Title: Ghost of a Memory
Fandom: Hornblower
Rating: G
Character: Admiral Sir Edward Pellew
Summary: Admiral Sir Edward Pellew remembers
Content Notes: Mention of canon character death
Length: 456


Over his many years at sea, Admiral Sir Edward Pellew had seen hundreds of sailors serve under his command. Too many to count in truth. The great majority of them were nothing but nameless faces, if that. While men served on his ship he remembered them but afterwards? Well, they all seemed to blend into one another after a while.

There were exceptions of course, there always were. Regardless of claims to the contrary, every Captain had at least one favourite amongst his men. Pellew was no different. He himself had had two that he had been fond of. One far more so than the other but two nonetheless. They may not have served on his ship for years but it was the work of mere seconds to recall them to his mind’s eye. He could almost picture them there on the quarterdeck.

Horatio Hornblower and Archie Kennedy.

He didn’t even have to close his eyes in order to picture them standing on the deck in front of him. Nothing more than a ghost of a memory but one that was still perfectly clear. Hornblower, straight-backed and serious as always while Kennedy teased him, trying to make him unbend as much as possible. Both so different but the best of friends. They had shown such promise – amusing when you considered that Hornblower still held the dubious honour of being the only mid to be sick in Spithead – and where were they now?

Kennedy was dead. A waste of a damn good officer and, regardless of the fact that Kennedy had died saving his best friend in the process, Pellew couldn’t help but feel that he had failed him. He wished that he had been able to do something, not only to allow Kennedy to live but also so that Hornblower had not had to deal with the crippling grief that had ensued.

Still, while Kennedy may have lost his life prematurely, Hornblower still lived. One of the most promising sailors Pellew had ever seen and one of the best young men that he had had the privilege to know, Hornblower was a commander with his own ship now.

Pellew knew that Hornblower felt the Retribution had been given to him almost as a placatory measure in the wake of the whole Captain Sawyer mess but a captaincy for Hornblower had never been in doubt. Even though Hornblower had his own ship, his own men to command, Pellew still followed his progress avidly and had the feeling that he always would; young Hornblower evoked paternal feelings in him that no-one else ever had.

A shout went up amongst the men and before Pellew could blink, the ghostly figures had gone. Pellew wasn’t worried though; they’d be back.