Blurred Horizons

Scarlett woke up tangled with Ben, who tightly hand one arm around her and one arm gently resting on her stomach. She tilted her head up to give him a light kiss before shifting in bed so she was sitting upright, his head still in her lap. She sang softly to herself as she brushed his hair out of his face, stopping when the ring on her finger caught the light and glinted brilliantly. She paused to look at it, holding up her hand. Ben knew exactly what she liked. Beautiful and better than everyone else, but without appearing like she was trying too hard.

Thus far, being Mrs. Griffith had been wonderful. She thought she'd feel like an old woman, but she felt quite the opposite of that. She felt as if her life was just beginning, not ending. After a few minutes, Ben caught her hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles as he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Why'd you stop singing?"

Scarlett raised and eyebrow at him as he shifted to sit up next to her, pulling her in tightly as kissing her forehead, she closed her eyes and rested her head on his bare chest, thinking a few seconds before continuing the slow lullaby she'd been absentmindedly singing before.

"Roses love sunshine, violets love dew, Angels in heaven, know I love you," she sang, frowning and lifting her head up. "Oh. I've forgotten the rest."

He chuckled and kissed her again, finishing the rest of the verse for her. "Know I love you, dear, know I love you. Angels in heaven, know I love you."

"If you knew the rest, why did you want me to sing it?" she asked.

"Because it sounds better coming from you than me," he chuckled. "I like hearing you sing."

"I'll sing to the baby," she yawned, curling up against him again.

Ben went silent when she said this, in what seemed like surprise. Scarlett wasn't sure why he'd be surprised, but she didn't question him. As long as he was happy, so was she.

"Have you thought of your names?" he asked, running his fingers through her hair.

"A little bit," she said, sitting up across from him and pulling the bed sheets over her shoulders and resting her hands on her stomach, lightly. "Have you thought of any."

"Some," he shrugged.

"I'm naming him after my husband's best friend," Scarlett announced. "The one who officiated my wedding."

Ben looked at her in shock as she kept her expression straight, glaring at her when he realized she wasn't serious.

"Don't do things like that to me," he grumbled.

"In all honesty, I think I want to name him after your father," Scarlett said.

"Really?"

"Really," she nodded.

He smiled and moved across the bed to pin her down and kiss her, though she noticed he was far more gentle than usual ever since she'd told him they were expecting. She pushed him away a bit, waiting expectantly for him to list his girl names.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me the names you picked?"

"Oh," he chuckled, getting off her and sitting back again. "You'll be here for three days if I listed all the names I like."

"I'm not surprised," she laughed, rolling over on her side and staring at him for a little bit. "I love you, Ben."

"I love you, too," he mumbled, leaning down to kiss her.

They stayed in bed a little while longer before Ben sighed and got out, picking his shirt up off the floor and pulling it over his head. Scarlett frowned as she watched him, tightly holding on to the sheets so he didn't make her get out too.

"We have to go, love," he told her. "We've only paid for three days."

"Then pay for one more," she protested.

"The crew is waiting for us," he reminded her.

"Forget the crew," she argued.

"They don't know where we've been or what we've been up to."

"They wouldn't care, even if they did know."

"We don't know what they've been up to, either."

This time, Scarlett didn't say anything. He was right. Again. For all she knew, someone else could have died from mysterious wounds appearing. She sighed and climbed out of bed, getting her clothing back on and asking Ben to loosely tie the back of the dress again. The more she did so, the more difficult it was to try and hide the bump.

They stopped once more by Simon and Evelyn to say their goodbyes to them and the twins. This time, Scarlett had no problem carrying them and hugging them. She'd grown a bit attached to the babies. Nosebleed made a point of making sure Ben knew he'd be missed, throwing himself at him in a tight hug.

"If you ever feel trapped within your marriage, just write to me and I'll give you my advice," he told Ben.

Ben nodded, fighting to keep a sincere smile on his face. "Oh. Alright. Thank you?"

It took a bit of Simon pulling Nosebleed off Ben before they were finally able to leave. Scarlett reluctantly trailed behind Ben as they returned to the ship, lingering behind a bit and running her hand along the smooth railing. She was pregnant for the first time, but this wasn't her first baby. That ship had been loved and nurtured more than some children in the world could have dreamed of. She jumped a bit when someone tapped her shoulder, spinning around to see Doc there.

"What?"

"Sorry, Ben has just been calling your name," he said. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, just a little dazed," she sighed, looking over to where Ben was waiting for her by the door to the captain's quarters.

She caught Doc staring at her left hand, seemingly having noticed the ring considering he had a sort of lopsided smile on his face. Scarlett gave him a warning look to make sure he didn't go blabbing. He held up his hands in surrender as she confidently walked past him, to where Ben was waiting.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Scarlett scowled. "Why is everyone asking me that?"

"Christ, it was a question," Ben said, rolling his eyes. "I just asked because... well... See for yourself."

She walked past him and saw what he was talking about right away. In its glass case, the amulet had just about stopped glowing. What was once a brilliant light had dulled down to the normal shine of gemstones. Scarlett frowned and opened the case to pick it up, turning it around in her hand. It even felt less powerful.

"Has anyone else been hurt?" she asked.

"No."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. He was lying. It was then that she noticed the odd way he was standing. She frowned and stepped forward, looking him up and down. She put an arm around him, and when she pulled her hand away, it was stained in something wet. Her eyes widened as she looked at the blood on her hand, turning Ben around to find that the entire left side of his shirt was soaked.

"Ben..."

He sighed as she forced his shirt off him, using it to wipe away the blood and find that there was a long slash, like someone had swiped a dagger at him, that stretched down his left side, over his ribs.

"We need to take you to a doctor," Scarlett whispered, her heart about to beat right out of her chest.

"We have a doctor," Ben protested. "I'm fine. It barely even stings."

As much as she loved how strong he was staying for her, she knew it hurt him more than he was admitting to.

"Ben, we need-"

"We're going to Trinidad," he said firmly. "I'm not letting a little scratch stop me."

"But we-"

"You made me captain," he pointed out. "Captain says we're going to Trinidad."

Scarlett drew her hand back, a little shocked that he'd use that against her. He seemed a little uncomfortable, too, but he stuck to what he said. He was quick to cover up the wound and pull a fresh shirt over his head, going back out to pass the order on to the rest of the crew. Scarlett sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling absolutely helpless and defeated. Like they expected, the cuts and bruises were slowing down tremendously, but there was no telling what would happen. All she knew was that there was no way she'd be able to survive without Ben.