*****
“Who can say when the roads meet that love might be in your heart?”
*****

“Mr. Hawkins,” she handed him a laser gun. “Scout ahead…”

Captain Amelia tried her best to stand tall and strong as she watched young Jim Hawkins disappear into the dense brush of the planet that they had just crash landed on. Crash landed? Amelia was suddenly reminded of this when her legs gave way, causing her to collapse to the ground.

Dr. Delbert Doppler was immediately at her side. “Hold still,” he told her. “We need to have a look at that.”

“No, Doctor, I don’t think that’s…” she winced as a sharp pain ran up and down her side “…necessary,” she finished.

“And I’m a cat,” Doppler muttered to himself. Really, he thought She’s injured, and she’s still keeping that tough ‘I’m-the-Captain-and-I’m-ok’ attitude… “Captain, I think it’s in your best interest. You need mental – MEDICAL – help!” He mentally smacked himself for messing up his words once again. But when he looked over at Amelia, she was grinning slightly.

“You win, you win,” she sighed. “I lost my ship – temporarily – but I’m not about to lose myself. So let’s see…” She took off her jacket, and Doppler’s eyes widened. Amelia noticed this, and raised an eyebrow… “Doctor, am I missing something here? Maybe you’d like to shut your mouth before you catch something with it! Like flies perhaps?”

“Sorry, sorry,” he quickly said and snapped out of it. He moved closer to her. Though he wasn’t a medical doctor, he was determined to help her as best as he could. “Breathe in slowly,” he instructed, “And tell me, does it…”

“Oh!” Amelia grasped her side. “Yes, doctor, I think I’m feeling it… it feels strange here.” She indicated her left side.

“Let me see,” Doppler’s hand brushed Amelia’s as she let go of her side. She glanced at him momentarily, wondering what was coming next. “I’m going to… I mean, is it ok if I… um… I need to touch your side there. To see if anything’s broken…”

Amelia couldn’t help but laugh to herself. “It’s all right, Doctor. I understand that this is just for medical purposes and nothing more.”

*Well* Doppler thought, but caught himself before he could say anything that pertained to that. “Um... yes. Now I’m just going to… poke your side I suppose, but I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.”

“Doctor, I’ve been doing this sort of thing for how long? I can deal with the pain,” Amelia began. She wasn’t paying attention when Doppler began to touch her side. “Pain is a relative thing anyway. Surely you know that I can handle…” She jumped as the sharp pain that she had felt before returned. Suddenly her body doubled over.

“Captain!” Doppler pulled his hand away. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you! I’d never hurt you. I…”

Amelia waved her hand, trying to downplay what had just happened. “It’s all right. I’m all right. Don’t worry. As I mentioned before, it’s slight bruising, and that’s all.”

Doppler took a few deep breaths and helped her sit up once again. “Not from what I gather.”

“But…”

“Here,” he removed his coat and placed it behind Amelia. “This may not be the most comfortable thing, but lay back. It might help you breathe better. From what I can see, you must have a cracked rib or two, hopefully nothing worse. Still, I think we need to keep the pressure off your side there…” He began to untie his scarf. “I know I just told you to lean back, but you’ll have to sit up for a moment.”

“You’re making a sling to keep my arm off my side?” Amelia said.

“Precisely. It’ll help ease the pain too.”

“Brilliant, Doctor.”

“Just call me Delbert,” he smiled and gently wrapped the scarf around her shoulder, being careful not to touch her side again.

“I suppose… that you can call me Amelia, now that we’re stranded without a boat or anything. I guess I’m not ‘Captain’ at the moment,” Amelia mused.

“Once a Captain, forever a Captain. Even if you don’t have a ship. You can’t deny that,” Doppler replied, and helped Amelia lean back once again.

Things fell silent for a moment, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was more so a contemplative silence… for Amelia was thinking of the situation they had found themselves in, and Doppler was thinking of Amelia’s well-being.

“We must find a way back to the ship,” Amelia broke the silence. “I will not have my ship be taken over by a bunch of hooligans. The Legacy and I have a history together, and I will not leave my ship to those brutes.”

