Blurred Horizons

Like Doc expected, Ivan didn't survive the rest of the trip. Much to Scarlett's disapproval, the ship had to slow down to prevent further damage, and they weren't able to finally port in Barbados for a little over a week, which was much longer than anticipated. Ivan lasted about three days before finally giving in to illness. The first thing the crew did upon docking was bury him, with a goodbye as simple as Donovan's. After a day of respect to him had passed, Ben and Scarlett were off to seek repairs for the ship. There was only one mechanic with the expertise and willingness to work with Scarlett, and he definitely didn't say what she'd been wanting to hear.

"Four weeks?!" Scarlett yelled at him, though the stout man was unfazed. "What on earth do you need to do that'll take four weeks?"

"Scarlett, calm down," Ben muttered to her, though he was ignored.

"With what you've done to your ship?" the mechanic smirked. "You're lucky it's only taking me four weeks."

"I don't have four weeks!" Scarlett said, practically screaming now.

Her hand twitched towards her gun but Ben firmly grabbed her wrist and yanked it away from the weapon, glaring at her. This was how the last three mechanics had kicked them out of the shop. This one, however, just laughed at her.

"It'll take even longer if you shoot me, you silly girl."

This time, Ben had to slip an arm around Scarlett's waist and hold her back when she tried to pounce on the smug man. Ben pulled her in, holding her tightly by the shoulders and lowering his voice.

"Watch it, Scarlet," he whispered sternly. "This is our last option, unless you want to kiss the Spirit goodbye. Deep breaths. You're red in the face. Stop that before you give yourself a nosebleed."

Scarlett reluctantly gave in, pushing away from Ben and crossing her arms over her chest, angrily watching as Ben paid the mechanic the first quarter of the ridiculous amount he asked for up front. On their way out, Scarlett caught the mechanic giving her another mocking look, and it took all her energy not to punch that dirty smile off his face. She was quickly distracted when she caught another dirty look on Ben's face, though he was simply angry with her.

"What?" she frowned.

"Everything I do, I do for you," he told her. "Yes, it's terrible. Four weeks is a long time. But if you're not going to keep your head on for you, do it for the baby. I need to to help me here, Scarlett."

Scarlett quieted down, awkwardly walking a little bit behind Ben. That's how she was sure he'd be a good father. She felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Ben eventually looked over his shoulder and saw her sulking, rolling his eyes and stopping so she could catch up to him.

"Are you still angry?" she asked.

"I can't stay mad at you for long," he said, putting an arm around her and kissing her forehead. "But I'm not going to let it go. You need to change the way you handle things when you're upset or annoyed. For the baby's sake. Next time you want to punch someone, just take a deep breath and calm yourself. There's another human inside of you, and she's too small to share the burden of your unnecessary stress."

"But I have to he stressed," Scarlett argued. "Two of my finest men are dead, and we have no real reason as to why. Do you know what can happen in four weeks?"

"I know," he sighed, "But the only thing we can do is try and find a way to fix it, one step at a time. Worrying about the rest of the crew won't get us anywhere. At least in four weeks, we can find the man we're looking for."

"I suppose."

Scarlett sighed and placed her hands on her stomach lightly, stopping. Ben stopped too, gazing at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Oh yes, I'm fine," she assured him. "It's just a little too warm for my tastes, here."

"I thought you loved the summer," Ben said, leading her to a shady spot and moving around her to pin her loose blonde locks of curly hair up to the nape of her neck.

"I love the summer. Not the heat," she explained.

She was about to say something else when she saw a young girl staring at them out of the corner of her eye. Even when she turned to look at her, the girl didn't stop staring, dark, tired eyes almost piercing into Scarlett's soul. She looked like a young handmaiden, judging from her pale blue dress and white apron, and the way her hair stuck messily out of her bun, like she'd been working hard all day. She couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old. Scarlett nudged Ben slightly to direct his attention that way, but before he could look, the girl's mistress had returned. She was a woman around Scarlett's age, in an obnoxiously frilly pink dress and a lacy parasol in her hand. Scarlett couldn't imagine how the woman could wear such heavy clothing in such heat.

"Oh hurry up, will you?" the woman scoffed, grabbing the attention of the young handmaiden.

"My apologies, miss," the girl muttered, hurrying to catch up.

Ben didn't see them until after the girl had turned away, shaking his head.

"It's sad," he muttered. "A girl that age shouldn't be working."

At that moment, a gust of wind snatched the parasol out of the woman's hand, right in their direction. Ben was the one to grab it, closing it so it didn't fly away again. The handmaiden ran to get it from him, but it seemed that as soon as the woman saw how handsome the man who'd grabbed her parasol was, the woman had the sudden urge to run in those uncomfortable pink slipper, shoving the young girl aside to get to Ben first.

"Oh, thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Ben said with a polite smile, handing it back.

