Blurred Horizons

As the four weeks came to an end, Scarlett and Ben were disappointed to learn that no matter how much they searched, no one knew where that old man had gone. It was like he'd been a ghost, and just disappeared. She wasn't sure what to explain to her crew. She couldn't ask them to stay there, after they'd been doing nothing but gamble on deck for a month. Thankfully, no new injuries had appeared on anyone. After Ivan's death, the four remaining men with the amulet's power were extremely careful, as if the tiniest splinter could kill them. Other than her usual symptoms, Scarlett felt nothing, though the slow dimming of the amulet did give her anxiety.

In the meantime, Scarlett had been staying cooped up in the room to avoid facing her crew. She was terrified of what would happen if they found out about the baby. She couldn't afford to deal with a mutiny, and she wasn't sure how her crew would feel about a child on board. It wasn't like Scarlett had much of an option when it came to raising her baby. Unless she handed the baby to Ben and sent him to a far off, isolated country to raise the child alone in the middle of nowhere, the bounty hanging over Scarlett's head meant she couldn't keep permanent residence anywhere, or she'd surely be caught and executed. It was something she thought of often, especially in the mornings, as she was getting ready for a new day.

She found herself fumbling with the buttons on the back of the dress she'd wiggled into, thanks to her anxious, shaking hands. Ben came to help her, brushing her blonde curls aside to button the back of her dress up for her. Normally, it didn't take very long at all, but Ben's brow furrowed in concentration as he pulled on the back of the dress. This continued for a minute or two before he gently placed his hands on Scarlett's shoulders. He seemed uncomfortable, trying to sort the words in his head.

"Well," he sighed. "I won't sugarcoat it. You don't fit."

"What do you mean, I don't fit?" Scarlett frowned, glaring at him through the reflection in the mirror. "Are you calling me fat?"

"I'm calling you pregnant."

"Cook says I've gained weight. You don't think I've gotten chubby?"

"No."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Well..."

Scarlett made a slight choking sound, and Ben quickly hurried to cover up what he'd said.

"But it's only natural, in your state!" he stammered. "It doesn't make you any less beautiful!"

But Scarlett wasn't having any of it. Ben had to undress her before she tried squeezing herself into the dress by force. Normally, she didn't have any insecurity about her body, especially in front of Ben. There wasn't an inch of her that he hadn't already seen after all. Yet as she stared at herself in the mirror and noticed the small bump that had appeared over her stomach, she wasn't sure what to think. It didn't look like her. Ben noticed her staring as he fumbled through her closet. He pulled something a little looser and managed to put her in it, keeping the back loosely laced to hide the bump.

"The crew is going to notice," Scarlett realized suddenly.

Ben said nothing as he tied off the laces on the back of the dress, leaning over to kiss the side of her head.

"They'll get used to it."

"Ben, I can't," Scarlett said, suddenly feeling herself get dizzy as she started to panic once more.

By then, Ben was an expert at what to do in these situations. He swiftly picked her up and sat her down on the bed, leaning her back against the pillows.

"Breathe. It's fine."

"Ben..."

"Breathe," Ben said again, hesitating for a few moments. "Listen, I've been thinking a little bit. Now, I need you to hear me out before you say anything, alright?"

Scarlett frowned, but nodded.

"Maybe- just temporarily- I should take over your duties as captain for you-"

Scarlett ignored his request to stay calm, jumping up rather suddenly with her eyes wide. Ben pulled her back down, desperate to quiet her before she screamed and attracted everyone's attention. He wanted to take over for her? Why would he do that? Ben loved her for her, not for her position.

"Madi, it's only until you have the baby," Ben promised. "You've been stressed, and you shouldn't be. You haven't been thinking straight, and you haven't been acting yourself, especially around the crew. And you're right, the crew is going to start noticing. And when they do, they won't be taking you very seriously, will they?"

Scarlett listened, but she wanted to cry. She was living in constant fear of this child. And now, without even being born yet, it was changing everything. Ben sighed and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I just think it's for the best. It's only temporary. As soon as the baby is born, you'll be back to being the most feared captain on the seven seas. And besides, you know I'm a slave for you. This won't be changing that."

Scarlett sighed and loosened her tense shoulders, reluctantly nodding. He was right. Again. When she was the size of Jupiter, no one was going to respect her as their captain. She hated it when Ben was right about things like this, but he always was. She was a sharp lookout for any time he was proven to be wrong.

Later that afternoon, the crew was gathered up on deck around Scarlett, who sat up on a stack of crates with her feet swinging lightly and her hands held in front of her, sort of trying to hide the bump from view, though her clothes already did a fairly good job of that. She caught eye contact with Doc, who had obviously noticed already. He seemed to know what was happening.

"Well, I'll just get to the point, then," Scarlett sighed, as everyone listened impatiently. "The ship is completely functional again. By tonight, we will be on our merry way again. But things are going to be a little bit different. I haven't been feeling quite... myself... lately."

There was a bit of murmuring within the crew. Apparently, they'd been talking about her mood swings behind her back anyways. She glared at them, and they quieted down again, listening.

"Anyways," she continued, "That's why I'm putting Ben in charge of both my duties and his own. From this point on, you answer to him. Temporarily, of course. Only until I have my head back."

Scarlett expected the crew to yell at her in disagreement, but was surprised to find that they'd gone completely silent, some wearing goofy grins on their faces. Ben shifted uncomfortably as Scarlett furrowed her brow and scanned the crew.

"Aye?"

The crew nodded eagerly, much to Scarlett's surprise again as she dismissed them. Ben didn't stick around either, finding something to do so Scarlett didn't dump her confusion on him. Doc stayed behind, however, stepping forward to speak to Scarlett.

"That was the right thing to do," he told her. "For your health."

"Of course it was. It was my idea," Scarlett lied, looking away. "The crew took the change of authority rather well, don't you think?"

"Ben is nicer," Doc told her bluntly. "And he doesn't shoot people as often. Ever, actually."

Scarlett looked back at Doc with an annoyed look, but he just shrugged. At least she could appreciate his honesty. She didn't care that they liked Ben more than her. When she was back as captain, they'd be sorry. She looked Doc up and down, frowning. She never realized how young he was. He was younger than Ben, and maybe even Scarlett.

"Are you old enough to be a physician?" she asked bluntly.

He rolled his eyes, clearly having been asked this many times before. "I completed my education in half the time of the average person. My father was a physician before me. He taught me everything himself. School was for the 'common folk', as he said."

"What's a child prodigy with as much promise as you doing on a pirate ship, then?"

"Avoiding the gallows."

Scarlett paused in surprise, looking him up and down. "The gallows?"

"I still wanted to practice medicine, and this was my best option," he sighed. "I might as well band together with other outlaws. If we go down, at least we all go down together."

"What did you do?" Scarlett inquired.

Doc's expression turned grave, and luckily for him, Scarlett's attention was diverted by some yelling on the docks below them, hearing her name being called. She hopped off the crates and rushed over to the railing, where she saw Dahlia jumping around and trying to get their attention.

"Trinidad!" she cried out as soon as she saw them. "Trinidad! He's in Trinidad!"