“Captain – er - Amelia, we have no way back to the ship now, as you know. I don’t see it possible that…”

“Anything is possible though. We found our way here, didn’t we? I must come up with a way to get back. Perhaps if I can rebuild this longboat…”

“Amelia, no,” Doppler interrupted.

“And then there’s Jim. If he doesn’t return, then we need to be prepared to…”

“AMELIA, STOP!” Not letting her get another word in, he began talking with a force that he didn’t even realize he had. “This is lunacy. You’re injured, so accept it. Right now there is nothing that you or I can do until we find a proper shelter and until you rest. If you continue to stress about this matter, which we currently have no control over, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

Amelia fell silent. It had been quite a long time since anybody had been able to talk down to her, as Doppler just had. She didn’t know whether to lash out at him or just keep quiet. In fact, she really didn’t know what to make of it, and was at a loss for words. Doppler, on the other hand, was shocked at himself. Never had he felt so much emotion behind his words. Of course he had always been passionate about his research and studies, but this emotion that he felt… was different. It was something that science just couldn’t explain. His thoughts were interrupted when Amelia cringed and closed her eyes.

“What? What is it?”

Her eyes opened, and were full of pain, but she took a deep breath. “I don’t know, Delbert, it seems to have gotten worse. I’m tired.”

“Then rest for now,” he said, and sat beside her.

He continued to watch her… Watch as she gazed up at the sky. Then she slowly turned her head toward him and her eyes met his. She stared at him momentarily, he in turn, getting lost in her eyes. He couldn’t look away; there was so much that he wanted to know about those eyes. What was behind them? Though she wasn’t speaking, he could tell that she was still thinking. He couldn’t help but admire her strength. She had pulled them through many of the journey’s challenges: the black hole, the mutiny, the crash landing… And now, though she was injured, Amelia was able to keep an air of prestige. It seemed as if nothing was able to defeat this woman. How he admired her for that…

Finally she looked back at the sky.

“Delbert?” she said quietly, in a tone that he had never heard her use before. It was a hushed tone, but not intense. It was actually close to…normal?

“Yes?” he replied hesitantly.

“Have you ever seriously thought about dying?”

“Are you insinuating something?” he sputtered and stared at her, waiting for an answer.

She looked back at him. “And what if I am?”

“Well, you can’t! I…WE need you!” he felt a slight blush redden his cheeks, and turned away. After a few seconds, he continued, “We couldn’t have survived this trip without your skill and experience. I cannot see why you’re even thinking of death right now.”

“I’m thinking of it because it’s a possibility, that’s all,” she replied, her no-nonsense tone returning. “You know, in my line of work, I cannot disregard the fact that death can very well be a part of the job. But I never thought of it really until…” she sighed, “Until we lost Mr. Arrow. And now this!” she glared at her injury, as if an icy stare would make it magically heal.

“Well, I’m very sorry about Mr. Arrow…” Doppler offered.

“It’s a bit of a wake-up call. Mr. Arrow and I had worked together for many, many years. And in all of those years, I never thought that this could happen. I suppose I took on the belief that we were almost immortal. We always seemed to keep a step ahead of danger. But now he’s gone, of course, and now we need to figure out a plan before those pirates catch on to where we are.” She stopped her train of thought momentarily. “I’m not quite sure why I’m telling you all this…”

“Maybe it’s because even the strongest of people can have a weak moment,” Doppler replied. Amelia raised an eyebrow quizzically. “But really, I think you’re stressing on things you can’t control again. Just rest. Jim will be back soon, I know it, and we’ll find a way out of this mess.”

“I’m not ready to die, you know,” Amelia interrupted, changing the subject once again. Ignoring Doppler’s exasperated expression, she kept going. “It’s funny, but you know what? Arrow’s death has made me start to rethink some of the things in my life. My career is wonderful and thriving, but I’ve always wanted a family. There’s so much to do before I die. And I keep thinking how my family was really Arrow’s only family. He didn’t have anybody to go home to. I don’t want to live out my life that way…”

As she continued to talk, Doppler tried to figure out why she was rambling so. Perhaps she was going into shock. Or maybe… she was truly a normal person, who had just as many worries as anybody. Even Captains had their problems, he mused. Still, in the back of his mind, he had known that Arrow’s death had greatly affected Amelia. Though he hadn’t gotten a chance to get to know the first-mate very well, what he did gather was that the two of them had been comrades for a very long time and that they had gone through a lot for each other. He was also beginning to learn that behind Amelia’s icy, harsh exterior, there was another side. He wished that he could help her in some way.

