim. Lucuis had finished her portrait and even Izzy had spent an hour showing her the basics of map reading. The only person Tilly hadn't managed to spend any time with was Ed.

It wasn't for lack of trying either. Every morning Tilly would ask Ed if he needed any help that day and every morning Ed would brush her off with some flimsy excuse, then disappear and Tilly wouldn't see him again until dinner. Sometimes she would feel as if somebody was watching her at odd times of the day, but every time she turned around to check, there was nobody in sight.

Fang had even told Tilly that Ed was his usual fishing buddy, but he'd declined Fang's offer and scuttered off when they'd invited him to join the two them when they went fishing.

Between Ed avoid her and the baby making nearly all food stomach churning, Tilly was starting a crave a taste of home.

"Do you know how to make madeleines?" Tilly asked as she marched into the kitchen one afternoon.

Roach and Wee John both looked up from the vegetables they were dicing at her sudden entrance,

"I do not," Roach replied,

"What are madeleines?" Wee John asked,

"Oh, they're delicious!" Roach cried, "They're these soft little French cakes that look like shells,"

"Cakes that look like shells?"

"Oh yeah, they're very pretty,"

"They sound a bit weird,"

"My mum's never looked that much like shells," Tilly said, "They were more like blobs, but they were always very nice. They taste like home." Tilly wrapped her arms around herself, unable to keep the feeling of longing out of her voice.

Roach frowned, "Do you know how to make them?" he asked,

Tilly looked up hopefully, "I'm not sure. Maybe. I used to help her make them when I was a kid."

Roach jumped to his feet, "Let's see what we can do then."

Roach set about gathering up any potential ingredients and laid them out in front of Tilly, "Anything else you think we need?"

Tilly looked at the array in front of her, "I don't think so," she said.

Roach grinned, "Then let's get going!"

Before too long the Revenge was filled with the smell of madeleines and one by one the crew, including Ed, made their way to the kitchen to investigate the source of the smell. This meant that by the time the madeleines were ready everyone was already gathered around to witness them emerging from the oven.

They didn't look much like shells, but nobody other than Stede knew what they were meant to look like, all everyone else saw and smelt was cake, and that was more than enough to make everyone very happy.

"Can we have one?" Pete asked,

"I think Tilly should get the first one," Roach said, "Chefs perk and all that."

Tilly picked up one of the madeleines and took a bite. Sweetness filled her mouth, and she was instantly transported home. She could almost see her mum cooking away by the stove and her dad coming home from work; a feeling of safety and love overwhelmed her. The feeling of home. "They're perfect," She breathed.

"Tuck in!" Roach cried and everyone reached for a madeleine.

"Oh, these are great!" Jim said,

"Another success Roach," Stede nodded approvingly, "You'll have to add them to the roaster for the future."

Tilly glanced over to where Ed had been standing, to see what he made of the madeleines, but he was nowhere in sight.

-x-

Ed hurried out of the kitchen, half-eaten madeleine still in hand. He made his way up the rigging towards the crow's nest, where he settled on the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees, pulling them up to his chest.

He'd known what the smell was the instant it had first wafted across the Revenge. One sniff and he'd been transported back to his mother's kitchen. He should have stayed away. That one flash of a memory should have been enough of a warning for him to keep clear, but he hadn't listened to his instincts, instead he'd followed the smell down to the kitchen, where he'd found Tilly cooking madeleines, just like his mum used to, looking just like his mum did.

He'd been just about keeping it together, keeping all the memories from his childhood at bay, until he'd tried one of the madeleines, and then it had become just too much. If the scent had triggered a flurry of memories, the taste had triggered an avalanche, and now they just wouldn't stop coming.

Ed squeezed his eyes shut but all he could see was his mother, smiling as she baked, with him sat on the worktop next to her. She would turn and smile at him every so often, a smile of genuine warmth, the kind she only gave when they knew Ed's father wasn't around and wasn't going to be for quite some time. Sometimes Ed's mum would be supporting bruises, but her smile always lit her face up anyway. It was as if the injuries didn't matter when it was just her and Ed.

"Ed? Are you up here?" Came Stede's voice.

Ed opened his eyes and gingerly uncurled himself. He peered over the edge of the crow's nest to see Stede climbing up towards him. "I'm here," he called back. He watched as Stede reached the top of the rigging and came to sit down next to Ed,

"Are you okay?" Stede asked, "You left in quite a hurry. I looked around and you just suddenly weren't there anymore."

Ed looked down at the half a madeleine, still clutched in his hand. It was a little bit squashed but other than that it was still intact.

"You didn't finish yours?" Stede asked, "Did you not like it?"

Ed shook his head, "It was...perfect. That's the problem."

Stede frowned, "I'm not sure I quite follow, Dear,"

"It tastes exactly like the ones my mum used to make,"

"Ah," Stede nodded in understanding, "I believe that's why Tilly wanted to make them."

Ed nodded but he didn't take his eyes off the madeleine in his hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Stede asked after it became clear that Ed wasn't going to say anything.

Ed looked up and stared at the sky. He stayed quiet for a few moments, long enough that Stede thought he wasn't going to say anything, but then he let out a deep sigh, "She used to cook them for me, my mum that is, not Tilly, every year, around my birthday. We didn't have sweet things very often – we couldn't afford the ingredients, but she used to save up so she could give me this one thing. It would take the whole year to get enough money. She had to hide the money from my dad, and she couldn't take more than a few pennies at a time, or he would notice. We'd have to wait for my dad to go out to be able to make them, so it wasn't always on my actual birthday, but it was always a lovely night. It would just be the two of us, and we wouldn't have to worry my dad would come home, and we'd eat cake all night, because they had to be gone by morning," Ed looked back down at the madeleine in his hand, "I haven't thought about it in years but this just…" Ed trailed off,

"Brought everything back?" Stede suggested,

"Yeah."

Stede pulled Ed into his arms.

"I didn't mean to run off," Ed said as he rested his head of Stede's shoulder, "It was just all a bit overwhelming. Everything has been since Tilly showed up," Ed shut his eyes, "She reminds me so much of my mum. She's about the same age my mum was when I was a kid, and I keep catching glimpses of her in the corner of my eye and thinking she's her." Ed sniffed as he felt his eyes start to fill with tears.

Stede kissed Ed on the top of his head, "It's alright," he said,

"Thanks," Ed said, "I think I just need to stay up here, away from everyone else for a little while,"

"That's okay, we can stay up here as long as you want."