"I haven't seen you here before," the woman gushed. "Are you a sailor? My name is Corinne. It's an absolute pleasure to meet you."

Clearly, the woman who called herself Corinne hadn't even seen Scarlett standing there, even with the piercing glare she was giving her. She wanted to rip those ringlets of hair right out of her head, but Ben had quite literally just asked her not to handle her problems that way. Of course, he wasn't helping much. Rather than turn the woman away, he was giving her short, polite responses. Scarlett rolled her eyes and walked over to the young girl, helping her up off the ground.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

The girl just stared again, her voice barely a whisper. "Your baby is beautiful."

A frown appeared on Scarlett's face. How could the girl possibly know that she was pregnant, let alone what her child was going to look like. She didn't have a chance to ask questions before Corinne called the girl back, annoyed.

"Dahlia! Do not run off to speak to prostitutes! Have some self-respect, for goodness sake."

Scarlett turned the shade of red she was named after. This time, however, Ben wasn't taking it lightly. He gave Corinne an annoyed look as he calmly spoke again.

"That's not a prostitute," he informed her. "That happens to be the woman I love. Now if you would be so kind as to excuse us, we should be on our way."

The woman was left dumbstruck as Scarlett gave her a smug grin, clinging tightly to Ben's arm just to make her mad. As they walked away, Ben gave the girl an apologetic smile, which she returned with a bright, confident one. As they walked away, so did Corinne and little Dahlia, in the opposite direction.

"We should probably find that man you were talking about," Ben suggested.

"I remember where he lived," Scarlett told him. "But we'll wait until nightfall. I want to make sure he's there."

Scarlett spent the rest of the day wandering the English port town with Ben, taking note of their surroundings since they'd be stuck there for so long. Scarlett hated to think about what could happen in four weeks. Ivan's injuries appeared far slower than Don's did, and Scarlett could only hope that it meant the next person would go even slower, if there was a next person.

That night, Ben followed Scarlett through the town, all the way to a narrow, three story home. It was a run-down place. Far more run-down than it was when Scarlett had last been there, but undoubtedly the same one. She knocked on the door, hearing several voices inside and an older woman yelling. Finally, the door cracked open to reveal a young girl. The same young girl from earlier. This time, however, she was looking twice as tired and carrying a baby in her arms that was about half her size. She beamed when she saw Ben and Scarlett at her door, adjusting the grip on the baby.

"You?" Scarlett frowned. "Dahlia, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Dahlia nodded.

"There was an older gentleman who lived here," Scarlett said. "We're looking for him, but his name escapes me."

"You mean Tom?"

"Yes, that's it! Is he here?"

"Tom moved away two years ago," Dahlia informed them. "I knew him. I was one of the few who did. But one day he just disappeared. Come inside!"

Dahlia opened the door wide to let Ben and Scarlett in. Scarlett was shocked to find that as she followed Dahlia in, there were other children in the home as well. Besides Dahlia and the baby she held, there was an older, teenage boy and twin toddlers, both girls. Another boy that looked about a couple years older than Dahlia was sitting on the floor and carving his name into the wood. Among them all, there was an older, extremely stout woman sitting in a chair, watching the children with an annoyed scowl. She looked to Ben and Scarlett, but she wasn't having it. She stood up and went up the stairs to another room, leaving the table open for Ben and Scarlett to sit at. She was surprised the woman could get up the stairs at all.

"Please excuse Miss Patsy, she doesn't like visitors," Dahlia said.

The girl acted like a miniature adult, running to place the baby gently in the crib and pour two cups of tea for Ben and Scarlett. Ben watched with a look of serious concern as she worked, raising an eyebrow as she scolded one of the twins for pulling the other's hair. The teenager just sat there, whittling away at a piece of wood while Dahlia worked.

"Are these your brothers and sisters?" Ben asked as Dahlia climbed into a chair by them.

"Yes," she nodded. "Miss Patsy is our caretaker. Our parents died just a few months ago, so I help her with taking care of the house."

"You work and raise your siblings? At your age?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded again. "So, you two are here for Tom? Are you trying to find him before you have the baby?"

"How did you know we were expecting?" Scarlett asked.

"I've delivered four babies, miss," she said proudly. "I've learned a lot about babies."

"Well, you're right, Dahlia," Ben said. "We are looking for Tom. You say you know him?"

"That's right," Dahlia said. "He was my father's friend. He lived here, but something about the house made him sad, so he gave it to my father and went away. He was a good man, even if he was a little cranky. He told me lots of stories about a magical island and magical treasures-"

"You know about the amulet?" Ben asked suddenly, both he and Scarlett perking up. "The 'legend', I mean."

"Oh, yes. He knew lots about that."

Ben exchanged a glance with Scarlett before smiling warmly to the girl, keeping his tone quiet and friendly.

"Dahlia, sweetheart, it would mean very much to us if you would please tell us everything he told you."