Note: I do not own Treasure Island or any of its characters. Also, this is a sequel to my other fic, A Well Respected Man.

The fog made it hard to see, as Silver walked down the street so he had to rely on his other senses, mainly that of sound. He listened for…. What? He cursed as he tried to remember why he was out this late at night. To top it off, it was the middle of winter and he hadn't brought his coat. What could have persuaded him that it was a good idea to wander out this late at night, when the temperature was below freezing? He was startled from his thoughts by the sound of a low sob. Silver glanced around but he was alone. So where could it have come from?

Just as he was starting to think he had imagined it there was another one. This one, a little to his left. He turned his head and saw that there was an alley. Cautiously, he started down it and the sobs got louder and more frequent until finally, reaching the end of the alley, he saw the source. A young boy, not much older than five or six was curled up in the dirt, arms wrapped around his knees, head buried into his own chest.

"Lad?" Silver asked, cautiously.

Startled, the boy scooted back a bit and Silver was equally taken aback. It was Jim! Or rather a younger version of him. "Jim, lad!" Silver exclaimed, reaching out to touch the boy's shoulder. "What are yeh doing out'n the cold? What's wrong?"

"I-I couldn't find him!" Jim sobbed.

"There, there lad," Silver drew the boy to him and rubbed his back. "Who couldn't yeh find?"

"My father!" The boy cried miserably. "He should have been at the docks today, but he wasn't!"

Silver winced, not wanting to tell the boy that he knew that his father was alright and probably living it up in some bar in Tortuga, the man's thoughts miles away from his worried son. "'m sure he's fine, Jim." He soothed, "Let's get yeh inside. We can go t' me inn and me wife will get yeh a nice warm bed, alrighty?" The boy nodded and meekly let Silver guide him out of the alley.

Silver awoke with a start, sweat soaking his clothes. His wife stirred next to him. "Y'alright, John?"

"Yes," He swallowed and swung his one leg out of bed, grabbing his crutch to help him rise. "Listen. I's goin to go 'way for awhile."

" 'way?" Ashanti sat up, yawning. "Where?"

"Jus' back to England to settle something's. Be back as soon as possible."

" ' lright" She answered, reluctantly, laying back down. In spite of himself, he grinned. That was what he liked about her. She understood that sometimes a man just had to do what he had to do and she didn't ask questions.

Rising he grabbed a spare change of clothes, a bag, and a sack of coins. Ever since encountering the older Hawkins he had been having nightmares about Jim; alone, and scared. He knew that the boy was probably living like a king now, famous for finding the treasure and all his exploits, but Silver couldn't shake the worry that had taken root in his mind. 'Per'aps," He thought, ' 'ts time t' visit an ol' shipmate." With that in mind, he set off to find the first ship to England.