Doppler was… well, he was himself. And that meant plenty of apologies and wrung hands.

"I never wanted to leave you behind with those… those scoundrels, Jim, but well, after you shouted your warning..."

"It's fine." Jim brushed him off, too tired to think properly. "Keeping the map out of their hands was more important."

"Yes, but… but…" Doppler trailed off and shot an uncertain look to the captain.

"Forget it, okay?" Jim tucked his hands in his pockets and turned away.

"Mr. Hawkins." The captain stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

He clenched his teeth.

"Look," he said. If his voice was hoarse from disuse, who was to say? "I said forget it, alright? It's fine."

"Mr. Hawkins."

Her tone was far more forceful now and Jim knew she wasn't pleased with his tone.

She was used to being obeyed and that wasn't about to change now.

If he had to put a name to the expression on her face it would be… regretful? Remorseful?

But neither of those seemed to fit.

It didn't feel… right.

Not for her.

"I… am sorry for leaving you behind up there."

An apology didn't feel right either.

Jim rubbed his arm, dropping his eyes. The ground was suddenly a lot more interesting.

"It's okay," he said softly. "I get it. Getting the map out of there was more important. You had to prioritize."

It hadn't been fun, being left behind, but he still spoke the truth. As long as the map remained out of their hands, it was a powerful bargaining tool provided they had to use it.

The captain tsked quietly behind him.

"Still," she said and when Jim looked up at her, she was staring back at him intently, standing with her hands clasped behind her back, "leaving you back there was… regrettable. I don't make the decision to abandon my crew lightly. And for that, I am truly sorry."

"Look, I said it was fine," Jim said, uncomfortable. He lowered his voice, shoulders hunching."Can we just drop it?"

He saw immediately the way her brows furrowed and her lips pulled downward and knew that under any other circumstances he would be reprimanded for how he had just chosen to address his captain.

The captain straightened her shoulders. "Very well then, Mr. Hawkins." She turned to go.

"Wait!" Jim called after her.

She paused, half-turning to face him with ears pricked forward.

"I, um…" He found himself faltering in the face of what he had to say. "It was Scroop who killed Mr. Arrow." Her expression tightened, but other than that, she was careful not to let anything else show, as painful as bringing up Mr. Arrow must have been for her. "I… overheard Silver call him out on it." He tucked his hands in his pockets, scuffing the toe of his boot against the ground. "I just thought you might want to know. That's all."

"Well, then." Her voice was far quieter than Jim thought he had ever heard it before. Grief had softened her features. "Thank you for telling me."

Before Jim could answer her, she raised her chin, determination shining through her eyes. A mask that Jim had only realized was ever there when he saw it slip those moments before was back in place.

"Come on then. Let's get moving. It won't be long before those pirates up and notice you're not where they left you. We want to be long gone by the time they're on our tail."

"Right."

Jim followed along behind her, picking his way through the strange undergrowth carefully.

He rubbed at his wrists. They were still sore, but the pain was fading.

That wasn't what was on his mind though.

Silver.

Jim faltered.

He had no idea what he was supposed to think.

Silver had saved his life, yes, but he was also part of the reason why his life had been in danger in the first place.

He turned his head up to the stars.

So what was he supposed to do with that?


Note: The very short epilogue. I'm sorry.

I do like it ending it on a question. The intent was to take things a little differently but in a way that would still allow the rest of the movie to play out largely unchanged.