Volanta

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Oliver watched Pippa go with his jaw on the ground as Preston looked between them with mild surprise. What was that about? Oliver was under the assumption that for the first time this entire expedition, everything was okay. And now Pippa was having second thoughts about how he felt? He had to admit, it was a bit sudden for him, but he didn't have a single doubt in his mind about any of the decisions he had made.

Preston looked up at him, nudging his arm to get his attention back.

"Doctor Lambert?"

"What, Preston?" Oliver grumbled.

“Did I interrupt something?” he asked quietly.

“You kind of did, yeah,” Oliver sighed. “What do you need?”

“I just wanted to ask you about… um… money,” he said nervously.

“Money?” Oliver frowned. “What do you mean? You’re still getting paid for your efforts, Preston.”

“But Peter said-”

“Peter said a lot of things,” Oliver interrupted. “Those things landed him a death sentence. I don’t want to hear his name or anything he said.”

“Sorry,” Preston said quietly, looking down at his feet.

Oliver felt a pang of guilt for being so harsh towards the boy. It wasn’t Preston’s fault that Oliver didn’t know how to communicate with women. He sighed and nudged Preston lightly with his elbow, giving the cabin boy a weak half smile.

“Sorry, kid,” he said. “I’m a little bit… off at the moment. It’s been a rough week.”

“When are you going to tell Pippa you love her?” Preston asked.

“Huh?” Oliver frowned. “What do you know about Pippa and me?”

“It’s kind of obvious,” he shrugged. “Plus also I was standing right here when she yelled at you. Neither of you noticed me.”

“Oh,” Oliver said. “Well, don’t worry about us. I’ll sort it out. Something tells me you have a question that goes a little bit beyond just the money.”

“Yeah,” Preston said, looking down again. “I was just wondering… if maybe I could spend a little time with you when we get home? Like when you’re reading and researching and stuff.”

“You want to work with me?” Oliver asked, surprised by what he was hearing. “Preston, I still am an apprentice. I can’t take one on. I don’t know enough to teach it to someone else.”

“Well you know more than I do,” Preston said. “Like, arithmetic and stuff. Please? I just want to be smart.”

“I’m not smart, Preston,” Oliver smirked. “I know facts and I read books, but it has been made very clear to me that I am not smart.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Preston shrugged.

“But if you really think you can be a hard worker and dedicate yourself to what you do, I know you can do great things,” Oliver told him. “I’ll let you be my shadow. And I’ll help you with the simpler skills before we dive into serious. Deal?”

“Deal!” Preston grinned, shaking Oliver’s hand. “We’ll go on more adventures together, then?”

“Alright, slow down,” Oliver chuckled. “This lifestyle isn’t normally such a hands on experience. And I don’t know about you, but I think I’m alright to stay home for a long while.”

“Okay,” Preston said, taking a step back. “You should go talk to Pippa then. Good luck.”

Oliver watched Preston go, pushing away from the railing of the ship to start heading down to the rooms below. He hoped Pippa had a little time to think and cool off before he knocked on her door, which was cracked open. He poked his head in, and was greeted by Jasper attacking his leg again. He winced in pain and Pippa lifted her head from where she was curled up on the bed, staring at them. She wordlessly stood and pried Jasper off of Oliver’s leg as quickly as she could without hurting him.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, carrying a growling Jasper back to where she was sitting on the edge of a bed.

“Can I sit, or do you want me to be quick?” Oliver asked.

She didn’t look at him, scooting to the side to make room. He sat down beside her, sighing and sitting in silence for a few awkward moments as he tried to figure out what to say.

“Pippa, I know it has been a rough start for us,” he said slowly. “I wish there was some way I could prove to you that none of this is jungle fever with facts, but if I’ve learned anything on this trip, it’s that facts mean little. Sometimes you have to trust the heart.”

She still didn’t say anything, but Oliver could tell she was listening a little more now. He thought a moment longer, then continued.