“I think having a family would be wonderful,” he said. “Between my studies, I’ve always imagined coming home to a wife and children. Then I come back to reality. The idea is too farfetched for a scholar like myself.”

“Why is that?” Amelia challenged. His comment had truly surprised her. The doctor had been nothing but helpful on their journey. True, he was a bit clumsy at times, and he did mess up his words, but his heart was in the right place. Amelia could see no reason for Doppler to disregard himself as he had. She wanted an explanation.

Her comment, in turn, had caught Doppler off guard. He really had no real reason behind his words this time. He had just always come to believe that he would be alone in life – and that there was nobody who he could really have a connection with. But Amelia’s expression demanded an explanation. His thoughts were jumbled, and he desperately tried to organize them. “I…ah…I never really got on with people,” he finally said. “I was always somewhat of… I mean I… I suppose I was always the odd one out.”

“That makes two of us,” Amelia replied.

“What do you mean by that? Why, you’re intelligent, courageous, and beautiful! How could anybody…” he stopped short, realizing that he had just admitted out loud that he had thought Amelia was beautiful. Little did she know that he had thought that the first time he saw her, though she had been quite fierce with him.

“Did you just say that you thought I was beautiful?” Amelia inquired, her eyebrow raised even higher, a slight grin on her face.

“I…well, I…um…yes,” Doppler meekly replied, feeling his face flush once again.

Amelia’s grin widened. “Red isn’t your color, Delbert,” she chuckled. “Anyway, despite popular belief,” she nodded toward him, “I wasn’t as social as you might think. You see, my father was a Captain before me, and we moved around a lot. I never got the chance to make many friends. And it was quite difficult for me to keep the friends I made. Even more harsh was when we were able to stay in one place for a period of time. Nobody wanted to be friends with me – they all thought that it was strange that I was being raised on a ship. I didn’t mind that though. In traversing the galaxies, I learned to cope with the loneliness of being away from those I cared about. But I don’t want to be by myself anymore. A lonely existence can be most painful. I suppose that I’ve shut it out for way too long now. Sometimes the feelings come back, especially when I’m feeling a bit out of sorts.”

“Like now?” Doppler asked.

“I suppose so, like…” Amelia’s eyes widened, as another wave of pain washed over her body. “This feels a lot worse than I expected,” she admitted.

“Then rest. I’ll keep watch. Everything’s going to be ok.”

“Delbert?”

“Yes?”

“Will you promise me something?”

“I… uh, yes?”

“Promise me that you won’t leave me alone.”

Doppler was thrown off again by Amelia’s words. In that moment she had sounded stunningly innocent.

“I…”

“Promise me?” Amelia’s eyes pleaded.

“I promise I won’t leave you alone, Amelia. From here on out. We’re going to overcome this together.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and scooted closer to Doppler. Before he knew what was happening, she had leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

“Amelia?” he asked, startled.

“Oh, do shut-up. I’m trying to get some sleep here.”

Doppler shook his head and laughed to himself. She really was amazing. Instinctively, he put his arm around her. When he realized what he was doing, he jumped, waiting to be rained on with sarcastic remarks, or maybe something worse. But they never came. Instead he felt Amelia move closer to him. Trying to keep his composure, he looked at her. For the first time since they had crashed on Treasure Planet, she seemed content. Her eyes were closed, her expression was placid, and she was breathing evenly. He even thought he saw her still smiling slightly. So, Doppler leaned back against the side of the wrecked longboat, feeling reassured. As soon as Jim returned, they’d find a way to get off Treasure Planet and go home. And perhaps… Doppler glanced at Amelia once again… it would be the start of something new and wonderful.

They were going to pull through their situation together. And though they wouldn’t admit it aloud – yet – both Doppler and Amelia knew that neither of them would ever be alone again.

*****
“Who can say where the road goes? Where the day flows? Only time.
And who can say if your love grows as your heart chose? Only time.”
*****