Blurred Horizons

"Excuse me, one moment."

Ben stood suddenly and walked out onto the porch outside. Scarlett bit her lip as she adjusted her grip on Gigi, who was stirring in her arms. She quietly shushed and rocked her before the infant began to cry again, while Tom watched her with a very strange look on his face. From the moment Scarlett saw Tom, she knew there was something familiar about him. She didn't think anyone could be as handsome as Ben was until she saw him and realized that Ben was only going to get better with age.

The poor man looked like his heart has stopped when he saw his son. He was absolutely stunned. And Scarlett knew Ben well enough to know that he was feeling the exact same way, even if he'd gone out of sight to do it. Tom just stared at the baby in Scarlett's arms in awe.

"This is my granddaughter?" he asked quietly. "And you are my daughter in law?"

"Yes," Scarlett said, nodding slowly.

"What's her name?" he asked. "How old is she?"

"Gemma," Scarlett told him. "Gemma Griffith. Her initials spell GG, so we call her Gigi. She'll be three weeks old in two days."

"Three weeks," he chuckled, staring at the squirming baby in Scarlett's arms.

"Would you like to hold her?" Scarlett asked hesitantly.

Tom's head snapped up suddenly as he shifted in his seat. He was a cranky old man, but she could tell that he longed to hold his granddaughter. He never did get a chance to hold his son, after all. The thought of him being away from his family for so many years made her sad, especially if it wasn't by choice. She stood up and walked over to him, gently passing the baby to him and kneeling down on the ground beside his chair.

"Mind her head," she said, helping him adjust so Gigi was comfortable in his arms, big eyes staring up at him.

"She's my granddaughter," he murmured, clearly still in disbelief. "And I have a son. A grown son, with a wife and child. Is Benjamin coming back, Scarlett?"

"Of course, he just needs to sort his thoughts out," Scarlett told him, hesitating before speaking again. "And you can call me Madeline. Or Madi. My real name is Madeline Triggs. Only family calls me Madi, and well, you're family."

Thomas gave her a half smile and a nod before looking down at Gigi again. It seemed as if he'd heard of Madeline Triggs before, but he didn't bring it up. He was too focused on Gigi. He and the baby were both comfortable with each other now, staring at each other in awe.

"She likes being sung to," Scarlett pointed out. "I'd sing while I was pregnant, and I sing to her every day. I swear she smiles sometimes."

"Does she now?" Thomas chuckled.

Scarlett smiled and nodded, glancing over at the portrait on the desk. It was uncanny. A younger, beautiful picture of Mary Griffith sitting peacefully with a slight smile on her face.

"I painted it myself," Thomas told her.

"You painted it?" Scarlett asked, raising an eyebrow.

"From the mere memory of her," he sighed. "An unforgettable sort of beauty, she's got."

"You painted it from memory?" Scarlett whispered. "So that's where he gets it..."

"Pardon?"

"I have some stories to tell you," she smirked, "About boys who draw things from memory."

"Is Ben an artist?" he asked.

"You should see what he's done for his little girl," she laughed softly, glancing out where Ben was out on the porch. "I should go check on him. Are you comfortable with the baby, or would you like me to take her?"

"You go on," he said. "Gigi and I will be just dandy."

Scarlett nodded, eyeing her baby one more time before going out the door to look for Ben, seeing him sitting on the end of the porch and staring straight ahead, expressionless. Scarlett sat down next to him, taking his hand and kissing his cheek to get his attention.

"All this time, I thought he was dead," he muttered. "More so, my mother thought he was dead."

"He couldn't come back," Scarlett reminded him. "He didn't know where to find you."

"I used to think about this when I was much younger," Ben smirked. "What I'd do if he ever made a miraculous appearance. I always thought I'd be overjoyed and hugging him, and that he'd be the same. I just feel confused right now. He may be my father, but all I see is a cranky old man sitting there. A complete stranger I have no real emotions towards."

"He's not so cranky," Scarlett told him, squeezing his hand. "And no one expects you two to hug each other and sob happy tears. You've never met. It'll take time. But he's a good man, Ben. I can tell."

Ben looked through the window to find Thomas still sitting there with Gigi, chuckling softly as the infant stared at a music box set on the desk. A clockwork ballerina danced along to the light tune, spinning and twirling on the box while Gigi watched. For a moment, it looked like she was smiling. Ben sighed and put an arm around Scarlett, pulling her in and kissing the side of her head.

"Alright, back inside we go," he mumbled.

Scarlett smiled and took his hand, leading him back in and sitting him down in the chair. Thomas looked relieved to see that he'd returned, but he still seemed incredibly nervous. Scarlett quickly realized that they shared the exact same nervous expression. When Gigi started to squirm, Scarlett took her back, holding her close against her chest. When she did so, Thomas had to look at his son again, having no excuse to be looking away now. He cleared his throat, sitting up in his chair.

"So, the amulet," he remembered suddenly. "It's been causing you trouble."

"It's been killing off my crew," Scarlett added. "The men are trembling in fear every minute."

For the next few minutes, Ben and Scarlett explained everything to Thomas, starting from Phineas's stories to when the stories came to life on the island. Thomas listened carefully, nodding as they spoke.

"Well, the answer seems simple," he said. "When you pushed that gem in, you woke the amulet up. It's alive, in a way. Once it goes back to sleep, it will stop. Now, it'll go back so sleep as soon as everyone is dead, ending with you, Madi darling. It begins with giving you the wounds you've survived with its power, but if that's not enough to kill you, it will give you wounds of its own."

Scarlett frowned and held her daughter a bit closer as Ben reached out to touch her arm.

"That can't be the only way," he insisted. "It can't just end with everyone dying."

"Once it is asleep, it's powers will be gone," Thomas repeated. "You could always forcibly put it to sleep."

"How?"

"Well, I can't tell you that part, because I don't know," Thomas sighed. "But in these circumstances, I'm willing to help you find out. No, I must find out. No one is taking my son from me again. And no one is ripping this child's parents away from her so early."

Ben cracked a smile after his father said this, much to Scarlett's relief. Although they weren't completely saved, at least they knew what they had to do. Ben stood, straightening his shirt out and holding a hand out to Scarlett to help her up out of her seat.

"Well, we're not getting any younger here," he said. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Scarlett just squeaked a little "oh" as she was ushered out of the house, wrapping Gigi up in her blanket again. Ben stopped and looked over his shoulder at Thomas, who was still sitting there, a bit sad to see them go.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"What?" Thomas frowned.

"Well, I just assumed you were coming with us," Ben shrugged. "After all, you are our expert on this amulet. That, and I assumed you'd leave Trinidad with us. Wouldn't you like to see my mother again? Unless, of course, you prefer this."

He gestured to the small, dark, sad house Thomas has secluded himself in. Thomas just stared at him for a few moments, then jumped out of his seat and grabbed a bag, excitedly shoving some papers and books into it.

"Well, I've only ever read up on these things," he stammered as he crammed the books he needed into the bag. "I know of some other legends, too. We'll find out what puts this amulet to sleep, I can promise you that."

Scarlett watched with an amused grin as Thomas ran around and crammed what he could into this bag. She glanced at Ben, but he was silent, just keeping an arm tightly around Scarlett. When Thomas was done, she noticed him grab one more thing. He picked up the music box with the danger Gigi seemed to love, tucking that into the bag as well.

On their way out, people stared in utter shock as Thomas happily followed behind Scarlett and Ben. Not only were they surprised to see the man leaving his house, but he was also smiling. It was a rare sight, indeed. When Scarlett checked over her shoulder, she found that Ben was laughing at something Thomas had told him. They really did look identical in a certain light.