“I’ve always had your back, Pips,” he said. “You never knew it. I barely knew it myself. I’ve always done what I can to make sure no one bothered you, even if it was out of my hands. There has to be a reason I did all that, and I could never think of what that reason could be. And then we got here, and I spent time alone with you for the first time since we were kids. Have you noticed that? We’ve never actually spent time alone together. It would’ve always been around your father, or a large gathering. And then we came here, and we spent all that time together, and all those years of feelings I was repressing hit me in the face like a brick. I do care about you, Pippa. Again, I can’t throw facts or a textbook at you. I have to trust my heart, and I need you to trust yours, too. I don’t know where all your doubts are coming from, but they’re not coming from you.”

She still didn’t say anything, but she stared at him with a longing look in her eyes.

“With this expedition, I’ve pretty much flushed my credibility down the toilet,” he said quietly, taking her hand. “I’ve lost what respect I might have had before. I’ve lost my research. I’ve lost my life’s work. Pippa, you’re all I have left here. Please don’t make me lose you too.”

She looked down at their hands, still processing it all. Finally, she spoke.

“I love you, Otter.”

“I love you too, Pipsqueak.”

She practically threw herself at him after that, pressing a long, lingering, and much needed kiss to his lips. He pulled her closer, and even after she pulled away she stayed curled up in his arms for what could have been hours.

The next few days of the voyage went smoothly, as the Volantians had promised them. Pippa and Oliver’s relationship was no secret anymore, and Pippa had grown eager to get home. When they arrived at the docks, everyone was waiting for them. Their families, as well as anyone they’d ever met. And the press. And a lot of people they’d never met.

Oliver froze, staring at them all with wide eyes. Pippa came up by him, taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze with a reassuring smile. He took a deep breath and made his way down the plank, along with the remainder of the crew. Nigel and his father rushed to meet them, but it was Colette who shoved them aside with surprising strength for her size, throwing her arms around the both of them and weeping profusely.

“I missed you two so much,” she sobbed, holding them tightly. “I’m so happy you’re home!”

“I missed you too, mother,” Oliver said, hugging her back and glancing at the press nervously as their cameras flashed and the newspaper reporters took down notes.

Nigel pried her off of them and then hugged them equally as hard, grinning wide.

“Well?” he asked excitedly. “Did you find it?”

Everyone around them went silent, eagerly leaning in to hear his answer. Oliver nervously looked around, feeling it get a little too warm. Pippa squeezed his hand again, and he took a deep breath.

“No.”

There was a loud gasp from the crowd and the cameras started to flash again, while the reporters shouted questions at them. Nigel looked crestfallen. Oliver noticed Elliot in the back, trying not to smirk.

“The island does not support life,” Oliver lied, speaking up so everyone could hear him. “It is dangerous. The animals and plantlife are untameable, and if there were ever any people living there, they had little chance of survival. We lost a great many men on the voyage. I… was wrong.”

The press continued to shout questions, and Oliver ignored most of them. He couldn’t get the sight of Nigel’s disappointed face out of his head. Then Pippa stepped in.

“We do have another announcement,” she said loudly, with confidence. “Some good has come out of this expedition. I’ve had time to think about the eligible young men I’ve encountered, and I’ve decided that I’d like to settle down and choose one of my suitors.”

“Really!” Nigel said, perking up.

Oliver noticed Elliot and James Ingerson perk up as well, listening closely.

“Oliver and I will be marrying at the earliest convenience,” she announced.

Everyone was shocked about the announcement, excitedly speaking among themselves. Nigel said something with a grin, but Oliver couldn’t hear it over the sound of his mother’s scream over the rest of the crowd. She shoved Nigel aside again and hugged the two of them, bawling even harder now. This time, Oliver couldn’t even understand what she was saying. He looked over and saw that Elliot and James looked like they might have been about to cry, too. Theirs wouldn’t be tears of joy, though.

Pippa laughed excitedly, clinging to Oliver’s arm as everyone gushed over the two of them, immediately forgetting everything else. He just watched Pippa. He had her by his side, and nothing in the world could ever go wrong again.