Blurred Horizons

After Scarlett's birthday they had left the Caribbean Sea and had sailed back in the general direction of Europe. When Ben gave the crew sudden instructions to steer the ship back toward Barbados, they had had to turn around in the middle of the Atlantic and sail back, moving steadily in a southeastern direction. As they were approaching the Bahamas, a storm struck unexpectedly and without mercy. They were nowhere near a port when it came, with shrieking winds and pelting rain. The ship began to lurch and rock violently, knocking people off their feet as they tried to pull the sails down to keep them from being torn to shreds.

Ben had to fight the urge to whisk Scarlett below deck. She would never leave her crew to face danger while she hid in safety, and she would probably beat him with something heavy if he even suggested it. So instead he invested his energy in getting the ship as secure as possible as quickly as possible so they could get out of the rain before it got worse. Once the sails were down there was nothing left to do but barricade themselves in the galley and below deck to try and escape the worst of the rain. Ben remained on deck, shepherding people down below.

"I'm staying up here until you go down!" Scarlett shouted, her golden curls plastered across her face from the rain. Ben shook his head as a fierce wave crashed over the deck, nearly taking their feet out from under them.

"Get below and make sure everyone secures the canons and anything else that's going to move!" he shouted back. Scarlett's expression grew stubborn and he knew she was going to argue with him. He grabbed her shoulders and steered her to the stairs.

"For once, do as I say, Captain Rose." Something in his eyes must have made her realize he was willing to march her down those stairs and lock her in her own brig if she protested. Huffing, she shook his hands off her.

"Just hurry up!" she said, pausing to ever so briefly touch his face. He nodded and she reluctantly went below to check on the crew. Ben had to fairly drag Cool out of the galley.

"I ain't afraid of no storm!" she informed him. "I've survived worse!"

"Yes, I'm sure you have. But you are the finest cook on the seven seas, and we'd be hard pressed to replace you should anything happen to you. So I'd really feel much better having you down below with the rest of us."

"Well ain't ye just a dear." Cook actually looked flattered. "Yer not such a bad sort, young Benjamin. The rest of the crew has their doubts but I think ye have a stout heart and a solid head on those big shoulders of yers."

"Ah, thank you, Cook." Ben tried not to look uncomfortable with the compliment, leading Cook gingerly down the steps and making sure the door was shut tight before joining the rest of the crew, assisting them with making sure the cannons and barrels and crates of supplies weren't going to go pitching all over the place and crush them all to death. Another wave struck the Spirit, knocking the ship momentarily sideways. The entire crew fell and tumbled against the far wall in a confusion of limbs and curses.

One last barrel hadn't been tied in place yet, and it rolled toward Ben at full speed. He braced himself for impact, but the ship lurched back into its proper upright position and the crew spilled across the floor. The barrel's rampage was slowed and he huffed a sigh of relief before scurrying to secure the blasted thing.

Then his eyes searched out Scarlett, and he found himself dodging the grumbling pirates to reach her before he even realized he was moving. He gave her a once over to make sure there were no bruises or cuts on her before pulling her tightly against him. Ben knew she liked to act like she was never afraid of anything and she out on a good facade of being unruffled for the rest of the crew, but Ben could feel her shaking slightly as she laced her fingers with his. The storm raged on through the night. The lower decks remained mostly silent; it was too loud for anyone to really do any talking.

Ben did however do his best to distract Scarlett by telling her stories and reminding her that he had made plenty of modifications to the ship that should prevent too much damage.

"Just don't let yourself worry too much," he murmured. "It's not good for you or for the baby."

"The baby and I are fine," Scarlett whispered back, nudging his shoulder in mock agitation. "Call it mother's intuition."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Some intuition. You don't even realize she's a girl."

Scarlett stuck her tongue out at him and he tickles her sides until she squirmed and started giggling. She fell asleep curled against his side and Ben rested his head against hers, eventually nodding off as well. He was woken early in the morning by a low moaning. The ship was no longer rocking wildly and he assumed the storm must have passed. He gently slid away from Scarlett, careful not to wake her. He crept through the sleeping bodies to find the source of the moaning. Doc had gotten there first, and looked up when Ben approached. Doc's eyes were filled with horror and Ben's steps faltered for a moment.

He went to stand beside Doc, finding that he was kneeling beside Ivan. The gash that had appeared on his stomach seemed to have become infected; it was far worse than it had been at first. Ivan's eyes were unfocused and his face was soaked with sweat.

"He's running a fever from the infection," Doc said in a low voice. "He needs stronger medicine than anything I have on board. But Ben, I'm not sure if he'll survive until we reach another port."

"You'll be all right, won't you Ivan?"

"I've had...worse...than this...before, sir," Ivan said, voice raspy. Ben nodded and laid a hand on Doc's shoulder.

"Do what you can, Doc," he said. "We'll try and reach port as fast as we can."

Doc nodded and returned his attention to Ivan. The rest of the crew began to stir and Ben cautiously went topside to check on the damages. Some of the sails had been tattered beyond usefulness; most were a bit worse for wear but functional. The galley and the captain's quarters were in some disarray, but ultimately it seemed the Spirit had held up valiantly. Scarlett joined him on deck and nodded.

"She'll live to fight another day," she said.

"A ship is as strong as its captain," Ben remarked and Scarlett shot him a small smile. He went into their quarters and was pleased to find that everything he had bought to make the crib seemed to have made it safely. He had stored it all under the bed when the storm first approached on the horizon. Outside, he heard Scarlett demanding that they get the thrusters up and running so they could limp into a port and repair what. Ended fixing.

"How fast should we set it, Cap'n?" Steven asked.

"Fast enough that we get there yesterday," Scarlett replied. She joined Ben in the cabin, where he had already started cleaning up.

"This will put a slight delay on our reaching our destination," she said. Ben nodded.

"But we're not too far away now. We'll get the ship back to her full glory and be on our way again in no time."

"Ivan's injuries are worse."

"I know."

Scarlett came up behind him and rested her head against his back, wrapping her arms around him.

"We'll figure it out, sea goddess," Ben said quietly. "I promise you. Everything is going to be all right."

She stared at the crib supplies as Ben began rooting through them. She nodded slowly.

"Everything will be all right," she repeated. But he saw her place a hand over her stomach and worry at her bottom lip when she thought he was too distracted to notice, and he knew she didn't totally believe it.